The Rising

More than a decade ago, ace director Manirathnam came out with his version of the Mahabharath in which Rajnikanth played Karna and Mamooty played Dhuriyodhana, Now years later producer Bobby Bedi who is fresh from his latest release 'The Rising- Ballad of Mangal Pandey' has decided to bring out the celluloid version of the epic in the form of a trilogy directed by none other than Manirathnam himself.

Over the weekend I had the opportunity to watch the most hyped Indian film of the year, 'The Rising' which marked Aamir Khan's return to the screen after a four year sabbatical, the movie has had raving reviews floating around and I had no different an opinion. Aamir's performance was rivetting and so was Rahman's music. Aamir's intensity & amazing screen presence reminded me of a post scientology Tom Cruise.

The plot- The East India company introduces a rifle that used cartridges that sepoys had to bite into to release the powder into the barrels, the cartridges were sealed by cow and pig fat. At first, trusting the Company lie that the cartridges do not use pig or cow grease, Mangal bites the cartridge, but when the truth is revealed, he leads a rebellion against the British Empire, more like a wake up call for the Indians, who post 1857 started revolting against the 'goras' but attain freedom from them only about a century later. Rani Mukherji plays a prostitute in the movie, a character I felt was totally needless.

I remember my history text books with chapters about the 'Sepoy Mutiny' tipped as the 'First war of Independence' by Indian historians where the mention of Mangal Pandey was limited to about a line or two and now it is good to see that Ketan Metha has come up with a three hour saga on the hero. The movie also stars Toby Stevens, Rani Mukherji, Amisha patel and Om Puri as the narrator.

The movie seems to be drawing huge crowds even in Chennai where Hindi movies are'nt really a priority. In an innovative effort to promote the movie with msn, Aamir launched his own blog at
http://spaces.msn.com/members/mangalpandey/

Since its release, the movie (and its lead actor) has been plagued by numerous controversies, including distortion of historical facts, the government of U.P had even called for a ban on the film. Against all odds Aamir keeps rising!

Pillars Of Self Mastery!

Today I arrived at work at 7:30 am literally half asleep, I checked in with security and took the elevator up to the 10th floor, the elevator stopped and I was asleep, the elevator door closed automatically and then all of a sudden I woke up and thought I was stuck in the elavator and was frantically searching for the emergency phone since my phone had no signal inside the elevator, then I tried pressing a few buttons at random and the door opened up, only then realized that I had already reached my 10th floor office. I got out of the elevator and approached the office main door only to realize that I had forgotten my swipe key, so I had to wait outside for about 10 minutes untill a colleague of mine arrived, What a start to the day!

So then I get to my workspace, set up my laptop, get connected & start doing the usual stuff. I opened up my personal mail, deleted a bunch of spam & reluctantly started reading the forwards that came by, for a change I had a nice forward, this time sent to me by my birthday boy buddy, the email was called 'Pillars Of Self Mastery', I am not very positive on the source of this email but I think it was excerpts from '200 secrets to success and the pillars of self mastery' by Robin S. Sharma. Here are some excerpts cos I felt some of them were inane, read on- you might find them useful.

Sleep less: This is one of the best investment you can make to make your life more productive and rewarding. (Judging by my day, this is something I got to do)

Set aside one hour every morning for personal development matters. Meditate, visualize your day, read inspirational texts to set the tone of your day, listen to motivational tapes or read great literature. Starting the day off well is a powerful strategy for self renewal .

Set aside every Sunday evening for yourself and your family and be strongly disciplined with this habit.

To enhance your concentration and power of focus, count your steps when you walk. This is a particularly strong technique. so many people allow their minds to be filled with mental chatter. All peak performers appreciate the power of a quiet clear mind which will concentrate steadily on all important tasks.

Enhance your will-power. You must first exercise it and then push before it gets stronger. When you are hungry, wait another hour before your meal. When you are labouring over a difficult task and your mind is prompting you to pick up the latest magazine for a break , curb the impulse. Soon you will be able to sit for hours in a precisely concentrated state. Newton had a remarkable ability to sit quietly and think without interruption for a very long period of time. If he can develop this so can you.

Never discuss your health, wealth and other personal matters with anyone outside your immediate family. Be very disciplined in this regard.

