India's first bullet train

Hey guys! the Haryana government has given its nod for setting up an elevated high speed 500-km rail corridor between Delhi and Chandigarh. the proposed India's first bullet train will bring the travel time down to one-and-a-half hour, as the train will run at a speed of 250 kmph. right now, it takes more than 4 hours by train to travel the same distance. the Railway board chairman J P Batra said that the project would cost Rs. 25,000 crore, which means that the cost per km of the corridor would be Rs 50 crore. in comparison, the Delhi Metro costs for an elevated stretch are at least Rs.110 crore per km and for an underground stretch are Rs. 285 crore per km.the High Speed Rail Infrastructure Development Corporation of the Railways would be the project development nodal agency, responsible for the establishment of this network. the talks of India's first bullet trian had surfaced almost 2 years back in the rail budget, when a high speed dedicated stretch was planned from Delhi-Mumbai via Jaipur, which had trains proposed to be running at speeds of upto 300-350 kmph. also heard was another high speed bullet train corridor from Delhi-Lucknow-Patna-Kolkata. though none of it later concretised against the willingness of Railways Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav, this recent Haryana Government- Indian Railways joint venture will definitely be a boon to the economy and i hope that the actual implementation takes place on time and at par with the standards expected of a bullet train corridor. the report in Times Of India didn't have any other details, as to by what time would the project be ready.

delhi rocks: more airport images

found these two images too. hope you get a better idea as to how the revamped IGI airport will look in near future. also the plan to get 2 metro stations integrated with the airport has been approved a few weeks back. one of the locations you can see in the pic on the right. hope you like it :)

coming soon: delhi rocks

 

there are innumerable advantages of living in the capital city which many of us would easily overlook because we take them for granted. wonder what will happen an year later when most of gtbitians would move to other cities to pursue their careers! and with the spate of infrastructural projects being announced every other day in delhi, you just end up wishing that you never have to move out. well in this first article where i am actually starting to enlist the upcoming marvels of delhi, (and once in a while, of India too) i am just very excited after having seen what the new delhi airport would look like 4 years from now, by 2010 end. you can see in the pix above that it truly is looking stunning. of course at the back of our minds we will always be skeptical whether the airport will achieve what its slated to be, 'in time', because barring delhi metro, hardly any other project gets completed on time, leave alone before the deadline as is almost always the case with DMRC. lol! out of many renovation stints at IGI airport, the following has been done to the children's room:

Disney icons Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck have taken over the walls of Childcare Room in Terminal 1-A of Delhi’s international airport. The Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) has overhauled the dingy, cramped room to make the tiny tots’ stay at the airport more comfortable and enjoyable. Floors have been polished while the walls have been done up in bright, cheery hues. Big cut-outs of Mickey and Donald have been placed everywhere along with a new cupboard full of toys. Cots and high chairs for children as well as cushy sofas for the parents have also added to the pleasant ambience.

and the following was just too exciting for many :

March 28, 2007: Passengers arriving today at Indira Gandhi International Airport’s International Terminal (Terminal 2) were in for a pleasant surprise with the opening of a brand new chain of duty free stores. Alpha Future welcomed customers to its first duty free shops in India offering an unparalleled collection of duty free items. Bigger than ever before - the duty free shops at IGI Airport present passengers with an exciting new duty free shopping experience.

but what would be the best feature would be the speedy check in and related operations, which is evident from this piece of info put up on the GMR group's ( in charge of delhi airport revamp) site:

The Delhi Airport will receive a mammoth facelift, with Terminal 3 having 55 contact stands (aerobridges) and 30 remote parking bays for passenger embarkation and disembarkation. By the end of the decade, 90 per cent of all passenger traffic at the airport will be through aerobridges. Its 130 counters will speed up the check-ins. More than 70 desks will be there to facilitate the emigration procedures for the international passengers. A piece of good news is that the access to the new terminal will be through a six-lane road connecting NH8. The airport will also be connected via dedicated Metro line from the city centre.

when the contract was awarded to GMR group, it was just too exciting to see the video presentation of what the delhi airport was gonna look like ,3-4 years from now. the Rs. 8,500 crore facelift will truly make it an "international" airport, and I just like many others, i am too excited to experience all the mint fresh lounges, counters, duty-free shops and so much more that would be just in time to welcome the commonwealth games to the city. P.S - i have never gone inside the airport, forget boarding a plane :p

abused india...

