I’ll admit it — I’ve never been a big Lata Didi fan. Maybe it’s because I’m musically challenged, not just vertically challenged. That said my most favorite female singer is Shreya Ghoshal; an academic maestro of music, who calls Lata as Goddess herself. I will concur with the wisdom of SG. Cut To: Indian Idol Season 16 aired on Feb 8th, I happened to tune on Sunday out of boredom to watch the incredible budding singers, only to see that there was another Tribute to Lata Didi. A little underwhelmed but still curious to listen to the young singers belch out Lata Di songs. A welcome change was seeing someone other than Aditya Narayan hosting the show. This time it was a new face — Manoj Muntashir (yes, I had to Google him). With the poetic ease he spoke, I soon felt a lump in my throat. Song after song, he unpacked Lata’s gestures, her grace, and the small acts of generosity that defined her — like charging one rupee less than Mukesh. The singers themselves faded into the background as I waited to hear what he would reveal next about her legacy. His lyrical narration of Lata’s kindness and camaraderie was mesmerizing and genuinely tear‑jerking. However, I must confess why I remain a conflicted admirer. I am a fan of Veer-Zaara, a film that feels so raw it must be carved from a real story—perhaps inspired by the tragic, border-crossing love of Boota Singh. When the music plays and I visualize Shah Rukh Khan reaching out from that helicopter for Preity Zinta, I am right there with him, arm outstretched in a desperate search for connection. But then, she opens her mouth to sing, and I hear the voice of a 75-year-old Lata Mangeshkar. In that moment, the illusion shatters; my reaching hand recoils into a clinched fist, unable to reconcile the youthful face of Zaara with the aged, albeit legendary, timbre of the voice.
An absolutely stunning cinematic achievement. Based on poignant real-world events—and a sincere thank you to Rajuul for the recommendation—I would describe this film as India’s answer to The Trial of the Chicago 7. Please don’t shoot the messenger, there are many more wonderful court room dramas made in Indian Cinema. It is a staggering realization that it took nearly 40 years for this story to finally grace the screen.
As a long-time admirer of period pieces, I found the preservation of the era and the intricate Islamic architecture to be visually mesmerizing. While the film is slow-paced, it is never stagnant; the screenplay is masterfully crafted, ensuring the tension remains taut. The soundtrack is equally evocative, particularly the haunting melody of Haq hai Mera, which lingers in the mind long after the credits roll. Yami Gautam’s portrayal of Shabaz Bano is nothing short of transcendent. She brings a conviction to the screen that anchors the film’s core message: Iqra. This mandatory lesson—to read, to recite, and to seek knowledge—reminds us that while every faith teaches goodness, the narrative is often distorted by the intermediaries of religion. The film is a clarion call to return to the source—the Quran, the Bhagavad Gita, or the Bible—and interpret the truth for ourselves.
If I have one “pet peeve” in an otherwise flawless production, it is the portrayal of aging. Given the protagonist’s 43-year marriage, a touch of gray hair would have lent a layer of necessary realism. Western cinema often treats the dignity of age with a specific visual gravity that was slightly missed here.
Firstly I want to thank Abhi for recommending this movie to me. Then I saw the Akshaye Khannas viral moves, I was hooked. A fantastic block buster movie it is, if I can shake off that subtle (or not so subtle) political propaganda.
So here comes the Good, the Bad the Ugly.
The Good: Boasting cinematography that is truly top-tier, this production emerges as a sophisticated spy thriller, soaring far above the pompous, high-octane spectacle of predecessors like Pathaan, Jawan, and Tiger. The ensemble cast delivers a masterclass in performance; every actor inhabits their role with a stunning, meticulous precision that anchors the narrative’s gravity. Predominantly set within the borders of Pakistan, the film maintains a refreshing restraint, steering clear of heavy-handed propaganda but for a few fleeting, sharp dialogues. Not since the legendary Sholay has a film possessed such a magnetic, arresting grip on my attention. The characterizations are superlative—from Arjun Rampal’s commanding portrayal of an ISI Chief to Rakesh Bedi’s nuanced turn as a Pakistani politician. Had this cinematic triumph been titled Don of Pakistan, it would undoubtedly explain why it has garnered such fervent admiration from Baluchistan and Pakistani audiences alike. At the heart of this brilliance is Akshaye Khanna, the film’s true protagonist, who carries the entire narrative on his shoulders with a powerhouse performance. While his viral dance sequence is undeniably captivating, it is his overall screen presence—commanding, dominant, and electric; that truly defines this masterpiece. I don’t think this is a propaganda movie, but I get why people feel that way. The last few films, especially Vivek Agnihotri’s, have set such a bad precedent. A perfect writing/direction by Aditya Dhar.
