Monthly Archives: October 2007

Gunda- The ultimate B Movie

I managed to see this a little while back. Truly mind dumbing experience. Zillions of fabulous reviews have been written for it, so I’ll just quote one from IMDB here-

sucheta-kanjilal (sucheta.kanjilal@gmail.com) from Mumbai, India writes

truly a cinematic masterpiece, gunda propels the viewer through a world of pony tailed gender confused rapists, villains spouting rhyme, prostitutes suspended in mid air and heroines with fluctuating vital statistics.

in the classic tradition of the underdog-turns hero, shankar(mithun chakrabarty) is subjected to heinous damage for daring to oppose bhulla (mukesh rishi). rage bubbles within him and shankar goes on a stylistic killing spree a la kill bill.

the film encompasses a careful blend of restricted and omniscient narration. there are hardly any point-of-view shots, therefore giving the viewer a larger span of celluloid to understand and find himself/herself engrossed in. the editing is possibly is the most flawless feature of the movie, where rapid cuts speed up the action considerably.

socially, the film does not fail to make a statement. it is truly the duty of every citizen to end the reign of violence in his/her state by taking matters into his/her own hands. shankar, more a symbol than a protagonist, is the ultimate blend of east meets west, an airport coolie. the airport too is a constantly revisited motif and one wonders, is it signifying a constant need to journey into the unknown?or is it an area where courage must take-off?

director kanti shah has ably cut the unnecessary psychological profiling of rape victims, by speedily eliminating them and gives more credence to taking charge of one’s destiny. the dialogue’s pay tribute to the lilting rhythm of Indian languages and the rich Indian tradition of rhyme and couplets.

finely crafted and brilliantly executed, the superbly ultra-violent ‘gunda’ is not for the faint-hearted. it is however, a must see for any serious connoisseur of film.

don’t miss it for the world!

Crank

Pure, unadulterated action. If you love action movies, you have to watch this one. As soon as it starts, it progresses like a 100m race, only stretched longer.

Jason Statham fits perfectly in the role of Chev Chelios, a trigger happy gangster. At the beginning of the movie, he gets injected by a lethal chinese cocktail. This creates a queer condition in his body, which would cause him to die if his heart beat slows down (ala Speed). To avoid this, he has to keep his adrenaline flowing constantly, in the process going on a rampage in the entire city. Remember “kill frenzy” from GTA 2? Yeah…that and more!

Mukesh Ambani’s mansion in the air

From Mumbai Mirror

You may have read details about Mukesh Ambani’s new house-in-the-making at Altamount Road, but even as work on its construction goes on in full swing, here on your right is the first picture of what it will look like when it’s complete.

Mumbai Mirror is in possession of the entire architectural plan for Residence Antilia (as the house is going to be called, after a mythical island), the subject of enormous curiosity in the city ever since the Reliance Industries Ltd chairman purchased the 4,532 sq mt plot in 2002.

The plan, drawn up by the firm Perkins+Will, reveals that the house will resemble a virtual glass palace, with entertainment centres, a health club, a swimming pool and various green spots thrown in for good measure.

C onstruction of Mukesh Ambani’s new house at Altamount Road, where real estate prices are now in the region of Rs 75,000 per sq ft, began in late 2006, and the first six floors are already in place now. The building is expected to be complete in September 2008.

27 FLOORS
According to the plan, the house will rise to a height of 173.12 meters, equivalent to that of a regular 60-storeyed residential building. However, Antilia will have only 27 storeys in all, which means each floor will have a ceiling considerably higher than the current average of nearly three meters.

Six floors for parking
The first six floors — which have come up — will be reserved for parking alone, and that too for cars belonging only to Mukesh’s family. Space for a total of 168 ‘imported’ cars has been earmarked here.

Floor for car maintenance
Sources said the Ambanis would prefer to have all their cars serviced and maintained at an in-house service centre. This centre will be set up on the seventh floor.

Entertainment floor
The eighth floor will have an entertainment centre comprising a mini-theatre with a seating capacity of 50.

Balconies with gardens
The rooftop of the mini-theatre will serve as a garden, and immediately above that, three more balconies with terrace gardens will be independent floors.

The ‘health’ floors
While the ninth floor will a ‘refuge’ floor — meant to be used for rescue in emergencies — two floors above that will be set aside for ‘health.’ One of these will have facilities for athletics and a swimming pool, while the other will have a health club complete with the latest gym equipment.

For guests
There will be a two-storeyed glass-fronted apartment for the Ambani family’s guests above the health floors. One more refuge floor and one floor for mechanical works will be built on top of these apartments.

Family
The four floors at the top, that will provide a view of the Arabian Sea and a superb view of the city’s skyline, will be for Mukesh, his wife Neeta, their three children and Mukesh’s mother Kokilaben.

Air space floor
According to the plan, two floors above the family’s residence will be set aside as maintenance areas, and on top of that will be an “air space floor,” which will act as a control room for helicopters landing on the helipad above.

Helipad
The plan states that three helipads are to be built on the terrace.

However, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation officials told this paper that permission for the helipads has not been granted yet.

“The residential plans were approved three-four years ago. Two levels of basement have also been shown in the proposed project,” Sudhir Shinde, deputy engineer at the BMC’s building proposals department said.

Staff
Nearly 600 staffers are expected to work full-time in the building, sources said.

Total stats
According to BMC records, the total area of Mukesh’s Altamount Road plot is 4,532.39 square meters. The proposed built-up area is 4,778.09 square meters (only for residential purposes), and the permissible built-up area 4,939.81 square meters.

The current residence of the Ambanis at Cuffe Parade

What is Antilia?
Antilia (or Antillia) is a phantom island said to lie in the Atlantic Ocean far to the west of Spain. This mythical island had several other names such as Isle of Seven Cities, Ilha das Sete Cidades (Portuguese), Septe Cidades, Sanbrandan (or St Brendan), etc. Antilia was also identified with islands including the Isles of the Blest and the Fortunate Islands.

The origin of the name is uncertain. The oldest suggested etymology (1455) fancifully connects it with the name of the Platonic Atlantis, while later writers have endeavoured to derive it from the Latin anterior (i.e. the island that is reached “before” Cipango), or from the Jezirat al Tennyn, “Dragon’s Isle,” of the Arabian geographers.

The legend of the islands seems to have arisen at the latest in pre-Christian Roman times when Plutarch chronicled (in 74 AD) the life of Roman military commander and Consul of Spain Quintus Sertorius (died 75 BC). After returning by sea to Spain after a campaign in “Mauretania” (modern northern Morocco), Sertorius “met some sailors who had recently come back from the Atlantic Islands.” It was from these men that Sertorius learned facts so beguiling that he made it his life’s ambition to find the islands and retire there.