WORKING WITH 'EMOTIONS'....

Veer was getting ready for his 15 hour shift at the Government Counseling Center.It was Wednesday and he knew how bustling his office room would be.Patients with such burdening problems will be sitting impatiently in the waiting room,counting every second of their waiting time.They always thought that Veer is obliged to them,like their sibling or a family member.He owes all his precious seconds and minutes to them.For talking to them,hearing out their deepest anguish,trying to build a bridge between their hearts and minds.To teach them how to give equal weight-age to both the heart and the mind.So they all needed Veer,like a savior,to make them overcome their impulses.

When Veer entered,his patients face brightened like the sun's rays during dawn,beaming with a lot of hope,that,for a moment,all their mountainous problems became molehills.Thus it began...the hardworking day for Veer,as his office boy started sending one patient after the other inside his room.So they began talking,crying,yelling,whining,laughing hysterically,also sometimes slapping Veer to vent out their unbearable frustration.When Veer was physically attacked by a patient,he would not move,not react,not get angry,but,will maintain his highest composure and smile,and that was his magic medicine or cure that has worked for the past 18 years of practice.

"So many emotions...so little time",thought Veer.But he managed to pull it off effortlessly,just like he did all these years,and this "effortless toiling" has drawn him several awards and accolades.

"We are done for the day doctor...Anything else you want me to help you with?" asked the office boy.Veer nodded his head implying 'NO,I must go home,I have another half-a-day's work there,WITH MANY EMOTIONS AGAIN'.

Veer's wife was whining from the moment she heard his car touching the home's boundary.Then while entering the house,came his mother complaining and crying,showing both emotions from time to time.And when he sat to eat dinner,his son and daughter were angry and shouting.And finally when he sat to watch television,came his brother with nervousness...disappointed and dejected about something.So regaining his highest composure,"Here it comes!!!",thought Veer,he sat down in his living room lending ears to their talking,crying,whining and shouting and finally comforting/counseling each one of them.

"So many emotions....so little time",thought Veer again.Only this time putting up a faint grin and looking proudly at the Highest Award given to him for working with emotions.

It was in the after-awards ceremony,that when his friend asked him the question,when the answer from Veer was expected to be elaborate,he surprised everyone by just saying those four words.Veer gracefully accepted the highest award presented by the "Society of Experimental Social Psychology".The question was posed by his best friend,in front of Veer's family,his mother,wife,brother and two teenage brats called children.

"Congrats Veer!How do you possibly handle these emotionally disturbed maniacs everyday?Your patients are not mentally challenged,they are perfectly normal people with a lot of emotions evolving from their problems....those problems can be stupid,silly or serious.But how do you pull it off so well???" 

Veer replied as quick as a wink,"It starts at home"....

SHE - A Short Story

'SHE' was looking at the eye color palette placed in front of her.Confused and Varied.She was wearing a Pink colored full length GUCCI gown,along with accessories by Tiffany&Co. Lipstick by Loreal,eyeliner by Maybelline and the faint pink blush by Estee Lauder were all neatly applied on her pale white crystal clear skin.Everytime she peeked into the mirror,she thought to herself "What a beauty!!! That deserves best of the best".A face that sells top notch brands,a face that creates a stir when seen inside a room full of handsome young Supermodels,designers and Fashion critics.
When almost ready to put on the pretty pink L'oreal eye color,her assisstant rushed in gasping for breath.Shiny was 33,ten years elder than her,but just a starter in this profession,apologised to the core. "Am extremely sorry mam,I know this is ridiculous,am late,and that too today,of all days,today is an important day,it's your day!!!" Shiny became non-existent to her.Punctuality was her keyword.She was done with the eye color and the last minute touches.She headed toward the green room,which was not so greeny, with all the other girls getting ready fanatically...And when she walked in....Heads turned,Eyes widened,Jaws dropped,"WOW"s were travelling as sound waves in the air...She stopped by to see the International Designer rushing towards her.He gave her a warm hug,a little peck on the cheek and for the next few minutes (the time left for the show to begin...) was showering accolades on her!!! She put up a faint little grin very affirmatively which implied "I KNOW...I'M THE BEST". And now as time was ticking by,when the organizer backstage flagged off the World's biggest Fashion week,all the other models except her,had nailbiting tension....
While she,being a supermodel,after 4 years of struggle in the fashion industry and 19 years of struggle in life,set her foot on the ramp...and then she stumbled upon the chair's leg and fell on the floor full of hair!!!!! She got up,adjusted her hair and wiped her face quickly.Only to notice the blunder she had done on her customer's head.
'Oh my God',she thought,her customer was furious and walked upto her,paid the bill,blasted all the Hair Salons around the world and swore to death that she will never entrust her hair to anyone else in the future.
When her pencil thin colleague,Shiny,whom she greatly despised,gave her a nasty look for losing a customer ,that too for day dreaming,she murmured "Your fired from the position of my assistant!!!" and sighed "My life long passion...my dream...how I wish it was real...becoming a supermodel and firing shiny!!!"


(Disclaimer : The names and characters in this story are purely fictional.Not directing at anyone in particular.)

"WHAT'S IN A NAME?"

"That which we call a rose...." and so on goes the phrase written by the great Shakespeare.Name is defined as the unique identity of an individual.Atleast that's what the wikipedia says.Sometimes this identity is not properly spelled or pronounced by a foreigner.

