Yes ! Barack Obama swearing in to become the president of the United States of America. Like a huge blockbuster in the making, publicized and marketed, Obamas presidency has huge expectations on it. The swearing in ceremony has whipped up huge interest and people are going to throng around Television sets all over the world to witness the new star.
He is going to deliver the world from its current economic woes by bailing out the economy. He would forge new partnerships with India. Raising spending on healthcare and other tax related reforms. Osama bin laden will be captured ! He is basically going to clear the rot which has been fermenting under the dirty carpet. These expectations are not less than sky high. Obama related goodies has suddenly become a profit making business in the United States.
This is just the build up to the actual thing and people have already started feeling happy about it. That is where the problem basically starts. Everyone wants to live in a recession and terror free world. But it is wrong of everybody again to pin their hopes on the president of the the United States.
Obama is no superman. I do not expect much of him. However I am happy that he is holding the position because he seems to have a rare case of sophistication !! Reviving the economy or doing magical things is not the doing of a single individual. If his team does a good job it can stem the rot to a certain extent.
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Monday, January 12, 2009
Slumdog Millionare
A Bollywood masala flick by a Hollywood director. The mozart of Madras winning the Golden Globe award for what is certainly not his best composition. A very 70's Bollywood rags to riches formula with the present day & Mumbai scum as its background. It was a truly gripping film with its share of twists and turns but from a very Indian point of view this is certainly not that movie which should have got the first Golden Globe. There have been many truly wonderful pieces off Indian Cinema which have been doled out for the past so many years but they were never recognised .
Whatever the movie has to offer has already been discussed. These are my opinions on the other stuff.
Anil Kapoor has long been one of the most underrated actors in the Hindi film industry - constantly sidelined and always out of the glare. The host of 'Who wants to be a millionare' in Slumdog, Anil Kapoors performance was top class. The negative shade was rendered beautifully in the movie, it was also a never seen before gig by him.
A.R.Rehman has always been away from the din of the media. The soft spoken genuis from Madras whose talent has been begging for attention for the last couple of decades. With an impeccable record Rehman should be revered as a contemporary musical genius. The 60s and 70s were considered to be the golden age for Hindi music. This is very much true but good music in the 90s and 00s has very much had the 'Rehman' stamp on it.
Mahesh Manjrekar for delivering all those profanities with so much ease - another under rated actor/director.
A bunch of talented but unkown/ under rated/ unknown actors have hit the nail on the center of the head with less effort. It is easy to make a movie on Mumbai - theres a tale in every street. But it is not possible to make another Slumdog Millionare or Satya or Vastav.
Kudos to team Danny Boyle who had the guts to do something like this.
Whatever the movie has to offer has already been discussed. These are my opinions on the other stuff.
Anil Kapoor has long been one of the most underrated actors in the Hindi film industry - constantly sidelined and always out of the glare. The host of 'Who wants to be a millionare' in Slumdog, Anil Kapoors performance was top class. The negative shade was rendered beautifully in the movie, it was also a never seen before gig by him.
A.R.Rehman has always been away from the din of the media. The soft spoken genuis from Madras whose talent has been begging for attention for the last couple of decades. With an impeccable record Rehman should be revered as a contemporary musical genius. The 60s and 70s were considered to be the golden age for Hindi music. This is very much true but good music in the 90s and 00s has very much had the 'Rehman' stamp on it.
Mahesh Manjrekar for delivering all those profanities with so much ease - another under rated actor/director.
A bunch of talented but unkown/ under rated/ unknown actors have hit the nail on the center of the head with less effort. It is easy to make a movie on Mumbai - theres a tale in every street. But it is not possible to make another Slumdog Millionare or Satya or Vastav.
Kudos to team Danny Boyle who had the guts to do something like this.
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Media Sensibility and other Jokes Part 1.
India's fourth estate is as diverse as the country itself.
You have the national news channels - motley of Hindi and English news channels and entertainment channels. Or as Homer Simpson would suggest 'Infotainment Channels'. From a dog marrying an guy ( is it a bitch !? who cares ) to Magicians performing their mumbo jumbo on scantily clad girls. This is what our Hindi media has to show from a country of some millions more than a billion . Oh yes ! I forgot about the talk shows - the audience is fed with all this gobledeegook and then comes that part when phony people up to ask their weirdo questions.
Out of Cricketers comment on the performance of the Boys in Blue. Thank God the team has been winning more than often nowadays. At least for the good of the country the media has good things to say about them. Otherwise the current working/performing cricketers would see their own putlas burning in some by alley of Kanpur - as part of an 'exclusive' coverage by some news channel.
