Scariest and Non-scariest Movies

How much have we hankered after the thrills of a horror movie? I remember when I was a kid, rarely ever was there a “Raat,” or a “Nightmare on Elm” on TV, that too only late night. I could never get permission for that. But did that stop us? We stole in tapes that were so gone in quality that the print was scarier than the plot. And we asked the older kids to relate the stories detail by detail. And then we couldn’t sleep at night as our imagination worked overtime when we saw a shadow, or when the wind knocked against the window.

So, in a way, horror movies are a big part of growing up. So, I thought I’ll compile a top five listing of the best and the worst horror movies in Hollywood and Bollywood that have helped form our opinion about the unknown. So here goes.

Five Best Bollywood Horror Movies

Makdee

In an industry where kids movies are synonymous with loud slapstick comedies, this movie comes as a fresh change. Shabana Azmi’s make-up is flawless. And although lots of people didn’t like the fact that their thrill gets busted in the end, I thought it is a good lesson for every child that you can’t tell about some things until you prod them. Shweta Prasad is so natural, and she captures the various moods of two children commendably. No wonder she won the Indian National Film Award. The movie’s portrayal of a girl child in a village may not be entirely true of every Indian village, but Chunni gives every girl hope.

Bhootnath

This movie might feel like a children’s movie in the beginning, but as you discover that the core message of the movie is to not leave your parents and go to the US, that myth shatters. But that comes towards the end. Before that, you can enjoy the chemistry between Amitabh Bachchan and the cute Aman Siddiqui. You will remember this duo from the Rin Advanced ad. Juhi Chawla is not behind with her typical wide eyed expressions and well-timed gasps. The story being based on “The Ghost of Canterville,” the movie is hardly scary though.

Darna mana hai

The good thing in this movie is that there are six stories to choose from. So you are bound to like some of them. I liked the twist in “No Smoking,” when Saif too starts behaving exactly like Boman Irani, ending with Tom and Jerry music. Another one that creeped me out was “The Ghostly Lift.” Vivek Oberoi with his hollow eyes sends a chill down my spine. Raghuveer Yadav going insane with fear in “Homework” is another one that made a mark on my memory.

Mahal

The fact that this movie was made in the year 1949 itself gives me the heebie-jeebies. I watched this movie a few years ago and the atmosphere gets to you. The “Aayega aayega” song can haunt you till the end of your days. And in spite of the explanation in the end, the tragedy remains heart breaking. Ashok Kumar looks good in his obsession for Kamini and Madhubala seduces effectively as usual.

Bhago Bhoot

This movie is one of those rare children movies which are without gimmicks and fresh. If you are a fan of children’s fantasy films like me, you should watch this Children’s Film Society produced movie. It’s a simple story about a village kid with a secret ghost friend. Now here is one ghost movie you can allow your child to watch!

Five Best Hollywood Horror Movies

Sleepy Hollow

A mix of science and supernatural, this movie comes with a compelling plot, superb make-up and spine chilling special effects. My heart hammered when I saw the headless horseman gallop for his kill. And of course, commendable jobs by Johnny Depp, Christina Ricci and Christopher Walken. Apart from the horror, I also love the touch of humour when Depp keeps fainting at the sight of blood.

The Others

Super chills from this one! This is exactly the kind of horror movie that gets my goose! I don’t like cannibalistic zombies or pale faced ghosts with disgusting make-up. I like subtlety in horror and this movie is full of subtle suggestions of another presence.

Sixth Sense

A kid seeing dead people and no one believing him. Imagine being that kid and you will know why this movie is on my list. Apart from the horror, the friendship between Bruce Willis and the kid is amazing.

Casper

With his big bright eyes and bald white head, Casper wins your heart as soon as you see him. So what if he is a ghost. And its heart breaking to see him in love but unable to even touch Kat, played by Christina Ricci.

Paranormal Activity

I have only seen the last scene of this movie and my advice to you is, “don’t watch it.” The fact that the movie is shot with a handy cam makes you look around you every time you wake up in the night!

Five Worst Bollywood Horror Movies

Veerana

One of the most coveted movies from my childhood and I was never allowed to watch it. And thank God! Not that it could have scared a hair on my head, the movie is full of creaking door joints and the typical “aa..aa..aa.” Very Ramsey. 

