Travelogue: E-Square Multiplex, Xion Mall, Hinjawadi, Pune: Part 2

 

- Rahul 

Social Media Cockroaches: For How Long Shall We Allow Anarchy to Rule Social Media “Jungle Raaj” While Tech Firms Earn Billions?

 

I read in news that the Supreme Court chief justice recently compared unemployed youth with “parasites”, and then a social media storm broke down. Finally, the chief justice had to “disown” his earlier statement saying he was “misquoted” (sounded like what politicians do daily). When I looked up the news, I found that in his original statement, the chief justice had meant well and there was no need to clarify or retract from his position. Here is how.

What the chief justice wanted to say was that there are many people around us who live off other people, and instead of contributing to society, they attack the system society is working on. The context was a junior lawyer who was using the designation “Senior Advocate” along with his name on social media for getting attention. The chief justice got upset at him and perhaps blamed him for being irresponsible and wasteful like a “cockroach”. The “cockroach” was of course a metaphor for being useless and wasteful.

The eventual social media furore over his comment totally justified his initial statement. The unemployed youth wasting their time on social media went on to create numerous satirical entities after replacing a term with “cockroach” and wasted days in the name of humour and satire. How long can one sit over one’s high horse – finally the horse has to take rest and fodder too, right? Eventually, the social media uproar will end and the only effect this whole episode will have is lowering the dignity of our justice system and making a joke of our constitution given right of free speech.

As we have seen during many controversies, social media platforms have shown zero control over stopping misleading, incorrect, fake, malicious or defamatory content. At the same time, they are earning billions of dollars every year due to the content created by users. For how long shall we allow total “anarchy” rule and social media content visibility policies changing the way people speak or behave on these platforms? If we expect real world to be rule-based, and society functioning on principles and ethical boundaries, why should we allow social media to be a lawless, “Jungle Raaj”?

It is high time the Supreme Court of India must look into this matter since we have seen many a time on such issues that only the SC can help and no other institution comes up to correct the situation. Lawless, anarchist, misleading and defamatory nature of social media must be purged, to make it rule-based, fair, and a controlled entity. It is very much possible to achieve, just look at how the early-days social media platforms were designed, for clues. Along with time, “virality” was given first priority while designing these platforms and this is the root cause of all evils. This problem can be solved in one day, if the Supreme Court orders. There are many other important concerns like restricting social media for children, making content copyright compliant, stopping use of these platforms for crime and financial fraud.

The day the Supreme Court takes up this matter in its hands, it won’t matter how many cockroaches line up to shout, the insecticide of law will be powerful enough to control them for the benefit of everyone.

- Rahul

There are no bad marriages; only bad people

 

There are no bad marriages, only bad people. Show me a marriage gone bad, I will show you a person gone bad. Why marriages fail may be a complex question, but my understanding is that marriages failing is only a symptom of a person failing. A marriage failing has many effects and after-effects, and people often can’t pinpoint to one root-cause. But if you look closely, typically, one of the two spouses was a wrong person, causing the marriage to fail.

What we call “compatibility problem” is actually one bad spouse trying to impose things on the other, who decides to push back instead of bending. What we call aspirations and lifestyles not matching is basically one spouse developing unreasonable aspirations which the other can’t cope with. And when it comes to other reasons for ending marriages, like infidelity, domestic violence, alcoholism or cruelty, are obviously due to lack of character of one spouse.

My theory is that the blame for ending marriage hardly lies on both parties; but mostly rests on one of the two. People close to the family know who the bad apple is; though they may not talk openly about it.

Unfortunately, the real cost of failing marriage is paid by the children, if any were already produced by the time the couple decided to part ways. The couples who part ways before kids were born are lucky and evil both at the same time. There is a theory which says that if the wife is not interested in having a baby, it is because she is not sure she wants to spend whole life with that man. And if the man is not eager to have a kid, he may also be having other plans. Ideally, people marry to have kids, and one should have kids reasonably sooner after the marriage, otherwise, in the era where people date each other for years before marriage, what was the point of getting married to begin with?

