Wednesday, February 28, 2007

For Nookie

"That is not my problem now Mr Shah is it? Don't give Mr Butter fingers a bomb to diffuse if you don’t want it to blow up in your face. I'm the one that gets them in here. You are the ones that assign the duties", said an irritated Sanjay Gupta. Even as recruitment head of a one of the top ten finance firms in India, he didn’t have patience enough to placate an overly critical project manager trying to blame him for the inadequate performance of one of his recently hired employees. It wasn't his fault they had made a rookie in charge of something big and he had made a decision which not too many people were proud of. Sanjay had made it clear, he would get the cream in, but in time, the cream had to change to wine, THEY had to ensure it.

He was still fuming in his mind, when the intercom buzzed. "Yeah", he bellowed into the microphone. "Mr Rathod is here to see you sir" , his secretary managed to say. "Send him in", replied Gupta, "and Priya..." he paused, "Sorry about that. Was just a little put off". "Oh not a problem Mr Gupta", she chirped back. Sanjay smiled. A little indulgence now. Mr. Vikram Rathod was the latest person to get through the initial 'entrance procedures' of the firm. He had done well in the aptitude tests and the initial interviews. But Sanjay wasn't relying on them now. The last call was just another reminder that the guys beyond the reception desk expected every new joinee to be as capable as ....."May I come in, sir".

A million times. He had heard this line a million times. Yet something this time was different. He mentally went over each word in that simple sentence. They were all the same. No unnecessary stress on any vowel in particular. Yet he had felt something different from before. Maybe it was the voice. Or maybe he was in a real weird mood. He looked up. Vikram Rathod. Sanjay tried to get descriptive about Vikram in his head. He did this every time he met someone new. Like in the novels he read so often, he tried to gather as many adjectives as he could. Not very tall, not square-jawed, not muscular, not overly handsome......he was trying hard to get an adjective which didn’t involve a negative, but he couldn’t point out any straightforward quality. He could only point out what Vikram was not. Why? Why was he doing this? He was usually very good at analyzing a persons physical appearance. Yet, this time he could not place Vikram Rathod. Why? Then something cleared. Whenever he had someone come in for an interview, he would get a CHANCE to notice them. This time he knew why he wasn’t able to get a clear description. Vikram wouldn’t let him. Vikram stared at him. Right at him. Or was it through him? And for the very first time, after he had taken over as recruitment head and had first sat in his big leather chair, did Sanjay feel that it was he who was being judged. Vikram Rathod stood there as if he was sizing him up. "Don't look for a good word for me buddy, tell me something good about yourself first", his look commanded. "Look around the room," Sanjay ordered in his mind, "It’s the first time you are in here", but Vikram stood there like he and Sanjay were the only entities present in the universe at that instant.

Sanjay nodded.

Vikram entered, walked straight to his desk, and arched one eye-brow every so slightly. Sanjay nodded again, and he sat. Was he trying to intimidate him? Sanjay knew this trick, he had tried to use it at a few interviews himself, but it never worked. You couldn’t mess with the guy taking the interview, it was HE who had nothing to lose. But Vikram wasn't TRYING anything. He just sat there looking at Sanjay, waiting. Sanjay extended his hand and Vikram handed him THE FILE. THE FILE had everything. The mark sheets, the certificates, the recommendations, the awards. Gupta knew the file. He had seen a lot of these before. He knew what to expect. If he was a fresher, he had to be an IIM grad at least. Even grads from foreign universities were scrutinized deeply before even thinking of handing them an appointment letter. If he was experienced, he would have had to have a substantial number of years, only with the best finance firms. "Vicky Investors" etc would be laughed at. The cream. The firm looked only for the cream. But even the best used to quiver when they walked into this office. Why not Vikram Rathod? Or was Sanjay over-reacting?

Unsure, he opened THE FILE.

"Born 21 Septmeber 1983". Hmm. A young gun. What could this guy have possibly achieved?
"...as a defence officers son...".. Good roots. Big deal. Sometimes, the apple falls away from the tree.
"..among top three ranks in school always...". Great. What school? Gumnaam Pathshala? how many students were there? 18?
"Topped X and XII". Same argument as above.
A non-IIT engineer. Sanjays confidence started coming back. This guy was an engineer? That too from some college in Mumbai University. HE knew how THAT worked. And what these guys actually learned over the course of 4 (or maybe 5) years. He smiled inside. Mr Hot Shot wasn't so much of a hot shot was he? But, Rathod never said he was a Hot shot. Where did the word come from?

"Worked for 17 months at a top IT firm". What?? 17 months? But he is an 83 born. How come 17 months already with an engineering degree? Must have been forced into school early? Or was he a prodigy? Couldn’t be. He didn’t get into IIT did he?

He then saw the MBA college name. He had heard of it. Infact that was an understatement. Everyone had heard of it. But...it wasn't an IIM. It was somewhere in the top ten if he remembered correctly. But it wasn't an IIM. His silent laughter reverberated through his body. He felt good. He was going to rip this candidate apart. It didn’t matter if these guys were good. No one could match him. He knew everything there was to know. He knew all the questions that could be asked. And worse, he knew the best answers to those questions. He suddenly felt menacing. He wanted to make this guy feel ashamed. But why? Why? What had Vikram Rathod done? He had just walked into his office with a little.....confidence. The word stung. Confident. The one word he could come up with to describe this guy aptly. He let himself cool down. He looked up at Vikram. He saw the same question "So what’s good about YOU, Gupta?". No, it is just confidence, he thought. He realized that not one word had been spoken since Rathod had walked in. But he didn't want to change it. It usually intimidated the candidate more. They did 50% of the killing themselves. Harakiri. Not one word. Sanjay felt in command now. Really?

