Open ToI, dated 5th April. Turn to the editorial page. On top you'll see Baghdad Blogbuster (unable to locate online). The most famous blogger currently, Salam Pax of Where is Raed? gets a mention. The write-up takes up the famous question- whether the blog is a hoax, or whether Salam Pax is now an Anne Frank.

Salam Pax's famous quote- "I am not anybody's propaganda ploy, well, except my own" is the Thought for Today on the same page.

Just when the experts were hailing Coke for securing itself in India, consumers in Andheri and Bandra in Mumbai, won't be getting the Chhota Coke for a while.

The reason? A boycott by the retailers in the region. And the reason for the boycott? Well, because the advertisement (starring Aamir Khan) in which a retailer is shown to be a cheat hasn't pleased them a bit. The retailer charges two customers Rs. 6 for a chhota Coke instead of Rs. 5. When Aamir Khan (dressed as the village smartass) makes the shopkeeper repeat 'five' at least five times, the cheat finally realises how foolish he has been in cheating the women.

So the retailers are irritated that they have been portrayed in a bad light in the advertisement. And maybe they do have a point. But what about thousands of other ads which portray women and errr..even men in a bad/negative/demeaning light? So should the wrongfully-portrayed people abandon the product?

Like women abandoning Fair & Lovely and Axe (the latter for showing them as waiting-to-be-taken), and men abandoning umm...(oops, I don't think there are any such ads). Mothers could boycott Pepsodent for showing them to be nagging their children all the while. The list could go on...

Just a thought. But if it really did happen, it'd just prove that the consumer, indeed, is king...I mean...queen.

Michael Kelly, editor of the Atlantic was heading toward Baghdad with the 3rd Infantry Division, when the humvee he was in dove into a canal, killing him.

He was doing his job.

No, you didn't read wrong. Nor has this weblog been hacked by a one of the rare breed of Oscar-loving, woman hackers (see the previous post and note the byline).

This non-hacker, Suhani, is actually a new member of this blog. And also a first-time blogger. I deserve a pat on the back for convincing someone to blog!

Which brings me to the main point of this incoherent rambling. Since I created this blog and invited her to join, by default I become the administrator. And that means I have the right to edit/delete/do whatever else to her posts.

But my promise is that nothing will be censored or edited. This is a weblog, and not a dictatorial government-owned newpaper.

After much delay, I saw Hugh Grant and Sandra Bullock starrer Two Weeks Notice. I have never been a fan of Sandra Bullock's histrionic talents, but Hugh Grant's performance in Notting Hill (not to mention his looks) made me anticipate what the movie would be like.

Irrespective of the presumptions I had made, the movie just didn't click. Shoddy storyline (if you could call it one), nonsensical characterisation, strictly-okay performances, it just didn't seem like a good Hollywood movie. But it seemed like something I had seen before.

I pondered over it, trying to figure out why it seemed so familiar. And then it hit me. It was just like any other Indian potboiler. (Sigh!). Boy meets girl, they interact with each other for a while, something happens, they stop interacting, then one of them (usually the guy) goes to meet the other, and deep love is professed. They run, then kiss...oops, hug (remember it's a Hindi movie). End of movie.

I have seen at least a score of such Hindi movies, but they were too inconsequential to be remembered. Even the extremely crude and badly made Govinda-Sanjay Dutt movie Ek aur Ek Gyarah has such a sub-sub-sub-plot. But these movies should be taken note of now. Because after a long long time have I seen Hollywood copying apna Bollywood and Tollywood.

I guess this must be more than enough consolation for those who think Lagaan
deserved the Oscar last year.


Drink or Cell Phone?

The new Coke ad with Vivek Oberoi and Aishwarya Rai (what a coincidence- both in the middle of a controversy), providing tremendous publicity to cell phone companies, as well as cellular service providers. For the ad uses at least four cell phones, and just one bottle of Coke. Even the otherwise-underestimated public pay phone is more prominent than the drink itself.

In short- the ad beats way around the large bush, and doesn't make its point.

Just another indication of how star-obsessed everyone is- the MNCs, the ad-makers, the politicians, and the people of course.


Desi or Foreign?

The Country Manager of Discovery, Ogilvy and Mather India has written this article on the effect of globalisation on foreign brands, and how the MNCs are customising themselves to suit various international (especially Indian) markets, plus the core fact that "at heart he [an Indian] will remain an Indian."

Why this blog?

This can be answered in various ways. One person would say that the media is everywhere. Some would say, because they have nothing else to do. A few others would say because it interests them. Well, my reason is a combination of all these reasons,
and more. I find the media influencing almost every aspect of human life today.

Which car shall I buy? X, because my favourite sports star endorses it. Which outfit shall I buy- red or yellow? Red, because the fashion mag says it suits my skin tone the best, and is in fashion too. Which doctor shall I visit? Y, he has a column in the health section of the most famous newspaper in the country. Whom shall I vote for? Z, because the news channel I watch says the other candidate has a criminal record.

Whether we know it or not, whether we like it or not, the media has influenced people in every which way one can think of. As a media student, as well as an ordinary citizen, I find it extremely intriguing to understand how the media affects people and their
lives- overtly and covertly.

What will be the contents of this blog?

That's difficult to answer yet, because you never know what you feel like doing tomorrow. Of course almost all the contents will be related to the media- newspapers, magazines, websites, weblogs, movies, celebrities, sportspersons, advertisements...

There may be a few exceptions, but I don't know what they could be, or when they might turn up.

Why these stupid FAQs?

"Let us watch well our beginnings, and results will manage themselves."

-Alex Clark

That's open to personal interpretation.