"What Rajni can, No ROBObody can"…Movie Review - Robot (Enthiran)

Facts of Life - ROBOT (Endhiran in Tamil) is the most expensive movie made in India till date (infact Asia till date), costing just over Rs 162 crore. The team of ROBOT includes SUPERSTAR Rajinikanth, Aishwarya Rai Bacchhan, director Shankar with a technical team which did graphics for Jurassic Park, music maestro A.R.Rehman, singer Mohit Chauhan, etc.

Story –
Story here is not of a classic but of an entertainer (Rajini movies are known to be entertainers i.e. classic entertainers). So, we have the superstar Rajini playing a scientist (Dr. Vaseegaran) with the weirdest hairstyle one can ever imagine (and inspite of that, he has a girlfriend Sana, played by Aishwarya Rai), Clearly the makers wanted to borrow the looks of Galileo and Newton. Dr. Vaseegaran has a dream lab where he assembles his robot (human-android), Chitti. Chitti is covered with the skin of Rajni and therefore, fulfils the ever-hungry appetite of Rajni fans. Dr. Vaseegaran trains Chitti so that it could be selected to help defence services but then comes Danny (Dr. Bohra). During the evaluation round, Danny uses his chattur dimag to puzzle Chitti and inturn gets him rejected from the panel due to its lack of understanding of emotional issues. Vaseegaran fights back, use new theories and sampling techniques to train Chitti and efforts are successful; Chitti learns to love, cry, party, emotional atyachar, etc.
But the age old theory comes true now…man’s invention becomes his own enemy. Chitti starts to love Sana and can do anything to get her. Period. Rest is the fight for mankind to stop the ROBOT…

I have to mention that the first half (1.5 hr) was a smooth ride. However, second half is dragged a bit. The makers of the movie could have shortened the movie by 15 mins. The movie rises to its peak in the last 15 minutes where climax is very nicely shot.

Superstar cast –
SuperStar Rajni is a God in his own way and once you start following him, you don’t question him. Rajinikanth has many irrational jokes dedicated to him and the best part about those jokes is that people do take those with utmost seriousness (example - Rajinikant doesn’t wear a watch. He decides what time it is). This movie is about Dr. Vaseegaran, the scientist and Chitti, the Robot (both played by Rajinikanth). Every second frame has Rajini in it (he is the hero, he is the villain . As a professor, he is humble and fitting. As Chitti, he is ok but not as good as his prof role. The style and the movements are more robotic as expected.
Aishwarya Rai is looking beautiful (especially after Ravan). Danny is usual class (one of the many B-grade actors who comes and acts but never gets appreciated). Rest of the cast was alien to me as I don’t follow southern movies much. But all were good.

Music & Lyrics –
Music given by AR Rehman is standard (just like his CWG anthem). Lyrics - My past experience has made me accustomed to the sometimes funny, sometimes absurd, sometimes technical lyrics of southern movies when they are made into Hindi.
Couple of samples -

1) “Kilimanjaro, ladki parvat ki yaaro
Isska roop nihaaro yaaro yaaro
Mohenjodaro, issko dil mein utaaro
Jungle jungle pukaro yaaro yaaro”
(this song was shot at Machu Picchu, one of seven natural wonders of world; many in audience thought this was special effects too)

2) “Pagal anukan pyaar dil mein kitne hain
Neutron electron neelay naino mein bolo kitne hain”

Believe it or not! These lyrics are written by Swanand Kirkire (twice winner of National Film Award for Best Lyrics)

Visual Effects –
The money spend can be seen in graphics. The first half is so very beautiful. The visual quality on 70 mm is better than most of bollywood flicks. To maintain the visual quality of similar levels in second half was challenge as a lot of Chitti look-alikes appear and to maintain facial expressions on all them was difficult. That is the only part where visual effects lack. You will have to appreciate the effects when cohesive transformations of robots take place to Anaconda, Terminator, etc.

Acknowledgment – I haven’t seen such in-depth use of technical nomenclature in an Indian movie before. Some fine observations – the name of Dr. Bohra (played by Danny) has a fascinating similarity with Dr. Bohr (pick up any chemistry book and you will find him). Use of ZigBee protocol by the Robot which is a communication protocol similar to Bluetooth. I have to say the engineer inside me was also satisfied appreciating the research behind the technical script. I give half star extra for this.

SPEAKing PICtures’s verdict – 3.5/10 (see for Rajni if not for anything else). It is not a cult or an excellent movie but surely a 160 crore movie with so much effort needs to be appreciated.

ps: I have seen only a handful of Hindi dubbed south-Indian movies. To say Robot was the best of them won’t be wise. Robot is good, Aparichit was awesome. Interesting fact is both of them were directed by Shankar (awesome visionary skills).

Answer to the biggest question about Commonwealth Games 2010 @ New Delhi

“CWG – source of silly humour thesedays. Prove it” ------- 10 marks

As a Delhi blogger who had this noble thought to invest his hard earned money to buy CWG 2010 tickets on the first day itself, ‘disappointed’ is what I feel now. However, today when you read my write-up, intend is to make you happy; not disappointed.

We have to go back to the important year of 2003, when India was selected to play the host for 2010 edition of Commonwealth Games. India (the land of non-violence) silently paid an acceptable ‘wealth’ to all commonwealth nations to come here and participate. Under the leadership and guidance of our honourable ‘much’ respectable Suresh Kalmadi, CWG 2010 was allotted to India and from then onwards, it was Suresh Kalmadi’s baby.

