MINeD YOUR BLOCKCHAIN!

The History

As we evolved, we started practicing different ways of trade. In our earlier civilizations, we used the Barter system, which is the exchange of goods or services for other goods or services in return without using any medium for exchange. This concept of trading seemed to be a fitting solution initially. But, with this, the real value of goods and services couldn’t be measured to its actual worth. Hence, the Barter system was bound to fail.

Then came the centralized banks who acted as the main authority to facilitate trading and make it fairer. The concept of money was introduced. Money, in its physicality, can be a piece of metal, or a piece of paper with an organizational stamp, but the entity in itself doesn’t have as much value as people place on it. By establishing a central authority, we surely have ticked all the right checkboxes when it comes to trust and verification and also ease of transaction. But what if, the central authority turned rogue? Or what about transaction processing add-ons that comes along with it? What if the bank loses all the money which in-turn results in you losing your money?

These are some of the serious shortcomings that can potentially wreak havoc during the times of financial turmoil. With all the progress that we had achieved (and also considering the limitations of the previous systems), we stepped into the era of Digital Money. The Cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin for example, is a kind of digital/virtual currency which uses decentralized control and no central authority defines its worth. This article is not about Bitcoins and how to mine them, instead, it’s about the technology behind it.

That’s BLOCKCHAIN.

The Blockchain Technology

Blockchain is one such technology which has truly removed the need for a central authority of trust by adopting a decentralized design and also by storing data in a distributed fashion. These are essentially databases that are replicated over a peer-to-peer network.

The very first primitive form of blockchain was the datastructure ‘Hashtree’, also known as ‘Merkle Tree’ patented by the computer scientist Ralph Merkle in 1974. This initial representation of blockchain was then implemented in the year 1991 by a group of researchers to add digital timestamps to digital documents so that they could not be backdated or tampered.

However, this technology was left unused until the 2008 Financial Crisis which brought out the inherent limitations and flaws of banks and other financial institutions which majorly resulted in bankruptcy. In result of this fiasco, people wanted to eliminate the possibility of facing any such shortcomings in the future of being controlled by a central authority. This led to an unknown person or a group of people, by name Satoshi Nakamoto, implementing the blockchain technology to create the cryptocurrency Bitcoin in the year 2009. We’ll be discussing about this classic blockchain as constructed by Satoshi Nakamoto.

Blockchain is the technology; Cryptocurrency is its application.

Blockchain is a sequential chain of blocks that contains information. It’s a distributed ledger that stores transaction information within a distributed database that uses decentralized consensus. Think of it like a Google Sheet: whenever you share the sheet, it’s the copy that is being sent out and not the actual sheet itself. In this way, both the users have access to the shared copy and are aware of all the changes made to the sheet.

Or, you can relate a blockchain to a book, where individual pages are the blocks having transaction information, the page numbers indicating a continual sequence and the book itself being the blockchain and its also shared amongst the network so that everyone has a copy.

Everything’s a copy of a copy of a copy.

Let’s take the example of transferring funds between two people:

   Fig 1: Bank Transaction

Case 1: In the above illustration (Fig 1), Person A initiates a transaction to transfer 5$ to Person B. The transaction here is being processed by a centralized authority i.e., the bank. While processing this transaction request, the bank typically does the following:

• Check if Person A has enough balance for the transaction.
• Check if Person B has a valid bank account.
• Coordinate between the banks incase Person A and Person B have different bank accounts.

Since they have to check, verify, initiate and process this entire transaction, they’ll also charge a transaction fee along with it. Also, the time that’ll take to complete this transaction is also considerably higher.

Fig 2: Blockchain Transaction

Case 2: In the above illustration (Fig 2), Person A initiates a transaction to transfer 5$ to Person B. Instead of going through a bank, the transaction here is being processed by the blockchain network. All the necessary checks and verifications that has to be done will be taken care by the blockchain network itself.

It is the same action that is being performed in both the scenarios above, but the means of doing it is different. If you consider a central authority like bank, there’ll be centralization of assets and information. This has its own share of downfalls like we discussed earlier. Since the blockchain is shared amonst everyone in the network, there’s more transparency to every transaction that occurs and the information once stored, cannot be changed or altered or even be removed.

