Rajni's Letter to SRK

A mysterious letter with some pretty explosive content has just surfaced. It appears to be a written response by the iconic thespian, Rajni, to Shahrukh Khan who had invited him to play a guest role in his soon to be released film, Ra.One. 


In the letter dated April 1st, Rajni, in his inimitable 'shtyle', gave a very crisp and curt reply expressing his disinclination to appear in - as he puts it - Ra.Onnu ('onnu' means one in Tamil). He suggests that he has more significant matters to concern himself with. The Superstar also gives King Khan a piece of his mind before he signs off with his trademark punchline - "Mind it" - aha.. Classic!

Rajni's Letter to Shahrukh Khan

The heavily crumpled paper suggests that SRK wasn't too happy about the reply. In fact, what is more surprising is that in the fit of rage that might have gripped him, unspeakable acts - the kind humanity had never before witnessed - were not performed on that dried piece of cellulose pulp. Sheesh Kebab!!


But now, all seems to be superb and awesome between Rajni sir and SRK, as reliable reports indicate that Rajni has indeed made an appearance in Ra.One. Can't wait for those Chuck Norris turned Rajni jokes to work it's magic on SRK ;-) This Diwali might just turn out to be more than just firecrackers lighting up the sky. And the movie has got everything going for it - Lights, Glamour, Action, Hype and the S.U.P.E.R.S.T.A.R.S.


★★★★★



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India Deal Sites blog

Zomato - Ain't You a Sweet Potato Casserole!

The Top 3 things I like about Zomato!

• Just love the slickness of the UI and the color palette used (which might probably have something to do with ketchup sounding name??) Hmmm... But Yumm!! :)
• The new 'Events' (beta) feature is very welcome, wanted and desired. Sure, we all go out to gorge on our favourite dishes with friends or family. But, everybody wants to know "What's on today; or up this week?" So, while enjoying the food, we get to choose the kind of entertainment too - say a gig by a local band or a stand-up comedy routine or even watching that race red car that'll be scorching the Delhi tracks this month! And who wouldn't want to know about the madness of a Spanish festival (whose name has a strong connotation to the site I'm reviewing); or perhaps a Bavarian fair that celebrates beer and uhm... no, not Hasselhoff... but, eh well... the picture speaks for itself!

Oktoberfest!

La Tomatina

• The Zomato Crunch has got to be one of the best desi blogs out there (and their newsletter is even better). It's definitely my top pick in the 'food porn' category. Erudite, fun to read and informative, they've got the right dose and mix of topics. Definitely satiates one's appetite - even if you're on a diet.
• Bonus: I have to mention the Android App. It is just too friggin' good. Love that shake feature for the random suggestion. 

What Next?!

• A GrubWithUs like feature would help 20-something blokes like me to meet cool, new, awesome people! The new ex of Demi Moore found the idea so awesome, he invested in it. Zomato already has the restaurant network and the clout to pull in the celebrities and entrepreneurs. And more importantly, Zomato could just open the door for someone to have one of the best and most memorable meal of his/her life.
• Real-time online restaurant reservations: I would very much like to book tables - either online or through the mobile app. It would also really help if this data is real-time and it could guesstimate the approximate waiting time. Here's why this will be a super cool feature - the IRCTC portal. Yup, that's right. People won't admit it, but there's a lot of thrill in not knowing whether you'll get the seats and the sheer excitement whilst hoping against hope is just too good an experience to miss out on.
• Option to remove/edit outdated reviews: From a restaurateur's perspective, this is extremely relevant as it affects their business. Old reviews which bash up a eatery but for which sufficient amends have been made could be either archived or the reviewer could be given the option to edit the same. This might need some serious arse-on-the-chair time for the reviewers at Zomato to sort them out. But hey, it'll be totally worth it makes for better reviews - which is what the site is built on!

This post is with reference to the Zomato contest.

The images used in the site are not intended to infringe on any copyright.
Source: http://de.acidcow.com/pics/20090921/oktoberfest_girls_2009_02.jpg

Bangaloreans Ain't lookin for nothin', But a good time!

Yesterday, The BFlat Bar facebook fanpage broke the news of a new draconian rule introduced in the city. 

