My Report Card of 2015!!!

1380th BLOG POST -->>

          I hope you remember I had posted about completing the year's target in this last month of year rather than waiting for a new year to begin and then make dummy resolutions only for namesake and end up forgetting them in the first quarter of the year itself. I tried my level best and got successful in almost every target I had kept for myself. One of them was to get 200 blog posts completed this year and luckily, I am writing this post which is 200th post of this year. :-) There are many resolutions and target that we keep every year for ourselves and strive every day to accomplish them. This is valid only for those people who really love themselves. And I love myself a lot. Haha! This year, in the very first blog post that I had written, I had discussed about what 2015 has in store for me. I had given an overview of what I'll be doing to make my year successful. Sharing those words with all of you in case you have forgotten. 

             "Now, as 2015 has begun, I have decided to keep my list of resolutions short. The only target as of now is gaining enough knowledge so that I end up getting a good job after completing MCA. I do not want 2015 to be a depressing and jobless year as it seems to be happening. I wish to change my life from here on wards. Already this year will see my education getting over and professional world welcoming me. I just want it to be delighting and memorable. The first half of 2015 will be all about my efforts, hard work, dedication, sleepless nights that I shall put to make myself a salable employee. The 2nd half will be about delivering what I would have done in these 6 months. Another resolution is to lose the fats that I have accumulated in 2014 like anything. It's becoming very embarrassing for me now. :| Let's see what 2015 has for store in me."

              Now, I can proudly say that I didn't disappoint myself and achieved whatever I had talked about in the above paragraph an year ago. There are few resolutions that I had marked up in my diary which I have achieved and also some new experiences which I luckily got a chance to witness. I am sharing few of them below.

• Got MCA's 5th semester result and scored my best percentage till then.
• Got MCA's 6th semester and final result and again scored the best marks I have ever scored. 
• Got Certified as "Software tester" with A Grade.
• Got a job as "Software Tester" within a month of completing MCA.
• Following which got the very first salary of my life.
• Read 60 Books
• Reached the landmark of 1200th and 1300th Blog Post.
• Wrote 200 Blog Posts.
• Purchased 5.1 Surround Speakers, Food Processor, Mobile phone and Leg Massager with my hard-earned money.
• Had my first journey in Flight from Mumbai to Lucknow and return too.
• Got my passport
• Had 3 long-drives of almost 100 Kilometers each. 
• Worshiped Shirdi Sai Baba like I do every year.
• Attended Bowers and Wilkins' event at Four Seasons Hotel, Worli. 
• Got admitted in Welingkar Institute's Part time MBA Program etc.

               Overall, I have been successful in completing all my targets and 2015 has emerged out to be my best year till now. It is quite sad to leave this year behind but every new year comes with new challenges and opportunities therefore, I am looking forward to 2016 eagerly and hoping for some new achievements to get unlocked and make me a better person than what I am. I have learnt a lot of things in 2015 and therefore, this year shall always remain dearly to me. I hope all of you must have achieved your targets in 2015. If not, 2016 is just 1.5 hours away from here. Let's make it special. What say? :-) A Very Happy New Year to you and your family. May god bless you all.

 Thanks.

 ABHILASH RUHELA - VEERU!!! 

Why Employer becomes Punching Bag gradually....

1379th BLOG POST -->>

      We often feel like ruling the world and being at the top of the position in almost every place that's possible but we become irritated very soon with life and its struggle. Initially, we try to give our level best but after some time, we start thinking like an underdog and gradually, we even turn into one. We don't realize when we forget about our dream and start violating almost every possible way that can help us grow in hierarchy and be at that position we always desired for. While we start our journey towards something, we realize that the position we have always dreamed about already has a person designated with it. While few find it as an inspiration but others start finding flaws in the person. Its either because of jealousy or sour grapes logic or negativity that we have bestowed upon us within few period of time.  

            Many people liked Modi until he was a small leader or CM of Gujarat. But the moment he got titled as Prime Minister, people started pulling him down. It's just because people dream high but because they themselves could not achieve the epitome, they start passing comments on someone who have already reached that spot and trying something under his best capacity. In the 25 years of Sachin Tendulkar's Cricket Career, there has been several cricket fans who started liking him but after a point of time when they saw him achieving many landmarks, they started pulling him down by either calling him a selfish player or comparing him unreasonably with Dravid and Ganguly. Same is happening with Dhoni these days.

