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TWIN LION SHORT FILM SCREENING | NAVI MUMBAI

Twin Lion Productions is a venture of Twin Lion Group, it specialises in Short Film, Ad Film and Corporate Film making.
We put the spotlight on great short films and give filmmakers the tools to create, share, and connect. Twin Lion Productions has been supporting and promoting up-and-coming artists through our site as well as with our live events.
we've built a new audience for film across the globe, developed a platform for filmmakers that allows millions of people worldwide to engage with their work.
Operating online, in live events and through commercial distribution, we believe strongly in the social experience of film; in cinema as a communicator and community that should not be restricted by geography, status, wealth or politics 

Join us for our monthly short film screening 
Date :15-Feb-2014 | Time 3:00 pm | 
Venue: Rock Ville , Citi Tower, Plot No.55, Sector 15, CBD Belapur, Navi Mumbai.
Free Workshop on Acting | Free Admission |

For more info contact us at response@twinlionfilms.com |www.twinlionfilms.com

Why Is Storyboarding So Important?

Why Is Storyboarding So Important?

Creating a storyboard for any creative production can be useful, but for a video production or animation it is vital. By planning each shot beforehand, directors and crew can understand what they are aiming to achieve and have something to build on.

What Is A Storyboard?

Storyboarding is similar to working on a comic strip, and quite simply requires each shot to be drawn in a box, often with writing to explain what is happening. However, storyboarding allows directors to play with angle, perspective and balance to create the shot that they desire and therefore can require a lot of time and precision. For example, storyboards take into consideration whether your shot is interior or exterior, whether it is an upwards angle or downwards angle, whether your actors should be positioned in a close-up, medium or long-distance shot.

Having a storyboard is crucial in determining the success and quality of your movie. What is a storyboard? Simply put, it is a sequence of images that tell what the scenes that your movie will go through. Your movie flow will follow what the storyboard depicts.

Learning from comics

 students can learn a lot about storyboarding by analysing comics frame-by-frame to see how they use lighting, framing and viewpoint to tell their stories.

You can then look at scenes from TV dramas, advertisements or opening sequences to see how they use the same techniques. Stilling the picture and sketching what is in the frame can help. 

How to make a storyboard

The first step in creating a storyboard is to draw a series of squares on a piece of paper (you can pic). Think of these squares as the video frame. In each square a different shot or scene will take place.  You can sketch the scenes by hand, create them on a computer or even take photographs.  Make sure to leave space to write notes and lines from the script beneath or next to each frame.

Beneath each picture you should write the lines from the script that will be said in that shot and jot down some notes about what is happening in the scene.  People should be able to read through your storyboard like a comic book to get a sense of exactly what will happen in your video.

Note that your storyboard doesn’t have to be incredibly detailed — you don’t have to draw in all of the props or even use color.  If you’re not great at drawing that’s fine too.  Just provide enough visual detail to give an impression of what is happening, which characters are in the scene and what the general framing will look like.  The script and notes will help fill in the rest of the details.  You can also make notes about camera angles and movement, transitions between shots and other details that will come in handy during production and post production.

Why is a storyboard important?

Clarity during development

By having a storyboard, the production team will be clear of what is expected of them and they will have a clear overall picture of what the whole movie will look like.

 Improved movie quality

A movie will be enjoyable when the camera angles are correct. That is when the zooming fits in nicely and the characters are properly portrayed. This is integral also for animation productions. So when all this is shown on the storyboard and errors are corrected, the final movie will be more enjoyable to the audience.

Cost reduction

Without a proper storyboard, the whole scene of a movie needs to be redone when it is deemed unsatisfactory. But with a storyboard, the scenes are laid out on paper and unsatisfactory ones can be redrawn using a new storyboard even before the movie goes into production. This saves time and resources

Hopefully now you understand the importance of making a storyboard when you create a video and are ready to grab some paper and a pen and start storyboarding

VISHWAROOPAM

Writer-director Kamal tries to connect the alien story of war between jihadis and Americans, by planting a Telugu-speaking protagonist, as a ‘mole’, in the jihadi camp in Afghanistan, it fails to connect.

