Posted on

Movie Review: Dangal – A Must Watch!

Aamir Khan is like Santa Claus every Christmas he comes with a nice gift for all of us in the form of a wonderful movie. This Christmas is special because of his latest release – Dangal. Based on the real-life story of wrestler Mahavir Phogat and his daughters Geeta and Babita. Directed by Nitesh Tiwari, Dangal is a great story told on screen.

dangal

Mahavir Singh Phogat (Aamir Khan) is an amateur wrestler who was forced to give up wrestling due to financial difficulties. He was unable to win a gold medal for India and vows that his son will. He is disappointed when his wife gives birth to four daughters. He gives up his dream thinking that girls cannot wrestle and should only be taught household chores. But when his older daughters, Geeta (Fatima Sana Shaikh) and Babita (Sanya Malhotra) come home after beating up two boys, Mahavir realizes his daughters have the potential to become wrestlers and start coaching them.

In a society where women are traditionally not into wrestling Mahavir Phogat encouraged and fought against all societal norms to take his daughters to international wrestling competition and they also come back victorious. The story is quite moving and shows the dedication and passion towards this rustic game.

Nitesh Tiwari and his writers have done a great job in the writing department, however, the editing could have been crispier. There are few scenes in the first and second half where you feel it could have been edited out to make it gripping. The real bout scenes in the second half are so engrossing that you feel as if you are watching a live bout.

Performances by every artist are very good and commendable especially Aamir, Sakshi, Fatima, Sana and the two young girls and Aparshakti who are the main characters. The supporting cast is well chosen by Mukesh Chabbra and the entire movie experience is quite engrossing.

Music by Pritam is not up to the mark but goes with the tone and content of the movie. Cinematography by Sethu Sriram is very good. The Indian heartland is well-captured.

On the whole, Dangal is a movie with a heart. Go for it and surprisingly find yourself cheering for these girls as if you are watching a real game of wrestling.

My Verdict: ****/5

Posted on

Movie Review: Kahaani 2 Fantastic Performances, Poor Script!

Kahaani, when it released in 2012 was a sleeper hit and a part two was eagerly awaited. This week, the wait is over and Kahaani 2: Durga Rani Singh got released starring Vidya Balan and Arjun Rampal. Apart from Vidya Balan and Sujoy Ghosh, there is no connection to Kahaani.

kahaani

Coming to the story,  Kahaani 2 has no connection with the first part apart from Vidya Balan and Sujoy Ghosh. Also, it is not a sequel to Kahaani but it is in the same line where the main protagonist Vidya Sinha (Vidya Balan) is in search of her crippled daughter Mini (Tunisha Sharma). The movie starts with Vidya getting a call about her daughter being kidnapped and she hysterically runs around the lanes of a small town Chandan Nagar and within minutes she is hit by a speeding car leaving her comatose. Soon, Inderjit Singh (Arjun Rampal) is introduced as the Inspector investigating the case. A visit to the victim’s house reveals to Inderjit that she had acquired a fake identity and also her diary enlightens the fact that she had a trying life that she and her daughter Mini had survived. As Vidya’s condition sinks, she has a mysterious visitor at the hospital who tries to kill her by jabbing a syringe into her wrist. As scope for her recovery seems bleak, Inderjeet strives to get to the bottom of the affair, with or without her assistance. So, will Vidya ever be united with her daughter? Will Inderjeet detect what drove Vidya to adopt an alias? These questions are best unanswered to keep spoilers at bay.

Coming to the script, it is quite engaging in the first half. The story moves ahead at a faster pace and has you hooked with no time to think of any bloopers, however, Kahaani 2 also suffers from the curse of the second half which is quite evident in almost every movie released this year. Suddenly the entire plot is something that even a small kid can predict. However, Sujoy does a great job as a director but the screenplay lets him down.

Vidya Balan as Vidya Sinha / Durga Rani Singh is FANTASTIC. She emotes every emotion effortlessly and is a sheer pleasure to watch. This one of the best performances by Balan and might be considered for every award function that will kick start in few weeks time. Arjun Rampal surprisingly does a wonderful job. This movie has challenged the hidden actor in him and he proves that if given a right script and a director, he can definitely hit back with a great performance. Jugal Hansraj as the mean uncle does a commendable job and also a never seen before act, and every time he comes on screen you tend to hate his presence. That shows he has owned his character completely. Rest of the supporting cast also does a great job.

