Thithi Film Review - Realistic and Philosophical!

What Thithi is about? Thithi in Kannada means final rites. It is a brilliant story spanning 11 days from the death of a patriarch to his grand last rites ceremony on the 11th day. How three generations of the man, popularly known as Century Gowda (a centenarian), gear up for his final ceremony form the crux of the film.

Realistic Depiction: First thing, which strikes you in Thithi is the realistic depiction of rural background in Mandya, Karnataka. This is much in the same light as in the recent Kannada film - Kiragoorina Gayyaligalu. If you are new to this, definitely you would feel it exotic. This is one major reason, why it has thrilled movie buffs all over. Even the characters, their motives and the way of life look so natural on screen. To top it all, most of them are not professional actors! How can this go unnoticed in the world of cinema?

Humor: Raam Reddy cleverly employs humor in major part of the film. Sarcasm, innocence, aloofness, dilemmas – displayed by a plethora of characters evokes laughter. In some scenes, one can also observe the actors with a grin, apparently conscious of the camera!

Godhi Banna Sadharna Mykattu Review

What is GBSM about? Neglect of elders by their own children is a prevalent problem especially in metros. Godhi Banna Sadharna Mykattu (GBSM) makes an effort to look into it. The story begins quickly with Mr. Venkob Rao going missing, within few minutes into the movie. This surprises you as you would have expected some drama before that.

Humor: Humor plays an important role in the movie. So, though dealing with a serious subject, you would be tickling your funny bone at regular intervals. Interestingly, the incident which leads to the major twist in the story involves humor. Bengaluru dialect of Urdu has been used in a comedy scene, for which you would definitely need the subtitles!

Music: You would be scared, if I tell that the movie contains 9 songs. You can check out those songs here. But not to worry as mostly bits of songs are used. Whenever you feel it could be an emotional overdose scene, director quickly switches to a song. I must say, this has proved effective in conveying the thoughts.

Raj Ghat, Red Fort and Chor Bazaar!

Raj Ghat : Back from Akshardham temple, we headed to memorial to father of the nation, Mahatma Gandhi - Raj Ghat. As it was a government holiday that day, we could not enter the memorial. So, we had to be content viewing it from outside. Following are the photos of the memorial.

Raj Ghat, Delhi

U-Turn - Simple and Thrilling!

Prologue : I remember, Pawan Kumar, in his short film making workshops, emphasizes on how a creative person develops a personal disturbance into a story. Sometime back, Pawan had witnessed a giant fuel tanker falling off a flyover near Nagarabhavi, Bengaluru. Quite disturbed, he had shared the incident in his Facebook status. Now, if you see U-Turn, you can readily make the connection. 

What is U-Turn about? U-Turn is a simple story revolving around a traffic violation, so commonly seen in Bengaluru. But you can change the setting to any metro in India and you will find the same story shaping pretty well, there too.

India Gate, Humayun's Tomb and Akshardham Temple, Delhi

India Gate : After Jantar Mantar, we headed to India Gate located near Rajpath. The 42-meter high arch is built in memory of 70,000 Indian soldiers who died fighting for the British army in first world war. You can also see the names of the soldiers who lost their lives on the walls of India Gate. Amar Jawan Jyoti, located below the India Gate reminds us the spirit of Indian soldier. This was added after the Bangladesh liberation war of 1971 with Pakistan. Visiting this war memorial is a proud moment of any patriotic Indian. This memorial is guarded by men from Indian Army 24 x 7. 

India Gate, Delhi

Beating the summer heat, the North-East way!

Planning : The mystic Himalayas have always intrigued me. Finally in the month of March 2016, I started planning for the coveted trip. I had tough time finalizing the itinerary. Northern Sikkim is a must visit, said my friend Sandeep. But I could find only few trip packages, which included it. After some deliberation, I finalized the package, exactly a month before the tour!

Escaping the heat:  Bengaluru had already crossed 37 degree Celsius in the mid of April. I was going to beat that heat by going to one of the coldest places in India! But during the packing of warm clothes for the trip, I ensured that they were minimal, so that luggage stays light. Visiting various places within a week, carrying lighter baggage is always better. Following was my itinerary visiting Sikkim and Darjeeling