A load of crap from an idle brain

There’s something about this guy’s singing that gets me hooked. There are hardly any songs that he has sung that i have not liked. Private albums, film songs, you name it, he’s got the range to carry it off pretty well.

Aasman Ke

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Abz4WtIoOs4&feature=related]

Yeh Kahan Mil Gaye Hum

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UwNdrhs325Q&feature=related]

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Years ago, fresh from the success of the Satya and Company, Ram Gopal Varma planned to make a huge movie based on International terrorism. He planned to get actors from Hollywood to star in it. There was quite a buzz around the movie then. The whole thing died out after some time. They say, the budget was too huge for anyone to back the project.

Later this year, Ramu’s new movie Contract is releasing. The first teaser of the movie is out. All the actors are relative newcomers. Look at the promo and one has the feeling that Contract has an uncanny resemblance to his ambitious project, EK.

[youtube=http://youtube.com/watch?v=qZRKJCzAUOQ]

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Yup, am dejected that the Deccan Chargers have ended up with a wodden spoon. To see that they have ended up as the Dhakkans of the inagural Indian Premier League (IPL) tournament is painful. Anyway, we are into the last 3 days of the competition and the worthies are in the semis. No questions.

So, who will be the champions? I would fancy Rajasthan, but Punjab Kings XI is also a pretty balanced and strong team. Priety Zinta smothered each team member with kisses and hugs for every win. I can understand the Punjab team’s motivation to win the tournament anticipating more kisses and hugs by Priety. (No offense meant towards Priety Zinta. I have the highest regards for the lady. She had the balls to stand up in court and give evidence against the underworld when the so called heroes Salman Khan and SRK chickened out. Leading to someone christening her as ‘the only male’ in the Bollywood industry)

Anyways, coming back to the topic, Chennai and Delhi are clearly the weaker of the 4 teams in the semis. But then who knows, Dhoni or Sehwag might fire too. I feel its an evenly poised semi final line up. Anyone can be a winner.

What makes me the happiest is that both Kolkata and Mumbai are out. I cant stand SRK and so is my distaste for anything Mumbai Though am sad for Pollock and Jayasuriya. Pollock captained the team pretty well after Bhajji’s slapgate. But then Sachin screwed it up altogether once he returned. Thank God he was not given the Indian captaincy long enough.

So, who would you like to see win the IPL ?

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Saw Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Harrison Ford is old, but he is back for one final adventure. We are sure not to see Ford play the role again, but looks like Spielberg and Lucas have found their next in line to keep the franchise alive.

I dont want to give out the story, cos there is not much to say about the story in an Indy movie. Its an adventure after another where Indy comes out victorious without a scratch. But boy, Ford does some cool stunts yet again. Some of the stunts like the one on the motorbike is quite good. Special mention to the cinematography, its top notch.

[youtube=http://youtube.com/watch?v=lPTJ4v6KPrg]

I admit that iam biased toward this franchise, so anything i say might be taken as my exuberance and wanting to overlook the flaws. So, i will keep my advise to myself But still, watch it, its probably the last time you will watch Harrison Ford wear that hat again. Who doesnt want to hear the signature tune that plays when Indy comes on screen. Yay.

My rating: *** 3/5

P.S. To read the gist of the movie, read Ramya’s review, click here

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Anil Ambani’s Big Entertainment is going the whole hog. Not wanting to left behind by the elder and more successful brother, Mukesh he is on an investing spree. After picking up Adlabs, and consolidating it, the Big Entertainment group has forayed into Hollywood and has announced development deals with Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt, Will Smith, Julia Roberts and Nicholas Cage.

Reliance Big Entertainment, the media and entertainment company of the Reliance ADA Group, said that it will provide development funds to eight Hollywood production houses. The company did not reveal the capital it plans to invest in this venture, but sources said the investment would be in the range of USD 500 million to USD one billion.

The development funds would be provided to eight creative forces in Hollywood including Nicolas Cage’s Saturn Productions, Jim Carrey’s JC 23 Entertainment, George Clooney’s Smokehouse Productions, Chris Columbus’ 1492 Pictures, Tom Hanks’ Playtone Productions, Brad Pitt’s Plan B Entertainment and Jay Roach’s Everyman Pictures.

In another development, Ambani’s Big Entertainment is investing a billion dollars to produce 69 movies. This will be in 9 languages in the next 2 years in India.

A major announcement was made at the 61st Cannes Film Festival. Over the next two years, the Anil Ambani led Reliance BIG Entertainment will invest one billion dollars in the production and distribution of films. A whopping one billion dollars – that’s what Reliance BIG Entertainment, the media and entertainment arm of the Reliance Group will invest in India’s film industry over the next two years.

