Aish delivers baby girl! Time to stay away from news channels!

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So finally, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan delivers and it’s a baby girl. Amitabh Bachchan broke the news on Twitter saying, “I AM DADA to the cutest baby girl !!” Abhishek soon followed with a Tweet, “IT’S A GIRL!!!!!! :-)))))”. Congratulations to Abhishek, Aishwarya and the Bachchan family!

But I fear the media and the people of India will blow things out of proportions. The news might give rise to some national celebration as if India achieved something. So for the next few days (or weeks) we will hear about the baby, which had become world famous even before entering the world!

When Aishwarya and Abhishek got married, the hype generated by the news channels gave a feeling as if it is the first couple in India to get married! Now that the couple has given birth to their first child, I fear it will be reported in a way as if it is the first child to be born in India!

The fact that Aishwarya’s delivery generated Rs 150 crore betting speaks volumes about the craziness surrounding the incident. Sorry to say but such idiocies can take place only in our country.

Now that the news if out, people will do some extra-aish with Aish! News channels (specially the Hindi ones) and Bollywood websites can go crazy now. So, it’s time for me to stay away from them for few days… or, as I said earlier, maybe weeks!

P.S : – Let the Bachchan pariwar live the moment in privacy!

Sachin’s 100th century > victory?

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Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar currently has a tally of 99 hundreds in international cricket. Obviously, cricket fans, not just from India but from all over the world desperately want the legend to reach 100 centuries soon.

You can’t blame the fans as 100 tons is a humongous feat which nobody has achieved till date. However, I have started getting a feeling that we the audience and the media are putting huge amounts of pressure on the little man to reach the mega milestone.

Every time Sachin goes out to bat these days, there’s only one question going on in everyone’s head, “Will he or won’t he?” This is equivalent to parents desperately wanting their child to top the exams! Although he has borne pressure all his life but the whole nation expecting you to score a hundred every time you go out to bat is a bit too much to handle.

When India won the first test match against the West Indies, almost every headline mentioned the fact that Sachin failed to reach the milestone. Even news reports gave too much importance to it rather than India’s praiseworthy fight back to win the test.

(Article continued after picture.)

Now, according to latest reports, The Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) has decided to present Sachin with 100 gold coins if he gets his 100^th ton in the second test at Kolkata! Phew!

By giving crazy importance to his 100^th hundred, we are forgetting the basic fact that cricket (or any other sport) is a team game where the end result matters the most. Hence, we should be more concerned about the result of the ongoing test series rather than concentrating on one individual score.

Sachin’s greatness is as huge as the universe. So, it’s just a matter of time when he reaches the 100 centuries mark.

The second test match between India and West Indies has just started in Eden Gardens at Kolkata. India are batting. Sachin has come out to bat but I hope our focus remains on India’s performance. Just let the Master Blaster be!

As Unusual as Rice Omelette

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By: Keyur Seta

(This is my entry for #MasterChefIndia2 contest)

I have been blogging for almost two and half years but I have never written on food. This is my very first attempt. It took a memorable Indiblogger meet last month to inspire me to do so. MasterChef judges and chefs Ajay Chopra, Kunal Kapoor and Vikas Khanna deserve special mention for influencing me for it. And when Indiblogger announced the MasterChefIndia2 contest, I thought the time is right to take the plunge.

Surprisingly, the most unique dish I have ever had is at my home. My mom made it. It is called Rice Omelette. I know you must be thinking – How the hell can anyone make an omelette from rice? But let me tell you, it tastes super good!

To know what Rice Omelette is and how it is made, let’s take a look at its recipe: –

Ingredients: A bowl of cooked rice, half a bowl of buttermilk (chhaas), 1 big spoon chana dal flour (chane ka atta), 4 big spoons of wheat flour, green chillies, turmeric powder coriander leaves and salt.

Procedure: Mix rice, buttermilk, wheat flour and chana dal flour in a vessel. Add green chilies, turmeric powder and salt to it.

