3 Idiots-ism!

After a long hiatus,I am back with a new post on my blog.Lets not get into the reason for being away from blogging,probably would need a new post altogether for that:)Finally,I get something worthwhile for my blog and c-incidentally it turns out to be related to one of my favourite topics i.e movies.

So, its exactly been a month now that Bollywood got its biggest hit ever(thats what they claim),3 Idiots.The movie was anticipated for quite some time now and I like the above average movie buff I am,was damn excited to catch up.Unfortunately, could not watch the movie in the theater but the internet does make things very easy these days.So, is this post my review on 3-Idiots.Read on.

Film-making wise,Rajkumar Hirani's third movie does not quite match up to his Munnabhai Series movies,but like his previous two movies, does pass a strong message and prompts you into some soul-searching.Being an engineer myself,I could completely relate to most of the stuff shown in the movie.Adapted from the novel 5 point someone,the movie does manage to get into lot of intricacies of an engieer student.The soul-searching I would like to do myself here is,which of the 3 Idiots from the movie I am exactly!I honestly believe,that I am not probably completely like any of the 3 idiots.However,I think there is a bit of all the 3 idiots in me.For starters,frankly,I was always in bottom half of the class when it came to marks throughout my engineering(except for the last few sems).Now,reasons for this maybe somewhat similar to Raju's in the movie,high pressure on myself,high expectations from myself,being a good student all the time before that.There are at times in my life,when I am appreciated for my non-engineering skills,which probably for a second or two does put me into a thought that engineering was never for me!This establishes my relation with the second idiot i.eFarhan.No comes the star of the 3 Idiots,Rancho.Rancho excels in engineering,thats coz thats his passion.Now,even me,during my struggling days of engineering,there were many subjects where i really did not have to put efforts to excel in that.It quite came naturally to me.So,probably those subjects were really my passion!But probably,i never pursued or followed them:)

Its a totally different issue that today,the work I am doing is totally unrelated to what I studied in my 4 years of engineering.But,I can still say that I am proud of my engineering days and an very happy to be still associated with that,in whatever little relation it is:)I am glad that movies like 3-Idiots are being made and do raise questions about our education system,which maybe needs a huge overhaul soon.So while the whole of India and Indians all over the world start suffering from 3 Idiots-ism,I would like to end my post here by saying that next time when somebody calls you an 'Idiot',do not get offended.It might actually be a compliment:)

Tempted by the temptress:)

It's always great to speak with people who share your own passion for pizza.hence..i am nt going to mince any words.. n i am gnna srt reviewing right away.. This first part constitutes to what he thinks constitutes makes the perfect pizza. There are those versions of pizza, such as 'Temptations', that are influenced by emotional and atmospheric qualities that make them perfect within the situation in which they are devoured. Then there are those that are technically superior and, therefore, pizza paradigms.You can taste the "ball of fresh mozzarella (that) had melted into a semiliquid state, and the black truffle paste running through it in rivulets.Aker explained that he mixes all of his dough by hand.Honestly, I was astounded at their extensive knowledge about pizza. These guys know their stuff. Albert's side bar: That's how Chris Bianco makes his dough. By hand. Every bit.He makes it the day before and allows it to proof before being ready. He also makes all of his own mozzarella. He was proud of the fact that all of the pizzas contain locally grown ingredients.The wood fired oven uses kiawe wood from Molokai. Kiawe burns very hot, which is important. There really is an art to using a wood fired oven.After much discussion, our pizzas were ready."and for hours.. I had reached the Floodgates of a foodie's heaven.
The verdict: in a word: amazing. The crust is light with a slight burn. The tastes of the ingredients melded together to create a wonderful pizza.One word for it??AMAZING ..!!!

DEVD: OLD Wine in NEW Bottle!

