Interstellar - Dunia Melepasi Sempadan

Dah lama saya tak buat Movie Review kan?

Nak kata tak tengok movie, ada je tengok movie tapi bukan la tgk wayang. Cik HB rajin download movie so bila ada masa, layan jugak la. Cuma movie2 yg ditonton tu biasa2 aje, tak worth pon nak cerita dalam blog...hehehe

Semalam cik HB ajak tgk Interstellar, dia kata "you sure suka movie ni". When he said that, I know this must movie berat2 yang memerlukan kita berfikir because that is the kind of movies yang memang saya suka mcm Inception, Shawshank Redemption, A Beautiful Mind,  Silence of the Lambs....

Masalahnya, nak tonton movie2 macam ni you have to really concentrate in order to understand and get the satisfaction watching. Mak mcm saya jarang dapat this privilege sbb although weekends supposed to be your rest days since you are working on weekdays, hakikatnya I am busier on the weekends with housechores and whatnots. 

But cik HB would love me to watch it because he needed to share his opinions and awes and queries with somebody. So since I needed to do  a lot of ironing, so while doing it why not get a movie to watch kan?

Back to Interstellar, I'm not interested to go into details in the storyline, you can always read about it from Wikipedia. It's too scientific and you have to like galaxy, solar system, and autospace-related to understand it . It's supposed to be a mission for these four astronauts to find another planet yang sesuai utk kehidupan manusia sbb Bumi semakin tidak selamat utk diduduki. Perjalanan ini melibatkan konsep time travel and dimensions. Too complicated to understand. But interesting!

In this movie, dikatakan waktu di angkasa adalah 1 jam bersamaan 7 tahun di Bumi. Contohnya waktu Cooper dan kawan2nya meninggalkan space ship induk mereka utk ke Planet Miller , it seems they went just for a few hours but when they got back to main craft, they had actually left for 23 years!

Mengingatkan saya kepada penceritaan dalam Al-Quran tentang perbezaan waktu dunia dan akhirat. Saya google tentang itu dan jumpa ayat2 ini:

Dan sesungguhnya satu hari (menurut perhitungan) Tuhanmu adalah seperti 1000 tahun menurut perkiraanmu." [Al-Hajj ayat 47]

"Dia mengatur urusan dari langit ke bumi, kemudian (urusan) itu naik kepadaNya dalam satu hari yang kadarnya adalah seribu tahun menurut perhitunganmu." [As-Sajdah ayat 5]

Sebab itu harus lah percaya bila dikatakan bahawa kita hidup di dunia ini hanya lah sebentar sahaja mengikut perkiraan masa Akhirat (I read about this from HERE)

Interstellar dah menunjukkan konsep perbezaan masanya disitu...sayang sekali pengarah dan pelakon2nya tak nampak kebenarannya di sisi Islam.

Juga tentang kemusnahan Bumi. Mungkin dalam Interstellar, manusia dapat diselamatkan dengan kebijaksaan manusia. When Cooper was sending message to his daughter on quantum data which supposed to help mankind to survive and he was sending it through the 5 dimensional space, did they think it's possible  if God doesn't allow for it? I guess the flaws in this movie, mereka tak bercakap soal ketuhanan. 

Itu dari kacamata Hollywood...

Tapi utk kita yg menonton Interstellar ini, fikir2kan lah....

Alam ciptaan Allah sangat lah luas

Sampai tak terjangkau dek akal

Bukan kah Allah sudah berfirman:

"Kalau sekiranya lautan menjadi tinta untuk (menulis) kalimat-kalimat Tuhanku, sungguh habislah lautan itu sebelum habis (ditulis) kalimat-kalimat Tuhanku, meskipun Kami datangkan tambahan sebanyak itu (pula)”. (QS. Al Kahfi. 109).

Dan bahawa diakhir nanti kita semua akan kembali kepada Allah...

Disana adalah alam akhirat yang kekal abadi

Dan tak kira la berapa hebat pon kehidupan kita di dunia ini

Ianya hanya akan seumpama mimpi saja nanti....

Lihatlah dengan mata hati...

I Don't Know How She Does It

Ptg semalam lepas keje, sambil2 nak lipat kain sbb nak masak tok leh sbb cik Insyirah kita takde org nak jaga. Cik HB keluar amik sikembar dr sekolah agama. I turned on to Fox Movie dan ternampak movie ini - I Don't Know How She Does It.

Sebab ada Sarah Jessica Parker, I stayed tuned walau kononnya pas cik HB dah balik, I nak masak. Tapi sedap la pulak layan movie ni. Boleh tgk full movienya disini.

Sebab apa? Sebab it reflects how my life is in certain points! How a working mother juggles her career and family at the same. Of course la wataknya adalah  an American lady, lived in Boston but surprisingly what she's dealing everyday at work, with husband and kids mcm sama aje.

So my review goes this way:

Kate Reddy is a working mother of two ( daughter 6yo, son 2yo) who works in a banking world. So setiap hari in her buzy schedule, she would try to manage everything done - works at office and works at home.

Kate's night routine: 

She would fall asleep while waiting for husband for intimate time then wakes up at 4 am and then thinking about "The List" - kid' birthday party, Emily (her daughter) playdate, fill up washer fluid, wax something...anything. On works: finish fiscal report, call Richard's mother (mak mertua!)

My version: Terjaga tgh malam dan dan teringat baju dalam mesin belum sidai, makanan Insyirah utk esok belum buat! Baju belum gosok...bla...bla...Esok meeting, aku dah siapkan semuanya ke belum????

Kate's morning routine: Then she wakes up next morning, get breakfast ready, get Emily ready for school sambil dealing with her tantrum, wait for babysitter to come (babysitter teruk, selalu dtg lambat tapi dia kena buat baik dgn babysitter sbb kalau babysitter berenti, xde org jaga anak!) send Emily to school (selalu kena jeling ngan cikgu sbb selalu lambat...hahaha). Then off to work.

My version: 

Bangun at 5am, pam susu, gosok baju, solat, buat breakfast, siapkan anak2 ke sekolah (sambil menjawab 1001 satu pertanyaan sikembar), siapkan semua beg - nak hantar kat babysitter/daycare, beg pam (7 beg semuanya!) dan hantar Insyirah ke rumah babysitter. Kembar - cik HB hantar...mujur!

Kate at work - Part 1: 

She tried to arrive at office before her boss arrived tp kalau terserempak tu she created reasons for being late...hahaha. She has a junior co-worker, Momo - a young single woman - a Harvard graduate whose hobbies - career...and career. She always sees Kate as a messy working mom - Kate doesn't comb hair properly, there is a stain on her jacket. Momo couldn't understand why Kate constantly checking on her kids - constantly calling her husband to inform she's gonna have late meetings, or be home late. Momo said she doesn't want to have kids and ends up messy like Kate and said "I dont know how she does it"

Another co-worker, or rival-to-be-exact- a guy named Bunce. Suka bodek bos dan takes credit on other people's works, always get the limelight sbb selalu entertain clients - at nightclubs and golf course. A male chauvinist dan selalu kenakan Kate.

Me at work: 

Selalu lambat juga...hehehe. But it's site, ada flexibility. Ada sorang co-worker cam ala2 Momo jugak (penah citer kat SINI). Tapi skrg sy dah abaikan dia sbb dah tak larat dgr komen2 dia pasal my looks, my dirty car, asik  sibuk ngan urusan anak2...bla..bla.

