Disco dance karenge Shava! Hum to gentleman hai Shava...

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 )

Aashiq Chautha Gehda (her lover keeps waiting)

Isko Le Chalege, Shava

Humko Yahi Pasand Hai, Shava

Hum Toh Byha Karenge,

Shava Disco Dance Karenge, Shava

Hum Toh Gentleman Hain,

Shava Shava Sha Jawani

Jawani Badi Mastani, Shava

Bude Pa Bada Laneti, Shava

Main Koi Jhoot Boliya,

Koi Na, Main Koi Kufar Toliya

Koi Na Koi Na Koi Na

Bule Bule Bule.

Idiot of first order..

Akshay Kumar says

"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..

Vacuum...

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 :(

Stop this crap..

Popcorn and Cola Time...

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 :)

Judge the Judge...

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 :-(

Cut off - From Reality...

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.)

Science 96 % BFS Commerce 97 % BFS Humanities 92.5 % BFS
Philosophy (Hons.)
Science 84 % BFS Commerce 96 % BFS Humanities 85 % BFS
B.A. Programme
Science 94 % BFS Commerce 96 % BFS Humanities 88 % BFS
Mathematics (Hons.)

Science 94.5 % BFS Commerce 94 % BFS Humanities 82 % BFS

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!

P.S.- W is no one but yours truly :(

Bond James Bond.....

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

You're obviously not their favourite pet..

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?

Smelly cat, smelly cat it's not your fault!

Gandhi : An Epic Masterpiece...

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....?

If...

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;

I loved the video :)

Information Courtesy : Bookends and India Uncut

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;

If you can meet with triumph and disaster

And treat those two imposters just the same;

If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken

Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,

Or watch the things you gave your life to broken,

And stoop and build 'em up with wornout tools;

If you can make one heap of all your winnings

And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,

And lose, and start again at your beginnings

And never breath a word about your loss;

If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew

To serve your turn long after they are gone,

And so hold on when there is nothing in you

Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on";

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,

Or walk with kings - nor lose the common touch;

If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;

If all men count with you, but none too much;

If you can fill the unforgiving minute

With sixty seconds' worth of distance run -

Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,

And - which is more - you'll be a Man my son!

Lakshya!! yes, that's the word...

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!"

Of Career Slam,Streakers, My Friend Sancho and Delhi6...

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.

Vini Vidi Vici...

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 :)

Weird....

It was a weird day today.

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!

7. Why am I writing such a post? Weird!

It is a bird..It is a plane..No..it is a family man...

This appeared yesterday.. I still cannot stop laughing... :D :D

Agar Main Kahoon...

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 jaate hain..

Happy Birthday, A... wish you all the best in life :)

Of Love and Ralationships....

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...

19 May, 2009..the day I turned old :(

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 :)

ThiNkiNg oF CrEaTiViTy...

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

The Countdown begins....

Will you support me Madam?

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

Of the Business of Forgiveness...

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......

Gossip post...

The purpose of this post is nothing but pure gossip.... I will write a senseless post again..

1. You all might know NDTV's Prannoy Roy. But do you know he is also the uncle of Arundhati Roy, the famous author. Prannoy Roy's wife Radhika and CPI (M) President Prakash Karat's wife Brinda are sisters!!

2. Ratna Pathak Shah, (Maya of Sarabhai vs Sarabhai or Jai's mom in Jaane tu ya na jaane) and Supriya Pathak, Hansa (Pankaj Kapoor's second wife) are also sisters!!

3. Mohnish Behl is the son of Nutan, so he and Kajol are cousins.

4. Deleted

5. Do you know Lara Dutta's score 9.99 in Miss Universe pageant and her score is the highest uptil now!!

6. St. Stephens was a boys only college uptil 1960s I guess :P

7. Khaled Muhammad, the erstwhile HT film critic has made films like Fiza and Zubeidaa and the character of Zubeidaa is his mom.

8. Contrary to popular perception, Farhan Akhtar and Zoya Akhar are Javed Akhtar and Honey Irani's childen, not Shaban Azmi's..

9. Mother India lost the Oscar by just 1 vote... unlucky..

10. Anurag Kashyap has written dialogues for many films like Satya, Yuva and many more..

11. Udham Singh who used to come on Channel V i.e. Manish Makhija is Pooja Bhatt's husband.

P.S.- Now throw rotten eggs and tomatoes:D

Chemistry's mysteries....

