The Clash of Mismatch’s - Dilwale vs Bajirao Mastani

                        

B-Town experienced interesting scenarios last weekend as release date clashes resurfaced, this time the Sanjay Bhansali produced “Bajirao Mastani” took on the Rohit Shetty-SRK star-powered “Dilwale”. Though the cast lines showed clear inclination towards Dilwale, speculations were abuzz as the D-Friday drew nearer.

While Bajirao Mastani was a retro-classical drama based on the epic love story of guerrilla fighter tribe leader Bajirao and princess Mastani Bai, Dilwale was a family entertainer that also marked return of the famed SRK-Kajol romantic pair on the silver screen. Clearly both the movies had nothing in between to clash box-office collections except for the interestingly common release dates.

First day collections saw a clear inclinations towards Dilwale, as expected, but amidst all the din was hidden the mysterious screen division. While it was expected for superstar SRK starer Dilwale to have a greater screen hold, however, in actuality it was Bajirao Mastani that ruled screen counts, more so in the Single Screen theatres. The reason behind this was a shrewd secret-deal made by the distributors Eros International during prior rights distributions.

Protests across various sections by saffron brigades against the controversial statements made by Shahrukh regarding rising intolerance in the nation hit the occupancy rates further and coupled with the lower number of screen counts, the family entertainer didn’t shoot-off as expected.

Trade analyst Reveal Bajirao's lead over Dilwale

On the other hand Bajirao Mastani, riding on a better word of mouth and a remarkably high screen count saw steady rise after an average first day collections. But incredibly unpredictable scenes erupted when the first Monday collections saw Bajirao turn tables with a marginal lead over Dilwale. While many saw this as the increased inclination of bolly-viewers towards meaningful plots, critics also interpreted as fall of SRK’s magic hold on the silver screen.

All in all, the clash brought about epic scenes aboard the B-town business times it also proved once and all that in the end it’s all about the plot that matters more than just the casts. But then Clashes are never good for any reason whatsoever, and ultimately it’s the B-town as the end-loser as it made fewer collections than it should with two reasonably good plots, both perfect mismatches to each other. 

The Intolerant Indians...

My India…..

A country that till 18 months ago, was blessed with perfect communal harmony, the country that enjoyed an absolute freedom of expression, the country that had not banned a single book, movie or play.

No one had heard of the word ‘caste' in my India and the word ‘religion' either. There was no hunger,
nor there was poverty. All the farmers were billionaires so no one ever committed suicide. It was a wonderful country where people could eat as much beef they wanted, anywhere they wanted. There were no laws banning cow slaughter in any state. No one had heard of words like corruption, murders and rape.

Communal violence and riots were unheard of. The years 1947 and 1984 skipped India, therefore there were no such things as partition riots and anti-Sikh riots. The year 2002 however did happen in a terrible place called Gujarat, the single stain on the spotless secular fabric of India! Kashmiri Pandits lived in the valley in peace and harmony with their neighbours. The ethnic cleansing of the valley never happened. Serial bomb blasts and terrorist attacks were also terms that did not exist.

Indians did not know what unhappiness or poverty or suffering meant. If they wanted to experience it, they would go on a conducted tour to Sudan or Palestine!

Such was the paradise that was my India!

Unfortunately, the good run did not last.

16th May 2014, I still remember that dark day - the day Fascist Patriarchal Hindu Male Narendra Modi became the Prime Minister!

That was the day India saw poverty, communal violence, law and order issues, farmer suicides, caste discrimination, gender discrimination, murders, rape, tax avoidance, spitting on the roads, litter in the streets, road rage and every other social evil that you can think of, for the very first time!!

Thanks to this evil guy Modi, communal violence has crossed all limits. Every day millions of people are being massacred in India. At this rate, there will be no voters left to cast their vote in 2019!

Some eminent historians and liberal thinkers have compared this regime to the Taliban - that social organisation formed by terrorists with no religion. The Taliban however is so hurt with this comparison that it wants Arvind Kejriwal to hold a dharna on its behalf!

