"Bhaag Milka Bhaag" Hindi Movie Review

India's most famous athlete Milka Singh has never won a Gold medal at the Olympics. But when he sprinted those tracks be it in Berlin, Tokyo, Rome, Melbourne or Paris, he created a flutter and an epic wave of adulation that knew no language barriers in a newly-independent India - an India where Cricket is yet to scale feverish fervor, where Hockey ruled the roost and where sportsman had to struggle for grants to wear basic paraphernalia like spike shoes and wrist bands. Milka Singh, therefore, fired a nation's imagination when he ran like a Cheetah in races upto 400 metres and won many national and Asian awards. He also broke the World Record for 400 metres acing up the previous record of 45.9 seconds with 45.8 seconds. He achieves iconic fame that makes people like PM Jawaharlal Nehru fete him and appoint him as Goodwill Ambassador for Indo-Pak Games. Even "Padmashri" is conferred on him. In those days, one "Padmashri" is worth a hundred "Padma Bhushan"s because it is given to those who achieved outlier milestones in their chosen calling. How did Milka Singh win so many laurels? What drove him to run the most improbable races of his life - a race to qualify for the national team where he has to beat an athlete Sher Singh who broke his bones and blistered his foot, a race against an arch rival from Pakistan which took Milka Singh's parents in post-partition riots? What were the chief motivations of Milka Singh? Was it an escape from hunger, rewards of money,  pride of representing India or an unflinching and almost neurotic obsession with breaking records? What was his love life? What about the allegations on his brief affair with an Australian girl or the swimming athlete from India? Was he really guilty of stealing at the Asian Games or the National Games? Answers to these and many more will find a mesmerising cinematic take by Director Raykesh Omprakash Mehra (you can enter the Spellbee contest if you get his name right). Title role is played by Farhan Akhtar who proves why he is one of the most intense and professional actors wearing a director's cap. In a running time of little over three hours, Mehra has re-created the magical odyessey of Milka Singh from origins as a toddler to his finest hour of annointment as a "Flying Sikh" by Pakistan Premier Ayub Khan. 

It seems Milka Singh himself has chiselled portions of the script to render authenticity to the film with a terrific starcast - Pawan Malhotra as the coach and many other famous "art movement" film personalities. Prasoon Joshi does a triple-hat with story, screenplay and dialogues. Most dialogues are in Punjabi but the vocabulary used sprinkles operative Hindi  to connect with the masses. PrakashRaj gets a different role that gives him scope to emote rather than utter spitefully. Sonam Kapoor looks the same smiley, shy girl in "Delhi-6" but her role is limited and her disappearance from Milka's (Farhan) life in second half is surprising. Choreography by Ganesh Acharya and two others is catchy and pleasantly different. The steps are matching the energy and sparkle of the trio Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy. They return with a bang - they breathe fire into every song and rev up the overall mood of the film. Surprised to find that one of the producers P.S.Bharathi is also cited as Editor - that has slipped a bit. An illustrious bio-data of 20 years needn't run to 10 pages. Similarly, a career of an iconic Milka Singh needn't be biopicised in three hours. Some scenes should have been cut, even some songs. Director, and by inaction, the Editor have shown many scenes from the childhood as well as the training period to show how Milka Singh became a hardened youth with a fire-in-the belly. Mehra uses the flashback technique to narrate the story of the Flying Sikh but a number of scenes appear repetitive and sometimes slow. The wounds of Partition which scarred Milka's psyche are a recurring theme. The races, even if exciting, are too numerous which sometimes give a documentary-feel.

What endears the film, despite its minor flaws, is the imagery of the rural landscape and a brutally honest portrayal of Milka's trials and triumphs, fetishes and failures. In the annals of world athletics, there may be many superstars who sprinted their way to Olympic glory like Jesse Owens, Ben Johnson but very few have stumbled upon athletics  from a background as strange as that of Milka Singh. He joins the Army first, then joins athletics because he will diet will get richer by a glass of milk and two eggs. In all his races, he sprints them first in the mind and then completes it physically almost like a Covey habit of highly effective people. He uses a combination of hardwork, willpower and dedication,as admitted in the film to raise the bar everytime. Today's media show the likes of Gavaskar, Rathod, Sethi and Anand give us that one secret to excel in sports and games. But for so many years Milka Singh has done the talking with his relentless sprinting at a time when Radio carried the waves of commentary, GDP growth was a Hindu rate of growth, and Indians barely began to believe in themselves. Milka Singh opened the first door of liberalisation in sports. For many years, it was half-open and waited for someone to push it wide open and explain the secret of his success. This is the film - inspiring but with some flaws and hot scenes. For all those who only know the famous joke on him ("Are you Relaxing?". "No, I am Milka Singh") "Bhaag Milka Bhaag" will throw better light on the man. New India deserves to know. Rating 4 on 5.

"Singam 2" ("Yamudu 2") Telugu/Tamil Movie Review

I watched "Singham" in one of the 2355 screens world-wide.  Thats a staggering number indeed - something that no Tollywood hero has ever achieved so far. Speaks of the all-pervasive appeal of Superstar Suryaa and Kollywood across global audiences.  His films combine action, intelligence, entertainment and a dominant theme that usually make a mark - something that interests film-makers outside Kollywood attracting the likes of Aamir Khan and Ajay Devgn. Given the high bar of expectations, therefore, "Singham" created an unprecedented buzz. The buzz started off with an early warning that seemed a little ominous: the length of the film. That's killing: 2 hours 46 minutes 13 seconds. You expected better stuff from the makers of "Singam": because it is a sequel in the most authentic manner - it starts off chronologically at the same point where Prakash Raj gets killed by Inspector Narasimham (Suryaa) in the last plot. 

Inspector Narasimham is under-cover this time to detect why stuff is getting imported via Kakinada port. He is appointed by Vijay Kumar in a top-secret operation that even the top cops do not know. Narasimham works unbeknownst to all including his parents, his girl friend Anushka as an NCC guard and gathers details about two gangs operated by Mukesh Rushi and Rahman who peddle drugs via Danny, an International Drug Cartel Ganglord. The first half is all about establishing the links to this deadly nexus between criminals, romantic tracks between Suryaa and Anushka (two-sided) and between Suryaa and Hansika (one-sided from the girl). Santhaanam sprinkles his sparkling comic sense throughout the film, especially enriching the entertainment value in the first half. The block on interval comes with Narasimham deciding to take charge as DSP of Kakinada as criminals run amok and the gang-leaders tighten their grip. Until this point, the film is gripping and intense, intelligent and entertaining. The gradient of entertainment drops off after that and never returns to give you that wow factor which you need in the climax to make a film a blockbuster. 

What are the highlights of the film? Undoubtedly, performance by Suryaa - he looks the most complete cop ever - suave, stern and gentle at the same time and a body that today's policemen in higher rungs don't have - abdomen made of concrete and an exterior that even Hollywood Superheroes can't fake. Next, Santhanam's comedy which has now reached a colossal status - he seems such a vast improvement over the loud Tamil comedians that were never a match for the iconic Comedian galaxy of Tollywood films. What is helping Santhanam who seems to be born with a poker face all the time is the lines that his writers write for him - they are worth a million buck. Vennelakanti has written solid lines for both Santhanam and Suryaa. "Vayasu lo figuru, Vayasayaaka Shugaru.." is just one of the many fabulous mouthfuls that Santhanam gets to speak with uproarious laughter. You don't really need a Vivek in a film that has Santhanam tickling you. Infact, this film shows Santhanam better utilised than any Comedian used by a Tamil Superstar so much in recent times. It seems a tactic borrowed from Tollywood's heroes. DSP's music is just apt for the moods and oompish songs of Singham brand. Director Hari's team has created a good dancing groove that may become as famous as Gangnam style - thats Singam style. Anushka  and Hansika look good in their roles - Anushka should switch from her brand of Yoga to Pilates and Aerobics in order to look slimmer in future. 

