Movie Review: Brahman Naman (2016)

Access Bollywood

3.5 Stars (out of 4)

“Right now, we could have been in between the thighs of whores losing our virginity, but here we are trading electoral trivia.” “That’s all we have, Ajay: trivia.” Brahman Naman paints a hilarious portrait of the lives of some sex-obsessed college quiz masters in 1980s Bangalore.

Naman (Shashank Arora) leads the university’s quiz team, which includes his right-hand-man Ajay (Tanmay Dhanania) and their pal with a broken leg, Ramu (Chaitanya Varad). Onstage, they rule the school with a mastery of arcane knowledge and British literary quotations. They recruit a timid younger student named Randy (Vaishwath Shankar) to fill out the team.

Offstage, however, the guys rank low in the social pecking order, a fact made painfully obvious by their foil, Ronnie (Sid Mallya), the handsome captain of the cricket team. Naman’s plan to humiliate Ronnie by distributing pictures of the jock’s genitals backfires when proof…

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Christmas Special

BUZZ Magazine

Here’s our Christmas Comeback Issue.

As we roll into the New Year. Have a wonderful start to 2016, everyone! 😀

Click here to read it: BUZZ Magazine_Christmas Special

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Q’s “Brahman Naman” to compete at Sundance Film Festival, 2016

F.i.g.h.t C.l.u.b

We are little late on this. But here’s some good news about Q’s latest film, Brahman Naman. The film has been selected to compete at the Sundance Film Festival in World Cinema Dramatic Competition segment. Interestingly, the film is in English language. It will compete with 11 other films in that segment.

And here’s the official synopsis –

It is the 1980s and Naman is a clever, know-it-all teenager. Along with his friends, Ajay and Ramu, they are ‘The Three Musketeers’ who win every quiz competition, using their prize money to get drunk. They think they are super cool, but in reality, they are geeks.

When the gang succeed in getting into the All-India quiz final, they go on a chaotic train ride to Calcutta with Bernie, their 60 year old anarchist quizzer mentor. On the journey, Naman falls hard for Naina, a super smart and drop dead gorgeous quizzer…

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All About the Bindi

This gallery contains 6 photos.

Originally posted on Vintage Indian Clothing :
The bindi/pottu/sindoor/tikli – whatever name it be known by – is probably the most emblematic of Indian elements of attire and also has a long history. It is symbolic (as a signifier of marital…

The kitchen at the heart of hell on earth

The Human Times

At the heart of hell on earth there is a place where the cold and beleaguered go to have their weary bodies and worn-out souls nourished.

Twice a day a queue of hundreds snakes around the One Spirit Ashram Kitchen in the Calais Jungle. In the driving rain they wait in single file for the team of volunteers inside to open up and start serving.

You can donate here http://www.sweetpeace.me/#!a-shared-meal/t5yz3

Despite the desperation in their eyes, the patient masses give a polite smile to those managing the queue at the door with restless glances to check there is still enough left to go around.

But there is never enough. Even this mammoth effort is only feeding a fraction of the camp’s residents.

The sound of the rice pan being scraped sounds like an alarm in the tent as a man holds an empty plate and says: “but I waited for…

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From the Shark’s Mouth to the Deep, Dark Jungle

In speaking to a friend I mentioned how in India, where I grew up, the only way to survive the daily poverty is to turn a blind eye to it. For those who visit from outside the country, it feels like a callous way to be. For those of us who grew up there it’s the only way to survive.

Now, when I see these pictures of the Calais Jungle, I am reminded of the slums of Bombay. Except it is here, not far from where I live in London. Not very far away at all. And while the conditions here are not as bad as the ones in the shantytowns I’ve passed every day of my growing years … yet it feels a lot worse. Because there was hope back there.

Sure the people are poor in the shanties back in the city where I grew up, but most believed the tomorrow would bring a better future for their children. What disturbs me most about the Calais Jungle is the despair of the migrants caught between countries;  in no man’s land. I know a little about being a migrant. And my experience, while nowhere as difficult as those faced in the Jungle, makes me doubly conscious about their plight. When you don’t have a place to call your own it’s the worst feeling of rootlessness. As bad as not having the basics in life.

So, while I can’t head over and help. I do what I can, at least share the real coverage from the volunteers at the camp. Read on-

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Source: From the Shark’s Mouth to the Deep, Dark Jungle

IndieWritersReview Welcomes UnCommon Bodies Anthology! Release Day REVIEW Feature

Michelle thank you so much for hosting us and reviewing UnCommon Bodies!

