Ki & Ka

The movie begins with a very restrained start…no frills…no dhamaka. For me, this set the tone of the movie... hoping it is more realistic.
Ki & Ka are Kiya and Kabir (Kareena and Arjun).
The movie has broached an interesting topic, viz. the role reversal. In households where both work, do we even have those strict lines anymore? To balance their professional and personal lives, men and women do share household chores. But yes, this movie goes a step further where you have a stay-at-home husband and an ambitious wife who yearns to climb the corporate ladder, and fast.
For an Indian actor, Arjun Kapoor displays courage by accepting this very unconventional role. Kareena Kapoor, at 36, looks great...no more of the size 0 nonsense… and has carried the role of an ambitious Marketing Manager with an élan.
Arjun Kapoor, reflective of his real life, plays the son of a rich but estranged father and misses his deceased mom. He surprises Kareena when he confesses that he wishes to be like his mom. He believes that a woman is no less an artist as she juggles to keep the house running. How I wish Balki, the director, had delved more into this concept exploring the different facets of home-making. Also that Arjun could display more of the skills that come from an IIM graduate. An educated home-maker makes a whole world of difference to a home. The actual house-keeping that Arjun is so passionate about is not explored as much as it should be. It also is convenient that they choose not to have kids. Would be interesting to watch, if they had.
In the second half of the movie, we get to see that Arjun doesn’t have a problem playing a unconventional stay-at-home husband, but Kareena does. She introduces her husband as an artist who is at home writing a book.
Eventually,when Arjun gets interviewed, gets invited to TED talks, endorses household products, and becomes popular, Kareena is unable to take it. Arjun supports and revels in her success but she isn’t able to handle his, as she expects him to be at home and take care of it. She hits back, blaming Arjun with anything and everything that goes wrong in her life and their relationship.
The build-up in the first half is impressive but the second half seems to go off on a tangent. There seem to be two things happening in the same movie: the man-woman role reversal and the ‘Abhimaan’ kind of scenario where one partner is intolerant of the other’s success.
Swaroop Sampat as Kareena’s mother impresses with a very honest performance. Her dialog towards the end of the movie ties up all loose ends and brings a closure of sorts to the debate.
The movie is surely a one-time watch and doesn’t fail in entertaining you. The lead pair has done its best to sustain the interest.
A 3/5 rating from me.

Krishna Gaadi Veera Prema Gadha

Nani's name in Telugu movies evokes a lot of expectation. I may need to tone it down a bit, I guess.
His latest release "Krishna gaadi veera prema gaadha" reinforces my belief.
The movie isn't bad, dull or boring, but just doesn't live up to the expectation from Nani's films.
The movie begins with a violent action scene and before you think this movie is about family feuds, you see the hero break into a song and dance. The context is anyone's guess.
In the next scene we have the hero-heroine romancing. Then there is the terrorist angle.
The director has tried a bit of this and a bit of that, comedy, action, romance...

Having said that, what's good in the movie?
1. Nani's energetic and convincing performance
2. The kids, especially the youngest, add to the cute factor and win our hearts
3. Murali Sharma's amazing comic timing. He is borrowed from Nani's previous film, where he had played a scientist. He was brilliant in his brief role. He is well-supported by Prithvi who is bettering himself at comedy with every film.
Sampath is good in the role of a fearless policemen.

And what's not all that great is the inability of the director to sew all these various story lines into a seamless whole. Even before you finish oohing and aahing about one aspect of the movie, you are thrown into the next. Had the director, Hanu Raghavapudi, not tried to add so many hues, the film would have had a great story.The film might still draw crowds but I am not sure that he has proved himself after his disastrous debut (Andaala Rakshasi).
Well, the story in brief is about Nani being  a coward and how he is unable to ask the heroine's brother for her hand, and therefore his love has to remain a secret. It is also about his transformation from a timid man, who when he realizes he is losing what he cherishes the most, turns into a lion to protect his woman.
The children are assigned to Nani's safekeeping when they get caught in the midst of a violent family feud. Their road journey is well-written. The kids, thank goodness, are like your normal kids unlike the super smart kids that we see in movies these days.
Nani seems to be moving towards commercial  movies unlike his previous selection of the more simple and true-to-life stories.
No great works in the cinematographic area. The songs look forced too. The movie is brilliant in parts . Go watch. You will not be bored.

CIBO House

Happened to be around Hi-tech city last week and while pondering about where to have lunch, my eyes fell on CIBO House. Though I had been wanting to eat here for some time, I hesitated because of some not-so great reviews.