Cultivate the art of walking half an hour after your dinner. Walks in natural settings are the very best. Walking is, perhaps, nature’s ideal exercise.

Be careful about your reputation. Never do anything you wouldn’t be proud to tell your mother about. Have fun always but temper it with common sense and prudence.

Become your spouse”s number one supporter, the one who is always there supporting and fueling hopes and dreams. Develop together and march confidently through the world as an army of two.

A contented mind is a continual feast. Greed and material desires must be curbed to achieve lasting happiness and serenity. Be happy with what you have.

Aromas have been proven to be an effective means of entering a state of relaxation. Scents have a very noticeable effect on your mindset and moods.

Never argue with the person you work for – you will lose more than just the argument

Keep well-informed about current events, the latest books and popular trends. Many peak performers read five or six papers a day. You don’t have to read every story of every paper. Know what to focus on.

Read the biographies of the world’s leaders and learn from their habits, inspirations and philosophies. Cultivate the important practice of active role modelling.

Laugh at work and be known as a positive achiever

Develop the essential habit of punctuality for it is most important for high success. Punctuality reflects discipline and proper regard for others. Without it, even the most sophisticated person appears slightly offensive.

Winners do the things that less developed people don’t like doing even though they also might not enjoy doing them. This is what strength of character and courage is all about.

Fill your home with bright, fresh flowers. This is one of the best investments you can make. Let the sounds of great music, loud laughter and good fun fill the oasis of your home

Recognize the power of mantras and the repetition of positive, powerful words. Indian yogis have employed this technique for over 4000 years to live tranquil, productive and focused lives.

The World This Week

The Nanavati commision headed by retired Justice G T Nanavati submitted his report to the Union Home Minister indicting the present Union Minister for NRI affairs Jagdish Tytler for organising crimes against the Sikh community. The riots in 1984 followed the assasination of the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, killed nearly 6000 Sikhs in India of which 4000 were massacred in Delhi alone. This also prompted the worst aviation disaster in history when Air India flight 182 was blown off by Sikh militants with 350 on board. Jagdish Tytler has submitted his resignation.

Leptospirosis epidemic breaks out in India's financial capital Mumbai: A dangerous epidemic that spreads (via the urine) from domestic animals has broken out in the city of Mumbai. This disease affects the human kidney and is fatal in most cases. A series of other diseases such as Gastroenteritis, Cholera & Dengue Fever have broken out all over the state following the floods.

Israel decides to pull out of the Gaza strip: Israeli Prime Minister Sharon & his cabinet have decided to pull out of the Gaza strip starting next week. Israeli religious rightists condemn the plan, saying it forsakes Jewish claims to biblical land and rewards a Palestinian uprising that began in 2000. Polls show a narrow majority of Israelis support the pullout.

NASA set to launch latest Mars probe: Fresh from celebrating a successful shuttle mission, NASA on 12 August is due to launch the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. The $720 million unmanned spacecraft is the largest and most sophisticated probe ever sent to the red planet. Its goal is to explore possible landing sites for future human travelers and to study the climate, geology, and distribution of water on the planet.

Ex WorldCom chief gets 5 years in Prison: Former WorldCom CFO Scott Sullivan gets 5 years in prison for what is considered the largest accounting fraud in U.S history. The $11 billion fraud sank the telecommunications company 3 years back.

Dukes of Hazzard soars to top of U.S box office:
The big screen remake of the 1970's T.V series directed by Jay a.k.a Jumbulingam Chandrashekar soared to the top of the U.S box office despite being written off by critics. The movie has already grossed $50 million in the U.S alone. The movie stars Sean William Scott & Jessica Simpson.

In cricket Sri Lanka beat India to lift the Indian Oil Cup in Colombo & controversial leg spinner Shane Warne becomes the first bowler in test cricket to capture 600 wickets.

Swades

I have been watching a lot of movies lately(in the past month)- thanks to a delay with proceedings at my project- Paparazzi, Taking Lives & Anacondas: The Hunt For The Blood Orchid on HBO, Waqt, Sarkar, D, Black and Swades on DVD. The pick of them all was Swades by Ashutosh Gowarikar(The maker of the Academy award nominated ' Lagaan'). The movie follows an NRI Scientist Mohan Bhargava(working at NASA's Goddard space flight center in the suburbs of Washington D.C)played by Shah Rukh and his journey in search of that metaphysical and elusive place called "home". The movie tackles many social issues prevalent in modern day India such as rural poverty, illiteracy, lack of basic infrastructure & hygiene and even child marriage. SRK's performance lacks intensity. The movies strengths were the background scores by AR Rahman, the elegant picturization of songs and the simple narration. The movie was inspiring, polemic and sure is worth the time.

