Movie Review: U Me Aur Hum

Sometimes the greatest journey is the distance between two people - the tagline of the movie itself puts me in daze. Dr. Ajay Mehra (Ajay Devgan) is a psychiatrist consultant, who when on a cruise tour, meets and falls in love at first sight with a waitress Piya (Kajol). Unfortunately for him Piya is not that easy to get. After alot of wooing, Piya finally gives in to his charm, and they settle down for a happy married life. But then Piya is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. It is from here that the movie becomes a special and not an ordinary run of the mill movie. What makes it different is that the movie not only shows the trials faced by an Alzheimer’s patient, but also the tribulations faced by the people around her. A beautiful and meaningful story of love is what U Me Aur Hum is all about. Kajol has given one of her best performances till date. She always outdoes herself, and I think that is what makes her one of the finest actors in Bollywood. Ajay Devgan has played the role so realistically that it is difficult to say where Ajay Mehra (Ajay Devgan’s character) ends and Ajay Devgan starts. This movie has just made the already known fact more strong, that Ajay Devgan surely is one of the most versatile actors. The supporting actors namely Sumeet Raghavan, Karan Khanna, Divya Dutta, Isha Sharvani and Sachin Khedekar have played their roles with utmost ease and each have done justice to their roles. Music by Vishal Bharadwaj is situational, and that makes it very special. Lyrics by Munna Dhiman is to look out for, because it is very different. The song that truly stands out is the title track, both musically and lyrically. Ajay Devgan has made his directorial debut with U Me Aur Hum. And I must say, he has done an excellent job. For any director, it is easy to make an Art/Intellectual movie flawless, but to make a bollywood commercial movie flawless is indeed a very difficult job, and Ajay Devgan has surpassed all such expectations. Ajay Devgan has proved that he is not only a great actor, but an equally superb director. Some might say that the movie is on similar lines as the hollywood flick THE NOTEBOOK, and that if you have seen THE NOTEBOOK, U Me Aur Hum might not be that great. But trust me, it is only after watching U Me Aur Hum will you understand that these two movies are way too different. So even if you have watched THE NOTEBOOK, do go for this movie, because trust me, you will not regret it. All in all, I would say that this is a movie that will be remembered and will give you chills, long after you have stepped out of the cinema theatre.

Jebel Ali Shooting Club

First of all, sorry about the long break between my last post and this one. Just have been busy with prioritizing my life. Anyhow, yesterday we went to the Jebel Ali Shooting Club. It is located after the 8th interchange on Sheikh Zayed Road, Dubai, where in you have the chance of trying out your hand at

• archery
• outdoor clay-shooting
• firearms (pistol shooting)

There is also a restaurant bar, with a splendid view of the club, which is a great place to relax after trying out the above mentioned sports.

Myself and four of my friends, we booked slots for the archery range. And I must say it was one of the most different experiences of my life. You are given around 45mins to an hour of time, within which, a trainer teaches you how to shoot a bow, and is always around you if you need him. You are also given an arm band to protect you from the arrows when they brush past your arm.

At first I thought it was easy, but then when I saw the size of the bow, I was shocked. It was taller than me!!! Okay I accept that I am not that tall, just a 5'1", but still it is quite a big size for a bow according to me. So we started with shooting the arrows at the target provided to each one of us. After the first round reality sunk in, and I could feel the pressure on my left arm holding the bow. It got so difficult, that in my third round I could hardly concentrate on the target cause my left arm was shaking so much.

But with all that I just said, I would still say that the Dhs.50 I spent on this was not a waste, and was one of the most different things that I have tried in recent times. After a day of shooting I cannot raise my hand above my head cause of the numbness, but the pain is worth it all. A different experience altogether, Jebel Ali Shooting Club, with it's hospitable staff who are always ready to help and serve you, is a must for Dubaites. I would recommend everyone arnd Dubai to try it once atleast, because trust me, you will enjoy it.

I have already made up my mind that I am going to visit there soon to try my hand at pistol shooting. Just seeing the empty bullet casings on the floor floored me :)

If you are interested in visiting there, here is the contact detail for booking - Telephone no. : 04 - 8836555 Click here to visit the Jebel Ali Shooting Club's official website.

