Raja's read only memories

Overrated, yet celebrated:  Tamil actors Vijay and Ajith, who command massive fan-followings “Oh, you watch Tamil cinema? So, you must be a fan of  Thala /  Thalapathy ?” Trepidation must be the watchword when one encounters these statements. For, this refers to a syndrome that has divided film freaks of Tamil Nadu into fans of Kollywood’s leading (well, at least expensive) actors —  Thala  or Ajith Kumar and  Thalapathy  or Vijay. Chances are, the manner in which you will be treated from then on depends on your reply. Behold the Thala-Thalapathy syndrome. Such is its omnipresence that no Tamilian worth his salt can ever claim to have escaped it ( Thala  and  Thalapathy  roughly translate to “leader” and “commander”, in Tamil). Industry buzz has it that Vijay’s moniker lends credence to the theory that he is the “successor” to Rajinikanth’s mantle in the industry ( Thalapathy  was one of Rajini’s biggest ...

Print in its myriad forms -- source: Internet One may proclaim that factors such as corporate ownership or paid news are the biggest enemies of print media. Bunkum. Its real enemy is, also the unlikeliest: its consumer or the price-conscious reader. The reader, who invariably makes no distinction between content and price and would not even bat an eyelid before switching to another brand simply if it costs a rupee less.  Thanks to him, newspapers dread the prospect of raising their prices, fearing that it may drive him away to their competitors – even if it means facing an existential crisis, day-in, day-out .  Even a high-school economics student would point out that if the selling price of your product is not even a third of its manufacturing cost, rest assured of a deep hole in the pocket. Be it the stockbroker at Dalal Street, the roadside vegetable seller or the dealer for the latest range of iWhat-nots, margins matter. Even if you are running a Ponzi scheme. ...

Life must have come a full-circle for Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah on Friday when Bangalore police commissioner M N Reddi announced that the phones of relatives close to Union railway minister D V Sadananda Gowda were wire-tapped for five days. The previous time a similar scandal erupted in the state – wire-tapping of the phones of former Lokayukta, Justice Santosh Hegde, who was to submit his report on illegal mining in the state in 2011 – it was Siddaramaiah, as leader of Congress party-led Opposition, who galvanized public anger against then BJP government. Hence, his abject silence over the latest controversy brewing in the state comes as a shocking surprise. Questions arise over whether the government went by the rule-book in ordering the eavesdropping. The commissioner defended it by saying Gowda’s son Karthik – who has been accused by a Kannada actress of cheating and raping her – did not turn up even after two police summonses were issued to him. It is diffic...

A still from Jigarthanda (source: internet) “Tarantino, Godfather , Scarface … make a movie modelled on those lines; if possible, rip-off from them totally. Also, get loads of violence, blood…” a movie producer tells an aspiring director as he hurls in front of him a bunch of Hollywood CDs and DVDs rather dismissively. Chastened, and desirous of an authentic debut, the director seeks a real-life don for a muse that leads him to Madurai. Thus begins  Jigarthanda , Karthik Subburaj’s second venture (after Pizza ) -- an absolute entertainer that could, in all probability, turn out to be the movie of the year.                       By straddling various genres with utmost ease – comedy, gangster and romance -- not to mention the gamut of cleverly-placed twists in a near-flawless plot, Jigarthanda leaves the audience yearning for more, as if after an orgasm. As far as f...

From a former chief minister justifying that support in our electoral process has to be purchased to a lawmaker getting away with assaulting policemen, recent incidents in Karnataka hold up a looking glass to what has horribly gone wrong in our democratic setup. Chances are if Indian democracy has not touched nadir it just did a little south of the Vindhyas over the last few weeks. An audio clipping of former chief minister H D Kumaraswamy, son of former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda and national president of the Janata Dal (Secular), in conversation with another person did the rounds in the media recently, kicking up a furore. In it, he was heard demanding a hefty sum of Rs40 crore for support to an aspirant to the state Legislative Council. Following a negotiation the sum arrived at was Rs25 crore. Transcripts of the same were published in the dailies. Kumaraswamy, for his part, did not issue a denial and instead offered the excuse that is also an open truth that such transacti...