Cold Cold Delhi

Delhi is getting colder with each passing day, and i seem to be the only one having problems....Its fun to be staying at home watching TV sipping RUM wid frnds....
This weekend will be great as 6 friends go out to explore RAJASTHAN....
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DELHI ROCKS

Weather in Delhi is just AWESOME for the last 3 days, and its been justa great weekend, looking through the balcony and sipping tea/coffee all the time...It was rather LAZY coz i ended up watching 4 episodes of FRIENDS and fininshing KING ARTHUR....

Love

SA

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FROG Story-Sweet and Inspiring (be DEAF and u will be HAPPY)

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AIG Bailed Out- Excerpt from Wall Street Journal

The U.S. government seized control of American International Group Inc. -- one of the world's biggest insurers -- in an $85 billion deal that signaled the intensity of its concerns about the danger a collapse could pose to the financial system.

The step marks a dramatic turnabout for the federal government, which had been strongly resisting overtures from AIG for an emergency loan or some intervention that would prevent the insurer from falling into bankruptcy. Just last weekend, the government essentially pulled the plug on Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., allowing the big investment bank to go under instead of giving it financial support. This time, the government decided AIG truly was too big to fail.
[Businessmen leave an American International Group office building, Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2008 in New York. Worries about AIG] Associated Press



Businessmen leave an American International Group office building Tuesday in New York.

The U.S. negotiators drove a hard bargain. Under terms hammered out Tuesday night, the Fed will lend up to $85 billion to AIG, and the U.S. government will effectively get a 79.9% equity stake in the insurer in the form of warrants called equity participation notes. The two-year loan will carry an interest rate of Libor plus 8.5 percentage points. (Libor, the London interbank offered rate, is a common short-term lending benchmark.)

The loan is secured by AIG's assets, including its profitable insurance businesses, giving the Fed some protection even if markets continue to sink. And if AIG rebounds, taxpayers could reap a big profit through the government's equity stake.

"This loan will facilitate a process under which AIG will sell certain of its businesses in an orderly manner, with the least possible disruption to the overall economy," the Fed said in a statement.

It puts the government in control of a private insurer -- a historic development, particularly considering that AIG isn't directly regulated by the federal government. The Fed took the highly unusual step using legal authority granted in the Federal Reserve Act, which allows it to lend to nonbanks under "unusual and exigent" circumstances, something it invoked when Bear Stearns Cos. was rescued in March.

As part of the deal, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson insisted that AIG's chief executive, Robert Willumstad, step aside. Mr. Paulson personally told Mr. Willumstad the news in a phone call on Tuesday, according to a person familiar with the call.

Mr. Willumstad will be succeeded by Edward Liddy, the former head of insurer Allstate Corp.

AIG's bailout caps a tumultuous 10 days that have remade the American financial system. In that time, the government has engineered rescues that insert it deep into the housing and insurance industries, while Wall Street has watched two of its last four big independent brokerage firms exit the scene.

The U.S. on Sept. 6 took over mortgage-lending giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as they teetered near collapse. This Sunday, the U.S. refused to bail out Wall Street pillar Lehman Brothers, which filed for bankruptcy-court protection and is now being sold off in pieces. That same day, another struggling Wall Street titan, Merrill Lynch & Co., agreed to sell itself to Bank of America Corp.

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The AIG deal followed a day of high drama in Washington. The Treasury's Mr. Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke convened in the early evening an unexpected meeting of top congressional leaders. Late in the trading day Tuesday, anticipation that the government might assist the insurer helped propel the Dow Jones Industrial Average to a 1.3% gain.

In bailing out AIG, the Federal Reserve appeared to be motivated in part by worries that Wall Street's financial crisis could begin to spill over into seemingly safe investments held by small investors, such as money-market funds that invest in AIG debt.

Indeed, on Tuesday the $62 billion Primary Fund from the Reserve, a New York money-market firm, said it "broke the buck" -- that is, its net asset value fell below the $1-a-share level that funds like this must maintain. Breaking the buck is an extremely rare occurrence. The fund was pinched by investments in bonds issued by now collapsing Lehman Brothers.

Money-market funds are supposed to be among the safest investments available. No fund in the $3.6 trillion money-market industry has lost money since 1994, when Orange County, Calif., went bankrupt. A number of money-market funds own securities issued by AIG. The firm is also a big insurer of some money-market instruments.
Credit Downgrade

AIG's financial crisis intensified Monday night when its credit rating was downgraded, forcing it to post $14.5 billion in collateral. The insurer has far more than that in assets that it could sell, but it could not get the cash quickly enough to satisfy the collateral demands. That explains the interest in obtaining a bridge loan to carry it through. AIG's board approved the rescue Tuesday night.

AIG's board said in a statement that the deal would "protect all AIG policyholders, address rating agency concerns and give AIG the time necessary to conduct asset sales on an orderly basis."

The final decision to help AIG came Tuesday as the federal government concluded it would be "catastrophic" to allow the insurer to fail, according to a person familiar with the matter. Over the weekend, federal officials had tried to get the private sector to pony up some funds. But when that effort failed, Fed Chairman Bernanke, New York Fed President Timothy Geithner and Treasury Secretary Paulson concluded that federal assistance was needed to avert an AIG bankruptcy, which they feared could have disastrous repercussions.

Staff from the Federal Reserve and Treasury worked on the plan through Monday night. President George W. Bush was briefed on the rescue Tuesday afternoon during a meeting of the President's Working Group on Financial Markets.

That the government would prop up AIG financially offers a stark indication of the breadth of the insurer's role in the global economy. If it were to have trouble meeting its obligations, the potential domino effect could reach around the world.

For one thing, banks and mutual funds are major holders of AIG's debt and could take a hit if the insurer were to default. In addition, AIG was a major seller of "credit-default swaps," essentially insurance against default on assets tied to corporate debt and mortgage securities. Weakness at AIG could force financial institutions in the U.S., Europe and Asia that bought these swaps to take write-downs or losses.
Crisis on Wall Street

* Greenberg's Letter to AIG CEO Willumstad
* Wash Wire: Bush Not to Comment on Paulson Meeting
* Crisis Blog: Questions and Answers on AIG
* AIG, Lehman Shock Hits World Markets
* Old-School Banks Emerge on Top
* Complete Coverage: Wall Street in Crisis

AIG's millions of insurance policyholders appear to be considerably less at risk. That's because of how the company is structured and regulated. Its insurance policies are issued by separate subsidiaries of AIG, highly regulated units that have assets available to pay claims. In the U.S., those assets can't be shifted out of the subsidiaries without regulatory approval, and insurance is also regulated strictly abroad.

Tuesday afternoon, after the market closed, AIG put out a statement saying its basic insurance and retirement services businesses are "fully capable of meeting their obligations to policyholders." AIG said it was trying to "increase short-term liquidity in the parent company," but said that didn't "include any effort to reduce the capital of any of its subsidiaries or to tap into Asian operations for liquidity." Asia is one of AIG's largest markets.
Financial Pain

Where the company is feeling financial pain is at the corporate level, even while its insurance operations are healthy.

The urgency of federal aid came into stark relief Tuesday as other options fell off the table and pressures continued to build. On Tuesday, AIG's attempt to raise as much as $75 billion from private-sector banks failed. The banks advising the firm concluded it would be all but impossible to organize a loan of that size, making the government AIG's chief hope.

As a result of its credit downgrades, the insurer has to post $14.5 billion in collateral to bolster its credit rating. In the debt markets, AIG also has to post additional collateral to investment banks and others it trades with.

Adding to AIG's woes, investors continued to pummel the company's stock on Tuesday, pushing the share price down 21%, to $3.75. It was the third double-digit percentage decline in the past three trading days. AIG's shares are now down 94% for the year.

AIG's cash squeeze is driven in large part by losses in a unit separate from its traditional insurance businesses. That financial-products unit, which has been a part of AIG for years, sold the credit-default swap contracts designed to protect investors against default in an array of assets, including subprime mortgages.

But as the housing market has crumbled, the value of those contracts has dropped sharply, driving $18 billion in losses over the past three quarters and forcing AIG to put up billions of dollars in collateral. AIG raised $20 billion earlier this year. But the ongoing demands are straining the holding company's resources.

