Of Philosophical Afternoons...

As a mass media student, I happen to be one of those lucky 19-turning-20-year-olds who can still enjoy their holidays, with the added benefits of having more things to do and more people to meet. And because there is a break at Aahan (my college festival and you should totally check it out - http://www.upgaahan.com/), I can sit lazily by the window of my house, which overlooks a beautiful garden, and spend my time online, learning about Greeks and Dinosaurs (there actually is a good MOOC on that, called Dino 101, in case anyone is interested). These untimely rains only add to the dreamy romanticism of the moment.
It is impossible to go online and stick to looking for what you want. It is like going a toy store, you just cannot not wander away and Facebook is turning out to be an unlikely destination. Moving beyond the usual "who is dating whom" stories, there are some very interesting pages that I have 'liked' (mostly pertaining to history, environment, literature and science ) that indeed add a much needed depth to the content on this 'social networking' site. Well, at the least we can pretend we are not simply whiling our time away. ( it works - 'like' one of these smart pages and read a couple of their posts, you will not feel as wasted as you would by liking pictures and tagging people on 'I love you' posts).
So, on one of these browsing hours, I came across the above picture. Really deep, something worth thinking about. Rains do that, they encourage you to look away into a distant, non-existent spot and think. So I thought. And I realized, this is true. Like, not just because John Lubbock said it, but actually true!
Sometime ago, when I was reading Lolita (you can find a review of the book in an earlier post), I came across the word 'harlot'. Now, I didn't know what it meant, but because it is impossible to read that book without understanding each word, I looked it up. And, keeping aside it's meaning, the next thing I know, I was reading it everywhere. Friends were using it in their abusive bits and there was a mention of it in a couple of articles I read. Wow. It is as if the entire universe knew I had just learnt its meaning. Or maybe not.
Before that, I was doing a course called "Know Thyself'" - on philosophy. I came across the word 'cognitive' - in its practical meaning and application. And, just like it was to happen with 'harlot', everyone suddenly seemed to be using it. It seemed as if my professors too had just learnt the word.
This is when I realized something - we only see, what we know, and we only look out for what we already know - maybe to boost our ego by feeling knowledgeable, or perhaps our brains are wired that way - the reason is largely irrelevant. Some of you who read this may remember the confrontation scene of Sanjay Dutt a.ka. Munna in Lage Raho Munnabhai, where he speaks to the press about 'seeing the Mahatma".
 I thought I was a very curious person by nature - inquisitive, always wanting to learn more and more. Doesn't look like I am doing a very good job of it. And it has to change. It is time, I and anyone else who has a narrow cognitive perspective as mine, must correct this.
To open up to all the little wonders of life, seek to discover something new everyday. Not turn away lazily from a challenge, or the unknown. If you don't understand something, learn it. Let's remove the barriers that surround our minds, to reach out to everything around us and make it a part of our consciousness. Because, to overlook details, to stop wondering and asking questions and seeking answers, to stop inquiring and learning is indeed a cardinal sin - for then, you chose to be ignorant. You chose to understand lesser than you can, you chose to a life of stagnancy. And by being so passive, you allow the good things to pass by. The beautiful, surreal moments - be it of tears or laughter or a mix of both - will never be yours.
We could start with small steps at a time, one new thing a day. It could be anything - the real story behind a rumor, the origin of a word. Learn a new recipe or use a different shade of color for your painting, use a different style of playing football or (since Sachin and his retirement is so in news) a new cricketing shot. Do anything but repeat. Keep pushing those boundaries (pun, intended). Change, transform, evolve -  add as many colors to your life as you can. True joy lies in collecting everything around you and sharing and spreading it further - like a famed, wandering bard - who takes one new experience and spreads it elsewhere and in the process, gains something more again. Beware of everything, whether you absorb or filter it, and see you your days suddenly seem brighter, full of the sunshine that a new day, a new experience, a new adventure brings, no matter how insignificant it seems at first. And this is how some of us will find magic - like that of your first kiss, or your first report card with straight A's, the date when you met 'him' or even the date you got "done with him for good". It would be very dull to have a monotonous life, so why let a single day pass by idly?
Like the quote I read on another one of these happy hours - "How you pass your day is how you will live you life"
Content and complacent or adventurous and exciting? The answer lies in our hands. 

MOOC - The New Tuition.

