Monthly Archives: July 2012

President Pranab Google doodle

President Pranab Mukherjee unofficial Google doodle

So Poltu will be the 13th President of the Republic of India. I think it is good for the psychology of the Republic that we will soon have a President PM who is known to break into laughter once in a while, given that our Prime Minister is notorious for his deadpan expression. President Poltu [...]

Dara Singh beats Blonde Tiger: 60-year-old news clippings from the late wrestler’s heyday

dara-singh-newspaper-clipping-ft-120712

In the final bout, death got more points but Dara Singh won. The loveable wrestler turned actor died today aged 83. A few days ago I was reading Vir Sanghvi’s wonderful tribute to the man in The Greatest Show on Earth: Writings on Bollywood, unfortunately can’t seem to locate the piece that originally appeared in [...]

Ambiking Suitings ad: Ashok Kumar’s five fabric purchase tips

Ashok Kumar in Ambika King suitings ad

Ashok Kumar might have started as a reluctant actor, but Dadamoni soon transformed into one of the biggest stars of his time and Indian cinema’s first superhit Kismet (1943) had him as the lead. Ashok Kumar’s (born Kumudlal Ganguly) film career spanned over six decades in which he acted in about 300 films and a [...]

India Public Domain Movie Project in Cine Blitz July 2012

Cine Blitz on The India Public Domain Movie Project

The attention that The Indian Public Domain Project is getting in the mainstream media sometimes seems a little disproportionate to me given that I’ve posted only a couple of movies here. Here’s what the film magazine Cine Blitz has to say on the project in its July 2012 issue: Rare Gems What an idea, sirji! [...]

Syringe and sex: Nirlife Oneuse disposable syringes ads

Non-disposable syringes are the second biggest cause of HIV. Nirlife Oneuse disposable syringes.

How do you spice up a disposable syringe ad? This set of three ads by DDB Mudra for Nirma’s healthcare division Nirlife takes a shot in that direction. To inject the point that non-disposable syringes are the second biggest cause of HIV infections after unprotected sex, the ads bring one of the most popular characters [...]