My personal association with Devsaab’s films goes back about 25 years (Oh boy !! Never realized I had grown SO old). My father was deputed in Dubai and the VCR revolution was at its peak when we lived there for three years. As a family, we spent a lot of happy hours enjoying movies on the VCR and I have no doubt that Dev Anand’s films were the ones we all enjoyed the most. I think it was due to him that my love for old movies and music grew. My tastes have changed a little since then but even today, when I look at my movies collection and debate what movie to watch, my fingers seem to immediately move towards the Dev Anand starrers of the 1950s.

What was the appeal of his films? There was of course great music- but that was not unique. If music only were the criteria, it should be the like of Bharat Bhooshan who should have ruled the roost. I thunk it was mainly because of the great directors and scripts he worked with. This was the new breed of intelligent directors who had more exposure to world cinema and had their own ideas on film-making. Guru Dutt, Chetan Anand, Vijay Anand, Raj Khosla.. all directors who have left an indelible mark on Indian cinema. They built on the star image of Dev and added further dimensions to it with time.

I identify Baazi as the genesis of Dev Anand’s star image. He tasted further successes in the early-to-mid-50s. Taxi Driver, Fantoosh and Munimji all were tremendous successes but which most of their posterity to the music of S.D.Burman and the vocals of Kishore Kumar and Talat Mahmood.

Then came C.I.D in 1956 and we see the Dev Anand we all remember most now. That puff of hair, debonair persona, utterly charming with a perennial twinkle in the eyes.. Dev Anand the star was born. This heralded the peak years of Dev. 1957 saw the introduction of Dev’s hugely talented younger brother Vijay Anand to Navketan and their first venture together was Nau do gyaran. Milestone films followed from these brothers over the next few years- Kala bazaar, Kala Paani, Hum Dino, Tere ghar ke saamne, Guide and Tere mere sapne, all landmarks in the annals of Hindi films .

Between all this, we had other fine movies like Solvaa saal, Bambai kaa baabu, Jab pyaar kisi se hotaa hai. Good entertainers with a juicy mix of humor, romance, suspense. Just a perfect value for money.

He drifted to direction at the start of the 1970s and unfortunately spent the next three decades inflicting one crappy movie after another, he usually essaying the lead role. It was enough to turn the most devoted of fans away. But then, his fans remained loyal. Maybe they rushed to play C.I.D for the 300th time on their VCR to help get over the torture of Censor or Mr Prime Minister. He was a megalomaniac. He considered his ventures were not mass films but rather meant for the intelligentsia. He no doubt turned a deaf year to the guffaws that received the scenes.

But hey- he was still Dev Anand!! He was still that man who brought a thrill to the girls’ hearts and whom the men also tried to emulate. He was the man who brought such élan and that modern just-be-happy notion to films. He still is the actir whose films I would be most willing to watch.

He lived like a king. The Internet overflowed with tearful messages and tributes from the multitude of fans all over the world, showing this was not a king in retirement. This was a king still sprightly and in search of more power. The world was his oyster rill the very end.

At the end of it, the stand-out feeling after watching the film is an immense desire to experience Paris. There are some movies which are just means to showcase the beauty of a city. Roman Holiday is an example. Woody Allen spends a lot of time simply indulging in a city he so obviously loves. Paris looks beautiful though it does bring back strong memories of Vienna.

Anyway, coming to the film. The story is well known. A Hollywood script writer is vacationing with his fiancée and patents-in-law in Paris. His wish is to make it as a full-fledged writer. He yearns for the 1920s when he feels literary writing was at its peak with the likes of Hemingway and Fitzgerald and Faulkner around. And lo! One midnight he is transported to that period and falls into the company of those very people he idolizes. He who never likes to have his books reviewed, now gets them looked at by Gertrude Stein and Hemingway. He calls in love with a girl there who however feels the 20s are a noisy and lazy period. She would rather prefer a Paris of the 1890s!

