Google Chrome : A Review

Google is coming into the market to compete with a giant like Microsoft. So a few weeks ago they launched a web browser called GOOGLE CHROME. The most surprising thing is that they launched this only for Win XP/ Vista only. Well launching a browser that would only work in the competitors' operating system? Intersting....but if you see from their point of view, it is the most widely used operating system!!

So I would think, what is so special about this browser? This would offer the same or similar facilities and options that IE, firefox, safari, opera, netscape would...with a few modifications...

But this was the google product I couldnt digest....

No real surprises or major advantages over any other browser. My personal favorite is Firefox and that would remain same.

Now google claims that it has taken care of the existing problems of the current widely used internet browsers but I do not believe so.

I would say a couple of new things but that is it.

They claim that the chrome is a lighter application than other browsers and a single instance is standalone and doesnt hurt other instances. Well upon my use of a few weeks...it didnt really matter to me. If you have like 5-6 chrome windows open and is open till long time...so when u try to switch it back, it just takes a lot of time to get back.

Other thing that is something new is that any tab you can drag it and make it a new window, this sounds useful sometimes.

Do let me know if in case somebody found a very good advantage of chrome over other browsers..

Google claims chrome to be very fast but I personally didnt find the feature to be effective.

Finally I am not pleased with this new browser, claims to be light but I personally didnt find it light, no good looks, and that makes me think ....

Why should I switch to this browser when almost all things are better with my favorite browser?

Hope google could read this and tell me what to look for in chrome...

Adios Amigos...Njoy life to the fullest..

Movie Review: "A Wednesday"

This is one of the best movies I have seen in recent times....

The way the director ponders over the current situation of citizens of India and especially Mumbai. I really liked the way the director takes one by one; problems of a common man...(stupid common man)...

The movie starts as a police commissioner starts narrating the best case ever handled by him....But he says that the surprising fact is that it is never registered in a file or at any place........

I would not agree to some of the previous reviewers that the move doesn't have big star cast......I believe that this movie has the best of the actors in the Indian movie industry. The best stage actors...Anupam Kher and Naseerudin Shah.

Anupam Kher and Naseerrudin Shah are the actors nobody can be compared with.....they are unique characters and their presence in any movie makes an amazing impact to the movie.

I would not like to describe the movie or the story as a whole because I want you to watch the movie and then think of what a common man in India would feel after what has happened with the common man.....

I really like the last line of the movie......Anupam Kher says" He told me his name but I won't tell you because people tend to find religion in a name" The above lines really touched my heart and depicts the real pain in the hearts of people of Mumbai....

I really want people to watch this realistic movie....Hats off to the director and the writer....

Mithun Chakraborty, Prem Pratigya and Ashwani Munshi....

In the above picture....Rajeev Kumar, Manoj Shinde(with the funny cap on), Chandraveer Singh yadav at Jigars wedding.

This post is dedicated to the following members of the M.S.Bidve Engineering College, Latur, Maharashtra, INDIA....


The great mithunish actor - ASHWANI MUNSHI
Latur ke great radhe bhaiya - RAJEEV KUMAR aka RAZU..
The Munshi acting fan club president and the one who is widely know an laundiya baajo ka baadshah - MANOJ SHINDE
The man who needs no introduction - CHANDRAVEER SINGH YADAV....
And all the members of the millenium batch....including me.....:D



The heading of the youtube video you are seeing says

"Dedicated to ashwani munshi and ronak patil. In the memories Rajiv kumar (Radhey Bhiyya)"

Enjoy the video and I really appreciate comments...

This one is with better quality

Manoj Kumar Tiwari....

Here I am with something that is really odd...I am not a bhojpuri native but I had a chance to listen to bhojpuri songs by manoj kumar tiwari 'Mridul'. I really like these videos......

Let me tell you something about this guy manoj tiwari "Mridul".

He is at the peak of popular success in the bhojpuri music industry. He has a large number of audio cassettes and is regularly invited to functions for live performances...

His style is an amalgam of the traditional and the modern taking the best of both...


So here are some of the videos worth watching......



This is the one that I like the most.



Bagal wali....Listen to the whole song....it is fun...

One more




Saher ke titali....

America - Out of Gas......

Nineteen years ago, the fall of the Berlin Wall effectively eliminated the Soviet Union as the world's other superpower. Yes, the USSR as a political entity stumbled on for another two years, but it was clearly an ex-superpower from the moment it lost control over its satellites in Eastern Europe.

Less than a few months ago, the United States similarly lost its claim to superpower status when a barrel crude oil roared past $110 on the international market, gasoline prices crossed the $3.50 threshold at American pumps, and diesel fuel topped $4.00.

I believe the time has come to put aside the normal crude oil running vehicles and switch over to other forms of energy. Now think of United States for a day without gas. I cannot imagine....Almost everything is dependent on fossil fuels.

