Bollywood And Propaganda

03-03-2008, 09:49 PM

QUOTE("Viren")Was watching Real time with Bill Maher and heard Maher state an interesting statistic. He didn't attribute source or study - though I'd be most interested if anyone can find it.
He stated that of all the religions a person person most retentive of his faith/religion is a Hindu (84% chances that he/she'll stay Hindu his/her whole life). Least was Jevoha's witness (some 30%+ chances).
<img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/rock.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='rock.gif' />
Viren the source is the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life.

Pew Forum: U.S. Religious Landscape Survey Resources

*******
Survey: U.S. religious landscape in flux - MSN
QUOTEFeb. 25: A new Pew survey reveals that 44 percent of American adults have either switched religious affiliation or dropped any connection to a specific religious tradition. NBC's Chris Jansing reports.

DENVER - The U.S. religious marketplace is extremely volatile, with nearly half of American adults leaving the faith tradition of their upbringing to either switch allegiances or abandon religious affiliation altogether, a new survey finds.

The study released Monday by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life is unusual for its sheer scope, relying on interviews with more than 35,000 adults to document a diverse and dynamic U.S. religious population.

While much of the study confirms earlier findings â mainline Protestant churches are in decline, non-denominational churches are gaining and the ranks of the unaffiliated are growing â it also provides a deeper look behind those trends, and of smaller religious groups.

"The American religious economy is like a marketplace -- very dynamic, very competitive," said Luis Lugo, director of the Pew Forum. "Everyone is losing, everyone is gaining. There are net winners and losers, but no one can stand still. Those groups that are losing significant numbers have to recoup them to stay vibrant."

78 percent Christian
The U.S. Religious Landscape Survey estimates the United States is 78 percent Christian and about to lose its status as a majority Protestant nation, at 51 percent and slipping.

More than one-quarter of American adults have left the faith of their childhood for another religion or no religion at all, the survey found. Factoring in moves from one stream or denomination of Protestantism to another, the number rises to 44 percent.

One in four adults ages 18 to 29 claim no affiliation with a religious institution.

"In the past, certain religions had a real holding power, where people from one generation to the next would stay," said Penn State University sociologist Roger Finke, who consulted in the survey planning. "Right now, there is a dropping confidence in organized religion, especially in the traditional religious forms."

Lugo said the 44 percent figure is "a very conservative estimate," and more research is planned to determine the causes.

"It does seem in keeping with the high tolerance among Americans for change," Lugo said. "People move a lot, people change jobs a lot. It's a very fluid society."

The religious demographic benefiting the most from this religious churn is those who claim no religious affiliation. People moving into that category outnumber those moving out of it by a three-to-one margin.

The majority of the unaffiliated â 12 percent of the overall population â describe their religion as "nothing in particular," and about half of those say faith is at least somewhat important to them. Atheists or agnostics account for 4 percent of the total population.

Affiliation swapping
The Roman Catholic Church has lost more members than any faith tradition because of affiliation swapping, the survey found. While nearly one in three Americans were raised Catholic, fewer than one in four say they're Catholic today. That means roughly 10 percent of all Americans are ex-Catholics.

The share of the population that identifies as Catholic, however, has remained fairly stable in recent decades thanks to an influx of immigrant Catholics, mostly from Latin America. Nearly half of all Catholics under 30 are Hispanic, the survey found.

On the Protestant side, changes in affiliation are swelling the ranks of nondenominational churches, while Baptist and Methodist traditions are showing net losses.

Many Americans have vague denominational ties at best. People who call themselves "just a Protestant," in fact, account for nearly 10 percent of all Protestants.
Â
Although evangelical churches strive to win new Christian believers from the "unchurched," the survey found most converts to evangelical churches were raised Protestant.

Hindus claimed the highest retention of childhood members, at 84 percent. The group with the worst retention is one of the fastest growing â Jehovah's Witnesses. Only 37 percent of those raised in the sect known for door-to-door proselytizing said they remain members.

Among other findings involving smaller religious groups, more than half of American Buddhists surveyed were white, and most Buddhists were converts.

More people in the survey pool identified themselves as Buddhist than Muslim, although both populations were small â less than 1 percent of the total population. By contrast, Jews accounted for 1.7 percent of the overall population.

The self-identified Buddhists â 0.7 percent of those surveyed â illustrate a core challenge to estimating religious affiliation: What does affiliation mean?

It's unclear whether people who called themselves Buddhists did so because they practice yoga or meditation, for instance, or claim affiliation with a Buddhist institution. {When did Yoga become Buddhist?}Â <img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/unsure.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='unsure.gif' />Â

The report does not project membership figures for religious groups, in part because the survey is not as authoritative as a census and didn't count children, Lugo said. The U.S. Census does not ask questions on religion.

******
Some importants points from the survey regarding Hindus from the report. This by posted by G Subramaniam on bharat-rakshak forum.

From hindu-blog

Education
Nearly Half of the Hindus is United States have obtained post graduated education.
Only 4% of Hindus have education less than High School.
12% High School Grade.
10% some college.
26% college graduate.
43% Post Graduate.

Income
High education the reason for high income levels in Hindus.
9% of Hindus earn less than $30,000 annually.
10% of Hindus earn between $30,000 and $49,999 annually.
15% of Hindus earn between $50,000 and $74,999 annually.
22% of Hindus earn between $75,000 and $99,999 annually.
43% of Hindus earn more than $100,000 annually.

Marital Status
90% of the Hindus prefer to be married to someone of the same religion.
79% of the Hindus are mostly likely married.
0% living with partner.
5% divorced.
2% widowed.
14% never married.

