To Buy Or Not To Buy - That Is The Question!

After writing a poem about my ancient smartphone that is now on a ventilator; my family felt the urge to convince me into buying a new one. So, I grabbed my nerd glasses and turned into an analyst!

Research, thesis, statistics and opinions (though mostly volatile) were what my "treasure hunt" was all about! Like any other buyer I fixed my budget and began a survey, one that reached no conclusion!

Google is useful, but there are times when I’m NOT 'feeling lucky'! And in this case, it was certainly one of those. Every prospective phone I liked had pros, perfectly balanced with cons, which only made matters more confounding. I spent hours on YouTube watching endless tech reviews, I even asked every Tom, Dick and Harry for their opinions; but always ended up being clueless!

The search for a “smartphone” has to be equally smart, right? So I thought of choosing my priority.  When push came to shove, a good camera and longevity took precedence. But somehow, I seemed to  find some drawback in every phone. If one review praised it, another one razed it! Talk about dilemma!

“Variety is the spice of life” but it’s also a woman’s worst enemy!

My predicament is similar to what most girls go through every morning. A brimming wardrobe but the dejection of having nothing to wear! It's just like walking into an ice cream parlor and being spoilt for choice.

I was so not ready to compromise on any feature, and that’s when a friend amused me with his brainwave! He said, “What Shruti really needs, is a DSLR that can make calls!” Trust me; this is now number one on my wish list.

So now, I’ve understood a hard-hitting reality of life: there are phones, there are DSLRs, and there are power banks. Anything that combines all three would require me to sell my kidneys to cover the expense!

Ultimately, I’ve taken a call. One that’s involved a lot of thinking- I HAVE to buy a phone!

So, any suggestions?
(Oh God, did I really just say that?!)

LOL
Keep chattering :)

A Pill For Kapil

Have you loved the taste of something so much that you've eaten it till you finally got fed up? Too much of anything is bad and this show is a prime example of this belief. June, 2013 was when they released this clutter breaker for a TV show and no doubt it received immense appreciation; some of which still continues. Based on Kumars At No. 42, this show certainly grabbed the hearts of many with its fusion of comedy and Bollywood.  The show, which was once a front runner with highest TRPs is now losing its spark.

Change is always a bitter pill and in this case could be the life saver the show needs. Hence, Shruti Barot thought of a few ways the show the show could grab its lost charm and lost viewers. The show which now mostly survives on the TRPs brought in by the celebrities does deserve a second chance and a much needed makeover!

1) Break…fast!

Taking a break is of the utmost importance for this show. I think most would agree with me on this, that the show, given its infinite episodes, comes across no less than a “saas bahu” daily soap. For any programme to be a success it has to take a break somewhere and it’s high time the makers of CNWK realized this. This is a major plus point of the English sitcoms and daily soaps that we enjoy! That feeling of the season ending on a note of suspense, the wait for the next one and that joy of watching all the seasons this way is rarely felt in the Indian scenario, except in the case of a few “reality” (a.k.a rigged) shows.

2) Brand New Theme

Aren’t we all way too familiar with the characters by now? Doesn’t “kaun hai yeh admi” seem funny no more? Or am I the only one who doesn’t laugh when the two Dadis get into a WWE fight?
It’s no news that the repetitive punch lines fall flat and their savior is just the canned laughter. CNWK desperately needs to revamp its format and theme. For instance from a crazy Punjabi family; it could turn into a wannabe sophisticated NRI one. I’m sure its makers could come up with a lot of amazing ideas in terms of the characters as well. They could probably bring in a co host, a female whose style of humour would be sarcastic statements or mimicry rather than resorting to insults.

3) Re-sidhu-lisation

You heard me right! Tell me what’s the outcome of him being on the show? Thoko tali and the shayaris is all and only what he’s all about. At times he gets on my nerves with his  unnecessary forced guffaw! But hell, I’m jealous of him. He gets paid a fat amount just to show his matching tie and turban, sit on a luxurious chair surrounded by good looking females and laugh his heart out. I mean who wouldn’t want this as a job? Having said that, it would be better if the audiences got to see him on the stage; contributing in a bigger way to the show. Wouldn’t it be hilarious to watch Navjot Singh Sidhu share anecdotes or probably try mimicry?

