Rambo aka Stallone

Michael Sylvester Gardenzio Stallone is responsible for creating two characters who have become a part of the culture throughout the world: Rocky Balboa, the no-name boxer who overcame all odds to become a champion, and John Rambo, the courageous soldier who specialized in violent rescues and revenge. A dramatic actor and one of greatest action stars of all time, Stallone enjoyed phenomenal popularity and was the biggest movie star in the world with the Rocky and Rambo franchises during the 1980s.

Sylvester Stallone is a living legend, an international icon of machismo (through Rambo franchise) and a never say die fighter (through Rocky franchise). Rambo was a kind of no-nonsense James Bond, a very different kind of one-man-army, although equally effective. Rambo franchise brought guerrilla warfare to the forefront of cinema throughout the world. The name has become an eponym for a tactic of military aggression and extreme violence.

Rambo (The fourth in Rambo franchise) is exactly what you expect it to be. John Rambo is back, albeit this time fighting on his own conviction. And Stallone does exactly to the character which he did so successfully in the earlier three movies - Show the human side of John Rambo, despite him being a furious killing machine (as envisaged by the creator of the character David Morrell in his novel First Blood)

As for the latest Rambo, John is aged, living quitely, alone, but is not at peace with himself. He is shown in the film unable to come to terms with his owm grotesque existence. Anyway, John looks damn good ( Hats off to Stallone for maintaining the physique at an age of 61).

He drops off some Colorado based Missionaries off the coast of troubled war zone, and goes back to find and rescue them when the father of a girl comes asking him of their whereabouts.

The movie disappointed me in some cases. The fact that no country was involved took the intensity out of the fights (something which can only be felt when nationalist cause is present). In most part, Rambo doesn't even fight with local rebels (a trademark of Rambo franchise hitertho), but with a group of hired mercenaries.

Overall, it's a very short movie, with hardly any story plot. It gives a couple of lines which could become cult feature of the Rambo franchise...

"Killing is just as easy as breathing"

"Live for nothing, or die for something"

Stallone actually got in touch with United Nations to zero in on the location of his story. Some place where human rights violation, civil war, poverty, hunger and disease prevail, and more importantly - a place about which the world doesn't care to know. He got his answer - BURMA.

"Black Hawk Down" and "Hotel Rwanda" brought the world's attention towards the Somalian war and the Rwandan Genocide respectively. I hope RAMBO does something similar for Burma.

So, go on and watch the movie, especially on the big screen... it's worth your time. It's the last chance to see Rambo in action, to give a farewell to a cinematic icon.

I also found few facts about Stallone:

1. Stallone made the city of Philadelphia an international tourist attraction with the Rocky Steps. His incredible popularity there has led to a statue of his Rocky character being placed permanently near the Philadelphia Museum of Art as a cultural landmark.

2. Birth complications caused partial paralysis in parts of Stallone's face, resulting in his signature slurred speech and drooping lower lip.

3. Stallone made his film debut with the lead in a 1970 hardcore pornographic film, Party at Kitty and Stud's. He was paid US$200 for two days work. The movie was edited and released later on to cash in on Stallone's fame. These releases were re-packaged under the names of Italian Stallion (taken from Stallone's nickname and a line from the film) and Cocky (a pun on Rocky).

4. Rocky was nominated for 10 Academy Awards in all, including Best Actor for Stallone himself.

5. The Rocky and Rambo franchises at the end of the decade of 80s were billion dollar franchises internationally.

6. The original Rocky was the most profitable entry of the series, with a budget of US$1.2 million, grossing US$117.1 million.

Crash Crash Crash !!!

Capital markets without losses is like religion without hell

Ouch !!! It hurt us bad, I mean , all of us.

There were an unprecedented abundance of ambulances on the road. ICUs were filled with patients complaining chest pain, and ECGs were running all around.Few people were arrested on charges of attempted suicide, trying to jump from a building. And to nobody's surprise, the building housed offices of several brokers. Telephone networks faced congestion...

Now Now Now, I don't know if any of it is true. These are all rumors I heard throughout the day, as our markets slipped, and kept on slipping. This was the first time I saw everyone in office (I mean everyone) clicking ferociously, again and again, just to check the current status. Still, I got a sense of deja vu, and realised this kind of maniac clicking happens everytime India plays cricket, where everyone wants to know the score.

