Word Sketches: My First - ( unofficial) Half Marathon 7 Nov 15

Word Sketches: My First - ( unofficial) Half Marathon 7 Nov 15: This Morning - Hit the most illusive 21K in 2hr 55 minutes:-) - it was unofficial though - not at any event but just on my own. Was so exci...

Word Sketches: Cineblog: Katyar Kaljat Ghusli (The Movie)

Word Sketches: Cineblog: Katyar Kaljat Ghusli (The Movie): 2015 Diwali,  though I was celebrating the 'non NRI Diwali' :-) after two long years, more than the Diwali faral and sweets (no cr...

My First - ( unofficial) Half Marathon 7 Nov 15

This Morning - Hit the most illusive 21K in 2hr 55 minutes:-) - it was unofficial though - not at any event but just on my own. Was so excited that got up just a minute before the alarm went off @4.40 am. Was out by 5.20 and hit the road @5.25, completed @8.20 hushhhhh!!!

 Unusually hot for November - 22 deg celc @ 6 am!!😡

The last 5K was really a stretch taking 50 minutes..:-) Consumed @500+ ml water between 13-21 K. Non stop, no snacking during the run. Though some dry fruits immediately after coming to halt...which i was carrying. Very difficult walking back home after the run and even more taxing doing post run stretching. Ligaments behind knee, and calves got hit the most and the lower back as well :(. Stretching helped tremendously though :-). Also so fatigued that didn't want to think, write and post this, thruout the day. Had 1 hour sleep in the afternoon. Also made sure that stepping out in the noon to activate legs which have become too numb!!!!:-) And 2-3/times lime + salt + sugar water during the day to avoid any cramps etc...

- 6k to 21K just under 4 weeks (11 Oct - 7 Nov)
- 12 days of actual run
- ~120 K run till date
-  This week 43 K
-  7 times 10+ K runs
-  Average 10k / day
-  6 6 6 10 6 10 10 6 16 10 12 21 (12 days run)
- Lost 3 KGs in last month, not at all great....
-  Also couldn't have been on my usual diet (in fact a bit depleted) for last 2-3 months

After the run, i was felling like wearing a mud face pack ;) - not exactly but to some extent, smoke + sweat + dust even with a very less morning traffic!!

Having a weird feeling after achieving this - cant explain... May need to consider some other targets..but it can't be a full marathon... In fact 3 hours on road was too much of a stretch, and not too sure if I should continue..... But definitely want to run 1 official half marathon - Most likely on 6 Dec, the Pune marathon :-)

Cineblog: Katyar Kaljat Ghusli (The Movie)

2015 Diwali,  though I was celebrating the 'non NRI Diwali' :-) after two long years, more than the Diwali faral and sweets (no crackers this time), I was more eager to celebrate two events 1) Zinnia's 9th birthday which was incidentally falling on Diwali Padwa and 2) screening of much awaited movie 'Katyar Kaljaat Ghusli'. These 3 words ; the play itself; the songs and music; and actors associated with it have a special place in the memory lane. Flash back..Sometime in 80s, a young kid ignorant of Indian Classical music, coincidentally came across this play on a Sunday evening on Doordarshan, which changes…or perhaps cornerstones his views on dramas/ plays, song and music. As he was unaware, it created an innate reckoning about all this for him to cherish for the lifetime…. The impact made by Khansaheb  (was that a Character or Doctor Deshpande almost lived Khansaheb? ) is so deep-rooted that 'Soorat Piyan kI' and 'Ghei Chaand Makarand' songs were the chosen companions, of the same and now grown up kid, in the few months of ghostly stay, at 'Bromley' during H1 2015.

I wasn’t aware till a few months back that the songs which I'm listening to almost daily during H1 2015 are actually getting rehashed on a bigger canvas on celluloid. So when I got to know about the same a couple months back I was super excited and was very eager to watch the movie - Not to mention the poster, promos and the songs released before the movie have added to my anxiety……Well I'll stop referencing me, but that’s how this is a Cineblog and not just a Cinesketch or a Cinebits (my other 2 categories of plain vanilla reviews.