Everyone is aware of the psychological void suffered by the children raised by single parents. What they are not aware of is ways to avoid “the problem”. A happy and everlasting marriage is the only solution to avoid this problem.

If you notice the general character of people in society from the things happening around us and the news and events, it would be clear that there is a general decline in honesty and ethical behaviour. It is totally logical, because earlier the world was small and in small towns everyone knew everyone else. It was difficult not to be sensitive towards others and people were naturally more social. With life in big cities, families living long distances, people living in isolation due to work, etc, there is a natural decline in social behaviour and general empathy. There is more probability of people going rogue now, and hence marriages are going rogue too.

The institution of marriage was one sacred invention by human society which made people from improper animals to proper men. Right now, the marriages are at threat because the modern world is breaking age long ways of social life and the modern, materialistic life is not designed with happy family life as its top priority.

- Rahul

Does PM Modi Intentionally Break the Internet with “Melodi”

 

Like millions of people and ‘bots’, I have also watched PM Modi’s latest video with Italian PM Giorgia Meloni. And I found it extremely adorable too. But one opposition party leader has taken offense at the video, calling it “nautanki”, i.e. non-serious banter. It made me think about it too: what does PM Modi want from such “banter”?

It is clear that PM Modi has specifically chosen Italian PM Meloni for these series of “banter”. There is no doubt that Italian PM Meloni is extremely beautiful and has a very positive and pleasing personality, and somehow it matches the charisma of PM Narendra Modi so well. Together, they look “magical”! There is something really special about their pictures, and we can easily see that PM Modi’s face “glows” and some very positive vibes come out of these images.

At the same time, the relevance of “Italy” cannot be ignored since Congress Party leader Sonia Gandhi came from Italy after marrying India’s popular PM Indira Gandhi’s son Rajiv Gandhi. Before her, or apart from her, I don’t think Indian people had much idea about Italians. And somehow the kind of impression she made on Indians was not really positive. She always appeared “cold”, with an entirely emotionless face, and the politics in Indira Gandhi’s family post her arrival, e.g. removal of her Indian daughter-in-law Maneka Gandhi from her family and political legacy, made people keep a negative opinion about her. People also remember Bofors scam and Italian man named Quattrocchi’s involvement in it. Somehow, Italian PM Meloni has completely changed the old impression of Italians in the eyes of Indian people, and it is a big positive for Italy in the long term. Today, people in India do not look at Italy with suspicion, but with a warmth, and a large credit for this goes to “Melodi” brand friendship.

We can even wonder if PM Modi does excessive display of warmth towards PM Meloni to irritate Sonia/Rahul Gandhi supporters? The way Rahul Gandhi reacted to the latest pictures, clearly points out that he does not like it at all. But PM Modi will do more of the same nonetheless.

To summarize, I think PM Modi has not specifically chosen friendship and warm bonding with Italian PM Meloni due to political reasons, but it would have happened naturally and genuinely. But he does intentionally highlight these in the form of social media posts, because he knows social media users and rest of the world love it when he does so.

Therefore, until “Melodi” friendship continues, Modi-Bhakts will enjoy but the Modi-hating opposition members are going to have a very “annoying” time.

- Rahul 

Normal Vs New-Normal

 

I always get air in my motorcycle tyres only at petrol pumps because many poor local air filler guys deliberately puncture tyres to get repair work. Plus, air is always “free” at petrol pumps. But after the recent Iran war made the finances of oil marketing companies tight, I noticed many petrol pumps had their air filling machines closed. Finally, I found one petrol pump where the air machine was working, so even though half of my motorcycle’s fuel tank was already filled, I went and got petrol filled.

I always say “normal” as soon as the petrol pump guy starts his work, to avoid paying for the expensive version of petrol which everyone thinks is just a marketing gimmick. After getting “normal petrol” filled in my motorcycle’s tank till the brim, I went to get “free air.”