I find it very easy to relate to these feelings. In my mind, I could just see myself listening with awe to Anil Biswas expanding on music, listening to C.Ramchandra talking about Lata and his songs for her (maybe singing them) over a bottle of Scotch, watching Talat rehearsing and just maybe catching a peek of Madhubala somewhere.. oh yes! I could relate to that deep love for another period of time, the deep admiration for people who existed during that time. 1950s appears to be the period of great creativity for me. But then, I read with a mix of amusement and disbelief interviews of artistes from that time bemoaning the loss of melody in music, its degradation from the music of the 1930s and 40s

Eventually as the hero of the film says, it is just something to do with the way we live and think that causes us to resonate with another period of time. Personally I think I am happy with my present. I am happy to live in a time where hi-speed internet allows me to download the songs I want in a matter of seconds; my Mac allows me to enhance the quality of the recording to enhance my listening experience; iPods allow me to carry all my music with me where I want- and iPhone allows me to carry a lot of my favorite books wherever I want. That’s a lot of things that have become an inseparable part of my living today.

In short, I am at peace with the present because the present day technology allows me to connect to the past much more easily.

A thought inspiring film, Midnight in Paris is a movie worth watching.

Jacob’s ladder is the story of Jacob, a man deep in debt who suddenly finds himself a millionaire and then goes around interacting with different kinds of people who try different ways of laying hands in his money. Swindlers galore on either side of the Atlantic. How Jacob evades these schemes with some ingenuity and some help from friends is what most of the book recounts. It’s a fun ride much like any of Cary Grant’s films. In fact, Cary Grant would fit the picture of the typical Oppenheim hero to a nicety.

To further there is Jacob’s perennial apparently hopeless love for Muss Bultiwell. Then there is the delightful brother-sister duo of Lord Felixstowe and Lady Mary. They are quite easily the stand-out characters of the book. Why not? They form the P.G.Wodehouse in an Oppenheim setting. All in all, a good masala read and thats another book read off my iBooks’ library.oh here is a snapshot of it .. Lots of my favorites you can see there- Wodehouse, Heyer, Enid Blyton, 3 investigatosr, L.M.Montgomery and this book which I just talked about

Simple awesome !! Words fail me in describing the beauty of the place. My vocabulary is too poor to paint suitable eloquence on this. When I see such creations, I feel a certain pride in being a human being again. Surely man has got to be a great creation if he is able to carve out pieces like this with his bare hands. Then the question again- with all the great technology and scientific advancement made in recent years, why is it that such creations have become so few and far between? Look at these slightly bigger carvings now..

There are two huge Nandi structures seated in front of the door that leads to the sannidhi and both Nandis have been placed within pillars of perhaps granite that glitter in all glory even today

Finally to round off, three outstanding and favorite creations- of Shive an Parvati taking a ride on Nandi, Krishna and then Ganapathy

We spent more than an hour absorbing the exterior of the temple. We then went into the sannidhi and we felt that deep sense of awe, respect and fear that not many temples possess. It is only where the vibration is strong that we get that feeling. We came out with an immensely serene and happy feeling.

Next,it was Belur. A drive of less than 20 minutes brought us there. The Belur temple has a gopuram at the enterance, something which Halebidu did not have. Once you enter, you have this massive courtyard that is immediately reminiscent of the huge Tanjore temple setting. Of course, there is no giant gopuram watching over you here. In fact, there is no gipuram at all inside the temple. The ravings here again were beautiful but plainer as compared to Helebidu.

The unique architecture aspect of this temple is of course the Mohini pillar..

All this is of course part of what is called the Hoysala architecture This sculpture is something of a symbol of their culture..

An hour later, we had to rush back to make it in time to take our return bus. We were there in perfect time. The bus drew in use a we reached and within 15 mins, we were off. I t was a memorable vacation but I think this last morning is what will linger longest in our memory. The supreme craftsmanship that had always been part of India was on display again and despite all problems, as the rain started to fall down as the bus drove back to Bangalore, I was filled with pride in belonging to this great country which has given birth to such great nameless artists who sculpted these glorious images on stone. Come on all ou Michelangos and Berninis, this is something for you to beat !!

I had left my earlier account to the point where we got a room to sleep in for about three precious hours in the morning. We awoke around nine and found the rain just withdrawing away to a light drizzle. How providential for us !! Thanks to the folks at Taj for getting us a room (though they did charge us half-day rent for it so not a HUGE favour in any case).

