Monday, February 23, 2009

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.

17 comments:

Anonymous said...

Im glad to know somebody thinks of Rajpal Yadav in the same way as I do. :-B

Quick successive updates to your blog lately. Productivity going down at work!

Narendra shenoy said...

@Gajar- Observant! Yes, majorly lukkha these days. Which is good news, because it means things are going ok at work.

Lakshmi Bharadwaj said...

Whoo-hoo!! I was squealing in high C too!! :-) Messed up my homework watching Oscars all evening...meaning to get bac to it! Whoa, watched delhi 6 already huh?? Must hav been fun! Hehe...i always luv ur reviews: The "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." part was so funny!! Isn't that the best part of most movies?? :D Cheers!!

Sowmya Srikrishnan said...

Delhi 6 - already? Swanky theater and the works....mmm....the Shenoys is(are) making merry eh!

SRK said...

Paresh Rawal is a very enjoyable actor... Hera Pheri, Aankhen... forget the Maan Gaye Mughal-e-Azams as aberrations...

oh, to club such a fine actor with the likes of Rajpal yadav... sigh

Siddharth said...

:)

I think your squealing is better than Shahrukh's in K3G, KHKN, KHNH, KKKKKMMMM and all other possible Kchemical compounds that react with potassium (aka "K")

- Sid

Anna Bond said...

I am brown and I am a genius.
How dare you mock my genuine sentiments?

Anonymous said...

I meant my work! :-P

Pitu said...

lol

maxdavinci said...

Paresh bhai and sarrugan in the same sentence, sacrilege!

take out mindless priyan movies out of the equation and you are looking at the hindi version of Prakash Raj from the south!


hummus n pita bread? saar pls to tell wat theatre you going to?

Anonymous said...

Indian Syllogism - g.e.m! Genuis!! (You must be brown :P)

So what then, watch Delhi 6 or no? If yes, are you saying it to people you like or seek revenge on?

g

PS: The hummus/pita pouches - do they make that crackling-rustling noise to add the the movie-watching thrill? Esp. if there's a couple ahead? :-|

Narendra shenoy said...

@lakshmi-Glad to know you have good squealing technique! Keep polishing it.

@sowmya - It kind of makes up for the boring parts in the movie. You can go to sleep

@SRK - Yes, Paresh Rawal is actually a very good actor. he just seems to act like a monkey these days. what happened??

@Siddharth - :D Pottassium overdose!

@Anna Bond - Shri Brown Sene!

@gajar - :D

@pitu - Thanks!

@max - The said theater is the Gold Class or something at Fame Cinema, Inorbit mall, Malad West. At any given time, this mall contains the population of Nevada and North Dakota put together, recession or no recession. They charge Rs. 400 a ticket (let me see.. five ones, five twos....eight dollars!) and give you
A cold towel
A personal butler to fetch you things
Snacks like chicken malai kabab, corn and cheese balls, aforementioned hummus with falafel and all the popcorn and coke you can have
I love my country

@gauri - definitely worth a look, Delhi 6. Carry your French Manicure kit, to give you something to do when the heavy moralizing starts

Anonymous said...

"they serve falafel and hummus in little pouches of pita bread" in malad???

damn. maybe i should move back to mumbai.

SRK said...

"Yes, Paresh Rawal is actually a very good actor. he just seems to act like a monkey these days. what happened??"

I dunno! reverse evolution?
but his past work still places him above the likes of Rajpal Yadav!

sonali said...

thank you .. thank you.. for belonging to that tiny, but significant, group of people who do not consider the crazed yellings of paresh rawal as acting!

to comment on another post, me and a friend were wondering if we can invoke the RTI Act to find why a road is dug up just a few months after it's been patched up.. yes, i'm talking mumbai too..

Maddy said...

looks like u have become some kind of a big shot! fashion shows, front row seats, soofy gatherings and now 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(hey - i am just joking)

well well anyway - enjoy boss..

but I liked Delhi 6...and i love pita with hummus

What's In A Name!? said...

Rajpal Yadav should've been cast as Kaala Bandar (or if Kaala is racist, Irritating would also go) in Delhi 6.

Oh, yea, and at Rahman winning Oscars, we (me and sis) clapped and yelled and screamed at my place when Rahman took the award and performed!

Though I personally felt it wasn't his career best he deserves all the credit he got! :) Oh, and I haven't seen the movie either!