Jab tak Hai Jaan, The music, The Man and his movies

This one is an Addition to my Previous post About Jab tak hai Jaan....
It may seem like a review but it isn't...Just an extension of my feeling about the music....have been reading a few music reviews to find out which songs are good since I needed a good one to pep me up but I ended up listening to all the songs...I realised I feel differently...  and I had to tell someone....So I guess this comes out here.

So I didn't like the videos of the other new songs when they came in but when I finally got myself to listen to the songs...I was mesmerized...Yes, they are not AR Rahman's signature style melodies but they are much more....
1.Saans...is beautiful...great acoustics and some of the lyrics stayed with me...but the song isn't soul stirring...Not even with  Mohit Chauhan....Shreya Ghoshal is as awesome as always....Haven't heard her Saans solo yet but somehow the song doesn't seem like its meant for her...good music but not fabulous.

 And somehow Are re Are will always remain my favorite Yash Chopra Love song.

  "hum mein tum mein kuch toh hai, kuch nahi hai kya?

Aur kuch ho jaaye toh, kuch yakeen hai kya

Dekh lo yeh Dil jahaan tha, Yeh wahin hai kya"

2.Challa- It was the first to be released and I still haven't gotten over the Street Performer SRK yet...Loving it.Rabbi Shergill...I'm a fan.

3.Jab tak hai jaan- the title track- Some say Udit Narayan would have been a better choice...I'd say...I like Javed Ali...And Shaktishree is melodious and so fresh...An unusual voice...Wow
It feels like an happy ending to something very intense...Sorry the song couldn't be completely shot...but it will remain my Happy song of the album...a culmination of sorts with a simple confession ...I mean it cannot be easier...

"Tum se do lafzon mein...Tum se yeh kehna tha, 

tumse hi Mohabbat thi....Tumse hi mohabbat hai....

Tumse kehna hai ,Yun rehna hai Jab tak hai Jaan." 

Sweet

4.Ishq Shava- SRK says its his favorite...not mine though...The lyrics are not working for me.

5.Ishq dance- The music didn't do much for me here...Maybe Drums aren't my thing...would want to watch the leading lady do the the dance though..

6.Jiya re- the song is groovy...and I must say I like it more for Anoushka Sharma's Grooviness than the song in itself...great expressions...Loved the 'thoomkas'...reminds me of Jugni from Tanu weds Manu....Another Wow.

7.Heer - Gulzar's a genius for this one...had to go looking for the lyrics and the meaning but once I got that...I loved it...I was hooked...got over it though...when I found out how the Sahiba-Mirza love story ends...it's tragic...Far worse than Heer-Ranjha...Heer Ranjha couldn't be together but were bound eternally by Death but Sahiba and Mirza almost had it all...And she lost it...And there's no Right or Wrong...but I found it painful...I wonder if the movie ends that way...If it does...I'm going to weep.

Looking forward to the movie...I am sure I will love it...not because I like Love stories...I don't like most of the Mushy ones...(I like the practical and funny romantic comedies but the whole dard-ki-dastaan ritual does Not appeal to me)....but because I know its going to be something about life and the way it works...maybe a little too Dramatic but Yash Chopra puts in a lot of detail in the emotions and eventually makes you want to think...His movies don't have the perfect ending...Someone somewhere is left with an aching heart...Shows you that Life is not always fair...that destiny always has pain and happiness for everybody.

Of all the Yash Chopra movies I've seen (I've not seen all of his Directions)

Lamhe - was about unrequited Love (And not just between Anil and Sridevi but also that friend of his who hopes to receive his Love someday), Friendship, And about not giving up. Its an ode to love...its persistence, hopefulness, frustrations, confusions...Almost everything.

Chandni - Happiness in Love, about how an unsupportive family can further ruin a strained relationship , About Loss, Of finding Love anew..And I didn't like the ending so much here...Poor Vinod Khanna and his Mum too.