The Indian government saw the navigating capabilities in the wings of pilot Kalmadi and formed an OC (organizing committee) to oversee growth of Kalmadi’s baby (i.e. CWG 2010 games). Kalmadi’s foreign aids were two expensive imported Mikes (Mike Hooper and Mike Fenell). Days went pass. Years went pass. The Indian government forgot about the games. But then came...the Indian media

The Indian media ran a reality check and in process discovered nothing but what was obvious – corruption in OC. CWG mess got the 9 PM slot of news channels thanks to numerous financial frauds investigations and Bang Boom Blast happened in OC. The useful abbreviations (CVC, CBI, ED, PMO, etc) came into scene for a few days but still Kalmadi assured the world that his baby is getting healthier day by day. God heard this lie and directed the rain Gods to give Delhi an over flowing Yamunaji (can you believe that!). Heavy rains collapsed all plans of juggad work for Games and since then the baby is transferred to Cabinet Secretary, Delhi CM, and Minister of Urban Development with Prime Minister of the nation watching its growth (indeed a lucky baby).

Lately there are more negatives attached to these games than positives, but I hope you aren’t feeling disappointed. So what if ‘salt packet sized’ countries like New Zealand, Whales and Scotland pokes you with their hygiene standards and then without any justification complains about dogs using beds and paan stains and dangerous sockets and filth and dengue and security. Man! this complaining is so very imperialistic…so very uncool!! Surely Birmingham is behind this (let special branch of Delhi Police investigate this and submit a report).

And by the way, why are these countries cribbing at all. Haven’t they researched that paan is a flavour of perfume (also condom nowdays). It erases your stress, especially after that lane-designed traffic mess. Somebody please tell them that the strains were to ‘globalify’ paan (one of the cheapest food items which can be quite handy during the times of recession in commonwealth).

And hey, how dare do they complain about dogs using beds. If athletes who run 100 metres deserve a lavish sleep; have a heart for these dogs that run miles on Delhi pot-roads. Animal lovers? PETA? Where are you?

About the more serious security issue. As an Indian I can assure you about foolproof security. Infact you will most probably be getting an individual army soldier as he is now abundant. He is now even making pedestrian bridges for us; a fine example of building the nation (saving the country as usual).

Then there is another very amusing story. South Africa ambassador to India finds a snake! Isn’t South Africans known to love wildlife? Why can’t he arrange a visa for that poor lean flexible specie and rehabilitate him in South Africa? Afterall Delhi is on a mass cleaning mission (say no to authorised species be it snakes or monkeys or migrants).

Oh! I forgot to tell you about my hygiene standards. They are surely different from that of Lalit Bhanot. You see we are diverse in India and we are diverse in everything.

And how can we miss out on our sports minister; CWG is a shaadi for him. For many b-school students, CWG mess is now a case study and a prime example of ‘juggad-theory’ failure. It seems that the preparation of CWG resembles the last minute preparations by a student before his exam. In reality the student might pass but the probability that he will top this way is rationally low.

Lastly, you must be asking what about CWG 2010’s mascot Shera (my friend). I met him yesterday and he told my disappointed soul something by which he is still bearing a smile. As Shera says “bade bade desho mein aisi choti choti baatein hoti rehti hai”.

Just a second, somebody is there at the door. Oh! It’s the private courier wala with my commonwealth tickets for opening ceremony. See you there and hey! Do spot me in that 40-50 crore Helium balloon.

ps: apologies for not mentioning about athletes. Hope you are not disappointed (and if incase you are, try making a Jaane Bhi Do Yaroon, afterall you won’t get a better opportunity)

SPEAKing PICtures will be back with the review of the opening ceremony of Commonwealth Games 2010.
Till then LET US ALL SUPPORT THESE GAMES.

Creative Shoots @ Old Delhi

Old Delhi is not just food. There is no shortage for shooting exciting creative moments there. Some stills I took during my recent trip to old Delhi –

1) Old Delhi curfew look – Chandni Chowk Market is absent on Sundays. A perfect opportunity to take a silent picture there. Nobody will believe it’s actually old Delhi.
2) Count your Pigeons? Observe the different figures of pigeons. (I messed up a perfect set-up, still to learn basics of still photography)
3) Karan Arjun (duplicate) with Red Fort in backdrop. Simply Awesome

DaBang - DA 'big' BANG Salman starrer

A lot of years back some foreign scientists discovered THE BANG theory (for some that was BIG enough entertainment). But some people in India thought we need to do something extra for entertainment, so they created the desi sounding Da Bang (which eventually entertains more…very much more).

Story –
Story of Dabang is something staple for bollywood. Steps to generate 1 –

1) Choose a hero - Take the industry stud (a famous one), give him the police wardi with rule-breaking tactics and ask him to keep a symbolic moustache to get that UP look.
2) Choose a heroine - a new face to work with our stud. Make sure her surname is commonly known.
3) Add a plot – Take an anti K-Jo’s WE ARE FAMILY stand and create the hate angle between our stud and his step bro and step papa. Let there be ma to console.
4) Pick the villain – Try to find a fool who inspite of looking so helpless can dream to be deadly like Mogambo. Give him the techniques to motivate the step bro to go against the stud.
5) Use the glue - throw in a lot of PJs/one-liners to join the above mentioned steps in a cohesive manner and make a movie out of these steps.
6) Publicity – Follow “da BIG bang” Dabang promo campaign wherever you go. Also, ask your stud to wear ‘desified’ RayBan goggs with striking little hearts to get that awesome poster look.
7) God's Help - Place your bets on the stud and wait it EID.

Casting –
The industry stud, Salman Khan plays the role of dabang inspector Chulbul Pandey. This role (infact the whole movie) is written for him. His dialogue delivery and action sequences are perfect. The trained eye will appreciate the effort put in by Salman in this movie, whose producers are his very own bhaiya-bhabhi. Infact, if we replace Salman Khan with Ravi Kishan, Dabang will become a Bhojpuri movie; Salman takes it from Bhojpuri to Bollywood.

Heroine Rajjo in the movie is Sonakshi Sinha (daughter of Mr. Khamosh, guess who?). She is good in Dabang and will gain a lot of leverage from this. Rest of the cast (Vinod Khanna, Dimple Kapadia, etc) is satisfactory. Except two persons. Firstly, Arbaaz Khan (again that dead wood acting from him) and secondly, Sonu Sood (plays the villain Cheddi Singh). Will any sensible person cast a tamed spider-like-personality in front of Spiderman! No obviously. Then why cast a Sonu Sood in front of Salman Khan? They should have watched Singh Is King carefully (remember! Sonu Sood was the real King in that movie).