The editing could have been crisper in the second half as there are times when you tend to get bored with the proceedings. The music is situational and is not something you will ever listen to.

Overall, Kahaani 2 is not a better version of its predecessor, but it is still a one-time watch only for Vidya Balan.

My Verdict: **1/2

Alright so Christmas season is soon coming and I have a perfect gift for you. My book Alfie The Elf released recently and it is a good gift for you and your kids this Christmas, also every book sold will bring a smile on the face of a less-privileged child as 40% of the sale proceeds are going to DreamADream NGO. Please do see the book trailer below and if interested, click here to order. Also available on every leading online bookstore nationally and internationally in paperback and e-Book format.

Posted on

Review: Dear Zindagi ‘I Love You’!

dear-zindagi

I know it’s been a while I reviewed any of the new releases, however, I was busy with the release of my new book Alfie The Elf. Anyway, at no cost I wanted to miss out on Dear Zindagi that released this week starring Alia Bhatt and Shah Rukh Khan and directed by Gauri Shinde of ‘English Vinglish’ fame. Let me directly dive into the plotline of the movie.

Kaira aka Koko (Alia Bhatt) is an ambitious cinematographer (wait aren’t they called DOP these days?) who like many millennials has a messy love life and a yet to bloom career. She falls in and out of love instantly. She parties and also cheats on her boyfriend (Angad Bedi)  with another man. However, her entire world comes crumbling down first with a heartbreak when the guy of her dreams Raghvendra (Kunal Kapoor) dumps her and gets engaged to someone else. And, then her landlord  slaps her with an eviction notice and our cutie-pie Kaira processes this cumulative assault while biting into green chilies. Throughout you are subjected to a slight hint of her strained relationship with her parents.

Enter Jehangir Khan aka Jugs (Shah Rukh Khan) who is a DD – Dimag Ka Doctor, who tries to help Kaira with her problems and to love her Zindagi. In his ‘out of textbook’ ways, Jug helps Kyra open up about her on the surface problems and further digs into the bigger ones. With his ‘cool’ stories, he wins over Kyra’s fears and teaches her to embrace life. Alas, our baby-faced Kaira falls head over heals in love with Jugs. Now, what? Would Jugs reciprocate to her love or leave her like her previous crushes? Find out by watching Dear Zindagi at a theater near you!

Coming to the script and screenplay, which seems to be good, however, Gauri seems to have gone on a trip of her own. She tries to weave in multiple issues into one story for the character. The parental issues, love life issues, career issues etc. and in that process losses track. The sparks she showed with Sridevi starrer English Vinglish is missing. The dialogues though initially interesting tends to be very preachy and boring in the second half.

Performance wise, this is Alia’s best. She rises above the screenplay and gets perfectly into Kiara’s character making it more believable. Shah Rukh Khan as Jugs is impressive, however, the dialogues let things down. As the entire focus of the movie is on Kaira’s character, the characters supporting hers viz; Raghu (Kunal Kapoor), Sid (Angad Bedi) or Rumi (Ali Zafar) get no background whatsoever.

The music is average only the title song ‘Love You Zindagi’ and a rehash of yesteryear superhit song ‘Ae Zindagi’ from Sadma composed by maestro Illayaraja stands out. Editing in the second half could have been crisper.

On the whole, Dear Zindagi is a great watch for all Alia Bhatt and SRK fans.

My Verdict:***

Have you watched the book trailer of my latest book Alfie The Elf? No? See Below! 🙂

Book released all over the world… also now available for Amazon Prime customers!

Posted on

Let’s Make A Child’s Dream Come True Today!

Alfie The Elf’s story begins all the way back in 2012, while I was in the middle of writing my most ambitious book; “A Pocketful of Sunshine.” (Fingers crossed, one day it will be released.) It was around Christmas and my brother and his family were visiting and my nephew – Nathan (four, then) had a head full of questions about Christmas. Santa Claus, how he got his gifts.

Alfie The Elf Shaiju Mathew
Meet the gang of Alfie

As I answered his curiosity, a story spun in my head about the magic of Christmas. I wanted to tell a story about hope, about spreading joy, about magic, about wishes coming true, a story that was set in a magical land, a story that would bring all the magical creatures to life and then suddenly I had a character coming to life and that was Alfie.

To me, Christmas has always been special, it was all about waiting for gifts and spending time with family, eating yummy Christmas goodies and going to church to sing carols and this time felt magical to me and I wanted this feeling to be translated into my book.

