Concerts are good. A concert by AR Rahman is definitely good. And being Backstage in a concert by ARR is….ummm…..i don’t really have to explain this, do I?
God, it was a night to remember…..and all this after skipping dinner on Thursday, and breakfast, lunch, dinner on Friday.
Spent Saturday preparing the quiz. Ditto Sunday morning. Birdonthewire, sorry, buddy. The quiz started at 1:30 pm. I really, really apologise, and I swear I’ll make it up to you.
Finally got a book that made me sit for three hours and finish it. “The Spirit of Lagaan” by a guy named Satyajit somebody. Scoff all you want, but i found this one of the most inspiring books I have ever read. Chuck all those bloomin’ self-help management books out of the window. This one is it. The struggle Aamir, Ashutosh and Co had to go through to make this film actually happen – mindboggling, yes, and all of it rings true!!
The book has a lot of interesting anecdotes too, and some literally make you laugh aloud. When Paul Blackthorne, the guy who played Captain Russelllanded up in Champaner , people were amazed! Because he had taken a train to Kutch, and looked more like a hippie than an army Captain…..the writer recalls showing him around, and the heat was getting too much for him, and Paul starts stripping off his clothes, all the while mumbling something to himself…..he’s in his pajamas, when the others realise he is mouthing the film’s dialogues. “Tumse hum itna lagaan vasool karega ke tumhare paas khaane ke liye roti nahin hoga, pehenne ke liye kapda nahin hoga.” and at that time he is nearly buck-naked! :-)
Another interesting story about Paul is that he looked at his character in a very methodical way…he had infact fashioned a “background story” about why Captain Russell behaves the way he does – abused as a child and all…..”Russell is not a bad bloke after all – he’s just been driven up the wall by Bhuvan and the rest of the lot.”
The final day of the shoot, the Britishers had a grudge match against the Indians, whom they trounced solidly, and the victors got a standing ovation from the Kutchis and their opponents.
Brilliant book. Brilliant movie. It took me (and the rest of my friends) around a month to figure out what the warcry was…..we heard it as “Hey bhaiyya jhoothe lalla”!
I still hate cricket.