The Bad: Animal is the film that really kicked off this recent trend of excessive goriness, and each new release seems determined to push it even further. Unsurprisingly, it has driven away some viewers — including my better half. While it’s natural for audiences to be drawn to stylized violence on screen rather than in real life, the troubling part is how this on‑screen brutality seems to be spilling into the real world. That said, the decision by some Arab nations to ban the movie feels completely misguided.
The Ugly: R. Madhavan: — ‘Let’s save these documents; in the future there will be a better Prime Minister’ — felt completely unnecessary. This is especially disappointing coming from someone with his background. He comes from my own fraternity of engineering, something I’m genuinely proud of. He was an NCC cadet who trained with the British Army in England, once dreamed of joining the Indian Army, excelled in public speaking, and even represented India at the Young Business Conference in Japan. After all of this, he chose to pursue acting — and with such a stellar education and sharp acumen, he accepted the role of Ajit Doval, a highly respected former Intelligence and RAW chief. Yet he delivered that dialogue with such carelessness. It’s possible he didn’t fully grasp the implications of the line while filming — though if anyone should have, it’s someone with his training and analytical mind. But after watching the final cut, he could have at least clarified publicly that the dialogue was not a precise reflection of the character and risked being interpreted as propaganda. Celebrities today don’t voice their opinions — whether it’s Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan, or Aamir Khan — often facing backlash for doing so. Hrithik Roshan initially praised the film while acknowledging its propagandist elements, only to backtrack later. Madhavan, with his stature and credibility, could have taken a clearer stand.
Here’s my conclusion: if I only had the budget for one movie ticket, I’d skip a big family blockbuster like Avatar: Fire and Ash and choose Dhurandhar instead. I actually ditched my family and took a leap of faith on this one — and I wasn’t disappointed. That said, I’m already bracing myself for May 2026 Dhurandhar 2: Revenge, because I’m convinced the sequel will be full‑blown propaganda, and I won’t be watching it in theaters.”
When India came to bat it started off slow but later Rohit Sharma went for his classic shots, unfortunately fell short and was dismissed at 20. After that is was of Shubam Gill. In the end it took semi-retired and semi-UK resident Virat Kohli to close the match with an impressive score of 100 not out with style. The man of the match.
I felt compelled to write about Usha Vance, the second lady of USA. She exuberates grace backed by her knowledge as opposed to first lady. The saying ‘There is a woman behind every successful man‘, she is a testimony.
Her smile and grace has captivated the entire inauguration while the First Lady hid her face behind that Don’t Kiss Me hat. Usha is a daughter of immigrants – the one who Donald Trump wants to deny the birthright citizenship; Usha is Yale graduate lawyer, mother of three: you need to stand against bullies, just a beautiful smile doesn’t cut it.
On a lighter note what caught my attention the whole time with Usha’s attire, which the western world has compared it to Audrey Hepburn, for us Indians it was the look of old age movie era of Dil Chahta Hai song Wo Ladki Hai Kahan.
I am no financial pundit that I can comment on falling Rupee against Dollar, it has fallen in the PM Manmohan Singh era and has fallen in PM Narendra Modi’s era, so it is not a political issue.
I asked Chat GPT and Grok, Why Rupee is falling against Dollar
Chat GPT
Grok
1. Global Economic Factors 2. India’s Trade Deficit 3. Capital Outflows 4. Inflation and Interest Rate Differential 5. Weak Economic Data 6. Central Bank Policies 7. Geopolitical and Market Sentiment 8. Speculation and Hedging
1. Strong U.S. Dollar 2. Foreign Investment Outflows 3. High Crude Oil Prices 4. Inflation and Interest Rate Differentials 5. Geopolitical Tensions and Global Economic Uncertainty 6. Current Account Deficit 7. RBI Interventions 8. Market Sentiment and Speculation
Rupee falling is consistent, but what has fallen during Modi’s era is First Amendment
Here are the comments made by celebrities before 2014
Falling rupee matters least to these celebrities as they all stay and are invested in Western Countries. What is sad is that they have lost their voice – Freedom of Speech.
