A conversation....

Not long ago, someone asked me. What is India all about? What does India have that we (America) don't have?
I asked her in return. What do you THINK that you HAVE?

She replied. "We have culture, military, arts, science and technology, a great economy, money power, a strong democratic system, a peaceful life. That's some of the few things that we have. Now, tell me. What does India have?"
I know half of you would quickly flash through that memory of a movie in which the guy who plays Amitabh Bhachchan's younger bro saying "mera paas maa hai". True, it would have sufficed truly.

My reply "India has got a culture, a tradition that goes far beyond the time that mankind would remember. India invented plastic surgery, zero and taught the world how to do agriculture, trade, commerce, governance, science and economics, when the rest of the world was still just learning to pluck hair out of their heads. When you talk about culture, do you know how old America is? I don't know how old India is. India has been around since before Christ. Modern India has been around for only the last 63 years though, but imagine how close India is to becoming a world superpower. Without India and our contributions there would be no world, no new world."

She looked at me and I knew she was seriously working on her counter attack "Well. If you guys were around for as long as you say, why haven't you become the world's greatest superpower?" I knew this question was coming. I replied "If you haven't noticed, every nation has had its time. India was a world superpower, until your ancestors from England came and set foot in India. America rose to be a world superpower not more than 80 years earlier, to be exact since the first world war. India was ruled by a colonial power for over 200 years. Now we are a free country. A country which is once again on the ascendancy."

"Tell me something about your culture." I asked her. "What do you know about your culture?"
"Well, we have so many buildings, so many different writers, artists, great men and women like Martin Luther King, who have shown the world what we are all about." I decided to barge in "Looks like you don't even know what culture means. Culture refers to what a country/community has developed all over the years. India's culture also has so many art forms, artists, architectural marvels and also great men, who are revered in all parts of the world. Do you know any language that has existed for over a thousand years? Don't say English. English was spoken only after probably 1500s and 1600s, till then the official languages used in Britain was Latin. And I don't know too many Americans, who speak proper English. My mother tongue- Tamil has been around for over two thousand years. You can't find an inscription in America which dates back to Before Christ, while you can't find inscriptions in India, which don't date back that long. That itself is evidence for how long Indian culture has been around. We were born in our land. You guys came from Britain, to settle here and create a new world for yourselves."

"Why is India dependent on the U.S?" was the next question. I laughed. "Can you see one company which does not outsource at least some part of its operations to India? Now who's dependent on whom? Maybe we are just biding our time till we can show you what the true meaning of the word superpower is. I can't tell you till when we might just go on with this game, but one day it certainly will stop and that day is not too far."

"Well, I was watching this video where this guy talks about healthcare in India." said my friend. "I too saw that video. You know what. He is such an idiot. I can't believe he can say such things on air and the youtube description for that video was also inappropriate."
"Why do you say that?"
"1. Indian healthcare costs are certainly lower than in the U.S. That's because you shell out maybe 1000$ and that's about 50,000 Rs. in Indian money. Same emergency will cost you a few hundred dollars lesser. And by the way, the countries that have cheapest healthcare are Canada and France. They treat people for free.
2. The description of the video reads "...insulting an ally" India is not an ally to the U.S or to any other country in the world. "

"Pakistan?"

"There would have been no Pakistan and no place for Osama Bin Laden to hide and no terrorists, had only we been allowed to take them out completely and had only developed nations such as yourselves stopped supplying arms to a country run by terrorists. It's a well known fact and no one can refute the fact that America supplied and still does supply arms and intelligence to Pakistan, while Indian brains come here to study, settle down, pay taxes which go towards funding yet another weapons research technology which will protect American lives. Two faced."

I could see this conversation meandering to a sort of an opening gambit of a blame game, when I decided to leave before she could ask another question. I left soon after that reply. Just told her I had to go somewhere and I left. I knew that I had made her think. I knew she would get back at me sometime when she had a chance, when she had done her extensive research. I am waiting for that day, when she can ask me a question and I can answer it with disdain saying that "Guess who's the world's superpower now?"

Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaawwwwwwwwwwwwwwwnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn........

I couldn't think of a good title for this post... and I happened to be yawning when I was starting to type this post.. and hence the nice big yawn....

Ok, I saw this video on youtube. It's a really hot one making the rounds over the last few days. A lot of responses pouring in for one Ms. Alexandra Wallace,  at UCLA. Well, if you haven't seen the video, here it is for you.

Oh, don't be scared of the thumbnail shown above, go ahead and click it. You can see the video.

I guess you've seen the video now. She's "the girl with American manners"... oh wow... Really???? Then you shouldn't be talking such shit on a public portal where people will certainly see your face, identify you and the next time if you happen to visit China, Japan, Singapore or wherever in Asia, you'll find yourself very popular.

Well, rather than me talking a lot more about this, (that's because I've got a lot to say to this girl, and it may turn racist at a point of time. And if I do start making some comments bordering on the lines of racism, there's not going to be much of a difference between me and Ms. Wallace.) you can as well read the comments on Youtube.

I'm going back to my yyyyyyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaawwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn................

UDRS- Umpire Decisions RUINING System

The league phase of this tournament is not yet over and we have seen sixes flying, some stunning catches being taken and some simple ones being spilled (yes, you know whom I'm talking about), excellent displays of batting and bowling, a tied match, upsets, huge run chases, a TV being broken, and yes, of course, umpires messing up decisions tanks to new fangled technology, which has only, as Dhoni says, "adulterated human decision making".

