Inner & Outer World of Anshul

Taking one's own Life...

2020-06-20T12:37:00.002+05:30

I am not sure what was going in his life or in his mind at that time. He may have taken that step due to some deep anguish.

However, I hope & pray that such thoughts of taking one's own life never ever crosses anyone's mind.

It may seem to be the most appropriate step at that moment, i.e. to end everything by ending your own life; but it definitely has its own repercussions for your loved ones. It may be easy to leave someone but very difficult for the ones who are left behind. You may achieve peace by reaching your end, but you steal the peace of many other souls.

Please always think about your loved ones before taking such harsh steps on yourself. Please remember you're not alone fighting such battles; there are many more who are trying to survive and surviving as well.

“Never, never, never give up.” Winston Churchill

First Photo Competition - Whitestone Photo Contest

2012-08-10T21:39:00.001+05:30

I feel proud to inform all of you that one of my photographs has been shortlisted amongst Top 3 in the Whitestone Photo Contest.

To view my entry for this competition, kindly click here.

Also if you feel this photo is good enough or by any chance you want me to win this competition, then kindly LIKE this photograph on Facebook.

Also I would like to thank my wife Rachita, who actually encouraged me and also pushed me to send an entry in this competition.

The 57th Filmfare Awards 2011: Nominations

2012-01-15T19:06:00.000+05:30

The following are the nominees of the 57^th Filmfare Awards 2011 and the ones which are in bold font are my personal choices for this year awards…

Best Film
Delhi Belly
Don 2
No One Killed Jessica
Rockstar
The Dirty Picture
Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara

Best Director
Abhinay Deo - Delhi Belly
Farhan Akhtar - Don2
Imtiyaz Ali - Rockstar
Milan Luthria - The Dirty Picture
Raj Kumar Gupta - No One Killed Jessica
Zoya Akhtar - Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara

Best Actor In A Leading Role (Male)
Ajay Devgn - Singham
Amitabh Bachchan - Aarakshan
Hrithik Roshan - Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara
Ranbir Kapoor - Rockstar
Salman Khan - Bodyguard
Shahrukh Khan - Don2

Best Actor In A Leading Role (Female)
Katrina Kaif - Mere Brother Ki Dulhan
Mahie Gill - Saheb Biwi Aur Gangster
Priyanka Chopra - 7 Khoon Maaf
Vidya Balan - No One Killed Jessica
Vidya Balan - The Dirty Picture

Best Actor In A Supporting Role (Male)
Abhay Deol - Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara
Farhan Akhtar - Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara
Naseeruddin Shah - The Dirty Picture
Pitobash Tripathy - Shor In The City
Vir Das - Delhi Belly

Best Actor In A Supporting Role (Female)
Juhi Chawla - IAM
Kalki Koechlin - Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara
Parineeti Chopra - Ladies Vs Ricky Bahl
Rani Mukerji - No One Killed Jessica
Swara Bhaskar - Tanu Weds Manu

Best Music Director
A.R.Rahman - Rockstar
Ram Sampat - Delhi Belly
Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy - Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara
Sohail Sen - Mere Brother Ki Dulhan
Vishal-Shekhar - RA.One

Best Lyrics
Gulzar - Darling - (7 Khoon Maaf)
Irshad Kamil - Nadaan parindey - (Rockstar)
Irshad Kamil - Sadda haq - (Rockstar)
Javed Akhtar - Senorita - (Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara)
Vishal Dadlani & Niranjan Iyengar - Chammak challo - (RA.One)

Best Playback Singer (Male)
Akon & Vishal Dadlani - Chammak challo (RA.One)
Mohit Chauhan - Jo bhi mein (Rockstar)
Mohit Chauhan - Sadda haq (Rockstar)
Rahat Fateh Ali Khan - Teri Meri (Bodyguard)
Shafqat Amanat Ali - Dildaara (RA.One)

Best Playback Singer (Female)
Alyssa Mendonsa - Khwabon ke parindey (Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara)
Harshdeep Kaur - Katiya karu (Rockstar)
Rekha Bhardwaj & Usha Uthup Darling (7 Khoon Maaf)
Shreya Ghoshal - Teri Meri (Bodyguard)
Shreya Ghoshal - Saibo (Shor In The City)

PS: What are your choices this year do let me know...

Ganpati Festival in Tokyo

2010-09-14T23:42:00.054+05:30

Ganpati Festival always excited me, especially after coming to Mumbai. I don’t know why and also can’t figure out any rational behind it…

Somehow I always wanted to see and to be part of Ganpati Puja & Visarjan; and this wish came true in Tokyo. I couldn’t have imagined, even in my distant dreams, that I would get such a chance to be part of Ganpati Puja in Tokyo; when I didn’t get any in Mumbai.

How it started? One day, Tarun-san said that he’ll organise Ganpati puja this year, in his house. I don’t know how serious he was at that time. But his wife, Rakhi insisted that once he committed, he should definitely keep Ganpati. And this was the beginning…

Finding a Ganpati Idol: Now the question was how to get a Ganpati Idol, which should be made of clay / mud. Available options were to get one from India through courier or to search in Tokyo itself. The easiest option would have been to get from India, but the risk associated with it was that courier company wasn’t ready to give any guarantee for safety of idol. So Tarun decided to first search in Tokyo. Later he and I went to a Japanese store selling Indian handicrafts and believe-it-or-not we found the Idol in the 1^st attempt itself. So first milestone was achieved…

Implementation: 11th September 2010, the Ganesh Chaturthi day. Preparations began from morning, house cleaning and decorations were done, stage was set and the wait was only for Ganpati to come.

Around 3:45 pm JST puja started. Ganpati sthapana was done with Panditji reciting Mantra over a VOIP call, from India. Later our own pandits, Hemant & Tarun read few more mantras from Internet and Puja was completed. During Aarti, “Jai Dev Jai Dev” and “Jai Ganesh Jai Ganesh Jai Ganesh Deva” were played on YouTube. Later in the evening, we saw live Puja in Tarun Mumbai’s home, participated in Aarti and recited Ganpati Morya, over a web-conference call.

