Review – Ali Baba Cafe & Restaurant

Ali Baba Cafe in Fraser Town was a surprise find for me last week. Bored as usual, i pestered my room mate into going out for a drive and one thing led to another and we ended up in Ali Baba Cafe at around 9p.m.

The first thing one notices on entry is the distinct Arab artifacts and paintings on the red walls. The first floor which is the restaurant has a very well thought out seating arrangement and makes a person feel at home almost immediately.

The service is pretty standard for a medium sized restaurant but it is when it comes to discussing the menu that they excel. For Ali Baba serves something unique to Bangalore with its Bhatkal Cuisine. I was first vary and then pleasantly surprised by the flavours that were served up in front of me. Everything from the dishes to the spoons, from the tea pot to the handis shows the amount of thought that was went into the design.

For those still not convinced, just go and try the Bhatkali Biriyani and trust me you will become instant fans. The kebabs all have different names than usually seen in the restaurants that dot Bangalore, so go ahead and experiment.

Dont forget to finish off your dinner or snacks with their Persian Tea (its moroccan tea as in the menu).

If you are not a foodie like me, then go to Ali Baba for its Sheesha’s. The shamiana on the second floor itself deserves special mention. The colorful and elegant Sheeshas that they serve that mesmerizing pass time of the Gods are more than their moneys worth. Have a hookah sipping some Persian Tea and you will get a glimpse of how it really is to be done.

So finally for the rating: I give Ali Baba cafe & restaurant 4.5/5 overall and recommend it whole heartedly to anyone who loves his meat and likes exploring the varied sights Bangalore has to offer.

Dhobi Ghat – Review

Kiran Rao’s claim to fame was that she hooked Aamir Khan, period.

Her directorial debut was expected by many, self included, to be just another star wife deciding to do something with all the free publicity and money thats part of the package.

Surprisingly, Dhobi Ghat is an amazing directorial debut.. The movie is amazing.. I mean the critics have already panned it for its non commercialism or lack of the typical cliches that make a bollywood film. But inspite of thanks to the absense of the nonsensical extras, the movie is brilliant.

It is not an Aamir Khan movie in the sense that he does not take over from the first scene with a powerhouse performance that leaves you spell bound. But Aamir essays a role in his usual perfectionist style.

The heroine , rather the lead female role, played by Monica Dogra, plays the NRI Indian to perfection. You have to meet a few of the kind to actually believe its possible. The best of which is expressed when she visits the film theatre to see a hindi film for the first time.

Prateik (i hope i spelled tat right) Babbar is a find, his role of the silent bewildering brother in Jaane Tu ya Jaane Na was just a teaser of sorts. The wannabe actor dhobi boy who falls for the first girl that was nice to him touched a few strings with quite a few friends. Most girls dont know the effect they have on boys when its such subtle things that make a world of difference.

The girl that plays Yasmin, Kriti Malhotra, is almost poetically portrayed. Aamir addiction to her justified. I am surprised that Kiran Rao got so many things right about how men think and feel (but it shouldnt be difficult to guess)

Oh and the ones that wonder why the movie ended like that, just know that there was no other way it could go forward.

I loved the movie, i am not saying there are award winning performances or gut wrenching beauty. Dhobi Ghat is more an experience to be savoured like a fine wine. Its the after taste that makes you feel good about it.

PS: Yes Aamir Khan paintings are wretched, but thankfully we are spared that sight for most of the movie. Anybody who liked them can take a hike, that will not be entertained as a point of debate here.

PPS:

Complicated

Complicated.. The word is now in my personal list of offensive words..It has the knack of turning up at all the wrong places and being used in all the wrong contexts.

Calvin (of Calvin and Hobbes ) said, ” I am a simple guy with complex tastes”. Now i can accept that. Complex as a word is somehow more logical. Complicated is not. And people use it so often these days. They dont wanna talk about something- “Its complicated”. They dont really have an explanation – “Its complicated”. The word turns up in the most mundane situations and conversations. It pisses me off (A LOT).

The fact of the matter is that it has become one of those sets of words that are slowly reducing the meaning and beauty of language, like “Actually, Maybe, You Know, “. These fillers that are used for stealing time, are killers of conversation. They make a person lose interest. Then u use “Its Complicated” and WHAM! the conversation is actually dead.

Note to readers: Try and use as few fillers as u can. And never use “Its complicated” if u cant answer why.

Someone Like You..(Review)

The movie is cute.. I wonder if many of u have even heard of it.. i have seen it a few times and loved it..

