- "It is said that up to that time, the Hindus and Mohamedans alike used to worship in the mosque-temple. Since the British rule a railing has been put up to prevent dispute, within which, in the mosque the Mohamedans pray, while outside the fence the Hindus have raised a platform on which they make their offerings."
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Bettab Dil ki Adhuri aur Akhri Tammana!!
Friday, July 16, 2010
Tere bin Laden... Movie review. A fun film to watch.
Sometimes one's relationship with the movies gets a little strained. Week after week of watching the same item numbers, the snazzy European locations and stilted dialogues catering to the NRIs create a sense of fatigue and boredom. And the film buff almost makes a decision to take a breather and stay away for a while.
But then comes a film like Tere Bin Laden and hope is rekindled all over again.
Recently, we had My Name is Khan which dealt with the tragic aftermath of the 9/11 disaster for ordinary citizens, especially those belonging to the minority community. But debut director Abhishek Sharma's Tere Bin Laden is a film which reveals how ordinary citizens wanting to reside in America must either give up on their ambitions or resort to drastic measures.
Tere Bin Laden is, however, free of drama and emotion. It's a satire about all those wanting to set foot on the promised land. And it works.
Our protagonist Ali Zafar has spent most of the last decade living in Karachi with one single-minded obsession -- getting to the United States of America. He believes his future lies there. He will entertain even the most harebrained scheme as long as it takes him closer to his destination.
Meanwhile, Ali plods through his days working as a reporter for Danka TV, an almost unknown news channel run by Majeed.
On one occasion, when Majeed sends him to cover a rooster crowing competition, Ali meets a chicken farm owner called Noora (Pradhuman Singh), who is an almost perfect lookalike of the most wanted criminal Osama Bin Laden [ Images ]. Ali sees this as an opportunity to make a quick buck, without visualising the far-reaching consequences of his actions.
Since great schemes cannot be executed single-handedly, Ali sets out to cement a team who can help him. There is Gul, Ali's assistant and cameraman who doesn't seem to have an ambitious bone in his body. But he supports Ali unhesitatingly. Gul manages to evoke a laugh merely on the basis of his body language and expressions.
There's Zoya (Sugandha Singh) a veteran make-up artist who dreams of turning entrepreneur. Qureshi is a radio jockey who hates America and all things American. But his thought processes are rather random and not derived from a consistent political ideology.
The opening scene in the film is one where a news caster stands at the edge of the runaway, making an announcement. A plane takes off and the newscaster wig flies off.
Even as you laugh and continue to laugh your way through the film, one realises the director was very clear in his intentions -- there is so much humour in our daily lives, let's take some of it onto the big screen. Like Laskar-e-Amreeka a shady immigration agency with Rajendra Sethi playing the dubious owner.
But Tere Bin Laden is not just a film about slapstick jokes and naughty humour. Through all the gags and jokes, one is forced to accept how willingly we compromise on our ideals and values to attain our cherished goals; how we persist in giving personal gain more importance than building a cohesive society. There are some constant digs at America and their imperialist policies but the one-liners are sharp and cleverly woven into the script.
Theatre guru Barry John -- playing the devious, manipulative American officer -- and Praduman Singh -- as Osama Bin Laden -- make a perfect cast.
The dialect is authentic, with a peculiar mix of Punjabi and Hindi, liberally sprinkled with a lot of cuss words and swearing. Noora, the fake Osama with his chicken obsession, really sounds like a farmer who has been born and brought up in rural Pakistan.
There is no attempt to cater to the NRIs, and a sub-titled TBL will probably fall flat on its face simply because thedesi humour will be lost in translation.
If the film suffers it is mainly because of the budgetary constraints. Most of the film is restricted to the interiors as it probably wasn't possible to shoot the film in Pakistan. With better sets and a wider variety of locations, the film would have been a masterpiece.
Tere Bin Laden is definitely a must-watch.
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Please read before you vote .. and please .. please .. do vote.
The lok sabha election in India is around the corner and everyone is talking about the current and previous government. Their achievement and their flops, but the basic information we all miss is the background of the identities who are contesting these elections. I have gathered some data on the same. The information below is gathered from the affidavits declared by these politicitions while filing their papers to election commission of India. (The below data is collected from 11 states and update as on 11th April 2009, will keep updating it)
Parties and candidates-
Total contesting candidates made available by ECI so far: 1715
Total Independents contesting = 777
The party breakdown of candidates is as follow:
PARTY NAME Total
Independent 777
Indian National Congress 111
Bahujan Samaj Party 111
Bharatiya Janata Party 102
Communist Party of India (Marxist) 23
Samajwadi Party 23
Communist Party of India (Marxist‐Leninist)
(Liberation) 22
Praja Rajyam Party 20
Pyramid Party of India 19
Rashtriya Janata Dal 18
Lok Satta Party 15
Communist Party of India 15
Janata Dal (United) 15
Nationalist Congress Party 14
Gondvana Gantantra Party 13
Bharipa Bahujan Mahasangha 12
Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party 12
Jharkhand Mukti Morcha 12
Telugu Desam 11
Apna Dal 10
Democratic Secular Party 10
Loktantrik Samata Dal 10
Others (reginonal parties) 340
Total 1715
Brief about politicitions filled papers till now:-
1. Total no. of Candidates with Criminal Records = 222 (i.e. 16% of 1425 candidates)
2. Most of the major political parties have fielded candidates with criminal records, with top four
parties being INC (24), BJP(23), BSP(17) and SP(10)
3. Most states have candidates with criminal background contesting elections- Bihar is at the top
with 51 candidates (or 26%)
4. There are 306 charges of heinous nature on the candidates which includes, murder, attempt to
murder, kidnapping, extortion, etc.
5. 193“Crorepatis” (14%) are contesting elections is phase 1. Congress has 45, followed by BJP (30)
and BSP with 22.
6. Percentage of contesting crorepatis has increased from 9% in 2004 to 14% in 2009
7. Among major parties, the average asset per candidate for Congress is 4.3 Crores, NCP is 10.6
Crores, and BJP is 2 Crores
8. 68% candidates have not furnished their PAN card details. (Which raise a doubt on authenticity of the financial data furnished by them).
9. Number of women candidates is just 122(7%) as compared to 1593 of men(93%).
10. About 60% of candidates are graduates, Post Graduates or Doctorates.
11. Percentage of contesting crorepatis has increased from 9% in 2004 to 14% in 2009
Red Alert Constituencies: The following constituencies have 3 or more contesting
candidates with criminal background
Serial State Constituency Number of Candidates with Criminal Charges
1 BIHAR Jahanabad 8
2 UTTARPRADESH Chandauli 7
3 MAHARASHTRA Chandrapur 7
For detail click the image.
I have more data to present which i will present in my later blogs. As of now, please sit back and think. Are they really deserve your vote? So i request you all .... Please vote to the person who you think can really help India to be the next superpower.
Jai Hind.