The delicious Prasad / Bhog were prepared by Manu Bhabhi; it included Modak, Besan Laddu, Gari ke Laddu, etc. For lunch and dinner, we had Poori Sabji, Kachori Damaloo and Chole Poori, prepared by Manu Bhabhi & Tarun; other significant contributors were Hemant, Puneet and Puran.

Night was the time when everyone was tired and feeling sleepy too, but someone needs to be awake since Diya should continue glowing. So we started playing cards to pass time; we also slept but in shifts of few hours each.

Next morning the series of Puja, Aarti and Bhog started again and continued till evening. After doing 5 Aartis and Bhogs in one and a half days, time came to say goodbye to Ganesh Ji, that is, Visarjan.

Tarun’s family, from India, participated in pre-Visarjan Puja through a web conference. Then we did a small Puja on the doorstep of Tarun’s house and also at the canal / river side. Later in midst of slogans of Ganpati Bappa Moriya, Ganpati had to be submerged in water. Two days of festivities came to an end…

An unforgettable weekend passed with Ganpati’s bhajan in the background, doing preparations & Puja, time pass and playing cards. People who participated in this Puja were Tarun, Puneet, Manu Bhabhi, Krunal, DevD, Hemant, Puran and I.

Thanks to Tarun-san for organising the Ganesh Puja at his home…

Ganpati Bappa Moriya,

Pudhchya Varshi Lavkaryaa !!!

A month in Japan

2010-03-01T22:02:00.010+05:30

Recently I completed a month in Japan, so thought of sharing some of my experiences and observations with you all. These experiences couldn’t be new to you but were definitely new to me or excited me in some manner.

Apartment: The first strange experience was when I reached B-Site (my accommodation) in Tokyo. I expected that atleast a guard or front desk person would be there; but to my surprise no one was present in the building for supervision. Everything was self managed from collecting the keys to finding the room, etc. The apartment was compact but nice studio type apartment; it had almost all the necessary items required by an individual. In fact, till date I haven’t seen any guard standing outside any residential building.

Toilet: Just to inform my readers, after experimenting for few days and watching 3 videos on YouTube, I came to know, how to use Japanese Toilets (commode) properly. So all those, who are planning to come, my suggestion is kindly watch those videos online, it would be of great help.

People: First day in the city and lost my way from station to my apartment. I was trying to confirm the correct route from people, who didn’t understand a single word of mine. And vice versa, I too didn’t understand a single direction from them. Finally managed to reach the apartment in an hour, which was hardly at a distance of 10 minute walk. But Japanese people are really very helpful, even they don’t understand your language, they’ll try to help you as much as they can. Once I went to a bookstore and wasn’t able to find the English books section, so asked at the counter. The lady at the counter went with me, almost to the other corner of the store to show me the book section. Unlike India, people here aren’t required to know English language in order to succeed in their respective career.

Juices: Another strange thing which I experienced is that a small bottle of mineral water is costlier than 1 liter tetra-pack of fruit juices. Even 1.5 liter bottle of cold drink is costlier than juice packs.

Sewage Bill: Recently came to know that we need to pay sewage bill also with water bill. The authorities calculate the amount of wastage done by every household and then bill accordingly. Just imagine, if someone has loose motion then he’ll not increase his medical expenses but also his sewage bill; so please take care.

Travelling: According to me, the most common mode of communication is Tokyo would be trains followed by bicycle. The local train network here is very different from what we have in Mumbai. In Mumbai all trains move from North to South or vice-versa; but here there is no. of different train routes and that cover almost the entire Tokyo.

Like others, I too drove a cycle for going to a friend’s place; it was amazing as I was riding a bicycle atleast after a decade. Although here there are rules for a cycle driver; rules like: driver should carry the registration papers for that cycle, the cycle should have a headlight, and you can’t park a cycle in No Parking zone else they’ll tow it.

Here people walking on foot get preference over the car owners; policeman will stop the cars and let the people walk. First time in my life, I saw the proper use of the Zebra Crossings; unlike India, here they’re very effective and convenient too.

Shopping: On my way back from my friend’s place, I shopped for groceries (mainly vegetable & fruits) at 3:00 am in the morning; and believe me, I wasn’t the only customer at that shop. In India, I couldn’t have imagined buying potatoes or onions at 3 in the morning.

Garbage: Few days ago, I went to the basement of my building for dumping the garbage. The garbage room was so huge that I can’t even describe, it was definitely 4-5 times bigger than our flat. Here normally people throw garbage in 2 different containers, one for combustible items and other one for non-combustible items.

I’ll keep adding more items to the above list, as and when I find something interesting enough…

Kurbaan

2009-11-21T01:43:00.011+05:30

Kurbaan is a romantic movie with terrorism as the backdrop. But you shouldn’t compare it with Fanaa or New York, the basic theme of all these movies are totally different from one another. Although, there are few similarities between Kurbaan and Khuda Kay Liye, the widely acclaimed Pakistani movie.

Kudos to Renzil D'Silva, the director of Kurbaan, for choosing such a topic for his debut movie. After seeing the movie, one thing I strongly felt was that this guy knows his work, his treatment of the subject, camerawork and other technicalities are better than most debutante directors. Rensil is also the co-writer of the story, alongwith Karan Johar, who is the producer as well as. I would also like to praise KJo for producing such a movie. The story and screenplay are the major USP of this movie; the movie is well written, where a love story between a couple and the story of Islamic fundamentalists have been shown in parallel. There are few flaws in the script but overall it’s worth watching.

The camerawork and the editing is good. I really liked the way, how the cameraman has captured the monuments of Delhi and also how they have shown some parts of New York, especially the Tube stations. The background music by Salim-Sulaiman is fabulous, complimenting the screenplay at every point and this is what makes the movie a real thriller. Although I feel that songs of the movie, done by the same composer duo, could have been better; my personal feeling is that unlike other KJo movies, the songs of this one won’t rule the chartbusters for long.

Now let’s come to the other important factor in making any movie a hit or a flop, that is, its Actors & their performances. Saif Ali Khan, gives another solid performance, looks equally cool and dashing. Kareena Kapoor was not as good as she was in Jab We Met but definitely far better than Tashan and Kambaqt Ishq and for all her male fans, she is looking stunning in the initial portion of the movie. The couple “Saifeena” look great onscreen.