"Mom, I want to learn to play the guitar"

"Mom, I want to learn Spanish"

"Mom, I need to learn professional photography"

"Dad, I must take computer classes"

Believe it or not, this is the list of demands from just one person - me. I love learning ( added to the usual demands for shopping). In another day and age I would've been a wanderer, picking things from one place and living through experiences and then probably growing old to narrate the stories of these to children and grandchildren of mine. 

But I am not. I live in 2013, and I am short on both time and money for this sort of "idle-learning" - if you know an Indian parent then you know that hobbies are scarcely encouraged, that what you learn must make you money first, it may or may not make you happy. One can't entirely blame them. When the quest for survival becomes so intense, living life is but a dream between pages. So what do you do? You pick and chose, you win some, you lose some. You convince yourself that first you will do what you have to, then deal with the 'want to' part of life, if ever it exists. You calculate the 'opportunity cost', weigh and value your likes and dislikes, your talents and cognitive abilities, letting leisurely learning out of the picture - for the time being. 

I paint for a hobby, I spent 10 years of my life in drawing classes spending 250 a month on fees and on an average a 100 on materials. There was no way I was going to get my guitar training, my language learning sorted. Youtube videos help, but somehow, I never manage to figure a cohesive way to go about it. 

Then a friend, Akshay, introduced me to coursera.com and edx.org - mass open online courses - an online platform for students and teachers. 

Universities like Harvard, MIT, Virginia, Pennsylvania are among many many others that are involved on these projects. It works very simply - courses are designed on a particular subject - say for eg. philosophy which include video lectures, links to reading material, discussion forums and assignment submisisons. The progress is weekly - In a span of four days, you watch around 10 short videos, read up on the subject via the links and sources provided by them, attempt quizzes get you doubts cleared via the discussion forums, where everyone meets. You learn a lot, from some very good professors ( I have taken up a course on Greek Mythology and Professor Gregory Nagy from Harvard is a one of those teachers whose mere body of work, duration of experience makes you want to listen to every word they have to say and hey! he even looks the part ). It is a huge boon for people like me who, for certain subjects, are mere learning enthusiasts. I love psychology, whether or not I preach or practice the same. I also love music, art, drama, history, culture, sociology and many related and unrelated fields. I don't have to bother about time and money anymore, I can learn anytime, anywhere.

There are obvious downpoints to this system. You cannot be assessed fairly at all times - the professor doesn't do it himself, not all courses are designed well, and the lack of human contact makes solving some very practical and subjective doubts very very difficult. 

But nevertheless, it is a giant leap towards the future of education. It could be of great help to not only students like me, but even to teachers who may use it as a tool to back their text-book routines ( I am not sure if it is allowed, though). 

All in all, it surely has more positives than negatives. It will by no way replace the physical teacher-student relationship. But in a country where political parties provide free laptops and internet connection but ignore the need to provide for better educators - MOOC's are the best bet we have.

PS: Chronic procrastinators, beware!

The Curse of Celebrating

“Mamu, rassi bomb please” his nephew exclaimed.  Rushuv relented. Standing at the firecracker vendor, with his 4 year old niece Kiaara in his arms and his 7 year old nephew Arhaan jumping with excitement at finally making his annual trip to the phatakawala, he did not have the heart to say no. He knew they were useless and dangerous. He tried explaining this to the little boy. But in this chaos, it was royally ignored. With a promise of never using these again, he put the final item in the big blue bag and walked towards the car.

Diwali is celebrated with great pomp in India. Bathed in a warm, yellow and welcoming glow of festivities, every house is all smiles and snacks as they ritually visit people, exchange the joy and celebration that comes with this time of the year. For Rushuv, it was a time to catch up with his family. Currently working in London, he looked forward to these trips as a nice, happy family reunion which was made much more special by the ever energised affection of his niece and nephew, who were like his own children. His sister, their mother, too allowed them to be indulged at a time like this and many of his hours were happily spent taking them to the movie theatre, to the mall, to the gaming zones and to kiddie food joints. The amount of love and bonding between them was enviable. Perhaps that was why Diwali 2012 changed this, probably forever.

It was the night of Laxmi Poojan – the customary prayer to the goddess of prosperity to bless the year ahead. For Kiaara and Arhaan, it was just a long wait to the tradition of bursting firecrackers that followed the prayer. It was the one day the family indulged in this ritual, just for shagun. Even then, only the kids participated. It was a good balance between sustainability and celebration that they had achieved.

