Hush Mush...

Like an old photograph...

Tucked in a book,

Away from the prying eyes of the world,

You were my secret

And my scandal too,

Tucked in deep recesses of my heart.

Damn that morning,

When your enticing smile held my little finger...

And I tailed behind,

Following your ensnaring charm

I let you in,

To a secret place...

Where no one has ever been allowed,

Including myself;

my deepest darkest fears

my insecurities

my dreams.

You could see the halo

And the horns.

I stood stark naked,

In my full suit.

Stripped of any pretence,

Baring my soul.

You spoke about your multiple affairs...

You were my only one...

I smiled thinking...

I added another adventurous story

To your long list of 'charming men'. 

I smiled harder

Wondering if you found me charming?

Or if ours was an affair...

Or something remotely close

I realized I just stupidly complimented myself.

My curious little fingers...

Keyed into the maze of your wet tresses,

Sometimes slipping...sometimes entangled...

My palms cupped your gorgeous face,

My nose rubbing your nose pin...

Your soft skin turned red

Under my grip

Or was that acne?

A result of exciting thoughts?

Thoughts of you and me...

Part romantic, part kinky...

You smiled.

But your eyes didn't.

Those small little notorious marbles

Luminous yet so opaque...

Intriguing and misleading,

Damn those guarded holes...

Never letting a peek into your soul.

Your intoxicating kiss

That smelled of scotch

Got me addictive too...

To life!!

Mary Kom

Mary kom

Rating- 2.5 stars

Last time Sanjay Leela Bhansali cast Priyanka Chopra in a film, she swayed and swung like a ribbon and sexily buttoned up her shirt. From gorgeous to grit, from sensuous to scars, Priyanka Chopra takes a full U turn and plays the titular role in the much talked about biopic Mary Kom.

On one hand it’s a good thing that filmmakers are trying to put these inspiring stories on celluloid, but soon they lose the plot in an effort to make them commercially viable.

Mangte Chungneijang Mary Kom is a poor farmer’s daughter with a collective temperament of a Sunny Deol and a Dolly Bindra. She has to or else how do you justify her choice of sports. See you can’t be a female boxer till you bash boys up and pick up fights on a daily basis. Fortunately the town coach (Narjit-human-angry-bird-Singh) channelizes her anger by training her and before you know (or her father) she is already the state champion. Then? Then nothing we move from one thunderous victory to another because the writer (Saiwyn Qadras) was either underpaid or felt lazy and decided to juxtapose Mary’s boxing matches back to back and clumsily string then all to make a very patchy first half of the movie.

It’s almost a gold mine for writers to deal with the story of an underdog who is a girl and is from Manipur. Alas they take the beaten path. Besides financial, social and political hardships they manipulate audiences by packing a few sexist and racist angles and then finally show the protagonist rise above and against all odds; a run on the mountains, pushups on some river, and pull-ups on trees and give the gym dodgers like us the guilt of a lifetime.

There is also a love story which is as simplistic as the movie. The boy meets the girl, is impressed, proposes to her as they down gol gappas together (awww how real) and the girl says yes because he is ‘cool’ with her boxing and 'permits' her to play even after their marriage.
Though Darshan Kumar plays Onler, Mary’s husband well who genuinely supports her and persuades her to follow her ring dreams after she has delivered her twin sons. This was one of the most heartwarming parts of the film and hopefully would bring the much required change in the man-wife relationship amongst Indian couples.

The film shows Mary Kom’s real struggles; like a pair of torn tattered shoes during her practice (awww so sad!) Once she is not even recognized by a young girl who claims to be her big fan. (Chi what kind of a fan is she, hmph?) Not only this, Mary’s labor lasted for hours till the doctors finally decided to go for a Caesarean section, the kind of struggle that err a lot of the women face worldwide. It’s this simplistic narrative that trivializes the inspiring sportsperson’s story and her real struggle.

The climax, like most of the film lacked a convincing crisis and hence it failed to inspire. I wonder how much the ending of the film was fictionalized because it showed Mary struggling against an unforgiving German boxer in the ring as she fought a grave battle on the personal front. Hence you have the obvious montages of shots from her personal and professional life (like in Bhag Milkha Bhag) and ending into a national anthem to ensure that you wake up and stand if you have fallen asleep.