In A Writer's View

Happy Tuesday All! Today I am very excited that IndieWritersReview is participating as a host for NEW RELEASE:UnCommon Bodies Anthology! Also check out my review of  UNCommon Bodies!

NEW RELEASE:UnCommon Bodies is a collection of stories curated by Pavarti K. Tyler that span across genres to explore the lives of the odd, the unbelievable, and the impossible

SUMMARY: Step right up to the modern freakshow — We have mermaids, monsters, and more. You won’t be disappointed, but you may not get out alive.

UnCommon Bodies presents a collection of 20 beautifully irreverent stories which blend the surreal and the mundane. Imagine a world where magic exists, where the physical form has the power to heal or repulse, where a deal with the devil means losing so much more than your soul.

PRE-ORDER NOW for Release on 11/24. FREE on Kindle Unlimited.

INCLUDES STORIES BY: Philip Harris, Sessha Batto…

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The Ruby Iyer Diaries – Laxmi Hariharan – Book Review

Mahabore's Mumblings

Goodreads blurb: This novelette is a companion book to The Many Lives of Ruby Iyer. A peek into the soul of an angry, young girl, who will come of age in a city on the verge of total annihilation. Ruby kept a diary from the age of ten till she ran away from home at sixteen. It is from here that I picked out a few diary entries for The Ruby Iyer Diaries. This short series of vignettes from Ruby’s life, tells you more a little more about the origins of Ruby Iyer.

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While I have heard more and enough about The Ruby Iyer series of books I haven’t quite done the honors of actually adding the books themselves to my To Read list and procure them. But when I was approached to read and review the same, I immediately jumped at the opportunity and grabbed it with…

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I can never even admit to myself how many of these incidents actually happened to me in some form … and how they are the real seeds, the origins of RUBY IYER

Glasnost: National Law University Delhi

Untitled.

When I was six years old, I gave my first blowjob.
“It’s a game”, said He. “Don’t you want to play?”
It was too big, and I threw up on him.
He said I’d do better the next time.

When I was seven years old, I watched a group of fellow second graders cheer as a boy in my class tried to kiss me. He hugged me from behind, giggling all the while.
I threw sand in his eyes, and was sent to the Principal.

When I was eight years old, I had an elderly teacher ask me to stay behind in class. He carried me on his shoulders, and called me pretty.
“Teacher’s Pet!” my friends declared, the envy visible on their faces.
They ignored me at lunch that day.

When I was nine years old, an older girl on the school bus would ask me to lift…

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The First Life of Vikram Roy The Ruby Iyer Series—by Laxmi Hariharan: An exclusive excerpt

soniaraowrites

I FREEZE, AND so does the man in front of me. Awareness comes into the Hulk aka Neil’s eyes the same time as mine. The silence around us is eerie … and deafening at the same time. The TV from the recreational room spews forth the endless, high pitched monotone of the news reader. It’s the only sound we can hear, other than the cawing of the ever-present crows outside. Then another shot has both of us dropping to the ground.

Neil crawls across to me, and mirroring my posture sits with his back to the wall. In a few seconds we’ve gone from adversaries to comrades in arms. I am realising there’s more to being part of the force than meets the eye. Perhaps being united for a common cause, for the larger good, really does give you a feel-good high. When you stand shoulder to shoulder with your…

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Review: The First Life of Vikram Roy

Book Gannet Reviews

Title: The First Life of Vikram Roy
Author: Laxmi Hariharan
Series: Ruby Iyer #1.5
Genre: YA Thriller
Length: Short novel
Available: Sept 25th

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LIFETIME earnings from the sales of this book will be donated to SAVE THE CHILDREN: SUPPORT CHILD REFUGEE CRISIS APPEAL . YOU can donate here >
http://www.savethechildren.org.uk/about-us/emergencies/child-refugee-crisis-appeal

This is a standalone novel in the Ruby Iyer Series and traces VIKRAM ROY’S ORIGINS; his coming of age years and how he came to be the RELUCTANT COP he is when he meets RUBY.

His family is being held to ransom by a deadly mastermind.

Vikram never should have left his family, but when Vikram’s father brings his half-brother Vishal home, life will never be the same.

Vikram thinks things will be better now that he’s gone. He’s met the love of his life, his future looks bright and then everything is shattered.

