A sari should be worn with the dignity it deserves. Don’t we respect our national anthem, national flag and national emblem? Why can’t we show the same respect for a dress that has been an integral part of our culture?
The way some Bollywood celebrities – Shilpa Shetty and Priyanka Chopra, to name a few – wear saris degrades our culture.
In the movie Dostana, Priyanka romps about in skimpy clothes. No objection really, as the movie is set in Miami and after all it is just a movie – I don’t look for logic when her character wears shorts to work. But why try to wear a sari with a bikini top that neither covers her cleavage nor her midriff? Her bikini top was almost fully exposed, her midriff was fully exposed… the sari was worn like a “poonal”. I wouldn’t care if she’d dumped it and worn shorts or whatever. And she still wears it that way – as I can see from any tabloid pictures of her in a sari. Stop disgracing the sari, Priyanka!
Saris show off curves beautifully in the way they’ve been draped over the ages. Yes, they reveal the curve of the waist and that is sexy. And that is the way they have to be worn. Wearing them the way Priyanka does not only degrades saris but also takes the drape from sexy to obscene.
So, let us give the sari the respect it accords and not take a cue from some of our celebrities.
“Thala” Fest
Today I watched Asal. I never imagined I’d watch it. It’s not my kind of movie. But I wanted to have some entertainment today and the only other choices I had were Theeradha Vilayattu Pillai (I almost considered that!! See how jobless I am!) and My Name is Khan (I wasn’t in the mood for a serious movie though).
Ajit has removed the “Ultimate Star” tag from his name… but still Asal is a “thala puranam” all the way. Literally. I think each character would’ve said a dialogue with the word “thala” at least once. The “thala” nbhajan was just too much (Didn’t this para get to you already? :P).When Ajit’s stepbrothers shoot him and he falls into the sea, they want to make sure he’s gone and say “Thala theriyardha? Thala theriyardha?”… spare us this torture, Oh lord!
What’s the movie about? Ajit’s hairy face, Sameera Reddy (I liked her, thankfully), Daddy Ajith’s cement-plastered white hair (It looks like it’s been done with cement, I swear), stylish clothes, fights with an amazing variety of sound effects, the brothers’ beards and yeah, Yuhi Sethu as Don Samsa (he and his sidekicks did a great job! And one of them was really cute & had fantastic comic expressions!). And Ajit looks good when he’s clean shaven and wearing glasses (he’s one of those heroes who looks better when he’s fat).But the movie’s not about acting.
Ajit sends villains and henchmen flying, with different sound effects when each of them lands. Wow! Bhavana gets the best songs and walks away with the hero after a contrived climax (thankfully, only the part where it’s decided who gets Ajith) to define the purpose of her role. Sameera Reddy is dignified and gets to dance to a dumb song with the hero, in which the lyrics and music are hilariously mismatched in some parts (but I loved your red dress, Sameera). Rajeev Krishna, who acts as Ajit’s brother, behaves like a lunatic and gives us some laughs. Prabhu contributes to the comedy with his glasses and beard.
I wanna stop here. I spoke about everything I found funny :-D… rest wasn’t great. Asal is Hollywood meets unbelievable Kollywood fights meets hero worship meets super ishtyle. But if you’re content with that combo and want just entertainment, yeah you can blow money on it :-).
Ajit has removed the “Ultimate Star” tag from his name… but still Asal is a “thala puranam” all the way. Literally. I think each character would’ve said a dialogue with the word “thala” at least once. The “thala” nbhajan was just too much (Didn’t this para get to you already? :P).When Ajit’s stepbrothers shoot him and he falls into the sea, they want to make sure he’s gone and say “Thala theriyardha? Thala theriyardha?”… spare us this torture, Oh lord!
What’s the movie about? Ajit’s hairy face, Sameera Reddy (I liked her, thankfully), Daddy Ajith’s cement-plastered white hair (It looks like it’s been done with cement, I swear), stylish clothes, fights with an amazing variety of sound effects, the brothers’ beards and yeah, Yuhi Sethu as Don Samsa (he and his sidekicks did a great job! And one of them was really cute & had fantastic comic expressions!). And Ajit looks good when he’s clean shaven and wearing glasses (he’s one of those heroes who looks better when he’s fat).But the movie’s not about acting.