Children at Home
52% of Hindus have no Children.
21% have one child.
24% have two children.
2% have three children.
1% have four or more children.

Gender
61% of Hindus in United States are male.
39% Female.

Race and Ethnicity
The Hindu population in United States consists of 88% Asian.
1% Black.
5% White.
4% mixed/other
2% Latino.

Age
18% of Hindus are in the age group of 18-29.
58% in the age group of 30-49.
19% in the age group of 50-64.
5% in the age group of 65+

Region in United States
29% of Hindus live in Northeast
13% Midwest.
32% South.
26% West

QUOTE("Viren")<div class='quotetop'>QUOTEperhaps an NRI, wants to make some good pro-Hindu movies, then?
Without big budget, big name stars, few made up romance scenes around flora/fauna and song/dance routine, they end up as documentaries. How many here watched say Sardar Patel(Paresh Rawal staring) or Veer Savarkar etc.</div>

The film Sardar Patel has been shown on DD1 only once, that too many years back and since then has not been shown, while the film on gandhi are always shown every year on the birthday of m.k.gandhi.

The problem is not getting the films made but of showing them on public television. Most of the channels are controlled by commies who hate anything remotely indian or hindu.

Bodhi · (This post was last modified: 04-02-2008, 05:51 PM by Bodhi.)

04-02-2008, 06:11 PM

^^ The brainwashing right from his childhood has finally paid off. Like his father now he too can make so-called sensitive films like "Dil se" idolizing terrorists.

Bharatvarsh · 04-02-2008, 08:05 PM

Perhaps he should immigrate to Cuba or N.Korea to experience this "most comprehensive, solid, evolved and practical ideology" in practice instead of living in Bharat.

All commies are hypocritical bastards, the parasites will all want to go to the capitalist US if given a chance but preach communism to the illiterate masses in Bharat, look at that mofo Naxal Ram, he sent his daughter to Columbia Uni in US, why not some "top class" uni in China or N.Korea instead?

Bharatvarsh · (This post was last modified: 04-03-2008, 12:42 AM by Bharatvarsh.)

QUOTECelebrity son as Red Volunteer

Coimbatore: Moving away from the glamour of the film world to the ideology of Marxism, the 16-year-old son of noted filmmaker Mani Ratnam has created a buzz by serving as a Red Volunteer at the 19th All India Congress of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) under way here.

Nandan Mani Ratnam, son of Mani Ratnam and popular actor Suhasini, is also the author of a new 27-page pamphlet on Leninism, titled Contours of Leninism. It has articles under five headings â Theory, Marxism, Democratic dictatorship, <!--emo& Big Grin

--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif' /> Materialism and Vanguard. It is on sale at the venue, along with other Left literature.

He told mediapersons he was impressed by Marxism because it was the âmost cogent, comprehensive and highly developed complex of theory and practice.â

Nandan Mani Ratnam said he had not yet thought of how his parents saw his leanings towards Marxism. The Class XI student said his reading habit introduced him to the world of Marxism.

Studying in an international residential school in Chennai, Nandan came here on his own to serve as a volunteer. He has been assisting foreign delegates at the Congress.

The young man has not decided on his future plans, including about joining a party such as the CPI(M). â PTI

http://www.hindu.com/2008/04/02/stories/...242000.htm

Bodhi · 08-03-2008, 09:05 PM

QUOTEGeelaniâs Bollywood connection

<img src='http://cms.mumbaimirror.com/portalfiles/1/30/200807/Image/010808/F37-01a.jpg' border='0' alt='user posted image' />
Filmmaker Rahul Dholakia talks about his secret meeting with Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani as part of research for his next film, Lamha

After incensing the Gujarat government with his anti-riots film Parzania, Rahul Dholakia is now all set to direct a film based on Kashmiri militancy. And he's taking several leading militant outfits into confidence before making his new film. It is for this film that Rahul even met Syed Ali Shah Geelani.

In what could be an unprecedented breakthrough in the troubled bridge between arts and politics, Dholakia has decided to take the militants into confidenceÂ to make Lamha. The film features Sanjay Dutt and Kunal Kapoor in the lead roles and for the first time looks at Kashmir from theÂ other side of the firing line.

Rahul says, "I've repeatedly visited the Jammu & Kashmir valley in the last few years. I'll first tell what I didn't do. I didn'tÂ meet the politicians in power in J&K. But I've met the army and heard their side of the sadÂ story. I've also met Kashmiri Pandits who have been languishing in refugee camps for years.

More of them die from snake bites than bullet wounds. These things never get reported. And what troubles the Kashmiris most is misreporting by the mainstream media."

Taking a boldÂ step away from the official viewpoint, Rahul's film will take the militants' perception into consideration. He says, "I've met members of the Hurriyat and militant organisations in Kashmir that I can't name. I also met Syed Ali Shah Geelani.

And the tragic conclusion I've drawnÂ is that the Indian government hasn't really paid any attention to their anguish. NoÂ Indian filmmaker hasÂ done justice to the militants. All the social and political organisations in Kashmir feel that Indian films based on Kashmir are completely fake and one-sided."

According to theÂ KashmirisÂ who Dholakia met, such fake films include Mani Ratnam's Roja, Vidhu Vinod Chopra's Mission Kashmir andÂ Shoojit Sircar's Yahaan.

Now, Dholakia wants to set the imbalance right. "I don't want to make a film propagating the view of militancy. I don't want toÂ make a preachy film. I just want to make a fair film. I do want to put the local Kashmiri viewpoint forward," adds Rahul.

Even if it means courting trouble withÂ the Centre?