After the flower pots and the zameen chakkars got over, it was now the turn of the little green thing to come out. He kids’ favourite, the surprisingly exciting rassi bomb.

He had never understood this crazy love for such firecrackers. He could understand the ones with lights, they were happy and cheery. These were just dull green things that produced a very loud sound. Maybe there was a terrorist inside each one of us, he thought. Maybe that is what lured his otherwise wonderfully behaved children to these destructive things.

Dressed in a light blue kurta and white pyjama, Rushuv  walked to the clearing in the ground, incense in one hand and the bomb in another. Ironically enough, he felt like he was some real army man, going to deploy it in some enemy land. He placed it on a parapet instead, given his tall height, he knew bending too low wasn’t advisable. He removed it the wick from the tape, stretched it away from the body and and placed it carefully, with the wick facing the wall of a distant building opposite him.

He brought the incense close to the wick, and waited for the first sparks so he could runaway to safety. But what happened was this – Incense to wick, wick turns black, he takes the incense away, waits for the wick to cool down so he can give it another try and BAM! Without any notice or indication whatsoever, the bomb went off, right in his face. Everything turned black. From now on, it would always be.

Almost a year into the incident, the day their dearest mamu lost his vision, the day they spent tense hours outside the operation theatre, everybody in the family is terrified to ring in the festival.  Wounds are best left ignored, but it is at times like these, that doing so becomes difficult. Arhaan and Kiaara took two months, and lots of dawdling and cajoling from their beloved Godfather to smile, jump and laugh again. To play with him again. They haven’t visited a movie theatre since then, nor gone to an amusement park. He now stays in Mumbai, they have more time with him but somehow him being around so much just increases the pain. Arhaan knows he might never forgive himself for coaxing his uncle into playing with danger. Kiaara might get over it, but it will take time nevertheless.

And among all this, Rushuv, the victim of our story is trying his best to keep the smile of his nephew and niece, imprinted in his memory lest he should forget it and never see that beauty again.

Lo.Lee.Ta.

"....the tip of the tongue taking a trip of three steps down the palate, to tap, at three, on the teeth. Lo. Lee. Ta." 

                         That is how "Humbert Humbert" the benevolent beast, the gentle giant and the protagonist of Vladimir Nabokov's highly recommended, extremely controversial, and on-the-edge- sensitive work of art, describes the name, the pet name of his love, the subject of his pedophile interests and inflicts. 

I will begin with my experience of the book :

                                                                   It is a slow read ( unless you have a very powerful vocabulary). A very slow read, tedious to have to go look up the meaning of every second word you read. Such is the elevated level of the language, that for the first 25 pages of the book, I was only finding meanings, and reading and re reading the pages to understand them. It may be a disadvantage only to a certain few who read it, for I believe many out there have achieved the literary level to supersede the dictionary hunts. 

But, even as this mountainous task threatens to diminish your reading experience, it is upon the discovery of their true meaning, that you are truly exposed to the true beauty of the book, and you begin to appreciate this classic. Once you know what is written, every word starts touching your soul, every nerve of you body is on alert, reacting to the all the tender, ludicrous, absurd, lovely, funny, witty, hilarious comments, actions, reactions, moments, emotions that run through the mind and body of  Humbert Humbert. He justifies his love with as much delicateness that one would expect of a "normal" romance, let's say, for lack of a better word. 

Now for the Plot:

                         Our main man, the academic literate, psychologist Humbert Humbert, ( this rather unusual name is used for rather amusing purposes like when he describes as how saddened he is by the fact that his "dear Lolita prefers Hamburger over her old Humburger" - the kind of puns and innuendos and punches that fill the book ) , as evident by now, is a pedophile. He is writing under observation, in custody, for murder ( for who he murders, read the book. I won't give away more than I  absolutely have to ) and is writing this journal , to a "jury" as a justification in the body of a memoir. ( This I observed by the use of such addresses as "oh gentlemen of the Jury", a style that alludes to Plato's - The Apology). It starts with him reminiscing of his days as a young boy at the French Riveira, his first love Annabel, who is then only a year his junior but dies only four months later. Shift to America, his lust for "nymphets" girls in the category of 9-14. Not every girl in this age group is not a nymphet, just one with a very distinctive charm and aura in her ladylike idiosyncrasies. 