Its been long that I had not come up with a post.The reason just being not getting anything inspiring enough.And now finally seem to have got a topic and invariably its turned out to be a movie.After all I am a bigtime movie buff,as one of my earlier posts mentioned.I know this post will turn out be a kinda review on the movie 'DEVD',but m sure its interesting enough to be written about.
Well,quite frankly,when I first saw the promos of DEVD on TV,I found them very weird but at the same time interesting.The director of the movie was Mr.Anurag Kashyap who had earlier made the intriguing BLACK FRIDAY and thrown a Brett Lee bouncer with NO SMOKING.I managed to skip NO SMOKING thankfully and was planning to do the same with DEVD as well.The movie released last week and the critics all over praised it like anything.Well,all the critics applauding a movie is still isnt a good enough reason to watch a movie in the theater.But a couple of my friends,who took a chance and went for the movie,were pleasantly surprised!!So,here was I,making a bold move and went into watch the movie and the experience wasnt that bad at all!So,I knew that DEVD is supposed to be a modern take on the age-old novel DEVDAS which had undergone numerous attyachaars earlier with as many as 13 films being already made on the same story.I had not catched up with any DEVDAS movie,not even the more popular Shahrukh's.But I just knew the basic premise of the story and I went in with least expectations.The story has a few changes I guess but the treatment is just fantastic and totally out of the box but yet real.The films is daringly different but yet at the same time it isnt too much experimental and arty.I wish the film was slightly more pacier especially the second half..The cinematography is excellent and the music is amazingly different.There are around 18 songs in the movie which keep going on in the background,though few songs do slow up the movie.The music of the film may not be something which you may listen to later on a CD or something,but then it just goes right with the movie and its mood.The performances of the lead actors is good.Abhay Deol as Dev is decent,though he has more expressions and actions than words.Mahi Gill as Paro is very good and reminds you of Tabu in many closeup shots and I wish she had got a bit more to do in the movie.Kalki Koechlin as Chanda is just average and could have been better,though her looks quite suit the role.The other supporting cast is also competent enough to make the movie engaging.Since the movie has got an 'A' certificate,its def not a movie which you can watch with kids(kids wont be allowed anyway,but U cant take them even if they do allow).It has got a lot of lust,not too much obscenity though and a hell lot of expletives.Overall,it was an enjoyable experience,for me atleast!
I would not go into the details of the story as it would lengthen by blog further and also,I would recommend you to watch it once.I am not sure if everyone would enjoy this movie,but what I would say is,u either hate it or love it,But you just cant ignore this one,If you really are a movie buff.So,go for it guys!

Terrorism:Another form of Cannibalism

Just look at the image to your left.Isnt it terrifying?If you ever happen to see a person like this,it can scare the hell out of you.Well,Mumbai,has battled with atleast 10 such men for around 70 hours and has come out triumphant.

Nov 26,just another normal day at work.I came back home,had my dinner and happened to see the winning moments of the cricket match.Since had missed most of the action,so thought of checking out some news.Just happened to see some BREAKING NEWS.There was some indiscriminate firing reported in southern part of the city.Initially,thought it was some maniac who had opened fire.But just held on the news for some more time and happened to realise that it was something much much bigger than anticipated.

Even though most of my friends and loved ones are not very much connected to south mumbai,but happened to check out with my friends about their safety and thankfully,everyone was safe.I went off to sleep quite reluctantly and got up the next morning and switched on the TV immediately to catch up with the news.By this time,the problem had become much much bigger than what it was last night.I decided to skip office and thought would work from home.I kept on watchin the news channel throughout,trying to know what exactly is going on.

The media was doing its job,trying to bring in the coverage each and every minute,at times,putting their own lives at risk.But however,they were indeed going a bit over the top,like the Indian media has been over the last few years.I think we really need to put a plug somehow on the media and we should try and monitor the content.But then,we have much bigger issues to handle currently.Whatever the media was showing,we could sense that just a group of 10 people,was creating mayhem in the city,holding one part of the city to ransom completely.All the visuals that were shown,bloodbath everywhere,smoke & fire flames fuming out of the country's two finest hotels,Taj & Oberoi,fierce gunbattle between the terrorists & our brave soldiers.Though,the news channels kept on showing the same thing again and again,I just kept on watching the same thing,just with that hope in my heart every minute,that the ordeal has ended now.But then,it was not meant to be so.I,along with millions of other Indians had to wait for around 70 hours to hear what we wanted to.We lost some of our fine men fighting for their nation and would like to salute them for their fighting spirit & sacrifice so that we would sleep peacefully.