Now the question why is America in such a disasterous condition? Why is the American currency going down against other currencies? Why is america into the credit crunch situation? Why has the traffic decreased on the american freeways during the long weekends? Why are americans finding an alternative for fossil fuels? Why didnt they think about this condition long back? All these questions have a single answer. And to get the answer we have to go back 50 years in the post World War II phase when America was considered the super power.

The fact is, America's wealth and power has long rested on the abundance of cheap petroleum. The United States was, for a long time, the world's leading producer of oil, supplying its own needs while generating a healthy surplus for export.

Abundant, exceedingly affordable petroleum was also responsible for the emergence of the American automotive and trucking industries, the flourishing of the domestic airline industry, the development of the petrochemical and plastics industries, the suburbanization of America, and the mechanization of its agriculture. Without cheap and abundant oil, the United States would never have experienced the historic economic expansion of the post-World War II era.

No less important was the role of abundant petroleum in fueling the global reach of U.S. military power. For all the talk of America's growing reliance on computers, advanced sensors, and stealth technology to prevail in warfare, it has been oil above all that gave the U.S. military its capacity to "project power" onto distant battlefields like Iraq and Afghanistan. Every Humvee, tank, helicopter, and jet fighter requires its daily ration of petroleum, without which America's technology-driven military would be forced to abandon the battlefield. No surprise, then, that the U.S. Department of Defense is the world's single biggest consumer of petroleum, using more of it every day than the entire nation of Sweden.

If this crisis were foreseen then we would have comeup with a backup plan like what is done by countries like brazil.

Brazil is one of the leading sugarcane producers of the world. Ethanol produced from sugarcane is an alternative source of energy. We have cars called FLEXFUEL that allows the car to run on E85 Ethanol. Now the so called superpower "UNITED STATES OF AMERICA" thinks they are in trouble because the gas prices rose to $125 from around $20 a few years ago.

Now didn't we see this coming....? This is not a kind of hurricane which we could not see. We were expecting this....may be not this early. But it is never too late......We need to do something...

One more thing is the amount of money United States is spending on Iraq and Afghanistan. I agree we need to protect our country. But now the time has come to bring back the troops which are spending a hell lot of fossil fuels. One of the reasons the economy is getting worse is this. This is my personal opinion.

Movie Review " An American Crime"

Again I am here with a bunch of movie reviews which were a part of activity last weekend....

AN AMERICAN CRIME

This movie falls in my favorite genre - True story.

*ing Ellen Page(awsm acting), Catherine Keener

This is a true story of a suburban single mother Gertrude Baniszewski, who kept a teenage girl locked in the basement in her Indiana home during the 1960s.

The opening courtroom scenes and disclaimer that "actual transcripts" were used make that clear. There's something about a "true crime" drama that triggers a desire to sit through whatever terrifying images lie ahead. And the images conjured up here are bone-chilling.

The movie is so-so but the story needs to be known to everybody. I cannot imagine a mother of 6 kids to do something like this. But this needs to reach each and every house of the world.

Sylvia and Jennie, daughters of traveling carnival workers are left for an extended stay at the Indianapolis home of single mother Gertrude Baniszewski and her 7 kids. I do not know that this movie depicts what actually happened but I still believe that the truth is more shocking that the movie itself.

So try to watch this movie if you can but beware this can be horrifying for a few.

Koshish.....

This week i am in poetic mood....so a poem which I liked very much... I studied this in my school....I hope this motivates everybody who visits my blog....



Lehron se Darkar nauka par nahin hoti,
koshish karne walon ki haar nahin hoti

Nanhi cheenti jab daana lekar chalti hai,
chadhti deewaron par, sau bar phisalti hai.
Man ka vishwas ragon mein saahas bharta hai,
chadhkar girna, girkar chadhna na akharta hai.
Akhir uski mehnat bekar nahin hoti,
koshish karne walon ki haar nahin hoti.

Dubkiyan sindhu mein gotakhor lagata hai,
ja ja kar khali haath lautkar aata hai
Milte nahi sahaj hi moti gehre paani mein,
badhta dugna utsah isi hairani mein.
Muthi uski khali har bar nahin hoti,
koshish karne walon ki haar nahi hoti.

Asaflta ek chunauti hai, ise sweekar karo,
kya kami reh gayi, dekho aur sudhar karo.

Jab tak na safal ho, neend chain ko tyago tum,
Sangharsh ka maidan chhodkar mat bhago tum.
Kuch kiye bina hi jai jaikar nahin hoti,
koshish karne walon ki haar nahin hoti.

– Harivansh Rai Bacchan

Movie Review: The Bucket List

So I had a chance to see this movie after a busy Friday at work.....So I thought to go out for this movie at the nearby dollar theater....

The Bucket List *ing Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson. This movie is a combination of comedy adventure and drama.....

I liked the subject of the movie and how the movie sails....u wont feel bored since we see a lot of funny dialogues. The movie is absolutely fabulous....

The idea behind the movie is to enjoy all the things that you ever dreamt

This is the line I like the most......it is in the start of the movie but the significance of which is at the end..
"I know when he died, his eyes were closed and his heart was open"

Firstly let me tell you about the person whose intelligence impressed me....carter chambers (Morgan Freeman)... omg he knew all the answers....lot of general knowledge...I don't know about others but I think he was great....

