Coraline

Fairy tales are more than true: not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten. 


  -- G.K Chesterton


Thats the quote Neil Gaiman chose to open his marvelous, thrilling book Coraline with. I've been a Gaiman fan ever since I read his Neverwhere, and bought Coraline in one of my reckless splurging sessions at Landmark, Hyderabad. 


Certainly looked like a spooky children's tale... but boy, what a chilly, scary book. And not scary just because of the demon villain, but more because of the moral/take-away of the story. 


Also, of course, to mention, is the INCREDIBLE stop motion 3D movie they made of it. I caught it on TV  here in the US, and they followed up the movie with a 15-min making of. And this my friends, is what you call animation. Here's a quick peek.

The Return of Percy Jackson

When I bought one and then all five of the Percy Jackson series, I had to finally admit to myself that I am a sucker for children's fantasy. It was no Harry Potter of course, but it was fun to learn Greek mythology in that way, considering my education didn't cover it at all. I really didn't know ANYTHING about Greek mythology other than maybe Aphrodite's name. It was also fun to compare, in my head, the differences between the styles of JK Rowling, who is so distinctly British and Rick Riordan whose humour is so reflective of American goofiness. Very different. Not the forget the food. At Hogwarts, we read about delicious feasts and puddings, and grabbed turkey legs from the magical plates, whereas at Camp Half-Blood in Percy Jackson world, it's pizza and coke that made the demi-Gods drool. That was disturbing.

Anyway, so I finished the Percy Jackson series in about 10 days, and was sad to say goodbye to another hero. Atleast I thought it was goodbye.

A week ago I saw Rick Riordan's newly released The Lost Hero in a bookstore, and sneakily ordered it online with a couple of other books. And I was happy to plunge back into the world of demi-Gods, meet a bunch of new characters in the same old setting, but a new twist.

The twist being, we are slowly delving into Roman mythology. Percy Jackson was "missing/kidnapped" the entire book, but a not-so-subtle hint at the end of the book revealed that he is going to be playing a much bigger part in the next book -- The Son of Neptune. (Nepture aka Roman name for Posiedon.) So, excitement is there slightly. Sucky part is that the book is out Fall 2011. Nicely done by Riordan to bring back the Hero after his series ended. Makes me fervently wish that Rowling will just write something soon. Anything. (She is writing apparently, but she is so secretive.)

So that brings us back to focusing on the Harry Potter mania about the grip the world this weekend. I can hardly believe that my tickets are for real.

Movie Watchin'

Another 20 something hours in the plane. I saw some movies I should have seen a dozen years ago.

1. Blood Diamond - Liked it a lot. Leonardo continues to impress.

2. Charlie and the chocolate factory - Tim Burton is the man. And so is Roald Dahl. As is Johnnie Depp.

3. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - Randomly saw it again. In preparation for the new movie coming in the next week. Potter-time, yea.

4. Phantom of the Opera. Now I know why this movie is usually in most lists of best movies ever. Plus, love the soundtrack.

Virgin Movies

20 hours in air. 4 movies.

1. Harold and Kumar escape from Guantanamo Bay.
Hadn't watched a completely retarded movie for ages. It was sufficiently retarded. A ludicrous masala Hollywood flick, with love-story, drugs, action, comedy, all rolled into one.

2. Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day
Lovely British drama. Happy movie. Great looking cast. Nice dialogues, and beautifully shot.

3. The Love Guru
Saw this out of curiosity (the Guru thing). It's hilarious. I guess I've missed watching movies - this was really good entertainment. Mike Myers was superb as the Americanized Guru Pitka living in LA (performs some ridiculous songs with a sitar), and Justin Timberlake as Jacques 'Le Coq' Grande was funny too.

4. Horton Hears a Who
Animated movies are usually a sure-shot good time. This one was cute. Not as super-awesome as The Jungle Book or Kung-Fu Panda, but neat-o. An eccentric elephant hears a 'speck' scream and then discovers that a whole world exists on something as small as a needle-tip, much to the disbelief of everyone around him.

(I guess am imagining it, but I seem to find spiritual messages in so many movies. And everything I come across. And, Sadhguru says that yoga can be in everything we do. Anyway, that's another story.)

Fillum Review - Rock On!!

Twin-sister and me went to ze movies a couple of weeks ago - slightly sleepy and determined to see any movie. Popped in for a movie with mixed reviews - Rock On!! A few friends had loved the movie, while others had called it bland and disappointing.

