Love is Complicated...the first draft is delayed!

Hello everyone.

I hope everyone is well and I am once again posting back to you on the blog. It has been such a busy week for me. I promise you that this is a short post for now.

Unfortunately due to my busy schedule, the first draft for Love is Complicated will not be completed on time. I had planned to finish it today but the climax has alot and has took alot out of me. So I decided to spend possibly another few weeks on it as I will have two busy weekends.

I would definitely say that I am more than half way through my climax and it is working out well, only with your good wishes may I be able to finish on time. As you probably do remember, I did say before that I should finish by the 31st August, I think that will be the best date to think of for now.

I leave with a little thought. "Believe in becoming the best, that way you will get better. Being optimistic is a key to success. Do not let arrogance take over as the best can only know how to be humble."

Lots of love,
Rahul N. Singh.

OffBeat Fun: Script over Style?

Hey Readers,

Hope everybody is well! This week had the announcement that the writing of the climax of my novel has begun. At the moment, it is looking as if I won't be able to complete it on the 25th July but I am trying to get it done for then!

This week the OffBeat Fun Topic looks at Bollywood and it's films. But what films work in Bollywood? Is it the ones with great scripts or the ones which have 'great' style? You know style as in great clothes, great locales or great stars. So what works? As far as I am concerned both work. I personally prefer films with a great script to work over a film that relies on style.

Lets look at a few films that have stood out because they had more style than substance.
Let's start with the classic Dhoom 2! What were Yash Raj thinking when they made this? First of all, what was so great about this film that made it into a blockbuster? I cannot think of one thing! The acting was terrible by Hrithik and Aishwarya! We all know that these two can do better...Bipasha looked hot in the bikini and Abhishek was good as the smooth cop! Seeing Hrithik steroid-filled body was not even great, let's remember that Dhoom 2 relied on Hrithik's body. Even the whole of Aishwarya's dialogues of 'Sunehri likes...' please would someone tell her that Sunehri should like have vanished from the film altogether. This film had nothing special, the action was not all that. The script...was there even a script? This was the first time when I though Adi Chopra was losing his magic and from there we have seen the fall of Yash Raj! Again style may have won but it will never be a film that will be remembered.

Welcome...God knows how this film even became one of the biggest blockbusters of last year. There were some nice scenery. There was a scene where Akshay-Katrina were in a hotel which was full of chicks in bikinis and Katrina looked extremely stupid by pulling boring April fool jokes on Akshay. It got to a point when I did convince myself that Akshay has lost the talent to act. He is now trying to hard to be funny and it does not work with me. I prefer natural comedy! Welcome had nothing to offer, the whole climax was too long and boring. I felt that a house balancing on some log or whatever that thing may be, it was just painful for my eyes. I wish I could have had those three hours back, that is how bad it was. I felt at the end of this that the director pulled the biggest April fool joke on me...and that was by making such a film like this for me to watch!

Tashan...another Yash Raj film. Well the film was called Tashan and its meaning is Style. The only style in this film was...the music? The choreography was beyond terrible...someone please tell Vaibhevi Merchant that she cannot choreograph that well anymore. The director...was the director even present during the whole production? I am sure even a monkey could have done something better. Thank God for us men, we had Kareena in a bikini. What did the girls have? Saif was totally ignored in the second half, Akshay in his blonde wig? I rather watch Rajinikanth to be honest! Akshay who is supposedly the 'King of Action' well... watching Akshay dodge hundreds of bullets and jump just like Krissh does...one can only say this guy doesn't know the meaning of action. Tashan tried to ride in style but it crashed with a bang!

Wow...I think three films are enough. I can go on for much longer but I am sure you get the picture. However Bollywood does have great scripts. Even simple scripts like Bheja Fry end up as a spectacular watch. Watching Vinay Pathak twist every situation innocently was amazing!

Om Shanti Om...not only had style as in brilliant film sets, SRKs abs, the whole Deewangee song with 31 stars, it still had a script that worked. Its brilliance with the 'Mind It' scene, the restaurant scene with SRK-Arjun.

Don...it had style. It set a style. The cool sunglasses to the cool clothes. Making evil look good...that is a unique style but that only stood out to its brilliant script which kept the viewers happy with the twists and turns of Don!

Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na...I love this film. Not only is it about stylish college kids, it has a script that works. The script was amazing, it had hidden meanings in there which I noticed, it had nice songs, the story made sense. A great film!

So my conclusion for this topic is that script works more than having great style in a film. Yes, you may find success in them but for people to remember and appreciate such a film...it needs to have a powerful script. having a powerful script along with powerful performances always work in the end. Everyone will remember these films and that is what matters. You cannot get successes like Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Hum Aapke Hai Kaun, Chak De India, Lagaan will always be classics due to the powerful script and performance combination which all had a great sense of style too.