Now,what is the purpose of terrorism?As the word says,its purpose is just to spread terror.I believe it is nothing but one more form of cannibalism.Infact cannibalism also has a much clearer motive,probably it is done to survive.But terrorism is a dastardly act which is now gripping the whole world now,particularly India.Mumbai in particular has been a big victim of terrorism in the last 2 decades.Now,who is responsible for this?This is one question for which no one has the answer.Well,a terrorist has no religion neither does terrorism.However,the people behind terrorism do use religion as a platform to do what they want to.What should be the punishment for such guys,if ever they are caught alive?Very rarely such guys are caught alive,but if they are indeed caught alive,like one has been in the recent mumbai attacks.Capital punishment is probably the highest punishment.But in such cases,I do not support capital punishment.Such guys should not be killed.Their hands,legs and private parts should be chopped off(Sorry for being so graphic) and they should be left to beg on the streets of Mumbai.They should be tortured day in and day out and just not be allowed to die.They are mentally prepared to die and are totally brainwashed.So they are actually not afraid to die and thats what we should not be doing.We should just make them starve for death.If human rights guys come in between,they should also be meted out such treatment.They all just deserve every bit of it.

The mood in Mumbai now is full of anger and rage.Everyone has been talking that now enough is enough,this is the limit.It is high time that our politicians are more accountable and answer to the people of this country and at least assure them safety of their lives.But unfortunately,it is not the same with policitians.They are more interested in earning brownie points for themselves,especially with the election coming soon.Most of our politicians are probably the worse in this world and can get to any extent for power.There are comments and statements coming in from may people that why are we blaming the politicians,when we are the ones who vote for them and elect them.But then what do we do?Do we really have the good leaders who would lead us?Are they really worth our votes?For a young citizen like me,it is totally a catch 22 situation.As a responsible citizen of this country,I do want to exercise my voting power and fulfil my responisbilty.But then,whom do I vote for,when I really do not trust any of them?However,that has not deterred me from voting so fan and I will continue to do so everytime,beacause I believe that my vote will make some difference.But then the time has come for us to introspect ourselves also.After the recent attacks,We all are now accusing of how the under-equipped our policemen are and how our politicians do not give a free-hand to our policemen.We were angry when the same politicians for criticising the policeman for his investigations are now offering money to his widow.I am not at all a supporter of politicians,but,how different are we from them?We are today making our policemen heroes and praising them for their valor.These are the same policemen who were panned badly sometime back,when they killed a youngster from bihar,who was wielding a gun in broad daylight in the ciyt of Mumbai.His intentions may not have been bad and unclear,he may not have killed anybody,he had a gun in his hand,damn it!If the policemen have taken the decision to shoot him,it must have been well thought out.Did we give a freehand to our policemen then?Are we the ones to tell the policemen about whom to shoot and whom not to shoot.So,I seriously feel that we should first bring about a change in ourselves and then expect something for these politicians.After all,these politicians are one amongst us and elected by us.

Though such incidents are not new to Mumbai,the intensity of the act this time has been huge and has left a big dent in the minds of Indians,especially Mumbaikars.For the first time in my life,I was feeling kind of embarassed to call myself an Indian,that too for no fault of mine.Though I still continue to believe that India is a great country and I am still proud to be an Indian,but the thought of living in a country,where there is no safety of life,has really left me depressed.

Mumbai,like they say,is the city of dreams,for millions and millions of Indians.But if such incidents continue to happen,they day will not be far away,when Mumbai will be called the 'City of Nightmares' and I really hope we never have to see such a thing ever again.Like I said before,the anger this time around seems to be having a much bigger impact and I hope that it is channelised in the right direction and serves as a wakeup call to our politicians which would then in turn make this city and our country a better place to live in.Lets get together and do as much as we can to try and bring about a change.I am not an eternal optimist but I am not a hopeless pessimist either.

Clean bowled by Cricket!

