Film review – Om Shanti Om

Om Shanti Om is a movie that ‘has it all’. Good narration, composition and a decent plot mixed-n-matched from several Hollywood and Bollywood flicks. The movie can be split up into two - the pre interval and the post interval.
The first half is a retro to the sixties, seventies and eighties of Hindi cinema. Subtle details, wardrobe of yester-years, gross duplicates, dialogues and a storyline borrowed from several Hindi blockbusters makes the first half a nostalgic extravaganza wherein the plot moves round two central characters Om and Shanti. Junior artist Om, played by SRK, is in love with superstar Shanti, played by Deepika. Om dreams of being a super-star one day, receiving coveted awards and marrying Shanti. Om’s honest love wins him the friendship of Shanti and things seem to be finally falling in place before destiny plays spoil-sport. First half ends with the unnatural, pre-mature death of Om and Shanti.
Second half is stylish, back-dropped in present times, boldly introducing Om reborn as ‘super-star Om’ to live his unfulfilled dream to the exact detail. Om Kapoor (O.K.) has it all – stardom, wealth, popularity, awards and tantrums but minus the memories from his past life. ‘Circle-of-life’ brings O.K. to the place where it had all ended, reminds him of Shanti and the events that had brought their fatal termination. Late junior artist Om’s mother and brother join forces to actionize O.K’s plan to revenge Shanti’s death. What follow is emotion, action, and ‘ghostly’ fiction. The movie ends on a happy note, O.K. finds his ‘Dreamy Girl – Shanti’ in a modern day avatar and justice is done to the ‘bad-man’.

The movie is a must watch for SRK fans, and a clean entertainer for the rest. Folks, watch out for the star-studded ‘Om-Shanti-Om’ number in the movie. To conclude, OSO has platformed Deepika, one of the most innocent and beautiful faces Bollywood has witnessed after Madhubala and Madhuri.

Leading Team India

With Rahul Dravid having hung up captaincy boots its time now to zero in on the first man of India’s cricket team. India has been witness to cricketing phenomenon of the likes of Sachin, Saurav and Dravid who have all led the team at some point or the other. With each victory of the team is celebrated and players heightened to demi-gods and every failure criticized, the job of the Indian cricket captain involves a lot of pressure, especially where cricket has the stature of the nations’ religion.
The T20 team minus Sachin, Saurav and Dravid is pretty young and inexperienced, with only Shehwag, Yuvraj and Harbhajan as senior players. Dhoni’s ability with the bat makes it fairly acceptable to have him as captain in T20 matches, where hitting the ball is the ‘mantra’. But when it comes to leading team India in One day and Test matches, the boys would want to look up to someone who has put a lot of years in the middle. Cricket is a game of nerves/ team coordination and I believe Dhoni is too young and inexperienced for the job as captain. Making Dhoni the captain for the 50 over matches is a gamble which BCCI is playing with the stakes really high.
Would Sachin captain the test team? Sachin, beyond doubt, is one of the best players of the game, time-tested and unanimously accepted. But Sachin as the captain of India has not had a good record - not only had the team suffered defeats but also his individual performance went for a toss. More importantly lasting three more seasons, building up a winning team and commanding respect from the younger members with his waning performance - is it not a tough call for Sachin?
India’s next captain should be able to lead from the front, set examples with his performance, be a team-player, a good manager, aggressive and be able to continue as captain till the next world cup to top all (a change in captaincy before world cup would be a big set-back to get over). Saurav in my opinion has it all - his remarkable come back and statistics as Indian captain makes him the top candidate as India’s captain. After Kapil it’s only in him that I see the spirit to win us the elusive World Cup that we as a nation so crave to bring home!

