When News is Sold

There is nothing new about the news of news being paid for. I first became aware of this practice as a mass communication student in the early 2000s. To me, then, it seemed that it was not just news but the soul that is being bartered. The feeling still holds true.

Even this insignificant blog of mine, has been approached for 'sponsored blogging'. Interestingly, when I refused the money and and gave them a counter offer: That they let me know of topics and ideas that would interest me and I would post about them for free. But it seems that they don't like their work done for free. Strange, isn't it?

Today there was an nice piece in The Sunday Express titled "News, Sponsored." The contents of the article wouldn't be surprising for people who are in the business of the media, we have learnt to take it in our stride. A necessary evil for some.

Friends in the Hindi news channels term such content ad ki khabar (ads as news) and they usually get preference over other genuine news content. Obviously so, because there's money in it.

Such initiatives by the media organisations could be beneficial in these cash-strapped times, but the long term implications may be adverse. News is associated with credibility and when the credibility starts to wash off, so does the bottom line.

Or is it so? There are newspapers that don't give much of a damn to credibility and still sit atop the readership figures. There are news channels that have ceased to be news channels but draw the highest TRPs. We all thought that it was just a passing fad and Indians will tire of such content and see the light. But the light doesn't seem to be coming anytime soon.

Even though being in the media (not the mainstream media, but a wing that'll be the mainstream soon), I have started to rely more on the opinions of individuals who are unassociated with the media: the bloggers, the twitterers, the forums. I think I can still trust them. For me, professionally, it isn't a good signal.

[Image courtesy: The Sunday Express]

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Channel [V]'s Changing Room Ad

Channel [V] India - is going for a makeover (on August 22) and they are advertising it all over. This 'peek into the changing room' ad is from their change campaign. They even have a website up to drive the excitement.

When I first saw the ad, must admit, it totally fooled me. I thought that someone has uploaded one of those voyeur mobile phone recordings (aka MMS clips) of changing rooms at stores. But it is not (else it wouldn't have been on this blog).



Others who have seen this share similar experiences. Some thought they had accidentally a reached porn site. Good idea. Inexpensive to execute. Good fun.

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Quick Gun Murugun is Coming. Mind it!

The early 1990s, I was still in school and we didn't have a cable connection at home. But I managed to 'boost' the antenna to catch stray cable TV signals.

The result was grainy, but good enough for me. And it was there, on a black and white TV screen, that I first met the legendary Quick Gun Murugun.

Now over a decade later the vegetarian cowboy is finally all set to shoot his mouth off on Indian silver screens.

And the man bringing the superhero with guntastic powers back is none else than the man who first introduced the character to us, Shashanka Ghosh. He was the then creative head of Channel [V].

The film is apparantly being released in four languages; English, Hindi, Tamil and Telugu. Quick Gun Murugun is releasing on August 28, 2009. I'll book my tickets in advance.

The trailers of the Misadventures of an Indian Cowboy promise fun and Shahrukh Khan's take on Quick Gun Murugun in Om Shanti Om, would have familarised filmgoers who weren't exposed to the phenomenon.

I've put together a consolidated version of the Quick Gun Murugun trailers floating around.



And I've created a playlist a few Channel [V] Quick Gun promos here.

Shashanka's debut as a director was the sequel without a prequel (actually with an embedded prequel and sequel. Three films in one!) Waisa Bhi Hota Hai Part II. One of my all-time favourite songs, Allah Ke Bande, is from that film.

The synopsis of the film on its official website reads (Mind it! All links there open in new windows):

Quick Gun Murugun is an unlikely Superhero with Gungastic powers. He is a sincere South Indian Cowboy who considers it his duty to serve and protect. The movie revolves around the mis-adventures of Quick Gun Murugun and his fight with his arch villain Rice Plate Reddy!

Quick Gun enters into an epic battle that spans time and space. From a small South Indian village to Swarglok and then finally to the cosmopolitan Mumbai. He is torn between Mango Dolly who loves him secretly and his first love Locket Girl and his loyalty is put to the test.

And the producers have also commissioned a few comic book posters:


[Click for larger images]

The star cast includes, Dr Rajendra Prasad (Quick Gun Murugan), Nasser (Rice Plate Reddy), Rambha (Mango Dolly), Anu Menon (Locket Lover), Sandhya Mridul (Masala News Reporter), Vinay Phatak (Mr Chitragupt), Ranvir Shorey (Sansani Reporter)and Raju Sundaram (Rowdy MBA).

