16 Survival Movies Which Will Make You Thankful For Your ‘Boring’ Life

I personally appreciate these movies. Survival movies are finally a thing. A genre where a person or a group battle extreme circumstances to remain alive. Some of these are based on real life survival stories, while some are pure figment of the imagination. However, in both cases they make for riveting stories, which generally boast of excellent acting and direction.

Here are 16 movies which epitomise the rawness of human spirit, and celebrate the desire to live.

Related: 18 Important Life Lessons You Can Learn From These Famous TV Show Characters

1. 127 Hours (2010)

An adventure enthusiast gets trapped by a boulder in an obscure spot in Grand Canyon.

Danny Boyle's Oscar-nominated movie was based on the book of adventure-enthusiast Aron Ralston, who gets trapped by a boulder in the middle of Grand Canyon. Starring a committed performance by James Franco and a brilliant soundtrack comprising of AR Rahman, Billy Joel and Sigur Ros made the movie a marvellous experience.

2. A Cast Away (2000)

FedEx employee gets marooned on an island, after the cargo plane crashes into the sea.

Robert Zemeckis's modern take on Robinson Crusoe, features a punctual FedEx employee Chuck Noland (played by Tom Hanks), who gets marooned on an uninhabited island. Finding a use for everything from the retrieved cargo, Chuck survives on the island by himself and makes various attempts to escape.

3. The Grey (2011)

Six oil workers are left to survive the crazy Alaska weather after a plane crash, while a pack of merciless wolves haunts them.

Standing out among the cast, Liam Neeson, plays one of the oilmen who get stranded in the midst of remote Alaska after their plane crashes. Battling tough weather conditions and trying to survive on limited food and water, the group is tracked by a herd of wolves. What follows is the ultimate battle for survival for these six men.

4. All Is Lost (2013)

After a collision with a shipping container at sea, a resourceful sailor finds himself staring mortality in the face.

The veteran Robert Redford plays the role of a man stranded in a boat in the middle of Indian Ocean. Trying to navigate his way in the 'right direction' the man patches the many holes in his boat trying to stay afloat. The movie has barely any dialogue, and depends solely on the leading man's actions to drive the story forward. Redford is the only actor listed in the credits scene.

5. Gravity (2013)

Two astronauts work together to survive after an accident which leaves them alone in space.

Alfonso Cuaron intended on telling the very simple story of the triumph of human spirit, when faced with overwhelming odds. As a consultant astronaut, Bullock is faced with certain death when outer-space debris collides with her space station, and she desperately tries to find her way back home.

6. The Revenant (2015)

An explorer fights for survival after being mauled by a bear and left for dead by members of his own hunting team.

Following his Oscar win with the urban Birdman, director Alejandro Gonzalez Innaritu made his way to pre-colonial era in Alaska when explorer Hugh Glass is left for dead after he gets attacked by a bear. The rest of the story follows Glass, as he battles harsh weather and freezing winds to track the men who abandoned him.

7. I Am Legend (2007)

After a virus kills humanity, the last man in New York City struggles to find a cure.

The last man on earth is Will Smith, as he plays golf in front of the Brooklyn bridge, waltzes into stores and picks up his supplies and sends out repeated messages for anyone else out there. He does this in broad daylight. The rest of the humanity has been infected by a biological virus. Smith is their last hope for a cure, and they don't even know it.

8. Buried (2010)

A man wakes up to find he's buried in a coffin. With limited resources, he needs to figure out his way out of the death-trap.

Taking place within the confines of a coffin, the movie sees Ryan Reynolds using the limited resources at his disposal to try and ask for help. The things include a pencil, a torch, a blackberry and a lighter. The leading man must beg, scream, keep his cool and do everything to aid those trying to find him, and there isn't much time since he's literally running out of breath.

9. Life Of Pi (2012)

A boy will have to survive his journey across the ocean and he has a zebra, an orangutan, a hyena and a Royal Bengal tiger for company. 

Based on the Yann Martel's worldwide bestseller, Ang Lee did the unthinkable by adapting this story of a boy stranded with a zebra, an orangutan, a hyena and a Royal Bengal tiger on a lifeboat following a shipwreck. Suraj Sharma became a household name after the release of the 3D film, which was hailed as an exponent of technical marvel.

10. The Way Back (2010)

During WW II, 4 Siberian gulag escapees travel 4,000 miles by foot to freedom in India.

Having an all-star cast including actors like Colin Farrell, Ed Harris and Jim Sturgess, the movie follows the real life account of this bunch of World War II P.O.Ws as they walk 4000 miles to their own freedom. It is based on the memoir The Long Walk by Polish prisoner Slawomir Rawicz, who escaped Gulag and walked all the way to British India.

11. Touching The Void (2003)

True story of two climbers and their perilous journey up the Peruvian Andes in 1985.

