Saturday, October 28, 2017

Bigg Boss 11 recap: (Day 25) Dhinchak Pooja sulks in the house

#ShilpaShinde has something nice to say about cool dude rapper #AkashDadlani. Shilpa tells queen bee #HinaKhan that Akash has a “good” heart, although he will still act like a child at the age of 50.

The after-effects of cringe-pop star #DhinchakPooja’s head lice infestation continue. #ArshiKhan is horrified to find a “kaali kaali moti moti tandrust joon”. Akash makes matters worse, scaring her by saying the lice will dig a hole inside her head.

Discussions continue over the weakest participant in the week’s “Khul Jaa Sim Sim” task. The axe falls on Pooja’s head. Even before her name is announced, Pooja is upset and sulks - even hiding in the bathroom for a good cry. She stays aloof and doesn’t talk to anyone - behaving as if the others don’t exist.

#BenafshaSoonawalla is feeling sorry for Pooja and offers to go to jail in her stead, but Hina tells her not to bother. The other housemates are not liking Pooja’s attitude either. In a rare verbal attack, #SabyasachiSatpathy tells the other housemates Pooja should wash her head lice out before she can act this way.


There is some relief for the 23-year-old when captain Hina nominates Akash and Arshi to join Pooja in jail. She gets along better with the duo and breaks into a rendition of her song “daaru daaru daaru” while in jail. Bihari lass #JyotiKumari and folk dancer #SapnaChaudhary mimic Pooja’s dance steps in the house.


Mr. Bigg Boss is being strict and takes away the luxury budget of the housemates for offences such as sleeping during the day, failure to protect their microphones, speaking in English, and discussing eviction nominations.

But he also offers them a chance to get it all back - IF Pooja can come up with a “good” viral song the #BiggBoss housemates. He allows her to take the help of jail-mates Akash and Arshi.

Meanwhile, outgoing captain Hina gets a chance to continue in Sapna Ki Adalat. Sapna presides over a court while Hina answers housemate questions in the witness box. Allegations fly fast and furious and Hina is mostly able to counter them until judge Sapna stumps her by catching her out in a lie. Sapna accuses Hina of having a “I , me , myself” attitude and rules that the house is ready for a new captain.

And what of the love birds? Well, #PuneeshSharma and #BandgiKalra continue to share some tender moments when the lights are off. Love is definitely in the air.

Nominated this week on #BB11. Who will be evicted?
#ShilpaShinde, #VikasGupta, #BenafshaSoonawalla, #SapnaChaudhary, #LuvTyagi, #JyotiKumari or #AkashDadlani

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Friday, October 27, 2017

Bigg Boss 11 recap: (Day 24) A kaali daayan and a dedh-footiya bandar

Day 24 in the Bigg Boss house opens with no one in the house as the "Khul Jaa Sim Sim" (Open Sesame) task is very much on in the garden. The activities of the previous day have taken their toll, and everyone is staying put in their makeshift beds outdoors.

Except for madcap #ShilpaShinde and rapper #AkashDadlani, no one is in the mood to dance to the wake-up song and it takes some convincing by Shilpa and Akash to get the others moving.

Team Blue love birds #PuneeshSharma and #BandgiKalra are coochie-cooing in one corner, while Team Red is busy discussing a mean remark supposedly made about #MehjabiSiddiqui in reference to her sacrificing her family’s Diwali gift the previous day. It is alleged that Puneesh called Mehjabi a kaali daayan (dark witch).

This riles Mehjabi up. She lets loose a stream of invective at Puneesh, referring to him as a dedh-footiya bandar (midget monkey) who has somehow managed to attract a hoor (nymph = Bandgi). In a country obsessed with the complexion of the fairer sex, it is no surprise that the kaali daayan taunt has piqued Mehjabi. She goes to great pains to explain that her fair and handsome husband loves her despite her dark skin and never even looks at another woman.

Mehjabi says it’s better to have dark skin than to have a “black heart, kidney and lung”. Her comments may have some bite, but I wonder if Puneesh even understands half of what she is saying about him. When they eventually kiss and make up, Mehjabi’s rant goes waste -- because she says she is transformed into a great beauty when she applies make-up.

Back to the task - and Team Red’s Shilpa makes the first move. Folk dancer #SapnaChaudhary has the misfortune of getting some manure flung in her face and on her mic. Beware, Shilpa, your days are numbered - Sapna is not going to forget this slight in a hurry. Team Blue’s Akash resumes his bucket dousing - and queen bee #HinaKhan’s microphone is soaked. She declares that henceforth anyone getting microphones wet would be out of the task. This irks Akash and Puneesh, who question Hina’s credentials to make such a decision -- sparking another war of words with #ArshiKhan adding fuel to the fire. Puneesh uses the word badzat (lowborn) for bossy Hina and that gets her goat.