People who have already watched it at film festivals have good things to say about the film. Hope I too get added to the film's fan list. And you too. I say!

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Jana-Gana-Rann: Awesome

The producers wanted some controversy around the Jana-Gana-Rann title song for Ram Gopal Varma's upcoming film Rann [Official website], and they've got it. Though some newspapers (surprisingly) treated it differently.

Update: The Central Board of Film Certification (Censor Board) has refused permission for / banned the airing of the controversial Jana-Gana-Rann song. This also means that the promo cannot be screened at theatres.

The two trailers/promos for Rann are essentially the same only the text in the beginning and the end are a little different.

Promo 1


Promo 2


NDTV Movies is running a debate around the song. A comment from Subhash Nagre (Hey! Wasn't that Amitabh's character in Sarkar?) in the discussion puts it in the right perspective:

The purpose of the National Anthem is to incite patriotism amongst the citizens, and in these troubled times the Jana-Gana-Rann rendition is appropriate. There is no point praising the motherland where most things are not right, rather the feeling needs to be awakened that there is a lot wrong and it will get worse if we do not make amends. This song does precisely that. And we should brush the controversies aside and listen to this heart-stirring number.

All said and done, Jana-Gana-Rann is an amazing piece. The kind that makes your hair stand on its end.

Not sure who The lyricist for the particular song is Saarim Momin or Prashant Pandey. For the music, it is one of these four: Amar Mohile, Bapi-Tutul, Sanjeev Kohli or Jayesh Gandhi.

The last RGV movie I liked was Sarkar and am looking forward to Rann. Hope he betters Sarkar this time (the sequel Sarkar Raj was pale in comparison).

In his director's note RGV says:

Rann means battle. And battle is a fight between large organised forces. In the context of a civil society and its deep complexities, large organised forces (read news channels, political parties and industrial czars) are not just involved in a fight with each other, but more importantly and frighteningly, they are battling a war within themselves and this is especially true of news channels.

Making news is not the easiest thing in the world. So the next best thing obviously would be to make anything and everything appear to be news.

The way the news are presented today are much more entertaining than family soaps and thril-ers. What's worse is that we enjoy this kind presentation so much that we have got addicted to them.

There is the government - a system which runs the country, then there are wealth creators like industrialists etc and then there are politicians in the ruling party and the opposition.

All the above in a democratic society are supposed to be working for the common people and the one and only means of the common people having any idea as to what those are up to is through the media. Hence the media has been invented as a truth telling machinery serving the purpose of the common people so that they know they are in good hands or in case they are told that are not, they can hope to exercise the power of their vote to bring about a change.

But in free economy system where there is so much competition the media by default is lost in its purpose.

The media is a reporting agency. It reports news. News is what is new. New is what you hear for the first time. So to be able to be the first to tell you the various newspapers and channels have an intense competition among themselves and this they do on a need to survive, on an ego to be on the top and on a greed to get rich.

To be ahead of competition means more circulation and higher TRPs which in turn generate more and more ad revenue which will translate into making more and more and more money.

Also the fact that in the process the people who run the media realise their power of influencing the common people inevitably makes them power hungry.

To sum up, Rann would expose the behind-the-scenes truth of how a truth telling machinery by the very virtue of its positioning has no choice but to corrupt itself to become a money-making and power-brokering enterprise.

He has a point. Doesn't he?

Here's the lyrics for the song (English translation included):

Jana-Gana-Rann

Jana Gana Mana Rann Hai
Is Rann MeinZakhmi Hua Hai
Bharat Ka Bhaagya Vidhaata

Punjab Sindh Gujarat Maratha

Ek Doosre Se Ladd Ke Mar Rehein Hain
Is Desh Ne Humjko Ek Kiya
Hum Desh Ke Tukdey Kar Rahein Hain

