A day at the school

After a harrowing day's work at the office, when I was almost ready to depart, my cell phone rang. I was expecting it to be my driver, but when I opened it, I found it to be someone whom many married men fear, some admire and for many like me can't ignore. You guessed it right, it was wife calling from home. This is the time, she never calls. So, slightly worried, I asked,

"What's up?"

"What will you prefer for the dinner, luchi or fried rice? I will cook tonight."

We have a cook who prepares all the items for both lunch and dinner. Very rarely, that too on my persistent request, my wife goes to the kitchen. I wondered, what was special about this day! Was it our marriage anniversary, or was it someone's birthday that I had forgotten?

"I didn't let the children sleep in the noon time. They will sleep early tonight."

When she said this, I knew this was not normal. So, I asked curtly,

"Did you purchase something very costly?"

"Oh! What a unromantic husband I have got!" She was disappointed.

I knew something had to be amiss. While getting up in the car, I rephrased my question,

"Do you want something?"

"Nothing material, you duffer! I want you to be present at the parent teacher interaction session on Thursday."

Now, I understood. I don't like to take unnecessary leave. So, I enquired,

"But, you told me last time that after admission of our younger daughter in the same school, I don't have to go there. You will be able to manage yourself."

She hesitated a bit and replied, "You know there will be bookstalls in the school. Don't we need to buy few Scholastic books? I won't be able to carry them."

I laughed silently. I knew the real reason. She had nothing to fear about the performances of the daughters, or there had been any issue with their discipline. But, like many Bengalis, she, too, lacks confidence in speaking English.

My both daughters study in the same school: the elder one at class 1 and the younger one at nursery. First, we went to the first floor to meet the class teacher of class 1, section A. I had never seen this plump, bespectacled Christian lady clad in baby pink sari before. She handed me the report card, and enquired about the younger daughter, who was with us, from her pupil. I skimmed through the two-paged report card, and found everything satisfactory except one aspect. Before, I said anything, she said,

"Your daughter is very good. There are no issues with her."

"But she got C in discipline!" I wondered!

"She is very talkative. She finishes her work very quickly, and starts to gossip with her friends. But, I assure you that's very normal for her age. There is nothing to be worried about." She explained the matter to us.

Then we went downstairs to meet the Goanese class teacher of my younger daughter. She was a known face, as she taught my elder daughter, too. Her joy knew no bound when she saw her old student. I knew she loved to talk. She praised both my daughters profusely. My wife's face was glowing in satisfaction. But just when we thought it was over, she said,

"There is only one minor issue with her. She speaks more in Bengali than in English."

I looked at my wife again: the glow had vanished.

"But, your elder daughter can speak fluently. I think you need to talk to her in English at home more often."

She turned to my elder daughter, and said,

"Now, it's your responsibility to speak with her in English only. If she doesn't cooperate with you, you come to my class, and inform me."

"That is a great solution", I appreciated her.

My elder daughter was the happiest person on that day. In my opinion, my younger daughter is brilliant, and the elder daughter is just a good student. She got a great satisfaction in proving me wrong. Moreover, I had announced previously that whoever got better grades would get Rs 100 from me. She won that prize too. My younger daughter started to cry, and her mother consoled her by giving Rs 10.

Picture taken form the Internet 

 

Film Review War

Did you notice that if you reverse the word RAW (Research and Analysis Wing) you get WAR, and WAR was released on 2nd October, the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, a champion of non-violence? The probable commercial success of a film can be guessed when you book tickets in advance. When my wife booked 4 tickets for the 3-35 PM show on the first day, she said that most of the seats had already been booked. That didn't happen in case of Saaho, which had a budget of Rs 350 crore. I had a lot of enthusiasm about the film as it had the famous Bahubali star Prabhas. But, I was frustrated, as the film could not meet the expectations. This time, naturally, I was a bit sceptical about this Rs 200 crore budgeted film.

But this action thriller, produced by Yash Raj Films and directed by Siddharth Anand does not disappoint the viewers. In fact, the film starred by Hrithik Roshan, Tiger Shroff, Vaani Kapoor, Ashutosh Rana, and Anupriya Goenka was so engrossing that sometimes I forgot to munch the popcorn or take a sip at my cold drinks. I have seen a lot of action films in both Hindi and English, but have never seen such breathtaking actions in any Hindi film. Be it the Dhoom series films or the Race series films or Bang Bang or whatever, this had to be the best. The action directors of the film, Sea Young Oh, Parvez Shaikh, Franz Spilhaus and Paul Jennings, have to be given full credit for producing something which is almost at par with any top Hollywood action film. This film reminded me of the kind of actions that we have seen in the Fast and Furious series or the Mission Impossible series.

This is the first film of Tiger Shroff that I have seen. The nimble-footed guy with a 6-pacs abs seemed to have mastered the WWE signature moves of various superstars, like the Superman punches of Roman Reigns or the Sweet Chin Music of Shawn Michaels. Had it been only him, he would have stolen the show. Unfortunately, he had to match his every step with a guy who is taller, more muscular, more handsome and most importantly more experienced in acting than him. He is definitely not dwarfed by Hrithik, but surely fell short in every aspect throughout the movie.

The story is about liquidating a super spy agent Kabir (Hrithik), who went rogue for reason which no one seemed to know. The spy chief Col Luthra (Ashutosh Rana) after receiving a mouthful of denunciations from the Nirmala Sitharaman look-alike defence minister, handed the assignment of assassinating Kabir to one of Kabir's protege Khalid (Tiger). Kabir was like a demi-God for Khalid. Khalid was keen on knowing the reason which turned a bona fide patriot into a turncoat.

The story went backwards to show how Kabir trained Tiger, who was the son of a traitor whom Kabir himself had killed in a shootout. It didn't take too long for Khalid to understand that Kabir was doing something just, which he couldn't have done remaining in the system. But, there are other players like Sanjeev Vasta as Rizwan Iiyasi, a major threat to India, a fellow RAW agent Saurabh for whom Rs 7 crore is good enough to sell his allegiance and Dipannita Sharma as Dr. Mallika Singhal, a plastic surgeon with magical abilities. These characters bring a lot of twists and turns in the film which keep the viewer glued to his chair.

There are some great action scenes from the war-torn Iraki city of Tikrit or the Moroccan city of Marrakesh. There are picturesque shots from Valetta in Malta, where for the first time but not for too long, we see the main female character of the film Vaani Kapoor who plays the role of Naina. I am not a movie buff: this was the first time I came to know that there is a heroine named Vani Kapoor. I tried very hard to adjust to the fact that she is a heroine, but, unfortunately, she never looked more than an ordinary-looking neighbourhood lady to me. She should have been treated only as a civilian asset, but our hero, up to a small extent, fell for her.

In his effort to make the film flab-free, the director has included only two songs. Hollywood action thrillers do not incorporate unnecessary songs, but Hindi movie without a song is unthinkable. The crowd wants it. Melodically, the songs might not have been of very high quality, but the choreography compensates that. You get to see the super performances from the two top dancers among the heroes in the Hindi film Industry. In the dance, Tiger has outperformed Hrithik, in my view. The climax of the movie, shot in the Arctic circle, is perhaps a cut above even Hollywood films.

The film deliverers a much needed social message that Muslims are no less patriot than Hindus, and there are traitors from both communities.

If you have to find a fault with the film, it has to be the story. Some of the scenes are not logical or practical. But who cares? When you go for entertainment, you don't mind it. So, if you have time, go and watch it. It's worth the money.

Pictures taken form the Internet