Blog Title: Toe Knee Unplugged

How a cockroach got drunk on the sets of 'Mr India'

Remember that scene in Mr India(1987) where Sridevi comes face to face with a cockroach.

Turns out director Shekhar Kapur had to coax the roach with some rum to stand still for the shot.

Kapur wrote about it on his blog.

"Well, I needed the cockroach to be very still for the camera as he/she eyed Sri Devi threateningly. Focussing takes a long time and the cockroach needed to be patient. So we got the cockroach drunk !! No kidding, we surrounded the cockroach in a pool of my favorite Old Monk Rum, and the cockroach was soon lolling around like a drunken sailor, giving in to the DP, Baba Azmi's every demand."

India Blog Mela - December 2008

Ramesh Srivats is back with a second post on 100-word election speeches -- fictional, of course.

Greatbong reveals why he does not like Arundhati Roy.

Did you hear about the guy who threw a DVD of 'Drona' at Prime Minister Manmohan Singh? Anand Ramachandran has the details.

He was destined for glory right from when he was small. He broke all the rules. Krish Ashok writes an obituary.

Rajesh Ramaswamy remembers the Cocojumbo man, the Scatman troop and the Nirvana chick.

Thanks to Muffin, Suchitra Krishnamoorthi finally understands men.

Sauvik Chakraverti wants to shut down the DDA.

Jai Arjun Singh has a credit card almost thrust upon him, then taken away.

Amrita bumped into the rooster in the kitchen. When she was three.

Jammy is thanking God for helping his family survive winter in north India.

That's all for now. The January 2009 Blog Mela returns early next month. But before leaving, do please vote for the best post in the December 2008 Blog Mela.

Luger Shiva Keshavan does India proud

It was a good year for Indian sports and Shiva Keshavan just made 2008 better.

In case you didn't hear about it, India's most famous luger won a bronze medal at the Asia Cup this December, three years after his first podium finish at Nagano(Japan).

What's luge? Well, it's been a Winter Olympics sport since 1964 and involves a high-speed sled ride through a semi-circular ice track.

At 27, Keshavan is already a luge veteran -- having taken part in three Winter Olympics and now preparing for his fourth at Vancouver next year.

On Christmas Eve in 2005, Keshavan won his first international medals in the sport, picking up a bronze (singles) and silver (doubles) at the Nagano Asia Cup.

Two months later, at the Torino Olympics, Keshavan finished 25th -- a creditable result considering only a second separated him from the gold medallist in terms of best lap time.

Moreover, Keshavan did it against all odds -- no funding or help from a defunct national luge association.

He's got himself some sponsors now and is back on the luge track after a sabbatical of nearly two years.

So here's wishing Keshavan best of luck for a Herculean task in 2010 -- bagging India's first medal at the Winter Olympics.

INTERVIEW (July 31, 2007)

The Smoke Ring fraternity

I went for a party last night and was faced with empty chairs at periodic intervals. Where were all these people going?

Jugular Vein helped me get to the bottom of it.

I went outside and spent a very pleasant evening with people i'd never met before. I never did get their names, but one was an India Kings Extra Mild, two were Marlboro Lights and another was a Habanos Monte Cristo No 4 Classy.

How many calories does it take to win 8 Olympic golds?

Remember all those news items about Michael Phelps taking in 12,000 calories every day.

Turns out they weren't entirely true.

November 2008 Blog Mela

In this special edition of the monthly blog mela, here are the best of Indian blog posts on the Mumbai attacks.

Prem Panicker - The morning after

India Uncut - A Night Out in Mumbai

Ramesh Srivats - It would be funny if it weren't so scary

Sonia Faleiro - Children of Bombay

Amitabh Bachchan - A nation is upset and angry

Great Bong - The way forward

Annie Zaidi - Mumbai, post

Mudra Mehta - -------------------

Karan Johar - The Fire Within...

Green Channel - Nightmares

Yuvvraaj: Brilliant score let down by lacklustre script

Unfortunately for Subhash Ghai, the era of formula films has long gone and even the most ambitious project can't afford to take it easy in the writing department.

And that's where "Yuvvraaj", the 18th film by a director known as Bollywood's Showman, fails despite liberal doses of Ghai's trademark opulence and grandeur.

Essentially the story of three brothers, "Yuvvraaj" revolves around the free-for-all that ensues when a London-based billionaire dies, leaving behind his fortune to autistic son Gyanesh Yuvvraaj (Anil Kapoor).

To read more, click here

Hocus-pocus Hill-Billy-Boo

This Saturday, a U.S. magician will either astound you or pay you $100. That's my prediction.

