Surfing the web i came across this article which can only qualify as “the joke of the century”.
I know its a bit too long to even qualify as a joke but it does make you smile (not sure if anyone would burst out in guffaws of laughter) beacause it’s not only ABSURD & PATHETIC but also the best example of a modern day FAIRY TALE.
The link to the “the joke of the century”:
“This Valentine Come Fall in Lust” – this is what the ads for Dev D scream in the Bombay Times & I did just that. Loaded with heaps of chocolate ice cream (just to be in mood for the movie…even Vodka would have been nice) we caught the late afternoon movie at Hub.
I was a bit circumspect about the movie given the hype, the positive vibes emanating about it from friends (sharing the same wavelength & frequency of thoughts). It took just about 5 minutes for Anurag Kashyap to slay any demons in my mind about the movie once the discussion on “Sattu” was played on the screen.
I had the benefit of neither having watched any previous versions of Devdas or having read Sat C’s (Sarat Chandra) novel unlike my wife who had not only read the novel but also watched the earlier Devdas movie versions. So, I felt that she would be the biggest critic of Anu K’s version of Devdas.
And I think that she was mightily impressed by Dev D to the extent that she even wants it to be downloaded ASAP. Let me tell you Anu K that’s the best compliment which you could have received from someone who trust me isn’t impressed that soon by her standards.
I wouldn’t dwell into the characters and the acting skills displayed by the cast. But, Abhay Deol (Dev D)has once again proved that he stands a world apart from his siblings in terms of acting. Mahie Gill (Paro) would give any of her seniors a run for money in the days to come. Kalki (Chanda) may feature in more Anurag K movies but she was entirely overshadowed by Paro (even though Chanda got her man in the end). Dibyendu Bhattacharya (Chunni) also played out a fine hand in whateva limited screen presence he had.
The standout scene for me is the one where Dev D comes out of a English Wine Shop with a carton of hard drinks…if that does not define the style quotient of the new age Dev D…I don’t know what will???
I think Dev D will become a cult movie in times to come for its utter audacity & telling a story in a way not even Sarat Chandra would have believed was possible…dead or alive!!!
Rizwanur Rahman is long dead. Murdered by those who could not see a Muslim marry a Hindu (Priyanka Todi), a commoner marrying an industrialist’s (Ashok Todi) daughter. It was a love affair which was bound to be opposed all along the way given the religious and economic divide between Rizwanur & Priyanka.
Even though living in a so “called cultural capital of India – Kolkata”, the couple always knew that they were treading on thin ice and got secretly married and kept their marriage under wraps for sometime. When eventually the secret marriage was revealed to their parents, Ashok Todi reacted in a manner which is reminiscent of many Bollywood movie plots.
He first tried to buy Rizwanur’s love (but Mr. Todi forgot that money can buy (almost) everything but love) by offering indecent amount of money to Rizwanur’s relatives. When that didn’t get the desired effect, Rizwanur was threatened with dire consequences, to relinquish his love. But the “Power of Love” sustained Rizwanur and it may very well be the fact that even some of his relatives turned against him which ultimately forced him to sacrifice himself in the altar of love.
The Kolkata Police earned itself many plaudits for being hand-in-glove with Mr. Ashok Todi in orchestrating the so-called suicide by Rizwanur. The inept Bengal Government did not take action against the guilty until the hue and cry raised by the media initially and the simmering revolt of the Muslim community of Kolkata (which represents a sizeable vote bank).
I hope that Rizwanur’s act of love is not bloodied by the colour of money & vote bank politics. I hope that love for once will help us to overcome our religious & economic divide. I hope that love conquers all our demons, fears, and seeds of mistrust which we have sown. Falling in love is not a crime, stopping others falling in love is.
Even though “Brothers Day” is celebrated on last Sunday in the month of March every year, the cricketing world seemed to have celebrated it much in advance on the 10th of February. The Hussey brothers earlier in the day and in late evening the Pathan brothers made sure that it was a day to remember for both the Aussie and the Indian fans.
