Bedtime Stories

Skeeter (Sandler) is an employee at a hotel owned by his father’s friend Barry (Richard Griffiths). Skeeter’s dad had given Barry the land for the hotel on the condition that Skeeter would one day run the hotel. However, Barry has something else on his mind. He decides to put his future son-in-law as the manager instead of Skeeter.

In the midst of this plot, Skeeter’s sister (Courtney Cox) entrusts him to baby-sit her two kids. When Skeeter reluctantly tells bedtime stories to his nephews, his life changes completely with his stories becoming alive the next day. He then travels to medieval era, the Wild West, Greece and space trying to fulfil his dream of becoming a hotel manager through vital inputs from the children through his bedtime stories.

Sandler is at his family friendliest here, almost beating Jim Carrey in facial stretching. With Keri Russell as his lover, they make a perfect couple. In addition, you have an all-star cast in the form of Sandler’s evergreen friend Rob Schneider (a pickpocket here), Carmen Electra and Courtney Cox. Russell Brand as a hotel staff who comes out with a healthy dose of weird humour stands out among them. Except for Courtney (as Sandler’s sister she is wasted), the rest of the cast including the kids bring a whiff of fresh air in this fantasy flick with a happy ending .

This is one of the few wholesome family entertainers of the month from Walt Disney. It has a well-balanced dose of adventure and comedy
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English(U)
Cast: Adam Sandler, Keri Russell, Guy Pearce, Russell Brand, Richard Griffiths
Director: Adam Shankman

By the V-C Falls

After reaching home from office tonight, I was just browsing through some old photos that were taken during my university days at Mangalore University, when this photo struck me with fond memories of the time that I had spent with some friends from Norway who had come to India under the student exchange scheme.

This picture was taken at a riverside near the university's Vice-Chancelor residence. For that reason many students would simply call the small waterfall just above our heads as V-C Falls.

I remember this photo for the following reasons:
1. The little fishes which Oyvind (middle) and myself could be seen playing with them.
2. I was pushed into the river by my friend.
3. As a result I lost my brand new Sumsung mobile handset and also got some wet cash in my purse

Pictures do come in handy to bring out the better part of a tragic event. That's one lesson learnt tonight!

1. After the fall

2. Looking for fish?
3. Revanna trying to dry my mobile

Honeydripper

Genre: Drama/Music

*Winner of the Outstanding Independent film award at the NAACP Image Award
*Winner of the Best Screenplay award at the 2007 San Sebastián International Film Festival
*Screened at the 2007 Toronto International Film Festival

From the look of this credits it appears to have some interesting things to look forward to. But could tell only after watching it. The DVD from a PR firm hired by NDTV Lumiere was not working but will try to watch it at the theater anyway and therefore this review is on its way.

About The Reviews

The reviews in my blog are parts/portions of the those I have done for the newspaper I'm working with. They are a just a summary. To read the full reviews you can go to the online edition of the daily by clicking on the Read More... button.

About Us

A team of journalists and bloggers who are interested in providing interesting materials on almost everything under the sky and and beyond.

'Nahai' a Hmar word literally means 'ears' or 'those in pain'. It has both its positive and negative connotations and it is here we will try to strike a balance among the various moods and emotions of life. This blog therefore will not only hear the pains but better stories of mankind.

As 'Nahai' also refers to the most clever man that ever lived in Hmar history/folktale we'll bring try to bring some of the greatest minds from various walks of life with their creative writings to make 'Nahai' a meeting point of diversity.

Tandoor Cinders

By Vilas Sarang
Penguin India
Year 2008, pp 107
Rs 199

Vilas Sarang has a strange and unusual way of telling weird things in most of his books. Tandoor Cinders is no different. Once again he gives us a provoking psycho-thriller invoking the sub-conscious state of mind in this tale of passionate love, hate and the human instinct that craves for revenge.

Chandrashekhar Nayak’s life as a college psychology teacher turns upside-down when he is completely ‘possessed’ by a newspaper report on the Tandoor murder case. With absolute resolve to meet the perpetrator of the crime, Jaidev Jakhad, Nayak ropes in his chubby daughter Leena to help trace Jakhad after the latter had escaped from police custody.

Despite his wife’s misgivings about their mission, the father-daughter duo set out on their mission only to find themselves in a strange journey to the underworld where they are compelled to re-think about their sense of justice and the worldly affairs of love and marriage.

