'मेहनत की कमाई'

Socha ki aaj bhout dino baad kuch karenge naya

Jaane anjaane mein kisi ka karenge bhala,

Is dhoop mein paani ko amrit kar denge

Aur nahi mila agar koi, to us amrit se naha hi lenge

Chalte hue, jalti hui dharti humari saathi bani

Joote ki dhul se dosti bhari

Na jaane un kawao ko kya thi dushmani

Humare upar bikher di gandigi

Par pairo se jindagi tab bhi chalti rahi

Mana chinta se nahi badalega kal

Santosh tabhi milega jab milega vo pal

Karm karo, fal ki chinta nahi

Nirdeshye ye tha Shri Krishna ka

Par kalyug me Mahabharat ki koi aukaat nahi

Kal petrol bada hai, Aaj saadak par hai bheed

Kal gussa tez tha, Aaj shayad dhoop

Ab kuch aur nahi kehne ko…

Bas yahi ki

Ghoomte hue humare muk pe hassi khilli

Jab har raha ke maud pe hume zindagi milli

Koi samaan bech raha, to koi pasina

Mehnat ki kamai mujhe aaj garmi mein dekhi

One for the pilot…who was once at @Siachen Glacier

Going to sleep after a long traffic jam and watching some not so good news - highest rise in petrol prices. And like me every aam aadmi is in a bit of awe, how come Rs 7.5 rupee hike! (aise kaise). But the story isn’t about that.

Just read yesterday’s newspaper – one of the headlines mentioned "25th anniversary of the Siachen operations passed in silence" (read full article here). Awesome article, a bit senti though. But how many of us are bothered about it.

I read the story, I liked it. Thought why not share it. Googled ‘Siachen’ and bang! appeared a new article saying ‘Army pilot killed in Siachen glacier crash’ (story appeared May 23, read here). A bit shocked.

No mainstream 24*7 news channel highlighted the fact about 25^th anniversary or the pilot’s death. Everybody was interested in the petrol price hike. Which brings me to the point, can’t we take even 5 sec to share the news (even in our day to day life, we share the news when anybody passes away). I feel sad about the pilot’s well-wishers and relatives for the loss of his life. It is a loss for all of us! But sadly it seems, petrol is a bit more important.

R.I.P pilot

Do Meet Vicky: Donor of Positive Energy

“Chi! Kitne leechad ho aap” is the kind of initial feeling when somebody goes after sperms to make a movie. But then! The idea will now make millions – Vicky Donor is Bollywood’s best offering in 2012. The movie with the unconventional theme thus has a sperm rating of 4/5. Go for it.

Story –

Vicky (sadda Dilli vhich munda) is a lazy clumsy Talented fellow who is underemployed as a beautician in his mother’s clinic. Talented because his factory production defies the normal operative laws (factory being the body and the output being sperms, both of high quality and density). We get all this information from Dr. Chaddha (infertility specialist), who is doing a social business of increasing population. The first half is brilliant – it generates a lot of laughter from all the sperm-talk b/t Doctor and Vicky. Another source of laughter is the conversations between Vicky’s mother and Vicky’s grandmother. First half is light, enjoyable filled with great superb acting – ultimate. Story takes a U-turn in second half and becomes fultu senti. Vicky marries his pyaar Ashima but then she can’t conceive. Laughs turn into tears but the transition is quite unpractical for audience. Thankfully this pack of energy helped me during this transition and kept me away for getting bored till The End.

Star Cast -

Anu Kapoor (plays Sperm Doctor) – The famous anchor of Sa Re Ga Ma plays the role of Doctor Baldav Chaddha. You kind of just admire the sheer talent and energy the genuine actor has to pull off just anything - A Punjabi sperm selling doctor. Awesome performance.  

Ayushmann Khurana (plays Sperm Donor) - “Thank You Shaktiman”. The rejected Roadie gave a good performance. His dialogue delivery when speaking colloquially is superb but is not impressive in senti scenes. He may give good competition to Ranveer Singh.   

Yami Gautam (plays Sperm Receptor) – Must say an impressive debut. “Ankhon mein teri ajab si ajab si adaain hain” – comments from my companion (Liked)

A part from these, movie would be incomplete without the Sperm-talkers (actors who played Vicky’s mother, Vicky’s grandmother, Vicky’s neighbour, Vicky’s girl-next-door) - All of them generated quality kich-kich.      