As impossible as it may sound, I wrote about Alfie in nine days straight and like Alfie and the other characters in the story, I went through an emotional roller coaster; mainly to get this story out to the world. Almost all the publishers I approached had the same response about this book: “It’s too Enid Blyton-ish, we are looking for something that is more J K Rowling.” Some publishers who showed interest asked me to don a western penname. And by the end, my literary agent, too, gave up hope, raised her hands up in surrender and wished me luck with Alfie.

Alfie The Elf, Shaiju Mathew
Book Cover

Determined to bring Alfie and his friends to the world, I reached out to the public and asked for their opinion, I shared a few of the chapters with about a hundred people of varying age group (8 years to 65 years) and the response I got was overwhelming; they loved the story, they loved the spirit of Christmas and innocence Alfie and his friends brought with the story.

This motivated me to self-publish my book that was so dear to me and now you hold in your hands.

During all those self-doubting days, there were a few wonderful people who were my support system and stood by me through thick and thin. This book would be incomplete if I go on without mentioning them.

The two people without whom Alfie would not have been possible and to whom I am indebted for life: Anusha Jha Rohom, my book editor who after reading Alfie The Elf, was kind enough to come on board with zero expectations and molded my story beautifully. Secondly, Vikram Nandwani, my childhood friend, and illustrator who brought every character to life and came up with the beautiful book cover.

Apart from that, I would love to thank my friends and family especially my parents who always taught my brother and me to never lose hope and to always pursue our dreams how much ever they seem to be impossible.

And last, but never the least, my nephews and niece – Nathan, Jeremiah, and Kiara – the little kids with big ideas; I hope I made you proud.

Dream A Dream, Shaiju Mathew, Alfie The Elf
Inside Cover of Alfie

Now coming to the question of ‘How Can You Make A Child’s Dream Come True?’ By buying a copy of Alfie The Elf, you will be able to do that, how? I have tied up with Dream A Dream Organization who is backing Alfie to fulfill the dreams of many less privileged kids. Every book sold will help a child’s dream come true as 40% of the profits are going to this cause. So, what are you waiting for? Go ahead and order your copy from any of the leading online bookstores where you can find the paperback as well as an E-Book version. Also, don’t forget to send me your feedback on mattshai@gmail.com

Please order your copies from the following links;

Paperback edition in India: Amazon.in,Flipkart, PayTM, Shopclues, Infibeam, Notion Press etc.

Paperback edition abroad: Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk, BarnesandNoble,

Ebook Edition: Kindle, Google Play, KoBo, Dailyhunt, iBooks, Rockstand

Posted on

Let’s Talk Films With Sameer K Singh

Today on Let’s Talk Films With, I have one of my older associates and now a dear friend Sameer K Singh who is the Founder of Yoola. A fellow filmy guy and the biggest fan of Akshay Kumar, let’s hear what he has to say about his ‘Filmyness’.

sameer_white

What kind of movies you love to watch & how many in a day can you watch?
Well if there’s anything apart from my work and family that can excite me then it’s movies. I would rather watch an already seen movie again than going out to party. My favorite genres are comedy and thriller or something that can keep me on the edge of my seat. If it’s about my favorite Akshay Kumar and if my schedule allows, I can watch from 2 to 3 movies of his in a day be it same or different, doesn’t really matter.

Since what age are you watching movies?
I don’t remember exactly, which somehow suggests that I started watching movies from a very young age, not that I am not young now (laughs) but I assume I must be around 10-12 (smiles).

You being a business guy… tell me one movie that you remember that has the main lead playing a businessman to the T?
Well, there are so many that I am little confused here, if you watch Bollywood movies closely, you will get some or other entrepreneurship tip from every 2nd movie that releases. I will name few of my favorites which are Guru, Rocket Singh Sales Man Of The Year, Band Baja Baarat, Badmash Company, etc but the one that would be on top of my list would be Lagaan. Yes, you must be wondering what has Lagaan to do with business? But as you go deep into it, there can be no better motivational character than Bhuvan as an Entrepreneur. The character goes against all odds, builds a team, leads it till the end and wins because of team work, belief and his determination and of course a little luck (tongue out). These are the characteristics of a true entrepreneur.

