India Blog Mela - January 2009

Falstaff is telling a tale - The Further Adventures of Hark! DaButt.

Greatbong reviews Rajesh Khanna's comeback film.

Ramalinga Raju to star in new film 'Millionaire Slumdog'. Anand Ramachandran has the details.

The Infinite Monkey 2.0 has a go at 2008. Krish Ashok tells you how.

Yossarian is reading readers on the Tube.

Shekhar Kapur talks about Rahman and the Oscars.

Annie Zaidi hasn't forgotten.

Twisted DNA had to contend with Pablo Peecassos.

XX Factor has switched on her gaydar.

Dilip D'Souza has to be really old. His wife was born in 1899. Or was she?

That's all for now. The February 2009 Blog Mela returns early next month. But before leaving, do please vote for the best post in the January 2009 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 the February 2009 Blog Mela being hosted here on March 2.

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


RULES
- Posts must have been written by Indians or have an Indian angle
- Only posts published between 1-28 February 2009 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 March 2 stand a chance to be featured in the Top 10 list
- 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

PREVIOUS BLOG MELAS
2007
March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December
2008
January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December

Shilpa Shetty is picking up some Chinese

But Shilpa Shetty still can't pronounce her Chinese co-star's name. Shilpa, who's working with Xia Yu in the film "The Desire" dreads calling out his name on the sets -- lest she gets it wrong.

"It invariably was wrong, the exact pronunciation being S(h)iya Yeoh! which means "summer rain." Sweet! The director addressed him as Sha Wu which meant "Afternoon", Sha Yu, which meant "Oil" and many more interpretations with different christenings."

And Shilpa's proud of the film (there are plans to show it at Cannes).

"For a change the international audiences will get to see more than just SLUMS, filth and an unhygienic environment and will see the deep rooted culture and beauty of India."

Did you hear that, Mr Danny Boyle?

More on Shilpa's blog.

Americans are not stupid -- a CNNNN video

Slumdog Millionaire Sock Puppet Show

We can sleep in peace. We know how 'The Italian Job' ended

"Hang on a minute lads - I've got a great idea." We hung on a minute. We then hung on a further forty years.

For all those dying to know how the robbers 'save' the gold at the end of The Italian Job, the Royal Society of Chemistry finally has an answer.

John Godwin won a competition to guess the cliffhanger ending with the most plausible explanation.

But of the 2000 entries, this one got my attention.

Hollywood stars are having a bad week

Brad Pitt poses for photographers in Paris with his flies undone while Halle Berry's dress gets caught in an escalator while rushing to Obama's inauguration Ball.

It wasn't the best week for Hollywood.

How "Slumdog Millionaire" got its name

If you are wondering why "Slumdog" and why not "Slumboy", there's a story behind how Danny Boyle's Golden Globe-winning film got its unusual name. Read more here.


By the way, the director still thinks the movie is not perfect.

Where the hell is Matt? On VISA

Just in case you haven't caught Matt Harding in the new VISA ad



FYI, Matt's dance moves on his hugely popular YouTube videos have made millions of Netizens smile.



So have his Outtakes - the ones that didn't make the cut.

INTERVIEW - Matt Harding

The President is Coming -- is finally here

The President is Coming, a film set in Mumbai during George W. Bush's trip to India in 2006, tells the fictional tale of six Indians vying for a chance to shake hands with the visiting head of state.

The film opened in Indian cinemas on Friday. Here's what Rajeev Masand has to say. And Nikhat Kazmi.