recently there was the news in TOI as well as on NDTV that almost 70% of the children in india are abused, in some way or the other (physically/sexually).
it was quite alarming to see that a survey would come out with such a horrific result. it makes you think not just about the number of those people who are responsible for commiting such acts, but also about the fact that there are so many around us who have probably undergone such trauma, undergoing mental agony each day. research suggests that these children often end up blaming themselves for whatever has happened. and this often leads to disinterest in normal day to day activities (loss of appetite, sleep disorder, aloofness, nightmares etc). i think, worst affected are those who don't have anyone to talk to. there are different reasons for this. often, the abuser ends up either threatening the victim with dire consequences if he/she comes out with it, or makes him/her to believe that it (the abuse) is 'good'/ok/normal. also, the initial shock of the incident leads to prolonged mental agony for the person, which can easily extend to years at a stretch. my purpose of writing this article is not just to draw attention to the issue, but to actually make anyone reading this to act and take care of those around us. we have brothers, sisters, friends, relatives, maids, servants of which any one could be a victim. you must read more about the ways to handle such situations on the internet and the newspapers, because you never know when you might just need to handle one. in all the cases, i think, the first thing to be put across the victim should be that there is no shame in coming out and you can always get over it. a friend of mine knows a person, who disclosed his story to a a few persons, and from one of those friends, instead of support that he expected, what he got was arrogant behaviour and being sidelined. this made the person feel more guilty, but thankfully that 'friend' was just a conceited asshole and later somebody actually handled him pretty well. he is leading a normal life now. the story of physical abuse as brought to limelight by the movie 'provoked' and the sexual abuse of teri hatcher ( the desperate housewives star, who opened up when she saw that her uncle who had once abused her, had done the same with a girl, who later committed suicide) are just reminders that the world is full of survival stories as well as stories where the one who was abused ruined his life and in many cases ended it. all i want to say in this article is, please take notice. you might just be able to save a life. and also provide meaning to it.

of abhiash and ndtv

So finally, the ‘most beautiful woman’ has wed the ‘sexiest Asian’. And I can’t believe that I wasn’t invited. Haha!
Ash, finally took the plunge. There I was gazing at the TV screen, trying to catch a glimpse of what she was looking like. But, I was shocked by the strange ways the TV channels went berserk over the wedding of the … anything between year and the millennium, if I may call it. And there I could see why NDTV was NDTV. While rest of the channels were repeating the same screen shots of Jalsa, Prateeksha, and sometimes La Mer too, and blabbering away the same sicko lines about the wedding and the guests who were invited, rather those who weren’t were more talked about, NDTV went on as usual, and treated the wedding as just that: a wedding which should be in the headlines, but not be telecast throughout the day as was being done on most of the other news channels. On the 20th, it did telecast a live presentation of the baraat leaving Prateeksha to go till Jalsa, but that was it. There were other serious things taking place in the country and the world. This channel had pushed the wedding news till 20 minutes into all the major news telecast, unlike others for which it was the first to be shown throughout the day. With all the drama created by the starlet who slashed her wrists, the other channels got all the masala they wanted. It was pathetic the way the starlet’s mother was giving the story a communal touch by calling the whole thing as ‘gaer-mazhabee’ etc. What the fuck? Lady, you think taking potshots at legends like Dilip Kumar was gonna help you save your face? Oh! For your 15 minutes of fame.

And why was Times NOW making a fool of itself? Times NOW comes from The Times Group, the leading media company, best known for Times Of India, my favorite newspaper. It is a globally renowned force, and the way its news presenter was discussing the uninvited guests, that too with an intelligent lady as their guest, Nafisa Ali, was, I think too unexpected of them. They could have been far more intelligent by not discussing why a certain Mr. Oberoi and a certain Mr. Khan weren’t invited “for obvious reasons”. And going on to the extent of saying that Rani Mukerjee wasn’t invited coz she replaced Ash in Chalte Chalte, was pathetic. Well I wish Sushmita was there and would have loved to see Hrithik and Shah Rukh there. Ok! Sush might be sis to AB Jr., but it wasn’t highly expected that she would make it to Ash’s wedding. Hrithik’s reason for not being there despite living 10 metres away from the Bachchan’s residence was cited to be the kissa kiss ka from D:2. And Amar Singh’s blabbering on national TV that SRK had the habit of saying too much and going too far, as one of the reasons of his not having been invited was plain dumbooooo!!! But then, Amar Singh was expected to say things, wasn’t he? Anyways, it was too cool of AB himself to drive the couple to Prateeksha , in Ash’s fav Merc. (I wish he had taken that Bentley out which Vidhu Vinod Chopra gifted him for his stellar performance in Eklavya.)