Music is a big plus in the movie. And also the stereotyping of Punjabi and Bong cultures. I was quite impressed that both were made to gel quite nicely amidst a lot of fun generation, considering I too almost have the same case with me. This trick always works in India. Haina!

Vicky Donor is a movie supported by strong tenets – unique story, great actors and good music. It follows the old school approach to entertain you, where in the main stress is on the story & characterization and not the technology, item numbers.  It ends abruptly but sends out the message - “Babumoshai, Zindagi Badi honi chahiye, Lambi nahin” (a cult dialogue from the cult movie Anand).

Answers to the most important questions -

Should I go? Yes! obviously

Why? Quality Story, Good Actors, Nice Music (iske alawa kuch aur chahiye!!)  

Then who will see this! – Wannabe sperm donors, guys seeking MBA students who participate in every B-plan competition.

Kiske naam pe bikega – Sperms and Sperms (ye bhout hai vaise! Aap bhi jaante ho aur hum bhi)

Words of wisdom – Go with an energetic body and a cheerful mind, it will surely enhance your production. Am I sounding like x guru!   

“Ek round mein 15 min jaata hai. Watchman hoon superman nahi.” ~ watchman to Vicky (hope you too were on the same lines)

ps: Never thought a movie can find its subject matter out of a paragraph in a ninth class biology book. P.S. Verma page no. 98 - you deserved it.

Movie Review: Hate Story

Two boys just after the movie
A: Pata nahi why par main incomplete sa mehsoos kar raha hoon
B: matlab!
A: I guess I have missed something in the movie
B: Dude! They weren’t there

Period. Actually if you are really dying to catch this movie, then you get the message. But still, the ritual rating has to be given -2/5. It is watchable with exotic-ness justifying the (A) rating but not the hype generated.

Story –

A journo, Kavya (Paoli Dam) exposes a cement business. Its owner, Siddharth Dhanrajgir (Gulshan Deviah) decides to f*ck her (quite literally). Somebody in the audience whistled on the appearance of the name, Siddharth Dhanrajgir (he must have remembered 1970s). The f*cking gets her pregnant, the shrewd businessman gets her reproductive organs removed and then the pros rises - “main iss shehar ki top ki r**di bannna chahti hoon” (I want to become the top pros of this city). Rest of story is how she used her body to get herself the justice.

Casting –

Paoli Dam – as a pros gives her professional best. Acting was decent, much better than Aisha (actress who acted in it). The publicity has brought her to mainstream limelight; verdict will be clear perhaps later but she deserves some more quality chances.
Gulshan Deviah – one of those actors who are defined by the phrase ‘isko kahin dekha hai’. Nice attempt. He was best with his stammering lines and one-liners (engineers may be recall the cult movie, Gunda by the style of his dialogue delivery).
Nikhil Dwivedi – He debuted in a movie called ‘My Name is Anthony Gonsalves’. Many viewers reported of not recalling their name after watching it. But here he was simply realistic – enacted the character of a loser like his real life.
Saurabh Dubey – plays Kumar Dhanrajgir, father of Gulshan Deviah. Awesome performance.
Joy Sengupta – enjoyed the maximum with the protagonist (isne sabse zyada maaze liye). Never actually thought that he could do B-grade stuff so0O very well.
Mohan Kapoor – he was no match to Joy.

Cinematography is seriously B-grade. Music, even if it was there I can’t recall. Screenplay is satisfactory. Hate Story’s biggest asset is some of its one-liners which are few and limited.
A couple of them –

"I f*ck the people who f*ck with me"

&

“chuhiya ke daant to sher se paine hote hai, but panja sher ke pass hi hota hai”

Answers to the most important questions -
Should I go? NO. Incase you insist for this, you will have to play the ‘ab-aayega-scene’ game for nearly 3 hours. Ensure your energy levels to survive by carrying Tzinga with you (survival tip).
Why? Catch a better quality B-grade in your old cinema hall. Am sure you will find one.
Then who will see this! – fans of Mallika Sapera (surname nahi yaad aa raha, but photo dimaag mein hai), SherLion Chopra (another hypo) and wannabe actresses like Poo-Naam-Pan-Doo (quite a length covered!). In addition to famed list, any audience who is shy to see a B-grade movie in an old rickety cinema hall but are fine with multiplexes.
Kiske naam pe bikega? – one-liners and the erotic poster!!
Words of wisdom - Watch on DVD (if you are curious). Instead go for a better quality B-grade movie.

ps: Once I saw this awesome Bhojpuri movie “Current mare goriya” while travelling in a video coach somewhere nearby Dhanbad. I treat that as a benchmark when it comes to a B-grade. By God! Aaj uski phir yaad aa gayi (remember it today)

Indian Cartoonists to adhere to Mamata guidelines

And before I go on, it is indeed important to know ‘Mamata who?’