"After Parzania, I'm no stranger to trouble. It is important to do the work that you believe in. However, just becauseÂ my first two films areÂ about serious issues doesn't mean that I won't makeÂ a pure entertainerÂ in the future," says Rahul.

After one-and-a-half years of research onÂ the Kashmir issue for Lamha, which will go on the floors this October, Rahul has drawn one critical conclusion about the grim situation there.

"TheÂ Kashmiris have a legitimate reason to feel isolated from the Indian mainstream. Every time I've visited the Valley I'm asked, 'Aap Hindustan seÂ aaye hain?'. At first it was an eerie feeling to be asked something like that. Gradually,Â the truth sank in. Kashmir hasÂ swum too far away from the Indian mainstream to be brought back," says Rahul.

It is this viewpoint, so far unthinkable to Indian filmmakers, that Rahul will put forward in Lamha.

The filmmaker has been travelling to some of the most remote, troubled areas of Kashmir to meet insurgents and locals.

"I've gone to the most troubled and isolated areas in the Valley. And I didn't encounter any hostility whatsoever. The Kashmiris are the most hospitable people on this planet. I've told leaders of militant outfits about my film. They are all for it. All they want is an unbiased picture," adds Rahul.

http://www.mumbaimirror.com/net/mmpaper.as...9ab518&pageno=1

Bharatvarsh · 08-17-2008, 03:54 AM

QUOTEDouse J-K fire else it will spread, warns Shabana

New Delhi: As the Central Government grapples for a solution to the raging inferno in Jammu and Kashmir, actor-activist Shabana Azmi has joined the chorus of voices slamming it for sleeping through the crisis.

In an exclusive interview with Karan Thapar, Shabana says that she fears that if the situation in Jammu and Kashmir could have repercussions on Hindu-Muslim relations in other parts of India

Shabana Azmi: It's a cauldron, the situation has been allowed to go out of hand and there's a deliberate attempt to communalise it, which is a huge pity.

Karan Thapar: Are you worried that what's happening in Kashmir and what could spiral out of control and could create differences between Hindus and Muslims elsewhere in India?

Shabana Azmi: Absolutely, absolutely. I can see that happening, and that's why I am so distressed over what's happening in Kashmir and for heaven's sake it should be brought to a stop, and this should have been brought to a stop right when it started with that nonsense.

Karan Thapar: So itâs not just Kashmir, itâs India that's at stake?

Shabana Azmi: Absolutely, yes

Watch the full interview with Shabana Azmi on Devil's Advocate on Sunday at 2030 hrs (IST) and Monday at 1630 hrs (IST) on CNN-IBN. Read the full interview on ibnlive.com

http://www.ibnlive.com/news/douse-jk-fire-.../71341-3-1.html
QUOTEIndian democracy unfair to Muslims: Shabana Azmi
17 Aug 2008, 0037 hrs IST,TNN

NEW DELHI: Although Muslims are safer in this country than in other parts of the world because they have a stake and space in Indian democracy, Indian democracy is unfair to Muslims, says Shabana Azmi, actor and former MP.

In an interview to a private TV channel, Azmi said, "I think there is not enough understanding of the fact that in a democracy how you treat the security of the minority must be a very important part for the success of a democracy. You can't only make token gestures and actually let them be in the state that they are as the Rajinder Sachar Committee report shows. So what happened is token gestures are made but real issues are never addressed."

Shabana Azmi said Indian politics has been unfair to Muslims and despite Indian secularism Muslims are discriminated against.

She said she couldn't buy a house in Mumbai because she was a Muslim. "I wanted to buy a flat in Bombay and it wasn't given to me because I was a Muslim and I read the same about Saif (Ali Khan). Now, I mean, if Javed Akhtar and Shabana Azmi cannot get a flat in Bombay because they are Muslims, then what are we talking about?"

Questioned about the Kashmir violence having a wider communal ramification elsewhere in the country at present, she said, "That's why I am so distressed over what is happening in Kashmir. For heaven's sake it should be brought to a stop and it should have been brought to a stop right when they started that nonsense."

But she agreed that it was the responsibility of the Muslim leadership to change the image of their community. "I don't think that the Muslim leadership has bothered to clear the air about what Islam actually is."

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Indian_...how/3371893.cms

Husky · (This post was last modified: 08-17-2008, 06:45 AM by Husky.)

QUOTE(Bharatvarsh @ Aug 17 2008, 03:54 AM)Questioned about the Kashmir violence having a wider communal ramification elsewhere in the country at present, she said, "That's why I am so distressed over what is happening in Kashmir. For heaven's sake it should be brought to a stop and it should have been brought to a stop right when they started that nonsense."
timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Indian_democracy_unfair_to_Muslims_Shabana_Azmi/articleshow/3371893.cms[right][snapback]86571[/snapback][/right]Has she been yelling that the ethnic cleansing of the Kashmiri Hindus in Kashmir should have been brought to a stop, and that the constant changes in demographics wrought by islam should be brought to a stop, and that islami jihadism (though it must be said that islam is jihadism, everything else is just dressing) should be brought to a stop?
Else she can just shut up. No amount of her whining is going to change that the unconverted all over the world recognise islam is a ideology of terrorism. There's only so much covering-up that lies (hers or other pseculars') can do.

QUOTENow, I mean, if Javed Akhtar and Shabana Azmi cannot get a flat in Bombay because they are Muslims, then what are we talking about?She should come down from her uppityness.
Perhaps they didn't let her communal self and her communal husband get flats just because of who they were: Hindus don't like communalist islamis pretending they're secular and mouthing off against Hindu Dharma whenever they can, all while defending everyday jihad as if it was innocent or pretending it was some kind of struggle for rights.

