can you vish?

2016 is in its last few minutes. At least that's the case in India. The news guy told us that New Zealand has already welcomed 2017. That's the funny thing about time. It is relative. Like most things are. Pardon me  monsieur, for I am not an absolutist. I am not even sure if i would be able to complete this before 2016 ends here. It does not matter anyway. What difference does a few minutes make? The earth keeps on rotating. The universe probably keeps on expanding. We keep on breathing.  There are a lot of 'Fuck You 2016' memes floating around. It is funny how we have decided to blame a period of time for our actions and the state we find ourselves in. (Okay I did not make up that last sentence. I read it somewhere.) Talking about 2016, was it actually that bad? I don't know. If you are cringing about how some of the right wing fringe groups have bestowed upon themselves to act as the defenders of nationalism and patriotism, then you shoul

Hey. Oh Hi. I see that you are writing again. Well Yes I am trying to. I would appreciate it if you would not peek over my shoulders. Shouldn't it be  'Around The World In Eighty Days'? It would have been the case if I were Jules Verne. Seriously, I would like some privacy while writing. Oh I get it. You are writing about the film festival, aren't you? Thank you for spoiling my write up. I was keeping the IFFK twist for the end. Come on. It's elementary, Watson. Go on with your piece. Happy writing. ****************************************************** Around the world in eight days. The ticket cost you just five hundred rupees. What an irresistible offer. I signed up without much thought. So did thousands of others. The trip was to be in the month of December. We waited impatiently. Enter December. Begin festival. We reached the launch pad half an hour early. All seats were already taken up. Rest of us ushered ourselve

Title :  Dear Zindagi Language : Hindi Year : 2016 Director : Gauri Shinde Genre : Drama, Romance IMDB Link Watch trailer on Youtube Lead Role : Alia Bhatt, Shah Rukh Khan, Kunal Kapoor, Ali Zafar, Yashaswini Dayama, Ira Dubey It is all about loving one's life. It is about two roads diverging in a yellow wood and taking the one commonly traveled by, because it is probably the more easier path. Kaira is the soul of the movie. She is young. She is independent. She is a talented cinematographer. And she is hot. We assume her life is picture perfect but obviously it is not. She is going through depression. She doesn't seem to know how to handle her love life. We see the reasons as the plot progresses through the sessions between Kaira and her "dimag ka doctor" Jahangir Khan. These sessions take the story forward. The entire premise is simple, not trying to be preachy or bigly philosophical. Sometimes it shifts into a rom-com with no melodrama. Overall, th

Title :  Rock On 2 Language : Hindi Year : 2016 Director : Shujaat Saudagar Genre : Drama, Musical IMDB Link Watch trailer on Youtube Lead Role : Farhan Akhtar, Arjun Rampal, Purab Kohli, Sraddha Kapoor, Prachi Desai Rock On had succeeded because it had caught the attention of the youth with its pulsating music and cool ideals. Rock On had succeeded because it had portrayed in an intense and realistic manner. Rock On had ended where Magic had begun, or rejoined after a hiatus. Some years passed by. What happened to Aditya Shroff, Jo, Sakshi, Debby and Killer Drummer? Welcome to Rock On 2. Rock On 2 begins the show in the serene and mystical villages of Shillong where Aditya leads a rather reclusive life after something went wrong a few years back. (Yeah that’s the same way he reacted after fighting with his friends In Rock On! That’s the way he is. He tries to run away from problems.) The friends do meet occasionally. Sing songs and all that stuff. We are also shown

Title :  Zeitgeist The Movie Language : English Year : 2007 Director : Peter Joseph Genre : Documentary IMDB Link Watch trailer on Youtube Zeitgeist film series is a set of three documentary films which discusses various conspiracy theories. Zeitgeist : The Movie is the first installment of the trilogy, which was directed by Peter Joseph and released in 2007. The movie is divided into 3 sections - the first one proposes theories of how Christianity and other major modern religions designed fraudulent concepts of God by copying concepts from other pagan religions. They propose that religions are nothing but a collection of hollow lies and superstitions, and how people confuse them with scientific phenomenon (like astronomy, for instance). The second section focuses on the dirty politics of government of the United States of America, and go on to claim that the infamous 9/11 was actually an inside job. The final section deals with the origin and growth

We and our free choices. We, who became when two souls made love. The time was not chosen by us, the place neither. Our own names are someone else's choice. We speak the tongue our neighbors speak, And worship God the way our kin do. We and our free choices. We go to school because everybody does. We act proud of the place we were born. And fight others born on the wrong side, where boundaries were laid out by people who passed. We and our free choices. Tall. Short. Fat. Slim. Black. White. Gay. Straight. Height was not chosen by us, color of skin neither. Our bodies grow. Hair fall.  Ageing is a truth not a choice. An innocuous breath is not our choice. One fine day, we stop being. We do not choose the date, place or time. Thoughts and dust are all what would remain, Of us, and our free choices.

