Somethings gotta give

What if the office does not have a photocopy machine?

In standard international conditions the answer to this world class problem is here! Just follow these steps:

1. Scan the document you want to copy.

2. Take the printout.

What if the scanner is attached with the designer’s computer at office?

Simple:

1. Just go to his/her desk.

2. Tickle him/her in back.

3. Swing his/her chair till he/she gets irritated and asks, “What the **** is your problem?”

4. Get them the document you want to copy.

5. The designer will scan it, print it and deliver it on our desk in next 5 minutes.

SO…!

I am the designer and in my office they do not have a photocopy machine.

Get the picture!

I decided to shoo them away who just pop in between my important tasks and make me do a parallel job of a photocopier on my desk at random times.

Then, just to show my thoughts more I placed this slip on the scanner. So every time someone comes at me to scan something, I just ask them to put the paper or whatever inside the scanner themselves. They get the message and I feel delighted.

They feel embarrassed after I give them their copy and stare at their faces.

It is joke but I think this was an irritated answer. LOL!

What do you think guys?

Humors life of mine… to laugh or just gawp!

Don’t laugh okay!

My budget for the month of February has gone wrong a bit. It is just some derailing here and there. It is okay if you ask as for the first time in my whole life I tried to keep a budget and even reached till the end of the month with almost all the transactions and spending.

Next three to four months or the rest of the year or rest of the life from now on will need all kind of budgeting and planning and that kind of stuff. I am not good at it as I just do what I feel like spending and a good earning ends up in a bad spending. I never took it like I am spending MY money or should moderate the spending. I think the time is here now when I should take a break and look around the street and smell the flowers.

Next month I am going home that means a good dent not just in the current budget but also adds up to the unpaid leaves of a whole week for the next month’s salary. Well here comes a slice of truth, I am really looking forward to make a decent budget function of my wedding and till date have no idea of what exactly I want. So! I am going home for a week to settle down matters and then I can think of anything else i.e. plans for honeymoon.

Eeew! That sounds so creepy!

I mean, everyone out there who’ve been on their honeymoon(s) do understand what exactly I mean and who are still enjoying the incomplete life will soon understand that planning for honeymoon and making reservations at trains or flights and hotels looks so embarrassing. Nothing personal but tell me, doesn’t it feels odd?

I was browsing through some website and one collogue of mine just commented that the place was not good at all and I should go elsewhere. I asked him about what place he is talking about and he said the picture of the valley on my screen. It was an ad banner for god sake, and he thought I was Googling about the best honeymoon destinations in India. It kind of freaks me out when my boss starts with his bunch of suggestions and stories about how things turned purple on his honeymoon in middle of lunch hour at office.

And to add shine to my embarrassment and frustration, I am getting married in peak summer time in India and am left with no option but to head for North. It will be too crowded and too expensive because of the tourist season. It will be the Himalayas and not the lovely seashores that I just adore. To add salt in the ice-cream, Priyanka gets sick if she travels longer in a bus. Hill stations do not have that good rail road infrastructure.

It is hilarious. Don’t you think so?

And I just asked my team working so heard on their maiden project led by me that has anyone made a file called login.jsp?

Damn! we are too slow for the beginning so I grabbed a copy of this book called ‘One minute manager’ from office library. I’ll try to seek some reconciliation in it.

At home after office timings I do have a quite supper and just start reading some book. Right now I am at page no 495 of ‘Harry Potter and the order of the Phoenix’. Next bedtime read will be ‘the half blood prince’. I am sure that it is the right way of keeping my mind out of the butterflies and chirpy and quirky ideas and thoughts.

Everything has got humor.

Now you can laugh.

Words… they are beautiful!

The weekend with Priyanka, Aarti and Tony was good. We all had fun and exams and so many other things. I was just not in a frame of mind to do a blog on all the events as I was not feeling properly composed in my self. I am going to Sanawad this Friday to finish up all the shopping for the wedding and fix up all the arrangements for the function.