The man who opened up the economy in 1991, I stand indebted to him. The degrees he acquired during his lifetime stand as a record with the highest educated politician in the World. My head would drop in shame when the Late night TV hosts in America used to call Indian PMs as Robots (PM Atal Bihari Vaypayee) and their monotonous speech (MMS) – then karma hit; America got Biden and India got Modi. The opposition politicians cried calling him Maun (Mute) PM, he was very fragile in his speech, but it was President Barack Obama the greatest orator who applauded the economic knowledge of MMS in Davos meet. Compare that to the current leadership where one day they held hands like sweethearts and frolicked in India and America but now a delegation is sent to get invited for ones inauguration, sigh!
Did any of you notice that most of India’s celebrities from Cricket and Movies have not acknowledged the passing of this great man? Whats up with that? How disturbing is that these celebrities that our Indian youth spend 100 Crores a weekend lead by such example. How polarized a nation have we become.
Now to his humbleness: MMS was extremely humble and simple (Congress leadership is accused of taking advantage of this) akin to PM Lal Bahadur Shastri, I heard that MMS stepped out of UN building to eat his breakfast buying street bagels (my favorite breakfast in NYC) instead of spending government money on expensive breakfast; needs citation. Another story is, Mrs MMS (Gursharan Kaur) has a sister who is settled in Hubli (my town) who visited to see her ailing sister but never used the VVIP security and stayed at IB Bungalow and paid out her pocket. More importantly MMS never spread hate, lived with decency, humility and compassion. I consider MMS as the last decent politician.
It seems to me that we are systematically eradicating the names of our first Prime Minister of India and the Father of the Nation. Nehru created the IITs and RECs. Although I am not part of that institution, my college from Karnataka University was the second top institution in Karnataka. The likes of my college and COEP(One of the greatest non IIT institutions) emulated the IIT curriculum, those institutions then were heavily govt aided and generated millions of engineers. Today, a new political party comes to power and dislikes the party the first PM is linked to and tries to eradicate the legacy built by these pioneers. Nehru had flaws in his governance (who does not have and I am least qualified to talk about it) but he was the chosen man then as opposed to Sardar Vallabhai Patel, although it is Patel who nominated Nehru to the top post for his ailing health. The flaws of Nehru is best narrated by one of the greatest legends JRD Tata and concludes with a statement he loved Nehru. I will continue to felicitate them as long as I live. We grew up calling him Chacha Nehru, our parents never objected to it, but now we do not want to pass to our children. My children are growing up in America, who need not know these personalities unless they want to dig upon the roots of their parents. Democrats have governed USA for several terms not once have they said anything against George Washington and Abraham Lincoln which my children continue to felicitate and will hopefully pass it on to their children. Happy Birthday Chacha Nehru!
Alright this is another movie/serial of Kajol comeback, well the show is stolen by Kirti Sanon, good acting by her as she has been doing well including with that of Sifra(2024) and Crew(2024). It appears to me that Kajol has something with being a lawyer, she wants to be one, after the failed attempt at The Trial(2023), here she is a police officer but takes upon herself to fight this domestic violence case; faminisim much!! It is not that cliche that a police officer argues in the court of law; she does have a law degree. This begs the question if she had a law degree then why did she not practice; I thought only engineers do any job they get, now lawyers too. I hope Kajol’s next quest is not to fight a real case or apply for CJI.
I am really supposed to focus on the story not on the personal life of Kajol; disclaimer, I am huge fan of Kajol since her debut in Baazigar(1993)(debut for me), Yeh Dillagi(1994) and DDLJ(1995). There is little acting by Kajol in the movie, instead of practicing MC and BC, she could have practised on treadmill. She badly wants to be Richard Gere of Primal Fear(1996), sorry but there is only one Primal Fear, how many a ways you try to twist the story. The case faught in the court is pathetic at best. Being an Indian movie it has been dragged to 190 mins by explaining; how the twins have conned Kajol.
