Stuff that made me - in no particular order - think, chortle, smirk, snigger , slurp, nod my head wisely. I shan’t identify which is what …coz it will be fun a year later to figure

a) Economic Woman looks at different ways to see the world through worldmapper. The current way of seeing the world - even geographically - is skewed. Europe looks a whole lot bigger than it is, Australia a whole lot smaller. Even geography is politically appropriate.

b) TRP’s (or the equivalent) for Youtube - except that given the nature of the net it will be more accurate than TRP’s (which depend a lot on human intervention in terms of monitoring) - whether it manages to capture the vastness of the TG and it’s propensity to make things up on the net is a different matter.

c) It is nice to see the Indian Government get it right . It has been twice in a row that it has bucked international hype and saved itself from wasting more of tax payer money. The first was a reticence on the SWF . The second was staying away from the $100 laptop project. I remember having a conversation in 1995 with someone who wanted to put a computer in every rural school in India in the next 12 months — and the question I had was basic “Where is the electricity ?”. A vision is a great idea, but as SR put it once — to have sight (of issues) is as important.

d) The trouble with blogging is that you tell a lot about yourself to the world. Sometimes, when you decide to take potshots at others — you also end up revealing your immaturity…. Aamir Khan and the Big B blog ! Both seem to be obsessed with Shah Rukh Khan … I wonder why ? Oops … ok I didn’t read this earlier … That couldn’t have been easy …! Wow - in today’s day and age …it is nice to see such grace.

e) Salary delay for IPL stars - As part of the entertainment media they ought to know that normal payment terms are 60 to 90 days after telecast !

f) And, finally - it’s not the age, but the mileage

Image courtsey ( i hope) - Cricinfo.

Sannath Jaysuriya has been having a blast…..

Tags: 100 dollar laptop, Aamir Khan, Amitabh Bachchan, Blogs, IPL, Maps, Shah Rukh Khan, SWF, Worldmapper, Youtube

… should have possibly been called Eklavya - the Royal Stud. Because that is really what the story was about. Once upon a time, somewhere close to now, in the beautiful state of Rajasthan - and Vinod Chopra has shot the quintessential 'visit Rajasthan' film -

Once upon a time there is a very, very gay King - Boman Irani wonderfully brilliant - who can't do it with his wife. So the mother-in-law and wife,Sharmila Tagore ,go off to the banks of the Ganga along with the Royal Guard Ekalavya - Amitabh Bachchan to find a priest who will do the neeful (as per ancient customs). Both Sharmila and the mother-in-law 'trust' Ekalavya more and he does the deed. Harshvardhan (saif) and the'idiot' savant (except that she is a painter) Nandini (Raima) are the offspring. The film essentially explores what happens when the King finds out, and what are the consequences of his actions on everyone. And of course the quandry that faces Ekalavya who has sworn to serve the kings.

A take of on Hamlet with a heavy dose of the Mahabharat and exploring concepts of what is Dharma. The films opens up with a number of interesting possibilities - but the desire of the director to linger longingly on Amitabh Bachchan's grizzled close ups means that meat in much of the story is lost. There is style in the film - each scene looks wonderful, the low angle shots of the fort and the palace create a stratified atmosphere, some scenes are brilliantly shot - but it is more style than substance. I was truly disappointed with the film. The story sagged. The scenes creaked and the dialogues felt as though they were made up by actors as they went along. The audience at Fun Republic was cracking up at 'emotional' scenes.

Performances wise - AB played Ekalavya as Atal Behari Vajpayee. Laboured, tortured and full of pauses. While he brings in a tremendous amount of pathos to the part, he is let down by the script. Of the cast Boman Irani as the Rana, who has been cuckolded by his Royal Guard, is brilliant. Jackie Shroff as Jyotiwardhan has had a meaty role to bite into after a long time, and he makes the most of it - when they die, you lose interest in the rest - their performances were truly riveting - and that kind of performance across board, would have lifted it from what it is to a truly brilliant film. The elements are there - it just doesn't all add to gether. Of the rest, Sunjay Dutt provides a menacing sort of comic relief in the film. But if you wrote out his part, it really would not be missed. An interesting story line is opened up with his introduction - the son of a 'Dalit' he has used modern Indian democracy to become a DSP - but the conflict between the old and the new, never really plays out. Saif Ali Khan and Vidya Balan had some of the worst dialogues I have heard ever. And I suppose delivering such lines with a straigth face can be tough, however good you are as actors. Jimmy Shergil whose character is a catalyst for much of the drama - is good but doesn't really have the screen time. And Raima as the 'pagal' Nandini is not irritating.