Priyanka-I-am-sure-getting-either-a-national-award-or-Padma-Shree-if-not-Bhushan-Chopra is herself. She is ‘ACTING’ which includes giggling, sulking, getting angry, looking serious, and trying her best to show she is portraying the second most important role of her life, of course after Babli Badmash! She clearly has trained hard to come close to Mary's physicality but doesn't quite own her life. She mixes her 'f' and 'ph' in name of getting the diction right. Expect a lot of 'Ph'ocus 'ph'acility abd 'ph'orce in the film that soon started to irritate me.
Also there is no mention of Mary's fears, flaws or insecurities. The struggle is mostly external. It hence establishes her as an angry 'ph'ighter but without an inner conflict this making the story a tad uninspiring.

The good thing is that the popularity of a superstar like Priyanka Chopra will sell draw audiences to theaters, inspire young girls to follow their dreams, put Manipur on the Indian map and sensitize many towards people from the North East and that will be the biggest achievement of the film.

There are a few well written lines by Karan Singh Rathore like; “Pehle medals ke liye zindagi ko dau pe lagao, phir zindagi ke liye medals ko dau pe lagao” highlighting how badly our national sports heroes are treated.

So what’s the final verdict you ask? Is Mary Kom a bad film?
Certainly not, but it isn’t a great film either. I only wish it was less pretentious.

I definitely rooted for Mary Kom but not as much as I did for Kabir and his vanar sena in Chak De India.

This is my weekly movie review for www.masala.com 

Won the Masala! award for the Best RJ and Best TV presenter in the UAE!

After winning the Masala! award in the BEST UAE RJ category, Lekha, the editor at Masala! asked what the award meant to me. I didn't have a quick answer then. I guess I have NOW.

I have never received 321 messages on facebook in a span of four hours ever. When I saw that number, my jaws disowned my mouth and my eyes its sockets. I have never ever felt so loved and so appreciated! All thanks to my awesome awesome job at the world’s BIGGEST BOLLYWOOD radio station- CITY 1016.

Last 24 hours have been a roller coaster in every sense of the word; physically, professionally and emotionally.

Thursday, 28^th November was a much awaited day and a long one at that. Much awaited as it was the day when they announced the much anticipated Masala! Awards here in Dubai and I was nominated in two categories- best RJ and best TV presenter.

I woke up early, read up a bit on the movie I had to review- Bullet Raja, rushed to watch the first day first show and straight to work. I drafted the review, quickly posted online, prepared for my radio show, skipped breakfast, lunch and realized it was already 7 pm and I had not had a morsel.

At work we breezily talked about the awards ahead in the day. Tia Singh Khanna, the awesome human being that she is said-

“You truly deserve the award Loki because there is no other RJ who has made a mark in the last few years. The award belongs to you.” It’s this kind of encouragement in the team that makes City the BEST radio station to work at.

My boss sent me a message too wishing me luck and congratulating me on the success of the show and reassuring that we are the best radio station, trying our best, with or without an award. FOR ME, that was the BIGGEST award ever. Fiona Ann Munro- YOU ARE THE SWEETEST EVER!!!

Finishing work I reached home to head straight to the salon; haircut, shave, spike, all checked, I came back home, got ready for the Masala! awards! I was so hungry I could eat a horse. I quickly downed a couple of protein bars and zipped my way to Madinat Jumeirah.

In my exact 7 minutes of drive, my phone buzzed nonstop. Calls and all the best messages poured in like crazy; including a very heartfelt message from Sandeep from Indian High School and Parikshit, an ex RJ on Suno 1024. It’s always so nice to hear from competition. Just goes on to show how comfortable you are in your skin to wish your kin good luck. Parikshit respect bro!

The function started, met a few new people, the radio fraternity, friends from different walks of life. It’s always fun to meet a few people. Lekha the feature editor at a lifestyle magazine, Masala! is a great friend and looked gorgeous in her evening gown, scurried around, organizing things and attending everyone. Manju (the editor at Filmfare Middle east) and Gopika (the music manager at City 1016) were running slightly late and I felt home instantly when they both arrived. Varoin Marwah, an ace designer from Dubai is a gem, always so humble and grounded. He came looking for me, wishing me luck for my nomination. It really touched me how we both have met only at social occasions and how he felt it important to come and wish me personally.
Then there were RJs from Radio Mirchi, sweet and grounded. We all wished each other for the awards and watched the rest of the show.

Then came the time for the big announcement, the moment of truth-

“The Masala for the best Asian RJ goes to”…my heartbeat was running at an express speed, so loud I could almost hear it. I feared my heart would tear the ribcage!

