Calling all the Sanjay Sinhania's and Sanjay Ramasamy's !!

If there is anyone here who has forgotten to cast your votes for The MovieManiax Awards , please do it soon (if possible, today). The last date to cast your vote is 5th April and the results will be announced on April 7th. Click here or copy-paste the below link in your browser to vote :

http://moviemaniax.wordpress.com/2009/03/10/voting-open-for-the-moviemaniax-awards-2008/

' I ' to the power of 25

Reema tagged me a couple of days back to reveal my 25 random facts and here they are :

Statutory warning : This post contains a lot of ‘I’s’ and can be very boring !!!

1. I love doing tags :D
2. I feel handicapped without my bike, lappie (notebook) and mobile and I wouldn’t feel complete without my watch, deos and my mobile headset.
3. I sing (so whats new, huh?), but I am just an overexposed bathroom singer. Participated in one of the reality shows in Jaya TV (tamil) last year. My songs are uploaded here and you could find it under the tab ‘My version’. But however friendly the person or group is, when asked to sing, I suddenly develop this shyness from nowhere which people misunderstand as fussing :D
4. I just don’t care what people speak about me behind my back. I let the dogs and bitches bark till they get tired. At the same time, I get hurt when I am emotionally back stabbed by any of my close friends.
5. I chose to live in the present and I simply hate listening to those who cling onto the past.
6. I am romantic in my own ways and don’t know how to express it in a mushy way.
7. I get easily irritated which people mistake it as my temper.
8. I often refuse to learn from my mistakes. One reason why I get deceived all the time.
9. I haven’t regretted after taking any of my important decisions and I don’t think I ever will. There are some of them who would have THE REALISATION later; I can never be one of them.
10. I hate it when my creative freedom is intruded. I am open to suggestions but I cannot stand it when they are forced upon.
11. I believe in gender equality. And if physically hurt, I make sure I observe that policy. LOL.
12. I simply love watching movies except those that fall under the horror genre. Why pay money and get scared, huh?
13. I am not inclined towards any sport, either by playing or watching. The only sport I used to watch was WWE, and that too, long long ago. But otherwise, I love those risk involving adventures, trekking and rides.
14. I am obsessed with the letter ‘V’
15. I have a small wooden bear and it has been with me since grade 3.
16. I listen to suggestions and opinions, but I only go ahead with what I feel is right. I have never had conflicts with my conscious.
17. I cant stand people with low IQ and even lesser sense of humor.
18. I am an agnostic.
19. I do not like working abroad just for the sake of money. If it’s a small project and just for a few months, its perfectly fine. Otherwise, I wouldn’t leave India even if I were paid in gold. Experience speaks !
20. I do not have stage fear and appear as a completely different person on stage. But before getting onto the stage, I experience those butterflies and moths in my stomach.
21. I don’t smoke and am a teetotaler. It has been four years since I stopped tea and coffee too. I have been ridiculed a lot for being this way, but I have only felt proud to make that tall claim.
22. I hate seeing hair in women. (Edited, after Reemas comment.LOL) well, except in the head of course !
23. I take time in forgiving people. I am not some machine controlled by a switch.
24. I spend a lot of time on my mobile but I am very bad at responding to SMS.
25. I am a chickenatarian(I hope they bring this genre very soon) but I always prefer veg to non-veg.

I hereby tag :

Aaarti, Alice, Ashwathy, Priya, Varun, Praddy, Rakesh Vanamali, Kanagu

PS : This is the first time I have published two posts on the same day. The one below was published at 6 am and this one at 6.30 pm. This is because, I had accidently published a post today (named Evolution) which was supposed to appear on my birthday.LOL. and to get that removed from your feeds, I had no other choice but to publish this, which was supposed to appear on friday. Oh well, everything is messed up big time now !

Everything was normal until……

Last Saturday, I was at my laziest best; thanks to the lovely weather of Chennai. LOL. I had too many things to do, and so many places to go during the weekend and was trying to prioritize them. Repairing the DVD player for my folks that I got from my native topped the list. I picked the phone and called the service center guys to check if they were available on a Saturday. Unfortunately they were (sigh!), got their address and stuffed the huge DVD player in my bag and started from home.