The cinematography was brilliant. As far as the story telling goes - there were scenes that were absolutely fantastic. Like the scene where the Raja reacts to the Rani calling out to Ekalavya. Or the scene where Ekalavya confronts Udaywardhan. or the scene between Jyotiwardhan and Udaywardhan. Or indeed the scene where the car with Ekalavya and the Rana is stopped between a railway crossing and a huge herd of camels. But, by and larges scenes didn't hold. when audiences start laughing at supposedly 'serious' scenes, there is something really wrong. The single song in the film is decent. hummable. But the background score is heavy - an overlay of chants from the Bhagvad Gita, and an inexplicable use of the 'Gayatri Mantra'.

Worth a watch ? - don't know. I have seen more entertaining movies that glorify 'feudal' Rajasthan - Kshatriya, Rajput, . But, if you can find a Rs.50 ticket a great idea.

Technorati Tags: Vinod Chopra, Boman Irani, Sharmila Tagore, Amitabh Bachchan, Hamlet, Fun Republic, Jackie Shroff, Sunjay Dutt, Saif Ali Khan, Vidya Balan, Jimmy Shergil

Tags: Amitabh Bachchan, Bollywood, Ekalavya, Hindi Movie, India, Reviews

As one Bachchan departs from the Parliament, the other Bachchan - Big B - returns to work on the shoot floor. I must admit that i have been missing his presence on the idiot box. What ever said and done, the man lights up the screen, and still manages to touch a chord with the viewer. I only hope that the press will leave him alone, and focus only on his work. It must be kind of embarassing to see your intestines on national television.? Amitabh Bachchan deserves more than such gross invasion of privacy. Leave him his dignity, and let him get back to what he is best at - entertaining the nation.

Technorati Tags: Amitabh Bachchan

Tags: Amitabh Bachchan, India, Media

If a news channel ran 63 stories on a single issue in a week, you won’t be mistaken in thinking that it is an overkill - unless of course the aliens landed on earth or the PM got assasinated or the US invaded yet another country - something earth shattering. But, the Samajwadi party does not seem to think so. It has accused Doordarshan of having sparse coverage on "Bachcahn in Hospital".

The Samajwadi Party’s Amar Singh had accused Congress chief Sonia Gandhi of getting DD to black out news of Bachchan’s health and treatment at Lilavati Hospital.

The last few weeks you couldn’t move without seeing something on Bachchan in Hospital. There is of coure the invasion of privacy issue - let the man recover in peace, but above that it is the a weightage issue. I know and appreciate that Mr.Bachchan is a superstar, and millions if not billions care about him - but inundating the pages with stories on him seems to be a very lazy way of getting away from reporting news. I kind of empathised with Amitabh Chakrabarti’s (head of DD news) statement on the affair:

The ferocity with which these (private TV) channels raise hypes — perhaps with an eye on Television Rating Points — goes close to the culture of tabloid journalism. “It was conscious decision by the editorial hands (at DD) that while presenting news on Bachchan’s illness, we should not create any hype so as to raise unnecessary scare among millions of viewers.”

It’s almost as though Mr.Bachchan has pushed away all other news that are equally important. Winter is here - even in Mumbai, and the quake victims are slowly succumbing to hypothermia. A nation that has fought 4 wars and spent billions on staking claim on this state - are doing woefully little in terms of helping its people rehabilitate with dignity after the event. Even in India the quake does not seem to occupy as much mindspace as the Tsunami. The only news that Indian papers found worthy of carrying is that on Sonia Gandhi’s visit to Kashmir on the event of her 60th birthday. The personality somehow has become more important than the event. Today’s ToI’s entire front page is take up with only Sachin and his 35th century. Entire front page. Every single story. It is a world class achievement, but the entire front page is a bit too much. Having said this, i know that if i was looking for news on the net - i am more likely to click on the contreversy overSania’s pronouncements on sex rather than detailed reports on the WTO fracas in Hong Kong. I might come to the latter story later, but it is the former that attracts attention. I see colleagues pouring over a Mid Day or a Mumbai Mirror or the Bombay Times with more interest than more serious papers. Fashion tips make for more involved reading than the what’s what of the Volker report. Editors claim that they give viewers/readers what they want. And if they (the TG) want celebs more than anything else, that is what they will get. Another chicken and egg syndrome. So, what came first the dumbing down of the news or the dumbing down of the audience?

Tags: Amar Singh, Amitabh Bachchan, India, Media, Media Bias, Media Ethics