Whenever I call up a hardcore American customer service,when the teller on the other end asks for my name,I think 'here it comes...it's gonna be hell spelling out my name and making it sound like some phonic alphabet teaching!!!'...Only then I began to wonder,amuse and ask myself 'Is my name so tough to pronounce???' 

People eventually end up replacing the Vs in my name with Bs or Ts...making it sound chinese or east asian!!!Almost like re-birth or re-christening me.I wouldnt say it's only foreigners who re-christen me...many Indians have a problem in pronouncing names...like a tamilian will not get a marathi name right or a Punjabi cannot get a Malayali name right.

As a customary practice,bengalis who are in love with 'B',add a B to everything.Tamilians who are so religiously rooted to their birthplace and community,will always have it as their middle name (mostly!!!).Just like Mexicans in love with 'R' and 'Ha',the R in their names goes rrrrrrrrrr (more like mimicking the motor) and all the Js replaced by 'Ha'...like when I read a Mexican name for the first time I stressed on the Js(literally),sounding awfully funny!!! (Jalapeno is 'Ha'lapeno,i read 'J'alapeno)

When I finished reading Jhumpa Lahiri's UNACCUSTOMED EARTH,interestingly,I concluded that Italian people ,places and restaurants have the most difficult names EVER!!! Examples like....Giovanna (not sure which word to stress on),Piazza di San Cosimato,Hotel d'Inghilterra,Porta all'Arco,Piazza dei Priori....if ur not Italian,am sure just reading these names once must have been a roller coaster ride for you!!! But when you ask an Italian or a European or a Non-Indian,they would certainly find our names funny and tough.Likewise.We are "foreign" to each other.Saravana Bhavan and Shree Mithai might sound like some 13th century Indian names for them.Although we have westerners eating their hearts out in our restaurants and we Indians dont mind pigging out in their Pizzerias.

Since I have this endless craving for Italian food and pastries,am always inspired to watch Italian cooking shows by Giada de Launrentiis,am not sure of the pronunciation even now,even after watching the show and reading so much about her for more than a year.But who cares about the spelling/pronunciation...I love her cooking style and show hosting!!!  

French actresses with the most difficult names have fan following all over the globe.Like Audrey Tautou, Juliette Binoche and Catherine Deneuve,just like Aishwarya Rai garners foreign attention!!! So next time any foreigner asks ur name,just tell it,dont bother to stress on the Bs Ts or Vs...after all "What's in a name?"           

Men are from Mars and Women are from Venus

John Gray,an American relationship counselor,a lecturer and a writer wrote a whole book on the above title....Can you imagine!!! I might well put it as,CHALK&CHEESE.Less complicated. Hundreds of film-makers,Millions of lovers and fewer than millions of husbands have all explored too much into this topic,which most of the women dont care to think about!!!(eventually today i sprang up to write a blog...)

A perfect practical illustration is available in the "Ladies Trial Rooms" of the shopping malls. Scene is,Lady walks in with a dozen clothes to try on,her man waits in the lounge,he waits waits still waits and she finally returns only to leave him shocked by rejecting all the dresses as unfit for her.(Laughing out loud at the man!!!)

All you ladies out there,dont presume that am taking the man's side.Never.That was just a funny example to lighten up our spirits,truth is,I will modify the title and re-phrase it as  

"Men are from Lost World and women are from Heaven".Lost World? Why? Coz when wives/girlfriends start talking,they travel to a whole new planet.Most probably MARS,I guess.And I'm sure many of u ladies will agree with me.Women are obviously the "mothers" and "creators".In a way,like angels,from heaven.(yeah yeah I can feel the heat guys... ;-) )

Right from choosing the color of the table cloth to deciding on the baby's name,Men show "dis"taste and women show taste.Meaning,Women are way better in choices of life.They add color and flavour to a man's life,also to their wardrobe and accessories (most definitely...!!!).

As I'm typing,I thought, 'Come on....let me be fair and just',so lets not take all the potshots at men.Poor fellows.On a more rationalized basis,I would affirmatively state that Men are way more practical than women.If not on an individual basis,on an overall percentage basis,am right. 

They toil very hard, compromise,sacrifice and budge a lot for their women.The very lengthy Q lines in all the Jewellery and Clothing stores can do the talking.Women can be self-indulgent at times.Quite Possible.

When I think of drawing parallels between men and women,I cant even get to the starting dot.It's like trying to make Arctic and Antarctic meet.Pun unintended.Thought processes of both the sexes are as different as these two poles.Just like these poles have Ice and Glaciers in common,men and women have affection and love in common.Am not being mushy gushy/philosophical here.But it's the fact of nature.Nobody saw Adam and Eve,in fact,they could just be fictional characters in our kindergarten books,still they lived in love.They triggered the passionate romance between men and women which keeps us going,which makes us do unconditional compromises.

Including the "Long waiting hours" for women by husbands/boyfriends during shopping,messing up the house by men when its been tidied up by the wife,innumerable crazy fights for which neither of them want to make up but at the end of the day someone will and a lifetime of hours,minutes & seconds to experience these magnetic emotions always in attraction towards the opposite pole... :-) 

We dwell inside each other as it is a MAN-WO-MAN world!!!

Getting synchronized with the "Kicks"!!!!

In case ur thinking hard to decipher this title's meaning,there are only 2 possibilities.One - you havent seen the movie 'INCEPTION' Two - You must have been one of those many movie-goers (including my husband) who found the movie terribly boring!!! 