              Shahrukh Khan is again another example of such event. Initially, people related themselves with him and found it wonderful to see a common man being called Superstar and getting listed with someone like Dilip Kumar and Amitabh Bachchan. But as SRK started becoming a brand, people started disliking the very same traits of the Superstar which made them like him. We, Indians, have become so insecure and noncompetitive that seeing anyone grow in a super-fast speed makes us feel jealous about the person. Rather than learning a thing or two from him, we want him to drop down and come at the same level as us. This is one of the main reasons why people do not enjoy their job. Yes!

             Knowingly or unknowingly, we start hating everything about our job which excited us during our struggling period when we were Freshers. As time passed, we started hating our boss and sometimes hatred reaches at a level where few people give their resignation just because they can't resist themselves anymore even if they see their boss' face. Unbelievable! Same attitude gets developed in the employees for the Founder of their organization when the industry is small-scale. Rather than thinking about how this person must have left his job to start such a big organization, we start finding several flaws that his rules and regulations has. This diverts our focus from our work to almost everything in office that is imperfect. And right from punching in to lunch break to tea break to signing off, whenever we meet people, we only share the complaints we have against the company. 

                We should understand that we have got a great opportunity to at least meet the Founder of our organization personally and learn a thing or two from him. They have immense knowledge and experience that we can use in our life to grow in our career. They do have imperfections but they have an attitude and risk-taking decision-making power which makes them an entrepreneur and someone because of whom we are getting our salary every month. We feel so proud of receiving salary each and every month even after 20 years of experience. Just imagine what that kind of a person would be who is distributing it among people like you and me. Just Imagine! Let's use the opportunity and learn greatness from these people rather than finding flaws in them. This will lead to making us reach the position they are sitting at. Let's stop cribbing and following these personalities. I hope we shall change our attitude soon.

 Thanks.

 ABHILASH RUHELA - VEERU!!! 

Free Basics or Overcharged Prepaid Meter, Facebook?

1378th BLOG POST -->>

        Today, while I was walking across Inorbit Mall, Vashi, for my office, I found a big advertisement regarding Facebook's free basics on a hoarding which is owned by the mall itself. I was surprised to find the level at which the advertisement for this campaign is going on. I am already getting to see the ads on front few pages in newspapers almost daily. Facebook has inserted the same in our Notifications section of its site which makes a laymen click on it and approve his/her support for the same. Very rarely do we find any campaign in India being promoted so aggressively and forcibly entering into our lives and wanting to become a part of it. Also, Indians are been made fool openly and no one is realizing it. Everyone is thinking that "Facebook kuch kar raha hai toh mast hi hoga" just because Facebook has given people many special moments by connecting them with known and unknown people.    

           My mother is new to Facebook and as she isn't very well equipped with English language, she didn't understand that notification and ended up clicking on Yes which means she is now supporting Free Basics even without knowing what it is. This has been the plan of FB and therefore it is also advertising about the same almost every where so that people join it without knowing what exactly it is going to do which will change the way they surf Internet. I had submitted a Research paper on Net Neutrality in the final semester of my Post Graduation which makes it more difficult for me to avoid something which is trying to go against the concept of providing same kind of Internet access to everyone. 

            Free Basics is claiming that it will help India's poor and less-privileged class by providing them free Internet. It is also claiming that it is not going to earn anything from Free Basics and not going to charge anything from the people wanting to join with them. Facebook had tried to do the same last year with Internet.org. But because the people of India came together and sent 12 lakh messages to TRAI because of which it got banned in India. They have just changed the name of it and brought it back in India. Why India? Because they are wanting to compete against Google which is far ahead than what Facebook is in terms of monetary profit and only the population like India's can help achieve the target as quickly as possible. And because majority of Indians do not have attitude of going into depth before signing up for something, Facebook is trying to make most out of it. 

            With Free Basics, Facebook is going to own the way we Indians use our own bandwidth. And someone from foreign land controlling our whole accessibility of internet is violating the rule of Net neutrality. Facebook is going to give us a small part of land of Internet and make it freely accessible to us even if we are not wanting to surf those sites. If after that you would be wanting to access Google or Youtube or Drive, you would be asked to upgrade your Internet pack by paying extra bucks for every extra site. Even after having our own bandwidth, we are going to pay Mark Zuckerberg to access Internet. Not only this, all the websites that are included with Free Basics is going to capture our data and send it to Facebook. That means our privacy is also lost. 