It’s this immutability that makes the network transparent to everyone and also secure.

HOW DOES IT WORK?

What’s there in a Block?

Each block contains a definite amount of transactions and link to the previous block and this is what makes the blockchain chronological. Every block mandatorily contains the following:

             Fig 3: Blockchain block

• Transaction details:
  – Sender
  – Receiver
  – Transaction Amount
• Hash:
  – Identifies a block and all of its contents uniquely.
  – Changing something inside the block will cause the hash to change
• Hash of the Previous Block:
  – This effectively creates a chain of blocks and it’s this technique that makes a blockchain so secure

The very first block is called the ‘GENESIS’ block with no transaction information and it cannot point to any previous blocks. It acts as a pointer to the entire blockchain.

What are Hashes?

Hashes are products of cryptographic algorithms and they manipulate data. Given an input, it forms an alphanumeric string of a fixed value. This is performed by the Hash Functions that converts data of arbitrary length to a fixed length. Every block in the blockchain uses these hash functions to encrypt its data hence making it secure and hard to decode. These hashes also act as a unique identifier.

Fig 4: Hash Functions
The mentioned hash function ‘msg’ in the figure is a python library to create hash values.

The Blocks Chained

To chain a block to the network, each block must contain the solution to a complex mathematical problem created using a cryptographic hash function. Here is where the concept of Proof-Of-Work comes into play.

The Cryptographic hash function (similar to a puzzle) is irreversible and can only be solved by Brute Force. It typically takes a year for a single node (computer) in the network to solve the problem.

Fig 5: Blockchain Network
Every node in the blockchain network contains its own copy of the blockchain. This makes it a decentralized and a distributed network.

Whenever a node gets added to the Blockchain network, the node receives a wallet that allows it to perform transactions. The wallet would primarily consists of a public Key and a private Key and the hashes of a block are generated using these keys. When a transaction is initiated, the message first gets hashed using the private key, and then broadcasted across the entire network to all the peer nodes. The nodes that receive these transactions, decode the message using the public key and verify its legitimacy. Once verified, the nodes start solving the problem to find the correct answer. The nodes that solves the problem first shares the solution to all the other nodes in the network. The network verifies this Proof-Of-Work and if correct, the block will be added to the chain and the nodes that solved the problem receive a reward in return (Bitcoin in the Bitcoin blockchain). This is called “Mining a Block“.

  Fig 6: The Blockchain

Since mining a block requires a lot of computational power, nodes get together to solve the problem. In this way, it’s faster to solve a problem and the attained reward is shared amongst the participating nodes. Such groups are called as “Mining Pools“.

Understanding the Blockchain Trust Center

Let’s take an example to understand Proof-Of-Work:

 Fig 7: Proof-Of-Work Example

Assume ‘x’ is the hashed value from initiated transaction and ‘y’ is the value that decides the Proof-Of-Work solution. The above mentioned problem (Fig 7) doesn’t have the complexity of an actual cryptographic hash function but the underlying fundamentals remain the same.

The node that receives and picks up the transaction will start solving the cryptographic hash function to find the solution. In the above case, the solution is 5. It is easier to verify this solution than to decode to it. So, once this Proof-Of-Work is sent to the network, the other nodes can easily verify and agree that the mined block can be added to the chain. This implementation of cryptographic algorithms makes blockchain extremely secure.

In Conclusion…

Blockchain has not only changed the way we transact; but it also has revolutionized the internet. Right from security of data to transparency to immutability of its information, blockchain has a solid potential to be the game changer on the internet and many organizations are already moving in this direction. Although, even with such backing, blockchain has its share of drawbacks. It is environmentally flawed and it consumes high energy for every transaction and is also inefficient when it comes to performance.

Nonetheless, the Blockchain technology believes in decentralization of trust. This is the very concept of consensus – it trusts when majority of them say ‘Aye‘ and it rejects when they say ‘Nay‘. That’s where the beauty of it lies!

