I went in for this movie with a blank mind, haven't read any reviews, didn't know the storyline - just went in to watch it and form my opinion. And I must say I am impressed by a genuine attempt by Subhash Ghai at making a different(from his other films) film.

The storyline is not so different, there are numerous films with the theme of terrorism, so its hard to differentiate the content and intent. I felt this is a film with the theme of new-age Gandhism. The idea is to kill the terrorism and not the terrorists. But, there is no preaching, rather just practice. Professor Rajan Mathur practices what he believes in rather than preaching people about it. He shouts at his wife (Shefali Shah in another brilliant performance) for raking up issues that would fuel communal hatred for no reason, quotes Quran to prove it doesn't preach terrorism, and keeps his ultimate personal blow to himself to avoid any communal disharmony. Anil Kapoor plays his part efficiently, especially the scene where he is trying to keep his tears to himself to stop his daughter from crying. Though not heart-wrenching, it surely makes you empathize with him at the moment and notice his calibre.

The actions of the protagonist seem to be uncoordinated. He goes about killing anyone and everyone who he feels is against Islam or afraid of death or anything against his beliefs and usool. But, he doesn't kill the guy who provides him shelter. He transforms himself, but still kills his companions for hurting his dear ones. It is a gray character with confusing ideals. Yet, it falls into the storyline and the flaws are covered through strong performances.

The newcomer Anurag Sinha doesn't have the typical-hero looks or the charisma. But, he is a fine actor and probably needs a few more chances to prove himself. His dialogues are quite overbearing and too heavy at times, which seems unreal considering a teenage Fidayee that he is. Habib Tanvir as the poet is impressive and unquestionable. The casting of the whole movie was just perfect! And the music by Sukhwinder is fantastic. It is fresh and pleasing on the ears. I went to the nearest music shop to buy the soundtrack immediately after I stepped out of the hall but wasn't lucky enough :-(. Hmmm....you know what my next purchase is :-)

Just back from a holiday in Thailand. Went to Koh Samui for 4 days and Bangkok for another day. The holiday was awesome as Thailand is a beautiful place and its quite easy to get around. We went around on our own and found the people to be extremely friendly and helpful. A brief note of the trip....

Day 1:

We landed in Suvarnabhumi airport at around 6:45 A.M. The airport itself is quite a sight! Its state-of-the-art in the true sense. Multiple immigration counters for hassle-free immigration, totally automated luggage conveyor belts, Currency exchange counters everywhere - we were impressed at the first sight. We had an English Breakfast at the Sky Lounge, the Airport Restaurant that oversees the runway. After roaming around the Airport for 3 hours, we boarded our next flight to Surat Thani. Man, that was quite a walk from International to Domestic terminal. Phew!!! 3-4 walkways later, we finally reached the domestic terminal. Though the Surat Thani airport is small, it still is a good international airport. It has all the facilities required. We got into the bus to the ferry point only to realize its a ride of 1.5 hours . We thought its a 30 min ride. Disappointment No. 1. Once we reached the ferry point, we had to wait for the 3 o clock ferry because we reached just past 2. Disappointment No. 2. But the ferry point had a decent Thai food joint. So, we decided to try out the Thai food there. But, hey what do I see in the menu?! No vegetables?! Waaaaaaaaaaa Disappointment No. 3. But, the restaurant lady was quite nice. She said she'll give us fried vegetables with rice and we gladly accepted. The food was quite cheap and very tasty. Hmmm....looks like food is not going to be a problem in Thailand. Let's see! The ferry ride was quite comfortable and I slept throughout the ride. We booked a mini-bus to our resort from Koh Samui ferry point on the bus in Surat Thani. We initially thought the bus guy is fleecing us, but decided not to take a chance with the taxi. So, we booked the mini-bus. And we were pleasantly surprised that the mini-bus guy came to us once we got off the ferry. After a 30 minutes drive, we finally reached Bill Resort on Lamai Beach. The way from ferry point to the resort was full of greenery and water. Damn good drive! We decide to get fresh, stretch for a while and get onto the road to enquire about transport, sight-seeing etc. We realized the bike rents are quite cheap, about 200 Baht for an automatic scooter (similar to our Honda Activa). We decided to hire one the next day and went looking out for a restaurant to eat. Not many on the way, but found a decent one, where again the lady was very sweet and offered to make something vegetarian for us. We had a good dinner, and amazing dessert(Fried Banana with honey).

