Ek Tha Tiger - Movie Review

August 15, 2012

Cast: Salman Khan, Katrina Kaif, Ranvir Shorey, Girish Karnad, Roshan Seth

Director: Kabir Khan

To be fair, Ek Tha Tiger is a very different beast from recent Salman Khan starrers, particularly his last two releases, Ready and Bodyguard. Now that could be construed either as good news or bad news depending on what you thought of those films. For those like me, who weren’t fans of those blockbusters, it’s refreshing to note that Ek Tha Tiger isn’t an over-indulgent one-man showreel. Hallelujah, this film has a plot. Unfortunately, however, it’s a one-line, threadbare plot around which director Kabir Khan constructs the entire movie.

In a nicely done opening, with enough slo-mo shots for the fans to whistle at, we’re introduced to RAW agent Tiger (Salman Khan), who, in a gritty Jason Bourne-ish action sequence, swiftly dispenses with a turncoat agent, then dodges armed assassins through the cobbled streets and dingy alleyways of a busy town in Iraq. Back home unscathed, Tiger, who we discover is just as comfortable with a ladle as he is with a gun, bribes his boss (Girish Karnad) with homemade daal before begging for a new assignment.

Packed off to Dublin to keep an eye on a suspect missile scientist (Roshan Seth), Tiger falls in love with the old man’s housekeeper, Zoya (Katrina Kaif), even as fellow RAW agent Gopi (Ranvir Shorey) advises him not to get distracted from the mission he’s assigned to.

The romantic portions in Ek Tha Tiger are warm and fuzzy, the humor thankfully clean and light-hearted, but as a thriller set in the world of espionage, it’s ironic that the people least intelligent here are the intelligence officers themselves. The interval point reveals a twist that you’ll probably guess a mile away; the only ones caught off-guard are the supposedly smart super-spies.

In his last film New York, director Kabir Khan delivered a watered-down mocktail version of a terrorism story. With Ek Tha Tiger he appears to be going for James Bond Lite. The film’s screenplay packs more holes than you’re likely to find in a fisherman’s net, and the clunky dialogue is the sort you’d expect from someone whose only research involved going through back issues of spy-themed comics.

What doesn’t disappoint is the action in this film. Whether Salman’s sliding down stairs on an overturned table firing at goons in a crowded marketplace, or using his jacket to stop a speeding tram from crashing into a populated street, the more ridiculous the sequence, the more cheers it inspires. A climactic sequence involving our injured hero on a motorbike, an airplane taking off, and lots of explosions, seems straight out of the Dhoom films, but it’s so cheerfully silly it’s hard not to smile.

The film loses its pace during those pensive scenes in which Tiger must make a choice between head and heart, and in those portions where both protagonists must consider the implications of choosing love over duty. The over-simplistic Indo-Pak peace message is only further evidence of the fact that this film treats a serious subject lightly.

Salman Khan’s performance in Ek Tha Tiger is moody at best. He jumps into the action scenes whole-heartedly but seems lost in the film’s dramatic portions, looking subdued even, like the birthday boy who’s having no fun at his own party. The romance between him at Katrina Kaif is sweet, but almost awkward – this film could have done with a little more passion between its leads. Katrina, faced with a fair bit of action herself, commits herself to the role, but her character has a cardboardish edge.

Despite its obvious flaws, Ek Tha Tiger is far from unwatchable. It’s a welcome change from the harebrained films we’ve seen Salman Khan in lately, and for what it’s worth he’s playing a character and not himself for a change. The question you have to ask is – Is that enough?

I’m going with two-and-a-half out of five for director Kabir Khan’s Ek Tha Tiger. At best, it’s a satisfying watch. Just don’t go in with high expectations.

Ek Tha Tiger Box Office Actuals – Day 1

Ek Tha Tiger made 32.92 Crores over 3300 Screens across India. Needless to say the movie smashed all existing box office records ever made in India. What’s more? The movie is expected to be released on more screens from today. There is no denying the fact that Ek Tha Tiger is creating history at the box office.

