Shah Rukh Khan toh hain hazaaron mein akela

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Circa 2020, Location: Mehboob Studios (it will still be around then, I guess!), film: 'Wake up Sudhakar' -A middle aged Ranbir Kapoor's getting ready to play a 21 year old wayward youth, not knowing what it means to be a proper 'Mumbaikar'...Ranbir Kapoor is in deep discussion with his director ...which goes something like this... Ranbir Kapoor: "We can't say this dialogue, has this been cleared by MNS? Can my character be called 'Raj?' Did we check with all the Thackerays?? Back to the present....which is tense... So despite the fact that there seems to be no perceptible threat to the Hindi film industry at large, its time that the Hindi film fraternity stands up for their own...Especially when certain politically motivated individuals mix some comments to their own political agendas which could lead to a situation which could spiral into something akin to 'dictatorship'... to a....

Separatists amongst us!

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I'm a newbie in the city of namma Bengaluru and to whet my appetite about the city I decided that the Bengaluru darshan would give me an overall idea of the city. So there I was, trudging my way to Badami House, one Saturday, at 6.30 am. Groggy eyed, without my usual cuppa chai, I was wondering if this early (too early) sojourn was really a good idea? So there we were 15 of us...let's be specific...three middle aged couples, two newly married couples, a father with his daughter(an assumption we made), a 20 something man, my folks and me as we trooped into our bus, all excited to begin our journey. Then our Bengaluru Darshan guide also joined us. Now this guy actually made my trip worth it...of course the sights and sounds of Bangalore are impressive, (provided you don't pay heed to the traffic jams and bad roads).....

Separatists amongst us!!

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Separatists amongst us!! I'm a newbie in the city of namma Bengaluru and to whet my appetite about the city I decided that the Bengaluru darshan would give me an overall idea of the city. So there I was, trudging my way to Badami House, one Saturday, at 6.30 am. Groggy eyed, without my usual cuppa chai, I was wondering if this early (too early) sojourn was really a good idea? So there we were 15 of us...lets be specific...three middle aged couples, two newly married couples, a father with his daughter(an assumption we made), a 20 something man, my folks and me as we trooped into our bus, all excited to begin our journey. Then our Bengaluru Darshan guide also joined us. Now this guy actually made my trip worth it...of course the sights and sounds of Bangalore are impressive, (provided you don't pay heed to the traffic....

Frugally yours!

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Yes its time to cut costs. Or as some people put it..its time 'to tighten your belts'. And the entertainment sector is not in a different world away from markets and its certainly not far away from the corporate world and the world in general being affected with recession...so get ready to see a rather frugal way of functioning in the land of plenty called 'Bollywood'.Entertainment companies have urged their CEO's to start travelling economy class. A top tv producer's budgets for a mythological series has been slashed by one third. And no longer is a tv soap with a name starting with 'K'..the most sought after by GECs. Because these days a little 'Ballika Vadhu' has created a furor making the GEC's want something 'hat ke'! It's a different world. It's a difficult world. The people who dance and sing, cry and laugh to entertain you, are certainly feeling....

Hum kuch galat toh nahi bol rahe hain na madam?

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Raunak Kumar...yes that was his name. A cabbie who made me sit and up and take notice. He was a male Basanti for sure. (For the uninitiated Basantis are the male version of the talkatative character from Ramesh Sippy's Sholay). A cab ride from Dadar East to Lower Parel intiated a discussion on Matrimony, Economics, Politics with a cabbie. Actually make that a monologue with a nod or a 'haan ji' from my side. And this Up bhaiya (no he doesnt think its a derogatory term, he is from UP and is not bothered when people call him Bhaiya) with the twenty minute ride on Monday morning, spoke his heart out. He doesnt believe in MNS or Samajwadi Party, he does not want anything to do with either Amar Singh or Raj Thackeray, he does not want lathis or talwars. He likes Mumbai because its been his professional....

Will the real SRK please stand Up?

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I watched him without blinking an eye lid. It was the best I had seen of the actor. Everyone adored him as the rich NRI romantic boy in "Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge", he was quite cute and believable in "Kabhi Haan Kabhi Na", but in Ashutosh Gowarikar's tale of a predicament of an NRI, Shah Rukh Khan was the normal next door guy who pines to comes back to his desi land. I again liked him in the Manmohan Desai kinda inspired "Main Hoon Naa" as Major Ram. Then I saw him again this tuesday as the failed hockey Captain Kabir Khan who comes back as the coach of the Indian woman's hockey team. It was one of those rare occasions when Shah Rukh Khan-the actor surfaced and allowed the star to step back--the forced stammer and the crazy hamming tendencies left forgotten somewhere, thankfully allowing us to enjoy what....

Series of Letters to Shabbo:-Survival Guide to Mumbai.

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Train"ing You Dear Shabbo, What to tell you more about this metropolis? You need to be the master of masquerades and its better if you know how to "pliss adjest" yes that is how they say it here. And if you frequently use the train, to travel, then you will hear this term often enough. And unlike Delhi where you learn the art of elbowing thanks to all those pawing excercises that happens in the crowded DTC buses, Mumbai on the other hand, is where you learn how to protect your space, even if there is so little of it...you guard it with your very life, so you learn the not so subtle art of pushing and shoving. You practise it day in and day out..be it at a discotheque or in the local train. Also Shabs, its important to be aware of your own limitations,....

Series of Letters to Shabbo:-Survival Guide to Mumbai.

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Series of Letters to Shabbo:-Survival Guide to Mumbai. "Train"ing You well Dear Shabbo, What to tell you more about this metropolis? You need to be the master of masquerades and its better if you know how to "pliss adjest" yes that is how they say it here. And if you frequently use the train, to travel, then you will hear this term often enough. And unlike Delhi where you learn the art of elbowing thanks to all those pawing excercises that happens in the crowded DTC buses, Mumbai on the other hand, is where you learn how to protect your space, even if there is so little of it...you guard it with your very life, so you learn the not so subtle art of pushing and shoving. You practise it day in and day out..be it at a discotheque or in the local train. Also....

Spitsville!:-(Series of " Letters to Shabbo:-The survival guide to Mumbai")

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Dear Shabbo, Mumbai is a nice city. Fast life..that they usually say it is. But there is something that I have noticed..unsuspecting about your surroundings... now that is one state of being, you cannot be, in a city like Mumbai. So be it sunshine or rain, you have to be aware of where you are and what is happening around you, lest you want to be in the warring path of a whoosh of betel paan spit! Yes shabbo darling, the tradition of spitting with abandon, I guess, travelled successfully to various generations and has become part of the Indian pschye. So you'll say what's the big deal about some spitting, it has become part of our collective culture of what city life is...or for that matter what life in India is all about...a little bit of drool!! And if its tinged with some gutka or some benarasi....

Comical Holidays!

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I brushed aside the dust that had settled on the very books I considered priceless gems as a kid. And as I turned the fragile looking sepia pages, I lose myself again. The comic books my mum has very sweetly bound them tightly. They bring back memories of holidays and hot summers. Faint recollections of how we would sit up late at night, for my Ammavan (Uncle) to get us comics. And we would get lost in Phantom's world, travel with him deep in the African jungles and read old jungle sayings with rapt attention.I wanted to be Rex and have an uncle who has a wolf for a pet, has a beautiful skull shaped cave, is friends with African Presidents and a horse called Devil. I wanted to be close to Kit and Heliose, Phantom's twins, hear them giggle around. Lose myself in those stories where Phantom-Mr Walker....