Dabangg

Hum yahan ke Robinhood hain, Robinhood Pandey

Watching Dabangg was like coming a full circle. I remember watching full-on masala potboilers in the single screen theatres of Patna as a young kid. Theatres in those days had two audience sections. The front stall for the whistle blowing junta and the balcony for the more civilized family gentry. While the hero played to the gallery, the audience played its part by applauding the insane dialogues and situations arising on screen. Bollywood then underwent several transitions and one of them was fuelled by the springing up of multiplexes in big cities and opening up of the overseas market.

The subsequent breed of filmmakers got so much carried away with targeting their products for a particular segment that they unknowingly created a divide between the front stall and the balcony audience. The elite group of filmmakers whose middle class wore designer labels started to make films for the multiplexes and the overseas market while small time film makers stuck to the B and C centers which still had single screens continuing to showcase the hero as the wronged man forced to take revenge.

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Of CWG and Spot Fixing

It is difficult, almost impossible to mind just your own business. So when Pakistani players were charged with spot fixing, everyone in the world started to voice their experiences and opinions. The keepers of good conscience, the Aussies that is, started to speak at length about how they were approached and how they declined. The Pakistani board sounded proactive then dismissive and then attacking, yes they now think that all of it is India’s doing! There is nothing wrong with having an opinion. We all have one.

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Once Upon A Time In Mumbai: Review

Successes and Failures aside, Milan Luthria’s works so far reflect his penchant for exploring new vistas. Starting as a Mahesh Bhatt protégé and later venturing out on his own with films like Kache Dhaage, Chori Chori, Taxi No 9211, Hattrick, Deewar and now Once Upon A Time In Mumbai (OUATIM), Luthria has shown diversity in his work. His films had something about them that got him noticed. With OUATIM, he is sure to earn respect.

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Common "Wealth" Games

Global recession couldn’t slow down corruption and people involved with the CWG-Delhi seem to have made the most of it. As per the investigations by CVC that has X-rayed 16 Commonwealth Games projects, there is brazen corruption and inefficiency in the handling of the Games in India. What was seen as an opportunity for India to showcase the strides it has made in the global arena, has only helped in exposing India’s dirty underbelly that smacks of corruption.

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Breaking News

I vaguely remember reading a story in a magazine sold on railway stations that talked about a man killed by his own bullet 20 years after firing it. And no, I was not reading any of Rajni film scripts. The man in question had fired a bullet on a person who ducked and the bullet pierced a tree trunk. 20 years later, the same man stood before the tree trying to blow it off. Why not cut it rather than blow it off. Probably the country was Afghanistan! Anyways, when the man blew off the tree trunk, the bullet lying dormant for all these 20 years took its revenge and shot back at him, killing him on the spot.

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Oh God, Yahan Par to Laash hai!

As I switch on the TV, a familiar voice echoes from the speakers, "Oh Gawwd! Yahan par to laash hai". I do not panick because when ACP Pradyuman is at work, you need not fear. The bouncer alike Inspector Daya stands by his side as Inspector Abhijeet goes to minutely observe the lifeless corpse lying at the scene of the crime. C.I.D. amazes me with its consistency for 12 long years but what amazes me more is that despite the commendable work put in by these guys, they don't get promoted in ranks. ACP Pradyuman is ACP from time immemorial!

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Indian Paisa League

IPL has ended on-field, another one just started off it! Despite all the ramblings, IPL has, in the last year three years of its existence established itself as a potent brand. BCCI’s coffers have swolen seven fold in these years and the filthy rich of the country have got an alternate money minting route. Establishing itself among the top rated professional sports league of the world, IPL has had a meteoric rise. Where does that leave the stakeholders of the big league? Let’s have a look.

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Being his father's son

Without taking anything away from Abhishek Bachchan for being his father's son or his wife's husband, let us all be fair in declaring that there is much more to the man than the fake accent he painstakingly put in Delhi 6. Sadly, the guy has always been at the receiving end, his nemesis being the reputation (at times good and at times bad) that his father carries so humbly on his shoulders. The recent case in point being the WWF Earth Day fiasco.

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