Tengahari akan pegi jemput kembar dari sekolah dan hantar pegi daycare. Then lunch kat umah sambil2 angkat baju dijemuran dan sidai baju yg basuh mlm smlm. Tak pon lipat baju.

Selalu sms cik HB utk bagitau "tengahari ni I x leh amik kembar sbb ada meeting", " I'll be late ptg ni, so tolong amik Insyirah".

Kerja sekarang, takde co-worker kaki bodek yg diketahui tp selalu kena jaga2 dgn taktik contractor yg kadang2 suka tikam belakang. Juga tahan sabar layan kerenah clients yg mcm2.

Kerja dulu - mmg byk species kaki bodek ni. Keje nak senang aje, part2 susah kita buat cam nak rak, tup2 bila dah abis design, suka dia je nak take cover. Projek cikai tak mau, nak projek mega aje...huhuhu.

Kate at work - Part 2:

Her boss broke the news in the meeting that their client, Mr. Jack Abelhammer is interested in Kate's business proposal. So she is to go to New York to have a meeting with this guy. She was happy at first but felt reluctant sbb working outstation will frustrate her family.

Then she received email from her best friend, jokingly asking her to go out for fun night. They chat almost everyday ckp pasal life ans so on. Lepas tu email from Jack Abelhammer, saying that he's looking forward to meet her tomorrow.

She replied both emails, little did she know that the emails sent to wrong recipients!

Me at work:

Keje skrg: penah sekali nama naik utk pegi oversea FAT. Ikutkan mmg nak pegi tambah2 dah lama x naik flight. Tapi bila fikirkan keluarga, tak payah la. Cepat2 kata tak nak. Bukan ada sapa2 nak heran pon sbb mmg ramai berebut nak pegi FAT.

Keje dulu: After 2-3 tahun dok buat projek2 bermasalah, tinggalan sapa2 tah, akhirnya I was rewarded with a new project which I kena buat research and study then come out with design, memang la sgt happy - because you can see your initial printed on the drawings. But the price was - kena selalu outstation! Masa tu kembar kecik, cik HB pon selalu outstation, jadi diorg selalu kena hantar balik kampung. 

Chatting: Yes, I have chatting friends on Skype. Kawan2 zaman uniten. Tapi so far belum tersalah hantar email personal and kerja.

Kate back home on the day:

She broke the news to the family about outstation. Emily got angry. Kate found out her babysitter cut her son's hair without her knowledge. She was darn frustrated coz she never cuts his hair and she wanted to do it on her own. But she couldn't scold her babysitter because she needs to keep her happy!

So she went off to New York crying over the hair cut issue and being separated from the kids.....

In New York:

Together with Momo, they were getting ready for meeting with Jack Abelhammer. Kate was scratching her hair on the way and while Momo looking at her, feeling disgusted. They were in the office lobby when Kate  (on the phone with someone planning for Emily's playdate) had to take out something from her handbag and asked Momo to hold some stuffs from her handbag while she searching for it - you name it - toys, snacks, kids book, toy again, vitamin, girl swimsuit. And Momo looked at her in horror!

(Sama cam my handbag - penuh with kids' stuffs...hahaha)

Then at the lift, she noticed that Momo had a weird look on her, and Momo just said " I dont know how you do it". And Kate told Momo she would know how to do it once she becomes a mother. And Momo said she doesn't want to be a mother. Kate told Momo (while still scratching her hair crazily) " I promise you  that being a mother is the most rewarding and enriching experience one can have" and explained that her hair is itchy maybe because she got her eczema again due to stress.

And Momo looked at her in horrific even more!

Outside Abelhammer's office, she received call from her best friend, asking why she sent email about 'looking forward to see you at the meeting' and she realized that she sent absurd email to Jack Abelhammer. And the guy now standing behind her and she apologized profusely about the email thing.

To make things worse, she received sms "Emily sent home with LICE. Whole family must be treated"

(Part ni mmg hilarious, imagine she had an important meeting, she just found out she had lice on her hair and she kept trying to ignore the itchiness, while presenting her business proposal! Kembar pon kena kutu sebulan dua and sy pon terasa seperti dijangkiti...huhuhu)

But she still managed to make Jack accepted her proposal and he asked her whether she could put her full commitment to this project, working late, travel a lot - knowing that she already has busy life at work and at home.

And she said "Of course I can"

At the same her husband also just got a big project to handle. Kate promised she would manage everything successfully.

So there goes her new routine...

Stay back at the office, sambil keje, sempat dodoikan anak tido through phone (his client was impressed with this),balik rumah sambung buat keje opis lagi campur keje rumah. Ada satu hari tu sepatutnya Kate balik awal sbb husbandnya ada important tp Kate terlupa dan handphone pon off. Bila teringat, it was already late and balik rumah lintang-pukang, thinking the husband are waiting anxiously for her. Turned out, the kids were left with a neighbour whom Kate pon tak berapa kenal and she was sleeping on the couch masa Kate sampai.

Kate was angry but Richard said what she expected him to do? He has his own work too...then they started arguing about how much things one has to do, and another complained how much things one has to tolerate.

*Typical argument of busy working parents...huh?*

Kate continued with busy schedule and went outstations....which meant spending more time alone with Jack Abelhammer (Pierce Brosnan) - a handsome, rich, middle-aged guy...and he's a WIDOWER.

Oh, Momo broke the news that she got pregnant and intended to abort it. Kate persuaded her not to.

Then Thanksgiving came. Kate vowed she would take leave and spend the holiday with the family and would not get the work involved. On the other hand, Bunce was trying to steal her project and told her he can take over if anything needed to be done during the holiday. She said " no, thank you".

But on Thanksgiving night, Momo called her and told her that Jack wanted her to call him back on important notes. Apparently she has to go for a business pitch on the next day because their client is only available on that day and will go off somewhere abroad for a long period. So they have to catch him on time to make sure they secure the business. Jack said if she can't, it's ok because Bunce can replace her.

Of course she said NO, she would go.

So off she went with heavy heart and seeing disappointment in her family's eyes.

Another promise broken.....

The business pitch presentation went well but later Kate was told her little boy was injured and in the hospital. She rushed to the hospital quickly.

Selingan: Statement by Allison (Kate's best friend)  :

A man announces that he has leave office early to be with a child, and he is hailed as selfless, doting paternal role model

A woman announces that she has to leave office early to be with her child on sickbed, and she is downed as disorganized, irresponsible and showing little commitment!

Hmmm...cam betul je kan? 

Kate and Richard argued again that night. Richard was angry because it was very difficult to reach Kate to inform her about the accident. The argument spread to how busy Kate is, she's always not there and even if she's there, she's not really there. Their life revolves around logistics, endless lists and making everyone unhappy and miserable.

Kate made a mental note to herself:

1. Get my life together
2. Stop making lists.

Next morning, while getting Emily ready for school they had a talk. She apologized for leaving them on Thanksgiving night and promised not to do it again. Since she has promised her that they would do snowman together during Thanksgiving, but she broke it, she promised again they do it when there's a snowfall again. But Emily shot her back and told her she made a lot of promised and all have been broken.

Sedih kan bila anak cakap macam tu?

That morning at work, his boss told her that she might have to go to Atlanta for a task and she was speechless.