Now, having known the technology, would you say ‘Aye’ or ‘Nay’? If you’ve made a decision, then hold onto your choice. Only time will answer.

India at Rio Olympics, 2016

The quadrennial games came to an end day before yesterday and the nations of the world are celebrating the victories of their champions.
One such country is our own, that is India.

Being one of the most populated countries in the world, around 121 athletes participated in this year’s Olympic games held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Out of the contingent, only 2 of the athletes could get our country 2 coveted medals (one being bronze and the other being silver).

Here are the key points to be noted by the Indians from this year’s Olympic games –

– Women reigning this Olympics.
– Dipa Karmakar being the first female from India to qualify for finals of Vault gymnastics.
– Sakshi Malik winning bronze medal in Women’s Freestyle Wrestling (58kg).
– PV Sindhu winning silver medal in Badminton Women’s Singles.
– Aditi Ashok finishing at 41st in Women’s Individual Golf at the age of 18.
– Yogeshwar Dutt missing out on his victory in wrestling.
– The Susheel Kumar vs Narsingh Yadav drama.
– Narsingh Yadav’s 4 year ban for failing doping test.
– Saina Nehwal’s early exit.

Phew!
That’s something…

Hats off to the Indian women for proving their prowess at an International level and defining their strong foothold in sports. The whole of the country is celebrating their victory today, from a boy aged 6 to a granny aged 65-70 are talking about them and not to forget the monetary benefits, rewards, and the compliments that the Olympians are getting.

It is a glad sighting to see that the Olympic games made our country to shift from being Cricket frenzy to Sports frenzy overall. The craze for women’s badminton finals was indeed an example.

But…
These things happen only if they WIN! That too of the highest order.

We all know the rewards, compliments, appreciation, benefits that PV Sindhu is getting (which she absolutely deserves). But what about Sakshi Malik, Dipa Karmakar and the marathon runner Jaisha who fainted during her run because of the apathy shown by Indian officials at the Olympics?

Why do we, as a nation come together only during victory but not during defeat/failure? Even if we do, why is the support unsubstantial?

There are innumerable athletes in our country who aren’t even given the very basic amenities to train under supervision. Dipa Karmakar herself had stated that the facilities at the training center wasn’t of good standards. Now being a gymnast, poor facilities such as these might as well cost her life if she misses a jump! Shouldn’t we be tending to these things before hand?

I personally feel every winner should be treated equally irrespective of their position of victory. The International Sports Federations are already taking care of the prize money that each winner will be getting. Once a person wins, they join the elite group. It is an impediment that we appreciate them in the same manner.

Trying to replace Gopichand so that PV Sindhu can get better training for her further tournaments and brands those are trying to sign the winners as brand ambassadors to capitalize on their popularity to promote their products shows the greediness of our system.

Why not shifting the focus towards training many more athletes and prepare them for 2020 Olympic games? Yes, this will be happening, but I definitely don’t see the right moves being made on this as of now.
2 medals of 2016 may as well get converted to 20 or even more in 2020 if we collectively act upon it!

To make the LEGENDS of tomorrow, the stars of today have to consciously support fellow participants by curating them on a daily basis.

Do we support our athletes throughout?
Are they getting all the amenities that they require to practice day in, day out?

I wish I had answers for these questions….

Ps – Congratulations to all the winners. You make us PROUD!

In other news, Deepika Pallikal and Sourav Ghosal have won Silver at World Squash Championship held in Australia.

Now, how many of us knew about this?

‪#‎RioOlympics‬ ‪#‎Olympicgames‬ ‪#‎Dipakarmakar‬ ‪#‎PVSindhu‬ ‪#‎SakshiMalik‬‪#‎Rio2016‬ ‪#‎IndianOlympians‬

Pokémon Go!

If you have been an active user of social media, then it’s pretty sure you would be aware of the phenomenon called “Pokémon Go”.

  

As you all know, it’s an augmented reality game which allows you to go in search of pokemons, collect them and build your profile. All of it packaged in a very intuitive, enticing and activity ridden user interface.

Whenever a trend is being set or followed by the millions, there will always be a faction of people who are totally against it. Either you love it. Or you are plainly against it. There is no middle ground. 