It is ironical that I am writing this post when my college is almost over about my school friend who I haven't met for the last six years. She is Tanzeel though Mrs. Swapna Bannerjee called her Taaanzillll :D Our roll numbers were together from Class 6-Class 8, until our class 9 teacher rearranged our class names alphabetically :/

When the exams were going on, she used to sit behind me and we used to chit chat a lot. She used to keep on passing comments and I used to reply back. We cheated sometimes, though it was always I who used to show her my answers :D People used to say that we both had almost similar handwriting though hers was better:) One day in Class 10, we got our Chemistry papers back and she got 3/17 :P So, she gave me her paper to keep it with me, lest someone sees it. Luckily, I still have that paper with me and while I was going through my old stuff, I found it and I was so happy to see it. It made me remember those days that we all were together. We don't talk much these days but still we wish each other on birthdays, send stupid sms,etc. We haven't met since ages but still we will always be friends. I haven't met my other good friends Kalo and Pinks too but we still haven't lost contact. Miss those days...

Comedy of Errors...

Hasn't TV become so boring and frustrating? I have stopped watching it, there are simply no good shows.

I seriously miss the good old days when watching TV was an addiction :) The one show that instantly comes to my mind is Dekh Bhai Dekh. Remember it? It was one hell of a show. The characters on the show were a riot. Who can forget the naughty chachu Sameer (Shekhar Suman), his wanna be writer but confused wife Chachi (Bhavna Balsaver), the Ae-ji-oj-suniye-ji Suhasini (Fardia Jalal), the forgetful Balraj (Navin Nischal), the sophistictaed Mummyji (Sushma Seth), the funny kids Sanju, Kirti, Vishal and Abha, the playful Daddyji, the kamchor Kareema (Deven Bhojani), the suspecting Shilpa , Sanju's girlfriend,(Urvashi Dholakia, who went on to become TV's famous vamp), the nangu-phangoo Dingoo and Divya Seth saying 'hi with a rotation of hands'. I still remember some hilarious situations. The tere muh me keede, tere muh me dhool was the show's product. Also, Sameer used to always slip down the stairs where as everyone else came down smoothly.It was super funny :D There was another episode in which he hypnotises everyone. Sanju, tu Sanju nahi, kirti Hai :D :D The London episodes where they all go to London for a marraige were really nice too. The stars from the show became very popular. Amar Upadhyaya went on to play Mihir in that Ekta Kapoor saop KSBKBT. The show was produced by Amitabh Bacchan's AB Corp. It was a great show :)

Another superb comedy was Shrimaan Shrimati. Remember that one? Koki, Keshav, Dil, Doll, Gokhale or Chintoo..Does it ring a bell? Even more funny was the pre-recorded laughter in these TV shows which was funny in its own way :P

Among the recent ones, Sarabhai v/s Sarabhai was too good. The weird Rosesh, the downmarket Monisha, the high class Maya played by Ratna Pathak Shah. It had some terrific one liners. The show reunited Ratna Pathak Shah and Satish Shah after their hit show Filmi Chakkar.

Instant Khichdi was another superfunny show. The character of Hansa played with aplomb by Supriya Pathak was an actor's delight.

The West has had a huge number of successful sitcoms. FRIENDS(my favourite :D), Seinfeld, The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, I Dream of Jeanie, That 70s show, Bewitched. We have had very few of them. We should start making more of great shows.

I think along with the actors, the dialogue and script writers also need to be acknowledged. A character is a writer's vision and moreover, to write sponatneous witty jokes or goofy situations ain't easy. A writer should be equally honored as making some one laugh is not a simple job. Waiting for some good shows.

P.S.- Heard someone is making a copy of FRIENDS. Won't work. Being original sells :)

Let us go back to the 19th century...

The use of computers in offices is creating unemployment problems. Our party feels that if work can be done by a person using hands there is no need to deploy machines.

A harvesting season brings employment for the labour class for at least six months but these harvesters will snatch their earnings.

Previous governments have promoted forward trading, share trading and mall culture. Any government formed with our support will either reduce or stop it completely.

We will only press for removing the compulsory use of English language in education, administration and judiciary. We favour the use of national and regional languages.