Jack Abelhammer also came to see her and they took a walk. Jack told her they won the business pitch.

And also he revealed he has some feelings for Kate! And asked Kate whether she has the same feelings or not.

PLATONIC LOVE that is!

But calmly, not even surprised, Kate told Jack she has already Richard in her life and wished Jack will meet someone who will cherished his life. And while they were talking, snow started falling down.

Kate rushed back to the office and went straight to her boss. Bunce was there with some bunch of male staff - having meeting. Kate told her boss she would go to Atlanta on Monday. But her boss said "no, you are going on the weekend, the client is expecting you"

But Kate said "I can't, I am unavailable".

Boss: "Because?"

Kate: "I have to make a Snowman"

She was so determined she did not mind losing her job because:

1. Because she has 2 life and she can't enjoy either one of it.
2. Because trying to be a man, is a waste of a woman
3. Because my kids will be growing up in flash, and I will miss it.
4. Because somehow, somewhere, someday, things have to change

In the meantime, Richard picked up Emily from school and telling her mummy is not coming, not because she doesn't love her but she has to work.

And Emily said " She said she will make snowman with me when there's a snowfall. She promised - twice!"

And then they saw Kate on the school yard, looking for them.

Kate told Richard :

"I know things have to be different, and I know if I don't have this job, things would be better in so many ways, but me without that job, isn't me. And me without you, and Ben and Emily - is nothing"

She told Richard what she told her boss:

"Look, I've given everything I have to this job and I love it, I do...but I can't dump my family  on short notice anymore. If you think what I have given is not enough for you, then fire me but I won't quit, I will not and cannot give up".

Her boss said " Then get out" (She thought she was fired though)

Then her boss continued " Go out. You can go to Atlanta on Monday. Leave now before I reconsider".

And Kate was so happy.

She told Richard from that time on, she would rather making her bosses disappointed than letting the family disappointed.

Richard, on the other is turning himself to be like Kate - he makes lists now! hahaha.

Momo gave birth to a baby boy and instantly loves him...now she knows how does it feel to be a mother.

Movie ni walaupun x mendapat sambutan di US, for me it's a good movie. Biasa la movie2 parenting yg xde unsur2 seks, ganas mmg selalu x dpt sambutan.

Fetih 1453: Kisah Sultan Muhammad Al-Fateh

Tertarik dgn kisah SultanMuhammad Al-Fateh, seorg raja dr Kerajaan Turki Uthmaniyah yg telah berjaya menawan Kota Constantinople yg bertahun2 dikuasai oleh kerajaan Kristian Orthodoks, menemukan sy dengan filem Turki ini. Kebetulan sejak asik membaca pelbagai versi intenet tentang Sultan Muhammad Al-Fateh, tetiba masa jln2 kat Giant, terjumpa VCD movie ini. Walaupun filem Turki sekali pon, x kisah la sbb ada subtitle English. Lagipon telinga sy agak biasa ngan bahasa Turki (walaupun x faham!) hasil dr pengalaman dok kat Raunheim/Ruesselsheim, Germany yg mmg penuh dgn org Turki ye!

Walaupun agak tersasar sedikit dr kisah sebenar (berdasarkan pembacaan sy di internet), Sultan Muhammad Fetih tidak digambarkan seorg yg warak dan tenang, dan sedikit kuciwa sbb ada byk scenes perempuan seksi, juga scene2 intim yg mcm x perlu ada, but still filem ini masih menarik dan jelas tentang perjuangan Sultan Muhammad Fetih menakluki Kota Constantinople.

So if like historical movie, and some more tentang pahlawan Islam, tonton la movie ini.

Nabi Muhammad s.a.w pernah bersabda:

"Kota Konstantinopel akan jatuh ke tangan Islam. Raja yang menaklukinya ialah sebaik-baik raja dan tentera yang berada di bawah pimpinannya ialah sebaik-baik tentera.” [HR Ahmad Bin Hanbal, Al-Musnad (4/335)]

Inception - Between Dreams and Reality

source from HERE

I just watched Inception - a highly intellectual and complex movie I would say but very entertaining and challenges your thinking. No wonder lots of people recommending this movie. Leonardo di Caprio again is a great actor - just like what he was in "Catch Me if You Can" and "Blood Diamond". Cik HB said he just can´t forget image of Leonardo as Jack in "Titanic". Muka jiwang sgt katanya....hahaha. Well, that was like 12 years ago, he was in his early 20´s i guess...now he´s much better than that.

Ok, i´m not going to talk about Leonardo - hot looking people is no longer a priority for me when I choose a movie. It´s more the story line and the acting skills that matter!

Inception is a story about a group of people stealing information from people´s sub-conscious mind (sleeping/sedated) through dreams. I´m not going to go into details of this movie, you can always read about the movie from Wiki.

I just want to make a review based on my own perspective. The way I understand the movie. It was really difficult to understand the whole situation at the beginning of this movie and you have to really concentrate in order to understand. And some more with the scientific vocabularies and what not, I made cik HB downloaded the English subtitles so I can follow the story much better (well, I´m not a native English speaker, some US/British accents may sound alien to me!) . The word like espionage is a new vocab I learned from this movie.

The main character - Dominic Cobb is the one who led the operation but he had a dark secret that haunted him and affected his job - the memory of his dead wife, Mal . Towards the end of the movie, Dom confronted the memory of his wife and revealed why the wife is dead. It appeared that they once had been trapped in a dream which made them in a state of limbo they lived for so long, and they only escaped the dream by planning their death. Mal, spending so much time in dreams (she and Dom were experts in sub-conscious field), can´t differentiate life between real and dreams that one day she decided to commit suicide because she thought her real life is a dream.

Cik HB said this movie is unreal. That you be in someone´s dream and you actually create the dreams and some more with three-layer dreams and you actually can die in real world when you die in your dream (when you are on sedative). Well, it´s not impossible. There are a lot of studies, researches made to understand human complexities -physical and mental. And knowledge is so wide, only Allah s.w.t knows everything. So yes, anything is possible.

Like I said to cik HB last night, after watching

"do you think people who lived 100 years ago might have thought that it´s possible to communicate with people who lived thousands km away with audio and video visual on real time?"

And you know the answer!

Science is magnificent but we know what is more magnificent.... Do research and study all the science aspects but it´s all to remind us what is more powerful above all - ALLAH. sw.t - the ONE who creates everything - the things we know and don´t!

So if you are looking for some mind-pondering movies, watch this movie. It´s kind of heavy and the ending is tricky because they let you think whether Dom has came back to reality or still dreaming but I find it so entertaining.

Shrek Forever - Family Values

Hari2 dok rumah dan mengadap keje2 rumah yg x penah abis dan layan kerenah anak2 yg kadang kala boleh buat sy sakit jiwa, mmg memenatkan. Kadang2 tu sy merungut gak dlm hati, walau tahu x baik merungut - x ikhlas namanya! Tapi hati kita ni kan kadang2 jahat...suka je mencetuskan kontroversi.

Baru ni sy tgk Shrek Forever - the last sequel of Shrek movies. Sy mmg dah naik hafal dah citer Shrek dr first sequel sampai third sequel, disebabkan berkali2 tgk demi melayan kerenah anak2 yg mcm x jemu aje tgk movie2 Shrek. So this fourth sequel is something that I looked forward to watch.

