Rain, Ghettos, Sex and the City

So I don’t care what the critics say and how so many people are “apparently” disappointed by the film. I thought it was pretty darn great and I loved every minute of Sex and the City.

So my lovely Friday went like this – was supposed to go to Filmcity to see a set – that initial plan, getting cancelled, prompted me to hurriedly book the seats online, after which the day dragged ooh, ever so slowly. A courier at office greeted my post mid-day and VOILA, someone had sent me the first very difficulty pirated version of the film itself – the audio of which is not audible at all – but oh the gesture – I was thrilled with the whole “it’s the thought that counts” angle to it! And then the day dragged even slower than before – the hours to the film were killing me – until my friend and I decided to while away time very productively.

And hence we hit Ghettos – and downed whisky and vodka and sort of snacked on half a plate of French fries and then hopped into a taxi to head to the far-far-away land of virtual New York. Reached dot on time – zipped into the hall which obviously had more than enough SATC fans just waiting for the film to begin!

So all the waiting and all the anticipation and all the longing to just watch my favourite 4 women on screen, come to terms with their mid-life crisis and joy, was so totally worth every penny of the 270 bucks I spent on the “Platinum” bloody ticket at Metro Adlabs. Yes, the hall was filled with groups of women and some victimised men who were dragged by their women, but I was pleasantly surprised to see some men flock the cinema hall sans their women - I guess seeing the packed hall on a very rainy Friday night was proof enough of its huge cult status! So yes, I got totally Carrie-d away and joyously so!

No spoilers here – I’m not going to even attempt giving away the story (though yes, its so goddamn predictable) – or start typing a review – I am just going to gloat in the fact that I managed to catch it on the first day and now, I sit in my room, a happy woman who has seen the best chick-flick till date!
And before I sound too fluffy or pink, yes I also watch the Bergmans and the Kurosawas of the world – and Godard being my favourite – Fellini comes a close second – but let me just say – we all have our little indulgences, and sex and the city tops my list! And the shoes, oh the shoes… those heels are droolworthy – I totally had a brainlessly good time there and I could do this again any day of any week!

And did I mention, how my eventful day ended? Reached home – happy and very celluloid stricken – and it started pouring like crazy. The house was empty – and then a call “We are stuck in rain, can you get a taxi and help?” – I panicked and in my typical “I will save the world” syndrome, wore my rain friendly chappals, short skirt and braved with a huge umbrella in one hand and three in the other, to rescue my relatives from the rain. No taxi, no nothing – finally managed to get one to drive me almost till where they were – sent back due to knee deep water level and then the bumblebee taxi gave up on me – “paani ghus gaya madam”, he apologetically said to me…my heart sank – the water was gushing and rushing and the current trying to work totally against me – with my oversized rainbow coloured umbrella, I just about managed to wade my way home and wondered what must happen in the suburbs if Malabar hill is like this! Anyway, the thought didn’t stay in my head for long – much as most thoughts don’t – and then I came home, cleaned up, dried up and now I sit in front of my laptop while the rain lashes angrily at my window – the wind is lovely, the song that is playing is that funny song by Rihanna who keeps repeating the “ella” in the umbrella – yes I find it totally senseless, but its raining and I like to hear about her umbrella or any umbrella for that matter – Travis is next on the playlist with “Why does it always rain on me” followed by CCR “have you ever seen the rain’. Any more rainy song suggestions? Talking of songs, I totally have to download the soundtrack of Sex and the City – I can’t seem to stop talking about it, can I? – well, expect a hangover for a while – till another movie takes my fancy, or I become too lazy to care!

The End. (in pink glittery fonts) :)

Divine Secrets of the Yap-Yap Sisterhood

A friend called me in last evening – she’s been married a few months – and lamented about her already unexciting sex life. And then some details followed, and by the end of it, I was in splits and trying to help her with fundas that I religiously pick from Cosmo. And this morning then another friend called who had had fantastic sex all weekend and but ofcourse, I had to hear all about it – some parts I was indifferent to, some I didn’t need to know, some I couldn’t care more about. But discussed it was and discussed it always is. And much to many boyfriends / husbands / lovers’ disapproval of this exercise, it is the practiced norm and the fact of the matter is that it’s as common as discussing what to eat for dinner.

Pajama nights start the habit I suppose – from flimsy boy talk we graduate to the relationship discussions and then we move up to the gender talk plane – where everything becomes generic and suddenly all men seem alike, much as all problems.

But more than boy talk and all that insignificant crap, there is a lot of sharing and support there – and a need to have those pillars… I hardly know of any woman who doesn’t have her thick group of lady-bugs to buggy them through the bad times and the good. And no wonder that Sex and the City does so well – its like dejavu – with the moments of “oh my god, we have had this exact conversation somewhere”!

I guess the slumber parties I’ve had and the girls nite outs I insist on has incited much curiosity amongst my male friends – some have said they’d give anything to become invisible and sit through the conversations, some have tried to bribe me into keeping the phone on to let the secrets out (fat chance!!) while some have just shrugged their shoulders and said “god only knows what you girls do in there”. Its probably equivalent to the male-locker-room talk – except that, I am told, men never get as close and as detailed with their friends as women do. Yes? No? Any comments there?

Men have close friends – but mostly it’s an unspeakable bond (or so I have been told) – but I don’t see how watching cricket together or downing litres of beers make you any closer to the other. How much of talk is really there I wonder. The man-to-man talk somehow has never impressed me. It seems….well… not as strong as female bonding.

But then again, I can’t comment coz I probably can’t understand how they bond as much as they can’t understand how we share such intimate details. To each his own and to each her own I suppose. I am terribly grateful to have the ‘ladies incorporated’ in my life and must I say, life would have been very unpleasantly different without them.

And like Carrie says “Life doesn’t always turn out to be your fantasy – that’s why you need friendships that are real to get you through it all”
So here’s to my fabulous women folk and my lady bugs – Cheers to our divine sisterhood and love to you all!