Khoon Bahaa Ker
Ek Rang Kar Diya Humne Tiranga

Sarhadon Pe Jung Aur
Galiyon Mein Fasaad Danga

Vindh Himachal Yamuna Ganga
Men Tezaab Ubal Raha Hain

Mar Gaya Sab Ka Zameer
Jan Kab Zinda Ho Aagey

Phot Bhi Tava Shubha Name Jaage
Tav Shubh Aashish Maange

Aag Mein Jal Kar Cheekh Raha Hai
Phir Bhi Koi Sach Ko Nahi Bachaata

Gahe Tava Jaya Gaatha

Desh Ka Aisa Haal Hain Lekin
Aapas Mein Ladd Rahein Neta

Jana Gana Mangal Daayak Jaya Hai

Bharat Ko Bachale Vidhaata

Jay Hai Yeh Marann Hai
Jana Gana Mana Rann Hai

English Translation

There is battle in every mind
And in this battle the future
Of India is wounded

Punjab Sindh Gujarat Maratha

Are fighting amongst and killing each other
This country made us one
And in return we are breaking it into pieces
The Dravidians, the Orissa, the Bengal

By shedding blood, we have turned the
Tricolour into one just bloody colour

Battles ablaze on the borders
While riots burn down our lanes

Acid is boiling in Himachal
Yamuna Ganga

Dead is our conscience
Who knows when it will come back to life

Yet we chant god's name praying
For his blessings

The truth screams as it burns in fire
Without a saviour for it

Yet we sing the victory song

This is the state our country is in
And the leaders fight within

The salvation of all the people waits in your hand

Oh God! Please save India

Is this victory or is this death?
There is a battle in every mind

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Tata Sky+ Damini Ad

Tata Sky Plus has released a new viral ad titled Ek Ruka Hua Faisla. But it has nothing to do with the intriguing 1986 movie, instead draws the cast and the dialogue from the 1993 dhai kilo ka film - Damini.

The weight of Govind's (Sunny Deol's character in the movie) arm is established right in the beginning. But the jhatkas of Indrajit Chadda's (Amrish Puri) hair/wig are missing. And Damini literally weeps buckets of tears. See for yourself:


Download video [00:02:35 FLV 3.31 MB]
Download hi-res video [00:02:35 AVI 9.55 MB]
Download for mobile [00:02:35 3GP 2.86 MB]

While you are here, don't forget to visit this website - AdultDost.com (If you haven't already. Do not worry, it's totally safe for work. Though my boss got a scare when I first showed it to him in front of the whole office).

---

And Asin's new Tata Sky ads have already started airing. But they are meant for the southern India market. I've seen four ads and though I couldn't understand the language they seemed humourous. She was indeed a little over the top in the overrated Hindi Ghajini.

Most people I know are happy that Taare Zameen Par didn't make it to the Oscar nominations. They just couldn't take any more of Aamir Khan, and neither can I.

And the other day Yash Raj Films released full page ads in newspapers proclaiming that their latest film Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi is "the highest grossing film ever of Yash Raj Films". Do they seriously expect us to believe that a less than lukewarm production like Rab Ne... has actually bettered Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge. No way!

Nowadays there seems to be a trend of inflating earnings and declaring movies hits even if people who actually go to watch the movie do not have many others in the theatre for company. Another trick to gain a little more mileage.

Slumdog Millionaire, another overrated movie, has actually done itself some serious harm by releasing so late in India (it's releasing even later in many countries). With the hype around the movie increasing, people who would have otherwise purchased tickets to go to the theatres are watching pirated copies. And since the ones leaked are DVD screeners, there are even more takers. It is already one of the most popular on the torrent network and other video sharing and online storage sites are already displaying millions of views/downloads. And people are gleefully passing it on.

I wonder why don't producers try for almost simultaneous releases?

Though I'm glad that AR Rahman got the Golden Globe, it is necessary to emphasise that Rahman's music in Slumdog... comes nowhere close to what he is capable of. Though the award is big, the music will stand small in his oeuvre.

Related posts:

· Aamir and the lovely Gul in Tata Sky Plus Ad
· Falling in love with Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge

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Watch Sarabhai Vs Sarabhai for Free Legally

Many people visit this blog looking for free download or an option to watch online the popular sitcom Sarabhai Versus Sarabhai, but find only a compilation of some of the best moments from the serial.

All the episodes of the serial used to be available on Indya.com, but at a cost (and also illegally elsewhere). The good news is that it is now Sarabhai Vs Sarabhai is available for free online viewing at Rajshri.com.

At the time of posting this only the first four episodes were made available. I believe that in some time all the episodes would be put up (though my analysis says that they have already uploaded 16 episodes but haven't yet made them visible on the website).