Inhale.

Stop breathing.

“Lokesh XXL from City 1016”

Exhale.

There was an almost black out. I froze for a moment. I was hell hoping to win the award but unsure if I would. I hugged the team and rushed towards the stage, trying to draft an acceptance speech.

There were no mikes available for winners, hence no acceptance speeches. I was adamant. I asked for the mike. They didn’t have. I insisted. They didn’t budge. I was stubborn and resolved not to leave the stage till I spoke. I had many to THANK. I finally got a mike and this is what I said-

“This is my first year that I have been nominated for Masala! awards in Best RJ category and to win it right in the first year makes it even more special. Since this is popular choice award, a big thanks to the rock star listeners of City 1016. I have been in the industry for almost half my life, gosh that makes me sound so old, err…I started pretty early in life, at 12, err 14! But jokes aside I have worked in a lot of radio stations but never seen such loyal listenership. Thanks to all the listeners who voted for me and made me win this award.

Big thank you to my family; mom, dad, bhai, di. Thanks to my family at work. Somantra, the sales head and his rugby team, his sales team, aggressive and so competent.

Marketing mavericks- Mathew, Arpan, Vivek and Reema, love you all.

And the programming team- MY FAMILY in Dubai- Malu, Sid, Karish, Tia, Ro, Megs, tarun, Olly, Sujit, Govind and Gopika and our very round, very pregnant boss- Fiona. You guys make work so much fun!!

Big thanks to Masala as well. Thanks a lot!!”

I celebrated thanks giving for those two minutes, without realizing thanksgiving had just started. Wishes poured in from all sides, phone buzzed incessantly. I tried handling it all; clicking pics with peers and receiving congratulatory messages and missing a hundred calls in between.

Five minutes later they announced the best TV presenter award- City 1016 RJs for City Dil Se. My joys knew no bound. I jumped like a crazy kid. It was a DOUBLE WHAMMY! Two awards in one night, one for radio and the other for our FIRST ever attempt on TV!

Being on TV was a dream come true, winning an award as the best TV presenter was a cherry on the cake.

I came back home and checked my facebook. 321 messages. I was taken aback. I decided to reply to each and every message and comment and post personally (still AM), in between returning all the calls and replying to all messages that I had missed earlier on. It took me a couple of hours. Before I was about to hit the sack at around 3 am, my phone buzzed again. Neil from Radio 4 called up. The genuineness in his voice, the joy in his wishes was overwhelming.  In the meantime Prince from Radio 4 again had commented and congratulated on my picture on facebook where I flaunted my trophy! An award, a victory had brought the fraternity together. It felt so so SO NICE.

Sleep was not an option that night. The phone buzzed every fifteen minutes even at the wee hours of the morning. And then the calls started coming in. Bhai called up at around 6 in the morning. I was OBVIOUSLY awake. I answered and he had got mom and didi on conference from Delhi. The family wished me and we spoke for good half an hour or so. My brother had never sounded SOOO HAPPY. He spoke with an enthusiasm of a five year old. He wanted to catch a flight or have me catch one and be with the family. He is the sweetest brother ever. I had missed dad and mom like crazy at the award function. Mom could have been there, she could bask in the glory, see her son receive his first award ever. She had always dreamt of it. I so wished she was around.

Also spoke to my bestestest friend Neelu who was more excited than me. She hugged me for an hour on skype!! Neeraj and Mona masi called up too from India. I felt so loved and so special. Paran's (a dear friend) message and his call made my day too.

During the day Meliha a very sweet friend (who now works as a news presenter on Radio Mirchi) called up to congratulate. She spoke through her relentless coughing, all genuinely excited. What she said broke my heart. She said-

“There is no one better Loki who deserves this award but you. I screamed so hard when you won that the nominated RJs at Mirchi gave me that-are-you-rooting-for-us-or-him-stare? You are an amazing person Lokesh and God bless you.” I was driving at that time at 140 on Sheikh Zayed road. The emotions or the speed or both would have killed me. And it will be a perfect death- like Keats says in one of his poems- on a high! Meliha, crushing hugs to you (despite your cold that could pass me all your bugs!)

I spent most of the day attending and personally replying to thousands of messages and comments that came from listeners and friends from all over. Friends I have not spoken to in a donkey’s years touched base to congratulate.

