Language: English
Seasons: 6
Genre: Historical period drama
Starring: Hugh Bonneville, Jessica Brown Findlay, Laura Carmichael, Jim Carter, Brendan Coyle, Michelle Dockery, Maggie Smith
There is always a void and sadness when an epic show ends. I was unwilling to watch the grand finale of Downton Abbey. Tarun convinced me that we will watch it from the beginning after sometime. I'm sure many share our feelings. We have cried with it, laughed with it, have fallen in love with them, have lived with them.
WeReflect: Downton Abbey a historical period drama created by Julian Fellowes, a Baron and married to an heir. Who could tell a better story than him? I have read many historical novels, mostly of Barbara Cartland whose characters are always around noble men and women, but a drama in TV show, it is the first time.
Downton Abbey is set in fictional town of Yorkshire County Estate between the time period of 1912 and 1925. It depicts the story of Robert Crawley, 7th earl of Grantham, his American wife Cora, their three daughters (Mary, Edith, Sybil), and their near and dear ones. Simultaneously it follows the lives of their servants in downstairs.
The title and estate will go to male heir next in line because of the entail as Robert has three daughters and no son. He married American heiress, Cora with an intent to solve financial difficulties. Now that money is integrated to the entail. Elder daughter Lady Mary is betrothed to heir-presumptive who dies in RMS Titanic sinking. That makes Matthew Crawley, a lawyer from Manchester the new heir.
John Bates, Earl's new valet arrives in Downton. He has an adversary in Thomas Barrow who is determined to see Bates leave so he can go back to his position as valet. This is just the beginning. It is next to impossible to narrate the whole story.
The series involves major historic events like sinking of RMS Titanic, Suffragist, first world war, Spanish influenza pandemic, formation of Irish free state, Jallianwala Bagh massacre, UK's general election, etc.
It is about changing time and acceptances. Lady Sybil's marriage to family chauffeur, Tom Branson tells you about the class barrier. Lady Mary's almost scandalized one-night stand with Turkish ambassador and how she was called damaged goods by her mother gives glimpse of women's oppression. And not to forget Edith's unmarried status and later child out of wedlock. A gay character in the role of Thomas Barrow is most despised for his scheming nature.
Stunning sets, beautiful costumes, exquisite hair styles, crisp dialogue, gripping narration, splendid music, brilliant casting, and powerhouse of acting by each and every characters makes Downton an epic drama. I cannot decide which is my favorite role because I loved them all. However, the one role that entertained us the most was Violet Crawley, Dowager Countess of Granthm. And the the one character I look up to and inspire to be is Isobel crawley, widowed mother of Matthew Crawley. She is liberal, forward in thinking, appreciates the importance of education, and always trying to help the poor and destitute. As a trained nurse she works during first world war and later stars working for sex workers and holds her ground by employing one.
And Highclere castle is on our to-see list whenever we get the chance to visit UK. I highly recommend "Downton Abbey" if you love period drama and a stellar performance.
Movie: Raincoat
Director: Rituparno Ghosh
Starring: Ajay Devgan, Aishwarya Rai, Annu Kapoor
Year: 2004
Last evening it was raining and the conversation moved to Monsoon in our respective cities while growing up. We had multiple stories to ponder over raincoat. As mind wanders off all the time, it started recollecting the movie named "Raincoat" and how it warmed our heart. Adding to it is the pleasant, breezy, and cool Bangalore climate compelled us to jot down few lines. We have watched the film quite a while ago.
Directed by Rituparno Ghosh 'Raincoat' is the filmy adaptation of O'Henry's (William Sydney Porter) short story 'The Gift of the Magi'. Coincidentally we were reading 'O'Henry's 101 Short stories' during the lockdown.
WeReflect: The plot starts with newly unemployed Manu (Devgan) visiting Kolkota to pool money from friends to start a new business. Here he stays with his friend, Alok and his wife who is extremely considerate and helpful. Manu has another reason to be in Kolkota, which is to meet his ex, Neeru who is married and settled in this city now. On a rainy evening he visits her. The former couple starts conversing about old and current life.
