General Elections 2009: Indian Political Bazaar

The counting of votes for Indian General Elections 2009 will begin today at 0800 hours.

And the leaders of various National and Regional Political Parties have already negotiated with each other, against their parties support to form the Government at the Centre. Still few hours are left before any trend / results come out but these people have already heated up this political market, where governments are not only formed by the peoples’ votes but also by horse trading.

Similar to Cricket IPL, here to the regional parties which are believe to win more seats are commanding better prices and portfolios in the cabinet ministry. JDU leader, Nitish Kumar wants special status for the state of Bihar, Naveen Patnaik of BJD wants to become the Chief Minister of Orissa while Mulayam Singh and Amar Singh of SP , and BSP Supremo Mayawati wants best portfolios for themselves and their party MPs’.

Even this is not enough, politicians like Mulayam Singh, Mayawati and also Sharad Pawar of NCP , who all belong to Regional Parties and their parties have major presence mainly in their respective states, have ambitions to become the Prime Minister of India after these elections. I’m not saying that being ambitious is wrong; but the problem is that anyone of them can only become the PM, only when all of them come together, with many other parties to form the Third Front and form the Government at the Centre. And this to me seems to be a major problem and distant possibility for a stable government.

Anyways let’s wait for tomorrow and days to come to see the final outcome of this Political Bazaar, which is currently going on in New Delhi. And also at the same time let’s hope that any government which comes into the power does something good for the country and its people…

Mumbai: The Battleground

After 24 hours of the ongoing War against Terrorism as I walk on the streets of Mumbai, the life here seemed to be somewhat normal. People were seen moving in and out of the bars & restaurant, enjoying the delicacies like vada pav & chat, youths roaming around; even the buses were running almost full. Nothing as such has changed except for the mental peace of the common man or the common Mumbaikar…

Last night, Terrorists attacked our Financial Capital, the city of Dreams – Mumbai at 10 different locations… But the attacks were different in terms of the modus operandi this time. Till now, bombs were placed secretly and terrorists never attacked from the front but this time they came out openly to spread the terror amongst the innocent citizens, using AK-47 guns and Grenades. They opened gun fires at many places. The second unique thing about these attacks were that the places like temples, trains, airport where common Mumbaikar would have been, weren’t targeted; but terrorists have chosen places which people might not have thought off, even in their nightmares. The terrorists attacked 5 star hotels – Taj Mahal Palace and Oberoi Trident, Café Leopold and peace loving people living in Colaba, etc. The attacks in the hotels and café were done at the time when various foreign tourists would have come back to the hotels and while corporates were having seminars and meetings.

As of now, the death toll has risen to 155 including atleats 14 policemen, 2 NSG commandos and some foreigners, while approximately 327 people have been injured in these Terror attacks. The dead also include Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad chief Hemant Karkare, Additional Commissioner of Police Ashok Kamte and encounter specialist Vijay Salaskar. It’s a really sad day when so many people have lost their lives but our politicians are only making false claims or as usual playing the blame game. My heartfelt condolences to the family of the all the people who died in these attacks… And I would like to salute the NSG commandos, army men, navy men and policemen for fighting bravely, continuously for almost 2 days now.

The titles like “War on Mumbai” or “Warzone Mumbai” can easily be justified after viewing the various footages available on Internet / TV. It simply reminds me of the Kargil War that time infiltrators captured Tiger Hill and other points; while this time they captured Taj, Trident and Nariman House. The only differences between the two were that it was in J&K while this in Mumbai; in Kargil War the terrorist might have taken months to capture those points while this time it took only few minutes for them to enter the targeted places and make hostages. Only thing which have changed that the attacks now are more planned, organised intensified and more terrifying…

A lot have been spoken about the spirit of Mumbai and Mumbaikars, whenever any such calamity had happened, but I would like to ask that till when this spirit will continue? If the people of this city or may be our country have good fighting spirits, this doesn’t mean that they should suffer from such attacks, blasts, etc. The government or the authorities should not take as an excuse for treating such matters lightly. Let me warn the government that these spirits of Mumbai could dampen too, if something concrete is not done. And let me clarify that alongwith the spirits, the common man is full of anger against these terrorists, terror groups and also against the government.

Something more disappointing was to watch our politicians giving interviews about Islamic & Hindutava terror, their election meetings, vote banks, etc. They’re saying that we need Federal investigation agency and police reforms but why do we only realize these necessities after something of such a magnitude had already happened? Why can’t be more pro-active or be more prepared? Where was our Intelligence agency when the recent attacks were being planned or was it an Intelligence failure? Or are the govt and the agencies were more than happy after catching few terrorist from so called Indian Mujahedeen or Sadhvi???

