Member of the Week - Ethnos (Sarita) - Page 9

Oh, thanks Nik. May be now's the chance for some light of knowledge to dawn on me. Tell me, are you, i.e. Coollama and Ammmu the same? 😕

Originally posted by: coollama

Hey Sarita, Gr8 going, enjoy the Hotseat.

Nik

Hey Sarita - I will wait for your answer on my question on movie directors.. no hurries, take your time... I must also say that your answers reflect a lot of maturity mixed with the right amount of humor and I am enjoying every bit of it 😊

Meanwhile, thought that I could ask you something more 😛

How much importance would you attach to getting married? What would you say to those who are at a marriagable age and yet scared? 😉

We know that a marriage definitely calls for some adjustments on both parts. What were the things you found difficult adjusting? How was it with your hubby?

On how many things/issues/habits, did your ideas/views/tastes actually match with your hubby? What were they (if there were any 😆)?

What are the few things that you should continue to hold on to without any compromises even if it offends your partner? Is status-quo always the best way to go?

Is it fine to have a best friend of opposite gender other than your spouse? Why or why not?

What are your thoughts on a woman being elder in the marital relationship? Do you think it can cause problems in the relationship?

Is motherhood a must to be a complete woman? Can you think of reasons that can justify a woman's decision not to have kids?

Why do you think the longitivity of relationships is on the decline as we are getting more 'progressive'? What would be your 'to-dos' to mend it?

What is your idea of an ideal man and an ideal woman? Could you mention people who are closest fits to this idea of yours.

If you had to mention a few movies that had closest to real life depiction of man-woman relationships, you would name?

Ok, here are my answers to Jaya - this first set contains my favourite movie directors (barring RK). The next set comes next.

Satyajit Ray - *genuflects to the master* Pather Panchali is my favourite. Of course no points for guessing😉 Love the way he has developed a simple tale of a family in the village. Absolute genius in handling the sensitive, human emotions of each of his characters. And, oh my God who can forget the lovely, vivid scene of Bengal's countryside coming alive from the master's camera! Remember that scene, where Durga and Apu run across the fields of 'kaashphool' to catch a fleeting glimpse of the train? Lovely, lovely, lovely! My own association of Bengal - my growing up years - is so very similar!

Hrishikesh Mukherjee - Anuradha by all means. Love the way he has told his story of a young, talented girl and her life, which completely changes and SHE changes after marriage. He has shown that marriage too comes with its own set of responsibilities and little sacrifices. He has made his characters come alive. Fabulous work, especially by Balraj Sahni, whose character was probably the toughest to depict. But BS has done with aplomb. I also liked the fact that Hrishikesh chose Leela Naidu for the role. She was really good in the role of a quiet, shy, introverted girl. Knowing that Leela Naidu's face, natural body language themselves didn't display too much verve, enthusiasm or energy, this was a good move by the director. And of course Ranu was just too cute!

Bimal Roy - *bows down to this marvelous creator* I am almost tempted to say Sujata AND Parakh, which are actually my all-time favourites. But, from a critical stance, I'd say 'Do Bigha Zameen'. Brilliant. Once again, the rural, countryside has been captured live by this great director. But, most importantly the feudal / zamindaari system alongside the mindless industrial / capitalist growth. In answer to Sahana's question sometime back, I'd also like to add 'Do Bigha Zameen' to my list of Hindi movies, which could have been nominated for an Oscar!

Guru Dutt - The one and only Pyaasa. What a movie? Oh God! Words just fail me. The magic of Guru Dutt, was sustained by the genius of SD and Sahir. If ever a movie made me think, even as a child ... that was Pyaasa! I think that's really what GD wanted his audience to do... THINK and WAKE UP!

Raj Kapoor - If you want my honest opinion, I really don't consider him as my favourite any day 😕 BUT, but, but, I simply adore 'Boot-polish'. The life of street children in Bombay has been well captured by him. I think this is the only movie, in which he resisted the temptation to act (thankfully) and created a masterpiece thence.