4)  Image Matters with Audience Matters

So, the show has earned a lot of negative publicity, when it comes to the live audience. The first controversy was about some unscrupulous elements selling nonexistent tickets to be a part of the audience, but the producers immediately alerted the viewers about the same. The next blotch was testimonials of the audience claiming to be treated inhumanly without food, water and washroom breaks. Now, I’m sure the show can do away with these unwarranted messes. A good approach would be to include the feedback of the audiences, about their experience, while they’re leaving the studio. Of course, this would require the team to treat them well and not be biased when it comes to picking the ones who ask questions to the celebrities.

5) A “Sense” of Humour

There has been a lot of accusation targeting the makers of CNWK for resorting to a sexist approach and slapstick comedy. A makeover of this show could surely do without this. Psychologists have always pointed out the nature of people laughing at somebody else who has been humiliated. And this show in a way exploits this tendency. Why can’t we learn to appreciate humour that also has some wit? Look at the upcoming stand up comedians and their videos on YouTube, they’re fabulous! They have the crowd in splits of laughter with their wit, sarcasm and an amazing take on current affairs. Kapil and his team can surely work on this aspect, don’t you think?

An ex-fan of the show myself, I can’t wait to see if this show gets a makeover and how effective that would be!

Would love to hear your thoughts about the same in the comment box below!

Until then,

Keep chattering :)

Four And A Half Men

Brace yourself as what you’re about to read might make you wonder about mankind (more than “womankind”).

This happened a fortnight ago. A Rajkumar Hirani and Vidhu Vinod Chopra fan as I am, I couldn’t contain my excitement about their upcoming release. No rocket science, I’m referring to the much debated movie – “PK”.

With a lot of expectations, I booked a ticket for a show sometime in the first week of its release. To tell you the truth, it was a last minute decision, one taken on the spur of the moment. Obviously, the theatre was jam packed by then with only a few seats vacant somewhere in the mid rows. I had gone for the movie with a male friend. The only two vacant seats in the topmost possible row were the ones in the corner. Without second thought I booked them right away and we rushed to the cinema hall.

Fortunately, we made it in time and secured our seats. Since they were the corner seats in the row, there were about five of them vacant beside ours. I hated the fact that we had the corner ones so chose to sit on the outer of the two. This decision of mine wasn’t a conscious one, and I say this proudly, as in my mind, I had come to a theatre of a metropolitan city where a girl need not worry about any jerk trying stunts in the seat beside her.

Now, it so happened, after a few minutes, a group of boys approached our row. All of them must have been in their twenties. As they approached the seats next to me, I wasn’t bothered a bit by the thought of a strange, oversized guy sitting beside me. A few minutes later, to my utter shock, a fellow from three seats away gets up and asks my male friend to switch places with me as the guy  next to me felt “awkward”.

I don’t know how this sounds as you read it, but at that instant I was filled with mixed feelings of disbelief and disgust. I’d like to stress two points here:

1. I had gone for a U/A rated movie.
2. It was a top notch, classy cinema hall.

Having said this, I truly wonder what could possibly make an adult man feel awkward in a public place like that of a cinema hall. But I guess I’m not really allowed to pass judgment, as the poor guy must have not been around “women” much or may not have been lucky to be educated in a co-ed school before.

To those of you wondering what happened next, yes, I obviously switched places. One, because I didn't want to be a cause of someone’s “awkwardness” and two, out of sheer disgust. My male friend did pass a sarcastic comment which made his friends chuckle a bit. I’m not a big fan of making a scene especially out of something as trivial as this, but I couldn’t resist writing up a post about the same.

Looking back, I guess I probably could have reacted a bit differently, but given a second chance, I’d rather not waste time with men like him who clearly need psychiatric intervention.

Something that makes me laugh every time I think about it. Yes! This episode was most certainly one that merited mention in my blog.

People need to grow up. I hereby rest my case.

P.S. In case the ‘four men’ are reading this, don’t forget to say hi to the ‘half guy’ who felt awkward!

Do you have a different opinion or perhaps a story to share? Please feel free to mention it in the comment section below.

Until then,

Keep chattering J