The Common Man Speaks

Power of People: Aseem Trivedi released! (Exclusive Pictures)

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The fact that the power of people is the greatest weapon was proved once again when the Government was forced to drop the wrongful charges of sedition against cartoonist Aseem Trivedi following massive protests across India. Since he is no longer charged of sedition, Trivedi agreed to take bail today (September 12).

The scenes were unbelievable outside Arthur Road Jail. A large crowd waiting anxiously for Trivedi to come out. Finally, when he did walk out of the main gate of the jail, a little after 1pm, he received a heroic welcome.

Amit Katarnaware, who had filed the sedition charge against Trivedi, has no place to hide his face now! I am using such words against Katarnaware because he also tried to communalize the issue by giving it a religious and a castiest angle, just like our vote-hungry politicians.

Have a look at the pictures after Aseem’s release: –

People waiting for Aseem to come out of the Arthur Road Jail

Aseem’s friends and wellwishers waiting for his release

He is out now! An admirer trying to offer garland to Aseem

Aseem addressing the crowd

Mayank Gandhi addressing the crowd

Aseem speaking to his supporters and the media, highlighting the fact that the war is not over yet!

Barfi! Box Office Prediction

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Director: Anurag Basu

Producers: UTV Motion Pictures, Ishana Movies

Writers: Anurag Basu and Sanjeev Dutta

Cast: Ranbir Kapoor, Priyanka Chopra, Ileana

Music: Pritam

Genre: Drama

Release Date: September 14, 2012

Analysis:

Star Value: Due to the presence of some very big names like Ranbir Kapoor and Priyanka Chopra, the star value for Barfi! is very high. Plus, Ileana too is a very popular name down south although this is her first Hindi film.

Hype: The promos of Barfi! have managed to impress both the masses and the classes. This was largely possible due to Ranbir’s lovable and funny acts. This fact coupled by the promotions has garnered very good hype for the movie.

Music: The song ‘Ala Barfi’ is slowly becoming a rage. The rest of the songs, which are also melodious, are expected to acquire fame as the film releases.

Prediction:

Barfi! will surely get a very good opening at the box-office. It will score more at the urban multiplexes. But having said that, it will do well at the single screen theatres as well. Of course, its collection after the first weekend and the first week will depend on the content. Overall, Barfi! is a very safe product for the producers and distributors, mostly due to the Ranbir factor. The film is expected to earn around Rs 30 crore or more in the opening weekend.

Emergency 2012: Aseem charged with sedition while coalgate scamsters roam free!

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Since last year or so, there have been numerous examples which state that our current Government is no different than the British rulers. This is not the first time I am saying this on my blog. The way they have been trying to crush anyone who raises a voice against corruption has left me with no other comparison. And now, a large section of Indian citizens are making the same comparison after cartoonist Aseem Trivedi was recently charged with sedition for just drawing a cartoon!

Anybody who is fed up with the rampant corruption in the country would relate with Aseem’s creation. His cartoon is just a satirical portrayal of the current situation where scams worth thousands of crores have taken place but nothing is been done about it! But still if our authorities are offended by his cartoon, charging him with sedition is plain ridiculous!

It is quite shocking to see Aseem’s case developing at such a fast pace! Obviously, such fast action cannot be taken due a single complaint. It is clear that the Government has put in pressure. In fact, Aseem has been facing a lot of wrath ever since he joined Anna Hazare’s anti-corruption movement.

On the other hand, no action is been taken despite the highly humiliating coalgate scam amounting to an unthinkable amount of Rs 1.86 lakh crore! Forget action, the government is not even going ahead with any probe by just rubbishing off the CAG report. So what wrong did Aseem do by depicting the true scenario of today’s India?

So is Aseem more harmful to the nation than the ones who have been looting the common man in lakhs of crores? Are his cartoons hurting the sentiments of the country more than the actions of those who physically fight in the parliament and worse, openly watch porn in assemblies?

Our Government’s answers to these questions are loud and clear! India is facing another emergency which needs to be nullified with emergency protests!

Raaz 3 Box Office Prediction

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Director: Vikram Bhatt

Producer: Vishesh Films

Writer: Shagufta Rafique

Cast: Emran Hashmi, Bipasha Basu, Esha Gupta, Mohan Kapoor

Music: Jeet Ganguly and Rashid Khan

Genre: Horror

Release Date: September 7, 2012

Analysis:

Star Value: Over the last few years, Emran Hashmi has steadily acquired an image of a quality performer instead of just being a serial kisser. Naturally, he has become a respected star now. Although Bipasha Basu has ceased to be one of the top actresses, she is still one of the famous names currently. Even Esha Gupta is becoming a known name. Hence, the star value for Raaz 3 is high. Plus, the Bhatt tag adds further weight to a film.