Since there is no download option, users with slower internet connections can find the experience a bit painful. But then there are ways to store the files on your hard disk for future smooth viewing.

Related posts:

· Sarabhai Versus Sarabhai: Select Shots

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Not Hot Enough: ETC Dress Circle Pia Trivedi Ad

Delhi Times reports/advertises that the ad for model-VJ Pia Trivedi's new show on ETC channel, Dress Circle, is "too hot to handle."

And the Censor Board has asked for cuts in the promo (to be shown in cinema theatres) as they were "too hot and daring" and even post the cuts it would be released "only in theatres running films with an 'A' ccertificate."

Obviously, I got curious and decided to have a look at the "hot" ad and was disappointed to find it a bit damp.

Sexy yes but unhandleably hot? Definitely not.


Download video [00:00:25 FLV 558 KB]
Download for mobile [00:00:25 3GP 479 KB]

Edgy!
Sexy!
Hardcore!
Prepare to be a part of my circle...
Dress Cirlce
Under Bollywood's skin!
Circle of movies...
With me Pia
Every Friday
Only on ETC
Every Friday 7:30 PM

Pia Trivedi in ETC Dress Cirlce promo photo gallery:



If you want to watch a really hot ad for a TV show have a look at this: Hot Ad for India's Hottest.

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Aamir and the lovely Gul in Tata Sky Plus Ad

When the teasers were running (Aamir Khan doing all the housework) I was wondering what product is? Now that I know, I'm more than pleased to also find the charming Gul Panag as Aamir's better half in the TVC.

The agency is O&M and this is one of the better ads that Aamir has been seen in (he is usually too full of himself).

Aamir tries to act as a 'good' husband waking his wife - Gul Panag - in the morning, making a breakfast of scrambled eggs, slightly burnt toast and carrot juice and also packing her lunch. Checks the fridge for necessities annd gets them on the way back from work. Also offers to make the evening tea... all to watch a cricket match that clashes with a Saas-Bahu serial.

But Tata Sky Plus hain naa... isko laga dala to life aur bhi jhingalala.


Download video [00:01:06 FLV 1.51 MB]

Tata Sky+ is a DTH personal video recorder service that allows users to record, pause and rewind live TV (wonder when will we able able to fast forward it) and the hardware (Digicomp) costs Rs 8,999 plus installation and other charges. I'll wait a while for the prices to drop.

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Too Hot for TV: Eva Mendes in CK Ad

One of the world's most desirable women featured in an ad but TV networks in the USA found her undesirable.

Undesirable because Eva Mendes looked too desirable in the ad for a new Calvin Klein perfume - Secret Obsession.

In the ad, Eva rolls around topless and there's also a nipple show.

I think the TV networks were right in their stand.

While the ad can be aired on adult only channels or on late night TV, it is definitely too racy for a general audience.

Maybe this was intentional on Calvin Klein's part. It got them so much of free publicity around the globe.

And now let me also contribute to their viral ad strategy. Here's the ad:

(Caution NSFW content)


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Hot Ad for India's Hottest

A hot promo for Channel [V]'s show [V] India's Hottest. The show is hosted by VJs Bruna Abdulah and Aditya Roy Kapoor (both featured in the promo).

I've included a (clickable) slideshow of snapshots from the video for extra viewing pleasure. Enjoy! (oops... that was MTV)

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Download video [00:00:29 FLV 834 KB]
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Snapshot Slideshow

Click on image for original jpegs

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Revenge of the Zapped Ads

It seems that some of the effort that I've put in this blog might just become redundant. There's a new website in town called Indibiz.tv that acts as an online storehouse for all those TVCs.

This is from their brochure:

Indibiz.tv is a 24/7 online video directory for brands. Targeted at the global Indian, Indibiz.tv may be the answer to zapped out television commercials.

The '24/7' adjective before 'online video directory,' may seem superfluous. The web is 24/7 (unless you have subscribed to the ISP I have). But then they are attempting to place themselves as complementary to TV. And against the seconds of airtime on TV, the '24/7' tag might have some appeal.

The site is in all in flash that takes a while to load and refresh. The interface is also not very user friendly. I tried opening the site in IE7 (Firefox is my default) and it just doesn't seem to work there.