Hina does get her way when referee #LuvTyagi punishes Shilpa and Akash by sending them inside the house when Mr. Bigg Boss next intones “Khul Jaa Sim Sim”. Sometime after midday, Team Red’s Mehjabi and Team Blue’s Arshi decide they had enough and accept the invite to go inside the house. Four down, but many more to go. But who will break the stalemate?

With everyone too tired and lying around in a sort-of-drunken stupor, Mr. Bigg Boss decides to up his game. Pizza and cans of Appy Fizz have been delivered inside the house, and Akash can’t help showing off to his starving friends stuck outside. Will pizza help lure the remaining housemates?


Cringe-pop sensation #DhinchakPooja is in a philosophical mood. “Who’s a friend, who’s an enemy, who knows?” she wonders aloud. Pooja says she can’t stand being outdoors any more. She says she doesn’t care about becoming captain, but is worried about being locked up for being a bad performer. Hina assures her not to worry, even offering to go to jail in her stead. She attempts to reassure Pooja that this talk of being sent to jail is just an attempt by the rival team (mainly #VikasGupta) to brainwash her.

Still, Pooja tells referee Luv she is too tired and goes inside the house. She soon breaks down, saying she is feeling faint. Shilpa offers her a shoulder to cry on. Methinks it was the prospect of pizza and Appy Fizz that finally broke Pooja’s resolve.

When she feels a bit better, Pooja tells Akash she had initially refused to be part of Bigg Boss 11, but caved in later. “I don’t need this,” she says, claiming the “public” wants to see her. Akash and Pooja even talk about collaborating after the show. I can already visualize another Dhinchak video in the works, this time featuring Bang-Bang rapper Akash. Heaven help us.

By 3.15 in the afternoon, even Mr. Bigg Boss is bored. He announces that the task is over and declares Team Blue the winners since they outnumbered a Dhinchak-less Team Red. Everyone troops in for some much-needed showers preceded by a celebratory group hug for Team Blue. Almost immediately, everyone starts discussing who will be house captain next. Akash seems a tad over-confident about his chances considering even bosom pals Puneesh and Bandgi think he doesn’t have a snowball’s chance in hell. #HitenTejwani wards off Akash diplomatically, promising to support him “in case” he does become a contender for the post.

Later, Arshi finds Akash lying with his head on Pooja’s lap, prompting Arshi to comment that he likes her. Irritated, Akash says he “loves” Pooja - as a “friend”. Pooja sidles away on hearing this. Arshi pretends to faint when she hears the 23-year-old hasn’t had a boyfriend yet. Puneesh mocks her as well, saying someone who hasn’t tasted anything sweet won’t even know what diabetes is -- whatever context he was saying that in. Pooja is embarrassed further (was that a blush I spy spreading across her cheeks?) and moves away.

And what of current captain Hina? In the evening, she takes a stroll in the garden, appearing to select camera angles for the best view of her face -- and promptly breaks down. Between her sobs, she wonders aloud about the kind of language being used for her by Puneesh and others. #SabyasachiSatpathy appears briefly to offer her solace. But methinks he seemed too eager to get back inside. Does queen bee Hina Khan have no one to turn to anymore?

The bully has become the bullied. Or is it too soon for the tables to have turned? That’s a thought for the next episode. After midnight, the other Khan - Arshi (ably aided by Akash) is doing her own coochie-cooing with a cardboard cutout of host Salman Khan.

BTW, I am wondering about ousted housemate #PriyankSharma - didn’t Salman announce he was coming back the same day Dhinchak entered the house? Or is he hiding somewhere in the Bigg Boss house? Hmmm.

Nominated this week on #BB11. Who will be evicted?
#ShilpaShinde, #VikasGupta, #BenafshaSoonawalla, #SapnaChaudhary, #LuvTyagi, #JyotiKumari or #AkashDadlani

(NOTE: I am watching the show on Voot and I realized it’s missed counting a day. Have switched to calling it Day 24 instead of Day 23 for the purposes of this recap. Hence, there will be no recap for Day 23.)

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Thursday, October 26, 2017

Bigg Boss 11 recap: (Day 22) Cow dung and Arabian Nights

As the housemates settle down for the night, they notice #MehjabiSiddiqui seated on the bed and staring menacingly at them. It’s unclear whether she is in a catatonic trance, but #ArshiKhan is quick to ascribe her stupor to the presence of an evil spirit.


