Tag: review

Manat – Book Review

/ Guttu / Leave a comment
मनात

मानसशास्त्र हा असा विषय आहे ज्याच्यावर एवढी वर्षे दुर्लक्ष होत होते. पण जसजसा काळ बदलला, जीवनशैली बदलली तसे याला महत्त्व मिळत गेले. मला मानसशास्त्राविषयी खूपच ओढ. लोकांच्या नकळत त्यांचे बोलणे, त्यांचे हावभाव यांचे निरीक्षण करत असतो. एवढं असूनही या विषयावर कधी वाचन केले नाही.

मनात हे पुस्तक सामान्य माणसाला मानसशास्त्राची माहिती देण्यासाठी लिहिले गेले. मानसशास्त्राचे वेगवेगळे पैलू यात मांडले आहेत. भाषा रंजक ठेवण्याचा लेखकाने अत्यंत प्रामाणिक प्रयत्न केला आहे. पण सुरुवातीच्या काही प्रकरणानंतर तोचतोचपणा जाणवतो. प्रत्येक प्रकरण एकाच साच्यात घालून तयार केले आहे असे वाटते. मधल्या पानांत तर मानसशास्त्र सोडून मानसशास्त्रज्ञांच्या जीवनाविषयी जास्त पाने खर्च केली आहेत. यामुळे सुरुवातीला आपले लक्ष वेधून घेणारे हे पुस्तक नंतर नंतर कंटाळवाणे होऊ लागते. असे असूनही या पुस्तकात मानसशास्त्राविषयी प्रचंड माहिती दिली आहे. जवळपास या विषयाचा संपूर्ण इतिहास संक्षिप्त स्वरूपात मांडला आहे.

ज्यांना मानसशास्त्राची आवड आहे त्यांच्यासाठी हे पुस्तक एक पर्वणीच. बाकीच्यांना हे कंटाळवाणे वाटण्याची संभावना आहे. वाचायचं ठरवलंच तर हळूहळू वाचा. कारण यात घेण्यासारखे खूप काही आहे.

Artemis

/ Guttu / Leave a comment

 

Somewhere in near future, say 100 years when most of us who are reading this will be dead, Man makes base on the Moon. The base soon turns into a full fledged city which is named Artemis, named after Greek goddess. Author should have studied mythologies from other cultures. He could have come up with a better name.

The book has Artemis at its center and a character named Jazz. Her actual name is Jasmine. She arrived on Artemis when she was six from Saudi Arabia and have been there for last 20 years. She works as a low-level porter and earns her living by delivering and smuggling goods. That’s when you learn that no world is free from crime. Where there is man, there’s crime.

Trond is a telecom tycoon who shifted to Artemis because of her daughter who is crippled by an car crash on Earth. The low gravity on Moon helps her walk with crutches which would have been impossible on Earth. Trond is typical businessman who is always looking to expand and make profits. He finds an opportunity to make it big on Artemis. He hires Jazz for a job which leads both of them into deep trouble. Do they get out of the trouble? Who helps them and who is after them? You’ll find answers to these questions when you read the book.

When you start reading this,  you won’t even know that Jazz is female. Not until a few pages when author uses the noun. She behaves like a man which she carries till the end. Her tomboy image adds some spice to the story. After 30 odd pages, you’ll start comparing this to The Martian. You will be disappointed. Especially in the climax part when there are more intelligent and experienced person living on Artemis, why everyone looks up to Jazz? It doesn’t make sense. She is witty. She is clever. She is a rebel. These qualities make the reading delightful just until the climax. It doesn’t click. There is something missing in the finale. Let me know if you find that.

Humor is the biggest plus point of the story. It makes you laugh. There is some sarcasm and crude humor too. Something for everyone I say. If you find it difficult to laugh while reading this, then my friend you should make that appointment with your shrink. You need it.

The blend of characters makes a tasty smoothie. You’ll get to taste many flavors. You’ll like every flavor. Even if you don’t like it, you’ll not dislike it. You’ll enjoy the smoothie until it hits the bottom where it wouldn’t be smooth anymore. I just hope that wouldn’t leave a bad taste.

Beg. Borrow. Steal. Read this shit.

P.S. – If you are a devote Muslim or a hardcore feminist, You may want to skip this book. Jazz is a Muslim girl who sleeps around with different guys. She talks freely of her sexuality. She drinks. She doesn’t wear hijab. She leaves alone, away from her family. These things don’t go well with the Muslims I guess. For the feminists, you have a lot to criticize about the way author has presented her. There’s a lot of sex talk, jibes which are awkward. If you fall into the above two categories, you may want to stay clear.

Paradise Lost and Regained – Book Review

/ Guttu / Leave a comment

Once in a while there comes a book which alters the way you think. It gives you insights and hope and a fresh perspective towards life. Towards everything. A few years back, The Alchemist did this to me. And then The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari. And now this one. I got this book as a giveaway some two years back and I never thought of reading it. It was my foolishness or maybe it wasn’t the right time for me to read this book.

The story is quite simple. It is about a deer who lives in forest in the beginning before it is captured and taken to the zoo. From there, the deer escapes and gets back to the forest only to find a new way to look towards the forest, towards the life that’s ahead. It’s perspective towards life in forest before the zoo and after the zoo will take you by surprise. As you read the book, chapter by chapter, the story engulfs you and soon you replace yourself with that deer.

Every chapter in this book is a take on different stages of our life. The beginning, the childhood, the teenage, the maturity, the old age. Life lessons which have a potential to change someones life, are rendered smoothly. The language used complements the subject very well and makes it easy to take the insights. My favorite chapters were those where the author has commented on the negative emotions that persists and the adverse effect of those emotions. Though many a times these emotions tend to give a dark shade to the book. But you’ll have to ignore it to understand what the author i really trying to convey.

