MY BOOK REVIEW OF PALLABI GHOSHAL'S "AN UNEXPECTED DETOUR"

AUTHOR: Pallabi Ghoshal

BUYING LINK: https://www.amazon.in/UNEXPECTED-DETOUR.../dp/8119512553

I congratulate the author on tying the knot with the love of her life while editing this work. "An Unexpected Detour" is her second book, and there is tremendous progress already in her writing.

It's commendable! This book should be turned into a great movie.

The story reminded me of "Darr," featuring Shahrukh Khan, Juhi Chawla, and Sunny Deol in lead roles. I'm amazed as I turn each page of this thriller! Speechless, to say the least! Spoiler: Wait for the unique twist at the end! Ghoshal's writing style is engaging and deeply reflective, drawing readers into her personal experiences with an authentic voice that resonates with sincerity. One of the most compelling aspects of this book is Ghoshal's ability to extract wisdom and meaning from seemingly ordinary events.

Each chapter is imbued with insightful reflections on resilience, adaptability, and the importance of staying true to oneself in the face of adversity. Ghoshal's storytelling is both poignant and relatable, making it easy for readers to connect with her journey on a deeply human level.

Moreover, "An Unexpected Detour" offers practical advice and strategies for navigating life's uncertainties with grace and resilience. Pallabi Ghoshal shares valuable lessons learned from her life experiences, providing readers with actionable insights that they can apply to their own lives. Broader themes such as the nature of change and challenges, the power of perspectives, and the significance of embracing life's twists and turns. These universal themes ensure that the book holds relevance for readers from all walks of life.

In summary, Unexpected Detour is a captivating and thought-provoking read that offers valuable insights into the human experience. Pallabi Ghoshal's genuine storytelling and profound reflections make this book a compelling companion for anyone seeking inspiration and guidance in navigating life's unexpected challenges. Highly recommended.

LITERARY INFLUENCE: MASTERS OF CINEMA

Literary influence over the greatest of all times:-

Jean-Luc Godard:-

Marcel Proust's In Search of Lost Time

Fyodor Dostoevsky's The Brothers Karamazov

Ingmar Bergman (own literary pieces):-

Fanny and Alexander 

The Seventh Seal

Cries and Whispers 

Federico Fellini:-

Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa's The Road 

8 1/2 (a semi-autobiographical novel of Fellini)

Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa's Juliet of the Spirits aka In Search of Lost Time (English translation)

Michelangelo Antonioni:-

Dante's Inferno, Shakespeare's Works, James Joyce's Novels, and Marcel Proust's Novels heavily influenced his films.

BlowUp (based on Charlotte Bronte's Zeal of Zola aka Young Zola)

L'Avventura( based on Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa's Invisible Incognito)

The Passion of Joan of Arc(based on G.B. Shaw's Saint Joan)

Francois Truffaut:-

Gustave Flaubert's Madame Bovary 

The 400 Blows (co-written by Truffaut and Marcel Moussy)

To Be or Not to Be (a reference to Shakespeare's Hamlet)

Jules and Jim (story by Henri-Pierre Roche)

Yasujiro Ozu:-

Ikiri Isshai (One Life) (drawing heavy influences from authors like 

Jean-Paul Sartre, Albert Camus, and Samuel Beckett)

Fumio Kondo's Sumimasen Hashicho

Satyajit Ray:- 

Ray's films such as the Apu Trilogy, Teen Konya, Postmaster, Manihara, and Sampati to name some, show a deep influence of Tagore on Ray.

Charulata(Tagore's Nastanirh)

Tagore's Ghare Baire

Mrinal Sen:-

Interview( Prabodh Kumar Sanyal's Sandhya Shyam)

Ek Adhuri Kahaani(Manoj Basu's Ek Adhyay Amar Kahini)

Bhuvan Some(not a direct adaptation but heavily influenced by Pannalal Patel)

Alfred Hitchcock:-

Patricia Highsmith's Strangers on a Train

Daphne du Maurier's The Birds

Robert Bloch's Psycho

John Buchnan's The 39 Steps

Vertigo(influenced by D'entre les Morts by Pierre Boileau and Thomas Narcejac)

Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca

Andrei Tarkovsky:-

Stalker (Roadside Picnic by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky)

Stanislaw's Solaris

Mirror (Tarkovsky's own experiences and memoir)

The Color of Pomegranates(biography of the Armenium ashug Sayat-Nova )

(influenced by the rich cultural and literary traditions of Armenia)

Adoor Gopalakrishnan:- 

Akeelathu(based on Philip Massinger's Two Gentleman of Verona)