The interesting thing is,all the boring aspects of the film were extremely thought provoking and mind-gripping.When I took a sneak peak of the film's trailer,I thought,'Hec,it's jus another hi-fi Hollywood flick where I need to pay 200% attention to the dialogues to understand'...So when I saw the film,to my surprise,although I dint understand some of the actors' dialect,I connected so much with the movie.So much so,at a point,I felt all that was happening to me....

Wonder why? Coz I get the most weirdest dreams and "synchronizing kicks" (as techie as it can get) in my slumber. I see snow,tunnels,haunted houses,strange creatures,stabbers,mansions,mountains etc etc....and "what not" in my dreams. Ofcourse,we wouldnt remember the nitty-gritty details of our dreams,would we? In some nights,when my mind is completely lost in the "dream world",my sub-conscience tries to defend all the so-called "attackers" that I encounter and not to forget the gravitational fall that I experience,which rattles my mind and wakes me up!!!!

I dint imagine in a million years that a film-maker would do such extensive research about dreams and will end up making a movie....Whoa!!!

Am not a lone dreamer,all you people must be getting those strangest dreams too...well yeah,I've also had some horrible ones which screws my sleep for the rest of the night.Or can I call it day ? Coz I start dreaming only in the wee hours of morning or sometimes post day dawn....'Strange' - is the word again!!!

NINE NIGHTS!!!

Translating it into the historical Indo-Aryan language,sanskrit,means "Navarathri"....A typical Navarathri in my home used to start with my mom enthusiastically jotting down the list of things to buy and do prior to the festival.Hence the shopping spree for "pooja" items,decorative items,gifts for guests,spices and dhals for sundals and a new doll (like adding a feather to the cap!!!) follows.I could always see my mom so zealous and excited about the "nine nights" of the year.Being an almost-saintly person (just an exaggeration) herself,she would give her 99% on the pooja offerings to God.Rewinding into the past,as a little girl,sans impatience,I had to wait for hours in the morning to eat before she completes her heart-yearning pooja and offerings to God.Mom framed her own strict pooja regimen and she would never even allow me to touch the food before God "ate" it.Pun unintended.Over the years,I followed her,bending certain rules ;-)...

The fun part of Navarathri is the arrangement of dolls and putting on the decorative stuff.My dad and me were responsible for that.I loved it.Each doll was handled like a baby,wiping out the dust sticking on it like talcum powder while lying on the attic and arranged as per mythological/vedic rules.Lord Ganesh when placed alone brings bad luck,Ten avatars cannot be disordered,Rama must be placed along with Sita and Hanuman,there must be exactly only 5 or 7 steps/racks,first one for living beings with 5 senses,next one with human dolls,next one for saints and so on....finally for the real important Hindu Gods.It was a great bliss to tactfully place the dolls as per my mother's instructions and dressing the steps with color papers & lights.

Now that the dolls are "dolled" up,then came the guests galore.Literally.Mom liked to invite many guests and there was someone or the other until the 9th night.To fill in my kiddish taste buds,my palate was always filled with sundal.The big foodie I used to be.The excitement,thrills and fervency reached it's peak on the final day of Navarathri.It was a special day of pooja to Goddess of Virtues and well-being...Saraswathi.For some inexplicable reason,whenever I looked at the goddess,I was de-stressed and at peace.It was a half-day long pooja performed by either one of my parents,or sometimes me,and the Nine nights came to an end with the 10th day dawning to be the Vijayadasami.The rule was whoever did the pooja on the 9th day,must continue prayers on the 10th day and finish off the season.Also not forgetting to make one of the dolls fall flat,putting it to sleep.

Thus ended the "Nine nights" of fun,excitement and decoration....

GREEN ORGANS OF THE STEM

"The leaves".They are all over.Mother Nature's children who go along painting the places green.Well,during autumn,they turn red,orange and yellow too.Like the cute little teenage girl dressing up anxiously in vibrant colors to look her best,like the painters working on houses with a finesse touch of color combination,like the fruit basket in our homes with the different color heads of apples,oranges and bananas showing up while their tummies buried inside,Leaves put up their wide flat bodies on the stem moving to and fro,giving gentle breeze and kicking off some biological reactions!!!

When I peer outside the window,I'm astounded to note these green infants of nature change their behaviour according to seasons.They fall off from their clutches in autumn,dont even dare to show up in the brutal winter and start budding afresh in spring with their full bloom in summer.As they grow,the forms and shapes they take is enthralling.Being born again like a tiny little bud,these greenies grow by breaking it and exponentially flattening their bodies until full growth.It is interesting to know that leaves have the greatest adaptability to environment.Be it the cactus leaves in a scorching hot desert or the pine tree leaves withstanding the freezing point temperatures.Also the ones chilling out in most of our refrigerators - Cilantro,curry leaves,celery,basil and mint used for some mouth-watering recipes.I was also quite sad to learn that if autumn is enjoyed by many people,it is equally a nightmare for many squirrels and insects that make a living out of the leaves.When leaves fall,their homes fall,they also fall and perish...only difference here is,leaves reborn,but squirrels and insects dont...

With a philosopher's mind,I can say that leaf's lifecycle is similar to that of a human's,coz we go through downfalls,success and try rejuvenating as a year passes by...To turn into a new leaf!!!

The Wedding Date....

