Slumdog Millionaire is my 2nd most favorite Indian movie ever. Well, it’s not really an Indian movie because the filmakers are British. Only the actors are Indian and the story is set in India. Nevertheless, it’s a must watch for anyone who likes movies.

The plot of the movie is fairly simple. A poor kid from the slums of Bombay participates in the TV game show, answers all questions and goes on to win the highest prize of 20 million rupees. I knew that much about the movie even before I watched it.

I was blown away after I watched the movie. A seemingly simple story was filmed so beautifully that the product turned out to send an extremely powerful message. Underneath the story it was shown what kind of problems are being faced by countries like India where poverty is a major issue. Any other method of diverting world’s attention towards these problems would have failed miserably. And that’s what makes this movie a masterpiece. There are plenty of hidden messages in the movie that one is left amazed and baffled by the depth of it all, and glued to his seat for the entire duration of the film.

If you planning to watch one movie this year, make it the Slumdog Millionaire. There are scenes in the movie that might make you drop the popcorn from your hands.

Originally posted at Slumdog Millionaire

Image via Wikipedia

Nature has its own way of adjusting itself. We humans are parasites on this planet, consuming all it’s resources without giving anything back to it. When human population in a certain area increases more than what is acceptable to nature, it uses its forces to balance that population with available resources. That’s why earthquakes and other natural disasters happen. I have observed that earthquakes and cyclones and other acts of nature generally happen in densely populated areas. Could this be just a coincidence? Maybe that’s why dinosaurs died, because they had grown too many for nature to handle.

If we continue to cut the trees, drill the oil, melt the glaciers, and release poisonous gases in the atmosphere, the natural equilibrium of earth will be heavily disturbed at one point in time (if it is not already), and that’s when a big mysterious disaster, such as one shown in movie, will occur and wipe out half of earth’s population.

That, in my opinion, is what they tried to show in the movie.

In the long run, we are all dead.

Originally posted at The Happening

This last movie I watched has inspired me to do something like that. I know I am too old for Harvard and I am not going to beat the casino, but the world is full of opportunities and there has to be something for me.

Coming back to the movie, I always like movies about genius people. That’s why Good Will Hunting and A Beautiful Mind are my favorite movies. Such movies motivate me to do something in life besides sitting on my ass all day and do sales calls (or blog about movies). There is more to life than that.

Another reason I liked the movie was because it was about Blackjack, which I know how to play and have a fantasy of going to a casino someday and beat this game to make millions. The last time I tried this I lost 100 dollars before quitting.

So will I ever have a dazzling story to tell? Let’s see. Check out this blog after an year.

Originally posted at 21

But after seeing this movie I have realized that’s exactly the power I want. Wouldn’t it be super cool to just jump to anywhere you want. You don’t need to spend anything on traveling again, never need a visa to any country, never pay tickets to enter any museum or theme park, never have to work again, just jump around and have fun.

That’s exactly in line with the kind of life I have always wanted to live.

Since I watched this movie in cinema I really enjoyed it, despite it’s weak plot and predictable ending. Some would say the movie is for teenagers. Maybe it is, but there is no harm in feeling like a teenager once in a while.

Enjoy the trailer, but make no assumptions. The actual movie is much better than the trailer.

Originally posted at Jumper

The best thing I liked about this movie was how Rob had his top five lists of everything. And how his life revolved around music. I liked the way he explained how he felt after each breakup and how his perspectives about life and love matured with every incident. I dig the way he narrates what he is thinking throughout the movie. I totally loved the top 5 things he missed about Laura. And his top five books of all time. I loved the way he wanted Laura back so much, and how he was ready to mess with the Ian guy. I hated Ian as much as he did and almost wanted to smash his head with a window AC.

After writing this, I just want to go watch High Fidelity all over again. It’s a brilliant story and teaches you a lot about coming to terms with reality.

Originally posted at High Fidelity

The good thing with such movies is that they make you think. They give you a chance to analyze your life and see which way you are going. It shows you the mirror. It reveals what it takes to work at postions that many people will kill for. And then you ask youself, is that really what you want in life? If you had a million dollars but not the time to spend it, would you still want it? Will you be courageous enough to walk out of a path that leads to a state like that?

Originally posted at The Devil Wears Prada

Personally, I think this is the best Pakistani movie ever made. Not for a single moment throughout the duration of the film I felt I was watching a Pakistani movie, and I have watched a lot of Pakistani movies to say this.

The acting was great, the picture quality, music, editing, production, everything was top notch. Like I said, a better movie is not made in Pakistan before.

It also proves that Pakistani actors like Shan can act superbly when given an opportunity to work with professionals who know their job.

And last but not the least, the plot of the film was captivating, however disputed and arguable, it proved to be great entertainment at the end of the day, and we deserve more quality flicks like this one as we are already starved of major entertainment in this country.

Originally posted at Khuda Kay Liye

Every person has a different idea of happiness. For some it is getting their ideal job, a home, and plenty of money to take care of their family. For others it could be something as simple as loosing weight, or getting out of debt. Whatever be the source of happiness, one has to pursue it. It doesn’t come without effort. And in some cases you have to work extraordinary hard to find happiness. You have to fight for it. And it’s not always a walk in the park.

It’s films like these that give you the motivation to keep trying, keep working to get what you want. Specially when it is inspired from a true story. You know whatever is being shown did happen in real life. There is no reason you cannot do the same.

Originally posted at The pursuit of Happyness

Originally posted at The Da Vinci Code

What was shown in this film has shaken me to the core. I couldn’t sleep all night after watching it. Am I too sensitive? Maybe I am. I watch movies with great concentration and try to absorb as much as possible. That’s probably another core ingredient of mine. Can’t help it.

So is that really the solution to the problems that our country is facing today? Is our system corrupted or the people, or both? The system is improving. It has become better in recent years. But the problems still remain. So it’s got to be the people who are running the system. So, what should be done? Replace them, no, kill them! Kill them and then what? They will be replaced by another equally corrupted. How many will you kill? Something else has to be done. And that something else is only possible when we, the youth of this country take active part in it. Instead of moving abroad, or pursuing high profile executive jobs, we should join the police, civil services, government organizations and every place that is believed to be corrupted. And then set an example for everyone else. Give this stalled vehicle, our country, a big push in the right direction. It will take an entire generation for this country to be a decent place to live, where things are easy to do, where it’s not a hassle to do small things like getting your passport renewed, or opening a bank account. A generation has to sacrifice its luxuries to ensure a better and easier life for future generations. A generation has to come forward and replace the currently incapable.

Now the question is, are we, including myself, ready to sacrifice? Are we willing to give up our cushy jobs and work as civil servants for the rest of our lives? Can we do that so that the people in this country could live a better life? Or are we only concerned about making our life better? Do we only care about ourselves? Does it matter to us if people around us are in trouble, their life has become a joke because of this corruption? Am I happy as long as I am not facing any problems surviving here? Do I care about the rest?

We need to ask ourselves these questions, and come up with an answer. Or maybe I shouldn’t watch such movies. Or maybe I should treat them as just movies and shouldn’t think too much about it.

Originally posted at Rung de basanti