Be it Shah Rukh Khan’s Ra.One with 25 Crores or Hrithik Roshan’s Agneepath with 23 Crores of Day 1 Collection, every biggie seems to be a simpleton in front of Salman Khan’s Ek Tha Tiger. The movie might drop a little today coz of a working day but is sure to pick up by leaps and bounds during the weekend. Let’s see what more records Ek Tha Tiger Shatters.

Dhoom 3: Aamir rents a home in Chicago

Fatherhood for the third time has turned Aamir Khan into quite a home-bird. He wants to stay as close to wife Kiran and newly-born son Azaad as possible. Opting for a departure from his habitual way of working, Aamir has taken wife and son to Chicago to be with him for the 3-month schedule.

And now we hear from a friend of Aamir that the star, while shooting for Dhoom 3, has opted to stay in a rented apartment in Chicago with his family rather than a hotel.

Says the close friend of Kiran and Aamir, "Though Yashraj wanted to hire a suite in one of the best hotels in Chicago for Aamir, Kiran and Azaad but Aamir declined the offer. He preferred a rented apartment.

In this way, he cut down Yashraj's accommodation budget in Chicago for Aamir by nearly 60 percent. But the main reason why Aamir opted to stay in a rented place is the ghar ka mahaul. The homely environment is what turns Aamir on these days."

Aamir apparently told his friends that nothing gives him greater joy nowadays than to return home to see Kiran and Azaad waiting for him.

Says the friend, "The thought of staying in a posh intimidating hotel for three months upset Aamir. He loves ghar ka khana. In the apartment, where they're staying, Kiran is constantly cooking up interesting dishes."

In fact, so inspiring is Aamir's home-away-from-home system of working in Chicago, that we now hear that the film's other leading man Abhishek Bachchan has invited his entire family to join him in Chicago and stay together in a rented apartment.

Says a source, "Abhishek's wife Aishwarya and daughter Aaradhya are joining him soon in Chicago. Big B and Jayaji will follow soon after. They want to get some time together away from home and prying eyes."

With two of the principal actors of Dhoom 3 blissfully bonding with their respective families in America, it looks like Dhoom 3 will turn out to be one happy affair!

Civil Service Examination Preparation Strategy: Long-Term Planning

It is tough; no doubt about that. Hope some of the suggestions in this Long-term planning would help the candidates to plan out a strategy of their own who are planning to take a plunge. Instead of trying, gaining awareness by taking 1-2 attempts, prepare meticulously so that you achieve success in your first attempt and that too with high ranks.

Long Term Planning

Those who believe in long-term consideration, as ‘Civil Services Examination’ demands, planned study is the best way to prepare effectively. The first step is to outline the priorities based on: One, availability of time. Two, your requirements related to General Studies and optional subjects.  Three, if you are seeking guidance from any coaching institute and show much time goes into it.

As there is an expectation that continuing the reforms in recruitment process, UPSC is contemplating with an idea of changing the Main Examination pattern. So, keep an eye on the related news flow and the moment these get implemented, you should be ready to mould your preparation-plan according to evolving needs.

