Howdy! Let me reintroduce you to...

..ME!

That's right. I have been off blogging for a long time now. Exactly 3 months to be precise. Why, you'd ask. I honestly don't have a reason. I have many excuses though!

I have been in US for almost 11 months now. Things have been pretty interesting here (in both good and bad ways). Maybe I took more time to adjust to the new environment. Being on H1 visa also has its own perils. Since I am starting off in US, my credit history is still in its infant stage. This becomes a hurdle everywhere. The auto loans are high and the way banks accept you as a auto loan customer makes you feel they are doing a big favor. IT returns are also interesting here. We, as a family, went through the highs and lows of first time filing. The process is good but what made it bad was our tax consultants - "Newwave Tax Consulting"! It seems they were under an offshoring contract. There were tax "experts" sitting somewhere in Hyderabad doing night shifts. By the time their offshoring contract expired, I was not done with my tax filing. They just stopped responding to my emails and calls. When I narrated this incident to my colleagues, the first thing they told me was "not to go with Indian offshoring companies when it comes to US tax". Although, I must admit I was slightly offended, but it made sense to me because it happened with me! I then found a "credible" tax consultant (also from Indian origin, we are everywhere!) here in US and he ensured the rest of my experience remained smooth. As a result, I had to pay consultancy fees twice. Anyway, lesson learnt the hard way.

The above mentioned experience is just one among many and is in no way an excuse not to blog. I was so preoccupied with life here that I lost the urge to write something. I feel bad to say that I 'lost the urge to write'. But hey, you always come back to the things you love the most. So, here I am!

Image courtesy - https://i.ytimg.com/vi/eBh7zkxVF3A/maxresdefault.jpg

A lot of things happened while I was away sorting my own stuff. Under normal circumstances, I would've blogged about them. IPL came and went. Pretty boring this season. Leicester City won the English Premier League. That's right! 5000-1 were the chances bookies had on this team at the start of the season. If you had bet on Leicester City with such odds, you would've been a millionaire by now! Leicester proved that costly players are not the recipe for on-field success. But EPL will never learn this lesson, am sure. Copa America came and went. The team I was rooting for - Chile - won again and my man Alexis Sanchez won the player of the tournament. Then came the Euros. I was rooting for Germany. They lost the semis. I was rooting for France. They lost the finals. Damn! I am an Arsenal fan, but if this trend (of my team losing) continues, I would follow all other 19 teams this EPL season. 

In Indian Cricket, Anil Kumble became the national coach. A very good decision coming from the BCCI stable. Ravi Shastri's spat with Saurav Ganguly was portrayed as a case of 'sour grapes'. Shastri did a great job as a caretaker. But now its time for India to have a full time coach and take the Indian team forward. If you follow Indian cricket, you'd know we are batting heavy team and relatively light in the bowling department. If I had to select a coach, I would've selected someone who's a bowling legend, had been through tough times and emerged victorious, a credible person who commands respect of the entire dressing room. Also, one who's not too old and comes from the previous generation. Two names come to mind - Anil Kumble and Javagal Srinath. I would have been happy with either but am not sure if Srinath is keen to take up this role. That leaves Kumble and he's what he got eventually. I am happy.

When this was happening on the field, some cleaning was also happening off the field. Supreme Court decided to go with the Lodha Committee recommendations. BCCI now has no other option but to clean the mess they have created and ensure Indian Cricket fans get to see Cricket in its purest form and more transparency in administrative matters. If you were an ex-Cricket fan, maybe this is the time to return to your original love!

Personally, its so good to be back to blogging again. I feel like a newbie in the blogging world again. Maybe taking a break is a good thing (it eventually turned out well for Ross and Rachel from F.R.I.E.N.D.S).  

More from me soon.

A walk to ponder upon..

The other day, a typical weekday, I was walking back home from work. Here in US, pedestrian crossing is regulated and is followed by people too. After getting off a train station or a bus stand, if you observe, you walk alongside so many people some of whom move away from the crowd to walk towards their destination but there are some who tread a common path as you, and in some cases, till the very end of your destination.

I had the same experience recently. I was walking alongside a lot of people till it reached a stage that only one guy was left from the crowd of people. Oblivious to each other, we continued walking on the side of the road. Till we reached a pedestrian signal. The signal was red. I, trying to be a law-abiding citizen, stopped and waited for the signal to turn white (white means you can cross the road and red means to stop). There were no vehicles around but the signal was still red. My "walking partner of the day" decided to take the plunge and walked along without waiting for the signal to turn white. He crossed the road and moved ahead. After he was about 50-100 feet in front, the signal turned white. I started walking. We maintained the distance between us till the next signal where he continued walking and I stopped again. You now get the drift, don't you? He was proverbially miles ahead and I was behind and reached my destination later than that guy.

This got me thinking. I didn't make any mistake. I followed the law of the land. I made the decision that the authorities expect a citizen to make. Still I 'lost' and reached my 'destination' relatively late. As against the guy who was walking alongside me. He, technically, made a mistake by crossing the road when he was not supposed to. He bypassed the law. He made a decision that the authorities don't expect a citizen to make. Still he 'won'. Not that I lost anything in the process, but you tend to compare your situation with your peers and judge whether you are on the right track within the right timeline.

Here's the big picture: I think this is what usually happens for bigger priorities in life too. Take career for example - there are some who still share an honest resume. By honest, I mean truth and nothing but the truth. Now-a-days, resumes are hardly honest. If, metaphorically, your actual job was to add that extra grip to Sachin Tendulkar's Cricket bat, you resume should say, "provided extra support and grip to Sachin Tendulkar's bat". In today's times, it will change to "advised, directly and supported Sachin Tendulkar to achieve 100 centuries". You see how a play upon words changed the entire job profile of an individual? Ironically it may seem, these are the same people who then go on to add extra grip to Virat Kohli's bat and say they are now "Unearthing fresh opportunities to achieve the next 100 centuries".  They move on to bigger things just by over-emphasizing their importance to the larger scheme of things. And the people who mention the truth - they take their time to reach the top of the ladder.