In the end I just want to say that my quest for Indian Meryl Streep; the GOAT continues, have lost hopes on Madhuri Dixit, now Kajol, waiting on Raveena Tandon. The only credible one as of now is Tabu. There is another who claims that she is actually Meryl Streep of India, when you claim you know you are not.
Part 1; Yes there is Part 2, I take joy in inflicting pain upon my readers.
Airavat is a special state bus with certain amenities like A/C and better seats, as opposed the State transportation Red bus. I saw an uniformed driver and conductor guiding me to get into their bus. I said, “I want to ride an Airavat“, the conductor who was loading the passengers baggage paused and showed me the sign Airavat written on the bus. The name was partially blocked because side luggage door panel was open. I gently smiled and said, “I want to ride that Airavat“, it was one behind this bus more posh looking and a picture of Baby stroller; which meant when you travel in that bus you felt like a baby in the cradle, “That has A/C“. To which he replied, “This has A/C too, get in we will leave soon“. It was his inviting smile and sense of responsibility to fill the bus to capacity, he need not do that, since this was a state run bus and he was a govt employee. This bus looked lot beaten up compared to that Baby Airavat, but I decided to go with these guys. At the wheels was the Mahout; taming this beast of the bus. Concerned about the state laws of ladies reserved seats, I asked him if I could sit right behind his seat. To which he said, “Sit anywhere you want sir, the whole bus is empty“. It was, I was their first passenger to board. Then I asked him gingerly, “When will this bus leave?“, it appeared that people were walking past this bus and going to Baby Airavat. Usually they would not move until the bus is to the capacity, literally there was no schedule. “Just now a bus took off, we will be moving in five minutes“. For me it was the seat I had got, a full POV road view seated right above the driver seat, sitting on an elephant where Mahout was at the helms.
The view all my rideThis is the Baby Airavat, which I wanted to ride
I had started my journey at 6AM from RamaMurthy Nagar, my brother’s house who had dropped me to Bayappanhalli Metro, the plan per my brother was, I get off at Majestic and get the Airavat to Mysore. As soon as I got off at Majestic, I was awaited for a rude awakening, no buses departed from Majestic to Mysore, all of that service had moved to Satellite. My bother had no idea about this and I don’t blame him, he always travelled by his personal car and never used the public transport. Majestic is an area where all modes of transportation are housed next to each other, The Southwestern Railway Station, The circular maze inter and intra-city bus stand; Kempegowda Bus Station and now the newly constructed Namma Metro. I just had to walk around a little and finally had managed to get into city red bus to Satellite.
Barely it had been 5 or 10 mins, they had decided to keep moving, although the Mahout said, “How many seats do we have?“, to which the conductor responded, “We have some 19 passengers.“, “let’s look for few more, we need to cover the diesel price at least.“, another family got on and we were off the stand. The time was 8AM, I had spent 2 hours of my time to get to the Mysore bus with all that Metro-city bus switch and ride.
Majestic bus stand
I am not a big fan of breakfast on a regular day other than a cup of tea, but I do look forward to IWS (Idli Wada Sambar) on my Indian road trip, it is my BLT to an American. While conductor gave me the ticket, I had asked him when would they stop for breakfast, very soon came the answer.
I call this driver Mahout with huge respect, it is impossible to maneuver the bus through these streets packed with all kind of vehicles cutting ahead of the bus, needless to say even the pedestrians are crossing the streets, he was stopping the bus within inches of other vehicles. The duo was courteous to all the passengers who boarded in the middle of the road, including help them load the luggage in the compartment. It was a bright sunny day, could be hot outside but I felt pleasant inside the bus. Wonderful restaurants passed by where the private buses were parked, the time was nearing 9AM and the driver was in no rush to halt. I figured, they had a designated restaurant where they stopped. They did and it was next town the ChannaPatna bus stand; the city of toys. The time was 10AM and my stomach was growling, had my IWS with double chai. Complimented the Mahout for his driving skills, to which he had humbly said, “Well, we have to manage in this crazy traffic“. Sadly the roads from Bangalore to Mysore are completely under construction for the 6 lane highway. Currently the buses and other vehicles get by the old roads and some time getting on the partially built highway. What bothered me the most was the trucks with any disregard, overload blocked the road without giving way for the bus to pass thru. Technically that should be considered as illegal to block a commuter bus. In western states the bus has the highest priority second only to ambulance, the simple reason for this privilege is, a bus transports at least 50 people which other wise would have been 50 cars on the road.
