Today I got a call from NDTV to appear as audience for their show Hum Log with Pankaj Pachauri. At first I was surprised as what to say. Then I said that I will try to come and she was like TV par aane ka chance hai!! 4-5 aur jano ko bhi le ana..it is on Swine flu.. I said I will try to go..as if I am a celebrity they are dying to call..so idiotic of me!
But I still haven't made my mind to go or not! I know I just have to sit there but I will give the most girly reason I don't have nice clothes :D
The final episode of the show 'Rakhi Ka Swayamwar', which saw the item girl announcing Toronto-based businessman Elesh Parujanwala as her ideal groom, registered a TRP of 6.3 Sunday night. According to overnight audience measurement agency aMap, it has been the highest TRPs so far for the channel. -Yahoo
It was a record show.. the whole India watched the show..the show worked bigtime..it was a big time drama..people did not watch it because they are Rakhi's fans (as she says so) but because of the curiosity factor and as some people are calling it India is living vicariously through its reality shows.. God forbid! I just read that Rahul Mahajan is consdering his Swayamvar next..Only Rakhi could have pulled it with elan but Rahul Mahajan?? that joker who laughs in the most bizarre ways..Rakhi got what she wanted..popularity..drama! Imagine got what they wanted TRPs..made crores! Hindi Channels got what they wanted...Breaking News.. and people got what they wanted ..entertainment :D
I have started to hate MTV..the very name Music Television and I wonder where is the Music.. MTV has become so negative it is a torture to watch it but I won't ask to ban the channel..I have my remote so I use it.
The Balochistan issue has put the government rather the PM in a tight spot..
So, what is the issue?
Balochistan is a province in Pakistan rich in natural resources and very sparsely populated. The Balochs feel that they were tricked in signing the treaty of accession to Pakistan and they have been demanding autonomy and now complete independence from Pakistan.
Pakistan has accused India of giving Baloch insurgents support and in the joint statement the PM agreed to talk on the issue as he believed that India has nothing to hide. But this was a huge huge mistake as analysts who were with the govt. on the nuclear deal have called it a blunder. Implicitly, what this does it gives leverage to Pakistan that when India says to stop terrorists activities in Kashmir, it would hit back at us saying stop the same in Balochistan. The PM has grossly misread the public mood and his trust but verify approach cannot really work because we cannot trust Pakistan..that is for sure..their whole existence is based on anti India sentiment.. the people of Pakistan are like us but their political establishment and the Army thrive on India bashing.. I totally agree with Mr L.K. Advani on this and the opposition has garnered huge ammunition to put the PM in isolation.. whatever we say, Balochistan will remain a thorn in the years to come..
HT printed some of Zardari jokes..LMAO! they are superfunny..the net is full of jokes on Zardari!
Here are some gems :D
Zardari and Corruption Ab CORRUPTION Ki Baari Hai, Kyun Ki Ab Daur-e-Zaradari Hai Ab Aap Ki Izat, Apni Zimmadari Hai, Kyun ki Izzat Ka Shikari Asif Zardari Hai Ab Tabahi Qismat Humari Hai, Kyun Ki Ab Daur-e-Zardari Hai . .
Zardari and Musharraf
Haqeeqat thi par,khuwab nikla, dur tha par pass nikla, mein iss bat ko kya kahun, Ye Zardari to Musharraf ka bi baap nikla.
Ek Zardari ko dekha to aisa laga... Jese khana kharab, Jese total azaab, Jesey Aadi faqeer, Jesay murda zameer, Jese Naasoor ho koii sartaa howaa, Ek zardari ko dekha to aisa laga, Jese bijli ka taar, Jese khanjar ki dhaar,Jesey dozakh ki aag, Jesey zehrila naag, Jese garmi ki dhoop..
Zardari Aur Zarda Zardari aur zarde me kya faraq hai ? zarda wo hai jo khushi mei khaya jaata hai aur zardari wi hai jo khushio ko kha jaata hai..
And my personal favourite...
Robber: Give me all your money! Zardari: Don’t you know who I am? I am Asif Ali Zardari! Robber: Okay. Give me all my money!
I had been wanting to go and watch this move ever since it released but the timings of the shows were too late.. at 11.20 pm in the night or somewhere around midnight..but today being Friday and I love Fridays because a) Weekend b) New movies, so time to read all reviews by Mayank Shekhar, Anupama Chopra, Rajeev Masand, Taran Adrash, Rediff, TOI, DNA and Passion for Cinema !!
So without digressing further, Sankat City PVR Saket 12.55 pm!! Whoa!!
Pankaj Advani's Sankat City is one hell of a movie..I don't remember the last time I laughed so much while watching a movie.. No, don't think Kambhakt Ishq..My views about Akhshay Kumar films are there in previuos posts..
So, what is the movie about? It is about a conman Guru who steals cars and re-sells them for money.One day, he steals the car of the don Faujdaar which had 1 crore rupees. Faujdaar finds about it and wants his money back from Guru but by some turn of events the crore rupees are lost! Now, Guru must payback 1 crore or he will die!!
It is a laugh riot..what truly remarkable is the characters..each character is etched out so brilliantly that it makes the movie a treat to watch..Faujdaar, Guru, Ganpat, Gogi, Mona, Philip Phattoo, Pachrasya, Gulbadan, Maharaj ji...all of the characters have a particualar quirk associated with them..the way they speak,the way they carry themselves..beautiful!! The movie has its flaws like dialogues were not really great and some scenes could have been even better!
It really is a proud thing for us that we have started to make such kind of movies but the audiences for these movies is still too less..there were hardly 8-9 people in the hall, though its the 3 week of the movie but The Hangover which was released 5-6 wweeks still goes housefull!! This year a lot of non stereotypical movies have released..Luck by Chance, DevD, Gulaal, Little Zizou, Barah Aana, Sankat City, Firaaq.. Apart from DevD which has become a cult film, none of the films have got great box office collections though getting critical acclaim..we need to watch these movies as well and discuss them also..like people will watch a terrible movie like CC2C..we should watch these movies..liking or not likng them is an individual's choice but what is required is to discuss these movies as well, at least in the urban sectors and remove the boundaries like we have a parallel cinmea and mainstream cinema..
