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26 December 2014

Watched PK: A promising movie thats gone wrong.

I usually express my views in a conservative outlook towards movies and I compile it as my review usually immediately after watching it, but for the new movie "PK", it took a lot more time(more than 3 days after I watched it on Monday, 22Dec2014)! to put my thoughts into words.
With the expectations that zoomed higher than mount everest(including my own expectations and imaginations about the plot), it is going to be a tough job for Raju Hirani when he sets out to work again with Aamir after the fantastic 3 idiots.
The problems with this movie are many:
1. The reason why the alien PK gets into a complicated issues and beliefs related to different faiths is unconvincing and looks like a repeat of OMG.
No matter how carefully Raju might have handled the story, the movie eventually falls into a poor cousin of OMG. The only saving grace of the movie are its dialogues and a good performance by Aamir.
It may surely get almost all the awards in and outside India, but it is certainly not the type that will be remembered for a long time nor is it going to be a classic like the earlier movies by
Raju, like Munnabhai 1 and 2, and 3 idiots. Mixing sci-fi into a controversial movie makes things even worse.
2. There are so many questions: Do we need to get an alien to tell us how to worship?
3. What is wrong in going to a mandir located far away in himalayas?
4. Why is the director hell bent on potraying God in a funny way without minimum concern to the beliefs of hundreds of millions of people? For example the lead actor using God's stickers to save himself from slaps or making a stage actor playing shiva run around in fear? There is also a dialogue that really gets on the nerves of people: "jo darte hain wo mandir jaate hain"(Those who are frightened go to temple).
Will someone tell the director that bashing someone is going to set the cash registers ringing and bring him laurels?He surely may get awards from people purely based on comic entertainment, but for someone who sees a soul in a movie, PK falls flat.
If the makers think that making a stage actor dressed up as Lord Shiva run around is funny, they are mistaken. They cannot take everything in Hinduism for granted. There are certain aspects that are more sacred and as valuable as our parents. Will we laugh if someone playing the role of our parents on screen is made to look like a buffoon? There have been unnecessary tweets from Raju Hirani that expose his total disregard for beliefs of a certain community. Let me tell you, many of them are scientific. Karva chauth is meant for health, turmeric is a well known for keeping bugs away from the entrance, circumambulation of a temple is known to be beneficial to us with generation of positive energy. We can go on and on and prove that religious customs that seem silly to some film makers are actually based on authentic science. When the so called "wild wild west" proves the same, thats when all these people will wake up.
There are many problems in the society like exploding population,  environment pollution, etc and the makers have problems with people going to temples, idol worship, multiple religions and helping cows. Some are spreading news that this has a strong message. Yes, it does send out a strong message in a way, but it is a bad one.
The positives are of course the performance of Aamir and some of the scenes which touches your heart like PK praying to different statues of Gods pleading them to help him, and trying different ways of pleasing them, to no avail. If the filmmaker had concentrated on such nice moments instead of making fun of them, it could have been a better movie, but in its present form, PK, at least for me is a movie that is a propaganda by the makers and promoters, that I completely disagree with.

With love.. Anil

28 November 2014

The name called "Harivanshrai Bachhan"

Having gone through the blog posts of Big B Amitab Bachhan at: http://srbachchan.tumblr.com/, it is hard to believe that someone who is so busy with his films' schedule could squeeze out enough time to publish articles on a daily basis for his online fans/followers(whom he calls "extended family")!
The post on his father Harivansh Rai Bachchan on the eve of his birth anniversary(born on 27Nov1907) was particularly touching!
I read a few poems of him during my school days and though I didnt remember the poems, I still remember an incident where I thought Harivanshrai Bachhan and Amitabh Bachhan are not related(just like how Anil Kapoor and Raj Kapoor are not related). It is only after I joined college and watching on TV that I realized that they are in fact father-son duo!

I just now recalled one of the poems that I read as a kid in our CBSE school. Those days we never had an idea as to who he is, his contribution to literature or other facets of his life! All we knew are some names like Munshi Premchand, Mahadevi Varma, Bharatendu Harishchandra, etc. Below is the text of the poem that I remember: 

जो बीत गई सो बात गई (Jo Beet gayi so baat gayi):
जीवन में एक सितारा था
माना वह बेहद प्यारा था
वह डूब गया तो डूब गया
अंबर के आंगन को देखो
कितने इसके तारे टूटे
कितने इसके प्यारे छूटे
जो छूट गए फ़िर कहाँ मिले
पर बोलो टूटे तारों पर
कब अंबर शोक मनाता है
जो बीत गई सो बात गई
जीवन में वह था एक कुसुम
थे उस पर नित्य निछावर तुम
वह सूख गया तो सूख गया
मधुबन की छाती को देखो
सूखी कितनी इसकी कलियाँ
मुरझाईं कितनी वल्लरियाँ
जो मुरझाईं फ़िर कहाँ खिलीं
पर बोलो सूखे फूलों पर
कब मधुबन शोर मचाता है
जो बीत गई सो बात गई
जीवन में मधु का प्याला था
तुमने तन मन दे डाला था
वह टूट गया तो टूट गया
मदिरालय का आंगन देखो
कितने प्याले हिल जाते हैं
गिर मिट्टी में मिल जाते हैं
जो गिरते हैं कब उठते हैं
पर बोलो टूटे प्यालों पर
कब मदिरालय पछताता है
जो बीत गई सो बात गई
मृदु मिट्टी के बने हुए हैं
मधु घट फूटा ही करते हैं
लघु जीवन ले कर आए हैं
प्याले टूटा ही करते हैं
फ़िर भी मदिरालय के अन्दर
मधु के घट हैं,मधु प्याले हैं
जो मादकता के मारे हैं
वे मधु लूटा ही करते हैं
वह कच्चा पीने वाला है
जिसकी ममता घट प्यालों पर
जो सच्चे मधु से जला हुआ
कब रोता है चिल्लाता है
जो बीत गई सो बात गई
                                                  —   हरिवंशराय बच्चन

With love.. Anil

24 September 2014

Vaagudu(My take on Aagadu)..

After watching Aagadu yesterday, it seems the dialogue writers went crazy and over-creative and packed 100s of dialogues that would have made it into at least 2-3 movies. If there ever was a movie made only with dialogues, its this one. Vaagudu(talking non-stop) would have been the perfect title for this movie. The villains were shown to be so stupid that they fall for any cooked-up-story that the hero says repeatedly. Is it so easy to fool someone? This is where the hero loses some of his strength because for the hero to be shown strong, the villain needs to be made seriously strong and not some buffoon.

The performances of all the actors seem to be eclipsed by the hundreds of lines of dialogues that they have, so much so that the story writers seem to have written dialogues before the story and somehow wove a story around them!
Many of the characters seemed to be a misfit, including the lead actress Tamanna who is used only for songs and fill up an empty space and nothing else.
Aagadu could have been a movie made as a hobby and for rohit shetty's fans, but not everyone. We can easily close our eyes and just listen to the dialogues since there is nothing much visual or intelligent in this movie. Even for a hard-core fan like me, it is only above average(closer to a disaster than average).

With love.. Anil

08 August 2014

Internal battles in sports..

