My Little Log Book

Here is my review of Kaminey. For those of you who haven't watched it - Kaminey is a Vishal Bhardwaj movie. Vishal Bhardwaj of the Maqbool, Omkara fame as also Makdee and Blue Umbrella - two of the best children films made in recent times. Vishal doesn't make apologies in his movies. He shows blood, gore in full measure. But there is just one line he refuses to cross - a line that would have catapulted the films to macabre and maybe mediocre - and staying within that line his movies somehow turn out to be brilliant. The complex emotions, situations, dramas, climaxes that Kaminey portrays are the hallmark of all Vishal Bhardwaj movies. Kaminey is an intensely complex movie. It is fast paced - but with brilliant editing there are hardly any loose ends. The movie is all Shahid Kapur (wonder what he did previously to inspire such confidence in the producer/director). It is the role of a lifetime for Shahid Guddu Charlie Kapur. And the movie is all about villians too. There are vill...

Watch this Sonu Nigam Mimicry video. This is a video of a young Sonu Nigam taking on colleagues in an episode with Johhny Lever in Johnny Aaley Re. It sure is a fun video and an antidote to all the H1N1 gloom! Enjoy.

It has been quite a long time since I last blogged here. Pretty remiss of me! If I start a blogging site - its my responsibility to keep it updated. Mea Culpa. But I have reasons. I had guests at home - lots of guests. I have been travelling - lots of travel too. Singapore, Langkawi, Redang, Cameroon, Mumbai - so dear readers, you can except a lot of boring details and updates soon! What has happened in the time I have been away? The fake IPL player has not revealed himself, Susan Boyle has not won Britain's Got Talent, India has not won the T20 World Cup, there is no coalition Government in India and Laloo is not Railway Minister (I know I have never covered poilitics - but Indian politics is still news I have to follow since I feel it concerns me). Of course much else is happening around - but I have not even followed the online trends to keep anyone updated. Mea Culpa again! The stock market is up. Hoorah! I have not looked at my investments for some time now. Will need to do it...

All those of you who have been following the IPl regularly - hope you haven't missed out on the fake IPL player's blog! Its worth reading, believe me. The "fake IPL player" apparently belongs to the Kolkata Knight Riders and gives juicy insider reports of the KKR and IPL happenings straight from South Africa. Sample what he has to say about yesterday's meeting between Bangalore and Kolkata. "It's almost like a battle for the bottom of the barrell. Both of us have tried every rule in the book to ensure that we finish last." and more - "Entering the meeting room I got a really funny feeling. Boy George, Bhookha Naan, Phoren Babas and the entire coaching staff (which now probably is larger than the playing staff) was seated and looking at us as we entered. Somewhat like the 70s films when the worker's union went in to negotiate with the management." He talks of a mutiny in the KKR team and how with just 11 players left no one else can be s...

WHO has raised the swine flu alert to pandemic level 5. Keep up with the swine flu updates at the WHO website. So far 148 people have been reported affected with the virus worldwide with 8 deaths (7 Mexico, 1 USA) Keep up with the virus status here. Swine Flu Updates from WHO

April 22nd is Earth Day. The Day when environment hogs the limelight, the day where all the right forums express the correct environmental concerns. When the vox populi through various media expresses its anguish over the ozone layer, the dwindling rivers, rising sea lines, carbon dioxide, toxic wastes, environmental changes, melting arctics and Himalayas, rising hometown temperature, acid rains. School students make posters and learn how far the and how fast the Mother Earth is headed towards self-destruction. This building up of the concern was the main reason Earth Day was conceived by Senator Gaylord Nelson, Founder of Earth Day. To get the people and politician involved and more proactive in conserving the planet. However we laymen cannot really shape the oil policies or halt the erosion of the ozone layers or the Arctic caps other than by expressing concern. What we can do, what we need to do and what we should teach our children to do are still a lot. Here’s a small list starti...

My son is ten years. He wants a cell phone - now. Should I give him one? Of late, my son has been pestering me to get him a cell phone. He first wanted the one I use and said I had better change to a new slick model. Since that was way too funny, he dropped the idea. Now he wants the slightly older Nokia Model I keep as a stand – by. His arguments interspersed with undeniable logic literally leave me gasping, with horror and shock. Horror, at his determination to wheedle a phone out of me at any cost - and shock, that he has grown up so much! Sample his logic. He needs a phone because he might get lost. The city has recently had a spate of kidnappings. To make him more aware I made him read the articles in newspapers and gave him a long lesson of safe behavior. He goes to a tutorial and basketball after school hours a few days a week. He goes chaperoned of course. But he tells me if the Driver shows up late, he can ring me up immediately and inform me. If his Basketball gets cancelled,...