Viswanath(Kamal) is dance instructor in NewYork city and he is married to Nirupama(Pooja Kumar), she is nuclear oncologist by profession  Their marriage doesn't run fruitful  so she hires a private detective to spy on Kamal, to find out any flaws about him which might help her to get divorce  This private detective finds out that Kamal is muslim, which shocks Nirupama. Is Kamal muslim or hindu? what happens to the marriage of Kamal there after? has to be seen on silver-screen.

Is he a good guy or a bad guy given at one point in the film he says he is both?

For pure Kamal fans, the answer doesn’t matter – the movie is all about him. The star, even after 50-plus years on screen, is still incredibly enterprising and is raring to go. This time, he takes on the Hollywood genre of suspense thrillers and pulls it off reasonably well

Rahul Bose performance is excellent as Afghan Muslim leader "Omar". He is definitely plus to the movie, his settled expressions at key scenes, leaves his mark on audience mind. Both Pooja Kumar and Andreia has nothing much space given in film, they are used to fill female casting. Dubbing given for pooja sounds very irritating on screen. Nassar and Shekhar Kapur roles are so short and they are not utilised to fullest.

Kamal's plan to run the film completely on his shoulders handling  direction, story, screenplay has back fired in executing the output. Photography (Sanu Varghese who did it for Karthik Calling Karthik), design, and action elevate the look and feel of the film. Music by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy is just ordinary though.Big kudos to him for picturizing locations of Afghanistan beautifully and even the action scenes raises bar of film to Hollywood standards.

First half of the film looks confusing with scenes thrown without any connections from one to another. Screenplay is not crispy and never gives you a feel of spy thriller at any minute. Main characters introductions are given very simply in the movie.

Second half is where clarity about what actually Kamal's character is revealed to audience. The flashback scenes connecting with the present to reveal Kamal as Raw Agent of India is nice. Screenplay in the second half is racy compared to first half.

One major thing should be appreciated about this flick, Rich production values can be sensed at every frame in the film and art director 'Nancy Terryn' work of creating Afghanistan in Chennai is amazing.

It's a complete multiplex film with rich production values, watch it if you are fan of Kamal Hassan

   

NAVI MUMBAI ART FESTIVAL

NAVI MUMBAI ART FESTIVAL

According to Wikipedia,  Creativity refers to the invention or origination of any new thing (a product, solution, artwork, literary work, joke, etc.) that has value. well this is what i was referring to Navi Mumbai Art Festival held at Belapur’s Urban Haat 

Well over a hundred thousand people visited Navi Mumbai Art Festival this year, I was one of the lucky ones to experience the festival to see national and international artists, street painters metal art, metal wire art, caricatures, paper art, welding, terracotta, block printing, paper mache other media and graff artists produce magnificent works of art, Navi Mumbai Art Festival has a great program that attracts people from far and wide. In addition to the artworks there was great music, spectacular  performances, artist talks and a performance by Dance. 

Navi Mumbai Art Festival  it’s all go, go, go; visiting Navi Mumbai Art Festival I seized the opportunity to experience it from all different angles – Another interesting exhibit is an 8-foot high Natraj sculpture and spider man  made of metal scrap and spare parts of cars and bikes, Experiencing the festival from all angles was brilliant, Next day I met few people , brainstormed ideas about NMAF. 

Being an artist at the event, well that was fabulous. The festival hopes to engage a large audience in the rich culture of these art forms. The main aim is to educate, empower, entertain and give people a different direction to their creativity in the company of various artists from India. It is an opportunity to come closer to the world of art and ensure all can enjoy every moment in their city

RACE - 2

I think there should have been no sequels to any movie or else you will get a blunder like Race2. There are so many things in Race2 which are so predictable and fake, you will be needing some time to digest them. The moment a sequel for any super-hit movie is announced, the expectations go soaring high. It is not that sequels do not succeed. There are movies like Dhoom, Munna Bhai, Dabang, which were bigger hits. This time the director duo in white – Abbas & Mastan decided to recreate magic with Race2. They retained two characters from the first part, Ranveer Singh (Saif) and RD (Anil Kapoor).

