King Kong

Peter Jackson weaves his magic with KK, but when it's all over there's only a handful scenes that make the movie memorable. Take away the scenes between King Kong and Naomi Watts; and the film doesn't step up much. Not disappointed, but not too thrilled about it either.

Smoking and MPAA

Anbu Mani, India's Minister for Health has a new report to back his law that'd ban smoking on Indian screens and it comes from University of California San Francisco.

A shocker from Rajasthan

Forget Madras' culture policing. Rajasthan's guidelines to tourist takes us back a few hundred centuries. Don't trust me? Take a peek:

• Men should never touch women in public, even to help a woman out of a car, unless the lady is very elderly or infirm
• In Indian culture... men socialise with men, and women with women
• Married couples in Asia do not hug, hold hands or kiss in public. Even embracing at airports and train stations is considered out of the question
• Generally it is improper for women to speak with strangers on the street and especially to strike up a casual conversation
• Drinking alcohol or smoking in public, no matter how innocent, are interpreted as a sign of moral laxity and are not acceptable.

Bose suspension

Thanks to Amar Bose, you'll have a smoother ride over potholes. His suspension design would be a dream come true for Indian drivers, but like his speakers, the suspension system's going to the high-end car buyers. The add-on cost of the extra smooth ride for your Car - $5000.

Indians and Fair skin

Time Magazine examines "How Indians came to view fair skin as an ideal--and a business opportunity"

Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World

Albert Brooks' Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World; India and Pakistan, to be more precise. Rediff has a great introduction to the film.

Melinda and Melinda

With Hollywood Ending, Woody Allen let us into a filmmaking style, even while satirizing it (what if a Director turns blind and doesn't wish to stop shooting!); In Melinda & Melinda he takes us a little closer to his thought process while narrating a story. Two people discuss how a single incident ("A bunch of friends are having a jolly Dinner and a woman walks into them..." scenario) can be narrated either as a Comedy or a Drama. Both have similar storylines, but how the characters respond and how they feel about it are presented in opposite moods.

Two set of Actors (except Melinda) for the two alternative lines lets you focus on how the storyline unfold. A truly Woody Allen (for once, you he doesn't feature in his film) classic made possible by Will Ferrell and Radha Mitchell.

Sikhs better stay in Canada and Britain

"Hmm..., you wear a Turban, you must be Terror". That's the theme in America, going by the number of situations, where Sikhs have been caught in the cross-fire. I for one think this incident has to do with the Sikh Cabbies harassing the Cops in Manhattan.

Musharaf's "No Al-Qaida Here: Movement 2" Symphony gets a few jarring notes. Just hold a moment! Human Rights "activists" speaking up from Pakistan! How long before the "No Human Right Activists here" begins!

Delta 6250 plastic containers, used world over to store Oorka (Pickle), Snacks and Bombs. So, the next time you're at the Indian grocery and you see someone buying those innocent looking "Pearl PET" jars, you know whom to call.

Answering TVR Shenoy's question, the precise diplomatic language would be, "Mr. Enoki, would you Please Shut Up. Please."

This is SPOOOKY!

Moved

Moved to MT (again). Pls be patient while you're being re-directed there...

Mathura Nagarpathi Kahe Tum...

The song that opens with the titles for Raincoat has me in a bind. Rarely has a song given me the bumps like this one ("Mathura Nagarpathi Kaahe Tum Gokulu ...") Set to Debojyoti Mishra's music, rendered by the ever-impressive Shubha Mudgal, the song has an innate quality to set the mood for the impending narration. So apt is Rituparno Ghosh’s lyric, every time you play the song, the whole movie plays out before you, no matter where you are. It was as if the Director put us next to Manoj (Ajay Devgan) as he begins his journey. The shots of the train accompanying the song remind me of Chinna Thai Aval… (Mani Ratnam’s Thalapathi), where an old steam engine makes its way through the bushes and tall bridges. This song hasn't left me or the CD player for four days now.

Piya Tora Kaisa Abhiman (solo renditions by Hariharan and Subha) and Raha Dekhe Saavan (Subha Mudgal) are lilting too. Never has a Hindi movie (in my limited exposure) exploited Music or placed the song so intelligently.