We enlightened citizens know that PM Modi is PERSONALLY responsible for everything from our constipation to clogged toilets at a railway station. I am upset that Modi has NOT issued a statement yet on why there are paan stains on the staircase leading to my building. Everything that is wrong in this country is the PM's fault. NO ONE else is to be blamed.

Oh my poor poor India! What have you done to deserve this? I need to find a suitable award to return to protest against this.

I hope this Modi resigns soon and we liberal intellectuals can return to the perfect Utopian paradise that was India under the great leadership of intellectual icon, Rahul Gandhi, king of development Nitish Kumar or Honesty certificate issuer Arvind Kejriwal.

Source:https://www.facebook.com/pati.anirban/posts/10205155120179408?fref=nf

The last match at Barabati....

A major part of relating to any given sporting event doesn’t necessarily concern ‘what you remember about it?’ but rather ‘how you remember it?’ Hence unfortunately in years to come people won’t remember that South Africa beat India by 6 wickets but rather talk about a bizarre incident of crowd indiscipline that took place in Barabati Stadium, Cuttack on 5th October 2015.

I am an Odia and we love to take pride in the smallest of affairs. So now we can take pride in humiliating the spirits of Cricket South Africa that is touring India, playing a series dedicated to Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela. We can be proud of the fact that after Eden Garden in 1996 World Cup, this becomes the most shameful crowd incident in India. Oh! And don’t you think this is the first time Barabati audience threw rubbish on the ground. It happened in a small and unnoticeable way when India played England and West Indies in the past. It is just this time we decided to make it a little grander and added a bit of chutzpah to it.

Moving away from the customary sarcasm, we live in a world of powerful electronic media that doesn’t let people forget easily. Images of plastic bottles scattered on the outfield, videos of match officials and players waiting helplessly to begin the match will haunt us for a long time. It is a fact that Barabati gets very few International games. So it is quite understandable that a dismal performance by Indian team would cause a great amount of frustration. But then nothing explains the shameful outrage. Ranchi has come up with their lovely stadium, Eden Garden continues to be the home of cricket in India, Dharamshala and its sceneries are unparalleled – there is no dearth of venues to host cricket matches. So, despite Barabati Stadium being a stunning one, this incident has somewhat washed away all chances of us getting a game in the T20 World Cup 2016.

People in Pakistan were desperate to see their national side play in front of them. Thanks to Zimbabwe who made that historic tour. And here we are, lucky enough to see our national side play from yards distance and still manage to do something utterly stupid that brings tag of being irresponsible for the state and country as well. Barabati doesn’t deserve another International game because there is a lack of basic sensibility.

Odisha hosts a number of games both in IPL and HIL but an International event is the perfect outing to show the world how good an ambassador of the sport we are but unfortunately we have let ourselves down.

We all go to watch cricket matches because we love the game and obviously would love to see our team win and when the contrary happens, disappointment is natural. But we must never forget, under any circumstance, that when we attend such international events in our State which is being telecast live around the world, we by default become ambassadors of our State. We must not forget that the entire world is watching us. If we are not sportive enough to accept defeat which is a part and parcel of the game, then we must not attend such events and bring disrepute to the state with our behaviour.

Having said this, in situations where the team performs as dismally as it did yesterday, when India was expected to level the series, we as spectators have to find better ways to show our disappointment than to throw bottles on the ground and disrupt play. What we did yesterday was, in plain words, shameful and uncultured. So much so that the focus of the entire nation and media is on the unruly crowd behaviour at Cuttack rather than the extremely poor performance of the team.

Public unrest is a problem and the first step to solve a problem is to acknowledge that there is one. A state which is obsessed with chasing self-proclaimed God men, a state which boasts of its rich cultural heritage has a bit of a soul-searching to do here.

And from media houses to cha khattis when we ask our cricketers “what are you playing for?” It high time we ask ourselves “Why do you follow this game for?” I hope the answer still is “for the love of it.”