Have you ever imagined yourself to be a superhero and tried to wear your briefs over your pants and tried to save the world?
Haha!! I am a 90s kid, pure desi who grew up watching Shaktimaan, pointing a finger towards the sky and rotating 360 degrees was more me. Never tried wearing my briefs over my pants at least not that I remember but yes I did wear capes and act like I could fly.

What is your secret fantasy when it comes to movies and movie stars?
My secret fantasy is to be immortal and the only medium that can make me immortal is movies. I believe whoever comes on the silver screen becomes immortal, we have lost so many legends in past but because good movies have that charm to connect with its audience by heart, actors stay with us forever. Like for example, I was watching DDLJ recently and didn’t realize that Legendry Amrish Puri isn’t between us, this sudden realization saddened me but at the same time, I was cheering that he will always remain with us throughout our lives because of his work. So yes, if given a chance I would love to try my skills to act as well, not immediately but definitely (smiles).

The most bizarre movie you have ever watched?
Believe me, I try and watch each and every movie that comes across. I have watched Bollywood movies that many don’t even know the names of. I do survive even the bad ones but one of the most bizarre movies was Jism 2, it was like a nightmare and I wanted to leave the theater but to maintain my track record of watching every movie till the end, I stayed and survived.

Your favorite movie and why?
It has to be Garam Masala on top, I watch it when I am upset, it makes me cheer up, I can watch it again and again and it will never be enough for me. I remember I once watched Garam Masala thrice in a day, it sounds crazy but yes that’s what I am when it come to Akshay Sir and his comic timings in his movies. Other favorites would be Dil Chahta Hai, Hera Pheri, Race, Taare Zameen Par, Munna Bhai, etc.

The corniest dialogue you have ever heard?
Can I mention my favorite instead?

Go ahead (smiles).
Okay, there’s this dialogue from the movie Ishq where Kajol and Amir Khan burns property papers to make a cup of tea and later after tasting it says, “Dhai crore rupaye jab ek cup chai ka zaika nahi badal saka toh hum pyaar karne walon ka irada kya badlega” Sheer brilliant!!

A movie dialogue you tend to use often or comes to your mind now?
“Kyun Thaak Rahe Ho??” from Houseful 2 is one of the funniest and can be used in day to day life. I am very good with dialogues and easily relate to any situation with apt dialogues to express myself.

Any filmmaker you would want to maroon in an island for making crappy movies?
Yes please, if possible, let’s sponsor a one-sided ticket for the maker of Jism 2, it was such a disaster that I still can’t forget the trauma after so many years of its release.

Any actors you want to add with the director in the same island 😛 ?
Imran Khan maybe?

Any message to fellow movie buffs?
I have messages (laughs).

photo-2-15

Alright (laughs) let me reframe my question… Any messages to fellow movie buffs?
1) Don’t support piracy, a movie requires a lot of effort, time and hard work of a team. Piracy kills the enthusiasm and charm of watching a movie on the silver screen, ultimately making it less attractive.
2) Not all movies are same and comparing two different movies isn’t right. There are good movies and bad movies but every movie has a target audience if you go to watch an adult comedy, make sure you are in that mood and don’t expect it to be classic PK or 3 idiots. If you do so, you will be disappointed but if you don’t you will definitely enjoy it.
3) Don’t compare Indian Film Industry with Hollywood, If you do, compare the ticket prices and budget too. Indian films are as good as they should be. Movies are meant for entertainment, get entertained.

Wish you all the best for Yoola and may you have a great year ahead Sam!
Thank you and wish you all the best for your next book Alfie The Elf… I believe it is releasing in a couple of weeks?

Yes it is and like movie piracy, please do not ask a free copy from any author (winks)
Arre nahi, I will be buying my copy, First Day, First Show.

Err… it’s not a movie (laughs)
I know, sometimes the filmy keeda makes me say such things (laughs). On a serious note, I will be buying the book and I am sure it will be magical like your previous one.

Thank you (smiles)
So guys, if you are in Pune, then please do download Yoola and try it out. I am sure you will love the features of the app. Get more details at http://yoola.co/

Posted on

Movie Review: Shivaay – A Feast for Ajay Devgan Fans!

The second BIG movie of the week is Actor, Producer and Director Ajay Devgn’s second directorial – Shivaay. After a round of controversies surrounding the movie courtesy Kamal R Khan aka KRK, this action packed movie released with much hype and expectations. Let’s find out if the movie was able to live up to the expectations or not.

