One thing that bothers me is the inability of our countrymen to follow rules of any kind. We boast of a 4000 year old civilization but our conduct today is definitely barbaric. So while India is shining, we as a people have sunk to the depths of bad behaviour.
We spit, pee & defecate openly in public places. We litter at will. And these are people who claim to want to join the army as it signifies the ultimate patriotic thing to do. These are literate people from CBSE schools who were taught moral science & civics in school.
We insist on cutting lanes, taking illegal short-cuts, one-ways etc to save minuscule amounts of time/fuel. This only points towards either an illiterate or an inconsiderate mindset. I really wonder how we call ourselves superior as a race/civilization to the Brits or the Yanks. They're incredibly considerate people.
I know some of my fellow bloggers who're far more active & therefore far better networked than I am. I wish some of them would take this up as a social cause in their respective cities, and help make Indians more rule-compliant. It's going to come through better understanding and more civic policing. Any ideas on this are more than welcome.
Sunday, December 17, 2006
Friday, December 01, 2006
More ridiculing hindi movies...
Very funny forward that I received. Am reproducing here for your consumption...
This is what would happen if a Hindi movie director was to direct Spiderman....
This is what would happen if a Hindi movie director was to direct Spiderman....
Sunday, June 11, 2006
More Proof that Dr. Singh is the Messiah
When a publication of the calibre of the Economist says says it, you have to believe it:
http://www.nasscom.in/Nasscom/templates/NormalPage.aspx?id=43359
Keep this Government in Power, if you want a more prosperous India. An India with better infrastructure & better education. An India with greater social equality.
If you cannot see how that is true, you MUST BE Blind!
http://www.nasscom.in/Nasscom/templates/NormalPage.aspx?id=43359
Keep this Government in Power, if you want a more prosperous India. An India with better infrastructure & better education. An India with greater social equality.
If you cannot see how that is true, you MUST BE Blind!
Saturday, May 13, 2006
Moving Cities...
For the longest time, I said (and believed) that I would never move out of Bombay. My arguments were logically perfect - Which other city offers you similar job oportunities, or entertainment opportunities, the late nights, the bindaas people...?
But I hadn't taken fate into account. Nor the changing face of our cities. Nor my changing priorities.
I moved to Pune last week to take up a job. This was purely a career decision, but Bombay's deteriorating roads & traffic had been frustrating me immensely for the past year. A piddly 4 lane road masquerades as the Western Express Highway, totally ill-equipped to deal with the burgeoning vehicular population. Add to that the auto-wallahs predilection for cutting in front of your car at the slightest opportunity. Driving in the city had gotten increasingly annoying, and my road rage was at it's maximum. I really believe that a city like Bombay that is the financial capital of the country, investment hub for global companies and a city that is showcased to the world should have world class facilities. Instead what it has is global prices & small city amenities! My beloved Bombay had deteriorated so much over the past few years that I was tired of it. I think the last straw was approaching the National Park Flyover in Borivili at 80 kmph and seeing the ambling backside an elephant looming up in front of my car! I really lost it that day! This kind of stuff happens in rural India not in India's Premier City!!!
I'd seen Pune earlier and didn't mind it. It's made up primarily of educated, polite, non shiv sena Maharashtrian Brahmins. It's an education centre that is happily tolerant with it's numerous beef burger outlets. I was worried about it's narrower lanes & crazy two wheeler traffic but I wasn't too worried because I'd have to take the highway to work. But nothing had prepared me for the small town mindset of it's migrant population. Every single day to work & back, I have to brake suddenly at 90 kmph because a dark shape on a poorly lit highway runs across the highway! Not to mention the motorcyclists who believe they have right of way. They'll cut in front of you without using indicators, without consulting their rearview mirrors (if they have any)! I'm really sick of rural India's flagrant disregard for Rules of all kinds!