There seems to be lots of internal fighting going on in various sports in India, be it tennis(Paes-Bhupathi unhealthy rivalry that hurt India's morale and chances at major events including olympics), or more recently badminton.
I just saw the comments made by one of the ace shuttlers of India Jwala Gutta against India's best badminton coach Gopichand yesterday on times now and it made me think:
Why is there so much negativity in Jwala Gutta's comments during these comparatively good times of badminton? Are these words of her coach Mohd Arif? Before commenting against other coaches, they need to prove themselves point by point and medal by medal that they won in any major event. Comments like these will only hurt the game and nothing else. Discipline is of paramount importance in sports, and in its absence it becomes a war. India needs medal machines which can bring us golds in mega events, not egoistic meat.
Looking back 2 weeks or so, Sania and Jwala seem to be competing to stay in the news in someway or the other. I just hope they just stop all the nonsense, do their job(after all they are being payed for their game) and bring the nation medals instead of harping on others.
And as far as the commonwealth 2014 scandals involving officials is concerned, it is an insult to the whole nation and it can never be pardoned and should be dealt with all seriousness.

With love.. Anil

16 July 2014

Movies vs the reality

Recently, there was a show as part of a Telugu Quiz show which should be an eye opener for many people who get drawn too much by the movies and believe them to be true, especially the ones based upon history.
One such movie is "Chanakya Chandragupta". The movie is in itself  a fantastic one depicting the relation between the great political genius Chanakya(played by Akkineni Nageshwara Rao), the king Chandragupta(Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao) and Alexander(played by Shivaji Ganeshan). It showed Alexander fighting Chandragupta and a fictitious story was built to just add spice to the movie.
In the Telugu quiz show "Meelo Evaru Koteeshwarudu"(Telugu version of the famous show "Who wants to be a millionaire"), it was asked:
Which of the following Indian rulers fought against Alexander the great in battle? And the options were:

  1. Ashoka, 
  2. Chandragupta Maurya, 
  3. Porus
  4. Chatrapathi Shivaji

And the contestant, owing to the movie, immediately answered Chandragupta and locked the answer. She was wrong.
The answer was Porus(the Greek version of the original name of Purushottam(or Puru for short)), whom Alexander defeated. The movie just added a bit more drama to its story by including Alexander, but the fact is that Chandragupta and Alexander never faced each other. In fact Chandragupta Maurya established the Mauryan Empire(in 321 BC) 2 years after the death of Alexander(323 BC).
So the impact of movies on the general public cannot be underestimated and sometimes can be misleading.
And the contestant paid the price for believing the cinematic story by losing a big amount of her earnings. Sad, but thats the harsh reality that people have to face for not seeing the movie as an entertainment and assuming it to be a historical fact.

With love.. Anil

24 June 2014

The whole noise about hindi vs others!

Ever since the rise of humanity in its present form, there has been a necessity to communicate with each other using some method or other. First it was gestures and later the spoken word came about and later the written word. And groups of these words were collectively named as languages and today we have thousands of languages the world over and many hundreds of them in India itself, with most of the speakers worshiping their native language. So when it comes to one language dominating the other, it is bound to become a critical issue and gets more personal and emotional for those who have a strong bond with their mother tongue.

The recent hungama over the hindi language promotion has been one of them. Some claim that hindi is being unfairly imposed upon some states of India, and it was even termed as unconstitutional and against the spirit of the constitution!
Whoever has read the actual circular will know the reality: It was just an attempt to increase the usage of hindi in hindi spoken areas, specifically in the social media.

"...all officers and employees who operate official accounts on Twitter, Facebook, Blogs, Google, Youtube should use Hindi and English languages. Prominence should be given to Hindi.."

First things first: In a country like India where there are hundreds of languages, there is bound to be increased level of communication and exchange of ideas between the various regional languages and dialects. And due to this there will be evolution of languages and several dialects emerge due to the influence of one language over another. Now this doesnt mean that one language is superior to another or that there is a conspiracy to eliminate other languages based upon the numbers they have.

With love.. Anil

09 June 2014

सपने हैं

उभरती हुई सूरज की किरणों में
आशा भरी हर एक लड़की की आँखों में
ओस की बूंदों की चमक में
हर नदी की ऊर्जा भरी लहर में
दौड़ते हुए बच्चों की खेल में
अन्नदाता किसानो की पसीना में
सपने हैं सपने हैं..
गैर लोगों से क्या लेना,
स्वशक्ति से है दिखाना
हर एक भारतीय की निष्ठा से
कर्म योगी महानेता की प्रेरणा से
हम सब लायेंगे अछे दिन,
निभाएंगे अखंड भारत की सच्चे वादे

सपने हैं सपने हैं..
सपने हैं सपने हैं..

-अनिल कुमार रेड्डी

04 June 2014

Expanding power capacity through solar panels

An idea of increasing power generation and feeding to the national grid: why can't we make the public a partner in power generation by encouraging them to rent out or lease their rooftops for solar panels that generate power and feed to the grid? Let the public invest in setting up the panels and let the govt pay them back by discounts in bills.
This policy is already encouraged in some states like TN and karnataka and it would be good if it is promoted on a national scale.


The advantages of the above policy would be many:
1. Zero pollution: It is completely noiseless, without any exhaust gases.
2. The public will take ownership of the solar panels since it will be their investment of their space and thus a culture of partnership can be promoted. They become partners in nation building since they provide any extra power to the national grid.
3. Consistent and wide spread potential for power output unlike the wind mills which work only in certain windy areas.
4. Virtually infinite source of energy: the sun.

One of the detailed articles is here.

With love.. Anil

27 May 2014

Team Modi's time starts!

Good morning all! This fresh day feels like a new start, a new beginning. Now that the new NDA government lead by the 15th PM of India Narendra Damodardas Modi is ready to take charge
today morning at 9am, one most important phase of democracy has started that will and should involve people's active participation:
Things I will be tracking of the new government:
1. How punctual will it be: Are the ministers going to deliver the promises on time?
2. Timely updates about the new policies of the new government: There have been so many times in the past when we were left groping in the dark as to what is happening with the bills
in parliament, what are they doing there and why are they shouting at each other.
3. How clean the ministers remain: One big issues have been the thousands of crores of public money lost in the face of huge scams all throughout the last 10 years. This needs to
change.
4. Impact of government schemes on the economy(+ve or -ve): Though we expect a positive effect on the overall economy, there will be a bitter side to face as a side effect. The ailing
economy does need a bitter pill to recover and I guess we need to brace up for initial hard times to reap the benefits later.
5. How much will they improve the infrastructure: The various infrastructure projects that are being implemented do have so many bottle necks that need to be cleared on a war footing.
One example is the Bangalore Metro which was never able to beat a snail!

Why all the above concern? Because I have invested the next 5 years of my trust in this new govt! So I do feel anxious how my investment is going to perform!

Anyway, wishing the Modi Team all the best in their quest to full fill the promises!

With love.. Anil

26 May 2014

Uurvashi vs PVR, courtesy Godzilla!

This weekend was a smokey, enormous one with a visit to the latest Godzilla in the town which is wreaking havoc in theaters across the world! For a change, this time its not in my default choice for imax-like experience of Bangalore: Uurvashi, but in the top multiplex in India: PVR. For a change, there is not much difference in ticket price due to the morning show, but the experience was completely different and as similar as chalk and cheese.
Now coming to Godzilla, I can imagine how it would have felt in 3D, on the large screen  of Uurvashi and the sound effects that it has, but at the same time, PVR excels in other departments that make movie watching comfortable, like better seats, better ambience and better rest rooms.
Uurvashi has a much better Meyer sound that is used in music concerts the world over and a much better and bigger screen, but has the feeling of a low quality ambience. Of course watching with a larger audience(1161 seats vs PVR's 
) will be thrilling to some, so that they can hear their comments and enjoy too!
So as expected, PVR is for those who doesnt want a earth-shattering sound system but want a comfort. Just hope PVR can upgrade its sound and screen to the levels of Uurvashi! 
Finally, as always, change is the only thing constant in this world of entertainment and we can surely hope that Uurvashi and PVR will improve things that they lack in their respective theatres right now!