What the decision review systems have brought with it is more confusion. Reminds me of Michael Crichton's words "A complex system will always a lot of problems". A complex game such as Cricket has N number of problems. Rules are written in a language which border heavily on the lines of ambiguity. Sometimes, I'm sure even the greatest lawyers, judges and pundits of the game must have been confused by some rules.

There have been quite a few umpiring errors in recent times, that too with the use of such advanced technology. The worldcup may lack the cutting edge of the hotspot or the assistance of the snicko, but certainly, it has the hawkeye to make some of the LBW decisions easy for the umpire. All that the umpire has to do is to ask the third umpire at the behest of the player who questions the decision. Despite technology which can show out and not out clearly, there are some utterly stupid umpiring errors made.

Technology has been introduced into a game as lengthy as cricket, which once Hitler commented when watching a test match "I could've conquered another country in 5 days", to make sure that correct decisions are reached. Of late, there have been ghastly errors which show reputed umpires in poor light. Why do such errors occur?
1. Umpires these days rely far too much on technology. All the parameters for an LBW decision are shown on a big screen alongwith the reply, but the technology still cannot judge the amount of turn or bounce that the pitch provides at that point of time. The umpires would love to see hawkeye telling them that also, so that decisions can be made properly. What do you guys have a brain with immense cricketing knowledge and experience for?
2. Rules, rules and more rules, which are made ambiguous by each letter.

I could think of only 2, and there could be many more.

Gone are the days when good umpiring decisions were made solely by the two on field umpires. Maybe, with the advent of such technology, umpires could be done away with in the future. Lets just hope that we don't find that happening really soon. Cricket would never be the same if not for umpires like Billy Bowden, and Simon Taufel. Humans can make errors, even utterly stupid ones, on their own that is, but the game will live on. When technology interferes with plain and simple human decision making, it not only makes some highly respected umpires look foolish, it also causes a lot more confusion and sometimes even controversy when the decision making is thrown back to the on field umpire.

The game can only improve by either standardizing the UDRS components. Either make it all (hotspot, hawkeye and snicko) or nothing at all. An already complex game doesn't need a further complexity in terms of absurdly wrong decisions made even with the help of technology.

The 63 years that never were...

Yeah. You are right. You guessed it absolutely right. This post is about the lady who turned 63 just a few months back.

A nation ruled by the British, who dominated not only India, but also most part of the world for the better part of the 19th century, gained her independence in 1947. What for? To still be marked as a "developing nation", when nations such as Japan which was nuked in 1945 zoomed upward making itself as a world leader. Singapore, a nation not bigger than the city of Bangalore now standing as one of the world's best country, while most of our cities are languishing with poor facilities.

I hate to damage my own country like this. I love my India and I'm sure everyone of you, which ever country you maybe from LOVE yours.

Why is India like this? Well, some of the most obvious reasons are listed here:

1. Corruption -  Ah, yes. That is number one and I won't hesitate in betting that we are number 1 in that. The age old vice introduced by our British rulers and imbibed in our system ever since then has become a national practice. Thanks to this  we have hardly seen much of a development, except for the swelling bank accounts and the sprawling villas of our netas.

2. Indifference -  Thanks to the 1st cause, this one has also evolved.  When have we ever cared about giving or taking bribes to government officials, politicians and of late even educational institutions which demand huge amounts as donations to secure admissions. We have grown used to bribes being taken and given.

3. Reservation - Not railway ticket reservations, not air ticket reservations and certainly not reserving seats at restaurants. It's about reserving a HUGE chunk of seats in educational institutions for people based on CASTE, RELIGION and not based on economic affordability.

4. LACK OF RESPECT FOR THE PEOPLE AND THE NATION. Very evident among our netas. Ever remember an Independence day or a Republic day, when the entire nation, 1 BILLION Indians standing up for the national anthem? There has always been an occasion where a politician or a police chief or a government official has been caught sitting or disrespecting the national anthem or the flag. Lack of respect for the people who vote for them is utterly disgusting. Our politicians come begging to our doorsteps for votes and after the election, people are treated like shit.

5. A judicial system which tries a dumbass terrorist to show the world that we will give him a fair trial, while politicians who swindle lakhs of crores of Rupees are let off with just a commission of some "eminent" politicians investigating the matter. Neither will the commission give their reports early enough to prosecute the perpetrator, nor will the terrorist be hanged soon.

6. Power and money talk, more than the voice of the common man. Police fail to prosecute criminals backed by politicians. Agony, disgust are all that people get when they try to file a complaint with the police. There have been cases where just because the perpetrator has been a big shot's relative, the case just has to be dropped. Pity. Apart from that, only people with power enough to change election results at will, by rigging polls come to power.

7. Incompetent leaders who feign ignorance when something as huge as a multi million crore scandal happens. Leaders who FAIL to show themselves as a true leader. Some are puppets in the hands of some other leaders. Such leaders not only prove themselves incompetent, but also prove themselves to be inhuman. They rig elections, win them, eyewash the stupid common people of India, with promises that never will happen. They even go to the extent of making sure that the traffic stops for them and their useless bloody lives, while a much more worthwhile life dies in an ambulance that is stuck in traffic

7 reasons why India is like this. 7 main reasons. Reasons that matter a lot more than common people like you and me ( I am assuming that the people who matter DO NOT read this post). 

World Cup 2011.

The day has dawned in one part of the world. The part of the world where it matters the most. The countries to which the sport matters the most. The world cup begins today.

