Christmas is about spending time with family and friends. It is about creating happy memories that will last a lifetime. soniasmusings.com wishes you and your family a Merry Christmas!
“90 to win” – can cricket have a scientific approach?
India is a cricket obsessed country. Winning a match is celebrated like our own victory while losing is mourned like a demise in the family. This Christmas weekend, comes a short film that provides the viewers with a unique and more rational perspective on this otherwise always emotionally charged up game.
Cast –
- Kafeel Jafri (Rajat)
- Nishu Dixit (Pakhi)
- Rahini Goel (Zoey)
Director – AB Chakravorty
Duration – 27 minutes
Genre – Math Fiction
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Movie review – Tiger Zinda Hai – does the tiger growl or couch?
Second last week of the year – the makers of Tiger Zinda Hai (TZH) have decided to give a grand and larger than life farewell to 2017 with a movie that begins with a bang and ends with a boom. First day second show of TZH saw me apprehensive about my decision but what an experience did it turn out to be!
Cast –
- Salman Khan (Tiger/Avinash Singh Rathod)
- Katrina Kaif (Zoya)
- Sajjad Delafrooz (Abu Usman)
- Angad Bedi (Namit)
- Girish Karnad (Shenoy)
- Paresh Rawal (Firdaus)
- Kumud Mishra (Rakesh)
- Paresh Pahuja (Azan)
- Poorna (Anupriya Goenka)
Director – Ali Abbas Zafar
Duration – 2 hrs 40 mins
Genre – Action Thriller
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An ode to menstruation, cramps, sanitary pads and the new age #PadManÂ
Last week, the trailer of the much awaited movie #PadMan was launched. Starring the dependable #AkshayKumar, multi talented #RadhikaApte and fashion queen #SonamKapoor, this was the maiden venture of #MrsFunnybones production run by author and actress #TwinkleKhanna. Based on the real life story of menstrual man #ArunachalamMuruganantham, this is his journey of becoming a social entrepreneur by manufacturing machines to generate low-cost sanitary napkins and motivating women to become financially independent through the machines. All this started because he wanted to make his wife’s life easy during those days of bleeding. What makes this movie interesting and worth appreciation is that it is one of the rare films to openly talk about topics that are still hushed behind closed doors. Yes women bleed every month, quite a lot of them suffer from severe cramps and indeed they use sanitary napkins or now even menstrual cups to keep themselves dry and comfortable. So why do we need to pretend like it doesn’t happen or worse still that it is a matter of shame!
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Book review – The (In)eligible Bachelors
Book – The (In)eligible Bachelors
Author – Ruchita Misra
Publication – Rupa Publications
Pages – 242
Price – Rs. 185
Genre – Fiction
Plot–
‘You came…,’ I said my voice fumbling and tears gathering in my eyes.
‘How could I not?’ he said. The simplicity of his four word answer wrenched my heart as tears wet the sides of my pillow.
Resort review – Vivanta by Taj, Fort Aguda, Goa
Last September, we planned a trip to Goa with our eleven month old son. This was going to be our first holiday together and thus I was equally excited and anxious. While browsing through the various options for an accommodation, we decided to settle for a resort that could customize our requirements related to the infant and his baby food. A quiet beach like Sinquerim was an additional advantage. That is how we started considering Vivanta by Taj, Fort Aguda (also known as Taj Fort Aguda resort and spa) as a viable option.
Reservation –
My husband had called the central reservation number of Taj group to initiate the process. For confirmation, we had to send a mail detailing out the number of families and total members( we were two families each comprising of a couple and infant) along with our credit card details. They sent us the confirmation mail the very next day. Just the day before we were scheduled to leave, we received a call from the resort re-confirming our booking and arrangement for a pick up from Dabolim Airport.
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Restaurant review – Aminia-that old world charm of Kolkata
The year was 1999 – it was going to be my first stay away from home. Kolkata was meant to be my destination for the next three years and Presidency College Girls Hostel my address. The night before my parents went back to my home town, leaving me on my own for the first time, we dined at the Aminia outlet opposite Elite cinema. It used to be a favorite of my dad’s during his post graduation days in the city. Over the years, there have been quite a few options serving great biriyani but I keep visiting Aminia mostly for the nostalgia it holds in my heart. This weekend, we decided to revisit the Aminia outlet near Chinar Park, Rajarhat and I must say that I was pleasantly surprised to see some positive changes in the attitude and feel of the place. Located on Rajarhat road, this outlet had a queue of people waiting to get in when we arrived. It is still that popular.
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Top 10 reasons to binge watch the web series ‘Pushpavalli’ this weekend
I stayed up till 3am today morning to finish all the eight episodes of “Pushpavalli – based on a true-ish story” streaming on Amazon Prime video. Created by Sumukhi Suresh who is also the protagonist in it, this is one of the most intriguing web series available right now. Starring Manish Anand and Naveen Richard in pivotal roles, this is the story of Pushpavalli switching cities from Bhopal to Bangalore to be with the man she is in love with but ends up stalking eventually.
Cast –
- Sumukhi Suresh – Pushpavalli
- Manish Anand – Nikhil Rao
- Naveen Richard – Pankaj
After finishing the episodes, I figured out the top 10 reasons that make this series a must watch –
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Book review – Tea for two and a piece of cake
Book – Tea for two and a piece of cake
Author – Preeti Shenoy
Publication – Random House India
Pages – 265
Price – Rs. 199
Genre – Romance
Plot–
“Our lives have intermingled so much like the colours on the face of this card. They merge, they blend and they create magic.”
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Movie review – What makes Lipstick Under My Burkha a compelling watch!
“Naam bataiyye”
“Buaji”
“Kiski Buaji? Meri to nahi. Naam kya hai?”
“Usha. Usha Parmar.”
A mid aged Ratna Pathak Shah, who’s referred to as Buaji by almost everyone including people elder than her mumbles as she realizes that in quite a long time this was the first that someone had asked for her name instead of addressing her as just Buaji.
Cast –
- Ratna Pathak Shah – Buaji /Usha Parmar
- Konkona Sen Sharma – Shireen Aslam
- Aahana Kumra – Leela
- Plabita Borthakur – Rehana Abidi
- Vikrant Massey – Arshad
- Sushant Singh – Rahim Aslam
- Shashank Arora – Dhruv Bose
- Vaibhav Tatwawaadi – Manoj
- Jagat Singh Solanki – Jaspal
Direction – Alankrita Shrivastava
Duration – 1hr 59 mins
Genre – Drama /Black comedy
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