I, for a reason, am neutral in this aspect.

Nintendo has surely come up with one of the best mobile games of the era and it is exhilarating fun. In short, they’ve hit a jackpot with this one. 

Those who hate, can hate it. It’s not going to stop those who love it already. But before you write it off, do give it a try and then make your decision. It’s okay to enjoy something “so silly” as few of you may call it. 

Having said that, it also is mind boggling to see the kind of impact it has had on the kids and the grown ups alike.

These are few of the incidents that have taken place: 

• A man who quit his job just to play Pokémon Go.

• A girl who caught her cheating boyfriend. 

• People who were lured to certain spots and got mugged. 

•A car crash because of the driver who was playing Pokémon Go.

Well, enjoying a game optimally is tempting. But one has to draw a line when it comes to the virtuality aspect of it.

It is as if we are all caught in a maze and infected by a disease which has no medicinal cure. The main reason being, it’s only spreading more and more.

Events like these makes me feel overwhelmed and also underwhelmed. Overwhelmed because of the success it has achieved.Underwhelmed by the fact that we could be so easily influenced and addicted to it.

I hope most of you feel the same! 

And, for the record, I haven’t played Pokémon Go yet. 😛

 

BATMAN vs SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE Review

Cast: Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Jessie Eisenberg, Amy Adams, Jeremy Irons, Diane Lane, Laurence Fishburne

Director: Zack Snyder

Music: Hans Zimmer & Junkie XL

Initial Release: March 25th, 2016

We all know that it would be an unfair battle between Batman & Superman. The odds pitted against Batman for his lack of genetic superpowers over Superman gives Superman an evolutionary advantage. Theoretically it is near impossible for batman to defeat superman, but thanks to Zack Snyder’s adaptation of Batman. It’s the character that none of us wanted Batman to evince. Yes, The Dark Knight kills in this movie.

Having a sublime story, Batman V Superman (BvS) never utilizes the evangelistic narrative to its maximum potential. When it scores high in its brilliant film-making, it fails miserably in the screenplay and succumbs to predictability. Thanks to the trailers which gave away all the surprising elements in the movie. It turns out to be a vexing drivel considering that it is unbearably long at 2 hours and 33 minutes.

The biggest problem with BvS is that it takes too long for the plot to gain some steam. It delves in the criticism of Superman for major part of the story and never does it give much weight-age to the Bat vigilante albeit the Batman having a well established tale.

Coming to the action sequences, it’s all a savagery mess lest to say. The self-driven and narcissistic indulgence of the superheroes which brings them against each other is silly if not convincing enough. When the movie reaches the ultimate showdown, supposedly the greatest gladiator match of all time, we all are forced into a state where we just want to get over with it. Probably it’s because of the fact that it comes too late into the movie and we are left wanting for more.

Ben Affleck as Batman is convincing enough. Maybe the fact that Christian Bale is irreplaceable as Batman clouds our decision to accept Ben Affleck as The Dark Knight. Sadly, the movie doesn’t offer much for him to explore his competencies as Batman. All in all it is an okayish portrayal.

Henry Cavill as Superman lacks the charm and has a serious smug face all the time. Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor turns out to be one of the most boring and annoying antagonists that a superhero movie can have. The director then again doesn’t give a clear depth in the plot which will lead to the motive that the nemesis wants to achieve inveterately. The Doomsday finale is an incorrigible mishmash of the action pieces from MAN OF STEEL and a chaotic clutter. Gal Gadot as the Wonder Woman has the most fun of all. She’s charismatic, formidable & intimidating even though she doesn’t have much screen time.
The remaining characters like, Amy Adams as Louis Lane, Diane Lane as Martha Kent & Laurence Fishburne as Perry white acts as an auxiliary to take the story forward. They play to their cards and that’s about it.

BvS is a big disgrace of a movie per se and deserves no critical acclaim for its grotesque depiction of the two of the greatest superheroes of all time. When all of us were expecting an amalgamation of THE DARK KNIGHT and MAN OF STEEL, both the movies which redefined the characters: Batman & Superman, Zack Snyder puts it all together to give us another WATCHMEN and SUCKER PUNCH which were dark, gloomy and painfully sombre. BvS will go down in history as one of the weakest superhero movies of all time.