Heat a frying pan. Sprinkle a small spoon of oil on it. Pour some amount of the dough on the pan and make a circle out of it. As soon as the dough is well cooked, scoop it and turn it upside down very carefully so that the other side of the dough can be cooked. Soon, the other side will be cooked and your omelette will be ready. Lift it carefully from the pan and land it on a plate.

Tastes Best With: Tomato Ketchup and Green Chutney

Serves: 5-6

Rice Omelette is unusual no doubt but, I say again, it tastes wonderful. It suits well for breakfast since it is fulfilling.

Swarajya (Marathi Movie) Review

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Direction: Vishal-Vihar

Production: Raees Lashkariya

Cast: Rajesh Shrungarpure, Darshan Jariwala, Arun Nalawade, Ila Bhate, Hemangi Kavi, Sushrut Mankani, Anshuman Vichare, Namrata Gaikwad

Music: Nitin Hivarkar

Rating: * * *

Plot: Ram Pathare (Rajesh Shrungarpure) struggles to get capital to start business due of the general belief that Marathis aren’t good at it. Apart from this, his heart bleeds due to the hardships and problems faced by Marathis. Not ready to accept defeat, Rajesh fights all odds and excels in the field of business.

But he doesn’t stop at this. With his Guruji’s advice, he starts Yuva Sanghatana Sena, an organization for the welfare of Marathis and later a political party called Swarajya Sena. But Ram has an obstacle in his path in the form of MLA Kapadia (Darshan Jariwala).

Recently, F M Ilyas’ Arjun tried to rejuvenate the image of the Marathi manoos by keeping business as the core issue. Vishal-Vihar’s Swarajya – Marathi Paul Padte Pudhe also has the same aim. However, the latter proves the point in a much better way than Arjun and is also much smarter in execution. The end product might not appear superlative but it certainly deserves a watch.

Vihar Ghag has intelligently woven the numerous incidents into the script in order the highlight the issue Marathis are facing. Thankfully, he doesn’t go overboard to prove the point as there is always a danger of getting carried away while handling such social issues.

The film goes into top gear once Ram starts his Yuva Sanghatana Sena. The formation of the group and the way Ram builds his team is appealing. As expected, there are a good number of seeti bajao sequences and dialogues. A scene which deserves special mention is the one where Ram gives a formidable reply to South Indian and Gujarati businessmen. The second half too starts on a promising note with the incident of Ram entering politics being the highlight.

How we wish the goodness continued till the end! Unfortunately, the penultimate moments and the climax are too stretched. Ram’s encounter with Kapadia’s relative Shah is harsh and uncalled for. This also makes sure the second half becomes 1 hour 30 minutes long whereas the first half was just about an hour. Plus, typical filmi sequences in the finale prove disappointing.

(Review continued after photo.)

Debutant director duo of Vishal-Vihar does a decent job. The film can also boast of its high production value. Umesh Pophale’s artistic and intelligent cinematography is visible in almost every scene.

Musical score by Nitin Hivarkar is a plus point with songs ‘Mard Maratha’ and ‘Rama Rama’ deserving mention. However, the music played in the song ‘Na Nazar Konachi Lage’ is very similar to the tune of the Hindi song ‘Tera Saath Hai Kitna Pyara’ (Janbaaz, 1986).

Fiery dialogues, by Vishal Ghag and Mandar Gaydhani, play an important role in having an effect on the audience although they tend to go overboard in few places.

Rajesh Shringarpure rises to the occasion and gives a power-packed performance. He manages to appeal both as a struggling Marathi youth and a leader of masses with ease. His character is surely inspired from Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray. Although Rajesh played a similar character in Avdhoot Gupte’s Zenda, he presents an altogether different act in Swarajya.

Darshan Jariwala gives a mature act as the antagonist. He proves why he is a respected name when it comes to playing character roles. Anshuman Vichare, Sushrut Mankani, Arun Nalawade, Ila Bhate, Hemangi Kavi, Namrate Gaikwad and the rest of the cast offer perfect support. But what’s difficult to forget is a side character who is an exact lookalike of superstar Rajnikanth. (Wonder from where they found him!)

