tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31768266632092760592024-03-05T18:15:05.864+01:00Santhosh's Blog (2009-2018)Note: I am creating a new blog, letting go of my "first baby" (last post published in 2018)
Swiss, Indian, Global citizen. //
Views, reviews, hues. //
Movies, music, cricket, TV shows. //
Bollywood, Hollywood, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Netflix. //
Lifeblogs, philosophy, musings, covers. //
Disclaimer: This is a personal blog and not a corporate blog. Views are my own and not of my employer's.Santhosh GVAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11232045427511172145noreply@blogger.comBlogger68125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3176826663209276059.post-4949322375474625702018-04-24T09:17:00.000+02:002018-04-24T09:26:00.251+02:00Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase 3 recap and the road to Infinity War<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">All my fellow Marvel fans, ASSEMBLE! Alright, sorry for the dramatic entry, but I just can't help being hyped for Avengers: Infinity War! We're officially in the release week, and well, me being me, i.e. overly cautious and paranoid, this is what it means for my Twitter feed:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">That's one way to start a week. I think I'm officially ready for <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/InfinityWar?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#InfinityWar</a> Week. (Will this tweet also get muted đ€ đ) <a href="https://t.co/3fHf3XLSGg">pic.twitter.com/3fHf3XLSGg</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">â Santhosh (@SanthM) <a href="https://twitter.com/SanthM/status/988335177192624129?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 23, 2018</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I have also disabled my Facebook push notifications and logged out of the app. (Yes, I'm indeed freakishly paranoid)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Jokes aside, this is probably one of the biggest cinematic events of my life, having been such an ardent fan of this franchise. Another reason this is close to my heart, is one of my first "passionate" posts here, was about the first Avengers, right before its release. I had also made a summary post, a recap of Phase 2 back in 2015. (links below)</span><br>
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<span style="color: #38761d; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://santhosh-geneva.blogspot.ch/2012/04/avengers-2012-im-part-of-hype-oh-yes-i.html" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms", sans-serif;" target="_blank">The Avengers (2012) - I'm part of the hype.. oh yes, I am!</a></span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> </span><a href="https://santhosh-geneva.blogspot.ch/2012/04/avengers-2012-im-part-of-hype-oh-yes-i.html" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms", sans-serif;">https://santhosh-geneva.blogspot.ch/2012/04/avengers-2012-im-part-of-hype-oh-yes-i.html</a><br>
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<span style="color: #38761d; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://santhosh-geneva.blogspot.ch/2015/06/marvel-cinematic-universe-views-on.html" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms", sans-serif;" target="_blank">Marvel Cinematic Universe: Views on Phase 2, Ultron, Ant-Man and Daredevil</a></span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> </span><a href="https://santhosh-geneva.blogspot.ch/2015/06/marvel-cinematic-universe-views-on.html" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms", sans-serif;">https://santhosh-geneva.blogspot.ch/2015/06/marvel-cinematic-universe-views-on.html</a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">So it's only apt that I look back and write about the entertaining 3rd Phase through mini-summaries (again, no spoilers), followed with a brief build-up to all things Thanos and Infinity War. (No spoilers for the latter either, of course)</span><br>
</div></div><a href="https://santhosh-geneva.blogspot.com/2018/04/marvel-cinematic-universe-phase-3-recap.html#more">Read more »</a>Santhosh GVAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11232045427511172145noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3176826663209276059.post-60659109928684447552018-01-09T18:00:00.000+01:002018-01-09T18:00:39.905+01:002017 Year in Review for Bollywood (lists only)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Hello readers! Here's wishing you all a very happy 2018, and wish you all the very best for the coming year!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">2017 was not much of a good year for the blog (or my creative outlets), but here's hoping to be more regular on my own website. Apologies for the delay in putting out this post, because of which I cannot do the usual detailed mini-reviews for each of the entries featured in the post. But still thought of compiling the respective lists. (Because who doesn't want to let go of their good yearly habits, right?) So here you go! Feel free to mention your thoughts and feedback! And Happy New Year once again! Cheers :)</span></div>
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</div><a href="https://santhosh-geneva.blogspot.com/2018/01/2017-year-in-review-for-bollywood-lists.html#more">Read more »</a>Santhosh GVAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11232045427511172145noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3176826663209276059.post-12382351725452149702017-03-26T18:55:00.004+02:002017-03-26T18:55:57.642+02:00Music review: Noor (2017)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<i><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Note: the link to the soundtrack jukebox, and the soundtrack credits are featured at the end of this post.</span></i><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The title track <b>Uff Yeh Noor</b> sung by Armaan Malik feels like something different from his usual style of songs, and he nails this one as well. The track has a very peppy and light feel to it, also featuring some interesting instrumental portions towards the second half of it.</span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Sukriti Kakar gets behind the mic for <b>Jise Kehte Pyaar </b><b class="">Hai</b>, and does a great job at giving it the finesse and subtlety required, for what is a fresh breezy and sweet composition. The <i>sargam </i>portions are a really nice touch, nicely executed by Sukriti. Amaal Mallik keeps it simple for this one, and it ends up creating a feel-good and happy song.</span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Prakriti Kakar gets an ace of a composition through <b>Hai Zaroori</b>, which is my second-most favorite song of the album. Following the style and feel of songs like <i>Tujhe Bhula Diya</i> from <i>Anjaana Anjaani</i> and <i>Mitra </i>from <i>Band Baaja Baaraat</i>, this one belongs to that category of songs, which simply strike a chord in you. It ends up being an impactful composition with brilliant vocals, effective lyrics by Manoj Muntashir, and all the right feels.</span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">To be frank, I have not been a fan of all the recent remakes of older songs, with only a few of them working for me. Moreover, the bit of <b><span style="color: blue;">Gulabi 2.0</span></b> which was featured in the trailer got me a bit worried, yet when the whole song came out it instantly thrilled me - and it is my top pick of this album. An incredibly innovative arrangement, highly catchy beats, effective vocals by Tulsi Kumar, Yash Narvekar, and Amaal Mallik himself, with some fun lyrics thrown in the mix. It is a remake that sounds fresh, without ruining the original by RD Burman, all while being a totally different product on its own - something that a lot of the recent remixes failed to achieve.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><u>What is the Verdict:</u></b> <span style="color: #660000;">Ishq Waala Love</span>? <span style="color: #cc0000;">Love</span>? <span style="color: #674ea7;">Likey a lot</span>? <span style="color: #3d85c6;">Likey</span>? <span style="color: #6aa84f;">So-so</span>? <span style="color: #f1c232;">Bad</span>? <span style="color: #e69138;">Really Bad</span>? <span style="color: #999999;">Horrible</span>?</span><span style="font-size: large;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="line-height: 18.48px;"><b><u>My Verdict:</u> </b></span></span><b style="color: #444444; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #674ea7; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Likey<span style="text-align: left;"> a lot</span></span></b></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"></span></div>
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</span> <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><u>Final Word:</u> </b>After Amaal Mallik's highly impressive debut solo album in <i>MS Dhoni - An Untold Story</i>, he delivers yet another winner with the soundtrack of <i>Noor</i>. Keeping things simple, yet giving them a creative twist where needed, he creates a highly likable handful of songs, in what is a small but cool soundtrack.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Full Soundtrack Credits</span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Song - Uff Yeh Noor </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: georgia, times new roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">Music Composer - Amaal Mallik</span><br />
<span style="font-family: georgia, times new roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">Singer - Armaan Malik.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: georgia, times new roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">Lyrics - Manoj Muntashir </span><br />
<span style="font-family: georgia, times new roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">Music Label - T-Series </span><br />
<span style="font-family: georgia, times new roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">Song Arranged and Produced by - Meghdeep Bose & Amaal Mallik.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: georgia, times new roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">Song Mixed & Mastered By - Eric Pillai at Future Sound Of Bombay.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: georgia, times new roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">Mix Assistants - Michael Edwin Pillai & Lucky.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: georgia, times new roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">Music Assistants - Shishir Samant, Krish Trivedi, Zaid Patni, Yash Narvekar, Gaurav Sanghvi, Anvay Patil & Rujul Deolikar.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: georgia, times new roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">Lead Vocals Recorded by - Amey Londhe & Vincent Joseph at Audiogarage Studios.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: georgia, times new roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">Song Name : Gulabi 2.0 </span><br />
<span style="font-family: georgia, times new roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">Singers - Amaal Mallik, Tulsi Kumar & Yash Narvekar.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: georgia, times new roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">Music - Amaal Mallik</span><br />
<span style="font-family: georgia, times new roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">Lyrics - Kumaar</span><br />
<span style="font-family: georgia, times new roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">Music Label - T-Series </span><br />
