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Nishabd

Another RGV movie that leaves your thirst half quenched. No gun battles this time. No blood baths; its emotions that flow instead. No corrupt cops but surely a happy family. Having said that still this movie is worth watching.

Watch it for Amitabh, for Revathi and of course for Jiah.

There are few really good dialogues and scenes. One I can recall now is towards the end where camera is focused on Revathi (who is crying) and in background Amitabh is shown walking after declaring his decision. It looks he is coming in the room to Revathi, but he does not. In background itself he moves away, camera still focused on Ravathi. This one scene says all about the love, the sacrifice, the pain. No words needed. One more dialogue where Amitabh says that he doesn't think he attraction towards young Jiah was because of his lust for her. But it is more for his fear for life. Because he fears sanility and looming death and wants to become a young again to leave carefree fearfree. Cant remember exact dialogue but it really means a lot.

Jiah looks stunning. She is shown careless, with all those sucking lollipop or showing long beautiful legs. Her attitude makes it more to be appreciated. Every time she says "thanks", you cant stop noticing the difference and carelessness in her. She has acted brilliantly.

Amitabh is as usual great. He is getting old and RGV uses this as a weapon. So in closeups we see his aging eyes, and they speak a volume about the character. RGV believes in power of silence. So there are many pauses and long silence sequences. Odd camera angles add on to the beauty. Revathi is good too. A caring mother, a loving wife - an complete Indian woman.

The love build very fast and that makes it unbelievable to some extent. The love story appears just like the fast track affairs shown on MTV. RGV could have given some more time to it to develop. There are many unanswered questions that just add on to viewer's unhappiness with the movie.

Munnar is beautiful and it is surely shown the same way. RGV finally came out of Mumbai.
One good watch, not the best though.

I rate it 3/5 for my rankings.

Read RGV talking about this movie here.

kiss of life

Finally I got trained in CPR and first aid.
Feeling really satisfied.
This is one advantage of working at a place like mine.

the child in us

Some day you came
And I knew you were the one
You were the rain, you were the sun
But I needed both, cause I needed you
You were the one
I was dreaming of all my life
When it is dark you are my light
But don't forget
Who's always our guide
It is the child in us

- "The Child in Us" by Enigma (from the album - Le Roi Est Mort, Vive Le Roi!)

ps: For some more collages check my photoblog at http://prits-dreams.blogspot.com/

ganda hai par dhandha hai yeh...

Continuing from my previous post The Caribbean Lesson -1

• Did you ever notice that most of the cricketers playing at national level come from a well to do family. We hardly have any cricketer from North Indian states.
• Orissa and TN are birth place for most of the players in Indian Hockey teams from recent past.
• Almost all the runners also belong to these states (plus may be kerala, WB) only.
• Of course all golfers and swimmers come from metros or other big cities. Their family background guides the way for them.
• No Leander Paes was born in Bihar.
• All footballers are somewhere or the other have Kolkata or Goan soul.

What is the point?

Only one thing that there is no proper support from Government. All the efforts are either at personal level or are really scattered. So at one place Mr Acharekar produces Sachins and Kamblis, there is no place for him outside Mumbai. Padukone Academy churns out national level badminton players but still it strives for sponsors. MRF pace academy is shaping next generation of pacers for Australia.

So where does the system fail?

Lets see if there is a system in place? There is a separate union minister for youth and sports. If I am not wrong, even all the state governments have a similar rank of minister. Sports ministry has its alloted budget and it has got its own set of administrative services officers for it. But that is the end. How this works is a failure saga. Current UPA government has Mr Mani Shankar Ayyar holding this post. Check his profile and you will come to know he does not have any idea about abc of sports. NDA had more interesting candidate for this post - the ever fighting Uma Bharti. So clearly at the top its all hazy picture. He is not a Lalu also who can give good power to the beurocracy who might give a better result. And it has worked the same way for last 60 odd years.

Sports ministry allots crores for the development of the sports in country. Where does this money goes is not a tough question to answer. As with other government departments, its a politicians and bureaucracy (they have evolved over time, adjusted very well with the system) which is making the most from it. Whatever chillar (change) actually reaches the ground level, is eaten up there by the babus there.