What mars the film is the length, as mentioned earlier. You don't need to establish the sincerity of an upright police officer in a sequel but Director wastes some footage in creating scenes that re-establish the character of Singam. Stunts could have been more intense and less frequent. Dubbing care has gone for a six in the film which was better handled in recent years thanks to Producers who have their ears to the ground.  Most of the film is short in a coastal town which is supposed to be Kakinada in Telugu but the editor's slip shows it as Tuticorin, most street shots still show Tamil signages. Chennai Airport is shown as Rajahmundry Airport, Kochi Airport is shown as Hyderabad Airport, pincodes of Kakinada don't add up at all and the sea coast of Kakinada can't hold a candle to the magnificent beaches of Tuticorin. Even the police station of which Suryaa is the  lion-king loosely shows the portraits of Sardar Patel and Netaji  - it looks more of a deliberate intent than a best practice amongst police stations in India. Chief Minister's Peshi shows Anna Durai, Kamaraj and others of a state from where it is dubbed from. Loose ends like this haven't been seen in a long time  - with some careful makers who eye Tollywood as much as Kollywood market. While the plot builds up to an intense crescendo at interval time, it fails to register a good finish in the second half with a dragging story and a weak climax. But the first half alone is enough for a watch-once recommendation, embellished by the performances of Suryaa and Santhaanam and glamor quotients of Anushka and Hansika. Rating: 3 on 5.

"Man of Steel" (English Film Review)

Hollywood and least of all, Times Warner never lets go of films with milkable franchise value. "Superman" is one of the themes that keeps coming back into our multiplexes even if Superman has never visited this planet from any of the satellites of planet Jupiter in recorded history, in real life. Come to think of it, "Superman" has also drawn less crowds than the other comic strip superheroes especially "Spiderman" In a citation of the 300 best-ever blockbusters by George Lucas, "Spiderman" parts one and two made it to the top 50 way ahead of "Superman" and even "Batman". For the records, though, "Superman-the movie" made in 1978 and "Superman II" (starring Christopher Reeves) made it to spot no.57 and 163 respectively with combined takings of  $600 million between the both of them. So, it is not surprising to find a renewed effort by DC Comics, Times Warner and producer Christopher Nolan to make one more film that reboots the magic of the primary colours superhero - this time for the new generation.  

What did they do different this time that the older versions didn't pay attention to? Basic plot and detailing of how Krypton thrived, and disintegrated. Director Zack Snyder builds a skeletal storyline to dumb down the primordial origins of Superman in the wonderful planet of Krypton - built for scale of maginificent flying objects, mysterious reptilian creatures and reality-begetting thoughts where the spirits wander at will after death and the living meander without emotions. Rusell Crowe plays the natural father to Superman who is born to his mother in Krypton's first natural pregnancy labor but by then the villain annexes the whole planet as he overthrows the rulers. Krypton implodes as self-destruction engulfs the rulers and the rebels. Russell Crowe  entraps the genetic code of the Kryptonians in a codex carrying baby Superman and releases him in a rocket towards uncharted territories. This part shows good emotions. Superman reaches Earth and grows under the care and nurture of foster parents played brilliantly by Kevin Costner and Dianne Lane. As time passes by and the Superman comes of age and realises his power to save the world, the villains who were crystallized in space before planet Krypton imploded awaken to life and hunt down Superman as they come to Earth in "Independence Day" style satellite spaceships and threaten  Earthlings to surrender Superman to them. There is another sinister plot to this which only Superman knows - the plan to de-planetise Earth and reconstruct planet Krypton on the earth's crust. This is  the weakest part of the story however bizarre the plot is. This probably borrows from the concepts of Physics that matter can neither be destroyed nor created in a film that resembles many other franchises in the execution of some visuals and concepts. One gets a deja vu sense of seeing films like "Avatar", "StarWars", "StarTrek", "Batman", "Spiderman", "Matrix" in this offering. The first half, to be fair, is a great storyboard of stunning visuals and feast of Sfx on the Kryptonian origins of Superman, his journey to Earth, his coming of age. But from the second half, the director seems to have lost control of the cruise and lets the treatment go haywire as there's no depth in the story that has a trite ending and a weaker climax. What lifts the film are the performances by the elderly starcast - Dianne Lane, Kevin and Rusell. Henry Ceville as the Superman looks sturdy and convincing. From the feel and look of the film, it may be an unconvincing film for hardcore Supeman fans. If I can hazard a guess at what's coming next, it will be a full-flooded storyline  with better romance and neater screenplay and a beefed up storyline - this time directed by the venerable Christopher Nolan. This is meant to be a reprise dude for those who like to have a graphic retelling of how Superman really came into being. 

Technically, the film is outstanding and the 3-D effects are precious few, as is happening lately. With ever new technology, Hollywood outgrows itself into showing how to infuse new verve, energy and speed into the Mach-12 speed of the jetting Superman . One day, he may travel at the speed of light on celluloid. But this time, lets give the benefit of doubt to the Warner Brothers for making a caper that lets them wake up and smell the money. One more surprise for hardcore fans of Superman is the missing music of John Williams. It is Han Zimmer now  - "The Gladiator" composer who steals the show and the thunder from the effervescent theme that haunts us as we know. A mixed bag and a basic re-introduction of Superman, if nothing else. Watchable in the first half. But for the effort, it deserves 3.5 on 5.

"Something Something" (Telugu Film Review)

Some stars hitch-hike their way to stardom doing the same star-turn again and again and hope for re-alignment of luck or fortune. Little do they realise that fortune favors the brave or the new or those who try out different roles. Atrophy sets in sooner for actors who play the same kind of roles. Siddharth is the star to talk about in this film "Something Something", his screen roles are less than half as exciting as his off-screen romantic tracks, maybe he should make a film on that like "Autograph Memories". This film is no different.  "Something Something" is a story borrowed from the film "Choti Si Baat".

 Kumar is an IT Geek who can't talk to girls, let alone woo them. Everyone in his office has a fling or two and are having a blast in office. Into this office steps in Hansika, the trainer. Kumar (Siddharth) lightens up, loosens his libido and makes many false starts to converse with the girl. Somebody advises that he needs the expert guidance of Premji (not Aziz Premji, just love Guru Premji). Premji (Brahmanandam) enters and starts his tutorial with Kumar. He succeeds, despite competition in the fray and all that. He gets paid by the minute and the hour like some Intellectual Property lawyer of Amarchand Mangaldass & Co. It is this chemistry between Brahmi and Siddharth that gets some genuine good laughs and punchy one-liners.

The only twist in the film is at break-time where Premji learns that Hansika is his own niece. He decides to move into reverse gear and starts a campaign that will antagonise Kumar. This is the part that is dreary and deadpan. Entertainment reaches a crescendo in the first half but fails to sustain the momentum in the second half making it an average film on the whole. Comedy with Brahmi and others is above-average and intensely situational; its been a long time since he is enmeshed with the main storyline and shows up till the end. But age is not on his side and had it been a younger comedian like Venu Madhav or Srinivas Reddy or even Sunil, the output would have been fiery and effective. Music by Sathya is new-sounding and not uniformly melodious. Director Sundar hasn't done his best in crispening the film. What peppers the film with a weak storyline are special appearances  by Rana Daggubati and Samantha, his current hearthrob.  Hansika is happy to be dressed like a princess who keeps looking at her own image in the mirror, she cannot act. On the whole, Siddharth tries to rope in the magic of Brahmanandam (Santhanam in Tamil) to turn his luck on. But this is unlikely to be a big draw in Telugu because he has no role to kill for and the film is just about average despite being a clean entertainer which families can watch. 2.5 out of 5 is my rating.

Mr KV Kamath and The Coefficient of Determination

Mr.KV Kamath has been replaced by Narayan Murthy in Infosys and people are praising both of them. I don't want to spoil the party for Kamath fans but I want to point an analogy from Statistics to explain my point. "The Coefficient of Determination" represents R Square, used in Regression Analysis for explaining the movement of a dependent variabl...e attributed to the movement of the independent variable. So, an R square, short for Coefficient of Determination, of 95 means, that the dependent variable's movement is attributed 95% to the movement of the independent variable.


