Three Cups of Tea - A worthy Read

Post 9/11, the words “War on Terror” and “Weapons of Mass Destruction” have been the most used and abused phrases in modern history. Numerous wars (success or failure depends on which side of the war you were on) have been raged. Countries have been toppled (quite literally and structurally).

"Three Cups of Tea ...One Man's Mission to Promote Peace...One School at a Time" authored by Greg Mortenson with David Oliver’s support is a very interesting book that shows a very different perspective of these wars and how best they can be won. I started reading this book at the same time the book got into controversy. But having read the book, I can safely say even if 50% of the book is true and this man Greg has even built half of the number of schools, medical facilties, vocation centers that he talks about in the book, it is still worth it. He still deserves all the accolades and appreciation for having dedicated his life, his family and his entire youth to this self-less cause.

Coming back to the book, Three Cups of Tea (or as the elongated title suggests), is a book of 1 man’s journey towards bring peace in some of the most hostile and “so-called” terrorist regions in the world be it Northern Pakistan – The Baltistan region or the Afghanistan regions. After his failed attempt to conquer the most dangerous peaks in the world (K2 – karakoram), he finds himself spending a month in Northern Pakistan’s most neglected areas and witnesses the people’s warmth and hospitality. This is where the title makes shape. Basically it is a phrase in that part of Pakistan... The first time you share tea with them, you are a stranger. The second time, you are an honored guest and the third time you share a cup of tea, you become a family.

Having witnessed the need for education, he decides to build a school for Korphe region and therein starts his struggle. This need for 1 school slowly becomes a full time job for him courtesy some generous donations and he opens Central Asia institute dedicated to the humanitarian development of the region.

The book comes across as a selfless account of this man’s journey written in a fashion that can allow more donations to flow through the institute. The basic theory remains the same. The war on terror cannot be won by Bushes and Obamas way of unsolicited and unashamed attacks but to enable people to understand the different between a school and wahhabi madarasas. To move them away from extremism to more modern educational system where they can emrace the world and allow a holistic development.

The book might not come across as a fast read as the writing style is documentary oriented but the message is strong and convincing.

The book also throws some interesting insights for an Indian like me who has always viewed Pakistan with just 1 angle. Reading about the Kargil conflict by someone who was in Pakistan at the same time is such an interesting read for me.

Overall... a good book to read if you are interested in modern history and the birth of terror in today’s times.

Dum Maaro Dum – A dumdaar first half with a feeka second half

I know I am very late in blogging about this one. Considering that the buzz around this movie was quite low initially and it was yet another Abhishek Bachchan’s movie after a series of turkeys last year put this in a low priority for me. But with word of mouth, the movie gained publicity and hence prompted me to watch it last night.

The movie starts with a bang. I loved the way the title and casting appears ... just what you need to set the tempo for a suspense action thriller. By the time the interval happens, I was totally impressed... The movie was shot at such a pace that didn’t even realized when 75 mins had passed. Everything was terrific (in critics language 5 star). The pace of the movie, action sequences, dialogues, performances, the Goan set-up under the dark shady clouds of drugs, the flashback sequences, and the smart direction...everything was packed with style (ekdum dumdar).

With this, the expectations from the second half sky rockets and that’s where I think the movie fails. The first half had covered so much that post interval, there is not much left for the filmmaker to cover. So he tends to drag the movie to ensure the audience gets his due of atleast 2 hrs for the 250 bucks they had spent. The second half tends to linger with Abhishek chasing the villain in long-winded sequences.

Having said that, DMD is still a good movie. As I said, the styling is really good. After Bluffmaster, Rohan Sippy once again comes back with a sharp direction and also uses Abhishek Bachchan to his strengths. The new hero Rana Dugubatti is even better (actually cant say he is new because people say he is a big thing in South). Liked his croaky voice. Prateik didn’t have much to do but plays the small role of Goan lad well. Bipasha just had to look the ultra glam girl and I think she plays it to the core. Aditya Pancholi comes back after a very long time (don’t even remember when was the last I saw him) but he too is brilliant in the “bad mafia lord” character.

All the songs are noteworthy. There already has been lot of buzz about the stunning item cum title song of Deepika. But to me, the best song was “Thain Thain”. With the choreography and rapid movement of story in background, this song tends to grow. The other soft song which is very nice is “Te Amo” with the Goan and Bipasha backdrops.

The camera has played a good role in styling the movie with the entire movie pasteurised in shades of yellow adding to the Goan feel.

Some scenes especially a jail torture scene might be quite uncivilized for Indian standards but I think they form a good part in portraying the tough cop character of Abhishek.

The director wanted to create a suspense thriller. The end does have a suspense but I think somehow it loses its relevance. May be if he would have stuck to the thrill part, the movie might have come out better.

Overall, Dum Maro Dum can be watched. The movie is in its 3rd week so you will need to watch it this week itself as it is unlikely to last one more.