News Roundup (02-Dec-08).. Mumbai Aftermath

December 2, 2008 Leave a comment

link here 

Indian public beating Ajmal Qasab – the only terrorist to survive. This seems like one of the first user generated videos on the web…

In another news, India has asked Pakistan to hand over Dawood Ibrahim and Maulana Masood Azhar.

Emphasising that Pakistan must act on the promises made earlier not to allow the territory under its control for any terrorist activities against India, New Delhi also asked Islamabad to ban Jamaat-ud-Dawa, political outfit of Lashkar-e-Toiba, and arrest its leaders.

Needless to say, Pakistan government has agreed to it, and the world is going to live happily ever after. Following suit, Barrack Obama has decided to ask Pakistan to hand over Osama Bin Laden as well, while demolishing the Al-Qaeda outfits.

Pakistan Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir summoned Indian High Commissioner Satyabrata Pal in Islamabad to give a “response” to the Indian demarche, rejecting New Delhi’s contention.

Ministry of External Affairs had summoned High Commissioner Shahid Malik in New Delhi to issue a demarche (protest note) for Pakistan’s failure to fulfil its commitment of curbing terrorism emanating from that country.

I love this. Such educated ways of dealing with terrorism. I say sir, we all follow suit. Lets issue a demarche by summoning the chief of Lashkar as well.

And today’s dose of terrorism has this to add –

1. Assam blasts – 3 dead, 30 injured.

2. 23 tonnes of explosives hijacked by maoists

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Beautiful Suggestion.. to honor the commandos

December 1, 2008 1 Comment

I vote for Krish Ashok’s suggestion –

A small request to the Taj hotel management. How about a one-week, all-expenses-paid vacation for these guys at your hotel? This was about the only time they could have afforded to sit in your reception

Do you?

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Awesome Video… Pakistani Media lambasting Indian Army

December 1, 2008 3 Comments

http://www.hotklix.com/?ref=content/152704

I had to post this!! this is some stuff…  I mean.. I have finally realized that people across the globe have the knack of picking the biggest lampoons for media and parliamentarian roles

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Responsible

December 1, 2008 Leave a comment

Yesterday, while driving back from Nariman Point, wife said – “If at all, we could act like responsible citizens of this country”

I quipped – “how about starting off being responsible individuals?”

Funny… for once, she agreed!

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The Show Must Go On..

December 1, 2008 2 Comments

I must not forget, in my recent state of mind, that much of what I crap on this blog is about bollywood.. And as an act of defiance, I shall continue being the buff that I am, who is not going to step into the theatres or enjoy life. YSo, here is a lowdown on all that I have seen recently.

1. Oye Lucky Lucky Oye – Good movie. Great comic timing. Some awesomely likable performances, 

a script laden with subtle nuances for those who understand Delhi, serious comedy (and I mean it in a serious way, not a comic way), lots of puns, great attention to detail. But, a tad too slow at times. And a bit repetitive on the stealing track. Plus, assumes the viewer to be intelligent. Should do roaringly well in Delhi and around. May not do well south of Jaipur, I would think. But if you’ve been to Delhi, loved/hated some of the idiosyncracies about Delhi and Delhiites – must watch. 7.5 on 10 (I have spent 10 years in Delhi!). “Oye lucky, commissioner saab tera in-tero-diction khood kirayenge.” “Sirji, posh kaloney ka kutta hai.. angreji mein bulao.. come come bol ke”

2. Sorry Bhai – Simply awesome. Chitrangada is hot. Sharman and Shabana have acted at a different level. 

Boman, after a while, has not been wasted, and has great comic timing. Sanjay Suri.. well, he need not have been there. But to be fair to the dude, has not spoilt the movie either. And yeah, Chitrangada, but for a couple of places, has acted beautifully well. The script is a whiff of fresh air. Its light, comical, flawed but pleasant kinds. The kinds that Hugh Grant has popularized. Awkward situations, simple stuff. And the use of Mauritian locales is quite nice. Actually made me wonder if I should plan a trip there soon. Downer – the music is quite average.  OVERALL – MUST MUST WATCH. 9 on 10