Did you know that government allots money for sports facility in each government high school. It actually buys sports equipments for each high school. Tenders and Licences play their vital role here. Some of it reaches the school, but in absence of a trainer or coach and many other reasons they are always locked in the sports room (if some teacher or babu has not made it his/her residence). When does the peon sell them in market for dirt cheap rate is something always remains mystery. I remember seeing my friends buying good English willow bats for as cheap as 100 Rs from one such peon. Nobody actually knows if these bats actually existed. They are always there on papers.

All the scholarships for sports enthusiasts is utilised in similar ways. System has no value for merit. Reservations and quotas exist here also. Whatever is left after that is to the mercy of system. Except cricket, no other sports was/is attractive from a profession point of view. So unless you have a support system backing you, you play any game as just a hobby. Government organizations have dedicated place for sports personalities, but these positions are peanuts. And the way these opportunities are managed, its absolutely not serving for any purpose. Private sector has to still catch up on this.

Again coming back to same point as my previous post. We need a proper management in place to make this system work. The odds at stake are too high to be ignored.

a dream...

One day you wake up in morning and feel something new. Your energy levels are super high and enthusiasm ready to overflow. The world around you looks cheerful too. There is nothing special about that day, neither was the night something extraordinary. But still you feel as if you are up to something.

You recall a dream which visited you in sleep. And it is this dream that is making you feel so happy. You will refreshed and recharged for life. As if it brought a purpose with itself. You had many dreams all through your life, but this one is something special. You know this is the one. You want to make it a reality; you want to live it.

Can you do anything to make it possible?

Yes, if you are the kind who believe in yourself, then you would surely do anything to give it a mortal shape.

I saw a similar dream some days back. I know I want it to be true now. And I am doing my best to make it the one.

Amen!!!

The Caribbean Lesson - 1

I don't want to waste even a single bit of my blogspace ridiculing Indian performance in WC. And I am not going to do that. What I want to discuss here is something more fundamental. And it applies to not only cricket but to all other sports in country. Our performance in no sport can be considered world class despite of the fact that we are one billion plus in number.
Why cant we produce a thousand world class player from this big lot?
There are many important aspect of this problem. Let me discuss one of them here.

Poor management
Most of the sports authorities like BCCI, IHF (oops I cant even remember name of football association) are run by boards which are totally incompatible for this work. Most state cricket control board are presided by Netas. I doubt if there are state boards for other sports. In no other country, except may be Pakistan, these posts are occupied by political leaders. The fact that there are elections for such a post where political parties support one or the other candidate, itself is the mockery of the system.

How can we ever expect a Neta to decide about a field in which he may never have put a foot. So once the top is nincompoop middle and bottom layers really become unimportant. So even if they have the potential to perform, they are not able to do so. Everything from selector, coach to team then will be just average (or actually below that) performers in this system. Expecting good results from them is almost like a miracle.

Our oldies and experts from sports are not doing their bit too. May be they are frustrated from this system. But if they don't do anything for the system, they don't have any right to blame it. So while most are busy doing their own businesses, no one is coming forward to take the real challenge to fight within this system. A Sunil Gavaskar shows his guts to comment about Australian team but he does not say anything or does anything for Blue Billion. Nobody opposed election of Sharad Pawar for BCCI. If these experience players had taken their responsibilities seriously, we would not have got Dalmiyas and Gills.

Next comes how we learn from our failures. Netas are inherently opposed to this philosophy of life. They always follow the round about route to reach dead ends. So after every failure they need some scapegoats for sacking. Coach, team members, selectors - anything will do. Imagine the scene in Indian Hockey where teams and coaches change with each season. Or with Cricket where big changes are in offer in near future (as promised by Sharad Pawar).

Management lessons always tells you to have a two pronged approach to a problem. A short term solution and a long term solution. And if you can keep a backup plan ready along with these two, then chances of success are very high. How much these sports authorities follow these? I think to no extent at all. Their solutions are so impulsive that they can not be even termed short terms solutions. Their effectiveness is debatable.

Its high time we start running our sports as business. There is lot of money involved here, and more importantly a nation's pride is at stack. Give it it's due respect.

Brand SRK

ITC sunfeast, Santro Zing, Tag Heuer, Pepsi, KBC - all have one thing in common that is Brand SRK. In Indian media very few personalities have done these variety of ads most important being Sachin and BigB and now SRK. SRK being from Film industry directly challenged BigB thus. And this attack has been successful thanks to the image SRK has formed for himself. Brand SRK is the golden hen that SRK has nurtured over the years in his hands. And it is going to milch money and fame for a long time for him and many others.

