True Detective Season 2 Episode 1: Review

So this is how the second season of last year's surprise hit started off with completely different elements, so much so that one might claim that its another show. This time the darkness didn't wait for anything, it was right in our faces from the first few scenes itself. This time I feel like the makers tried so hard to make something different yet powerful enough to stand together with the previous marvel of a season, that they headed into a different dimension itself which might look similar but is a whole another thing. The creator are maybe still heading in the same direction but they changed their course and that too by a huge margin. Last time they made everything just the was they like, without any pressure of being a hit or a flop. They didn't expect anything from the viewers, they made a show just thinking that we're doing the same thing done many times before in a way never seen before. This gave the show a certain audacity and gave one of the most exhilarating first seasons of any show ever, all through a subtly philosophical, conventionally paced and contrasting characters in search of the one true evil. It was almost supernatural. But this time they had expectations. This they didn't have to make a show, they had to make something atleast as good as the previous saga yet not at all imitative. So in my opinion, the makers went too far this time, in a mostly good but slightly vacillating manner.

Before I watched this episode, I read somewhere some non- spoiler review of this episode. There they mentioned the episode was a little too convoluted. So I pretty much had a very vague idea before I started watching it. The show started with Detective Ray Velcoro's story played amazingly by Colin Farrell. This detective is a long lost demented soul who still tries to make everything right for his son despite the incident with his wife years ago due to which he's not even the kid's biological father but he loves him nevertheless which seems to be a good thing but he tends to be a little extreme in some situations (delightfully so). He isn't someone whom we might call an ideal officer of the law but yeah he has his moments so one can't particularly hate him for being dishonest. Next we move on to Detective Ani Bezzerides played by the gorgeous Rachel McAdams. Her story is maybe nothing like you've heard before. An honest and hardworking sheriff with some family troubles. It looks normal on the surface though but the details are really uncommon almost funny in a way. Maybe its a joke, a frustrating and uncaring father and an immoral sister. These characters have some pretty serious issues but they all just manifest into Ani in the form of anger and scepticism. She is the tough nut in the ensemble cast and sometimes just annoying with the attitude. Maybe it'll look nice eventually, lets see. The we have suspended traffic cop, Paul Woodrugh played by a really neutral looking Taylor Kitsch. This is Mr. Sympathy. The guy works regularly, likes his job, is loyal, has a loving wife but still lives an unfulfilled life. As of now, that's all there is. Next we come to Frank Semyon, played by Vince Vaughn who more than suits the character. This guy is a developer with ties and earlier involvement also in the underworld. He knows Velcoro from the past and still employs him in odd jobs. He and Velcoro share a warm relationship, maybe the only person with whom Velcoro has cordial relations. That's his background and he fits in the story with a major project coming up and an important person involved with it missing. This person, Caprese, is the thread which ties all our so much self indulged characters together. (Spoiler Alert!) And also he's the first major death.

A still from "The Western Book Of The Dead"

So it should suffice to say that the first episode had too much in it with still a feeling of empty spaces. Too much emphasis on too many characters. Still I'm one of those people who enjoy 'too much'. It gives you something to think about while watching and restrains your mind from going in a completely relaxed state. But however it is written I have to say, the cinematography in this episode was really something. Nothing too subtle but all grim and noir type evoking a sense of superficial fantasy. Thus, to sum it all up we have ourselves, five intertwined emotionally draining & surrounded by mystery storylines that might not appeal to everyone but I really dig it. 

TVF Pitchers Review: Episode Two- "And Then There Were Four"

I am in awe of this show. This was a great, really great episode. In ways more than one it surpassed the previous one and I hope that the trend continues. This was completely overwhelming. From eye-wetting emotions to little bits of love to the fantasy land of college developers, this episode had it all.

This time we started with Mandal and how his mother is trying to find a match for him. It was a really comical short sequence in itself and revealed to Mandal his own desire of being in a startup for reasons like delaying his own marriage or to just join in on what all the rest of his friends are doing. This time our startup stars face the problem of keeping Jeetu ( Jitendra, the coder) in their team with the promise of paying him full salary as his job earlier did. As Naveen and Yogi struggled to control their expenses by cancelling gym memberships, shifting internet plans and cutting down on all other luxuries; Jeetu tried to convince his wife to allow him to leave his job to join the startup. Even after all the budget cuts, Naveen and Yogi only managed to arrange for about Rs. 7600 which was way off the mark to keep Jeetu on board (his salary at the company was around Rs. 100,000 something). So now they speculated the idea of letting Jeetu continue his job while working part-time for the startup while they hire another coder who can fit in their budget. At this moment they started considering Yogi’s suggestion, a bright young boy in his final year at college who’s extended family to a friend. This was the highlight of the show. The whole college dormitory scene was simply amazing. The music, the direction, each and every nuance just excellent. Lasting for only a very short period of time but the walk from the entry into the corridor to the door of their guy was very well shot scene in a really exciting and equally elegant manner with subtle references and right humour in the perfect places. Their guide who showed them the way might not be a major character but had a lasting impact. Then they finally met their guy, not just any coder but the Ace- Chintu aka Dungeon_Master (the underscore matters). There they felt somewhat blown out of proportions when Dungeon_Master explained his worth and as far as his achievements are concerned how he could hire "them". Then still showing minimal interest he asked for emailing their proposal to him (or just save a draft) after demanding numerous privileges for working with them. This forced Naveen and Yogi to drop the idea completely and try working it out with Jeetu as Dungeon_Master turned out to be a self-centered and egotistic punk.