The other thing that fantasized me was the way Morgan freeman was narrating the whole story.....and it did make sense how the movie started and it ended....hats off to the director....

The movie goes like this......Jack Nicholson is a rich and affluent investor in the hospitals around the US and finally found out that he had cancer and he was a member of the human community for only a few months....Morgan Freeman a mechanic by profession also finds himself in the same boat and both these guys end up meeting each other in the same room of the hospital that Jack owned....and Morgan had a list of things which he wanted to do in life but couldnt which he called THE BUCKET LIST.

Jack Nicholson found out that both of them were going to die in a matter of few months and he had a lot of money to spend... So adds up his wishes in the bucket list and they both go out chasing their dreams....They move all over the world ....had fun and finally come home....I think this is enough for a review....bcoz I dont want to spoil the movie by telling every thing.....

So go watch the movie....It is fun....dont miss the comedy by Jack Nicholson....

Watch "One Two Three" Movie Online....

Hi guys,,

I just found out the link where you could watch the latest movie released in bollywood.

"One Two Three" ...A fun filled movie....I havent watched but it is not a movie that should be watched in the theatres...so guys who are like me that think this movie should be watched online only....there is something from the muft ka khazana guy....

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4

Guys njoy!!!!

Movie Review : "RACE"

Here I am Again with a movie review.... I am referring to the most talked about movie in this weekend.. RACE....

Star to watch for: Katrina Kaif (She is hot....and Abbas-Mastam made her dance well as well...:)..)

Cinematography is good with views of cape town....

Full of bimbos....Bipasha Basu, Katrina Kaif, Sameera Reddy....All the time they were dressed as if they are going to a party.....

I normally like the twists and turns of all Abbas Mastan movie but this one didnt go upto my expectations....and let me tell you that nobody can guess what will happen....so while you are watching the movie....try guessing who will b the culprit but you end up seeing somebody else......

But action is just too much...I cannot see a BMW flying with no reason....thats too insulting for a BMW......hehe.....

The acting is good from bipasha & saif. Akshayee is as usual....and as u all know katrina is just a show piece but she danced well....that something that i had to believe....hehe

I wont recommend anybody to go to the theatres....I would wait for the DVDs or may b find some other option....or go when the tickets get cheaper....

I would rate this movie 6/10 but since this is an abbas mastan one....i will give them one point more...that would make it 7/10

Movie Review : "The Kite Runner"

Hello to everybody...Easter holidays are coming by and the weather is getting warmer..snow is melting....everybody is happy and so am I. Lot of people are enjoying their spring breaks but not me....but I found time to go for this movie to the near by dollar theatre...

Now this movie is not really a fun movie to watch but movie enthusiasts like me would not miss this opportunity to watch a realistic movie which portrays the life of a country which is no more a place to live.

"The Kite Runner" -- The title is properly given.... It is a story about friendship, love, guilt and eventually salvation.

The story moves smooth and everything in this movie felt interesting right from the beginning. I was really moved due to the ups and downs of the kids and how their life changed due to their eithinicity.

The acting was really good. The story is based on the book which I have not read but I suppose that would be a better experience....but I understand that they cannot depict the whole book in 2 hours of movie...but overall the movie is fantastic and I would give 8.5/10 for this movie.

I wont spoil your mood by telling the synopsis....so better go to the theatres during the weekend....

"Marriages are made in heaven" -- Is it still true????

This week I was really wondering about some of my friends who are trying to persuade their parents to accept their boyfriends/girlfriends as their spouses and get them married...... and I wont say they are few.....

Count the number of teens/ young people who have chosen their life partner themselves, and compare it with the ones left behind... I think the count of the latter will be less. The reason behind this....??? Western Influence....? Liberalism ... ? Independency ...? Not sure what it is but this is for sure that the trend is changing.

Now I do not have any firm opinions about arrange marriages or love marriages ... and I wont be biased about any of these, but the reason for my being getting more into thick of things in this matter is just the reason on why this is happening. This was not the case a few years ago or may be when I was in my teens.

Nowadays if you ask somebody .... how is your gf/bf doing? The normal response... " Yea, he/she is missing me" ... but guys/gals like me who would say.." girlfriend....?? man I dont have a girlfriend..." and the response will be .....man you dont have a girlfriend......you suck man..."

It is kind of a status symbol to have a girlfriend/boyfriend. I know a lot of people will not agree with me but this is my take.

Life and Marriage are similar in many ways. For one, there are no guarantees in either. Second, there are no fixed rules for living a good life or a ‘making’ a good marriage that applies to all people. Then there’s the bit about both life and marriages throwing up surprises. Sometimes, real nasty ones.


I read some emails from different people in this newspaper article and I thought let me throw this to you all....