<span style="font-family: georgia, times new roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">Song Arranged and Produced by - Abhijit Vaghani & Sourav Roy.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: georgia, times new roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">Addition Programming - Amaal Mallik & Riz Shain. Aditya N.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: georgia, times new roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">Song Mixed & Mastered By - Eric Pillai at Future Sound Of Bombay.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: georgia, times new roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">Mix Assistants - Lucky & Michael Edwin Pillai.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: georgia, times new roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">Music Assistants - Shishir Samant, Krish Trivedi, Zaid Patni, Yash Narvekar, Gaurav Sanghvi, Anvay Patil & Rujul Deolikar.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: georgia, times new roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">Vocals Recorded by - Surajit Ghosh Mazumdar & Datta Narvekar (T Series Studios) Amey Londhe & Vincent Joseph (Audiogarage Studios).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: georgia, times new roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">Choreography by - Adil Shaikh</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: georgia, times new roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">Original Song Credits: Film- The Train. Singer-Mohammed Rafi.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: georgia, times new roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">Music By- R. D. Burman. Lyricist- Anand Bakshi.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: georgia, times new roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">Original Music Composition Rights: Universal Music Publishing Pvt.Ltd.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: georgia, times new roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">Song: Jise Kehte Pyaar Hai </span><br />
<span style="font-family: georgia, times new roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">Singer: Sukriti Kakar</span><br />
<span style="font-family: georgia, times new roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">Music: Amaal Mallik </span><br />
<span style="font-family: georgia, times new roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">Lyrics: Kumaar </span><br />
<span style="font-family: georgia, times new roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">Music Label: T-Series </span><br />
<span style="font-family: georgia, times new roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">Song Arranged And Produced By - Jim Satya & Amaal Mallik.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: georgia, times new roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">Song Mixed & Mastered By - Eric Pillai At Future Sound Of Bombay.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: georgia, times new roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">Mix Assistants - Lucky & Michael Edwin Pillai.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: georgia, times new roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">Music Assistants - Shishir Samant, Krish Trivedi, Zaid Patni ,Yash Narvekar, Gaurav Sanghvi, Anvay Patil & Rujul Deolikar. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: georgia, times new roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">Live Guitars - Ankur Mukherjee. Lead Vocals Conducted By - Krish Trivedi. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: georgia, times new roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">Backing Vocals Arranged By - Meghdeep Bose. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: georgia, times new roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">Backing Vocalists - Roshni Baptist, Mohini Gaur, Shishir Samant & Meghdeep Bose. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: georgia, times new roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">Song Recorded By Amey Londhe & Vincent Joseph At Audiogarage Studios. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: georgia, times new roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">Song : Hai Zaroori </span><br />
<span style="font-family: georgia, times new roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">Singer: Prakriti Kakar</span><br />
<span style="font-family: georgia, times new roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">Music: Amaal Mallik </span><br />
<span style="font-family: georgia, times new roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">Lyrics: Manoj Muntashir</span><br />
<span style="font-family: georgia, times new roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">Music Label : T-Series </span><br />
<span style="font-family: georgia, times new roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">Song Arranged And Produced By - Meghdeep Bose & Amaal Mallik. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: georgia, times new roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">Additional Programming - Joel Mukherjee & Nilotpal Bora. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: georgia, times new roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">Song Mixed & Mastered By - Eric Pillai At Future Sound Of Bombay. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: georgia, times new roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">Mix Assistants - Lucky & Michael Edwin Pillai. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: georgia, times new roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">Music Assistants - Shishir Samant, Krish Trivedi, Zaid Patni, Yash Narvekar, Gaurav Sanghvi, Anvay Patil & Rujul Deolikar. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: georgia, times new roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">Live Guitars - Joel Mukherjee.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: georgia, times new roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">Vocals Conducted & Recorded By - Amaal Mallik & Meghdeep Bose. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: georgia, times new roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">Song: Gulabi Redux </span><br />
<span style="font-family: georgia, times new roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">Singer : Yash Narvekar & Tulsi Kumar </span><br />
<span style="font-family: georgia, times new roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">Music : Amaal Mallik </span><br />
<span style="font-family: georgia, times new roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">Lyrics : Kumaar </span><br />
<span style="font-family: georgia, times new roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">Music Label: T-Series</span><br />
<span style="font-family: georgia, times new roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">Song Arranged And Produced By - Abhijit Vaghani & Sourav Roy.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: georgia, times new roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">Addition Programming - Amaal Mallik & Riz Shain. Aditya N.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: georgia, times new roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">Song Mixed & Mastered By - Eric Pillai At Future Sound Of Bombay.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: georgia, times new roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">Mix Assistants - Lucky & Michael Edwin Pillai.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: georgia, times new roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">Music Assistants - Shishir Samant, Krish Trivedi, Zaid Patni, Yash Narvekar, Gaurav Sanghvi, Anvay Patil & Rujul Deolikar.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: georgia, times new roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">Vocals Recorded By - Surajit Ghosh Mazumdar & Datta Narvekar (T Series Studios) Amey Londhe & Vincent Joseph (Audiogarage Studios).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: georgia, times new roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">Choreography By - Adil Shaikh</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: georgia, times new roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">Original Song Credits: Film- The Train. Singer-Mohammed Rafi. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: georgia, times new roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">Music By- R. D. Burman. Lyricist- Anand Bakshi. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: georgia, times new roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">Original Music Composition Rights : Universal Music Publishing Pvt.Ltd. </span></div>
Santhosh GVAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11232045427511172145noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3176826663209276059.post-85193521222467341582017-01-22T18:46:00.000+01:002017-01-22T18:47:27.673+01:00Lifeblog: New year, same me (January 2017)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Greetings, one and all!<br />
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We may be reaching the end of January, but here's still taking the opportunity to wish you all a Happy New Year! Here's hoping you have a wonderful year ahead, with a lot of happiness, prosperity and good health!<br />
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It is indeed yet another clean slate to start all over again, regardless of how we fared during the previous year. Whenever we approach the end of the year, I always used to feel very gloomy about it - and this dates back to my teenage years! While every person of my age group was out there in a festive and happy mood, I was mostly deeply sad and sort of pessimistic about the year that went by. Yeah, I was kind of a pointless philosopher even during my teenage years, as weird as it may sound. <i>*rolls his eyes*</i> And that mindset stuck in my head ever since for all these years...<br />
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...until this year, thankfully! Despite 2016 having been a pretty awful year for me in many ways, I made the conscious decision of keeping myself calm and genuinely happy during the month of December, and it ended being the month where a lot of things were moving forward, thankfully! "Fortune favors the brave" and all that, I guess?<br />
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And as we are slowly approaching February, I feel very zen and satisfied at this point in my life. Things may be moving really slowly, but I'm just being thankful that they finally are. In terms of career, health, and various other aspects, a lot of things are FINALLY falling into place... Even if it took me an entire year to get things going.<br />
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The whole "new year, new me" mindset (which people often make fun of, as seen in memes like the one below) may be "annoying" in many ways, but it is a good place to be, as you enter a new year. I personally stopped making resolutions, but I still believe in the concept of "dreams", and "ambitions". At least it feels like there is less pressure in this sort of mindset... The whole "external factor" (whether you call it "luck", "God", "destiny", or whatever it is for you) always has a major impact on these sort of things - so even if you put in your best (which you should, either way!), when things fall apart you tend to feel down because you "broke your resolution".<br />
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Whereas if you simply make a list of "wishes", or "dreams", which you keep as a note, you can have the luxury of fulfilling them, to the best of your ability. It sounds much lighter and less "rigid" than a "resolution", for me personally. Think of it of as a "bucket list" for 2017 - try to tick as many as you can, before the year ends. Has a very fun and happy vibe to it!<br />
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Now I can imagine some of you are entering 2017 after having faced hurdles, failures, personal tragedies, or just mere disappointment. If it's indeed the case, I'm truly sorry... I happened to watch a bunch of Disney movies off late, and as conveniently comforting it was for me, there were a lot of deep quotes that really surprised, inspired and moved me. So keeping in mind this context, here's one for you from the Lion King:<br />