Bees Saal Baad

The first scene of this blockbuster horror flick of 1985 starts with a song, being danced to by Dimple Kapadia, also our ‘bhootni,’ by the way. And I had tears of laughter when I saw her hand extend to get the hammer. Can’t believe I have begged to watch this movie.

Darna Mana Hai

Well, these are the three I didn’t like. It was too predictable that Sohail Khan was the ghost of Antara Malli’s husband. And people turning into apples? Please… And the last scene for Aaftaab is funny!

Krishna Cottage

A bunch of kids from college already talking about marriage and one of them is a reincarnation. How many times do we have to see this story? And when do these kids get time to study?

Raaz

The songs of this movie still haunt me. Every panwala, buswala tormented me by playing them over and over again. I liked “What Lies Beneath,” but this Hindi version with the tantrik is unbearable.

Five Worst Hollywood Horror Movies

I Know What You Did Last Summer

If this were a ghost movie, it would be much more believable. But since its not, they should explain at the end how the fisherman with the hook manages to be everywhere and gets away with it.

Friday 13^th

This is one more of those movies where young, virile people start getting killed by a real person who acts like a supernatural being. Sorry, doesn’t work for me!

The Village

A village full of people missed by the government, that too US. Unlikely! And when the monsters that freak you out turn out to be costumes, I lost interest.

Event Horizon

The only way this haunted space ship and crazy astronauts scare me is when I think of them working daily in NASA!  

Devil’s Tomb

There is a special team of trained soldiers, a science lab in a desert all they can come up with is priests covered with boils! The plot is soooo bad!

Scary Fair!

It’s the last day of October. As evening settles, the wind gets feverishly chilly. After you finish readying everything, you sit down to relax in front of the TV. The doorbell rings and you wonder who it could be at such an hour. You creep up to the door reluctantly. You can hear noises from the other side. There is more than one. As you open the door, they burst upon you chanting their mantra, “Trick or treat!!!”

Your heart goes all gooey as you check out the miniature Vampire, a fake muscled Batman, a little princess and a cute witch. You dole out the candies to them greeting “Happy Halloween!” They thank you in a hurry and run off to the next door. 

 

This is the first time that I experienced Halloween, and it was fun. The shops started putting up Halloween goodies from mid-September. By the time October started, the malls were choked with Jack-o-lanterns, giant spiders, scorpions, witches and ghouls and lots of other creepier decorations. They even set up a fire station, where kids could go and put on a fireman hat and jacket and then ride the fire engine around the mall. Of course, we parents just paid up for the fun.

 

My son’s birthday too falls in October, so he got to be Captain America on his birthday party. He also had a Halloween party in his school, where he dressed up as Eeyore the donkey from Winnie the Pooh. I didn’t get to attend that party but he told me they had dancing and good food. We attended another party where I was invited too. They had clowns, a puppet show, candy, ice cream and free gifts. And it was quite an experience to enter a room full of little costume clad people. I remember a Donald Duck, a nun, a monkey, quite a few Minnie Mouses and an infant shark too who spent most of the time sleeping in his father’s lap. 

I admired this celebration of the dead, but I missed India so much. October 2^nd came and I was wondering which Gandhi movie they were playing on Zee TV and B4U. Then the countdown for Durga Puja began – shashthi, saptami, ashtami and navami. In India, this would have meant four sarees for me. We did have a Durga Puja celebration here and we tried our best to make it authentic but I missed the pandal, the larger than life idols, the dhunuchi naach, and the people. 

Then Dushehra came. I missed the burning of a fire-works packed Raavan and the racquet that ensued. And then I missed the pitha on Kati bihu. And then came Diwali. I had no diyas to light, no crackers to burst and no mithai to eat! Boy, what a month! One should never be out of India in October. 

 

But you know what? I see the colours change in the mall here in Medellin already. Gone are orange and black. Welcome green, red and white. Christmas is coming! And I can’t wait to see how Medellin does it. Happy Halloween then!

Vampires, witches and corpse bride

And all other people from the other side

Celebrating creatures that have never been

Wish you a Happy Halloween!

From the Magic Box!

Shots from the match

Silhouetted spectators

The crowd

The match in full swing

A stadium light

Celebrating a goal

An Argentinian fan

Fowl!