I always have my mobile headset on as I find it difficult to travel without listening to songs or talking with someone. I have been advised many a times not to do so, but what to do, habits like heeding to advise is out of my dictionary. Its also a habit for me to sing along with the songs, that too in the same pitch and I believe I am being hunted by Chennai police for public nuisance. Btw, is there an IPC penal code for singing while riding? I hope there isn’t! All along the ride, the bag with the DVD player kept moving itself to the left and I kept pushing it back to the center; just like how you do it in a typewriter!

It was 4 in the evening and my head was fuming inside the helmet because of the heat. I took off my helmet at a signal, placed it conveniently on the rear mirror and put on my goggles. The traffic, the heat, the pollution, the heavy bag on my shoulders, and the pretty girls enjoying the AC inside a zen to my right, everything made me feel so bloody restless. I changed the song from Dev D’s Paayaliya to the title track of Delhi 6 and kept humming all along. The signal turned green, it was like a stampede and everyone panicked as if the world was going to end. I rode a little further and stopped once again as the signal turned red again just when I was about to cross the lakshman rekha drawn by Chennai traffic on the roads.

Scrrreeeeech! A red Toyota qualis suddenly stopped on my left with brakes fully applied a` la Tamil cinema style. After a minute or two, a window of the qualis was pulled down from inside and a hand appeared out of it asking me to come near. I went a little ahead thinking he would need help for directions (and also hoping that it shouldn’t be any political gundas!). The window was pulled down completely and a filthy rich middle aged ‘dude’ sitting inside beamed at me. He had so many magazines spread across his seat and was also wearing a couple of those huge stone rings (that’s all I could notice in those few seconds). I returned his smile, took off my headset (gulping) and :

Me : Ennange ? ( What sir?)
Stranger : Sir, neenga Jaya TV Raagamaalika vile paadneengala? ( Sir, have you sung in Jaya TVs Raagamalika?)
Me (blushing) : Amaa. (Yes) (shouting whooooopie! Inside)
Stranger : Vazhthukkal sir, romba nalla paadneenga ( congrats sir, you sang really well)
Me : Thanks a lot sir ! (literally jumping on my seat)

The signal turned green, both of us took different directions from the roundabout and the song in my mobile changed itself to Jai Ho !! ( Im not making this up, it really happened!)

I was in the middle of the road and didn’t know whom to break the news. I was literally on one of those numbered clouds, that was for sure. It made me forget about the heat, pollution, and everything else that made me feel cranky. I thanked that stranger in the red Qualis from the bottom of my heart for further boosting my confidence. According to me, it is these kind of out-of-the-blue public recognitions that matters anyone a lot.

This wasn’t the first time for me. I was recognized soon after my first episode in Oct. last year by a security guard at Satyam multiplex (theatres) and the second time in Dec (ironically, just after my final episode) by a Marrybrown home delivery guy! But what happened last saturday made a lot of difference, not because the stranger this time was an influential person, but because of the fact that my episodes stopped airing like three months back and someone still recognized me, that too in the traffic, inspite of my beard and the weight that I have put on since then!! LOL !!

HORRORscope !!!

Disclaimer - All examples found here are taken from what I have seen and heard around me. The names aren’t revealed only because I wish to live a little more !

A Mumbai based businessman, listening to an astrologer, with the support from his wife rapes both daughters for 9 long years !

Renowned hotel chain owner gets life time sentence for murder, again listening to an astrologer !

Child sacrfices, advised by astrologers and many more such stories.


and how many more do we need to finally wake up?

We all love predictions, don’t we? And we also drop down our jaws in awe when some random person reveals our past. There are people watch those astrology shows on TV, and read sun sign predictions that appear in papers and magazines. Some of them including me watch or read just to have a laugh or two, while there are some who take those predictions to their heart, liver, brain, kidneys or whatever and act accordingly. It’s a myth that only the illiterate go to the extreme level of superstition, infact I have seen more of the educated lot sabotaging their lives in the name of astrology and horoscope, or like they call it, the Horrorscope !

I once had an interesting conversation with one of my friends who strongly believed in horoscopes and astrology.

Me : There are instances where the pregnancy of a woman has been delayed so that the child is born according to a specific time. Is it true?
Friend : Ya, it is. It is for the betterment of the child.
Me : What if either the mother or the child dies during the process of delaying? I mean, there are chances, right? Isn’t it illegal?
Friend : Its Fate. If they have to die that way, what can we do?
Me : WTH ? How can you be so ignorant? You are letting them die by delaying the pregnancy and you are blaming it on fate? And in the first place, why cant you accept a child as it is?