If Mumbai isn't giving flats to islamis, I'm sure Hindus in Mumbai (not Bombay) have had enough of jihadism that they would have learnt to not invite trouble and the inevitable islamic rioting.
But I'm guessing that if Abdul Kalam wanted to move in next door, they wouldn't have an issue.

08-18-2008, 11:31 PM

QUOTEShe said she couldn't buy a house in Mumbai because she was a Muslim. "I wanted to buy a flat in Bombay and it wasn't given to me because I was a Muslim and I read the same about Saif (Ali Khan).
Shabana's lying through her teeth and she knows it. Her father's had flat in Mumbai despite being Muslim. Her relatives have had flats. Saif got a flat in Mumbai and so does his dad Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi and so does his sister. Dilip Kumar was sheriff of Mumbai for crying out loud owning bunglows along with Saira Banu. Filmstar from yester-years muslim Mehmood (god bless his soul) owned a complete building with about 50 flats that he rented out (he lost the building to his own relative who screwed him). Muslim Jinnah's house is still standing after 70+ years in Mumbai. Muslims in Mumbai own business, banks, communities .... I could go on and on. One of biggest builders in Mumbai are Rizvi Builders and they are muslims. Merchantile Bank's owned by muslims. Muslim Dawood's owned hundreds of business, gambling dens, bars, brothels in Mumbai despite his outstanding warrants. MF Hussain owned some prime properties which he conveniently transfered to his son once the legal case against him picked up some heat. Some other prominent muslims who own property include Wipro chairman Premji. Localities owned by muslims include Mohd Ali road, Jogeshwari, Dongri, Bhiwandi etc..For every one muslim without house in mumbai, there's 10 non-muslims without houses. When Salam drove over those 4 or 5 people on his SUV, it was those homeless non-muslims. Shahrukh owns so much land in Bandra that some of his dealings are a controversy in itself.

Shabana and her 'human-rights' mafia championed the cause of hutment dwellers till she got into Rajya Sabha after which all they got was door-darshan now and then on govt run doordarshan. She had lost credibility in her own family when Javed's first marriage went down the tube with her involvement. What ever little secular rants she has now should really open the eyes of those gullible folks who worship her.

Her lie should be nailed and we should ask her to name names as to which flat/building was she thrown out from.

If I have a flat in Mumbai and if I refuse to rent it to Shabana it'll be because she's a lying opportunist politician and not because of her religious affiliation.

Bodhi · 08-19-2008, 09:27 AM

QUOTEDear Smt. Shabana Azmiji,

I refer to your interview in Devil's Adovcate with Shri Karan Thapar on 17th Aug 08 telecast in CNN IBN. It was apparent that the entire interview was an exercise in futility to showcase you as an moderate secular left liberal Indian Muslim. I would like to take you on only on your controversial statements that Shri Javed Akhtar, you and Shri Saif Ali Khan are not being allowed to buy an apartment in Mumbai only because of your Muslim identity.

We are perplexed as to why only all of you are denied this when a whole lot of prime properties are owned by the Shah Rukh, Salman, Aamir Khans, Dilip Kumar and Saira Banu from 1950's andÂ not to forget even underworld fugitives like Dawood Ibraham and Anees own a hell a lot of prime properties in Mumbai even today.

It might have been quite possible that a nationalist may have denied selling the apartment due to your being one of the top notch pseudo secularist in the country practising double standards nothing to do with your Muslim identity. Anyone in his place including yours truly would have done the same thing. After all, what are your credentials except denouncing Hindus in the Gujarat riots, fighting for repeal of POTA while displaying selective amnesia on 7/11 Mumbai train bomb blasts or the various bomb blasts that have taken place all over the country. Why were Shri Javed Akhtar and you consciously absent in Nandigram during the state sponsored pogrom, when most of the victims were from your Muslim community, is it because Shri Buddadev not Shri Modi was the Chief Minister. Why have you not agitated against the West Bengal Govt on this issue or on the pathetic plight of Muslims constituting nearly 25% of the population in that state as per the very same Sachar Committee report you extensively quoted in the interview.

It is all well and nice to come on a prime channel and make ludicrous statements to hog the limelight but it is also important to practise what you preach in real life. On one hand, you come to the streets to fight for the slum dwellers basic right to exist and on the other, both Shri Javed Akhtar and you indulge in opulent lifestyles to quote an instance traveling by the most privileged Executive Class with a specially marked seat in Jet Airways to London and other parts of the world. Even if these privileges are provided to both of you because Shri Javed Akhtar is on the board of directors of Jet Airways, for the sake of our 320 million countrymen who earn less than a dollar a day and eat not even half a meal, both of you could live with more austerity by traveling on economy class as you claim to represent these sections of the society.

In conclusion, I would like to state that all over the world the welfare of the minorities are dependent on the goodwill of the majority community. To enlighten your highly ignorant and mentally bankrupt mind, the Parsees when they came to India to escape persecution from the radical Muslims refused any special privileges and said that they would be like sugar to milk by providing sweetness and integrate themselves with the society.

This is the reason the Tata's have conquered not just India but also the world and more importantly the hearts and minds of every Indian. If Muslims like you and Javed Akhtar decide to be like a drop of poison rather than sugar to the milk then you will face ostracisation and be denied apartment not just in Mumbai but in every part of our motherland.

Warm Regards

08-22-2008, 04:53 PM

Film fraternity livid over Shabana Azmi's comment
Amzi's lies are being exposed for what it is:
QUOTEFour flats in Juhu, and a house in Khandala are what actor Shabana Azmi owns, if some of the prominent people from the film fraternity are to be believed.