Day 2:

Too much of travel and tiredness on Day 1. So, got up late only to realize most of the dishes were finished. Sigh! We still managed to get a decent breakfast of cereal, bread and coffee. Set out for a walk on the Lamai beach. The sand on Lamai beach is very loose and gravelly. Noticed lot of people getting a massage done on the beach. Hmmm....we should go for one too! Hired a bike, went to Lamai center for lunch and had American Fried rice with vegetables for lunch. It was quite tasty too. Lamai center is small and much less noisy than the Chaweng beach road. We set out to see Big Buddha, one of the many attractions at Samui. The temple is slightly elevated. Very calm and peaceful. It has a beautiful sight of the ocean too. The gongs in Buddhist temples are sounded from outside unlike the Hindu temple-bells. And they make a pleasing sound. The temple had a donation area where a pile of bricks were kept. You are supposed to donate 20 Baht and write your name on a brick and place it on another pile. These bricks go into the construction of another Buddha temple. We donated 20B and wrote our names on the brick. Jam wanted me to write Kodi & Jam. So that's how Lord Buddha will know us :-) On our way back, we decided to have coffee at Starbucks, take a look at Big C(the local Supermarket which has free shuttle buses from literally every corner of the town) and proceed for dinner at Chaweng Beach. Chaweng beach is a nice place. Very similar to the Baga beach at Goa, it has beach shacks. We loved eating by the beach-side, enjoying the sea-breeze. Chaweng beach is the more happening one - with lots of discos, pubs and shopping places. Lots to see but not very exciting if you want calm surroundings. The ambience at the restaurant was good, but the food was mediocre. The Thai Spring rolls smelled weird, and the side-dish with rice was dry :-(. Just managed to fill our tummies and drove back to return the bike and sleep early. Got a long day of a Sea Safari ahead!

Day 3:

Sea Safari pickup at 7:15. Phew! Got up at 6:15, rushed to get ready, soaked ourselves in sunscreen, grabbed a bite of toasts, some coffee and set out for the Safari. The weather was beautiful but maybe not right for a Safari. It started raining the moment we reached the ferry point. The Safari included breakfast, but there was no sight of it :-( Thankfully, we we grabbed something at the resort. Bought a couple of ponchos to cover us from the rain and got into the speed-boat. The ride was quite exciting(sitting in the back. The best was yet to come!). Enjoyed it thoroughly and got down at the snorkelling point. The sight of water everywhere and no land in sight makes me nervous. I was scared to get into the water, even with the life-jacket and the snorkelling gear. But, finally managed it. Needed sometime to settle down, but enjoyed the sight below the water once Jam pushed me into water. He was enjoying thoroughly, totally oblivious of my fear. Spent an hour in water, struggled swimming our way back to the boat. Neither of us could control our direction of swimming. Just managed finally to get into the boat. We set out to reach another island with a Mountain viewpoint. Still seated at the back. The viewpoint was a lagoon, with green-blue water, a pretty sight. Had some snacks and set out for another island for lunch. Aaaah! Sitting in front. Now starts the fun! This ride was good too. Just getting used to the shocks sitting in front. And the breeze helped us dry ourselves. The lunch was disappointing to say the least. They didn't have a single veggie dish :-( I could only eat salad and fruits as the egg-fried rice was also smelling weird. The pineapple and water-melon were the tastiest I ever had. So, no complaints! After the lunch, we lazed around on the beach, took some pictures, played with the swings. Followed by kayaking. Rowing is not easy, I tell you! We were exhausted within 5 minutes. Couldn't do for long, so got off in 15 minutes. And then got into water - fully armoured with life-jacket. It was great to feel the rain on top and the warmth of the ocean below. Spent close to an hour in water like that. Set out back to Samui. Now starts the ultimate fun - don't know for whom though :P Sat in front of the speed-boat. The rain was on and off, playing hide-and-seek with us. The sea was at its roughest best for the day and the navigator at his mischievous best! Jam's face was indeed a sight. I was comfortably lying on his lap, so didn't feel the impact as much as he did. He was damn scared and upset. He refused to look forward because he was scared looking at the speed-boat jumping in the ocean. We were totally relieved once we landed back in Samui. Phew! Had a cup of coffee at the souvenir shop and left for the ATV adventure. We had to choose between ATV adventure or an elephant ride. We chose ATV adventure, only to feel the pain in the limbs later! It is a huge and stable vehicle, but the track was made to be the roughest too. I had to garner all my strength to turn the vehicle. I took only one round since that left me drained. Jam went for a couple more rounds and we headed back to the resort. Took a warm shower, lazed for a while and set out on bike for dinner. We wanted to have a GOOD vegetarian dinner and felt a Barbeque buffet was exciting. Entered the place only to realize we had to cook our stuff on our own. Sounded good....only until I saw the fried rice. It looked and smelled similar to the one I had in the afternoon and I felt like crying :-( The food sucked big-time and I cursed myself for stopping by this place. Just managed to gobble something and get out of the place. Decided to wake up early the next day and have a wholesome breakfast! Headed to Chaweng beach for a walk.