Way before Kevin MacDonald made his debut with The Last King of Scotland, he made this riveting tale of two British mountaineers (Joe and Simon) as they try to climb the Peruvian Andes. It chronicles their descent when one of the two slides down the snow and precariously hangs while his partner holds on. Faced with the stiff decision of cutting the rope to save himself or holding on to his fellow climber, Simon cuts the rope.

12. Alive (1993)

A Uruguayan rugby team are forced to use desperate measures to survive the snow-capped Andes after a plane crash.

Directed by Frank Marshall the film follows the survivors of the Uruguayan rugby team, after their plane crashes into the Andes mountains. It shows them trying to survive the extreme weather with limited means, as they trek for nearly a week before finding some respite. One of the main characters of the film was played by Ethan Hawke.

13. Apollo 13 (1995)

3 astronauts are stranded in outer space after the space station suffers massive damage.

Ron Howard's recreation of the near-fatal Apollo 13 mission with actors of the credibility like Tom Hanks, Kevin Bacon and Bill Paxton, was nearly flawless. Thanks to this movie and Ed Harris's sullen expression which made 'Houston, we have a problem" so iconic for movie buffs around the world.

14. Into The Wild (2007)

Chris McCandless abandons his life savings, possessions, to live life in Alaska's wilderness.

Sean Penn's directorial venture was based on the life of Chris McCandless, who rejects civilisation and goes soul-searching in the wilderness of Alaska. Faced with certain death, Chris desperately searches for food and winds up eating a poisonous seed. McCandless's story was adapted by famous writer Jon Krakaeur, which became the source material for Penn's film.

15. The Martian (2015)

An astronaut becomes stranded on Mars after his team assume him dead, and must rely on his ingenuity to find a way to signal to Earth that he is alive.

Based on the hilarious novel by Andy Weir of the same name, Ridley Scott chose Matt Damon to 'science the shit out' of all means available to him after he's left behind by his colleagues on Mars. This happens after a storm hits them during a normal recce, and Damon's character Mark Watney gets caught under debris.

16. Lone Survivor (2013)

A team of US Navy SEALS are left to fight for their lives after a mission to capture a Taliban leader ends with them getting surrounded.

Peter Berg's tale of a group of US Navy SEALS of how they survive adverse conditions when surrounded by the hell-fire of Arab militants. The movie stars Taylor Kitsch, Mark Wahlberg in the lead roles and unfortunately a lot of blood is shed on both sides. The film has a gritty tone to it, which is repeated in the future collaborations like Deepwater Horizon and Patriot's Day.

Thanks to God, Allah aur Bhagwaan my life is not nearly like these movies.

YOUR WELLWISHERS !!

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18 Important Life Lessons You Can Learn From These Famous TV Show Characters

As you sit through episode after episode of your latest favourite TV show, you tend to develop a certain bond with some of the characters. They just stand out like a candle in a cave, and their actions and accomplishments impart a certain kind of inspiration. They each teach their own life lessons, in their own unique ways, even if it isn't directly implied.
Related: 16 Survival Movies Which Will Make You Thankful For Your ‘Boring’ Life

Here's some TV Life lessons our favourite show characters have taught us along the way.

||      YOUR WELLWISHERS !!

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Kapil Sharma: The Comedian

F

or a kid who grew up in the Amritsar police quarters, sang at school functions occasionally, and actively took part in plays during college youth festivals, becoming India’s biggest comedy show host wasn’t even a distant dream.

Kapil Sharma believes he just lucked out.

“For me, a successful career in comedy is nothing but happenstance,” says Sharma, 32, whose television show Comedy Nights with Kapil has become a mandatory pitstop for Bollywood celebrities keen on leveraging his popularity.

Sharma’s fatalism is understandable:  He was twice rejected at the nominations stage of Star One’s popular The Great Indian Laughter Challenge show (the channel has since been renamed Life OK).  But his persistence paid off, and he was third time lucky—he went on to win the show in 2007 and, today, the man who would be a singer is India’s most popular comedy show host.

When Forbes India met Sharma, he had just returned from a gruelling 12-hour shooting schedule; also, it had been barely 24 hours since he had landed in Mumbai after a week of live performances in Sydney and Muscat. A sprain in his back had impaired his movements; he walked slowly to the couch in his living room and tried to make himself comfortable.

His apartment in the western suburb of Andheri, bought in 2007, is a veritable bachelor pad. A treadmill takes centre stage in the living room, and a few of his friends from Amrtisar traipse in and out, preparing for a jam session at night. This is stardom in the classic television style—working odd hours and travelling for shows to far-off lands. Sharma, clearly, has arrived.