Sex Sonagachi and Me

In the City of Joy, very close to the heart of the city, are the lanes where sex sells cheaper than a pair of woodland shoes! Yes guessed it correctly, Sonagachi – a place where the city turns to satiate its basic instinct. As the sun sets, the backdrop drastically changes from a bustling traffic riddled C.R.Avenue to a shady red-light area. The pavements get dotted with creatures of the dark - the mistresses of carnal joy with dicey offers and appealing charisma.
I was a bit late that day, had upgraded my desktop from Chandni Chowk and was walking towards the metro station. With a heavy system to carry, it was a relief to see the sidewalks having a few people. I had only walked a block to find women in revealing clothes measuring me up. I was new to the city, having come from Bangalore only a month back. Not knowing about this infamous place from before, my gut sense told me that something was very odd about it.
I paced up to a brisk walk, wanting to cross the area as soon as possible. But to my surprise I found that the more I walked the more towards the core area I was heading. The glances of the sluts changed to mouthing me their rates and sleazy offers for cheap sex. With my wallet stashed with cash, a newly upgraded system and a costly wrist-watch, I was good loot for the urchins there. In case anything went out-of-hands my shout for help would go unheeded with the police, stuffed with their cut money, nowhere to be seen.
My mind clouded with grey thoughts, heart beating the wind out of my lungs I walked on praying to the million Indian Gods and Goddesses. Suddenly one skinny man, with an orange-peel like face scarred with chicken pox marks, walked into my way and exclaimed “Babuji aapko khush kar denge, naach dekhna hai to der hazaar, puri raat ka paanch - boliye school girl, college girl, bhabiji - kya chahiye!” I was stunned, not knowing what to say. I did not even look at him - as if deaf I walked on leaving him behind.
I had barely taken two steps, that I heard one of the pimps telling the other “Is gore-chitte saab ka to hum free mein lenge”. I could feel I was shaking - may be out of fear, may be out of anger, I do not know. Those glances, the crude smell of their perfume and my vulnerability, all combined was nauseating. Just then I could hear an approaching car. I turned back to find a cab coming my way, looking for passengers. My prayers were answered - I frantically waved at it and yelled “Taxi!” at the top of my voice. The taxi stopped, I opened the door and almost leapt inside slamming the door behind me. The cabby, an aged Sikh driver, was no less than an angel rescuing me from the lanes of hell.
In the cab, it took me some time to settle down, after which I lit a cigarette and reflected on my predicament. I found that we the people from ‘good society’ are the root cause behind the mushrooming of sex industry. Be whatever the reason, dissatisfied men turn to brothels for sex, with a hope that their upright image in the society would not get tarnished. This in turn encourages sex workers, providing them with an easy way to fast money.
Looking back at the golden ages, when men were chaste and women virgins before marriage - free from sexually transmitted diseases the society was healthy, sex was considered to be a physical expression of love, Jove was busy with his golden darts. Prostitution has spoiled it all, pimps play Jove, sex is money – the more you are ready to shell-out the better whores you get. Pleasure is an industry and sin is now a city called Las Vegas!

Indian Independence - an opportunity misused!

We have been celebrating 15th August as our independence day each year, for the last six decades. But do we really respect our hard earned independence? Are we really independent from the clutches of poverty, illiteracy, female infanticide and corruption? When I watch movie like Range De Basanti, Bhagat Singh, Forgotten hero – Subhash Bose, this question haunts me all the more. Valuable lives have been sacrificed on the altar of freedom struggle, with a dream of gifting the generations to come, with independence of thought, words and action.
During ‘British-Raj’, foundation to the construction of roads and railways were laid. Infrastructure, electricity, post and telegraph networks were established. Food, basic education and medical facilities were available to all. No doubt there was colour discrimination, yet there was law and order in the country. Corruption was not as wide-spread and malignant as it is today.
Post independence great leaders framed the constitution, country was witness to the green and white revolution. Exponential development happened in the fields of science and technology, universities were started. But this growth was short-lived, soon the people of free India, took the things for granted, got back to their basic lazy nature and in turn did perennial damage to own country and children.
Japan was torn apart by the twin nuclear blasts only two years before India’s independence. It had to cope with the nightmare and start their efforts afresh. Both Japanese cities were rebuilt soon after the war and today have become important industrial centers; Japan has gone a long way ahead of India in every aspect. Do we have an answer to why India could not achieve what Japan could? The differentiating factor I believe is, Japanese love their country, they respect their flag, stand united for the glory of their motherland, hard-working people with dignity of labour and honesty of purpose are in majority, qualities we Indians unfortunately lack.
India in the golden ages was rich not only in precious stones and gold but also with fertile river-riddled agrarian abundance. The land was culturally and intellectually blessed - Buddha, Ashoka, Aryabhatta, Chanakya, Tulsidas, exponents to have made history. But toady developed country look down at us with pity, tag us as a ‘developing third-world, poor country’. It is time we Indians awoke to the clarion call, stood united and pledged on the eve of our Independence day – that India would reclaim its rightful place among the best and lead other nations towards a safer, brighter and glorious tomorrow.

