Awww thanks Whirls! U understood me wrongtho - my neighbour was old. it would be unfair to say i am really heartbroken by it , because well i know him all my life but we didnt really had a good relationship , but i feel so sad for the woman who is staying behind all alone. They were really heartbroken when my grandma died ( I used to live with my mum , bro and grandma in one house and that was enxt to them ) Anyway i'm fine really just in a bit of a funk and this news just made me a bit sad. And i'm not really lonely or anything wel maybe a little bit cause all my friends live so far away!! But thanks for youre lovely words whirls u always cheer me up.

Sunday Chat ?! ;-)

oopsie, sorry about the age snafu! But yeah, it's tough watching the ones that are left behind.

And of course, Sunday chat it is!! I'm looking forward to it.

dont be sad jeans!

im comin to visit at the end of june, what better way to put a smile on your face than a mildly eccentric english fella coming to drink all your tea :P

Yes and a California vacation in under 6 months! A California Chemical explosion awaits.

And I'll be sure and have a big stash of Tetleys on hand for mipps' arrival.

Since this is anything goes chat, I'll post this here, a friend of mine - his buddy bumped into Tarantino at the Indian Film Festival in LA - here's what he wrote to some of us, and I in turn wrote on a board for an indian audience :

Ah well, a friend of mine is trying to learn/ make films/ struggling/ getting his butt kicked/ learning the life in LA for the last 2 yrs - one of his other struggling colleagues in LA (but getting somewhere now), Srinivas, recently won the jury award for Tea Break at the Indian Film Festival held recently in LA. Well to cut a long story short, he bumped into Tarantino there (who was there watching some films the second yr) and had a small impromptu chat/ interview - here it is :

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I would have loved to introduce myself as a ‘learning film-maker’ and go on about my tryst with film-making and film-makers, but all that can wait. Because right now I am nothing but just an avid cinema-goer just like all of us. Why is that you ask? Well that’s because the topic that I am posting is about a meeting I had with a man who goes by the name of Quentin Tarantino. But before you start showering me with abuses, let me tell you that it was a chance meeting of which even you could have been a part of, if you were here at LA for the Indian Film Festival.

Anyways, a short run down of how the things took place. We were all chilling at the ‘Arc Light Cinema lounge area’, when one of the IFFLA staff member told me that Quentin Tarantino’s in the house. I thought she was joking till she showed me a snap she clicked with him. I started looking around and grabbed my digicam and started hunting for him. Below the lounge area is a small café where he was seated in the most unusual of all places – Right in front of the entrance| Nikhil Prakash (Another short film maker and an excellent actor) and me stood behind him as he was finishing a talk on his phone. As we got ready to attack, in walked Eli Roth (Director of Hostel) and Edgar Wright (Director of Shaun of the dead). So all 3 of them were having beer and just chilling. We went up to QT, introduced ourselves as directors of our respective short films, which were being shown at the festival. And then started a discussion which lasted for almost 20-25 minutes (Excluding the photo session)

QT: Well yes, Ive been to the festival last year and this year I am going to watch some films. When are your films?

Us: Sunday afternoon

QT: I am definitely coming. Sunday is the day I am free. Sure.

Me: So I am actually from Mumbai and I am a huge fan of yours. (“Fuck I am talking to QUENTIN TARANTINO” expression)

QT: Hey that’s really great. How’re ya finding LA? I am so glad you’re from there. What do you think of Bombay’s rip off of “Reservoir Dogs”? KAAANTE?

Me: (I didn’t know how to react to that) I didn’t quite like it.

QT: WHY? I LOVED IT. I think it was fabulous. Of the two rip offs I loved are Hong Kong’s “Too many ways to be number one” and this one – “KAANTE”.

Me: Well yeah I know, but if you noticed in the HK version, they had set the premise in HK itself. Whereas for the Indian one, they’ve shot it in US. They could very easily have conceptualized it with Indian cities.

QT: Well yeah, but the best part is – You have INDIAN guys, coming to US and looting a US Bank. How cool is that. I was truly honored. And these Indian guys are played by the legends of Bollywood. I was honored.

Me: Hmm. That’s true. But what were your feelings when you were watching the film?