Mamata (or Mamta) is a Hindi word which means ‘Mother’s Care, Love & Affection’. In Indian context, it becomes important. But a lady in West Bengal is doing something extraordinary confusing (quite opposite to it).
And I too shall confuse you and…ok! No…but! Ya….let me Speak about ‘Mamta’ whichever you can relate too. [this dilemma is important for my blog’s existence]

A cartoon by a Chemistry professor came out. When I heard about that while travelling in Delhi Metro, I thought ‘wow’. A cartoon by a chemistry prof, must be interesting. He must have taken a quick comic stand on the structures of testosterone’s OH group (in chemistry, it’s called alcoholic group) and estrogen’s COOH group (acid group! Though I have to admit, I have very limited knowledge about the structure of the female hormone) and then he must have compared to the Lefts/Rights of West Bengal. But like always, expectations lead to disappointments. Cruel news channel broadcasted the story and to my shear disappointment, the chemistry professor did not adhered to his area of expertise. It wasn’t about the testosterone/estrogen’s structure, infact it wasn’t about chemistry, infact it wasn’t a cartoon. All it was about was Mamata and her definition to define cartoon and what are the sections under which you can be tried if you don’t draw her ‘good’ cartoons. Fearful I am [ab mera kya hoga!]

This blog (SPEAKing PICtures) was first started to store my cartoons (namely earlier as FUNTOONs). At that time, I had limited space on my disks. Some brilliant optimizers convinced me to store my useless caricatures here (on web) and instead insisted to store those movies on the disk and make the collection. Collection, I am obviously not going to talk about. Thanks to that! I can call myself a movie jockey today and a sorry cartoonist.

So being a self-acclaimed cartoonist, I could technically testify that it wasn’t a cartoon. It was just a graphic (with very-very bad finish to it). But in the end, it highlighted the issue better than a cartoon. But the whole episode gave me quite a few insights about cartoons. And the reasons for not making cartoons of my opposite gender (F). I earlier thought, because they wear fake-up on their face most of the time, caricatures of them won’t be a good proposition (a manger should say 'an asset building exercise') all together and might harm the cartoonist’s somewhat acceptability. But thanks to Mamata, I now know the IPC sections under which I can be tried (like the graphic designer Prof. Ambikesh Mahapatra, the chemistry professor of Jadavpur University). Therefore, I be rather preventive (a pre-crisis strategy taught to me to avert Crisis in most relevant subject of MBA - Interpersonal Communication’s lecture of Crisis Management). Otherwise the trials can happen under –
- IPC section 500 (punishment of defamation). Cartoonists are already poor and not identified under BPL families even if they are. This section can really take of their existence. Risk type - Fatal
- IPC section 509 (make obscene gesture to a woman). Risk type – Fatal again especially if you are single and unmarried
- IPC section 114 (abettor present when offence is committed). Sorry! Can’t understand. Haven’t studied this in my legal aspects of business paper.
- sections 66 A and B of the IT Act (sending offensive communication). OMG! A simple cartoon under this. Savita Bhabhi might now feel a bit less important.

Essentially the sections above produce enough threat/risk/whatever for a cartoonist to have a take on females. But then, how will the guru from whom I copied my cartooning skills, Sudhir Tailang survive. For today’s India which is full of American fatty-acids, the cartoons of Behenji, Amma, Didi, Honourable? President, Madam, Devi can provide enough laughs to keep the heart fit. Imagine the consequences of a healthy laughing India - the planning commission will have to brainstorm less over the poverty line and can more time in planning IPL boundary lines. A reduction in poverty line will result an affordable consumption of Colas in the booming company. Bollywood ke starsons will then advertise BPL pack only for this much (marketers will call it ‘change the game’ strategy – an upliftment for the deprived…target bottom of the pyramid…wow)…I can’t stop, it’s like ‘Alice In Wonderland’.