What followed after that was a heated argument! I didn’t want to agree to her views and she stuck onto her beliefs !

We all know that horoscopes are written keeping time, date, place, etc. in mind. One small change in the time, even in the seconds, would make a lot of difference in the person’s future according to the astrologers. Now imagine a situation where a nurse forgets to check the exact time of delivery. Or imagine if the clock or watch was slow or fast even by a minute or so. Does it mean that the fate of the child is in the hands of a silly nurse or a stupid clock? Or wait; imagine a child born in the US on the 20th of March at 4pm, which means its 21st in India. Now will the horoscope of the child be written according to the US or Indian timings and date? They say even the place of birth is as important as the time and date of the birth, so if it is written using the Indian timings, how will you incorporate the place of birth (US) in the horoscope? Doesn’t make any sense, does it?

Ok, now lets go one step back from birth. Most of the married and the going to get married lot here would have gone through a stage where in the horoscopes are made to match to check compatibility. I have seen a lot of couples living happily after ignoring all these hocus-pocus and customs. On the contrary, I have also come across failed marriages and divorces wherein the horoscopes have played a vital role in getting them together. More importantly, this kind of match making happens only in the Hindu community. I haven’t heard of any Muslim or Christians who possess those fate-deciding papers with them. Don’t they get married and live happily? A year ago, during bride hunting, there was this girl whom everybody liked. Everything went great until our horoscopes were brought to match. Apparently the astrologer commented that there’s nothing wrong in the guy-girl getting married, but the girl wouldn’t be in a position to conceive children. Both parents on hearing this backed off. I wonder where in those papers has the astrologer read about our impotency level. LOL.

I know personally a mother who kept matching horoscopes for her daughter so that her to be son-in-law will get them a boy child !!! The search went on for 2 years until the daughter got married and she was indeed blessed with a boy child. The horoscope- maniac mother fell ill with a dreaded disease soon after her daughter’s delivery; now how did the astrologers miss out on that one!!! hmmm...

We also see people letting the astrologers shape their own career. Some of them change their whole name, some of them add a few alphabets to their name making it hard to read and write, and a few of them have even gone to the extent of changing their parents name! There’s this childhood friend of mine whose whole life turned topsy-turvy only because his father had sought some career advise from an astrologer. They were leading a pretty normal life, and my friend and his sibling were studying in one of the best Indian schools. His father was made to wear some fancy rings, change names, conduct several rituals and was made to visit a lot of temples. The astrologer squeezed the ignorant man of everything, one thing led to another and finally the poor man ended up behind the bars.

I agree there are fake astrologers who manipulate the weak minded to make money and that would be the obvious answers to all my questions posed. The other answer would be to take the positive sides of horoscope and ignore the negative ones. But is it necessary for the educated lot in our country to go behind astrologers for their career advise, or matrimony or even childbirth? Shouldn’t it be you who decide what you want in life? Why do you let a third person manipulate your life with his POV? Your entire life revolves around some astrologers predictions and there are chances that these predictions could go wrong; after all, they are just predictions. If astrologers can predict your marriage, career or even sexual life; if he decides your fate, if he makes you re-write your fate with rituals, if he is letting you draw a picture of your life with his hands, then why do we need God at all?

It all boils down to the fact that one shouldn’t believe in astrology or astrologers blindly. The belief shouldn’t influence ones life in a way that he/she end up being a maniac or at the wrong side of the law.

Your future should lie in the best of hands; let that be your own !!!

On public demand.........

Well, this post is actually, technically, masakali, a continuation of this pervert-branded post of mine. There were a lot of requests (ahem! ahem!) flooding in the comments, mails and sms' to flaunt my new identification mark (I am thinking if I should add this to my passport!).


So here it is people, on public demand, the snaps of my private part that bears the tattoo. (Oh c’mon you guys, my arm isn’t public yet !!) -- (Nikhil : You asked me if I am embarassed to show off my tattoo, na? You asked for it, dude !!! LOL)




Pic taken at home, the next day after inking.









Pic taken by my sis Priya, at her terrace

What is it ? – The red colored design is the horn of a Ram (Aries), which is my zodiac sign. And it also looks like the letter V, my initial and my favourite letter. My best friend Anitha chose this design for me from here.