Mcm biasa, movie Shrek ada byk good values yg boleh dipelajari. Sesuatu yg menyentap perasaan sy sendiri. Kisah kali ni, Shrek yg telah dikurniakan anak kembar 3 bersama Fiona, menjalani kehidupan sbg bapa yg penuh dgn tanggungjawab dan rutin. Mula2nya Shrek excited, tapi lama-kelamaan Shrek mula jemu dgn kehidupannya yg sgt rutin dan hectic dan memenatkan...maklum la jaga anak kembar 3, sy yg jaga anak kembar 2 pon huru hara!

Shrek mulai terkenang2kan kehidupan ogre nya dulu - yg lone langer tapi penuh kebebasan. Dia rindu nak menjadi ogre yg digeruni ramai sbb by now semua org dah tak takutkan Shrek lagi, in fact ada yg siap mempermain2kan Shrek lagi.

image from here

Then, waktu harijadi pertama si kembar 3, Shrek menjadi terlalu tertekan dgn perasaannya dan hilang kawalan bila dia menjerit sekuat hati tetapi dianggap bergurau oleh rakan2 dan keluarganya. Dek kerana terlalu marah Shrek telah menghancurkan kek harijadi anak2nya dan membuatkan semua org terkedu.

Fiona dan Shrek bertengkar dan Shrek said something he would have regret later - Shrek berkata dia telah menyesal kerana menyelamatkan Fiona dan menyebabkan kehidupannya bertukar. Fiona yg sedih pulak berkata, dia tak faham kenapa Shrek tak bersyukur dgn kehidupan yg dia ada skrg. Ada isteri, ada anak, ada kwn2 dan disayangi semua. Fiona kemudiannya berlalu pergi.

Malangnya pertengkaran mereka didengari si Rumpelstiltkin. Mamat ni dulunya hampir membuat perjanjian dgn ayah Fiona (King of Far Far Away) utk membantu mengakhiri sumpah Fiona yg penah pd waktu malam bertukar menjadi ogre (sila rujuk Shrek 1)....dgn syarat King harus la menyerahkan takhtanya kpd Rumpelstiltkin. Tp by the time the King nak sign the contract, came the news that Fiona had been saved. From that on, hidup Rumpelstiltkin menjadi huru hara dan dia berdendam dgn Shrek kerana telah menyelamatkan Fiona sekaligus menghancurkan impiannya.

So Rumpelstiltkin telah membuat perancangan utk mengenakan Shrek. Rumpelstitkin telah berjaya memujuk Shrek utk menikmati kehidupan sbg ogre seperti dahulu dgn menandatangani kontrak dgnnya.

Shrek dpt kehidupan lamanya tapi kemudiannya sedar bahawa dgn kehendaknya itu, kehidupannya bersama Fiona dan anak2 tak penah wujud. Rumpelstitskin telah memporak-peranda kehidupan semua org mengikut kehendak hati dia. Fiona, Donkey, Puss semuanya wujud dlm dimensi hidup Shrek terkini tapi malangnya semua org tak kenal Shrek. Ini kerana Shrek wished that he never saved Fiona therefore all related characters tak mengenali Shrek.

Shrek mula panik dan nak semula kehidupannya bersama ahli keluarga. Dgn bantuan Donkey, Shrek mengetahui yg dia boleh menghapuskan kontraknya by True Love Kiss. Dan Shrek mencari Fiona sbb pd Shrek Fiona adalah his true love. Again, Fiona x mengenali Shrek dan Shrek terpaksa berhempas pulas to win Fiona's heart tapi masih gagal. Bagaimanapun Shrek dan Fiona bekerjasama menentang Rumpelstitskin.

Akhirnya, utk menyelamatkan Fiona, Shrek sanggup berkorban diri but before he vanished into the thin air, Fiona kissed him and miracle happened. Sedar2 Shrek telah kembali ke waktu majlis harijadi anak2nya - moment sebelum dia memecahkan kek harijadi. Bila tersedar, Shrek memeluk Fiona dan anak2nya dan sedar mereka adalah yg paling berharga dlm hidupnya.

END.

So, kesimpulannya, sayangi dan hargai la apa yg anda miliki dlm kehidupan. Kadang2 benda yg ada depan mata, people always take it for granted and realised how much important it is once it's gone.

3 IDIOTS

I am not a big fan of Bollywood movies. Used to watch a lot during my study years due to peer pressure (peer pressure ke? sendiri dok ulang tayang citer Kuch2 Hota Hai berkali2 tu apahal? kan cik Ma kan?)

In the recent years I hardly watch any Bollywood movies unless if I really have nothing to do and there's nothing to watch which is hardly the case because there are so many interesting things to watch - the Korean series, the Hollywood stuffs. `I actually have become judgmental toward Bollywood movies as I thought Bollywood movies always have the same story lines : man-woman complicated loves and series of songs and dancing. And besides, there's nobody to watch it together (it's a big NO-NO to cik HB when it comes to Bollywood movies). So I don't even bother to check out the Bollywood movies anymore.

Not that I have realized that Bollywood movies apparently have evolved into something more sophisticated, brilliant and mind-pondering masterpieces.

It is all began when I keep reading in the newspaper about Aamir Khan's international success in several Bollywood movies. It made me wonder, what is it so good about his acting, that he kept receiving praises. So I decided to check out at Youtube, and I selected randomly one of his latest movie called Taare Zameen Par. And the movie managed to make me watch it for several parts and cik HB became interested too. However, I didn't finish watching coz I had chores to do. And after several hours when I thought I wanted to continue watching the movie, cik HB told me he had downloaded another Aamir Khan's movie called 3 IDIOTS.

And I was like 'What???? Cik HB downloaded Bollywood movie?'

He said since there are enormous good comments on this movie, maybe we should try watch it.

So we did.

And it was beyond my expectation. The movie is awesome! It's brilliant and hilarious. If you like those Hollywood movies like Forest Gum or Beautiful Mind, then this movie is for you. No, it doesn't have the same story line but I classified the genre of this 3 Idiots as similar as the two mentioned. And even better!

And trust me, you won't get annoyed with the singing and dancing because that part of scenes play important roles in the movie. Besides, that singing and dancing parts are less than the normal Bollywood movies. If I'm not mistaken, about 2 or 3 songs only. I guess, being a Bollywood movie, it's just their nature to have the songs, huh?

The movie tells you about meaning of life, friendship, family values, love. And you going to laugh, at some points maybe even cry, and it makes you ponder. And if you study engineering, you'll appreciate this movie even more ^-^.

Aamir Khan's acting is really COOL....imagine a 40-something man (he was born in 1965) taking role of 20-something college student. And it doesn't seem awkward in your eyes. He deserves all the good comments.

I'm not going to write the movie review. As I watched, I was frustrated because the English subtitles were missing at several parts. So I'm thinking to find a better version of this movie.

Check out yourself the trailer:

The Devil Wears Prada

I had just watched The Devil Wears Prada (yeah, I know it's an old movie but only now I got to watch it). I like it but I wish I had read the novel first because the novel usually tells story better then the adapted movie.

This movie is like Ugly Betty the TV series, it is about working in a fashion magazine. To start with, it was about a young girl, Andrea or Andy who had landed a job as a second personal assistant to a famous fashion magazine editor, Miranda Priestly. It was a job described as 'million girls would fight to get'. Andy, who was not obsessed with fashion and dressed herself in less glamorous state, found herself in an awkward environment where everybody else had their up-to-date clothes and high heels on. Apparently, it was a standard set up by Miranda unofficially.