Hope you had a good read! So do you agree with the fact that a great script works more than a film that has 'good' style? Please give me your views!
By the way...Karan Johar has a brilliant blog and I would like all my readers to please take a look at it: www.mynameiskaran.com

Thanks and lots of love,
Rahul N. Singh

The climax begins!

Hi Readers!

Hope everyone is well! I hope the past few days have gone well for you. Just to tell you I am fine and inside of me I feel happy. For the past few days I have not slept much, infact I have hardly had any sleep. I have been working and also been trying to be on schedule with the novel.

The topic today is more of an update to tell you what is happening. So here goes and I know that fans of my work will be happy to hear about this good news! I actually think the title gives it away!

Well, here goes... I have now started to write my climax chapters for 'Love is Complicated'. So from the 12th July to the 25th July, I will be writing the climax chapters. From then, I will be taking a 4-day break and then I will read the whole novel before I send it to the lucky 5 who have been chosen to read the first draft.

I am really looking forward to writing the climax chapters. It gives me a feeling of happiness and contentment that my novel has advanced so much in such little time. I promise to make the climax different and enjoyable to read. I had planned the climax a few months before and I know it will be different. I hope that you all will enjoy the novel when it is completed.

I just want to say thankyou for the support given so far and I know that you will all continue to support me. It has motivated me! I hope that I can continue to write with such passion with my climax!

Thanks for reading!

Lots of love,
Rahul N. Singh

P.S. I watched Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na...it is a brilliant movie. It is worth watching and it is a nice college, romantic film. It has the Kuch Kuch Hota Hain nostalgia! I give it a 4/5!

The chapter on Death

Hello Readers!

It is back to the blog entry on the novel 'Love is Complicated.' Hope all is well with you all. Also I hope the week so far has been good for you. It has been a busy week for myself. Obviously I had 2 blog entries last week...one was on Shah Rukh Khan and the other was the return of the OffBeat Fun Topic, which was a review on the first 6 months of Bollywood films in 2008. Now I return to the novel topic.

The topic that I am about to discuss today is Death. This is one subject that people may think twice about reading...possibly because this is seen as a 'bad' event in our lives. Of course, it is a sad moment in our lives but what matters is how we cope with the loss. Death is always a sad moment in life but what matters is what we learn from the ones we love, we cherish and respect. We pray that one day we can hopefully do justice to what they wanted or preached.

Now it comes to the novel. There is a chapter where Death is dealt with...well it is felt and has its impact surround you. Now which character dies...is something I cannot tell you but it won't surprise you. It shouldn't even shock you. What will shock you is the way I wrote it. I am sorry that you will have to wait to read it!

I remember the time I wrote it and from that day till now I have felt it's effects. This is obviously the after-effects of becoming the character! However, I just feel that there is a lot of loss in 'Rahul's' life that I feel at times at loss. Possibly the fact that this person's death affects a lot of the way the story takes. Infact, the death opens doors rather than closes doors. This is the lesson that the chapter shows. The chapter shows that it is about inner-strength and that death should be accepted.

As 'Rahul' is a believer in God, he does look up to God but not for answers. He doesn't question the death, 'Rahul' knows that it had to happen. But what 'Rahul' does not expect is the help he receives before the actual death. The way his mind is at a crossroad and has to make a quick decision. A decision which would possibly affect his future but this is what makes it interesting.

Before the death takes place and it is the meeting with a new character that influences 'Rahul' to accept that he cannot change anything and that acceptance will see him through! This new character is beautiful and is totally unexpected but let's just say that this character is going to be in the climax to the novel too!

So the question arises. What is the best way to deal with Death? The best way is to just accept it and not fear it. Why fear something that you know you cannot avoid? Why not accept something when it is the biggest fact in the world? This is the way 'Rahul' sees it and he becomes the support system but the affects of being the support system is that deep down inside it is evident that 'Rahul' still is not over the death! 'Rahul' is not scared of death...he knows it comes unexpected. However, the drive in his life is to achieve Naina's love and until then he does not want death to come to him. He has achieved everything except for her love. So will he get her to love him back? Will his sacrifice lead things to change in his favour? Well...you have to wait to find that out!

Thanks everyone for reading and especially with the continuous support on the blog! It has been really inspirational and I hope I can keep doing justice to your expectations.

Lots of love,
Rahul N. Singh

OffBeat Fun: Bollywood's 6 months of grief!

Hello everyone!

Hope you all enjoyed the post on ShahRukh Khan...I know it was such a huge hit with you all. It is good to know where a part of my inspiration comes from.

