The big soap bubble is ready to burst on Indian Television. Time has come for the 8-year-old Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi, (KSBKBT) with it’s immortal characters (well, they just refused to die and saw five generations), kilos of jewellery, shimmering silks, naach-gaana, rona-dhona and the� regressive approach to women, to finally reach its last chapter by end October.

Many claim that KSBKBT is reaching a natural end (phew!) but it’s actually the TV channel (please read Star Plus) which has decided to end the contract with producers Balaji Telefilms. There was a time when this very regressive Balaji soap was responsible for the increasing TRPs of the channel, but now Star wants to reinvent itself. The last two years have seen quite a downfall in its popularity.

Read the rest of this entry »

If you had been wondering from where all the heroin of the world comes, it must not be too difficult to guess. It’s from the most troubled nation on earth, Afghanistan. The country depends literally on the money that comes from the sale of homegrown opium and poppy and also the derivatives like heroin and morphine. These narcotics make way to Western Europe through the neighboring Tajikistan.

Just 13 hours ago, many afghan smugglers were killed in a shootout in Tajikistan when they were caught red handed smuggling heroin into Tajikistan’s borders. These drugs after reaching France, Germany and elsewhere, are sold at exorbitant prices. What I fear is that the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan has actually encouraged the Afghan opium farmers to grow more as lawlessness has increased many folds after the Americans have entered.

Only through proper negotiations with the U.N. and afghan government can the drug route and trade be blocked. I wonder how things will go in the near future. Though listening to the news of the smugglers being shot dead isn’t a very pleasant one, it may just have the right thing to do, for the Tajik forces, whose land is being used as a transit for drug delivery to Europe.

Via: AfghanConflictMonitor

There has been a lot of discussion about men going bald and losing charm. However, if there is a standing example to the fact that hair really doesn’t matter as long as someone is really capable of attracting attention through other ways, it has to be Fran Healy from the Scottish alternative rock band Travis. The man behind singles like ‘Why does it always rain on me’, ‘Sing’, and many others, has publicly stated that he doesn’t worry about getting old or not looking as great as he used to.

Well, I couldn’t agree more with such great music he and the guys make and also his deep blue eyes. I just wish Travis’ new album ‘Ode to J. Smith’ gets released soon and we can listen to what is being called the greatest alternative rock album to be released in 2008. The album has already received critical acclaim and a favorable critical mood.

For now, I would say baldness or any other matter really doesn’t matter as long as a man remains committed to his true mission and talents, be it music or politics or sports. Showbiz unfortunately has concentrated more upon a celebrity’s looks rather than the talent behind what makes him or her a celebrity.

Image

Via: GodsInTheTVZine

It’s more than shocking when I read Maati Saari’s merciless psychedelic killing spree that took ten of his classmates’ lives and also his own post the massacre. The most horrible part of the whole scene was when he put them on fir post the massacre. The victims have been left beyond recognition due to the results of the severe burns received by the corpses. What dumbfounded me the most is the bold step that he took by uploading a video on YouTube, which shows him shooting at a range. The question is, why couldn’t the Law react to this illegal video on time? Reports validate that this particular video was posted on Finnish social networking site and with circulation it had reached the YouTube.

It seems to me that the Law is washing its hands off and not taking the charged completely on its own, obviously for political issues. But who will control this killing spree which is reported to occur frequently especially in educational institutes. It’s a tough nut to crack, as nothing seems to be conspicuous. Nobody has the precise clues as to why this heinous crime is committed by the school and college students. What stimulates these youngsters to take themselves into this scandalous crime should be the Law’s concern. This merciless crime should be nipped in the bud not by the Law alone but collectively which involves all the citizens.

Educational institutes are no more safe. Acquiring education has equally become as dangerous as facing a troop of army in the battlefield. Who will save the innocent people now? Whose fault is it that the innocent lives have been taken forcefully. Maati Saari killed his ten classmates but who will control this insane crime? How many more Maati Saari are people going to withstand? Acting upon this serious issue at once will perchance ameliorate the safety of the innocent people. It’s time to wake up and be harsh on the concerned people who are responsible for this kind of an unforgiving crime. One must obliterate this crime forever. Can a one person alone do this? Possibly not, so join your hands together and allow no more such a crime to be registered in the history.

Image

Via: TimesOnline

In all honesty, the name Sanjay Nirupam would not have really rang a bell anywhere till the recent Bigg Boss participation by the man. Yeah yeah, he is a politician of sorts. But did we know anything more about him? Well, I don’t think so. But the man sure lives in delusions of grandeur. Believe it or not, on his ouster from the Bigg Boss house Nirupam told the media how the real-life-show experience was fulfilling as he got a chance to “live with commoners”.
Well, is that what we are to the likes of him? By that ‘we’, I mean the celebrities participating in Bigg Boss. If someone of their name and fame are like an ant to Nirupam, I guess people like you and me won’t be anything more than a unicellular organism. And we used to believe that politicians are our representatives. Weren’t they handpicked by us from the crowd that we now belong to? I am forced to wonder when did the blue blood complex creep in?
For the uninitiated, Nirupam grew up in a village in Bihar and gained media mileage (whatever little it was) only when he was asked by Bal Thackeray to play editor to one of his print publications and later was made the Shiv Sena MP to the Rajya Sabha until Nirupam decided to resign in 2005 owing to his friction with Pramod Mahajan.
After being evicted from Bigg Boss and having earned the criticism of his inmates (the ‘netagiri’ didn’t go too well with them either), let’s see how ‘King’ Nirupam makes life worthwhile for “commoners”.
Via ibnlive