I was watching this film in bits and pieces this weekend,it was actually boring unlike an actual wedding that we attended the same weekend.That was fantastic.It was my husband's friend's wedding.To avoid names,I prefer to call the groom as groom.And the bride as...afcourse bride.The groom is a close friend of my husband and their acquaintance started 3-4 years ago.He comes from a multi-ethnic family of Marathis and Goans.And lives the American lifestyle.His bride hails from a brazilian clan.

It all started,just like any other wedding in the world would start with...invitations.I admired their invitation.It was a simple yet elegant card,with a transparent cover and a small smiling photo of theirs in the middle (romantic!!!).After being an avid follower of Wedding shows on TV,I always had an idea about American weddings.I knew there was nothing much in the traditional wedding ceremony held in the church.Only the reception had most of the fun.So we decided to make our presence at the reception.

That was not enough.We had to prepare ourselves to play good wedding guests.If you dont live in America,you wouldnt have the faintest idea about the rehearsals done by the bride and groom for the wedding.(???!!!) They must practice dancing,walking on the aisle,telling their vows etc etc.I wish I could have rehearsed for my wedding,that way I could have saved the priest's time in teaching me the tough mantras and getting exhausted...!!! 

Coming back to our friend,he had also registered his wedding gifts in a store...which had gifts ranging from 4$ to 100$...If the wedding registry concept was practiced in my family,my gifts will start from price no lesser than 5000 Rs. (greedy me!!!!!!).

Wedding guests in India wore all kinds of dresses....from saree to corduroy  pants...but here there's always dress code for the occasion.It was kind of strange initially.So,I bought formal dresses to wear.And the D-Day was here.Hubby and me got dressed up and drove to the hotel.

Here we 'Entrer'....The whole ambiance was somber yet amazing.There was pretty pink all over.Lights,table cloths,chairs,centerpieces,the bride,groom,their family....were all in pink.

Funny though...I've never seen a man in pink tuxedo!!!! It was cute.With a lot of feminine touch.The bride looked her best,we wished them and had dinner.As my hubby cautiously warned,since we chose vegetarian,there was not much choice.3 courses of salad,grilled veggies with bread and gelato was served.

The cutest yet funny thing about the evening was the small bell placed on the table.Each of the guests had the bell and whenever they wished they rang it in chorus,the newly weds had to kiss ;-) We ate with the bells ringing now and then.The room was filled with 'naughty' guests and couldnt stop ringing.

Here comes the MOMENT....It was like 'bring on the music and we can go round 'n round'.As soon as the rocking music was played,most of the guests assembled on the dancing floor.All of them danced their way to glory.Few of us were just silent spectators,but the groom dint like it and pulled all of us to the floor.I would never,in a million years,imagine myself shaking a leg,so I was just clapping and then joined the human train....which was awesome.After the English and Spanish songs segment,there was cake cutting....all of us got a share of the cake,and then there was the hatka jatka hindi segment.From 'laila o laila' to 'say shava shava' was played.One of the brazilian girls (from the bride's side) came to me and demonstrated an indian dance step...it was like a little rehearsal,after an approval from me,she rocked the dance floor.The groom brought the house down by doing a MJ act.Got blown away.

We dint get enough,the whole evening was a different experience for us.Time was ticking and it was almost late night for us to bid goodbye and leave.We wished the couple a great life and parted from the hall.What an evening!!! I wish I knew Bill Clinton,Chelsea's wedding must have been stupendous...

And the Best Actor award goes to...THESE OVERRATED ACTORS of India

Yes yes...no prices for guessing,Iam gonna write about 'quite-a-big-list' of Overrated actors in India...ok lemme not waste words and go into the analysis.Here they come,

Small B/Abhishek - Big B's son and Aishwarya's husband is what comes to my mind when I think of him.So much hype,hoopla and ruckus is made whenever he's spotted with his family,especially with the "fairy" Aishwarya(pun intended...) Sure he's had his share of struggle in the industry,it took him quite a long time to taste success,but my question is 'Did filmmakers ever realise that the innumerable chances given for bachchan baby will be given to any other actor from a non-filmy family?' First he had Refugee and a series of terrible films,with awful make-up and costumes.I think he's a very very mediocre actor with too much luck.Part of it given by Maniratnam.....uffff....moving on...
Saif Ali Khan - Saifooooooooooooooo is what his girlfriend kareena aka bebo calls him.With a crazy pet name and a size zero girl by his side,Saif is easily the biggest news provider for the media.Talking about his films,ok.. he did HUM TUM (which is a direct lift of 'when harry met sally' but our bollywood badshahs will never accept),LOVE AAJ KAL (which was a kool movie),OMKARA (havent seen it but heard a lot).But all this doesnt qualify him for a national award and a Padmasri (???!!!!!) Star kids enjoy all the perks....lets get to the next one...
Akshay Kumar - Khiladi no.1,Khiladiyon ka khiladi,international khiladi...phewwwww!!! He's no khiladi in acting.Overrated to the core,with all the heroines mewwwwwling (pun intended) his pet name like "Oh Akki is so sexy,akki's so smart,akki this,akki that".Any regular indian film-goer whose seen his films and is neutral will go with me.

Lets go down to the south...

