A penny for each thought and I would be living in a castle

Be! And it is!

2011-11-11T02:07:00.000-08:00

I have been listening to some of the songs on loop! Like any ARR album, this grows on you, slow yet mighty strong! Yet another album where not one song is bad! Wonder how these are never recognised at a global level, while a certain pseudo bollywood english movie did wonders for him! On a thursday night, when the plan was to have dinner at home with friends over and retire peacefully to a much needed sleep, someone came up with the idea of Rockstar. Like any last minute plan it happened! I for once was not cribbing since the album had me completely hooked!

At times when you listen to a song (happens to me more often for an ARR song) you imagine how it could be pictured! Most of what you may think is not what you will find in the movie. To me, the picturisation does not do enough justice to the song. I had a feeling of watching Rhythm or Munbe Vaa from JOK! However, thankfully "Kun Fayakun" was exactly as i imagined and wanted it to be! There is something about ARR and his sufiana songs in the recent past. This one is right on top of that list. What an outstanding rendition of those holy words.

For someone who followed the life of rock bands in 1980s and 1990s, the movie is nothing new and leaves no impact! But considering it is an Indian look at a rockstar the attempt seemed genuine. Ranbir has grown and matured as an actor and it shows in his performance. The transformation from a shy insecure adult to the brash and famous rockstar was outstanding. And in a long while it felt like the hero was singing, required more so in a singer based movie. And one could feel the pain in Ranbir's songs, stance and brashness. Never understood the media hype around the affair of the lead pair. If it is true, I so understand why! How can you do romantic scenes with someone as pleasant looking as Nargis and not feel a tinge of being attracted. Though a lot may be desired in terms of acting, she looks pleasing.

I judge a good/ bad movie by the impact it leaves on me. Unfortunately, this movie left no impact at. To sum it up in one sentence - the movie appeared to be a case of the director knowing it is a time tested predictable story line and wanting to say it in a different way with good music. Unfortunately, the story rendition is so convoluted and long, the impact of it being different is so completely lost. There is a small flashback for 20 mins (including Kun Fayakun) which had an impact which soon got lost. It maybe a case of expecting a lot!

Bottomline - Go watch the movie to pay tribute to India's true rockstar - ARR! You wont repent it since the movie is all about the music and the re-recording, BG and songs live up to expectation (exceeding in certain cases). For once i liked Ranbir as an actor! Just blank/ tune off during the cliched romance sequences. The comedy would have been another point to note if you do not have an idiot sitting behind you, laughing so loud and long, that the theatre roof felt threatened with regard to its own stability! Imtiaz either enjoyed the romance (i only mean on-screen) between the lead pair or was so impressed with ARR that he decided to make this movie. Cant see any other plausible reason. It's All About ARR and Ranbir and so it should be!

The seventh sense!

2011-11-11T00:09:00.000-08:00

The movie starts in the past with the story of Damo. Surya as Damo showed peace, anguish, sadness and anger at the same time. Remarkable first 20 minutes or so. Great visual impact with the colours of the blue waters and the green forest stunning and mesmerising.

Travel sequence of 5 minutes showing a slow transformation of a king to a monk was rendered impeccably. However, the impact was lost in the background music. The impact of why someone won over a small tribe or village could have been better portrayed. Why does someone who makes such a bold movie with a not so run of the mill story having scientific explanations far beyond layman understanding still feels compulsive to add unwarranted song sequences? A bold movie could be bold throughout. I completely fail to understand how a hero dances in middle or the road and suddenly self work minded people start to dance. Un andhi - song was good though did not fit in IMO.

The camera work and cinematography is awesome. Can't see how someone can show nature that is already beautiful, even better. A great tamil launch for Shruti though, well deserved for someone who is so talented and she has done a decent job. Much better than her rather forgettable performance in Luck.

Concept of love is such a misconception in tamil movies. Genetic engineer vs circus performer? No offence to any profession bur seriously in the material world that we live in? Again, underestimating the collective intelligence of an audience? Movies don't have to be about an ideal world, does it? So hard to believe this happening in real life. But the problem with healthcare and nonchalance of some doctors are well portrayed.

The sequence on hypnotism and the ensuing fight scene though matrix like, are really good. My knowledge on hypnotism is good as my Russian, but my wife says to do it to multiple people at one time is very difficult! Certain disjointed points - can't see how the first series of police murders did not cause enough panic for city to be on alert. Songs are an obvious disruption. Can't see how shruti who is a genetic engineering student goes to see a contagious disease ward without any protection. How someone with no background of Chennai can find the leads everywhere (The Chinese killer!). Cannot believe how the solution took a bunch of high fly engineers so long. And for a long time certain mass murders remain unsolved, Chennai police are good! Again, I'm no expert on DNA, but certain aspects of the whole transition are not well explained! Maybe more effort could have been used in explaining the science. An educated movie goer will be left with more bewildering questions than answers! You will know what i mean when you walk out of the movie!

For once I agree with the moral of a movie. Teach practices as science and not religion. That will help people follow them and understand them.

Blackjack!!

2011-11-11T00:05:00.000-08:00

After a long sabbatical... Hello!

It was dark, with decent music in the background. I was holding hands with my wife, seated next to me. I had my favourite popcorn in hand and a bottle of cooold (hmph!!!!) water. However, the only thought in my mind was how could I have maintained the same environment, company, entertainment and yet have had a better time. Staring at the ceiling sitting on the couch at home would be a start. But no, I was stuck at the movies watching what the Tamil industry collection projected to be a costly yet profitable game.

I kept thinking was it an expectation mismatch? or a patchy effort? or just my movie experience has been upgraded by picking the ones i want to watch at the movies? (and waiting for DVDs of the rest) was venkat prabhu the main source of my expectation? or the trailer and the associated music? or Ajith's 50th? I do not really have an answer. My good friend who is a movie buzz and a rather voracious reader of reviews of all kind told me that the movie moves in the mould of Coen brothers's! That did not help but build more anticipation as i kept thinking what next by dismissing the most obvious.

Ajith's 50th. Quite a commendable journey from how he started to where he has reached. Good style and action (and even dialogue delivery has seen quite a marked improvement). Should have stayed off the barley drink for a while coz the paunch shows. As in most tamil movies, you wonder why there are songs at the most unwanted of times.. The answer is quite elementary.. Yuvan has done a remarkable job and the director must have thought leaving the songs out would be a crime.. and maybe thats what the masses expect!

The first half builds expectation but feels patchy.. thinking of Coens, you would assume the links are in the second half.. Well there aren't any! Its just what it is, take it and go! The twist in the movie comes much later and if you are a good follower you can sense and reason it out! I was disappointed as i kept thinking what it would be (subconsciously hoping it was not one of the more obvious ones!) As a tamil movie fan you expect it to be the hero's movie, right?

Trisha and Andrea are pleasing to the eye in their passable blink and you miss roles. The rest of VP's crew are bound to deliver some action and laughter, which they do! But then, no surprises there! End of day, it is an Ajith movie for Ajith fans! As straight from the hips as possible. If you are not a fan, its just another Tamil movie like every/ most other you get to watch.Walk in with no background and wants, you might come out feeling better than i did. Then again, expecting a mountain out of a mole was my mistake and not the movie's! There apparently is an old Chilean saying - What happens in the mine, stays in the mine. So am not going to tell you more.. Watch at your own peril. Be livid or confused at the end of it. Do not blame me coz i did warn you!

Zero to Hero to Zero!

2010-12-14T10:12:00.000-08:00

He captivates the minds of a few million people. Not just the "branded mindless south indians" but people world over!! He is a PHENOM. His name is known better than most from my part of the world. He probably has more names than God Almighty himself. Well he is human and has certain negatives. Who doesn't? (Am not talking abt myself here! :) Well then again, every body likes to think that! and opinion is like an a$$H0!!) I'm so infuriated, i'm writing this albeit i'm not even a fan..

I've not seen so many jokes on any single person as Rajnikanth.. He is an actor who acts for money. Like how each one of us do what pays for our meals and luxury. Not one of our job is for our satisfaction alone.. you gotta worry abt your next meal or a meal after 50 years or whatever!! And more importantly each work is focused at someone else. so, yes we are bothered abt what an "audience" would appreciate!