What is a brand?
Wikipedia defines Brand as -

A brand is a customer experience represented by a collection of images and ideas; often, it refers to a symbols such as a name, logo, slogan, and design scheme. Brand recognition and other reactions are created by the accumulation of experiences with the specific product or service, both directly relating to its use, and through the influence of advertising, design, and media commentary. A brand is a symbolic embodiment of all the information connected to a company, product or service. A brand serves to create associations and expectations among products made by a producer. A brand often includes an explicit logo, fonts, color schemes, symbols, sound which may be developed to represent implicit values, ideas, and even personality. link...

If we see SRK's presence in entertainment industry and in particularly Hindi cinema, it becomes very clear that SRK is one of the best example of brands which evolved in recent times in Indian scene.

SRK was imported in Cinema from TV. Circus and Fauji marked entry for a young Delhi boy in entertainment world. They gave a chocolate faced boy to the Indian crowd. This boy did not belong to any filmi clan and did not have any godfather. Only route to the stardom was hard work. And he chose exactly the same.

In marketing they teach you that make a product when there is market, or make a market when there is a product. So in essence its both, idea and product are sellable.
After showing promising performances in first few films (notably Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa, Deewana, Chamtkar) SRK developed the confidence in the directors to give him some power-packed roles. And this was the birth of product SRK.

While all other heroes where busy doing run of the mile romantic cinema, SRK chose to do the other way around. He gave a chocolate faced villain to Indian cinema. Baazigar, Darr, Anjaam, Ram Jaane were the roles not many so called heroes would love to do in early part of their career. SRK gave us a villain who is lovable, we surely cried at the end of 3 hours saga. So while at one hand he got super hit movies in his kitty at other he showed his talent to the world.

Once you have a product in hand, next thing is to look for prospective customer. So SRK, still under development, started to do the popular cinema. Love, romance, emotions, comedy - all rasas of life portrayed to perfection in his movies. Comedy also helped him in targeting the youngsters and children. Mind you they are the future customer for SRK. Families that eat together, watched movie together also could visit such movies. More fans per smile. So the same hakla effect gave him the dangerous look in Anjaam and Darr while in others it made him object of affection for public.

one can not just go and change the system. You have to live in it to be effective. As SRK saw himself getting successful, he started firming his routes in the cinema world. After all Johars and Khans thus became friends over time. They both needed each other. And they both know that together they can and they will rule bollywood. So when everyone thought SRK was just giving brilliant performances in DDLJ, K2H2, DTPH, Pardes and others, he was actually doing a customer relation work. Serve them well for a better return.
The trio of Karan Johar, SRK and Farah Khan is the result of the same efforts.

continued...

ad world

AD: Motorola ROKR ad featuring Abhishek Bachchan.
This ad was launched yesterday during India Srilanka WC match.
What works?
Attitude and style of Jr Bachchan.
Theme.
What does not work?
No idea as of now.

AD: Airtel ad about a grandson visiting his grandparents.
What works?
Airtel brand. They showed full signal in the village. Only airtel and BSNL can provide such service.
Background Music. Airtel has found a treasure in form of the signature tune by Rahman. It has improvised very well on it and brought some really cool versions.
What does not work?
Too much of emotions. Airtel has always portrayed a theme filled with emotions and 'human touch'. But this ad certainly overdoes it.

AD: BSNL featuring Pritey Zinta
They have launched a full series of ad with Ms Zinta as lead.
What works?
Brand BSNL. They are one of the best operator in India.
A different ad for each service.
What does not work?
Priety Zinta does not look so charming. She looks too artificial and fat.
There is no theme. The previous ads for BSNL had better themes in fact.

mad ads

Nike's first cricket ad has got some really rave reviews in ad world. While most appreciated the efforts, some like Hindustan Times did not like it. HT went on to mark it as one of the worst ad of recent times.

Strange indeed!!

So what clicks for this ad about cricket crazy India?
Caribbean crusade was about to begin when this ad was launched on mass media on a grand scale. Before its launch, only few ads aimed solely at cricket world cup were on TV. I am not counting the "India shining" of cricket - the Pepsi chant for Indian team. I do not like SRK dramatising cricket for me. There are enough ingredients present in the game of cricket. Leave apart the Pepsi blue billion campaign, you hardly had anything. So Nike launched its cricket fever ad at the perfect time. Mind you India entered the WC with a good form (ok let me say it correctly two continuous series wins).