That strain contributed to the ratings downgrades on Monday. Those downgrades, in turn, ratcheted up the pressure on the company to come up with more cash, quickly.

Most insurance companies don't have financial-products units like these. But over nearly four decades, former CEO, Maurice R. "Hank" Greenberg built AIG into a firm that resembled no other. He transformed its insurance business, both by expanding abroad -- notably in China, where AIG has its roots -- and by buying up other firms.
[AIG chart]

Mr. Greenberg pushed into areas that have little to do with bread-and-butter businesses like selling life insurance or protecting companies against property losses. In 1990, for instance, he bought International Lease Finance Corp., which leases planes to airlines.

In 2005, Mr. Greenberg stepped down amid an accounting scandal. But Mr. Greenberg, who is fighting civil charges related to the scandal and has denied wrongdoing, didn't fade from the scene. He still heads a firm that is AIG's largest shareholder, and on Tuesday, he sent a letter to current CEO, Mr. Willumstad, saying he was "ready to offer any assistance that I can."
'I'll Do It'

Now, however, Mr. Willumstad himself will be leaving, after having been asked to step aside by the Treasury's Mr. Paulson. Mr. Willumstad, who recently took over as AIG's chief executive to try to turn around the firm, was surprised by the request. "If that's what you want, I'll do it," he said to Mr. Paulson, according to a person familiar with the call. AIG's board was unhappy with the decision but felt it had no choice but to go along, as the only other option was bankruptcy.

The fate of a corporate chief executive is normally the province of a board of directors. The decision by the Treasure Secretary to essentially oust Mr. Willumstad underscores further the magnitude of the government's intervention.

Mr. Willumstad's departure marks the end of a brief, tumultuous run. He joined AIG as a director in early 2006, after leaving the No. 2 post at Citigroup Inc., and became AIG's chairman later that year. In June, as AIG was reeling from record losses, the board forced out Mr. Willumstad's predecessor and gave him the top job. He had planned to unveil his own strategy for AIG on Sept. 25.

By tapping Mr. Liddy as AIG's next CEO, the government is turning to someone with deep experience in the insurance industry, having served as chief executive of Allstate from 1999 to 2006. He stepped down as chairman earlier this year. Allstate is a different type of insurer than AIG, focusing on selling car and home insurance to Americans, whereas AIG sells an array of insurance policies to individuals and businesses world-wide.

Mr. Liddy also has experience pulling apart empires, having helped dismantle Sears, Roebuck & Co. (from which Allstate was spun off) in the 1990s. Before joining Sears, Mr. Liddy worked under Donald Rumsfeld at drug maker G.D. Searle & Co. Mr. Liddy is on the board at Goldman Sachs Group, the investment bank that Mr. Paulson led before becoming Treasury Secretary.

As confidence in AIG declined recently, the amount of money it felt compelled to raise to calm its constituents continued to rise. Over the weekend, the figure was $40 billion. That climbed to $75 billion on Monday and, according to a person close to the company, rose further on Tuesday.

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Movie Review- A Wednesday

Though i am late, but i think i have been lucky on not having missed an opportunity to review and watch such a GREAT movie....It is only in decades you see something so flawless and amazing and without any doubt its going to me the most acclaimed and debatable movie of the year....The movie proves very strongly that in Bollyowood, u dont need a Srk or Amitabh to make it a commercial success....The movie also reiterates the greatness of Naseeruddin Shah and Anupam Kher's performances and its just a treat to all the viewers....Despite covering a topic on which 1 in every 5 film is based on these days (BLASTS) the movie has enough suspense and thrill to keep u on the edge throughout

The movie starts with Anupam Kher, Commissioner of Police sitting at Nariman Point (Mumbai)telling the story about the secretly guarded case which was closest to his heart, but coz it was highly confidential that no one ever came to know abt it. The case deals with Naseeruddin Shah who plants Bombs in Mumbai and calls the commissioner to give him the news and his demands...He demands freedom of 4 terrorist, 2 of whom had been captured by Anupam Kher....The movie is just awesome, with Naseeruddin sitting cooly on a terrace of a under construction buliding monitoring the progress of the Police on a TV and communicating via his Laptop and "n" number of sim cards.....Naseeruddin Shah's planning is impecable and the ease with he plants 5 bombs in the city speaks about the THREAT that we in our daily lives face coz of such hate filled and brain washed terrorists.....All attempts to find out the identity and location of Naseer fails and the police is forced to humbl accept all his demands and conditions....

Its hard to judge who amongst the veterans has acted better coz both of them just blow ur mind off....Jimmy Shergill in a short role as a Police Inspector is awesome, and Deepal Shaw with her irritating voice as a Media representative working for a News Channel is tolerable.....

Movie deserves 8/10, and its a 2 hour treat at the end of which u will too have your own opinion or conclusion.....

Luv

SA


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Movie Review-The Last Lear

Its an ok kind of a movie, nothing great. There are some scenes in the movie which are really good, but thats very common on AB to give his Midas touch to some simple scenes in any movie and prove that he is the best. Watch it in a CD, dont waste hard earned money in the theatre.
BASED on Utpal Dutt's classic play, Aajker Shahenshah, The Last Lear is a sad example

of how adaptation can sometimes scuttle a good script and transform a landmark theatrical experience into flawed cinema. The film only works for Amitabh Bachchan aficionados who can savour the desi bard bellowing out the best of Shakespeare in his characteristic baritone. The actor still manages to create magic moments on the screen as he portrays the arrogance and the naked need of a has-been actor who believes he is always good, simply because he can never be bad. Yet, he clings desperately to his last chance to display histrionics and is even ready to grovel before the filmmaker for his famous last shot. The film traces the resurrection of Harry (Amitabh), a retired actor who lives in a dimly-lit house with memories of a glorious past, until he is pulled out of anonymity by Sid (Arjun Rampal), the avant garde filmmaker who wants to make a realistic film. After some drunken camaraderie, Harry consents to play the clown in the movie and forges a friendship with both the director and the lead actress, Preity Zinta. But, when the curtains go up, and the accolades begin to pour in after the premier, Harry is back behind the tightly shut blinds of his house and the show simply goes on: ruthlessly, selfishly, unkindly. It's a poignant story that loses most of its bite because of the rambling screenplay and the unnecessary subplot about emotionally battered women and feminist wailing. Preity Zinta, Shefali Shah and Divya Dutta form a chest-beating sisterhood that consumes most of the screen time with their pointless tales of emotional abuse. Also, the story is told by a narrator who gives a whiny voice-over that rids the film of all its subtlety. Add to this, the unconvincing climax, and you have a film that becomes watchable, here and there: when Arjun Rampal and Amitabh Bachchan indulge in creative banter.


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LANCE is back....Read its not about the BIKE to know more abt him

Lance Armstrong is ready to swear off the chips and salsa, climb back on the bike and win an eighth Tour de France. Three years after retiring, the 36-year-old says he'll return to competition and the Tour de France in 2009, giving up relaxed days of a few beers and Tex-Mex food for a self-described monk's life of disciplined training and punishing races.

In a formal statement Armstrong called his comeback an attempt to raise global awareness in his fight against cancer. Just as likely, it's also about his relentless desire to compete and win, especially at the Tour, the race he dominated with a record seven titles from 1999-2005.

Citing the slow pace of last year's Tour and the rush from last month's Leadville 100 race, Armstrong decided it was time to return.

"This kind of obscure bike race, totally kick-started my engine," he told Vanity Fair in an exclusive interview, referring to the lung-searing 100-mile mountain bike race through the Colorado Rockies. "I'm going to try and win an eighth Tour de France."

Armstrong's riveting victories over cancer and opponents on the bike, his work for cancer awareness and his gossip-page romances have made him a modern-day American icon.

Professional cycling and particularly the Tour have missed Armstrong's star power, even though skeptics refused to believe he could win without the help of illegal performance-enhancing drugs.

This time, Armstrong's determined to silence the doubters and try to prove he really is clean.

