Happy B'Day, Saif!

happy birthday, Saif!

Glee 2

Glee is my favorite series on telly.

Glee Season 2 is all the more fun..... all the more exciting!

It's sexy. It's sweet & sour. And it's uplifting.

Rooting for Mohit

Hardly there's anyone who does not know who Mohit Saggar is.

Or, that's what I'd like to believe.

Yet, some keep asking me why I've been rooting for him all this while.

Hence, I attempt to present in this post, Mohit - a guy whom I adore.

Please excuse my unabashed idol-worship of the guy.


Mohit Saggar is one of the reasons that had me watching Roadies 8 - Shortcut to Hell on MTV India.

For me Mohit is a true Roadie. He simply rocks!

Be it his attitude, courage or spirit, and him ever daring to break all moulds, he has been a constant source of inspiration, all through the show.

In fact, I see a bit of me in him. And, I am not talking about looks here.

Mohit is blessed with natural good looks, especially his smile is what draws him most to his fans, and he surely has a huge fan-following.

But he has his enemies and critics too, the former from amongst his fellow aspirants on the show, and the latter from the shallow-minded morons among the viewers.

When Mohit did the nude stunt, posing for the portrait artist in Brazil, baring himself fully on stage on front of an auditorium full of people, he really won my heart.

It was obviously difficult for him (as well as Suchit) to shed inhibitions (along with the clothes), yet he carried himself with elan, the petty comments made about his not being so well-endowed notwithstanding.

I admit, Mohit wasn't always the best in terms of performing the gruesome tasks on the show, and he bungled many a time, yet no one can deny that he tried to give his best to each task.

He was lucky so many times during the vote-outs that the fact alienated his co-competitors from him, but Mohit remained unfazed.

People on the show called him all sorts of names, some even stooped unbelievably low just being unable to bear the competition posed by Mohit.

Few had expected him to make it to the final. It was unbelievable for his naysayers that Mohit could make it to the top 4, then to the top 3, and finally emerge as the first runner-up.

For me, and all those viewers, who stood by him, Mohit is the true winner, regardless of the actual finale ranking.

I salute the spirit of this dude. Here's wishing Mohit Saggar the very best in life, life, after all, is the ultimate and 'real' reality show for us all.

'Shaitan': Dance of the Devil

'Shaitan' could have been a cult film. Sadly, it isn't.
Directed by Bijoy Nambiar, and presented by Anurag Kashyap,

'Shaitan' had plenty of promise to become the hard-hitting,

gritty thriller that it seemed to be from the quirky promos and

the music videos that had been airing on telly,

but the film does not live up to the expectations.
The devil-may-care attitude of the young and the restless

needed to be showcased with far greater impact.
Dance of the Devil is what I had expected,

the madness was palpable in the teasers, the film

was supposed to be trippy and irreverent......

however, in reality, the devil dances only for a brief while.......

the trip was tapered and tame.
Shiv Pandit, Kalki Koechlin, Neil Bhoopalam, Rajiv Khandelwal were quite impressive, and more than the other members of the prime cast.
But the one who shines fantastically, in a small role, is Raj Kumar Yadav. I also loved the delightful cameo by Rajat Barmecha. His segment in itself is superior compared to the entire film.

Directed by Bijoy Nambiar, and presented by Anurag Kashyap, 'Shaitan' had plenty of promise to become the hard-hitting, gritty thriller that it seemed to be from the quirky promos and the music videos that had been airing on telly, but the film does not live up to the expectations.

One expects quality work whenever the name of Anurag Kashyap features in the credit rolls, and the director though a first-timer had generated enough buzz when he had won a film-making reality show on telly, plus the rave reviews that were being publicized on social networking sites much before the commercial release made me a bit too hopeful about this new film.
I do not deny that there is some amount of newness, the fresh cast mostly delivers a top-notch performance, the visuals are absolutely brilliant, the musical score is pulsating, and the energetic & raw appeal often reaches a crescendo.
Yet, the film falters badly, far too often. Maybe it had tried to hard to walk along a tightrope, trying to impress and trying to go overboard in terms of technique and stylized narration with an otherwise simple morality tale.
Maybe the makers have tried to hard to walk along a tightrope, trying to impress and going overboard in terms of technique and stylized narration with an otherwise simple morality tale.
The over-indulgence in the script weighs it down to the detriment of the final product.
I sincerely hope, the talented director gets noticed - in fact, he already has garnered much interest in the film fraternity - and may he come up with excellent films in the near future.

