Archive for April, 2007

Abhi-Ash would be better off without the money

Posted: April 24, 2007 in abishek bacchan, Aishwarya Rai, arun nayyar, hello magazine, liz hurley, photographs, wedding
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What a couple of weeks its been for the media in India.
The Abhishek Bacchan – Aishwarya Rai (couple was christened Abhiash, in keeping with the international style, following Brangelina, Tomkat and the likes) wedding captivated the country, or so it seemed. Everywhere you go, you could only see that. TV, newspapers, radio, Internet – they were all talking about this wedding. Huge posse of media crew lined up outside the Bachhan residence for days on end. To catch a glimpse of any celebrity who was coming in or going out. Get that one little sneak picture. Who was being invited, what were they going to wear, etc. etc.

Oh man.. what a nightmare. As if the world has come to a standstill because this wedding is to take place.

And yet, in reality, none of the media could get any interesting pictures or coverage of the actual event. They had to stay satisfied with the stray pics at crazy angles, that they could sneak.

So is there merit in the rumour that the actual event pictures and videos have been sold to some UK media company, for a big price tag? Like Liz Hurley did, for her wedding with Arun Nayyar? She got 5 million pounds from Hello! magazine, for exclusive rights to her wedding pictures.

Why could it have been right for Liz Hurley but is wrong for Abhiash?
First, Liz Hurley, a ‘phirang’ is used to the concept of multiple marriages, and the commercialisation of her wedding means that it was one great moment of her life, but not THE BIG ONE! It could easily have been the premiere of some exciting film, for her, as it was her own wedding. I suspect, the entire drama of doing an Indian palace wedding, getting her guests flown in, etc. was to make the Hello! coverage that much more interesting. Like she might be accustomed on a movie set.

So it was fine with her.

As regards Abhiash, it appears that they were a lot more concerned about the success of their marriage, both having come from broken engagements or relationships. Both being mangliks, etc. It appeared that they did several pujas, and visited many pilgrimage locations, just to pray for their marriage. And they also visited Tirupathi, soon after the wedding.

That being the case, would they reduce the event to a commercial proposition and put it out to the public, for money? By signing off the rights to the pictures and video? Would that not amount to belittling the ritual? Would it possibly cast an evil eye on them, if that happens??

Considering that they have gone through a lot of prayers for the success of their marriage, I would hope that they let the temptation of commercialising their wedding, pass. They have so much going for them, I am sure they will earn back much more.

For now, enjoy the marriage, the honeymoon, etc.. !

Bheja Fry

Posted: April 24, 2007 in bheja fry, vinay pathak
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Ordinarily, I would not step into the cinema, for a film that goes by such a name, “Bheja Fry”. Just the name gives me some pre-judged notions about the film.

However with no other release worth its name in the last couple of weeks, and having heard some good things about Bheja Fry, I landed up for that film, this weekend.

And I was glad that I did. I had an absolutely smashing time, right through the film. It was positively hilarious. It was essentially a situational comedy, with a bungling idiot causing some funny incidents. The character was played superbly by the highly underrated Vinay Pathak. He is the heart and soul of the film.

Would recommend it to anyone looking for some clean, light hearted fun.

Indian Team selections

Posted: April 24, 2007 in bangladesh, cricket, india, selection
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There have been a lot of knee-jerk developments in the Indian cricket scene, post the World Cup fracas. While the new policies of the BCCI appear to be very constructive, and I quite like them, the selections of the two teams to visit Bangladesh, leaves a lot to be desired.

First of all, Shashtri goes on record to state that he is going to be a manager, just for this tour. Like a Bangladesh tour was so critical. We have a stop-gap manager of sorts, it appears.

Then, as far as the team goes, I am not seeing a clear logic. Just that few older heads are out of the ODI squad, and some new names are being tried out. Under Dravid’s captaincy.

What is the exact long term focus?
Why is Sehwag still there in the ODI team?
Is Piyush Chawla good for ODIs and not good for test cricket?
Why would you blood a young leg spinner in the slap-dash game of ODIs, but not give him a chance to learn in the longer test cricket?

Also it looked a big mess – whether the selection was driven by BCCI diktats, or the selectors had a role to play. Shows a sense of desperation and cluelessness…

A l-o-o-o-n-g World Cup finally reaches the climax

Posted: April 24, 2007 in new zealand, sri lanka, world cup
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The length of the World Cup, combined with the fact that India exited very early, has meant that people in India have nearly forgotten that the World Cup is going on. Some of us fans of genuine cricket (without the patriotic craziness) have followed the Cup through the Super 8 stage.

