3G and Number Portability, The New Buzz

Tata DoCoMo launched the much awaited 3G services during Diwali this year. It brought some great plans before also and I seriously believe they have the potential and technology to provide a hassle free 3G service as Tata DoCoMo’s 3G services are powered with technology support from its partner NTT DoCoMo of Japan, a global leader in these services.

Airtel has also started promoting its “Soon-to-be-Launched” 3G services. It has a refurbished logo too to embark a new journey. I also saw the Demo of 3G on Airtel network at Phoenix Mall and registered myself as a possible prospect. 

Both these tele giants are getting creative with the new advertisements about their newly acquired over budget sensational domain. I like an ad of Airtel in particular by the name of “Endless Goodbye” showcasing a very cute couple bumping into each other repeatedly after having said their goodbyes. Mohit Beotra, head, brand and media, Bharti Airtel, says, "The TVCs showcase our new services and the new brand value of Airtel. The TVCs will be on-air for four to six weeks and will be followed by other campaigns, wherein we shall talk about more exciting and new services we have for our consumers."

Although MTNL and BSNL have been in this game for a while, but their presence is as untouched as today’s government who made sure that the auction of 3G spectrum to be delayed at least by the number of years as is the age of Mr A.K. Hangal. Needless to say the corruption involved have made sure that the services aren’t gonna be provided at throw away price at least not in the initial periods.

So while most operator are preparing for a 3G embark, my service provider is focusing more into number portability system. Idea is focusing more on number portability which also started in Haryana and is expected to be launched in full flow by January next year. With the roll out of ‘Switch to Idea’ campaign, IDEA Cellular, the pan-India mobile operator, has affirmed that it is ready to enable Mobile Number Portability (MNP) on its network. Post the announcement of MNP launch on November 25th from Haryana circle, by the Government, Idea has taken the lead to make mobile consumers aware of the upcoming mobile portability service, through its latest campaign.

So what’s the reason behind Idea campaigning for number portability system, when the entire India is looking forward to 3G era. The reason could be that they are not ready yet to set a sail for 3G so they decided to board a different ship meanwhile which will help them to be in the competition while they built a Noah’s ark in backyard.

Whatever be the reason, finally after all hush mush 3G is a reality in Indian market and simultaneous launch of number portability is a good sign for customers to choose among the best. It is for the best I hope. So get started and stream and chat and talk and stay close to family and friends more than you were ever.

Happy Ending…

Are We a Nation of Cribbers?

A thought provoking article by Pritish Nandy:

What is it about us that makes us crib, crib, crib? Cribbing has become a national pastime, making us look insecure, selfish, petulant and pompous, all at the same time.

Let’s look at the Obama visit. Even before he arrived in India, and he’s the first American President to visit India in his first term, we began to boast about how the US needs India today more than India needs the US. He is coming, declared our media, because we are the economy of tomorrow and America’s the economy of yesterday. We started hyphenating ourselves with China and argued that Obama was coming to India to acknowledge the shift in power from the West to Asia. Even assuming this is true, it was perhaps not the apt time to crow about it.

Yes, Asia is today an economic powerhouse and a US-India detente could augur well for the free world. As for China, it’s bigger, tougher, richer, cleverer and far better economically placed than we are and I don’t think they like being hyphenated with us. They prefer to be hyphenated with the US. Sure, both see us as a market for their products, not because we have a huge middle class with lots of surplus money. They see us as a market because it’s easy to sell to a country where 90% of the wealth is concentrated in the hands of 10%. Deals happen much quicker in such markets and we know exactly why.

Even before Obama came into town, our pompous local politicians, including the CM who’s currently living on borrowed time, having been caught stealing land belonging to the Kargil war widows, decide to show huge outrage over being humiliated by the US. What was this humiliation? They were invited to meet Obama at a gathering organised by the US Consulate and were requested in advance to provide their identification through PAN cards and whatever ID our own Government demands of us whenever we enter an airport or any other place where security’s an issue. So our politicians and bureaucrats took huge umbrage and refused to go.

We must be the only nation which allows our VIPs to walk through airport security without being checked because their ego is so fragile it might break if they have to go through a process mandatory for the rest of us. Worse, just outside the check-in counter, there’s a long list of VIPs who can walk past security without being checked. For VIPs it’s a status symbol. For the rest of us it’s a shame that we allow certain people (the list includes Robert Vadhera, who holds no official position) to violate a security protocol that could endanger all of us. Luckily, the Americans are not a hierarchical society. Their leaders get no such special treatment. So they did what was normal. They asked for everyone’s security details.