You have taken a wise decision to plan and prepare well before taking examination. Put in your best as if this is the only opportunity you have. Your aim should be ‘hitting the bulls eye’ not just to have a try. This is what topper like Nitika Pawar (AIR 18, CSE 2011) had done. When you are investing so much of your time and energy in preparing, attain that level that you don’t need more attempts to achieve this. Check out you requirements and decide how to move further.
Looking at the present scenario, adopting an integrated approach is must and you should start preparation with Main Examination in focus. By doing so, the Preliminary Examination Paper 1 gets almost covered and you will be in a position to face Preliminary Examination with confidence.
For Preliminary Examination Paper 2, you need to learn some mathematical/reasoning/linguistic skills which you can always plan along with your regular study-plan as mood changing activity.
Look at the constituents of General Studies and if any one is unfamiliar to you, require immediate attention, you should take these on priority to be familiar with the subjects. It is time to go for relevant, up-to-date study-material, books, magazines, syllabus, past years’ question papers and all that you require to begin preparation.
Be careful; Grab those books which cover static, traditional information on the areas dynamic in nature as many questions are being asked from these topics.
Civil Service Examination is all about making the right choices and you have to opt for particular pair of optional subjects. In recent years, Main Examination has become an optional subject’s play as General Studies is not contributing much to make an impact on overall aggregate.
The best solution is that you should undertake a serious evaluation before you decide your optional subjects and should clearly understand the specific requirements any particular optional subject demands.
Understand the examination requirements and achieve excellence in all directions. Growing knowledge level provides grasp over the subject and after a certain stage, you attain such comfort level that you start applying the accumulated knowledge effectively ensuring a better performance.
Understand the trends and current approach of UPSC and drift towards Application, Contemporary developments and Current Affairs. This requires updated content as well as a strong grip over basics since with solid foundation only you will be in a position to understand and advance with study-plan.
In the beginning itself, don’t go for Current Affairs Year-Books and books related to those areas where current developments change on day-to-day basis as by the time you approach examination, the information would be stale. Daily news updates from Newspapers backed up by Magazines will suffice the purpose in the beginning.
Make a group preferably with same optional subjects aspirants. As you start, you may encounter few problems which stop you from moving further. List out all your apprehensions, queries related to preparation and reach out to people you trust to get these resolved.
Choice relating to self-study or joining coaching institutes is absolutely yours. Not all in the merit-list had gone to coaching institutes. Every year lot many aspirants crack this examination based on self-study.
However, in the changing environment, if you really need to seek help from coaching institutes, you should plan it as early as possible. As they exhaustively cover the examination requirements, maintain a balance between traditional areas and contemporary developments which influence issues related to topics listed in syllabus.
If your decision is in favour of attending coaching institute, it is essential to devote at least 2-3 hours on revision and what you studied in class. It enables you to make note, enrich them with newly acquired knowledge and immediate follow-up gives you opportunity to spot some areas that require clarity or more expansion or additional information.
As examination requires an analytical approach, updated information with flow of original ideas, devote some time to practise presentation techniques which can give a competitive edge to the aspirants.

Christian - The Love War - Music Album Download

                                                   

Album : The Love War

Singer : Chrishan

Date : 12 Aug 2012

Genre : pop

                                                     Download Chrishan - The Love War

A Magazine Just For Ferrari Owners

Ferrari and Condé Nast will be publishing a magazine just for Ferrari owners.

This new publication, with its philosophy of going after a “very rarefied part of the market,” undoubtedly will be a magnet to upscale global advertisers.

Ferrari is bundling all of its previous publications under this new umbrella.

The magazine, which apparently has yet to be christened, will be published four times a year.

The first issue is due out this summer, with the second slated for the 2008 Paris Auto Show at the end of September.

Ferrari and Condé Nast have assembled some impressive journalistic firepower for this effort. The magazine will be directed by Editor in Chief Antonio Ghini, Ferrari communications and brand management director.

The staff will include Jason Barlow, who has served as contributing editor to the motoring section of British GQ, as well as Rebecca Smith, formerly of British Vogue.

Via edmunds

New Jaguar F-type to debut in Paris

The F-Type, Jaguar’s all-new aluminium two-seater sports car, will make its global debut in production form at the Paris Motor Show on 27 September.

The new F-Type is the spiritual successor of the Jaguar E-Type, one of the world’s most legendary roadsters and now a much sought-after collectible around the world.

The new F-Type will be available with a choice of three engines: two 3.0L supercharged V6 engines delivering 340 hp and 380 hp and a V8.  The model will feature an 8-speed auto gear box and Stop/Start technology.

Performance wise, it’s believed that the aluminium model will offer a top speed of over 180 mph (289 km/h) and a 0-60 mph (97km/h) range of under five seconds.

The new F-Type will go on sale mid-2013. The Paris Auto Show will run September 29 to October 14, 2012.