Happy Birthday Jammy!

He’s one of India’s greatest batsmen but never got his due. Even when he scored big runs he was always outshined or overshadowed by other team members, a phenomenon that started right from his debut in Test cricket. Dravid made his debut at Lord's on 20 June 1996 against England in the Second Test of the series with Sourav Ganguly and scored 95 runs. However Ganguly went on to score a century and became the celebrated hero.

Dravid’s batting was as perfect as a coaching manual. His name was a constant at number three on the scoreboard and there were innumerable times when he was a savior for the team. He was nicknamed “The Wall” for his impeccable defence and till date he is fondly remembered as 'The Wall' of Indian cricket.

"Even though Sachin is great, I have always found Rahul more solid and hard to get out. He has a solid defense and plays less shots than others. When a batsman plays less shots then it is tough to get him as he makes less mistakes." – Shoaib Akhtar

Rahul Dravid has always been my hero, ever since I started watching cricket. In fact, he is the reason I started watching cricket. I have been an ardent supporter and have admired him not only as a player but also for the man that he is. 

"If you can't get along with Dravid, you're struggling in life," said Brett Lee. Dravid truly is the epitome of a perfect gentleman.

Today Jammy turns 41 and I wish him a very Happy Birthday! He may have retired from the game but I will continue to be his fan. There never was and perhaps will never be, one like him!

For those interested, here’s a list of what fellow players have to say about this legend – http://tinyurl.com/DravidQuora

Movie Review: Kai Po Che (2013)

Movies based on books are usually a disappointment, sometimes even a disaster. Abhishek Kapoor’s Kai Po Che is one of those rare ones that far surpassed the book it was based on – Chetan Bhagat’s bestseller ‘3 Mistakes Of My Life’.

I did not like the movie as much when I first saw it. But it grew on me later and it was undoubtedly one of the better films of the tear. Here's why:

• Abhishek Kapoor followed the critical and commercial success ‘Rock On’ based on friendship with yet another tale of friends. Same theme at large yet a different magical world

• Despite working with biggies like Farhan Akhtar and Arjun Rampal he chose to work with no established names and went ahead with two debutants and a ‘super talented yet unexploited potential’ actor

• That each of these actors delivered a stand-out performance, complementing each other so well yet leaving one’s own mark

• It is a multi-dimensional tale with many layers (coming-of-age story of three friends – their dreams and aspirations, their pursuit of excellence, their confusions and misunderstandings and their friendship standing the test of time; commentary on the politics of religion and the religion in politics; three real life events – the infamous Godhra riots of 2002, the historic cricket test match between India and Australia at The Eden Gardens and the Gujarat Earthquake – blended so well with the fictional narrative) and yet the film does not lose its track, there are no lose threads

• Each of the three friends represented one side of India – the capitalist Govind Patel (Raj Kumar Yadav), the political Omkar Shastri (Amit Sadh) and the emotional Ishaan Bhatt (Sushant Singh Rajput). All of these aspects were dealt with great clarity and panache

• Realistic depiction of a country’s obsession with cricket

• Amit Trivedi scored a brilliant and mesmerizing earthy soundtrack which comprised only three tracks but left a huge impact. Each song was different from the other and eventually we were left craving for more

• There were many show stealing breathtaking scenes but this just one fabulous scene absolutely stole our hearts away. The entire picturisation of the Meethi Boliyan song, this exchange of dialogues between Rajput and Yadav just before the trio’s jump in the river from stop the fort:

Ishaan: Ise kehte hai life Govind. Tere noton ki khushboo se lankh guna behtar

Govind: Yahan tak aane ke liye bhi mere note hi lagte hain

Ishaan: Tere sikkon ki khankhan se mere hawa ki keemat kam ho rahi hai

• Garba to then the touch-and-feel make out to Sunita Rao’s Pari Hoon Main

• The beautiful cinematography by Anay Goswami which lights up each frame so wonderfully. Ahmedabad is captured like never before

All of this and much more comprised the elements of a film that left a mark on us; a fresh film that charmed us; a film that gave us Sushant Singh Rajput, an actor who has already carved a niche for himself and will sure go a long, long way if he stays grounded.

Rating: 8/10

IPL season 2 - getting better?

