Taking off for a Diwali vacation..

Folks, its vacation time here...

Diwali is just round the corner and with it, comes a much needed vacation.. So I am off for a week to Delhi, back where I belong..

As always, the last few days before the vacation are soo hard to get on with.. I am already in the holiday mood.. waiting for its onset !! Personally, I love this phase.. where I anticipate all the fun, the masti and gettogethers that I hope to have in the break.. Sometimes its even more fun anticipating the holiday than the actual holiday itself....

So I have been deriving my fun planning about the get-together me and my friends are having right on Day 1.. So, its gonna be lotsa masti meeting up with everyone and having a drink or two.. (or three......) :).

Day 2 offcourse is Diwali.. the D-Day.. time to be family.. gorge on all the sweets I can.. and generally have fun at home.. Anyway let me not reveal all my cards at this stage...

Well, on the other hand, Champions Trophy is underway with most 1 st round matches all through. The tournament hasnt been as dazzling as we all would have liked it to be.. It started of on an ominous note with Shoaib Akhtar and Mohd Asif testing positive for drug use. Then the pitches havnt really been at par.. playing slow. Not enough runs scored in the tourney as yet.. and no real exciting matches to take note of. Well, lets hope the second league matches change that.. Atleast a little more close matches to cheer about.

Personally, I dont really have hope for an Indian victory in this tourney. They have been out of sorts specially in the Batting department with no signs of improvement on display in Match 1. After a reasonable bowling effort, they made all the efforts they could to nullify it and spoiled what should have been a easy cake. The only positive from that match, IMO, was the return of Irfan Pathan. If he can keep his form on track, we are good...

The the next big thing doing the rounds on Diwali eve is the arrival of 2 Bollywood movies: DON and JAANEMANN Having said that here are my predictions for what I expect from the two movies:. Well, without taking sides, I declare wanting to watch both (for a change).

DON

1. Directed by Farhan Akhtar (one of the best guys directing in Bollywood), I expect DON to be tight, thrilling and different to the previous one.
2. SRK looks kinda cool as DON, though I dont expect him to turn out in a major performance. He can not and does not want to come out of his style thing. That sucks !!
3. Other major attraction should be... Boman Irani. (Were you expecting Priyanka Chopra, the girl who can't act). Boman is THE best supporting actor today in Bollywood, IMO. He just adds his own reference to even the most staid and overdone roles.
4. Overall DON should be a decent watch. Unless you start comparing with DIL CHAHTA HAI, the classic which I am sure Farhan wouldnt be able to repeat again.

JAANEMANN

1. Directed by Sirish Kunder, H/O Farah Khan, It looks quite run of the mill stuff with Salman Khan, Akshay Kumar fighting over the same girl, Preity Zinta.
2. The promos, contrary to popular opinion are pretty corny. Too much glitz and not enough character.
3. The music sucks bigtime.. Anu Malik claims to having reinvented himself with his music here. God help Anu Malik !!!
4. Inspite of 1,2,3, I am still hoping for a miracle. Part of the reason... make it most of the reason, for that is Salman, my fave guy in movies. I believe, Salman is someone who can raise even an average movie to a worth-watch level. He isnt the best actor around, but has that magnetism that makes you root for him. Lets see, if that can happen here.

So, though DON looks more promising, I am still rooting for Jaanemann.

On a completely different note, I hope Farhan takes up a new and exciting subject for his next, and not a remake of an old classic. And I hope he doesnt pick an actor on star value.. like SRK, Hrithik etc.. I am waiting for a "proper movie" from him with a real cast. I am bored watching Amitabh and SRK playing the same damn roles over and over. And Farhan is someone who can actually churn out something truly novel.

Anyway, winding up this post, let me wish you all and your families a Very Happy Diwali.