“Brimming with humor and heartbreak, Slumdog Millionaire meets at the border of art and commerce and lets one flow into the other as if that were the natural order of things. Sweet.” – Rolling Stone
I couldn’t agree more. Undoubtedly the best movie of the year! The film is a visual wonder, thanks to Anthony Dod Mantel’s exquisite cinematography and Danny Boyle’s brilliant direction. And how could I not mention A.R. Rahman. It comes as no surprise that the soundtrack is an absolute explosion of genres, cultures, and sounds.
Before I watched the movie, I had read several reviews and as I had expected I did run into a few Indian writers who found Boyle to be obsessed with capturing the ‘real India’ and thought he lit every tail on fire to make it work for his primary audiences in the West. I have to admit some scenes were over-dramatized for effect – but at the end of the day it IS a commercial movie and not a documentary, so get over it. And I do not know if any of these critiques have ever actually visited or spent any time in the slums – I know I haven’t, so I’m not judging. Being an Indian I cannot deny any of the events take place just because it makes me think that India is being shown in a bad light to the rest of the world. In fact Indians are always defensive in this same manner whenever a foreign director approaches to make any movie related to India that is somewhat close to real. Well, if that really bothers you, get your ass off that snug couch of yours and go do something about it apart from criticizing the rest of the world for making India look bad. I wonder when these people read the newspapers with ‘real stories’ of attacks, murders, rapes, prostitution, police and political corruption, child labor and girl child abortion, do they usually go ‘Oh my God, what if some Westerner reads today’s paper? What will they think of India? Or even as a matter of fact when they watch any Bollywood movie which focuses on ‘real India’, are they concerned about what the world will think or are they at peace knowing it will only be seen by the Indian population. I guess the foreign directors should be focusing more on costume changes and snowy alps for a song and dance sequence rather than entering our slums to make a movie on India.
I have no qualms recommending this movie to my non-Indian friends and I don’t feel any less Indian for that.
Monday, December 22, 2008
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Ho Ho and Huh?
We don’t usually celebrate Christmas at home but since I love the holiday, I rely heavily on my workplace to get me into the spirit. With my last two companies, the holiday season was a big deal - trees, decorations, parties, music, bonuses, gifts and copious amounts of food.
Come this year, with economy down in the dumps, companies are cutting down on the parties and bonuses. Understandable. But at my new workplace things are worse, not because of the economy, but the total lack of spirit in everyone. When I walk into our side of the building I do not see a trace of holidays apart from maybe a couple tiny snowmen sitting on one of the desks. Only one vendor showed up with a cookie basket that was devoured in a few seconds and now we are left with nothing. But this morning just sucked the last straw out of me.
Before I tell you what happened, I need to describe in short, the way our office is set up. All the account executives and their teams are in one end of the building and the accountants and designers in the other. Now why would someone pair up graphic designers with accountants – God only knows. In a gist, our side is BORING.
So this morning as I walk into our side of the building I notice gifts on everyone’s desk. I am excited (who wouldn’t be?). But as I enter our corner I realize that the three graphic designer desks are void of such pleasantries. It means that only the boring accountants received presents from Santa. And of course we had to bear the squeals of delight as those presents were being opened. I tell ya - if Santa doesn’t arrive at the designer desks pretty soon I will be merrily PISSED!
That being said, this holiday season SUCKS! I miss my ex-coworkers and all the fun that we had. Ironically this has been my most creative job with the least creative workspace.
I need many a more mango martinis to make me go…
HO! HO! HO!
Come this year, with economy down in the dumps, companies are cutting down on the parties and bonuses. Understandable. But at my new workplace things are worse, not because of the economy, but the total lack of spirit in everyone. When I walk into our side of the building I do not see a trace of holidays apart from maybe a couple tiny snowmen sitting on one of the desks. Only one vendor showed up with a cookie basket that was devoured in a few seconds and now we are left with nothing. But this morning just sucked the last straw out of me.
Before I tell you what happened, I need to describe in short, the way our office is set up. All the account executives and their teams are in one end of the building and the accountants and designers in the other. Now why would someone pair up graphic designers with accountants – God only knows. In a gist, our side is BORING.
