What the hell is wrong with this guy Andrew symonds? Its indeed shocking to hear that he was sent home packing

on the eve of the 20-20 world cup for alcohol related problems, not only does he put the australian team trying to

regain its number one position in a spot but it also surely ends his own international career for good. Such a waste

of an outstanding cricketer. Andrew symonds was inducted back into the side after several misdemeanours

and warnings from cricket australia, symonds ouster from the team was due to incidents like brawls in night clubs

missing practise sessions and team meetings to go fishing etc. He also reported drunk on a radio talk show and

called the kiwi wicket keeper brendon mcullum a “piece of shit” which he later had to apologise for.

In spite of all this cricket australia still had faith in his abilities and put him under psychiatric care so that his

rehab is quick and cricket australia dont lose a good cricketer for all the wrong reasons. Unfortunately it was not

meant to be and symonds let everybody who instilled any faith in him down once again.

Its surely curtains for andrew symonds , the only good thing for him is that he can drink as much as he wants now as nobody really cares anymore…

hey sonakshi, happy birthday !

hey guys this stunning young talented girl is none other than our very own  shotguns (shatruji’s) daughter.

She makes her debut as an actress in my maiden production opposite Salman.  We all wish her huge success and happiness.

A star is born and will continue to shine for a long long time…

The second season of DUS KA DUM has started with a bang. Yesterday i saw the 1st episode featuring

karishma and kareena who came in as guests for the show. How wonderful they looked together.

Salman has gained immense confidence and now carries the entire show with a lot of ease and comfort.

I see a remarkable change in his approach this season compared to the last season.

He was a bit shy and very endearing last time but this time i see him open up more

and carry the show with a lot of elan.

Last night’s episode was fun filled, the two sisters played so well and really enjoyed themselves on the show,

one could even gauge a bit about each others personality by the way each answered the questions.

lolo was staid and demure whereas bebo was fiery and fast almost as though she was engaged in a gun battle

and ready to fire the moment a question was posed to her without  any fear, so like bebo to do what she feels and       not worry about the consequences.

A great start it was to the season 2 of DUS KA DUM.  Though salman is my brother, i too am a huge fan of his and love to see him on this show as it somehow reflects

a lot of what he is in real life as a person. I hope this time somebody shows some DUM and wins DUS CRORE.

Well done sallu bhai…

The delhi daredevil’s have convincingly made it to the semi-finals of the DLF IPL 20-20

They have dared to be aggressive, they have dared to be positive and they have also dared to exclude one

seasoned campaigner like Glen mcgrath from the playing eleven right until now. And the chances of him

getting a game in the semis or finals is extremely remote. According to me keeping mcgrath sitting and

warming the benches was not such a good idea, more so after delhi’s semi-final

berth was never threatened after the initial games. Resting mcgrath for such a long tournament must be really

heart breaking for him even though the foreign recruits like AB devilliers , dilshan, nannes and vettori peformed

very well.

Not long back mcgrath lost his wife jane to cancer after which he started a foundation in her name to raise funds to               help others to fight this deadly disease.

He has two young kids , james 9 and holly 7 and would have loved to spend these 4 weeks with them and use this time to raise more money for his foundation instead of twiddling his thumb in the players dug out. No wonder mcgrath has expressed his disappointment in a news paper article and does not bet on coming back for the next IPL. Mcgrath has lost a lot in recent  times but maybe the cricketing world or surely IPL has lost him for ever….

Finally the lankan army has got it’s man. This tiger refused to get extinct right until a few hours when

the news channels carried the reports confirming the LTTE leader Prabhakaran’s death.  This tiger fought for

its survival and a cause which it believed in. Obviously no cause is worth the terror and loss of lives this

organisation inflicted on millions of people for a very long time. After waging a war on the lankan army and also

the civilians for decades the LTTE’s leader’s end came after weeks of resistance against a determined lankan

government which was hell bent on ending Prabhakaran’s reign of terror.

