(This is an edited version of a post first published on April 21, 2012, that was also cross-posted on my other blog at IBNLive.com) In India, cinema isn’t just a passion. It is an obsession. We have perhaps inherited this acute addiction from the man who started it all, 100 years ago – the Father [...]
While the Harlem Shake (The Meira Kumar ‘baith jaiye’ edition) video appears to be gradually assuming viral proportions, here’s an MP3 ringtone version of what regularly happens in our Parliament. The MPs continue with their yelling and our soft-spoken sweet-voiced Speaker of the Lok Sabha very politely asks the unruly lawmakers to बैठ जाइए/baith jaiye/sit [...]
There was a time when I spent much of my spare time cutting the chai, but now with so much Googooling, the fire beneath the tea pot at Cutting the Chai is rarely lit. But some traditions need continuing and so here’s the seventh edition of Cutting the Chai calendar. The style more or less [...]
Utterly, butterly, ignoramus! I am a sucker for anniversaries. They give an opportunity to celebrate something that you want to and the occasion guarantees that readers notice (and also appreciate) your celebration. Was a bit surprised to find that the Indian media was marking the 50th anniversary of the Amul moppet, whereas her golden jubilee [...]
In India, cinema isn’t just a passion. It is frenzical. We have perhaps inherited this acute addiction from the man who started it all, 99 years ago – the Father of Indian Cinema Dhundiraj Govind Phalke (1870-1944). Dadasaheb Phalke as we better know him as, held the first show of Raja Harishchandra what is widely [...]
Ever since I first understood the concept of public domain, this project of getting Indian films which out of copyright into a single place has been a recurring desire. But I never actually got around executing the idea, because the plans I drew were grandiose beyond my resources. While reading the chapter on Ashok Kumar [...]
Given the time I spend Googooling these days, that the 2012 – and therefore the sixth edition of – Cutting the Chai calendar is up on this blog is an achievement in itself. As expected, the Cutting the Chai Calendar hasn’t changed much except the dates and a few touch ups. You can download the [...]