Do you have it in you?

The entire world is right before your eyes; you just need to introspect.

Monday, February 23, 2009

A.R. Rehman can win much more...

Congrats to the Slumdog Millionaire team for sweeping the Oscars night by conquering 8 out of 10 nominations. It won not just the Best Movie and Best Direction, but best cinematography, screenplay and A.R. Rehman won 2 more for best original score and best song. I read the original novel written by Vikas Swarup and I must say, it has been adapted quite well for the big screen.

Personally, I think A.R.Rehman has given much better music in the past than "Jai Ho", but they just didn't happen to be Hollywood productions, so there is no way he could have been nominated for Oscars. I hear a lot of racism talk about this whole Oscar winning event of Slumdog and I also hear a lot of criticism from people for showing Mumbai's underbelly. But I don't see it that way. Slumdog was a brilliant film depicting a true rags-to-riches story, a story about the triumph of love. And what it showed about Mumbai's slums is nothing short of reality. It got nominated for all this. Now there could have been many Bolly films showing the same and they can win National awards, but not Oscars simply because they are not Hollywood productions. Korean movies win Korean awards, Italian movies win Italian awards and American movies win Oscars. What has racism got to do with this? Oscars are a means to judge only American movies. They just happen to popular worldwide. Not winning Oscars doesn't mean the film is not good. Great films are made every year all over the world and they rightly win awards in their respective countries. Oscars is not a stage for Indian movie, but the National Film Awards are. If Slumdog was made by Bollywood, it would have only qualified for the Foreign Film category in Oscars (like Lagaan); It may or may not have won in that case, but the point is it wouldn't have been the right stage anyways. And please, dont call this Poverty porn movie and don't think it was an attempt to showcase 3rd world poverty to First world countries and dont associate this with the sympathy over Mumbai terrorist blasts. There have been many movies depicting poverty, slavery and slums. Slumdog deserves all the credit solely for its technical brilliance and the human triumph theme.

I hope A.R. Rehman gets to collaborate with Western counterparts due to this recognition. I am sure he has the potential to get many more Oscars. He already gives live shows in US and other countries (and I feel happy to have attended one of his shows; oooh and he was once right behind me at the airport for a London flight :-). He is a downright genius, he is the Sachin Tendulkar of music world.

Labels: A.R. Rahman, Oscars, Slumdog Millionaire

posted by Mitesh @ 9:58 AM •

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• Voices: 2

Friday, December 19, 2008

Do we have it in us?

I think the sh*t has hit the fan already. Pakistan is grossly ignoring all signals - It is not ready to believe the terrorists were Pakistani citizens, it is turning a blind eye to all proof being presented, no militants have been arrested yet, it is repetitively flip-flopping, making dubious claims and is clamping down on media....all pointing towards the fact that it is in a state of panic. India, on the other hand, is looking towards US, UK and other countries for help, as a kid looks towards his mommy. But with Pakistan not ready to do anything about the terror menace, India has run out of all options - whether it be diplomatic pressure, economic sanctions, bilateral crap...I am guessing we will be at war within next 20 days. Or rather, military strikes in PoK territory...but that's just a sweet way of describing 'war'. The entire Indian force - air, naval and army - is already ready to act...they are just waiting for the political green signal. I say, recall the Indian High Commissioner in Pakistan and then systematically take out Pak airforce bases, missile launch stations, power grids and telecom networks...basically cripple them.

Failure to control terror on the Indian landscape and being viewed as a pussy cat in the eyes of Indian public as well as global media are some of the worst nightmares for a country - this government is turning the nightmares into realities, if it fails to act this time. The real question is do we have the balls to act?

Labels: India, Mumbai, Pakistan, Terrorism, War

posted by Mitesh @ 12:53 PM •

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• Voices: 0

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

What's the use of banning?

So the Indian government is pursuing UN to ban Jamat-ud-dawa, a front group for Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT). I just don't understand what's the use of banning groups. Even LeT and JeM was banned years ago. Still, they carried out so many attacks including the Mumbai terror attacks on 26/11. Ban one group and they will operate under some other umbrella. Freeze some bank accounts and they will open others. All Pakistan has done in the past is ban groups, place few people under house-arrest and then release them. Ex-ISI chiefs, underworld dons, leaders of terrorist groups....each one of them walks scot-free in Pakistan. Pakistan says it will try the arrested people in their own courts and will not hand over to India. How is that going to help? These people will be released as they will claim to have committed no crime on Pakistani soil.

Why doesn't India realize that Pakistan is not going to change colors overnight? It is not aiding us and has never aided us in any way. However, disappointed as I may be like other like-minded people, the Indian govt. is clearly not going to take the military action route. Besides, I think it is probably too late for that now as the militants must have already gone "underground" and striking the places where we thought they may be hiding must be already vacated by now.

