Film Review: GORI TERE PYAAR MEIN

Gori Tere Pyaar Mein

I wish the film had been crisper with less or no songs and a tight edit

Cast: Imran Khan, Kareena Kapoor, Shraddha Kapoor, Anupam Kher, Nizhalgal Ravi
Director: Punit Malhotra

Venkat and I were keen to see this movie and could only go this Thursday – a week after its release. We both enjoyed the film.

THE STORY

Sriram Venkat (Imran Khan) is a happy-go-lucky architect who works for his father. The Tam-Bram family lives in Bangalore. Sriram’s father is quite tired of asking him to be more responsible. That’s when the parents decide to get him married. They arrange a match with Vasudha (Shraddha Kapoor). Vasudha tells him in private that she is in love with someone else and requests Sriram to reject her. He in turn tells her to talk to her parents as he does not want to say ‘no’ to the alliance and earn his father’s wrath. The couple gets engaged. In flashback, Sriram talks to Vasudha about his broken relationship with Diya (Kareena Kapoor). Sriram’s perception changes as he talks more and more about Diya. And then he decides to run away from his own wedding…..

MY PERCEPTION

As I have mentioned in other film reviews, Imran Khan can act at times. Luckily, this is one of those films. He has done a very good job of playing the character of a guy who lives on the surface who later moves on to discover himself. Nice one, Imran!

Kareena Kapoor looks gorgeous in her role as Diya and she has also acted very well. There was a time a few years ago when I used to dread watching her films. She has come a long long way. Great work, Kareena!

Shraddha Kapoor’s role is quite small and does not have much scope. She was okay with what there was.

The story is good and the lack of violence was what I liked most about the film. Despite there being opportunities for a few fight sequences, the movie makers have steered clear of them. I am so glad for one. The concept is good and quite forward thinking. But I wish the film had been crisper with less or no songs and a tight edit. That would have kept the audience hooked. And that is probably the reason why the theatres did not run full despite the film being good.

A couple of bloopers that I could not help but notice as I am a Tam-Bram myself – a Tamil bride does not dress in a silk full skirt and synthetic half sari for her wedding. The bridegroom gets all set for Kasi Yaathirai (a trip to Kasi to give up the life of a family man) wearing his slippers – not barefoot like Imran. As he decides to go away, the bride’s father requests him to return promising a beautiful wife in the form of his own daughter. The older guy washes the groom’s feet AFTER he has been persuaded to cancel his trip to Kasi. And NOBODY eggs the bridegroom on to run away. The scene appeared quite stupid to me.

VERDICT: It’s worth a see definitely, especially if you like romance.

RANKING: ***Smart

* Silly
** Shaky
*** Smart
**** Snazzy
***** Super

Travel: HOTEL PUNNAMI @ SHIRDI

Hotel Punnami is very close to Dwarkamai & Chavadi

Shirdi being a pilgrimage haven, one cannot help but find a number of hotels and restaurants all around. The restaurants sell all kinds of cuisines under the sun while one can never be sure how authentic they are.

Venkat and I saw a few restaurants saying that they served South Indian Thali and Andhra meals. I was quite impressed with the Tamil boards actually. Venkat told me that they could be printed at a cost and did not necessarily mean that the meal was authentic. He was proved right pretty soon.

We walked into a restaurant run by a Maharashtrian and spoke with the manager. He explained that most of the restaurants were run by Maharashtrians and Biharis and they all sold their own versions of South Indian meals. The man was nice enough to tell us that there was one restaurant on the first floor above his that sold Andhra meals. While he also told us that the food was not great, we decided to risk it.

Are we glad that we did!

The table is set for lunch

There were huge name boards written in Telugu and we did not even know the name of the restaurant when we entered its precincts. I could not take pictures of the place or the meal that we ate as our mobiles and camera were at the temple counter.

We asked for a meal and were told that the cost was Rs. 70. This was for two vegetables, pappu (dal), sambar, rasam, rice, avakkai pickle, green chilli chutney, powder chutney and rice – all unlimited, along with a cup of curd. Everything tasted yummy if you like your food a little spicy and sour with tamarind. We loved it!