The music by Sajid-Wajid suits the Dabang style. Direction is good but screenplay is loose in parts. Salman’s earlier flick WANTED had more grip over story.

Speaking Pictures’s verdict – watch in Cineplex in front row seats and enjoy Chulbul Pandey.
Rating – 3/5 (paisa vasool)

Where does Salman go after Dabang?
Salman Khan, one of KHAN pillars of bollywood industry realizes that he can’t pull off SRK’s romantic flicks or Aamir’s superior class. Salman’s USP is his body and not his acting. He knows this fact and is therefore, trying to create a different liking for himself. Paisa Vasool entertainers are now his forte…expect more

ps: can Steven Spielberg and James Cameron make DABANG in Amerika with their latest technology? Na! I guess even they have to do this the Indian way.

(thanks to Indra devta & Shanky for rains, I watched Dabang in a Cineplex and not in a multiplex. All smiles)

"Stop sleepwalking through life!" by IIT Prof. Devdas Menon

Caution: this provides a very uncomfortable read! Why? Here I go –

As the name suggests, the book is philosophical in nature. But this one stands way away from overly optimistic moral boosting books by management gurus and other motivators. The book is written by Dr. Devdas Menon, a professor of IIT Madras (enough to add credibility to his work).

Content –
The book aims to provide answers like "What happens when big dreams get fulfilled? What happens when you become rich and famous? Will you attain an enduring state of fulfillment? Will you then be able to live happily ever after?". It explains you the ‘practical-in-life’ meaning of awakening, ego-self, enlightenment, etc and being written using layman words and highly illustrative examples, it throws some very very uncomfortable situations to you. Anybody with mere English knowledge can get the message he wants to convey i.e. how messed up life is without awakening and what would an awakened life be like? Grasping of these concepts becomes more incase you have been exposed to fierce competitive systems (benchmark - Indian education system).

"Today's education may give us a livelihood, but not necessarily character."

Post read affects –
I was already on the path of reinventing my soul when this book pre-empted my plans in my never ending pipeline. This book has definitely brought clarity and objective definitions to abstract concepts like awakening, enlightened, suffering and many other concepts related to way of living. Categorization of happiness on the basis of its origin is written beautifully, elaborating scenarios ranging from simple things like sunset to winning a materialistic award.

Missing words –
Though the author does simplifies various complex terms of life with layman understanding, he has missed out to present his views on some of the some crucial words like ‘perception’ and ‘failures’. While reading, I had some annoying questions to which I can’t find an answer (sample - “what he thinks right may not be agreeable to me”). Hope that he accommodates these points in his next work.

Recommended for –
People having stormy reckless brain and to those who are just too successful in life yet are in search of contentment. If you are happy, but you don’t feel it – read this surely.

"Of what avail is it if we can travel to the moon, if we cannot cross the abyss that separates us from ourselves?"

The book is not a best seller and may not be available at every bookstore. The book cost around INR 125 (buying advice - Google the book and place your order through some good online bookstore).

Some lines from book –

"The 'joy of learning' is a fine example of this. In such activity, which is quietly performed to perfection, one does not need certification by others to realize the value of one's work."

"The awakened person is alert to the habitual tendency of the go-self to interpret facts by building imaginary stories around them. The stories reflect the 'judgements' of the ego-self, and reveal its fears and desires. There may be some measure of truth in these judgements, but the awakened person is able to view these with detachment and compassion."

“one suffers whenever one is worried, afraid, angry, upset, irritated, frustrated, jealous, hurt, impatient, anxious, agitated, stressed, suspicious, or just plain bored. However, one can truely claim to be totally free of suffering during the few moments when one is drawn into the 'deep sleep' state of consciousness.”

Jesus words – “For what does it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?”

ps: got the book from Dad :)
pps: I am on my way to Shrimad Bhagavad Gita, hope I am prepared for it! Even if no, let me fake it this time :)

Peepli Live - Movie Review

Indians love satires and spoofs. Attend any ‘kavi sammelan’ in any college fest (which are full of satires and spoofing) and a normal answer will be ‘I DID ENJOYED IT’. And when you see such things of quality on 70mm screens, you will definitely ENJOY it. This does the trick for Peepli [Live]. Rating – 3/5

Story –
Script is brilliantly written by Anusha Rizvi (she is also the director). It is a story where the younger brother in the family agrees to COMMIT (suicide that is) to get the benefits of various ‘Gandhi-named-ones’ Govt. schemes. What follows is a heavy satirical entertainment dose of [Live] TV reporting and drama. We have already seen this many times performed by likes of Raju Srivastava and Sunil Pal. So, what’s new? The most admiring part of the script are the connecting dots i.e. the connection between a serious issue (like farmer suicide), daily drama (Indian politics where the ruler & the loser disagrees by default) and the [Live] TV news circus (press that remote now if you don’t trust me).

Jaane Bhi Do Yaroon, a cult ‘black comedy’ too took a dig (subject was corruption). It was hard hitting in message but carried subtleness in its dialogues. It had comedy, most of which was circumstantial in substance. Peepli [Live] on contrary is attacking and punching. Sometimes mellowing down a bit gets the better of intensifying things. Consequently, Peepli [Live] fails to reach that zone of cult and remains ‘just’ a good satire.

Cast -
Casting is perfect. Don’t think it could be better. Omkar Das Manikpuri (Natha) is the best casting of a character for me in 2010. When your face speaks your emotions, you don’t need lines. He manages that with perfection. Chances are Priyadarshan may just pick him and put him into his basket of regulars (current members – everybody knows them by now). Raghubir Yadav (Budhia) is permanent class. In addition to his acting, his voiced Mehngai Dayan is excellent. Rest of the casting is also good. No regrets that Aamir didn’t act in this one.

