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Saturday, January 28, 2012

Random Quotes #55

Trash i can't write , intelligence will not strike chord with you :):) - Vivek

Friday, January 27, 2012

Random Quotes #54

My luck either runs too fast or lags too behind, its more than often not in my sight :):) - Vivek

Thursday, January 26, 2012

Agneepath - First Day First Show


I am just back after watching ' Agneepath ' and trust you me, this was first time i ever i watched a movie on the first day that too first show. The experience has been mind boggling, awesome , superb , fantastic, impressive , interesting , excellent , exceptional , and one of a lifetime !! Before i write anything more, all i can say is don't go and watch the movie....................just run and grab yourself a seat.

Katrina Kaif in Agneepath
Agneepath - Movie Review
The promos were intense and did show a glimpse of what to expect but the overall movie has shaped up so well that this kind of effort happens once in a blue moon. When ' Chikni Chameli ' was aired and Ms Katrina Kaif became the talking point i even thought this will be a ok movie with a blockbuster 'item number'. But No! i was wrong and Karan Malhotra and Karan Johar have fabulously produced a gem of a masterpiece. Their have woven their craft of direction, production,songs,sequences, dialogues so amazingly well that one is left asking for more and more.

Let's talk about some acting now. Hrithik has once again proved that he is the right contender of 'Mr Perfectionist' after Aamir Khan. He has done full justice to an aggrieved son's role who has to wait for 15 years to get revenge for his dad's murder. It looks to me that none in this entire industry could have brought out the brutality and wickedness of a satan other than our 'Kancha Cheena' - Sanjay Dutt. He suited so much in this role that it makes us wonder if he should re invent 'madness in the badness'. Priyanka is a seasoned actress and needs no mention, only flowers of praise and appreciation for her commendable performance. Very naturally she carries it forward from her role as a slum girl in 'Kaminey' . Now let's come to the surprise package of the movie and i will give this gift hamper of praise to Rishi Kapoor. Wow ! Of all the movies you have acted in your heydays this one stands out. Your acting in a negative role has a hefty weight and none can ignore your stupendous effort. 'Special thanks to Katrina ' says the cast in the beginning and i would agree with the producers. Katrina's acrobatics and athleticism  as 'Chikni Chameli ' has raised the benchmark for the artists as well as the choreographers. The song is full of energy and exceeds all the parameter for an item number.


Agneepath Movie Review
Agneepath - Moview Review
All in all this is a movie that one should watch without fail. I give full marks and all five stars to this amazing movie. Most importantly this movie did not belittle the performances of Amitabh Bachhan and other artists in the original cast. I had this skepticism that this remake might not even come half way closer to the the first one , but Karan's Agneepath is refreshing ,promising and very well made.

Congratulations to the crew and the entire cast for putting in an effort that demands a wow and a bow . Well Done ! 






Random Quotes #53

If you think life is all fun it is, but then i don't need jokers like you around me :):) - Vivek

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Random Quotes #52

I have stopped working for monthly wages, bonus and  incentives are enough to keep me afloat :):) - Vivek

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Random Quotes #51

What's in a name ?? I don't mind using a Tata or a Hilton :) - Vivek

Monday, January 23, 2012

Random Quotes #50

Winning and loosing is a part of the game, the only thing that matters is if i have won :):) - Vivek

Sunday, January 22, 2012

Random Quotes #49

My paintings never fetched a dime,  i renamed them abstract art and they are selling well :):) - Vivek

Saturday, January 21, 2012

Decoding Sunny Leone

Over the past few weeks the media, the newspaper and internet have gone berserk in reporting about Ms. Sunny Leone. Nothing sells faster than sleaze, sex and scandals and the marketers and news makers know this mantra. Even if you consider the print media, reports about molestation and assault on women are read with more interest than other important issues. Probably that is the reason it is more sensationalized as it gives vents to one’s inhibited fantasies.  The moment we are faced with a prospect of involvement in a tabooed topic the involvement quotient becomes higher. (I will use SL for Sunny Leone hence forth)
  
Let me try deciphering SL in multiple ways. Before we delve further, to clarify, I am addressing SL as a whole, the part that has been shown to us so far and the ulterior motives of people who have brought her in the system.


