Phir Mile Sur Mera Tumhara

I am sure for every person in his 20's and late 30's, Mile sur mera tumahara would be an iconic song. I remember, I grew up with it. Those were the days were hadn't heard of mobiles, cable TV, play stations or video games...all we had was a old colour TV with just one channel called Doordarshan, DD1.

Those were the days, when the celebrities were mysterious for us, there were no channels airing every single detail about the celebs. Unlike these days, when a (non-)actor is a star even before their first film is released (Deepika Padukone anyone!!!), those times we hardly go to see them out side the films they were a part of. So it was through the 'Mile Sur' and 'Baje sargam' kinda stuff where we got a glimpse of our favorite actors not trying to be somebody else but just themselves.

While I say this, I feel like a old granny. A feeling akin to when my Dad said that he started with a job which paid him 300 rupees a month, and he was called a genius for that.

Well...not deviating from the topic, when I first saw the 'Phir Mile Sur' on TV, I couldn't help but compare it to the old version of the same. Certainly, its a great idea, re making the iconic song with people from this generation who have made a mark in the society.
But I was terribly disappointed.

The remake looks more like a commercialized khichdi, very unlike the original which looked so genuine and had the heart in the right place. It more looks like a marathon of bollywood actors and non-actors (call them stars), again trying to be somebody, and not themselves.

Picture these:

- The length of the segment is annoyingly long, and the individual segments look very detached from each other, most of them looked very forced.

- Salman Khan sitting amidst variously disabled children, looks less up for a social cause and more for a Rupa Baniyan or Rin Supreme ad.

- Deepika-overhyped- Padukone, my first reaction when I saw her was, arre eske kapde kahhan hai (where are her clothes???). She stands with a reveling dress on a ramp like pose looks less talking about national integration and more like advertising champi with parachute hair oil, before shampooing with fiama di willis shampoo.

- Aamir Khan doing his Bum Bum Bole act yet again with a group of kids, looked like a total caricature.

- Sonu Nigam looks like he is straight out of a mental asylum. He is a good singer, no doubt, but he should avoid the forced koolness and acting like plague, as much as Himesh Reshammiya should do the same.

- Aishwarya-plastic-Rai, redoing her look-I-am-so-pretty act yet again, and Abhishek lurking behind her back in a consolation 3 seconds role for being the son and husband of a talented father and plastic beauty respectively. Wonder why Jaya Bachan was missed out, since the Bachans kind of expertise in making all occasions a family get together.

- Shahid Kapur has this I-am-a-rockstar-but-they-wont-let-me-dance look.

- Ranbir Kapoor in a pyjamas, looked like he is straight out of bed and hardly interested.

- Shahrukh with his ever constipated expression, stretching out his hands wide doing his typical Shahrukhanisms synonymic to saying 'My Name is Khan'.

- The Olympics winners Bindra, Virendra, had in a blink and you miss contribution.

- What's Kavita Krishnamurthy doing with her entire family??? Trying to give competition to the Bachans is it!!!

- Its all bollywood bollywood all the way, the sports icons were conveniently missed out. I would have loved to see veterans like Om Puri, Lata Mangeshkar (who were a part of the original version) and Naseeruddin Shah as well.

Terribly terribly disappointed. Bole toh akha memory ki watt laga dali.

2012

have finally caught the most anticipated movie of the year, 2012 this Sunday.
Frankly, I enjoyed the special effects more than the storyline which actually wasn't there. The special effects were spectacular to say the least. My favorites were the chases and the Tsunami sequence.
By the second half I had already started a headache, even the movie didn't seem logically fool proof to me. Time and again, I would look up to Db with some logical pothole...

'Don't look for logic now. Just enjoy the special effects'
Me : 'Isn't it supposed to be a hollywood flick, I am supposed to ask questions.'

Well...I do not intend to make this post a review on the film. I intend to jot down a few things I would like to do if I happen to know that the world is coming to an end we do not have a chance, of course...we are no Brangelina the world would like to preserve.So here is my list:

Now that I wouldn't need the money I have saved in two years, I would buy Dad the Ford Icon he always wished he had.
Now that I wouldn't have to repay the bank, I will buy a Honda City for myself...eeks!!! Sorry Dad.**wink**.
I would go abroad, once, even if its for a day.
I will have Tandoori Chicken in every single meal of my life.
I will finally give in to slimming tablets, lose at least 10-12 kgs, and wear all skimpy and designer dresses and click lotssssssss of pics.
I would tell Bhai that no matter what, he has always been my hero.
I would call up H to say sorry and tell her that I have always missed her all these years.
I'd like meet my ex once and Thank him for breaking up with me.
and last but not the least...
I'd barge into my managers cubicle slap him across his face, multiple times similar to the exaggerated effects of the saas bahu serials. and run for my life soon after.

ROADIES…BEEEEEEEEEP DOWN UNDER

This year is the first time that I have been following the show. The last year I watched only a few episodes. This time I even followed the auditions…

Ok I admit, I find it interesting, to see how the taklus Raghu and Rajiv "bajao" the contestants. Call it obscene, full of abusive words, foul language, dirty bitching & girls who are nothing but bimbettes, but there is something about it that keeps you glued to the television set… may be as humans we enjoy people being humiliated, take sadist pleasure from their pain, to watch friends fight among themselves and rivals teamed up for a task. But what I wonder is, has it never occurred to any of the contestants that they could actually sue the producers for certain tasks which were downright inhuman, for instance the one where the guys were being hit in the balls if the girls gave wrong answers in the quiz, girls are made to cat fight and strip (the last season)...is the Ram Sene listening!!?

Talking about this season, the person I watch out for during the tasks is Poulomi…she puts me rolling on floor laughing. What a dumb ass…err…BEEEEEEP.

She was the same girl, who in her auditions said she had three steady boyfriends, she loved all the three of them, and they all know about each other…she tried to commit suicide by jumping into the Hubli river, since some friend had done black magic on her. I mean how much more stupid can it get. I really wonder what were these guys thinking when they selected her for the show. I don’t even find her sexy or adding any spice to the show…she is just outrageously silly.

I thank God that that gujju guy Dev volunteered out before he could get on my nerves. I think he was marginally better than Poulomi…

Sufi is the guy I would like to win. He is sensible, courageous and confident. Pity, he was voted out on the first day.

Norman is the perfect example of empty vessels that sound too much. I would have liked him if he weren’t so overconfident.

Palak, She is a good performer among the girls, but she is least known for that, she is more so for her irritating nasal voice, always abusing. When she speaks, its more of beeps and less words. The fact that she was voted out soon, made me believe that roadie was a genuine show but getting her back made the show unbearable, this makes roadie also look like one of the TRP hungry reality shows.

Samrat is gone, but I believe, he was a good performer and quite sorted.

Natasha, I cant care less for her. But she is certainly better than the other girls on the show.

One thing's for sure though, that you have kiss good bye to your dignity , if you want to be part of this show....for its not easy to abuse so liberally on camera (especially when you know that millions are watching you, including your own family), to make a fool of yourselves (That's what I feel Devarshi & Poulomi are doing), and to face the taunts and insults thrown at you from other contestants.

And something that I would like to tell the makers of Roadies, The beeps don’t help, we can still make out exactly what abuse is being thrown in.