Anyway, I was glad to be back in the velvety comforts of a cinema hall and we saw trailers to a couple of really horrifying hindi movies. Drona being one, and Karz being another. Both caused me a lot of heartburn. Drona! So much money obviously spent on the special effects and yet it was so ugly visually.

Quite a relief when Rock On!! started with a nicely filmed song, shot right in the middle of Fountain, Bombay - so the nostalgia of home and nice visuals immediately made me happy. I was intrigued with the nice job of filming the live song - so much more realistic than how we usually see our actors fake playing a guitar.

I think about 10 minutes into the movie I finally realized that the vaguely familiar face I was looking at on screen was Farhan Akhtar. I was very, very surprised when I saw him actually singing the songs!

He won full marks from me for his performance, and although the film wasn't shot by him, it has a feel of his style, and just the fact that he sang the songs really impressed us and we were giggling like giggly girls. I can't pin it down to something, but there's something magnetically attractive about him.

The other actors were good too -mostly. I don't feel critical about the loose ends in the movie - because I enjoyed the whole two hours something. Anyway, for a hindi movie, dramatic flavours to the story (in good taste and measure) always enhance the film, I think.

And the story also appealed to me because it reminded me a lot of what was happening in my life.

Overall, very nice. I bought my first ever Hindi Movie Music CD that evening, and really love the mellow songs on the CD. (Honestly, the songs are very comparable to what Indian Rock bands are actually composing anyway.) And the slower songs are delicious. Go see the movie, if you hasn't.

To the movies again

Went to the cinema after ages last weekend. And saw 2 movies in one day.

1. Kung Fu Panda - Animated movie. Had seen it in Bombay around my birthday with the family and sisters, but it was great to see it again on the big screen. Such a delightful movie - really funny, inspiring, and spiritual. A fabulous way of looking at life. There are no accidents.

Must watch.

2. Mama Mia - A musical play converted to a movie. A fairytale. Based off songs by ABBA. Lovely locations, and a great performance by Meryl Streep. A feel-good movie which says - true love doesn't die.

The HFC

For those who wanted the phone number of the Hyderabad Film Club, here it is:

Bh.S.S.Prakash Reddy
Secretary
Hyderabad Film Club
304, Padmavathi Mansion
Gayathri Nagar, S.R.Nagar (P.O)
Hyderabad-500 038, India
Mobile: 09391020243


Austrian Film Festival happening, March 9 and 10.

And the Oscar goes to... Hollywood!

I was watching the Oscars a couple of days back, and I saw loads of people get emotional, and everyone's speech had things like, "Movies educate us, transport us, inspire us, make us dream. What would our lives be without movies? etc. etc." I saw some winners come on stage and cry and be genuinely emotional, and I saw others come on stage and put up a show.

And I thought to myself, this is the greatest orchestrated drama ever. The absolute stiff upper lip Americanized.

Cinema, to me, is freedom and expression. But what Hollywood is today, is just the opposite. It's a big huge enormous sham. I don't care if its a money making racket... I fully endorse money making, and I hope to make money someday off films. What's killing me is the pretense and superficial artificiality of it all.

The whole orchestration of it. The dresses. The smiles. The clapping, and laughing at ridiculous jokes. The acting. Oh God, I cant bear to write about it. Where are the punks and the junkies? Someone needs to go to the Oscars stoned.

The Hyderabad Film Club

I've been a member of the Hyderabad Film Club for the past one year. I'd say I've easily missed around 60% of the screenings. Shame. The film club runs out of an old, old film studio, Sarathi Studios, which also claims to have the oldest film projector still functioning in India. (I've seen the projector, and let me tell you, it was a privilege.)

(Fyi, very few film clubs these days actually even have a 35mm film projector at their disposal - it really is a big deal.)

The film club, unfortunately, has a very small membership. Each time I go for a movie, I'm almost always the only young person there. Everyone else who comes is atleast 60, and can just about wobble their way in and get a seat. I wonder if they can even keep pace with the movies. And sometimes, I wonder if they only come for the adult sex scenes that are very frequent in these international films. Anyway, my point is, there are no young people. And I don't understand why.

Last week, I went over for a movie after a really long time. The old man who manages the film club, (quite a character, always dressed completely in white, and with a long white flowing beard) shook my hand very gravely, and asked me when was I making a movie. He wanted to act.