So who is wrong here? I guess no one. One way of looking at it is to say the guy who circumvented the law of the land did this with an appetite of accepting the damage / loss, if anything goes wrong. And this world welcomes people who have a higher risk appetite knowing that those are the people who go the extra mile to achieve success. Another way of looking at this would be to accept that everyone will eventually reach the destination in the end. Some just happen to reach there earlier. Maybe it depends on how we define success  - achieving our goals or achieving our goals within constraints like time / strength or money. Maybe it's all situational.

So, where do you stand on this?

Part 2 - Bollywood movies in 2015 that made me think

Part 1 of the series can be found here. Continuing with the top movies in 2015 that made me think -

6. Bajrangi Bhaijaan - 

Second surprise of the year for me. Salman Khan movies are normally all about his charisma, his body, his dance moves and dishoom-dishoom. This movie was a refreshing change and had a good story too. If you are one of those few folks who haven't seen this movie, this is about a Hanuman-bhakt (Salman) who meets a Pakistani girl lost in Indian shores. He helps her find her family in Pakistan by going to Pakistan without a visa. What he encounters and viewing the same in the larger context of India-Pakistan troubles, forms the crux of the story. I seriously don't know why Kareena Kapoor Khan was cast in this movie as her acting talent was rarely utilized. The child actress, Harshaali Malhotra, became an instant favorite amongst movie goers and for all the right reasons. I normally don't say this, but watch this movie for 'bhaijaan'!

7. Drishyam - 

First of all, I have seen the "original" movie released in Malayalam. That was simply awesome. Till the last scene, most of the audience weren't able to join the loose threads. In that context, Bollywood's Drishyam was a carbon copy of the Malayalam movie and it had to be good as far as story was concerned. The main actor's role is critical to the movie and hence, I had my doubts when it was revealed that Ajay Devgn will reprise Mohanlal's role in the Hindi version. Ajay Devgn's persona and his recent (action) movies make it difficult to believe an out-of-shape police officer hitting a muscular Ajay Devgn and Devgn, on his part, is simply begging for mercy. But I commend the risk Devgn took and am sure it will work wonders when the award season begins. Expect a few "Best Story" awards for Drishyam and maybe a best actor award too.

8. Manjhi - The Mountain Man - 

Nawazuddin Siddiqui all the way. This is his movie. From start. To end. If you want to see genuine acting talent, look no further. The guy may look small for a typical Bollywood actor, but don't be fooled by his physical stature. He is one of the best there is, in the industry. Manjhi further cements his position in the film industry - as one who is full of talent and can play any role with full dignity. The thing about Nawazuddin Siddiqui is that you tend to remember the character he performs and not the actor. That's the quality you need in your stars. And I haven't even started with the story of this movie! This is a must watch, and primarily for the main lead. Hope we get to see such movies in future too.

9. Talvar - 

I had seen the 1st movie made on the Aarushi Talvar case (Rahasya) which was more un-biased. I still wanted to see Talvar, primarily for Irrfan Khan. And I had no regrets. The movie is more or less on the similar lines as Rahasya. The role was tailor-made for Irrfan and he, as always, did a splendid job. In terms of relevance to actual story and keeping a balanced view on an issue that has plagued the nation, Rahasya was better. Talvar seemed to take a sympathetic and biased stand towards one side. However, in terms of acting and story-telling, Talvar was better than Rahasya.

10. Bajirao Mastani - 

Third surprise of the year. I am not a fan of Ranveer Singh. I still am not. However, he took this movie to an altogether different level by his acting and intensity. Deepika reprised the role of Mastani and did a good job at it. Priyanka did their part well, although I felt she should have got a meatier role. In a way, her acting talent was somewhat wasted in the movie. Bajirao Mastani is not the best movie of 2015 but it's one of the movies you should watch once. The sets and color combinations had Sanjay Leela Bhansali written all over it and makes it a visual appealing.

If you observe my list carefully, you will realize that 3 of the these movies have Irrfan Khan and Nawazuddin Siddiqui as main / side characters each. You may feel I am being biased towards these actors, but hey, their movies were great too. Let me know if you think otherwise.

Other Notable movies of 2015 that didn't make the cut but still worth a dekko (in the order of their release) - 

1. Rahasya  - similar to Talvar.

2. Shamitabh - watch it for the chemistry between Amitabh Bachchan and Dhanush.

3. Dum Laga Ke Haisha - cute love story and nice acting.

4. Dharam Sankat Mein - another movie on religion by Paresh Rawal. Not as involving as "Ohh My God".

5. Margarita with a Straw - top class acting by Kalki and Revathi, as always. 

6. Baahubali - for the special effects, one of a kind.

7. Masaan - for Sanjay Mishra's acting.

Happy New Year guys. God Bless!

Part 1 - Bollywood movies in 2015 that made me think

Welcome to another edition of top Bollywood movies of the year. This is my 5th year of publishing a post on top 10 movies in Bollywood that made me thing. Yes, 5 years! 

These are my posts on top Bollywood movies from previous years - 

2014 - Part 1 | Part 2

2013 - Part 1 | Part 2

2012 - Part 1 | Part 2

2011 - Part 1 | Part 2

2015 was a year of the "non-Khans" in my honest opinion. And by Khans, I mean the 3 Khans - Aamir Khan, Salman Khan and Shahrukh Khan. No Aamir Khan movie was released (which means there can more than 1 movie scheduled next year), one super-hyped Shahrukh Khan movie was released which was apparently beaten down on social media and two Salman Khan movies were released, one of which had a story (yes, seriously).

Before I talk about the movies, one word of caution. These are the list of movies I think were worth watching. You, obviously, can chose to disagree. 

Without further delay, these are the top 10 movies (listed in the order of their release) that actually made me think - 

1. Baby - 

Every once in a while, Akshay Kumar comes out of his funny-simpleton roles and delivers a baby (sic). Why am I making this statement? Because his last two movies before "Baby" were "Entertainment" and "The Shaukeens" which were released last year Last year also had a much acclaimed movie "Holiday". This year, it's "Baby". Despite what the name of the movie suggests, the story is about a secret mission and how the Indian forces get hold of the terrorist perpetrators. The movie is a bold statement and something which can be termed as fictional and cannot happen in real life. Akshay Kumar is simply great in "Baby" and is strongly supported by other actors in the movie. And by the way, this movie is from the same director (Neeraj Pandey) who gave us "A Wednesday" and "Special Chabbis". Any reason not to watch the movie? I don't find any. 

