Which original version is liked ?

I can't say I like to play devil's advocate or stir up the nest but the current furore over "Phir Mile Sur" is irrestible.

While quite a few are not enamored with "Phir Mile Sur" ( an underestimation) others are fine with it - they may still prefer the older version but credit the new one with the inclusion of more diversity, technology, children, sign language etc.

And I speculate ... just how much of this commotion is due to "what-we-see-or-hear-first-we-like-better" syndrome !! Ok now what is the technical term for this ? :)))

Consider the following

1. Same songs/movie in different languages

• Cheeni Kum and the song from Mouna Raagam [ Tamil ]. It is a straight tune lift !

I prefer the Tamil version but friends here perfer the Cheeni Kum song and I cannot feel the magic in Cheeni Kum !!!

• Saathiya songs vs the Alaipayudhe [ Tamil ] songs

I like the Tamil version again and yes I heard it first.  My friends from Pune prefer the Hindi version [ yes I did make them listen to the Tamil version ! :) ]

• Anjali movie songs as well as the movie - I prefer the Telugu version which I watched and listened to first.

I know my Chennai friends like the Tamil version better ! :)

• Ghajini vs the Tamil movie ( forgot the name ) - yep I prefer Ghajini ( although I have not seen the entire movie )

• e. The day earth stood still - I can't imagine even wanting to watch the 1951 version ! :)

2. Cricket T-20 vs Test matches

The cricketing world proverbially erupted on this issue and yet see the cash cow that T-20 is now. This clearly shows the demand for cricket in this format never mind the purists' views ! :)

3. Books converted to Movies

Although the mediums are different - if a person has seen the movie first and then reads the book - more often than not he/she prefers the movie and vice versa.

4. Old Hindi songs and the new remixed versions

Yes people like the old versions but there are few kids I know who prefer the new ones. And I did think couple of the remixes were done tastefully so that one could listen to the old and the new with pleasure. Bonus ! :) The videos of these songs though .... are not my cup of tea at all ...

5. Strange but Atlas Shrugged and Fountainhead

Most Ayn Rand lovers seem to like both books but prefer the book read first !!! :)

And so on ..... I do think the in the long run purists lose ground simply because change ( good or bad ) is a juggernaut wheel that is just unstoppable !!!

Having said that; for "Phir Mile Sur" - I think they should have considered making it crisper - 5 - 6 min preferably and included more national icons and gotten off the excessive Bollywood train .... there were Bollywood people in the original but they did not choke you with their number ! :)

Choice , Freedom , Independence - What ?

Most parents when asked; tell that they want their kids to be independent. I wonder ..... what does independence mean ?

Financial Independence ? Emotional independence , Religious independence ?

When a child emotionally declares he/she prefers to spend more time with say the father - the mother immediately sulking is something I have seen too many times [ "After all I have done" .... is the oft heard wail ]. Isn't this is a barrier to emotional growth ??

A child questions - regarding the job, career or lack thereof [ :) ] - taking offence does not help.

In fact even for routine queries I have been told not to say "I don't know" because it reduces my authority !! I cannot say I understand this - I know I am not a know-it-all .. [ I prefer leaving this job to google !! :) ]. And I would prefer to explore the answer with my baby .... and common there are so many questions that I just cannot answer ..... if I curb this am I not impeding the child's intellectual freedom ??

Our children should earn and stand on their own feet. But if this involves making a lot of credit purchases and falling into a debt spiral - do we think that a child should learn from his/her mistakes or bail out the child again and again ? [ The child here is a legal adult but when is a child not a child to its parents ? Aaah yes .. when paying for our medical bills !!! :)) ]

Independence to decide on a life partner - an acquaintance was askance at the thought that having a girl child in the US who is independent might open the possibility of having a black [ have no idea what the politically correct term is now !! ] son-in-law .... !!!

Imagine a child choosing to change religions ( for any reason ) .. how many parents would like that and can support that ?

And the list goes on

- When a girl decides on the kind of dresses she wears ( for guys too ... but on a lesser level )
- When a guy decides to do some RJing instead of focusing on CET .......
- Choice of geographical area to settle

This is not restricted to a home environment alone ... Ever a submitted a proposal to your boss only to find that all the boss likes are the full stops and commas and sometimes not even that ? :)) Where is the independence here ?

A bird is taught by the parents to fly and yet when it flies the nest why does the resentment come in ? We may find that we cannot live with the choices made .....

So when I hear "I want my child to be independent" I also hear the caveat -

As long as he/she makes choices per my idea of what a a proper choice is .. and that is not independence at all .... it is mere conformity to a parent's ideals ......

