Bad Romance by Harshita Srivastava (Book Review-3.75*/5)!!!

1199th BLOG POST -->>

      After reading few mediocre-quality books, the latest book of Harshita Srivastava named "Bad Romance" came like a breathe of fresh air. The tagline of the book says "Love, Lies and Betrayals". The cover page of the book is very soothing. Though the title seems to be cliche but after reading the book, you will understand why it is named so and how it is better than other romantic stories being published by Indian authors. I am stunned by the quality of the story written by Harshita at this age. Reading this book has been a wonderful experience and it is one of the most special books I have read recently. I found a touch of Durjoy Datta and Preeti Shenoy's writing in Harshita's Bad Romance. I haven't read her first book but after this, I am looking forward to her future works.    

         A very simple character based story tells about different emotions a girl goes through in a relationship where she isn't treated like a princess as every girl dreams. But for the sake of love, she is quiet and keeps suffering all the tortures. Suddenly, she starts getting attracted towards her best friend and finds herself sharing some wonderful quality moments with him. Both of them decides to come together but yet again she finds challenges coming in this new relationship. She is still together with her first boyfriend and this makes the whole thing more complicated for her. And then comes a twist which changes every thing in her life and she takes a step that not every girl in India would possibly take. 

          Such a beautiful and complex character-based story is written in a very easy and good language. You will find each and every word placed at the right spot which makes your reading journey more special. The command that the authoress have on the language is commendable. She makes you feel the journey of the protagonist as if it is your own tale. At different moments, even you want to meet her boyfriend and beat the hell out of him. You feel bad when she starts failing in her new relationship too. The best part about the book is that author have kept conversations as less as possible and narration as much as possible. The climax makes you weep strongly and I wanted Harshita to write more to make us know what happened later in the story. After turning the last page, "Waah!" came out of my mouth unknowingly and that speaks a lot about the kind of book this is. I feel like personally meeting the author and telling her how beautiful her writing is. It is that kind of a work. I give the book 3.75* out of 5. Recommended!

 Thanks.

 ABHILASH RUHELA - VEERU!!!

Review: Badlapur: The best performance of Varun Dhawan!

1198th BLOG POST -->>

BADLAPUR: 3.5/5

      Badlapur has been watched and what a terrific movie it is! I was interested in it since I watched its trailer and saw Varun Dhawan in a totally different avatar but still I was bit doubtful about his ability to perform such a challenging character. But after watching the movie, I am very much impressed with what he did with every scene and dialogue of it. The greatness about his acting has been its different shades. He has been able to make us feel romantic, loving along with that he is also successful in making us cry with him. And the way he scares us whenever he goes off to take the revenge is the best part about his acting in Badlapur. I just couldn't believe that this is the same person I saw in Main Tera Hero and Humpty Sharma ki Dulhania. With this movie, all the 4 movies he has acted in has been declared hits. Wonderful record to start one's Bollywood career.

     

         Another great performance this movie delivers is of Nawazuddin Siddique's. I think he has little more screen time than Varun and he truly justifies whatever minute he is on the screen. All the great dialogues of the movie are given to him and he makes you laugh every time he is on the mission to do something. Some of the best scenes come in the jail premises where he is been bullied by another criminal. The way he replies him is one of the best funny scenes this movie gives us. Similarly, his chemistry with Huma Qureshi is another greatness of the movie. Both of them compliment each other very well on the screen. Huma Qureshi is another surprise package. The role of sex worker that she plays is the most raunchy till date. That scene between Varun and her tells us that she has justified the role very well. No other actress would have even agreed for that scene which she executed very well. Also, she looks beautiful in every scene. 

           Vinay Pathak and Radhika Apte are other great performers in the movie who have portrayed their characters which are always tensed and worried. Especially, Radhika Apte is mind-blowing in all the scenes. Divya Dutta is beyond perfectness. As always, she steals the show whenever she is on the screen. 

           Director has surely given us a very enthusiastic thrilling movie which is quite distinct and artistic. The revenge story is showcased in a new packet for sure. It's not like other revenges that we have recently seen in Bollywood that gets over with few fighting scenes and a single dialogue being repeated 10 times on the silver screen. This movie shows a bit closeness to reality when we find a person waiting for 15 years to take the revenge and doing the things that are quite possible to do. We have been hearing the issues in Savdhan India, Crime Patrol etc from years. The best scene was the one when Varun Dhawan covers the whole bedroom with plastic sheets and commits a crime. That scene gave me goosebumps.

          In all, Badlapur is a movie that has to be seen for its no-nonsense approach. Director, Sriram Raghavan, has surely washed off all his sins of Agent Vinod with this one. Haha! The only thing that affected me was a bit slow pace in the between. And a little bit of dialogue delivery issue with Varun Dhawan in some of the scenes. Otherwise, Badlapur is a movie that shouldn't be missed. I give it 3.5 stars out of 5.

 Thanks.

 ABHILASH RUHELA - VEERU!!!

hey Dad! meet my Mom by Sandeep Sharma/Leepi Agrawal (Book Review-2.5*/5)!!!

1197th BLOG POST -->>

  A book with title like "hey Dad! Meet my mom" is surely going to develop an interest in you. Considering the same, I picked up this book written by Sandeep Sharma and Leepi Agarwal. I have been knowing Sandeep from a long time through his book reviews and videos that he used to release once upon a time. I always believe that the bloggers who are reviewing books are mediocre writers and therefore when they find a book with unimaginable creativity and in better language than their own, they rate it highly and the one they feel are poorer than what they can themselves attempt, they rate it badly. I believe that even if I'll try very hard my book won't be better than 2.5 stars considering the concept of mediocrity with which I associate every book reviewer with. :-) And I found the same about Sandeep while reading Hey Dad Meet My Mom.