             For every new user that joins Internet, Facebook earns Rs. 8 while Google earns Rs. 48. That's the difference and therefore, FB is trying to do everything to make sure that you access only Facebook and the websites which has paid to be part of Free Basics and not Google. I have myself earned a lot from Facebook and I am a great fan of this creativity and invention but I can't support it the way it is asking for. It's dictatorship and I don't think something as basic as Internet should be controlled by someone particularly. Indian govt is handling it in much better way by giving every mobile carrier rights to deliver Internet with no restrictions to people of India once they activate their GPRS services. Facebook is now fooling our government and wanting to take the charge and customize everything according to its profits and make us a puppet of its marketing gimmick. Nonetheless, the founder of WWW has himself written against Free Basics. I think that's enough for us to understand that its time to join hands, sign petitions and make sure this does not get implemented in India, a country which proudly boasts of democracy. 

 Thanks.

 ABHILASH RUHELA - VEERU!!! 

What is your "Idea of Life"?

1377th BLOG POST -->>

    I was talking to one of my mentors about the several dilemmas that I have in my mind regarding myself. He kept listening to many of my multiple problems after which he just asked me,"What is my "Idea of Life"?" I didn't understand his question and asked him to explain it to me. He again repeated the same,"What is my IDEA OF LIFE?". This time giving more emphasis on the last 3 words. Suddenly it clicked me. He wanted to ask me how do I wish to lead my life exactly. I told him the same typical stuff that everyone tells--> I want to earn lots of money. I want to go places. I want to meet new people. I want to write books. I want to become famous. I want to spread love. I want to play games I have missed playing in my childhood. I want to read a lot. I want to meet my old friends regularly and remember my old life when I did few things without thinking about what my image would be. I want to live luxurious life. I want to go to road trips. I want to visit Dubai. I want to save lots of money. BLAHH BLAHH BLAHHH!!!    

             He smiled and said to me,"What are you waiting for then?" I told him that I do not have enough money to do all of this. He asked to earn it then. I told him that I am doing the same. He then reminded me that there were many other things in the points that I mentioned which didn't need enough money. He asked me to start with those points and then move toward others. I told him that I need my guardians' permission before doing most of the things as I live with them. He asked me if I have started earning. I positively nodded. He then told me that why am I then still behaving like a junior college kid who asks for money every time he wants to hang-out with friends. He asked me if I still feel that I am dependent on my parents and can't look after myself. I told him that I can but not in the same lifestyle that my parents are providing me.

             He told me that everyone is nourished and brought up by his/her parents. That does not mean that a person remains that Good Boy which he was during his school time. A time comes when one has to start standing up for his own rights and begin to explore life without fearing about accidents, death and heart-breaks. He told me that life means struggle and if one is not trying to adventure into those areas of life where one would get opportunity to struggle and find his strength and weakness, he can never grow. Neither in personal life nor in professional. One would forget how to take risks or never learn the same. He asked me if I wanted to be a Good Boy at home but a loser in something which is called LIFE which is more than being a good son to two people in this world. It took me time to accept that I'll need to start doing things which are risky and in DON'T List of my home rules rather than just being a good boy at home and an under-confident personality in world. 

                 He told me that well-wishers' happiness is extremely important but if you are ending up being someone else and not living the kind of life you want to, you are actually living your LIFE of someone else's IDEA. He then again asked me,"Now you understand what do we mean by "IDEA OF LIFE"?" Both of us started smiling seeing at each other. He told me to live my life with the ideas that I feel I should live with. He told me that my real personality will then reflect to me by the tasks that I shall be doing. Currently, I am reflection of what my guardians are wanting me to behave like. And then I realized I am still that school boy and not grown up on my own terms except few small inhibitions that I ended doing with enough brawls or lying at home. And that was the last day when I lead a fearful life. Now I have already begun doing things I never thought I would ever do. At least in next 3-5 years. And Yes, those tasks are still a secret to me. The real life would only begin when I shall do it without any fear of guardians or known ones. Let's see if I shall begin living my life according to my ideas in 2016 or not. Are you living your life according to your "IDEA OF LIFE"? THINK!

P.S.:  I would always love to die by living on my ideas than live a long life based on someone else's idea. 

 Thanks.

 ABHILASH RUHELA - VEERU!!! 

             

What Steve Harvey taught us that night!!!

1376th BLOG POST -->>

     Recently, an incident took place at Miss World Competition when the host ended up announcing the wrong winner and almost after 4 minutes of whole procession of crowning the winner, he came back on the stage and told about the error he did of announcing the wrong name. Every got shocked at the stadium and on Live TV. Few people appreciated it with claps while others started booing him. Initially, I did laugh at him but later on, when I imagined myself at his position, I realized how much time I must have taken to go back on the stage and tell it in front of the millions about the mistake I did at one of the most responsible position of one of the biggest events in the world.    