 

3. Yuvvraaj – Run while you still have some energy left. Much as I have avoided all of Subhash Ghai movies recently, here is a movie that I thought 

would put the SG of Karma and Hero era back. But I was overestimating him. I think he has lost it. The movie, Sallu dear in the movie, the script, dialogues, etc etc are downright pathetic. The only couple of things good about the movie – I do like the music somewhat, Katrina still looks beautiful, and the Prague and other locales used are beautifully shot. Rating – 0. Because I couldnt survive the movie. It would be unfair to even rate this movie and say that I was read to evaluate it. 

 

4. Quantum of Solace – Watch it if you like good action movies. 

qos-wallpaper-1-md

Don’t watch it based on the hyperbolic expectations set by Casino Royale (which to me, seems like one of the best bond movies ever). The movie has a lot of good things. But, its not a bond movie. Its very different. This bond is more angry than suave. The country-skips are far too frequent. The gadgetry is largely missing. This movie is not a stand-alone bond adventure, and it seems like the next one is gonne be one either. This movie requires you to remember what happened in Casino Royale, and the whole Vesper Lynd plot. Not that I mind recalling how beautiful Vesper was! The plot is not as thick and intriguing and most of the villains are buffoons. The ladies, not as interesting. And Bond’s escapades, not so glorious. Judi Dench is still endearing though. And quite interestingly, the establishment is fallible. Quite fallible. But, its a movie in the Bourne genre of films, and should be an interesting watch nevertheless. Rating – 7 on 10.

5. Dasvidaaniya – Awesome. Quite awesome. I think you can call Vinay Pathak the Om Puri/Amol Palekar kinds of this era. He just makes it so believable. And has great variety. With the basic premise borrowed from “The bucket list”, I found the treatment to be totally new, especially considering that the protagonist dies in the end. But the movie is not about death. Its about life. its about simplicity. There is an irrelevant and idiotic track in the movie where Vinay falls in love with a Russian. Barring that, the movie seemed quite perfect to me. It made me smile, sombre, quiet, emotional. But never did it depress me. The movie does not take away hope, even for a moment. And the support cast, like Sarita Joshi, Rajat Kapoor, Ranvir shorey, et al are so unobtrusive and relevant. I loved Saurabh Shukla as Pathak’s boss, and Sarita Joshi as his Mom. Now that I look back at the movie in the light of Mumbai terror attacks and how fleeting a moment your entire life can be, I love the movie a lot more. Must Watch – Rating – 9 on 10. 

6. Dostana – Decent. Good fun. Has it fair share of comic moments. Has its marked in bold, dark outrageous colors, stamp of Karan Johar all over the movie. Priyanka is dressed exquisitely well, and Abhishek actually looks gay, the way he’s dressed up (or rather, the gay stereotype that so many movies have created). Boman was over the top. Bobby Deol was clueless and ok in equal measures. John Abraham, for a change, hasnt acted badly. He has managed to carry his own. But the sparkling performance of the movie is Abhishek. Priyanka is good as well. The hilarious moment of the movie belongs to Kiron Kher, when she welcomes John as the bahu/damaad of the family. Music catches on and is hummable. Whats with the recent flurry of punjabi tracks. Is no other state in India capable of producing catchy dance numbers? Anyway, K-Jo has an ace here. This movie will do great business in the  metro centers and abroad. It might already have done so. K-jo was blogging about his success here.  But the downers for me are K-JOness of the movie, a fair bit of stereotyping, loud, slow at many points (thum rule – if a movie gives you a chance to look at your blackberry and see if there is a new mail, thats a downer), unrealistic glossiness, and some of the fall-flat kinda humor.  Rating – 6.5  on 10.  Do watch it for some light hearted fun.

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Mumbai.. the story isn’t over yet.. is it?

