It is that time of the year where we reflect upon the year that went by and look forward to the new year. For some reason it felt like this year went by very fast and I am glad it did. I remember at the beginning of the year, I had wished that this year should go by fast because of the recession, job losses and a lot of uncertainty.
This year was dominated by the recession. I felt the effect of the recession when there were layoffs in my company and our company was not doing well. Till that time I did not personally feel the effects of the recession. The economy picked up quite a bit in the last half of the year although the unemployment rate is still high.
Personally it has been a good year for me. My father retired and I was glad to have been able to be with him on his day of retirement. We took a trip to Orlando Florida and it was quite enjoying. On the work front, it has been very satisfying. In the first half of the year, I got an opportunity to learn how to work with the rating engine. I also got an opportunity to work with off shore developers. It is a different experience as you are working with someone on the other side of the world. For the first time I understood why the companies put so much importance on good communication skills.
The second part of the year gave me an opportunity to lead a project and also design a solution. These were my next steps professionally. I wanted to be involved more on the design level and also wanted to groom myself to be a leader. These two projects gave me those opportunities. We will know the results next year how successful I was in these roles.
This was also the year when most of my close friends became parents. It is like a wave. Three years ago one after another everyone got married. And now everyone is starting the family. On the technology front, the iPhone became an even bigger phenomenon and we saw a lot of smartphones like iPhone coming into the market. Verizon came up with Droid phone. Google released Google Wave, an interactive platform for people to communicate.
Microsoft came up with a rival search engine called Bing. I did not expect it to actually give competition to Google Search engine. Now Microsoft has struck a deal with Yahoo to power Yahoo searches using Bing. Look at the turn of the tables here. An year ago, Microsoft was working on a hostile takeover of the Yahoo search engine. Now they have come up with a product which would run the Yahoo search engine.
In the United States, the healthcare reform bill was in the news. It is one of the promises that Obama made during his campaign. But there was a lot of backlash for the reform because it would increase the deficit and also there was a public option that was supposed to be a competition for the other insurance firms. As of now, the public option is removed and it has passed the senate vote. Looks like it is going to be passed in some shape or form.
China is emerging as a strong force post recession. They have aspirations to be the next super power. Even India has done well post recession. I hear people taking India's name very often these days. China and India are sometimes talked about in the same breath. It is a big welcome. The climate change got a lot of attention this year. There were a few big conferences held this year.
Back home there was a tragic death of YSR and before that his massive victory. Until he died, I did not understand the importance of YSR in the Andhra politics. I did not know that he had so much control over the state. It seems he kept the Telangana movement under control and it is only after his demise, the movement got a huge momentum which led to the center's declaration that the new state will be created. After 2 weeks and after so much of resistance from Andhra and Rayalaseema regions against the division of the state, now the center has reversed its stand. This will lead to more violence. The center's endorsement for Telangana has opened a pandora's box for the creation of 7 more states.
Among the movies released this year, I liked 3 Idiots, London Dreams, Dil Bole Hadippa, All the Best, Kick, Hangover. Ranbir Kapoor was the best entertainer for me this year. This year will be remembered for the death of the greatest Pop icon Michael Jackson. It was the most shocking entertainment news of the year.
The things I look forward to next year is my wife's graduation, my parents' visit, my success as a leader and taking steps towards being an architect, more innovations and peace. I wish all of you a very happy new year. See you next year.
Friday, December 25, 2009
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
United States of India
The breaking news of today is the Government of India has agreed to introduce a bill in the state assembly for the creation of the new state of Telangana. For the supporters of the cause, this is a great news. I had not been in favor of the Telangana state because of the fact that I do not want divisions within the same set of people. The Andhra and Telangana people speak the same language, have same traditions, have same history and legacy and on some level are siblings from the same mother. The people of Telangana feel there is no development in their areas because of Andhra and they feel Andhra people are depriving them of their right to develop. They feel having a state of their own will help them be more prosperous and developed and successful.
This situation is straight out of the "Hum Saath Saath Hain" movie. We had a happy family with the father, mother, three sons and their families living together in a big house. After a while the second son feels he does not have enough independence and privacy and wants to move out. He says he will be visiting the family often and by living on his own he feels he and his family will have an opportunity to grow.
Initially parents do not agree to it and try to convince him that he can have all the independence and privacy in this house. They are doing this because they know once one member of the family moves out, others will follow. But they can only resist to a certain point. If the son is so adamant what can the parents do? They can only hope that they do visit once in a while and still be part of the family.
In the same way I wish that in spite of being in a separate state, Andhra, Telangana and Rayalaseema people do not forget that they are telugu people first of all and they be a part of that family. As with my above analogy, after Telangana, who wants to move out? Will it be Rayalaseema, Vidarbha, Gorkhaland? In every state of our country you will be able to find people who have a unique identity based on the region, linguistics or thru some other measure. Now if you start dividing the country based on each unique identity, then we will end up with hundreds of states. Technically each district can be divided into a state. You will find so much unique in each district. Then we should change our country's name from Republic of India to United States of India. I hope they stay united.