No, these lines are not from an early 19th century document but the election manifesto of Sanjay Dutt's muhbole bade bhaiyya Amar Singh's Samajwadi Party for the year 2009. In an election, where even 82- year old Mr. L.K.Advani is trying his best to woo the youth by blogging, pumping iron and doing what not (the BJP has even abandoned their favourite Ram Mandir!!), such a regressive manifesto clearly shows the mindset of the SP. Mulayam Singh Yadav has himself been a professor of Political Science in his career, he should understand that such a ridiculous and regressive outlook won't work. India is the world's software giant and our IT prowess is the best in the world. The SP says that computers cut down jobs but Mr. Yadav, they have created numerous jobs for our countrymen.

The one thing that makes India a global outsourcing hub is our English (though speaking correct English is still a dream!!) . We have the largest number of English speakers in the world. China lacks the outsourcing business because of their language barrier, and they have realized this and will overtake us in no time. English is our strength and it is totally the person's wish to learn English. Mulayam Singh's son Akhilesh Yadav is an engineer from Australia where medium of instruction is English. I couldn't stop laughing at Jaya Prada's stupid arguments on the use of technology on NDTV. She said rural people do not want to study computers. How does she know?

They should probably start travelling by cycles, their party symbol as travelling by planes and trains would cut down jobs.

But the good thing for the SP is that who reads manifestos anyway? They are just fancy documents which no one reads and contains promises that are not going to be fulfilled or meant to be broken. More WTF events await us. Watch this space :-)

Yeh Duniya Agar Mil Bhi Jaye to Kya Hai...

I watched Gulaal at PVR Saket at an unbelievable price of Rs.50!! They have reduced their ticket prices drastically from Rs.150 to just Rs.50, but the sad part is there are no good movies to watch, so no use:(

Anyways I am digressing. Anurag Kashyap brings to us his next film Gulaal, which had been in the making for years. He is a treasure to Indian cinema and would go down in history as the man who has the guts to make path breaking cinema, and not compromising his ideas for big bucks. After a superbly crafted DevD, Gulaal is again an immensely watchable film. Anurag says it is his angriest film and his frustration can be clearly seen in the film.

To summarise the plot, the movie is about Dilip Kumar Singh, an aspiring lawyer, who comes to study in the University in Rajasthan, but by a turn of events gets sucked into the murky world of student unions and elections. He becomes a pawn in the hands of Duki Bana who wants to wage a war against the government of India to carve out a separate state of Rajputana for Rajputs. It is a tale of emotions- deceit, love, lust, abuse, greed, tragedy, betrayal, anger, frustration....

About the performances, Abhimanyu Singh as Ransa has a towering screen presence. Kay Kay Menon as Duki Bana is brilliant. Deepak Dobriyaal as Bhaati is excellent. Just watch his emotions. All other actors including Raj Singh Chaudhry, Ayesha Mohan, Mahie Gill, Jesse Randhawa deliver. One thing that is a characteristic feature of Anurag's films is the finer detailing of each and every character. In one particular scene, when Anuja comes to teach, the topic written on the board is Nihilism-the premise of the film. Or in another scene, the brilliant Mahie Gill who looks like Tabu, the songs played by her are Ruk Ruk Ruk and Paani Paani Re- both Tabu's songs. It is these details that make a film stand out.

There are so many terrific scenes that I was planning to write them down in the hall, lest I miss out. From next time, I am going to get a DVD, pause every such scene and write about that scene. Piyush Mishra as Prithvi Bana, who also wrote the lyrics of the film has the best scenes and the best lines. His dialogues and satirical lyrics are too blunt and a slap on the hypocrisy of our lives.

The character of Ardhnarishwara and the Bansurivala have a significance though I am still comprehending that. Tell me if you know:) This is the beauty of his films that it makes you think. The film gives so many messages like in one scene, Dilip asks Anuja "Kya main darpok hun?". She replies "Darpok hona buri baat nahi hai". The mere acceptance of this requires great courage. In another scene, Dilip on listening to Kiran tries to change himself and wears contact lenses but on being betrayed, he wants to be his own self again, so wears his spectacles again. The only problem I had with the film was that it was a bit predictable. The Departed type ending you already know, again signifying that only bastards survive as the rat survived in The Departed. Also, I would have liked to see more of the roles of Jesse Randhawa and Mahie Gill (have become a fan!!), they were shown much.