Sunny Leone  entry in Big Boss 5
Sunny Leone - The Bombshell
















1.    Free market – A free market is a competitive market where prices are determined by supply and demand. Here in this case the audience is demanding certain level of content and the media is supplying the same. There cannot be curbs imposed on the demand as people end up finding multiple channels to satisfy their needs / urges. If the forbidden fruit is keep under wraps the levels of curiosity and perversions rise. SL has in a way legalized this search that was earlier done in secrecy. Her message is clear; I am here to supply what you want.


2.    The Original – I have been taught from my childhood days that if you are original and you have good content you will always succeed. There are good channels, print media, journals, literature that have wide acceptance in the masses because of the quality and the value they add. Flimsy things will vanish as quickly as their meteoric rise. 

Here there is a segment of people who are trying to ‘sell through’ SL in order to get higher viewership and TRP ratings, finding ways to gain publicity in the quick run. Now one interesting thing I would like to point out here. In this era of instant gratification when the span of the mind is getting shorter and shorter there are people who are making millions in this short run. Consider cases of Shah Rukh Khan who could get a positive ROI on a trash like ‘Ra One’. So here again SL proves that I know I am short lived and will never match the content but what I provide has a quality and will earn all of us money.

3.    Acceptance is deeper – I have been toying with the idea for the last fortnight that how criminals commit a heinous act, how we know gods existed, how we know there is a world beyond , how we know about so many things that are abstract and abstruse. The answer is simple; before we act we think and we visualize; we imagine and prepare a blueprint. The vague thoughts find a real running example on the idiot box and the clutter gets cleared. We then act.






Sunny Leone in Indian Outfit
Sunny Leone in Indian Outfit

4.    Handing Baton to Gen X – I did spend some good time working in US and came across NRI’s on various occasions. During events they sang Indian songs, performed on hit Bollywood numbers and gathered attention of the whites under the garb of “Pseudo Indian”. These parents felt happy when their kids gathered praise for their Indian values, culture and upbringing. Somehow I felt the hollowness in their eyes. A true national from their very own country could easily make out how little they had to give back to the next generation. They have adjusted to the limit possible and accommodated to the hilt, all for the sake of a ‘better future’.

SL is a giving of the Gen X and is another bug fix for more customization. My only worry is after so many fixes the original Indian might even feel alien in his own land. There has been a gradual degradation of our minds and if there will be no one left to preserve and nothing to preserve we will be like ships without an anchor.

Sunny Leone as Anarkali
Sunny Leone as Anarkali

5.    The Hypocrisy & the Metamorphosis – I openly accept we are a nation of Hypocrites, praising things at one moment and denying then later for personal gains. Historically India as a nation has been open, warm and inviting expats. Our culture shaped up over the centuries with influences from multiple foreign invaders and dynasties. One thing that remained common all across was our willingness to adapt and appreciate ‘right things ‘. We have been good observers and equally good learners. During the last two decades I have seen more adoption of the liberal views than anything else. On one side there is a wave of multinationals and the world that has no boundaries, one the other hand there is an urge to limit ourselves. Here again we end up being hypocrites and act in a way suitable for the moment.

SL stands for metamorphosis and makes a mockery of our double standards. We are labeled as ‘hot’ and sex starved nation and on the other hand we talk of a restrained culture. Let’s choose our stand that is what SL is asking us!! The important thing here is how we will switch from one identity to another and can we remain fixed to our new face. The choice is between being a conservative and a liberal!


6.    SL is even a ‘Woman’ – The most important aspect of SL is that she herself is a woman. The atrocities against women are rising day by day and she is more often than not treated as an object. Every other day the news headlines are hit by MMS scandals, rape cases , assaults ,molestation of the unsuspecting females who become victim of ‘bastards’.

Ms. SL I understand you are in the adult entertainment industry and according to the western world your job is dignified and is completely legalized. Few Questions for you:

Are you not promoting yourself as an ‘object’? Are you not degrading the value of your own clan? Are you not portraying to the masses what dignified job has earned you a better career? Are you not showing the girls a shortcut to fame, glamour and money?