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
The biggest lesson in parenting
Recently there was an interview in the radio with Andre Agassi. He is one of the best Tennis players we know. Even Federrer considers him his idol. But one thing none of us know is that he hated tennis. He never wanted to become a tennis player. He started playing tennis because of his father. His father wanted agassi to become a tennis player. Every day he made him hit more than 1000 tennis balls for practice. He said he used to practice every day for long hours. He always yearned to play with others and have a normal childhood and he regrets he never got a chance to have one.
We know the similar story with Michael Jackson. Even he went through the same kind of life. His father wanted him to succeed at any cost. Even he did not have a normal childhood. I have heard these stories with most of the child prodigies. Close to home, I heard that it was Sridevi's mother who pushed her into acting and dancing. I heard the same story with Hema Malini.
There is one common thread in all these stories. It was the parent's ambition that their son/daughter has to be in a profession. And they made their child go through a rigorous routine which robbed their childhood. In most of the cases they did not even find out if the child is enjoying what he/she is doing. The parent wanted to become something, they could not achieve it so they want to achieve it through their child whether the child is inclined towards it or not.
I was shocked to hear when Agassi said "I hated tennis". I think all these stories give us a biggest lesson in parenting that you should not force your children to fulfil your unfulfilled dreams. Treat them as separate individuals.
Friday, September 25, 2009
Chappar phad Ke
There is a saying in Hindi called:
"Dene wala jab bhi deta deta chappar phad ke"
Which roughly means when god decides to give you something he overwhelms you. Last year Georgia was in drought. Lake lanier, which is the main source of water for Atlanta region was drying out and people were predicting doomsday.
There were all sorts of water restrictions. They did not allow car washes and there were severe restrictions on when and for how long you can water your yard. And on one morning last year, Governor Purdue held a prayer meeting on steps of capitol. They held prayers to appease the rain god.
Rain god was pleased to that extent that he flooded us with rain. Last week we had heavy rain resulting in flood which damaged a lot of properties, took lives and brought life to a standstill for a couple of days. Here is one link that gives you an idea:
Lot of people who had damages due to the flood were not in the flood zone so they did not have flood insurance. Now government has to help them. Don't know if these are the effects of global warming. Because Atlanta never had a hurricane, never had floods and we have seen both in 2 years.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Celebrating 50 years of Doordarshan
Yesterday Doordarshan celebrated 50 years of its existence. Though I have stopped watching DD long time ago since the inception of the cable channels. But before the cable channels era, there was one and only Doordarshan for us. There were some good programmes on DD.
I remember those news anchors C.V. Raman, Salma Sultan, Mini Mathur, Usha Albequereque (I found her last name very tongue twisting and funny) and another lady whose face I remember but cannot remember her name. Then there were the mythological serials like Ramayan and Mahabharat. Then there was the opulent "Chandrakanta". Crime thrillers like "Byomkesh Bakshi", "Tehkikat", "Karamchand". Then there were some funny serials like "Flop Show", "Mungerilal Ke Haseen Sapne", "Mr. Yogi". I remember watching "Nukkad", "Talaash".
There were some good musical programmes too. I used to get up early in the morning on sunday to watch "Rangoli". I used to schedule my dinner around 8 PM on tuesdays and thursdays so that I can watch "Chitrahaar". Then there was another program on saturday called "Show Theme" where they used to show some scenes from the movies. Then there were some classic songs like "Ek Titli", "Mile Sur Mera Tumhara", "Padhna likhna seekho" which I enjoyed a lot.
During the summer holidays, I used to watch the afternoon TV programmes. I remember there was a program called "Baingan Raja", then there was "Ek tara Bole" and Tabassum used to narrate some stories. Then there was "Vikram Betaal".
It feels so nostalgic to go back in time and remember all the years we spent with Doordarshan. DD does not have the viewership that it used to have before and for that reason I feel it needs to reinvent itself and have some innovative programs that are liked by everyone.
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Celebrating the life
Today I watched Michael Jackson's Memorial. It was very well put up. Everyone paid a fitting tribute to the 'King of Pop'. The fans, celebrities, family everyone celebrated Michael's life. I have heard from some of my friends and I have seen it myself on TV when somebody passes away here in America, they of course mourn, but what I have seen is they celebrate that person's life.
The family and friends get together and talk about the dead person. They recall all the good times they had with that person. They narrate anectodes, they laugh, they cry. They feel instead of feeling bad that that person has left us, let us celebrate his life, let us remember all the good things he did and let us give him a happy farewell.
I think it is amazing how they do it. It is impossible for me to be in that situation and be so composed and talk about the good things about the deceased. Actually it will be impossible for me to even talk forget about narrating anecdotes. Michael's brother Jeremaine was giving TV interviews the other day on the Larry King show. Looking at him, it does not feel like he has lost a loved one. It is impossible for me to be like that. Today's memorial was like a concert. In India, when somebody passes away in a family you know it.
A few months ago, there was a death in our neighbor's family. We did not even know it until the evening when we saw so many cars and we asked someone standing outside what happened and he told me that the owner of the house passed away. If it was in India, we would have heard people crying from the beginning of the corner.
