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Showing posts from February, 2011

Dhurandhar, and Why It Felt Personal

I had stopped going to Hindi movies in theaters. Not suddenly — just gradually. A trailer would come out, I’d watch it, feel mildly interested… and then do nothing. Maybe I’d tell myself I’ll catch it on OTT. Most of the time, I never did. Somewhere along the way, watching a movie stopped feeling like something to look forward to. It started feeling like a gamble — and more often than not, not worth taking. Even the shortcuts didn’t help. I’d skim through reviews, scroll past reactions, try to get a sense of whether it was “worth it.” But none of it really made the decision easier. If anything, it just reinforced the hesitation. The hesitation followed me even after Dhurandhar Part 1 released. I didn’t rush to watch it. In fact, I waited almost a month. But then something interesting started happening. The reactions didn’t line up. Most of what I was seeing was positive — people seemed genuinely excited about it. But there was also a noticeable pushback from some co...

The 1996 World Cup game

It was a Saturday morning and many many years ago.  I remember the day vividly, though I got the date from Wikipedia.  In the larger context of things, the date is insignificant.  Obviously, with the passage of time, it just goes to show how timeless it is.  Fifteen years ago is a long time, but to me and the billions of Indians around the world, the events that unfolded the rest of the day has left an indelible mark in memory.  People who follow sports are obsessed with statistics.  Cricket is all about statistics and there is so much to assimilate - bowling and batting figures, partnerships, maidens, wickets and a whole gamut of fascinating figures.  People have made a career out of cricket statistics; ask the cricinfo guys about it. I was supposed to have my ninth grade exams in a couple of weeks.  There was an India Pakistan game on Saturday, 9th March 1996.  As I told you earlier, the date was insignificant, and as I tell you now, the ...