Music -
The music is earthly, lovable and welcomingly fresh. It’s not typical bollywood (the Pritam inspired ones or those solo singles by Mohit Chauhan, Atif, Kailash Kher, etc). A major hit which has helped this small budget movie to gain huge momentum in publicity is Mehngai Dayan (‘Inflation, the Bitch’). It sounds ‘bhajan’ style and captures your attention from its lyrics (which are so relevant in current India). And do listen to ‘Desh Mera’ by Indian Ocean (one of the few recognized Indian bands). Try to listen to the original one, sung with Late band member Asheem Chakravarty (its more indepth).

Hey ek minute,
An observation made (CID style). Aamir first venture as producer (MINUS Aamir Khan, the actor) was Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na. A low budget movie which gained publicity from a song ‘Pappu Can’t Dance Saala’. It turned to be a hit at box office. Quite fascinatingly, Peepli Live too has gained publicity from the song ‘Mehngai Dayan’. Now you know why Salmaan Khan says ‘Aamir has got a Midas touch’.

Speaking Pictures's verdict – DO watch for excellent script, brilliant performances and different genre of music.

ps: Just recalling the ‘best black comedy of bollywood’ ever on this Independence Day. The ending lines from the movie “Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron” -

“honge kaamyaab,
honge kaamyaab ,
hum honge kaamyaab ek din,
ho ho mann main hai vishwas,
poora hai vishwas,
hum honge kaamyaab ek din”

(also available at Desimartini.com)

Inception - ek din sapne mein dekha sapna

Once I was wearing an anaconda which hissed me and down I went with Alice to her wonderland with my band of brothers to steal the pink panther from the cinderella man.

Wondering kya ho gaya hai mujhe?
Dreams within dreams [or nested dreams, as some computer engineers will tell you]

Inception has this power. It takes you in a dream and gives a false sense of ‘reality’ inside that dreamy set up. It further takes you inside in a sub-dream and breaks into another. And with a very compelling storyline, your thoughts do get manipulated watching this plot, full of nested dreams.

Story -
Cobb (DiCaprio) and Arthur (Joseph) can infiltrate dreams and steal secrets out of those dreams. They try to rob secrets from a powerful businessman but fail to convince him. Assessing their power to steal secrets out of dreams, he tells Cobb to plant a dream in his rival’s mind instead of stealing them. In return, Cobb gets freedom to go to his children and stay with peace. Cobb forms his team – a guy for background check and requirements gathering, an architect for designing the dreamland, a manipulator who masters forgery and a chemist who prescribes the correct dope amount. Rest of the story is how they design and plant dreams inside dreams.
Inception’s story is original and something that is unheard of. It is a product of conscious thinking of how things shape up in unconscious world (dreams). Simple facts of life (like waking from a dream where you see yourself perish in it, protective antibodies in dreams if someone punctures an ongoing smooth dream, etc) have been transformed into a script which is so very engaging…creativity at its best.

Cast –
Leonardo DiCaprio gives a stupendous performance and goes on to prove his diversity even further (his previous was Shutter Island). Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Arthur is appropriately casted as DiCaprio’s subordinate. Marion Cotilard (DiCaprio’s decreased wife) looks dangerous in ‘kill-with-knife’ scenes and acts well. Rest of the team which carries out inception is also good. The only one who relatively looked powerless was Ellen Page of Juno fame (played the character of Ariadne). Her looks seems too kiddy for this one.


The Real Hero –
Christopher Nolan. Last year I predicted 5/6 oscars correctly and won the oscar quiz at 24*7 news channel. This time, I can safely predict ‘atleast’ a nomination for best story, best director for Nolan. His forte of storytelling with lots of suspense and confusion has always been successful to create anxiety in his viewers. His past critical best (Memento) made him a pioneer in directing complex plots. 'The Prestige', a movie about illusions too was good. And his previous, 'The Dark Night', a Batman thriller with a psychic Joker made him commercially attractive. With Inception, he has amplified his credentials (especially as a writer). The man has never won an oscar; now that is due to him!!

“You're asking me for Inception. I hope you do understand the gravity of that request”-Cobb

Memento confused you, inception inseminate dreams in you!! Take caution.
Speaking Pictures’s verdict – 5/5…not to be missed, once in a lifetime movie (watch out for class than entertainment)

‘ek din sapne mein dekha sapna’...never thought I would experience this with my eyes wide open.

ps: if you are one of those smarties who likes to flaunt the concept of drink and drive, don’t add inception in between. That might be catastrophic

watchable ONLY 'once' upon a time in Mumbaai

ONCE UPON A TIME in Dilli, I watched ‘Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai’. It’s a tale of two gangsters where one wants to become another but doesn’t wants to adopt his means. The movie comes from Balaji Telefilms (producer - Ekta Kapoor) and directed by Milan Luthria.

Story -
The movie starts in a narrative format; an honest cop (Agnel Wilson) goes to his past (70s) and describes the rising of the two smugglers – Sultan Mirza and Shoaib Khan. Sultan Mirza (Ajay Devgan) is a smuggler driven by values, good intentions and commands respect from all corners, while for Shoaib Khan (Emraan Hashmi) money and power is everything and can adopt unethical ways to get them. The first half is satisfactory and quite nicely shot. The second half mainly speaks about the indifference between the two and the collapse of the Sultan’s sultanat. The most disappointing part of this movie is the ending. Just as you start to expect something really spectacular, the projector says THE END. Don’t be surprised if you find yourself sitting on the chairs with some ‘still-to-be-finished’ eatables with you. This movie does not ENDs, it STOPS, that too unconvincingly.