The experience – Though I approached the place with complete zest, I started having second thoughts, the moment I saw the looooong needle. But believe me, it’s not as painful as how people think it is. There is an initial discomfort, but you would forget all that in about 5 mins. It was more or less like a sharp ballpoint pen run over my arm for 30 mins (that’s how long it took for me). The only place in my body that pained was my butt, thats where my wallet was! Guess what, the damn thing is addictive; the more I look at it, the more I feel like having another one inked. But hell, I cant ! My parents would disown me if I get one more :D

The after effects – You are free to continue with your normal routines. There is a cream that has to be applied for about a fortnight. There would be sensations to itch and scratch the tattooed area, but please DO NOT. You should also avoid working out for a few days. The tattoo bearer would normally be a topic of discussion among friends and relatives for a few days. You get different kinds of feedbacks, positive and negative, dont bother! I have had comments from my friends and relatives stating that such a thing doesn’t suit my character and me, in general. Who cares; I did what I wanted to !!! I was also laughed at for spending a fortune on a tattoo during the recession period :D

And who said tattoos are meant only for the musculars and the tough ones ? Even if it is, I am glad that, for people like me, I have now set an example. LOL.

Added after publishing : Incidentally, same day last year, I had posted on my best friend Anitha here. Happy Birthday Kaira !!!

Current Favs- Feb 02 - Mar 15

1. Nee daane from Sarvvam (Tamil) - Music : Yuvan Shankar Raja
2. Aisi Sazaa from Gulaal (Hindi) - Music : Piyush Mishra
3. Saagar Alias Jacky from Saagar Alias Jacky Reloaded (Malayalam) - Music : Gopi Sundar
4. Aasmaan Odhkar from 13 B (Hindi) / Kaatrile Vaasamey from Yaavarum Nalam (Tamil) - Music : Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy
5. Mudhal Murai Unnai Paartha from Adhe Neram Adhe Idam (Tamil) - Music : Premji Amaran
6. Kadaloram from Kunguma Poovum Konji Puraavam (Tamil) - Music - Yuvan Shankar Raja
7. Gulon Mein (Upbeat version) from Sikander (Hindi) – Music : Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy
8. Aankh Micholi from Dev D (Hindi) – Music : Amit Trivedi
9. Oiyaayiyaay from Ayan (Tamil) – Music : Harris Jayaraj
10. Oru Paarvayil from Siva Manasile Shakthi (Tamil) - Music : Yuvan Shankar Raja



Btw, did you guys vote for the MovieManiax Awards?? No??? What are you waiting for then ?? Go ahead, and cast your vote today !!!

Also, it would be great if you could place the below badges in your blog to help us publicise this endeavor.

and please, do not forget to link the badges to this URL : http://moviemaniax.wordpress.com/2009/03/10/voting-open-for-the-moviemaniax-awards-2008/

Its live !!! Its live !!! Its live !!!

The Voting is finally open for the MovieManiax Awards 2008.

The voting lines will be open for 25 days and will close on Sunday 5th April’09 at 00:00 IST. The winners will be declared thereafter.

We have made a slight change in the nominees before the polls go live tonight. There has been no deletion of any nominee, however we have added an extra option ‘Other’ wherein you can select that option and enter your choice in the box provided if you do not agree to the 5 nominees already listed. This option was brought in after a lot of debate (and examining the pros and cons of doing so) which ensued upon the release of our Nominees. Please note that this would not be applicable to all categories, but only the popular 6 will come with ‘Other’ option.

Please visit here or click on the link below to cast your votes :

http://moviemaniax.wordpress.com/2009/03/10/voting-open-for-the-moviemaniax-awards-2008/

Nominations for the MovieManiax Awards - 2008

The wait for the nominations ends now. After 2 weeks of rigorous discussions and arguments, eagerly awaited list of nominees is finally ready. Please visit the MovieManiax Awards for more details on the nominees.

There are 20 categories in all :

1. Best Film
2. Best Director
3. Best Actor (Male)
4. Best Actor (Female)
5. Best Actor in a supporting role (Male)
6. Best Actor in a supporting role (Female)
7. Best Actor in a Negative role
8. Best Actor in a Comic role
9. Best Playback Singer (Male)
10. Best Playback Singer (Female)
11. Best Music
12. Best Lyrics
13. Best Dialogues
14. Best Story
15. Best Debut (Male)
16. Best Debut (Female)
17. Best Child Artiste
18. Best Song of the year
19. Favourite Jodi of the year


Now, we have something for the readers: The 20th category is called Most Talked About thing of the Year’08.

