Why Hindi movie Directors crumble when working with stars......

A long time after went to watch Hindi movie called “Bullet Raja”. That too from Tigmanshu Dhulia...The director who has created a space for himself through movies like “Paan Singh Tomar”, Saheb Biwi and Gangster series. The hope for movie was high as it was sent in UP heart land, with some good actors and Tigmanshu’s past history with good movies. Did the movie live upto its expectation.....NO and why? That is what the title of this write up, which is “Why Hindi Movie Directors crumble when working with stars”.

This is always been a mystery for me that the good Hindi movie directors fail miserably when working with stars; this is truly not the case with directors in other language. Just because you have a star you don’t need to be in pressure to deliver to his Image. I see a star pressure on Dhulia which can be clearly seen in “Bullet Raja”. Unnecessary songs, a love story with no connection, a Nami heroine just because you have a star as hero, story made to glorify the hero and in process screwing the entire movie. I see the supporting cast delivering much better than the main cast of the movie. What Hindi film stars have been missing is the calibre of acting which some of their support artists do so gracefully to a level much higher than the stars themselves. And directors of new genre like Dhulia should understand this.

This movie with likes of Manoj Bajapai or Irfaan Khan or even Jimmi Shergill would have been much well developed and matured. But the product is out and with a star..may be that is how the cookie crumbles in Hindi movies and that is how a director crumbles when he works with a star.

Sachin Retirement, 200th Test, Bharat Ratna

Probably I am putting my nose where I am not supposed to put i.e putting a comments for hard core Indian cricket fans :-)..but after reading so many write up, I cannot go without putting my comments..so here is my 2 paisa thought :-)

Cricket as such is a over rated game in India, I assume no one denies that except the hard core cricket lovers. Then, Sachin is a over rated Indian achiever. I dont deny or any way underrate his magnanimous records and achievement in cricket. Also I am no one to deny that he probably has motivated a generation in cricket. So there is no offence to what he has done and what he has achieved etc etc...What I tend to disagree is the kind of religious nature people put him in...people call him god of cricket and frankly I feel this is too much may be a little stupid and overall little megalomaniac type..and we Indians tend to do this a little too much. We have a too much of god-love-hate relation and we follow this too religiously. This is where I have problem. The other problem I have is a little over too much of coverage of the event for about 15days, almost all news channels and sports channels have been putting programs, interview etc on Sachin, for a person like me, this has been a little too much of coverage for an event, which can be nothing more than changing a job or retiring from your current job.

Above all we have the Bharat Ratna...I am no one to deny the contribution by Sachin, when I was going through few people who were far more eligible for this can any one deny the contribution from them...and I am taking names of no one less than Homi Jehangir Bhabha, Vikram Sarabhai, M S Swaminathan, Verghese kurien, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose (whose award was taken back due to issue over his death), R K Laxman, Anna Hazare, Dhyanchand, Milkha Singh, Vishy Anand etc etc..Compared to these great, I feel achievement by Sachin is at par and as expected for his role. Personally I rate Kapil Dev and MSD much higher than Sachin. Finally Sachin lovers are welcome to crucify me but time will surely tell where he stands post his cricket..

Udyavara: Bird Dairy: Document of Birds Spotted

It is after a long time I thought of revisiting and continue writing the blog. Last few years, I have been trying to learn photography and little bit of bird photography. Revisiting blog after so many years, I am starting with post on photography. With this post, I  am documenting list of birds that I clicked around the woods near our house in Udyavara. The major difficulty with all the birds spotted in woods is they are highly active and are challenge for photography. For a amateur like me, it has been a good learning experience to click these.

Equipment Details

Camera Body: Canon Rebel T2I

Lens: Sigma 150-500mm f/5-6.3 AF APO DG OS

Indian Golden Oriole

Indian Golden Oriole is species of Oriole found in Indian Sub Continent and Central Asia. This bird is partial migrant but Indian Population is mostly resident. It is a difficult bird to photograph primarily due to camouflage it gets due to its color.