Don't get me wrong. I am not saying one way is better over another. I am not even comparing. There cannot be a discussion about what somebody should and shouldn't do when someone passes away. People react and deal with the loss in their own way. There can be no right or wrong way to it. I am just amazed at how two sets of people deal with the death of a loved one in two totally different ways.
The family and friends get together and talk about the dead person. They recall all the good times they had with that person. They narrate anectodes, they laugh, they cry. They feel instead of feeling bad that that person has left us, let us celebrate his life, let us remember all the good things he did and let us give him a happy farewell.
I think it is amazing how they do it. It is impossible for me to be in that situation and be so composed and talk about the good things about the deceased. Actually it will be impossible for me to even talk forget about narrating anecdotes. Michael's brother Jeremaine was giving TV interviews the other day on the Larry King show. Looking at him, it does not feel like he has lost a loved one. It is impossible for me to be like that. Today's memorial was like a concert. In India, when somebody passes away in a family you know it.
A few months ago, there was a death in our neighbor's family. We did not even know it until the evening when we saw so many cars and we asked someone standing outside what happened and he told me that the owner of the house passed away. If it was in India, we would have heard people crying from the beginning of the corner.
Don't get me wrong. I am not saying one way is better over another. I am not even comparing. There cannot be a discussion about what somebody should and shouldn't do when someone passes away. People react and deal with the loss in their own way. There can be no right or wrong way to it. I am just amazed at how two sets of people deal with the death of a loved one in two totally different ways.
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Is Box office collections a correct indicator of a successful film?
We have always relied on box office collections to decide whether a film is successful or not. Do you think this is an accurate barometer? I think this is one part of the metric but not the only metric.
Now-a-days one month before the movie releases, the movie stars, director, producer, music director everyone goes on a promotion spree. They are seen giving interviews to every possible newspaper, tabloid, website. Apart from that they hop into every possible reality show on the television thereby creating a blitzkreig.
Based on all this hype the audience goes to the movie and packs all the multiplex theaters for the first 3 days. So because the movie is shown in about 10 screens in one multiplex, multiply that with the number of multiplexes within the country. The producer will probably get back his money in the first 3 days. The collections in the next week are his profits. After that he doesn't bother whether the movie is still running in any of the theaters or not. He has not only got back his capital but also made some profit. So because the movie made profit it is declared hit.
Last year there were some really horrible movies released. Lot of people went to see the movie based on the promos thinking that it will be good. But one hour into the movie or during the interval, they realized how horrible the movie is and walked away. His ticket will not be reimbursed and his ticket money will be counted towards the box office collections and the movie will be declared a Hit!!
So I feel the box office collections alone is not a good metric to declare whether a movie is a hit or flop. I feel the old system of Silver Jubilee and Golden Jubilee is a good metric. What that tells you is the movie made a good profit and it was able to sustain for so long. Our producers and directors should really think hard as to what they are making. Now-a-days the movies have only 2 weeks of shelf life. All they are interested is in making money. That is not wrong but they claim to be artists, so are they justifying their art?
Even the audience also should be smart. I know movies are a basic form of entertainment but you should not flock the theaters first day just because your favorite actor is in the movie. Your favorite actor can make a bad movie too. And by making these kinds of movies successful, we are encouraging the film makers to give us the same kinds of products. Once we start rejecting trash that's when we will get to see some really good movies.
Now-a-days one month before the movie releases, the movie stars, director, producer, music director everyone goes on a promotion spree. They are seen giving interviews to every possible newspaper, tabloid, website. Apart from that they hop into every possible reality show on the television thereby creating a blitzkreig.
Based on all this hype the audience goes to the movie and packs all the multiplex theaters for the first 3 days. So because the movie is shown in about 10 screens in one multiplex, multiply that with the number of multiplexes within the country. The producer will probably get back his money in the first 3 days. The collections in the next week are his profits. After that he doesn't bother whether the movie is still running in any of the theaters or not. He has not only got back his capital but also made some profit. So because the movie made profit it is declared hit.
Last year there were some really horrible movies released. Lot of people went to see the movie based on the promos thinking that it will be good. But one hour into the movie or during the interval, they realized how horrible the movie is and walked away. His ticket will not be reimbursed and his ticket money will be counted towards the box office collections and the movie will be declared a Hit!!
So I feel the box office collections alone is not a good metric to declare whether a movie is a hit or flop. I feel the old system of Silver Jubilee and Golden Jubilee is a good metric. What that tells you is the movie made a good profit and it was able to sustain for so long. Our producers and directors should really think hard as to what they are making. Now-a-days the movies have only 2 weeks of shelf life. All they are interested is in making money. That is not wrong but they claim to be artists, so are they justifying their art?
Even the audience also should be smart. I know movies are a basic form of entertainment but you should not flock the theaters first day just because your favorite actor is in the movie. Your favorite actor can make a bad movie too. And by making these kinds of movies successful, we are encouraging the film makers to give us the same kinds of products. Once we start rejecting trash that's when we will get to see some really good movies.
Saturday, June 27, 2009
The First American wedding I attended
Today I had the privilege of attending one of my ex-colleagues' wedding. This was the first American wedding that I attended. I really enjoyed the experience. I should also give credit to the bride and groom for organizing it so well.