The world cup will for sure draw curtains on some glorious careers and some not so glorious ones as well. For sure, this will be the last world cup for some of cricket's biggest names which includes Sachin Tendulkar as well. India take on Bangladesh today, kicking off their world cup campaign. Co-hosts of this world cup and both of them will be considered favourites by their own countrymen.

This world cup will be a glorious one. The demons of 2007 are sure to be exorcised, given the fact that this world cup is being staged in the hotbed of cricket- the subcontinent. What better place for the resurrection of the 50 over game? The euphoria that fans bring to the game in the subcontinent can never be matched anywhere else in the world.

This world cup is one of the most open tournaments in the history of the game. Almost all of the top teams are strong sides, with flourishing talent. Oh, well, that would bring us to the question of who's the favourite? Playing in the subcontinent would obviously make India, Sri Lanka and Pakistan as favourites, combined with Bangladesh being dark horses. It's tough.

For me- It's 5 letters, we wear blue and we have god in our side.

The Thin Red Line....

Anything can be done for friendship. Anything can be done for love. People do absurd things for both.

Friends go to the very extents, the very ends of the world to help each other. So do people in love. But when a guy and a girl are "just good friends" and when they go great distances to help each other- does it mean they are still "just good friends" or are they in love? That question can never be answered.

People always say, a guy and a girl can never be "just good friends". Provokes me to say- social stigma or just another dogma promoted by the society. Can a girl and guy be just friends- certainly yes. It can happen. Relationships are evolved on basis of sheer proximity. If a person starts to distance themselves from their friend, the relationship slowly dies out. However, it does not involve physical distance. Friends or even lovers separated by thousands of miles still can maintain their relationship, thanks to the advent of the internet, iphone, and whatnots. It's all about emotional proximity.

There's just a very fine, thin, red line, imaginary of course, which marks the boundary between friendship and love between a girl and a guy. This line gets breached only when one mistakes the others feelings for them. More often than not it does happen.

With Valentine's day approaching, I am quite sure a lot of people would like to profess their love to the girl/guy who's on their mind. It could even be their best friend. Who knows? Well, best friends falling in love is not rare, but the relationship between best friends can never be the same if one proposes and the other happens to reject. Such people rarely tend to remain friends forever.

People who are going to propose to that "one" on Valentine's day- please take care. You may either get yourself killed by jumping excitedly or by a broken heart. Whatever it is- life must go on.

I know whatever I said will be termed as bullshit and I probably might be burnt at stake for blasphemy. Alright. I'll end my bullshit with this.

No One Killed Jessica....

I generally don't write reviews for movies. That job- my good friend Rohit does, you can catch his blog at www.uberreelz.blogspot.com .. but, this one, I'm so compelled to write a review. Sorry Rohit, just this one time mate....

No One Killed Jessica.

Times of India SCREAMED out this headline in 2006 and it was then a storm started. One man shot a bartender in the midst of 300 other celebrity and influential guests at a party and nearly managed to get away scot free.

One absolutely brilliant movie to start the year with. An extremely powerful screenplay combined with a highly pumped up Rani Mukherjee, just nails down the movie to be possibly one of THE BEST movies in recent times.

Vidya Balan plays Sabrina Lall, sister of the bartender Jessica Lall, who was shot dead at a posh party in New Delhi. Her killer- the son of a Haryana politician. The politician dad plays every possible trick to get his son out of this murder case. JUSTICE IS DENIED to Jessica Lall. The lower courts acquit the murderer and his accomplices due to evidences, which were tampered and witnesses who were bribed and threatened to lie in a court of law.

Over 300 witnesses to a killing and not one person comes to be a powerful witness for the prosecution. Due to pressure from the media, who deliver the aam aadmi's voice to The President of India, the case is reopened and finally the murderer is convicted and sentenced to a life in prison.

Rani Mukherjee has blazed through this movie as a firebrand reporter and Vidya Balan has portrayed Sabrina Lall as a strong character. Hats off to the editor, the director and the entire crew. It's not everyday that such a movie comes up on the silver screen. With a special mention to the music director for his "Dilli Dilli" track.

One interesting point to note is, except for Sabrina's family, every other character is fictitious, including Rani Mukherjee's character, which apparently never existed in the real case.

Ok. Movie apart. (ha ha ha... you fell for the movie review bit didn't you?).
1. Political power has ruined so many families in India. Justice has been denied to so many Jessicas. It's time to show that such people are not above the law.
2.The plight of Sabrina and her family following her sister's murder and during the trial has been shown very well in this movie, but isn't that the case of every single family that has been denied justice?
3. One dialogue that has such a great impact on this movie would be "Justice has been denied. You can live with it. I cannot."- Rani Mukherjee speaks that dialogue. If everyone of us feels that way for each of the Jessicas killed, then our judicial system would be far far far better.
4. It all comes down to one word- Corruption. Doesn't it?

No One Killed Jessica-  9.9/10 (No One Is Perfect). One amazing movie. A must watch for all of INDIA.

Of butterflies, hurricanes and tsunamis...

"I am an agent of Chaos." says The Joker. Chaos is everywhere. It's right before our eyes. It happens everywhere.

Chaos theory- for those who don't know anything about it. It's also known as the butterfly effect. To make it even more clear to my dear Tamil movie buffs, remember the opening scene of the movie Dasavatharam, where it shows a butterfly fluttering it's wings at the location of the Tsunami? That's what Chaos theory is all about. A harmless butterfly fluttering it's wings at one place might even cause destruction of unimaginable magnitudes at another. You will ask now- What crap is this? What has a butterfly got to do with destruction?