This movie is nothing but a slugfest between two super weights. Neither does it make sense nor does it entertain. Superman fans will be left disappointed. Batman fans, even more!

Save yourself from this altercation by watching all the trailers in 5.1 surround sound sequentially. That’s the only best thing about this movie as it has the best moments of some of the riveting sequences. Also, thanks to the amazing score by Hans Zimmer and Junkie XL. If not for them, I would have walked out of the theatre half way through.

All that being said, those who still consider watching this movie in theatres, go with least expectations. The brilliant opening sequence and the classy ending might entice you just a little bit. BvS lays a solid platform for the further superhero movies to come. This is the only good thing about it.

Verdict – Marvel fans can rejoice. BATMAN vs SUPERMAN: Dawn Of Justice is not a marvellous superhero movie after all.

Rating –

Batman Vs Superman: Final Trailer

Airlift Movie Review

Cast: Akshay Kumar, Nimrat Kaur, Kumud Mishra, Prakash Belawadi, Inaamulhaq, Purab Kohli, Avtaar Gill

Director: Raja Menon

Release Date: 22nd January, 2016

Airlift is the story of Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait by Saddam Hussein on August 2, 1990, which led to the Gulf war. Told in the eyes of a wealthy Indian businessman (Akshay Kumar as Ranjit Katyal) in Kuwait who played a major role in aiding the evacuation of 1,70,000 Indian men, Airlift remains authentic to the original events conveyed in a simplistic way.

A movie such as this needs to be constantly engaging so that the audience do not lose track of what’s going on. Airlift exactly does that. Often riveting with brilliant and underplayed performances, the movie is a true gem when it comes to an amalgamation of both storytelling as well as meticulously planned film making.

Akshay Kumar sheds off his massy, over-dosed commercial image that he is known for and portrays his character with such ease and dedication that makes us relive those events without any such effort. Nimrat Kaur (as Amritha Katyal), on the other hand, takes her time to blend in to the movie’s scope until a monologue where she stands up for her husband’s actions and acts as an emotional support. She aces it with her homely, yet powerful performance.
Backed with gritty and taut sequences, amazing cinematography, extemporaneous screenplay and well-guided acting by the supporting characters, Airlift leaves you with an emotional high when the end credits start rolling.
Undertaken for more than 59 days, over 488 Indian airlines and Air India flights and bringing almost 1,70,000 Indians home, it is the largest evacuation that has ever happened. Though slow at times, the movie is full of passion and patriotism, which makes us leave with a full-heart when we come out of the theatres.

I’m going with three and a half stars out of five. Other than the occasional drags in the screenplay, Airlift deserves a watch for its earnestness and brilliant performances by its cast.

Rating –

HACKED!

  “A lot of hacking is playing with other people, you know, getting them to do strange things. “

~ Steve Wozniack 

Hello! If you are reading this article, then I have gained access to your brain to implant my thoughts so that we both could have a cognitive handshake. Wasn’t it that easy for me to access some part of your brain’s attention consciously and at your will? If I, sitting in the comfort of my living room, over a cup of coffee, could grab your conscience with not much effort, how long do you think it would take a computer junkie to hack you with no effort at all?

Psyching! Isn’t it?

We usually spend most of our free time indulging ourselves in social media. Statistics say that users spend an average of 40-50 minutes on Facebook, 20 minutes on Tumblr, 30 minutes on Instagram and 15 minutes on both twitter and Snapchat per day. And then there’s Whatsapp, the official gateway to have a long-lasting friendship. If one is on all these platforms, then it comes to almost 8% of his or her day, excluding the time spent on Whatsapp (Aren’t we online all the time?). Well, 8% of one’s day may as well seem less when compared to other errands that we go through. But, what if we lose 8% of our day for 365 days at a stretch? That comes to around 500 valuable and productive hours that we could have used to keep ourselves fit, learn a language or even develop a new habit.