Our leaders created such uproar that the Consulate had no option but to call it a clerical error and apologise. Apologise for what? For ensuring security for their own Head of State, the world’s most targeted leader, at a function organised by them. Luckily, the MEA was wiser and clarified that this was no affront to India and the Consulate was well within its rights to impose its own security norms at their own function. US diplomacy won, over the petulance of our petty leaders, when the Consulate head personally met them and politely apologised for a mistake which was not a mistake in the first place. You should have seen our leaders smirk.

Now we are already claiming, half way through the visit, that Obama has let India down by not naming Pakistan as a terrorist state. No Head of State goes to a country and points fingers at another. Short of blaming Pakistan for 26/11, the poor guy did everything right. He did not go to Delhi first, like others do. He landed in Mumbai, stayed at The Taj, where the tragedy took place. He met the victims, commiserated with them, talked eloquently about the courage and the resilience of Mumbai in the face of such a dastardly terrorist strike. He said all the right things. But were we happy? No. The media went on and on and on, saying Obama should have done much more, he should have nailed Pakistan.

But Obama’s not a judge. The 26/11 case is being tried in a Mumbai court. Why should Obama pre-empt the legal process? Why must Obama stand on Indian soil and blame Pakistan? If Pakistan is behind 26/11, it’s our job to teach them a lesson, not Obama’s. He has done his bit, by openly sympathising with us, supporting our war against terrorism. He has come all way, after a severe electoral drubbing, to honour an invitation. He has not once mentioned Kashmir. He has not, like earlier US Presidents, hyphenated India with Pakistan. He has broken with the past by not going to Pakistan on his India trip. He is in India and India alone. That’s the biggest statement of all. He is here as a guest, a visitor, a friend, a believer in the tenets of democracy that bind our two nations together. Let’s treat him like one.

Bitching him out will achieve nothing.

Source

What’s in the Backpack?

A backpack (also called rucksack, knapsack, packsack, pack, or Bergan) is, in its simplest form, a cloth sack carried on one’s back and secured with two straps that go over the shoulders. (Yes, there are exceptions. Agreed.)

So what brings me to the backpack today? It is my backpack. I realized today that it has become a part of me. I carry it all the time. It is one identity mark for me.

It is a multi utilitarian chest which makes me complete. It has all the sundry items whose absence doesn’t stop you from living but their presence does makes your life a better journey.

In my backpack, you’ll find at least two books. The books serve a good time travel on the busy roads of Mumbai where time is the new measurement unit of distance. (If you’ll ask someone how far a place is, probability is he will give the answer in the number of hours it will take to reach there rather than number of kilometres you need to travel.) Reading a book is in itself an exercise to sharpen your creative thinking skills, whilst you broaden your horizons. It nourishes the intellect and expands your imagination and knowledge. So it serves a dual purpose of time travel and food for mind and soul.

Then I carry a folder having the copy of all important documents like passport, license, etc. This comes in handy many times. Charger and earphone are next important thing that are just too difficult to ignore. With my battery guzzling Galaxy S, I need to be prepared for any instance of low battery signal. So instead of comminating myself, I prefer to carry the charger at all times. Earphone ensures an equally, round the clock availability of entertainment without disturbing the entire crowd. Then there are other sundry items like deodorant, a poly-ethylene, pen, tickets, a wrapping paper, glue etc. which can just come in handy at times.

On a regular weekend, I also carry a Short and Tees, for who knows after the hard hitting parties I may or may not head for my home.

The objective here is not the items themselves but the subtle role they play now. I load my backpack with these items and my backpack takes the load off my life. A flight of imagination can take me anywhere and so am prepared for a harlequin journey anytime.

I guess now its time to close this backpack and go to sleep because in the morning I have another engagement to attend to and my backpack is packed.

Due Date–Movie Review

Director: Todd Phillips

Starring: Robert Downey, Jr.
Zach Galifianakis

Plot: Another road trip movie, with unusual events and unusual partners. Peter Highman (Robert Downey Jr) is heading from Atlanta to Los Angeles to witness his wife Sarah (Michelle Monaghan) give birth to their first child. When the bumbling Ethan Tremblay (Zach Galifianakis) gets both of them kicked off the plane and onto the no-fly list. The story takes a swing from here when both of them take a road trip to L.A. and what follows is a series of events which will keep your jaw at unrest.