Title : Pink Language : Hindi Year : 2016 Director : Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury Genre : Drama, Crime, Thriller IMDB Link Watch trailer on Youtube Lead Role : Amitabh Bachchan, Taapsee Pannu, Kirti Kulhari, Angad Bedi, Andrea Tariang One fine day, you hear the title of a movie. PINK. You are not amused. Then you hear the names of Shoojit Sircar and Anirudha Roy Chowdhury associated to it. You are intrigued. People start giving rave reviews about the trailer. You watch the trailer. You see Amitabh Bachchan as a lawyer grilling Tapsee Pannu in a debate that treads on the fine line between intercourse by mutual consent and rape. Excited, you make a mental mote and adds the movie into your to-watch list.  The movie releases. As expected, there is no wide release especially down south. Luckily for you, it does release in your hometown. You go on and watch the movie. The protagonists are three independent, working women. (you know the ones with short clothes and who roams freely

‘So this is what it has come to be.’ ‘What do you mean?’ ‘Well, I’d thought that we shared something special. I am still not able to accept that you have left me for good.’ ‘Do not go down that lane again, mate. Didn’t I tell you that I am not calling this off? I just need a break for a while.’ ‘Why can’t you do your thinking with me around? Be honest with me. Am I not good enough for you anymore?’ ‘Let us not fool ourselves, Vishnu. You got to admit that things have not been exactly smooth lately. You seemed to be taking me for granted. So I thought perhaps it would do both of us good if we were on our own for a while. Would give us some quality time for an introspection, don’t you think?’ ‘I don’t know. I like it when we are together. It has been a month already. My friends have started asking questions.’ ‘Tell them not to worry anymore. Call them over to your place. Tell them that nothing has ended.’ ‘Wow. Thank You. Let me call them right away.’

I hope he wakes up soon!

Title : Udta Punjab Language : Hindi Year : 2016 Director : Abhishek Chaubey Genre : Drama, Crime, Thriller IMDB Link Watch trailer on Youtube Lead Role : Shahid Kapoor, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Alia Bhatt After the seemingly never ending censor-related controversies, social media trending, rational court ruling, newspaper headlines and the condemned leak, Udta Punjab reached the big screens today to huge expectations. And gladly, it proved worthy of all those hype. As already discussed, the movie deals with the rampant substance in the state of Punjab. A pop singer who had more success than he could actually handle, A young wannabe hockey player who had to give up her hopes and migrate from Bihar to Punjab to sustain. A corrupt cop who mends his ways after being handed some hard lessons. A doctor with a golden heart. The lives of these seemingly different persons are connected by a common theme - drugs - and their paths cross at times. Technically and content wise,

If you are a movie buff, you would have heard of the censorship issues regarding the upcoming Bollywood feature, Udta Punjab. If you are a politically conscious person, you would have heard of the censorship issues regarding the upcoming Bollywood feature, Udta Punjab. If you are a rationally thinking person, you would have heard of the censorship issues regarding the upcoming Bollywood feature, Udta Punjab. In short, if you are someone who breathes and lives on the planet Earth, you would have a heard of the censorship issues regarding the upcoming Bollywood feature, Udta Punjab. For such is the magnitude of double standards and apolitical agenda adopted by the CBFC. First, let us be politically correct: 1.        CBFC is not Censor Board. It stands for Central Board of Film Certification. 2.        The Board has not banned Udta Punjab.          Wait, if the movie is not banned, why raise all this hullaballoo over it? Let’s get the story out. Udta Punjab,

Title : East Side Sushi Language : English Year : 2014 Director : Anthony Lucero Genre : Drama IMDB Link Watch trailer on Youtube Lead Role : Diana Elizabeth Torres, Yutaka Takeuchi, Rodrigo Duarte Clark Are you a food lover? Do you like trying out exotic food from exotic places? Then, you are gonna love this film. Do you watch those small, less-noticed, colorful, feel good movies? Then, you are gonna love this film. East Side Sushi tells the tale of Juana Martinez, a Mexican woman who quits being a fruit cart vendor, try out many other jobs, and finally become what her heart wanted - a sushi chef. Her path was not easy a bit. She had to convince a hell lot of people, starting from her family, and had to wage her battles over notions that some jobs are gender specific. Well, one could say the movie belongs to the English Vinglish family. East Side Sushi is one such movie which let the smile on your lips in tact throughout. I have never had any cui

