Reading Rehash 2020-Part 2

In year 2020 I've read many new authors, most of them were impressive. A few award-winning books I've picked were interesting. I must admit I have a mental block when it comes to horror and sci-fi genre, and year 2020 failed to break the jinx. I'm jotting down a list for no particular reasons.

The first book I read this year

The Collector-Nora Roberts

A Book everybody liked but I didn't

The Night Circus-Erin Morgenstern

The best book that I read in 2020

Where the Crawdads Sing-Delia Owens

Not-So-Good book that I read in 2020

In Five Years-Rebecca Serle

An Award-winning book that I thought I'l never enjoy

The Dutch House-Ann Patchett

A book that I read after watching the television drama of the book adaptation

None

A book that was intriguing enough to put the screen adaptation in the "to be watched" list

Daisy Jones and the Six-Taylor Jenkins Reid

A book that disturbed me in days to come

Beartown-Fredrik Backman

A book that I couldn't decide whether I liked or not

The Thirteenth Tale-Diane Setterfield

A book that I abandoned in the middle

Untamed-Glennon Doyle

A book that I wish I had read in 2020

Becoming-Michelle Obama

A Kannada book that I read in 2020

Jugari Cross-Poorna Chandra Tejaswi

A series I immensely loved 2020

Millenium-Steig Larsson

An author that I've read most in 2018  

Ruth Ware 

A book that I was embarrassed to read

Sex and Vanity-Kevin Kwan

A best author you discovered this year

Elif Shafak

 

The last book I read in 2020

The Midnight Library

A DNF book you finished in 2020

Book Thief-Markus Zusak 

Top 10 new authors I discovered in 2020

Taylor Jenkins Reid, Riley Sager, Matt Haig, Kate Quinn, Delia Owens, Ann Pachett, Keigo Higashino, Jane Harper, Elif Shafak, Steig Larsson 

Reading Rehash 2020-Part 1

I have a note in phone containing the names and authors of each and every book I've read in 2020. This is a habit that I've practiced from the last six or seven years. I would be more pleased if I can write a detailed review of all of them. That way I can just visit the page to get the perceptive of the book. It is impossible to remember otherwise. I've read total of 50 books this year, completing my reading challenge.  Without further ado:

1. The collector-Nora Roberts

2. Turn of key-Ruth Ware

3. One perfect lie-Lisa Scottoline

4. American marriage-Tayari Jones

5. The Whisper Man-Alex North

6. Run Away-Harlen Coben

7. Lock Every Door-Riley Sager

8. Final girls-Riley Sager

9. The Last time I lied-Riley Sager

10. The Lying Game-Ruth Ware

11. The woman in cabin 10- Ruth Ware

12. The Devotion of Suspect X- Keigo Higashino

13. The death of Ms. Westaway-Ruth Ware

14. Where forest meets the stars-Glendy Vanderah

15. Jugari Cross-Poorna Chandra Tejaswi

16. Ask again, yes-Mary Beth keane

17. A woman is no man-Etaf Rum

18. Huntress-Kate Quinn

19. The Alice Network-Kate Quinn

20. The lost man-Jane Harper

21. In Five Years-Rebecca Serle

22. Daisy Jones and the Six-Taylor Jenkins Reid

23. Queenie-Candice Carty-Williams

24. Overdue life of Amy Byler-Kelly Harms

25. Where the Crawdads Sing-Delia Owens

26. The Guest List-Lucy Foley

27. Sex and Vanity-Kevin Kwan

28. Girl with the Dragon Tattoo-Steig Larsson

29. A Hundred Little flames-Preethi Shenoy

30. Hunting Party-Lucy Foley

31. Verity-Colleen Hoover

32. The Perfect Roommate-Minka Kent

33. The Dutch House-Ann Pachett

34. The Girl Who Played with Fire-Steig Larsson

35. The Book Thief-Markus Zusak

36. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest-Steig Larsson

37. I See You-Clare Mackintosh

38. After the End-Clare Mackintosh

39. The Night Circus-Erin Morgenstern

40. Pieces of Her-Karin Slaughter

41. Circe-Madeline Miller

42. Forty Rules of Love-Elif Shafak

43. Daddy's Girl-Danielle Steel

44. Anxious People-Fredrik Backman

45. Evidence of the Affair-Taylor Jenkins Reid

46. Blue Umbrella-Ruskin Bond

47. Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo-Taylor Jenkins Reid

48. The Thirteenth Tale-Diane Setterfield

49. Beartown-Fredrik Backman

50. The Midnight Library-Matt Haig 

Sultan-Film Review

Film: Sultan

Director: Ali Abbas Zafar

Cast: Salman Khan, Anushka Sharma, Amid Sadh, Anant Sharma, Randeep Hooda

Year: 2016

We have never been a fan of Salman Khan and couldn't understand why people go gaga over him. Honestly he comes third in the much coveted Holy Trinity of 'Khan'. The last movie we genuinely liked of him was Bajrangi Bhaijaan. However, that didn't encourage us to go and watch his next 'Prem Ratan Dhan Payo'. Surprisingly when we did we liked that film as well. So, we decided to give 'Sultan' a try this time.

Plot: Aakash Oberoi's brain child private freestyle wrestling league, called Pro Take Down has lost its popularity. His father advises him to get an Indian wrestler to the ring and suggests 'Sultan Ali Khan's name. He travels to Haryana and meets sultan who turns down his offer outrightly. Now with no other option he approaches Govind, Sultan's friend for details. Here the story goes to flashback of eight years.

Sultan, a cable TV operator of 'Mehbooba and Mehboba' falls in love with Aarfa, a state level wrestler and daughter of local wrestling coach. She a Delhi educated girl and her only dream is to win Olympic gold medal. Understanding that Aarfa will only marry wrestler, Sultan decides to become a wrestler and succeeds at becoming a brilliant one. They get married in no time and both represent India in various games. Sultan goes on to win Olympic gold medal, however, Aarfa couldn't despite being selected to play for India due to her pregnancy. Success goes to his head slowly and he starts taking everything for granted. A tragedy hits when he returns home winning World Wrestling Champion. Aarfa leaves him and he decides to stay away from ring as redemption.  Though Aakash convince Sultan to return to wrestling as a way to fulfill his dream, it is not an easy feast. Will cynic coach Fateh able to help him? What is the reason Aarfa drifted away from him? Will he able to win the game as well as Aarfa in the end?

