Book review- Bankerupt

Book -Bankerupt                 Author - Ravi Subramanian                       Publisher-  Penguin

Genre- Thriller                     Number of pages- 319, paperback        Purchase Price- Rs 250 from book stall

Available- in all book stores, online stores

The plot- Aditya Raisinghania is a senior investment banking manager at the prestigious Greater Boston Global Bank (GB2) in Mumbai. Cirisha Narayanan and her father walk into BG2 on a warm summer morning of 2000 for a huge loan amount. Cirisha is a research scholar at M.I.T Boston struggling for a permanent job there. The duo meet and get married a year later. While both are doing well in their fields, Aditya bumps into his old classmate Shivinder who is a top shot with a footwear giant. Aditya helps Shivinder professionally to inflate the profits of the company on papers and cook up a false success story to attract international investment. Aditya soon gets promoted to the head of the bank, Shivinder is able to show profits for the company and together they literally mint money.

Meanwhile Aditya and Cirisha’s marriage starts to fall apart because of the growing distance between them. Her frequent trips to Boston and absence in Mumbai frustrates him.  To make the marriage last, Cirisha comes to India on a long break for a research project only to find something fishy at Shivinder’s company. Oblivious of Aditya’s involvement, she requests authorities of the parent company to investigate the fraud. The whole scam balloon built by Aditya and Shivinder bursts one day, costing Aditya his job. Aditya moves to Boston with Cirisha in quest of a new career. The worse and unexpected happens when an esteemed M.I.T professor supports the National Rifles Association (NRA) against the favour of gun control and wins several accolades across the country for his book. Richard, Cirisha’s colleague and closest friend, is also struggling for a permanent tenure in M.I.T since long. A frustrated Richard, on losing his last chance of tenure during the campus interview allegedly shoots the council members before shooting himself dead. Multiple rounds of chasing the culprits, protecting the victims and fishing out the clues happen. What follows next puts the readers in awe with an unexpected series of incidents, difficult to believe.

The 319 page book is a true thriller that involves financial fraud, politics in educational institute, murder of characters, all driven by desire and greed!  The story is quick paced without a single boring or dull moment. It keeps you riveted throughout. At least I was engrossed thoroughly! Subramanian’s style of writing is unique where he keeps the chapters short, interesting enough to keep readers at the edge of their seats.

The character portrayal is good, could have been better though.

Bankerupt lives up to its name and the tag line (desire, greed, murder). The plot is very well written and sub plots neatly weaved in together.The climax is not a happy ending fairy tale. It’s tragic and sad, leaving the readers thinking about the protagonist’s future. (I do so when I am totally attached to the characters).

Spoiler, loopholes of plot- Mr. Subramanian, why did you kill the character and take the story in reverse? By the time the actual story is revealed, the readers forget the initial incident and the time warp.  Secondly, checking email is one of the first things on a crime investigation, especially when a prestigious institute is concerned. Thinking of doing so and hacking a password would not have been difficult by Boston police team!

Recommended for- Thriller lovers, or Finance professionals in large corporates who would love the story and its twists.

My rating- In spite of a gripping plot and quick pace, I would rate it 3.5 on5, owing to a weak climax and loop holes in the plot.

About the author- (Source:Wiki page)- Ravi Subramanian is a banker by profession and an alumnus of IIM Bangalore. Post a career spanning two decades in the banking industry, he has authored novels such as Devil in Pinstripes, If God Was a Banker, The Incredible Banker, and I Bought the Monk’s Ferrari. He is also a columnist for The Economic Times. He has won the Economist Crossword Book Award twice, and has also won the Indiaplaza Golden Quill Book Award.

Raanjhna- Movie review

Direction- Anand .L. Rai           -- Story- Himanshu Sharma  ----    Music- A.R.Rahman  -----   

Distribution- Eros International

 More than half of 2013 passed by without many films making huge collection at box office, forget about being memorable. Some lacked scripts, some goofed up with actors, however, this one created history. Raanjhanaa becomes a milestone in Bollywood with strokes of versatility and freshness for the audience after its release on 21st June,2013.

Set in the backdrop of Banaras, Kundan (Dhanush) a poor Tamil Brahmin loves a Muslim girl Zoya (Sonam) since childhood. As a young teen, Zoya reciprocates positively to Kundan. Outraged with the inter-caste and immature love fling, Zoya's parents send her away to a different city for higher studies. A grown up Zoya returns as a beautiful and well educated lady, while a not-very-learned Kundan still loves her hopelessly, least realizing that distance and time have separated them. Kundan is completely shattered & heartbroken to be rejected by her dream girl since she loves somebody from her college. For the sake of their friendship, he agrees to help Zoya get married to her love interest (Abhay Deol). Shocking revelations and sudden twists in the entire plot thereafter gives you goose bumps. Racism, dirty politics, love, faith, all toss together in the emotional and action packed love story named Raanjhanaa.

While the first half focusses on the upbringing of Kundan from a low income family in the beautiful but politically active Banaras and his love for Zoya, the second half reveals many other hues of the film which is fast paced and intriguing. Find yourself witnessing a maze of political attacks and love struck victims.

