ExpertDabbler

Disclaimer:
I am not really a movie buff. Consequently my movie sensibilities maybe out-dated.

Star Performers of the film and why:

A R Rahman:
I could not imagine this film without Rahman. It is a well accepted fact that Rahman takes his music quality a few notches higher for Hindi films and this film underscores that point yet again. Be it the opening of ‘Azeem-e..’ , or the chorus of ‘Inn Lamhon’ Rahman’s magnificent signature is all too evident. All this coming from a hard core Ilayaraja fan, mind you

Cinematographer Kiran Deohans:
There are huge challenges in doing a film like this. The cinematographer has to serve what is expected - wide angle shots for battle scenes and for the grandeur of the palace, lengthy shots to give a period feel, the good looking hero and heroine should look even better, like the way the heroine stands out in a gorgeous orange even in the climax fight, and yet strive for authenticity and subtlety. He also had to tackle a contemporary tone (maybe director’s insistence) rather than escape with a sephia tone for period feel. This guy knows his stuff. Hats off to Kiran!

Art Director Nitin Desai:
The sets work beautifully in all the scenes. I fell in love with Rajputs’ and Akbar’s palaces. It is expected that some research goes into this but he still should use his imagination to make those authentic looking things aesthetically pleasing too all the while accommodating the lights for the cinematographer! He, along with Kiran manage to give the spectacle that we tend to associate with well-made period films.

Hrithik:
Hirtihik has done well considering there are lots of constraints associated with the role of an emperor. You are expected to be stiff in all the frames (gambheeram), you cannot be seen as laughing your heart out, nor can you cry your heart out. Since you have Aishwarya opposite you, some amount of your screen time will go just looking at her. And yet Hrithik holds his own. The romance works very well and one of the main plus points of the film.

Director Ashutosh Gowarikar:
The director has managed to get the best out of his crew and cast for the most part. One scene I really liked was the sword fight between the two Akbar and Jodha. Well done Ashutosh!

And now the pain points,
Aishwarya Rai Bachan. The problem with casting Ash is that she is perceived by one and all as out of the world’s most beautiful women. As a result, she always manages to be Aishwarya and not Jodhaa. I am not sure if it’s just me. I could never relate to her acting. Read my disclaimer at the top!

I was a bit let down with the song picturisation of ‘Azeem-e-Shahenshah’. I wish the director had shot this song in the night. Indoor setting and day light factor made it lose all the intensity Rahman had infused in his beats. ‘Khwaja mere Khwaja’ picturisation was so reminescent of the good ol’ Doordarshan TV days.

I am not convinced with Ashutosh the script writer in this effort. The film fails to stick at a conceptual level. What is this movie about? Akbar’s secularism? His romance? It looked like he has mish-mashed a bit of everything, just to be on the safer side. A lot of screen time was wasted on characters like his god mother.

There are a few things which I cannot digest from a decent director and clichéd scenes are certainly one of those. Okay, so you have a dozen arrows in your back, can you come the distance equivalent of Pallavaram to Guindy on a horse-back as if you are on a fun ride? And this guy manages all the dialogues the director wanted him to later on. Add some senti-crying by Ash and I really wanted to go to the rest room there.

Also, what’s with this ‘othaiku othai’ climax? The climax fight had me scratching my head. For a second, I was scared that the villain will ask for forgiveness and our hero will give a 3 minute message on the importance of good morals after which they will all sing their kudumba paatu. Thankfully, the director spared me from such ordeal. To me, the movie was over when Jodha and Akbar truly unite at the end of ‘Inn Lamhon’ - brilliant picturisation! What follows are just extra footage which Ashutosh forgot to edit.

The fact that I noticed all these technicalities in my first viewing should convey that I was not immersed in the plot, which is a failure on the part of the script writer Ashutosh. I should’ve watched ‘Nayagan’ like 30 times and still lose myself half-way even now! That’s what I expect when I go to watch a movie. ‘Jodha..’ is watchable but it could’ve easily been a great movie. It falls short by a distance.

PS:This post was updated on 30-Mar-08, 8:22 AM. Lesson: I should not write lengthy posts in the night!