               Hosting is never an easy job, I know. I have myself been at that position for around 6-7 times in my life. I can understand what it takes to stand on the stage and do the job which is more spontaneous than programmed. The biggest thing that the host taught the world that night was how big yet easy job it is to accept our mistake in front of everyone. He didn't care about audience booing him just after announcing his mistake. He didn't care the number of trolls that he'll have to face for few weeks online. He didn't care about losing many important opportunities in future as many important people must be watching that telecast. He simply took charge of the situation, brought himself into the control and did what 99.99% of the people would have failed to accept it. Well done, Steve Harvey!

            There are many times we see during sports that a team after losing blame almost everything but not itself. They blame pitches. They blame crowds. They blame overseas condition. They blame their board committee. But they hardly declare that they were enough inefficient to win that match. And this leads to many more loses in row and the team keeps losing their momentum and a time comes when a newcomer team starts defeating them. And then there are teams that openly talk about their mistakes on the field, accept their mistakes during those important minutes and move on ahead to not repeat the same in future. 

             We should learn to be like Steve Harvey and the latter team I talked about. We should not feel ashamed of accepting our mistake and declaring it in front of everyone before someone finds it and investigates us in public. Before the bigger embarrassment comes before us, we should realize the importance of sharing our faults with others. Yes, it does take guts to do but it starts helping us within few minutes. People start coming forward to help us and assure that we are out of the trap and the same mistake never gets repeated by us in life. Either its organization, home, native place or public place, people react with shocked faces initially but gradually, the very same people understand your position and comes forward. 

               I have experienced the same several times in life. Whenever I did any mistake in childhood, I used to give my heart and soul to hide it. Even when all the odds suggested that I did something which was meant to be avoided, I still kept repeating that I am not the one who did it. This lead to several occasions when my father and teachers beat me and tortured my skin. Haha! But after a time when I realized that I only make conditions complimented for me, I began claiming my mistakes and taking whole responsibility of it. Suddenly, I started seeing a totally opposite reaction of my father and teachers. It was little surprising initially but later on I understood the whole funda of reacting to any mistake committed by us. Now, I have also started whole-heartily accepting mistakes of others whenever they speak about it. I empathize with their situation and help them to come out of that insecure place they have put themselves in. Life has only become easier after understanding that my mistakes are something I should be proud of rather than feeling ashamed about it. It should be shameful only if we repeat it again and again. But accepting mistakes in public is the first step towards learning and growth. Yes! :-)

 Thanks.

 ABHILASH RUHELA - VEERU!!! 

MY TEN FAVORITE MOVIES OF 2015!!!

1375th BLOG POST -->>

   I have seen very few movies in 2015 but because I started a website based on Bollywood movies, I went to watch movies beyond my capacity. I went through the whole list and selected 10 movies that I liked the most. It's not that these movies are epic or critically acclaimed or a part of 100-crore club but I enjoyed watching them. So please do not get annoyed by few names which I know do not deserve to be in this list. Haha! 

Baby- 4.5*

Drishyam- 4.5*

Manjhi- 4*

Bajirao Mastani- 4*

Tanu weds Manu Returns- 4*

Dil Dhadakne Do- 4*

Baahubali- 4*

Bajrangi Bhaijaan- 4*

Piku- 4*

 Thanks.

 ABHILASH RUHELA - VEERU!!! 

TOP BOOKS RATED BY ME IN 2015!!!

1374th BLOG POST -->>

As every year, I feel that I should mention the top rated books by me. The list does not have any thing to do with the year in which the book has been published. It's just that I got my hands upon them in 2015. Out of 60 novels that I read this year, few books which I am recommending are below. 

TOP 10 BOOKS

1. Arise, Awake by Rashmi Bansal- 4.75*

Arise, Awake, by Rashmi Bansal, brings you the inspiring stories of 10 young entrepreneurs who graduated from college and established businesses of their own. These are the stories of young visionaries who turned their backs on lucrative placements in order to pursue dreams of their own.

2. 13 Steps to Bloody Good Luck by Ashwin Sanghi- 4.5*

The journey of life isn’t exactly easy. Some people make it through hard work and talent. Some fall by the wayside. And some people are just plain lucky. They are blessed with Bloody Good Luck! But is it possible to attract good luck? Can we train ourselves to be lucky? Apparently it seems that Dame Luck isn’t that fickle. She is well within our reach. In his first non-fiction foray, bestselling author Ashwin Sanghi explores that critical, much-longed for element called luck. Through entertaining and informative anecdotes, narrations of personal experiences and vignettes of homespun wisdom, Ashwin gives us a whole new insight into how people can work towards being lucky. It seems that luck isn’t entirely the twist of fate that it is made out to be!

