Chaila-Bihari

2010-11-30T23:59:00.002+05:30

CONGRATULATIONS

Nitish Kumar and thanks for not letting down. One of the very few shiny objects in a black existence. This victory will boost many morales. All the best for keeping up the good work.

2010-07-29T16:46:00.002+05:30

Want to turn this page

2010-04-15T20:00:00.001+05:30

Subho Nababarsha

2010-02-25T23:06:00.003+05:30

Is Bihar seeing some bahar?
Bihar deputy CM Sushil Kr Modi tabled a revenue surplus budget of Rs 5,3927 crore in the assembly. Presenting the budget Modi, also the state's finance minister, said the surlpus budget had been presented irrespective of the fact that state exchequer faced an additional burden of Rs 5,000 cr for implementing the Sixth pay Commission report. Bihar also faced massive drought and floods. The 'ashare of Central taxes was also down thanks to the economic slowdown.
The revenue surplus, Modi said, will be used for investment in physical infrastructure and generating productive capital assets such as roads, buildings, power, schools, health centres, irrigation and other schemes.
PTI
25-03-10

2010-01-07T20:51:00.003+05:30

HAPPY NEW YEAR

Should have done this much earlier. But then better ... So, this is my bit in spreading the word — PFC One 2010 is on. Today is the third day. If anyone is reading this then please take some time out and you will not be disappointed.

2009-09-29T23:10:00.002+05:30

Subho Bijoya

Here's whishing subho bijoya to one and all.

2009-05-22T23:33:00.005+05:30

MANDATE 2009

Congratulations to all those who voted against the powers that be in Bengal.

Even prisoners at the Alipur jail celebrated the Left rout!

Congratulations also to Team Nitish for its victory in Bihar.

2009-04-15T10:37:00.001+05:30

SUBHO NABABARSHA!

2009-01-01T23:03:00.002+05:30

DESPERATELY WISHING FOR A HAPPY NEW YEAR
Here's hoping the pall of gloom vanishes and all of us can keep the faith. Here's longing for love and peace.
Here's wishing HNY to everybody.
p.s.: R.I.P. Vincent Woman No No Cry Ford

2007-08-01T22:12:00.000+05:30

Kudos To The Guru
Three Cheers! to P Sainath winning the Magsaysay. Man, he deserves it like no one else

2007-05-16T22:21:00.000+05:30

--------------------------

Chaila offers heartfelt condolences to Mr Nitish Kumar and his son

2007-05-11T13:25:00.000+05:30

New Hybrid BMW Makes UPhill road look easy

She has just given a new meaning to the word combo drive — Bahan MayaWati's go-cart driven by Dalits AND Brahmins. Simple! isn't it? Is it?
This thing needs to be studies deeper. What's interesting is that ol' Mulayam still clung on to so many seats. Wonder, what the ramification of this will be on the national scene!

2007-05-07T17:04:00.000+05:30

Ta Ra Rum Sham Sham

Jab bhi ho ghum, Zyada ya kam,

Muskuraayenge hum, Gaayenge hum,

Ta Ra Rum Pum...

...

Wow! Man whatta concept. Whenever you are depressed all you need to do is sing Ta Ra Rum Pum & Lo! you guardian angel will at once leave her favourite Yashraj movie to take bring you out of whatever mess you are in.

Of course you have to be of the caliber of RV (Saif Ali Khan), the super racer. In true Bollywood ishtyle, one fine speeding morning he almost knocks down few people on the street while driving a cab he had hired, almost knocks the car off, breaks his Shona's (Rani Mukherjee) i-pod and lands the job of lead racer for Speeding Saddles. Of course he wins all the races right from the first one till he himself is almost gets knocked off by Rusty — The Villain Racer.

Then suddenly this becomes a 'phamily phillum' from being a 'racing ka phillum'. loses it speed, shows us around The Great American cityscape yet once again and of course ends Happily ever after with RV reinstated as the champ.

In the process, somewhere down the line director Siddharth Raj Anand (Salaam Namaste in ’05) forgets to tell us the actual struggle story that should have happened — how the former champion becomes champion once again. The idea of the protagonists fear coming back was actually good. But we never got to see how he did overcome it. He just did it. C'mon he is the HERO. Siddharth, did you here about a movie called Million Dollar Baby?

Not all was bad, though. There racing sequences, for e.g, were not bad. However, a simple F1 view-from-cabin is much more exciting. That could have led another dimension to teh narration and could have helped the screenplay in process. Saif wasn't bad either. He is becoming somthing. Rani have given us better roles in the past. Well, to be fare, it actually was Preity's role. But still, Rani, you could've done a better job.

The itch: Had first heard of Ta Ra Rum Pum way back... I think in ’99 or Y2k. It was supposed to be done by Shekhar Kapur. Heard, he left this to do Elizabeth. Wonder, what he would have actually done with Ta Ra Rum Pum!

2007-04-26T19:43:00.000+05:30

Where Goes Blogosphere?
The blogomania seems to be just gone. Fool, Tridib all have disappeared, too — as if in thin air. SO, was it just a passing fad!