Hype: The scary promos of the movie have gone down well, at least with those who prefer horror films. The fact that Bipasha would be seen in an altogether different avatar has also helped. However, the hype for the film is not as high as the producers would expect.

Music: The songs of the movie are impressive but ‘Zindagi Se’ is the only track that has managed to become known. Unlike other Vishesh Films’ products, the music of Raaz 3 hasn’t added to the publicity of the film.

Prediction:

Raaz 3 will get a decent to good opening at the box-office. The initial rush surely won’t be extraordinary. But some of Emran Hashmi films have succeeded in getting very good numbers despite the initial hype not being high. This might happen with Raaz 3 as well if it manages to impress initially. The big worry for the film is Vikram Bhatt’s recent track record.

Kutumb (Marathi Movie) Review

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Director: Sudesh Manjrekar

Producer: Great Maratha Entertainment

Writers: Mahesh Waman Manjrekar (Story and Screenplay) and Raveen Tarade (Dialogues)

Cast: Jitendra Joshi, Veena Janmkar, Gauri Ingawale, Mihir Soni, Siddharth Jadhav, Manasi Naik, Vaibhav Mangale, Bhalchandra Kadam

Music: Ajit-Sameer & Abhijeet Kawthalkar

Rating: * * ½

Plot: Even though they struggle to make ends meet, Namdeo (Jitendra Joshi) and Ganga (Veena Janmkar) live a peaceful life with their children Laxmi (Gauri Ingawale) and Subhan (Mihir Soni). Namdeo, who works as a gardener, will go any heights to fulfill the wants of his family. He even does some extra work and bears all pains with a smile. However, their simple life turns ugly when they are faced with a number of obstacles.

Namdeo receives unconditional family-like support from his friend Magic Mamu (Siddharth Jadhav) and his wife Saira (Manasi Naik).

(For more reviews and information on Marathi cinema, click here.)

Review: Parents are always expected to work hard to present a better or a comfortable life to their children. But how acceptable is when children take up the responsibility to better the lives of their parents? Such an unusual yet interesting question is explored in Sudesh Manjrekar’s Kutumb. The characters and some of the events surely succeed in moving the audience but due to the writing and execution (in some parts), the film turns out to be just a one-time watch.

During the initial moments, the writers and the director use the visual medium very intelligently. The nature of the four characters, the love between them, their problems and their everyday life is described without much use of dialogues. And once Siddharth Jadhav’s character is introduced, the proceedings get a booster. But there was no need to include two songs without any gap to prove the dancing skills of the two kids. Despite that, the first half manages to lay a decent foundation.

The events that follow are appealing alright. But now the film starts treading on predictable lines. An over-emotional scene (not possible to reveal more), involving one of the main characters, appears silly. But what hurts the most is how the audience is made to watch a dance reality show for a long duration later on. The pre-climax and the climax should have been framed in a way that it gets the audience rooting for the kids.

A very interesting fact is observed in a number of Mahesh Manjrekar’s films including Kutumb. The main protagonist receives tremendous help from a supporting character who is Muslim by religion. Apart from Kutumb (where Jadhav plays Joshi’s friend), this is seen in his earlier films Kurukshetra, Viruddh, Vaah! Life Ho To Aisi!, Mee Shivajiraje Bhosale Boltoy and Shikshanachya Aaicha Gho. Co-incidentally, in three of the six films mentioned, Jadhav has played the concerned character.

Technical aspects like cinematography (Ajith Reddy) and background score can be included in the plus points. The editing is fine but it should have been tighter during the dance reality show scenes. Ajit-Sameer and Abhijit Kawthalkar’s music suits the film. Dialogues (Pravin Tarde) are effective and moving.

The performance area is the biggest plus point. Jitendra Joshi is brilliant as he pours his heart out while playing a caring father and husband. He is on a roll this year. Vena Janmkar too gets into the skin of her character with perfection and presents a realistic act. Gauri Ingawale and Mihir Soni deserve huge applause for not only giving mature performances but also showing some terrific dancing skills.

Siddharth Jadhav presents a lovable act. Manasi Naik is likable too. Vaibhav Mangale plays the bad guy well while Bhalchandra Kadam, his sidekick, is not bad either.

Overall, Kutumb can be seen once if you prefer emotional family dramas. The film will need positive word-of-mouth to succeed at the box-office. It will face opposition from next week’s awaited No Entry Pudhe Dhoka Aahey.

