Jojo’s World

Country is into a big controversy now, “Slumdog Millionare” controversy! Some people says its a great film, will win many awards (especially oscars) etc etc; while some people say’s Slumdog is just a crap film made by the west to spit their sarcasm on the Indian faces. This is something worth writing, I believe.

Well, as a movie based on a fiction novel “Q&A” by Vikas Swaroop (an Indian Strategeist on foreign affairs), I liked it. I liked it as a good movie, well written, well executed, well made music and some interesting performances especially by the kid who played “Jamal Malik” as a child, also as teen by Dev Patel.  Movie is well directed by English director Danny Boyle and has a well written screenplay by Simon Beufoy.

But I dont think this movie is worth for its 10 oscar nominations. Though this movies falls into a “good” category, its not sth great! A.R Rahman deserves one for music (its simply superb, I dunno much abt western music though!) and the rest all are okay okay types. I found the direction of hindhi film “Rang De Basanthi” and its plot more praiseworthy than Slumdog Millionare.

So the question is, is slumdog millionare just a spit of western sarcasm and arrogance ?

Amithab Bachan said like this:

http://bigb.bigadda.com/2009/01/25/day-276/

See the one from Arindam Choudary:

http://arindamchaudhuri.blogspot.com/2009/01/dont-see-slumdog-millionaire-it-sucks.html

Guys above say’s Slumdog people have not portrayed the “actual” India in this movie, which is vibrant, 5-star, with billionares and billionares!! or in short, Slumdog Millionare is just a western shit and a satisfaction of their racial dominancy feel.

On the other side, people like Irfan Khan, Anil Kapoor etc said, “Slumdog millionare speaks about facts in India, there is such a condition that exists”

Irfan Khan also said to CNN that “afterall its just a drama movie!” , well I agree with that 100%. Why so much noises on that?

We also can make one movie portraying the british “fancies” or the “funny” western life, if we want!!…lol!!

Fact is that India has 5 classes of people living here.

Taking a specimen of Mumbai, you will find

1. The low-end people (who lives in slums, one bedroom flats, one rooms etc)

2. The lower-middle class people ( who lives in flats with rent Rs.8000 and above)

3. The middle class people (who lives in the Rs. 15 to 20K range)

4. The upper middle class ( who lives in 30 to 40K range)

5. High Class people ( who lives in luxury)

Afterall the guys who produced this movie, directory Dany Boyle, actors Anil Kapoor,  Irfan Khan, musical maestro A.R. Rahman, writer Vikas Swaroop and most of the Slumdog Millionare crew represents the categoey “HIGH CLASS” who lives in luxury!

Now the ones who raised voice against the movie, Amithab Bachan and Arindam Choudary also represents the same.

Now only one question!!

are these guys willing to spend atleast 1% of their total income for the welfare of backward Indians?

Projecting out the Indian slum, producers of movie might have grabbed millions of dollars and will they spend atleast 1 million dollar ? or even a 100$ ??

The “Big” people are worried…some says there are slums…some says there are not!!…while the actual slums remains happy (with what they have and what they love)!!…they might not even know about such a crap going on around!

share your views!

Watch the photograph  and just think a bit on it! When it come to election campaigns BJP’s are a bit advanced all time. 5 years back during the last Loksaba elections too BJP’s were great in campaigns lead by Late.Pramod Mahajan! But I think web campaign is first in India by any political parties & BJP’s are the pioneers in this.

Why web campaign is important?

1. It shows the importance of WEB as a media in India. No.of internet users rises every year in India @ a rate of 30 to 40%. To make use of this, a campaign through web is necessary for anyone including political parties to advertisers! This is also a sign of the huge potential thats gonna come (alreasy exists!) in web advertising industry in India.

2. FACT that countrys 50% + of population is youth! WEB is the widely used media of the youth & it ranges from SNS to BLOGS to various other social medias!

3.Inspired from Barack Obamas campaign strategy which lead to his successful win – Obama campaigned wildly among the youth using SMS-es, blogs, SN-s, webs etc.