December 1, 2008 2 Comments

Having been fed news for what feels like an eternity, I am, I must say, numb.   Several people have checked on me. Several people I have checked on. Several people feel the anguish and want to do something. Nobody knows what to do. There are lots of opinions and great analysis in the air. Still higher is the amount of cynicism around whether the government and our security apparatus will wake up to this. I have my own share of views and opinions about what will work and what will not. But while thinking about all this, I realized one thing. I DON’T HAVE A SOLUTION. I can opine. Like Amit Varma, GreatBong, Arzan, NehaVish, gauravonomics, Prem, and so many others who are showing emotions  ranging from wisdom, anger, anguish, fear, dejection, sadness, fear, disillusionment, cynicism, hopelessness, pathos, terror, rage, hatred, … and I run out of adjectives that describe the dark side of humanity. They are all talking about this. Zigzackly was seen trying to help. Gaurav has been talking about the impact of social media in real time journalism. Talking about flaws, faults, faulty parties, how it hurts, how something needs to be done. Some people were ripping apart Farooque Shaikh, Rahul Bose, et al for their retarded opinions. And in the process giving their own opinion. Why do we think our rage is more rational than someone else’s? Why is it that we have the liberty to blabber, when those don’t? Will this opining make a difference? Being a commoner, stuck inside my apartment/office, typing furiously at a keyboard, mobilizing public opinion, voicing my dissent and concern, are any of these going to make even a mole of a difference? 150+ people have died. Will my opining bring even one of them back? Will my thinking of tomorrow with a lot of cynicism help? I doubt so. Will my participating in a rally, or lighting candles on ibnlive help? Will my sitting silent, and not doing any of this help?

I have already joined a few “condemn the attacks”, salute the brave, mumbai’s spirit kinda groups on facebook. I saw the protest rally at Nariman Point yesterday. I am already expressing solidarity to the causes. And I don’t feel confident that if this happens again tomorrow, our system will be ready to handle this. I am looking for someone who can tell me that there is a solution. A solution that does not ask me go infiltrate another nation, kill 10 terrorists and 50 innocents there. A solution that does not remind me how intelligence has failed. Especially not when it comes from people who don’t even understand what intelligence is, and how its carried out. A solution that does not tell me that there are better and sophisticated ways of conducting rescue operations, straight from Hollywood movies. Not unless someone tells me how. And has the balls to take the bullet should something go wrong. All this coffee table solution finding, derived from individual incompetence makes me sick now. In my company, we call it Partner talk. The big guys come in, say something without ever thinking how it will be done, and expect a deliverable as quickly as possible. What I need is a method that trains me, and several others to handle such crisis. Because, if we don’t know how, then we are the ones who die. I am fine if there are no heroes out of such incidents, because they took a bullet on, died saving someone else. I, for sure, don’t want this helplessness. The moment it happens, my bosses send out a mail saying that we should work from home till the situation improves. And I comfortably sit in the drawing room devouring as much news as possible, and opining. And nothing happens after that. The last time it happened in Delhi, my sister-in-law, and my wife had gone to Chandni Chowk. I remember how frantically me, bhaiya, Dad, Mom wanted to figure out where they are, and how we can get them back home. Despite the fact that the focal point of the attacks was away from where they were, we did not have any amount of faith on what may happen next. This time, I was frantically looking for friends, and acquaintances. In my 2nd/3rd degree of separation, the count of dead is 5 now. I was personally luckier in Delhi blasts. And the blasts before that. And I have always comforted myself.   And here I am, thinking about what I can do tomorrow, and the day after to make sure that next time this happens, I am prepared for it. Mentally, physically, financially, emotionally. 

… (to be continued) 

 

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Mumbai.. 27-Nov-2008 (2)

November 27, 2008 1 Comment

I know this impotent rage. I understand it well

I want a gun. I want to drag each of those shit-eating-terrorists out on the road, and pull the trigger on them in broad public daylight. And then go drag the next one out. and then kick their bodies around. And I want to sit with the families of those who lost someone. And tell them that even though its never going to be alright, we need to live on. And cry with them.

And then there is that cringing feeling of impotence. Of sitting in a room inside a 9th floor apartment, reading-watching-calling-texting……….. I feel like screaming right now… For my life, i cannot calm down..