My Take: I was sitting on a laughter coaster since the very first scene and enjoyed every bit of the movie. The sophisticated and cultures yet dark Peter and the irritating and foolish yet innocent Ethan sets the screen vibrant with their never matching on screen chemistry.

The script is not new. Scenes are predictable and so is the story. But the beauty lies in the way the same old fish is presented in a fresh bowl with fresh garnishing. The events that can go bad tends to turn worse and both the actors flows smoothly along with the story. In this short but never seems to end trip, they keep on loosing and winning each others trust and so is their own personality traits keep on changing.  The new acquaints have multiple crazy encounters together, including being questioned by border patrol for allegedly smoking marijuana and flipping their rental car over a bridge after Ethan falls asleep at the wheel. While Peter despises Ethan at first for getting him into their crazy situation, he eventually grows to tolerate, and even somewhat like, his goof-ball but well-meaning travel companion.

You may compare it to the ‘Planes, Trains, and Automobiles’, which I heard is where the plot has been taken from. But that doesn’t lessen the credit of this film. I liked it bit by bit. It was a laughter bonanza this season and I’d pretty much give my thumbs up for Robert and Zach for their acting.

Robert Downey Jr. as Peter Highman, an architect portrays the role of an uptight, cultured and straight laced person who lives by the rules and plays it safe. His portrayal of Peter makes you pity on him when he is helpless in the company of Ethan Tremblay played by Zach Galifianakis an aspiring and budding actor who wants to go to Hollywood and try his talent which he has none. While Ethan free spirited ways are annoying and irritating and are causing undue results we end up admiring the character for the innocence that it carries.

So I will recommend it as a must watch and ask you not to pay attention to the comparisons drawn upon the movie and instead go and see the movie yourself because in the end what matters is that you will come out laughing and rolling on the floor. This light headed movie is a must watch. Go and unburden your load.

Hollywood vs Bollywood vs Zollywood

I stumbled upon this article which was showcased at my friends FB profile and couldn’t help myself from posting this on my blog. I hope you will also enjoy this as much as I did.

Like the old Chinese saying goes, “Sometimes, a beaver is just a squirrel with big teeth.” Don’t ask me which Chinese person actually said that because there are a lot of them and i can’t be bothered to provide every single detail. The event that reminded me of this popular Chinese rodent-canine maxim was a seemingly innocuous outing to the movie theatre. I saw a flick that had advertised itself as a comedy thriller but turned out to be one that belongs to a niche genre that i often refer to as ‘equestrian excreta’.

On one Tuesday that felt a lot like a Thursday, i stumbled upon the answer to one of life’s biggest philosophical conundrums. No, not the ‘Is Bruce Lee still alive?’ question but the other one which is, ‘What’s going on with the movie world?’ And the answer to that is that every movie, despite its nationality and language, is actually the same. I’m well accustomed to three movie industries: Hollywood, Bollywood and Zollywood (that’s the collective name i’ve given for south Indian movies) and i’m going to try and explain here what the differences and similarities of these three ‘woods’ are.

When it comes to the Hollywood hero, he has impeccable looks; is self-made and well-to-do but not super-rich; finds the time to come up with hilarious one-liners even in the middle of dangerous crises; is often the only man in the world who can save the world. The Bollywood hero is fair-skinned; has a rich father who doesn’t hug him enough; craves true love and has no interest in the dozens of super-hot ladies throwing themselves at him; has no problem crying uncontrollably when delivering moving dialogues; is capable of fighting off at least 8-10 villains single-handedly. The Zollywood hero is above retirement age but still in his 30s; a misunderstood thug with a heart of gold; has a secret tragic family background (revealed only to the heroine) with one bed-ridden father, one paraplegic brother, two nubile sisters and one mother who cries at the drop of a coin; can jump over buildings; can punch police officers right in the mouth and get away with it; is capable of fighting at least 45-48 villains single-handedly.

