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Film

Review: Dholki

A man who produces dholki notes with his bare hands? This film has an interesting story marred by boring execution.
by Ravi Shet

Rating: 2.5 out of 5

Dholki, directed by Raju and Vishal Desai, is a comedy drama set in a village in Maharashtra. The film starts with a bhajan in a temple where villagers from different sections have come together. Lalya (Siddharth Jadhav) who has come with his mother (Jyoti Chandekar) is seen sleeping in the temple premises; however villagers rouse him. He prays to God and tells to forgive the villagers, since they have awakened him and God. Lalya is a lazy man, often referred to as ‘Kumbhakaran’ by the villagers; however he is also honest and straightforward. His mother tells the villagers that he has no job at hand, so she doesn’t mind if he sleeps all the time.

Wealthy Patil (Sayaji Shinde) of the village tries to get Lalya a job in the school. The head master of the school tells Lalya to produce his education certificate so that he can give him a job. While searching for the certificate at his home, he accidentally finds a dholki that belonged to his late father. Initially, he is puzzled to see the dholki, however he enjoys playing it. On hearing the sound, his mother intervenes and makes him promise never to touch it again.

 

After this, Lalya becomes aware of a special power in his hands – when he hits a surface, one can hear a dholki play in lavani style. On his mother’s advice, he starts practicing on the dholki for bhajans; however the moment his hands touch it, the dholki produces lavani notes. At this juncture, the good looking Lalibai (Manasi Naik) who owns a tamasha group is impressed by Lalya’s talent and gets him to join their shows.

The first half of the film is paced well, but the second half falls flat. Redeeming factors are the music by Tubby Parikh and cinematography by Rahul Jadhav. Siddharth Jadhav does an excellent job and carries the film on his shoulders. Other than these, there is little to recommend in this film.

(Picture courtesy www.marathidhamaal.com)

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Do

How light influences your home

It’s not enough for the home to be beautiful, it needs sufficient light as well. Here’s how you can light up.
by Reyna Mathur

Many people do up their homes beautifully, sparing no expense on furniture and fittings. And then they fix ordinary tube lights and bulbs on the walls, killing off the beauty of the house in one stroke. You cannot leave the lighting of the house for last – light design is a discipline in architecture and interior design, and the fitting of lighting appliances in your home cannot be an afterthought.

People hardly ever give a thought to light as an element. It is available in both natural and artificial form, and it is up to a good designer to harness its power and beauty after studying the layout of the house. If not done right, your house can result in dim passages, over-lit bedrooms, dark entrance foyers, and dank bathrooms. Knowing which light is required for which space, and what sort of light design will get the best out of your home, is crucial.

If you haven’t thought about this subject before, let us offer you a handy guide:

Sunlight is key. Science dictates that sunlight kills a host of bacteria, clears the air and enhances our mood. The absence of sunlight acts on our mood directly – ever wondered why you feel a little gloomy during the rains, when there are cloudy grey skies? Hence, your home must receive an ample share of sunlight every day. Sitting in a patch of early morning sunlight will give you the required amount of Vitamin D for your body, and as the morning progresses, sunlight will purify your surroundings. Homes not receiving direct sunlight have a distinct disadvantage in this sense. Even if the light is piercing, don’t shut it out entirely from your home with heavy drapes. Expose your home to at least two hours of sunlight.

Which directions do your rooms face? However, direct sunlight can force you to beat a hasty retreat, especially if you’re at work in the kitchen or working on the computer in your bedroom. Architectural principles dictate that sunlight should enter directly in the living room and kitchen area, and also possibly in the toilet and bathroom, to reap all its natural benefits. But the bedroom spaces must be free of direct sunlight, because it can disturb sleeping patterns. When buying a new house, study the directions on a compass. Your bedroom should face the North direction, while the living room and other spaces may face the South. North lighting is the best – it is subdued, so you don’t need to shut the drapes on it. Those looking for studio space must insist on the light coming from the North direction, because it is the best for painting and comparing colours.

The right bulbs and lights. To save money, people opt for white tube lights all over the house. While this is a matter of personal preference, interior designers will tell you that the white light associated with a tube light or ‘cold’ halogen bulb is to be used in the kitchen and bathroom spaces only, not in the living spaces such as the living room and bedroom. In these living spaces, diffused yellow light is the best, because we spend most of our time in these spaces so the lighting conditions should be ideal. You can install yellow CFLs in the home if you are looking for a cost-effective, long term alternative to the usual light bulbs.