Though this site is all about videos, text is also necessary for a more wholesome user experience. And using logos to identify the ads also don't help as different ads from the same brand have the same logo and I can't know which is which unless I play the video.

Nevertheless, they have a sizeable number of ads categorised under 24 different heads. But they still have a long way to go. Good idea though - No interruptive soaps, only commercials.

And here is their own ad


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Crazy for Cricket

Last night's India-Australia ODI at Bangalore was washed out, but what cannot be easily washed away is India's zeal for the game of cricket. Defeats may lower the spirits, but another high is just a victory away. Now again it is at a peak following the Twenty20 win. Here's a SET Max - the cricket and movies channel - ad featuring Kapil Dev and quite an opponent of a bowler for a kid. This also showcases the craze that cricket is in India.


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Indian Idol 3 - A City Turns Loony

The assembly elections in the state are quite a few months away, but from the look of the narrow and winding roads of Shillong it seems that canvassing is on in full swing. And all the parties are rooting for the same candidate.

On entering the city a huge hoarding sponsored by the state Youth Congress Chief asks you to vote. Further down into the city, the BJP has also put up banners appealing you to vote for the very same contestant - Amit Paul.

Many television viewers are by now quite familiar with the name. Amit Paul is the Shillong lad who has made it to the final two in one of the numerous TV musical talent shows - called Indian Idol. And for the hill state of Meghalaya and its sleepy cosmopolitan capital Shillong it seems to be the best thing to happen since January 21, 1972 - when the state of Meghalaya was carved out of Assam.

For a city with its soul soaked in music the zeal expressed in support of a local lad coming to the verge of getting a ticket to the 'big league' might not seem surprising. But the feverish excitement over a TV show is something that someone like me finds tough to comprehend.

People from other cities from where boys and girls have been contenders for the big promises of the talent shows might have been witness to similar phenomenon. I also had, last year, when Debojit Saha from south Assam had gone to the SaReGaMaPa contest on Zee TV (he was the eventual winner but not necessarily not the most talented of the lot) and I happened to be on a visit to that part of the country.

Amit Paul is already an icon in Shillong. Almost everyone is talking about him all the time. From the barber to the taxi driver, the point of discussion is Amit. Giant screens have been put up all over the city so that people can watch 'their boy' in action. MLAs and MDCs (Member of District Council) are falling over one another to sponsor free PCOs from where the public can punch in their votes for Amit.

Rallies in support of Amit are a daily affair and the crowd at the one when Amit came visiting home is said to be the largest that the city had ever witnessed. The last time Shillong saw people turning out on the roads voluntarily in huge numbers was when the body of Kargil martyr Captain K Clifford Nongrum was brought home.

Amit t-shirts line shop windows and his posters are best sellers (though some organisations have urged them to be distributed for free). Wherever you look in the city you cannot possibly miss one face with a slight stubble looking at you from all directions.

The swanky touch-screen mobile phones are no longer the latest show-off here, it is the number of votes that one has cast for Amit. An elderly gentleman who occupied the seat next to me in a local taxi (taxis in Shillong usually ply on a sharing basis) said that he voted 500 times. Others have reportedly sent over a thousand votes for their home-bred contestant. And the voting continues throughout the night.

To have a first-hand look I walked through the semi-deserted streets to one of the free PCOs at around midnight to discover a huge crowd there. People of all ages, pre-pubescent girls and elderly grandmothers all queuing up in a pleasant September night to vote for Amit. Occasionally some slogan shouting in support of Amit breaks the silence of the night.

For a city which is used to shutters downing a couple of hours after dusk (the sun sets early in the east) these energetic midnight ventures by the young and the old is indeed welcome.

What else is also welcome is that in a communally divided and sensitive society like Shillong's the success of Amit Paul has brought about an unprecedented sense of togetherness.

Amit Paul is Bengali, his family owns a renowned clothing outlet in the centre of the city - Shankar Brastalaya - and at the forefront of the campaign in support of Amit are the Khasis (both communities - Khasis and Bengalis - over the last few decades haven't shared the best of relations). Now both, along with the numerous other communities who inhabit Shillong are making a collective effort towards realising the recently realised dream of a city-bred Indian Idol.

But then there is also a dark side to this tale. Amit's competitor for the title of Indian Idol is Prashant Tamang, hailing from Darjeeling, and sceptics believe that Shillong's Nepali community (a sizeable one) is voting for Prashant, while according to them the loyalties of of all the people of Shillong should be with the city and not the tongue one speaks in.