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<b><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace; font-size: large;">"Oh yes, the past can hurt you. But the way I see it, you can either run from it... or learn from it!"</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace; font-size: large;">- Rafiki, The Lion King (1994)</span></b><br />
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Have a wonderful year.. make it yours! Cheers :)</div>
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P.S. Have given the blog a new look, including a page with all my various covers posted on my social media profiles. Do check it out -> <a href="http://santhosh-geneva.blogspot.ch/p/singing-and-music-samples.html">http://santhosh-geneva.blogspot.ch/p/singing-and-music-samples.html</a></div>
Santhosh GVAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11232045427511172145noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3176826663209276059.post-17878704413298914882017-01-02T09:19:00.000+01:002017-01-02T09:19:36.808+01:002016 Year In Review for Bollywood, and Upcoming 2017 Releases<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Here's wishing everyone a very Happy New Year, and wishing you lots of happiness, good health, and success this year! Despite posting this a tad later than desired, I did not want to miss out on writing my usual Year In Review for Bollywood post, as it has been a ritual on this blog for the last few years. This post is sort of like my personal Bollywood guide on what I felt to be the best movies of 2016, and the movies to look forward to this year.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">A quick side note: It has been kind of annoying to read on a few Indian media websites things like "2016 having been a bad year for Hindi cinema" or "2016 not having too many good Hindi movies" - when there have been a good number of well-made movies this year! So here we go, hope you enjoy the following lists, which includes the movies I watched and enjoyed, as well as the movies I couldn't watch but heard good or great things about them. Here we go!</span><br>
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</div></div><a href="https://santhosh-geneva.blogspot.com/2017/01/2016-year-in-review-for-bollywood-and.html#more">Read more »</a>Santhosh GVAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11232045427511172145noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3176826663209276059.post-52274166985764763012016-12-28T17:45:00.001+01:002016-12-28T17:46:38.090+01:00Year-End Special: Top 30 Bollywood songs of 2016<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Hello all!<br>
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As this year comes to an end, here's reviving my blog yet again to write the usual year-end posts; it is indeed a personal "ritual" I do not want to lose, and these posts are usually among the most popular ones on my blog. So why change a winning formula, right?</div>
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The first one of the year-end posts will be my pick for what I deem to be the best Bollywood songs of the year. And wow, this has been yet another great year for Hindi music generally! Thus it was obviously a rather difficult list to compile, as it is every year - I am indeed expecting some feedback on the lines of "Why did you leave out THIS song?" and the likes. This list is based on my personal choices, but I'm hoping you will enjoy it. <b>I have featured a playlist at the bottom including all these songs mentioned in the list.</b> Here we go!</div>
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</div></div><a href="https://santhosh-geneva.blogspot.com/2016/12/year-end-special-top-30-bollywood-songs.html#more">Read more »</a>Santhosh GVAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11232045427511172145noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3176826663209276059.post-38240233671005567032016-11-22T19:52:00.000+01:002016-11-22T20:00:09.685+01:00Cricket: The unstoppable force that is Virat Kohli - stats summary (as of 22 November 2016)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<i>Note: this blog post was written and published prior to the 3rd India-England Test at Mohali, and excludes his performances in the IPL and other similar T20 tournaments</i><br>
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This year may have been terrible in many ways for a lot of us, but I'm sure Virat Kohli isn't complaining. He has indeed had a fantastic 2016, and the numbers speak for themselves! The reason why I'm writing this post is because I was just very curious about what the numbers have to say about Kohli's nearly perfect 2016 and his career in general. So I went on looking online for the various statistics, and they were SO phenomenal. Moreover, from looking up his 2016 success online, I ended up getting stats about his career itself, and my jaw kept dropping even lower and lower every single time. So I thought to myself "Why not just share these thoughts I have on Kohli's career thus far in a post on my good ol' blog?" I have not published many cricket-related posts on the blog off late, so this comes at a good time for the page. It's my first time dealing with stats and numbers, so feel free to let me know your feedback on this post. Here we go!<br>
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</div><a href="https://santhosh-geneva.blogspot.com/2016/11/cricket-unstoppable-force-that-is-virat.html#more">Read more »</a>Santhosh GVAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11232045427511172145noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3176826663209276059.post-54504737328630517762016-10-28T15:47:00.002+02:002016-10-28T15:53:01.003+02:00Music Review: Ae Dil Hai Mushkil (2016)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">(The link to the soundtrack jukebox is featured at the end of this post)</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Review</span></b></h2>
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</span> <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Alizeh </b>features really good vocals from Arijit Singh, Ash King and Shashwat Singh, and an interesting church song-like arrangement. Beyond that it doesn't impress all that much, but it remains a decent melodious listen.</span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Cutie Pie</b> is a goofy song with whacky lyrics, but it is effective. Sung by Nakash Aziz and Pradeep Singh Sran, his voice goes really well the mood of the song. The song having a nice Punjabi flavor to it boasts of an extremely catchy beat.</span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">One would think a song which features the line "breakup song" over and over again may be a bit too much, but <b>The Breakup Song</b> actually works as a song. Jonita Gandhi brings it to life with her powerhouse vocals, and does a great job to match the energy of Arijit Singh's voice. The rap by Badshah is also a nice inclusion in this one.</span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Featuring a really nice element of rock with some really good use of guitar, <b>Bulleya </b>is a really impressive song. Amit Mishra does an outstanding job behind the mic, truly gives the track the power it requires. Shilpa Rao also does really well in the brief portions given to her.</span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">What works really well in <b>Channa Mereya </b>are the simple arrangement, the neat singing by Arijit and the wonderful lyrics by Amitabh Bhattacharya. Arijit Singh brings out his very best in this one singing-wise, giving it the right feels from the very start of the song till the last moment.</span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">My pick of the album is the title track, <b><span style="color: blue;">Ae Dil Hai Mushkil</span></b>. It was a very difficult choice between this and the previous track, both being personal favorites, but what makes the title track stand out is the blend between the brilliant composition and the perfect vocals by Arijit Singh. And it goes without saying that the lyrics are again effective and striking. (Note: I actually rate Ae Dil Hai Mushkil as my favorite track of the year as of now)</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><u>What is the Verdict:</u></b> <span style="color: #660000;">Ishq Waala Love</span>? <span style="color: #cc0000;">Love</span>? <span style="color: #674ea7;">Likey a lot</span>? <span style="color: #3d85c6;">Likey</span>? <span style="color: #6aa84f;">So-so</span>? <span style="color: #f1c232;">Bad</span>? <span style="color: #e69138;">Really Bad</span>? <span style="color: #999999;">Horrible</span>?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium; line-height: 18.48px; text-align: left;"><b><u>My Verdict:</u> </b></span><span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: medium; text-align: left;"><b>Love</b></span></span></div>
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</span> <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><u>Final Word:</u></b> Despite hoping <b>Ae Dil Hai Mushkil</b> would be a huge soundtrack in terms of quantity, this 6-song album by Pritam and Amitabh Bhattacharya really delivers. Featuring some great vocals all round and a good variety of songs, the product of Pritam's first collaboration with Karan Johar is a winner all the way!</span><br />
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<div class="_SMB-saavn-remote" data-id="2ByTwH6xkWk_" data-imageurl="" data-partner="" data-size="poster" data-type="album">
<a href="http://saavn.com/p/album/hindi/Ae-Dil-Hai-Mushkil-2016/2ByTwH6xkWk_" rel="nofollow">Listen to Ae-Dil-Hai-Mushkil-2016 on Saavn</a></div>
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Santhosh GVAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11232045427511172145noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3176826663209276059.post-24862518876167025562016-10-25T21:32:00.003+02:002016-10-25T21:33:44.884+02:00SK Article Excerpt: Why MS Dhoni must not be put under pressure ahead of the 4th ODI against New Zealand<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3xioFUUo1MY/WA-zTrkjvWI/AAAAAAAAPNw/5o7e0_bIO7EHYUuKAR1PRmUD2EOPLiF0ACLcB/s1600/515844320-1477403068-800.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="287" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3xioFUUo1MY/WA-zTrkjvWI/AAAAAAAAPNw/5o7e0_bIO7EHYUuKAR1PRmUD2EOPLiF0ACLcB/s400/515844320-1477403068-800.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">The man who has given India numerous victories with his captaincy. The man who has re-written the rulebook of wicket-keeping. The best ever finisher in world cricket. The coolest mind of the game.</span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br style="white-space: pre-wrap;" /><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">All these claims and titles go along with results and records for the Indian cricket team. Despite all of the various elements described above, there is no doubt that MS Dhoni is a man who is an easy target for haters.</span><br style="white-space: pre-wrap;" /><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">(contd.)</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br style="white-space: pre-wrap;" /><b><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Read the full article here: </span><a href="http://www.sportskeeda.com/cricket/thoughts-from-a-dhoni-fan-on-why-he-should-not-be-put-under-pressure-ahead-of-the-4th-odi" rel="nofollow" style="cursor: text; pointer-events: none; white-space: pre-wrap;" target="_blank">http://www.sportskeeda.com/cricket/thoughts-from-a-dhoni-fan-on-why-he-should-not-be-put-under-pressure-ahead-of-the-4th-odi</a></b></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">(Originally posted on <a href="http://www.sportskeeda.com/" target="_blank">Sportskeeda </a>on 25 October 2016)</span></span><br />