Hot and cool lights. Every lighting implement – whether natural or unnatural – has the element of ‘heat’ attached to it. Thus, white light associated with tube lights is ‘cooler’ than yellow light, because white light has no heat component. In contrast, yellow light emanating from the Sun or manmade light bulbs is ‘hot’ in nature, because close contact with it will make you experience heat (a big reason you can’t soak in the sunlight for very long). Ordinary tungsten filament light bulbs of 100W or more illumination are often used to provide heat in incubators, or to dry out a freshly painted wall and make the colour stick. If you are confused about which ones to opt for in your home, enlist the help of a knowledgeable interior designer to suggest options.

(Pictures courtesy www.foreignpixel.com. Image is used for representational purpose only)

Categories
Film

Review: Kaun Kitney Paani Mein

An excellent premise – the concept of ‘water wars’ in the near future – is waylaid by lazy, inconsistent storytelling.
by Ravi Shet

Rating: 2.5 out of 5

Kaun Kitney Paani Mein, directed by Nila Madhab Panda, is a satire based on the issue of water scarcity and how the power equation shifts with it. Set in Odisha, the audiences are introduced to two villages – Upri and Bairi – having a history of shared differences and which are separated by a wall.

Upri is a village housing wealthy people, while’s Bairi residents are poor. Most of the latter have been working for the former. However, a massive drought hits the area and this changes the power equation between the two villages. Upri has exhausted its water sources and does not have an alternative, while Bairi has been using its water wisely and also creating storage facilities for it.

 

In Upri, the once well-to-do Braj Singh Deo (Saurabh Shukla), the raja of the village is now penniless, however, he still has a servant who helps him dress and adjust his fake moustache. He wants to sell his drought-affected village, but there are no takers because there is no water there. Meanwhile, Bairi is prospering under aspiring politician Kharu Pahelwan (Gulshan Grover) where the land is fertile and where there is a good supply of water. Braj Singh Deo devises a plan to get hold of the water from Bairi which involves his son Raj (Kunal Kapoor) trapping Paro (Radhika Apte), daughter of Kharu Phelwan, in love.

The first half of the film is a bit boring, but the pace picks up in the second half. With an excellent premise, director Panda injects the story with humour and empathy. The dialogues by Rahul Singh are top notch, as are a few stray scenes, most of which feature Saurabh Shukla, who carries his character very well. Radhika Apte and Gulshan Grover are good, too. This is a one-time watch only, especially for its performances and the wonderfully choreographed ‘Rangapati’.

(Picture courtesy www.ibnlive.com)

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Read

A reader’s paradise in Lower Parel

Trilogy, the library is a much-needed book corner in a bustling city that can find itself through the reading habit.
By Ritika Bhandari Parekh

You are greeted with an abundance of trees, sunlight, books and more books here. From Feynman’s musings to Alexander McCall Smith’s suspense, from everything you wish to know on Ogilvy to a delightful hour with Calvin and Hobbes, Trilogy has something for everyone, age notwithstanding.

The owners of Trilogy

When literary editor Ahalya Naidu and wildlife photographer Meethil Momaya met each other, they shared a dream for a quaint bookstore atop a mountain. They even had a date browsing books at Churchgate’s Sunderbai Hall annual books sale. Undoubtedly, the book lovers united and years later, they are the envy of every reader with their venture, Trilogy. Located in Raghuvanshi Mills at Lower Parel, the space houses a library and a beautiful bookstore.

With books as quintessential birthday gifts, avid reading runs in the family for the duo. The library feels like Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory albeit with books. With options galore, it will make a book addict giddy with excitement.

The stepping stone

“It all started some 5 years ago, when we both were looking forward to entering the publishing industry. In the process we found that our core strength lies in talking to readers, finding good books and recommending them,” Ahalya (32) says. “In 2013, we started The Eternal Library (TEL), our library consultancy. It was a great opportunity to use our passion to help corporations and individuals set up their own reading spaces. While we were helping others set their libraries, we always felt a personal need to have a better collection of books.”