Passed by Indian Parliament in 1983, Indian Penal Code 498A, is a criminal law (not a civil law) which is defined as follows,

“Whoever, being the husband or the relative of the husband of a woman, subjects such woman to cruelty shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years and shall also be liable to fine. The offence is Cognizable, non-compoundable and non-bailable.

Please read the Act 46 of 1983 to understand 498a better.

How are you at risk and why it is dangerous for the society?

Your wife/daughter-in-law who’s demands are not met can make a written false complaint of dowry harassment to a nearby police station. The husband, his old parents and relatives are immediately arrested without sufficient investigation and put behind bars on a non-bailable terms. Even if the complaint is false, you shall be presumed guilty until you prove that you are innocent.

498a can only be invoked by wife/daughter-in-law or her relative. Most cases where Sec 498A is invoked turn out to be false (as repeatedly accepted by High Courts and Supreme Court in India) as they are mere blackmail attempts by the wife (or her close relatives) when faced with a strained marriage. In most cases 498a complaint is followed by the demand of huge amount of money (extortion) to settle the case out of the court. This section is non-bailable(you have to appear in court and get bail from the judge), non-compoundable (complaint can’t be withdrawn) and cognizable (arrests without investigation or warrants). There have been countless instances where, without any investigation, the police has arrested elderly parents, unmarried sisters, pregnant sister-in-laws and even 3 year old children. In these cases unsuspecting family of husband has to go through a lot of mental torture and harassment by the corrupt Indian legal system. A typical case goes on for years (5-7 years is typical) and the conviction rate is about 2% only. Some accused parents, sisters and even husbands have committed suicide after time in jail.

For more details:
http://www.498a.org/

But how did i come to know of this site? My close friend who had gone through hell before he got divorce told me recently. He had been threatened by the girl’s side about this.

I know of a hand full of folks in both genders in my generation who are going through hell in their married life. The folks who should’ve really sought this section’s help are keeping mum citing ‘kudumba gauravam’.

Random Thoughts:

India as a country is witnessing an alarming rise of divorce cases in the recent 5-10 years.

The elders in the family who belong to the previous generation have a role to play in many of these cases in one way or the other. They have this quality of seeing things with a perspective as old as their times. First they apply wrong parameters -horoscope matching, status and some worse fundas, in other words, applying test match strategies in the days of 20-20. Next, they dominate their son’s/daughter’s life even after marriage like touching a ball well outside the off stump – not advisable even in the days of 20-20.

We now have a full generation of people in the cities who are educated, financially on their own and who have constantly been fed images and myths of the opposite sex by the media. But they not know what to realistically expect from their partner because they have never had any proper experience in dealing with a guy or girl before. Not many are getting it right the first time.

What’s next? I do not know. I wish some social scientist conducts a detailed research on what’s happening and suggests what needs to be done here.

Indian students spend $13 bn on education abroad every year

No wonder the events by USEFI, IDP Education Australia, British Council etc. look like a sunday sandhais organized in Taj Coramandel.

But then, why worry when all are happy?

The banks are happy as they make good money on educational loans. The so called NOT FOR PROFIT agencies like IDP should be happy that they are making lot of money even without profit motive. Foreign universities are happy that have a huge market in Indian students willing to pay the full tuition fee.

Most of all, our elite IITs, IIMs, NITs, funded by the government of India, which in turn is funded by the tax payers aka the moms and dads of these students, can be happy that are successfully keeping their brand intact i.e that of serving only the creamiest among the cream and chasing the rest out of the country.

The city bred, fee paying students are happy that they at last get a chance to be out of this messy educational system sans reservation quota, petty politics etc.

Most of the rural students who are completely kept out of the loop with regard to higher education, are happy with their Jadhi Sangams, Mu. Ka. Azhagiri’s etc. Their dream land still remain metros like Chennai, Mumbai, Calcutta, Delhi which is only too happy to receive them as an endless supply of cheap labour who can be used for anything from construction work to contract killing.

We don’t want educational reforms, we are happy with the way things are.

Shyam:
Dei Ram, idhai padchiya? Nalaiku idhile kelvi kepaanga da!