What a day was today!!! So many things happened and many more about to happen in the coming days..it is a bonanza for news channels..they surely would have no problems finding news for today..but obviously they might have had an action packed and tiring day!!
The dramatic confession of Kasab! It came as a big shock to everyone, the prosecution, the defence, the Pakistan govt. News analysts say there is some ploy..some tactic that Kasab is playing..he could retract from his statement and say later that he was pressurised by the police..Really complex!
Hillary Clinton visit...the media has been going on and on about her visit..but frankly she was lecturing us on climate change while US is the second largest polluter on earth..the developed nations want to impose strict targets to cut emission without themselves committing to do..such hypocrites..anyway she has signed some agreements and some criticism is coming that India gave up to US demands to the End User agreement..the details will be out soon..
Sanjeev Nanda's jail term got reduced from 5 to 2 years..the BMW case goes on...in fact our Indian justice system is horrible..
The Reliance gas controversy between RIL and RNRL over the Krishna Godavari D6 fields..the two warring brothers again locked in a fierce battle over the pricing issues..
Sensex over 15000..hope the recovery starts soon..it has huge implications for all of us..at least for me :(
England won an Ashes test at Lords after 75 years! Flintoff, the mercurial English all rounder gave England a huge victory!
It is 40 years since Neil Armstrong landed on the moon along with Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins (he did not land) and made history..truly One step for a man, one giant leap for the mankind :)
India TV would eagerly be waiting for the Eclipse..they might have already started showing (I don't know because I don't watch it all ).. some प्रलय about to come like they did the LHC..idiots of first order!!
And the most funniest piece of shit...Zardari has brought out a new law in Pakistan that anyone making jokes about the president and sending them by SMS can be punished up to 14 years..Another attempt to curb freedom of expression..Mr. 10 Per Cent will always be Mr. 10 Per Cent..
I am wondering how would newspapers fit all this in the papers and their advertisements tomorrow.. so much to say..
But in spite of all this..there is one thing that we all are missing..it is 10 years to the Kargil War and we seem to have forgotten it..On July 26 celebrated as Victory Day we would just have ceremonies and no one would would even bother about it after that...Only the capture of Tiger Hill was shown by some English Channels.. NDTV's Barkha Dutt will show a series titled Remembrance : Kargil..I do hope people watch it..Kargil was the event that brought war to our homes by extremely brave journalists..I wonder why Pakistan has always given us trouble.. This Saturday, there was a soldier whom Ms Dutt interviewed and after 8 days he died..his brother and she remember him..do watch it.. Saturday 10 pm..
So, my Spanish classes have begun and I had my first class today..At first I didn't get anything..our teacher started speaking in Spanish and we all were dumbstruck but slowly she explained everything and I loved it.. Hola! Buenos dias! Que' tal!! Muy bien, gracias!! Hasta la vista!
Am really looking forward to the next class... Hope I could speak it fluently :( Spain and Latin America here I come!!
It makes me really sad at what all is happening to us.. I don't know..I am angry..very angry and we cannot do anything about it..it is hopeless..
You saw the Mumbai rains? The Congress NCP government there has virtually destroyed Mumbai..Mumbai is the city that pays the highest amount of taxes to the whole country...Don't the people there deserve a normal life..it rains for 3-4 hours and the whole machinery collapses..What is the BMC doing there? So shocking!..it is utter shamelessness on the part of the civic authorities..
The criminal justice system is in shambles as we know..the Jessical Lal murder, Nitsh Katara, Priyadarshini Matoo and so many more and now comes another example of the gross travesty of justice...Prof. Sabharwal's murderers were let go by the court on lack of evidence..the court criticised the prosecution for its handling of the case...the ABVP activists were caught live on camera threatening Prof. Sabharwal and still no evidence?..well, what did we expect when the BJP state govt. wants to protect its right wing organization, Himanshu Sabharwal really had a tough path from the beginning..it is indeed sad..Hope the SC does something good for the family and bring the perpetrators to book..
And another headache (as said by Madeline Albright) Pakistan...its continuous state of flip flops on 26/11..it has gone back to its old ways...wanting Kashmir to be solved, bringing up Samjhauta Express blast issue, its statement that it has no evidence against Hafeez Sayeed despite the humongous evidence it has collected against him..Pakistan would never let us live in peace..there is this documentary on youtube by BBC which shows how important Pakistan played a role in 26/11 attacks..it does not realise that their own people are suffering so much due to its terror infrastructure..but it continues to use them against India..I expect nothing out of the talks at the NAM summit in Egypt.. Somethings never change and Pakistan is one of them..
I am becoming more and more filmi these days :D..I saw some great films such as The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and Casablanca..
I loved the dialogues of Benjamin Button and couldn't resist putting here for my reference so that I don't forget as I have this habit of reading my posts again and again :
It's a funny thing about comin' home. Looks the same, smells the same, feels the same. You'll realize what's changed is you.
I hope you meet people with a different point of view. I hope you live a life you're proud of. If you find that you're not, I hope you have the strength to start all over again.
You can be mad as a mad dog at the way things went; you can swear and curse the fates - but when it comes to the end, you have to let go
And my absolutely favourite ones...
Your life is defined by its opportunities... even the ones you miss.
Along the way you bump into people who make a dent on your life. Some people get struck by lightning. Some are born to sit by a river. Some have an ear for music. Some are artists. Some swim the English Channel. Some know buttons. Some know Shakespeare. Some are mothers. And some people can dance.
It's funny how sometimes the people we remember the least make the greatest impression on us.
And Casablanca another amazing film 8.8 on imdb!! Now I understood why there are so many fans of Humphrey Bogart :) It had some some of the wittiest lines but I'll leave that except a few..
You know, Rick, I have many a friend in Casablanca, but somehow, just because you despise me, you are the only one I trust.