I saw the review of Chevy Spark on NDTV again. Their headlines are sometimes too clear to sum it all up. Like while the review of Spark was being shown, the tagline read: CHEVY’S BRIGHT SPARK. There you are watching the verdict, and the brilliant presenters have already given you a hint that the car is worth it. Even though it is being seen as the one to start new car wars in the B-segment, with its lowest model coming at 3.09 (without A/C), and the fully loaded one coming at 3.89, they told that alloy wheels and airbags weren’t standard in any of these models and for these you would have to pay another 36k, which would bring the total to 4.25 lacs. So it’s basically not that much of a big deal. But the car is wow, as far as the looks go. It’s space was appreciated, for even though it’s a compact car, it is fairly spacious on the inside. But all this while, I cannot let go of my love : Ford Fusion. I have never had the chance to sit in it, leave alone drive, what many refer to it as, the mini SUV. But there is something that has always drawn me to it. Gosh! When will I have enough money? I hate my Maruti 800. Have to drive it in a cramped posture, thanks to this height of mine. GRRR…hmm…. Dunno how to wind it all up. Ok!
Bachchan family rocks. So does NDTV. And I hope so will the Chevy Spark. Haha!

So Raje has finally got words for me and himself which he was telling me all about since so many days.

About him:

So before writing abt rest of the members felt it was prudent that i wrote my own description taki gaaliyan kam pade.SO as far leading the battle from forefront thats absolutelu true since fighting is the only job i am good at even if simran forgot to mention that the sworda were frequently drawn between me and the rest of team but then that is a small glitch,after all i did do a job " fighting".
"A management guru", his repertoire of management skills includes his inability to interact with others, his ability to antagonise others at any point and many more , jo ek rumour ko last 2 years se handle nahin kar saka woh in sab gates ki cheezon ko kitni aptly handle karta hoga u all can judge
I seriously don’t have any words to say how conceited you are. (don’t kill me over this) god I can’t stop laughing :p

About me:
simran a guy who i felt had lots of brains but then he came up with this article and it seems all my thoughts were rubbish. Pnaich who is a defacto core team member given the amt of work he did in gates (no sarcasm ) was really fine uptil the last day before gates when he seemed to be more worried abt the interview result of his beloved rather than abt his event.Par chalo itna toh maaf hai,as for his stupidity of helping us getting sponsorships i have no words bhai koi ise samjhay yeh duniya matlabi logon se bhari hai itna naive mat ban .
Waise on a light note he has been a fabulous person a complete team man Oi don't take this statement seriously haan

Thanx Raje for thinking at least once that I had some gray matter. Haha! Have ka had ho gaya, very bad! Defacto core team member? Know what, my english is so bad that i just saw is bade logo ke bade word ka bada meaning on answers.com. Haha! Hmmm… frankly speaking I never had an idea that all that referring to me as “no less than a core team member” by you and Rana during the times we were working, you would mean it. Thanx from the heart for this. Amt of work? I don’t think it was too much. Dunno what all work you are talking about.. and regarding the “result” of my “beloved”, I really don’t have anything to say to you. But I have lots to do when I see you next. Bach ke rehna! As for my event, its between Robin and me. Robin will never forgive me for what all I did, and I won’t justify myself to anyone but him (if it is to happen) coz I don wanna screw up things anymore, of whatever little we have regarding that matter. If there is anything to say right now, just that I was right to an extent, if not completely. As far as getting the car is concerned, it wasn’t a big deal. Though I had to lie to my people to get it almost each time we had to go for this work, just that didn’t like when I had to fight for it. Haha! And as far as sponsorships are concerned, I wasn’t of much help coz I hardly met any of our sponsors. Remember, I never got a single contact successfully. Bhai, mujhe bhi pata hai ki duniya kaise logon se bhari hai, but bearing those second years who came only to make our work difficult, and bearing everything else too was possible because of the wonderful third year mates and my great Unkrushables group, who surrounded me all that while. Waise teri last line samajh nahi aayi. Lol! :p watching all of you slug it out each day was once in a lifetime experience for me. I am so proud of you all. Baaki… beloved ke chache, tu mil zara.....

gates2k7: core and web team members

harleen kaur kohli:

A childlike, vivacious member of the GATES core team, she is full of energy and has worked with huge dedication. She is an inseparable part of GATES and a great team worker.

bhavneet singh rana:

 The leader. The savior. Charging everybody with practical solutions each time a hurdle comes up in the GATES-way, he has surged ahead as one of the most reliable members.

jasmine kohli:

Amongst the many talents she has, this girl has a knack for exposing loopholes in the system. And that’s where her grey cells come to rescue too. Though her shrieks can make you shut up in no time, if you aren’t serious about work.

rajdeep singh walia:

Another assertive and dynamic personality, he has led the battle from the forefront. His ideas and solutions clearly make him the future management guru. GATES could never be the same without him.

achal aggarwal:

Here’s a whiz kid everyone looks up to. His technical wizardry has made GATES one of the most impressive and challenging events, to organize. And when it’s fun time, you got to see him to believe him.

tapsie girdhar:

Calm, composed and content. These words define our literary team head, and as an integral teamworker, she has used her impressive skills to manage GATES, and sometimes its messes too.

supriya sahota:

A storehouse of new ideas, and her unconventional thinking, has raised the levels of the events, and sometimes raised a few eyebrows too. A literary team head, who works wonders.

navkeerat kaur:

With the number of phone calls she has handled, and the number of caller tunes she has beared, she is one of the most important persons of the team. And her effortless dedication has proved very beneficial to GATES.

ankit kapoor:

The football freak, who is managing the sports events, is out here to ensure that those with the sporty itch, won’t be left complaining. And his mimicry has made the GATES room a fundu place.

kunwardeep singh:

Another sportsfreak, who took up the dual duty of not just managing the sports events, but creating a laugh riot too, of virtually any, and everything. With him around, it’s for sure that the atmosphere can never be dull.

angad singh:

The nautanki-master of GTBIT, who is at the rudder of the cult-events. Energetic, a masti-freak and a bit sarcastic too, he has helped GATES in moving ahead. Cult introduced by him added life to GAYES.

gurpreet singh modi:

Work and more work, is the mantra for this guy. Ensuring that all things are in place, and contributing towards the enthusiasm and dedication of the GATES team, he is one workaholic to watch out for.

nikhil gupta:

Thanx to the innumerable hours he has spent to create, manage and update the GATES site and simulators, this guy has forgotten all about time tables and stuff. He has been the best part of the GATES web team.

jayant srivastava:

Another web team member, who has done some cool contributions towards making the website appear ‘wow’! Our code-brain, who is also notorious for disappearing at times, he is one intensive worker.

manpreet singh:

One of our creative web team designer, who has been associated with contributing many hours to put up the website. An arduous team member, he has been a great person for the web team.

karan aka kaka:

Another core team member, whose work is a reflection of his own personality. Hardworking, sincere and devoted, and has been a good team worker.

sahil gupta:
a knowledgeable web team member, he has always put forward his best efforts. Talented in web-scripting, he has also been a hardworking person who has worked beautifully for the wonderful website.

Which is worse?

A few days back, this was the ‘status’ on Gtalk, of my friend Dev. The complete sentence said: which is the worst situation....Someone u trust hurt u, or someone u hurt still trusts you? Now this thing set me thinking like nothing else in the past many days.
Like many (or few) others, I have seen both the sides in my life. People have hurt me, both inadvertently and otherwise. Not that I haven’t, both ways again. It’s the other part that is scary. Sometimes I have cared too much about certain people, to the extent of it being clear intrusion. That’s what makes up for some of my troubled times. My friendship, if that’s what you may call it, with my brother just went through this situation. But I am happy coz he still trusts me, despite my childish behavior, and was by my side when I wanted him to be, big time. I am blessed with many great souls in my life: Deepak, Nikhil, Supriya, Robin, Achal, Bhavneet… and few others. I dunno what’s the point of writing this post, but I am also drawing a blank as what to say next. I think I should just wind it up here. It doesn’t make any sense, but for once, I have let out of my mind some stuff that needed to be so, though not in the same way I tried.