Hackers are always looking out for something on the net. The moment they spot an interesting thing, they shall not think twice to exploit its vulnerabilities. So if you think you are safe, am afraid that you are not.

Let me justify that with a simple example of Facebook itself. When you sign up for a new account you give all your basic credentials like: Name, DOB, E-mail ID and your Gender. Once you setup your account you also provide them with your city of residence, city of birth, relationship status, sexual preference, employment details, your hobbies, and religious views and so on and so forth. Oh gosh! So much information that even your parents don’t know about? That’s awakening.

More so, they do monitor your entire online life. As in, details about the videos you’ve watched, your friend list, comments you’ve liked, comments you’ve posted, how much time you spend online, location status and what not. Your profile is also up for sale and it’s a non-secretive business model of Facebook. All those information were not voluntarily taken from us, instead it’s us who gave it to them involuntarily on a silver platter. It is hard to keep track of our online and offline activities and maintain our privacy. To strike a balance between the two takes effort.

 

“Hacking is like sex. You get in; you get out; and hope that you didn’t leave something that can be traced back to you.”

Who could forget about the infamous hacks that happened in the past? When a hacking group calling itself “Guardians of Peace” broke into Snapchat’s archived emails which described about their startup ambitions and also loads of personal photos being leaked? Wouldn’t that man who put his blood and soul into it be devastated? Not to mention the abominable iCloud hack too, that went frenzy on the net which gave the world an entrance to the personal lives of celebrities.

A hack might be ephemeral as well, something that infects your system for just a while which is mostly left unnoticed. It’s difficult not to be paranoid about our online activities and be careless about it. It’s left to us to save ourselves from a possible identity theft that may result in us being enslaved by others. The truth is that, it’s not in our hands anymore unless we specifically make an effort to restrict our exercises on cyberspace.

We aren’t ethically hacked; but, aren’t we are psychologically hacked? Every act that we undertake on a social platform is a fitting evidence that we are counter dependent on a virtual world to give us the license to say that we lead a communal life on the Internet. Facebook likes defining one’s popularity, number of comments on a post showing how jobless people are, interminable friend list that actually says how lonely a person is, Instagram posts, tweets and what not. We all know none of it actually matters, but it doesn’t stop us from practicing it every single day. The hack is so intense and unrecognizable that we all do it unconsciously fooling our conscious mind hoping to have an adrenaline rush so that we could feel AWESOME about ourselves. Oh yeah! Such BS!!!!….

All that being said, if given a chance to wipe all your identity on the Internet, would you do it? Well, even if you do, how secure are you anyway?

“In the end, you have nothing in the Cyber World. It’s just a fake identity. “

                                                                                                                       

 

WHAT’S UP WITH THIS SOUTH INDIAN IDLI?

Idli, Ragi idli, Rava idli, Oats idli, Brown rice idli, Banana idli, Semiya idli, Chilly egg idli, Masala idli, Sambar idli, Fried idli, iCurd idli, Thatte idli, idli upma, Idli curry, Poha idli and many more……

Across 28 states, by different religions, practicing different cultures, using different culinary methods, idli is one of the most common foods in India. Idli is the savory cake of South India. Not a single week passes by without an idli – sambar meal in a South Indian home. What makes idli so special is that it is very easy and takes little effort to prepare.

A circular, white and a spongy soft vegetarian dish made out of fermented batter, idli is one of those simple foods which go well with almost anything and everything. It is a gift to the teeth for its tenderness, a feast to the taste buds with proper grinded South Indian spicy chutney. What more can I say when the very special sambar is added onto the menu? A delight indeed!

Idli-sambar is a signature dish for us, the South Indians, where as its roti-dal in the north. But the one thing that unites us is the culture we have inherited from our ancestors and the respect and appreciation that we shower on our culinary counterparts.

Now, before I say anything more, let me go hog all the idlis that my mom has specially made for me! What are you waiting for? Aren’t you appetizing them yet?

THE DOPPELGANGER THREAT!

Who are you? What is your purpose in life? What character do you exhibit? Are you living a life true to your potential? Are you happy?