Good question. I watched this movie The Oxford Murders last night and I got a clear picture of what it (chaos theory)'s all about in a more concise way, as compared to Dasavatharam. The male lead of the movie says something very irrelevant to the murderer. A totally harmless statement, which leads to a murder and further triggers off a series of murders.

Unbelievable right? Something as harmless as a butterfly fluttering it's wings can cause a catastrophe. That's chaos theory. That's life. That's truth.

P.S: I know this post sounds really insane, but, really. I guess it's time to switch to some really stupid movies. Should stop watching highly intellectual ones.

Theory of Relativity....

Woah!!! Took me just about 15 seconds to come up with this title... This is in no way related to Einstein's theory of relativity...

Coming straight to the point- this post s all about some movies which I felt that I could relate myself and my life till now to. And this is no movie review. Those of you who were googling some of those movies listed here and finally ended up on my page, sorry guys, if you like it, go ahead and read, if not, carry on.

3 Idiots. I happened to watch this movie for the only second time and could completely relate to this movie. Though, I'm no genius who studied well and topped his college, I could completely relate to it since I do have a couple of "idiots" as friends. Well, a lot of their struggles in the movie, I could relate to, especially of a guy who is struggling to pass his exams and also of the one in the group who manages to come out on top always. One thing I learnt from the movie was that we aren't really doing what's we are passionate about (and I still am not doing what I'm passionate about). Not easy in a world which pays so much less for things that we are passionate about, is it?

Not really my kind of a movie. Romance. Not something that I'd completely relate to, but yes to an extent (Shhhh... I'm not telling how and all). I'm sure everyone who has seen this movie will say they can relate to this movie in someway.

Another movie that anyone can relate to. It's a pretty simple story. Gandhigiri rules. One particular scene in this movie which I felt totally moved was a scene where a guy calls up Munna's radio station.. saying he lost a huge sum of money in the share market and doesn't know how to face his father and how Munna helps him out. One fantastic scene, which will remain etched forever in my memory.

Chennai 600028 is all about friendship, rivalries, love, misunderstandings, booze, and yes of course lots of CRICKET. It s a close to my heart movie due to more of the reason that we played regular cricket, just about the time when the movie was released.  Not only does cricket give me the reason, it's also the various other aspects such as mokka comedies, friendships and misunderstandings also which gives us a reason to relate to.

There might be a lot other movies to which I can relate to, but these are the ones which came off the top of my head. Do feel free to add up your own list in the comments.... :)

The Stupid Common Man...

Ah.. yes. That's all of us. Not you netas, ministers, MLAs, MPs, bureaucrats and party chiefs. It's us- The Stupid Common People of India. It's us, who have to bear the brunt of price rices due to the artificial inflation that all you idiots have created for your own selfish ends.

Imagine, a kilo of onions costing an ABSURD Rs. 60-70 per kilo? Fuel prices going up every 2 weeks? Such things are unheard of even in countries poorer than India. If prices go up so high, only people who have ammassed (Pun- very much intended), so much of wealth that at least 10 more generations of their family need not bother about working, can only afford even the luxury of a sambhar cooked with onions.

Well, not to mention media coverage for this issue, which is as of today on the front page of a newspaper. Tomorrow, this news will be obscure and will obviously be out of peoples minds and our great babus and netas, will once again hatch plots to make money for themselves.

This is a vicious cycle isn't it? People have to slog their asses off, pay taxes (if not entirely honestly), at least people do pay taxes. These people are us- common people- IT company employees, BPO employees, Government employees, small time business people, growing companies. Where does all the money go? Oh, yes, it goes all the way to keep Ajmal Kasab and rapists alive.

The value of a common man's life in India is worse than shit. A minister's daughter is held hostage, the entire universe gets into action to rescue her. A common man's daughter is kidnapped, raped and killed, the police hardly even takes notice of it. The perpetrator? At most times, the son or a relative of a politician or a politician himself.

A minister swindles a nation of crores of money and roams happily in his Benz car, while a common thief, who would have stolen not more than 100 Rs, is beaten up mercilessly and later sentenced to 6 months imprisonment. So, as far as we are concerned, the greater the magnitude of the crime, the lesser the punishment.A corrupt and illiterate minister can get away with a multi crore Rupee scam, while a government employee of the lowest order gets kicked for asking for a cup of tea as a bribe.

In India, lives are lost when ambulances are held up in traffic jams, which have been created due to the passing of a ministerial convoy through that route. A life of a common man is lost and the minister won't even know about it and even in the rarest of events, if he does get to hear about it, he will feel no remorse.

When will all this end? The largest democracy in the world has no respect for the people who make it. SHAME.

When he retires....

I really can't imagine what the state of affairs of a billion peoples lives will be when GOD retires. You know whom I am talking about. Yes. It's HIM.

He has beaten opponents all over the world and thrashed bowlers all over many a stadia on the planet. He looks very small, but his achievements- the sky is not the limit. Often compared with Sir Don Bradman, he has always shown, why he is better than Sir Don. No offence meant.

He has won so many matches for India. He has been a bowlers' nightmare. When he is in form, no one can even think of getting him out. It has often been said that opposing captains have even stood and admired his game rather than thinking of ways to get him out. He is such a great cricketer.

Much has been said of him playing. I'm sure, he himself has not yet thought of retiring as yet. However, it is inevitable that even he will retire one day. On that day, I'm sure at least a million people will give up cricket for good. On that day, the Indian stock markets will crash a bit. On that day, there will be a lot of tears shed all over the world, for Cricket will lose it's greatest player ever. On that day, everyone would seriously wish that this day never came. It will come, that day will come, even Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar himself would be very sad.