We had to get the Aquaguard installed. The guy called to say he'll be home in an hour. When he didn't turn up, we called him up & he claimed to be extremely busy and said he couldn't come. We threatened to complain & his words were "Go complain all you like"! This is a mindset common to Pune-ites at all levels. Call Centre agents, Team Leaders, Assistant Managers. The ambition and drive that you see in Bombay is sorely lacking.
But I guess, this is another experience that I will have to learn to live with. At least until Bombay sorts it's infrastructure problem out.
But I hadn't taken fate into account. Nor the changing face of our cities. Nor my changing priorities.
I moved to Pune last week to take up a job. This was purely a career decision, but Bombay's deteriorating roads & traffic had been frustrating me immensely for the past year. A piddly 4 lane road masquerades as the Western Express Highway, totally ill-equipped to deal with the burgeoning vehicular population. Add to that the auto-wallahs predilection for cutting in front of your car at the slightest opportunity. Driving in the city had gotten increasingly annoying, and my road rage was at it's maximum. I really believe that a city like Bombay that is the financial capital of the country, investment hub for global companies and a city that is showcased to the world should have world class facilities. Instead what it has is global prices & small city amenities! My beloved Bombay had deteriorated so much over the past few years that I was tired of it. I think the last straw was approaching the National Park Flyover in Borivili at 80 kmph and seeing the ambling backside an elephant looming up in front of my car! I really lost it that day! This kind of stuff happens in rural India not in India's Premier City!!!
I'd seen Pune earlier and didn't mind it. It's made up primarily of educated, polite, non shiv sena Maharashtrian Brahmins. It's an education centre that is happily tolerant with it's numerous beef burger outlets. I was worried about it's narrower lanes & crazy two wheeler traffic but I wasn't too worried because I'd have to take the highway to work. But nothing had prepared me for the small town mindset of it's migrant population. Every single day to work & back, I have to brake suddenly at 90 kmph because a dark shape on a poorly lit highway runs across the highway! Not to mention the motorcyclists who believe they have right of way. They'll cut in front of you without using indicators, without consulting their rearview mirrors (if they have any)! I'm really sick of rural India's flagrant disregard for Rules of all kinds!
We had to get the Aquaguard installed. The guy called to say he'll be home in an hour. When he didn't turn up, we called him up & he claimed to be extremely busy and said he couldn't come. We threatened to complain & his words were "Go complain all you like"! This is a mindset common to Pune-ites at all levels. Call Centre agents, Team Leaders, Assistant Managers. The ambition and drive that you see in Bombay is sorely lacking.
But I guess, this is another experience that I will have to learn to live with. At least until Bombay sorts it's infrastructure problem out.
Tuesday, April 11, 2006
The Enemy Within...
India's biggest enemies aren't Pakistan & China. Although our crooked politicians (who have contributed in good measure to our winning a dishonourable mention in the list of Most Corrupt Nations), would loudly stress that that was indeed the case.
India's biggest enemies are it's social ills (but not one politician has the b*lls to put it to India's populace in those words), and the perpetrators of these social ills, our illiterate multitudes.
And if India is to become a safer, better place to live in, we need to battle this enemy first. If our cities are to feature higher on the list of most livable cities, we must have a populace teeming with knowledge awareness & better manners. The more paan stains we have on our walls & roads, the worse we will fare on international lists.
And this will not come about by embracing all that is ancient Indian as cultural heritage & treating it as sacred. This will come about by moving on from and by discarding ancient, obsolete customs and embracing new world orders.
And that will come about by going into the villages & teaching children & adults alike about what is happening in the modern world. And by changing the medium of instruction to a language that is far more modern in content & context.
Unfortunately a majority of the Indian population is anti-progress. They're anti-MNC, anti-globalization, anti-English education. Their pro-Swadeshi stand is misplaced patriotism. They listen to the wrong sort of leaders and cannot see that the only people who benefit from the populace remaining uneducated are corrupt rulers. (God...! There are so many things to thank for the Congress' being in power instead of the pro-retard (pun intended) BJP!)