After his win at the Laughter Challenge in 2007, Sharma decided to move from Amritsar to Mumbai to try his hand at comedy shows on the small screen. His talent saw him continuously showcased on Sony Entertainment’s Comedy Circus; his ratings were soaring. But there was little room for complacence. The entrepreneur in him urged him to do his own show; that was when he wore his producer hat. His plan: To blend theatre and stand-up comedy.

A keen observer, Sharma had noticed at Ramleela events during Dussehra that a majority of the crowd would either be drunk or disinterested. "Now how do you entertain such a crowd?" says Sharma. "I decided to join the crowd and start talking to people. The moment they start to get the feeling that I am one of them, I can get them rolling.”

The show he conceived is based on BBC’s The Kumars at No. 42; it includes a gag, live audience and celebrity guests. Unlike the British show, here the audience would also play a role. “We wanted the audience to participate in our show and celebrities to be themselves, more casual than when they judge a dance or reality TV show,” says Sharma.

He kept the humour clean and chose subjects that would appeal to people from all backgrounds. Sharma wanted to be watched not only in the cities but in every part of India. And such has been his impact that the 10 pm slot, which he occupies, has become an extension of prime time.

“I wanted to put up a show that would interest both an Ambani and a rikshawala and that is the reason my show talks about the problems affecting a lot of people, such as inflation, milk and onion prices, etc,” he says. Sharma also believes that kids play a huge role in making stars out of performers, so it was important that the show also appeals to them. “Just like we remember Ramayana after so many years, I want the kids to remember my show for years to come,” he says.

The show’s down-to-earth appeal is balanced by the star power it attracts. Sharma’s personal favourite is Dharmendra. Sharma had wanted him on the first episode of Comedy Nights with Kapil, but his team had said that the veteran actor was not available. So Sharma personally met Dharmendra and requested his support as it was his first show as a producer and host.

“Dharampaaji's film had already been released so he didn't need any promotion. Still, he agreed to come,” says Sharma.

The show launched in June and was an instant success. It is consistently No. 1 on TRPs in the non-fiction genre. In fact, Sharma is struggling to accommodate all the stars who want to attend his show. Shah Rukh Khan, Ranbir Kapoor, Deepika Padukone, Rohit Shetty, Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor are among those who have already shaken a leg and shared a laugh with Sharma.

Yet, Sharma is clear that the show is not going to become a vehicle to promote products or movies. Every act and aspect has only one objective: To make the audience laugh. To that end, he has even revised his own notions. His first thought was to have seven artistes wear similar costumes and discuss a single event. But he had seen the popularity of well-etched characters with the saas bahu soaps. He decided to introduce two strong characters; Gutthi and Dadi, his creations, are now considered to be the real crowd pullers.

The show has two writers who work on the skeleton script but all the punch lines are created by Sharma. Most of the script is finalised on the day of the show. He tries his best to keep himself abreast of current affairs but a significant part of his scripting is based on his observations. That is the reason why he spends time with the aam aadmi whenever he travels.

Sharma says he owes everything to the ten-odd years that he spent in theatre. He believes that his acting background has played a key role in his success. In fact, he would like to test his acting potential in Bollywood. He has been approached by many filmmakers but Sharma says that he wants to be careful in his choice of a role—and it may not necessarily be a comic one. He was recently approached by Anil Kapoor to play a terrorist in his popular television serial 24; Sharma had to refuse because the timing did not work out for them. But he is sure that he will get the time, the opportunity and even the role that he wants—he is prepared to wait.

Work keeps him too busy to watch any TV serials or movies. Sharma, however, is a huge fan of biopic films. Bhaag Milkha Bhaag and Paan Singh Tomar are two of his favourites.

We glance at the treadmill as we wrap up the interview and can’t resist asking, “Do you regularly use the treadmill?” Sharma, who can barely stand up, replies deadpan: “No ji. We just use it to dry our clothes.” And that’s our exclusive dose of comedy with Kapil for the evening. 

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It's just for fun.

Since technology is getting cheaper and penetrating in every market, so Pakistan, even in future would adapt new technology, everyone in Pakistan would avail and enjoy that futuristic technology, just like everyone is having a mobile today. Since current situation is kept constant, so human capital, lifestyle of people would remain the same.

Considering this concept in mind, here are pictures of futuristic Pakistan. 

1) Ulta-Next Generation Pakistani Cruisers

2) An ordinary Pakistani rider would look like this

3) Early Morning Sky-Traffic above Peshawar

4) Cronosphere Rocket Horse Racers

5)Massive Dragonfly from other planet lands unexpectedly in Pakistan

7) Aliens land in Pakistan and start living in desert of Tharr

8) Pakistani Taxi Driver drives in space

9) Breaking News: A truck goes out of control in gravity

10) Pakistani lands on Moon

11) And settle there

11) Traveling to another planet that looks like earth beyond Milky Way galaxy

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