IPL season 2 saw a lot of drama before the real action of the matches begun. At one point of time it looked difficult to conduct the tournament. After various controversies, trials and tribulations, it was finally decided that IPL would be shifted to South Africa. There were again a lot of speculations if moving the tournament out of India was a good thing to do. Teams, franchises, sponsors, players and audience, all were divided in their opinion. A lot of them said IPL would not be the same in SA. Players said they would miss playing at their home grounds. At the end, all had no option but to accept the fate.

Currently, the IPL fever is on and we are well past the mid way. And what an interesting situation! It seems like barring Kolkata any team can make it to the semi-finals. People are supporting one team or the other with great fervor. But I am not enjoying it. Not that I am not interested in cricket or am averse to this version of the game. The problem is something else.

I do not have a favorite team as such, as I like various players from different teams. However if you ask me which team am I supporting the first name that comes to my mind is Delhi Daredevils. I have spent seven memorable years in Delhi and thus the connection. Theirs is a good team too, and a lot of the names are familiar. Virendra Sehwag-Gautam Gambhir combination is no doubt one of the best though it’s little sad that this duo has not performed well this season. I am glad that Gambhir finally managed to shirk off his not-in-form status and bagged the much deserved Man of the Match award. I am now waiting to see Viru’s explosive batting. I also like Vettori, AB De Villiers and Nannes.

Things would be very simple if it were just this. But at the time I have a soft corner for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) too, for obvious reasons – no not Shah Rukh Khan, though most girls go gaga over him; I was born and brought up in Bengal. Plus, I admire Dada’s grit and never-say-die attitude. They have been extremely unlucky this season and I feel sad at their plight. KKR had been surrounded by controversies even before the real match begun. First it was the multiple-captain theory and then the captaincy issue, which was handed over to Brendon Mccullum. Now when they are at the bottom of the table, much is being said about their pre-hype and SRK’s publicity stunts which did not bring any results. I want this bad run to end for them and as their latest commercial says, come back “RELOADED”. But I know that the dream run of winning the trophy has come to an end this season. All they can do now is bounce back and win the rest of the matches to save themselves more humiliation and criticism for as we know, when it comes to cricket Indians are fanatics. When the team does well and they like someone, they praise them and go mad appreciating and showing their love and affection for them. But, if the same team starts losing matches and do no perform, the same people who earlier had garlands in their hands now have stones instead. They even start abusing the team and hold them guilty for not living up to the expectations. They forget that at the end of the day it is a game where someone wins and someone loses. In India, especially in cricket, fans only expect the team to do well and keep winning. I can see the same fate for KKR. The fans were already upset at Sourav not given charge of captaincy. Now they will be ready to pounce on everyone, seeing the team’s dismal performance. So a couple of wins here should them some good.

These are the two teams that I support. But, there are two other teams that I like for only one person each – Mumbai Indians for Sachin Tendulkar and Royal Challengers Bangalore for Rahul Dravid. Sachin as we all know is an iconic player and I don’t like to see his team lose. On the other hand I have been an ardent fan and supporter of Rahul Dravid ever since I started following the game of cricket, which was way back in class VI or VII. He is one player, who I feel has not got the appreciation that he deserved. He has scored more then 10000 runs in both versions of the game but people have more often criticized than praised him for his skills. He is always considered a slow player, despite the fact that he has been the person who has held the Indian innings together a lot of times. Never mind what people say. I liked him and I still do. It was really nice to see him begin with a bang. He is the sole reason why I do not want RCB to lose a match.

That’s four teams down. However it doesn’t end here too :P I somehow like Kings XI Punjab for no specific reason. And lastly, Chennai Super Kings. Dhoni again is such a brilliant leader that I do not like to see his side lose. I feel sad to see that dejected look whenever his team is in a bad position. Other than this, I do not like the team on the whole. Like if there is match between CSK and any of the teams mentioned above, I would be supporting the other team. The toughest situation is when Delhi and Kolkata play a match. In fact they will be playing one shortly and I am with both the teams. This is a difficult situation as one cannot possibly cheer both the teams simultaneously. Such is the dilemma that I land up not watching the match. At least that’s what I did the last time. Let’s see what happens today!

The last two teams – Rajasthan Royals and Deccan Chargers are the only two teams I have never felt a connection with.  I do not want either of them to make it to the semi-finals. It would be great if Delhi, Mumbai, Punjab and Bangalore make it to the top four :)