3. It happens for a reason by Preeti Shenoy- 4.25*

When Vipasha, Vee to friends, eighteen and single, makes the decision to have her baby, she does morethan give up her promising modelling career. Sheends up cutting ties with her family and with Ankush, the man she thought she was in love with. Fast-forward sixteen years and she now has two unusual careers: she runs a dog-boarding facility and is a gym instructor. Aryan thinks she is the coolest mom in the world and hopes she will one day findher Prince Charming - exactly what her best friend Suchi has in mind for her. But Vee secretly has a thingfor Saurabh, the quirky vet.Then, out of the blue, Ankush comes back into their life. But can a decision that was taken at eighteen - more in the throes of lust than love - be the basis of a lifelongrelationship? Is there a future for Ankush and Vee? Vee, Aryan and Ankush are in for the ride of their lives. No seat belts, full speed and a very bumpy road ahead.

4. Hifi in Bollywood by Rishi Vohra- 4.25*

In a final act of desperation, Rayhan abandons his promising life in California and secretly returns to Mumbai to work as an Assistant Director in Bollywood. The characters he encounters along the way become part of his journey of self-discovery - a self-proclaimed local goon with a penchant for acting; a powerful local politician who wants to marry Rayhan's part-time domestic help, who in turn covets stardom; an angst-ridden, homosexual film director; ego-ridden film stars with twisted agendas; and the mysterious Viola who captures his heart.

5. When heaven falls down by Satyapal Chandra- 4.25*

"Why does it happen, always, when we hear the word relationship we think of love only? Life is beautiful, short and strange as well. Sometimes it treats us more sweetly than we can bear and sometimes it feels so lonely that it hurts more than death. If life is an account of infinite experiences, then this story is life-not only of one but many others as well. He is hardworking and practical; she is sweet, simple and caring. He had a brutal past, she hadn't. She had a very strange life, he hadn't. For him she was the best friend of his life, and for her he was her whole life itself. Strange! Their story is more than romantic, but then every romantic story isn't a love story. Can unsaid feelings be heard? Can India ever get rid of the mindsets of communal conflagrations and Love-Jihad? Can Indian medical Industry ever get clean? Can revolution bring a change? From the very sweet days of the past to the horrifying experiences of present, get ready to find out what happens"

6. Exit Interview by Amrita Mukherjee- 4.25*

A chance encounter with a young woman at a police station in Cairo leads Rasha to stumble on to the biggest story of her life. Will this be the big break that she has been looking for? Or will this story too, like so many of her others, be sent to an early grave? Exit Interview is the captivating story of an ambitious young woman trying to find her place in an unforgiving world.

7. The Suicide Diary by Hari Prasad- 4.25*

The deathly, serpentine grip of society squeezes the will to live from a man whose solitary ways make him an easy target. Deprived of pride, love and all things decent in human life, the timid, cowering man is left with despair, hate and a sense of injustice done to him by the world he inhabits. Beware of the tortured beast for its vengeance will be brutal. The last days of the suicide are ones of blood-thirsty cravings, lustful escapades and glorious retribution.

8. Manhattan Malhotras by K N Mystique- 4.25*

Welcome to the teenage years! The years riddled with confusion, heartache, body image issues, career dilemma, queen bee drama, and going as far away from the real self as possible! The pressure to fit in is higher than ever. Few people, however, have the privilege of being the trend setters, the poster boys and girls, and those who have access to the unwritten rulebook, which allows them to make others feel less than. 

          I will come up with new book reviews next year again. Till then, you can buy all these books and start your reading journey of 2016 :-)

 Thanks.

 ABHILASH RUHELA - VEERU!!! 

Review: Bajirao Mastani: It's an experience to watch!!! ****

1373rd BLOG POST -->>

BAJIRAO MASTANI: 4/5

          Whenever Sanjay Leela Bhansali directs a movie, I make it sure that I watch it only in theater because the grandeur he represents on the screen is worth experiencing. People often criticize him for stretching his movies for over 3 hours but I never feel it a reason for rejecting it. Last time, when I watched Ram Leela in theater, I was mesmerized with the beauty with which he crafted each scene. Therefore, as soon as I saw the trailer of Bajirao Mastani and got an idea of an amazing script and great dialogues, I had decided that I am not going to miss it anyways. And now that I am done watching it on big screen, I can proudly claim that its one of the finest movies of our Indian cinema which is made with great passion, hard work and perseverance. Bhansali waited for almost 1.5 decades to make this movie and the effort surely shows in each and every frame. 