So this morning as I walk into our side of the building I notice gifts on everyone’s desk. I am excited (who wouldn’t be?). But as I enter our corner I realize that the three graphic designer desks are void of such pleasantries. It means that only the boring accountants received presents from Santa. And of course we had to bear the squeals of delight as those presents were being opened. I tell ya - if Santa doesn’t arrive at the designer desks pretty soon I will be merrily PISSED!
That being said, this holiday season SUCKS! I miss my ex-coworkers and all the fun that we had. Ironically this has been my most creative job with the least creative workspace.
I need many a more mango martinis to make me go…
HO! HO! HO!
Friday, December 12, 2008
I should've…
Changed before going on a long walk. Now I’m sitting in my sweaty t-shirt at work.
Packed my salad in a larger Tupperware. I just made a huge mess on my desk while tossing it with dressing.
Uploaded my own play list into the Shuffle that I am borrowing from hubby. Wouldn’t have had to listen to Himesh Reshammiya. I doubt if Shomeek has ever listened to his Hindi play list. I also doubt whether Himesh has ever heard himself singing.
Avoided talking about Himesh. That way I would've NEVER Googled him
Skipped reading this post on India Uncut. Now I cannot stop myself from reading random sexual dilemmas and laugh out loud for which I need to come up with an excuse real quick.
Happy Friday folks!
Packed my salad in a larger Tupperware. I just made a huge mess on my desk while tossing it with dressing.
Uploaded my own play list into the Shuffle that I am borrowing from hubby. Wouldn’t have had to listen to Himesh Reshammiya. I doubt if Shomeek has ever listened to his Hindi play list. I also doubt whether Himesh has ever heard himself singing.
Avoided talking about Himesh. That way I would've NEVER Googled him
Skipped reading this post on India Uncut. Now I cannot stop myself from reading random sexual dilemmas and laugh out loud for which I need to come up with an excuse real quick.
Happy Friday folks!
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Lost Love
Caller: I would like to request a sentimental song from any SRK movie
RJ: Is there anyone you would like to dedicate this song to?
Caller: Yes, I would like to dedicate this song to my ex-girlfriend who I did not marry since it would make my parents unhappy. But she still remains close to my heart and I am very happy for her in her new life.
WTF???
You know what? I think this guy is NOT happy. I’m sure his ex-girlfriend is doing real well in her career and love life while he is stuck with a bride his parents picked for him, who does nothing productive, but pick his brain in return. I hate guys like this. I think I even knew one at a point in time. YIKES!
RJ: Is there anyone you would like to dedicate this song to?
Caller: Yes, I would like to dedicate this song to my ex-girlfriend who I did not marry since it would make my parents unhappy. But she still remains close to my heart and I am very happy for her in her new life.
WTF???
You know what? I think this guy is NOT happy. I’m sure his ex-girlfriend is doing real well in her career and love life while he is stuck with a bride his parents picked for him, who does nothing productive, but pick his brain in return. I hate guys like this. I think I even knew one at a point in time. YIKES!
Friday, December 05, 2008
Who's the retard here?
Just after I posted the retard picture in my previous post, I received this photo from Evani's daycare. Of course I had some fun at my daughter's expense. I would love to share this with her when she's older. :)
Click on the image to read the bubbles.
Click on the image to read the bubbles.
Thursday, December 04, 2008
Type
I hardly ever write about my work or related topics on this blog. From hereon I would like to do that more often. I am lucky enough to do what I really love for a living. I know a lot of friends or family who cannot say that for themselves.
That being said I would like to share some inspiring type treatments from iLT
That being said I would like to share some inspiring type treatments from iLT
Wednesday, December 03, 2008
Just nothings
New look. Old me. Literally old me. I was told by one of my co-workers that I wasn’t losing any weight due to my age. So now I am old AND fat – thank you very much! Just the motivation I need to run an extra mile at the gym. Running has been really hard lately. I think it IS the age. She was right! Having the hardest time losing any weight. Is that making me frustrated? I think I should eat now.
I think I would lose weight if:
• Someone paid me enormous amounts of money for it
• I had a personal chef, maybe a personal trainer would help too
• A new finding suggested that mashed potato and ice-cream can help shed some pounds
White space still persists in my new look. I need more of it in real life. There are so many things I want to achieve and so little time. Days are getting crammed and I end up with nothing done.
That does not stop me from dreaming. I can get enough of that done at work since it is so quiet here. Today is not an exception. It is like this all the time. I am not used to such silence. I miss my loud and noisy ex-colleagues. Thanks to Dubai Radio City 101.6 FM. It makes me want to dance. Their Desi Mix is the best, especially on Thursdays.
