Reelin it Out

RAM IS ON - ramison.com

2006-04-08T07:52:00.000-07:00

Guys check out my new blog at ramison.com If you 've not seen any posting here for quite sometimes it's becasuse I"m blogging else where.

Patients in Marriage

2006-04-07T01:19:00.000-07:00

If you notice, the title of this blog is a pun, and yes with some patience you can know it all. The movie "The English Patient" was what I finally caught up with yesterday. Ralph Fiennes, twice nominated for Oscars - one for Schindler's List, and the other this movie, renders an outstanding performance in the role of Laszlo de Almasy. The story revolves around Ralph who is in love with a woman (Katherine) who is already married This tale is narrated to us in the memories of Ralph, after he is burned beyond recognition when the aircraft he is flying is hit by enemy mortar. At this time, he is under the care of the beautiful and graceful nurse Hana, played superbly by Juliette Binoche. Julitte got an Oscar for this role, the same which was denied to her recently in Choclat. Naveen Andrews, known for his roles in Kamasutra and Bride & Prejudice plays an important part in the movie as a Sikh soldier. A "Casablanca" kind of suspense is in the air for few minutes when you do not know whether Ralph will be chosen by Catherine or will it be her husband. The story moves nicely, slowing down at times, and picking pace at others, overall a full score for the characters and the nice ending. All this marriage infidelity changed my mind later to other stream of thoughts. Often we hear of tales where one of the spouses was mentally or physically abused, and soon the marriage is on the docks. Such instances bring a lot of grief to us, if it happens to anyone we know and we are forced to watch helplessly as the person struggles to bring his/her life back to normalcy. Such tales of extreme trauma are few, and make headlines, be it the television or print. However, there exists a second category of couples, who are under less severe conditions, who live a life of compromise and a life very different from what they had intended. When such a couple got married, brought together either by their parents or mutual affection, they would have looked forward to a life of harmony and bliss. However, slowly over a period of time, the life is on a big downward spiral - withdrawal, negative thoughts, less positive energy, unease at the back of the mind, etc. all combined with few good turns here and there. If I may offer a comparison, the extreme traumatic separation of people in the first instance is like the famine deaths in the Vidharba, bringing a lot of strain and injury to the bereaved, while the second set can be compared to the millions starving everyday, struggling for their food and still managing to exist. And this set of people is what I call as Patients in Marriage. I know then there is the third category - where the couple is really made for each other, where compromises are interspersed with love, where fights are full of affection, where each morning is a new beginning and each night a celebration; and such couples are really Blessed in Marriage!

Know SRK Better ...

2006-04-05T02:59:00.000-07:00

Ten Top Trivia Tips about Shah Rukh Khan!

Pound for pound, hamburgers cost more than Shah Rukh Khan.
If you chew gum while peeling Shah Rukh Khan then it will stop you from crying.
Research indicates that Shah Rukh Khan will be attracted to people who have recently eaten bananas.
The pupil of an octopus's eye is shaped like Shah Rukh Khan!
It takes 17 muscles to smile, and 43 to frown at Shah Rukh Khan.
The ace of spades in a playing card deck symbolizes Shah Rukh Khan.
Shah Rukh Khan, from the movie of the same name, had green blood.
When provoked, Shah Rukh Khan will swivel the tip of his abdomen and shoot a jet of boiling chemicals at his attacker.
Shah Rukh Khan is 984 feet tall!
Koalas sleep for 22 hours a day, two hours more than Shah Rukh Khan.

Reel Love Story

2006-04-04T05:20:00.000-07:00

One of the most memorable love stories of all time is Eric Segal's Love Story, and the movie after the book. One of the best adaptations of a book in celluloid, and both the book and the movie moisten the eyes in the end. Well, the book/movie begin with the lines: "What can you say about a twenty-five-year-old girl who died?". And still you cry, man you really cry (metrosexual or not) ... Well, so imagine my surprise when I came across this link Google Romance which helps anyone get to their real (as opposed to reel) love story asap. All you have to do is take the tour, and "search". Hope your search ends here!