Weird post

 
Now that somebody actually ate up my head to write things personal in here, coz this is a “BLOG” which is supposed to be an online journal, so here I am with what might be the first personal entry for this ‘site’ of mine.
For someone looking for something really ‘different’ in here, well you should know that I just paid D.D.U hospital my fourth visit in 3 years, for that stupid gastric pain that occurs and worsens randomly, always at 3 in the morning. This time was a bit different as the doctor in the emergency ward gave me an injection that didn’t seem to work, unlike the last 3 times. Maybe, at 4:30 in the morning, he too lost his senses finally. I finally drove myself all the way to hospital, in pain though, without stopping once on the road. Enjoyed it thoroughly, though the hospital is just 5 minutes of a drive away. It wasn’t until 11 am, that the pain started fading away considerably. That’s the reason couldn’t go to Junky’s to play Holi. Not that I was looking forward to it, but ever since that Holi, when the “color” that went into my left eye, along with the damage caused by the flying disc that hit the same eye twice around those days, and left my eyesight considerably damaged, I had been looking for one day that I could actually play it, safe of course.
Anyways! My brother, (of course I don’t have a biological/real bro), who was upset with me for not listening to him when I should have, finally forgave me for my stupidity. I am not explaining the whole situation here. This is just for him. To let him know, as long as he is there to handle me, i promise him to not let anything bog me down. With each passing day, I am getting hints that these friends I have got, are especially here to make life all the more meaningful. My brother is one of them, of course.
That less than 2 day trip to Haldwani and Rudarpur, was actually what I wanted for quite a while now: to go out with just friends. Though we didn’t have even an hour to “sight-see” the place, but whatever times me, Achal and Bhavneet aka Rana spent there was, at least for me, one of the most memorable experiences. The declaration of 5th sem result marred the mood at the very beginning of the journey. Yet, had it not been for these 2, I don’t think I could have had the same amount of worthy time spent. It’s there that Achal said, what maybe one of his own exclusive quotable quotes:” Life fucks, and I’m proud of it” (for those inundated, Achal is the future tech-celebrity). Just another reminder to me, that all the pain I have gone through is not necessarily all that bad. It has made me what I am today, everything from the butt of jokes to being the confidante of a handful of friends. And today’s kinda “forced” sitting with my brother was another reminder of what Achal said. I know what these 2 have gone through. In simple words, it’s known as hell. When I first knew about their history, it almost pacified me, as I realized that it’s the same story everywhere. Everyone gets fucked by life, but few take it all in, like these 2, and use it to move up, and others just never stop wishing it all didn’t happen, like I was. Thankfully, I am crossing over the fence. For good. And it shows.
That I am ‘all-clear’ after 1st sem straight, is a reason for good news to me only because of the fact that it will help my father in his speedy recovery. Doctor saab had said to keep him happy. And he is very happy. And last Wednesday, I sorted out some pretty bitchy stuff with Jasmine. And we are happy about it. Coz there’s nothing worse than hearing bad things about you. I had to confront her, and apologize, before she heard some altered versions of my past views on her. Thanx J. Another reason why you actually rock (how I hate to admit it :p) is how you understood it all, and opened your heart out to me. I am not perfect, never said I was. But I am proud of the fact that I am having the ability to correct some things which I screwed up, especially after the recent tragedy involving my friends from school. And thanx to Laveena too, for actually bringing the AOL people to college. That poem
never came though, Laveena, but I have planned something else. Will come back with more. 

52nd Fair One Filmfare Awards: The Winners

52nd Fair One Filmfare Awards: The Winners

Best actor male: Hrithik Roshan for Dhoom 2
Best actor female: Kajol for Fanaa
Best film: Rang De Basanti
Best director: Rakeysh Om Prakash Mehra for Rang De Basanti

Best supporting actor male: Abhishek Bachchan for Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna
Best supporting actor female: Konkona Sen Sharma for Omkara
Best actor in comic role: Arshad Warsi for Lage Raho Munnabhai
Best actor in negative role: Saif Ali Khan for Omkara

Best music: A.R. Rahman for Rang De Basanti
Best lyrics: Prasoon Joshi for “Chand Sifarish” from Fanaa
Best playback male: Kailash Kher and Shaan for “Chand Sifarish” from Fanaa
Best playback female: Sunidhi Chauhan for “Beedi Jalaile” from Omkara

Critic’s award for best movie: Raj Kumar Hirani’s Lage Raho Munnabhai
Critic’s award for best actor: Aamir Khan for Rang De Basanti
Critic’s award for best actress: Kareena Kapoor for Omkara

Best story: Raj Kumar Hirani and Vidhu Vinod Chopra for Lage Raho Munnabhai
Best screenplay: Jiadep Sahni for Khosla Ka Ghosla
Best dialogues: Raj Kumar Hirani and Abhijat Joshi for Lage Raho Munnabhai
Best art direction: Smeer Chanda for Omkara
Best editing: PS Bharati for Rang De Basanti
Best cinematograohy: Binod Pradhan for Rang De Basanti
Best special effects: Krrish
Best action: Siu Tung Ching, Sham Kaushal for Krrish
Best choreographer: Ganesh Acharya for Omkara
Best bachkground score: Slim Suleman for Krrish
Best sound design: Subhash Sahu, KJ Singh for Omkara
Best costumes: Dolly Ahluwalia for Omkara