Still, love for Italian food drew me to this place. And am I glad I did. Though the place is small, the ambiance was great, and the food greater still.

I opted for their vegetarian buffet which cost me 610/- including taxes.

The meal started with pumpkin soup. Very tasty, rightly spiced and served piping hot.

Pumpkin Soup

In the vegetarian section, there were four starters served with three accompaniments, the salsa, honey mustard and coriander-jalapeno sauce.
The salsa was fresh and tasty, though it could do with some more spiciness, the honey mustard was great (don't know if it was made in-house though) but the coriander sauce was rather tepid.

Dipping sauces

Four starters were served: baby corn in spinach paste, grilled cottage cheese, potato fritters and stuffed mushroom.

The baby corn was not well-cooked, neither was it appropriately seasoned. The cottage cheese was good. The potato fritters were awesome, very crisp and light. But what surprised me was my liking for the stuffed mushroom. I normally keep away from mushroom but this was so delightful in taste, I asked for a second helping. When you split the mushroom open, you find creamy sauces oozing out. 

Vegetarian starters

Also on offer was a bottomless glass of Virgin Mojito. This was okay but was rather a diluted version of the original. It could definitely use a little more punch.

Virgin Mojito

Coming to the main course, it far surpassed anything on offer so far.  Of the three sauce options, we chose pasta in Alfredo sauce. The pasta was cooked just right. You would be right in saying, 'this is how a pasta should taste.' Amazingly flavored!

Pasta in Alfredo sauce

This was followed by Butter Rice with three accompaniments, veg ratatouille, potato en carozza and Au gratin.

The butter rice itself was mildly flavored but each of these accompaniments complemented its taste nicely.
The most beautiful part of the dishes was that each one carried a distinct taste by itself. The veg ratatouille had large chunks of various vegetables cooked in tomato sauce. The crunch of the vegetables and its freshness was delectable!
The potato en carozza had boiled and thickly sliced potatoes cooked in a cheese-tomato base and was equally great in taste. The au gratin was also served hot in a cheese gravy with fresh and crunchy vegetables. Words will not suffice to describe this wonderful main course.

Next we had the lasagna which was quite tasty too. Though I am not a big fan of lasagna, I loved the way this was cooked with right amount of cheese covering the tomato sauce and layers of lasagna beneath.

I usually go light on desserts. But for the first time in a buffet experience, I took a second helping of the desserts. For a person with a sweet tooth, this is heaven on earth. I tasted five of them though there were a few more.
What literally took the cake was the Tres leches cake. Cooked in three types of milk, (evaporated milk, cream and condensed milk), this is a not-to-be-missed one at all.
All others, though good in taste stood only second to this. In order of taste, the next was the strawberry cheese cake, truly lovely, third was the caramel custard, again perfect in its caramelization, next was the kiwi pannacotta, a little dense and the last was the custard which was just about okay.

The excellent freshness of the dishes, the exact flavors, the ambiance...the super clean plates on one hand and the washrooms on the other, the well-informed waiters who bend backwards to bring a great service... all these made a great impression.
Rs.610/- for this fare is a good value for money.
They can work a little on the starters to match the tastes of the wonderful main course and desserts.

This fare may not appeal to the spice-lovers' palate.The dishes all have the right condiments in a great balance but are definitely not spicy.

Airlift

Watched 'cinema' after a long time (and not merely an exorbitant indulgence in a PR exercise).

To confess, I haven't watched any of Akshay Kumar movies in the theater apart from 'Special 26'. This, plus his 'Baby,' made me want to watch more of his movies. And, 'Airlift' didn't disappoint at all.

Airlift, without wasting much time in the preliminaries, quickly gets into the thick of the action. 

Airlift is about a successful business man (Akshay Kumar) in Kuwait, who considers himself a Kuwaiti and not an Indian, though he originates from India. He leads a perfect life, comfortable and cushy with a small family. 

One night he awakens to sounds of Iraqi attacks on the city. He convinces himself and his wife (Nimrat Kaur) that this is just a freak attack and everything would be back to normal in a week's time. 

The next day when he sets out in his car, he is devastated to find the town ravaged. His driver is killed and he is captured and taken to meet an Iraqi Major, who was in charge of Akshay's security on his previous visit to Iraq. He guarantees a safe passage to Akshay and his family in exchange of certain favors. He is an example of how mice become tigers when circumstances are in their favor. Subsequently, he tries to milk the situation many a time but is ultimately defeated by Akshay's superior negotiation skills. 

