Knowing

At first I thought it was a ‘horror’ movie. Though I still think it is pretty much a horror flick given the fact that it really scared the living daylight out of me. Knowing – a sci-fi, thriller movie, starring (my fav) Nicholas Cage, is a movie with an impact, a reasoned approach and a plot that is loaded with seriousness.

A trenchant take on a possible future, the movie leaves you feeling uncomfortable – the kind that gives you the creeps. The movie has considerable amount of suspense which does not get dissolved by the time the movie ends. It keeps you hooked on, making you want to miss nothing. The movie is intelligent, with facts that give you the shudders. The whole, overdone ‘let’s save the world’ theme has been treated with intelligence and maturity. The movie actually makes a lot of sense – yeah OK maybe not the bit towards the end but hey, who knows?!

The movie revolves around numbers which is intriguing and seems logical. While the movie tells that Earth will cease to exist, it also brings to your notice the fact that if we don’t act now, we will surely regret later.

The kid in the movie who plays Cage’s son has done a very good job – he acts with grace and diligence that you usually don’t find in such young artists. Rose Byrne has a small but significant role in the movie – no, there is no romance between Cage and her. Everything in the movie seemed so right, and everyone acted to realistically. I would call it a well performed ‘drama’.

For all sci-fi lovers, Knowing is a MUST watch. For the rest, it still is a MUST watch. Splendid is the word.

The solar flare incinerates the world and life on earth finally ceases to be… Ain’t that a scary thought?

Navneet Wasu – Wherever You Are…

” No seriously, Bombay is the best city in the world…I wish I die there!”

” Oh shut up Navneet, stop being so dramatic about everything…”

” hahaha, crack child, I am trying to sound like YOU!”

*********

And she did. Keeping up to her word, the Powerhouse in my life silently collapsed, leaving us utterly devastated. Navneet Wasu, my ‘Navneeet’, Kunal’s ‘Makkhan’, Shalini’s ‘Bobbetty Bob’, her mother’s ‘Kiran”… is now no more.

On the foreboding evening of June 08, 2009, she decided to go astray to a hopefully heavenly abode.

The grief of her sudden demise is immense, though smiling memories from the past aplenty. This could be a sad entry, but the intent is to celebrate her life that she shared with all of us. She gave a piece of her honest heart to all her friends – be it loyalty, ”confidentiality”, secrets, giggles or just plain arbit banter, Navneet will always be the most special friend to all her friends.

It was the singleness of her character that may put you off when you meet her at first – and it is the singleness of her character that makes you fall in love with her later. I lived with her for a long time; from awkward days of ”getting to know each other” to days of absolute intimacy when we’ve cried together, I’ve had my ups and downs with her and we withstood the test of friendship at several levels. It was she who finally made me realize that relationships needn’t be  hunky dory all the time – they have their bad moments and to rise above them and unite again is what friendship is all about. I had those moments and she knew it and vice versa.

I owe her enough to live my life by the rules of Ms Navneet Wasu. Our crazy bike rides in the dead of the night and our endless chats that would hop, skip and jump from serious intense issues to Bollywood gossip and relationship problems… I am going to miss her phone number to be dialed FIRST everytime I ‘had’ to talk…

She also, by the way, is the reason why I take whatever little decisions I do – if not for her, I wouldn’t even think of doing so many things that I did! “Shubha, you are a grown up now, do you mind standing up for yourself for once!!!” And I  secretly agreed, almost every time.

One of my favourite memories with Nav is when we decided to go to Nandi Hills on a hot May afternoon. Please see that Navneet’s bike was then 14 years old and was a moody, old thing. Well, two girls, ‘hoping’ to get back home all safe n sound, left for one of the most memorable rides of their lives. From being followed by random, cheap men to clicking ”interesting” pictures pretending to be Ansel Adams, Nandi Hills trip, as weird as it may sound, remains one of the best ones of my life.

Navneet, for all her upfront attitude and strong opinions was a marsh mellow at heart. Most of all, she was outright genuine. She was my Track Pants girl who gave a damn… riding her bike as if she rules the roads, cracking up and laughing out aloud at random nothings. Introduced me to Harry Potter but was left disappointed as I couldn’t pass the 3rd book. From making delicious ”dal” to egg sandwiches – from eggs on our hair to comparing the shape of our ‘ugly feet’ – from laughing at funnily dressed women to taking dips in guiltless mockery – and from singing aloud on roads with all eyes on us to secretly crying watching “My Best Friend’s Wedding” – Navneet Wasu was my best friend who has given me more and more reasons to smile everyday.

We will move on, the grief will fade away but the void of having a Powerhouse in my life will always stay. Navneet, wherever you are, you better be reading this !

You were going to design my wedding outfit, you were going to dance for the sangeet… You were going to take me to Mondeez in Bombay… you were going to tell me what was bothering you for the last 4 months… You didn’t… Promises broken, conversations left unfinished… places unvisited and secrets undisclosed…empty chambers of possible memories and a smoke that will never cease to be…

...Track Pants Girl forever...

Navneet Wasu – December 2, 1981 – June 08, 2009.

You are gone but the ”drama” left behind is surely here to stay.

I love you, and I miss you, and I hope to God that you are somewhere giggling with the twinkle in your eye just the way I saw you last…