Central Nirvana, Darjeeling: Excellent Stay, amazing views !!

This is one hotel, which will offer you nice rooms with excellent views. Located close to the mall, so you have to hire a porter if you have luggage as cars are not allowed. Rooms are clean & amenities are also adequate except the heater. Hotel staffs are very polite & helpful. Our room (202) had a fireplace also, which we never tried. Hotel have a nicely decorated lawn facing the hills where you can spend entire day with a book, unless it is raining :)

Go for the club room, even if it costs bit extra. Room 401 is not club room but a grade higher. Connect with hotel authorities if you want to book that room. Hotel authorities will also help you with the best rates for airport/njp station transfer by car.

My rating is 4 star, not five is because of the food & the restaurant. Food is not up to the mark. You will get best foods in Darjeeling at half the price.

Overall, my stall was excellent & will definitely go for this hotel again whenever I will plan a visit to the queen of hills.

Room Tip: Stayed at room 202, which is very good with a nice view & a covered balcony.

Bombay Barbeque (Thane) - A let down

After getting bored of Barbeque Nation, I thought will try this one. Got opportunity also as one of my colleague wanted to treat us here to celebrate a lifetime event in his life.

We entered, found the place bit cramped. AC not working in one section. We had a 20 people team and they could not accommodate all in one place.

Then they started with Panipuri and all those stuff which will cut down your appetite. Starters came, we liked few, but they are few in number. Prawns dish we had to ask minimum 5 times and when it came we already moved to desserts.

Main course had 4 items of which the crab you can eat. Mutton you can't chew, fish you have to swallow, forget the chicken.

Live seafood counter have all items very stale and rubbery.

Dessert section for a change was pretty good. Jalebis, basundi, cakes, icecream, gulabjamun, fruit custard and all.

Staff here are very energetic & helpful within their limits. Singing, dancing etc we enjoyed a lot. Over all and average experience, will avoid in future.

Ragini SMS

This is a horror movie. So whoever had any positive thought about watching it because of the word mms in the movie title, immediately drop your plan and have some "child bear" with the amount you just saved.

The story: Ragini and Uday, set out to have a dirty weekend at a friend's farmhouse on the outskirts of Mumbai. The weekend getaway is in a house that has been rigged with cameras in Bigg Boss style to capture love-making are witness to something that is beyond the realm of human understanding. Within the confines of this house, Ragini and Uday found an unexplainable paranormal force.

Well, the movie is not that bad at all, if you watch it as a horror movie. The basic ingredients are there. Moving of objects without considering the 3 basic Newton laws, one old building with frequent power fluctuation without any fault from the state electricity board, the evil get into human body, and the chudail herself with a false claim that she is good mannered, soft heart and finally not a chudail. Also the scary sounds will keep you guessing, 2b or not 2b get scared. This one was my first full-fledged horror movie in big screen (discounting the semi-horror types bhul-bhulaiya) and I realised the difference of watching it alone (my wife will be nowhere near) on small screen at home and with many unknown male-female on big screen. The female team will constantly scream in all those 2b situations and the male team, who need to display themselves as bolder than the female team, will suddenly become chatterbox. They will ignore the 2b scenes by talking bullshit or predicting the 2b or showing some different kind of frustration (mms bani sms types). Coming back to the movie, it started with a lot of promise. One may get confused with a sequel of LSD. But slowly the confusion will go away once we reach the old building, inside which we are going to watch the rest of the movie. The first half was quite scary and once it is building up, the chudail announces the intermission. And after the break, the movie looses the charm and crisp with some totally out of sync scenes and few predictable ones. The whole movie looked like a collage of world horror movies. Paranormal Activity, Blair-Witch Project, Exorcist, Raaz 1 & 2 (to add some Indian angle) ... none were spared. Overall the photography and sound (has to be) is good. Acting from the newcomers on such a weak screenplay was superb and the only reason to watch this movie. Not a movie to be watched on Saturday evening may be a Sunday morning show is recommended.

Rating: 2.5 of 5

Why Dhobi Ghaat ???

My first movie in 2011 and the total experience is not bad at all. Dhobi Ghat is nicely made. Good direction, brilliant acting, superb cinematography and overall looks like an output of a great teamwork. Only thing I couldn't understand is why the name is "Dhobi Ghat" as the story has different connections to mumbai along with the dhobi ghat only as a part of it. Story is bit like a chain reaction. A likes B, B likes C and C likes D types ...