The movie is told in a bit different way, like how a movie is supposed to be told, a bit different than the drama. It has got all the essence of new age Marathi cinema - the grandeur (which is apt and not mind boggling), the period costumes, leveraging some of the best musicians in the industry (Trio of Shankar-Ehsan-Loy), Maestro like Sachin (the Marathi acting maestro, not the one on the 22 yards :-)) and few other stalwarts like Subodh himself and Sahnkar Mahadevan in the lead roles.  The concept of narrative by the Katyar itself / herself is excellent, full marks to Subodh Bhave (the director) or the Production designers. My only take is if it could have been a bit younger and a lot more sharper voice than Reema Lagu it would have been more appealing…(but just my view)

The movie scores on all fronts, well almost all. Full marks to the casting director. Sachin is born for the role and like I mentioned earlier, this would fetch him multiple awards.. I'd like to see him making big at the international levels (my hunch is UK based British Raj kind of projects…) when it comes to portraying these Urdu speaking characters…but why just that, in fact any other magnificent character and he would make it a masterpiece. He and Doctor Vasantrao Dshapnde will be always remembered for their Khansaheb portrayal, I still like the Doctor's more, as it was a bit less filmy. However Sachin looks more convincing and original vocalist than what Shankar is doing on the screen. BTW Shankar has given all he could to the character of Punditji and full marks to him considering his first mainstream acting attempt. Though I would have liked to have a seasoned actor portraying this. Subodh Bhave's character spans during the second half mainly, but he gets all the limelight through portrayal of Sadashiv - He has given a magnificent performance while maintaining the subtlety…  Amrita Khanwilkar, Mrinmayee Deshpande and  Pushkar Shrotri all have played theirs to perfections. Duo of Chand & Usman, don’t have much to play as compared to the original drama, and they probably couldn’t even made it memorable.

Subodh and the producers have definitely played an anchors role to unravel the masterpiece on the screen and did it keeping the originality of the drama. Some scenes, like the one where Sadashiv (Subodh) and Zareena (Amrita) were lighting the diyas - is a landmark in Marathi movie and also the other scenes during the Qawwali and at the climax are great showman skills by Subodh.

Music for this genre was a huge testimony and the Trio has crafted it beyond perfection - For the new generation, they may not be able to differentiate between which ones are by Abhishekibua and which ones are by the Trio. However during couple of songs like Ghei Chaand and Surat Piya Ki (or another one) a visual display of Mridingam (while I suppose Tabla is played in the background, and which is more apt as well) is a bit unsettling (Is there any other percussion instrument used other than Tabla in the Original Katyar…. I guess not)

Costumes are great - I heard for the first time in Marathi movie they introduced a costume consultant in addition to the designer, and Nachiket Barve has opened a plethora of opportunities for him....and  I am sure he would go places beyond Bollywood, typically for the period movies.  

Cant conclude without referencing splendid performances which makes this Katyar the Katyar  - Vocalist Rahul Deshpande, Shankar Mahadevan and Mahesh Kale have given the millennials (Gen X) the heartthrob of classical and musical 80's in a new age Dolby Digital format… And did I say remix?…well yes remix without even a feel of remix, by not killing the rhythm, melody, content, simplicity and the soul of the music.

It'll be a great commercials success, Sachin to grab quite a few awards including a National Award and should be able to launch himself in an international project, the movie is capable of winning a few awards as well. Sincerely wishing that Subodh will be enticed by many such subjects like Balgandharva, Lokmanya, Katyar etc. and will lead the way of period movies and biopics taking MArathi movies beyond the regional /national boundaries. 

Cant help but conclude in Marathi - Before stepping inside the the movie hall, I was wondering… Katyar ajun khol rutnar ki unmalun padnar…. But it lived beyond expectations giving an awesome feeling as the 'Katyar fakta ghusali nahi tar shekdo rasikanchya manat kayamachi ghatta rutun basnar…