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I have been meaning to write about Howard Stern for a while. He is an American media Mogul, shock jock,author,super intelligent yet he can be outright disgusting and give you the
heebejeebees with his bullshit and outrageous subject matter. He is the highest paid and
also the most penalised personality in american broadcast business.Today, millions of Americans(from CEOs to janitors) tune to The Howard Stern Show on SIRIUS Satellite Radio station, everyday.

The big question is what makes Howard stern so immensely popular? To some, he is down right offensive and crosses the line of decency on a regular basis. His response all the time, he is reprimanded is; “can’t you take a joke?” he gets busted by the FCC(regulatory body), …

Flashback to 1975, a 12 year old boy and his 8 year old sister waiting patiently at a Ramlila ground in the outskirts of Bhopal for a “sadak chhap” movie to begin. The movie- “MERE-APNE”, starring Meena Kumari, Vinod Khanna, Shotgun Sinha and the regulars during early 70’s. When I say regular, all movies had Asrani, Paintal, Danny Denzongpa, AK Hangal and the likes in almost all movies. OK…so the movie begins at about 7.30pm give or take 15 minutes depending upon the scope of techical difficulties, sound testing etc. 20 to 30 minutes into the movie, we run home…….why? we have a 8.00pm or 8.30pm curfew…strictly enforced by Dad. Repeat the same scene about 10 to 15 times. Yes, ladies and gentelmen me and my dear sister watched the first 15-30 minutes of Mere-Apne umpteen times in the mid 70’s. Fast forward to 2007, I am sitting in the …

I love Denzel Washington! Great performer and actor, has a fantastic stage presence. “Remember the Titans”, “Malcolm X”, “Philadelphia”, the list goes on and on and then there was “Training Day”. Whoa…what a performance, Academy award,Best Actor. But wait a minute, he plays a bad guy, rogue cop!, would I want to see this movie again….any other Denzel movie…I will watch it again,again and again, alright you get my drift, i just love him too much. Training Day? not a chance…..it was too creepy. Denzel takes on a role which perhaps was tailor made for him. He is probably one of the most decent hollywood types. but I doubt if any one could play the part of “Alonzo Harris” so convincingly.He did it so well that it gives you the chills. An accredited film personality like Ethan Hawke looks like an after thought in that movie.

Released in 2001,setting is the …

Sleepers, released in the late 90’s is a chilling story of innocence lost, pedophilia, revenge and redemption. This movie is based on a controversial novel about life in the Hell’s Kitchen( part of Manhattan, New York) in the late 1960’s in the backdrop of Mob(organized crime), Catholic Church, poverty and anguish of it’s blue collar inhabitants.

With a lineup of Super stars like Dustin Hoffman,Kevin Bacon, Robert De Niro,Brad Pitt, Ron Eldard, Minnie Driver,Jason Patric and Billy Crudup, Sleepers is well acted and deftly crafted. This is a story of how a simple prank which went wrong turns into a life changing event for 4 innocent boys (Lorenzo, Michael, John and Tommy) who are best friends. They steal a hot dog vendor’s cart of which they lose control of going down the steps and nearly causes a man’s death. They are found guilty of …

You wanted low budget, commercial movies?-Prem Naseer doled out 100’s of them, over 700 to give a ballpark figure. Cine Goers loved him, especially women who loved the tear jerker family dramas he acted in with Sheela, Sharada and Jayabharati.

If Sathyan was the upper-crust elitist’s accomplished actor, Prem Naseer was everybody’s hero, a true blue collar working class actor, who tirelessly churned out movies after movies for the rich and poor, the penniless farmers and the handrikshaw pullers, the coolies at the railway station and the expatriate malayalees, like my parents who moved to northern part of India looking for work and a better life. He romanced the heroines, beat up the bad guys, played the unemployed union activist, dedicated son and rich spoiled brat with a soft heart, with equal aplomb.

He made a good team with Adoor Bhasi as the comedic sidekick. As a lead pair, Sheela …

I wonder if Sirjee and Betelal have watched “Happy Feet” yet. I am pretty sure Sirjee would whack Betelal on his head for getting aroused and lusting for a bosomy female penguin after watching this movie. Knowing betelal he would be making suggestive pelvic thrusts and dancing provocatively for the next few days :-)

Seriously, what were the “Warner Brothers” thinking marketing this movie towards a target audience of mainly impressionable kids with all the promos and paraphernalia. As an adult,I would probably enjoy it- retro music, brilliant tap dancing and animation. But a weak story about Ocean pollution and preserving the environment for wild life specifically of the penguin kind in the southern hemisphere. This movie probably racked in millions of dollars and was a success. But if you ask me, it was a sheer waste of my hard earned $50.00 ( tickets …

Cliff reviews Mr. & Mrs. Iyer:

Better late than never….. right? I have been meaning to write my piece for a long time, there are so many movies I’d like to review- “Saat Hindustani”, “Baalak”, “Aasheerwad”, “Mere Apne” to name a few. But I am going to input my 2 cents worth on “Mr & Mrs Iyer” which I watched yesterday… I know… It is a 4 year old movie, don’t know if someone has already reviewed it.
I have to say it has been a breath of fresh air for the usual masala flicks which Bollywood churns out on a daily basis. Kudos to Aparna Sen on a job well done. Rahul Bose and Konkana Sen did an awesome job.

I have seen Rahul Bose as a young man playing Rugby at “Bombay Gymkhana” and hanging with his buddies, where I used to work as a part-time waiter during the …