Edge of Insanity

She waited...but she didn't know,
If and when he would show,

A heavy heart and desperate sighs,
Repeatedly rubbing on her eyes,

She stared in the distance, a hopeful gaze,
Unfleeting moments mimic the longest days,

Yet patiently, she waits...unmoved,
Rendering her fears slowly proved,

Silly, masochistic, helpless dame,
Foolishly fell for the oldest game,

She thought she was worthy of his change in heart,
Eager to finally be that part,

The part that she was all about,
The part he couldn't live without,

So those tiny lies of words so sweet,
Quickened her racing gullible heartbeat,

Yet she waits, unfazed and strong,
Hoping that he will come along,

To wipe away her falling tears,
And love her through the coming years...

By Charlene Flanagan

For that Special Someone

When I look into your eyes,
The whole world stands still
You hold me captive, 
Your kiss, a thousand stars
Yet all the time can never be enough...
 
Be still my heart, 
For I shudder at the pace you beat
For a man who makes me complete
His touch, one glance
Makes me feel things I've never known
 
Yet, all the time can never be enough...
Enough to make him feel the same
Enough to hear him call my name
I'd give him the world and more if I could
Just so he knows...
 
Knows what his presence does to me
Knows just how happy I can be
Knows just what to say to make me smile
He makes the wait worth the while
 
Be still my heart,
For I know too well
Exactly what your words will tell
It speaks of a man, not far away
A man for whom you crave all day
A man who makes your world go round
A man who holds you to the ground
A man you hold so close to you
A man who makes everything anew
 
Yet, all the time can never be enough...
Enough to know a love like this
Enough to hold the sweetest kiss
But, for his love I've come to know, I'd start with forever...

By Charlene Flanagan 

Book Review

Overwinter
Ratika Kapur
Hachette India
Rs. 495

Bold and absolutely brilliant – two words that best describe Ratika Kapur’s debut novel. And rightly so. Overwinter wouldn’t have been long-listed for the Man Asian Literary Prize if it wasn't anything but riveting. So what is it about the book that holds you spellbound from start to finish? It has to be the very convincing portrayal of an urban-Indian existence. There is an acute awareness and understanding that we chance upon as the story unfolds, that such a realistic portrayal of family life can only come from personal experience. Because let’s face it, writing about realistic family dynamics, though this is not a typical Indian family, and relationships can only be achieved with some sort of personal knowledge, whether known first hand or not.

Set in Delhi, the story surrounds protagonist Ketaki Khanna and her aunt Neera Sood in the wake of a terrible tragedy. What follows is their individual ways of dealing with adversity. Neera finds it best to evade the problem, sending her into a downward spiral of denial almost leading to a nervous breakdown. The manner in which Ketaki chooses to deal (if you can call it that) with the onslaught of troubles and family secrets is to drink, smoke and sleep around.

What is remarkable, however, is the fact that the author is completely unapologetic in her style and approach and the way she chooses to portray Ketaki and the lifestyle she leads. She makes no attempt at disguising or even delicately stating that Ketaki is seriously screwed up.

Kapur has done an exceptional job of capturing human emotions, particularly pain, betrayal and the loss of a loved one. What you ultimately take away from the story is a feeling of unrest and turmoil. If that stems from the fact that we don’t really know what happens in the end, whether Ketaki and Neera are ultimately able to move on from their fractured existence, is left to interpretation. But one thing is for certain, Ratika Kapur can write, and write well!

My Take


A story that will stay with you long after the last page has been turned, Overwinter is a realistic portrayal of how deeply guarded secrets can be the ruin of you. Highly recommended.

By Charlene Flanagan

Book Review

The Average Indian Male 
Cyrus Broacha 
Random House India 
Rs. 199 

When you think of funny-man Cyrus Broacha, the image of MTV Bakra comes to mind. His crazy antics designed to fool the ‘aam admi’ has been a laugh riot. So when this comedian decides to write a book, one can only expect Broacha’s unparalleled humour to pop right out of the page. His debut novel Karl Aaj Aur Kal didn’t fly off the shelves due to his one dimensional jokes that got boring and redundant as the story progressed. With his second, the hope was that history wouldn’t repeat itself.

Well, as far as the story goes this time around, there is none. And about history repeating itself, time will ultimately tell. But the truth of the matter is, I had to push myself to finish reading the book. There were bits that had the Cyrus charm but over all, the book was a drag and one could tell that he was trying too hard to be funny. I wonder why he chose to divide the book into sections since it really didn’t seem to add any substance to the narrative. Most of the letters in this collection seem made up to say the least and there’s of course, his commentary interspersed which seemed superfluous at best.

An honest opinion would be that the only saving grace the book does have is the very honest foreword by Cyrus’ long-time partner in crime – Kunal Vijayakar. His opening sentence itself should set the tone of what one can expect from this book.

My Take

Cyrus fans might just appreciate this book but people who really do enjoy cleverly crafted humour should steer clear. The book is a huge disappointment.

