The grand Diwali war being fought at a theater near you..….

This was the most anticipated showdowns of the year….

On one corner was the first movie from a hollywood production house launching two star kids in Ranbir Raj Kapoor and Sonam Kapoor and with one of the versatile directors of the modern hindi film industry SLB (Khamoshi, HDDCS, Devdas, Black).
On the other corner was SRK.....Well, many might feel that this war is being too unfair…they would do well to remind themselves of last diwali. SRK doing the DON literally buried the critically acclaimed Jaan-E-Man (Incidentally Farah’s husbands’ film) which had the most bankable stars of today Salman and Akshay...But at the box office nothing does matter…Neha Dhupia might have got a lot of things wrong in her career…but one thing for sure she got right was when she said “Only sex and shahrukh sells”

With that pretext when Shahrukh makes the seemingly arrogant sounding comment “Diwali sirf main manata hoon”…he just ain’t talking. A brief flashback in filmi style would make the fact loud and clear with some of his diwali releases being Baazigar, DDLJ, Kuch Kuch hota hai, Veer Zara and Don to name a few….

So does Shahrukh finally lose his Baadshaah title this diwali??...

Saawariya…was perfectly the wrong vehicle to launch Ranbir…The guy sure has got lots of potential and will surely do great with the right script...He has absolutely inherited the charm of his paternal lineage and the good looks and acting histrionics from his mother.

Sonam Kapoor though was a big disappointment…the only moments where she looks impressive is when she has that infectious laugh going but of course not at all fair to be compared with the Jhakaas smile of her dad.
Zohra Sehgal’s was by far the best performance of the movie…the narrating Rani and the blink and a miss Salman notwithstanding…
Songs seem to pop up every 10 minutes but none has the lasting effect on your ears except the title track…
Im not sure if Bhansali has watched the national award winning movie “Iyarkai”…but I would suggest he should because inspite of having the same premise, it was dealt with far more panache resulting in accolades around the world.

So does that mean SRK has no fight at all this Diwali !!...

Om Shanti Om…if you were looking for meaningful cinema…give this a miss…There is no logic..no reasoning...story(read rehashed) at a cursory level…and nothing really that’s enthusing apart from the fact that it has SRK in it….but the bottom line is its HILARIOUS…right from the introduction frames to the intermission…the stuff thrown at you is so rib tickling that you would not mind with some nonsensical idiosy

Deepika looks great…and that is all she has to be for the movie. Her acting skills aren’t really tested much but the experience of having done a kannada movie earlier clearly shows…She would surely be managing loads of offers now though…
Kirron Kher does a wonderful job as the ‘Filmy Maa’…Shreyas was a revelation and my pick for the best performance in the movie. Arjun Rampal looks least like a villain but makes up for it with a good performance and finally SRK…he is so used to doing this same stuff…so a good performance is but of course expected off him.

The songs are wonderful especially ‘Ajab Si’ and ‘Main agar kahoon’. The visual effects have been managed impressively while using the old footages.
Humor though absolutely ruling the movie…one would surely enjoy the manoj kumar episode, filmfare award function, and the southie superstar episode apart from various other moments.

Well…so does that mean…SRK rules this diwali too…YES of course but not by the virtue of having made a better movie…Thanks to Mr. Bhansali who is not quite himself in Saawariya…he has handed the contest to SRK straight.


Wish Hollywood releases would impact the bollywood releases much…If that had been the case the superb “American Gangster”…with absolute top notch performances by the cast including russel crowe and denzel washigton would not go unnoticed...

So my winner this Diwali would be ‘American Gangster’ which surely gonna be in the reckoning for a few Oscars…..

Taare Zameen Par...

Well they are back and surely in a rocking way.....Ad Guru Prasoon Joshi(Lyric credits Fanaa, Hum Tum, RDB, Black) is surely one of the few lyricists we have in the country today who make their songs so full of expression and feelings with their words...and when he teams up with the most versatile trio of Shankar Ehsaan Loy...the result can be as melliflous and heart rendering as it can ever get. They did it in "Phir Milenge"...that had the wonderful 'Jeene Ke Ishare'....
And now they produce a gem in 'Taarein Zameen Par'..pressure of an Aamir khan turning director notwithstanding...