       

         The language of the authors is very simple and anyone who have just started reading novels will like reading this book. I liked that authors kept the book of 155 pages only because nothing new could have been done with the story if it had been thicker by 100 more pages. Initially, the arrival of Rishi does create an interest and I am happy that he is taken off from the story at the right moment as it starts irritating after a time. The flashback of Puneet's life came as a surprise and it develops an interest to read what exactly happened that's causing the traumatic experience in the protagonist's present life. Though I wish if it could have been written from a third person's voice. It would have suited the plot more. I felt in the climax that the concept which the authors are asking us to believe is a mere stupidity but when I searched on Internet about the few references that they have mentioned, I tried to accept the story. Though I am not completely satisfied but still I am not fully dejected by it. 

           I liked the way authors have tried to introduce a twist periodically to keep the readers intrigued and therefore I rate this book as average. A little mistake could have brought this book in a very bad light. It is surely a page turner as you want to know what exactly is about to get unfolded in the end. I just felt that the limitation of vocabulary and command in English language didn't let the authors express the emotions of each character as they wanted to. Similarly, I didn't find any conversation in sync just because of the same reason- the sentences' formation used to construct the emotions. Rest, I would say an average attempt. It is for the ones who believe in love blindly. I give it 2.5*. 

 Thanks.

 ABHILASH RUHELA - VEERU!!! 

Via Delhi by Sabi Shaikh (Book Preview)!!!

1196th BLOG POST -->>

          The country that is proud of its "Unity in Diversity" is just a myth. Is love a deal between two religions or a pure relationship between two individuals? Saifuddin Khan was a Sunni Muslim boy who was pursuing his MBA and resided in the city of Nawabs, Hyderabad where as Mridu Bhattacharya was a Bengali Brahmin girl who was preparing for her BBA entrance exams and hailed from the beautiful city of Dehradun. Destiny strikes and they meet in the early morning hours one day in a very unusual manner and they become each others moral support in no time.
Will their love story survive this ride or will it break down?Will this twisted Love story actually prove to be greater than any religion or will the Char log kya kahenge factor murder their love story?Who will be victorious in this Romantic, Bizarre, Rollercoaster Journey?

   

 Thanks. And Sorry as the review had to be taken down due to some serious reason. 

 ABHILASH RUHELA - VEERU!!! 

Bizarre Emotions by Piyush Naik (Book Review-3.75*/5)!!!

1195th BLOG POST -->>

     Being a reviewer is one of the toughest jobs as you have to work with the same people still you go on scrutinizing their works and criticizing them. Frankly speaking, I hate it because sometimes I have to be very rude to make the author know what went wrong. I remember I gave very rude review to Abhishek Agrawal for his debut book and I was surprised to see the transformation in his 2nd book. The history has repeated itself but this time with Piyush Naik. I gave his first book that he wrote at the age of 18 just 1 star, unfortunately. I am just done reading his 2nd book named "Bizarre Emotions" and .... Well, read my review to know how bizarre my emotions are at the moment...     

           Let's start with the cover page. One of the best cover pages I have seen in the recent times. Let people quote it as many times but a book is picked only if its cover page is interesting otherwise there's no other way a book can be judged without reading it. Isn't it? Then, the synopsis even when it states that the three protagonists are 18 and 19 years old; still creates an urge to read about them without assuming that the story would be the same- love, break-up, patch-up thing. Somewhere, the author has managed to tell you that this is different and better. So, Piyush managed to keep the trailer as best as possible that will surely ensure more readers than he already had. 

           The book is romantic thriller and I totally enjoyed my experience of reading it. I have completed it in one sitting. Piyush's command in the language has improved marginally. The lucidity in every sentence impresses you and makes your reading pace faster. That's the sign of a mature writing when the language and narration does not irritate you. The way story starts at an event and the way Piyush takes us back into the lives of each character separately is wonderfully executed. Even the romantic scenes and the way twists and turns happen in everyone's life is justifying and different. After that, the way story proceeds forward creates an urge in you to know how these teen boys and girl will take revenge against their school principal who had ruined their life for his self-benefit, lust and greediness. The last scene when many secrets are revealed shocks and surprises you and that's when you want to put your hats off for this 20 years old author for writing something as incredible as this. 

   

       Coming to the few drawbacks:- I found the prologue and epilogue quite an imitation of Chetan Bhagat's way of writing. Be yourself, Piyush. You have immense talent in you. The spelling mistakes and grammatical errors became a distraction after a point of time. I am disappointed as to why repeated proof-reading wasn't done. The anti-climax when the 3 characters plan their revenge against the principal could have been much better. But it's still satisfying. The biggest thing that wasn't digestible and justifiable to me was the riding of BMW and SUV cars by the teenage boys. This is India and you just can't identify yourself with such NRI-type characters. And the last one- Rasika should have been brought back in the story at least once. That character is just thrown away after an event that changes the mindset of the 3 protagonists.

            Summarily, I would say a powerful attempt by a 20 years old boy when compared to some really matured Indian writers who are still unable to write a book with the same passion and plot. I can easily say that this book of Piyush Naik reminded me of Sudeep Nagarkar and Novoneel Chakraborty's books somewhere. And that's a big compliment. It's one of the best books read by me in the recent times and I wish Piyush Naik continues writing such terrific stories built out of passion, plot, love, friendship, tragedy, romance, revenge, vengeance, action, death and twists-and-turns. I give him 3.75*. It could have been 4 easily if the grammatical/spelling mistakes could have been avoided and anti-climax would have been written with little more action and suspense. Rest, I am impressed.

