'Inception': 9 Surprising Sleep Facts From the Movie

"Am I a man dreaming I'm a butterfly, or a butterfly dreaming I'm a man?" Chuang Tzu asked 2,300 years ago. In Christopher Nolan's stylish sleep thriller "Inception" he answers we're both -- butterfly and man.

Yet the science behind Inception is more surreal than the film, whose lovingly layered plot still underplays the wonderfully weird wildness of dreams. So, dream thief Mr. Cobb, what about your job is science fiction and what's science?

(Spoiler alert: plot elements are revealed)

Is Time Altered In Our Dreams?

Does time speed up in dreams so that 10 minutes "outside" becomes an hour during the dream? Yes, but not like in the movie, where time geometrically and precisely expands with the dream's depth. We can do far more. In real dreams infinite time may occur within seconds of "outside" time.

What Kinds Of Dream States Occur In Inception?

Not much you or I might recognize. In Inception, people are immediately sedated into designer dreams that appear to be REM sleep. However, virtually all present-day sedatives suppress REM, while Inception's designer drugs also negate real REM effects.

Is Constructing Dreams Out Of One's Memories Dangerous?

No, just necessary. REM sleep is a critical driver of brain development, and literally rebuilds the brain. As movie plots are constructed out of old movies, so does REM and other stages of sleep remix new information with old memories, forming a huge part of our identity. Just like in science fiction movies, we wake up each morning with different memories than the person who went to sleep.

Do The Layer After Layer Of Dreams Seen In Inception Happen In Normal People?

Yes. It is not uncommon for people to dream themselves inside another dream. In fact, sorting it out may become as complicated as understanding Inception's plot.

Can Someone Enter Into Another's Dream And Change It?

Scientifically, no. Not even close, unless you're a Tibetan dream yogi or the local shaman.

Is It Impossible To Place Content Into Someone Else's Dream?

No. This happens all the time -- consciously. Lucid dreamers do it with great relish, and I'll show you a way you can do it, too, at the end of this piece.

Can People Become Addicted To Their Dreams?

Can people become addicted to their dreams? The answer is no, athough some psychotics and a few political commentators can't tell the difference between dreams and reality.

Are The Matrix-esque Scenes Of Negating Gravity Realistic?

Yes. In REM dreams, position sense gets turned off, and we can and do go anywhere in space and time -- one reason 99 percent of people fly in their dreams.

Can The Lucid Dreaming Heroes Of "Inception" Take Over The Dreams Of Others?

No. However, they can take over and control their own. In fact, director-writer Nolan has been lucid dreaming since he was 16.

What Can You Do With Your Dreams?

Plenty -- you can pre-dream. Try this:
1. Write down an old, favorite dream or experience in three to four sentences.
2. Add two sentences that remake that dream's plot you the way you want.
3. Visualize the new dream three to four times a day a minute each time.
4. When you wake, record your dreams.

A Geography Lesson

By Nandini Ramnath

Lamhaa is only the latest film to remind us that the Kashmir problem demands the attention of the film-going public

India has no shortage of conflict zones. Almost every state in the North-East, especially Manipur, continues to challenge Delhi’s authority. Although Punjab has put the horrific 1980s behind it, members of the Babbar Khalsa militant outfit continue to emerge out of the state’s mustard fields at periodic intervals (perhaps their peace has been disturbed by the number of Bollywood crews that have descended on the place). The Maoists are here, there and everywhere. Yet Bollywood remains most worried about the fate of Jammu and Kashmir. Lamhaa is only the latest film to remind us that the Kashmir problem demands the attention of the film-going public.