First and foremost, I saw Akshay Kumar and Kareena Kapoor last week in person and that too from very near. I am not a big fan of either of them but you know as soon as I saw them I went mad and joined the crowd who started screaming. For the first time I have seen a film star :D They both look very young and they looked just like us :D Clearly, for the first time I got a hands on experience that how mad we are about Hindi film stars..they are treated like God although they are just like us..I was so happy to even see them.. I had gone to watch New York at Select City Walk and when the movie finished, I saw this huge crowd outside and Kambhakt Ishq songs being played in full volume and lo! Akshay and Kareena standing right in front of my eyes :D
I guess this has been a lucky week..today I saw Nagesh Kukunoor at IHC and there, no one was able to recognise him..he was sitting on stairs and people were just passing by him as if no one knew who he was.I wanted to go and talk to him..to tell that Dor is one of the finest Indian films that have ever been made..how inspiring is Iqbaal..how different were Hyderabad Blues and Rockford..how eagerly I am waiting for Aasheyein ( I would not have said a word about the last two disasters Bombay to Bangkok and Tasveer 8x10 )...would have liked to to click a photograph with him but I did not :( he would of thought me to be a lunatic..koi nahi next time I will go if there is a next time :/
And it is really a long time and I haven't posted any movie review..I watched New York and liked it a lot.. probably one of the few good films of the year until now.. not to forget Luck by Chance, DevD, Gulaal being others.. for the first time I liked Katrina Kaif..she can act finally..it is not a superb performance but way better than her earlier bimbo roles..John needn't show his body and butt anymor,e his acting would suffice for now..and Neil is good too but talking of superb performances the one person who is in a league of greatest actors such as Al Pacino ever as said by Mayank Shekhar of NDTV is Irrfan Khan. He is a genius.. a terrific actor.. it is his film all the way...New York takes a middle path and asks serious questions that we as a nation are still struggling to find answers to although the story is based on the aftermath of 9/11... how do we prevent terror and protect human rights at the same time? how do we deal with Qasab who killed hundreds in cold blood and how do we deal with police torture that thousands of people in our country go through..it is a complex issue and no one has clear answers but one thing is for sure terror has no place in society... the film deals with these questions and had some great dialogues..A Muslim man heading a FBI investigation team to prevent terror strikes by another Muslim..this is only possible in USA.. the film is a sensitive and meaningful one.. it has its flaws like where were Sam and Maya'a parents all along? but these are minor flaws that could be overlooked..though some of the torture scenes gave me a sense of deja vu ala Khuda Kay Liye which also had similar issue but the films are different..one thing that I still remember from Khuda Kay Liye was the end where Mary goes back to Afghanistan to teach girls in spite of the horrific living conditions for women there..that was a symbol of hope that things can change if you change..anyway watch New York again instead of terrible movies with even more terrible story lines ( you know what I would say :D )
So. finally Federer won and what a match it was- it would surely go down as one of the best matches in the history of the game..I hate to say this but I feel Roddick was the better player today..Federer was not able to break his serve almost for 4 hours 15 minutes..just by luck Roddick made an error to go down 14-16 in the final set...Roddick had broken Federer's serve twice in the 1 and 4 set..at the end you couldn't help feel sorry for Roddick ..even after he was so emotionally and physically drained he was applauding Federer..There were two champions today- Roddick and Federer... Federer is now back to number one and has got 15 slams- the highest ever and also has a career slam..he surely is one of the legends and it feels to be a part of history :)
Every year Wimbledon throws some surprises...I remember last to last year it was Mario Bartoli who played some great tennis..last year Zheng ji and that epic classic match and this year Hewitt's and Roddick's return to form and then today's match.. Hope to see some Grand Slams for Roddick ..he deserves many many more :)
About a few days back, I heard a joke. There is a professor in a college and all the boys question him one day, " Sir, why do you give more marks to girls than to boys?" And the professor replies. " Arey! jo tumhe pasand hai vo mujhe bhi to pasand hai!! ". We all know how male teachers are so so biased towards girls. From school to college every male teacher I have come across is partial to girls. If a boy come late in class, "kahan reh gaye the? jahanse aa ho vahi vapas chale jao" but if a girl come late, " kahan reh gayi thi? Koi baat nahi agli baar time se aa jana". Girls on the other hand always say that female teachers are prejudiced against them. However, I disagree. Female teachers are generally not partial with the exception of only a few. But this post is not about the prejudiced attitude of our teachers.
I was thinking about the joke and all of a sudden I remembered this incident that happened to me in Class 10. Mrs. Swapna Bannerjee was our geography teacher and she had taught us Social Studies for 4 years! I was one of her favourite students * :D :D * So what happened we had our first term exams and the geography section was for 20 marks. I distinctly remember that I had left a 5 mark question and attempted the paper of about 15 marks. After the exam finished, the normal discussion took place ( which I absolutely hate now) and I told one of my friends C that I left the last question. He had this grudge against me that I get marks on the basis of impression so secretly he was happy that he will score more than me. So what happened was that the exam papers were checked and shown to us. I don't expect any marks...jitne ayenge theek hai but I knew it would be less than 15..so my roll number comes and mam said 19.5.. highest in the class....OMG you should have seen the look on C's face..I couldn't believe it myself and then C was like " tu to bol raha tha ki tune to last question 5 marks ka kiya hi nahi, phir kaaise aa gaye tere 19.5? jhooth bahut bolta hai tu" I then showed him my paper and showed him that mam had given me marks on a single question twice as they were on two different pages...I couldn't secretly stop laughing and then C goes to another person B and he cribs so much about me which later B told me " samajtha kya hai apne aap ko...kuch likhta vihkta hai nahi..pata nahi phir bhi kaise highest aa gaye @#$%^& ".. How is it my fault? Then he wished that I should go to mam and tell the truth but I didn't. There was a huge difference in our marks in other subjects, so 4 marks weren't making any difference to the overall picture and WTF it was just a term exam not the Boards in which marks are given like bhagwan ka prashad..so I didn't tell mam the truth and told others about it...even as I am writing this now,I can't stop smiling..the look on C's face was super funny :D :D Bada aya!Bhaag yahan se!
Have you heard folk songs, especially Punjabi folk songs? I simply love them..they are so beautiful..the songs are naughty and bring out the fun element..I couldn't understand the lyrics at first. Only after repeated listening and with the help of mom, I can appreciate tidbits of what it is saying :) However, we are somehow losing this heritage. only our daadis/naanis know these songs but what will happen after them..how do we preserve this when we can not even converse in our mother tongue? It is this diversity that makes India a culturally rich nation. Anyway, I love this song from Monsoon Wedding called 'Madhorama Pencha.' Just see the excellent video. I tried to find the meaning of the lyrics from my mom and also on the internet. It is so cool..watch it :)
The song is about Madhorama and the kind of bride he wants, much like the song "Jiski Biwi Moti" from Lawaaris, where Amitabh Bachchan plays a transgender woman.