Chaotic Rain in Dubai, UAE

14th January and 15th January will be etched in the minds of the residents of United Arab Emirates. And more so in the minds of the residents who were on the road that day, driving or were being driven around. Anyhow, I remember a conversation with my colleagues. President Bush was visiting Dubai on 14th January 2008. It was raining crazy that day in Dubai, while me and my colleagues were in Sharjah, where it wasn't raining as much. On the radio we hear that it has been declared a public and private holiday in Dubai. So we all started having our own discussion, because there were rumours that the holiday was declared because of raining. But later on in the evening we got to know about the real reason why it was declared an off. It was due to security reasons because of Bush's visit. Once we found this out, we started joking about the whole rumour that the holiday was because of the rain. I mean never had we heard anything more outrageous than this in UAE, that because of rain it has been declared a public holiday. Little did we know that soon we would be the butt of all jokes. According to reports and all, the rain in those two days in UAE, broke every past record. It rained the whole night on 14th January. On 15th January I was getting ready as usual, for my internship. It was supposed to be our last day at office in sharjah, so we had decided we'd treat our office staff, and then in the afternoon goto our college in Academic City Dubai for our final project report submission. Keeping all the plans in our mind, we decided to move out by 8am. That would give us enough time to collect the eatables (for the treat), pick up my colleagues and make our way to office to reach by 9am. But I was so wrong... a mere 5 mins trip to my first colleague's place took 1 hour. Yes, I could not believe it myself. Being a very impatient driver, I started shouting and cursing, and this continued for the 1st half an hour. But soon it finally sunk into me that whatever it is that I do today, the roads will be jam packed, and instead of getting frustrated, I could try enjoying the weather and songs on fm. So me and my colleagues started with our day, a day we will never forget ever. We finally reached office around 12pm instead of the initial plan of 9am. Soon around 1pm we start moving to go to our college in Dubai. I start the car, and it's exactly 1.11pm showing on the dashboard. So one of my colleague (who happens to be cricket crazy) says- 'Hey that's unlucky Nelson, can u restart the car?' So as the superstitious fool that I am, I restart the car- just with one problem, the car never restarted. None of us knew what the problem was, but we were hoping that it would get solved by itself. We opened the bonnet, and I asked the same colleague of mine- 'So we have managed to open the bonnet, but do you know what's to be done?' He replied with a straight face-'No'. So the way we opened the bonnet, with the same helpless attitude we closed it back again. But this time, I sit back on the driving seat, and I noticed that the gear of the car was on REVERSE. Like come on, how can I be so stupid man!!! Obviously if the car is in the reverse gear, it won't start. So, I put it back on Parking gear and after laughing at our stupidity we finally started on our way to our college in Dubai. I am a very fast driver, but that day you could say that I was the most careful driver that this world could ever see. Well okay, now that's an exaggeration, but still. The roads were not visible, trust me, we could just see water water everywhere. It was as though instead of a car, we were riding a boat, and instead of the road, we were sailing in the river or something, with actual real waves washing down your car. Now unluckily, that day I was driving a saloon car, where as all the other four wheelers and trucks and all were driving at the speed of light spilling water all over us (I mean it seemed like they were as fast as the light, because we ourselves were so slow). Somehow that day we got back home safely, without any problems. But in the afternoon I was 3 hours on the road. But that was nothing compared to other people, who were almost 6-8 hours on the road, making their way through the traffic. Well now to come to the final part, where me and my friend became the butt of all jokes. Remember how we were laughing as to how can there be a public holiday declaration cause of rain? Well surprise surprise, the next day was given as a public holiday for the schools. And most of the companies in Sharjah declared an off. Just to give you the feeling of how chaotic the situation in UAE was, here are a few photos...