Tandoor Cinders strikes not only the conscious but also the subconscious thoughts of the reader with its psycho-analytical narrative script which is quite monotonous at some stages. This book also takes your time to figure out how and why there could be a hole underneath the tandoor that could take you to the ‘patala’. Despite these, Sarang prepares his readers well for the sudden shift when he decided to take his characters to the strange underworld beneath the tandoor.

The concept of justice and relationship according to Hindu mythology and the western world also come into the picture when Nayak and Leena seek the help of a sage as they try to locate the tandoor murderer. This is quite intriguing because it involves some knowledge about the Hindu faith.

This book questions the very basic of your beliefs and stretches the ever-curious mind to its maximum limits. It also shows if you wish see your 25th years of marriage and to keep the marital bond intact you have to, at some point of time, lead a ‘false life’; like pretending to be happy when actually not and vice-versa.

The distinction between fantasy and reality is quite perplexing in Tandoor Cinders unless you stretch your imagination beyond the barriers of time and space. Once you let the story take you along, this strange tale of an extraordinary life is such a book that could give you nightmares in which you yourself will take part in the Nayak’s sojourn. A brilliant and imaginative psycho-thriller that could take you completely off your notion about life.

Still Life

Chinese director Jia Zhangke had caused quite a stir and surprises during the 2006 Venice International Film Festival by winning the Golden Lion award for this film.

The fictitious film, yet contemporary, has a coherent narrative with two main characters focused on the background of the Three Gorges dam construction, the world’s largest, in Central China. Han, a miner and Shen, a middle class woman, return to the small town of Fengjie in the dam area to look for their estranged spouses.

Han finds that during his sixteen-year absence the place has been flooded and his wife and daughter resettled elsewhere. As Han and Shen look for their elusive spouses, the lives of those affected by the mega dam project is told through these two unrelated people who never meet in the film.

Still Life is devoid of habitual narration style. It is an all out art film where images and observations come centre stage. Though the two main characters never meet their common purpose binds the film intact. The director seems to focus more on the significance of the event rather than on a soulful story. It brings to mind some documentaries in which the stories hardly took up with plenty of long shots trying capture what is happening in the background as well as at the front.

The film is quite perplexing but looking closely at the attention to details, you will be amazed. The best part is, you, as the viewer is left to interpret the plot itself which is never explicitly resolved. Still Life never frustrates despite its lack of mobility as Jia paints cinematic poetry in each frame. Despite the mundane storyline Still Life gives you an opportunity to spot some humour in the lives of other characters. Revealing them could spoil the challenge.

To watch this film you will need to put cent per cent of your patience into service. At the end of it you will be surprisingly pleased. The film also gives you an opportunity for some scholarly musing and striking visuals. Still Life has modest action but plenty of substance going on. However, watch it only if you are intelligent enough to appreciate art films else you’ll feel totally wasted.
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[Mandarin (U) with English subtitle]
Cast: Han Sanming, Zhao Tao, Li Zhu Bing, Wang Hongwei
Director: Zhang Ke Jia

Changeling

It’s sad to experience the fallout of corrupt bureaucrats especially when they appear to have some links to the disappearances of your dear ones. In this ‘true story’ Angelina Jolie stars as Christine Collins, whose son, Walter, went missing in March 1928. Five months later, the Los Angeles police announced that her son had been found.

They organised a photo-op for the mother-son reunion but amidst all these Collins knew the boy was not hers.
When she persistently asked the police to continue their search, she found herself thrown into a mental hospital after being accused of being ‘mentally unfit’. However, with the help of activist Rev Briegleb (John Malkovich), she fought to unravel the truth.

Changeling is not exactly a thriller. It turns out to be more of an open-secret outrage kind of film where you can safely say the LAPD or many law enforcing agencies tend to protect their tarnished image.

Jolie, Malkovich and Geoff Pierson, as a lawyer who takes Collins’ case do very well. Jason Butler Harner as the murderous sick killer looks real. On top of all, nobody can doubt Jolie’s maternal side even in this film. Being a mother must really have helped her a lot.

‘Dirty Harry’ Clint Eastwood as director is getting better with each film. This film cements his uncharacteristic style of film making with classic touch.

Perhaps, the only annoying thing about this film is the script which tends to take many turns leaving too many loose ends and some dull flashbacks. The plot also appears to let it go after 90 minutes or so.