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Santhosh GVAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11232045427511172145noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3176826663209276059.post-71152339361412378462016-10-25T13:05:00.000+02:002016-10-25T13:59:09.117+02:00SK Article Excerpt: Realisations of a Swiss Indian fan after PV Sindhuâs inspiring performance at Rio 2016<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-uB6OMtcBV9A/WA88J6C52II/AAAAAAAAPNg/jPWLluFBrJ8i1obG32v4EBV-IisMyKwTQCLcB/s1600/591959750-silver-medalist-v-sindhu-pusarla-of-india-gettyimages-1471695730-800.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-uB6OMtcBV9A/WA88J6C52II/AAAAAAAAPNg/jPWLluFBrJ8i1obG32v4EBV-IisMyKwTQCLcB/s400/591959750-silver-medalist-v-sindhu-pusarla-of-india-gettyimages-1471695730-800.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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After waking up from my afternoon nap, I open up my phone and see various posts on my Facebook News Feed saying "PV Sindhu playing Carolina Marin LIVE in the Rio 2016 Olympic Games - follow the updates here". I think to myself: "Wow, what a relief! Woke up RIGHT in time to watch the Badminton final. Would have kicked myself hard if I missed that". To give you a little bit of background, I am a 20-something Swiss Indian, i.e. a guy of Indian origin having been born fully raised and educated in Geneva.<br />
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Having had parents who have always been diehard fans of cricket, I have been the typical cricket addict, despite living in a region obviously dominated by football fanatics. I also occasionally follow tennis, for obvious Federer reasons.<br />
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(contd.)<br />
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<b>Read the full article <a href="http://www.sportskeeda.com/badminton/realizations-swiss-indian-fan-after-pv-sindhus-inspiring-performance-rio-2016" target="_blank">here</a>: <a href="http://www.sportskeeda.com/badminton/realizations-swiss-indian-fan-after-pv-sindhus-inspiring-performance-rio-2016">http://www.sportskeeda.com/badminton/realizations-swiss-indian-fan-after-pv-sindhus-inspiring-performance-rio-2016</a></b><br />
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(Originally posted on Sportskeeda on 20 August 2016)</div>
Santhosh GVAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11232045427511172145noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3176826663209276059.post-46091472057584480992016-10-18T19:53:00.000+02:002016-10-18T19:54:11.961+02:00Lifeblog: On living "efficiently" and persistence (October 2016)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So here I am... listening to the soundtrack of Luke Cage (Season 1), looking at the calendar, and telling myself: "Wow... half of October is done already? That leaves me with two and a half months before 2016 ends." I sigh, give myself some really quick pep talk in my head for 5-10 seconds, and carry on with what I was wanting to work on on the good ol' reliable laptop.</span><br>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I get this feeling that 2016 has not been a really good year for a lot of people... and I really hope that you, the one reading this post, do not fall under this category of people. If so, I'm really happy for you, and I really hope the year ends in a similar manner for you.</span><br>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">But this is for those who have also had a difficult year, and who feel like they haven't done as well as they would have wanted to. Here's the good news: it's still not all that bad! Enjoy the read :-)</span><br>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">(Click on Continue Reading or Read More, to proceed to the full post)</span><br>
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</div><a href="https://santhosh-geneva.blogspot.com/2016/10/lifeblog-on-living-efficiently-and.html#more">Read more »</a>Santhosh GVAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11232045427511172145noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3176826663209276059.post-11715159799651008022016-08-05T19:33:00.000+02:002016-08-05T19:59:51.257+02:00Music Review: Baar Baar Dekho (2016)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">(The link to the soundtrack jukebox, along with the soundtrack credits, are featured at the end of this post)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Review</span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Pakistani singer Bilal Saeed's Khair Mangdi which was originally composed in 2011 by himself and Dr. Zeus gets re-used for this soundtrack (re-christened <b>Teri Khair Mangdi</b></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">). A small sidenote: this track will appeal to the British Asian music lovers - as this was a viral track there. Lovely track, but doesn't score many points in my assessment since it's not an original composition in this soundtrack.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Kaala Chashma</b> is a cool and interesting take on the Punjabi dance number by Amar Arshi from the 2000s. As mentioned above, this one would also be well-appreciated by the British Asian listeners, for the same reasons. However it does better, as Badshah's rap portions are very catchy and effective, and Neha Kakkar's inclusion works. Unlike in a lot of other songs with Badshah, this time the rap portion doesn't sound like it was forcefully squeezed in the track unnecessarily, just for the sake of it; it actually suits the song. Neha Kakkar doing a fab job behind the mic, like she tends to do in songs of this genre.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Arko sings and composes <b>Dariya</b>, and it is a very sweet melody on the whole. The only issue I have with this track, is that the main chorus has a tune that sounds very similar to his previous composition "O Saathi Re" from Kapoor and Sons. Keeping that aside, it still makes for a decent listen.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Being a big fan of Amaal Mallik's work, my expectations level were high for his song. <b>Sau Aasmaan</b> features some nice use of guitar, and Neeti Mohan aces the vocals on this one, along with Armaan Malik who is as good as always. Very catchy beat, and good blend of electronic music and acoustics. As I did with Arko's Dariya, I have the same tiny issue here - it sounds quite similar to Buddhu Sa Mann (from Kapoor and Sons), which in itself sounded a teeny bit like Sooraj Dooba Hai (from Roy) - both composed by Amaal Mallik himself. But this tiny pet peeve aside, it still makes for a really good listen!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Kho Gaye Hum Kahan</b> is my second-favorite song of this album, composed and co-sung by the talented Jaslene Kaur Royal, it is a very smooth and melodious composition which feels very much like an Amit Trivedi song in many ways. (Reminded me a bit of Sham from Aisha) Very nice and subtle vocals by herself and Prateek Kuhad.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">My top pick of this album is <b><span style="color: blue;">Nachde Ne Saare</span></b>, the second track from this album composed by Jaslene Kaur Royal. The wedding dance number of the season indeed, with a highly infectious beat, and energetic vocals from the reliable Harshdeep Kaur and the in-form Sidharth Mahadevan, along with Jaslene's unconventional and competent voice. Has the potential of becoming a blockbuster track!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b><u>What is the Verdict:</u></b> <span style="color: #660000;">Ishq Waala Love</span>? <span style="color: #cc0000;">Love</span>? <span style="color: #674ea7;">Likey a lot</span>? <span style="color: #3d85c6;">Likey</span>? <span style="color: #6aa84f;">So-so</span>? <span style="color: #f1c232;">Bad</span>? <span style="color: #e69138;">Really Bad</span>? <span style="color: #999999;">Horrible</span>?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 18.48px; text-align: left;"><b><u style="color: #444444;">My Verdict:</u><span style="color: #444444;"> </span><span style="color: #674ea7;">Likey a lot</span></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #674ea7; font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif; font-size: medium; line-height: 18.48px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small; line-height: normal;"><b><u><br /></u></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #674ea7; font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif; font-size: medium; line-height: 18.48px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small; line-height: normal;"><b><u>Final Word:</u> </b>This is yet another great year for Bollywood music, and despite <b>Baar Baar Dekho</b> not being as huge an album as I would have expected, it still features some great tracks. Enter Jasleen Royal, who scores higher that the others in this multi-composer album, and makes this soundtrack shine. Movies coming from the Dharma Productions banner have typically featured good music off late, and this one keeps the record intact!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b>Jukebox</b></span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/jIR6Yvrgv-8" width="560"></iframe></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b>Soundtrack Credits</b></span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 17px;">Movie: Baar Baar Dekho</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 17px;">Cast : SIDHARTH MALHOTRA, KATRINA KAIF, SARIKA, RAM KAPOOR, TAAHA SHAH, SAYANI GUPTA & ROHAN JOSHI </span><br style="background-color: white; line-height: 17px;" /><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 17px;">Banner : EROS INTERNATIONAL presents in association with EXCEL ENTERTAINMENT and DHARMA PRODUCTIONS, an ARCLIGHT FILMS PRODUCTION</span><br style="background-color: white; line-height: 17px;" /><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 17px;">Director : Nitya Mehra</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 17px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Song credits:</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 17px;">Kho Gaye Hum Kahan </span><br style="background-color: white; line-height: 17px;" /><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 17px;">Music : Jasleen Royal</span><br style="background-color: white; line-height: 17px;" /><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 17px;">Lyrics : Prateek Kuhad</span><br style="background-color: white; line-height: 17px;" /><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 17px;">Singers : Jasleen Royal & Prateek Kuhad</span><br style="background-color: white; line-height: 17px;" /><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 17px;">Mix&Mastered by : Eric Pillai (Future Sound Of Bombay)</span><br style="background-color: white; line-height: 17px;" /><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 17px;">Mixing Assistant : Michael Edwin Pillai & Lucky</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 17px;">Sau Aasmaan</span><br style="background-color: white; line-height: 17px;" /><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 17px;">Music : Amaal Mallik</span><br style="background-color: white; line-height: 17px;" /><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 17px;">Lyrics : Kumaar</span><br style="background-color: white; line-height: 17px;" /><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 17px;">Singers : Armaan Malik & Neeti Mohan</span><br style="background-color: white; line-height: 17px;" /><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 17px;">Mix&Mastered by : Eric Pillai (Future Sound Of Bombay)</span><br style="background-color: white; line-height: 17px;" /><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 17px;">Mixing Assistant : Michael Edwin Pillai & Lucky</span><br style="background-color: white; line-height: 17px;" /><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 17px;">Producers for Sau Aasmaan song : Abhijit Vaghani & Amaal Mallik</span><br style="background-color: white; line-height: 17px;" /><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 17px;">Additional Music Production : Pramod Timilsina & Apeiruss</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 17px;">Dariya </span><br style="background-color: white; line-height: 17px;" /><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 17px;">Music : Arko</span><br