iREVIEW: Up

Starring Edward Asner, Christopher Plummer, Jordan Nagai and Bob Peterson. Written by Bob Peterson and Pete Docter. Directed by Pete Docter. 

Some films defy norms. It's almost impossible to believe that an animated film with its trademarked "unreal" colors and shenanigans could evoke vivider emotions than a "real" film. Up is no less than a work of genius. 

We have heard time and again about macho men who held onto their conviction till the last breath but  seldom come across a man on mission who changes vision and goals as much as we do.  Up is as humane as a film could get. 

Up is about a young child Carl Fredricksen, enamored with explorations and global trekking but his timidness keeps the passion hidden.  But then he finds a girl who is as raw and adventurous as he always wanted to be.  They become best of friends and before we know it, they tie the knot and live happily forever... until Carl's wife dies and he realizes,  entangled in trials and tribulations of worldly life, they forgot to fulfill their mutual dream of living at the Paradise falls. 

And that's where the magic of Up comes in. Till this point animation seems quite pointless.  If this was a "real" film, Carl would be rubbing sole of his shoes at banks and real estate agencies trying to make the dream reality but in this case he simply flies away towards Paradise Island in his house, tied to hundreds of helium balloons. 

He can do this because the point of the story is taking us at a heartbeat distance of Carl's dream before revealing the human out of him.  To the paradise fall, Carl tags along the adventurous, tubby little kid, Ellie, who some would say is what Carl was on the inside when he was that young.

But just when we start to believe that the characters would lessen in layers and succumb to the cracking plot, we are taken aback by the story of it all. Without spoiling much, I can say the film makes us realize that big dreams and lifelong obsessions sugarcoated as ambitions and sacred goals all lose meaning when we fail to act with compassion towards everything, even as little as a bird. 

Up has exceptional animation, great plot, witty dialogues and vivid characters, but it has something more, something which takes us beyond entertainment and forces us to do that we have long given up on doing... introspect! 

Consideration of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA): From Submission to Approval

The following are the stages an applicant to receive a result for case type I-821D (consideration of deferred action for childhood arrivals) with I-765 (work authorization) for approved cases with no request for evidence (RFE).

[In chronological order]

1. Applicant receives Form I797C - Notice of Action as a receipt for Form I821D - Consideration of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals and for Form I765 - Application for Employment Authorization with INFO 1, INFO 2 and PAY 2, respectively. 
2. Applicant receives Form I797C - Notice of Action as an ASC* Appointment Notice for I821D and I765 with INFO 3.
3. Applicant appears at ASC and provides fingerprints. Applicant's Form I797C - Notice of Action as an ASC Appointment Notice is stamped with Biometrics Processing Stamp with INFO 4. 
4. Applicant receives Form I797C - Notice of Action as an approval notice for both case I-821D and I-765. 
5. Applicant receives Employment Authorization Document (EAD), a card. 

Glossary: 

INFO 1,2 - Information in addition to that provided by the applicant - Notice date, case type, USCIS Alien Number, receipt number, received date.

PAY 2 - Information about payment received including application/petition fee, biometrics fee, total amount received and total balance due.

INFO 3 - Information about ASC, date and time of appointment.

INFO 4 - Biometrics processing stamp consists of ASC site code, Biometrics QA review by and on:, tenprints QA review by and on:.

*ASC - Application Service Center

Important:

• Many people "walk-in" for fingerprints prior to their actual appointment date in hopes of expediting the process.  ASC is not obligated to accept any walk-ins but more often than not applicants have been successful. Whether walk-ins facilitate processing time is open for debate. 
• Online case status is not prompt and in perfect sync with actual events. Applicants are advised to check updates only for a general idea and not a specific stage of their file. 
• Once, USPS has received EAD card, applicants can call USCIS for a tracking number.  Generally, EAD cards are sent via USPS Priority Mail with most deliveries in 2-3 business days (including Saturdays). 

Next step:

For most applicants, deferral is not the end of the story.  Once you have EAD, you can apply for Social Security Card and then for a Driver's license in most states (in that order).  To travel abroad, an applicant MUST apply for Advanced Parole document only after their case has been deferred and pay separate fee expecting 40-70 days processing time in most cases. 

For any question, please feel free to comment. 

Other important links:
DACA: Find your approval date! 
DACA: Frequently Asked Questions

Dussehra: Let's kill the true evil

On the eve of Dussehra, I remember staring up at huge effigies of Ravana (the antagonist in Ramayana) with dewy-eyed awe.  In the black sky, the gaudy drape drenched in yellow paint of jewelry and the big round eyes with fiery intentions would spread an eerie glow in the darkness as if Ravana, lurking over us, had singled me out.  Ah! The adrenaline of the horror.  Ah! The excitement of imminent victory over it!

