Book Review- It's For You Mihi- Md. Asif

Author- Md. Asif
Titile- It's For You Mihi
ISBN- 9789383023042
Genre- Fiction
Publisher- Parlance 
Price- Rs 150
Pages- 215

This review is much delayed mostly because I didn't know how to go about it. It is review I am doing on request and before and after this book, I read books like 'To Kill A Mockingbird' and 'A Narrow Road to The Deep North' so, when this book came in the middle of all those instant classics, it got more cringe-worthy than usual.

I will try not to be an intellectual snob while doing this because high chances are that my own beliefs will get in the way. First of all, stalking is glorified, then the filmy romance is the main masala of this novel. The theatrics and drama are high and the dialogues are your regular conversation statements. It would have been much nicer had the author written the novel in Hindi as the main flavour of the novel is very small town North Indian type.

It is a love story and a pretty sappy one at that. The book has flashbacks and romantic epiphanies abound. For someone as skeptical as me, it was difficult to sit through it so I would definitely not recommend it to those who don't enjoy that sort of stuff. Moreover, the books makes a lot of assumptions which are actually okay if you think from the writer's perspective but dialogues like, 'She made another boyfriend? What kind of a girl is she?' are not gonna be a hit with the feminist lot.

I am intellectualizing a simple novel I know. Anyway, let's talk about the language. It is nothing florid, just regular talk. Even the narrative is dull and unimaginative. The syntax is way off the mark and you'll find sentences like 'Among oceans, seas, rivers, ponds, swimming pools, dams, wells, pits and pots, eyes have the most powerful drops of water to shed.' There are good ones in there too but, some bad ones just ruin the narrative. The novel needs editing.

The pages are nice and crisp and the font is the right size. The cover design is better than the actual novel. The author actually had a good story but he didn't give it enough time to ripen. If only had he put down that thesaurus and actually thought more about the art of writing, probably attended a workshop, the novel could have been better.

The novel will appeal to teenage girls and boys who don't care much about the quality of English and share the small town sentiments about love and all the theatrics associated with it. I give it one and a half star.

*1/2

Movie Review- Sunsilk Real FM : A Film By Anurag Basu

Thank you Indiblogger and Sunsilk for this opportunity to walk the red carpet for this film called Sunsilk Real FM directed by Akarsh Khurana. It premiers on MTV tomorrow i.e. 23 March, Sunday, 7 PM.

 

About the movie-
As suggested by the title of the movie, it's about RJing and the 'real' challenges that these three friends face. The plot is pretty straight with no frivolous attempts to sensationalize. The movie's charm lies in its simple and sober treatment of a well knit, tight plot. The editing has been such that there are no loose ends, neither does the story drag anywhere. The screenplay is eventful and the dialogues are realistic. The heart of the movie lies in its music. It serves as a platform to all the delightful folk music we have in various nooks and corners of our country. I think, after Sneha Khanwalkar's musical experiments, this is another step in the same direction of bringing folk music and local artists to mainstream listeners. Aside from that, there are so many issues raised in the movie and so elegantly that they do not interfere with the pace of the story or the plot. The movie is about reclaiming India from the hands of those who lay thorns in the path of national unity. Discrimination against North-Eastern states' residents, the North- South divide, need for the much required Police reforms, parental pressure, waning patriotism and many suchlike topics have all been touched upon briskly and elegantly.

About the characters-
The three girls adorning the posters and trailers are the central characters of this musical comedy. Rhea's character is charming and stands out due to her fragile frame which contrasts with the rigid determination that she flaunts with nonchalance. Saloni is one character that grows on you with time. The third girl is more like the unsung hero of the film who lays all the groundwork. The film works because of its adorable characters that keep entering as the plot progresses. Be it the Chhattisgarhi goons who steal the show with their solid punchlines or be it the mini- Dabang character of Ajay Desai. Like any other comedy, the antagonists have relatively lesser role to play but their characters too leave a mark with the element of realism and square expressions.

About the screenplay and direction-
I think in the shorter films (In Indian context, anything less than two and a half hours is a short film.. hehe) there can be no dull moments or moments where you let the characters muse for extended periods of screen time. I think Akarsh Khurana has understood that and established the characters easily in a few lines and well- written scenes. He has understood the importance of keeping up the tempo with characters which bring fine nuances of human emotions in just two or three scenes. Be it Ajay Desai's crush on Rhea or be it the Punjabi singer's encouragement to bring out the talent in Saloni. These scenes touch your heart without much effort. There can be no spoilers as far as I am concerned for such movies because you have to watch these scenes, listen to those songs to feel these emotions; and that is the USP of this movie. It is emotionally rich and has a soul of its own.

