Malvika’s Ramblings

Picture taken from www.Osians.com

Attended half of OSIANs film festival, from the 20th to 25th of July. I would wake up and really get cranky about procuring food. I had nothing to do and no will to work, having just finished my internship. The only highlight in the day was the time spent in Audi 1, 2, 3 or 4 at Siri fort in the darkness catching movies. Soon I was craving for AC, fridge and Mummy and I hit home in Chandigarh after half the film festival was over.
It was good to watch the thin Neville Tully around the festival with his light cotton, well ironed clothes and the characteristic loop in his posture.

I caught the following films-
Curiosity killed the Cat
Dor
Fourteen
Tender is the Wolf
Driving to ZigZigland
Where to
Vanaja
Frozen
Mr and Mrs 55
Cafe Lumiere

If you watched any of these films do give your opinion on it as a comment on this blog.
Some films had a very strong plot that kept the viewer glued to his seat while others seemed like drifters with a surrealistic touch. I am a fan of strong plots and films that are too abstract lose my attention.

Vanaja (Telegu), Frozen (Shot in Ladakh), Dor and Mr and Mrs.55 (Guru Dutt) were the Indian movies I watched.
Vanaja is the story of a fisherman’s 15 year old daughter and how she tries to climb up in life. She works at an influential woman’s house as domestic help and wins a bet against her mistress to learn classical dance from her. Vanaja is at the verge of womanhood. Its crazy how certain scenes titillate you without any skin show. Its mind twisting. A simple story otherwise, very interesting to watch with lots of Andhra Pradesh landscape and lifestyle to observe.
Frozen has very very very beautiful shots. Its all in black and white. The snow, the glare of the sun in frozen Ladakh, the wolf like dogs make it a beautiful calender. No story. No fun.
Mr and Mrs 55. Fat and happy and beautiful Madhubala. Guru Dutt in a lighter mood and Johnny Walker flirting with Ms Julie by singing songs with her while crawling under office desks. Loved the movie.
Dor - a Nagesh Kukunoor movie with Ayesha Takia, Gul PAnag and Shreyas Talpade. Strong story. Beautiful shots. Great film in too many aspects to point out.

Fourteen was about crazy adolescents in Japan. It was also about adults coming to terms with the craziness of their own childhoods. Didn’t identify with it as we Indians are still a sane lot in our teenage lives except for the occasional young guy who features on reality shows like Deewanagi.
Cafe Lumiere - another Japanese movie. Boring. Japanese movies are non-noisy non-pushy like Japanese people themselves. They pause. One scene was shot with a girl bending and putting on her shoe, stopping to think and finally does up her laces to sit up straight and thinking and then finally going and pulling out her cycle from the stand to pedal away. The way they make films, the way Japanese people shoot scenes and the way they give the viewer lots of room for thought is a breath of fresh air for people accustomed to racy Hollywood. Sounds are like water dripping, the sound of putting down a tea cup on the table or the short answer “Hai (yes)” to a question.

The Chinese movie Curiosity Killed the Cat is one of the movies I enjoyed the most. It is the story of betrayal and revenge. Main characters - a man, his wife and his mistress. It is all about she knows and she knows that she knows but she doesn’t let him know that she knows, he doesn’t want to let her know. The same scenes are shown again and again but each time a new angle in the story has been revealed to you so that you see it in a new light each time. Its a whodunit. Very well made film that grabs you by your eyeballs.

Tender is the wolf (Tunisian) had me cringing with its rape scene. Its about weird characters, a girl who takes revenge and even makes up with one of the men after rape, a girl with no fear and lots of spunk, a mentally sick albino, a coward who is beaten to pulp and rushed to hospital by strangers in a trash wagon. The story of the movie is made up of the happenings of one night. It is a very involving movie.

Where to - strikes a chord in the heart of anyone who longs for home. Its a 12 minute film on an immigrant taxi cab driver.
Drivingto Zigzigland is a movie made in USA but the theme is not USA. Its inclusion in OSIANs is justified by the fact that the main protagonist belongs to Jerusalem and this affects the thought-base of the movie. This man too is a taxi cab driver. Each time he tells his passengers he is from Palestine it strikes up a political debate or calls for a history lesson. So he prefers to say he is from Zigzigland and even gets away from it. The passengers are often racists - not the extreme types, but the everyday types - you and me. The film has comedy, sadness and damn! kick-the-object-closest-to-you, bang-your-fist moments. It was the best film I watched at the film festival. It was introduced by the director and cast of the movie which was an honour.

Waiting for a movie to start- Looking around - silver haired flowing tresses women with silver jewelery and exclamation mark bindis on the forehead - the gaggle of students- a woman from some country left for you to guess with a scary spice hairdo sitting in the seat in front of a short man - the old man who sang along lustily with all the songs in the Guru Dutt’s movie - the people sitting around that old man who did not have the heart to ask him to stop although they are very sensitive to the backseat chatter in a movie usually - the security guards at the door who were very sincere in their duty but a little scared lest they be stopping some high and mighty dignitary who is a chief guest for the movie screening and not to be disallowed anything - the aunty sitting in the food court handing out coupons to soggy bhelpuri - the sound of the projector running just before the video appeared on the screen - the gol gappa fellow outside making hay while the sun shone by doubling the price of his aloo tikki and papri chaat and chutney burger - the art student studying the posters and understanding the development of painting to printing techniques over the years - fearless Nadia - Lawrence of Arabia - toilets that don’t lock from inside- beautiful signage, direction pointers.