This film is Anurag's tribute to Sahir Ludhianvi and he says he wrote this film while listening to Pyaasa's Yeh Duniya Mil Bhi jaye to kya hai. Anupama Chopra says that you cannot define his films in one word and that is a huge compliment. It is a contemporary film and is more relevant today in the context of what Raj Thackeray is doing in Maharashtra. Watch this compelling film and do ponder over its lyrics....

****1/2.

O Ri Duniya

Surmayi Aankhon Ke Pyaalon Ki Duniya

Satrangi Rangon Gulaalon Ki Duniya..

O Duniya

Alsaayi Sezon Ke Phoolon Ki Duniya

Angdaai Tode Kabootar Ki Duniya

Karwat Le Soyi Haqueeqat Ki Duniya

Deewaani Hoti Tabeeyat Ki Duniya

Khwahish Mein Lipti Zaroorat Ki Duniya

Insaan Ke Sapno Ki Neeyat Ki Duniya..

O Duniya

O Ri Duniya

Ye Duniya Agar Mil Bhi Jaaye To Kya Hai…

Mamta Ki Bikhri Kahaani Ki Duniya

Behno Ki Siski Jawaani Ki Duniya

Aadam Ke Hawwaa Se Rishte Ki Duniya

Shaayar Ke Pheeke Lafzon Ki Duniya

Ghalib Ke Momin Ke Khwaabon Ki Duniya

Majaazon Ke Un Inqualaabon Ki Duniya

Faiz Firaaq Aur Saahir O Makhdoom

Mir Ki Zauk Ki Daagh Ki Duniya

Rang Rang Rangeela Re..

I watched Rangeela today. I had wanted to see this movie for ages and fortunately it was coming on one of the channels while I was surfing. Got lucky ;)

I am not a huge fan of Urmila Matondkar who is still remembered as the Rangeela girl but she is excellent in the film. It is the story of Milli who is a dancer in the troupe of Saroj Kumar and aspires to be a big actress some day. She has a friend Munna played superbly by Aamir Khan who is impulsive, short tempered and sells tickets in black. Milli gets a break in a film after a successful actor Rajkamal (Jackie Shroff ) notices her dancing. Munna secretly loves her and is not able to tell her his feelings while Milli is getting busy with her film.

Well, Urmila is absolutely tailor made for the role. She looks stunning in the film and exudes oomph. Just watch her in Tanha Tanha and Rangeela Re. She brings a warmth to the character. Aamir is also brilliant and he seems to flow with role of a tapori effortlessly. Dialogues are too funny and I think Munna Bhai copied from it like "Tera bad luck bhi kharab hai" or "Hata saavan ki ghata". I also liked character of Milli's brother Motilal (what a name!!) who keeps on saying "Mere paas aur koi kaam nahi hain" :D AR Rahman's music and Saroj Khan's choreography is way ahead of its times. We all love Rangeela Re, Tanha Tanha, Mangta hai kya and Kya karen ya na karen. Manish Malhotra was given a special Filmfare award for best costumes which was not even a category before this film. The film should have won many awrds but lost out all to Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge :)

Munna and Milli meet in the end but I would want to know what happened to their lives. I do not think their relationship would have lasted. Milli would have become a huge star and Munna who doesn't do any work would have felt disconnected with her. Given his stubborn character, he might not be able to take Milli's success. Anyway, Rangeela is a classic for me :)

I love these lines ;)

Yai re yai re jor lagake naache re

Yai re yai re milke dhoom machaaye re

Chal mere sang sang lele duniya ke rang

Hoja rangeela re rang rang rangeela re

Itne chehron mein apne chehre ki pehchaan

Oh ho pehchaan oh ho

Bade bade naamon mein apna bhi naamonishaan Oh ho

Pehchaan oh ho

Jeene mein phir to kya baat ho

Din naya aur nayi raat ho

Har ghadi bas khushi saath ho

Yai re yai re jor laga ke nache re..

Justice delayed is justice denied...

There has been controversy over the appointment of Anjali Waghmare as the defense lawyer for Ajmal Kasab. She has been threatened by Shiv Sena to withdraw from the case. It takes guts for a person to take a case like hers. She has been alleged to be non patriotic and accused of being insensitive to the city and the people of Mumbai. This is entirely wrong. Her husband is also a police officer. She would have been under so much pressure to take the case and would have arrived at a decision after proper deliberation. All legal experts say it is an open and shut case, and there is too much strong evidence against Kasab that no court can save him. However, the law states that the accused has a right to defend himself. Kasab must be given a lawyer, and those threatening Waghmare should be told that it amounts to contempt of court. We are trying to delay his trial by not giving assistance, prolonging the wait for justice, and Kasab would go scott-free. He can say that he was not given proper assistance, and this would make India a banana republic. Anjali herself said that she is doing this in the country's interest. We are not supporting Kasab and no sane person would ever justify his ghastly acts, we are just following the protocol. Anjali should be given full protection, and the rule of the land must prevail.