style="background-color: white; line-height: 17px;" /><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 17px;">Lyrics : Arko</span><br style="background-color: white; line-height: 17px;" /><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 17px;">Singers : Arko</span><br style="background-color: white; line-height: 17px;" /><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 17px;">Arranger/Programmer : Aditya Dev</span><br style="background-color: white; line-height: 17px;" /><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 17px;">Mixed by : Michael Edwin Pillai </span><br style="background-color: white; line-height: 17px;" /><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 17px;">Mastered by : Eric Pillai (Future Sound Of Bombay)</span><br style="background-color: white; line-height: 17px;" /><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 17px;">Mixing Assistant : Lucky</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 17px;">Nachde Ne Saare </span><br style="background-color: white; line-height: 17px;" /><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 17px;">Music : Jasleen Royal </span><br style="background-color: white; line-height: 17px;" /><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 17px;">Lyrics : Aditya Sharma</span><br style="background-color: white; line-height: 17px;" /><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 17px;">Singers : Jasleen Royal, Harshdeep Kaur & Siddharth Mahadevan</span><br style="background-color: white; line-height: 17px;" /><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 17px;">Mix&Mastered by : Shadab Rayeen @NewEdge</span><br style="background-color: white; line-height: 17px;" /><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 17px;">Mixing Assistant : Abhishek Sortey</span><br style="background-color: white; line-height: 17px;" /><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 17px;">Producers for Nachde Ne Saare song : Abhijit Nalani, Aditya Pushkarna & Ujjwal Kashyap</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 17px;">Teri Khair Mangdi </span><br style="background-color: white; line-height: 17px;" /><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 17px;">Music : Bilal Saeed</span><br style="background-color: white; line-height: 17px;" /><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 17px;">Lyrics : Kumaar, Additional Lyrics : Bilal Saeed</span><br style="background-color: white; line-height: 17px;" /><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 17px;">Singers : Bilal Saeed </span><br style="background-color: white; line-height: 17px;" /><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 17px;">Arranger/Programmer : Bilal Saeed</span><br style="background-color: white; line-height: 17px;" /><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 17px;">Mixing Assistant : Michael Edwin Pillai & Lucky</span><br style="background-color: white; line-height: 17px;" /><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 17px;">Mix&Mastered by : Eric Pillai (Future Sound Of Bombay)</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 17px;">Kala Chashma </span><br style="background-color: white; line-height: 17px;" /><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 17px;">Music : Originally Composed by: Prem Hardeep & Recreated By: Badshah</span><br style="background-color: white; line-height: 17px;" /><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 17px;">Lyrics : Amrik Singh & Kumaar</span><br style="background-color: white; line-height: 17px;" /><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 17px;">Singers : Amar Arshi, Badshah & Neha Kakkar. RAP: Badshah & Indeep Bakshi</span><br style="background-color: white; line-height: 17px;" /><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 17px;">Arranger/Programmer : Aditya Dev</span><br style="background-color: white; line-height: 17px;" /><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 17px;">Mix&Mastered by : Eric Pillai (Future Sound Of Bombay)</span><br style="background-color: white; line-height: 17px;" /><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 17px;">Mixing Assistant : Michael Edwin Pillai & Lucky</span></span><br />
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Santhosh GVAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11232045427511172145noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3176826663209276059.post-47085221597564818322016-03-13T20:50:00.002+01:002016-03-13T20:50:53.522+01:00Assessing India's chances for the World T20 2016<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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The World T20 is here! And it's IN India! The first round of matches played between the "smaller teams" just got over. Keeping aside the rain which played spoilsport, the matches were really entertaining, with Bangladesh qualifying to India's group, and Afghanistan going to to the other one.<br />
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Now that the main games are about to take place, Team India will be in the spotlight, and I'm hoping there will not be too much of pressure on them, since they have been called "favorites" by many, and they are the hosts. But why would not there be so much of confidence in this side? The Asia Cup recently got over, and India are in GREAT form, as they were crowned "Asian Champions". This has been a great start to 2016 on the whole, especially after facing a 4-1 loss to Australia in the ODI series. But ever since that 5th ODI, India have been on top, whitewashing Australia in the 3 T20Is which followed. The question remains: can India lift the World Cup trophy this year? Let's look at what might work in their favor.</div>
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A new and settled side</h2>
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Here are the eleven players India have been persisting in T20s with since the beginning of 2016 (barring the few matches, where we tested a different line-up):<br />
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<b>1. Dhawan 2. Sharma 3. Kohli 4. Raina 5. Yuvraj 6. Pandya 7. Dhoni 8. Jadeja 9. Ashwin 10. Bumrah 11. Nehra</b><br />
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If either of the batsmen are injured or dropped, we also have the key element of Ajinkya Rahane being in the squad. The same applies for Harbhajan and Shami, as they can be introduced in the bowling line-up, if the circumstances require it.<br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ic5EmjvX67s/VuXCTxpYeRI/AAAAAAAANRc/wSThSU51DEwMkDlK7aJ84hN6orqsEWROQ/s1600/team-india-t20-kit-new-1456981104-800-860x450.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="208" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ic5EmjvX67s/VuXCTxpYeRI/AAAAAAAANRc/wSThSU51DEwMkDlK7aJ84hN6orqsEWROQ/s400/team-india-t20-kit-new-1456981104-800-860x450.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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The revamped bowling line-up</h2>
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While the bowling was an area of concern for India, it almost seems like the situation has been resolved. What's interesting here, is that we have a very different-looking line-up. There is no Umesh Yadav or Varun Aaron, and the once-famous duo Shami and Bhuvneshwar have not featured in the team for a while. The former (who is part of the 15-man squad) having gone through injury problems, and the latter simply not finding a place in the side. Why? We now have Bumrah, Pandya and Nehra as our main frontline bowlers, with Ashwin and Jadeja for the spin attack. Bumrah can bowl some great yorkers in the death overs, Nehra's experience has worked wonders in the inital overs, and Pandya is a valuable all-rounder to the side. Ashwin and Jadeja, when they get going, they can destroy the opposition, and get the big wickets at the crucial times. We also have effective part-timers in the form of Yuvraj and Raina. So this line-up gives Dhoni a lot of flexibility and options during the course of an innings, which has worked wonders for us so far this year!</div>
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The batting strength</h2>
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This is kind of a no-brainer, as most people associated the Indian side, as a side with currently some of the most talented batsmen in the world.This is a really good mix of experience and youth, which is also an interesting change for this new Indian side. Dhawan and Sharma have been the reliable opening duo, and they both can fire when needed, particularly Rohit Sharma who has been in good form off late. Kohli has been in the form of his life, and will surely carry this form with him into the tournament. Raina has not been consistent, but he is one of India's most valuable T20 players. Yuvraj Singh is an interesting element of the side: although initially criticized for some of his oddly slow knocks, when this man is in form, he can be a destructive element - and it does look like he found his groove back in the recent matches. Pandya is also a fresh and interesting part of this new line-up; he plays very fearlessly, and can be the firepower we need at the end of an innings. Dhoni is the ideal person to have at the end of an innings, especially going by the end of the recent matches (including that Asia Cup final!) - Pandya and him are great players to have at the rear end of a match. Jadeja and Ashwin can also contribute, if required, which means we could even say our line-up goes all the way to the No. 9 batsman. This depth in the batting line-up has really been a key element in our recent victories.</div>
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The reliable fielding</h2>
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Nothing much to add here, since this is an area the Indian team management has been focusing on since quite some time, and we have indeed been one of the best fielding sides in the world. We just need this to sustain this kind of energy and aggression in the field during the T20 World cup. Also, I can't do without mentioning Dhoni's speed behind the stumps - he has the quickest pair of hands for a wicket-keeper and this will really be a big plus, seeing how this has had an impact on previous matches.</div>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-T1aR_gL6qMI/VuXEYt39oxI/AAAAAAAANRo/k52bcDtUiwk5MRTP7iuQRJLzQmN7qxA8g/s1600/gettyimages-510189396.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-T1aR_gL6qMI/VuXEYt39oxI/AAAAAAAANRo/k52bcDtUiwk5MRTP7iuQRJLzQmN7qxA8g/s400/gettyimages-510189396.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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The captaincy and the current form of the side</h2>
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Coming from a successful Asia Cup campaign, which came right after whitewashing Australia, India has been in great form, and EVEN when there are the occasional hiccups during matches, it gives the opportunity for someone to save the innings and win the game for us. This sort of situation has occurred at some times in the last few games, and this just goes to show we are a very "complete" team currently. Furthermore, on the whole, we have witnessed amazing captaincy skills by Dhoni, and it has been some tough aggressive leadership from him in the T20 format.</div>
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The opposition in the T20 World Cup, and predictions</h2>
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Within Group 2, India will be playing Australia, New Zealand, Pakistan, and Group A winner Bangladesh. They are all very challenging opponents, but India could come out on top of each duel. India vs Australia will be a cracker of a match, and it turns out to be India's last group stage match.</div>
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Then, going forward to the semi-final, if India eventually tops Group 2, we will be playing the team placed 2nd in Group 1, which would be either Sri Lanka or England in my opinion (the team placed 1st being South Africa, in my view).</div>
