Sach Ka Saamna

A new reality show is on telly these days ... Sach Ka Saamna (Facing the truth) on Start TV. It is a franchise of hit (and controversial) American show named The Moment of Truth. Not long ago ... Star World used to air it ... and I use to watch it religiously. The show asked some really uncomfortable questions and I as a viewer was totally engrossed in knowing whether the contestant was telling the truth or not. Some of the questions were so personal that it was uncomfortable to even watch ... I don’t know how the contestants must had felt. But ... the lure of money makes us human ... well human beings. I won’t say that the show was entertaining ... but it was intriguing for sure. The show was definitely not for immature viewers ... and I remember that I used to shoo away my cousins whenever this show was on telly. I even asked my mum not to watch it. Once my cousin told me that what if this show comes on some Indian channel ... in Hindi ... and I laughed at her. I told her that Indian channels are not bold enough to have a show like this ... and I did not believe that Indian audiences are mature enough to watch it. Look who is laughing now ...

Anyways ... couple of weeks back I caught the promos of this new Hindi reality show ... and I was shocked to see that the moment of truth is indeed happening on Indian television. I was surprised to say the least ... but then I thought they can’t ask uncomfortable questions. They don’t have the “balls”. I thought lemme bask in the glory and I thought I would have to opportunity to say “I told you so”. So I sat down and watched it with my family ... and boy it was really uncomfortable. I could not believe my ears ... the questions were tough as nails. So far, I have caught of episodes and most uncomfortable questions were more or less dealt with sexual relationships and infidelity. I am sure that the show will ask few innovative questions as well ... like they do it in the original version ... but judging by the start of the series ... I must say that I am happy to be wrong. Finally, Indian channels are taking some risks ... and that’s a good thing for Indian viewers. Its sad though that almost everything that you see on telly is a copy or franchise of some western show ... but it’s a start and I am sure that Indian channels will come up with ground breaking shows in near future.

6 months @ ION

Recently I completed 6 months at this new office (now not so new) and my probation period is over. Not surprisingly, I got good reviews and now I am a “full time” employee. Yippie!!! I had a video conference with my manager (who is in London) ... and today they gave me the letter of probation period completion. Phew !!!

Now is the time to look back and take stock of the situation ... am I happy with the work and stuff ... I would say yeah ... work is boring but its kinda good. The job is safe which is a big deal in recessionary time. The only thing is that the office culture is really boring ... but then you win some and you lose some. The work is one of the most technical thing that I have ever done ... so in that sense I am learning new stuff almost everyday. Do I see myself working for another 6 months here ... I would say that I wont die sticking around. On the other hand ... would I change it if any (good) opportunity comes along ... I would have to say ... why not. LOL. Its all about the Benjamins baby ... in my case its all about Bapu (it’s the face on INR) ... ahahahaha. I would like to travel a bit more than I am doing right now ... and I guess things can happen in this regard ... may be sometime in medium term. The only major pain in the ass is travelling ... but then it’s a constant issue since I live in the city and my kinda work is in the suburban region ... d’uh.

RIP Michael

So finally Michael is resting in peace ...

Yesterday’s memorial service was perhaps one of the most emotional events that I ever witnessed ... experienced ... in my life. Still can’t believe that Michael is dead ... yesterday’s service was an apt way to provide closure to millions and millions of his fans ... and most importantly ... the Jackson family.

It’s so heartening to see that MJ still has a massive following ... millions and millions of people mourning in grief ... celebrating his life. His music ... fresher than ever ... still topping the charts ... speak volumes for the man ... simply known as the King of Pop. I would say that Michael was simply the greatest entertainer that ever lived. It would take a super human effort to achieve anything close to what MJ accomplished. I won’t see it happening in my lifetime at least. God must have broken the mould ...

It’s just so sad that the whole world connected with him (again) ... when he died. For the better part of the last decade or so ... people really questioned him and his abilities. For yesterday night ... the whole world seemed to be in awe and grief of his sudden demise. I wish Michael could see this ... this would have really healed his soul.

I still get goose bumps thinking about yesterday’s memorial service ... and I won’t say that I didn’t felt like crying while watching it on TV. I never knew MJ personally ... his loss felt personal. I never thought that I could feel so emotional ... human nature may be.

Rest in peace Michael!

The Hangover: Funny movie

Yesterday night, AnnuMan and I went to see “The Hangover”. Couple of days back AnnuMan pinged me and said – dude, we got to see this flick. Most of his friends in US had seen it and everyone loved it. I knew about the movie that it is doing well in states and its general buzz was positive in media. So I said, yeah let us watch it on big screen. We planned to see it on Friday (yesterday). The same day Gaurav went to watch the movie with his team and he called me up. His exact words were – dude this is my new favorite movie. Hmm ... another big endorsement ... made me more curious about the film.

I reached home at 8:40PM. In about 5 minutes, AnnuMan came ... parked his car ... I took out my car and we took off. The show was of 9:50PM and the route is usually very traffic heavy. Above all, we did not had tickets booked in advance, so I pedal to the metal and reached at the theater (Naraina PVR) in just 20 minutes. Just as we reached in front of the parking lot, AnnuMan jumped from the car and ran to grab the tickets. I parked the car, and saw AnnuMan checking out the gals there ... I asked did he got the tickets ... he smiled and said ... yeah. Phew ... that was easy. Now that we had all the bases covered and 40 minutes to kill ... we decided to grab some ale and bite. We went to nearby retro-bar and had couple of Kingfishers and Paneer Tikka. Ummm ... yummy.

We finished snacking and entered the auditorium just in time. Movie time now !!! The hall was full ... a very young and vibrant crowd. Niceeeee !!! The movie started with Phil (Bradley Cooper) calling Tracy (Sasha Barrese) and telling her that they lost Doug ... and the fun begins. The film revolves around three main characters (groomsmen) who go to Las Vegas to have a bachelor party for their soon-to-be-married friend Doug. 4 immature people in Las Vegas ... a bachelor party gone wrong ... booze ... rape drugs ... and the hilarity follow. The movie was side-splittingly hilarious and everyone in the hall was laughing throughout the length of it.

The movie ended at around 11:30PM. While I was about to took the car out of the parking lot ... I saw some old man was beating the hell out of the parking attendant there. I went near and saw that the car door had a big dent (the parking attendant must have dented it while moving the car for space). The old man was cussing and beating the hell out of that poor attendant.

It was my first movie at theater this year ... and I'm glad that I saw it on big screen. Good movies deserve big screen experiance. Oh what a fun night ... booze ... funny movie ... popcorn and Pepsi (diet affcourse ... ahahahaha) ... a perfect Friday evening.