Take Mr Kamath's achievements in Banking. There are paralleled by few other stalwarts, no doubt, like Mr Aditya Puri, Mr Uday Kotak and Mr Rana Kapoor. But in all fairness, if a Coefficient of Determination be used to judge his performance in ICICI Bank, as he took over from Mr N Vaghul, it must be said that the Banking Credit itself grew by leaps and bounds during his tenure, for the system as a whole. If I hazard a guess, it grew from Rs.7 lakh crores to Rs.56 lakh crores in the last decade. What does it mean? It means Mr Kamath's rise in Banking could have been matched by anybody else sitting in his place because the basic platform captured 80-95 per cent of the action from the demand for banking credit, which just grew astronomically. I am not deriding Mr Kamath's achievements here; I am only suggesting that we should evaluate his performance fairly and objectively - how much has come from independent variable (his ability) and how much has come from dependent variable (bank credit). Now, lets contrast this with his tenure at Infosys which has been quite forgettable until Mr Murthy decided to take his stewardship back. In the last three years, Infosys has been the victim of both internal turbulence - many seniors leaving the company for greener avenues or different avocations - and external turmoil. Compared to the metric of Bank Credit which grew at an average of 14% p.a. in the last ten years or so, IT industry in India grew in single digits, the world's big spenders in IT curtailed their budgets, shrunk their balance sheets, hived off unprofitable units and all this resulted in immense shakeouts, rationalisation and hardship for companies like Infosys. The famed "thirty plus" margins of Infosys can no longer be granted and Mr Kamath's tenure became a rocky one - his invincibility became a muslin thread that gave away to the shocks of the subprime crisis. You could also argue, in another perverse manner, that the Peter Principle (Every employee rises to his own level of incompetence) has applied brutally here too. It will be interesting what the Coefficient of Determination test will prove here for Mr Kamath's innings at Infosys. This is the framework I would like folks to evaluate Mr Kamath. I don't mean to disparage the man and his achievements. I met MR Kamath atleast thrice in my stint at ICICI Bank and have enormous goodwill and regards for him. But I don't want to be carried away by blind followership.

Disclaimer: I hold shares in ICICI Bank even today.

Amway and Your True Calling in Life.

Amway's CEO got arrested for financial irregularities. I am so glad this happened in my lifetime and not during my kid's retirement years. Amway is just one of the several MLM schemes that have got the better of many intelligent people. I know of most sober and savvy people working in companies like Google, Microsoft, SBI, SBH, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank guard the Amway products and schemes like a fana...tical zealot. I had always resisted the advances of such people and wondered what is it with lovely people who will turn mercenaries overnight and begin to talk like vacuum-cleaner salesmen. Daniel Pink has just written a book "Its Human to Sell." I beg to differ. It is not human to sell always, especially when the audience is captive and they are your best buddies, teachers, students, co-workers, pen pals, boss's wife or husband, twitter followers, facebook friends, landlords, tenants, co-travellers, gas suppliers, meter readers, you name it. I have gone through the embarrassments of being at the receiving end of atleast few of my relatives and friends and closer kin. I was devastated whenever I went through the experience, I couldn't say No because they are so close to me, I couldn't buy the products, and I wouldn't "recruit" more. The chain invariably broke with me and I could never, never again resume a normal conversation with any friend or a relative or an acquaintance who sold me vague concepts of "time", "annuity", "financial freedom" and other fuzzy financial management concepts steamrolled into emotional packages.


At the core of such schemes of Amway or any such MLM scheme lie three principles:

1. They play on your insecurities of life - inadequate money, passionless job and rising expenditure to match aspirational levels.

2. They indoctrinate you with fancy "recruiting" functions that have the feel of an Evangelist session where many newcomers like you are greeted by older "recruits" breaking out into ecstatic shouts and shrieks, even getting footloose from where they are standing, talking about "How I raised myself from failure to success in selling Amway/Tupperware/Japanlife/Saradha/MihiraMagic/Landmark/whatever, how everything in life is achievable and all prosperity is sitting in the bank balance and how you can too". You have to attend atleast five such functions before you get into the jingoism that is smeared into the experienced elite who are singing hosannahs now.

3. Then having got you, your "converted" zeal, you will have to get into a producing mode of recruiting other people into your network, or become a huge consumer or even a pro-sumer - a combination of both. This is where, very few make it. And those who make it, may have succeeded against all odds - of embarrassments, of ostracisation, of hard-selling their own friends and colleagues and relatives.

I have seen a few cycles of such principle-centered selling of these schemes and have been a victim of atleast one bad experience where I was conned into a Questnet MLM scheme in the hope of owning a rare coin, an insignia of a FIFA World Cup, which will become so rare that it will cost more than the gold and the silver blended into the coin. Finally, the Questnet scheme owner got arrested and the scheme was abandoned. Having paid Rs.45000 in those days for a puny coin which has a Mexico World Cup signage on it. I got a mere Rs.9000 when I gave it to my mother a few years back because there was less silver than gold and even less gold than the powder used as letters on the coin! For all the love of soccer, my savings became a succor for someone's greed. I never invested in any Ponzi scheme after that because I now firmly believe P.T.Barnum, America's greatest showman salesman who said: A sucker is born every minute.

Many years back, when I was a banker at BNP Paribas, I spotted atleast two such Ponzi schemes - Mihira Magic, which made stuff that are flying off the shelves just as Amway products today and a call-centre which operated like a Ponzi scheme, which I will not name. Mihira Magic also finally folded up but I tried to outstmart the owners by making every chain subscriber open a salary account with the bank. It won me lot of plaudits and helped me register a fine performance at work. But the tragedy struck elsewhere, BNP Paribas, the retail bank folded up in India before Mihira Magic pulled down the curtains many years later. Mora of the story here: One swallow doesn't make a summer for a bank.

At a basic level, at a very conceptual level, one can argue that all schemes are Ponzi Schemes, whether it is about products or product managers or product consumers - its all about recruitment. But the ones that stand out are usually having the flavor that marks all the others which eventually collapsed, sooner or later. Having been in sales and relationship-building for many years now, I like to conclude this autobiographical excursion on Amway-like schemes with a few strong learnings which I learnt after many fifty-hour work-weeks during my career.

One, whether you are an employee or a business owner, your biggest asset is your career (in case of a working professional) or your business (in case of an owner or an entrepreneur).

Two, Invest in your career or business most because they have the best payoffs. Do not fall for schemes which promise you the moon and the six pence - they cannot succeed like the way you can. Invest in yourself or your business or your real assets - family, hobbies. That has the greatest payoff.

Three, Stop burning your inner and outer circle of contacts with bummer proposals and schemes which take you nowhere and what more, ostracise you forever. Build your skills, spend all your energies into making yourself relevant, employable and precious till your last day. There is no financial freedom that comes without blood, sweat, tears and hardships. DeVos is the richest man in Michigan. Okay, he is the co-founder of Amway, is worth $5.1 Billion but that is the worth of all his factory assets and stocks traded. The rest of the MLM subscribers are not worth as much.

Four, in a day of 24 hours, you work for 8 hours whichever way and sleep for 8 hours. The remaining 8 hours is for relaxation, recreation, renewal or capacity-building. Not for selling a pipe-dream, somebody else's dream.

Five, repeat of point no.three. Do not run the risk of becoming a social outlaw - "Here comes the Amway man or woman". Get the boot or Re-boot your thinking about MLMs. Build businesses or Invest in businesses or become a careerist. Don't be a MLM evangelist.

"Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani" Film Review (Hindi)

There's something about Ranbir Kapoor from the first time he appeared on screen. And there's something magical about this film YJHD, which is a phrase from one of Ranadhir Kapoor (his uncle) films. By the time I saw, the film is already crossed Rs.100 crores and is counting to the next hundred crores in BO collections. Ayaan Mukherjee, director, has given a winning script of a contemporary love story starring Deepika Padukone, Kalki K and Ranbir. YJHD is a breeze and a worthy addition to the catalogue of films like "3 Idiots", "Zindagi Naa Milegi Dubaara", "Dil Chahta Hai", "Jab We Met". 

