And politics start...again

Mamatha Banerjee - my oh my. I never expected that one of the first things she would do after assuming office will be to review 250 halts started by Lalu Yadav. Having followed her no-gains-for-anyone Singur fight and ensuring that TATAs moved out, did she think that she was the only one in India who would stand up against all odds?

End results - a big hole in the exchequers pockets - in effect in mine and your pockets. 3 trains burnt and all halts restored and everyone is happy. India is now giving a brand new way to ensure that you receive what you demand. Violeance. And surprisingly, the Govt. seems to be favouring this without any issue - be it State Govt.s or Central Govt.

Hmmm...

Politicians and their dramas

So many terrorists in so many different countries. We hear atleast one every other day if not more frequently and yet the only solace we receive from our politicians (I hate to use the work Government, since it no longer carries any wieght) is nothing but a blame game. The Lahore attack on the Sri Lankan cricketers and other security personnel did not bring about any amount of stern action against the attackers or even few words of solace. Instead what happened was a good old Pakistani Minister openly claiming that the attackers were infiltrators from India who wanted to tarnish Pakistan's image... Hahaha... puhlease...what image does the present Pakistan have for anyone to tarnish.

Dear Mr. Minister - one should always think before one speaks. A few words of solace would have actually helped the people of Pakistan who (I believe) are as fed up of terrorists as much as any other country is. What could have been done was to ask the Media to shut up first of all and investigate on a war footing and then allow independent media to investigate if necessary.

This would have helped people get the picture they believe the most (even now) - answers directly from the Government. People do not want excuses gentlemen - all they want are some sensible answers.

Other than the politicians, every citizen in any affected country knows what the Government does - the only problem is this. Nobody is bothered too much since it is not his / her relatives who is / are affected. God forbid but it would be to late by the time things could be set right.

A modest beginning to this would be to vote - not just for a favourite party - but to the individual and to him / her only for everything that he / she has stood for, everything he / she has fulfilled, everything he / she has not fulfilled and everything he / she has failed to do or falsely done.

Indian Oscars

Resul Pookutty created history being the first Indian musician to be conferred with the Academy Award. But then no one had expected to see what happened afterwards. The din was ebbing after Resul's touchy speech when our very worthy A R Rahman walked up to receive the prestigious award for the Best Composer for Danny Boyle's Slumdog Millionaire. Hardly had he left the stage but to re-enter with a live performance at the Kodak Theatre of two of his compositions O Saya and Jai Ho with a motley mix of foreigners in Indian attire and MIA in tow. A noteworthy aspect is that of the 3 nominations for the nest original song of the year, 2 were from our very own ARR and the third was from the animation Wall-E. The performances closed; ARR and others had not even left the stage when lo and behold ARR was called again to receive the Academy award for the best original song along with Gulzar Saab for Jai Ho. ARR delighted Hindi and Tamil movie-buffs alike by reciting two lines in both languages.

Add to this the award for the real-life documentary of Pink, Smile Piny and India walked away with 4 Oscars and 4 Academy Award winners.

Think of what the new movie credits would show henceforth - Academy Award winner A R Rahman... hmmm. that surely "does" sound very pleasing to the ear :-)

I do not think I ever watched an awards ceremony as religiously as I did this time for the 81st Academy Awards on 24-Feb-2009 (IST) and it was certainly worth every minute.

There are those who wish to gain popularity by announcing their joy in how ARR, Resul and Gulzar Saab have delivered the goods, in addition to Pinky and the cast of Slumdog Millionaire (I personally hate it when people refer to the movie simply as Slumdog) and there are those who have gained sufficient media space for speaking against the Awards and the essence of Indians rejoicing a British film's success. To those who fall in the first category, I do not have anything to offer but to those who are part of the second category, I would like to ask if the aforementioned names were not Indian. If thou does not like the movie awards, so be it... atleast respect the Indian-born winners.

Great work ARR, Resul and Gulzar Saab... I am certain this was not the last time you have stepped on to the Academy Awards stage... you will be back and there will more Indian technicians too.

The Satyam fiasco

Surprising how everyone is after Ramalinga Raju alone is being held at gun-point... Is it ever possible that just one man could evade everyone including his BoD for full 10 years. All the members of the BoD with special mention of the COO and CFO are also equally responsible. Just because RR says that everyone is clean and he alone is to blame, let the regulators not take it at face value since we now know what that is... a simple pack of lies in all hues. Worse than the Satyam BoD people are those in PWC who have simply let this reputation take a beating. I am interested in understanding what the Firm has taken action against those individuals involved in the audits. Immaterial of what the investigations bring forth, those who have lost have already lost and they are fully entitled to atleast some peace of mind in getting full details of the scam and proper punishment to each and everyone involved - not just the scapegoat called Ramalinga Raju. My heart goes out to the 53000 odd employees of Satyam who, in this present Market scenario have to hunt for jobs which do not exist in large numbers.

The lousiness of a movie review

"Ghajini" in one word is 'GREAT'. It is most probably one of the best movie of 2008, if not “the best”.

When I first read the review by Khalid Mohammed, who until last Thursday was someone whose reviews I used to look forward to since he was a director of class, I honestly thought that Aamir Khan burnt his fingers this time.

Before I went for the Friday show of "Ghajini", I read the review by Times of India where it was called a "blockbuster". Now I was in a dilemma - how can the same movie have so very different reviews, especially since Khalid Mohammed's review literally tore apart the movie. Imagine the pun intended when he names Aamir Khan, Asin, Pipes, Rods and Ketchup as the cast of "Ghajini". And it got worse in the actual review.

Coming to the point, I went to the movie with no expectations, but the entire 3 hours was very gripping. The acting, cinematography, music, screenplay, dialogues - everything that Mr. Mohammed mentioned was crass, I found it good. And surprisingly everyone in the theatre was moving with the movie and I could not hear even one complaining.

I had just one answer to this difference in views of Mr. Mohammed versus that of the film-goers - et tu Brutus, Khalid Mohammed - even you are sold!!! The economic recession is certainly showing...

The pathos of "Kaise Mujhe" (Ghajini)

I never thought a song could impress me this much; atleast not from a soundtrack which I did not consider to be a classic. But the pathos in "Kaise Mujhe" from hindi movie "Ghajini" simply stole the breath away from me. A R Rahman is at his career best with this song; the beauty of the voice called "Shreya Ghoshal" is literally showcased and highlighted to such an extent in the alaap that... words surpass me... Benny Dhayal was also great and did an excellent job.

I have seen the rushes of this song on TV and must say that AR Murugadoss has given an excellent feel to this beautiful composition with very simple and touching visuals.

This is not a normal pathos song but just do this... be aloof, dim or switch off the lights and listen to the song on a good music system or use head-phones... you will see the effect.

Politicians' wake-up call

Atleast now... after this round of blasts in Mumbai, I wish the rotten blame-game which "all" our political partymen holds multiple P.hD.s in wake up and collectively ACT... If we have the will to and the resources to, attacking the attackers should not be a great deal of work or effort. I am certain that we have the resources, but the will........it remains missing........