She was advised by a fellow colleague, an art director to be exact, Nigel to change her image and follow suit the fashionable custom. Andy refused at first, saying that she would never change herself to be someone she is not. Fashion to her is not that important. Besides, she was thinking to become a serious journalist, so working in 'Runway' was part of the exposure she needed for working experience.

Anyway, after one incident in which Miranda and cruelly lectured her on her role as a personal assistant (she had failed to get a flight back to New York for Miranda the previous night, it wasn't really her fault as it was a stormy night and no aeroplane was allowed to be flying,but Miranda just being difficult and impossible!), Andy made a decision to change whatever it takes to make Miranda happy including changing her image. So with Nigel's help she changed into a fashionable, stylish girl. And she was also very committed in her work, and her relationship with her boss, Miranda improved.

Now that Andy had showed her capability and how smart she was in doing her job, Miranda had favored Andy over her first personal assistant, Emily. So one fashion show that to be held in Paris, and Emily was supposed to go, Miranda had changed her mind into taking Andy instead. Andy was reluctant, knowing how much Emily had been waiting the opportunity to go to Paris with Miranda. But Miranda didn't give her any choice, that Andy must go and Andy herself must break the news to Emily.

When Andy was about the break the news to Emily (they were talking on the handphone, Andy was in the office and Emily was running on the road, doing task for Miranda), Emily was hit by a car. Anyway, Emily was not badly injured, so Andy had to break the bad news about Paris to Emily in the hospital. Emily was obviously dissappointed with the news, so she chased Andy out from the room.

Meanwhile, there was a gap in Andy's relationship with her boyfriend and best friends eversince she worked in 'Runway'. Her boyfriend couldn't understand why Andy was so committed to Miranda that she was willing to sacrifice a lot. And without her boyfriend's knowledge, Andy met a guy who is a well-known figure in fashion world, Christian in which they became quite intimate after sometime. Before her trip to Paris, Andy somehow had quarrelled with her boyfriend and he had made her to choose; whether it's him or her job. Andy chose the latter.

In Paris, Nigel told Andy that he was going to be a creative director for this rising fashion designer, and the job was recommended by Miranda. Andy also met Christian at the fashion show and since Christian had openly flirting with her from beginning, and now she had broke up with her boyfriend, she went out with Christian and spent the night with him.

The next day when she woke up in Christian's hotel room, she accidently saw a portfolio of 'Runway' cover page. She asked Christian what was it about and Christian popped the news that Miranda's position as editor will be replaced by another person, Jacqueline (she is the editor of 'Runway' of French edition and Miranda's enemy) and Christian was going to work with the new editor. Andy was so shocked to hear the news, knowing very well how Miranda had put her whole life for 'Runway'. Besides, just the other night, Miranda had sadly confessed to Andy that her marriage was falling apart and soon there would be a divorce, so Andy felt it was her duty to tell Miranda of the news before Miranda knew about it officially.

However, throughout the day, Andy failed to tell Miranda of the news. When it came the official 'Runway' event, and Miranda had given a speech, she had announced that Jacqueline was leaving 'Runway' as she was going to be the creative director for the rising fashion designer (the one supposed to be Nigel's job). Andy, Nigel and Christian were shocked to hear the news.

In the car, Andy asked Miranda about the whole thing. Miranda had revealed that she knew about the replacement plan long before Andy did and that was why she was making her own arrangement into making Jacqueline the creative editor. Andy argued that Miranda shouldn't do it that way as Miranda had promised that the job should be Nigel's. Miranda said she had to things in order to survive and she saw Andy was no difference than she was. Andy was surprised, she couldn't agree with that. Miranda reminded her of Emily, how Andy had stabbed her in the back by accepting the offer to go to Paris. And when Andy tried to object Miranda said, yes, Andy did it to survive!

Then it occured to Andy how much she had changed and what she would become if she continued working in 'Runway'. So right after emerging from the car, Andy left her million-girls-would-fight-for job and returned to New York. She met her boyfriend and said how much she had realised that she had been wrong and she wanted to be herself again. The relationship reconciled. Then Andy went seeking for another job and at one interview, the interviewer had told her that when he called 'Runway' to get some testimonial from 'Runway'. Andy was speechless, at the moment she thought she would not get the job. But the interviewer said that he had received a testimonial from Miranda herself saying that he was a fool if he didn't hire Andy. So Andy got the job.

On her way home, Andy walked pass 'Runway' building and she called Emily. Emily who was obviously angry with Andy (for going to Paris and subsequently left her job, making Emily busier than ever, did not sound so friendly to receive her call. But Andy quickly said now she's no longer working in the fashion line, she just wanted to give her all the glamorous free dresses she received in Paris (one of the reason why Emily wanted to go to Paris so much). Emily softened down and agreed to accept the dresses. Then when Andy hang up she saw Miranda on her way to get into a car. When Miranda noticed Andy was there, Andy quickly raised her hand to acknowledge Miranda. Miranda as cold as she was always be, didn't even smile back and got into the car. But she was smiling then. Andy, knowing now what good deed Miranda had done for her, walked away and smiled.

End of story.

*************************************************************************************

Well, I know how it felt to have an evil boss. I guess who have been reading my blog from beginning, know better. Anyway, in Andy's case, she's a PA (personal assistant) so she got to do whatever it is that corcerning her boss. But I was ARE (assistant Resident Engineer) so my job scope should not involve anything personal including being a driver when my boss didn't feel like driving.

Oh, on this driving issue, I'm smiling right now when I remembered back what I've gone through. I guess I haven't told driver story things yet in my blog.

My ex-boss lived in Muar, I lived in Melaka and we worked in Yong Peng. So when he didn't feel like driving, he called me up early in the morning to fetch him at his house and he told me it didn't have to be so early. I remember on one occasion, he asked me to be at his house at 10 am, and I complied. When I arrived there, her elderly mother told me he went out for some business, and I was to wait. Know how long I waited? 2 hours!!! And that happened quite frequently, my ex-colleagues always asked how long did I waited everytime I had to be the driver....huhuhu

That one of those horrible things I've experienced. So I'm telling you guys, if you happen to have a devil boss, get away from him/her as soon as possible. Even if it a dream job! It's not good for your health, not good for your inner strength too. Working for someone evil would probably make you an evil too one day if you fail to manage yourself.

Movie Review: Gracie's Choice

This movie is based on a true story and always being aired on Hallmark Channel, it doesn't feature any famous actor/actress but I find this movie is very inspiring and touching. So I have watched several times and think to share the movie review here. Happy reading...

Gracie Thompson was a teenage girl lived with a junkie mom, Rowena and 4 other siblings, Rose, Johny, Brian and Ryan. Each of her sibling was offspring of different father. Gracie herself had not seen her father since she was 2. Her mom was unemployed and they lived on small amount of welfare money. Not only it was small money, her mom even spent the money to buy drugs. They lived in a messy condition, Gracie always skipped school cause she needed to help taking care her younger siblings and doing house chores. Her mom was too busy doing drugs or spending time with her boyfriends. One time, her mom went missing for 3 days and there was no money or food left for the children. When Rowena came home, she only brought with her dough nuts and a new boyfriend, whom appeared to be nice and caring to Gracie and her siblings but later tried to rape her. Gracie fought back but was beaten by the man. When her mom came to her rescue, the guy claimed that Gracie tried to seduce him. Gracie tried to tell her mom the truth, but her mom quieted her down by asking her to forget what had happened. Rowena said she was still young, and needed a male company so she asked Gracie not to ruin it. (Can u imagine what kind a mother is that?).

