The Surprise Caller:

I don’t know why but I seem to come up with topics or stories for my blog only when i am alone and awake at night and it’s after a long time that this opportunity has come since my marriage.

 Nimmi had gone to her mom’s place and i was just back from a get together with ex-colleagues and friends from Deloitte, the basic purpose behind the get together being to congratulate a friend on his marriage.

For some strange reason, i could not get sleep and the conversations during the meet up flashed across my mind. The standard question that i had asked my friend on how has the married  life been going for which i got a standard answer (so far so good) left me pondering on how my married life been so far.. I guess the fact that i am missing her so much tonight would imply that it has been going grt. I remember when she had just moved in to our house, the first thing that she told me was “well from now onwards, u have a roomie”. And i think that’s exactly what she has been to me – my roomie, my best friend. Apart from getting along with each other really well, the fact is that with her around, I am neither ever bored nor ever hungry (the amazing cook that she is!!). At times when we have nothing to do, she just says lets fight and the next moment we are hitting each other with pillows .Of course, she has her mood swings, but then it has not been something that i have not been able to handle...so coming back to the question on how has my married life been so far, i would reply “so far so good” J and yes not to forget, being married means u never have to search for company to watch movies J J J

And now, moving on from my personal life to a fictional snippet:

The Surprise Caller:

I was just glad to hear the phone ring.  With half an hour still to go before my friends could join me, i was hoping that the call would be from someone whom i could talk to for a long time.  But i was disappointed when i saw an unknown number flash on my screen thinking it would be a marketing call.

“Hello” , i said in a tone that made me sound busy and wanting to hang up.

“Hi....is it a good time to talk to you?” i was surprised to be greeted by a cute girlish voice at the other end.

“Yes...who is this?” i continued, this time not sounding too busy.

“Well, actually you don’t know me....”

“Then how did you get my number and why....” from being surprised, i was now getting curious.

“I am a friend of Rohit, the guy who stays in your building, and got your number from him.”

  “OK?” I wondered why Rohit did not tell me about any girl asking for my number.

“I have been noticing you waiting at the bus stop and wanted to talk to you.”

“Sure....tell me”. And all the faces I have seen at the bus stop started flashing across my mind. Could she be the tall fair girl who looked to have loads of attitude or was she the short pretty girl whom i have wanted to talk to, I wondered.

“Well my name is Neha and i stay couple of blocks away from the main road.”

“Ok and what is it that you wanted to tell me” Now, I was plain excited and my thoughts were racing ahead thinking that finally there is someone who is probably interested in me. After all, i was the only guy in the group who did not have a girl friend.

 “I was just wondering if we could meet somewhere. Maybe we could become friends”

“Sure”. I tried sounding not too desperate and trying to contemplate who among those 2 girls would she be or was she someone else.

“Great. Today and tomorrow i have my classes. Can we meet on Saturday at CCD, just behind the bus stop?”.

“You mean the coffee shop opposite to the bus stop. It’s Barista, not ccd” I replied thinking she had got it wrong.

“ No no. Sorry, which bus stop are you talking about?”

“The one near to the Chembur garden, where you have supposedly seen me.”

“ Oops...is it 9821546545...Aditya, Rohit Shetty’s friend?”

I don’t know why but i got disappointed hearing that and the pause that i took was long enough to make her realise that she had got the wrong number.

“Oh...i am so sorry. I got the wrong guy” she replied.

“Hey, that is ok. I can still come down to CCD” i replied trying to sound funny.

“Haha...no thanks and sorry again” and she hung up the phone.

I just chuckled to myself when my friend came in and asked “Dude, who were you talking to and why are you smiling?”.

“Well”, i replied continuing to smile, “was talking to a girl who was apparently interested in me, but you know, i just want to be focusing on my studies now, so declined a potential date” J

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A “Cocktail” without the kick!

This review has been lying in my PC's hard disk since almost ten days but havent been able to post it due to internet issues at home.....This one has been written by Nimmi....

A “Cocktail” without the kick!

When you run, hop , jump and reach the theatre for watching a Hindi film running out of time, gasping for breath and then getting to know that the tickets available are in the first row, all that you pray is the that the movie is good & it’s worth all the effort, especially on a Sunday morning!

Few years back I suffered from this “Run-to-catch-a-movie” syndrome, but managed to enjoy all such movies, be it – Rang de Basanti or Gangster!

This time it was different..!