These are few of the questions which resound in our minds every now and then. It is like a structure programmed in our brains which keeps repeating itself in an infinite loop all through our lives. These are the questions which do not have answers – because once we do – the very meaning and purpose of life would come to a halt.

It is a fact that most of us do not achieve the success that we deserve because we all are curious to know what is happening in others’ lives. We tend to peek into others’ persona and get judgemental about all that we lack compared to our envious counterparts.  And this is a vicious cycle. It gets back at us eventually.

It is said that we have seven look-alikes in the world .Irrespective of us comparing ourselves with others, what would you do if you end up meeting one of your look-alikes?

Consider that you have met one of those seven look-alikes of yours.

The questions in anyone’s mind would be who is this look-alike? Is the double a twin of yours that your mother never spoke of? Or is he/she just a random person who is a look alike? You could even possibly think that you are hallucinating or dreaming. Crazy human minds, you see!

You would be in a state of shock with ever increasing heart-rate, surprised, perturbed, taken aback, and with a millions of questions in your mind.

And assume that your doppelganger is a better version of you. He/she is successful, charming, wise, intelligent, and is a person who does not quit. The lookalike may even be living in the same place as you do.

How would you react in that particular situation? Would you be happy for your double? Or, would you feel insecure about your identity? How would anyone comprehend this precarious circumstance?

And if the look alike was exactly what you wanted to be in your life, won’t you be encroached and demotivated?

In reality there is always a doppelganger living right along with us. But this doppelganger has no physical presence, but an apparition, a phantom that we have created in our minds. This phantom that we have created is the perfect representation of what we want to be. This phantom is always wise in taking decisions, has broadened set of horizons, funny, dedicated and compassionate. This lives with us in parallel – but – virtually. We all hope to be that person one day. The version 2.0!

It is up to us to tap into that doppelganger within us and rise above adversity. Just like the saying, “Nothing can dim the light which shines from within”.

HAPPY NEW YEAR….

 

Cast: Shah Rukh Khan, Deepika Padukone, Abhishek Bachchan, Boman Irani, Sonu Sood, Vivvan Shah, Jackie Shroff
Director: Farah Khan
What’s it about?

HAPPY NEW YEAR directed by Farah Khan has Shah Rukh Khan in lead as Charlie. Charlie is on a revenge mode to avenge his father’s death due to an accused theft of a very precious diamond. He then assembles a team of luckless ‘losers’ to assist him to steal a bunch of diamonds from a big businessman(Jackie Shroff) at the finale of World Dance Championship where the diamond has been planned to be displayed for one night in Dubai. Charlie and his team embark on all the possible ways to get into the finale illegally. Did SRK and his team succeed to get to the finale? Did Charlie get his revenge? What follows is a series of mini-plots, forced humor and unnecessary songs with a huge cast.
Is it good?
Happy New Year never gets itself clear: whether is it a revenge-saga or is it a comedy-drama or a heist movie? In the process of making a perfect Bollywood entertainer, Farah Khan tries to combine all the genres with very less homework and tries to pack it in a naïve way. At the end, it ends up as a 3 hour long drool. Neither it is witty and humorous nor is it as ingenious as a perfect heist movie. It makes you cringe in your seat at times. The only thing that shines in this crass comedy is its conviction in its main plot, to avenge the death of Charlie’s father. The movie takes its time to get on track. All the six characters are introduced in the stupidest way possible and it follows the same old template of any other Bollywood movie. HNY is best in its last 40 minutes or so. Everything comes together well during the heist even though we’ve seen it a million times. Luckily the comedy works well at its final hours!
HNY is a perfect desi product: brilliant cinematography, grand production values, visually appealing cast and extravagant art direction. The songs are splendid in its allure but, in a movie where dance takes the main-stage, it’s a shame on the makers that none of the songs stand out for its choreography. The movie is deeply flawed; thanks to the undercooked script and poorly handled direction. It never works in most parts.
How have they performed?