Here both Manu and Neeru pretends to lead a happy and affluent life. Manu bluffs being a successful TV producer wherein Neeru spins off stories about her grand lifestyle, globetrotting husband, maids, chauffeurs, rich heritage. In between Neeru goes out to fetch food for Manu wearing his raincoat. Now enters the landlord (Anu Kapoor) and film takes a different turn. How their pretense comes off and how they realize hard realities of each other's life is what rest of the story is.
The on-screen chemistry of Ajay Devgan and Aishwarya Rai in Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam was beautiful. No, we didn't feel Salman-Aishwarya's pairing very appealing in that movie. Ajay Devgan's acting is intense, powerful, and he has sunk his teeth in to the role Manu. Aishwarya's appearance is pale, simple, and very much natural like any other house wives, nowhere near her drop-dead-gorgeous self. And this is the only film where we could appreciate her as an actor.
Almost entire film is shot in a single room and attention to detail is very well taken care of. The background music lingers throughout the movie. A lot of people dismiss this movie as an art film. And yes, we agree. We agree this is not a film, this is indeed an art, an art that weaves an elegant story with such intensity that it fills the heart with emotion and longings. It could be counted as one of the best love stories in Indian cinema if you ask us.
Title: After You
Author: Jojo Moyes
Genre: Adult Romance
“I loved a man who had opened up a world to me but hadn’t loved me enough to stay in it.”
Blurb: “You’re going to feel uncomfortable in your new world for a bit. But I hope you feel a bit exhilarated too. Live boldly. Push yourself. Don’t settle. Just live well. Just live. Love, Will.” How do you move on after losing the person you loved? How do you build a life worth living?
Louisa Clark is no longer just an ordinary girl living an ordinary life. After the transformative six months spent with Will Traynor, she is struggling without him. When an extraordinary accident forces Lou to return home to her family, she can’t help but feel she’s right back where she started.
WeReflect: I picked up this book without realizing there was a prequel to it. It is only halfway through the book I felt something is missing and I was right. "After You" indeed had a well-known prequel named "Me Before You" and a film adaptation too starring Khaleesi of GOT fame Emilia Clark. Now there are two options in front of me; one to order the first book, finish it off, and continue reading the second; another, just continue with the current book as a stand alone. And I chose the second option.
The story of Louisa Clark begins after 18 months of Will Trantor's death. Now she lives in a flat in east London, which she purchased from Will's money. She is stuck in a meaningless job at the city airport's pub. She keeps cold distance from her family. But an unfortunate accident forces her to move in with her parents for recuperation. Her father is worried about her mental health, coerces her to attend a therapy group, aptly named "Moving On". The falling off the roof incident introduces two new people in Louisa's life; one ambulance Sam with whom she romantically gets involved eventually; another, Lily, a 16-year-old teenager.
The other supporting characters are Lou's parents, her sister, nephew; Will's parents; and Lily's mother. The angle where Lou's mother's new found feminism and her father's difficulty in coping with it is quite amusing. Who is Lily? Will she be able to help Louisa to move on in life?
Louisa greatly suffers from grief of losing Will and guilt of helping him end his life. This is where I thought I should have read the first book because I'm unable to feel the love and loss in Lou's life. Maybe I would have felt different if I had read the prequel. Nonetheless as a stand alone it is pretty decent read. And this is the book that introduced me to the author Jojo Moyes.
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Truly gifted are the people who could be lost in the wonderful world of books.
This 'World Book Day' we've decided to jot down our top 10 favourite fiction books. The choice was not easy considering the innumerable options we had. And we were sure it should be a mix of both classics and modern. If given the option we will do nothing but read. George RR Martin quotes "A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies, the man who never reads lives only one". How aptly he puts the significance of reading in one sentence. While reading, the reader is in the story, he/she follows the characters, go where they go, see what they see, hear what they hear, feel what they feel, experience all the emotions they go through. Books the constant companions that will never allow you to be lonely. According to us a book can be slow, dull, and drab, but never bad. without much adieu;
1. Karvalo-Poornachandra Tejaswi
2. Harry Potter Series-J.K.Rowling
3. Parva-S.L.Bhyrappa
4. To Kill A Mockingbird-Harper Lee
5. The Kite Runner-Khaled Hosseini
6. Lolita-Vladimir Nabokov
7. War and Peace-Leo Tolstoy
8. Millennium series-Stieg Larsson
9. The Boy in the Striped Pajamas-John Boyne
10. Wonder-R. J. Palacio
We would love to put in a detailed post about the above-mentioned books in the coming days. There are millions of books out there to be read and so little time. Same goes for writing.
