3 Idiots - The Return ' 80s

The more I discuss the movie, the more I have started to despise it.

The movie is a disaster. The script has enough loop holes to recreate lunar craters on the earth. The movie is more in the tune of the potboilers of '80s whose claim to fame were the illogical twists and turns.

3 IDIOTS - Random Observations

PROLOGUE - This is not a movie review

I was lucky enough to grab hold of a couple of tickets for the special screening of 3 Idiots, last Thursday. Initially I was a bit wary, as I am of most movies released amidst such fanfare and hype, and secondly 'coz I was going for it at the cost of watching India chase down Srilanka's 300+ total. To tell the truth, it was worth it. Although, I would not rank it amongst my all time favourites but it still would rank pretty high.

First things first. This is not a copy of 'Five Point Someone'. At best, it can be assumed to be "loosely based" on the book. Even the basic themes are different. While Five Point was more about college life and friendships, 3 Idiots seems to belong to the Munna Bhai mould trying to garnish entertainment with social messages. But it still is pretty evident that it was the book that must have got Hirani thinking of 3 Idiots.

Elements of the book that find a mention in the film's plot
1. Student falling for his sadistic Prof's daughter
2. Alok's life being driven by loads of expectations and the constant emotional blackmailing of his mother.
3. Alok's ailing father
4. Alok moving out of the group to study along with the insti nerd. And then realizing his fallacy, when Ryan carries his father to the hospital on a scooter.
5. Stealing question papers - though this particular plot has been turned on its head.
6. and loads other..

Hirani has also not fallen short of taking jabs at the Indian Education System. Even though the college in question is ICE, Hirani's dialogues interspersed with clandestine remarks convince you that if Hirani had his way he would have gone ahead with actually depicting the IITs had it not been the fear of backlash from the academic community. There are references to '4 lac' candidates having applied for ICE and then the fact that inspite of ICE being the best college in India it has failed when it came to innovation , inventions and patents.

If I was to grade it, I would give it a 'high 3 Point Something'. (On a scale of 5)

Of Lee and Sreesanth

Just came across these two cartoons on Cricinfo.

Of Solos, Orgasms and Fatwas

What they said :

On Tendulkar

"Nobody does solos better than Sachin Tendulkar, nor, perhaps, has anyone endured as much heartbreak during those solos. It was India of the 90s all over again: Tendulkar almost chased 351 on his own but, with the target in sight, he got out and the rest choked, falling short by three runs with two balls still to go. In Chennai in 1998-99, Tendulkar, having played an innings as incredible as this, left the last three wickets 17 to get; tonight he left them 19 off 17.... "
- Cricinfo

"I will see God, only when I die ... Till then i'll see Sachin" - Dilli

"Tendulkar of the 90s, India of the 90s" - Shaggy

"I am atheist but I believe in Sachin" - Bot

"Dude.. I orgasmed twice during Sachin's innings" - Punchar

"Sachin chose the right sport but the wrong country" - Malena

"The greatest ODI innings ever. PERIOD" - Function

"Tendulkar gave yet another debutant a moment of his lifetime. "
- www.cricketnirvana.com

"Every run scored by Sachin belongs as much to the 1.2 billion Indians as much as it does to himself" -Gavaskar

On Ravindra Jadeja

Excerpts from a chat between me and Sandeep

In Dhonis words - "He is still young, don’t take that away from him"
How many mistakes is a youngster allowed?
Even IIT-JEE gives you just 2 chances :D
He is still 5 years elder to Sachin when he made his debut
Ya man even otherwise, even if he clicks, we don’t understand his role in the team. Is he a bowler who can manage a few edges?
Exactly, he is a part time bowler who can bat a bit.

"c****** sala
baddimag
senseless
lag hi raha tha run out hoga kab se c*****ape pel raha tha" - Shaggy

As Punchar rightly put it,

"In our society we used to play cricket like everyone. We used to keep a brick as the bowling end stumps and the probability of hitting it was like 1/Avogadro number. Consequently, we used run to the middle of the pitch each time the ball connected the bat and still managed to return safely. Especially if the other team consists of players like Lala, Munna, Raju and Kallu. May be its time for Jadeja to realize that international cricket has nothing similar to galli cricket. There are 3 stumps (covering a total area of 0.1 sqaure metres) at the bowling end to aim at while the opposition has players like Ponting whose probability of missing the stumps is as much as the probability of seeing Halley's comet. Stop running around you fucking idiot. " - Punchar (be blogs here)

"If you can release Fatwa against Salman Rushdie for writing a book against the Prophet, why not a Fatwa against Jadeja for robbing GOD(read Tendulkar)of his fundamental right(read hard earned victory)."

Indelible Moments

While scanning through the blogs of my friend, I found a lot tag posts relating to favourite movies, personal likings and other similar stuff. Unfortunately, there were no posts related to cricket.

So I decided to create one.

