The rock-ribbed 'Red' in me.

Way back in 2002, nothing about the footballing world interested me. I was happy in my own world playing cricket, video games, collecting GI Joe’s and going to school. Even the 2002 Football World Cup which I  followed was because everyone at school was watching and talking about it. As most of my friends and relatives were talking about a nicely-rhymed 'Ronaldo-Rivaldo-Ronaldinho' trio of Brazil, I started supporting Brazil as I loved the rhyming scheme in the above deuce-ace, with no genuine mania for anyone from within. Slowly and steadily I developed a mild interest in the game with Brazil going all the way to life the trophy, and Ronaldo winning the ‘Golden Ball’.

That year I looked forward to the much talked about English Premier League (Courtesy: ESPN-Star Sports news-cum-talk shows). Initially, the League went completely over my head. With so many players playing for so many uncannily-named teams, I was completely jolted. Yet, I ended up learning the names of few English players and for the clubs they played. I very soon realized that England is the team to watch out for! I developed an intense charm for England- its players and their hot and sizzling wags. I also learnt a lot about Liverpool Football Club (LFC), where two of my favorite players (Steven Gerrard and Michael Owen) played. Then came Euros in 2004, the time when I was aware of a handful of players from the EPL (mostly English players). Consequently, I supported England with more passion this time but unluckily England was eliminated by Portugal in the quarter-finals in the penalties, but the heroics of Gerrard made me in complete awe of him!  I started admiring and following him with a lot of vigor, passion and dynamism. Later, during the EPL when I saw Gerrard playing for LFC, everything just clicked. I did not wake up one morning and say “I am going to support Liverpool today”, it was something that grew with me, it is more like a calling than anything. 

Being a Red unremittingly doesn’t make me have an aversion for other clubs and for those who support other clubs. I respect a lot of players who actually don’t play for LFC. I love the Football game in its pure form, and the players who play it so. Still, Liverpool is the club I have found an intense attachment for, and England is the country I can never stop supporting.  I have a 'little dream' of going to Anfield some day watching the Reds play and I, completely clad-in-Red with  a scarf on my shoulder reading, “You’ll never walk alone!”, dancing and singing to the tunes of the anthem! I’ll end on a high with the famous quote by former Liverpool Manager, Bill Shankley: ”Some people think football is a matter of life and death. I assure you, its much more serious than that.”

List 1: Celebrity Crushes

Few people come into your life so briskly, that their briskness crush you badly to an extent that you find yourselves admiring them with enormous cache, even after knowing that you probably won’t ever meet them let alone date. This is what is so absolving about the celebrity crushes. Since you most likely won't have a chance to hook up with the object of your crush under any circumstances, these circumstances become completely insignificant. You don't have to worry about whether or not the celebrity is single (or if you're single) or if he or she likes blondes or brunettes or even if the celebrity is gay or straight. It's all total fantasy so those inconvenient bits of reality don't matter at all.

Betokening thus, here I present a list of my female celebrity crushes (in the order of level of crush-ness, i.e. in increasing order):

10. Elizabeth Banks (From The 40-year old virgin to Definitely May Be to Spider Man to the Uninvited, this blonde looks blistering hot!) 

9. Zooey Deschanel (An unusual liking for her, as some faces remind you of someone. She is nonetheless stunning and sensational! Watch out for her in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy!)  

8. Elisha Cuthbert  (I could pay a huge amount to chunk to book a flat beside her's to make her the girl next door for me, any day!)

7. Ke$ha (This party image girl with her messy hair, smeared makeup, and garbage-chic apparels always has a way to appeal! My mobile snooze always has Ke$ha singing, 'Tik Tok' and waking me up everyday. For those, who think her to be a drunk Taylor Swift, Up Yours!)  

6. Alex Curran (If Gerrard allows, she is the only sensational tan I’d ever love to date owing to her hotness level!)

5. Gemma Atkinson (If hotness is what we are talking about, here is this English lingerie-model to look out for. Remember her as the ex-wag of C. Ronaldo!) 