In case Prashant betters Amit in the vote count there are apprehensions of disturbances in Shillong, which has fortunately been quite peaceful (communally) for the last few years.

To add to all the confusion are rumors of free SMS services being provided by mobile operators leading to many people sending as many SMSes as possible. Apart from the freebie seekers there are many deep pockets abound distributing free pre-paid cards to anyone willing to punch in the SMSes in Amit's favour.

Amidst all the brouhaha it is obvious that there would be a few who can see though this maniacal euphoria (thankfully there are). These few realise that the producers of the show are merely triggering the upheaval of regional emotions and filling their (and the mobile operators') coffers and are also aware of the real value of such talent hunts at a time where every channel boasts of one, if not more such shows. They also try to recall the previous winners of such shows and the oblivion where most of them have disappeared into and also the process of multiple public voting which turns a so-called democratic exercise into a farce.

A local columnist Patricia Mukhim is believed to have ignited the fire for Amit through her columns in the local newspapers. Then socio-cultural organisations took over and even the government couldn't resist from staying behind. The Meghalaya government has declared Amit Paul the 'Brand Ambassador of the State of Meghalaya for Peace, Communal Harmony and Excellence' (see the adjacent image of a copy of the letter from the Chief Secretary) and even the Governor signed his fan book.

With many of Shillong's lasses already publicly expressing the desire to marry him, Amit might just face another problem of plenty. A Sikkim-based businessman has announced a Rs One crore funding for voting in favour of Prashant. There are also rumors of the government employees of Sikkim contributing a day's salary to the kitty for Prashant.

May the best man win, but they seldom do in the farce that these talent hunts are.

Special addition: [September 19, 2007] In fear of excommunication by fellow Shillongites and the possibility of being denied entry into the city in the future for daring to question the concept of TV talent shows at a time when Amit Paul has made it to the finals of Indian Idol 3, here's an attempt towards pacifying the die-hard fans of Shillong's latest singing sensation - some childhood and teenage photographs of him (Don't ask me whether I voted for him or not).

[Click on images for a larger view]


Teenaged Amit


Baby Amit with his grandmother


Boy Amit with his sister


Youthful Amit singing at a Shillong hotel

Amit's childhood photos courtesy: Eastern Panorama

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Sexy Indian Ads

Adjective: sexy (sexier, sexiest) seksee
1. Marked by or tending to arouse sexual desire of interest
"feeling sexy"; "sexy clothes"; "sexy poses"; "a sexy book"; "sexy jokes"
2. Exciting sexual desire

That's what the wonderful and handy dictionary - WordWeb - describes the word "sexy" as.

Since it is difficult to be suggestive (leave alone being explicit) without inviting the wrath of the right, left and the centre in India, the sexiness quotient in Indian advertising is different from more liberal societies.

The Ministry of Information & Broadcasting has prohibited the transmission or retransmission of the advertisements of 'Lux Cozy Underwear' and 'Amul Macho Underwear' on all broadcasting platforms with immediate effect.

Nevertheless, we have had a lot of campaigns with a lot of oomph. From the vintage to the ones from century present, I've attempted to collect some. More will follow.

Sexiness depends on the point of view (pun intended). What's sexy for one is obscene or tasteless or even loathsome for others. Here are some generalisations.

First the Amul Macho chaddi ad, which has got everyone, from the mithaiwallah to the mantri, so excited.

[Click on the images for a bigger (and better) view]

Print

Sanah Khan with her twaing expression.

TVC

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Any gyaan on the meaning or symbolism of the word twaing?


It was Liril - and the original Liril girl Karen Lunel - which added the much needed sizzle to the world of Indian advertising.


Towel wrapped sexiness from 1975. Bombay Dyeing.


The big bad controversy. A campaign for Tuffs shoes and the hot couple Milind Soman and Madhu Sapre in the buff (except for their Tuffs shoes) and a python coiled between them.



More Tuffs. More skin.


Now here's the python with Madhu Sapre. Wonder where Milind went? Maybe the python got jealous and hungry at the same time.


Well men say that they like the 'eyes' but actually they mean what their eyes see. And you know where. Dayal Opticals do help you see better.


"Nokia N93i with extra powerful zoom." Does it zoom any closer?


