Squealing in Delight - The Finer Points

The missus and I spent a few minutes squealing in delight an hour or so back, on the joyous occasion of Rahman having won 2 Oscars.

Being a 44 year old, slightly pot-bellied, hairy straight man is not really conducive to squealing but I am working on it. Under the able tutelage of Sheela, whose squealing technique is second to none, I am picking up the basics

You start the squeal in the upper register, in C preferably, and take it up from there gently in a crescendo, culminating in a 'forte' high note and sliding down gracefully to the lower register.

The fact that Rahman has won this for his own sheer genius - he said something about many people collaborating, but that's like Picasso saying this painting is great because of the guy who supplied the paints - provided that high. The usual Indian syllogism

1. He's a genius.
2. He is brown.
3. I am brown.
4. Therefore I am a genius

kicked in here. A similar thing happens to me when Vishwanathan Anand makes random grandmasters look like kindergarten students on the chess board.

The movie itself I haven't seen. I've been meaning to. On two separate occasions we actually bought tickets for it and couldn't go (whiskey was involved in both cases), but now, Sheela and I have decided. We're going.

Last night we saw Delhi 6 in a very swanky movie theater where, I kid you not, they serve falafel and hummus in little pouches of pita bread, among other things, as you watch the movie.

The movie was nice initially but then started moralizing a tad too much.

I like it when the movie director just lays out the story and leaves you to make up your mind how you feel about certain things. Okay, sometimes the director will tend to a certain point of view and attempt to draw you towards that.

In Delhi 6, Rakeysh Mehra grabs you by the scruff of your neck and rubs your face into the conclusions he has drawn. "Here!" he says, "This is what I expect you to feel!". Still, it was a nice, well made movie, with wonderful music and excellent acting.

Personally I think it was the absence, from the cast, of M/s Akshay Kumar, Shahrukh khan, Paresh Rawal and that excrescence that goes by the name of Rajpal Yadav, that contributes to its watchability.