Much ado about nothing

Shahrukh Khan arrested and detained  for suspicious behaviour. If you assumed that I’m talking about the recent ‘detainment’ of SRK at Newark International Airport, you are wrong. The arrest I’m talking about is in fact a part of the story of an upcoming Bollywood film.  And guess what, it stars none other but the mighty Shahrukh Khan himself. A mere coincidence? You decide.

Of course, I would be exaggerating if I say the Baadshah of Bollywood planned the ‘detainment’ in advance as a publicity stunt for ‘My Name is Khan‘, his next movie which follows a Muslim’s tribulations in post 9/11 America. You don’t have to pass through the immigration checks at Newark or travel to the USA to realize the ‘torture’ faced by the actor is something every Asian, Muslims in particular have long  faced. But to make such hue and cry about it was absolute shame. Whether you like it or not, these checks have prevented possible security violations.

Shahrukh couldn’t have asked for a better promotion for the film. He was simply in the right place in the right time. He is possibly the best person to know how to handle the media in the right way to hios own advantages. Now all he has to do is to wait for the media to highlight the similarity of the film to this real-life event faced bu the star of the film himself.  He may have shed crocodile tears and threatened ‘never to set foot in the US again’. But at the end of the day he is Bollywood’s biggest star and a big percentage of his moolah comes from overseas, in particular North America. Not just that, the whole incident also would also increase awareness about him among the Americans, probably even land him a future Hollywood role.

Shahrukh should learn a lesson or two from former President APJ Abdul Kalam. He kept his mouth shut and did not want up to stir a controversy after the ‘mistreatment’ meted out to him by an American airline. Be it SRK or Kalam, they are no different from the common man. They may have done great deeds but that doesn’t mean they get special treatment wherever they go. Very few Indians are aware of the fact that even former American Vice President Al Gore was checked after he inadvertently bypassed security. Unlike SRK, he made no fuss about it and politely went through the check.

Wimbledon final – The greatest game of tennis ever played

Roger ‘Fedex’ Federer (SUI) beat Andy ‘A-Rod’ Roddick (USA)  5-7, 7-6, 7-6, 3-6, 16-14

4 hours and 15 minutes of insanity. This is tennis at its best. If you thought Roger Federer vs Rafael Nadal at Wimbledon 2008 was astonishing, then what would you say about the battle that just got over? Who would have ever thought in their wildest dreams that an American who last won a Grand Slam way back in 2003 would be the one to challenge the might of Fedex? Anybody who saw the match would say Andy Roddick was chosen by God himself. But then Federer had the last laugh, probably at God himself. Such was the greatness of the match. This is what a friend on FB had to say about it, “Federer, you are a legend. But Andy, you won thousands of hearts today. What a performer!”. Absolutely true.

Russell ‘Gladiator’ Crowe was among the numerous celebrities present at the event. But even he would agree Gladiator is a term that no longer applies to him, rather to a man from the Alps who fought his heart out. Sir Alex Ferguson also present there, might have sold off  Ronaldo and signed Owen. But even the combined greatness of the two could never match that of Roger Federer. I’m sure he would have wished more than once during the match, that either Federer or Roddick was not a tennis player but a footballer. But the person in the stands who mattered more than anyone else was the Legend himself, Pete Sampras. It was his record that Federer was chasing. Something that he did achieve after a marathon 5-7, 7-6, 7-6, 3-6, 16-14 match. Yes, you read it right, 16-14 in the final set. When was the last time you were witness to something like this.

Before this match, I was also among many who questioned the ability of Federer. Of course, it is easy to say it was Nadal’s absence and not Federer’s brilliance that has made him a 15 time Grand Slam champion. It may be true. And it does look at the moment that Nadal might the only person capable of bettering Federer. But till then at least, it would be safe to say, “Roger Federer – The greatest man to have ever held a tennis raquet“. I’m sure that is something even the likes of  Bjorn Borg, Rod Laver and John McEnroe would agree. Hell, even Sampras.

What happened today at Centre court was not just a great match, it was history being made. I don’t think you will ever get to see anything this thrilling in any sport, let alone tennis. Federer won the Championship; Roddick won the hearts.

Greatness was not Federer. Greatness was not Roddick. Greatness was the match itself.

RIP Wacko Jacko (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009)

I was fast asleep today morning when mom woke me up and said, “Your friend has died.” “My friend?”, I was surprised. She then broke the news to me, “Michael Jackson is dead”. I was shocked. Words fail to express my emotion when I heard it. Of course my mom was joking when she said my friend had died. She was also among the countless other people who have always ridiculed MJ. But she was right, Michel Joseph Jackson was my friend, and he WILL be my friend, always, for years to come. Not just to me, but to everyone who loved him.

People have always given MJ  hard time. They called him a paedophile, a faggot, a weirdo. But not one soul can deny that he was and is and always will be the King of Pop. Controversy may have been his middle name but when it comes to talent there are so very few who could be paralleled to the maestro.  As long as I can remember the only true interpretation of his life, at least in my opinion was the South Park episode ‘The Jeffersons’. An obvious parody of MJ, the show portrayed him not as a uncaring child rapist but as a man who only wanted to give children a happy life, something that he was denied as a child.

MJ was an inspiration for millions of people around the world. He was an icon for the black community, long before Barack Obama. Here in India, where films are only about ‘song and dance’, any song is incomplete without one of Jacko’s famous moves. The first MJ video I ever saw was ‘Thriller’ where he dances as a zombie. I wish he would dance his way back from the real world of the dead now.

He was only 50 when he left us. Elvis Presley, Jimi Hendrix, Kurt Cobain, John Lennon and now Michael Jackson. Why do all great entertainers have to die young? Perhaps God wants a piece of their magic too. Cliched, but that may well be truth. We’ll miss you Jacko. RIP

Here is one of my favorite MJ songs.