The parentheses denote the meaning of the songs :)
Madhoram Pencha Veran Kedi kariye ( Madhorama pencha, which girl should we pick?)
Shava Vera Kedi kariye (Which girl should we pick?)
Madhoram Pencha Ve Hun Toh Moti Kariye (Madhorama pencha, now let's pick the fat one)
Moti Run Di Ki Salia Ki Salaiye (What will we do with the fat one? )
Kali Manja Male, Darda Nede Ave (she takes up the mattress all on her own; her fearful husband doesn't come near )
Dooron Pakhiyan Chale (batting his eyes from far)
Isko Khadi Rain Do,
Shava Hum Toh Aur Karenge, (we'll pick another)
Shava Isko Chhod Chalenge,
Shava Hum Toh Babu Log Hain,
Shava Shava Sha Jawani
Shava Jawani Badi Mastani,
Shava Bude Pa Bada Laneti, (?????????)
Shava Main Koi Jhoot Boliya,
Koi Na Main Koi Kufar Toliya (did I look for evil thoughts )
Koi Na Koi Na Koi Na
Madhoram Pencha Veran Kedi Kariye (Madhorama pehncha, now which girl should we pick?)
Shava Ve hun Gori Kariye (Madhorama pencha, let's pick the fair one )
Gori Run Da Ki Salai Ki Salaiye (what will we do with the fair one?)
Yun Makhan Da Pehda (she's like a pat of butter )
Gori Chadh Chobaare Suti (she climbed up and sleeps upstairs )
"I don't want to get into logical films... I am happy doing films where one can keep discussions around logic at home"
Has he ever done any logical film as yet? I have never liked his slapstick irritating films.. I somehow never feel a craze for an Akshay Kumar film.. some of my friends go berserk for his movies.. I don't know why? Perhaps the above statement is why I do not like him.. most of our films are illogical however there are some exceptionally good quaity cinema has been coming for the last few years that we can be proud of..
And then he cribs he doesn't get best actor awards and even if he does win, he returns to the more deserving candidate making a mockery of the jury, these are not your awards that you can give to anyone although grapevine has it Akshay was miffed at Best Actor Popular category as he wanted Best Actor!!
Illogical films.. I hope Kambhakht Ishq flops! Idiot of first order..
I don't really know that should I be putting up this post or not? I am a very very private person and do not like to share my personal life to everyone..I had thought of making this blog private or start a new one where I would only write about my crappy life but I am too lazy to start a new one :/ so what the hell I will write whatever I feel and let anyone think of whatever they want to say about me..
Ever since college has ended, I don't know things have changed.. earlier I did not feel that my college has ended and I felt like that it was another semester break but about a month has passed and slowly I am coming to terms to reality :(
Almost everyone I know has left Delhi or is leaving soon in search of better avenues.. Calcutta, Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad, US, Europe and I feel totally left out..my job starts in October in Noida and till then I am as people say vella :(
Seeing friends leave and you sitting at home gives a very very terrible feeling.. on my chat list, earlier I used to see everyone online but these days hardly one or two people come online..but they are busy and whenever I buzz them they say 'ttyl' talk to you later :( I know they are busy.. theek hai I won't ping anyone..they have more important things to do in life..
I had also made so many plans but one by one everything is flopping :( I had wanted to learn Spanish or German but there are no good institutes or the course timings don't suit.. I don't want to leran French..it is a good language but everyone learns French.. I wanted to do art appreciation at the National Museum but admissions closed in May :(
I wanted to do social work and had applied to a lot of NGOs but none of them replied but today only I got slected in an organization called CURE which works to prevent ragging..its office is in Gurgaon..so from tomorrow i would join them..I just hope that I am able to do the work they give me :(
I still haven't joined the test series and don't feel like doing the same thing again with my kind of brainsI know what would be the result this time also..
You know I had planned to write abook also during this time (don'tlaugh)..I have thought a lot about it and a lot of ideas have come to me but the problem is am not able to execute the ideas properly.. I started writing and wrote a page and then cut it..I hope kuch ho.. I will write something good someday *hopefully*
I also wanted to do some film apprecaiton and critic courses also.. I saw this on the site on Venky but blody they haven't updated their courses since 2006..which age are the living in? Do you know any places for this?
I don't know.. I am just feeling a vacuum.. a void in my life.. I am not carefree these days.. the situation being made worse by the extreme heat and no rains..frequent powercuts..low voltage.. a torture this weather.. it is just like Revolutionary Road..I could relate to the hopeless emptiness that April feels..
Oh! I have never written such a post before (according to my standards)..
I hate change but what can we do...the only thing constant in this world is change.. life goes on.the show must go on... theek hai koi baat nahi..ab kya karen..some people are born like this to foreever crib.. haath to aya muh na laga :(
Since my holidays have started, the first thing I did was that I joined Bigflix. I can now watch any movie I want, I just have to order it :) 300 Rs. per month and you can rent a dvd. So, obviously, the last few days I have been watching movies which i had always wanted to see but could never get them. And the picture quality is so clear that I have started to like watch movies on my PC which I absolutely hate. I keep on adding the movies that I have watched to list on the side gadget and I hope the list goes on increasing :)
Which ones did I watch?
Salaam Bombay
Amazing film by Mira Nair, liked it much better than Slumdog Millionaire. This film shows the underbelly of Mumbai way better than Slumdog. Was nominated was Oscar but did not win.
8/10
Gandhi
Excellent.
9.5/10
Boys Don't Cry
Great story based on real life.
7.5/10
Ankur
Shayam Benegal's film and Shabana Azmi's debut film. Too good again :)
8/10
Dev
Govind Nihalani's film based on the communal riots with stellar performances by Amitabh Bacchan and Om Puri. Loved the song sung by Kareena.