As soon as the air filling guy saw me, he shouted, “Nitrogen?” I shouted back, “No, normal!” He said the petrol pump was giving only free nitrogen and the air machine was not working. Don’t know what happened to all the air filling machines in the city. As I moved away, I realised I had said “normal” instead of saying “air.” So, while petrol became “normal” earlier, now even “air” became “normal.”

This struggle to get “normal” things is really real.

I remember the first time this habit of shouting “normal” while buying things started - it was while buying packaged drinking water at railway stations. If you don’t tell them to give you “normal” water, they give chilled water by default, which takes several hours to come back to “normal” temperature.

In India, the phrase “normal” is often used by buyers in shops to distinguish between multiple varieties of the same product. Here are some common examples:

Biscuits: Many brands have cream-filled, chocolate-coated, or premium versions. Shoppers often say “normal Parle-G” or “normal Marie” to mean the plain, everyday biscuit.
Cold drinks: With options like Diet, Zero Sugar, or flavoured sodas, people ask for “normal Coke” or “normal Thums Up” to mean the regular sugary version.
Milk: Packaged milk comes in toned, double-toned, skimmed, or full-cream. “Normal milk” usually means the standard toned milk most households use.
Chips: With masala, cheese, and exotic flavours available, “normal chips” refers to plain salted potato chips.
Ice cream: Brands sell sugar-free, low-fat, or premium flavours. “Normal vanilla” or “normal chocolate” means the basic, regular scoop.
Tea: Shops may stock green tea, herbal blends, or masala chai. “Normal tea” means the everyday black tea with milk and sugar.
Rice: With basmati, brown, organic, and specialty varieties, “normal rice” refers to the everyday non-basmati white rice used in most homes.

“Normal” is basically shorthand for “don’t give me the premium, diet, or fancy variant - just the regular one everyone uses.”

As PM Modi used to say, “this is the New Normal” in the post-Covid world, now the “not normal” has become the “new normal” no matter what you try to buy. Asking for “normal” itself feels like an anomaly.

In today’s complex world, when everything becomes “not-normal,” perhaps the “normal” is the real “not-normal.”

– Rahul

Travelogue: Captain Tanaji Kalate Udyan (Public Park), Wakad, Pune

 

- Rahul

Movie Review: Ginny Wedss Sunny 2 (2026) – A Fun Filled Rom-Com with a Social Message

 

After watching his film “Laila Majnu” (2018) on TV, I became actor Avinash Tiwary’s fan. I was really touched by how he portrayed the role in that film, which went deep in the heart. After a while, I happened to watch another of his film “Madgaon Express” (2024), which was a comedy, on TV and was highly impressed by how perfectly Avinash Tiwary played in a comedy too. Therefore, when I came to know about this film “Ginny Wedss Sunny 2” being released in the theatres, I got chance to watch his first film on the big screen. And how lucky I turned out to be.

“Ginny Wedss Sunny 2” is a romantic comedy based on the life of Sunny or Shivansh, played by Avinash and Ginny or Geetanjali, played by Medha Shankr who get married under hilarious circumstances and it only starts a chain of events murkier than their marriage. Both Avinash and Medha have given great performance, with even slightest emotions portrayed so well; and even supporting actors like Sudhir Pandey have done a great job. The first part of the movie before intermission is largely comedy, and the whole theatre was in splits laughing at the perfectly timed and executed situational comedy scenes. If you have read my two previous movie reviews, you would understand that I was not going to pardon the film if I found any absurdities or imperfections. But this movie gets “A” grade in all departments. 

The movie is based in Rishikesh and Uttarakhand, and captures its natural beauty very well. The whole natural beauty and daily life captured in this film is “dream like” beautiful. The movie also shows how social media is impacting our lives and h`ow India is torn between modernity and traditions. The film walks on a tight rope and comes out as a remarkable winner.