Overall, the authentic setup of the 1920s and the story itself will capture you emotionally.
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English (A)
Cast: Angelina Jolie, John Malkovich, Jeffrey Donovan, Michael Kelly, Colm Feore, Jason Butler Harner, Geoff Pierson, Gattlin Griffith
Director: Clint Eastwood

The President Is Coming

English (U/A)
Cast: Konkona Sen, Ira Dubey, Shernaz Patel Director: Kunaal Roy Kapur
The fact: US president George W Bush visited India in 2006. Bush besides his diplomatic mission met some young faces of ‘Shining India.’

The fiction: This is where the film begins. The US embassy hires a PR firm to find one Indian youth eligible to meet President Bush. Out of the many aspirants 6 ‘faces of India’ are selected as they all have been featured in India Today as ‘top achievers’. The winner is to rub hands with Bush.

As the amateurish film rolls on we see the contestants being put through a series of trainings and tests that would make one of them raise above the others. There are numerous satirical take on Indian stereotypes as the 20-something youths try to outwit the others.

The good: The loose editing and poor technical setup show the need for a little more effort on the production team, but the delightful rib-tickling humour running throughout the film makes you overlook them. If you are the one who tend to read too much into the scripts of a film then there are good lessons to be learnt. The script talks of feminism, male chauvinism, homosexuality and brain drain, etc.

The well crafted characters despite their drawbacks are lovable. The script with its balanced used of abusive words is another thing to cheer about. Director Kunaal Roy Kapur seems to have a good idea of what he is doing. Shernaz Patel as a PR agent Samantha is as good as Konkana Sen who plays Booker wannabe Maya Roy. Vivek Gomber as the accent trainer is incredibly funny. The minus: The film seems to keep on dragging looking for a saviour. if not for the endless Bushism take it could have fallen apart. The ridiculous climax may be strikingly hard to digest for some.

Overall, The President is Coming is a good lip-stretching exercise and a laughter therapy. Smart, fresh and straight forward fun. You could forget everything and let laugh over Bushism and its effects.
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English (U/A)
Cast: Konkona Sen, Ira Dubey, Shernaz Patel Director: Kunaal Roy Kapur

Membership

Membership in the NEICICDS is open to anyone/organization having the credibility, dedication and necessary skills to carry any tasks that the Executive Committee of the organization has decided upon in its meeting(s).

Members will be selected/affiliated into NEICICDS by the Executive Members only after careful scrutiny, interviews and any other procedures as deemed necessary. Selected individuals will or shall be called Regular Members while members with affiliation to other organizations will be recognized not as an individual but by the organization in which he or she is affiliated whereon the member(s) will be called Associate Member(s).

However, the membership of any members can be suspended or terminated without prior notice if found guilty of working against the interest of the organization; the work(s) of the organization or against the interest of any tribe(s) or society(s) or specific geographical area where the organization have worked, is working or is planning to initiate work(s) in an aim to develop/preserve by the Executive Members in its meeting(s) called specifically for that purpose.

Organizations may become Member Organization/ Associate members by applying to the Executive Director or the Executive Secretary alongwith a payment of Rs. 1000/- (non-refundable) to the Treasurer. The same rules apply as given in the rules and regulations for Regular members with respect to membership, affiliation or de-affiliation as applicable.

For Futher Details
Contact the Executive Director or Executive Secretary
Exe Director Phone: +91 94367 07411
Email- immanuelvarte@gmail.com

Executive Secretary Phone: +91 98624 36849
Email: l.kzlhmar@gmail.com

Aims and Objectives

The aims and objectives of North-East India Centre for Indigenous Culture and Development Studies (NEICICDS), a non-governmental organisation are to:

1. Study;
2. Build up knowledge base;
3. Compile information on the myriad socio-cultural and development aspects of the tribes of North-East India through-
a) An inclusive in-situ researches and investigations;
b) Grassroot trainings, consultations, workshops, seminars with a view to promote and facilitate inter and intra interaction among the numerous indigenous communities furthering understanding/grasp on the issues of and also on the approaches and any other appropriate interventions on-
i) Culture-development related conflict situations;
ii) Socio-cultural preservation and
iii) Other developmental issues of the Indigenous peoples of North-East India.

NEICICDS will also seek to strengthen consultative relationships with several bodies any national and international bodies committed to and working on research and appropriate interventions on conflict-sensitive development, preservation of the cultural, developmental and issues related to these and will seek to further an integrated approach to the work of non-governmental organizations whose primary focus is on NEICICDS’ main objective, and to supplement the activities of NGOs and any Governmental bodies in this regard.