From ChannaPatna the conductor took the wheels, otherwise called Mahout 2. The ride from here on was fairly smooth although these are still the service lanes to be, once the highway is complete, which would reduce our commute time drastically. Thoroughly enjoyed the ride, thanked the duo handsomely and asked for the bus to KR Nagar my final destination bus ride. To which they gave me the platform number, grabbed my belongings and got off. Alas! I had an electronic reader/writer reMarkable, which I had used to jot down my thoughts about this very blog and left it on the seat next to me, which was camouflaged in gray seat with a gray sleeve!
Part 2
Once you loose an electronic item in a public setting, it is next to impossible to recover it, I was extremely disappointed as I realized it when the KR bus was on the move. I brushed it off completely assuming this was the collateral damage for my fun filled trip, had no mood to spoil rest of the vacation with my family. Reached KR, spent time with my other brother and family then came back to Mysore to visit his new house, met my old friend Manoj settled in Mysore from New Jersey, never mentioned anybody about the reMarkable. I really wanted to put that behind. On the way back to Bangalore, I narrated about the Mysore bus chaos starting point and road conditions, to which my SIL (sister-in-law) suggested that I always ride the trains, the best mass transit system. She helped me book a sleeper in the afternoon to Bangalore and had a pleasant ride back.
Now that the trip was over and the thought of reMarkable re-lingered, felt helpless and the loss wasn’t the money, but the notes I had gathered on it over a period of time. There are few people like my brother in Hubli and my BIL(brother-in-law) in Bangalore, you tell them about your worries and they see that they find the solution to it. I felt too embarrassed to mention him about this loss, had I lost the Passport it would have been a different matter. I knew if I mentioned him he would drop everything and get behind this, so just slept thru the night. Next morning I had plans to meet my other New Jersey friends settled in Bangalore.
My ride next to Red bus
Next day ate my brunch; technically I was full and ready to take on the hot summer day without the worry of lunch. Instead of going towards Marathahalli; friends residence, I decided to take a solo trip to Satellite opposite direction, with a last ditch effort to contact the Airavat office and ask about the bus I had taken two days back with the license plates; I had captured it as my blog thought, my Airavat! Got of the auto a decently charged fare, not happens all the time with autos in Bangalore, every one was in distress about the gas prices that has shot up in past six months from Rs 50 to Rs 80 plus. There was another Airavt ready to leave and I enquired where was the office, got a suggestion that a I take next bend, I will see the office. I rushed to the bend and more Airavats were lined up and to my amazement I saw my Mahout standing and guiding a bus. I ran to him and said, “Sir, you recognize me?“, him little perplexed by my sudden interruption, then I pulled my mask down to show my full face. “Ah! you are the one that travelled to Mysore the other day“, “Yes, I had a left a reader on the seat“, jumping to my main concern “Yes you did, I sent the conductor, to find you at the KR Nagar platform, we could not spot you“, I had gone to platform 5 which housed KR buses somebody else suggested me that I take Hassan bus which went en-route to KR and reached faster, hence the conductor could not spot me. “My conductor has kept it safe with him, give me your number to contact, he is currently on the move but he will contact you as soon as he reaches Bangalore or wherever you will be“. “Sir, tonight I am travelling to Hubli.“ “No worries we will arrange to ship it to Hubli thru another driver, let’s keep in touch and note my number as Balu“, thus the Mahout I adored came to be known is Balu, “Here, this number of the conductor, save it as Ismail“, my Mahout 2 was Ismail.
Thrilled and thanking Balu, I took off for my main event of the day, met with my friends, enjoyed Sanjeev’s handmade Irish Kulfi. Later that night, I took the Channamma Express to Hubli. Next day contacted Ismail, about his schedule, to which he indicated that he was in Trivandrum and would be back to Bangalore on Saturday the earliest. Thursday I was flying out of Mumbai to New Jersey. Finally, I reached out to my BIL who was shocked to hear and readily agreed to do the needful. I exchanged the numbers of BIL and Ismail, they got in touch on Saturday and brought the reMarkable home.
hadagali 