Thalaivar, his larger than life image and the heavy propaganda!!

He is the Demigod of the Indian film industry and in South India, his name needs no special mention.  In India there is and there can be only one Super Star and yes he is-Rajnikanth our very own thalaivar.  I am still surprised that this blogs spell check does not recognize the name Rajnikanth and pointed it as a spelling mistake.  It is that time of the year when director Shankar comes with his magnum opus Endhiran/Robo/Robot starring Super Star Rajnikanth and ex-Miss World Aishwarya Rai and the crowd is going haywire.  As If tickets being sold out for the entire first week and the exorbitant prices of the tickets for the movie weren't enough, some crazy thalaivar fans in Mumbai are going to do shower a life-size poster of his with 100-200 liters of milk.  This is insane and I am pretty sure even Rajnikanth himself would not agree to this.  If we take a moment and think about the countless people who hardly have a meal to eat in India, we definitely would refrain ourselves from this nefarious act. But do we? Well, Hello No!!

Now, this is just one incident which has caught the attention of the media.  But there are several incidents where we consider the stars be it Movie stars, politicians or sports as next only to God and waste tons of money just to show our insanity filled affection towards them.  I would rather spend the money/milk (in the above case) to those people who barely have a meal to fill their stomach instead of letting it go into gutters.  Since these stars have such soaring popularity among the masses, I think they should come out in public and make an appeal to their fans to donate the money to some noble cause.  It might probably work given the charisma they have among the audience.  Leave apart stars.  How about the milk abhiskeham we do to please Gods?  I understand we have our own beliefs but for one minute, just sit down, relax and give it a thought.  Will God not be happy if you feed the milk to some hungry, orphaned kid on the street rather than wasting it over an idol of his?  Just a little thought folks and I am pretty sure you can be part of the change that you bring to the nation.

Well, putting a brake to the serious thoughts, there was a funny email forward that I received and wanted to share it with everyone.

"Rajinikanth was bragging to Jayalalitha one day, "You know, I know everyone there is to know. Just name someone, anyone, and I know them."
Tired of his boasting, Jayalalitha called his bluff, "OK, Rajini how about Tom Cruise?" "Sure, yes, Tom and I are old friends, and I can prove it" Rajini said.
So Rajini and Jayalalitha fly out to Hollywood and knock on Tom Cruise's door, and sure enough, Tom Cruise shouts "Thalaiva! Great to see you! You and your friend come right in and join me for lunch!". Although impressed, Jayalalitha is still skeptical.
After they leave Cruise's house, she tells Rajini that she thinks Rajini knowing Cruise was just lucky. "No, no, just name anyone else" Rajini says. "President Bush", Jayalalitha quickly retorts. "Yes", Rajini says, "I know him, let's fly out to Washington". And off they go. At the White House, Bush spots Rajini on the tour and motions him, saying, "Rajini, what a surprise, I was just on my way to a meeting, but you and your friend come on in and let's have a cup of coffee first and catch up". Well, Jayalalitha is very shaken by now, but still not totally convinced.
After they leave the White House grounds, she expresses his doubts to Rajini who again implores her to name anyone else. "The Pope", Jayalalitha replies. "Sure!" says Rajini, "My folks are from Poland and I've known the Pope a long time". So off they fly to Rome.
Rajini and Jayalalitha are assembled with the masses in Vatican Square when Rajini says, "This will never work. I can't catch the Pope's eye among all these people. Tell you what, I know all the guards so let me just go upstairs and I'll come out on the balcony with the Pope." And he disappears into the crowd headed toward the Vatican.
Sure enough, half an hour later Rajini emerges with the Pope on the balcony. But by the time Rajini returns, he finds that Jayalalitha had a Heart Attack and is surrounded by paramedics.
Working his way to Jayalalitha's side, Rajini asks her, "What happened?"
Jayalalitha looks up and says, "I was doing fine until you and the Pope came out on the balcony and the man next to me said who's that on the balcony with Rajini?""

"Follow your instincts. That's where true wisdom manifests itself"- Oprah Winfrey.

The Director's Cut

A director's role for the success of a movie need no mention.  However wonderfully the artistes play their role to perfection, it is only when the story is good and the taking is good, does the movie becomes a success.

One of the director's whom I admire is Ram Gopal Varma.  This guy has given some of the best movies and also some of the most infamously famous duds of the decade.  I admire this guy not only for his direction, aesthetic sense towards movies but also for his blatant truth and outspokenness. Good or bad, if there is one person whom I would want to emulate it would be RGV.  For someone who has been so blatantly rude to most of his colleagues in the movie industry, he is still being regarded high.  For those who follow him on twitter, you must be very well knowing the way he takes a dig at Karan Johar.