Day 4:

The last day at Samui - decided to see as many places as possible! Went to see the Grandfather and Grandmother rocks nearby, did some shopping there, ate some tasty coconut caramel and set out on the other side of Lamai to see the Butterfly Garden and Aquarium, only to find that they were closed :-( The waterfalls had a very steep ride up, so dropped the idea. Heard a lot about the Samui airport too, so headed to the airport to check it out. The airport is small and damn cute. Nice little huts for ticketing and baggage, small tram cars for pickup and drop within the airport. Wanted to see a landing or take-off. The road on which we walked into the airport was parallel to the runway, and we could have seen a flight and even raced with it if wished to :P Headed to Chaweng beach for dinner again. Saw a sale somewhere at a leather shop, found a good hand-luggage at a decent deal. Picked it up and got some gift coupons, which we utilized immediately by buying a few more items :P Had dinner at another of those beach-shacks, this one was a more relaxing one though - where we could lie down and have dinner, with the background noise of some random music and of course the sound of the ocean and the breeze! The food was good this time, finally!

Day 5:

Left Samui at 6:30 and reached the ferry point to take the 7 o clock ferry to Surat Thani. Reached the airport by 10.The flight to Bangkok was at 12:30. So, had some lunch at the airport restaurant - Phad Thai - rice noodles with vegetables, which tasted heavenly! Picked up some banana chips which I totally hated, but Jam liked it and finished it somehow! Reached Bangkok at 1:40, reached Ambassador at 2:30, after our hotel decided to ditch us by not sending the airport pick-up. Booked a temple tour for the next day at the airport itself. Checked-in to Ambassador and left for Marriott to meet Raju Annayya. Spent some time with him and left at 4:30 because he needed to go somewhere else. Grabbed a sub(yippee! this is life! :D) at Subway, a cup of coffee and a coffee at starbucks and headed back to the hotel. Met Venu and Shivangi at the hotel, and left for dinner with Raju Annayya. The restaurant called Kinnaree was right opposite the lane to Ambassador, but the taxi-driver cheated us, took us in a roundabout route and collected 65 Bahts! Taxis are the same universally! And on the return we paid 100 Baht to cover a distance of hardly 200m :-(

Day 6:

Full-day in Bangkok. Had a sumptuous breakfast at Ambassador and set out for the temples tour at 8:30. The Buddhist temples in Thailand are very beautiful. The pagoda architecture and amazing Buddha statues leave you enchanted. The Golden Buddha had a history to it. The Buddha statue was made in 70% gold and 30% copper and covered with cement to protect it from invaders. Generations later, when they tried to shift the statue to a different temple, they noticed a gleaming crack in the statue. They expanded it only to discover that the statue is made of gold.

The reclining Buddha is the biggest statue I ever saw! 18mX12m, it was overpowering! It is impossible to capture the whole statue in a single frame! After a visit to marble temple, we visited the Royal Lapidary, which is the official jewellery factory. Saw the processes involved in mining the gemstones and making the jewellery for the first time. Shopped for some jewellery and set back to the hotel. Checked out there, and set out for lunch. Had lunch at another Thai restaurant nearby, drank some coconut water and set out for shopping. Got into Bangkok sky-train to reach Siam. Went to Siam center first and it was closed :-( Stepped into Siam Paragon and were overwhelmed by the size of the mall. Wow! We still didn't get out of the shock and stepped into Central World, only to be shocked further! Owwww! Wonder when we'll see something like that in India! Left for Night bazaar at 6. It was an amazing experience to shop at the Night Bazaar. Shopped like crazy, bought lots of insignificant things and set back on our journey back to India!

So, that was our 6-day trip to Samui and Bangkok. Had lots of fun, and loads of interesting insights which are reserved for a different post.