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<b>Ideally, an India vs South Africa final would be the real cherry on the cake! That is what I predict for now.</b></div>
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Final thoughts</h2>
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All in all, this will make for a very entertaining season of cricket for the Indian fans, especially going by the recent form of the Men In Blue. <b>And I'm calling it: India will perform really well in this World Cup, and we might even lift the trophy this time.</b> This is definitely a side that can lift the cup, and we just need to carry this good form into the big tournament. Make us proud, Men In Blue! All the best, Dhoni and co.!</div>
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Santhosh GVAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11232045427511172145noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3176826663209276059.post-82665684496532901372016-02-13T18:03:00.001+01:002016-03-03T18:11:35.211+01:00Lifeblog: Back in the Swiss hometown, and the road ahead<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Hello one and all!<br />
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Hope you all had a great start to 2016, as we are already at the halfway mark of February! And for those who have not had an easy start to the year (like me), here's an awesome meme that might just cheer you up:<br />
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The big news to begin this post with, is that I'm back in Geneva since last month. Now for those who have read my previous Lifeblog posts (and I thank you for that!), you may be wondering: "Wait, how is he back in Geneva? Didn't he mention he was really happy in Bangalore?" And almost all the Indian family friends who are meeting me after a long time are asking me: "So you didn't like it in Bangalore?" (which is, of course, a normal assumption to make, for most cases)<br />
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So, for the record, to settle it for once and for all: NO, there was nothing wrong with Bangalore, or my life there - and I was indeed VERY happy there! I still stand by all the statements I had made, about "loving my lifestyle in Bangalore".<br />
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There are many factors I took into account, before making the big call of wanting to return home. A lot of those are very personal, so won't be openly mentioning them here. But a lot of it, was with regards to the "plans of the future", that I wanted to come back to my home here in Geneva.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Came right in time for the Lights festival at the Lake side!</td></tr>
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2016 is a big year for me in many ways: it is going to be a very challenging one. The reason is simple: 2015 was a GREAT year for me, in many ways, and the challenge will lie in finding the same kind of "happy lifestyle" over here, during the course of the coming months. In short, I travelled a lot, lived a happy independent life in India, and achieved some big personal milestones (including a major weight loss) in 2015.<br />
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The key to success in 2016 will be the same I have talked about, in some of my older posts: it's all about "embracing the uncertainty". Playing along with whatever comes my way, and build my own "lifestyle" around it! <b>In a nutshell, if 2015 was the "Year of Happiness" for me, 2016 will be the year where I would need to try and "sustain" that Happiness, in my own ways!</b> (And a cheesy reminder for the umpteenth time: the derivated meaning of "Santhosh" is Happiness, a word I am quite obsessed with, as you can guess)<br />
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Upcoming posts for 2016 (tentative list)</h2>
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So that's about my current situation in a nutshell. Here's the tentative list of posts I will try to publish during this year (will try and stay committed to this list):<br />
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<li>The usual occasional Lifeblogs</li>
<li>Cricket: The WT20 and how Team India looks</li>
<li>Bollywood: the occasional music reviews, and other time-relevant posts</li>
<li>Marvel Cinematic Universe: a post about <i>Captain America: Civil War</i>, and one about the TV shows (both ABC and Netflix shows)</li>
<li>The usual year-end posts about Bollywood's Year In Review</li>
<li>And probably some other ones!</li>
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In the meanwhile, you can check out my Spreaker profile, where I had hosted my amateur Bollywood radio show <b>Santh FM</b> last year - I had posted 15 episodes, out of which the 15th one is still there on the website, if you want to check it out: <a href="https://www.spreaker.com/user/santhm"><b>https://www.spreaker.com/user/santhm</b></a>. The show's format was very simple: every week had one very "general topic", on which I try to give my thoughts, and I play three Hindi songs related to the theme. Given the general "good feedback" from people around me, I will try to make a "2nd season" to Santh FM this year, where I upload one episode every week. (Makes for a fun weekly hobby, in fact) So do watch that space for more!</div>
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I also have a Youtube channel <b>santhoshgeneva</b>, where I occasionally post acoustic covers of Bollywood songs and other videos, and will try to regularly upload stuff there too in the coming months: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/santhoshgeneva"><b>https://www.youtube.com/user/santhoshgeneva</b></a> </div>
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And this may be coming in (very) late, but here's wishing everyone a very happy and successful 2016 ahead! Hope you guys will also find what you are looking for :-) May this year be the best one ever. Cheers!</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sayonara! Hope to see you here again soon!</td></tr>
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Santhosh GVAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11232045427511172145noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3176826663209276059.post-87485183233242681112015-12-31T13:26:00.000+01:002015-12-31T13:27:09.212+01:00Year-End Special: Top 30 Bollywood Songs of 2015<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hello all!</span><br>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here's the FINAL Bollywood blog post I will be posting for the year. These are my 30 favorite Hindi songs of this year. I must admit, this was a tough ranking to come up with, as there were plenty of great Bollywood tracks this year, so there were some tough choices to make.</span><br>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Moreover, I don't really like the concept of "ranking" tracks - some songs just cannot be compared with each other, as the genres differ. So please see this more as a "list" than a "ranking" - although the Top 5 are probably my five most favorite songs of the year.</span><br>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So here goes, the <b>Top 30 Bollywood Songs of 2015</b>, with a Youtube playlist at the bottom.</span><br>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(<i>CLICK ON <b>READ MORE</b> TO CONTINUE READING</i>)</span><br>
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</div><a href="https://santhosh-geneva.blogspot.com/2015/12/year-end-special-top-30-bollywood-songs.html#more">Read more »</a>Santhosh GVAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11232045427511172145noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3176826663209276059.post-53079875804452005972015-12-28T11:37:00.000+01:002015-12-28T11:37:02.119+01:002015 Year in Review for Bollywood, and Releases in 2016<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hello all!</span><br>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As it is almost a "yearly practice" for me on this blog, this post will be a comprehensive review of the year that was for Bollywood. Thankfully, this time I was in Bengaluru till this month, which means I could catch most of the year's biggest blockbusters in the cinema.</span><br>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(Sidenote: I am back in Geneva, as I decided to leave Bangalore. Will post a Lifeblog post on this topic soon.)</span><br>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On the whole, I must admit, 2015 has been a really good year for the Hindi film industry! There have been quite a few great movies, to watch on the big screen.</span><br>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This mega-post will be divided in the following parts:</span><br>
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<li><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>2015, Year in Review</b></span></li>
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<li><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Watched, and liked/loved</b></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Not watched, but highly acclaimed</b></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Special mentions</b></span></li>
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<li><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>2016, the Releases to look forward to</b></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Concluding Note</b></span></li>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So here goes! Hope you enjoy this post! Do leave a comment, if I have left out any movies, or if you agree/disagree with my choices.</span><br>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Click on READ MORE to continue reading</span><br>
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</div><a href="https://santhosh-geneva.blogspot.com/2015/12/2015-year-in-review-for-bollywood-movies.html#more">Read more »</a>Santhosh GVAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11232045427511172145noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3176826663209276059.post-59072339225886047722015-11-22T18:08:00.001+01:002015-11-22T18:08:07.025+01:00Music Review: Tamasha (2015)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">MOVIE: TAMASHA</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 17px;">MUSIC: A.R. RAHMAN</span></span></div>
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LYRICS: IRSHAD KAMIL</div>
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MUSIC LABEL: T-SERIES</div>