The Film Club screens about 7 films a month. Of which, around 3 generally are French movies, presented by the Alliance Francais. Really interesting films made by young and not yet famous French film makers, that I would never even get a chance to see otherwise. The others are random other international films, or if they're doing a retrospective on a particular film maker, or a country, then those films. Austrian films, Czech films, Japanese, you name it.

Somehow, so far, I've liked the fact that no one I know goes to the film club - it's been my personal-get-away-from-the-regular-world space. But, I think the film club deserves better. A younger audience - definitely. And a word on my blog.

Of Telugu Movies

On Friday, the Google Maps team treated itself to a movie. First day first show of a Balakrishna movie called Okka Magaadu, which translates into - One Manly Man.
To say that the movie entertained would be an understatement. The movie was a crude rehash of various Tamil movies, coupled with extremely shocking (for me) camera angles, and ridiculous but fascinating fight sequences, 'electric' special effects, and many an item number. Oh, yes, and it was definitely porn too. It was quite shocking for those of us who were seeing a Telugu movie for the first time. Absolutely crude symbolic porn.

Example - Screen is split into 3 horizontally to show three characters, two girls and the hero - talking on the phone. Very distinctly, these three are positioned (and they change positions) to mean sex. The boys in my team thoroughly enjoyed these, and well, I guess I was fascinated too.

Politics, murder, good versus bad, sex, the Indian Freedom struggle, sizzling action, double roles and double meanings, Samurai swords, etc were mixed in equal proportions. What more can anyone think of adding into a film?

Story is as such - A peaceful doctor during the British era sees his family get murdered over nothing by the British, and then in fury becomes the revolutionary freedom fighter - Okka Magaadu. We learn that India's freedom was only granted to us on one condition - that Okka Magaadu surrenders to the British as Prisoner of War. After many year of torture, he returns to India, expecting to find his country unchanged - but instead finds corruption everywhere. That's when he gets into a frenzy and starts murdering the corrupt ones. (As an old man with waxy make up on his face, electricity pulsating out of his sunglasses and what-not, and a samurai sword.)

Meanwhile, there's a younger Balakrishna, who's the beloved leader of the masses and the heart-throb of the two women in the movie, and he gets suspected as the murderer. The plot then goes to climax and finishes off. I'm not sure what happens, except that everyone's supposed to live and love happily ever after.

The screen was huge, the audience was going insane, I roughly understood 60% of the plot and I got home with a headache. I'm not sure I'll be doing this again soon, but while it lasted, it was a unique experience.

Random Raving

Disclaimer: Be warned, this post was written when the writer was hung over and in need to narrate. I still am, btw, and I think I will make a proper disclaimer tomorrow.

I’m drunk, or a bit high. Or let’s just say, hung-over. That’s why I’m looking intently at the keyboard and typing. I generally don’t.

Anyway, so being hung-over has a few advantages and a few disadvantages. Let’s clear off the disadvantages first.

1. Feeling of being underwater.
2. Dull head.
3. Not-so-dull headache.
4. Mild queasiness (inversely proportionate to units of alcohol consumed.)
5. Unpleasant hallucinations and images in the head.
6. Intense hunger and thirst.

Now, the advantages

1. Interesting images and hallucinations in the head.
2. Capacity to be more blunt, honest and outrageous.
3. Easily forgiving and forgetting.

I just added the 6^th point to the disadvantages. And now I’m wondering if I should go get something to eat, but, if I do, then advantage 3 will come into play and I will forget what I wanted to write.

The reason why I’m leaning over my laptop when instead I should be curling in bed, is because I saw a couple of visions that I need to put down.

I was thinking of the party I attended last night, where I was quite a flirt and certainly got myself a good bit of attention from the boys I’d met (and for the first time). And I was wondering how, among ALL those men, I couldn't think of wanting to really see any of them again. Except maybe one, but anyhow.

And I felt sad.

The vision I saw right then was of me groping in the dark for someone to hold my hand. Not a vulgar vision, of course, just symbolic. And the lesson that the vision pointed out to me, (voiced out by the squeaky voice in my head) was, “stop groping in the dark.” When the right time comes, you will meet the fun, amazing, perfect, interesting person you are waiting for. Just stop waiting, and get on with life until then.

The second one was a memory. Long time back, of a little episode with my ex-boyfriend. I am not going to narrate it here, but it was an ugly episode which left me feeling small and played-with.

I don’t want that to ever happen, and the symbolic ‘lesson’ to that one was of me wearing my belt really tight, and not loosening it ever. Unless am sure I want to. Am not sure how that comes across to people reading a blog, but I just mean I won’t tolerate anyone playing with me again. Forget allow it.