To start with, the wedding invitation was so well designed with the appropriate fonts, good color selection and packaged it well. I knew that this would be a well organized wedding. So today as soon as I entered the hall, I was given a piece of paper with the same color, font and packaging as the wedding card. I wondered whey were they giving me the card again. But actually it was the schedule. It contained the list of events scheduled like Bringing down the mothers, Groom and grooms men entry, Brides maid entry, bride entry (please stand) etc. And once the ceremony started all these happened exactly in the same order without missing a beat. It was almost like the graduation ceremony. The schedule even contained the song they would play for each ceremony. It was so meticulously planned.
oh! I skipped a couple of things. So as soon as I got the schedule card, there was a big metal photo frame where everyone signed on it with a steel pen and there was a box next to it where we were supposed to drop the gift cards or any cash gifts that we brought along. Then I was ushered into the main hall and before I entered the hall there were few ushers standing outside who asked me if I was from the Bride or the groom's side. I said I am from the groom's side and they asked me to sit on the right side. And he asked me to turn off the cellphones.
The actual ceremony lasted for about 30 minutes. Then we were asked to step into an adjoining room where we could have drinks and some appetizer. Then it was announced that everyone should come and see the announcer to find out which table they would be sitting. They had assigned each guest who RSVPd to a table and we were to sit at the assigned table. I believe the groom and the bride made the decision as to who will sit with who. We met a new couple at our table and became friends by the end of the reception.
Once we settled in our assigned tables, the reception started. The 'wedding party' made a grand entry one by one with the cheering crowds. Then the bride and the groom had their first dance to a slow romantic song. Then the bride and the groom danced with their close family members.
Then the best man gave a toast along with others. His speech was funny in parts. Then the bride thanked her family, friends, roommates and some special guests who came from out of the country just to attend this wedding. She became emotional at times. But it was nice. That was her oscar moment. The groom was very brief in his speech.
Then it was time for lunch. It was announced that the wedding party will go first followed by one table at a time. There was a marshall who came to each table and invited them for the lunch. After lunch, they opened the dance floor for everyone and for the next one hour everyone danced to some excellent songs played by the DJ.
Then they had the ritual where the bride will throw the flowers and the bridesmaid catch them and they say whoever catches them will be the next one to get married. I knew about this one as I had seen it many times in the movies. But I did not know that a similar ritual exists for the groom. The groom has to take out the garter that the girl is wearing and toss it in the air to be caught by the single man. He would be the next one to get married.
All the way I was always comparing this wedding to the way weddings happen in India. To start with the whole ceremony was over in 4 hours start to finish including the wait time. I don't think this assigned seating will work in India. People will walk away if you start telling them where they should sit. I should admit that this assigned seating and asking one table at a time to have the food helped the organizers very much. It makes sure there is no stampede at the food table.
The wedding party had the food first. In India, they are the last people to eat as they feel they should allow the guests to eat first. And I thought there was a lot of dancing. Everyone danced. In south India, people don't dance that much but I guess in north India it will be like this. Everyone dances at the wedding.
On the whole I enjoyed the whole experience of the American Wedding.
To start with, the wedding invitation was so well designed with the appropriate fonts, good color selection and packaged it well. I knew that this would be a well organized wedding. So today as soon as I entered the hall, I was given a piece of paper with the same color, font and packaging as the wedding card. I wondered whey were they giving me the card again. But actually it was the schedule. It contained the list of events scheduled like Bringing down the mothers, Groom and grooms men entry, Brides maid entry, bride entry (please stand) etc. And once the ceremony started all these happened exactly in the same order without missing a beat. It was almost like the graduation ceremony. The schedule even contained the song they would play for each ceremony. It was so meticulously planned.
oh! I skipped a couple of things. So as soon as I got the schedule card, there was a big metal photo frame where everyone signed on it with a steel pen and there was a box next to it where we were supposed to drop the gift cards or any cash gifts that we brought along. Then I was ushered into the main hall and before I entered the hall there were few ushers standing outside who asked me if I was from the Bride or the groom's side. I said I am from the groom's side and they asked me to sit on the right side. And he asked me to turn off the cellphones.
The actual ceremony lasted for about 30 minutes. Then we were asked to step into an adjoining room where we could have drinks and some appetizer. Then it was announced that everyone should come and see the announcer to find out which table they would be sitting. They had assigned each guest who RSVPd to a table and we were to sit at the assigned table. I believe the groom and the bride made the decision as to who will sit with who. We met a new couple at our table and became friends by the end of the reception.
Once we settled in our assigned tables, the reception started. The 'wedding party' made a grand entry one by one with the cheering crowds. Then the bride and the groom had their first dance to a slow romantic song. Then the bride and the groom danced with their close family members.
Then the best man gave a toast along with others. His speech was funny in parts. Then the bride thanked her family, friends, roommates and some special guests who came from out of the country just to attend this wedding. She became emotional at times. But it was nice. That was her oscar moment. The groom was very brief in his speech.
Then it was time for lunch. It was announced that the wedding party will go first followed by one table at a time. There was a marshall who came to each table and invited them for the lunch. After lunch, they opened the dance floor for everyone and for the next one hour everyone danced to some excellent songs played by the DJ.