WeReflect: Although a very average, predictable story, it is gripping and entertaining. There is not a single boring moment where your mind wanders off the screen. It has humor, drama, emotion, love, and action. Anath Sharma who plays Salman's friend is brilliant. One of the highlights is the music. We loved almost all songs, however, Bulleya and Jag Ghoomeya" are the tune to stay on.

For the first time we felt Salman Khan act too. He carried off the role of Sultan as a smitten lover, grieving husband, hardcore wrestler to the T. A scene where he takes off his shirt in front of a mirror and breaks down after seeing the paunch and his repeated attempts to put back on the shirt was just superb. We couldn't control saying "Well done boy! His hard work really shows off in the movie. The chemistry between him and Anushka is endearing. Ms. Sharma is very good as nothing less is expected of her. Though we wished her progressive character was not sidelined in the second half, just to brood and mop around.

All in all a entertainer which definitely leave a mark of its own. Life is all about fighting our own battle and never accepting defeat.

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo-Book Review

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Book: The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo

Author: Taylor Jenkins Reid

Genre: Historical Fiction

Year: 2017

“People think that intimacy is about sex. But intimacy is about truth. When you realize you can tell someone your truth, when you can show yourself to them, when you stand in front of them bare and their response is 'you're safe with me'- that's intimacy.”-Taylor Jenkins Reid

If I like literary work of some authors I have the tendency to pick books of the same. Taylor Jenkins Reid is one such author.

'Smash the patriarchy, sweetheart" author tells her daughter in dedication and our protagonist single handedly does it.

WeReflect: Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo is a story of a geriatric Hollywood superstar who decides to give an interview to lesser know journalist Monique Grant. Everyone is surprised of the choice including Monique. In her swanky Upper East side apartment Evelyn tells her story starting from her Cuban origin, her well-thought escape from Hell's Kitchen to her slow and steady entry into LA scene in the 1970s to becoming the scandalous reigning queen of Hollywood to her voluntary retirement in the 1980's. And as the title suggests her 'seven' husbands along the way.

The immediate actress came to my mind when I heard the number seven was Elizabeth Taylor. The story drives home Evelyn's ruthless ambition, fame, forbidden love, and scandalous life.

Evelyn is a character who does not shy away from getting what she wants and will go to any extent to achieve that. She is unapologetic about the life she lead. She is brash, she is flashy, she is manipulative, she is very much real. She married seven times, but they are just husbands. Who was the love of her life among them? Why did she choose Monique for the interview?

Though I was trying to solve the puzzle at the beginning, it drew off my attention as progressed. And I was amazed to find the twist. Along the interview Monique draws strength from Evelyn's character to take few decisions pertaining to her marriage and career.

An easy read. I liked it better than TJR's Daisy Jones & The Six.

Chhalaang-Film Review

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Film: Chaalaang

Director: Hansal Mehta

Year: 2020

Streaming Platform: Amazon

Starring: Rajkumar Rao, Nushratt Bharuccha, Mohammad Zeeshan Ayyub, Sathish Kaushik, Sourabh Shukla

"A teacher's job is to teach. Anyone can take a student who gets 90% to 100%, but if you can take a student who gets 10% to 40%, then that's some achievement"

While reading an interview of Hansal Mehta we came to know about his next directorial venture Chhalaang with his muse Rajkumar Rao. What piqued the interest was the genre. It was a detour from Mehta's previous work.

WeReflect: Chhalaang is story of Montu who becomes a PT teachers in his old school with his father's recommendation. He has zero interest in that job. He is a habitual quitter of everything from science to LLB to state level championship. Moral policing the young lovers is his part-time job. He gets infatuated and develops friendship with newly appointed computer teacher Neelima (Bharuccha). Everything was working fine until the principal (Ila Arun) of the school appoints more qualified Singh (Zeeshan) as PT teacher. Singh also befriends Neelima that infuriates Montu. Singh's method to train the children was harsh and ruthless. Insecure Montu challenges Singh for triple round competition between his Student and Singh's. Who wins the game? Will Montu be able to take that proverbial leap?

It's not hard to guess the ending. The story is funny and have you in splits in certain scenes. Mehta's subtly taunts the establishment. For example take the Romeo squad who roams around targeting young. Performance by Rao, Shukla, and Kaushik is brilliant as usual. Bharuccha has nothing new to offer, though her character is pretty straight forward. It falls short if you compare it to Mehta's other works. It's rather unjust to do so considering the genre. The film is simple, funny, and easy to watch. Yes, the story is predictable and old. That is the beauty of it. It is an art to hold audience's attention with the age old formula. If you are looking for something intense watch Hansal Mehta's web series Scam 1992.

The Dutch House-Book Review

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Title: The Dutch House

Author: Ann Prachett

Genre: Historical

Year: 2019

“Mothers were the measure of safety, which meant that I was safer than Maeve. After our mother left, Maeve took up the job on my behalf but no one did the same for her.”

This is my first book of Ann Prachett. The novel was in run for Pultizer prize in fiction category 2020. I'm usually skeptical picking up the award winning type books. I assumed it to be of horror genre seeing the cover and title. And I was in for a surprise, what a pleasant surprise it was.

WeReflect: Maeve and Danny Conroy, extremely close siblings live in a mansion with their father in Philadelphia. The palatial Dutch House was brought by Cyril Conroy as a gift to his wife, Elna. After the end of Second World War 2, Cyril ventures into real estate and creates a great deal wealth for the family. The events set into motion when their mother leaves them to help the downtrodden.