Entire last week I was in office barring Monday when I was with the guests and showing them around the city.

Last whole weekend I did some simple things as slept a lot, ate a lot, read a lot, some movies on DVD and some in theater. Take it from me that ‘The Bridge to Terabethia’ is a good one. (Or I was too dumb witted when I reached theater just after saying my good byes to the bus carrying Priyanka!)

Well things are cool! I am pretty much feeling lively but now days do not feel cool about playing badminton.

Hey all… Have you seen Oscars last night?

I don’t know how it got struck but I just felt a tear rolled out from my eyes after the speech given by Forest Whitaker, who won the best actor trophy for the movie ‘The Last King of Scotland’.

He said, “When I was a kid the only way I saw movies was from the back seat of my family’s car at the drive-in movie,” he said softly fighting his tears. “It wasn’t my reality to think I would be acting in movies, so receiving this honor tonight tells me it’s possible. It is possible for a kid from east Texas, raised in south-central LA and Carson, who believes in his dreams, commits himself to them with his heart, to touch them and to have them happen.”

Dreams…

They take you places.

Get it Dude?

So Get Life!

Weekend arrives… life begins!

Exactly I didn’t get any time to shave in last two weeks and people say the unshaven look in not bad with me. What do you say?

I am almost done with the plans and preparations for this weekend and looking forward to it so enthusiastically. Priyanka, my fiancé, is coming to Pune with her brother Ankit and my l’il sister Aarti to attend a university exam for MBA entrance. The trio is coming for the first time to this city and we all are so excited about this. Let’s hope that we all have fun and things just turn out as expected.

I got an email from IndiaFM.com regarding a blog entry that I made about the Filmfare nominations, stating that, they are going to publish my blog post on their website this Saturday. I am so happy about this and want to tell you that IndiaFM is sole complete and best Bollywood portal online and has very good reputation and connections in the industry.

Okay! Enough of the marketing things! LOL!

Office is going cool and work is increasing and reducing every minute. Projects are going just fine. I just finished working on the Flash movie for the Project Management Institute (PMI), Pune-Deccan chapter and got complements from the Director of the corporate relations and marketing. A treat is due and he’ll be calling soon.

No great shakes as now I am worried that what will happen if he calls us sometime this weekend. I cannot deny a meeting with this guy and my boss!

The weekend plans includes a movie, some good dinners and roam around the city. A cricket match is also in the scene but I don’t know if have enough courage to watch the match instead of paying attention to the visitors. LOL!

Have a fun filled weekend friends and who visiting my blog for the first time (via IndiaFM or otherwise), I’d like to know your comments and suggestions and to add more about yourself. So feel free to comment and leave your pugmarks.

Rock On!

It’s just a question of a question

Superstar, Baadshah of Bollywood, King Khan, the one and only Shahrukh Khan is singing his new song all over the TV and at the FM radio. ‘Kar le kar le koi ek sawal’ (GO ahead ask a question), And before you ask about the kind of question he is interested in, he answers, ‘Aisa sawal jo zindagi badal de’ (A question which can change your life.).

Now I am thinking that ‘It’s just a question of a question’. And as the mighty SRK suggests ‘Dunia badal de saari sahi sawal ka yahi kamaal hai’ (A right question can change your life completely).

SO…

Dear Mr. Khan,

I am game to ask you a question. It is not just a question but an answer to this has a potential to change my life and make all my dreams come true.

I am a 24 year old guy from a middle class family and I am working as a web designer in Pune. I make short films to give myself all the creative satisfaction but it urges me to grow wings and fly in the dream world. Last year I made a short film for Mr. Dev Benegal’s 24×7 Making Movies and another short film of mine is in the post production stage. All my friends say that the dream script that I am writing and updating and breathing and living and dreaming is just great and will prove my potential as a director and a Hit at the Box Office.

I am sure that your kids will love this film. Here my question to you is:

If we discuss about the script and you like it as much as my friends do, will you produce it for me?

