Deep Impact

There was a shimmering veil of melody ensconcing the air on the evening of 21 st February, 2016 at Law College Ground, Pune. The audience was mesmerized, ecstatic, excited and touched, all at the same time. And this can only happen when the queen of melody herself, Shreya Ghoshal creates magic with her singing. In what was her first solo concert in Pune, organized by ‘Sa’ Creations, Shreya Ghoshal (once again) proved as to why she has been touted as the queen of melody.  She also reiterated the reason why almost no film made in the past decade or so has been without atleast one song sung by her. Absolutely beautiful renditions dotted this musical evening.  The yesteryear Saregamapa winner started off with ‘bahara’ from ‘I hate Luv stories’. From that point onwards, it was a fabulous treat for the ‘Rasik Punekars.’  In Shreya’s words, it is as great a pleasure as well as a responsibility to sing in front of such a knowledgeable and musically inclined audience.  Shreya went on to rega

These individuals can sense that feeling of being ‘misfits’ especially at weddings or get togethers. Or, even at party held at a friend’s place. Yes, I am talking about a special species here known as the single individuals. As if the caste hierarchy in our Indian society was not enough, this is another type of casteism. It won’t require those extraordinary wings of imagination to understand what I am talking about here.  Here, those who are married are at the top of the ladder. If they have children, even better. The next in line are those who are engaged to be married (the most adored category). The next is those who are in a serious and committed relationship with the opposite sex (same sex is somewhat okay, but beta, marry a Brahmin only). The last ones in the hierarchy, who almost do not feature anywhere and are looked at with pity and sympathy, are those who are single. They say that actions speak louder than words. In this case it comes across prominently. At any gathering or

From climbing London’s iconic Southbank Tower to an under construction sky scraper in Bengaluru, this real British Spiderman can give the Marvel Comics’ superhero a tough fight. We know this Spiderman better as James Kingston. A professional adventurer and free runner, he needs no introduction. Climbing the Southbank Tower is a part of Kingston’s journey around the globe wherein he seeks to get the better of world’s tallest buildings. Following the immense popularity and unprecedented viral reach of the Southbank feat, EpicTV, online extreme adventure channel based in London, recently released the third leg of Kingston’s travels. The adventurer’s trysts with tallest buildings have been documented by EpicTV in its 'On the Edge', a web series. The third leg involved Kingston travelling to the Silicon Valley of India, Bengaluru and pull of an unimaginable stunt. Do I need say that this was an instant hit on the internet and went viral like crazy? Well no! But what he did on 1

Okay, now this has to be one of the most endearing films I have seen for a while. Yes, and that has to be Queen, of course. It was an absolute delight to watch that film. It made me realize the phrase totally- ‘Don’t judge a book by its cover’. Queen did seem to be completely non descript to say the least. But, voila! It had all that a film buff like me could ask for – drama, emotions, comedy and most of all, a realistic touch. I haven’t stopped thinking about the film and what lies at the core of the film ever since I came out of the theatre the other night after watching it. What got me thinking was the sensitive, yet funny and non preachy yet a deep message which the film put across. It spoke about empowering women in a very subtle way, at the same time it was not like a bunch of overtly enthusiastic feminists breathing down your neck. It was all about a simple, naïve (Delhi girl (rare species) Rani (Queen) who has a desire to visit Paris from the bottom of her heart. She even h

The smile is vivacious and contagious, the eyes twinkling and there is absolutely no pretense. She comes across as she is, uninhibited. She is gorgeous in an unconventional way.  That’s Kajol for you.  Madhuri, on the other hand, is a beauty, a stunner, a diva and an epitome of grace and poise.  Say dance and you cannot miss out hearing Madhuri along with that.  Drop dead handsome man with international looks and India’s answer to the slew of Hollywood superheroes. That’s Hrithik Roshan for you. Oh and who can forget that Hrithik too, like Madhuri is synonymous with dance! All these three I feel have one thing in common despite their oh-so-huge fan following and appeal. I seriously feel these 3, even though they are so popular and are worshipped by their fans (like me) and have men and women going berserk at just a sight of them , seem very grounded. They seem to have this inherent sense of goodness. And it shows in their public appearances, interviews.. If one is to approach them, t

I had goosebumps since the first scene when Farhaan Akhtar walks into the stadium in Rome as Milkha Singh, known as Flying Sikh. From then on, the film ran for me and how! Yes, I liked the film! More than the film, it was the extremely talented Farhaan Akhtar who stole the show. He is almost an embodiment of all that the legend was, every bit in the film – physically and mentally. His physical transformation has been unbelievable! I had condemned people who had put facebook status like please send Farhaan Akhtar for Olympics next time around for running. But after I saw the film and the way the actor has run, I too felt the same! The screenplay is slightly complicated and some aspects have been made very simplistic. The one aspect I didn’t like was Dalip Tahil as Pandit Nehru. And I felt sad when Milkha Singh loses the podium by a whisker in Rome Olympics. The length too could have been a bit short, but then the sporting legend’s story definitely deserves that much time. Right from t

Yes, it is been a week since India won the ICC Champions Trophy, much like a breeze. It never seemed for a moment that India was not a potential contender for the crown. Right from the practice matches to the final against England, India was always in the hunt for the crown. Dhoni, sporting salt and pepper hair and stubble can now definitely say even at this age that ‘yeh baal aivin safed nahi huye – ICC World Cup, T-20 World Cup aur ICC Champions Trophy – I have all that on my kitty. Truly enough, Dhoni’s astute captaincy and immaculate reading of the game has paid rich dividends. He has also got a fantastic support from the team which is brimming with youth, enthusiasm and adequate aggression. The likes of Kohli, Raina, Jadeja, Dinesh Kartik, Rohit Sharma and Dhawan have imparted the much needed edge to the fielding and even batting. Captain cool almost always has an answer to tough situations the team gets into. Yes, his decisions sometimes have drawn flak and serious critique some