Rajinikanth - Ok...I know...all you fans out there wanna throw stones at me.That is not going to stop me from voicing my opinion.After watching Kamal Hassan,Steve Martin,George Clooney and Tom Hanks,I cant help but laugh off at all the hullabaloo created for every Rajini's film.His potential was first and last tapped by K.Balachander.K.B gave him some of the best movies until he was labelled the 'Superstar'.All I can say is,demi-god worship is not worthy for a human who is just another actor.
Vijay - If I can think of one actor sans good looks,charm,personality and talent...it can only be this guy.I dont wanna say more....
Surya -  I can hear a surya fan saying... "wow...such a disciplined guy" "wow...he dated and married the same girl""wow he's got a great dad"  There will be millions of people living like him,but this kind of illusion and hype has been created by him and his family,so much so,the other day when I watching one of the tamil TV programs,a common girl interviewing Surya says she wants a guy exactly like him...Well all I can say is "GROW UP"!!!And all this does not make him a good actor...besides,he's a terrible dancer....
Karthi - Like father,like brother.....following the same Self-propoganda method.Who also looks like his heroine's uncle.
Dhanush- Dont even wanna talk about...Just a tag attached to the Rajinikanth family.
Simbu - With a funny dad and stupid attitude,am surprised that he's even surviving in the film fraternity.His Vinnaithandi Varuvaaya was superb,but that is not enough to put him on a pedestal!!!

That's it for heroes,as far as I know,cant think of anyone else....let's shift the analysis to heroines...

Katrina Kaif - Had/Has (status known only to her...) a beneficiary Salman Khan as her boyfriend.Cant speak her lines,cant emote,cant dance....on the whole....too much hype.
Kareena Kapoor - She's a decent actress,but,unbelievably overacts.KHUSHI,MEIN PREM KI DIWANI HOON,K3G are all vivid examples.Who cares??? She's a kapoor kid.She has to be given hype.
Shriya Saran - She's one heroine whose always been given too many second chances which she doesnt deserve.The thing I hate about her is her attitude towards the language.Even after so many years in the South Indian industry,she doesnt give a damn about getting her lip movement right while speaking her lines.Unacceptable!!!
Tamannah Bhatia - Is she kareena's second cousin? third? distantly related? I wonder because she apes kareena so much while emoting.GOSH.Especially after she did the JAB WE MET remake!!! Overacting queen..The girl with a crystal clear,snow white complexion,who looks like a Russian ballet dancer "must" be widely accepted in South India.

This might be one of my longest blogs...but it doesnt stop with this...How can I? After writing so much about the overrated,it will be unfair to leave out the underrated.It's my next blog.
                     ------------------------To be continued-------------------------

Natural Excellent Self-Made,but sadly "UNDERRATED" actors...

Continuing the discussion/debate....here's a list of the most deserving actors who have been sidelined in many ways...

Kamal Hassan - If you're an avid Indian film-goer you must be thinking..."y the hell does she think that kamal is underrated?" Answer is,"Yes he's underrated or rather overshadowed in many ways" Kamal is an actor who taught me the way to admire cinema and acting.I grew up watching him and love him.Being a crazy devoted fan,and also being neutral,nobody can disagree with what I say.I always think Indian audience do not value him the way they should.I personally consider him on par with Ben Kingsley and Al Pacino who deserves more international exposure.Nobody can challenge or even come anywhere near his versatility.Like for example,be it playing the role of mentally retarded,or playing 65 at the age of 25,or a psycho villain,or an NRI,or a midget,or a cook,or a "lady",or a stuntman....OMG...this man is an epitome of talent.He has so many feathers to his cap,Like...Assistant director,choreographer,singer,producer,director...WOW!!!

Moving on...

Mohanlal - When anybody thinks of the Malayalam film industry,they talk more about Mamootty.But Mohanlal has so much charm and is a natural performer.This chubby hero has done a variety of roles and is worthy of National fame.

Prithviraj - Admit it or not....he's one of the best looking actors in the country.This mallu boy has achieved a lot in a short span of his career.But somewhere down the lane,his talent went unnoticed.

Rahul Bose - Interestingly,I havent seen much of his movies,except MR&MRS IYER.(thanks to my husband for making me see the film).This one movie spoke so much about his talent.Such a natural performer who handled the complex role of a muslim falling in love with a traditional married iyer woman.His eyes are his greatest asset,speaks a lot while emoting.Wish he could be given more opportunities in many languages.

Ok...let's finish the discussion with the leading ladies...

Konkona Sen - My most favourite actress and a natural performer.She's a firework of talent.She's not been given enough chances just because she doesnt dance around the trees wearing skimpy outfits...very unfortunate!!!

Nandita Das - Wonder what these bengali girls do to be such talented actors??? Nandita is a beautifully talented actress,who has never got the right kind of recognition.She's been sidelined in many ways.When I think of the kind of roles she does,especially her tamil films (azhagi and kannathil muthamittal),it's a shame that she's not even been considered.

Rani Mukherjee - I hated her in the early stage of her career,until recently when I saw HUMTUM,Saawariya and so many of her excellent performances.Sadly,I missed out on BLACK.But will try to catch up.Rani has been the center of media attacking ever since her friendship with Ash soured.It's sad that she's been criticised a lot on the account of her personal life.

Sneha  - No no...I dont like her smile.But she's a good and natural actress.Am neither her crazy fan nor her critic,but,I know for a fact that she has never been recognized enough for her talent.She has done some great roles in Achamundu achamundu,pirivom sandhipom,parthiban kanavu etc etc...but she's never been in the "hot list" of preferred actresses...not even once.She also knows the language.Ohhhh....tatz not a requirement!!!