He's even hired a video crew to chronicle his training for 2009, as well as his drug tests, for a possible documentary. (Will grab the documentary as soon as it is released)

"There's this perception in cycling that this generation is now the cleanest generation we've had in decades, if not forever," said Armstrong, who's never tested positive. "And the generation that I raced with was the dirty generation. ... So there is a nice element here where I can come with really a completely comprehensive program and there will be no way to cheat."

And if he has his way, no way to lose.

"We're not going to try to win second place," Bill Stapleton, Armstrong's lawyer and longtime confidant, told The Associated Press.

Diagnosed in 1996 with testicular cancer that had spread to his lungs and brain, doctors gave Armstrong less than a 50 percent chance of survival. Surgery and brutal cycles of chemotherapy saved his life.

From there, it was determination and powerful self-discipline that led him back to the bike and his stunning 1999 Tour win.

Armstrong's goal every year was to win the Tour, and he dominated the Pyrenees and Alps like no other rider ever had. This time, he wants to win for his millions of supporters and more important, the 8 million who will die of cancer just this year.

"I am happy to announce that after talking with my children, my family and my closest friends, I have decided to return to professional cycling in order to raise awareness of the global cancer burden," Armstrong said in a statement released to The Associated Press. "This year alone, nearly eight million people will die of cancer worldwide. ... It's now time to address cancer on a global level."

In a video on his foundation's Web site, Armstrong said details of the comeback — such as a team and schedule — will be announced Sept. 24 at the Clinton Global Initiative in New York City.

The 2009 Tour "is the intention," Armstrong's spokesman Mark Higgins told The Associated Press, "but we've got some homework to do over there."

"I think it's great," said longtime teammate George Hincapie, who added he spoke to Armstrong on Tuesday morning. "He's done more than anyone for the sport especially in America and around the world."

But what will he have to do to make a successful comeback?

For starters, he plans to train in Aspen, Colo., in rigorous conditions similar to what he would face in Europe.

Armstrong will be 37 next week. Only one rider older than 34 has ever won the Tour — 36-year-old Firmin Lambot in 1922. And Armstrong wasn't impressed by the crop of younger riders in the 2008 Tour.

"It's not a secret. I mean, the pace was slow," he told Vanity Fair.

Armstrong noted other athletes in his age range competing at a high level, specifically 41-year-old Olympic medalist swimmer Dara Torres and 38-year-old Olympic women's marathon champion Constantina Tomescu-Dita, of Romania.

"Ask serious sports physiologists and they'll tell you age is a wives' tale," he said.

Torres certainly agrees.

"To hear that he's making a comeback, that just shows what kind of athlete he is and that he doesn't think age is anything but a number," she said from her Florida home.

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Armstrong also must line up a team. His U.S. Postal Service and Discovery teams were loaded with top lieutenants, such as Hincapie, when he won his previous titles.

On Monday, the cycling journal VeloNews reported on its Web site that Armstrong would compete with the Astana team in the Tour and four other road races — the Amgen Tour of California, Paris-Nice, the Tour de Georgia and the Dauphine-Libere.

Armstrong's close friend and longtime team director, Johan Bruyneel, now with team Astana, sent a text message to the AP declining comment.

But there are no guarantees Astana will race the 2009 Tour. Race officials kept the team out this year because of previous doping violations. Tour director Christian Prudhomme did not return messages seeking comment on Armstrong's decision.

If Armstrong and his team aren't invited in 2009, he plans to appeal directly to French President Nicolas Sarkozy.

"I've already put a call in to him," he said.

Off the bike, the Lance Armstrong Foundation has raised hundreds of millions of dollars for cancer awareness and survivorship programs. Its yellow "Livestrong" wristbands that started selling in 2004 are still seen everywhere — with many copycats.

After he retired Armstrong took on cancer as a political issue, lobbying federal and state lawmakers and co-hosting televised forums with presidential candidates. He can rally millions of his "Livestrong Army" through his Web site to support cancer causes.

He was instrumental in persuading the 2007 Texas Legislature to pass a $3 billion fund for cancer research.

"This is a damn war for me. It's nothing other than that," Armstrong told The Associated Press in 2007.

His social life has done just as much to keep him in the spotlight.

After his divorce from wife Kristin, the mother of his three children, Armstrong has had high-profile relationships with rocker Sheryl Crow, fashion designer Tory Burch and most recently, actress Kate Hudson.>

Luv

SA
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TAHAAN - MUST WATCH

Indeed a very beautiful movie set on the background of paradise on earth.....the story is so simple and innocent.....maybe the last five minutes could have been shown differently, but then any ending would have conveyed the message......
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Moviw Review- TAHAAN (2008)

We recommend this movie, Ratings - 7/10

TAHAAN, the story of a boy with a grenade, is a beautiful 2 hr movie, which will definitely take you back to childhood....Its a must watch for all the kids and MOMMIES and DADDIES, coz there it is a story with a very good moral messages.....The story is very very simple and mixes the two extremes, horrifing TERRORISM with innocent CHILDHOOD.....

Tahaan, is a 8 year old kid whose best buddy Birbal is a DONKEY....

He spends all his time talking and playing with him, and a life without BIRBAL is just something impossible for Tahaan to even dream of...Born in a very poor home, with his DAD missing for over 3 years and his Grand father (Victor Banerjee, in a guest appearance) dying early, the family faces extreme financial crisis, and is forced to sell all the belongings including Birbal....The kid is devastated to find out that the donkey has been sold to the local merchant (Rahul Khanna) as payment of interest to their huge loans....The merchant in turn sells the donkey to Anupam Kher (Saif Baba) who is a local trader, makingc ommercial goods available at far off places in Kashmir.....Tahaan, follows Saif Baba everywhere and even works for him to convince him to return the donkey....Rahul Bose (playing the role of a moron, as a helper to Saif Baba) is just awesome, and has played his small part beautifully.....Tahaan realizes that Saif Baba would not return Birbal to him, falls in the hands of young terrorist (Itriz Bhai) who uses Tahaan to transport Bombs across the the valley to blow a army contanment....Tahaan, an innocent 8 year old does all this to get his Donkey back....
The story does not have much to offer other than the freshness and beauty of childhood, and the climax of the movie wid a kid carrying a BOMB in his pocket everywhere and hiding it in his house is just awesome....Itriz bhai even teaches the style of using a bomb and TAHAAN is given a last task by him before BIRBAL would be returned to him.....The end keeps you on the edge, and hatred towards TERRORISTS and TERRORISM is only aggravated by such motives....

Performances, well Purav Bhandre as TAHAAN is as convincing as the kid from Taree Zameen Par, and Anupam Kher and Rahul Bose with their small role provide the right kind of tone to the movie....Rahul Khanna and Victor Banerjee appear on the screen for just 5 minutes each and look good playing their part well...The USP of the movie is the kid and the amazing LOCALES.....Kashmir should be used more regularly in Bollywood, and i think a lot of cost can be cut by not resorting to the foreign locales....

All in all, a story beautifully told, with small roles for each character without the acrlights being taken away from TAHAAN in any of the scenes.....No songs and no item nos can however make the movie commerically non profitable but such a beautiful story deserves to be told and i expect it to be a hit in urban citites and towns atleast...

