IPL Fanatics 3: Let's talk about the presenters!

• Starting with the rejuvenated team of Extraa Innings, where Samir Kochar has become a reely experienced analyzer and a smooth talker deserving the right spot at the air conditioned studios for now.

• Of the other members of the squad, Ayushman (MTV VJ), Gaurav (x-VJ) and Angad Bedi (of our very own Emotional Atyachaar fame Bishan ji da laadla), I liked Ayushmaan the best, ladka heera hai, first MTV, then India’s Got Talent and tht never ending weird music show and now IPL.

• Gaurav is also on the spot, though he looks so thin, that it seems a blow of wind might take him away along with his mic. But, the real disappointment was Angad Bedi, all he could ask cricketers, audiences as well as the team owners was their “feelings” as if they have been suspected on having extra marital. Whether a batsman scores a 50, or he takes some wickets, or the owners of the team is happy due to the victory, his point of conversation is, “How are you feeling”! I’m sure he needs to take classes to learn the art of tackling LIVE telecast, else he will have to pass a loyalty test in da next season.

• Another thing which we all should celebrate is “The return of Siddhu and his Siddhuisms” in season 3 of IPL. He has his own amazing way of analysis filled with it his never-to-be-clichéd one liners which many of us love. I love the post-match-show on Times Now called as Summer Slam with Siddhu and Boria Majumdar…they do quite a gripping analysis with a lot of gripping excitement.

• Rest, I’m sure many of us r missing Mandira Bedi this season, though she was looking pathetic in da last season with her skinned look and weird hairdo, but IPL waale could have replaced her with some other eye candy, coz I know we men like gals who can talk some sense about cricket :-)

IPL fanatics 2: Let's talk about The Advertisements!

• Well, though the return of Zoozoos which were a rage in IPL2 definitely deserves a warm welcome with Zoozoos going a little colorful with usage of greens and yellows this time. I think the creation of zoozoos and their world is much more revolutionary than what James Cameron created in Avatar…and if this was movie, it could have reely won the Oscar just for the heck of imagination and creativity. (zyada ho gaya kya! ;)…khair, till now, I loved the WANTED ad the most of all of the recently featured ones. Which one did you like the most?

• Other ads which definitely catch the eye is that of Akshay Kumar’s weird n funny laugh “ha ha ha” promoting Micromax mobiles well. Well, “ha ha ha” was never funnier than this, everyone who watches it, at least tries it once…great concept! Post Sachin’s 200 in Micromax sponsored series, I think of all the new mobile companies like Karbonnn, Maxx mobiles, etc. etc., these guys r right on track…at least with their marketing…”ha ha ha”!

• I personally hated each n every Ungli Cricket ad by Idea. Even if a few of those ads are ok, the entire concept of Ungli Cricket somehow doesn’t connect with me. But, it’s possible that they might be minting some revenues from our SMS crazy nation.

• Also, SRK’s just doing fine with his typical Coach finding ads.

• Havells fans hav come up yet again with those pathetic ads saying koi aur bachaye na bachaye…ye zaroor bachayega…wat da hell!!!

• Rest, thrs no ad which is even worth a mention. U can add any in case it has caught ur attention…let the world know n realize :-)

Not for IPL fans, but for IPL fanatics!

However vella/busy my life was, I was desperately waiting for the IPL 2010 extravaganza to begin from March 12th and believe u me, I hav been glued to watch all the matches to the max possible. And hence, for me and m sure for many of u, the IPL fever is on…n tht too BIGTIME! :-)…so if u count urself among not just IPL fans, but IPL fanatics…then here’s an attempt 2 start a nice IPL get together place for all u cricket followers…

Now, as we know IPL has been associated with a lot of upsets in every season, the teams coming last in season 1 (BRC and DC) fight in the final of season 2. The team running worst in season 2 (KKR) wins their match against the last year winner (DC). I don’t know how much Lalit Modi or IPL organizers ‘plan’ all of this, but none of us deny that we all love the 20-20 game to the core and enjoy the fun n hoopla associated with it all-the-more…:-)

In this series, I would like to bullet some salient points which many of us might have been noticing in this IPL/which catch our eyes…and for those who don’t see them, we'll try bringing them to the fore, so that we all can have some fun while the extravaganza is ON in our living rooms. And, at the end of it, for all u know, we might b giving some improvement suggestions to Mr. Modi ;-). Nevertheless, the idea is to hav some fun and share some of our thoughts with the larger world, in the times of the day when we r not glued to the idiot-box (before 4 & after 11 PM) almost every day.