Venkat pays the bill after a hearty breakfast

The next day morning, we went back to Hotel Punnami – I managed to locate the English name board in broad daylight – and had breakfast.

It was 11 am and they were getting ready for lunch but did not mind giving us breakfast. We asked for upma and medhu vada and were disappointed when both the items turned up cold. We asked them if they could serve us something hot. Without a protest, they removed both items and offered us idli and dosa. Both came piping hot with two types of chutneys and delicious sambar. We relished the breakfast along with coffee and left the place with a satisfied stomach.

Travel: HOTEL SAI MORESHWAR @ SHIRDI

As I was planning our trip to Shirdi, I checked the internet for suitable hotels for stay. After checking the excellent ratings on www.makemytrip.com, I zeroed in on Hotel Sai Moreshwar. I found their website and realised that they also had branches at Lonavla and Pune. After finding contact numbers, I called one to find that it was a Mumbai number.

The reception at the hotel

Ms. Vanitha answered the phone and told me that rooms were available and I could book a double non-AC room for Rs. 1526 per day including taxes. After consulting Venkat, I booked a room for two days. I also called the other local number to check about the availability of room service, a restaurant, hot water, etc. They even have a free wi-fi connection for guests that could be used in the reception.

Our room

We walked from the bus stand to Hotel Sai Moreshwar that was just a couple of minutes away and booked in. We were lucky to get the rates that we did as walk-in guests usually pay Rs. 1700 + taxes for the same room. I went to check the rooms – they have regular and deluxe, which is with a balcony. All the rooms have air-conditioners and we could use one of them without using the AC there as the weather was quite pleasant.

Venkat relaxing on the bed

The room we booked into – No. 302 – was very comfortable and quite big. The bathroom was also large and the best was the availability of hot water round the clock.

I have to mention that the service was excellent. They provided us with fluffy towels on both days, cleaned up the room very well and room service was very prompt.

The food was not too bad

The food at their in-house Restaurant Sai Maurya was good, not great. We had only a couple of meals there.

When we planned a trip to Shani Shingnapur, the hotel manager had the AC car booked for us at a reasonable rate.

All in all, we totally enjoyed the stay at Hotel Sai Moreshwar that is located barely a few minutes from Shirdi Temple.

Click Here to find out more about the hotel and contact numbers for booking. 

Travel: A VISIT TO SHANI SHINGNAPUR

Lord Shani!

I have heard about Shani Shingnapur from a number of people. The thing that most struck me was what I had heard about houses having no doors as the people felt quite safe under the protection of Lord Shani. Venkat had visited the shrine once before.

The entrance

We hired a car on Tuesday morning and went to Shani Shingnapur. The temple is about 70 km from Shirdi. The only problem is that half the distance is covered on horrible roads. The driver took more than an hour to traverse the tortured 30 km and then another forty five minutes for the rest of the distance. We reached the town at around 12.15 pm after a scenic drive full of green fields. I managed to see grapevines, sugarcane fields, flowering plants and a farm full of brinjal plants.

Bullock carts loaded with sugarcane

We passed by a number of bullock carts loaded with freshly cut sugarcane that was being carted to a nearby sugar factory.

Near the car park

I just loved seeing all those wooden sugarcane juice machines that were being run by bullocks. I insisted on stopping at one to have fresh cane juice on our return journey.

That's me at the entrance

We reached the temple area and parked the car. Many vendors approached us to sell til oil and flower trays. They also insisted that Venkat should not wear a leather belt and that we should remove our footwear right there. Venkat had already had an experience of walking a long distance on the hot roads without slippers during his earlier trip. He refused to remove either his footwear or belt and told me that we should go on till someone officially stopped us.

This majestic king of the forests was guarding the entrance

No one did, actually! We had to walk for about 5-6 minutes to reach the temple complex. I was so relieved to see that there were no rules here at Shani Shingnapur. We left our footwear at a counter manned by the temple employees and walked into the temple with our mobiles and my camera. There was no one to tell me not to take pictures. It was a joy to walk in. While there was a crowd, there were no snaking lines. We all had the freedom to walk in and take darshan to our hearts’ content. The stone – a swayambhu – depicting Lord Shani is placed in the centre of a compound with a metal railing. One could walk around and pray at will. There were a couple of security personnel who just kept a watch without interfering. There were a few pundits ready to offer pooja if anyone was interested.