Andrea with her two daughters soon enters their life. And in no time becomes their step-mother. With untimely death of their father Andrea gets hold of the entire Conroy business as per will and Danny was kicked out of Dutch House. Maeve was already financially independent working for a Philadelphia produce company. The siblings slowly get used to the less privileged life heavily depending on each other. Fortunately a trust fund was set aside for Danny's education. He finishes medical school from Columbia University just to keep Maeve happy. However, his heart is set on real estate just like his father. His career path takes in that direction bringing him enough success. He marries Celeste and has two children with her. When Maeve has heart attack their absentee mother shows up to care for. Are children ready to forgive their mother for abandonment? What happens to Andrea and her kids? Who owns 'The Dutch House' in the end?

The story is narrated by Danny that oscillates between different timeline. He often ponders overs his early childhood memories relating to the house. Starting in early 1940s, the tale spins for another five decades. 

Being an elder sister to a brother I could easily relate with Maeve, the fiercely protective and never stops being a mother to him. Danny on the other hand adores and idolizes his sister. The siblings found home in each other while being deserted by the elders. And their obsession with the house is comical at times when they park their car across the house, gazing at it, recalling fond and painful memories related to that. The strong bond between them is truly endearing and that is focal point. I fail to relate to the character Elna Conroy who abandons her young children to serve the helpless and needy. Sandy, Jocelyn and Fiona are three charming characters who watch over the children like fairies. The writing was absorbing and crisp. As a matter of fact there is nothing new in the story. That simplicity itself makes it a good piece of work.

The Dutch House is a story about family, loss, grief, forgiveness and hope. I will definitely check out Ann Patchett's other literally work in the coming days.

Evidence of The Affair-Short Story Review

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Title: Evidence of Affair

Author: Taylor Jenkins Reid

Year: 2018

“It is funny the crazy things our brains make up to save us from the truth.”

I was not very keen on reading short stories. I would rather invest my time and emotion reading a lengthy novel where I could truly connected to characters and be part of their journey. And I felt these category are abrupt and unsatisfying. However, R.K. Narayan, Ruskin Bond, Tagore, O'Henry, Edgar Allan Poe and many others changed my perception in due course.

Having liked Taylor Jenkins Reid's Daisy Jones & The Six in the beginning of the year it was an easy pick when recommended social media.

WeReflect: In December 1976 Ms. Carrie Allsop writes to Mr. David Mayer after finding out about extramarital affair between her husband Ken Allsop and Mrs. Janet Mayer. She asks him a favour to send letters written by her husband to his wife if he could find any. And she offers to return the favour by sending his wife's letter. In this totally bizarre and awkward situation they continue corresponding. They are hesitant to confront their respective spouse's despite having solid evidence of their infidelity. Who could understand their situation better than each other. In no time they develop a friendship. Will they be able to forgive their spouses? Will their friendship elevates into something equally sordid?

The complete story is narrated in letter forms. Most correspondences are between Carrie and David. And some are of the illicit lovers. I was able to finish the novella well within an hour. The shock, anger, hurt, low self-worth and self-confidence one feel being cheated on is written poignantly. Despite the betrayal there is still hope and joy paving way for a happy future is the essence. I have seen the end coming. Since it is an epistolary the time line had to be 1970s, otherwise who writes physical letters in this age. This simple short story was perfectly able to convey what sometimes full blown novel fail to do.

Still I Rise-Poem Review

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Poem: Still I Rise

Book: And Still I Rise

Year: 1978

Poet: Maya Angelou

"You may write me down in history

With your bitter, twisted lies,

You may trod me in the very dirt

But still, like dust, I'll rise.

Does my sassiness upset you?

Why are you beset with gloom?

’Cause I walk like I've got oil wells

Pumping in my living room.

Just like moons and like suns,

With the certainty of tides,

Just like hopes springing high,

Still I'll rise.

Did you want to see me broken?

Bowed head and lowered eyes?

Shoulders falling down like teardrops,

Weakened by my soulful cries?

Does my haughtiness offend you?

Don't you take it awful hard

’Cause I laugh like I've got gold mines

Diggin’ in my own backyard.

You may shoot me with your words,

You may cut me with your eyes,

You may kill me with your hatefulness,

But still, like air, I’ll rise.

Does my sexiness upset you?

Does it come as a surprise

That I dance like I've got diamonds

At the meeting of my thighs?

Out of the huts of history’s shame

I rise

Up from a past that’s rooted in pain

I rise

I'm a black ocean, leaping and wide,

Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.

Leaving behind nights of terror and fear

I rise

Into a daybreak that’s wondrously clear

I rise

Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,

I am the dream and the hope of the slave.

I rise

I rise

I rise.

WeReflect: Reading poetry was never my thing in the past. I needed a tune to like anything poetic or lyrical. The poem that made me to sit up and take notice was "Still I Rise" by Maya Angelou. Her powerful quotes have never failed to motivate. It always helped me to think independently.

Being a civil rights activist poet narrates she doesn't care what twisted lies society tells about her. Even when an oppressor walks all over her she has the spunk to get back on her feet. She questions whether her success, sex appeal, arrogance and happiness troubles the oppressor.  She lets her tormentor know that she cannot be bogged down with verbal abuse or offensive looks. Even the hatefulness can't defeat her.

It's in her bone to stand up against the oppressor just like how tides respond to moon and sun. She is certain yet questions the society if they would be happy to see a black woman broken, defeated, bitter and sad. She has a painful past. She calls slavery as history's shame. And she intends to leave behind all of it, the terror and fear. She would not let any of it to stop her from doing what she wants to achieve. In Still I Rise she makes a bold statement of not allowing the vile society to dictate her life, independence, or success. And encouraging others to do the same.

Being an advocate of equal rights and feminist this poem struck a chord right from the word go. Despite enduring worst of life a person can rise above everything with the right spirit and the poem inspires to do so. No wonder this poem was recited by Nelson Mandela at his inauguration as first post- apartheid president of South Africa after being imprisoned for 24 years.