This award MEANS so MUCH to me- a childhood dream come true. I had practiced and given so many speeches in chilly January mornings after watching Oscars. I would go on terrace, hold a broom or something and unabashedly thank the world for my award. Masala! is my Oscars in my field, a pat on my back for the hard work on my show (Yes I am shameless to admit I work damn hard on my show), a reminder of listeners’ love and support and most of all a beautiful REUNION.

Reunion of the family back home on the phone.
Reunion of school/college friends who felt proud at my achievement.
Reunion of thousands who listen in to my show everyday. I don’t call them fan, they are my friends on the other side of the mike who show selfless love and deserve my love right back!
And a heartwarming reunion of radio peers. We might be cut throat competitive but humble enough to applaud at others’ victories.

-Touched and MOST HUMBLED!!  

Creepy Ass Two sentences stories

      Thought of some creepy short stories. Here are a few of them-

       #Possessed 

       

       1.  I sensed someone was in the room, either on the couch or in the kitchen. I groped in the darkness, switched on the lights. I didn't see anyone till I asked and suddenly my voice squealed like a woman-

“Who’s there?”

#BornDevil 

2.       She was born all cute. I breast fed her. She didn't suck. She bit. 

#Call

3.  I was stranded on a lonely road at midnight. Tried calling my friends. Damn my phone’s battery had died. And suddenly it rang. 

#Return

4. I cried uncontrollably at her funeral. I updated my facebook- RIP Pooja. She was the first one to like it. 

5. She called up to give the sad news …of her demise.

#EvilGrin 

6.  I was at the art gallery, admiring the portrait of Rajeev Gandhi, feeling sad about his brutal assassination and quipped- ‘that must have been painful.’ He frowned back- ‘Very.’

      #Help

      7. I couldn't find my size in a pile of clothes at 70% sale at a store. I dug my hand into the huge basket of tee shirts, flapped a few around and suddenly found one- a hand passing me on the right size. 

      

      #High

      8. The lift took me to the 54^th floor in a building that had 30. 

Shudh Desi Romance

Been wanting to write about SDR, damn these old lazy complacent bones.

I was excited yet skeptical to watch the film because of a few names.

    a ) Jaidepp Sahni (Chak De India, Khosla ka Ghosla and Rocket Singh fame) {But he had also written Aja Nachle, so I was not very sure. I gave him the benefit of doubt, 3 good films vs 1 bad film, also the big producers must have bullied him to write Aaja Nachle for Madhuri’s comeback.) I was ready to take a chance.

           b) Man’ee’sh Sharma- I hated him initially. On one hormonal day, I travelled from Sharjah to Bur Dubai, spent full hundred dhirams on travel, tickets, cola and popcorn to feast my eyes on Celina Jaitley as she locks lips with Emran Hashmi in Sharma’s (Man’i’sh then) directorial debut- Jawani Deewani, only to see jerkily edited scenes as they were ruthlessly chopped for UAE screening. I could never forgive him for that disaster till he redeemed himself with Band Baja Baraat.
      
           c) Sushant Singh Rajput- I was curious to know how he fared in his second film, as I always feel the second film is your litmus test.

           d) Parineeti Chopra- her repertoire of films shows how versatile she is really. Gutsy bubbly girl in Ladies Vs Ricky Bahl, gutsy bubbly girl in Ishaqzade and guess what- gutsy bubbly girl in Shudh Desi Romance. (I am hoping sarcasm is not wasted here on some people.) In her defense she is quite a natural on screen though.

         e) Vani Kapoor- the leggy lass who lavishly locked lips in her debut, damn the edited screening here in the UAE, yet again, showed promise.

Things that work for me.

                a) Concept- It took almost eight years and many a films for the biggest production house in the country,YRF, to learn that there can be live in relationship stories in the heart of our country too.  We don’t have to travel all the way to Australia to have a doctor girl live in with a restaurateur (read Salaam Namaste). It is such a refreshing change to see the story shift its base from the foreign Blue Mountains to our very own Blue city (ok agreed major parts of the film are shot in the Pink City!)

   Not only the characters seem chilled with the live in relationship, the so called small town conservative Indian society too seems to accept it largely. And that is sheer progress for me- Not the concept of live in relationship but not to be judgmental about it, to accept people as they are and not question their sensibilities, their decisions about marriage and sex is a sign of maturity and evolution for me.