Well, now to those who are not aware of RGV's latest movie, it is Katha, Screenplay, darshakathvam-Appal Raju.  It is his straight telugu movie after a long hiatus.  The movie stars one of the happening telugu comedian Sunil.  There is this one song which people have been updating in their social networking sites and in this song he ridicules most of the directors in telugu film industry and their working style.  Of course he never escapes a chance of self dethronement.  Yes!! He does humiliate himself too and all this done in a subtle way.  What is surprising is that RGV invites most of the directors whom he has taken a dig in this song to this movie's opening ceremony.  No wonder he loves to be hated.

The To-Do List

The to-do lists are quite common in everyone's lives. While some like to do things impromptu some make a list and plan things accordingly.  I've been used to this "to-do list" from when I was a kid. My grandfather always used to have this "to-do" list when he used to make these n-trips a week to Secunderabad and I used to admire him for his perfection. Well, hell-no. I never used to think it was good. For me it was insanely insane. "To-do " list?? Jeez go get a life folks.

However, when gmail introduced the tasks option, I became insane too, making a "to-do" list.  Not because  I wanted to be a perfectionist or because I thought it was super-cool or something but because of my amnesia solely attributed to my ignorance.  Now now enough of this humbug.  Why did I start about this "to-do" list?  I did because it had something to do with a post written on the white board hanging in our meeting room.  Friday mornings are no fun especially when you have this weekly status meeting to let your boss know what you do. Grrrr!!!! I hate those meetings.  The "to-do" list on the board was way too hilarious and 'A' who had recently joined our group became a victim of some brutally  hilarious onslaught.  People who sat beside her cubicle started pulling her leg and making fun of the "to-do" lists she makes.  One of them was "Eat when you are hungry"!!  I guess she needs someone inception. Someone to implant ideas into her head rather than this "to-do" list.

Anyways, I know that this post comes nowhere close to making sense but I wanted to post this picture which I found it a little bit geeky too.  To all those saaaftwaare engineers, does this not represent to some 'C' programming?

An emotional band

Raksha Bandhan, a Hindu festival which celebrates the relationship between brothers and sisters.  It is celebrated on the full moon of the Sharvaana Masam.  This festival marks the tying of a rakhi on the wrist of the brother by the sister (not necessarily blood relations).

Being the only child, I never had someone tying a rakhi to me.  As a kid, I always used to feel bad when my friends came to school with rakhi on their wrists and I used to go back home pestering my mom as to why I did not have a sister.  Unable to bear my tantrums, my parents also posted a rakhi on my cousin's name when I was in 3rd grade only to see a glowing smile on my face.  But as I grew up, I began to cherish my loneliness and no longer craved for people or attention.

As they say 'Change is the only constant'  and this change found it's destiny several years later in Uncle Sam's humble abode in Connecticut. As I opened my mail box, I as usual found some bunch of junk mails lying but among them was this mail from my best friend Soumya Rampally.  I did not even have the slightest clue that Rakhi was fast approaching this year and when I opened the mail, I was pleasantly surprised to have received Rakhi from Soumya.

Thanks Soumya!! You have been the most wonderful and the best sister I could have ever asked for. I wish we could meet personally on this day if not for the miles apart that we stay :)

Religious Trauma?

A picture of an Indian Goddess-Yes!! An Indian Goddess. I do not want to get religion into picture. I am not an atheist and neither am I a staunch believer but this picture hurts.  India is a country which is multi-cultured, multi-religious and we worship so many Gods (right from Gods with elephant heads to people hanging on from a cross sign) but we never resort to such lame promotional methods.  We give due respect and that's it-period.

A shoe store in Balboa Island, Irvine which depicts the picture of an Indian Goddess Lakshmi whose head has been replaced by some blonde female with slippers in each of her hand.  Care to ignore the plight?

Musings and Rantings about My Own Private India

Joel Stein's recent article My Own Private India has caused a huge uproar amongst my fellow Indians and also most of the NRI's who have been a part of Uncle Sam's country for quite a few decades.  The article already did get its deserved share of rantings from all corners of the world. I am no different from all those who have been critical of the article but at the same time this article did raise a few questions in my wacky brain.

Born and brought up in a country where you have scores of religions, quite a few dozens of castes and sub-castes and infinitely many more languages, life in the US of A was totally a different league for me.  I am pretty sure it must have been for most of the first timers here.   I was so much fascinated by this country's warmth and broad mindedness though I did often miss the extra warmth of my Mother India.  More importantly this country by far taught all the fellow country men to be united (ohh!! Yeah Indians too. No way I am deliberately taking a dig at my fellow country folks).