It is also nice, and was brought up by a fellow blogger, that although it was a branded movie, they did not do excessive marketing. That helped keep the soul of the movie intact.

So, sit back with some popcorn this Sunday and enjoy Sunsilk Real FM brought to you be Sunsilk, MTV India and Anurag Basu!

And stay tuned for the photos from the Indimeet!

Book Review- The Other Side... Dare to Visit Alone?

Title- The Other Side... Dare to Visit Alone?

Authors- Faraaz Kazi, Vivek Banerjee

Publishers- Mahaveer Publishers

ISBN- 9789350880760

Genre- Fiction/ Horror

Price- Rs 150/-

Pages- 320

Ok, what I have in my hands right now is an author-signed copy of "The Other Side" all thanks to The Readers' Cosmos's Book Review Program and Nimi Vashi.

Let's talk about the cover first- We have a graveyard, silhouttes walking, hand rising from the graves, a haunted mansion in the background in a full moon night, bats flying, and two eyes lurking in the corner, looking to pounce on you and tear you apart... ok you get my point. The Hindu review reads (on the cover itself)- "Engrossing in ways more than one, it surprises, it shocks, it holds you in vice-like grip!" Well, the "in ways more than one" part might be because it is not one story but a collection of short stories- 13 (Ooo... the cursed number) short stories of pure evil to be specific.

The author Faraaz Kazi is recipient of the YCOF National Excellence Award and the winner of the National Debut Youth Fiction Award 2013. He owns his own academy and is a fellow member of the the 'Film Writers Association of India'. The other guy- Vivek Banerjee is a pediatrician by profession and has written stuff for Westland's Chicken Soup for Indian Doctor's Soul and other well-known publishers.

The book begins with a prelude with the authors sharing horror stories in a horror movie like set-up and we just know that something ominous is in the offing. Soon the idea snowballs and they decide to write a book together and that's how we have the book in our hands. The thing with reviewing a short stories' book is that you cannot judge the book as a whole. Every story is a living, breathing tale here and should be used for haunting the nights, one story at a time. Anyway, horror thrives on the element of tension. Just like surprise is the tool of thrillers, tensed heavy air with the characters seemingly walking into a trap is the typical horror fiction structure. Very few are the gifted ones who can write short stories on horror without rushing the plot and doing the plot justice by the patient build-up to the eventual unleashing of the demon, ghost or whatever. Also, since we have only a few stereotypes of ghosts in our mind, the author runs the risk of overusing the cliches like backward-feet, white floating figures, blood-dripping, eyes rolling back in the skull etc., I think with the limited tools, the authors have done justice to the stories and kudos to them for that.

As someone who's not spooked easily, I deliberately chose to read these stories at midnight hours just so that I could get into the mood and yes, the mood was created and how! I'd be lying if I say I didn't wonder if someone was hiding under my bed before sleeping after reading the book.

Coming to individual stories, some of the stories have been written exquisitely with the execution of a professional where the author grips you and you cannot but turn the pages to find out more. But a few of them, in my view, fall in the trap of too much detailing. The thing with ghosts is that we are scared of them because we know nothing about them, if they were to live next door, we'd actually kind of grow friendly to them. That happens only once or twice, but in the rest of the stories, the narrative is spot on!

Talking about the language, I think it's a bit difficult to judge Indian writers on the basis of language because most of them are trying to make their books more appealing to the masses and sometimes that happens at the cost of the language. I could have done with some grotesque detalings but then I think about the teenage girls reading the novel and then finding themselves unable to sleep the whole night so, maybe it's for them that the authors have gone a bit easy. I'd like to mention here that there is no such thing as an awful horror story. If told in the right mood, even the story of the rabbit and the tortoise can spook you out; and I think Faraaz and Vivek have the tools.

Another art that seems to be of particular importance for short stories in general and horror ones in particular is the art of landing a perfect climax. Anton Chekhov's short stories used to end abruptly sometimes making you want to go up to the author and demand explanations, sometimes feeling a bit cheated but the purpose of the story ie to make you restless and worried about the characters was served. Of course, Chekhov is Chekhov and Faraaz and Vivek are no where close but in terms of the art of ending the story with a bang, these guys nail it almost everytime. The 'almost' is because of the occasional lingering when the plot has already ended but then that's just my view.

