Digi's Blog

Short story writing is a tricky genre, something where even the most accomplished writers falter at times. Tejaswini Apte – Rahm’s novel “These Circuses that Sweep Through the Landscapes” is one such collection of 10 short stories which explores various human tendencies, some real while some unbelievable. PLOT It is not possible to actually depict the plot of ten short stories. However, I’ll try summarizing each plot within a line or two, and also what I felt about each story. 11. HOMO COLEOPTERA tells us the story of a man whose passion in life is to collect beetles and win contests. Mr Ghosh’s story is definitely told and written well. The detailing is very good. I personally liked it. Also, this story sets the spooky tone which continues throughout the book. 22. THANK GOD FOR STAR TREK tells a story of a little girl whose childhood is anything but colorful. Not that it is bad, but I felt the overall tone of the story too dull, morose and dark. Also, “Star Trek” isn...

MTV Unplugged is a mixed bag of sorts. It always has been like that. While some episodes and artists stand out among the rest, some are plain mediocre, largely owing to the extra modifications made in the songs. Song selection is the most important aspect here – one should know which songs will sound good on a live platform. Secondly, one should know how much to modify and where to stop. I agree it is a platform where musicians have full freedom to experiment, but one has to be sure of the fact that the vocal and visual output of their experiments should go well with the audience. I usually don’t review episodes. I have reviewed an episode of “Unplugged” only once, and that was when A.R Rahman performed the first time. However, I simply couldn’t resist doing a detailed review of this outstanding episode. I am a devoted fan of Sachin and Jigar. For me, it is more of a trio rather than a duo, with Priya Saraiya forming the essential 3 rd member. As far as I re...

Childhood romance is a beautiful subject to write on. It is a subject which will be loved by everyone, mostly because majority of us can relate to it. Most of us have such lingering memories which bring a smile to our face even today. Remember “Jaane tu ya jaane na?” Well, Ruchita Misra’s novel “Someone to love” starts off just like that – a boy and a girl who are friends since the time they were at the peak of innocence, eventually falling for each other – something which would be obvious to everyone around them except the two of them. However, while the movie was only candyfloss and rosiness with scanty tears, this novel goes way beyond that. Simplicity gives way to a lot of “It’s complicated” stuff. There is romance, there is jealousy and finally there is the worst enemy of a relationship – MISUNDERSTANDING. Below is a brief review of the novel. PLOT Koyal and Atharv are the textbook couple – even in school. It is a match made in heaven and the intensity ex...

This was a novel which attracted me from its title. “MY FATHER IS A HERO” seemed a promising title and a quick glance at the synopsis said that it would deliver too. And so I started reading it. Unlike many books which I usually finish in a single sitting, this book took time. I used to read portions of it, allowing whatever I had read to seep in. Here is a review of the novel. PLOT Vaibhav Kulkarni has a decent job as systems admin at a company where he manages to earn just okay. With a troubled past & a divorce, he lives along with his ten year old daughter Nisha who is the centre of his world. Nisha is that little child who excels in everything – be it academics, personality or extra-curricular activities including singing. She is the favorite of her teachers as well as her dad. But all of a sudden, something happens which has a huge impact on Nisha. She suddenly starts drifting apart, remaining aloof, gradually showing a drop in her school grades, behavi...

Aamir Khan and Pritam’s last collaboration was not exactly a masterpiece. But with what looks like a winner from the “Chillar Party” director, let us see what Pritam has in store for us this time. “ HAANIKAARAK BAPU ” is a lyrical as well musical gem which oozes with creativity. Everything about this song seems apt. Firstly, Pritam dishes out a very catchy Rajasthani folk tune topping it with a rock feel. The tune itself along with the arrangements is a winner. Secondly, the two singers – Sarwar Khan & Sartaz Khan Barna are fabulous. Be it their perfectly-in-tune rendition or their prose portions, they are terrific. The chorus portions are very good too. But the real winner of the song is Amitabh Bhattacharya. Listen to every single word of the song carefully and you will realize what potential he has. His lyrics are awesome. They are highly humorous and very innovative. You can’t help but marvel at his witty words. They make you smile at times, laugh out loud a...

Few years ago, one man wrote a book on three IIT college students and their misadventures. Little did he know that his book would become an overnight rage, attain cult status in the coming years and initiate hundreds of mediocre so called writers to publish their own novel along with their banking / engineering / IT profession? And so in the last few years, we have been tortured with numerous novels which describe college life, love stories during college life, stories about friends and how they encounter troubles. Most of the so called authors failed miserably in coming up with good novels. Infact many of them were downright horrible. THANKFULLY, Manav Vigg presents to us a novel which breaks free of all the above said clichés. “CONFUSED BASTARDS” is indeed a unique title. My wife saw the novel and remarked, “What sorts of books are you reading?” However after I finished reading the book, I felt the title was pretty apt. PLOT Confused bastards starts from wh...

DISCLAIMER - THIS POST CONTAINS SPOILERS AND IS LONG, THOUGH NOT AS LONG AS ASHUTOSH GOWARIKAR'S FILMS.  1. A drunk conversation between friends is on its way. Kaira suddenly announces, “I like people who smell nice.” To which her friend Jackie reacts, “I hate smelly people.” 2. As she comes to terms with her so called breakup, we see Kaira stuffing noodles at a roadside joint called “Taj Chinese” and then offering the rest of it to a small boy. But in the background, the director subtly places Eros cinema and a poster of “Ki & Ka”, directed by her better half. 3. During a conversation in the midst of the therapy session, Dr Jehangir Khan casually mentions the phrase “English Vinglish”, the director’s debut film. 4. For the first time, something which was an integral part of everyone’s childhood is given importance – I am talking about Tinkle and Suppandi. 5. Kaira’s friends love her, but that doesn’t stop them from teasing her by calling her short story as ...