What was I thinking? I still don’t understand why I went to watch Om Shanti Om. In August I wasn’t very excited about Om Shanti Om(OSO). Despite the aggressive publicity, I was quite sure I would give this movie a skip. Ditto for Saawariya. By October I was longing to see a blockbuster masala Bollywood movie with comedy, songs and dances. Needless to say I had changed my decision on watching OSO. Saawariya, still I would stay away from. Promos looked nice but I knew it would be a slow film.
As the reviews came out and I read about Saawariya being a slow movie, I felt I was right. However as I kept reading the reviews, I noticed that the critics have criticized anything and everything in the movie. From direction to performance, from art direction to Ranbir’s butt. Now, this seemed a bit fishy. Sanjay Leela Bhansali is too good a director to get everything wrong at the same time. My doubts were confirmed when I read rave reviews for OSO.
OSO was praised for being a terrific entertainer. Everything about it was superb. From performances to direction, the critics loved everything. Akshay Kumar and Aby’s baby all shined in the miniscule roles they had. Needless to say, King Khan was thanked for providing relief on the occasion of Diwali. I think the critics should thank him for the perks he provided them too. I love typical Bollywood movies. I loved Bunty Aur Babli, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, K3G, Kal Ho Naa Ho, Devdas, Salaam Namaste, and the list goes on and on. But I cannot like any crap dished out in the name of being typical Bollywood. I am sorry Mrs. Farah Kunder this is not a Manmohan Desai or Subhash Ghai movie.
You know why? Because the drama and story those makers created in their movies seemed believable. You felt those characters like Anthony Gonsalves are real. However, this was pure shit!
This movie tries to take a dig at many veterans. I don’t disapprove of that at all but some of them are just not funny. Like the Manoj Kumar one, which some critic praised to the heaven, didn’t amuse me at all. Mrs. Kunder (popularly known as Farah Khan) also takes a dig at Bimal Roy, however she conveniently lifts her climax from his movie, Madhumati. Trust me, Madhumati, although about reincarnation and a ghost, is still a beautiful and believable movie. I don’t even want to get started on Shahrukh’s performance in the movie, I wondered if he was on drugs. The pace at which the movie swung from humourless comedy to over the top emotions (Kiron Kher can put ‘Tulsi Virani’ to shame) I thought maybe Farah was experiencing pregnancy mood swings during the making of the movie. Some critic also commented thathow it was better to watch Shahrukh’s six packs rather than Ranbir’s butt. He went on about how the audience wowed Shahrukh’s look in New York. Believe me, in a theatre a few hundred kilometres away from NYC, in Montreal, I could hear no one going gaga over this so-called six-pack. I thought he looked old. Yes, I could actually see very prominent laugh lines on his face. I know everyone gets old but you don’t need to play 30, act like a 20 when you are in your mid 40s. It looks ugly.
I saw Saawariya after this torture. Although not a classic, it was still bearable. Some dialogues were hard hitting, sets were beautiful. Both Ranbir and Sonam looked gorgeous. Among the performance, Sonam truly stole the show. She was so natural (what a relief after watching ham king Shahrukh Khan), Rani in her cameo was amazing. The ease with which she plays a roadside prostitute was surprising. Ranbir didn’t show any sparks in the acting department like Sonam but he could well become the new male sex symbol, atleast the way Bhansali has shot him, it looks as if he has been packaged for that. It does get slow at times and you might feel that there are too many songs, you can watch it if you have some patience and a love for some genuine poetry. All in all, a better film to spend your hard earned money on. After all we don’t have the kind of money that King Khan has. If in his first production, Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani, he exposed dark side of the media, for this one he has used this dark side to put down a decent film and promote a piece of trash. The formula must have been simple. You can buy the cheap media critics, who don’t mind getting sold out. For the genuine ones, who usually work for reliable news channels, just have a corporate partnership with the channels. How can an employee criticize his/her own corporate partner? So King Khan has tried to introduce a new formula, formula for all round good reviews. He might have got good reviews for now but time will show him that he cannot change fate with the power of money.
PS: Why was Kiron Kher so atrociously dressed in the first half. I am sure in the 70s mothers didn’t look that scary. In some scenes I felt she was a drag!
Monday, November 12, 2007
Thursday, November 08, 2007
Abhi Toh Main Jawaan Hoon...
I read the headline on a website today. It read, ”Kumble named the test captain”
You must be joking. Yes, I know he is a sincere player. Yes, he is one of the best spinners we have had. Yes, he has got those marvellous records like the 10-wickets in one innings. But captain at 37! It’s like fulfilling a dying man’s last wish. How long can he be captain? 1 year, 2years? I doubt. If Kumble plays all test matches for next 2 years, he will have to retire on a stretcher. If you are convinced by the first argument that this is a stupid decision then hold on, it only gets better. Kumble has often not found a place in the test side when our team plays in Australia and South Africa. The Reason: Most pitches in these countries are not conducive to spin. Hence having two spinners makes no sense. Since Kumble hardly spins the ball, Bhajji usually gets the preference over him. He gets preference over Bhajji either when the track is conducive to spin or Bhajji is not performing well. So now we have a captain who probably shouldn’t be in the team in the first place. And this gets better. Our next tour is against Australia in Australia! Now, who made him the captain!