R D Burman award for new musical talent: Naresh Iyer (“Rubaroo”) for Rang De Basanti
Sony-Fair One face of the year Kangana Ranaut
Best debut: Kangana Ranaut
Powerhouse award: Yash Chopra
LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS: Jaya Bachchan, Javed Akhtar
Special jury recognition: Deepak Dayal for Omkara

52nd Filmfare awards nominations announced

What comes as the biggest surprise to me today, after having seen the ad for the declaration of nominations for the 52nd annual Filmfare awards, wasn’t so much about some of the nominations, but on the fact that the ad appeared on the second last page of my favorite newspaper, TOI. A far cry from the days when the same ad was awaited with huge aplomb, and appeared on the 3rd or the 5th, max the 7th page’s bottoms half. Maybe the people at TOI, have accepted the glitz and glamour of other (non-descript) award shows, which are aired on numerous channels like regular shows, to be more than that of their own baby. But I love Filmfare awards, not just because they are the oldest, and have true golden moments of our past filmy era associated with them, but also because I have virtually grown up feeding on stories of our Bollywood, in all its highs and lows in what else but the number 1 Indian film magazine, Filmfare. The black lady will be haunting many names printed in that ad, till she goes to one of them, eluding others and telling them, better luck next time. For it’s a cliché quote today from the mouth of any of our stars today “… but I always wanted to win a Filmfare award.” Why not? So many of them have grown up watching them, and desiring to be up there, being felicitated with the same lady, which was wrapped in a handkerchief once, to be presented to Lata Mangeshkar, as she refused to accept a ‘nude’ figure!



And now, let’s discuss the nominations. In the BEST FILM category, Omkara is missing. Worse: Dhoom: 2 is listed. Worst: it’s at the top in the list, but that’s for the alphabetical placing. Not that I didn’t like the movie, it had my favorite Ash and Hrithik, sizzling onscreen like no1 else. But where was the story, to even think about getting it nominated in the best film category? Then we have Don. SRK rules; again in the next nomination Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna. And then we have someone, whose success story is a part of IIM syllabi today, our first true superhero: Krrish. If SRK rules, Hrithik rocks. But the next two nominations are, I think the most deserving to win this award: Lage Raho Munnabhai, and Rang De Basanti. And I guess the effect these two movies had on the nation is testimony enough for the fact that every1 will vouch for 1 of these to bag the award. It feels awkward to see D:2 to be listed in the same category as these 2, and to top it all, Omkara is missing. What the hell???



Next we have the BEST DIRECTOR. Karan Johar for KANK, I guess stands little chance, so does Sanjay Gadhvi for D:2, and even Rakesh Roshan for Krrish, though the way he told and sold his story makes him deserving enough to win him an award by NDTV profit! Lol! The real fight would be starting with Rakeysh Mehra for RDB, though it was very disappointing to hear that the movie that sent the nation into a tizzy wasn’t short listed in the best foreign language film category by the academy awards’ panel. What Do I call it? THEIR LOSS! Fighter number 2 is definitely Rajkumar Hirani for LRM. This dude, if I may call him, rejected more number of scripts for the sequel than you and I can think of. Success, especially of this form, doesn’t come easy my dear! And then, there is Vishal Bhardwaj, whose Omkara has to be seen to be believed. The way he crafted the story, etched in modern times, was wow. Mind your cell phones dear ones; it might just destroy your life. P.S: it has nothing to do with my not owning a cell till now.

It is, but obvious, that now you must have got an idea as to whom all might be featured in the following nominations. In the BEST ACTOR IN a LEADING ROLE (MALE) category, Aamir Khan leads the way for RDB. And ardent Filmfare readers with strong memories must be remembering that Aamir doesn’t give a shit to awards, Filmfare or any other, as he thinks they aren’t fair. Who cares if he is the strongest contender this year? Ajay Devgan is missing from the list. Sigh!!! Can someone point out what’s so wrong with Omkara? But next we have our golden boy, Hrithik, with two nominations, for Krrish and D: 2. Mr. H, the now doting father of a certain Hrehaan named cutie pie, has won 4 Filmfares till now, twice in sets of 2 each, which methinks is an inadvertent tribute to his perfection. Then there is our very own Sanju baba, for LRM, for whom we so wish that he be left alone now after suffering for 13 years in the blasts case. It indeed is the irony of life that his best movie is about Gandhigiri, and he himself is linked with an act of violence. Wah ri kismat! Some people speculated that SRK had kept a secretary to keep himself updated about the moves of a certain Roshan guy, 7 years back, when he made his fantabolous debut. Duh-uh! He is giving equal competition to Hrithik today, with his performances in Don as well as KANK, both nominated here. Need we say more?