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Mumbai… 27-Nov-2008

November 27, 2008 Leave a comment

It has been a long night, with lots of checking on whether friends, relatives, colleagues, are safe. And checking the news over and over again for that incremental piece of information. Lots of emotions as the night crawled by. 87 people dead (so far – and how many families die as a result of that?) and several hundreds injured, some fatally so. 11 cops go down in the encounter. Its 9AM now. The traffic is sparse. Mumbai is not yet back on the roads. I am going to be working from home. The chief of ATS is dead (aren’t the india police chiefs always standing behind a few others who take the bullets on their behalf). Guests at Taj and Oberoi (many tourists and high flying corporates) would have experienced fear like never before. I just hope they dont  have to face it ever again. The violence has 2 associated words this time – indiscriminate and terrorism. I think I understand the second one. Its been there in our lives for a while now. We suck at eliminating the fear from our lives. We are humanitarians. We can’t kill people. We can watch people getting killed. Indiscriminate – terrorism is always indiscriminate, isnt it? When you plant a bomb, are you sure only hindus or only muslims will get killed? no children will be killed?  what does someone mean by discriminating terrorism?

latest – 3 terrorists shot. 5 tourists hostage (brazilians).

When I wake up tomorrow, will I feel safe? I had plans of being in South Bombay later this week. Will I feel safe? When I park my car, will I look around at all the other cars and people with suspicion? When I walk into the lobby of an elite upmarket restaurant, will I look around for guns, AK47s, grenades and magazines? If there are no more terrorist attacks in the next 15 days, will I still keep looking for guns? Or, will I forget everything and move on? Will someone be talking about how Mumbai bounced back within a week? Will people forget the 87 who died? Will we all forget that we haven’t bounced back…. that we have just moved on.. like ungrateful bastards… because we did not have a choice? because we never asked for a choice? because we don’t even know what our choices are?

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Isn’t she beautiful?

November 22, 2008 Leave a comment

collage1

That’s chote papa’s angel.. my niece..

 

Aren’t these beautiful moments? 🙂

collage31

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I dont quite understand a few things

November 10, 2008 4 Comments

There are a lot of things that I dont quite understand – 

1. Indians and their “excitement” for Obama becoming the president. A lot of pravasi bhartiya peepul in India volunteered, campaigned, called friends for support, and celebrated for Obama. I can understand that he was the better of the two, and its a change that’s big for America. But what was different for the desis this time?
2. An army-man selling his soul and getting so many people killed.
3. A joker of a politician able to incite commoners into getting a debate about north vs. south divide
4. A joker of a government not able to stem the violence that ensues because of this
5. A young man getting killed as he decides to take the law in his own hands, and the law decides to act inhuman
6. Six couples I know divorced within the first year of their marriage. Reasons – compatability issues or ability to get along with spouse’s parents. Some of these were love marriages. 
7. The road in front of my apartment (in Mumbai) has been broken for the last 2 years in Mumbai. The road that leads to my village is being built for the last 2 years.
8. Lalu took over Bihar once, and the state went into complete darkness. He took over railways. It turned around and started making profits.
9. Is there truth in this statement – is  Bihar to India what India has traditionally been to the world – a land of snake charmers?
10. How many Marathi manoos are in US? or Gujarat? or dubai? How many gujjus are in mumbai? how many punjabis are in toronto? south-hall? how many tamils-telugus in the bay area? How many Biharis are in Delhi? Mumbai? Is Raj Thackeray starting a global confinement revolution where people stick where they are from? And there are people who dont find his idea ridiculous?
11. The richest city in India – Mumbai, with citizens with the best civic sense has the worst metropolitan infrastructure (I dont need to be reminded about the overloaded locals). And Delhi – with the worst civic sense, has the best? Even the most erudite and educated south indians are not able to match the will of the politically corrupt stablehouse of India?
12. Kolkata apparently had more than 100 days of bandhs in the last year. Did anyone calculate the loss? What was the government doing? Or is it a way of having as many working days in an year as one should have leaves?
13. Dynamic airline pricing in the indian context? Except for a few occasions (like Diwali), can’t you almost predict the prices to the last rupee? Is it really dynamic?
14. Deccan being rebranded as KF Red?
15. Delhi Gurgaon Highway Toll Plaza not ready to impose additional toll on cars that use the Tag/card lane without having Tag/card and clogging the traffic for TAg buyers?
16. The rise, fall, rise, etc of Indian cricket, and the demands on senior player’s performance. Is the debate always about merit? or is it often about our expectations from them?