Watch the news & you see a posse of Lucknow policemen beating the crap out of a single helpless student. And this is something the news doesn't need to show us. Everyday we see the illiterate policemen vent their frustrations on the hapless public they're supposed to serve in the first place. Why are incidents like this so much rarer in the Western world?
42,000 security personnel are being deployed to ensure smooth assembly elections in 3 Indian states. Why does India need 42,000 security personnel to be deployed during elections?
Read the newspapers and you read about Salman Khan getting 5 years in jail for killing deer sacred to a backward, minisicule community of Rajasthan. Poaching in India is on the rise, and it's common knowledge that poachers are getting away scot-free. But Salman & Pataudi are in jail. 2 poaching convictions will earn this executive & judiciary, respect in my eyes? Never! Their success with the other 40,000 poaching cases will! Their successful conviction of the murderer in the Jessica Lall case will! How do such petty issues assume greater importance that far bigger issues? How is my country so corrupt?
People spit on our streets & walls, people pee & shit on streets & walls in a country that where Cleanliness is next to Godliness. Where Brahmins needed to bathe if they ever got touched by the person of a Shudra (a menial worker).
Eve teasing & rape is rampant in a country whose "culture" boasts of worshipping women as Goddesses!
And nobody even steps up to stop & correct the offenders! So much for nationalist pride.
I'd really like to see advani take up issues like this on his so called "Bharat Suraksha" rath yatra. Their version of nationlist pride is jingoism! And everyone who opposes them probably has the right version in their heads. These are the people with whom hope for the nation lies.
There is another enemy within. Misguided individuals who take the wrong approach to bringing about change. I have dear friends who fall into this category. Friends who I love for a lot of other things, but cannot bear to see them mouth misguided lies. Imagine an educated, Bombay bred, pet loving individual loudly stating that Mahatma Gandhi was an ass & in part responsible for India's woes!!! Also stating that the only way to fix things was to work from within the system, with the corrupt bastards ensuring that they get their cut!!!
How does that change the system? How does that make our country less corrupt?
I wish my friends would respect their education and realize that historically any change that has come about has come about by a revolution. A sudden change that overthrows the existing system! The French & the Russian Revolutions, the American Civil War, Bhutto's ouster, Zia's controversial death, and Mush's bloodless but successful coup d'état... all change has come about through sudden not gradual revolt!
That is the need of the hour. And the only people who can & will bring about this change are people like us: educated, exposed youth. We cannot afford to fall prey to the beliefs espoused by the men who want the system to stay intact! Our future & the future of our coming generations rests on individuals who will bring about a revolution! Anyone who claims otherwise is inadvertenly becoming The Enemy Within!
India's biggest enemies are it's social ills (but not one politician has the b*lls to put it to India's populace in those words), and the perpetrators of these social ills, our illiterate multitudes.
And if India is to become a safer, better place to live in, we need to battle this enemy first. If our cities are to feature higher on the list of most livable cities, we must have a populace teeming with knowledge awareness & better manners. The more paan stains we have on our walls & roads, the worse we will fare on international lists.
And this will not come about by embracing all that is ancient Indian as cultural heritage & treating it as sacred. This will come about by moving on from and by discarding ancient, obsolete customs and embracing new world orders.
And that will come about by going into the villages & teaching children & adults alike about what is happening in the modern world. And by changing the medium of instruction to a language that is far more modern in content & context.
Unfortunately a majority of the Indian population is anti-progress. They're anti-MNC, anti-globalization, anti-English education. Their pro-Swadeshi stand is misplaced patriotism. They listen to the wrong sort of leaders and cannot see that the only people who benefit from the populace remaining uneducated are corrupt rulers. (God...! There are so many things to thank for the Congress' being in power instead of the pro-retard (pun intended) BJP!)
Watch the news & you see a posse of Lucknow policemen beating the crap out of a single helpless student. And this is something the news doesn't need to show us. Everyday we see the illiterate policemen vent their frustrations on the hapless public they're supposed to serve in the first place. Why are incidents like this so much rarer in the Western world?