The title song stands out with subtle music and shankar mahadevan putting all his musical nuances at display...The beauty of the expressive lyrics that instantaneously reminds you about your own childhood days and SEL of course; at their melodic best produce one of the best songs I have heard in recent times....

Dekho inhe ye hai oos ki boondein
Patto ki godh mein aasmaa se khoode
Angadayi le phir karvat badalkar
Nazuk se moti...has de fisal kar
Khona jaaye yeh taarein zameen par

Yeh tho hai sardi mein dhoop ke kirne
Utre jo aangan ko sunehra sa karne
Man ke andhero ko roshan sa karde
Titurte hatheli ki rangat badal de
Khona jaaye yeh taarein zameen par

Jaise ankhon ki dibiyan mein nindya
Aur nindya mein meeta sa sapna
aur sapne mein mil jaaye farishta sa koi
Jaise rango bhari pichkari
Jaise titliyan phoolon ki kyari
Jaise bina matlab ka pyara rishta ho koi

Yeh tho aasha ki leher hai
Yeh tho ummeed ki seher hai
Khushiyon ki neher hai
Kho na jaaye yeh...taarein zameen par

Dekho raato ke seene pe yeh tho
Jilmil kisi lau se uge hai
Yeh tho ambiya ke khusboo hai baago se beh chale
Jaise kaanch mein choodi ki tukde
Jaise khile khile phoolon ke mukde
Jaise bansi koi bajaye pedhon ke tale

Yeh tho jhonke hai pawan ke
Hain yeh ghungroo jeewan ke
Yeh tho sur hai chaman ke

Kho na jaaye yeh taarein zameen par....

Mohalle ki ronak...galiya hai jaise
Khilne ki zid par...kaliyan hai jaise
Mutti mein mausam ki...jaise hawayen
Ye hain buzurgon ke dil ki duayeen
Kho na jaaye...yeh...taarein zameen par....

Kabhi baatein jaise daadi naani
kabhi chalke jaise mum mum pani
Kabhi ban jaaye bhole sawaalon ke jhadi
sannate mein hasi ke jaise
soone hothon pe khushi ki jaise
Yeh tho noor hai barse agar teri kismat ho badi
Jaise jheel mein lehray chanda
Jaise bheed mein apne ka kandha
Jaise manmauji nadiyan jaag udaye kuch kahe
Jaise bhaite bhaite meethi si jhapki
Jaise pyaar ki dheemi si thapki
Jaise kaano mein sargam hardam bajti hi rahe
Jaise Barkha udati hai bundiya

Solitude...in thoughts.....

I can hardly fumble a reason for getting into a shell that I sometimes do...and I sure know my friends hate me for doing that...It might be the fact that i tend to mix up emotions with thoughts or the momentary bliss that my share of solitude's brings me keeps me in it...Or maybe even I don't know about it myself..

I'm reminded of this wonderful song....

Would you take better care of yourself
Would you be kinder to yourself

Would you be more forgiven of your human imperfections
If you realized your best friend was yourself
Who is always with you everywhere
Who is on your side when others aren't there
And tell me who will never let you down in any situation
Who will always see you get your share
And that's why I'm a best friend to myself
And I take me out whenever I feel alone
And I make my life as happy as a best friend would
I was nice to me as anyone i know....

Fun...At absolutely no cost !

I had absolutely nothing planned out for this weekend so I ended up lazing around in my room, watching a couple of Hitchcock movies, and reading some random articles I had collected over the years. Now the last bit brings the reason for this post…I have no idea about the source of this one…but it’s a funny read all the way…

It’s a boring weekend, you want to have some fun but have your pockets empty thanks to the wonderful parties you were having….No worries…there are still many ways one can have fun absolutely free of cost…

- Visit the wholesale market early in the morning and watch the trucks offload mountains of fruits, vegetables, flowers. Fabulous show for all the five senses.

- Spend the day at any small-town railway station reading old magazines and watching dogs, people, trains, life from morning till whenever

- Get hold of your friends cell phone and SMS “I need a hug” to his entire address book

- Greet a stranger enthusiastically on the road and pretend to be his long lost friend. Keep the disappointed look on your face every time he tries to guess who you are. Wait till he becomes satisfyingly disoriented then pat him on his back and say “So you couldn’t remember me at all” and move on leaving him feeling hopelessly guilty.