 Thanks.

 ABHILASH RUHELA - VEERU!!!

World Cup 2015: India vs Pakistan: Ek baar fir.. FAKRA HAI!!!

1194th BLOG POST -->>

       The terrific match for which we wait for 4 years is over. India crushed Pakistan by 76 runs to maintain their streak of winning against Pakistan for 6th consecutive time without letting them win ever in World Cups. People were quite scared as India does not have any previous players who can scare the Pakistan team just by their names. Leave performance. And then, the biggest absence of Sachin Tendulkar was another factor because of which Indian fans thought this might turn out to be challenging for us. But the way our batsmen performed, it is not only satisfying but touching the mark of 300 is more than enough. 

 

        In pressure, we are unable to give a presentation of 5 minutes out of nervousness and here, our team managed to score what is genuinely called a good score on board. Even then there was tension among masses as our bowling attack is one of the worst at present. We didn't have Zaheer Khan of last World Cup nor Yuvraj Singh who assured that he takes 2 early wickets to bring India in a comfortable position. But a great performance by Mohd Sami, Umesh Yadav and R Ashwin gave India a wonderful win of 76 runs- the biggest margin ever by which India defeated Pakistan in World Cups. Now who knew this match would turn out to be the biggest win by India against Pakistan without all those players with whom we recognize Team India with.

     

    The biggest happiness and satisfaction was seeing Virat Kohli meeting the high expectations we have kept with him since Tendulkar's retirement. He proved that we will not have to miss our GOD for next 15 years till he's in the team. He hit another ton to ensure that the team wins. In the presentation ceremony when he was complimented as new Sachin Tendulkar, the 30-seconds continuous smile on his face said it all. He knows he is the one. And I am happy that success haven't gone in his head and he continuously scores whenever it matters. Dhawan gave a good start even when his form has not been good since last 2 years. Similarly, it was great to see Raina come and score 70 so quickly that it made easy for Kohli to struggle with his nervous 90s. When Kohli scored his ton, Raina's fist went up in air before him. It tells us a lot about the sporting spirit, team spirit and the kind of selfless player he is! The only disappointment has been Rohit Sharma, yet again. He never scores in the matches that matters.  

           Another delighting moment was Amitabh Bachchan's commentary in the first 10 overs. Every time he gave some technical details, the air of sweetness used to fill the ambiance. But he was too sweet to make us feel the aggression of India and Pakistan match. Good that he did it for initial few overs only. In the end, I would also like to salute Dhoni for that DRS appeal and overall captaincy in today's match. I would like to share bullets consisting of several records created today and other statistics that is necessary as it's not every day when records are made in India vs Pakistan's World Cup match. :-) 

• Virat Kohli becomes the first Indian to score a century against Pakistan in World Cups.
• Virat Kohli surpasses Sachin's highest score i.e 98 (in WC 2003) against Pakistan in World Cups.
• Virat Kohli scores 22nd ODI century and equals Sourav Ganguly's number of centuries. He is now the 4th highest in most ODI centuries scored internationally. 
• His 22nd ODI century is the quickest. Achieved in his 143rd innings. Surpassed Sachin Tendulkar's record of achieving the same in 206 innings.
• Virat Kohli scored century in first match of India in both the World Cups- 2011 and now in 2015. 
• Misbah-ul-Haq second oldest to make a 50 in the WC.
• MS Dhoni has become the 3rd wicketkeeper to reach 14000 runs in international cricket. Sanga 17338, Gilchrist 15252
• Sohail Khan's 5 for 55 is exactly the 50th five-wicket haul of World Cup history. 
• Sohail Khan is also the first Asian to claim five-wicket haul on World Cup debut - He is the 9th overall.
• The last 3 maiden overs(in a match) bowled by an Indian bowler in World Cup was in 1979. R Ashwin did it today after 3 and a half decades. 
• In each WC match whenever India and Pakistan played, the team which won toss opted for batting.
• India maintains its record of winning all the matches against Pakistan in World Cups by 6-0.
• This is the biggest margin with which India defeated Pakistan in WCs i.e. by 76 runs.
• In this World Cup 2015, century has been scored in every match till now. 
• In this World Cup 2015, 300+ runs has been scored in each match at least once. 

 Thanks.

 ABHILASH RUHELA - VEERU!!!

Review: Roy: Non-thrilling & Non-romantic! *½

1193rd BLOG POST -->>

ROY: 1.5/5

     

    Roy is a 2015 Indian romantic thriller film, directed by debutant Vikramjit Singh and produced by Bhushan Kumar, Krishan Kumar, Divya Khosla Kumar and Ajay Kapoor under Freeway Pictures. The movie features Arjun Rampal, Ranbir Kapoor and Jacqueline Fernandez, in the lead roles with Anupam Kher, Rajit Kapur and Shibani Dandekar in supporting roles. The film is based on a mysterious thief and his theft, robbery and love-interest. The movie had its premiere in Dubai on February 12, 2015 and was released worldwide on February 13, 2015.

          I was expecting a lot from Roy because it didn't look like regular movies in which Ranbir kapoor acts. But now after I am done with it, I can say that it isn't into a good category of movie at all. Director has tried enough to make us believe in whatever he is trying to show it to us through two parallel stories but it's just unconvincing. I did like starting as Arjun Rampal's character is too intense to not take it seriously. But after some point of time, you start disliking him as half of the time he seems to be acting like Shahrukh Khan. Also his character becomes weak with a twist when Jacqueline leaves him behind. In the climax, I managed to understand what actually director wanted to convey. But that didn't act like a thriller but something that didn't let me enjoy the whole movie the way I expected it to.