A Beautiful Mind

2006-04-02T23:21:00.000-07:00

I have always been interested in Game theory, from the management angle rather than the mathematical one. And had picked up the Syliva Nasser's book much before the movie had come. Then, when the movie was released I managed to watch a pirated version, before the Oscars. And yes, I agree, Nash had a beautiful mind. Generally everyone has. However, this beautiful mind is of no use when confronted with a simple April Fool trick. Here is an account of my eventful day on April 1, 2006. 1. It was midnight for what was March 31st, but for my friend Allan, I was the first guy to be conned, when he asked me to go looking for "Brownie" our street dog. 2. Then, we thought of Madan, sent him a SMS from Allan's mobile that my phone is misplaced, and he should give a missed call immediately to help us locate it. Madan too called many a times, till we called him and pointed out that Allan himself could have called my mobile, if 'twas necessary, and thus went to the bed laughing. 3. The glorious morning saw Shashi being trapped first, when he believed my story asking him not to come to Chennai, but remain in Bangalore as I told him I am getting engaged. Shashi even volunteered to come along for the shopping and all. 4. Meril, Elango and Arul - All were taken in by a simple ruse, that they need to travel to U.S. immediately on a B1 Business Visa. Meril was happy and surprised, while Illu and Anna were too numb and shocked. Both were thankful to see the SMS later, while Meril was disappointed about not going. 5. In between, I had called Isaac (who is the TCS Manager HR for Swiss, France, Italy & Greece) that I am traveling to the Ferrari project in Italy next week. I reeled out few names Raja, Murali, and all he believed it fully. And was glad that I am traveling' finally, and to a location near him. 6. We (me and Allan) also pulled a neat one on Gee and Ramya. 7. Towards the evening, it was time for Vivek. I called him and told him that Ice is in N.Y. and he should get in touch with him asap as Ice is not able to reach him. Sometime later I get a sms from Vivek saying he is not able to contact Ice, however he is leaving for NY immediately with a friend who was traveling there anywhere. Now, I start feeling guilty for really taking his "trip", and confess the whole thing to him, only to get a outburst of the choicest syllables. Sometime later I am however told that it was a reverse take on me. Hmmm, so I started the day as a fool, met lot of fools on the way, while ending my own day as a fool. Aint life too like this?

It is Elementary Stuff

2006-03-30T22:50:00.000-08:00

The childhood is spent in unraveling the mysteries around us, and thus a detective story appeals to us most at that age. Famous Five, Secret Seven, Three Investigators, Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew, and so on. As one grows out of these you have Agatha Christie and Arthur Conan Doyle, with the legendary characters they created - Hercule Poirot and Sherlock Holmes. Before I read about these gentlemen in the books, thanks to the DoorDarshan, was able to watch the mysteries being solved by them live on television on Sunday afternoons. DD also used to serve Indian detective stories - Karamchand to be followed by Byomkesh Bakshi in Hindi, Ek Shunya Shunya in Marathi, Tuppagirum Sambu in Tamil, and it was all fascinating. So, when I happened to see the complete collection of Sherlock Holmes at a discounted price, I picked it up instantaneously. Little I realized the surprise in store. Reading the mystery stories (both the short one, and the novels) of Sherlock Holmes, I uncovered the following pattern:

The story would start with Sherlock Holmes making some out-of-the-way comments about either Watson or the client, like "you are from Afghanistan" or "you left your window open". And each time, his friend Watson would be astounded, and Sherlock Holmes will give a detailed account of how he did it
In between the mystery, Watson and Holmes will be separated, and Watson will make a summary of the mystery so far
And the most boring part of all, and a fact common to all detective fiction, at the end of it the culprit will give his own long story, and naturally aided by some additional information from Sherlock.

Conan Doyle, through his character Holmes, states that human mind is trained to come to a conclusion using a train of thoughts, however, it is very difficult for the mind to uncover the facts when given the concluding state. Brilliant indeed. And thus, all fiction writers start from the end, and build the mystery for the reader. Since the author knows that he/she cannot reveal everything about the mystery, the end result is the end filled with a long confession by the culprit.

What makes Sherlock Holmes maybe stand apart from the others in the same genre is his human infallibility, when he admits to his defeat in four cases, one of them being a woman Irene Adler.

Thus it might be elementary, but is immensely interesting.