Rapper #AkashDadlani isn’t liking all this talk of ghosts - sleep has deserted him. What if something happens in the night, he asks. When “aunty” Mehjabi recovers, he pesters her by asking what happened. Mehjabi didn’t like his “aunty” reference either. Akash’s Hindi isn’t great and he’s stumped by the word “jallad” used for him.


Day 22 dawns with queen bee #HinaKhan interrogating cringe-pop sensation #DhinchakPooja in the living room. Turns out Pooja’s parents aren’t too pleased about her presence in the #BiggBoss house. As the 23-year-old leaves the room, Hina tells the housemates she appreciates how Pooja conducts herself, despite knowing people are not really fans of her so-called music.


When the week’s task begins, it’s a jungle out there in the garden and the contestants are wearing blue and red Arabian Nights costumes. Players from both teams can enter Ali Baba’s cave (the house) only when Mr. Bigg Boss intones “Khul Jaa Sim Sim” (Open Sesame). But entering the house equals losing and the task would be won by the team with more members remaining in the garden, giving the winners a chance to become the next captain. #LuvTyagi is the referee for the task.

Easy peasy to stay put outside? Well, at least till we hear contestants are allowed to trouble members of the opposing team. There’s plenty of cow dung and water outside to ensure things won’t remain peaceful for too long. Self-appointed cook #ShilpaShinde starts making lunch on an outdoor stove.

Some of the housemates discuss whether destroying clothes is acceptable torture. Model #BandgiKalra proclaims she will cut the hair of anyone who targets her clothing. Fair warning.

The drenching begins shortly with wildcard #DhinchakPooja bearing the brunt of the initial bucket dousing. Some microphones get wet, some shins get kicked and things hot up quickly when the Bigg Boss version of cowdung Holi begins in earnest. A war of words ensues between Hina and Akash, with #PuneeshSharma coming to Akash’s aid.

Hina and Bandgi also square off over their celebrity status, a long-standing ritual in the Bigg Boss timeline. Hina’s first tears begin to flow at 6.45 p.m. but #HitenTejwani is around to keep her spirits up. Akash provokes Hiten into a bucket-dousing challenge, but they are shaking hands by the end.

No one is showing any signs of going inside the ‘cave’ so Mr. Bigg Boss changes tack. Mehjabi’s Diwali present from her family, the one she didn’t get last week, is displayed with a caveat - she’ll get her hands on it only if one contestant from both teams enters the house the next time “Khul Jaa Sim Sim” is intoned.

Arshi is seen trying to convince an emotional Mehjabi to go inside, but Team Red rescues her from the naagin’s clutches, pepping her up to withstand the temptation. When it’s time for the next “Khul Jaa Sim Sim” at 9.30 p.m., no one goes in - although Mehjabi requests Luv for a final look at the family photo wrapped over her gift.

It’s going to be a long night, folks, but tomorrow’s a new day and who knows - maybe cow dung, hunger, bladder control or the plain ol’ sun may break the deadlock.

Nominated this week on #BB11. Who will be evicted?
#ShilpaShinde, #VikasGupta, #BenafshaSoonawalla, #SapnaChaudhary, #LuvTyagi, #JyotiKumari or #AkashDadlani

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BiggBoss 11 recap: (Day 21) Enter Dhinchak Pooja - and lice
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Wednesday, October 25, 2017

#BiggBoss11 (Day 21) recap: Enter Dhinchak Pooja - and lice #BB11

I am beginning to feel sorry for #DhinchakPooja. It’s no cakewalk entering #BiggBoss as a wildcard two weeks after the other housemates had time to understand the lay of the land and form alliances to survive.


Don’t get me wrong. The cringe-pop sensation’s songs do make me shudder. Still, I didn’t appreciate the way actor #SalmanKhan rolled his eyes and mocked her “singing” in Sunday’s episode before Pooja joined the house guests. To her credit, the 23-year-old appeared unfazed and later sang a few lines while queen bee #HinaKhan and others laughed in contempt.


Things got worse on Day 21 when the housemates noticed lice nits in Pooja’s hair. There was much banter behind her back, and not of the good kind. Pooja looked perplexed when various housemates led by captain #HinaKhan snuck up behind her to ascertain the extent of the lice nit invasion. Eventually, madcap #ShilpaShinde comes to her rescue, takes Pooja aside and graciously explains why she’s become the butt of jokes. Shilpa and #HitenTejwani request Mr. Bigg Boss to send Pooja a bottle of lice medicine. Thank you, Shilpa -- for being the sane one for once. Pooja didn’t react, but I suspect a teary tantrum is in the works. She's been quiet, except for an impromptu sing-off with "Bang Bang" rapper #AkashDadlani.