Vivek Oberoi, after a long long time did a good job, audiences might have forgotten him but this movie could prove to be his comeback film. Om Puri, as usual, is brilliant. Kiron Kher acts more or less in the same way as she has been doing in her recent films, except in the climax where she too is good. If I’ve to dissect the performances of the actors in one sentence, I’ll say that every actor has done played his or her part beautifully.

People going to the theatre should remember that it’s not a normal Bollywood or Karan Johar movie but it’s an intense movie. Overall Kurbaan is a good movie to watch, I’ll give it 3.5 out of 5 stars.

Four Years

2009-11-07T23:27:00.003+05:30

Today’s date (7th November) was, is and will be very important for me always; four years back on this date, I got my first (till date the only) job…

For me, today I not only completed four years in a company; but lot of other things which how small or big, matter to me in some way or the other:

Most importantly I’ve gained four years of professional experience. It’s not that I was waiting for this landmark to take any further action but I’m happy to do so.

Four years back I made some friends and needless to say we’re still good friends . Infact in the due course, our friendship have become better and matured too.

Since last four years I’ve been living in Mumbai (city of dreams); actually it was sort of a dream-come-true when I got a job in this city.

Four years of financial independence.

The above mentioned four points are the ones, which I can remember without thinking. In the coming as this count of years will increase, I want to do lot more things but only God knows that where I'll go from here...

New York

2009-07-03T22:35:00.012+05:30

New York is a movie on a concept, which film makers in Bollywood haven’t tried much. The story starts with the friendship of 3 friends but mainly revolves round the aftermath of 9/11.

Aditya Chopra, the writer as well as the producer of this movie have taken a bold step by making this movie. Also as a director, Kabir Khan does a good job in his second film and had made an entertaining movie while maintaining the essence of the movie.. The good thing is that these people have chosen a concept which is different from normal Bollywood movies. Firstly, this is not a romantic movie unlike the trademark of Yash Raj Films. Secondly, this movies tries to bring out the other side of the story of the 9/11 attacks, brings out the effects of those deadly attacks on the normal people and their lives.

As far as the characterization is concerned, the story revolves around 4 people: Irfan Khan, John Abraham, Katrina Kaif and Neil Nitin Mukesh. It’s always worth watching Irfan Khan’s performance, he fits into every character so naturally and provides an uniqueness to all of them. He did a good job as always.

John Abraham too is maturing by every film now; he too has done a decent job in fact in some scenes he has done a fantastic job but at times he could have been better too… Neil Nitin Mukesh has done the best job amongst all the actors. He is so natural in the film and suits the character. Definitely slowly and steadily he is gaining the ground in Bollywood…

For Katrina Kaif, I think it’s her career best performance in terms of acting. After this movie, filmmakers would offer her more performance based roles instead of the ones she was getting till now. This movie can help her to come out of her Barbie Doll image and may bring her in the league of good actresses like Priyanka, Kareena, etc.

The music of the movie is soulful and few of the songs are already ruling the chartbusters, even the placement of these in the movie is very appropriate. Like all other Yash Raj movies, this one is a visual treat for all the audiences. Another aspect which I found good was the editing of the movie. The editing of the movie keeps it the story moving at a good pace and also intact. The director and editor have remembered to show the Twin Towers in all the scenes which were supposed to have occurred before 9/11.

There are few loopholes in the script, mainly towards the end of the story. This movie, especially climax could have been made in a better way but for me, then too it was a good, a different and an entertaining movie…

Overall I'll give New York, 3.5 out of 5 stars...

General Elections 2009: Indian Political Bazaar

2009-05-16T01:35:00.003+05:30

The counting of votes for Indian General Elections 2009 will begin today at 0800 hours.

And the leaders of various National and Regional Political Parties have already negotiated with each other, against their parties support to form the Government at the Centre. Still few hours are left before any trend / results come out but these people have already heated up this political market, where governments are not only formed by the peoples’ votes but also by horse trading.

Similar to Cricket IPL, here to the regional parties which are believe to win more seats are commanding better prices and portfolios in the cabinet ministry. JDU leader, Nitish Kumar wants special status for the state of Bihar, Naveen Patnaik of BJD wants to become the Chief Minister of Orissa while Mulayam Singh and Amar Singh of SP , and BSP Supremo Mayawati wants best portfolios for themselves and their party MPs’.

Even this is not enough, politicians like Mulayam Singh, Mayawati and also Sharad Pawar of NCP , who all belong to Regional Parties and their parties have major presence mainly in their respective states, have ambitions to become the Prime Minister of India after these elections. I’m not saying that being ambitious is wrong; but the problem is that anyone of them can only become the PM, only when all of them come together, with many other parties to form the Third Front and form the Government at the Centre. And this to me seems to be a major problem and distant possibility for a stable government.

Anyways let’s wait for tomorrow and days to come to see the final outcome of this Political Bazaar, which is currently going on in New Delhi. And also at the same time let’s hope that any government which comes into the power does something good for the country and its people…

Do VOTE !!!

2009-04-29T20:31:00.010+05:30

On the eve of the third phase of voting for General Elections 2009 in India, I request all my readers and the voters of this country to Vote…

Yesterday I watched a video on YouTube, Kuch Nahin Ho Sakta... This well-edited video, starring lot of young Bollywood actors and actresses, conveys the message to vote in a classical way…

This video in some strange manner, reminded me the dialogues from the Hindi movie, Rang De Basanti: There are 2 types of people, one who sit out and curse the system, and the other who jump into the system, to change the system…

The problem with us, Indians, is that we are great in discussions and debates but we don’t believe much in execution. We can sit in our drawing rooms, offices, tea stalls, pubs and at other such places, and discuss how corrupt our politicians are, what they should do for our country’s welfare, why should we not vote for them and blah blah. But what we never do, is to question these politicians. People will say that in India we don’t have any public forum where a politician can be questioned for his / her deeds; very true. But don’t forget we all have a stronger weapon than a public forum, what these politicians also fear, i.e. our Vote…

I believe that we should vote for those candidates who have proven themselves in the past and have done something relevant for their constituencies as well as for the country. In case of candidates fighting elections for the first time (fresher), have a look at their qualifications (resume) before voting in favor of them. Don’t only vote on the basis of the candidate’s party, caste, religion or their name/family. Consider electing Parliamentarians, similar to selecting a candidate for the job in your own organization, if the candidate doesn’t fulfils all the requirements or doesn’t suit the profile, you should never offer him that job. Also if you had voted for the right candidate in the past, then this is the time for his/her appraisal or assessment of his/her work in the last 5 years...