           I liked few dialogues and conversations that were really directed wonderfully but unfortunately, there aren't many scenes that makes you a fan of ROY. Jacqueline Fernandez looks beautiful throughout and also her acting is watchable and interesting. I found only her to be justifying with her role. Ranbir Kapoor. Why the hell has he been taken into the movie to waste a talent like him? How did he sign the movie at first? I want to know. A charmer that he is, he is almost invisible even in the parts that belongs to him. I just cannot believe what has happened with his career graph after YJHD with the movies like Besharam and then this. The biggest put down of ROY. 

            Rest, songs are wonderful but they have nothing to do with this movie or its story. They are just interruptions. Climax is too weak to come out of theater with open mouths shocked with a thrilling revelation. The movie is boring with few interesting dialogues and philosophical scenes. The direction is lazy because of which you cannot expect yourself smiling but yawning most of the times. The two-plot formula is also idiotically screenplay-ed. In short, you can miss this movie in theater to watch it later on TV or DVD. I give it 1.5 stars out of 5. 

 Thanks.

 ABHILASH RUHELA - VEERU!!!

Decoding Life by Vikas Singal (Book Review-2.5*/5)!!!

1192nd BLOG POST -->>

     This is the second work of Vikas Singal that I have just completed reading. 3 months back, I had read the e-book released by him which comprised of 3 small love tales. I had a complain that his stories were too short to communicate anything and I'm bit happy with the progress he made in this anthology named "Decoding Life". It comprises of 10 short stories which are based on different topics and it's surely better than his first attempt. Generally, with anthologies, you find that they aren't edited well but I congratulate Singal's publisher- Gargi who have assured that the book isn't badly formatted and grammatically incorrect. 

     

           The first story, Taxi Driver, shows how out of fear a girl runs away from a taxi driver when he halts for a few minutes. Later, author shows how all men are not the same. For me, the best story is "A Rain Kissed Tuesday". The emotions that this story carries is almost similar to what many Indian authors are doing with their 225-pages book. Author managed to do it in few pages itself. K N Laxman is another good story in the book which shows how people think everyone is selfish even if few people are genuinely good and caring. Glad That We Met is another story which will make you smile at few scenes. The Mistake serves its conclusion well. Two States is the worst attempt according to me. Author could not link the two situations together perfectly. I was expecting little masala from The Train but it ended being too sweet. Book ends with That Mystery Girl which is quite similar to Taxi Driver where author tries to tell how every girl isn't flirty and date-friendly. 

           The attempt by Vikas Singal is honest and you can find the same in every story. To release a book with 10 short stories by a single author is a wonderful idea but then it should be taken care of how many stories are par excellent. I found almost 70% of the stories mediocre. I was expecting little more length from the stories even this time. Author had a conclusion in his mind and he wanted to reach to it in as less words as possible. He should attempt long version of short stories now. But I genuinely liked 2-3 stories and they shall remain in my mind for days. My favorite is A Rain Kissed Tuesday, The Train and The Mistake. I give the book 2.5 stars out of 5. 

 Thanks.

 ABHILASH RUHELA - VEERU!!! 

Train to Pakistan by Khushwant Singh (Book Review-3.75*/5)!!!

1191st BLOG POST -->>

     

    I have read many articles in Hindustan Times written by Khushwant Singh along with few of his works that keeps getting circulated online. This is the first time when I have read any book of his. "Train to Pakistan" was gifted to me by a very special person and I can not thank her enough for taking me to a journey which has made me understand the state through which few people survived when partition took place while Independence. Though the book is fictional but the scenes it narrates makes you remember few incidents which has happened for real and have been read by us in History books for years. The way Khushwant Singh has written the book being unbiased and truthful makes it more special. There are many books written on the same topic but I am sure no one else would have written it as beautifully as he has. 

          Though the book can be called as a fictional work based in the times of partition but along with it, the author has also tried to give us some characters that can be well related with many people we see around us. The characterization is done so wonderfully that you can almost imagine what kind of a person each one of them are. It is shown how a person who is considered to be educated and expected to bring revolution could not do anything in the times of hardship. Similarly, another person who is treated badly throughout by government, policemen, girlfriend, villagers turns out to be the one who saves 1000s of life by putting his life at risk. Khushwant Singh has been successful in portraying how a true character of a person is showcased only when he is put into tough conditions and challenging situations. 

    "Train to Pakistan" is very beautifully written where Khushwant Singh has frankly talked about every small aspect of how the mentality affected the nation badly during partition. The whole village which was very soft and loving suddenly becomes violent and aggressive against a religion is a hard-hitting scene. The way government used to twist facts and take decisions according to their convenience is also openly discussed. There are many scenes where you will find yourself in it. That's how amazingly the author has scribbled this book and narrated each scene. I give the book 3.75 stars out of 5. 

 Thanks.

 ABHILASH RUHELA - VEERU!!!

Whom do you LOVE more- FRIENDS or WHATSAPP? Decide!

1190th BLOG POST -->>

          A friend of mine was about to meet me after 6 years at my home. I was very excited. I asked my mom to cook best dishes possible because someone is coming to meet me specially and that too from a different city. This cannot happen without love or a soft corner. I cancelled even few plans of mine that were scheduled for those 2 days. I went to station and picked him up. We hugged each other like long lost brothers and after we reached home, the first thing he asked was a charger. I searched for the charger he demanded and gave it to him. He inserted it into his mobile's port and said it's working fine and thanked me. I, obviously, said him not to thank and mocked angry expression. He smiled and said,"You haven't changed". Yes, for good friends, a person can never change in spite of whatever position he reaches or whatever status he possesses. They remain the same. I was/am no different though there's no achievements. Haha!