LUV

SA

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ATTITUDE IS EVERYTHING

Jerry was the kind of guy you love to hate. He was always in a good mood and always had something positive to say. When someone would ask him how he was doing, he would reply, "If I were any better, I would be twins!"
He was a unique manager because he had several waiters who had followed him around from restaurant to restaurant. The reason the waiters followed Jerry was because of his attitude....
He was a natural motivator. If an employee was having a bad day, Jerry was there telling the employee how to look on the positive side of the situation.
Seeing this style really made me curious, so one day I went up to Jerry and asked him, "I don't get it! You can't be a positive person all of the time. How do you do it?"
Jerry replied, "Each morning I wake up and say to myself, 'Jerry, you have two choices today. You can choose to be in a good mood or you can choose to be in a bad mood.' I choose to be in a good mood. Each time something bad happens, I can choose to be a victim or I can choose to learn from it. I choose to learn from it. Every time someone comes to me complaining, I can choose to accept their complaining or I can point out the positive side of life. I choose the positive side of life."
"Yeah, right, it's not that easy," I protested.
"Yes, it is," Jerry said. "Life is all about choices. When you cut way all the junk, every situation is a choice. You choose how you react to situations. You choose how people will affect your mood. You choose to be in a good mood or bad mood. The bottom line: It's your choice how you live life."
I reflected on what Jerry said. Soon thereafter, I left the restaurant industry to start my own business. We lost touch, but I often thought about him when I made a choice about life instead of reacting to it.
Several years later, I heard that Jerry did something you are never supposed to do in a restaurant business: he left the back door open one morning and was held up at gunpoint by three armed robbers. While trying to open the safe, his hand, shaking from nervousness, slipped off the combination. The robbers panicked and shot him. Luckily, Jerry was found relatively quickly and rushed to the local trauma center.
After 18 hours of surgery and weeks of intensive care, Jerry was released from the hospital with fragments of the bullets still in his body.
I saw Jerry about six months after the accident. When I asked him how he was, he replied, "If I were any better, I'd be twins. Wanna see my scars?"
I declined to see his wounds, but did ask him what had gone through his mind as the robbery took place. "The first thing that went through my mind was that I should have locked the back door," Jerry replied. "Then, as I lay on the floor, I remembered that I had two choices: I could choose to live, or I could choose to die. I chose to live."
"Weren't you scared? Did you lose consciousness?" I asked.
Jerry continued, "The paramedics were great. They kept telling me I was going to be fine. But when they wheeled me into the emergency room and I saw the expressions on the faces of the doctors and nurses, I got really scared. In their eyes, I read, 'He's a dead man.'
"I knew I needed to take action."
"What did you do?" I asked.
"Well, there was a big, burly nurse shouting questions at me," said Jerry. "She asked if I was allergic to anything. 'Yes,' I replied. The doctors and nurses stopped working as they waited for my reply. I took a deep breathe and yelled, 'Bullets!' Over their laughter, I told them. 'I am choosing to live. Operate on me as if I am alive, not dead."
Jerry lived thanks to the skill of his doctors, but also because of his amazing attitude. I learned from him that every day we have the choice to live fully. Attitude, after all, is everything

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Movie Review-ROCK ON (Revised)

Hey Guys,

I am sorry for disappointing you this time coz i cd nt give a fair review...May b my expectations from the movie were a bit high, anyway by the kind of responses i have gt from the review panel and also the readers, i think the one from PJ (Payal) deserves a mention as a post....Read comments on my previous entry to know more abt the movie....The revised blog has been posted by my sis PJ (Payal).....

Payal
Sorry bro... i disagree with the harsh review u have made...guess u were looking for another DCH /RDB or perhaps a srk flik..i think the movie was really good..for me the movie was about catchin up on ur dreams..about havin the nerve to come back to ppl u left long back n to pursue somethin which gives u happiness...the guys wantin to play rock music when they are twenty somethings is very normally seen.. but them yearnin to do the same even after ten yrs when most of them are settled in life is wat makes the movie worth watchin..i do agree with u on the movie being showcased on a glooomy screen (even i prefer some brightness)..but i guess the movie is tryin to catch on the spirit of the theme i.e. rock music.havent we seen most of the rock videos in that kind of cinematography...but anyways,i think its been very well told..some scenes were amazing..for eg :one where arjun tells his wife "haan hamesha pata bandh ke tumhare paas rahunga" is so real, the rockstars playin at dandia was hilarious though fully in sync with the movie..Prachi played the perfect wife..farhan has also done his "upset with life" job quite well (did u notice he switches off FM in his car the moment he hears music),also joe's wife debi was quite pragmatic..the amazing music made the movie all the more watchable..the song i loved the most is " asman ye neela gyun hai,pani gila gila kyun hia,socho zara" i will give the movie a 7.5/10

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Movie Review-ROCK ON

Hey Guys,

ROCK ON, they hype, does not even meet a fraction of the expectation that I had personally set for it. On a scale it would deserve a rating of 3 out of 10, and with due credit to FARHAN's singing skills the music of the movie is just AWESOME....On my way to the office, i read a few articles about it which spoke very highly of the movie and TOI giving it a ****, but MEDIA is too small a medium for a BIG PICTURE RELEASE to influence, and that's why this BLOG is so special, you get unadulterated movie reviews here....

Well the movie was expected to display PASSION, FRIENDSHIP, BONDING and MISUNDERSTANDING and though the director Abhishek Kapoor, has tried, he has failed to justify any of these emotions.....
Starting first with the thing that appeals the most to me, FRIENDSHIP, the director has dealt with it only in PHOTOS, where the BAND (MAGIK) is shown having a great time together and thats it for FRIENDSHIP guys....PASSION has been dealt in pieces, and the lack of good story telling, fails to keep the audience on the edge. The movie dealing with a life of a band MAGIK shows how a band is all about bonding and any ego in any of the band members can screw things up bad....The same happens to magik and the bond falls apart. Each one of them , Adi (FARHAN), JOE (ARJUN), DK (Purab) and Rob, move on in their personal lives after a small clash between them over a music video, and do not see each other for 10 years. Adi makes it big as an investment banker while the others struggle in life....Prachi Desai as Sakshi, and Aditya wifes gets them together to drop their ego and reunite to participate in channel V launchpad.....Movie is extremely slow paced with too much use of darkness and dim lights which makes the mood gray from the very inception....Without some good exciting youth life missing from the movie, the pace just kills the audiences, and if it was nt for the amazing songs that keep coming up, it cd have spelt a disaster for everyone part of the movie....Married lives of Arjun Rampal and Farhan Akhtar has been shown beautifully and i must appreciate the way such relationships have been portrayed, but the movie just lacks sparks to keep the audience enticed....

All and all, its an opportunity wasted, and FARHAN's acting skills are not good enough for him to waste his time from Direction...We want a lot of good movies from you dude, and u shd drop this idea of being a ACTOR....Shankar Ehsaan Loy continue their endless music dominance and Farhan's songs are exceptionally justified by him....Reliance Big Pictures fails to create an impact and the only one who wil benefit from the movie is PRACHI DESAI, who looked like the perfect wife and has played her part well....

Luv

SA

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ROCK ON TONITE

Guys, We (Deepak, myself and Dillip) are going for ROCKON at 10.45 tonite and i promise you the review tomorrow. I have not checked any of the reviews of the movie so far, in fact since the inception of this blog, i have not seen any review on internet at all....The songs, FARHAN, and the tag line LIVE YOUR DREAM are 3 things i am going to watch the movie for, and i pray it marks the birth of next RAJ KAPOOR (FARHAN AKHTAR)
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AWESOME MASTI

Hey Guys,

It had been over 1.5 month since i had some quality fun time with friends, coz i was home on all the weekends and dint get opportunity to catch up wid my buddies back here...As planned Deepak and Dillip were scheduled to come over yesterday , but Dillip ditched and Deepak made it....I awalys had a though at the back of my mind that next time we party at home, it would be GRAND, and so as soon as i reached home, i took Deepak to the market to buy BEER MUGS and VODKA Glasses, its no fun drinking in normal glasses (its entirely my thought btw).....We went and bought some good things, like the way they serve in pubs, and i ended up buying Puma slippers, Handkerchiefs, Socks, etc etc too....We then hit the booze shop and i thght why nt but 7 bottles instead of buying two so that we dont have to make it to the market again the next day (Deepak and Dillip are wid me till Sat)....

MY NEW BEER MUGS

We went home and started the good time, talking about the most SENTIMENTAL moments of our lives we ended up talking for almost 2 hours and beyond my capacity we had finished 5 bottles instead of our initial plan of 2....My servant Vinod had 2 too....

MY PERSONAL HIGHEST

Then we hit the Roads past midnight to have a walk b4 dinner and then did all the crazy things a drunk does, taking off our tshirts and shouting and running, chasing DOGS etc etc...Good luck kept us away from the POLICE.....We came back and ate and went of to sleep....

FAREWELL ABHI

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My new look....Don

Hi friends....just getting to bored of the usual stuff...office, work, party and studies, i vetured out for something different. I got a new look, that is french cut, which uptill now have been a matter of some contrasting responses. I really want u people to give a genuine and unbiased opinion abiut this new look of mine.

