Can't think of a title

If I must force myself to blog today, a zillion issues come to my mind. But the things that bother me the most are related to the society we live in. Female foeticide, something that happens all around us, something that is so deplorable and yet practised far and wide, day in and day out. People kill their unborn child for many reasons but to kill someone simply because it is not of the desired sex?? Technology has only made one difference in this heinous crime, earlier people waited to see what was the sex of the newborn child and god forbid if it were a girl, she was either drowned in water or simply choked to death. Today however, thanks to modern machinery and our capable doctors, all this can be taken care of even before the girl child gets to see the day of light.

I have to wonder, all the wannabe doctors today, how many more of them are ready to commit the same crime for a handful of money. Of course, no one wonders even for a minute that had their own mother been killed in the same manner, they would not even exist. I once read a very interesting book that I had borrowed from the British Council Library. Unfortunately I do not recollect its name. It was a story set in the future where no child had been born in almost 40/50 years. People could see civilisation coming to an end. A dark tale indeed. But looking at the way people are hell bent on favoring the male child, it does not seem that unrealistic or unimaginable, that dark story just might become reality some day.

Five golden rules on how to write a successful soap for television

(This is an old post, written earlier but not posted)

Before you suspect, I assure you that I do NOT watch any SAAS BAHU melodramas. What I am about to state comes from a very miserable experience from a long time ago when I was mislead into believing that my favourite soap was indeed going somewhere. Well, that was eons ago; I am a much smarter soul now. I have learned my lesson. The lesson being that in a soap, particularly if it is one churned out by the factory run by a certain jumpin jack offspring, anything is possible. So here goes…

*Anyone can be/get married to anyone, regardless of their relation, past/present
*Anyone could be the father of any child (born or otherwise), regardless of age, distance, relation, and so on
*Divorces are a part of life, similar to performing the morning ablutions in one’s daily routine.
*Death, is just a distraction, no one actually dies and can be weaved back into the plot as and when required
*Last but not least…there ARE NO RULES to writing for television

Yippeee...I've been published

Today is a happy day for me because I was on the receiving end of some good news. I got to see my own article, in print, in a magazine. Now I have written for a magazie before but since that magazine was non-Indian, I never had the opportunity to set my eyes on my work, my words living and breathing between the covers of a freshly printed, new magazine...Aaah, the bliss!! For a person with zero-training in journalism, and at the cost of being modest, I must say I'm not bad at all. Being able to play with words is a wonderful feeling.

Presenting the Worst Indian Citizen Award to...

Last week I was watching the Black, er... Filmfare awards for lack of anything better on TV. I have always been a huge fan of these awards but over the last few years, with the cropping up of innumerable other film awards with names that are nothing short of tongue twisters, Filmfare has lost most of its charm. More and more they appear to be nothing but monumental events of mutual back-slapping. By the way, will someone please explain why we kept losing transmission each time, precisely when Abhishek Bachchan walked on to the stage either to present/receive an award or to perform?? Something genuinely fishy there I say.

The one thing I truly enjoyed was the surprise dance performance by our dear ol Dhak Dhak girl (Madhuri Dixit), man she can still give any girl in this industry a run for her money. It was sheer joy watching the lady dance, no one even comes close.

The other show-stopper kind of stunt these guys pulled on the award night was a special appearance by Will Smith. Before I make my point, I won't be wrong in saying that Will Smith is a well-known face and an international star. Now if you all agree to that, let’s move on. Now, picture our very own Miss goody two shoes Rani Mukherjee, she walks onto the stage, by now I'd lost count how many times she'd already been up there that evening, she yaks away to glory, thanking everyone between Bollywood and Bengal barely acknowledging the presence of the person who announced AND presented her with the Best Actress Award i.e., Will Smith.

As she continued with her never-ending speech, I kept thinking that perhaps now...now she will address him or say something to the poor soul. It never happened. I was shocked, believe me. Next morning, a journalist pointed out the same incident, and I believe he got it right when he stated that Rani Mukherjee was apparently upset over the fact the Will Smith had, in his wish list, mentioned a desire to meet up with Miss World, Aishwarya Rai.

Now, I'm no fan of Ms Rai. But we cannot ignore the fact that she too is an internationally well-known personality thanks to her Miss World status. And the joke of it all, Will Smith was punished for having expressed his desire to meet up with her. Talk about the height of rivalry or jealousy. Call it what you may, I call it sheer impudence and bad manners.

ATITHI DEVO BHAVA, an initiative by Ministry of Tourism, India, propagates the idea of each and every Indian citizen being an ultimate and helpful host to every person visiting his/her country. And here we see a well-known personality from our film industry putting each and every Indian to shame just because she is too wrapped up in her own issues and stupid enough to let her personal rivalries come in the way of being a good host and Indian citizen. Whatever the reason, Will Smith was a guest in this country.

All the awards and talent in the world are useless if you forget your basic values. Therefore, I solemnly award Rani Mukherjee with the Worst Indian Citizen Award for her deplorable, bad manners.