The post today is simple. I am looking at the main Bollywood films that were released in January till June. Considering last year had the commercial and critical success of Chak De India, Om Shanti Om, Taare Zameen Par, Guru! So for the Industry it has been really bad. A string of flops has not helped this first half of the year and it only gives the second half of the year alot more pressure in terms of success. So here is a mini-review on the first half of the year.

The Good.
Well...some of you might be thinking...what is good about what we have seen this year?! Well, for me there have been a few good movies. Black and White...excellent movie. I totally loved the way the debutant Anurag Sinha carried out his character. This guy had power in his voice. It should have been a hit. I am shocked that the Indian audiences didn't appreciate such a film. Maybe they want more brainless flicks like Welcome!

The other good ones that I liked was Race. Saif is a very consistent actor and deserved the praise for this film. I would say that this was a polished up version of Dhoom 2!
Bhootnath! I am really amazed how the public did not like this Amitabh Bachchan-starrer film. Also it had SRK in a special appearance. No matter what box office says...Bhootnath deserved to be a hit but obviously the audiences prefer films like Bhool Bhulaiya.

I have not seen Jannat yet but from what I hear it is good and the other one I liked was Thoda Pyar Thoda Magic. I am upset that this is likely to become a flop but lets be honest..the audiences have failed to recognise a few good films this year. Rani was excellent in this film and the kids were simple...normal kids.

The over-hyped!
This will not be hard for some people to guess. Jodhaa-Akbar! Please tell me what is so good in those 4 hours? This film was a total snooze-fest! It was far too long, the history was not accurate. The performances by both leads were not great at all, you expect better from Hrithik who is claimed to be the next superstar after SRK. If people say that Hrithik has improved his acting with this film then SRK must have increased ten-fold in the past few years! But back to the film...I left the theatres with one question which one was playing Jodhaa? Also the next time I watch the film I will tank myself on 20 Red Bulls and possibly a packet of Pro-Plus to go with it!

Tashan...I am shocked that an Akshay Kumar film flopped! I mean...no way! Shock! This is terrible! Well it is about time that people realise that Akki is nothing more than an entertainer! He is an excellent entertainer but not good as an actor. To be King...he will need to improve his acting. The whole film was terrible...Saif was OK but was put to the side in the second half. Kareena was just too good in the bikini! Anil was funny again he was the saving grace for the film. I won't be watching this film again but seriously it has no tashan(style) in quality.

Sarkar Raj...my views on this is known on the blog. I will skip every scene Aishwarya Rai is in! RGV needs to check the editing of the film and get rid of the silly camera angles. Also...stop ruining the climaxes!

The conclusion.
So this year I look at it and think nothing is great. To be honest SRKs item number in Krazzy 4 is better than some of the films that have come out this half of the year. Bollywood needs to do some improving for the second half of the year!

Well it is obvious Bollywood is nothing without Shah Rukh Khan or Aamir Khan who always give the best films of the year. Aamir has Ghajini and SRK has Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi! So will these to films make up for the huge loss that Bollywood has made so far? It may be so! So as far as I know...Bollywood needs these two Khans! It looks like for me that these two Khans will be here to stay! Let's see at the end of this year...

Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed this! It is a little serious topic but with a little bit of fun! So please do take this with humour! Take care all and I will write to you all as soon as possible!

Lots of love,
Rahul N. Singh

SRK has made the Impossible turn Possible!

Hi Readers.

The blog is heading into it's fourth month. I feel happy that it has lasted so long! So today the blog is taking a new turn. I have updated the look of the blog to make it stand out and be more appealing to you all. Please tell me what you think about it! I think this may be the longest post that I will write since I first started!

I was thinking the other day that I have wrote about Big B, Akshay Kumar and Aamir Khan. However, I have not wrote about one person who has inspired me in writing my novel. I have not mentioned or had a blog dedicated to him. We all know who it is, if you do not know then you obviously don't know me. Infact, most of you must be wondering why I have not mentioned him yet but now he makes his formal entry to this blog. It is none other than Mr Shah Rukh Khan.

A 'word of warning' is that this is about the influence that SRK has upon my work and how I can relate to some of his interviews. I would like to clarify this...this post is not about how I am just like SRK or that I have modeled myself to be like him. Let me make this clear... I am Rahul N. Singh and that is who I am.

His career speaks for itself. A normal guy born and brought up in Delhi then went onto Mumbai and became the King of Bollywood. The third Superstar of Bollywood after Dilip Kumar ji and Bachchan Saab. He won millions of people's hearts. He saved Bollywood from facing Death with his movies. He brought life into the Industry when things were tough for a newcomer who had no family background in the film industry. However, SRK is the Superstar that appeals to all globally. Today, he has millions...possibly billions of fans around the world.

