GBUF 2025: The Good, Bad, Ugly & Funny Year That Was! 🎉

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#sriGINthoughts #GBUF #GoodBadUglyFunny #Year2025ThatWas

Happy New Year! 🥳

Have a great year ahead!

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🌍 World Affairs

2025 started with a bang.
🇺🇸 Donald J. Trump took over the reins of the largest economy of the world. He was a man on a mission. America First.

• Cleanup government: [For a change, Musk was not shitposting about Google and Sam Altman but about ‘billions’ of government savings by changing a flag in the software and what not! DOGE was more like the eponymous meme coin: more flash and less substance.]

• Stop all wars through Truth Social and X: [The two great wars are on low entropy: On one side destruction happens. On the other side diplomacy is racing. Ceasefires are bandied about. Yet periodic violence and clashes persist. Humanitarian conditions worsen.]
• Get Nobel Peace Prize: [Next year, Shyam! 🏆]
• Tariff became the new WMD – both internally and externally: [World reeled initially. Then slowly learnt how to reel it in. Smaller countries bowed. Tim Cook gifted a gold and glass statue and he is a ‘great man.’ China and India are the current non-blinkers.]

• Shut down the government: [Sorry, no budgets. 🏛️ 43 days; longest in history.]

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 🇮🇳 India

• India was rocked by a terrorist attack in the beautiful Kashmir valley at Pahalgam. Scores were shot dead and more got injured by a group that finds its origins in Pakistan-based LeT.
• India responded swiftly with focussed attacks – Operation Sindoor – on terror infra sites in Pakistan. Some planes were lost. The speed with which the US stepped in and even pre-empted the ceasefire announcement was perhaps due to critical strikes in Pakistan, continuance of which would have meant more embarrassing damage.

• The ruling BJP won more elections – vote chori or not (one small room was the address of 83 voters! 😆). Delhi, Bihar and the sweetest of them all – local body elections in Kerala! Foothold finally in God’s own country?
• Tamil Nadu continues to rise in the economic and wellness indicators of the country. In line with the cine-fixation of the masses, actor (can one call him that? 😉) Vijay wants to emulate the legendary MGR in politics – but no real chops to show! Ruling DMK is shaken, perhaps stirred too!
• Modi is still cold-shouldering the US – understandably so.

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🌏 RoW

• 🇸🇬Singapore’s ruling PAP won yet another election. Lawrence Wong managed to do the impossible – won with higher share of popular vote. And his tariff speech? 👏
• 🇯🇵 Sanae Takaichi became the first woman PM of the Land of Rising Sun as Japan wakes up slowly to a conservative sun.
• 🇨🇳 China continues quietly building more capabilities and consolidating as usual.

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🏏 Sports

• 🏏India’s second most popular religion, Cricket, threw up some heady stuff.
• Women’s World Cup? ✅
• Men’s Champions Trophy? ✅
• Politics and performance (lack of) threw out many a stalwart: Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Ashwin etc.
• 14-year-old (pls don’t doubt that!) Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is thrashing every bowler – as long as they are minnows! 🤣

• 🝘 And yeah, England woozily lost The Ashes in 11 days.
• 🏆But the pièce de résistance? The Cup became Namdu! RCB won the 18th edition of IPL!! What followed in the Chinnaswamy Stadium stampede definitely tarnished the sheen. But then, with ephemeral public memory, who cares?

• ⚽ EPL: Liverpool won the last season but spiralled down after the unfortunate death of Diego Jota. They have shown some gumption and climbed to the Top-4 with Arsenal, City and surprise, surprise, Aston Villa! 
• 🎮 Saudis got bored on spending on city building etc., so turned the money train towards Electronic Arts, the gaming company; acquired them for an obscene USD 55 billion. 
• Swede Armand Mondo Duplantis – got a mondo record in pole vault - 6.30m – don’t let him near your home compound 😊

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🎬 Arts

• Avatar landed. Consensus is ‘more of the same’. Money being burnt into ashes by the fire, I suppose. 🔥
• On OTT, Netflix cracked it with the one-shot-per-episode Adolescence. Technically, ideologically, socially, a wonderful series that all parents must watch.
• Tamil movie industry failed to excite. Mollywood continued to belt bangers out: Ponman and Kishkinda Kandam excited us.
• Dhurandhar (Hindi or Urdu?) is the true blockbuster by a mile and still has legs.
• The real surprise package was Sandalwood: the earthy Su from So and Kantara Chapter 1 plus a few others like Agnyathavaasi really made us sit up and notice.
• Musically, Flipperachi’s FA9LA from Dhurandhar is the new earworm 🎵. But it will take beating to move me away from Sai Abhyankar’s Oorum Blood <3