Sunny Leone Doing Pole Dance
Sunny Leone Doing Pole Dance


7.    A role model - My last observation is for Mr. Mahesh Bhatt. What ‘potential’ did you find in her?? Why do you want to give to the Indian audience reasons to celebrate sleaze?? Why can’t you find a better idol for the masses than SL and such similar ladies in the past?? You have a reply to give because years later when you are dead and nailed people will be at a discomfort because of your cheap acts in the present. Your contribution to the society will never be seen in good light.


Sunny Leone with Mentor Mahesh Bhatt
Sunny Leone with Mentor Mahesh Bhatt

Sunday, January 15, 2012

Random Quotes #48

I never lost in any game, because i only played till the point i was winning :) - Vivek

Saturday, January 14, 2012

Random Quotes #47

After marriage i realize that bachelorhood is the best time of life, not childhood :):) - Vivek

Friday, January 13, 2012

Random Quotes #46

'Girlfriend' is a name the mention of which invites sparkle in the eyes and tickle in the voice :):) - Vivek

Thursday, January 12, 2012

Random Quotes #45

With each passing birthday i turn more younger , but wiser people doubt :):) - Vivek

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Sunny Leone's entry in Bigg Boss 5

Hot Sunny Leone in Big Boss
Hot Sunny Leone


I have been seeing and reading lots about Sunny Leone on (Indian) TV, Print media and Internet these days. This made me think about her and what she signifies or stands for. My next post will decipher the impact of  Sunny Leone's presence in bigg boss house, and her latest bollywood offers for doing movies.

Keep glued !!

Read the post here http://viveksheel-blog.blogspot.com/2012/01/decoding-sunny-leone.html

Random Quotes #44

I don't claim to be a hard worker anymore, people often mistook me for being inefficient :):) - Vivek

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Random Quotes #43

Beaches provide a perfect backdrop for a uninhibited body and a liberated mind :):) - Vivek

Monday, January 09, 2012

Random Quotes #42

Election is a contest that can be won on false promises only :):) - Vivek

Sunday, January 08, 2012

Random Quotes #41

Training schools don't produce as many F1 drivers as alcohol does :):) - Vivek

Saturday, January 07, 2012

Random Quotes #40

My ignorance does not surprise people then why my foolishness does ?? :):) - Vivek

Friday, January 06, 2012

Random Quotes #39

You are getting old, if you more than often look for the service lift than the staircase :):) - Vivek

Pirates of the Malacca Straits



Indiblogger Contest by KFC
Indiblogger Contest by KFC



This is a real incident from my own life and what could be more fierier than a 45 minutes ordeal as a hostage in the hands of Sea Pirates. The day was 22nd June, 2003 and I was keeping navigational watch as a 2nd Officer on the bridge.

To help people understand what these terms mean:

 -Bridge is the uppermost deck of a ship that houses navigational equipment, multiple controls, communication devices etc., needed to navigate the ship at sea.
- Navigational Watch is like ‘driving’ the ship in the sea and taking her from one destination to another.
- 2nd Officer is an officer who holds certificate of competency to keep independent watches on the bridge and executes other duties like ship communication , route planning , cargo watches etc.

Inside view of the Ship
Inside the Ship


My Ship M.V. Rishikesh (M V stands for Motor Vessel) had loaded coal from Australia and was bound for India. During the passage we had to cross Malacca Strait which is a narrow waterway that extends nearly six hundred nautical miles from the Andaman Sea to the South China Sea, between Malaysia and Indonesia. The strait provides a vital shipping lane for vessels sailing from Europe and the Middle East to East Asia, as well as smaller vessels on local voyages. This place is notoriously famous for different types of piracy which include robbery of vessels at sea, the hijacking of vessels, and kidnap-for-ransom attacks.


Navigating in Malacca Strait
Malacca Strait
The robbery of a vessel by pirates usually takes place while the ship is under way, often at night, and most often between one and six o’clock in the morning. The pirates board the vessel using grappling hooks and then take any cash and valuables from the ship’s safe and crew, including high-tech navigation equipment or whatever else they can seize quickly. The attack is carried out by five to ten pirates and the whole incident gets over within an hour.