Cast -
Ajay Devgan as Sultan Mirza is perfectly casted and gives a superb performance. His aura that of a ‘localized Robinhood figure’ is aptly subtle and does not overdo in any sense. Kangna Ranaut (Rehana, Sultan’s wife) is superb for her looks but you do take time to get comfortable with her speech (yet again). Emraan Hashmi (Shoaib Khan), who incidentally gets the best dialogues in the film, delivers them with perfect timing and tone. Besides that, he does his regular romantic circling but this time it’s without that MUAH (man! he will surely remember this Once Upon A Time). On the negative side, his acting in aggressive scenes is a bit over the top but manageable. Randeep Hooda (Agnel Wilson) as honest cop is good but can’t be compared to KK Menon (remember ‘Black Friday’). Prachi Desai (‘Rock On’ fame) as Mumtaz is the only let down with respect to casting here.
('Tusshaar Kapoor', was not seen...bach gaye)

The music side is standard except the popular ‘Pee Loo’, voiced by Mohit Chauhan (undisputed king of romantic blues). Cinematography is good; make-up, sets gives an impressive 70s feel to the movie. However, the main attraction of the movie is the dialogues (credit to Rajat Arora) - ‘give-back-hard’ types, cheesy and entertainingly filmy.

"Main un cheezo ki smuggling karta hoon jinki sarkar izzat nahi deti, unki nahi jinki zameer izzat nahi deta" - Sultan Mirza

By the end of first half, I started to compare this movie with Company (a RGV cult by quality standards), but then the second half was not to my expectations. Once Upon a Time…is not a classic but doesn’t disappoint either. Should you watch it?
Speaking Pictures’s Verdict – WATCHABLE ‘just’ ONCE UPON A TIME…2.5/5

ps: In my long movie watching career, I haven’t concentrated on ear-rings that closely (ear-rings : a pricey asset that keeps dropping from ears). Why? Because the Punjabi aunty sitting besides me was whispering non-silently with her daughter about the fashion shown to her on 70mm. Without any fuss, the lead actress had a huge ‘christmas tree’ inspired asset hanging from her ears. Will surely remember this ONCE UPON A TIME…
(also available at Desimartini. com)

"Go Kiss The World" by Subroto Bagchi

The motivation of reading this book came from a short premise (which was in the form of speech). It was very powerful and heart-touching. Anybody who has read that has to acknowledged it (if you haven’t read, do through it). The author of this book is a successful entrepreneur and is the co-founder of Mindtree – Subroto Bagchi.

‘Go kiss the world’ is written in simple language and the author has made the communication of the book articulate enough to impress you. The writing style is biographic and moreover covers all phases of his past life. The USP of the book is the learning which he explains for the reader by taking out the incidents from his life. Every chapter concludes with some message or an important observation.

Book is divided into 3 parts. First one, talks about his early days of mentoring and upbringing. This part is simply SIMPLE and superbly emotive. You will respect his simplicity after going through this part. Part 2 is where he steps out to work. He joins DCM and switches to HCL, then forms a start-up by the name of Project.21, then to WIPRO and then to Lucent. This part is good but not as powerful as its predecessor. Part 3 is where he recalls the foundation of Mindtree. Elaborate mentioning about various challenges and accomplishments are in this part, which is ok. The last chapter is named similar to book’s title and contains the summary of lessons.

Analysis –
While reading this book, you will feel sometimes empathic, sometimes very thoughtful and sometimes boring too. If you start comparing with your life, you will feel sometimes better and sometimes deprived. Better because you are in an age of internet and in a world where basic amenities are your right; whereas deprived because you don’t know whether you will see that boom rise again.
The book is not about Subroto’s life, it’s about the meaning of his life’s experiences. What you will like about him is his vision which sees turnoffs as opportunities to work more. Optimism which you can relate to!! Overall, it is a satisfactory read. Value for money – 3.5/5 (Price - Rs 399)

Authors add some cheesy lines for the purpose of captivating the reading audience. This one does not have lines, it has messages and they are mighty powerful. Some of them -

‘While it takes time to build perceptions, it takes even longer for perceptions to change.’

‘When they make a choice, they also choose the consequences.’

'It is not about what you create for yourself, it is what you leave behind that defines success."

‘Many overachievers create their own perception of reality and develop resultant problems in dealing with other people. When I see such people struggle with situations, I tell myself that sometimes one has to be blessed to be ordinary.’

These are best lines [last face to face conversation b/t the author and his aged mother]. They compel you to pause amidst your brisk read.

“After a few minutes, as I bend to kiss her forehead, wrinkled with age but still beautiful, she asked me in a garbled voice, ‘Chumu kyano khaccho?’ Why are you kissing me?
‘Khabona kyano?’ Why not? I asked.
She replied, simply, ‘Jao, jagat ta ke chumu khao.’
Go, kiss the world.

Sports Illustrated: Hockey World Cup 2010 @ New Delhi

Top pics of the event.

1) Heart Break- beautiful capture of the Hockey field while it was watered. The credit goes to my 5220's 2 Mpix cam which took this one. Naming this pic as 'Heart-Break' as the water trajectory forms a heart which is cut by the hockey-field plane. Simply breath-taking.


2) Speed of Light - one of best pics ever
Photography is all about moments of importance. Captured this piece with my 2 Mpix. Photographer needs a reward for this one!


3) Top Stand View - Maj Dhyan Chand National Stadium
More than 22 players on the hockey field. This pic was taken before the start of finals of 2010 Hockey world Cup between Aussies and Germans. The players went pass 22 and the cam captured each one of them amidst the picturesque Hockey stadium.
[Highly recommended] View all pics of the final day of the successful 2010 Hockey World Cup at my picasa storespace. All pics courtesy Nokia 5220.

ps: incase you have missed the opportunity to watch these classic hockey matches, just be avialable for 2010 Delhi Commenwealth Games. The venue will be the same.