So he is mostly shown, in the early part of the book with hookers who resemble such little ones, while with the real nymphets - he only  basks in their shadows enjoys them in his wild fantasies. Goes on to marry a very young girl, who has an affair with a Russian and goes away - has bouts of insanity, pays a couple of visits to what, in the modern day would be called a rehab centre, went to the arctic, in the meantime, had numerous platonically sexual encounters with woman his age, finally went to vacation with a friend, who sent him to some place called "Ramsdale" due to a fire in his own house, where he is lodging with widow Charlette Haze, who has a daughter called - wait-for-it - Dolores Haze a.k.a Lo a.k.a Carmine a.k.a Lolita. 

Even while he is busy virtually seducing this enchantress of a child, who isn't all innocent as a child should be, her mother begins and ends up falling for her daughter's secret admirer. At the point where she confesses her love for him, comes the very first moment of contempt for the man who makes this creepy attraction to a little girl as beautiful and delightful as would probably appeal the likes of Darcy-Bennett or Romeo-Juliet. 

So as to be able to stay close to Lolita, he marries her mother, becomes her step father only to turn this already awkward ( still, poetically depicted ) romance between a 50 something and a 10 something more awkward by adding an incestuous angle. 

Charlotte and Humbert marry, and the arrangement seems to be going just fine, until Charlotte, the beloved wife discovers her wonderful husband's journals and diary entries ( which reveal his true self) and gets hysteric. As luck would have it for "Humbert the Horrible", she is killed in a car accident and no one, need ever know of his madness. Our dear old man decides, his step-daughter doesn't even need to know of her own mother's death, and sees this as a perfect opportunity to whisk her away. Which he does, on a road trip spanning one year ( For which, I don't know how HH had so much money ) before settling in Beardsley, a town in some part of USA where Lolita is made to attend a girls school. 

By this time, this pair are already lovers. But after while, they leave this town for another road trip, in the course of which, an angle of mystery is introduced. Twists and turns later, Lolita runs away, HH finds another partner, though a very old one, ( she is 30 ) and after he murders a certain someone, concludes his work.

Now for the Style:

                              I have said the book is written in literature of the highest kind, in sinuous prose that has the lucidity and flow of poetry, the writing is witty and humorous, there is quite a bit of french thrown in, there is a lot of imagery and metaphor, there is a lot of mention of some or the other famous, well-known writer, artist or character of another literary work. Like a day spent on a hot day by the beach, it is a slow, languorous, leisurely, rich and to be savored kind of a read. Like a well-cooked dish, where you chew each morsel with patience, deliberation taking in the look, the texture, the smell, the feel of the food in your mouth, the flavor, you must enjoy this book. Few may relate to the theme, most may be touched and moved by his love for her. The romance, the mystery, the hush-hushness of their affair.. these moods get to you. 

Characterization:

                          The book has many characters, small and big, real and virtual, present and non-present. Almost all of them, are negative. Not bad, just negative. Like unhappy, or unlucky, or plain or dull or unsatisfied, or drunk or depressed or if happy, only temporarily. The book risked having a very dreary and drag appeal throughout ( there are certainly some such parts ) but the humour and wit more than make up for what lacks in the innate foundation mood of the people who range from Russia to Ramsdale.

Humbert is eccentric, prides his looks and ways and English manners and appeals and academic intelligence  . Lolita, is tragically comical and there are moments, though rare, where you pity her fate, that the beastly HH casts upon her. There are the Valeries, the Charlottes, the Ritas, ( HH's "lovers") who are rather plain and amusing when seen through the eyes of the writer's protagonist writer. There are teachers and colleagues and harlots and nymphets and everything and everyone comes together with interesting interplay. 

Here there is something interesting- other characters are never given much importance, not enough anyway. However, as soon as the story starts to tilt too much towards our man and his girl, the author throws someone new, from past or present ( in a very How I met Your Mother Fashion, jumping from one reference to another ), and lifts things up. Since it is Humbert writing what is written it is only right that he talk of himself and his beloved, who he loved and cherished forever, (interestingly, beyond her nymphet years too.) 

