OMG..!! Posts

Title: This Beautiful Life Author: Helen Schulman Publisher: Atlantic Books, Penguin Books ISBN: 978-0857896230 Genre: Literary Fiction Pages: 288 Source: Publisher Rating: 4/5 Sometimes it becomes very difficult to relate to a novel and at others it is very easy. Not because you have experienced what the author is trying to say, but maybe because you feel it. There is a connect which is rare between a reader and a writer and when that is established, and then it is for life. The same happened to me while reading, “This Beautiful Life” by Helen Schulman. “This Beautiful Life” is about a family that is at the center of a situation because of the son being involved in a sex scandal. The son in question is nothing but a teenager. Richard and Liz have the perfect life. They have recently moved to Manhattan with their two kids, the fifteen-year old Jake and their adopted daughter Coco, who is six years of age. They are living the American dream. Everything is going right for them. They are ...

Title: The Gunslinger: The Dark Tower I Author: Stephen King Publisher: Signet ISBN: 978-0451210845 Genre: Fantasy Fiction Pages: 336 I had heard a lot of The Dark Tower series when I first start reading them a couple of years ago. I don’t know what made me get back to it after finishing the sixth installment in the series. It is the book I guess that chooses the reader – the first time and again, that is a belief I can live with. I reread the book for a reason – at some level I wanted to search myself, to seek answers and though I didn’t end up finding any, the reread was fantastic. Stephen King is a master of what he chooses to write, horror being his forte. He can also write just about anything –be it the emotional churn in “The Green Mile” or short stories of a different kind in “Everything’s Eventual”, he does it with ease and exactness and maybe that’s why we love him for what he does. “The Gunslinger” has been one of my favourite novels of all time. It was inspired by a poem, “C...

I hate the food courts in the malls. I hate the confused smells of food coming from every table/joint, the sea of patrons eating a burger, chaat, biryani, noodles all at the same time, the cacophony, the sight of so much food!! And that’s why I hated catching a movie at the Phoenix Market City in Kurla. Other than the crazy food-court, and the sad Crème Centre and another sadder joint whose name I can’t recall, there weren't any eating options out there. Until we discovered otherwise after watching Frozen last week. It looked to us that Phoenix City was on a restaurant-opening-spree – Moti Mahal, some Royal something, Rain Forest etc. Poush, a Kashmiri restaurant, with its Shikhara on display and beige-coloured curtains and wooden embellishments looked inviting. We went in… Ambience @ Poush in Phoenix Market City, Kurla:  It is indeed in the style of a Shikara. We mistook it for the Kashmiri joint we dined at in Oshiwara some 3-4 years ago, KongPoush. This Poush is, instead, a chai...

 Genre : Crime/Historical Event/Action/Drama/War   Starring: John Abraham , Nargis Fakhri , Rashi Khanna, Siddharth Basu, Ajay Rathnam, Prakash Belawadi The Sri Lankan Civil War was a long fought battle between the Sri Lankan Government and a rebel group whose demands were a seperate Tamil state. The movie is based on the Indian intervention in Sri Lanka and the eventual assassination of Ex Prime Minister, Rajiv Gandhi. Major Vikram Singh (Abraham) is assigned an operation under the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) and relieved of his army duties. The task is to get the rebel leader, Anna (Rathnam) to lay down his arms and accept peace talks with the Sri Lankan government. He encounters a British journalist, Jaya Sahni (Fakhri) who has come to Sri Lanka to cover the conflict. Vikram learns that Sri Lanka is far more complicated than he thought with multiple double-crosses, information leaks and the constant threat to his life. The story of the movie is very strong and an almost ident...

Reasons to spend your money : Saif Ali Khan, Clever dialogues & Happy Ending You can stay at home if : If you don't like revenge-fueled violence. You would like it if you like : Pulp Fiction, Gangs of Wasseypur & Ajay Devgan-Action You would hate it if you dislike : Sholay, Quentin Tarantino-flicks & incoherent-story I thoroughly enjoyed this movie. The movie also posits about why Lord Brahma has only one temple at Pushkar. The characters played by Saif Ali Khan &  Jimmy Shergill make you fall in love with killing, throwing bricks, stones and what-not at their opponents. I won't write about the negatives because I didn't find anything which could make the movie-watching experience tiring & worthless.