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YEAR: 2015</div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">(The link to the soundtrack of Tamasha is featured at the end of the post)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Mika is behind the mic for <b>Heer Toh Badi Sad Hai</b>, singing a genre that is different from his dance numbers. Not too fond of this one, very average, despite many listenings.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Sung by Sukhwinder Singh, along with Haricharan and Haripriya, <b>Chali Kahani</b> is a very impressive composition, but not a track that is very "enjoyable". Very situational, so it would obviously be enjoyed fully when watched on the big screen.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">AR Rahman comes up with an instrumental titled <b>Parade De La Bastille</b> which is extremely well done. Lots of interesting elements used and blended in, also featuring the tune from <i>Matargashti </i>(will come back to this track shortly).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The album's "better side" starts off with <b>Wat Wat Wat</b>. An infectious and catchy beat, with superb vocals from Shashwat Singh and Arijit Singh - the latter having two great songs in this album. The album also features a remix version titled <b>Wat Wat (Vengeance Mix)</b>, which doesn't add much value to the soundtrack.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Matargashti </b>is a very peppy song, with great vocals from Mohit Chauhan. Whacky lyrics by Irshad Kamil, goes well the feel of the song. The Mohit-ARR combo working well yet again, and not surprising at seeing this song being used a lot in their promotions.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Always good to see Lucky Ali's name in a song's credits, because he tends to sing brilliant tracks in Bollywood. And he does it yet again, with the breezy <b>Safarnama</b>. Extremely pleasant composition by Rahman.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">My second most favorite song in this soundtrack is <b>Agar Tum Saath Ho</b>. It features Alka Yagnik (yes, you read that right, Alka Yagnik) and she manages to ace this one. But the highlight for me: Arijit Singh's vocals which add a magical touch to the track. Only AR Rahman could think of the unusual blend of Alka Yagnik and Arijit's singing, and end up with such a great track.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><span style="color: blue;">Tu Koi Aur Hai </span></b>is the last song in the album, and the best one of the lot, for me. AR Rahman ends the album on a high, singing a haunting and deep track, bound to give you goosebumps, and which features a lot of great instrumental portions.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: medium;"><b><u>What is the Verdict:</u></b> <span style="color: #660000;">Ishq Waala Love</span>? <span style="color: #cc0000;">Love</span>? <span style="color: #674ea7;">Likey a lot</span>? <span style="color: #3d85c6;">Likey</span>? <span style="color: #6aa84f;">So-so</span>? <span style="color: #f1c232;">Bad</span>? <span style="color: #e69138;">Really Bad</span>? <span style="color: #999999;">Horrible</span>?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><u>My Verdict:</u> </span></b></span><span style="color: #660000; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: medium; line-height: 18.48px; text-align: left;"><b>Ishq Waala Love</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><u>Final Word:</u></b> This year has seen some really good Bollywood soundtracks, and <b><i>Tamasha </i></b>is yet another successful product coming out of the AR Rahman-Imtiaz Ali-Irshad Kamil trio. Even though it's not Rahman's best out of the 3 albums (I still rank Rockstar as his best for Imtiaz Ali, and Highway a tad higher than this), it is still a very neat album. When you have 5 "awesome" songs in a line-up, you know you're in for a treat! Go for it!</span><br />
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Santhosh GVAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11232045427511172145noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3176826663209276059.post-86431479616678003232015-10-20T15:39:00.004+02:002015-10-20T15:39:59.753+02:00Lifeblog: On Smiles and Distance (Bangalore, October 2015)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Hello Readers!<br>
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Hope you guys are doing good. To begin this post on a "happy note", I just realized a while ago that I recently completed 5 months here in Bengaluru! As you may have realized through my last Lifeblog posts, the last few months have been nothing less than dramatic, crazy, or eventful. But then again, call me old-fashioned, but I still look at the many positives which came out of them, despite the "negatives" having outnumbered the "positives".<br>
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But my life goal of "sustaining Happiness" (which happens to be the meaning of my name, something I keep obsessing in almost every blog post these days) is something that keeps me motivated, and I will obviously hope to have a happier set of "Bangalore Days" in the coming months! This blog post will be divided in 3 parts: Smiles, Distance, and key Takeaways from the previous two parts.<br>
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(Click on READ MORE to continue reading)<br>
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</div><a href="https://santhosh-geneva.blogspot.com/2015/10/lifeblog-on-smiles-and-distance.html#more">Read more »</a>Santhosh GVAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11232045427511172145noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3176826663209276059.post-67297537908130687342015-08-05T04:40:00.000+02:002015-08-09T04:16:17.321+02:00Music Review: All Is Well (2015) - Bollywood<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Yolo </b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">is the first Himesh track in this soundtrack (sung by Sreeramachandra). Decent, catchy, but gets monotonous after a point. The English rap, however, is top stuff.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">You ask for a Himesh-Arijit collaboration, you get <b>Baaton Ko Teri</b>. The Himesh fan in me is super happy! What a soulful song â the kind you can imagine Himesh singing, but Arijit does the job for him.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Himeshâs best one in this album is <b>Tu Milade</b>. Take Ankitâs energetic vocals, and Himeshâs powerful tune, and goosebumps are sure to follow!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Mere Humsafar</b> is âold wine in a new bottleâ. The Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak hit song now has a soulful feel, thanks to Mithoon who nails it (yet again!). Tulsi Kumar does great too.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The second-best track of the album is <b>Nachan Farrate</b>. I never really got the âBaby Dollâ hype (song was great, but was it worth that much hype?), and âChittiyaan Kalaiyaanâ was very poor. But this one is PERFECTION. The Meet Bros rope in Kanika Kapoor one more time, and deliver their best song till date.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><span style="color: blue;">Chaar Shanivaar</span></b> gets my vote for the best one in this album. Amaal Mallik is slowly making a mark in the industry, and he does it with great music, catchy lyrics, and powerful vocals. His formula is easy to recognize, but hard to describe in words. Maybe FRESH would describe his music the best? (And I cannot believe his age â what a genius!)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b><u>What is the Verdict:</u></b> <span style="color: #660000;">Ishq Waala Love</span>? <span style="color: #cc0000;">Love</span>? <span style="color: #674ea7;">Likey a lot</span>? <span style="color: #3d85c6;">Likey</span>? <span style="color: #6aa84f;">So-so</span>? <span style="color: #f1c232;">Bad</span>? <span style="color: #e69138;">Really Bad</span>? <span style="color: #999999;">Horrible</span>?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><span style="font-size: large;"><u>My Verdict:</u> <span style="color: #cc0000;">Love</span></span></b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><u>Final Word:</u></b> <b><i>All Is Well (2015)</i></b> is one of the best soundtracks of 2015. Himesh fans have a lot to be happy about. You have a Mithoon reboot, a âKanika and Meet Brosâ hit song</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">, and an Amaal Mallik chartbuster to dance on. That adds up to one superb Bollywood soundtrack! Donât miss it!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ylnO4QDAQLI?rel=0" width="560"></iframe><br />
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<div class="_SMB-saavn-remote" data-id="LEpJKE2nEsc_" data-imageurl="" data-partner="" data-size="poster" data-type="album">
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><a href="http://saavn.com/p/album/hindi/All-Is-Well-2015/LEpJKE2nEsc_" rel="nofollow">Listen to All-Is-Well-2015 on Saavn</a><br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></div>
</div>
Santhosh GVAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11232045427511172145noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3176826663209276059.post-41708153981845896432015-07-13T03:51:00.000+02:002016-05-17T15:56:38.096+02:00Lifeblog: On soon completing two months in Bangalore<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Hello Readers!<br>
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So here I am... publishing this blog post on 13th July 2015, with tons of pride. I am two days away<b> from completing two months in this "loveable chaos" called Bengaluru.</b><br>
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I remember using this analogy many years back, when I had first started this blog in 2009: <b>"Life is a rollercoaster ride"</b>. To be honest, I cannot think of any other analogy even now. My two months here have been nothing but an "emotional rollercoaster".<br>
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Every single day has been a learning curve for me. It was very difficult, initially. But currently, I am honestly loving the vibes (good and bad) I am getting all around me! Coming from a tiny and quite boring city called Geneva, moving to the "larger-than-life" Bangalore was never going to be easy... but I am pleasantly surprised at the unexpected changes I have been going through.<br>
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In Geneva, I was very lazy, not very driven, and not too outgoing.<br>
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Now in Bangalore. I am one of the first ones to wake up in the building. I cook almost every weekend, do a lot of my laundry myself. I am a workaholic (and I love being one!). I enjoy the presence of people. I love going out by myself, I love roaming around using cab services, discovering new places. I am a safety and hygiene freak. I have turned very bold, if and when someone crosses their limits towards me or my loved ones. I am able to manage my resources well. So it's been quite the learning curve!<br>
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<b>CLICK ON THE LINK BELOW TO CONTINUE READING</b><br>
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</div><a href="https://santhosh-geneva.blogspot.com/2015/07/lifeblog-on-soon-completing-two-months.html#more">Read more »</a>Santhosh GVAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11232045427511172145noreply@blogger.com0Bengaluru, Karnataka, India12.9715987 77.59456269999998312.4764182 76.949115699999979 13.4667792 78.240009699999987tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3176826663209276059.post-7069290913257042842015-06-28T04:51:00.001+02:002016-05-17T15:37:42.629+02:00Marvel Cinematic Universe: Views on Phase 2, Ultron, Ant-Man and Daredevil<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Hello all fellow Marvel fans!<br>
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The journey has been amazing, hasn't it? It had all started off with Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk in 2008. Now Marvel is owned by Disney, and they have made themselves probably the largest superhero franchise in the history of cinema!<br>
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There is a reason for this blog post, and it is an awesome reason. I had written about the Avengers, what seems to be ages ago. My thoughts on all the movies that were before, before building up for the big release that was "Marvel's The Avengers" in 2012. You can check out that blog post here <a href="http://santhosh-geneva.blogspot.in/2012/04/avengers-2012-im-part-of-hype-oh-yes-i.html">http://santhosh-geneva.blogspot.in/2012/04/avengers-2012-im-part-of-hype-oh-yes-i.html</a><br>
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Since that epic release in 2012, Marvel entered what they called "Phase 2" of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).<br>
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Just a quick recap of Phase 1 for those who are totally lost:<br>
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<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><b>Iron Man (2008)</b></li>
<li><b>The Incredible Hulk (2008)</b></li>
<li><b>Iron Man 2 (2010)</b></li>
<li><b>Thor (2011)</b></li>
<li><b>Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)</b></li>
<li><b>Marvel's The Avengers (2012)</b></li>
</ul>
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So Phase 1, got done and dusted. Then comes Phase 2.<br>
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<b>CLICK ON READ MORE TO CONTINUE</b><br>
