The Notorious Saree

Gosh! I never knew Ms. Jayalalitha's saree would become so famous, so famous that people still like to read or know about the notorious incident that had occurred few years ago in one of the Tamilnadu assembly sessions.

Now you would ask me why I am referring to this particularly sad incident all over again. So, let me tell you that I am getting nearly 20-40 hits a week for only this post of mine. And, everytime I search for the referring URL for a particular blog hit, it turns out that every 7 out of 10 hits on this blog are directed from google with search words like jayalalitha saree + pulled etc..

Should I feel happy about the ever increasing blog hits or sad confused about the rising interest of public in this age-old incident? It's strange though. :D

తొలి తెలుగు మహిళా బ్లాగరు

I am overwhelmed.

There is an active group TeluguBloggers on google. One of their discussion forums lists my name as తొలి తెలుగు మహిళా బ్లాగరు (the first Telugu woman blogger).

Thanks to all my blog readers and well-wishers. I would like to see myself writing more in Telugu now. :D

ధన్యవాదాలు!

Everybody cheats thambi

I took an auto-rickshaw yesterday near the city outskirts on a share basis as I could not wait any longer under the scorching sun. A lady got into the auto at the next stage and she looked like the typical woman from the jhopadpattis (slums) with a white ration card in her hand. She asked the driver how much he would charge to drop her at a particular place to which he said five rupees. She told him that she had never given more than four bucks to any rickshaw fellow. What followed was a very interesting conversation between the two, one which started with the rising prices, the scorching summer and the loot done by people, finally gave way to politics and the poor-man-friendly government. It's a first hand account of how the actual illiterate Indian masses think.

I have translated it to English for reading convenience, but retained Telugu lingo here and there,

Lady: How much till Tolichowki?
Driver: Five rupees
Lady: It's just four, right?
Driver: No amma. It's five. I have been running this auto since 2003.
Lady: Auto drivers are looting public.
Driver: Ayyo amma, not auto drivers. It is public who is looting.
Lady: Public?
Driver: Yes

Both went silent for a couple of minutes until the lady started shouting again.

Lady: They asked me to come at 3 O'Clock in the afternoon. $%&&@#.
Driver: Who?
Lady: The people selling 2 Rs. per kilo rice at the counters. I went in the morning and they asked me to come back at 3 in this heat. It is so far from here. #$&$@#.
Driver: Why do you have to go so far to buy it? There will be counters at your house also.
Lady: Ayyo ledu thambi. They asked me to come. Government gives subsidised rice among others and these people... #$&$@# they eat it off without giving it to us. &%$#@
Driver: Who gives what?
Lady: Arey. Government gives rice thambi. And they cheat.
Driver: Who doesn't love money amma! People gather near money like flies. That is how it is. People loot.
Lady: Who? People? People do not cheat.
Driver: They take money from political parties to vote in their favour but finally vote for someone else. Everybody cheats.
Lady: No. I did not take money to vote.
Driver: Every 5 out of 10 are like that amma. It is true.
Lady: Everybody loots - government and people. #$%&@
Stop here thambi.

I was looking at her hand curiously when she got down from the auto to see how much she would pay him for the ride. And, guess how much she paid? Five rupees thambi!

Mystic India - Truly an incredible journey

Mystic India is a must watch for every Indian and for every religion. It is the journey of an 11-year old boy, Neelkanth, who walked over 8000 miles across India barefoot and barebody in quest of truth and spiritual enlightenment, before obtaining sanyas (Asceticism or spiritual yoga). This boy Neelkanth later grew up into a renowned saint and world reformer, Swaminarayan after embracing Uddhav Sampraday from Swami Ramanand.

The film captures the real mood of spiritual India - its architectural wonders, ancient wisdom and the innumerable holy places along the length and breadth of the country. Every picture frame in Mystic India is awe-inspiring and leaves you wanting more of it. The breathtaking locales from the Himalayas to the Cherrapunji, from the South waters to the Ganges are enough to blow your mind. The story of Neelkanth is neatly woven into this epic film on the unity, cultural diversity and the underlying spirituality in India.

The casting done for Neelkanth's role in the film is brilliant - Latesh Patel and Rupak Mehta playing the young and the adolescent Neelkanth respectively. The film was made in Hindi and its English version has a scenic narration by Peter O 'Toole.

Mystic India is much more than a documentary considering its reel time of 50 minutes. As the film was made on the 70mm film or the Imax format, it is not possible for it to be played everywhere. It is currently being shown in India at Prasads Imax, Hyderabad and Adlabs Imax, Mumbai. I recommend Mystic India to every human being who would like to get inspired.

My rating for this film - *****
(* You will shoot me
** Waste of time
*** Can sit through
**** Worth watching once
***** Must watch)

13B is an interesting watch

I got to read mixed reviews on 13B starring Madhavan since its release. I liked the movie myself when I watched it on Saturday. It may not have the most interesting plot ever shown in any movie, but it is gripping in parts. Please put your logic aside because this one is a supernatural thriller and we just cannot discuss logic here - ghosts defy logic.. they can enter a telivision or even a cell phone for that matter and communicate with you! Do ghosts exist? is something which is not relevant to this post. We assume ghosts exist and that is how you gotto watch this film.