Ajit sends villains and henchmen flying, with different sound effects when each of them lands. Wow! Bhavana gets the best songs and walks away with the hero after a contrived climax (thankfully, only the part where it’s decided who gets Ajith) to define the purpose of her role. Sameera Reddy is dignified and gets to dance to a dumb song with the hero, in which the lyrics and music are hilariously mismatched in some parts (but I loved your red dress, Sameera). Rajeev Krishna, who acts as Ajit’s brother, behaves like a lunatic and gives us some laughs. Prabhu contributes to the comedy with his glasses and beard.
I wanna stop here. I spoke about everything I found funny :-D… rest wasn’t great. Asal is Hollywood meets unbelievable Kollywood fights meets hero worship meets super ishtyle. But if you’re content with that combo and want just entertainment, yeah you can blow money on it :-).
Interview with an auto driver
These days I travel home by auto in the evenings (as I have a wound on my foot that’s still healing). The driver asked for 150 bucks. I said I’d pay only Rs. 120 and he said he’d come down only to Rs. 140. I was feeling very tired and didn’t want to wait for another auto. I got in. I was curious as to why auto drivers charged so much and asked him how much mileage the vehicle yielded. He said it gave 25 km per litre. And that was the start of a long conversation, an "interview" as I would like to call it – which brought out quite a lot from the auto driver and gave me some things to reflect about.
He told me that he had driven all kinds of vehicles in his life – cars, carts, even boats. Aeroplane-um train-um than ma naan ottaley. For many years he had been a car driver; he said he’d worked for many wealthy families. He recounted his experiences while working as a driver – mostly ranting about mean employers, spoilt rich kids who were difficult to manage, employers asking him to wipe cars they hardly used, women asking him to buy vegetables… then he said “There are difficulties in every profession.” Which is of course true.
The auto driver said he’d worked for and known famous people. He talked about Cho Ramaswamy (actor and editor of Tughlak magazine) and how he was a very good man who respected and interacted with people from all backgrounds and classes. He also said something really interesting: Apparently, comedy actor “Loose” Mohan’s son was his classmate; he had known the actor and claimed that he taught him Chennai slang dialogues.
I also asked him how much he made every month and he said that some days he would make a lot of money, some other days he would make very less (a reply I could’ve expected); I didn’t get to know how much the guy made on an average. He said driving in traffic all day made him very tired (which we should really think about – imagine, all auto drivers are bound to get very frustrated because of the traffic every single day).
He felt that I was down to earth and had interacted with him without looking down upon him because he was only an auto driver. He said that my attitude would bring me a good husband and good things in life. I was really touched by this.
I am sure God had a hand in this. He wanted me to interact with an auto driver and take a peek into his world instead of being cocooned in my world and cribbing about increasing rates (this is not to say I think Rs. 140 isn’t high. They can bring it down a little.) It was an interesting evening indeed!
He told me that he had driven all kinds of vehicles in his life – cars, carts, even boats. Aeroplane-um train-um than ma naan ottaley. For many years he had been a car driver; he said he’d worked for many wealthy families. He recounted his experiences while working as a driver – mostly ranting about mean employers, spoilt rich kids who were difficult to manage, employers asking him to wipe cars they hardly used, women asking him to buy vegetables… then he said “There are difficulties in every profession.” Which is of course true.
The auto driver said he’d worked for and known famous people. He talked about Cho Ramaswamy (actor and editor of Tughlak magazine) and how he was a very good man who respected and interacted with people from all backgrounds and classes. He also said something really interesting: Apparently, comedy actor “Loose” Mohan’s son was his classmate; he had known the actor and claimed that he taught him Chennai slang dialogues.
I also asked him how much he made every month and he said that some days he would make a lot of money, some other days he would make very less (a reply I could’ve expected); I didn’t get to know how much the guy made on an average. He said driving in traffic all day made him very tired (which we should really think about – imagine, all auto drivers are bound to get very frustrated because of the traffic every single day).