 4. Kristen Stewart (Coming to life from the Twilight series, this vampire lover definitely has it to blow off the minds! Blown away, am I, undoubtedly!)

 3. Megan Fox (Dressed Up or Dressed down! Whatever way, she is stunning hot! Never mind considering her as a Sex symbol.)

 2. Cobie Smulders (Perfect figure, adorable smile, beautiful accent, amazing as Robin Scherbatsky in HIMYM. Do I need to say more?) 

1. Katy Perry (With daisy dukes and a bikini on top, the lady has killed me with her exquisite smile and enchanting eyes. Lucky bastard have you been, Russel Brands!)

 

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These have been my Top 10 biggest celebrity crushes till date. I honestly don’t know which big supermodel is going to crush me next, heavily in juggernaut style.  Whoever it may be, it perhaps has nothing to do with my real life. All I can say is certain aspects of people appeal you in some way or the other, but who does know the reality anyway?

P.S: The dream date for me any day ought to be with my dream girl, Katy Perry.

P.P.S: It hardly matters if my list doesn’t match with yours. Few things are meant to be different.

P.P.S: After a series of philosophical posts, I have been planning to write my first soccer post. Ensuing, it may be!

P4S: I had been planning to present a series of Lists of various things. This was one of the coming few.

P5S: As far as the pictures I have used, I agree to the fact that they lack pellucidity. Courtesy: Sluggish Jawahar Internet connection + Lazy arse of mine! 

Why, Aisha?

Finally after a long hiatus, I am back with Aisha, but why, Aisha? Why only, Aisha? After  nuking my buzz and twitter with posts reflecting my insatiable desire to watch Aisha so many times, I eventually ended up watching it  a month after its release, and trust me, I was not at all unsated! I don’t intend to write a review of the movie here, but I certainly intend to indite - Why, Aisha?

So a take on why, Aisha?  

1. If you simply love the name, Aisha.
2. If you have an appetite for humor and style quotient.
3. If you crave for uptown super rich chicks wearing tank-tops and short-skirts! 
4. If you have read 'Emma' by Jane Austen, watched the Hollywood adaptation, 'Clueless' but still want to cherish some desi-spin on the story.
5. If you want to witness a movie that goes without any heavy-duty ‘drame baazi’, and prompts you to ponder on the perils of misconstrued romance.
6. If you want to believe that howsoever bitchy, cattish and arrogant a girl may seem from the glossy cover, she definitely has a soft corner which is gooey and mawkish.
7. If you want to watch out for Sonam Kapoor as an actor in one of her very neat and substantial performances!
8. If you are planning for a date, this could just be the ideal date flick!

The plot is almost unchanged from the original classic work of Jane Austen, Emma. Aisha, however, is more treatment-oriented than story-driven, relying on dialogues, individual scenes and quirky characters to do the trick. To a large extent, it succeeds too. 

The pre-interval portion is breezy and Shefali`s (Aisha’s small town friend) innocence coupled with Aisha’s hoity-toity act keeps the proceedings interesting. The friendly sparring between Aisha and Arjun (Abhay Deol), and scenes involving Randhir(Cyrus Sahukar) and Pinky(Ira Dubey) enliven the film and at half-time you are upbeat and hopeful. Post-interval, though, the film’s pace dips and you soon realise that the makers succumbed to a more convenient route. However, everyone looks so watchable that the movie would hold you in command till the very end plus some brisky and bouncy songs amid the story will never let you down.

Devika Bhagat,the film’s screenplay writer, with the film’s director Rajshree Ojha, has kept the essence of Austen’s classic intact and focused more on the presentation. With producer Rhea (actor Anil Kapoor’s younger daughter), the troika of women has managed to serve a palatable chick flick, but one which is not without its share of shortcomings and cliches. 

The movie is certainly not that serious to bog you down, or not so frivolous to be dismissed, it just goes so very well to glue you till the end. So, why waiting? Go, get, Aisha!