Black directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali stars Amitabh Bachchan, Rani Mukerji and Ayesha Kapoor. The movie again was a masterpiece by Bhansali, it makes you realise that a different world exists where people who are unfortunate than yourself manages to pull through life against all odds. The movie's cinematography by Ravi K. Chandran was upto international standards. An excellent oscar nominated material.

Paparazzi starring Cole Hauser is the story of an up and coming movie star who becomes a victim of the Paparazzi and when one of their ventures nearly costs his and his family's lives he decides to exact a crafty and complex revenge. I wasnt expecting much out of this movie and it turned out to be 'pretty decent'.

Taking lives is a psychotic crime thriller starring Angelina Jolie and Ethan Hawk. A very predictable plot but defenitely not avoidable, especially if you are an Angelina Joile Fan.

Sarkar is a Ram Gopal Varma gangster flick with all his stereotypical elements, slow yet gripping narration and brilliant screenplay as always. The movie starts with a testimonial that the director like millions, was inspired by 'The Godfather' and his movie is a tribute to the classic. Amitabh has done justice to the role of the 'Sarkar' and lives upto expectations donning Brando's role. Abhishek tries really hard but does not really come close to the Mike potrayed brilliantly by Pacino.

D- Another gangster flick, seems to be ghost directed by Varma, the king of the genre. Randeep Hooda potrays the dreaded criminal Dawood Ibrahim, the movie attempts to elavate Dawood status as this smooth & suave mastermind. Hooda has done justice to Deshu's role donned by Devgan in the Sequel 'Company'. If you liked company you will like this as well.

Waqt- Starring Amitabh and Akshay Kumar is avoidable and so is Anacondas: The Hunt For The Blood Orchid.

Counselling begins

Prelude:
The TNPCEE(Tamil Nadu Professional Courses Examination) is a common entrance test(CET) for students aspiring to pursue professional courses such as medicine & engineering.
Recently the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, Jayalalithaa Jayaram of the ruling AIADMK party announced that the CET had been abolished with immediate effect, even though the students had bought the CET application forms for a significant fee and had already taken the tests.But this rule of the government was forcefully revoked for the current year, to the relief of 1000's of students, thanks to the intervention of the Supreme Court that upheld the ruling of the Madras High Court.
The reasons for the governments decision to abolish the CET were:
1. The move would benefit numerous students from rural areas, who do not have access or could not afford training for the CET.
2.Improvement candidates from southern districts had an unfair advantage and accounted for most med school admissions.
3. Curb growth of profit monging schools that have mushroomed all over the state focussing specifically on CET training.

Instead of focussing on solving the problem & empowering rural students with tools to succeed, the administration assumes the problem is solved simply by scrapping the CET. Many questions remain unanswered, mainly about the quality of student-input if admissions are going to be based only on the marks obtained in 3 major subjects- Math, Physics & Chemistry considering the fact that each year 1000's of students from State Board score 100% in these major subjects. The fate of CBSE(Central Board of Secondary Education) students? CBSE is considered one of the best and most challenging educational systems in the country. Scoring even a 90% in a CBSE medium is a daunting task. CET was the only hope for these students to salvage some pride & manage admits to good engineering schools.

Counselling begins:
After all the chaos and confusion the counselling via the single window system started a week back and the top 3 students chose:
Aeronautical Engineering in MIT,
Mechanical Engineering in CEG- Guindy and
Electronics & Communication Engineering in PSG Tech.

Hummer to hit the Indian Market.

The Legendary American motor company General Motors(GM) is all set to launch the Hummer SUV (Humvee) to the Indian market. Manufactured by AM General and marketed by GM, the Hummer is known for its high price, low mileage and poor fuel efficiency.
India is known for its sky high fuel prices (in excess of $1.10 per litre, thats nearly $4.20 per gallon), but the selling point would be the Hummer's muscle to take on Indian roads. The lower end range of Humvee's would be priced in excess of 4 million Rupees upto 5 mil.