And that brings me to the owner of Goyal caterers in the film and the other performances.

            b) Rishi Kapoor- Goyal could be inwardly shocked and in disagreement about the youth’s idea of love but at no point in the film he seems to preach or judge. He is the cute adorable elderly Rajasthani gentleman who is ready to lend a patient ear to the youngsters, hear them out and finally pack in a quite a punch with his advice in some subtle yet sharp witted dialogues- patloon ka paplu bada nachata hain. Rishi Kapoor has finally started acting (Do dooni chaar, Agneepath, D Day) in his second innings. In his first innings he just wore pastel shade sweaters and danced around trees.

            c) Sushant Singh Rajput- Dibakar Banerkee before signing him up for Vyomkesh Bakshi said “he is the only actor to emerge from the latest crop of stars we have.” I concur completely. Someone who has Irrfan Khan and Nawazudin Siddique as his favorites can barely go wrong. Raghu is your typical small town boy, cheeky confident yet unsure and Sushant plays it with conviction and ease.

           d) Parineeti as always is comfortable in front of the camera and plays her part well.

e
            e) Vani Kapoor – A new actor is usually awkward- (Imran Khan in JTYJN, Ranbir in Sawariyan and Kajol in Bekhudi. It took a DDLJ for her to show her calm, mature side as an actor, in sharp contrast to her rather screaming debut in Bekhudi

New comers are either too chatty/screechy or too shy. Vani is none. She is calm and composed not only in the movie but in her interviews too. She exudes immense confidence for her debut.

   
             f) Music- It’s almost uncomforting for me to admit I like Sachin Jigar as much as I like Amit Trivedi if not mo re. There you go- I said it! ON RECORD!! I never thought I could like anyone as much as Amit Trivedi but Sachin Jigar have convinced me to fall in love with them all OVER AGAIN! They have been pulling out a new trick with every film they do. If char baj gaye in Faltu was your ‘clubby-let’s-go-on-a-drive-with-friends’ song, Saibo in Shor in the City was in sharp contrast, mellow and melodious. Go Goa Gone was trippy and Shudh Desi Romance is deeply rooted in the sounds of the sands. In a line, I am impressed.

             g) Lyrics- Jaideep Sahni has written amazing songs if not the film (Wait I am coming to bad parts of the film soon!) I enjoyed all the songs and loved the use of the word ‘ati random’ for the rather ‘chanchal mann’ of the youth. Encompasses their dilemma pretty effectively.

Things that didn’t work for me-

a)      Story- it’s an interesting story told unconvincingly. I sense the chemistry between characters and understand how hormones lead to attraction, but I don’t see love. There never was in Shudh Desi Romance. At least I never felt.

b)      Humor is difficult to depict. There are different forms of comedy but I like it the most when it’s subtle and situational. The film abounds with many fun moments but get too repetitive. Things are funny when said once or maybe twice, after that they become a yawn-let-me-grab-popcorn in the meantime moments. (refer to the toilet runaway scenes in the film)

In all the film is fun, half baked emotions, lack of a strong storyline yet passable. The film lives upto its title- Shudh Desi Romance, if not love. Teehee. Choose it over sitting idle at home or mindless shopping at a mall!! 

Delhi rape case!

There was a very interesting dialogue in Rang De Basanti that has stayed with me and now in retrospect it does make sense.

A politician’s side kick says in the movie- “logo ki yadasht badi kamzor hoti hain sir.”- “people’s memory is usually short lived.”

I am not too sure if it’s short lived memory or the everyday survival but what once seems like a revolution usually fizzles out in months or sometimes even days. Hence the poor old man Anna Hazare almost famished to death yet failed to turn a leaf in law books and what seemed like a revolution for the Delhi girl who was brutally raped and murdered in December turned out to be quite a phuss.

The truth of the matter is, in an everyday run to earn money and survive, these issues that we strongly feel for, stand for, take the back seat, if not forgotten.

Delhi rape case had shaken me inside out for its sheer barbarism. When the world debated and argued and suggested some rather radical solutions, I stayed mum; not because I didn’t have much to say, but because reaching the root cause of so many rape cases in our country seemed more important. I wanted to listen to every argument, soak in every thought, every word, mull it over and finally share what I feel. Before I come to solutions of the problem, let me discuss what really causes the problem. Shocking as it may sound; it is MONEY or our mindsets that we associate power and superiority with money. Isn’t money really the reason that we serve our rich guests with cashew nuts and almonds in silverwares and a glass of water to the not so wealthy ones?