The room looked on to the swimming pool which wasn’t all that great. But it was a cozy room and we had a good sleep. After breakfast, we met the manager who told us our room would be ready by 2PM. This suited us fine. We packed up and went out for a walk.

The weather now was simply gorgeous. The sun played hide-and-seek and the skies seemed to be restraining the bulging waters and allowed only minor drizzles to hit us, and that too for short spans. We had a glorious walk reminiscent of the walks we had in Switzerland. There was no end “goal”. We just walked. “There is a lake, lets go forward to get a better view” we would say and walk forward. Further on, the view would improve very little but oh.. so very tantalizingly so. Always with a promise of something more breath-taking around the curve. Thus we walked for about a couple of hours before deciding to return. We weren’t exactly hungry but we did not think too badly of food.

There was no buffet for lunch but we decided to avail the second meal of the day in the restaurant anyway (our package deal was free breakfast and either lunch or dinner free). Food was good. Nothing special or anything to rave about. These higher-class hotels usually suffer when it comes to their food and this was much the case here.

We were taken to our booked rooms after lunch- and we were pleased as punch with the room. The cottage had a small entry passage with the cupboard for luggage. Then huge bedroom with French windows opening out a lovely and very private sit-out. Yes sir- we were pleased all right. And what could be better to start our time in the room but to get into a long cozy sleep? We had a delicious sleep of almost four hours. It was past 7 in the evening when we woke up. But hey- what else were we there for anyway?

Our dinner was not a problem since we had got the Maggi cup noodles and a couple of apples. That was comfortable enough. I read and completed the second book in the Shiva series by Amish – “Secret of the Nagas”. More on that later. It was past 2 in the night when I went to sleep which meant that I would have less than six hours of sleep since we had booked to go to Mullaini giri, the highest peak in Karnataka, at 9 the next morning. I prayed for a rain-less morning as I went to sleep.

It was not a rainless morning but it was not a pour either. There had been rain during the night and a light drizzle continued to come down but we did not see it as a deterrent to our trip. A quick breakfast later, we were off.

The ride was superb. The road was excellent right through and almost throug 60% we did not get the feeling we were going uphill. One coffee estate followed another and they all have maintained their estates beautifully including the greens that form the fencing to the estate. They were all neatly trimmed and I felt we were in a different India altogether, neat and clean and a good road. But a little over half way up, the clouds started making their presence felt. Slowly but surely visibility reduced and soon, we were hardly able to see a few centimetres ahead of us. I was glad I was not driving on this road and felt all sympathy for the driver who was taking this tough drive for us. He stopped a little way ahead to allow us to visit an old Shiva temple there. It was a great experience. A temple we could hardly see, heavy wind howling into our ears and us walking bare-foot through the wet earth.

Then we drove a little further on till we reached the peak. We could not help but laugh at ourselves. Here we were, trying to get a great view of the valley and what a view we got. A view that did not extend beyond a couple of centimetres. On top of that, we could hardly hear ourselves speak now thanks to the cries of the wind. Total fun !!

Aruna just about managed to hold to her cap while I had lesser trouble with my hat! We stayed there for about an hour and then made our way back downhill. My stomach started reminding me that if did not like hilly drives on the way down. Thankfully, it did not get so bad that to request a stop of the drive. By the time it got fairly severe, we were on level ground and I was relived. We visited the M.G.Park on the way back, primarily to allow a visit to the rest-rooms inside the park. I didnt see why they needed a fancy park in Chikmaglur which is surrounded by beautiful, scenic greenery everywhere. There were no special botanical sights in there also. So I would have deemed it a waste of Rs 5 charged for entry had it not been for the toilet.

Back to the hotel after this. We were a little tired and thoughtlongingly of our bed again. We decided to have dinner at the retaurant this time and finished our quota of cup noodles at lunch. Sleep took over and we enjoyed a deep sleep of about two hours. At dusk, we stepped out for a walk within the resort and it as dinner time by the time we ended. Food was agan about average and we slipped back for continuing our sleep.

We now have only half a day of our vacation remaining.. and that deserves a separate post. So I will cease for now.

You can enjoy quite of the photos we took over the two days at Chikmaglur here. Do post your comments there. Au revoir.

