Hubristic Mallya

I have been keeping a track of what is happening in Vijay Mallya's professional career for quite some time. As much as it is a great deal to be a businessman, it doesn't harm being a flamboyant businessman. But being a 'cautious flamboyant businessman' is a different thing altogether. Vijay Mallya inherited a lucrative business from his father (Vittal Mallya), and the junior's desire to expand his empire into various sectors, not restricting it to the liquor world was smart enough but it certainly needed a hawk's sight, fox's mind, elephant's strength, tiger's patience, cheetah's pace and a donkey's hard-work. Young Mallya was ambitious, not to argue on this note, he was cautious enough, perhaps because there were a few acquaintances left from his father's period to directly or indirectly guide him. It would be completely inappropriate and wrong on my part to say that all the older colleagues, acquainted with Vittal Mallya, sought to the betterment of the junior. Despite the fact that the junior had to take over the UB Group at a young age and run it successfully for quite sometime, this fame and wealth that had come took a lot of space in his head. It could be said that the downfall actually sought its origin here, at the very thought of extending desires, than much later with the failure of the Kingfisher Airlines.

Vijay Mallya was an inspiration, and still is to a few, who beheld the values of a self-made successful man. It equally pains all his admirers to see his downfall. Though Mallya has acquired enough wealth, it only fuels those who envy his status, but to the millions who only aspired to walk in his footsteps, he has been a disappointment. Known as the 'King of Good Times' and the 'Liquor Baron', Mallya didn't just stop at this, he had to extend his empire in international trade of liquors (Shaw Wallace and Company Ltd., Whyte and Mackay and Diageo), and venture out in other fields such as Calendar Girls, Mangalore Chemicals and Fertilizers Ltd. (MCF), Indian Premier League (IPL), Sahara Force India, Kingfisher Airlines and politics. Though not all of his expanded ventures turned out profitable for him, still there were times when he carried out certain duties or tasks or merely acted to simply keep fueling his own ego.

Vijay Mallya is also admired by many for his way of showing-off his wealth. But one is never sure if it did occur to him or not that this action could be fatally burdensome when he would go down with money. To add to his exuberant collection of vintage cars, he has accumulated quite a lot of wealth in only grabbing up items that are rich in antiquity, such as the belongings of Mahatma Gandhi, and the the 'Sword of Tipu Sultan'. As much as it was necessary for the Indian government to bring back these items to the original land, it still did not waver in its stand of avoiding the auction, and it remained stable while not yielding to fueling the junior's whims and fancies.

At the fall of Kingfisher Airlines, Mallya lost his image as well. Many employees who worked at the ground level were not paid for months together, and this indeed left a bitter experience in the workers. If only Mallya had sought to the needs of those who worked at the ground level, rather than concentrating on the hierarchical position holders, probably his image at least would not have been marred. Initially, the junior was charged with a civil case of default debtor, and later the case was turned criminal with charges against him like money laundering and wilful default debtor. In one of Mallya's interviews to the CNBC channel, he had made a very sensible and a remarkable statement that all his new ventures are backed by assets. This was a smart move, but he not being directly involved to monitor the working of the organizations cost him a lot later. His interest in sports and constant money poured into that field was evidently seen, which again raised many eyebrows as to his extravagant expenditure on something that could wait. But, Mallya is what Mallya is, he had to and has to get things done his way, at least he is thought of this way by many who know him personally.

All said and done, I still read up any news that relates to Vijay Mallya, not just because he makes it to the news, but also because he has been one of the many inspirations that I look up to. As an ardent admirer of the junior, I can only use Hosseini's phrase from The Kite Runner - "Come back, there is a way to be good again."

"Rajnikanth" - Reinforcing Power by Just The Name

We're close to bringing "Rajnikanth" as a new vocabulary for the stardom and humbleness followed in parallel. A "Style Samrat" with a heart of a child, yet a matured old man effortlessly amasses the masses by just his name! "Kabali" has hit the theatres, reviews waver in favour of and against him, but the fan-following doesn't recede a little.
What's in the name?
Why is he a Superstar?
What has made this man a demigod?
Well, some questions are better left unanswered!

Vajramuni

I have been searching for information about the late veteran actor, Vajramuni. But, I haven't got any close to the details. Vajramuni Sir, was that actor who performed amazingly on screen, mostly portrayed as a villain. His active years were probably from the 1960s onward, and he grew only better with age. As a young girl, I did fear seeing him on screen, because he was too true to his character. I remember my mother telling me about an interview of Vajramuni Sir, which she had watched, or read, or heard from another, where he openly tells the interviewer that his own children were scared of him after they saw him as a villain. This indeed is a compliment to an actor, for he has made an immense effort to bring alive to the audience a fictional character. But, at the same time, on the home front, Vajramuni Sir had to bear and combat these problems.

Now, when I watch his movies again, I could no less agree but admit that Vajramuni Sir was an excellent actor. No actor, or reel-villain could stand a match to this eminent actor back in his days and even to this day. Such is the involvement and dedication an artist must show in his artwork.

While, surfing the internet, I did come across a video and I am sharing this with you. Vajramuni Sir, as an actor and as a person, will forever live in our praises as long as the Kannada film industry grows.

Video - Click Here

Aachi no more!

The termination of an year has to bear something sad, and terrible. The veteran actress, Manorama, leaves us on this day. A wonderful and a much accepted flexible actress she was that a film industry has ever seen. She has acted in more than a thousand movies. Her contribution to several South Indian languages is truly immense, and none can take this majestic lady's place, for she was, is, and will remain the only appreciated 'Aachi' in the history of Tamil Film Industry. She remains in our hearts forever.

