And the Oscar goes to…..Leonardo (or will it be Christian Bale)

Catching a good movie on TV along with opportune timing rarely happens these days as Aurko is now nearing the terrible-two phase. So when I chanced upon The Fighter (yeah I watched this 2010 movie few days back) when Aurko was fast asleep, was like a rare treat for me. And what a movie it turned out to be and what a performance Christian Bale delivered. I have been obsessed with him ever since. You might say, what’s new in that aren’t we all have a thing going for him lately. Maybe I am a little late in recognizing his charm as he slowly sneaked up on me by playing weird Dicky Eklund. Though, I have not seen much of his movies apart from the Batman series and American Psycho and never thought much of him irrespective of the views people have of him. His evident arrogance and bad-mouthing audio was just a turn-off for me in the past. I know I am not the right one to judge his acting when I have not seen his body of work or his critically acclaimed The Machinist. But hey! This is my blog and I can rattle on. So I didn’t like the guy in the past. I disliked him when I saw him forget his wife’s name in the Oscar speech—now who does that? How can you forget your wife’s name? Can a wife ever forgive such a gaffe on such a momentous occasion? 

Now that the countdown for Oscars has already begun, the speculations are rife that anyone between Leonardo Di Caprio and Matthew McConaughey will get the Oscars. They both were excellent in WOWS and Dallas Buyers Club respectively. Everyone's keep saying "Leo is overdue and will now finally win for Wolf of Wall Street". (I can only roll my eyes to that logic). I love Leo, I know he is a fine actor and deserves one. But just because this is Leo's 4th nomination and Matthew's first it doesn't mean Leo will win because the Academy feels bad for him for that, right? And I have heard Chiwetel Ejiofor in 12 Years a Slave is amazing, although I have not seen the movie. This year we probably have the most competitive looking Oscar Best Actor Male race in a long time. There is no clear frontrunner (Thank God, Daniel Day Lewis is not in the list). But my mind says it will be Leonardo/McConaughey, although in my heart I wish Christian Bale will get it for American Hustle. Not because he gained a beer belly (he lost weight in The Fighter too) to play con man Irving Rosenfeld or that I have finally warm- up to his charm but for his fanatic immersive approach to the character. He stands out in his portrayal of Rosenfeld: his multi-layered, dysfunctional functionality is a sight to behold in American Hustle.  His proclivity for self-transformation is what struck-a-cord with me in both American Hustle and The Fighter. I am keeping my finger cross for him.

What about the ladies? Who else but Cate Blanchett, I say. I felt so sorry for her neurotic character in Blue Jasmine; I guess that speaks volume about her acting in the movie. Amy Adams is another strong contender for the race. Let’s see, February is the month to check out all the Oscar nominated movies, hope this year few of my favs will nab the Academy.

Music, Musings and more

I was wondering the other day that I don't like melancholic songs anymore. Rather I hate them nowadays. When I was in college, I use to listen to gloomy cowboy songs a lot, as we know, country songs are usually about unrequited love ( girl leaving boy or vice versa). The best Hindi songs are usually about separations, if you know what I mean. In my college days, I use to love these sad romantic numbers a lot. Songs evokes such vivid tumultuous emotions, it's almost like you are living through that phase. Remember that song 'Lambi Judaai' (from Hero), isn't it depressing?. Well, it always managed to depress me. The music and the flute play of that song is so haunting and painful that it always use to leave me in despair. The lyrics is so heart rendering, that I always use to feel the pain seep up in my veins and honestly, I don't like being affected like that. Name any sad romantic song, I bet, it will have a long fan following. One of my friend use to cry every time she listened to "Ektara" from Wake Up Sid. I remember, we were on our way to give 3rd SEM MBA exam, when the driver played "Ektara" yes just to cheer our before exam nerves. Poor chap, he was unaware that he just stir up the hornets nest because after few second Sumati ( my friend) was literally started sobbing in her hanky, which eventually turned into a full fledged brawling.Songs are very tricky, they make you laugh, cry, dance, glow with their universal appeal. Also music tells you about the time gone by, about the moments you have lives, people who came & left. When I hear an old song playing from the creak of a door, this sudden rush of recognition reminds me of a time I've lived and left and this inward tear makes it all for the time gone by.

P.S. I remember one quote from "High Fidelity" ( a highly recommended book) by Nick Hornby. "What came first – the music or the misery? Did I listen to the music because I was miserable? Or was I miserable because I listened to the music? Do all those records turn you into a melancholy person?" — Nick Hornby


TAG: Music, Hindi Music, Nick Hornby, Lambi Judaai, Hero, College, Wake up Sid