- Come to a sudden halt on a crowded sidewalk, lookup point your finger at the sky and start muttering some nonsense. Very soon there will be a crowd around you trying to figure out what’s above. Walk away quietly once there is enough crowd around you.

- Highlight irrelevant material in scientific papers, then CC them to your boss

- If everything else fails, catch a rerun of one of those Eastmancolor movies featuring Ajit, complete with elaborate godown headquarters, molls called Mona Darling, sidekicks named Raabert and tanks of liquid AAxygen to funk Inspector Vijay in and have a jolly good time yourself……

A Million Dollar Dinner…Literally….

To set the records straight…I am an absolute veggie, though some who are pretty close to me would know of those rare occasions when I did turn into a carnivore.
Not sure if this might me one of those occasions but very well depending on who is going to pay for this dinner I’m totally IN for this one….


Have a look at the exquisite menu of a dinner for two courtesy Sanjeev Kapoor, yea the ‘Khana Khazana’ guy and one of the best chefs we have in here.

Caviar Beluga – Sturgeon Roe from Russia - Rs.80000/kg
Meleno Prosciutto with Cheese Rs.20000/kg and Rs.3000/kg from italy
Tandoori Gucci – Mushroom Flower Europe Rs.7000/kg
1946 Chateau Petrus – France Vintage wine Rs.300000/bottle
Raw Artichoke, Rocket and Parmesan Salad all imported at a sum of Rs.10000/kg
Raviolli with truffle Rs.60000/kg
Desserts Pistachio and Saffron Kulfi with Rhubarb sauce
Remi Martin Rs.100000/bottle
Krokant chocolates Rs.5000/box
Vacherin mont d’or cheese Rs.10000 a platter
Cigars – Davidoff cohiba and monte cristo Rs.5000 a piece

Hmm…depending on the add-ons you might prefer for this dinner it would cost you just about Rs.10 Lakhs (Rs.1 million)

A flash from the past---A Diary Extract

"Its 8pm and Iam @ the - station waiting to begin the second leg of my journey. All kinds of thoughts run across my mind and an amalgamation of feelings in my heart...

If i could just live out the last few months all over again...probably i WOULD have done a lot of things I SHOULD have done but DID NOT or atleast reacted to situations with a difference. But life does not go by MY whims and fancies...does it !!

Now this might be the phase of life I might look back in future and say "I learnt a lot from it"..Looking at what 'TOMORROW' might have in store for me...I gotta put down this 'YESTERDAY' and the - factor out of my MIND though it is pretty much a point of prominence in my HEART...

As I sit here contemplating a whole lot of things...'HOPE' certainly being one of them....I could still probably get over this or is it the time to say 'Move on......"


Now today when I look back at this entry....well..maybe I don't want to....or probably the gathering tear does not want me to...

Kuch kushbooye yaadon ke jungle se beh chali
kuch khidkiyaan lamho ke dastak par khul gayi
kuch geet purane rakhe the sirhane
kuch sur kahi khoye the
bandish mil gayi
kisse kuch purane mil gaye....rone ke bahaane mil gaye....

News Media’s hour of shame….

We have always believed that competition serves a great deal in bringing out the best. But does it hold true for the horde of news channels on air today. They are competing with one another to capture more eyeballs; but does that translate into superior programming content??

Picture this:
A Friday night in the early 90’s:
I was still very much keeping myself busy practicing some basic algebra and also wondering at the same time how chacha chodhary’s mind works faster than a computer; and how a volcano erupts ‘somewhere’ when Sabu gets angry. But as the clock ticks past 9:00, I know its time for the show dad never ever missed – ‘The world this week’…I don’t really remember how I managed to get enthused by the show but anyways that was Prannoy roy at his best…with no TRP’s to worry about and at a time NDTV was just his production house.

Last Friday night:
I decide to unwind after a busy week at office and adjusting to a new place by catching up something on television. This was what was happening on various news channels’ so called ‘Prime Time’

Star News: Rakhi Sawant in the studio talking about how upset she is over a fellow competitor from ‘Nach Baliya’ (Star Plus of course) for re-creating the Rakhi-Mika episode on stage!!!