Source: http://odishasuntimes.com/2015/10/06/why-barabati-doesnt-deserve-any-more-international-matches/

KKPK- A Kapil Sharma laughter riot!!

Comedy King Kapil Sharma has announced himself on the big screen in some emphatic way as KKPK goes on tumbling down figures of box office collection, riding high on positive word of mouth despite average reviews from critics. The movie also makes first look of director duo Abbas-Mustan in comedy, a distant cousin of their familiar shores of thriller action-packed scripts.

The Story revolves around how Kapil and his half-brother Varun handle the complicated case of Kapil’s married life involving four beaus. The story line is jam-packed with terrific punch lines, and there is a smooth flow of the plot through most parts. Kapil and Varun have proved to be killer combo with their fantastic comic timing and acting skills.

Music is somewhat a weak link in the plot, with the album lacking decent number of hit tracks which would have added another feather. Kapil has also made an infamous entry as a singer in this film with as many as three song records.

In short, KKPK is an overloaded list of LOLs, trolls and ROFLs, provided you do not intend to apply your know how in science*!!

*(pun intended)  

He had a name, all in seek was a home !!

As harrowing scenes of the lifeless body of 3-year old boy clad in a red shirt and tiny sneakers lying face down at Turkish shores continues to haunt humanity particularly Europe, the migration crisis of European Union has now the prime media glare across the globe. Aylan Kurdi is one of many refugees who have lost their lives en-route to seeking asylum fleeing troubled situations back home but is the most heart rending scenes that has put the European leadership in a real fix to handle the alarmingly escalating number of refugees seeking asylum in member nations.

The EU migrants’ crisis originates from trouble torn nations such as Libya where a fresh spark of disturbance has been born, the war ridden Syria, many of the North African instable nations such as Somalia, Nigeria and even Afghanistan, Pakistan and so on. Statistics state a total of 36,800 pending asylum requests, mostly for Germany after it opened doors to all immigrants, while illegal immigrants’ counts suggest something around 200,000. This has led to a huge pressure on the resource constraints of the nations with such high numbers of migrants thereby prompting the EU’s Frontex to upgrade external Schengen borders.

The primary movement of refugees is from Turkey into Greece, making Greece a prime entry-point to Germany. Unpleasant scenes of sufferings by the refugees have surfaced in recent times with the Greek government refused the migrants to take a train to Germany. The Budapest station is thronged by thousands of such immigrants waiting to complete their journey onwards. It was only yesterday when the Greek government finally allowed a train to Germany overcrowded with refugees. 

Sans this, the other key route to enter EU is through the Mediterranean sea where drowning of overcrowded boats has accounted for as many as 22,000 lives lost or disappeared. As the Italian mission to search and rescue incoming refugees stays constraint owing lack of financial support from EU, the tentative approach of employing gunboats for driving away refugee boats came under severe criticism with pics of dead Aylan leading newslines.

Presently, EU is facing serious problems with the alarming statistics of immigrants and the threads of union are loosening as member nations struggle to find a suitable solution to this precarious situation. The erstwhile refugee policy drafted way back during World War II has been rendered lacklustre for this situation demanding fresh brainstorming into the issue.

Though the problem is critical and diplomatic in nature, the solution to this crisis, must be drafted keeping humanity in the driving seat than politics. 

Parliament – the seate of Repre-shame-tatives of India!!

Indian Parliament off late has become the biggest cause of shame to the nation. The house representing the voice of the common citizens of the country has climbed down the stairs of respect and integrity with every new day. In a country where Right to speech guarantees opposite views, misuse of the fundamental right is best picked from scenes within the house of the people.

Every other day there is news of the house being adjourned in sake of something that has almost no relevance in any form to the nation’s affairs. Today the prime view of Indian opposition is that of persons seemingly lacking rationale, opposing everything the party in power seems to do because it’s the only meaning derived by them for their tag- opposition.