Now, his family’s life is hanging…

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The Ruby Iyer Series

quotidiandose

Today my guest is Laxmi Hariharan and we get an exclusive excerpt from

The First Life of Vikram Roy

The Ruby Iyer Series—by Laxmi Hariharan

When I begin to unbutton my shirt, Ash looks at me with raised eyebrows.

“Really?” She smirks. “In such a hurry?”

“It’s not what you think.” I bite out the words.

Before she can ask any further questions, I wrap the shirt around my fist and use it to break off the jagged pieces of glass on the pane. Then, pushing my arm through the square, I open the lock of the window from inside. Opening it, I grab hold of the window ledge and heave myself over, falling over promptly on the other side.

I am stunned, but bounce back on my feet quickly. Coughing out the dust which streams over my face, I tell Ash, “Come on to the front door.”

Running to…

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Guest Post: Excerpt and Giveaway from THE FIRST LIFE OF VIKRAM ROY by Laxmi Hariharan

Source: Guest Post: Excerpt and Giveaway from THE FIRST LIFE OF VIKRAM ROY by Laxmi Hariharan

Guest Post: Excerpt and Giveaway from THE FIRST LIFE OF VIKRAM ROY by Laxmi Hariharan

Madhuri Writes Things

Today I’m handing the reins of my blog over to the super cool, very capable, but not quite so filthy – actually she’s not filthy at all – YA author and fellow ogler of sexy, tatted up men with loads of facial hair, my brown sister from across the pond, LAXMI HARIHARAN.

She has a new book in her Ruby Iyer series on the way so let me step back and allow her to do her thing.

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An exclusive excerpt from
The First Life of Vikram Roy

The Ruby Iyer Series—by Laxmi Hariharan

I hear the staccato of shots being fired, followed by yells and howls of pain. Then, the sound of something being smashed and everything goes quiet. The TV no longer chatters. I look to the open door. The recreation room is down at the end of the corridor. The sounds of shots get closer. Without giving myself…

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Guest post: On music, writing, after-hours DJs and self-control, by Laxmi Hariharan

Aussie Writers

Today I am so excited to have the lovely Laxmi on the blog. Laxmi’s Ruby Iyer series is set in Bombay and truly captures this fascinating city, while taking readers along on an exciting emotional and action-packed journey. Not only that, but this lovely lady is donating her September proceeds to help Syrian refugees. Thanks for stopping by, Laxmi. – Lauren

I have been meaning to write this post for a while, about music and writing. I can only write with earphones stuck in my ears, music playing over it to drown out all the background noise in my head. It helps me focus. These days it also means applying self-control app to my computer so I also block out all the social media, and newspaper websites and Amazon websites too. Yah, yah. I know. It’s the equivalent of being blinkered, blinded and cut off from hearing anything in the real world…

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#BookReview – THE MANY LIVES OF RUBY IYER by Laxmi Hariharan

Madhuri Writes Things

YA Dystopia
Published November 2014

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Laxmi Hariharan’s RUBY IYER opens with a note from the author that struck a chord and stayed with me throughout my reading of her action-packed, thrilling dystopia.

I wanted to be economically independent. So, everyday I would leave the relative safety of home, knowing that my commute to work was going to be nightmarish. It’s just how public transport is in this city. When you get on a crowded local train platform, you accept that you are probably going to be felt up. Every time this happened to me, I would get really angry. But, I would deal with it and get on. So, when a young photojournalist was raped in the centre of Bombay in broad daylight, I was furious. 

It was as if nothing had changed in all the years I had been away. Then, I had a vision of this young girl…

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Guest Post: Laxmi Hariharan on Why I’m a crowd sourced author, and five things I learnt from writing my last series

Kiran Manral

Beginning this week, I am starting a new series on the blog. Guest posts from folk who have something interesting to say. My little effort at giving back to the blogging community for all the love I’ve received over the years.

Why I’m a crowd sourced author, and five things I learnt from writing my last series

—Laxmi Hariharan

When my last book in the Ruby Iyer series released, I was cautious about the marketing. I knew I didn’t have a choice (or did I?) I assumed I had to go out there and talk about my book, and my writing process and get interviewed in newspapers, and on BBC Asia and write for the Guardian; basically try everything possible to get myself and Ruby out there. And yet the question I kept asking myself all through was. Am I doing this purely to feed my ego – just to…

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India Saga ‘Baahubali’ Targets the World With Ramoji Film City