That anorexic female from the Numero Uno ad. (Damn! I can't recollect her name). More of her later.


Why does Levis call them Low Rise jeans? Shouldn't they be Low Fall?

Okay, now I got it. When they fall low, others rise. All the faces in the above two ads seem familiar. Can you name them all?


I don't like the look of the new Bisleri bottle. The previous one featured in their 'Play Safe' campaign looked much better. Well, it would've been even better if the bottle wasn't there. More from the campaign in later episodes.


Dark desires. Now I got her name. Lakshmi Menon in Swatch Bijoux ad.


More of swatchy, sultry and sweaty Lakshmi.

[To be continued. Keep a tab here for updates]

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Nataraj Phir Champion

I'm sure most of my generation who had watched the TVC version of this Nataraj Pencils print ad would still recall it.



Here's another vintage Nataraj Pencils TVC:


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Mile Sur Mera Tumhara (with Subtitles and Credits)

One of the more popular posts on this blog is Euphony from the Yesteryears, where I had compiled a list of songs (with download links) from Doordarshan programmes that we had grown up with. The favourite, of course is Mile Sur Mera Tumhara - the brilliantly crafted song (and video) on national integration.

Though this video is now available at many places on the internet, I tried a little value addition.

First, I attempted to find the names of the people behind the project. Though there is not much information available, and I'm too lazy to go out and try to find out, I put in whatever I could find (but didn't verify it).

Second, I put in subtitles (in Roman script) so that you can sing along (though most know it by heart). Just a little frill, unlike the Same Language Subtitling [PDF] in Chitrahaar, which has many more benefits.


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Mile Sur Mera Tumhara
(Video on national integration)

Year: 1988

Music: Louis Banks
Lyrics: Piyush Pandey
Director: Suresh Mullick
Camera: Vikram Bangera
Agency: Ogilvy & Mather India
Producer: Lok Sewa Sanchar Parishad

Languages used: (In order of appearance) Hindi, Kashmiri, Punjabi, Sindhi, Urdu, Tamil, Kannada, Telugu, Malayalam, Bangla, Assamese, Oriya, Gujarati and Marathi (the languages present then in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution of India, which was later amended to include more languages. The present count is 22).

People featured (a partial list): Amitabh Bachchan, Mithun Chakraborty, Kamal Hasan, Jeetendra, Waheeda Rehman, Hema Malini, Tanuja, Sharmila Tagore, Shabana Azmi, Deepa Sahi, Om Puri, Deena Pathak (Actors); Mallika Sarabhai (Dancer); Mario Miranda (Cartoonist); Mrinal Sen (Filmmaker); Bhimsen Joshi, M Balamuralikrishna, Lata Mangeshkar (Singers); Narendra Hirwani, S Venkataraghavan, Prakash Padukone, Arun Lal, PK Banerjee, Syed Kirmani (Sportsmen)

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The World's Most Beautiful News Anchor

She is touted as the world's most beautiful news anchor. She's a stunner, no doubts about that. Pity, I don't understand French.

Melissa Theuriau has been ranked 46 in AskMen.com's 2007 edition of the Top 99 Most Desirable Women and is also in the race for FHM's 100 Sexiest Women in the World 2007. Her bio and what's being written about her gives the impression that she is an accomplished journalist. But if it is the first impression that counts, she's at least 8.5/10.

Melissa's even got a site on her and her videos and photos are all over the place. Especially ones where she's seen frolicking topless at a beach. A search for her name on Google yields 834,000 results and she's already a victim of cybersquatting. And she's only 28. Beauty does take you places, where brains alone might not suffice.

Watch this video to see for yourself:


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Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire

News organisations try to sell themselves in the garb of delivering the truth to their readers/viewers/listeners. Those are associated with the news industry are aware of the degrees, deviations and definitions of that truth (the public does too).

There are fabricated stories which popup occasionally and then rest peacefully in the archives. Then there are some untruths (though trivial) that we face daily. And these irritate. One such is the opening visual of CNN-IBN's primetime bulletin.

[00:00:20]

The voiceover triumphantly announces, "This is India at 9 and broadcasting live from the CNN-IBN headquarters at New Delhi with..."