Ram:
Illada mundhina naal assignment kuduthadhey pending irukku. Veetile padikka mudila. Night current pochu. Eng appavai UPS vanglaam nu sonna vendaam nu orey adam…TN la power cut illayaam…

Shyam:
Unga appa peru Arcot Veerasamy a? Dei,.anna annaiku assignments a anna anniku mudikka maatrey nee. Pending vitta aprom kashtam aydum. Naanum konjam baaki vechirken…
Hmm. Night en veetuku va.. UPS irukku.. utkarndhu nimmadhiya padikalaam..assignments mudikalaam.. doubt irundha orutharuku oruthar clear pannidalam.. Nalaiku epdiyavadhu samalikanum…. sodhapina bejaar aydum solten…

Night 12 ‘0 Clock, Shyam’s place:

Ram:
Dei oru mannum purila.. rendu naal la 65 pages kudhutu padi na enna artham..?

Shyam:
Padi nu artham.

Ram:
Hello, nakkala, enakku lesa thookam vera varudhu…naan onnu solren.. konja neram thoonguvom.. sharp a 3 o clock elundhirpom.. fresh a irukkum.

Shyam:
Hehehe… idhellam nalla ariguri yave therila. Naanum ethanai night study potruppen.. ana usual matter illai da idhu…nalaiku sodhapina aapu dhaan… unakke theriyum..

Early Morning 5.30 AM:

Shyam:
Dei vennai. Elundhiru da. Ippove 5.30 aachu..

Ram:
Ayyo.. nee yen ennai munnadiye elupalai?? Ippo paaru rendarai mani neram waste aachu..

Shyam:
Thoda.. nee ennai elupirkaradhu dhaaney? Naanum lesa thoongiten..
Innai morning kulla idhai vera padikanum.. innoru assignment vera eludhanum..

Ram:
seri first things first.. poi pakkathile nair kadaila tea adichutu varuvoma? Fresh aydum.. kada kada nu padichidulaam..

Shyam:
Nair kadaiku morning poi kada kada nu padikka koodiya orey vishayam ‘Dhina thanthi ‘ dhaan.. enakku ennamo velangara madhiri therila….unnai nambi naanum thoongitten…

Ram:
Vidu da… 4th page la oru diagram irukku paaru.. adhai mattum nalla parthu vechukko.. adhai pathi kandippa kepaan…samalichukalaam….
Hmm.. onnu kavanichiya nama ipdi night study podaradhu paartha namba college days la un veetila padicha night study dhaan nybagathuku varudhu..

Shyam;
Appo exams, ippo client calls, RFP assignments, dubukku IT services company la maatikutu..DOT NET COE ku proposal eludharen nu oorai emathikuttu… illadha competency laam irukaradha solli… ipdi loose madhiri night study pannitu irukom… Hmm. appo home work, ippo working from home, seri vidu…enough of nostalgia dude.. client call ku prepare pannu…India vile enga ponaalum namba velai idhey kadhai dhaan… dog vesham na barking must da..

Trend setting நடிகன் நீ.
உன் மரணம் கூட ‘Google Hot Trend’ ஆக நிற்கிறது.

Some folks classify it under emotional quotient. But let’s just stick to GQ for now. I need to do some value add, see!!

Unlike my IQ, my GQ is pretty decent. Last week I commented on a fellow blogger’s post which turned out to be as much as her post and felt guilty. Maybe I should’ve written about it in my blog and given a link.

But some days, rather most of the days, I tend to do some stuff and think about it later. Like the way I thought I should’ve taken the day off, after reaching office at a leisurely 4 PM. I thought I will be delayed but not to THAT extent. Eventually I met with some QA folks, had Kozhukattai and Veg. spring rolls (thought of avoiding it, but someone said vegetables are good for health :p) from the cafeteria enterprise owned by Radhika Sarathkumar and came back at 6.30 PM sharp. Thanks to flexi timings and some such funda, I will get paid in full for the day, but I did feel guilty for a moment.