I would also like to ask Mr. Raj Thackeray that these attacks are on Aamchi Mumbai and after almost 2 days of these attacks, we hadn't heard any statment from you, pacifying the Mumbaikars. And just for your information, the NSG commandos who have been fighting here with the terrorist, have come from North and all of them may not be Marathi’s. Shouldn't the principles of MNS for a common man in Mumbai, i.e. not allowing North Indians, should have also been applied on the NSG commandos? Sir, this is a time for our country when we should be unite to fight against these Terrorist groups and not against our own countrymen.

Honourable Mr. Prime Minister and the Cabinet Ministers, I think this is a high time to take some concrete steps and not just make speeches. They have entered almost everywhere in our country and it’s really difficult for an ordinary citizen to live peacefully in his / her own motherland.

(PS: The blog was originally written on 27/11/08 but was updated on 28/11/2008)

MTV Roadies 5.0

MTV Roadies 5.0 concluded 2 weeks ago, with Ashutosh Koushik becoming the 5th Roadie…

This season of Roadies began in Goa with 13 aspirants from across the country. Getting selected in Roadies auditions, after handling the torture done by Raghu Ram and Nikhil Chinapa in itself is a big deal… Hence, these contestants (names are in alphabetical order) of MTV Roadies 5.0 deserve to have their names on my blog:

• Ankita
• Ankita (Simran)
• Anmol
• Ashutosh
• Ayaz
• Nihal
• Prabhjot
• Shambhavi
• Snehashish
• Sonel
• Varun
• Vibhor
• Vikrant

I’ve following last 3 season of Roadies i.e. Season 3, 4 & 5 and thought that I know the format/rules of the show pretty well since reality shows generally don’t change their rules frequently… But as far as MTV Roadies is concerned, I feel proud in saying that “I was wrong.” You guys might be thinking that why I’m feeling proud? The answer is simple, this is one of my favorite TV shows and I enjoyed the current season as much as I enjoyed the earlier ones, as everything was unpredictable…

The 1st episode saw two of the participants being voted out… To watch the “Vote-outs” is the real fun in the Roadies… The Pressure, the Action, the Drama all are part of this reality show… Each episode was different from the previous one in some or the other manner… In the 5th season, the best part was the International exposure but what I really didn’t liked was more emphasis on personal decision’s rather than some activity…

Unlike my expectations, the final episode was not that great; especially at the last when Sonel chose the winner of Roadies 5... Atleast the winner shouldn’t be decided that way, Nihal did a better competition than that…

Anyways, I’m eagerly waiting for the next season of MTV Roadies…

IPL: Cricket ka Karmayudh

Yesterday was the day, when the IPL (Indian Premier League) finally started…

Since long time, I’ve been reading, hearing and watching lot of news and gossips related to this “IPL: Cricket ka Karmayudh”… A lot had been said and written about the big moolah involved in this… From the very first day, people had been questioning the Twenty20 format of the game and also its effect on the original format of the game, that is, Test Matches… Even some analyst, commentators and ex-players have also commented that Indian players were not able to perform up to the mark because of the hype and commitments of up-coming IPL…

Personally speaking, somehow I’m very optimistic towards this IPL thing; although I don’t have the same views and regards for its counterpart ICL (Indian Cricket League, owned & started by Essel Group). My reasons for this optimism may differ from others; but everyone has its own reason to believe in something, so am I…

Few reasons, why I’m optimist and looking forward towards this tournament are:-

· Twenty20 is a shorter format of the game which will easily get over in 3 hours, so more & more people will be interested in watching this game, without affecting their busy schedules. The entertainment factor involved in these games may bring more people closer to the game.

· The IPL had started the Club format in Cricket, on the similar lines of English Premier League; which in turn will be a good thing for promoting and developing the domestic as well as the international cricket. This will make our game of cricket, Global.

· In IPL, it’s necessary for a team to have 7 Indian players and 4 foreign players; hence this is extremely beneficial to our domestic players who weren’t able to find a place in the Indian Team. Even the ex-players, who are no longer part of the Indian team, will find a place in the IPL teams like Sunil Joshi, etc.

· The players will get to learn about the cross country cultures and also will get an opportunity to learn from seniors Icon players.

· Last but not the least, the much talked-about moolah which is involved in IPL will definitely make the cricketers richer and may also prove beneficial for the game of cricket in our country, in terms of infrastructure, coaching standards, etc.

Even the normal citizen of India will be benefited since they will be able to see the live matches at very cheap rates; as the owners of some of these teams like Shah Rukh Khan are selling the tickets of Eden Gardens, Kolkata at prices as low as Rs. 100/-, cause they are looking at quantity rather than quality.

One important point which I missed is that IPL is also beneficial to Indian Actors and Actresses, since they get hefty amount of money (more than what they usually get for doing 1 movie) and that too, just for dancing in 1-2 videos like Hrithik Roshan, who featured in the music video of Mumbai Indians Team. While in some cases, they just have to attend their Team’s (the team which hired him/her) matches or their press conferences like Akshay Kumar for his association with the Delhi Daredevils Team…

I would like to Congratulate the BCCI, IPL Committee and especially Mr. Lalit Modi for planning and organizing such a fantastic tournament, which will make the whole nation crazy in days to come…

I also liked the video “Cricket ka Karmayudh” which came on Television… Even the other advertisements made for IPL are good but the best one is the one which says “Manu-Ranjan ka baap kab aayega?”