The frame is crowded with good-looking people, mouth-watering cars, casinos, hotels, planes and yachts. Saif is same as before,infact in some scenes it will be like watching him in Agent Vinod,Deepika left no stone unturned to show off her body, especially her thighs, as for John Abraham, I guess it will take some time for him to fit in Armaan Malik's role, Jacqueline tried very hard to resemble Angelina Jolie but fails everytime,infact didn’t even came closer to her,Anil was better in the earlier version and this time did some overact along with Amisha Patel, who always ask dumb but adult questions to Anil,but I guess her way of dressing was not so dumb as compare to her character,Aditya Pancholi,to some extent justified his role as a Godfather, but I would prefer Sanjay Dutt to do that role. As for direction, I miss those earlier days of Abbas-Mustan, where they concentrate more on story rather than technical aspects of the movie, music of Race2 is catchy but the movie lacks editing and dialogues. I was waiting for Johnny Lever to appear, the lucky mascot of Abbas-Mustan, but this time they drop him out I guess. The Computer Generated Graphics or in simple language Special effects are so tacky that you can compare it with B-Grade horror movies or Shaktimaan

The movie will not be able to recover it’s cost as it seemed by the sets, sequences and locations that it was made on a high budget. the only saving grace can be this long weekend and no other big movie releasing this week. I have kept my review short because there is nothing much to say about the movie. Go for it if you are a fan of lack luster dialogues flying cars, cheap non veg jokes, skin show and of course a completely illogical plot.

HOW TO WRITE SHORT FILM SCRIPT

I had written a many great script, but  when started producing and directing my own short film,  that time I thought about production costs. I had scenes in a bus, inside a mall, even at a central jail, city main road , and you can’t just show up and shoot. Locations involve rentals, permits, security... And then there is the issue of feeding everybody, not to mention art direction, set design, hair & make-up  lighting/electrical, camera, sound, transportation, film & lab, post production, legal & accounting, insurance, and sometimes even an animal wrangler: damn frog!

 

When writing a smart short film you must write an inexpensive one: limit your locations, and write in ones you know you can get for free(how to get it free check out my previous article SO how to make quality short film be made for little or even no money http://bushkatkar.blogspot.in/2013_01_20_archive.html ), limit your characters, but write a complex character driven script – no aerial shots, no exploding cars – so great actors will deliver your best work. When you write with production costs in mind, you’re saving yourself thousands of hours and Rupees on the back end. And please, leave the frogs out of it. They're divas anyway

Writing a short script is a fantastic introduction to screen-writing and a great way to get your name out there. Yet keep in mind, the short script format is just as challenging, maybe even a little more so, than a feature.

Ideally, all the elements of a feature need to be present in a short.  The beloved three-act structure, even in a five-minute film, is a vital component to your script.  A feature allows you 90-115 pages to build your conflict, characters, climax and resolution but a short script only gives you 10 to 15 pages or, well, a short time to do all that. But when you do incorporate them, it shows the world you understand story structure at its heart, and that you are writing to engage and entertain.

Some may find the short format overwhelming at first. How can I write a ten-page script and have it make sense?  Start with a simple story line, a few characters; establish what dialogue and what specific visuals need to be in your script for it to make sense. It isn’t easy. Just keep practising  Make it shorter, make it longer and then make it even shorter than before.

Experiment with it – change the scenes around. Take out all of the dialogue and look at your chosen scenes.  Are these scenes showing the story you want to tell? Read them out loud and ask a few people to listen or they can read them out loud while you listen.  What visuals are coming through the strongest?

KEEP IT SHORT - You increase your chances to  get accepted in festivals. (Think as festival programmer: take 3 short films each 10 minutes long or rather 1 short film screening for 30 minutes?)

If you apply the rule of thumb, 1 page equals 1 minute, try to keep your script around 10 to 12 pages or less.