He is not the best looking guy yes! He does not have macho limbs and and wings that Arnold produced in commando! He is an ordinary humanbeing with a super human status! If it is Rajni for the tamils, its SRK for the rest of india and both have equally questionable acting skills.. Come on accept it.. Apart from CDI, i have not seem SRK do anything different. He is successful coz he knows what audiences expect from him and delivers to the point. Karan Johar films will be banned if audiences become sensible. There will always be someone who wants that kinda (&^%. After all we Indians are a billion and growing, thats counting only the one who live in India(???!! I dont want to venture coz am sure the census board does not know, coz they dont know if they need to ask abt caste or nationality!!)

Anyways, i've read everything possible that can be attributed to the man than normal homosapiens can never do.. Pope fainting to sun not rising to others. I'm as guilty coz i sent a forward today morning. Albeit it has made him famous, certain websites (which are not as famous as him) list him in their top 25 most searched!! Awesome for someone with such humble beginnings! But there is a certain breaking point and i got to mine today!! Haven't we had enough already! Come on, there are better things to read - like the rest of this blog!! :P :P

P.S - Each one of those forwards were progressively more hilarious!! Awesome.. But still.

P.S.S - I'm a fan of Kamalhassan!!

One more please - Sridhar - Has nothing to do with your forward. Dont mind!

Sleep with one eye open! Gripping your pillow tight!

2010-09-05T00:17:00.000-07:00

The reason I quote Metallica is because of one reason. I saw one of the best made movies ever (Inception) and one of the most boring and horrible movies I have ever seen (We are Family) both in the same weekend. While one was scary in what someone can do with your mind when you sleep, the other one is watchable only when you are dozing off. I don’t even need to explain what is what.

I only wish I had seen Inception before WAF (seriously wanting to draw your attention to how close it is to WTF). I could have sat through WAF thinking about inception. Its like drinking warm malt thinking about a cold pint of Westvletere, or making love to someone thinking of Scarlett J or Salma H or whoever else that catches your fantasy

It is sad and shameful to talk about these 2 movies in the same sentence. So here it goes (in chronological order of when I saw them)

We are Family – Intuition is a funny thing, human mind an entirely different story. It is funny why the mind ignores intuition and makes you do crazy things. I knew even before I entered the theatre that this movie was going to be a disaster waiting to happen. Yet there I was the good samaritan who wanted to “spend time with friends”. I’ve never admired the interiors of a movie hall before, but the only realization that this movie gave me was that. What all does it take to make a movie (read theatre) work. The beautiful curtains that I hoped would come down soon to end the torture. PoWs are often said to be subjected to some of the worst punishments in life. Following is a step-by-step training in torture management that the military should implement:

a) Find a dark room (sound proof for the sake of humanity) with some electric sockets
b) Buy the most expensive LED TV and some blue ray disk player
c) Hire movies like Tom Dick and Harry, Pyare Mohan, Kya Kool Hai Hum etc.
d) Watch them repeatedly for 15 days with breaks only for nature calls
e) If this does not help, hire all KJ movies and repeat the above procedure for 15 days
f) If this also does not work watch WAF once. (If it’s a lady or a sentimental guy who cries a river – lock them without tissue rolls)
g) The only thing that will push you over the brink more than the above would be the news of him winning a Bharat Ratna

Albeit no credit taken away from the actors – there were some good performances, but poor them what can they do (And even KJ coz he isn't the director, though investing money in such a venture is still a questionable act). Its like making Michael Schumacher drive a tuned Maruti Alto and expecting him to win a Europe crosstour.

WAF happened on Thursday and Friday went in getting over the grief. Then came Saturday and finally after much anticipation, I went and saw Inception!! (I know I need to be crucified for not watching it this long)

If I need to describe it in one word I would say Brilliance!! I have never had to watch anything with more concentration and had a bad back at the end of the movie coz I spent the last 45 minutes sitting on the edge. Not that I’m a novice movie watcher and didn’t know what will happen next. Its since I’m a reasonable interpreter of events and I wanted to compare what happens with I thought would happen. Some of it did, some didn’t but whatever was on screen takes your breath away.

Ever since Memento I had huge respect for Nolan. And he has certain set schematics for how his movie moves. He follows a certain pattern which is very evident in his movies. My respect for Leonardo is growing after each of his performance ever since Catch Me if You Can. But Inception is beyond the actors and beyond the direction, it is all about conceptualisation. Credit to whoever thought of a concept like this and decided that something like this could be converted to a movie.

The direction and editing is phenomenal and the cinematography is good though there is not much scope in terms of producing something out of the world there. The only problem is, how many people would ever understand it the first time. It is probably not as complicated as I thought it would, but is still complicated enough. And you can’t miss one frame or one word of what is being said. Not that they are all important, but you never when the important stuff comes.

For those who have not seen the movie, please go watch it. Even if you don’t understand it all, you might still appreciate the idea. If you do understand it, am not sure how comfortable your dreams will be. Or it will leave you wondering how you can ever control it so that it doesn’t destroy you. One thing you won’t ever do going forward is sleep in public places. What does make the movie more understandable is that you can relate to the basis of some of the concepts. For ex – time moves faster in a dream or you never remember the beginning of a dream etc. It is a movie you watch atleast twice. The first time you are too caught in the events you may fail to notice certain subtle directorial touches. Watch it twice and you will spot the finesse.

For all my tamil knowing friends – In between i also watched Naan Magaan Alla. It was a different attempt at an all too familiar story, but worth watching once for sure.

All in all, the weekend started badly with the worst ever Thursday evening, but ended really well. Can’t wait for the blue ray release of Inception. And can’t wait for KJ’s next release (only to see if the concept called learning curve works for all!!)

Beera may be good if you are down a few pitchers of beer!!

2010-06-20T23:53:00.000-07:00

I shudder to write this coz am calling a Mani Ratnam movie "Ordinary". Was it a better watch that "Short Kut" or "Kya Kool Hai Hum" or the numerous Johar movies or anything that has Neha Dhupia in the lead? Probably yes! Atleast most part of it! But when you walk in to a much marketed, talked about and waited Manu Ratnam movie you probably expect more. Maybe thats what kills it. But as a buff and reasonable critic do i want to find solace in comparing a madras talkies release to a no-name, no-fame release from some dumb movie house, something that should not be even allowed to be screened because no self respecting human would want to see it and agree in public that it was watchable.. No not really!!

Being a fan of MR from long and having the distinct advantage of watching and understanding his tamil and hindi movies, i would say this is a let down for something that is claimed to be created over a long period. The one thing i felt through out the movie is that something was lacking.. The strong under current to a story that is so typical to a MR movie was not felt.. Either it wasn't there or i was not good enough to feel it..

Cinematography was awesome, camera work brilliant. No one works the contrasts in a scene better than MR. Long duration shots without cuts, shots that zone in on the characters blurring background etc were a visual treat. Ash does justice to her role though i felt she was few octaves too shrill and few decibels too loud in parts. Abhi was good, underplaying at time with a decent portrayal of beera contrasting shades of good and evil. a decent portrayal.. though his chak chak chak kept ringing in my head and i dont know why but i kept comparing it to laka laka laka a'la chandramukhi style and that meant i was laughing out loud at inappropriate times much to the amusement of my friends who anyways think my Hindi is weak!

I thought the background was brilliant,very little songs used in the movie helped. ARR sneezes and its still music to me... So not too surprising.. Recently, you would start liking ARR songs after you watch the movie and relate to it, like RDB or Delhi 6. NO such correlation with Raavan..

At a certain point i wondered if it was going to be a typical story of good hunting bad coupled with stockholm syndrome!! thankfully not!! But for one song where Ash did try real hard, there was no chemistry with Vikram. Would be interesting to see the tamil version and if there is chemistry there, then full marks to both Ash and Vikram. I'm not sure if Vikram dubbed in hindi for his role. if yes (and i thought it was his voice) its a very commendable job.

Bottomline - If you are someone not to miss a MR movie, go watch it. If you appreciate good cinematography and the technical aspects of a movie go watch it. If ur expecting MR or ARR magic, stay home and watch Alaipayuthae or Kannathil Muthammittal (and for my non-tamil friends Guru or Yuva)If you are as jobless as i was and have nothing better to do, its worth a watch. It did gross huge on opening in teh US, a country that does not watch football. If my understanding of growing football TRP in India is true, then movie owners may struggle to keep shows full.. Good luck ang Godspeed.. Now that i might go to chennai, you may find me watching the tamil version at noon coz i wont give up football to watch the same movie in another language..

Each religion has its own rules and people who abuse!!