Another problem with us is that only the educated lot will understand the analogies mentioned in the above paragraph, but most of them don’t vote. For one reason or another, we always have excuse for not voting. We have time for our leisure activities, for professional and personal commitments but no time to vote, although voting day is a holiday almost everywhere. And the majority of the people who vote are uneducated or are below the poverty line, who don’t understand much and vote on basis of the caste, religion, etc. Hence to change the system, the laws, the politicians and their politics, it’s necessary that educated people vote…

So please vote this time, and don’t think that what will happen with 1 vote of yours; cause if everyone start thinking like that then nothing will change in our political system… And vote for a stable and a good government, which can take us forward from here…

Vote for your country, your future generations and your own future... Do VOTE !!!

8x10 Tasveer

2009-04-09T19:58:00.015+05:30

8x10 Tasveer is a different movie, with a unique plot which Bollywood have never experienced before (correct me, if I’m wrong)…

Nagesh Kukunoor, writer and director of this movie, had done a far better job as a writer than as a director. According to me, the ending could have been better; for me it was difficult to digest the correlation used to derive the ending. Screenplay was decent and some scenes were really good. There is only 1 song in the movie and which I believe wasn’t required too; also if the film makers wanted to keep that song then they should have inserted it somewhere before… The movie is shot beautifully at various countryside locations; in the initial parts, except for the cast everything looked similar to a Hollywood flick…

Apart from Akshay Kumar, who does a good job, there are many other talented artists like Girish Karnad, Javed Jaffrey, Benjamin Gilani, Anant Mahadevan and Sharmila Tagore; but all these actors were wasted since neither did they have a strong character nor did those characters’ had much length. Ayesha Takia too didn’t had a great role, unlike to what she had in Dor…

A Nagesh Kukunoor movie having a superstar like Akshay Kumar could really have been a delight for the audiences and to some extent, it was… But this combo too wasn’t able to keep the cash registers ringing at the Box Office for long…

Overall I’ll give this 8x10 Tasveer, 3 out of 5 stars…

Delhi-6

2009-02-23T20:34:00.008+05:30

Delhi-6, a Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra movie… A movie much hyped and awaited too but definitely not worth all that...

After seeing the trailers of Delhi-6, I felt that it has all the masala (indegreints) which is required to make a Hit Hindi movie. Scores of brilliant character artists, amazing lead pair, soulful music, amazing background setting, etc etc and I was sure that this movie will definitely strike the chord with both Indian as well as foreign audience.

Good points about the movie were definitely its music, especially songs like Masakali, Arziyan, Delhi and also acting by actors like Vijay Raaz, Divya Dutta, Pavan Malhotra and Atul Kulkarni; but these actors weren’t also able to save the movie… For other actors like Rishi Kapoor, Om Puri, Waheeda Rehmaan, Supriya Pathak, Tanvi Azmi and for that matter even Abhishek Bachchan, I think their talents were wasted and should have been utilized better… Sonam Kapoor looks beautiful and gorgeous in the movie and she is definitely better than her debut movie.

More than blaming the director, the script was the primary cause of such a debacle. The first half of the movie was boring, even the number of songs and so many Ram Leela sequences (although I liked them) could have annoyed the audiences. Second half was much better except for the climax which I think was written in haste, in order to bring a dramatic ending to the story and also to send out a social message like RDB…

Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra really thinks differently but such out of box thinking, to which audiences aren’t able to relate, may land him in difficult situations; cause at the end of the day what matters for a commercial movie is its box office success.

After watching the movie I think that except for the music, everything else will find hard to strike any chord, with anyone. Two positive points points which I can draw after watching Delhi-6 were Rehman’s melodious compositions and in my memories, I revisited Chandni Chowk…

For me watching Delhi-6 could be a sheer wastage of both your money and time. I'll give Delhi-6, 1.5 stars out of 5...

Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi

2008-12-17T00:58:00.009+05:30

Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi (RNBDJ) was among one of the most awaited movie of the year. It is a film by none other than the team of DDLJ, from the duo of Aditya Chopra and Shah Rukh Khan.

After coming out of the theatre, the first thought which came to my mind was now SRK is the strongest candidate to win the Best Actors Award, for his role of Surinder Sahni, Punjab Power, Lighting up your Life…

RNBDJ will definitely have mixed responses from the audiences. This movie might not have a straight reponse; but some people will definitely like the simpleness and lightness and others might figure out the flaws in the story / screenplay. According to me, the movie may do more business in single screen than multiplexes because of the plot itself. This movie definitely has the guts to become the biggest hit of the year…

Shah Rukh Khan plays the role of Surinder Sahni (Suri), a common man who works in an electric company. The character written beautifully and also played vibrantly. SRK does a fantastic job while potraying the character; the way he talks, walks, thinks, every action he does, justifies the simplicity and characterstization of the character, which the director would have wanted the audiences to see.

SRK also plays another character Raj, which is totally opposite to Surinder Sahni, but I think that SRK does an ok job there since this a character which he had been portraying since years. But one thing here is to appreciate that the both the characters were different and we really got to see 2 different people in the movie.

Anushka Sharma, the debutante actress looks confident, is a good dancer and does a good job considering the fact that this was her first movie. Initially when I saw her in the promos, I thought she is not so pretty as other new actresses these days are; but certainly after watching the movie I agree that she fits into the character well. She is both traditional as well as modern at the same time. Vinay Pathak aka Bobby Khosla, is also another character to look for in this movie…
I agree with some of the critiques that the writing department wasn’t upto the standards of Aditya Chopra. The story and dialogues were simple but by any chance you not comparable with the likes of DDLJ, and for that matter neither with Mohabbatein. The dialogues weren’t heavy but they were surely similar to what a common man like Mr. Sahni will use in his daily life. The screenplay was one area which really wanted some more polishing; the first half was good but I felt some scenes of the other half were long and bit monotonous.

