Guide Recreated

 We recreated this scene from Guide at Mandu, with Shweta Kushal playing Waheeda (dancing) on the wall- originally at Chittorgarh.

Being a Thought Leader - A Guide

 How do you become a thought leader? It's easy. Follow these 5 important steps.

1. Have thoughts

2. Make sure no one else has the same thoughts.. mind control.

3. If you are a leader already, you have nothing to worry about. 

4. If you are not a leader, find followers.

5. Call yourself a thought leader, in all your intros. Express yourself widely, on social media, particularly the 'professional' social media. 

You are done.

Tough Films to Remake

 My list includes Hindi films here-

1. Chupke Chupke

2. Padosan

3. Sholay

4. Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi

5. Guide

Each of these was magical, in its own way. And that magic, I don't think anybody can re-create. The casting, particularly, was bang-on. I can't picture anyone other than Waheeda and Dev Anand in Guide! Or anyone filling the shoes of Mehmood and Kishore Kumar in Padosan. Or Om Prakash in Chupke Chupke. The three brothers with their own quirks brought so much to the table in Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi, along with the Mesmerising Madhubala. Sholay had Asrani, Jagdeep, A.K. Hangal, Viju Khote apart from Amjad Khan in unforgettable roles. Mac Mohan too, with just one dialogue.

Of course, the music too. 

Guide to Throwing a Tantrum

 Tantrums come naturally to kids..at least that's what we are taught to believe. But what about adult tantrums?

Husbands throw tantrums, wives do too. Sometimes the latter are silent ones, but unmistakable. 

Politicians are prone to throwing some, particularly when elections are close, or they are close to being thrown out of their ministerial portfolios.

Older people may be afraid to throw one, lest they get bundled off into an Old Home by the same kid whose tantrums they were forced to tolerate in his childhood.

Celebrities are always throwing one- otherwise they wouldn't be a celebrity.

The key to throwing a good tantrum- or an effective one, is that the audience should be the right one. If an Indian celebrity throws a tantrum in Japan, for instance, it won't work. They may just bow, and move on. Phir kya ukhaad loge aap?

Albums- Hindi

There are great songs in Hindi films, but this is about a whole album of a Hindi film being good. Most of these are from the 70s, or earlier. You can add your own favourites to the following-

1. Waqt

2. The Train

3. Mere Jeevan Sathi

4. Aradhana

5. Rajnigandha

6. Chitchor

7. Khel Khel Mein

8. Guide

9. Johnny Mera Naam

10. Amar Prem

11. Jawani Diwani

12. Anand

13. Hamraaz (Sunil Dutt)

14. Aandhi

15. Jewel Thief

Dev Anand Birth Anniversary

This guy had an indomitable spirit- at any age. Something one can learn from. One of my favourite actors until Des Pardes-I saw only one film of his after this- he went on making films and introducing actors until his last breath.

He acted with Hema Malini in her first big hit, Johnny Mera Naam, though she was introduced earlier. He introduced Zeenat Aman, in a role full of 'dum' in Hare Rama Hare Krishna. He also introduced Tina Munim, among others. She went on to do many hit films.

He had some unique films, and was usually ahead of his time in his choice of subjects. Swami Dada about religious babas, Des Pardes about woes of immigrants, Hare Rama Hare Krishna about drugs, and even a few old films like Love Marriage which in the times of arranged marriages was quite a bold theme. He has acted with heroines ranging from Madhubala and Geeta Bali to Tina Munim many years later, spanning three generations!

His films were a bit tacky with his mannerisms, but he was loved by audiences of both genders. He was an incurable romantic, and this was reflected in his films and music, which were low on violence, and big on romance. Guide was a memorable film of his based on the story by R.K. Narayan, and was also a musical hit. SD Burman gave music to many of his films, and created unforgettable songs, many penned by Neeraj, such as Phoolon ke rang se from Prem Pujari, and Dil aaj shayar hai from Gambler.

How To Guides- Part 1

Part 1, because like Batman and Star Wars, I hope to have lots of episodes of this evergreen series. After all, everyone agrees that learning never stops. So how can guides? Wherever you have learning, can guides be far behind?

The first few guides-

1. How to give expert opinions on TV talk shows. You must not make sense, and shout louder than others-that's the key. Bonus chapter on Dealing with Arnab Goswami!

2. How to look sexy in a Food show- pouting, smiling and other chapters. Can also double as a guide to winning beauty contests. Add on a how to wear a swimsuit guide, that's all.

3. How to clear interviews for any job - learn twenty important words and use them randomly

4. How to write a winning blog. If I knew that, I wouldn't be writing this post.

5. How to become a star. Be born in a star family. Read the guide for other tips, like switching babies in a maternity ward.  95% guarantee of success. 5% errors may be due to typos. Please excuse.