Kabul Express Reviewed..
Posted by Prashanth | Filed under Uncategorized
Yes.. I did watch a movie in the middle of the prep holidays for the boards.. and I also have the audacity to review it.. and once again its a Hindi Movie… which many of you lurkers may not relish.. but this one is different.. so please stay here a little longer..!! 
Cast:
- John Abraham (Suhel Khan)
- Arshad Warsi (Jai Kapoor)
- Hanif Hum Ghum (Khyber)
- Linda Arsenio (Jessica Beckham) [woah..]
- Salman Shahid (Imran)
Plot + Synopsis:
Bollywood’s got a new genre for filming these days.. Documentaries..!! And Kabul Express gets to be one such movie which without falling prey to the stereotypes of commercial cinema sheds light on the hard-hitting realities of Afghanistan during the time when the Taliban were being wiped out by the Americans and the Afghans after the 9/11 attacks.
In the post 9/11 scenario, Journalist Suhel Khan and Cameraman Jai Kapoor from India enter Afghanistan for exclusive war coverage and Taliban interviews. As we all know America waged war against the Afghans shortly after the 9/11 attacks. Afghanistan at that time was under Taliban’s control which was fully supported by Pakistan.
In this fairly complex setting, we have our two Indian journalists looking for their exclusive footage with the help of a local Afghan guide Khyber, who owns the worlds most fuel-efficient SUV (WMFESUV) by the name Kabul Express..!! So, while moving touring around the rugged Afghan country which was shot extremely well complete with bombed or destroyed settlements, mud houses, Hazara townships and frequent gunshots.. the trio meet up with Jessica Bekham (No.. she is no way related to any footballer..) a journalist from Reuters who too is looking for her exclusive footage with a Sony SLR Camera..!!
While moving on..the quartet is then kidnapped by an escaping Pakistani soldier Imran who had been operating for Taliban before the US attack. Now he is on the run to get back to his country. The movie actually showcases the impact of the American invasion on the Taliban and the Afghan people and Pakistan as a whole.. They show Pakistan’s betrayal towards the taliban in an absolutely applaud-able way. They show the compulsion under which the Pakistani Border Security Force was put and was forcefully driven into doing what it never even thought or desired to..
So now as the kidnapped four heed to the Talibh’s words as Pakistan listened to US during that time, they drive accross extremely perillious terrain to send Imran back home. In their long drive in the WMFESUV, they face hostility which gives way to trust and also a special bond developes between the five and they get to know each other.. and in this way, Kabir Khan(the director of the movie), beautifully tells the heart softening story of Taliban.. (and also shows off the no-refuelling needed feature of the WMFESUV..!!) with a few surprises in store.
The movie is set in a very Raw, Rugged region which compliments extremely well to the movie’s story. The movie is filled with several nail-biting moments, all of which are peppered by impeccable humour by Arshad Warsi. John and Linda according to me were added just for star cast.. the movie-maker didn’t really concentrate much on shedding light on the characters. The movie was fully focused on the storyline, hence it has no songs in the middle to irritate or chuck the realism out of the movie. The soundtracks and the background scores however are amazing and being Afghan themed, they are probably by Pakistani bands.
The verdict being, Kabul Express is technically, emotionally and story-wise a very sound movie. A perfectly appealing documentary to me and movies like this always set me in reflective moods.. so 9 out of 10 is what it earns from my side. Reflections in the form of comments are expected.. 
Your’s Truly on Television..!!
Posted by Prashanth | Filed under Uncategorized
In the preparatory holidays allotted for board preparation.. I actually managed to get involved in something which can be a called an absolute unnecessary adventure..!!
Not really an adventure in true regard, but nevertheless, was a good experience. So, it all started at 1 Pm today when my Dad called me up and said.. “There is some discussion on Global Climate Change at Doordarshan, want to attend it..??”. Me, being a person who just needs an excuse to get out of the house, just couldn’t say NO.