The first thing Akshay does after meeting the major, is ensure the safety of the driver's family. This random act of his kindness triggers hope in the other Indians. The initial 500 throng quickly turns to 1.5 lakh. Akshay  takes upon himself to take care of all these people who look up to him with hope.

He relentlessly seeks support of the Iraqi government, his contacts in Iraq and the Indian government respectively to help the Indians get evacuated. 

The plot is about the travails he faces when some things work and some don't. We also get to view the politics behind the Indian External Affairs Ministry's very apathetic attitude to the gravity of the situation. 

It is only a conscientious 'babu' and his dogged pursuit that helps set up the Air India flights to get them all back safely to the Indian shores. Watching the Air India logo as the planes take off, is such a goose-bumps experience!

Though the movie, in one line, is all about getting the Indians safely back, its twists keep you engaged throughout. Not for a moment does the movie allow your thoughts to wander. 

Akshay brings a great honesty to the role. This movie seems reflective of his hard work and discipline in his real life...one of those rare times when we get to watch Akshay underplay his role to portray a character so well.

Nimarat Kaur supports him by standing by him through all his decisions though she was initially opposed to his staying back to help people not related to him. 

The movie deserves awards for:

1. Great acting by many of the characters

2. Casting: every character fits the role so well! 

3. Beautiful and authentic-looking sets

4. Very, very crisp editing. 

5. Excellent direction by Raja Menon in his first big venture

6. Some great lines (unlike the cheesy ones in the movies by the big stars). Sample this, "Lekin jab chot lagthi hain, tho Maa ko hi yaad karthe hain na" : Akshay Kumar on being questioned about why he has started calling himself an Indian now.

To really nit-pick, perhaps the songs could be done away with, though thankfully, they don't distract you from the plot.

The movie must be watched till the end credits roll, as we get to see photographs of this real-life incident that took place in the year 1990. 

After the recent happenings in India, the dialog at  end of the movie by Akshay Kumar will draw seeti-maars as he speaks about staying back in India despite all its problems.

For me, a near 5 on 5 experience. 

Dilwale

Just as I was leaving for the movie, I was asked, "Which movie, then? The brainless one or the tortuous one?" (Of the two Hindi movies released)
Little did I know then, that I was going to get the combo in a single package. What was Shah Rukh Khan thinking when he made this movie, produced and acted by him?
There didn't seem to be a plot, no big LOL moments, no seeti-maars in the hall...a few that happened in the beginning died down eventually, no tear-jerker moments, no great acting...not even that famed hamming...no surprises, no twists, and... not even as many cars flying. This Rohit Shetty directed movie didn't even have the lunacy his films are famous for.
Well, looks like Shah Rukh thought of trying Salman Khan kind of movies, forgetting that only Salman can effortlessly and successfully pull off that illogicality. Shah Rukh didn't bother to turn on his charm or energy to infuse life into the romantic role he is so famous for.
The film begins with Shah Rukh Khan getting shot at and falling to the ground. That was the flash back. In the present, he and his brother Varun Dhawan together run a salon for styling and repairing cars.
Looks like Varun has tried to emulate characters from his father's famous comedy films but sadly lacks that acumen for comic timing. This is the first movie of Varun I went to see and he is as tepid as I imagined him to be.
The flashback takes us back fifteen years when Shah Rukh was a mafia don in his past and why he gave up all to lead the life of a common man. This flash back and what happens there with his lady love, Kajol looks thoroughly unconvincing and contrived.To the movie's credit, there is a twist in the tale at this juncture. And with it came a misunderstanding which could have been sorted out with some conversation but Shah Rukh and Kajol remain silent till Shah Rukh's brother, Varun falls in love with...you guessed right...Kajol's sister (Kirti Sanon). Of course, they are both against this match. But obviously in this most boringly predictable movie, all's well that ends well...the two couples are united.
No aspect of the story is developed adequately. Logic is all lost in the cacophonic medley of trying to throw a bit of everything in.
A lot of effort has been put into the lead pair look younger in the flashback and to ensure you got it, at a point in the movie, you are shown in quick succession, the alternate old and young faces of Shah Rukh and Kajol.
Boman Irani is supposed to be the comic villain but you need to look hard and very hard for those scant moments of humor. Wasted talent here.
There are also Johnny Lever, Varun Sharma and Sanjay Mishra but they look rather inadequate in the shoddily built plot.
Brief flashes of brilliance in Kabir Bedi's role as Kajol's father and Vinod Khanna as Shah Rukh's father. They both look good but I must say Bedi can still steal a few hearts.
Sometimes, a movie needs a star to elevate its story (Bajrangi Bhaijan, for example) but some movies make even their big stars appear diminutive. Dilwale is one such movie. Watch at your own risk...forewarned is forearmed.
I go with 1/5  just for the compelling chemistry between Shah Rukh and Kajol even after all these years.

