Hello!! Knock Knock!

One of the things that I promised myself at the beginning of this year was to be more consistent with my blogging.  I had all the excuses in the world for being busy or not having a 'life' but seriously, none of them were true. One can write when one has to. You don't need any promises.

So here I am thinking that it better be late than never, and writing about something that has fascinated me a lot in the recent months.

No, it's not a guy.

Is it just me or all the gays find this whole law business intriguing and interesting. Truth be told, I have been a great fan of  'Boston Legal' and can never get enough of it, and 'Ally Mcbeal' was the first show I honed interpreting the american accent. So what was about this new show that has got me hooked?
"The Good Wife" is a misnomer, just like what series creators did with "Desperate Housewives". They deliver you something else when you least expect it. I will be bored to give you details here since that's what wikipedia does if you already don't know about the show. And if you have not watched the show, let me say you what you should know which is not on wiki. ( See how smart I am saving both of ours time)

The show is nothing like my other favorite show 'Boston Legal'. It's inspired by real life events with a twist and most court cases featured are not facile. Each episode requires constant attention to get full understanding of nuances and it's not all fun and games standing before a judge, having 'jibber jabber' like Alan Shore made us believe in Boston Legal.

It's a real joy to see Julianna Margullies as the protagonist in the series but the surprise package is Archie Panajbi playing the role of in house investigator Kalinda Sharma.

And boy, does she look hot??

I mean she is so hot that I can turn straight for her. But it's too bad she plays a Gay. Irony of sorts!
What really astounds me is the level of good writing that goes into this show. What we get to see in India is hundred of years behind. In fact, most of our movies don't have that kind of layered characterizations, and they feed us stereotypes after stereotypes based on their little understanding of places beyond glam parties.
Has anyone noticed that a lot of time the dialogues are literal translations of english cliches? The 'Karthik calling Karthik' dialogue where Farhan asks Depika if she would take advantage of him if he gets drunk. How lame is that??

Alpha version of myself

I watch TV soaps for inspiration. That perhaps sounds pathetic. Perhaps, when you get totally bore, or totally insane, you start looking for meaning in everything inane ( was there some alliteration?)

I find legal dramas very engaging. And once you have some bit of comedy thrown in, and turned it into  a 'Dramady', it becomes my favorite genre. It does not have the usual chest beating sermonizing, instead there are moments when you discover there are small moments, moments that you and I live every second, turned into something dramatic yet subtle which lie buried under mundaneness of life.

In one of these fits of self discovery, I finally saw something that reinforced my belief that "We are different versions of ourselves at different times". Does that sound arcane? Let  me elaborate.

I am a kind person. I like helping people, something that I do without any expectation. But there are moments when I don't feel like helping ( very few, trust me). How do I stop feeling miserable and 'bitch' when I don't help someone, and I know if I help I will not get over the fact that I can't be myself.

Now, this new theory puts everything in perspective. I can be cranky at times without having to feel I am a bad person. and in case, you are wondering where I saw that line, It was 'Boston Legal". And if you wondering about why the post is titled so, any software released for the first time which would have 'bugs' and 'errors' is called alpha version. The problem free ( that's what they claim) comes later and is called 'Beta' Version

Brothers and Sisters

I am not a professional TV reviewer, neither am I in nay way connected with scripting, dialogue writing or acting departments of soaps ( though I wish I could, but alas, there are as many things one can do in one's life), but I am all for quality TV watching. With all the free available time at my disposal, I am quite a keen TV watcher. Now, there was a soap, which was high on my wish list, and which I couldn't watch much because my hard-disk was full with all the three season of Grey's anatomy. The show was Brothers and Sisters. Now, god bless teh souls at Star Word wo decided to air this shown in India. The show has a stellar cast and two of favorite actresses viz Sally Fied and Calsita Flockheart. Calista is seen after her long hiatus, and with old episodes of Ally Mcbeal airing on Zee Cafe, it certainly has added to my fondness for her.

Brothers and Sisters is an altogether different show produced by the same guys as 'Alias', though it does feature a few actors from 'Alias' in important roles. And, yes, I almost forgot, the most important fact that it has a lead character playing a gay attorney. I know, it's so hard to get the above combination of gay + attorney ( anything related to do with brains in INDIA, If any guy disagrees and has brains, kindly drop me a message) when all the people who you meet either turn out to be working in a BPO or some shoddy fashion House. Speaking of fashion houses, I had watched entire jassi, and let me tell you that, I had huge expectations from Ugly Betty but it was such a damp squib. Jassi was much more interesting and entertaining. On the other hand, Ugly Betty looks like one of our saas -bahu soaps where a mystery woman schemes and plots to upstage the hero..so very balaji..they must sue these people.



So, I was talking about this whole Brother's and Sisters, and the reasons I like the show. First reason is that they shot in LA. Ohh, I love California weather and the whole sunny side of things..You don't get to see a single ugly frame. Secondly, I love families. I just love the fact that despite getting angry, fighting over, calling each other name, there will remain people who don't stop loving you. It sound so cliched, but to emphsize my point, one really realizes its importance when you don't have anybody to fight with, knowing that they will be there for you despite all that. Thirdly, I love Calista Flockheart ( I still don't know if I have got her name's spelling right. Google will be too much of a bother). She does not play Ally Mcbeal, but it'd hard to miss traces of here Mcbeal days. especially when she starts speaking real fast, and gets edgy about her relationships. she is a lovely actress, and I 'd like to see more of her..A little digression, Calista Flockheart auditioned for Teri hatcher's role in Desperate Housewives. I am glad that she didn't do that role, coz Teri is just so perfect.

Now comes the real clincher, the gay brother of Calsita, I don't like him per se ( in the sense I am not over the moon over him). But, it is such a relief to see someone playing gay role in a not stereotypical profession. He is not he best looking guy around, but its not as if you would not notice him if he were in a room. I know, I am sounding a little desperate housewives myself..maybe this obsession has been rubbed off from too much of ally Mcbeal,But who cares..I jsut wish there were more interesting people in this world.
ahhh..where are you, My Mr Right

Money / Honey

The other day, while flipping through channels, I came across Ally Mcbeal-an Old favorite of mine. This particular episode had an interesting theme: Prostitution.
An ex-attorney is caught soliciting money for sex from a doctor who she had already bedded before. Though the episode had two themes running parallel viz. lack of available single, attractive men for dating, and what constitutes prostitution. It was the latter, that caught my fancy, with me bing too aware of shortage of single, attractive men.

The defendant, a client of Ally's law firm, testified that when she used to get so many offers from men, most of the time married and emotionally available, to sleep with her , while she waited for some nice, attractive, successful man who would also be into dating. on not getting her type of men, She changed her mind to sleep with them and earn a living out of it. Now, there does seem a logic. A successful, attractive woman deprived of dateble men, may seem desperate and jump the gun to get her goods.

The logic of defending her position was even more twisted. the argument presnted by the defence counsel is definately food for some thought

1) When hollywood actresses 'make love' on screen with their fellow actors, and get paid for it, does that not amount to prostitution?

2)When numerous women sleep with their bosses, clients, colleagues to step on the success ladder, while receiving favors, a raise, a promotion; which can be monetarily categorized, why don't we treat it as prostitution?

3)There are several women who will not date/marry/sleep with a man unless he earns a certain amount of money, is that not a form of prostitution?

Well, with me, I almost bought these arguments. But I do have a strict policy against paying for sex. I find it most reprehensible act, and a manifestation that I can't get men without my moolah, which is a really scary thought.