The company will be producing and distributing 69 feature films in nine languages – and this investment by Big Entertainment is more than the cumulative of all the other players in the industry put together. Deals for producing films include projects with various Bollywood filmmakers. Like Producer and Director Vidhu Vinod Chopra who will be making two films Broken Horses and Talisman which is based on the Chandrakanta fables starring Amitabh Bachchan.

Vidhu Vinod Chopra says, “The Reliance tie-up took almost six months. They will market it worldwide.” Big Entertainment has also signed a deal with Farhan Akhtar’s Excel Entertainment for a sequel to Don starring Shah Rukh Khan.There are also film production deals with Shyam Benegal, Madhur Bhandarkar, Vivek Agnihotri and Sudhir Mishra. Reliance will also be opening distribution offices in India, the UK, US, South East Asia, Middle East and Australia.

Film making is an inherently risky business. With so much at stake, will Anil Ambani end up with egg on his face or will be laughing all the way to the bank? Only time will tell.

Full articles here and here

Links to the Anil Ambani companies: Adlabs, Big FM, Reliance Anil D Ambani Group

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Work on Hyderabad’s newest skyscraper has begun. The tallest building in the country, about 8 km from the new Shamshabad airport and 6 km from Hi-Tech city, will have 100 floors and be ready in four years.

A Reliance Infrastructure led consortium, developers for the project, will soon sign a development agreement with the Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (APIIC) for construction of a central business district on the eight lane outer ring road being developed by the Andhra government.

Picture of a skyscraper in Hong Kong; courtesy: Stephen Johnson’s Photo Gallery

The project would see an investment of Rs 7,000 crore construction over seven years. “The building would be constructed in four years though the entire project is expected to be completed in seven years,” said an executive associated with the project.

The project is being developed through a joint venture in which Anil Ambani-owned Reliance Infrastructure holds 89 per cent with the remaining being held by APIIC. “We are finalising the development plan. It should take 10-15 days. The project is going strong,” a senior APIIC official told Financial Chronicle.

The SPV estimates that the lease rentals alone could bring in income to the tune of Rs 1,300-1,400 crore annually. With an estimated rentals of Rs 40-45 per square feet per month (psf pm) and Rs 60-70 psf pm, the project’s capital value is in the range of Rs 12,000-13,000 crore.

Reliance Infrastructure, the new name for Reliance Energy, had bagged the project last year after it put in a bid quoting Rs 6.57 crore an acre. The project is being developed on 80 acres of land. The company has already paid upfront Rs 11 crore to APIIC for the project along with a performance guarantee of Rs 32 crore.

The developers would be targeting hoteliers, companies in IT and IT enabled services, besides entertainment companies for leasing and selling out of space. “Some chunk of the space could be taken up by the Anil Ambani group companies for locating its offices and putting up multi-screen cinema halls,” said the executive.

News courtesy: Deccan Chronicle

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Some sense has dawned on the Deccan Chargers and Gilchrist has been made the captain. Of course, the real reason is that Laxman is injured, but then its better that even if Laxman is playing, he should never be the captain. He cant even guarantee his place in a 50 over game, forget a T20 match.

Finally Deccan Chargers have registered their 2nd win. Hope they can maintain the tempo. 7 more matches to go and DC has to make sure that they win all the remaining games and hope that the opposition makes mistakes so that they can move into the semi finals.

The most heartening aspect of the DC games have been the consistency of Rohit Sharma. He is indeed the find of the tournament. Gibbs, Afridi and Styris desperately need to fire, now that most of the Australian, Kiwis and West Indians have gone back for national duty. This is the right time to go in for the kill and pick up the wins. And please, can someone kick out that bugger called Arjun Yadav from the team. A bloody parasite who is in the team just because his father Shivlal Yadav is the head of the Hyderabad Cricket Board. Cant bat, cant bowl, cant field. Like father, like son. Morons.

Go Chargers Go

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This weekend, i watched Doctor Zhivago. To be honest, i found it better than Lawrence of Arabia. Cant believe that iam having the opportunity to watch such classics courtesy the Singapore National Library. God bless them

Had heard so much about the director, David Lean. And after watching 2 of his all time classics, i realise why his name is taken with so much of respect. *bows*

The sets, the sweeping cinematography, the background score by Maurice Jarre and the power packed performances by Omar Sharif, this is a must see. I cant believe that a movie of such epic proportions was made in 1965.

My rating **** and half (4.5/5)

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