So there I was at Doordarshan broadcasting centre at Asiad Village at about 3:30 PM.. a place which turned out to be a complete anti-thesis of my imagination. The centre is actually a connected collection of the quarters constructed for the Asian Games. So, the place would actually remind you of certain places in Half Life 2. To reach the set you need to go through narrow corridors with tube-lights about 5-10 meters apart.. all those corridors smell like old rotting wood or old paper.. from really old libraries..
Before you reach the sets.. you would see a bunch of spotlights, camera equipment, a whole lot of technicians, plus Anchor mugging up her script, and punes setting up the stage..
The set was looking pretty good i must say.. with really good hydraulic equipment to move around those really big professional movie cameras along with a few computer techies to constantly edit the videos throughout the shoot… (Ðámn, I should have taken my digicam there..!!)
So there started the discussion about Global Climate Change.. first with 2-3 retakes of the intro by the anchor and then a video report by IPCC abt the adverse consequences of global warming and climate change..
The expert panel had a few of my Dad’s colleagues and the audience were filled with Professors and students and research scholars from JNU and other universities. In other words.. most of them were aged 40+ and I was there at the wrong place.
As the discussion followed up.. it deviated completely from the topic from Global Climate Change to Industrialisation in NOIDA..!! They laid full emphasis about creating awareness about all this among the illiterate people of India.. but then no where did they even come close of convincing US to sign the Kyoto Protocol..
They spoke about the new fertiliser plants opened up in NOIDA and CNG not implemented in the rest of the country.. but nowhere did they think that there are natural causes to Climate Change as well.. I mean.. think about the Ice Age.. Climate Change is a part of a natural process.. human intervention is just aiding it.. but nowhere did all this come in that discussion.. All they were worried about was water shortage and other localised problems..
But then I did try to get the mike by constantly raising my hand.. and asking for it. I did try to ask some questions and get the discussion back on track.. but then they thought that discussing humanitarian problems with Climatologists was a better idea.. Anyway.. it wasnt as bad after all.. the refreshments followed the shoot and compensated it all up..!!
Make sure that you people tune in to the Free-to-Air DD News on Friday.. that is.. 16th of Feb, 2007 @ 10PM in चऱचा मे़. In the panoramic shots, if you see a guy with a dense nest-like hair.. who is either yawning or staring at the author, its likely to be me.. and as for my questions, they are likely to be edited out as it was “Out of Topic” for them.
Do see the program keep the comments coming..!!
Windows Vista Carnival..??
Posted by Prashanth | Filed under Uncategorized
Sorry for not posting anything for this long guys.. Class 10th is tougher than i actually thought.. 
!!
Anyways, before you come to any silly conclusions or visualize something such as me dancing in a Vista launch party, let me tell you guys, it was nothing like it.
On the 3rd of Feb which is yesterday, I just dropped by Nehru Place (the infamous place to buy anything that can be hooked to a computer at dirt cheap rates) to buy some media.. As soon as i stepped into that “gorge” between the complexes, I saw posters.. banners.. people giving out brochures.. and hawkers selling and people talking just one thing.. WINDOWS VISTA.
Although I am not anti-Microsoft as I confess that Microsoft is one such industry which gave me another reason to live, such aggressive promotion for a new unrevolutionary resource hoggy operating system was very silly to me. The Compaq/HP, Del, Sony, etc all the showrooms were crowded with people extremely eager to upgrade to Windows Vista.
When I actually tried out the RC1 of Vista (Build 5600), I really thought this piece of decorated šhìt won’t sell. It bought my AMD 64 with a gigabyte of RAM to its knees. But as per what I saw there, I was wrong. Vista is selling, people are buying, whether it takes a couple of gigabytes of RAM, or an entirely new Graphics Chip or a brand new computer to run this, it is selling.
If you take my opinion, the upgrade to Vista isn’t really worth it. Just for some added frills and cooler graphics and so-called enhanced security, you may have to buy a new computer. Plus, Vista is made in such a way that loopholes to pirate this thing aren’t discovered yet. After you install Vista, you need to get it activated by Microsoft otherwise, it expires in 30 days. So as for now, if you want to use Vista Ultimate, you need to get the original DVD which amounts to a meagre amount of just Rs. 9200 plus taxes.
Views on this costly-Hamlet affair of “to-do-or-not-to-do” are requested.