He was within inches of a crowning glory of winning a world cup for India, but India sadly stumbled at the very last hurdle. It will only be justice to him, to win the next world cup and when he does go, it will be his final hurrah. The man who broke the 200 run barrier in ODIs, the man with the most number of career centuries and the man who has been cricket's god, he will be missed by cricket fans all over the world. His shoes are very huge for anyone to fill, but with god's grace, India might find a replacement, who might be at best, half as good as Tendulkar himself.

ROT IN HELL... *** You need to be more careful***

Not more than a couple of days back, a ba****d in Tamilnadu, who brutally raped and murdered a couple of kids was shot dead in an encounter. May he rot in hell.

RAPE. Possibly the worst crime that can ever be done. It is so frustrating that a man who rapes a girl walks free after he does the crime and to worsen it, he even threatens the girl and her family to refrain from going to the cops. Even if they do go to the cops- what happens- the cops are hand in glove with the rapist, since he in turn is hand in glove with some big shot politico.

Every single day that I open the newspaper, the lines glare at me with at least one news of rape in some part of the country. What's even worse is the media publicity for a rapist. Crap. Imagine-  cases of dads raping daughters, trusted drivers raping their bosses' daughters. Such things are utterly atrocious.

How can rape be contained? how can it be controlled? Certainly not by arresting the rapist and trying him by IPC sections blah, blah and blah. It can be controlled only by some truly bloody law (or even unlawful law) enforcement. Something on the lines of the punishment meted out to a rapist who features in RGV's Rakta Charitra should do the trick.

Boys Vs Girls... ***Controversial Topic***

Much has been debated, dissected and analysed about the sexes. It's always been said that women are the fairer, but weaker sex. Not anymore. Not true these days. Women compete with men. Women give men a run for their money in all aspects, which includes guts, glory,booze, drugs, crime, career, success in life, money and power. There have been many great men and women who have walked the face of this earth. All of them would have certainly had a contemporary of the opposite sex who would have certainly matched them at some point of time (maybe if not in their own generation, at least in another generation).

Quite recently I watched a movie which I like a lot (I've watched the movie quite a few times before that too). Shows the difference of opinions and mentalities between a guy and a girl who used to be in a relationship. The movie opens out with a guy saying that god's first creation was guys since god knows that guys know how to enjoy life. A girl pops out on to the screen and says that girls endowed with such charm and beauty are the best creation of god and guys are just test pieces. The narrator says maybe both are right, but even god can't decide on what issues will a guy and girl get along well and on what issues will they lock horns. To resolve such a conflict, he created the magic called love. Quite true right?

Well, come to think of it- we guys are happy go lucky, reckless, jovial, smart, cool, can even be a little caring, kind hearted, loving, and yes we too can be a little emotional as well. This is something that I've ripped off from Mr. Russell Peters - We guys, when we get into a relationship, girls ask us not to lie to them. We say "sure. Whatever." One fine day we sit and stare into open space for about 15 mins (YES. We guys can do that. Can't we?). The girls come up and ask us "What are you thinking about?". We say "Nothing" and we are being honest about it here. The girls keep nagging us till we actually lie "I was thinking about how cute you are". Girls ask us not to lie and we end up lying because of girls. Seriously.

Anyways, there are a lot of things that girls hate with boys. When we guys are in a relationship with a girl, does it mean that we can't even look at other girls? But yes, we are loyal to you. Somethings that girls never understand is that- how many ever girls a guy looks at or talks to, we guys (well, most of us guys anyways) almost always remain committed to our girls. We enjoy our sports and we don't really like shopping. We can see only 16 bit colour unlike you girls who spot such minute changes in colour shades and give each single shade a name. Oh my god.

Girls- you girls are absolutely pretty, charming, gorgeous, intelligent, caring, loving and very emotional. There are somethings that guys hate with girls. First thing is always suspecting guys of being disloyal. That's something that we guys can't really tolerate. Not when we are being extremely loyal. Girls hate waiting for guys, when we guys wait for over 2 hours for you girls to get ready to go somewhere. When guys look at other girls, we get a cold mean stare, but when you girls look at other guys- it's just looking.

Oh yes. You girls have to keep thinking about something or the other. Good thing- it saves us a lot of pressure and yes a lot of grey cells. And we have the direction sense when we drive. It's been scientifically proven that girls lack some of the skills that we guys have. For instance, we can catch a ball flying at us, perfectly and pretty instinctively. We can drive to any given location just by merely knowing a couple of landmarks. And yes, there are things that most of us guys can't do and all of us guys can't do. For instance most of us guys can't really cook well. Most of us guys cant really set things the way that you girls can.  Most of us guys aren't really that creative (we are bloody lazy). And yes, most of us guys don't really study that well. Most of us guys can't really take care of kids (but we do love kids). And all of us guys can't get pregnant. Something that god's given uniquely to girls is motherhood. The pain, the pleasure and the joy that you girls get in bringing a life into this world- something that no man on earth can get. Hats off to girls for that.

This really doesn't bring a conclusion to the argument- who is better. Does it? Well, neither man nor woman is better. We guys have our faults, you girls too have your faults. Let's understand each other, fall in love and enjoy life. :)

P.S: I know I might get kicked for this post.

When money and power talk...

That title is an indication of what politics is all about. Summarized and characterized by just 2 very simple but very important words. When money and power talk, anyone, absolutely anyone will have to shut up. That s the pity of it all.