Scam 1992-Web Series Review

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Web Show: Scam 1992

Language: Hindi

Genre: Drama

Episodes: 10

Director: Hansal Mehta

Cast: Pratik Gandhi, Shreya Dhanwanthary, Hemant Kher, Chirag Vohra, Rajat Kapoor

Streaming: Sony LIV

"Risk Hai Toh Ishq Hai"

We're appreciator of Hansal Mehta's work. The films like Dus Kahaniyaan, Shahid, City Lights, Aligarh, and 

Omerta were not commercially successful. We have stopped believing the box office hits guarantee a good movie. If you've not already watched the above-movies then you must. We were in the middle of binging Tales from the Loop. And during a conversation we heard glowing praise for Scam 1992 from brother.

We remember hearing about Harshad Mehta in dinner-table conversation while we were very young. The Scam 1992 is about him. A stockbroker who climbed the ladder of Bombay Stock Exchange and manipulated the money market to 24,000 crore scam.

WeReflect: This periodic drama is set in the 80s and 90s of Bombay. The first half sets the narrative of Harshad leaving his sales job to join a stock brokerage to be a jobber and his steady growth from rags to riches.  The second half is about his gradual fall from grace.  Sucheta Dalal, the financial journalist at Times of India is the one who investigated and uncovered the shady financial irregularities of Harshad. In fact the web-series is based on the book 'The Scam: Who Won, Who Lost, Who Got Away' by Sucheta Dalal and Debashish Basu. 

Understanding the financial lingo is quite tedious and challenging for a common man. All those details are simplified right from the beginning with a word BR (Bank Receipts). A great deal of research went to create this otherwise tough subject. The creators were smart enough not to take any sides. Here the protagonist is not a magnanimous megalomaniac, just you average Joe. Those were the days when journalism was about investigation, publishing with evidence backed by documents to verify. Sucheta Dalal's character tells us good journalism matters.

A round of applause to the casting director for selecting amazing actors, lead as well as supporting.  Though the creator was unbiased we could not help but root for Harshad to get away from all the charges.  We could hear ourselves suggesting Harshad to stop being greedy, you've made enough. And shaking our heads in distress when he goes ahead rigging the market. The sole reason for our deep involvement is Pratik Gandhi, the man who played Harshad. Now even the real Harshad Mehta cannot replace our image. He breathes into the character and totally owns it. This theater actor is here to stay for a very long time. Hope Indian cinema would not stereotype this versatile artist. While scrolling down his insta we came to know he has put on 18 kilos for this role. 

Shreya Dhanwantary as Sucheta Dalal is brilliant. Special mention to Hemant Kher who played Harshad's brother Ashwin Mehta to the T. Seeing Rajat Kapoor as a tough CBI officer is a treat. Satish Kaushik as foul-mouthing Manu Mundra, Chirag Vohra as Bhushan Bhatt, Faisal Rashid as Debasish Basu and rest of the cast were amazing. The bond between Mehta brothers is heart-touching and beautiful.

Biased we maybe we don't to watch the upcoming "The Big Bull" where Abhishek Bacchan plays Harshad. We are loyal to Pratik that way.    

WeReflect Rating: Highly recommended

Ki & Ka-Film Review

Film: Ki & Ka

Director: R. Balki

Cast: Kareena Kapoor, Arjun Kapoor, Rajit Kapoor, Swaroop Sampat

Year: 2016

With a catchy name and having liked R. Balki's earlier three movies, Ki & Ka didn't disappoint us; however, we could not say we liked it wholeheartedly.

Plot: Kia, a marketing manager at an FMCG company aims to excel in her career and refuses to be just a supporting system to her husband. Kabir, son of a rich builder and a B-School topper wants to be a house-husband (rather artist) like his mother. They meet on a flight to Chandigarh and they hit it off immediately. After a couple of dates, they decide to get married when Kabir promises to look after the house as a house-husband. The arrangement works fine for the newly-weds.

In a sudden turn of events, Kabir's gets immense popularity and media coverage for his role as house-husband, which makes Kia insecure and jealous. From here, the relationship goes downhill. It does not take a genius to predict what happens next.

WeReflect: It is a new concept in Bollywood, although we're not sure it is the original one. We vaguely remember watching Kannada movie, Ammavra Ganda starring Shivarajkumar and Bhagyashree (Maine Pyar Kiya fame) on the same line. The concept is of the role reversal. The first and foremost, we couldn't understand why Kia is jealous of Kabir's success or popularity when it is nowhere connected to her line of profession. If it is so, it would have been justified. Kia is shown as an ambitious and determined woman who succumbs to the emotion of jealousy and insecurity so easily. In a hurry to break the stereotype, the director just backed up the theory of "women are envious and resentful". Here Kabir goes a little overboard with his progressive thinking speech and deed. The cameo of Amitabh Bachchan and Jaya Bachchan is endearing, yet we are astonished and confused to know why and for what Jaya Bachchan praises Kia in a note.

It is depicted beautifully how the power dynamics lies in the hand of the bread winner and how the society as a whole looks down upon the house-wife/house-husband. There is a fight scene which is forced upon or rather film maker wanted us to believe our hero is really a macho and a gentleman.

Arjun Kapoor is quite cute and adorable as Kabir. Kareena Kapoor is alright as Kia, at least she get to do something more than just being in a 100-Crore movie club. The chemistry between them is refreshing.

The first half is pretty upbeat and swift. The downside is the the second half, which moves in a snail pace and the climax! Surely they could have come up with much better and touching end rather than the same old stupid flight scene. Nonetheless, it conveys the message of partnership in marriage and how it can flourish when both Ki & Ka appreciate each other's contribution in the institute of marriage.