As for heroines, the Hollywood variety is drop-dead gorgeous but still can’t find a guy or a job; has totally unattractive best friends; keeps picking fights with the hero throughout the movie but realises she loves him 10 minutes before the movie ends; has impromptu make-out sessions with the hero mostly after arguments. The Bollywood heroine is drop-dead gorgeous and as kind as Mother Teresa; has an abusive fiance who makes her realise how great the hero is; is extremely innocent but does at least one steamy song where she tries to seduce the hero but he keeps walking away. And the Zollywood heroine is portrayed by an actress barely out of school; doesn’t seem to mind that her grandfather is a few years younger to the hero; is rich and posh but falls for the thug; has a demonic power-hungry father; is extremely innocent but has at least three songs where she tries to explicitly seduce the hero but he keeps walking away.

The Hollywood villain is scorned by society, turned evil for a reason but has a brilliant mind and is just as good-looking as the hero while the Bollywood villain wears a tuxedo, has terribly bad aim when it comes to shooting and has the hots for the heroine. And the Zollywood type has a thick beard, is a rival thug or a high-profile politician and is often played by an unsuccessful Bollywood actor.

The Hollywood story? The girl and the world are in danger. The Bollywood story is that the girl is in danger, and as for Zollywood, the girl and south Indian commoners are in danger.

Read more: Same old story – Edit Page – Opinion – Home – The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/opinion/edit-page/Same-old-story/articleshow/6500802.cms#ixzz0yoJDFbc2

Samsung Galaxy S GT-I9000 – Review

There’s a lot of update that I’ll keep posting so watch out for more.

You might also like to read the comments section as  a lot of discussion and solutions are provided in there.

Finally, I bought my very first smartphone after a year long search and research. It is Samsung Galaxy S GT-I9000, a super cool 4” super AMOLED capacitive touchscreen smartphone.

IMO it is the best available model in the higher range. Let’s talk about its qualities and shortcomings:

Screen: The most striking feature of the phone is its 4” 16M colors Super AMOLED capacitive touchscreen. It has a resolution of 480×800 pixels. So what you get is super smooth touch experience. Once you’ll use it I’m sure you’ll never like to switch to TFT screen. Even in broad daylight, the visibility is clear to some extent. The high pixel resolution makes for good legibility.

Operating System: Running on Android 2.1 (Éclair) with news of upgrade to Android 2.2 (Froyo) makes it a great choice. More importantly Samsung has its own 3.0 touchwiz UI interface over the OS for some great experience.

CPU: A huge 1 GHz Arm Cortex A8 Hummingbird processor makes sure the phone works fast and is capable of handling heavy tasks and applications without any grudge. Well, personally I don’t think so coz in my case I had to force close some applications because they stopped responding. (Well that’s me, so I think I went too harsh on the phone during testing.)

Network: Quad Band 2G and Tri Band 3G support

(2G – 850/900/1900/2100    ————     3G – 900/1900/2100)

Storage: A whooping 16 GB of internal storage (2 GB reserved for application installation). 512 MB of RAM. Option available to include a SD card also. It can support upto a massive 32GB. So rest assured you’ll never find yourself stuck with space crunch.

Camera: 5MP, 2592×1944 pixels primary camera and a 0.3 MP secondary camera on the front.

Misc: Other necessary features worth mentioning

WI-FI 802.11 b/g/n, DLNA

Bluetooth v3.0 with A2DP

Micro USB port

Stereo FM Radio with RDS

GPS with A-GPS support

Java via third party

Divx/Xvid codec compatible along with other codecs.

Shortcomings:

No flash with the camera.

No flash support for the browser

My Take:

The sleek design and a vibrant screen is no doubt a show stealer. I have got a lot of appreciation for the phone from my colleagues and even strangers. People just stop to have a glance at the phone. For me it’s a full paisa wasool.

Now let’s talk about my experience and testing.

The interface is simple and very handy to use. The large screen makes up for the lack of physical QWERTY keyboard by replacing it with a virtual keyboard. The touch sensitivity is a delight. The super AMOLED screen does wonders. The legibility is great even if compared outdoors. In short the whole browsing experience has been a sweet journey for me.

The android market has more than enough apps for you to experiment upon. With the update of Android 2.2, many more features will be added in no time, like for instance flash support for browser is there with Android 2.2

The annoying thing is if GPRS is enabled, it will automatically sync many applications with online Google account. Also the free GPS navigation is a no go. For the first time, I was billed Rs 30/- for a 2 minute usage. Ohhh boy frustration…I was asked to connect my calendar with Google account for the first time. I did it and immediately I was online on Gtalk and Gmail without my notice. It was when I started receiving updates and messages that I realized what has happened. In two days, I was billed with an amount of 200 bucks for the usage of GPRS only. So a word of caution to all who are planning to buy this phone (as a matter of fact, any phone running on android) should get an unlimited GPRS plan if you really want to use all the features of the phone.