2010-04-27T01:53:00.000-07:00

I’m surprised how the mother ship abandoned its kid just when the kid got into trouble. Isn’t it true mothers protect kids even if the kids try to distance themselves. Authority and autonomy is something every entity and more so the management years for! And it is like “free stuff or concessions to the public”. Once given it can never be taken back without someone’s dirty linen being dragged to attention.

Me and millions or arguably billions, considering the population explosion, who consider cricket as a religion and follow it everyday, IPL has been a real great entertainer. Some independent company apparently values it over $4 billion. BCCI’s annual revenue is deemed to be around $2 billion. From Modi’s interview in March (prior to the grand success of IPL 3) I learn that the BCCI earns $7 million a day while IPL earns about $1.3 million a day (both annualized I guess). Any business that gives the mother ship around 20% revenues is significant enough to warrant a close daily look

To his credit, it has been Modi’s charisma that made IPL as popular with the media, cinema and party circles. However, Cricket takes care of the public attention anyways!! Am not a supporter of any one person in authority. All I want is a fair deal!! If someone did something murky and against the law, they need to face the music.

So much has been talked about financial irregularities in IPL.. Too much attention for anything that generates TRP is news enough for channels to repeat it over and over!! Was this money the tax payers money? How is the common man affected by this?? How the f&*^ do I care if Modi bought a jet from a kick-back when none of it involves my money. And tax irregularities and unaccounted money does result in tax revenue loss for the country which is a public problem. A sizeable chunk of my country’s Parliament Members – THE PEOPLE WHO RULE THE COUNTRY and decide the laws and policies for one of the fastest growing nation in the world have corruption cases against them!!!! And this is tax money that belong to common man, be it Ambani or Amitabh or an under-paid government employee..

Problems: BCCI is too big and important to be un-regulated. Too many politicians involved in the administration resulting in a greater political interference. BCCI officials or relatives or people who are close enough to get information that is not public hold stake in IPL teams. Government taking over this is definitely not an answer.

I don’t know what the solution is, but nothing at the cost of the game.. I would love IPL 4 and more!!

OH GOD!! I bow to theeee!!!

2010-02-24T05:10:00.000-08:00

I had written this long back (5 years i think!!) and posted it elsewhere!! Not today he just proved why he is truly and undoubtedly - THE GOD!!! As if his conquests earlier was not enough, he just nailed it on each cricket lovers mind!!

There is one less thing for critics to say he has not done!!! Unfortunately, the man is so great that most things he has done, no one has come close to doing!!

Sachin Tendulkar - Arguably India's best sportsman alive. Dedication, perfection, aspiration, thirst for more, greed for being better.... I can say on and on!! I love to watch him play and can do that twenty four seven.. A famous man said "I'm happy to breathe the same air he does" well yes, you should be! We all should be. But there are things to be learnt from this timid man, who by far is India's biggest personality!! Enough has been said about him - discussed, debated and praised.. My little dedication to him.. I wrote this a few years back, but now is as good a time as year..

A coin decides what happens first,
Ten players adhere to the captain’s behest.
My eyes are set to watch one bat,
To me he is god, the best at that.
He’s given every bowler some horrific nightmares
And set audience ablaze from those skyward flares
Debut at the tender age of sixteen,
Gifted with talent, umpteen.
He’s one that makes a wingless mass fly,
The willow his shoutbox, one he speaks by.
Saves the country’s face time and again,
When in, he’s sure to reign.
He’s garnered records aplenty,
Runs more than thousands, twenty.
Centuries more than any counterpart,
Sure says the way he tore them all apart.
To him it all fades away before pride,
He gets in guiding the team to victory’s side.
He’s one of the greatest to step on the grass
Class, apart. Technique u can’t surpass.
I know words can’t measure his greatness,
This is just a tribute from me, nonetheless.

Player of the Decade

2010-01-11T11:13:00.000-08:00

I read this (or got this forwarded to me) and it got me thinking! Ofcourse, am not a paid writer for cricinfo, so i dont have to be politically correct!!http://www.cricinfo.com/decadereview2009/content/story/440770.html

If you’re from the subcontinent and you don’t know a thing or two about cricket, even the autorickshaw guys will mock!! They may not know the technicalities, but they are updated all the same! Our gang was a little on the extreme, favourite passtime (after playing the game ofcourse and sitting down drippy and tired!!) was a modified word building game.. building cricketer names! So ofcourse its no surprise one of the first blogs of the decade should be this!!

Well if it was the 1990’s the choice would have been extremely difficult – with Sachin and Lara the gods with the bat, Mcgrath, Warne, Donald in their prime, Akram, Ambrose, and a few others either in their last few years before hanging up their shoes or settling in to the demands of international cricket! Special mention to Sachin and Lara towards the end of the decade where they won games single handedly with a relatively uninterested team or the sheer lack of quality bowling attack (not to mention match-fixing!!) Sachin though is my god, Lara, Warne et al are very difficult to overlook by all means!!

This decade – the 2000s is a relatively easier choice, not to undermine the achievements of many!! The forward mentions a few names. Through this blog, names are mentioned in no particular order. Starting at home – Virendra Sehwag had an amazing decade, with sheer domination terrorising every bowler who rolled his arms over.. He clearly redefined what one’s attitude can do to his game and the team as a whole! He brought a weird sense of stability.. Rahul Dravid “The Wall”… His achievements always overshadowed by the more worshipped players in the team.. Anil Kumble – his sheer dedication and consistency and the never let go attitude.. Laxman – for his rare strokes of genius.. Ganguly – attitude, aggression and the hunger to win.. And the God himself – Sachin Tendulkar – enough said!!

The once brothers in arms – Pakistan. Muhammad Yousuf, a.k.a Yousuf Youhana, consistency, work horse like, though not known for his attitude.. Inzy – its amazing the time he has to play a delivery, again consistency and managing such a unit is never easy… Don’t think anyone else warrants a mention here.. Moving south – War torn hidden pearl - Lanka.. Sanath – redefined hitting hard or hitting out, for some reason was also successful in tests.. Sangakkara – to me the best SL ever produced, and arguably the second best keeper bat.. Murali – for the sheer record if not anything else.. Vaas – probably the Walsh of this generation..

Further south – Down Under – No list is complete of 3 players from here is not mentioned.. Ponting – what a decade he has had, no one can question the dominance in terms of record or presence at the crease.. Somehow I don’t like him!! I cannot put my hands on why! I don’t think I can ever!! He is questionably a great great batsman.. but I never can judge why I don’t like him… Moving on to a step ahead, Gillie and Hayden have been the most entertaining cricketers ever in 2000s save only for Sehwag (occasional brilliance of Gibbs and Gayle eliminated) The most daunting one day opening ever, Hayden went on to prove a point in tests with Langer most part of the decade in tests also.. Gilly proved what an asset he is at no 7??!!! Wow what depth they had.. and enjoyed.. one mention to his sportsmanship (albeit, I have a grudge on the Sachin incident leafed upon (mentioned but albeit very tangently!!) in his book!) No one in the English camp did steal my fancy.. (Pietersen was the only one who was close, but next decade if he plays enough maybe!!)

And then moving west (no new Zealander ever caught my fancy, forgive me!) to SA – Polock bowled his heart out.. Gibbs (who I put my bottom dollar would be the man to reach 200 in ODI!! Not to mention Gayle and his floyambant attitude!) whose sheer dominance is unparalled but for Hayden and Sehwag!! (too damn difficult to choose there!) ABD and Duminy only flowering and may warrant a place in 2010s.. But to me, the un-paralled would be Jacques Kallis.. who bowled his heart out and batted ever truly. Only to be masked by a team who made it a habit to be unsuccessful in almost all big events when the world was watching (and hoping probably!!) that they shine like the Sirius!! Never happened in the decade that went by.. He probably stole the show with batting and bowling.. ever so reliable, ever so consistent!! To the list mentioned above, this was not easy… but he did record his presence more than anyone else.. saddening-ly not on world cricket, for no mistake of his!!

A decade bygone – and my humble thanks to all those who entertained us, who may or may not have a mention here!! You conquered hearts, stole more!! Who play, I pray continue… Players to watch out for in the next decade – Tyagi, Virat Kohli, Gambhir, Yousuf Abdullah, Umar Akmal, Mohd Aamer (probably??!!), Duminy, AB De Villers, Al Cook, Haddin?? And many more to come… Fingers crossed, lets hope you entertain and rock!!

No Idiot Business this!!