Here, we will talk about advertisements during IPL 3, teams strategies, records, commentators, extra innings, cheerleaders, our favorite performances, our favorite teams and many more such things which will keep unfolding in these 45 days…

So, to begin with, like last year, the rivalry @ my home at least has begin yet again with the season, where we all of us have selected our Top 2 teams and have started betting watevr we cud to let the other down…or to feel let down in the end. The top two teams of all house-mates have been put up on the wall with the IPL schedule chart next to the TV and the winners of the day contribute for a small icecream/paan treat at the end of the day...n that's just for starters :-)

Though I know, many of you might have started with a favorite which is ruling at the bottom right now, but still, heart loves what the heart loves, isn’t it? So, with 1 week in IPL, why don’t you also come up with your Top 2 teams so that this small group of real IPL fanatics can cheer ur wins and support u during the tough times of losses :-|…

So, next thing which u should do after reading this, is to quickly show your buy-in with your top 2 teams. Also, do come up wid ur suggestions and thoughts to spice up this FB/Blog space…till my next post, happy reading, happy watching, happy contributing and definitely, wish u gud luck at the field…!

Why I stopped blogging!

Well, as many of you know, I was so happy when I joined the world of bloggers! It was one of my “agendas of life” to have a blog of my own. And yeah, it went well for some months (courtesy u) and I used to think about my next post n all… Afteral some of u even used to wait for the next post. Things were so hunky-dory…lovey-dovey on the blogosphere…and then…

Came October’09, the annual IMT alumni party. Met a lot of my friends after almost an year and what I heard mainly was that they have been reading my blogs regularly which made me think, “ki ladka sahi line pe jaa raha hai…the blogging dream has finally worked out well…!!!” BALLS!!! Coz their next comment was that “Dude, we know what’s happening in your life…after all we read your blogs regularly…!” Nothing had struck me till then and I came home happy thinking about my next blog :-).

I was awe-struck the first time when I went to attend a wedding of one of my engineering friend’s in Ajmer sometime arnd November end. It was like we frens were meeting after almost 3 years and the first statement I got when I entered the small hotel room with 4 of my friends in there was that, “Sai hai yaar, gud body, gymming regularly n all!”. Again I was happy saying, “Haa yaar, its fun…u see!” But when I found out that the comment was not because of my visible biceps covered under a sweat-shirt and a jacket, rather it was coz of one of my random Facebook updates!!!...I was surely AGHAST!!! In fact, again I found out that all of them almost knew what’s mainly happening in my life through my blogs/Facebook updates…while their life had a mysterious touch in itself which I wanted to unfold. I was completely unaware of what kind of lives these friends of mine are leading after 4 years post the idiotic engineering days!!!

Usually I keep my family members away on social networks as per policy. But friends to friend’s yeh kahaniya family tak b pohoch chuki thi…I was in Agra to attend another wedding, this time of one of my cousin’s in December’09. I met my elder bro thr after almost 2 years as he’s settled in Mumbai, but he was somehow not talking to me. The moment we met, pop came his leg-pulling statement, “where is your camera crew???”…I couldn’t gauge that for once. The next pick was, “so which channel are you associated with these days” and the third one was “hows page3 column going on?” When I was still clueless about the whole point, I had to dig deeper and I found out that, in him too, there resided one avid follower of my blog ;-). But then again, I found out that he was more aware of how am doing rather than me having any clue about hows his life is going on. Believe you me, this gives an eerie feeling!


And so finally, the moral of the story is that, I’m taking a small sabbatical from the blog-o-world. I knw bohoto ke dil tootenge, bohot apne gharo me tezi se “Nahiiiiii!” bolenege…par kya kare…as I always say, “Its all part of life!”

Wo kya na, we scorpions always rather like to unfold secrets and keep ours very close instead of being an open book kinds. But on hindsight, these are not secrets anyway, this is just a way of living life. And so, for some time now, I am planning to live the other way round!!! But mind you, keep watching this space for more!!! :-)

Revisiting IMT...