[Warning: #GameOfThrones reference ahead]

When she’s not busy deriding #DhinchakPooja, captain #HinaKhan calls the shots in the house. In her most Cersei Lannister moment yet, Hina tells Akash he won’t get to eat if he doesn’t listen to her. But Akash is not one to pay his debts. Instead, egged on by allies #PuneeshSharma and #BandgiKalra, Akash throws a tantrum of his own.

Elsewhere, the housemates are plotting the week’s eviction nominations, something we know from past experience Mr. Bigg Boss doesn’t take too kindly to. This week, he doesn’t allow the contestants to nominate people and arbitrarily chooses #BandgiKalra, #ShilpaShinde, #ArshiKhan, #VikasGupta, #PuneeshSharma and #MehjabiSiddiqui. They do have a chance to save themselves - if a ‘friend’ paired with them at the 30-minute “friendship wall” is nominated in their stead.


Arshi doesn’t waste much time in getting rid of VJ #BenafshaSoonawalla, leaving the latter in tears. Which was surprising, because the unwritten rule of Bigg Boss is to take care of oneself, escape the nominations and stay put in the house. Why should Arshi be expected to sacrifice herself for Benafsha?


Puneesh follows suit, ditching folk dancer #SapnaChaudhary (Puneesh hadn’t liked her remarks about his girl pal Bandgi over the weekend so this was no shock). Bandgi herself didn’t stick too long with #LuvTyagi. And #MehjabiSiddiqui was quick to leave Bihari lass #JyotiKumari in the lurch.


But actress #ShilpaShinde and TV producer #VikasGupta didn’t follow through - opting to stay nominated to safeguard #HitenTejwani and #SabyasachiSatpathy respectively. Strategy or foolhardiness? That we’ll get to know this weekend.

Lest we forget, Cersei Lannister (Hina) took centrestage at the friendship wall to take revenge on Akash for his remarks about her captaincy, losing no time in relegating him to the eviction round. "When you play the Game of Thrones, youwin or you die - there is no middle ground". Yes, we know, Cersei. But also remember "Spider-Man" - "with great power comes great responsibility".

New alliances are constantly being formed in the Bigg Boss house. I noticed Arshi getting friendly with the Puneesh gang -- or maybe it’s a case of ‘enemy of my enemy (read Hina) is my friend’. Former bosom pal Vikas was pacifying a teary-eyed Benafsha when Arshi walked off. An inopportune remark by Jyoti at bedtime saw Puneesh and Akash gang up on her. That girl sure needs to keep her mouth shut.

Nominated this week on #BB11. Who will be evicted?
#ShilpaShinde, #VikasGupta, #BenafshaSoonawalla, #SapnaChaudhary, #LuvTyagi, #JyotiKumari or #AkashDadlani
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Monday, October 09, 2017

Book: 4321 by Paul Auster

43214321 by Paul Auster
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

"4 3 2 1" is the coming-of-age tale of Archie Ferguson, with four dramatically different yet parallel versions of his life, his relationships and his experiences in the 20th century. That's creative in itself and while its length may make Paul Auster's 17th novel seem long-winded, his attention to detail and his control over the multiple narratives ensures the reader is enthralled throughout. This is a long read and it took me a month to finish. Worth it? I think so.

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Monday, August 21, 2017

Book: Orange Is the New Black - My Year in a Women's Prison by Piper Kerman

Orange Is the New Black: My Year in a Women's PrisonOrange Is the New Black: My Year in a Women's Prison by Piper Kerman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The hit Netflix show piqued my interest in the memoir that inspired it all. Piper Kerman's narrative of some 13 months in prison is a more subdued affair - there is no lesbian sex or prison riot, almost everyone makes her feel welcome, she never spends any time locked up (at least in Danbury) with her ex-girlfriend, and fiance Larry is a really nice guy who waits patiently for her to get out of prison. While the show gave us many more interesting characters, a few with recognizable characteristics appear just in passing in the book. And yet, this is a poignant memoir where the reader accompanies Piper through the whole prison experience. The show on the other hand relegated Piper to the sidelines by Season 5, giving viewers a diverse range of characters and much more drama. Not that I am complaining. I liked them both.