He felt that I was down to earth and had interacted with him without looking down upon him because he was only an auto driver. He said that my attitude would bring me a good husband and good things in life. I was really touched by this.
I am sure God had a hand in this. He wanted me to interact with an auto driver and take a peek into his world instead of being cocooned in my world and cribbing about increasing rates (this is not to say I think Rs. 140 isn’t high. They can bring it down a little.) It was an interesting evening indeed!
Auto podum aattam
Do you know how much it costs to hire an auto for a month to travel from Velachery to Cenotaph Road (on weekdays only)? 5000-6000 bucks (I got this info from an auto hire service). From Cenotaph Road to Alwarpet Circle, drivers charge Rs.40-50! I can travel that distance by bike in 10 minutes.
When did the common man’s tuk tuk become a luxury transport option? I can pay 5 bucks for a ticket on a sad looking bus, but 50 bucks for an auto ride? This is the five star experience that Chennai autos offer – reckless driving and a jolty ride, an unkempt driver talking in pucca local Tamil, letting foul words fly at fellow commuters. Will travelling in an auto ever be a pleasant experience that offers me value for money?
I could continue to crib. But let me treat this article in a different way.
There is an upside to this - a bright opportunity for us. We can consider becoming auto drivers, seeing that it’s an extremely lucrative job.
Oru small karpanai (day dream) – what if I choose to become an auto driver?
I’ll wear a mafia style suit and sunglasses. I’ll paint my auto shiny black with Italian style design touches. It’ll have soft black Italian leather seats. There will be red satin curtains on the window and sides. Then commuters would willingly shell out 50 bucks, why, a lot more for a ten minute ride.
Or I’ll paint my auto in bright colours and give it kitschy interiors – totally in Manish Arora ishtyle. I’ll serve refreshing sherbet and bright pink cotton candy to customers (in keeping with the kitsch theme). I’ll play dabbankoothu and Bollywood songs & give customers the ride of their lives.
Ok… enough of that. Let me come back to reality, where I am stuck with the misfortune of having to travel home by auto for a few weeks, due to a wound on my foot, that’s still healing. I have to put up with autowallahs and shell out money for many days to come. Wish me all the best!
When did the common man’s tuk tuk become a luxury transport option? I can pay 5 bucks for a ticket on a sad looking bus, but 50 bucks for an auto ride? This is the five star experience that Chennai autos offer – reckless driving and a jolty ride, an unkempt driver talking in pucca local Tamil, letting foul words fly at fellow commuters. Will travelling in an auto ever be a pleasant experience that offers me value for money?
I could continue to crib. But let me treat this article in a different way.
There is an upside to this - a bright opportunity for us. We can consider becoming auto drivers, seeing that it’s an extremely lucrative job.
Oru small karpanai (day dream) – what if I choose to become an auto driver?
I’ll wear a mafia style suit and sunglasses. I’ll paint my auto shiny black with Italian style design touches. It’ll have soft black Italian leather seats. There will be red satin curtains on the window and sides. Then commuters would willingly shell out 50 bucks, why, a lot more for a ten minute ride.
Or I’ll paint my auto in bright colours and give it kitschy interiors – totally in Manish Arora ishtyle. I’ll serve refreshing sherbet and bright pink cotton candy to customers (in keeping with the kitsch theme). I’ll play dabbankoothu and Bollywood songs & give customers the ride of their lives.
Ok… enough of that. Let me come back to reality, where I am stuck with the misfortune of having to travel home by auto for a few weeks, due to a wound on my foot, that’s still healing. I have to put up with autowallahs and shell out money for many days to come. Wish me all the best!
My 2010
This New Year, I am not making any resolutions but I am aiming to strengthen some traits – humour, optimism, tolerance, the ability to forgive, faith, Hanuman bhakti, peace…
Here’s what I aim to do this year.
- Crack more jokes. So what if it takes a zillion PJs to finally be able to crack a good joke? :-D
- Visit my favourite Anjaneya temple – the deity to whom I open up my heart. I have found the god I am truly devoted to and I want to strengthen my faith.
- I want to love my body more, for what it is
- Learn kickboxing :-D
- I want to start each day in a positive mood, that carries on throughout the day.