Arun, an upmarket artist meets Shai, an NRI investment banker at his exhibition. Meanwhile, Shai befriends Munna, the neighbourhood dhobi who happens to be a wannabe actor too, while Arun gets lost in the video-taped story of Yasmin, the enigmatic ex-inmate of the house he currently occupies.

Aamir did a good job as Arun. Monica Dogra (Shai) also was quite impressive. Prateik (Munna) showed some brilliance of Smita Patil legacy. But according to me, best of the lot was Kriti Malhotra (Yasmin). The Yasmin-Arun part of the movie brought back some memories of LSD. The character Munna looked bit artificial in few scenes; mainly his style and his garments were not matching his role as a Dhobi/Rat Killer. Few moments, the screenplay seems to be not moving.

Overall, a different genre altogether. A must watch for Movie Lovers ..

Power packed Rajneeti

It is power packed Rajneeti, nothing else. It is Prakash Jha, who gave us movies like Mrityudand, Gangajaal and Apaharan. It is modern day Mahabharat and when you want to make a movie on Rajniti, you will find all the ingredients in this Epic. It is a perfect entertainer, executed well with superb performance from Nana Patekar, Ranbir, Arjun, Nikhila Trikha and Manoj Bajpai. Are you missing few names? Yes, Katrina with so much mileage in this star-studded cast couldn't do justice to it. The best suited role for her is an anglo-Indian or a US/UK return babe. Ajay Devgn did well, but could have done better. It was great to see the return of Manoj Bajpai. Definitely this one is his best performance since Satya. Nana did justice to the part he played with a totally different look altogether. The whole movie is about Ranbir, who gave a stylish performance. The treatment was excellent, especially when Kunti meets Karna or Krishna influencing Arjun to kill Karna or the friendship between Durwadhan and Karna. Songs used in background as per requirement which helped to keep the flow of the movie intact. After the 2.45 hr experience, you will feel like you have just read and finished the whole Mahabharat and not very sure that it is a happy ending or a bitter one.

The story is about Indian politics, democracy and elections. Above all, it is a story of a few people who control the destiny of millions and their unstoppable ambition, and their bitter and violent battle to achieve it. This is the story of people who understand power - and know how to wield it at will.

It is the story of a fiercely fought election campaign, where money-power and corruption are the accepted norms, and where treachery and manipulation are routinely used weapons. As the personal drama of these conflict-ridden characters unfolds against this gritty backdrop, love and friendship become mere baits, and relationships get sacrificed at the altar of political alignments. The darkness that rises from their soul threatens to envelope all that they hold precious. Until eventually, in the crescendo of increasing violence, the line between good and evil blurs, making it impossible to distinguish heroes from villains.

Raajneeti has its ugly underside. It is about politics, and beyond. A must watch for everyone.

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Baadma$h Company review: It is a Bad Mess

I got few good ratings from different sources before planning to watch this movie on the eve of a very special day. But what a waste :( :( ... The movie is a real mess. They tried to show the reality but ignored the "real facts of life". In the first half you will keep thinking that where I have wasted the money. Or you may think that this is way producers make money in shortcut making fool of the audiences. The second half saved the movie a little bit. The story is quite simple, Shahid wants to earn quick money and a smuggler helped him in this process. 2 of his friends join him and a girl who later becomes his girlfriend. After some time money came between Shahid and his friendship and other relations. Finally Shahid realize it and reunite his team. His is a story which Indian audience will like. Good foreign locations, sexy Anushka will bare minimum cloths, drama, and melodrama and finally out of the blue, a happy ending. The director looked promising in some shots but failed to gather those to make a whole movie. Story outline was good definitely, but weak screenplay (definitely done without any research) and hopeless execution made a total mess. Shahid has grown a new symptom of over acting. Anushka and Chang can't act. With Anupam kher in a small role, Pavan Malhotra and Vir Das helped the overall acting quality to come to a level at least. The makeup person should get some credit for creating different looks for Shahid and Co. Lots of loose ends you will find in this movie. E.g. easily convincing big brands and get a deal. Why Anushka start liking Shahid? Why Anupam Kher doesn’t like Pavan Malhotra? Why Shahid start fighting with his friends one by one? When Shahid was in jail, why he was not charged with his earlier con activities? Why Shahid's friends came back to form the team so easily. And 7 different colour shirt concepts is total bullshit ... who will buy this? Then the fat dancing Michel Jackson was looking like Vir Das :) ! Finally in the last scene, Anupam Kher and wife was looking too odd in western dresses as compared to the character he was playing. Overall, you can definitely give it a miss and prepare for Kites on 21st of this month. My verdict is 0.5 for Vir Das + 0.5 for Pavan Malhotra + 0.5 for rest of the departments.