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💻 Technology

• While excellent progress was made on the fusion and quantum computing fronts, the real king was AI and all the moats (+ crocodiles 🤣) around it. 🤖
• More LLMs flooded the market. Agentic AI became the new buzzword. AI actors spouted. Timelines filled with AI songs [just give lyrics!].

• With more reliance on technology, outages also hit the headlines. AWS, Google, Azure and Cloudflare – all of them had major P1s – causing billions discomfort (smart beds won’t heat up or fold! 🛌)
• Sridhar Vembu’s Zoho’s Arattai briefly became the Signal of 2025 to dethrone WhatsApp. The initial nationalistic euphoria has died eventually.
• If you had invested $1000 in an equal portfolio of Gold, Silver and Nvidia [most valuable company at 5T market cap!] at the beginning of the year, your portfolio would have doubled. 💰

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😂 You-Gotta-Be-Kidding-Me!

• Louvre heisters’ adherence to work-life balance 🖼️
• Enterprising people making money by dipping photos at the Maha Kumbh (~660 million had a holy dip; not counting the photos!) 🌊

• Indigo Airlines playing “We don’t have pilots!” bringing Indian aviation to its knees for a few days ✈️
• Trump and Vance schooling Zelenskyy in the Oval Office: “Say Thank You!” 🙏
• A random meme 6-7 became the teen-rage of the year!
• After resigning from his key posts, Justin Trudeau (he didn’t want to be called the Governor of the 51st state, I suppose 😁) decided to find solace in music – to be more precise in a musician, Katy Perry – they are Insta official 💑

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Views are personal. Any hurt unintentional.

Sources: Of course, internet. ChatGPT used for proof-reading; had to struggle hard to make it not rewrite & not replace my dashes with em-dashes 😛

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Triple Toxin Review

(c) Three Poisons Wikipedia

Just polished off three movies recently while downing cough syrups and antibiotics like they were G&Ts… and, ironically, all three are about poisons! Delicious, isn’t it? No pun intended, but admittedly, a little wicked. 😉

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#Agnyathavasi #Kannada #Zee5 #Pashambara

Agnyathavasi (Man on Exile) stars Rangayana Raghu (whose Shakahaari was a scream too!), and a gang of other brilliant Sandalwood actors. Set in an idyllic Malenadu village of the ’90s, a murder(?) erupts. How the inspector untangles the mystery, both literally and figuratively, forms the meat of this engaging tale.

Village rituals collide with encroaching technology (emails replacing letters!), creating a delightfully knotty milieu. Will anyone’s secrets ever stay hidden? And what is the toll of carrying them for decades? The eerie ‘Ootta’ scene at the start sets the mood brilliantly, and the tension doesn’t let up. The editing jumps around a bit like a startled goat, but pardonable.
⭐️⭐️⭐️✨½

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#KnivesOut #WakeUpDeadMan #English #Netflix #PentoBarbital

In the third instalment of the Knives Out series, Daniel Craig returns as Detective Benoit Blanc (a gloriously French nod to one who cleanses lies and exposes reality!). An impossible-to-solve murder takes place in a church—dear Lord!—in yet another “idyllic” village, this time in New York.

With dazzling religious ping-pong (including a title nod to a U2 song), the film is pure delight. Directorial flourishes (like the residual shadow of the Cross) are sublime. Dialogues are sharp as a razor-edged soufflé: “I am worried about being a shepherd of wolves; anyone I don’t agree with ends up being a wolf!”