Spot the next Prime Minister

In less than two months from now, India would have its 18th Prime Minister and the 15th Lok Sabha. One thing that India so different from other countries is that there can be no generalisation of any topics. Anti incumbency is no more a huge factor and one can never predict the way Indian voter will swing. A situation a week ago could be entirely different in the week after as they say " A week is a very long time in Indian politics". For instance, who would have thought that a timid soft spoken Varun Gandhi would hijack the entire campaign of the BJP and become its new poster boy in league with Narendra Modi. So, who do you think our next PM is going to be? My guess is as good as yours.

With each passing day, the national parties seem to be become less relevant. It is becoming increasingly difficult for the Congress led UPA and the BJP led NDA to come back to power.

The Congress has been isolated by all its allies. With the RJD, the SP and the LJP forming a separate front in UP-Bihar, the PMK going with the AIADMK, the NCP growing closeness with the Shiv Sena and the Left, the UPA is divided. It is looking as the BJP was in 2004.The only consolation being forming an alliance with the Trinamool Congress in West Bengal, though the party privately admits Ms. Bannerjee cannot be relied upon. There is another theory that is being speculated. The Congress is looking at 2014 rather than 2009, and wants to sit in Opposition with Rahul Gandhi as the leader of the Opposition to groom him for the top job in 2014.

The BJP which calls itself a party with a difference is a party with differences. The public spat between Rajnath Singh and Arun Jaitley, and a leadership crisis among its leaders, with the party still not sure of the role of Mr. Narendra Modi, the change of leadership in the RSS and the Varun Gandhi debacle has put the party in tatters. Moreover, it has no issues to fight upon. Mr. Advani keeps on calling Dr. Manmohan Singh as the weakest PM but doesn't have issues to raise upon. The NDA was a grand alliance but now there are just a handful of parties left which may switch sides post elections. The Shiv Sena, the INLD, the RLD, the JD and the SAD are some of them. The BJD gave a googly to the BJP after severing their decade old ties with the BJP.

Inspite of the shape of the national parties and strong reservations against Mr. Advani being the BJP candidate, I still feel the contest should be bipolar- either Congress or the BJP. The Third Front should not come to power. It is a bunch of mercurial men and women who are hungry for power (though this could be said for all). The Third Front has as many PM candidates as the number of its parties. I shudder to think what would happen if someone like Mayawati or Jayalalitha becomes the PM. Have these people any vision for India? Has the third front any common agenda that they agree upon? Do we know what is Mayawati's position on the relationship with Pakistan? How to solve the economic crisis?The Left which till the other day was calling Chandrababu Naidu a corporate dog, doesn't even think for a second to join their hands with him. The Left called the BSP a casteist party is now licking Mayawati's shoes for her support. Mayawati and Jayalalitha cannot see eye to eye and how to expect them to form a united front, though these women would be the first to switch sides and join the NDA or the UPA, opportunism is their only ideology.The Left parties have totally destroyed West Bengal and they would destroy India too. What Common minimum programme would they agree upon? One must read Vir Sanghvi's Counterpoint to see how terrible it would be if the Third Front comes to power.The third front whatever happens should not come to power, who can forget the terrible days of HD Deve Gowda being the PM!

It is very sad that the next election would be fought upon caste, money power, religion and guns. The real issues of development and security and the economy would not be touched. The ideology is dead in Indian politics. It is just that whosoever reaches the magic figure of 272 would be our next PM. India is heading for a period of political, social and economic instability. On a more lighter note, as Barkha Dutt says " Who needs a T20 match when we have the elections to entertain us?" Absolutely agree, these elections promise a nail biting finish which the T20 cannot!!

A Glass Half Full.....