However, why is SRK an inspiration? Not just for me, but for a lot of the youth. What is so unique about him when he claims that he is just a normal guy? The fact is he dreams big and achieves big. He thinks of the best and is heading towards becoming the best. He dreamt of being the biggest star in the world and he has achieved it and it seemed impossible but now he shows that it is possible.

Now this post takes a different turn. Now it becomes about me. To make it less confusing for you...I have wrote 'Rahul' so you know that I am talking about the character Rahul in Love is Complicated and that it is not me.
My work ethics have changed in the past year. SRK is one of those people that have made me change my ways, my thoughts and my actions. He is one of those guys that respect women unconditionally, all his films have high respect for the female characters. I respect women greatly and my novel shows this... Naina is given a lot of respect especially in 'Rahul's' life. Infact, 'Rahul' loves his mother just the way you expect him to. Respect for women will always be evident in every novel I choose to do.

One thing strikes me about SRKs personality and I quote from Still Reading Khan page 390.
' The need to be loved is so strong that you are scared of it yourself. And if someone comes close to me, they will know that I am not really the person they love. I don't want anybody to know... I run away from what I love the most.'
SRK said this early on in his career. This strikes me in the sense as I am very similar. I don't want anyone to know me. Infact, I would not feel secure with myself if someone did. The most anyone knows about me is probably 50%. What happens in my mind is very different to what I voice out. I am more honest to myself on this blog than what I am to people when I meet them. Maybe my wife will know the true me!!! But I am just the same in terms of, if I am getting too close to someone or someone is able to see how I feel then I tend to back off from that person. However, I just want to be loved, I want to be loved by everyone. I fear that one day the people that I love the most will stop loving me because I am not the person they expected me to be. This makes me feel insecure. I am really insecure about myself but I feel that I am also very secure with myself. People will never know me because I do contradict myself. I will continue to contradict with myself until I know who I am truly. My love and faith for God is the only thing that can never be contradicted. I love God and always will.

Another thing that SRK talks about and what I can relate to is what he said in the Filmfare magazine in October.
“But when I try to play a character, instead of putting in too many crutches I become the character. I become that person. There are things that I have to explain. For example, if I have to be a flamboyant guy even without putting on much, without changing; my body language changes. That’s a plus of me as an actor. I don’t have to explain, the audience understands …”
I really like this. This shows me alot about SRK the actor. This is where I believe he knows what acting is all about. This is why he is probably still the best even though he has so much competition.
Someone asked me a question regarding my novel. Why are my characters so real? Why can we as a reader feel the characters so clearly? I personally believe it is the technique I use. I do become the character when I write in their eyes. I switch from 'Rahul' to Nikhil in seconds...I switch from Nikhil to Naina in seconds. It is natural to me now. I found it hard in the beginning as it required alot of energy. I smile when the character is smiling, I cry when the character cries. I feel everything the characters feel. This is another reason why people will never know who I am. The thing is right now I don't see much difference between me as a person to the character 'Rahul'. I would say now that I have become 'Rahul'.

So this leads to another question. Have I lost myself to the character? Probably I have. I am not sure. I won't say that my personality is now like the character 'Rahul'. I have a more stable love life than 'Rahul' does. The thing I really like about my character is his love for his mother. It is totally filmy but it is realistic. He does what every son should do or atleast feel. However, there is a lot of pain in 'Rahul's' life. He has lost his father, he has been searching for love from Naina, he hides himself from his family. Looking at it I think parts of my personality is in 'Rahul'. But 'Rahul' is his own character, I know I am totally not like 'Rahul'. I hope I didn't contradict myself here.

I would like to thank SRK for giving me insights of his acting techniques through interviews. His never dying spirit to succeed is something that I am learning to adapt to for myself. I have learnt from his work that you don't try 100%, you try 110%! This is the spirit you should have. Whatever you dream about, if you try with positive attitude then any dream is possible to achieve. This is what SRK believes in and it is something for us as the youth to look upto and admire.

Most of all, I would like to thank him for keeping my interest in Bollywood. He has been my favourite actor since Darr. Maybe in the future, one day I might write a book on SRK the actor.

I hope you all have had a great read and I really have enjoyed writing this. My advise to you is that work hard, if people put you down then work harder. Love everyone no matter what. Just think you are the best and you will become better in life. People will put you down, you can be the best in your field but people will judge you no matter what! I am sure people judge me but they will never know me. Only a few people will ever have the privilege to know me.

Take care and lots of love,

Rahul N. Singh