Anyway, besides all this historic crap, I am also hoping to write something fun, interesting and creative. But, am not sure it’s here at all.

Right now, am listening to a weird mix of Alan Parson’s superb Mammagamma with Pink Floyd’s Brick in the Wall. Very nice job, whoever.

Its quite trippy.

I’ve never really been to a very trippy party. Ok, I’ve been to lots of rowdy parties, with lots of alcohol, weed, and what not, but never a rave party. A Goan rave trippy party. I do wanna go. Especially with my camera, when I buy the new one, and I will look after it of course.

Oh, and now my iTunes randomizer has randomly picked Tom Wait’s Road to Peace. Excellent song. Gary sent it to me a week back. I’ve heard Gary sing this style before, and now I know where he got it from. Gary’s brilliant. He knows so much music, it would give anyone a complex.

I was actually thinking of Gary a few minutes back too. I miss the Split boys.

Yesterday, when Varun was over and he was playing music off my laptop, and he picked Split’s Holy Ghost Machine Gun, and actually sang along, and BOTH my roommates also seemed to love the song, I felt that swell of pride for my boys. They really are talented. And they need someone to push them. That was my job while I was there, until a year back. And when I go back to Bombay, I will take back my position with eager spirit. In fact, Split is one of the strong reasons why I’m quitting and going back... I miss too much about Bombay, and Split is one of the most exciting things I was closely involved with. And when I get back, there will be lots more.

This Tom Waits song is croony. And rather long. I am going to pick the next song and save the iTunes randomizer some cursing.

The Great Hosannah – Kula Shaker.

Oh man, I love this one. Very nice, because it’s got so much in it.

Really excellent song. I hate it when anyone talks when I’m listening to my favorite music. Annoys the pants off me. Wow, is that even a phrase and what does it imply? I just wanna say I get really annoyed.

Also, I absolutely hate it when someone talks when I am watching a nice movie.
Yesterday, Varun and Priya saw Pather Panchali. For the first time, and though they saw it till the end (I doubt I’d allow them to stop midway anyway) but they kept talking here and there, or now and again, during the film, and it drove me mad.

I know it’s not fair of me to expect everyone else to take movies as seriously as I do, even if it is something as special as Satyajit Ray’s masterpiece. But, I guess I am allowed to be cranky once in a while.

To make a point here, I was the president of the St. Xavier’s Film Club in my last year at college, and right since then, my list of Movies To Watch, has grown, (and barely been satisfied) until now. Back at home, I cant watch movies if my parents or Mom or anyone is at home, either I get in their way, or they in mine, and anyway if the word ‘fuck’ comes up more than once, my mom flinches and wears an expression of distinct horror.

And since I moved to Hyderabad, the ‘parents’ element was eliminated, but I didn’t have a DVD player. And now, finally I have a laptop, and over a hundred DVDs (excellent ones) lying right here, waiting to be loved.

And this is my first weekend here in Hyd, with the laptop. And so, right now, at this precise moment, I’m wondering why I’m typing this ridiculous post and not watching a movie. Must do something about it. Will hit a button to get me out of here, and into celluloid.

Toodles.

Textures and Visions

I love it when after seeing a movie, I wake up the next day, having dreamed about the film and can still see scenes and random moments from the film. That's the closest I can get to living on celluloid.

Right now, I can see scenes from a film I saw two days ago. Sur mes Levres. 'Read my lips.'
Great film.

Namesake

Saw the movie finally last night. Decent stuff. I'd read the book ages ago, as soon as it had come out and I thought the book was ok too. Though, I'd forgotten the story, and it slowly dawned on me as the movie progressed.

Nice, delicately made film. Mostly good acting and fair justice to the book and the story. The narrative was smooth, easily flowing, and there were parts that were quite affecting and touching.

Of course, Mira Nair has still made a very conventionally styled film with Namesake. Doesn't seem like budget was a problem, but she's stuck to conventional cinema techniques. Which, I think, worked for the film. But well, nothing extraordinary.

PSt: That reminds me, there's a story behind how I got my name too. Well, I'm not sure I quite believe it, but Mom was pregnant, and she was in the fire temple praying, when she heard or imagined maybe, a voice tell her that, 'You will have a daughter, and she is Afrin.' Of course, there was no one around when she opened her eyes. (Mom's heard these voices again too, and one time right before I got admission into college and was really wondering which college I would end up at... and again at the fire temple, Mom saw a distinct vision of the holy cross, and she knew at once that I'd be going to St. Xavier's.) And so, I'm Afrin. Hello.