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</div><a href="https://santhosh-geneva.blogspot.com/2015/06/marvel-cinematic-universe-views-on.html#more">Read more »</a>Santhosh GVAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11232045427511172145noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3176826663209276059.post-10379499436807315342015-04-08T16:44:00.003+02:002015-04-08T16:44:48.230+02:00The Big Preview for IPL-8! (2015 season)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-byeJL8BfR9I/VSQziClN4RI/AAAAAAAAMGY/XKySMyQwNt4/s1600/ipl%2B2015%2Ball%2Bcaptains.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-byeJL8BfR9I/VSQziClN4RI/AAAAAAAAMGY/XKySMyQwNt4/s1600/ipl%2B2015%2Ball%2Bcaptains.jpg" height="200" width="400"></a></div>
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And IPL season is here again! This looks to be a massive one! And it will be quite a mood-fixer for the disappointed Indians after that heart-breaking World Cup. It's indeed one of my favorite sports tournaments, where you see Australians, South Africans, and players from other such big cricket-playing nations, fighting alongside Indians in Indian franchises.<br>
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And we see some usual big names performing, but we also see some relatively "unknown" Indian faces come up and do good, which is also very good to see!<br>
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This post will give a quick preview of each IPL side, to see who all are playing, and what we should be expecting from each side. Will also give my personal predictions and thoughts for each side.<br>
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Enjoy the read!<br>
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</div><a href="https://santhosh-geneva.blogspot.com/2015/04/the-big-preview-for-ipl-8-2015-season.html#more">Read more »</a>Santhosh GVAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11232045427511172145noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3176826663209276059.post-1265439765895925452015-03-30T21:09:00.001+02:002015-04-03T10:21:00.601+02:00Final thoughts on ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 (Following India's exit, and Australia winning it)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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So the ICC World Cup is finally over. Firstly, congrats to Team Australia for the big win! Well deserved, no one can deny that!<br>
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<img border="0" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fb/Australia_5th_Time_World_Champions.jpg/300px-Australia_5th_Time_World_Champions.jpg"></div>
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Personally speaking, the way this World Cup ended, made me more sad than happy. To elaborate more on this, and other aspects, I have divided this blog post in 4 parts. One part per semi-finalist. Will speak of my thoughts on each of the teams which made to the semi-finals, including the one I supported, India. Hope you enjoy this read!<br>
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<h2 style="text-align: left;">
Thoughts on India's exit</h2>
This was truly sad, for myself, and I'm guessing for Indian fans all over. I honestly didn't expect the Men in Blue to be rolled over by the Aussies, to end up being "thrashed" so badly in the semis.<br>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://s.ndtvimg.com/images/content/2015/mar/806/team-india-huddle-vs-ireland.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://s.ndtvimg.com/images/content/2015/mar/806/team-india-huddle-vs-ireland.jpg" height="240" width="320"></a></td></tr>
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All that having been said, we had a <b>fantastic World Cup! Kudos to the whole Team and Management for having played so beautifully till the semi-final! Our batsmen were good, and the bowlers were excellent. Fielding from the Indians was also brilliant, we were clearly among the best fielding sides! And extra points for MS Dhoni. His captaincy was superb, and his tactics looked very "aggressive". I think without a leader like him in charge, we wouldn't have played so well to reach the semi-finals!</b><br>
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</b> (Click on the button to continue reading)<br>
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</div></div><a href="https://santhosh-geneva.blogspot.com/2015/03/final-thoughts-on-icc-cricket-world-cup.html#more">Read more »</a>Santhosh GVAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11232045427511172145noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3176826663209276059.post-81968861171236254102015-02-12T09:54:00.001+01:002015-02-12T09:54:52.300+01:00Quick thoughts on India's chances in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<h2 style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Introduction</span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hello dear readers, and fellow cricket lovers! Well... </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="cdb8d41e-bea3-4b60-909d-5d150132b431" id="b3564147-8bbe-430f-984a-a7c6ef2a8dd2"><gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="9733f63f-7a16-49d9-b243-7c0775a13880" id="c01cf1c4-edbb-47de-bdf3-ef3c6aae148b">we're</gs></gs></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> just 2 days away from that big eventful day. Wait, what? Valentine's Day?? No silly, I meant the </span><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">ICC Cricket World Cup 2015</b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> *insert dramatic echo*</span></div>
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<a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/d/d2/2015_Cricket_World_Cup_Logo.svg/200px-2015_Cricket_World_Cup_Logo.svg.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/d/d2/2015_Cricket_World_Cup_Logo.svg/200px-2015_Cricket_World_Cup_Logo.svg.png"></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is cricket's biggest tournament, and it indeed does look promising! This post will mainly cover Team India, and my personal thoughts on it, and its chances.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This post is coming late (as of now, 2 days before the tournament kicks off), because I was waiting to watch the warm-up matches to have a better idea of what to expect from each team in this tournament.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Indian players have been in Australia for around 2 months (or more, I think). They're exhausted, away from their families, and have been <gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="3a56c5c4-bdcd-4ab8-9157-81695ac9a374" id="9bbef2b8-ab64-4202-b756-b1359ec61db1">winless</gs>Â throughout their entire stay in Australia. Despite being World Champions, it will be a tough ask for them to defend the title - no doubt about that!</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I agree that our Indian team is mainly dominant when playing at home, and that our "Away" record is not that great. But all that being said, you just can't discard this team away from the top contenders for the title. They're still among the tougher opponents.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Plus, with a true star, and a fantastic leader like Mahendra Singh Dhoni leading this side, I think we still have our chances.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So here goes, my preview and sort-of-predictions for this World Cup! Enjoy the read!</span></div>
</div><a href="https://santhosh-geneva.blogspot.com/2015/02/india-chances-in-icc-cricket-world-cup-2015.html#more">Read more »</a>Santhosh GVAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11232045427511172145noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3176826663209276059.post-61644648870925600452015-01-14T19:26:00.000+01:002015-12-27T06:45:43.226+01:002014, Year in Review for Bollywood<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Dear Readers,</span><br>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">First and foremost, here's wishing you all a very Happy New Year 2015! May this be a good one for all of us!</span><br>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br></span>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0N5xg8oChYI/VLau78BMkLI/AAAAAAAAK9E/zdagqo2Kl8o/s1600/new-year-2015-hd.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0N5xg8oChYI/VLau78BMkLI/AAAAAAAAK9E/zdagqo2Kl8o/s1600/new-year-2015-hd.jpg" width="320"></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For those who have been following my blog for the last few years, I have had this habit of doing a big massive review of the year that has gone by, at the end of the year. More specifically, I tend to do a "Maha-Review" of Bollywood for that year. And since I have been doing this from 2010 onwards (I think?), I guess it's only fair that I should continue to do this, as it is also one of the posts that gather among the most views on this blog. But apologies for this post coming so late. "Better late than never", and all that, I guess?</span><br>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In the "Year in Review" posts for previous years, I used to split the article by putting the movies in three categories. Now I have changed that to only two main categories:</span><br>
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<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Watched and Appreciated (Liked or even Loved)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Highly recommended (Not watched, but recommendations based on critical reception, and general buzz)</span></li>
</ul>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The category I will omit this time, is the category for the "Bad/Horrible/Avoidable" kind of movies. Firstly because I don't want to spread too many negative vibes, but mostly because it will save me time. (I'm writing this while smiling sheepishly)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So here goes<gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="0b65b560-f7ee-4f72-b971-34bcec0b152e" id="9416c267-2f36-4127-ae61-7548f093b946"><gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="55e8987a-5c2d-4838-90d5-7467209062bb" id="a6ef79d5-91df-442d-a398-2e357b18ca5d">...</gs></gs>the YEAR IN REVIEW, for 2014 Bollywood movies!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">*DRUMROLL*</span></div>
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<h2 style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Introduction</span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So 2014 was a rather "quiet" year in terms of the amount of "really good" or "exceptional" movies in Bollywood. More than that, there were too many disappointments in the same year. As mentioned above, I have decided to stay mum this year, regarding the numerous movies that would have normally featured in my personal "Wall of Shame".</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Despite the abundance of disappointments, and the seemingly small number of good or "great" movies, 2014 still was a year of some really nice releases! So let's have a look at those movies, those watched and those I recommend based on what I read and heard of them.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The movies are NOT listed in order of preference, but rather in chronological order (going from early releases of the year to the year-end releases).</span><br>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And I'm ending this blog post on a very optimistic note, looking forward to the big 2015 Bollywood releases (or at least the <gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="193d10b1-6caa-457b-86e8-aaec718e2ff6" id="41910d30-e6a7-4ce3-9e92-9ea1b38a66e3">ones</gs> that I'm personally looking forward to).</span><br>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I may have missed out on movies here and there, so don't hesitate to let me know in the comments where I could have included other movies!</span></div>
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</div></div><a href="https://santhosh-geneva.blogspot.com/2015/01/2014-year-in-review-for-bollywood.html#more">Read more »</a>Santhosh GVAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11232045427511172145noreply@blogger.com0