Tendulkar refused the captaincy stating that a younger player should take on this responsibility. Its amazing how the Board found the youngest of them lot. The Australian tour might turn out to be Kumble’s deathwish after all. As a captain he will have to play all the matches. He will have to bowl in all the matches. He will be hit out of the ground by the Aussies on most of their pitches except one. Once that happens Kumble will truly realise what an honour it indeed is to lead the Indian team.This will be one of the toughest overseas tours that this “young” Indian team will ever make. Australia are not England, it will be a completely different ball game. Especially after the aggressive attitude shown by Sreesanth towards the Aussies, they are all charged up to receive India. In such a scenario, an old warhorse leading the army is not a good sign. I would have trusted Dhoni or Yuvraj more any day. This decision could have had a long-term positive effect. Unfortunately we are only looking at our short-term goals or maybe not even that. Ravi Shastri had objected to Dhoni’s name saying that since he has to keep wickets and concentrate on captaincy at the same time, he is not the right man for the job. So if that’s really the case then Dhoni should never be named captain for the longer version of the game! That’s rubbish according to me. It’s all a game of politics.
The Board, selectors and ex-cricketers don’t want anyone to become a heavy weight sportsman like some of the senior cricketers we have (don’t count Dravid). They want a team that is not as powerful as them. This helps them as then they can keep manipulating them as they wish. The moment you have strong players who can lead the team and make India win in any form of the game, the Board has a problem. The balance of power shifts more towards the players then. The players can then negotiate better contracts and demand more from the Board. They can then ask for any team they want and the selectors have to agree. The role and power of the ex-cricketers like Shastri get curtailed and they have not much work to do other than being tame advisors. So they don’t want Dhoni or Yuvraj to have the status that Tendulkar or Ganguly had. All these people have seen what a strong captain like Ganguly, backed by a superstar player like Tendulkar are capable of doing. Hence this time they want to kill the plant at its roots or atleast restrict its growth. I wonder how the BCCI and its gang learnt such good politics. Indeed knowledge flows from the top!
You must be joking. Yes, I know he is a sincere player. Yes, he is one of the best spinners we have had. Yes, he has got those marvellous records like the 10-wickets in one innings. But captain at 37! It’s like fulfilling a dying man’s last wish. How long can he be captain? 1 year, 2years? I doubt. If Kumble plays all test matches for next 2 years, he will have to retire on a stretcher. If you are convinced by the first argument that this is a stupid decision then hold on, it only gets better. Kumble has often not found a place in the test side when our team plays in Australia and South Africa. The Reason: Most pitches in these countries are not conducive to spin. Hence having two spinners makes no sense. Since Kumble hardly spins the ball, Bhajji usually gets the preference over him. He gets preference over Bhajji either when the track is conducive to spin or Bhajji is not performing well. So now we have a captain who probably shouldn’t be in the team in the first place. And this gets better. Our next tour is against Australia in Australia! Now, who made him the captain!
Tendulkar refused the captaincy stating that a younger player should take on this responsibility. Its amazing how the Board found the youngest of them lot. The Australian tour might turn out to be Kumble’s deathwish after all. As a captain he will have to play all the matches. He will have to bowl in all the matches. He will be hit out of the ground by the Aussies on most of their pitches except one. Once that happens Kumble will truly realise what an honour it indeed is to lead the Indian team.This will be one of the toughest overseas tours that this “young” Indian team will ever make. Australia are not England, it will be a completely different ball game. Especially after the aggressive attitude shown by Sreesanth towards the Aussies, they are all charged up to receive India. In such a scenario, an old warhorse leading the army is not a good sign. I would have trusted Dhoni or Yuvraj more any day. This decision could have had a long-term positive effect. Unfortunately we are only looking at our short-term goals or maybe not even that. Ravi Shastri had objected to Dhoni’s name saying that since he has to keep wickets and concentrate on captaincy at the same time, he is not the right man for the job. So if that’s really the case then Dhoni should never be named captain for the longer version of the game! That’s rubbish according to me. It’s all a game of politics.
The Board, selectors and ex-cricketers don’t want anyone to become a heavy weight sportsman like some of the senior cricketers we have (don’t count Dravid). They want a team that is not as powerful as them. This helps them as then they can keep manipulating them as they wish. The moment you have strong players who can lead the team and make India win in any form of the game, the Board has a problem. The balance of power shifts more towards the players then. The players can then negotiate better contracts and demand more from the Board. They can then ask for any team they want and the selectors have to agree. The role and power of the ex-cricketers like Shastri get curtailed and they have not much work to do other than being tame advisors. So they don’t want Dhoni or Yuvraj to have the status that Tendulkar or Ganguly had. All these people have seen what a strong captain like Ganguly, backed by a superstar player like Tendulkar are capable of doing. Hence this time they want to kill the plant at its roots or atleast restrict its growth. I wonder how the BCCI and its gang learnt such good politics. Indeed knowledge flows from the top!