“Hi, I am from Bangalore and have been in love with a girl from Mysore for the last two years. She is a Punjabi and her parents are forcefully trying to marry her off to another man. I spoke to her father about letting us marry; he has refused and threatens murder. She is ready to leave her family and marry me but we are scared: What if her father kills us?”



“My parents have found a boy for me. I have not met him yet but have said yes. The wedding might take place in the next two months. There is too much pressure. I am 26, how long can I delay the inevitable?” she asked. One told her that while there was nothing wrong with an arranged marriage – we have umpteen examples of highly successful, happy arranged marriages around – agreeing to marry someone she had not even met seemed a bit drastic. “After having taken most of my ‘life’ decisions myself – and things blowing up in my face – perhaps I should let my parents decide for me? Perhaps they will make a better decision than me… No?”

Two faces of the same coin: On one hand, a case where the girl is ready to marry according to her parents wishes, hoping that in their infinite, adult wisdom, they would make the ‘right’ choice. On the other hand, a couple is scared for their lives because eerily enough, it’s parents who want to kill them.

Given ideal situations and not in cases where the parents are the predators, one cannot help but agree to the belief that when the world is against you, your parents are the biggest support you can find.

However, are parents ALWAYS right? Given that parents too are human beings, is there a chance they too could be wrong or make the wrong decision(s)… Particularly when it comes to choosing a life-mate?

What if everything is suitable between two people and they belong to different castes? WHY should parents oppose such an alliance? What makes more sense: Parents forcing their children to marry within their caste where the children will be unhappy or parents supporting it when their children do make an earnest choice that will make them happy?

The following is an email written by a not-so-young lady doing her PhD in the US.

“I am an Indian girl from the middle class family. My parents are highly educated and ours is a happy family. I’m currently doing my post graduation in one of top 20 universities in the US. My parents have also been liberal in giving us all the freedom we want, even told us we could choose our own partners provided s/he belongs to the same caste as ours. After coming to USA, I happened to meet someone whose interests totally match mine and am confident we can make a great life together. We are in the same field, he is also highly educated and is about to complete his PhD. We both hope to start our own research company once our education is over. His parents are also highly educated and support our alliance. However, since my parents have always had their stance on caste very clear, I don’t think they will agree. While I can support myself if I were to walk out and marry, I am worried about my parents: What will happen to them? They worked hard, educated us, it’s not fault of theirs that I have fallen for someone who is not from our caste. I love them so much and respect them a lot. Till now every thing in my life has gone well. But now I am scared of my parents. Even if they agree, our relatives and society – we are highly caste-oriented – will criticize my parents. Are parents wrong or their children wrong? And yet, I know I am doing nothing wrong.”

Indian Girl seems neither a flighty teenager nor immature. After careful consideration, she has taken a mature decision to marry a man she considers she will be happy with. While he meets all other criterion of being a desirable match for her, the only ‘glitch’ is that he is not of the same caste. Does that make him a bad match or a bad choice?

When parents oppose your choice of spouse, it is never an easy decision; and sometimes it is not possible to keep all parties happy. In such times, it is important to know and answer: Is your decision a sensible one and will you be happy? Often taking a decision based on personal happiness is deemed ‘selfish’, however one needs to remember that till the time you are not happy, you cannot make others happy. Will Indian Girl’s parents be happier if she were to marry someone from the same caste and spend an unhappy married life?

Indian Girl makes it clear in her email that she will be happy with the man she has chosen. Conversely, she might lead an unhappy life if she were to marry someone else. It is understandable that she also wants to keep her parents happy. Getting nervous will not help matters, clear conversation might. Perhaps her parents will come around, perhaps they won’t.

Since caste is the only ‘barrier’ here, one would suggest that Indian Girl should have an honest, heart-to-heart conversation with her parents and tell them clearly and politely that she sees her happiness with this man. As for “what society will think”: Will the same society stand by her and support her IF tomorrow she marries someone from her caste and is unhappy? It will not. However, since her parents love her and so does she, the right thing to do is explain her point of view, make them meet the boy and then ensure she does what she feels is RIGHT for herself and the man who loves her.

Happy Valentine's Day....

Here Comes The Day Again Which Is Not Mine,
As I Dont Have Any Valentine.
Things Happened In The Past Which Are Not Fine.
Rainy Days For Me Even When The Sun Shine.
No Girl To Propose,
No Aroma Of Rose,
No Chance For My Bike To Give Lift,
No Special Person To Give Gift.
No Miss Is There To Miss
No Experience Of A Kiss.
No Dinner In The Moon Light.
No Chance To Have The Day Bright.
Even Though I Dont Fall In Love
I Will Always Bow To Love.
Wishing Great Time To Ppl Who Are In Love
Happy Valentines Day ...

"HALLA BOL" -- movie review

At last I got a chance to watch a hindi movie in the theatres after a while....

So there am I again with a movie review...This time it is HALLA BOL... the words didnt make sense to me when I first heard but will always ping my mind when somebody ever says that.....

Another Raj Kumar Santoshi movie...that motivates the so called "Aam Janata" . Do you remember NAYAK???? Something similar...but this is a message to all the rich, the poor and the common man....