Now the obvious question to ask is why do governments allow terror outfits to flourish and gain strenght right

under their noses and do nothing about it until its too late , take even Verrappan’s case for instance. And when they do make up their minds, they end the misery

the people were subjected to for years in one planned attack… These things baffle me.. But i guess we will never know. Nevertheless this is one tiger though very rare

and hard to find is better off dead and hopefully extinct.

Its been a year since we were confronted with the tragic news of young 14 year old  Aarushi talwar being

brutally murdered at her own home. I wonder whether the noida police did anything right initially to help solve

the case by getting important leads. Over a year now and the heinous crime is nowhere close to being cracked and

the killer or killers are still at large.  With accusations on the poor girl’s character, almost blaming her for her own fate,

this case has been truly messed up. Though anybody even remotely connected to aarushi, including her parent’s

are suspects, the law is very clear that innocent until proven guilty. With lack of substantial evidence against anyone,

the slayers are out in the open, one hopes this young girl’s life is not lost in vain and this becomes another cold case file.

Reading has been my passion, i used to be a voracious reader at one time. I could read anything and everything whether it was

a novel, fiction , non fiction, autobiography, self help books, behaviour therapy, books on spirituality and even cook books at times.

But i must admit that my reading has now been restricted to the daily news papers , selected magazines and some highly recommended books,

nothing iam very proud of, sometimes i feel i should just get away for months just to catch up on my back log.

Very recently i have started to rekindle my desire to start reading regularly once again, today i make it a point to read atleast two hours a day

no matter what time it is.

One of the truly inspirational and insightful books i have read of late is “STRETCH YOURSELF” by Vickrant mahajan.

A feel good book filled with positivity and good sense. It empowers ones self belief and confidence and guides you to live a simple,

uncluttered life by maximizing all that your existence has to offer. It infuses the spirit to excell and conquer your deepest fears and doubts.

A book that has impacted my life in many ways and surely carved a path for success for almost every aspect of my life.

“STRETCH YOURSELF” by Vickrant mahajan is a bed side book, something i refer to whenever i feel low as its a quick fix to our

modern day problems. I highly recommend this book , its a must read for anybody looking to improve their lives mentally, physically

and spiritually. So go ahead and get your copy…

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

After doing a book-publishing course from the University of Denver, Colorado, Vickrant Mahajan joined HarperCollins Publishers in New Delhi in 2001 as a manuscript editor. In 2003, he became the First runner-up and Mr Photogenic at Grasim Mr India, and his life changed forever. Change, in fact, has been the only constant in Vickrant’s life! He has segued between twelve different professions — as an author, editor, publisher, photographer, model, actor, numerologist, voice-over artist, communication trainer, columnist, scriptwriter, motivator — and he has enjoyed each one of them thoroughly. His first three books, Model Dreams, Shooting from the Lip, God Speaks in Numbers, were non-fiction works, while his fourth, And the Show Goes On, was a collection of short stories. Besides, he has compiled his wife’s coffee-table book, The Eye of Etemity, a definitive pictorial treatise on Indian weddings, authored four privately commissioned photographic coffee-table books, A Royal Saga, Lageen, My Red-Letter Day, Stunning! and has exhibited his photographs in India and Dubai. Stretch Yourself is his tenth book. He is married to lifestyle photographer Ronicka Kandhari and lives in New Delhi.

Sports
Buchanan wants Warne to lead Australia in World T20
Impressed with Shane’s show in IPL-II, the former Aus coach advises selectors to request the spin wizard out of retirement.

The feud between shane warne and ex aussie coach John buchanan is well know, right from the time that buchanan took over

the coveted job of coaching the worlds most talented bunch of cricketers, a few in the aussie camp dint agree with the coach’s innovative ideas.