Aaj Tak : The words ‘Exclusive’ flashing bright at the bottom of the screen. The split video screen shows two different cars separately moving out of a building. The suspense ends when the newsreader reveals to us that the two cars are driven by Shahid and Kareena substantiating the rumor of a split according to the newsreader.

Zee News: We are taken a tour of the house of Poonam, introduction of her family members. For the uninitiated Poonam was a popular contestant of the musical talent show which is never short of drama ‘Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Challenge’

CNN-IBN: Join Shah-rukh khan as he goes Dard-E-Disco in Om shanti om…

NDTV: The advertisement break seems to have been eternally on…so I did not bother

India TV: Aur Aap ki Adalat mein hamare saath hai Harbhajan singh aur unpe ilzaam hai ki……….Snap !!

If I had my way, I would have loved to blast all these channel heads!!!

Phew…so much for catching up on some news…I switched off the TV and went back to finish the book I was reading…..

Ultimatum...A Perfect Finale....

Had huge expectations out of this one...and it doesn't disappoint. A fitting finale to a wonderful trilogy. I loved the way the movie goes back to the period immediately after the car chase in 'Supremacy' and joins in at the phone call Jason Bourne makes to Landy.

The action director was acclaimed for his work on the car-chase in Supremacy...and he pulls off another great sequence in Tangier, Morocco which reminded me of the action classic 'Banlieue 13'. The hand-held camera work makes the feel of the movie very realistic and you instantly feel as if you are eavesdropping on Bourne. Matt Damon shows yet again with a superlative performance, why he is rated so high amongst the actors today. Bourne Ultimatum is surely a must-watch and I would rate it 4 on 5 for all the excitement it offers.

Memories --- Part 1

With the horde channels competing with one another for the eyeballs today, one might me tempted to wonder how different life would have been back in the 80's, if the advent of satellite television had happened earlier. Well..Thank god it didn't...and thank god we grew up in the golden era of Doordarshan.

With Ekta Kapoor nowhere in sight and no TRP's to bother about, filmakers with immense creative finesse competed solely on the quality of their products. No series, irrespective of the genre it represented could have more than 13 episodes. Of course with the stellar exceptions of Buniyaad, Hum Log, Mahabharat and Ramayan.

The wonderful 80's, the very mention of it brings back sweet memories...those were the days...days of childhood...days of carefreeness....days we know will never get back to. All we are left with are lingering thoughts that we keep reminiscing about...pretty much like Iam in this post.

Memories that you cherish...Thoughts that keep bothering you....People you have met and lost in the passage of time....Life seems to offer a rough deal at times...But as the origins of the blog title says..."It takes, Diff'rent Strokes to move the world"

The title song from one of my favorite series...yet again from the 80's couldn't have been more apt !!!


Now, the world don't move to the beat of just one drum,
What might be right for you, may not be right for some.
A man is born, he's a man of means.
Then along come two, they got nothing but their jeans.

But they got, Diff'rent Strokes.
It takes, Diff'rent Strokes.
It takes, Diff'rent Strokes to move the world.

Everybody's got a special kind of story
Everybody finds a way to shine,
It don't matter that you got not alot
So what,
They'll have theirs, and you'll have yours, and I'll have mine.
And together we'll be fine....

Because it takes, Diff'rent Strokes to move the world.
Yes it does.
It takes, Diff'rent Strokes to move the world.

Mash....A Long way to go...

Yahoo's second attempt of having a stable social networking site was opened this week to users outside Yahoo for testing purposes. I find it pretty tough to manage my active facebook and orkut profiles and I don't think I would have room for more unless something 'wow' comes up on that front. So I was absolutely disinterested when a mail saying 'XYZ had made a profile for you on Mash' popped up in my mailbox.

Yahoo's first attempt at social networking christened 'Yahoo 360' was a big failure considering its been around for more than 2 years now compared with the likes of News Corps's Myspace, Facebook, Bebo or Google's Orkut which have managed to attract tens of millions of users worldwide. Without any expectations, I decided to check out the 'Mash' interface anyway and find out if Yahoo had anything new to offer.

