The Sena-Shah Rukh face-off:How it began?

The Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackarey and King Khan have already had heated exchange of arguments many times over the difference in their so-called 'ideologies'.So a small spark would be enough to light a wild fire between them and that came in the form of IPL-3 auction.

This year's IPL auction began in a great mood with the franchise owners cautiously picking up talented players from different countries.Many Pakistani players were also included in the auction.But none of them were picked up by any of the teams citing their 'unavailability' for the entire season as the reason.Hence strong reactions echoed from PCB officials,Pakistan government and the fans fraternity.

While this was going on on one side,Shah Rukh Khan who is the owner of The Kolkata Knight Riders gave an interview that he was unhappy about the non-inclusion of Pakistani players in the IPL teams.He also said that he was interested in picking up Abdul Razzaq but could not.

The Shiv Sena which was waiting for such comments burst out at Shah Rukh Khan asking him to apologize for such comments. Shah Rukh,who was in NY at that time,refused to do so clarifying that his comments were clean and there was nothing wrong in that.Every Indian felt the same way because it was a Fundamental Right of Speech. The sena even went to the extent of calling him a "traitor" and his Indianness was questioned.Shah Rukh Khan further clarified that 'Arts and Sports' were the best mode of maintaining a healthy relationship with any country and asked the Shiv Sena not to politicize the issue.

The Sena finally got a target:My Name Is Khan(MNIK), Shah Rukh Khan's movie that was planned to be released on feb 12.The Sena sent letters to all multiplex owners threatening them not to screen the movie and if they do so their theaters will be vandalized by the Shiv Sainiks,the emotionally 'strong' and 'sensitive' workers of the Shiv Sena.The sena claims that they cannot be held responsible for the activities of their workers and the reason being that they're not directed and they do it because of the "emotional outburst".

The Maharashtra government then promised to all multiplex owners and the public that full security will be provided during the film's release.In spite of the tight security arrangements, the Sena activists were arrested for inappropriate behavior.Advance bookings were cancelled in many multiplexes.

But on the day of it's release,MNIK had tremendous response from the people.The citizens of Mumbai thronged the theaters to watch their hero set the screen on fire.The movie was set to release in 64 theaters in the metro city but only 13 screened the movie on the opening day.Even Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan and his colleagues managed to see the movie on it's first day thus conveying a sense of "NO FEAR" to the people throughout the state.

The King Khan and their fans all over India were happy.

This brave act of the people of Maharashtra sends a strong message to the "divisive" forces of Mumbai that they are not afraid of this kind of violence and they 'do not' stand by those parties that spread hatred among the people.

Well done,Mumbaikars!!!!

United we stand,divided we fall!

An article in The Hindu starts with these lines:

"It is classroom in January 2012 and the student says there are 29 states in India.The teacher corrects him that the number has increased to 100.If the prevailing situation persists,this could happen."

As the Telangana Rashtriya Samithi(TRS) chief K Chandrashekara Rao was on a fast unto death and the situation in Andhra worsening, the government at the centre had no other option but to 'abide' by his demand for a separate state of Telangana.The Home Minister P Chidambaram immediately announced the initiation of the process of carving out a separate state from Andhra.

As the news spread,violence echoed in West Bengal where the Gorkha community started demanding a separate state of Gorkhaland from West Bengal.They have threatened that they will take to the streets in New Delhi. The 2010 Common Wealth Games are round the corner and this kind of protests will not only be a scar on India's image but will certainly be a security issue. On the other hand,UP Chief Minister Mayawati is demanding the formation of two states,Purvanchal and Bundelkhand.

Why is this type of separation taking place in a diverse country like India where people from various community,speaking different languages survive together?.The main reason behind this separation is 'Selective development' ,'inefficient allocation of funds'and 'ineffective administration'. Mumbai,the financial capital of India is located in Maharashtra.But a remote town called Vidhbhara in the same state is facing neglect.Why is this kind of imbalance?

One way of keeping the states undivided is to offer 'Special Economic Packages' to the under-developed and neglected regions of each state. Then special committees must be formed,reporting directly to the Prime Minister or the Finance Minister,to ensure that those allocated funds are used as intended. These committees must not be answerable to the State Governments.

So separation of states is not the only answer for development because states like Jharkhand,Utharakhand and Chatthisgarh have not developed after their separation. The politicians are doing this for political gain and we must not become victim to this.

Fighting for statehood has to stop and our ideas be put forth 'together' for a bright future!!!

JAIHIND!!!

A Spoof of Tamil Cinema:Tamizh Padam

Cast:Shiva,Disha Pandey,MS Bhaskar,'Vennira Aadai' Moorthy,Mano Bala,'Paravai' Muniamma.

Direction: CS Amudhan.

Cinematography:Nirav Shah.

Music: Kannan.

Production: Cloud Nine Movies.

As the trailer indicated,'Tamizh Padam' is a spoof on some of the earlier tamil movies.It is the desi version of the 'Scary Movie' series.This kind of an out-and-out spoof movie is new to tamil cinema though some of the spoof TV shows like 'Lollu Sabha' have already won the hearts of the viewers.

The story is a thin line and the debutant director Amudhan has tried to balance the spoofs of all famous movies. The story begins in a village called 'Cinemapatty' where the hero is born. The nattamai had ordered that all boy children be killed because they grow up,migrate to Chennai with a dream of becoming a hero and bring bad name to the village.When Muniamma is about to kill the baby using a 'branded' kallippaal, the child comes up with a punch dialogue and pleads for life.

So 'Paravai' Muniamma brings the child to chennai and finally the child grows up as a hero.The hero's introduction is itself a spoof on 'Chandramukhi'.He starts fighting with the 'goondas' in a typical tamil cinema style. Shiva's(shiva) friends are none other than Siddharth(Mano Bala),Nakul(MS Bhaskar) and Bharath(Murthy) and they are the 'Boys'.

As the story moves on,the hero falls for a girl(Disha Pandey), also in tamil cinema style.But the girl's father has some other plans. If Shiva wants Disha,he has to become a crorepathi. Shiva earns a lot in a time span less than the time taken to prepare 'coffee' for the girl's father with 'Oru Sooravali' in Shankar Mahadevan's powerful voice in the background.

In the second half,Shiva goes to his village to find his parents.How he finds them and fights the 'evil' power in the society forms the remaining part of the story. And the climax has a predictable twist. The movie loses its pace post-interval but picks up near the start of the climax.

Movies like Chandramukhi,Kadhalan,Anniyan,Mozhi are spoofed and the industry big-wigs like Mani Ratnam,Rajnikanth are'nt spared either with some of their movies taking important place in "Tamizh Padam".

Debutant CS Amudhan has taken a bold step and has done a commendable job because it is not easy to enter the cinema field with a spoof movie.Shiva carries the movie on his shoulders and has come up with flying colors with his unique dialogue-delivery style. Mano Bala, Murthy and MS Bhaskar could have been used in a better way but they've done their job well. New-face Disha has passed the litmus test with her facial expression being good. Music Director kannan has given us some foot-tapping music with chart-busters like 'pacha tamizhan' and 'o maha zeeya'.This lad has a bright future in the industry.Nirav Shah has also done a decent job.

Tamizh Padam has no logic in it(Of course you cannot expect logic in a spoof movie!!) but if want to laugh your heart out,go for it!!!

Verdict: 3/5