             Bajirao Mastani clarifies in its disclaimer that is read before the movie starts that the story is not totally based on the life of the legendary warrior but fictionalized for the movie. Hence, I watched it as a fictionally created periodic love story rather than getting hurt on seeing a great Maratha warrior dancing rather than fighting wars. The movie begins and the very first scene where Bajirao is introduced gives you a sensation that an epic saga is about to get unfolded in front of your eyes. Yes, it takes little time in getting conditioned with Ranveer Singh playing a character such as this but within few scenes itself, he impresses you enough. The first half is great where they show how Bajirao is falling in love with Mastani and gradually, getting away from his wife, Kashi. In the second half, the dialogues become more intense and great acting skills start getting delivered by each and every actor. By the time, the climax begins, the movie already becomes one of your favorites and when it ends, you are submerged in this beauty of Bhansali's creation. 

            Few scenes are so wonderfully written and played on screen that even after 3 days of watching the movie, I am wanting to go back to theater just for watching them again. The dialogues are so beautiful and meaningful that you would love to write all of them in your diary to repeat it at few events in your own life. One of the best epic dialogues in a movie in recent times! The action and war scenes are great and does look extra-ordinary and spectacular. I am glad about one more thing that Bhansali didn't keep intimate scenes like he did in Ram-Leela but still managed to display love in all the scenes he tried in. And the climax scene where Ranveer struggles in river with imaginary war is one of the best works by a director. 

           Coming to the performances, Ranveer Singh's effort in getting that Marathi accent is really appreciable. Even his body language is very different than other movies which makes him a versatile actor. Deepika Padukone, yet again, looks very beautiful on screen and displays one of her best performances. The greatness about this actress is that every time she speaks a dialogue, it seems as if it was made only for her and no other actress could have spoken it with same perfectness. And now talking about none other than Priyanka Chopra who eats both the co-stars even with few scenes. The emotions that she have displayed just through her eyes are enough for the audience to understand what Kashi is feeling inside her. And the moment PC speaks a dialogue, she kills every other actor working with her in that particular scene. Kudos! All the other actors have also played their part perfectly. Bajirao Mastani should be experienced on big screen and just don't miss it. I give it 4 stars out of 5. 

 Thanks.

 ABHILASH RUHELA - VEERU!!! 

Review: Dilwale: Only for Rohit Shetty's fans! ***

1372nd BLOG POST -->>

DILWALE: 3/5

       Watching movies when becomes a process, you start identifying a particular maker with a certain ideology and your judgment of his future films depend on the kind of genre he works in. One might rate 3 Idiots and Om Shanti Om equal considering that its respective directors' best film and that's how even I rate movies. So in case you find my review of Dilwale too positive don't think that I'm paid as I have seen majority of audiences disliking it and even bashing it on social media. Rohit Shetty is one director who knows what audiences need from him and his movies are actual representation of the same hence people never get disappointed by him. I do not understand this certain group of audience who dislike such movies but still watch it. I think somewhere they love such movies but to prove themselves intellectual in public, they feel its important to bash it on social media before someone might judge them for their choice. I am not one from them. I like the movies which are entertaining and Dilwale did entertain me.

     

             Movie starts very well and director have assured that the screen experience should be wonderful and massive to make it look grand. Because he also cast SRK and Kajol, one of the best on-screen pair we have in Bollywood, it became over-challenging for him to give his audience a feel that they are here to experience a grand celebration than a mere movie. Also, the musical background in almost every scene recreates the romantic essence of 1990s and early 2000s. With the age of these stars, their love stories should become mature and Dilwale presents it very well. There is nothing overdone in the romance shown between SRK-Kajol and even when Varun-Kriti's tale is focused upon, even that is presented well rather than boring audiences and making them yawn. I liked the simple dialogues and the intention with which the love story is scripted. 

            The story isn't very great or different but the justice has been served to the theme which the director picked. It's even produced very well and it can be seen in each and every scene. There aren't much car-crashing scenes but whatever little bit has been inserted makes you smile that yes, you are watching your favorite director's movie. I have liked each movie of Rohit Shetty since 2011 and I am glad that he didn't disappoint me. This time he added more romance in his movie and lessened the quantity of action he generally has which gave another dimension to his viewers. Though I feel that there are many flaws too- I didn't find Boman Irani's insertion in the movie of any substantial output. It has been a big time waste. Also the climax is kept too simple and you feel k majaak majaak mein film khatm ho gayi. 