TDC has a performance coming up end of Jan. I have NO idea on content. I think it will be a dedication to the Mumbai attacks. That is ALL I can do now. It is frustrating. Maybe I should eat now. This way I will never lose weight. Someone needs to pay me big bucks. Maybe some of those idiots who drove the country into recession and made crazy dough for themselves. Maybe those guys are old and fat. Maybe it’s not me.
Please feel free to follow my blog and make me feel important. Become a follower TODAY!
I think I would lose weight if:
• Someone paid me enormous amounts of money for it
• I had a personal chef, maybe a personal trainer would help too
• A new finding suggested that mashed potato and ice-cream can help shed some pounds
White space still persists in my new look. I need more of it in real life. There are so many things I want to achieve and so little time. Days are getting crammed and I end up with nothing done.
That does not stop me from dreaming. I can get enough of that done at work since it is so quiet here. Today is not an exception. It is like this all the time. I am not used to such silence. I miss my loud and noisy ex-colleagues. Thanks to Dubai Radio City 101.6 FM. It makes me want to dance. Their Desi Mix is the best, especially on Thursdays.
TDC has a performance coming up end of Jan. I have NO idea on content. I think it will be a dedication to the Mumbai attacks. That is ALL I can do now. It is frustrating. Maybe I should eat now. This way I will never lose weight. Someone needs to pay me big bucks. Maybe some of those idiots who drove the country into recession and made crazy dough for themselves. Maybe those guys are old and fat. Maybe it’s not me.
Please feel free to follow my blog and make me feel important. Become a follower TODAY!
Monday, December 01, 2008
Media: The REAL terror?
According to me, the terrorists always win when they get EXTENSIVE media coverage after every attack and I won’t be surprised if we see a movie released next year on the recent Mumbai attacks. Instead of converting news to drama, they really need to take a step back and let the police and army do their jobs.
I was more shocked at the media frenzy than I was with the Mumbai attacks. Don’t get me wrong. I am equally hurt, angry and horrified with what happened. But as I said, I sat in disbelief watching NDTV live and how their reporters dramatized every single thing. In one instance they interviewed this lady who had just been rescued from the Taj hotel. She seemed totally in control of herself and mentioned how their wing had been safe all along and how cooperative the hotel staff had been. However when one of the NDTV reporters later reiterated what she had said – it came out as she was horrified and how she would never be the same again and that’s how everyone inside felt. Well, she did not for once mention or imply any of that. The worst was how one of the cameras captured a reporter trying to tug at a man’s hands, who was injured and bleeding from the open round of firing from a police jeep that was taken over by the terrorists, so that he could get a better shot of his injuries. No one showed any inclination to take that man to the darned hospital.
Terrorists are sick people to begin with. What is the point in giving them so much media coverage? Creating more terror in people than what already exists? Isn’t that what they want? Shouldn’t they JUST be shot? Why is it so hard?
Media really needs to stick to ‘news’. There was a time I considered Indian news channels to be the best, especially after coming to this country and being introduced to its lousy news channels and coverage. Currently Indian media (most part of it) is doing exactly what I hate the US media for – replacing news with entertainment and drama.
I have purposefully not written about the Mumbai attacks for so long just because I was busy taking everything in and also in a loss for words what to write when so much has already been written across different medias. In the blog world there are a few posts that I thought better than the rest and if interested you can check these out. I have pasted some excerpts from those blogs as well.
Ramesh Srivats
“Commandos are landing on the Nariman Building. They seem to be tip-toeing down. They are communicating to each other through hand signals. Secrecy & surprise are paramount. And NDTV is showing this live!!! With informative commentary on how many commandos have landed and so on. Perhaps NDTV's research has shown that terrorists only watch cartoon network during missions.”
Amit Varma
“Deepak Chopra was also on the show, speculating that the attacks had taken place because terrorists were worried about Barack Obama’s friendly overtures to Muslims. (I know: WTF?) That sounded pretty ridiculous to me, but such theories are a consequence of our tendency as a species to want to give gyan. A media pundit, especially, feels compelled to have a narrative for everything. Everything must be explicable, and television expects instant analysis.”