2. Badlapur - 

Dark. Very dark. Brutal. That's how I should define this movie. I feel this is Varun Dhawan's best. Huma Qureshi did justice to her role. But, Nawazuddin Siddiqui took the cake! Its a revenge story of a hero (Varun Dhawan) whose family died when the villain (Nawazuddin Siddiqui) was running away with the loot. But as the movie unfolds, the audience is forced to change the perspective of their hero and villain and eventually, you tend to realize that the villain lost the battle but won the war and the actor, despite winning the battle, lost everything in the process. This movie is by far the best from Sriram Raghavan's stable.

3. Qissa - 

Few facts first. Qissa is technically a Punjabi film, although it has been perceived / promoted as a Bollywood film. Second, it belongs to parallel cinema genre. Third, it's a tale where you have to believe certain things that are not scientifically correct. Why watch this movie, you may ask. Because of all the reasons above, I say. Qissa is a master-piece in its own right. It's a tale of a Punjabi guy (played by Irrfan Khan) who wants a son to carry forward his legacy. When the fourth child born is also a girl, he decides to raise the child as a guy. Irrfan is shown as a guy who is desperate to raise his daughter as a son, who beats his daughters for having a fight with his 'son', who marries his 'son' off to a girl. Everything he does is illogical yet his portrayal makes you feel he is right to do what he is doing. That's what top actors do, they make you feel that wrong is actually not wrong enough. Qissa exceeds all expectation you have of parallel cinema. A word of caution, if you are not a fan of parallel cinema, stay away. If you are, don't miss this movie.

4. NH10 - 

First genuine surprise movie of 2015 for me. When you have a actor who is also a producer, I feel the movie will be about the actor marketing himself / herself. Anushka Sharma is the main lead and also the producer of NH10. The trailors proved the aforementioned feeling I had. But I was wrong. The movie was pure acting and not about producer promoting herself. Yes, she was the main lead and there was no popular actor cast alongside her. But she singlehandedly delivered. One of those movies where acting, story and dialogues were top-class. And yes, women-centric movies work in India. 

5. Piku - 

Another women centric movie that worked. You have to commend Deepika Padukone for acting alongside stalwarts like Amitabh Bachchan and Irrfan Khan. Piku is the name of Deepika Padukone's character who has a dad with constipation problems. The movie is a sweet and funny take on dad-daughter relationship with constipatio providing the humor. And no, its not toilet humor which is why the movie is classy. Piku is easily the best light-hearted movie of 2015. You have to watch Piku, if you haven't. You have to watch Piku again, if you have watched it before. Must watch. 

As always, there are 5 more movies that make this list. You can read about them by clicking here.

Satire: What not to do on your first US trip?

Ok, first things first. This is a satire. Please do not take this post seriously. Or should I say, take it with a pinch of salt. No wait, that's too much BP. Take it with a scoop of yogurt instead!

This is my first US trip. It's been 10 weeks in US now. I am not sure for how long will it last. But I am taking my time to experience it all in my own little way. And hey, life keeps on teaching you lessons every single day and I have learnt a lot of unwanted (and some wanted) lessons in the past few weeks. Thanks to these lessons and their repercussions, it took me time to (re)start the blogging part of my life in US. 

Image courtesy - http://gfx9.com/

What should I do with these lessons? Share, of course. So here are some of the unwanted lessons. Read and let me know if you have experienced some of these or if you think a lot more can be added here -

1. Delete the song "Yeh Jo Des Hai Tera" (movie Swades) from your playlist - No seriously, delete it. Personally, I loved the song a lot. I still do. It is one of AR Rahman's classic. The lyrics, the music and the voice - they elevate you to a totally different level. I have it as part of my playlist. Just days after reaching US, I was listening to songs on my smartphone. I had kept the song selection as random, which means any song will be selected at random. As luck would have it, this song played. The bad part is, I started listening to this song from a different perspective now. But then I realized, Javed Akhtar is a genius. He left a loophole in the song. You see, the song goes on to say - "sab toh pa liya, ab hai kya kami". That's the loophole we need to exploit. After all, when did we achieve everything? There's still more to achieve right? Still, to be on the safer side, delete this song for now. You won't regret it. Also, for some reason not known to me, I had "Kiska hai yeh tumko intezaar, main hoon na" song from the movie "Main Hoon Na". It has a sad version too, which is very sad. Delete that song too. Trust me.
2. Do not bring too much Indian stuff. They already have it here! Especially, if you have a project in NY / NJ, you will not only meet a lot of Indians every day, you will also end up buying groceries and other stuff (Indian) from Indian stores. Some of these grocery stores also play Indian music (talk of ambiance!). I brought a lot of stuff (including pressure cooker, frying pan, plates etc) assuming I needed these the most since I will be able to buy other stuff from US. It turns out, my hotel was in a street unofficially named as the "Indian Street". Ohh don't laugh, there's more - the closest shop to my hotel was a "pan-wala" shop! I must admit, I had my doubts about reaching US especially after having a 16 hour long flight. But the hotel selection and the location was just my luck (Good / Bad - you decide). The bottom-line is - bring only those stuff that you need. Rest all are available here.
3. While in US, left is not right - right is right. Adjusting to this rule will take a lot of your time. Even while walking. Suppose you are walking down the road and someone is walking in the opposite direction. In India, as per norm, you are supposed to 'keep left' so that you don't collide with the other person. In US, it's all right. Keep right is the norm here. While driving, right side of the road is your lane (unless it's one-way). I have had moments where, when you walk, you inadvertently keep left and the other person coming towards you keep right. If not for the last second corrections we Mumbaikars learnt from Mumbai's own education system, I would have invited trouble.
4. You can stand on escalators. You can walk on escalators at the same time - Yes, that's true. In India, especially in the metros, we are always busy and it shows in the way we walk / brisk walk / run. When you are overtaking someone on the stairs, you unknowingly (most of the times) bump your shoulder onto your fellow traveller. This incident is irritating for both. Some of us apologize and move on. Most just move on. Many countries, including US, have a solution for this. They have a clear path for people always on the hurry (left side of the escalator) while people who want to enjoy their moment in the escalator, can stay on the right side.  Philosophically, everyone reaches their destination; some just decide to rush.

Well, these are some of the lessons I learnt while in US. I am learning more with every passing day. Will share them too in due course of time. By the way, did I miss out on anything?