Manahor aka Manu (Madhavan) and his brother Manoj move into the 13B flat on the 13th floor of their new apartment with their families. Things somehow do not seem to be going well for Manu after shifting into this new house. Adding to that, he realizes that everything that is to happen in his life (or in their house) is planned in advance by a daily soap on T.V. called Sab Khairiyat, which the women in the house get addicted to. Rest is all about how he chases the mystery surrounding the bad omens of number 13 in his life, the characters that appear in that daily soap and the reason behind their death some 20 years ago in the same building where this new apartment is now built.

13B is a cautiously made film and with extreme care not to miss continuity with any of the links in the story. Everybody did well on the acting front especially Madhavan, Neetu Chandra (Madhavan's wife) and the one who played the mentally disturbed Ashok. 13B progresses in the hollywood style of narration and it is no wonder that the US based production house, Weinstein Co has already offered to buy its remake rights in hollywood.

My rating for this film - ****
(* You will shoot me
** Waste of time
*** Can sit through
**** Worth watching once
***** Must watch)

'Let's Vote' Campaign Shoot

We shot a film for the Let's Vote campaign on Sunday. It is a 1 minute film made on a very simple concept - A group of friends having tea at their favourite hangout are made to realize the impact of one's vote by one amongst them. We were unaware of the impending JEE exam at a centre very near to our selected location. The shoot went uninterrupted, though. All of us (crew) gathered at the spot by 8:30 A.M. and called it a day (pack up :D) at 12:30 P.M.; of course not to forget the gallons of Irani chai and dozens of osama biscuits we had munched on at the road-side tiffin stall (a small road side dhaba will definitely earn us much more than what we would be earning otherwise :D). We were lucky enough to get an experienced person (Suresh) to handle the camera for us. The first cut editing is done. The re-recording is scheduled for today and if everything goes as planned, we should be ready with the final copy by tomorrow.
Let us Vote.

8X10 Tasveer

8X10 Tasveer is a supernatural thriller that stars Akshay Kumar as Jai Puri, a forest range officer, who has an unusual power of knowing the past just by looking at a photograph. He gets to see, for a minute, everything that took place at the time when a particular photograph was taken. The film is all about how he uses this power on multiple occasions with a single 8X10 photograph to unravel the mystery behind his father's death.

The suspense element is maintained until the end and this forms the pulse of 8X10 Tasveer. The climax, however, could have been better sans all the typical bollywood drama. The suspense, though, when revealed might look silly or bring out the usual 'ah! is this what I have been waiting for?' kind of an expression, but you bet is highly unpredictable. The recording done for the film is brilliant and so is the photography.

Javed Jaffri as an ex-cop helping Jai with his investigation is very good and brings in good humour at times. Sharmila Tagore is convincing as Jai's widow mother and Ayesha Takia also looks promising. The film is very rich in its technicalities. Nagesh Kukunoor made every effort to make 8X10 Tasveer look technically brilliant and has come out quite successfully with it.

My rating for this film - ***
(* You will shoot me
** Waste of time
*** Can sit through
**** Worth watching once
***** Must watch)

Aakasamantha - "Memoirs of a Father"

The latest Telugu movie Aakasamantha, directed by first timer Radha Mohan, is quoted as a small but cute film by its producer ('Dil' Raju) and director. The film unveils the experiences of Raghuram (Prakashraj) as the father of a girl (played in three stages) as he narrates them to a stranger (Jagapathi Babu in a cameo) at a park.

Raghuram owns a tea estate in Coimbatore and lives with his wife (Aishwarya) and daughter (Abhi, played by Trisha). He loves his daughter very much, so much so that he once slaps his wife when he realizes that Abhi is hurt in the kitchen. He is very protective and possessive of her. The film is based on the father-daughter relationship (another Telugu flick on parent-child relations), though few scenes look quite unnatural.

Prakashraj is a delight to watch (in spite of getting bored with his monotonous act all along, I am amazed at his comic timing which came forth strikingly in this movie). He is in fact the only asset to this movie. If it were not for him playing Raghuram, I do not think the film would have been at least half as good as it is now. G.V.Raman makes his debut as a well educated sardar, who also forms Trisha's love interest.

Aakasamanta may not be a great film to vouch for, but it has its own comic punches and feel good moments. You can go for it if you have not much to do on the weekend.

My rating for this film - **
(* You will shoot me
** Waste of time
*** Can sit through
**** Worth watching once
***** Must watch)

రండి వోటు వేద్దాం

హలో.. మీరు వోటు వేస్తారా?
“వోటా..!! ఏమో వెయ్యకపోవచ్చు. “
అదే?
“అవును మరి! ప్రతి పార్టీ తమ అజెండా తో ప్రచారం మొదలుపెట్టింది. కానీ, ఆ అజెండా లో నాకేముంది? నాకు ఉచిత కరెంటు రాదు.. కలర్ టీ.వీ. రాదు.. నెల నెలా సొమ్ము ముట్టదు.. పొనీ కనీసం ఉన్న ఉద్యోగం ఊడదన్న నమ్మకం ఉందా అంటే, అదీ లేదు. ఇప్పుడు చెప్పండి నేను వోటు ఎందుకు వెయ్యాలి? ఎవరికోసం వెయ్యాలి?”