Details of Bird in Wikipedia

Black Rumped Flameback

Black Rumped Flameback is also known as Lesser Golden-backed Woodpecker or Lesser Goldenback. This bird is widely seen in India and it is one of few birds which is observed in urban areas. This bird is normally seen in pairs. I have not been able to get both the pair in a frame but has been fortunate enough to get one of the bird the female one :-) may be in future visit I may be able to get both the birds in same frame. 
Details of Bird in Wikipedia

Oriental Magpie Robin

Oriental magpie robin is a small passerine bird. They are distinctive black and white birds with a long tail that is held upright as they forage on the ground or perch conspicuously. Occurring mostly in Indian sub continent and south east Asia,  they are common birds in urban gardens as well as forests. They are particularly well known for their songs and were once popular as cage birds Robins are highly active birds and keep jumping giving tough time for photographers.  The Oriental Magpie-Robin is national bird for Bangladesh.

Details of Bird in Wikipedia

Asian Paradise Flycatcher

The Paradise Flycatcher (Terpsiphone paradisi) is a medium-sized bird highly active. Males have elongated central tail feathers, and in some populations a black and rufous plumage while others have white plumage. Females are short-tailed with rufous wings and a black head. 
Details of Bird in Wikipedia

White Cheeked Barbet

The White-cheeked Barbet or Small Green Barbet (Megalaima viridis) is a species of barbet found in southern India. 
Details of Bird in Wikipedia

Green Bee Eater

The Green Bee-eater (Merops orientalis) (sometimes Little Green Bee-eater) is a near passerine bird in the bee-eater family. They are mainly insect eaters and they are found in grassland, thin scrub and forest often quite far from water. Several regional plumage variations are known and several subspecies have been named.
Details of Bird in Wikipedia

White Throated Kingfisher

White throated kingfisher is a tree kingfisher and is widely distributed. This bird is mostly resident bird over much of its range.  It can often be found well away from water where it feeds on a wide range of prey that includes small reptiles, amphibians, crabs, small rodents and even birds. During the breeding season they call loudly in the mornings from prominent perches including the tops of buildings in urban areas or on wires.

Details of Bird in Wikipedia

Jungle Babbler

This bird is common resident bird found in India Subcontinent. They are gregarious birds that forage in small groups of six to ten birds. They feed mainly on insects, but also eats grains, nectar and berries. The groups maintain territories and will defend it against neighbors but will sometimes tolerate them.

Details of Bird in Wikipedia

Rufous Treepie

The Rufous Treepie (Dendrocitta vagabunda) is a treepie, native to the Indian Subcontinent and adjoining parts of Southeast Asia. It is a member of theCorvidae (crow) family. It is long tailed and has loud musical calls making it very conspicuous. It is found commonly in open scrub, agricultural areas, forests as well as urban gardens. Like other corvids it is very adaptable, omnivorous and opportunistic in feeding.

Details of Bird in Wikipedia

Common Myna

The Common Myna or Indian Myna (Acridotheres tristis), sometimes spelled Mynah, is a member of the family Sturnidae (starlings and mynas) native to Asia. An omnivorous open woodland bird with a strong territorial instinct, the Myna has adapted extremely well to urban environments.The range of the Common Myna is increasing at such a rapid rate that in 2000 the IUCN Species Survival Commission declared it one of the world's most invasive species and one of only three birds in the top 100 species that pose an impact to biodiversity, agriculture and human interests. In particular, the species poses a serious threat to the ecosystems of Australia where it was named "The Most Important Pest/Problem"

Details of Bird in Wikipedia

Racket Tailed Drango

The Greater Racket-tailed Drongo (Dicrurus paradiseus) is a medium-sized Asian bird which is distinctive in having elongated outer tail feathers with webbing restricted to the tips.They are conspicuous in the forest habitats often perching in the open and by attracting attention with a wide range of loud calls that include perfect imitations of many other birds.

Details of Bird in Wikipedia

Common Tailor bird

The Common Tailorbird (Orthotomus sutorius) is a songbird found across tropical Asia. Popular for its nest made of leaves "sewn" together and immortalized by Rudyard Kipling in his Jungle Book, it is a common resident in urban gardens. Although shy birds that are usually hidden within vegetation, their loud calls are familiar and give away their presence. They are distinctive in having a long upright tail, greenish upper body plumage and rust coloured forehead and crown. This passerine bird is typically found in open farmland, scrub, forest edges and gardens. Tailorbirds get their name from the way their nest is constructed. The edges of a large leaf are pierced and sewn together with plant fibre or spider silk to make a cradle in which the actual nest is built.

Details of Bird in Wikipedia