Confessions of a small(ish) fish

Resting himself inside a 'cocoon', eating his way to happiness and knowing exactly how to handle stuff on any regular day, this little fish had everything what he wished for. He knew exactly how to handle things, was comfortable when any irregularity used to happen in his life and was always safe in the support of family, siblings and friends. Anything that you could possibly imagine regarding a secured life, he had it all!

But that's the thing about comfort right? You are comfortable because you develop a safety zone and would like to reside in that zone for possibly the rest of your life. You are probably best at what you do, within that zone. You seldom explore, try out new things and make mistakes. You just love to do the same things day in and day out. And as long as your requirements are being met, you hardly care. 

As a legendary movie character (Joker from The Dark Knight) once said, "Introduce a little anarchy. Upset the established order, and everything becomes chaos". Should we stir the pot, or pond in this case? How, you may ask.

Let's move this little fish out of his familiar small pond and placed into a big endless sea.

What do you think will be the emotion expressed by this little fish? Fear? Nervous? Anxiety? Excited? 

The answer will depend on how exactly you will feel when you are placed in a similar position. I, for one, will be anxious. Fear and Excitement are two extremes who only a small section of the population will go through. Nervous and Anxious are the middle line.

Now, our little fish will have to swim "with the proverbial sharks". This little fish will find many others swimming around who have made this big sea their home. Any intruder in one's home will be treated with anger, caution but not happiness. This little fish will now have to co-exist with the others and on occasions, will have to compete for common areas. Areas could be finding a place called home, eating stuff that's common across all similar sized neighbors and avoid being eaten by bigger neighbors. It's almost as if his world is now upside down!

Everybody goes through such a phase at least once in their lives. Some are fortunate enough to experience it early while some find this later. I am going through this phase. Early / later - I leave it to reader interpretation. The faster you adapt, the stronger you will grow and thrive. It's like a race with a small difference - winning the race is not mandatory; not losing is critical. 

The race has begun. 

Who doesn't like a pinch (or more) of appreciation?

I love appreciation. I really do.

And especially when it's done for my blogging exploits, I love it even more. 

I always wanted to write. Write as a hobby. And that's the reason I started blogging. Sports is my passion. I used to play a lot of Cricket, Soccer and Badminton back in the day. Now, it's more of watching and following the international events that keeps me hooked. So, to kill two birds in one shot hit two sixes in one ball (you see, I believe in non-violence), I mixed my hobby (writing) and my passion (sports) into one and thereby started writing sports posts in my blog.

Last year, I was somewhat surprised and very happy to know that my blog was shortlisted as part of the top sports blog by BlogAdda. That in itself was a very significant achievement in my blogging life. I knew, deep down, that I had little chance last year to win the coveted title of the "Best Blog in Sports Category". I eventually lost out to the best of the lot.

But, you see, in sports, lightning can strike twice! And thrice. And.. you get the drift, right?

And so it happened. For this year's #Win15 event hosted by BlogAdda, my blog has been shortlisted again in Sports category. And with even more competition, I might add. The Jury (comprising of super talented people) have considered my blog to be part of the elite list. Make no mistake about it, this in itself is a significant achievement (author pats his own back moment). 

But I now wonder, what's it like to actually win this coveted title?

The judges have done their part and it now rests in the hands of everyone who reads my blog. As per the rules, the winner will now be decided by the votes I get from my readers. At this juncture, I need to inform you of something I feel strongly about. Please vote for my blog only if you genuinely like what you read. Please vote for my blog only if you genuinely feel I have done enough to achieve this feat. I only want the best blog to win. 

What you need to do? - Simply click on this link (click here). A new web page will open (shown in image above). You need to register your vote by clicking on "like" button in that page. You can also click on "tweet" button and tweet the text that appears on a new page. Ideally, if you can do both, then great. That's it. Simple, isn't it?

Getting nominated last year was like a dream come true. Getting nominated this year again is like reliving the dream. Appreciation in this form really motivates me to continue pursuing my hobby and passion. And continue, I will. Irrespective of the result. But it would do me no harm if I am closer to the title this year compared to last year. Winning the coveted award will be icing on the cake. Lots of icing and a huge cake.

As they say, may the best player win. Likewise, may the best blogger win. 

Lawn Tennis or Formula-1 - which one to support?

Back in the day, I used to be an avid follower of many sports – Cricket, Football, Lawn Tennis, Formula-1, WWE (then WWF – yes, I used to consider this as a sport too). Managing studies and following my passion for sports was a tough ask, but I guess I managed it well. Adding more sports was also a possibility. So now you know how much I prioritized one over the other. Cricket happens throughout the year. Almost same is the case with Football, with European leagues running for 9 out of 12 months and a World / Continental event happening roughly once every 2 years. There are 4 Grand Slam events in a year for Lawn Tennis each running for 2 weeks and then certain ATP masters tournaments featuring the best players at the end of the season. Formula-1 has around 18-20 races running for 18-20 weekends out of a possible 52 weeks in a year. 

And then we have to study round the year for our academic growth and career development. Phew!

Those were the days. Now things have changed. A lot. Now my selection of games have reduced to a select few. For instance, Cricket matches that actually makes sense and has a history / rivalry attached to it. India-Pakistan, if and when it happens; Ashes, not watching it live, but keeping a track of the updates; The semi-finals and finals of Grand Slams in Lawn Tennis; Formula-1, only if the conditions are fluctuating like bright sunny skies followed by moderate rains (rare instance) and WWE when the superstars of the “attitude era” returns for a night. Bane of corporate life, maybe.

Lawn Tennis and Formula-1 are on the cusp of being eliminated from my list and my paucity of time has nothing to do with it. Here’s why I feel like ceasing to be a fan of these games – 

Lawn Tennis: I used to be a “die-hard” fan of Andre Agassi. And by “die-hard”, I truly mean “die-hard”. And by the way, I still am. Although Lawn Tennis has become more and more competitive every year, I still feel the Sampras-Agassi era was the best. Add players like Goran Ivanisevic, Greg Rusedski, Michael Chang, Petr Korda and others to this equation and you have an exciting mix of top talents fighting it out for the crown(s). For me, Agassi truly was one of the world’s best and his matches with Sampras were truly a delight to watch. His comeback from 150+ ranking at one point to reach the pinnacle is the stuff of legends. Today, there are world class talents in today’s Djokovic, Federer, Nadal, Murray, Wawrinka. However, I am finding it difficult to “replace” Agassi or to even find a new “Agassi” in the current crop. The problem lies with me more than the current state of the sport. Although I keep up with the updates, I wait till the semis of a big event to even switch on my television. My bad.