Broken mikes, slogans, dharnas, catchy statements and incessant demand of resignations over a fly’s bite is the characteristics of our Parliament. In the present running session of the Parliament, the house of elders (for namesake) hasn’t functioned a single whole day of agenda. This shows the effective lessons of Punctuality and Duty displayed for the nation to follow by our so called “Elder” leaders of the nation.

The Lok Sabha had recently seen scenes of as many as 25 MPs suspended for inappropriate

behaviour in the house, a house chaired by a women speaker which just goes on to say why India is considered a place with low regards for women. And as if reverberations of the act, the opposition chooses to stall proceedings with the same issue and some other irrelevant issues just because of their numerical supremacy in the Rajya Sabha.

What is hidden behind this is that a stalled house implies a stalled nation. Rajya Sabha is due to table some legitimate bills that could pave the future course of the country such as “GST act” , “land acquisition bill” reforms, etc. to name a few.If this was not enough the latest shame they have brought before a visiting Bhutanese delegation in the house has lifted all trust in our opposition forces.

India has voted a majority government to power in the last elections with a believe to empower the worthy leaders to change the seemingly faltering nation’s fate and just when the nation had begun to grow restless for a Maggi styled “Ache Din”, the opposition led by the phenomenal loser who incidentally was the PM candidate against the present PM has done what it does best: swung back the public sentiments with the government.

All this leads to a valid question, was the last election a phase-I to empower the Modi-fied India and should as patriotic Indians who wish to ensure the Parliament remains our democracy’s temple ensure those 40 reduce to zero in 2019 ??

The last Class – a tribute to India’s Missile Man

Dr. Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam, more popular as Dr. APJ Abdul kalam, a true patriot, nationalist and an ocean of knowledge is a loss India will mourn for life. Having very humble beginnings as a newsboy, Dr. Kalam went on to become one of the pioneers of science and technology laying the cornerstone for modern India. It was under his visionary leadership that India conducted its first Nuclear test in Pokhran, making India the first nation in the subcontinent to have Nuclear weapons in arsenal.

Popularly named “Missile Man”, Dr. Kalam’s contribution in developing indigenous Missile technology is unmatched. The SLV-III and PSLV, India’s pride and world’s awe, also the launch pad for MOM (Magalyaan) as also several others are brain child of Dr. Kalam. Failing to cut into as an Air Force Fighter pilot, Dr. Kalam first joined in as a scientist with the DRDO where he created a small helicopter for the armed forces. But, unsatisfied with his job, he switched to DRDO where he created the foundation of military strength of today’s India.

Under his directorship, India achieved some great feats including India’s first indigenous satellite, as also Pokhran-I and Pokhran-II that marked India in the technology map of world.

Dr. Kalam also the 11^th President of India is probably the only befitting his tag of “People’s President”. From opening the Raisina Hills to common man to freelance visit for students, Dr. Kalam made Rastrapati Bhavan accessible to one and all. As a President, Dr. Kalam rose above all affiliations, to ensure doing all he could as India’s first citizen. As President, he was no easy-pass, he would weigh pro’s and con’s with the acumen of a true nationalist and has returned a record number of resolutions for re-consideration.

Sans his term as President, Dr. Kalam dedicated himself as an open book for the youth of the nation and had always been on the move, imparting and deciphering the vast ocean of knowledge he possessed. Even in his last days, he was a visiting faculty of IIMs Shillong, Ahmedabad and Indore, besides being the Chancellor of IIST Thiruvanantapuram, as also several other institutions.

Dr. Kalam was a man deeply rooted to his bases as an idealist Indian citizen, but at the same time he was extremely far sighted of the future as imminent from his authored books “INDIA 2020”, “Wings of Fire”, etc.

For a man who believed in investing all his wisdom in the nation’s youth, it’s only just that his last moments were at an address to the future of the nation at IIM Shillong. Dr. Kalam’s loss has left a profound void in the heart of every Indian and will be mourned for ever.