Let us for sometime be honest guys.  How many times do we fight amongst ourselves back home?  Pretty sure many of you must be well aware of the recent Telangana issue that has been rocking the state of Andhra Pradesh.  Also not to forget Y. S. Jagan, son of the deceased Chief Minister YSR who has been keeping the current Government and the Chief Minister Mr. Rosaiah on their toes and not to forget the terrible nightmares that the Government is getting because of Jagan's Odarpu Yathra.

We fight amongst ourselves based on castes and also sub-castes. Some of these have even influenced the present day youth so much that they make friendship only based on the caste and totally alienate people from the other castes.  Yes, this is quite true and can be very much visible to the naked eyes if you look at a few engineering colleges and medical colleges in Vijayawada and Vizag.  Not to forget that the Telugu people are called "gultis" by the Tamil folks and the Tamil folks called "arravam" by the Telugu folks.  Are we being ignorant or doesn't anyone know how the North Indians and South Indian wait for an opportunity to pick up on each other?  I was one of those guys who was taunted as "idly-sambhar" quite a few times because I was from the southern part of India.  All these finally stopped when I retorted back making fun of their region and language too which obviously was quite bad on my part. Yes!! For the fact I am being a hypocrite but all that was not in control.  Are we no less racists when compared to Stein or the Aussies or the Brits?

Ok!! Enough beating around the bush.  All this was just meant to be an eye-opener but honestly I am not in support of Stein's stale humorous article.  Eye-opener??  Yes.  The only time I see Indians uniting amongst them is when a third party comments on Indians as whole and not just one region.  When we ourselves pick on at every instance of our lives, why get angry when someone else has called us "dot-heads"?  Why can't we all be united at all times and not only at instances when a third person instigates us?  Is that difficult or is it quite a herculean task?

It is going to be a herculean task until we change our attitudes and way of thinking.  We need to believe that there is no religion above humanity and the feeling of oneness. No person or no country is perfect. So why rant about each other? Why make a fuss out of nothing?  Doesn't every individual want some peace in his life?

Responses from Deepa Iyer and Kal Penn on Stein's article which might cool you guys down a bit but I don't think you would want to read Sagarika Ghose's article to raise your tempers again.  Honestly speaking, I totally concur with Sagarika's views as she was being utmost practical and to the core.

PS: You must visit Edison in NJ to see how Indianized it is.  No wonder Stein was pissed off.

Indian Students in USA

Another funny forward. Apologies to those who think this offends you but it was just for the sake of humor. No racist feeling.

Why Indian Students are disliked abroad?

It was the first day of a school in USA and a new Indian student named Chandrasekhar Subramanian entered the fourth grade.

The teacher said, "Let's begin by reviewing some American History. Who said 'Give me Liberty , or give me Death'?"

She saw a sea of blank faces, except for Chandrasekhar, who had his hand up:?'Patrick Henry, 1775'he said.

'Very good! Who said 'Government of the People, by the People, for the People, shall not perish from the Earth?''

Again, no response except from Chandrasekhar. 'Abraham Lincoln, 1863' said Chandrasekhar.

The teacher snapped at the class, 'Class, you should be ashamed. Chandrasekhar, who is new to our country, knows more about our history than you do.'

She heard a loud whisper: 'F*** the Indians,'

'Who said that?' she demanded. Chandrasekhar put his hand up. 'General Custer, 1862.'

At that point, a student in the back said, 'I'm gonna puke.'

The teacher glares around and asks 'All right! Now, who said that?' Again, Chandrasekhar says, 'George Bush to the Japanese Prime Minister, 1991.'

Now furious, another student yells, 'Oh yeah? Suck this!'

Chandrasekhar jumps out of his chair waving his hand and shouts to the teacher, 'Bill Clinton, to Monica Lewinsky, 1997'

Now with almost mob hysteria someone said 'You little shit. If you say anything else, I'll kill you.' Chandrasekhar frantically yells at the top of his voice, ' Michael Jackson to the child witnesses testifying against him, 2004.'

The teacher fainted. And as the class gathered around the teacher on the floor, someone said, 'Oh shit, we're screwed!' And Chandrasekhar said quietly, 'I think it was Lehmann Brothers, November 4th, 2008'.

Pun Intended

A funny forward that I came across in one of the cine news. Could not help putting it here :-)

This is how the headlines would be in the year 2020.