2007-04-16T19:18:00.000+05:30

1414
Choddoso Tero suru korechilam mone horsher kamona kore. Bochor ghurlo ebong horsher tikir dekha khub besi pawa gelo na. Tobe gorom hawar holka ter pelam. Dekha jak erpor ki hoy...

2006-05-27T01:47:00.001+05:30

First Day First Show
Once upon a time the word multiplex did not exist. Single-screen theatres ruled. Baba would always boast that gone were their haydays of the ’60s and ’70s — Back then a film would need to cross at least 100 days to be a hi, and silver jubillees were commonplace. But I would argue back that our generation wasn't doing too badly either, inspite of the video/cable/piracy trinity. First day first shows were a grand phenomenon even a few years back.
Meanwhile, I finished college, slogged at my institute and got a job. Catching a matinee show on Friday — a weekday — got tough. Gradually I started watching more and more movies at multiplexes and Friday Noon was dead. Fanaa brought the taste back. After a long long time. It's like a match at the Eden Gardens. The excitement is palpable even outside the venue. I'm no fan of Amir Khan but could identify with his cheerful camp. The oooooooohs, the whistles and those 'jiyo's all made for a heady atmosphere. Perhaps I'm hooked on again.
How the movie was? Watch this space.

2006-04-17T21:47:00.000+05:30

CHODDOSHO TERO BONGABDO
Subho Naba Borsho
Sara Bochor Mone Thakuk Harsho

2006-04-15T01:20:00.000+05:30

Q1 ’06

2006 is already a quater old. So, what were the news that really moved & shaked India? Going by the coverage they recieved — both in the media and in chai dukaans/local trains/clerks' desks in govt offices these events stand out:
* Madame G stepping down... and sending her sotcks in the Poli market up and burdening the nation with an undue byelection for Rae Bareli. Pic of the moment: A news channel reporter trying to get 'public reaction' outside Rae bareli district Cong office blurting out: "Aap dekh rahen hain, yahan sabhi bahut uttejit hain aur Soniaji ke samarthan me are laga rahe hain." Infront of the TV I kept mumbling (Why the hell do I do that!): "Saale public ka reaction lena hai to public ke bich jao, party office nahi."
* Amitabh Bachchan doing whatever. He goes to a shaadi, that's news. He takes ill, that's news. He recovers, that's news. He rests, that's News. He doesn't pay his taxes & the taxmen come knocking, that's SYMPATHYWAVE, He is not on DD, that's news. The I&B min ensures he's on DD, news again. He returns to shooting floor... Now That's Called A Nation's Colective Sigh Of Relief
* Sensex soar, soarer, soarest... Eyesores (i.e. poverty — poors should all be driven out, no?) apart, and even you get a sore throat repeating the word uchaal.

2006-01-17T00:09:00.000+05:30

Bravo! Bappa

Do you want to win an award for excellence in film making? Okay, here's the made-easy:First you need a STORY. So find yourself a story. Sheaf through the newspapers and magazines and whacko — there you have your story.A girl being sold. Make that auctioned. Oops, A TRIBAL girl being auctioned. Bravo! Bappa. [Don't forget to keep those mags. Show their covers and sepia-toned newspaper clippings before the castline]
Oh! Oh! The city audience will get bored with 'tribal' stuff, did you stay? Fine, woo them. Tell them they are worse off than the tribal girls.Remember you are Indian? So highlight that. Say that the nation is casteist. The Upper Casts are a villainous lot. Make it understood that they hate DALITS and keeps shouting: "Tum Dalit log sala hamare meherbani pe ji rahe ho", or anything to that effect. It should kinda sound like Tom Alter as a firanf in any desi patritoc potboiler barking: "Tum Hindustani kala kutta, Thhooo". Bravo! Bappa.
Now, you need a screenplay. Okay okay, forget it. just jot down your STORY on a peice of paper and reach the location. You can always improvise, you see. Never mind. Bravo! Bappa.
Get yourself a camers and a cameraman. Call that chappy director of photography or cinematographer, whatever. That gives you some credo. The camera may shake. The object may be out of the frame. The light may fluctuate. Call them being REALISTIC. That still doen't explain bright floodlit jhopras supposed to be lit with lanterns. But never mind. Utna to chalta hai. Bravo! Bappa.

Now, the casting. Pick an out-of-work ex-model-turned-vamp to play the TRIBAL girl. Pick another out-of-work model to play the CITY girl. Remember, the TRIBAL girl needs to be dark complexioned (Suman Ranganathan) and the CITY girl (Perizaad Zorabian) has to be fair. Okay, make it all VILLAGEFOLKS have to dark and all CITYPEOPLE fair. Now this is important. Ask all of your actors not to act. For realism's sake. Never mind if they all look wooden — that's how real life people look, don't they? What, you say you need an item-song. That's a great idea. Bravo! Bappa.
Okay, now the final stage. Prepare some publicity stills that will showcause the vioelnce, the penury of the TRIBAL girl. Show them that you are doing it for a social cause. Ask the CITY girl to look constipated. Job done. Goddammit! The STORY start's with the TRIBAL girl's narration and ends with the CITY girl's. Okay, I got it. That shows the similarity in their condition. Name it after the TRIBAL girl (Devaki). What? The STORY is about inequality meted out towards all women, you say. Cut the crap yaar! Who cares? Even you don't, right?
Bravo! Bappa.