My Pet Dog - Dina

I was just checking my old documents in my laptop, and I came across this article that I wrote on my pet dog 5 years back in school. Once I read it, I just had to share it with all of you. MY MISS UNIVERSE – DINA DUTTA ALIAS DOUBLE D 3rd Oct 1999 – We get news from India that my Grandfather is in serious condition. My Mom falls into a serious predicament. She desperately wants to go and meet her Father but she can’t leave my Brother and me all alone since we are too young. I am in class VIII and my Brother in class VI. She is heartbroken. 4th Oct 1999 – Somewhere around 7:10 pm walks in an angel, an angel upon whom my mom could bestow all her trust…an angel who would change our lives…an angel named Dina. Dina, my newfound dog. She is 3 years old. 6th Oct 1999 – My Mom leaves for Kolkata, but unfortunately for us, our Grandfather passes away right when she reaches the airport. In the afternoon I’m all alone with my Brother and Dina. It’s time for her lunch. I give her the bowl of food but she refuses to eat. So I resort to feeding her using my hands, literally. At this moment, she looks like an overgrown baby who has to be fed. I love her so much. 10th Oct 1999 – Dina has to be vaccinated. So we take her to the vet. He is amazed at how fat Dina is. He says, “She isn’t a dog. She is a sheep.” Well, what can I say, like me, like Dina. The vet gives her an injection. Dina howls a little and looks at me with pleading eyes. At this point, I have some idea about how my Mom had felt when I cried out of pain. Now I have a new nick for my Dina, she is My Miss Universe Dina Dutta alias Double D. 6th May 2003 – We are having the English week in our school and today we have the Pick and Talk Extempore Competition. The topic that I got is vegetarian food is more nutritious than non-vegetarian food. I speak about how my dog in India passed away and as such I had only vegetarian food for three days as a Hindu ritual and how I missed meat. Little did I know that after seven days I’d lose my angel. 11th May 2003 – Dina is suddenly unwell and vomits three times. To make her feel better my Mom takes her down for a walk. Out of the blue, she attends to nature’s call right in front of a garment shop. The shopkeepers ask my mom to give away Dina right away, or else they’d call the police and put her away. We all get scared and try to find a way out. 12th May 2003 – One of my Dad’s associate, who owns a garage, tells us that he could keep Dina at the garage. 13th May 2003 – We give away Dina with tear stricken eyes. I don’t know how many of you have actually read till here, but whoever has, thank you. I request you to have a little more patience and read on. During weekdays, every morning she would get her breakfast in bed comprising of two glucose biscuits. While she would be sleeping I would go to her and feed her. She never walked out of the bedroom unless and until it was around 12 pm, after which, she would come out to the hall and sit right in front of the kitchen, just to check out whether my Mom was ready with her lunch or not. But she would never enter the kitchen…she had that much courtesy. She literally ate everything under the sun, from Chocolate to Cerelac, from just plain Dal and Rice to Mangoes. But this 21st century dog didn’t like Pepsi. Amazing right? And yes, she was bought home as a bodyguard to my Brother and me, but she was one scaredy-cat, or dog, whatever. She was scared of her own bowl when it was devoid of food. She could have her name in the Guinness World Records for being the first ever dog to be petrified of cats. She has been attacked by the same cat twice! Most of my friends were scared of Dina, but they loved her anyway. But there were others who just adored her. They said that they had never seen a dog so quiet like Dina. Well, according to me, in my family, Dina was more human than any of us. Even though I don’t think about Dina every moment, she suddenly pops up in my thoughts. And whenever she does, I can’t help but cry. Just yesterday night, my pillow was wet with tears of agony, tears of helplessness, tears that flow uncontrollably in silence, tears that dictate that I’ll never have Dina again. There is this silence deep within me that gives way to tears when I’m all alone. It’s true that silence is the loudest of all noise. I’m still crying. I didn’t like this, so I sent an SMS to my dad who is in Dubai at the moment to check up on Dina. Later on I learnt that while my Dad was here with us, Dina had coughed out blood due to the intense heat there. When she used to stay with us, she was constantly inside the house, which was air-conditioned. And now, she has to live in open air without a fan where temperatures are soaring at an unbelievable 45° C plus. Her condition was so serious that the people at the garage considered taking Dina to the vet in order to put her to sleep. Gradually, she started recovering and just two days back she was back to normal. We requested our watchman if we could get Dina back, but he refused. He warned us that if we do, then he would lodge a complaint against us. Gone are those days when we had people who sincerely thought about the good of mankind and the world and genuinely worked towards it. If only I could, I would curse each and every individual behind all this iniquity. But then again, I’m acting like just another human, trying to inflict pain upon others. I think this runs in the human blood, this feeling of superiority and brutality. I’m ashamed to be called a human being anymore.I hope that whoever has read this article, include Dina in their daily prayer, wishing for her happiness. Thank you, dear friends.