Writer: Dr. Chandrashekar Kambara
Director: Bhaskar Neenasam
Language: Kannada
Music: Sathya Radha Krishna
Artists: Ashok, Palguni Rao, Meghana Nataraj, Raksha Kashyap, Madhukar Siddu, Varun Davanagere, Vismaya Bangalore and others
Troupe: Vishwapatha Kala Sangama (Vikasam)
Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
Synopsis: He is the epitome of discipline and dedication, manifestation of several virtues. His students and lecturers in his college fear him. Even his detractors grudgingly admire him. That is G.K. Mastara for you. Though G.K. has lived principle, austere life, and close to retirement, Cupid has his own plans and ironically G.K. becomes part of it. Burdened by his ailing wife, he is attracted to his own student, Roja who would pass of as his own daughter. He is ravished by her lure and allure, and advances only emboldens him. How does G.K. proceed with love? How does he try to win Roja over? How does it end?
WeReflect: This is the screen adaptation of Jnanapitha awardee Dr. Chandrashekar Kambara's novel of the same name. Kambara is the flag-bearer in adopting the North Karnataka dialect in his plays and poems, which was uncommon in those days.
G.K. Master is the principal of an educational institution and a stickler for discipline. His students as well as colleagues are afraid of him and acts nervously around him. His personal life is not hunky dory either. His wife is sickly and bedridden. Her poor health is attributed to the untimely death of their only son due to lack of medical assistance at the right time. It is delicately implied the couple blame themselves for this mishap.
To organize the annual day celebration, G.K. invites other teachers and student union leader Girrappa for the discussion. Here young Girrappa stands up to G.K.'s authority putting forward few demands from the students in regards to the upcoming event. Corrupt teacher M.T informs G.K. about the rumor that has been doing the round in college campus, that is Girrappa misbehaving with the girl named Roja, which infuriates GK. When called for inquiry, Girrappa aggressively tells the principal to not interfere in his personal matters. Now GK has no other option but to suspend Girrappa from college, which results in cancellation of annual day as most students are in favour of Girrappa.
Roja, the girl in the above-mentioned rumor approaches GK and asks him to withdraw the suspension against Girrappa dismissing all the allegations. Not only that she gives him a love letter confessing her attraction. It is true GK was captivated by her beauty and charm much before this event and that is the reason he was riled up against Girrappa in the first place.
Being in love changes his attitude dramatically. He turns deaf ear to absurd comments made on his transformed attire and style. He sees Girrappa as his rival in wooing Roja. Where this adventure leads to? Has GK Master made error in judgment? How this crazy charade impacts his family life?
Performance by lead actors were praiseworthy, especially of G.K. Master. Hightlights of the drama are the stage design and tremendous usage of the props. The swimming competition scene between G.K and Girrappa had us in splits. That is just an example. It was easy to visualize the 70s decade because of the costumes. Though not original music was peppy and goes along with the theme perfectly. We were lost in the world of GK Master and his quirkiness pretty happily.
Verdict: Must watch play by Vishwapaha Kala Sangama (Vikasam). Keep a tab on BookMyShow for their next event.
Film: 12 Angry Men
Director: Sidney Lumet
Starring: Henry Fonda, Lee J. Cobb, Ed Begley, E.G. Marshall, Jack Warden
Year: 1957
This movie was released in 1959. We were apprehensive in the beginning as it was a black and white movie. The film was listed in 'Must Watch Film' of all time, a classic we were told.
Plot: The film begins with an end of a trail and judge instructing the jurors to come to a verdict. Here we will see only a glimpse of the accused. The accused is a teenager, prosecuted for the murder of his abusive father. Now the 12 jurors must come to an unanimous vote either guilty or non-guilty beyond reasonable doubt. The vote was 11-1 for guilty. The juror 8th thinks the accused could be non-guilty, even he is not sure. His reason is simple "I think we owe him a few words, that's all", which annoys all other jurors.