Amongst them one was spin wizard the great Shane warne. He felt players at that level only needed someone to pep them up in confidence and morale

as he believed the skills were already there, that brought them to that level. Another ex aussie captain Steve waugh also gave a statement last week that

Buchanan had suggested the multiple captain theory in his tenure as captain which was completely dismissed. Such ridiculous suggestions along with

boot camp training to improve supposed survival and fighting skills instead of cricketing skills made buchanan very unpopular with the senior players

especially Shane warne. The statement ” Coaches are things that take people from one place to another” made by Shane warne summed up what he thought of

buchanan’s views.

Now after Shane warne having retired from international cricket for almost 3 years but ingeniously leading Rajasthan royals a young, talented but probably the weakest

side on paper to victory in the inaugural edition of the IPL 20-20, there has been a renewed faith in the captaincy abilities of warney. Many believe that Shane warne is

the best captain australia never had. I surely would second that.

John buchanan has led australia to world cup victories, two infact as coach. But he has made equal blunders in team selection, getting on the wrong side of players

and coming up with bizarre ideas. He surely has to take responsibility of even KKR’s dismal performance last year and most definitely this year by keeping the team in the

news for all the wrong reasons, a clear case of all show and no go.

After differences galore between warney and buchanan i was surprised and even shocked to read that buchanan suggested that warney lead australia to the 20-20 world cup.

Watching australia perform in recent times has been very disappointing to the die hard aussie fans. They have been beaten by india , got thrashed in their own back yard by south africa

and recently lost a 20-20 game to pakistan in dubai. Now this aussie team does need somebody inspiring at the helm of affairs, that’s why no matter how ridiculous buchanan sounds

saying warney should come out of retirement and lead australia, even though it may never happen, i would think buchanan may have it right this time.

What i appreciate about buchanan is that he has a mind of his own and is willing to ruffle feathers to stick to his belief.

lets give the devil its due..

buchanan lage raho….

Newcomer Sonakshi rejects Salman Khan NDTVMovies.com Tuesday, May 5, 2009 (New Delhi) Upcoming actress Sonakshi Sinha was all set to start work on her acting debut opposite Salman Khan, but recent reports say that the former model has quit the project. The reason? Salman’s track record. Reports say that Sonakshi, who is the daughter of yesteryears’ actor Shatrughan Sinha, suddenly realised that Salman has been the leading man opposite a number of newcomer actresses, but most of them have remained all but arm candy. The realisation that the film will focus on Salman’s character and her role will be grossly limited, lead Sonakshi to withdraw from the project. She said she wants to make her debut with a more substantial role. The film was meant to be Arbaaz Khan’s maiden production venture. It was to be written and directed by Abhinav Kashyap, brother of Dev D director Anurag Kashyap.

A certain section of the media continues to degrade and demean itself by consistently carrying untrue and false stories

without any iota of truth attached to it, these inept journalist are bankrupt in ideas and thoughts so write whatever

makes an  interesting copy.   Hurting the sentiments of the people they write about or for that matter cast aspersions on their character

and integrity is something they dont bother about and lose sleep over. According to them its a job and somebody’s gotta do it, great logic !!!

Rumors and lies will keep making headline news and the excuse will be that it sells.

This is not the first time rubbish news has been reported and unfortunately not the last time either.

Whenever i can i shall use my blog to express my views and clarify whatever i think is worthy and necessary to be clarified.

Today i would like to confirm that Sonakshi sinha is very much a part of my maiden venture as producer,  not only is she excited about

her role in the film she is extremely eager that the film goes on floor before schedule. Sonakshi is young , talented, hard working,

dedicated , focused and one to watch for the future.

Iam so happy we have all made the right choice for the film.

The day the news came out about her walking out of the project, i spoke to sonakshi and both of us could not stop laughing about how dumb the news really was.

Such a loser piece of gossip..

Yesterday my dad called me up very late at night, it must have been past midnight, usually dad goes to bed by 11.30pm, max 12am so this call made me a bit nervous and concerned,

according to me one of the scariest things in the world that creates a slight panic in my life is to get a call from a family member or close friend late into the night or generally at an ungodly hour.

From the time i see the name on the screen till the time i answer the phone in those few seconds, hundreds of fearful thoughts go through my head.