Overall, Swarajya – Marathi Paul Padte Pudhe falls in the could-have-been-great category due to the above mentioned negative points. What works against it is that the audience has quite recently seen a brilliant effort on the same issue in the form of Mahesh Manjrekar’s Mee Shivajiraje Bhosle Boltoy.

Nevertheless, some praiseworthy incidents and Shrungarpure’s performance make it a one-time watch affair. It has a good chance at the box-office since it plays the Marathi Manoos card which has proved successful in the past.

P.S : – I heartily appreciate the fact that the makers honoured Dadasaheb Phalke, the Father of Indian Cinema, before the opening credits. I am surprised why this isn’t done often since without Phalke’s efforts, we wouldn’t have been enjoying movies in India.

The Common Man & his problems

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(Once more my friend Padmanabh Subramanian aka Pady has contributed an article for my blog. I appreciate his effort where he has highlighted the problems faced by the Common Man of today. Have a look at it.)

Dear Common Man,

I have been following your tweets, posts, Facebook status messages and blog writeups pertaining to the common man & his struggle, corruption, social evils, etc.

Just thought of sharing with you few thoughts, which have been cropping up in my mind since long. Just tried to connect the dots, and summarize it as under:

The Common Man & his problems

All the social / national issues, the Common Man Speaks about, are more or less, interlinked or rather ‘knotted’ with each other. Recall the dialogue from Mumbai Meri Jaan, by constable Kadam (Vijay Maurya) to Patil saaheb(Paresh Rawal). ”

“Patil sahab yeh jo galat hai na…ek ka undar ek itna ghichid michid ho gaya hai ki saala maalumich nahi padta hai ki iska shuruaat kidhar se hua tha…”

If one tries resolving one of them, the other becomes a bigger threat. And the solution also lies somewhere within the problems themselves.

Some of the issues we usually speak about are –

The exponentially growing population
Democracy
Politics
Internal Conflicts
Crime
Terrorism
Poverty
Development / Standard of Living
Corruption

Population, one of the well known issues in the nation, is the BAAP of all problems. Simple Mumbaiyaa logic boley toh Naukri k ghante aanth(8) hain, hafte mein din 7 hain, ghar pe khaane waale 8 aath hain, pagaar ek so saath (160) hai…ZINDAGI bole toh vaat hai !!

Development is something we have been trying to achieve since ages. But, it’s only few sections of the society that have been able to reap the benefits so far. And this section is the one responsbile for IT, technology and luxury boom in the nation. Today a call from a cell phone costs you 0.5 ps per minutes and the price of oil is almost Rs 100 / litre. So, there’s a paradoxical situation wherein, luxury comes cheaper than basic needs. And ultimately & ironically the brunt is borne by those who don’t fall in this bracket, i.e. the common man and the ones on & below the poverty line

Overall development of this huge population, isn’t frankly easy, because, to reach out 2 everyone is a Herculean task.

As a result,

1) There are few people who are lucky enough to get their share of justice and okay with the system.

2) Some of them don’t want to wait in queues or lines , but just want to get their work done ASAP

3) Some are too big / egoistic a persona to share the same space with the common man.

Talking about democracy, for name sake, we have freedom of this, that and everything….but it’s only few people who are actually able to exercise them and reach out their voices. Even among these, there are people who only want their rights to be granted “SADDA HAQ, AITHAY RAAKH” , but will never perform their duties and yet escape scot free.

Policies, rules & norms are subject to overnight modifications by the influential class.

Here is where come in CRIME, CORRUPTION & POLITICS

People who get away with Corruption, make it a habit, while those are not able to, resort to CRIME.

So, a frustrated soul has no other choice, but to choose one of the above mentioned.

Politicians play their usual vote bank,divide & rule, musical chairs, parliament chaos, kinda games, and add fuel to the fire, thereby creating internal conflicts as well

To get worse, some pool in relgious bias, wherein normal crime transforms into terrorism, courtesy our not-so friendly neighbouring nations.

