June 2007 Blog Mela

Here at last is the long delayed June Blog Mela. All complaints should be directed at my computer, which has been operating in fits and starts this fortnight.

Dilip D'Souza indulges in some non-name dropping

Falstaff thinks Nakul and Sahadev are the R2D2 of the Mahabharat

Rashmi Bansal wonders kitne aadmi gay

Presstalk wants to know if NDTV is supporting Hillary Clinton

Bikkupedia goes to Ramgarh

Rahul Khanna reveals more about his journey from rookie renter to serial subletter

Great Bong endeavours to say "Meow" as masculinely as possible on radio

Anand Ramachandran reports on the Tamil Nadu government's new cooling glass rule

Teesra Pahiya encounters two tough cookies on the Rickshaw Run

AB battles chicken pox and uses an umbrella

SMI writes a letter on her third wedding anniversary

Moonstruck Maniac mourns the death of Indian cinema

ALSO VISIT
March 2007 Blog Mela
April 2007 Blog Mela
May 2007 Blog Mela

Did you just come across a quirky, interesting or something-that-tugs-at-your-heartstrings blog? If yes, feel free to nominate it for this month's Blog Mela being hosted here on July 26



Blog Mela Rules
- Posts must have been written by Indians or have an Indian angle
- Only posts published between 1-22 July, 2007 would be accepted
- If possible, please nominate individual posts, not the whole blog
- Feel free to nominate something you have written. Immodesty appreciated
- You can nominate as many blog posts as you like - provided you really like them
- Only nominations received before midnight on July 22 will be featured
- No, you don't get any moolah for nominating or getting featured in the Blog Mela. That could change once I am a millionaire but for now you'll just have to bear with me
- Yours truly reserves the right to nominate good posts which you ignore

How to Nominate
- Leave a comment on this post OR better still - Mail me at toeknee (at) gmail (dot) com

Rajnikant fans go crazy in Malaysia

And I thought they would do this only in Japan

Shrek is a guy, isn't he?

Link via Flickr

BLOG INTERVIEW - Ravi Godse

Meet Dr Ravi Godse. An NRI physician who loves making films and writing novels.

Dr Ravi and Mr Hyde, a film about a doctor who turns filmmaker, has been written, produced and directed by Godse. What's more - Godse also plays the lead role. The film, which releases on DVD in the US on July 17, was shot with a small but professional crew in only 5 days.

Godse told Toe Knee Unplugged he now plans to direct a 'Bollywood' film based on his popular novel 2 Guys, 3 Girls and a Mad Professor. The Pittsburgh-based doctor says its been ages since he visited his hometown of Dombivili, India but hopes to do so soon.

A comedy about a doctor who went to film school to make a film about being a doctor. Hmmm! Dr Ravi and Mr Hyde sure sounds autobiographical?

I am a real life doctor and I did go to film school. I had some of the experiences and I do believe that life imitates art but I still won't call it autobiographical. The dusky Colombian nurse and blond Irish boy, who play my wife and son in the movie, will stand testimony to that.

How easy or difficult was it for a physician like you to make a movie?

It was easy to make a movie as a physician. Life being an independent movie maker is hard. You need a thick skin and need to call in a lot of favours, knock on doors of whose existence you were hitherto unaware.

Being a doctor here, all my calls are returned, no matter who I call. The calls stop once they know why I am calling but I get one chance.

Going to film school as a physician was a little tough. I was a straight A student since pre-school and had a hard time dealing with initial C grades.

Any chance of Dr Ravi and Mr Hyde getting a theatrical release

If the movie does well in DVD circuit, there is a chance it can play in theatres somewhere, at least in a limited way.

Though the picture was acquired on video, we have taken painstaking care to maintain fidelity to 24 frames per second and if printed to 35mm film, it will look good.

2 Guys, 3 Girls and a Mad Professor was an interesting read. Any plans to write a novel in the same vein?

I would love to. Currently, I am writing historical travelogues for a webzine. I have long since harboured ambitions to try and get a PhD in History...and might write a book on the Duke of Wellington or South Africa's Telecommunications Minister who is a friend of mine.

And what's next on the movie front?

I wrote my second movie I am a schizophrenic and so am I. It's a courtroom drama. In fact, I just finished shooting it as well.

Does your next film also draw on your experiences as a physician?

Yes. It is a movie where the physician gets sued.

Any plans to make a full-fledged Bollywood film in the future?

No...Let me qualify. I am directing a movie on 2 Guys, 3 Girls and a Mad Professor, in the next few months, hopefully and that can qualify as a Bollywood movie.

Other Exclusive Interviews on this blog
Sona Mohapatra
Mahesh Dattani
Ruchi Narain

The Finnish Fine is fine

All the rash drivers in Delhi should be deported to Finland. This is why.

The Best FM Radio channel Poll

Is still going on. But can't believe newbie channel Meow! 104.8 FM is apparently New Delhi's best loved radio station. Or is it just a bunch of catty Meow! women indulging in proxy voting from cyber cafes.

Update: The poll has been closed. View results

Your favourite Delhi FM radio station is -
	91.1 FM Radio City
	Big 92.7 FM
	93.5 Red FM
	94.3 FM Radio One
	Hit 95 FM
	98.3 FM Radio Mirchi
	102.6 AIR FM
	Fever 104 FM
	104.8 FM Meow!
	106.4 AIR FM
pollcode.com free polls

FROM THE ARCHIVES
Delhi's "all talk" radio station
Getting high on Fever 104
Ten hits in a row, anyone?

This happens when you can't spell banana

Link via Reddit

Mother Teresa pipped at the post

Blessed Mother Teresa's not a saint yet. At least officially. But Blessed Alphonsa, a nun who died in Kerala in 1946, is to be canonized soon. To be modern India's first saint in the Catholic sense.

The only Indian saint so far, Gonsalo Garcia, was crucified way back in 1597. Read more here.

Losers win

Sometimes it pays to lose.

Here's my story on Biggest Loser Jeetega, the Indian version of the international weight loss reality TV show.

It's time to cut the flab.