I have been meaning to do a post on one of Sony Network’s popular reality show for a very long time now. But just could never find the time to do so and yes, I have responsibilities in the off-line world as well.

Frankly speaking, Jhalak Dikhla Ja’s previous was undoubtedly very impressive – Farah Khan was ruthless, Shipla Shetty added the “oomph” factor, Farah Khan’s ex-boyfriend’s outburst was hilarious and for some reason, I find Archana Puran Singh’s face really very amusing. But when I realized how heavily the channel was pushing one of their very own, which was totally unfair on other contestants, I switched over to another tele-show. Television actress, Mona Singh may have begun her career with a “glossy” bang which many aspirants can only dream off but do you really think she has lived up to the hype that Sony Channel has (superficially) created around her.

Click here to continue reading ‘Jhalak Dikhla Ja 2: Mona Singh Gets On My Nerves’

Okay, so the Indian Team won T20 World Cup. Wow…fantastic….brilliant…..super-duper cool…awesome, yup! I hope you get the drift. I too, like you and many others world over am ecstatic that our team has returned home victorious. More so over the fact that they deserved it, the last three matches had been seriously competitive but the Boys in Blue gave in their 100% to the very last minute.

Besides the grand arrival, the T20 Team has also been showered with intense “monetary” rainfall. Right after the India-Pak finals, BCCI announced a $2 million (Rs. 12 crore) reward to the team members, cash awards have also been announced for individual members for their glorious feat at the Twenty20 World Cup in South Africa. Yuvraj Singh will also be getting an additional Rs 1 crore (and not to forget the promised sports car) for becoming the first batsman to hit six sixes in an over in a Twenty20 match.

All good, I say. After all the Indian Team deserves it and BBCI being the cricket board of the country can reward them as per their desires.

But what I can’t get to comprehend is the method of appreciation chosen by our (useless) State Governments. I mean seriously look at this absurdity.

- Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh has announced a cash incentive of Rs 10 lakh each for Ajit Agarkar and Rohit Sharma.

Click here to continue reading ‘T20 Winners And The Money Rainfall’

Once again it’s the Oscar time and yet again India’s official entry for the prestigious award has managed to create hullabaloo within the Bollywood community as well as among many Hindi film fans. Filmmaker/Chairperson of the selection committee, Vinod Pande and his entourage have nominated Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s Eklavya as India’s entry for the Best Foreign Film category.

Besides Eklavya, other films that managed a spot in the final list of the selection committee included Yash Raj Production’s blockbuster hit Chak De India, Mani Ratnam’s Guru, Anil Kapoor’s Gandhi My Father and debutante director Bhavna Talwar’s Dharm.

Although Eklavya turned out to be a box-office failure, I did like the film. I found it to be esthetically flawless, Amitabh Bachchan was simply brilliant, a little slow paced but had that certain "arty" feel to it and above all film’s duration is well within 2 hours. However personally speaking, my first choice for the Oscars without a doubt would be Pankaj Kapur starrer, Dharm.

Click here to continue reading ‘The Oscars Debacle: Is Eklavya A Worthy Entry?’