AVATARIZED

WRITTEN BY: ANURAG SAHOO

It was October 2009 when I saw the trailer of AVATAR for the first time. From this movie my expectations were very high. The main and probably the sole reason was the behind AVATAR. James Cameroon, after making the 1997 cult classic TITANIC, has taken a long gap of 12 years before returning to the silver screen with the 2154 MAGNUM OPUS AVATAR. I was taken aback by the glimpse of amazing visual effects I saw of AVATAR from the trailer. Finally on December, the movie saw a worldwide release. When I saw this visual extravaganza, I knew it was one of the finest cinematic experience I ever had along with KING KONG. The lush world of PANDORA, the wonderful and beautiful NAVI tribes and the futuristic yet primitive battle scenes made me hold my breath.

Frankly speaking, the storyline was nothing special. It follows the exploit of JAKE SULLY, a US MARINE who undergoes AVATAR program and is converted into a NAVI alien. At the same time he develops a bondage with the tribe and falls in love with NEYTRI and finally decides to fight for his adopted home against the greedy human race who is after a mineral deposit which lays under the settlement of NAVI. The movie uses many path breaking technologies when it comes to visual effects. I liked the movie very much but never expected that the movie would shatter all the box office records. The movie surpassed the record held by another JAMES CAMEROON MOVIE TITANIC of being the highest grossing movie of all time. It became the first movie in the entire history to earn revenue of more than 2 BILLION USD.

AVATAR became the frontrunner for this year’s OSCARS. It has earned itself 9 nominations including best picture and best director. Running alongside is THE HURT LOCKER which is a WAR THRILLER. It follows the missions of a 3 member BOMB DISPOSAL SQUAD of the US ARMY during the 2004 Iraq invasion. This movie has its fair share of thrilling moments and can be coined as a masterpiece. But according to me, the best movie is INGLORIUS BASTERDS. What more can you expect from a genius like QUENTIN TARANTINO whose movie PULP FICTION is my favorite movie. BRAD PITT is the major star in this WORLD WAR spaghetti movie but CHRISTOPHER WALTZ as HANS LANDER steals the show. This movie has earned itself 8 Oscars nominations. Whichever movie wins the awards, for me all these three movies are winners. They define every aspect of movie making in a vivid and near to perfect manner. While AVATAR continued to break every barriers of technology and is a magnificent display of visual and special effects, THE HURT LOCKER describes a hard day at office for a soldier at a battlefield in a dangerous  yet thrilling and realistic manner. Inglorious basterds is a hard hitting entertaining movie with dialogues being a very strong point.

INDO PAK- A SINGLE LIFE APART

WRITTEN BY: ANURAG SAHOO

The year was 1947 when thousands of Indians faced an identity crisis after the BRITISH RAJ decided to divide INDIA and form another new Muslim Dominated nation named as PAKISTAN. This decision was followed by mass protest somewhere and was welcomed somewhere. Further blood was added to this boiling issue by HINDU-MUSLIM and SIKH-MUSLIM riots. This was well portrayed in the blockbuster movie GADDAR.

The following years saw this issue reaching more heights of tension. The subsequent wars in 1948,1965,1971,1999 wars are testimony of how the two countries and also the entire international community are unsuccessful in resolving the main cause of the dispute i.e. KASHMIR. But have we questioned ourselves who are the persons from both the countries hating each other. Is it the government or is it the people of these two large dominions?

These two countries have great potential to emerge as powerful economies. KARACHI COMPOSITE 100 is one of the largest stock exchange index of the entire world. KARACHI and LAHORE are becoming the investment darling for the cash strapped CORPORATIONS from the ARAB WORLD. Pakistan has a rich culture just like INDIA when it comes to food, clothes, manners or lifestyle in general. The ONE KM. LONG FOOD STREET in Lahore is a symbol of culinary choice the PAKISTANIS have. The ever rocking music bands from Pakistan are a continuation of the great PAKISTANI MUSICAL LEGACY.  But lately talk shows featuring individuals like war strategist ZAEED HAMID who is a regular feature in the Pakistani media increases the friction of hostility between the two nations.

From the Indian side, efforts like SADAA-E-SHARAD bus service from DELHI to LAHORE or SAMJHAUTA EXPRESS train from ATARI to LAHORE acts as a catalyst in the relations. The sharing of culture in entertainment field is a melting point of hatredness in the relation between these two nations. The successful operations of many Pakistanis in INDIAN HOSPITALS are gesture of friendship towards Pakistan. But still everyday rockets and mortars are being exchanged from both the sides on the FRONT.

This issue can be resolved by promoting bilateral trades as there are many anti social parties who are benefitting from this hostile standoff between these two nations. Education in both these nations will ensure the eradication of poverty and in a literate society it is difficult to create dangerous ideologies which would harm the nations in a potentially great magnitude. We, the people should realize that boundaries are drawn but human spirit is above all. Let’s hope that both the countries go hand in hand in the peace process and the white dove fly peacefully around the world.

NEW DESIGNS........BY ANURAG SAHOO