The music by the duo of Salim-Suleiman is very soulful and catching up with the audiences well. Haule Haule had already become a hit while Tujh Mein Rab is out an out romantic song. Chance pe Dance is a song which has the capability to teach dance even to poor dancers like me; it can be used for dance teaching lessons in the future. These songs are liked by the listeners not only because of the music but also due to their lyrics. The lyricist Jaideep Sahni had written some very beautiful and touchy lines; he is equally responsible for making the music so wonderful. The choreographers Vaibhavi Merchant (Haule Haule) and Shiamak Davar (Dance pe Chance) had given their 100%, both were successful in bringing out the innocence of Suri and the studness of Raj.

According to me, RNBDJ, a movie with a simple story, light comedy and full of romanticism, is definitely worth watching…

I’ll give RNBDJ 4 out of 5 stars, where 1 extra star is only for Mr. Surinder Sahni…

Mumbai: The Battleground

2008-11-28T00:58:00.016+05:30

After 24 hours of the ongoing War against Terrorism as I walk on the streets of Mumbai, the life here seemed to be somewhat normal. People were seen moving in and out of the bars & restaurant, enjoying the delicacies like vada pav & chat, youths roaming around; even the buses were running almost full. Nothing as such has changed except for the mental peace of the common man or the common Mumbaikar…

Last night, Terrorists attacked our Financial Capital, the city of Dreams – Mumbai at 10 different locations… But the attacks were different in terms of the modus operandi this time. Till now, bombs were placed secretly and terrorists never attacked from the front but this time they came out openly to spread the terror amongst the innocent citizens, using AK-47 guns and Grenades. They opened gun fires at many places. The second unique thing about these attacks were that the places like temples, trains, airport where common Mumbaikar would have been, weren’t targeted; but terrorists have chosen places which people might not have thought off, even in their nightmares. The terrorists attacked 5 star hotels – Taj Mahal Palace and Oberoi Trident, Café Leopold and peace loving people living in Colaba, etc. The attacks in the hotels and café were done at the time when various foreign tourists would have come back to the hotels and while corporates were having seminars and meetings.

As of now, the death toll has risen to 155 including atleats 14 policemen, 2 NSG commandos and some foreigners, while approximately 327 people have been injured in these Terror attacks. The dead also include Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad chief Hemant Karkare, Additional Commissioner of Police Ashok Kamte and encounter specialist Vijay Salaskar. It’s a really sad day when so many people have lost their lives but our politicians are only making false claims or as usual playing the blame game. My heartfelt condolences to the family of the all the people who died in these attacks… And I would like to salute the NSG commandos, army men, navy men and policemen for fighting bravely, continuously for almost 2 days now.

The titles like “War on Mumbai” or “Warzone Mumbai” can easily be justified after viewing the various footages available on Internet / TV. It simply reminds me of the Kargil War that time infiltrators captured Tiger Hill and other points; while this time they captured Taj, Trident and Nariman House. The only differences between the two were that it was in J&K while this in Mumbai; in Kargil War the terrorist might have taken months to capture those points while this time it took only few minutes for them to enter the targeted places and make hostages. Only thing which have changed that the attacks now are more planned, organised intensified and more terrifying…

A lot have been spoken about the spirit of Mumbai and Mumbaikars, whenever any such calamity had happened, but I would like to ask that till when this spirit will continue? If the people of this city or may be our country have good fighting spirits, this doesn’t mean that they should suffer from such attacks, blasts, etc. The government or the authorities should not take as an excuse for treating such matters lightly. Let me warn the government that these spirits of Mumbai could dampen too, if something concrete is not done. And let me clarify that alongwith the spirits, the common man is full of anger against these terrorists, terror groups and also against the government.

Something more disappointing was to watch our politicians giving interviews about Islamic & Hindutava terror, their election meetings, vote banks, etc. They’re saying that we need Federal investigation agency and police reforms but why do we only realize these necessities after something of such a magnitude had already happened? Why can’t be more pro-active or be more prepared? Where was our Intelligence agency when the recent attacks were being planned or was it an Intelligence failure? Or are the govt and the agencies were more than happy after catching few terrorist from so called Indian Mujahedeen or Sadhvi???

I would also like to ask Mr. Raj Thackeray that these attacks are on Aamchi Mumbai and after almost 2 days of these attacks, we hadn't heard any statment from you, pacifying the Mumbaikars. And just for your information, the NSG commandos who have been fighting here with the terrorist, have come from North and all of them may not be Marathi’s. Shouldn't the principles of MNS for a common man in Mumbai, i.e. not allowing North Indians, should have also been applied on the NSG commandos? Sir, this is a time for our country when we should be unite to fight against these Terrorist groups and not against our own countrymen.

Honourable Mr. Prime Minister and the Cabinet Ministers, I think this is a high time to take some concrete steps and not just make speeches. They have entered almost everywhere in our country and it’s really difficult for an ordinary citizen to live peacefully in his / her own motherland.

(PS: The blog was originally written on 27/11/08 but was updated on 28/11/2008)

Dostana

2008-11-23T22:23:00.011+05:30

Dostana - as the name suggests, is a film about friendship...

Some people might say that Dostana is only one time watch or may be not worth watching et al but one thing which I witnessed in the theatre was that audiences present there were laughing out loud...

I too agree that the story in general is predictable and the weakest link of this movie but overall the plot of the movie is new for Bollywood... The screenplay and dialogues were the areas to look forward too...

People to look for in this movie are Priyanka Chopra and Abhishek Bachchan. Priyanka looks ravishing, even hotter than what she looked in Fashion and definitely deserves the introductory scene showing her sensuous lips and curvaceous body. She once again gave a solid performance... Abhishek was best among the male actors, his expressions as a Gay were mind blowing, especially in the scene where he narrates the incidence of first meeting with John Abraham... John and Bobby Deol did an ok job but definitely they could have been better... Definitely for girls, it would have been a retreat to watch John bare chest... Characters of Boman Irani, Kirron Kher and Sushmita Mukherjee are also worth watching and had good comic timing...