Irked by the alleged irresponsible statement by Azmi, who claimed that she was denied a house in Mumbai, people from the film industry called a press meet at Club Millennium in Juhu on Wednesday.


QUOTEâWe salute a stalwart like Feroze Khan who stood at the heart of an Islamic state like Pakistan and appreciated the fact that Indian Muslims are far happier than their Pakistani counterparts. Khan is no lesser Muslim than Shabana Azmi,â said Pandit.

08-22-2008, 05:02 PM

Aamir who (selectively) preaches to some govts on good governance can't keep his own backyard clean.
Faisal Khan v/s Aamir Khan in a legal row Nothing here for Amzi to spin this as a anti-muslim conspiracy.

QUOTEFaisal Khan approached the court seeking a stay on the telecast of the reality show alleging that the contract signed between him, Viacomm 18 media, the newly launched Colors channel and production company Endemol was terminated at the last moment allegedly at the behest of Aamir Khan.

QUOTEFaisal has alleged that his brother, who has always been "jealous" of his success, has used his influence as a Bollywood actor to terminate his contract.

Bharatvarsh · 08-22-2008, 05:59 PM

QUOTEAugust 22, 2008 10:46 IST

This movie could not have come at a better time. After the recent serial blasts, Mumbai Meri Jaan [Images] comes in to remind us just what devastation an act of terror can do to a city and it's people.

Based on the serial blasts which rocked surburban Mumbai trains on July 11, 2006, the movie explores the impact of this devastating incident through the lives of a TV journalist (Soha Ali Khan [Images]), a patriotic corporate man (R Madhavan), a retiring policeman (Paresh Rawal [Images]), a rookie cop at the dawn of his career (Vijay Maurya), an angry Hindu fanatic (Kay Kay Menon), and a coffee-vendor struggling to make ends meet (Irrfan Khan [Images]).

The film follows the lives of these people as they tackle the aftermath of a fatal incident that brings out the best and sometimes, the worst in them.

Nikhil Agarwal (Madhavan) works in an international firm and is a conscious citizen. He believes in saving the environment and does his bit by asking road-side vendors not to use plastic bags. He believes in non-pollution and so prefers to commute by train.

MadhavanOn the evening of July 11, 2006, while waiting for the train, a friend forces him to accompany him in the second class compartment. A few minutes later the first class compartment explodes.

The aftereffects are devastating. One, it causes Suresh (Menon), an unemployed anti-Muslim to hate the Muslims even more.

Two, it shatters the calm of seasoned constable Tukaram Patil's (Rawal) life. Due for retirement in a week's time, he uses humour to battle his failures.

Three, it throws a spanner in Sunil Kadam's (Vijay Maurya) plans. Kadam has just begun his career with the department and has a constant feeling of being an insignificant part of the system. Because of the blasts, his honeymoon gets cancelled.

Four, Thomas (Irrfan), a roadside coffee/tea vendor, who roams the streets of Mumbai astride his bicycle at night, is happy with the meagre amount he struggles to earn every week but is hurt by the attitude of the city.

Though the bomb blasts hasn't personally affected him, he realises that the incident has brought distress to others higher up in the social strata. Taking advantage of this situation, he finds a way to strike back at the society which refuses to accept him as a part of it.

And last but not the least, the blasts put television reporter Rupali Joshi's (Soha) strong values on freedom of expression and the importance of the fourth estate, to the test.

Thus, the movie moves away from all the generalised political and academic debates surrounding terrorism as a concept and follows a more documentary approach by depicting the violence of individual trauma generated in the lives of common individuals.

Directed by Nishikant Kamat (of Dombvili Fast fame) and produced by Ronnie Screwala, Mumbai Meri Jaan has some superb camera work. Though the film is more like a documentary, it is sure to kindle the agony in the minds of the victims and their families. Music by Sameer Phaterpekaris very apt and conveys the terror convincingly.

Paresh, for the first time, grew a moustache just for the role of a police officer on the verge of retirement. To give the look that the director wanted, Paresh Rawal even lost 15 kilos.

Of the cast, Irrfan's performance is the best. Though he has very little dialogue, he still manages to impress the audience. The actual fear comes across and the impact of the blasts is felt in the theatre, which makes you feel as though you were present at the spot.

Overall, a watchable film.

Bodhi · (This post was last modified: 11-16-2008, 07:51 AM by Bodhi.)

Not really propoganda...but latest entry on Amitabh Bachchan's blog:

QUOTEâ Your religion is what you do after the sermon is over â

Getting down to a routine, bringing back the timings that will encompass me in a few days and rescheduling my dates for films, has been the major activity through out the day. Apart of course from the time spent in catching up with Abhiishek and Aishwarya.

Abhishek goes off to various interviews for the promotion of âDostanaâ, Aishwarya takes a flight back to Kerala and I get into a meeting which is enlightening.

A couple from Chennai have researched for years the glory of India its history and culture and its very roots. Have studied and analyzed our scriptures - Ramayana, Mahabharata, Vedas and put up a most interesting presentation called âBharat Gyanâ. In an hour long computer and verbal infotainment, they seek participation from me in a project that I believe will be of immense value to all.

I shall give it serious consideration.

Of the hundreds of topics that they spoke about and gave me interpretations of, there was just one matter that I learnt - that BC and AD, now no longer exist. Its BCE and CE and BP.

Before Common Era, BCE

Common Era, CE

And BP is Before Present.

And all this came about through debate and discussion in various International Historical Congress, because there was uncertainty on the date for theÂ Birth of Christ. So periods mentioned as Before Christ and After Christ, had to be reconsidered.

