A play date with Dove!

A Play date with Dove

First times are always special and the Dove-Indiblogger meet on 11th May, 2014 was special for this very reason. i was super excited when i saw the mail and knew that i could make it this time after having missed the last few meets. i registered myself online, checked my wardrobe for white and waited for the D-day. i had never been to an Indiblogger meet before but the idea of meeting people and writers at that, was a pretty exciting. Being a freelancer, i do not have many opportunities for socializing and meeting new people outside of work. So here was an exciting event to do just that!

The ride to J W Marriott was smooth due to a Sunday, albeit a hot Sunday afternoon. It was awkward initially because i really didn’t know anyone. There were others who were hugging each other as their faces lit up with recognition looking at others. The registration hall was a huge one with yummy snacks and desserts spread on tables along the walls. From coffee to wine, you could take your pick of drink while waiting for registrations to begin.

Once the registration started, we got badges of our own names! We were also given a map of the activity halls with an event plan. And then we had to take our selfies at the Dove booth and tweet about the event. Little did i know that the fun had just begun!! We all gathered in one of the halls with huge screens. We had a bit of an introductory talk by a member of Indiblogger team. There were veterans in the room who had come for their 8th Indiblogger meet!

The beautiful hall where we gathered

My badges!

And then the Emcee, Freishia took over and take us through the evening. We were divided into teams and the interesting twist was to name our teams after hairstyles! So from french braid (our team) to messy buns, we had every thinkable hairdo. We had an introduction round where we moved in concentric circles getting to know our team members. We were also given plain badges on which we could write a compliment for our partners. This badge became a priced possession which we pinned up on our tops. i am sure have also stored it carefully in our homes as a memory of the great times we had at the meet.

We had a short but fun-filled Zumba session before the games began. We all jived to the tunes without a care in the world. i think it being an all-women meet made it all the more fun. The teams were then sent to different halls, 3 teams at a time to participate in games. The first one was the hoop activity. We had to swing the hula hoop around our waist and the team member who could do it the longest got maximum points for their team. We were fortunate to have one of our members do that and were winners for that game!

The next game was even more fun. We had to get into a pen with colorful balls around. 3 of the members were supposed to throw only blue balls with Dove written on them and 2 members were supposed to catch them in bins for 4 minutes before we switch places. i think we did a pretty good job here and managed to gather a huge bin-full! We then posed for photos as we threw the balls in the air. Super-fun! By this time, we had all opened up and become comfortable with our team members which just added to the masti!

We moved on to the puzzle round after this. We were supposed to stick pictures of a life size puzzle which was a Dove-themed poster. Our team was the first one to finish this round. i think the great team co-ordination amongst us kept the pieces going really quickly!

The next round was even more fun. We had to make hairstyles of our partners and then they would do our hair. It was since all of use had different types and length of hair. One team member, Pallavi had hair that went all the way down to her knees while Beinu had really short, silky hair. We had fun using the hair accessories on each other - from beads to flowers - we all had a make-over by ourselves!

We were getting a bit exhausted by now. But then now was the real fun part where we got to get groomed by real Dove professionals. We could get our hair curled, straightened, braided, bun-ed or anything that we wanted. The wait for one’s turn was long which was a bit of spoil sport but the lovely hairstyles we came up with amply made up for having to stand in queues and wait.

  My Colourful hairclip!

Pic with Dove Rep

At this time, the delay was a bit evident. It was past 8pm and we were tired and hungry. We were asked to move to the pool side where we had an amazing cocktail making contest. The basics were explained first and then one of the team members had to concoct a drink for the team. We lost this round. But were all too happy to move on to dinner. The food was a lavish spread of dishes. i was too tired to have a big appetite but enjoyed the meal anyways.

Just as we thought the fun was over, a group of girls presented a dance show on the dance floor. It felt like royalty to enjoy my meal and have these people put up a show for us. And then it was time for the the most important announcement of the day - the winning team of the evening! And surprise, surprise, our team won! We all won a Dove voucher for Rs. 5000 each. This was like bonus for me because i went out hoping to meet some like minded people. Never dream't something like this would happen. And all of us also got goody bags with a mix of stuff like hair straighteners or dryers, Dove Elixir, Dove hair pins and Dove Shampoo and conditioner hampers.