Biella - Cafee Pizzeria Ristorante

Last week my friend gave her birthday treat at BIELLA Cafe Pizzeria Restaurant at Water Front Gate Mall in Festival City. It's an Italian restaurant. We chose this restaurant because earlier one day when we were passing by it, we happened to check out it's menu, and we had seen almost 1/3 of the menu being vegetarian. And since 2 out of 3 of us were vegetarians, n myself being a 'trying to turn vegetarian' non-veg, it was a unanimous decision to go for it. We wanted to sit in the area allocated by the restaurant outside in the canal walk, but it was raining that afternoon, so we decided to sit inside. Every table was well decorated, giving you the 5-star feel. But personally I did not like the menu card, I mean I was expecting it to be like a book and everything, but it was made out of cardboard, and it was how it is in the small cafes. Everything on the menu, I mean the basic name of each of the food item, was not in English, but I would make a guess, in Italian. But ya, the detailed description under each of these Italian names was all in English. This gave the restaurant an even more authentic feel to it I believe. Anyhow, we ordered for 2 kinds of pastas. I did not want to order for pizza because just the other day we had pizza, so even I went for pasta - Arrabiata Penne, and my friends went for another pasta where the name of the pasta was weird CHILLI LINGUINE. Anyway we had also ordered for a starter, which was.. hmmm great I don't remember the name, but it was an item with buffalo cheese slices, tomato, olives and alot of vine leaves. Even that was quite nice. But the pasta was amazing. After long I came across a pasta that fit my tastebuds. And yup, another thing that most of these Italian restaurants provide, and even Biella did, was providing hot garlic bread, with butter and parmesan cheese provided separately to spread. Wow, just writing about it is making me go yummmmmmy. The service was very nice, friendly and cheerful, and always out to help. All in all, it was another great experience with my friends, and heres thanking my friend for her birthday treat!!! And hey, no abbreviations in this one I believe.. hmmmm :-) !!!!

Boys Don't Cry

Top: Brandon Teena Bottom: Hillary Swank portraying her character in the movie Boys Don't Cry

Most of you who hv clicked dis link myt hv clicked it thinking that it must be just a general topic about how boys don't cry. Well, I m sorry 2 hv disappointed u, coz dis is about dis movie dat I saw..

If anyone follows da oscars, dey'l knw tht Hillary Swank won da 1st of her 2 oscars for portraying the character of Brandon Teena- a transexual, in dis same movie.

I myself got interested in watching the movie only after da moving speech tht Hillary Swank gave on receiving d oscar for da same.. For da 1st tym I saw sum1 cry for da character, n not out of happiness on receiving d oscar, n at dat moment I knew I wud hv 2 watch da movie. Da 1st tym I saw d movie ws 5 yrs bak, wen I ws lyk wat 15-16 yrs old. But just recently I watched da movie again, n it still has not stopped from enthralling me. I ws so taken aback, that I made it a point that I browse da net n read all dat I cud lay my hands on abt da real Brandon Teena.

It is a true story of the life of Brandon Teena, a transgender who preferred life in a male identity until it was discovered he was born biologically female. It is at dis point dat Brandon's life is torn apart, and everythng gets out of control.. so out of control dat it all ends in a brutal rape and murders. Hillary Swank totally deserves d oscar. She has done total justice to Brandon Teena. I could not believe that Hillary Swank was a female portraying a transexual male. Da movie took me in an unforgettable journey. On further researching online, I found that a few details of the actual rape and murder of Brandon Teena were changed in the film version. But all in all, it is a true story at the end of da day. No, I am not going to tell you more about hw da movie is, or wat happens, bcoz I want you to watch da movie yourself. Sure, it is not da usual run of da mill movie, n some viewers might find da profanity vry appalling. But if you can make yourself look beyond dat, I m sure it will give u a better perspective in life. I know it gave me.. So pls, if you haven't watched da movie, give it a chance. I am sure, you will not regret it.