The book symbolizes originality on almost every plain. With heavy amounts of psychology, ( it tends to remind you of Freudian theories, though the author himself proclaims he didnt follow it) of child and adult, of emotions and moods like lust, love, depression, desperation, irritation, annoyance, idleness..with smaller (  although as some turn out to be, very important elements ) of porn, homosexuality thrown in, it defines what a classic should be. ( just for the record, a true everlasting piece of art just HAS to be rejected in its initial years ).

I read a Crest Giant edition, a mark of standardization that guarantees a good read, and I was not disappointed one bit. It is enriching and stirring and reminds you just how powerful words can be, how magical an effect they can have on you.

                

Is this what you want?

A friend casually made a comment on drinking (alchohol) recently,
" At this age, people drink because of peer pressure. My father lets me drink but I think that if I did so, it would because every one else is doing it"
This was right. To an extent. The social culture of the youth has made being different difficult. If you don't do the cool stuff that everyone is doing, you are ostracized and made fun of. It takes a very high level of self- assurance and confidence to be what you want to be.
Coming back to the comment, I say it is right to an extent because just because you do something with friends, doesn't mean you are falling prey to pressure forces.
Sometimes, friends are just an outlet to what you want to do. They are the catalysts t fulfill your wishes and desires, dreams and aspirations.
This argument can be extended to the Contemporary Indian Society at large. A lot of us do a lot of things just because everyone around us is doing it.
I am not being sexist here, when I give the following example:
Women in India have forever been home bound. They have found happiness in making their families happy. Then came a surge of western influences telling them that they had potential that went beyond the home making skills. And everyone was suddenly clammering to go out, get a job and fight for their rights as equals in the Patriarchial society.
Housewives I know, are annoyed that they don't go out and work. This frustration means they don't do their other duties, that as home makers, too.
Similar is the case with wearing particular type of clothes. You wear something because you know every one is wearing it and it is cool to wear it.
You blame the fate that doesn't allow you to do things that everyone is doing.
But take a break from this and ask yourself, "is that what you want to do?"
There may be women who actually want to stay at home, they know going out is not their thing, it is not what they want to do, and yet here they are complaining of lack of opportunities. Somewhere, in this rat race we have forgotten to make sure, that we do what we want to, what we like, what makes us happy. We are too busy falling prey to advertisements of universal standards of what happiness should be.
Which brings me to this, in whatever you do, make sure you do it because you want to do it. Not because every one is doing it, not because some one tells us that what you do should not or could not make you happy. Even it means going old world, going back to what is now considered out of fashion, so be it.
And, also, if what you want sometimes is what IS considered very hep and modern, doesn't mean you are not being yourself. The trick is to just ask yourself every time you take up something,
"Is this what I want ?"
Everything else doesn't matter.
You want to drink, go drink. You want to party, go party. But because you want it, and would so even if you had not been in the company you are in or the college you go to. And the reverse applies too. You want to stay at home and read a book, do that. You want to listen to Hindi classical over Tiesto, go ahead and let no one stop you. Let your wishes rule over that of others, because like Prof. Mitchell Green says,
"Your (cognitive) knowledge of you is different from others' knowledge of you. And you know yourself better than others do."
So, go live the life of your dreams. And don't let others tell you what dreams are big and which are small.  I may want to be a world famous actress, and that is a big dream. Another may want to open a small school for not more than 100 students. The former doesn't achieve it, the latter does. So, even though the dream of being an actress may seem bigger, it is really the fact the teacher is there and doing what she wants that makes all the difference.
For living the dream is what makes it large, and not the dream itself.

The Immortals of Meluha

The Immortals of Meluha,
 It is a brilliant take on the story of Lord Shiva.
It starts with Shiva, leader of the mountanious tribe - the Gunas - are invited to the greatest empire in the world - Meluha, in the region of what we know as the Indus Valley Civilization. This land is situated to the west of India, and it is the land of the Suryavanshis, or followers of the Sun.
Unknown to Shiva, he is the man chosen to save the Suryavanshis to battle the defeat the "evil" Chandravanshis. This eventually happens, by the end of the book, before which, Shiva marries the princess of Meluha, Sati and also uplifts an unjust law, called vikarma - similar to the untouchability principle followed in the traditional Hindu Society.
Even as the Suryavanshis win the war with their excellent strategy and technology, and Shiva's superior leadership, a new revelation presents itself - that the Chandravanshis were not as evil as thought, and althought they lived life in the extreme, were good people at heart. Shiva cannot handle the burden of being the taker of millions of innocent lives. He meets a Vasudev, a member of the tribe of Vishnu, who explains that it is nothing compared to the damaged that could have been caused.
The book ends with a treaty between the Swadeepans i.e. the Chandravanshis and the Suryavanshis and Shiva embarking on a journey to find the Nagas, or the snake tribe who he believes will lead him to the actual "evil", that the legend of him being the "Neelkanth" or the man with the blue throat, says - "the destroyer of evil".

