Life Lessons from Tanu Weds Manu Returns

Pic Courtesy: Google Images / zingtv.in

Last evening I saw this movie 'Tanu Weds Manu Returns". Kangana Ranaut is outstanding, Outstanding is a very small word to describe her performance. A new hero is born, The hero is Kangana

This is not a movie review post, its something that the movie gave lessons about, just a few dialogues say a lot

1. "Weekdays pe 4 kabootar, 4 racoon k alava kuch nahi hota"
Seriously, that's true, You live in a foreign country, your husband goes away to work. You don't have family there. There is this timezone difference, when you are awake, your family and friends here are asleep. You can't get a job easily. You don't have a maid, a iron guy, a milkman, a car wash guy so you do everything on your own. Your have been there long and have gone to most of the nearby places.
Nothing else to do except for everyday monotony. Its bound to make an person irritable and nagging
People may show a rosy picture of the country on Facebook, but reality might be different

2. 'chaar saal mei 1st year acha tha, fir ye aadmi apna asli rang dikhane laga"
First year of marriage is always the best, happy, fun, roaming, lots of sex, regularly eating out, weekly movies. But, later, say after 2-3-4 years there are kids, a new house, its EMI's, parents to take care of, a career to take care of
I don't say that the fun part goes out of the window, but it does reduce.
Expecting the same things that you had during the honeymoon phase or courtship phase is dumb

This movie also shows many other things,

1. Love is the base of any relationship.
Every relationships have fights. The trick is to come to a conclusion in those fights. Prolonging those fights doesn't take you anywhere. Fight. Talk, Shout. End and never speak about it again

2. Marriage counselors are not bad news
Getting married is no big deal, staying married requires effort.
If the couple, can't sort issues by themselves, its not wrong to consult a marriage counselor.
Its just like, you fall sick, you self medicate, you don't get alright and you visit a doctor

3. Never change yourself after marriage
Your partner married you knowing exactly what you are. They love you for what you are and not what you have turned into.
Tanu becomes this lone girl after marriage whereas she is this bubbly, chirpy girl before her marriage and she become one as soon as she comes back.

4. Communicate
Many relationships fall apart because of misunderstandings.
Talk to your partner,
"I am angry I wont talk"
 "let him / her come and talk"
 'Why should I go first, is his fault"
No, relationships don't work that way.
Ego and love cannot go well together, burst that ego bubble, talk it out and sort it out else some third person will come in and create a mess of your relation
Eg: This Chintu guy, sends a divorce notice without Tanu's consent and Tanu didn't call and clarify to Manu on it

5. As far as possible, sort issues between yourself before involving a third party or another family member
After Manu is pushed in the mental hospital, Tanu could have gone there are bailed him out instead of calling his friend to London
Manu might have been angry for a while, but later he would realize that Tanu got him out of that hospital because she loves him

6. Keep your friends close 
At the time of crisis, Tanu's ex-boyfriend now-friend Raja was her biggest support. Your friends will have your back even after you being a real ass with them

7. Test tube baby is not a sin
in today's world, with all the stress involved, the health might take a toll and there might be various reasons to not conceiving naturally.
Its not wrong to take medical help to have a baby.

8. Rebound is bad news
Just because you had a massive showdown with your spouse doesn't mean you rush into another relationship as a revenge. Its not just wrong to your spouse, its wrong for the person whom you have a relationship too.

9. Parents want the best for their kids.
Manu's mom shouts ar Tanu for leaving him in a mental hospital
Any mom would, its obvious. Her baby is in trouble.
You break an egg on your brother's head, its obvious your mom is going to give you a long lecture for half a day, till you go and hug her.

10. Not all in-laws are monsters
Manu's mom and dad, support Tanu all the while. They shout at her but still care for their daughter-in-law

11. Love cant be forced
This guy Manu's friend goes all the way to Punjab for the girl he loves, who simply says that she sees him only as a friend. He tries to even kidnap her, but even after all this she did not love him.
Love cant be forced, it just happens

12. Love conquers all
Love hurts
Love brings happiness
Love brings tears
Love in the end makes everything alright

So that's all folks!

My version of the movie Raanjhanaa

Raanjha: A man who sacrificed the world for his love Heer

People who have seen Raanjhanaa, God Bless..
People who haven't seen Raanjhanaa Lucky you, You are already blessed!!