Fabulous cast: Craig, O’Connor as a troubled Father, Glenn Close, Josh Brolin as a fire-and-brimstone monsignor… Story and reveal are a tad contrived, but pardonable.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

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#SaaliMohabbat #Hindi #Zee5 #Vatsanabha

Another small town. Another woman-scorned-is-dangerous tale. Another Radhika Apte crime caper (Raat Akeli Hai 1 & 2).

f Walter White in Breaking Bad is the badass Chemistry Guru, Smita here is a botanical force of nature. She roots (or routes?) her way to survival with ruthless precision. Anurag Kashyap’s role could have been expanded—such a good actor, wasted! And yes, wash your hands before you eat—seriously. 😉

The plot is fairly predictable, but that’s pardonable; the novelty lies in how she enacts her revenge.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

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Growing up in India, we were all too familiar with Schedule H drugs - prescription-only medicines that came with a side of drama. The pharmacist would wag a finger and say: “They can’t be sold just like that. They’re poisonous, you know. Must be controlled, thambi!”

Movies are a lot like that. Handle them carelessly, and they too can turn venomous.

So, sip responsibly—and enjoy the cinematic toxins.

 #sriGINthoughts #Reviews #TripleToxin

 

GBUF - 16 Nov 25

 #sriGINthoughts #GoodBadUglyFunny #GBUF #16Nov25

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🖊️ So, the man who made us laugh at the eternally dysfunctional corporate setup, Scott Adams is suffering from the Big C. That is not news. But the fact that he nudged DJT to get help for his treatment and kinda jump the queue is. Somewhere Dilbert’s Pointy-haired boss is LHAO!  My favourite Dilbert character is Asok from IIT who could solve anything in less than a minute or some such ridiculous thing – while being paid peanuts. Corporate slavery, illustrated! Get well soon, Scott! #LongLiveDilbert

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💳 Last week I got a glossy Singapore government booklet on how cyber criminals lighten your bank accounts. Gone are the old pithy warnings — “Pickpockets/Touts Beware” or “Low Crime Doesn’t Mean No Crime.” Now it’s ACT (Add, Check, Tell), ScamShield, pass-sentences instead of passwords and whatnot. Meanwhile, the Louvre’s video surveillance system password before that work-life-balance heist? “Louvre”. #NoPointsForGuessing

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🐄 Bihar, a land of ancient learning (Nalanda), enlightenment (Bodh Gaya), and fiery caste-based politics, with a population of ~125 million (almost the same as Mexico or Russia — and no, I’m not talking about law and order 😊), had its elections recently. The NDA (with the all-conquering BJP as a key member) swept the polls, mainly thanks to the 2M factor: money deposited into Mahila (women) accounts. Wag laments that it was only ₹4,500 before last year’s Maharashtra elections, while this year it’s ₹10,000. Did they teach about inflation in Nalanda? #GayaKaamSe

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🏊 Talking about BJP and its strong-arm tactics, two young turks of BJP, K Annamalai and Tejasvi Surya completed the Ironman 70.3 in Goa. The half-ironman triathlon covers 1.9 km swim, 90 km cycling, 21 km run totaling 70.3 miles (~112.9 km). Whether it is a gimmick or to lose fat, what they have really done is something rare for a politician – emphasising being healthy is key and literally running, swimming and cycling the talk. Where they finished in the rank list is immaterial. Completion and the impact that is created matters. #IronMenTalk

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🥛 If politicians milk anything small for their benefit, there’s one organisation that has quietly milked the collective to the great benefit of the poor, promoting rural development in India: AMUL. For netizens, Amul is best known for its cheeky, topical advertisements. But for the 3.6 million farmers, it has been a real boon, driving sustenance and growth. Spurring India’s White Revolution, Amul helped make India the world’s largest producer of milk and dairy products. Why this week? Amul has been crowned the No. 1 cooperative in the world. #UtterlyButterly

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🏛️ Then the problem of 38 Oxley Road (Singapore’s founding father LKY’s residence for 70+ years until his death in 2015) resurfaced. On several occasions, including in his last will (clouds hang over changes to that clause though), the great man said the house should be demolished after he was gone. “Don’t make it a relic for people to tramp through.” Protracted social media fracas between the Lee siblings followed. Last week, given its “historic significance and national importance”, the National Heritage Board has assessed it to be preserved as a “National Monument”. #Leegacy

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🐍 Halloween this year brought a real horror spectacle. Heidi Klum, the German model and self-proclaimed Queen of Halloween, outdid last year’s ET costume by transforming into the mythological monster Medusa. A long serpentine tail, a scaled, hand-painted body, and slithering snakes for hair (thankfully battery operated) completed Klum’s fangy ensemble. Truly impressive and cold-blooded, one must say. What will it be next year, Heidi? How about Ravana? Ten heads and all! Monster enough! #HorrorHeidi

