Vicky Donor - The Father of 53 babies

Friend says “let’s go for ‘Vicky Donor’ a Bollywood film, but I am in no mood to watch a film that week and I suggest a shopping in the mall instead. We spend the evening at a shopping mall at Juhu, looking at the latest gadgets on display and lusting for it. Lust is the only thing we can afford to do over over-priced gadgets that are beyond our budget. My friend, who is a compulsive shopper, however, shops and comes home with a kitchen appliance but reminds me that it would have been a better choice to go for a film.

I agree, I should have gone for a film instead.

One week later, another friend suggests for the same film. By now, the reviews are out and I am told that the film is doing quite well. There is good acting of the new stars, humor, good music and a fresh subject about sperm donation that has never been discussed so openly. 


The curiosity gets the better of me and I go along….

Blood donation, kidney donation, eyes donations, we have heard it all, everything can be donated to make the life of the fellow human more tolerable but why is sperm donation a shame, a taboo?

In the latest film ‘Vicky Donor’, the story revolves around Vicky Arora (Ayushmann Khurana), a jobless Delhi-based Punjabi boy who is convinced by Baldev Chadda (played by Anu Kapoor) to become sperm donor. He chooses to be discreet about this because of the fear of rejection from the society, so although this gives him money and the pride, it does not give him enough courage to disclose his activity.

But that is not all that makes this movie entertaining; it also has playful scripts discussing the culture of Bengal and of Punjab, which is so different in every aspect that it adds humor to the script, Then there is also wit and humor during mother-in-law’s drinking habits,played by Kamlesh Gill, her conversation with Dolly,(her daughter-in-law) which is sometimes difficult to understand because of its Punjabi accent but is entertaining nevertheless.

With new actors, the film is believable; there are no item songs, no unpleasantness, the story flows smoothly with fine acting by all the actors.

Before the movie was released, Ayushmann Khurana had done the promo of this film with college students and the girls who were interviewed, were put off by this idea of sperm donation and admitted that they would not like to be married to a sperm donor. 


I think we find this idea obnoxious because of the way Vicky Arora is advised by Baldev Chadda, (Anu Kapoor) the doctor. He asks him to masturbate over the porno materials to ejaculate those semen samples. 


However, one boy joked that he would be happy to see his children in every lane…..

You can watch the promo with college kids here

Over the box of caramelized popcorns and the pair of samosas, it was a perfect evening to spend a lovely evening in a cool auditorium and enjoy the fresh approach of this new subject…….

Dil Kya Bole????

Imagine how wonderful it would be if women and men, played in same cricket team. Equality between sexes is catching up and women are getting stronger, maybe India might win the world cup this way. One never knows. Well that’s the first thought that entered my mind as I sat watching the film Dil bole Harippa!...... My friend booked tickets and asked me to meet her at the theatre and I didn’t know which movie I was watching till I read the title of the film on the big screen.(serves me right for blindly trusting my friend and following her) Yeah, now-a-days I go for a film because somebody wants me to accompany them. Personally I am losing interest in film bee-cause I have not seen a good film for a very, very long time. But this film was well…er..…I wonder if my opinion counts, (my friend writes that this is the copy of English film ‘She’s a Man’, well who cares, its nothing new, this copying biz when they get exhausted of original ideas, what do you expect? Huh? ) Well, anyways, this movie is very noisy with loud bhangra-type-of-music played through out the film. (Thank Gawd I didn’t oil my ears that day) Rani Mukerji looks cute dressed as Sardarji chicco, though over-acting was the theme, cleverly played. Shahid kapoor has lost his baby charm but acting-wise-he-was-okay. Rakhi Sawant has no role to play except few belly dances, although she does look slim and good (that is if you don’t look at her face and forget those horror days at reality show some weeks ago.) It’s a kind of movie to just watch and forget the story (???) the very next day. Out of curiosity you may watch, but what was that? Say it again? You are still waiting for good movies and therefore you decide that you might as well watch this one since there is none other for a movie buff like you? Well, right-oh!. Go watch if you have nothing else to do. BTW: went for shopping and heard two youngsters bragging about Rani’s outfit in this movie…they were looking for those vibrant colorful dresses similar to one Rani had worn in this film. I wanted to tell them those colors blind Mumbaikars…..and cause traffic jams!!!!...but then, nobody ever listens to me…..