A very well educated person. Probably he/she might have topped the I.A.S (Indian Administrative Services) exam, but that person can do nothing but just advice the stupid minister on what should be done. Of course, even if the person is very well educated, there are always 2 ways to get work done. 1- Money (read as bribe). 2- Power (read as threats).

It was a few days back that I was reading these couple of articles in a newspaper. Something that really proves that one can do absolutely anything with these 2 weapons- Money and Power.

As people who might be reading this blog from my hometown, Chennai, would undoubtedly know that Tamil movies which have their title as a proper Tamil name would be granted a tax exemption by the state of Tamilnadu. 1st of all. What's this rule going to bring? A renaissance of sorts for the Tamil movie industry? or is it going to increase the vocabulary? or is it going make our newsreaders and actors say words such as "pazham, vazhkai" properly? or is it going to bring down the pricing of movie tickets at multiplexes? or is it going to reduce the price of petrol? All that it's going to do is just give the movies a good for nothing tax exemption, even when the movie made is hardly of even the lowest possible standard. There are certain big shots in the movie industry who get the tax exemption despite the movie not having a proper Tamil title. The reason- money and powerful positions and people. Now that's politics.

One other article is one which shows how poor the law and order situation is in Chennai at the moment, is one on eve-teasing. Rowdy elements have always been a part of Chennai, but wreaking havoc on ladies travelling in trains is the height of it. Spitting, commenting on the ladies and making sure that other passengers who try to oppose these rowdies are given a hard time and a piece of their minds makes passengers want to desert the trains forever. The railway police are very efficient in sanitizing the trains of vendors and beggars, but are not so very inclined to ensure the safety of the passengers by any means. How come these rowdy elements have a field day? Political backing and support. Politicians need these rowdies and criminals to do their dirty work and in return they get immunity from arrests. Wonder if politicians and policemen would allow these rowdy elements to even exist if they dared to touch their daughters/sisters/friends.

There have been so many girls who have died due to this menace of eve teasing. This will not end until and unless there are good cops who dare to stand up against such anti social elements, good politicians who do not need rowdies and anti social elements to help them win elections and make money for themselves. In fact, it all begins with us- the people- by voting for the right person. Lets make our city, our state and our country a better place for all of us.

P.S: With all due respect to the Chief Minister of TamilNadu (I know you will not be reading this article sir, but it would be nice if action is taken against such anti social activities).

Why Endhiran's parking lot collection = Anjaana Anjaani's box office collection.

Now, I guess the euphoria of Endhiran's release has died down to an extent that I can actually see people looking at other movies these days. A Rajini film is always special to anybody who has watched the SuperStar's movies all these years, but now he has surpassed from being a Star in just the Tamil Cinema industry to become a SuperStar that the world now knows.

There have been so many people who have been wondering why Endhiran has become such a worldwide hit. Eclipsing the box office collections of so many other movies, showcasing a worldwide presence and making it an international phenomenon. Some of the reasons include:

1. Absolutely phenomenal marketing. Thanks to Sun Pictures' marketing team, this movie has been released all over the planet and people who don't know a word of Tamil/Hindi are watching it with subtitles in theaters in the US, Canada and other parts of the world. No other Indian movie has been marketed like this.

2. Starcast. Needless to say. Super Star Rajinikanth and Aishwarya Rai. This combination can't get any better. Probably the most charismatic Indian actor with one of the most beautiful women on the face of the earth. Who wouldn't want to watch these 2 people share a screen?

3. Shankar. Shankar's other name is Grandeur. Any movie that he has made till now has a high standard of grandeur - with special attention to the sets that he uses for the songs. This is one director who has a penchant for presentation. He has always made movies which really send out a message to the public. Endhiran has been his pet project for over ten years. Due to various circumstances he had not been able to make this movie, but today, no one can make a movie as grand as this one and if anyone can better it, it has got to be Shankar himself.

4. A.R.Rahman. The Shankar - A.R.R combo clicked once again. Rahman's music combined with some good lyrics has made anyone who listened to the songs tap their feet. All the songs were presented brilliantly and noone wants to miss Shankar's special touch for the songs.

5. This is not a typical Super Star movie. This is Shankar's movie rather than showcasing Rajinikanth. Somehow the name of the scientist character, Vaseegaran (meaning one who entices all) seems a little cliched.

6. Special effects - Stan Winston studios did a not so bad job with the special effects for the robots. This could have only been a little better. Had it been a little better, it would certainly have given Terminator a run for it's money.

7. Last but not the least. Even the best of movies, with the best star cast, marketing and music can flop if media do not advertise the movie that much. It's media hype and yes of course word of mouth which makes people go watch the movie in the theatres. The media hype surrounding Endhiran has been positive and has made the movie live quite up to expectations.

The bad guys that I like....

Noone likes bad guys. You like bad guys? I think there might be at least one bad guy from the below list that you, my dear reader might like.

OK. Lets get down to business. There's no top ten here- just the list off the top of my head. If I miss YOUR favourite bad guy, I'm so sorry about it.


BILLA

A list of bad guys would start with Billa. A negative character played by SuperStar Rajinikanth and later on by Ajith. The charisma of Rajinikanth was replaced by the style of Ajith. The negative roles played by both of them exudes such a dark glow to the character himself that you would certainly like one of the 2 Billas.

VAALI

The deaf mute elder twin brother, who wants to get his younger brother's wife,  is yet another memorable negative character. Though not a character which people would like, but certainly a role that cannot be forgotten by anyone who has watched the movie.