In spite of me being an eternal pessimist :( I am writing this post about death though I am not having suicidal tendencies. Jade Goody died this week and her last wish was that her death be celebrated. It made me think about my own death. We all hear people planning about future and how they want their life to be, but neither of us think how our death should be. The past few weeks I have been hearing such traumatic incidents about how people have lost their lives. Aman Kachroo died of injuries, Soumya Vishwanathan and Jigisha were shot at, Jade Goody died of cancer, the tragic death of all the members of the family on the Dwarka-Palam flyover, or the countless accidents on the Gurgaon expressway. I shudder to think of how painful it would have been. I am not scared of death, it is a fact of life that it would come to an end and we all will die, I am more scared of how I die. I don't want to die in painful way. I wish I get a painless death which I hope is not an oxymoron. I just hope death comes in sleep and takes me to heaven or hell wherever I deserve to be, though I am pretty sure I would be sent to hell ;) I don't want to be alive till 80 or 90. I hope to live my life till 60 ( hard to imagine myself as a 60 year old!!). I hope my dying doesn't make people sad. Even I think, my death should be celebrated. I reiterate that I am not having suicidal tendencies, its just that we should embrace that life would come to an end. Wish me luck for the life in hell:)

Firaaq....

After showing her acting prowess in films like Fire, Earth, Bawander, Nandita Das brings to us her directorial venture which has won accolades at film festivals abroad,the film Firaaq. Firaaq means quest and separation at the same time. The movie is set one month after the horrific Gujarat riots in 2002 which deeply polarised the society. Firaaq begins by a pile of bodies being dumped in the graveyard and it shows us the sign of the things to come. Unlike Parzania, there are no explicit violent scenes but one could almost feel the tension and fear that victims have in their minds waging a mental battle more frightening than the physical bloodbath.

It consists of many stories linked together with each other by the riots. A mentally tormented wife (Deepti Naval) plagued by the guilt of not helping a mob victim at her doorstep inflicts pain on her self while her husband (Paresh Rawal), a Muslim basher is an accomplice in the riots. A seven year old boy (Mohammad Samad) whose family is butchered in front of his own eyes is in quest of his father. Another one is about a Hindu Muslim couple Anuradha and Sameer (Tisca Chopra and Sanjay Suri) struggling to come to terms after Sameer and his partner's store was looted, a mehndiwalli (Shahana Goswami ) coming to terms with life and struggling to maintain her friendship with her Hindu friend, a music teacher (Naseerudin Shah) who is not aware of the troubled conditions and finally a gang of Muslim men who are planning to revenge. With such veteran actors, performances are par excellence. Ravi K Chandran's photography is splendid and beautifully captures the city. The music though very little of it and that too background fits the film. The film though drags at places but Nandita, no doubt has done an excellent job.

The film is a very disturbing and haunting film. It made me ask certain questions which I am struggling to find answers to. The images of the refugee camp remain etched in mind after the film is over. There are certain scenes which have a universal appeal. The notion of all Muslims as terrorists or Pakistanis, the role of the State administration in abetting riots, the difficulties in a inter religion marriage, the communal divide depicted make you think. In one particular scene, when Munira comes back and sees her house burnt down, how would you feel if your house was burnt down? The boy Mohsin says "Aurton ke kapde utar kar unhe jalaya, aadmiyon ke nahi utare". Sameer in one scene says that he has to think twice before praising a Pakistani cricketer, has to hang his head in shame for some jehadi's acts. Anuradha saya to her friend "Did you blame the entire community when your maid ran away with the valuables?".The most beautiful line was by Naseeruddin Shah " Saat suron me aisi takat kahan, jo aisi nafrat ka samna kar sake". There are a number of troubling scenes that make you question about life and wonder about the brutality of human nature. If you care about good quality cinema that evokes your conscience, watch Firaaq- Based on a 1000 true stories.

I have never been a Modi supporter and probably hate him even more after this. People say he had no role in the riots and it is just English-media-saying-We-hate Narendra-Modi syndrome but how can anyone defend him after the speeches he made berating Muslims in his Mia style during election campaigns. Muslims were butchered post Godhra, how can we run away from truth? Why do all people have to face the consequences of a few rotten apples? I am not a fan of Congress or the Left either who are pseudo secularists and consider secularism as minority appeasement. Every one criticises Hindu fundamentalists when they threaten MF Hussain but no one has the guts to speak against those Muslim fundamentalists who issue fatwas against Taslima Nasreen. The idea of India is in danger if we continue to do this. We have to stand against the fanatics irrespective of religion. And we can make a start by not allowing Varun Gandhi to get off so easily.