Talking to a friend just brought back all those first year memories. I had left home with a mood to really rough it out. With so many years of Mom feeding us spinach and brinjal saying “How will you manage hostel food otherwise?” I was ready for any food, any room, any people as long as I felt I was on my track to a career that would be covered by TIME magazine. Now in fourth year, it matters to me. It matters how big the room is, if there is a big balcony, who my flatmate is.
I remember those Sunday mornings when I woke up in my small room. With no college to go to and no canteen the first challenge in the day was procuring breakfast. My room mate Nirajana would have already eaten her staple diet of a bun with jam and aloo bhujia smeared inside it (yes, jam AND aloo bhujia) and would have caught a 502 to Chandni Chowk.
I would procrastinate and wait and bring out my crayons and go look at the girl in the next room clearing up all her room trash on Sunday. Then i would finally have to pay heed to my rumbling tummy. Nothing healthy, wholesome or recommended being available close by, I would invariably go downstairs and pick up puri subji or samosas. This involved passing the secret place in the lane in which the puri subji was made enmasse for the thronging hungry public formed by rickshaw wallahs, shop assistants, passer-bys. The important thing that I had to keep in mind was to not look at that kitchen on my way to and from the corner shop. It was the same place where the boys cooked the grub as well as took a scrub (kitchen cum bathroom).
Finally I had a moderately happy breakfast in the TV room taking care not to sit on the three legged chair by accident. Channel on TV selected by popular choice.

Poor man

Has never come across faucets he doesn’t know how to function. All taps open by turning them open clockwise

Nearly Rich man
Will come across faucets he doesn’t know how to function. But wont ask anyone for help. Will try to figure out, tilt faucet to side, press down, screw around, lift up, touch all over for in built sensors..

Rich Man

Will come across faucets he doesn’t know how to function. Will ask the guy standing next to him about it and thats that.

More Rich man

Will not know how to function various faucets. No problem. Will always just put his hands under the faucet and soft water will gush out

This was seen pasted on the Himalayan mountainside on the way to Kasauli. On the way to anywhere in India, you are never short of entertainment!

Rain down on Me
And sweep me away
In scented winds
And scattered drops
Let them whiplash here and there
Let me look up heavenwards
Let the drops trickle down my throat
Down the collar
Into my printed windy dress
The abandon of the rain
The abandon of my colours
The abandon of my shape
No running away
No saving leather shoes
No scampering to the sheltered kerb
Only running, dashing, wildly spinning
Or walking with the calm of a ramp scorcher
Hands in my pockets,
Walking down with a haute the pouring rain cant cool

I called upon my sources (I will have to kill you if I tell you), my powers and a fashion stylist, editor and writer and here are five looks for this monsoon season. Here is telling you before the junta knows it!

1 Slouchy Sporty
In the summer the Kate Moss look was a rage. This look meant a long clingy jersey top over tights or leggings. The ensemble was completed with a belt strapped low over the jersey top. This look has changed into a less dressy version for the monsoon. Wear a large voluminous bubble-silhouette top over fitting shorts or capris. For those who can carry it off, really short shorts are in. More movement and prance in this look. Go for draping tops, ones with interesting folds and necklines.

2 Strawberry Frog
strawberry : pink, bright, candy
frog: translucent (Lookah at the veins under my throat skin), waterproof, pretty, glossy, rain-lover
Be a strawberry frog this monsoon. Have fun with colours and plastic. No subtleity. Its the only time in the year when even yellow Zens look pretty zipping down the road. Its a colour party.
Checklist >
Crocs - the toy like plastic footwear in yellow, orange, pink, green
Jelly sandals and slippers
Clear plastic raincoats
Chunky bangles
Neon colours
Bug eyes shades - pink, green, blue

3 Bold abstract prints
Huge prints are in. Look like a splash of colour on the street. Dresses are majorly in - Shift dresses, babydoll dresses, tent dresses. Hemlines below the knee are criminal. Let your legs be happily bare and sexy. Accessorize with chunky bangles. Its all BOLD. The prints are Pucci style - abstract and dynamic made up of swirls and organic motifs. Try a parka dress - a lil conversation with the hip-hoppers.
Here are some designs by Pucci -

4 Romantic look
A girl’s gotta feel like a girl and bless the fashion mechanism, the romantic look is back! Its simple floral, pastoral dresses this monsoon to make you feel like an innocent country lass. Keep the colours light like leaf-green for a dewy fresh feeling. Says designer Anjana Bhargava “Its all about elegance, grace and femininity. This monsoon, flaunt your femininity in calf-length skirts and dresses with frills, lace, romantic necklines and puff sleeves that look girly and chic. ”

5 Metallics
Yes. Its still going on. Watch out for metallic parkas, shimmering tops, shiny sportswear. Flash and glint under the sombre nimbus clouds. Break the dullness, thunder and opaque rain. The metallic look generally makes for rocking nightlife, but it can be incorporated in casuals by means of detailing like metallic strips, pockets, zippers. Its not the classic metallic of the mellow golden ages. Its the metallic of Techno Glam.

So don’t get bored this monsoon. Don’t weep inside your stupid raincoat for the lack of oomph and style. These are the five looks, inspiration material, green signals, imagination stimulants or simply working solutions to adopt. Last of all, a fashion tip that guarantees to transform you into a head turner - wear whites with no underwear!

Avoid
- Leather
- Ankle length skirts, pants
- Dark colours
- Socks
- Mixing looks (Strawberry frog + Metallics)

Looks like any other menu of a local restaurant. Its parked outside the restaurant on a stand. People pass by scarcely noticing it. The large Greek imitation statue hovering above the door grabs all the attention. One look at the menu and you know its the devil in crouching in a corner and grinning gleefully to himself with a wicked secret in his pocket! The murmurs of debauchery and delicious innuendo in a place with wholesome bakery shops, Trendzz fashion store and generally decent kinda folks.

The inside stuff that is outside on a stand -