Waiting for your answer.

Best Regards,

Dushyant Kanungo

+91 98901 08814

Now! Anyone out there interested in passing this question of a life time to SRK?

People you are really missing a good film!

What Kind of Friend Are You?

The most funny thing about Blogthings is, they really satisfy your ego. LOL. So here they are announcing me as a good friend and mind you… I really trust this opinion!
If any of you have any doubts please comment. And if agree then please comment too! LOL!

You Are A Good Friend

You’re always willing to listen Or lend a shoulder to cry on You’re there through thick and thin Many people consider you their “best friend”!

What Kind of Friend Are You?

I know you are here!

Happy Valantine’s Day!

From the (dream) working weekend!

Oh Boy! What a weekend I had! Actually if you start from Friday,

First, I was given an opportunity to manage a team of 6 trainees on their first project with my company. That means I am officially declared as a Team Lead and its a promotion to the position I was looking for after all these years of IT experience. I have started the communication with my team and we worked on Saturday! (The first weekend as a TL) LOL! Hurray!

Second, all my friends charged up for the shooting of my next short film ‘Pakdo-Pakdo, Chor-Chor’ (Catch-Catch, Thief-Thief) on Saturday night. Oh boy! It was all fun and we were all laughing all the time. My first attempt at comedy and it was supported by some goose bump performances by my friends Vipul Jani as the thief and Ankit Johari as the boy who catches the thief.

People from all over the neighborhood enjoyed the shooting. Though it was late in the night (we finished shooting at 3:00 AM), kids continued to peep from their windows, they kept laughing and clapping all the time after whenever I said ‘cut’.

The laughs and the claps insured me that something hilarious is in the mini DV tape, which was inside the camera at the time of shooting, as a raw footage. Post production is yet to be done and I am going to dub my film this time around. ‘Before the storm’, my last project, which was for Dev Benegal’s 24×7 Making Movies was not dubbed and sound could have been improved in the same.

Lastly, I watched a fabulous film on the Sunday night which told me the arrival of the year 2007 on a fabulous note. ‘Black Friday’ is a movie needs to be seen like last week I saw ‘Parzania’, a story which needed to be told.

Cinema is a medium for awakening.

Apart from all the movie gyan, I forgot to reach for an important appointment with Project Manager’s Institute of Pune Deccan chapter’s corporate relations director, Shantanu Bhamre on Sunday morning. The poor guy must have waited for me in a restaurant there while I was sleeping in full swing after the night long shooting.

I don’t know what excuse I should make! LOL! I am in big soup! LOL!

Filmfare is not ‘fair’ at all!

Nominations for the 52nd Filmfare awards are out and certainly purchased by big shots of the industry before hand. Filmfare in India is equivalent of Oscars in the US and BAFTA in the UK. I do not agree with the final contenders of the awards, hence, a review.

Best Film nominations:

Dhoom 2
Don
Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna
Krrish
Lage Raho Munnabhai
Rang De Basanti

Apart from Krrish (Due to the concept and appeal and being the 1st true Superhero of Bollywood), Lage raho Munnabhai (No questions about it!) and Rang De Basanti (The best of the decade), no other movie which is nominated deserves to be in this category.

Answer this: WHY on earth ‘Omkara’ is not on the list? ‘DOR’, ‘Khosla ka Ghosla’, ‘Woh Lamhe’ or ‘Gangster’ seems to be avoided! One of a kind ‘Vivah’ which deserves a nomination is also forgotten completely.

Don is a remake, nothing original and was too long. Dhoom 2 had a wrong message integrated in it and if Yashraj were paying for the nominations, they should have chosen Fanna instead. Kabhi Alvida Na
Kehena (Are you kidding man!) was the most senseless film I have seen in recent times!