There might be plenty of other reasons! Share your views on this & how about the UPA govts strategy? What strategy thy should follow to win hearts of Indian youth!?

Have you heard of this intelligent women? well, Anjali menon is the director of “Manjadikuru” – a recently made feature film in malayalam which has won the awards

• Best Film of Malayalam – IIFK conducted @ Trivandrum
• Best Indian debut Director – Anjali Menon – IIFK

Go through WikiPedia if you want more about IIFK & Awards

I haven’t watched this film or know anything about this film yet! What I only know is an outline which I picked from her blog & is like

How many folks out there have grown up outside India and remember going back on holiday to our tiny hometowns? The annual vacation which would be marked clearly on those Indian calendars hanging on foreign walls. Weeks in advance the shopping would be done- a gift for the second cousin, sweets for the nephews, medicinal oils and balms for the older uncles, a scent spray for the new couple. And finally the day would come to set out for the home shores.

I was a Gulf kid and our vacations were always during the Middle eastern summers which wonderfully coincided with the monsoon showers of Kerala, India. There are a thousand things I remember about those times. Today I have moved back to India and am a filmmaker making my first feature film soon. The film “Manjadikuru” is about those very impressions. Like the lucky red seeds – they will remain little nuggets of memory that throb every time one smells wet earth or sees a touch-me-not flower or hears “Manjil virinja poove…”- a hit song from early 80s.

I came to know about Anjali Menon from TV (1 month before in a news channel) & today I happened to watch a talk show with this woman in MM TV. To be frank I got attracted to her observations,intelligence,view on her profession, view on cinemas,life etc. Well, the uniqueness that makes medias to boast off about Anjali is that shes a woman!! Its a great attempt that should be admitted & admired, compared to many other women who doesn’t even think of doing anything! (hmm!!..not all women actually!…there are ladies who makes their mark in this world & sometimes even a bolder mark than men!!)

There are only few people who gets to work on their dream or passion &  pursue what their heart desires! Anjali is one among that & I wish her all success for her future works! I am a serious admirer of Malayalam cinema, who wishes it to regain the quality of 80’s & 90’s and I hope Anjali will do her role in that process!

Film “Manjadikuru” is performed by Pritviraj, Murali & Thilakan (as i heard from MM News). I will review this movie here in my blog after watching it soon!

You can know more about Anjali in her blog: www.luckyredseeds.blogspot.com

I Googled a lot for her picture but failed to find one! Sorry!!

Atlast I finished it today! Started with “Five Point Someone” went through “One Night @ the call centre” and finally landed @ “The 3 mistake of my life“. confused on what am speaking about..eh? These are titles of 3 novels by Mr. Chetan Bhagat - the best selling English-Indian novelist of our time. I read about this guy some 7 or 8 months back in a news paper, about his first novel Five point someone, it as a best seller, going to be a main stream movie in Bollywood (3 idiots is its name with Aamir Khan in lead role) etc. But I was able to read the first one these days only!!

Hows Five Point Someone?

Its a story woven on the IIT background – a story of 3 IIT students who barely manages to maintain their GPA’s in the five point ranges.Author who’s an IIT alumni really managed it well to express the pressure of an IIT-ians life, his struggle in balancing education& enjoying the world outside, pressure of labs, assignments, exams, fear of GPA’s & to add oil to fire surprize quizes tooo!! Initail chapters (i think upto 21) are written from authors own experiences or acquired ones which shows realism but the climax chapters really prove fictitious, where he added a lots of masala events which’s difficult to digest! But “FPS” is a fiction novel (who siad its real life?..lol) and I see potential for block buster movie in this novel with the series of events written on titles “my longest days of life” gives a stunning climax! Its damn sure ” 3 Idiots” the movie adaptation of “Five point someone” with Aamir Khan playing Ryan, Madhavan playing Hari (Authors character) &  Sharman Joshi playing Alok (These Ryan,Hari & Alok are the 3 friends and lead characters in novel) along with Kareena Kapoor playing Neha (professor Cherains daughter) lover of Hari in novel, will arrive in theaters this May with a label on its head ” I am super hit“

My Verdict: Its a pure fun novel which can be finished in a single sit reading.