Formula-1: If it was Andre Agassi in Tennis, it’s Kimi Raikkonen in Formula-1. I started watching Formula-1 only because I realized there was someone who was competing tooth-n-nail with Michael Schumacher in racing. Although Schumacher was winning, Raikkonen’s never-say-die attitude towards the race grabbed my attention. But this is not about Raikkonen. Formula-1 is a technology dependent sport. A lot of upgrades that happen are technologically inclined. The game also went through various changes, one of which was the no-refuelling rule. In my opinion, this rule (along with many others in the recent past) has spoiled the competitive atmosphere. For the past few seasons, the only competition we experience is between the two drivers of the best team. Rest all is academic! I don’t think this is good for the game. There’s lots of money involved and maybe, just maybe, the top echelons who run this game aren’t ready to take preventive action to correct the wrongs. Many of the fans, including me, need a compelling reason to watch the next race. If we know it’s again going to be a 1-2 to the Mercedes F1 team with a Ferrari or a Williams coming third, then there’s no element of excitement left in the sport.

I still don't think I will stop watching these sports altogether. My current adjustment of watching only key matches / races will continue to work. Till the time I sort out my problems with Lawn Tennis and Formula-1 sorts out its own problems, I am left with nothing but prioritizing Cricket and Football in my spare time. No regrets though.

That feeling when humans lose to machines

Life from 5 years to roughly about 23-25 years are tough on Earth, especially in competitive places like India. The target audience are kids turned to teens and later to adults. You are required to study, study and study till your grades improve (exam on exam and relative improvement compared to your batch-mates). Post 10th starts another bottleneck competition to fetch the best seats in top colleges. The cycle of “study-study-score-secure another seat” continues for 2 more years and you reach the first genuine crossroad of your life. What to do after 12th? The preferred fields are Medicine and some take Engineering (although this preference is diminishing every year). 

Once you have decided the future course of action, another cycle starts till you finish your graduation and starts searching for a job. Now assume you got your job (dream or not – immaterial in this case). You join a company, meet your team, your bosses and learn about what (all) you are supposed to do. Irrespective of what your job profile is, you will have to do something that is mandatory. The document you are viewing needs to be viewed again while you are travelling. Assuming you don’t have a smart device, you will inevitably click on File >> Print >> Print or for the tech geeks out there – “Ctrl+P”. You walk towards the printer to collect your printed document and… wait. Wait again. Still wait. Why is the printer not responding? The diagnostic side of you wants to check the buttons on the printer, maybe there’s a start button somewhere. Bingo! There is. You press the button. No response again. You repeatedly press the start button illogically hoping that pressing continuously will make the printer realize that the user is frustrated and it better get started. But that’s not how the machine is configured.

That’s when it hits you badly. All that study, all the sleepless nights you took to study stuffs, some of which you didn’t like is of no use. All those mathematical formulae, geometry, trigonometry, Mechanics, Engineering Drawing, Mobile technology, Radar and Satellites, nano-technology aren’t equipped to help you solve this straight-forward problem. The medical folks, you went through hell by studying Anatomy, different systems in human body, dissecting animals and human bodies to learn the working and structure and don’t even get me started on nervous systems! But those things won’t come to your aid to solve this, will they?

But you can’t look like a fool now. You are a graduate after all. They say trials bring out the best in you. So, you first start looking to your left and right – not for help initially, but to see if anyone’s watching your misery. No one. So, it’s not worse than you think. You take a close look at the printer, just to check if you are missing something. The chord is connected. The printer is switched on. The maker’s logo is flashing on the small screen. Basic checks done. You look at the buttons they have on offer. You then try fiddling with the buttons, try tweaking the settings and then press start again. No response. To emphasize your frustration, you repeatedly press start again.

Now comes the “seeking help” phase. You start looking for friends / colleagues you know. Then someone walks by. You immediately look up to him as your Good Samaritan and ask him for his help. He smiles (not sure if he was smiling ‘at’ you or was that just a courtesy smile), looks at the printer, presses the start button (as if you haven’t done that already). He thinks for few seconds with a twisted expression on his face suggesting he is deep in thought and then says something that makes you feel so little that the solitary ant you saw near the printer suddenly looks like a giant Elephant ready to trample you under his feet. You sheepishly follow the advice and then the much-awaited printout comes out. You wonder how did you miss that basic electronic solution?

The advice – Restart the printer and check again! 

Part 2 - Bollywood movies in 2014 that made me think

Part 1 of the series can be found here. Continuing with the top movies in 2014 that made me think - 

6. Filmistaan

Filmistaan was ready in 2012. After successful screening in various film festivals in 2012 and 2013, it was theatrically released in 2014. This movie also won a national award in 2012 for best Hindi film. Filmistaan is an India-Pakistan unity film. A film “shooter” from India is mistakenly kidnapped by some Pakistanis, who are shooters of a different kind. This leads the Indian guy to mingle with the Pakistani folks and learn that both India and Pakistan love the same things – movies and cricket. Later on, his newly found Pakistani friends help him escape Pakistan and reach India. Sharib Hamshi, actor, is awesome in this movie. His expressions are one of the main reasons you have to watch this movie.

7. Holiday

Every once in a while, comes an Akshay Kumar movie which you have to sit and take notice. Last year, it was Special 26. This year, it’s Holiday, a movie on sleeping cells. I know many will not subscribe to my thoughts in regards to having this movie in my list. Although Special 26 was class apart, this one takes the cake as far as Akshay Kumar is concerned. This is an out-and-out Akshay Kumar film with a meaning and purpose. Support cast are included just for support. Action sequences will excite some. Fighting for national security will excite some more. Whether you like Akshay Kumar or not, you should think twice before giving this one a miss.

