All Day Long

I've been watching a couple of movies recently that each spanned the course of just one day. And what stories! So that got me thinking....

It's remarkable how such powerful stories can be told and so much action unfold (wow, that rhymes too!) within such a short time span.

So here's a (very) short selection of daylong movies.

Dog Day Afternoon: Is it a bank robbery gone crazy? Or is it a take about something else? And who exactly are these robbers? And what's their motivation? Real crazy stuff!

Training Day: A police procedural on high. Why didn't *both* the lead actors get an Oscar each?

"King Kong ain't got shit on me!"

Falling Down: Michael Douglas acts almost as good as Robert Duvall. Brilliant.

"I'm just going home".

Any other memorable ones you can think of? Any from Bollywood?

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About a dog

I was trying to watch this movie called Dus

My mind went numb & my heart said बस!

Desperately trying to be slick, smooth & grand

just like the real stuff from Hollywoodland.

Oh, Anubhav Anubhav Anubhav, why were you so rash

to follow up this stinker with yet another one called "Cash"?

In all honesty, it's not the only hindi movie

to make believe it's oh-so funky n groovy.

Think of काँटे, धूम, धूम २ & दोस्ताना

Swagger, pouts, Shades, & cleavage दिखाना

Mahesh, Karan & Co., here's some heartfelt advice

We want a good story, not rehashed Miami Vice!

Where's the challenge in ripping off Bad Boys 2?

If Johnny Gaddar could do it, so can you!

It could be somewhat funny if it wasn't so grating

Frankly My Dear, it's just nauseating.

All these cool auteurs remind me of a little girl

trying on, for the first time, her mama's pearls.

Her face all powdery, & red with rouge

stumbling & fumbling in grownup shoes.

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And the Oscar for Best Dad goes to...

So who make the best screen dads? Who are our role models for how to be kind, stern, responsible, loving, strict, wise, playful...the qualifications list for daddy'ism goes on.

My own nominations would be:

In Hindi movies:

- Balraj Sahni: An example of this great man's portrayal of a father is "Paraya Dhan". But how does one forget "Garam Hawa" or "Waqt"? Or "Kabuliwala"?

- Nazir Hussain: "बेटी, आज अगर तेरी माँ ज़िंदा होती.." The quintessential maudlin & tormented father. :-)

In Hollywood:

- Danny Aiello: Apart from being a fine movie actor, he played Madonna's dad in the "Papa Don't Preach" video.

-John Goodman : Check out "Coyote Ugly".

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