The english news channels are a bit more polished because they cater to the so called intelligensia ( I do not think any body in their right minds would listen to the Hindi media ). They seem to have better content obviously in a country like India you cannot run out of content. And then theres the world to cover and comment about ! Sometimes you get the feeling that the over the top news anchors know very less about the subject so they act emotionally and become a part of the debate instead of moderating the conversations. I am referring to the India - Pakistan debates hed on television in the aftermath of the Mumbai attacks.
Even if the content is same there is a small difference between the Hindi and English media the way it is presented is pretty different. The Hindi news channels add adjectives and adverbs in a very politicianisque way so even a remotely positive news , rare species but not extinct yet.
The debates are better in the English news channels simply becasue of the contacts the higher ups in the news channels hav got and not because of the information provided or debated over. The hindi news channels are just not interested in quality - It is not a part of their manifesto !
The most intriguing part of the whole Infotainment business is the music. Well, the haunting music which becomes a part of any so called serious news item has such screwball bgms that you are reminded of a Ramsay ghost buster flick.
You have the national news channels - motley of Hindi and English news channels and entertainment channels. Or as Homer Simpson would suggest 'Infotainment Channels'. From a dog marrying an guy ( is it a bitch !? who cares ) to Magicians performing their mumbo jumbo on scantily clad girls. This is what our Hindi media has to show from a country of some millions more than a billion . Oh yes ! I forgot about the talk shows - the audience is fed with all this gobledeegook and then comes that part when phony people up to ask their weirdo questions.
Out of Cricketers comment on the performance of the Boys in Blue. Thank God the team has been winning more than often nowadays. At least for the good of the country the media has good things to say about them. Otherwise the current working/performing cricketers would see their own putlas burning in some by alley of Kanpur - as part of an 'exclusive' coverage by some news channel.
The english news channels are a bit more polished because they cater to the so called intelligensia ( I do not think any body in their right minds would listen to the Hindi media ). They seem to have better content obviously in a country like India you cannot run out of content. And then theres the world to cover and comment about ! Sometimes you get the feeling that the over the top news anchors know very less about the subject so they act emotionally and become a part of the debate instead of moderating the conversations. I am referring to the India - Pakistan debates hed on television in the aftermath of the Mumbai attacks.
Even if the content is same there is a small difference between the Hindi and English media the way it is presented is pretty different. The Hindi news channels add adjectives and adverbs in a very politicianisque way so even a remotely positive news , rare species but not extinct yet.
The debates are better in the English news channels simply becasue of the contacts the higher ups in the news channels hav got and not because of the information provided or debated over. The hindi news channels are just not interested in quality - It is not a part of their manifesto !
The most intriguing part of the whole Infotainment business is the music. Well, the haunting music which becomes a part of any so called serious news item has such screwball bgms that you are reminded of a Ramsay ghost buster flick.
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
The Movie Buff
What are your hobbies? Well, I love reading books, listening to music and watching movies - I am a movie buff if you like it.
Who is the true movie buff ?
I hear a sob as I watch Taare Zameen Par in the theatre ( First Day First Show ! ). A seemingly normal guy cries as he sees Ishaan Awasthi struggling with his Math, English and all the other subjects. I am sure like a Yash Chopra dream sequence he would have sung Maa in the screen but with a mid ninties sort of editing. Although the song was really heart warming meant to melt even the hardest of iron hearts. The same person would empathize with Ranbir Kapoor in Bachna E Haseeno and feel loved/ cheated in the same way as the protagonist himself. An elder version of this movie buff clan would have surely got influenced by Kamals Indian ( Hindustani ) and got an adrenaline shot after coming out of the theatre. The wannabe friendly 'Bhai' across the street wants to be the next Munnabhai. The next successful entrepreneur ( which is like 90% of the educated youth of today ) wants to be like Guru - mouthing dialogues from the movie very seriously when faced with uncomfortable questions. The worst variety - people who cry while watching a Karan Johar movie ( eeeewk )
Who is the true movie buff ?
I hear a sob as I watch Taare Zameen Par in the theatre ( First Day First Show ! ). A seemingly normal guy cries as he sees Ishaan Awasthi struggling with his Math, English and all the other subjects. I am sure like a Yash Chopra dream sequence he would have sung Maa in the screen but with a mid ninties sort of editing. Although the song was really heart warming meant to melt even the hardest of iron hearts. The same person would empathize with Ranbir Kapoor in Bachna E Haseeno and feel loved/ cheated in the same way as the protagonist himself. An elder version of this movie buff clan would have surely got influenced by Kamals Indian ( Hindustani ) and got an adrenaline shot after coming out of the theatre. The wannabe friendly 'Bhai' across the street wants to be the next Munnabhai. The next successful entrepreneur ( which is like 90% of the educated youth of today ) wants to be like Guru - mouthing dialogues from the movie very seriously when faced with uncomfortable questions. The worst variety - people who cry while watching a Karan Johar movie ( eeeewk )
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