Mansi

What ever happened to Toni Braxton? At one point, I believed we were beholding a diva and the next, it was all skin and affairs.
Now, what we have is Il Divo performing 'Unbreak my heart', first caught on V and today I caught them again on VH1. Il Divo take 'Unbreak my heart', a song I remember as a favorite Toni Braxton number, remove the emotions Braxton was so good at delivering and instead inject in a new wave.
It's not opera but it's very close. Known as a cosmopolitan cross-over pop-opera band, Il Divo is not just a visual treat. It's an oratory relish, and to hear men sing opera (domingo, paverotti, bocelli, groban) is to me one of the sexiest treats of all.
The only song I've caught on TV from this troupe is 'Unbreak my heart'. It's not in English and that's the first difference. It's not American either, opera never was. It isn't with women with bare minimum clothes, in and outside swimming pools, with nothing to lose in this world but their hearts.
And I've just begun to skim the surface of differences, which heralds in a refreshing new wave of music.

This troupe of four men, aren't anything like the boybands, both past and present. The video is about pride, respect, continuity and a different kind of success. Like one fan said - 'Of course, your average boyband doesn't have an average age of 35 and wear Armani..'

The songs are in Italian, Spanish and English. I'd say that the genre is somewhere between pop and opera - but the vote is out there for cross-over jazz, classical, pop and even rock!

When we think cross-over, most of us normally pick up Josh Grobin, probably because of his famous stint on Ally McBeal - - Il Divo is not about individual performance, they are about the group and that's a clear difference again. Together their voices are superb, highly explosive and they aren't shying away.

Something about the average age of 35 strikes a chord with me too. What do men about 35 really want to sing about? Nothing is more disappointing than men in their 30s and 40s pretending to be in their 20s. Il Divo isn't even trying and that's 10 points to their favor!

Lastly, and perhaps the most disappointing piece of trivia that is true, that I picked up, is that this troupe, dubbed the classical beatles are the new operatic vocal group from Simon Cowell's syco music. BAH! To add to my misery pot, this is what Simon Cowell had to say about the band, a result of a two year long talent search that brought together an American, A Frenchman (oooooooooooo la la), A Spaniard and a Swiss - "Il Divo have taught me more than I have taught them. I am actually intimidated and slightly in awe of their talent! I am more proud of this album than anything else i've ever been involved with, they are going to be huge."

Well! As much as I can't stomach Mr. Cowell, I can't really stop now can I? Il Divo is a great band and album and after listening to tid-bits of all their songs on Amazon, I am anxious to get my hands on the complete songs myself!

While the Cowell factor did dampen my enthusiasm for this band, I have decided not to let it shut me up.
So here's more about Il Divo:
1. David - He's the guy you see hitting the high notes, clearly American, the one 'boy-band' character in the troupe. Don't let that deceive you however. Just like his partners, he's a classically trained musician with a Masters degree in Opera Theatre! He's spent a good 10 years and more in New York and to his acclaim has been part of West Side Story (Tony - - good fit!) and La Scala ( Italy).
2. Sebastien - He's the Frenchman ( ooooooooo - though he's not my favorite). The only self taught musician, he was last seen in the production of Le Petit Prince and even working on a solo album. The troupe looks to him for original scores.
3. Urs - This Swiss hottie was last performing with the Netherlands Opera. With roots in HARD ROCK, believe it or not, he also undertook formal training in Amsterdam.
4. Carlos - Last, but not least, (and my favorite looker of Il Divo,) Carlos is the Spaniard who oozes charm and pride like only the spanish can. He's participated in the spanish versions of Les Miserables ( my all time fav musical) and many others. His opera repertoire is splendid, winning critical acclaim as Prima Baritono in many operas, including renowned works such as La Boheme, La Traviata, The Barber of Seville and Madame Butterfly. He also isn't another Enrique and heralds of a different Spanish flavor, spared from the emotional faux pas that is Iglesias Jr.

Allright, I've just seen one song and I think I've discovered gold???? YES! The first time I registered the video on V, months ago, I thought to myself, European charm is lethal. Compared to American opaque, this is vintage, deep blue, red and white. The video - 'Unbreak my heart' - is also done in a classy manner, reflecting on work ethics, pride and is all MALE. That certainly worked with me, and for the rest of it, they ooze their talent. There is nothing sexier than skill in classical music and this troupe has it.

While Grobin can keep his American audience, the rest of us are in for a treat.

Inspired from a poem by Alexander Pope, the title of this film comes from a verse in the poem that goes like this:
How happy is the blameless vestal's lot!
The world forgetting, by the world forgot.
Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind!
Each pray'r accepted and each wish resign'd

I am sure you've heard about this film and I doubt you've heard anything ordinary, there isn't anything ordinary about this film. Plot, acting, direction, drama: for all of us who only want to be spared the simplistic Speilberg stuff, here's a real film.

War of the Worlds is running, Tom Cruise, Speilberg: I want out, is all I thought to myself. I don't buy the hype, I censor the right to hype. I like recommendations and passionate I dos. I don't want the Chanel wedding gown, or the three tier cake.