I could sense the gloom spreading around. Nothing seemed right. Lunch tasted worse. Coffee wasn't hot enough. Presentations and demos went bad, and people left early.

Even the unceremonious ousting of Ganguly (and Dravid) from ODI squad touring Australia wasn't discussed, and take my word on this, you have to be in Calcutta for a while to understand the importance of it.

So, how the hell did this happen?

It all started with the outbreak of subprime mortgage crisis in US.
As US economy has been on an upswing for several years in a row, banks were giving large sums as loans to risky consumers (Lower credit score), charging them higher interest rates. The consumers paid the EMIs in a booming ecomomy, banks got richer by higher rates they charged on loans, and everything was hunky dory.
But as consumer sentiment lowered, with other troubles like unemployment and inflation surfacing, recession started to set in. The risky consumers now began defaulting on their loans, and banks got the authority to sell off the client's assets. But there was a simultaneous recession in US housing market as well, and so property valuations plummeted. This made balance sheets of most US Financial giants go RED. Deep RED, in fact. (Remember the fourth-quarte Citigroup Loss of $9.83 billion !!!)

But how the hell does this affect the whole world ???

There are two reasons:

1. The US Consumer has driven the global economy for quite some time now. But with the dollar falling, so much excess liquidity in the markets, it was only a matter of time before US consumer went bust.

2. The Banks in US traded the securities against loans throughout the world. These loans included the ones which are now the core of the US subprime crisis. Hence, the ramifications around the globe.



George Bush's plan for "direct and rapid relief " for the battered U.S. consumer arrived after the bloodbath in US markets; the price tag = US $ 150-billion through tax cuts. It has been greeted with a large dose of skepticism. Why this kind of a bailout in a free market economy? After all, borrowers weren't forced at gunpoint to take out loans they couldn't afford and lenders weren't obliged to lend to borrowers they knew couldn't afford it. It was greed all along, and now theey are paying the price. In that case, why should investors, future homeowners and potentially taxpayers pay for this sheer unadulterated greed on both sides, through higher costs and interest rates? And anyway, after this much shit, do they expect the US consumer will spend all the extra money from lower taxes on buying stuff rather than saving it???

BACK TO INDIA
Mayhem broke in India as it did everywhere else. But another problem is lurking behind the scenes as this storm takes it's toll.

A free fall in shares wiped off the combined market cap, of all the companies listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), to the tune of a staggering Rs 6.7 lakh crore on Monday. While the Sensex has nosedived over 3,000 points in the past week, the consistent fall has seen an erosion of nearly Rs 12 lakh crore in Mcap to Rs 59.4 lakh crore during the period. It had taken almost three months to generate this amount of wealth in the market.

FLASHBACK
In July 2006, the National Stock Exchange had issued a circular to brokers asking them to submit an auditor’s certificate on the ownership of the shares pledged by them with the exchange. The policy was essentially to ensure that brokers do not misuse the funds of their clients.

BACK TO THE FUTURE
As markets plunged on Monday, brokers panicked and started pledging shares of their clients with the exchanges, in order to meet their own margin requirements. Now, this is in violation of NSE norms, which state that a broker cannot pledge share of his client with the exchange, without the client’s consent.The standard procedure states that Investors have to deposit margin money with their brokers before placing an order to buy or sell shares. The amount of margin to be paid depends on the value of the transaction. The investor can fund the margin requirement through a combination of cash, bank guarantee and shares. It is up to the broker as what percentage of the margin funds he would be comfortable accepting in the form of shares.The fall in the last two sessions has been particularly severe, and there are fears that quite a few clients may default on their commitments to the brokers. This in turn, could spell for the trouble for the broker as he/she has to make the pay-in to the exchanges even before he encashes his clients cheque. Now as these brokers default on their commitments, these shares will be liquidated by the exchange. But these are client's shares, brokers can't do this; its illegal.

So, when this dust settles, there will be another crisis to sort out. SEBI has its hands full, especially after athe whole P-Note saga in past few months. Everyone knows this is short term, and we'll be back on track within 3 - 4 months.


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With this blog I have completed my half century. Yeah, 50 posts.