Mash's USP as of now seems to be the fact that it allows people to edit others profiles. For those frightened at the prospect, there is a flag in the settings to allow you to choose who can edit your profile. Apart from this feature, the interface of Mash would instantly remind users of facebook. The 'Applications' of Facebook become 'Modules' of Mash (Very few modules are active currently), 'News Feed' of Facebook becomes 'Pulse' page in Mash. Customizable CSS feature offered by Mash is a definite plus and will surely be a big hit especially amongst bloggers. Mash is still very much in its testing phase and we would know with time how it decides to differentiate itself from others. For now though, I'm pretty much happy with my orkut and facebook accounts.

What's in a 'Status Message' anyway ??

I have always understood 'status messages' as the person's current state of mind. Even if that assumption of mine happens to be wrong, they are always good 'conversation-starters' or probably the worst possible way of whiling away some time.

So, one fine day on my G-Talk list....

"Si hoc legere scis numium eruditionis habes. - If
you can read this, you are overeducated"
What amazing wit to have repeated yourself in different languages!!. A basic grammar course recommended !!

"A Spade is a Spade"
Great...I never knew that dude...

"Blah!"
Well you could have very well left the status message status quo ma'am...so much for the effort !!

"Who cares???"
Bang on mate !!...Nobody does !!

"F*** this...Im playin GTA:SA"
I'm very sure you must be pretty bad at that too..

Adversity doesn't build character, it reveals it.
I got this one alright, now I know why you never bothered to mention who's quote that was!!!

Generation Gap...
The place is intended for a status message mate, not the title of the book you were so keen on writing..

Do watch Ram gopal Verma's 'Maa ki Aankh'
You surely seem to have enjoyed every bit of it !!

BUSY_DND
Hmm...Guess that would mean the same without the '_DND' part. In any case, seems like you haven't yet come across the humor on the guys with the 'busy' tag...

If you want to make god laugh, tell him about your future plans
Did ya get his appointment first, hurry...there's a long queue!!

Cant really keep changing my Status Message !
Yea man, you did put in a lot of effort to put this one up...so next time...well never mind !!

Shikin Harimitsu Daikomyu
Wow...must surely be a great feeling ai'nt it...enlightened, illuminated...whatever *($% that meant...

Allah Meherbaan Toh Gadha Pehalwaan
Takes a great sense of humor to do self-depreciation...cheers for the spirit mate !!

I'm Busy
Now who the hell was using your comp with the 'busy' tag on sometime back if it wasn't you..

On a concluding note, my best wishes to all the people who are 'Available' so that they change their status' soon enough. I'm sure the 'Busy' guys are enjoying themselves well ;) and those flaunting their music tastes..Thanks, But No Thanks..I'm pretty much happy with mine...

Mediocre But Arrogant

It baffles me how the characters in a book written on the love and life at a B'school in the early 80's can be so amazingly real, that even a current B'school pass-out would relate to them.
Well..I guess Abhijit Bhaduri's book "Mediocre But Arrogant" does just that. I'm sure every B'schooler who has read it would know that reading the book is just like traveling back to a few incidents of his/her own life..Thats how close to realty the book is...Some lines from this wonderful book :

Differentiation - "Tweak the formula,change the packaging and make a new commercial with a cute babe in a skimpier bikini"

Hostel Room - "The white-washed rooms had a bed, a small cupboard and a desk with a really uncomfortable chair for each occupant"

Hostel Food - "Why is that food in every hostel mess has to be just that(bad)"

Free Riders/Loaders - "I inevitably landed up in a group where half the guys where Free Loaders and had no interest in contributing to the assignment"

"Any senior caught glancingly lustfully at the girls from another, especially the Junior batch should be hanged"

"When u ASSUME without checking, you are making an 'ASS' of 'U' and 'ME'"

"All Northies are stereotyped as crude,arrogant and violent"

"Problems cannot be solved. They can only be absolved, dissolved or resolved"

Rules for Market Research Surveys

Rule 1 - Nothing more than one paper
Rule 2 - Tell people, you can't come back and you'll wait while they fill up
Rule 3 and most important - DON'T DEPEND ON OTHERS. FILL IT YOURSELF

ACP - After Class Participation, DCP- Desperate Class Participation,
I'm tempted to add JCP (Junk Class Participation)....