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is Jim Carey's film, from start to finish. While those with funny faces often try their hand at comedy, here's a funny face that is thorough actor in and out and who also can make you laugh your head off, as good as the very best of them. I've always liked Jim Carey. It takes a whole pot of talent and then sheer hard work to be Jim Carey.
In Hindi films and malayalam films, comedians are the ugly ones, the ones nobody would make heroes. There're not even good for villain roles though some do pass by as villains. These ugly ones then get to try their hand at comedy. Some find a new lease of life, and in so doing, teach us, crude audiences, a thing or ten about ourselves.
And then there's Jim Carey. Granted brown hair, a thin and lanky figure, non-descript but wonderfully large eyes might not be what a Hollywood hero needs to look like ( I'm thinking Tom Cruise, Keanu Reeves, Kurt Russell....)- - but what we have is a really classy actor. No doubts there.

This movie is just up Jim's street. He has the depth and breadth to play this role. He isn't just your wonderfully nice, next door kinda guy, he's also a child, a close to losing my mind stark raving romantic, and something else - He's as human as we are. Many times in the film, you will want to pinch yourself just to remind yourself that this is as much about you as it is about him.

The idea that our memories can be our biggest hell and heaven - the idea that we don't give a damn about that which is most precious - the idea that our relationships are wrought with 'happy - happy' stuck all over - - all of these ideas and more are explored in the most gripping and yet lucid manner.

This movie is a great watch and I can't thank HBO enough for actually screening it. What joy!

I want to get a hold of the soundtrack - - believe it or not, it has Mohd Rafi singing too. Kate Winslet -- She's not as there as Jim, but then this is a guy's film, all the way.

Last Night...
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Not one for metaphors, atleast not those I had to 'grasp' in high school poetry, perhaps today I am at an age when I see no more and nothing short of metaphors all around me.
One of the last scenes of the movie - House of Sand & Fog - is shot over a bed, rich, gold and splendid. To the left is an Iranian Colonel. To his left is his delicate, still beautiful wife and somewhere to the center lower half of the bed, crouched as a baby is a young American woman.
This movie to me was about the ultimate dessimation of civilization.
We might be today a globe of boundaries and territories, but as a whole, we are still and will always be one civilization. Whenever we have rocked our world, it has always been about adding, extending or removing a boundary line - nothing more. Yet the impact on our civilization has been phenomenal.
In our civilization, there are some of us who've been here long, tempered by time and ages of learning. To today's children, we may seem irrational. Iran, Iraq, the Middle East and Asia, to name some of the current hotspots, represent this older civilization. The United States is on the other spectrum, the younger part of our civilization. The older civilizations are struggling in this new economy that favors the youth. Yet they feel no shame in leaning on their youth and hence transfering traditions forward. Their children will live in today's world but they will bring with them the wealth of their past.
[I see the same pattern being fostered between nations, where older nations seek the support of the younger, stronger nations in gathering together the traditions of our past and taking it forward for the benefit of civilization at large]
The United States today stands guilty of exterminating the old, the powerless. In face of any danger, the Americans respond with fear backed by the only force they have - military force - their only heritage in their brief history. They will use this force to get what they want even if as a culture, they possibly cannot know what it is that they seek.
In such fickle hands lie the dessimation of an entire civilization. Just like the museums and libraries of Iraq burnt to rubble and ash, the Americans in their fear will bring on us the end of all that we know and understand.
This is the message of the movie - House of sand and fog.
Everywhere we look today, especially in India, we see the hand of America. Seeing Manmohan Singh address the US Congress was more NEWS to us than watching an American president address any other gathering. Through movies, television, film, MNCs, retail and merchandise, we are being invaded by the American way. While I take no offence with success and some of us seeing it as the American Way, there is more to a coin than just heads.
9/11, the American embassy bombing in Sudan, the bombings in Indonesia and the recent London terror attachks - all point to the other side of the coin. The means certainly do not justify the end, it is too simplistic. American occupation of Iraq was the first of many firsts that like a tidal tsunami hovers over the life of civilization itself.
"He is a scared man. He is nothing without his gun." Lines from the movie apply to America, when hurt and provoked. The retribution in the movie is the life of a young man, the custodian of our civilization. Without him, our children, we have no identity. Without us, America will cease to be.
I was warned earlier that this movie would be depressing. I understand that now. I am depressed.
We have a scared nation ready to nuke just about anybody in order to get back that which was not only theirs to behold. America is but a deep crack, molten lava beneath, waiting to wash this world anew.

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This morning:

On further reflection, the concept of old and young, the circle of life extends beyond just nations. It is far more basic and modular to how we respond. It is a fallacy to think that the aged are rigid. Instead, I learnt that it is they who are most flexible when it comes to handling change. In contrast, their rigidity is their commitment to the good times, to take learnings forward. In order to do that however, someone needs to change. I feel as the younger generation, it is our role to step up to embrace that change. It is up to us to let go of our self-centered wants and desires, and instead brace up to accept the learnings of centuries past. We cannot afford to doubt ourselves and look to the American way. Theirs is a society of discards, runaways, wonderfully packaged into something they refer to as the American Dream. More and more we see them hijacking our heritage to make up for their lack of any. We are only eager to share, since that is our heritage, to share and partake of one circle.
I also see that I am coming out far more harsh against the United States than is warranted or even desired by me. Which brings me back to the circle of life. The conflicts demonstrated in this movie clearly apply to any society, group or individual. We are all changing, growing and with that comes the need to tranfer learning and knowledge, fears and weaknesses. Let us not exalt in our youth but persevere with our aged and partake of that which is for all of us to behold.