The drive was painful. The road was visible in patches. Most of the surface had been plundered out by rain. Once we reached the hotel however, we found the gate locked. Imagine the entrance to a premier hotel locked!! We called the reception and though they said check in was only at 2pm, they kindly agreed to let us in.

Till we get our registered room, we have been allotted another room for which we have to pay half-day tariff. So here we are, at the start of our stay in Chikmaglur comfortably laid out..

Shammi Kapoor in fact was an important milestone in the genesis of the Indian popular cinema hero. The early years were ones of singing actors. Saigal being the best example. Then there came in the modernity but gentlemanliness of Motilal. The late 40s-early 50s were years of lyricism. The heroes were sensitive and rather weak. Deeply romantic and poetic, they were generally society-outsiders. Dilip Kumar defined this era as much as Talat defined the vocal of this era.

The later 50s saw the hero becoming much more modern and much bolder. He woo-ed the girls more directly and was emboldened to speak his mind. Dev Anand perhaps typifies this image. Shammi Kapoor in the 60s became the logical next step. Brasher and louder, Shammi Kapoor was given to dancing and guffawing out loud in times of happiness. Though I associate the later years of the 60s as the years of utter musical degradation, it can’t be denied that the films of Shammi Kapoor were breezy entertainers. They can be enjoyed any time. He got associated with some of the master directors of the masala genre- Vijay Anand, Nasir Husain, Shakti Samanta and the like. They made films that had a mix of comedy, suspense, romance and loads of songs. Shammi fit into these plots beautifully.

There is a lit more to be said- the man’s hesitant rise in films, the music in his films, my favorites.. they will follow in future posts.

For now, RIP Shammiji and thank you for all the fun

I spent more time familiarizing and thus evaluating the my new Panasonic Lumix FZ35 camera I bought last week. My small trials with it so far have not led to any great alterations to my earlier opinion. But in the Macro mode, the Lumix is a sheer delight. I was pleased with the details I was able to capture and the almost-completely accurate representation of the colors. It got in me an urge to take my camera today (Sunday) to Lalbagh to capture more nature photos but my laziness got the better of the intention and I slept through the day. Still, here are some good ones from my stint yesterday at home:

The details on the leaf have come out nicely I think. The camera also does a great ob of handling the aperture to produce just the right defocus. I was not able to do this right on my older Canon. Similarly, these chinese bells hanging on my balcony also have come out pretty well..
Yes- the lighting is slightly messed up. I think I could have used the flash also here but I think that would have made things worse. I am still not sure how I should be taking the photographs when the lighting (usually the sun) is behind the subject thus causing a darker subject. Then finally, I managed to get the Udipi Krishna piece in a very appealing angle and the result delighted my wife.

So I think it is fair to say that the Lumix is a winner in the Macro mode. I am pleased here because I suspect I am going to do a bit of clicking in hat mode in the coming time. That is also one of the main reasons I want to get an SLR. In fact, the two chief modes of photography that please me most are portraits and macro. Yes- landscapes and sceneries are awesome too but that is not my priority.

 
That was the best part of the camera. In the telephoto mode however, the Lumix runs into serous problems. The focus is too shaky and the final results are barely passable.

But what is much more of a concern for me is that the portrait photos seem to have a strong red saturation in them causing the photos to appear very unnatural. The photo on the right is an illustration of this. There is a very “red-y” feel to the photo. Further, I don’t know if it is very clear, there are some yellow grainy patches near the forehead. I have used some zoom here and am in the Portrait mode. This is a big issue for me.

I am yet to take this camera outdoors for a full-fledged trial run with manual mode settings. So I will keep you posted on how things go with this camera. But I would say that I definitely would not recommend this camera to anyone who wants to buy a new Prosumer camera. Maybe Panasonic has improved with its recent upgrades in the FZ line. But having lived with a Canon prosumer and having used my cousin’s Nikon P90 also, don’t look beyond Canon in the prosumer line. I would think Canon SX30IS should give you the best results.

This thinking is what has almost convinced me that I stick with Canon for my DSLR also.The only question is whether I should got for the 600D or jump to the 60D. Ah well.. time enough for that.