Best Director Nominations:

Karan Johar (Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna)
Rakesh Roshan (Krrish)
Rakeysh Mehra (Rang De Basanti)
Rajkumar Hirani (Lage Raho Munnabhai)
Sanjay Gadhvi (Dhoom 2)
Vishal Bhardwaj (Omkara)

Disappointing! When Technology takes over the director’s seat the nominations for humans can be avoided. Dhoom-2 and Krrish for the best direction is a hard candy to swallow! Where as without nomination, Mohit Suri’s best work till date and maturity of handling the sensitive topic in ‘Woh Lamhe’ was the talk of the town and same goes for Anurag ‘Gangster’ Basu is left on the streets to die. Madhur Bhandarkar’s ‘Corporate’ is another example and one is Dibakar Banerjee’s ‘Khosla ka Ghosla’.

For the first time we saw a new way of storytelling through Shirish Kunder in ‘Jaan-e-mann’, where he missed?

Let us not talk about ‘Dor’, ‘Fanna’, ‘Vivah’, ‘Kabul Express’ and ‘Pyaar ke side effects’.

Karan Johar is okay for the nomination but should not win! The best options are Rakesh Mehera or Vishal Bharadwaj. Though, Rajkumar Hirani is giving them tough competition.

Best Actor in a leading role (Male) nominations:

Aamir Khan (Rang De Basanti)
Hrithik Roshan (Dhoom 2)
Hrithik Roshan (Krrish)
Sanjay Dutt (Lage Raho Munnabhai)
Shahrukh Khan (Don)
Shahrukh Khan (Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna)

Did someone forget that Hritik was the negative lead in Dhoom-2? And SRK’s was also the negative role in ‘Don’? What was unique with SRK in ‘KANK’? Aamir for RDB is a well deserved nomination, so is our Munnabhai as Sunjay Dutt or the other way around!

What about Aamir for ‘Fanna’? Ajay for ‘Omkara’? Salmaan in ‘Jaan-e-Mann’? Shiney Ahuja in ‘Gangster’ and ‘Woh Lamhe’?

Did someone see the movie ‘PKSE’? It was a very good film.

Ajay or Salman are sure going to get the so called ‘critics’ award! Hell!

Best Actor in a leading role (Female) nominations:

Aishwarya Rai (Dhoom 2)
Bipasha Basu (Corporate)
Kajol (Fanaa)
Kareena Kapoor (Omkara)
Rani Mukerji (Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna)

Hold it man! Ash was the vamp in ‘Dhoom 2’. Rani just cried her eyes out in ‘KANK’. Rest nominations are Okay but again tell me where Alice Patten from ‘RDB’, Ayesha Takiya from ‘Dor’, Kangana Ranaut from ‘Gangster’or ‘Woh Lamhe’ , and the one and only Urmila from ‘Banaras’ or even Mallika Sheravat for ‘PKSE’ missed the nomination?

Best Actor in a supporting role (Male) nominations:

Abhishek Bachchan (Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna)
Amitabh Bachchan (Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna)
John Abraham (Baabul)
Kunal Kapoor (Rang De Basanti)
Siddharth (Rang De Basanti)

Abhishek was never in form in ‘KANK’. Amitabh’s Sexy Sam was a comedy. John was wooden in ‘Baabul’. Only the nominations from RDB are worthwhile. But tell me was the part played by Atul Kulkarni or Madhavan or Sharman Joshi in RDB doesn’t well enough for nomination?

Let’s say, The Gandhi from Munnabhai was convincing enough? Or Alok Nath from ‘Vivah’ was not netural enough to get water in your eyes? What about the Akshay of ‘Jaan-e-Mann’?

Best Actor in a supporting role (Female) nominations:

Kirron Kher (Rang De Basanti)
Konkona Sen Sharma (Omkara)
Priety Zinta (Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna)
Rekha (Krrish)
Soha Ali Khan (Rang De Basanti)

Agree to all but want to pay tribute to the rest deserving candidates. Masumeh for a chilling role in ‘Woh Lamhe’, Sima Biswaas for believable acting without dialogues in ‘Vivah’, Gul Panag for a solid performance in ‘Dor’, Juhi Chawala for ‘Bas Ek Pal’.