What Indian government is doing is to prolong this so that *we* all forget this...The government *wants* us to get back to routine life. Some days from now, there will be cricket news...then some bollywood box office hit....followed by some state elections....and bang! the people and the media are no longer pressurizing the government. The matter is long forgotten.

Labels: Mumbai, Pakistan, Terrorism

posted by Mitesh @ 11:37 AM •

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• Voices: 0

Monday, December 08, 2008

Get cash in exchange for hospitalization

Today is 8th December. It marks my one year of return back to India. Oh, what a journey! I intend to write about the last year and my decision to return sometime soon. Today, I just want to share a funny experience.

So it was my birthday recently and it was a bright sunny Sunday and I get this call from ICICI bank on my birthday, wishing me a great day and stuff. I feel very happy because no bank has ever called me for wishing me :-) ...Then this lady, in her sweet voice, tells me whether I would be interested in this life insurance policy, which is specially being offered to me on my birthday (damn, what was I thinking). She goes on to say that if I die due to accident, these many lakhs will be given to my family. But if I become hospitalized due to injuries, then they will give cash back during my stay at hospital. I was shocked...I mean, who would like to talk about death and hospitalization and fractures on a birthday! I put this question to her "Why are you talking about death and hospitals on my birthday?"...I sense a faint smile on the other end. She replies "Sir, you should also think about your future naa...birthdays would come and go. Besides, this cash-back policy is only valid today and will not be available tomorrow"! I obviously, was in no mood for this, besides I already had a great policy. So I politely refused, but could just admire the audacity of customer care to talk about deaths on someone's birthday! I doubt this ICICI offer is even attracting subscribers.

Another funny incident. Few weeks ago, I parked my car on the side of a supposedly busy road. When I come back, there is a parking ticket stuck to my windshield. I couldn't believe my eyes, not because I thought these things happen only in US and not India, but because there were 10 other cars parked just like mine and none of them had tickets! What was my crime? Two days ago, I went to the Traffic Police office and I thought I would protest this. I was so motivated to talk and argue in Marathi, but I quickly realized these guys speak Kannada. Of course, they are well-conversed in Hindi and English; but that's no fun. I missed Mumbai's Marathi hawaldar for the first time. I ended up paying 100 bucks quietly, as I was concerned these guys might charge me late penalty. A month or so ago, I had paid another 100 because the traffic cop said I violated rules by stopping the car just after the signal. I had stopped the car on the side so that my friends get in, but those few minutes of waiting were enough for the cop to come running from the other side. Fair enough - it was my mistake. But what followed was strange. As I was arguing with the cop explaining that I stopped for just few minutes, he took my Driving License and walked away. I was asked to shell out 100 bucks or else my license plate number will be noted down and reported. Reported to whom, I wondered. More arguing followed. He showed me his little book with several numbers. Then he says "You look like a very decent gentleman from a good family, why are you getting into this complication?" :-) I was incidentally wearing a dark blue kurta and white pyjama for an event...anyways, I started wondering what he meant by complication...I wanted to end the matter quick as I was getting late. So I had no option but to "pay him for his services" (some would say that's a better word for 'bribing")...in this case, his service included returning back my license :-)

Labels: Bangalore, Banks, funny

posted by Mitesh @ 11:08 AM •

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• Voices: 1

Monday, December 01, 2008

I condemn, You condemn, Lets all condemn...

Everytime a terrorist attack occurs, our politicians belt out the same emotionless commentary "We condem these attacks...our sympathies are with the families....blah blah....here is cheque of one lakh rupees as compensation". Condemn, my foot!

Indians are tired listening to this same rhetoric over and over. And this time, they are really angry. I can sense it. We all can sense it. Warding off politicians, refusing to accept compensations, public protests, collective media and blog outrage, forcing politicians to resign...all signs denoting that "Enough is enough". Indians are angry today and they are united in grief. And they dont really care if the Home minister resigns or the Chief minister. The problem still exists. I won't be surprised if tomorrow we see Rang de Basanti being enacted in real life. The average age in India is 26 and their blood is boiling. They are asking just one question - Which is the country that, if suddenly made to vanish today, will solve half of the world's terrorist problems? We all know the answer to that question. The real question is, what now?

Labels: Bomb blasts, India, Pakistan, Terrorism

posted by Mitesh @ 12:35 PM •

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• Voices: 6

Friday, November 28, 2008

There better be a God...