Although I missed the fabulous opening ceremony of the tournament and also the Innings of my favorite team of IPL - Kolkata Knight Riders but then too I’m looking forward to watch an exciting tournament for next 44 days of my life…

In yesterday’s match, I liked the placard of one of the spectator saying, “I‘m here to watch the girls dancing. And not for Cricket”. Thoughts like these show that the traditional game of cricket, a game which is a Religion in the country like ours, is changing… And changing may be for its betterment…

My favorite team had already won their match and what about your team ???

INDIA - World Twenty20 Champions...

Congratulations to Team INDIA for becoming the first ever World Twenty20 Champions !!!





Three Cheers for Team INDIA
Hip Hip Hurray...
Hip Hip Hurray...
Hip Hip Hurray...


Chak De INDIA !!!

Amitabh Bachchan in a Sasur-Bahu saga?

Yesterday Mumbai Mirror posted a story by the title, “Amitabh Bachchan in a sasur-bahu saga?” That article was mainly about that Senior Bachchan may soon return to TV and act in a non-fiction or in some fiction serial. As the title suggests he may be doing some Sasur-Bahu saga or some type of K-serial, as we call them in our daily life.

I always appreciate the experimental movies & the exceptional characters which Mr. Bachchan plays in his movies. I liked most of the characters which he played in the recent times whether it was Sexy Sam in KANK to the one he played in Cheeni Kum. I’m even looking forward to see him as Gabbar in RGV ki Sholay, but somehow I’m not very excited about the fact that he will acting in TV serials. KBC was altogether a different story and I believe that people will accept him again if he hosts another show. But I was just thinking that whether we are ready to see Mr. Bachchan as the male version of our own Baa…???

I told my viewpoint to Nishant that at least actors like Mr. Bachchan should not start doing Sasur-Bahu sagas; doing movies like Nishabd or Cheeni Kum is fine but please no daily sops. Nishant presented a different view that people who are older than us may think opposite to me and will say that daily sops will do but not movies like Nishabd, etc which are against our Indian Culture. I agreed to his point meanwhile Tammy asked us to imagine that Mr. Bachchan will look while romancing Baa on TV.

Although Tammy wanted us to imagine a scene where both the characters are hugging each other; while I imagined a scene where Mr. Bachchan and Baa are seated on a bench in a park. They both are asking each other’s age and Baa replies “I’m 200+” and AB replies back, “very young…”(The scene from the movie Cheeni Kum). This was the third angle to my point whether Mr. Bachchan should act on TV or not.

Only time will tell that whether we’re lucky or unlucky to see Amitabh Bachchan again on TV. Whether we want to see him on TV varies from person to person and it will depend on various factors. But one of the important factors may be the number of zeroes on the cheque which will be offered to Senior Bachchan by his producers.

Don’t forget to tell me whether you are excited about viewing Mr. Amitabh Bachchan in the daily sops or not???

Good News: No OBC Quota for current academic session

The Supreme Court of India has finally given its verdict that No OBC Quota for current academic session.

A good news for all the people who were opposing the OBC Quota Bill...

Read the full news @ ibnlive.com

Are we ready for it ???

Believe it or not - We’ll soon be able to watch the adult content on TV, yes you read it correctly, I’m also talking about viewing Adult Content (including A or U/A rated stuff) on our own TVs’ but only from 11 p.m. in the night to 5 a.m. in the morning. Government is planning to bring a Broadcast Bill in the winter session, after which TV channels will be allowed to show the adult stuff between the specific timings.

It may be a good news for some while others may be worried that what effect will it leave on our children? In the land of Kama Sutra, the debate over the topic had already begun. Don’t be surprised to see activists opposing this bill, when we can oppose sex education in schools then how can we allow this? People might argue that it will have a bad effect on our children, but I just want to ask them that is this only medium where adult content will be available? How are they planning to stop the children from watching Porn Videos, MMSs’, accessing Internets or reading adult stuffs?

Anyways there is still enough time left and lots of drama to be seen, before Government finalizes this bill and we see the outcome of it.

Click here to read The Economic Times report.

And please don't forget to tell me that are you in favor of this bill or you'll oppose it? But the question, for which I'm unable to find an answer is that, Are we ready for it ???

The 52nd Filmfare Awards: Winners

The 52nd Filmfare Awards were announced… Kajol and Hrithik won the Best Actress and Best Actor award at the Filmfare Awards…

For more info check out this.

Even though i don't agree with Hrithik getting the Best Actors Award instead of Aamir.

PS: If your opinion also differs from the jury like mine on any of the winners, then do let me know...

Source: IndiaFM.com

Rang De Oscars...

All the Best to RDB team for bringing the Oscars to India...