Jab nahi aye the tum..tab bhi mere paas the tum..dil main dhadkan ki tarah..tan main jeevan ki tarah..Meri dharti mere mausam..mere din raat the tum
8/10
The Kite Runner
Nice film. The essence of the book is kept alive by the film. For you a thousand times over. There's a way to be good again:)
7.5/10
Dharm
Another film based on the communal harmony, probably the best I have seen. The film touches your heart.This film should have been sent to the Oscars ( I still haven't seen Eklavya though which was sent in its place)
9.5/10
Honeymoon travels Pvt. Ltd.
The first non serious film that I watched and liked it again. With Anurag Kashyap as dialogue writer, it was one hell of a fun. it is about six married couples on a honeymoon with elements of fantasy in it.Kay Kay Menon and Raima Sen were too good though I did not like the abrupt ending and some stories were left midway. I wanted to see Sandhya Mridul and Amisha Patel's story taken further. Tango by Abhay Deol and Minishha Lamba was so cool :)
7.5/10
I have made a big list and will watch more and more :)
Seema Goswami writes in her weekly column Spectator in Brunch:
It is okay to be judgemental about people who hate those who belong to other faiths, who treat those less fortunate than themselves with contempt and cruelty? Nobody in his or her right mind can deny that the Taliban is one of the greatest threats to humanity in general and womankind in particular? But isn't saying so an instance of exercising our judgement?
The truth is that all of us have a moral compass that guides us through life. Needless to say, this moral compass doesn't point the same way in every human being. But to say that we can never use it to exercise judgement is to deny us the very humanity that defines us.
At first, I was too taken aback by what she had written. A few days ago someone had called me judgemental and I wanted to contest the argument that I am not and told him that by calling me judgemental, he himself was judgemental about me !! But as I read her article, I began to have second thoughts about it. Yes, I agree it is none of our business that how a person leads his or her life but at some point, we knowingly or unknowingly do judge people's actions, their behaviour, their conduct and what not, though we might not be candid enough to say that and keep it to ourselves. So, there is nothing wrong in being judgemental say and you are free to judge me by whatever means you can though I know everyone thinks of me :-(
But to be judgemental you have to know facts and not be guided by gossip. Else that is just hypocrisy. If you do not like a movie, you have to first see it and then say that you did not like it.. The book The Satanic Verses written by Salman Rushdie which was banned because it was offensive to some community but it was ridiculous that people who wanted a ban had not even read the book. Then how can you be judgemental about the book and the author whose Midnight's Children is one of the finest pieces of literature I have read. How could anyone protest against a film like Fire or Jodhaa Akbar before it has been released? It is just publicity stunt and lunacy. You watch a film and you have every right to judge it if you have paid for it. You eat at some restaurant and you have full right to call it good or bad because you have paid for it. So, IMO, be judgemental but don't be a hypocrite which we all are in some ways :-(
The cut off list for St. Stephen's College has been released and I cannot believe it. Have a look! Economics (Hons.) Science 95.75 % BFS Commerce 97 % BFS Humanities 95 % BFS
History (Hons.) Science 95 % BFS Commerce 97 % BFS Humanities 91 % BFS English (Hons.)
It is shocking. 97% for getting admission into a college. Whose fault is it? Frankly,I don't know. The students do their hard work and put in their best. The Board has become more liberal in awarding marks, to ease out the pressure on the students. The Colleges take out their cut off list according to the applications they receive. Where are we heading that a student getting even 96.75% marks has to sit out? I think it is Class 12 Board system that needs to be evaluated. The CBSE should not be that liberal in giving cent per cent marks in subjects like English! What we require is not mindless rote learning.
I know a person W. He is supposedly called 'intelligent' on the basis of the marks he scored. He scored 95.4% in his Class 12 examinations. PCM 95 % & BFS 95.75%!! Everybody was so shocked when they heard it and always used to say that IIT is a cakewalk for him. Now, what happened in IIT exam? He didn't even qualify for the Screening test, let alone cracking IIT!! AIEEE a terrible rank of 20,000!! and DCE a rank of 880. Everyone was like how could he get such low ranks. It happened mainly because of his poor analytical skills. He sucked at common sense and logic. Somehow, got through DCE. Given the rote learning culture in the college, it was not that difficult. Time came to give CAT. Again, everyone thought it is a cakewalk for him to get a good percentile. So, what happened. QA and VA were fine but in DI he sucked terribly getting a disastrous percentile score in that section. For the uninitiated, DI means Data Interpretation which involves common sense and everyday logic. So, this proved that the marks we score are absolutely not the right way to measure a person's capability.We need to bring some change to our strained education system if we want to keep pace with the world. These bizarre cutoffs won't mean anything if we do not tap the right student for the course.But I don't see anything changing as of now.India needs a big change!
I came across this very funny photo manipulation site... I tried some and could not stop laughing at some of the bizarre results...will add some more tomorrow ..hahahaa :D :D
I want to writ a crib post and that too a really long one... it was a terrible day today.. I just feel like the Smelly Cat of Phoebe (can call me Smelly dog :/). but unlike the cat who was loved by all inspite of she being too smelly, I get this negative vibes all around me..I don't want to talk about it..period!
Smelly Cat, Smelly cat what are they feeding you?
Smelly Cat, smelly cat it's not your fault...
They won't take you to the vet.
You're obviously not their favorite pet.
You may not be a bed of roses,
And you're no friend to those with noses. Smelly cat, smelly cat what are they feeding you?
I watched Gandhi today by Richard Attenborough and it is an epic masterpiece. Ben Kingsley as Gandhi has given a stupendous performance and as soon as I finsihed watching it, I knew he must have got the Academy Award for his stellar performance.This is one of the must watch films and everyone should watch how a man almost single handedly helped India to achieve independence without any violent means. We, as Indians, perhaps are too used to the sainthood status that we see more of his flaws but he will remain an icon for the entire world. There are many movies that have been made on Gandhi but I would rate this as the best without any doubt. Somehow, I did not like Lage Raho Munnabhai at all. I don't know why but it was too caricaturish (if this is the right word? ).