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📻 No #GBUF is complete without a DJT piece. BBC, the grand old dame of news, is in turmoil after two top leaders quit following use of differently-spliced Trump videos to make him sound as if he were inciting civil unrest. A journo wag wonders: This is common, no? Perhaps there’s still a vestige of honour at The Beeb, hence the resignations. Trump has threatened to sue for up to $5 billion! Funny thing is, the Brits will end up paying that anyway, given how Auntie is funded. #EditedPanorama

Views are personal. Any hurt unintentional. Until the next snake oil sale...

GBUF - 02 Nov 25

 #sriGINthoughts #GBUF #GoodBadUglyFunny #02Nov25

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🤴 By the time you read this, Andrew Mountbatten Windsor (formerly known as Prince 😉) might already have packed his bags and moved out of Buckingham Palace. His brother, King Charles III, apparently read the riot act after Andrew’s growing Epstein-linked scandal became embarrassingly public and untenable. After all, blood is thicker than water. So, the King hit ‘Control-H’ on Buckingham in favour of Sandringham and cut the prodigal bro loose. #BroCodeUnleashed 👑💼

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☁️ Clouds are getting awfully fluffy these days. First it was AWS, and last week it was Azure. Both had their DNS — Domain Name System, essentially the internet’s phonebook — shredded during their outages. It’s been an early Halloween for tech bros these past few weeks. Just goes to show how dependent we are on Big Tech and its plumbing. As one wag asked: Can’t they just print proper yellow pages? Who’s going to break it to him? #DidNotSync 💻🎃

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💸 Move aside Pol Pot and Angkor Wat — Cambodia is now playing in a bigger league: crypto scams. Last week, two (possibly related) schemes out of the ASEAN nation surfaced, with ill-gotten gains running into the hundreds of millions of dollars. And with Singaporeans and Singapore-incorporated entities caught in the blast radius, the island nation is already tightening the screws — from account closures and asset freezes to stepped-up cross-border investigations and even considering the mother of all punishments: caning. #NoSpareRod 🏴‍☠️⚖️

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🤸‍♀️ Yes, SG can be stressful on many fronts — especially education; yet students still fight gallantly. Case in point: Amanda Yap. The 15-year-old became the first Singaporean to qualify for a World Gymnastics Final on the Balance Beam. Time to rejoice, rest, and prepare, you say? Nope. Amanda flew back from Jakarta to sit her O-Level Math exam, flew back to compete (finishing 6th), and then flew back again to sit her remaining papers. Perhaps she should have competed in Artistic Juggling instead? #BeamAndBooks 📚🤹‍♀️

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🤖 The AI race is heating up like crazy, with Nvidia’s market cap crossing US $5 trillion (for comparison, it is the combined market cap of all listed Indian companies OR Jensen Huang can buy two of his favourite Tejus leather jackets – USD 9K each - for each American!). If American days are filled with some chip company striking deals with whoever can spell ‘slop,’ the nights are dominated by Chinese firms pumping out AI papers by the dozen. Everyone wants to build a ‘thinking’ computer. Only Thalaivar Rajini could pull it off — in Endiran. #WhenAGI 📈🤯

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🧠 He took on Google/SAP/WhatsApp with Zoho Suite with varied success. Commendable. But, last week he revealed he’s also an anti-vaxxer. First it was ‘vaccines are linked to autism’ (personal backstory; understand urge to find reasons). Then the HPV vaccination rant - dog-whistling and smoke-and-mirrors. Now uncles and aunties are hyperventilating in WhatsApp: ‘Shocking if true’. Sridhar Vembu must realize that with great power comes great responsibility. In a country which desperately needs better public (read: common man) healthcare, his words risk real harm. #YesToVaccines 💉😷

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🏏 And little ‘David’ Jemima Rodrigues, played the innings of a lifetime against the huge ‘Goliath’ Australia, smashing the doors to the Women’s Cricket World Cup final. Oh, did I get too biblical? Maybe I’m influenced by her post-match thanks to Jesus and her quoting Exodus 14:14 😉 #StandStillJem 🙏🏆

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Views are personal. Any hurt unintentional.
Till the next outage…