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Monday, August 14, 2017

'Gunda' turns 19

I accepted the movie challenge thrown by Anupriya Kumar and watched the cult classic "Gunda". Users on IMDb.com give the 1998 Bollywood film an average rating of 7.6/10 and it ranks 214 on the list of top-rated Indian movies of all time - higher than “Raajneeti”, “Rustom” or “Sultan”.

"Gunda" is, erm … different. Each character speaks in silly rhyming couplets for the opening sequence and much of the film. This is all the more bewildering because the lines are delivered randomly during scenes that would be tragic in any other cinematic context - such as a woman being raped, a villain cradling the lifeless body of his brother, or sporadic stabbings.

At its heart, “Gunda” is a revenge thriller, involving coolie Shankar (Mithun Chakraborty) caught in the middle of a gang war between weirdly named dons Bulla and Lambu Atta. Lambu Atta is out of the picture before you can ask “What does Lambu Atta mean?” - leaving Bulla as undisputed villain and connoisseur of all things evil. Shankar ends up in Bulla’s crosshairs after helping the incompetent police arrest his henchman.


Double entendres abound, and there are plenty of heaving bosoms, pelvic thrusts and penis/gay/Viagra references to give any self-respecting censor board chief nightmares.

The basic plot, without giving away too many spoilers, sees our hero losing his sister, father and sweetheart to the maniacal villain and his bananas-and-other-things-obsessed cohorts. To ensure that the bloodthirsty action is evenly spaced out, director Kanti Shah inserts titillating songs to give audiences a welcome break from all the rapes, castration and throat-slashing gore.

Animal lovers rejoice, there are plenty of non-humans on display. A pet monkey who insists the hero’s sister ties a rakhi on him. And Bulla takes his house-trained leopard out for walks: it deserves a Nobel Peace Prize for tolerating Bulla’s tuft-of-hair brother (Shakti Kapoor) who keeps insulting it by calling it a tiger. There is a special appearance by two stray dogs whose blissful dreams on a beach are disturbed when Shankar appears, in hot pursuit of an evil politician with an uncanny resemblance to former minister George Fernandes. There’s also a wailing baby in the mix. Shankar and Bulla play catch with it, occasionally allowing the monkey to get in on the fun.

As for the visual effects, they are out of this world. Backdrops (airstrip, port, desert, coal mine) change in an instant; brothel charpoys swing from the sky in the director's homage to Salvador Dali; the baddies indulge in one-too-many somersaults because they feel like it; an on-foot Shankar keeps overtaking a VIP convoy just to demonstrate Einstein’s Theory of Relativity.

Not to forget Shankar uses his bare hands to clobber hordes of Bulla henchmen who attack him with machetes, swords, knives of various sizes, revolvers, rifles, grenades, machine guns, auto-rickshaws, Ambassador cars and even a helicopter sponsored by Deccan Aviation. If you must know, Shankar escapes all that with barely a scratch. His victims are not so lucky.

I’m still not clear on what Shankar does for a living. He never wears the coolie uniform he wore in the beginning. But he’s definitely wealthy enough to pay for the bright yellow suits, cars, and rocket launchers that Shankar seems to produce out of thin air. But then this is a film that is designed to make you think and ponder over the meaning of life. Not like the other rubbish Bollywood churns out.

The ball is in your court, Anupriya. "Student of the Year" (SOTY) awaits.


(An earlier version of this post incorrectly stated that "Gunda" had turned 21)
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Tuesday, August 08, 2017

Books: "Alex" by Pierre Lemaitre

AlexAlex by Pierre Lemaitre
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The second novel in a trilogy by French crime writer Pierre Lemaitre, "Alex" (2011) was the first to be translated into English and drew obvious comparisons with "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo". A woman is abducted, tortured and kept in a cage with some hungry rats for company. But an unexpected twist in the tale turns the police rescue mission into a hunt for a serial killer. Gripping, gory and with enough thrills to keep you reading till the end. A Hollywood adaptation is in the works. Meanwhile, I will be on the lookout for more translations of Lemaitre's work.

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Sunday, August 06, 2017

Books: Look Me in the Eye: My Life with Asperger’s by John Elder Robison

Look Me in the Eye: My Life with Asperger'sLook Me in the Eye: My Life with Asperger's by John Elder Robison
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is a moving memoir about living with Asperger's syndrome. John Elder Robison, who wasn't diagnosed till he was 40, describes a painful childhood due to his inability to pick up on social cues. Having a dysfunctional family didn't help. His only comfort: an uncanny ability to tinker with machines and make them work. I found some chapters a bit repetitive, but there is little doubt that younger brother Augusten Burroughs is not the only writer in the family.

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