Then they had the ritual where the bride will throw the flowers and the bridesmaid catch them and they say whoever catches them will be the next one to get married. I knew about this one as I had seen it many times in the movies. But I did not know that a similar ritual exists for the groom. The groom has to take out the garter that the girl is wearing and toss it in the air to be caught by the single man. He would be the next one to get married.
All the way I was always comparing this wedding to the way weddings happen in India. To start with the whole ceremony was over in 4 hours start to finish including the wait time. I don't think this assigned seating will work in India. People will walk away if you start telling them where they should sit. I should admit that this assigned seating and asking one table at a time to have the food helped the organizers very much. It makes sure there is no stampede at the food table.
The wedding party had the food first. In India, they are the last people to eat as they feel they should allow the guests to eat first. And I thought there was a lot of dancing. Everyone danced. In south India, people don't dance that much but I guess in north India it will be like this. Everyone dances at the wedding.
On the whole I enjoyed the whole experience of the American Wedding.
Agneepath
I was reading in the news the other day that Karan Johar is planning to remake 'Agneepath'. Initially the reports were he wanted to cast Hrithik for the title role and later I heard he wanted to cast Abhishek for that role.
There is a part of me which says some movies and roles should not be reprised. They should be left immortal. Some movies like Sholay, Mughal-e-azam, Agneepath, Deewar, Shakti should not be remade. Where will you find an actor of the caliber of Prithvi Raj Kapoor to play the role of Akbar, where will you find an actor to play the role of Vijay Dinanath Chauhan? Frankly none of the current actors can do justice to that character. Abhishek comes close to it but not exactly.
There is another part of me which says there is nothing wrong in remaking these classics as long as you rewrite the character not just to suit the present times but also to suit the actor playing the character. In Agneepath, Amitabh's character was sketched with him in mind. His walk, style, dialogue everything was tailor made for Amitabh.
So if you want to remake Agneepath and you have Hrithik in mind then rewrite the character with Hrithik's strengths in mind. The new character will not talk like the old one, will not walk like the old one. Then you are doing a justice to the remake. Otherwise you will pick up unnecessary flak and loss of money.
There is a part of me which says some movies and roles should not be reprised. They should be left immortal. Some movies like Sholay, Mughal-e-azam, Agneepath, Deewar, Shakti should not be remade. Where will you find an actor of the caliber of Prithvi Raj Kapoor to play the role of Akbar, where will you find an actor to play the role of Vijay Dinanath Chauhan? Frankly none of the current actors can do justice to that character. Abhishek comes close to it but not exactly.
There is another part of me which says there is nothing wrong in remaking these classics as long as you rewrite the character not just to suit the present times but also to suit the actor playing the character. In Agneepath, Amitabh's character was sketched with him in mind. His walk, style, dialogue everything was tailor made for Amitabh.
So if you want to remake Agneepath and you have Hrithik in mind then rewrite the character with Hrithik's strengths in mind. The new character will not talk like the old one, will not walk like the old one. Then you are doing a justice to the remake. Otherwise you will pick up unnecessary flak and loss of money.
Friday, June 26, 2009
R.I.P. Michael.
I was shocked to read the Breaking news on CNN yesterday that the 'King of Pop' is dead. He was truly the king in terms of his talent and the kind of life he lead. His talent is unparalleled. Actually I did not follow his music during my college days when his albums actually released. But I knew who he was. I started following his music only after coming to U.S. I went back and heard all his famous songs and watched the videos. I have his CD called "Michael Jackson Number Ones".
I have followed not just his music but also his personal life thru the interviews that Martin Bashir did in 2003 which gave us a glimpse of how the king lives his life. I also watched the movies made on his life. One movie about 'Jackson 5' was 5 hours long. I sat thru the 5 hours to understand his life.
Like how the legend goes that every so many years the world gets a messiah to liberate the world from ignorance and show us the way. I feel in the music world too we get messiah's every now and then who liberate us from a particular kind of music we are used to hearing and give us a new sound. These people turn things on their head, break all conventions, start a new set of conventions. Every generation had its own musical legend. My grandfather had Beatles, my father had Elvis and I had Michael.
After all the troubled life as a child unable to come out of his father's shadows, to going thru a series of plastic surgery to kill his old self, to battling the child molestation charges, to his last days where he had to rent a house without being able to afford to live in his own palace, I think it is time for him to rest in peace.
Friday, May 29, 2009
It's a day of goodbyes
Today while driving to the office, I turned on the radio to my favorite Indian radio station "Bollywood Beats". Today was the last day of their regular programming. Starting monday they are closing down and will be taken over by another radio station from Houston.
Emotions were running very high with the RJs saying many times today is the last time we will be talking to you and they were playing heavy and sad songs. The callers called in to say you did a good job and we will miss you and all.
Apart from these RJs, today Jay Leno will bid goodbye to the "Tonight show". I will be watching it. I am sure emotions will run high on that show too. He is leaving the show after 17 years. That's a long time. He has got a lot of dedicated audience. I hope everyone would be able to control their emotions.
