business as usual

Another attack on Bombay. Media says this time the route taken was sea. So after land and air, terrorists have now entered Bombay through its famed waterways. The same route used by the Portuguese and the British years ago.

They apparently entered Bombay via Gateway of India using rubberised boats as noiselessly as a feline approaches its prey. The Taj Mahal and Trident hotels were the unfortunate targets along with 8 other places (including 2 hospitals) and the guests and hundreds of innocents who lost their lives the victims. 10-12 places targeted, over 900 injured and 80 dead. Break down of law and order…top cops dead…loss of lives and innocence.

When will this stop? What are the terrorists even trying to prove by attacking Bombay? That they are stronger than our security. That we are fallible. Fine we agree…you guys are the best masterminds ever born. Why then would you join the negative forces? Why not use your brains and help your respective countries develop? Don’t you realise that these attacks will only damage the infrastructure not the spirit? Bombayites are more worried due to inflation and recession and pinkslips than terrorist attacks. Honestly we couldn’t care less if tomorrow a bomb was planted in our backyard. But tell a Bombayite to let go of the 8.17am VT local and the poor person gets a panic attack.  

How long will we have to put up with this? There has to be a stop to all this. So many people losing lives for no fault of theirs. The holy books talk of karma…what goes around comes around. Is anyone paying heed to it? Have we thrown all caution to the winds?

“Take my flesh, Take my bones

Let my bullet ridden body mix with the dirt

Yet after all this, I will still have one immortal thing with me – My Spirit

You can’t take that away from me.”

This is the motto of Bombay…the spirit of its citizens. We do not fear blasts and we will not cower nor will we run away. The more we are terrorised the more defiant we will get.

Well in this entire milieu, US President elect Barack Obama apparent sent a message condemning the attacks as did UK PM Gordon Brown. So all those who were speculating Obama’s views on India can rest assured…a blast got us the coveted attention.

Meanwhile to all you planning the next phase of attacks…well…bring it on…we are up for any challenge…coz in Bombay, come rain or shine, bullet or bombs…it’s business as usual.

much ado about nothing

While Raj maybe busy diving the country with his scathing remarks and lofty views about insiders and outsiders, there is one gentleman who definitely believes in making hay while the sun shines. I am talking of KRK. Well its not a typo…i didn’t mean it to be SRK…it is very much KRK…Kamal Rashid Khan…if you are still scratching your heads let me elucidate. KRK is none other than the dashing leading actor cum director of the most debatable movie of 2008 – Deshdrohi.

Did I hear a bell ring? Yes that’s true. Neither Om Shanti Om nor Taare Zameen Par or Fashion or Dostana for that matter garnered so much of publicity as Deshdrohi did. What would otherwise have been relegated to the cans as a B grade flick has become front page news. And KRK well he must be feeling like SRK. Imagine on any other occasion he along with Gracy Singh, Hrishitaa Bhatt and Kim Sharma would have passed unnoticed had it not been for the timing. Drat…how is it that some people get it right? No PR, no marketing, ekdum low budget..bada dhamaka. What more does a film need?

Not just aam janta, KRK has managed to schedule special screenings for cabinet of ministers, Governor and others as well. Well done KRK…you have gone down in history as the man who struck when the iron was hot…oops what’s with me and idioms….it’s the KRK effect I guess

So long people…if any of you catches this movie please feel free to drop in a review. And thank you Raj for giving us such a lactating issue that everyone wants to milk it dry…moooooooooooooooo…

fashion ka hai yeh jalwa

Last night I saw Fashion. I was quite impressed by it considering that Madhur Bhandarkar has a penchant of unearthing the truth and presenting it before his audience. However I was a little disappointed with the treatment of the subject. Coz though the name was Fashion the focus seemed more on the models or rather their way of life and not on the industry as a whole. By this what I mean is, I would have liked to see more of the behind the scenes where fashion designers exploit darzis and karigars (selling a garment for Rs. 20,000/- of which merely a pittance goes to the craftsmen), plagiarism from both local and international designers (which is a big thing going on under the name of inspiration), how do designers get ’inspired’, maybe touch upon the lives of the unskilled labour who like the models are the real pillars of the fashion industry…

The film focussed completely on stereotypes (which I felt was not not Madhur). Be it the gay designers (cmon not all designers are gay and even if they are not all of them are effeminate), the coke snorting models, the business tycoon with his trophy wife could perhaps have been treated differently. Alsowhoever told him that a showstopper walks in the beginning of the show. I may be no fashionista but hello show stopper means one who ends the show…so much for research. Also in some scenes there were direct references to Gia (a film based on the supermodel Gia who struggles to rise to fame and eventually struggles to maintain it thereby sniffing out her life in the end) and Devil Wears Prada (where Meghna breezes in late for a dinner with her boyfriend and friends and nonchalantly blames the fashion industry).

What I liked was the portrayal of anguish, loneliness, the transformation from a small town wide-eyed girl to a catty supermodel unable to handle fame. The scenes that I felt stood out were the ones where Kangana flings the finger bowl on her boyfriend and where she openly mocks Kittu Gidwani for lecturing her non-stop. However I still didn’t figure out exactly what made Meghna sleep with Abhijit. I mean there was no such hint on his part either subtly or openly. And which woman in her right mind wouldn’t use a contraceptive if you’re sleeping with a married man…hello ever heard of a condom or a Pill 72…

Of the performances, I think Kangana wins hands down. The woman is way too good…almost Hollywood material…I could see Gia in her (portrayed superbly by Angelina Jolie). The other person who I thought shone in a small role was Chitrashi Rawat as Shomu the small time model co-ordinator. Her brisque style was very reminiscent of these model co-ordinators who arrange for small ads, etc. Mugdha Godse as Janet showed that models could act too…she supported the film very well with her quiet demeanour. Arjan Bajwa as the struggling boyfriend fit the bill showing the side of this industry where compromise is the keyword. Priyanka Chopra is a seasoned actor by now and throughtout the film I could see a faint innocence in her eyes be it beginning her career, stomping on grapes with Arbaaz, breaking the news of her pregnancy to him, smoking her first cigarette or even returning back to family and friends.

The one message that comes out loud and clear is that success if not handled well will eventually lead to your downfall and that when after every hardship, you reach the top, you realise that it is very lonely up there.

All in all an ok film…a tad too long…I had expected something more hard hitting after seeing Page 3, Chandani Bar and Traffic Signal (I stopped buying strawberries off the road)…