The Future is Here

2006-03-30T22:40:00.000-08:00

Thanks to my friend Anto, learnt something new today - UMPC (Ulta Mobile Pocket Computer). This cool looking gadget will be the future of handheld, hopefully replacing so many things in the pocket - music pod, handheld, eBookReader, movie viewer, gaming console and phone. This project has received lot of support from intel, microsoft (origami) and apple. Some hardware, notably Samsung's Q1, are already available in the market. To watch a video on UMPC, go here. And to really know the latest, navigate to OnlyUMPC or use the link in the left hand side. The Future is Here, and it sure looks fun. (Now when am I getting my iPod? Hmmm ...)

Satyam Shivam Sundaram

2006-03-28T22:14:00.000-08:00

Oh ... yeah, the movie of yesteryears, Shashi Kapoor and more than him Zeenat. Raj Kapoor's movie at his daring best, with Zeenat wearing kinda clothes, our latest item number gals would shy away from. Zeenat, I believe, had one more asset, she acted well too ! Hmmm, I know all the feminists would be up in arms for the lines above, but the purpose of this introduction is to introduce another movie - Anbe Sivam. Before I jump the gun, Satyam Shivam Sundaram, means "Truth and God - Both are Beautiful", a nice theme brilliantly told by Raj Kapoor. Kamal Hassan tries a different truth in the movie Anbe Sivam along with Madhavan. Anbe Sivam, literally means Love God. However, the strong undercurrent of the movie points to the fact that "every human being is God, so love fellow human beings". When the mandate is to love people, no wonder capitalists are the villains. Kamal portrays, a card carrying communist, who does street plays to rally workers against industry captains (especially Nasser, who is also the father of the heroine), who refuses to increase the salary of Rs. 910 a month. I remember the controversy when this movie was released and Kamal was questioned for his socialist leanings. Kamal ends the movie brilliantly. No, he does not marry the industrialist's daughter. Yes, Maddy who begins the movie as a neo-liberal, educated and look-down-on-poverty kinda guys transforms into a person who respects and loves men around him. And yes, the movie has leftist ideas, but above all a good story and a universal message. Anbe Sivam has been written and scripted by Kamal, and the first half of the movie, has many a hilarious encounters with Maddy. The songs by Vidya Sagar are just awesome. Vairamuthu, deserves a special mention here, as the lyrics of each song, are very relevant to the story and have that magical quality, which transforms the sweet music into nectar for the ears. Would urge you to watch it, if you have not; to revisit it, if you have; the way I did and emerge from the experience with that euphoric feeling of "love thy neighbor's".

Thank You for Smoking ...

2006-03-27T22:31:00.000-08:00

This movie has a great title (ref my previous post on movie titles), and looking at the storyline, might actually be a good movie. I wonder how the Indian Health Minister would react to this title - He was the one who has imposed a new diktat on all TV Channels that any smoking scene on TV should be accompanied with a written health warning below. MTv is in soup for failing to comply, and other who are not, are in soup, trying to comply. When I started smoking, I had just passed the teens (unlike the majority who start early). That time, I was with Cadburys; among my sales officer colleagues, shark-like distributors and street-smart salesmen, I was the youngest and as later events would prove dumbest. The cigarette then proved a good excuse to be macho, to mix freely with the big boys and was the expression of the freedom. It was an excuse to blow the good money I was makin, and maybe also a culmination of the craving generated by the celluloid heroes - all those men with their guns and their cigarettes. There have been all these frivlous reasons to start, and I am aware of all the numerous good reasons to stop. Yes, 'tis time to stop. Addicted as I am to this roll of paper carring tobacco, it is so goddamn difficult, even to think of stopping this seriously. So, am not thankful, I am Sorry for Smoking. Time to stop now ... Ohh, Nana is calling me, let me go have a quick puff and be back in jiffy.