There are about 500 to 600 hours of material collected by this duo on every possible aspect, mentioned exhaustively in the Rig Veda and associated manuscripts and I am keen to get this across to the people of India and seek their questions and answers that this exercise shall raise.

It will be a fascinating experience, I promise.

But before that, I must rest and recuperate in order to devote quality time to it..

So, good night and my love..

Amitabh Bachchan

http://bigb.bigadda.com/2008/11/12/day-203/

Bodhi · 11-16-2008, 08:28 AM

and also:

QUOTE<img src='http://bigb.bigadda.com/bigbimages/pix/laxmi.jpg' border='0' alt='user posted image' />

There will be prayer and âpoojaâ. The Ramcharimanas will be read and sung. The chapter comprising the Uttarkand. My Father did that religiously for us. Now the onus comes on me as head of family. It will be as always an emotional moment. The tone and tenor of my Fatherâs voice still resonates in our midst. The pooja will take place in the area just outside the room where he breathed his last. His and my Motherâs photograph, lifelike, will look down upon us in benevolence and bless us, give us the âaashirwaadâ. Goddess Laxmi, the Goddess of wealth with be invoked in prayer for prosperity and well being. Friends will come over. It is an open house. There will be the âshagunâ of playing cards and the healthy banter of camaraderie..

But there shall be no lights decorating the house, or the celebration of fire crackers. A traditional oil âdiyaâ will be lit in every room and at the house temple. Simple and quiet.

The concept of decorating the house with lights and making it attractive with ârangoliâ, is to invite the Goddess in to our homes and bless us with purity. Many a times when we move about the city and see an excessively decorated home we lament jokingly to ourselves -

âLook how attractive that house looks. Laxmi ji will enter there in abundance ! â

http://bigb.bigadda.com/2008/10/28/laxmi/


secular hearts cry aloud!!!

12-07-2008, 07:07 AM

Ah.... ShahRukh goes with the personal jihad gambit. A difficult move trying to convince that millions who have been killed by muslims is because of muslims' personal jihad. I think he should have gone with "Killing of "innocents" is against islam" strate. At least that way he is not outright lying, only making a qualified statement, which being non-muslims are sinners, not innocent. Well, next bomb blast or terrorist attach SRK can say that.

QUOTEShah Rukh Khan asserts that Islam does not support terrorism

Kuala Lumpur, Dec 06: Bollywood icon Shahrukh Khan said his upcoming movie 'My name is Khan' will deal with the ordeals faced by ordinary Muslims in a world that increasingly associates Islam with terrorism.

Khan, who was conferred Malaysian title "Datuk" in Malacca this morning, said shooting for the movie, which will help clear the misperception that all Muslims are terrorists, is to begin later this month in Los Angeles. ( i am looking forward to this)

"The movie is about a Muslim person's strife to tell people that 'my name is Khan but I am not a terrorist'," he told reporters in Malacca.

Islam does not in any way tell you to be violent, he said, adding it does not support terrorism.

"I think the whole concept of jihad, the whole concept of warring needs to be explained as Allah meant it to be in the Quran," Khan said.

"I don't make such films but my director, Karan Johar, feels that we ought to."

Khan said Malacca was a beautiful city and agreed to assist the state in developing the local film industry. He suggested that the state should set up a one or two floor studio and labs to entice movie makers to come and shoot there.

The superstar said he would come to Malacca later next year to shoot a movie there.

"There is a film I am planning some time in August and September and will send a team down to look around," he told a press conference in Malacca after receiving his title from governor Mohd Khalil Yaakob at a ceremony held in Ayer Keroh.

The tentative title for the proposed movie is 'Happy New Year', he added.

On how he felt about his 'Datukship', the actor said that it was an honour not only for him but also for all actors from India.

Bureau Report

Shambhu · (This post was last modified: 12-07-2008, 09:52 AM by Shambhu.)

"I think the whole concept of jihad, the whole concept of warring needs to be explained as Allah meant it to be in the Quran," Khan said.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Yes, and people all over the world are dumb. Even after reading the koran, they cannot understand, right? Only you can understand. You and your fellow muslims who do not have the guts to blow kaafirs up, you guys devote yourselves to aiding and abetting the terrorists by hoodwinking the kaafir world and thus allowing more time for the true muslims to plan their "raids".

Lying leech...living off kaafir money but promoting muslim lies. No more muslim Hindi movies for me.

To all Indics: I hope more kaafirs read the koran (or at least my links below) and not give liars like this khan the "pedestal of understanding". Its simple, folks! Just don't buy the islamic's lines..read for yourselves below..become educated in things that really matter..our forumites are!

Husky · (This post was last modified: 01-04-2009, 04:50 AM by Husky.)

Islamaniac in bollywood: terrorist/extortionist (quelle difference, except that the second is a small-time version of the first where graduation from extortionist to terrorist is all that's required to advance to the next stage of jihad)

http://news.in.msn.com/national/article.as...umentid=1774231
QUOTESaturday, January 03 , 2009
Bollywood actor arrested for extortion attempt

New Delhi: A former TV and Bollywood actor and his aide were arrested in the capital for allegedly making threatening calls posing as underworld don Chhotta Shakeel's henchman to extort money from a Delhi based businessman, the police said Saturday.

Aslam Ansari, 31, and Phool Singh, 25, were demanding Rs.5 million from the south Delhi garment exporter, and were arrested Thursday, the police said.

The businessman complained to the Delhi Police Anti-Extortion Cell saying "he has been receiving several threatening calls from a person identifying himself as Badshah, a henchman of Chhotta Shakeel", deputy commissioner of police (crime) Neeraj Thakur told reporters.

The police didn't reveal the name of the businessman.