My feeling bad quotient even extends to Wall Street firms. It’s bizarre to see events which used to happen in public sector companies in India in the seventies, eighties are happening to Wall Street firms now. These firms are almost on the verge of begging the Fed to give them some pocket money for the day. Bear Sterns was thrown $2 USD per share by JP Morgan and they gratefully accepted it. The Fed is funding the whole transaction (a body called BIFR used to do such similiar activities in India).
In another sense, this is socialism of the highest order as one great investor had pointed out. Carlyle capital is voting unanimously to wind up operations and Lehman Brothers is shedding jobs. I was one of the beneficiaries of Lehman’s offshoring of IT application and development services way back in 2003. BFSI segment is one of the major outsourcers of IT services. They still remain so for the most part I guess.

I used to tell my friends that my first home was part funded by HDFC and Lehman Brothers. I have moved out of that segment in the recent past. But I know several of my friends’ homes are still indirectly funded by the IT budgets of Citigroup, JP Morgan, Merryll Lynch etcetera. The trouble is, a lot of high end work for these firms involve working on complex financial products which one Mr. Warren Buffet calls ‘Financial WMD’. Whatever.

I think it’s good to feel bad or guilty occasionally.
For one, it shows how sensitive you are. Nobody likes an insensitive sob. But equally important is to remember the lessons and move on. Nobody likes a loser who harps on his past mistakes forever as well. Given a choice between a sob and a loser, I think young women might prefer the former :p.

Now, why did I write a post like this, spending my useless time and also forcing my readers to spend their valuable time??

Is anyone using or manufacturing electric stoves in India? If yes, what’s your feedback?

I was a witness to the hardships faced by the public in getting a gas connection. My friend was made to run from pillar to post and in the end he spent about 6000 bucks for buying mixie, cooker and gas stove which he does not need, all because the gas agency insisted he buy all those if he wanted a gas connection.

Of course, this is more like a bribe, but our Indian Oil Corporation executives aka nation’s pride, in a master stroke of genius that only public sector folks can think of, have made it mandatory for one to hold a valid ration card to be eligible for gas connection.

My friend will be in Chennai this year, Bangalore the next, and his parents (permanent address) will be in Coimbatore, how is he supposed to hold a ration card wherever he goes?? It’s not half as easy as getting a credit card. Even if he had one, changing the address in the ration card is not exactly doable by clicking an ‘edit address’ hyperlink in a website, get the point? Those are lifetime projects.

The only other alternative is to get a gas connection from the private gas agencies. But many of them operate in such a small scale and do not get subsidy from the government and hence are prohibitively expensive.

Since all we can do is nominate our bureaucrats for nobel prize or whatever prize in public administration, I was wondering if anyone manufactures or uses an efficient, robust electric stove in India?? If we can have a microwave owen, an electric cooker and even energy guzzlers like air conditioners and electric water heaters, why not electric stoves?
Those who have or used this before, please let me know your feedback.

The potential advantages are too obvious to even list. So long as we have an electricity connection, we can have our idlis and dosais done fast. No more gas ’surrendering’ , ‘reconnecting’, death certificate, legal heir certificate fundas. No need for ‘gas booking’ 10 days in advance. No need for ‘asadu vazhunjufy’ your neighbor requesting him to get the gas cylinder when you and your spouse are gone for work. What’s more, spend a few thousand bucks on a UPS and hedge power cuts too. Last but not the least, we can put a full stop to ‘Cylinder vedithu ilam penn maranam’ sort of headlines in Dhina thandhi.

One condition though, we have to ensure such stoves are available even for those without valid ration cards.

Man watching, originally uploaded by expertdabbler.

Maybe there is a kind of edgy symmetry in this photograph. Or maybe i am reading too much into it

One of my very few candids falling into sahikable category

Cast: Sundar, Vinod and Martin(L-R)

“Aruppukottai Onnaaruba” (Aruppukottai –Rs.1.50 per ticket) bus conductors used to shout in front of their buses in Virudhunagar bus stand twenty five years back. Aruppukottai is a well known trading center in south tamil nadu. I recently traveled to Aruppukottai from my native and the fare is now Rs.5.50 per ticket. But this is the only discernible change that I could notice. Everything else - from people jumping via window grills to throwing towels to grab a seat has remained absolutely the same in these 25 years. Even the paint of ‘SRI JAYAVILAS’ buses have remained the same in a few cases. ‘SRI JAYAVILAS’ used to be the KPN equivalent for mofussil buses in the south.

