Book Review: That Kiss in The Rain - Novoneel Chakraborty

Which is better, or in other words what is ethically true: Making love with someone you love or loving someone you make love with? Novoneel Chakraborty’s second novel: “That Kiss In The Rain…Love is the weather of Life” talks about the same. A lot has been said and discussed about love various times in many books. Why would anyone read ‘That Kiss in The Rain’ when the name itself depicts romance?

Pallavi:

An airhostess by profession and rich spoilt brat by nature. Believe in the statement: “Nothing is impossible”, follows the statement, “Pallavi can only lose in one case, when she wants to’. Truly loves her childhood crush ‘Dino’ and believes he was her first and last 'love'.

Swadha:

A simple girl and the most important character in the book. Source of answers to all the questions by women of all ages. On a never ending quest of finding her true love.

….And then they met him, exactly when they shouldn’t have.

Haasil:

An amnesiac cuz of major accident. Entrepreneur by profession. Widower.  

The story begins with the disclosure of Haasil’s accident revealing he has lost his wife in a major accident. He tries to recover from the accident while we learn about Pallavi and Swadha. How their childhood was spent describing the details which led to their character of their adult life. Nitin, Haasil’s friend, tries not to reveal the secret of Palki’s(Haasil’s wife) death to him with providing excuses of her not being with him at this sensitive stage. After a few events Pallavi and Swadha come into Haasil’s life to make it smooth (or more complicated, perhaps). What happens next? Haasil gets whom? Pallavi? Swadha? Or what will happen if and when he will come to know about his wife’s death? Read the book for the answers.

Novoneel’s way of storytelling is tremendously good. The dribbling between the character sketches was done in a perfect manner. Detailing of characters was superb. If these characters were real, you would be able to recognize them if came across. Not an exaggeration.

The best thing about the story is the soul. The feelings and sentiments of Haasil are described in such a way that you pray for him to get Palki back! Why is this book different than other romantic novels? Cuz it deals with the quest of true love, in a mature way. The three main characters are in search of true love. Haasil, just wants his wife back. Swadha wants his boss to reciprocate as she loves him genuinely. Pallavi wants his childhood love, Dino, back. To know how all these stories are connected, you just need to order a copy online or grab one from the nearest bookstore. The only drawback in the story, which I personally felt, was the ending. It was a little abrupt. Many would disagree, but this is my personal opinion. It could've been perfect. Nevertheless, the book was a great read!

Again, a few grammatical and printing mistakes I did come across and I also know they can be very easily ignored.

All in all, a great book for all romance lovers and for all those who never tried reading about love or hated it.

Pros: Fantastic theme, Interesting Characters, Pallavi’s attitude, Italicized lines, nice storyline, twists and LOVE!

Cons: Ending.

Overall: Must Read. 4/5

Book Review: Cricket Till I Die - Upneet Grover

Fact: Cricket is a religion in our country. Anything related to cricket, even remotely, is expected to be over the top and exciting. You get positive vibes every time cricket is introduced around you in any form. I had the same expectations from Cricket till I die. Did it fulfill my expectations or disappointed me? Well, I cannot say anything specifically to be honest. Read further to know more.

Vineet Grover(the main protagonist in the book: Cricket till I die) is a frustrated IT sector employee who has a boring and monotonous schedule. A 9-5 job, a caring girlfriend, weird boss, some good and some bad friends and a dream. Dream to represent India in cricket at international level. Professionally he wants to crack CAT and get into an IIM to have a good life. He does crack CAT and does get into FMS instead of IIM. Then what? On one journey en route his college he comes across a cricket club. Surreptitiously he visits that club and that single visit changes his life completely. He starts playing and playing well. He gets recognized and is called to a prestigious Delhi Club, where he fails miserably to please selectors. His friend Hardik flies down to Delhi to help him out by making him bat on a cemented pitch, wet ball, bowled by monsters. After dramatically getting selected to the Delhi IPL team he experiences ups and lows and learns a lot from none other than Virendra Sehwag. Does he get selected in the national team? Read the book to know about the future of his dream.

Upneet has used a very fine language with terrific and apt diction throughout the book. A few noticeable printing and editing mistakes I did come across but I think they would be taken care of in the next edition.

The story in the beginning tells us about the life of Vineet, which I found a little boring to be honest. But the anticipation of Cricket’s entry later in the book kept me guessing and I did not feel like letting it down. The moment his dream rekindles, you feel like saying, ‘Wow, now it sounds interesting!’ You feel connected to Vineet consequently. The conundrum he goes through and all. You feel it. The part where he represents the Delhi team in the stadium is the best. Though that part seems unreal at points but you don’t give many thoughts. Rather, you enjoy. The scenes where he faces the ball, scores, gets out and bowls himself are described perfectly. No glitches. The ending, I found to be dramatic. It could’ve been much better but then, the book is about cricket and cricket means expect the unexpected. And it can be good or bad. Again, the ending was not bad, but was dramatic in comparison with the rest of the events described.

All in all, the story told in a simple and an enjoyable way shows how to pursue a dream, even if it seems unreal, without giving up.

Pros: Nice theme. Apt usage of great quotes before every chapter. Simple story. CRICKET!

Cons: Slow start, Dramatic ending.

Overall: Nice Read! 3/5

Dum Maaro Dum

Hello guys, how are you all? Did you miss us and our reviews? Say yes. Even if you don’t, just say yes. We’ll feel good. After a long, long time our favorite movie reviewer visited theater to watch the movie and is back today with the review of Dum Maaro Dumand also to increase the dwindling TRP. Please welcome, LEBNOX!