Now before I elaborate on this, I have a question. How would you react if I told my mother/wife/sister-

“Aapki jagah kitchen mein hain, tum wahi achi lagti ho.”- “Your place is in the kitchen, that’s where you belong!”

One would be quick to judge me as a male chauvinist pig, who looks down upon women and doesn’t respect them.

Wonder how many of you would have the same reaction if I told my father/brother-

“Aap kamate huye hi ache lagte ho, ghar pe naa baitha karo.”- “You look better when you are out, earning. Don’t stay at home.” It will be never be perceived as a sexist comment instead one receives it with pride and honor.

It is sadly the power that comes with money that makes going out and earning far cooler than staying at home and cooking. The person who goes out, earns money is always considered far superior than the one who stays at home. Hence we have conveniently overlooked the importance of women who build a home, run a home and most importantly shape their kids’ lives, make (or could break) the country’s future.

 Right after the Delhi rape case, there were news channels that reported rather quote unquote progressive news of how a woman in Chennai is riding a bike and showing all men that women are no less. How on earth has riding a bike become a symbol of ‘progression’ and ‘equality’? Why does a woman have to ride and bike and show she is equal. Why can’t she be in the kitchen and cook daal chawal and yet be equal?

There were also reports of a bunch of young men in Bangalore who slipped into skirts to show their solidarity to the Delhi rape girl. Are you serious? It is this triviality of the issue that makes my blood boil and how stupidly we belittle the problem at hand.

Over a period of time, men have been the bread earner and women looked after the home. And since we associate so much of importance to money, equate it with power, men by default became the higher species in the relationship.  So women dress like men, ride a bike, take up a job, start earning, talk about gadgets and (excuse me saying this)- do things that are usually considered men like, to show they are equals and are not lagging behind in any way. On the contrary shouldn’t we thank the women in our lives for bringing us up, for feeding us day in and out (including weekends), for running household errands, from bills to laundry to cleanliness, to kids’ homework, to every little thing that helps us go out and earn a livelihood?

I stay with my mom and not even once I think I am doing her a favor or any better than her because I earn. Just like how I think she is not doing me any favor by ironing my clothes or preparing me breakfast, lunch or dinner. These are jobs divided between two individuals to run our lives smoothly. A sense of respect for what the other person does is all we need to strike a balance. Alas the reality is a far different story. Women have to go out, earn and struggle to be EQUALS and men who prefer to stay at home and look after kids are downright pansy/unmanly/gays/losers.

It’s this fuddy-duddy mindset, this conservative thinking that has coined such sexist phrases, such gender biased stereotypes-

-          “Arey tumne kya haath mein chudiya pehan rakhi hain.”

-          “Tu kya ladki ke tarah Sharma raha hain.”

-          “Haathon mein mehndi lagi hain kya?”

 

Or the worst of all when an old man/woman proudly says- “Humari toh ladki nahi ladka hain!” I feel like slapping such people and telling them to STOP calling your girl a boy; that’s showing NO respect, instead deriding her, ridiculing her.

And because we EARN, bring home bundles of CASH, we become far higher than women who “stay at home and do nothing”. And since we are higher, we can treat these lesser mortals any which way we like. We can stop them in a bus, catch them by the road side, attack a young girl, assault her in the most heinous way, and shove an iron rod up her vagina and leave her by the roadside to die.

Still shaken and seething!!!

Bhag Milkha Bhag review!

Things I like about Bhag Milkha Bhag-

1.       Cinematography- instagramish, monochromatic shots of old Punjab- mesmerizing!

2.       Screenplay- love the juxtaposition of 1960, 1947 and years in between.

3.       Farhan’s expressions, body language

4.       Milkha-Isri (his sister’s) relationship

5.       Pawan Malhotra’s and Divya Dutta’s acting

6.       Sonam’s beauty

7.       Dialogues

8.       Love how Prasoon Joshi has internalized Milkha’s story and hence fictionalized it too!

Things I didn’t like about BMB-

1.       The partition should have been the focus of the film, alas it is not, hence it doesn’t manage to bring out the anguish effectively.

2.       Farhan’s speech- Saying ‘yaara-dildara’ doesn’t make you a Sikh boy. I could hear a South Bombay Farhan in Milkha Singh. (Where Irfan Khan who played an athlete in Paan Singh Tomar was so one with the character!)

3.       The length of the film. Be indulgent for your personal screening, for us, CUT THE DAMN THING SHORT! I could easily cut Sonam Kapoor’s episode, ghee gulping scene, training scenes and much more from the film.