Shanghai

Plot:

People of Bharat Nagar have to be evacuated for setting up IBP (International Business Park). IBP has the support of the two major parties that form the coalition ruling the state. Prof.Ahmadi who asks people not to give up their land and leads a movement, is run over by a van after a meeting. His associates, including Kalki Koechlin, come to know that the attack on Prof.Ahmadi was planned and executed by the ruling party. The government appoints a commission of enquiry headed by IAS officer Krishnan (Abhay Deol). Krishnan is expected to  close the enquiry stating that it was an accident, but he digs deeper. A photographer from Bharat Nagar, Jogi (Emran Hashmi), has a vital piece of evidence.

Verdict:

Good movie. Keeps you engaged throughout. Worth a watch.

The main complaint that people might have is that the plot is predictable. But I think Dibakar Banerjee did not mean it to be thriller. You know from the beginning who killed whom but what you do not know is how the characters in the movie will react to the difficult situation in which they are put in. Will Jogi mind his own business or risk his life? Will Krishnan sacrifice his career?

You come out of the movie with a better understanding of why the politicians, bureaucrats, police and political activists are the way they are. Pragati: At what cost?


Trailer Watch:

Cocktail: Tuhi ho Bandhu is a good song. Nice chemistry between Saif, Deepika and the new girl. The new girl has some cute steps in tuhmi ho bandhu.

Bol Bachchan: Ajay Devgan's english translations are funny. Coming from Rohit Shetty, expect it to tickle the funny bone

Track Your Expenses

All of us, at some point or the other, would have taken a resolution to note down expenses. We enthusiastically note down every detail for the first few days, but eventually it suffers the same fate as that of most other resolutions that we take. The main reason for dropping it being that it takes effort to remember all the transactions and note it down at the end of the day.

What if we could record the transactions as and when we made them?

Xpenser.com allows you to do just that. You can update your expense from your mobile (you need twitter + gprs), personal email id or your official email id.

You need to register at xpenser.com and link your twitter account and mail ids.

Now if you have spent 100 rupees for food at McD, and want to note it down, you can update it immediately using your phone or go home/office and update it from your email.

Phone: Send a direct message on twitter in the following format

d xpn food 100 Mcd

Email: Send a mail to e@xpenser.com with the following subject line

food 100 Mcd

A new entry will be created in your account.

In the above example, food is the category of expense. Its good to create categories to group expenses (food, bike, rent, grocery, etc) so that it is easy to track where the money goes at the end of the month.

Xpenser has good search and filter options to analyse your data.

So click here and give it a try.

Delhi – First Impressions

I was in Delhi for a week in May 2010. It was an official trip. The work was boring but very satisfying in the end. This was only my second visit to Delhi. The first time was a short, one day, airport to work to airport trip. And that was before I fell in love with the city after ‘The Last Mughal’, Dev D and Delhi 6. This time I got two days to roam around and inspite of the scorching heat, made full use of it . Travelled mostly by the metro. It’s beautifully efficent and convenient, a jewel in the crown for Delhi. But the autowallahs dont go by the meter. You have to bargain and haggle and its not a pleasant experience.

This post is an (attempted) travelogue of my trip.

I love history. And Delhi is soaked in history. So many emperors have ruled India from Delhi and each of them has left a mark on it.

Red Fort. One of the wonderful contributions of Shah Jahan to Delhi. I strongly reccomend everyone to read ‘The Last Mughal’ before going to the fort. The red fort was the focal point of the 1857 sepoy mutiny and it is vivdly described in the book. The buildings and gardens in the fort will have an added allure once you know their historical significance and vice versa. I was trying to go back in time and be at the diwan-e-am where the emperor used to conduct his durbar and the gardens where the sepoys let their horses graze while waiting for the emperor’s accent to be their leader….

Jama Masjid. Huge imposing building. Wanted to go there after watching Delhi 6. You are allowed to climb atop one of the towers along long spiral stairs. Do not miss the view from the top. You will not get a better view of Old Delhi anywhere else.

India Gate. I went there on saturday evening and was pleasantly surprised to find a lot of people on the lawns on either side of Rajpath leading to the gate. Entire familes had come, spread their blankets and were having a good time. Some were even having dinner. And there were the balloonwallahs and ppl selling the small illuminated parachute like toys that can be sent high up in the air using a catapult. Delhi’s way of coping with not having a beach I guess. I too lay down on the lawns by the monument, built in memory of Indian soldiers who fought for the British in World War I, and gazed at the stars for sometime.

Qutb Minar. Built by the Khilji dynasty in 1100 AD. The Qutb complex also has one of the oldest mosques in India. The mosque has been made from the rubble of temples destroyed by muslim invaders. Thats why some of the pillars of the structures in the complex have patterns found in hindu temples in south India. The fact that there are no modern buildings close to the complex adds to the mystique of the place. The Siri Fort built by the same rulers is nearby. But it is in ruins and very little is left of the fort. Had a hard time finding the remains because even the locals didnt know that such a fort existed. It didnt help that an auditorium is named after the fort and everyone was guiding us to the auditorium. “yehi hei siri fort”!

Akshardham Temple. Built on the banks of the river Yamuna by the swaminarayan sect in the 20th century. Supposed to be the biggest hindu temple in the world. Its beatifully built with intricate carvings and life -size scultures of elephants depicting various scenes from the epics. Nice place for some soul therapy.

I fell in love with the city – the planned elegance of new delhi - the chaos of old delhi – the metro – everything. Would like to spend some years in the city.