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Talented Folks I Know

This is triggered by a short film starring Divya Sharmaa, a former student at KIAMS. A short list (long list would take too long) of some others-

Padmapriya, actress who has won a National Award.

Abhinav Kamal, film-maker. Has won a Cannes Award.

Mir Ali (Osmania, IIMB)-lyricist of films such as Dor.

Bugzy, Pradyumna, Harshad Lunavat, Vivek Anant, Anuja,..photographers.

Parul Kashyap..blogger.

Harimohan, Pavan Tarawade, Sreeram, Devapriya Roy..published authors.

Shweta Sinha, Poonam Bhatia, Sheetal Garg, Anumeha Saxena, Shraddha Nigdikar, TK Chatterjee, Parth Gokhale, Milind Deshpande..singers.

Geeta Choudhary -humourist in real life.

Suhita Thatte- actress.

Jayant Dharmadhikari- writer of scripts, producer of Ankahee.

Dash (IIMB), Gowri, Meenu Mynam, Soumya Marla..writers.

Sanjana, Jasmine, Ayushi, Avik, Philip, Urvaksh,..Shreya, Ram..actors in a play or two at Indore.

Harish Chaudhary, Shweta Kushal,..directors of a play or two.

Rajan of India (IIMB), Thomas (a colleague at VJIM)-…
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Race 3- Half a Review

There is a race. Till half time, could not figure out between whom and whom..so, there is definitely suspense..about the title.

There is a wannabe director who was once a choreographer- wish he had stuck to his original profession. Film direction koi bachhon ka khel nahin hai!

There are terrible lyrics, dialogue and script. Not sure if anyone was actually paid to write any of these. Does not look like it-to me.

Even the choreography is bad. So I take back statement no. 2 above.

Anil Kapoor tries hard and may be the only good thing in it..relatively speaking.

..as you may have guessed by now, I saw the first half of the film, and yes, am crying about the gem of a second half that I missed out on...but given the wooden acting by everyone, maybe a furniture shop could have been opened instead of making the film.
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Books That Need to be Written-Updated

There are many unwritten books, and many writers looking for fresh ideas. I thought I will make life easier- these are ideas for books.

1. If all the countries in the world give up nuclear arms..

2. School Shootouts in the U.S.- an Encyclopaedia

3. Advise Gone Wrong- an even Bigger Encyclopaedia.

4. Election Bakwaas- the Biggest Global Compendium

5. How to be an Intelligent TV Anchor

6. Why Bank Robberies are Passe

7. Celebrity Suicides..Who's Next?

8. Daya, Kuchh Gadbad Hai..why CID Beats Sherlock.

9. How to Improve Your Quanti Fundas-and get into Quantico.

10. Why Cauvery Waters are VERY Important- an Election Guide.
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Gems

Every once in a while, you come across gems. This one's picked up and cited from a book called Videocracy by Kevin Allocca.

"Partway into the national Miss Teen USA beauty pageant, ..the contestant from South Carolina was asked, "Recent polls  have shown a fifth f Americans can't locate the U.S. on a World Map. Why do you think this is?" "

The young lady's reply  "would change the course of her life. And not in a good way." She replied "I personally believe that U.S. Americans are unable to do so because some people out there in our nation don't have maps." 
"And, I believe that our education, like such as, in South Africa and the Iraq, everywhere, like, such as, and, I believe they should, our education over here in the U.S. should help the U.S., or should help South Africa and should help the Iraq and the Asian countries, so we will be able to build up our future. For our children."

A gem. Not sure if she won or lost…
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Thailand Memories

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We went to Thailand a few years ago. Some memories.

 Noong Nooch garden-very well maintained.

 Bells and whistles
 and temples

Some lovely architecture and seafood!
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Locations

A great (business)man once said that in Retailing, three things are important- Location, location and location. I would say the same for film shoots, dates, and much more...

Iconic locations often used for Hindi film shoots -

Juhu beach road, Queen's Necklace (Marine Drive), Malabar Hill in Mumbai.

Switzerland and Mahabaleshwar/Panchgani for song sequences/dream sequences. Austria in the case of  The Sound of Music- the charming locations added a lot to the film. The Bond films usually have exotic locations, because the story remains more or less the same. A Kannada film, Mungaru Male, had charming locations and songs as its main attractions.

St. Xavier's college for college sequences

Outdoor sets are sometimes constructed and used to great effect as in the Ramgarh village for Sholay, built near Bangalore. Are O Sambha would not be half as effective in any other place.

Similarly, if you are going on a date with someone, the location and ambience can make a lot of difference..…
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Kaala- Review of Rajni's Latest Film

It's hard for me to be objective when reviewing a Rajni film- I am a die-hard fan..when he is on screen, everything and everyone else almost ceases to exist. Or becomes insignificant. Nana Patekar gives him a fight, but is no match for his screen presence.

The first half of the film is actually a bit leisurely, but establishes all the characters in his household and some villains. Nana comes in fairly late, but the fight really gets dirty with his entry. The second half could have been cut by 15 minutes to make it more impactful, as some scenes like the attacks on the slum, are repetitive.

But on the whole, it's a stylish Rajni film, and tackles a social issue well, though a bit dramatically-I realise that may be an understatement. Huma Qureshi does well in a significant role, and so do a few others.
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