8. Mary Kom

I guess every year there will be a movie on sports star. We already had Paan Singh Tomar, then on Milkha Singh and now it’s Mary Kom. In my opinion, Priyanka Chopra was apt for this role. Mary Kom has been one of our stalwarts in the field of Boxing. But spotlight on Cricketers and the lack of Boxing events on a regular basis meant she was sidelined for most of her career. A book and a movie on Mary Kom is the least we can do to repay her. Priyanka Chopra as Mary Kom put in her sincerest attempt and will be the leading contender for Best actor (female). 

9. Haider

In my opinion, Haider is the best Bollywood movie released in 2014. Vishal Bharadwaj is a master of story-telling. He did it with Maqbool and Omkara. Haider is as good as the other two and with Haider, Vishal Bharadwaj has adapted a trio of Shakespeare’s best. Haider, as with the other two movies, has Bharadwaj’s own twists and turns to make it an original. Haider has multiple sub-plots which make the climax debatable – in a good way. The actors in the movie are character actors and have done their roles wonderfully well. Tabu, KK and Irfan Khan do complete justice to their roles. But this movie belongs to Shahid Kapur. I will be surprised if he is not a serious contender for Best Actor (Male) and the movie in the best movie category. Although we all know the top honors go to the mainstream commercial actors and their mindless commercial movies.

10. PK

And finally we end with PK. A movie that took almost 5 years in the making has all the ingredients to be successful – Aamir Khan, duo of Rajkumar Hirani and Vidhu Vinod Chopra, a novel concept and brilliantly done teaser campaigns. First things first, conceptually this movie is better than Aamir Khan’s last money grosser – Dhoom 3. This movie addresses one area where we need a mirror to change our blind habits. And to an extent, it is working. It is on its way to be one of the most successful films of 2014 – financially and critically. I have not seen a Bollywood film that has polarized the masses the way PK has, unfortunately I might add. But for all the criticism surrounding the movie, it has made its place among the echelons of Bollywood films in 2014. Yes, the 2nd half doesn’t live up to the 1st one and I felt the love angle overshadowed the godman angle. But overall, its definitely worth a watch! Watch it for Aamir Khan.

Notable omissions – 

1. Highway

2. Mardaani

3. Rang Rasiya

4. Ugly (only because I haven’t seen it yet)

My top Bollywood movies from previous years – 

2011 – Part 1 | Part 2

2012 – Part 1 | Part 2

2013 – Part 1 | Part 2

PS: All images are movie posters released by respective movies for promotional purposes.

Part 1 - Bollywood movies in 2014 that made me think

Another year passed by. Arguably, a successful year for Bollywood in general. Many movies, albeit mindless and heartless, made a lot of money. Bollywood biggies released their movies to much fanfare. Shahrukh Khan had a “Happy New Year” released on Diwali. Salman Khan had a “Jai Ho” and a “Kick” while Aamir Khan had “PK”. Ajay Devgn established himself as an action star with “Singham Returns” and “Action Jackson” though with mixed success. A lot was expected from Pyaar ke Side Effects sequel, but I think its fair to say it didn’t live up to the expectations. Thanks to wikipedia, I came to know that a lot of movies with weird titles were released in 2014 – Babloo Happy Hai, W, Dishkiyaoon, Kuku Mathur Ki Jhand Ho Gayi, 6-5=2, Golu Aur Pappu. Interesting, isn’t it?

Anyways, there were some that mattered. Some movies were different from others. Something was different in a good way. It was maybe the concept, story, characters, actors or the director who made a difference to the end product. Some of the movies may not have worked commercially, but there was something that worked and can be explored in the future.

Following are some of the movies released in 2014 in the order of their theatrical release –

1. Dedh IshqiyaImagine a movie having star performers like Naseeruddin Shah, Madhuri Dixit and Arshad Warsi. Imagine a movie with a strong story. Imagine a movie which is of the “Ishqiya” brand. Imagine a movie associated with Vishal Bharadwaj. This had to work, isn’t it? And it did. What a way it was to start year 2014! Characters were developed with selfish desires and how they go after their own needs made this movie worth a watch. Although, I must admit that Ishqiya was much better and more unpredictable than this one.

2. Queen
Kangana Ranaut was getting stereotyped as a single character actor – who is good as a drunkard, but hardly anything beyond. With Queen, she proved her critics wrong. Queen has fast-tracked Kangana as one of the mainstream actress who is not only beautiful but can also deliver a power-packed performance. The elan in which she portrays the character of a fearful person in an alien country to somewho who’s comfortable with herself is worth applauding. Lisa Haydon and Rajkummar Rao are fine in their support roles. This is sure to be one of the best movies of 2014 but will have stern competition from Mary Kom and Haider.

3. Ankhon Dekhi
The Rajat Kapoor gang (of the Bheja Fry fame) is back and this time they have made a movie that’s hilariously heart-warming. It’s a story of a 50-something year old man, Sanjay Mishra, who has a simple life and can only believe something when he sees it. Directing a movie with no “mainstream” actors is always risky and the movie / concept should be strong enough to guide the film. The film has a nice story, narrated in a wonderful way and has strong performances to back it up. I love it when this gang comes up with a new movie which is always different and is worth all the accolades on a shoe-string budget. Some movies don’t need money, lead actors and marketing to succeed, heart is enough it its in the right place. Ankhon Dekhi is one such film.

4. Hawaa Hawaai
This was the Iqbal of 2014, a movie of hope and achievement despite hardships. The father and son are awesome in this movie (Amol Gupte is the director and son Partho, an actor). Their last move together – Stanley ka Dabba – was wonderful too. The friendship angle in this movie reminds you of your childhood friends and everything we all went through to support each other in spite of hurdles. If you like Iqbal type movies, this one is a must watch.

5. Citylights

This is a simple story of a guy coming to Mumbai to realize his dreams. And his dream is to earn a living to feed his family. That’s where the simplicity of this movie ends. This movie touches upon the pressures of living in a metro and the circumstantial and unlawful decisions made to survive and eventually the consequences. The songs are heart-warming too. This is one of those movies which will make your tear glands work more than anticipated. CityLights is a bold attempt by Hansal Mehta who won a national award for “Shahid” last year. 

There are five more movies in the list. You can read about them by clicking here.

