DesiPundit

Jai Arjun is in top form as he reviews the first episode of Ekta Kapoor’s Mahabharata.

Most of the script is in shudh Hindi [...] but pronunciation definitely needs to be worked on. For instance, someone must quickly inform the actor playing Duryodhana that it’s “gadaa-dhaari Bhima”, not “gadha-dhaari Bhima”. The former means “mighty Bhima, wielder of maces”, which sounds very grand, but the latter translates into the much less impressive “mighty Bhima, carrier of donkeys”. This has the effect of further diminishing the dignity of a character who doesn’t have a huge amount of it in the first place.

Hilarious stuff for most part, and he promises us that he’ll attempt to review future episodes from time to time.

The movie begins with a classic shot which quickly establishes the age old power struggle between a Saas and Bahu. The Bahu (Asha Parekh) with a sulken gloomy depressed oppressed face is just about to begin eating that her overweight Saas storms by in the kitchen, kicks her plate, twists her arms uttering “Kyon Kamini maine khaane ke liye kaha tumhe?” and then pushes her to the ground.

Suyog finally discovers the movie that is said to be the inspiring force behind her K-serials, complete with a Bahu who is a Trekkie wannabe. All hail Saas - Bahu dynamics!

DesiPundit readers are invited to help name a TV show in the United States for desi audiences. Currently the show is in pre-production stages and slated to be a local show for Indians living in Cleveland, Ohio.

Hosted by Simran Sethi, the TV show is aimed at the Indian community in the US and will have news, event updates, spotlight on desi life in the US that aims to incorporate the Indian and American elements of the social and cultural life of the diaspora. However, the show also hopes to attract the mainstream American audience who is casually flipping channels looking for something new and interesting.

Prize for the winning entry - $50 payable through PayPal or an Amazon gift voucher. The name should be upbeat, reflective of the vibrant Indian culture, and preferably devoid of any stereotypes or cliches. Post your suggestions in the comments section below with your name and email ID (do not email them in). You can post as many suggestions as you want. Deadline - June 23rd, 2008 midnight CST.

About a week back Tata Sky announced that they are reducing the monthly charges and providing the Sports Channels (ESPN-STAR bouquet, Ten Sports) and the BBC add-ons at the same cost but as optional components. While this is a welcome change I had two issues with it. Bad implementation and incorrect information.

Goyal is not too impressed with the otherwise-impeccable Tata Sky’s new pricing and policy changes and advises you to switch to DishTV [hat tip: Ojas].

My Name is Lalu - A sitcom starring India’s favorite hillbilly, Lalu Prasad Yadav.

The Apprentice - Vijay Mallya searches among India’s brightest business minds for a new employee to undermine and ridicule.

After NBC Universal bought a 25% stake in NDTV, Vikram lists the possible new shows to be announced during sweeps week [hat tip: Gautham]. What? No catching predators?

Pradip Somasundaran, the winner of India’s first reality show(along with Sunidhi Chauhan), takes us on a walk down the memory lane. Pradip, who is now a lecturer by profession, manages to digitize the fungus infected VHS tapes from his library.

The video also reminds us the story of unkept promises….promises that even today are made to the amazingly talented winners of our reality shows which are made not to be kept! It’s been 12 long years after “Meri Awaz Suno”….The journey has been long from then to now…..

Cynic is worries that TV programs like Lil Champs are creating a new breed of pushy parents.

A breed of myopic parents who are so caught up in this quest for quick bucks that they often forget that the children are just that – children. Not adults, not emotionally, mentally and often physically equipped to handle either the adulation or the concomitant pressures of life under the unremitting glare of spotlights. Children for whom, a competition such as this, suddenly becomes much more than a game – it becomes the determinant of how much Mummy or Daddy are going to love them, a matter almost of life and death.

MCX has a weird ad with a baby and a male voice in the background. Why would anyone imagine this would help sell their product? Maybe it’s aimed at new dads, telling them, “Now that you’ve got the really tough thing out of the way, maybe it’s time you started planning how you’re going to finance it.”

Watching a cricket match also means watching a ton of ads as Navin did recently, Well, he posted his first impressions of few of them. Shouldn’t a desi blog exist solely devoted to reviewing advertisements? Let me know if one exists.

DesiPundit Neha is visited by a rush of desi nostalgia during her mid-morning house-cleaning routine.

Saturday spent watching “regional cinema”, reading the subtitles. Interrupted by news in Sanskrit. Maybe that’s why I alway associate Sanskrit with snacks. Sunday afternoons watching Hindi cinema. I love afternoons. They have none of the pressure that a morning brings. You have to be busy in the morning hours, doing something. At least that’s how it was during the school years. But the afternoon, with the promise of drowsiness and half-empty streets is welcome. Very welcome.

I wonder who thought to shoot the photograph that she has posted at just the right time and whether they had imagined it would become a relic of the past, a few years hence.

Bombay Addict prefers watching TV series over movies on DVD.

…if you’re looking for a sustained stream of good quality entertainment, you must consider watching TV series. One season of a TV series typically has five to six DVDs with each DVD containing about four episodes, each of just about an hour. I’d typically watch one to two DVDs every weekend and finish off one series in a month.

Mind you, he is currently watching only American TV shows on DVD. If he wants to watch Kyunki Saas…on DVD, he might need a 7-at-a-time Netflix account.