While reading some reviews on imdb I came across this comment:
For those who keep mentioning that Kingsley is "English," well, yes he is, but he is also "Anglo-Indian." His father is from India. In fact his father was born in the same small sea-coast town as Mahatma Gandhi! While filming the movie in the small towns of rural India, there were those older people who actually remembered seeing the original Gandhi who collapsed in shock when they saw Kingsley in his makeup. Hundreds became convinced that he actually was the Mahatma, returned! Also interesting is that Kingsley was born just after the asassination of Gandhi. I mean that's just a tad spooky, no....?
The above video is of the poem If by Rudyard Kipling read by Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal for Wimbledon 2008 promotion. Over the player's entrance to Centre Court at Wimbledon, two lines of this poem are inscribed, and indeed, in the opening frames of the video, we see those two lines etched into stone: If you can meet with triumph and disaster and treat those two imposters just the same;
These are the wordings of the beautiful poem inspite of the criticism it might have received over the years.One nice thing was when Federer was reading, Nadal's shots were shown and when Nadal was reading,Federer's.
If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or, being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or, being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise;
If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;
I was just surfing the channels and voila! Lakshya is being telecast on a channel. Lakshya is one of the most inspiring films that I have seen. Though it didn't do well, I still cannot fathom why? Probably because of Ms. Zinta's funny hairstyle! Anyway, there is this scene in the film when the Officers take the oath to serve the Union of India and put the nation above their life. I have watched that scene so many times but every time I watch it strikes me like a thunderbolt and gets goosebumps by that powerful scene. How much pride you and your parents would feel watching while you take the oath to become an Officer of the Indian Army? How noble one would feel if you are called Lieutenant Karan Shergill. That scene brings a tinge of sadness in me. The word Lakshya as we all know means an aim to get something in life. I am surrounded by such great people that they all have found their Lakshya. But I am still looking for my own. I am not talking about the career, job, blah blah (though I don't know my aim in these things also). But a Lakshya..what do you want from life..what is your ultimate goal in life..how do you see yourself a few years later..what is your passion.. these questions have been haunting me for the past few days.. and I have no answers...and watching Lakshya made me even more terrible. You have seen that ad featuring Sachin Tendulkar of, I think, Aviva Life Insurance where he asks the guy what does he want to do in life? He says that he wants to open a bookstore and then Sachin replies "Kab Karoge?" When you are forty and then something like that..I feel just like that guy.. a hypocrite :(
If you have that Lakshya, no matter what happens, you would strive to attain that..just like Michelle McNelly did in Black. She took twenty years to become a graduate and then she could finally say "Aaj main garv ke sath keh sakti hun ki main ek graduate hun!"
I hope I could also say when my Lakshya gets fulfilled, "Main ek graduate hun!"
So, finally Federer won the French Open making him only the sixth person in the history of the game to win a Career Slam.He is now tied with Pete Sampras for 14 Grand Slam titles.I hope he does win more. After Nadal lost to Soderling in fourth win, all hopes were raised that this is his chance to win and he could easily win it. He played a great match though he got a bit nervous at the end. He is serving for the Championship and almost gave a break point at 5-4 in the third set but anyway he won.So happy :)
But there was one disturbing moment during the match. There was this fan who had come and put some cap or flag over Federer and then he ran across to Soderling. And the security people were just not able to prevent him from reaching to the players. It is a very scary thing. Yeah, for the crowds it may be a fun thing and for the audience something amusing, but what if he had been a disgruntled Nadal fan? He could have done harm to both Federer and Soderling. Monica Seles, we must remember,had an on-court attack in which a German spectator stabbed her in the back with a 10 inch long knife and she was unable to be consistent in her career after that attack. The attacker was labelled mentally unstable but that act ruined her whole career. Streakers, pitch invasions,etc. should not be laughed off.
Meanwhile, I read My Friend Sancho by Amit Varma of the India Uncut fame who is rated among the top 50 most powerful people in India by Business Week. I loved the book because of its humour. It is a contemporary novel and all of us can easily relate to it. One could finish it in 4 hours. I had a smile on my face all along while reading and at some places it was simply too much fun (Vyjantimala!! those lizard conversations and his superb one liners Okay I didn't :D ). I liked it and would recommend it :)
I also watched Delhi6 after a very long time it has released. I hate watching movies at home. I feel that if I like a film 70% in a multiplex I would like it 50% at home. Movie watching is an experience in itself but I watched Delhi6 at home :( it was too boring in the second half. I loved the first half. Delhi has been shown beautifully but in the second half, the movie loses its plot. The film has its heart in the right place but the execution could have been better. It is not a superb watch and it was really irritating at times. The songs were put haphazardly.Favourite Dialogue- " Jalebi, hame mard bana do " OMG that was one hell of a scene.A nice time pass. My rating - **1/2.
Well, the election results were out on 16 May and Dr. Manmohan Singh made history by becoming only the second Prime Minister after Jawahar Lal Nehru to be elected for a consecutive second term. Though much has been said about the results and thousands of articles written about the analysis of the results, I am writing it now taking just a little more time than the govt. took for Cabinet formation :P
1. For me, the biggest surprise of the election has been the state of Uttar Pradesh. The Congress, which had no organisational base in the state and decided to contest elections on its own without any alliances, won 21 seats!! It became the second largest party in the state defeating Mayawati's BSP which won the Assembly elections by a stumping majority. So why did Congress win? I think the Varun Gandhi factor played a huge role. The Muslims vote to keep the BJP out and they knew that Mayawati would align with the BJP to fulfill her own ambitions. Moreover,the SP aligning with Kalyan Singh also pushed some votes to the Congress and the biggest of them all the Rahul Gandhi factor (more on it later).
2. The BJP is in tatters, the internal tussle going on between the party members, the leadership crisis within the party, the dalliances about Modi being a PM material, the negative campaigning against Manmohan Singh, the Varun Gandhi hate speech and more importantly the selection of wrong candidates helped the BJP to lose. They have been wiped out in all metros except Ahemdabad and Bangalore. All 7 seats in Delhi went to the Congress. They should have given the tickets to some better people. Like Arun Jaitley from New Delhi, Sushma Swaraj from South Delhi or Madan Lal Khurana from West Delhi.. at least then they wouldn't have been wiped out so badly. Wherever they presented a development agenda they have won, like in Jharkhand, Chattisgharh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Bihar. They focused on the wrong issues.