ఎక్ష్క్యూజ్ మీ... మీరు వోటు వేస్తారా?
“వెయ్యాలనే ఉందండి. కానీ, ఎవరికి వెయ్యాలి? ఎలా వెయ్యాలి.. ఇదేదో పెద్ద పని లా ఉందే!”
అదేంటి? మీకు అందుబాట్లో చాలానే పార్టీలున్నాయి గా, మీరు చెయ్యాల్సినదంతా మీ పేరు వోటరు లిస్ట్ లో నమోదు చేయించుకుని నచ్చిన గుర్తు కి వోటు వెయ్యడం. అంతే.
“… సరే చూస్తా!”

హలో, ఒక్క నిమిషం... మీరు ఈసారి వోటు వేస్తారా?
“తప్పకుండా. కానీ, ఎవరికి వెయ్యాలో తెలీట్లేదు.“
తెలీట్లేదా? విచిత్రంగా ఉందే!
“లేక పోతే ఏంటండీ? అసలు ఎవరికి వోటు వెయ్యాలో మీకు ఖచ్చితంగా తెలుసా? ఏ పార్టీ గెలుస్తే న్యాయంగా, నమ్మకంగా పరిపాలిస్తుందో చెప్పండి, వేస్తా. 'వోటు వెయ్యండి. అది మీ హక్కు ' అని బాధ్యత గల పౌరులు అంటుంటే, ఆ వోటు మాకు వెయ్యండి.. మీ సొంతానికి ఈ లాభాలు పొందండి అని పార్టీలు సిగ్గు విడిచి బహిరంగ ప్రచారాలు చేస్తున్నాయి. నాకు నా సొంతానికి ఎదీ వద్దు. కానీ నా దేశం అవినీతి-అక్రమాలు, కుళ్ళు రాజకీయాల నుండి విముక్తి పొందే ఆ రోజు కోసం ఎదురుచూస్తూన్నా. చూస్తూనే ఉంటా. ఇప్పుడు చెప్పండి నన్ను ఎవరికి వోటు వెయ్యమంటారో!”

ఈ సంభాషణలు చదివారు గా! మనకి మొదటి రెండు రకాల మనుషులు కనిపిస్తూనే ఉంటారు. మనలో చాలా మంది ఈ కోవకి చెందినవారే. మూడో రకం వాళ్ళు కాస్త అరుదు గా తారసపడినా, కొద్ది శాతం వీళ్ళూ లేకుండా పోలేదు. వోటు వెయ్యడం మన హక్కే కాదు, అది మన బాధ్యత కూడా. ఈ కాలం లో చదువుకుని ఉద్యోగాలు చేస్తున్న వాళ్ళకి కూడా ఈ విషయం అనుక్షణం గుర్తుచెయ్యాల్సి రావడం చాలా దురద్రుష్టకరం. మీ ఒక్క వోటు దేశాన్ని మార్చలేకపోవచ్చు కానీ, మన అందరం కలిస్తే ఇది తప్పకుండా ఎప్పడికయినా సాధ్యపడే విషయం.

రండి వోటు వేద్దాం. ఒక్కటవుదాం.

Delhi-6 or Kala bandar - How does it matter?

I will not recommend Delhi-6, the new film by Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra (director of Rang De Basanti), to anybody except for Abhishek Bachchan or Sonam Kapoor fans. The film created much hype before its release, more so with names like the above. The film is more like a narration of few chronological events from the diary of a US born Indian, Roshan (Abhishek Bachchan), who visits India for the first time when he brings his ill grandmother (Waheeda Rehman) back from the US.

Sonam Kapoor plays Bittu, neighbour of Abhishek and a college-going girl who aims to make it big in the world of music through a reality show on music called Indian Idol. Sonam plays her usual self and fits the role. The best thing about this film is its cast. There are the likes of Om Puri, Pavan Malhotra, Atul Kulkarni, Supriya Pathak, Divya Dutta and Prem Chopra.

The film runs in parallel with the Ram Leela (the stage potrayal of Ramayan by theatre artists anywhere from 11 days to one month) at Chandini Chowk, a busy market place in North Delhi. The film tries to give a message through an imaginary character named Kala bandar (black monkey) that is rumoured to harass the residents of Chandni Chowk. There is a lot of chaos towards the end of the film when the community people mistake Abhishek to be the Kala bandar they have been lookign for. The scene in the heaven between Abhishek and his grandfather (Amitabh Bachchan) seems totally out of place - just imagine people eating jalebis (an Indian sweet made from jaggery syrup) at heaven and also licking their fingers. This is nothing when compared to what Abhishek suggests his grandfather, asking him to call up his wife (Abhishek's grandmother) who is still alive (on earth!) and say sorry. Technology at its best... eh?

Finally, the film should have been called 'Kala Bandar - The black monkey' instead. :D