As mentioned, the powerful CPU and big memory does make a difference. But upon installing a number of applications and games and movies, my phone has gone a bit slow. Some applications take a few seconds to open now (mind you my phone is just 2 weeks old.) So I’m not sure where the problem is but am certainly keeping my fingers crossed and hoping that Froyo update will relieve me from this lagging issue as it is advertised to be 2.5 times better than Éclair on performance and responsiveness.

Camera without flash is a lamp without Jeannie. The pictures taken are very clear on the screen but if transferred to computer, the details are not that fine. It’s like you can rub the lamp and lit it, but you’ll always left wishing for more. But that’s not an issue for me, as a normal user the quality is more than ok to me. However, things go bad in low light. So that’s a big let down from Samsung.

720p HD video recording is finally there. With 16GB storage plus 32GB extendable via SD card, you are sure to enjoy the moments without the worries of space. Video taken is of  great quality. As explained earlier, availability of flash would have an added advantage, but nonetheless, the videos are still good. There is another MMS recording mode which lets you record video on lower resolution but it is useless. The quality suffers a lot in that mode.

Now let us comes to games. A lot are there in market, both free and paid. As a true Indian I always go for free ones (:D 😀 :D). Asphalt, A-Team, Assassin Creed, Kick Boxing to name a few. A whole bunch is there for selection and am sure you’ll love your phone more when you see the grace with which it handles all these heavy apps. Java is available via third party application, which I am unable to find till now. Still searching for one. So Java enabled apps and games are not working right now.

The movie player is simple. Nothing funny in the interface. But the most important thing to note is the support for Divx/Xvid videos. Yes, even full length movies are playable on the player without any lag and also the audio/video sync is perfect even if you drag the video to any length. And I must tell you this but I felt proud again when I watched the movie on my phone. The colors are very crisp and vibrant. The clarity is awesome. Subtitles are also welcome. And the best thing is you don’t need to convert the video to any format or resolution. Direct download and play. Wow…it’s the best. The phone supports a lot other codec too like flv, mkv, mpg, mp4 but for most you have to download additional codec. I downloaded them from market and the videos are all playable on my phone.

This phone is packed with a lot of other sundry features. Every other day I discover some new functionality or process. I must say I am quite mesmerized by this device. Its potential is unmatched to any other device right now.

Finally, while concluding the final thing that needs to be mentioned is the 1500 mAh battery which last for around 1 day on normal usage. Playing games, watching videos, using GPS or WI-FI drains the battery quickly but that is quite expected. Nonetheless, if you decide to buy a white elephant, you should be ready and prepared to feed him. So I would suggest one to be geared with USB charger all the time. It is not that much of a load I guess, is it?

Last but not the least, if you have any query or doubt, feel free to drop them in comments section and will be happy to help you in any way I can.

Update: Asphalt on I9000 – I have been watching carefully on the search words and found this game to be one of the most searched one. Let me tell you playing Asphalt 5 on I9000 is a great experience. There is no lag what so ever. Thanx to the great H/W spec.

Update 2: Many video formats including flv, mpg, mpeg etc are not playable on the default player. I installed another player named RockPlayer that can play them for me. After installing the player, flv formats started playing on the default player also but not other formats. Also Xvid Video was not playing smooth. So I guess its not that optimized as advertised. I had to tweak a lot to get the formats played on my phone.

Update 3: While writing the review, I didn’t fully explored the camera features. I apologize for that. The camera comes bundled with interesting features that helps to enhance the picture quality. Except the lowlight disadvantage (absence of flash), the camera is good otherwise. Also for video recording it has got a lot of features and recording mode. I am still in the hang of it.

