2 great movies over the weekend

Saw 2 brilliantly made world- movies as part of our STI curriculum.
Both were so good it depressed me to think how far away bollywood movies are from
even the most liberal meanings of the word 'quality'.
But they weren't just world movies.They transcended all barriers of language, nationality and politics to dish out a most honest ,true and heartfelt experience
to their viewers.It's a experience I would recommend you not to miss.

All about my mother:




Now how to describe this !!

First of all it's a spanish film and has almost no male characters.
Protoganist is a mother who loses her teenage son to death and embarks on the
journey to find the boy's father.
After the span of almost 16 years she comes face to face with her past which is so abnormal that she hadn't even told her son about it when he was alive.
Imagine any sensitive taboo social issue that comes to your mind and you will find a
reference to it in this movie - organ transplantation , trans-sexuality, homo-sexuality
,AIDS,drugs etc and the list never seem to end.
You would imagine this would be a sad and depressing movie.
Instead I found it to be one of the best movie-watching experiences ever.
In the end I was feeling good about myself and the worldd around me.
In words of Mathew sir ; It takes all these issues and spin it in away
that they appear normal to us by the time the movie ends.
Series of quirky characters thrown in good measures but no stereo-typing
towards any of it.All the characters are compassionately etched out ;as if straight from real life.
I liked how the director manages to widen our maturity and sensitivity to these issues.
Its a breezy and colorful film which never forgets its primary aim to entertain the people.An amazing background score and unbelievable acting by the leads make this movie
a rare kind of satisfying and soulful experience.
In the end you find yourself cheering loudly; not just for the movie but also for the beauty of life.


Grave of the fireflies:




Undoubetedly this Japanese film made in 1988 is the one of the greatest anti-war
films ever made.
It is such a powerful and intense emotional experience that you would find it
difficult to control your tears every now and then.

The story is simple but sadly a real-life story based on a novel.
It's about the life of a teenage brother and a toddler sister who are trying to survive in war-torn Japan during WW II.
The incessant air-raids , unavailability of food ,constant grief due to death
of near and dear ones and the impossibility to survive in this cruel world when
nobody cares about your family except you is basically the premise of the film.
It's also a story of guilt so haunting that his entire life the writer of the novel
; lived a troubled life.
The novel is his tribute to his little sister whom ultimately he couldn'nt save.

And this movie isn't really about war; it's almost totally a personal experience
about innocent lives deeply affected by the war.
Ruthlessly gut-wrenching, unpolitical and devastating; this movie will stay with you for a long time.And though this is an anime, it's too disturbing to be recommended for children.
You might find it similar to 'Diary of Anne Frank' in terms of its message.

21 Aug 2010 - Foundation day

It was our insti's foundation day today.
Padmabushan Dr .J.J Irani, the director of Tata Sons, was invited to grace the occassion with his presence.
We were called by 9.45 am for the function which we did.Came early and occupied the front seats.But the 'show' started only at 10.30 am.
Pcom had reiterated that nobody would ask any questions except their own volunteers.
It was a short but very inspiring session.
To be in a presence of this very singular personality of 84 years which has been instrumental in developing India's industrial spectrum for more than 4 decades was an other-wordly experience.
It was almost like talking to India herself.
He closely resembled the image we all could only imagine becoming.
A self-satisfied,fulfilled and successful business personality whose organisation had whole-heartedly linked its own growth with that of the country's growth.
A person whose values we all came to adore in a short span of 45 minutes.
He spoke simply about the core values that constitutes a person and the importance of ethicality in organisation's business practices.
He told us 3 things
1.You do business by rules even if your competitor does not.
After 100 years you would survive but not your competitor.
2.We cannot solve world's problems by the same level of thinking that created it in the first place - Albert Einstein.
So he wanted to catch people young and create habit of independent thinking.
which Tatas have actively been part of in Bihar and other areas.
3. Perception and reality
Co-existence of people with different beliefs and priciples is possible,but we must learn not to compromise with our principles.
He gave an example of Lalu Prasad Yadav,then chief minister of Bihar in 1990's.
Tatas wanted to set their plant in Bihar.
When Mr Irani met Yadav all he said was that
'Tatas will continue as an organization even when I am gone.
Similarly Bihar will continue to be a state even when you are gone.
So we have a responsibility.
Tatas won't spend a rupee on bribing but if there is anything that is required
society wise we would be oblidged to do it.Like cleaning Patna ,digging wells etc'
And in these 20 years he never made an improper demand to the Tatas.
Cos he knows what can be garnered from whom.


He also said that there is nothing wrong with our mindset-India's mindset though we need to change it somewhat.
Foreign values was forced on us for many generations which has led to the current problems.
He expressed his confidence in India's entreprenurs but not in politicians.
When both are good,that's the ideal condition.
The coming century belongs to India as per him.
He also spoke about important issues like the climate change and
how if proper steps not taken now ,it would lead to disaster in 50 years.
He mentioned the reply of Tony Blair when he asked a query pertaining this to
him ' This is inconvenient from point of view of getting votes' was what he had said.

Mr Irani spoke many many things .Candid Pearls of wisdom.
Lastly he promised us to come back to IIMK and also to recruit people for
TAS.
One sentence particularly got me interested though
'If you want to be a billionaire don't come to us.
But if you want to be fulfilled ,have job-satisfation in your work and help the country
along the way ; do come to us'

a True sage of Indian industrial arena! last of its kind !

Oh yes btw had a delicious Onam special lunch on banana leaf in the afternoon..
which led to a dark slumber and eventual missing of the STI class in evening..

Looking forward to the screening of STI movie @ 9.30...
brilliant world movies they are .. bye for now

Friday - Departures

Today's friday 20th of Aug 2010.Alhad's b'day.Wished him on facebook.
had 5 lectures today.MANAC quiz was expected and predicted by lots of people.
Thankfully when we checked at 12'0 clk in the afternoon,It didn't happen.
Day began with MC.
3 ppt's back to back.
Asked some kick-ass q's after the ppt.
Farzi lecture the sare aaj ..
3 days holidays now,owing to Onam on Monday.
Thot i wud go to the library and study all night.
Lolzz.. shud know myself better by now!!
didnt even open the book till yet ..
Looks this end-term is goin to be a roller-coaster ride just like the MT.
when m i goin to be sincere again ?.

Ok.lets talk about the subject used for today.
Today all our seniors leavin for home as their exams got done
and the term ended.
So did some of my batch-mates who could afford flight tickets.
Really had to stretch my lazy back-bone to meet our i-bok
and kmic mentors before they left for home.
All they told us to do was analyse data properly and rigorously.
It's the day of departures n the juniors in campus are boozing their asses off in
silent upper-floor corridors.
will go up in sometime to check their status.bewde sale !!

STI

Had a great class of STI today .
People got all mushy over issues like separate state, language and even the film. I thot it conflicted with their beliefs and values..was interesting to see how they think n justify it..
But the point is that people believe in something and they are proud about it(cos its impossible to live without believing in any philosophy.. think about it) ..it maybe fundamentalism,nationalism ,regionalism or any such -isms..
Whether it'...s right and wrong is beyond nebody's judgement and any such judgement is beyond fairness.
All conflicts arise when someone tries to negate or belittle these beliefs.It is like negating the very core of these groups we are part of.Diversity acceptance was supposed to be our survival instinct, but as of now it's our biggest barrier... Mathew Sir rockk though.. to disagree with somebody was never this interesting .. I guess we are finally transforming :)