100th year of International Women’s Day - 8th March 2010

(click on the cartoon for full view)

8th March 2010 was celebrated across the globe as 100th year of International Women’s Day.
Two very important happenings took place that very day. Firstly, Kathryn Bigelow (director, The Hurt Locker) became the first woman ever to win the Oscar for Best Director. Secondly, world largest democracy's main opposition party Lok Sabha head (Mrs. Sushma Swaraj) voiced concurrently with the high command of largest party of world’s largest democracy (Mrs. Sonia Gandhi) over 33% reservation for women in parliamentary legislature.
ps: I usually don’t sketch females but after witnessing Mr. Ajit Ninan sketching Sonia Gandhi (that too LIVE), I have attempted the same in this caricature. Hope it reflects.

Coke Studios Sessions

Music has the power to get you that inside kick which even charas-ganja can’t give you (can’t testify; am not a doper). It can fcuk (fill) your balls up with innocent testosterone and boye! what to say about the orgasms! Fusion music is one of the most fascinating creative arts – fuse, blend and produce magic. Few days back courtesy my brother, I saw some fusion videos of famous coke studios sessions.

Highly recommended ones –

1) Saari Raat –
Fused with sitar. This song is sung by Ali Noor (vocals, band Noori). His voice has a great pitch and throw. Great voice modulation with impressive improvisation is another major positive for him. The song starts with a slow medley extraordinarily (and strangely) mixed with sitar and suddenly picks up tempo with all instruments in full bang. The orchestration is perfect and all credits to the composer. It gives a fabulous kick and is highly addictive. Just to appreciate this fused creation, do listen to the original piece. It is mainly rock. Who thought to include sitar in this??
The first time I heard this song, I wondered for its absence in India? Generally people like Pritam and Mahesh Bhatt do bring the other side fame on this side. This time it was MTV India Roadies (episode on 7th Feb 2010) which featured this song. Yeah! I knew my choice is universal.
There is one more song (Jo Meray) on the same lines. It too is nice but not as good as this one.

2) Aik-Alif – Fused with Sufi words. Song has a great melody attached to it and it’s mainly due to use of tanpura. Vocals for this song - Saeen Zahoor. Ali Noor (Noori), Ali Hamza (Noori). While Saeen gives sufi touch to it, real magic comes from Hamza (grave and plain). Tanpura medley is its USP.

3) Garaj Baras – This fusion piece has heavyweights in it: Ali Azmat (of Junoon fame) and Rahat Fateh Ali Khan (Bollywood fame). The original song was itself a very big hit and was a part of movie ‘Paap’. However this version outshines its filmi version, all thanks to Rahat Fateh Ali Khan. He adds a magical improvised chant of Sa Re Ga Ma Pa which just kicks your dying soul. Sometimes annoying but satisfying. My inside call - Shankar Mahadevan could have done wonders in this piece.

4) Duur and Dhaani – Both these songs are album covers of Strings and are cult (personal preference). This version is fused with HB Gullu’s vintage style of producing melodious surs in sync with movements of hands (illusionary at first glance). Though Strings main vocals Faisal disappoints when you see him experimenting just too much, nevertheless HB Gullu’s style is highly impressive. His hands are in sync with voice. Nice and unique.

Singles –

a) Husn-e-Haqiqi (Vocals – Arieb Azhar) – The song is very lyrical and has quite a heavy dose of sufi(?) verbose in it. Instrumentation is not much but it can be heard for its spiritual lyrics. I could understand only two stanzas – one dedicated to Lord Ram & Lord Krishna and another to Lord Brahma & Lord Vishnu. The song sounds lengthy because of lack of instrumentation; but it’s still worth hearing.
b) Paimona (vocals – Haniya) – The song has arabic lyrics (can’t confirm though) and is fused with an instrument resembling santoor. The song is sung by Haniaya, a voice most suited for blues.
c) Titliyan – this song is the best song from Strings latest album- Koi Aaney Wala Hai. Here it is sung with violin in sync and is definitely better than original. The song is slow and has soul-touching lyrics. Strings at their best in this one.
d) Toomba (vocals – Saeen Zahoor) – This song can be heard for the unusual style of singing of Saeen. Toomba has sufi lyrics and instrumentation too is ok.
e) Aankhoy Kay Sagar (vocals – Shafqat Amanat Ali). This song starts with slow pace which gets rhythmic towards end. Vocals are awesome and you will appreciate the extension ability of Shafqat in this one. The use of dholak makes its tempo more beat inclusive, which causes song’s tempo to rise exponentially towards end. The song is highly addictive and has a dangerous repetitive value.

One artist who was way beyond all surs and rhythms was Atif Aslam. Don’t waste your time and stay away from his number.

So what are we doing here in India with our unique treasure?
Ok, my men are winning Oscars, Grammies. And if you go into Bollywood, money obtained from the audio part is seriously high. But are we experimenting? Are we getting the most from our treasure??
Indian treasure is diversity. And it is very sad to see there is no attempt to bring different cultures/regional musical styles and trying to fuse them. It will be both challenging and magical for the composer if the outcome is divine (and that’s what a musician wants, right!!). But will music channels like MTV rise above the ‘road’ with their stupid shows. Will I ever see different genre of music, say Bengali and Hindi in fusion.
It is high time we have to experiment more with our treasure. Can somebody fuse Avdoot Gupte (Marathi), Raghu Dixit Project (based out of Bangalore), Chandrabindu (Bengali) and The East India Company (Assamese)? Anybody!!

please NOTE: incase you decide to listen to the above mentioned coke numbers, kindly download them from there site and would recommend the videos (.mov files). By the way, all the videos are free (but immense respect earning).

“Sometimes all I want to do is to make people HAPPY and the best part is I can DO IT for FREE” – Speaking Pictures

Sachin Tendulkar – not out after 20 years

Something from my wrist for his wrists.

24th Feb 2010 - the day dedicated to Sachin Tendulkar (God of Cricket he is!). And all those fabulous lines like “form is temporary, class is permanent”…they sound so true once you see Tendulkar. Man! what a knock he had yesterday – 200 not out that too against South Africa.