What about One night @ the call center ?

Well as an author Chetan has improved a lot in his second attempt! Story is about guys & gals who works in call centers, their hi-fi life styles, miseries, love, fight with a moron boss, insecurity of call center job etc. This novel is a good work of fiction as it begins with a feel of realism in readers mind, more than that a growing curiousity because the story is set in one night @ the call centre of 5 colleagues and that night is when they got a call, the call was from GOD! I must say Chetan was really succesful in creating this high end initial curiosity,which forces the reader to continue through the initial 24 chapters whichs quite boring & cliche type,same kinda love failure,friendships etc etc. Chetans observation skill is simply brilliant for that he covered the life of a call center guy in a pleasing manner,showing justice to them. Reader will certainly understand the life @ call center & different kinda call center people nearly upto 70%. Novel gets a real life from chapter 24 or so when the guys gets a call from GOD, which turns curiosity to some anxiety! Authors power of “thought process” & his “thoughts” in creating such a fiction will be applauded when you finish reading the last epilogue!! This novel has already been made a movie titled “HELLO” – which is an average hit. Salman Khan & his brother stars in the film along with Sarman Joshi! I dunno which girls stars!!

My Verdict: Not a great novel as many intial chapters are boring, except the “love making” inside confined spaces of Toyota Qualis by Shyam & Priyanka! (lol…)! But the initial curiosity & the climax anxiety created on framework of a fictions GOD is simply brilliant & need to be praised!

Finally hows “The 3 mistakes of my life” ?

More than fun,dating,love Chetan really made a good attempt to realise the real India here. A great novel about 3 youngsters working hard to flourish their small business against all odds! Its a dark witty tale about Business,Cricket & Religion..confused how these things are related..? thats what this novel is! Story is located at Ahmedabad & says life of 3 friends Govind, Ishaan & Omi (who were known to each other while they were sperms!!..lol…a funny line from the novel stated by Vidya – sister of Ishaan who falls in love with Govind) and there miseries in setting up a small business in Ahmedabad with a little amount of money they had, their growth in business, expansion of business, odds like earthquake – politics – religious calamity – terrorism that affected Gujarat! Book really talks about the basic stuffs of business & how the perspective of a real business man works! Story develops through Govinds eyes who’s highly passionate on business & above that a maths geek too! Its a recommended read for all people!

My Verdict: Really good novel & best of 3 works by Chetan Bhagat. A highly reccomended read!

So what I like about Chetan ?

Simple writing style – thats the key one! Not much tooth breaking vocabularys & literature! Each & every sentence is easily digestible by any common man & this makes him the Best Selling English-Indian noveslis ever produced!

Next big thing is his keen observation skills! One night @ the call center & 3 mistakes of my life are two clean proofs of his amazing observation skills – hes successful in narrating even the “not so sexy” part of his characters & the simplest things and emotions in their life!

The next thing is a bit naughty but I really liked all the “love making” (sex) scenes he wrote in his 3 novels!…lol…. He began with Hari – Neha  making love in Prof. Cherians (Nehas father) house then continued with Shyam – Priyanka making it in a Toyota Qualis (exciting variety!!) & finshed it with Govind – Vidya love making in Vidyas house that too under the shade of a terrace! The one odd thing I found out is – in all these love making moments – girls are taking initiatives on all 3 novels..hehe…! I dunno why?

His couple selection also has a varying style!!…Initially it was Student (Hari) & his professors daughter (Neha)…then it was..Shyam & Priyanka – batchmates cum colleagues & finally its Govind & Vidya ( Sister to Govinds best friend Ishaan-also Govind is Vidyas maths tutor)!! funny…anyway….hehe!…so whats next…eh..? sisters friend…or…freinds cousin or…wat..?lol

More than that his novels speaks many realities in a funny – witty way with enough sarcasm! You will love his writing & you will find many characters in his novels that could be related to you!!

So waiting for his next work!! Best Luck Mr.Chetan Bhagat!

You can know more about Chetan Bhagat on his site: www.chetanbhagat.com