            Coming to the performances, Shahrukh Khan was superb. His eyes speak before his dialogue in every scene. His smile still creates the same magic. Though his films aren't collecting as much as his competitors but He is definitely The Superstar minus few bad choices made by him. This movie has again made me fan of SRK and I am looking forward to his next two upcoming releases. Kajol has done a movie after a long time and who would say that she had taken a break in between. With ease, she have carried many scenes which she hadn't attempted before in her career and looked flawless in them. She looks stunningly beautiful in this movie and even better than what she looked in Fanaa. Varun Dhawan succeeds in making you smile and laugh in many scenes. Kriti is again a very beautiful face and thankfully, she acts equally good. She could have easily gotten overshadowed in this movie as there are 3 better and successful actors than her but she has been able to present herself equally well. Kudos. 

             Music of the film is very soulful. Janam Janam and Gerua are on loop in my playlist. Songs are very beautifully shot. Overall, Dilwale isn't a very great film but its a great entertainer for which we crave every weekend. I give it 3 stars. And I can go for it once again. It's far behind in terms of Bajrangi Bhaijaan but way too ahead than Prem Ratan Dhan Payo or Happy New Year. :-) 

 Thanks.

 ABHILASH RUHELA - VEERU!!! 

You're Trending In My Dreams by Sudeep Nagarkar (Book Review-1*/5) !!!

1371st BLOG POST -->>

       Sudeep Nagarkar is now 6 books old in his writing career of 4 years with his latest release "You're trending in my dreams" which has already hit the Bestseller chart and has become his one of the best openings in terms of pre-order and initial sales. Penguin Random House  had added many romantic writers in their list of annual releases some 3 years back and since then, each author co mes out with a novel every year. It has become more about marketing propaganda than quality for which these big publication houses are known for. Sudeep Nagarkar had improved with time as a writer and he had finally started writing mature stories based on youth but I think the target given by publishing house to complete the book by a particular deadline are making these authors write a story in a go without giving much research and time to overthink and make it better. YTIMD is the big example of the same. It stands no where even if compared to Sudeep's first book as a writer where he has scribbled his own story without much creative inputs.    

            The ratings that I have given to Sudeep Nagarkar in order of his releases are as follows: 3, 2.5, 3.5, 4.5, 3.25 which shows that he had almost become stably good in his performance with each book but I am very scared to even talk about his new release as I never believed it could be so plain with no great story, no memorable characters, no great twists and turns and no great climax which can either make you emotional or shocked or glad. It is very childish and written similarly as a junior college student writes his personal diary with few poems, few philosophical sentences which are cliche and known to everyone, talks on how girls are treated like an object etc. I have always liked an ability about Sudeep of picking up a location and doing pure justice with it and also describing the youth as similar as possible as they really actually are. This time he picked up Navi Mumbai and didn't discuss it quite well and also, the characters aren't built keeping the location in mind. It looks as if it's about the crowd from Lower Parel or Churchgate and not from Navi Mumbai where boys and girls still aren't that modern to share a room together.

       

    Initially, the book picks well and the way it starts, it seems as if Sudeep is going to deliver another great story but the way it becomes quite obvious after a point of time, it starts irritating a fan in you. Finally, the main twist arrives and the book does get better but again, how easily the whole issue is handled becomes the drowning point of this story. I didn't feel as if Sudeep have written this story. Seriously! As I have discussed above, I feel publishers should give time to these writers who are actually making Indian youth read month after month rather than giving them targets like releasing a book every 8th month or so. Give the author plenty of time to research, prepare, write, edit, write, edit and finally review his work, share it with his close friends, get their reviews, again edit the story and build the final manuscript. I give this book just 1 star and I wish Sudeep bounces back with his next book as a fan in me is largely disappointed this time. I am waiting for one of my favorite authors to write better than his best work till date. 

 Thanks.

 ABHILASH RUHELA - VEERU!!! 

The Bestseller She Wrote by Ravi Subramanian (Book Review: 4*/5) !!!

1370th BLOG POST -->>

       There can be nothing better than spending your weekend with a book. But when it's a book by one of your favorite authors, it becomes more special. I read Ravi Subramanian's latest book "The Bestseller She Wrote". This is his 4th book that I have read though he has 8 books under his name. I was really excited for this release as it was related with the literary world of India which I have been following very closely from last 6 years. And when it's written by Ravi Subramanian, you know that he is going to talk about some realities under the name of fiction which will make you feel connected with the characters and the story. And it happened ditto. The cover of the book is very unique and beautiful and it is great to know that the book is also under the process adapting it into a movie. 

          TBSW is a story about how a girl who aspires to be a writer meets India's most famous author. They meeting becomes a regularity and the married author starts falling for this young girl. But she is more concerned about her book to get published and turned into a bestseller with the help of this author who has himself written 4 bestsellers back to back each breaking record of the previous one. This is the basic plot which leads to many scenarios and leads to several twists and turns and finally in the climax, like every book of Ravi Subramanian, you are left alone for shocks and surprises. 

