It’s been a while since I did a Christmas post—therefore, this time round, I decided it was time to mark this festive season with a Christmas special. Not It’s A Wonderful Life or one of those other famous Christmas films, but a little-known one that manages to retain all the sweetness and charm of Christmas, but gives it dark undertones. I’ll Be Seeing You is about Christmas, but it’s also about the demons that haunt people; about pasts and futures; about healing and forgiveness.
Among the lesser-known films for which my Uncle Vernie played was Shrimatiji, made by (and featuring) some of his closest friends. IS Johar, who was one of Vernie Tau’s chums, wrote, directed, and acted in it. The three music composers for the film (Jimmy, Basant Prakash, and S Mohinder) too were friends of Vernie Tau’s, Jimmy an especially close pal.
My father had recently expressed a desire to watch this film, mainly to hear his elder brother’s music. When I discovered it starred Shyama (whose gorgeous smile and dancing eyes make her one of my favourites), I decided I needed to watch it too. And, since the only other film in which I’ve seen Nasir Khan was Ganga-Jamuna, I wanted to see if he was any different in a much earlier film.
Engraved in Stone (Hachette India; 2012. ISBN: 9789350094488), the third book in the Muzaffar Jang series, is set in the winter of 1656-57 CE. This novel finds Muzaffar in Agra. The Mughal armies, led by the ambitious Diwan-e-kul, Mir Jumla, … Continue reading
My Lawfully Wedded Husband & Other Stories (Westland-Tranquebar, 2013) is a collection of black humour short stories: stories that have a hint (or more) of the macabre in them. A young girl, visiting her grandmother in Goa, witnesses the dramatic end of a romance. A passenger on a night train is told about a long-ago tragedy. A bored housewife cheats on her lawfully wedded husband. Some of these stories are more dark than the others; some are more humorous than not. My Lawfully Wedded Husband and Other Stories is available in major bookstores in India, and can be ordered online at Flipkart, Infibeam, Landmark, etc.
The Eighth Guest & Other Muzaffar Jang Mysteries (Hachette India; 2011. ISBN: 9789350092750) is the second book in the Muzaffar Jang series, and takes up where The Englishman’s Cameo left off. The problem of the cameo solved, Muzaffar has acquired somewhat of a reputation as an investigator. This is a collection of ten short mysteries, ranging from an odd bequest, to the theft of some wedding gifts, to the seemingly inexplicable disappearance of a woman travelling in a small caravan…
This is what reviewers had to say:
“…The series of mysteries in this collection are something else – from the elephant that killed his mahout to the murder of an artist, these ten stories will have you wanting more. I am always biased to good mystery stories and when they came with an appropriate historical background, it makes it even better…” – Vivek Tejuja, IBN Live. Read more.
“…In some way, these stories are a welcome break from the abundance of mystery writing that makes it impossible to distinguish one from the other. Where others would be lost for being too commonplace, Liddle has been ingenious in creating a detective who is set in a time which places him far ahead in any competition.” – Chitra Rao, The Asian Age. Read more.
The Eighth Guest & Other Muzaffar Jang Mysteries is available in major bookstores in India, and can be ordered online at Flipkart, Infibeam, Landmark, etc.
Or, download the Kindle edition at Amazon, by clicking here.
The Englishman’s Cameo (Hachette India; 2009. ISBN: 9788190617338), published in French as Le Camée Anglais, is the first Muzaffar Jang book, a story about crime and corruption in Shahjahan’s Dilli. Set in 1656 CE, the novel begins with the young … Continue reading
Today is the 90th birthday of one of Hindi cinema’s greatest legends. Dilip Kumar was born Yusuf Khan in Peshawar on December 11, 1922—and yes, they’re celebrating his birthday in Peshawar too.
Most people tend to associate Dilip Kumar only with sombre, melancholy roles: whether it’s Devdas or Aadmi, Andaaz or Deedaar, Dilip Kumar seems to have been the obvious choice to play the tormented protagonist (hardly a hero in some roles). While his acting as the drunk, or the self-pitying cripple, or the doomed lover—or, actually, just about any other character—was faultless, Dilip Kumar was also splendid as the debonair and dashing hero. Or the clown. Or the flawed, but still attractive lover…
Or, in English, Spring in a Small Town.
In the years this blog has been in existence, I’ve watched and reviewed films in several foreign languages—but never Chinese. Then, some time back, I came across this film, and discovered that in 2005, it was named—by the Hong Kong Film Awards Association—the best Chinese film ever made. That (coupled with the fact that Xiao Cheng Zhi Chun is available in the public domain) made me eager to watch it.
Do you recognise this tune? (The clip’s only a few seconds long, so it won’t take much time to listen to it). I’m sure most of you who like old Hindi film music will be able to guess this one.
O P Nayyar’s favourite guitarist was a man named Hazara Singh, but occasionally, he’d let another guitarist play a piece. As in this case. The man who played the guitar here was my father’s cousin, Samuel Naseeruddin ‘Sammy’ Daula.
For those of you who associate me only with Muzaffar Jang and historical fiction, this may come as a surprise (though a pleasant one, I hope): my third book has been released, and it has very little to do with history.
My Lawfully Wedded Husband and Other Stories(published by Westland Limited, ISBN: 9789381626870) is a collection of contemporary black humour, with some stories being more humorous than black, while others are darker and less funny. All, however, do have one signature element that I particularly like: the twist in the tale.
Dustedoff 