Update 4: About the GPS – I think this is one thing that Samsung didn’t pay attention to while launching this phone. I tried the GPS outside and it locked on to my location in some 1 minute –  accurately. The navigation was quite smooth. But things go ugly when using it inside the room. It doesn’t lock my location many a times and even if it does so, it’s not accurate. I don’t know if its a Hardware issue or a software issue. If H/W issue, then its something we all Galaxy owner have to live it with and if it’s a S/W issue then what the hell are you waiting for Samsung, haven’t you recieved the news yet. Need a firmware urgently…

Update 5: Layer Reality Browser: Used it today and I’m impressed with it. What a cool app it is. It has some great layers that you can use to get information about your surroundings or to just have some fun. The Layar Reality Browser shows what is around you by displaying real time digital information on top of the real world as seen through the camera of your mobile phone. This technology is called Augmented Reality. We augment the real world as seen through your mobile phone, based on your location.

Keep watching for more updates….

Dead July, Waking August

So July is about to end. Well, this wasn’t a very great month for me but the ending is going fine so “All’s well if ends well”.

So let’s start the journey of my pathetic start when the appraisals were announced and the company settled with the decisions of giving peanuts to employees as it is good for health. Well, I’m allergic to peanuts in that way. A lot more were too. But nothing happened. Then started the series of long conversations, brain storming sessions with colleagues and managers, low performance after effects, complaints from either side, promises and all that. It all lead to a dead end. Then mid way I decided to move on and still trying to move on.

Next in line is that this month my writing abilities were paralyzed and I now see around 9 articles drafted and resting in my kitty. I was too busy sorting official issues that I didn’t get time to think over. But now I’m out of the grudge mode and trying to be back on track. Parties, movies, trekking, novels – a whole lot of stuff I did in the last 15 days and am feeling good now. Although my account balance is showing a steep decline – worst over the last few months but that’s all right. There are no free lunches in this world and materialistic happiness is as important as any other spiritual stuff (I’m not a hermit for god sake, I like to enjoy.)

Next weekend am going home so that’s very good news. Also I bought a brand new Samsung Galaxy S GT-I9000 with costs a fortune but I bought it for my “feel good factor” and seriously it did have a positive effect on me. I am too eager to show my prized ownership to my family. I am writing a review on the phone with the perspective of an Indian consumer and will post it very soon once I am through with the features of the phone.

Well I guess this is it. Too much of detail is uncalled for so I’ll end it here. This post is meant to serve as filler for my oath of posting at least one article a month. I hope August will revive my spirit from the ashes. Fingers crossed.

Adieu Dear Friends.

Raavan – Movie Review

Cast: Abhishek Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Vikram, Govinda, Ravi Kishen

Direction: Mani Ratnam

Music: A.R. Rahman

Raavan – The contemporary adaptation of India’s greatest epic is a failure. Why? Because the line between good and bad is too shady. At times, you will be on the side of Dev(Ram) and on the next frame change, your opinion for Raavan(Beera) will change for better reasons.

So let’s do the anatomy of this mega starrer multi lingual release from Mani Ratnam, one of the greatest director in Indian cinema.

To start with, the film took off from the abduction of  Raagini(Aishwarya), who is the better half of S.P. Dev Pratap Sharma(Vikram) by Beera(Abhishek) who is shown as a mysterious character who has his own reasons behind all this drama. From start till end, I couldn’t make out the who is the real Raavan as every one had a shady greyish character. It would be wrong to compare the character of  Beera with Raavan alone as others too shared the same box from time to time.

Abhishek Bacchan had a chance to revive his image but he bites more than he can chew. His performance was stale and boring. The depiction of several voices in his brain ranting at the same time is too overused. It irritates you to the core. His mood swings are not expressive and lacks the complexion of a mighty warrior as he is shown to be. Overall, this is the apple of sin for him, which he better had not took on the first place. The attitude of Yuva and the altitude of Guru, both were missing. He is better than what he played in this movie.

Aishwarya did nothing to gain my respect either. She is a total waste who is beautiful and delightful to watch and still hold her charishma but without the talent. She cries,scream, weeps and then again cries, scream and weeps, but I barely feel sorry for her, because she doesn’t look genuine. It seems she had a soft corner for Beera (lolz…ofcourse she has a soft corner for his husband) even before he unfold the reasons behind his deeds. But in the end, as always she looks stunning so all her sins are forgiven…lolz…

Vikram(I know him for his work in Aparichit) is a great actor with plenty of talent up his sleeves, but alas he fails to bring it all this time. His role as Dev Pratap is poorly sketched and unrefined. His threads are not stitched right it seems and are torn apart as the movie progresses. May be in the tamil version, where he plays the role of Beera he has done some justice.