All Bangalore restaurants with bars have been served notice by the cops with the following orders:
No bright coloured flashing lights.No dancing.No loud western music.Anyone found violating the above will have their licence revoked.
...spoke to the cops and told them about the music we have and that there is no dancing etc. and no disturbance to the neighbourhood. Received a categorical “No”. Only recorded music at a low volume allowed.

So now, instead of listening to a live band showcasing their musical talents, while you enjoy the food at your regular hangout in the city, you could now listen to the same old recorded non-western music played at a "low volume"!


This is a death-knell to many live bands performing western music & the DJs in the city. There are several bands who earn a livelihood by playing gigs - mostly in restaurants and pubs. It gives them the exposure, recognition and perhaps even the hope to hit it big time! And it's not just the musicians, but also organizers and venues who are affected by this.

Killing their dreams

Why discriminate only western music? Why should loud Bollywood / Regional music be exempt from the rule? How could a Munni Badnaam Hui be fine while a John Lennon song about world peace be unacceptable? Isn't this against our rights?


Many festivities (and some processions) in the city are no different - and they happen on the roads! There's that loud blaring music played (with that Indian version of the vuvuzela and drums), hot 'flashing' lamps, uninhibited reveler type 'dancers' engaging in a raucous romp, causing all the traffic pile ups in the city, which sometimes goes way into the night causing distress to 'neighbours'. Why not ban that?


I fail to understand the rationale behind this rule? Shouldn't the police be focusing on issues that really matter - like reducing crime rates in the city. Do they actually think that flashing lights and live western music would increase criminal incidents?


Many facebook pages have already sprung up for voicing people's disagreement and discontent over this new rule. Save Bangalore Nightlife already has over 4000 likes. Protest against the ban of Live Music in Bangalore page which spawned in the last 24 hours is garnering rapid support. Keep Live Alive is another. Show your support. Save Bangalore's Nightlife!


Like in that Poison's 1988 cult hit - Bangaloreans Ain't lookin for nothin', But a good time...


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India Deal Sites blog

Lokpal Bill for Corporations (LMAO version!)

There are quite a few govt. institutions empowered to look into corporate scams and frauds - and they are armed to the teeth to take action on erring companies/individuals - like SEBI et al. And they ain't doing that bad a job...

So, as I can't be too serious on the topic of Corporate Crime, here are the initial provisions for an Anti-Corruption Bill for Corporates (LMAO version) that could be tabled by.... uhm.. the government?!

Anti-Corruption Bill for Corporations

1. This draft will consist of a special 367-page loophole section to give those fraudsters an easy way out despite strong evidence & paperwork.

2. Since the Satyam scam, CEOs in conjunction with the accounting firms may misrepresent the company's earnings only by a margin of 94% or less. Anything more, must be approved by the company's board.

3. Corporate Bonuses for people in plum-paying positions should not exceed 257% of the total company earnings. 

4. Charges of Insider Trading will be dealt with seriously. Serious enough to make sure that the company's stock prices go to the earlier level... and that's about it.

5. The most serious cases of fraud are punishable by making the scamsters repent by listening to Kapil Sibal's 6 hr. sermon on The Top Practices for Corporates  (reviewed by that ex-Satyam guy in jail and signed-off by those scamsters who took down Enron) while forcing them to appear poignant all the while.

6. Cases of nepotism, etc. do not come under the purview of this bill

7. Once an individual or a corporation is found guilty of a 17th serious offence, the company will be forced to buy back its own stock until it goes 50% higher. There will also be close monitoring of the people who embezzled the company. These people will also be made part of the company's very ownSerious Fraud Investigation Team.

8. Whistleblowers - before blowing the whistle will need to take permission from the manager first, before approaching the Sr. Manager followed by the director and then the VP. The VP may choose to forward the complaint to the executive board if he believes he's not involved. And then the board will take a call whether the whistleblower can go ahead and...  well.. blow the whistle!

The anthem for the campaign will be the Party Rock Anthem by LMFAO

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You can follow me on Twitter @prajaret

I'm also the author of the India Deal Sites blog 

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World Map Index of perception of corruption (2010) - Wikipedia