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My tryst with the Gym...

It's been over a month now ... I have been going to GYM. Yeah.

So, why am I even writing about this?

I had been feeling uncomfortable about the fact for quite some time that all I do nowadays is sit and work. Sometimes, days pass at a strech without me breaking sweat. I've never liked this.
Gym as an option cropped periodically in my head.

Why did I finally do it? Simply because I always wanted to do it, but was always lazy enough to give it a pass.

But circumstances change everything.

About a month ago, I desperately needed a break from my routine life, and that is perhaps the only reason I went to the gym.

I've learned few interesting things first hand. Once you doll out the obscene amount of money, you kick your lazy demons aside. So guys, if you want to go to gym and have some motivation, try this philosophy; paisaa fek, tamaashaa dekh.

Once you go, the environment tells you how inadequate your body is; how self damaging your lifestyle is. You can actually feel that enthu building. It depends from person to person how long this enthu lasts. I’ve personally seen the duration last from a few minutes to weeks among individuals. There is only one way to find out. Do It.

So, after one month, what is the change in my life ???

1. I've gained weight. And more importantly, I've gained it the right way. It's all muscle, no fat.

2. The Beer belly is smaller now (maybe coz I'm drinking less as well).

3. I have become diet conscious; I make it a point never to miss breakfast, and to eat fruits and salad compulsarily everyday.

4. There is still no visible change in my body, but I can feel the muscles tightening up.

5. I don't go out on weekdays after office now. It's office, followed by Gym, and then I'm home. It has become a pain in the ass of some of my good collegues with whom I loitered aimlessly in malls etc untill about a month ago.

6. I unknowingly speak in terms of protein, fat, carbohydrate, cholestrol (As pointed out by my friends)

7. I've find it very interesting to hold conversation with other GYM guys regarding exercises, schedules, etc, and these conversations strech far too long.

All in all, I love it. It has been a forced change in my life, but I'm glad that I forced it on to myself.

So, I say, please try the gym, at least for a month. Have this experience - it's unique.

PS:
My next mission is to start learning Guitar seriously (Haven't started yet). Hope it happens soon...

End Of Day

I worked all day, sorting some mess
Not knowing what am I working for,
Tired, mundane, Bored, Clueless,
I don't even get drunk anymore,

Lying on my couch,
I stare in silent dark,
Is there something I can vouch,
Where I can leave a mark,

Another day has gone by,
Death is nearer now,
The feel of dying, and being dead,
Is closer to me somehow,

Why? why this indifference?
Dear God, why this infinite tolerence?
Why do I wear this apathetic lense
Where's the desire to cross the fence?

Somehow sleep engulfs me,
I pass in a slumber,
Alice is in wonderland,
I'm waiting for my number,

Is this the way a day should end,
Is this the way our desires blend,
Stop, and take a closer look,
Coz there're always things to mend.

Picture abhi baaki hai mere dost...

I was just chatting yesterday with some friends, and somehow the flow of talk got diverted to celebrating festivles outside home. We were all just recalling our Diwali experiences of 2007. They were all surprised as I told them that this would be my 6th straight Diwali outside home.
As I pondered , I found a couple of things that I am most likely to remember in years to come about this Diwali. Maybe the fact that we had to cook our own meal late night because the cook refused to come at the 11th hour, and it was too late to check out any restaurant/home delivery (we made an almost edible pasta).

But definitely the next thing on the list would be the movie 'Om Shanti Om'. I'm not even going to discuss the much touted 'Battle at the box office' between OSO and Saawariya, simply because I don't like Bhansaali's movies (His love stories are such a drag on my psyche... BLACK was good; HDDCS had Aishwarya looking stunning, and a brilliant performance by Ajay Devgan.)

Anyway, we booked tickets for Saturday 10th Nov in advance and went in to see the movie... Now, I knew beforehand what this movie would be like. But still I decided to give it a try, because no matter how much disgust I feel for typical Bollywood movies, with OSO I felt that a phenomenon was unfolding around me. And I didn't want to miss being a part of a phenomenon.

And now as I look back, I feel I did the right thing. Why? Not because the movie was any better than what I expected it to be. But there were several things that will make me recall the experience in years to come...