Dostana: A spectacular first half but nothing great overall

The opening shot of John Abraham emerging from the sea sets the tone for the film, with the camera lens lingering a tad too long on his bright yellow trunks.

The latest offering from filmmaker Karan Johar features the usual mélange of romance, snazzy designer wear, exotic locales and foot-tapping numbers.

But writer-director Tarun Mansukhani plays a masterstroke with the 'gay' plot, setting the stage for a hitherto unused treasure trove of witty one-liners and bawdy humour. To read more, click here.

Dasvidaniya: Bittersweet slice of middle-class life

If you were expecting Vinay Pathak's latest film to be a comic caper, you are in for a surprise.

"Dasvidaniya" is a bittersweet comedy about a man diagnosed with cancer and how he spends the last three months of his life.

Heard that one before? It's a subject Bollywood has dealt with in films like "Anand" and "Kal Ho Naa Ho". The 2007 Hollywood film "The Bucket List" also had a similar storyline.

But Shashant Shah’s "Dasvidaniya" gives the plot some original twists. To read more, click here.

Help a virgin

Once upon a time there was a 25-year-old guy. Unfortunately, he was still a virgin. Desperate, he went to his only friend -- a pretty girl -- for help.

V: Can you help me, Pretty
P: On one condition
V: Name it, Pretty
P: Set up a website asking people to help you
V: Help me to do what?
P: Get more people to visit your website
V: So?
P: If you get five million hits by New Year's Eve
V: Yes
P: Then I will help you
V: Help me with my problem?
P: Yes
V: You mean it
P: Yes, but
V: But?
P: If you fail, you'll have to do anything
V: Anything?
P: Anything I want for a month
V: Done

Okay, okay so this conversation is a figment of my imagination.

But such a website does exist and the 25-year-old virgin is a long, long way from achieving his goal.

Do help him out before he becomes a slave to his pretty friend.

For Twitter feed, click here

It can't get more sexist than this

(Link via Reddit)

Ganguly takes off his shirt one last time

It wasn't the way Saurav Ganguly wanted to walk off into the sunset. A century in Nagpur, the final test of India's most successful test skipper, would have made it memorable.

But he did make it memorable and how. Read more here.

Can't mention Obama's name at school

U.S. television channel WLBT reports that that a school in Mississippi is not allowing students to mention president-elect Barack Obama's name.

"Melissa Hayes says teachers at Puckett Attendance Center told her daughters they could not talk about Obama in class or in the hallways."

Start your day with a smile

I usually get irritated by forwarded emails but this pic just made my day.

The name is Bond. Black Bond

Now that Barack Obama has gone right ahead and broken the black barrier at the White House, I think it's time we have someone black playing James Bond.

Not that Daniel Craig is doing such a bad job. It's just that Ian Fleming's master spy needs to evolve with the times and be shaken, not stirred in more ways than one.

My choice -- Denzel Washington. If he declines, then Will Smith.

You might be laughing now but if Obama can be voted U.S. president, a black Bond is not that big a deal.

Or is it?

Barack Obama - seems he's India's choice too

You would have thought so too -- if you were present at Delhi's American Center on Wednesday morning.

And by the way, I voted for Obama. Click here for more.

Slideshow

Partition: A not so epic love story

Watched Partition (2007) on television. This Canadian production revolves around the love story of a Sikh man and a Muslim woman drawn together by the partition of India in 1947.

The storyline is familiar -- the Bollywood hit Gadar: Ek Prem Katha (2001) had an uncannily similar plot. But despite a host of accomplished actors, this Vic Sarin film is never as impressive.

Illiterate villagers mouthing dialogues in English is okay but an Indian actor in the role of Naseem (Kristin Kreuk) would have been more believable. And although Jimi Mistry as the protagonist Gian is first-class, Irrfan Khan and Vinay Pathak are wasted in their two-bit roles.

Neve Campbell plays with aplomb the role of an English lady who helps Gian search for Naseem's missing family after the riots.

This is certainly not one of those 'Pakistan is bad' propaganda movies -- director Sarin ensures there are good and bad characters on both sides of the border. But Naseem's brother Akbar (Arya Babbar) remains a stereotype.

Partition loses its bearings after a placid first half, hurtling towards a predictable and unimpressive climax. Still, it's worth a watch for its lovely cinematography.

I wasn't so sure about the trains depicted in the film -- they seemed too modern to be around 60 years ago. And the idea of a devout Sikh converting to Islam just to get across the border seemed a bit far-fetched.