For meditation

We walked up to the deity and prayed peacefully for a few minutes. Then we walked around the compound, checking out the different counters.

Venkat chanting 'OM'

There were two tall structures where one could meditate. While they were not in the shape of pyramids, they had a high ceiling and Venkat’s voice echoed when he chanted OM a few times. It was nice!

Farmers and cattle relaxing after delivering sugarcane to the factory

There is a huge garden in the front. We sat there for a few minutes before leaving the temple, totally satisfied with Shani Bhagavan’s darshan.

A house without a door

We left the temple to visit the village by car, checking out the houses. It was amazing to see that they really had no doors. Some of them had curtains while the others not even that. I managed to click a couple of pictures of this incredible phenomenon.

Travel: A TRIP TO SHIRDI

The Sai Baba Idol that we brought home

When Venkat asked me whether I was interested in going to Shirdi for a couple of days, I jumped at the chance as it was around 18 years since our last visit to Sai Baba’s shrine.

We decided to go to Shirdi by Neeta Travels and I booked our tickets for Monday, November 25, 2013 on a Mercedes Benz. The bus left at 8.30 am from Sion. It was quite comfortable with pushback seats and an excellent AC.

We had already booked a room at Hotel Sai Moreshwar after checking the excellent ratings on www.makemytrip.com. In the meanwhile, the Neeta Bus attendant did his best to persuade us to book a room at Neeta International Hotel at Shirdi. We tentatively agreed that we would consider it after checking out the rooms there. We did not want to commit ourselves as we had never heard of this hotel and had not seen it recommended on the net. The man went on to make a receipt in our name – he already had my cell number as I had used it for booking the bus tickets – and insisted that we pay Rs. 1000 advance. The worst part was that he said that we had to pay up immediately as he had to get off at Thane. I don’t know what kind of fools he thought we were!

On the way

It looked like he had also approached a number of other passengers for similar deals. I don’t know for sure whether he was being honest or not, but Venkat point blank refused to pay him an advance. The man left in a huff.

The bus reached Shirdi at around 3 pm after stopping twice for breakfast and lunch on the way. Luckily for us, Hotel Sai Moreshewar was just a 2-minute walk from the bus stand and we checked in without any difficulty.

We found out the timings for darshan at Shirdi Temple and decided to go after the 5-7 pm arati got over. For those interested, the Shirdi Temple opens at 4.30 am and the last darshan is at 10.30 pm. The temple was a few minute walk from our hotel. We stopped for a snack at an Udipi restaurant and then went for the darshan.

In the garden at the hotel

Mobile phones and cameras are strictly not allowed. They have a counter where you can deposit them and get a receipt in exchange. This is right next to the shoe counter. After collecting the respective receipts, Venkat and I went to stand at the entrance queue. I have to mention that the experience was way different from what it used to be during my earlier visits.

I had been to Shirdi five times before this trip, if I am not mistaken. We used to just enter the hall and pray to Sai Baba, do namaskar, get out from behind the shrine, visit Dwarkamai, the Chavadi and the bazaar. It used to be child’s play.

Not so now! The marketing bhoot has taken over Shirdi also and the place has become extremely commercial. A guy approached us and said that darshan could take 4-5 hours and he could help us get in by a special queue. While the charges were Rs. 500 per person officially, he could give us a deal at Rs. 300 per head. We refused him as we did not have much else to do and were not too fazed by waiting for darshan for a few hours.

We were surprised to enter the temple and walk in and out of snaking queue-lines – the crowd was not much, actually. We walked round and round, went down a staircase and went up another before entering the main hall of the temple. Luckily for us, we took barely 25 minutes to reach the hall. After that, it was another 10-15 minutes before we could get near Sai Baba. There was a ratio of one security person to ten pilgrims. I felt it was atrocious. They kept pushing the devotees making it impossible to pray. One kind of tends to forget why one is visiting the temple. Marketing at its worst!