When the guilty is not guilty

The society we live in has adjusted to a lot of norms based on how people react “generally” to certain situations. Once a common reaction is repeated by more people, it becomes a trend. A trend may be right or wrong. Example of a right trend could be resisting from littering around supporting our government’s initiative on cleanliness. Example of a wrong trend could be to bypass a red traffic signal. Once the quantum of following a trend increases, it becomes a cult. A cult eventually becomes a generally accepted behavior a human is expected to showcase in certain situations. In some cases, a certain behavior type becomes so normal and universally accepted that questioning / abusing / ill-treating people with those behavior (who are now in the majority) will result in punishment through some legal discourse.

But have we ever wondered if the other side of the coin feels the same way? In other words, what if you actually stop in front of a red signal for a whole minute despite knowing that it’s early in the morning and there’s no one who’s crossing from the other side?

Our society expects us to follow a list of rules / laws that is enacted to protect us. Once we move in the different direction than expected by law, we are liable for punishment. Our society also enlists the severity of the punishment based on the severity of the crime. A petty crime like parking on a no parking zone can perhaps result in a monetary fine of Rs. 100. A serious crime like murder / rape can result in life imprisonment or in rarest-of-rare case, even death.

Assume someone has committed a murder. Our legal system punished him by imposing life imprisonment. A punishment as severe as Life imprisonment ensures justice to the family of the deceased. We expect the murderer to feel guilty of the crime, repent while being in prison and possibly come out a better man. The whole “guilt factor” involved in punishment of the murderer is possibly the best possible outcome the family of the deceased can expect, that the murderer should suffer in jail, should realize the gravity of the crime and lose his most productive years in jail. 

Here’s the twist – assume the murderer is actually enjoying his stay in prison. Not that the police are supporting him. He is going through everything that a criminal needs to go through in jail. He needs to toil hard for in-house work, gets simple staple food almost every-time, has a small cell to live in, gets beaten up occasionally. But instead of the “guilt factor”, he is actually enjoying all this!

How will the family of the deceased feel now? Is this actually justice? Who decided that a jailed person should feel guilty and repent for his crime? Our society, of course! And for all the reasons I mentioned in the beginning of this post. Society probably thought that once a person is isolated, deprived of his living style and made to experience a tough life will make him repent. We are also conditioned to think that way and there’s no one to blame here.

What I am trying to drive here is a thought process involved in enforcing a punishment to the culprit who doesn’t feel punished. In my example, one person died, his family has to live with the pain and the murderer shows no remorse in jail. Probably, that’s the loss we have to take for all the goods that society gives us. But then, probably not!

PS: Murder as a crime and life imprisonment as a punishment are cited as examples here. It could be any crime and any punishment.

Whose copyright is it anyway?

Although we all know what copyright means, I still thought of asking someone who’s second only to God in more ways than one – Google, our academic and professional savior! This is how Google responded – 

So, copyright is “the exclusive and assignable legal right, given to the originator for a fixed number of years, to print, publish, perform, film, or record literary, artistic, or musical material”. I think this definition is exclusive and covers everything that needs to be covered from an ownership perspective. That’s what we thought till a few days ago. Until Wikimedia posted this as part of its collection – 

Here's the Wikimedia link - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Monkey_selfie. I don't know if I can share it - copyright issues, you see. If they have removed it by the time you click on this link, your loss. Oh no wait, you can still Google the pic. That's how our Internet works.

So, what’s the background? – A British photographer, David Slater, was travelling through one of the Indonesian jungle when he bumped onto some monkeys. The monkeys started playing with his photography equipment including the camera. One of them found the button to click photos. Excited by the reflections / flash, it started playing with it – completely oblivious of the fact that it was clicking its own images – defined by a human term called “selfies”. There were 100’s of photos clicked, most of which were blurred except for some which was shared by Wikimedia. 

Where’s the problem? – Photographer Slater feels he own the images and Wikimedia should not use it without informing him. In other words, the image is copyright protected. But Wikimedia is refuting his charges stating that the image is not a copyright of the photographer simply because he did not click it. And if at all anything, it belongs to the Monkey! Obviously Slater has pressed charges against Wikimedia and Wikimedia is standing firm with their own set of arguments. 

If we agree with what the photographer believes, then we are opening a can of even bigger problems. Following are some of the scenarios where we will have to relook if Slater is legally correct - 

1. I publish my blog posts from my laptop. So, the content I create is my copyright. Now, what if a fellow blogger creates his content using my laptop? Whose copyright is it?
2. Assume Virat Kohli got dismissed for a duck in a cricket match. The next batsmen, Rohit Sharma, asked Kohli for his bat. He then goes on to make a century. Whose century is it now? Kohli, Sharma or the bat?
3. Assume I worked on a PowerPoint presentation for a business contest using a sample template shared by someone - xyz. I am the only one who worked on it, so the content part is totally mine. Then I submitted the presentation to the contest authorities. But since the template was owned by xyz, PowerPoint automatically makes xyz the "owner". Whose PowerPoint is it now? Me, xyz or Microsoft? (Actually, this falls under “Work for Hire” where the owner owns the work and not the workers)
4. During school exams, I gave my "extra pen" to a person - xyz - who went on to top at the university level. Irrespective of my result, who topped the university? Me, xyz or the pen?

I know the examples don’t exactly match the situation of the photographer. But don’t you feel compelled to think about these too? So, who do you think the image belongs to? Now, don’t say “God only knows”!

PS: This post is written more at the sarcastic level and is intended to be read with a pinch of salt and some selfies too. 

Youth v/s Experience

It’s a tricky proposition. If you are leading an initiative, who would you go for – youth or experience? Would you prefer someone who has been there and done that but with relatively lesser innovation capabilities? Or will it be someone young, innovative and eager to do something but with no experience of the initiative? Experience knows the usual pitfalls involved and possible work-around. Youth will bring in innovative and cost-effective ways to tackle pitfalls. 

For instance, experience will tell you how to make a bill payment, where to go, when to go (to avoid queue), whom to meet. Youth will simply open an app and 2-3 clicks later, bill payment’s done. Both have their own merits and demerits. And both are prevalent in our country. Your grandparents may not even know the meaning of “app” and will still prefer the traditional mode of payment. Your parents will be open to both, but deep down will prefer the traditional mode. You will obviously opt for the “app” mode and will always be in the lookout for faster options.