Other Top stories:
Adidas 'Just Did It'- Acquires Reebok. This would accelerate the pace of sports marketing, and the value of athletic endorsements. A headline on AMR read, "Adidas puts on Reebok to catch Nike".

Sania Mirza hits top 50 in the WTA ranking- she defeated world #9 Nadia Petrova at the Acura Open. The highest ranked Indian in the open era is still Vijay Amritraj (#23), The highest ranked Indian ever was Ramanathan Krishnan(#3).

The World has its first cloned dog- Snuppy(SNU stands for Seoul National University- Puppy), South Korean Scientist Hwang Woo-Suk had led the effort to clone the Afgan Hound.

NASA's space shuttle Discovery- so far so good.

Saudi's King Fahd Dies at 84 and King Abdullah takes over.

Six Feet Under

One of the very few TV series I tune into religiously every week, infact the only one since The Apprentice- Season I, is Six Feet Under. It is one of TV's most acclaimed drama series,and has numerous Emmy's and Golden Globe awards to its credit.

This groundbreaking series into its fifth season focuses on the cathartic journey of the extended Fisher family,whose personal trials and tribulations are played out against the solemn backdrop of an independent funeral home in LA. To give you a better idea, the series was created by Alan Ball (The Oscar winning writer of American Beauty).Now you know what to expect!

I dont really watch any particular show on TV(Apart from SFU - Now airs at a new time, Sundays @ 9:00 PM) ,but the channels I surf through are
ESPN- I,II, ESPN-Classics,
MTV- II For shows like Punk'D, Damage Control & the hilarious Wild Boys.
Comedy Central- Chapple Show.
TBS- Sienfeld,
CNN,CBS,NBC & usa.

usa airs Monk- America's favourite (Obsessive Compulsive) detective, this is something i watch whenever I get a chance,cos I think Tony Shalhoub is awesome. Another series I used enjoy watching was Columbo starring Peter Falk- the classic 70's series was re-telecasted sporadically on various channels until last season.

Some of the good TV shows I used to watch back in India, were
'The World This Week' hosted by Pronnoy Roy on DD back in the late 80's and early 90's.
'The Eye Witness' hosted by Karan Thapar again on DD in the early 90's.
'Face to Face' hosted by Karan Thapar now airing on BBC India.
'Mastermind India' hosted by Sidharta Basu on BBC India, the original is aired on BBC UK and was devised by Bill Wright.
Shows hosted by Nikhil Chinappa, Cyrus Broacha and Maria Goretti on MTV.

Finally the shows that really miff me, 'Queer Eye For The Straight Guy', Dr 90210, reality shows on VH1 & Fox and now the one about Bobby Brown!

3 G's- Gods, Guns & Gays

"Turd Blossom," is a Texan term for a flower which grows from a pile of cow dung, I am referring to the the most powerful political consultant in American history & the architect of George Walker Bush's remarkable political triumph, Karl Christian Rove. He was Bush's senior advisor & chief political strategist and now the deputy chief of staff at the White House.
Personally I am a centrist in contrast to most of my friends who prefer the liberal democratic policies. I have never been completely anti-Bush (I felt circumstances were such that a change of power might have jeopardized national security), nor have I supported most views of the Democrats.(Though I might consider voting for Barrack Obama whenever he runs- I was one of the millions who took notice of him after the Democratic national convention)
Now back to the role of Karl Rove-Like millions of Americans and people around the world I never expected George Bush to be re-elected to office, until I started following the campaign towards the end and noticed the strategy of the Republicans trying to woo the conservative bible-thumping population(against the conventional wisdom of appealing to the "Reagan Democrats", who ignored party affiliations to support a second term for the popular president) by favoring them in the very divisive issues of abortion and gay marriage, Rove set out a political message that would appeal to voters in the Bible Belt and then kept Bush on that message. He also played his own part, reaching out to evangelical leaders and other "people of faith" and attending to them personally.
Pundits thought that the Iraq conflict, terrorism and the economy were the key issues, but voters decided they were more concerned by moral values. Bush even joked "I try to tell people about the economy, but all they care about are the 'three Gs' ".