The movie rests on two major pillars, namely Dhanush and the incredible dialogues. Witty, humorous and catchy, the dialogues sweep you off your feet. Feel awestruck with flawless performance by Dhanush who makes a debut entry in Bollywood after creating ripples in Tollywood. Abhay performs well in his small but effective role. Sonam manages to act somehow throughout the movie though she needs to learn more. Cameo by Delhi based Asmita theatre group adds flavours to the story.

Rahman's music is soothing and just in the right place. Lyrics, especially "Tum tak" and "Raanjhanaa hua mai tera" penned by Irshaad Kamil are commendable.

You are bound to watch it till the end. The only drawbacks may be Sonam's not-so-impactful dialogue delivery and a lot of bloodshed in the second half. My rating -4 on 5! Go fall in love with a larger than life movie..too good to be true? watch it for yourself!

Poli-ticks In the air

Elections, party, vote, society, history, common man, corruption  and so on. This is all what we hear these days with the onset of elections setting the temperature. I do not contribute vocally to such conversations but as a silent audience, observing and recording different opinions. There are times when I am tempted to speak while at times I pass a smile in amusement. The following made me go #facepalm

Facepalm moment#1

Venue- In vendor office (Okhla, New Delhi)

1st person to 2nd- "What happened, you were on leave yesterday. All well?"

2nd- "Was down with bad cold & flu"

1st- "Yeah people are falling sick this season. It's Modi's virus in the air!"

I stare at both of them.

Facepalm moment#2

Same office, Same 1st person, talking to 3rd person 

3rd- "Which party or political icon are you supporting?"

(The entire janta of the vendor office actively absorbs news on politics and voice their opinion on party and votes, the most popular ones being AAP vs Modi, like others)

1st- (Without thinking for a second) I will support Priyanka Gandhi. Sources say that if she is elected as the PM, she will put Wadhra in  jail".

3rd- "Really? Where did that come from?"

1st- "The world is talking about women empowerment. This will happen, you wait and watch!"

And I go #facepalm yet again....Apparently the poli-ticks have bugged everybody!

Shanghai- Movie review

Cast: Abhay Deol, Kalki Koechlin, Imran Hashmi, Farooq Sheikh

                                      Direction: Dibakar Banerjee              … Released on 8^th June,2012  

What was common among the movies- Singham, Gangajal and Wanted? No, not the Khakhi uniform silly, but “One man against the corrupt political mechanism, trying to clean it”. Shanghai is on the similar line minus the khakhi uniform and attempt to set things right, till the second half at least.

A political party in Bharatnagar begins a development phase to modernize the town and generate employment. The new township IBP which is supported by a party leader and CM of the state (played by Supriya Pathak) promotes the industrial development besides her chances to win the elections. On the other hand, a messiah of the common suffering man Dr. Ahmedi (essayed by Prosenjit Chatterjee) lands from the US to oppose the IBP movement, for the farmers and land owners who would lose their lands. (Remember a similar “Nano” incident a couple of years ago?) Minutes after addressing a ralley, Dr. Ahmedi is run over by a van. While the opposition tries to shut the case terming it an accident, his supporters (including Kalki) demand an inquiry for the attempt to his murder. In walks Krishnan, an honest IAS officer with a clean record, to investigate the case. The new developments during the enquiry leave him shocked. Sandwiched between responsibility and politics, much to the audience surprise, he chooses the former towards the end of the movie.

“Kasam khoon ki khaai hai, sheher nahi Shanghaai hai” may answer your question of the reason being the name of the movie. This is what the politicians promise to make of the state, if elected. No, the film has not been shot in Shangaai, as what many expect, going by the name. The promos look promising enough to create curiosity among the audience. But what happens when you see it on the big screen? Does it still hold you till the last scene? You experience witnessing brilliant performance though the pace is not engaging but slow.

The first half of the movie is slower than the second half. The actors have portrayed their roles with great poise; even the small town goons wonderfully get noticed. Abhay Deol definitely deserves a big round of applause who has paid attention to every detail of his character. Be it his Madrasi accent, the grave expression on the face of an IAS officer during inquiry, the shock from the reality, the panicky look on being attacked, Deol outshines everybody. Kalki did not have much to offer besides her blank looks and wide open eyes. Did I miss Imraan Hashmi? Oh, he plays a porn movie cameraman and earns his living by shooting functions or selling pirated DVDs. Hashmi helps Kalki and Deol crack the case with a recorded tape. For the very first time, Hashmi grabs the lime light sans a single kissing scene! Surprised? Well, another round of applause for his complete desi make over with a pot belly and tobacco stained teeth. Farooq Sheikh plays his part like a cake walk.

The story might not be appealing; it’s been said and heard million times now. The audience is mature enough to sense the dirty political trash. Watch it for yet another intense power packed presentation by the actors. An admirable camera work and effective editing make Shanghaai flawless. Yeah flaws like Dengu Malaria do co-exist in the country, yet we are supposed to say “Bharat Mata ki Jai”. Isn’t it?

Kudos to Dibaker Bannerjee, for directing an outstanding movie after Khosla ka Ghosla, Oye Lucky Oye, Love Sex aur Dhokha.