The next day, the Dussehra, just when my father slumped in relaxation on one of his rare holidays, I, with my sister, would begin pestering him for an annual round of Dussehra viewing.  It simply meant hopping into our new Maruti Zen and going on a morning trip to view all the effigies in the neighborhood, the big ones built in all glory and the amateur ones, a product of local donations, all ready to be obliterated at dusk.  I simply loved it. It was more entertaining than the best film of my favorite star.

The world, the neighborhood and the house, bustled with festive yelps. Even the air was saturated with subtle moisture of sweets and the inevitable celebrations of upcoming Diwali season  (when Rama returns after defeating Ravana).

More than a decade later, on October 24, Indians across the globe once again celebrated the defeat of evil (Ravana) by the paragon of good, Lord Rama.  But things have changed.  No longer do I get excited about Dussehra.   No longer do I feel connected with the celebrations of upcoming Diwali.  Yes, the color is there and so is the sweetness of festive warmth.  But somehow, we have ceased to grow up from our fairytales.

Have we ever pondered that Tulsidas meant to write the greatest epic of good and evil that resides within us and those qualities he bestowed in characters of Rama and Ravana? Maybe Ravana is within us. And so is Rama. But it seems as though our moral weakness has manifested itself in burning pieces of cardboard and gifting the planet with an annual dump of toxic gases. We celebrate as if Ravana is an alien, almost an underworld don being publicly executed.

But I say, let's at least try to kill a Ravana within us. Only then we attempt to rise above the childish acts, float with the good, let the children enjoy the hoopla when we celebrate the true Dussehra! 

iREVIEW: The Amazing Spider-Man (2012)

Starring Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Rhys Ifans and Denis Leary. Written by James Vanderbilt et al. Directed by Marc Webb. 

I watched it for Emma Stone.  Here I said it. I saw the superhero flick for the chick in it. After Sam Raimi Spider Man trilogy's eventual slide to mediocrity, the world of spider man had convinced me that it's not for reasonably aged.  Rebooting any film requires at least a decade of fermentation from its last serving, but The Amazing Spider-Man caught all of us unaware by returning in half of that period.

Toby Maguire's cuddly looks and cry-baby melodrama was still fresh and salty when Andrew Garfield stepped into his shoes.  I thought the film wouldn't work, not at the conception level, not at the casting level and not at the release level. I was wrong... to some extent.

This film takes the zest factor a notch higher than before.  The love angle is definitely a sigh of relief.  Peter Parker, in this installment, really stepped up to his guts, understood his responsibilities as much as a high school chap would be expected to and of course had fun with the whole thing.  He realized that Gwen isn't going anywhere and it's not end of the world to focus on bigger things. After watching this film, I am confused with what makes a love angle interesting - it's constant bickering into every scene or a soothing scent in the backdrop.  You probably know what.

My beef with Raimi's series was that Parker really didn't party with his doppelganger.  I mean if we had all those powers at Parker's peppy age, crying in Mary Ann's longing and regurgitating the big time responsibilities that come with being "so cool" would be the last thing on our mind.  Webb's Parker is just like that and that's what made the first half so hip, funny and kinda cool.

But the second half was a letdown.  It was watchable of course but only in the capacity of special effects high dosage dripping all over the screen. I wish the film had given some more time to Peter Parker, his pet peeves and flaws.  We had so much fun exploring and abusing the powers to some extent without caring about hardcore moral philosophy.  That's what people do when they are entitled to such a privilege.  They take some time to evaluate but first they party!

Despite the two plus hour length, I didn't get enough of Parker's metamorphosis into his sassy alter ego - the egoistic, the arrogant and the more confident Peter Parker with powers. Having said that, I am not disappointed in any capacity. This film has definitely brought some much needed spice after the lackluster finale of Raimi's series.  Yes, the film didn't change much as far as the story goes but the characters have been brought to their senses!

Most Interesting Interview Guests

L-R: Javed Akhtar, Salman Rushdie and Bill Clinton

Some like it, others can't stand the apparent tedium of having to listen without any interjection. But I like to listen to the few I admire because of their sheer audacity to ride against the tide to represent humanity.  Here is a list of quadruplet of my favorite interviewees (in order)! I prescribe listening to them!

1. Neil deGrasse Tyson (American Astrophysicist, and Science Communicator) 
Neil is one of those personalities you have to listen to believe they exist. His sheer devotion to perpetuation of science and rejection of baseless faiths transmitted in public speeches through his splaying arms and powerful cadence in voice is like watching a progressive witchcraft.  His hawk eye vision in detecting even the minutest of betrayals to science, his first and only love, is one of the very few ways his love for the field manifests itself.  Only passion can explain Tyson's willingness to answer audience's questions with equal vehemence that he exuded in the actual lecture.