Going to the Movies

Someone suggested I watch a film everyday last week. So I took it on as a challenge (and an excuse) and went to the Movies everyday last week.

Monday - I saw 300 again. Glad I did. Enjoyed it.
Tuesday - Pursuit of Happyness. Very nice, I thought. Will Smith and son, brilliant acting.
Wednesday - The Holiday. I was wary that it would be a chick flick. Maybe it is, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. Especially Kate Winslet, she was awesome. Jack Black sucked big time.
Thursday - Water. Very disappointed. Liza Ray and John Abraham made a mockery of the whole thing. Bad dialogue, worse delivery, and not sensitively made. The little girl and the older widow were good, the only saving grace.
Friday - The Marine.

Yes, Friday's movie deserves a special note. Note that from Monday through Thursday, we got great seats in the cinema. Second row from the back. And the cinema would be mostly empty. The Marine was packed. We sat second row from the front. The entire cinema was full. With mostly men. I mostly like action-thrillers. The Marine, however, was not a thriller. It was just noise and explosions. And its climax was twice as long and three times more pathetic than the average Hindi film climax. Very sad.

Ok. Saturday and Sunday we saw movies at home. Mostly because there were no other films I wanted to see in the cinemas. Except Namesake, but that one was all sold out.

So, Saturday, we went for a nice long walk in the K.B.R National Park and then for a beer. And a typical Andra dinner. Varun ate quail. When we got home, I pulled out a stack of new virgin DVDs and picked Godard. Une Femme Est Une Femme. A Woman Is A Woman. Great fun, and very nice.

Sunday, I woke up early and wanted to get through as many of the DVDs as I could. We first saw Godard's Le Weekend. Hmm, this one's a toughie. I liked it, it wasn't too easy. My friends couldn't really take it. I saw it again, at once, with commentary on. Am glad for these features that DVDs have, it certainly helped with that film!

Next we saw Ron Frike's Baraka. A visual documentary, with no narrative or dialogue. Very visual. Shot in 24 countries, it's a view of global rituals, urban and rural analogies, and a visual treat. Very nice. And I found a random parallel between Godard's Weekend and Baraka. It's difficult to explain, but I'll try. In another post.

After Baraka, we saw Truffaut's The Soft Skin. Basically, the story of a famous novelist and his affair with an air stewardess. Nice film, but not spectacular. But I do like Truffaut.

The week was great fun and there are always more films to see! Wohoooooo.



PS: I must mention, I love being in a cinema. And turning around to see the glorious beam of light as the film is projected. It's the prettiest thing in the world... one of.

300

Yes, everyone's talking about it. I must admit, my first verdict after I saw the film was negative.
The story - we've heard 6000 times before; the characters, I didn't fall in love with any; I didn't think there were any 'moments'; the narrative, I found choppy and too quick. I compared the film to Gladiator and the Lord of the Rings. But then, I was accused, by three different people, that I was being overtly too critical. Which is true. It's just a film after all.

So, I've decided to re-think.

Hmm, I liked it. I did enjoy the film. I wasn't spellbound, completely, but yea, partly. The super-effects are brilliant. Now that I think about it, quite a few shots and scene playback perfectly in my head.

I loved the slow motion shots of King Leonidas going slash-slash-slash.
I liked the opening sequence of the young King being trained.
The Persian king was hilarious.
I thought the scene of the Oracle was very sexy.
I liked the scene where the Queen kills the traitor.
I loved the deep, dark, endless well and the messenger being kicked into it.
I like King Leonidas' beard. Very sexy.
I like the power, glory of Sparta.

Finally, I must say that the film print at the cinema was very dark. Too dark. I'm finicky about colours and light when I watch a film. Maybe that's why I got pissed off.

I think I'll see it again.

RAMOJI

I've lived in Hyderabad for the last eight months, and hadn't visited the famous Ramoji Film City in all this while. Until last week.

Karen and Brad, of no.w.here were here in Hyderabad, and wanted to go filming in Ramoji. I decided I'd take the day off to accompany them. I fixed an appointment with the International Marketing Manager, we rented a cab for the day and set off to Ramoji.

It was a spectacular place. Larger than I imagined, sprawling over acres and acres of beautiful Andhra landscape - coconut trees, large loose rocks and tiny hills. When we arrived at what turned out to be the ticket counter, we were told that the heart of the film city was still 8km away.