I had made it a point on March 18th, 2008 only, that, I won’t go back to my Alma mater just for the heck of it. Would go back there only when I would be invited! Now, that’s unreasonable n sounds mean…but I don’t knw then, why I decided that…

N so the invite came knocking last week when I got a call from the coordinators of the All India IT Conclave’09 which was to be held at the campus. I thought it was an invite to attend the conclave, so I just took it lightly but when I got to know that they wanted me to be one of the panelist for panel discussion, I was left wondering. I just told them, I need some time to come back on that. But, the call came again and this time I had to give in…after all how could I reject such an invite…

N so, today was the day when I went back to walk those lanes again, the roads where I’ve walked hand in hand with friends, where I hav rushed running to the exam halls, where I’ve drunk my nights out, where I’ve even fought some battles, where I’ve been ragged, where the nights hav got cozier, where I’ve prepared for my job interviews, where I’ve sung songs together, where we used to dance all night out, n where I’ve learnt several aspects of life…

As I’ve ushered in several delegates and HRs into the campus during my post-grad, today, I had several juniors ushering me in and the feeling, believe me, was quite different in itself. I thought, it was just yesterday only, when I was doing all this and was wondering at the same time whether I’m in for all this. But anyhow, the feeling was pleasant. I saw the same enthusiasm and zest in the eyes of the juniors…the same very intent…the same positive energy n similar competitive spirit...wow how different those days were…

So the first place where I walked in (or rather barged in) after reaching IMT was the Placecom, well, I must say that I have spent maximum time of my 2 years stint in IMT inside those four walls of the Placement Committee office. Met Pappachan sir who was still so kind and humble as always, it was pleasure sitting back at my computer where I used to track my sector for batch placements. It was heartening to see more computers and more phone-lines there. I remember we had to fight for phones to call up companies during our times (6 phones for 14 people), while now a dedicated phone and a computer for each JPC, well m sure this bigger, neater arrangement n this infra was at least commendable. It was nice to get the feelers from the Junior Placement Committee (JPC) members on how the JPC selection process is still that same terrific 5 round process with the first one definitely in a dark room ;). Mahn, loved that place.

Next I went to the mess (dining hall) and yeah, it has four Sony Bravias now while we used to have only one for us. But the smell in the mess was still the same old tinge. No comments on that!!! Also, was surprised to see that most of the faculty bunch was new and that was a little disappointing. In fact no Renu ma’am and Nilanjan Sir around the Placement committee affairs was definitely amiss. But then, as they say, show goes on!

While I was having my fun campus tour, I was reminded of the task at hand and the panel discussion was soon to begin. So the place for the Panel discussion was Kapilmohan, the same audi where we had held several Open houses. The panel was studded with eminent industry champions to name Mr. R.I.S Sodhi (CIO, PNB), Mr. Makhija (Country Manager, IBM, IMT’93), Mr. Singhal (President, Sai Synergy), Mr. Davar or Radhey (Services Sales-North zone, Wipro, my IMT’07 senior) and yeah I was overjoyed n excited to be the part of this eminent panel.

And so we began with Mr. Makhija’s impressive keynote address on the topic “IT as a sustainable competitive advantage”. Well all was going hunky-dory till I started being the Devil’s Advocate to bring some flavor to the discussion and to discuss the length and breadth of the topic. Gave some conclusive pointers on Innovation, Cloud Computing, and IT for SMEs to steer the discussion closer to the theme at stake. And so, the discussion went really well and the junta was excited with a flurry of questions, thanks to our panel.

Next we had a high-tea or a networking break and then I had to judge the B-Plan competition as a jury member which was again organized by SummIT, the IT club at IMT. I remember, this club was the legacy we started as our batch and it was surely a pleasure to see our juniors continuing and taking the legacy forward. The Bplan competition made me realize how things change and how I used to think in the same way during my B-school days as the participants of the competition and how thinking and perceptions change while you spend even some time in the corporate world.

But I guess it’s better to keep the two worlds separate only and things should better remain the same as they are, coz after all those small mistakes and crazy experiments at B-School only make us learn and have fun at the same time all the more.

N finally, I would like to conclude with what I used to tell my mom every-time she used to ask me my grades at IMT, my reply was always used to be the same ki “Chinta mat karo…mai IMT padhne nahi aaya hu, mai to IMT sirf seekhne aaya hu” and I was happy today that I lived upto my words :-).

Video of the Month...

Now since m getting lesser time and ideas 2 write these days...so I thot why not start 2 new series here on my blog which wud keep me connected wid all of u even when m goin thru a writer's block ;)

A. Ad of the month: This will present the best ad I came across during the month. I have been thinking of starting this one from quite some time...but finally I thot besides just talking why not evn share readymade stuff sometimes wid u all...


