Barack Hussain Obama has been sworn in as the new President of United States on January 20th 2009. People all over the world are considering it as a sign of hope. Is it so?

I had not planned to watch the live telecast of Barack Obama’s oath. It just happened. The energy and inspiration in his speech was remarkable. I shamefully acknowledge that I knew nothing about the politics. But the few words I could translate from his speech to my mind and the emotional tears of the crowd gave me a vision of the hope and expectations of United States civilians on the new President. And I sincerely hope that their hopes do come true.

In overall, 2008 was a dreaded year, at least for India. There were the series of bomb attacks in various cities, and the Mumbai Taj attacks, for which the rift is still on between India and Pakistan. The year marked the economic recession which accelerated the job loss of many people which still continues. The blow up of Satyam fraud, in December, added to the heat. Read the rest of this entry »

Amazing screenplay. Best background music. And a simple storyline. No wonder Slumdog Millionaire bagged 4 awards at the Golden Globe.

The film is based on the Indian book, Q&A. In short words, its just a love story, mixed with the life struggles which hints the answers to the lead character (Jamal Malik) to win the millionaire TV series. But the photography which tastes the slice of India, the screenplay, which fits perfect and makes us glued to the end, though we can anticipate the end and the freshness of the new actors, is what made me see through the film, before it got released in India. I had downloaded the music first, but other than great beats, I didn’t find it much interesting as a casual listener initially. The “Ring Ring Ringa” song reminds you of the famous “Choli ke peeche” track, and is pictured on the prostitution in Mumbai. But after you see the film, the song, “O Saya” keeps ringing in your mind, which enhanced the spirits of the lead characters. Like other A.R.Rahman’s songs, I guess the music catches on you, very slowly and gradually. Read the rest of this entry »