Dil Bole Hadippa - Review

This is a first for me, reviewing a movie from the theatre, 45 minutes into
it. And it's not because I am suddenly fascinated by mobile internet but
because the only other option is to watch the movie, which frankly is not
much of an option.

I came with low hopes and shallow expectations, after all the movie has been
universally panned, but DBH has gone under and below those standards.

The ending and everything else is predictable from act 1 scene 1, that is if
you don't consider the teasers, posters or the title itself. Punjab, mustard
fields, audio collage of ex-Yash Raj strains, cricket, India-Pakistan,
Indian > NRI, thousands of extras in bright costumes, loud characters,
Anupam Kher as the avuncular old man and every other stereotype which was
charming during DDLJ and has lost all sheen over the last decade and half
due to excessive and manic milking.

The plot - Rani Mukherjee is a cricket crazy Punjabi village belle who wants
to play for the local team that plays against the Pakistani local team every
year during Independence Day. India has lost the match 9 years in a row, and
Anupam Kher - the owner of the Indian team - calls over Shahid Kapur, his
son and a smashing cricketer playing in England, to build a team. Veer/Veera
(Rani) is not allowed to be a part of the same because of her gender, so she
goes in the disguise of being a sardar.

We just went into intermission, and as far as the ending goes your guess is
as good as mine, and both, I am sure, are mighty good!

The only difference between us is you will now move to another tab perhaps
with some pity for me, and I will spend the next hour or so watching the
movie as I don't have the review to keep me busy any more.

Before you sympathise with me any further and think of me as the boy who
lost everything, let me tell you that last Friday a friend challenged me to
a TT match, the bet was two movie tickets of my choice or his. I won the
matches and the bet but made a terrible choice of the movie.

Oh yes, the movie had some message about women's equality, having the Indian
heart in the right place and a few others I'm sure. And yes, it had Shahid
Kapur's name before Rani's in the credits in a movie for, of and about Rani
Mukherjee, some respect shwon to the woman.

4/10.

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Sent from my Blackberry Wireless Device

Making Your Own Font

The idea of having a font made from my own handwriting has intrigued me ever since I was introduced to MS Word and the world of fonts. But I had resigned to fate, assuming that I had to either become the next big thing in calligraphy or needed to build a brand as big as Cadbury's to have my wish fulfilled.

 

However, a few days back I stumbled upon this site which made my long time wish come true - www.fontcapture.com And the simple logic implemented behind the technology is praiseworthy.

You will find the easiest step by step guides on the site. I am producing some screenshots of how I made my font in case you want the proof of the pudding before the eating.

Step 1: Download the blank form template (shown below) from the site. This basically includes all characters which you need to fill out with a sharp black marker.

 

Step 2: Filling out the characters. Below I have put my scanned copy of the same.

 

And we are almost done. Now we just need to upload this file (.jpg or .png) and we have our own home grown font!

Seeing my font on screen I was expecting to be beeming with pride after the age old wish coming true. However, all I felt was a sense of shame for having never taken my parents' and teachers' repeated warnings to improve my hand writing. But I have promised to myself that just to have an enviable font made after my writing style, I will again pick up the pen and rough pads and start scribbling.

Here's how the font will look like. Well, should be much better for most of you:)

Oh! Calcutta Oh! Yes

This has been a heavy duty food week with a nawabi lunch at Karim's (Gurgaon) a few days back consisting of Biriyani, Burra Kebab, Chicken Afghani, Jehangiri Qorma and the masterpiece - Mutton Raan, this was followed by Haleem from Pista House. And it was only fair that it ended with a lavish Bangali spread at Oh! Calcutta (Nehru Place, Delhi) this afternoon.

Coming back to the lunch, some school and college friends of mine planned this a few days in advance and exchanged emails to get into the mood. This post by Shantanu Ghosh (a highly recommended food blogger) obviously upped the ante.

Bangali cuisine is quite elaborate to begin with. A normal lunch at a Bangali household is usually a 4-5 course event - starting with some veg/fish fries as appetisers, a veg curry, dal, a non veg curry (fish/chicken/mutton), and a sweet dish. So, when you come to the most well known Bangali chain in the country for their Sunday lunch do budget for 1.5-2 hours and tie the belt a little loose.

The lunch started with some very well prepared fish chops, crisp and fresh with kashundi (mustard sauce), and the ubiquitous luchi and chholar dal. They also had some seafood and chicken salad, though I can't vouch for their bangaliness.

Then we moved the the steamed rice and veg part of the meal. Though the Bangali cuisine is better known for it's machh (fish) and other non-veg side, we do have a heavy armoury of the the torkaris (veg curries)! As you can see, the greyish curry next to the rice is perhaps the most famous of them all - shukto. Somewhat similar to avial in the southern part of India and the mixed-veg sabzi of the norh. Along with that there was doi potol (a very Indian vegetable whose English name I am not aware of, cooked in a curd based gravy),  and aloo-fulkopi posto - between the shukto and chholar dal in the picture. This is a dry-ish dish of potato and cauliflower smeared with posto (poppy seeds).

And now the 'main course' the amish or the non-veg part of the meal. I apologise for the poor clarity of the picture, by the time I reach this part of the lunch I am usually too one-tracked on the food and lose the focus on the photos. A trait that I may not try to rectify too soon!Anyway,, the reddish to the top left of the plate was Tomato Rui Machher Jhol (Rohi fish in a thick Tomato based curry) more or less a staple at most homes. Next to that is the most authentic home made murgir jhol (chicken curry) you will come across. And finally the chingri machher malai kari (prawns cooked in a coconut based gravy). All three items reeked of the bangali home kitchen and brought back fond memories to the table of 5 bangalis living in Delhi, nteresting none of us are from Kolkata, which seems to be the only place in Bengal that anyone seems to know!

There was a most well prepared Mutton Biriyani with the Bangali style whole boiled potato in it. However, by that time I had dug into my plate with my hands and so there is no pictorial proof of the same.

By the time we were through with this we couldn't move too many muscles in the body, least so the mouth and legs, however a Bangali meal being incomplete without the mishti (sweets) we had to attack the chaler payesh (a rice & milk concoction) and Rosogolla (I won't translate this).








A weekend lunch buffet (they don't have dinner buffets) will come to around 600 INR with taxes. On the whole the place definitely gives you an slice of the Bangali cuisine. But remember, you will do justice to the place only if you go when hungry, very hungry!