All of u have no clue of how important it will be for me in the coming days...as i would be taking another major step in my life. Will surely tell everybody when it is the right time...for now just as a friend give ur opinion about it...

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Movie Review-Bachna Ae Haseeno

Comes to the relief of Yash Raj banner a tolerable Movie- Bachna Ae Hasseno, after the disaster created by Thoda Pyar thoda magic..

Sidharth Anand(Director) has been successful in enticing the audience atleast in the first half of movie and messes up the second...Read on to know how and why..

Movie revolves around a guy – Raj (Ranbir Kapoor) whose character had nothing new, Name of Character played by Sharukh Khan in half a dozen movies and Fame of Salman Khan, a playboy, but Ranbir has been successful in doing justice with the character.
He looks fresh and sensible too. Raj keep hunting for girls which he calls “Shikar” since he was 18 years old. His first Love strikes in form of a sweet Punjabi girl - Mahi( Minisha Lambha), who is over romantic and over filmy, Minisha have performed brilliantly in the first half she looks fresh, bright, joyfull, and everything which director would have dreamt of about Mahi’s Character. Raj’s Second Love come in form of Radhika (Bipasha Basu), Sidharth Anand has some how confused the audience about the character of Radhika, from being in Live in relationship for 1.5 years for her career to suddenly deciding of leaving everything(including her career) for Raj. Bipasha is looking hot in the movie and have portrayed her part well. Raj’s Third and final love is Gaytri (Deepeka Padhuke). Gaytri is a taxi driver in Sydney- independent,ambitious and non believer in marriage. Deepika have atleast got some dialogues in this movie to prove she can speak, (remember her single dialogue in Om Shanti Om) ,She have delivered them well too. All the actors have done their part above average with Minisha being exceptionally well. Second half of the movie is very haphazard and somehow you get a feeling that may be director was running short of time or Producer short of Money or both, Movie ends too fast, with Mahi forgiving Raj very easily and Raj getting Gaytri very smoothly. Second half of the movie kills all expectations that arose from the first half. Music of the movie has been good and fresh with Ranbir’s dance adding charm to it. Screenplay has

been very average with no new locations other than an exciting ride amidst snow(the one in the picture). I rate this movie 3/5

. The movie is watchable once.

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I am over FRIENDS, crazy abt HIMYM now....

Hey guys,

After FRIENDS i was nt sure if i cd enjoy a soap so much, and that killed all my interest in TV....As a matter of fact i spend less than 15 mins only in a day on TV....And then Abhishek, got me to watch an episode of "How i met your mother" 15 days back, and its been crazy since....If i am home i am watching one of its episode....14 days and i am over wid 2 seasons....Unlike FRIENDS it has 3 seasons by far, and i am reaching its end pretty steadily.....Its so awesome that i am sending a copy of season 1 to all my special people in Calcutta.....I think i am in love wid ROBIN, gf of the protagnist in the serial....She makes the viewing al the more special...

ROBIN, she looks like KATRINA, but is an amazing gal, i wish of a gf wid such an attitude

In contrast to FRIENDS where i liked half the people and hated Rachell and Ross, here i love all of them and specially ROBIN, Barney and Lily...Ted is a gal material and Marshall is awesome in parts....Dont knw if i shd go slow, bt its so irresistible that unless i am done watching 3-4 episodes a day, i dnt get the sleep....I even carry its episodes on my ipod and watch it in the office when i am relatively idle...I think i wil watch one of its episodes now, since i am reminded of whr i left it yesterday....

Love

SA
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Abhishek my roomie is moving out

Hey Guys,

I dont know how i mite sound, but i am very uncomfortable wid the thought of my roomie shifting over to Mumbai in the comin week....Its been an awesome quarter in Delhi and he has been arnd like a Dude....We were good in fact very good in that apartment nd never ever thr occured a situation that we were fighting and stuff...Now that he his going to Mum, i am kind of sad....He freaks out with the thought of Mum thgh, and i just wish that he does some gr8 work thr coz that was what he missed bad here....

Anyway, Harpreet is moving in wid me and i wont b alone for long....H works at Yes Bank too and we njoined the bank together....Lets c if i can bond the same way wid him too...

Love

SA
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Deepak's Bday celebration @ my place

Deepak was coming back from Rupaidhia and i had come to Delhi the same from Jaipur after enjoying a extended vacation coz of the Rakhi...His bday was on 12th and since he was home during that time, me and dilip though we wd better celebrate the day he comes back....
I had a relatively long day, since i had not slept at all the previous nite and had a busy day at the office and thats why cd not comply with Deepak's condition of coming to pick him at 10 pm at night at the delhi railway station....Anyway in the mean time we managed to buy a cake some candles, cold drinks etc etc, and lit up the place in candle lights (which i just love)...He came, he cut and we all had a nice time...Dillip who was not feelin well too ended up feeling better after he gulped a few vodka shots....Watch out how amazing that ABSOLUTE bottle looks in those candle reflection....:)
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Good things happen to Good people :)

Hey guys, after my desperate search operation wherein i called each and everyone residing in my building, i finally managed to get back what i had lost.....I have taken a pic of the FAMILY pic and have uploaded it on this blog....The maid working in my neighbours house got it for me from the sweeper who had picked it up from my door....Cd not thank her in appropriate words....Bottom line is Good things happen to Good people :)
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Movie Review- Goodwill Hunting (1997)

lifewaitsfornone recommends this movie to all our dear readers.

Yesterday night I watched Good Will Hunting starring Matt Damon, Robbin Williams, Ben Affleck. Movie starts with MIT - maths classes where the prof.( forgot his name though) asks the students to solve some very difficult problem which nobody could. Damon works as a sweeper in the university and solves the problem after the class without disclosing to anybody. He gets caught in his act by the prof. when he does it 2nd time. Other than working as a sweeper,Damon likes to hang out with his friends partying in bars,( Ben Affleck and 2 other guys- who all are most ordinary guys) goes out, fights in the streets, gets into the jail, leads life in the most casual manner.
The prof. of MIT kept an eye on Damon. Once when Damon was taken to court for his activities, he was bailed by the prof. with the condition that Damon would visit the prof. once a week and has to sit for councelling.
This is were the story starts and sorry folks ,am not going to disclose what happens next.
At some stage I wondered what the heck does this movie wants to tell. I didnt understand each and every stage of the movie as well ( am being honest) and if you ask I dont have the answer to tell you why I liked the movie but I felt its good, very good actually.
Technically speaking, the dialogues are very interesting. Damon and Robbin Williams plays their character wonderfully well. The camera work is excellent in my opinion. Also, there is one wonderful kissing scene ( sorry, but felt it was wonderful).
What I felt that this movie is worth watching ( I finished it at 2 o'clock) and if anybody has already seen it he/she would definitely agree with me.
If the review is too confusing for you ( which I think it is), I would be ready to answer your queries.
Thanks
Deep

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Lost my GIFT, feeling miserable

I think i am getting worse when it comes to forgetting things....Yesterday when i returned home after a rather tiring overnight journey, i was carrying two bags and one amazing Photo Frame that i bought from Jaipur. On reaching home, i had to leave the frame on the ground so as to open the lock, but like a dumb ass i barged in and went off to sleep leaving the frame there....I went to the office and came back home in the evening to go in for a desperate serach inside the house....Later i realized that i had left the frame outside, and someone had taken it away....

The frame could hold 6 photos, and each photo would make the alphabets FAMILY....We had spent more than a couple of hours selecting and pasting pics in the frame, and after a tiff with Manisha Bhabi i even managed to pick up two amazing pics from her album, one which had me, Sam and Manish Bhaiya with Mom dad when we were probable 2-3 year old, and another had me and Sam when we were studying in Mussoorie....I may never get those photos back, and i am feeling miserable abt myself....

Anyway, wil be more careful next time....I can just pray that the person who has taken the frame will come back some day and leave those pics at my door, FILMY, yeah thats the way i think....