In Jay Leno's case, he is not going away anywhere. He will be seen on the same channel, doing possibly the same things but at a different time. So it should not be too bad. But I feel a little sad for "Bollywood Beats". They provided us entertainment for 7 months and they are forced to close down.
But as they say everything happens for a reason. And people should move on with optimism and with the belief that something bigger and better is ahead of them. I wish all of them good luck.
Monday, May 18, 2009
The death of a prolific film maker
Today one of my favorite film makers Mr. Prakash Mehra passed away. He was a great story teller. His films were very entertainment oriented. My favorite films of Prakash Mehra are Zanjeer, Namak Halaal, Sharaabi, Mukaddar ka Sikandar and Laawaris. All of these had Amitabh Bachchan. Theirs was a deadly duo.
I feel he knew the pulse of the audience very well and he catered to their basic need: entertainment. Apart from being a writer, he was also a lyricist. He mostly wrote the important songs of his movies which actually conveyed the jist of the story. He also had a good knack of spotting things. I heard of an anecdote from Mr. Bachchan that once he sang "Mere angne mein" song in one of the weddings and when he heard the song, he told Amitabh not to sing this song anywhere because he knows exactly of a situation in his movie where he wants to incorporate this song. And we know how famous the song became.
Among the songs that he wrote, my favorite is "Jahaan char yaar" in Sharaabi. It is an awesome song. The music in his films was very good. He got the best music out of Kalyanji-Anandji and Bappi Lahiri.
This is my tribute to one of my favorite film makers.
I feel he knew the pulse of the audience very well and he catered to their basic need: entertainment. Apart from being a writer, he was also a lyricist. He mostly wrote the important songs of his movies which actually conveyed the jist of the story. He also had a good knack of spotting things. I heard of an anecdote from Mr. Bachchan that once he sang "Mere angne mein" song in one of the weddings and when he heard the song, he told Amitabh not to sing this song anywhere because he knows exactly of a situation in his movie where he wants to incorporate this song. And we know how famous the song became.
Among the songs that he wrote, my favorite is "Jahaan char yaar" in Sharaabi. It is an awesome song. The music in his films was very good. He got the best music out of Kalyanji-Anandji and Bappi Lahiri.
This is my tribute to one of my favorite film makers.
The triumph of Indian democracy
The results of the month long elections are out. The UPA has achieved resounding victory. The people of India have spoken and they have spoken by rejecting the people who have spread a lot of bitterness and had threatened to divide the country on the lines of religion, region and have had unprogressive agenda.
The voters have done the right thing by giving heavy majority to a party or a coalition. This gives any party a free hand to implement reforms and not worry about satisfying the coalition partners. I think that was one of the Achilles heel of the previous UPA government. Personally I have high regard for Dr. Manmohan Singh. I think we need such a statesman as our leader.
Now the onus is on the new government to show us some progress in return to the overwhelming victory they have been given. In this election, another encouraging factor I have observed is there were a lot of young people who contested and lot of them have won. This is a very good sign. Hopefully this should encourage more young people to get into the public service.
Apart from the young people I would like to see learned men and women like Mr. Narayan Murthy, Ratan Tata and some of the entrpreneurs to enter public life. I would remember this election as the one where there was a lot of awareness created, lot of people actually voted, voters voted for the right people and suddenly voting and politics was cool.
The voters have done the right thing by giving heavy majority to a party or a coalition. This gives any party a free hand to implement reforms and not worry about satisfying the coalition partners. I think that was one of the Achilles heel of the previous UPA government. Personally I have high regard for Dr. Manmohan Singh. I think we need such a statesman as our leader.
Now the onus is on the new government to show us some progress in return to the overwhelming victory they have been given. In this election, another encouraging factor I have observed is there were a lot of young people who contested and lot of them have won. This is a very good sign. Hopefully this should encourage more young people to get into the public service.
Apart from the young people I would like to see learned men and women like Mr. Narayan Murthy, Ratan Tata and some of the entrpreneurs to enter public life. I would remember this election as the one where there was a lot of awareness created, lot of people actually voted, voters voted for the right people and suddenly voting and politics was cool.
Thursday, May 14, 2009
It is time to show your cards!!!!
Today is the day before the counting starts in India. So many parties are in the fray. The exit polls say that nobody will get absolute majority. There are four fronts officially now but the interesting thing would be to see ultimately which party will get align with which party.
Depending on the results of the polls, these parties will shift loyalties and join whoever promises power. This situation reminds me of my school days. Towards the end of the last period, our teachers used to tell us that as soon as the bell rings, the school gate will be opened and don't go here and there go straight to the bus. Everyone says "yes teacher". Once the gate opens who knows where everyone is going? Some people are after the ice creams, some people are after those peanuts and we used to go to anyone who showed us something to eat.
I think the gates are going to open tomorrow. Nobody knows where each one will head. I hope that whatever coalition comes to power leads India progressively. I am deeply pained by some of the parties' unprogressive campaign promises. In UP, some party has promised to abolish english medium education. Some other party somewhere has promised to remove all Computers from the Government offices to address unemployment.