By Charlene Flanagan

Movie Preview: Players

Players
Abhishek Bachchan, Sonam Kapoor, Neil Nitin Mukesh, Bipasha Basu
Directed by Abbas Mustan
6 January, 2012

Players, directed by the talented duo of Abbas-Mastan is about a team of thieves who plan to steal back gold bullion from a former associate who double crossed them. Whether it’s a good thing that Abhishek Bachchan essays the role of Charlie (played by Mark Wahlberg and Michael Caine before him) is something we can judge after the film’s release. However, this time around, it is not going to be just the men who hog all the ‘action’, the women will get a chance to show off their skills too. How progressive!

For those of you who watched The Italian Job (which incidentally is also a remake of a 1969 film by the same name), Players might seem like a frightening thought when you think of a Bollywood remake of the 2003 blockbuster. Admittedly, the original had all the right ingredients to make the movie sell. Mark Wahlberg, Charlize Theron and probably one of the most ingenious heists seen in a Hollywood flick. Don’t get me wrong. There have been several con men who have managed to wow the audience with the perfect combination of charm and wit. The Ocean movies and even the 2003 Confidence had some brilliant robberies. But that’s beside the point. What we have to ask is will Players live up to the expectations of the audience? And will it do justice to its original? We’ll just have to wait and watch.

By Charlene Flanagan

Movie Preview: Ghost

Ghost
Shiney Ahuja, Sayali Bhagat, Tej Sapru, Deepraj Rana
Directed by Puja Jatinder Bedi
16 December, 2011

Horror movies never get old. Bollywood horror on the other hand is invariably a laugh riot. Take for example Vikram Bhatt’s Phoonk or the very recent Haunted 3D. Let’s not forget that Ragini MMS most certainly needed to be revaluated as a horror film. So can we expect something different with Ghost? Let’s review…

City Hospital witnesses a chain of brutal murders that go beyond human comprehension and the hospital is left to deal with the aftermath. A leading investigative agency entrusted with the case, assign it to their most competent officer Vijay Singh (Shiney Ahuja) and Dr Suhani (Sayali Bhagat) is amongst the first to be questioned. What follows is a journey into the unknown as what lies beneath slowly begins to surface.

Horror fans gear up. Pooja Bedi’s horror film seems to have just the right masala to make it a hit. But one might question how even in times of terror, people can fall in love. Then again, this is Bollywood and blurring the lines between being realistic and outright bizarre is not too much of an issue. The film claims to have portrayed the most frightening encounters between good and evil with blood and gore being the main highlights. Well, let’s hope we have a scary good time!

By Charlene Flanagan

Book Review

Bombay Duck is a Fish
Kanika Dhillon
Westland
Rs. 195

If someone told me I’d be reading a book titled Bombay Duck is a Fish, I’d probably have looked at them, convinced they were delusional. But it seems that the universe has a funny sense of humour. Well for one thing, I did end up reading the book and for another, I found myself pleasantly surprised.

The story revolves around a girl Neki Brar, an aspiring film-maker trying to make it in Bollywood. Now, the plot doesn’t scream “prize winning novel” but then again, let’s not be hasty whilst judging. Keeping aside the clichéd story line, what drew me to keep reading was the simple fact that this book, though fictitious, might still be privy to what really lies behind all the glamour and make-up of a film set.

And Dhillon delivers. Slowly but tactfully she snakes her way right to the belly of the beast, where all the dirty, dark secrets of film-making lie. It does help that the author has first-hand experience since she worked her way up the ladder, having started as an assistant director and is now a screenwriter. Although, I wonder where the autobiographical elements of the story end… the protagonist hails from Amritsar, so does Dhillon. Neki managed to bad an AD position in a on a Fiza Kareem movie in the story while Dhillon assisted Farah Khan on Om Shanti Om… it wouldn’t take a genius to figure out the inspirations for her characters but the piercing question is how much of Neki’s life ties in with Dhillon’s rags to riches story. But that’s beside the point.

Dhillon’s characters have quite a bit of bite to them. Every detail she spent in spinning the story only makes you sink deeper into the journey Neki makes. From a naïve young girl to someone who manages to find her place, make an impression but then sink into an abyss of irrevocable desolation – ultimately leading to her ruin. The book has many colours to it, serving as an American dream of sorts (here more like the Indian equivalent of the American dream) to an example of how too much of a good thing can sometimes be bad.

Nearing the end of the story and completely caught up in Neki’s life by this time, you really don’t know what to expect. I have to be honest, the way Dhillon chose to end the story left me a bit confused. I don’t know if Neki goes through with what she sets out to at the beginning of the story or if she just fades into nothingness as most people who enter the film fraternity do. All I know is that it left me wondering about what really happened.

My take 

Though not ground breaking, Bombay Duck is a Fish is gripping and will have you glued till you’ve read it cover to cover. Steer clear if you want to make it in Bollywood though…

By Charlene Flanagan