Now the music of Rehman is the same as in all other movies. Listen to it, just listen. Don’t try to sing the song. The lyrics is not the USP, it’s the music. Nothing new in this department, let’s move on.

Mani sir, what is this? The person of your stature, shouldn’t be doing this. I don’t understand this usage of ropes in every stunts in every films these days. You are better than this sir. Showing the Hero running in slow motion is the least expected of you. Why such unnecessary gimmicks, overusage of rope stunts? Please upgrade yourself or stop using the old software. It’s not worth anywore.

Govinda and Ravikishen also needs a mention as they were also in the film as secondary characters. There role were as miniature as these two lines written about them. Nothing special to say, so let’s move to the good part now.

The scenery is picturesque and extremely beautifull. The cliff, the forest, the lake, the rain, the weather everything is just rightly placed where it meant to be. For a person like me, I for most of my times was more inquisitive about the background than the movie itself and the climax where Aishwarya was standing on a cliff and sees the heavenly sight of clouds and hills kissing each other like  the boundaries between the sky and earth seems to vanish  took my breath away.

The grand sets and exotic location is all that this film has to offer atleast for me. So in the end, as I close my eyes to recapture the core of the movie, I am unable to find one. This film is a lost one, nothing special about it. The epic still seems more contemporary than the adaptation itself. I will rather go watch the rerun of Ramayan rather than Raavan.

Insomnia Tale

3:00 AM, 11 Jun 2010.

Well great. It’s 3:00 in the morning and here I am scribbling and ranting about my insomniac stage that too live and uncut version. For the lack of siesta and sleep the yester day & night, I slept in the evening after coming back from office. Now at the odd hour of 2:00 I just woke up with my stomach gluttonous craving and finds nothing but some milk so I had a pre-session breakfast of tea and rusk just now and the after effects as you can see is am awake fully, in all my senses. The good thing is it’s raining cats and dogs outside, which by the way compels me to mention two points:

1. When it’s raining water drops, why we say it’s raining cats and dogs. (Ofcourse, I have heard of the story of falling cats from roof, when it rains. But that doesn’t makes sense.) If someone knows, please do tell me about it.

2. Ofcourse, its raining outside and not inside. (Preassumtion: I don’t live in a house with leaking roof  or the great epidemic of mumbai slums. Don’t get me wrong here when I gave a analogy. It’s just that I have seen it and it does feel like a epidemic.)

So will it not be suffice to say that it’s raining…it’s raining heavily…no cats and dogs…as they are hiding under a shelter. give them a break for their life. ahh…what a rant…

3:15 AM, 11 Jun 2010.

Am hungry and pissed off by the fact that its friday today, so I’ve to go to the office and am fretting by the fact that I will need a siesta again, lack of which causes my small already dying brain to function even less than it does normally. So it’s not going to be an effective day today, I know that and it worries me.

One of the other things that’s helping me in making my life burnt in core of the hell is the impotent HR department and the ever feasting gourmand monkeys sitting on top of me and giving me a hell of a time. Ahhhhh…I remember Boman Irani in Munna bhai MBBS during my hard times…laugh…laugh…and laugh more in times of distress, in direct proportion to your worries and anger. It will cure you, curb you. Well, unfortunately at this point of time i can’t do it right. So there’s a better way…write…write…and write more in times of distress, in direct proportion to your worries and anger. It will help you vent out your anger and anguish and you’ll be a happier person ever after…there after (stupid fellow…ever after is in stories only, no ever after exist in real world. Take the red pill otherwise and go back to matrix, big jaw.) Ahhh…another rant and am already feeling sleepy…and a sudden yawn shows me the good sign of my changing state. It works…see I told you…writing works…and there goes a second yawn…too frequent…something’s wrong with this yawning. I think this is not because I’m feeling sleepy. It is because I’m feeling bored.

3:30 AM, 11 Jun 2010.

Sitting at the window side, watching the rain feels refreshing though, but silent loneliness creeps in and making me sad. I need a vacation…mom, dad am coming home. It’s been a while I haven’t seen you, embrace you, cuddled you.

Ok…Let’s try something different. Thinking of something good…that kindles a spark in me or something that tickles me. Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm (pause) hmmmmmm…gosh…pathetic it is more that it seems…think..think…you dic*****d…hmmmmmm…ahh there it is…two new smartphones have registered there entry recently and they both are good, I must say. Dell Streak and Apple’s iPhone 4, are something that will change the way we think about phones. They are a revolution and they are reloaded. I must but one of them…I will…yes…Ofcourse…this time it’s a definite yes…after a long wait of over a year, there’s something that meets my unnecessary requirements.