Last Sacrifice-Book Review

Title: Last Sacrifice

Author: Rachelle Mead

Genre: Young adult dark fantasy

"My death will not be penciled on someone's calendar"

Rose Hathway is imprisoned for the murder of Moroi Queen, Tatiana. And if proven guilty in trial the punishment is death. Her friends manage to break the prison with her father's help. She is now on the run with Dimitri and Sidney (the alchemist from Blood Promise). Even though Rose was instructed to stay put, she couldn't keep idle while she has Queen Tatiana's letter concerning Lissa's illegitimate sister/brother. Sonya Karp (her previous teacher) is the only lead to finding out their whereabouts who is a Strigoi now. Lissa is encouraged to run for Queen's election to bid more time to prove Rose's innocence. Dashkov brothers visit Rose in dream and reluctantly she accepts them to be part of the plan. Will they be able to locate Lissa's illegitimate brother/sister?  Will Lissa and friends be able to catch the real murderer? Will Lissa be able to win the election? What is the 'Last Sacrifice' and who makes it?

WeReflect:  Last sacrifice is the sixth and last book in Vampire Academy series.  The conclusion part of any series is exciting and sad. The mixed feeling because you want to know what happens yet don't want it to end.  The writing is simple and crisp; however Dimitri-Rose-Adrian triangle continued to annoy me to no end. We knew from the beginning Adrian is a collateral damage in the Rose-Dimitry's holier-than-thou love story just like Jacob in Twilight Saga. The bond between them is non-palpable, dwindling, and almost hilarious. I was anticipating a thrilling Strigoi battle which was common in almost all five books. I was disappointed to say the least. The Whodunit part was average as is the last sacrifice.

Although I am happy about the ending, I was hoping Rose will choose a different path rather than just ordinary considering her feisty and kick-ass nature. There are so many unsettled issues left just at that, which we may hope to find in spin-off 'Bloodline' series. I think I will give it a break and pick some other books for now.

Dum Lagake Haisha-Film Review

Film: Dum Lagake Haisha

Director:  Sharat Katariya

Cast: Ayushmann Khurrana, Bhumi Pednekar, Sanjay Mishra, Sheeba Chaddha

Year: 2015

We'are very late in reviewing this amazing movie. Produced by Yash Raj Films and directed by Sharat Kataria starring Ayushman Khurrana and debutante Bhumi Pednekar.

Spoilers alert ahead. The story set in the 90s in the temple town of Haridwar. An average Joe, Prem with no qualification or talent with an overbearing father runs a cassette shop. He is a die-hard Kumar Sanu fan as he was quite a rage in the 90s. Prem is forced to marry an educated, but overweight Sandhya who aspires to be a teacher. His disinterest in marriage is palpable from the beginning and both sets of parents worry about the future of their relationship. Taking the advice of her mother, Sandhya tries to seduce Prem and couple consummates their marriage. At a function, Prem insults Sandhya in front of everybody, so she leaves him and goes to her parent's home. Being a headstrong woman she applies for divorce. But they are asked to live together for 6 months on court's order. Here again Prem is pressurized to participate in town's annual competition "Dum Lagake Haisha where husband has to carry the wife on shoulder in a race and to over come all the hurdles. Will they participate? Will they win? Will their marriage survive? Well you got to see the movie for that.

WeReflect: Ayushman Khurrana is natural as a clueless and helpless man. It is a delight to watch him emote. Sanjay Mishra as Prem's interfering father is endearing. All other characters make their presence worthwhile. But it is Bhumi Pednekar who steals the show and carries the movie on her shoulder. Her role as Sandhya is a woman of substance. She is educated and it is implied she is going to be financially independent too. That is the main reason for this alliance in the first place. She takes no-nonsense from her husband or in-laws. She knows how to take charge. Our favourite scene where she throws her brother's stuff out of her room, which was occupied by him when she moved out after marriage. She refused to believe her home is not her's anymore after marriage.

It is a breath of fresh air to come from Yash Raj films who for decades endorsed Swiss Alps, chiffon sarees, and drop-dead gorgeous heroines. It is a simple story which tackles many stereotypes effortlessly. Feminist in us is very happy to see an unconventional strong woman character on screen. It takes you back to 90's of cassettes, songs recording, VCP era. As a kid who grew in 90s we can relate to it very well. Make time for it. 

Quantico-TV Show Review

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TV Show: Quantico

Season: Season One (First Order)

Genre: Drama Thriller

Starring: Priyanka Chopra, Josh Hopkins, Jake McLaughlin, Yasmine Al Massri

We have finished watching the first order in season one of Quantico. The single most thing draw us to watch this thriller TV show is Priyanka Chopra. This is our "Desi" girl's international debut and PC must be the first Indian to lead in an American series.

WeReflect: The plot bounces back and forth, wherein at present Alex Parrish (Priyanka Chopra), a newly recruited FBI agent finds herself to be the prime suspect in the New York's Grand Central Station terror attack. This is seen as the worst terror strike since 9/11. When brought in for investigation, Alex learns that the perpetrator of bombing and framing her is one of her fellow trainees from academy, Quantico. And that is the past where Alex's fellow recruiters and other characters are introduced to us. Now running away from authorities, she has to prove her innocence and the real culprit must be brought to book.

Shelby Wyatt, a wealth heiress and Alex's best friend; Simon Asher, a Jewish who pretends to be a gay and has spent considerable amount of time in Gaza; Nimah/Raina, twins brought in by Miranda Shaw as one; Caleb Haas with connections; Ryan Booth, undercover agent and Alex's love interest; Natalie Vasquez, Alex's rival in academy are important batch-mates of Alex's.

In the academy, the first task is to find secrets about their classmates. Alas, each candidate either is related to middle east in someway or killed somebody. Alex herself killed her father in self defense and she is haunted by it. Like her, each and every character has a deep, dark, ugly past. In another task, Alex Parish is the first one to solve the case in the entire FBI history. Duh! we mean, we get it. She is super intelligent, but first in FBI history? 

The story line is far-fetched, mishmash of Bourne series and The Recruit. It is exaggerated most of the time and seriously we did not get connect to any characters. Nonetheless, the pace is pretty fast and brisk. The two things that glued us are; one it is a classic "Whodunit" and a strand of suspects tossed around, our curious self must know it; the second is Piggy Chops.