Do you remember street plays......no wonder you will find street plays around in big cities these days......

The man to watch for in this movie is not Ajay Devgan, but it is the theatre guru " Pankaj kapoor " (remember Karamchand??). Playing the former dacoit ("Daku") of Chambal -- "Siddhu". he is the guru of a big super star -- Sameer Khan (Ajay Devgan). He is out of chambal and now into street plays enlighting people to fight against the corrupt government and politicians.

In a page 3 party two sons of hightly rated businessmen/politicians kill a girl and nobody testifies not to get into trouble and every celebrity fears to testify against the criminals. Ajay Devgan was also one of them.

But someday he happens to realise that he needs to fight and he single handedly tries to testify and fights against the hurdles.

I think the story lineup is great. Acting point of view I really like Pankaj Kapoor (especially the moment when he tries to save a girl and a scene similar to Sunny Deol in Gadar and Damini).

But the only thing I think is the flaw in this movie is the screenplay. I thought there could be a lot at the end instead of some things that are understood in the beginning. For example when the culprits are testified against their crime.

The story reminds me of the "Jessica Lal Murder Case". Hope this movie enlightens the general public and make people feel that if they remain united they could fight against the corrupt administration of the country.

Enjoy the movie....

India - Australia Racial Controversy

Dick Francis, once a jockey for the late Queen Mother’s horses, found a second career post retirement as a mystery writer whose stories explored the darker side of racing. The time is ripe for a former cricketer to do the same.

The year is barely a week old and we’re already headlong into a fresh cricketing scandal. This time around it’s a race row between India and Australia – with an Australian cricketer alleging he was racially abused by an Indian player. Ah, sports in the global village. You gotta love it.

It all started way back when (alright, two and a half months ago) when Australia were touring India. A bunch of spectators in Vadodara marked Andrew Symonds, an Australian player of West Indian and British descent who was born in England, as the “enemy” thanks to his on-field clashes with Indian hotheads Sreesanth and Harbhajan Singh - two players least likely to take it like proper Indians - and began baiting him in the presence of a South African journalist.

Said journalist was more than a little taken aback when the Indian spectators around him began imitating monkeys. He asked one guy close to him what he thought he was doing. “He looks like a monkey,” the man apparently said. There are two ways to take this comment: one, he was alluding to the fact that Symonds was “black” and that he thought black people are less than human; two, he thought Symonds, literally, looked like a monkey.

The first would clearly be an example of racism. The second would have been his opinion. We don’t know which it was. But either way, it wasn’t very nice. If it was a racist comment then it was despicable and I hope he felt it burn when Symonds went on smash the ball all over the place. If it was his idea of a clever bit of namecalling, I hope he’s sitting at home watching the current drama play out on TV and coming to the realization that wit is not his forte.

The South African journalist later asked a member of the Australian press contingent if Symonds had mentioned the incident to him. The Australian said no and asked Symonds about it. Symonds appeared to have forgotten all about it but when quizzed, replied yeah, he remembered something of the sort but didn’t make much of it.

Next up, Mumbai where a massive row broke out when a group of idiots were captured on camera, scratching their armpits and hollering and jumping about. If they were looking to make it onto TV screens, they got their wish and more. Symonds was reportedly very upset and charges of racism were made against the crowd. Everybody fell over themselves excusing / castigating those men in the crowd who were eventually arrested but then released.

The best explanation, without doubt, was the one offered by one BCCI official that the monkey was sacred in Hinduism and thus the crowd was praying to Hanuman. That’s right – the sight of Symonds on the field brought out intense religious fervor in Indian cricket fans. And they invariably pray by yelling “monkey” and scratching their armpits. Ladies and gentlemen, a pause for applause here for the Board of Control for Cricket in India. They never disappoint.

In the middle of all this, Indian bowler Harbhajan Singh apparently tried his hand at sledging and ended up calling Symonds a monkey. After the match was over, Symonds came over to the dressing room and gave Harbhajan a short lesson on racism. Calling someone a monkey, where Symonds came from, meant that person was sub-human, an inferior breed. A charge that Australians are especially sensitive to because this attitude informed (white) Australian attitudes towards the Aborigines for years. Harbhajan, much contrite, said he’d had no idea and would never do it again.

Australia won that series in India and two and half months later, the Indians showed up in Australia for a rematch. The first test ended in a defeat for the visitors but the second test proved to be a real fight and the visitors put on a good show in spite of what seem to be rather more frequent umpiring errors than usual. (Understatement: it’s an art.) Then came The Incident.

Sachin Tendulkar and Harbhajan were at bat. Brett Lee was bowling. Harbhajan hit a delivery and ran down wicket for a run and along the way hit/patted Lee’s backside with his bat. Maybe this is how people express their affection in Jalandar or perhaps he felt he hadn’t hit the ball hard enough and therefore needed to hit the bowler as well to show the strength of his arm – hell, maybe it was the cricketing version of what basketball players do with their hands. Who knows what he was thinking? Harbhajan hasn’t yet explained and Lee has been absolutely mum on the subject. But Symonds got an eyeful of this and, perhaps because he enjoyed needling Harbhajan, decided to stick up for his teammate. So he and Harbhajan exchanged a few words.