Good…it worked…although I’m not yawning…neither am feeling sleepy but am certainly feeling good…now I’m able to look at the rain in a different light. I can see the light…I feel light…am happy…and calm… and poised.

3:40 AM, 11 Jun 2010.

My laptop’s battery is showing me a decline of 45%, that means it’s time for me to stop as after 40 minutes of rambling and ranting am a bit tired now, and being a lazy person that I am, just by the thought of being tired am finally feeling sleepy. This time it’s a genuine feeling…no yawning no boredom…only falling asleep…so as others fall in love…it’s time for me to re-fall in sleep.

Bye Bye…to all who managed to read through this and survived to come to this point where you are thinking what it was all about. Well nothing…it was just a rant as I declared earlier…I did declare it…huh…lemme check once…ahh hhhh yes I wrote at the starting…and btw what else would you expect from an insomnia tale…it’s not Arabian Nights tale dude…

Yaaawwwwwwnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn………am going to sleep…you for the time look out for my other post that are less futile that this and they might add some more to your grey matter…Happy reading…

4:00 AM, 11 JUN 2010

After editing the pics and final posting.

Taboo of Crying Macho Men

You must have seen a bride crying and weeping during marriages. But yesterday, I saw the groom with wet eyes, (of course, not for the same reasons as bride) but it was a touching moment when his 3 sisters came on the stage and performed a dance sequence on the song “Pyaare Bhaiyaa” being played in the background.

Certainly the love showered couldn’t be well understood other than him.  So as others were busy looking over their shoulders to see if the buffet has started yet or not, I was busy taking a mental note of the emotional moment to write about it because it gave me another fuel to harp and bash the old customary – Real Men do not cry.

Why it touched me is the simple reason that crying men is a sort of taboo in society.

You, if are a man, shall not be crying. It is as much hated and misunderstood as other public displays of affection.

And may I have the leverage and permission to ask why it is so? Why we men cannot cry?

Why PDAs fall in the category of characterless behavior?

Because machoism has always been the men charisma. It’s always expected from a man to be tough and have the ability to carry his own and families responsibility. He has to have a strong shoulders otherwise he is not respected. While crying has always been considered a sign of weakness, men have themselves kept a distance from such emotions.

It has been our upbringing since old times that prohibits the male from expressing his feelings through softer ways rather than anguish, anger and pain. If you look at the divide, girls and boys can laugh together on a comic scene during a movie but when a tear gland affecting scene comes, it’s only a girl who can show her emotions and is allowed to admit that she was moved by the scene and crying is permissible for her. But a boy can do all but cry and admit even if he wants to. Because his PDA will not be considered in the same light as used to judge a girl.

But now the times are changing, the first time I remember the depiction of a sensitive man was one in the commercial of Raymonds. It was a new change. Subtly it made its way in the social strata and is a standing pillar now giving support to the other side of macho psyche.

The era of stiff upper lips is gone and we men are more allowed to show the gentle and softer side of our emotions. Ofcourse, nobody will accept a man crying on the drop of a hat but for inevitable and right reasons,, it’s perfectly alright for him to cry and reveal his emotions in public too.

Coming back to yesterday’s party, while the bride’s father was talking to me about how he brought up his only child. I could really sense his voice breaking at moments but he was holding himself very tight not to reveal his love for her otherwise he would have burst into tears. Once he even said – “Maine koi kami nahi chodi iski parwarish mein, saare gun sikhaye hai….(pause) aur ab dekho…yeh jaa rahi…” Rest all was said by the eyes. She was standing at the other side talking with her new family.

It’s like a private close door show for a man, because if he cries in public and what if nobody holds him and comfort him. This mighty blow of non-appreciation will shatter him more than any other thing. It’ll be a scar that will be there forever on his heart.

Most men have cry but away from the public view. Men feel that like picking one’s nose in private, crying is also an extremely personal affair. Men in general have cried at the loss of a loved one, leaving your loved ones and moving to a different country, loss of job & the death of a loved one . Like the certain inevitable truths in life, the reasons for shedding a tear are justified and it no longer remains a taboo if a guy cries for the right reasons in public .

* – Photo of Crying Macho Man is taken from the comic strip of same name.