Another time, since Rowena had not paid the rental of the flat they lived in, they were chased out and had no where to go. Rowena planned to go back to her mother but it was a long drive. So they stopped at a motel but she had no money to pay for it. What she did, she asked her children to hide in their car, she and Gracie went to see the manager in-charge, pretending that they were in emergency and couldn't pay the money that night, but waiting for her grandma to come next day with the money to help them. The manager trusted her and they stayed at the motel that night. But early in the morning, they fled away.

Rowena's mother is an old, church-going lady, lived by herself. She said she couldn't keep cleaning the mess Rowena kept making, so she gave her some money and asked her to go somewhere else. Rowena did, they found another place to live. But not long after that, their house was raided by the police (because Rowena kept drugs) and Rowena was sent to the prison. Gracie and her siblings were separated and sent to different foster homes. Gracie and Rose were sent to a teenage center but they couldn't adapt staying there. Rose kept fighting with other girls and Gracie helped but she was the one who got punished. Gracie demanded to call her grandmother and her grandmother came to claim them from the centre. Her grandma had made arrangement with the court for all the children to stay with her. But it came with few conditions. That Rowena couldn't come and see the children or stay with them or else the children will be under the guardian of the court. Her grandma is the official guardian and she received certain amount of money from the welfare department to raise the 5 kids.

As her grandma was old and weak, Gracie was the one running around to manage everything, from taking care her siblings, doing house chores, going to school and doing part time job. Until one day, she bumped into her school's counselor and was summoned to her office. This counselor found out about Gracie's background and advised her to concentrate on her study. Gracie told her she couldn't but the counselor told she had to in order to straightened her life. She then left.

A boy in her school was attracted to Gracie when he first saw her running in the sport field. This boy, Tommy was an excellent student in the school and came from a wealthy family. He wanted to give a lift to Gracie in his sporty car but Gracie turned it down. He then joined her took a bus to Gracie's house. Gracie told him about her life and expected Tommy to give up but Tommy didn't. Instead, their relationship grew intimate. Gracie also had established good relationship with her counselors and was doing good academically despite her hectic lifestyle.

However, Gracie faced a dilemma when her sister, Rose was pregnant and wanted to move out to stay with her boyfriend. Gracie worried that Rose, who was only 14 turn out to be like their mother but Rose claimed that she wouldn't. Gracie couldn't do anything about it, she had to let her go.

One night, Gracie invited Tommy to have dinner at her house. In the middle of dinner, Rowena showed up with a stranger whom she introduced as her current boyfriend. Apparently, Rowena had just been released from prison. Everybody surprised but the boys were happy to see their mom again. Sensing that things will not be good, Gracie called her mom for a private talk. She told her not to ruin their life again and she better go away because if the court found out she's there, they all would be taken away. Rowena looked hurt with Gracie's words, but she manipulated her by saying she loved them all, she wouldn't want to ruin their happiness. (yeah, sooo right!).

So Rowena and her boyfriend discreetly staying with them. And she had been using the money they received from welfare department on drugs and beers. One day, Gracie was invited by Tommy's parents for dinner. Gracie was nervous but Tommy's parents were very nice to Gracie, she liked them very much. She didn't hide the facts about her family and she even asked whether she could bring home the leftover foodfor her family. Tommy's mom was so delighted with her. When Gracie went home, she overheard conversation between her grandma and her mother. Among the things spoken, was her grandma complaining about her mother doing 'exercise' with her boyfriend in front of the boys, about them drinking and smoking in the house. Her grandma said the allowance money will come tomorrow, and asked Rowena to take it and go away. Her mom started accusing her grandma for hating her, that was why she asked her to go away. Her grandma was a soft-hearted person, she apologized to Rowena for making her felt that way without realizing that Rowena was actually manipulating her. Gracie knew her mom so well, she knew that Rowena would stay for the money and worsened their life.

Gracie decided to tell her counselors about her mom and they advised her to get her mom out of the house because if the court finds out, there was no way Gracie and her brothers could stay together. Gracie went home and confronted her mom. They had a big fight, her mom said Gracie had no right to decide things in their house. Even when her grandma tried to stop the fight, she was pushed aside by Rowena.

"You're not the mother, I am", Rowena said screaming to Gracie, pushed her to the floor and bet her.

And Gracie fought back by saying " You are never a good mother, you have us so that you could get money from the welfare. Too bad you had few miscarriages before, or else you'll get more money!"

Those words made Rowena cried and stop beating Gracie. She walked off from the house. The boys who watched the ugly scene, were so frightened. That night they talked about their future and Gracie felt she needed to do something to avoid their mom coming back and ruin things.

With the help of her counselors, Gracie went to the court applying for taking in charge the custody of her brothers from her grandma. She told the court that if their grandma continued being their guardian, she would get the money from the welfare in which she would give it to their mom. It's not that Gracie didn't love her grandma but her grandma had soft spot when it comes to her daughter, Rowena. Even her grandma agreed to release the custody of the children to Gracie.

The presiding judge said this case is very complicated, that he never came across a 16-year-old teenager asking for custody of a child, and this is not only a child, it involved 3 children. But since Gracie received strong recommendations from her counselors and she had good reputation in school, the judge granted her the custody of the children under 3 months probation. With conditions that she has to find a decent place for accommodation, a car and must manage her brothers' welfares. Gracie said she could do it. She found a house to which she decorated the way she wanted and bought a cheap car. And of course, Tommy helped her all the way.

Things went well, the custody period had been extended because the welfare officer found that Gracie managed everything well, she got good grades at school and her counselor and Tommy asked her to apply for college scholarship. Gracie was reluctant at first about going to college because she didn't want to leave her brothers but Tommy convinced her that the boys can stay with her grandma when she goes to college. So Gracie applied.

One day, while working at the cafe (she had been promoted from waitress to manager now), she received a call telling that her grandma was hospitalized. Gracie rushed to the hospital, her grandma was so ill that she thought Gracie was Rowena and started saying weird things. She then passed away.

At the funeral, Gracie and her siblings were wondering whether their mom was coming or not. And Rowena only showed up at the reception after the funeral (again with new boyfriend), didn't show any grief at all upon her mother's death. She said to Gracie and Rose, that if they need any of the grandma's possession, just tell her because she intended to sell the house. She then asked for the boys who were playing at the back garden. When she called them, the boys were reluctant to go to her because they haven't seen her for quite sometime and the last time they saw her, she had brutally attacked Gracie, so of course they were scared. But Rowena kept coaxing the boys and finally they hugged her happily. They too, missed their mom although she wasn't a good mother. Gracie and her pregnant sister, Rose looked from afar, wondering whether she was staying or leaving and take the boys with her.