Set in the backdrop of Mumbai, this ad displays the character of Indian cricket fan. The zeal with which Indians follow (I cant say the same for play) cricket is the theme for the ad. A busy junction in Mumbai traffic reminds us of only phoolwaalis, eunuchs and beggars (Thanks Mr Madhur Bhandarkar). But here is the catch. This ad does not show anything like that. It shows how cricket crazy young Indians can grab any opportunity to cherish the game. Of course it does not happen in reality but who knows someday we will actually see this happening. The gala music on the higher notes sets the tempo to a high value. It directly touches the heart. No larger than the life stars giving gyan about cricket or discussing faltu things, plain cricket straight from the heart.

What does not click for this ad?
In my opinion, everything clicked for it. If you really press me to find a negative about this ad, then I would say that it is not as flashy as Pepsi chant. After listening and watching so many times also, I can not sing the song which plays in the background.

Great work guys. Keep it up.

at last...

Mittal Arcelor, Indian budget, HLL, GDP, Values, Narayan Murthy, HP, NICE, Economic reform, Tata Corus, Dividends, Birla Novelis, Infrastructure woes, Singur, Titan, Barista Lavazza, MFs, RIPL IPCL, Nuclear deal, Metro, Walmart Bharti, Vodafone Hutch, inflation, Ranbaxy Merck, taxing, Bajajs, Ambanis, Birlas, Forex, Ruias, Siva, Premji, Wimaxd Bangalore, Sam Pitroda, Reservations, Profit, Dog menace, Walmart, Railway budget, Brand, SEZs, Nandigram, P&G, Left, RSS, Naxalism, Suburbs, Ulfa, Terrorism, Kashmir, CRR, Afganistan, Iran, Gas pipe, Customer, Pepsico, Dell, Bata, ITC, IPOs, Cauvery issue, Devanhalli Airport, Banguluru...

I am over it now...

ps: If you dog a dog during the dog days of summer, you'll be a dog tired dogcatcher.

comfortably numb

Hello.
Is there anybody in there?
Just nod if you can hear me.
Is there anyone home?

Come on, now.
I hear youre feeling down.
Well I can ease your pain,
Get you on your feet again.

Relax.
I need some information first.
Just the basic facts:
Can you show me where it hurts?

There is no pain, you are receding.
A distant ships smoke on the horizon.
You are only coming through in waves.
Your lips move but I cant hear what youre sayin.
When I was a child I had a fever.
My hands felt just like two balloons.
Now I got that feeling once again.
I cant explain, you would not understand.
This is not how I am.
I have become comfortably numb.

Ok.
Just a little pinprick. [ping]
Therell be no more --aaaaaahhhhh!
But you may feel a little sick.

Can you stand up?
I do believe its working. good.
Thatll keep you going for the show.
Come on its time to go.

There is no pain, you are receding.
A distant ships smoke on the horizon.
You are only coming through in waves.
Your lips move but I cant hear what youre sayin.
When I was a child I caught a fleeting glimpse,
Out of the corner of my eye.
I turned to look but it was gone.
I cannot put my finger on it now.
The child is grown, the dream is gone.
I have become comfortably numb.

- Confortably Numb by Pink Floyd

kulfi, mocha and smoke - 2

A Café Mocha is a variant of a cafe latte. Like a latte it is typically one third espresso and two thirds steamed milk, but a shot of chocolate is added. Typically the chocolate is in the form of an Italian syrup, although less sophisticated vending systems use instant chocolate powder. Whipped cream, dustings of cocoa and marshmallows may also be added on top for flavor and decoration. source: wikipedia

Interesting naa??
OK, OK, don't kill me. I am not here to give you gyan on types of coffee and such.
Mocha is the coffee shop next to Juhu Beach which I visited recently.

So after all those kulfis and chana jor garams, we decided to have a nice cup of coffee at the most happening place on Juhu beach. Mocha is a high end coffee shop of the likes of barista -- OK I should have called it Lavazza, see how well aware I am in GK :) -- or Cafe Coffee day -- CCD -- . What makes it different from others is that it serves vine and vodkas also (alas they don't serve Beer). So in short you can call it a coffee bar.

This kind of place is always with hunks and hotties. Gang of boys in their early 16s, bunch of girls in their early 15s all sitting and enjoying "coffee". Eye-catchers I call it. Funky clothes and hairstyles on display. Only places like this you can find, geeks suited in formals sharing a couch with girls in skimpy clothes. Interesting indeed.