Priyamani - Extremely underrated and labelled a lot by the filmy clan.Very natural performer and great in emoting....but dons the glamorous image that doesnt suit her at all.Also "unfortunate" in not having a "crystal clear,snow white" skin!!!(pun intended,again...)

You guys can share your opinions,there was nothing personal on these blogs,just my thoughts....Am not sure whether you had fun reading,but,I had a lot of fun thinking and putting down my thoughts....that's the best thing about blogging.

Miles to go....

For a moment,this looks like the title of one of my favourite sitcom's episode,in which,one of the characters does adventurous stuff out of his way....I relate a lot with him coz I crave  for adventure too,but in my own way.Like,be it watching horror movies,reading thriller books,walking in a totally desolated place like an explorer...or trying different kinds of food.All these may not sound like hardcore adventures,but they certainly give the thrills.One of the things I love to do is explore places...be it a park,an unknown route or a street.I've become more observant to intricate details lately and that adds to the excitement of exploration.

And after turning out to be an ardent follower of the TRAVEL channel here,I've made up a list of my hot favourite places to visit before the end of my lifetime....Here they are :

1. India  - yeah....my own country which I never got to explore....i mean the North-East,West and Middle parts have been untouched.I wud also love to explore places in my own Kongu Nadu.Lot of history and literary excellence has happened there.

2.Italy - I always feel Italians and Indians are interconnected.Both are traditionally rooted,have a great deal of family heritage and are big foodies.And I got to see a virtual tour of Rome in the film EAT PRAY LOVE.Julia Roberts was happily roaming around the city eating pasta,pizza and putting on hell a lot of weight!!!

3.Paris,Cannes - The first one mainly to see the Eiffel Tower and the latter one must be visited when Aishwarya Rai gets there for the film festival.I've heard and read stories about her fan following in the place.Wanna check out and pull up my sleeves ;-)

4.African Safari - One stop destination for wildlife,I must say.When I saw a show on travel channel about one of the safaris,I was spellbound....actually went almost speechless when I was googling about the cost of a safari....which you dont wanna know!!!

5.Cambodia - This place is connected to the roots of my birthplace,coz,many of our ancient kings have explored South East Asia."Prasat Angor Wat" is the historical 12th century temple located here and my explorer mind loves to visit the sanctrum sanitorium.

As I was typing,I was literally dreaming of visiting these places...dreams are what we are made of,we fantasize about them....In rustic reality,after toiling in the work for so many years,after fulfilling our responsibilities,after striving so hard to save that extra money,after yearning for retirement.....And once we get it,we like to lay back and sleep on the couch kissing good-bye to the explorer in us...!!! 

I would like to fantasize,dream,live reality...but not forget the explorer in me...

Size "0"

The other day when I was picking jeans from a store,I happened to bump into a section which read SIZE "0"...hmmm...so this is the one,for all those ultra-skinny ambitious girls who starve for months to fit into it.Crazy,i thought.The concept of becoming pencil thin and skinny is labelled as SIZE ZERO.I heard about it only when Kareena Kapoor became one while making the movie TASHAN.Which flopped miserably.Tatz another story.
Till then,I was an admirer of the bubbly and moderately slim kareena.When I saw her for the first time in Tashan,she looked like an anemia wrecked patient.Seriously that was the exact thought that crossed my mind.It dint stop with kareena,looked like she passed on the "fever" or rather spread the "size zero virus" to many other actresses.It was Rani mukherjee,Deepika padukone (who always looks like a needle...) till our very own chubby mallu girl Nayanthara.
All these girls look like nutrients in their bodies been sucked up with an air pipe.It's more like "No food for me,help!!!" .People who hate size zero will agree with me.Am quoting kareena here,who once said,"am happy being size zero,coz the whole nation is talking about it".(???) Self-propaganda at its best.To compliment and satisfy her vanity,SONY VAIO made her the brand ambassador and launched SIZE ZERO laptops.I guess some people just love to play morsing for celebrities.
I have nothing against toning the body,but trying to attach the size zero tag is just not worthy.The diet,workouts and sometimes medicine involved can put one's health at risk.Above all it's the pressure to maintain the so-called magic of size zero that surmounts everything.
Yesteryear actresses Rekha,Sridevi,Hemamalini,Madhuri and more recently Kajol did not go for any body sucking transformation and all of us have thoroughly enjoyed watching them on silver screen in the most glamorous outfits.Y is this sudden rage about wanting heroines to look like elongated drum sticks???!!!! I vote no.And if your thinking healthy,you will too.Coz burning calories is not burning one's charm...

Blame it on India...

