Saturday, March 27, 2010

Will Justice be done?

For the first time in 8 years there seems to be some hope in the 2002 Gujarat riot case. SIT headed by RK Raghavan has summoned Narendra Modi to depose in connection with a complaint of Zakia Jaffery. But the big question is - will Narendra Bhai Modi be convicted if proved guilty for his role in the worst ever riots that Gujarat has ever witnessed. Only time will say.

Time will say if the evidence against him will be good enough to prove him guilty. In the court of People's Perception he might be a criminal, but what matters is the Court of law where all that matters is the evidence. And will the Apex court have the courage to convict Modi if proven guilty or will it be just another story like the Babri Masjid where justice is still pending ? Just wait and watch.

Sunday, March 14, 2010

New F1 Season - 2010 - A New challenge

Formula One is back again. Every time F1 comes up with something new and refreshing. FIA makes the game a lot more competitive every year. I remember the days where a race was won on sheer car performance and less based on a drivers' ability. Things have changed a lot now. Every team now has an equal opportunity to win a race.

This time pit stops are going to be really interesting and quick- No re-fuelling allowed. It will be nice to see pit stops of just 2.5 seconds - only new tyres will go in. FIA has also made the point system more flexible. The gap between the winner and the runner up will be 7 points. (25 - 18 - 15.... )

Nice to see Michael back, but I don't see him making a big impact. No Kimi which makes the season boring. But I have also pointed out in my previous posting - "I see a lot of Kimi in Vettel" .. It is going to be a close season between Vettel and Alonso.

My pick - Sebastian Vettel, till Kimi returns.

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Sorry Television

Two days back I saw something on the television and was astonished. A guy called Rahul Mahajan got married on television. I was wondering how television shows have transformed - obviously in an ugly way. I remember we first had a BPL Ajith 14 inch television which had twelve channels and there were only two channels that were aired - DD 1 and DD-2(Metro). And today we have television sets with 200 + channels with 300+ channels that are aired. Things have just got worse. The quality of content has taken a hit .

Nineties was according to me, the golden era of Indian television - most finest serials made. There was Nukkad - the most simple story written by Prabodh Joshi. It was the most finest serial made in the history of Indian television. How can I forget the cast of Nukkad - Khopdi, Jhumroo, Kundu Mochi. It just takes me back to the good old days. Then there was Byomkesh Bakshi - the most realistic detective story. Dekh Bhai Dekh - comedy at its best. DD news used to be the most authenticated news - journalism at its best. It was never a fight for the TRP's. A 30 minute episode will run for at least 25 minutes with only a single ad in between and that too of Cadbury Dairy Milk - Kuch Khas hain hum sabhi mein...Kuch baat hain hum sabhi mein.... What a piece of marketing? Amazing. Meri awaaz suno - the best reality show ever.

Today the small screen has become a market for doing business. Today breaking news is - "Flood hits Mumbai , Amitabh's home flooded". How does it matter to me if the Bachan's house is under water? I am worried about those poor people who lost their homes in the flood. News of national security is shown on TV - what is wrong with our Journalism? TV serials like Kyunki... which no logic runs for over 500 episodes.

Having said that, there are still few good things that are aired on television , but the quality of content is getting worse. It's time people to go back and make some "good" television stuff. It is really a sorry state of affairs to see reality shows like Rakhi ka swayamvar.... It's time we come out of the war of TRP's.