Victory

FIFA U20 World cup: Ticket to Exhilaration!

 I never thought I would ever get to watch a World Cup match. So much so, that I never ever said to anyone that I really wanted to watch one. After all, it wouldn’t be in India, and who was gonna travel half the world for it? Couldn’t afford that. So when my husband announced the tickets, I thought I was dreaming! I didn’t note the “Under Twenty” bit at first, but that didn’t dampen my spirits at all. And I ignored the stomach cramp I got on the day of the match too. Kid on my waist, I was promptly in Medellin’s soccer stadium. The stadium was packed to 80% capacity, around 38000 people, and I was part of them!

The stadium was packed

The match was between Egypt and Argentina, as usual a hot favourite. And although the team was “under twenty,” the crowd was pretty supportive. After all, these early birds might be tomorrow’s future stars. The field started filling with players in beige for Egyptians and white and blue stripes for Argentinians. As the match began, the players got to work. And these kids might be teenagers, but their grit was equal to any Ronaldo, Beckham or Zidane! 

Argentina is not that popular in Colombia, though we did see a couple of white and blue striped hats and blue wigs. After Argentina delivered two fouls, the crowd started cheering Egypt, “Ehypto” in Spanish. Our sympathies were with the underdog, although none of the players looked beat even after Argentina scored two goals. So we joined the chorus. And then there was the Mexican wave. Every five minutes, it would reach us and we would stand up and be part of it. Personally, that was my favourite part!

An Argentinian supporter

As tension mounted, we munched on chips, m&m and bhujia specially brought from India. I remembered my Dad a lot and wished he were there. He loved the World Cup. We had watched many matches on TV when I was a kid. I would cheer whichever team he would support, coz he was the last word on sports for me. I remember the times I cheered for Maradona and Pele, and other names I don’t even remember.

Meanwhile, Egypt was still struggling. In the second half, they delivered a goal which was met by much excitement. However, they lost the match when the ninety minutes ended. The highlight of the match was that there had been no field goals, only penalty shootouts! As the crowd started thinning, I realized I had lost my voice. I had been screaming my lungs out! I felt exhilarated and very sporty. At least for a week, I looked at life with a never-say-die attitude. Maybe I should keep doing this!

Games at Twilight by Anita Desai

 As a child, do you remember what you did when you really, really wanted to play? Did you try just about everything to convince your mother to let you go? Didn’t it seem like our job, a compulsion, to go out and play? Once I remember on a bright, sunny afternoon, my Ma refused to let me go outside. She insisted I take a nap and rest. So I just waited till she dozed off. Then, risking the huge row that happened later, I put a pillow underneath her hand and leaped out. Don’t ask the rest. It got ugly!

When I read Anita Desai’s ‘Games at Twilight,’ I was already a teenager. But while reading it, a forgotten era seemed to come back into my mind’s eye. Things that had happened years ago, when giving the ‘den,’ was the worst thing that could happen in a day. Or when a rain shower could ruin a much anticipated evening to the extent that tears would relentlessly pour. Or when catching a friend cheating at a game would unravel passions and tempers, baulked at the injustice. Or when a sudden power cut in the summers would bring a smile, because it meant extra playing time outside. It seemed a lifetime ago that I cared for all those things. Where did that child go? She got lost in career building and board exams. But Anita Desai and her bunch of kids woke up that child in me. 

The story begins on a hot summer afternoon, when a bunch of children, happy to be finally released outside their house, decide to play hide-and-seek. As Raghu is “it,” (the den), all the other children scramble to find a suitable hiding place. Ravi, the central character, after much deliberation hides himself in a spooky shed, believing he will never be found and would thus win the game “in a circle of older, bigger, luckier children.” But after he emerges, hours later, he realizes that nobody has remembered him and he collapses with “a terrible sense of his insignificance” while the other children chant, 

            “The grass is green,
            The rose is red;
            Remember me
    When I am dead, dead, dead, dead . . .” 

This story is one of the best descriptions of childhood, another one being Harper Lee’s “To Kill a Mocking Bird.” But this story being Indian, definitely hits the right nerve. The group dynamics Desai portrays is a good psychological study, where there is a “motherly Mira,” who actually bosses the younger children and the footballer, Raghu, who scares and bullies the rest. Most of all, when I read Desai’s mean description of Indian summer, her choice of scrumptious words brought back to mind the many summer afternoons that I had braved with my gang of friends. And then later, her description of twilight is once more so realistic; the relief when the sun bids farewell for the day and a time when the children’s “games would become legitimate.”