        We had the lunch together and discussed about his current life. As soon as the lunch got over, he went and picked up his mobile phone which was enough charged by now. While we were already having a conversation, he started typing a message to someone. I kept speaking considering that he was listening. In the middle of the conversation, I asked him something and he completely blanked out. He said sorry and asked me to repeat as he was replying to few people who were concerned about his journey. So it was necessary to tell them about the latest update that hereached my home safely.

           I smiled and let the feeling of being ignored go away. Otherwise I would have hated the friend at the moment itself. We again resumed conversation while he kept checking his Whatsapp yet again and again. In the middle of something that I was speaking, he laughed out loud and said,"Just hear this joke" and started narrating a joke that I have already deleted 15 times from my Whatsapp conversations. Now I felt terrible that he was actually reading a joke and not listening to what I was trying to tell him. I then shut my mouth and sat there silently. He himself said,"Yaa continue what you were telling me". I thought may be he is interested and again forgave him.

           Again, while I was speaking, he picked up a call and started talking with the person without even asking me to excuse him. I was devastated by now. He even left the room. When he returned back, with a wide smile and no regret, he said,"He is my classmate. A wonderful guy." That was almost after 40 minutes of talking to him. This guy who comes to meet me after 6 years for just 36 hours is more interested in spending 40 minutes by talking to someone with whom he has already spent 2 years and will be back with him from the next day on wards. 

           For the rest of the day he continued typing and chatting with the people he had left behind in the city he came from. I had planned to bunk my college next day for him even when I had a presentation. I dropped the plan and next morning, told him I would be going to college as it's very important and would not be able to drop him to station. He immediately said,"Hey can't you bunk your college for a day for me?" I shamelessly and bluntly replied,"No. Not for someone who is busy in his mobile for almost every minute since he entered my home." His smile and confidence dropped. This time I smiled and felt better ignoring someone who didn't care till then. 

            Why is peeping into the mobile screen so important for youth these days? Why is the real person sitting in front is avoided so badly for someone who is sitting kilometers away? When a person stays with a group, he is in mobile talking to friends of some other place. Finally, he goes to meet those friends. After 5 minutes of Hi and Hello, he again goes into his mobile for talking with friends that he has just left behind. Why is one interested in the person who's available through mobile and not with one who's trying to spend a quality time with you? After all this, there's not even a bit of courtesy left to even excuse while picking up a call or reading an important mail loudly. How bad it feels to a person whom you are continuously ignoring even when he has left his important chores just to spend those few hours with you. 

           It is good to follow your updates and be in touch with people but not at the cost of the real people in your life. Today we hear how parents and child do not communicate as children are always in their world of Whatsapping and Facebooking. I have seen in malls how a group of 4-5 friends are sitting together and all are busy in their mobile phones. None of them are interested in chatting with each other. I feel pity for such people. They are losing so much in life. Whenever I and my friends have night-outs at my home, there's a rule that all the mobiles will get into my drawer once the process begins. All can talk to their mummy once they reach my place and inform they are safe. I also disconnect TV and hide my laptop. It's a pure non-technology-oriented night outs. We play carrom, cards, laugh, talk, shout, dance etc but never watch a movie or surf Internet. The committed boys are told to explain their possessive girlfriends about the rule. Let them hate me but a precious night can't be wasted by making all the boys talk to their respective girls and grin at each other while interpreting what the other one is exactly talking with his girlfriend. :|

          It's okay to have mobile in your hands or in your face when you are standing alone at bus-stands, metro/local stations, sitting in a bus, waiting for someone etc. But as soon as you get a company, you should edit your online status to BUSY and give all the time to this person who is spending a segment of his life with you. I used to be one among this section of people always tweeting and never concentrating in the group I used to be sitting with. Friends often complained. I never bothered. After I left Graduation college, I realized how much I missed my friends later on. Then I took a big decision and stopped activating Internet on my Prepaid card. Motive:- Let the addiction of Twitter go away. Now, I do have Internet on my phone, I do have Whatsapp but I make sure I do not join a group. I leave as soon as I am added. I will make a conference call if necessary. I will go and meet and plan a re-union if needed. But I cannot lose the real people in my life for the ones sitting kilometers away. Do understand this if you love Whatsapp groups and Facebook Messenger's pings. You do not know how much you are hurting people around you and ignoring the quality time God is allowing you to have. DO UNDERSTAND!!! That's all.

 Thanks.

 ABHILASH RUHELA - VEERU!!!

Review: Shamitabh: A failed tribute to BACHCHAN's VOICE!!! **½

1189th BLOG POST -->>

SHAMITABH: 2.5/5

       Shamitabh is R Balki's 3rd film after Cheeni Kum and Paa. Both the movies had got mixed reviews and same will be the case with Shamitabh. Balki has been an ad-director from a long time. And that shows well in this movie. You will find the first movie in which this character of Shamitabh works named "Lifebuoy". Yes, I am right. Amazon is also the point of conversation more than once. Seven Hills hospital is also promoted in the end. Surprisingly, the unique plot which Balki promises doesn't get as much importance as these brands in the movie.

 

       Balki uses Amitabh Bachchan's voice and Dhanush's acting skills and develops a mixture named Shamitabh which will help Dhanush become a Bollywood superstar as he is dumb in the movie. Also, Amitabh Bachchan is shown as an old man who came in Mumbai 40 years ago to become an actor just like Dhanush but fails. When offered, even he wants to take a sort-of revenge from the film fraternity. But that passion isn't shown later at any point in the movie. The drunk scenes of Big B are wonderful initially but it becomes repetitive and irritating with time. You want to come out of that cemetery soon because of the boredom it creates few scenes.