Buy. Beg. Borrow. Steal. But read this book. You will not regret.

मुरांबा

/ Guttu / Leave a comment

muramba movie review

काल “मुरांबा” चाखला. “दोन पिढ्यातील अंतर” हा विषय चिरंजीव आहे. त्याचा परिणाम असा की नवीन पिढीला वाटते की जुनी पिढी “टिपिकल” आहे. पण हे “टिपिकल” असण्यामागचे कारण काय ते कधी जाणून घेण्याचा प्रयत्न मात्र करत नाही. खूपच.. फारच.. अगदीच.. “टिपिकल” असा शिक्का मारून मोकळे व्हायचे. आता हा “टिपिकल” शब्द वारंवार वापरण्याचे कारण म्हणजे तो असाच या चित्रपटात देखील वापरला आहे. चित्रपट मात्र “टिपिकल” नाही.

अलोक आणि इंदू यांचा ब्रेकअप हा या चित्रपटाचा मुख्य विषय. पहिल्या पाच मिनिटांतच आपण या कथेशी जुळतो. वेगळेपणा कुठे जाणवतो तर अलोकचे आई-बाबा ज्या पद्धतीने हा विषय हाताळता तिथे. वादविवाद खूप असले तरीही इथे प्रखरता जाणवत नाही. हलके फुलके पणाने कथानक पुढे जात रहाते. यातूनच हसण्याची संधी परत परत मिळते. मध्यंतरानंतर थोडा वेगळ्या वळणाने कथानक पुढे जाते. अपयशाची चव माहिती नसली तर नात्यांमध्ये काय प्रश्न येऊ शकतात हे सांगण्याचा प्रयत्न केलाय. आजच्या या गतीमान जीवनात निर्णय झटकन घेतले जातात. नात्यांविषयी सुद्धा असेच होते. ते किती चुकीचे आहे हे चित्रपटाच्या शेवटी उमगते.

चित्रपटात कुणी अभिनय केलाय असे वाटत नाही. सगळे सहज घडत आहे असे वाटते. प्रेम आहे. रोमांस आहे. पण चवीपुरते. थोडासा बोल्ड आहे म्हणून मला तरी ही फॅमिली फिल्म नाही वाटत. अजून एक गोष्ट. गाणी नाही यांत. “अगं! ऐक ना?” मला मोठ्या पडद्यावर बघायचे होते. ते पण नाहीये. बाकी चित्रपट एकदा तरी बघावाच. ८/१०

I (2015) Review

/ Guttu / Leave a comment

The second movie I watched this weekend was one I have been waiting for last 15 days. That is since the day I watched the trailer of the movie. The movie is “I“. There was a scene where the hero bears the look of someone from Planet of the apes. That caught my attention. Though I was disappointed that the look is only limited to one song.

I Vikram movie

Our hero, Lingesan who later gets a fancy name Lee, is a huge fan of Arnold and runs a gym with his name and photo. He is also a huge fan of Diya, an ad model. He is so crazy about her that he collects every photo of her wherever his eyes catch one. He even buys every product for which she is modeling. Even bras(which his mother uses for cooking idlis. Whattay jugad!!) . And sanitary napkins. These Tamil guys are crazy fans. I love this about them.

“Coincidentally”, Our hero gets an opportunity to get close to her as her security guard for a shoot. Diya.. Mannnn.. She is one damn hot chick. I bet you’ll be romancing with her in your dreams at least the night you watch this film. (Focus man. Focus on review.) So Diya is “Not that type of girl”. And her humility flatters our hero. Now he sees her everywhere. His Nokia phone, Royal Enfield bike, Dumbells and even his sprouts. Just imagine Diya dressed like above. Crazy huh..

Then comes the villain. John, who is coupled with Diya in most of the ads, wants to have dinner with her followed by some “fun”. But since Diya is “Not that type of girl”, she refuses. This is when John uses his influence and replaces her with a model who agrees to have “fun” with him. Devastated Diya falls into depression until “coincidentally” she finds an ad on a local newspaper featuring our hero for a local product. (This is why my friend, You should read local newspaper. It may provide you with much needed solution.) Then Diya and Lee go to the land of Bruce Lee for an ad shoot.

<insert romantic scenes between Diya and Lee>
<insert romantic scenes between Lee and his gay makeup guy>
<insert a song>
<insert scenes which are results of John’s jealousy>
<insert revenge scenes by Lee>
<insert Happy ending>

The Good
Diya, I mean Amy Jackson. She is SUPER HOTTT! She is stunning in every costume she wears. She looks beautiful when she is wearing Indian dresses. Secondly, Vikram. He’s got the body of Arnold with impeccable acting skills. Third, Locations and Camera work. The scenic China has been captured in such a way that it pleases the viewer. You won’t let your eyes off the screen because of this. (And because of Amy Jackson). Fourth, Special effects. Do I have to mention this? It’s a Shankar’s film. It will have special effects using latest tech to blend with the movie.

The Bad
The ads. Though they are innovatively used in the film, they irritate you because of the screen time they consume. Secondly, songs. A couple of unnecessary tracks as usual in any Indian movie. Third, duration. Refer one and two.

The Ugly
Lingesan with that “bubbly” look. And then later in second half, his victims. They are UGLY. You want them out of  your sight. That says about the skills of the makeup artists.

Conclusion: This movie is total entertainer. Action, romance, Drama, Special effects, Hot chicks. It has everything. It’s worth every penny.  8/10