But sadly, Mamata has no mamta for cartoonists. She feels offensive, threatened and what not. I can now see myself as a terrorist with a pen in hand and a smile (always). Obviously! The character sketch seems to be of an assassin (thanks to another Bengali – Bob Biswas in Kahaani). So, West Bengal if things remain same, it will be really difficult to speak/express/love/mamta.

A strong part of me has Bengal in it (thanks to my Mamta’s roots). The best thing about Calcutta is its charm and that everyone is kind of ‘livable-respectfully’ satisfied, if not rich. Oh! It is becoming nostalgic now, the charm of West Bengal (contact any of your Bong friend for a detailed account of this). My mother always says that Bengalis are a kind of oxymorons. They look loud & aggressive but are not (comparative to guys/dudes/jats of North). Bengalis are more expressive and creative. Creativity is the food for soul. May be thatswhy I perceive West Bengal to be satisfied. But if the current Mamata is supporting the arrest of chemistry prof…then I think
Think…
Think…
It’s right. Twist!. How dare he (the prof) infiltrate in the territory of cartoonists. All he made was a graphic yet he wanted to have all the fame. Cartoonists of India will not agree to this. And for TMC’s Mamata Di, they will drink Bournvita (on recommendation of quiz master Brien, who is silent after drinking it and not heard). They are also ready to go through the easy readable sections of IPC and make more cartoons of Mamata.

Now I regret my right palm fracture. I have lost the Golden opportunity to impress Didi. Somehow I have added a caricature, adopted from my publication at IIT Kanpur. However! I hope my fraternity of cartoonists (if they accept that I am a part) will remind of our love for your acts always.

(disclaimer – the reader should not assume that the author is a leftist sympathizer. And obviously this write-up is not intended to (cannot) cause any harm/offense/hurting. If it did, apologies in advance).

Titanic Scenes in 3D now (revisit it)

Titanic is a cult movie. Survey results tells us that almost all girls have it onboard on their hard disks and a third of boys like to watch its glimpses on a regular basis. Don’t you dare ask the source. Some things can be safely assumed.

The intent in this review is not to review the cult movie, but to review the experience offered.
Rating for the experience – 4.5/5

Story –
Are you kidding? Obviously YES! IF you are a kid. And may be Titanic may just be the reason for it (ask your parents, if you dare). The story is same, that of original Titanic. Incase, you have missed it…head towards the movie theatre (for 3d) or open your torrents (for 2D). 3D recommended for sure.

The 3D experience –
Titanic 3D offers you the best 3D experience. Haven’t seen any movie better in this format. The awesome feeling, when people run on the deck and the fall from the ship’s mast into water is breadth-taking. The romantic feel even comes to non-romantics when DiCaprio and Kate stand in that famous T-pose. The water gushing into compartments, etc – Titanic 3D is an experience worth visiting.

People to review –
DiCaprio – He is a stud anyway.
Kate Winslet – You will like her. Some will love her. Nobody will ignore her.
James Cameron – fantastic business opportunity created. This will definitely create a trend now.

What works – brand Titanic
What not – may be the timeline (incase you have problems with 3D flicks)
SPEAKing PICtures verdict - Please gear up the 3D specs and revisit the cult.

ps: A kind of personal trivia. Dad has seen only 3 movies on 70mm till date – Hum Aapke Hain Kaun, Devdas and Titanic. Speaks the importance. Glad to catch it again on 70mm. Memories come back sometimes and you kind of love it!

Noticeable trivia – The seductive "drawing" scene is the first scene that Kate and DiCaprio did together. (source)

Disclaimer- the writer is a non-romantic person, who stays away from re-watches of romantic movies.

Delhi Auto Expo 2012 (Pics and Awards)

Once again, the mela was set and being a student now, I obviously had the luxury to pay the fair a visit. This time I was with many; the auto expo visit was the first trip with my classmates.

The article also carries some awards as last time. Hope, they are funny (like others)

Special mention: The ticketing seemed better especially with the scanning process in practise (the first time @ Pragati Maidan). It was smooth to get in unlike last time (read here Delhi Auto Expo 2010) where I got in, thanks to the efforts of my brother.