The first 6 cricketing moments that come to your mind !

As for me..

1. Vinod Kambli crying at the end of the '96 World Cup Semi-Final.

2. Shoaib Akhtar dismissing Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid of consecutive deliveries with toe crushing yorkers in the Asian Test championship.

3. Sachin Tendulkar cutting Shoaib over third man for 6 in the 2003 World Cup followed two balls later by a picture perfect straight drive.

4. Mark Waugh's century in the '96 World Cup quarter-final against New Zealand. It was as flawless and as elegant as it gets. Someone rightly pointed out after the innings - "If he had walked out in formals to bat, he would be the perfect ambassador for anti-crease apparels".

5. Sachin Tendulkar's rampaging assault on Glenn McGrath (he danced down the track and hit McGrath right over his head. In response McGrath tried to bounce him out. The ball was dispatched over the square leg boundary with absolute disdain) in his brief innings of 38 in the 2000 ICC Knockout Cup. (The match is better known for Yuvraj Singh's debut innings)

6. Sachin Tendulkar given out 'Shoulder Before the Wicket' by umpire Daryl Harper at Adelaide in 2000.

Because of the lack of enthusiasm for cricket in most of my friends, I tag only Punchar and Bidu for the time being.

The Inscrutable IITians

I had given up blogging a long time back. I realized that I was too lazy to sit down and jot down my thoughts, inhibitions and apprehensions.

It was an article by Sandipan Deb in the Outlook that changed my mind. I tended to disagree on most things he had written. It seemed to be an absolutely amateurish take on IIT life. I am unimpressed with the writings of even Chetan Bhagat. Take for example - his claim to fame - Five Point Someone. Replace Ryan, Alok and Hari by Venkat, Ramki and Arjun and the story doesn't change nor does its appeal. Replace IIT by any other college, even though the story would be the same, with the same ability to move and shock you, it loses it appeal. What he portrayed would be applicable to any engineering college not just the IITs. What sold was 'IIT' and not his script.

Moving back to Sandipan Deb, here's the link to his article:
http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?209444


I have a few questions for him.

A decade and a half out of IIT, I wonder how many of us IITians achieved our potential? How many went to seed in remote dusty townships, tending massive pipelines and drinking in the township club
Is achieving potential equivalent to working in dusty townships?

How many, trained to think rationally and without bias, never managed to figure out the nuances of Indian office politics, and were relegated to obscure corridors in huge buildings?
If rational people could figure out Indian office politics, India wouldn't be a third world country.

How many, obsessed with the American dream, settled for second-rate US universities, hung in for a green card, and today work at unfulfilling jobs in Idaho?
What's wrong in that? You consider tending massive pipelines in dusty townships to be fulfilling jobs? I beg to differ.

How many willfully walked away from their natural talents in favour of safe MNC jobs selling diapers and hire-purchase schemes?
What's wrong with selling diapers and coke? You end up doing more good than harm. The more you sell, the more money you make: which is in turn is passed on to the share holders. At the same, as the business expands, you create more employment opportunities for the society. I dont think that anyone can agree more to the fact that this would be more satisfying and 'fulfilling' than developing esoteric models and equations in theoretical physics which would not have any practical significance(but for a Nobel Prize), even in the 'far future'.

We lived and ate together, and shared our joys and heartbreaks and good times and bad times, in competition and camaraderie. We compared our philosophies and, bit by stumbling bit, developed our value systems. Never were stronger bonds forged between young people.
Isn't this the same with every campus. This isn't something that is peculiar to the IITs. Ask any Tom, Dick and Harry from a tier 4 college, and he would land up with this very statement.

Totally cut off from politics and "the bigger issues", our delights remained in competing fiercely on the field or the stage with other hostels or other colleges.
Again, aren't most Indian teenagers cut off from politics and 'the bigger issues' in life. Is the IIT system responsible for this? Is it only the IITs who pride themselves on out doing other colleges?

He ends up contradicting himself. He talks about how most IITians went to IIT not because they wanted to become world class engineers but because their parents told them to do so. At the same time he regrets the fact that IITians have moved away from engineering. If in the first place they did not want to become engineers, why should an IIT degree stop them from doing so. Is getting into the IITs a crime?

I am not a critique. Its just that there are certain aspects about my Alma mater which people (including those belonging to the IITs) seem to take for granted. The article is actually very well written. I personally enjoyed the ingrained subtle humour - be it the reference to matrimonial columns or to the fairer sex at IIT.

RDB

Yesterday, I watched Rang De Basanti on Zoom. It brought back fond memories of the first time I watched it. I remember having woken up at 9 a.m on a hot Chennai weekend to watch it. Those were the only tickets that were available. And take my word, it was totally worth it.

Giving this a longer thought, I realized there were just 2 other occasions that I had willingly woken up before noon on a weekend during my days at IIT.

1. For the Sunday brunch at GRT
2. To watch Sachin Tendulkar bat