This movie Raanjhanaa has Sonam Kappor, Dhanush, Abhay Deol, Dhanush's bestie, and a girl, Bindya who is crazy about Dhanush.

This guy Kundan (Dhanush) is a crazy ass "lover" of  Zoya (Sonam Kapoor) from the time he is like 10.
He proposes her a million times when they are in school. Threatens a "yes" from her by slitting his wrist in the rickshaw in school-going age... Stalker personality personified

She is sent away from her village to Delhi and comes back after 8 years. She has gotten over a silly childhood joke of a bf and doesnt remember a thing about him until he starts mentally torturing her by popping up anywhere and everywhere. Zoya rejects him on the pretext of religion him being a Hindu and her being a Muslim.

Height of nut-caseness is when he uses, this girl who is crazy about him, Bindya to click obsene pictures with a prospective groom who comes to see Zoya for breaking the alliance, thinking that this might get Zoya to him.

When Zoya tells him that she is in love with another guy (Abhay Deol-Jaljeet/Akram) who is into politic thingies in her Delhi college. This crazy-ass dude, tried to drown her in the Ganga with his "Bajaj Chetak".

Out of persistence of his lady love, he tries to reunite the couple by sweet talking her professor father into Zoya marrying her boyfriend.
And out of revenge for  rejecting him, the "heart-broken" Kundan asks Bindya to marry him on the same day as Zoya's wedding and in real gives a rats ass about his would-be bride's feelings.
Bindya is ecstatic because she has been in love with Kundan ever since eternity.

On their wedding day, he sees that in a newspaper Zoya had lied to him and her family that her boyfriend is a Muslim, when the truth was the guy is a Hindu.
Impulsively, he drives to her house and sabotages her wedding. Knowing this villagers beat Zoya's boyfriend to death..
Kundan doesnt reach his own wedding venue, Infact he forgets about his wedding and ruins Bindya's life.

Pleading guilty, Kundan takes Zoya to her boyfriend's house in Punjab, where its revealed that her boyfriend died due to the beating.
Heartbroken Zoya, flees to Delhi to fulfill her boyfriend's political dreams..
Obssessive Kundan, lands to Delhi again to steal the limelight with his street-smart dialogs.

A rival political party is kinda shaken up with the student party and the woman CM comes to "negotiate" with Zoya, her being the party leader.
She asks Zoya to get Kundan shot in a big rally.

One of the police guys, who is in good rapport with Kundan, informs him about the blast that is to happen in the rally. Still, the "lover" Kundan goes to the rally on the insistence of his "lady love" and gets shot an ddies

Life ruined,
Zoya
Jaljeet/Akram
Bindya
Kunda's priest father
Prospective Groom guy

In this whole bird brain plot, what exactly makes him Raanjhanaa (Raanjha).

This movie promotes stalking, obsessive lover traits, wrist cutting and threatening, using friends for your advantage, idiotic impulsiveness
and still this movie has got like 3 and a half stars.

Raanjhanaa Summary: First half supposedly smitten and romantic. Second Half politics

Most spectacular watch - "Life of Pi"

Spoiler alert

This book is in my to read list from long. I couldn't read it till date. I was just thinking to grab the book and start reading that the movie released on Nov23rd . Produced and directed by Anglee and based on the novel by Yann Martel the movie has already got showers of appreciation. The visuals are sheer brilliant. I cannot analyse the movie technically but what I can say in short is “Every one was awestruck by the visuals and didn't turn their heads in the fear of missing the beauty on screen” .All have started comparing this to Avatar saying it well deserves an Oscar! I can’t disagree. The visuals were spell bounding. Director Anglee used the 3D technology intelligently and shrewdly grabbing audience’s attention. The CGI tiger Richard parker which actually didn’t exist amused me a lot. Anglee who made crouching tiger, hidden dragon proved that he will continue enchanting the viewers! The boy who plays the 16yr old pi patel deserves a round of applause for his flawless rendition. Irfan Khan does what he has to . He being the old pi narrates his own story to a visitor who wants to write the book. Adil Hussain and Tabu who played Pi’s parents were a south Indian couple who were natural to the core and made a lovely duo though they played a short lived role.