Thank God It's Friday!!!

Well.. I just had 2 blog abt dis b4 my frnd did.. evn tho according to wat we had decided, she'd b da one blogging, since it ws her bday surprise, but den we decided it's alryt coz both of us wud hv different perspectives, evn tho we're blogging abt d same thng.. See, tht's da gr8 thng abt blogging.. same topic, different perspectives!! Nway, as da topic says.. Thank God It's Friday!!! Da 1st tym I hrd it, I ws kinda shocked.. I mean a frnd of myn said dis phrase aloud, but weirdly it wsn't a friday.. n I for a moment thot tht my frnd had gone mad.. it ws only after seeing my look did he say tht Thank God It's Friday means TGIF, da renowned restaurant chain. Well 2day I ws actualy lucky 2 hv visited dere.. It wsn't planned at all. Me n my frnz went 2 Water Front Gate Mall keeping one thng in mind, tht is we'd go for da Gondola ride in da canal.. but once we reached da mall, we all unanimously concluded tht we're hngry. So we decided 2 hv ice cream n shake at Coldstone Creamery, da same place we visited couple of days bak. But TGIWC - ummm THANK GOD IT WAS CROWDED!!! Since dere ws just no place 2 sit, I just shouted out, hey let's go 2 TGIF, n try da Jalapeno Poppers dere.. coz my frnd had alwz bin rambling on abt hw gr8 da cheesy food in TGIF is.. So we all headed for TGIF.. n we ordered for yes, da Jalapeno Poppers n sum Potato Chips Wafers wit cheese, tomato, onion, n sauce etc on top.. Once da order ws placed, my frnd excused himself to attnd nature's call. But strangely he ws bak real soon. Immediately I jumped at him askn SO SOON??? Lil did we knw dat dis ws a part of da plan.. So da food arrived.. it ws just delicious.. so cheesy, 'OH MY GOD' (F.R.I.E.N.D.S. Style).. We wr just full.. n den once da plates were cleared, da surprise hapnd. My frnd, hu's bday is just arnd d corner, n hu's boyfriend had excused himslf, ws just saying, dat she wished she cud c dese TGIF waiters n waitresses dance, coz dere is sum bday dance dat dese ppl do, if deyr askd 2. U won't bliv it, ryt den I saw a hole bunch of em walking towards our table with cakes.. Initially I thot ok, so it's someones bday, lyk wat r da chnces, n I lukd arnd our table 2 c hu is da lucky one.. But den I saw dat dere ws no1 arnd us.. n I ws lyk hey, wat's happening.. n I ws on da verge of getting off da table 2 say hey, I think u got da rong table.. but den I hrd em singing da TGIF style happy bday song for my frnd.. n I understood evrythn. All da 3 of us were just shocked, n speechless. Yes yes, evn my friend's boyfrnd, hu had planned dis whole thng ws surprised.. n don't evn lemme get strtd on my bday frnd.. she almost said HEY MY BDAY IS ALMOST A WEEK AWAY.. but sumhw she dint, n we're so glad she dint! At d end of dis biiiiiiiiiiiig surprise, she cut her cake. Actualy dey wr 3 slices of cake, each in da form of a burger.. as in da sponge chocolate cake being da breads, n da yummy chocolate cream being da burger sandwiched between da breads. Da cakes had whipped cream n cherries as topping.. Wen I saw d cake I ws lyk okay, it luks alryt.. but my God, wen I tasted it.. I ws in a different wrld.. it wil hv 2 b one of d best cakes tht I hv had in recent tyms.. I luvd it so much, tht at d end of gobbling da cake, I cried out 2 my bday frnd THANK YOU FOR BEING BORN!!! Da main reasn y we had cum 2 Water Front Gate Mall, which is for da Gondola ride, nva happened.. But no regret or complaint.. We had a wonderful experience.. coz as my topic says - THANK GOD IT'S FRIDAY!!!!