Let’s speak about death, shall we? Death, because some opine that the death is the only reality. I am not too sure on that. Just because everyone we know pass away at some point of time does not necessarily prove death. What if someone is born tomorrow who just happen to live forever? Who knows perhaps a Professor John Oldman lives among us already. Questions about death and what happens after have always pondered humanity. Some believe death is the end and nothing remains after. Several mythologies hold the view that death is merely a passage to an everlasting afterlife, one which is more glamorous than the life on Earth. There is yet another prevalent view that the soul takes rebirth after each death until it gets salvation. If we are to look closely, a myriad of beliefs and theories exist, and the debate has been on for ages. While many other equally confusing questions are now being answered using science, what happens after death is still unknown, as dead men tell no tales. Let

Hi Vishers, As you all would have guessed from the title, this post is to celebrate the 366 days that have passed since the inception, or revival of our blog. I said revival because 'Can You Vish' was a blog that I had started some five years ago, when I started spending my free time writing weird stuff. But it was shut down pretty soon as not many people visited the space, and most of the stuff I wrote back then was plain stupid ( You see I do not wish to elaborate on that. Am I a narcissist? Self-complacent, perhaps.)  Anyway, the blog was dead. Long live the blog! A couple of years later, when I contemplated the idea of relaunching a personal space, I could not think of any other name than the good old 'Can You Vish'. I have been asked several times by several people what 'Can You Vish' means or why I named the blog so.The funny part is, it was not me who came up with this name but my friends. Was that funny? Some of my friends from school and

courtesy : Youthzone

Title : Fan Language : Hindi Year : 2016 Director : Maneesh Sharma Genre : Drama, Thriller IMDB Link Watch trailer on Youtube Lead Role : Shah Rukh Khan The year 2013. “World’s biggest movie star” Shahrukh Khan joined hands with hit-maker director Rohit Shetty and lady superstar DeepikaPadukone to bring on screen a film by the name of Chennai Express. As the name suggests, the major portion of the story was set in the south, especially in Tamil Nadu. Mindless humor, illogical action and horrendous typecasting were generously thrown in. The critics slammed the movie and its makers. Yet, the aam-aadmi lapped it up, and Chennai Express turned out to be the biggest grossing film of the year. The pattern continued in 2014 with forgettable Happy New Year and in 2015 with the disastrous Dilwale. King Khan scooped so low that he won the infamous Kela Awards, something presented to the worst performer of the year. People started to write him off as a serious actor. Fast forw

courtesy: The Dilettante Author

Indians, countrymen! Lend me your attention. For I am here to show you how Marvel Comics have exploited our vast mythology to come up with their league of superheroes, known as The Avengers. As you may be aware, The Avengers consists of Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, Incredible Hulk, Hawk Eye, Black Widow and Ant Man. What you may not have realized the characterization of each of these superheroes was influenced by our own folklore.  drink up me hearties yo ho I assume you to be pretty skeptical at this point. So let us introspect each of them closely (and hopefully wipe that smirk off your face). Captain America: A veteran soldier who participated in the World War II, and then entered a state of seemingly endless sleep that lasted seven decades. He was recalled by S.H.I.E.L.D when they needed his services for another possibly catastrophic war. Those who have read The Ramayana would be familiar with the character of Kumbhakarna,  the younger brother of demon kin

courtesy: The Dilettante Author

Title : Sulemani Keeda Language : Hindi Year : 2014 Director : Amit Masurkar Genre : Comedy, Romance IMDB Link Watch trailer on Youtube Lead Role :  Naveen Kasturia, Mayank Tewari, Aditi Vasudev I sat down to watch the movie with the premonition that the name “Sulemani” had some relations with the Malayalam word “Sulaimani”, which means black tea. To my surprise,” Keeda” apparently means pain, and the title of the film could be loosely translated as “pain in the ass”. The freshness that was experienced in the title was sustained throughout the 90 minutes duration of the movie. Sulemani Keeda tells us the tale of two wannabe writers, who aspire to go beyond the conventional stereotyped notions of mainstream Indian cinema. The presentation, character descriptions are all based on the realities of today’s society. The story deals with their struggles, both in the film industry as well as in their social lives on light notes with mild dosages of adult humor. I am not go