This reminds me of this one time, when after a thousand pleadings, my mother let me out on a particularly hot day. I found a bright, turquoise blue egg in the grass. Thinking it was a plastic toy I tried to bounce it on a rock. It smashed, splashing yellow, slimy yolk all over my arm. I immediately knew I was in trouble. I ran home in bawling. Of course, it was a snake’s egg. My mother refused to touch me and made the driver bathe me in Dettol. It was quite some time after I could ask to be let out again.

The child that I was can never come back. Too much worldliness has filled my head. I have forgotten why I had such a yearning for playing outside. That period of innocence is gone, but “Games at Twilight,” will never let me forget that “business of the children’s day which is—play." If you haven't read this fantastic story spend a few minutes and read it here.

Bending the Rules for Football

 So I didn’t get a chance at football. Would things be different if I were born or raised in a Western country? When Jess tried to do just that, she ended up in a mess. In 2002, Gurinder Chadha brought us a comedy full of longing to play. One of the most inspiring sports movies for women, “Bend It Like Beckham,” teases the Indian NRI audience about their resistance to change in a foreign land. Jesminder ‘Jess’ Bhamra’s (Parminder Nagra) family lives in West London. She is a regular tom boy, who loves football. But the only place she can display her talent is the park with her guy friends. But, her life changes when Juliette Paxton (Keira Knightly) recommends Jess to her coach Jo (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) for the local girl’s football team. Jess goes ahead and plays albeit without telling her parents who have strictly forbidden her to play this boys’ game. And thus ensue confusions, dramatic rows, tears and finally some sweet tasting victory when Jess has to deliver a kick that bends the ball around the wall of players.

 

Adding to the story is a love triangle between Jess, Jule and Jo. And Mrs. Paxton has us in splits with her fears that Jess and Jule are in a lesbian relationship. And who can forget Mrs. Bhamra’s ‘alu-gobhi.’ 

What I love about the movie is that the make-up is simple, so real! Jess looks like a real Indian teenager and acts like one too. I love the scene where she takes off her rubber band in a hurry to look good just before she meets Jo. And the fact that she is actually made to look good at football. I don’t know whether she actually plays the game though.

We only see a little bit of the real David Beckham. And that’s never enough, is it? However, Meyers keeps the heat up pretty well! Anupam Kher floors us too with his usual super-Dad acting. I love the way Gurinder Chadha gently pokes fun at both Indian and British cultures as the girls bend quite a few rules. The movie is a whole paraphernalia of customs and traditions being bent for one passion. That includes rejecting push-up bras and plump sized cholis.

Kicking About!

 If I could ever play a sport professionally, it would be football. The adrenaline rush, the energy, the ever building tempo of the game, the togetherness of the team, I feel it’s a sport that can fill you with life. I haven’t had many girls sharing this sentiment with me. Especially in India, where Cricket is the unofficial national game now. 

Many of you might wonder why football. Hey! I played football too! And don’t you dare give me stuff like “Girls playing football?” As a little girl I was the only kid with a football in my circle, which by the way included several boys. And my shots were famous. They would cover half the field. We even had code names for different types of passes. Just to get a professional feel.

Me and my Dad used to play a lot of football. He taught me lots of passes and moves. Although I never got to play a real game with goal posts, I remember those times in the park. Given a chance, I would have definitely joined an official team, but sadly, in India, that’s not easy to come by. However, last month, I did get a chance to see a World Cup match, here in Medellin. So, I am doing an event review this month. I have chosen the movie, “Bend It Like Beckham,” for the movie review. For a restaurant review, I have a guest who will relate his experiences in the “Sports Bar.” 

 

We could learn a few lessons from this game. Obeying rules, manipulating them, but not breaking them and a never-say-die attitude. Working in a team towards a common goal (literally), supporting each other and making decisions in the heat of the toughest moment. Trying all that in life, we could get pretty far. Let’s try that this month!

All is blur but the post

And the billowing nets behind

So thorn in your limb

Or dust in my eyes

Comrades, let’s score one more!