Story is not anew. Karan (Ranbir) is flirtatious and a go-get-her Donjuan. Naina (Deepika) is a medico who takes herself and life too seriously. Karan and his gang of friends - a guy and a gal are taking off to the mountains in North for a trek adventure. Naina bumps into one of the gals (Kalki) at a grocery and she learns that the girl Kalki is her batchmate, she learns who are all going for the expedition and eventually, jumps onto the bandwagon. Sparks fly and love blossoms between two opposites. Then the twist at the interval and the fun 2.0 post-interval as the foursome get back for Kalki's wedding in a familiar finale that ends like a fairy tale. What has worked for the film are solid performances by the starcast led by Ranbir and Deepika. Deepika has shown again why she is the youth Diva  - her looks, style, gait and oomph make her a sweltering watch as she plays the two shades before and after the interval as the shy girl first and as the girl who gets her mojo and her man later. Kalki has done the exact opposite role of what she did earlier in "Zindagi Naa milegi Dubara" and she pulls it off with ease as the ebullient funster. The other guy who plays Ranbir's thick friend and room-mate also sticks out with his performance. Ranbir Kapoor is the go-to guy in the film, especially in the second half with an uproarious performance that will finally seal his place as the upcoming Superstar who will call the shots. After experimental roles like "Rocket Singh", "Barfi", "Rockstar" and "Rajneeti", Ranbir Kapoor gets a script that lets him show his repertoire  - lover boy looks, unassuming demeanour, impeccable sense of comedy timing, broody and playful swing of moods, command over language that few Hindi youthful stars have - when he says "Raftaar", you will vibrate with the meaning. I have this comfortable feeling that Ranbir Kapoor is on his way to become the most iconic Superstar of this generation because he has the best package of vulnerability, intelligence, romanticism and credibility that marked those who preceded him generations ago. It appears also that the genes of acting that he inherited on all sides and in degrees of separation from his parents and grand-arens are going to play out on many more scripts that are yet to be written out with him in mind, this is my humble conviction. 

Pritam's music is another highlight. His instrumentation is more understated than his characteristic music with its haunting emphases and lilting notes  and crescendos that surcharge the mood of the song. 'Badtameez Dil" is one helluva song that is composed way out of Pritam's comfort zone. It also has a verisimillitude to that of "Gili Gili Akka" song of Randhir Kapoor's hit song. But nine songs are too many and unjustified. The song with Madhuri Dixit is over-rated and boring - don't mistake, She is old and unbearable even if she is able to move her hip-bone. Farook Sheikh as Ranbir's father sparkles even in a brief role. Dialogues by Hameed Dalal are a stand-out. ("Dil ki dhadkaan ki awaaz kaano tak sun na chahta hoon"). Be prepared for misty eyes atleast on three occasions in the film. What undermines the film is the weakest comedy seen in Ranbir's films and pathetic attempts by director Ayaan to evoke slapstick comedy, almost a leaf out of "Barfi" stunts in the first half. The redemption of the film is in its plot, its performances,  music and the overall feel of positivity of the pangs of coming of age. The screenplay could have been better and the first half could have been shorter; there is no reference to what the hero and the heroine did for eight years when they didn't meet each other despite choosing good professions. The characterisation of Ranbir's friend who is a serial gambler and an alcoholic could have elevated Ranbir's magnanimity as a helper but it was lost in brief shots and passing references to reform him. Small blemishes in a film that rarifies your soul and makes you reach for the stars of Bollywood, and root for the next big thing  - the next Rockstar Ranbir. 4.5 out of 5 despite a weak first half. Karan Johar and Ronnie Screwala must be elated they bet on the right horse that is raking it all in. 

The Bane of Multi-level Marketing.

Sixteen years after I received my posting from Businessline newspaper, my first byeline in the paper. An article appeared on MLM yesterday. http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/money-wise/the-bane-of-multilevel-marketing/article4772529.ece

"Iddarammayalatho" Movie Review (Telugu)

Puri Jagannadh is one of the cleverest directors in Tollywood who churns out more than three films per year, sometimes four by preparing scripts that encash the flavor-of-the-month phenomenon. Between last year's Sankranti and now, he directed four films including the current offering with Style Diva Allu Arjun. But I am afraid, his decline has started with the film "Businessman", reached a nadir with "Devudu Chesina Manushulu", and later on, became known as a director who creates controversy for promoting the film. As an audience, I feel betrayed whenever I see a Puri film because he has scant respect for social responsibility and is least sensitive to sentiments of women audience (even if many of them perversely watch his films). In "Iddarammayalatho", he tries to camouflage his obsession with making films for the galleries with a little more maturity but the basic plot and lacklustre screenplay gives away in this 137 minute action thriller.

Despite the hype, and despite a sterling performance by Allu Arjun  - in dances, action stunts, and romantic scenes, the film doesn't deliver on many counts - and the reason could be the fatigue setting in for Puri's stereotypes - of machismo heroes, over-glamorised heroines and sadistic villains. I feel he is misguided in all his approach to film-making which makes even icons like Mahesh and Pawan Kalyan and Allu Arjun flock to him for direction in the hope of adding  a hit to their credit. Every frame in the film is fraught with dishonesty and deceipt - to manipulate emotions of the audience. And all this he takes liberties with the storyline frothed up from a basic one-line. The story goes like this here. Sanju Reddy (Allu Arjun) is a guitarist who falls in love with Komali (Amala Paul) who is learning violin under Brahmanandam - in Barcelona, Spain (Thank God, it's not Bangkok again!). One day, she shoots, by mistake, a murder being committed by a Gangster villain on the beach. The villains chase her down, kidnap her and make many attempts to eliminate her. Meanwhile, as the parents of both agree to come down to bless them as married, the villains kill the parents of both even as Komali and Sanju escape. This is the flashback portion, the narration actually moves in the voice of  another girl Akanksha (Catherine Theresa) who is reading a diary of Amala Paul (which itself turns out to be another twist). In learning about the diary, Akanksha falls in love with Sanju and then it takes a routine turn except that the diary itself is "planted" by Sanju so that Akanksha reads it and falls in love with him because her father, a minister (Rao Ramesh) and the gangster are partners-in-crime for a Rs. One lakh crore scam. Sanju takes revenge and settles down, we are to believe, with the two glam dolls. The storyline appears long but the screenplay is better. 

Even if the first half is more entertaining than the second half, the film's watchability is because of Allu Arjun. His uber cool dresses, stylish body language and his repertoire of dancing skills and acrobatic stunts makes him a good draw despite the presence of two glamorous faces. The best paisa-vasool moment of the film is the action sequence before the interval. Anyone wanting to make a transition from ugly looks to handsome looks should study the career graph of Allu Arjun - it is quite unparalleled. Amala Paul's performance is below-par and it appears this Kerala lass is incapable of outgrowing her shy looks and demure body language. Catherine Theresa has carried herself far better - she seems effortless in Indian dresses, has better scenes than Amala and has a screen presence. Comedy track is a big let-down for the film. Puri's obsession with Ali is not yielding success and the scenes between Brahmanandam and Ali are pure disaster. Puri is losing touch with what can fire up comedy. He also has to treat the audience with more respect, intelligence and sensibilities. In a scene where Catherine is packing off to Spain, she wears scantiest dress which you don't wear in front of your mother. And it is the father in whose presence, she is packing the clothes. In most other scenes, when the narration is pathos, he shows Catherine in min shorts baring her thighs and cleavage, that is absurd sensibility. Puri's respect for intelligence is also well-known; there are references to mining scams and CBI without reason or rationale, the second heroine Catherine who comes to Spain for studies doesn't go to college even once, all she does is to read Amala's diary and date Allu Arjun. And most of the dialogues are sexist - there are atleast four dialogues on why boys are taken for a ride by girls in the name of love, why boys losing virginity is never an issue, why girls are insensitive to boys' advances...it is these kind of dialogues that are corrupting the society and increasing crimes against women. Puri's count of felonies doesn't end with these manipulative dialogues - he talks casteism through characters which was unwarranted. He coins a word "Bapinese" to connotate converted Brahmins and also makes mockery of "Reddys" while insinuating grandeur. All this is not serious stuff, but Puri's style of directing, characterisation and story-telling smacks of a certain irresponsibility which will appeal to basic instincts of men not elevate them. According to me, his films will one day be housed in the "Hall of Shame". 2 out of 5 is my rating.

"The Great Gatsby" Film Review (English)

Finally, one of America's greatest works of fiction finds an incarnation in the big screen. This is Hollywood's sixth attempt to capture the surrealistic  almost evanscent classic by one of the most conceptual novelists  - Francis Scott Fitzgerald. I must say, it is one of the most beautiful films I have seen in a long time, probably not since "Avatar" and at the end of the 146 minutes of a magical story with a trepid ending and a tragic twist in the tail, I get a feeling that Fitzgerald's efforts have not gone in vain. He was perceived as one of the improbable screenwriters who never quite made it to Hollywood despite gallant attempts to make a film on his novels. While  Fitzgerald's other stories have been made into films  - "The Last Tycoon", "The curious case of Benjamin Button" etc., "The Great Gatsby" made many false starts and failed attempts starring many ruling stars, including Robert Redford who looks like a million-dollar baby even in night dress.