The music of Dostana is good but that not great like any other typical Karan Johar flick... Songs like "Maa Ka Ladla" and "Desi Girl" are foot tapping numbers while "Jaane Kyun", "Kuch Kam" and "Khabar Nahi" are soulful and romantic songs... You'll like the songs but may not remember them for long as we remember KKHH, K3G, KHNH songs... But as any other KJo movie, the cinematography and editing are awesome... It was a pleasure (and tonic for the eyes) to watch the Miami beaches...

Tarun Mansukhani, the debutante director overall does a good job... The chemistry between the 3 (Abhishek, John & Priyanka) of them is certainly a thing to look for...

I'll give Dostana 3.5 out of 5 stars...

I've been Tagged...

2008-11-14T00:08:00.010+05:30

Thanks to Narayanan for tagging me, actually this gave me a reason to Blog after few months...

1. If your lover betrayed you, what will your first thought be?

- What happens; happens for good…

2. If you can have a dream coming true, what would it be?

- I’ve lot of dreams, so mentioning here about one and ignoring others would be sort of injustice.

3. What is the one thing most hated by you?

- Hypocrites

4. What would you do with a billion dollar?

- Only a Billion Dollars, that’s it.

5. Will you fall in love with your best friend?

- Maybe, but only if the friend is a girl…

6. Which is more blessed, loving someone or being loved by someone?

- Definitely, being loved by someone…

7. How long do you intend to wait for someone you really love?

- If I really love someone then I’m ready to wait for my entire life…

8. If the person you secretly like is already attached, what would you do?

- Look out for a better prospect… :D

9. If you like to act with someone, who will it be? Your gf/bf or an actress/actor?

- Dunno.

10. What takes you down the fastest?

- Attitude

11. How would you see yourself in ten years time?

- To know the answers, you’ll have to wait till then…

12. What’s your fear?

- Losing my family & frndz…

13. What kind of person do you think the person who tagged you is?

- Narayanan: Smart, intelligent, techie and a friend…

14. Would you rather be single and rich, or married but poor?

- Neither.

15. What’s the first thing you do when you wake up?

- Want to sleep more…

16. Would you give all in a relationship?

- Can’t say since I’ve never been into it…

17. If you fall in love with two people simultaneously, who would you pick?

- Both.

18. Would you forgive and forget no matter how horrible a thing that special someone has done?

- I believe in forgiving but not in forgetting…

19. If you get to go back in time and fall in love all over again, would it still be with the same person?

- May be Yes… May be No…

20. What will you do about climate crisis?

- No idea.

Now I tag Anshul, Dheeraj, Niraj, Rohit & Tammy !!!

ROCK ON !!

2008-08-31T02:37:00.009+05:30

Sometime back I saw a promo saying, “From the makers of Dil Chahta Hai” and yeah after watching it, I can easily say that they haven’t lowered their standards and were also up to the expectations of their audience…

Rock On is a movie not only about a Rock Band but also about relationships and friendships…

Abhishek Kapoor, the director as well as the story & screenplay writer has done a fantastic job. The story is unusual but at the same time very realistic, to which people can easily relate to, all the characters of the story were well defined. First half of the movie consists of many transitions from present to past and vice-versa but well written screenplay and editing helps you in not realising the same. One thing which I feel about the story is that people from metros / bigger cities will easily relate with it while people from smaller towns may not bond with it so easily…

Through this blog, I would like to ask Farhan Akhtar a question “How can 1 person be so talented; an intelligent director, successful producer, brilliant actor and an amazing singer?” Farhan performs excellently in all his 3 roles, acting, singing and dialogue writing. Songs have already become chartbusters and guys believe me; he’ll definitely give a fight to Imran Khan for Best Male Debut Award…

All the other characters were equally important in the movie and they all too did full to their specific roles.

Rock On’s music is very refreshing, youthful, different (with a touch of Rock music) and already ruling the charts. Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy once again proved that they are one of the best in the industry and especially when it comes to experimentation; who would have allowed a new singer like Farhan to sing 6 out of 9 tracks of the album. Generally our Bollywood actors sing 1 or at max 2 songs but in this case hats off to the combo of Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy and Farhan Akhtar.

Javed Akhtar, as usual have written mind blowing lyrics; one may not understand them when listening for the first time but after watching the movie you’ll definitely like it.

Another thing which I also liked is the use of the song, “Tum Ho Toh”. This is a romantic song but in the movie it has been used as friendship song and the placement of the song is so perfect that it fits the situation…

Overall Rock On is a good movie to watch… I'll give this flick 4 out of 5 stars...

ROCK ON!! definitely rocks...

Bachna Ae Haseeno

2008-08-16T22:23:00.004+05:30

I'll give Bachna Ae Haseeno, 3 out of 5 stars...

Jaane Tu... ya jaane na

2008-07-10T00:18:00.006+05:30

Jaane Tu… ya jaane na is a fun-filled, youthful and entertaining movie…

What actually took me to the theatre to watch this flick was its refreshing look, soulful music and some expectations from an Aamir Khan Productions. And believe me I now have many more reasons to watch it for the second time…

Debutante director and well known writer and lyricist, Abbas Tyrewala has done a good job in all his three roles… Although the story isn’t very different from normal love stories, when I say this I mean don’t expect this one to be an out-and-out a different movie like DCH, etc. I won’t be disclosing the story here, since I always believe that Movie Reviews aren’t meant for it… Other aspects of writing i.e. Screenplay and Dialogues have also been handled extremely well and are among the main reasons why this movie is liked so much. The dialogues are funny and one can easily relate to them in their day to day lives. It’s a light comedy movie but not a slapstick one…

One thing, which I personally liked in the movie, was that it’s entirely shot in Mumbai, except for one song. No grandeur sets or exotic locations, no designer wears or unnecessary accessories. Movie showcases its characters wearing clothes which normal people like them wear in their daily lives.

Music by A. R. Rehman is youthful and at the same time soulful. The lyrics, by Tyrewala himself, are written beautifully. Tracks like “Kabhi Kabhi Aditi” and “Pappu Can’t Dance” had become hits, even before the movie released; other songs like “Kahin To Hogi Ho” and “Jaane Tu Meri Kya Hai” also sounds soulful to our eardrums.