Shivaay ( Ajay Devgn) is a mountaineer who conducts treks in the Himalayas and lives in a small house. On one of his tours, he meets the Hindi speaking Bulgarian student Olga (Erika Kaar) and falls in love with her after he saves her life in a deadly avalanche. Olga becomes pregnant and is not willing to give birth to a child but on Shivaay’s insistence, she agrees to deliver the child Gaura (Abigail Eames) but refuses to raise it with him and returns to Bulgaria.

Nine years later, Gaura who was told by Shivaay that her mother is dead, learns about her existence through a letter. The peaceful life of Shivaay is shattered when Gaura confronts him about this learning and forces him to take her to Olga. So, Shivaay and Gaura go to Bulgaria to meet Olga who is now married to a Bulgarian, however, in a twist of destiny, Gaura gets kidnapped by a child trafficking gang and thus begins Shivaay’s cat and mouse chase with the kidnappers. Will Shivaay be able to save Gaura? How far will a father to go for the safety of his daughter? Find out by watching the movie.

The plot is very good slightly inspired by Taken but the script lacks punch, However, the father-daughter angle is explored very beautifully by Ajay.  Ajay Devgn as a performer and director does a superior job but his writers Robin Bhatt and Sandeep Srivastava pull him down. The action in the movie is interesting. As Shivaay, Ajay Devgn lives the role and Abigail Eames as Gaura does a wonderful job. Erika Kaar and Saayesha Saigal are good in their respective roles, however, as the story is about Ajay and Abigail, the other actors get less importance in the narrative.

Music by Mithoon is average but the background score is impactful. Cinematography by Aseem Bajaj is beautiful. The snowcapped mountains are captured wonderfully. Editing by Dharmendra Sharma is average, he could have done some crispier cuts in few sequences especially the chase sequence which is too long and tends to get boring.

On the whole, Shivaay is a good attempt by Ajay Devgn and his fans will love this actioner from him.

My Verdict: ***

Posted on

Movie Review: Ae Dil Hai Mushkil!

Diwali is the biggest festival of India and like every year, this year too, two BIG movies are clashing with each other to  get audience’s attention. The first movie I am reviewing is Karan Johar’s much-anticipated, much-talked and controversy surrounded – Ae Dil Hai Mushkil. Without much talking, let me dive into the story of ADHM.

The movie starts with ‘private-jet ameer’ Ayan (Ranbir) trying to hook up with ‘Raees’ Alizeh (Anushka) after a chance encounter at a London pub. However, instead of they ending up in bed and bidding farewell later, they strike up a friendship instantly. They’re both Bollywood-crazy goofballs who love cheesy ’80s songs, poke fun at each other’s partners and fit into each other like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. But Ayan wants more from the relationship while Alizeh wants to have him as her ‘bestestest’ friend forever after reeling from her break-up with her ex DJ Ali (Fawad). Although, Ayan is a good singer, but Alizeh feels there is no feeling in his singing as he has never experienced heartbreak. Which he does when a chance encounter with Ali while Alizeh and Ayan are holidaying in Paris, makes her slip back into his arms, leaving him distraught.

Alizeh goes back to Lucknow and gets married to Ali against her parent’s wishes. Ayan tries to make Alizeh understand his love for her, but she rejects him as she is not in love with him. A distraught and heartbroken Ayan then finds solace in a physical relationship with an older divorcee Saba (Aishwarya), who helps him get a new perspective on one-sided love.

Will Alizeh fall in love with Ayan and accept him as her lover or will Ayan find his soulmate in Saba? To find out, watch the movie.

The story by Karan Johar is a mixture of his earlier movies like Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Kal Ho Na Ho, Ek Main Aur Ek Tu etc. and Rockstar. There is no originality in the story or script, however, performances by the lead actors keep the movie afloat and entertaining. Ranbir, as usual, does a fantastic job and Anushka is a dream to watch. Their chemistry is crackling and you don’t turn your face away whenever they mouth those typical filmy corny dialogues from the 80s and 90s. Aishwarya looks beautiful and does a decent job in her small role. Lisa Haydon is hilarious and makes the ‘Vaatavaran’ exciting with her presence. Fawad Khan and Imran Abbas are just okay and do not have too many screen time (there was no need for the entire controversy to be created around their presence in the movie). Shah Rukh Khan and Alia Bhatt lightens up the screen with their short cameos.

