Did you vote?

This was the first question my father asked me in the morning when he and mom were already at the voting booth and I was still on the bed. This was my first time to vote. So, indeed, I was excited. I have always seen mom and papa whenever they used to go for voting and I used to hang along with them when I was a child. I used to cry for that little line of blue ink on my fingers. Then somehow papa used to convince me that it's not for small children! Today, when I went outside to cast the first vote of my life, all these pictures scrolled down through my eyes. The only thing I was unsure about the day was whom to vote for?!


'Politics is a dirty game. I won't vote', said a friend. Another one reasoned out as 'does it really matter if I go and vote?'. One of them said, 'We'll go for a movie and if time permits, we'll think about voting.' While another one quipped, 'I just don't want to stand in those lines and spoil my holiday.' Hmm. A long list of excuses, isn't it? We will have hundreds and thousands of excuses for not voting and only one for voting your franchise and that is simply, 'I want to vote!'

Whenever you criticize someone, be it politics or movies or anything, you should really have some or the information about it. Sitting on the critics' seat doesn't entitle you with a 'know-all' power. My only point is that when you criticize politics, you should actually go and vote. And if you don't go and vote, you should stop blaming politicians for once you're not the part in electing them, you don't have any right to comment on their abilities and disabilities. It's only when you go out and vote, you can actually go and complain, criticize and shout at politicians. Now whom do you vote is an altogether different issue. It's more about being a part of the process of electing your franchise, of changing your system. Mind you, it's easy to say that 'be the change if you want a change', but difficult to implement. Those who want a change will never actually stand up and think of the change. They will simply keep on pin-pointing others, blaming the whole political scenario and talk as if they are the last people to be affected by the hopelessness of the politics.

Today, I'm a proud voter. This game of politics will go on and on. It's all upon the people to think about where to start with if they want any change in their life. Even if a contesting candidate loses out, he actually doesn't have anything to lose. The popularity which he gets during promotion campaigns opens up many new avenues of success eagerly waiting for him. It's more about his individual image than his party or politics. And the voter doesn't understand this. He simple complains!

Happy voting!

A Superstar in making?

Bollywood can breathe high. Yes, finally there’s a motion. There’s a development. I won’t say it all started this year. But it has definitely accelerated this year. We got movies like Dev D which redefined the sexual taste of audiences while Vishal Bharadwaj’s Kaminey struck a different chord by making movie watching experience so different, so intelligent. And especially this year, we have got another actress whom we can put in the league of Sridevi and Madhuri Dixit. She is none other than Priyanka Chopra.

It all started last year when Fashion was released and Priyanka was suddenly a critics’ hot favorite. She struck the chord with audiences as well with her next release, Karan Johar’s Dostana, wherein she exposed her western look, flashing comfortably in a bikini. No wonder she won all the Best Actress Awards for Fashion. But unlike other actresses of her time, she is improving continuously, with each and every film of her. She is so much in sync with her character Sweety in Kaminey that you can’t wait but give a standing ovation. Yes, she is proving herself time and again. More specifically, in an era of actresses where there is lot of debate on who is the number one actress of Bollywood, Priyanka is climbing the ladder up high.

The same spark was seen in Sridevi and Madhuri Dixit. Apart from being typical commercial Bollywood heroines, they got accolades from critics as well. Moreover, they were the reason why people came and watched the movies. For a while, such a caliber in an actress was missing in Bollywood. Aishwarya Rai is going very slowly with her career. She is still at the top but quite stagnant in her position. Guru and Jodha Akbar came with powerful performances by the actress but somewhere she is lagging behind. May be that age is one of the factors. She is still beautiful but today’s audience needs a fresh face every now and then. Preity Zinta is literally invisible as her other commitments are keeping her busy. Bipasha Basu was never in the core competition of the actresses. In recent years, apart from Corporate, she doesn’t have a single movie to rave for. There were lots of hopes from Kareena Kapoor post Jab We Met. But it seems that she is happy with the awards which she got for that movie. Of course, Kareena has given some memorable performances like the ones in Dev, Yuva, Omkara, Chameli and Jab We Met. But eventually she had been obsessed with her size zero thing and Saif Ali Khan that it appears that the focus has shifted. But still we can keep hopes from her.