Pirates in a rubber boat
Pirates in a rubber boat














Around 2 AM in the morning, I was plotting ship’s position in the chart room and suddenly the bridge door opened. At this hour of the night I was not expecting any visitors but what I see here!!  My God!! One by one ten armed pirates (all masked) enter the bridge and take me on the gun point. My hands are tied at the back and personal belongings like watch, finger rings and gold chain are taken by them.

Taken as a Hostage by Pirates
Taken as a Hostage by Pirates


The Pirates ask me not to shout, raise alarms or do anything that might threaten them. I am told that any such action from me will yield only one end; and that is cold blooded ‘Murder’. It dawned on me a bit late that I was a ‘Hostage’ and I had no control over my life beyond this point. I requested the Pirates to allow me to change the ship's course in order to avoid collision with another vessel, and they agreed to it. Once i felt safe about the heading i put the helm to auto pilot.

Nothing can get fierier than this, not even the chicken that is put on the grill!!

The Pirates instruct me to call the Captain on the intercom, and ask him to open his room. With a trembling voice I narrated the entire incident to the Master and the demand of the pirates. A gun is on my temple and a knife at my neck to prevent me from running or taking any evasive action. Trust you me, although my life was in grave danger it was my mind that refused to accept a death like this. I was shaken to the core but my mind kept on telling me to remain calm and find out a way to be alive.

Ten minutes passed but there was no response from the Captain and this is when the Pirates started getting jittery and furious. I am then dragged from the Bridge to the deck below, where the Captain’s room is situated.The Pirates are getting restless and put in crowbars, long screw drivers to break open the door. Suddenly one of them flashes a thick knife and makes a movement to poke me in the stomach. I manage to just escape in the very last minute. This is when I perceive a serious threat to my own life and urge the Captain to open the door or else i will be killed. 

I am too frightened to speak but gather lots of courage and regain my composure to bail myself out of the situation. It was a moment where i was battling for my life and the  only assets i had was my mind and a tongue to speak, not even my free hands to fight..I plead, I shout, I scream and kick the door with all might to show to the Pirates that I am helping their cause.They realize my efforts and decide not to harm me. This is when the Captain opens his cabin and invites heavy bashing. We both are kicked and made to sit in a corner of the room and witness the loot. The Pirates break open the Cash Vault; take away all electronic gadgets and other personal belongings of the Master. They even get access to the bond store located on the same deck and plunder liquor bottles and cigarette packs.

Hostage Drama on a Indian Ship
Hostage Drama


This once in a life time horror continues for a good 30-40 minutes and then the sea robbers decide to run away. I guess the entire effort yielded them goods that had a value of 30-40 thousand dollars. Now as they make a retreat we both are again dragged on the stairs (going down) like a sack of potato bag. This is to use us as a cover for their escape. We both are made to stand on the main deck  and the pirates start getting down in their rubber boat. We are at gun point and the decision about our lives is still unclear. I closed my eyes and pray to the almighty to get me out of this sticky situation. My heart is pounding heavily and I am gasping for breath. I keep my eyes closed and tremble with deep fear.  

I expected a shot in my head or a dagger poked inside me but nothing happens. After few minutes I open my eyes and there is no one except the captain and me. We both see the rubber boat moving farther from our ship and the pirates sailing away. We untie each other and check if anybody of us received serious injuries. Apart from few blows and bruises we were safe. The crew is all up by this time and they come running to help us.

After 5 days we reached India and this is when I decided to quit shipping as a career. I sailed on one more ship after this incident and then finally gave up my career. It has been 9 years but even today the memory of the Piracy attack sends down a chill in my spine. I owe my second life to the almighty , my composed mind, sensible actions and off course the Captain.

(*** Images are taken from Google and used solely for depiction of the event)

Thursday, January 05, 2012

Random Quotes #38

God always gives us a 'commercial break' , when we have to choose between the right and the wrong :):) - Vivek

Wednesday, January 04, 2012

Random Quotes #37

I practice the virtue of forgiveness for an entire year, after a bad appraisal at work :):) - Vivek

Tuesday, January 03, 2012

Random Quotes #36

At home when i start a job its my work, when my wife starts its always ours :):) - Vivek

Monday, January 02, 2012

Random Quotes #35

The quickest way to cover a mistake is to do another mistake :):) - Vivek