A nice and lazy sunday afternoon,time is 2.30 PM,sitting in front of the TV.Lush green outfield at Chinnaswamy Stadium,all players are set.Its Virender Sehwag on strike and English bowler James Anderson comes into bowl,ball is wide outside the off-stump and WHACK!!Sehwag bangs it for four...Wow!What a start!
Well,I know that the lines above do not make any sense to all non-followers of cricket.But for an avid cricket fan like me,its a perfect way to spend a sunday.With India 3-0 ahead in the series,We were going to push really hard for a 4th win and that itself was a exciting prospect. Infact,with such a good start,I was even ruing the fact that I will have to attend a reception later in the evening.Luckily rain gods made sure that I did not have to miss the match much.
So,Welcome to India.Here we have various religions like Hindu,Muslim,Christians,Sikhs,Parsis and then,there is cricket.India,being a country of more than 100 crores of people,has a huge fan following in cricket.Though cricket has its share of critics who drub it as a waste of time and resources,you cannot deny the fact that it has always enthralled the people watching and following it and will probably will always continue to do so.
Though,I agree with the point that at times,cricket is indeed a waste of time and resources,but then unless and until it is not affecting the activities and things which you should be otherwise doing,I dont see any harm in spending time on cricket.
Cricket,though its not the national game of India,it is the widely followed game.The first and foremost reason being probably that the game has really evolved over the last decade.And of coz India has come a long way in cricket as well,right from winning the world cup in 1983 to reaching the world cup finals in 2003,to winning the 20-20 World Cup in 2007 and more recently beating world champions Australia comprehensively.
But as we know,our team is consistently inconsistent.And it will still take some time for us to say that we are dominating world cricket.However,we are way ahead when it comes to dominating world cricket commercially.Be it the players' earnings or advertisements & endorsements etc,India is way ahead of others.But to be quite frank,probably it will never happen that we will dominate world cricket with our performance on the field alone.If that does happen,I think we people might stop watching cricket.We don't always enjoy your team winning handsomely everytime without the opposition putting in a fight.We turn our cricketers into overnight heroes the moment they succeed and bring them down very badly the moment they fail(the media plays a very big hand in this).We Indians,have a very short memory,more so when it comes to cricket.We just love to see our cricketers win and at times lose as well but always with the hope that they would win next time.
Cricket was always meant to be a gentleman's game.This was may be because it was invented by the British,who are well known for their etiquette.But it is no longer the same.The players behaviour has changed over the years.Players sledge each other,give uneccesarry stares,swear on each other etc.But we cannot fault the intention of the players here.All they are trying to do is play some tough cricket and give the opposition a run for their money.After all who would not take pride in playing for your country.But over the years,the game has come into disrepute with corruption,match-fixing,betting coming into the picture.Though it is a bit hard to believe,that when you are playing for your country,how can you think of such things.But it has been proved on many ocassions,at times the players themselves admitting.So,actually speaking,today when we see a match,we never know,it may be actually fixed!
One more thing that is noticeable about cricket is that the game keeps innovative and evolving all the time,thanks to the administrators.Though along with many cricket admirers,I would insist that test cricket is real cricket,I equally enjoy watching a 20-20 match.The game's rules and regulations are reviewed from time to time,which makes the experience more enjoyable.

I know most of the stuff that I have scribbled above do not make much sense to non-followers of cricket.But to be very frank,I don't care either.Irrespective of its less pros and more cons,I have no hesistation in saying that I have been clean bowled by cricket for now and will continue to enjoy it,though I hardly get a chance to play the game now.
Meanwhile,India is getting ready to take on England in the 5th one-dayer at Cuttack.Lets make it 7-0 Team India!All the best! :)

Filmy Chakkar!

Films,especially bollywood films,have always fascinated me right from my childhood.I still remember the days in my childhood when I watched movies on TV,no matter how bad they were.People will find it hard to believe but I have seen movies with names like Gora,Izzat ki Roti and the Gunmaster G9 series movies.The first movie I watched in a theater with my friends was Akele Hum Akele Tum probably in 6th or 7th standard,was feeling very proud then:)