-With love,
Anil

21 May 2014

देश केलिए जीओ!..దేశం కోసం బతుకు!.. Live for the nation!

What a slogan it is! There are people who incite innocent people into dying for a region, which is stupidity. But here is a new thought that needs to be strengthened. Why don't we think in terms of how precious is this life and what we can do in our lifetime? A simple habit of giving a whole hearted "thank you" to a customer care or a car driver or anyone who is serving you, can make a difference. I always believe progress starts with compassion and destruction starts with anger and indifference. A small contribution from every citizen would make a great society and a better world. A speech by a proven leader makes a huge difference to a society. It's similar to how pumped up a whole cricket team gets when one of their top players inspire them to do better! A team will achieve greater heights when the leader leads from the front and this is true even in administration of a large and diverse nation like India. Yesterday's  parliamentary meeting of the NDA was like a team lead by a man of conviction, determination and who believes in taking pride of being a citizen of an independent India and I hope this energy continues while going forward.

18 May 2014

Lessons to be learnt for the Congress and its allies

Finally the election euphoria is over and the results are out. the biggest question now is why and how did a large party like congress lost along-with its allies. There are so many reasons for this and my analysis is given below:

Never underestimate the power of a well-informed, common man:
If you think that you can cover up the weakness in leadership and governance by playing dramas in front of national media by claiming to tear off ordinances or use their father's or granny's death for sympathy, wake up as the public knows the real story and the plot, thanks to the vigorous debates on so many news channels. It even applies to those allies who joined hands with the congress.

Never take power for granted and misuse it:
During the AP Reorganization, the way the central leadership brushed aside the people's movement is too much for the people to digest. Congress tried to play politics with the emotions of the people and it paid the price. They wanted 10 more seats by splitting the state? They got the answer where they were wiped off completely on the coastal part of AP and dropped to a pathetic #3(not even in the position to be an opposition) in the hyderabad area.

Discard bad apples or else the whole basket decays:
When people are corrupt or when someone was convicted clearly by credible investigation agencies, the leadership should acknowledge the fact and take a strong action against them. Instead what the UPA has done is try to shield its tainted ministers with some ridiculous arguments. People saw the facts and taught them the lesson that they need to learn atleast now.
The APCC too committed a suicide by giving in to anti-social elements, encouraging corrupt leaders and passing the AP reorganization bill against the people and got wiped off in the state.
This holds true even for BJP Karnataka as it could have been in power if it had took a strong stand against tainted leaders, dismissed them and gave a stable govt at the state. They tasted the result in 2013.

Take note of the early warnings:
In the 5-state assembly polls in december 2013, BJP swept almost all the states and congress was routed in some key areas. And what was the response from the congress? We will analyze the results. What will be effect on the national polls next year? They claimed the national polls are independent of assembly polls and went ahead in the same denial mode.

Do not play the exhausted pseudo-secularism cum minority card:
The nation didnt vote for people who continuously split the people by claiming to be the saviors of minorities and nothing else. Ever since the campaign started, the congress kept running behind minorities and their president even went to the extent to say to few minority leaders: "...do not split the secular vote...". Does that mean the majority population are not secular?

And yes on a closing note, in one of the shows on the CNN-IBN, how can we ignore the Majlis's claim that by not having a muslim candidate from BJP, it is against secularism, here is my response:
If they still live in the illusion of this so called pseudo-secularism, then they are going the congress way. In fact I would call it reverse secularism where the majority feel threatened by the minorities. If having muslims as their party candidates means secularism, then its medieval thinking. I for example never saw the caste/religion of any candidate while voting. If the Majlis feels that muslims are not represented only because BJP didnt select any muslim candidate this time, the simple answer is: The door is open to everyone. Those who genuinely want to work towards development can come on their own but there should be no reservations in the field of religion atleast. In any case there are parties who are exclusive to muslims and let them play the minority appeasement game instead of a nationalist party. The problem is they feel religion is more important to them than the country and that is where the main problem is. In fact, religion should be a personal choice and cannot be a scale on which secularism can be measured. On a personal level, I would say "worship your religion and respect the others but not the vice-versa".

With love.. Anil

14 May 2014

#SuperNDA and the #patheticUPA?

So we have the latest term "superNDA"(#superNDA) after the UPA1&2(#patheticUPA) gave us the "superPM"! Anyway, #superNDA vs the #patheticUPA, especially on the TV is an amazing duel. I feel this aggressive and non-complacent approach of the BJP is surprising even for its supporters. Of course the counting is still nearly 24 hours away, but the way the media is creating hype about this whole 2014 elections is good for the public's senses and healthy for the TRPs! I personally feel nice to believe that BJP is trying to make the new NDA stronger than ever so that crucial decisions relating to governance could be taken without hiccups and delay-free. As Narendra Modi has time and again: Minimum Government, Maximum Governance, and what I believe is that the ugly flab and wasteful expenditure of the govt should be trimmed and made lean and make it work more for the people. The latest trends where the experienced leaders of BJP went into a huddle seem to suggest that it is planning something big, really BIG.
Watching a timesnow debate, I heard a comment from one of the panel members: "...Congress house is full of scams and snakes!.." That was a good humour for which even the Congress spokesperson Ragini Nayak gave a full-mouthed gaffe with the mouth so wide open that an anaconda can easily slip through! And for the next few minutes, she didnt speak. Yes. Instead she underwent a verbal diarrhea of the most severe levels until Arnab came to her rescue!

With love.. Anil

05 May 2014

My reactions to news..part 1

Over the past weekend or so, there have been some news and statements which actually has a lot of things not said. Look below:

News: Rajnath Singh offering an olive branch to the fiery, cat-on-a hot-tin-roof TMC's Mamata, and Mamata says: "...We will never, ever have an alliance with the BJP.."
My Reaction: OMG! Mamatha ate away the BJP's olive branch! You don't get a chance to ally with Modi often and it would be an opportunity of a lifetime! Anyway since she says she cannot ally in her lifetime it means she is going to take a new incarnation(avatar) and join with the BJP! Remember Mamata n Modi both start with M! After all friendship involves lots of friendly fights! There is certainly a bigger story unfolding behind the bars which will unfold after May16!

News: DD claims that the Narendra Modi interview was edited due to "technical" reasons:
My Reaction: When loksabha tv got blacked out during the Telangana bill(remember that ill-fated, conspiracy-filled day of 18Feb2014?), it was a technical issue, and now when Modi's interview got edited it was again a technical issue?

News: Priyanka Gandhi says "My father is Rajiv Gandhi. He laid down his life for the country. He cannot be compared to any other person"
My Reaction: Of course Priyanka is and should be Rajiv's daughter to make all those speeches. Who denied that and who can stop that? If not for her father, will anyone even care about her? What are her individual credentials? Born in the gandhi family. And the way congress behaves, they always take advantage of their ancestors' death. Rajiv's death benefitted the congress the most and it will always reap rich rewards of the same by labeling him as a "martyr"! Same is the case with YSRCP who keep calling YSR the martyr or a kind of God after an ill-fated helicopter crash. Wonder who else will sacrifice their life for the nation next!


With love.. Anil

Amazing Emma Stone-Jimmy Fallon lip sync battle!

