Mind u Read

WikiLeaks has been creating a major furore worldwide with its release of sensitive documents. In their latest release they finally manage to trace the origins of the popularity of Rajinikanth jokes on internet. The startling fact in their report is the secret connection between Christmas and Rajinikanth jokes. Read the full story below. It was the last day of August 2010 when a very bizarre worldwide trending topic appeared on Twitter. The topic was MERRY CHRISTMAS. People wondered why everyone was wishing each other Merry Christmas four months in advance. At the same time Kartik Dayanand who goes by the id @KartikDayanand on Twitter tried to find out the reason. In a matter of minutes he figured out who initiated this crazy trend and shared his findings with the world in the tweet below.

Couple of months back I wrote a blog post called  “The Future of War: A Digital Doomsday”  where I mention that future wars would be fought in the clouds and giant corporations would try to eat each other, in the process only one of them emerging the clear winner. It already looks like Facebook has laid out the framework for its next assault and the first major casualty would be Twitter, followed by Google. One would be mistaken to think it is better technology that is driving Facebook but the fact is, the roots of the future success of Facebook lie in the very nature of human behavior. I will speak in great detail about that in my next post but in this post I would like to specifically talk of how Twitter is on its path to annihilation because of Facebook, and why it is very important for Facebook to do what Twitter does currently.

  Few months back I had written a post on Ram Gopal Varma called “The Truth about the Man” . It was intended to be a two part series but somehow I never wrote the second part. Part 2 was originally intended to focus on Ramu’s technical accomplishments and the illustrious list of proteges that he has given to the film industry. However, in the few months since I wrote the first part I noticed something strange. By looking at Ramu’s statements and the movies that he has been attempting to make we can safely arrive at one conclusion.  Ram Gopal Varma is acting against the laws of nature and seems to be in a state of constant De-Evolution. In order to understand why I made the above statement, we need to first look at the evolution of Ram Gopal Varma. Only then will we be able to see the process of his De-Evolution.

Do you remember this line from the promotion of the iconic movie Rambo from the late 80’s?  This time it is going to be personal! I always wanted to use that line and today it’s my turn. Wondering where Rambo figures with respect to the movie Do Dooni Chaar? That’s because unlike all other movies that i wrote about in the past, this time it is personal. Personal because i am closely associated with the people who made this film and was witness to a part of the making of this little gem of a movie. I am going to share with you a few of my experiences. In case you only want to know what i think about the movie, then jump to the last paragraph.

Guess who I met online a little while ago? You won’t believe it. God sent me a friend request on Facebook. I thought it was a prank, but then accepted the invite out of curiosity and what ensued next was something that blew my mind away. Following is the transcript of my conversation with God. I had no choice but to share it with you folks. Note: KD is Kartik Dayanand and God is God obviously. KD : Hey God, are you for real? Looks like a joke to me. How do i believe you are not some fake account? There are too many fakes floating around these days. God : Ok, i can prove it to you, ask me to do anything and i will make it happen. KD : Sure, let’s see if you can turn off the light in my room, haha! God : Hmmm! Ok

Among the recent crop of movies if there is one movie that is providing bang for the buck then it certainly has to be Dabangg. Purists of cinema as well as general public, all unanimously accept the fact that the movie is a smash hit purely because of the star power of its lead protagonist Salman Khan. Many might also snigger at the fact that in terms of opening week box office collections it has overtaken a movie like 3 idiots, a movie with a message to society whereas all that Dabangg does is glorify the hero and indulge in some mindless action and dance numbers, what one generally calls the Indian Masala movie. It’s the return of the action hero, most proclaim. I only laugh at their ignorance. It might sound like blasphemy to many if I say Dabangg overtakes 3 idiots in not just box office numbers but also in terms of message to society and its relevance. It’s more than coincidence that the movie also features a song that has the following lines mein Zandu Balm hui d...

Teachers Day came and went by. There were customary status updates and messages, though not as many as one sees on Valentine’s Day or Friendship day. On that day I sat wondering about my teachers. I grew up with the notion that teachers are Gods only next to parents. After all who hasn’t heard the saying...    Matru devo bhava , Pitru devo bhava , Acharya devo bhava, Atithi devo bhava But in today’s times the conventional role of a teacher and his position as a god appears to have been usurped by something called as Google. That’s the reason why i had only this to say on teacher’s day. Happy Teachers Day! In recent times my biggest teacher has been Google. Thank you Google :) Incidentally this tweet went on to become a ‘Top Tweet’ of the day on Twitter along with the legendary Amitabh Bachchan’s tweet. Even he speaks of his parents as his best teachers. An obvious notion since they are already placed first in the hierarchy of gods. But what about the poor teacher and h...