• Aarya 12 Ready For Release
• “I’ll Play Next World Cup”- Sachin
• India Lost ODI series Against Bermuda
• Balakrishna’s Son As ‘Chinna Simha’
• Mogali Rekulu Completed 25000 Episode
• Indian Coach Ganguly Resigns
• Balakrishna To Play College Student In Next Film
• Petrol Price Hiked Rs 350/ Ltr

The Usual Suspects-A Movie Review

Back in India, movies were quite a no-no at my home.  My dad considered watching movies would bring down my grades.  As silly as it sounds ain't it?  My mom and I used to quietly slip away from home sometimes on some pretext or the other just to watch a movie in the theater. However, my dad had to take back his words when my grades fell despite not watching movies for an entire semester.

The scenario had taken a complete 180 degrees turn when I came to do my Master's here in the US.  I needed a movie always to complete my tasks.  My mind set got tweaked so badly that right now I cannot even read one page of any book if I do not have a movie or a sitcom playing in front of me.  Work at office has some lenience as I somehow pull it off just by listening to music from my i-pod.  At this rate, I think I will surely go deaf within a few years from now.  However, I purchased a new phone (Nokia E63) and also managed to take data plan from my ever trusted network service. And now Fridays after my weekly team meeting, I get back to my desk and pamper myself with a nice movie on my phone and a novel.  I hope my boss isn't reading this lest I might get chucked out the very next moment. A few weeks ago when I was telling about not able to read without a movie before me to my friend, she said that it is indeed blessed to have such prowess.  Thank God!! I have at least some skill that I can boast about.  Anyways enough of my personal crap. I just wanted to share a movie that I reviewed sometime ago-"The Usual Suspects".

The movie is a 1995 American neo-noir movie directed by Bryan Singer and produced by Kenneth Kokkin, Michael McDonnell and Bryan Singer himself.  The plot of the “The Usual Suspects” is built in such a way that it has a mystery at its heart.

For further insight into the review, click here . I hope you guys would love this movie too.  Will come back with reviews of any interesting movie that I happen to watch. 

Justice Delayed is Justice Denied

Nineteen years, a fourteen year old girl molested, a top cop involved and the end verdict- six months of imprisonment and a meager sum of 1000 Rupees. However, the accused in this case got away on bail by paying a few thousands, hereby making a mockery of the justice. The Justice in India has yet again chosen the nasty path by humbly succumbing to the rich and the powerful. Has the verdict not shamed the entire nation?

For the entire article click here

Woman's Day Syndrome

Last two days was quite horrendous having to listen the non-stop repeated promotion about so called "Woman's day". Quite agonizing is the fact that even my fellow male clan very well know when Woman's day is celebrated but do not know when International Men's day is. Blame it on the Media who always have the knack of blowing things out of proportion. Yes, I would not give it a second thought to say that women get a raw deal in terms of attention. Not to forget the recent 33% reservation for women bill passed by the ruling Government in India. I am not here to patronize Men's day nor crush the women clan totally.

Anyways I guess we had enough of Woman's day and let us get back to reality for a while.

Here is something that I came across and that I found very funny and hilarious. No offense meant to all the women folks. Though, as everyone says you are the weaker sex you still have the edge on being the "fairer" sex.

We always hear "the rules" from the female side. Finally, the guy's side of the story,

Now here are the rules from the male side.

Men are NOT mind readers.

Sunday sports: It's like the full moon or the changing of the tides. Let it be.
Crying is blackmail.

Ask for what you want.

Let us be clear on this one: Subtle hints do not work! Strong hints do not work! Obvious hints do not work, Just say it!

Yes and No are perfectly acceptable answers to almost every question. Maybe is obscure.

Come to us with a problem only if you want help solving it. That's what we do... Sympathy is what your girlfriends are for.

Anything we said 6 months ago is inadmissible in an argument. In fact, all comments become Null and void after 7 Days.

If you think you're fat, you probably are. Don't ask us.

You can either ask us to do something Or tell us how you want it done. Not both. BTW If you already know best how to do it, just do it yourself.

Christopher Columbus did not need directions and neither do we.

ALL men see in only 16 colors, like Windows default settings. Peach, for example, is a fruit, not A color.

If we ask what is wrong and you say "nothing", We will act like nothing's wrong. We know you are lying, but it is just not worth the hassle.

If you ask a question you don't want an answer to, Expect an answer you don't want to hear.

When we have to go somewhere, absolutely anything you wear is fine... Really !!

Don't ask us what we're thinking about unless you are prepared to discuss such topics as Cricket or Football.