Lord Hanuman at Shirdi

All I wanted to do was connect with Sai Baba for a minute in peace. That was just not possible. I even forgot to pray. I had a good darshan in the sense I could see Sai Baba and I could touch the padukas. Before I could imbibe the atmosphere, I found myself being cast out of the hall. Venkat and I did not give up. We managed to get in again without going through the whole queue line procedure and managed to get one more darshan.

We finally managed to come out of the compound only to realise we were nowhere near where we had entered. When we showed the mobile-camera receipt to a security, he guided us to return to Gate No. 1. We had to walk for a few minutes before we found the place. There are at least six gates there to my knowledge.

The next day was Tuesday. Venkat and I hired a car to visit Shani Shingnapur. In the evening, we again went for Sai Baba’s darshan. This time round we managed to complete the darshan in 20 minutes. We also got to visit Dwarkamai, Chavadi and the market place.

I was shocked to see the dhuni (sacred fire) had been enclosed in a metal mesh on all sides. The dhuni used to be in the open – with a roof – and was a source of joy and solace to devotees. I don’t know what has come over the trustees. I could not see the dhuni at all, could just feel the heat coming off the metal.

We also had a darshan of Lord Hanuman at a shrine near Dwarkamai. We went inside the Hanuman Temple the third day morning as there was no crowd at that point.

All my prayers I managed to complete in the hotel room as it was not possible to pray at the temple.

All in all, an excellent trip with a lovely darshan! Thank you Sai Baba!

Sharing: HERITAGE MUSEUM @ CST

Ceiling of Heritage Building, CST

I had read about the Heritage Tour offered by CST in Mumbai Mirror. The article is probably some months old. From that day I had been planning to go for it and I finally managed to take the tour last week.

CST Building was declared a Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2004

I reached the Heritage Building at 3.10 pm. I got a ticket and was assigned a guide even though I was alone. I felt quite impressed by the service. Kalpana took me to the Railway Museum first and told me all about Great Indian Peninsula Railway (GIPR) that was formed by the British. I was most happy as they let me click pictures.

Engine Model of GIPR

The Railway Museum traces the history of the Indian Railways since GIPR (Great Indian Peninsula Railway) was established in 1844. It houses some drawings by Architect FW Stevens; models of engines from those days; posters of the original board of directors; the huge bell that was used in the beginning to announce the arrival and departure of trains; the hand bell that was used by the guard in those days; number plates that were used; a clock that used to hang at the station and more. There is also a gorgeous model of CST in a glass case.

GIPR

Kalpana took me through all the relics and patiently answered my questions. After completing with the museum, she took me inside the Heritage Building along with three others who had joined us by then.

The original bell that was used to announce arrival & departure of trains

CST used to be called VT. Even before that, in the beginning, the station was called Bori Bunder. The first railway track used to run trains from Bori Bunder to Byculla to Thana. Engines and carriages used to be imported from England via the sea.

Water pots used for serving water - the black one for first class passengers and the brass pot for the 3rd class

Victoria Terminus was constructed in 1888 to house the company headquarters of GIPR. Frederick William Stevens was the architect who designed the building. He has based the design on the Victoria Station in London while adapting Indian architecture including the Mughul influence. I was quite enthralled.

The very first number plate created. It is still used by the toy train at Matheran. Don't miss the first railway timetable

The land for constructing Victoria Terminus was donated to the British by Jagannath Shankar Seth. The building itself took ten years to complete. The building is constructed in the Indian Gothic Style. It has been declared a Heritage Site by UNESCO since 2004.

The impressive entrance to the Heritage Building

All I can say is CST looks gorgeous not just from outside but from inside too. The main dome’s interior is an impressive structure viewed from within. I have added some of the pictures that I clicked of the Terminus which will give one an idea of how it is.

Different sections of the Dining Hall

There are three floors in all – ground, first and second. The ground floor is built in the lines of Neo-Gothic Style; the first floor follows Mughal Architecture and the second floor is influenced by Romans. Impressive, isn’t it!

A stone lion welcomes you!

