Showing posts with label Review. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Review. Show all posts

Friday, June 1, 2012

Book Review: How About A Sin Tonight? - Novoneel Chakraborty


What happens when you come across five different people simultaneously? Five very different people. They intrigue you. They attract you, and you feel like knowing them more and more. Once you get introduced to them, you feel like knowing about their past and how they became the person they are at present. Well, you then go on a journey. A long one. You find about the people, understand their lives, comprehend the consequences of the decisions they made and why, feel them around you, and whatnot! When you are done living their lives, you feel a change in you. A big one.

That’s what How About A Sin Tonight? does to you.

Meet Shahraan Ali Bakshi – The Superstar! The guy who rules the hearts and whatnot of girls. The inspiration for all the wannabe actors.  The legend having an innocent but twisted past.

Meet Kaash Sehgal – The upcoming Star! The guy who rose to fame with a critically acclaimed movie. The playboy. The obsessive lover. The mystery.

Meet Nishani Rai – The Star kid!  The diva having blood composed of only one thing – vengeance at any cost. The obsessive hater.

Meet Reva Gupta – The quintessential Icon! The girl with nothing but success in her mind. The girl who knows the best way to grab every opportunity. The confused lover.

Meet Neev Dixit – The Heartthrob! The guy with confused dreams. The seen-it-all and did-it-all guy. The twisted lover.

                                                Love took them. Everywhere.

They all are connected with each other. In some way or the other.

A new movie brings them all together.  They have a past and they have a history among them. What follows is the drama that is sure to move you and will leave you with a lot of questions in your heart and mind.

Novoneel Chakraborty, of A Thing Beyond Forever & That Kiss In The Rain fame, has grown up. In every sense.  Be it writing style, be it the theme, be it the philosophy, be it the characterization or… be it age!

The best thing about it him is he doesn’t feel burdened while writing, he does what he wants. His trademark being the questions raised on the conventions everybody follows blindly and his way of seeing each and everything with a different perspective. That makes him stand out. He will make you feel his characters, he will make you ponder. His hard work is visible in each and every line. You will feel amazed by his knack of presenting things, which you come across everyday and ignore unintentionally, in a manner you never knew existed.

Well, the only downside I came across was Neev’s and Reva’s story. May be for me it was too complex or maybe it was too hard for me to believe their chemistry. But then the story which does not make you challenge the story itself, is never a good story. Also, for some it maybe a downside – you cannot finish this by brewing the pages. You just cannot.
The book demands full attention and concentration. You need to prepare yourself, for the questions and ideologies raised by the characters are sure to touch you somewhere at some point.

All in all, to conclude, How About A Sin Tonight? is basically a character driven novel, in which you don’t have to search for the story or the plot or the thrill or suspense or whatever. You just need to follow the characters to wherever they take you, and believe me, the journey is bound to change you. In one way or more.

Pros: The characters, the writing, the conventional things we do or follow have been questioned, the ideologies and Love!

Cons: Too many characters.

Overall: 4.5/5




Friday, April 29, 2011

Book Review: Cricket Till I Die - Upneet Grover


Fact: Cricket is a religion in our country. Anything related to cricket, even remotely, is expected to be over the top and exciting. You get positive vibes every time cricket is introduced around you in any form. I had the same expectations from Cricket till I die. Did it fulfill my expectations or disappointed me? Well, I cannot say anything specifically to be honest. Read further to know more.

Vineet Grover(the main protagonist in the book: Cricket till I die) is a frustrated IT sector employee who has a boring and monotonous schedule. A 9-5 job, a caring girlfriend, weird boss, some good and some bad friends and a dream. Dream to represent India in cricket at international level. Professionally he wants to crack CAT and get into an IIM to have a good life. He does crack CAT and does get into FMS instead of IIM. Then what? On one journey en route his college he comes across a cricket club. Surreptitiously he visits that club and that single visit changes his life completely. He starts playing and playing well. He gets recognized and is called to a prestigious Delhi Club, where he fails miserably to please selectors. His friend Hardik flies down to Delhi to help him out by making him bat on a cemented pitch, wet ball, bowled by monsters. After dramatically getting selected to the Delhi IPL team he experiences ups and lows and learns a lot from none other than Virendra Sehwag. Does he get selected in the national team? Read the book to know about the future of his dream.

Upneet has used a very fine language with terrific and apt diction throughout the book. A few noticeable printing and editing mistakes I did come across but I think they would be taken care of in the next edition.

The story in the beginning tells us about the life of Vineet, which I found a little boring to be honest. But the anticipation of Cricket’s entry later in the book kept me guessing and I did not feel like letting it down. The moment his dream rekindles, you feel like saying, ‘Wow, now it sounds interesting!’ You feel connected to Vineet consequently. The conundrum he goes through and all. You feel it. The part where he represents the Delhi team in the stadium is the best. Though that part seems unreal at points but you don’t give many thoughts. Rather, you enjoy. The scenes where he faces the ball, scores, gets out and bowls himself are described perfectly. No glitches. The ending, I found to be dramatic. It could’ve been much better but then, the book is about cricket and cricket means expect the unexpected. And it can be good or bad. Again, the ending was not bad, but was dramatic in comparison with the rest of the events described.

All in all, the story told in a simple and an enjoyable way shows how to pursue a dream, even if it seems unreal, without giving up.

Pros: Nice theme. Apt usage of great quotes before every chapter. Simple story. CRICKET!

Cons: Slow start, Dramatic ending.

Overall: Nice Read! 3/5