And according to Symonds, this is when Harbhajan called him a monkey. Again. And not just any monkey but a “big monkey”.

I’ve heard a lot of people, by which I mean Indians, talk about how “monkey” is not a term of racial abuse in India and so Harbhajan never meant it like that. And as far as that goes, while “monkey” is definitely not a term of endearment (well, okay it can be but I don’t think that’s how they’d use sledging or having an altercation), they’re right – Indians don’t use it in the sense that Westerners do. However, if Harbhajan did use the term in Sydney, he did so after being informed of the connotations that the term carries in Australia – and as such he deserves condemnation.

The key question though, is did he use the term?

Michael Clarke, Matthew Hayden and Andrew Symonds say he did. Sachin Tendulkar and Harbhajan Singh himself say he didn’t. The umpires didn’t hear anything and the stump mics didn’t pick anything up. So it basically comes down to whose word do you believe?

Mike Proctor, the South African match referee, decided the Australians had it right in this instance. He said as a South African, he recognized a racist attack when he saw it and it was quite clear to him that Harbhajan had not only said it but that he meant it as a racial slur. Since Proctor is so well versed in racism, then he might also understand the point that many Indian fans are making today: black man, known for sledging, accuses brown man, known for temper, of racism -> brown man denies it -> umpires don’t hear it, stump mics don’t pick it up -> another brown man says he was right there and he didn’t hear it -> two white men say they heard it loud and clear -> white man says he believes the white men.

The character of gentlemen should give everybody involved the benefit of the doubt in this instance. Just as we don’t want to believe that Tendulkar flat out lied to protect his teammate and that Harbhajan said that term/ meant it as a racial slur, we shouldn’t jump to the conclusion that this is some sort of orchestrated campaign by the Australians to bump an effective bowler off an opposing team. Given the lack of hard evidence, it could have been resolved on field as a matter between gentlemen. But it wasn’t (and some people would say it’s because the Aussies have proven themselves to be no gentlemen) and so here we are.

However, if Ricky Ponting actually believed such a incident had gone down, he was perfectly justified in doing what he did. A fact that nobody pointed out more strongly than Ponting himself. Racism isn’t acceptable just because the target is a white man (Symonds isn’t but there have been other examples in the past) and a white team has every right to report an incident if it feels justified.

But now that he’s taken this step, it’ll be interesting to see how things play out over the years given Australia’s propensity to sledge. Some people, like Peter Roebuck, have called for Ponting’s head (for his attitude as well as his actions) and indeed, Australia may well come to regret this incident, but in the years to come? I think Ponting did everybody a favor.

I suppose in the short time to come you’re going to see some amount of retaliatory action, just like some allege the Australians are doing right now, but now that race has come into the open as a factor in a sport as beloved as cricket, there is no way it can be swept under the carpet by fatcats like the BCCI.

And now that the top dog in international cricket has stepped forward to make use of race laws, it should open the floodgates for other teams. After all, if Australia the hardy world champions don’t think it’s whiny behavior to stand up against racial abuse, why should other teams feel shy? And now that words like “monkey” and “bastard” are deemed racially sensitive, look for sledging to subside because really, who knows what might be culturally sensitive? Thus we come full circle and decide that abuse is abuse, whatever we call it. If you want to call someone names, make sure it’s someone from your own team because that’s the only way to ensure that you’re not stepping over some invisible line.

Good for all of us. Hard luck for Harbhajan, though.

I was going through some blogs and found out that this was interesting and the author has written very nicely so I thought of including in my post.....well but I would really appreciate the authors comments on this....it was informative but funny...

The movie every American should watch.."Charlie Wilson's War"

Charlie's Wilson's War demonstrates how futile wars can be, especially to the very people who spend countless hours and finances to fund them. Well I would like to say that politics has never been so much fun.

Charlie Wilson (Tom Hanks) is a Texas congressman who is credited with almost single-handedly winning the Cold War. Hanging around plenty of drugs, women and drinks, he also takes an unexpected interest in the events in Afghanistan and the terrors of the Soviet Union in the 1980s. Enlisting the help of Gust Avrakotos (Philip Seymour Hoffman) a renegade CIA covert mission expert and Joanne (Julia Roberts), a wealthy socialite, he raises money to provide Afghanistan with the rocket launchers and antitank weaponry they need to cause serious damage to Russian military. Eventually by the end of the 80s the Cold War would come to an end, and the funds would immediately be cut, thereby removing all help for the fledgling country to rebuild and recoup.

