I Grew Up Thinking They were Couples...

Till I came to know the difference between screen couples and the real ones.

Uttam Kumar and Suchitra Sen, both have late infront of their names now, but to a Bengali household, they still are arrive through the days of black and grey! One of Indian Cinemas most successful pair, Uttam Kumar and Suchitra Sen were no less than the on-screen Romeo and Juliet. Those days were really funny for the young mind of mine. Then, in the 80's and the early 90's, spiked antennas used to capture the feeds from Doordarshan, where every Sunday would mean a Bengali Matinee showtime and of the four Sundays of a month, two movies would be a Uttam Kumar and Suchitra Sen starrer. Back then too, my mind used to believe them gods; because they popped up into your room from thin air and with the spiked antenna being on the roof top and with the unusual commotion when the wind would propel it off it's position; my dad would jump atop the fence to fix them. I believes that they ought to be coming from the skies; which to me was heaven! So God! The "Godly Couple" or "amar-jooti" (as in Bengali means Eternal Pair)

But things became clearer with the age growing up the steps. Mrs. Sen passed away on 17.01.14, just moving up the stair of age; her age being 83 years at death. When Uttam Kumar died; I never was there. In fact wasn't born even. But I have seen his last film the most: Ogo Badhu Sudari, being one of my most favorite Bengali movie. The other half of this eternal pair passed on last Friday.

In the modern world of cosmetics, where your real skin tone is not understood, Mrs. Sen was a fairy out of the blues. Her eyes, brows, smile... all measured proportion, donated by God to the mesmerizing human soul, rarely walking on this planet. Not bacause of her celebrity status, she was kind and generous; as people used to say or hear may be. I say hear, because no one has seen her after her age of 48 years, when she acted in her last film Pranoy Pasha in 1978.

But, with the several co-actors spinning around each other, Uttam and Suchitra were complimentary and some characters wouldn't have got so lively without them playing it! But, the chemistry was strictly onscreen, unlike others like Tracy and Hepburn, who married off; a news hidden from public for over decades.

To the beauty, its my final sentence...

I knew your name as a Brand of Bengali Cinema and definition of Beauty, R.I.P Rina Brown.... R.I.P Mrs. Sen; letting your aura mesmerize all, for-ever!

The Dent

Not the text form of the Dentist. Its a dent and I am referring to the beautiful illustration by Matt Might regarding the "concept" and "reality" of PhD. After going through those cheesy comics put forward by phdcomic, this read was a really innovative. You can just flash through though: http://www.businessinsider.com.au/the-illustrated-guide-to-a-phd-2012-3

On the practical front, it looks like a small achievement, that looks a big game in your point of view. After re-reading the Hindu Mythological texts, I have realized that it's better to pursue your work rather than thinking as to what impact it shall bring. It's not important to be recognized by all, but important to be recognized by yourself as it is you who have come to this world in your skin and will leave without the same. Its you who is important to realize the work you do and the extent of pleasure you get from it. It is important to keep working.

The above link illustrates such. In the sphere of human knowledge your achievement may be negligible; but there will be people who can use the dent as a stepping stone to climb. After all, science and knowledge should build upon themselves rather than get stalled. Once it's stalled, realize it to be the end! In my daily life, I come across several scientists and budding ones who want to serve science. Their fields are varied; similarly they shall know the names of "big shots" in their field, whom I may not know and vice versa. I had realized that in the uncountable conferences that I had attended in this 4 years of PhD. There could have been a few more, to increase this field of unknown.

Hence, its a dent in the thought. I am not thinking as to why is there any requirement for making the dent! I can never think like that. Infact, I love making it. Just that I need to think hard as to how I can sustain the enthusiasm to keep on working like this. May be, I have my answer; my way... Infact everyone has it in their way. It's just a matter of time that one realizes about it.

Till then....

Time Pass...

The start of 2014 happened on a different note. One week and over eight movies digested, both from India and abroad; all thanks to the pre-set downloads from Extratorrent.cc. These 8 movies includes BA Pass, Chader Pahar, Sherlock, The Conjuring, Satyaneshi, Meghe Dhaka Tara, Gravity and The Cave. And as the saying goes, there are good as well a bad that exists in this mortal earth, movies does fall withing that classification.

I would not like to talk on with all the eight, because that would classify my blog from 2014 as Movie Critic one; which barely is true. I am just a commoner, who happens to watch good movies and whose likes include Saving Private Ryan, The Bridge Across River Kwai, Band of Brothers, Independence Day, The Patriot to some more classics like Agantuk, Pather Pachali and Kuch Kuch Hot Hai.... the list continues. The movie buffs who have seen these will instantly know that I am a movie scrambler, rather than an assembler!

On a personal note though, these days; the unknown adventure movies are letting my expectations down. The same old concept follows, where a band of fellows move forward to excavate unknown, but ends up dying to about 80% of the starting group. The Cave is one such example. No wonder the underwater photography that they came out were brilliant, but apart from that, there is nothing new to the storyline.... except that it's a cave expedition rather than a Jungle as in Anaconda or may be a lonely Island. So, to me; The Cave is not worth an adventure. I believe, Ace Ventura the Pet Detective would bring in more adventure than The Cave, given the two are not from the same genre!

Gravity, a Sci Fi is no Hi Fi. Same old space mission where the crew faces an accident.... I encounter no other words to write about it... actually all the vocabulary is lost in an accident!

I loved Sherlock: The Sign of Three. It was really refreshing to see such an "iTech" Sherlock. The catch is, Sherlock was always ahead of time in his way of crime solving. But, the cinematography and direction was flawlessly realistic. Never at a moment it felt that it's being dramatized infront of you. This is a movie, which had stuck me to my seat from the word go! It never happens for many movies!

I believe, that coming days of the year, would be enriching me through a myriad of movies... enlivening my neurons with the old intellectual days...