Just amazing to see the talent of the leading lady of Amazing Spiderman 2 as well as the perfect pronunciation of words! Loved the video below. #amazingspiderman #spiderfans #spiderman #emmastone


With love.. Anil

02 May 2014

Akshaya tritiiya: misconceptions and marketing

I know this article will ruffle some feathers, but its my view that everyone is given a right to express.
Ever since the medieval ages, there has never been a special festival called "Akshaya Tritiiya". On the FM Radio today, I heard something like: Whatever you buy today will increase/appreciate over time, so people buy gold! What a logic!
By their own above logic, anything bought today should increase: buy a phone worth 25k and its value will grow to 30K in a year, buy a cow today and it will become 2 cows next year, so on and so forth! But why do they insist upon buying only gold? Is it the most auspicious metal in the world or in the whole universe?
Whoever try to bring the religion into this festival is doing a big mistake. There was never a festival called "Akshaya Tritiiya".
A huge marketing cloud is being created every year to push gold down the people' throat. It never was a festival about gold at all, but rather an auspicious day to start any new work.
And who will be the ultimate winners? It is the jewelers who create an environment where anyone with gold is going to become legends and prosper forever. In fact the hype over this festival is nothing different from hype over a new iPhone or a new movie.
Yes, marketing tactics are not bad and in fact good for the economy, but creating a false link with religion is an absolute mockery of ethics. And people who fall into their trap will ultimately realize that its not what they imagined to be. Its not about gold but about starting any new work, whether it is a new business or a new job that would have been beneficial to the family and society at large. Pity them.

With love.. Anil

The Thrilling Spiderman!- My review of Amazing Spiderman-2

In many ways, The Amazing Spiderman-2 could have been named "The Thrilling Spiderman"!
After yesterday's evening show at Uurvashi with the cosmopolitan audience of Bangalore, it was evident that the movie certainly meets the expectations of the public and gives complete value for the money spent. Despite not being as luxurious as a multiplex, the quality of the sound system and the larger screen certainly makes it one of the most loved theaters of Bangalore and on the international workers' day it was nothing different. The full house applauded each and every stunt that spiderman did and there were many whistles and "woowww"s and "ohhhhh"s during the movie that was as good as a roller coaster ride, taking the audience into the world of spiderman! The director's way of making us experience the heights that spiderman takes were nothing short of awesome, with his now trademark style of super-slow shot that shows spidey almost stop mid air during high-octane chases!
With the first shot of the "sony" logo on the big screen, young crowd reacted in their own way by screaming other mobile brands like "samsung", "apple", "moto g", "moto x", "nokia" that were popular in India too!
I personally felt that the movie looked much more colorful compared to the first part.
Coming to the story and the treatment, it lacked a certain emotional connect, but still manages to hold up and justifies the reason why people come to see spiderman films: the action scenes and witty spidey dialogues.

Though some people may say this movie resembles spiderman-3 in the sense that too many villains were packed against the wall crawler, it doesnt too heavy, because the story cleverly uses them to introduce spiderman, open up his vulnerabilities of being a superhero, the epic climactic battle with the electro and goblin and finally laying the foundation for the next installment 2 years from now(planned on 10 June 2016).

My personal feeling is that Spiderman's fights can actually move to other cities or new landscapes to keep the movie series interesting. Maybe a sequence in front of the Egyptian pyramids or a Taj Mahal or atop Eiffel Tower or India Gate? That would give a break for the audience from the New York's skyscrapers! Not that they seemed boring, but fresh content in fresh locales will certainly be welcome, like how the Transformers series went to the deserts of Egypt from cities of America!

Overall, the movie is a complete entertainer with amazing action sequences, funny one-liners, thrills,etc which all make up for a good cocktail of a near-perfect movie for spider fans like me (and even for those who arent), even though the original movie series starring Tobey Maguire was my personal favorite! The original series has a boyish charm of the 2000s but after watching this movie, I feel the movie franchise can go to greater heights from now on with a transformation of Peter's character with the personal tragedy that he encounters(there are enough spoilers on the web to check for yourself!). The platform has been well laid for the next part and has interesting to see how Peter's personal life goes from here(an expected return of Mary Jane) and how many villains he has to fight in the future! Go spidey go!

With love.. Anil

30 April 2014

The Newshour on Times Now(29Apr2014)

Looking at the way yesterday's Newshour progressed on Times Now, I can easily say that the topics were well selected and the party in power remains exposed to the hilt.
Some of the debates that I personally felt on this program was the one about Priyanka gandhi getting more mileage than her brother Rahul, who is on the backfoot these days. Infact it seems to be a silent time for Kejriwal as we didnt hear much from him about either Rahul or Modi!
So why did Priyanka come to the stage and why was Rahul taken away from the scene completely?In simple words, I would say: Congress is out of petrol and thus using kerosene. It has run out of genuine heroes and falling back on item numbers not to shore up some seats but to save their modesty. Priyanka(whether Gandhi or Vadra, its her choice) is a clever, homely lady who can churn out huge crowds through her glamour once every 5 years! Rahul might have lost some of his looks but Priyanka looks fresh to pull the crowds. After all, if someone comes out so rarely, their glamour will obviously be intact! Anyway in Rae Bareli and Amethi, any living thing with Gandhi in its name will win!

With love.. Anil

29 April 2014

Spiderman in Indian Elections 2014!

Just wondering where would Spiderman stand in this largest human drama called "The Great Indian Elections 2014"..And it goes like this:
Our friendly neighborhood spiderman decides to contest this elections and nominates himself under a new red-blue color party called "Spiderman Party", with the abbreviation SMP.
What would be the reactions of some parties?

Congress: "His web is going to be a threat to the indian society and disturb India's secularism!"
CPM/CPI: "His roots lie in the capitalist USA and thus a bigger danger to India than Modi!"
BJP: "SMP is helping the minority appeasement by signing a secret deal with congress!"
AAP: "SMP is funded by Ambanis and Tatas in a joint venture and Spiderman will be used to market their products. This will increase the prices!"
TRS: "Endi raa bhai veedu. Godalekke vaadiki mana kashtaalem telusthaayi? jai telangana"

So our spiderman keeps campaigning under the spider symbol with the Red and Blue color flag and gets a huge applause and huge crowd for all his meetings.
And lets say he wins the elections. What will be his priorities then?
* Make spider the national animal of India!
* Spider Universities to improve their breed and a spider serum will be created that will improve people's health!
* A spider force that will impart spider sense to the investigators of crime and corruption.
* Encourage more skyscrapers so that people can swing through them using their webs!


As the spiderman mania peaks, lets hope we dont hear our netas pumping out spiderman slogans like "with greater power comes greater responsibility".
#amazingspiderman #spiderman

With love.. Anil

Laddu babu: An under rated movie

Watched Laddu Babu yesterday and it was an amazing movie which was well handled by the director Ravi Babu. The film brings to the fore a new Allari Naresh who seems to have got into the role with ease.
It may not be the comedy that we expect from Naresh, but it certainly has a different feel to it.
I disagree with some reviews which said the story is too predictable. Sure the story is not completely new, but the way the story was told is good. It has a good message to the society.
Music is a letdown, but I dont think it matters anyway since songs doesn't suit this type of genre.
Missamma(2003) was a movie in similar genre and Laddu Babu in comparison is better in terms of comedy.

The way Naresh transforms into the insanely obese character is worth appreciation and applause.
I dont think this is an experimental movie, but certainly a fresh movie.
It may not be the movie which can draw crowds to the theater, but maybe an official DVD release would do well.