           Ravi Subramanian is an amazing thriller writer and his books start doing magic right from the first page itself. Talking about this particular book, I felt as if Ravi chose an easy way to tell his story with an intention of making it a light read for another mass of audience which do not read the genre he writes. For the whole first half, it felt as if someone else is writing it for Ravi S. Though in between of some chapters, author have kept dropping hints of something being wrong with the doings of few characters but it still does not give you any thrill until the second half begins when his marriage starts getting affected because of his extra-marital exploration. 

            Ravi Subramanian have integrated his story very well with many real-life incidents of famous Indian authors which keeps you interested if you have been in touch with the literary world lately. You start relating with the characters very soon and see your own favorite author in the lead character and you even start imagining other not-so-famous authors in the character of Shreya. The whole process of how a person writes a manuscript till how the book launches in a big event, everything is perfectly described by Ravi. And the way story unfolds in the end, it makes you happy that you have finally witnessed the excellence of Ravi Subramanian once again. The most unexpected person turns out to be the ill-wisher of everyone. 

           Talking about the drawbacks- I would again say that the first half is particularly very slow and not been written in the same language in which Ravi writes. There is not much happening in first half except one character continuously compelling the other person to publish her book and it becomes repetitive and boring after a point of time. Also the book isn't one of the best thrillers over all except what happens in the climax. And this is exactly half good of what Ravi Subramanian have himself written before. If this book would have been by a debutante, I would have easily given it 4.5 stars but because it's written by someone who have only gotten better with each book of his, I am giving it 4 stars. It is a great book which surely deserves 4 stars just that it doesn't look like one written by THE GREAT RAVI SUBRAMANIAN himself. He has set very high standards for himself to achieve. :-) 

I am reviewing ‘The Bestseller She Wrote’ by Ravi Subramanian as a part of the biggest Book Review Program for Indian Bloggers. Participate now to get free books!

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 ABHILASH RUHELA - VEERU!!! 

Review: Hate Story 3: Better than last 2 attempts!!! **

1369th BLOG POST -->>

HATE STORY 3: 2/5

         Hate Story 3 was deadly awaited by me after seeing its hot trailer and song promos. And after not finding Tamasha any better, the wait was only killing me as who won't like to see those hot sensuous scenes and more when it has a good looking actress like Zarine Khan. I remember the first movie in this series which starred Paoli Dam. That movie shocked everyone as no one had expected those kind of scenes in a Bollywood movie. I missed Hate Story 2 because Surveen Chawla isn't someone whom people would like to see even once as a lead actress in any kind of movie. Hate Story 3 has just become bigger than its first 2 parts with the kind of actors it has cast and the number of screens it is releasing in. The first day collections has also been surprising.    

            The story of the movie is fine which is watchable. Yes, few scenes does lack logic as one where a character does not die even after an airplane crashes and the great thing is that he also recovers almost 60-70% after that. Surprising! The good thing about the movie is that it gets into work within first 15 minutes itself. I had thought that the whole first half would be only kissing and seducing and the real story would begin after interval which will also end up again in kissing and having great sex. But director does take care of moving the story ahead even when intimate scenes keep giving you boners after every 15-20 minutes. Zarine Khan's kissing scenes are fantastic and worth-watching. Yes, I'm a pervert! :| The songs aren't in sync with the movies hence it feels as if the scene is cut in between and the song is inserted just for the sake of showing sexual scenes. The sex scene of Zarine and Karan is also quite hot. Ok, sorry, guys!

            Well, because I didn't have much expectations from Hate Story 3 except few good hot scenes, I liked it in terms of story and the way picture is portrayed. Climax is good revelation of a secret but quite disappointing as it is illogical and does not make much scene. It's very childish. Sharman Joshi looks good in his role of a good guy but has a look of where-is-my-career-going throughout the movie. Karan has also played his character nicely. The actresses haven't performed even 20% of what we call- ACTING but because they have given some great hot scenes, I have decided not to sue them more. Haha! See, I'm trying to tell you what to expect from the kind of movies you are entering to watch. You can't expect Masaan from Rohit Shetty, right? So in that case, I feel Vishal Pandya has done a fine job considering his last 2 movies and overall improvisation. I give Hate Story 3, "2 STARS" and I am waiting the 4th one to have more great scenes to be kept in my hidden folder in C drive. :-) 

 Thanks.

 ABHILASH RUHELA - VEERU!!!