Dialogues by Niranjan Iyengar and Karan Johar is good and the first half is quite entertaining because of the dialogues and the lead pair’s chemistry. The second half drags in the first 20 minutes and then picks up once Anushka and Ranbir meet again. The music by Pritam is outstanding especially the title song and Channa Mereya which has a haunting presence even in the BG score.

Cinematography by Anil Mehta is very good and you will fall in love with the lighting and every frame which gives you that typical KJo signature style. Editing could have been crisper, especially in the second half.

Overall, ADHM is a feel good movie and keeps you entertained and therefore I would recommend you to watch it at least once if you are a fan of KJO movies.

My Verdict: ***

Posted on

What Would I Like To Be Remembered For?

Have you ever thought of leaving a mark in the world? After such a long time, I saw something that really touched and intrigued me – Seagrams 100 Pipers‘ commercial. This made me introspect about what I should be remembered for? The inner voice echoed the sentiments conveyed in the commercial viz. ‘Be Remembered For Good’. The goodness you bring out in others, the goodness you want to spread through your writing, the smiles you can spread on the faces of others with your stories and characters. That motivated me to give wings to my new character Alfie (from my upcoming novel – Alfie The Elf) who is a 14-year-old midget and is one of the closest characters I have given life to.

sea

To give you a heads up about the book and character of Alfie, let me tell you he does not have a great life. He is an orphan and he is a midget due to which he gets ridiculed and taunted every day by everyone around him, and after few failed attempts to increase his height, he writes to Santa to fulfill his wish. When his wish is not fulfilled by Santa on a Christmas Day, he goes out in search of Santa along with his two friends Bullet – a pug and Pedro – an Owl to demand a reason for not fulfilling his wish. On his journey, he meets a lot many mythical creatures like the Easter Bunny, Tooth Fairy, a Snowman and an evil wizard hell-bent on becoming the master of the Universe. Through his innocence and lovely demeanor he is able to spread joy to everyone he meets in the journey.

Source: blog.celoxis.com
Source: blog.celoxis.com

It made me think if Alfie as a character brings joy to so many characters he meets in my story, why not extend that to real life kids too who are like him – orphan and underprivileged. Therefore, I decided to come up with a Trust named – Alfie For Kids where I will be donating the entire proceeds from the sale of Alfie series which could be used for the benefit of educating and upkeep of underprivileged kids.

When I look back and see, great authors like Enid Blyton, Jane Austin or near home Ruskin Bond and R K Narayan. These great legends are remembered for their characters viz. The Famous Five kids, Rusty, Swami, Elizabeth Bennet or Mr. Darcy, etc. Like them and every other author and storyteller in this world, even I want to be remembered for my stories and characters. However, now I want to go beyond and do something for the world. Something that my character Alfie and his friends in the story believes in doing. So this Christmas season when my new book gets released and Alfie comes knocking at your door, welcome him to your life and give him your love and appreciate him for the cause he stands for. As, with every sale of the book, he will get more power and magic to fulfill the wishes of any underprivileged kid in this world. This will not only help Alfie and the kids but will also give me a reason to smile as somewhere in time, I might be remembered for the good cause I was associated with through my character Alfie.

PS: Let me share the video that inspired me to ‘Be Remembered For Good’

Posted on

Alfie The Elf – My New Novel!

Source: blog.celoxis.com
Source: blog.celoxis.com

It’s been a while since Knocked Up my debut novel released and I have been getting a lot of inquiries from my fans and readers asking about my next book. So finally after 6 years my next novel is going to release this ‘Children’s Day’ i.e. 14th November, titled Alfie The Elf.

Alfie is one of my favorite characters I have created and I am proud to say that I finished the manuscript in 7 days flat. Alfie is cute, he is brave, he is magical and he believes in making this world a beautiful place to live for each and every kind of being. He goes through a lot of hardships in life but he never gives up on hope and faith which leads him to become a real life HERO!

I approached a lot of publishers in India who discouraged me from releasing this book saying Christmas and Santa Claus themed books will never do well in India, as readers will not accept a local author writing about the same. They also told me that because of this reason, there are no Indian books based on these themes. I was also advised by few literary agents to change my name to a foreign sounding name so that publishers and readers will accept my book. However, when I did a small research group study involving 100 individuals of different age groups, where I handed over chapters of Alfie they all came back saying that it is a wonderful story and they want to read the full book, in turn giving me the confidence to release my book independently.  Sorry if I sound pompous and trying to pull up your expectations for the book, but wait until it is released, I am sure you will love Alfie :).