Warner Brothers has left nothing to chance this time around - the sixth time around. They roped in a starcast of the decade - Leonardo Dicaprio as Jay"Great" Gatsby, Toby Maguire as Nick Carraway, Carey Mulligan as Daisy Buchannan,  Joel Edgerton as Daisy's husband and our own Amitabh Bachchan as the jewish businessman in a cameo that marks the Superstar's official entry into Hollywood. Who can direct such a starcast and take the magical, make-believe, hard-to-project vigorous words of Fitzgerald? Baz Luhrrmann  - who has a mind of his own and a unique gift of collapsing song, ballads and drama into celluloid opus. His earlier films - "Moulin Rage", "Australia", "Romeo and Juliet" have marked him out for the potential in TGG in 3-D. Luhrrmann creates an extravagant biopic that sizzles and rarely fizzles out. 

Nick Carraway (Toby Maguire) as in the book is the main narrator of the film who observes that his great fortune in life was in meeting the "great" Gatsby. He is a struggling writer who lives next door to the regal mansion of Jay Gatsby, a self-made, self-obsessed billionaire who throws the biggest and the loudest parties - inviting anybody who cares for drowning in food and wine and dance on the house - more inclusive than our own IPL post-match parties. Nobody knows what he does, how he earned such obscene wealth and what his background is. One day, he gets a hand-written invite from Gatsby to attend one of his parties and Nick is thrilled and paints the whole party that he is the only "chosen" one. Indeed he is for reasons learnt later; Nick's cousin Daisy Buchannan lives on the other side of West Egg, across a Bay married to her husband, her many-affaired husband. Gatsby and Daisy have been in love since he was 17 but filmy fate gave Daisy away in arranged marriage to  Buchannans. Nick soon finds that his new friend Gatsby wants him to re-arrange love with his old flame. Sparks fly, naturally, when Daisy makes it to the party but her husband, like all husbands gets wind of the secret liaisions of his wife. Many wranglings later, there is a twist in the tail as Buchannan speeds away in a fit of rage in the sporty car of Gatsby only to dash into one of Buchannan's lady-loves and kills her. But the husband, a gasoline-filler, is fed with the notion that it is Gatsby who drove his car that killed his wife and not the real paramour. Daisy is indifferent to Gatsby because she is confused between the moral limits of marriage and the catnip pull of Gatsby. But Gatsby remains composed and intriguing till the end, Nick playing the last man standing for him, even at the funeral which is the most poignant shot in the film - none who made it to his lavish parties except Nick turn up at the grave. That's the long story that cannot be made shorter but what makes the film a visual feast is the images, the songs, the contextual and the subtext messages coming through the times and the characters set in 1920s - when American stock markets were at life-time highs, economy was over the hill and society was both loud, hedonistic and vainglorious. 

What endears the film is its many messages because Fitzgerald's novel is itself so timeless because of its metaphors and its malleability to interpretations. The West Egg can be today's Bay Area, the new-age Silicon Valley, the East Egg can be the old money, and the characters can all be so spine-chillingly true - a  billionaire who refuses to give up the ghosts of the past, his friend who refuses to talk turkey for fears of antagonising both the parties, a woman who cannot reign in her wayward husband and cannot hide her feelings and vacillates till the end, an old-world husband who goes after Munnis and Sheelas but doesn't want to dock his wife and what more, expect loyalty. It is these images that make the story burnt into relevance forever ninety years after Fitzgerald wrote in 1925. Baz Luhhrmann makes a winner with minimal distractions of 3-D technology and memorable motifs of Fitzgerald's prose. Leonardo Dicaprio stands out with a quirkacious range of expressions, he gets the best introduction and also makes the exit in a watery grave in the end - exactly like in "Titanic". Can't believe his looks kill even today since his debut in 1997. Toby Maguire has a veneer and a role that will get him many new fans than just kissing boring girl-friend and climbing walls as Spiderman. Joel Edgerton as Daisy's husband has the best presence after the two. Music and SFX also stand out - heard that most of the SFX are created in the Reliance studios of Hyderabad and Mumbai. Its a great flick and must watch for a great synthesis of an American legend of literature with an Australian legend in directing. 4.5 out of 5.

"The Reluctant Fundamentalist" Film Review (English)

Mira Nair is a gift from South Asia to Hollywood for blending the silky emotions of the East with the verve and rich production values of the West. "The Reluctant Fundamentalist" is one more proud addition to the magic of Mira Nair's films. Based on Mohsin Hamid's novel, Mira Nair has attempted a bold film that captures the essence of Mohsin's tale of a young man Chengez Khan who sets foot in the US, makes it big as a financial analyst in a Wall Street firm but soon finds devastating incursions into his privacy and belief systems after a xenophobic America beefs up its tirade against terrorism. Chengez Khan finds his innate world of private beliefs of faith and religion and nationhood of Pakistan awakened and harnessed in the avalanche of incidents that follow the 9/11 attacks - someone at work asks him to shave off his beard, a cop at the Subway books him under Homeland Security Act and strips him to the organ, his girl friend, a photo artiste throws open an exhibition making a gawdy collage of the symbols of religion and culture of Pakistan and finally, someone at the parking lot deflates his car tyres and spooks his dirty finger to stop fucking around in America. Until then, Chengez Khan, a composed and introverted star financial analyst who is creating ripples with his deep-dive business acumen and impeccable Americana becomes  a late believer in the causes that fire up Madarassas and Mujahiddins. His final breaking point comes in Instanbul, Turkey when Chengez Khan and his boss go to evaluate a legacy-rich Publishing company that has the most impressive imprint of middle-eastern writers. Chengez Khan gets a lecture here from the owner that going by the yardsticks of DCF Analysis and discount factors, his books maybe worth nothing in the eyes of the financial analyst, but that has spawned the most towering intellectual writers of the region which has been making waves and winning plaudits. Chengez Khan finds that the works of his own father, a Pakistani poet, are translated into Turkish by the gentlemen whom he is about to advise on business restructuring matters.  Thats the point Chengez kicks his corner office job and returns to Pakistan as a reluctant fundamentalist. The story moves, as in the book, like a narrative by the protagonist to an American journalist, who is himself a mole by an army of seals to help relieve an American researcher kidnapped by Chengez's men. 

Quite a fascinating buildup to the complex characterisation of a fundamentalist who could be one amongst us. Mira Nair uses her craft of delicate story-telling with her inimitable cinematic sensibilities. What helps the film despite its cliches on the terrorism theme are a great adapted screenplay, a terrific starcast led by Riz Ahmed (Chengez Khan), Bobby (Liev Schreiber), father (Om Puri) and lover artist (Kate Hudson). Having re-read the book since watching the film, I must say Mira Nair has outshined her films and in the process given a stratospheric lift to South Asia's hottest writer today ("How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia"). She has given a bold treatment to the issue of metrosexual men in Atlantic countries rising up in arms against the most powerful nation on earth. Not since the films of Merchant - Ivory productions have we seen a director of the calibre as much as Mira Nair who dedicates the film to Altaf Nawaz Nair, her late father. While Ismail Merchant chose films of an era of the Raj mostly writers like Ruth Jhabbervala and E.M.Forster and rarely assumed an audacity to stir the joneses, Mira Nair gives a warm and passing commentary on the travails and the colorful tapestry of the lives of South Asians. She has an eye for detail, gets under the skin of the writer, knows how to graft the writer's eye onto an effervescent screenplay and weave a story that in the end carries her distinct signature style. 

Music by William Andrews deserves immodest mention. Besides lending his own voice in some songs, Andrews gave a distinct touch to the euphonies scored in the film  - inter-mixing Sufi music, Lahore beats and haunting melodies. The output certainly heightens the film's punctuated moods to desired effect. Cinematography is another clear winner - and that seems to do so well in Mira's films. Her eye for detail and that of Declan Quinn, the cinematographer matches so well whether it is Istanbul, Manila, Lahore or New York. A lot of viewers generally get confused between Mira Nair and Deepa Mehta. IMHO, Mira Nair is a master, not an apprentice like Deepa Mehta. Give a good story to Mira Nair, she will ace it up. Give a dazzling writer's work to Deepa Mehta, she will fake it down. If you have had enough of films with Navy Seal operations and jingoistic Americana, "The Reluctant Fundamentalist" is a good watch despite its length of 131 minutes, which includes atleast four minutes of tobacco warnings and seven minutes of false starts to a not-so-erotic love-making scene between Kate Hudson and the Wall Street Analyst. Notwithtstanding that, it is still 4 star film.