We entered the expo around 1 PM (the start time for general public to witness the sexy beauties inside).
The first pavilion was my all time favourite.

Mercedes-Benz –
They will never disappoint you. Glittering beauties with the three pointed circle (symbol) all around you. Luxury from them is always unadulterated (even though they are behind BMW in competition). Mercedes showcased its ‘wing car’ outside their standalone pavilion (crowd puller; it was the most attractive car in last edition of expo, the AMG SLS). The entry to the pavilion had 2 M-class (standing in quite some pose).
The best car from Merc was their concept ‘Flow’. Majestic…speechless. She looked like a lady wrapped with the sliver silk (seductive). The feel after watching it was ‘nothing can beat a good luxurious Merc’. It therefore gets the ‘style-statement-award’. You will love it.

“Racing is a state of mind” – liked the quote outside Merc pavilion...awesome

BMW –
Didn’t like their display last time around. This time around BMW had a larger pavilion with an elevated view for visitors (quite unique). Mini Cooper was ok (definitely not better than Volkswagen’s Beetle). Can’t say much on it.
BMW in between showed one of their concept visions here in CP, Delhi. It was used in MI4. Really missed that one here. It is a wonder car, the one you drive in fantasy. Pics of that car are here (must watch).
However, they came up with another one. Awesome and speechless. How can you come up with this kind of stuff again? Brilliant. Sadly, I was very far to appreciate it to the full-heart level (mere pass business pass kyu nahi tha - regret).

BMW gets the ‘GAWK-award’ for producing yet another fantasy model after BMW Batmobile.


Volkswagen Das Auto –
Simple, Spacious and display concept similar to that of Expo 2010. Background included their recent blue campaign (likable). Expo 2010 (here) saw very heavy advertising of Polo. This time, it was subtle. Full product line was on display. VW concept car XL1 was also displayed (but didn’t have that pull when compared to offerings from BMW or Merc).Amidst white, the new Beetle in red was their best display. VW gets the ‘naam-bade-darshan-chote-award’ for their showroom like display pavilion.

Audi –
Audi was one of the best pavilions in the last edition (expo 2010). Audi went with a similar way of display (the white Audi sedans and a R8 in front). The only difference this time around was the colour of R8. Shiny Red (in last edition here, it was shiny orange).

Audi wins ‘best-body-colour-award’ for their sense of colour combinations. Crowd loved it, making it one of the most congested and crowdy halls at the Delhi Auto Expo 2012.

Tata Motors –
One of the biggest pavilions at the 2012 expo. Tatas showcased their product line width with the display of trucks, buses (normal as well as elongated), sedans (normal as well as hybrid) and their famous minis (Nano, Iris, Ace and PIXEL). Pixel was the show stealer this time around. Small & Cute (same adjectives used for Nano previously). However, the informative eyes would have appreciated the Indian car giant had the concept Pixel being developed with a right hand drive (the one on display was left hand drive raising speculation whether it was developed indigenously or elsewhere). But still the crowd loved it like they did at the time of Nano. Being a witness of expo 2008 when Nano was launched, it was a similar feel seeing Pixel. But Pixel is a concept car, far from production.
Tatas for their love of producing cute babies is henceforth given the ‘small-innovator-award’ for Pixel.

The other end of their pavilion had J&L series. The white Land Rovers were kept the same way as displayed in last edition. But the highlight was the two Red defender concept cars (open-roof & jeep look). The Jaguar display looked a bit off-coloured when compared to display of other luxurious car makers. The last edition display was better and definitely more luxurious.

Toyota –
Quite a larger pavilion for them, but it was justified after witnessing their intentions. Bestsellers Innova is reworked (looks more high-end, less like a cab). Fortuner is reworked but looked quite similar to me. The centre of attraction at the Toyota pavilion was the twin ladies at the centre along the racing versions of Etios Liva. Racing cars in red and white are quite standard, nothing exceptional in terms of looks. Toyota gets the ‘most-well-behaved-award’ for best crowd management.

Ford –
After Figo, Ford has geared up to fight in the SUV segment. Ford revealed a new SUV to India – Ford EcoSport. The car had the catchy looks with bright orange and mammoth front grill (trend these days). Liked their blue ambience; distinguished them from others. They are given the ‘big-grill-award’ for EcoSport.