         Dhanush does a wonderful work. We do not get to hear his own voice in the movie and you can imagine how hard it would have been to enact Amitabh Bachchan's baritone throughout. He has surely improved a lot since Ranjhanaa. Amitabh Bachchan, as always, makes sure that whenever he is on the screen, either with his acting or voice intrigues you. His voice echoes in the cinema hall and that's what Balki wanted to cash upon. Unfortunately, a great tribute could have been given to his voice than this dominated movie under lost plot post-interval and its predictability. Akshara Hasan is nice and surely watchable. Her charm and genuineness is likable. 

         Another weak point is the logic used behind making the character of Dhanush speak in Amitabh's voice. Come on, dude, that was as silly as the tanker scene in Jai Ho. Just because Bollywood audience accepts anything to make the movie earn 100 crore, you will show anything? Even a 3rd std boy would make faces after hearing the logic and scream,"WHAT A LIE!!!". Balki has proved this point of Bollywood's logic by giving a meaning to the song Piddley and showing how it works on the screen. That was all too difficult to digest. Also the climax seems to be an abrupt end to a wonderful twist that was about to happen. May be Balki found it hard to execute so he decides an easy scene and ends the movie. In all, I would say a difficult one-time watch and not very interesting. If skipped, not a big deal. I give it 2.5 stars.

 Thanks.

 ABHILASH RUHELA - VEERU!!!

First Impression Never Dies!!!

1188th BLOG POST -->>

   

       Every time I am about to join a new place, I become too nervous that I feel I should bunk the first day and join from the next day on wards. I can tell people that I started vomiting since midnight and therefore, I shall also get sympathies on the very first day itself. But because of obvious reasons, I have never been able to execute this plan. :-) But what makes it difficult for me and many others like me become nervous while joining a new place? It's not about the challenges that we are going to face because that's the reason why we join a new institution. It's always about the fear of not turning out to be stupid on the first day itself and embarrass ourselves. That's the reason why we are so nervous. It's not that we never had friends and we are curious about forming friends at a new place but we do not want to become the center of attraction of everyone's gossip. Isn't it?

          We try to behave very generous and kind on the very first day and continue our gesture for the days to come until we don't settle down properly along with people. Once we feel that we are out of that phase where we can be judged or isolated, we become comfortable and from here the glorious days at the work begins. Even when it's the first day of our Graduation or B-school, we are very conscious of everything we do. We don't even smile the way we really do. For people like me who don't have their teeth in good shape, it becomes more difficult to find any way to impress people on the first day with their smile at least. Creating the first impression is so hard that I almost prefer to sit quietly and watch others than making myself a part of conversation and form a group right on the very first day. I also don't prefer an old friend I already know at a new place because then you get bonded with this particular person and lose your options of creating new friends from your own perspective.

          Similarly, the way I am talking about creating my own impression, I am also a 2nd person who is watching others and judging the way I am judged. There are few people whom I find in the same turmoil as mine. They are sitting in a corner and thinking if they will ever become friendly with this new set of people who are trying to be so cool that it seems all of them were friends since birth. There are others who are inquiring and sharing how all of them landed here and what were their first experience at the counter, office or reception. 

           And then comes the set of people whom I dislike the most and make sure I am not forming any group in which these people are the core parts. These are the people who start criticizing the whole place and system from the first minute itself. They will complain about almost everything- the location, the water cooler, the wash room, the faculties, the staffs etc. They will compare the place with other competitors and tell how better are those institutions. It is this point of time when I wish to break my silence and ask who compelled them to come here if they knew about the better options available. But I find it better to ignore them and indulge myself in hating the guy more and promising myself that I will never share a personal conversation ever with this cribber. 

           Then there are another set of self-proclaimed cool dudes who try to tell how perfect and rich their life is. They will tell you that they already had a wonderful offer or job but still they opt for this because they heard it might take them to the next level. They will tell you how things are in the real world as if they are 20 years elder to us. They will want to dominate you by making you look and feel very small in your eyes. You silently hear the person's bakwaas and blame God for not making you like them to narrate all made-up stories about your achievements and how you are the KING OF THE WORLD already. 

            Then comes another set of guys who will directly start abusing and showing you how normal it is for them. Well, they won't be knowing that for you these abuses expired in 5th grade itself and what you hurl is as destructive as ISIS bombs. But then you come from the family that teaches you to be respectful to others until there's a certain level of friendship unlocked where abusing each other becomes expression of love. I hate the people who directly refer me and others using "Tu" in the first conversation itself. Come on, man. I know I'm your age. I know tomorrow we shall be killing each other with abuses but keep some courtesy until there's no introduction at least. Start with Tum and later on, we can switch to TU once we build rapport. 

          And the worst grade of boys are the ones who start making silly and vulgar comments on girls. They will try to show you that no matter from where we come, the mentality towards the girls are the same for everyone. They will comment on almost every girl and make lusty faces and expressions whenever a girl with good pulchritude passes by. This irritates me a lot. One of them can be my friend and you can land up with a punch, idiot. At least think about that. But they do not care. They are here just to ogle at girls and try to bed themselves with few as soon as possible and later dump them. Sick! 

            If you are from any of these crass set of people, please become aware of what message you are sending to this new environment with whom you are going to spend next few years of yours. Being fake while delivering the first impression is still better than being dirty just to make yourself look the Dominating one among this new set of people who are still thinking with whom to speak and not. I almost take 1 year to decide with whom I have to spend rest of my years with. Never ever do I get so active that I play dirty to become the hero of my class. That's actually becoming villain. Remember guys, someone have said it right- FIRST IMPRESSION IS THE LAST IMPRESSION. 