RIP Kalam

The Missile Man of India takes leave and has transcended to a better place. This former President was truly inspiring, and he was the reason for the several ignited minds. He taught the young souls to 'dream', and to dream for a life of multifarious epiphanies. Many were the minds that were educated and sought success on great heights through this selfless man's eyes. Dear Sir, you were a miracle. If possible, please come back!

Remembering the Golden Voice - PBS

Prativadi Bhayankara Sreenivas, most famously known as P.B. Sreenivas (22 September, 1930 - 14 April, 2013), was a veteran playback singer and India is blessed enough to have had given birth to this legendary figure. Sreenivas had sung around 3000 songs which include languages such as Kannada, Telugu, Hindi, Malayalam, Tulu and Konkani. He had sung in all the main languages of the country but it is in Kannada that he has the highest number of songs in his career.

Sreenivas’ career as a singer began at the age of 12, listening to Mohammad Rafi's songs on the radio made him more inclined towards music. He received a wide fan-followers' stream all over India. In Karnataka, he is known as the "Voice of Rajkumar" – for most of his songs were adapted in Rajkumar's movies.

Sreenivas was also a poet. He was fluent in eight languages - Telugu (his mother-tongue), Kannada, Tamil, Malayalam, Hindi, English, Sanskrit and Urdu - and wrote poems in all these languages. Most of his poems did take on the dais in several programmes. His poems “Man to Moon” (a solo by himself) and “Moon to God” (a duet with S. Janaki) were the two English verses where he wrote on praising the landing of man on the moon. The gramophone records of these songs were sent to Neil Armstrong, the man who first landed on the moon; and PB was praised immensely.

There is a tender emotional story in PB’s life. His mother’s demise in 1972 was a huge emotional blow to him. The singer had to travel to Madras the very next day for he had to do a recording of a song. Unable to refuse due to several pressures, he traveled to Madras. Sreenivas usually finished any recording in one-take but this time he had taken half-an-hour to do the recording. However, the emotions and the love that the singer poured into this particular song was immense, the song has outlived its time, and even to this day it remains to steal many hearts. The song is: “Ravi Vermana Kunchada Kale Bale Saakaravo” – this song reveals the intense grief of the singer yet is a masterpiece.

Indeed, the legend's contribution of his heart and soul in terms of his voice is impeccable! And as long as music lives, PB lives! The golden voice never fades but glows on!

Style Samrat

Rajni Kanth – the Super Starwho is known for ‘style’ and ‘high budget movies’. And more than this he is known for his hard-working nature and the undying dedication that he shows towards his work. This actor started off his life as a bus conductor and has sweated his brow off to reach to the position he is in today. I do not know if it is because of the stardom or because of the kind of person Rajni Kanth is that he has got die-hard fans not only in India but also in the whole world. He is also known as the second ‘Super Star’ in whole of Asia where the first one being Jackie Chan. Rajni’s movies always makes me think on an elated level as if I were to seek the answers for the mysterious things.

The one question still strikes our minds – “What is there in this personality that has made him a Super Star and has got him millions of fans?”

The answer lies in the determination Rajni shows in his work, the sincerity that he has towards his professional and personal life and the simple, giving and humble nature of him – all makes him a truly loving and admirable personality. I think I was 9 or 10 years old when I started liking this star. The movie that made me his fan was “Paddaiyappa”; and there is one piece of conversation between Rajni Kanth [as Paddaiyappa] and Ramya Krishnan [as Neelambari] which goes like this;

Neelambari: Minsara Kanna, vyasanalum un style-u, un alag-um innu unnai vittu pogale…

Paddaiyappa: Thank you… thank you… thank you… Koodave porandade, yennikume vittu pogade…

The statement holds so true to Rajni’s real life. He still remains a hero because he does not let the matured youth inside him to die.

I have been a die-hard fan of Rajni, and have followed his career through in and throughout – the times when he reached the peak of success and the times when he had to stumble upon failure to regain the strength to set his fans’ heart beats again on a fast pace. Personally, I see Rajni as a very simple person in nature, I see him as just another being who constantly seeks to connect to the cosmic energy.

I love this man for what he is and I hope he gives us (the fans) more of the super hit movies. And a mere write-up can certainly not help me say what feelings I have for my favourite hero. Lastly, I only wish Rajni that he is blessed with good health, good luck and effective success all throughout his life.

Vivekanathan

Vivek (born on 19th of November, 1961) is one of the leading Tamil film comedian along with Vadivelu. He is more of a satirist than a slapstick comedian. His movies draw humor from scenes of daily life in Tamil Nadu (especially Chennai) and surrounding regions. His jokes often relate to serious subjects, such as bribery, over-population and other political corruption among other things; but is has appeared in lighter parodies too. Vivek is more conscientious and his comedy has more serious undertones than that of his contemporaries. He often targets hypocrisy in Indian society and politics; and uses satire well to point out contradictions which are often taken for granted by the people. He is famously called as 'CHINNA KALAIVANAR'. He is also well known for his readiness to spoof almost any celebrity. We find Vivek mostly popular with the urban people as his comedy is of more immediate relevance to them. In rural areas, he is less popular than the other comedians such as Vadivelu, Senthil and Goundamani. He has starred in numerous films since the early 90s as a supporting actor and now as a main comedian. He has also won five film fare awards. He is a way too amusing!