I was in Kerala this April. It’s usually very hot at this time of the year. Add to it the fact that the electricity runs on its own whims and fancies, you are at your "perspiring" best. Especially in my ancestral home, to get to that one line of network connection, you need to roam around your back yard and literally freeze at a place where you find that much needed line on your smart-phone to check your mails / WhatsApp messages. So, practically, there’s nothing much to do while in Kerala but to just sit anywhere and chit-chat with your family / relatives (now that I think of it, isn’t this how we were supposed to communicate in the first place? – direct and personal media rather than social media).

image courtesy - apsltd.com

One day in Kerala, I was sitting in the veranda with my grand-mom. We were discussing about the happenings in Kerala and the updates of our relatives from my grand-mom’s perspective. Then suddenly, she said it’s going to rain. I was sweating like hell. Just to be sure, I glanced towards the sky. The sun was beating down and there were no sign of clouds. How the hell is it going to rain, I wondered? I confidently told my grandma that it won’t rain. She remained adamant and suggested we go back in the house. My explanations were being rudely ignored. She went back in and I remained in the veranda sweating even more. After barely five minutes, I heard thunderstorms and before my brain could gather this new information, it started pouring. 

I ran back in and humbly sat beside my grandma whose face was filled with modest pride. I didn't ask for an explanation and she didn't initiate either. The moment passed. On that day (at least), youth lost!

Route to Happiness

"Happiness is ideally what we yearn for. Happiness is practically what we earn for." - Me!

I can't believe I came up with the line above. 

I won't be farther from the truth if I say I need happiness and that too eternal. And am sure everyone reading this will agree. And there's no ambiguity either. Normally, when we are confused with multiple options, we make decision that may not be right in the long term. Like career v/s marriage, or career v/s having a child, or family time v/s time for passion or even black forest v/s walnut brownie. These are like cross-roads – you make a choice & move on and the rejected option may not return ever again (apart from the ice cream, of course). These are the considerations we have to make whose outcome will define the future we will witness.

And what’s the future we are looking for? Anything that has happiness at its core, isn’t it? We chose various means to attain happiness but seldom reach the desired destination. Money is one such means. Many of my relatives and colleagues feel they lost out on opportunities just to ensure they children have a safe and secure future. We Indians are habituated to this, aren’t we? Our parents have going through the same thing and we will go through when we reach this stage – despite knowing what we are losing out on. 

One of my friends father shared his experience with me – He said he went abroad to make money and left his family (wife and 2 kids) back in India. He used to transfer money regularly. This went for more than 2 decades. One fine day he left everything and came back home. He felt he had saved enough. When we came back, his kids were already in their twenties and were closer to getting married. He said he missed his kids a lot. He missed their growing up days, a walk in the park, playing with them, attending school events – everything. He wasn’t enjoying either. He sacrificed a lot of his pleasures to save for his family. There are moments when he felt he should come back, but the need to save more forced him to stay back. Yes, his family is now well-to-do and are secure financially, but at what cost? He advised me to take my family along if I happen to get an overseas assignment and to be a little bit more selfish than most Indian dads who are primarily concerned about a financially secure future.

Isn’t this the story of almost all Indians working abroad while feeding their families back home by transferring money?

Most of us are on a mission to seek happiness, but appear to be on a wrong path. We know it’s wrong but we are somewhat forced to traverse this path hoping to seek happiness through more money. Or maybe it’s the need to earn more money and later on redirect my route towards happiness. I don't really know. 

Life is too short to learn from our own mistakes. Maybe we need to learn from the mistakes and experiences of people around us. But then, experience is also like a comb that life gives you when you are bald!

Part 2 - Bollywood movies in 2013 that made me think

Part 1 of the series can be found here. Continuing with the top movies in 2013 that made me think - 

6. BA Pass - 

If you thought this movie was all sex and sleeze, you couldn’t be more wrong. After all, this is a movie that has been recognized in International Film Festivals. So, there has to be something worth watching in this movie, right? It has a great story to start with, decent acting, Delhi background and the hierarchical system described in utmost detail. Not to mention the final twist that forces the viewer to relive the story again and changes the whole perception of the movie. If you left this movie thinking it could be a ‘B’ or ‘C’ grade movie, you need to give it an opportunity to win your heart.

7. Madras Café - 

John Abraham is getting into unchartered territories (Read: Risk). He’s acting in and producing movies that are different and thereby ready to take risks in terms of revenue. This movie touches upon the issues Tamils faced in 1990's and the way in which our ex-PM was killed by a suicide bomber. What were the strategies that went into it, who did what and how were the foreigners involved? – all this and more are covered in the movie. Here’s hoping we get more hard hitting movies in 2014!

8. The Lunchbox - 

One of the best and sweetest movies ever made in India.  Very few (if not none) movies can match up to this one. Sad that this movie was not considered as India’s official entry for the Oscars! And yes, another gem from Irrfan. A simple story of 2 individuals interacting using letters kept in lunchbox. One tiny and rare mistake by the Dabbawallas and this is what we get! Irrfan, as usual, charms the audience by his tough exterior performance. Nawazuddin Siddique ably supports the protagonists and has his own little story.

9. War Chhod Na Yaar - 

A brave attempt and that’s the only reason why this movie is in my list of top 10 movies in 2013 that made me think. A war movie in India always evokes patriotism to win the battle, emotion at the loss of a key personnel and is full of bullets, bombs and mines. Now imagine comedy infused in a war movie. That’s what this movie is – India’s 1^st war comedy. Sharman Joshi and Javed Jafferi have done a commendable job. However, this is NOT a well-crafted movie, lacks continuity and has an simple and obvious end.

10. Shahid - 

The story of Shahid Azmi, the lawyer who went on defending the Indian Muslims accused for terrorist activities in India. It takes guts to make such a movie. The media, usually the entity that drives our thinking, initially forced us to believe that Shahid Azmi was protecting the culprits. This movie gave us a story from his perspective. All the real life events / terrorist activities that became popular in India are covered in this movie. The guy fought against the powerful and mighty, against the popular media perceptions and emerged victorious as long as he was alive. If you haven’t seen this, I strongly recommend this movie.

Notable omissions –

• Matru Ki Bijlee Ka Mandola
• Bhaag Milkha Bhaag
• Inkaar
• Kai Po Che!
• Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani
• Ship of Theseus (simply because I missed it when it was released in the theaters and they haven’t released a DVD yet)
• Mickey Virus

Hoping for a Bollywood with less records breaking senseless movies and more in terms of soul and meaning!