I wonder what bad news awaits me. Late night calls are one of my worst nightmares.

Thank god it was no such call, strangely dad had called to find out whether the new vodafone ads with the eggheads called zoozoos were animations or real..

He had read or heard from somewhere that they were little kids and women with thin legs completely padded up used to shoot the ad.

On this piece of information he had a small bet with helen aunty saying it was not computer graphics or animation.

Helen aunty refused to believe him as she thought otherwise. Now since the bet was on and neither would go to sleep unless they knew for sure what the truth really is,

they felt the best person to call and find out is me. Honestly though i had seen the vodofone ads with the eggheads called zoozoos, i too was convinced they were not real.

So according to me helen aunty had won that bet.

But since i was not 100% sure i told dad give me 15 mins, will go on the net and find out. I was amazed to find out that they are infact real people, obviously in the guise of the creation

a wingless bird called zoozoo,  shocking!!!

Brilliantly shot using larger than life sets to dwarf the creatures and some post production helped produce the amazingly real effect.

Yes they are little kids and women awkwardly padded to create that effect, shot in altered camera speed to give that jerky movement. I immediately called dad back and gave him the news.

Dad jokingly said to me hope you are proud that your father is updated with whats happening around the world, i must admit yes.

Helen aunty lost 100 bucks and maybe her sleep but one man im sure slept like a log that was my dad.

The real story:

Making of the Zoozoo

No, they aren’t animated characters. They are human beings who were made to wear body suits. “The design of the characters is such that one gets fooled into thinking it is animation,” shrugs Rao, which was indeed the very illusion that had to be created. “In a sense, it is ‘live’ animation!” he quips, referring to the fact that it was all shot live.

Prakash Varma, ad filmmaker, Nirvana Films, has directed the commercials, and reveals that the Zoozoos were a big challenge to create. The practical aspects of how they will move, talk, gesticulate and emote were very important. Essentially, costume design and artwork were crucial elements.

“It took me three weeks of pre-production to understand how it will work,” says Varma. There were two fabrics that were considered for the body suits, and one was rejected for it had too many wrinkles and was shiny. The wrinkles would have shown when the characters moved, thereby shattering the illusion of animation. “So we chose the more practical, thicker fabric,” Varma explains.

The production team divided the outfit into two parts: the body and the head. The body part of the outfit was stuffed with foam in some places, while the head was attached separately. To make it look bigger than a human head, a harder material called Perspex was used, which in turn was stuffed with foam (with scope for ventilation).

If one wishes to understand the size of this head, here’s a fact: a human head would typically reach up to the mouth level of this giant Zoozoo head. “We kept the hands and legs thin, which is why we cast women – and occasionally children – wearing the costumes,” says Varma. The thin limbs, contrasted with big bellies and a bulbous head, all add to the illusion that these creatures are ‘smaller’ than humans. Sets were created to suit the size of the Zoozoos.

Cinematically, this ‘size’ was a trick: the creatures look smaller than they actually are on screen, to portray a different world of sorts. For this, the speed of shooting was altered: Nirvana shot it in a high-speed format to make them look the size that they do.

Furthermore, simple sets/backdrops were created and spray painted with neutral Greys – a colour of choice so that attention isn’t diverted from the main characters. For a supposedly ‘outdoor’ shot, even the shadow of a Zoozoo was kept ‘live’ and not done in post production: it was painted in a darker shade of grey on the ground. An even lighting was maintained throughout.

There was virtually no post production work done.

The films were shot by Nirvana in Cape Town, South Africa, with the help of a local production house there, called Platypus. Incidentally, the same combination of people also worked on the ‘Happy to Help’ series last year. When asked whether Cape Town is fast becoming a tourist spot for Vodafone and Nirvana, Varma laughs, saying, “Oh no! It’s just that we are very comfortable with the team there and know what sort of work to expect from them.”

Nagpal adds here that the production cost had to be minimal for unveiling such a large number of commercials. “Otherwise, our production costs would exceed media spends,” he quips.