What to order here?
Coffee and other food items are obsessively expensive. I think they add the cost of the skirt which the waiters here wear. Ok ok, don't get any ideas, they are not influenced by Elton John. They wear a long apron which looks more like a skirt.

As with other coffee places, the key crowd puller here is Hukkah, so you can see all these 'kids' enjoying each and every puff of smoke from those well designed hukkahs. Cigarettes just add on to the dense fog of nicotine filled air. Welcome to a teens' joint (joint as in a ice cream joint).

So why do you go there?
You don't go there to enjoy coffee. Coffee to sirf ek bahana hai. So you order something to pass your time and enjoy the place. We too did the same. "earl grey tea" was too attractive to be left out from my attention. So I ordered that with a style as if I have been drinking that since my childhood. My friends also did almost the same.
Now here is the fun part. Place the order and then sit and relax. Enjoy the music. Oh I forogt to mention they play really good music. Oh not himesh bhai, but shaggy and likes. Full dhinchik types.

My earl grey comes exactly after 23 minutes of wait and twice reminding the guy about the order. And what do I see when it comes. A pot with hot water, a tea bag and some milk. So now here is the billion dollar question -
Why did they need 23 minutes to serve me my tea?
a: It takes exactly 20 minutes to milk the cow, add to it the time to warm water and milk.
b: for a nice early grey experience you need water at exactly 67 degree C, and milk just 40 degree above room temperature.
c: They have already added the waiting factor in the cost, so now you have to use it also.
d: There was a belly dance performance slotted to happen during this time. Alas, the dancer performed in kitchen instead of lobby.

Whatever the reason, it did take 23 minutes. We did our usual tp. And then gulped the coffee/tea as it was getting late for the flight.
Take an auto and rush to airport.
Au revoir Mumbai.
I will be back soon.

kulfi, mocha and smoke -1

Juhu beach reminded me of those days when I used to go with my family to parks or those famous "family" picnic spots. Tiffin party, we used to call such trips. These tiffin parties had their distinct charm. Home made food, a game or two of tambola, some running around here and there in the garden and there you had a nice family outing.

Saw the same scenes at Juhu beach last evening. Families eating together, laughing together. Sitting on the sand, watching the red sun set slowly at the horizon, it was a feeling of satisfaction. Those masala dane and chana jor garam tested much better than the sandwich I had at the airport. Malai kulfi, or as my friends ate it assuming it to be bhang kulfi, was no lesser a pleasure than the ice-cream offered in the in-flight dinner the previous night. It was simplicity at its best.

And guess, what else did we do sitting at the beach. We tried to recall all the Urdu words we know. Who's idea was it to do such a thing? Yes, you guessed it right. None other than our own creative genius Baba. I still wonder from where does he get all such weird ideas. Nevertheless it was fun. A well deserved fun after the day's work. Can you believe we came up with words like bekhudi, ilm, ashra, vazeer, naamakul and what not...

vellapanti at its best!!!
I just love it...

BPL

BPL: Below Poverty Line

As per the Government of India, poverty line for the urban areas is Rs. 296 per month and for rural areas Rs. 276 per month, i.e. people in India who earn less than Rs. 10 per day. As per GOI, this amount will buy food equivalent to 2200 calories per day, medically enough, to prevent death.

Almost 30% of India's population classifies as BPL as per the above definitions. Link...

On what basis have our planners decided this definition of "Poverty Line"? Does it mean that the person will get enough food to stay alive? How and where is he or she supposed to cook it? What about the minimum needs in education, housing, health services, clothing,and other basic necessities? Are we supposed to live on pavements and sleep under trees from birth till death? YOU BE THE JUDGE!

Take this:
For a person in India, Morning tea and evening tea is a daily routine. Considering tea costs Rs 2 per cup, and that it gives only 22 cal of energy, a normal man is left with Rs 6 to fulfil his 2156 Cal of requirements. Only a magic pill can do it for him now!!!

Another really bizarre trivia:
The time taken for me to write this entry (research and typing) during my office hours translates to an amount which is more than monthly requirements to be above poverty line for a person living in urban area. I don't know how should I feel about it.
* There are 36 Indians in Forbes's billionaire list. Link...

Interestingly the World Bank's definition of the poverty line, for under developed countries, like India, is US$ 1/day/person or US $365 per year. As per this definition, more than 75% of all Indians are, probably, below the poverty line!