Rani Mukherji had lost all of the fame and adulation which she got a couple of years back by confining herself to the Yash Raj Films. The only movie in her kitty, Dil Bole Haddipa, again a Yash Raj Film, is slated to release in mid-September. It’s perhaps the only chance in front of her to prove her stardom. Or else it will be a great fall of the empire which Rani built with her movies like Saathiya, Yuva, Hum Tum, Black, Bunty Aur Babli and Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna. Bollywood would literally loose a talented actress like her, an actress who had joined the leagues of Sridevi and Madhuri.

Katrina Kaif is doubtful as a front runner in number one post. She has a huge fan following, no doubt about that. But her movies are working not because of her. There is not a single movie of her which can be remembered because of her. Only grace can’t sail you through. Deepika Padukone, Sonam Kapoor and Genelia D’Souza still have to prove themselves by making good choices of movies.

So the only remaining contender, perhaps the most compromising one and a talented too, is Priyanka Chopra. Kaminey has shown that she can act not only well but put her entire heart in the character. Two more movies of her will be releasing this year. She is in lead in both of them. They are Ashutosh Govarikar’s What’s Your Rashee? and Pyaar Impossible, a Yash Raj Film. She has a long way to go. But considering her career graph, her screen presence, her sex appeal, her choice of movies and her versatility, she can reach the topmost pedestal soon. It’s not possible to get another Madhuri Dixit, but we can always have a Super Star in actresses which Bollywood is missing at the moment.

Message is YOU!

Last three days were the most exciting days of my life. You wait for some unexpected moments and yes, here they come. With the surprise…charm…and enthusiasm.

When the week started, little did I know that it was going to be a different one. Some formally dressed people came in our class room and were dividing our class in two batches so that they could carry out their seminar. And what kind of seminar? Seminar on personality development. Err! Now what’s this? Already we had those boring sessions on communication skills and presentation techniques in our previous semesters. Wasn’t that enough to groom our personality?

No, it wasn’t. It will never be enough. That was my first reaction when the first day of this seminar was over. I felt better, rather, I was excited. I could sense a particular enthusiasm in me. Otherwise the usually serene, tired me, was actually feeling like swinging to and fro and exercising even though I was late at coming home. When enthusiasm grips you, you feel at top of the world. There arises an urge to explore many new things about yourself, about others and everything around you. You feel fresh. And exactly this was my condition that evening when I was returning from the first day session of the world famous Dale Carnegie’s official Personality Development program.

A friend of mine commented that I actually don’t need it. But somewhere I felt how I badly I need it. At least after the first day, I was very keen to attend the remaining two days. And this magic was because of our enthusiastic trainer, Feroza Engineer. We were lucky to have her. She was quite open minded, sometimes crazy, smart, dashing and a very approachable personality. Her mere presence gave us the indication that what will follow won’t be an utter boredom. Yeah, it wasn’t. She made us swing, dance, laugh, talk and most importantly, showed us how to be ourselves. Her funda was quite clear. When you talk to people, your words, your presentations or anything, is not the message. The message is the real YOU. YOU have to be expressive. YOU have to be convincing enough to let person in front of you get impressed by you. YOU have to be the most approachable, smart person. In short, YOU have to be the message. YOU have to be YOURSELF.

It was an immensely learning experience. But at the end, it all depends on what you do about it. Nobody in the world can make you talk, if you don’t want to talk. And in the competitive world as ours, there’s no room for introvert people. You’ve to become a people’s person. You’ve to become flexible. You’ve to become decisive. Otherwise there’s no donut for you!

At the last day of the seminar, I also got to know that I was being elected as the Joint Secretary in Literary Council of the college. I wasn’t aware of it as we were in the seminar and when we came out for a five minute break, everyone outside came congratulating me. Initially I was confused. I had given the interview and almost forgotten about it. But unexpected things always happen. And when they happen, you feel pleased, happy, jubilant.

It’s only when you be yourself that you can make others understand you and yourself. In whichever professions you go, you’ve to be open minded and dynamic. By dynamic, I don’t mean that you need to be an all rounder. Of course you should know your limitations and weaknesses. But you can always make an attempt to overcome them. If you don’t bring a change in yourself, you’ll never feel the change in anything around you. You’ll become stagnant. So the key is to always explore new avenues within and outside you. There is nothing in life which you can’t do. At the most, you’ll fail in doing it. So what’s the big deal? At least you’ll be proud of yourself for the fact that you’ve explored something different…tried something new.