GBUF - 26 Oct 25

 

#sriGINthoughts #GBUF #GoodBadUglyFunny #26Oct25

Political Flow: 

🌍 The last two weeks meandered. The Middle East is sitting on an uneasy peace. It’s BAU on the Russia–Ukraine front. India is acting tough with the U.S. Not all quiet on the western, or rather, the Baloch front for Pakistan. Then Trump… has a side talk with the Indonesian President and puts in a word for his son, Eric; continues his pardoning spree this term. Binance’s CZ — who had backed the First Family’s crypto venture, World Liberty Financial — hit the thou-shalt-be-pardoned lottery this time. Amid all this, Timor-Leste became the 11th member of ASEAN. So, will ASEAN now be called ASEAN XI? Oops — that won’t sit well with DJT, will it? 🤝

Sport Miracles: 

🇨🇻As is its wont, sports threw up joyful surprises. Cape Verde (aka Cabo Verde) qualified for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. A nation of barely half a million making it to football’s pinnacle tournament… Cameroon vibes anyone? As if that weren’t enough, LA Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani ⚾ belted three home runs and struck out ten batters — all in a single pennant-winning game, redefining the very idea of an all-rounder. For context, that’s roughly the baseball equivalent of a triple-century and a ten-for in one cricket match! Meanwhile, Kohli fist-pumped after breaking two ducks! 😉 

Tech Outages: 

💥 AWS went down — perfect timing, Indians were about to celebrate Diwali. 😊 It seemed like half the internet went dark, though Asia mostly escaped the chaos. Among the top casualties: smart beds! 🛌 Users of Eight Sleep found themselves either too hot or too cold, with beds that refused to elevate, flatten, or sound the wake-up alarm. How much more interconnected do we really want our lives to be? 😴

TV Brouhaha: 

🎶 The doyen of music television, MTV, is shutting down its music channels. For many of us who grew up listening to the greats belting out one hit after another, guided by those funky VJs, MTV (along with the now-defunct Channel V) shaped our pop-music lives. [Not that I could decipher any of the lyrics until much later!] 

👦 And then came the trolling of Ishit Bhatt. The precocious ten-year-old, brimming with confidence and bluster, who made it to the hotseat on the Junior edition of Kaun Banega Crorepati (the Indian Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?), was accused of being disrespectful to the great Amitabh Bachchan. The online mob descended, seemingly extracting an apology from the child. Slow Clap! 

👨‍💼 All this, in a world where Bill Gates made a cameo in the Hindi soap Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi (“Because the Mother-in-Law Was Also Once a Daughter-in-Law”) to discuss maternal and child health with the heroine, Smriti Irani — a former India cabinet minister. Now tell me, really — who owes whom an apology? 

💎 Crime & Culture:

Rounding out the week with a daring heist at the Louvre Museum. In less time than it takes to finish a morning cappuccino (9:30–9:38 am, to be precise), four thieves made their escape on two scooters — with a few diadems ( not the Ravenclaw kind ), brooches, and necklaces — leaving French authorities rouge-faced. Not one to squander a publicity opportunity, the German company Böcker, which manufactured the ladder the robbers used, ran a tongue-in-cheek advert. And wags around the world are already telling their bosses: even French thieves observe “working hours.” 😎

Views are personal. Any hurt unintentional. Till the next heist…

Kantara C1: Possessed by Faith, Confused by Plot

 

Eight reasons Why I “liked” Kantara: A Legend Chapter-1:

1. One noticed that Mysore Sandalwood is the fragrance partner (!?) of the movie. Except for Rukmini Vasanth, Jayaram, and Gulshan Devaiah, everyone else looks like they could use a thorough wash. A year’s production spent on that, perhaps? #RatherLather
2. Who is Rishab Shetty — Tiger’s son, various Guligas, Parasurama, Shiva, Chavundi…? A true Aham Brahmasmi problem in motion. #330MillionGodsInOne
3. From the yesteryear Deewar to the recent Coolie (yes, that “Powerless Powerhouse!”) and now Kantara — the oppressed are forever fighting to control the harbour. The rest, heroine included, just follow the tide. #SpicyShips
4. While you’re wondering what the Kadambas are up to, the Kadapas are busy managing the Daivas only for the people of Kantara to repel them. Fret not — Kantara C2 will surely explain. #3KProblem
5. Not sure whether it was the dense forest or the projection system at Shaw Theatres, but the movie was literally dark — except, mercifully, for the frames featuring Rukmini. #NoirApproach
6. Thankfully, Forest Officer Kishore and Landlord Achyut Kumar don’t return from K1. Even some of the calefares had a second Kantara run. #SupportLocalTalent
7. Whenever Rishab is possessed, one truly feels it — goosebumps included. But before and after that? We’re the ones possessed. #GuligaPower
8. The rampant-chariot-on-Raja-Veedhi sequence was gripping. The only issue? The Princess and her entourage watched it like an IND vs WI Test match. Swalpa bhavane torisi-ri, Kalavathi-avare! #ExhibitionMatch