Now you might ask who is my target audience. Then the answer is anybody and everybody who has a child hidden within him/her will love this book :). Now, here is the synopsis of Alfie The Elf for you all. Also, I will be posting a few sample chapters along with the original cover for the book in a couple of days. I hope you love the book and Alfie the way I loved creating him 🙂

Synopsis: Alfie is a 14-year-old orphaned midget. He has just one wish – to grow tall. He believes that would help him gain lots of adoring friends and even impress Charlene, the girl of his dreams. He tries all tricks and tips to increase his height, but to no avail. Finally, he pins all his hopes on a miracle by writing to Santa and stays ‘good’ through the year. Christmas arrives, but Alfie’s wish doesn’t get fulfilled. Hurt, and deeply disappointed, Alfie runs away from his orphanage to look for Santa. That is only the beginning of a fantastical journey that takes him across mythical lands where he meets creatures straight out of fairy tales. With a wicked wizard out to dominate the universe and a worried Santa with his share of woes, Alfie has his hands full. Will he be able to achieve his dream? With the help of his best friend, Bullet, a pug and Pedro, an owl, he just might!

To grab a copy of Alfie The Elf please visit any of the leading bookstores eg; Amazon.com, Amazon.in, Flipkart, Branes&Noble, Infibeam, Shopclues etc. or just click here

Alfie The Elf Shaiju Mathew
Meet the gang of Alfie

You can reach out to me on authorshaiju@gmail.com or on my twitter – @shaijumathew profile 🙂

Posted on

Let’s Talk Films With Sumeet ‘Mikesh’ Vyas!

Today in Let’s Talk Films With… I have one of my favorite actors and a very good friend who does not need anymore introduction – Sumeet Vyas talking all about being filmy. 

sumeet

Sumeet, not many people know the filmy side of yours and therefore, here is the first googly question to you – What kind of movies you love to watch & how many in a day can you watch?
Hahaha… Hmmm (takes a deep breath and animatedly thinks for a moment) Well… I’m a sucker for drama films. Twisted family films and rom-com’s are my favorites. I can watch say 3-4 films at one go.

Still in the Tripling mode huh?
Well, you can say that (smiles).

Hmm… tell me since what age are you watching movies?
Since the age of three. The first word I learned to speak was Chitrahaar!!!

Well interesting, I think our generation grew up on Chitrahaar and Rangolis (smiles) Okay, now tell me one movie that you remember where the main lead has done a great job as an actor?
Joaquin phoenix in HER.

Have you ever imagined yourself to be a superhero and tried to wear your briefs over your pants and tried to save the world?
No, I’m not into that kinda kinky stuff… (winks and burst our laughing)

What is your secret fantasy when it comes to movies and movie stars?
My secret fantasy is to win an Oscar, I’ve been rehearsing the speech since I was 5. And I want to always wear sun shades and be like Jack Nicholson. He’s my favorite movie star. Do you want to hear the speech? Nah! Let’s save it for the actual event for now (winks) 

Hmm… let’s move ahead. What is the most bizarre movie you have ever watched?
Void.

And, your favorite movie and why?
Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless mind. It’s my all-time favorite film. Because it’s so universal.

The corniest dialogue you have ever heard?
Thappad se darr nahi lagta, pyaar se lagta hai… (says in a baritone) I’m going to be stoned for this (burst our laughing).

A movie dialogue you tend to use often or comes to your mind now?
‘Who the fuck are you? I’m the guy who does his job… You must be the other guy’ – from Departed.

Any filmmaker you would want to maroon in an island for making crappy movies?
Not my scene. I love watching crappy films after I’m drunk.

(laughs) Okay, so what’s your message to fellow movie buffs?
There’s an audience for all kinds of films. Don’t hate the ones you don’t enjoy.

Future projects?
Ribbon to be directed by Rakhee Sandiliya starring Kalki and Sumeet Vyas tada! (animatedly)

It was a pleasure to have you on LTFW… and I wish you all the best for your future projects
Thank you and I would also wish you the same for your next book Alfie The Elf and I am sure it will do well. By the way, I need the first author-signed copy and I am serious (smiles).

Of course! It goes without saying…. you will be one of the first people to get a copy of Alfie when it releases in November.

You watch Sumeet on TVF’s Tripling on every Sunday and also on Comedy Nights Bachao Taaza on Colors.

tripling