We do not belong to "typical" Priyanka Chopra fanclub; however, we applaud her success. She plays a role of intelligent, bold, smart, and kick-ass agent, which is well-thought and well-written. She easily steals the show with her energy and zeal. She gets to do a lot of steamy  scenes, which we are deprived of in her Bollywood movies. Her accent in the show made twitteraties go frenzy; but we felt she managed it pretty decently, not like our desi fake-ass accented people. She is the first South Asian Actress to win a People's Choice Award for Quantico. Clearly, this girl made her mark in both sides of Atlantic.

Spirit Bound-Book Review

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Title: Spirit Bound

Author: Rachel Mead

Genre: Young Adult Dark Fantasy

"Salvation has its price. The words stunned Adrian for a moment, but he kept going. "You're lying. What you're describing is impossible. There's no way to save a Strigoi. When they're gone, they're gone. They're dead. Undead. Forever."

WeReflect: After tedious and disturbing journey to Siberia, Rose Hathway is now back in St. Vladimir's Academy and given a chance to finish her graduation. However, Dimitri gave Rose the ultimate choice. But she chose wrong. Though a little wary about the plot being slow, I started this one immediately nonetheless. My curiosity is on peak to know whether Strigoi can be really turned back to their original form.

Rose Hathway takes pre-graduation trial and passes with flying colors. Now Lissa plans to go to regular college near Royal court. Rose toys with the idea of being a guardian to her royal friend. Before she could do that, she has another duty to fulfill. She steals important prison files and sneaks out of court with Lissa and Eddie. Here they hatch a plan to break the maximum security prison in Alaska to free their enemy Vicort Dashkov and succeeds. In return Victor leads them to his brother, Robert, the only spirit user who knows how to restore Strigoi. In Las Vegas, Lissa gains theoretical knowledge of how to restore a Strigo with spirit infused stake; however, Rose is completely against this idea for the fear of Lissa's safety.  Adrian joins them and is pretty miffed on Rose's attempt to stay connected to Dimitri. Here, they are attacked by Dimitri and a bunch of Strigois. Losing Victor and Robert in the chaos, they return to the royal court. Rose is punished for endangering the Moroi and put on rigorous physical labor as a disciplinary measure. Dimitri then kidnaps Lissa and Christian as a bait for Rose. Rose leads other guardians to their hide out with an intent to kill. A battle ensues between guardians and Strigois. Will she succeeds killing Dimitri this time? Will Lissa be able to turn him in to a Dhampir? What is the changing political dimensions in Moroi society? 

The most irking thing in this book is the love triangle between Dimitri-Rose-Adrian. Rose is heartbroken and devastated by Dimitri's presumed/assumed death, which turns out to be false, thanks to his threatening love letters. At the beginning of the book, she is Adrian's new girlfriend. Yet, she leaves on a mission to find a way to save her ex-boyfriend. All is good. But she uses Adrian's credit card everywhere to further her goals. I am starting to lose respect for the well-established character here. I understand writer's intent to keep the romance, passion, eternal love alive for young adults. And why Adrian lets himself to be treated as a doormat? However, I loved Rose's gutsy argument with Queen when she decides to stand up for all Dhampirs on underage decree. As usual, the book ended in massive cliff-hanger. Fortunately I have the next book on hand and I'm already on it.

Maasan-Film Review

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Film: Maasan

Director: Neeraj Ghaywan

Star Cast: Sanjay Mishra, Richa Chadda, Vicky Kaushal, Shweta Tripathi

Year: 2015

If we get to choose two best movies of 2015, Maasan is one among two, the other one is Kaaka Muttai. This review was long due because we got ourselves busy in accomplishing other to-do things of the year.

WeReflect: Set in the holy town of Varanasi, two stories run paralally.  First, Devi's (Richa Chadda) sexual encounter is busted by cops that leads to her lover committing suicide in the bathroom of the dingy hotel room. This mishap drags her father, Vidhyadhar Pathak (Sanjay Mishra) into vicious web of blackmailing done by a corrupt, menacing police officer.

Second, Deepak(Vicky Kaushal), a young, lower-caste boy whose family works in ghat cremating dead bodies. He is pursuing civil engineering and dreams of a better life. He falls in love with an upper-caste girl, Shaalu(Shwetha Tripathi). Not willing to succumb to social hierarchy, Shaalu reassures her commitment towards the relationship. Here the fate mocks at them pretty cruelly.

Chadda plays a headstrong woman, who is neither afraid nor regretful, takes on the societal snide remarks and smirks single-handedly. She wants to move out of this small town, quoting "small place, small mentality". She is educated, wants to pursue higher studies, financially independent who refuse to take all blames on herself for an act committed by two.

Sanjay mishra is phenomenal playing Devi's father, a retired teacher/shopkeeper from conservative background, scared of being scandalized.  He compromises on his values by sending young kid working for him into a dangerous game of coin-collecting from the Ganges. He and his daughter have their own issues even though that is a matter of past now regarding the circumstance in which wife/mother died respectively. 

The amateur love blooming between young couple melts your heart. Friend request in Facebook, the long bike ride, late night phone conversation, coyness are sure to make you to walk down the memory lane. The sweetness between Deepak and Shwetha is top-notch. And the immense pain of losing the loved one will have you in tears.

It is unbelievable it is director's debut movie. The performance is extraordinary by each and everyone. Kudos to the casting team for this. An electrifying performance by Sanjay Mishra as an hapless father. He is not an actor, he is natural. Varanasi is picturized beautifully especially the ghat part. It is not an easy movie to watch. It compels you to think about love, loss, greed, fear, guilt, and most importantly death. It touches serious issues of sexual oppression, casteism, gender discrimination, and death on many levels.

Do yourself a favour. Watch this awe-inspiring movie for its sheer brilliance and heart-touching story.

PS: When we heard Sooraj Pancholi won Filmfare best debutant award, we were befuddled whether to cry or laugh. Vicky Kaushal of Maasan truly deserves the award, nonetheless he has won million hearts with intense performance.