The world is focussing on developing countries like India. The Indian brand has finally started to get a makeover. People consider India to do cost effective business. We do not want leaders with promises like above. Apart from this my other concerns are national security. With our neighbouring countries in turmoil, we should be very alert and proactive with respect to our security. Another concern I have is communal harmony. We need someone who does not create divisions based on religion. I don't know if I am asking for too much but I surely know that people of India deserve such a government.
Depending on the results of the polls, these parties will shift loyalties and join whoever promises power. This situation reminds me of my school days. Towards the end of the last period, our teachers used to tell us that as soon as the bell rings, the school gate will be opened and don't go here and there go straight to the bus. Everyone says "yes teacher". Once the gate opens who knows where everyone is going? Some people are after the ice creams, some people are after those peanuts and we used to go to anyone who showed us something to eat.
I think the gates are going to open tomorrow. Nobody knows where each one will head. I hope that whatever coalition comes to power leads India progressively. I am deeply pained by some of the parties' unprogressive campaign promises. In UP, some party has promised to abolish english medium education. Some other party somewhere has promised to remove all Computers from the Government offices to address unemployment.
The world is focussing on developing countries like India. The Indian brand has finally started to get a makeover. People consider India to do cost effective business. We do not want leaders with promises like above. Apart from this my other concerns are national security. With our neighbouring countries in turmoil, we should be very alert and proactive with respect to our security. Another concern I have is communal harmony. We need someone who does not create divisions based on religion. I don't know if I am asking for too much but I surely know that people of India deserve such a government.
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Monday, April 20, 2009
You must be living in a cave if you have not heard about Twitter. It is the next big thing. It is a micro-blogging site where you answer one question in less than 140 characters "What are you doing?".
So periodically you send tweets to your account about what you are doing and there will be some people who would be following you. Meaning they are interested in knowing what you are doing. Mostly it would be family members for most of us. In case of celebrities, the followers would be their fans. I think it is a very good marketing tool for the companies because they can easily know how many people are using their products and if they are discussing any bad things about their product and they can immediately correct it. And companies have done it. Some companies have appointed a person to check twitter to find out what is being talked about their product.
Last week, Ashton Kutcher challenged CNN to a duel about who will have million followers. Ashton won that contest. While the contest was on, CNN was urging their viewers to sign up in twitter and follow their account. And Ashton's fans were urging people do follow him. People even put up ads on the billboard to follow Ashton. Now Oprah has joined the bandwagon.
I joined Twitter just to check out due to all the hype surrounding it. So far I have not yet got hooked to it but people say it is addictive. Initially when online chatting was new, people used to go to some chatroom and start chatting with strangers. After a while it was addictive. In India, at that time Internet connection was not that inexpensive. People spent hundreds of rupees at the Internet Cafes to chat with people sometimes total strangers. So I guess this is like that.
So guys start twittering. Believe me it can land you a job. Don't believe me? Check this one out:
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Is Slumdog music Rahman's best
There has been a debate going on if Slumdog Millionaire's music is Rahman's best because that fetched him an Oscar. Some people say the music is average and he has given better music in the past. My question is what is the yardstick? On what basis do you compare? Is it based on the number of CDs he sold or is it based on how popular the music is? Or is it based on how many people who liked the music? Or something else?
I think there cannot be a yardstick which will tell you if the music of one movie is better than the other one. Because the music for each movie is created for that movie, for that situation and it is tailor made. So is Swades music better or worse than Taal music? How would you compare? Taal must have sold more CDs than Swades but it is because of Taal had the kind of music which will be liked by most of the people. There is a song for every kind of listenener. It was designed that way to reach as many people as possible. But for Swades, the music is much more mature keeping in line with the script. There are many people who feel Swades music is superior to Taal music. Taal music was popular because of the kind of movie it was.
So I think you cannot compare the music score of one movie to another and say one is better than the other. Slumdog's music was created for that subject, according to the way the director wanted it and for the situations in that movie. It fitted the bill perfectly. This music has been liked by millions of people the world over and all the awards that he got is because of that. Noone was being generous in giving away the awards.
I think there cannot be a yardstick which will tell you if the music of one movie is better than the other one. Because the music for each movie is created for that movie, for that situation and it is tailor made. So is Swades music better or worse than Taal music? How would you compare? Taal must have sold more CDs than Swades but it is because of Taal had the kind of music which will be liked by most of the people. There is a song for every kind of listenener. It was designed that way to reach as many people as possible. But for Swades, the music is much more mature keeping in line with the script. There are many people who feel Swades music is superior to Taal music. Taal music was popular because of the kind of movie it was.
So I think you cannot compare the music score of one movie to another and say one is better than the other. Slumdog's music was created for that subject, according to the way the director wanted it and for the situations in that movie. It fitted the bill perfectly. This music has been liked by millions of people the world over and all the awards that he got is because of that. Noone was being generous in giving away the awards.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
It is finally Jai Ho! for AR Rahman
We finally broke the glass ceiling this time with Rahman and Resul winning the Oscar awards this year. Bhanu Athaya is the only other person to have received the Oscar before and that was for the Makeup. My hearty congratulations to both Rahman and Resul.