And now, let’s welcome the damsels of Bollywood. In the nominations for the BEST ACTOR IN a LEADING ROLE (FEMALE) category, the first name appears out of sync. My favorite, Ash, has been nominated for D:2. Hello? She hardly got a chance to act. In my opinion, it would have been better had she been nominated for her worst movie, Umrao Jaan, coz no matter how sickly J.P. Dutta handled and ruined it, she did prove her mettle in it. Javed Akhtar was right in insisting on her being taken as the lead, for she truly acted very well. Watch her mujras in it, perfect to the t. Aaaahhh!! Bipasha. She has been rightly nominated for Corporate. The intelligent former Gladrags supermodel did prove herself once again in one of her finest performances in this Madhur Bhandarkar caper. The lady who “came back”, Kajol is here too, for Fanaa of course. How we wish, we could see her in more movies. I so not like Kareena Kapoor, nominated for Omkara. If only they had omitted her nomination here, and added Ajay in the male lead category. Wonder why my favorite scribe, Subhash K. Jha, is so mesmerized by her? And another strong contender is Rani Mukerjee, for what else but KANK.



In the BEST ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE (MALE) category, Abhishek Bachchan, and Amitabh Bachchan, have both got the nomination for KANK. But I guess Big B, is the leading way ahead of others, who are John Abraham for Baabul, Kunal Kapoor for RDB, and Sidhharth, who recently spilt-up with his wife, for RDB again. Till Mr. Bachchan’s riveting performance came by, every1 thought that either Kunal or Sidhharth would surely bag this award, if no one else.



But the fight is far more intense in the BEST ACTOR IN a SUPPORTING ROLE (FEMALE) category. Kirron Kher, who exploited her Jatt Sikh background to the hilt, while playing the Punjabi mom to DJ in RDB, leads the nominations, not just alphabetically, but in the memories of her viewers too. The next contender, I guess, comes closest to her, as far as her performance goes, for she is none other than Konkona Sen Sharma, nominated for Omkara, where she acted like she was the actually a native from those badlands. Preity Zinta comes next, for her no-nonsense attitude in KANK. Following her is Rekha for what else but Krrish. And lastly we have Soha Ali Khan, for her beautiful and natural portrayal of Sonia in RDB. The lady finally managed to put her act forward in the best way possible. But then, she had Rakeysh Mehra directing her, so how could she go wrong?



Next is my favorite category: BEST ACTOR IN A COMIC ROLE. These are the guys everyone looks up to, especially when they are in a mess, or when they just wanna have those elusive chunks of laughter that washes away the pain like nothing else. And to start with, we have the strongest nomination in Arshad Warsi. Circuit actually went ahead of his Munnabhai days, because his role was clearly made to be more than what he had done earlier, all thanks to Mr. Hirani for rejecting those scripts which would just have reduced our leads to stereotyped and repeated blabbermouths. Next we have Chunkey Pandey for Apna Sapna Money Money, but once again the list is goofed up, because Riteish Deshmukh’s cross-dressing act doesn’t find a place here, no matter how many people just start laughing when they see him performing some “shokh adaas” with his eyes in the movie. And now we have Babubhai Paresh Rawal, giving some competition to Arshad, for his unforgettable Jai Maharashtra in Phir Hera Pheri. Close on their heels are Sharman Joshi, and Tushhar Kapoor, both having been nominated for Golmaal. Tusshar was really impressive with his dumb act. The laugh riot didn’t have a story once again, but you didn’t care as much as you did in D:2. Wonder what Mr. Sanjay Gadhvi is gonna do with D:3 and SRK in the lead. Whatever you do, plz don’t reduce chotta B’s role to a boring, crooked and no-fun character as you did in the latest installment. Coz we have seen him enough, and wouldn’t like him to be wasted, especially after having seen what Mani Ratnam made him do in Guru.