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Kantara C1 aims to bring the faith and folklore of coastal Karnataka to the fore through a layered, mythological narrative. It works in fleeting patches but gets tangled along the way. Is it a social-message film - untouchability, tribal oppression... all cured only through divine intervention, or just another good-versus-evil saga with celestial assistance?

This chapter bears and just about managed the heavy burden of the first instalment that wowed us a few years ago, ₹500 crore collections notwithstanding. Faith sells, after all.

I loved Devar’s Murugan movies, Amman, and Yaar etc., — they may have lacked polish, but they had clarity and a discernible flow. Would I mention Kantara C1 in the same breath? Hmm...

Some of the set pieces impress — that langur fight was fierce (though it was hard to tell who was hitting whom!) — and the tiger? Easily better than Life of Pi’s Richard Parker.

If you can’t spare the time or the ticket, wait for it to stream on Prime Video.

⭐⭐⭐

#sriGINthoughts #reviews #KantaraChapter1 #Kannada

 

Three Movies & Three Results

3 Movies. 

3 Languages. 

3 Genres. 

3 Results.

#sriGINthoughts #reviews

Let’s get the junk done and dusted first.

(PC: Indiaglitz)

Madharaasi is a mashup of Thuppakki, Ghajini, and countless other mindless action flicks that seem to afflict the Indian movie industry. Down to the cringe punch dialogue by Vidyut Jammwal: “I will be the villain irrespective of who wields the gun!” If more such movies are made, gun culture in Tamil Nadu will automatically flourish—with the audience drawing out guns at the makers of such films. And to think the PR machines were working overtime to push this movie up or down, depending on their respective allegiances... pure waste of time. As I said earlier, Rukmini Vasanth is fresh. Otherwise, thanks, but no thanks. Murugadoss can be renamed Murugaloss!

#MadRaasi #Tamil #PrimeVideo #2Stars

Now onto mid-table, pleasantly-average zone.

(PC: Bollywoodshaadis)

Inspector Zende is based on the OG Madhukar Bapurao Zende, who caught the notorious Charles Sobhraj—twice. Played ably by Manoj Bajpayee, the film traces what Zende and his motley crowd of Mumbai police—full of pride and zero rupees to spend—do to chase and arrest Carl Bhojraj (yes, you’ve figured it out: a name-play on the infamous serial killer). 

Think regular, make-ends-meet imaandari; smart, hard-as-nails policemen; procedural turf wars; and some not-so-goofy comedy. It’s all in there. But since it's based on real life, there’s a bit of heart to it, which makes it a one-time watchable.

I did wonder why they had to change the name of the criminal—then found that Netflix already had a documentary on Sobhraj :-)

#FlutteringFlag #Hindi #Netflix #3Stars

And here is the top-drawer stuff!

(PC: India Today)

Su From So is a marvelous comedy that’s earthy, soulful, and elevated all at once. Set somewhere near Mangalore, it feels refreshingly original as it deftly captures the quirks and chaos of innocent—and not-so-innocent—lives. Every single character (I mean every one) delivers performances so magnetic, it’s impossible to look away. The expressions, reactions, dialogue delivery, body language, timing... chef’s kiss! It’s riotously funny and utterly captivating.

No big stars here (Raj B. Shetty, maybe you’ve heard of him), and that’s exactly why the film stays focused on the story instead of hero worship. Sure, it’s predictable and drags a bit at times, but honestly, who cares? Warts and all, the execution is top-notch, and it rightfully deserves the multi-bagger status it has earned.

