Its 3 Boos for Bollywood this Diwali

3 blockbuster Bollywood movies released during the Diwali week and it seems none will be able to make the mark. Blue, a supposedly underwater action film with Akshay Kumar in the lead, should be a mascot for teaching how to squander money in Bollywood. Rs 100 crore spent on a brainless, scriptless, waste of money called Blue. Main aur Mrs Khanna, vindicates my stand of Kareena being a PR actor and Salman Khan having lost it( if he ever had it). All the Best, made by the director of Golmaal and Golmaal Returns (supposedly funny movies) seems to have notched higher ratings than the other two. All I can say is all the best to those who will spend their fortune to watch the movie in theatres.

Its sad to watch Bollywood still being riddled with the age old formula of making movies and not taking scripts seriously. And the so called coming of the age movies like Wake up Sid are far from reality. I was bored during the first 50 mins of the movie itself, especially after watching Konkana Sen's character Aisha, land up a job immediately after arriving in Mumbai, renting up a sea facing flat in town without having a job. Aisha keeps claiming that she is from a small town and yet has no qualms in roaming around on the streets of Mumbai in the middle of night with a stranger. Apart from our Bollywood movies, I have never seen anyone in Mumbai painting their own flats. If you believe Bollywood movies, painter bhiayyas in Mumbai would be soon running to their towns in UP , Bihar. And all this in first 50 mins of a coming of age movies which is hailed by critics. I adore the masala movies of Bollywood because atleast they abashedly claim that they are masala movies and dont pretend to be some great piece of art.

It seems Kareena's character in Main aur Mrs Khanna, lands up at Melbourne airport alone, decides to stay back, gets a job and owns a plus home too in the city. For someone who is trying to get a foothold in Melbourne for past 6-7 months, it makes me cringe. Most of the B-movies are far from reality which is ok with me as long as they are entertaining. But the movies being churned out these days, are made on lavish budgets, praised to galore during their irritating promotions and stick out as sore thumb later. When will the B-producers understand that a few song and dance, toilet humor, bikini heroine, designer costumes are seasonings added to the main dish of a script and not the other way round.

J&K cricketer demands apology...For what??

Everyone must be aware of the recent news about Parvez Rasool, a under-22 cricketer from J&K, who was detained and later released ( due to lack of evidence) after detectors found traces of RDX in his kit bag. Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association is now demanding an apology. And I am sure he will be given one due to pressure from political circles. But I dont understand why should he be given an apology? It was a routine check, suspicious items were detected in his bag and so he was detained for questioning. Any other player or human being would have gone through the same process. That he is a Kashmiri Muslim, is a co-incidence in this event.

But his being a Kashmiri Muslim gives perfect ammunition in the hands of politicians and extremists who will now use this incident to showcase harrassment by Indian police to Kashmiri Muslims. Which is clearly not the case here. Should the police have let go the man even if they found RDX traces in his bag? Is this what they want? Hundreds of people are arrested by the police in Maoist hit states as suspected terrorism for interrogation. But not much noise is made about them. But each time, after every terrorist attack, when Muslims are detained for interrogation, the police is always blamed for being biased. Isn't the security of the country and establishing ourselves as a safe sporting venue a bigger subject of national importance than such petty secular politics.

This is why the American security system, though under criticism for discriminatory practices, is respected also to some extent. For them their country's security is of utmost importance. You maybe India's biggest superstar but if you are under suspicion, you will be checked thoroughly. Looking at our fragile security network, its high time we stop treating individuals ( and this includes countries top politicians) with hand in gloves. The Indian law is supposed to be impartial towards its citizens, so lets respect that.

Why Raj Thackeray is an intelligent man?

Raj Thackeray did manage to comb out a controversy during the elections. His party MNS, tried to close down the screening of Wake up Sid because it referred Mumbai as Bombay. I have a few more suggestions for them. How about Bombay House ( Tata's headquarters)? Ratan Tata must be missing being harassed by Mamata Banerjee so Raj can fill the space. And also the famous restaurant chain, Bombay Blues. How did that miss Raj's eagle's eye? I am sure there might be a dozen more options, that Raj can explore in his quest to create a ruckus to garner Marathi votes.

Now, I would think that its so clear that Raj is playing petty politics and who would adhere to his silly tactics. But I am so wrong. If that would be the case, he would not have managed to build a strong enough base for fighting elections. I have heard Maharastrians defending him as they think of him as championing their cause. Once I was driving in Mumbai and had a small skirmish with an autorickshaw which had an old Maharastrian man as his passenger. The man started cursing me in chaste Marathi saying that my days are over and Raj Thackeray is soon going to drive me out of the city. I was dumbstruck, also because the driver was a 'bhaiiya'. And this man looked like an educated, middle class, well to do citizen.

So even if we might argue that Raj is being stupid, he is intelligent enough to know his target audience and know that he is hitting the nail on head. Many argue that his ways of doing it may not be noble, but what he says makes perfect sense because Maharastrians do feel left behind in Mumbai's progress. Now I would not agree to this, but I do agree that people get the government they deserve. Whether it is Mayawati or Raj Thackeray, they are in that position because people support them. As long as we let them exploit our feelings, they will happily oblige.