2006-01-04T23:50:00.000+05:30

Sudhir Mishra on Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi
All ye Hazaaron lovers, here's something from the horse's mouth: http://www.musicindiaonline.com/ar/i/movie_name/879/3/director/1307/

2006-01-03T00:45:00.000+05:30

Bihar is back to being Bihar
They said Nitish has thorns as a crown. Why so, was bloody clear yesterday when six Mahato villagers were butchered merely a few kilometres away from capital Patna.
http://www.indianexpress.com/full_story.php?content_id=85141

2006-01-01T21:17:00.000+05:30

HAPPY NEW YEAR
This December we all were planning for our 31st night party. This December Bt cotton forced 64 farmers to commit suicide.
Here's hoping this time their counterparts have a Happy New year.

2005-12-14T17:30:00.000+05:30

Remebering The Showman
Honge Raaje Rajkanwar Hum Bigde Dil Shehzade
Hum Singhasan Par Ja Baithen Jab Jab Karen Iraade
Happy Birthday Raju

2005-12-08T22:53:00.000+05:30

A quarter-century later
Imagine there's no heaven,
It's easy if you try,
No hell below us,
Above us only sky,
Imagine all the people
living for today...
Imagine there's no countries,
It isnt hard to do,
Nothing to kill or die for,
No religion too,
Imagine all the people
living life in peace...
Imagine no possesions,
I wonder if you can,
No need for greed or hunger,
A brotherhood of man,
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world...
You may say Im a dreamer,
but Im not the only one,
I hope some day you'll join us,
And the world will live as one...
We are still trying to imagine John
Rest in peace.
---->@

2005-11-29T16:17:00.000+05:30

My City... Used To Be
Friday evening was spent at Flury's with two old chums — The Filmmaker and The Intellectual. It was a nice evening — filled with saxophone and titbits on The Filmmaker's new scripts over nice Darjeeling. (Very filling, too, with a BIG omlett stuffed with ham and mushroom). It was adda and after a long time it felt nice. Felt like old times. Felt like the old city was still alive — like it used to be.
Right? Wrong!
A few kilometres away from Flury's, around 80,000 Calcuttans had gathered at the Eden Gardens. India was playing S Africa. It was a pretty expensive affair. Tickets for the match had exceeded a grand. (For Cal that's quite a lot — A Bryan Adams show was once cancelled as the organisers feared a low turnout.) They had come to cheer the home team or to enjoy a good game, I'd guess. But, apparently, they had a different agenda. To boo and barrack the Indian team.
Now, i have serious reservations about this whole 'Indian team' business. For me it's a pack of few good/not so good men owned by a 'company' — a very rich one — which is focussed on a single thing — PROFIT. Like other companies.
Anyways, 'Team India' has always been OWNED by the people. We get passionate, nationalistic, heck even jingoistic.
But the way 'WE' reacted this time beats me. People had actually bought tickets, sacrificed work and gathered to boo their own team. This 'people' included the ex-mayor of the city who, a daily reported, wanted India to loose, "For Saurav's sake". Wow! Not only those present in the stadium, but the whole city (and perhaps the whole state), wanted the tea to lose. Why? They wanted 'proof' that The Men In Blues will always be in the blues if The Prince don't come to their rescue. People bursted crackers. People in general. Most of these 'People' used to scorn at Muslims, and all Muslims, when a certain section at Khidderpore bursted crackers after a Pak win.
It hurt. It did. The next morning The Intellectual justified the reaction... "For years have we ben subjected to Onyay Bonchona. Now we have Jagoed. And Everybody should know that we can hit back too"... as if he was off to fight the British, or the burgeoise or whomever. "Why not? The Marathis root for Maharashtra, why not we for Bengal?" reasoned Baba. Well, I can't remember Mumbaikars praying for an Indian defeat when Sunny was out of the team. Neither can I forsee Delhiites at Ferozshah Kotla barraking because Shehwag has been kept out ofd the team. (Now, they might, and claim to follow the famous What Bengal thinks today...).
Perhaps that's why these cities will call themselves the Capital, financial capital, tech capital... Kolkatans used to refer her as the Cultural Capital.
Culture? What Culture?

2005-11-22T22:48:00.000+05:30

Bujhe jo laltenwa

Arrah hile, Chapra hile, Baliya hile la
Bujhe jo laltenwa to pura Bihar hile la
Did it happen? Really? Lalu actually is trounced. Man, it's taking time to sink in.
At one point of time it relly had loooked like he would go on and on and... a la Jyoti. But today he's actually has lost. SEALED. That won't free the state of corruption — that must be too old, as old as Magadh, to be shooed away — or crime or any of the shit that Bihar is in. But a negation has been registered.
Bihar is still in a mess and, without being too pessimistic, it will remain in it for quite some time come. But at least it admitted the change. That's welcome. Chaila raises a toast to that.