Media archive at Random Thoughts of a Demented Mind

Archive for the 'Media' Category

Op-Press

Published July 3rd, 2008 in Media. 29 Comments

In the summer of 2005, the world was informed by Times of India of Aishwarya Rai’s plans to wrestle with a 380 pound woman and date a former male stripper on a reality show. The article even named its source: a website called spoof.com

At that time, a neophyte blogger speculated whether the word “spoof” in spoof.com had set off any warning bells in the minds of those responsible for this most amazing article. He also wondered whether the newspaper concerned had any editorial control over what was published under its name.

[The original article was pulled down by TOI, it’s cache too has vanished into the ether. Thankfully the text of the article is still here]

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A K Hangal Forever

Published April 3rd, 2008 in Media and Silly. 52 Comments

According to urban legend, A K Hangal, also known as the great grandfather of the nation, is the reverse Peter Pan. If Peter Pan was the boy who never grew old, AK Hangal is the old man who was never ever young.

That’s because for almost 40 years now we have seen A K Hangal essaying the role of the sympathy-inducing, doddering old man, his expressions and demeanor unchanged, as if eternally frozen in time.

How eternally I did not realize till I saw this picture in Rediff and its caption.

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Offense Is the Best Form of Defense

Published January 16th, 2008 in India, Media and Silly. 64 Comments

Forgive me for being irregular in posting this week.

I have just been very offended.

Firstly as an Indian, I am offended at the fact that Eklavya the Royal Guard did not make it to the Oscar nominee list for best phoren fillum. Face it, that movie about Saif Ali Khan’s paternity and Jimmy Shergill in the dark was plain and simple awesome. Of course, many people in India hated it but there is a reason for that. As Vidhu the Vinod Chopra points out:

Maybe the critics here didn’t quite get it. I got a great response at UCLA and NYU, where they’re asking me to lecture about the film. They must have seen something

Indeed they had. Make no mistake. This would have been an Indian “Crouching Tiger Vidya Balan” had the Oscar committee comprised of friends of Vidhu the Vinod Chopra like Sudhir Mishra and Jagdhish Sharma and people like Ranjit Bahadur (he shot the “Making of Eklavya”). Had that been the case, they would have shown the same neutrality and good taste they displayed,as members of the Indian entry selection committee, while sending “Eklavya–the Royal Guard” to the Oscars.

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The Howitzer 2007

Published December 5th, 2007 in Media. 28 Comments

For those of you who are new to these parts, the Howitzer Awards (the Pulitzer Awards are a cheap knock-off ) was established in 2006 by the Trustees of RTDM to honor the best of Indian net journalism.

Last year, this was won by IndiaDaily’s entertainment section, helmed by the redoubtable Lara Larani and Pam Bhandari for their exposes on lesbianism in Bollywood, “skirt-raising seduction”, how Mallika uses the same underwear for a week, how two Bolly hotties fought topless in a nightclub and the profusion of smelly Hindi movie creatures. [For details, read the citation for the 2006 Awards]

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Sonu Hua Madhyam

Published July 17th, 2007 in Media, Sexuality and Spooky. 78 Comments

Austin Powers (Austin Powers, International Man of Mystery, 1997):

“Yeah, and I can’t believe Liberace (picture to left) was gay. I mean, women loved him! I didn’t see that one coming.”

The uneasy peace between Bollywood and the press was shattered as Sonu Nigam, in a shocking open letter accused a prominent Bollywood gossip columnist/movie reviewer, S. Jha of having propositioned him for some homosexual play-back.

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Knowing Thyself

Published July 10th, 2007 in Media and Politics. 79 Comments

Here I was, thinking that the reason why I consider Pratibha Tai to be “not Rashtrapati Bhavan material” is because she defrauded a cooperative bank and distributed the bank’s assets to her relatives.

Evidently not.

The reason why I oppose “I-see-dead-people” Ms. Patil’s candidature is because I am an MCP who is afraid that Ms. Patil’s ascendancy to the top would open the doors to even more female participation in our national life, a dystopian vision of the future that puts the fear of God into my black chauvinist, power-hungry heart.

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Aah Taj

Published July 9th, 2007 in India and Media. 65 Comments

“India can do it” said Mother Indira in 1983.

And today in 2007, they have done it.

Once again.

Indians from Kashmir to Kanyakumari, regardless of whether they adore Himesh, Bappi or Rajini, came together as one in a massive tsunami of emotion to propel Taj Mahal into the prestigious list of Seven Wonders of the World, overcoming amazing odds and many alien conspiracies and geopolitical string-pullings.

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Meow

Published June 10th, 2007 in Media and Personal. 29 Comments

When Meow FM104.8, India’s first radio station for women, wanted to create compelling content for their first week of existence they needed a delicious chunk of hunkhood with seductive voice and flirtatious temper on their show, whose rich dulcet baritones would make ladies listeners swoon, go “sh-boogie bop” and come back purring for more.