Nonetheless, they participate in this out of court defending and prosecuting trail. The murder was explained, the weapon, accused's background as well. The credibility of two witnesses, an old man and a lady across the street were discussed. Slowly one by one changes their vote from guilty to non-guilty except juror 3. This man's judgment was clouded by his estranged relationship with his son and the idea of a son killing his own father. Finally they vote unanimously. The movie ends with jury 8 and jury 9 introducing themselves.
WeReflect: The 12 jurors are from different background, social status, education, upbringing, and profession. The movie deals with a lot of prejudice, preconceived notion, bias, and baggage. However, they all come to one decision after a lot of logical and rational debate.
The film is about 90 minutes long and major parts were shot in one single room. It neither shows the crime scene nor the original trail, yet you get the complete picture of the crime. It is a classic example that a good movies can be made without the grand sets or outdoorsy. The strong screenplay and perfect casting is the strength. It lost in Oscar to another classic 'Bridge over river Kwai' and that one is another master piece.
We're not familiar with any of the actors, but they are all brilliant and intense. We're elated to finally watch this film, which we were postponing just because it is "Black & White".
Anyone who is a movie buff like us must watch this one for its brilliant craft and get inspired to be a better person. It is time-honored for a reason after all.
Title: Finding Audrey
Author: Sophie Kinsella
Genre: Young Adult
“I think what I've realized is, life is all about climbing up, slipping down, and picking yourself up again"
Sophie Kinsella is my guilty pleasure writer. I loved her shopaholic series and several other stand alone novels. Mostly her characters are hilarious, ridiculous, and will have you in splits. Some say Kinsella's genre is chic-lit, and I dislike the word chic-lit attached to any books for that matter.
Blurb: Audrey can't leave the house. she can't even take off her dark glasses inside the house. Then her brother's friend Linus stumbles into her life. With his friendly, orange-slice smile and his funny notes, he starts to entice Audrey out again - well, Starbucks is a start. And with Linus at her side, Audrey feels like she can do the things she'd thought were too scary. Suddenly, finding her way back to the real world seems achievable
WeReflect: Audrey, a 14-year-old girl suffers from social anxiety disorder after a disturbing incident of bullying at her school. The gang of girls responsible for this was suspended. Audrey stays in home, wears dark glasses even at home to avoid eye contact with anybody and everybody. she is mostly home-schooled and is hopeful to go to a different school the next academic year. She has a therapist named Dr. Sarah who is helping Audrey to get better slowly and steadily. Though proactive about recovery, Audrey feels she is not inching towards the goal faster. One fine day she meets Linus, her brother's friend and things start to look up. They befriend and Linus sets few challenges for her to achieve as a part of exposure therapy to overcome her anxiety.
Kinsella writes about a mental illness in a light-hearted manner. The family dynamics is hilarious and cute. Audrey's Daily Mail obsessed mother who thinks playing video game is bad and hell-bend on sending her son to more outdoor activities. Her father is typical "Yes Man" who is always on his blackberry and agrees with everything his wife says. Both the characters are cliched, but evokes giggle on many occasions. Frank, Audrey's brother is my favourite who is hooked to the LOC (Land of conqueror) game. His constant bickering with his mother had me in snort to no end. He is manipulative, naughty, and grumpy, typical for a teenager. He is a supportive and understanding brother who goes out of his way to make her feel better. The love story between Linus and Audrey is okay nothing earth shattering. And mental illness doesn't get automatically cured by a lover. She had a very supportive and protective family, so there is no lack of love and affection in her life. Her recovery graph elevated without much glitches, which is quite impossible in real life. Thankfully they haven't showed Audrey completely getting cured from anxiety disorder. I wished there was a small chapter explaining the bullying incident that triggered Audrey's anxiety. We were given insight and clues here and there about the incident and I know it is left to reader's imagination.
It is an easy read and one can finish within 3 hours in a go. For me there can never be a bad book. This one had me in cackles several times.