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How to train your dragon review : a training for me

HTTYD was a brief training session for the Dragons, Hiccup and his friends, his father and other Vikings and of course Me. Storyline is simple. A young Viking, Hiccup, wants to join his town's fight against the dragons that continually raid their town. However, his father and viking leader Stoik, will not allow his small, inventive son to do so. Regardless, Hiccup ventures out into battle and downs a mysterious Night Fury dragon with his invention, but can't kill it. Instead, Hiccup and the dragon, whom he dubs Toothless, begin a friendship that would open up both their worlds as the observant boy learns that his people have misjudged this species. With the efforts from Hiccup and Toothless, the vikings and dragons destroy the evil and a friendship between them blooms. This movie reminded me of another classic animation movie "Monster Inc.". The concept is very similar in both the movies. There it was monster vs human child and here it is Dragon and Human. There one monster and a child change the whole monster-child relation which is similar to the change happened in Dragon-Viking relation.

Animation was classic and with 3-D, it actually added a new dimension. The emotions conveyed in a very sweet manner. First time I think the Dragon was given a very sweet face in any movie, it can even smile with the short tooth. Well now if I start talking about the graphics and animation quality etc, then it will sound like "Chota Muh Badi Baat". Only I can say is a must must watch movie (4.5/5) for everyone (specially children).

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Story telling at its best : The Japanese Wife review

The Japanese Wife is the story telling at its best. A simple story told in an extraordinary way, mixing a lot of human values, emotions and romance. Senomoy (Snehamoy Chatterjee) is a school teacher and lives with his mashi at Sunderban, Westbengal wrote to Miyage in Japan after reading one of her article. She wrote back. They started exchanging letters and became penfriend. Soon they fell in love and get married through letters and gifts. M sent a ring with her name on it and S sent bangles made of shell (Sankha) and vermilion powder (sindoor) as sign of marriage. One day mashi asked Snehamoy to get married to Sandhya. Then he revealed that he is already married. After few years again Sandhya came to their house but as a widow with her son for shelter. Slowly Snehamoy and Sandhya became close but within some limits. Senomoy kept telling Miyage about each and every event in his life. One Miyage wrote that she is ill and need to go and stay at her brother's place at Yokohama and later she detected for Cancer. Senomoy took six months leave from his school and tried to get each and every possible medical helps for Miyage. One day he went to Calcutta to visit a famous Oncologist who told that Miyage has very less chance to survive. It was a stormy day, senomoy then called Miyage but the call get disconnected in mid-way. With a broken heart Senomoy came back home and became bedridden with high fever. Sandha and his mashi tried best to cure him, but one night he passed away. Miyage after getting the news came to visit her Senomoy's place in white saari only to find some sweet memories of their 17 years of distant relationship which was all stored in Senomoy's room.

The rural Bengal shown by Aparna in a nice way and was enough to recall our sweet old days. Rahul Bose did his part with perfection as Snehamoy. Same for Raima as Sandhya. Moushumi (Snehamoy's Mashi) was not so spontaneous in her role. While watching the movie, you may raise question about the nature of the distant relationship and why Snehamoy is not accepting Sandhya. In the last ten minutes of this movie you will get answers to all your questions. You will understand the depth of the distant relation, the sacrifice done by both of them and above all, the meaning of all the letters and the gifts they exchanged in last 17 years. Somewhere you will find the influence of Satyajit Ray in the small details of the movie. Over all a must watch movie for all ages.

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My Name is Khan review : movie with a message ...

MNIK release in Mumbai itself gives some idea about the movie. Entertaining first half, you are not sure which way the movie will go. Then in the middle lots of melodrama which create a mess and uncertain situation. Finally wind up well at the end.