- Eat more street food and build my resistance (wink)
- Visit Tiruvanmiyur beach on a regular basis, stand in the water and eat sonpapdi from a push cart.
- Take a break from the hustle-bustle of Velachery by visiting quieter areas and breezy tree-lined avenues
- See more of sunny skies, tree canopies, gulmohar trees…
- Not miss the best movies of the year
These are small things that truly make me happy. I can achieve them better and plan to do more fruitful things. These are resolutions too - that help me make the most of life, while I take each day as it comes.
So what have you planned for your 2010?
Land of Indiscipline
My tour manager in
We Indians seem to have indiscipline in our blood.
Just a few instances…
Cenotaph Road Flyover Inauguration
They built a flyover on
I was taken aback. It is a beautiful tar road, which the corporation had taken pains to lay – something we should appreciate, not spit on with cringe-inducing nonchalance. Couldn’t he see the freshly laid road? Couldn’t he understand it was for his own good? The Chief Minister didn’t inaugurate the flyover. This boy did. In true indifferent-ungrateful-Chennai-idiot style. He seemed to say “This is how I welcome development. And how I take care of my city.” Clap clap clap. Keep it up. Namma ooru romba uruppudum.
Traffic Police set an example
How many times have people been unnecessarily (and for a real reason) caught by the traffic police, legitimately charged fines or escaped with a bribe? There was an instance when I almost got caught by a traffic policeman for crossing the stop line at a signal near my house (there were a few more vehicles there – all of them were caught, but I managed a wily escape through an alternate route while the cop wasn’t looking… it was really unfair! Do you know at how many places policemen encourage us to cross the stop line at signals where they have turnings, to let the traffic behind us move in peace?). I got caught by the police twice; once for parking in Pondy Bazaar at a place where there was no “no parking” sign – apparently parking zones would have “two-wheeler parking” boards. The zone is at one end of Pondy Bazaar. How was I supposed to know? (Read my article “Pondy Bejaar” to know how the traffic police took my petrol money to buy Vijayadasami gifts.)
I nearly forgot what I was going to say in my indignation. One of the newest examples our traffic police uncles have set for us – a traffic policeman was way ahead of the stop line at the Cenotaph Road-Turnbulls Road junction – as if telling the others, “Why fear, I am here! The traffic policeman guiding us (no signal yet, after the flyover construction) will not fine you.” He was almost in the middle of the junction, giving barely enough space for heavy vehicles to freely turn right. The other policeman didn’t even care about what a wonderful example his colleague was setting.
Our City Bumpkins
Stupid people drive normal people mad. There are thousands of dumb idiots on the roads who don’t know why we honk horns at them, don’t understand why we drive across pedestrian crossings when the signal turns green and why we shout at them while they walk in the middle of narrow roads.
Groups of people wait at the
There are also people who happily climb over the median and cross at different points on OMR. They don’t even think about what speeds the vehicles would be coming at. I’ve touched 80 on the road. It is that free. How dumb can pedestrians get?
The third group of people is those who think they own the narrow streets they live on. Some walk right in the middle of them, even though many leave at least 2 metres on the side of the road as they walk (we can’t expect these people to be smarter or more concerned than that). The other day, as I was entering a narrow lane, two women were walking in the middle with hardly enough space for my bike to enter. I honked my horn once. She didn’t respond. I went closer and honked my horn loudly and repeatedly. She turned around, shocked at how I was close enough to crash into her. I asked her indignantly why she was walking in the middle of the road. I don’t know if she heard me clearly through my helmet. But I wasn’t able to tolerate it.
How do we stop these acts? Chennai as a whole should develop a conscience. Rigid rules have been needed for long in our country and it is not an impossible task to enforce them. Why can’t our country be like Europe? We’re humans, and humans can change! Let us make 2010 and every year ahead, the year of discipline!
Paa.. Wah! Wah!
I forgot that Auro was Amitabh.
I didn’t even care much that the kid was so tall.