2010-01-03T10:42:00.000-08:00

Bogged down by a lot of travelling, functions, leisure and catching up on work (and ofcourse Matthew Reilly’s new book), I couldn’t manage the necessary time or motivation to go watch a movie in over a month!! Almost every one around made me feel miserable about this, particularly in a time when 3 idiots was running!! I had been catching dough on this movie (coz honestly I was looking to replace my worn out Dil Chahta Hai dvd with a new movie) as it was much expected by all alike

So I finally decided to take the plunge in the new year and go watch the movie. For someone who had taken the pains to go to a cinema to watch some enthralling pieces of art like “Shortkut: The con is on” or “Sunday”, movies that should not be seen on even your worst hair day, 3 Idiots was like eating Vada Pav on a rainy day!! Though I generally do tend to sensibly keep my expectations down prior to watching a bollywood movie, this one struck all the right chords in increasing that expectation. I do not know if this elevated levels of expectation is the only reason I felt like “I did watch a movie better than most releases in the year.. Combined.. However, was this movie worth the attention it (is) generated(ing)”

The feel of the movie was good, certain scenes were really moving!! I presume that one of the minds behind the movie must have written the mid part of the movie, from lets say 80 mins odd to about 100 mins just prior to Kareena ala the runaway bride scene, after staying up a full night watching the Hum Saath Saath Hain genre of movies. This part of the movie somehow was so totally different from the other sections of the movie. Even during the interval I wasn’t enthused about the popcorn (I was then thinking it is such a big queue for popcorn, should I go stand now!!) but during this part I was so enthused about the popcorn that I literally had to be stopped by the doorman (he wouldn’t let me out since I didn’t have the tickets, and getting back to the seat and getting it was too much effort!!). But the part where Maddy talks to his dad and Sherman clears the interview were touching

The movie’s call to overhaul the education system cannot be ignored. I thought I was a victim of the “quote the book” clan though my field of expertise is so far removed from the concept of the movie. The system as an outer shell I felt was still the same. No insults to the numerous engineers, MBAs, CAs and other professionals that India produces, am sure they learn to apply what they read, without which India will neither be one of the fastest growing economy nor would Indians abroad be in positions that they hold. The system though lacks application oriented learning and testing of minds and that is an irrefutable fact. However, I do not think the message was conveyed that strongly and somewhere in the melodrama it was not as hard hitting as it could have been. The emphasis could have been on this in the sections where during a Mumbai flood, the hero delivers a baby using a vaccum cleaner!! Wasn’t necessary in my humble opinion!

The movie moves about in the same way DCH did, the music not as good though couple of songs are good and the re-recording complements the feel of the movie. Comedy was slapstick and not as mature as DCH, and emotional sections were clearly not even close to that masterpiece. Probably the reason I did not like the movie was a personal issue… probably that I kept pitting it against DCH in my mind, which may not be a good thing to do!! Unfortunately, to me that was the last bollywood movie that I can put a hand on my heart and I say I love everytime I watch it!! A cult, a breakthrough, an eye-opener, a true out of the skin feeling for the time and age day that movie released!! If on a scale of 5, I’d have give DCH a 10, I’d probably give 3 Idiots a 4. Which in other words might mean, that I was 200% satisfied with DCH, whereas 3 Idiots was probably 80% satisfactory. For someone who wants to go watch the movie I would say this: If you have watched any B’Wood movies in 2009 and thought it was worth it (even including kaminey, paa, etc!!) then 3 Idiots is a definite watch!! Else, wait sometime will the “Official DVD” is out and then go watch it. Don’t watch it on tv till then pls. Good movie for sure

The year that flew by

2009-12-30T02:47:00.000-08:00

It was a very tumultuous year and too many things happening around the world. Some good, most things not. Personally, the year was a good one for me, but I had to face a few losses that were quite dear, the biggest of it being MJ the king! Its such a saddening thought that in the same year that “providence” led ARR conquer the world, it took away from us another great. A loss that I guess even god cannot replace, there was just one masterpiece. Bright spots in the year was Arsenal moving along in the right direction, Sachin completing another year doing what he calls the best thing he knows to do, where one of the largest democracies in the world put a certain Mr. President in his rightful place etc. It was also a year of more violence and gore in oil rich countries, more deaths and infiltrations in Kashmir and the list of what’s not changed goes on and on

My Country of birth - However, television and TPR never lost its charm. Indian news channels continued to “establish and govern law and justice” and conducted trials live. Commissioner’s dog missing and cat running on the terrace still made news on the Hindi news lines. (Shame since a year more has passed in the India 2020 dreams and this is the kind of headlines) A year where ARR got an Oscar (the man in worth more) though Slumdog, I thought was neither worth the Oscars nor the ridiculous amount of publicity it got. Some fellow country men generated more mileage from it than they deserve

Telengana started what will now be a popular demand – new states!! India, now second to US in this, will soon surpass US and achieve the half century landmark. That’s like finding kryptonite for politicians in a country already divided and depleted by political powers that use caste and religion for gains god never could have imagined. A PIO won the Nobel Prize and thankfully no one bothered to dig his wardrobe for skeletons to bring him down (salute the achievement!!) Gay marriages became legal in parts of the country and was (of course) met with violence in various parts of the country. What I could not believe was when someone said this is a way to globalization, I fail to understand how and why!! The “Religious Police” showed strength by vandalizing women who club and drink with the same vigour they showed in opposing gay relationships

India proved yet again that it is a country with a plan – it was one of the countries least affected by recession. No drastic bail-outs, no using tax payer money for badly managed PSU’s etc. Indian brands made further acquisitions abroad, sports and screen stars were still big brands, commanding more prices than ever, people still continued to hero worship. Reality shows became more and more dreamy, a true sense of globalisation hit India when a certain show telecasted participants bathing in the forest, thankfully, dressed. The impact from western television was very apparent as most of these shows were clearly inspired (read completely based on) by similar shows in the western world. When half the country was busy watching newer and “progressive” thoughts on screen, crime, self-proclaimed “guerrilla”ism, crime against women, terrorism, violence in the name of religion and “goondaism” (the flavour of politics in this country) continued to flourish and grow!

World otherwise – My country of exile was dragged to the streets and all dirty laundry washed in front of informed minds for no great mistake of theirs. Certain sectors continued to be weak as it normally would under recession. However, not all is lost. When you run harder than the others to the stop line, you pant harder! And water from your spring or a neighbours is water all the same till you stop panting!

The year saw a lot of natural calamities, plane crashes, ferry sinkings etc. Volcanoes threatening to erupt, tectonic plates under constant duress and seas waiting to rise. A certain government took global warming to the next level by signing accords under sea, the place they claim where they will be. World over, fuel became cheaper and people burnt more of it. Carmakers sold more hybrid cars, flights charged fee (a voluntary payment at the time of booking) for afforestation, a word of guilt called “carbon footprint” was put in people’s minds hoping people will think twice

Barrack Obama was given a nobel, much to the wonder of the world, though he gracefully accepted it by saying it was for the work to be done. True considering not much has been done, though there are major improvements. Pakistan (including people caught on camera) continued to say that they never train people to commit crimes against India. More countries joined the EU and a common gulf currency moved farther away. Bail-out became the most used word and company top management continued to embrace capitalism and “all for one”

A year of major achievements in terms of my sporting favourite(s) marred by indiscretion in the personal lives of some of them that was given undue importance. Sachin and Jayasuriya finished 20 years of cricket (no achievement in itself) and my dear friend who is also a Lara worshipper said he started appreciating Sachin’s batting now (tome that’s bigger than what Sir Don said). Federer conquered more courts while his challenges came from non-nadal elements. Arsenal, mid-way, are a championship contender, Wenger may finally see some silverware!! The best news though was Schumi announcing his return next year and I’m thrilled!! Albeit the return is with a team I personally loathed hitherto!!

Welcome 2010!!! Have a lot to look forward to next year – personal, professional, sports, friends, politics, major world events, travel all included!! Here’s hoping glory to all and to all good health, Arsenal getting silverware, Schumi opening more champagne, Sachin a hundred hundreds in international cricket, travel fun and frolic and winning the lottery and a thousand other personal wishes!!!!

Have a great year ahead!!

i cannot think of a title, i'm just too sad!!

2009-06-27T05:07:00.000-07:00

King of Pop!! King of all!! I’ve grown up hearing his music. One of the first set of songs CD’s I ever burnt for all of my cars had a collection of some of my favourites – MJ, Metallica, Maiden, Scorpions, Deep Purple, Judas Priest etc. But MJ was there always.. Thriller, Bad and History et all!! Have had smooth criminal, bad, beat it, billie jean as my ring tone for as long as I can remember..