Genre : Action/Romance/Drama   Starring: Ranveer Singh , Deepika Padukone , Richa Chadda , Supriya Pathak , Gulshan Devaiah, Barkha Bisht Sanjay Leela Bhansali has been known to create movies that are visually very intriguing and are a treat to watch. Use of vibrant colours, dramatic dialogues, powerful dances and soulful singing, his movies have it all and  Ram Leela  does not try to be any different. A small village in Gujarat, India , has a law of it's own. The village is divided between two clans, the Saneda's and the Rajadi's who have been fighting for years and are always breathing down each others necks. The new generation in these two families comprise of Ram (Singh) from the Saneda clan and Leela (Padukone) from the Rajadi's. Ram and Leela have never actually met since neither have ever been allowed to cross over to the other side of the village. When Ram decides to play a prank by crossing over to the Rajadi side during the festival of Holi, he meets Leela ...

Did you know Chor Bazaar was originally called Shor Bazaar? Till it became the place where stolen and smuggled goods found their way in South Bombay. Today, there is no  shor ; on that Sunday afternoon in the month of Ramzan, Chor Bazaar is quiet and sleepy. The five of us walk the streets, feeling out of place and awkward. The shopkeepers are reserved, nobody calls out or seems willing to chat their time away. But once you enter a shop and begin talking, they thaw and begin to charm their way to a sale.What a nice walk! Through quirky and interesting antiques, wooden furniture, brass and bronze, stone and plastic. Those tiny shops stocking thousands and thousands of Bollywood posters and memorabilia. And stores with interesting names and lines – like Portbello: We recycle the past. You need to have a lot of patience, though, since at first sight, it all seems like a lot of junk, but tucked in between are the treasures – a statue of Ganesha here, a beautiful old clock there. Here, Chor...

The small northeastern state of Sikkim was once rightly dubbed ‘the hidden kingdom’ after a book (1971) by the same name by Alice Kandell. The mighty Kanchenjunga, considered a benevolent protector, dominates the region, making itself visible from various points within the state. Take a tour around the highlights of Sikkim. Begin at Gangtok What to do Walk up and down the pedestrian-only MG Road, stopping for hot momos and chowmein at one of the various cafés on the street Make a day trip to Tsomgo lake (called Changu by locals), located in the middle of snow-covered mountains. Here, you can ride on a docile yak or pose for photographs next to one. From there, head on to Nathu La pass (open to Indian visitors only on Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday), on the Indo-Chinese border to play in snow and wave at Chinese soldiers on the other side. Pay a visit to the monasteries in and around Gangtok, in particular, the stunning Enchey and Rumtek. Take a ropeway ride (8.00 am – 4.30 pm...

This time I tried “Mocha Praline”. It was good. Definitely not better than Java Chip, though. It was your normal coffee, in my opinion. I also tried ‘Mocha Latte’. I think it tasted just like ‘Mocha Praline.’ My suggestion: You must try Java Chip frap, its my favorite. BTW this one is Mocha Praline. At Starbucks at #OberoiMall Goregaon east Mumbai. Follow @OberoiMall on twitter

Koyla: Arabian Nights You enter to the sweet fruity scent of burning hookahs. Koyla which means "coal" in the native language is a open air terrace restaurant over looking the bombay colaba skyline and the arabian sea. The decor is appropriate to the ambience and is very rustic in its appeal. The tables are cabbana-ish with a thatched roof for cover. There are three choices for your seating perference sunken seating, charpoy (traditional) seats and long bench seating. The floor is covered with gravel and there is a fountain adorning the center of the terrace. The lighting is dim and soothing. The terrace is spacious and ideal for parties. Though alcohol is not available at the restaurant you may bring your own. They have a corkage charge per bottle and will provide the mixers and staff for bar tending and serving. A popular destination for dinner before a night out on the town. Address: Gulf Hotel, Apollo Bandar Rd, Apollo Bandar, Mumbai, Maharashtra 400005 Phone:022 6636 474...

  To really like this one, you either have to be around ten years old, or a huge fan of Hrithik (with his finely chiseled abs shown multiple times), or someone who’s never watched English superhero films or a student of advertising (with numerous brands, product placements shown time and again). All others will find this one just about okay, with the movie reminiscent of the older, formulaic superhero films from Hollywood, filled with caricatures and black and white characters and innumerable moments of sentimental schmaltz.  Hrithik, in his masked Krrish avatar, is the perennial do-gooder, living with wife, Priyanka, and Dad (himself in a double role), who is a top scientist. He is mostly confined to the Mumbai area – living in an impossibly scenic and sprawling bungalow – and also struggles to keep any job in his normal identity due to his penchant for running around doing good deeds (foiling a jewelry store robbery, helping an aircraft land etc). Kaal, Vivek Oberoi, is just pure evi...