Bengal Tiger in the Streets(based on Amrita Priti's Putumala)

Thiruvananthapuram Taxi Driver( based on K.J. Parisi's Palaiyaranu)

Ritwick Ghatak:-  

Machin Meye Ekbaar by Harikrishna Chattopadhyay'

Night in Calcutta by Jnanadanu Roy

Joroi Biren by Kunindranath Thakur

Quentin Tarantino:-

Pulp Fiction (loosely based on the stories of Charles Dickens)

Kill Bill (a reinterpretation of The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas and Auguste Maquet)

Reservoir Dogs (based on the works of Alexander Dickens)

True Lies (based on The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway)

Killing Bill(based on Ernest Hemingway's "The Old Man and The Sea")

Akira Kurosawa:- 

Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet deeply inspired Kurosawa, Arthur Miller's A Streetcar Named Desire, and Dashiell Hammett's Sam Spade also did so.

Throne of Blood (based on William Shakespeare's Macbeth)

The Bad Sleep Well(inspired by William Shakespeare's Hamlet)

Ran(A reimagining of William Shakespeare's King Lear)

Roman Polanski:-

F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, Shakespeare's Macbeth, Sayat-Nova's The Color of Pomegranates, Charles Dicken's Oliver Twist

Stanley Kubrick:- 

2001: A Space Odyssey (based on Arthur C. Clarke's short story "The Sentinel")

Stephen King's The Shining

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MY TAKE ON 'KRITI'

Hosted on YouTube, Kriti is an underrated psychological thriller directed by Shirish Kunder, hubby to the well known Indian filmmaker Farah Khan. It was produced by Muvizz.com and the short film released on 22 June 2016. 

 

Time and again, throughout the short film spanning around 19 minutes, we find shocking waves that send ripples down our spine. The chill of psychological horror is way beyond the horror that we are normally used to digesting. I think the filmmakers should have blessed us with a statutory warning before the start of the film. The audience is sure to go on a terrible roller coaster ride of a lifetime with Kriti.

 

I would like to recommend all to keep their minds broad and open while interpreting this short, and their hearts strong, while watching this short. One is vulnerable to a lot of dangers, especially for the elderlies, and the heart patients, watching Kriti seem no less than a dare, that needs to be taken up or played at one’s own risk.

 

We all are vulnerable to a lot of threats and dangers while watching this short which includes Radhika Apte, Manoj Bajpayee, Neha Sharma, and Manu Rishi in lead roles. Terrific and outstanding would be much less if we have to truly define, something of this class that we watch in Kriti. As the concept is mind-blowing, so is the acting, the direction, the editing, the light and sound, the music, the background score and so on and so forth. The overall performance is something to marvel at.

 

Kriti would leave you speechless, in between as well as in the end. It is a thoughtful execution by the filmmaker Shirish Kunder. This well thought of film deserves much more than it has garnered. Believe me, the usual gothic fiction stands at nothing compared to this psychological fiction in audio-visual art. Goosebumps is trivial; expect something more to happen to you. Kriti is a masterpiece.

 

In these tough times, that the world witnesses today, there is a lot of space for psychological horror to enter in our lives. In this frenzied situation of the globe, if you want to stay away from depression, the best way is to face the brute that causes so. Watch Kriti, for yourself and no one else. You won't repent. And, you dare not forget. If by chance you do forget, remember everything is spread across the narrative of this film, something you could comprehend, and some things are bound to bounce over your head. This is the scenario of the world for ages. Each age has a villain, so it does have to have a hero to counterbalance the existence of the villain.

 

Whatever we see around ourselves exists in binaries. Isn’t it so? Even within ourselves, we find dual voices, one, of the good angel, and the other of the devil. Whatever our mind projects, need not to always be, what we have to believe and vice versa, applies as well.

 

The entire game of life is a paradox, an irony. Some of who do understand the same sail through happily and in full contentment and rest remain the same fish out of the water and die not a very easy death.    

Make yourself familiar with Kriti. The link is provided below:

https://youtu.be/b5GGKuK3iEI

I too have made a short in the circumstances we all are familiar with. The link to my short film is given below. I hope, all of you enjoy the same, as much as you do Kriti by the Indian filmmaker Shirish Kunder. I may not match up to his class, due to the lockdown, but I have given my best to bring out what I feel, at the moment….

 

 https://youtu.be/WfS3QY0k_MY

 

Do, give thumbs up if you like, please do share with others and bless them with an opportunity to witness something that is unwitnessed.