3. More than the BJP's defeat it was a decisive verdict against the Third Front. The Left Front has been mauled in their bastion of West Bengal by Mamta Bannerjee and in Kerala by the Congress. The egoistic positions that Prakash Karat took on the nuclear deal and the ideological compromises they made did the party in. Ironically, he said that Congress was living in a fool's paradise..now see who is living in a fool's paradise. What does the Left have in common with the AIADMK? There were no prospects of stability that is why the Third Front did so terribly. The TRS attended an NDA rally after joining the Third Front!!
4. The Modi factor- Narendra Modi's charisma did not work. He was not allowed to campaign in Bihar by their own ally.What will happen to him now? It would be foolish to write him off.. Much surprises await us..
5. The biggest factors that worked for the Congress were the clean image of Dr. Manmohan Singh, Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi. Dr. Singh's stand on the nuclear deal showed that he is not a weak PM and he would not compromise India's interest. Yes, he may not a person who gives inspiring speeches like Barack Obama but he works and people saw that work. Rahul Gandhi, who was called a fool for going alone in UP and Bihar and was accused of political naivete at his press conference emerged as the star campaigner. People saw his honesty and his work. Yes, he may be a dynast waiting to be PM some day but as he says just because he is a product of the system that doesn't mean he cannot change the system. The Youth Congress candidates put up by him won everywhere. His magic worked in UP. He is trying to bring inner party democracy to the Congress. It was a vote for stability and a vision that he tried to bring to the people. But now the Congress has to deliver.This election no doubt marks the emergence of Rahul Gandhi and possibly we will see a 2014 battle between Narendra Modi and Rahul Gandhi.
The Indian voter always always surprises and nobody can take him for granted. "Eventually the people know what is best for them" said Sonia Gandhi after the results. I couldn't agree more :)
1. While going to Rajouri Garden today, I saw a man playing in mud alone at about 3 pm... Holi thori hai?..he was probably drunk but at 3 in the afternoon?? Weird!
2. At CP, I saw a man abusing a 2 year old boy who was probably asking for alms and that idiot man said "pehle b******* bol" ? How senseless people can be? Weird!
3. At CP again, I saw this traffic police..he caught two guys on a motorbike entering the NO ENTRY zone and as soon as those guys saw him, they started running and that police guy obviously wants to show who is the boss ran after them! Why did the two guys run? They should have talked to him rather than running. Weird!
4. While I was in Rajouri, a woman who was selling something came to me and started asking about my birthmark and started telling her own remedies..she said "kahin likh lo".. Now how do I write on the middle of the road and anyway I don't care anymore, I am used to it.. but the most funniest part, she asked my friend V, " yeh pet se hai isko" hahahaha..how will she know? and my other friends thought that I stole something from that aunty! Weird!
5. An uncle in Metro kept staring and staring and staring and staring..Weird!
6. I was wearing sunglasses in a restaurant..and people thought I am, yes you guessed it, weird! :P but I love to be weird..that is why I love Phoebe :) Weird!
It is the last days of college... everything is coming to an end finally on 1 June.. an uncertain future beckons :(
The weather was really nice yesterday afternoon..the wind was blowing..it made everyone's shirts fly with it and everyone kept trying to tuck it in with no avail :D
Decided to play aankh micholi... it was superfun.. when it was my turn to catch people, I couldn't so being the good player that I am :D I took off the blindfold and caught K..hehe..stupid me..forgot all the tension and the worries.. others also played chidiya udd :D but I didn't feel like playing that...
While coming back, I listened to one of my favorite songs.. Agar main kahoon from Lakshya.. I just love the innocent lyrics.. especially those lines when the girl says ..Mujhko bhoole se bhi chaand tum na kaho..chand mein to kayee daag hain..mujhe phool na kehna..vo murjhate hain..jugnu bhi na kehna..vo kho jaatehain..
Happy Birthday, A... wish you all the best in life :)
My friend D told me to write something sensible as he thinks I write crap. But politics and films are my only forte', so naturally I will write about them only... but still I thought of writing about Love-a topic I had always wanted to write about it but never did . I absolutely love films, so my understanding of it has been shaped by our overtly melodramatic dramas.The theme of love is the mainstay of our film industry. So, I intend to inform you that the following post is going to be another as I say 'senseless posts', so read at your caution..
Rahul in Kuch Kuch Hota Hai defined love in the most bizarre ways 'Pyaar dosti hai'. Eric Segal in his classic book Love Story says "Love means never having to say sorry". Each of us I believe has our concept of love. You may not agree with mine and I may not agree with yours but nevertheless there would some common ground..
For me Love is something very pure and it has to have three things- Understanding, Sacrifice and Trust.
Understanding among the partners is very important. As they say, someone who can understand your silence, there is no need of words and someone you love knows you better than you know yourself. You remember that scene from Dil Chahta Hai (one of the best films of all time according to me) where Tara (Dimple Kapadia) comes and visits Sid's (Akshay Khanna) place to see his paintings she says " Aaj maine tumhare bare me ek nayi baat jaani hai..jo log tumhe jaante hain vo log bhi tumhe nahi jaante hain..tumhare khaab tum kisi ko nahi batate.. tum logon se milte to zaroor ho lekin tumhari ek alag hi duniya hai.." Would you then blame Sid for loving Tara? A person who could read your complete life in your first meeting, how could anyone not fall in with that person.. That scene which has been my all time favourite scene is a remarkable one..
Love also means sacrifice. I have never understood the possessive love of SRK in Darr.. By forcing someone to love you is absolutely the worst thing ever.. Love means that you are happy in other's happiness..you are prepared to make some compromisess.. Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, another of my favourite movie :) I think the character of Vanraj (Ajay Devgan) epitomises this..His love for Nandini (Aishwarya Rai) took him to Italy to reunite her with her lover..He loved her so much that he could not live with out her but he knew she would never be the same Nadini who would never reciprocate his love..Think of it in real life, it is too good to be true but somehow it really shows what love is..there was so much criticism of that unrealistic scene in Kabhi Alvidaa Na Kehnaa.. when Sam (Amitabh Bachhan) says to Maya (Rani) to leave his son as by continuing the marriage she would even deprive Rishi (Abhishek) of the happiness in his life..but I think it was only fair that she should leave Rishi..
