I have this habit of reading Google talk messages of all my friends at least one time every day and I am pretty sure that this habit of mine is not unique.

People generally update their status with inspirational quotes, new phone numbers, blog updates, song they are listening to, current location, personalized messages, hilarious jokes, movie reviews etc but I had a surprise in store when I read the status messages of my friends today.

Here's what I saw!!

- Dabang!!

- Item ye aam hui... darling tere liye

- Hum tum me itne ched karenge ki confuse ho jaoge... Ki sans kaha se le aur ..... !!

- Munni badnaam hui...darling tere liye...:-P

- Da Bang.....

- Lafander se humein yaad aaya ....

What does it tell you!? It tells me that all these friends of mine have watched the movie 'Dabangg' over the weekend and loved it. No one would spoil their personal space otherwise. So what is it you think has made this movie bigger than 3-idiots (Dabangg got a better opening than 3-idiots).

Following is my take on it;

In an era where filmmakers have become thinkers and trying to out-think the audience by making films that no one really understands (Couldn't really understand the love story in Kites for example), this movie comes as a welcome surprise. You don't need brains to watch / understand this film. It is an out and out Bollywood entertainer. It is something Bollywood is known for.

Right from Deewar where the angry young hero manhandles around 20 people inside a garage to Dabangg where the hero single handedly kicks the hell out of a gang of dacoits, hindi cinema heroes are known to be super heroes by birth. Someone who can dodge a bullet or bomb and kill the bad guy with one quick blow.

We should thank Dabangg and Salman Khan for bringing this brand of hero back into Bollywood. Aamir tried it with Ghajini but it was any day a remake of tamil movie. This one is ek-dum original :)

Frankly speaking, I was tired of watching these crying, mentally retarded, metro sexual, realistic heroes on screen. I see those kinds of guys all the time on page 3 anyway.

Coming to the storyline of the movie, why do you want a story anyway when you so many other
things to cheer and whistle about (Oh yeah! I whistled to my hearts content watching the first day first show in Bangalore) . For instance, you have these amazing dialogues, brilliant songs, action sequences that even Rajnikant fans would be proud of, pretty actress and last but not least, Munni :)

Salman Khan has managed to strike a chord with everyone who has watched this movie so far and I am sure he'll continue to do so for the next few weeks/months to come. This movie is going to be one of the biggest hits of his career and one that will feed Salman's brothers and their kids for generations to come.

All said and done, if you ask me if I am waiting for Dabangg-2, my answer would be, "Kamaal karte ho yaar, ye bhi koyi pooch ne wali baat hai!!?" :)

Before my comment section is taken over by spammers an

d before that poor thing surrenders into submission, I have decided to stage a comeback and kick them out!

You read it right! I am back! Tonnes and tonnes o

f work in office took me away from blogging and I somehow never made an attempt to come back after that.

My comeback news may not be as exciting as Michael Schumacher's comeback to Formula-1 but I am sure it will be more exciting than India's test series in Bangladesh :)

My parents and few friends who've seen me drive an Alto at 140 kmph, a Santro at 150 kmph, a Swift at 160 kmph and a Vauxhall Zafira at 190 kmph fondly call me Schumi and that explains the title of the post. I've been called a BMTC/KSTRC bus driver as well but I'll stick to the best name of the lot.

I get maximum number of comments when I let my thoughts flow arbitrarily and that is what I have decided to do for my comeback post. Here it goes;

Sports:

Cricket: It was good to see that none of the IPL teams hired services of Pakistani players. I simply loved reading the comments of Pakistani players after the auction was over. India Vs Bangladesh was a waste of time, money and players. It cost us Rahul Dravid and Yuvraj Singh. Hope the replacements find their feet soon.

Tennis: Haven't followed Australian open very keenly this time around but I'll be rooting for anyone who'll be playing against Serena in the finals. Good to see Andy Murray in the finals. He'll be a tough nut to crack.

Formula 1: Can't wait till March. It will be one awesome, adrenaline pumping and exciting season.

Play-station 3: I am not sure if this qualifies as a sport but I love playing it whenever I find some free time. This is by the way the latest addition to my gadget showcase and another culprit that's kept me out of blogging :). I am currently playing Uncharted 2: Among thieves, FIFA 10 and Gran Tourismo 5 prologue.

Current Affairs: Shashi Taroor's tweets are more popular than any statement made in any parliament these days. But Abdul Kasab with his tandoori chicken demands and cheap comments and without any twitter account beats even Shashi Taroor to the headlines of all news papers. Not sure why they've not hanged him yet. If both of them fail to make it to the headlines, then it is definitely an Indian thrashed in Australia who gets the footage. Padma awards were a total mess this year with Aamir Khan, Saif Ali Khan and Sant Singh Chatwal making it to that list.

Movies: Haven't watched any new movie lately (My definition of lately is one week) but have plans to watch Ishqiya, Rann and Road to Sangam this weekend. Can't wait for My name is Khan.

Television: I am hooked on to 'Ye Pyar Na Hoga Kam' on Colors, musical reality show Music ka Maha Mukabla on Star Plus and Dance India Dance on Zee. I do watch Balika Vadhu too but don't mind missing it once in a while.

Travelogue: Had been to a lot of places nearby and far in last two months. Every place beautiful than the other. Goa, Mumbai, Mudigere, Chikmagaluru, Devaladakere, Horanadu, Shringeri, Kalasa, Shivmogga, Jog Falls, Linganamakki Dam to name a few. Now that I have started writing again, I'll probably write a post on my trips in detail very soon.

I’ll end the post with a section that I had promised I'll write with every new post.

Did you know? : A Haitian girl was found alive 15 days after quake. Miracle? What do you think?