We were greeted by a friendly manager, who had us refreshed with a cup of tea and then introduced us to the general manager, who heard our plan and request and then agreed to allow us to shoot at a couple of locations within Ramoji. They arranged for a coordinator to take us around in our cab and we set off.

I was at once amazed by the lovely landscaped gardens, and the neat roads with fountains and abstract statues. The coordinator was friendly and cheerful, as was, we soon found out, everyone who worked at Ramoji.

The first location/set he took us to, was a village square. Indian village square. Very nice. Small shops. Pan wala, bullock carts, stalls and small houses. All against a stunning backdrop of a steep rocky hill. Karen and Brad at once decided that they would film there.

The other location we shot at, was a lovely Hindu temple. Just the kinds you see at the movies, with white pillars and bells. The funny thing was our guide told us that the pillars were of plaster of Paris and could be taken off and moved around. So, of course, it wasn't really a temple, and there was no idol in the inner chamber. But, he insisted that we take our shoes off if we wanted to go into the inner chamber. That's the duality of our rituals and beliefs. Unreal and real at the same time.

After that, we went to an airport, a railway station, a Kings courtroom - straight out of an episode of the Mahabharata - and one location that we were really, really lucky to see.

A film had recently been shot at Ramoji and a grant set worth 1.3 crores had been created. The film was something to do with Yama - The Angel of Death and the set, was a dark chamber, ornate with golden carvings and marble floors. It was an incredible set. And the only place where we weren't allowed to take photos. But then, we were very lucky to see that set. It would soon be taken down.

But more than the large area of Ramoji and its brilliantly designed and maintained land, what we were also impressed by, was the looming legend of Mr. Ramoji. The man who owned it all.

Mr. Ramoji owned all of this. It was incredible. The film city has its own broadcasting center and owns 12 regional TV channels. They have a state of the art film processing and editing lab and post production and fully equipped sound studios. They said, all you need is to come to Ramoji with a script, and you can leave with a film.

We drove past Mr. Ramoji's house.
Brad said he was reminded of Citizen Kane. It's true. The man's aura seemed everywhere. AT the desk of an employee whose office we visited, was a photograph of him and I asked if that was Mr. Ramoji. The man, a manager of the building which held all kinds of props, fervently nodded and said, 'He's my God.' We couldn't help but be very intrigued and a bit awed by what we heard.

Ramoji Film City has existed for 8 years now. But hundred of Indian films and a handful of international films have been created with the help and magic of Ramoji. I want to make a film there. I will, I think.

More pics here.

The Jungle Book Story

My all-time favouritest film, and one that's my earliest memory of watching anything on TV is Walt Disney's Jungle Book. Man, I grew up watching it. My cousin brother and I'd watch it every single day, I think even before we began school. When my sister was born and we moved to Andheri, we took the precious video tape with us. And then I'd watch it after school, with my baby sister.



We knew the songs by heart. I'd laugh every time I saw it. And of course, cry at the sad parts. Then, as time passed and school took up more time and going downstairs to play with the boys gradually became more important, that old video tape stayed gathering dust (and fungus on the film.) We had to eventually throw it away when the VCR was replaced with a VCD player.

Many years later, around 3 years ago, I had a severe heartache in memory of the film. The songs would play in my head and mom would keep narrating bits from the film to remind us of the days when we'd spend every holiday watching it. I decided I had to see it again soon.

It took a while to find, but when I eventually got my hands on a pirated DVD near Fort, I was super-thrilled. The family gathered together that evening and saw the film once again, after years. I was amazed by how much I remembered. And by how fantastic, engaging and brilliant the script, the characters, and dialogues were. Are.

I saw it again, the next day, with subtitles on. And the tiny little subtle jokes that were otherwise missed were discovered for the first time and once again I enjoyed every second of the film.

For anyone who hasn't seen it, you must. It's 40 years old (1967), but I promise anyone of any age will love the film.

Recently, I saw the making of the film on Discovery Channel. It was funny how the film grew, out of a book, into rough sketches, and then slowly the characters took on characteristics of the Voices of the characters. Baloo the bear, for example, looks like Phil Harris, who 'lent' his voice for Baloo.

Kaa, Baloo, Bagheera, Mowgli, Sher Khan, King Louis, the elephants, the vultures - each of the characters are hilarious and so well developed. Well, I could go on and on about the film and I was reminded about it right now cos I just heard a couple of songs off the soundtrack. Ah, did I mention the excellent soundtrack?