The BEST ACTOR IN A NEGATIVE ROLE nominations this year feature no ladies. Wonder why such roles are written so less for Bollywood bombshells. If you must have noticed, they were missing from the previous category too. Anyways, Boman Irani leads the pack, for LRM. Truly, no words can pay justice to his acting skills. Emraan Hashmi has been nominated for Gangster. But one notch higher can be thought of as the act by John Abraham in Zinda, which was very mean. Next comes Naseeruddin Shah for Krrish. But all these will be put aside when the last nomination here is seen, that of Saif Ali Khan for Omkara. He rocked and shocked you as Langda Tyagi.



In the BEST MUSIC category, who else but A.R. Rahman is leading the way for his compelling score in RDB. Lukka chuppi stirs emotions like nothing else. And it feels so good that none other than Lata Mangeshkar gave it her voice. The rest are impressive, but nowhere near the maestro. Motor mouth Himesh Reshammiya has been nominated for Aksar (last year he won the best male playback Filmfare). Then there is the duo of Jatin-Lalit for Fanaa, which had two of the most memorable tracks of last year “chand sifarish” and “mere haath mein”. Pritam’s music did create some crazy Dhoom last year, so it’s obvious that he has been nominated. Don’s mysterious music earns the trio Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy their well-deserved nomination. They never fail to impress. They have another nomination for KANK in the same category, though I think it wasn’t as great as their music for KaL Ho Na Ho. Whose missing? Vishal Bhardwaj’s Omkara again. But “beedi” and “namak issq ka” won’t be forgotten anytime soon, awards or no awards.



But I am really happy to see the first nomination in the BEST LYRICS category, which is none other than Gulzar for “beedi jalaile” from Omkara. And to think of it, he said he writes crap these days. Who better to give him competition than Javed Akhtar, with two nominations with the same movie, KANK, for its tracks “mitwa” and the title song? Though I felt they weren’t as fresh as “beedi”. Once again, the next contender is giving these two stalwarts fair competition with two nominations. Prasoon Joshi is here for his “chand sifarish” from Fanaa, and “rubaroo” from RDB. Yup, he deserves as much a place in here as any1 else. These songs just grow on you, every time you listen to them.



In the BEST PLAYBACK (MALE) category, Atif Aslam has been nominated, for the most soul-stirring composition of 2006: “tere bin” from Bas Ek Pal. The song, was half featured in the music video, and it’s other half is as powerful in lyrics and singing, as was the rest. Download it, if you haven’t till now. This guy is ready to be slapped by Ashaji, but right now Himesh Reshammiya will be counting his chances for winning this trophy for “jhalak dikhlaja” from Aksar. And I don’t recall a duo having been nominated in this category in 52 years of Filmfare’s past (forgive me if there has been such a nomination): Shaan and Kailash Kher have been nominated in the same line, for “chand sifarish” from Fanaa. Wow! Why did Sonu Nigam become Sonu Niigaam, he was as popular as anyone. Anyways, he is the next nominee for the title track of KANK. And following him is another first-time contender, Zubin for his powerhouse performance in the song “ya ali” from Gangster. I wonder who’ll win…ha!



And in the last category, BEST PLAYBACK (FEMALE), it is anybody’s guess as to who’ll win. Alka Yagnik is right at the top for “kabhi alvida na kehna”. And next is the girl who was discovered by Sanjay Leela Bhansali, as the voice of his Paro. The girl who gave a new dimension to every man’s fantasies with her “jaadu hai nasha hai” in Jism: Shreya Ghoshal has been nominated for “pal pal” from LRM. But no brownie points for guessing who is here today with the maximum nominations. That’s 3, for Sunidhi Chauhan. The first one is for “aa aa aashiqui mein teri” from China Town. The third is “soniye” from Aksar. Wonder why I left the second and hopped on to her third nomination? Coz you know, I know, and every1 knows that it’s “beedi” from Omkara which is her second nomination and virtually the best of the best she has delivered. So, now you know.



And I am waiting for the most-awaited night of the Hindi Film Industry, like all those millions who have it in the back of their minds, that this is the most incredible awards show. Coz no matter if an IIFA takes place in the most picturesque lands of the world, or if the National Awards are gonna put the government stamp on some1’s performance, it’s the Goregaon’s Police Lines grounds, that will be host to the most enthralling experience for any1 who has remotely felt the adrenaline rush that one gets by watching Filmfare awards show. What will the stage look like this year? Who will be hosting it? Who all will perform? Who will get away with the Lifetime Achievement award?And who will be the big winners? Keep waiting… you’ll know pretty soon. It isn’t for nothing that they call it the Indian Oscars.

- simranjeet singh pnaich.