Journey
As the month of December draws closer, my excitement grows at an ever-increasing pace. It is hard to work or study for a moment without counting the number of days left for December 7th. Right now, there are just thirty days left for a journey, which will be the most exciting journey of my life. The journey back home. It seems like such a long time back that I arrived in a cold and gloomy city. Pitch dark at 4pm and showing no sense of hope, it seemed like a difficult place to live for. For the first time in my life I have experienced such a drastic change, from one season to another, from one experience to another. It’s been some journey this last year, and I keep reminding myself, it ain’t over yet. I remember contemplating in my articles, written earlier this year, whether I had made the right decision. I am leading towards a stage where I think the answer might be in the affirmative. I have never regretted any decision in my life yet and as Kareena says in Jab We Met (best movie I have seen this year), Babaji, you have helped me maintain my record :). Thank you.
Coming here to do MBA had many reasons. The more obvious ones being better career opportunities, better education, etc. However, something that I often felt in my initial years of work was that I lacked the appreciation of what I had at work. Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t lack the hunger for success but I just couldn’t appreciate what I got. This was probably because I did not struggle much to do what I was doing. That was something I wanted to improve on. After almost a year here of surviving for the next day, hunting tons of jobs and having very little hope of being any better, struggle is not a stranger anymore. However, as winter faded away and summer approached I hoped that it brought better days for me. As per expectations it did!
As another winter approaches I try to brace myself to what Canada hasn’t thrown at me yet. Maybe this time I will have something new for it. Bonne Chance pour moi!
Coming here to do MBA had many reasons. The more obvious ones being better career opportunities, better education, etc. However, something that I often felt in my initial years of work was that I lacked the appreciation of what I had at work. Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t lack the hunger for success but I just couldn’t appreciate what I got. This was probably because I did not struggle much to do what I was doing. That was something I wanted to improve on. After almost a year here of surviving for the next day, hunting tons of jobs and having very little hope of being any better, struggle is not a stranger anymore. However, as winter faded away and summer approached I hoped that it brought better days for me. As per expectations it did!
As another winter approaches I try to brace myself to what Canada hasn’t thrown at me yet. Maybe this time I will have something new for it. Bonne Chance pour moi!
Wednesday, November 07, 2007
Crucial Period begins
Mush is curbing media, judiciary and political opposition. Benazir makes another grand arrival, this time in Islamabad sans the suicide bombers. She vows to hold a protest rally banned by Mush. Imran is underground, speaking through his ex-wife in London,alleging Benazir of being hand in glove with Mush. Nawaz doesn’t want to be left out of the action, crying his heart out from the holy land. Bush has little idea of whats going on, Rice keeps issuing all sorts of pleas to Mush. Meanwhile, Taliban has taken over 3rd town in Waziristan . The militia has imposed Shariah in occupied areas and is removing Pakistan's national flags from all government buildings in the five sub-divisions now under their control.
Could anyone ever define chaos better? The scary thing here is that some nuclear bombs are located somewhere in the middle of all this chaos. If Pakistan really fails as a state and disintegrates again, which looks inevitable now, the whole world is at huge risk. India, of course being the immediate neighbour faces the highest risk. However, the Middle East and Europe shouldn’t rest either. We all know the finesse with which the extremists can transport the coveted weaponry.
What can India do in such a situation? Not much actually. A direct involvement by India will direct all the extremist elements in Pakistan towards India. I am sure no one in the Government would like that. However, what we can do is seal our borders as much as possible. Both on West and East with Bangladesh. If required, use some force on the Eastern border to eliminate some dangerous elements there. I suggest sealing the borders for two reasons. One, the terrorists love to strike on the eve of Diwali. Two, with the chaos in both our problematic neighbouring countries, especially, the one on the West, the terrorists are gaining in strength and are operating at their own will. This is the time when we have to be the most careful and be ready for any kind of assault. The next couple of months leading upto the beginning of 2008 will be crucial, security wise, for both India and the world. I have this uncanny feeling that a very crucial period is beginning for the world and our future will not exactly be like what we were expecting it to be!
Could anyone ever define chaos better? The scary thing here is that some nuclear bombs are located somewhere in the middle of all this chaos. If Pakistan really fails as a state and disintegrates again, which looks inevitable now, the whole world is at huge risk. India, of course being the immediate neighbour faces the highest risk. However, the Middle East and Europe shouldn’t rest either. We all know the finesse with which the extremists can transport the coveted weaponry.
What can India do in such a situation? Not much actually. A direct involvement by India will direct all the extremist elements in Pakistan towards India. I am sure no one in the Government would like that. However, what we can do is seal our borders as much as possible. Both on West and East with Bangladesh. If required, use some force on the Eastern border to eliminate some dangerous elements there. I suggest sealing the borders for two reasons. One, the terrorists love to strike on the eve of Diwali. Two, with the chaos in both our problematic neighbouring countries, especially, the one on the West, the terrorists are gaining in strength and are operating at their own will. This is the time when we have to be the most careful and be ready for any kind of assault. The next couple of months leading upto the beginning of 2008 will be crucial, security wise, for both India and the world. I have this uncanny feeling that a very crucial period is beginning for the world and our future will not exactly be like what we were expecting it to be!
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