Reservation - a curse in disguise

It’s been sixty years of glorious Indian Independence, which has seen then nation mature as the world’s largest democracy, shift economic paradigm from agrarian to industrial, to an outsourced Information Technology hub. The common man has come a long way ahead, crossing the seven seas and going abroad for higher studies and job engagement, women empowerment, a balanced socio-economic structure and a broader outlook towards life. Considerable progress in science and technology, from building and launching its own satellites, to becoming a nuclear power has put India among the elite league of nations.
Post independence, great leaders and visionaries wanted to help the down-trodden. They wanted to provide an opportunity to the deprived, extend a helping hand towards the backward classes. Reservation for the Scheduled Classes, Scheduled Tribes and the Other Backward Classes were introduced with the motto of changing the fate of the long oppressed lot. People from these segments of the society made good of this opportunity to become IAS, IPS, doctors, engineers, lawyers and bureaucrats.
Two generations of the backward classes have been reaping the relaxation and benefits over the years. We find majority of the breed as rich, successful and respected amongst us. When the quota system was introduced, the makers of the nation desired to be in enforcement for fifty years, beyond which the reservation and benefits would be justly decommissioned. However its human nature to take blessings as birth-right, unfortunately the quota system had the same fate. Fifty years have gone by a decade back! Yet we are living with this epidemic of reservation – demanding to increase the percentage of reservation. What a mockery on the face of a nation that boasts of being an equal opportunity providing, non-discriminating democracy!
Had it been a unanimously agreed upon mission such as food and safe water for all, or jobs for all educated citizens - we the people of this country would have gone an extra mile in helping the government. But reservation as we all know is a curse in disguise. Folks with lesser intellect and rankings in competitive exams are depriving the bright and deserving examinees – thanks to reservation. These students from backward classes are sharing the pie with meritorious students from the general quota – in turn diluting the standard of exponents from crème-de-la-crème colleges and universities. Proper grooming can be a whetstone to the sword of intellect, but a ballast for the shallow minded.
To conclude I would like to put forward a request of terminating this curse of reservation system. Let’s open our eyes to the vision of ‘one-community’ where competition is fair and without quota!

Eve-teasing - a menace on the rise!

Talking of Indian society, we have been a conservative male dominated society until the last decade, when women are breaking free from their shackles and walking aside men. The masses have not yet matured enough to handle this sudden shift in the paradigm of roles and responsibilities between the man and the woman in the society.
Suppression of the female gender has been prevailing in India since ages - women have been deprived of higher education, denied their option to be engaged in a job, ill treated at their in-laws, discriminated at their parents with brother getting the better share of the goodies. To be born as a woman was a curse, no more now! Women have become independent and self confident, which reflects in their dressing sense. They have not only successfully taken up the role of the man but also their attire.
The male-chauvinist that we as a society have been has left behind deep roots in us – we men secretly resent this rise of the woman, we resent their success and empowerment, we resent the fact that we have worthy competitors now. Educated, upright men have taken up the challenge from the woman on the right foot and constructively faced this reality with self-development. However street rogues and men from the not-so-enlightened society are yet to find a better way to vent their grudge, so they indulge into eve-teasing. This satiates their innate nature of oppressing the female and gives them a sub-conscious satisfaction that they are still the better lot who are in control.
Its time we the people of today opened our eyes to this rising menace, both genders join hands and try to help these men, who indulge into eve-teasing, into using their resources and time in a better way. Let’s make this society a safer and a better place to live in for the fairer sex.

SpiderMan 3 - A Review

SpiderMan3 - The battle within

This movie has roped in one of the most dreaded villain of all times, the Sand-man। Played by Thomas Haden Church, Sand-man could not have been brought to life better New Goblin has a geeky air-board, sleeker and more versatile than the air-board of the old goblin - Eddie Brock (Topher Grace) is a challenge to Spidey both in his social as well as in super-human persona.
Spiderman, the 1st move had one opponent for Spidey. Spiderman 2 had two opponents (Harry Osborn fuelling Dr.Octopus). In these lines, Spiderman 3 has three opponents – New Goblin, Sand-man and Venom. Major characters, Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst and James Franco have matured behind the screen. As good pals in their real life, MJ and Spidey share a warm onscreen chemistry.
James has matured physically, over his previous appearance and this has suited his role of the New Goblin/Harry Osborn really well. J. Jonah Jameson (J.K. Simmons) - the newspaper owner, May Parker (Rosemary Harris) - foster mother to Spidey, have their same old part to play.
This movie showcases the romantic feuds and jealousy pangs between couples, as in case of Peter and Mary Jane। Peter, basking in the glory of Spiderman, neglects MJ, whose career is not going well। But most importantly, true to the tag line - ‘the Battle Within’ this movie has successfully highlighted three characters that have successfully fought the darker side in them। Firstly, Spiderman though loved the strength and agility (Venom) the black suit brought to him, yet he let it go as he realized that it was fueling the evil and revengeful side of his. Secondly Osborn Jr, bereft of his father and his lady love, fought away his hatred for Peter (who was again responsible for his scarred face) and went out to help him in times of need, just as a true friend would have done. Thirdly even Sand-man, realizing that his genuine need for money had transformed him into an ugly person (both physically as well as qualitatively), retreated and eventually won the battle within.
To conclude, a value for money movie with flavors of action, drama, special-effects and a moral to top all.