With love.. Anil

25 April 2014

Banyan Tree vs Coconut Tree

Last evening, I was reading an article on banyan tree from a blog at http://drgauravpradhan.blogspot.in/. I liked the way the author described the world. I would like to take it further:
I realized that people have different ways of growth. Some like to grow as banyan trees: Spread their roots all over and shelter many others in their shadow. They may not have much height but the roots are strong that not even a massive tornado can destroy them.
Others like to grow like coconut trees: They may not hate or destroy others but would like to grow up to larger heights alone without giving shelter to others by the way of love, support and respect. They may grow tall or taller, but fail to live up in times of adversity. And when I mean "alone", it doesnt mean alienating themselves from the society, but it means keeping their interests at the top and always suspecting others. They even hate being under the shelter of the banyan tree, since they feel they are being dominated and choose to grow away from it. But the fact is that the banyan tree is not a hinder to their growth at all and in fact it helps them in being rooted and remain strong during the times of adversity.
This is not to say that coconut tree is inferior to banyan tree. In fact coconut tree has more uses than banyan tree, especially its commercial value is higher, signifying a higher status in the society by reaching greater heights, even though people use banyan tree's shadow to relax.
Ultimately, it is a matter of personal choice as to how one wants to live their life.

With love.. Anil

24 April 2014

EVMs: How rugged are they?

A thought came across my mind:
So more than half the nation has voted for the 2014 Parliamentary Elections by the time I have written this article.
Are the EVMs(Electronic Voting Machines) being used water proof, Dust proof, shatter proof, bullet proof and theft proof? Is there any testing done by banging it with a large hammer? This type of ruggedness is important in a nation like India where conditions can go to extremes like ink/water being thrown, EVMs being stolen, etc.
Lets take a situation where a person, angry with the elections goes in and tries to damage the EVM with H2SO4(sulphuric acid), failing which he/she bangs it hard with a hidden hammer, or steal the EVM as a final option. Who knows, there might even be a gang around the polling booth just waiting to destroy it by shooting it with a gun by expert snipers. This might not have happened yet, but may happen anytime and the EC needs to be prepared for the worst.

1. Does the EVM withstand acid attack of the highest intensity? If so for how long can it withstand immersion in water or acid?
2. How are the results stored? Are they stored locally inside their circuitry? If so is the storage medium a sensitive hard disk or the latest SSD(Solid State Drive)?
3. Is there any backup storage like saving in an encrypted form in the cloud?
4. How will the police track a stolen EVM? Does it have GPS that cannot be turned off and with an embedded battery that is always on and how long can the batteries survive before draining out?
5. How secure are the databases and the memory that store all the votes? Any AES-256 bit encryption?
6. What is the body made up of? Cheap plastic or unbreakable carbon fibre that can withstand even a bullet attack?


I just wonder how they are all built and how well are they tested and if tested, by whom.
As an after-thought, India is still awaiting internet voting and it remains a dream(Gujrat has implemented it in 2011 for the Municipal elections in Gandhinagar, but nothing was heard since then).

With love.. Anil

18 April 2014

Amazing Photospheres!

Photospheres are a tricky form of photos. Even though I took only 1 photosphere, I still feel a lot can be done to enhance the app and improve the stitching logic used by Google. It is a good one nonetheless and once we get a good hold of the shooting procedure and follow them meticulously, we can be rest assured of a good photosphere.
Some of my favorite photospheres are shown below:








With love.. Anil

16 April 2014

Main tera hero..A good rehash of Kandireega!

A couple of days back, I was watching the Hindi movie "Main Tera Hero" and was surprised to see that it was a remake of Telugu hit film "Kandireega". the storyline of the film and the setting is obviously different, having a David Dhawan look to the film, but overall, the story closely resembles that of Kandireega. The comedy that goes alongwith the story is good to watch and makes you want more.
The interval twist was a good one and keeps the audience guessing. Production values are good as expected and the director has used the actors well.
Coming to the actors, when we see the hero's characterization, we get reminded of Govinda for whom these kinds of roles would have been a cake walk. Dhawan's obsession with Varun's body makes us feel if we are seeing the rise of another young Salman Khan, with so many shirtless scenes! Illeana feels short of energy as she looks to have lost too much of weight and it is visible even in her expressions. Nargis Fakri looks like a wooden piece with not much scope for performance, similar to the role in the Telugu original.

Overall, when we compare these two films, we feel this is a lot more better and well adapted to the north-Indian audience. The film has been narrated very well with no boring scenes at any point of time and kept the story crisp and entertaining with witty dialogues. Music is so-so and nothing much to write about.

With love.. Anil

14 April 2014

Media's new habits.

There is this strange habit in the media that when Kejriwal criticizes Modi more than Rahul, they start talking of a secret deal between AAP and Congress. AAP is like an honest child. Its nice, good choice but not the right choice to vote(atleast not in the present circumstances) for if we want a strong, stable govt at the centre. After what happened at Delhi, AAP needs to mature. Once it matures in the right direction and grows in strength, no one can stop it since it's basics are solid: it's candidates are corrupt-free, and I admire it for that. It is more like a beta version of the latest android OS. Needs more testing and stability trials before making an impact at the national level.
As far as BJP is concerned, this has to be their best chance at the centre. Any mistake or loss in 2014 would be a big blow to not only Modi but the whole party. 2009 was the last chance for Advani and 2014 will probably be the same for Modi. It is not because of his age but due to the analysis that will most probably happen in case of a failure.
I just hope there is a change at the center and Modi seems to be the best option right now. As usual there will be the so called secularists who know nothing about civic sense. Appeasing minorities is not secularism and in fact any undue appeasement just negates the meaning of secularism, which in any way cannot be considered real. As long as all religions co exist peacefully, secularism really doesnt matter and the media needs to explain to the public the real meaning of secularism.


With love.. Anil

The fake concept of "Mr. Perfect"

Yesterday I was watching the movie "Mr. Perfect" in the evening and a few thoughts came to my mind:
The logic shown in Mr. Perfect is nonsense. Pure nonsense. No one can change for someone in this world and feel the same after years of relationship. A compromise can never be a basis of any strong relationship.
The movie is good for the glamour of Prabhas, Kajal and Taapsee but people who take examples of sequences from that movie should stop the stupidity of taking useless
examples from fictitious stuff. Emotional blackmail and emotional games just dont make the world. True, some compromises are necessary, but both need to
compromise without any internal disappointment or an empty feel. Else what we get is fake smiles, show-off parties and master-slave combos. If the relationship was born out of compromise, it will either disintegrate in a short time span or it will perpetually remain in the master-slave model, where one of them will continuously fire the shots and the other just obeys, and get used to it over a period of time. That is dangerous for the family and society at large.

With love.. Anil

11 April 2014

An illusion called secularism

Whoever coined the concept of "secularism" would have committed suicide if he/she were to be alive today and witnesses how the term is being abused by one and all. First of all secularism is an unnatural concept. Nature has never been secular and never will. There has always been inequalities and will exist in the future too. It is only because of inequalities and differences that the world is moving and the economy growing. For instance, economical growth is nothing but flow of money from one point to another and this is only possible if there is a difference in the levels like the flow of a river. Life on this planet is in itself a constant struggle between the strong and the weak. We cannot curb the natural instinct of any living thing.
So when the congress keeps patting its back by calling itself a secular party and calling all secular parties to come forward to defeat its opposition, it is merely trying to paint a fake picture of the society.
It takes pride in meeting a minority community and calls the meeting secular meeting whereas others who refuse to support them are termed communal.
The society remains peaceful not because it chooses to be secular but because it chooses to be warm towards others. As long as there is no hate-speech, every nation is and will remain peaceful and we don't need an overly abused term called "secularism" here.