However, when a terror attack occurs, it creates havoc no doubt, but if you see it from a different perspective, it targets the 1st problem i.e. population.

So as such, we have a dangerous dead-end in place to target all the problems, if we leave them as it is. Now it’s up to us whether we allow these to continue and the circle to find its own deadly solution or WE THE PEOPLE, work on each problem ourselves separately and in parallel.

If you feel I have made some sense, do share it with the world. Ek baar spell check maar dena please !!

Regards,

Padmanabh

Justice for Keenan and Reuben ASAP!

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I have always been proud to be a Mumbaikar. Wherever I go, I proudly announce that I was born and brought up in this wonderful city. But the tragic incident of the murders of Keenan Santos and Reuben Fernandes has filled me with shame because of the simple fact that a large number of Mumbaikars just preferred to be onlookers.

But now at least we can make sure the four culprits get strictest of punishments. We also need to make sure that such an incident never ever happens again. To ensure this, some kind-hearted Mumbaikars have started a campaign against sexual harassment called ‘Zero Tolerance Campaign’. Their motto is also to make sure the victims are given justice soon.

To be a part of the group, join their Facebook page here – https://www.facebook.com/zerotolerancecampaign

Their contact numbers – Maitreyee – 09819300506 | Sagar – 09967569696 | Priyadarshini 07738191119

Twitter ID – http://twitter.com/Zero_Tol

Website of Yuva Satta, the group which is supporting the cause – http://www.yuvasatta.org

You can also sign a petition to support the cause by clicking here – http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/zero-tolerance-campaign.html

The victims won’t return but at least we can help avoid such tragically unfortunate incidents and also show there is still humanity in us. I hope this incident doesn’t deter others from stopping a girl from being sexually abused. If you don’t oppose or fight against it, the city will become a jungle. Let’s make sure the murders of these two youngsters make us more determined in fighting against such social evils.

Deool (Marathi Movie) Review

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Direction: Umesh Vinayak Kulkarni

Production: Devisha Films

Cast: Girish Kulkarni, Nana Patekar, Dilip Prabhavalkar, Sonali Kulkarni, Mohan Agashe, Usha Nadkarni, Kishor Kadam, Jyoti Subhash, Atisha Naik, Naseeruddin Shah (special appearance)

Music: Mangesh Dhakade

Rating: * * * ½

Plot: In the rural areas of Maharashtra lies a peaceful village called Mangrul. One day Keshav (Girish Kulkarni), a village youth, sees lord Dattatrey (Datta) in his dreams while taking a nap under a tree. He makes a hue and cry in the village saying God made an appearance for him. Anna (Dilip Prabhavalkar), most respected figure of Mangrul, advises him against announcing such personal matter as it’s a question of faith.

However, it is too late as a journalist (Kishor Kadam) sensationalizes the news about Lord Dattatrey making an appearance in Mangrul. Hence, there is a demand for a Dattatrey temple. Bhau (Nana Patekar), a political activist, doesn’t approve it as he wants the funds to be used for better purposes but he seems helpless. The temple is built and the village becomes a holy place. Mangrul goes through a 360 degree change due to commercialization but nobody is complaining except Anna. Soon, due to the blindness of commercial progress, God is forgotten.

Every village has a right to progress commercially but how ethical it is to use a temple and its God to achieve it? The question is raised in director Umesh Vinayak Kulkarni’s latest offering Deool. While it does this, the audience is treated to some quality cinematic experience that deserves applause.

Your heart is won right at the very start due to the brilliantly conceived artistic opening credits. For the first time I witnessed applause for opening credits. Girish Kulkarni’s screenplay is deliberately not pacy because it was necessary to set the mood for a soothing rural flick. It largely succeeds in keeping the audience interested due to the unfolding of interesting events and realistic humour, which regularly gets you in splits.

Having said that, several serious moments, after the story is developed, are well appealing and moving. Special care is also taken to give good amount of screen time to the mammoth star cast. Girish also excels as a dialogue writer. All in all, intelligent writing is the backbone of Deool.