Joker Box Office Prediction

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Director: Shirish Kunder

Producer: Hari Om Entertainment Co., Three’s Company and UTV Motion Pictures

Writer: Shirish Kunder

Cast: Akshay Kumar, Sonakshi Sinha, Shreyas Talpade, Minissha Lamba, Asrani

Music: Gaurav Dagaonkar and G V Prakash Kumar

Genre: Drama

Release Date: August 31, 2012

Analysis:

Star Value: Akshay Kumar is one of the biggest stars ever. Even Sonakshi Sinha has become a known name after her first two films attaining success. Hence, we can say the star value for Joker is very high.

Hype: There is a good amount of hype for Joker but unfortunately a major part of it is negative. Due to some reason, people had assumed the film to be bad even before the first promo released. After the promo came out, the negative publicity increased. And since Akshay and Sonakshi, due to whatever reasons, are not promoting the film, it has further hampered the movie.

Music: Despite the controversy and Chitrangada Singh’s sensuous moves, the song ‘I Want Fakht/Just You’ has not succeeded in becoming known or publicizing the movie. The rest of the songs are hardly known as well.

Prediction:

Joker will get an average or at the most good opening at the box-office. This is certainly below par for a big budget movie with big stars. Due to this, it is vital for the movie to impress at the onset. The good thing for Joker is that it caters to both single screens as well as multiplexes.

India wins U 19 World Cup: Future of Indian cricket in safe hands!

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Heartfelt congratulations to team India for winning the Under 19 Cricket World Cup today by beating Australia by 6 wickets at Townville. Unfortunately, this series hasn’t received due hype from the media as well as the Indian cricket fans. But that isn’t going to change the fact that the future of Indian cricket is in safe hands.

Indian skipper Unmukt Chand led from the front by scoring an unbeaten 111 while opening the innings. His fifth wicket partnership of 130 unbeaten runs with wicketkeeper Samit Patel made it possible. The full scorecard of the match is available here – http://www.espncricinfo.com/icc-under19-world-cup-2012/engine/current/match/554564.html

This is India’s third Under 19 World Cup victory and their second successive World Cup win. In 2008, it was Virat Kohli who led India to victory. Apart from Kohli, Saurabh Tiwary, Manish Pandey and Ravindra Jadeja were the players that went on to win a place in the senior Indian squad from that team. There is no doubt some of the players from the current U 19 team will find a place too in the senior squad.

The fact that the victory came outside subcontinent in Australia makes the victory more special!

Unmukt Chand on his way to a match-winning century

Shirin Farhad Ki Toh Nikal Padi Box Office Prediction

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Director: Bela Sehgal

Producers: SLB Films and Eros International

Writer: Sanjay Leela Bhansali

Cast: Boman Irani, Farah Khan, Kavin Dave, Shammi

Music: Jeet Ganguly

Release Date: August 24, 2012

Genre: Romantic Comedy

Analysis:

Star Value: Boman Irani and Farah Khan are no big stars. But the fact that choreographer-turned-director Farah is now making her acting debut has given some star value to Shirin Farhad Ki Toh Nikal Padi. As it is, content is the real star in such films.

Hype: The funny promos of the movie have impressed the masses. Boman and Farah spoofing various Bollywood blockbusters in the posters has worked very well. And as mentioned above, Farah coming in front of the camera in her first full-fledged role has managed to get heads turned. But the hype isn’t as high as one would expect. This is largely because of the Ek Tha Tiger euphoria since last 3-4 weeks.

Music: This is not a music oriented film. Only the title song has managed to become well-known.

Prediction:

Shirin Farhad Ki Toh Nikal Padi will get a decent opening at the box-office in the first weekend. However, such genre of films rely more on the multiplex audiences of the metros. It will struggle in the smaller centers and single screens. It is vital for it to impress initially as it is a content oriented film. But since it is made on a low budget, it looks like a safe bet for the producers.

IndiBlogger meet 2012: App Ki Khatir!

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A filmmaker wants the sequel or the second part of his movie to be a notch higher than the first part in terms of overall satisfaction. It seems the Indiblogger think-tank follows the same mantra. If the 2011 Mumbai meet (at R K Studios) was very good, the 2012 meet yesterday at Taj Lands End was even better! Being a filmi keeda, I couldn’t find another way of describing it.

Although I was truly happy to attend my second IndiBlogger meet, I was quite sure I would be the odd man out when I got to know that the event is called Nokia Apptasting. This means there would be discussions and demonstrations of different types of mobile applications or apps as they call it.

Amar and Prem in action without Aaila and Uimaa. (Click to enlarge)

I used the term odd man out as I have never used any app in my life since I am using the very simple Nokia 3110 since four years. I want mobile phones only for calling and SMS-ing as I don’t want any more tech addictions (I already have quite a few including SMSes, Gmail, Facebook, Twitter, etc). What will be further surprising for you is the fact that I have never used internet from mobile and don’t wish to do so, at least in the near future. But since it was an IndiBlogger meet, my excitement levels were high! I was also glad my friend Celin will be attending her first IndiBlogger meet (I am partnering her in our food blog – mumbaigluttons.blogspot.in).

