Update on star bloggers

More celebrities join the 'star bloggers' list:
Shekar Kapur - http://www.shekharkapur.com/blog/welcome.htm
Karan Johar - http://www.mynameiskaran.com/

My 'Special' Music Chart Topper..

This time I have only one special song, that tops my music chart.
* SONG -> (MOVIE/ALBUM, LANGUAGE, SINGER, MUSIC DIRECTOR)
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* Sahana -> (Sivaji - The BOSS, Tamil, Udit Narayan and Chinmayi, A R Rahman)

Bawarchi - tastes good!

Bawarchi - is one of the Hrishikesh Mukherjee's classics that I wanted to watch from a long time, but somehow had not managed to. I caught up with it on a late Saturday night, being aired on SET MAX. I have heard and read a lot about this classic movie and was all excited. So was I disappointed? Well, Hrishikesh Mukherjee had cooked a sumptuous feast, good on mind and health, with no extra garnish of garam masala. It was a fantastic fare.

It has a novel starting, with no title cards to display but a narrator gives the details of film's crew.

We have this story of the loud and squabbling Sharma family in their home, ironically named 'Shanti Nivas', who are in constant search for a new cook, as every other person who is employed in household seems to pack his/her bags in a few days unable to bear its occupants' attitudes. Enter Raghu [Rajesh Khanna], a simple looking 'Bawarchi' - cook, who seems to know everything under the sun from algebra to music and of course the right cuisines to pamper the taste buds of Sharma family. He then goes on to analyze and solve the disputes in the family, and preach the family members to enjoy the simple moments in life. In between he does stare intently at the jewel box that is so closely guarded by the head of the family, which adds the suspense factor in the movie. The story, screenplay and the dialogues are simple and realistic with the usual trademark of the Hrishikesh Mukherjee films. The characters are sketched out as the next door family people with no super heroism to display. Finally all is well that ends well, with a message to the society on how to live happily with the family members. Others in the cast include A K Hangal, Jaya Badhuri, Asrani and Durga Khote.

Great movie that makes you think of why you don’t get to see such movies being made nowadays. Splendid Hrishikesh Mukherjee classic! A must watch!

BOND will be back in NOV - 2008

The official teaser of the next BOND adventure, Quantum of Solace, is out.
Watch it here.

Spiced up and serverd HOT !

News channels in all languages are going over the board to create a sensation even with a small bit of information they gather. Recent examples are the parallel investigation of the Arushi murder case and the communalization of the Amarnath land issue. Letting know what is happening is good, but going further and telling people 'what they think happened' is not right. The reason the private news channels gained popularity over the national news bulletin, in their initial days is due to the fact that they were ready to bring out issues and matters that sometimes were suppressed in the government run national channel owing to political compulsions. But things have changed a lot in both the camps and the private players have, unfortunately, opted for sensationalism.

When the public do have a right to know what is happening, it is not right on the part of the news channel to air their own 'version' of the story sometimes camouflaged as a 'Scoop' or 'inside source revelation'.

The news channels should be aware that media has the power to ignite the minds of thousands of its viewers. It should act responsibly and not over sensationalize any matter. The Arushi murder case is the most shocking incident where the news channels are carrying out various theories of their own and even dramatizing them for the benefit of the viewers. This might even affect the course of normal justice while the matter is still sub judice.

The news channels are in constant search for a sensational subject and when they get one, they drop unceremoniously the current one they are pursuing. Stamp paper scam kingpin Telgi was dropped suddenly for the death of the kolkata man Rizwanur Rehman and suddenly his story is not heard at all and the kidney racket accused Dr. Amit kumar's face is all over the screen for few days only to be dropped suddenly and the limelight is now focused on Arushi and Shinjini. This shows the real concern of reporting the truth to the public. These news channels are responsible for making a short term public hero of previously unheard people, and sometimes even for the wrong reasons.

Considering all this, I would prefer the old fashioned 80's Doordarshan 9 PM news, where the news bulletin is subjective and no additional investigation or probe goes in from the bulletin board. Matter of fact - this happened at this place when these people were there and now the matter is in court with the next hearing on a given date - and nothing more. I would be happy with that now.

Hope the news channels realize the same and stop over-doing it, each and every time something happens.