Now, we finally approach the knock out rounds, where ‘winner takes all’! The first semi-final is scheduled for today, New Zealand vs Sri Lanka. Bond vs Jayasuriya, Vaas vs Fleming, Murali vs Styris, Vettori vs Mahela… etc. Yes, I am trying to hype it up, like the media usually do!! Trying to put some spice into the game…

The fact is that, it will be a great game. I am a solid Sri Lanka fan at this time, and I expect them to win today. I also expect them to put up a tough fight in the finals thereafter, whether they play South Africa or Australia.

One or the other way, its three good one day games coming up.

On the question of the World Cup format, much as the ICC is defending it (they do not have a choice, do they?), the fact remains that it was one long and boring structure. I quite like the suggestion that one expert gave – that 2 teams from the non-Test playing countries should make it, and then, the 10 teams (including these two) should play each other once. The best 4 of the teams, after this, should make it to the semi-finals, and then the finals. Should be fair to all, as they get a chance to play all the rest and not just have a bad break of the draw.

The Sri Lanka strategy against Australia?

Posted: April 17, 2007 in australia, chaminda vaas, jayawardene, Malinga, Muralitharan, sri lanka, strategy, world cup
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… or some may say, the lack of it!! Strategy, I mean..!

Maybe I am just too much of a fan of Sri Lanka’s, or maybe I am able to see another perspective, which I present here.

Before that, for those of you who came in late, here is what happened.
Sri Lanka was playing Australia in one of the tougher Super 8 games in the World Cup. Both teams have more or less confirmed their positions in the semi-finals, so it was not a crucial game from the semi-finals point of view. But it was an important game for each team to get a psychological advantage, as they are quite likely to meet each other again, in the semi-finals or the finals.

Then, in what looked like a very strange move, Sri Lanka ‘rested’ their top 3 bowlers, for this game, Muralitharan, Vaas and Malinga. Malinga, to be fair, had not played the previous game too, as he was injured, so we can assume that he still needed to get well. But Vaas and Murali had been playing all along, and of course, performing very well too, and so it was a surprise to not find them in the eleven, for this crucial encounter.

The captain, Jayawardene, explains that these two chaps have had injuries earlier and in order to ensure that they do not develop any problems, and considering that the place in the semis was settled, he chose to rest them.

Experts like Ian Chappell and Arjuna Ranatunga were shocked beyond words. Chappell went to the extent to suggest that the ICC’s anti-corruption cell should enquire with Sri Lanka, as to why they did not play their best team. He was also upset for the sake of the fans, who had come to see the best teams play.

Well, here is what I feel about this matter.

Sri Lanka have a good team, but of course, Australia is a different peak to climb! For ANY team to beat Australia, whether in the Super 8, or in the later knock-out stages of the World Cup, they would need to do something different. Kind of bring in a surprise factor and hope to upset Australia’s rhythm. And Sri Lanka as a team and perhaps with Tom Moody’s inputs, might have worked on this gamble.

Think about it:
1. If, without the key bowlers, Sri Lanka managed to beat Australia, what a phenomenal boost they would have got, and how depressed Australia would have been, in that case,

2. If, without the key bowlers, Sri Lanka managed to take the fight to Australia, and lost, then too, they have a psychological advantage. They tell themselves that ‘they lost because the stars were not there, and yet, without the stars, they gave a tough fight to Australia’! And what does Australia think? That Sri Lanka, minus their extremely good three bowlers, were a handful. What will happen when we meet them again, in the knock-out stage, and when those top bowlers will also be there??

This, in fact, is what happened. That Sri Lanka fought back from being 24-3 to post a total of 220+ was a big thing. At a time when Jayawardene and Chamara Silva were going strong, it appeared that Australia were clearly lost on ideas. Similarly, with a rank ordinary attack, to get Hayden and Gilchrist thinking about the bowling initially, and also picking up both of their wickets early, was also creditable. If Australia wanted to make an impact, they should have been able to take the game with 10 wickets to spare.. they could not do that!

3. All these three bowlers have different styles and are a handful to cope with. For the best of batsmen. There is so much in ‘studying’ their styles on video and there is a different sense of confidence in playing against them, and overcoming the mystery. Not getting that opportunity in the Super 8 ensures that when they meet in the knock-out, the Sri Lanka bowlers start with the upper hand. Why?

– if the batsmen try to be aggressive and aim to dominate say, a Murali, he is quite likely to pick up wickets
– if they play watchfully, they will let a lot of economical overs come and go

This, then becomes the surprise plan that Sri Lanka spring on Australia, and give them their best chance to beat Australia in the semis or the finals!

I think it was a smart move. Also speaks for the confidence that Sri Lanka has. That they were willing to take the risk of losing this game, in the larger interest of winning the tournament later.