As a nation we have grown so independent of everything that we are no longer an independent nation but an indifferent nation. We have slowly and steadily got used to the idea of Independence over the last many years. We now have achieved Independence from all things on which we were dependent earlier, like our families, natural resources, culture, traditions, leaders to a million other things. We have become so independent today that all we are left with is a sense of cynicism and ridicule, more so among the younger educated generation that is being fed a constant dose of sarcastic humor about the idea of India. So what happened to us? Allow me to dig a little deeper.

It is stale news by now, every single media outlet has been ranting about the rot that is the Commonwealth Games 2010 (CWG) preparation. Most have done a good job in highlighting the sorry state of affairs. Ironically most of us common people along with the media are experts at dissecting dead bodies, good at creating post mortem reports but rarely do we ever propose any remedies to not let anything like this happen in the first place. Not just these games, in fact this is a game that is played out every day in various parts of our country in various departments and sectors. The noise we make about the mismanagement of these games only highlights our ignorance of the way this country functions.  I am glad that the Commonwealth Games are happening in India.  Also extremely glad with the way things are progressing. It is time we woke up to the reality that is India. My above statement could be pretty confusing as to what I really intend to say. Am I excited about the game...

For the next few weeks there is only one movie everyone is going to hear and talk about, INCEPTION . It’s being called a mind bending exercise, a movie that challenges our very beliefs of existence and creation, a movie that will remain with us in our subconscious even after we leave the cinema hall. Let’s try and look at some of the concepts from this movie and see if they really are that path breaking and mind bending, let me warn you in advance, this isn’t a review of the movie so don’t expect me to talk about technicalities or other creative aspects of the movie. It is just an attempt from me to find out the Myth behind the Myth of this movie.

It certainly must be rocket science, otherwise how can one explain the conflicting and bizarre feedback for the latest Mani Ratnam movie Raavan. Sample this, most Hindi audiences hate this movie, it’s a huge hit in its Tamil version down south, western critics have hailed it as a masterpiece while our popular Indian critics have trashed it. A small minority swear by this movie and a majority simply hate this movie. How is it possible that one movie can evoke such extreme reactions? What Mani Ratnam has made is something far more controversial than the original man with ten heads. It is a debatable point whether Raavan was a bad man or a victim of circumstances, but the debate whether Raavan the movie is good or bad is even more confusing.  Let me make my stand clear at the outset, I loved this movie, probably  I am the only one to have watched it thrice already within the first week of release, twice in Hindi and once in Tamil, also not to forget the s...

Football or soccer as it is called in different parts of the world is undoubtedly the greatest game that man has ever known. In theory it is the simplest of all games. All one needs is a ball and a few people to kick the ball around to one side of the ground into a goal post. The primary function of every player is so basic that it baffles my mind as to how it can be such an engaging sport and a global phenomenon. Wonder if anyone has ever tried to understand the hidden psychology behind the logic of this game. I have thought a bit about it and figured this out finally.   "Football is life in Motion”    Our entire being is captured so beautifully in this simple game, we don’t see the connection immediately but most of us associate with it subconsciously. Let me try and explain further.

Since the time I was a kid, I always wondered how the world would look in the future. When I was 6 years old i participated in a drawing competition where the theme was about the future. I merrily drew pictures of flying cars and buildings with wheels. I was also certain man would fly like superman soon. Fast forward 28 years later. Does the world look anywhere close to what I imagined then? It's nowhere close to that. Never mind. It still doesn't deter me from imagining that man would fly on his own someday. Have you also ever wondered what would really happen to this world if man started flying? Here is what I think....

“Death comes in many ways; it never comes announced and is always an unwelcome friend.” Death, the one word we all shudder to think about, the one word that shakes us up more than any other word. More so when we lose someone close to us or think we are going to come face to face with it. It is an event that is certain to grace us, whether we like it or not, it’s like an uninvited guest that we need to entertain. Generally unless something like the Mangalore Plane crash happens we never bother to talk about death. Even then we talk only about the event, never about death itself. How many people dead? How did they die? What could have happened if so and so happened? Who broke which story first, etc, etc? But today, i wish to talk about death itself, not about how or why it happened. 

If the Pen is mightier than the Sword That makes the Book mightier than a Bomb And Internet mightier than a Cataclysmic Nuclear Holocaust If you thought the world is going to end in 2012, you are right. But it’s not going to be anything like you imagined. Wondering why and how? Then read on.