According to Thakur, the extortionists kept making calls and sending SMSes since November last to the complainant asking him to arrange the money, else face dire consequences.

âAll the calls were made from a mobile phone registered in Mumbai and the caller was speaking in a Mumbai-like dialect. Through electronic surveillance, the location of the phone was traced to a house in west Delhi,â Thakur said.

The police arrested the duo from Ansari's house.

Ansari, a Delhi University graduate, began his career as sales executive and later shifted to Mumbai for a break in Bollywood.

He worked in a Bollywood movie - "Woh Tere Naam" - and many TV serials before he returned to Delhi to start a garment business last year.

The TV serials include "Kahin Kissi Roz", "Sahab Biwi Ka Ghulam" and "Kashish". He got a lead role in "Khuni Khanjar" but the film could not be completed.

âHe started a garment factory and Singh joined him as a supervisor. Before coming to Ansari's factory, Singh was working in the garment company run by the complainant,â Kumar said.

Facing huge losses in the business, the duo planned to extort money from the complainant whom Singh knew very well, said the police.

Source: Indo-Asian News Service

Bodhi · 01-17-2009, 07:52 AM

Slumdog Billionaire: Anti Hindu Anti Rama, the prejudice continuesâ
Saurav Basu

Back in the good old days when Satyajit Ray often made the most
sublime neo-realistic cinema, one Ms. Nargis Dutt caustically charged
him with selling Indian poverty abroad. Yet, Satyajit Ray's films did
not feature Calcutta's slums but the villages of Bengal. There was an
undercurrent of poverty in his major films like Pather Panchali,
Aparajito and Pratidwandhi but there was human irony. No romanticizing
poverty yet ultimately a resounding affirmation of human dignity. Who
can forget the immortal scene in Aparajito where a guilt ridden Apu, a
poor Brahmana boy rejects his priestly duties towards his mother's
last rites and opts to pursue a modern education instead. Ray's father
was a Brahmo and he himself a recalcitrant Hindu, yet his cinema
encompassed everything that represented the best and the worst of
Indian civilization ethos.

Through the vicissitudes of times, India has emerged as a global
economy shedding both its Nehruvian rate of growth and the associated
stereotypes, although we are admittedly a third world country with sub
Saharan level hunger and human development indices. Yet, a share of
its misfortune may be attributed to being surrounded by two failed
states whose burdens of jihadi terrorism and poverty India has to
suffer. Even the slum is an artificial socio-political construct and
misrepresents Indian poverty. Indian slums have unpaid electricity
accounts yet even today thousands of Indian villages wait
electrification; slums have NGOs operating in vain while villages
still await their first permanent school buildings. Slums create and
sustain criminals yet millions of Indian villages represent a morally
and ethical superior way of life and hospitality. Slums in India are
infested by some over 30-40 million illegal Bangladeshi migrants who
constitute a sizable secular votebank.

But contemporary film making seems to have appreciated little of these
ground realities; instead we find a rehash of the old and improbable
rags to riches story in an ultra-regressive style. A magnificent
Mumbai slum, two Muslim brothers, a Hindu mob killing innocent Muslim
women, criminally amputated children singing Surdas's songs, Hindu
policemen torturing an innocent Muslim boy and a diabolic Hindu
game-show host who hands his Muslim contestant to his Hindu police
which hates the Amnesty international, and voila, you have all the
ingredients for a `secular' potboiler which is on the road to the
Oscars! You might argue that it's not realistic but only fantasy since
there is greater probability of winning the jackpot on a lottery
ticket without being abused by the police than winning the top prize
on a quiz show with 15 unique questions.

But then you can be kidding with the graphic depiction of blood
curdling anti Muslim riot in which a Hindu mob slays the children's
mother, the Indian policeman electrocuting the Muslim suspect or the
gory scene of the amputation of the street children by the mafia who
are then forced to sing Surdas's bhajans. The original book by Vikas
Swarup had the prime character as Ram Mohammad Thomas who was
conveniently transformed into a Muslim boy, Jamal Malik who lost his
mother to a Hindu mob to make it sound more "politically correct."

When was the last time in Indian History when an unprovoked Hindu
population took to violence? For the record the Mumbai riots were
incited by fanatical Muslim mobs in the face of the Baburi Masjid
demolition. Moreover, it beats me how the consequent Mumbai bomb
blasts triggered by local Muslim gangs be disassociated from the
Mumbai riots? And the much maligned Bombay Police recently lost
sixteen of its bravest men while defending the city's freedom of
speech and expression against Islamist zealots who wanted to
replicate in India, a 7th century Arabia.