My review -

The book has a fabulous story which covers up for its relatively mediocre writing style that is disappointing. Although it may have been a deliberate move to reach out the larger audience, somewhere, the story doesn't shine as it has the potential to.

That apart, the book has some wonderful philosophies on society, individuality and the perception of evil. It tackles with the many human emotions of friendship, love, lust, respect and the many principles of  duty, honour, obedience and discipline. It represents a black and white picture and explains of how both are essential to maintain harmony. 

But the most important and principle theme of the book is the establishment of the perfect society, Meluha and its brilliant governance. Amish establishes this fact only to contradict the claim in the later part of the book, thus asserting that universal truth that "perfection", "happiness", "justice" are all matters of perspective and that no social system is ideal. Freedom is as essential as discipline, and that there will always be a constant struggle strike a balance between the two.

He explains how Perception plays a major role in our lives and in calling judgements, through the the Meluhan and Swadeepan society, which starkly contrast each other and believe the other to be evil. He explains that "different" does not mean "evil", a philosophy that needs to be adapted in out daily lives too.

There are some beautiful angles in the story:
the friendship between Brahaspathi and Shiva, the romance between Shiva and Sati, the equation between Nandi and Shiva.

The characters too, are a mix of the free and fun loving tibetans - the guna tribe -, the rigid and disciplined, sometimes dull Meluhans and the outrageous, crazy and passionate Chandravanshis.

It is an enjoyable read, a fantastic story that tells you that one need not be the most proficient of writers - a powerful story alone also can make for an equally enchanting and captivating read.

My favourite quote from the book :

  "...If the entire society was conscious about its duties , nobody would need to fight for their individual rights, since everybody's rights would be automatically taken care of by someone else's duties.."

The two books promise many more twists in the quest and I look forward to reading them.

Kai Po Che - Makes the Cut

It started  out as a way to while time away because Ria, Muskaan, Nilesh and me needed to do something to spend time with Naomi on her birthday. Many confusing changes later, we settled to watch Kai Po Che. First weekend, the ticket rates were too high and I, as always, was broke. We went either way.
And by the end of it, I think every penny was worth it.
The story has been taken from "3 mistakes of my life" but there are many differences. One, the protagonists don't specify what and why they made the mistakes, unlike in the book where each event is explained in context to the why it was an error. The end has one of the three best friends, dying and no tangent of Ali, the brilliant batsman's wrist injury, or the fight between Govind and Ishaan.
However, the overall impact of the movie, was much better than the book, which could also be because I am not a huge fan of Chetan Bhagat's works except for the fact that they are relatable in social setting and characterization.
The cinematography was wonderful  one could actually feel the heat of a hot day in Gujarat. The direction - I am no expert to comment on that.
But Omi and Ishaan, it was the portrayal f these characters that infused the movie with life and soul. Ishaan and his temperament, his impulsiveness, his absolute love and belief in Ali, and his love for cricket have been potrayed to perfection.
Omi as the guy who has no mind of his own, may not come across as a character who is like able, but the actor definitely is.
Ali, his father, Ishaan's father and many other minor characters too, do well.
The only flaw is in Govind and Vidya's relationship. While The actor potrays the boring friend who is the backbone of the shop and in charge of the finances, wonderfully, it is his romance with his best friend's sister that seems a little odd. Sure, Govind was supposed to be shy by nature, but in the film he is shown to be a  tad bit too constricted.
Bromance, small time entrepreneurship, fruits of nurturing good talent are major highlights if the film.
But to me, it was a reminder, of the Hindu-Muslim conflict and how politicos cash on it. I didn't watch the actual fight, I didn't have the courage to.
All in all, Kai Po Che, a movie that has no big stars, comes from a director 5 years after his first film and without his mentor, is a brilliant watch, well made and above all, well performed.
PS: Special mention to Sushant Singh Rajput - his cute looks, hot body, and super performance.