B. Video of the month: This will present the best video of the month...this wont b just any video...this wud b properly scrutinized and selected video after watching hundreds of video on the internet (Courtesy: youtube) ;). So this post is basically the Video of the Month and here it is...I hope yaa'll njoy this new series...




Liked it??? Well, I loved it out n out...wat a talent...adorable...cute...sweet...confident...she is just amazing...isn't it?

Now for the two new series...ya'll can also share ur nominations offline or here in the comments section only and the ones get finally selected and featured on the blog will get a sure shot hamper frm my end ;)...so keep watching...n keep posting...!!!

Ftanding Ovafun!!!

O yes, i loved Love Aaj Kal and i think its not out of the world, its completely practical and completely sane in the world of today when we all are so confused about being in love or not with some1 or the other that all these circumstances are a possibility and we'll c a lot more of this happening in the recent times to come...chahe hamare parents ko yeh acchha lage yaa nahi...! Love of our times is different n yeah its practical to be in love and more practical to get ur love in ur own way!

So, Imtiaz ur work was gud and defnitely a fun filled 2 hours spent...but this one is for someone else...n yeah truly deserves all the hoopla and excitement and energy of this post is none other than another BIG one, Vishal saab!!!

The last time when I was mesmerized by any movie this much from a bollywood director was none other than Anurag Kashyap for his movie "Gulaal". But this time when I sat down to pen my thoughts, there was so much to write with my mind full of so much that I knew already that i will hav too lill that I can remember...hence info 2 this post might even b added later...

Well, Kaminey is not revolutionary if you are a Hollywood follower like me...we all have seen many of similar tales like Snatch, Lock Stock, RocknRolla and the likes where so many gangwars culminate to a twist in the end or a maxican standoff like a situation giving a sollid climax to finally get the movie to the credits. But, what I liked about Kaminey was the way Vishal successfully generated the Indian version with a great screenplay, with amazingly intertwined and complex characters, with a lot of rivetting motion, with ripping dialogues, with motion cameras (unlike any other bollywood movie for the first time), and definitely with rocking performances from each and every of his characters!

The thing which is commendable about these Directors of our times and how they pick up non-stars from theatres and conceive such a commendable act which actually suits the role so much that u sometimes start feeling that we are not watching a movie but a real life drama...may b coz u hav never seen these guys act before, so they appear so real, cut out for the job well done for Vishal...

Well, it wud b a real injustice to not write about Shahid and Priyanka...boss, wat a performance by Charlie and Guddu, u cud defintely relate to both of them and the way u cud laugh at their speech disorders was a work of art which will be long lived in the Indian cinema now...Priyanka, the alltime Sweety, was again a sollid act in her cute little non-makeup yet lovable role, where she might hav really made people want such a "forward" girlfriend in their lives who was even ready to call the pundit for the shaadi thing...and yet was a diehard lover begging police to leave his h..hh..h.hufband!

I will now have to come back to the way Vishal has written those dialogues and given them to all his characters...these dialogues were the heart of the movie and they literally make u laugh lukin at the person next to u (just to chk whether he undetrstood the implication)!...I loved the "Life me do raaste hote hai...ek fortcut aur doosra chota fortcut" as the most! In fact the "dishoom-dhaaye dhaaye" bope-tope act was a hilarious watch!

This movie was rivetting in terms of the way it was delivered, Vishal easily cud hav made a simpler film by making it a 3 hour movie where he was explaining everything, but may b he personally made it a shorter fast paced movie so that audience wud remain sitting on the edge of their seats and kept confused and juggling with their brain for the entire 2 hours right from the word go. Else, may b some of u wud agree wid me on this that if he wud hav put the last credit song sung my Mohit Chauhan in the first half to show the chemistry between Guddu and Sweety, it might have worked better. In fact a lot of scenes went so fast that many of our Indian audience might defnitely not appreciate tht as they are really not used to that (I think and u all can disagree on this if u wish!).

Finally, I was too much maniaced from a long time with my status msgs with all the "F's" everywhere...and I think it has proved to be a fucceff for me...hence "Well done Kaminey, very well done Fahid and awefomely well done Vifaal"!!! U've joined at least my top league of extraordinary bollywood directors along with Anurag saab.




PS: Wish the times of "no-mind-needed-movies" like those of David Dhawans and Akshay Kumars are finally over wid this one!!!