Movie: Amu

Amu (2005) is the story of Kaju, a twenty-one-year-old Indian American woman who returns to India to visit her family and discover the place where she was born. The film takes a dark turn as Kaju stumbles against secrets and lies from her past. A horrifying genocide that took place twenty years ago turns out to hold the key to her mysterious origins. Written, produced & directed by Shonali Bose
According to me this type of movies are done to death. Every time you see such movies, you get a feeling of... "oh ! no not again". How many times we will re-visit the same stories of a girl/guy searching for his/her past. At the end, it always has a socio-political angle of Indo-Pak partition, riots of 1984, Godhra, Mumbai blasts,Babri Masjid...
We need to get original guys, an especially all such movies get awards across the world. Why can't we take issues/situation which are more contemprory. For me this movie would get 3 out of 5, 2 for Konkana Sen & 1 for Rasool Pookutty (this would have for sure got him to Slumdog Millionaire).

Noida's night of horror

10 Apr 2008, 0127 hrs IST

NOIDA: Goons on bikes, stopping people at random and firing at the smallest provocation. Noida lived through a nightmare on Tuesday when a 25-year-old former airhostess was shot in the dead of night on a main road, just an hour after a retired army officer escaped death in resisting an attempt to snatch his car. The night had, in fact, begun with some incidents of mobile snatching elsewhere. The common thread in all these incidents was a gang of bikers, though the cops are still not sure about their identity or if more than one gang was involved.
A former employee of Virgin Atlantic, Sheeba G Thomas, was returning to her home at C-block in Sector 49 from a friend's house in Delhi around 11.25pm. Just outside the house of a Supreme Court lawyer, at the intersection of Sectors 31 and 36, four men on two bikes came from the opposite direction. They intercepted her Hyundai Accent car, forcing her to hit the brakes.

"Before she could realize what was happening," an eyewitness told the police, "two men got off a motorcycle and rushed towards her. She screamed at them and then slammed the car door into an assailant". Stepping out of the car, she kicked the man, who fell on the ground. Seeing this, the other man shot Thomas in the chest, killing her on the spot.

The assailants then left with her mobile phone. They also took away the car keys, perhaps to prevent anyone from giving chase. But her laptop, her handbag and cash were not touched. There were also some Virgin Atlantic brochures in the car.

The many hues of romance

Vinita Dawra Nangia
.. dinner by candlelight and ardour in his eyes…

Romance? Yes, of course.



Walking hand in hand by the seaside, silhouetted against the sunset as you murmur sweet nothings to each other…
Romance? Sure.



Giggling together over nothing; shared chocolates, songs heard and sung together; fingers touched and snatched away; champagne and roses…
Romance? Mmmmm, YES!



Time spent together, full of love and mischief, but parting to go your separate ways, love locked deep in your hearts; a baby’s quivering dimpled bottom, pitter patter of rain, streaks of sunset colour in the sky… Romance? Ma…ybe.



A glimpse of knickers under Anna Kournikova’s tennis skirt; loving more than one person at a time, having no-strings-attached sex with a friend once in a while… Romance? Ouch! Cheeni kum hai…But hey, WHY NOT?



Why must romance necessarily be something to do with love, togetherness and spending time with your lover? Like most things in life, why must romance be bound by definitions and limits? To the extent that when a website asked a number of romance writers to post their definitions of romance, each one defined it as the love story of a man and woman, their strength of character, trials and tribulations, and how they overcome these. Each author specified that a romance could only possibly have a happily ever after (HEA) ending! But how realistic is that? The definition of romance changes with time. From medieval to Gothic to 18th century romantic poetry to early 20th century War romances, onto the Harlequin series and realistic romances – what a world of difference! One way to measure this is to flick through a few romance novels. Pick up the all-time favourite Mills & Boons, for instance. A few years ago, virginity was a pre-requisite and the main characters verbally sparred their way through the story till the end when they discovered their allencompassing love and were allowed the first kiss… Swoon, swoon… how sweetly romantic! Today, they start off as ‘f*** buddies’, move in together and the idea of marriage and HEA comes almost as a surprise! Virginity is not even considered, though fidelity is still a requisite. Medieval romances were all about quests and adventure. Modern romance too is about quest – but an internal quest, a quest to discover yourself. Romance today is as much about your journey inwards – a relationship with self — as it is a loving relationship with another. Romance is no longer about waiting for the right time or opportunity; it’s about the here and now. It’s for you to find romance in every moment, every thought and every word. For, romance emanates from within you. If you keep waiting for the right time and place, it will just pass you by. What are the feelings a romantic situation arouses? Romance is when you feel good about yourself and everyone around; when your good hormones are flowing and you love the whole world. If knickers peeking out from beneath a skirt seem kinda cute to you, then that’s your kind of romance! If you get addicted to exercise and look forward to your early morning walks, even that could be your experience of romance. Glaze gazing far out into the horizon with a blank mind could be as romantic as a bubble bath with your lover. Anything and everything that helps you connect with joy of living is romantic. If you are willing to stretch your definition of it, romance is always in the air around you; you just have to sniff it out. It’s there in the leaf that just dropped to the ground; the trees laden with droopy, bright yellow amaltas; in the colours of dawn and dusk. It’s actually nowhere without; it’s within you.

Love is still in Air !

The most talked about Valentines day has just passed and I can still feel the love in the air.The sweet memories of seeing that couple are still afresh. It was Valentines evening when I thought of just going out with my parents after a long day in the office.So we went to the local mall in our area.There was lot of hush hush in the mall.And in the mid of so rush there was an old couple sitting hand in hand in a silent corner.Both of them looked lovely and their relationship with each other made them look so young and beautiful.The soft wrinkles on their faces told me the story of their experiences and also their love.The subdued happiness on their faces gave me a satisfying feeling.They were not talking much but there were some silent words which were playing their part.I observed them for a long time and it was such a satisfying experience watching them share their love.I could not stop myself crying with happiness. I will definately not forget this Valentines day.I wish I could have gathered some stregth to go to them and hug them for once.But yes I will pray to god that their love never dies.
-by Nidhi Saturday, February 17, 2007 (MSN)