The renewed surge of police firing and stone pelting in Kashmir has given Lamhaa the kind of publicity that cannot be bought. However, film-makers don’t seem as exercised about Manipur, home to regular blockades, extra-judicial killings, and one of the most searing protests ever captured by cameras in the history of independent India. On 11 July 2004, 32-year-old Thangjam Manorama was gangraped, mutilated and killed, and the evidence pointed to an Assam Rifles unit. On 15 July, 12 women marched under the banner “Mothers of Manipur” and stood naked for hours outside the headquarters of the Assam Rifles in Kangla Fort screaming “Indian Army come rape us”. Few national newspapers and magazines had the guts to print the photographs. Not even the most imaginative screenplay writer could have come up with such fierce and tragic imagery.

The North-East has always been a foreign land whose inhabitants are racially and culturally removed from the rest of India. A favourite past-time during summer holidays used to be the “Guess the capital of the state” game. Even class-topping cousins would invariably confuse Aizawl for Kohima and Shillong for Gangtok. An entire chunk of the Indian map fell off from view so long ago that it requires serious political commitment to rediscover it. Besides, the problems of states such as Nagaland and Manipur are so complex and involve so many parties and tribes that only historians and journalists can be relied upon to make sense of the situation. Kashmir, despite harbouring several Hurriyat Party members with similar appearances and long-winded names, is far easier to comprehend.

A few film-makers have dared to shift the gaze away from Kashmir. Kanika Verma’s Dansh (2005), based on Chilean playwright Ariel Dorfman’s Death and the Maiden, explored militancy and ceasefire efforts in Mizoram. However, Verma inexplicably got Kay Kay Menon, Aditya Srivastava and Sonali Kulkarni to play Mizos. Mani Ratnam’s Dil Se, about the Assam insurgency, at least had Manisha Koirala play a suicide bomber. Assam has produced some fine actors on the stage and in the movies (Seema Biswas, Adil Hussain), but North-Eastern faces are still too exotic to be treated on a par with the rest of India.

Kashmir will always be deemed as the prickliest thorn in the side of the Indian state, especially because India has gone to war with Pakistan over Kashmir. Besides, nothing stirs the soul more than a paradise lost. Kashmir provides ready contrasts of beauty and brutality. A soldier’s protruding gun in the foreground, a gaggle of rosy-cheeked children in the background. Shimmering mountains sheltering Kalashnikov-wielding insurgents. The state’s sad journey from tourism to terrorism will never stop inspiring headlines, poems, documentaries and movies. If Kashmir ki Kali reminds us of what we once had unfettered access to, Roja warns us of what we have lost. If there is a shooting paradise on earth, it is here, it is here, it is here.

Lamhaa released in theatres on Friday.

**Nandini Ramnath is a film critic with Time Out Mumbai

SNEAK PEEK: Angelina Jolie in 'Salt'

Check out the stills of the Hollywood flick 'Salt'. Directed by Philip Noyce the film stars Angelina Jolie, Liev Schreiber, Chiwetel Ejiofor

The accused?
Jolie plays Evelyn Salt, accused of being a KGB sleeper agent, on the run to try to clear her name.

Liev Schreiber
Ted Winter, Salt's friend and colleague.

Chiwetel Ejiofor
Peabody, a young CIA agent who works for Winter and is mentored by Salt

Stunts
Jolie spent time training before filming to perform a lot of her stunts herself.

Injuries
On May 29, 2009, filming was temporarily halted after Jolie suffered a minor head injury during filming an action scene. She was taken to hospital as a precautionary measure and was released the same day with no life-threatening injuries.

Angelina replaces Tom Cruise
While Tom Cruise was initially secured for the lead, he was unable to commit to the role because of commitments to other projects, and the script was ultimately rewritten for Jolie.

Innocent until proven Guilty
In the film, Angelina's loyalty is tested when a defector accuses her of being a Russian spy. She goes on the run, using all her skills and years of experience as a covert operative to elude capture.

The doubts
Salt's efforts to prove her innocence only serve to cast doubt on her motives.

Who is Salt?
As the hunt to uncover the truth behind her identity continues and the question remains: 'Who is Salt?'

Screenings
The film is all set to release on July 23, 2010