This is written right after I read the disgusting news on Common Wealth Games,CWG,as it is called,which is going to take place in India the coming month.Firstly,when i came across the news about part of the stadium structure breaking down and that the CWG committee in India being screwed up for their facilities provided,I cudnt help but think only about the political incapability of my country.Am not picking at India,or trying to pull it down.Dint want to sugar-coat.It's a shame that a prime minister has to intervene in such issues to straighten things out.I mean,is he jobless? Am sure he has enough to do? Mrs.Dikshit,being the capital's CM,dint have the time to look into details before signing contractors?At the end of the day,whose to be blamed?
Now every international news website has been flashing news about lack of facilities in India,everybody's already been waiting for such an opportunity,to say the least.Did any of these international news channels make such a big hue and cry when Indians were attacked in Australia?Everybody has turned task-masters today,keeping an extra eye on CWG committee in India.Assumingly,it's not only the international news channels who have taken great pleasure in doing this,but our very own demi-goddesses of hindi films,amisha patel and shilpa shetty have reportedly tweeted about all this.Literally...taking a whip and shilpa tweets "wake up india" (madam...u were also in a long slumber until u married an IND-BRIT) and amisha tweets "disgusting and disgraceful by the govt".I mean who is this lady? An arm-candy walking around in tights and glossy make-up...!!!! Does she even know the total number of states in the country...??So now any Toms,Dicks and Harrys are criticizing Indian govt's carelessness.
Reporters all over have been cashing in on this news and indian govt must totally be held responsible.Y not have an open feedback ground and involve some educated citizens while planning the CWG?My next biggest concern is,can the structure be rebuilt within the next 48 hr time limit? I wonder,how...?Our VVIPs will have their safest seats,but it's the common audience,who just did the sin of buying a ticket to watch CWG,will be risking their lives.But then with so many athletes withdrawing,I wonder if the seats in the stadium will be filled at all.Our very own ministers give interviews and reassurance speeches sitting in a perfectly built air-connditioned room,which only adds pain to the agony.
It's hard to be tight lipped about certain things happening around the world,but nothing can be done by you or me.Let's atleast not bring down India(directed at indians in particular who read this...) the way some Non-Indians do,coz India is a precious country with so much history and integrity,but it's the politicians who fail to understand it.

Once upon a time....In the MEGAANNUM

Am talking about the time on earth some 65 million years ago when dinosaurs ruled.Dinos,as I like to call it,have always been our fascination.I still remember the day when I saw the blockbuster JURASSIC PARK in a theatre and came out dumb-folded.I cudnt dream in a million years that I will get a chance to even look at dinos,even on screen for that matter.Wow.What a movie.I was in my 4th grade when the movie released,but,the memory of seeing it never ceases to amaze me.I've been missing this movie for a long time,and i got to see it again recently.All the 3 versions.And I must say,I love the second part.....THE LOST WORLD.

I got to see the making of the film,which is a part of the DVD,and I was astonished by the workmanship,hardwork and team effort put in by Spielberg and his men.Kudos to them!!! My respect and admiration for CGI professionals,sculptors and sound engineers grew manifolds.Talking about Dinos,it got stuck in my head,the fact that we are living in a world,which was once filled with these dynamic huge creatures leaves me spellbound.I mean...look at the world around you,be it India or Africa dinos have been there.And I keep reading and hearing news about discoveries of dino fossils,and jus thought 'what if a real John Hammond arises with curiosity and sets up a cloning lab?' 'what will happen if dinos come back on earth again?' Ah aa no.....no way....but...Humans have created technology,landed on the moon and we are in the tech era,so who knows....We may find thousands of ways to Hunt the biggest Hunters.

The films gave me a somewhat clear picture about T.Rex,Velociraptors and Pteranodons.My best pick will be the chasing sequence in the first version,between the 2 kids and 2 raptors.It is an edge-of-the-seat sequence.So thrilling.

According to popular belief,Dinos and Humans can never co-exist.....which I do not agree totally.Coz If left undisturbed,dinos are not gonna bother us.But just like me,there are so many inquisitive humans,but on a bigger level,who always want to make the impossible possible.

'T'WITTERATTIES

My title can sound funny and look odd...but tatz the way social networking is today,sometimes funny,sometimes odd.Around 20 years ago,you (whoever is reading this) and me wud have never even dreamed that chatting and uploading photos will just be a click away.Wow.Not exactly,coz,it can pry into your privacy completely.Just like twitter.I dont have anything against it.Infact,am not even on it.
'Then who am i to judge?',that's because I've been a regular reader of TWEETS.
With twitter having 190 million monthly visitors....(how cool is that!!!) and so many celebs on it.It is easily the source of news for the media.
Twitter and celebs go hand in hand.As we all know,atleast people who read online filmy portals,know that most of the news and gossip about celebrities are fetched from twitter.
It can be anything,like for instance,in the timesofindia website,there was this link about some feud between hindi actors bipasha and priyanka.The article said that both of them had problems with each other coz they attended some designer show ,but,posted 2 different pictures of the show on their twitter pages,cutting out one and another....grow up....ALL OF U....
Another instance was when Karan Johar had issues with many followers asking him personal questions,more than personal ones about his sexuality (???), marriage and lingerie (???????).I read one of his tweets where he hit back to his followers saying that his personal life is not of anybody's concern.Well gud for you karan.keep it to urself,also stop asking silly rapid fire questions on KOFFEE WITH KARAN.phew!!!
Also when Abhishek posted some appreciative comments about Amitabh,a judgemental follower of his,came with a sword warning abhishek that amitabh is not all that great and he does not accept it.Abhishek literally wrote him off almost saying "mind ur business it's my twitter page" (well...not exactly)
Me being an admirer of bengali beauty Konkona Sen,read one of her tweets replying rudely to a follower who called her a hypocrite for complaining about the noise pollution in Mumbai during Eid/Ganesh Chathurthi....tatz India for you Mrs.Sen....
And the mighty Shobha De,passes rude remarks about movies,people and literally anything.And gets scrutinised and hit back...woman....take a break...
The one to follow Shobha De,is our very own film critic (to be precise..."a cliched critic") Rajeev Masand,who saw actor Akshay Kumar's twitter page with a photo,where he is handing over a pen to the ailing RK Laxman to draw a cartoon of his movie,where poor laxman is so fragile and ill cant even hold a pen,Masand called Akshay a "jackass" for doing publicity sans humanity.Mr.Bachchan,the angry "young" man,tweeted to warn Masand for calling akshay a jackass.
Is this a pact between media and movie stars? They got to be kidding...they say something,do something...blame it on the media...media makes the best use of it....cover stories,articles etc etc uffff.....
But on a lighter note, reading tweets is always funnnn....trust me :-) More like eavesdropping,you know your doing something wrong,but you enjoy the guilt.But dont do it always.On extremely rare occasions,its fine,as long as it's harmless.
In case you dint know,twitter maintains a dictionary for it's language,its
www.twittonary.com You oughta check out when your free....NJOY TWEEPLE!!!!

