The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I read a lot about this book that the radio show was kind of path-breaking and all. So, I bought the book. I am definitely not disappointed by the first part though I don't think it deserves all its adulation. Funny book,yes but not a timeless classic. It has some very very funny one-liners like where the author says " A number of monkeys from the other door are trying to give us a copy of Hamlet they wrote!" during the infinite improbability drive. It had me laughing for at least 10 minutes. The climax had me in splits when they find out why the attackers suddenly died( Marvin is an awesome character)
But these kind of gems of a joke are good enough pages apart but just enough to sustain your interest in the book. I started reading second one but it kind of became a routine jokes and I kind of lost interest after reading 50 pages.
Still, I strongly recommend the first in the series i.e. this book to all fans of sci-fi and comedy! A rare blend indeed.

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Some good movies-1

I realized recently that I watch too many movies. In fact I watched almost 350-400 movies after coming to IITM in these four years! So I thought maybe I can start a thread of entries where I can tell about movies that may not be very famous but which I feel are great and are must see for a movie buff. These threads will have movies of all genres. I will start this thread with a movie which will be almost at the very top in my favorite movies' list.

Title : Life Is Beautiful (Italian: La vita è bella)
Director : Roberto Benigni ( also the main character)

This is a wonderful movie that moved me to tears. It is about optimism and the love of a person towards his family. The first half is like an excellent romantic comedy movie. The core of the movie is in the second half. It shows to what extent a normal person(book store owner) can go to protect his family in extreme conditions.

I especially loved the bonding between the father and son and the storyline between the two in the second half. The way he tries to protect the innocence of his son is heart-touching. The protagonist faces the worst conditions one can face in life (I don't want to give the story away. So, I will not say what they are). But his approach to life and his positive-attitude never changes.

The title makes one think that it is an art movie which has a lot of sad parts in the story. But the director who also happens to be the protagonist of the movie has dealt the whole movie with a lot of humor. I think he alone could have pulled off the role in such a great way. The script in the second half is one of the brilliant ones I have ever seen. This is aided by excellent art work and excellent acting skills especially from Benigni. The movie remained in my heart for at least a week after watching. There were tears in my eyes after the movie was over. Very few movies touch one's heart and this is one such for me.

Awards : 3 Oscars - Best actor, Best foriegn film and Best music,original dramatic score.
Trivia : The director later married the heroine of this film.
The oscar he got is the first for a male performer in a non-English-speaking role, and only the third overall acting Oscar for non-English-speaking roles.

Try to answer some of these questions...

The other day, I got bored in a class and I was thinking about life. I just jotted down a few questions in my notebook. I am just repeating what I wrote there, here. Many may sound vague or stupid. But I just wrote what I was thinking at that time. Here is what I have written:

What am I doing with my life?
What do I want from it?
What should I be doing now?
What does interest me in life?
What motivation do I have to live?
Innocence is the best quality one can have, isn't it?
We might try to achieve(& succeed) other qualities but no one can 'achieve' innocence. It is the purest form one can be in. That is why children are considered to be Gods.
What is the specialty of music?
Why does it relax us so much?
I think it is the nearest to what is 'happiness'
It is what makes us feel 'alive'
If innocence is the nearest to pure quality of life, music is nearest to pure form of life.
What drives all these millions of people around me to do what the things they daily do? Where do they find the motivation to live?

Some of them may seem absurd...But try to answer the questions. It will be nice pondering on such things....

Please do not read this post.

Pre script : When there is a post script why can't there be a pre script?

After going through all my other posts(though none would have done it so far), junta might think I only write serious stuff. So, I decided to write something funny. (what a funny title ha ha ha....)Ok..ok...I will tell the truth. Actually I found the idea of a pre script funny and wanted to add it some how into a blog. As, I didnt get any proper idea for a post, I am writing this junk to use it as a context for that(Please do not let this stop you from reading further. Infact, you must be proud of me being truthful).

Thanks for not stopping reading. I will not disappoint you. Infact I will make you happy by stopping here. Hope you found this post funny enough(atleast I didn't bore you with a 1000 words).

Post Script(a.k.a PS) : When there is a pre script or you wrote really less, there will be a post script.

PPS : please dont make this post stop you from following my blog.

1 idiot

I have recently watched a movie which I think atleast 15% India has watched(maybe, even more). Yes, I am referring to 3 Idiots. It so happened that this beautiful movie was "inspired" from a stupid book(dude, its my opinion) titled " Five point someone: What not to do in IIT". This created quite a controversy as the film-makers didn't acknowledge this 'truth' in the movie and the author got angry. He felt he didn't get what he deserved.

I agree that the story and the setting of the movie has a number of similarities to the book. But that is where the similarity ends. Infact, what I observed was the movie is the quite opposite of the book.

Both the book and movie are about 3 idiots. But, in the book they end up as losers where as in the movie they become successful.

If the 'hero' of the book doesn't like the education system, he became a loser in IIT and ended up with a five point something. But in the movie, the protaganist didn't go into a system hating mode and ended up a screwed-up dude. He kept his cool. He still stood first in the exams. He encouraged his friends to follow their heart.

The whole book goes in a negative mood. It is a story of losers where as the movie keeps on saying "All izz well". It is a tale of friendship. It is not about education system. It is the story of 3 friends one of whom completely changed the lives of other two for good.

The so called 'love-track' in the book is nothing but a couple of sex scenes and a couple of cry-baby scenes where as in the movie it is entirely different.

Even the death of lover's brother was a setting to get the girl cry always in the book, it was meant to bring a change in her father's attitude in the movie.

In the book, they stole the papers so that one of the idiots can put an A to impress his girl friend's father. In the movie it was to help his friend pass the exam so that he can get his job(though the friend doesn't agree to that).

In the book, not one of the three are happy with their lives in the cimax where as all the three got what they wanted and led a happy life in the movie.

Also the book's depiction of the now famous 'Silencer' is entirely different from the way the movie shows him.

You can see that the settings of all the above tracks are same in both the cases. But the way they were treated was the exact opposite.

I still wonder how the author demanded an acknowledgement given the differences in the two scripts.

P.S. : This is my opinion on the controversy and just to clarify, I am not Aamir Khan's fan. Infact, I like Shah Rukh Khan's as an actor. But, yes I hate the author called Chetan Bhagat.

P.P.S : You must have understood who the idiot the title refers to is.