If you read the book well and good. If you haven’t and don’t want to know the story before you watch give this a miss .I will have to narrate few bits here as I cannot exclaim at the marveling experience I had while watching the movie without revealing the story. The movie starts with Irfan khan narrating the story from the start to the man who visits. Irfan’s Mamaji suggests the name Piscine Molitor  Patel to our Pi which actually is the name of a famous swimming pool in Paris. The name pisses off our young Patel as he gets teased by every one at school who shout “pissing” at him. This role was played by  Ayush Tandon (age : 11) . A boy who is a deep thinker , reads a lot and analyses each and every aspect he comes across.That is the reason he wants to understand and follow good aspects of every religion. He was born Hindu but follows Christianity and Islam as well in contrary to his dad who is a staunch non believer . Tabu plays the role of a sweet mom who gives enough freedom to kids to think and believe. 

Young and Dynamic Suraj Sharma- 16yr old

Adil Hussain aka Santosh patel is a zoo keeper and hence they have wide range of animals when they decide to move to Canada as they feel there is no future in Pondicherry. The 16 year old Pi Patel played by Suraj Sharma enters the screen when the actual movie starts . He falls in love with a dancer Anandi but has to leave her when they decide to sail to Canada !Few dialogues do impact you a lot and the emotions are so clearly displayed like the blue serene water of the sea.

Irfan says to the visitor played by Rafe Spall that he remembers every thing from that evening he met Anandi, the promises and all but he doesn’t remember bading a good bye! I  was touched here :)

The real story starts in ship after the scene where a  rude  cook refuses giving them vegetarian food and they shout and fight and a severe storm hits the ship which leads to wreckage and the only survivor in the life boat is Pi along with Richard Parker (the tiger) , a Zebra , Hyena and a Orangutan by name Orange juice! A tear came to my eye when Pi asks  Orange juice “where are your kids?” the parent Orangutan looks at sea as if giving him answer that they are in the belly of merciless sea! This is the most touching scene to me.

The whole story revolves around Pi’s struggle to survive , to save himself from the Bengal tiger and also to try and tame him or at least act so in order to create a dummy zoo atmosphere. I loved the way the boy acted so intensely. He feels happy that he is not alone and simultaneously is scared as there is a permanent threat of tiger relishing the skinny vegetarian boy! Hence he stays in a safe distance.  

Trying to tame the tiger

In the life boat Pi keeps himself occupied by jotting down all his experiences with a pencil. There is a scene where there are millions of flying fish soaring just above them . I must say this is the most brilliant shot of the movie. 3D just made it more magical. My jaw dropped looking at how the serene sea can become violent too; the beautiful waves can be haunting and life taking too. If titanic was one spine chilling kind of experience this movie also leads to a similar feeling but there’s a ray of hope as the boy is not dying even after he lost his family ! 

Richard Parker is one more marvel in the movie. I absolutely loved this tiger and his natural expressions. It feels bad when the ferocious tiger becomes weak, lean and keeps gazing at the sky as if accepting the fate. The starry nights , the clear blue sea water, the camera showing underwater and the life boat and even sky from there ,stormy waves and the mysterious island where Pi finds thousands of meerkats and discovers that the algae are carnivorous  with a human tooth like thing inside the fruit is all unbelievable and heavenly. The visual effects prove that the movie has a good chance to bag an Oscar !

By the time life boat reaches shores of Mexico Pi is starving, bony and feels more devastated as Richard Parker escapes in to jungle without at least looking back at him. Folks from the Japanese freighter company don’t believe the eye witness story of Pi, so he tells them a different one in great detail with humans on the lifeboat instead of animals , but the visitor feels the initial story with animals was the best among both. The ending could have been much better. I felt slightly bored when Pi narrates the alternate story to Japanese. It was ambiguous. You may understand if you read the book. The fighter Pi cries profusely at the loss of Richard Parker. I kind of disliked this aspect. Being a great fighter he could have fought back the tears . Pi’s spirituality and belief in various gods and  the way he survives remembering each god ,  the way this aspect was dug deep in the book is not done in the movie.

Pi on the bio luminescent sea under the starry sky!!

Nevertheless this one is the most spectacular watch of  this year and for sure a visual treat. I can use many more adjectives like surreal, mystic, and magnificent to describe the movie and bravo to the director and the team .I am dying to read the book now :)