BollyWood is ‘Maid’ up of all ‘Un-Shiney’ people! Rascal! Bai-Sexual!

Every news channel in India is talking about Shiney Ahuja…(see, I can remember his name, for otherwise, I am lousy at remembering names,.) Well, this Shiney looked like a nice guy in movies.(.but then, most of the heroes in the film do look good, what with all that make-up et-al)…but, he turned out to be such a big goonda…raping a maid? Bollywood is filled up with people who could have readily quenched his libido, free of charge, why go and rape a helpless minor? Is he really ‘Bai-sexual’ (like my friend commented on her FB status.) And, his wife comes to his rescue… “Anupam Ahuja on Wednesday mounted a spirited defense of her husband Shiney Ahuja who has been accused of raping their maid in their Oshiwara home.” Screamed the paper headlines today. Now, that is strange! I am sure his wife knows him well, why is she defending him,and blaming the maid of raping her husband?? At a press conference, she said her ‘soulmate’ and ‘doting father to our daughter’ was innocent and was being framed. “Rape is a very heinous crime and in these times, rape can be committed not just by a man; we all know that even a woman can do it,” she said, adding that her husband was being framed “possibly because he is a celebrity and all celebrities are soft targets’’. And I want to ask her as to how will she explain the blood on the scene of crime (bed) and the brutal marks on her body? There are clear evidences that the girl has been abused by her hubby, her dearest hubby, Ahem! Come on! Be practical Anupam. You must know your husband well. ….let him rot in jail for seven years, let his career be doomed for ever This will be a good lesson for all men who take poor people for granted and believe that they can freely abuse anyone.. arrey.. Media is strong now-a-days. Don’t you know that? You really cannot fool around… Very powerful I say, and very strong… and the media's verdict is 'GUILTY' NOW, BUT, PARANTU, KINTU, over to justice, law and police...proof, money, witness, believers, nonbelivers...Fate will be decided by luck alone.... Prayers might also help Understand?

Should I rejoice at ‘Slumdogs Millionaire’ Success?

World sings ‘Jai ho’ around this globe While the poor man sits outside a gate Wearing garb of poverty His tattered crown bringing fame and show From rags to riches, the world rejoice While we tread through those narrow lanes Seeing hollow eyes, bloated tummy Can we be proud of our helpless folks? I am not sure if I am proud of eight Oscar awards. But here, this is the truth that we try to hide under the carpet and pretend that it doesn’t exist. There are always resigned attitude of many Indians saying ‘What can we do?’ This movie “Slumdog…” hits us hard, real hard. Many of my friends (abroad) have pointed out this to me many times in the past saying that they are very much troubled by the poverty of India, especially when they are in their relaxed state in the luxury of their car, munching on a bar of chocolate and then see a dirty, stained face, peeping into their car window with helpless look, begging piteously. Former Bond girl Michelle Yeoh quotes, “The film was a fairy tale and shouldn't be confused with what life is actually like for India's poor and that Boyle had to make "Slumdog Millionaire" upbeat because the true story of what it is like to live in a slum wouldn't have appealed to audiences.” And this is the truth, the reality that only Indian who lives in close proximity to those shanty slums finds it hard to ignore. It made me squirm, cringe, reject and reluctantly accept. It was so honest that I was benumbed by its content. There were times that I wished that he had not stripped my City of Mumbai like this. But the story worked! One year ago, when it was released, no distributor was willing to buy it and now, world rejoices at its success. Eight Oscar awards! It suddenly acknowledges India’s existence and indirectly, Bollywood importance in world cinema. Hopefully, world’s attention will clear the debris. I only hope that those child stars, Azharuddin and Rubina, who walked the red carpet at Oscars will not return back to their shanty lives. I hope their life will change forever……

Stars on the ground?