Love

SA
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Movie review - God Tussi Great Ho

hey guys!!
GTGH ,the Indian version of Bruce Almighty stars Sallu miya with bro Sohail as rival and Priyanka Chops as lady love.......the movie's about Sallu having a tiff with God ( Indian Cinema's God Big B playin the almighty)...
i give it a 3/10..the concept is new for hindi cinelovers with an ordinary man gettin God's powers for 10 days...salman plays a loser in life who keeps blamin god for all wrongs in life until finally the almighty bestows his powers to salman who feels he could run the world in a better manner...the new God fools around with his new found power until he messes up big time with the entire world gettin their wishes fulfilled (even the rogues gettin out of jails and sohail stealin his sweetheart Pri )...
Music lets u down... Priyanka is playin the plastic beauty doin nothin more than dancin on the bad numbers... the movie didnt even have a fair share of publicity with half the public unaware of its release..
One might find the movie worth watchin once if he has not seen Bruce Almighty (but i suggest watch the original one, its just too good) ..The movie is not even half as good as its hollywood counterpart,with Salman loosing out points on not being even close to matching Jim Carrey's expressions and too many ghatiya songs dropped in recklessly all over...
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Money Plant- Prized Posession

Thats my personal Money plant which was given to me at the time of joining the Bank...Basically the plant is meant to be a gift to the MD and Finance Directors representing growth and prosperity....
To me its the most special thing around in the office, this pic was taken a month ago and by now the plant sports double the leaves....Every time i drink water, its as if the plant knocks me to pour a few drops into it too....
Love, SA
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Hot water bubble bath and dinner at Le Meridian, New Delhi....

Hey folks, Tuesday was awesome and i happen to experience LUXURY to the power of infinity at Le Meridian, New Delhi....My did and jiju were in Delhi for a conference, and were put up at LM...I was aware of their plans and had promised them that i wd visit them when they wd b here....Straight from the office i headed to LM....I had always seen the building from the outside, but inside was altogether a different experience....I thoght that the lobby and reception were nt as grand as Taj (Kolkata / Mumbai-Gateway of India one) but however it was extravaganza and the intereriors in green were just awesome...I headed to the room, and had a decent chit chat with Di, she is the coolest one and we tend to have a very amazing chemistry bw us...It was 8 by then and they had to go for their metting wchich wd last an hr so i decided to take a bath, wish i was carrying my swimming trunks (their was a grp of 5 firang chicks in the pool) and i jst cd not take my eyes off from them when i gazed at them from the room window..may b next time they will gaze me when i m in the pool....Biknis are the worlds biggest invention i think :)

I filled the bathtub with honey soked body shower and as they show in films, my tub was full of nothing but foam....Took bath for over an hr, followd by a short nap and then a GALA DINNER....here are some pictures i am sharing wid u guys...Cheers......

Try guessing what this portion of the hotel can be, and write down your ans in comments.
Room no. 809
Thats me, i personally like this pic coz of the reflection of water and me in the mirror...
Didi and Jija ji...Love u

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Confusion

Hii All, very recently I have discovered that there is another name of Life i.e. CONFUSION. We are always so confused and restless about every dammn thing in the world. When we set a goal in our life, we give our everything to achive it and thats nice too, but when we achieve the same we start thinking of setting up another goal,what a crap, why cant we be satisfied with what we just got, I know some of you might see this as a normal life procedure and all...but what the hell man..why do we have to be so restless all the time...I mean is this some mania we are suffering from...I have become restless due to the peace i am getting in my life(can you believe it)..This is after a long time that I have no pressures in my life neither of studies nor of work but this very situation is making me feel bad...Now I am confused whether I am wasting time..cummon man I always dreamt of these days and now all these crappy thoughts...
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Movie Review-Singh is King

Yeah i am back, and i am quite disappointed, coz it seems i am the only one writing movie reviews here....Anyway as u guys know me, i give a damn, and u wil surely continue to receive at least my reviews....Singh is King (SIK), is Akshay Kumar at his best from the very start and it continues to establish AK's dominance in Bollyowood...As a movie it has too many loose ends to deserve a good category but AK's performance and a few good songs force me to give it

4/10....

SIK is a movie which is good in parts....It starts with a bang, full of humour and has AK as a crude villager creating a panic and chaos wherever he goes. Then the unwanted thing happens and the story starts to get very predictable when Happy Singh (AK) is sent to Australia by his villagers (who want him to run away from the PIND, coz of his constant trouble making attitude)....He is sent to Australia to bring back LUCKY SINGH (Sonu Sood) who is a sardar and is the King (Don) of Australia. AK takes Om Puri along, and i think Om Puri's character could have had more colors like the way he was utilized in Hera Pheri.....On his arrival the King (Sonu Sood) is shot in the arm, and suffers from a disease in which he cant speak but can listen and understand everything arnd him....He points his finger towards AK when asked who shd be the next king, agitating his own brother MIKA (Javed Jaffery). AK as King helps the bad guys to become good again and reminds them of GURU's lessons and spends all the hard earned money of the KING on charity....The second half of the movie when he ropes in the role of the KING, becomes very very boring specially after his contact with Kiran Kher (Rose)....Rose and King in the emotional scenes just suck....King in return of Rose's humble act of offering him food in Australia, decides to help her in getting her daughter Sonia (Katrina) married to a a very rich guy (Ranbir Shorie) by making her the Queen of all the business and posing her as a very very rich woman. Katrina ignorant of her mothers achievements over the last three years of her college also believes that her mother had made it big in her fathers business.... .The entire set up is very very colourless and uninteresting.....
In the end Katrina realizes that she loves AK, and as a typical setup experienced in Priyadarshan's movies, there is a lot of chaos in the end and Katrina instead of taking rounds with Ranbir Shorie ends up marrying AK, who holding her hand takes 7 pheres unintentionally as he tries to protect her al this while from al the bad guys around her....MIKA is the good guy turned bad to usurp powers from KING and his brother, but he is also given a boring lecture from AK to become good again in the end.....Could nt get any bad....

All in all the movie is tolerable and yet not good as was expected by all....Performance wise, Javed Jaffery had impressed again and his dance sequence establishes the fact that the chap can still boogie woogie better than the others in the business.....
In case you leave your brains behind or are dunnk you may end up having a good time and may laugh your lungs out. However the movie minus the three good songs and minus a couple of good scenes is not worth a watch....AK's hardcore fan may still love it, and Katrina and AK just rip the screen apart together....

As usual, your comments would add a great deal of value...

Love

SA
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Weekend- Home again

Guys, me going home again and it will be a complete family thing coz it is rare that we all meet (i mean al the brothers together). We have a PUJA (2 Hrs, Rudraabhikshek function) on saturday and its al free time after that. We (Me and Sam) are catchin a train at 8 pm today, and wil be in Jaipur by 1 am.
I have a lot of things to do there, fst would by my second mock cat, after having performed miserably earlier i am sure i wil do better this time. Task is not to compete with others but to increase the no of attempts and more importantly increaseing the hit ratio. It will be followed with a movie and then family dinner at SHARMA DHABA, i love that place....

LOVE
SA
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Movie Review-Ugly aur Pagli

I was probably not in the right frame of mind when i thought of going for UAP or i was too impressed with Pyar ke side Effects that i thought to take a chance. Afterall Ranbir nd Mallika deserve a watch (which I had wrongly thought).
As is my style before writing abt the movie, i wil cut the long story short, and wd give the movie 1/10 (1 coz of two good songs in the movie) and wd recommend that only UGLY's and PAGLI's go watch the movie.