With love.. Anil

24 March 2014

The logic of mobile co-processors

I have always had a fascination about how much a device can become a part of our lives and after so many years of wandering through the technology reviews, user reviews, spec-war and heavy apps, I have found a kind of holy grail of mobiles that will soon emerge as the top feature in every phone that will come up: The mobile co-processor.
A mobile co-processor, as the name itself suggests is a processor that handles sensory data or contexual data that is fed to it from multiple sensors of a mobile.
Why not have all done by the quad-core or octa-core processors coming up in the mobiles these days? The main advantage of this system over the normal setup is that it consumes very low power and keeps the main processor in hibernation mode as it takes care of the continuous monitoring of activities like voice, movement, proximity sensor, etc. The uses are innumerable and Moto X was just a beginning. Others that followed suit are:
iPhone 5s(With its M7 motion co-processor)
Sony Xperia Z Ultra, Z1, Z1 Compact and the upcoming Z2(With Sony's sensor co-processor)

Of course all the above had different ways of integrating co-processors with their main processor, but the way Moto X integrated the hardware and software is amazing to say the least.
Soon we may see similar features from others like samsung, htc, lenovo, etc..

With love.. Anil

21 March 2014

Exectations from the new Moto X(2014)

Its been around 6 months that the Moto X was released and a lot has happened in between. Some may say it is outdated, but some are still fans of its features. Whatever it may be, the excitement over Moto X's successor this summer is surely on the rise and expectations are running high.
For me, I have some things that I would love to see in the new Moto X:

1. Water proof, dust proof design
2. Expandable memory
3. Front facing stereo speakers(Need not look like HTC One, but hidden like the Xperia Z2).
4. Camera with OIS and take better low light pix.
5. FM Radio
6. Denim back covers.
7. E-reader mode that converts the display to e-ink display(if possible, just a wish).

With love.. Anil

11 March 2014

A blueprint for future development of Samaikhyandhra: Part 2

This is a continuation of my series of articles that I believe can make capital cities to be the centres of development of Samaikhyandhra and not create another situation like hyderabad/telangana. Let me be clear that there should be multiple capital cities which are so well connected that they effectively function as a single mega city.
Lets assume that the administrative capital has been decided and they are planning to build the secretariat. What should be the main requirements of the same?
1. Uncongested large land ready to be developed to build the state secretariat/office complex, which should be like a township.
2. Transport facilities: Continuous and robust connectivity by all modes: Road, rail and air, in such a way that all areas of the state can be reached within a short span of time(and thus saving money too). A helipad on top of the secretariat and a runway nearest to the office area should be built.
An unused runway in a large open field should be a good option as that can be extended in the future.
3. Good water resources as well as 24-hour electricity with emphasis on using renewable energy.
4. Avoid concentration of financial activity and let that be spread across other cities like Vizag, Vijayawada,
5. Ability to plan from scratch with a blueprint similar to Chandigarh of Punjab/Haryana or Gandhinagar of Gujrat.
Tirupathi, Kurnool, and develop them with expansion of their respective satellite cities.
One of the areas that satisfy all the above criteria is the area near Nagarjuna sagar:
Easy accessibility to Kurnool, Hyderabad, Guntur, Vijayawada and Ongole(All reachable within 4 hours by road).

The new capital city needs to set an example of how a city should be planned that is both environment-friendly as well as good for the people with good modern facilities like fiber network, secure wifi, well maintained footpaths, wide roads, option for cycling lanes, greenery, biodiversity, etc, so that it can help in a healthy lifestyle and environmental balance.
Since Nagarjuna sagar is a prestigious area with lots of scope for improvement, it can be a good candidate for taking up the important job of having the secretariat without getting bogged down by the congestion of Vijayawada or Vizag which are already saturated.

The main reason I opt for the above model of development is due to the fact that the telangana issue has been a big lesson which needs to be learnt by not just the remaining state but by all Indians. When a part of a state feels neglected, it can create problems in the future and this needs to be avoided.

With love.. Anil

10 March 2014

James Cameron's Titanic Experience. Relived!



Last weekend, I experienced titanic again on romedy now. A perfect mix of narration,performance, screenplay. A rare movie that never bores even after 4 hrs! Is it a perfect depiction of realistic drama or a dramatic reality? I wonder! The background score never deviates from the theme that James Cameron chose. Every character had a beautiful role to play, even the supporting cast! No film beat it's numerous uno position even now after 18 years of watching it in the erstwhile sapna theatre in Bangalore! The sets and the SFX blend so seamlessly into the movie that they collectively become a character in themselves!

The same big screen amazement nearly 2 decades old remains when watched on a small screen today! James's obsession with the details is unbelievable.
It is strange to write a review or analysis of a movie that was released nearly 17 years ago but here it is:
The below scenes stand out, just picking a few from many!:
1. The entire sequence where Jack runs to board the Titanic in the last minute was beautifully shot, by capturing the excitement on everyone's faces. The footage looks so authentic that it transports you to the times of 1912!
2. Titanic racing with the dolphins is a scene I cannot forget.
3. Rose jumping off the life boat and onto a deck to meet Jack.
4. Rose singing lonely, surrounded by deathly silence all over and eventually her reaction to Jack's death and blowing the whistle for eternity.
5. The final scene where she throws away the Heart of the Ocean and meeting everyone related to Titanic and getting united to Jack in her dreams.

With love.. Anil

26 February 2014

A blueprint for future development of Samaikhyandhra

Never make the mistake that was done with Hyderabad. To keep the new state united and prosperous, decentralisation is a must. Telangana was a failed experiment which showed how not to develop a state. 

Kurnool-tirupathi-vijayawada-kakinada-vizag should be joint capital cities. One of them should be the financial capital, one could be the administrative capital, one could be  agricultural, health/educational capital and another could be pharma cum IT capital. Kurnool: administrative capital, tirupathi: health/educational capital, Vijayawada: financial capital, kakinada: agricultural capital, vizag: pharma cum IT capital.

Let there be a quad-core capital with each of the core functioning in sync with others. All the cities should be first connected seamlessly by all means: rail, road and air so that all these 4 capital cities work as one ultra city. They should also have a strong industrial corridor running through 8 core cities with attractive incentives(kurnool, tirupathi, nellore, ongole,Vijayawada, eluru, rajahmundry,kakinada,vizag) which will bring development to all the cities nearby these 4 capital cities. It should be planned in such a way that if any of these cities fails, or goes down, the others can take up the load and compensate.

In a way, there should be a similar strategy to what a "quad-core phone" has: 4 Top Cities together should work as one so that even if one has any problem, others can carry the load(similar to the 4 metros we have for India). And all the main cities in each region like Kurnool, Kadapa, Tirupathi, Nellore, Vijayawada, Eluru, Kakinada, Vizag should be linked with the best future-proof infrastructure by road, rail and air. We know yearly cyclones cause a lot of damage to the coastal regions so we need to upgrade all the connectivity with smart-weather-proof and robust technology, similar to how Japan has adapted to earthquakes that are so common there.
We also need to prove that development doesnt just mean huge skyscrapers or glass facades. Even an agriculture-dependant economy can be developed. All that is needed is proper planning with good financial incentives to both farmers as well as industries.It is going to be tough to keep a balance between agriculture and industry, but it can be done with meticulous planning. And to plan meticulously, projects like ground-water harvesting and managing water resources would be taken up on a war footing, because water is the life line of not just agriculture but also industries. Since Seemandhra is virtually starting now with lots of unused land, this is the time to plan all the major things and the minute details.
We need to identify, improve and integrate: Identify the strengths of each area of the diverse Seemandhra, improve their individual strengths, and integrate them to form a strong state capable of becoming the best in India. Of course there are severely backward areas like Rayalaseema and North Coastal Andhra, and this is how we can bring them on par with other parts of the new state: Identify their strengths and improve them. Their strength may not be in agriculture due to lack of water, but they will have something special in them to capitalize on. We need to find out their hidden skills and promote them.
If the central govt fails to stand up on their promises, there should have been a provision to hit the ctrl+z combination and undo the complete division process.
There has been news that a state cannot be given special status without approval from planning commission. If this is true and if the commission blocks any of the promises, then the central leaders who were behind this division shouldnt be left out free and they should pay the price to the society, from their own pockets. Because they divided the state for their personal gains, so if the division becomes an act of failure, then they need to part with their gains and give away their assets to the people of the newly created state.