While I am not immune to this phenomenon ... for now .... I think perhaps I should allow my child to jump in puddles more often ..... :)) That is also a type of choice right ?

Reading - A complete waste of time ??

Recently a friend of mine who is not into reading in any form observed - "You like reading books but don't you think it is a complete waste of time ? Especially since your books are not even related to work. In the time you are reading you do nothing productive !!!! "

Of course I bristled at this but she being a friend - I did not shoot off acerbic comments; even though uncharitable observations about her serial-watching-time did occur to me !!! :))) Ha ha ....

Nobody likes to be told they are wasting time !! :)

Still .... I decided to actually think about her observation ... :) I know anyone can go on and on about the benefits (and disadvantages) of reading so I am not getting into that .... :)

I am going to play devil's advocate [ any offense in unintended ! ]

If we are to think of reading books as a waste of time then anytime spent in not foraging for our basic needs is a waste of time.

So letz see -

1. Time spent in listening to music is a waste of time - unless it is how you earn your bread-and-butter.
2. It goes without saying that only people involved in movie making should watch movies. [ What about the associate industries of Advertising, Toys, T-shirts, Games ...... :) No idea ! ]
3. Serials are a complete waste of time of-course - never mind the neighborhood boutiques ... that sell sarees and jewellery inspired by the serials !
4. Reality shows ? Ha .. toss it out of the window .... :)
5. You would like to learn the piano ? Why ? Read a trade magazine instead ! :))
6. Watching cricket / football / tennis by any one other than the players is an absolute no-no ! Never mind if your spouse starts to resemble a grizzly bear on losing his/her relaxation time with a favorite sport. :)

And so on and on ..... :))

To stretch it to a crazy level .....

Your child should decide what he/she wants to be in childhood and based on that should learn / read only skills related to the same !! Ouch ....

How would the world fare in this kind of environment ? I shudder to think .... :))) So next time I am tempted think of any specific recreation as a waste of time I am going to remember that the lateral impact of our recreations are many and varied [ both on self and others :) ] and I should realize each person chooses his/her own brand of poison ! :)
 
As for my friend - When I showed her this blog post she groaned and said "Blogging is creation of more material to read and ...... wasn't that where all this argument began ?" ! ;)) "

Books to Movies - Gripes ......

I think it is always dicey when books are converted to movies ....I mean just take the Bourne series .. !!! The movie(s) have not captured the book. They have taken "Bourne Identity" and made it into 3 movies with bits and pieces from the second and third book. The books "Bourne Supremacy" and "Bourne Ultimatum" hardly have anything in common with the movies of the same name. :)

While some adaptation in the storyline is expected; I wonder why glaring mistakes are made while casting .... One would think this area at least can be close to perfection .....

Yet ..... when I think of Lord of the Rings and the role of Galadriel played by Cate Blanchett -

She is supposed to be absolutely beautiful .. in fact so beautiful that the Dwarf and Elf keep arguing on the point - Arwen vs Galadriel. I know beauty is in the eyes of the beholder and all that but she looked terrible in the movie instead of gorgeous. Absolutely disappointing !!! Arwen as Liv Tyler was so much more better and she looks ethereal the way it is in the book. [ For those of you who forgot ; Galadriel is an elf queen and one of the 3 keepers of the rings. She gives Frodo the Star of light ].

Same for Marie in Bourne Movies - I don't think the actress fit the bill for this role ......

Another famous series - Harry Potter just seems to have too many wrongly depicted characters ... think of - Voldemort - He finally completely appears in "Goblet of Fire" and what a disappointment. Honestly as the main villain-of-the-piece in Harry Potter isn't he supposed to be so scary that nobody can mention his name ? Isn't he supposed to look more menacing ? Instead he looks like a caricature of a villain or a comic portrayal gone wrong !! Jeez .. no chills at all... ends up looking silly in fact ..... And then his eyes are supposed to be red slits !!!

Fleur Delacour - She is a Veela and has an ability to entrance and mesmerize men ... well .... she seems to have no appeal at all in the movie !!! :)

And I can go on .... :)

These look like glaring examples to me ... but may be this comparison is something obsessed book-readers observe and like to critique ..... :)

In recent times - the best movie adhering to the book descriptions IMHO is "Twilight". I found no issues with any of the characters - be the main characters or the lesser role characters - they have chosen exceptionally well. Yet how much does this diligence in casting convert to profit for the movie ?

[ Twilight - New Moon - is not very riveting as a book so I think it may not do much at the box office when compared to part one... :) But then that is the storyline .. not the character ..... so I digress .... ]

I did think it was an interesting question as regard casting but I know I do not have enough data to analyze ... :)) May be getting the main characters right is sufficient ....