and many such things. But then, its fine I guess! 

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Music Review: Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi

November 7, 2008 2 Comments

 

RabNeBanaDiJodi (*ing Shahrukh Amol Palekar Khan)

 

This is the latest trend music – glossy YR Films or a lookalike movie (OSO, Bachna Ae Haseeno, Race, Dostana etc.) with about 6-7 songs – one romantic number, one sad song sung by (usually) Shreya Ghoshal or Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, a peppy number by (usually) Sunidhi Chauhan where some dude named Blaze uses words that I dont understand the meaning of,and lastly, if its not getting covered in the above categories, a song by Sukhwinder Singh/ Atif Aslam. One song per singer in the movie is the new paradigm. Remix of 1-2 sings in the main album itself is another (they are just not letting some the remixing DJs survive, I tell you!)

 

Look back at some of the musical hits that fall in the glossy category this year, and you will know what I mean.

Anyway, how does Rab ne bana di jodi fit on the trend line –

1. Romantic Song – Haule Haule belongs to the combo of Sukhwindar and romantic category. Or, you can add, TUjh mein rab dikhta hai
2. Sad – The shreya ghoshal version of Tujhme rab dikhta hai
3. Fun – Dance pe chance by Sunidhi 
4. Remix – Dance pe chance remix
5. Rahat/Atif not in this album. Ably replaced by Sonu Nigam and Roop Kumar Rathod.

Now – what do I think of the music? 

If you are ready to forget and forgive Aditya Chopra for setting expectations through DDLJ and Mohabattein, the music is not that bad. But if you are looking for that charm, forget it!! Salim Suleiman, do not even meet their own high standards! 

Haule Haule, as can be seen through the new found popularity of the RNBDJ promos, is the pick of the lot. Sukhwindar adds a lot of soul to the sing, the punjabi touches, and a lot of passion. It grows on you. And it is growing on me! Another Sukhi ace! 

Tujhme Rab dikhta hai – its a good song, but it does not hit you that hard. Shreya Ghoshal version is better than Roop Kumar Rathod version (probably because its sadder). I am a sucker for sad songs. 

Dance Pe Chance – Average joe. Will catch on as the song is promo-ed on air. Thats my forecasting model talking. But not my heart. Shut up and bounce is catchier than this one! 

Phir Milenge Chalte Chalte – is a spoof song. With lyrics made up of songs and hindi movie names of yester years. So.. my guess is that again, the picturisation of the song will do the trick. Otherwise, very difficult to hum along, and not that great either. 

 

Overall –
I would give it a 3 on 5 – Average – because the singers do put in a lot of heart behind the songs which are quite average. Recommendation – download/stream and listen. If you like it, buy the CD. 

 

Passing Thought – Do you also think the Sonu Nigam is loosing his touch with singing? I think his voice is flattening out now

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Another If

October 31, 2008 Leave a comment

If a day in the night of despair
Makes the world look fair
What sin do you see in the dream of such days?

If one must lie ’bout a truth that kills
A cold blooded murder devoid of frills
What weighs on your soul till the end of days?

If looking back is looking ahead,
History repeats itself, like a recycled thread
What hurdles are going to trip you down?

If hating to love is loving to hate,
The bonds you live, designed by fate
Lying to yourself, how long can you go on?

If tomorrow never comes, and yesterday doesn’t stay
And you plan for tomorrow, what you could’ve done yesterday
What are you trying to prove today?