Hugh Jackman is a good actor( i wanted him to be Bond).. Ashley Judd is the woman of my dreams.. Shes so damn beautiful.. Greg Kinnear plays the perfect Bull..

See the movie.. It isnt a laugh riot but u’ll smile.. There isnt any long emotional bullshit, well directed and very down to earth.. This is one of my top 5 movies..

Dont Watch Spiderman III

Ok, i dont know if i am gonna get sued for this but the movie sucks big time.. They have reduced spidey into a emotional wreck. a fool at romance and not very successful at the dark side.. Tobey was no big actor in the first two episodes but this time round hes lost it completely.. His emotions are reduced to a smirk most of the time no matter what the situation.. His attempts to be a bad boy fall awfully short..

Ms.Dunst is actually well described as mary jane’s critic says in the movie , a pretty face.. A whining , moaning , screaming wreck noone would want for a girlfriend.. The movie has too many moments where try to feed in morals.. Hello Mr. Director, its spiderman.. we want him kicking some bad a**es and doing some stunts..

Well, in this movie the stunts arent for spidey.. The bad guys actually do a good job at convincing us that we were better of with a dead spiderman.. The only saving grace is the guy who plays Harry and he ends up dead.. Watch the movie if u have nothing better to do… Even the untargeted female audience should hate it, in case u can convince them to watch it..

When the guys at Marvel comics made Spidey, he was not supposed to be anything of this sort.. Well, the big screen has ruined superman, spidey seems to be going the same way and batman never made it.. Hope X-Men have something better in store..

Bohemia tales…

The following belongs to “About me”. If there was ever a piece I could relate to, completely, its this. Just that I haven’t written it. And I don’t even know who has…all I know is I’ve had it on me for a long long time.It’s a tad long but read it. Trust me.

We lost ourselves the day we were born

Since then the search began

To find those of our family

We were confused

For we were given a family of birth

We had friends from our situation

In this funny place called “society”

We travelled

And felt the semblance of the primeval sensation of life

We wondered why we felt at home on the road

We were made to believe we were a little strange

For how many stay away from “home” for so long?

How many become the rebels we did?

We wandered on empty streets in the night

Feeling the wind of the sea, the river, the mountains of wherever we lived…

We had so many questions and no answers we found

We searches, always searched

We searched even for ourselves…

We delved in unfathomable depths of the being

We rowed for months in strange alien seas

We searched for friends of the soul

Somehow no friends we had, ever

Seemed like friends enough…

How could we explain what “friends” meant to us?

Friends were beings so akin to us

They could read our minds

Walk in step with us on those roads of life

Friends were those who travelled with us

Climbed mountains, forged rivers, conquered seas…

Friends were one life breath, strangely

Such few “friends” we ever found in this world

We stayed aloof…from so much

The norms, the religions, thought processes of the world

We risked our lives, our positions, our family relations for our beliefs

We did the things we believed in

Worked for none but ourselves

We were called selfish for we cared

About our own well being…

We fought, we battled,

We ran like mad from so many, so much

We hid, we absconded, we hibernated

Some of us found our soulmates

Some of us didn’t

Some of us had homes, children, love

Some of us lived lonely in far away homes

Some of us were fulfilled having found the love

The understanding we seeked, the minds akin to ours

Some of us…after a long time stopped searching having understood that in some lifetimes we were meant to be alone

Our soulmates parted from us, living another life…

May be in another world, probably another time zone…

We, the seekers, the thinkers, the rebels

We ache to get together for nowhere seems like home

We long for company of similar minds, sensibilities

We hurt, we bleed, we pain, we die…

But we live completely, every moment of our lives

Live the good and bad as same

Give all of ourselves to the world…

To nature… to art…

For there is no other way to live we know

We seek answers all the time

We question all the time

We are probably the only ones who know how deep pain carves its being into us

And how full happiness makes us feel…

We are comfortable with extremes

We are comfortable with tears, with abandonment, with aloneness…

We, the unknown ones

We, the misfits

We, the seekers, the thinkers, the rebels…

The Indians stole our jobs…

Have been hearing this allegation for quite sometime now… Well, russel peters the canadian indian put it beautifully , ” did u really want to open a dollar store or wash cars?” in that case we are really sorry.. otherwise stop cribbing.. it just shows u cant hold on to a job that can be done by anybody( if an indian can do it anybody can) , just because u r not good enuff.. ur loss , our gain.. hey if u still looking for a job, come to india.. we have openings for firangi suckers.. u teach accents at call centres so tat more indians get to fool u by talking americano.. vicious cycle, isnt it..