Wednesday, November 29, 2006

[Review] Dhoom -2

Hi,
Well, before you begin to read, a note. All opinions in this post are completely personal, and you are most welcome to disagree with them. In fact I would like to know why you think am wrong. So here we begin...

I watched Dhoom-2, and was positively bored with it. It doesn't matter that the film has received thunderous opening all over, and might even turn out to be one of the major hits of the year. In a country where a film like KANK becomes a hit, anything is possible.

Dhoom-2 is full of action, the adrenalin-pumping type. All characters are hyper-active. When they are not racing on bikes, scaling sky-scrappers or dangling from heights, they just aren't doing anything.

Songs are foot-thumping. "Crazy Kiya Re" has a catchy beat and the Dhoom Theme sounds racy.

Hrithik looks good, but then, when does he not? He has puts in an earnest performance, as usual. The problem is: how far can even he go when the character itself doesn't have much bandwidth?

Aishwarya sizzles in skimpy clothes, and also manages to do what she has avoided doing so far. Alas, the scene lacks the intensity that should have been associated with it.

It is clear that the director has first decided upon the action-sequences and then woven the story (or whatever there is of it) around those. For example: the scene where Hrithik asks Aishwarya to jump from a cliff if she really trusts him, etc etc. Needless to say, she jumps, (followed by him, of course), and then they are both dangling over a few thousand feet. Was there really any need for this?

Uday Chopra is excruciatingly irritating. Someone should tell him that it takes an Arshad Warsi to do the role of a "Circuit."
And pray tell me what was Bipasha Basu doing in this film? After a film like "Corporate," why does she need to do a role like this?

Abhishek Bachchan has put in a decent performance. There is a silent menace about him, and he is increasingly becoming effective with his eyes. Nevertheless, he doesn't get the sympathy of viewers.

Dialogue is like written in the Jurassic ages. The line "Do you trust me?" is repeated like 327 times, thus rendering it like worthless, and in fact a bit like funny, heh heh!

If you are really going to watch this movie (as I suspect you will), leave your thinking apparatus at home. It's not of much use while watching this one.
Too much style, too little substance.

My friends as well as my brother (he doesn't count among my friends, you see) seem to have thoroughly enjoyed the movie. Moreover, they also insist that Dhoom-2 is way better than Dhoom-1. I haven't watch Dhoom-1 yet, and now, there is just no question of watching it.

-G.

Tuesday, November 07, 2006

User-friendly Error Messages

Well, in order to make our application more user-friendly, we have implemented following error –messages:

When application starts:
"All the functionalities in this application are imaginary and bear no resemblance to those specified in the FDS. Run this application at your own risk. We are not liable for any mental, emotional, physical, financial, or spiritual injury caused by it. May God Bless You... Amen."

When user tries to edit an object created by another user:
"दुसरों के object को हाथ क्यों लगा रहा है बे?"

When user successfully completes some task:
"बधाई हो बधाई !! लगता है कि आप जितने बेवकूफ़ दिखते हो उतने हो नही..."

When user tries to delete a object:
"टपका डालू क्या साले को? एक बार अच्छी तरह सोच ले!"

Limited functionality:
"Dekh bhidu, jyaada time nahi tha isliye apun ne itnaaich implement kiya hai. Ab isse ki kaam chalaa lena, kya?"

Un-handled exception:
"आयला… घापा हो गया रे!!"

Application crash:
"Aapka aaplikesan bhasak gayela hai. Try one of the fallowing:
1.Restart applikesan

2. Restart machine, restart applikesan

3.Restart electric supply to your building, restart machine, restart applikesan.
Fir bhi nahi chal rahaa toh write a letter to us and send it through a pigeon."


If user tries to seek assistance by clicking on Help menu:
Online Help provides details in a very user-friendly way… For Ex:

"Kill the currently running thread by terminating its process in Processes tab of Windows Task Manager. Next, edit the InterfaceService.Config file and restart IS & SS services from Services under admin tools of Windows Control Panel."


When user closes Help:
"अब दोबारा मत पुछना !"

-G.

Sunday, November 05, 2006

Walking down the road, I saw her...


I am walking down the road, hands in pockets, mind lost in thought.
And then, I see her.

She is sitting in the veranda of a tiny little bungalow… looking absent-mindedly at the traffic flowing by, lost in her own world, oblivious to my presence.

She is beautiful… most beautiful... I want to go near her… but dare not, lest she might go away...

So all I do is rest my chin on the compound wall and continue to stare at her…

It is the moment like this when I regret not having a camera-with-mobile (or mobile-with-camera, or whatever). If I had one now, I could have captured this beauty and then made my friends jealous. In fact, I would have got it framed and placed it on my bedside table.
With me inclined against the compound-wall of a roadside bungalow, the passer-bys are giving me strange looks … but who gives them a damn?… I am busy savouring one of beauties in the world…
Should I take her home? My brother would undoubtedly be in love with her; as much as I am now… even my father wouldn't mind her having in the house... but … I have no doubts my mother would kick her right out of the door… even the thought pains me…
Perhaps mindful of my stare, she turns her head in my direction… and I experience love at second sight… from such a distance , it is difficult to tell the shade of her eyes… is it blue, is it green? Or is it something in between? Whatever the shade it might be, it's just beautiful.
I keep staring at her, and she keeps staring at me. I smile. Even try to blow out a small whistle… no reaction on her part…

And then, a dog barks out somewhere in the vicinity.
And the cat, at which I have been staring for so long, bounds inside the house.

I cast a reproachful glance at the dog.
And then, hands in pocket, mind lost in thought, I resume walking.
-G.