2. Javed Akhtar (Indian poet, lyricist, screenwriter and activist) 
If you want an interlocutor who is going to win the argument for you, Akhtar is your man. Co-writer of many blockbuster films of 70s and 80s and countless songs and poems, Akhtar has used his starlight to raise voice against many social evils in India, from class warfare to restriction on freedom of expression.  His memory, smart sense of humor and blunt attack on conservatism allows him to top the list of most interesting interviewees.  And  of course, he's an atheist!

3. Naseeruddin Shah (Indian film and theater actor) 
Shah is probably one of the finest actors to hit Indian screen ever.  Regarded as the superstar of parallel cinema, he has "crossed over" to western shores at several points.  But he is angry! Shah has never shied away from bludgeoning the indiscipline in Indian cinema, shoddy scripts of bollywood and communalists.  But things get really tasty when he takes names without any regards to sharp criticism and unnecessary controversies he ends up attracting.  His friends may be few but the man's respected!

4. Bill Clinton (42nd US President and activist) 
When he talks, you listen. Even if you don't understand a word of it. One of the most notable ex-politicians alive, Clinton never loses his cool demeanor and cadence even in the fieriest of political melodrama.  One of the few guys who seem to be experts in just about everything, Clinton's magic, in fact, is not entirely in the content but also in the style of it.  His interviewers can seldom gauge the width of his knowledge spectrum but even if they have some idea, it is never enough to refute this smooth ex-President.  All in all, if Clinton told you that you don't exist, you will probably not question it!

5. Salman Rushdie (British Indian novelist) 
Late Christopher Hitchens described Rushdie as "the wittiest user of the English language" and I think that sums it all.  Listening to Rushdie is like experiencing an interlocutory poet  playing with words just like a Jazz musician who makes riffs for the sheer joy of the sound it creates.  Unfortunately, unless there is an outburst in public rage concerning Islam or his book "The Satanic Verses" surfaces, Rushdie, an atheist, is seldom called to speak on other widespread issues.  It's a shame that one book that forced him into hiding for a decade has shadowed some of his less known but equal, if not greater, masterpieces.

People who just missed the list (or maybe they are all number 6!)... 
Richard Dawkins, Late Christopher Hitchens. 

iREVIEW: Oh My God (Movie Review)

Starring Paresh Rawal, Akshay Kumar, Mithun Chakraborty, Govind Namdeo, Poonam Jhawer and Mahesh Manjrekar. Written by Bhavesh Mandalia and Umesh Shukla.  Directed by Umesh Shukla. 

Sometimes a film is memorable because it smears the underlining message in your face with unabashed gumption and not because its some refined piece of art.  You like it or not, OMG tries its level best to convince you the inefficacy behind temples and other "paraphernalia" to reach God.

It is a simple story of a fundamental phenomena - human insecurity, greed and deception.  During times when human weaknesses have restricted the idea of God to the shenanigans of religion pettifogs and saints and priests to colorful buffoonery, OMG puts crosshairs right on its subjects, that is you and me, and shoots them with bullets of awakening.

Tersely, OMG places Kanji Bhai (Paresh Rawal), an atheist, right in the center of religious hooliganism when his shop is destroyed by an earthquake, an act of god, and the insurance company denies all claims of compensation.  The most rational breed of man, an atheist, then embarks on the most ludicrous journey of all - a lawsuit against God, since it's an act of God and God needs to recoup. Of course, as an atheist, his agenda is not to mingle with the idea of God but to recover his money and in process drag the colorful "gurus" into the court who have been maddeningly buzzing on his rationale shoulders for eons.

This film is a preachment sprinkled with entertainment and not the other way around.  The whole court session, the "God's" (Akshay Kumar) repeated conversations with Kanji and the entire flow of the film inclines towards decontaminating the idea of God from the political strata of religions.

Honestly, I want to bottle the filmmaker's gumption and sell it in black market for so bluntly refusing the idea of religion, temples and other "gateways" to God and that too in such an outlandishly direct manner. From Mithun's effeminate take on Swamis to Poonam as babe of a saint, we smirk to the images of real life "gurus" these characters remind us of (Swami Nithyananda and Guru Ma, perhaps!).

Such overt films require a personal connect with actors to look convincing.  For Paresh Rawal, I believe this film is as  personal as it could be.  He is awe inspiring.  Akshay is passable as an actor but he does look like a Greek God.  Mithun is fantastic, so is Govind Namdeo.  They are loud but lovable as mischievous gurus.

If films could change the world, this planet would be a much better place.  Oh My God will probably not even make a dent in our minds contaminated with insecurities and superstitions.  But at least they are trying.