Dil toh Pagal Hai - Only one thing, Nisha Loved Rahul....Rahul didn't know a thing about Love until he met Pooja....I am sure Nisha thought that she could have won him had Pooja not come along and that's why the envy but She really loved Rahul....so must have had a tremendous heart ache...but Its not necessary that the ones you love in Life should Love you back too....Happens....I never liked Madhuri but she did what she had to....she acted well....And the story did make me question my concept of Happy endings for quite a while....And I was only a kid then.

Veer- Zaara- the movie didn't do much for me. Liked the music..Loved the story....but the whole Aisa Desh Hai mera and the Lohri song didn't sink in. Not one bit.

And now looking forward to Jab tak Hai Jaan...

P.S.- Since I'm not going to be able catch it right after the release...I swear I'm not looking at the reviews or the Story until I catch the Movie. No Spoilers for me...I'm not even going to check the Star ratings...I don't care....I am giving it 10/10....For Yash Chopra, SRK, Gulzar, Rahman, And for Love

To Shruti Singhal

Shruti Singhal.....Thank you for all your encouragement....You put me back in the groove.....And Yes....We're going to stop thinking....and we're going to do something worth our while.....and we'll still crib but we can't complain....:)

Taking one thing at a time.....

An excerpt from an email i had sent today - came right from my heart

" honestly...i'm not even thinking about whats in store..u know the visa,the elective,the whole usmle thing actually...i've learnt the hard way that i can never tell about these things...i got to keep working, the rest is absolutely out of my control...gotta take it as it comes and accept it...all i can do is to  keep working on one goal at a time...push my limits and ..give my best shot...then move on to the next best thing on my list of things to be done...."

Its SRK time again....Woohoo

I'm addicted. Love the trailor...and love the movie already.

Here's to Jab tak hai Jaan
the link to the trailor on you tube -
Jab tak hai jaan- the new trailor with the full shayri

Friends again

Dear Ganpati dada,
For the first time in all these years, i understood what this festival was all about. i'm still not a fan of the Band Baaja and i'm sure neither are you (such big beautiful ears...i'm sure its a bit irritating to you too...you study so much too so you must know how irksome it is) but i'm slightly more tolerant of it than before(somehow the idea that all that sound is some form tribute to you and the love ppl have for you).
i had been hoping we'd get along this year but i had not expected to be this happy. i loved every bit of it.

Dharma nagar che choteshe Ganpati dada

The 2 days you were in my apartment complex were sweet..finally there was some respite from the dullness all around. The moment i saw you come the night before i knew this was going to be different..that you and i were going to have a nice time. And the icing on the cake was that i finally ventured to authoritatively decrease the loudspeaker volume myself instead of requesting the whole world about it. And it worked out fine. So we could peacefully coexist- You know- me and your loudspeaker-blaring bhajan loving bhagats.

And although i had always read in theory about how visarjan is likened to the cycle of life, i finally understood why people are so happy when they are sending you away. Its the hope that you'll be back again to fill their lives with happiness soon the next year and although a person like me has a tough time parting with such a guest as you...i realised the importance of being happy for the great time that we had together while you were here and make the most of it before it ends. Nice philosophy.
You've been my warring partner all along....and now we're friends....Who am i going to fight with now that we're on good terms..guess i'll figure it out the next time i need to complain or squabble regarding the shortcomings in my luck or the likes...with some help from you ofcourse.

Lalbaug cha Raja

and yeah...thanks for sending your prasad (thanks to the ppl that you invited there to see you,to get the prasad and pass it on to us) from one of your most famous avatars- the Lalbaug cha Raja himself. It was thoughtful sweet and touching.
my regards,
thanks and sorry(i mean both the words sincerely)
rucha
See You Soon

My Little Fairy Tale

My Little Fairy Tale on the side.

Once upon a time when I used to be a school girl, most likely in 7th or 8th grade, Mrs.Ghorpade , our Marathi teacher had just finished distributing our mid-term marks for the language and asked a particular girl why she didn't do too well. The girl (It wasn't me, I have always been a self-confessed Lingua-phile and a Logophile at that, although Marathi had been eluding me for quite a while, I still liked it.) said that she simply didn't like the language.
That's when Mrs.Ghorpade said something that still remains with me to this very day (she used to keep saying it in her class after that day,probably she too realised it was a gem)

                                  " If you love Marathi, Marathi will love you back"

 (I still remember Mrs.Ghorpade, she had that cute chocolate face and salt-pepper hair and she used speak such cute Marathi, sing Marathi lullabies in class and when she lost her temper she would even scream in Marathi, and was miserly as ever in giving marks.)