Please suggest your nominees for this category. We will pick your 5 best suggestions as nomination. For eg: Aamir Khan’s promotional extravaganza for Ghajini or UTV Motion Pictures’ path breaking films, Farhan’s debut, etc. So, do come up with your suggestion for the same.

The nominations are up in the MovieManiax site and the voting will go live from next week.

Sorry, No Power Awards Here !!!

Btw, how many of you know about your favourite movies ???

Try this quiz as a prelude to the MovieManiax Awards '08.

http://moviemaniax.wordpress.com/2009/03/04/tauba-apna-jalwa-tauba-apna-pyaar-and-movie-quiz-2008/

To know more about The MovieManiax Awards '08. Click here.

The MovieManiax Awards '08

People, its film awards again and this time its serious !! How many of us have lost our faith in awards like Filmfares/Stardusts or even the Padmashrees? Havnt you ever thought to yourself that if given a chance, you could make a difference to the award declarations? Then, think no more, heres an opportunity for you !! Enough of those "WT(x)", "Oh crap!", "How did he?" and "Why her?". Its time for the "At last..."s and "Finally"s !

Presenting to you, one of the finest film award declarations that our country is ever going to witness.......

The MovieManiax Awards is an initiative to honor the best of Hindi Cinema. Being the first year of it’s running, the categories are limited and we have not ventured into the technical awards. The nominations under the categories have been discussed, scrutinized and finally arrived on conclusion by a team of Bloggers. The rationale behind the nominations was to bring in the best irrespective of Box-Office status. And now it’s up to you fellow Bloggers and non-bloggers to have your voice counted to decide the deserving one. Go ahead and vote for the best !

Please bookmark the the MovieManiax Awards blog. If you are at Facebook, join the group here.

Do participate in this initiative to recognise the best in the industry and it would be appreciable if you could spread the word amongst the fellow bloggers and non-bloggers; basically anyone who has an access to internet.

Endeavor by: Vee (Oxy)
Creative Consultant: Magik
Awards Badge Designer: Dev
MovieManiax Blog Header Designer: Sandeep Haldar
Publicist: Nikhil

Also check :

Oxy's (Vee) Post
Reema's Post
Varun's Post
Poonam's Post
Smita's Post

Theres more to this, so please stay browsed !

Finally, I did it !!!

........yes, finally !!! It had been in my mind for a long time now. I was waiting for a company, didn’t know how to approach such places all by myself. Enquired about the safest place from some of my close friends and ended up in one. It was dingy, a little shady, but such places are supposed to be this way; after all most of them aren’t under legal supervision.

I was a little skeptical at the moment, a little perturbed, but something kept saying it’s now or never. I’ve heard from people with prior experience claiming that it is going to be painful only for the first time. They even scared me by saying that there would be a lot of blood. Well, it did pain, I wouldn’t disagree but then, the pain is bearable and at the end of it, there is a pleasure awaiting you. And as the old saying goes, no pain, no gain ! Moreover, we had fun doing it, we shared jokes; we gossiped, we discussed about the pros and cons, the skin was played with and yet we didn’t lose concentration on what we were doing. There was also this sense of satisfaction when you know that you finally did something that you longed for.

I am sure people would start judging me for this as it is still considered as a taboo, atleast in India. But I feel these days’ guys and gals do it just like drinking tea and yeah, who cares when there are other bigger issues for people to ponder. I was told that I should’ve tried this a couple of years ago, and, at this age I should be more responsible. My friends even warned that I would end up having A.I.D.S. or related sexually transmitted diseases. I didn’t think twice, or rather, I didn’t want to. But after whatever happened, I repented, which again, according to my friends is very common and something they had warned me about. I had to tell my parents because I don’t hide anything from them. They were mad like all other parents; and also asked me if I was so desperate and frustrated with my life to have gone ahead with it. I wouldn’t blame them; they wouldn’t have expected their son to go to this extent. Now that it remains a permanent scar, I can not possibly do anything. I just love my new tattoo and that’s all it matters !

.... on cloud 999 !

This is like wow !!! Those posts on Bollywood awards and fellow bloggers actually won an appreciation. Yeyyyyyy !!!!!! Thanks Reeeeeema ! This is the first time any post of mine is being recognised this way. You know what, I am going to take a print out of this and treasure it along with my other academic (one or two)/ arts/ professional (are there any?) certificates. Thanks once again Reema.

I also thank all my readers for the encouragement that I keep receiving from your comments.