Now comes the part, for which many of you may be waiting i.e. how the actors have performed, especially Imran Khan, nephew of Aamir Khan, the perfectionist. Before coming to any particular actor, let me tell you that all the characters in the movie were well defined and every artist played their part well.

Imraan Khan has done a good job and if you consider that this was his debut film, then he has done a fabulous job. People might comment that this was a tailor made role for him, although it wasn’ t but if it was then too what’s the harm in it. He suits to the character similarly as Aamir was to QSQT and Hrithik to KNPH; he’ll surely become the heartthrob of the nation in days to come…

Genelia D’Souza has done a fantastic job , even better than Imran. Only after seeing the promos, my friends told me that she already had done few movies; but now after this one she too will become a known actress. Her facial expression and dialogue delivery was perfect. The movie is equally dependent upon her as it’s on Imraan, for its success.

Overall, Jaane Tu… is a light romantic comedy, which may remind you about your own friend circle, you might be relating characters of the movie with your near and dear ones… I’ll give Jaane Tu… ya jaane na, 4 out of 5 stars…

MTV Roadies 5.0

2008-06-08T02:00:00.006+05:30

MTV Roadies 5.0 concluded 2 weeks ago, with Ashutosh Koushik becoming the 5th Roadie…

This season of Roadies began in Goa with 13 aspirants from across the country. Getting selected in Roadies auditions, after handling the torture done by Raghu Ram and Nikhil Chinapa in itself is a big deal… Hence, these contestants (names are in alphabetical order) of MTV Roadies 5.0 deserve to have their names on my blog:

Ankita
Ankita (Simran)
Anmol
Ashutosh
Ayaz
Nihal
Prabhjot
Shambhavi
Snehashish
Sonel
Varun
Vibhor
Vikrant

I’ve following last 3 season of Roadies i.e. Season 3, 4 & 5 and thought that I know the format/rules of the show pretty well since reality shows generally don’t change their rules frequently… But as far as MTV Roadies is concerned, I feel proud in saying that “I was wrong.” You guys might be thinking that why I’m feeling proud? The answer is simple, this is one of my favorite TV shows and I enjoyed the current season as much as I enjoyed the earlier ones, as everything was unpredictable…

The 1st episode saw two of the participants being voted out… To watch the “Vote-outs” is the real fun in the Roadies… The Pressure, the Action, the Drama all are part of this reality show… Each episode was different from the previous one in some or the other manner… In the 5th season, the best part was the International exposure but what I really didn’t liked was more emphasis on personal decision’s rather than some activity…

Unlike my expectations, the final episode was not that great; especially at the last when Sonel chose the winner of Roadies 5... Atleast the winner shouldn’t be decided that way, Nihal did a better competition than that…

Anyways, I’m eagerly waiting for the next season of MTV Roadies…

IPL: May the best team win !!!

2008-06-01T14:17:00.005+05:30

Today is the IPL finals and I’m to D.Y Patil stadium to watch the match…

But the important question is, whom should I support in today’s match???

Actually in the first season of IPL, I’ve already supported 4 teams out of 8... From the beginning, I was cheering and supporting for Kolkata Knight Riders. Once they were out from the race of semis I started supporting Mumbai Indians, don’t forget Mumbai is my Karmabhumi… After this, it was the turn of Delhi Daredevils but unfortunately they too lost in the semis… Yesterday, in the 2nd semi-final, I supported Kings XI Punjab and my track record continued too; they too lost in the semis…

Now while writing this post, I’ve decided that today I’ll not support any particular team in today’s match and only enjoy the game with my gang…

And I’m praying that the match should be rocking, exciting and May the best team win !!!

Happy Birthday Mummy !!!

2008-05-15T23:41:00.003+05:30

A Very Happy Birthday to you Mummy...

If you would not having been with me, with all your love & support; I wouldn't have been to do anything in my life... Thanks for everything...

Indian News Channels: Quantity over Quality

2008-05-02T20:26:00.002+05:30

Who says Indian news broadcast channels are not mature as their International counterparts? Even Indian channels know how to do their business, how to increase their TRP’s and also how to woo the advertisers, etc. These Indian news channels are not only earning the bread and butter for their owners; but also attaining their break-even points much faster than it was in the past…

But if we talk in terms of the content or the social responsibilities, then I definitely agree that Indian news channels are not as mature as their International counterparts. In fact, the word “mature” isn’t made for Indian news channel.

Actually there are 2 types of news channel in India: First is the Hindi News Channel and Second is the English News Channel. I’ve considered both Hindi and English News Channels as different categories since the quality of the content differ…

Let’s suppose you want to know the news and switch on some Hindi News Channel: No points in guessing what you actually get to see, something which most of us actually don’t consider a news item like “swarg ki seedhiyan (Steps to Heaven)” or “Aishwarya Rai Bachchan ne rakha vrat (Aishwarya Rai Bachchan does fasting on the occasion of Hindu festival)”, etc. Let me also some of the headlines from various of these channels, “Dada pade Sachin bhaari (Sachin’s team defeats Saourav’s Team) ” , “Train ke neeche ke baad bhi Kutta jeevit bacha (Dog is still alive even after coming under the moving Train)”, etc… None of the Hindi news channel shows, a single news regarding more important news like measures which should be used to curb inflation, US Presidential elections, Global warming, etc…

Hindi news channel are also following a pattern these days; when I say “pattern”, I meant to make a point that all these channels show similar news which had a good TRP’s in the past. Like when the incident of Prince falling in a boring well happened, it was something which most of the people saw for the first time , hence everyone was curious about the child; and now after every few weeks we see one more child falling in such wells… If some channels show a program featuring a story related to Ramayan or Mahabharta, then all the other news channels will soon show some related story… I don’t know which and when, one of the news channel started showing the program like “Vaardat” or “Aaj Aapka Din (How your day will be today)” but now we can find such programs on every Hindi News Channel. And how can I forget mentioning about the programs which showcases the items of the Laughter Champions and also about the various reality shows like Indian Idol, Voice of India, etc. And also how can I forget mentioning about Khalli – The WWE Fighter, he is the favorite news item for many of these Hindi News Channels…

The English News Channels here are not better but definitely show better quality programs than their Hindi counterparts… They too some masala news but those are mostly related to Bollywood or Cricket… But the best part is that they try to cover most of the important news too…

People might be interested in knowing about Abh-Ash wedding but are they also interested in knowing whether Aishwarya is observing a fats or not? People wanted to know about the status of children falling in boring-wells but for how long, are we really interested in viewing the Live Telecast from the venue? I agree that IPL (Indian Premier League) has become a big thing in the world of cricket and also lot of moolah is involved in it but has it become bigger than news like inflation, caste reservations, economy, etc which are of national interests?