There better be a God looking after us - all Indians, because clearly, the Indian government is not. As most of you already know by now, the Mumbai terrorist attack and seize is now close to 48 hours. Hotel Oberoi and Trident have been secured, but Taj hotel and Nariman House are still not secured, as I write this. More than 150 people have died, 16 of which are India's brave men and over 350 are injured. Gunshots, grenades, fires, blasts, RPG's...everything that qualifies a war has been seen in the last two days. Though this has turned out to be an elongated battle, full credit to NSG commandos, marine commandos, Army, the ATS and police for the work they are doing. Thanks to media people for giving live coverage without any commercial breaks..even few politicians accepted that they are getting their info from media. Hats off to Times Now channel, btw for a brave coverage!

Here is what we know till now that points towards a Pakistan hand:

* The boats that dropped these terrorists at the Gateway of India and later intercepted by Indian Navy and Coast Guard was headed towards Karachi and possibly, came from that same city.

* A cell-phone found near Taj hotel had a foreign SIM card and had incoming calls from Pakistan.

* The terrorist that has been caught and has been interrogated has a Punjabi accent.

* A Pakistani militant was arrested near Chowpatty beach.

* Credit cards found in the wallets of one of the 11 dead terrorists could identify the nationalities, although thats not clear yet.

and Here are few things that are still not clear:

* How come these terrorists have infinite supply of grenades and ammunition? They have been continuously firing since 48 hours. Did they already stockpile arms and ammunition in a booked flat inside Taj and Oberoi?

* How come these terrorists not getting tired? They haven't slept for 48 hours. Are they operating in turns? Have they taken energy-boosting drugs?

* How do they know the interior layout of Taj hotel so well? Did they bribe or threaten someone and get the blueprints? Did they video-tape it or survey it by staying there physically in the months gone by ?

* Why did NSG's were flown from Delhi? Why weren't there enough NSG guards in a city like Mumbai?

* Why did commandos not take control of the CCTV security room up front? Every hotel of this magnitude have 24-hour cameras monitoring each floor of the hotel. Was this room bombed or set on fire by terrorists?

* Why did the terrorists specifically target foreign citizens? The terrorists have had no interest in negotiations and their sole intention is to catch and kill, until they die themselves and go to Heaven, according to their interpretation of Islam. So what is the message they are trying to send by targeting Jewish, British and American citizens in a neutral region like India?

Time after time, evidence has been found that points towards Pakistan-backed militants. Laskhar-e-Toiba, Jaish-e-Mohammed and other black-listed groups keep brain-washing people and fund incursions across the border into India. Despite all this, India has remained silent..all that our politicians manage to do is to come on TV after these blasts, condemn the killings, declare 1 lakh rupee compensation, talk about tougher laws and boosting security, and thats it. Nothing happens after that. Public memory is too short and the politicians know that. And lets not even talk about our intelligence agencies...Our politicians seem more intelligent than the Intelligence Bureau because the Bureau is clearly failing time after time to detect.

How do you think should India act??

I am really short of words at this time...I feel like giving the choicest of choicest words for these bloody cowards, but I will just say that they should be hanged naked by their balls, upside down !! I dont want to go further on this...I have been watching this non-stop on TV, my blood boiling every second...I haven't been able to sleep properly as well...I can just imagine what must be happening to the relatives of those who are dead, injured or missing.

I would end this by saying that it is upto God to forgive the terrorists, but it is our moral responsibility to fix their appointment with God...Lets fight back.

Update: Almost everything I pointed to has been proved right, it seems! I asked how come the terrorists are not getting tired and whether they are on some drugs...well, it turns out the ATS just broadcasted that they were heavily drugged and hence were able to sustain this long! I also asked whether they video-taped the interior layout of Taj and questioned their infinite supply of arms...and again, the ATS just announced they stayed close to Taj and regularly visited it. Some of them may have even stayed inside months earlier and planted ammunition or bombs, explaining their infinite supply of bullets and grenades! And as for proof against Pakistan, it has been confirmed that calls were made to Jalalabad in Pakistan from the phone found..and the GPS unit on the hijacked boat shows co-ordinates in the Arabian Sea. The terrorists had Blackberries with them and they were surfing British and some Urdu websites from inside to check on the news being reported outside. This is all latest info coming from ATS. Five of them might be British citizens of Pakistani origin (living in the same locality where 7/7 bombers lived) and one Yemeni nationalite.

Labels: India, Mumbai, Nariman House, NSG, Oberoi, Pakistan, Politics, Taj Hotel, Terrorism, US

posted by Mitesh @ 10:40 AM •

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• Voices: 3

Saturday, November 15, 2008

Diwali, movies, moon and dinosaurs...