About Us

North-East India Centre for Indigenous Culture and Development Studies (NEICICDS) was formally launched by Mr. Immanuel Zarzosang Varte, Mr. Sumlamrawn Hmar and Mr. Lienthanglur Khawzawl, on the 10th of December 2008, at Shillong, Meghalaya, India.

We, at the NEICICDS, are planning to promote and achieve peace and greater harmony among the indigenous peoples of North-East India through inclusive socio-economical and socio-cultural empowerment in the form of in-depth study, research, understanding and tolerance.

Office Bearers

Executive Director: Mr Immanuel Zarzosang Varte
Executive Secretary: Mr Lienthanglur Khawzawl

Permanent Members:

1. Mr. Bennyson Lambert War
2. Mr. Veluta Khezo
3. Mr. Chawnghmunlur Hmar
4. Mr. Revise L. Pachuau
5. Ms. Avinu
6. Ms. Grace Lalthlawnpek
7. Ms. Puithung Grace

Contact Us

Northeast India Centre for Indigenous Culture and Development Studies(NEICICDS)
Shillong View Cottage
Alukudam
P.O: Madanriting
Shillong, Meghalaya
India, Pin- 793021.

Director Phone: +91 94367 07411
Email- immanuelvarte@gmail.com
Executive Secretary Phone: +91 98624 36849
Email: l.kzlhmar@gmail.com

Australia

English (U/A)
Cast: Nicole Kidman, Hugh Jackman, David Wenham, Jack Thompson, Bryan Brown, Brandon Walters
Director: Baz Luhrmann

With Kidman and Jackman proving a hot couple the merry-go-round ride around Australia gives you no time to get dizzy. Though the film won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, the blend of classic filmmaking and fantasy are captivating enough.

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The Secret of the Grain

This film tells a simple story on the importance of a family and the survival route taken by a North African immigrant and his family in the French port city of Sete.

When Slimane (Habib), a 61-year-old dockyard worker loses his job he wanted to test his entrepreneurial skills. He decides to turn his freighter into an eatery with his former-wife’s mullet couscous as the main menu. However, this does not go well with both his ex-wife and his current mistress. In the midst of this, the bureaucrats want their own piece of cake. It is then his mistress’ daughter steps in to bail him out by organising a sacrificial party for potential investors and the city’s big shots.

The fun in watching this film is the raw and realism look to the film. The dinner scenes are so real that you can feel the under current in the protagonists characters. Winning four Cesars, which is the equivalent of the Oscar in France, the film also manages to be both a tribute to women and a cultural commentary. The women in this film are portrayed as strong as the men. In fact, sometimes more passionate than the men.

The long extended shots make the film extremely slow moving. But after sitting through each scene you’ll feel that you have not wasted your time over them.

This powerful tale on food, fortitude and emotions bring back the feel good factor in human relationship
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French (With English subtitle)
Cast: Habib Boufares, Hafsia Herzi, Farida Benkhetache
Director: Adellatif Kechiche

Outsourced

This modern-day West meets East romantic comedy based on IT outsourcing is charming as it appeals to the saying ‘love not only conquers boundaries but even globalisation’.

A US novelty customer care trainer Todd Anderson (Josh Hamilton), known for his dislikes of outsourcing, is sent to India to train his replacement and a new batch of recruits. Anderson is assaulted by the cultural difference in the chaotic Mumbai even as he tries to make ‘the Indians’ talks fast like the Americans, so that he could return home straight away.

However, when he met his team of unusual yet pleasant Indian workers, including his replacement, the charming Asha (Ayesha Dharker), Todd realises that he too has a lot to learn – not only about Indians but about himself. The film is a crowd pleaser with a memo attached. Outsourced touched the sensitive issue of outsourcing in the face of globalisation with a soft focal point. The causes and effects of outsourcing to both the US and India is presented in a loveable perspective.

Although the film starts off at a snail’s pace with countless false comedy, the story warms up a great deal when Todd and Asha go on a brief business trip together. Sometimes the film is unsure of its path, balancing between exploitation of the global employee and the commemoration of cultural diversity.

But unlike the usual pardesi-desi kind of love story in which extremes of the two are always there Outsourced approach is to play everything small and keep the human aspect at the foremost. A charming film about preconceptions, clash of traditions and love, Outsourced gives us an immaculate view of romance inside the call centres.
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English (U)
Cast: Asif Basra, Ayesha Dharker, Josh Hamilton
Director: John Jeffcoat