"..always involved in extra-curricular activities.."..Yeah yeah.
"played football for ..." Some club. Big deal. No free kicks here. The only kicks you got were...
"played badminton and cricket at college level". .uhuh.
"played zonal tennis"....so you are a player. Sanjay chuckled inwardly at his own stupid joke.
"Interested in music, played guitar and was a lead singer in a band"..maybe you can sing on your way out. Leaving on a jet plane? Sanjay shook a bit, he wanted to laugh out.
"books, poems, blah blah"...I am gonna laugh at his face.

"An Enfield Rider."



The inner laugh was gone. The question…the same question.


Dedicated to Royal Enfield. The unmistakable beat!

Monday, February 5, 2007

Two really good Hindi Movies

As the title suggests, this post will tell you about two Hindi movies that you should have watched but probably didn't for whatever reason. Now I am probably not a certified critic, but usually I find too many flaws with Hindi Movies (and English ones too sometimes), so you can be rest assured that if I am actually recommending a movie, then there must be something about it which will appeal to classy people. (I like to believe that). You can read up my review of Dhoom 2 to get an idea that I like substance in movies. So here goes










1) Ahista Ahista : Now most of the guys who watched this movie's trailer must have been put off by the Himesh music I am sure. I believe that the promos let the movie down. They could have put together a few sweet scenes from the movie (with reduced nasal sounds) and I am sure it would have piqued the interest of a few more people.


The movie is set in Delhi with its theme centering around the characters portrayed by Abhay Deol and Soha Ali Khan. Deol plays Ankush, a man who earns money by playing witness at the marriage bureau to total strangers. He happens to meet Megha (Soha Khan) because of his occupation. I wouldn't like to tell you more, because it kinda divulges the sweetness of the film. The story develops from there and just when everything seems to be falling into place for Abhay, there is a twist in the tale.

I liked this movie because it has a believable plot for one. Two, I think it has been directed very well. The only fault that I could think of (it wasn't much of a fault to me, but I guess people will complain about this) is that the movie is slow. But I didn't mind it one bit. Because while the director reduces the pace of the story-development he builds on each character. Three, I was amazed that all the actors have actually done a good job. Abhay deol plays his role to perfection. He suits these roles. There is a dialogue in the film where he says to Soha "Mujhe jaisa ladka...tumhari jaisi ladki ke saaath....I mean...tum toh classy ho na" comes so naturally that you dont smirk at it. Imagine Salman saying something like that.

Soha Ali Khan plays the lost-in-love girl very well. I wouldn't say that her performance is mind blowing, but compare it to Aishwarya/Kareena/Priyanka and she comes across as a Meryl Streep to me. Honest. She plays her part well and she looks very fresh. In fact everybody does.

This movie is good. I really liked it, and I watched it twice. At home. Even I was fooled by the promos and thought this film would suck, but if you like straightforward no-nonsense movies, then this one is for you. I particularly love the ending. It is very different from a conventional Bollywood movie. And that makes it better for me.

Having said it all, please don't watch the movie with sky high expectations. Just watch it as you would another Hindi Movie. You should like it.






2) Hum Dum : HAD any of you seen the trailer to this movie, you would have probably been forgiven to think that it was a B-Grade skin flick. I actually didn't watch the promos, but I am guessing that they didn't really portray the theme too well, in fact when I watched the first 2 minutes of the movie, I thought it was pretty much a B-Grade movie. But something about it kept me watching, and I actually watched the whole movie, engrossed and wondering how it was gonna end. And amazingly, it made me smile at the end. Very rare that....though I smiled at the end of Salaam-E-Ishq too..but that was because I was so happy I could go home to a disprin (That was a very sad movie). Hum Dum is good.

For the hip folks, the name of the movie is kinda corny. I understand. But the movie itself is not. The movie revolves around Siddhant (Romit Raj) and Rutu (Anjana Sukhani). Both characters are oblivious to each others existence, and both are involved in problems of their own. This is probably the only place where the story is weak, but I can let this pass in a good movie. Both need a little financial assistance and agree to participate in a game show aptly
titled "For Love or for Money". Rutu is already engaged while Siddhant
is just this loafer kinda guy. Here I must say that Anjana Sukhani is way out of his league. More about her: She appears in Salaam-E-Ishq as the HOT HOT HOT Bollywood dance teacher who seduces Anil Kapoor. Oh man..what I would give to be Anil Kapoor.


Back to the movie. So both of them participate in the game, and quite understandably and predictably are drawn close to each other. How they come close and fall for each other is shown rather cutely. Also the characters are consistent. Siddhant is still the stupid guy at the end of the movie, no life changing moment where he turns into this hero of the millennium. He always says the wrong thing at the wrong times. And Anjana Sukhani is sooooo adorable. She is very cute, and if anyone knows her, please tell her I would like to meet her sometime. Again, both the actors look fresh, and act well within their limits. Watch out for Siddhant's best friend, who is around for a little comedy.

There are various sub plots within the movie, and they have been dealt with very well. Again, I think the direction is good. The non-communication between the father and the son, the dilemma of choosing between money and love, all the angles are well dealt with. At the end, it is a very sweet movie, which had it probably starred A-List holly wood celebrities would have been rated as a somewhat cliched but well made movie. Wont compare with Bollywood actors though. A-rate Bollywood stars would have probably messed it up.

Both Ahista Ahista and Hum Dum are unconventional Hindi movies and that's probably another reason that I like them. Again, I stress, don't watch them with Titanic expectations and you should probably feel the same way that I do about them.