Facts n Fiction

Finally the city, lately known for its slums, crowd, traffic congestion, and so on will have something new to talk about. The lost glory of the Mumbai will soon be restored by the new makeover moves that the tourism department has planned. The proposed new setup is to promote Mumbai as a new tourist destination. Apart from the revamp and restoration of existing monuments or places of visits, the tourism department has also plans for economy budget hotels, amusement parks, and get-together centers across the city. Let’s see what the new Mumbai by 2011 have in store for us and its visitors. Forts: The MTDC along with some archaeological experts will take up the restoration and restructuring of six forts viz. Sewri, Worli, Sion, Bandra, Mahim, and Vasai. You will not only find these forts beautified but also furnished with facilities like signboards, seating arrangement, toilets, amphitheaters, and landscape gardens. We should possibly see these forts by 2007 end. Filmcity tours: We will ...

I usually like watching Marathi programs more than any other programs (if I am not watching CNBC or CNN-IBN). I am not a proponet of reality shows but I have found ‘Sa Re Ga Ma Pa’ on ZEE Marathi interesting and I have started liking that show. It’s a reality show to search for Marathi singing talent. I have not enjoyed watching any other reality show as much as I enjoy this. One very strong reason is that it is related to singing and it’s a program in my mother tongue. Other reasons why like this program is that the program really looks like reality show, meaning nothing enacted or faked. And most importantly it does not fool people by asking them to SMS and select the best singer. May be later the program might adapt to that strategy but so far everything seems to be good. I particularly liked today’s (31st Oct 06 – Tuesday) program and that’s the reason I give it an exclusive mention here in my post. A contender called Ameya performed remarkably well that impressed the host, the ju...

I was entering Mumbai city one afternoon on a torturous sunny day. The scorching heat was testing my patience. The vehicle I was traveling was air conditioned. However; it somehow could not beat the heat. All I could do was watch hoardings, signboards, and vehicles passing by or cruising ahead of us. As I was trying to keep myself busy, a truck just ahead of our vehicle caught my gaze. I asked my friend to keep the pace such that we are just behind the truck, taking care that we don’t overtake it or lose it sight at any time. The truck carried a lot of cattle in it and it supposedly was heading to some slaughterhouse. I could guess that after taking a close look (as close as I could take) at the animals in the truck. Had been they taken for some constructive purpose they would not have been kept in such merciless conditions. To my luck the truck driver decided to take a halt at one of the dhaba (roadside restaurant) on the highway and I asked my friend to take rest at the same dhaba. W...

Farhan Akhtar’s earlier flicks made me curious to go and watch his latest venture – ‘DON’, remake of Amitabh starrer ‘DON’ made in 70s. I like Farhan as a filmmaker and have liked his ‘Dil Chahta Hai’ and ‘Lakshya’. Though I had got reviews on Don from friends, newspapers, sites, and TV channels, I thought of watching the movie before putting down a verdict. I remember Amitabh’s Don vividly, as I have seen it as many times as it was telecasted in TV channels and cable TV. I had prepared myself not to view the SRK Don with an idea to compare it with Big B’s Don. Let the judgement be on a individual approach than on a relative level. As I walked out after finishing the film, I was disappointed with what Farhan did with his version of Don. It was a mix of Bond movies, Matrix, and Mission Impossible. The plot of the original and new Don is more or less the same with very few surprises. Yes, you do get surprised at moments where Arjun Rampal (modern Pran) scales up sky scrappers when he act...

Almost a week ago, I was too excited to go to Bangalore. And why not, I was to meet one of my closed pals, Sandip, fondly called PM. My excitement dimmed a bit when I missed my 5.40pm Jet Airways flight to Bangalore (because of my foolishness). I was running from one window to another, desperately trying to get ticket to Bangalore. My hopes almost diminished when I heard replies like “No seats available”, “No flight available at present”, “Fare for next immediate flight is Rs.11000”, and so on. However, somehow the optimism to reach Bangalore did not die out completely and I tried my last attempt at the Air Deccan window. I had told myself anything below Rs.5000 and I am flying. To my surprise and luck I got 7.30pm Air Deccan ticket at Rs.3850 of the same day. I felt very pleased at that moment and price factor did not even attempt to occupy my mind. I reached Bangalore and was out of the terminal by 9.30pm. “Aye Pandey” , I heard a shout and to my left was PM walking on the other side...

I was watching SRK’s interview on CNN-IBN. I like most of the programs on CNN-IBN (not to be confused with IBN-7) and liked this SRK interview in particular. If not for anything else, I like the way Shah Rukh Khan tackles the questions and answers the media. He is humorous, witty, and diplomatic at the same time. It is very rare that I have seen him trapped in questions. His choice of words is apt and his speeches at various programs, award functions, and interviews have always enticed me. I am in no way talking about his acting, his personality, his glamorous presence, or even his ‘King Khan’ image. Let me just give you a small excerpt from an interview that I mentioned above. Rajeev Masand (a film analyst and critic on CNN-IBN) was interviewing Shah Rukh Khan and I liked SRK’s reply to one of the question. It goes something like this. Rajeev Masand: Do you think that money can buy happiness? Shah Rukh Khan: It makes it easier to get happiness. I do believe in a material world to a ...

I was alone at home today evening trying to avoid the noise of the bursting crackers outside. I had closed all doors and windows making sure that noise and smoke does not enter my room and my eyes, ears, lungs etc. I turned on my music system so that it kills the bursting noise of crackers, but in vain. The crackers and the people lighting them won the contest in irritating me to the core. Finally, I made myself busy with household chores trying to avoid the frustration. I was reminded of the three peaceful days that I had spent at Kashid beach. The tranquility of the sea, clear skies full of twinkling stars, white sand, migrating birds and a crowd that probably was not more that 10 if counted. It was really a consoling experience amidst the greenery of trees, bright colours of never before seen flowers, birds chirping their melody, and cool breeze. The evening was also beautiful with the mud houses lit with diwali lamps, laterns, and children lighting sparklers. We hardly heard a crac...