Defeating the Soviet Union was not an easy task, especially considering the many conflicting goals between the various political leaders. "Why is Congress saying one thing and doing nothing?" queries a disgruntled politician. "Tradition mostly", returns Wilson. Everyone appears to want the Cold War to end, yet a blind eye is being turned to the atrocities taking place in Afghanistan. It takes a trip to the war-torn refugee camps in Pakistan to motivate Wilson, as well as with his main financial source Doc Long (Ned Beatty). Wilson uses strategic ties with committees to raise funding of weaponry in Afghanistan from $5 million to $10 million with a simple command, but the president of Pakistan scoffs at the idea of winning a war for such a trivial amount. By the end of the Wilson campaign, $1 billion is sent to the Mujahedin to shoot down Russian helicopters - the first step toward victory, as Wilson predicted. Beyond the scope of the film, the unresolved turmoil in Afghanistan led to further, less ignorable problems, which Wilson presumably foresaw.

During the course of Charlie Wilson's War, the main characters travel from the United States to Pakistan to Afghanistan to Jerusalem to Egypt, but wherever they go, sarcasm always follows. There's a surprising amount of comedy in the film, considering the political undertones are generally serious. Hoffman provides jokes with almost every exchange of dialogue, as does Hanks, with his naturally witty woman-chasing ideals. A scene early on featuring Gust being continually ushered in out of Wilson's office as he tries to straighten out a legal issue with his posse of gorgeous gals ("you can teach 'em to type, but you can't teach 'em to grow tits")

I think the movie still needed some more material on what happened later.....the only thing they tell us at the end is " and then we f**ked up the end game. "

Well this may be the exact potrayal of the book but I would say if I were to make the movie then I would add a bunch of things.....

1. Show the results of what Charlie Wilson did.
2. The help/funds given to Afghanistan (due to the cold war) was a missile that turned towards America and hit the twin towers. (Logically this happened)
3. They gave high tech weapons to the Afghans and that gave rise to various terrorists....no wonder everybody knows now what happened....
4. This could be the rise of terrorism.....and US had to attack afghanistan spending lots of money......this is a good lesson to USA ....

Well these are just my thoughts.

Taare Zameen Par.....Worth reading this

Some1's well put opinion....


If you want to know how good Taare Zameen Par is, just go to your nearest theater and watch the people coming out after the show. The cacophony that surrounds a crowd exiting a theater will be missing. Some would be walking in slow motion. Some would look petrified. At least that's what happened in the theater I went to. Not a single soul was talking after the movie, probably because what everyone saw on screen was not fiction, but a semi-biography of his/her own life. In fact, the normally rowdiest gang in a theatre (ie my friends and I) that is uber vocal at the end of a film left the theater in pin drop silence. The first thing we said to each other - 'Aamir Bhai has done it again.'

Indeed, Aamir Khan had done it again. I have a gut feeling that Taare would change people like no other movie has previously done.

I know only Aamir can make a film like Taare. But let us assume he did not make it (dream on!). What would the film have been like?





If Karan Johar made Taare

· Obvious starcast:

· Shah Rukh Khan as the arts teacher (duh duh duh!!).

· Aryan Khan as the dyslexic child (even if he could not act for nuts).

· Rani Mukerjee as the kid's mom (assuming Kajol is unavailable).

· Abhishek Bachchan as the kid's dad.

· Amitabh Bachchan as the school principal (who cares if the role is ultra minute, he can afford it).

· It would be shot in New York to appeal to the NRI audience.

· The story line would obviously be different. SRK would fall for the dyslexic kid's mom. The last scene would have the mom running to the teacher rather than the kid. And again, like in so many other movies, SRK would get someone else's girl.

· It would have one dance number.

· The film would be titled 'Kuch Taare Zameen Par.'





If Sanjay Leela Bhansali made Taare

· Obvious starcast:

· Salman as the teacher.

· Rani as the mother.

· Of course the whole film would be shot on elaborate sets. The school would be nothing short of Harvard university.

· An orchestra would play every time anyone cried.

· Slow motion, different camera angles for every scene.

· The school uniforms would match the classroom walls even though that does not make a f***ing difference.

· The film would cost 60 crores.



If Farah Khan made Taare

· Obvious starcast:

· SRK as the teacher (yawn).

· In the original Taare, Aamir makes an entry at the interval point. In Farah's version, SRK would be on screen on for 2.30 hrs out of the 2.45 hrs and would be introduced in the first scene itself.

· The story would be changed to make sure the above happened. The focus of the film would be a teacher who helps a kid fight dyslexia.

· To make it a complete entertainer, there would be a romantic angle, comedy, and action thrown in. Oh idea!! Nikumbh's character likes another teacher and the kiddo helps him.. throw in some comedy moments there and you have romance and comedy settled. For action.. hmm.. lemme see.. oh yah, the kid gets kidnapped and the teacher fights the baddies to save him. Wow!! I'm quite an imaginative writer. I can see how Farah can write a film from scratch in two weeks straight.

· The film posters would have a big SRK with the tiny image of the kid in the background.





If Rakesh Roshan made Taare Zameen Par

· Obvious starcast:

· Hrithik Roshan as the teacher.