Less is more, of course, but you still have to have a story, the way a character looks or gestures make up for extraneous dialogue? It doesn't matter what your short story is about, you need a conflict. Without conflict there's no story. Imagine telling somebody you went to buy ice cream. Imagine you tell your friend

SHOW, DON'T TELL Imagine watching this: A woman says to a man she lives in a poor hut without running water. VS We see that woman in her run down poor hut, struggling to carry water up the hill. Film is visual. Stay away from telling your story in dialogue if you can show it in pictures instead.

Watch as many award-winning short films as you can with a critical eye to see what it was that made them award winning. Some may break all of the rules, (and we ha…love them for it), some might be dialogue heavy because it suits the story and the characters, some might be more visual and less conversational, and then there are lucky ones that combine both

TRY TO AVOID HEAVY DRAMA Especially if you are a short movie beginner. It's much easier to get a laugh or a cheap scare out of your audience than to make them feel deeply moved. Most feature movies don't manage it and they had 90 minutes to introduce us to the characters and make us feel about them.

Talk to other writers – some are more gregarious with their advice and time than others.  Maybe one of them will let you shadow their process or if you ask nicely, they might even give you some feedback.

So happy short script writing 

Tips for a Better Short Film - 2

Tips for a Better Short Film - 2

So how to make quality short films be made for little, or even no money? Of course they can, but is it possible for no-budget films to look cheap? Absolutely and this is something you need to guard against. Making it look like you’ve had money to spend is a skill you can learn. Its all about perceived production value. Don’t know what I’m talking about? Then read on and you will… 

Since the advent of digital cameras, especially Mini-DV, filmmaking has become much more accessible to the enthusiast. Now-a-days, you don’t need to rent expensive cameras and buy a few thousand feet of celluloid to make your film, all you need is passion and a mini DV camera. 

Now here are a few more things that you will want to make note of to make it look like you’ve had way more money than you’ve actually got. After all, you want a professional looking film, right? 

The Script 

The first thing you need on your filmmaking journey is a script. A quality script will give you the opportunity to make a quality film. The good news is you can write a quality script for free, the bad news is that this is not easy. But, hey, filmmaking isn’t a stroll in the park. If this puts you off, you’re better off turning the page and reading the TV listings for tonight. You’re no filmmaker! 

Many filmmakers have launched their own career by making a no-budget film and displayed how they can be creative and innovate with very small sums of money. It costs nothing to be creative. Let your creative juices flow, take your time, and once you have a script you are happy with start planning your shoot. 

Crew and Equipment 

Next, you need to assemble a crew but since you have no money, keep this to a minimum. As well as costing you less, they will be easier to manage and co-ordinate. A cameraman/director of photography, sound recorder and a runner should be sufficient. You don’t know any potential crew members? No problem. Get in touch with Twin Lion Production,or www.facebook.com/twinlionshortfilmsmakers

for help putting your team together. Since this is a no budget film, you will more than likely be working with inexperienced, but enthusiastic people. Many cameramen will have their own equipment so try and do a deal with them to get as much equipment for as little as possible. It is not uncommon for a director of photography to work for expenses and a copy of the film, especially if you are genuinely passionate about the project and can arouse their excitement with the script and description of your vision of the film. Equipment such as lights, colours gels, tripods etc are essential to your film. D't use cranes/dolly and tracks as it cost you more try to make your  own crane/dolly and track (like you can use weel chair or tripod as cranes you d't need much for short film) and these are excellent for smooth, cinematic movement. Ideally this is what you want in your film as it will look like you’ve spent a ton of money when you actually haven’t (this is what I mean by perceived production value). 

 Cast 

Affectionately known as ‘talking props’ to some in the industry, but the strength of the performances will make or break your film. You wont be able to get a Big B or salman khan, but there are plenty of talented and hungry actors looking for a break, who will work for expenses and a copy of the film. This is important for them, as actors are always looking to improve and expand their show reel. If you don’t know any actors, don’t worry, but avoid casting your friends, mum etc… Get on the Shooting People site or try Casting Network. 