"Greeku Veerudu" Telugu Film Review

"Greeku Veerudu" is a rehash of past films and despite  familiar tweaks, is going to be a forgettable film of Nagarjuna. Nag is a vagabond businessman in America who only believes in living life without commitments and value for relationships. His philistine ways land him in a financial mess, and he suddenly gets a missed call from his native place in AP to let his ailing grandmother catch last glimpses of him. He takes off with Nayanatara who happens to be his bete noire's (Aashish Vidyarthi) sister. The sparks fly and Nag ropes her in to play his wife. The family bonds with him and he makes amends with some familiar drama. I have never seen a film where a director (Dasaradh) has cannibalised so many of his own films  - "Sambaram", "Santosham", "Mr.Perfect" in order to create an umpteenth version of sentimental, sick family drama. He has remixed a few of scenes of "Athadu" and "Manmadhudu". The travails of the film do not end there and I will spare you the onslaught I faced for 150 minutes with a feeble mention of the tortures inflicted.

They used what is called "Demat" (sounds like a Stock Exchange term) technology to shoot sequences in US - New York and San Francisco. But what I noticed in credits is a mere mention of Zurich Airport whereas most of the American shots are all floor-adjusted in a clearly visible frame looking out of sync. For example, the Statue of Liberty is shown as a fixed shot but it looks dangerously similar to our own Tank Bund Buddha statue. NASA space centre is shown with graphics like you are floating in Birla Planetorium. Entire sequences are shown with backgrounds suggesting Europe (must be in Switzerland) but the background is meant to be in the US. It is obvious that producer of Kamakshi Movies - good friend of Nag - has cut corners with everything to give the sloppiest film of his career. Despite his 800-calorie diet and botox injections, Nag looks woefully old like never before in this movie which has an oft-beat role of lover boy-turns-saint. His body language also looks inept - in some scenes with Nayanatara and K.Vishwanath, he doesn't know what to do with his hands - the typical dilemma of a public speaker. Comedy with MS Narayana and Brahmanandam is inspid because Dasaradh uses an over-familiar terrain to crack lewd jokes and cheap tricks with Kovai Sarala in remix of blockbuster duets. When a director is overawed by the starcast and a Superstar, he will get a performance worthy of rotten tomatoes. Thats the bane of this film - something that fan-serving websites and star-struck reviewers will never accept. Watch it if you are a hardcore fan  - atleast there are a few good songs and one by S.P.B in which he creates new steps. For others, including Nayanatara and Kota and Brahmanandam and MS Narayana and Aashish Vidyarthi, this is not going to be a film to remember. Thaman SS scores a few good songs but seven songs will breed contempt in a film elongated with needless sequences, lazy shots, cheap photography and deadpan dialogues. It should be a below-average film that deserves no better than 2 out of 5.

"Bombay Talkies" Hindi Film Review

"Bombay Talkies" is the name of the latest film co-produced by India's youthful new-age directors: Dibakar Banerjee, Anurag Kashyap, Karan Johar and Zoya Akhtar. As the name suggests, it is meant to be an eulogy on Bollywood's century-old idioms. With the exception of Karan Johar, and to some extent, Zoya Akhtar, the other two are one of the two brilliant filmmakers who have sought new ground in bringing in realistic and hard-hitting story-telling with a rare irreverence to old norms while trying to achieve youthful yet compelling emotional connect with the audiences. The producers have selected the most apt title for a film which has four different tales rendered by these four directors - Karan, Dibanker, Zoya and Anurag with half-hour slots each in a total running time of 127 minutes (which includes the four-minute tobacco ad pre-and post interval and a gaudy "Om Shanti Om" style medley of Bollywood boys and girls - from Aamir to SRK to Ranbir and Kareena and Vidya Balan). Originally, Bombay Talkies was founded in 1934 by the First Lady of Indian Cinema - Devika Rani and her first husband Himanshu Rai. They went on to make many films which had an impact on the development of early Indian Cinema. Bombay Talkies became an icon for the arrival of Indian Cinema and subsequently, we all know how Mani Ratnam started his own Madras Talkies as a motif for South Indian Cinema.

Back to "Bombay Talkies" the movie. The four films are directed individually by the four talents above, with their respective name splashed on the screen when their film starts with a 15 second blackout separating one from another to indicate the end of one film and the beginning of the other. That way, the format is a little different from "Darna Mana Hai" where the stories lead upto the climactic story ending. That makes this a winning collaboration with a must-watch tag. What makes the four stories watchable is the bench-strength use of promising technicians like Amit Trivedi who scored thrilling music for all the four stories, inter-mixing the need to elevate the many moods essayed in each director's short story with impressive repertoire of folk music, playback, instrumentation from everyday rhythms and purcussions. Anyone who has long spotted Amit Trivedi from the time he debuted on MTV Unplugged till "DevD" OST got released will vouch that Amit Trivedi is the most-dazzling find amongst the current crop of Bollywood music composers. His music is rich, varied and culturally resonating with the heartbeats of Hindi heartland music, no wonder he still hasn't got the call from masala-oriented South film producers. 

How are the four stories? Are they real? Yes. Credible? Yes. Evocative? Yes, again. 

First story is an explicit take on Indian Male homosexuality directed by Karan Johar (what else where you expecting?). Randeep Hooda and Rani Mukherjee live their own lives in different cubicle nations within the media industry. They are almost sex-less and live a boring civil life until their frustrations surface with the entry of an intern at Rani's office. This young lad is a self-confessed Gay and he gets cosy with Rani in a platonic way only to get cosier with her husband in a plutonic way. Karan seems deft in handling the emerging theme of homosexuality and its repurcussions in conservative Indian families. The gay abandon with which Karan revels in re-creating the sexual preferences of an emerging male order makes it a subtle watch with some hummable music remixed of the old sixties by Amit Trivedi. That room, that music room of old LP records and audios owned by Randeep Hooda in the film must be any music lover's delight - it must belong to one of them - Anurag Kashyap, Producer Viacom's Raghav Behl or Farhan Akhtar, Zoya's sibling.

The second story is the most brilliant of the short films, directed by Dibaker Banerjee. It shows an in-form Nawazuddin Siddiqui as a go-nowhere dweller of a certain chawl in Mumbai, with a bed-ridden daughter who is tired of dad's old stories and a wife who juggles many jobs in three shifts. As if to make a statement on Ponzi schemes, Dibaker introduces EMU farming which has caught on with India's aspiring middle-class. One day, our Mumbai householder goes for the job of a Security Guard, misses it by a whisker and lands himself in a crowd watching Ranbir Kapoor's latest shoot. He gets a rare call from the film's Assistant Directors to enact a two-second scene - to bump into Ranbir from the other end, engrossed holding a newspaper. He exults at the opportunity and gets ten minutes to rehearse in a solitary set away from the din where he works himself up to do the role. In that interlude, he imagines having  an intense conversation with his theatre-obsessed father - brilliantly played by Sadashiv Amrapurkar - who was always pushing him to get to the basics of life. Then the shot readied, improvisations done, Nawaz goes home in a trance forgetting the small change, and the bottle of water earned as a perk for the brief role. He goes home, re-enacts the day's exciting proceedings to his daughter and wife, in a majestic  narrative without words and only flute music in background. This is the best story and my research tells that this is based on one of Satyajit Ray's famous short stories. 