Like a chocolate being dangled before a kid, the centre created a hype and then have telangana. The leaders and their supporters may be happy now but they need to realise that congress is a snake under whose hood the state got bifurcated. A goat should never trust the butcher. What happened to the United Andhra Pradesh will happen to Telangana too if the public still keep praising them and get carried away by their speeches. Its not the love for Telangana that Congress created it. It is for their own requirements and their desperation to first defeat and finally gobble up YSJ like how they swallowed PRP. any competitor in their eyes need to be defeated by hook or crook. As long as YSR was there they were safe because he was obedient to the high command and never uttered a word against them. But once he died and his son started making claims to the CM post, it was evident that they cannot win. They dont have anyone as strong as YSJ. YSJ has used the sympathy wave to great effect by using his Odarpu Yatra(Condolence Trip) and is most probably going to win in many more places in Seemandhra this time. Congress on the other hand has no one to counter him. So what they rightfully did was to concentrate on the other region: Telangana, so that they can guarantee themselves some seats by acquiring the other strong party in Telangana: TRS.
The anger over the division should be stored inside and used for constructive purposes. There should be a point-to-point rebuttal of all the statements made by the divisors, and people will never go back with the same feel-good-factor to Hyderabad or Telangana region. You cannot live in a land of the same leaders who called you robbers, looters and demons of the whole region. Now after everything is over, how can the leaders put up a new face and act as if they are gandhians after all the hate-speech that they have made? How can they act as if they can take care of all the immigrants from the land of looters as they have themselves said? The hurt, anger and frustration should be used to build a stronger region which will rival any other region in the country. Let there be a healthy competition between the general public of these two regions and let it finally result in a better India.

I titled this post "Samaikhyandhra" because Telangana and the new state are still a union of 2 Telugu states and none of them can be ignored by calling them only Telangana or only Seemandhra. The blueprint of development of Telangana is already clear, well-defined (with Hyderabad at the perfectly-central point of Telangana) so there is no point in rewinding/revisiting the plans.

With love.. Anil

20 February 2014

2 weeks without Google!

The past 2 weeks have been hectic with lots of travel. One of my experiences of the past 2 weeks is regarding life without mobile network, without wifi/data connection, and of course ultimately life without Google!
Early in the morning, when I want to check out the Google Reader style Feedly(Reader was dead last year) for latest news in movies, google-related and technology, there is nothing! Its almost as if I were sent to some detention center with basic facilities but isolated from the outside world!
Later after breakfast, when I want to check my Google+ posts, there is no data connectivity, forget about wifi!
During lunch time, I feel like checking my gmail, but get disappointed to see that there is no way to even get sms in the area I lived in!
In the evening, near the banks of river Krishna, I feel like taking a snap of the beautiful scene and save to my Google+ photos, but alas, no network!
In the night, I feel like using hangouts to chat with friends and wish them good night, but the terrible network makes it nearly impossible!
I only got back online while on my way to Bangalore onboard a train from Vijayawada Railway station, which is one of the largest railway stations in Asia and the third busiest Indian Railway Station!
Below is the map of where I have been to:



With love.. Anil

19 February 2014

Birth of a new Telugu State

Yesterday was an important day in the history of India and Telugu people. Not just because of the approval of Loks Sabha for the new state of Telangana, which is obvious, but also the manner in which it was achieved.
Some of the tweets went as below:
1. When the land is same, air is same and people are same, why the hell people are fighting over a line in the map. Live peacefully #Telangana
2. Somebody said..... Why black out Parliament? They are creating a new state... Not creating a baby!! #Telangana
3. #congbjpbros made love behind the closed doors of parliament and produced an illegitimate baby called #Telangana 

My reactions to all the above: Enough of the emotions because emotions are only temporary, whether it is the joy of getting Telangana or the despair of our beloved state getting split. Once the emotions settle down, the real issues of people come out and it affects both the regions, and indirectly affect the nation.
In my view, this is more like Seemandhra being carved out of AP, because Hyderabad remains in Telangana. When AP was carved out of TN, TN was not created out of the erstwhile Madras state. AP was created because Chennai remained with TN.
More than the division, it is the enmity that was created between the people by the politicians all these days that saddens one and all. Why are people so stupid to fall in the traps set by the netas?
The problem is not about the division alone. Its about the emotions that arise when brothers are divided. The combination of "Telangana, Rayalaseema and Costal Andhra" is actually a Super State of Telugus and I give this combination the name of "United States of Andhra". And when I mean Andhra, I mean Telugu.
The urgency of congress party and the timing of this bill is clearly evident of what they are upto and we just need to wait and watch till the elections when the people give their mandate.

India>>United States of Andhra>>Telangana, Rayalaseema, Andhra. This should be the way.
A look at the Telugu movie Leader is enough to show what happens within closed doors of political meetings.
In another issue, KTR says to avoid provocations by media the live telecast was blocked. So by blocking people from getting info, he thinks a bill can be passed? Today something may be born and tomorrow it may die but truth lives on. The truth of what happened in the Lok sabha during the debate on t-bill. What are the secret deals and acts made during those blackout hours due to which a state is about to be born? This strongly hints at an illicit act during those moments resulting in the birth of a whole new state!

The people of Telangana deserve a better treatment than a bill that was reportedly passed off in stark darkness of the house. What happened in that darkness? Did everyone do a lungi dance? A sunny Leone act perhaps? Did the members show their Vishwaroopam that was too ugly and vulgar to be shown on tv? Or a secret deal by the heads that matter?

During the Newshour on Time now, a TMC leader has disclosed few images that show a procession and the anarchy that happened during the blackout hours. And respected KTR says he should be punished for taking photos inside the house! This clearly shows the one-way method that congress took to save its numbers in Telangana.

When something is done in the dark on a public forum like the parliament, such questions will be asked. Is the stage set for similar demands like kodagu, gorkhaland,vidarbha,etc?

With love.. Anil

Quality of Mobile services in India

Recently there has been a talk about mobile operators planning to hike the rates and the reason seems to be the hefty prices they seem to have coughed out for the bandwidth auction.
There is only one question I would like to ask: What are the benefits of buying more spectrum when the quality of calls cannot be improved.
I dont mind paying a little more for a better quality of calls and overall network, but increasing the prices doesnt make sense when they cannot live up to the expectations.
My recent trip to Vijayawada was one such experience which showed the weakness of mobile networks.
My phone remained isolated for a complete 1 week with no mobile network, no data connectivity and no reception of SMS either. When I try to send out an SMS, it remains in my outbox forever, despite momentary appearance of network signals.
1. Let there be a larger coverage area so that no one can complain about lack of network, especially in rural areas.
2. Let there be a consistent call quality, especially in the remote areas.
3. The ability of the network to get the call get connected is the first big hurdle which needs to be passed. Many times when I try to call someone, it never gets connected, despite the other person's phone being under coverage area.
If due to the present spectrum allocation if the call quality gets improved, it would be of immense pleasure to the millions of subscribers of the nation.