I continue to back them to be the ultimate champions this time..! Yes, inspite of Australia’s amazing run. I mean, backing Australia to win does not require any imagination, but thinking that there is a team, in this case, Sri Lanka, who can possibly upset the Australian team, requires a little specific conviction. I have that!!

Check out these bods..!

Posted: April 17, 2007 in harley davidson, honda, mercedes, rolls royce, vintage cars motorbikes
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Well, yes, an intriguing title to the blog post, for sure. But before you think anything else, let me clarify that I am referring to the beautiful vintage cars that I saw at the Vintage Car Rally in Mumbai, last Sunday.

Vintage Car Rally – Mumbai – April 15, 2007

There were cars as well as motor bikes. Well maintained, polished and looking like gold! There was a huge turnout to see these beauties, much larger than normally seen, as per one of the regulars there. For me, it was a first time view, and I was extremely impressed. Majestic Rolls Royces, Mercedes, Morris, Dodge and similar cars, and bikes like Hondas and Harley Davidsons, were on view.

Just for the record, some of the celebrities spotted at the event included Mohammed Azharuddin, Amrita Arora (both flagging off vehicles), Raj Singh Dungarpur (in a vintage car) and Parvez Damania (on a vintage motorbike).

Sri Lanka keeps impressing me..

Posted: April 13, 2007 in chaminda vaas, fleming, jayawardene, murali, sangakara, sri lanka, world cup
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For what was supposed to be a key match between two teams who had been giving winning performances at the World Cup, the New Zealand-Sri Lanka tie ended up being fairly one sided after all.

Right from the start when Vaas pinned the NZ batsmen down, it was always an uphill task for New Zealand. They struggled to put up any serious total, and if it was not for a late flourish, and some good batting by Styris, New Zealand would have managed just about 170 runs or so.

Sri Lanka batted with utmost maturity and comfortably paced themselves to victory. Their one star batsman, who had struggled for runs, Sangakara, spent good time at the wicket, and steered the team to a well deserved victory.

Head to head, there were a few key matchups, basically from the point of view to compare relative performances. And Sri Lanka were winners all the way:

Vaas vs Bond: both of them had been bowling very well, in the World Cup. Vaas came out looking much better than Bond. Jayasuriya and Sangakara were very comfortable against Bond, whereas all NZ batsmen struggled against Vaas.

Murali vs Vettori: not such a big match up, but just from the point of view of being one of the emerging spinners, Vettori usually commands respect. But again, it was Murali who came out looking so much the winner.

Captaincy: Fleming is certainly a shrewder captain than Jayawardene. But inspite of his best efforts, the team was outplayed by Sri Lanka, and he could not make a difference.

All in all, Sri Lanka continues to impress me, and they are going about their tasks in a matter-of-fact manner, keeping a low profile, without any hype. They have the innate ability and the form at this time, to challenge Australia.

Interesting aside – where Sri Lanka paced themselves comfortably against a keen NZ bowling attack, to get 220+ chasing, on the other hand, England struggled against Bangladesh, to get some 140-odd runs. They lost 6 wickets before scampering to victory there!

Namastey London, Namesake, Provoked

Posted: April 8, 2007 in A R Rehman, Aishwarya Rai, Irfan, Jug Mundhra, Kal Penn, Mira Nair, Namastey London, Namesake, Provoked, Tabu
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Saw these few movies recently.

Namastey London was the least impressive of the three. Having said that, personally I found it to be a reasonable ‘time pass’! Nothing outstanding in the storyline, but sufficient to not feel, ‘why did I pay Rs. 150 for this?’. Nothing more to say about this one.

I went to Namesake with a lot of expectation. Mira Nair. The hype. The pre-publicity. Tabu, Irfan, etc. Perhaps that was my undoing. The weight of the expectations. The film was just fine. In fact, I was quite engrossed in it. But I was hoping for something that was outstanding. Which this was not.

The story line and the screenplay shows the life of an NRI lost in some small town USA, lonely, away from home, going through the routine that is life there, moving from his small apartment to a big house, but remaining lonely all the same. While it was very true of the NRIs who migrated in the 1970s or thereabouts, and things may be a bit different now, they may not necessarily be a whole lot different. Especially if the shift is dramatic. Like someone from small town India speaking passable English, not quite accustomed even to the Indian urban culture, and suddenly finding himself in the melting pot of the US. The culture shock is depicted very well in Namesake. Then of course, is the search for identity that is represented by Kal Penn’s character, Gogol. That is very American, I would believe. An Indian having a pet name, even teased on it, may let it be, and go along with life. It is the American curiosity that embodies Gogol’s confusion and his striving to figure out why he was named thus, and therein, the entangled relationships are brought out. The Bengali culture is shown well, perhaps a bit overdone, if I may say so. Did Mira Nair have to show every known Bengali nuance, to prove the point that these were Bengalis we were seeing?!