PS: Apologies for not writing regularly.

It has been more than a month since I posted something on this blog. I am extremely sorry. I have been reading all your posts without fail (Google Reader) but have not been able to comment on any of it. First, it was office firewall that blocked me, then it was my personal laptop. I had to cough up sixteen thousand to get it repaired. Mourned a week and now that I am out of it, I am back to writing my blog. If you have a HP laptop, please make sure you get your warranty extended. HP motherboard sucks!

Travelogue
I had been to few picturesque locales near Mysore last month. That explains why I was not able to post during weekends :)

1. Himavad Gopalaswamy Betta - This peak is the highest peak in Bandipur Forest range. It is covered with dense fog round the year and thus gets the prefix Himavad (fog/mist) to it. Temple of Lord Krishna on top of the hill gives it the name 'Gopalaswamy Betta'. It is around 225 kilometers from Bangalore and 75 kilometers from Mysore. It is on the Mysore - Ooty road. If you are going to Ooty, don't forget to visit this place.


2. Backwaters of Krishna Raja Sagar (KRS) Dam - There is this small enchanting island created by the backwaters of KRS known locally as 'Blue Lagoon' or 'Thittu'. It offers a perfect picnic spot and a spot to unwind your senses. It is about 4 to 5 kilometers from the dam. Any person loitering around the dam would be able to direct you towards it. Make sure you use the name 'Thittu' when you ask for directions.


3. Gagana Chukki and Bhara Chukki Water Falls (Shivana Samudra) - It is the Mandyan Niagara :). Around 122 kilometers from Bangalore, this is definitely a place worth visiting during rainy season.



If you require more details about the scenic locales, drop me an email. I'll be more than happy to provide them.

Movies

I watched a lot of movies last month. Watched few classics and almost all new releases. Just got an email from my friend that the tickets have been booked for Kaminey. I am watching the preview show on Thursday :). Can't wait for Thursday now.

Television

Now that Teen Diva and Rakhi's Swayamvar is over, I am hooked on to other reality shows. Sach ka Saamna, Iss Jungle Se Mujhe Bachao, Dadagiri, Stunt Mania, Connected, etc etc. They are any day better than K-Soaps.

Award

My friends have been kind enough to award me even when I am not posting anything. I have been awarded by four people. Thanks a million guys!



The rules for this tag are as follows:

1. Link the person who tagged you.
2. Display award on your blog with these rules
3. Reply to the questions below
4. Tag 7 people deserving the award according to you
5. Come back to BLoGGiSTa iNFo CoRNeR (PLEASE DO NOT CHANGE THIS LINK) at http://bloggistame.blogspot.com/ and leave the URL of your Post in order for you/your Blog to be added to the Master List

1.The Person who tagged you : Chiranjib (http://chiranjibmazumdar.blogspot.com), Valerine (http://verbalfiend.wordpress.com/), penandpaper (http://penpaper.blogspot.com/) and Shayari (http://bukkichowta.blogspot.com)
2. The Date when you were tagged: 11/07/2009, 16/07/2009, 28/07/2009 and 30/07/2009,
3. Seven people I tag are :

Arnab - http://arnabchakraverty.blogspot.com/
Chandan - http://errandsnsojourns.blogspot.com/
thethoughtfultrain - http://thethoughtfultrain.wordpress.com/
Richa - http://wwwrichaagarwal.blogspot.com/
Shivya - http://theshootingstar.wordpress.com/
Vivek - http://vivek1186.blogspot.com/
Archana - http://apensievetoofull.blogspot.com/

Tag

Tagged by four, Here I go,

A – Available/Single? Both :)
B – Best friend? Have many!
C – Cake or Pie? Cake
D – Drink of choice? Water. Any day!
E – Essential item you use every day? Cellphone
F – Favorite colour? No idea. I like all of them.
G – Gummy Bears Or Worms? Yuk! None
H – Hometown? Mandya/Bangalore
I – Indulgence? Chocolates
J – January or February? February :) Work for 28 days and get full salary.
K – Kids & their names? None.
L – Life is incomplete without? Stupid question
M – Marriage date? Check my answer to the first question.
N – Number of siblings? 1 Sister
O – Oranges or Apples? Oranges
P – Phobias/Fears? Claustrophobia
Q – Quote for today? http://www.quotationspage.com/qotd.html
R – Reason to smile? Have lots of them
S – Season? Spring
T – Tag 3 People? I already have!
U – Unknown fact about me? I don't like doing tags
V – Vegetable you don't like? Muli, Spinach
W – Worst habit? I don't have any ;)
X – X-rays you've had? One during my childhood and one after I joined my company.
Y – Your favorite food? Home cooked food
Z – Zodiac sign? Sagittarius

Sports

1. Formula-1
I was beaming two weeks back when I read that Schumi is making a comeback. But it is disheartening to know that he has called his comeback off. He called it off last evening. Ferrari test driver Luca Badoer will now be replacing Massa instead of Michael Schumacher.

2. Cricket
Cricketers are scared that their clubbing days in fact nights with film stars will be over if they sign WADA.

3. Badminton
Hope India wins the world championship title this year. If not, we will definitely see Saina in next Farah Khan movie.

4. Hockey
Is anybody still playing it? :)


News

1. Swine Flu - *Achcho* Don't you worry! That was only due to the dust that had accumulated on my blog. I have cleaned it up. Talking about swine flu, I received a hilarious mail this morning. A warning email.

This is what that email read!

If you wake up looking like this, please don't come to office :)




2. What!? - Swine Flu is the only thing that I get to read in news papers these days!

Potpourri looks extremely full. Will stop before it explodes and I promise to blog regularly from now on.