Well I should say that after Swades, this is another Shah rukh movie I liked. Also for the first time I saw him act better than Kajol. Karan Johar done a real good job. The message was good and packaged in a nice way. Performance was superb from all actors. Kajol only in few occasion was a bit dull or seems to be trying too hard. Overall the magical chemistry was there, SRK and Kajol complimeted each other very well. Music was marvelous from the magical trio. Screenplay classic, the pace was very smooth and didn't felt bore. Dialogues also placed nicely. I just loved the way Shah rukh first time said "my name is Khan and I am not a terrorist". I felt that the situation was nicely created for this one liner. Only disappointment was the flood scene. It could have done in much better way. Overall it is a nice experience. 3.5/5

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3 idiots review : All izz well, except the end !!

3 idiots or Munnabhai 3 ... I got confused after this 3 hours experience. Same old concept, some very repetitive. If you ask about the story, it is all about the college life of 3 idiots, not at all searching of one missing idiot. The college life was shown very well, almost at perfection. Enjoyed every moment of it. Execution was fantastic.

One should watch this movie for individual performance. Aamir, Sharman, Madhavan all acted very well and Kareena was superb. After "Jab we met" this is another movie which can be watched only for Kareena. Boman Irani now became type cast ... old angry disturbed father, running after daughter's lover. Every other small characters also gave brilliant performance, including millimeter.

Some aspects because of which it could not become a great movie. The pen and pencil issue lifted from a very old joke. The baby shows sign of life listening to "all izz well". Average acting from Boman Irani. Also it was quite predictable that the scientist will be Aamir only. Finding Aamir looked very easy, don't go with the frequency and energy of the movie.

Overall nice to watch. But could not live upto the expectation generated from the hype created by Aamir and media !! 3/5

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Love Aaj Kal review : Again disappointed with Saif ...

Well before planning for the first day show, I was thinking that another "Only Saif" movie? Then I thought that at least for Deepika and obviously Neetu Kapoor Singh, let me give it a try. Also everyone is saying 4 star, 3.5 star etc etc etc ... But sorry to say that I am disappointed after watching the movie. After the 2 hrs 30 min, the feel good factor or some level of satisfaction was not there. The first half, I didn't have any clue that in which way the movie is going? The storytelling was pathetic. Like our pathetic TV serials, it just tried to store suspense for the next scene, next to next scene. Well some part I really liked. Mainly the 1965 set at Delhi and Calcutta. The silent love in the "Kal" part. The "Aaj" story for me, looked too simple, straight and obvious. Director tried to keep people guessing, now what , now?? Finally failed to show something new or different. I must say that the second half revived the movie a little bit. Liked the end (may be because my wife was sitting next to me :P).

Acting, well I never liked Saif, here also he failed to impress. He according to me just moving with his luck and may crash land any time. Deepika was good, lookwise. But again she was never natural. Biggest disappointment was Neetu singh. The whole movie I was searching for her and she appeared in the last scene for 2 seconds? Rishi Kapoor was fabulous. He lifted the movie single handed. I think Bollywood is not doing justice to him.

All in all, love aaj kal is a no-brainer. I will suggest that better you watch it on TV, but for once. You will only feel that you can't watch it next time. 2.5/5

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Luck by chance : Old wine in new bottle

LBC is the same old story of a struggling person get into a love triangle and at the end try to resolve it. There are numerous examples in bollywood, ooh sorry ... in "Hindi Film Industry" like "Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman", "Rangeela", "Saudagar (Amitabh/Nutan)". But the difference between those movies and LBC is the execution. How it used the characters, also the special appearances and pass the right message to the viewer at the end. What I felt after the show about the movie was one of the very first words from Saurabh Shukla (the acting class teacher) ke "Itna bhi underperformance nahi hona chahiye". Well another surprise for me was, I thought the film will be around Farhan. But what I saw that the movie is around Konkona . Best performer awards definitely go to Rishi Kapoor. Dimple, Juhi, Farhan and Konkona; all were exellent, but failed to find Hritik in that crowd. Liked the story telling also, but definitely not a two and half hour movie. A little bit stretched in some parts.
My rating is 3 + 0.5 for Rishi Kapoor :)

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