Write a synopsis that sells your film to all of the talent out there and conduct a casting day. On these casting days, you cant expect the performance to be precisely what you’re looking for, they wont know the character in intimate enough detail and obviously wouldn’t have spend much time prepping with you, the director. Look for personalities that you are happy and comfortable working with and a spark that catches your attention above the competition. 

Locations 

Location fees can easily drain a film’s budget, but since you don’t have a budget, this doesn’t apply to you. If your film needs a specific indoor location (office, shop etc…) ask friends, parents, friends of friends, parents of friends and friends of parents. Offer to give them a credit on the film for allowing you to shoot. Invite them to watch you in action, and make them feel a part of the magic. 

Props and Production Design 

You need to make the most of what you have. You can’t spend any money, so be creative as possible. Utilise objects/props that you have access to and make them a part of your film. Look at everything you have access to and let your imagination run wild. Think of how to make best use of your possessions. 

Schedule and Shoot 

Ok, so now you have your cast, crew, equipment, locations, script and props in place, its time to shoot. You need to devise a schedule now so you know what you are shooting, where and when. Dependent Films contains a plethora of very useful resources (for free, of course) that will help you plan your film and get ready for the first call of ‘Action’. Do bare in mind that the cast and crew are not being paid, so the shorter your schedule the more likely people will be willing to work with you for nothing. In order to shoot your film in the optimum time you need to have a very clear and intimate knowledge of your film. You need to know it shot for shot, which angles, where you cut. Your vision is key here. 

Once your vision is crystal clear, write a shot list of only the shots you need to be able to cut your film together. That’s right, only shoot your cuts. For example, your actor is delivering a monologue; first half of it a medium shot (from the waist up), the second, more intense part of the monologue, is filmed in a close up shot (neck and face). Rather than filming the entire monologue from both angles, just shoot from the medium angle up until the point you know you want the angle to change and at that point, quickly zoom in to the close up. The actor is undisturbed and you have two halves that when edited together will make it look like you’ve used more camera setups (edit tip: you don’t want the viewer to see the zoom itself, so for the duration of the zoom, use what is called a cutaway or insert. In this case it could be to a reaction of the person your actor is talking to). 

Post Production 

Many filmmakers see editing as the most satisfying part of the process as it is here that your vision literally materialises before your eyes. These days you don’t need to worry about processing, printing and splicing celluloid, the edit can be done with the click of a mouse (well, several clicks…). Learn to cut your film on a computer system. Using your old PC or Mac, you can install editing software and start cutting. Now, you don’t have reams of cash to spend on the flashiest edit system, but the kind people at Adobe and Avid have free versions of their systems to download from their website. These pieces of software are sufficient to cut your film and assemble to your final cut. For an added cinematic feel to your film shoot in 16:9 aspect ratio (so you get the black bars or black tape at the top and bottom of the screen) or if you aren’t comfortable doing this, shoot in the standard ratio (4:3) and then add the black bars in the edit. 

                                                              

                                         That’s a Wrap! 

Is very possible to make quality for nothing. Many short filmmakers have spent a little money and used a lot of innovation and won film festivals the world over. Which helped to launch them into their career. You don’t need money to be innovative or to make exciting, interesting films. Working on a low budget can actually be very liberating, you know you can’t spend money, so embrace that fact, go all out and be as creative as you can. 

Happy writing, shooting and cutting…

Basic Tips for a Better Short Film

Basic Tips for a Better Short Film


Prepare in advance

Have backup plans to your backup plans. Having a solid prep and battle plan will let you sleep well the night before your first day shooting, and give you the confidence you need to do your job. If you’re prepared and you know what you need, you’ll be able to handle it.

Focus on Performance

At the end of the day, the greatest resource you’ll have to make your short successful is a motivated and talented cast. While important, don’t let technical craft and aesthetics distract you from the most important thing you should be worried about: is your actor telling the story the best way he can? Are you giving him the resources he needs to do so? That’s your job. Let your crew worry about the other things, that’s why you recruited people smarter than you in those positions to begin with

Secure a Dedicated Support System

My suggestion is to have, at the very least, one producer that helps you manage the technical/creative aspects of film making  and one to oversee general resource and logistical management. Best way to hire people is on intern-ship  get students from film making school but Make sure you get along with them very well, they’re going to be your emotional and logistical foundation during the entire process. You have to trust your producers, otherwise you’ll be up all night with a worry-ape slugging away at your chest.”