The real star of this episode were the side characters whose short lived appearances made huge strides with the story as well as the emotions. The characters of Saumya, Aarti, Shreya, Chintu and Dorm-Guide were very well placed in all the scenarios with some memorable moments (75-headshots). On the other hand Jeetu while doing some household chores confronted his wife about the situation and how he must leave the job to join his friends in the most mellow way possible. Frankly, even I was surprised at this scene. Just like the TVF guys want you to believe, I was also under the impression that now it will go all melodrama and how Jeetu’s wife will lecture him, fight him and reason with him to stay in his job with concerns about financial security, etc. But Saumya exceeded all our imaginations and turned out to be a real angel being empathetic towards Jeetu’s situation and encouraging him to fulfill his desire to work with his friends and also bringing up the subject of finding a job herself. Honestly, Jeetu couldn’t have married anyone better and here was the little sprinkle of lovely relationships on the show which might not hold much significance in relation to the story but are in no way a filler or forced. They justify each characters emotional state and show the viewers a little heart amidst all the ambitious talks. This brings us to another newly introduced female character, Shreya- Naveen’s girlfriend. She was introduced in a video chat which started off with some cute friendly insults and before long she became a part of the emotional environment the show very carefully crafted. In the background of it all, Mandal was preparing for his interview with Naveen to be a part of the startup. Here he requested Shreya to convince Naveen for him but instead she gave him a very important piece of advice. In the end, it all came down to a sentimental dialogue from Mandal which left us teary-eyed.

A still from "And Then There Were Four"

So to sum it all up, this time we had the best episode yet (out of just two) with some really great characters. The side characters and the music stand out as not merely elements of the show but an integral part of the whole thing. If sentiments, ambition and witty writing are the soul of the show then delightfully charming mini characters and catchy background score are its wings. The show also displays its capability of making an emotional connect rather than all mechanical storytelling and touches you, moves you on a deeper level than any other show. As mentioned by me again and again, the minor characters and the direction are the definitive virtues of the show fitting perfectly alongside a realistic and inspirational tale. And once again TVF delivered us with a heartwarming, utterly cool episode with a flock of lovable characters. 

Feminism, oh boy!

Note: All views in the following article are personal and it is here and now declared that if you continue reading from this point onwards than you, yourself are deciding to do so. No other entity coerced or manipulated you into reading them. Thus, the author cannot be held responsible for any mishap, emotional or otherwise, if ever occurred to the reader. 

Today I watched a video titled "what women want" which showed the contrasting views of Indian men and Indian women on the subject of the wishes of the latter. The makers interviewed general public (though I suspect those people were in cahoots with the makers) and not much to anyone's surprise they just showed how petty thinking men have and just think all women want money or someone who has money. In the other part of the video they showed how different women are and wish for better sanitation services, security, equal rights, etc.
I'm not pointing out anyone but things like these are getting old. Do such videos still go viral? Anyway, if someone ever asked me- "what women want"; I would first like to tell that person that the question itself is sexist (ironical, isn't it?) as you can't ask what women want, I mean, they're not any different species than us who will have a similar habitat and requirements all over. They are practically half of the whole human race. How can such a large division have desires in a single category of things, let alone a single thing. Every woman's desire would be different and I don't think desires should be based on the fact that you're a man or woman.
Such videos show women as some kind of a strange and mysterious beings about whom men have no clue what to think and not think. I think such videos make the line of distinction between both counterparts more visible whereas both are just two subcategories of the same species. I don't understand why people make such a big fuss out of it. Frankly, I don't even see any difference between the two (other than the obvious, duh). We are humans, male and female all alike, then why do we have to show one as reckless and ignorant and the other as misunderstood and prejudiced?
Why can't we just move on and raise our voices if we see bias instead of showing how much people don't know about Indian women?
And whenever someone talks about women they suddenly become as if they're addressing each and every female in the world. Its like its some kind of a secret society of which all women are part of. Men and women both should just think of themselves and each other as just normal people (persons, individual, homo sapiens whatever you call it). Yeah, your achievement isn't bigger if you're of a particular sex nor does your mistakes reflect themselves as a shortfall of a whole class of humans. Each person is different and should be treated like that. Attaching all good things or bad things to a particular sex is being biased. And in political terms, I don't think women want empowerment but if empowerment is the way to equality then denying it to them is inhuman.
C'mon world, how difficult could it be to treat all humans equal?

"The author thinks a masculinist and a feminist are the same thing if both of them want equality."