He was Auro. The witty intelligent 13 year old giving his friend Amol reasons why he couldn’t bring his friends for a Rashtrapathi Bhavan visit – because if he took just one of them, the others would get angry. The kid who runs away from a little girl in school who keeps coming after him to give him something. Who calls his granny ‘Bum’ because she has a big bum. Maybe he seems a bit too smart for his age when he mouths those clever lines. But forget his height, understand that he has Progeria, and Auro is just another 13 year old.
Abhishek has done a good job in his role and we get a whole lot of gyan on politics and slum problems. (We need it! No matter how much gyan India seems to get, it doesn’t change.) When interacting with Auro, Abhi is natural.
Vidya Balan is gorgeous. Her voluptuous figure only adds to her beauty. Curly hair knotted in a low bun adds sexy nonchalance. Her predominantly brown outfits in the flashback scenes and the sarees she wears later are to die for.
There are some lines which jolt you with their brilliance and meaningfulness. Auro jokes that politicians wear white (which people do only at funerals) because the country is dying. It just made me exclaim praise.
About Auro’s chimp dance… many would think it’s really cute – for a kid it would have been cute. To me it came across as way too childish and annoying – make Bachchan act as a kid, but this doesn’t work.
Coming back to the good aspects – Paresh Rawal is well cast. He is good both as a serious actor and a comedian. He did have his moment of comedy, when a bed ridden Auro tells him that there’s not much time left and he begins talking very emotionally, thinking Auro is going to die while Auro was talking about the visiting hours. (Auro does die, which is a sad ending indeed L). Bum Dadi Ma is also well cast. But I wish she’d dressed better than a maid servant.
A major plus point of Paa is that it has just the right touch of comedy and emotion. The climax is not long drawn. It is wrapped up in two scenes.
After Cheeni Kum, Balki has once again proven himself in Bollywood. Like Cheeni Kum, Paa is different (even while it has some clichés). Both the films are refreshing and relaxing with witty dialogues that make the audiences smile and writers feel proud. Will recommend Paa to a zillion people. And of course I am looking forward eagerly to Balki’s next film.
I didn’t even care much that the kid was so tall.
He was Auro. The witty intelligent 13 year old giving his friend Amol reasons why he couldn’t bring his friends for a Rashtrapathi Bhavan visit – because if he took just one of them, the others would get angry. The kid who runs away from a little girl in school who keeps coming after him to give him something. Who calls his granny ‘Bum’ because she has a big bum. Maybe he seems a bit too smart for his age when he mouths those clever lines. But forget his height, understand that he has Progeria, and Auro is just another 13 year old.
Abhishek has done a good job in his role and we get a whole lot of gyan on politics and slum problems. (We need it! No matter how much gyan India seems to get, it doesn’t change.) When interacting with Auro, Abhi is natural.
Vidya Balan is gorgeous. Her voluptuous figure only adds to her beauty. Curly hair knotted in a low bun adds sexy nonchalance. Her predominantly brown outfits in the flashback scenes and the sarees she wears later are to die for.
There are some lines which jolt you with their brilliance and meaningfulness. Auro jokes that politicians wear white (which people do only at funerals) because the country is dying. It just made me exclaim praise.
About Auro’s chimp dance… many would think it’s really cute – for a kid it would have been cute. To me it came across as way too childish and annoying – make Bachchan act as a kid, but this doesn’t work.
Coming back to the good aspects – Paresh Rawal is well cast. He is good both as a serious actor and a comedian. He did have his moment of comedy, when a bed ridden Auro tells him that there’s not much time left and he begins talking very emotionally, thinking Auro is going to die while Auro was talking about the visiting hours. (Auro does die, which is a sad ending indeed L). Bum Dadi Ma is also well cast. But I wish she’d dressed better than a maid servant.
A major plus point of Paa is that it has just the right touch of comedy and emotion. The climax is not long drawn. It is wrapped up in two scenes.
After Cheeni Kum, Balki has once again proven himself in Bollywood. Like Cheeni Kum, Paa is different (even while it has some clichés). Both the films are refreshing and relaxing with witty dialogues that make the audiences smile and writers feel proud. Will recommend Paa to a zillion people. And of course I am looking forward eagerly to Balki’s next film.
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