Pune food journey

I was at Pune for a meet and had carried with me a list of food recommendations but as the purpose of the trip was different, I could fulfill less than half the list.
As planned, as soon as I checked into the hotel, I went to Darios, a vegetarian Italian restaurant, which came with high recommendation. It was advantageous to have it so close to my hotel and also that it runs through the day.
I ordered only for a salad and a pizza. This Caprigna salad, priced at Rs. 480/- was temptingly described as "Melted goats' cheese croutons served on a bed of mixed lettuce with pomegranate and creamy French dressing."  The quantity was generous but the taste didn't match the cost. Goats' cheese was a mere smearing on the bread; the mixed lettuce turned out to be a mix of lettuce and bitter basil; hard chewy stalks ; and not much evidence of a dressing. Nothing improved the taste--neither the addition of mayonnaise nor olive oil. On top of it, I got the standard response...'this is how we cook it in our restaurant.'

Caprigna Salad at Darios

The bread served in the beginning was quite soft though.

The thin crust pizza ordered, priced at 530/-,   was the Dario's special and came with tomato sauce, mozzarella, smoked egg plant, potatoes, oregano and capers.When this is Dario's special, the expectation is high. The pizza base was good but had very sparsely scattered veggies for topping. To add insult to the injury, the waiter scattered some pineapple pieces on top of the pizza, without baking, to 'compensate' for the bitter taste in the salad  :(
The service was slow and shabby.
Not recommending this place to anyone...ever!

Dario's pizza

Didn't stay back for a dessert as I had enough of Darios. My next stopover was at the famous (blast-wala) German Bakery for desserts. The ambiance was pretty cool with outdoor seating. The bakery itself is tiny but had many diners.

I decided to have a go at their Tiramisu priced at 120/-. The first taste to hit the palate was that of bitterness. I enjoyed every bite of this thick, creamy, bitter coffee-like tiramisu.

Tiramisu at German Bakey

I took away this blueberry muffin, priced 80/-. This was quite good and remained fresh even on the next day.

Our meet happened at 11, East Street Cafe. The bus has nothing to do with the ambiance inside. There were some AC enclosures on the second floor and the ten of us were accommodated there. Hats off to the waiter for patiently catering to some screeching, excited bunch of senile oldies, each with her own specific demands.The food and the mock-tails were pretty decent.

11, East Street Cafe

We also wanted to explore the famous Kayani bakery, right next to East Street, but found it closed on a Sunday! I knew I'd miss the chance as there wasn't time to return to this place.

The dinner that night was my wish for a Maharashtrian Thali and my friend took me to Krishna Dining on FC Road. The thali, if I remember right, was priced at around 300/-. In thalis in Pune, the dessert is separately ordered and we went for Mango Kharvas (Junnu). The veg thali was  pretty decent but had a mix of non-Maharashtrian items like a paneer sabzi, chole etc., taking away from the authenticity of the thali. The dhokla was simply great!

Krishna Dining (also part of Wadeswar)

Kharvas in Krishna Dining

On the second day of our meet, we went to Amanora mall. We weren't interested in exploring the mall but were trying to find a perfect place to unwind. It was the middle of Dusshera and found 'kitchen arroma' advertising a special veg and non-veg thali on the occasion.
It being a Monday, the place was all ours. To top it, the veg thali priced at 250/- was simply amazing! Authentic Maharashtrian and the freshest ingredients used. I found this surprise find far surpass the  tastes of the more traditional Krishna Dining's thali.

At Amanora Mall

Looks like the Punekars have quite a taste for potato. There is either potato tikki or cutlet with their thalis.

Veg thali at 'kitchen arroma'

Normally I look for the traditional/local tastes when traveling, but couldn't control myself when I eyed Burger King at a mall. I had been wanting to taste at Burger King for long.
I wasn't too hungry and so went for a Regular (from regular, medium and king size) combo of Veg Chilli Cheese Burger priced at 145/- The burger was great and surpassed all I had at Hyderabad.