Once again, we are forced to ask if the real life shows are actually real? A few days ago, we reported Shilpa Shetty being asked to play host to the Indian version of Big Brother called Bigg Boss. Well, there is more to that. Now the infamous Jade Goody, who was pummelled by the world for bad-mouthing Shetty on Big Brother a year and a half ago, too will be on board at Bigg Boss. Apparently, she “wants to clear her name”. There is more to the drama. A source close to Goody has quoted, “Jade was a bit anxious about how the Indian public would react but she finally gave in, as a chance to clear her name.”
So, does the buck really stop there? News is that the British celebrity is being paid £ 100,000 for taking part in the show that will run for three months. It’s a lot of money but perhaps, the unavoidable confrontation between Shetty and Goody will prove to be even more valuable for the makers of the show. Let’s wait and watch.
Via ibnlive

Seeing Monika Devi, the Indian Weightlifter crying at a press conference in a helpless, or should I say infantile effort to emphasize her innocence in the latest doping controversy made me wonder how we comprehend the act.� I feel that she is innocent, not because of the tears she shed but because of the fact that Indian Weightlifting Federation (IWF) is backing her claims of innocence plus the shoddy way in which dope testing is done in India is not news anymore. In addition to that, the politics and regionalism involved in Indian sports is no secret. But does crying in front of the nation help? I seriously don’t think so, and neither do statements like ‘shoot me if I am found guilty’. You� internationally acclaimed sports people� are our national heroes and� represent our country to the world outside. You are an inspiration to thousands of aspiring sportsmen. You carry hopes of a nation whenever and wherever you perform. Can’t you remain composed for a press conference? I am sorry but you don’t have my sympathy. Rather, what you did is lamentable. And� the� feeling� was ‘pity’ in case of the infamous Kapil Dev episode. As the scenes of the conference are shown again and again on all news channels, the only two words I would utter, if at all, would be ‘poor girl’.�
The fact is, many believe that she should not have been part of the squad going to Beijing, because Shailaja Pujari was a better performer as per the trials. Monika had found the berth because of the politics involved. I guess now its déj� vu for her!

Via cnnibn

427 TV channels in India!!! Or so the TAM guy says. That is not the only fact to be thrown your way dear reader. While people criticize print media for selling out big time news space to rich advertisers, they seem to overlook the shortcomings of the news channels they so like to depend on. Hear hear, apparently a Hindi news channel has been a running 19 minutes of advertising in a 30-minute prime time slot. WHAT??? I know this must be the word coming out of your mouth. Wondering where the news went between the breaks.

I mean you cannot just crucify one media group when there are others who have very tartly played with the 19-11 edit-ad ratio to a 17-13 at primetime by bringing back recognised faces. Also 33 per cent of the ticker space at prime time is sold to ads, a phenomenon that BBC and CNN are totally unaware of!
And IBN7 is currently obsessed with aliens. There is nothing newsworthy unless it is other worldly. I mean talking about images from space that show the faces of Hindu gods and Mahatma Gandhi is like what??? Then there was the news report on Area 51, as if it was something new. What’s up with the news guys…….?

Via PressTalk

Hey, is there an unspoken rule about a teen celeb having a similar aged rival. Oh c’mon man, can we forget Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera trying to get each other with toy boy Justin Timberlake being bounced off from one babe to another. Sadly, I see the same fate for the oh-so-loved Hannah Montana aka Miley Cyrus and her onscreen and now off screen rival Selena Gomez. For the uninitiated, Selena guest stars on Miley’s show ironically as her rival only. Now come to think of it, didn’t� Britney also come with a BANG and now all we can hear is a whimper. I fail to understand where the parents of these star kids disappear leaving them in the clutches of the PR agents. Well, celeb rivalry sure is the most dependable way to be in the news but Mr and Ms PR agents please, at least spare the kids.

I mean the two girls are minting money for Disney channel with their huge popularity. Well, even I loved watching them on TV with my teenage girl cousins, and they absolutely adored them. But now the girls have gone petty to score a point against each other. Apparently, Selena Gomez hosts a show on YouTube with Demi Lovato which really is an honest attempt. The girls seem like regular teenagers and not stuck-up celebs. In fact, in one of the episodes Selena showed off her Power Rangers shirt and Demi showed that she fixed the gap in her teeth. So, on July 19th Miley with the help of Mandy Jiroux released a YouTube parody of the same show acting like drunken idiots. Pooh, what a shame! Later on, Miley did apologise with a very cheeky ‘Imitation is the best form of flattery’ quote but then everyone agreed that she was plain jealous!

Via BlogCritics

The world has caught scent of the professional disagreement between INX CEO Peter Mukerjea and famous journalist and columnist Vir Sanghvi. Agreed, the two released a joint statement saying that they will resolve the differences in good faith. However, the buzz is that Mukerjea has already started scouting for a new chief executive officer for his news channel NewsX.

The core of the problems lie in the opposite point of views of Peter’s wife Indrani and Vir regarding the presentation of news on the upcoming channel.
Insiders reveal that even the delay in the launch of the channel is perhaps because of the inefficient executives lined up by Indrani. Also, Vir is not being allowed to function independently. On top of all this, Vir’s parting from the channel is still not very clear as he holds a 3% stake in INX News.

Wonder what the true picture is. Only one thing is evident, that the mudslinging is getting dirtier. I guess, we’ll just have to wait and watch for the volley of words between the new baron Vir and his counterparts, a famous TV producer couple.

Via Livemint