Too many of his songs were just too good. If someone told me to name the top 100 songs ever and there can’t be more than 5 songs by one person/ band I would struggle. Some of my favourites of MJ in no particular order are:

1) Smooth Criminal
2) Beat It
3) Billie Jean
4) Bad
5) Thriller
6) Blood on the dance floor
7) Remember the time
8) Black or White
9) The Way you make me feel
10) Dangerous
11) Heaven can Wait
12) You rock my World
13) Keep the Faith
14) Heal the World

Can’t see how I can leave 9 of these out of the top 100.

I can’t pay tribute to him with just this, but MJ, despite all the legal trauma, we love you. And you will live with us forever. My son would grow up listening to you, and his son would too!! Thanks for keeping me awake when I drive, singing to me to sleep anytime else!

If I had a few hundred million quid, I would have bought your villa when it came up for sale and would have lived the way you did or at least where you did!! That I don’t is a given, yet you will live long, your footsteps will always remain etched!!!! You were one of the better musicians of the last century and the millennia arguably!! Difficulties you must have encountered, one can't beat it easily to get to where you were!! Enough said, words can't do justice, black or white!! Thanks for all the entertainment in the past, now and ever!!

Trust and trysts

2008-03-12T23:50:00.000-07:00

Guess I’ve finally got all the adrenaline and motivation to write!! (Who am I kidding!! I finally found the time to write!) Well anyways the recent events in the personal lives of a few of my friends and a few souls that their lives have touched (To clarify, I don’t watch Oprah!!) have prompted a vital question in my head. Why would a guy feel insecure about his girl friend, or more importantly when would a guy feel insecure about his girl friend or the relationship!!

Its happened to me! Its happened to my friends! I’ve been told that am getting too close to comfort to someone who is in a “committed relationship”. Ditto a few of my friends!! Well being close to someone is a matter of personal choice.. More importantly a choice that both people concerned make! So can one person be close to another without the like of the other?? Nah, cant see how! So then, if I get comfy with let’s say a “friend’s girlfriend” is it only of my doing?? If I call her repetitively, and talk to her and in more words than I’m “supposed to” (well that sounds more like allowed right?? :) ) she still does have a tongue to ask me to stop it!! So why would this make a guy insecure??

Times changed, tides changed!!! Now, I have friends who’s girl friend is best friends with her ex boy friend.. One of her best friends, a guy part of the group she hangs out with often, asked her out and was truly madly deeply in love with her.. Probably still is.. That sure is a weird scenario. But I like the reasoning the girl had! She said “my boy friend does trust me, just coz someone keeps hitting on me does not mean I end up falling for him… If one doesn’t believe me that much then he has no belief in our relationship either.. Trust me not to dump your friend for a better guy” I told this friend of mine that he sure is lucky to have found a girl like her! (Well even after that statement he didn’t really think I was hitting on her, thankfully)

Well then, would I be ok if my girl friend was like that? What can one do but raise the concerns with his girlfriend? Well, I have experienced a few other modes of handling the issue and am personally not a fan of any of them!! (Not coz I was the “Wrong-er”, more coz of the outcomes of these other “modes”) More so, the comments from this friends gal puts an even bigger question – Where does this sense of insecurity come from?? Lack of trust in the partner, so little self confidence?, so little faith in a relationship? Or the reality of the world that if things can go wrong for someone, it can for you also?

Well, whatever it is I shall tell u when I face it.. As of today, I really don’t have an experience that I can talk about! It would make life simple for the whole world if someone does not hit on your girlfriend… But if you want a girlfriend who is good looking, intelligent, smart and talented, well she will be hit on whether she chooses to tell u or not…. One can’t be around her all day to ensure that no one does hit on her!! Well despite all that is she does choose to live with u she chose wise!! Else, she’s otherwise!! That’s the luck of the draw! Better face it, I guess???? Wat say???

P.S – I know the quotes have been irritating. Its just my mode of remembering or trying to remember forgotten conversations!! Those were words told to me and just wanted a verbatim repetition or atleast attempted one!! I don’t remember what I had for lunch yesterday, so these were finally words that I did make up!! :) :)

BOSS Movie - Botch-up Of a Super Star movie

2007-07-07T00:58:00.000-07:00

Shouts against corruption?? How many times have we seen that before? But a Rajini movie on it?? Should be different! Well, that’s what I thought! AVM, Shankar, Rahman, Sujatha and the star himself coming together ought to be better!! Well, that’s what I thought! The costliest movie ever! The money spent doesn’t impress me, but yeah it is headline news! When so much money is spent it can’t all be that bad! Well, that’s what I thought! The one south indian movie the media country over gave so much importance! The reasons probably are what have been mentioned above! Hype, so much so, that it sparked off comparison as to whether Rajini is a brand as big as Amitabh or probably Shahrukh! When the media promotes I should have known that it is more a commercial showstopper than anything else! Well, I should’ve known!

So I thought now there’s a movie I should not miss! Being a tamilian, I cannot miss a Rajini movie can I?? I saw the movie so late that I became an outcast till then! Finally I thought I need to break the shackles! So I did go see the movie! I’m always called a biased fellow. Biased against bad movies! Unfortunately, a lot of Rajini movies do fall in that category... Though, movies like Annamalai, Baadshah will be in my all time favourite list for a long time!

Sivaji – It’s a movie for Rajini fans - ONLY. A rank outsider will never remotely connect with it, leave alone liking the movie. A good movie watcher (I consider myself to be one :P :P) will forgive the numerous pitfalls in the movie for one and only one reason! It’s a Rajini movie. Even before I take my seat I don’t expect anything! The only reason that Sivaji disappointed me was because of the hype it created! Understandable, coz when one spends so much money making a movie he would want to make it all back and more!

If someone can give u a brief of the first half in 10 minutes, believe me you can watch the second and rest assured you’ve seen the best part of the movie. Though the first lays the platform, I guess its about an hour and a half wasted on general cinematics! I still do not understand why this movie needs a romantic quotient, the resultant of which are incorrigibly shot songs! Am a Rahman fanatic and even a recorded sneeze of his is music to me! So one won’t be surprised to know I loved the music! The first half in a nutshell is the introduction of the hero, villain, heroine, and hero’s intention of doing service and why the villain has a problem about it! This strewn with a few songs, fight sequences and a whole lot of nonsense….

The second half is where the crux is! The renaissance of a man beaten down by the evils in the society! Clichéd? Yeah! But it’s always different when Rajini does it! It sure is! Whether that’s interesting or not is a diff question altogether! But anyways I did enjoy bits of the second half! The original “Shtyle” was back in full swing! Rajini’s second incarnation was a little irritating in terms of the attire, but was an eyeful in terms of the style!! The swing, the venom, the fire, the anger all reflects in his walk! Though some of that is a little “punching” the last 30 minutes is a total winner!

My clincher in the movie comes in the first 10 minutes! I’m totally fallen for this gal! Nayanthaara looks like a million bucks! She’s turned into one of these blinders over the last year! And the presence of Shreya through the movie was pleasing! Some of Vivek’s comedy was really good too! Music of course, particularly in the first half fight sequence in the music store where the instrument of fight was played in the background has ARR class written al over it!! But IMO Shankar could have saved a few bucks from the extravagant sets and his histrionic song sequences! But well, we know what to expect from him too!

The white Rajini is a concept beyond me! It’s like looking at a black swan! Or thinking of a Hispanic Tony Blair! As usual, one can’t understand why songs are there in the first place (That is true of most Indian movies, its now a no-brainer as to why they are there) That said, when its ARR making it, I ain't complaining! Though Rajini’s English vocabulary and accent has improved over the years a little less of it wouldn’t have been too bad… His forte is his tamil dialogue delivery and style and I don’t understand why that needs to be spared! There were very few of his well known for “Punch Dialogues” Some dialogues does show Sujatha’s class in it, but I would’ve wanted more of it from a Rajini movie! This movie will do it for him, what Baba failed to... Statistically and financially!! The fight sequences are taken really badly to say the least! Letting Rajini die is a brave move, but we all know there’s more to come! Suman as the bad guy is good! A sea change from his old bell bottom clad cycling days!