QT: Well, I started watching it and I knew it was Reservoir Dogs. But then, the film is longer. You guys are crazy because you guys like long movies. And that’s what I like too. But we have a studio system here. But yeah, coming to the point, here I am watching a film that I’ve directed, and then it goes into each character’s background. And I am like WHOA That’s something. Because I always write the backgrounds and stuff in my scripts but it always gets chopped off during the edit. And so I was like this isn’t RD. But then it goes into the warehouse scene and I am like “WOW Its back to RD”. Isn’t it amazing? Wow.

Me: Yeah, our films are kinda long and sometimes character driven too.

QT: Yes. And I loved the guy who plays the role of Harvey Keitel. This big beard guy. Famous guy in Bollywood.

Me: Amitabh Bachchan? So when are we seeing Quentin Tarantino venture into Bollywood?

QT: I would love to come there and see how it works. But then I have to get used to the setting and be comfortable. Then only true quality can be achieved. As of now, I want to watch “The Wall (Deewar)” playing at your festival.

Me: Yeah. Its one of the most powerful films to come out of India.

QT: Yup. I’ll try coming for your films on Sunday. If I am here, I will definitely come.

Me: Thanks. It was a pleasure meeting you.

QT: Same here man, always a pleasure to meet you guys

QT: Btw have you guys seen “Grindhouse”? Its playing here in LA. I guess you guys should watch it man. Pretty insane stuff.

Us: Yeah surely we’ll watch it.

QT: Cool. See ya then.

By this time a considerable amount of people had gathered behind me and Nikhil. I quickly took a photograph with him. Varun and Nikhil followed suit.

So that’s the whole conversation that we had – more a monologue than dialogue. But its not everyday you walk into a café and see one of the most influential film makers of the new generation, staring back at you.

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Ah I love Quentin Tarantino - all the interviews I've seen or read he comes across as such a brilliant eccentric down to earth bloke! Damn I wanna see Deathproof again tonight!

Jack that sounds so wicked. I think Tarentino is a brilliant man , even more so now that i read he's a very nice person! I like famous brilliant people who are nice. Anyway - that is wicked for youre friend. That RD Bollywood style sounds wicked actually.

--Oh and on top of it all i have a fight with my mum now. That hasn't happened for ages. I really need to get my own place after 4 years of living alone. Its hard to be back home.AH well.

was at the trinity ball last night which is europe largest private party was cool, very messy and drunk and i even had to wear a suit as it is strictly formal wear music was great with erol alkan,justice,boys noize and css playing till 6 am this morning. good night all in all

saw one of the most brilliant touching films ever - am still shaking - the last whole 50 mins or so i had my head blocked with a constant headrush - i couldn't believe it.

it's from my fav director ever - i have lost faith in him since any given sunday, and strangely this was the only film that eluded me all this while - i think it was just too brilliant - i'm still shaking - ah, sorry, i'm talking about heaven and earth - his first.

jeanie - yeah - all gods in art are most of the times brilliant down to earth people - the day u think u'r fuckin god - u stop growing/ evolving - that's my theory. i haven't seen the indian version of rd, kante, myself but my girl keeps talking about it, i'm too much of a tarantino fan and find it below my pride to see a bollywood remake.

heh, kiddin, never been too interested that's it - given a chance i'd see it - the scriptwriter's famous for just ripping brilliant films - i saw his frame by frame remake of old boy, i thot it was very good, and then i saw old boy! fuck!! the remake was not even 10 pc the headfuck.

i was pretty shocked myself at qt's comments on kaante - haha - sweet bloke like i think that's all!

saturday night - goin out with my girl for a drink over at friends' - gonna introduce them to the new chems booty i've been collecting!

I've just been watching a bunch of comedy shows and noticing that not many comics have any original material anymore, i'm just getting bored with it. Dave Chappelle is genius but his movie just sucked. Russel Peters is just annoying.

When I watch "Just For Laughs" (A french/canadian comedy festival show held in Montreal) I see all these comics talk about the same things: sex and drugs. It's funny once and a while but its just over and over again.

My point is that we need some good/fresh comedians.