TVF Pitchers Review: Episode One- "Tu Beer Hai"

Finally we get to see the long awaited TVF drama ‘Pitchers’. As you know I’m a big fan of TVF and always find each one of their works really admirable. After Permanent Roommates, this is the next TVF original Drama which centers upon the events in the life of four friends- Naveen, Yogendra, Jitendra and Saurabh when Naveen decides to leave his job and begin working full time on their startup.

The story starts with Naveen meeting one of his college seniors (Bhati, the man who inspired Naveen) in the bar where they discuss about Bhati’s company. Naveen is utterly astonished by the valuation of Bhati's company and after a few drinks Bhati’s eponymous theory of ‘TU BEER HAI’ becomes etched in Naveen’s mind. Drunk he calls his boss and abusively quits his job. Only the morning after, he realizes his mistake and tries to make up with his boss, Rajat. Just then he gets a call about his business idea being shortlisted for business conclave and he decides to remain the way he was and not trying to join again. He ropes in his friends- Yogendra and Jitendra. Yogendra quits his job readily and enthusiastically joins the club whereas Jitendra has mixed feelings even after confirmation from his friends that they’ll give him his full salary atleast. Only after a promotion and realizing the state of his seniors, he begins to doubt his significance in his company. Even though he thinks he is a valuable employee to the company, he can’t imagine himself working 15 years in the same place with nothing more than a hike in salary and a changed title. This frustration leads him to decide on his stance in the startup and he finally quits. When almost all three friends are ready to give their all to the startup, Naveen goes back to his boss Rajat to submit his resignation and make it official where Rajat convinces him that the startup isn’t his passion and provides him with another Career opportunity as an employee to head a project in Beijing and asks him to leave for Delhi immediately to confirm his visa. This was the moment of test for Naveen and he succumbs to the insecurities and decides to leave for Delhi. Although on his way to the airport, he has an epiphany resulting in a change of heart and he returns back to his friends in the bar to go ahead with their startup, leaving their old jobs and old lives behind.

The whole episode worked on every level hitting each emotion, dialogue and doubts spot on. The characters are amazing. Each one gives a distinct vibe as each one is there to play a different role in the startup organization. Although on the surface they all might look similar as young enthusiastic people who despite having jobs want to make a name for themselves (As Bhati said,“Tu Kya Hai”). With such characters one could easily connect and become a part of their troubles as they struggle between their startup and keeping their jobs. The music was simply outstanding. From the background score to the little noises to the ringtones, it was very nicely done. The dialogues were crisp and to the point with appropriate amount of humour. Yeah some elements were specially inserted to create humour (the overenthusiastic sales intern) but such things are easily overlooked behind the environment of modern startup industry and aspirations they’ve created so meticulously.

All in all, another great show from TVF after Permanent Roommates which might be even better than it. A much more refined and fresh overall look on the show with so many things different from regular TVF videos. This is a show, an actual thing unlike Permanent Roommates which more or less started as an experiment and it delightfully crushes all before it and anything ever made by any Indian channel. This is how shows are made, its on a completely different level than the regular dramas the Indian audiences are used to. This is TVF’s answer to services like HBO-Go and Netflix. Only piece of advice, don’t miss this one. TVF guys, they rock as usual. And as Yogendra said, “Entrepreneur spelling se nahi spirit se bante hai”

Eye Of Osiris

Thunder blazed from the sky

Darkness spread through the holy land

Clouds gathered like never before

Mighty cats gave out a tearing roar

Mob gathered around on roads,

Palaces and on the roofs

All wondered and whispered

Fear was the same in all

Is this the time for our damnation?

Have our sins gone beyond salvation?

Is this the time to revise god’s creation?

Desperate were they for a glimmer of hope

Turned to their king, and pleaded

Asked him what should they do?

Who to sacrifice or what to give

To the gods who've abandoned their kind

The king was in awe

Of the strange phenomenon

He had never seen anything like it

Neither his ancestors did

Nor, he suspected, his successors will

Part of him was confused

Whether it’s the end or

A blessing from the heavenly den

Are they really facing annihilation?

Or was he chosen upon a sacred decision?

Uttered no word just stared the sky

The king himself together

With his family and subjects

Just stared at the sky

Then the clouds cleared

From just the centre of the sky

And the mortals gazed

With the utmost fascination

As there emerged an eye

Now they were hysterical

This was the eye of god, they shouted

The all-seeing-eye

The eye of Amun, the eye of Argus

The eye of Osiris, the eye of Shiva

The angelic light from the eye

Looked only towards the king

The crowd went silent

Until someone cried-“The king shall die”

This was a shock to all

Stoned as a corpse was now the king

His valour deserted him

And madness took over

Tears rolled down and

His life seemed to slip by

He murmured then screamed

“Why me? what have I done?”

“Why me? I am pious”

“As good a man of god as any man can be”

“I was the one, atrocity who endured”

“But whatever shall it be,

The king must be willing

To sacrifice even himself

If ever the need be"

O’ holy vision, the All Seeing Eye

Now I see, the true duty of a king

I am a sinner, please forgive me

Don’t ever punish my people for my sins

For now I confess, I am the sinister being

You have chosen me, And I shall provide

So be it as it may, “The King shall die”