The wedding of Ginny and Sunny is only the beginning – and the movie then largely captures the “real task of marriage” – which is to “sustain” it. Marriages are falling apart in high numbers these days, and this movie captures the nuances of it in such a perfect manner. The male ego, the female ego, the burden of expectations from larger family, intrusion by society, impact of women’s education and independence on marriage and families, problems due to misunderstandings, role of elders in families, sibling rivalries and bonds, father-son and mother-daughter relationships, all these aspects are captured so very well in this film. And these are shown even while in the context of comedy, which is remarkable. The story is captivating and there is not a single boring moment in the film. The director of this film Prasshant Jha has done a genius work.

The songs of this film and also too good. Earlier I was enchanted only by the song “Chhap Tilak” but while watching the film, I got to know that there are total seven songs and all are so brilliant.

Without providing too much of spoilers, I would highly recommend this film for one and all. It is a wholesome family entertainer as well as an educational one for the young couples and those facing challenges in their marriage. I witnessed the entire theatre audience enjoying the film from the beginning to the end, and at the end they only wanted more.

Wishing all the success to this film “Ginny Wedss Sunny 2” and thanks to the makers for such a nice time watching it.

- Rahul

Movie Review: Bhooth Bangla (2026): From Dhurandhar’s Peak Detailing to Bhooth Bangla’s Weak Detailing; Bollywood Comes Around in Just a Month

A few weeks ago, 'Dhurandhar: The Revenge' had hit the cinema halls, and everyone said one thing, that it had “peak detailing”. Last week, another Bollywood film released, with Akshay Kumar, the hero of the masses in its lead. After watching it, I could not stop myself from noticing its “weak detailing”. Here is how. 

1. Similarity with Bhool Bhulaiyaa franchise: You will keep missing Kartik Aaryan 

Although, the original ‘Bhool Bhulaiyaa’ (2007) film was directed by Priyadarshan, the same director of this film, and Akshay Kumar was its hero, but the real mass success of the franchise had occurred only when Kartik Aaryan had joined it for Part 2 and 3. About 20 years passed since the first film, and by now, Kartik Aaryan is synonymous with Bhool Bhulaiyaa franchise. And this film does not have Kartik! To make it feel weirder, this film still has almost whole cast of Bhool Bhulaiyaa franchise: Tabu, Rajpal Yadav, Manoj Joshi, Asrani, Paresh Rawal, etc. It keeps feeling as if the film makers chose Akshay instead of Kartik "by mistake". 

2. Akshay Kumar as boyfriend material 

Akshay Kumar is about 59 years old. And it shows in this film and we can’t ignore it. After a few scenes at the beginning, we can see his “chest hair” which is grey and weird. After a while, we need to see how his whole body skin is wrinkled, like a 75 year old man. We also need to notice every once in a while that he has “polished” his face to appear younger, and it has resulted in his face not matching with rest of his body and it keeps feeling “what the yukk”. His father-in-law Superstar Rajesh Khanna at least had the decency to take up "father roles: after he aged. Akshay Kumar is still chasing girls in the bushes. In one scene, when Akshay Kumar meets the fiancée of his sister, he calls him "beta" in a natural tone. That scene "nailed" the weak detailing of this film like a hard fact.   

3. Vulgarity in Comedy 

At the beginning of the film, in a comic scene, Rajpal Yadav pulls down Akshay Kumar’s trouser by mistake, and we are forced to see his bum, totally naked. At first, I could not believe “what just happened”, but I knew it was weak detailing camouflaged as peak detailing. After a while, the movie focuses entirely on the “housemaid” to create vulgar comedy. Rajpal Yadav, the famous “mandir ka ghanta” whom anyone can ring when one feels like, is made the villain while it is not even his fault – although this part has become totally hilarious. And by the end of the film, there is a song where group of women are dancing, and the same housemaid is seen dressed and dancing like other rich noble women. Weak detailing. 