Even though the setting was different with the Kangaroos clashing with the Kiwis in the 4th ODI and the Men in Blue playing a T20 International with the Lankan Lions; a lot was at stake for all the 4 teams. The Kangaroos were desperately trying to keep the ODI series alive being 2 – 1 down before yesterdays match while the Lankan Lions were trying to salvage some lost pride after the 4 – 1 mauling they received at the hand of the Indians in the ODI series.
The Hussey brothers forged a match winning partnership to make sure that the 5th ODI does not become a mere formality but a winner takes all affair. Even though David Hussey perished and could not see the team through to victory his brother Michael (Mr. Cricket) was there to deliver the final blow.
Thousand of miles away from the Australian continent, the atmosphere was electric in the Emerald Isle with a carnival crowd rooting for revenge and more. Jayasurya set the clock back by many years and unleashed a Tsunami that was silenced by an athletic effort from Ishant Sharma. Set an imposing total the Indian team flattered to deceive after a whirlwind opening. Eventually the stage was set for the Pathan brothers with India at 115/7 and the required run rate in double digits.
Yusuf did not bother to hang about and went bang bang from the start which resulted in pace being the preferred medium of attack replacing spin (which had stopped the Indian run chase dead in its track). Thereafter Irfan ripped apart Malinga (the slinger) & Dil-hara (interestingly the bus stop near his place is named no – ball Junction) to take India through and it was well and indeed a perfect Brothers Day gift to cricket fans across the world.
With Valentine’s Day just round the corner, the Sri Ram Sena activists & Pramod Muthalik are being handled in way only the women folk could. The gals did not want to keep any stone unturned and went the Munnabhai way to bombard the Sri Ram Sena with their WMDs (Weapons of Mass Demonstrations) – PINK CHADDIs.
The PCC (Pink Chaddi Campaign) has been initiated by TCPLFW – (The Consortium of Pubgoing, Loose & Forward Women…they could have come up with some name short and cute just like the chaddis). Anyways the plan is to bombard the Sri Ram Sena HQ, their activists with flouncy, lacy pink undies & bury the so called moralists under a mountain of Pink Chaddis from which they can emerge only after the 14th of February 2009. Already more than 3000 individuals have signed in to participate in this campaign (the group is online in Facebook) and all of them have promised to contribute at least one “pink” chaddi to this WMD stockpile. (Unfortunately I’m not in a position to contribute as I don’t have pink chaddi…but anyways send across my white ones which will just be the icing on the cake)
And the joke of the day is that the Bangalore unit President of Sri Ram Sena has termed this campaign to be a very cheap step!!!
Got three words for him “ITS PAYBACK TIME”
As the 2009 season looms before us, the global recession has already got the FIA management bring out the safety car in the form of reduced budgets with team budgets at around USD 97 million per season. The rationale given is to stop teams from retiring like Honda did last year and is yet to find a replacement for it and lower the (crash…sorry entry) barrier for new teams who want to enter the sport.
To stay in financial slipstream the governing body plans to standardize engines which mean that all the engines will be at par irrespective of the team. With such non – compete engines it’s estimated that manufacturers will be able to save 30% of their costs but at the expense of the revs & thrills for the billion fanatics of F1 around the world. Other technical standardization with respect to the gearbox, wheel, brake and suspension elements will bridge the divide between a Ferrari & a Force India car (one being constructor champion while the other failing to score any points) so won’t be surprised if you see a Force India car in the front row banging wheels with a Ferrari.
With the technical advantages of the big manufacturers (Ferrari, McLaren, Renault, Williams) neutralized it will all depend on the drivers skill to decide who becomes the World Champion and that is not a bad proposition in itself.
I hope that all this cost cutting measures does not rob the die – hard fans of the breathtaking on – track rivalry of Hamilton with Massa & Co. I sincerely hope that the cost cutting does not cut chicanes with the overtaking maneuvers, the pulsing heart stopping finish which we had last season!!! The irony being that the ending last season was in a way tailored by the FIA with Hamilton being fined points left, right & center…and I hope that their new move provides us with the same last gasp finish this year too!!!