What's wrong with China?

Everyday the Times of India headlines screams about some or the other non friendly news from the other side of the Chinese border. With one inauspicious news after another, I had almost started overlooking TOI's overzealous coverage of Chinese animosity. But this one really takes the cake. It opens your eyes to China's instigating measures towards India.

China has decided to issue “separate” visas to Indian passport holders from Jammu and Kashmir. Earlier too, it did the same thing for citizens of Arunachal Pradesh but this one clearly proves that China is hell bent on antagonizing India. The Ministry of External Affairs of India has threatened China that it will adopt a tit for tat policy for Tibetans if China didn't change it discriminating visa rules.

I feel its high time India goes ahead and does that. Firstly repeatedly Google does the 'mistake' of showing Arunachal Pradesh as a disputed territory or a Chinese territory. If AP is a disputed territory then how come Tibet is shown as a province of China? We need to assert ourselves in global arena if we want the world to take us seriously as an upcoming superpower. Otherwise we will be left issuing angry statements which no one cares about.

Are we a rich country?

Morgan Stanley is about to launch its prestigious Private Investment Club in India. It will only include individuals having a minimum investible surplus of $1billion. India is only the fifth country where Morgan Stanley is launching its club. Its existing only in US, UK, Hong Kong and Singapore. So should we feel privileged on behalf of the rich in the country? At first I did feel proud about the fact, but then I read a series of articles on the farmer suicides in Vidarbha.

According to Stats, a farmer in India commits suicide every 30 minutes(source: Rediff). Majority of these are in Vidarbha, which is part of one of the most prominent states of India. Relief packages have come and gone but nothing seems to end the woes of these farmers. We see a large number of articles in media on the fate of Vidarbha widows but do we see any action by the local politicians? Climate changes resulting in poor monsoons are resulting in failed crops, increasing the debt burden of the farmers, leaving them with no other option other than taking their own lives in hope of getting some compensation from the government for their kin.

So, next time we gloat over the increasing number of Indians in the prestigious lists of Forbes, Fortune, etc, lets spare a thought about the widening income gap between the rich and poor in India.

Rahul Gandhi becomes the target of a new sport played in India - stone pelting

Rahul Gandhi, on his recent austerity drive in Shatabdi Express, encountered an amusing incident which involved stone pelting on the coaches of the train near Panipat. The stones were not pelted by any terrorist organization or workers of a rival political party, but playfully by some children in the age group of 10-12. He would have now experienced the real woes of 'Aam aadami'.

Even though people maybe surprised by the new sport of stone pleting that 'youngistan' is practicing, me and people like me who travel frequently in Mumbai local trains are not. Children of slum dwellers who live adjacent to the railway line, frequently throw stones at the passengers travelling in trains as a source of entertainment. We have seen innumerable cases of commuters being hurt, especially during the Holi festival. A few commuters have also been blinded or seriously injured on their face causing them irreparable damage. But the authorities have done little to move the slum dwellers away from the railway line. Slums and politics go hand in hand in India and there is little place for the plight of daily commuters vis-a-vis electoral gains.

Hopefully, this incident will bring this matter to the forefront and put an end to the nuisance faced by millions of travelers daily. Next, I hope Rahul Gandhi travels in Mumbai or atleast lives in Mumbai for a week during peak rains. I am sure he will get a closer peek to 'aam aadmi's' life.

Austerity Drive by Government. How about Tee shirt and shorts for Ministers??

Few days back there was a funny forward making rounds which mocked the first day of Nandan Nilekani in the parliament. It was written as a mock blog penned by Nilekani after his first day at Parliament. The blog described how Nilekani was amused when he was chided by Azahruddin for wearing a suit in the parliament while others wore the Indian kurta pyajama. Azahar then offered Nilekani the services of his Italian designer who designs his Indian attire for the parliament. This may be a mock anecdote but fits so perfectly with the pseudo austerity psyche of the ministers.

The recent call by Sonia Gandhi to Congress ministry for austerity highlights this point. Tharoor and SM Krishna have been asked to vacate their 5 star accommodation to move to more humble dwellings. Tharoor immediately tweets that the money he spends is from his own pocket. As a Gen Y Indian I don't find anything wrong if Tharoor or anyone lives royally at their own expense. But what I hate is the show of austerity our netas display even when in reality they follow a immodest lifestyle. It demonstrates hypocrisy at its height. Also, lets not kid ourselves when they say that its their own wealth. We all know how their 'own' wealth is created.

The call to austerity is praiseworthy but I hope it encourages the ministers to change their way of living rather than treat it as a branding exercise.

A modest lifestyle looks real when ministers like Pranab Mukherjee and our PM Manmohan Singh follow it but looks like a publicity stunt when most of the others use it as a tool to enhance their public image. Just like ministers wearing khadi makes no sense to me. As long as they conduct their duties, I don't care if they wear a tee shirt and shorts in the Parliament. Its cheaper too!! Any takers for that??