"Rang Rasiya": Remembering Raja Ravi Varma

On this very day, in the year 1848, Raja Ravi Varma - the ace painter - was born.
He hailed from the Indian princely state of Travancore, and achieved enormous fame for his depiction of the scenes from the Indian epics.

Despite the typical Hindu ethos, he used a proficient blending of traditional Indian art form and the European academic painting techniques.

He received widespread acclaim after he won an award for an exhibition of his paintings at Vienna, in 1873. He died in 1906 at the age of 58, and his life and art has been the subject of many a discourse and critique.

However, what brought me closer to his art was the Ketan Mehta film 'Rang Rasiya', that was loosely based on the painter's life, and the relationship he had with his muse.

The role of Raja Ravi Varma was essayed by Randeep Hooda, and Nandana Sen played his muse.

I couldn't resist the temptation of sharing the stills from the film (all the pics are from the Ketan Mehta film - no copyright infringement intended - which sadly a few have been able to see till date, even though the film was toasted at major film festivals, because of the nudity issues and claims counter-claims on authentic portrayals. Just like the populist paintings of Raja Ravi Varma, the film too deserves to be seen by the masses, the prudish behavior of a small minority notwithstanding.

Neil's a Jolly Good Fellow

Neil Nitin Mukesh is one of the current generation of hotshot heroes whom I find quite likable.

He wasn't launched in a lavish way as many second or third generation guys or girls are known to be launched in Bollywood.

Yet, he was noticed in a big way in his debut film "Johnny Gaddar". He played the title character, but he wasn't a goody-goody hero. The film was a taut thriller, one of the best in the genre, in recent times. Yet, offers did not exactly pour in for Neil. He waited a while, and has then starred in films like "Aa Dekhen Zara", "New York", "Jail", "Lafangey Parindey", and "7 Khoon Maaf".

The films were not all good, but Neil's presence in each was worth talking about.

However, the critics have been too harsh on him, maybe because none of his films haven't been the chart-toppers till now. People with herd mentality acknowledge nothing but success, that's the harsh reality for tinsel town, and even for the world at large. Naysayers have said all kinds of ugly things like Neil is 'wooden', 'ghost-like', and 'pasty white'. I find it to be extremely unfair.

The fan following for this star somewhat multiplied after he did a dare-bare scene for Madhur Bhandarkar's "Jail", but the full frontal nude scene had to be heavily edited, and, thereafter, his following dwindled. Many were disgruntled to see him do a bit role, and that too negative, in "7 Khoon Maaf", but I found him too good in that film, and a few of my friends would happily agree.

Here's wishing Neil all the best for his films to come. May he make as much splash as his grand-dad (the legendary playback singer Mukesh) or his dad (Nitin Mukesh, another playback singer, though not as successful as his dad).

Neil comes across as a jolly good fellow, judging from his interviews or appearances on telly or at events, and I hope he is able to bag good projects to make his success complete.

The Bleed Blue Campaign

This time, we have become the proud winner of the ICC Cricket World Cup.

Team India had genuinely played well and the players - young and old - just gave their best and made sure that the team spirit was very much in order.

But, I would also like to draw attention to the Nike Bleed Blue campaign, which I consider to be one of the most successful advertising campaigns in recent times.

Seen above, from top, are Zaheer Khan, S. Sreesanth, and Virat Kohli.

Not just the Team India players like Virat Kohli, Sreesanth, and Zahir Khan rocked in the sizzling music videos and ad-spreads, but even celebrities from other walks of life (like ace boxer Vijender Singh) lent their support.