With love.. Anil

17 February 2014

Mobile market in India

There has been a tremendous growth of the market in India for portable devices like mobiles and tablets but the major manufacturers doesnt seem to care much about the same. Of course the nexus 5 came pretty early to India, the real game changer Nexus 4 never made it to India in the same price range as in the US. It still costs around 24K which is not cheap compared to others with similar specs in the market.
The most recent entrant in the segment was Moto G, but even that took some time to come from Motorola.

Moto G was expected to be the low price alternative to Moto X, but even then the launch was delayed. Why? Because India is still seen as something secondary in the eyes of smartphone biggies. Anyway its good to see that with Nexus5, Google has made a serious attempt at bringing their flagships to India soon.
As far as Sony is concerned, it looks like it is firing too many bullets at too many targets with the result that it gets very few points. Take for example the Xperia Z. It is still one of the best Sony smartphones, but it was followed by bigger flagships like Z1 within a few months. If sony can concentrate all its energy on 1 device per year, then I seriously feel that it will  become a major player in the smartphone race. One admirable maker is HTC which has shown that despite being in losses, one can be focused on few products and deliver on them perfectly. India is no different.

As far as design goes, LG seems to be aping samsung and both their phones look similar in terms of external design and with common features.Sony still has one of the best designs in the industry alongwith the HTC One. Even though most post-xperia z devices look similar, the new Xperia E1 looks fantastic, especially the white version.


With love.. Anil

21 January 2014

Humanity is dead, Constitution is alive

Imagine a time when there is no humanity is left and all that is left is a big fat book of constitution in all its glory. I really don't understand why so many people keep talking about constitution while the main issue of drug trafficking and prostitution is swept away. They talk about anarchy when the people have some genuine issues and someone is taking an initiative despite police remaining a mute spectator in the fateful midnight.
Several comments against the AAP, made in the newshour show on Timesnow channel seemed to be overly hyped.
Are the leaders interested in making the constitution a success rather than taking society's security and safety seriously? Why are we obsessed with following the rules? What happened to the same law and order and governance when the 2012 delhi gang rape was taken to great heights by the media?
"Anarchy" has been mentioned so many times that the debate itself looked like a competition of english words, with the participants, including the host Arnab Goswami reading out the definition of the term "Anarchy"! All the participants talking against the AAP's representative Ashutosh are doing so out of false concern for the constitution and the legal structure of the government. Since when did a peacefull protest become anarchy, illegal, lawlessness, etc?
There have been a sudden surge in the national pride just because the dharna will disrupt the preparations for the republic day parade. A nation's pride doesnt lie in display of exhibits during the republic day or independence day, but in showing the self respect towards our self. We need to show to the world that we are not a banana republic which is run only by the laws. Of course laws are important for a nation's stability, but out of the box thinking and bold steps are necessary and in fact mandatory during the present times of globalization.

Yesterday was the first time that the debate turned out to be a kind of one-sided affair where the host was hell bent on picking up the minute details of AAP and showing that through a damaged magnifying glass.
Hope today's debate is a well-balanced one!

With love.. Anil

13 January 2014

My Review of 1 Nenokkadine:

My review of 1:
It is well known that no psychological-suspense-thriller has succeeded in Telugu, especially any film with a star hero. So below is my analysis of the movie without any spoilers:

1. The hero's introduction as the rock star with the song "who are you" was awesome and makes the crowd wanting for more. The starting credits are also novel and goes with the mysterious theme of the movie.
2. The scene in which Mahesh finds out the phone number based on photos is just too good and the audience has applauded for it.
3. The interval scene creates a new feeling and is certainly a huge asset to the film.
4. When Nazar says: Here comes my golden rice, the shot was amazing, but the next scenes couldn't keep up the tempo as much as it could have been.
5. The climax felt a little stretched because of the boring sequences and not because of the length. When we think over it after the movie gets over, the lengthy climax indeed seems to be required to bring to the point what the hero is exploring for and to show his emotions in the end.
6. The background score is a plus point that goes with the mood of the film. DSP has shown that he can adapt to the requirements of a unique film like this which needs a different treatment.

As seen above, some sequences and elements were completely novel, fresh and deserved a huge applaud for the way they have been planned and set up. But all of those scenes couldn't create the cumulative effect that films like Pokiri and Athadu have created. Both those movies had suspense and twists and had some great scenes which connected well with the remaining part of the film and aided in their huge successes.

The movie is certainly an experiment that might go haywire because of the genre and the lack of punch expected from Mahesh's movies.
Technicalities:
One thing that anyone who feels that Tollywood needs to go on par with Hollywood: Its not just the technical department that needs to excel, but more importantly the way a movie is told and the storytelling ability of the directors that needs to improve. Technical stuff and the graphics will come later and they just compliment the content of a film. For example, Krrish3 has done a marvelous business not because of the graphics, but the content that it had for the audience. Same is the case with Dhoom3 which had a good content in the form of the brother sentiment portrayed by Aamir so well, and some actions scenes
which were well planned. The graphics just added the icing on top the cake in both the movies.1 nenokkadine is much more than just stunts and graphics, so when someone watches 1 nenokkadine, it needs to be watched with an open mind and not just whether it has spectacular graphics like Hollywood.
Need honest promotion:
When a film is promoted, it needs to keep in mind what will be the effect on the people's expectations. If it is promoted heavily by focusing only on action, and if the movie turns out to be a psychological thriller, the public wont be able to digest it. Same has happened to 1. It has been promoted as a complete entertainer during the festive season, which it is not.
Final words: 1 may not be the regular masala film and it does not have the commercial elements to make it a success, but it is a path breaker movie that will be remembered in the future. I had the same feeling after watching Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises as well as Inception.

Postscript:
Disco lights: For the first time in my life, I experienced special disco lights in a theater! Yes while the song "who are you" started in the movie, the theater turned on the disco lights in the ceiling to add to the excitement. Of course this may not be in all theaters but a good value addition nevertheless!


With love.. Anil

09 January 2014

Who are you?

The experience of the song from Mahesh Babu starrer-Telugu film "1-Nenokkadine":
The track "Who are you" from the philips bass audio system pumped up my evening yesterday. By the way,
who am I? Will it not be more apt to ask myself who I am not?
I am not cash
I am not tears
I am not anger
I am not body
I am not thought
I am not fame
I am not work
Once I gave some thought to the question, it suddenly seemed to be philosophical. Who am I? No definite answers but there is a kind of realization that the
exploration for an answer to the question is called life. Ever since our birth, we keep exploring and thats when we really live. Continuous exploration of
ourselves is an inseperable part of life's nature which never ends. And when it ends, I feel humanity and life itself ends, because exploration is a part and
parcel of the nature itself. Change is inevitable and change is nothing but exploration of more options to expand life and become a part and finally keep
running a race to dominate the universe. Change is the only thing that is permanent in the universe. The earth keeps rotating as well as revolving across the
sun.
You may think that the sun is stable but even that keeps moving across the galaxy. And the galaxy itself is moving across the universe. And finally the
universe in itself is ever expanding.
If you argue with the earth or sun or galaxy and decide that you want to be at an absolutely fixed point in space. You may even get successful in your effort
and stay at one point but then you will be shattered to pieces due to the relative velocity and the energy that it generates.
So change and exploration is life and stagnation is death.

With love.. Anil