-thoughts/oppinions?

test?

A whole different subject.

Death.

I just went to say goodbye to my neighbour, Frans. Ive lived next to him for 22 years togheter with my grandma and mum and brother , and my family has lived next to them for over 40 years , and theyve been trough a lot togheter. His granddaughter is one of my oldest friends.

Anyway , so he died , and people die , thats the way it goes. I'm not very upset as he was very ill.

So i just went to the place where you can say a last goodbye before the funeral. It was in the same place as when my grandma died. ( THAT was heavy , i lived with her all my life ). So i didnt like to be there.

Than i went so see Frans.

I cant get over the way dead people look.

It reminded me of how my grandma looked.

They look so empty. I believe youre body is nothing more than a way to function. A hotel for youre soul. And once again this believe is only confirmed. Its just so weird. It doesnt look like the person you used to know. It looks like such a different person. Not even a person. A doll , more. A fake something. The skin so pale, the body so life-less. It made me feel so weird to see that dead something lying there , and everybody is looking at this body that once used to belong to somebody, and everybody cries but i believe that the spirit , his soul , is looking down on them all. Its just so weird! Ive seen some dead people now and they al look the same. Like a package for a soul thats not there anymore.

Anyway , this is quite a heavy subject. I'm not really upset or anything but i'm just so...i dunno! I cant stop thinking about this dead body and it brought back a lot of memories about my grandma. And i felt horrible for the widow.

Any similar ( or not ) thoughts ? Heavy subject!

Totally inappropriate, but Frans is an unfortunate name.

On the death subject, I've never really experienced it. Closest I've come is my grandad dying probably 10 years ago now, but at the time I was kept quite isolated by my parents. They wouldn't let me go to the funeral, stuff like that. It didn't phase me too much, I loved him but I rapidly got to the fact that life and the universe will go on without him.

I never went to funerals or memorials or anything like that when I was a kid. There just weren't that many deaths of close relatives when I was a small (a lot of people in my family lived a long time). Also, open caskets and viewings are also not something that is practised in my family.

I have gone to a couple of open casket funerals though - the worst one was when a friend died of an asthma attack about 11 years ago. He was young, only 24. It was very weird and waxen to see what was once a young person laid out to rest in front of everyone. The funeral was huge. I have never been in place where the air felt so heavy with sorrow. It was a sad and odd experience. stash's grandpa died a few years ago and that was an open casket service. I didn't mind that one too much because he lived a full life and was taken away from this earth before the disease he had took everything away from his mind. Whoever was in charge of prepping his body for the service did an excellent job - he looked like he was asleep, peaceful, and at rest.

My mom's mother, my beautiful grandmother passed away in 2004. I lived up the road from my grandparents and got the call right after she died. I was there in 5 minutes and the rigamortis hadn't fully set in yet, but the heat from her body was slipping away as she was still warm to the touch. I could feel the fading warmth on her forehead when I went to smooth her hair back. That was a very strange thing, the whole thing was very strange. My brother came by about a half hour after I did and we sat with her in her room as she lie there looking asleep - she went to peacefully. She and my grandfather both wanted cremation, so we just sat and waited for the people to arrive and take her away. When they came, that was when it got disturbing. They put her into a thick plastic bag that had a zipper down the front, and even though they tried to be gentle, it looked like they were putting a stiff doll into the bag.

hmm i guess nobody cares about comedy

I see dead people.

D:

IM HOME!

jeeze, i feel so lost with this new forum. It really turns me off... :\

prochem, I like all kids of humor, from South Park humor to Margaret Cho, but in particular I like my humor to be politically motivated. Lewis Black is amazingly funny with a biting wit and he's one of my faves. I'd love to have him over for a beer one day, but I'm afraid his yelling and ranting and raving would get the cops called on us.

I also have a celeb crush on Jon Stewart. It's kind of silly, I know - but the man is funny and smart and dead on and can hold his ground when it comes to hashing it out. Not a typical stand up comedian, but the Daily Show is where it's at for me. If it weren't for that show I would have had a hard time laughing out the state of affairs from the past 7 years...

yes, jon stewart is really funny, i don't like colbert as much