42,000 security personnel are being deployed to ensure smooth assembly elections in 3 Indian states. Why does India need 42,000 security personnel to be deployed during elections?
Read the newspapers and you read about Salman Khan getting 5 years in jail for killing deer sacred to a backward, minisicule community of Rajasthan. Poaching in India is on the rise, and it's common knowledge that poachers are getting away scot-free. But Salman & Pataudi are in jail. 2 poaching convictions will earn this executive & judiciary, respect in my eyes? Never! Their success with the other 40,000 poaching cases will! Their successful conviction of the murderer in the Jessica Lall case will! How do such petty issues assume greater importance that far bigger issues? How is my country so corrupt?
People spit on our streets & walls, people pee & shit on streets & walls in a country that where Cleanliness is next to Godliness. Where Brahmins needed to bathe if they ever got touched by the person of a Shudra (a menial worker).
Eve teasing & rape is rampant in a country whose "culture" boasts of worshipping women as Goddesses!
And nobody even steps up to stop & correct the offenders! So much for nationalist pride.
I'd really like to see advani take up issues like this on his so called "Bharat Suraksha" rath yatra. Their version of nationlist pride is jingoism! And everyone who opposes them probably has the right version in their heads. These are the people with whom hope for the nation lies.
There is another enemy within. Misguided individuals who take the wrong approach to bringing about change. I have dear friends who fall into this category. Friends who I love for a lot of other things, but cannot bear to see them mouth misguided lies. Imagine an educated, Bombay bred, pet loving individual loudly stating that Mahatma Gandhi was an ass & in part responsible for India's woes!!! Also stating that the only way to fix things was to work from within the system, with the corrupt bastards ensuring that they get their cut!!!
How does that change the system? How does that make our country less corrupt?
I wish my friends would respect their education and realize that historically any change that has come about has come about by a revolution. A sudden change that overthrows the existing system! The French & the Russian Revolutions, the American Civil War, Bhutto's ouster, Zia's controversial death, and Mush's bloodless but successful coup d'état... all change has come about through sudden not gradual revolt!
That is the need of the hour. And the only people who can & will bring about this change are people like us: educated, exposed youth. We cannot afford to fall prey to the beliefs espoused by the men who want the system to stay intact! Our future & the future of our coming generations rests on individuals who will bring about a revolution! Anyone who claims otherwise is inadvertenly becoming The Enemy Within!
Wednesday, April 05, 2006
PIL against the NDA regime for Tampering with History
Doesn't it offend enough sensibilities that the BJP-led NDA regime attempted to tamper with History??? They changed History text books in order to brainwash an entire generation. And they've gotten away scot-free!!!
Come on! It's vital that this gets done! Someone should put a stop to this NONSENSE!!!
- Why hasn't someone filed a PIL?
- Why hasn't the NCERT filed a case?
- Why hasn't this matter been taken to the judiciary?
Come on! It's vital that this gets done! Someone should put a stop to this NONSENSE!!!
Reasons why the BJP deserves to fail
It's strange that in our country, whenever a social movement happens it's initiated by individuals like Medha Patkar or by various NGOs. Whether it is tackling the issue of caste killings in Bihar & Madhya Pradesh or it's the problem of Sati in Rajasthan or the issue of rampant rapes all over India; these social evils are being fought by NGOs. So called "Samaaj Sudhaar" organizations like the RSS or it's political front the BJP are nowhere in the picture. When it comes to contributing the improving the social lot of Indians, there seems to be no contribution from the BJP. They simply allow the evils to remain, letting the local police battle it out with no support even if they're the ruling regime.
In contrast the Congress focuses on Education at the grassroots level, more schools, grants to NGOs fighting these causes. The difference between the commitment to India is obvious from the electoral agendas of both parties & also by comparing the list of achievements of both parties while they were in power.
The Congress' approach is long term but one that will hopefully yield results once all of India is educated & developed. Once the common man is educated enough & is more economic-progress focused, he will be able to see through the antics of the BJP. That day, the BJP will be reduced to a 10 member has-been, struggling with very limited appeal, garnering 2 seats like the erstwhile
Muslim League.