Skoda –
Green and white are there hallmark colours. Very standard pavilion especially when you have the luxury gaint Audi right opposite you. Poor choice of pavilion. The cars were known except RS 2000. Strange looking car; though must admit it was stylish. The front look seems like somebody is stretching the car ears (the idea can be used in the next franchise of animation movie CARS).

Award for Skoda, Not this time. Guys, you need to improve your display (layout).

Chevrolet –
Chevy is all time favourite. Only reason being Bumblebee (Camaro). Expo 2010 (here) had a yellow one, coming right from the Transformers movie. This year, it was in dark orange (yellow was better). It unfortunately will not come to India, because right hand drive is not developed nor the company seems interested in developing one soon. Chevy has some handsome brands with them – Volt , Cruze (racer version in display). Captiva, SUV will be soon launched in a new avatar (earlier version was boring). The flying Beat was a fluke to many eyes (Guys! It was a gas balloon). Chevy pavilion is always impressive but has some standard stuff (this time around - Sail and Tavera).
Chevy gets the ‘Eyeballs’ award. Why? Read on…

DC –
(Disclaimer) I personally don’t like his stuff; it looks over-worked, pricy and lacks the royal classiness in terms of luxury.
Dilip Chhabria franchise is known name (his client list includes many famous stars of Bollywood). He also designed the car for the movie Taarzan (flop). He is introduced Avanti (reminded me of his car in Taarzan) and a modified Jeep (fantastic looks in yellow). Can’t say much on DC.

Aukaat se Bahar (Outside Monetary Reach) – Not surprisingly, the super duper multi Crore cars saw the longest queues. In display were the Porsche 911, Porsche Cayenne S, Ferrari California, Maserati Gran Cabrio, Maserati Quattroporte South Delhi gives you a chance to see these on its roads quite regularly Except Maserati. Maserati Q was best among them.

Bajaj –
Extraordinary pavilion. They came out with a new 4-wheeler (don’t you dare call it a car). RE60. Aisa naam, why RE, why 60? Re is borrowed from REVA (closest competitor in terms of size). 60 because it claims to half CO2 emission to 60gm/km. It is basically a solution to combat pollution (tagline). So, buy only iff you care for environment. Bajaj is the largest manufacturer for 3 wheelers in India. This is a desperate attempt to upgrade them to 4-wheelers. That is the only rational positioning I can understand. Else, it is very small especially with a price of around 2 L (Nano is cheaper than RE60).
The 3 wheeler on the Indian road is quite spacious and can accommodate 6-8 adults (some may call it over-crowding, but it saves you a hell lot of money). Replacing them with this is unlikely. Re60 usage on mass scale is some topic to research upon. Hence, Bajaj gets the curious ‘Y’ award.

Renault –
It has been in India through Logan but has never grown. Once my cab driver complimented Logan with words “lambi deir tak chalti hai, isliye taxi hai”. Logan went the taxi way, which too was limited because of its price and service. Renault here displayed Duster, another SUV attempt. But prices are said to start from 6, which are attractive for high volumes.
Another offering for Indian roads is Pulse. Catchy name but priced on the higher end at above 5 Lakh (above Maruti Swift, Hyundai i20).
Renault has been awarded the ‘fighter-award’.

Mahindra & Mahindra –
Compliments to them for showing Ssangyong to India. XUV 500, Mahindra’s latest offering was displayed in pale yellow and pale purple colours (fantastic). XUV 500 has stellar looks (both front as well as back). Nice to see Indians producing such stuff. Mahindra acquired Reva and thank God! They changed its look (looks are more sensible now, less kiddish). It deservingly gets the ‘Car-of-the-year’ award for XUV 500.


Nissan –
Nissan revealed Evalia, another SUV attempt for the Indian market. Others on display were GT R and 370 Z.

Missed Maruti –
“jo dil mein ho, usye aakhein kya dekhengi”

Two-Wheelers –
Quite a strangler to these at Auto Expos. Still I visited them (thanks to Saurabh Bakshi, Abhishek Garg). The top brand in superbike segment was Ducati. Dream machines to say the least. Haven’t seen much of them on Delhi roads, but all I can observe is that they are damn classy.
Next chapter of awesome-bikes belongs to Harley Davidson. The length of bikes is an admiration in itself. Awesome. Love the style they carry; unique and speaks loads of attitude (respect to their designers).
Others include Yamaha glittery pinky scooty, Vespa white scooter, sand coloured Royal Enfield, Triumph’s Bonneville, Hero Impulse, Honda’s patient answer to Hero’s Impulse, etc (Somehow can’t generate much interest in bikes).

