Monday, April 9, 2012

Rated: Highly Junk!!


One of the recent news events that struck big time was about one of our biggest weaknesses, junk food. The Centre for Science and Environment came out with the report after testing 16 most popular 'junk food' brand namely Maggi Noodles, KFC, McDonald's, Haldirams and PepsiCo's Lay's Potato Chips, that these contain extreme levels of bad fats, salt and sugar in its foods. And the situation has called for a serious reviewing and regulation of the food labels on these products.

High levels of salt, sugar and Trans fats are common invitees of health disorders such as obesity and diabetes and also, hypertension or high blood pressure. Read here to learn more.

The point here is that, isn't junk food meant to be unhealthy? Don't we all know that they are fried in lots of oils (which type I have no idea) and contains salt and sugar to give them the taste that they are known for. So how exactly should we take this news? Is this an indication that we stop visiting the nearby McDonalds to have the burger or tell our taste buds that "Look, it’s not gonna be easy from now on. I have to look after the other organs of my body as well. So, we are now banning these junkies and going for salads and more!!" At least, my taste buds are not going to listen to this, I am sure!

I am not, I must confess, into much of junk food but I cannot survive only on health foods. I need my sinful Saturdays and Sundays and give my brain the junk booster dose. I guess, the way out from this unique situation would be, may be cutting down on your soda and burger intake, have your life-savior i.e. Maggi Noodles may be just once or twice a week and opt for those untried food items that do not have the complications of bearing labels on themselves, i.e. fruits and veggies.

I am not sure how much credibility and truth it will hold if the concerned food companies rework on their labels and come out with reports that they are healthy enough to consume and that we won't get diabetes or turn fat. The question will be with what amount of consciousness are we going to select our food items next time. Will we read the food labels and pick? Or just one instead of two packets? Or is it going to be the usual routine?

Saturday, March 24, 2012

This is the Baap of all Kahaanis


This was a movie that I had planned to watch for few obvious reasons. One, because of the city—Kolkata, second, because of the story and suspense created by the movie promos (I had even asked my bollywood reporter friend about the climax before it was even released but thankfully, she declined to comment) and third, actors (Vidya Balan and the host of the accomplished Bengali TV and cinema actors). And one more, because this would be movie where I know the local language spoken and the songs in the movie and gives me the opportunity to explain to others what they said.

Kahaani: The Movie

Kahaani, as they titled it, is a suspense thriller where a heavily-pregnant Vidya Bagchi lands up in Kolkata from London. Her first conversation was with a taxi driver who shares his astonishment when he's asked to take her to the police station. Her first stop in the city: the Kalighat Police Station. And her story starts here. Inspector Chatterjee and sub-Inspector Satyuki (Rana) Sinha are introduced to her thrilling story of her missing husband. Arnab Bagchi was in Kolkata on a project while working with the National Data Centre (NDC). His interactions with Vidya were regular for the first two weeks until he vanished from the scene all of a sudden without any prior intimation. Her husband’s details are recorded in the good old book (and not the computer that has been recently loaded with the applications and software required) and is taken to the same guest house where Arnab was put up. She is quick to divulge minor details like the presence of a golden peacock near the elevator or the same room where her husband was staying. Thus begins her thrilling encounter with the city. With time and Rana by her side, Vidya manages to churn out least known details involving the planning and the scam behind the Kolkata Metro Gas Leak incident that led to death of hundreds of daily commuters in the city's most preferred transportation mode. Names such as Milan Damji cropped up to indicate that Arnab must be danger given his face is identical to that of the terrorist. Tracking down Milan meant revealing many of the underlying mysteries of NDC and murders of people who would have shared vital information. Vidya's journey that started with the onset of the Durga Puja when the city gets dressed up to welcome Ma Durga ended on Bijaya Dashami by tracking down the suspect in question and fleeing away tactfully amongst the hundreds of red and white saree clad women with sindoor on their foreheads and faces.

You've got watch the movie to know what happens to her husband, if you haven’t watched it till now and unravel the suspense slowly as you watch it.


Why it drew my attention?
During the promotions, Vidya Balan carried her pregnant belly to give every onlooker a real feel of the movie and that she needs track the existence of her husband in Kolkata. The city has, for once, been well-captured in the camera lenses simply the way it is. The old buildings of North Calcutta, the by-lanes of the city having the usual garbage on the road as it is always found and the commonly known places like Camac Street and Park Street or SSKM Hospital at Harish Mukherjee Road. The movie beautifully captures these places the exact way they are and shows nothing fancy about the city by staying true to the need of the movie plot.

Before Kahaani, nobody would have ever thought of creating a crime and suspense thriller without any kind of "dhishum dhishum" and with a woman being the hero. Kolkata has always been perceived as the city of mishti, mouth-watering street food and politics. Well, here is a movie that brings the real essence of the city live on screen.

Bengali actors—both cinema and TV—have marked their presence on screen with every bit of their acting and roles, even if for few seconds. These are actors whom I have seen growing up and playing unforgettable characters in some of the mega serials of Bengali television. It is definitely a treat to watch these people on the 70 mm screen in a city like Bangalore or Mumbai. You do feel proud when people praise these actors. Incredible thinking by the director that he chose this bunch of actors and made them speak "bengali-hindi" and  make their characters real but not fancy.