I have a theory that excites me no end... Every communal voice in India eventually faces defeat & oblivion. Jaspal Rana, former ace shooter, Nitish Bhardwaj, former TV-Krishna and a couple of others joined the BJP. Despicable I thought at the time. But what gladdens the heart is the fact that today, no one knows where they are! India's ace shooters today are Samaresh Jang & Major Raghavendra Rathore. Men with no evinced political leanings. In contrast, Megastar Amitabh Bachchan joined politics and failed, but he returned to be as successful as he was earlier. The shiv sena has already faced an in-house revolt and is on it's way down. HKL bhagat has already been found guilty of instigating the 1984 anti-Sikh riots. (On that note, I'm convinced that one day narendra modi too will be indicted for the Gujarat carnage)
I like this train of thought. If my guess is right, the likes of dharmendra, vinod khanna & smriti irani are going to disappear into nothingness very soon. Forgotten!!!
In contrast the Congress focuses on Education at the grassroots level, more schools, grants to NGOs fighting these causes. The difference between the commitment to India is obvious from the electoral agendas of both parties & also by comparing the list of achievements of both parties while they were in power.
The Congress' approach is long term but one that will hopefully yield results once all of India is educated & developed. Once the common man is educated enough & is more economic-progress focused, he will be able to see through the antics of the BJP. That day, the BJP will be reduced to a 10 member has-been, struggling with very limited appeal, garnering 2 seats like the erstwhile
Muslim League.
I have a theory that excites me no end... Every communal voice in India eventually faces defeat & oblivion. Jaspal Rana, former ace shooter, Nitish Bhardwaj, former TV-Krishna and a couple of others joined the BJP. Despicable I thought at the time. But what gladdens the heart is the fact that today, no one knows where they are! India's ace shooters today are Samaresh Jang & Major Raghavendra Rathore. Men with no evinced political leanings. In contrast, Megastar Amitabh Bachchan joined politics and failed, but he returned to be as successful as he was earlier. The shiv sena has already faced an in-house revolt and is on it's way down. HKL bhagat has already been found guilty of instigating the 1984 anti-Sikh riots. (On that note, I'm convinced that one day narendra modi too will be indicted for the Gujarat carnage)
I like this train of thought. If my guess is right, the likes of dharmendra, vinod khanna & smriti irani are going to disappear into nothingness very soon. Forgotten!!!
Isn't our police force over-stressed?
Heard on the news that the Bombay Police was instructed to investigate the Wardrobe Malfunction at the Bombay LIFW.
Aren't their unsolved Murder cases to solve, missing people to find, intelligence to collect on possible terrorist activities? Don't constables die on duty due to overwork?
Didn't wardrobe malfunctions happen in America? Why doesn't the local police there investigate them? I wonder... Ah! I know! Because they're more focused on letting the police fight real crime. And the Govt. is focused on economic progress instead of protecting archaic laws!
What rubbish!!! The Govt. should be ashamed!
Aren't their unsolved Murder cases to solve, missing people to find, intelligence to collect on possible terrorist activities? Don't constables die on duty due to overwork?
Didn't wardrobe malfunctions happen in America? Why doesn't the local police there investigate them? I wonder... Ah! I know! Because they're more focused on letting the police fight real crime. And the Govt. is focused on economic progress instead of protecting archaic laws!
What rubbish!!! The Govt. should be ashamed!
Why Sunil More should've gotten life!
12 years & a fine of approximately Rs. 26,000 is hardly enough punishment for a crime as heinous as rape. And since sunil more was a policeman, the punishment should be harsher. After all the Army doesn't rest at courtmartial. It tries & punishes as well. Similarly more should be tried not only as a civilian but also as a policeman and should get a combined much larger sentence. Life wouldn've been apt.
After all the victim is going to carry the trauma with her throughout life, so why should sunil more get off ofter 12 years?