As an avid AR Rahman fan, I feel even more elated that he has got this award. This unassuming, calm, soft-spoken, shy, god fearing, passionate musician deserved this award for all that he has done so far to the music world. He has single handedly changed the way music is made and now every other musician follows him. He has had a tremendous consistent success rate. Roja was released in 1992 and today it is 2009. For 17 years he has consistently given high quality music and he has always pushed the envelope.
I also would congratulate his mother. I think his success is partly because of her. So it is finally Jai Ho to AR Rahman!!!!
As an avid AR Rahman fan, I feel even more elated that he has got this award. This unassuming, calm, soft-spoken, shy, god fearing, passionate musician deserved this award for all that he has done so far to the music world. He has single handedly changed the way music is made and now every other musician follows him. He has had a tremendous consistent success rate. Roja was released in 1992 and today it is 2009. For 17 years he has consistently given high quality music and he has always pushed the envelope.
I also would congratulate his mother. I think his success is partly because of her. So it is finally Jai Ho to AR Rahman!!!!
Saturday, January 17, 2009
An Eventful year so far....
Two weeks ago, we were in the holiday mood, everything was slow, people were in hibernation. As soon as the calendar showed January 1st, things have picked up fast as if somebody has turned on a switch. People are coming out of slumber and lots of events have happened. Today is the seventeenth day of this year only, but so much has happened so far.
To start with there was Satyam Fiasco. We thought we are through with the frauds after the Madoff one, but we were in for a rude shock. No one ever expected such a big company to be in the bad news. Satyam like so many other Indian companies was one of the reasons why India and Indians are being recognized and respected all over the world. This fiasco has taken a huge beating on India's image. I only wish that the companies do not paint India with the same brush as Satyam.
I was also reading about some other ponzi scheme in US, though I do not have much details. I think India Inc. as a group should treat this as their problem and work towards repairing our country's image. If you think about it, it is not just Satyam's problem, it is every Indian's problem.
On the India-Pakistan front, there has been a huge diplomatic effort by India to deal with Pakistan on the Mumbai attacks. Even before when people were debating whether we should go for war, I supported diplomacy over war. And I think our government is doing the right thing. But the pace has been slow. I think the governments should not communicate thru the media. One day we feel like there has been a movement in the process and someone from India or Pakistan gives a controversial statement and we start fighting over it. The governments should communicate thru their diplomatic channels.
Finally it looks like the war in Gaza is coming to an end as both the parties are talking about a ceasefire and the number of rocket launches have come down. In America, there is a lot of enthusiasm about Obama's inauguration. Obama took the ceremonial train ride from Philadelphia to Washington, DC emulating Abraham Lincoln's historic train journey during his inauguration.
While on the topic of enthusiasm and hope, we Indians had a moment of joy, pride and hope when AR Rahman won the golden globe award for Slumdog Millionaire. Shah Rukh Khan was invited to introduce the movie and the movie won four major awards. This is a very good sign for India because I think more and more people will make movies about India, using Indian technicians and probably one of our movies will get a Best Film award. At least the door has opened. Major American studios have started investing in Indian movies. Warner brothers have invested and are distributing "ChandniChowk To China". That means this movie will be released in the regular American theaters. As more and more studios start distributing our movies, very soon we will be able to watch an Indian movie near our house. I am waiting to see that day.
To start with there was Satyam Fiasco. We thought we are through with the frauds after the Madoff one, but we were in for a rude shock. No one ever expected such a big company to be in the bad news. Satyam like so many other Indian companies was one of the reasons why India and Indians are being recognized and respected all over the world. This fiasco has taken a huge beating on India's image. I only wish that the companies do not paint India with the same brush as Satyam.
I was also reading about some other ponzi scheme in US, though I do not have much details. I think India Inc. as a group should treat this as their problem and work towards repairing our country's image. If you think about it, it is not just Satyam's problem, it is every Indian's problem.
On the India-Pakistan front, there has been a huge diplomatic effort by India to deal with Pakistan on the Mumbai attacks. Even before when people were debating whether we should go for war, I supported diplomacy over war. And I think our government is doing the right thing. But the pace has been slow. I think the governments should not communicate thru the media. One day we feel like there has been a movement in the process and someone from India or Pakistan gives a controversial statement and we start fighting over it. The governments should communicate thru their diplomatic channels.
Finally it looks like the war in Gaza is coming to an end as both the parties are talking about a ceasefire and the number of rocket launches have come down. In America, there is a lot of enthusiasm about Obama's inauguration. Obama took the ceremonial train ride from Philadelphia to Washington, DC emulating Abraham Lincoln's historic train journey during his inauguration.
While on the topic of enthusiasm and hope, we Indians had a moment of joy, pride and hope when AR Rahman won the golden globe award for Slumdog Millionaire. Shah Rukh Khan was invited to introduce the movie and the movie won four major awards. This is a very good sign for India because I think more and more people will make movies about India, using Indian technicians and probably one of our movies will get a Best Film award. At least the door has opened. Major American studios have started investing in Indian movies. Warner brothers have invested and are distributing "ChandniChowk To China". That means this movie will be released in the regular American theaters. As more and more studios start distributing our movies, very soon we will be able to watch an Indian movie near our house. I am waiting to see that day.
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