The last two stories are more effusive of the magic spell of Bollywood on India's youth and children. Zoya's story is about a young boy whose father drives him to football but the boy loves the dances of Bollywood. He eulogies Katrina Kaif and becomes her in dreams and in daylight as he pursues dancing to the point of raising money for his sister. The end is filmy with sibling love and dream coming true but this is the only story which has an item song, if you can call that of Katrina's onscreen and off-screen presence in the film. The last story by the nonchalant Anurag Kashyapa is about a father (Sudheer Pandey) and son (Vineet Singh). The father's wish is to send the son with an heirloom bottle of "Murabba" (a kind of a ladoo made of sweet pumpkin) to Bollywood's Badshah's house - Prateeksha - the home of Amitabh Bachchan for a bite by the legendary actor so he can die in peace, something his father did with Yousuf Khan a.k.a Dilip Kumar. The saga is all about the days of wait and exasperation by the youth from Allahabad as he encounters many others who live on a pail of water in order to shake hands with Bollywood's glitterati. It is a pithy take by Anurag to capture the timeless appeal of Bollywood's icons. There's a sweet ending with a twist in the tale but Anurag handles it well with  raunchy wit.

On the whole, all the four stories have their signature styles of their creators who are in between their swinging and cutting-edge form. Undoubtedly, my take is that the honors go the four in this pecking order: Dibaker, Anurag, Zoya and Karan. What spoils the party in the end as we are about to applaud a rare ensemble of a talented foursome is a loud reprise to the ruling Divas of Bollywood in their audacious dream costumes - as I said from Kapoors to Khans. This must have been some producer's silly idea to endear an otherwise charming junction of upmarket, mofussil and fairy tales to the front-benchers who whistle at sighting each of the two generations of glitterati including Sridevi, Juhi and Madhuri. A great, watchable experiment and hopefully, Viacom should make it viable for more coming in this direction of sterotype-smashing cinema. 4 out of 5 for "Bombay Talkies". But I wonder why, U/A for a film that starts off the first story with hair-raising homosexuality. Maybe India will be the 15th nation in the world to endorse same-sex marriage now that the Censors have no objection to it.

"Shadow" Film Review (Telugu)

"Shadow" is one of the most-publicised films of Victory Venkatesh. The publicity was imperative because in an era of fast-changing tastes of the audience, Venkatesh has fallen way behind both in terms of recent content and record. His films were becoming monotonous and shallow - the same family drama, trump-like character played by Venky, out to sacrifice his lover at the altar of marriage with another, and then the banal ending sometimes happy and sometimes sad - he even slashed his tongue in a film. No wonder, for the last year's Sankranti, his "Bodyguard" became a washout and couldn't stand the onslaught of "Businessman". Earlier in 2013, he co-starred with Mahesh Babu in "SVSC" which became a classic hit re-starting the trend in multistarrers. But his market-cap was clearly on the wane, he got paid a mere Rs.3 crores for the blockbuster while his co-star walked away with Rs.8.5 crs. (which was more than the satellite rights earned for the entire film Rs.7 crs. won by Gemini TV). Venky and Nagarjuna, who entered Tollywood a good decade or so after Megastar Chiranjeevi never could reach the dizzy heights of either Chiranjeevi or afterwards the range of box-office collections achieved by the likes of Mahesh Babu, Prabhas, Ramcharan and Allu Arjun. Venky and Nag might have touched a bare Rs.30 crs. if you count all the multiplex price collections and openings overseas. 

Why am I plodding on such long preface in a film review of "Shadow"? Thats because, given such a background, Venkatesh tries to don a different role in every sense. It has a negative shade but is positively highlighted in a manner that fits his body language and persona. "Shadow" directed by Meher Ramesh ("Billa" fame) shows Venky in a dashing new Avatar that could be lapped up by his thick-like audiences. It shows him as a multi-masked hero who  comes in different getups to finish off each villain responsible for the killing of his father Nagababu. Each time, he uses a different manner of slaying the villains from Shinde to Aditya Pancholi. How does he do it? By tail-gating Srikanth, a cop who almost nabs the villain only to pip him at the post.  Quite a fast-paced narration and gripping story with a few pointless excursions into comedy that sucks and a passable light-hearted love track with Tapsi. On the whole, what sustains the film is a commanding narrative with an occasional comedy by MS Narayana to give relief. Venkatesh, contrary to what the press and twitterati lambast, is quite good in the many costumes and hairdos. He remains the same rugged, tough-looking Venky of the earlier years, even if age catches up with him. A dignified swagger, controlled heroism, and stunning stunts make Venky a treat to watch. The composer of the season, SS Thaman scores peppy and trendy music including a haunting BGM  that uplifts the film and moves the narration. Picturisation of the songs and choreography by Raju Sundaram is quite a treat to watch. Srikanth and Tapsi hold their own in a film which tries to show Venky in his full-blooded range in all frames. Aditya Pancholi is an impactful villain whose dubbing lets his screen presence down. MS Narayana gets a few laughs with Krishna Bhagwan though he gets repetitive later. His jibes at casteism by commentating on a character called KammaReddy KapuRaju is hilarious.  Meher Ramesh's strengths are in slick direction, moving narrative and good editing (unlike in "Shakti"). He seems at home in shooting sequences in Malaysia, maybe he bootstraps the film's budget with grants from Malaysian Government to promote tourism. What bores the film is the insincere characterisation of Venky as "Chanti" before interval. 

Every actor goes through a hump in a career that gets truncated by invasions from nextgen of actors. Venkatesh, who has had an amazing run of box-office successes has given some of the most-watched Telly films in Tollywood with a selection of themes that appeals to family audiences and loyal audiences. There have been worse films in the past but "Shadow" is definitely worth a watch as I found it slick, riveting and different from the last five films done by Venky. It is not as bad as many reviewers have rubbished it to be. I am a fan of Tollywood, not a fan of Venkatesh and feel that everybody deserves a second-chance  and change of image - whether it is Balayya, Chiranjeevi, Mahesh, NTR Jr. or Prabhas or Nagarjuna. An actor like Venkatesh  deserves better reviews for "Shadow". It was a paisa vasool for all of us who watched the film. 3.25/5 it deserves.

Shakuntala Devi R.I.P

One of the many, many books written by the legendary Shakuntala Devi. I have a good collection of her books - including those gifted by my dad as part of my growing up years. We were made to attend one of her public programs of Memory Unlimited and numbers to the right of "Pi". For us and those in the 80s, Shakuntala Devi was a brainiac phenomenon that deserved to be widely feted in modern times. She was the original App in Mathematics before the world knew how Apps worked. I hope her legacy lives on and every child in India imbibes her fondness for Mathematics. I hope we make a film based on her life almost like that on Srinivas Ramanujam. According to Mint Columnist Dilip D'Souza, Shakuntala Devi's personal life was also interesting - she had a homosexual husband, her marriage ended in 1979 and she wrote a book on that too: "The World of Homosexuals". Her last book which is pictured here is : "In the wonderland of numbers". R.I.P.

"Badshah" film review (Telugu)

Badshah" heralds the second big season of Tollywood with a swooshing sound of big-scale entertainment in the school of direction of Sreenu Vaitla and his style of family values - atleast four villains and seven side-kicks, a bigger family of character actors, a hero who is never bigamous, a heroine who falls for the hero easily only to be beguiled, an epic, almost explosive spraying of comedy scenes usually inter-linked with the story by the one and only Brahmanandam. This pattern of film-making has been remarkably patented by Sreenu Vaitla especially from the film "Ready" till "Dookudu". Each time, the under-currents were the same only the backdrop changed.  

In "Badshah", he tries to salvage NTR Jr.'s chequered career so far to give him a new cut-out which may go down well with his fans. He lets him keep the reel name his grandfather gave him - N.T.Rama Rao and weaves plenty of screenplay twists to make a career-high for him although it appears tedious at times. 

160 minutes should be an editor's delight but hardly a viewer's delight. Since the editors must have gone napping and Sreenu Vaitla makes films in the conventional three-act format, he cannot get to the main point without moving linearly from the previous watermarks in the frames he releases for us to make a sense of all the drama and melodrama. He needs something different everytime to make audiences drool over his largely endearing universal brand of entertainment, so this time he gives NTR switch into two variations: One, as a police officer who infiltrates a mafia from Italy to Macau and later, as a wedding planner in India who spoils the party for his lover about to marry someone else. Lot of characters get thrown in to pad up the whole storyline till the end - collapsing all the elements and the emotional highs and lows Sreenu Vaitla wants us to experience including some meaningless and boring stunts - the worst in NTR's films. 