Shadow Kiss-Book Review

 

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Title: Shadow Kiss

Author: Rachel Mead

Genre: Young Adult Dark Fantasy

'I set off, off to kill the man I love"

Blurb: Rose knows it is forbidden to love another guardian. Her best friend, Lissa - the last Dragomir princess - must always come first. Unfortunately, when it comes to gorgeous Dimitri Belikov, some rules are meant to be broken...

WeReflect: "Shadow Kiss" is the third novel written by Rachel Mead in the Vampire Academy Series. These books are my second series in Young-Adult paranormal fantasy after 'Twilight', which I loved despite many negative reviews. The first two books in the series (Vampire Academy and Frost Bite) I completed last year. The mistake I made was watching the film adaptation and boy, it was no where near to the book. The main thing missing in the film was chemistry between Rose and Dimitri that is so volatile and palpable throughout the books. I decided to give it a break and moved on to other books.  And, I almost forgot about them until last week when I was organizing the shelf. Here I picked this up and once again pulled in to the vampire world.

Three important things to understand here are; Moroi, Strigoi, and Dhampirs. Moroi, vampires that are born, mortal, and alive. Strigoi are undead, immortal, and made. Humans, Dhampirs, and Moroi can be turned Strigoi forcibly. Dhampirs are half-human and half-vampire. They are trained to be guardians of the Moroi to fight against Strigoi.

Rose Hathway is a Dhampir, a bodyguard for her best friend, Vasilissa, a Moroi vampire princess. They have been on the run, but are brought back to St. Vladimir's academy. A lot has happened since then. Now Rose is about to complete her graduation and be a permanent guardian to Lisa along with Dimitri. She had earned two Molnija tattoos for killing two Strigois in the "Forstbite". In contrast to her reckless and impulsive self, Rose tries to be more grounded and responsible. Her misery starts after seeing ghosts of Mason (her rumored boyfriend); Lisa's experimentation with magic using fifth element, spirit with Adrian; dealing with Adrian's advancement; possibility of their enemy, Victor Dashkov being free; and her feelings for Dimitri, her trainer that is frowned up and forbidden.

The reading is breezy, simple, and holds your attention. I'm just halfway through it and already knew it is going to be wonderful. Why it won't be when it has romance, action, magic, and suspense.

Open and Shut-Book Review

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Title: Open and Shut
Author: David Rosenfelt
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Genre: Legal Mystery
Publication Year: 2002

Open and Shut-a legal mystery by David Rosenfelt and first in the Andy Carpenter series. I'm a sucker for high voltage courtroom drama and legal thrillers. It could be one of the reasons I fell in love with a lawyer among million other reasons.

Blurb-Whether dueling with new forensics or the local old boys' network, irreverent defense attorney Andy Carpenter always leaves them awed with his biting wit and winning fourth-quarter game plan. But Andy prefers the company of his best friend, Tara, to the people he encounters in the courtroom. Tara, a golden retriever, is clearly smarter than half the lawyers who clog the courts of Passaic County. However, just as it seems Andy has everything figured out, his dad, New Jersey's legendary ex-D.A., drops dead in front of him at a game in Yankee Stadium. The shocks pile on as he discovers his dad left him with two unexpected legacies: a fortune of $22 million that Andy never knew existed and a murder case with enough racial tinder to burn down City Hall. Struggling to serve justice and bring honor to his father, Andy must dig up some explosive political skeletons and an astonishing family secret that can close his case (and his mouth) for good.

WeReflect:  Andy's father (former DA) urges him to appeals for a death row inmate, Willie Miller, whom he prosecuted 7 years ago. Willie was convicted for the murder of Denise McGregor, young reporter in a dark alley behind the bar where he works.

Andy's father dies leavening him an astounding fortune of 22 million dollars, which Andy is totally unaware of. He also stumbles upon a picture of his father along with three other men neatly tucked away for almost 35 years old. This almost coincides with crediting of 2 million dollars in his father's account, unused, now has grown into 22 million.

On personal front, he is separated from his wife, Nicole, daughter of senator and childhood friend of his father's, Philip Gant. He is currently dating his private investigator, Laurie Collins. After his father's death, Nicole returns in an attempt to save their marriage. It creates friction between Andy and Laurie, who still continues to be his investigator.

As he builds a defense in Willie's case, he was threatened, being set up as a pimp (the courtroom scene had me in splits), beaten up in his office, and a murder attempt. These events further convince him of Willie's innocence. Who wants desperately to put an end to this case? Is there a real connection between the photo and the killer? Will Andy be successful in proving his client 'Not Guilty'? Will he be able to save his marriage? Need to read the book for that right?

Truth unravels in a rattling way. I was able to guess whodunit, but not the motive. It is racy, edgy, and perfectly fit the bill of legal mystery-thriller. The story runs in first person narration and gives insight into the protagonist's nature. Andy is a dog lover and has a cute golden retriever, Tara whom he calls the best dog in the world. Their chemistry and relationship is very endearing. He is quirky, witty, and sarcastic to the core. He will go to any extent to save his client. He is die-hard baseball fan, so there are a lot of references to them, which was kind of getting on my nerves. Andy is undoubtedly most likable character than any of Grisham's.

The supporting characters like Laurie, Kevin, Edna, Pete Stanton are very well portrayed. It has brusque and caustic humor; suspense; and right dosage of court drama. So what not to like? It is for certain a page-turner, gratifying, and has control over the readers. I have already got my hands on other Carpenter series. Need I say more.

PS: David Rosenfelt was nominated for Edgar award for best first novel by an American author.

Blood Promise-Book Review

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Title: Blood Promise
Author: Richelle Mead
Genre: Young adult dark fantasy

"Bound by love, But sworn to kill"

Blurb: The world thought Dimitri was dead. And to a certain extent, he was. But I hadn't been able to forget a conversation he and I had once had. We'd both agreed that we'd rather be dead - truly dead - than walk the world as Strigoi. It was time to honor our words.

After devouring 'Shadow Kiss', I moved on to the next in series 'Blood Promise' pretty quickly. As story sets in different country, I was hopeful for some action-packed drama with a little bit of romance and mystery.   

