Digi's Blog

Thrillers have always been my favorite genre. And so it was natural that the backpage synopsis of “The Bankster” interested me. I’ve read Ravi Subramanian’s “Devil in Pinstripes” and found it very engaging. It was the first time I had read anything related to the world of banking, and Ravi’s detailed description made it an enjoyable read. Naturally I had huge expectations from him. Here’s my review of his latest novel “The Bankster”. Genre – Banking thriller (I call this genre BANKLER.) PLOT – We are introduced to 3 stories right from the beginning – In Angola, we witness a deal consisting of arms and diamonds. Simultaneously a second story is woven. This one set in kerala tracks the development of a nuclear power plant and the forces opposing it. And finally we are introduced to the third and the main storyline – that of the Greater Boston Global Bank (GB2) in Mumbai. The writer focuses mainly on the last story with occasional chapters describing the...

I have an unwritten rule while reviewing albums on my blog – To never review an album which has music by “Sajid Wajid”. They are the unbashed rulers of mediocrity (which has plummeted to new lows this year.) I mean, just have a look at the quality and even quantity of music they have given this year – Housefull 2 (Bad), Tezz (Bad), Rowdy Rathore (Bad), Teri meri Kahaani (Average), Kamaal dhamaal malamaal (Horrible), Ishkq in paris (Horrible), Ajab Gazabb love (Bad), Son of Sardar (Blah) – every album smells of repetitiveness and a zero in the creative and novelty department. However I make exceptions when salman khan is associated with sajid wajid. Reason? Well, they have a fairly good record with bhai. Starting from “Pyaar kiya toh darna kya” to “Ek tha tiger”, sajid wajid have given good (If not awesome), melodious and popular massy music for their godfather. In fact my favorite Sajid Wajid albums till now (from whatever they have come up with) have been Veer and Dab...

Rahman begins the episode with “YE JO DES HAI TERA”. That was a smart move to ensure the audience get goosebumps right from the moment the shehnais start. the way ranjit barot changes the song (Deconstructs and reconstructs it, in Rahman’s words) is awesome. The “mitti ki hai jo khushboo” chorus is out of this world. Rahman’s rendition is near perfect. He sings the song with aplomb. The chorus before the second antara again gives you goosebumps. And Rahman escalates the song with his PERFECT tamil rendition. Although I didn’t understand a word of it, it is obvious that Rahman is much more at ease singing tamil lyrics compared to hindi ones. Overall, this was 5 minutes and 14 seconds of pure hair – raising stuff. Special credit to the shehnai players – Omkar dhumal, Raju dhumal, Sunil dhumal, Sanjeev shankar and Ashwani shankar. “REHNA TU” starts off with an addictive piano loop, the one which was heard even in the behind the scenes video released prior to the episode....

There are people who hate him. There are people who love him. And there are people who are crazy after him. My affection for him has always been variegating. While I have loved some of his performances, I don’t like certain avatars of him. One big problem I have had with Shahrukh khan’s acting is the times he hams on screen – you know when he is crying and gives that typical facial expression – which is totally a turn off. Whenever he has steered clear from doing that on screen, he has given some brilliant performances.   He is a fantastic actor, no doubt, and over the years, I have fallen in love with some of the characters he has played. Below is a list of my ten favorite Shahrukh films –   DISCLAIMER – Kuch kuch hota hai, Kabhi khushi kabhi gham, Devdas, Main hoon Na have not been included. Now you may read further. SWADES This is undoubtedly Shahrukh’s finest performance ever. With a wardrobe of only five to six simple smart shirts in the e...