The message though is true and a problem to be tackled! Not too sure what the stars did for charity, but what would’ve been more appreciated was if the amount spent on the movie had been seed money for a college or a hospital! We didn’t need a movie to tell us what’s wrong with the country! I would’ve been happier watching one less movie (losing my sanity a little lesser), when someone elsewhere is gaining more sanity and perspective or when some poor guy’s family is saved! Then again, I could’ve chosen not to go to the movie and donated too! Guess I’m flawed too, but not as bad as the movie! Truth remains the “Rich get richer and the poor get poorer” Stating the obvious?? Exactly what the movie does too! “Hey it’s Sivaji Man! COOL!!!!”

Really made my head Jhoom!

2007-07-03T22:08:00.000-07:00

Just when I thought my time was getting too pricey for me to enjoy a sip of… ahem ahem.. and write a blog! Just when I thought I did not have the inspiration to write! Along come two colleagues! Both good friends of mine! (One a gal to add more spice to the story :P :P) They take me to this movie! Well one of them forced me to it, so much so he used the “I come with u – u never come with me when I want” that I stopped using more years ago that I can count with my fingers!

Anyways, we land up in this really good theatre! (From where I come most theatres here seem good!! Albert and Udhayam I still miss u!!) There are some movies which u know wud be good before they start making it! There are some movies that take u by surprise. There are movies that u read good reviews of and then think oh I missed it and u go watch! There are these other movies that before u get into the theatre u now is going to be a harrowing journey! There are these other set which u know wud be bad even before u start making it! I will bet my bottom dollar that this is one that falls in either of the last 2 categories! I whine all the way to the theatre and all thru the movie and the way back and I get told the true fun is in laughing at the movie and not with it!! Believe I did that quite a lot!

The star cast is all impressive to a normal move goer! I come from what I would like to call the beyond the stars elite crowd who watches a movie for what it is and not who’s in it! (Not to mention the oh so many movies of Salma Hayek, Demi Moore and a zillion other pretty women) Ten minutes into the movie most people watching it would realise they are in for a cruel ride! Turns out true when u touch 30 minutes! Nothing significant happened at 30! Nothing significant happened the whole way! Am sure u know what I mean!

The first half is a story where the leads gets lost in their own epic not quite true love stories! Lara, though chic to the eye, has a bad French – hindi accent, if ever there was one! Bobby does full justice being the steely rich guy.. Abhishek is watchable with the slang mundiya English! Priety, well not everyone who speaks with an accent is English… As u can see the plot starts so clichéd and carries on all through! Just before intermission or right after (I wasn’t even noticing at that point) u get to know the stories are conjured up! How many times have we seen it before I wonder??? The leads fall in love during this conversation! All of the conversation happens when they are waiting for a train, and the falling in love part is in under 2 hours! As one amongst those guys wondering if I will be eternally single, it totally beats me people! Seriously!
The second half is how they end up fooling each other as to their love story being true! The clichés continue! Some ideas borrowed too! A Sliver kinda guy who has video cams all over the world and calls his law firm Singh & Smith!, A usual suspect kinda finish where each had picked up stories from materials around them, songs at the drop of a hat, dialogues like “If u tell me an ordinary tom is the Taj”, situational backgrounds from yesteryear bollywood movies, how the movie leads always are the prime focus in dance competitions where 100 other professional dancers participate to name a few!

The second half is way better than the first for a few things! Lara looks much better as a hooker, way better than a Indian with a French accent. She is too classy to be a hooker, but then again the movie never ceased to amaze me! Bobby and Abhi are more bearable! A few funny sequences that I don’t understand why was part of the movie though am happy it was, and for the biggest reason of them all – I knew the movie was soon going to end! Just when I thought that, there came a 20 minute song sequence with the same song over and over!! (Movies with long anthakshari sequences suddenly seemed more acceptable for atleast there are different songs) Finally it did end the way we all know it would!If you have posters of Lara and Priety at home and u also have access to typical Punjabi comedy, or even a Punjabi channel on TV, I suggest u watch all these and stay away from the movie halls to go watch this coz I feel I enjoyed that bit coz my Punjabi sucks!

There were a few good things though! The company… yes ofcourse (Guys I know u would read this, so just trying to be polite!!) , the fact that a promotional credit card bought us tickets at half the price… yes, the fact that two people thought I was as important as the movie is and wanted me to tag along… yes, I was able to enjoy a serving of nachos with jalapenos… yes and that the movie was not as long as any other hindi movie – a big F^&%$#@ yes!!

And your footsteps will always fall here.......

2007-04-22T02:50:00.001-07:00

Yesterday marked the end of an era. An era of class, artistry, mastery, skill, perfection, courage, spirit, resilience, pride and honour personified on the field. I have been blessed to be a part of this era, where there have been extremely talented cricketers, but extremely few who is even worth comparing to this man. Humble as always he bid adieu yesterday!! And he asked just one question to the public. “Did I entertain??” As if he even had to ask!! The answer was an overwhelming and not surprising, YES!! And am sure he would treasure that than the numerous man of the match awards

Eyes welling up he shared one dream of his that did not come true! To take the Windies back to the dizzy heights of dominance that they once possessed… Though the team could not do it, this individual sure did. The best of the bowlers always thought, on his day, he’s one of the most difficult men to bowl to!! Even the “language” friendly Aussies confessed that this individual was one that they never would sledge, for he is twice as dangerous when provoked

Hands down, he is the most stylish left hander of the last 2 decades. He’s one of those who can take you to the heaven and back with one innings. The one part that am not too impressed with was his susceptibility to controversies. He was caught in too many of those that it started affecting his game at times. He was always a player who produced magic in pieces. Am sure his scoring pattern would be one of the most skewed ones for a player of his class

He stood tall amidst the ruins that the team was! Like a Candle in the Wind! Only the wind was too strong. He is one of the reasons I liked Windies cricket and am sure he’ll be one of the reasons that many youngsters took to or will aspire to take up this game as their path of life. If ever I have a son, I would pray he is left handed.

I bow to thee, Brian Charles Lara, for the great entertainer you have been, for adding craft to an already beautiful game, for adding flair and passion to batting, for all that you did to cricket in general. Finally, For the very fact that we could watch a providential reincarnation, perform to us.

The fact that you did entertain would remain in the memory of each individual that ever was gifted to set eyes on you. It would be etched on the sands of time for generations to see. And I’ll drink to that!! You certainly were one of a kind, and may you rest in peace!!! For, with you dies an era of magnificence… the splendour of which mere adjectives can’t describe.

And your footsteps will always fall here!!

2007-04-22T02:50:00.000-07:00

Finally a wake up call to the administration

2007-04-07T05:36:00.000-07:00

I’m sure the ramifications of this day will be discussed for a period I cannot count with the fingers in my hand and probably the fruits of it will be reaped till the era of my grand children. This is probably the best thing to happen to Indian cricket and IMO it has been long due… The biggest of the decisions are to scrap the Zonal selection!!!! AWESOME!!!

And the scrapping of the contract system currently in place… and having a bowling coach (I don’t endorse Prasad for this, but I like the idea!! ) and A fielding coach (IMO Robin could make a difference) And a permanent manager and reducing the Ranji elite and every state having its very own cricket academy and probably having a cricket advisory board (Not too sure if the gurus are right up there and having 7 people may be some commotion)

The endorsements I do not really agree… But complacence may set in, may not… Debatable… I do not even want to begin to question the integrity of the players!!!

What prompted such a huge controversy when according to the BCCI ‘the public should not panic coz we only lost a coupla matches and that’s no serious worry!!’ Is it the actual public outcry?? Or is it just that the BCCI has taken a lesson from the so called news channels and have now realised that controversy is the easiest way to become popular?? Or do thet now think that the only way to stay away from deep shit is to be proactive and try and alienate it!!! Worth a thought!

Coming back to the few big decision that this blog is going to address!! Number one’s gotta be Scrapping the Zonal selection… India is a country that sees success in diversity. I do understand, but not with respect to seeing each other differently … SO finally we look at the talent as one pool and pick the best. Will that actually happen is a question that only time can answer… but I would be one of those who would love to see tangible results

Two would be limiting the endorsements!! Interesting considering the BCCI’s stand.. I would like to point out one comment of Jadeja on NDTV (Yes, I started seeing private ‘On for Profit’ news channels… Where I live I don’t have a choice!!) His opinion is the 11 that play for the country contracted to BCCI only coz they can be called the ‘Indian cricket team’ I agree. He goes on to say that they cannot control the life of the cricketers and limiting endorsements may not be an answer to commitment… As I said earlier commitment is not something I do not want to touch upon! But I do not like the way BCCI can control the way cricket is played in India… There are too many things wrong with the BCCI (which shall be addressed at a later point in time) Yet again is money the only reason these people are in it for?? Not too sure considering some have sacrificed a career outside the game for it… is it coz of the money or for their passion of the sport?? I pray it is the latter! Think of the money BCCI makes using their Official status!! Millions of dollars!!