After all the victim is going to carry the trauma with her throughout life, so why should sunil more get off ofter 12 years?
Sunday, March 26, 2006
Bastard Indian Copycats!!!
The one reason why I love Hollywood movies so much & have so much contempt for everything Bollywood is this: Creativity in Mainstream Indian Cinema is Dead. All these so-called Big Banners do is COPY! And they do it so unabashedly. They don't even feel shame at proclaiming themselves as being in the Creative Arts! This is largely the brand of Indian that walks the Earth today: A Lying, Cheating, Unembarrassed Scumbag!
If this post gets read, I'm sure it will ruffle a few feathers, but I dare anyone to prove me wrong. I've heard generalizations are inaccurate (and I agree), but when I say largely I know for a fact that I'm right. Here's a list of why I think so:
Almost every single superhit movie in the past couple of years is aped from the West. Here are a few examples:
The "respectable" Yashraj banner:
Darr: copied from Cape Fear
Hum Tum: copied from When Harry met Sally
Salaam Namaste: copied from 9 Months
Dhoom: copied from The Fast & the Furious
Bunty & Babli: copied from Bonnie & Clyde
The storylines where altered imperceptibly, changing the ends here & there to give it an original feel to them. This is the same Yash Chopra who made Waqt & Deewar...? I'm beginning to wonder. Maybe they were copies too!
David Dhawan:
Mujhse Shaadi Karogi: copy of not one but TWO movies!!! It's a mash of Meet the Parents & Anger Management! I'm pretty sure they're all copies of some movie or the other.
Taxi # 9211: copied from Changing Lanes; and I'm sure anything Mr. Rohan Sippy will produce going forward will be copied or "inspired" from Hollywood.
Sanjay Gupta & Abbas-Mustan (Baazgar=A Kiss before Dying) I'm not commenting on since they are INCAPABLE of original storylines or anything that even remotely resembles creativity. All their crap is aped shamelessly from someone or the other.
And it doesn't stop at film. It extends to TV as well! Jassi, Indian Idol & KBC are legtimate, liscenced copies of the original, but there are copies of English, British & even Spanish soaps competing with Ekta Kapoor's tearjerkers. Right from Zabaan Sambhalke then to Ek Ladki Anjaani Si now. Jet, Set, Go & Business Baazigar(!!!???), are inane copies of the Amazing Race & The Apprentice!!!
This blatant plagiarism reeks of a lack of self respect & a total lack of respect for the image of the Motherland! As long as they're dishing out whatever the audience wants, the makers & the actors have no qualms.
And the media is equally to blame. Instead of interviewing & glorifying the gutsy likes of Nagesh Kukunoor, Ashutosh Gowarikar & Govind Nihalani, they take interviews of idiots like Shahrukh Khan & Ekta Kapoor. Instead of calling the likes of Rakeysh O. Mehra & Aamir Khan the Kings of Bollywood, the bestow these epithets on those with far poorer wares like Shahrukh & Karan Johar! Instead of influencing public thought & opinion, they pander to popular taste.
Disgusting times we live in!
If this post gets read, I'm sure it will ruffle a few feathers, but I dare anyone to prove me wrong. I've heard generalizations are inaccurate (and I agree), but when I say largely I know for a fact that I'm right. Here's a list of why I think so:
Almost every single superhit movie in the past couple of years is aped from the West. Here are a few examples:
The "respectable" Yashraj banner:
Darr: copied from Cape Fear
Hum Tum: copied from When Harry met Sally
Salaam Namaste: copied from 9 Months
Dhoom: copied from The Fast & the Furious
Bunty & Babli: copied from Bonnie & Clyde
The storylines where altered imperceptibly, changing the ends here & there to give it an original feel to them. This is the same Yash Chopra who made Waqt & Deewar...? I'm beginning to wonder. Maybe they were copies too!
David Dhawan:
Mujhse Shaadi Karogi: copy of not one but TWO movies!!! It's a mash of Meet the Parents & Anger Management! I'm pretty sure they're all copies of some movie or the other.