 Thanks.

 ABHILASH RUHELA - VEERU!!!

It Happens for a Reason by Preeti Shenoy (Book Review- 4.25*/5)!!!

1187th BLOG POST -->>

        If there's one writer who have always impressed me with his/her writing each time he/she had released his/her work- It's Preeti Shenoy apart from Ravi Subramanian. Not even once did I rate any of her book below 4 stars. In fact, her last book "The One You Cannot Have" got 4.9* rating from me. That's almost perfect. This time, it took me long enough to read her latest book because of internship and college issues. But I finished reading "It Happens For A Reason" few hours ago and since then I am only thinking about its characters and emotional journey through which the book took me. I had plans of sleeping around 12 AM last night but her book made me wake till 4.30 AM. That's the power of Preeti Shenoy's writing and her stories. You just keep getting deep into it and find yourself in a meditative state after a point of time where you are concentrating only on the words written by the writer. With every breathe, you feel the emotion and feelings of protagonist and every other character attached with him/her. 

   

           IHFAR is a story about a girl who ends up getting pregnant before marriage while her modelling career is at zenith. She takes the decision of giving birth to her child while the boy, Ankush rejects her decision and even her parents decide to send her away from Mumbai. She is fine with all the rejection as the only thing that she wants is her baby. She names him Aryan. From here on wards, Preeti tells us about how she takes care of a 15 year old boy and how she struggles to earn whatever little bit she does. Also her past is been discussed as the emotional turmoil that disturbs Vipasha every day. Suchi is always there with her as moral support since childhood. What happens when one day Ankush returns back in her life? What happens when her parents who dejected her also contacts her? What happens when Aryan comes to know about his father? To find this answer, you will have to experience this roller-coaster ride yourself.

     

      Preeti Shenoy once again writes in very fluid English which is surely going to impress the class that thinks Indian authors are only ruining the language and literature. From the point the book starts, the emotions that the protagonist Vipasha expresses makes you feel for her. There are few great scenes in the book which I don't think any other writer could have written it so well. The incident that takes place with the dogs, the love-making scene between Vipasha and Ankush, the final hospital moment when she gives birth to Aryan, the hug scene between the father and son and many more... I loved the equation between Vipasha and Suchi the most. I also liked how the author connects the story with a real incident where 24 children drowned in water in Himachal Pradesh. The last 20-30 pages are so emotional that I found myself controlling my tears every minute. 

            I give this book 4.25*. I want to give it 4.5* or more but because I feel Preeti Shenoy has just repeated herself again and not done something very new. I have already read a story from her where a mother is a single parent to her child and struggles to earn for him. I have already read in another book how a married lady gets back to her teen love/husband. I wished if a new base could have been used for this one but I'm still more than impressed. This book is a soul in itself. And if you haven't read Preeti Shenoy still, you will rate this book no less than 4.75*. Just do read this book. I felt so much love and respect for my mother after reading it. All thanks to Preeti mam for making me get into the shoes of all the women in my life and think about how they think of life. Only you can do this. EACH AND EVERY TIME. RESPECT!

 Thanks.

 ABHILASH RUHELA - VEERU!!!

AIB Knockout: Unacceptable, Pretentious, Humiliating, SHAMEFUL!

1186th BLOG POST -->>

        Well, I would not deny that I was from one among the first people to watch AIB Knockout videos that were published on Youtube. I didn't know the level of the stuffs spoken at the show as I told you I was among the first lot of viewers. But when the show was shot, I had heard that they cracked some offensive jokes on Arpita Khan, sister of Salman Khan. Before clicking on the videos, I thought they must have censored the abuses as it is been done on the shows like Roadies and Splitsvilla regularly. But I was surprised to find that almost all the abuses that we hurl in our friend circle is posted publicly. And seeing Bollywood personalities also greeting almost everyone with abuses was quite surprising as generally they talk about how they make sure their fans do not learn anything wrong through them. I did laugh on few jokes while watching it because only few jokes were worth laughing; rest were just repetitive and forcibly added in the script.

   

           I am surely one among many boys who don't think twice before abusing. But I surely make sure that I do not utter anything even hurtful when I am with someone new or join a new place. Yes, all of us in the world knows almost all the abuses that are spoken between friends but that does not mean we update Facebook statuses almost everyday in abusive and vulgar language. Almost every group of boys talk about girls but that does not mean we write it off on our walls and make fun of the same. Do you think the girls would take our jokes positively and sportingly? Even I would not, as a boy. It can lead anyone into depression. Though AIB fans say in defense that it's called "laughing on ourselves". Cool, that means if I speak the same way they were talking to Aditi Mittal about their sisters, they will take it sportingly. Not possible at least for next 50 years. There's still some shame and line maintained in our generation too.

          Even I have girls in my group but I don't remember even if any joke has been made on their figure or they have been treated abusively. I do not know what AIB guys were trying to prove that day. Karan Johar was talking about his sexuality on that particular day as if someone had given him an offer to speak about it. Come on, man. How many times have you talked about your sexuality on Twitter publicly? It was clearly evident that Arjun Kapoor was abusing for no reasons and only to become hero by doing that. What kind of heroism is that? Ranveer Singh was okay with jokes made on how he is a sex offender and lay down with almost every woman possible. He was trying to prove how macho he is in real life. And then these celebrities talk about how they don't want to do scenes that can give wrong message to their fans. Crap!