· Since Rakesh Roshan cannot think beyond science fiction these days, this film would have that too. Instead of dyslexia, the kid would have alienositis or something, a condition induced due to him witnessing an alien abduction.

· Instead of Nikumbh being an arts teacher, he would be a physics teacher, and instead of asking kids to be creative, he would ask them to challenge the science we know.

· In the scene where Nikumbh asks the kids to open their minds and make whatever they want outdoors, the kid Ishaan, instead of making a boat, would end up making a working spaceship prototype.

· Nikumbh would cure the kids problem by making a full fledged version of the kid's prototype, traveling to the alien planet, and asking them to give the kid his powers back.

· The film would have music by Rajesh Roshan ripped off from some world music.

· The film's name would again start with a K.. probably 'Kuch Aliens Taaron se Zameen Par'.

· The director would make sure Hrithik gets to show all his abilities. This would mean a scene with Roshan jr flexing his muscles, and a dance competition in the end, instead of an arts competition.





If Priyadarshan made Taare:

· Obvious starcast:

o Akshay Kumar as the teacher.

o Paresh Rawal as the kid's dad.

· It would be a brainless comedy. The kid's dyslexia would be made fun of. Half the times the parents will be running after the kid from one room to the other and that, in the director's opinion, would be funny.

· The film will be full of sex jokes. So for example, when Akshay would come to the parents telling them that their son has dyslexia, the ignorant father would say something inappropriate like 'iss umar mein? par kaise, woh to hamesha boys school mein padha hai!'. And yes, the director would think it is funny.

· In the climax of the film all the characters in the film would run around in the amphitheater for no reason, spilling colors on each other. That's where the film will end, without any logical conclusion.

· And of course, Paresh Rawal would emote like an epileptic himself making us question the boy's mental abilities anyway.



I know there are a lot of other directors, but I choose these guys because I feel they are the most gutless or overrated directors we have today. They keep doing the same shit again and again and more often than not depend on the stars to carry a shitty film forward. They have no courage to try something non-nonsense, something that can use the medium of cinema for a little more than just entertainment, in spite of being the most sought after directors in the country

The reason I am making this comparison at all is to show how Aamir (and Amol Gupte) has made a pure film, without giving into the temptation of masala or 'what would the audience like to see' philosophy; for giving chance to fantastic yet unknown actors like Vipin Sharma and Tisca Chopra (I love Tisca); for riding against the tide; for not trying to hog the limelight in the film by happily playing second fiddle to the boy (even Aamir Khan's name comes after Darsheel Sarfi, the boy, in the credits); for giving the audience something different once again as an entertainer; and for truly caring about the society and using the medium to bring a change.

I remember earlier this year SRK made a statement: 'films are for entertainment; messages are for post offices.' Well Aamir Khan has proved that cinema is probably the best medium for giving a message and I can say that looking at the face of every person in the cinema hall. Not only that, he has proved (yet again!) that a message can be entertaining.

Behold bollywood bigshots, Aamir the director has arrived. With just one film, he has set the bar higher than most of you can only dream of reaching.

I am legend -- Movie Review

I am again with a movie review which I watch a couple of days ago..

This was the most talked about movie in the town I AM LEGEND ....(what do you mean by was....it is...ohh I am sorry) Let me correct it.......It is the most talked about movie in the recent times.....starring Will Smith.....and a few characters....

Frankly speaking there are vey few characters casted in the movie probably because of the needs of the script......The tag line... tells that I am the only person left on the earth.....

Well it is a sci fiction movie...or I might call it a super natural one at this point of time...but I do not deny that such a kind of thing can happen in future.....

It is about a doctor who is left alive in the city of new york after a virus infected everybody but him....He is left with his dog and everybody else is infected with the virus which supposedly was a cure for a typical cancer......

It is about how he survives and tries to get into contact with people like him who are not infected and needed help.

I dont want to disclose everything so better watch the movie.....I would rate this as 7/10.

" A Mighty Heart" -- Movie Review

I am again with a review to the movie that I just watched. It is one of my favorite genres.....TRUE STORY.....

Telling the truth is generally considered to be the first step on the path to righteousness. Many people have a hard time accepting the truth when faced with it. That difficulty in dealing is perhaps the main reason some run far away from the truth altogether. Given how troubling facing the truth can be in everyday reality, being subjected to it in celluloid on the big screen is a very hard sell.

It is a story about Daniel Pearl, a jewish journalist for THE WALL STREET JOURNAL, a stanford graduate who joined THE WALL STREET JOURNAL in 1990.

Surprisingly enough, the movie is almost politics free. The basic story we all know. Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl disappears while trying to tie up one last interview about terrorism while on assignment in Pakistan. From there, his pregnant wife Mariane, their close friends, and various branches of various governments pull out all the stops to find him, but don't get there in time. Pearl is beheaded by his terrorist captors.

Actually the story is of Mariane Pearl and how she holds up as she takes a very active role in the search for her husband, but must take it from her home, because she is pregnant with their first child and can't go out and kick in doors herself.

Do comment if you like my post

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