After all the annoying advertisements, especially the Vicco Vajradanti ones (which my hubby loves) came the teaser of “Ek Tha Tiger”!! (Whistles!!!) Salman Khan in his always sexy avatar and his beau Katrina Kaif :-p and the action scenes. Full paisa-vasool …! After recovering from this, came the national anthem & then the movie – C-O-C-K-T-A-I-L

The movie starts with the not-so-appealing, psycho maniac; women obsessed Saif Ali Khan (Gautam KAPOOR) hitting on an air-hostess in the flight. He talks like a zombie who has lived all his life in the woods amongst animals and his eyes are now preying all the gorgeous ladies in the world.  He is a “software engineer” who is on his way to a super-lavish job in London. All his dialogues in the movie are those minutes when you eagerly want him to shut up!! You have heard most of them in Love Aaj Kal!!! Wtf !!

Next scene, focus Diana Penty (Meera) sits in another plane to the same destination in search for her newly wedded husband. Certainly, her attire, hair-do and simple looks is quiet convincing the character she is required to play – the soft & subtle Meera! J

She then gets off at the airport, goes looking for her husband, with an incorrect phone number & address only to go through an ordeal later when she finds out her marriage was “hoax” and her husband (Randeep Hooda) has done all this only for money!  Hit by this emotional turmoil within a day of her entry into London, she finds herself in the washroom of a local store, in tears and distress!

Enter – Deepika Padukone (Veronica), the madly dancing, always boozing, oomph factor oozing girl who steps into a pub and makes the crowd go “Aaaaaaaaaaa….”  (The audience had their heads paining and screaming and begging to stop the damn lights & music) though she conveys it across rightly with her acting that Veronica had a troubled childhood, which propelled her to seek refuge in alcohol and hard core partying.

Lots of colorful disco lights, falling on to the laps of girls & guys, smoked eyes and the urge to pee after a lot of alcohol makes her walk in to the same washroom as Meera. The otherwise psyched out girl feels pity for this Indian abla naari and takes her home, gives her food, clothing everything on –the-house! (Woooaaaa now who would do that!)

Few days later, Veronica and Gautam bump into one another and after gulping down lots of daaru end up sleeping with each other. So they begin with a casual fling without any commitment. Meera ji is not very happy with this new additional member in the house initially, but within the next few minutes and one “Daaru Desi” song you see them hanging out intermittently with each others like chaddi buddies!

All this while Veronica and Gautam are enjoying each other’s company and the three are having a ball in their apartment where Gautam is dancing in the avatar of a cross dresser. Must highlight, Saif doesn’t look good there at all and hasn’t done a great job! A Ritesh Deshmukh would have been perfect for that scene!

A “Maa da ladla” déjà vu happens when Dimple Kapadia (Kavita Kapoor) and Boman Irani (Gautam’s Maama) is aghast and taken aback to see her laadla son in this avataar sharing a room with 2 ladies and Gautam convincingly spins a story that Meera, the coy girl is his muse! From there on things take a turn! All of a sudden they plan a trip to Capetown! Now there are some points which are beyond my thinking and imagination capacity:-

Meera, the angel who just got a new job in some graphic designing company can afford a holiday to Capetown within the first week of joining. (I want to know which Co. this is & join there right away!!!)

Deepika is a self proclaimed photographer, but throughout the movie I fail to understand why she is not doing her job! And prancing around on bar tables and drinking!?

Gautam!!!  - Software engineer, Which Co. has employed you to play around with women and dance and party and holiday! (Never saw him “at work” except one scene!!!) :-O

 Capetown holiday is a mere display of many sun-kissed beaches, bikini clad girls and a dance sequence during which Gautam suddenly realizes he is in love with Meera! Meera doesn’t refuse his kiss and they hold hands! So we assume she also is in love! She has forgotten about her estranged husband and her tragedy struck life. They try staying apart but they can’t. Finally Gautam decides to “talk it out” with both the ladies and openly blurts it out all to Veronica that he is now in “love” with Meera!

The chilled, cool Veronica is all happy and wow for her “friends” and decides to set them up together for always. But slowly starts feeling the pinch! She starts feeling jealous & realizes she cannot live any more without Gautam’s touch and smell!! (Rofl)

More disco lights, more alcohol, more mad dancing, hair let loose, breaking mirrors at public places and an accident drags Gautam in to living in with her and her “closest friend” Meera steps out of the house! (Qurbaani) and goes back to her husband so that Randeep Hooda gets some more screen time and 3 more dialogues! :-p

OMG! This story is so boring now, that I am bored to even review it further! And then suddenly Veronica realizes that she has been unreasonable and that the alcohol in her body has spoken more than her. So Gautam and Veronica fly to India and they propose to Meera. Of course in the end we assume that Gautam has finally married Meera and only hope they are not having an awesome threesome! :-p

Cocktail has a tagline which says “Some friends are too good to share”

The movie may migrate you to the much more happening world called London for some time, but overall it’s like a Cocktail that you ordered out of the menu card of an expensive lounge but didn’t get you high enough!