Trends & Analysis –
1) SUVs are the next big thing
2) Red is the hot colour
3) Sexy girls besides cars does not guarantee a good pull. Eg - Mercedes
4) Increase in presence of local brands and manufacturers (signs of confidence)
5) India is opening to superbikes (and not just splendours)
6) Car manufactures still want to show less of their R&D here, in the form of concept cars & more sellable cars
7) Lucky draw is only for prospective buyers

‘Chicks’ n ‘Girls’
Must thank Bakshi for the drag race and his vision and mission towards identifying the sexier talent. Auto Expo 2012 showcased a much better performance compared to its preceding exhibitions. The Chevy pavilion had the best models if not the cars, it wins the male-magnet award for the having the highest attraction load factor.

Kuch bhi (just anything) – heard people/new reports saying the venue is expected to be shifted. Don’t really agree if any venue can replace Pragati Maidan with the kind of location it has (central Delhi amidst the most affluent newsmakers). However, with whatever operations management I have understood, layout of the expo has the scope to improve.

ps: plan to revive the category ‘college life’ initiated. Cheers

YOU can find all pics at Facebook (here) and on Lafango (here)
Drive safely…incase you need any full pic, leave your email id in comments

"Solace is an achievement sometimes"

Yesterday, I achieved my CGPA for yet another exam (which was surprisingly high). I say achievement because it knocked off my balls while studying for it. Everytime I scored low, the only thing I reminded myself was “dude! 12 lakhs investment, 20 lakhs opportunity cost, still casual…”. But the point is not that to struggle at something which you just don’t like. Why is it there? If it is there, why are we doing it? If we are doing it, why are we expecting a justified result?

I have no answer (still). Compulsion is the only word. At the end of the day, you have to tell your rank/score/cgpa to your fees-bearer. The struggle to dissociate you from that compulsion and be merry in what you like, is pata-nahi to me (I don’t know). How do I strike a balance? Amazing problem statement!

So, where was I, ya…balance. I took a chance this time (MBA is generally the last stage of a long educational career in India) and devoted quite a hell of my time in something else (club activities). Consequently it did me no good in studies/college but at that time, it was giving me a very fascinating gyaan (intangible learning). Friends are assets (no finance lecture will tell you this), but I discovered this asset in just the right time. I recovered my bad scores quite tremendously thanks to garg-kalani-bansal classes (:P). However, my struggle made me take a fallacy conclusion, that to be inactive in my club activities. Later, due to low score, I missed a collaborative Kellogg internship. Now, here am I, nowhere and idle but definitely happy and more contented.

So, what’s the idea to enjoy and chill amidst the state of what I call, directionless wandering. First reason – Sleep, really happy to have rediscovered it. 14/16 hours sleep during MBA inside a garam razai is a natural source of happiness. Movies, seeing them before they actually release is another great source of entertainment. Basically, the failure (the appropriate term considering tangible benefits fetched from my workings) has given me the opportunity to be calm and free. What was not available to you is now in abundance – time. You have bought time by failing yourself; so what it is a loser statement, but it damn works. So you start to score tremendously well without putting much real effort (touchwood) and are more dedicated towards what you like the most. That’s why the conclusion, “Solace is an achievement sometimes”.

ps: liteee…

Love You To Death - isme Ladki bhi hai Kutta bhi hai Supari bhi hai, PHIR BHI BEKAAR

Love You To Death is not that lovely like its title. It is promoted as an outrageous comedy in ‘Hinglish’. I am a simple writer but wanted to make sure before penning my thoughts why they used ‘outrageous’. My local dictionary gives me two meanings of ‘outrageous’. First one: Grossly offensive to decency or morality (causing horror). Second: Greatly exceeding bounds of reason or moderation.