More disturbingly, you have the depiction of the blue bodied Rama whom
Hindus consider as Maryada Puroshottam [the best among men]
threatening to terminate the existence of the innocent Muslim
children. To a question on the show which asked which weapons is Lord
Rama depicted with in popular iconography, Jamal Malik the protagonist
does not remember the grand Ram Lilas which happen across the country
or Ram Kathas on televisions. Instead, a Hindu kid immaculately
dressed up as Lord Rama stands in the middle of a slum in a
threatening pose. And one cannot miss the hatred being portrayed in
the face and looks of that young Hindu kid, younger than even
Jamaal.Even a 5 year old Hindu kid is a communal bigot and Rama is
responsible for all the communal crap. Muslims are seculars and
victims by definition. Not only this we have forcibly amputated
children singing Surdas's bhajan pining for a glimpse of illusory
Krishna? This insensitive jaundiced anti Hindu view is reminiscent of
Indian leftist cinema where Hindu male characters are black and
Muslims white! Remember, Mr and Mrs Iyer where a Hindu mob was
searching for circumcised dicks and didn't even spare a Jew in true
Nazi fashion! Never mind that in world history, Hindus are the only
people who don't carry an atom of anti-Semitism, but the director's
flight of `secularist' fancy won critical acclaim. Buddhadeb
Bhattacharya in his film Uttara shows a band of Hindu goons burning a
Christian church made in service of the lord's lepers and raping an
orphan girl in the process. Expectedly, this rather original gruesome
way of story-telling won him the national awards! In the Tamil hit,
Dasavathaaram, we find an anti-historical situation fantasizing
Shaivite intolerance against Vaishnavs where Ramanujam's disciple is
fighting Kulothunga Chola. Based on a solitary description of Chola
antagonism in Ramanujam's writings, we find the Chola fanatic stealing
the idol of Vishnu from Srirangam, ironically the same temple complex
which was plundered at least five times by Islamic armies. Similarly,
Kamal Hassan in his movie `Anbe Sivam', shows a pious Shiva devotee
injuring the hero who is rescued by a group of benevolent Christian
nuns. Previously, in the 70s when anti-Brahmana movement in Tamil Nadu
was at its peak, we had Brahmana priests routinely paraded as rascals
in Tamil movies.

`Islamic' sensitivities have extracted book bans from both British and
Congress governments. Girja Kumar in his "Book on Trial" has
reproduced dozens of cases where Hindu books critical of Islam or the
Prophet were banned, and the authors faced arrest or were killed.
Salman Rushdie's flight and Taslima Nasrin's plight is well known.
Lajja almost faced a ban because she had exposed the genocide against
Hindus in Bangladesh. Movies on the state of Kashmiri pundits, victims
of Islamic genocide against Hindus of Bangladeshis, the Hindu victims
of the North East against Christian separatism and also the historical
crimes by the armies of Islam and inquisitory Christianity are taboo
in a `secular country' They cannot see the light of the day because
they are inimical to communal harmony and hurt minority sentiments.

This ostentatious display of anti Hindu sentiment is of course lost on
the jingoists or those ABCDs who go gaga over such pernicious cinema.
Sincere critics questioning the dumb plot where a slum boy grows up
into a sophisticated leftist JNU product with a flawless English
accent are censured by appealing to the authority of the Golden globe
awards. They keenly forget the film was precisely designed for that,
appeal to the racial sensitivities of those who really matter!
Therefore, even the liberation of Jamal is not through any indigenous
worth, but through an internationally funded poverty alleviation game
show [Kaun Banega Crorepati recedes into its international avatar, Who
wants to become a millionaire].

Husky · 01-17-2009, 02:48 PM

^ Bodhi's post above more important.

Related to that.
Amitabh not impressed with the slumdog. But his gripe of course does not have to do with its anti-Hinduism...

timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Big_B_slams_Slumdog_Millionaire_on_blog/articleshow/3979601.cms
QUOTEBig B slams 'Slumdog Millionaire' on blog
14 Jan 2009, 2152 hrs IST, IANS

NEW DELHI: Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan has slammed Danny Boyle's Golden Globe award winning underdog drama "Slumdog Millionaire" for showing India in poor light.

"If 'Slumdog Millionaire' projects India as Third World dirty underbelly developing nation and causes pain and disgust among nationalists and patriots, let it be known that a murky underbelly exists and thrives even in the most developed nations," Amitabh said in a posting on his blog on Wednesday from Paris, France.

"It's just that the 'Slumdog Millioanire' idea authored by an Indian and conceived and cinematically put together by a westerner, gets creative global recognition," he added.

The 66-year-old also talked about the changing trend in recognition of Indian cinema.

"The commercial escapist world of Indian cinema had vociferously battled for years, on the attention paid and the adulation given to the legendary Satyajit Ray... and not a word of appreciation for the entertaining mass-oriented box office blockbusters that were being churned out from Mumbai.

"Ray portrayed reality. While, the other â escapism, fantasy and incredulous posturing. Unimpressive for Cannes and Berlin and Venice (film festivals)," he explained.

He further wrote: "But look how rapidly all that is changing. Dedicated TV channels running Hindi cinema on prime timings. Premieres at Leicester Square (referring to 'Chandni Chowk To China'), the home of all Hollywood royalty, thronged by hundreds on the street in cold biting weather."Amitabh is a very curious character, as evidenced by all his comments both in the quoteblock above and after the Mumbai attacks which were posted at IF.
Interesting conditioning he suffers from.

^ Note how the TOI article page at the link has World Vision adverts all over the place. Sify does the same, and is in fact fundraising for them. Repeat post:
http://hamsa.org/vivekajyoti.htm
QUOTE3. Christian sponsorship of Indian media: An example

Here is a case study wherein the âSify.comâ, a major online Indian media outlet is working with âWorld Visionâ, an evangelical body openly indulging in unabashed proselytisation with huge funds at their disposal for this purpose. Details about Sify.comâs partnership with the âWorld Visionâ, patently a missionary agency, are online at: http://sify.com/news/antichildlabourday/ On this page, they are blatantly fundraising for them without informing the Indian public that they are missionaries. âWorld Visionâ also regularly advertises on Sify. It should be noted that the âWorld Visionâ has been implicated in induced conversions in Orissa and in Sri Lanka during the Tsunami. Look at a quote from the World Vision's website regarding their ânobleâ mission: âWherever we work, our prayer is that our efforts will be used by God to heal and strengthen people's relationships with Him and with one another. We do this by demonstrating God's unconditional love for all people through our service to the poor â which includes providing for daily needs, working to build peace and promote justice, and partnering with churches and individuals to encourage spiritual transformation.âNot just Sify, since TOI is also essentially fundraising for and endorsing World Vision.

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