Die Hard 4 – A tribute to computer hackers

It’s in the theaters now and as expected has been a box-office hit। Bruce, as John McClane, never fails awe his audience with his charisma and subtle style. Die Hard continues to trill its audience with its state-of-the-art action sequence, story-telling and special effects. What differentiates this movie from its predecessors is the plot.
This sequel is based on some malefic computer hackers who intend to upset the entire nation by hacking defunct into every aspect of the city rules and breaking law. Bruce has the assignment of deporting a hacker (played by Timothy Olyphant) to the safe custody of FBI. However this hacker’s life is in grave danger as he has a considerable know-how about the hacking technique that is going to be implemented by the bad-guys to upset the nation.
With the entire FBI team traveling, Bruce has to fight the world alone all this while. Bruce’s adversaries include a cold-blooded point-man nailing him from a helicopter with hi-fi gadgets and gizmos, a sexy East Asian chick who’s not only tech-savvy but also a deadly karate expert and an athletic weirdo who ends up getting shredded.
There are two action sequences of unprecedented interest, one where unarmed Bruce uses a car to nail down the chopper. The other where a fighter jet toasts the truck Bruce is driving, failing to stop it the jet blows out the bridge! As we are all aware that the good guys always win in the end, this movie too is no exception. To sum it up Die Hard 4 is a good movie to watch if you are an action freak, and a must watch if you are a ‘Die Hard’ Bruce Willis fan.

On the conviction of “Baba” Sanjay Dutt

Well it’s universally accepted that the fundamental purpose of law and order in any country is to not only put a check on the crime committed but also punish those who break the law. The punishment meted out to errant individuals roots in a fear among the masses which in turn checks people from committing crimes. Law-n-Order is a machinery which refers to a set of protocols (book of rules) and forcefully guides us in walking the path of uprightness.
Lets start from the basics – what is the difference between a crime an a mistake? Mistake is wrong people do unknowingly. When people knowingly break the law and/ or cause damage to life and /or national property it becomes a crime. When criminal offence is committed unknowingly it very well can pass as a mistake.
All religions and nations of the world today, believe in helping people in becoming better human beings. Made a mistake (even if it’s a criminal offence committed unknowingly) and you regret it? Promise yourself not to repeat it! You shall be watched - if you keep your promise you are a better person already, if you don’t the law shall detain you.
Coming to the topic of Sanjay Dutt’s conviction, super-cop Kiran Bedi quoted “Sanjay Dutt’s crime was a mistake”. With this said about Sanjay Dutt by a responsible, renowned and respected high brass cop, goes on to show that we are not yet mature as a civilization. Some-one commits a mistake (having criminal implication) for which we keep him in the dark for 14 years as to what judgment shall be taken to reprimand him, in the mean-while drag him in–n-out the jail and courts several times, finally when he’s long turned a new leaf and has started doing good for the community we lock him up for six years for a mistake he did two decades back! What a shame, a total failure of the judicial system when we are talking tall about the law being constructive and helping people become better humans! I believe this kind of judicial system is hypocrisy in the name of justice, a slut wearing a nun’s garb.
I fully believe that ways of justice should change. It should give more emphasis on the nature of the person and his recent activities, before passing judgment against any crime/ mistake committed by the person.Sanjay Dutt as an actor was doing a great job in the entertainment industry (mind you entertaining the Indian population of 112 crores is not a joke!) Sanjay was a constant support to his sister Priya, who followed suit to her father as a politician working for the good of the masses. Sanjay Dutt was himself actively involved with NGO’s helping kids suffering from cancer and chemical dependence. Reprimanding Sanjay at this stage of his life, especially for six long years, is a scar on the face of justice.

A Dish For Chinese Lovers!

Chinese Chicken Sausages

Ingredients
Chick Sausages - 500 gms
Tomatoes – 100 gms
Capsicum - 100 gms
Green chilies – 5 to 6 (to taste)
Onion – 150 gms
Pepper – 2 table spoons
Ginger garlic paste – 2 table spoons
Soya Sauce – 2 tea spoons
White oil – 1½ table spoon

Serves 6 people

How to make it?
Slit the Sausages, heat the non-stick pan, put 1 table spoon oil and fry them till golden.
Clear the fried sausages.
Sauté the chopped onions and capsicum for 5 minutes.
Add salt to taste, ginger-garlic paste, Soya-sauce, chopped tomatoes and pepper - sauté in low flame for 5 more minutes.
To this now add the pre-fried sausages and mix well. Add ½ cup water and stir/mix well for 5 more minutes, till the gravy runs thick. Cover and simmer for some time – then serve hot.