Left early because the poor office doesn’t have a television. I left my working premises when he was on 126* and by the time the big greeny DTC touched DND expressway, the Nokia tuned to loudspeaker mode and happiness was spread all over the over-crowed vehicle. Cheers n all bliss

ps: for the first time I have put colour to my cartoons. Do you like it...put your thoughts in comments

15th Feb 2010

A day of immense importance as I turned 24 on this day and entered the countdown towards my 25, the silver anniversary. Voila! Am excited abhi se.

And was extremely lucky that evening as I attended the talk by eminent cartoonists @ British Council (CP, New Delhi). Cartoonists included Mr. Ajit Ninan (cartoonist, The Times of India) and Mr. Martin Rowson (cartoonist, The Guardian, UK). The talk started with Mr. Martin Rowson giving a presentation on past and present cartoons taking us through evolution of cartoons. The chronological styled presentation had major events of world cartoonized in the most humorous style; all giving an intended message and making that sarcastic statement. The presentation also made me realize how ‘open’ UK’s society is? Man! They can show off testicles (hand appearing in between legs giving that look of adultery) and butts in newspapers with no fear or shyness. Bush and Blair are the prime guinea pigs for Martin and almost every second cartoon of his had these two world leaders. An eye opener which I got to know from one of his cartoons was that
“total aid given to developing countries was less than one-third of total bonus paid to bankers in US in pre-recessionary market”.
I have started admiring him for his sense of humour. Like me he can humourize just anything ;)

Next speaker was Mr. Ajit Ninan (cartoonist, the Times of India). Incase you follow his cartoons, you will know his style. His cartoons are more statement oriented rather than eye-pleasing. He gave his insights on cartooning and those were simply brilliant. A couple of them –
1) use of minimum words so that even a Chinese can understand what you want to say.
2) the charm of hand-made black and white caricature and the philosophy behind the reasons for one's choice of black or white in his creations

I indeed was very lucky to see both of them cartooning LIVE. Infact I got a cartoon exclusive for myself from Mr. Ajit Ninan – the best of Best Wishes received on my 24th birthday. Man! He took less than 15 seconds to do it. Am wondering whether he actually lifted the pen or not?
The congregation was organized to announce the winners of a cartoon contest (click here to view finalists and winners). I too was a participant but my entry didn’t made it though. Here is mine (copyrights - British Council, CP, New Delhi)


ps: Very special thanks to Su, Tau, KP for taking time and wishing me. Thanks to NRI Singh, Sethi saab for their online versions. Party coming soon…
Cheers
AG

“I want to see myself paying for my cartoons” – Mr. Ajit Ninan
“The essential qualities which a cartoonist should have are arrogance and laziness” – Mr. Martin Rowson

"All you need is passion to learn and practice this art" - Mr. AG ;)

Ishqiya - love and gang-wars

This year is important for events. We have already seen 2010 Delhi Auto-Expo and events like Hockey World-Cup, Commonwealth Games are in queue. But events can't substitute movies. And I am glad that my first movie in 2010 gets thumbs up.

Rating - 3/5

Story -
Ishqiya is a story co-written by Vishal Bharadwaj (Kaminey). He is known for adding twists in his plot. And he doesn't disappoint this time too. SO, we have two thieves- Khalujaan (Naseeruddin Shah) and Babban (Arshad Warsi) who share a generation gap between them. They are on a run as a consequence of duping Mushtaq (Khalu's jijaji) of Rs 20L. They find no place to go and finally reach their dacoit friend Vermaji's house in Gorakhpur (eastern UP fame). Vermaji to chal basse hai and have left his wife, Krishna (Vidya Balan) alone. The two thieves now stay at her place and develop a liking for her. While the more aged chor is a silent dreamy lover of her persona, the younger one gets sensual and lusty. A good proportion of the movie is dedicated to this difference of liking somebody. Basically we see two variant of lovers - a silent slow aged man who is gathering courage to advance his moves and the second one a pervert (couldn't find a simpler word). Meanwhile Mushtaq, turns up again and set them another deadline. Post interval is where Vishal's style dominates the story. In order to get those 20 lakhs, they plot a kidnap. Bang! Wonder! How! Abbey ye tha vo!! the last laugh!! There are twists, flashbacks and conning going on in every second scene.
This unfortunately turns out to be the biggest drawback of Ishqiya. Too many twists just too fast. Deception and the feeling of getting deceive needs to maintain a minimum timegap which unfortunately is not properly managed. Hope debutant director Abhishek Chaubey notes this.

Few months back, a movie came by the name of Kaminey (3.75/5 stars from SP). It was directed by Vishal Bharadwaj, was full of twists and had quality in it. I doubt same for Ishqiya. Ishqiya leaves you with a comfortable feel but doesn't leaves impact. It is a feel good movie but not a satisfying one. A good movie but not a very very good one.

Casting-
Naseeruddin Shah is brillant. Infact this can be said as his best performance in recent past. He feels himself old enough to be courteous to the lady, knows his limitations (physical), talks of ‘humare zamane ki baatein' and would take subtle steps like dying his mehendi colored beard in order to look young. Bottomline, he moulds himself into an elderly man who can pursue love of younger age by emoting 'dil to bacha hai ji'.

Arshad Warsi - Break loose out of short-circuit. Warsee here is a macho man who reads lusty novels, speaks with ‘surma-Bhopali’ accent and is a 'pervert'. He is overtly aggressive in his moves and can express them with no hesitation. His butcher looks are borrowed from Chambal's men and wears the darkest shade of kajal. Though I want to conclude that the ‘circuit’ stereotype is still a better role for him.

Vidya Belan – Bold and very bold for two reasons – firstly, for the longest liplock by any famous mainstream heroine in Hindi movies. Second bold is given for silently delivering hardcore abuses. The second bold gets prefixed with ‘very’ as there are no abuses from our two main male leads. Bravo belan!