“It’s good to see you again, Lebnox. How are you?”

“I’m good and am here to take care of your TRPs. By the way, how could you expect good TRPs during all these cups and leagues?” He passed his characteristic diabolical smile.

“I hate these matches as much as I love them. People tend to ignore my show during these tournaments.”

“Just thank god that you’re living in a normal world.” That smile got wider. And before we could comprehend the actual meaning of that line, he was ready for the interview.

Q. 1) Okay. I’ll start with the classic question. How will you define the movie in one word?

Lebnox:  Stylish!

Q.2) That doesn’t sound good. I mean generally stylish movies haven’t done well in the past.

Lebnox: What’s up with you? You asked one word, and I said stylish. What does it have to do with history and doing well? (His constant smile was making us nervous.)

Q.3) Nothing.Nothing. So let’s talk about the performances.

Lebnox: I don’t know why Bipasha opted for this film. There was nothing for her to perform. All she did in the movie was to take drugs, sleep with a few actors and cry. She has been wasted. Prateik Babbar has performed better in the past so I would say an okay kinda performance. His expressions throughout the movie were terrific though. And, I had forgotten everything about Adtiya Pancholi completely until I saw him acting in this movie. He was decent. His dialogue delivery was pleasantly delightful. Rana Daggubati was expression less throughout the movie. No matter what happens he stays blank. Even in his scenes where he is all singing and doing the rockstar thing, he is pokerfaced. The only man who actually performed, acted, made me smile, and sometimes irritated too, was Abhishek Bachchan. You’ll see one of his better performances in recent times in this movie. His dialogue delivery was top-notch. His expressions were stupendous and his action scenes were convincing.

Q.4) And how was Rohan Sippy?

Lebnox: I liked his different way of direction. He handled the story well. Although he seemed to be hugely inspired by the legendary Tarantino and the master of crime, Scrosese but I don’t see any reason of stealing away his credits. There is no harm in getting inspired as long as you keep projecting your own style in it. Rohani Sippy did well. His direction was fresh and fine. You don’t get bored.

Q.5) How about the story? Did it thrill you?

Lebnox: Storyline is another weak point of the movie. The movie begins with the story of Pratiek, then it drifts quickly to Abhishek Bachchan and then to Rana Daggubati and all. It all happens so quickly that you’re unable to attach yourself to any story. Writers are to be blamed. The climax was supposed to be shocking and thrilling but it confuses some, disappoints some and some find it unconvincing. Dialogues are worth applauds in some scenes and hair-pulling-hormone-generating in some scenes.

Q.6) So what did you find stylish in the movie?

Lebnox: A lot of things. The best was the cinematography. The camera work is so unique and surprisingly incredible that you just can’t help but give *WHOA* expressions. The usage of vibrant colors. There are a lot of rich colors used in the movie but they are so appropriately used that they don’t do any damage to your eye, rather you enjoy them. The music. I don’t know if Pritam is accused later for plagiarism of the songs he composed for the movie, but I liked all the songs except the stupid rap by Abhishek Bachchan and the irritating title track. I’m sure everybody likes them too. So, the overall look of the film is stylish and you will be amazed by it.

Q.7) I had thought after the gap of two months you might have lost your magical touch. I was wrong!

Lebnox: India’s win has improved my talent of crackling snappy repartees. But you still are the same.(We still wonder what he actually meant by that.)

Q.8) What's the movie about? The story, I mean.

Lebnox: The movie is based on a threesome of violence, drugs and sex in Goa. An ACP is handed over the clean-up job after the limits have been crossed. The ACP itself has a dark past. His wife had died due to his corruption and to recover from all this he takes over the job of making Goa a better place. The Drug lord isn’t happy with him and he summons the ultimate kingpin, whom no one has ever seen and has never ever been caught, to take care of ACP. A DJ who had been watching silently all the while, when his loved ones deserted him and got addicted, finally gets a wakeup call when his innocent best friend gets caught while doing an illegal thing in order to get back to his love. All these stories are connected and the climax is supposed to be shocking.

Q.9) So the movie is a hit?

Lebnox: You could’ve saved much of energy if you could’ve consulted Google. I always tell you to do so.

Q.10) Excuse me?

Lebnox: Err…Umm.. I mean the movie will do a decent job and shall recover its expences with ease.

Q.11) It’s my turn to ask, what’s up with you?

Lebnox: Nothing. You always have an option to edit this interview, but you choose to go uncensored. Such a TRP addict person you are. (We really had nothing to say after this statement.)

Q.12) Final Verdict?

Lebnox: The weak points of the movie are the storyline and some performances. Positive points are Cinematography, style, freshness, music and Abhishek Bachchan. So you when you have positive points in the majority side, you should give it a try.

He got up and was ready to go.

Q.13? Err.. Won’t you rate the movie?

Lebnox: You know what, I am just an ordinary guy with extra ordinary wits but I have no right to give marks to the movie. Simple numbers assigned to the movies by many others sometimes sabotage the reputation of the movie and not many realize while doing so that how much time, energy, brain and hard work is spent in making it. I’ve said all what I think about the movie and let people decide whether they want to see it or not. Moreover, I’m popular for being different. Ain’t I? (And there came the classicLebnoxical wink.)

And he left. We think he was absolutely right about the rating system. We ask ourselves what is 5 in the rating system? There was no answer. If anybody from your side comes up with a valid answer, he'll get to feature in our next movie review. So we conclude this interview right here and hope you enjoyed the show after such a long time.