Veg Chilli Cheese burger at Burger King

While shopping off Lakshmi Road, I had this much-recommended Mastani, the famous Pune cold drink at a small road side dhaba off Sadashiv Peth. The price was 100/- for this! Roaming under the hot sun, this mix of ice cream, cream, mango flavors and juice brought the much needed respite.

Once the shopping was done, I went to R Bhagat Tarrachand, a vegetarian restaurant off Budhwar pet, recommended by a friend. The place is fortunately open till 4 pm. As I was starved by then, I quickly ordered for the dish of the day which happened to be this Paneer Hill Top priced at 200/-. Awesome, soft, fresh and well-marinated, it was a great start to the meal.

Paneer Hill Top 200

Next was the Malai Kofta (180/-) and Garlic Nan (70/-). The garlic nan was soft yet crisp and full of flavors. The malai kofta was a bit tepid but I was kind of forewarned. It was a bit too creamy though not sweet actually.

Malai Kofta at R Bhagat Tarrachand, Pune

Garlic Nan at R Bhagat Tarrachand, Pune

The last purchase was at Chitale Bandhu Mithaiwale, off Sadashiv Peth, the original store. I bought a Kachori to see what it tastes like. And the thinnest crust with the sharp flavors of urad dal inside didn't  disappoint at all.

Kachori from Chitale Bandhu

My family and I had the pleasure of having a go at these traditional, Maharastrian items: the Dink Ladu, Amba Wadi, Sheng Dana Ladu, Chivda, Puran Poli, Potato Sev, all these at a mere cost of Rs. 400!

From Chitale Bandhu

Though I had the desire to explore food options in the small and big eateries at Pune, the paucity of time didn't allow me to explore beyond few. The post on my Gujarat trip was definitely a more insightful guide to Gujarati food. My food journey in Pune didn't really help me form an opinion about it.Yet, what I found was that the food in small or big places in Pune is definitely much more expensive than those found in Gujarat.or even Hyderabad.
Well, I hope I can go there again to look at more options.

Tamasha

A few minutes into the movie and I thought, 'Kahan phas gaye yaaron'. It was a drag, the narration going back and forth.
But as the plot unraveled, I could see what the director, Imtiaz Ali, was trying to say. He plays with a whole lot of human emotions and shows that within each one of us is not just Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, but numerous facets to who we are and why we behave the way we do.
Ranbir Kapoor and Deepika Padukone meet in Corsica, an imaginary fictitious land. In this land, the two of them promise that they would only tell  lies to each other. The logic? So that they could get away from boring reality...from the boring circle of girl meets boy, boy tries to woo girl, they fall in love etc. etc.
They promise not to meet each other in the 'other' world but inevitably they do and that changes Ranbir's outlook to life. He comes to terms with what he is and what he has always aspired to be. The simple story line is about how each of us subjugates our aspirations to become this boring self who grows up to study what our parents want us to (an engineer), waking up to the alarm, work from 9 to 5, follow a set routine, get promoted over a period of 5-10-15 years' time
Deepika's rejection of this Ranbir, hugely upsets him and it is then that he sets on a path of self-analysis.
The movie begins with a young Ranbir fascinated with story telling by an old man on the hills and it is to this man that Ranbir turns to at this juncture of life. He narrates his life story and wants the old man to complete it for him. But the old story teller tells him that the answers all lie with him and is he fearful of listening to those answers? Suddenly enlightened, Ranbir feels free and sets out to do what he always knew he was good at.
The movie has an Inception-like narration though not as intriguing nor as ingeniously woven.The narrative contains little conversation, which was okay but for the songs that keep interrupting the flow.
The movie reflects the awakening in today's youth who have the luxury to refuse to tread the beaten path. Relatively free of financial constraints (unlike former times), they'd rather find happiness in listening to their heart.
The narration may be a bit opaque but what stands out is Ranbir's absolutely brilliant performance. It is a delight to watch him so easily slip in and out of all the multiple personalities that he portrays thus transcending his last few debacles.
The chemistry between Ranbir and Deepika is so evident, you wonder what they are actually doing with other partners in their real life. Deepika matches Ranbir in his energy and is the key factor to the twist in the story.
When you go to watch, go with the expectation that it is not the typical romantic, feel-good movie and is definitely not a 'leave your brains at home when you go to watch this one' kind of movie.