One confusing negative I felt was the unnecessary abusing. Why so-dirty talking? Why would words like BC come only through non-lead actors mouth. And will somebody in this fast-evolving scientific world explain me the meaning of morphing the simplest of [complex-compounds] - CaSO4 to Chu***** Sulphate. Should I expect a dharna from chemistry teachers on this? Even the IITian Sandy had no answers for this? May be I have to ask some Gorakhpur chap? Help de Neel

“Babban: teri umaar kya hai be
Nandu: paanch kam bees”

ps: Ca(2+) and SO4(2-) were some of the favourite ions during my IITJEE preps. Dedicate this review in memory of them. Keep reacting

pps: thanks to mydala.com for providing me prime time west-Delhi-multiplex tickets @ Rs 75. God bless them especially after 3 idiots (exhaustive case study coming soon...)

Delhi Auto-Expo 2010 & some reaally interesting awards

After the much publicized Delhi Auto-Expo in 2008, its version of twenty10 was to be a mega affair. And it was.
Some glimpses and awards given by SpeakingPictures –

click on pictures for enlarged view

1) Mercedes -
I have a special liking towards this luxury, so a slight bias towards it is inevitable. Merc SLS (one with wings) had words like ‘hot’ and ‘sexy’ personified in it. Anybody who is a maniac for “hot wheels” will love it. Merc also had its merchandize stall inside its pavilion with prices comparable to their cars.
Mercedes wins the ‘leave-your-hot-chick-for-me’ award for its SLS.

2) Audi
Audi is the third biggest luxury cars brand after BMW and Merc in India. And it seems they are aggressive about being the numero uno. Their pavilion was situated within the main hall facing the BMW (largest luxury car seller in 2009). Audi showcased their normal white-beauties with attitude living attendants (who were busy flirting within themselves, God bless them). Audi wanted more popularity than its competition and were easily successful in doing so. By bringing vintage Audi 225 Roadster, they celebrated 100 years of Audi. But what stole the show was R8 4.2 Quattro. Flamboyantly displayed in melting shiny orange, it was the face of Audi in 2010 Delhi Auto-Expo. Consequently, Audi got the maximum attendance in 2010 Delhi Auto-Expo.

Audi wins ‘mujhe-na-chhuna-pari-hoon-main’ award for their attendants’ effort in preventing crowd from touching that sexy seducer R8 4.2.

3) Tata Motors
In 2008, these people stole the show. ‘Nano’, the 1L people’s car made India shine on the map of world car market. As a matter of fact, they deserve the credit for the popularity of Indian cars in the outside world. Also, Tata has inorganically expanded its empire in automobiles by acquiring Land Rover and Jaguar. These too were showcased in 2010 Delhi Auto-Expo and I really liked them (except the pricing, why will anyone buy Jaguar for 1.03 crore when it’s just a Jaguar and not a Merc/BMW/Audi). Nano was displayed in different colours (and even though I am not a liker of pink, I have to say pink Nano was very cute). Rest from Tata was boring including its never ending array of indigenous products comprising of various variants of Indica/Vista/Manza/Indigo/etc.

In addition to the above, Tata aggressively showcased their new brand of trucks ‘Prima’. Seeing their marketing for this brand, they might just successfully create a different segment within trucks category – ‘Prima’, the premium movers.

Tata wins the ‘hum-nahi-sudhrenge’ award for their chota haathi- Iris (leftmost in pic). It symbolizes their attempt and effort to create every car nano-sized.

4) Chevrolet (Chevy)
GM may be bankrupt in US but they are reeaallly trying to break into Hyundai and Maruti’s market share through Ritz’s looking Chevy Beat (shockingly priced at 3.34 L, it's a steal). Unfortunately, GM disappointed with their merchandize instore. Unlike Merc, which had merchandize of world level, GM had localized ones; No convertible transformer (Camaro->Bumblebee) – a big disappointment.
Chevy wins ‘I-really-really-want-that-Indian-guy’ award as they are the only ones who have contacted me for a test-drive post Auto-Expo.

Chevy Indian cars lacks flamboyance. Hence they brought Camaro from Transformers ‘Bumblebee’ fame. It’s huge yet subtle, it’s not fancy yet an eye-candy.

Chevy Camaro ‘Bumblebee’ wins the ‘lovable’ award.

5) Volkswagen (VW)
VW really need to revise their marketing basics. At exhibitions of this size, apart from publicizing your country specific models, you also need to show fancy flamboyance stuff which gets you attention especially when you are a new player. Sadly, VW played a contrary game with displaying there B+ segment car Polo 4 times. The cartoonist instincts saw Polo as a mini Lancer from some angles. There was Beetle, Jetta and others (seen earlier in VW ad). VW’s Sports Polo was cool, Beetle was girlie; rest just ok.

Given the fact that VW had one of the biggest pavilions in 2010 Expo, they were a disappointment. VW had non-Indian highly technical attendants (makes any sense??); some were frustrated to see Indians using exit door for entry and knew they were in a crowded market with zero localized knowledge. Another incident happened at reception, where I was filling my test-drive form; Indian girls at reception gossiping and teaching their foreign saheliyas about words like toota, etc (professionalism anybody!!).
VW wins the ‘i-mean-business’ award.

6) BMW
Wow, another luxury brand. BMW surprisingly overtook Merc in 2009 as the largest luxury car seller as they sold some 3600+ cars. But surprisingly, their 2010 Expo pavilion had none of their flamboyance and being in front of Audi, they were easily outshined. There new entrant ‘BMW Gran Turismo’ in pale blue was devoid of any lustre and hence is awarded the ‘sleeping-dodo’ award.

7) Yamaha
Anybody who loves speed loves sports bikes. And Yamaha was the best when considering sports bike in 2010 Expo. Also, Rossi was here and so was his bike (comparatively sober than its earlier version). Harley Davidson also made its debut but frankly, at the price at which they sell, it is difficult to choose a HD over a speedstar, that too when you are just 23.

They easily wins the 'vroom-dhoom-aur-ghoom' award

Drive safely…incase you need any full pic, leave your email in comments