I have been struggling with Biochemistry for a Long Long while. I was beginning to loathe it and it was beginning to get on my nerves.
After much whining, suddenly all this came back to me.
 So here goes,
I must try and love Biochemistry...its going to be difficult, it might be a one sided love story for a while... but if I pursue it wholeheartedly and really want it that bad, its going to have to Love me back.
And then,  in the end
                                      " I and Biochem will Live Happily Ever After Forever "

P.S.
STATUTORY WARNING : This rule only applies to the pursuit of you know...Knowledge, or the likes of it.
 As far as people go - Not Applicable

Marine Drive and moi

18th August,2012. Marine Drive, Mumbai.


Its been my favorite place in all of Mumbai since I was a kid

I am a true blue Borivli gal...love the cosy by lanes, the Link road, the High way, the eateries and most of all the people.

 So when I write about my thoughts while I was there at Marine drive, its not the awe inspiring SoBo feel that gets me awestruck, its that one stretch of land along the sea that calms my soul that I'm writing about.

Its going to be from the point of view of a person who manages to get there once in a while...its going to be about some of the things that crossed my mind while I was there....it was like some kind of meditation with my eyes and ears open but my mind closed to everyone...it was just me, the sea and the horizon.

Surprisingly, I cannot tell whether I get thoughtful when I get there or is it that I go there when I need to think. I guess I'll never know. It just calls me when I'm lost and somehow I find a reason to get there.

 What I do know is that I love being on my own along this promenade. It puts me into thinking mode. Makes me want to plan my life just standing out there and thinking silently.

 About all the things I love, the things I stand for in life, of how tiny I am right now against this vast ocean and how I want to carve a niche for myself in this world.

Suddenly time doesn't matter. All that matters is the dream I have and spending my life pursuing it - no matter how long it takes...no matter the odds.

Standing there, I realised that life is not measured in years, its measured in the things you do to get to someplace that you want to go to. To achieve that dream that you dreamt when you were still a kid. The trick is to not let that dreamy little kid leave you. Let it stay.

 People come and go. Friends stay. They stay...in and out of touch...but they are still your friends.

One more thing that stays with you are the experiences you gain while you're in the journey towards our goal. It may seem impossible. It really might be impossible but if you believe in it enough, it might just lead you to where you always wanted to be - your happy place.

 Everybody has a destination, some have the same destination as yours and sometimes it may look to you that people get there way faster than you do. And it may be true. They had their own journey to make and you are on your track too.
 And no matter how similar your goals maybe to those of the ones around you...the way you get there is not going to be the same. In fact, you may think that the road you've taken is leading to a place you want to go to but it maybe something else entirely. You'll never know and you don't need to. All you need to remember is your main aim in life. Your no.1 aspiration and then keep working hard towards one milestone at a time to get there. Life will unfold...as you tread along you'll know where you're headed.

While you're treading along. be calm, cool and most of all make the most of the company you get from time to time. Remember, that some of the people you meet me may not stay on forever, so while you're with them, make sure you're good company. Its possible that their destination maybe different from yours, so don't lose your sense of track while you're with the people you like being around, just enjoy the few fleeting moments and then get on with your business...don't hover. And remember what you set out to be....not where you wanted to go.

 If at the end of your life...you look back and you see that you did all that you could do to turn into that person that you wanted to grow into...then you'll know it was worth the while...no matter the end result.

All this and much more happened to cross my mind while I was standing against the Arabian sea along the promenade.

 I've been to a lot of places along the sea in Mumbai.This one is different. It has its own feel. You could have a hundred people around you right there..but you can feel calm. Its like the sea just does that to everybody's spirit. Sets them free. It set me free that day..it always does.
RS