Rowena left, without taking the boys which brought relief to Gracie and life goes on. One day, Gracie received a letter stating that her college scholarship application had been approved. She went to work after that and was informed that there was a guy wanting to see her. When she approached the guy, the guy said that she must give him a hug, to which she was saying " who the hell are you?" Apparently, the guy was her father whom she barely remembered. Her father asked for a private talk coz he said he needed to discuss something important. When Gracie asked why her father had never contacted her all this while, he looked uncomfortable and gave lame excuses that her mother didn't allow him to see or contact her. And when Gracie questioned him further, he got mad. So Gracie became suspicious and asked why now he came to see her. Apparently he came because he wanted Gracie to sign some legal papers. It appeared that Rowena has gone to the court and applied for back charge child support from him for all her 5 kids. So he wanted Gracie to verify that besides her, the other 4 kids were not belonged to him, that he left the family many years before the other kids were born.

To which Gracie snapped to him " They are not yours! They are mine!", quickly signed the papers, shoved it off to her father and walked off by sarcastically saying "Good luck, dad".

Then, it was Gracie's high school graduation's day. Gracie graduated as one of the top students. After the graduation, with Tommy by her side, her counselor came to greet her and popped the news about her scholarship in which Tommy knew nothing about it. Tommy's expression changed and he questioned Gracie about it during their special dinner celebrating their graduation. Gracie said she kept it as a secret because she was not sure about going to the college because now her grandma had gone, she had nobody to leave the boys with. Tommy said she could just leave the boys to foster home, or just let somebody adopt them. It made Gracie upset, she said, if they were to be adopted, she'll be the one who adopt them. She wanted Tommy to adopt them together with her but Tommy refused, saying that he was only 19, he didn't want to be burdened with caring for kids and he wanted kids of his own, not them. Which made Gracie surprised because she thought Tommy loved her brothers all this while. They broke up that night and before Tommy left, he told Gracie that her family was ruining her life, and she didn't even know it. Gracie cried.

After that night, it made Gracie thought about adopting her brothers to ensure their future's custody. Her mom's erratic behaviors and Tommy's dishonesty about loving her brothers, made Gracie realized that her brothers needed her. She tried to find any lawyer who was willing to bring her case to the court because since she's under age, applying for adoption was not easy. Not many agreed to help her but she managed to get one. If her adoption approved, the kids' parents (which were her mom and unknown fathers) had no right to the children anymore and Gracie would not have to worry about them being taken away from her.

Finally her case brought to the court for hearing. That day she brought all her 3 brothers to the court. While waiting to be called, she went to toilet. She was actually nervous about doing this. When she came out from the toilet, her mom was already there, talking to the boys lovingly. She wore decent dress and she looked decent too (she always wore hippies style). "Isn't mom look beautiful?" Ryan said to Gracie. Apparently Rowena had been telling the boys that she now lived in a ranch in Wyoming and will taking them to live with them. She said they could ride on her white horse. Gracie didn't know whether her mom was telling the truth or what, but she knew her mom was trying to buy the boys because of this adoption things.

Gracie and Rowena were the first called into the court. They debated why Gracie should be granted the adoption. Rowena said Gracie shouldn't because she was too young and since she had sex with her boyfriend, Tommy in the house, she didn't show good examples to the kids (yeah, speak for yourself, Rowena). After the long argument, the judge decided it's the best to call the boys and let them decide with whom they wanted to stay with.

Johny was the first one being asked with whom he wanted to live with. Johny looked at her mom and said "I love you, mom, but I want to live with Gracie".

Rowena became panicked. She accused that Gracie had poisoned the boys' mind to go against her. The judge asked her to be quiet and turned to Robbie for his answer.

Robbie looked sad and said "Gracie is the one who feeds us, changed our diapers when we were babies, she reads to us and teach us, aren't those things done by a mother? With this, Johny looked at her mom and interrupted " Mom, you know that's true!"'

And Rowena started crying.

Robbie then looked up at the judge and said confidently " I want to stay with Gracie"

It was Ryan's turn now and Robbie was the one asking him "Ryan, be focus. Who you want to live with?"

Ryan said " I want to go to Wyoming, I want to ride the white horse mom told me about" Rowena had started smiling when she listened this and said "yes baby, yes".

But Ryan continued with "But I want to go home and sleep with Gracie at night". With that, the judge concluded that Ryan also wanted to live with Gracie.

The judge then came out with this statement " I think these children have found stability in their life and I don't want to disturb that. Miss Lawson (Rowena), I know you love your children but it is too late now. I declare that the rights of the parents are terminated."

With that, Rowena became hysterical. She started screaming and crying "Is that all? I don't get to see my children anymore?" A security guard came to take her away because she was making havoc in the courtroom but she pushed him aside and walked out. Before she left, she said to the kids "I will always love you all. I will find you no matter where you go".

After she left, Gracie and her brothers hugged together happily. The judge told them before she could declare that they are now a new family, they needed to give her their new surname.

They went out from the courtroom and discussed. Ryan wanted their cat's name but every body rejected. Johny saw a name on the wall, and suggested 'Weatherly" because their life was constantly storming before. Everyone agreed and told the judge. So the new family was now declared as "The Weatherly"

In the end of the movie, a conclusion came out on the tv screen, stating that after that, Gracie had been working and studying at the same time, graduating with CGPA of 3.9. Her brothers were excellent at school and Ryan wanted to be a judge someday.

Very long review, huh? Sorry, I got carried away in writing this cause I have watched the movie many times, I could even memorized the script :))

Movie Review : Provoked

I didn't plan to watch TV last night, but while waiting to use the bathroom because cik HB was in it (it was 9 pm, and I hadn't take my bath yet, 'cuti' from solat made me completed the cooking and house cleaning first before taking bath), I browsed the TV channels and noticed that Ashwarya Rai was in a movie aired on Astro Kirana. This is not a typical Bollywood movie cause I will not spend my time on weekdays night watching a Bollywood movie. When I checked the info box, it said the movie is based on a true story, about an abused woman who killed her husband. It sounded so interesting, so I decided to watch it, forgetting that I had not taken bath yet.

Prologue

The movie started by showing Aishwarya ( She played as Kiranjit Aluhwalia in this movie) being taken to the prison. (Note: this movie was based in UK). She was charged with attempted murder of her husband. Apparently she has set fire on her husband while he was sleeping. Not long after that, her husband, Deepak (played by Naveen Andrews, he's the Iraqi guy in 'Lost' ) died due to the critical injuries from the fire. Kiranjit then was convicted with murder charge of course.

Kiran's Background

As the movie showed flashbacks of Kiran's past, her life with her husband from the day they got married, it was reflected that Kiran has been physically, mentally and sexually abused by her husband. Kiran was a typical Indian woman, being raised in a traditional Indian-Punjabi family in a remote village in India. It was an arranged marriage, she met the husband on the day they tied the knot. When she expressed her worries to be married to a guy that she hardly knew, a family member convinced her that this guy she was about to marry is a good guy, with stable income, and will take a good care of her. Furthermore, she will venture a promising life in UK. See, her husband was an Indian-Punjabi guy being raised and based in UK, so right after the wedding, Kiran followed her husband to the new country and new life.