Raincoat must be what they call poetry in Cinema. Raincoat’s a subtly-done, well-timed and charmingly directed piece. Essentially a dialogue between to erstwhile lovers on a rainy day, Raincoat brings forward the art of Screenwriting (inspired by O Henry's 'The Gift of Magi'. Both of them indulge in lies and deceit about their dysfunctional lives, until they redeem themselves with a final act. There isn't a moment in this long dialogue, where you feel like getting you attention away from the screen. I just loved Ajay Devgan and Annu Kapoor's performance in the film.

Ganga Dham, Passion Recut

• What? Pakistan never had an Arts school!



• How Much Is Your Stolen Music Worth?



• Ganga Dham, India's Mythological themed park.



• Muslim workers walk out at Dell plant in prayer dispute.



• Quentin wins Empire's Icon of the Decade Award.



• "Passion of the Christ - Recut", coming to a theatre near you.

Lakshmipathy Ensoi...

No, it’s not about Balaji. I know he's having the time of his life, but I know of someone else who's having a ball - ME. It's about that famous VKR liner. Reminds me, I actually saw that scene where Janagaraj goes "En Pondati Orrukku Poita..." (Agni Nakshathiram) being shot outside our school. Unfortunately, the name Mani Ratnam or P C Sreeram wouldn't have rung a bell to me (in the 80's) during that lunch break in Adyar. BTW, it took close to 10 takes for those guys to OK Janagaraj as he literally ran around the tree.

Back to my story, I've three weeks to make the best of my stay in St Louis. Wife and Kid back in Winston Salem, I have what is known to Indian Dads in America as Make-Hay-When-The-Sun-Shines days. While my wife makes all ends meet in Winston, I get to freak out like there was no tomorrow. I know it's a bad situation for her, but I plan to return this privelege some day.

Enrolled for the Blockbuster "Unlimited Rental" pass for $9.99; one DVD out at a time, instore. I checked out The Village, The Terminal, Troy, Man on Fire and Inspiracion (felt like this was Gautam Menon's inspiration for 'Minnale'); not a single disappointment so far.

Finally found the chance to rent a DVD at the Indian Grocery. Not many Tamil ones at Seema Enterprises, so I thought I'd pick Raincoat. I'm so impressed with Raincoat; I think I'll get the DVD. Not many Hindi movies push you so much these days.

After the Race

Here's the promised update: Finished ahead of two (out of eight) other racers, so can pat myself for it ;) The motor literally sucked after the third (of 11) race. Just couldn't get it to move fast enough, no matter how hard I abused the controller.

If you're interested in Slot Cars or would like to explore, here're some resourceful links:

• Understanding Motors.


• Preparing to Race.


• Words of Wisdom.


• Fixing Handling Issues.


• Stacking magnets and fixing Motors

Slot Car League

Warning: this post may contain shameless bragging, in dangerous proportions.

Few weeks earlier, when we were at the Mall, our attention turned to a store that seemed to be abuzz with whining motors. We stepped in to check out what was going on behind the huge crowd that had gathered around the huge black table with black tracks on it.

Days later, I would own my first Slot car and spend much of my time at this part of the Mall, while my wife kept cursing herself for prodding my to try my hand at racing these Cars. She likes the concept, but she hates my talking about it everytime we're together and losing our Kid somewhere in the store, while the track grabs all my attention. The funny part is, my Brother had actually sent me a Ferrari F1 model a few months ago and I had no clue what it was supposed to do!

More days later, I think I can handle the heat of racing the local league and am enrolling for my first big race today. A league where guys (and ladies) from school kids to grand-daddies bring their best toys to the table. Mind you, its pretty serious business here. You've got to watch these guys huddle around the limited assembly desks, with all the soldering machines, trimmers, magnets and mini-tools. It gets very intimidating. I have mine tuned too, a Merc CLK and it looks a stunner – inside out. Will the rookie rock or will he be rocked? (Sadly) You’ll see it here tomorrow.

Hey, its Women's Day!

• Indian Women abused most: UN Study. More.

Either Women here speak up to surveys or UN's out to screw us again!

• Fat Women outnumber underfed: Study

India's an exception though.

• Bollywood defends its 'bare all' trend

Ofcourse they'd explain anything on earth.

• Sonia brings up Women's reservation, again.

Good Luck this time Ma'am.

• Aspirin lets Women down

While it helps Men save thier heart, it only favours Women 65 or older.