The tangible result of these cannot and more so should not be analysed in the their next tour against B’desh… It needs to wait till after we face the English and more particularly the Aussies! Lets wait and WATCH! And not shun the boys!!

P.S - I take great pain to the fact that the integrity of someone like Sachin has been questioned and that he needs to the come to the media and talk about it!!! And now be issued a notice for that!! - Just a thought and justice shall prevail! So so i would like to think!!

Also the stupid media keeps talking only abt the endorsements and not about the other parts that actually may help the way cricket is played in the country!! Surely justifies my hatred!!

Prudence says its Super 6

2007-03-27T00:56:00.000-07:00

It’s just a matter of six teams aint it? Or could Whatmore be right?? Are there more Indias and Paks left to be conquered?? Let’s analyse which teams are beatable by the minnows!!

The ones that carry points:

Australia – Too damn difficult…. Current form is not bad at all, the past has always been glorious, and on paper stronger than the minnows by more times that I can count with my fingers. Remember, they have 2 points. A sure shot semi birth

Sri Lanka – Quite difficult … Current form is quite good, they are a charged up lot as always, Vaas and Murali could be too difficult a proposition to handle

New Zealand – Quite difficult too…. One of the teams I think that have it in them to beat the Aussies. They have done it in the recent past and am sure they might be able to do it again… Lou not playing may not be too big an impact IMO. More or less secure semi birth since they carry 2 points!

Windies – Been a good few months leading up to the WC. They’ve won all 3 matches and they beat the Pakis without a blink… The morale must be high and playing on home turf could be an intangible advantage. But with these guys u never know what can snap

The ones that don’t carry a point:

South Africa – The only reason they don’t have points is coz they were in the same group as Australia. This is the only other team that have the potential to beat Australia… I’m tipping they’ll be one of the 4 semis team

England – They are playing cricket the way they know to, and that’s probably not good enough. A potential candidate to be knocked out of the semis.

My take on who can be the semi contenders Aussies is a given more or less, NZ have the point advantage, SA stand a good chance, and its difficult to pick between Windies and Lanka!! This is considering the teams play the same way they have been and they don’t pull their skeletons out

Now that the games start in less than 6 hours time, we will know soon as to how the Phase 2 turns out.

A day of B'days and funerals!!

2007-03-26T01:03:00.000-07:00

I turned 25 and I wasn’t feeling great about it in the first place. On the eve and probably around 00 hours when I turned 25, India had the penultimate nail on their world cup dream coffin… I must have spent at least a fifth of my 25 years playing, watching, reading, talking , thinking and of late blogging on/ about cricket. It was pretty painful seeing the team lose and be knocked out. And despite my best guesses it’s kinda apparent that matches were not rigged. (Did Bob’s untimely mishap prevent it is a question beyond me to answer)

What was more infuriating was the pace at which the heroes were written off!!! People taking funerals for the hitherto heroes?? Guys, how would u feel if someone had a mock funeral for your beloved?? (If you don’t feel a thing and you do a mock funeral, I would like to ask providence on why valuable space is blocked up for the other masses) This is the bane of making the great game reach the illiterate/ emotionally freaky/ educated yet uncultured masses… If what was seen on TV was any indication, there is no dearth for these people around the country….

It’s one of those days am ashamed to be an Indian… Not that the team has let the down… Everybody have their share of bad hair days…. One doesn’t chop the head off for that!! You make what amends are needed… Agreed they earn too much money, agreed that their success in life is not directly relatable to success on field… But who is the layman to judge their levels of integrity. They make huge sacrifices and what they earn is the price. Who wouldn’t want more money?? Who wouldn’t wanna cash in on their fame and earn more without doing anything that’s morally bad??

The friggin media is gonna be the end of the world… The day they want them they are heroes, the day they are down they are battered… News in today’s world of “Listed media companies” has lost its meaning… They will run any story that brings in TRP… My kind request is please don’t portray the burning of effigies, mock funeral, setting fire to pictures on the prime news!!!

The takeaways are – Cricket is a sport… For most Indians (including me) it is a religion since I’ve spent more time thinking about it rather than God. I don’t trash god or burn him or beat him when I feel let down… I’ve not been able to find god, for crying out loud :) :)

Do unto others as you would have others do unto you…. Oh my fellow lovers, I can understand the emotions… But don’t be morons… If u hate them don’t watch them… It’s better than beating their families up, or burning them… How sad is it that you made the captain beg you for the safety of the team’s families… Be prudent, be critics, be purists and not terrorists…

The commerce of cricket!!

2007-03-22T05:14:00.000-07:00

Score of dollars are being spent each day on cricket in various ways! Companies who invest in brands actually invest in everything that actually helps them sell it. But for actors, I guess cricket stars are still a primary brand in themselves and primary brand developers with respect to the public at large.

Each major cricketing event is sponsored by some of these big conglomerate houses or the latest funda being “Indian Majors” or “Indian MNC’s”. Some of these sponsors have been dedicated ones, sponsoring games year after year, series after series. It’s a war hard fought than many as to who finally sponsors one of these.

Now considering the amount of money spent/ invested (I personally consider atleast 50% as investment) the stakes are too high… If the TRP’s drop, and drop pretty heavily am not too sure what these sponsors might gain!

So it is imperative on their parts/ for their cause that the origins of these sponsors remain in the competition. Am not too sure if that’s the way it works around the world, but with India I guess that’s kinda true… Despite being called a cricket crazy nation, am not too sure if more than half of the normal people will watch a non- Indian super 8 and thereon…

So considering India’s poor start and the fact that they may go into the super 8 by natural causes, I’m just wondering if one or more of these big money houses would do “what is in their power” to make us reach the next stage?? No insinuations, am not saying anything, no defamation, but to lose half the Indian viewer-ship is too much after the cost incurred….

Just a stray thought! Just an idea of how commercialisation can ruin things…. Another one is news channels, but I’ve said enough on that before… Any thoughts on this guys??

Renaissance time again!!

2007-03-19T23:57:00.000-07:00

Here I stand. 5 minutes of silence to one of the greatest exponents of the game! I’ve never seen him play, but if what he did off the field is any indication of his abilities, I gotta say he was awesome!

The SA owes a lot to him. He made them what they are. He kinda founded their beliefs. He helped them, nurtured them and took them wading through the big stage performance in their formative years. And am sure he tried helping our “friendly” neighbours too. But alas, when someone is so committed to suicide who can save him but himself! I don’t mean Bob!!! I mean thy neighbours

I’m sure coaching a team like it would be taxing on anyone. Particularly, for a “firang”. The fact that he must’ve had a torrid time is not surprising by any standards. It is as bad as coaching India. Not 11 people look up to you, 1100 million!! The team is now a disaster. Post the captain, I seriously wonder who is gonna take charge and what misery he’s gonna face. Inzy was a good man-manager; else you can never get a team like that to believe they are one unit.

Why people question the way he died is beyond me!! What has the world gotta do with how he died?? But that’s not a Q that I can answer.. What if it was not nature that killed him? The answer I know is for this Q – Should justice prevail?? Yes…

If only god knew what he was doing to a team like Pak by taking Bob away, am sure he would have thought twice… But with all the injustice in the game, I never really thought God was a cricket lover… (Sachin, Lara et al were created on off days!!) Am not gonna write them off as yet, but with 2 natural setbacks (Bob and Inzy) and a few stupid mistakes that a five year old would laugh at, they aren’t doing themselves any kinda good.

I would love to see them back at their prime… They sure are a side possessed on their day!! And fighters to the death! But are “phoenix” enough to rise back from six feet under the ground?? Only time can tell my love! Only time can tell….

Never speak ill of the Dee(a)D

2007-03-13T03:02:00.000-07:00

Now what did David Hookes do?? Was Sunny the one who bet him up? Or were they sharing a coupla beers thinking of the glorious past they had and the possibly great run ins they had? Never speak ill of the Dead.. Never!!!! Now, it was so stupid to comment about the practice in itself. Just coz you didn’t do it does not mean you’re right and just coz someone else did it does not mean he is wrong.

It’s possibly one of the few times when sledging has the right effect at the wrong place…. Ur supposed to get agitated on the wicket and throw your guard away, not off the wicket and run your mouth…. Sunny we all appreciate that you have been a great cricketer… But to talk about sportsmanship or being a gentleman gamesmanship???? Aint that pushing it a little too far…..