As far as I know CNN-IBN (Global Broadcast News) is located at the Express Trade Tower (the building shown in the video) which is situated at Sector 16-A Noida, aka Film City. Noida isn't even a part of Delhi, leave alone New Delhi. It is Uttar Pradesh, a different state. New Delhi ends on the western bank of the Yamuna.

The logic of NCR (National Capital Region) also doesn't work, NCR isn't New Delhi, New Delhi is just the centre of it. And for all practical purposes the concept seems to be applicable for only the mobile phone networks and advertisers for realty developers.

Ideally the NCR (consisting of Delhi, Noida, Ghaziabad, Gurgaon, Faridabad...) should be treated as a special zone with no restrictions. Autos from Delhi don't venture into UP or Haryana; if they do they fleece you for the bribe that they have to pay to the cops. Delhi Transport Corporation stopped its services to UP and the two states have been battling over the rights of inter-state routes.

CNN-IBN's website also seems to be self contradictory. At one place it says, "Headquartered at a world-class facility in New Delhi," elsewhere their address reads, "Global Broadcast News, Express Trade Tower, Plot No. 15-16, Sector-16A, Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India - 201301."

The idea of Noida being a part of New Delhi is welcome to some. So let us be aware of the ground realities and attempt to present or viewers the same. Even if "Broadcasting live from the CNN-IBN headquarters at Noida," might not sound chic.

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Sarabhai Versus Sarabhai: Select Shots

One of the best comedies to hit Indian idiot boxes of late, Sarabhai vs Sarabhai...

...is a sitcom set in a quintessential Malabar Hill family. Sahil, the protagonist, is a cosmetic surgeon, a guy with a golden heart who can never say 'no' and gets caught between his mom and wife. Monisha, Sahil's wife, is a middle class girl, is a 'nosey' daughter of a detective.

Sahil's father, Indravadan, is a retired director of a multinational company and is really a child at heart. He often plays Narad Muni between his 'uppity' wife and bahu. Sahil's mom, Maya, likes only the crème de la crème in every aspect of her life and her family. Her bone of contention - daughter-in-law, Monisha, who is middle class.

Roshesh, Sahil's younger brother, is a mama's boy, a wannabe actor who is waiting for his mom to find the right bride. Sonya is Sahil's sister. She is deeply into tarot.

Set in this dysfunctional family, Sarabhai vs Sarabhai is a classic comedy that brings together veterans Satish Shah and Ratna Pathak Shah with Sumeet Raghavan and Rupali Ganguli.

And they (including the awards jury and the critics) find the noisy, unimaginative and slapstick Hum Paanch funny?

Sarabhai vs Sarabhai is directed by Deven Bhojani, who many of us will recall as Karima from another classic comedy, Dekh Bhai Dekh. He also plays the role of Dushyant, Mara Sarabhai's son-in-law in the serial (friends say that I often act like the character). Here's some select shots from season one.


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Eagerly awaiting season two. Still wondering why they took it off air in the first place?

Complete episodes are available for download at Indya.com. The introductory episode is available for free (though you need to feed in your credit card details)

Related posts:

· http://soumyadipc.blogspot.com/2008/11/watch-sarabhai-vs-sarabhai-for-free.html

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Father, Son and Holy War

Sagnik Chakravartty mailed me the following:

Finally! DD-1 to telecast Anand Patwardhan's Father, Son and Holy War on this Sunday, October 8, 2006 at 10 am. An 11 year old battle will finally come to an end. Anand Patwardhan's 1995 documentary Father, Son and Holy War on the connection between communal violence and the male psyche had won two National and several international awards. Patwardhan thanked his lawyers PA Sebastian, Prashant Bhushan and Nitya Ramakrishnan for consistently taking up the cause of civil liberties and human rights and expressed the hope that Prasar Bharati would no longer force people like him to go to court. Father, Son and Holy War is a two hour documentary that was shot from the mid 1980s to the mid 1990s and covers a wide spectrum of events, from the Sati in Deorala in 1987 to the Bombay riots and subsequent bomb blasts in 1992-1993. It is a critique of the male bias that permeates the dominant religions of the world, with specific reference to Hinduism and Islam in India, and a critique of ruthless politicians who use the communal divide to further their own ends. In 2004 the film was included by Dox Magazine (Europe) amongst the 50 memorable documentaries in world cinema. Information on this film and other works by Anand is available from the website www.patwardhan.com

About Father, Son and Holy War

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