Mechanical Life

Weekly Movie Watch WMW003 Apocalypse Now (1979) Starring: Martin Sheen, Marlon Brando, Robert Duvall, Dennis Hopper Director: Francis Ford Coppola A masterful, thought-provoking, pretentious film, with beautifully-chaotic visuals, about the nightmarish, moral madness of the Vietnam War, inspired by the novella Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad. Considered by many to be the best war movie of all time, with incredible performances, especially that of hawkish Lt. Colonel Kilgore (Duvall) who "loves the smell of napalm in the morning." Sweeping, surreal, still-controversial Vietnam war epic. An Army captain (Sheen) is sent into the Cambodian jungle aboard a patrol boat carrying a young, spaced-out crew. Their mission: to assassinate ("terminate") a Buddha-like Colonel Kurtz (Brando) who has become an insane demi-god and now runs his own fiefdom. The grueling production in the Philippines led to vast budget overruns and physical and emotional breakdowns. Academy A...

Below is a short story I wrote. God knows for what I did but since its done I thought I'll publish the damage.

A NEW BEGINNING Arjun stood on top of the dais and he could feel the sweat breaking on top of his forehead making its way to his eyebrows. This is the 326th time it’s happening. He can't use his handkerchief, it looked as though it fell into a bucket of water. He had asked for fans to be kept on his either side and an old bum intervened 'Oh no, It’ll put off the fire in the alter!’ Fuck him. Arjun turned to his left only to see Sudha going through the same treatment. Only she was dressed up in silk and gold everywhere neck, hands, fingers, toes, nose, ears. He made an effort to look at her again if he had missed any other place of her body wondering at the same time if she has rings on her navel. Dirty me, he thought. Well not exactly I stopped at the navel, didn't I? He justified. She was pretty with sweat all over and vermilion and sandal and what not on her forehead she still looked pretty. And then it happened without warning. Someone started it by saying '...

Continued... He saw his friends sitting in the front row with thumbs-up sign. He wanted to show his middle finger back. He saw his parents smiling at him. They had a sense of satisfaction especially his dad. It was smile that says, "Join the gang". He turned around to look at Mrs. Sudha Arjun. She looked at him and smiled. Sweet smile. It could also be a smile that said "Gotcha". Now can the groom kiss the bride? Everyone was smiling. Like a major task has been completed. He didn’t wanna miss anyone’s expressions. All his male-friends were laughing. They were sharing some joke. Maybe the jokes are on me, he thought. "Can we have some water?” he asked some helper assuming that she'll need it too. She nudged and said, "I was about to ask". Odd those were the first words that we spoke as hubbie and wife. They brought two bottles of juice. Anything will do for thirst. He looked at his wife and said "Cheers". She smiled and 'Clink...

Continued... Strangely none of his friends came up. Nor did they go to the dining hall. They patiently waited till the whole crowd disappeared. Then they came. All grossly animated. Satya, Arjun's best friend came up, shook his hands and said "Congrats". Then he shook her hands and said "All the best". "What's that supposed to mean, assole?" Arjun whispered to Satya. "Fuck you" he replied back. Arjun shut his mouth up. His dad came up and said "Lunch?" Yeah whatever. Arjun ate like a pig. Didn't know what all he ate. He just ate. Whenever the cameramen, who by now have become a pain in the ass, came, he tried to strike some strange topic with Sudha and made it look like some intellectual discussion on the video. The time was already four. There was only 200-0dd people left out of which 20% was his friends. Satya was sitting next to him along with his wife. She had a strange way of eating. She made a lot of circles with h...