Trust too is an important entity in love..If you cannot trust each other then love has no meaning.. In Friends, Emily could never trust Ross after he took Rachel's name instead of hers at their wedding and she laid a precondition that he would never meet Rachel.. when Ross asked her that can she trust him? She said no and their marriage was doomed to fail..
Anyway, I am thinking more and more about it... and
I can already see you *yawning*.. so, enough for now...
It is my birthday today :) I have turned 22 today! I don't want to grow up so fast, feel like a buddha. I do not know how to talk to people, how to express myself, how to behave like a 22-year-old! sob!
Anyway, I got two testimonials for the yearbook and I loved both of them. So I thought of putting them today..no, I am not a narcissist but I just felt like putting them here. Thanks to both V and S.
This is what V wrote :)
He is sense and sensibility personified. Talking to him is entertaining and tranquilizing! He is very discerning, astute and sensitive. His innocent face doesn't give way to the fact that he knows the ways of the world. His sagacity is hidden by this a veil of humility and humor! He is great fun to be with. Caring and helpful. One should check out his blog for some food for thought. In this journey of life, the more hearts you win the richer you are, and I am sure he is going to be one of the richest! :)
S wrote a poem for me:)
At one corner of our class.... Sits a boy with great presence and splendid poise, With heart of gold, he never goes loud yet he stands out in the crowd! To his diligence, we all salute But ghissu title wont really suit, A big movie fan & what a critic Beware Rajeev Masand,your job is at risk! He reads, he blogs & his opinion eminently rocks You just can't ignore him when he talks. Smart on thoughts, immense talent imbued. That's why he got through the smartest route!! His perseverance and modesty is rarest of all In the future, he shall stand bright up and tall!!! So on behalf of entire crew Hey Pankaj, best wishes 4 u!!!:)
Thanks a lot :)
You might have come across those funny Facebook quizzes. There is this one which says "Which profession do you belong to?". My cousin D got her result as "You belong to the Creative profession" and then she was lamenting the fact that why did she take take science as she ain't interested in it. I got the same result and she was surprised that how could I be creative as she thinks I am too scientific to be creative. Firstly, I wanted to tell her that I am not at all good at science. Scientists are such brilliant people who have the ability to question and tread a different path which sadly I do not possess :/ Secondly, even though I may not be a creative person, but her view of scientific people not being creative is absolutely lame. I think a lot of people in India even Facebook considers creativity as just singing, dancing, music,etc. Of course these are creative jobs but these are not the only creative jobs. One could be creative in almost anything one does. Even a simple power point presentation requires some amount of creative skill. Creativity is something that is innate and comes from within and it does no depend on the so called 'stream' as we put it. In fact, another cousin of mine Y who is a fashion designer from NIFT (and is a creative person) is from science background and I think it is more of an advantage than an obstruction to her as she could also incorporate scientific elements in her work which others might not be able to do. After all what is science? It is understanding of how life works.
It is wrong to associate creativity with such a narrow outlook as others think. Take another examples. A sofa-cum-bed. Isn't it creative genius to incorporate a sofa and bed in the same furniture item? Our cell phones' features- camera, FM, calls, GPS, mails- all in the same device.Isn't this creative? Playing even a cricket or tennis shot requires creative skill by the player. I am reminded of an episode of FRIENDS, where on Emma's first birthday, Rachel mistakenly orders a cake in the shape of a part of the male anatomy ( you know what I mean :P) and Ross used his ability to create that erotic cake into a bunny shaped cake!! Another friend of mine P who has this knack to write super funny status messages is creativity.Even the way my mom cuts salad in those zigzag patterns is creative. I could go on and on to prove my point. Anyway, how many times did I use the word creative in this post :P
I can't wait for results on May 16. I have not been so excited even by my Board Results as I have been for them. Have followed this election very closely but still can't predict who will win. All polls saying UPA has a slight edge over NDA but the gap seems to be shortening even as we speak bookies predict a NDA government. Let us see what happens after a day. But one thing is for sure the Election Commission needs to be congratulated for such a brilliant poll process. The world watches in absolute amazement! The Commission arranged for polling booths even for a single voter in places like Ladakh and Gir. It is a stupendous process and whosoever wins, the Election Commission is a clear winner. So, who will be our next PM. Just one day more! Eagerly waiting and excited..the bazaar begins...
P.S.- Did you hear Kapil Sibbal's poem on Times Now? It was super funny :P
Berate me for saying this, but I have this fascination for the Gandhi family- Sonia, Rahul and Priyanka ( not including that thug Varun Gandhi ). People love to hate the Gandhis but I feel the opposite. Whatever they say, makes headlines but they talk sense. They are very smart and genuine people.They have a charisma which makes them so popular.Anyway, Barkha Dutt had an interview with Priyanka Gandhi and I couldn't wait to watch it. In one of my earlier posts, I had written about Priyanka'a meeting with her father's killer Nalini and that she had forgiven them. In the interview, she told about how she felt at that time and this made me think.
Barkha:How many years did you live thinking that maybe you wanted to meet Nalini before it happened?
Priyanka: Not very long actually, maybe a year and a half and so on. In the beginning when my father was killed, I didn't realise it, but I was furious.I was absolutely furious inside.I was furious not with particular individuals who killed him but I was furious with the whole world.
Barkha: When did you learn to recognise that rage?
Priyanka: It was a very slow process. it was realising that you're angry.I think this whole business of forgiveness is really at some level, we all consider ourselves victims. Maybe it can be a case of someone being nasty to us, our someone would have done something like kill someone we love, which is a bigger thing and then we consider ourselves victims. But the minute you realise that you're not a victim and the other person is as much victim as the same circumstance as you, then you can't put yourself in a position where you are anyone to forgive someone else because your victim hood has disappeared. And to me, people ask about non violence, I think true non violence is the absence of victim hood.
This last line she spoke, made me think. Yes when we are victims, there is anger in us and we have this frustration and a feeling to take revenge for something terrible someone did to us. This feeling of vengenace sparks discontent and brings a violent streak in us. So true non violence is absence of the feeling of being a victim. But it requires strength to accept that you are not a victim. Mahatma Gandhi gave us our independence by non violence and Priyanka Gandhi has also given us our emotional independence by non violence......