"Short stories" is a genre close to my heart because of my early tryst with Chekhov, Ruskin Bond and also every Indian kid's favourite- Malgudi days by R K Narayan which is why maybe I had high expectations from this book. It does live up to them for a certain extent. I'm looking forward to a sequel where the "The Other Side" gets spookier and the ghosts get deadlier. I'd not mind if the stories were longer. We actually need the authors to take the ghosts more seriously, crank it up a notch, you know!

The book needs to be appreciated for the sheer novelty of the ideas though. In a market ridden with thrillers and love-stories, this genre comes as a fresh change. It's about time the Indian reader grew up and woke up to newer themes and genres. It's very reasonably priced and the book will place the authors in a slot where the audience would expect them to experiment and innovate more. I hope they continue the good work.

I'd rate it 3 out of 5 stars!

Book Review- Baramulla Bomber- Svastik Triology- Eka

Title: Baramulla Bomber

Author: Clark Prasad

Publisher: Niyogi Books

ISBN code: 978-93-81523-97-1

Price- Rs 395

Genre- Sci-fi Espionage Thriller

Pages- 313

As the back cover introduction reads "An ancient weapon from the Vedas and Bible once hunted by the Nazis, powered by the sound of the universe, reborn with the help of quantum physics going to be unleashed onto the World and Kashmir holds its secret.", I cannot help but get intrigued. This book sells itself through its very description. Science fiction meets espionage and a fast-paced, action-packed saga is born. The book is only the first "Eka" of the Svastik Triology and leaves one wondering what else has the author in store for us in the coming sequels.

A word about the author Suraj Prasad aka Clark Prasad- "a healthcare management consultant who had dreamt of being an archeologist or an astronaut." it says in his bio. Well, when you read the book you'd come to know how the novel is actually an extension of his own self. Currently based in Bengaluru, the author has lived in Lagos (Nigeria), Delhi, Mangalore and Kozhikode and is deeply influenced by Carl Sagan's "Cosmos". I see definitely influences of Jeffery Archer and Dan Brown in his writing and also a bit of Tolkien. You'd understand what I am talking about once you read the book.

Now, the book starts with a 'Warning' in bold letters not to flip through pages lest the suspense will evaporate and a request to the bloggers not to reveal the plot. I sense a deep attachment of the author with his story and I'd like to talk as less about the plot and characters as possible. Then science and religion are brought to a confluence on the next two pages where Albert Einstein, Rig Veda and the Bible are quoted hinting toward a cosmic religion. The book has graphic illustrations at different places which make the story come alive and give it an eerie realness. The main characters are Mansur Haider- A Kashmiri and his girlfriend Ahana Yajurvedi. We also have Swedish intelligence officer Adolf Silfverskiold who is a non-believer. These are the pawns being played on a chessboard much larger than they can imagine. Let's leave it at that.

Every chapter begins with a World map and a target focus sign above the area where the event is about to transpire, that gives the novel the feel of an action movie. The novel has broad spatio-temporal horizons and at one juncture we're talking about the ancient times, suddenly we're in medieval era and the next moment we're in present day World. The book is bigger than its characters and they all come to life in a World where conspiracies run deep and high. The chapters are also designed to serve as a countdown to the climax which makes the book to be read in a single sitting with zero distractions.

The language used in the book caters to an average Indian reader who is just starting out with Indian fiction. The author tries not to be fanciful with the wordplay and is probably because he has already given the reader too much to munch on already in terms of drama and suspense. Personally, I could have gone for a language that suits with the intricacy of the plot but maybe to the author, the thickness of the plot was enough codification already. The pages are crisp and the novel is a definite page-turner. At 313 pages, the novel is fast-paced read and ideal for journeys and long waiting hours. To be very honest, Clark does not try to do an H G Wells or a Tolkien with the theme, he takes the story and slowly weaves it around with tools that he finds fit.

One more thing is the clear lack of intellectual snobbery in the book. The book is not about turning non-believers into believers. When you go to the movies, you don't reason with the director about the themes and theology of the plot, similarly, this book requires you to indulge yourself without any pre-conceived notions and simply enjoy the read. There are books that are for niche audience and there are ones for everyone. This one is somewhere in between.

I'd give the book 2.75 out of five stars.

Happy reading.

This review is a part of the Readers' Cosmos Book Review Program. Thank you Nimi Vashi for these amazing opportunities. :-)