Vijay Anand or Goldie - Although Guide was very well-made, my personal favourite is 'Nau do gyarah'. Fun filled, full of life and energy AND the sweet Dev Anand. Does one need anything more? It was a perfect, wholesome, family entertainer. I also like the fact that VA was able to get in comedy into the movie, in a very subtle, natural and effective way. The credit for that should also go to Kalpana Karthik, who was a very natural and gifted actress. No hamming and yet quick on delivering humour. The way she calls DA's gaadi, a 'khatara'. The way DA and she share that special camraderie on-screen, comes through in all scenes. It wasn't just boring, old love and romance between them. It was also a lot of tongue-in-cheek jokes, and plain humour that they shared together.

Shekhar Kapoor - Maasoom of course. How sensitively handed and oh how brilliantly put together. Usually movies with an all-star cast tend to bomb and only very rarely become a roaring success. SK made the latter happen with an all-star cast of Nasiruddin Shah, Shabana, Sayed Jaffery and Supriya Pathak. It's even better than the original 'Man, Woman and Child', which pales in comparison!

Nasir Hussain - Dil Deke Dekho is my favourite. The comedy comes through in each frame of the film again and again. Except for the last bit, which is the typical, melodramatic, Hindi movie - the rest of the film is simply superb in its energy, humour and plain fun. And of course there's the magic of Shammi *begins to get dreamy eyed at the mention of his name*. Most memorable scenes are the way Shammi dresses up as Professor Sambhri and does his bit. Then there's the way he advices Asha Parekh against marrying a 'Charlie' and calling him 'bhaai banane ke liye kaabil'. In fact, this 'Charlie' thing has been hugely quoted by my parents and sis. Whenever we see a guy, who looks outrightly wimpy, or boring and uninteresting - my sis and I say 'Charlie - bhaai banane ke liye theek hai' 😛

Basu Chatterjee - Rajnigandha for sure. It's a story of love and romance and yet not boringly so. It's beautifully offbeat and so very real. It's so natural, so everyday-like and so true! One can absolutely identify with the characters in that movie and their context. The slow and unhurried pace only helps one to get totally engrossed in the movie. Brilliant.

More in the next quote Jaya 😊

Originally posted by: *Jaya*

Sahana tells us that you are a movie buff... Great, lets get to know the kind of movies that appeal to you... Following are the names of some movie directors (from various genre) from the world of Indian cinema... Name the most memorable movie (could be for any reason) that you associate with them - it would also be nice if you could explain why...

Satyajit Ray

Hrishikesh Mukherjee

Bimal Roy

Guru Dutt

Raj Kapoor

Vijay Anand

Chopras (Yash/Aditya)

Basu Chatterjee

Manmohan Desai

Mahesh Bhatt

Nasir Hussain

Shekhar Kapoor

The Rajshrees (Barjatiyas)

Vidhu Vinod Chopra

Sanjay Leela Bhansali

Ram Gopal Verma

Johars (Yash/Karan)

Nagesh Kukunoor

Meera Nair

Maniratnam

Fanta-fabulous choices 👏 I will wait for your next set patiently 😊

Thanku Sarita for answering my questions 😊 BTW - I am going to test you one of these days to see if your understanding of Tamil is exactly @26.73% or more or less. You better be prepared to get accurate results 😛 😆 😆
And thankyou for saying such kind words about me, though I am not sure about that myself 😳

Hey thanks Jaya! I needed a chota chai-break so answered that post in installments 😛

Now to continue...

Yash Chopra - Deewar is my all-time favourite!!! I think this was Amitabh at his angry-young-man, quintessential best. There's no candy-like, alls-well-with-the-world, unreal message being sent out in the movie. And the clash of ideologies between the brothers is unforgettable. Personally, I would side with the ideology echoed by Amitabh. I find Shashi's stance just way too moralistic, pompous and boring!

Manmohan Desai - Don't get me wrong people, but I really didn't take to MD's movies. Most (if not all) were just for the front-benchers. Too much of hamming, lot of contrived situations. In short, his movies were what Satyajit Ray would have said, "not for an intelligent and thinking audience" 😕

Mahesh Bhatt - Again not my favourite director. But, I absolutely loved 'Arth'. They say it was from his own life... his own story. Be that as it may, I enjoyed the sensitivity with which he addressed a very, mature subject. It was also a movie, which had the classic scene, where Shabana confronts Smitha. Personally, I found Shabana emoted much better than Smitha in this movie.