Of course, the new "hero" lady takes all the praise for her incredible acting but loud applauds to the supporting cast from Bangla film industry as well.

This one movie is surely going to stay as one of the best suspense thrillers that the Indian Film Industry has produced for years to come. And I am sure that I am going to watch a few times more (a little later) when I, along with Vidya Bagchi, will be unfolding the mystery again.

Image courtesy: bwreviews.com

Thursday, February 23, 2012

'Oh Captain, My Captain'


There have been references, rumors and instances of retirement of senior cricket players of India for quite some time now. That the team and each of its members are brought under speculations every time they fail to perform and win a match is nothing new. The fact that they are the world cup winning champions also doesn't really matter.

A few years ago, we got to hear the same thing from the same cricketing board for a senior player and an Indian captain of great repute. Yes, I am referring to Saurav Ganguly. Don't read me wrong if you find me biased towards him or his cricketing career! (Exactly, the Bong connection) My idea here is simple. If he was told to decide whether he wanted an honourable exit from his career (both ODI and Test Cricket), other greats are also being informed (directly and indirectly) about the same. A poll that a national English Daily recently conducted found that about 57 percent of the Indians have favoured the 'honourable exit' of Sachin Tendulkar from playing ODIs and continue his test cricket career. This has come just after the announcement from Ricky Ponting that he's decided to continue with his Test career but hung the boots for the ODIs.

Sachin Tendulkar is yet to create the most awaited and fascinating record of cricketing world—scoring the coveted century to complete a century of centuries in his international career. If he manages to score a century in an ODI, I would personally feel delighted and if in a Test match, I would be equally happy. And I am sincerely hoping that he does achieve this target in an ODI and then think about retirement.

For Saurav Ganguly, there wasn't any such pressure. He was going good in his own way and scored runs accordingly. His retirement wasn't too much of a shock because the treatment that he received, it was quite expected. He was asked to make way for the youngsters who should get opportunities to play international matches in order to grow as a player.

I am not debating whether he should have stuck around and proved his caliber time and again or whether, like him, other senior players should also make way for the youngsters. Whatever is destined, will happen! Let's hope for the best.

PS: I voted saying "Can't decide"!

Saturday, February 18, 2012

Counting the Years Back!


Read this interesting piece of news. Indians will now have a clue to assess their longevity and their pace of ageing.

The test will be made available in the country from this year onwards and will measure Telomeres (protective caps at the end of chromosomes that are best indicators of biological age as against chronological age). Read here to learn more about the test. Various factors contribute towards reducing the length of the Telomeres and thus, decrease the life span of a person.



The idea of sharing this piece of news is to check about people's popular perception towards this. How will it help the normal human being if he gets to know through an actual medical test (and not the popular Facebook app that calculate your death date and year as well as its cause)? Will each one of us create our bucket list more seriously and try to fulfill them according to the time left? Will you work harder and earn more money if your only dream is a world tour (because that costs a hell lot of money) or will you simply try to lead a healthier life in an attempt to increase your lifespan by adding a few years?

I do not know if people would actually pay to check how many years are left to be in this world or prefer a FB app to learn that he or she may die in some 2050+ due to laughing out loud and choking to death or may be due to falling from the bed and breaking the neck.

But definitely cheers to this interesting piece of news!!

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Happiness: Just a matter of choice


Breast Cancer. Somebody in her office feared that she might have it. She got scared herself. And she realised that it is something that every woman should be aware of. 

Ekta Kapoor is her another magnum opus, "Baade Achche Lagte Hain" showed that her lead female protagonist is having a breast cancer scare and how the fear of losing life brings her close to her husband. A salute goes to Ms Kapoor for bringing out the cancer fear in public in the most modest and obvious way and making it clear (again) that media is the most powerful media to promote social causes. 

I must confess that I had stopped watching the programme the minute they showed that Priya might be having breast cancer and had come to a self-driven conclusion that the following episodes might be disheartening and sad. Everybody might be sharing the fear that she might die and so on. But the case, surprisingly, was not so. Having watched most of Ms Kapoor's serials before, this was obvious for many of her loyal audiences, I guess. But this time, she chose to portray the other side of the story. Priya had shared her list of weird wishes with her husband and he, willingly and lovingly, had fulfilled each of them assuming that he should live every moment with her and give her all that she deserves to be happy. They counted stars, went for long drives and watched sunset being at two places at the same time and Ram Kapoor, Priya's golu husband, learnt to dance salsa. At the end, Priya clears the medical tests and does not have a cancerous lump in her breasts but an outgrowth which can be removed with a minor surgery.

The seven day wait was blissful for the couple for they realized love for each other. Even though they feared death, they chose to live life and enjoy their moments together. Ms Kapoor's message was very clear and I appreciate her approach to the health disorder thoroughly.

But I wonder, do we need a life-threatening fear to realize that life is to be enjoyed and lived with a positive outlook? Can we not start enjoying life and doing things just to make it happier? Can we not say, "Sadness and unhappy moments will come uninvited but we can choose to be happy?"

I have no idea how to be happy all the time but choosing to be happy is totally on me. Believing in what you like and finishing every work with a smile and sense of achievement....may be this is the trick. Do let me know your funda of happiness.