Meethil (35) adds, “We realised that quite a few good books did not make it to city bookstores. Also we observed that in-house libraries of MNCs do not get updated regularly. That’s how memberships start to dwindle and reader engagement dips. That’s why libraries don’t work.”

But through TEL, they helped revamp existing libraries to maintain their collection. They would carry out surveys to know audience preferences. “The underlying aim was always to match a book to a reader and a reader to a book. One thing led to another and in Christmas 2014, we had a space called Trilogy, where people could find books they would love,” Ahalya says.

A setup unlike other libraries

Most city libraries have a cafe setup to cover the costs, but the owners of Trilogy believe that their forte is books and not food. “Our main motto for having a reading space was to promote reading. Today when members come to just sit and read, we know the concept is working well. We have seen a shift in the body clock of our readers. They leave behind their hectic work and tune into reading at Trilogy,” they say.

“Also our interiors allow sunlight to enter and fill the room. Our vision of no jam-packed shelves, keeping books in a melange of vertical and horizontal stacks, not housing poorly written books or listing special mentions on post-its make the library interesting.”

The ‘cool’ job of a librarian

Their careers as editor and photographer have taken a back seat since the book business keeps them busy. “Managing the library and bookstore is difficult. Even when we are not at the library, we are in a way eating, sleeping and waking up to it. We do not like to take the day off, as being here is much better than being at home and working on the same thing,” Meethil says. “We are continuously talking books or the library and things related to Trilogy.”

On being surrounded by books for a living Ahalya says, “It is a powerful and transformative feeling. When you connect to a reader, it takes a different dimension altogether. When people come back and appreciate the recommendation, it validates all the difficulties we endure.”

She says, “I feel extremely guilty, if a parent and a child walk in and I’m not part of the conversation. Recommending books which they will like makes everybody happy. We wish we had more hours in the day to read those books. Because if we are supposed to recommend, we need to read, too,” Meethil complains.

The Member Diaries

“When we curate, we try to find the right reader for a book and vice versa. It is always heartening to see kids come and reissue their books as they have found a favourite book. I remember how this girl had written a note and kept it inside a book, as she loved the recommendation. Another girl thought it was a tradition to write a note after reading, and did the same. Also young mothers trying to get back to the habit of reading is appreciable. We also have a member who comes all the way from Kandivali with her kids. Every night she reads one book to the child and posts a Facebook status. Seeing that makes us happy,” Ahalya says.

With plans to expand in other cities like Pune – Trilogy serves as an inspiration to follow one’s passion and make it soar higher. As for the readers in Mumbai, they need to enjoy this wonderful treat offered by two passionate book lovers.

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Tech

Review: Vivo X5Pro

We take a look at Vivo’s new smartphone and realise that the phone does not match up to its price tag.
by Manik Kakra | @Manik_K on Twitter

Vivo came into the Indian smartphone market late last year. The company launched as many as five phones including the then world’s slimmest smartphone, the X5Max. The X5Pro, on paper, seems to have a lot to change that. But is it worth your Rs 27,000?

The looks. The Vivo X5Pro is among the slimmest phones out there. At just 6.4mm thickness, the phone feels elegant yet comfortable to hold. Plus, with 2.5D Gorilla glass on both sides, the device isn’t slippery. The 5.2-inch Super AMOLED on the front has 8 MP front-facing camera, speaker grille, sensors and notification LED on top, and three capacitive touch at the bottom.

The aluminium alloy frame sports slim volume keys and Power/Lock key, followed by dual SIM tray – micro SIM card + either nano SIM card or microSD card near the bottom on the right side; and the left side has been left plain. The top gets the 3.5mm headset jack near towards the left. The company says the phone has been constructed using aircraft wing-quality materials for less damage.

Screen. There’s a 5.2-inch full HD (1920 x 1080) Super AMOLED covered under Corning Gorilla Glass. There is also a crystal coating on top of the screen, which you can notice only near the edges, but doesn’t sacrifice on the screen quality. The company has done a good job with the display. Colours look bright and sharp, and darker black levels that you associate with an AMOLED panel are in place, too. It is usable under sunlight and does justice full HD videos, not compromising on viewing angles.

Vivo X5 ProCamera. The X5Pro boasts a 13 MP (f/2.0) camera on the back. Here are a few sample images.