Remember, It’s a Short Film

Know what you’re trying to say, and say it in as concise of a manner as you can. My rule, keep it under fifteen minutes. Ten is better. A short should be, in my mind, under ten minutes and you’ve got to tell a beginning, middle, and end of a story. I don’t see the point in making a short film that’s supposed to tell part of a different story unless it’s episodic. Shorts fail when they treat the medium as a lesser version of a feature. I don’t want to see the first act of a feature film as a 30 minute short. Just get your shit together and make the feature

Raajneeti The Film

Raajneeti is a brilliant movie based on Indian politics. Do not understand Rajneeti No problem ! Have you watched or know ‘Mahabharata’. Lord Krishna, Arjun, Karan, Bheema, Dropdi, Duryodhan are legendary characters and the war between Pandavas and Kauravas is equally unforgettable. In movie Raajneeti You will find horrifying games some people play to attain power.

In movie, story takes turn in a so fast manner which you have not expected which is its biggest TRP. You will hold your seat tightly till the end.

You will feel that 3 hours is too short for such a good film.

RAAJNEETI :

Bhaskar Sanyal [Naseruddin Shah], the fire-brand leftist leader, is feared for his single-handed ability to challenge the most powerful of leaders. Until one private mistake of his hurtled him into a self-imposed exile.

Cut to the present day. Prithvi [Arjun Rampal] is the heir to a powerful political legacy and impatient to seize the top position. But his cousin, Veerendra [Manoj Bajpayee], proves his biggest political opponent. He’s a man who believes he was born to rule and who will now stop at absolutely nothing to claw his way back to the top.

Cornered by family and political colleagues, Veerendra plays a new game: He picks up Sooraj [Ajay Devgn], a youngster with anger in his heart and leadership on his mind. Sooraj doesn’t know the secret behind his identity, which, of course, is revealed much, much later.

Prithvi’s brother Samar [Ranbir Kapoor] is an ‘outsider’, with no political aspirations, but he gets sucked into the battle-ravaged arena of family rivalry. Only to turn into a master of the craft of political warfare. Indu [Katrina Kaif], daughter of a wealthy industrialist, is also caught in this web. Last but not the least, there’s Brij Gopal [Nana Patekar], who plays the role of mentor and guide to Prithvi and Samar as the battle gets bloodier by the day.

It requires courage to assemble a mammoth, ensemble cast, pick a story that does justice to each character and give the film the feel of an epic. Also, you ought to have comprehensive knowledge of the subject material – politics, in this case. And for all these and more Prakash Jha deserves all the praise possible.

To slot RAAJNEETI as a multi-starrer film would be erroneous. It’s a multi-actor film and every actor delivers a sparkling performance. The film has some of the biggest names in the business, but the ones who stand out are Ranbir Kapoor, Arjun Rampal and Manoj Bajpayee. Ranbir surprises you with every film. Here’s an actor who can give the best in the business sleepless nights. Arjun is a revelation and what a terrific performance he pitches in. He’s like an untamed lion. Manoj delivers his career-best performance. He plays the evil part superbly.

Ajay Devgn is sidelined in the second hour, but you need to give it to the actor for accepting and enacting his part with complete conviction. Nana Patekar is brilliant. He utters the most acidic lines with a smile, which only an actor of calibre could’ve achieved. Actually, you can’t imagine anyone else in this role. Katrina Kaif is first-rate. The sincerity and earnestness shows in every sequence. She sheds her glam doll image and transforms into an actor with this film. Naseeruddin Shah, in a brief role, does well. Sarah is good.

Prakash Jha did a very good job with the movie. Over the years, he made some great political movies. Rajneeti is just another feather to his crown of success.

Trip to Shirdi.

Trip to Shirdi.

