Ambitions

Many of us have ambitions. In the seventies, many had ambitions of owning a scooter or a phone at home. But this is a slightly different look at the different ambitions of different people/things-

1. A coloured shirt's ambition could be to replace 'that white shirt' in all the detergent ads.
2. A father-in-law's ambition may be to be as talked-about as the infernal mother-in-law.
3. A CEO's ambition could be to be a Don Juan-some have attempted this too, with unexpected results.
4. Dracula's ambition could be to enjoy a colourless solid food item.
5. April may want to experience how it is to be 'cool' as December.
6. A gold necklace may want to try 'necking' an ordinary gal next door, rather than 'stiff-necked' royalty.
7. A saucer (or a broom) may wish to fly, even if a witch is needed to make THAT happen.
8. An Australian may wish to be a New Zealander for a day, just to see whether the jokes about their IQ are really true.
9. An ass may want to perform so well that it gets known as a 'kickass' performer.
10. Readers may want to burn this post, but that ambition will remain just that-an ambition.

Monali Thakur on her Songs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kez9ufDZQSs

Meet the lovely Monali Thakur, interviewed in this video. She is a singer who has done some good singing, but I became aware of her after I watched her as the lead actress in Nagesh Kukunoor's new film Lakshmi, screened at our campus. She has done a marvellous job as an actress too, and I certainly hope we see more of her on screen.  I am rather tired of Kareena, Katrina and Priyanka.

Among other songs, she has sung the English Vinglish marriage party song with some Marathi words in it. And 'Sawaar loon' from Lootera.

In case you like the above, there are more parts of that interview, like this for example-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wbANVAfhkIg

Teacup in a Storm

Yes, I know we usually talk of a storm in a teacup. But I woke up this morning due to the sound of a thunderstorm with rain, and decided that the best course of action was to make myself a cup of tea.

So I did. And tea makes you think. So I did that, too.

The more I thought, the less I understood. Then I remembered I used to have a poster which said, "The more I think, the more confused I get." So I stopped thinking.

Our gurus (those that I have read anyway) advise us to stop thinking in order to approach the thoughtless state of 'being' to escape from the mundane, useless thoughts that crowd our poor minds. This is supposed to take you (over time, when the time is right etc..) to a meditative, calm, 'being-in-the-present' kind of state.

So I tried my best to meditate. And lo and behold, I found a new awakening, ....from sleep, because unknowingly, I had dozed off in the middle of my spiritual quest.

Anyway, there is always a next time!

Election Manifesto

Since it is approaching election time, I propose a manifesto that can be adopted by any forward-looking party.

Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha will be shut down. We will save 2000 crores by doing this, and 20,000 crores on the elections as a bonus.

We will have an Indian Idol competition to select one lawmaker (judged by Karan Johar, Kajol and Kumar Sanu), who rules till the next season. One sidekick is also selected from among the losers to assist him. This will restore the dying viewership of this boring program.

All citizens have two choices. They watch IPL matches or Ekta Kapoor serials. These will be played/manufactured/fixed regularly. Production licenses will be auctioned, with the reserve price (minimum bid) being fixed at half of India's GDP. Both together will make up our whole GDP. (Arnab will be gagged, just in case you are wondering.)

There will be no work, only fun- of two kinds, defined above. Everyone will be happy, and all our problems would be solved.

Please vote for our party.

What if?

I saw a forward today that inspired this post. It said, "What if Sooraj Barjatya made realistic films?'
Actually, many more what ifs come to mind. Ponder these-

1. What if ads started telling the truth, especially baldness cure ads?
2. What if James Bond were named Johnson Braithwaite by Ian Fleming?
3. What if Arnab Goswami started talking sense, or stopped talking?
4. What if Karan Johar started asking intelligent questions on his show? 
5. What if film directors edited their movies by cutting irrelevant scenes/songs/fights?
6. What if trees and flowers did not exist?
7. What if monks and householders exchanged places?
8. What if maids became memsahibs?
9. What if PMs became chaiwalas?
10. Most terrible, what if all books disappeared from the face of the earth?

Monali Thakur as Lakshmi- Film Review

This is the latest from Nagesh Kukunoor, who hit the bull's eye with Hyderabad Blues many years ago, and made films such as Dor and Iqbal after that.

Lakshmi is a very well-made film about Prevention of Immoral Trafficking (PITA) and its implementation, or (more often) lack thereof. Based on several true incidents, it is a part-fictionalised story of the resoluteness of one girl sold by her father into the flesh trade run through the support of powerful people.

What makes this film special is the heroine, Monali Thakur. She brings in the innocence and expressiveness that instantly get you on her side. She acts like a veteran in a role of a life-time, that many actresses never got in theirs careers. Hats off to her. The difficult subject is scripted and handled well, without distractions.

Other cast and characters are good too. Satish Kaushik, Ram Kapoor, Shefali Shah and Kukunoor himself, stand out. Monali's roommate at the brothel also does a great job.

An excellent movie that makes you think. Do watch it.

Narayanamurthy and Nagesh Kukunoor visit IIM Indore

The Narayanamurthy interaction was unplanned. It was prompted by Mr. Murthy being here for laying the foundation stone for his company's Indore office. He told us that he'd done the same at Nagpur yesterday. Looks good for both cities. IT is coming to them. Both cities are nice to live in, and the young IT crowd will make it more vibrant.

He was brilliant in fielding questions from students of the Exec Program and the PGP. He also did not hold back his punches, when he said we have wasted ten years in governing wrongly, but inspired the students  by saying they could still do it- transform the country by being disciplined and putting country before self.

His analysis was backed by solid examples. He lamented that the coaching classes had killed IITs. He also presented his views on attrition at Infosys and laid the blame on the top management for ills at the bottom.

Nagesh Kukunoor was invited by students conducting Mridang, the campus fest. His film Lakshmi was screened before the interaction with him. More on the film later.