          Deepika Padukone showed how sensitive she was for the pictures that TOI posted of her cleavage. But when the jokes about the same was made there on the stage, she was laughing heartily sitting in the first row itself. Double standards. Karan Johar talked about his sex position, abused as much as he wanted and also used abusive words that are used for reproductive organs while his mother was sitting in the first row. I do not know any in my vast social circle who talks in this manner with their mother or even in their presence. We don't even talk those stuffs with the girls in our group. Some people did find all this great because they might be wishing society to become advanced after watching this so that they will not have to hide their real faces every time they are at home. 

            If AIB guys must have made this video with four of them and abused each other continuously for 8 long hours and released it online, I would have understood because we know four of them have a great bonding and it's normal for friends to talk like that. I am only critical because I found this whole Knockout thing an unwanted attempt. Many in the panel must have met each other for the first time. And the way they were throwing dirty one-liners at each other was too fake to digest and find it genuine. The videos were trying to say that the first day in college when you enter the classroom, you can easily greet every new students like "Hi F*****s!!". And you can say it to any particular girl that no matter what you do for the next 4 years, you are so unattractive that I will never imagine you while masturbating in loneliness. Is this acceptable? No. At least, not for me. 

            I do not know if India has lost itself overnight or something and my thoughts and ideologies are 18th century things suddenly but it's just not us. Even they were themselves not what they actually are. I have met Raghu Ram. I have conversed with Rajeev Masand. I didn't hear a single cuss words from them. Raghu has regularly said that he is not what he tries to be on Roadies. Similarly, he is not even this what he was at AIB's show. I can still say that everything was fine but what they said about Parineeti Chopra was something I felt so awkward, bad, humiliated and sad that I wanted to slap all these stars for allowing something like this to happen. Even Raghu made faces at that point of them. It was that vulgar and unacceptable. Then these same people talk about how women are unsafe, objectified and disrespected in this society. 

            I understand Freedom of Speech. I know it should not be banned. But I have problem with their thinking of even creating and doing something like this and releasing it online. I have seen leaked videos of Hrithik Roshan saying Motherf***** and MS Dhoni abusing but I didn't protest against them. Because they did it in their friend circle which unknowingly got leaked on line. But if you are releasing something like this for viewers to watch, you are adding your contribution in ruining this society and making it tougher for women. Because now guys will easily say "when superstars like this can take the joke, why can't you?" every time a girl will protest insult, humiliation, snub and eve-teasing. My only criticisms towards this stuff by AIB are:

• It's forcibly done even when these guys are themselves not what they projected themselves to be. 
• Jokes are meant to be taken sportingly but witnessing the insult of any woman is as criminal as insulting her. I didn't like what they said about Parineeti.
• And almost everyone sitting there proved their double standards. Sonakshi Sinha has blocked me on Twitter 2 years back when I asked her,"Have you kissed Salman Khan?" Here, she had no problem with all those stuffs. 

             That's all I had to say. Sorry if anyone felt I have overdone. 

 Thanks.

 ABHILASH RUHELA - VEERU!!!

13 Steps to Bloody Good Luck by Ashwin Sanghi (Book Review-4.5*/5)!!!

1185th BLOG POST -->>

         What happens when you a lot of efforts into something and still could not find yourself near success? The situation gets even more impatient when you find someone else with less seriousness and dedication winning it over you. The first thing that we do is blame our luck and abuse our God. Right? If you believe that luck plays its part in your success and failure and it isn't in your control but something that God has already written it for you, please go to a bookstore and pick up Ashwin Sanghi's first non-fictional attempt named "13 Steps to Bloody Good Luck". I have read only the last two books of Ashwin Sanghi and the kind of thrillers that he write, I was never expecting such kind of a non-fiction work by him. I had a conversation with him when he told me that he's writing a non-fiction and I thought it might become another wanna-be like Chetan Bhagat's What Young India Wants. But surprisingly, I am mind-blown and this book is surely going to change my life for sure. 

 

          After reading Robin Sharma's motivational books, I generally do not find another self-help books as interesting as his but I can definitely list this one in the list undoubtedly. I liked the topic that Ashwin Sanghi has chosen for writing in a genre that he never tried before. His language has been so friendly and amicably good that it will help even a 10th std child to read this book and take out something from it. Right from the first page, the pace that the author has picked up is adventurous and it does not end until the last word isn't scribbled. A reader will find it not only hard but impossible to keep this book unfinished. I completed it in one sitting though I want to read it once again part by part on daily basis. 

     

    This book surely has the potential of changing one's life and approach. The 13 steps that Ashwin has discussed as easy to implement and therefore this book is going to work with the masses. The examples that he has given on almost every page are so inspirational that you'll want to cut each of them and paste in on every wall of your home. From Facebook, Google, Flipkart, Whatsapp to Walmart, Ratan Tata, Ambani, Lakshmi Mittal to Amish Tripathi, Chetan Bhagat to Sachin Tendulkar and Amitabh Bachchan- Ashwin Sanghi has given every type of example to prove his point and make you believe that it's possible even for you. I also liked how he ended the book by discussing EQ and introducing LQ. The 14th step added in the end is also a wonderful post-climax. 

         The best part is that Sanghi kept the book short and didn't make it 500-pages thick as mostly motivational books are sidelined because of their over-description and case-studies. Also, at Rs. 100, this book is GOD. Yes! And Amazon is giving it for Rs. 50. If you even once cursed luck for your failure, do read this book as you will know how luck is in your own hands. And mind you, don't think that the point has been over-exaggerated in a theoretical manner. It's not. It's as genuine as our casual talks. Get the book. I rate it 4.5 out of 5. GO FOR IT!!!

 Thanks.

 ABHILASH RUHELA - VEERU!!!