As years passed on,started with college life,movies became a much more regular feature.Bunking the boring lectures and movies with friends had suddenly become a birthright.We have seen the best and worst of movies in our student life.Now today,even after passing out of college and statrting with my professional life,the one thing that hasnt changed much in my life is watching movies.My romance with movies continues,in movie theaters as well as TV. I really dont think that I have paid more than once for a movie to watch a movie in theater,but I do enjoy watching 'n' number re-runs of many movies on TV channels.I may not watch the entire movie everytime,but do watch it in parts.Films like DDLJ,Munnabhai Series,DCH,Lagaan,Swades,Lakshya etc still manage to catch my attention,no matter how many times I have seen them.Equally,I always enjoy watching some madcap movies like No Entry,Welcome,Khosla ka Ghosla etc.
Though I really admire the Hollywood/English movies for their technical superiority and I do occasionally catchup with some english movies as well,I have no qualms in admitting that I relate more to our hindi movies,no matter how silly the scripts are,how unreal the characters are.I dont exactly have a reason for that but it is may be coz you can relate to the actors and characters more.
But the question that has always been in my mind is that do films inspire events in real life or is it the other way around?We see so many things in movies and we comment by saying...OMG,So filmy!!But come on,we are watching a film,so its bound to be filmy. So,I think we should allow them to take that creative freedom and fulfill their two ambitions while making a movie,To entertain you and at the same time laugh all the way to the bank.
We have our health minister asking the superstar of the country to stop smoking on screen coz apparently he is influencing youngsters.I dont quite agree with that.And it is indeed not fair just to try any focus on the negative after-effects of a movie.I think we should be large-hearted enough to accept the positive influences of a movie as well.If that wasnt the case,then I dont think Gandhigiri would not have become such a rage post-Lage Raho Munnabhai.If Laskhya has inspired atleast 10 youngsters to join our Army,then I am sure it has succeeded in its 'Lakshya'.I believe Taare Zameen Par must have inspired and given a new hope to many kids suffering from Dyslexia and of coz their parents. These are just few examples and I am sure my critics would have a considerable number of negative influences of movies as well to tell.But if we insist people to have a positive attitude in life,then why can't we focus on the positive aspects of movies.
To conclude,I want to say that I really hope that my passion for watching movies goes on throughout my lifetime and films keep giving me more and more thoughts for life.And lets just try an watch films only for entertainment and ofcoz get positively influenced by them.Lets give the creative freedom to our film industry and they will continue to do the great job they are currently doing.I hope this filmy chakkar just goes on and on and never breaks :)

MBA: To be or not to be?

The title of the blog says it.The question I am asking here is that do we really need to be a MBA,to do well career-wise.
When i finished by engineering in 2005,like all passouts,was in a confusion,whether to go for a MBA right away or take some work experience and then join MBA.I took some advice from may of my seniors and well-wishers who had ample experience.Almost everyone gave me the advice of having some work experience first.
So,it did not take me much time to decide that i had to work for some time and then try for MBA inspite of knowing that studying while working or say by qutting working for a person like me,who always found difficult to study even during student days.Though i took this decision pretty quickly,unfortunately did not find a job that quickly(had myself to blame for that though).
The job search took me around 7 months but eventually when I did get it,I think i was very fortunate to get what I did.Good exposure,good atmosphere to work in and a decent pay packet really got going in my job ans started enjoying it.The IT industry was doing decent,so people with skillset were in demand.So,this made me take a jump as well for a better future,as they say,make hay while the sun shines.
Now,after spending more than 2.5 years in the IT industry,things have changed a lot now.The economic situation is no longer the same.Hiring has been replaced by Firing everywhere.Looks like no one is safe,not even the CEO of the company.I was just browsing through rediff and saw an article which gave an idea about the firing plans of many companies and man,the list is quite long.Pepsi,HSBC,RBS,Citi,Sun etc.etc.etc.the total number of jobs being cut running into thousands.Experts say when the job cuts start,the managers will the first scapegoats and you can survive if you have the technical expertise.If you are a MBA,you are more likely to fit into the former.So,is it really worth to go for a MBA now and probably dig up your own grave?Or on the other hand,is it possible to do a MBA now and land up with a good job,in the current economic meltdown.No economist in the world is able to predict the future.So,we dont know what is going to happen.But on the other hand,is it really possible to keep doing technical work till you stop working?Can you survive the competition?These are just the many more questions which arise,which probably are very difficult to answer.
So,as I m drawing close to the end of my blog,still havent been able to find an asnwer to my question asked in the beginning.But one thing is for sure,the one place where the MBA degree is surely going to help you,irrespective of the economic slowdown is that you will definitely be one of more sought after prospective bridegrooms :) In the current scenario,I can think of only this advantage.
Readers are welcome to help me out in this confusion,provided they themselves are not as confused as me :)