Its truly said..that before god’s permission nothing is possible on this earth..although I may sound a bit like priest…but that’s how I feel. Since long I was planning for a trip to Shirdi, But finally my wish came true when this weekend(27/04/10 ) got a chance to visit this divine place.

How to get to Shirdi:- Nearest airports are Mumbai(260 km), Pune(185 km) and Aurangabad (125 km). Make sure if you are planning your trip on weekends then have your tickets booked for bus well in advance, as Saturdays and Sundays witness a huge rush from places located nearby Shirdi. For people planning their trip from Mumbai,State Transport Corporation and private operators run coaches to Shirdi from Mumbai. The easiest way to get to Shirdi is by bus. If you fly into the Mumbai airport, hire a taxi (the ones that are in lines at the very front of the airport) to take you to the Dadar Bus Stand. The cost is about Rs.-150 to Rs.-175 (make sure they turn the meter on). There are also people who will try to redirect you to their own “private” taxis. These “private” taxis charge between Rs. 400 to Rs. 600 to take you to the Dadar Bus Stand.
At the Dadar Bus Stand, there are long lines of small ticket counters that sell bus tickets to Shirdi. Preferably, try to get an A/C direct bus (Rs.-500). If you are not able to get an A/C direct bus, get a non-A/C direct bus (Rs.-250). Buses leave almost every 3 hours from Mumbai to Shirdi. So your wait will not be long. The buses make about 2 stops for food. Make sure you pack some snacks and bottled water for the trip. Keep an eye on your luggage! Try to get a bus that departs before 11am so you will not arrive too late at Shirdi.

We left by our car at 5:30 AM and reached Shirdi by 11:30 AM the reason for this Early journey was to witness the auspicious aarti(prayer) of the day of babaji.

If you are traveling alone or with your friends best thing is once you reach Shirdi, agents of local lodge owners will flock you as if you are Saibaba and they have got his darshan in your incarnation, stay cool. If a visitor is alone he may opt for option just to take bath and other early morning rituals, and suppose to leave Shirdi on same day by noon itself, you got hold of agent who will help you to a lodge for bath and other things, for that whole ‘holy experience paid up 20 bucks, for expecting so much just for 20 bucks, never mind take bath and rushed to temple to stand in que.

Word of caution:- when you go for buying the prasad (stuff offered to god), bargain hard because it may happen that one may land up paying exorbitant price for the prasad. I purchased prasad of amount 450 bucks Which was of amount just 100 bucks or even lesser. Finally I entered the temple witnessed the aarti and was free in almost 2-3 hours.

It was then time to march back to Mumbai and halting at Nasik, We reched nasik at 5:30 pm and both in need of a coffee. So, we stopped at Kamath hotel near Artillery Centre Museum to have coffee. After having a refreshing coffee we both checked in to hotel not so costly we just paid Rs 700 (with A/C not a bad deal) very much decent hotel near Nasik Club

Nasik is a holy city, where one can find many beautiful temples and ghats. Apart from these, the fairs and festivals celebrated here, also attract a number of tourists.

Attractions In Nasik: Kumbh Mela,Panchavati,Sita Gumpha,Sundarnarayan Temple,Modakeshwar Ganesh Temple,Ramkund,Kalaram Temple and many more...

Since my childhood I always had a fascination towards Saibaba, and really felt overwhelming when I entered the temple (trust me you can only feel it).

All together it was a trip to remember.

It’s A Wonderful Afterlife : Dead Amusing

It’s A Wonderful Afterlife

When everyone’s dissin’ your chubby single daughter what is a mum to do? Kill them with curry and make friends with their ghosts of course! The team that brought us Bend It Like Beckham has swapped goals for ghouls in this supernatural comedy with broad appeal.

Mrs Sethi (Shabana Azmi) is a widow living in Southall whose last wish in life is to see her only daughter married off. She’s having a tough time making it happen, Roopi (Goldy Notay) is a bit plump, has a moustache and is very opinionated.

When Roopi is rejected again and again the matriarch seeks revenge on the snooty suitors and their families with a curry-themed killing spree. When their ghosts come back to haunt her they realise their ticket to reincarnation means helping to find a husband for Roopi.