The movie (the final product) is a proper blend of what is the outcome of utter confusion. Sachin Kamlakar Khot, the director tried to mix Humour Romance and Seriousness in a very unsuccesful way and the product is that neither portion of the movie is tolerable. If it wasnt for the expensive tickets at PVR i would have left the movie in half.
The movie starts with Ranbir Shourie (Kabir) drinking a night club and wishing like al the men to have a girl in life. He meets Mallika at a Mumbai local station where she in a drunk state is about to fall in front of the approaching train. Kabir saves Kuhu (Mallika) and takes her to hotel coz she is too drunk to even be on her feet. His second and third meeting too is same and shows how uncreative the director and the scriptwriter could be.
With this starts the most boring and uninteresting love story where Mallika slaps Ranbri almost every minute. The scenes where she orders him to walk in her sandals, get her rose (by stealing) on a cycle which does nt have a seat, etc etc have been TRIED to be shown as romantic and cute but are utter disaster and unbearable.
Both fall in love and do not admit it to each other, and to Kabir's surprise, Kuhu walks out suddenly from his life to never return. The director even tries the Pyar Ke Side Effects style of breakup which was original and intense, here he fails to create any spark at all. Kabir waits for Kuhu who disappears to Kolkata for 2 years to forget both her previous boyfriend and Kabir who reminded her of him al the time. Kabir like a devdas waits for her and posts his love messages in a coffee parlour and also on the terrace where they usually went. Kuhu comes back to Mumbai, and is introduced to Gaurav Puri (special apperance) by her parents. bla bla bla, and she realizes that she loves kabir and returns to him....The special appearance of Zeenat Aman playing the role of matchmaker in the final scenes of the movie is irritating too, and it seemed as if she has forgotten how to act / face the camera. I am so sorry for being so ruthless and unforgiving guys.

The portion of the movie wheere Mallika writes script which Ranbir imagines happening around him are reallt disgusting.

Talking about the good things, i personally liked only two
1) the song "Yaad tu aaye" and
2) The acting of Mallika's mom where she is trying to speak in a typical erotic bengali woman, she finally brought out some smiles out of me (may nt b enjoyed by al, specially by people from outside bengal)
All in all do i need to conclude , i dont think so i have already written enough about the CRAP above.
And yes the movie as its tagline has only 99 slaps and 1 kiss (which no would actually wait for coz the kiss comes in the end with the cast and titles) and nothing else

Love
SA
PS: Your comments would help me improve in my attempt to become a professional movie reviewer.
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Interesting Fact- Observed in life too

The following article appeared in one of the CAT papers, and i based on my own and my friends experience have observed and vouch for the observations made by the writer:

While I was in class at Columbia, struggling with the esoterica du jour, my father was on a bricklayer’s scaffold not far up the street, working on a campus building. Once we met up on the subway going home — he was with his tools, I with my books. My father wasn’t interested in Thucydides, and I wasn’t up on arches. My dad has built lots of places in New York City he can’t get into: colleges, condos, office towers. He made his living on the outside. Once the walls were up, a place took on a different feel for him, as though he wasn’t welcome anymore. Related by blood, we’re separated by class, my father and I. Being the white-collar child of a blue-collar parent means being the hinge on the door between two ways of life. With one foot in the working-class, the other in the middle class, people like me are Straddlers, at home in neither world, living a limbo life.

What drove me to leave what I knew? Born blue-collar, I still never felt completely at home among the tough guys and anti-intellectual crowd of my neighbourhood in deepest Brooklyn. I never did completely fit in among the preppies and suburban royalty of Columbia, either. It’s like that for Straddlers. It was not so smooth jumping from Italian old-world style to US professional in a single generation. Others who were the first in their families to go to college, will tell you the same thing: the academy can render you unrecognisable to the very people who launched you into the world. The ideas and values absorbed in college challenge the mom-and-pop orthodoxy that passed for truth for 18 years. Limbo folk may eschew polyester blends for sea-isle cotton, prefer Brie to Kraft slices. They marry outside the neighbourhood and raise their kids differently. They might not be in church on Sunday.

When they pick careers (not jobs), it’s often a kind of work their parents never heard of or can’t understand. But for the white-collar kids of blue-collar parents, the office is not necessarily a sanctuary. In Corporate America, where the rules are based on notions foreign to working-class people, a Straddler can get lost. Social class counts at the office, even though nobody likes to admit it. Ultimately, corporate norms are based on middle-class values, business types say. From an early age, middle-class people learn how to get along, using diplomacy, nuance, and politics to grab what they need. It is as though they are following a set of rules laid out in a manual that blue-collar families never have the chance to read.

People born into the middle class to parents with college degrees have lived lives filled with what French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu calls ‘cultural capital’. Growing up in an educated environment, they learn about Picasso and Mozart, stock portfolios and crème brulee. In a home with cultural capital, there are networks: someone always has an aunt or golfing buddy with the inside track for an internship or some entry-level job. Dinner-table talk could involve what happened that day to mom and dad at the law firm, the doctor’s office, or the executive suite. Middle-class kids can grow up with a sense of entitlement that will carry them through their lives. This ‘belongingness’ is not just related to having material means, it also has to do with learning and possessing confidence in your place in the world. Such early access and direct exposure to culture in the home is the more organic, ‘legitimate’ means of appropriating cultural capital, Bourdieu tells us. Those of us possessing ‘ill-gotten Culture’ can learn it, but never as well. Something is always a little off about us, like an engine with imprecise timing. There’s a greater match between middle-class lives and the institutions in which the middle class works and operates—universities or corporations. Children of the middle and upper classes have been speaking the language of the bosses and supervisors forever.

Blue-collar kids are taught by their parents and communities to work hard to achieve, and that merit is rewarded. But no blue-collar parent knows whether such things are true in the middle-class world. Many professionals born to the working-class report feeling out of place and outmanoeuvred in the office. Soon enough, Straddlers learn that straight talk won’t always cut. Resolving conflicts head-on and speaking your mind doesn’t always work, no matter how educated the Straddler is.

In the working-class, people perform jobs in which they are closely supervised and are required to follow orders and instructions. That, in turn, affects how they socialise their children. Children of the working-class are brought up in a home in which conformity, obedience and intolerance for back talk are the norm — the same characteristics that make a good factory worker.

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Weekend, spent quality time wid Parents

After more than a couple of months in Delhi, i decided to go to Jaipur last weekend. Despite it being a busy weekend for Mom and Bhabi, i decided to go ahead with the plan,
A)Because i was feeling a lil homesick
B) My Naniji is here from Indonesia, and she visits very occasionally so had to catch up with her
C) Wanted to spend some time with Bhabi too.

Missed my Bus to Jaipur - I was scheduled to leave office by 6 and catch the Delux Bus at 6.15, but to my surprise all buses 9 were booked and my booking bore a waiting of 20 which unlike Railways is impossible to achieve in Buses. I decided that i wd nt waste anytime waitin for the Bus and headed straight to the Highway to try my luck. I had actualy gone there to catch a Bus which had a single occupancy but standing there i took lift from in the fst 5 minutes from a Scorpio, which had 6 men going to my destination.

I was squeezed in the middle in the middle seat which i hate teh most, and 5 minutes down the road the guys took out whisky and beer bottles. At fst i had thought that these guys might b strangers to one another and the driver mite have picked them up from some place, but i later found out that they were al togerther and the only stranger among them was ME. I started to feel uncomfortable coz of more than 1 reason, but kept my mouth shut coz i was having a different kind of fun, the fun of unknown. The car was running at the highway at not less than 110-120 kmph, and the adrenalline of al those nearing old age guys was quite impecable. They talked less, drank more and were not so bad as i was thinking they cd have been. Later i learned that these guys were businessmen who visited Delhi for collections every week. I was offered some drink too which per the first rule of travelling in said no. They had a bet amongst them that if the driver cd take us to Jaipr in less than 3 and a half hrs, then one of them wd treat all of them nd vice versa so it was a good bargain for me since i get to be home early and fast. And as was decided and gamble on we made it to Jaipur at 11.15 pm, and i was home after 10 mins.

Mom's and Bhabi's Exhibition- It was a small hall which had less than 20 stalls, each one of them offering something unique or the other. Mom and Bhabi as naive businessmen had marked up everything that they were offering by at least 40-50%, so when i went i changed things a bit and there was an overwhelming response specially on the designer mat front. My mom was flattered by my marketing skills and it boosted her confidence too. Sat and Sun both went in the exhibition and we did spare some time for each other during the night by playing cards and talking abt anything and everuything in family news.

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Have a great Trip bro

Bro,

Finally you are doing wat you have wished to do for so long. The best and the worst thing too, is that Bhabis are at their respective "Phiars". Good since you get two be with the brothers (both of them together) for 24hrs, and worst coz you dont get pampered, and are not treated like Kings....