I finally saw the movie ‘Tare Zameen Par’…(tax-free.) and I loved it.. My heart reached out specially, towards the kid, who feels crushed under the weight of rejection, it is the story closer to reality and it reminded me of my own childhood, because I, too, spend most of my primary school years out of the class and was repeatedly abused by my teachers who couldn’t cope up with my dumbness and my inability to concentrate on my studies. I hated my teachers and would be more stubborn and disobedient. Still I had great respect for my teachers at secondary school and I nursed the dream of teaching in school, but not beating the children when they were not able to cope with their studies. I am glad that my dreams came true, some twenty years later and that I got opportunity to teach special children and have enjoyed the experience of reaching out to them and communicating with them to a certain extend.. A familiar cord run through those experiences…I have met many dyslexic kids and found that the child and his parents both suffer. The child, Dursheel, in this movie is so adorable, I felt like hugging him, especially when he was sad and confused. Teachers are normally drawn towards weak ones because it is a challenge for them to help a slow child. What I don’t understand is why teachers portrayed (in movies) are either very strict or they are jokers. Teachers are the role models and they are usually aware of different problems that child might have, teachers need to be respected, not laughed or ridiculed at….like a group of boys, standing behind the teacher, during drawing competition and peeping in his painting and giggling…or that moment when Amir Khan tell the kids to show the seat to their teacher and the child takes his teacher to seats him beside his caricature. I don’t think that is funny, it is disrespectful. Children who watch the movie might feel that it is okay to show disrespect to their teachers. Movies, besides being an entertainment medium, they are also educational. Therefore they should be made with more responsibility and portray a decent and appropriate behavior, both from the teachers and the kids. However, the movie was enjoyable and their emotions touched our heart. It is especially informative for parents who expect too much from their children and crush their children’s ego by comparing them with the brighter kids. Every child is unique and every parent should be sensitive of their child’s ability and help them grow to bloom independently. The childhood memories linger in their mind for many years and they help shape their personality when they grow up.

I Watched ‘Loins of Punjab’ with White-Skinned NRI’s.

I had wanted to see ‘Loins of Punjab’, since the day it was released but every time I made plans to see it, it failed miserably. Either my friends were not in mood or they were not happy with the title, so I was wondering if I could give this movie a miss. Luckily I had a NRI cousin, who wanted to kill time and I decided to hijack him for this movie. My NRI cousins have no patience with 3-hour long Indian movies, so he was quite glad to accompany me for this desi-English-short-film. We booked the movie in glamour, a 40 seated mini theatre, in Bandra. What was surprising was 20 seats were occupied with white-skin foreigners. I knew this was a comedy film on ‘Desi Indian Idol’ show in New Jersey. I wanted to see Shabana as manipulative contestant. But I was quite distracted by these white-skinned NRI’s who were sitting in front of me, especially when Ayesha Dharker’s Jewish boyfriend, who looks a bit like Ralph Fiennes, sings Bollywood songs. He knows only two Hindi songs: ‘Ae dil hai mushkil jeen a yahan (Pyasa)’ and the ‘Indian National Anthem’. When the audience in the movie say “Gora..go back, this show is only for Indians”, to this dude could sing Hindi songs, I was wondering if these NRI’s would feel embarrassed and walk out from this theatre. But they sat through out the movie, enjoyed and laughed at those jokes and even stood up in union when their country man sang Indian National Anthem. There was a pleasant grin on everybody’s face when the winner was ‘Gora’ and they sat in the theatre till the last clip, savoring every scene long after all the Indians were out of the theatre. And surprise, surprise, surprise, the theatre was dirty with plastic bags and scattered popcorns under their seats, like it is supposed to be. When in India, white-skinned foreigners do as Indian do……help India keep its city filthy and dirty.