Hazaron Filmein Aisi

2006-03-27T22:07:00.000-08:00

Yesterday tea time was marked with a debate about the exact title of the recent movie - Hazaron Khwahishen Aisi (Means "Thousands of desires like this"). I have not seen this movie, heard 'tis good, and maybe would see it soon. However, what's the most appealing about this movie is its title. The title lends itself to endless imaginations, and hopefully the movie would be a justice to all that. Such movie titles, old or new, English or not, have always kindled me in a quest to imagine the story line, dream the dialogues, and then see the movie, to do a reality check. "A Streetcar named Desire" makes me desirous to see the movie as much as "Born on the Fourth of July". Knowing Oliver Stone, this must be a treat. Will slot these two for this weekend, and hopefully the neighborhood store "DVD World" will oblige me. A movie with a nice and long title is the Stanley Kubrick's "Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb", and this one is a must watch for those who believe humour can't be satirized. In tamil, I have always wondered about the movie - "Silla Nerratil, Silla Manidhargal (Some times, Some People)", "Alaigal Oyivadhillay (Waves never stop)" or "Ninaithalay Innikum (So Sweet is the Memory)". Have not seen any of them, but a movie title in a similar vein is "Varimai Niram Sigappu (Poverty's color is Red)" and that was a classic Kamal movie, and is so left leaning that it turns out all right. "Do Aankhen, Barah Haath (Two eyes, Twelve Hands)", "Jaane Bhee Do Yaaron (Let it go, friends)", "Door gagan kee chaon mein (In the distant shade beneath the sky)" and "Yadon Ki Baraat (Marriage procession of memories)" are some movies in Hindi, which have great titles, and again I have not seen half of them. Which brings us to the next question - Hazaron Filmein Aisi (Thousands of films like these), and we are just scratching the surface. Time to pay a visit to the "DVD World" now ... NOW !

Rang De India

2006-03-26T22:58:00.000-08:00

Wil start with a confession - This is the second movie, I have seen four times in a theater, and that too in sucessive weeks. The other movie, which shares the proud spot with RDB is Vaali, a tamil movie, which for me always was and is about Simran and nothing else. So, Rang De Basanti (IMDB link here) reflects personally on me as I have moved from issues skin deep to ideas which live deep with in. RDB to has a fantastic score by Rahman, and lyrics by Prasoon Joshi (the admaker in McKaan who made the Thanda Matlab CocaCola) . The story is good, and the way present has been intermingled with the past, puts the future in extremely good light. Aamir Khan has done it again, making his presence felt, while leaving a huge space for his co-stars to sparkle. And sparkle they do, especially Siddharth, who fits the role like a glove, and has played his part brilliantly. Hey did I mention this before? Prasoon had mailed me back (after the euphoric mail I had written to him for his lyrics and story) and was thankful that we spared some time for the movie. We should. Endpiece: Amul advertsing has always kept pace with the times, and have always managed to satirize the recent happening in a way that it doubles up to market their butter too. Here is what they said about RDB:

'Che' Guevara

2006-03-26T22:29:00.000-08:00

Che Guevera (more on him here) was the foremost revolutionary of the 20th century, who lived and died by his ideals. His picture, with his flowing beard is the most reproduced picture in the world, appearing on t-shirts, posters and wherever free spirit is celebrated and respected. Well, I have liked and admired Che now for a long time. So, it was with great anticipation i approached two subjects in the recent days - one, a biography of Che by Jorge G. Castaneda (Amazon link here)and two, the movie "Motorcycle Diaries" based on Che's bike trip when he was 24 years old (IMDB link here). The book is good, and readable, especially if you are young and fired up with revolutionary ideas. Just one word of caution. There are many biographies of Che, and I am sure this is not the best one. The writer, who is an accomplished academician, tends to go off on tangents and at the heart of the matter; he is not a good story-teller, which is what one has to be when writing a biography as opposed to research thesis. Motorcycle Diaries on the other hand is a must watch, even if one lives and swears by capitalist ideals. The movie sets out to unravel the formative stages of Che, and to uncover the making of the legend. The movie is all about youth, about exploring your native land before setting off to foreign soils (maybe a subtle lesson for the Indian IT pros here) and most of all, the story is summed up in its tagline - Let the world change you... and you can change the world So mark this movie in you "To be watched" list, I am sure you will enjoy it more in a DVD with all those nice extra features, as much as I did.

Ram Ram Ram

2005-02-09T14:05:00.000-08:00

Heck... What to put in here, Well i'll ask ram himself to fill it up ! :)