RATING: **

(For other reviews of this film, click here and here )

Moving house to Dwarka

After 20 years of living in a not-so-posh area of south Delhi, we have shifted to the subcity of Dwarka.

Yes, there have been teething troubles. It was tough living without broadband internet for a fortnight and Tata Sky's less than exemplary service did give me a headache or two.

But I can assure you all the horror stories of water scarcity and Dwarka residents bathing once a week are not true.

Even if you need five buckets of water for a single bath (Water conservation, anyone?), you should be okay.

It's nice to live in an apartment complex with intercom facility, educated neighbours, a park, a fixed parking space and generator.

Yes, for those of you who have grown up in any of Delhi's apartment complexes, it's nothing new.

But I spent two decades in a place with not-so-nice neighbours (the kind that have fights and spew abuse past midnight), teeming with cows and buffaloes (usually harmless but my mom was once an unwilling combatant in a bovine tussle) and long, frequent power cuts.

It's nice to finally live in an area where Nirula's, Pizza Hut and Domino's deliver food. Not that we eat out often. But it's good to know a Hot Chocolate Fudge is merely a phone call away.

It's nice to finally have a bustling market nearby, with a choice of department stores where I can use Sodexho coupons.

It's nice to finally have a Delhi Metro station only a mile or two away.

I have found paradise in the concrete environs of Dwarka. And hope it stays that way.

September-October 2008 Blog Mela

If you thought Toe Knee Unplugged was all plugged up and gone, you are in for a surprise.

I am very much alive and well, though yet to recover from a bout of blogger's block.

The monthly Blog Mela resumes with the November blog mela early next month, but for now here's the best of Indian blogs in September and October 2008. Enjoy.

Anand Ramachandran is smitten by Apple's iThing

Great Bong reveals more about Drona and soiled pots

Twisted DNA is not a big fan of kids on the phone

Krish Ashok authors the Dummies' Guide to the US elections

Coconut Chutney is compelled to write about CAs

Neelakantan dreams up a ban on eating out

Sidin Vadukat is using a questionnaire to trace a 'Singur' personality

Jaideep Varma is disappointed by the reviews of 'Hulla'

IndieQuill is waxing

Jammy is making love, not sex

That's all for now. The November 2008 Blog Mela returns early next month. But before leaving, do please vote for the best post in the September-October 2008 Blog Mela.

How many men does it take to hold a water pipe?

Eight. Especially when the office next door is getting spruced up for some pre-Diwali fanfare. They connected the pipe to the fire hydrant thingy and let loose a volley of water. The trees surely appreciated it, although the cars parked nearby didn't like getting their wheels wet.

Let sleeping dogs lie

During a recent trip to Delhi's Qutab Minar (mandatory whenever relatives drop in), I saw these stray dogs sleeping next to three tombs.

Waiting for their masters' call, eh?

Taking the red bus home: a joyride in New Delhi

Riding home in the air-conditioned comfort of a gleaming red bus, I find it hard to believe I am travelling in New Delhi.

Squeaky-clean seats, no crowds jostling for room, automatic doors and huge windows offering panoramic views of the bustling streets — it's a far cry from the torture I have endured in the past.

Click here to read more.


(Photo by Vijay Mathur)

RELATED POSTS
Surviving Delhi's Bus Rapid Transit Corridor Part 1, 2, 3

And here's a picture of the devil's pet

Evil Bunny link from here

Dog Wars: The Poop Strikes Back

Heard of the "dog poop DNA reward & fine scheme" yet?

Okay, it's not called that but believe me -- this is exactly what a program launched in a Tel Aviv suburb is doing.

Using a DNA database to match faeces to a dog and identify its owner. Ensuring that people clean up after their pets.

Isn't technology wonderful? Stock markets are in a turmoil, people are dying in floods, bombings, shootings (you-name-it and they are dying of it) and what do the people of Petah Tikva do? Worry about the origins of canine poop.

I wonder who came up with the idea. P Diddy?

Last week, hip-hop mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs stepped in a dog's leftovers - literally.

Or was it someone who hates Britney Spears? Remember how the pop star let her puppy poop on a $6,700 Zac Posen gown during a photo shoot last year.

Anyway, the scheme is doomed to fail in India -- where millions of stray dogs rule the streets. Imagine the time and effort it will take to test their collective poop.

Of course, there's no one to pay the fines. Unless you consider these dogs property of the state. And make the municipal authority cough up the money.

On second thoughts, that's not a bad idea.

By the way, did you hear some crap about Indian stray dogs being voted the world's sexiest?