The book is a nostalgic read all the way with various emotions flowing in, I'm sure by the end of the book everyone would have that 'gathering tear' very much like Abbey in the book.

Anbe Sivam

If I sat down compiling the list of movies that would make my all time favorite list...well that would take some effort. As I do that, I would like to share one of my favorite songs, with awesome poetry as its lyrics, wonderful music in the eternal voice of SPB..The song is from the movie which is severely underrated "Anbe Sivam"...and Iam sure those fortunate enough to have seen the movie would vouch for the fact that it was one of Kamal Hassan's best performances off-late and agree to the fact of how a good actor like Madhavan can raise his bar when he's put on the same frame with the best..Halo Effect or Inspiration....the movie is simply superb...

The song which again is as underrated as the movie goes like this :


Mounamae paarvaiyaay paesi kondoam,
Naanamae (shyness) vannamaay poosi kondoam,
Punnagai putthagam vaasikkindroam,
Yennillae unnaiyae swaasikkindroam,
Ithu ullam pala vannangalai allum,
Sila ennangalai sollum, thullum, kannammaa,
Mounamae paarvaiyaay paesi kondoam,
Naanamae vannamaay poosi kondoam, kannammaa...

Jananam thanthaal, salanam (confusion) thanthaal,
Kaadhal moliyil (language),
Maranam konjam, mayakkam konjam,
Oonthan tharavil,
Endrum vaalga vaalga intha naerangal,
Sugam saerga saerga varum kaalangal,
Malar soolga soolga ivar paadhaigal,
Dhinam velga velga ilam aasaigal,
Oru seiythi, adi nee enbathenn paathi,
Ini naan enbathum meethi, thaethi sollammaa,
Mounam paarvaiyaay...
Mounamae paarvaiyaay paesi kondoam,
Naanamae vannamaay poosi kondoam,



Ilakkanam udaitthathum kavithai varum,
Iravinai thudaitthathum kanavu varum,
Swarangalai thiranthathum isai malarum,
Oonarvilae karainthathum kalai valarum,
Moli thoandraatha kaalatthil nulainthaal aena?
Vili jaadaigal paesiyae nadanthaal aena?
Endrum vaalga vaalga intha naerangal,
Sugam saerga saerga varum kaalangal,
Malar soolga soolga ivar paadhaigal,
Dhinam velga velga ilam aasaigal,
Oru vellinatthai vallinamum kai saera,
Unn kaampiyatthai (literature) tholi, oonthan kannaalae paesu,
Mounamae paarvaiyaay paesi kondoam,
Naanamae vannamaay poosi kondoam,
Punnagai putthagam vaasikkindroam,
Yennillae unnaiyae swaasikkindroam,
Ithu ullam

pala vannangalai allum,
Sila ennangalai sollum
thullum
kannammaa


I tried to translate it to English....The stuff is best when understood in tamil but still this is how it would nearly translate to...

We Talked to one another with silence as our eyesight
We Painted the color of shyness on us
We are reading the book of happiness
We are Breathing 'you' in 'me'
This Soul, gathers many colors
It tells us of some desires and incites them o dear

We got a life, we got confused
In the language of love
A bit of lifelessness, a bit of drowsiness in your arms

Let this moment live forever
Let the happiness reach for future times
Let flowers bloom in their paths
Let the young desires win everyday
O dear you are one half, now Im the other half, so tell me the date (of union)

Breaking the literature gives poetry
Swiping the night gives dreams
Music blooms by the opening of the swaras
Milking of the feelings gives rise to art

What if we enter the time where language cannot be seen ?
What if we act by the conversation our eye movements has ?

Let this moment live forever
Let the happiness reach for future times
Let flowers bloom in their paths
Let the young desires win everyday

Let the hard and soft notes shake hands
And a drop of drop of your literature, speak with your eyes o dear

We Talked to one another with silence as our eyesight
We Painted the color of shyness on us
We are reading the book of happiness
We are Breathing 'you' in 'me'
This Soul, gathers many colors
It tells us of some desires and incites them o dear