4. Wamiqa Gabbi as a fresh face in the female lead 

Perhaps the only sane and logical character in this film is of Wamiqa Gabbi who plays female lead opposite Akshay Kumar. She is shown as extremely beautiful, although at times she starts resembling Aishwarya Rai and at times even Alaya Furniturewalla (female lead of Kartik Aryan’s film Freddy (2022). She brings a fresh face among all other old stale, wrinkled stars. But then, our happiness is not made to last long. A few scenes into the film and I could not stop noticing that her upper tooth was “bent”. Out of the two front upper teeth, one is longer than the usual and is also bent as if dentist has tried grinding it to make it even. I know that it is not her fault, that best of the Hollywood stars also had some teeth problem, and it feels like “body shaming”, but I have just put my observations since I could not “un-notice” it. Almost feeling guilty now, but I wonder if this should be considered normal in the age of “peak detailing”. 

5. Other weak detailing

The movie’s plot is so weak and full of holes. First, no one can understand the necessity to conduct the wedding in that haunted palace even after it becomes clear that the bride would die if she gets married in that venue. The ghost fears light, but in the end scene the ghost is shown as making offering of twelve brides to demon in a cave full of “fire torches” which obviously emit “light”. In the climax scene in the cave, the bride’s wedding saree keeps changing colour from red to pink and pink to red. There is unnecessary “doubling” of characters and even Akshay Kumar plays a double-role and it becomes too confusing. The palaces in the film clearly look like Rajasthani palaces, but are claimed to be situated somewhere in UP. The scenes of world famous ghats of Varanasi and pictures of the city having multi-storey buildings are shown as some old city from centuries ago. And after completing this whole film about ghosts, Akshay Kumar does “virtue signalling” by slapping the astrologer of his sister’s in-laws after taking him aside in secret, and then tells him “do not tell anyone or else they will laugh at you”. It made no sense why the big jyotishi would tolerate getting slapped like that. And this “do not tell anyone” is repeated so many times in the film, and so many characters tell the same “do not tell anyone about this” to so many other characters so frequently, that this weak detailing becomes a joke.  

6. The bhoot and the horror are well-made and feel original 

Although slightly similar to the Bhool Bhulaiyaa franchise, the ghost/demon (bhoot) in this film resembling a bat, is really innovative and appears real. And the bhoot is finally a 'male', not a female ‘chudail’ like earlier films. The horror scenes are able to make you feel horrified and the use of old temple and gospel stories from the Hindu epic tales feel very real. But at the same time, I did not like the way Akshay Kumar is able to physically hurt the bhoot in the climax scene and the very long fight scene where he appears almost equal in physical strength to the Rakshasa. What is even the point of a big fight scene in the climax when everyone knows that the “hero will get beaten up at first but will be able to kill the villain eventually”. It is like a “fixed match” no one will bet even a paisa on. But then, this should not be surprising, since we are dealing with Bollywood’s ordinary films with weak detailing. 

Final verdict: Recommended 

All said and done, the film is entertaining, with too many comic and laughter scenes and at the same time some very good horror in the later part, with usual performances by the cast. The setup of royal palaces of Rajasthan and the dense jungle scenes are also nice to watch. I think this film should definitely qualify for an entertaining casual watch and hence I recommend it, despite my freak detailing in this blog review. 

- Rahul

 

Travelogue: E-Square Multiplex, Xion Mall, Hinjawadi, Pune

 

(C) Rahul 

Travelogue: Cognizant (CTS), Hinjawadi Ph1, Pune

 

(C) Rahul 

Poem: Nashik

Indians went to space and landed on moon

and we are also getting bullet train soon

but when something is done in TCS Nashik by a goon

the guardians of the trade are found to be cartoon

 

the govt promises action but waits for next distraction

so that people's memory can face obstruction

we are expected to move from one tragedy to the next

until we fell victim one day and end up in a text

then the cycle is expected to repeat

I wonder what they sent the man on moon to complete

Perhaps they know there is no TCS on the moon

And the demons on the earth won't reach there by noon

 

- Rahul Tiwary

Travelogue: INOX Megaplex, Phoenix Mall of the Millennium, Wakad, Pune

 

Travelogue: Phoenix Mall of the Millennium, Wakad, Pune