SD Burman

I may be repeating myself (a consequence of being old and being a prof-double dhamaka) but SD Burman was a great music director. I once had a top ten song list (it's in my autobiography) and many of the songs there are tuned by this deceptively old-world guy. Though the current generation may be more familiar with his son RD, dada was truly a master. It's his anniversary today according to the radio people, so here's the repeat show.

My favourites of SD Burman-

Yeh dil, na hota bechara - a crooked-necked Dev Anand sings this with a fish hanging from a hook.

Are yaar meri tum bhi ho ghazab- Dev Anand again, in a haystack- I'm not kidding. Go watch the song. From Teen Deviyan.

O Meri, o meri o meri Sharmeelee, Shashi Kapoor swinging away in his unique style.

Mere sapnon ki rani kab aayegi tu- a zesty song, that launched Rajesh Khanna.

Dil aaj shayar hai, gham aaj naghma hai...a funny moustached Dev Anand, but great song.

Dil ka bhanwar kare pukar, pyar ka raag suno, from Tere Ghar ke Samne

Hum hain rahi pyar ke hum se kuch na boliye

Ankhon mein kya jee, rupahla badal..

Jeevan ke safar mein rahi, milte hain bichchad jane ko

Hey, maine kasam lee, hey tune kasam lee,  from Tere Mere Sapne

Mana janab ne pukara nahin, kya mera sath bhi gawaara nahin..you can sing this to your boyfriend/girlfriend anytime.

Hai apna dil to awara na jaane kis pe aayega, sung beautifully by Hemant Kumar.

Phoolon ke rang se, dil ki kalam se..my all-time favourite from Prem Pujari

Modi- A Marketing Genius

This is not about politics, but about academics. In particular, the discipline called Marketing. Whatever may be your political inclinations, one must acknowledge a marketing guru when you see one. I consider Anna Hazare as one, and Modi as another.

The hysteria among commoners and Kings to welcome him anywhere he chooses to go (China, Japan, Bhutan, Nepal are some recent places), is something seen rarely in these days of extreme cynicism. What contributes to this series of grand welcomes is not clear yet. But it is true that a lot of people believe he can deliver. The simple things he talks about in a simple (simplistic at times) manner is a great lesson in communication. We often get carried away by big words and bombast without asking any of the 'marketers' in politics to spell out what they intend to do. A brand that does that in any other category will certainly fail.

The image of a no-nonsense, grounded hard worker has remained, right from his campaigning days. His shrewd marginalising of potential 'competitors' within the party has not been missed by many. His use of the media when it suits him (and staying away at other times) has left people begging for more (scarcity creating 'demand'?). His vision of a great, self-sufficient India has a lot of buy-in among youth tired of old, corrupt and moribund politicians who did little (or could have done a lot more) for the common man.

Finally, if you can market yourself to Americans in the U.S., the quintessential land of marketers, you got it made!

Of Beheadings and Not Being the Head

The juicy news story of last evening was that of Jayalalitha being convicted in a disproportionate assets case and sentenced to jail. You might say it is 'just desserts' after having consumed too many to fit into the body or her coat. Or you may marvel at the appropriateness of "Jayl' lalitha going exactly where her name indicated she would- did not need an astrologer to predict that! The side-effect of being in jail is also that she will no longer 'head' the state that she did.

In other corners of the world, we have the drama of a few be-headings by some terrorist group that seems to have followers from across all other corners of the world besides their own corners. There are so many random terrorist groups these days that you have to 'be' different and use your 'head' to be noticed. So, therefore, the clever use of other people's heads. As the Queen famously said in a popular story, it is "Off with their head". As long as the head is not yours, it hardly matters if it is attached to the body or detached from it. And if you are attached to it, too bad. You can always come back in your next life as the Head of a rival group and get back at the guys who took away your crown in this one.