Is the film watchable? For a large part yes and thats because of the devastating comedy scenes between MS Narayana and NTR and Kajol in the first half and later, between Brahmanandam and Nazar and MS Narayana in the second half. If you thought "Dookudu" was the ultimate in Brahmanandam comedy, seriously, watch "Badshah". Brahmanandam steals the thunder yet again in one of his most boisterous performances till date. MS Narayana, Vennela Kishore and Nazar too add to the outstanding comedy track in the film which are the sole highlight of the film. Kajol Agarwal is fading out fast and probably getting burnt out with her ho-hum expressions. NTR Jr. gets his best shot at dialogue delivery in just one or two scenes and excels in dance sequences. His Telangana accent is better than the slick expressions as a Mafia Don. Like many heroes hungry for box-office success in the past, NTR Jr. pulls out all the stops to make himself count amongst the contenders for the top slot. He ropes in the best comedy duo Brahmi and MSN to sizzle with their rapturous chemistry, a vintage medley of old NTR clubsongs (, and some splendid locations to give audience the variety even though the story itself is not that novel and an in-form SS Thaman to score trendy music (though forgettable). He even ropes in two stars and a superstar to bring him  luck - Actors Siddharth and Navdeep in brief roles and Mahesh Babu to give the commentary. Sreenu Vaitla does a clean job in his KV Reddy style of film-making  - a rollercoaster ride of emotions but lags at a lot of places. Writers Gopi Mohan and Kona Venkat give some memorable lines. Sreenu Vaitla should know that every director who relies on excessive screenplay and comedy without variety hits a glass ceiling one day. It happened with great directors of comedy genre like Jandhyala, EVV, Krishna Reddy, Siva Nageshwar Rao and Mouli. "Badshah" may be a paisa vasool film for now but if Sreenu Vaitla doesn't re-invent himself, he is a few films away from becoming ad nauseum. NTR Jr. should relax if this film becomes a hit for all the sweat equity - it is not his sweat but so what it nudges him to better days still. I rate it 3.5 on 5 for the hilarity of Brahmanandam.

Railway Budget 2013

Congress got to present its first Railway Budget in a while. It looks neat given the constraints. I am not too keyed up about the cosmetic announcements like new trains and wi-fi facilities in select trains (as long as I dont travel in them). But I notice a distinct change in reformist measures:


One, Operating Ratio is lowered from 96% to 88% which means this will ease off the fiscal deficit for FY 2014. Its a sign of increasing efficiency and rationalising unnecessary expenditure.

Two, for the first time, freight traffic is linked to fuel price hikes. This means you can't rule out future price hikes as and when fuel prices go up. Its a courageous decisionn that will again bear out favorably on deficit concerns.

Lastly, some steps are taken to increase financial management best practices in the 1.4 million odd workforce organisation, ensure those who retire midlife get recouped materially and improve the safety record of Railways overal. These are all welcome changes and must be appreciated despite our continuing cynicism aggainst a corrupt regime.

The British have laid 95 per cent of the Railway lines we use in the country - and for many years, Railway Budgets (including Congress) became titular exercises filling the pink paper stories. After a long time, I find some steam in the engines. Look beneath and there are strategic gems as well here and there: Arunachal Pradesh is being reined into Railroad network in order to thwart the ambitious Chinese staking claim on its sovereignity. Also, we should not infer too much from this thing called Railway Budget. The total expenditure is to the tune of Rs.140,000 crores, while our GDP is around Rs.80 lac crores - so Railway Budget is just 1.6/80 = 2 per cent or less than 10 per cent of our GDP.As I keep saying, the Congress may be a bunch of rogues but every tough economic decision are taken by them first before others can take credit. Over now to the Economic Survey 2013 - for the first time, penned by Raghuram Rajan, the masterly author of "Faultlines" arguably, the best book on the Crisis. See you tomorrow.

Happy Birthday, Abe Lincoln!

It is Lincoln's birthday today and the man who was the first one to be called Mr.President, created dollar and united the states of America was better known for values, integrity and leadership. Here is his most famous letter to his son's teacher, reproduced on his birthday. It is my favorite, like Kipling's "If" poem, never felt bored re-reading it. It can be administered for "girls" too, my girls!




Dear Teacher,



He will have to learn, I know, that all men are not just, all men are not true.



But teach him also that for every scoundrel there is a hero.

That for every selfish politician, there is a dedicated leader.

Teach him that for every enemy there is a friend.

Steer him away from envy, if you can.

Teach him the secret of quiet laughter.



Let him learn early that the bullies are the easiest to lick.

Teach him, if you can, the wonder of books.

But also give him quiet time to ponder the eternal mystery of birds in the sky,

bees in the sun, and the flowers on a green hillside.



In the school teach him it is far honorable to fail than to cheat.

Teach him to have faith in his own ideas even if everyone tells him they are wrong.

Teach him to be gentle with gentle people and tough with the tough.



Try to give my son the strength not to follow the crowd when everyone is getting on the band wagon.

Teach him to listen to all men.

But teach him also to filter all he hears on a screen of truth and take only the good that comes through.



Teach him if you can, how to laugh when he is sad.

Teach him there is no shame in tears.

Teach him to scoff at cynics and to beware of too much sweetness.

Teach him to sell his brawn and brain to the highest bidders but never to put a price-tag on his heart and soul.



Teach him to close his ears to a howling mob and to stand and fight if he thinks he’s right.

Treat him gently, but do not cuddle him because only the test of fire makes fine steel.



Let him have the courage to be impatient.

Let him have the patience to be brave.

Teach him always to have sublime faith in himself because then he will have sublime faith in mankind.



This is a big order, but see what you can do.

He is such a fine fellow, my son!

"Mirchi" Telugu Film Review

“Mirchi” is a home production of Prabhas – produced by his brother Pramod. Directed by K.Siva, a writer who debuts with this film. “Mirchi” starts off like a conventional masala film with predictable fare and storyline but later unfolds a full-blooded family drama with a happy ending. It seems Prabhas has selected the right script after the disastrous “Rebel” which took megalomania to new heights.




The story begins in Milan, Italy where Prabhas rescues Richa Gangopadhyay from a gang of “roadies”. Prabhas falls in love with Richa but she is unsure how it turns out as her family back home in Palnadu is a bevy of factionists who live off blood smirks and bloody revenges – starting with her brother Subba Raju. Prabhas befriends Subba Raju who lives in Hyderabad living as a tenant of Brahmanandam. He changes Subba Raju and then moves to Palnadu to change the rest of the gang. Pretty average story. What liberates the movie is “dude” Prabhas with his altered body language and swashbuckling dressing to get new following. Dialogues by Director Koratla Siva are better than many mass films till date. The film has some good entertainment in the first half with Brahmanandam who is settling in as a comedy star tagging alongside hero - he knows what her is upto but not the gang, that’s his characterization lately. Prabhas is opting for family hero image with good mass following – he has the looks, the macho body and the original six pack and the cool looks. Anushka shines better than Richa Gangopadhyay even if she makes a surprising entry in second half – in flashback. It’s the second half that drags with lazy editing - 158 minutes is too much for a film of this sort.



Right from the times of NTR to Krishna to Chiranjeevi, the mass-hero space is up for grabs for anyone who can muck up the maximum adulation from masses and sometimes classes. Prabhas, like a few other superstars, has got the original mass appeal and a faithful fan base thanks to his uncle Krishnam Raju. Now, he just needs to innovate for more innovative scripts like Mahesh Babu and keep up the tempo. If NTR Jr. also joins the gang, they became the worthy trio with dynastic charishma and good face value (without plastic surgery and thirty one stitches that simian superstars get themselves into). They don’t need props like heroines and comedy gang to make 50-day runners. All they need is to invest in solid stories and make clean entertainers. The rest can be turned into gold from their stardust. Music by DSP is average. 3 out of 5 – not a super film but watchable for clean entertainment.

BAFTA Awards - What a fine show!

• Bafta Awards was short, stylish and elegant - done with in two hours. No frills, no elaborate song-and-dance ballads, no dreary drags on stage - just an unbridled celebration of the best talent in Cinema with under-statedness. Stephen Fry was sheer class, sophisticated, positive without being too pointy and dignified. He made jokes on all the five films but the best was a mathematical one - sequel to "life of pi" is "life of pi.r^2". Good to see the right awards go to "Argo" (best film and best director)' "Lincoln" (best actor). Worth getting up in wee hours on Monday to watch jokes and puns by Stephen Cry ("I want to see "Lincoln" but I got spammed by invitations for "linked-in"!). Now, over to Oscars.