The Indian twitter dream run has started this year and many celebrities are taking to it like fish to water. But do you know what started it all. Read on to know the true story......

Few days back I got a mail from a representative of Earth Hour India to write something about the cause on my blog. At the same time my Twitter time line got bombarded by join the Earth Hour tweets from a popular celebrity. I was amused and just like many other friends of mine tweeted back to the celeb mocking him that it’s a joke to be having the Earth Hour in India. What with the power cuts that we anyways have irrespective of the Earth Hour. It’s a concept that is alien to us and doesn’t work. Reason enough for me not to write anything about it on my blog. I wasn’t convinced and I didn’t find anyone who could convince me. But today, something happened, something that opened my eyes. I realize how ignorant I was and to my horror also realize that most people around me are equally ignorant. Read on to know what happened.

Thankfully, there are only two variations of human beings in this world, Men and Women . Keep wondering what would happen if there were more of our kind, like maybe, Apes with brains or Aliens from outer space who want to have a piece of the same pie. Wouldn’t it be so much fun, having some company and competition from the millions of other species on earth and elsewhere, all creations of god. Wouldn’t that take competition and survival to a totally new level?

  February 24th - 2010 In my last blog post called Crocin, Vicks and Shahrukh Khan I made a statement about cricket stars in comparison with Bollywood stars. “Cricket comes a close second, but the stars there are fewer and uni dimensional” Now I am searching for a cane, to whip myself. For having forgotten that the game has this miracle man called Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar. He slapped me on my face today. I forgot that he existed until he reminded me to dare not forget him ever.

You have  Fever . What is the first thing you think of?  Crocin . You have  Cold . What is the first thing you think of?  Vicks . For  Everything Else , there is  Shahrukh Khan   (SRK) Don’t believe me? Then read on…

Ram Gopal Varma , the name evokes a lot of reactions and emotions, mostly bordering on the extremes. But for me, he has been one of the most defining influences in life. I often think how insensitive a nation we are not to give due credit to a man as influential as him. His contribution to modern Indian cinema is unparalleled and something no one seems to fathom yet. You want proof of his achievements. Then read on.

Welcome back to part 2 of my reaction to comments on the ‘3 idiots : Confusing a Nation’ post . Let me start by clearing 4 misconceptions at the outset. ·          I hate 3 idiots ·          I wrote a review of 3 idiots ·          This world doesn’t need Ranchos ·          It’s not important to be passionate in life Well, that’s the first impression I got when I read a majority of the comments. I kept wondering where and when did I say the above. I was stumped literally; things were being written about stuff that I never said in the first place. What do I do then?

Expect the Unexpected First and foremost a big thanks to everyone for the amazing comments on the post ‘3 idiots : Confusing a Nation’. I wish we could compile the whole thing and publish as a book. Each and every comment and thought from you guys has made this one of the most mature and intelligent discussions based on a movie anywhere. I salute you all for the sincerity and intelligence in your reactions. Now it is my time to react again. There is a lot I wish to add to the discussion apart from the obviously debatable things and it’s impossible for me to do so in one post. Hence, I plan to do few posts that can discuss in depth and touch upon various issues. This is the first part of few more to come.

Ok, so 3 idiots , the current Bollywood flick is officially the biggest blockbuster of Indian cinema. An amazing movie with a terrific plotline and characters. Topping it all is the brilliant message it delivers encouraging one to follow the heart, rather than go by the conditioning of parents when it comes to choosing ones profession. At the same time it encourages the pursuit of Excellence rather than the pursuit of Success. A nation agrees but I am a little confused. The issue is not with the message itself, but by the method through which it is conveyed. Let me explain myself.

  Wondering what has gone wrong with my mind. Superman and Twitter? Yes indeed, it is a fact and I can prove it. You really can be Superman just by getting onto the Twitter bandwagon. What gives Superman the edge?  Apart from the ability to fly, he is wherever there is danger. He appears at the nick of time to save the day. Always! Let it be any remote corner of the world, as we are still trying to figure out whether what we are seeing is a bird or a plane, there he is, our good old Superman, ready to save the world, yet again. The mighty hero with the cape, the one who wears his underwear inside out, he is undoubtedly the most powerful man on this earth. What is his secret? The power of social networking. He is undoubtedly the man with the most connections in this world. He can hear everything that is happening in any corner of the world. Now, finally, we normal humans can challenge him at his game. All thanks to a little bird and the ubiquitous little‘t’ which when exp...