Compare this to the strides made in telecommunication in India in the last twenty years. This is also the period when the lifestyles of the urban folks have undergone such a drastic change that NRI’s are seriously pondering R2I leaving behind the comforts of the developed world.

Next comes sectors like healthcare, which has undergone tremendous change for the elite. People from all over the world take their flights to India in pursuit of world class healthcare, for those who are willing to pay for it.

And there are some laggards where no matter rich or poor, urban or rural, all suffer since time immemorial and there seems to be no light at the end of the tunnel. Public transportation is one of them. If one had watched GANDHI, one would’ve noticed people traveling on train tops during pre-independence days. I am sure we can see people traveling on train tops even today in some parts of the country. So what is the improvement in all these 65 61 years of independence? From the overcrowded MTC buses in Chennai to the Mumbai sub-urban trains or to the overcrowded SRINIVASAs and SRI JAYAVILAS’ in semi-rural Tamil Nadu. The landscape may change, but the grimness is the same.

The critical differences between sectors like, say telecommunications and public transport are straightforward. Telecommunications was entirely at the behest of DoT, a central government undertaking while road transport has been a state subject. Telecommunications allowed the entry of private players while transportation is still at the behest of our state government run corporations except for railways which again has no private player.

I seriously do not understand why government should get into the business of operating buses. I also do not understand the logic of operating a bus between town A and B when a mini-bus or van run more frequently would help keep things agile and flexible.

Railways is definitely doing better than state run transport corporations primarily because they come under one ministry for the whole of India. But there is lot of scope for improvement there as well. For e.g Arupukottai is yet to come in the rail network, so does towns like Dharapuram in Erode district while Mel Maruvathur has a railway station where all the express trains ‘must’ stop. I don’t have anything against Bangaru Adigalar but I believe trade centers should have priority over Bhakti in a country like India – at least in matters like getting railway stations. I seriously think Laloo should hire a marketing manager to identify new, financially viable areas to be brought into the rail network.

The Chennai-Tirunelveli rail corridor, despite being one of the most lucrative sectors for the southern railways still handles all the traffic in a single track. Oh yeah we still run diesel engines for the most part. Oil is getting pretty cheap nowadays, right?

Another of my question is about market segmentation. Why not charge more from people who can afford to pay. Tatkal is a classic example and a great revenue earner for the railways. Charge more from those who book late. I am sure a special train with only 3 tier a/c coaches will fetch more revenues for the railways in sectors like Chennai-Coimbatore, Chennai-Bangalore, Chennai – Madurai on weekends while addressing the need of the passengers as well. I believe there are lot of cities like this in the rest of India. I hear people paying anywhere from Rs. 700 to Rs. 1000 on weekends to travel from Madurai to Chennai for omnibus tickets.

It’s easy to construe this post as one against the obvious infrastructure woes that India has now become notorious for and something we are addressing with all the golden quadilaterals and 6-lane highways. In fact, I tend to think things are not going to improve with golden quadilaterals and six-lane highways. It’s like saying the websites will get more user friendly if internet bandwidth goes up. I don’t think it works that way.

What we need is focus and strategic thinking at the highest level. Overhauling the public transport for passenger and freight traffic will have a tremendous impact on the economic progress of the small towns and villages much higher than the envisaged Rs.60,000 crore farm loan waiver.

I am very interested to know how Obopay performs in India for these reasons:

- The number of people holding a mobile phone far outnumber those with credit/debit card in India.
- The % of english speaking population should be around 5-10%, far less than those who have a mobile.
- The prospect of Hindi literate X in the north sending money to a Tamil literate Y in the south is a very exciting scenario.
- This will raise the bar on how cell phone manufacturers support Indian languages in SMS.

I more than wanted another well known payments company to enter this space in India

Ennatha solla…let my sad story be with myself.

Obopay Ohopay nu vara vazhthukkal!!