The performances of Tabu, Irfan Khan and Kal Penn were top class.
All in all, a good film to see. I suspect though, that in this case, the story might well have come out better in the book, than on cinema. I have not read the book, but its my hunch, based on the nature of the story telling.

And that brings me to the last of the three films that I recently saw, Provoked.
A true story of Kiran Ahluwalia, of the UK. I liked the film. The story is moving, it creates a sense of tension. The life in a UK jail, the courthouse scenes, seem to have been captured very realistically. At the core, there is an interesting story – of the traditional Sikh woman, oppressed by her husband, bearing it for long, then getting into a sudden bravado and killing her husband, but repenting and remorseful at her act, feeling ashamed to even open out with her side of the story, but then with the help of her jailmates, seeing clarity of her life and her purpose, and fighting back, with the help of a social organization, and redoing her life, as a result. Definitely interesting. Jug Mundhra’s direction was excellent. I went to the film, also on account of seeing A R Rahman’s name as the music director. Well, its not a musical or music does not have a strong play in the film, but to the extent that it is present, its good, as can only be expected with A R Rahman!

Aishwarya Rai, who is the central character, could have done better. She does not emote as well, although the character gives her ample scope to do so. Perhaps someone else could have done better justice to the role. But in spite of this, the film leaves a mark. Worth seeing..

Cheers to Jeev Milkha Singh

Posted: April 8, 2007 in Augusta Masters, Golf, Jeev Milkha Singh, tiger woods
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Is it a sign of the times, that as India becomes a more dominant player in the economy of the world, they have a sporting hero emerging in the elitist sport of Golf?

Few years back, who would have reckoned that an Indian golf player’s name will be taken in the same breath as the leading players of the world like Tiger Woods? The small breed of golf fans in India, found solace in following the performance of the Fiji player, Vijay Singh, whose name was Indian. That was the closest that India got to golfing greatness!

And now we read that an Indian player, playing at the Augusta Masters, for the very first time, has made it to the cut, and will continue to play over the weekend. Also he has not ‘just’ made it, but reasonably comfortably, with a 3 over score card, the same as that of Tiger Woods.

Its a very creditable performance by Jeev Milkha Singh. We will watch with a lot of interest, his further progress at the Augusta Masters now.

Jeev Milkha Singh is the son of one of India’s foremost athlete and Olympian, Milkha Singh. Thankfully, Jeev did not pursue athletics but chose to make golf his sport!

** Update **
At the end of the third day, and going into Sunday, Jeev Milkha Singh was just 3 strokes behind the leader, at +4. That is amazing, as he is still in striking distance, and if he has a good day on Sunday, it could well see him surging ahead and getting closer to the leader! Waiting with bated breath..

If only the SA-Bangladesh game had happened earlier..

Posted: April 8, 2007 in bangladesh, cricket, india, south africa, world cup
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None of the ruckus would have happened.
In Indian cricketing world, in the Indian media, with the BCCI, amongst the players, etc.
If only the Bangladesh – South Africa game had happened earlier.. !

The Indian team crashed out of the World Cup, because they lost to Bangladesh. The world (well, the billion Indians at least) was shocked because India lost to Bangladesh. “How can they lose to lowly Bangladesh?”, the world asked!

If Indian had beaten Bangladesh and then lost to Sri Lanka (which was always possible, and could have been acceptable too), India would have still made it to the Super 8 stage, lost their badly, and then returned home. The noise levels would have been lower, the advertisers and sponsors would have enjoyed a few weeks more of television viewership, and a general stability would have prevailed.

But that did not happen, and the floodgates of criticism were opened.

Because of the fundamental question, “How could India lose to Bangladesh?”

Things would have been different though, if Bangladesh had met South Africa earlier and beaten South Africa, as they did yesterday.

THEN, the scenario changes dramatically.
Bangladesh is a great cricket team. One that can beat the number one team in the world rankings, South Africa. They are a turnaround team, a champion team. Etc.

Now, after that, if India lost of Bangladesh, it would not matter. After all, if the top team in the world, South Africa, can lose to Bangladesh, then its not such a bad thing for India to lose to them now, is it?

But fate had it otherwise, and the India-Bangladesh game happened a lot earlier, and all the worst things that had to happen for the Indian players, the BCCI, the media, the sponsors, the advertisers, etc., there was ample time for all of that to happen!

Oh well..

What a great giant killer performance by Bangladesh.
And as for South Africa, with everything going for them, they are still going to find a way to lose. Australia-Sri Lanka final, is my tip now!

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