I’ve always felt that comments are the biggest reward for a blogger (dumb awards, notwithstanding). And as a blog reader, I’m very generous with comments. Whenever I visit a blog that I like, I never forget to leave a comment. And whenever I visit a friend’s blog, I leave a comment irrespective of whether or not I have something to say. That’s because I know how much comments mean to a blogger.

There was a time when I didn’t get a single comment, though I always had a regular reader in Akanksha (who never commented on the blog in the beginning but directly told me what she thought of the posts). And I was kind of okay with it. But if a post doesn’t get a single comment now, I would probably go crazy.

An important aspect of commenting is the reply you get from the bloggers. I always check for replies to the comments I make and I’m mostly happy with the way people have replied to my comments till date. There are few bloggers, however, who simply refuse to reply to a comment, which is rude. If they don’t care about comments then they should simply turn comments off. In the past few months, I’ve commented on countless blogs but two bloggers who deserve a mention for being the best comment-repliers (in the order in which I discovered their blogs) are:

Megha & Sayesha

They get an average of 50-60 comments on each post and yet they manage to reply to all the comments in detail and without much delay. And I think their promptness in replying to the comments is one of the many reasons why they get so many comments in the first place. Needless to say, I’m a big fan of their blogs.

I try my best to reply to all the comments here ASAP but if I’ve ever forgotten to reply to your comment or not given it due attention then this is your one chance to let me know.

Speak now, or forever hold your peace.

One. That’s the number of posts I wrote last week, which is a shame.

I wanted to write a post on Friday but since Kamasutra worm was supposed to manifest itself that day, our infra guys decided to shut down the proxies completely.

Now, you need to know that Internet is an energy source for me so without it, I felt extremely weak. I was unable to work properly. I did have some fun though. I watched two episodes of Family Guy that I downloaded some time back.

So anyhow, I promise to be regular now. In the meanwhile, please read this post by one of India’s most elite bloggers, TTG, who is in Melbourne now. I share his views on the topic of the post and if I could write better, I would have written something like this.

I rarely watch 3 movies in 2 days but since I did and that too, good movies which I wanted to watch for a long time, I decided to share my views with everyone here.

Requiem for a Dream

The film depicts the lives of four different people living in Brooklyn on their quest for satisfaction in life. It shows the direct and indirect effects that drugs and various addictions have on each of the individuals, and then portrays their downward spirals from the hopes of blossoming dreams into the helpless state of moral and physical decay. – From IMDB

The first time I watched it was back in 2001. I had to look for it in 3 video shops before I finally got the VCD and the print was really bad. I remember liking it back then but it never had the effect it had this time. The movie is absolutely brilliant. It has an award- worthy performance by Ellen Burstyn. Other cast members – Jared Leto, Jennifer Connelly and Marlon Wayans (first time I see him in a non-comedy) are good too. The maker succeeds in making you feel as helpless as Ellen’s friends by the time the movie ends. The scariest thing about the movie is that the main characters are happiest right before their fall starts. In spite of being a serious movie, it is very slick and stylish. It’s a must watch for everyone. But remember, it’s a downer.

Paheli

A folk tale – supernatural love story about a ghost who falls in love with a newlywed woman. – From IMDB

I couldn’t see it last year cos I had other movies (Bunty aur Bubli and Parineeta) on my must watch list and couldn’t watch it after that because my DVD player doesn’t work with my TV (which is such a sad part of my life that it deserves a post!). So Star Gold, of all channels, gave me the opportunity of finally watching it. I expected it to be bad given all the negative comments it got after it was sent for Oscars but it was surprisingly good and not boring at all. The movie is entertaining and has good performances by Rani Mukherjee (who’s my current favorite). She looks hot even in traditional clothes. The fact that such movies aren’t made anymore works to the movie’s advantage. The movie never gets too serious or melodramatic either. Plus it has some scintillating songs.

The song, “Dheere Jalna” is one of my favorite songs from last year. It just doesn’t have great music and good singing but awesome lyrics too. All credit goes to Gulzar, of course.

Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi

The film reflects the intensity and fate of three young characters, who start out on the same platform but board different trains and reach a destination of their own making. – From Rediff

I wanted to see it ever since the Indian blogosphere went crazy over the movie last year but got the change only this Monday, thanks to Star Gold again. (I guess, they are finally tired of showing dubbed English movies.) It’s again a great watch. The movie has got me interested in the late 60s and early 70s’ India – something I don’t know much about. The movie is very real. All actors too give a real performance. Kay Kay is good and Chitrangada Singh both looks good and acts well too but its Shiney Ahuja who steals the show. He is very natural. The movie is a little amateurish but still makes an impact. The surprise ending totally caught me unawares. It was great to see a good film by Sudhir Mishra after Chameli.

Incidentally, this film too has a song that I love. I loved “Bavraa Mann” the moment I hear it the first time in 2003. The song has great music (Shantanu Moitra), has been sung well (Swanand Kirkire) and has fantastic lyrics (Swanand Kirkire).

Since I’m in the mood, here are few lines from the song:

Bavre se is jahaan mein bavraa ek saath ho
Is sayaani bheed main bas haanthon mea tera haath ho
Bavri si dun ho koi bavra ek raag ho
Bavri si dun ho koi bavra ek raag ho
Bavre si pair chaahne, Bavre taraano pe
Bavre se bol pe thirakna