SRK acts well but his characterization is half-baked and is misplaced at most of the situations. He tries too hard to get every nuance right and ends up over acting at times. For an actor who has the biggest fan base, it is uncanny in every way that why he chooses such scripts despite having the best resources. Abhishek Bachchan gives one of his career best performances in a tricky dual role. He is jocular and humorous in every way. Deepika Padukone’s character falls for a guy who speaks ‘THE ENGLISH’ well. Yes, you heard it right, ‘THE ENGLISH’. She does justice to her part and is at her glamorous best. Boman Irani, Sonu Sood, Vivvan shah and Jackie Shroff play their cards right.

Who should watch?
Fans of SRK, Deepika and those who love commercial cinema. It has everything in it to become a senseless Bollywood mega-hit. Can be seen for the cinematography alone!
Who shouldn’t?
If you’ve seen all the brilliant heist movies, if you aren’t a fan of insensible and naïve commercial cinema, then this one will give you a headache.
Final thoughts:
HNY is pure Blockbuster material. It takes all the cinematic liberties to justify itself in most of its juvenile encounters in its screenplay. The movie entertains in parts and leaves you longing for more. Given such a brilliant cast, team HNY could’ve concentrated to stick to one proper plot. It gets congested and intolerable at times when SRK utters dialogues from his previous films. This  isn’t a memorable one for SRK and Farah Khan compared to their last outing Om Shanti Om.
Verdict: Another B-Town movie which exploits the vulnerabilities of the festive season to attract spectators. Utterly disappointing!
Rating: 2/5

BANG BANG!

Cast: Hrithik Roshan, Katrina Kaif, Danny Denzongpa, Pavan Malhotra, Javed Jaffrey, Deepti Naval, Kanwaljeet Singh

Director: Siddharth Anand

Release date: October 02, 2014

Songs: Vishal-Shekhar

Background Score: Salim-Sulaiman

Produced by: Fox star studios

What’s it about?

BANG BANG! An official remake of the 2011 Tom cruise – Cameron Diaz starrer Knight And Day has Hrithik Roshan as Rajveer, a mysterious thief who’s stolen the Kohinoor diamond from the MI6 HQ. He dodges from the law and the henchmen of a criminal mastermind, meets Harleen(played by Katrina) on his globetrotting adventure. He falls in love with Harleen on this escapade and what follows is a series of intentional songs, action sequences and the spark-less romance between the lead pair. Why did Hrithik steal the diamond? Why are the criminals after him? Did his love succeed eventually? All these form the crux of the story.

Is it good?

The main problem with Bang Bang is in its writing. Every scene looks incomplete and either lot of things happen at a time or nothing happens in a particular scene. The chemistry between the hero and heroine lacks radiance and Katrina’s character ends up being very annoying after sometime. There’s not much to expect in such a straightforward story, but a little bit of concentration and homework over packaging those hummable songs, thumping action sequences shot in exotic locales would have made Bang Bang a better product. In spite of having such an excellent and dedicated actor like Hrithik , who is at his best on screen, the movie ends up as a tiring watch. The only asset in an otherwise old-school action movie is Bang Bang’s cinematography. Action sequences are slick and enjoyable; illogical at times. The movie lacks charm when compared to its English version.

 

 

How have they performed?

Hrithik Roshan and Katrina Kaif looks like a million bucks on screen. Even during the most physically tiring sequences in the movie there is not even a single scratch on Katrina’s face. Her acting is as plastic as her lipstick. Hrithik gets a chance to rip off his shirt every now and then to display his perfectly oiled-abs, and yes the girls did drool over him in the theater. He is funny, angry, smart, charismatic, fit and the only saving grace in this otherwise boring film. The performances by the support cast are apt except for the antagonists’ characterizations which look caricatured.

Who should watch?

This movie is a treat for the fans of Hrithik and Katrina. Action lovers might lap it up for its expensive and over-the-top set pieces. A must watch for youngsters who would like to go on a date. All in all, a commercial pot boiler. If you have a couple of hours to waste, then go grab a pack of popcorn and enjoy!

Who shouldn’t?

If you are a person who wants to watch sensible and meaningful cinema, please stay away from it.

My opinion

If given a chance to choose between Knight And Day and Bang Bang, I would watch the former anytime. Hrithik is no match to Tom Cruise.

Verdict:  Not much of a BANG!

Rating:    2.5/5