The Barjatiyas - No comments. Pretty much in the same category as Manmohan Desai

VV Chopra - Mission Kashmir. Quite well done, though hammed up in parts and also lurks dangerously close to being called contrived. But, a very good effort I daresay.

SL Bansali - Very overrated in my opinion. Has the potential, but doesn't deliver without the end-result appearing a tad too artificial, contrived and jarring. So, naturally I don't have any particular favourite movies here.

Ram Gopal Verma - Satya very well made. I don't always take to his films, but Satya was an exception. Hmmm... the point is his subject matter is pretty much predictable, so...

Johars - Have learnt the tricks of the trade - especially the younger Johar, who also has an obsession for ka ke koo kau kam, like his twin soul, 'Kekta Kapoor'. Personally, neither of the Johars are my favourites. Their formula films have of course always been crowd pullers. Somehow, it has never pulled me!

Nagesh Kukunoor - Hyderabad Blues of course. A very nice change from the usual films that were churned out back then in the late '90s. Also announced the beginning of a new age of Desi-English movies. But for the end, Hyderabad Blues was something that many an NRI could identify with 😊

Mira Nair - Salaam Bombay. Probably THE only movie of hers that I really liked. Somehow, I felt that she detached herself from the subject of her films, after this masterpiece. Found it lacklustre, contrived. Even the actors themselves seemed to be counting the minutes before the word 'Cut' would be uttered. At least that's what I felt 😕

Maniratnam - Have seen some of his Tamil films like Anjali, Roja, Nayagan, Thiruda-thiruda and one of Hindi - Dil Se. Hmmm... I didn't like any of them. I wouldn't go rushing to the store and pick up a copy of his movie for sure. The Tamil movies of his that I saw were too, too, too, overly done. Actors over-acted. Spoke just a little too much. Cried just a little too much. Hammed more than a little too much. He hasn't yet got his actors to under-act and still over-perform. I found Dil-Se a little too long, dragging and was almost glad when it got over. There were some nice musical scores though in most of his movies.

So, that's my two pence worth 😕 Am sure not everyone will agree with this. Hey! Did I leave out any directors from that list?

Originally posted by: punjini

😡
Mamta Banerjee?? You uttered her name in the same breath as my name? Yes, you had better run for cover because I want nothing less than your scalp! 😡

🤣

But Sarita at times I think if really Mamta Didi is No-nonsense.... She does the most Nonsense things somehow.😆

😛@26.73%

My mentor nurtures the thought of hijacking you from your 'Gharana'! So, my words are 100% true. Better lookout! 😉

Originally posted by: aparnagadgil

Thanku Sarita for answering my questions 😊 BTW - I am going to test you one of these days to see if your understanding of Tamil is exactly @26.73% or more or less. You better be prepared to get accurate results 😛 😆 😆
And thankyou for saying such kind words about me, though I am not sure about that myself 😳

Actually Sahana and you-know-who share the same star sign. Perhaps that should explain 😛 No, no, no I meant that explains how absolutely different people can be!! There's you-know-who that's kind of weird and there's my mentor, who any day will NOT stage a dharna and then a fast! Never!

You may wonder at my reference to someone as you-know-who, that's coz I have been told not to take her name and my mentor's name in the same breath. *amen*

Originally posted by: Bhaskar.T

🤣

But Sarita at times I think if really Mamta Didi is No-nonsense.... She does the most Nonsense things somehow.😆

Originally posted by: Ethnos

Actually Sahana and you-know-who share the same star sign. Perhaps that should explain 😛 No, no, no I meant that explains how absolutely different people can be!! There's you-know-who that's kind of weird and there's my mentor, who any day will NOT stage a dharna and then a fast! Never!

You may wonder at my reference to someone as you-know-who, that's coz I have been told not to take her name and my mentor's name in the same breath. *amen*

🤣 You sure know how to push your luck !!!! God help you now....😆