After Valu and Vihir, Umesh Vinayak Kulkarni once again proves his mettle as a talented filmmaker. He deserves strong applause as directing a tale with a number of sub-plots and characters can be chaotic.

(Review continued after picture.)

What surprisingly amazes you is the splendid cinematography. The village landscapes are an absolute delight to watch. It won’t be an understatement to say the camerawork over here is of international standards. The background score too doesn’t lag far behind.

The only flipside is the slow pace after the start of the second half and few other portions. There are chances that the climax might not be appreciated by the commercial cinema admirers for being open-ended.

Music composer Mangesh Dhakade has complimented the film smartly. Songs ‘Deva Tula Shodhu Kutha’, ‘Datta Datta’ and ‘Welcome’ are hummable and emerge at the right situations.

In a performance oriented film it is vital that all actors are at their best and that’s exactly the case with Deool. Girish Kulkarni stuns with a brilliant act while showcasing amazement, anger and misery with utmost perfection. His act is worthy of all awards. Returning to Marathi films after long, Nana Patekar is lovable. His sense of humour is up to the mark.

Dilip Prabhavalkar once again shows why he is one of the most respected names in the industry. His act is moving as well as enlightening, although his character is similar to the one he played in Morya. Sonali Kulkarni displays another praiseworthy act and so does Mohan Agashe.

The film is well supported by the rest of the cast including Kishor Kadam, Usha Nadkarni, Jyoti Subhash, Atisha Naik, Hrishikesh Joshi and others. Naseeruddin Shah (making his Marathi film debut) leaves an impact in a cameo.

Overall, Deool proves to be a well-crafted piece of art which is enlightening. It is sure to enjoy good collections at the box-office. However, the collections might be affected from second week onwards once Swarajya and Dubhang release on November 11.

What’s the new definition of ‘Blockbuster’?

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The definition of ‘Blockbuster’ has changed over the years. Earlier, blockbuster was a movie which succeeded in satisfying a large majority of its viewers. But in recent times, definition of superhit or blockbuster is reduced to a movie which makes huge profits in its initial weekend regardless whether it managed to impress a good part of the audience.

In other words, when a film gets a tremendous opening, it only means that a large section of audience went to see the film. Nothing more than this. It doesn’t necessarily mean that majority of audience had a good time.

Shah Rukh Khan’s Ra.One is the latest example of such a blockbuster. The movie has garnered a mammoth Rs 22 crore and Rs 25 crore on its opening and second day respectively. It has defeated Salman Khan’s Bodyguard (which earned Rs 21 crore on opening day) and has thus achieved the record of highest opening ever in Bollywood! Hence, one shouldn’t be surprised if the collections continue to be high till the end of the weekend.

But the big question is – Did it succeed in making most of the viewers happy? Judging by the numerous comments I have heard and read on social media (Facebook and Twitter), the answer is surely in the negative. The same happened with Salman Khan’s Bodyguard and various other films in recent times. So, what is the use of a blockbuster which only satisfies its producers monetarily?

Well, our big producers aren’t concerned about this. They seem to be following this formula – get a big star on board, spend huge amount in production, throw in mind-blowing visuals or clap-worthy scenes, create a super-impressive promo, promote your movie as if your life depends on it, book almost every theatre or multiplex and enjoy the returns in the first weekend.

Audiences’ satisfaction doesn’t matter as long as they can flaunt their opening collections! This is because they are sure the same audience will get excited and queue up to watch the next big movie of their favorite star!

By doing this, we will surely get huge money-minters but there will be dearth of movies which touch your heart, movies which are remembered for decades. Being creators of cinema, producers and directors should ask themselves whether making money is their only motto or are they also concerned about winning audience’s hearts. Their answer will determine the future of Bollywood movies.