Not too far ago did we see the Dada dance semi clad… Not too far ago did we see Bhajji blowing it off on various opponents….. Not too far ago was Shreesanth “not only talk to himself but also to the batsman” after every ball… It’s like a school student whining!!!
And Punter is right in asking us to look at how we have played in the last few years…. We have played it rough and we have given back what was rubbed on us… World is moving fast. People’s span to remember is getting shorter with too much to remember everyday. So u get it, u give it back that very moment. Period.

I do not think sledging is a bad thing to do… And if u cannot give it back, it’s your incompetence… We have read so many mails on how sledging firing back…. It is fun watching it, reading it and talking about it… And again Sunny, what were you thinking

Advaita?? It's so not true!!

2007-03-11T06:27:00.000-07:00

This is definitely not a post on godliness. Infact it is the direct opposite of that. I was a believer in Advaita most times of my life. The other times are governed by my questioning the mere existence of God.

My recent relocation to the carnival of Asia changed it all… The city is filled with Gods.. Goddesses to be precise. I’ve always admired beauty in its obvious forms, but have never found myself staring, ogling or leering at any of the beauties of nature. Dubai changed it all.. I’ve seriously not seen anyplace like this… What is so good and natural in a desert??? FYI most parts of this city is a concrete jungle and it is filled with probably a great mix of the most good looking women in the world

Walk in to any shopping mall and one can have an eyeful and on a crowded day every second girl you set eyes on in better looking that the other. I’ve never seen a Greek goddess in her full glory, but if the descriptions in any of the books I’ve read is any close to what I imagine, every third gal you set sight on is a Goddess.. Believe me am not kidding.. I may not have any statistics to prove the judgement, but when the “Vital statistics” are right, I don’t see anyone raise any question.. Do u?

So what makes this special?? The operating word is mix… Arguably the optimum mix.. There is a right mix of women from varied culture, nation and tradition and each one has got a beauty of its own. There are Lebanese, Jordanians, Syrians, Iraqis, Iranians, Brits, Americans, French, German, selective lot of a very dominant Filipino crowd, Japanese and Chinese, Koreans and of course the dusky Indian beauties

I can’t think of any other place in the world where there exists such a huge population with so varied a mix of cultures. I haven’t travelled around, haven’t seen the world… If I was a guy who lives on punts that’s one punt I would place my bottom dollar on…

If u still can’t imagine what it is like, u got to see it… I see around my office and I don’t see one reason I can concentrate on the work…..

A nostalgic walk down the lane!!

2007-02-17T06:34:00.000-08:00

This blog was meant to be primarily a sports blog (for most Indians that means just cricket). So what is this post doing here? Well for a few people, me included, this lane holds a significant meaning for when i think of cricket i cannot forget the number of hours spent either, playing or discussing and far more importantly quizzing

Pattammal street may sound like a small, narrow lane in a remote town. Well it is a narrow lane in one of the greatest cities in the world, Chennai. Contrary to its size or appearance what it beheld is far more significant. For want of a better name the gang was called “Pattammal Punchers” a name that sounds rudimentary. You need to know the people to believe the sheer talent and the higher than average levels of intelligence

Being one of the duller blokes in the group helped me look at it from a different perspective. Being last to know the group and being a total outsider to their history till the time I joined helped the cause better. When play was on anybody who gets the slightest hint of vocal strains would brand the whole lot as uneducated brats. Brats we were but far from uneducated

More than two thirds of anything I know about cricket was learnt here. Some I learnt from the ones around, some I learnt with them, watching, playing, discussing and observing. The few years that we did stuff together was fun. Weekends meant at least 5 – 6 hours of cricket and an equal number of hours discussing the week past and ahead. Football did enter the picture later on but cricket was primarily what held the group’s thoughts, in unison (but for bitching about the sorry single life and not having enough money to buy the BCCI and a lot more)

These days few significant mates and I are a few thousand miles away, “virtual” is the way of life. We still do the long hours of talking, but it just can’t match the flesh and blood discussions into the night. Of late I sometimes get pangs of nostalgia, sitting on my rocking chair with a drink in hand and thoughts miles away, whether being away is really worth the trouble?? After I finish a few rounds and when sanity prevails, I think it is worth every iota (aorta) of trouble after all.

I’ve a gift not many people have. I know what I wanna do when I retire! Anybody who does would understand what a great feeling it is… Anybody who doesn’t would mock at me!! Whichever herd you fall in, believe me it is bliss. I may not be old enough to be sitting on the 5 foot parapet wall. I may not be immune enough to gulp short eats at the corner store. I may not be carefree to hang out at the beach till the wee hours of the morning, the day after. I may not be fir enough to beat the batsmen or drive over the bowler. After all the ludicrous life style changes, I would still be happy to hang out with those blokes, even if it is in the lobby of the Marriott

Is domination a boring affair after all??

2007-01-24T22:52:00.000-08:00

Just a few days back i was talking to a few people about the Abu Dhabi F1 fest and i was repenting the fact that Schumi is not around to tour else i would love to go see (not that i won't go see Alonso and the rest) One thing led to another and we got started on how good he was and wat a great guy he has been. Just then someone popped in and said, atleast now F1 becomes watchable now that the dominant force is gone (Admitted that he wasn't as best in 2005 for varied reasons and 2006 was a struggle till death)

All said and done he was one of the greatest drivers to have set foot on the planet. This is not just with F1. I see this happenning with a lot of sports at varied times. People hate when the Aussies dominate a game, when Pete was at his best and no one was even good enough to put up a fight, and the same happ with Feddie now and numerous other instances to quote in the past and present. I'm a fiery sports lover too! and i want to see competitive sports played that brings out the best game in each and makes watching it such a great pleasure. but that shouldn't mean u shun away the greats, u starting hating the greats just coz they are dominant. It's not their mistake that they are good or the rest aren't good enough

I'm not saying that domination is good for the game. Coz of course it is not. There was a period in time when people said Australian cricket was very predictable. The Ashes last year changed it to a great degree, which was probably why England got so much credit. I don't say underdogs need to win too.. That could be undeserving at times. But seen in the spitit of the game the best team/ player that day wins. if someone is best day after day it gets a little monotonous but we can't blame them can we?

If ur still confused abt the objective of this post, it is to say am not a great fan of dominance either. But some of my favourites were dominant at various points in time and i have had people shun them due to this. So am only trying to say that there isn't a point blaming the sportsman/ team for it. Blame the others who cannot pull their socks up. In short bon't blame people like schumi for making the sport boring. Blame the 20 other drivers and 10 other cars for not being able to achieve what he did!!

Bottomline: Don't criticize anyone I like :P :P

Learning lessons the easy way

2007-01-21T00:31:00.000-08:00

To let go apparently has been difficult all along. History tells us that change was one of the things humans resisted with all their might. The universe did evolve and "thinkers" pronounced that the one who can embrace change is often more prepared.

This has been proven true more often than not.. (Am not an advocate of who moved my cheese.. Infact i can't care less as to who moved it, as long as it is moved to where i want it moved) This can be seen in all walks of life, and being one of the million population than watchesthinks/reads or dreams about cricket for more hours a day than i can count with fingers, i was long wondering if such a change would come about with the team selection also

As they say u need lessons to learn. Am obsessed with Dada as an example coz i think that story has it all!! He was dropped a little later than he actually could have, he was dropped for the right reasons in the wrong way (Much was said in the press, the press being a major culprit), was made to play domestic cricket, was humbled, was brought back, was made to sit on the bench, was given a chance on a not to friendly wicket and he proved his mettle and has been good ever since his return. Today was proof enough that atleast he is still a Dada in the shorter version of the game. Towering sixes and step out over the field shots, thunderous through the off side are just the way bats, and we saw that glorious display

It took a successful drop and reclamation to understand that giving players a compulsory time off to play domestic cricket is probably the easiest and the most lasting form finding excercise. The new found mode has now been adopted with Irfan and Viru and my gut shouts that Sehwag is gonna be a force in the world cup. But my question is why not be proactive?? Why do we let time to force such a change upon us?

Not that this hasn't been done before. Just that it has either been overdone with regard to some players and has been underdone with respect to a few. All said and done its better late than never and it is good to see that senior players are being dropped. In a cricket crazy nation like India, these decisions are a landmine and one can blow in your face anytime. But, it pays to have balls and my logic is if you've got it, Flaunt it.