The Dawat-e-ishq Review

This is a story you can appreciate more if you happen to be from Hyderabad or Lucknow. I have lived in both places, so maybe there's a soft corner for it. I liked the movie in spite of an illogical twist which prolongs the story to fit into a 2 hour-plus format. Nevertheless, it sustains your interest because of the lead players aided superbly by veteran Anupam Kher.

There is a message in it too, that of the evils of dowry, and treating female thieves differently from the highway robbers who shamelessly indulge in dowry-taking (assumed to be male here, though they aren't always male).

Parineeti and the Kapoor (don't ask me which, I am confused with so many of their clan around) do their parts well, a couple of songs are good, the sights of Hyderabad and Lucknow are captured well. The characters being Muslim, it's nice to learn a bit more about their lifestyles and customs.

A 3 on 5 from me.

Mary Kom- Film Review

The movie about the lady boxer from Manipur is worth a watch for three reasons-

To learn about the Manipuri way of life, which the support characters have etched out well.

The lovely scenic locations both of Manipur ( I presume) and elsewhere.

The story of a gritty woman, and an angel of a husband who supports her in every way possible.

The subject is interesting, and the story, predictable. The boxing matches are done well, but there are some repetitive shots of both the matches in the ring and the training- five more minutes could have been edited out to make it crisper. The coach has done a good job. There is an attempt to bring out the evils in 'the system' and officials who seem to have infinite powers to do damage to sport.

3.8 on 5. Priyanka has done the title role well. An aside- the plug for Iodex is hilarious!

Romantic Icons of the 70s

There were quite a few romantic heroes/heroines of the 1970s whom I grew up watching on screen. The music added a lot of charm to many of their films. Some of those were-

Rishi Kapoor, often paired with Neetu Singh, who dazzled with his rom-com roles in Rafoo Chakkar, Khel Khel Mein, Amar Akbar Anthony, Bobby (with Dimple Kapadia), Hum Kisise Kam Nahin (with Kajol aka Sunita Kulkarni). Don't know why Shailendra Singh stopped singing for him and Kishore Kumar took over.

Dev Anand, the 'evergreen' romantic, was in his element in Gambler (Dil aaj shayar hai), Johny Mera Naam, Prem Pujari (Pholon ke rang se, Shokhiyon mein ghola jaaye), and Hare Rama Hare Krishna. His teaming with Hema Malini in Shareef Badmash and Chhupa Rustam worked for both. Tere Mere Sapne with Mumtaz (another cute looker) also was a good film.

Rajesh Khanna, of course, was the king of the 70s with Aradhana, Kati Patang, Aan Milo  Sajna (Accha, to hum chalte hain), Aap Ki Kasam, Mere Jeevan Sathi (O mere dil ke chain), Namak Haram (Nadiya se dariya), Amar Prem, Daag, Prem Nagar (Yeh laal rang kab mujhe chhodega).

Shashi Kapoor was also a good-looking dude and managed to hold his own, though none of his solo films were spectacular. Pyar ka Mausam had some excellent music though (Tum bin jaoon kahaan and Nisultana re, pyar ka mausam aaya).

My Own Ideas of a Referendum

First, let me get my plurals straight. Is the plural of referendum referenda, or referendii, or some something else? Whatever..let's assume it's 'referenda' and proceed. These are the following referenda I can see coming in the near future (not being an astrologer, I can't see too far, you see)..

1. Referendum on whether Kolhapuri cuisine is hotter Saoji cuisine.

2. Referendum on whether the new IIMs should be in a city with a population more than 5 lakhs, and number of businesses in town greater than 5.

3. One on whether humans should colonise Mars or the Moon

4. Referendum on whether Virgin Airlines should do the colonising

5. on Whether the fault lies in our stars, and if so, why there are no starquakes as in 'earthquakes'

6. on whether an airline can be run into the ocean, just like they 'run them into the ground'

7. On whether Candy Crush Saga can be given the status of an Epic

8. On whether Hindi-Chini are bhai bhai again

9. On whether the film industry can survive Salman Khan

10. On whether the Indian cricket team should change its name when they play abroad (MCC and England are sort of precedents for this)