Some events from the weeks gone by:

* I recently went on an overnight trip to a place called Kavalur in Tamil Nadu, not far from the Karnataka-Tamil Nadu border. There happens to be an astronomical observatory there named after Dr. Vainu Bapu. I had gone there with 30-35 people, as part of the Sunday Astronomy course that I am taking. They have some huge telescopes there - the largest one is about 90-inches, which at one time was largest in Asia. Although we didn't peer into it and see the universe, we did have other smaller telescopes. Through them, we were able to see our Moon, Jupiter and its 4 moons, Venus, Andromeda Galaxy, star cluster - Pleidaes (also called Seven Sisters), stars like Vega, Betelguese etc. It was tremendous fun...being on a remote hilltop in the sandalwood jungles of Tamil Nadu, with sparse humanity around, cut-off from the city and the pollution and the noise, surrounded in pitch darkness and having the entire sky as your umbrella...Its good to have such outings once in a while. I have put up few pictures on Orkut.

* Michael Crichton, my favorite author, unexpectedly died last week. I had no idea he was suffering from cancer. Right from my teen days, probably when I was in 10th or 11th standard, when I first read his novel Jurassic Park, I was totally blown over by his writings. He was the sort of person who did immense research before he wrote anything. His novels always had the element of possibility...even though his novels were mostly fictional, no one can really argue that one day this fiction may become fact. I mean, look at Jurassic Park concept...a mosquito sucking blood from a dinosur gets trapped in amber, which remains preserved for millions of years, until man excavates and extracts the mosquitoe's blood to unravel dinosaur's DNA...I mean, who in the world can think of such an idea? and moreover, it is quite possible this may happen with mankind. I have since then, read most of Michael Crichton's novels - The Terminal, The Andromeda Strain, Lost World, Prey, Congo, State of Fear, Disclosure, Rising Sun, Timeline, Sphere, The Great Train Robbery and Airframe. Andromeda Strain too had a novel idea - unknown strain of bacteria from outer space kills off huge swathes of people; Disclosure - sexual harassment of a man by a woman boss; Sphere - unique brain feature of forgetting things; State of Fear - claiming global warming a farce; Prey - nano agents going haywire...all these concepts are so unimaginable in today's world and seem so revolutionary and yet, they are probably just a step away from reality. Almost all these novels have gone on to become Hollywood Productions, with Jurassic Park being the most successful blockbuster.

* Movies, movies....When I was in Mumbai during Diwali, I saw two back to back movies - Fashion and Golmaal Returns. The former was decent, the latter total crap. This year had some pretty good movies and some which are patiently awaited. "Wednesday" and "Taare Zameen Par" were by far the best movies I saw this year. Wednesday is a no-nonsense drama thriller with twists and turns every 15 minutes. The movie is short - about 1 hour 45 minutes - and has no songs or actresses. Besides, the plot is senssational and attempt to tackle the topic most relevant to Indians - terrorism and bomb blasts. This is a must watch movie.

There is a flurry of movies being released this time of year. I wonder whether the official Bollywood astrologer told all producers that November-December are auspicious months for releasing movies. There is Dostana about homosexuality, there is DasVidaniya with the hit trio of Vinay Pathak, Ranvir Shorey and Rajat Kapoor....both movies seem decent from trailers. Then There is much awaited Aamir Khan's Ghajjini. there is Oye Lucky, Lucky Oye...seems like a laugh riot, as it comes from the same folks who made Khosla Ka Ghosla.

Speaking of movies, Priyanka Chopra seems to be all over the place. Whats going on with her? She has had so many movie releases thsi year, she is on TV shows, she is doing TV commercials...Just look at the list of her movies: Dostana, Fashion, Drona, Love Story 2050, Chamku..then there was some My name is Anthony...of course, most of these are flops...I haven't seen Dostana yet, but Fashion probably stands apart...she did a decent acting in Fashion and the movie plot, though depressing at times, is little different from the standard run-of-the-mill movies.

* Diwali was fun. I had been to Mumbai. I bought several of those fancy rockets, which light up the sky with glitterati and dazzling colours. I don't have any liking for bombs or the countless other crackers that are sound intensive. I only derive pleasure in these fancy rockets now. When I bought them, it reminded me how costly these things can get. The ones I bought were about 300 bucks per box and I think the original prices must be 450 or 500...I got it for 300 only because I went at 8pm on the final Diwali night and the seller wanted to make sure he exhausts his stocks. And trust me, when I say 300 bucks per box, it only means 2 rockets. So even if you spend 1000 bucks, you only get about 6-7 rockets to fire. But its worth the spectacle. We took the camcorder with us, and my bro recorded a clip with me firing the rocket and all the way till its glory. I haven;t seen it yet, but if its good, it will be uploaded.

Labels: Astronomy, Diwali, Michael Crichton, Movies, Priyanka Chopra, Reviews

posted by Mitesh @ 1:27 AM •

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• Voices: 4

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