Desi Videshi

VIDESHI.....When I looked up for itz meaning in our very own search engine "google",the engine that has been run and operated by millions worldwide from a top notch scientist to a college professor,from a software guy to a 6th grade school student...the engine when set the inputs and ignited gives pages and pages of information about anything and everything,sometimes makes me wonder....Can I really call myself WELL-READ???? Am in front of the homepage of a search engine which is literally the ENCYCLOPEDIA OF EVERYTHING....to say the least....and I dont even know 1/100th of the information displayed...So the very same engine showed me that "videshi" is "FOREIGN" as opposed to "Desi" which meant "LOCAL".....
Desi Local Videshi Foreign are the words that have been ringing in my ears constantly right from April 22,2009....the day I landed in "THE COUNTRY OF OPPORTUNITIES" "LAND OF DREAMS" but for you and me.....itz US or America....When I set foot in this country,I was amazed by it's infrastructure...clean roads...beautiful greenery....lovely houses.....excellent shopping centers.....cars all over....the independence....people's "i care a damn abt ur business" attitude.....clean and tasty fresh water right from the kitchen tap....well-organised kitchen....gas in the stove for 24 hrs....shopping malls....strangers who smile and make my day.....and above all....the respect that Americans have on DESIs......
Till then,till you undergo a personality transformation,till you undergo an attitude change.....u will be an HARDCORE DESI.....But then,as the hands of time keep revolving and ticking.....CHANGE comes....This stranger is always a part of our lives.....whether we like it or not...especially we Indians we Desis do not accept strangers into our lives with open arms....We are so much rooted to our "traditions" "customs" "family heritage" "lifestyle" that we cannot think of accomodating changes....The CHANGE am talking about, is not the place or the breakfast or the timezone....itz about the "attitude" and being "open-minded"....
When in India....I was never used to eating breafast....I ate lunch as early as 10.00 am.....and being brought up in a "quite" conservative household....my mom is very particular about certain things that a girl has to do in the mornings....Be it taking shower before touching the food or praying before doing anything in the day or not going near my mother when she's doing her morning poojai wearing her own set of "spiritual clothes".....it was different....but....I dint complain much....
Until....I welcomed the stranger in my life and underwent an almost complete personality transformation.....I started loving the stranger.....living with it....implementing it in all my thoughts and approach.....admiring the great role it plays in everybody's lives.....to an extent ....in my life too.....for my family and known people....i've become DESI TO VIDESHI....."changed" from LOCAL TO FOREIGN....
This hit my mind....at a certain point of time.....I had a big block.....lot of unanswered questions running in my mind.....HAVE I "CHANGED" FOR THE BETTER? HAVE I DONE A MISTAKE? MAYBE THEY ARE RIGHT....HAVE I TURNED OUT TO BE A TOTAL VIDESHI? WHAT ARE THE CONSEQUENCES GOING TO BE LIKE? To be honest....I LOVED IT.....
The fact that i've started eating cereals or bread for breakfast....
The fact that am wearing only pants and trousers most of the time...
The fact that I luv STARBUCKS coffee.....
The fact that I luv English Films more than any other movies in the world....
The fact that I luv the Metro Rail and Bus system in US....
The fact that I've become a total computer freak....
The fact that WIKIPEDIA and GOOGLE are such powerful source of information...which i realised only after cming to US....
The fact that I started doing my own make-up and my eyebrows....
The fact that I dont mind letting my hair fall on my face just because someone on the road or in the bus is staring at me.....
The fact that I can cook 2-3 recipes at the same time...and am the queen in my kitchen....
The fact that I've become more open towards certain topics which are completely shunned away by desi parents....
The fact that I've become more open to topics like Gay marriage and Live-in relationships....
The fact that I dont really care when people give me odd looks...
The fact that I dont have 100 thoughts (whose gonna say wat or comment) before putting on a CAPRI or a designer wear....or even a lipstick
ANNNNNNNNNDDDDDDDDDDDDD
The fact that when our American Friend Kathleen says accolades about Taj Mahal,Sambar,Pattu Saree,Mahabalipuram Temple and India.....my heart is filled with pride and joy....
The fact that my 80-year old neighbour Emma,has such great respect and regards for Indians and says that "Indians are the most educated and they shine in technology"....makes me want to jump up to the sky.....
So....For all those unanswered questions in my mind.....I jus had one answer....
I AM A DESI-VIDESHI.....
However "videshi" I maybe in my thoughts....in my lifestyle...or approach....My roots are DESI....After all.....I lived 25 years of my life in a country which has taught me moral values,discipline,culture,tradition and family heritage.....without all I would have never found my husband,got married and travelled in the fixed-wing aircraft to a completely new world.....

So guys.....WELCOME CHANGE :-)