GreatBong
“Usually an attack of such a magnitude in India is usually given about 30 seconds of TV time on network TV typically before news of Lindsay Lohan going into rehab. But this time, our Jihadi friends have explicitly targeted “Western” peoples thus signaling their intention to be “heard” at the top of the hour.”
I was more shocked at the media frenzy than I was with the Mumbai attacks. Don’t get me wrong. I am equally hurt, angry and horrified with what happened. But as I said, I sat in disbelief watching NDTV live and how their reporters dramatized every single thing. In one instance they interviewed this lady who had just been rescued from the Taj hotel. She seemed totally in control of herself and mentioned how their wing had been safe all along and how cooperative the hotel staff had been. However when one of the NDTV reporters later reiterated what she had said – it came out as she was horrified and how she would never be the same again and that’s how everyone inside felt. Well, she did not for once mention or imply any of that. The worst was how one of the cameras captured a reporter trying to tug at a man’s hands, who was injured and bleeding from the open round of firing from a police jeep that was taken over by the terrorists, so that he could get a better shot of his injuries. No one showed any inclination to take that man to the darned hospital.
Terrorists are sick people to begin with. What is the point in giving them so much media coverage? Creating more terror in people than what already exists? Isn’t that what they want? Shouldn’t they JUST be shot? Why is it so hard?
Media really needs to stick to ‘news’. There was a time I considered Indian news channels to be the best, especially after coming to this country and being introduced to its lousy news channels and coverage. Currently Indian media (most part of it) is doing exactly what I hate the US media for – replacing news with entertainment and drama.
I have purposefully not written about the Mumbai attacks for so long just because I was busy taking everything in and also in a loss for words what to write when so much has already been written across different medias. In the blog world there are a few posts that I thought better than the rest and if interested you can check these out. I have pasted some excerpts from those blogs as well.
Ramesh Srivats
“Commandos are landing on the Nariman Building. They seem to be tip-toeing down. They are communicating to each other through hand signals. Secrecy & surprise are paramount. And NDTV is showing this live!!! With informative commentary on how many commandos have landed and so on. Perhaps NDTV's research has shown that terrorists only watch cartoon network during missions.”
Amit Varma
“Deepak Chopra was also on the show, speculating that the attacks had taken place because terrorists were worried about Barack Obama’s friendly overtures to Muslims. (I know: WTF?) That sounded pretty ridiculous to me, but such theories are a consequence of our tendency as a species to want to give gyan. A media pundit, especially, feels compelled to have a narrative for everything. Everything must be explicable, and television expects instant analysis.”
GreatBong
“Usually an attack of such a magnitude in India is usually given about 30 seconds of TV time on network TV typically before news of Lindsay Lohan going into rehab. But this time, our Jihadi friends have explicitly targeted “Western” peoples thus signaling their intention to be “heard” at the top of the hour.”
Pet for Paul’s
Some facts when it comes to pets for the Paul family:
Mala = not a pet person.
Shomeek = LOVES pets (especially dogs).
Evani = scared of every living creature that is not human and sometimes scared of that too.
So when Evani showed the slightest excitement towards a fish tank at a friends place, Shomeek jumped at the opportunity and decided we should get a fish tank. So this Thanksgiving Evani got her fish tank and was SUPER excited with her ‘Fishy’. We got three Guppy’s and three Micky Mouse fish and quite honestly I like to watch Evani’s excitement at them swimming around. My contribution to the whole endeavor was picking out the interiors for the tank. We still need a stand for the tank. As of now it is sitting on our dining table – so that is my excuse for not entertaining this holiday season.
And I'm secretly thankful that Evani is scared of dogs, or else we would have ended up with a puppy instead of the fish.
Mala = not a pet person.
Shomeek = LOVES pets (especially dogs).
Evani = scared of every living creature that is not human and sometimes scared of that too.
So when Evani showed the slightest excitement towards a fish tank at a friends place, Shomeek jumped at the opportunity and decided we should get a fish tank. So this Thanksgiving Evani got her fish tank and was SUPER excited with her ‘Fishy’. We got three Guppy’s and three Micky Mouse fish and quite honestly I like to watch Evani’s excitement at them swimming around. My contribution to the whole endeavor was picking out the interiors for the tank. We still need a stand for the tank. As of now it is sitting on our dining table – so that is my excuse for not entertaining this holiday season.
And I'm secretly thankful that Evani is scared of dogs, or else we would have ended up with a puppy instead of the fish.
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