WeReflect:  Rose Hathway leaves St. Vladimir at the end of Shadow Kiss in search of Dimitri, the love of her life, now-turned Strigoi. Mason's ghost leads her to Siberia, which is Dimitri's hometown. She manipulated Adrian to sponsor her trip and other expenses on a promise that she will give him a fair chance when she returns. In St. Petersburg she meets a girl named Sydney, an alchemist who was ordered to accompany Rose to a Dhampir village. She meets Dimitri's family and bonds with them easily. A mysterious Moroi mobster pressurizes her to return to US. After falling out with Dimitri's sister, Rose goes off with unpromised Dhampirs to Novosibirsk to get a lead on Dimitri. In between, this group kills a lot of Stirgois and the news reaches Dimitri. He kidnaps her and gives her a choice to be awakened, that being turned into Strigoi.

A parallel story of Lisa, Adrian, Christian, and a new girl Avery in St. Vladimir runs through Rose's vision into Lisa's mind. Will Rose be able to keep her promise to Dimitri? That promise being to kill him if he ever turned into a Strigoi? Or her love for him and the desire to be with him forever wins? What is that twist at Lisa's end?

The book is slow in the beginning and picks its pace in later part. The most annoying thing is Rose and Dimitri's encounters narrated in flashbacks, which were not in the first three books. I know the writer has to maintain Dimitri's presence felt as he makes his appearance only in the second half. I loved how the story of Rose-Dimitri and Lisa-St.Vladimir moves alongside perfectly. There are few new characters added in the series like Sidney, Abe, Dimitri's family, Mark-Oksana (shadow-kissed couple), and others. Mead's writing is simple and elegant. I loved the ending and excited to start off the next one in the series. 

TE3N-Movie Review

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Film: TE3N
Director: Ribhu Dasgupta
Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Vidya Balan
Year: 2016
Language: Hindi

One of the reasons to pique our attention of this film is the way the title is written. Another surely is the star cast. It is not every day one get to see three good actors sharing screen space. The movie is inspired by the Korean movie "Montage".

WeReflect: John Biswas (Bachchan Sr) lives in Kolkata with his wheelchair-bound wife. He visits police station every day to find out about the kidnapper to whom he lost his granddaughter, Angela 8 years ago. Now he suddenly stumbles upon a clue that may lead him to the culprit. He goes to Father Martin Das (Siddiqui) for assistance who is a police office-turned-priest and the one who handled the Angela's case 8 years back. He is not thrilled about it, however, goes along with John as a mean of pacification.

In the meanwhile, another child is being kidnapped almost in the same manner as John's grand kid. Saritha (Balan) is in-charge of the case ans she seeks Martin's help because of his experience with prior case. Both the investigation runs parallel with flashbacks in between.

Performance by lead actors are solid. Vidya Balan's name is credited as guest appearance, though she has more presence than that. Has she done this film for free? Bacchan's performance is superb. It is nice to watch him in a very ordinary, middle class role. He is a man consumed by guilt of not being able protect his grandchild. His unwillingness to move on is a feat to watch. Siddiqui is natural and splendid as he usually is. 

We're presuming the title is for three people, a grandfather (who lost his granddaughter to kidnapping 8 years ago), police- officer-turned priest, and police office coming together to nab the kidnapper.

First 30 minutes of the film is tad bit slow. It gives an insight into how John and priest are interlinked with same tragedy.

Though we can give ourselves the credit of finding out "Whodunit" in the end we dismissed it and that is the beauty of a thriller. You keep speculating and proven wrong until the very end. The excitement, curiosity, and intrigue will keep you glued to the seat. We loved Bachchan's performance; however, could not shrug off comparing his role in Wazir, which is almost same.

Landline-Book Review

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Title: Landline
Author: Rainbow Rowell
Year: 2014
Genre: Sci-Fi Romance

Landline by Rainbow Rowell won Goodreads best fiction in 2014 and that is how I came to know about this book as well as the writer. This is author's fourth book and mine first.

Blurb: Georgie McCool knows her marriage is in trouble; it has been in trouble for a long time. She still loves her husband, Neal, and Neal still loves her, deeply—but that almost seems beside the point now. Maybe that was always beside the point. Georgie discovers a way to communicate with Neal in the past. It’s not time travel, not exactly, but she feels like she’s been given an opportunity to fix her marriage before it starts.

WeReflect: Georgie McCool gets an opportunity to have her own TV Show with a major broadcaster, which she has dreamt of and worked relentlessly with her friend, Seth of 20 years. Only glitch is she is all set to fly off to Omaha, Nebraska with her family to celebrate Christmas with her mother-in-law. She cancels the travel much to the chagrin of her husband Neal, who in return takes their two children and goes off to Omaha as planned. She finds herself alone and decides to crash at her mother's place until their return. Neal is not picking her calls, that worries her endlessly. She reminiscences about her 14 year of marriage during this time. Neal takes her call when she calls from her childhood landline and he is not the same Neal. It is the Neal of 1998 a week before his proposal. She wonders about having hallucinations. How she comes to terms with marriage? How she understands her marriage is falling apart?

Georgie is totally a unrelatable character. She is a comedy writer by profession, but could not make me smile even once. And Neal is a guy who hardly smiles and has a wasted dimples. He is selfish, mean, and jealous of her success. I don't understand why anyone wants to stay married to this guy even if he takes care of the house and children. Or may be that is the only reason she puts up with him as 90% mothers do. It is not clearly explained why she fell in love with him in the first place. Even though it is portrayed as Georgie having a successful career, all I can read is her grumbling and brooding. Neal and Georgie's relationship failed a big time here. Georgie's mother and sister's characters are little enjoyable though. 

I was bored after reaching 10th page. The story revolves around Georgie making call to her husband, going to work, coming back to her mother's place, and calling again from landline. Next day, again the same drill. I had to force myself to continue reading, and completing it is not a small task. I'm told the author's earlier works are much better, but I'm not in a mood to try them yet.