JEEVAN- KAAKA KAAKA/ NAAN AVAN ILLAI

One truly spectacular actor for a negative character would be this man, Jeevan. Acting as Pandya, a gangster who seeks revenge for his brother's killing, he showcased a villain that Tamil cinema had not seen before. With a rather unkempt and flowing mane, he instilled a sense of dislike for the character that he played in Kaaka Kaaka. His role in Naan Avan Illai brought some comic relief but yes it is a negative character, which might make people just forget that he is no negative character.

PARATTAI- 16 VAYATHINILE

Probably one of the best roles that the SuperStar has played till date. A brute rowdy who picks on a mentally retarded person (played by Kamal Haasan). One of the more popular negative characters in the history of Tamil cinema.

CHRISTIAN FLETCHER- DASAVATHARAM

Playing 10 roles in a single movie is not the easiest thing. Not when each role requires a different makeup and mind set. This particular negative character has impressed one and all to an extent. The gun toting, trigger happy, ex-CIA agent, who works as a mercenary is probably one of the most impressive negative roles played by Kamal Haasan.

INBA- AYITHA EZHUTHU

Madhavan may not have a huge fan base in Tamil, but he certainly showed that he can do a good job even with a negative role. Yet another mercenary, who doesn't mind deserting his wife, so that he can become big in politics.

ANAKIN SKYWALKER / DARTH VADER- STAR WARS FRANCHISE

Who on earth can forget Darth Vader? The background music that he has when he enters? Possibly one of the best bad guys that one can ever remember. Scheming, intelligent and so annoying that Darth Vader can be either hated so much or can be liked a lot.

MUTHUPANDI- GHILLI

"Chellam I love you." The role that catapulted Prakash Raj to being the most wanted villain in the Tamil and Telugu cinema industries. He may not have been playing that bad guy role so as to make a person hate the character, but he certainly gave one good performance which took him to the top. That character was made by Prakash Raj. Though he went on to play negative roles in several other movies, it's this one movie which made him very popular.

VINOD - KADHAL KONDEN.

Armstrong said "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." This is so very true in the case of Dhanush, who played a psychopath negative character who takes all steps that he possibly can from keeping his lady love (who loves someone else) from going away from him. One terrific negative character. One great performance. An absolute stunner.


VEERA & DEV - RAAVANAN

Tough to decide who does the negative role. Veera- the forest brigand, nicknamed Raavanan or is it the daring police officer Dev? Veera kidnaps Dev's wife and kills several policemen as a part of his revenge for the rape of his sister on the day of her wedding by some policemen. While Dev showcases his negative side by setting his wife up so that he can kill Veera. Absolutely brilliant character that man Veera.

THE JOKER- THE DARK KNIGHT

"Why so serious son? Lets put a smile on that face." Heath Ledger took villainy to a new high. A psychotic villain, bent on destroying the hero. One of the most deadly bad guys who has ever been featured in the movies. Gives you a bit of a chill, doesn't it?


CHITTI VERSION 2.0 - ENDHIRAN.

"Who is the black sheep? Meeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh." A role of a lifetime that no actor other than the SuperStar himself can do. I'm not telling you all about this role. Find out for yourself if you guys haven't yet seen the movie.

A few questions that even Google cannot answer...

These are some questions which came to my mind right at this point of time. This list will probably shrink in a few years' time.. but there are a few questions to which there may not be any answers at all..

1. Does God exist? (Quite a few atheists will love this question.)

2. What do Women really want? ( I know I've made a few enemies with my women readers here. As it is the number of people reading my blog is less, now that's nearly 50% off. Sorry ladies.)

3.Where is Osama Bin Laden hiding? (Pretty obvious.)

4. What does Kamal Haasan's real face look like? (I googled this. Trust me.)

5. When will the world end? (Google has answers to this. We can't say for sure until it happens.)

6. When did "corruption" start?

7. Do ghosts exist?

8. Do aliens exist?

Numbers 7 & 8 have been googled, debated, researched and buried and whatever "-ed" that you can think about. But opinions exist to the very widths of a spectrum.

9. When will Vijay stop acting? (:O)

10. What is the value of infinity?

Possibly- number 10 is the only sensible question in this list. All others are practically junk.

OK. My limited number of readers (which would certainly have come down to a single digit now) can add to this list, if you like.

My first wife...

Well... I got married to her not recently.. but very long ago..

I can't tell when I fell in love with her,
I can't tell when we decided that we were not going to be separated by anything at all,
I can't even tell how she told me how much she loved me.

She is probably the most beautiful thing on earth.
Poetry at its best is when we are together.
Enjoying a beautiful day of sunshine, of a light breeze.
Wherever it might be on the lawns, at the beach, or even on the terrace of our apartment.

She looks so beautiful by day and far more beautiful at night.
She is no mortal.
She is far from mortal.
She is a very beautiful game.

I can't say how crazy I am about you Cricket.
I just can't say how much I love you.
I will never be too far away from you.

With lots of love- A crazy Cricket lover.

P.S: I am sure someone will freak out after reading this. But really, that's the truth. :)

Mani Matters...

It's so hard to write about a man who talks very less. However, I find it very compelling to write about one of the greatest directors in Indian cinema- Mani Ratnam.