Make sure you visit Ktm and also someplace near that, its heaven, and make sure, you visit the holy and religious places too, coz believe u me, its out of the world experience.
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Mission Istanbul

Hopeless movie, if u think Rajeev Masand gives good reviews....
No good action sequence, no songs and not a single actor knows how to act
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Going International

Finally, things have been decided. I m going to Nepal for a week this thursday, going to Kathmandu (Casinos) after that...and then in delhi for a day, and then finally home ......Looking forward for the trip when I start my most awaited trip.....Will surely put in the pics as I get them
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Speech by Chetan Bhagat-Dont be serious, be sincere

Keep the Spark Alive
Inaugural Speech for the new batch at the Symbiosis BBA program,
By Chetan Bhagat

Good Morning everyone and thank you for giving me this chance to speak to you. This day is about you. You, who have come to this college, leaving the comfort of your homes (or in some cases discomfort), to become something in your life. I am sure you are excited. There are few days in human life when one is truly elated. The first day in college is one of them. When you were getting ready today, you felt a tingling in your stomach. What would the auditorium be like, what would the teachers be like, who are my new classmates - there is so much to be curious about. I call this excitement, the spark within you that makes you feel truly alive today. Today I am going to talk about keeping the spark shining. Or to put it another way, how to be happy most, if not all the time.
Where do these sparks start? I think we are born with them. My 3-year old twin boys have a million sparks. A little Spiderman toy can make them jump on the bed. They get thrills from creaky swings in the park. A story from daddy gets them excited. They do a daily countdown for birthday party – several months in advance – just for the day they will cut their own birthday cake.
I see students like you, and I still see some sparks. But when I see older people, the spark is difficult to find. That means as we age, the spark fades. People whose spark has faded too much are dull, dejected, aimless and bitter. Remember Kareena in the first half of Jab We Met vs the second half? That is what happens when the spark is lost. So how to save the spark?
Imagine the spark to be a lamp's flame. The first aspect is nurturing - to give your spark the fuel, continuously. The second is to guard against storms.
To nurture, always have goals. It is human nature to strive, improve and achieve full potential. In fact, that is success. It is what is possible for you. It isn't any external measure - a certain cost to company pay package, a particular car or house.
Most of us are from middle class families. To us, having material landmarks is success and rightly so. When you have grown up where money constraints force everyday choices, financial freedom is a big achievement. But it isn't the purpose of life. If that was the case, Mr. Ambani would not show up for work. Shah Rukh Khan would stay at home and not dance anymore. Steve Jobs won't be working hard to make a better iPhone, as he sold Pixar for billions of dollars already. Why do they do it? What makes them come to work everyday? They do it because it makes them happy. They do it because it makes them feel alive. Just getting better from current levels feels good. If you study hard, you can improve your rank. If you make an effort to interact with people, you will do better in interviews. If you practice, your cricket will get better. You may also know that you cannot become Tendulkar, yet. But you can get to the next level. Striving for that next level is important.
Nature designed with a random set of genes and circumstances in which we were born. To be happy, we have to accept it and make the most of nature's design. Are you? Goals will help you do that.
I must add, don't just have career or academic goals. Set goals to give you a balanced, successful life. I use the word balanced before successful. Balanced means ensuring your health, relationships, mental peace are all in good order.
There is no point of getting a promotion on the day of your breakup. There is no fun in driving a car if your back hurts. Shopping is not enjoyable if your mind is full of tensions.
You must have read some quotes - Life is a tough race, it is a marathon or whatever. No, from what I have seen so far, life is one of those races in nursery school, where you have to run with a marble in a spoon kept in your mouth. If the marble falls, there is no point coming first. Same with life, where health and relationships are the marble. Your striving is only worth it if there is harmony in your life. Else, you may achieve the success, but this spark, this feeling of being excited and alive, will start to die.

One last thing about nurturing the spark - don't take life seriously. One of my yoga teachers used to make students laugh during classes. One student asked him if these jokes would take away something from the yoga practice. The teacher said - don't be serious, be sincere. This quote has defined my work ever since. Whether its my writing, my job, my relationships or any of my goals. I get thousands of opinions on my writing everyday. There is heaps of praise, there is intense criticism. If I take it all seriously, how will I write? Or rather, how will I live? Life is not to be taken seriously, as we are really temporary here. We are like a pre-paid card with limited validity. If we are lucky, we may last another 50 years. And 50 years is just 2,500 weekends. Do we really need to get so worked up? It's ok, bunk a few classes, goof up a few interviews, fall in love. We are people, not programmed devices.
I've told you three things - reasonable goals, balance and not taking it too seriously that will nurture the spark. However, there are four storms in life that will threaten to completely put out the flame. These must be guarded against. These are disappointment, frustration, unfairness and loneliness of purpose.
Disappointment will come when your effort does not give you the expected return. If things don't go as planned or if you face failure. Failure is extremely difficult to handle, but those that do come out stronger. What did this failure teach me? is the question you will need to ask. You will feel miserable. You will want to quit, like I wanted to when nine publishers rejected my first book. Some IITians kill themselves over low grades – how silly is that? But that is how much failure can hurt you. But it's life. If challenges could always be overcome, they would cease to be a challenge. And remember - if you are failing at something, that means you are at your limit or potential. And that's where you want to be.
Disappointment's cousin is frustration, the second storm. Have you ever been frustrated? It happens when things are stuck. This is especially relevant in India. From traffic jams to getting that job you deserve, sometimes things take so long that you don't know if you chose the right goal. After books, I set the goal of writing for Bollywood, as I thought they needed writers. I am called extremely lucky, but it took me five years to get close to a release. Frustration saps excitement, and turns your initial energy into something negative, making you a bitter person. How did I deal with it? A realistic assessment of the time involved – movies take a long time to make even though they are watched quickly, seeking a certain enjoyment in the process rather than the end result – at least I was learning how to write scripts, having a side plan – I had my third book to write and even something as simple as pleasurable distractions in your life - friends, food, travel can help you overcome it. Remember, nothing is to be taken seriously. Frustration is a sign somewhere, you took it too seriously.
Unfairness - this is hardest to deal with, but unfortunately that is how our country works. People with connections, rich dads, beautiful faces, pedigree find it easier to make it – not just in Bollywood, but everywhere. And sometimes it is just plain luck. There are so few opportunities in India, so many stars need to be aligned for you to make it happen. Merit and hard work is not always linked to achievement in the short term, but the long term correlation is high, and ultimately things do work out. But realize, there will be some people luckier than you. In fact, to have an opportunity to go to college and understand this speech in English means you are pretty damm lucky by Indian standards. Let's be grateful for what we have and get the strength to accept what we don't. I have so much love from my readers that other writers cannot even imagine it. However, I don't get literary praise. It's ok. I don't look like Aishwarya Rai, but I have two boys who I think are more beautiful than her. It's ok. Don't let unfairness kill your spark.
Finally, the last point that can kill your spark is isolation. As you grow older you will realize you are unique. When you are little, all kids want Ice cream and Spiderman. As you grow older to college, you still are a lot like your friends. But ten years later and you realize you are unique. What you want, what you believe in, what makes you feel, may be different from even the people closest to you. This can create conflict as your goals may not match with others. . And you may drop some of them. Basketball captains in college invariably stop playing basketball by the time they have their second child. They give up something that meant so much to them. They do it for their family. But in doing that, the spark dies. Never, ever make that compromise. Love yourself first, and then others.
There you go. I've told you the four thunderstorms - disappointment, frustration, unfairness and isolation. You cannot avoid them, as like the monsoon they will come into your life at regular intervals. You just need to keep the raincoat handy to not let the spark die.
I welcome you again to the most wonderful years of your life. If someone gave me the choice to go back in time, I will surely choose college. But I also hope that ten years later as well, your eyes will shine the same way as they do today. That you will Keep the Spark alive, not only through college, but through the next 2,500 weekends. And I hope not just you, but my whole country will keep that spark alive, as we really need it now more than any moment in history. And there is something cool about saying - I come from the land of a billion sparks.
Thank You!
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