Best Actor in a comic role nominations:

Arshad Warsi (Lage Raho Munnabhai)
Chunkey Pandey (Apna Sapna Money Money)
Paresh Rawal (Phir Hera Pheri)
Sharman Joshi (Golmaal)
Tusshar Kapoor (Golmaal)

They say comedy is a serious game! Circuit from Munnabhai is a cult character now but had a little to do when Mahatma Gandhi himself was starring in the same film. Not just Chunkey Pandey but all the characters were overshadowed by the one and only Ritesh Deshmukh in ‘Apna Sapna Money Money’. Paresh from ‘Phir hera Pheri’ was run-of-the-mill and Golmaal was never meant to be for a healthy comedy.

So here are we left with some worst combination of nominees possible for the best award!

Her we go with Shreyas Talpade from ‘Dor’, Akshay and Govinda from ‘Bhagambhag’, Akshay from ‘Jaan-e-Mann’, Ranveer Shouri from ‘PKSE’ and ‘Mixed Doubles’, Uday Chopra from ‘Dhoom 2’, Amitabh Bachhan from ‘KANK’, Rietesh Deshmukh from ‘ASMM’, Deepak Dobrial from ‘Omkara’, Paresh Raval for ‘Chup Chup Ke’ and the one and only Rajpal Yadav for the same film ‘Chup Chup Ke’.

Any complains?

Best Actor in a negative role nominations:

Boman Irani (Lage Raho Munnabhai)
Emraan Hashmi (Gangster)
John Abraham (Zinda)
Naseeruddin Shah (Krrish)
Sa
if Ali Khan (Omkara)

Saif is my all time favorite for this award. He is going to win this for sure. Rest all are just cancellations. Apart from Comedy, this is the only category without any nomination from ‘Kabhi Alvida na kehna’, isn’t it saying something?

Best Music Nominations:

A R Rahman (Rang De Basanti)
Himesh Reshammiya (Aksar)
Jatin-Lalit (Fanaa)
Pritam (Dhoom 2)
Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy (Don)
Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy (Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna)

‘Don’ is nominated but 2 of it’s tracks were used same as were in the ol’70’s film and title track was made-up from the background score or the theme music of the old film. So where is creativity? On the other hand, the Musical which was ‘Jaan-e-Mann’ needed the nomination for the first ever opera style execution for a motion picture in India with some good melodies inside too!

So are we really considering Himesh Reshamiya’s ‘Aksar’ work as Ghost Raising? Was his album better then the soulful melodies and some chartbusters from ‘Omkara’ or ‘Lage Raho Munnabhai’ or of the folk-art of ‘DOR’? Pritam’s ‘Ankahi’ is his best till date but also has got no place on the list.

And finally…

WHO on earth in his true state of mind can nominate ‘Dhoom 2’ in the best music category over ‘Bas Ek Pal’, ‘Gangster’, ‘Pyaar ke side effects’ and ‘Woh Lamhe’! These four albums rocked the sales and charts for months and still hot favorites and much better then Dhoom 2’s non-melodic sounds. And did someone say ‘Taxi no. 9211’?

From the rest of the lot, A R Rahman (Rang De Basanti) is a sure winner of the nominated lot. Jatin-Lalit’s Fanaa is an interesting choice as the legendary duo had a last laugh with this score. And finally Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy (Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna) had got a nomination which should remain a nomination because no great shakes for the score of KANK. They should win for ‘Salaam-e-Ishq’ next year!

Apart from these most popular categories, there are several more categories and everywhere you see the proofs of biased-ness of the Filmfare and the Times group can be seen.

Will they give ���Jaan-e-Mann��� for best Background Score or Best Editing or Best Choreography?

This is the time when Filmfare should standup on its own feet and TOI should implement the ‘India Poised’ campaign here also.

Disappointing.