At my arrival, I was taken aback by the luxury oozing out from every little corner of Taj Lands End. It quickly reminded me of those huge budgeted Yash Chopra or Karan Johar films, minus people with expensive and heavy wedding attires (thankfully). When I reached the ballroom in the basement, I realized the place is too luxurious for a common man like me, although I was super-impressed by the peaceful ambience. But my eagerness was focused on only one thing – IndiBlogger meet!

(Click to enlarge)

The event also helped me meet my two of my friends Anuradha and Rahul after a long time. This was similar to the films of the 70s and 80s where estranged friends reunite in a mela (in this case, the Indiblogger meet).

The start of the event took all of us by surprise. It was very impressive to create an atmosphere of friendship by giving high fives, shaking hands and hugging each other. The hosts Vikas Khanna and Rajiv Makhni were up to the task. Their unusual chemistry with some witty humour gave way for some refreshing entertainment. They were very much like Amar and Prem of Andaz Apna Apna. The joke on Simran (who came on behalf of Nokia) is something that will tickle my funny bone whenever I recall it, especially his pose with Rajiv as Raj-Simran!

After a lot of fun and laughter during the initial period the Apptasting started. In my words – after a very impressive first part, the post-interval portion started. Surprisingly, I didn’t feel out of place during this period. I was impressed with some of the apps, especially the one which helped Rajiv make a short film on Vikas along with two girls from the audience. Their silent fashion show with Charlie Chaplin music is worth watching again and again. The contest where the audience was asked to describe their dream app was also an interesting idea. I, along with others, was spellbound by the imagination of some.

The cutting of the huge cake celebrating five years of IndiBlogger, followed by a group picture and dinner proved to be a perfect ending to a memorable evening.

Now here’s the twist in the climax – The Apptasting ensured that I might use some app in the future. Of course, it has to be the one which is useful for the common man. Hence, we can say IndiBlogger and Nokia have something more to be proud of. They managed to do something which a whole lot of my friends couldn’t – to convince me in using apps! Oh wow! This was similar to the happy ending of Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge where Amrish Puri’s character finally says, “Ja Simran Ja.” No, I am not hinting at the one who represented Nokia.

More pictures from the event:

Contest time (Click to enlarge)

More contests (Click to enlarge)

Happy Birthday to the 5-year old (Click to enlarge)

Very Very Special Goodbye!

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During the stage of my late childhood when I was trying to learn and understand that game of cricket, successful Indian players like Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Anil Kumble, Sourav Ganguly, VVS Laxman, Javagal Srinath and Mohammad Azaharuddin were at the peak of their careers. Due to this, no matter how many great or greater players emerged after them, players in the above mentioned elite list will always hold a special place in my memory.

So whenever a player from that list announces retirement, it certainly comes as a blow. The same happened when VVS Laxman announced his retirement yesterday, although this was on the cards after India’s tour to England and Australia. But those two unsuccessful tours can in no way be considered a dark spot over his career due to the huge number of glorious moments he has given to team India.

Having said this, many would be surprised that my very first memory of Laxman wasn’t a pleasant one. This was in 1996 in the first test match against South Africa in Ahmedabad, which was Laxman’s debut. After his failure in the first innings, I thought it wasn’t a good idea to have him in the playing eleven as I wasn’t sure about his technique. However, he made me swallow my opinion in the second innings when he scored a half century and led India’s fightback with Anil Kumble. How delighted I was to have been proved wrong!

This was just the first step of Laxman’s remarkable career. His brilliant timing along with his wristy flicks impressed cricket fans world over. Thinking about his career, the first innings that comes to mind is his earth-shattering 281 against Australia in the second test at Eden Gardens in 2001. Laxman, along with Rahul Dravid, shook the cricketing world with an unthinkable fight back. India’s victory was just the second instance in the history of test cricket where a team managed to win a match after being asked to follow on. Laxman wasn’t considered a one-day match specialist but his brilliant form in this test series forced the selectors to include him in the ODIs that followed.

From the Eden Garden innings onwards, he came to be known as India’s ideal man for crisis. He lived up to the title in the years to come by bailing India out of trouble time and again. With his retirement, team India will miss the bailing out ability of one of India’s greatest batsmen.

Here’s a big thank you to VVS with the hope that his career becomes an inspiration for the generations to come.

Have a look at the highlights of Laxman’s memorable innings of 281 against Australia: –