First of all, the MARKETING. I mean, simply WOW !!! I have never ever seen any Bollywood movie being promoted so aggressively. For about a month or so prior to the release, OSO was omnipresent. It all started with SRK's 6 packs. It was for all to see that they were not as good as they can get (Remember the Spartans in 300??), and were a result of extreme diet control. But hell, who cared... It was the King of Bollywood, and everyone went nuts. SRk levereged his presence at the T20 matches, and team India chipped in by bringing home the World Cup. OSO team was everywhere. Sometimes I feel that even the Dhoni-Deepika connect was a publicity stunt.

This promotional blitzkrieg is a harbinger of things to come, and how mega bucks are changing the rules of the game in Bollywood, primarily along western cinema's lines.

Then therer was the music... Vishal-Shekhar did a splendid job, churning out beautiful melodies, and even pulling an ace with Dard-E-Disco to complement SRK's 6 packs.

Next, was the dazzling debutant Depika Padukone. She looked stunning in the movie, and made the movie worth watching.

Another pleasant surprise was the willingness of Bollywood stars to laugh at themselves (Barring Manoj Kumar, Of Course). In fact, the script has an element of Spoof in the first half. The brilliantly scripted cameo's by Akshay Kumar, Hrithik Roshan, Bappi Lahiri, Shabana Aazmi, Abhishek and Amitabh Bachhan were worth a laugh. Even SRK made a fool of himself, through his typical Raj-Rahul roles. Also the Rajnikanth style "Anna-Rasscalaa" scene deserves a mention.

The coming together of 31 stars for one song was also something new. Of course, it included duds like Tushar Kapoor, Zayed Khan and Dino Moria, and there was absence of Aamir-Amitabh-Abhishek-Kareena-Aishwarya, but still it felt nice to see so many of them together, especially the veterans like Dharmendra, Jeetendra and Mithun doing their trademark dance steps. It must be the contacts of SRK and Farha Khan that got them together. Or was it fear and apprehension that united them, as the rival release Saawariya was a Hollywood backed project (Sony Pictures).

Today's movie goers have a pretty easy access to world class cinema, from Hollywood to Latin America to France to Hong Kong. We are well acquainted with world classics like Casablanca, Schindler's list, Godfather and so on. I have been part of the group which unabashedly criticise Bollywood for it's idiotic stuff.
OSO's entire first half provided glimpses of idiotic Bollywood cliche, like the unnecessary song and dance sequences, the height of melodrama, the unprofessionalism industry survived for so many decades and utter insult of any attempt by the ordiance to use his brain and apply logic. However, the portrayal helped me change my perception a bit. It made me appreciate the journey of Bollywood as an industry. It dawned on me that precisely because Bollywood stuck to it's formula, catered to mass appeal and not to intellegestia, it wasn't crushed by Hollywood like it has happened everywhere else. Arjun Rampal even tells his movie director in OSO, "Picture chalaani hai to ek Manmohan Desai angle bhi rakhna".
I understood that local movie industry thrives on local culture. Bollywood imitated our culture of festivals, song-and-dance, extravagant portrayal of emotions, and stunts defying all laws of physics. It made extravagant movies for the poor, malnourished, depressed, disillusioned and illiterate India, and so it survived and grew. It grew on this ridicule. It became strong. And now, as it is poised for the next big leap we can already see the changes. Last year we had character artists give us movies like "Pyar ke side effects" and "Khosla Ka Ghosla". This year we saw big Bollywood stars taking the leap: Abhishek Bachchan in GURU, Shahrukh in CHAK DE, and Aamir in TAARE ZAMEEN PAR... and Hrithik-Aishwarya are coming this year in JODHA-AKBAR.

All said and done, the movie was a staunch breed which is getting extinct in Bollywood; a complete paisa wasool masala movie. I liked one scene in particular... when SRK is drunk, giving his speech with a beer bottle in hand... and that line which will be remembered in years to come... The line which truly reflects the gist of the philosophy of an average Indian, despite differences in region or religion...

"Hamari zindagi me bhi hamaari filmo ki tarah aakhir tak sab kuchh theek thaak ho hi jaata hai... Aur agar theek na ho, to matlab Picture abhi baaki hai mere dost..."