I will go with the first option. Rating – 2/5

Story –
Sonia, a rich zero-size married woman loves her Baby, her doggie and can spend any loads of money for her chronic depression (logic: dogs are no less than men – a pure female perception). Sonia is married to Atul, a clumsy fellow trying to make it a big through collaboration with a Russian arms dealer. He fantasizes war but suffers from lack of male shakti. Moving ahead to finalize the collaboration, Atul needs money of Sonia. But she is intimated by muscular eco-friendly stud, John. John lives in self-made biosystem doing R&D for generating green energy (but still can’t term him as scientist). Sonia falls for her and wants to invest in his ambitious energy project. Conflict arises between Atul and Sonia and the love moved in their life towards death.
There are other plots also (cinema gang, doctor’s song, etc) but the story lacks conviction in coupling the different modules.

Simple Cast –
Chandan Roy Sanyal – plays Atul. He played the role of Mikhail in Kaminey. He has shades of good set pieces (one can even find a bit of Vijay Raaz in his performance). However, the role here did not match upto his potential.
Yuki Ellias – plays Sonia. Movie belongs to her. She enjoys the maximum screen possession. She also contributed in directing and script. She looks a bit too thin on screen (and thus, sometimes you don’t take her seriously even when it is needed). Acting is satisfactory, sometimes over.
Suhasini Mulay – regular. Nice to see a bit of vamp in her here. Refreshing.
Sheeba Chadha & Sohrab Ardeshir – talent appreciated.
Dogs – They too have a considerable presence. Some were cute (Baby, owned by Sonia) and some were huge (Tiny, owned by John).

As a marketer, I can clearly define the problem for LYUD. A confused positioning. The movie is not hilarious, forget outrageous. The movie though does highlight some environment issues and if you are a science guy who used to see NASA videos ‘how they use algae to produce energy’, then you might just appreciate the story. Otherwise, the script is not excitedly. The script should have paced itself faster and brought in it some thrill (something like the movie Shor In The City!).

What works – a different ‘Hinglish’ feel, environment & energy awareness
What not – script, pace, entertainment awareness

SPEAKing PICtures verdict – in the Oscar month, you will surely get better options. Stay alert and keeping watching this section for more.

Smart Trivia – Who do you think is Svetlana in the movie? Guess!

Arthur Christmas - festival, family and fantasy

Family, festival & fantasy are the three things to see in Arthur Christmas. Henceforth, the review will assess the movie on these pillars of its build.

Story –
The technology has reached Santa, the countdown is set and Christmas’s dawn is the deadline. Steve (Santa’s elder son) leads his troupe of elves to the surface of earth for gift distribution to all homes. Operations have become fast, smooth and professional. The Christmas-gift distribution functions like high-end airports luggage handling at back end and a paratrooper exercise at front end. The whole sequence is performed with military precision, with the central command base located above in the sky (a spaceship). A delight to watch this part.
After all the distribution exercise is done, the spaceship comes back to North Pole. Among celebrations, the family discovers a gift is missed. Arthur, Santa’s younger son voices his concern about the missing gift. However, Steve thinks missing one gift out of millions as an acceptable error rate. Santa meanwhile does not seem interested.
Arthur with family’s eldest member GrandSanta decides to courier it personally. GrandSanta, Arthur and Bryony (packing hero; fun to watch) board the sleigh powered by ancient reindeers. The journey to earth is tough, on earth its even tougher (amidst African lions), on ocean its awkward and final run to the actual destination is chased by a missile. Back home, ashamed of keeping up the Christmas spirit, Santa with Steve too leave for the missed destination.
Finally they manage to place the gift before the sunrise, but who placed it? Watch and answer.

Analysis –
The structuring of family into multiple generations (GrandSanta, Santa, his two sons – Steve, Arthur) is definitely a clever plot. It one way facilitates differences in though based on generation gap. The fantasy pillar is the best in the movie especially spaceship sequence, reindeer runs, etc. Hollywood seldom disappoints you in animation (fantasy).
However, this movie never really grows on emotions like other superb animations have done in past (Ratatouille, Wall-e, KungFu Panda). It had the potential being associated with both family and festival, however it does not really strikes on senti-emotional front. A bit of disappointment considering it had all the ingredients.

Rating – 1 for each F (family, festival, fantasy) = 3/5

What works – classy animation
What not – thrill quotient is ok, lacks the senti feel

SPEAKing PICtures’s verdict – enjoy whenever you see it. And share it with Cheers