The Abuse

The first physical abuse she got, was when they came home after a dinner arranged by Deepak's friends. This one friend, asked Deepak to dance with Kiran but Deepak refused. Instead, he insisted this friend to dance with Kiran. Kiran was reluctant at first but since Deepak insisted so much, she agreed. And the dance did not involve any physical touch between Kiran and the guy she danced with. After a while, she enjoyed it and started laughing with the guy. Deepak who was watching, started showing jealousy impression. When they reached home, Deepak started accusing that this friend has fallen for Kiran and Kiran also seemed to be interested in this guy. Kiran denied it and said that Deepak was being foolish by saying those things. And instantly, Deepak hit Kiran on her face that she fell down and her mouth bled. Deepak, however apologized profusely for his act, giving excuses that he loved Kiran so much, he couldn't stand to see Kiran with another guy. (So ironic, huh? He was the one who insisted!)

Then series of abuse followed in their 10 years of marriage (they then have 2 sons) . Deepak committed adultery openly and when Kiran questioned about it, he beat her brutally . He spent his money on liquor and women and left just a small amount of money for Kiran to buy house expenses. And when Kiran asked how she would survive with small amount of money, he said 'Go ask from your brothers!'. When he was drunk, he forced Kiran to have sex in brutal manner. He constantly scolded Kiran for the way she dressed, she acted and even for drinking black coffee and watching TV! One scene, Kiran was heavily pregnant trying to persuade Deepak not to go out (because she knew that Deepak was going to see his lover) but Deepak pushed her aside and Kiran fell down the staircase.

The First Court Trial

Kiran was very unfortunate in her first court trial. When her mother in-law was called to give testimony and she was asked how was the relationship between Kiran and her husband and whether she has witnessed any abuse on Kiran, the flashback showed while Kiran was cooking with her mother in-law, Deepak suddenly dashed into the kitchen, hit and straggled Kiran because he accused that Kiran had humiliated him by calling his office and talking to the woman that he has affairs with. If it not of his mother protecting Kiran, Deepak must have killed her. However, instead of telling the truth, the lady mentioned that Kiran was an arrogant and bossy wife and she has NEVER witnessed any of the abuses as claimed by Kiran. ( I guess, because she is Deepak's mother, she wouldn't want to admit the bad sides of her own son, besides she must be very angry that her daughter-in-law has killed him no matter how bad he was).

One of the witness, a policeman who first arrived at Kiran's house after receiving report on the fire, has actually found Kiran in bewilderment and not in the state of awareness. But just before he went into the court, his superior has warned him not to tell the truth as he did not want another crime case to slip away from punishment (he strongly believed that Kiran is an evil lady for her act and claiming being abused is just an excuse!). The policeman though was reluctant but he obeyed what he was told to do.

Only a doctor, who had given treatment to Kiranjit justified that she believed Kiran has been abused. In her flashback, she said when Kiran came to see her, accompanied by her husband, she was badly injured with bruises on her body and twisted wrist. She claimed she fell down but the doctor felt that she was trying to tell her something else but afraid to do so as the husband was around. The doctor tried to send Deepak away by giving excuse that she needed to check further on Kiran and Deepak may have to fill up some forms at the administration counter but Deepak, as if could feel what the doctor was up to, refused to obey her request and took Kiran home.

Kiran's lawyer felt that the case would not be on Kiran's side, insisted that Kiran must stand up for herself by being a witness. But Kiran refused to do so. She gave lame excuses like she couldn't speak English well and people would laugh at her. She also said that she was sinned therefore she would accept whatever the verdict is. ( I was initially angry with her attitude, but at this point Kiran's actual personality was not fully described and how the fire tragedy happened did not come into the picture yet). Kiran's lawyer was actually hired by the government to defend Kiran, so she must not have received big amount of fee, so when Kiran herself has given up, this lawyer also did not bother to fight further.

In UK, as the verdict of a trial will be based on the decision made by a group of juries (public citizens), therefore the conclusion made by the lawyers and direction given by the judge plays important role in the decision making. Kiran's lawyer was not good enough, the prosecutor was determined to win the case, and the judge has made his own conclusion indirectly indicating that Kiran was already guilty, so guess what was the verdict? She was found guilty for murdering his husband and sentenced to life prisoned.

The Volunteers

Kiran's case has attracted a group of volunteers who work to help abused women. This one lady (I couldn't remember her name) has personally went to see Kiran at the prison to get to know her and her situation before the trial. But at that time Kiran was still keeping to herself, she did not talk much therefore this lady couldn't get much things from her. When Kiran was announced to be guilty at the court, the volunteers made havoc about it, saying that the court has misjudged the case. They also went to see Kiran's lawyer and asked her to make plea for Kiran's case. They also arranged for Kiran's children visits to the prison.

The Prison Life

Initially, Kiran found it difficult to adapt to the prison's life. See, when Kiran moved to UK, she was confined to her house, she hardly mingled with other people except her family. That was why she couldn't communicate well in English. She also had no self-confidence, felt like she did not deserve to be treated nicely by others. This is due to her miserable married life. But she was lucky because her cell mate was a nice woman, named Ronnie. Ronnie and Kiran has one thing in common, they both went to the prison because they killed they husband. Ronnie had been abused by her husband. With Ronnie, Kiran improved her personality, learned better English and even learned to make friends. Ronnie was the one who helped Kiran to get lawyer for her pleading trial.

Pleading Trial

Kiran's pleading trial only began after she was in prison for 3 years and 5 months. Prior to this, the volunteers and the lawyers struggled so hard to get evidence that could support Kiran in her plea including all law and psychology terms that were possible to explain Kiran's act (killing her husband). They wanted to plea for manslaughter instead of murder due to her husband's abuse that provoked her to act in such way. See, Kiran has been abused in 10 years with all sorts of ways : physical, mental and sexual, so one day she just snapped and had her way to revenge. Flashback showed the night Kiran killed her husband, Kiran was beaten and threatened with hot iron because Deepak found out that she withdrew his money from the bank. Though Kiran said she used the money to buy house expenses, Deepak was very angry because he said Kiran had no right on his money or his house. He spat at her saying that she was only a useless woman.

Two hours after that, while Deepak was sleeping, Kiran stepped into their bedroom carrying a small container and a lit candle. Kiran was actually crying when she poured the liquid from the container (which I believed was gasoline) and while doing so, Deepak woke up and Kiran accidentally dropped the candle and immediately fire spread on Deepak's body.

In the end after hearing all the evidences highlighted by Kiran's lawyer (I'm sorry I'm not able to elaborate on the trial details as it involved lots of legal terms which I don't understand), the court agreed that Kiran's case to be charged as manslaughter and since she has served 3 years and 5 months in the jail, the period is considered as her punishment. Kiran was then released.

Happy Ending

Kiran returned to her sons after being released from prison. Her story has attracted the public and media. In 2001, Kiran received award from UK government for her important role in Asia women development in UK (I'm not very sure about the award, and why she received her award, but when she was in jail she said she wanted to be a lawyer, so I guess she became one later).

My Conclusion

I'm not Ashwarya' s big fan but I love her acting talent in this movie. Most Bollywood movies she was involved, exploited her beautiful face and body. But in this movie, it was merely her acting talent. She wore no make-up, no fancy dress and of course no super-dupa dancing move. This movie did not really focus on law issues (I mean if we are looking for satisfaction in the lawyers' tongue fightings like John Grisham's 'The Pelican Brief' or Law and Order ). It was simply a story about a woman who was abused by her husband, she killed him, lost her self-esteem but got back on her feet with the help of many people around her. Moral of the story: If you are victim of domestic abuse, go get help from the right people, don't kill your husband/wife ok!!!