Okay so it’s a completely ridiculous plot but It’s A Wonderful Afterlife has some charm and should trigger at least a few chortles. It has the feel and style of an old Ealing Comedy or Carry On film – camp and corny but gently amusing. You’ll groan at the gags but it’s hard to really dislike this feel-good movie.

Azmi is superb as the suburban serial killer and steals every scene she appears in. Notay, who piled on the pounds for the role, is a decent lead who makes a change from the usual anonymous Megan Fox-alikes that crop up everywhere these days.

The rest of the cast is pretty predictable given that this is a British-Asian film – Sendhil Ramamurthy, Ray Panthaki, Jimi Mistry and Sanjeev Bhaskar all appear. Sally Hawkins has a great turn as Roopi’s psychic mate Linda while Zoe Wanamaker provides some laughs as the family’s next-door neighbour.

Pitched as ‘My Big Fat Greek Wedding meets Shaun Of The Dead’ (and just as impossibly wrong as that sounds), this sees an Indian mother (Shabana Azmi, aka ‘the Meryl Streep of India’) so desperate to marry off her plump spinster daughter (Goldy Notay) she is prepared to commit murder.

The ‘hilarious’ consequence then being that she is haunted by her victims, including The Kumars’ Sanjeev Bhaskar in embarrassingly rubbish grey make-up.

Boasting cheaper special effects than Rentaghost and a comic pace surpassed by a snail doggy-paddling through porridge, it has one funny(ish) joke that I’ll give you for free: ‘Where do Jewish people go when they die?’

Answer: ‘Willesden’.

That’s why I’m paid to see these films – so you don’t have to.

Akshay kumar is back again

Akshay kumar is back again, with yet another comedy. A multistarrer flick by sajid khan. Expectations again were high n the movie was expected to be the biggest hit this summer, being eagerly awaited by the audience.

The movie makes a good n hilarious start, with akshay kumar coming off as a loser or “panauti”. While one might find it funny in the beginning, it has been stretched out too much. Him looking for his lady love, to ward off bad luck n being rejected by his girlfriends is entertaining.

Riteish deshmukh in the role of akshay kumar’s best friend has done a great job, proving that he can pull off comedy roles easily.

one sees arjun rampal after a long time, in the role of a highly protective brother. With his not-so -appealing lie detector.

Lara dutta, jiah khan n deepika padukone have been seen flaunting their figures in skimpy outfits. N there is also Jacqueline fernandez’ item number. All of which, I think, is being look forward to by many.

We also see boman irani, but his humor skills have not been used effectively.

Chunky pandey with his stupid jokes makes the movie a bit too dragging, pulling off all the humor away.

The songs are well picturised, wit beautiful locations. With apni to jaise taise by mika singh being the special attraction.

The 2nd half being much better, wit all its confusion brings back the humor into the movie, making it a comedy of error of sorts.

The climax with santa n banta jokes, Buckingham palace n queen Elizabeth is a good concept. Of course, ending with akshay kumar’s puppy face.

The movie being good overall, provides a nice entertainment for all those who enjoy light comedies. Although, use of your grey matter is not advised.

Personally, I feel, it wasn’t as good as I expected, though I would still give it 3 stars. Well, maybe I had higher expectations from akshay kumar, him being one of my favorite actors. With a strong star cast n a good director, the movie could have been a little better, if not much. I felt like ...

Coffee

It seems as though consuming a morning cup of coffee has always been a part of the routine of the average Indian. However, up until recently, citizens have not put a great deal of thought into where it is that their prized beverage has come from. They look at whether or not they were, in fact, raised in an environmentally-friendly manner, such as through shade farms rather than sun farms. This socially responsible coffee can be found in forty countries, with leading locations like Peru, Ethiopia, and Mexico. In order to fully understand the goal of the coffee companies' production of socially responsible coffee, it is first necessary to look at the positive and negative effects of differing types of coffee growth, as well as ways to continue the growth of environmentally friendly coffee beans.