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Movie Review: A Wednesday

September 8, 2008 14 Comments

I saw “A Wednesday” yesterday. And here is what I think – its a superb muvee. And if better not wait till a wednesday to watch this movie. Watch it TODAY!

Its a movie driven by 2 big factors-  and I am counting some great acting by Naseer, Kher, Shergill and Bashir as just one of them. The other is some very tight editing. All of about 100 minutes, the movie keeps you with the motions all through. And there are these minor subtleties, attention to detail that you should/can not miss.

Coming to a detailed download of what I really liked –

Lead actors-  Nobody doubts their skills anyway. But Naseeruddin Shah and Anupam Kher are talents that have been wasted more often than they have been utilized by mainstream bollywood. Some of their finest performances are relegated to the perjoratively called parallel cinema. But here comes a movie, where Naseer crafts yet another mindblowing performance. And needless to say, he does not need to Ham, speak too many dialogues, get into mindless histrionics, and break into a song and dance routine to do this. From the first shot, his body language is that of a frustrated common man trying to game the system. There is nothing about him that makes him stand out from the crowd. Anupam Kher, on the other hand, is the second in command here. A more routine role of a Police Commissioner does not stop him from acting his heart out though. You can see an officer worn with age and different frustrations, and who has started getting amused by the trivialities of a police job (such as an actor running for security at the first possible threat, or using the minority card for no reason or the innumerable times he might have been forced to submit under political pressure). I read somewhere that the only scene where these actors come together, Anupam wanted it re-shot simply because he felt that he did not play his part as well as Naseer played his. When you see the scene, you realize that there is nothing that either of the two could have done better in that shot.

Lest I forget mentioning Jimmy Shergill and Amir Bashir – these two have done a great job. Its good to see Jimmy Shergill stick to what he is good at. A restrained and angry role. With a bare minimum set of dialogues, you still see his screen presence. Amir Bashir is equally good as the dependable cop. The bus scene where the extremists are trying to instigate the two and bothe Jimmy and Amir are not speaking, their face expressions are wonderful.

Others are ok, and have carried the movie through. Because of these four, they largely becamme unnoticeable. Especially, Deepal Shaw.

Story – Refreshing, to say the least. The best thing – they never reveal the name of the commoner out to game the system lest it be construed as a religion sentiment. Because the movie, in my head, belongs to the genre of thrillers, and not as much to the genre of “serious cinema”. There are a lot of implicitly answered questions which a lot of movies spend too much time answering. Commissioner having clear ideas about an encounter, or him realizing that there are no bombs and yet ordering the final acquiescence. The entire room changing their personal stand on the situation without altering their professional stand.

Simplicity – the story is not about using too many gizmos and gadgets to befuddle the system. It uses basic information that probably is available on the internet to blow the daylights out of an outdated system. At some point, a young college dropout says as much to the commissioner of police. It treats the story like a common man’s set of questions – whats stopping the terrorists to bomb this particular local railway station? Where is the security? These fat hawaldars? What if I just leave a bag somewhere here? Can I hack someone’s cell? etc.

Editing/Direction – its all of 100 minutes long. And does not lose you at any point in the movie. Keeps moving. At quick pace. Its moving at such a pace that even Naseer looking at his watch looks like an aberration! 🙂 Neeraj Pandey – You rock!  Sorry – Pandey ji!! You rock!

Overall – please please watch it. It is shameful that we keep saying that bolllywood does not come up with good cinema, and let these occasional wonderful movies not become the commercial successes that they deserve to be!

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Mo(u)rning Couplet

August 19, 2008 2 Comments

Bahut gumaa tha mujhe apne khuda hone ka
Aaj tehreer-e-ashq mein khuda nihaan paaya

Baad jannat bhi koi duniya hua karti hai
Aaj jaana jab utha sar se khuda ka saaya

बहोत गुमां था मुझे अपने खुदा होने का
आज तहरीर-ए-अश्क में खुदा निहां पाया

बाद जन्नत भी कोई दुनिया हुआ करती है
आज जाना जब उठा सिर से खुदा का साया..

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