I agree that these news channels are also showing such programs and stories since people watch it but I still believe that if any channel is considering a “News Channel” then please show some relevant news or else start promoting yourself as a “Page3 Channel” or some “Lifestyle Channel.”

Sometimes I really feel that Doordarshan’s National News is still the best in the country since in its half-an-hour duration it tries to cover the maximum news across the globe and from all the fields…

Why can’t these Indian news channels think of programs like which is actually for the betterment of the country and its people...

Tashan

2008-04-29T20:54:00.005+05:30

Tashan: another hyped movie from Yashraj Films was released on last Friday.

Just to inform my readers, due to some differences between the distributors and the exhibitors, this movie was only released in single screen theatres across Mumbai and not in the multiplexes…

Tashan, like many other movies, was not upto the expectations of the audiences; primarily due to its storyline. On the technical front, it’s a decent effort but lack of a good story and direction will definitely disappoint the audiences. I will not disclose the story here, since I always believe that Movie reviews are not meant to tell the story of the movie…

The acting of all the 4 leading actors is ok types… Anil Kapoor’s character is of a don but somewhat similar to the character of Javed Jaffrey of Salaam Namaste fame; where he tries to speak English on every occasion… Initially we laughed at his dialogues but as the film progressed it was a bit irritating too… Also it was unbelievable for me, that a modern day don will use a water canon or a fire pipe to defeat his enemies… Overall, Anil hadn’t been used to fullest of his abilities…

Saif Ali Khan does an average job, nothing extraordinary in his acting too…

Kareena Kapoor is looking gorgeous in her zero-size figure… And she looks extremely sexy in the parrot-green colored bikini, which she wore in one of the scenes; definitely it’s a treat for all the men watching the movie… She does a decent job but don’t compare this one with her performance in Jab We Met…

Akshay Kumar is as usual brilliant in this movie too… His comic timing, facial expressions and dialogue delivery are awesome. He is one actor to look for, in Tashan… Almost all the audiences present in the theatre clapped at his entry…

The music is average type but definitely not what is actually expected out of a Yashraj movie… Few of its songs have picked up slowly… Like all the Yashraj movies, the song-dance sequences and exotic locales are worth watching… Cinematography and background score are good. The film makers tried to make this as an action flick and were also a bit successful in doing that except for the final action sequence, which, in the present day scenario, seems to be more of a comedy rather than an action sequence…

Overall Tashan was a one-time watch movie and not that bad as most of the critics have rated it… According to me, only 2 things which may bring audience to the theatres are the hype associated with the movie and Akshay Kumar’s mind-blowing performance… And no doubt, that this time Yashraj made a big mistake by not releasing this movie in the multiplexes, since it would have brought more audiences to the theatres and hence lesser amount of loss to them…

The director of the movie, Vijay Krishna Acharya will have to think something better next time, in order to woo the critics as well as the audiences… If, I’ve to rate this movie, I’ll give 2.5 on a scale of 5 (1.5 for the movie and an additional 1 point for Akshay’s performance)…

Qualified Politicians required...

2008-04-21T21:17:00.001+05:30

Blogathon today’s topic “How do we change the focus of politics from caste/religion to grassroot issues?” is both provocative and controversial…

If you ask my opinion to the question mentioned above, my answer is very simple: there is no way to change the focus of our politicians, till they are ready to change themselves, their focus and way of thinking…

I might be sounding as a pessimist, although I’m not; but according to me, changing politics and the politicians is a difficult thing, especially in a country like India.

Recently, I was reading somewhere that according to the World Bank data, the condition of Primary Education is even worse than most of the African countries. Arjun Singh, Hon. HRD Minister, who should address the issues of primary education, etc in the country. But he had done nothing except for creating caste differences amongst the people by introducing the quota for OBC’s… I don’t know, why he can’t understand that if the children have proper education (both primary & secondary), most of them won’t require any sort of Quotas for getting into any college of higher education.

Although the conditions of these Politicians or Netas, as we call them in India are not good but then too we may try changing their focus from the caste and religion based issues (actually their vote bank politics since decades) to some other important ones… Few things which we may try doing are:-

· The most important thing for any citizen in India is to exercise our Voting Rights. Whenever election happens in our country, we always find that voting percentage in most of the constituencies is not more than 50%; this simply means that atleast 50% percent of us don’t vote. By voting, we may choose the right candidate, who may actually do something concrete for us.

· We should strictly avoid listening to and voting for Political Parties and Leaders who encourage or are involved in caste based or religion based politics. If we, the people of this country ignore them, then they will have to think on alternate issues for continuing their presence in politics…

· We must also introduce some guidelines to become a Politician such as minimum educational qualificatio background check, etc.

· According to me, more & more young and qualified people should be encouraged to come into politics. Young people will definitely think over issues related to our country and our people and not just about caste or religion vote banks. I also think a retirement age for them is also necessary, may not be 60 but it should be there. If our Constitution also allows young politician then why is it necessary for a person to have grey hairs before becoming a politician?

Why don’t these Politicians don’t understand that the most important need of the common people are proper education for their children, adequate healthcare facilities for their families at cheap rates, good infrastructure in the country, low inflation, food and items of daily usage at low rates etc and not the admission for some of the backward class people in some prestigious institutes…

It’s high time that we all should become more responsible towards our country and discourages these types of politicians, who have the history of taking advantage of common people on the basis of caste or religion… We are proud to be living in a Democratic country and let’s behave like that…