Taxi # 9211: copied from Changing Lanes; and I'm sure anything Mr. Rohan Sippy will produce going forward will be copied or "inspired" from Hollywood.
Sanjay Gupta & Abbas-Mustan (Baazgar=A Kiss before Dying) I'm not commenting on since they are INCAPABLE of original storylines or anything that even remotely resembles creativity. All their crap is aped shamelessly from someone or the other.
And it doesn't stop at film. It extends to TV as well! Jassi, Indian Idol & KBC are legtimate, liscenced copies of the original, but there are copies of English, British & even Spanish soaps competing with Ekta Kapoor's tearjerkers. Right from Zabaan Sambhalke then to Ek Ladki Anjaani Si now. Jet, Set, Go & Business Baazigar(!!!???), are inane copies of the Amazing Race & The Apprentice!!!
This blatant plagiarism reeks of a lack of self respect & a total lack of respect for the image of the Motherland! As long as they're dishing out whatever the audience wants, the makers & the actors have no qualms.
And the media is equally to blame. Instead of interviewing & glorifying the gutsy likes of Nagesh Kukunoor, Ashutosh Gowarikar & Govind Nihalani, they take interviews of idiots like Shahrukh Khan & Ekta Kapoor. Instead of calling the likes of Rakeysh O. Mehra & Aamir Khan the Kings of Bollywood, the bestow these epithets on those with far poorer wares like Shahrukh & Karan Johar! Instead of influencing public thought & opinion, they pander to popular taste.
Disgusting times we live in!
My Favourite Movies: 2
As I'd said in my earlier movie post, this list is bound to get extended.
I recently saw Rang De Basanti and it get's added to my list of favourites. I will classify it under my favourite patriotic movie. There're loads of Bhagat Singh biopics & Nana Patekar/Manoj Bajpai starrers, slogan peppered, with explosions & guns, and with semi-naked Indian girls gyrating to a western beat trying to stir up patriotic fervour in the last decade. But all of them put together couldn't do what a Rang De Basanti did in it's first week of release. When I say this I know that I'm not only speaking for myself; I couldn't sleep after the movie. I lay awake thinking about how futile my existence has been. About how I should stop cribbing about the state of my country & DO SOMETHING! Even if it takes doing what the protagonists in the movie do!
I have always maintained that Aamir Khan is probably the Best New Generation Star-Actor we've had in India for the last decade. His involvement with his films goes beyond acting. And all the film-makers who have signed him in recent times have finally delivered long-overdue winners: Gowarikar, Mathan, Farhan Akhtar and now Rakeysh O. Mehra! The entry of corporates into filmmaking has also made film-makers churn out movies that appeal to the educated class. It's a good sign & may it continue.
Here's to more great movies by Mr. Khan, Mr. Mehra & the likes of UTV.
I recently saw Rang De Basanti and it get's added to my list of favourites. I will classify it under my favourite patriotic movie. There're loads of Bhagat Singh biopics & Nana Patekar/Manoj Bajpai starrers, slogan peppered, with explosions & guns, and with semi-naked Indian girls gyrating to a western beat trying to stir up patriotic fervour in the last decade. But all of them put together couldn't do what a Rang De Basanti did in it's first week of release. When I say this I know that I'm not only speaking for myself; I couldn't sleep after the movie. I lay awake thinking about how futile my existence has been. About how I should stop cribbing about the state of my country & DO SOMETHING! Even if it takes doing what the protagonists in the movie do!
I have always maintained that Aamir Khan is probably the Best New Generation Star-Actor we've had in India for the last decade. His involvement with his films goes beyond acting. And all the film-makers who have signed him in recent times have finally delivered long-overdue winners: Gowarikar, Mathan, Farhan Akhtar and now Rakeysh O. Mehra! The entry of corporates into filmmaking has also made film-makers churn out movies that appeal to the educated class. It's a good sign & may it continue.
Here's to more great movies by Mr. Khan, Mr. Mehra & the likes of UTV.
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