Just because we are not on roads…

Ra.One Movie Review

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Direction: Anubhav Sinha

Production: Red Chillies Entertainment, Eros International

Cast: Shah Rukh Khan, Arjun Rampal, Kareena Kapoor, Shahana Goswami, Rajnikanth

Music: Vishal-Shekhar

Rating: * ½

Plot: A video game programmer Shekhar Subramanian (Shah Rukh Khan) loves his wife Sonia (Kareena Kapoor) but struggles to keep his son Prateek (Armaan Verma) happy. One day, Prateek says he wants a video game where the villain turns victorious. Eager to make his son happy, Shekhar creates such a game called Ra.One. However, this proves to be too costly for Shekhar as Ra.One (Arjun Rampal) comes out of the game and creates havoc in the human world. The only person who can defeat him is the good guy of the video game G.One (Shah Rukh Khan).

G.One (life)-less!

No matter how bigger amount you shell out to make a film, it is of no use if you don’t have a proper story or script. The same is the case with Anubhav Sinha’s Ra.One, which is born out of a meaningless concept and on top of that, treated in a shoddy manner. At the end of the day, it’s turns out to be an exhibition of special effects which go way overboard!

The movie starts with a bang but the bang turns out to be a dream sequence. Light moments follow in the next 30-40 minutes consisting cheap humour which hardly makes you giggle. Scenes like keys falling into a girl’s bosom, butt-shaking, ass words, a homosexual getting turned on and regular mention of condoms are difficult to digest in a movie which is being promoted as a family entertainer.

Thankfully, proceedings gain momentum once Ra.One comes out of the video game. However, there is no reason or explanation given as to how he entered the real world. And more importantly, how can a video game character derive such superpowers? And despite these powers, he is shown helpless without a vehicle when he chases Kareena and Armaan!

A very strange thing that deserves mention is Kareena and Armaan’s response to a shattering tragedy (can’t reveal much) in the first half. They react as if it’s a regular thing for them!

Anyways, then comes the dhamakedar interval point which raises your expectations. Unfortunately, the pace goes downhill from here on with more uninteresting humour and songs that only act as obstacles. Although Rajnikanth’s entry garners plenty of seetis, the scene is sloppily forced and serves no purpose whatsoever! Similar can be said for Sanjay Dutt and Priyanka Chopra’s guest appearances.

Finally, the big battle between Ra.One and G.One begins which starts with a terrific train sequence. But even that goes overboard after it destroys the heritage building of Chatrapati Shivaji Terminus. (As a true Mumbaikar, I was offended!)

The climax, which should be the most defining moment, is far from convincing and fails to provide the punch which was expected. It’s just laughable to see how easily the villain is defeated! And by the way, what kind of digital Azad Maidan was it? Sadly, the flaws are not limited to these!

One of the few plus points is Nicola Pecorini’s cinematography. But the high definition special effects, which are never seen before in Indian cinema, take the cake in the end.

Composer duo Vishal-Shekhar has done a fair job although there isn’t much scope for music. Songs ‘Raftare’ and ‘Chammak Challo’ stand out.

Sinha’s direction is strictly okay. We are often reminded of his last outing Cash (2007) which was a disaster.

Shah Rukh Khan plays two characters – one of an unimpressive father and the other of a superhero. In the first one, he tries too hard to be funny and convincing. As a superhero, he is just likable but one certainly expects a much better show by the King Khan. Excuse me, but his growing age is also clearly visible.

The movie is named after Arjun Rampal’s character but the length of his role is surprisingly short. As it is, he fails to impress with his expressionless acts although he says he was told to do so.

Kareena Kapoor, although not at her best, does a fair job and looks ravishing. The kid Armaan Verma is confident and adorable. But why such long hair for him, which makes him appear like a girl all the time?

Shahana Goswami shows her talent in a miniature role. One expects her to do play much meatier characters. Good performers like Dalip Tahil, Suresh Menon and Satish Shah are simply wasted. Tom Wu is a surprise package which works well.

Overall, Ra.One fails primarily due to the missing of the basic factor – meaningful story – and abuse of special effects. But thanks to SRK’s crazy promotion, it will garner huge collections at the box-office. There have been few films in recent years which have tasted enormous success at the box-office but failed to impress a large majority of viewers. Add Ra.One’s name in the list.