One can only hope first-timer JP Thuminad has plenty more gems up his sleeve. And oh, that Varaaha Roopam tribute to Kantara during the transformation scene? Absolutely scrumpcilious!

#OhoHoHo #JioHotstar #Einthusan #Kannada #4Stars

GBUF - 05Oct25

 #GBUF #GoodBadUglyFunny #05Oct25 #sriGINthoughts

👋 Greetings. GBUF is back after more than four months of lethargy and excuses. I pity you. 😊

Here we go…

🤖 AI is becoming all-pervading. AI star, 20-something Aravind Srinivas (of Perplexity), has become India’s youngest billionaire with a comet-like 😉 rise. For context, almost-60 Shah Rukh Khan became a billionaire only last year. Funnily, SRK was pipped by a Physics teacher, Alakh Pandey. Age of knowledge, anyone? #MainBillionaireHoonNa

🎭 Speaking of AI and acting, last week introduced Tilly Norwood, a virtual influencer, to much fanfare. Following in the footsteps of Lil Miquela, who has virtually influenced brands such as BMW and celebrated her birthday with 2.7 million Instagram followers, Tilly is poised to be the first of many such 'actresses.' The jury is divided: some believe AI 'personification' aids SMEs in running campaigns, while others feel that actors and actresses across various 'woods' around the world are in danger. I do hear that one such character might be acting with a leading Kollywood hero 😉 #WoodenActors

💍 Two incidents last week would have caused much chagrin to the youth of South India, specifically Karnataka. OG #Srivalli – Rashmika Mandanna and OG #ArjunReddy – Vijay Devarakonda – are engaged and will tie the knot next year. As if that were not enough, booze company Diageo intends to sell the much-beloved-but-with-only-one-title #RCB to Covid vaccine maker Adar Poonawalla at a $2B valuation. #SendingShivers

😔 And then, a Kollywood hero’s meeting in Karur sent shivers down the spine. Actor Vijay is either too naïve or indifferent—or both. After having run a few conferences beset with crowd management issues, he (and his coterie) seems not to have learnt their lessons and played into the hands of the ruling DMK (who conveniently seemed to have gone easy on the arrangements). Result: 40+ lives lost in a stampede that could’ve been prevented. Blind hero worship + inexperience + organisational apathy caused the mishap. What followed was typical tweet-politics. #BlackTownMourns

🌍 Politics did not stop in the White House, Tel Aviv or Gaza. Trump was upset with Netanyahu, forced him to apologise for the Qatar bombings, and drew up a plan that was three-quarters ultimatum (to both sides) and one-quarter statesmanship (funny, I use that word in a sentence with DJT in it!). Hamas and Israel seem to have agreed, though a few dozen lives were lost yesterday. But this 7th October is likely to see the end of the war—at least temporarily. Oh, by the way, Trump is not too worried about the US Government shutdown. “It will burn the excess fat,” he would say! How far will a man go to get that Nobel Peace Prize? #NobelHostage

🏯 But Sanae Takaichi did not win a prize. She earned it. Set to become the first female PM of Japan (a mentee of the late Shinzo Abe), the 64-year-old former bike chick and rock/heavy metal fan will start ruling Japan in about a week’s time. Times are changing! Given India PM Modi’s closeness with Abe-san, he will find in the conservative Takaichi-san someone easy to work with and move things faster. The only question left – will the Modi memes now retire Meloni and start featuring Sanae riding a motorbike with a guitar in hand? 🎸🏍️ #TakaModi

💬 One can’t end this week’s chitchat without talking about #Arattai. Ever since Indian minister Ashwini Vaishnaw tweeted endorsing Zoho’s ‘Swadeshi’ products, Arattai (a WhatsApp/Telegram wannabe) from #Zoho has skyrocketed in its usage. Infrastructure is being poured in; bugs are fixed even before people are finding them. Individuals and groups on WA and TG are shifting loyalty in droves. (Remember Signal?). Given Sridhar Vembu’s inclinations and measured approach, this can be a winner. Requests: Don’t change the name. Make UPI payments possible. Don’t compare yourself with WA or TG. Be better than WeChat. #MeaningfulChat

🙃 Personal opinions. Any hurt, unintentional.

🕊️ Peace – GBUF signing off… before AI decides it can do this better. 😂