Many of Mani Ratnam's movies have been top award winners, most notably Nayagan, Roja and Mouna Ragam. Mani Ratnam is credited with making some of the best movies that have come out in Tamil Cinema. However, he is also known for the dialogues which are so sparingly used in his movies. One thing that stands out his movies is the characterization of his actors. Some of his characters which have been created have become so etched in the memory, that it is very hard to forget Velu Naickar (Kamal Haasan in Nayagan), Surya (Rajini Kanth in Thalapathi), Devaraj (Mamooty in Thalapathi),Anjali (Shamili in Anjali), Karthik (Madhavan in Alaipayuthey), Inba (Madhavan in Ayitha Ezhuthu), Michael Vasanth (Surya in Ayitha Ezhuthu), Gurukant Desai (Abhishek Bachchan in Guru) and quite recently- Veerayya a.k.a. Veera (Vikram in Raavanan).

If there is one man who can make even a stone act it's Mani Ratnam. His performance as a director is overshadowed by the performance of Shamili, who played the role of an autistic child who is loved by her family, detested by her society earlier and later how the same society learns to like her and love her. Such stories do not come every day in Indian cinema and such stories are very very hard to direct.

There have also been some movies of his which have been critically acclaimed such as Bombay, which is based on the Mumbai riots of 1993. One other critically acclaimed movie is Iruvar- featuring Mohanlal and Prakashraj in lead roles, a story loosely based on the lives of Former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister- Mr. M.G.Ramachandran and current Tamil Nadu Chief Minister- Mr. M. Karunanidhi. This movie did not make it big at the box office, however, it is known for the directorial brilliance showcased by Mani Ratnam. Probably one of the finest movies that Indian cinema has ever seen or known, for ages to come.

Some of his other efforts include the movies- Kannathil Muthamittal and Dil Se, which form the terrorism trilogy alongwith Roja. The 3 movies- Roja, Kannathil Muthamittal and Dil Se- focus on 3 of the Sub-continent's most violent areas. Roja- Kashmir, Kannathil- Sri Lanka and Dil Se- North East India. Mani Ratnam is also credited for the blockbuster romantic story- Alaipayuthey and for one other movie treading on political lines- Ayitha Ezhuthu (Yuva in Hindi).

Everyone has a peak and a crest. That goes the same for even Mani Ratnam. The latest position that Mani Ratnam has got himself into is that he has apparently forgotten how audiences receive movies in various parts of the country. Raavan and Raavanan (the tamil version of Raavan) was released simultaneously. Raavanan did better than its Hindi counterpart, thanks to some apparently better acting by Vikram, who plays the "title role". One flaw with the Mani Ratnam of recent times is that he is more intent on creating movies as bi-linguals and tri-linguals, mindless of who acts in the movie and how well a movie is accepted in each region. For example: Raavanan need not have been made as a tri-lingual. It seemed more of an effort to showcase Ash-Abhi on screen, after a good one in Guru. It must also be noted that there was a lot of effort for Raavan- the sets, the stunts, the entire crew which had put in months of hard work to make such a movie must be praised.

Adding to that is the legendary A.R. Rahman - Mani Ratnam combination. It has worked so well in the past but somehow failed to live up to expectations with the Tamil audio of Raavanan. It was so apparent that the lyrics was not given much of importance, as they were just made, or rather forced to suit the music that had already been created for Raavan.

Despite all those recent flaws, Mani Ratnam still remains one of THE BEST directors of all time. I know I am not even in the league, where I can critique his works, but still, as an admirer and an avid movie goer, all I can say is Mani Ratnam stands tall among his peers and contemporaries. Let's just hope his next one is far more successful and probably the best to come from him.

The state of TN

Tamil Nadu. One India's four southern states. The state which boasts of a classical language spoken with many different dialects and accents- ranging from the ones spoken by Thiruvalluvar to the ones spoken by auto drivers and news readers and actresses imported from god knows where.

This state also boasts of one of the "greatest" political dynasties of modern India- The Karunanidhis. M.Karunanidhi, the Chief Minister of the state and his big family, who dominate the political scenario in Tamilnadu, at present are known for their "service" to the Tamil people. Yes- you read it right- service to the Tamil people.

Let us take a look at this TN government till now- Achievements over the past few years- Building grade separators (Once they used to build flyovers). Building a new assembly complex. Burning down the Dinakaran office- work done by M.K.Azhagiri (The C.M.'s son). Settling up a feud between the CM and Mr. Dayanidhi Maran (the C.M.'s nephew). Kalaignar TV. Free Tv's to people.

Now, did I forget something? Ah. Yes- Ulaga Thamizh Semmozhi Maanadu. Supposed to be the ultimate tribute to thamizh and thamizh culture turned out to be yet another function where the CM was praised rather than our semmozhi itself.

Ok. Now lets stop blaming our C.M. What did you and I do? Yes, you and me. Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Shame.

 When the entire nation decided to protest against the petrol price rise, we decided that we will not have anything to do with it. So what if a bandh is not state sponsored? Don't we have the guts to stand up and say that "we don't want a fucking price rice in any commodity and you can fucking fuck off."? Yes. We DON'T have that guts and we don't give a damn.

At this point of time, I remember a few lines spoken by Padmashree Dr. Kamal Haasan in his movie- Unnaipol Oruvan. "If there is a bomb bast in northern India, we are not bothered, because it's not here. Not in Thamizhnadu. We are a peaceful state, that does not care about any other part of the country." This is also a bomb blast. A rice in prices every other day in India, when our neighbours sell petrol for less than what we pay- atrocity.

Things need to change. I know my writings cannot effect a change, atleast if one person reads this- next time there s something an entire nation does- that Thamizhan would probably do what he is supposed to do.

P.S: I am not pro-opposition nor am I pro-ruling. I am a person with neutral views on politics. I support what is right. I hope you too would support what is right.