There is a majestic stone lion sitting on its haunches in the entrance hall near the stairway. He looks so handsome. We went up the wide, curving staircase to the first floor where the Dining Hall is situated. It’s huge and had been built for the staff. Nowadays, it’s maintained for show. There is a large dining table on one side while you will find comfortable sofas on the other. Many carvings of animals are found on the panels while the hall is held up by pillars of Italian marble. What came as a surprise was the toilet facility behind the dining hall. It was quite posh and clean with granite tiles, considering that it is part of an Indian railway station.

Another angle to the dome from within

We walked up to the second floor admiring the arches and ceiling before being guided to another small hall. Modern seating was available here where the tall windows gave us a bird’s eye view of the bustling station. We were served hot tea and biscuits by the CST staff.

The Star Chamber ceiling - the ticket counter is right below

The next stop was at the Star Chamber that houses the ticket booking office of the station. The hall got its name from the ceiling it sports. It used to serve as a resting room for the staff of the British. There is a clock tower above the ticket counter that houses a mechanical clock that is wound up once a week even today.

That lady on top of the dome is called The Statue of Progress

Not bad, I thought before walking down to write in the visitors’ book. A worthy visit indeed!

Different angles to the Heritage Building

The garden in front of CST

Film Review: Goliyon Ki Raasleela: RAM-LEELA

Ranveer-Deepika scorch the screen!

Venkat was not keen to see the film as we are never sure what to expect from Sanjay Leela Bhansali. But Vinny and I were quite impressed by the promos and decided to go. We went for the mid-morning show at PVR in Phoenix Market City on Sunday. The theatre was packed as the film has had consistently good reviews.

THE STORY

The film is loosely based on Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet. It’s set in Gujarat and is all about the enmity between The Rajadis and Sanedas. Ram (Ranveer Singh) is the younger son of the Rajadi house and wishes for peace. It’s love at first sight for him and Leela Saneda (Deepika Padukone), the laadli of the Saneda female head (Supriya Pathak Kapur). Leela’s wedding is fixed with an NRI from London. Only the lady chooses to run away with her lover. Things don’t work out and the two return to their respective families. Anger and battles are interspersed with goliyon ki baarish and people die on both sides. Will their love survive?

MY PERCEPTION

As I mentioned, the story is loosely based on Romeo Juliet – in that it is a tragic love story. In the Shakespeare tragedy, the hero and heroine were immature youngsters. Not so in Ram-Leela.

Both Ram and Leela are extremely mature and know what they are about. The characters were superbly etched and both the actors have played them so well. I have seen Ranveer Singh in Band Baaja Baaraat and Ladies Vs Ricky Bahl. In both films his roles had been light and fun. I was quite impressed by the actor’s dialogue delivery. In Ram-Leela, Ranveer Singh has many opportunities to emote and does he squeeze your heart! He was excellent. He looks so good too! I used to think that he did not have the ‘pizzazz’ to compete with the Bollywood Biggies and I am glad he has proved me wrong. Excellent Performance, Ranveer Singh! Keep up the great work!

Deepika Padukone has slowly but surely grown up from her partying girl avatars to more mature roles. She looks gorgeous and has acted so well. She blazes across the dance floors with Ranveer Singh and their chemistry scorches the screen. Her overnight transformation from a laughing young woman to the serious head of Sanedas when her mother is injured is nothing short of amazing. Superb, Deepika Padukone! Way to go!

Gulshan Devaiah

I just love the riot of colours, the exotic backgrounds and stunning costumes along with the elaborate song and dance sequences of some of Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s films. While not a great fan of the producer-director’s works, I especially loved Devdas. This movie is simply amazing and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

The music and dance was awesome in the film and they fitted so well, not taking away from the story. I did not much care for the violence, but then that was very much part of the story and one cannot do away with it.

All the other actors have also performed very well. A special mention for 2-film-old Gulshan Devaiah and Richa Chadda!

Supriya Pathak Kapur’s performance as the head of Sanedas is striking. She looks the personification of evil and does an amazing job of her role. Kudos!

VERDICT: It most definitely worth a see!

RATING: ****Snazzy

* Silly
** Shaky
*** Smart
**** Snazzy
***** Super