The camera is okay for most images. It takes detailed shots and close ups, but lacks in colour contrast and overall sharpness. The camera app has quite few modes including an after effect for bokeh (defocus background) effect.

Audio.The X5Pro features a dedicated Cirrus Logic DAC AK4375 audio chip. The loudspeaker output from the bottom speakers is not bad at all. The output is loud for video or playing a game. In the box, you get a pair of white earphones, and the pair is among the best, in my opinion, you get bundled with a phone today. The audio quality is clear, handles bass and treble quite well. You won’t be disappointed with them if you’re used to default bundled headsets, and they are also comfortable to wear.

Network. The phone handles WiFi, Bluetooth 4.0, 3G, and GPS connectivity well. Voice quality is really good, while network reception wasn’t a problem either. What didn’t really work as it should is its accelerometer. Quite a few times when the phone is tilted back to portrait mode (from landscape), it just wouldn’t switch.

Battery. The phone carries a 2.450 mAh non-accessible battery unit. Battery life is a bit of a hit and miss. During first few days, it didn’t last me anywhere close to 22 hours, but upon further use and charge, I was able to get almost a day from it. The 2A bundled charger charges the device from 0 to full in almost two hours. The super saver battery feature, which allows using only phone, clock, and messaging functions, lasts a full day with about 10% on standby.

Software and performance. The phone is equipped with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 615 SoC (1.5 GHz quad core + 1 GHz quad core processor, Adreno 405 GPU), along with 2 GB of RAM. It runs on FunTouch OS 2.1, which is based on Android 5.0.2.

The phone lags quite a bit and doesn’t really do justice to its price tag. Scrolling and swiping between apps and Settings isn’t smooth. Just a bit of gaming and playing full HD videos and the phone’s back and even volume buttons heat up, at times so much that you may not feel comfortable holding the device for long. The issue also came up after an OTA firmware update.

One major bug I found was you use Documents to attach a file inside the Gmail app, the file doesn’t get attached and the Email gets sent without one, so you would have to use a file manager (other than the pre-loaded one) to do so. The OS is a little different from what we are used to seeing from new handset manufacturers today. But that doesn’t really result into a cohesive overall look and feel. There is no separate app launcher and widgets and app icons are placed on Home screens.

Super Screenshot is one of the novelties that allows you to take a screenshot longer than a single page to stitch into a single image. The user gets about 7 GB of storage space, which you can expand using a microSD card.

Overall, the X5Pro promises a lot and delivers little. It looks good aesthetically, has a great AMOLED panel, but misses out with its heating and performance issues and average battery life and camera. At around Rs. 27,000, this phone will fight a hard battle against the likes of the G3, S5, and others, and probably not survive it.

Categories
Film

Review: Dhinchak Enterprise

A good storyline and decent performances cannot save this slipshod, inconsistent film which does not do justice to the plot.
by Ravi Shet

Rating: 2 out of 5

Dhinchak Enterprise, written and directed by Nishant Devidas Sapkale, is the story of Vishal Patil (Bhushan Pradhan) who works as a salesman in a company called Zarco which produces slimming tablets. He starts his own venture named Dhinchak Enterprise. The film starts with Jignesh (Khurshed Lawyer) meeting a producer (Anant Jog) at his residence to narrate an interesting story based on reality.

Vishal gets the ‘Employee of the Month’ award and Jignesh is one of his colleagues and best buddy. A new batch of trainees joins the company and Vishal gets excited since he gets Meera Tandel (Manavi Naik) to work with him; however Meera’s feelings towards him are the exact opposite. They go together for field work so that Meera can learn how to sell the products. When Vishal tries to flirt with Meera, she tells him to focus on the job at hand. But soon, the two fall in love.

 

One day, Vishal is fired from the job because he was absent from a client meeting to help a road accident victim. Vishal soon starts his own company – Dhinchak Enterprise – with help from Meera and Jignesh. But the success of the company turns everything sour.

Just before the interval, you are introduced to the formation of the new company. All the twists and turns are thrown pell mell into the story in the second half. The pace of the movie does not gel with the plot, which has been treated shoddily. Save for Bhushan Pradhan’s performance and a few funny scenes, there is very little to recommend in this film.

(Picture courtesy www.justmarathi.com)

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