And the final feather in the cap was to help us excited but very tired ladies into cabs to take us home safely. This thoughtful gesture by Indiblogger and Dove takes the cake because it was 10 pm and we were all tired and some of us had to reach remote locations like Navi Mumbai. Ensuring that we all get into cabs that would take us to our homes safely is definitely worthy of praise!

What i cherish is the memories. And most importantly, the people i met and the friends i made during the meet. Hope to be a part of many more meets to come!

Flimsy films - 2 States

i had read the book 2 States way back when it was released. i thought it was by far the best book that Chetan Bhagat had come up with. His previous books were too juvenile for my taste. And as much as i can remember, the book was more interesting than the film. The depiction of North - South cultural divide was more fun to read in the book. Since it was the writer’s own experiences, his writing was so much better.

i did not expect much from the film and true enough it did turn out to be mediocre. The scenes which are supposed to reinforce cultural differences fell flat. i kept waiting for a dramatic turning point which would define the crux of the film and make that connect with the audience. But the only thing that came was the end of the movie and a sigh of relief from deep within me. The film lacks any one thing that might serve as a redeeming feature - romance, performances, cultural differences, comedy. None! The songs seem more like an intrusion in a film where i am waiting for such clutter to clear and a real conflict to emerge.

In terms of acting, Alia Bhatt came as surprise to me. Guess i was too influenced by all the twitter jokes on her dense intelligence and did not expect her to be any good. Plus, to be honest, i am a little prejudiced since she is a Director’s daughter and hence her take off through a Karan Johar film. But she does pull off the role well even though she doesn’t look remotely South Indian - but then not all south indians have stereotypical looks. She dressed well through the film, though a little overdressed for her in-the-office scenes in the second half. Surprisingly, i found Arjun Kapoor more disappointing. He seems to have one static expression on his face which lasts almost the entire film. i expect a lot more acting talent from the nephew of Anil Kapoor. He was so much better in Ishqzaade.

The only really great scenes are with Amrita Singh and Ronit Roy in it. Seasoned actors completely in the skin of their characters. You really feel the tension between the couple in those scenes, like they really have a history between them. Amrita is so credible when she tries hard to act the snooty punjabi mother-in-law, the only role in her life that gives her an an upper hand as opposed to being a suppressed wife all her life.

Since at no point does my heart go out to the characters and their predicament, nope, not even when they separate and she refuses to talk to him, i wouldn’t say I came out of the theater feeling exhilarated about love winning the battle after all. You can watch it once, when it comes on TV. But you did not miss much if you did not watch even this one.

You can read my last Filmsy film post here

Flimsy Films - Bhootnath Returns

To begin with, it’s a delight to watch Big B on screen. His persona and charisma is still worth watching. The set of Bhootworld looks like a play setting but nice. The movie does start on a comic note. Kids not getting scared of a ghost is somehow supposed to be funny. Since most of the story is leaked during promotion, we kind of know the drift already. The problem occurs when you try to look for what you expected from the film - a fun ghost film with a kid. Just like the last film. But the movie takes a completely different turn this time.

The film does make a compelling case for voting. i’ll give it that. But then it ceases to be the sequel but just has the same characters telling a very different story. The film, very early on, loses its comic tone and gets serious and idealistic about voting and defeating criminal candidates. It just ends up being a dreamy Bollywood film, like Nayak, where you are expected to get carried away with the characters and indulge in fantasy - how India can change if people turned back from their election-day holiday trips and went voting, if they rejected bribes and did not give in to intimidation and voted for the right candidate. But the bhoot himself contesting elections seems to have taken it a bit too far. i was wondering how would the ghost run a govt if it he won. And the plot of the film will not let him lose!

What would have probably kept the original theme and comedy of the film alive was to have the supernatural power help out a good candidate win. The same thing could be shown in a lighter manner by making the bhoot become instrumental in getting people to do what is right. And convey it even by taking some potshots at the wrong candidate. It could still be a fun, adventurous roller coaster as Parth and Bhootnath play pranks as they go about showing the country what could be done instead of what the people are doing right now.

i wasn’t very happy with the way this one turned out to be. If you haven’t watched it yet, you haven’t missed much.