Agent Vinod: Birth of India’s own James Bond?

This is my 2nd review of a movie—and the 1^st of a Bollywod movie—after I did of Inception in 2010. As I am very selective, you can tell that the stakes were really high for Agent Vinod. The pre-release promos and two songs, “I’ll do the talking” and the theme song, had intrigued and convinced me well enough of the beginning of a new era, so I pre-booked my tickets (two weeks in advance) for the first day, first show!

About 35 years ago, the original Agent Vinod that came out with a mediocre actor in the lead role was apparently a hit. That movie was produced by the Barjatyas of Rajshri Productions who gave Maine Pyar Kiya and Hum Aapke Hain Kaun. Nawab Saif Ali Khan figured out the opportunity to revamp the character and gave Agent Vinod a complete makeover.

The movie starts out quite well with Agent Vinod (Saif Ali Khan) of India’s clandestine service, the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), being held captive by the Pakistani army in Afghanistan. His aide, Major Rajan (Ravi Kishan), assumes a cover to rescue him. Enter Farah Feqquesh (Maryam Zakaria), an Afghan girl, who joins them in the action-packed rescue. Certain sequences like the one where Saif is hanging out of a jeep’s door and shooting are neat, but the action wasn’t great enough to throw people out of their seats and say, “Whoa!” The beginning credits with the theme song in the background and the lyrics of the Hindu prayer, “Govind bolo, gopal bolo,” is quite unique and lends a patriotic touch. Later, Major Rajan is caught and killed conducting espionage activities in Russia, but sends a code red message about a mysterious number, 242, to the Indian intelligence agency before dying. Agent Vinod is sent in to investigate who killed Major Rajan and what the number meant. The story then revolves around Vinod’s globetrotting discovery of 242 to Russia, Morocco, Latvia, Pakistan, New Delhi, and finally to London, unraveling what turns out to be part of a larger conspiracy.

The first 30 or so minutes are the only few intriguing moments in the film. The mid-section becomes so slow that I kept thinking, “Please don’t keep me waiting or guessing. Where is the STUFF you bragged so much about in the promos?” One can tell that Saif has worked very hard and fits very well in the role. Aged 41, he looks a lot younger than his British counterpart, Daniel Craig, at 44. But, the director and screenplay writers should have worked just as hard in crafting a personality for the Indian secret agent just the way Ian Fleming did for James Bond. As the central character, Agent Vinod should have dominated the screen with his personality traits, eccentricities, humor, charm, witty remarks, and sarcastic retorts. The movie makers should have thought smart, not hard and spent more money on intelligent plots and scenes than on travel and clothing.

Kareena Kapoor as Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) secret agent, Dr. Iram Parveen Bilal aka Dr. Ruby, is average. The character is unnecessarily sentimental and very indecisive for an agent. More importantly, there’s no chemistry between her character and Agent Vinod. B P Singh (of CID fame) as Director of RAW is okay. As head of the intelligence agency and mentor to Agent Vinod, I expected more from his character than just dumbfounded looks. Someone with the charisma of yesteryear’s K. N. Singh or Iftekhar Ahmed could have done a better job.

Prem Chopra is absolutely flawlessly as Kazan; a legend of an actor. Adil Hussain as Colonel is a brilliant find. He lends that viciousness and treachery to the character. His terrific performance cannot go unnoticed. Dhritiman Chatterjee is excellent as Sir Metla; his unique dialogue delivery will wake you up if the pace of the movie puts you to sleep. Of course, Shahbaaz Khan (of Chandrakanta fame) perfectly fits into the role of a corrupt Army General. Iranian beauty, Maryam Zakaria’s accent and personality caught my eye; she makes Kareena Kapoor look fat and out of shape in the mujra song!

One great thing this movie would do is create awareness and bring recognition to the Indian clandestine service. Lately, RAW has been deprecated for corruption, so this could be a beacon for them to work on their image. Pakistan has been shown in somewhat positive light by co-operating in covert operations with RAW. But, the movie has been banned in Pakistan for displaying corruption in the Pakistani army and links to terrorist groups.

The Good:

• Finally, we have branded an Indian spy!
• Original and innovative story-telling
• Lot of panache; is suave and stylish
• Shot in exotic locales around the world (though 12 countries wasn’t necessary)
• Hollywood-class product

The Bad:

• Poor screenplay and direction
• Slow and dragged too long
• Agent Vinod’s personality and character are undeveloped
• With 4 ladies and marketed as a ladies man, Agent Vinod doesn’t flirt at all!
• Chevrolet Camaro for a secret agent? A BMW or an Audi wouldn’t have hurt
• No gadgetry
• Song warbling during a killing spree?

The Bottomline: Agent Vinod as a franchise for India’s very own secret agent is launched. Given Bollywood has all the material and capital resources at their disposal today, the producers/directors of Agent Vinod should have focused their attention on delivery, intelligence, skills, and substance.

Smoking or Facebook: Which addiction is worse?

It has been nearly 7 years since I started using facebook, and since the time “News Feed” came into existence, I have seen humungous quantities of data pass through my eyes. This feed—best defined as a newspaper about all of your friend’s activities—has exponentially increased people’s addiction to the social network. Just like chain smokers can’t do without a 10-pack Marlboro or Camel lights everyday, people find it difficult to get through the day without logging on to facebook at least a dozen times. And in extreme cases, some people can’t get off of it. It’s like their lifeline: from posting and commenting on status updates; sharing photos, videos, and links; adding applications and playing games; checking into places and attending events; to chatting and a lot more!

Undoubtedly, there are benefits of connecting, showing off, and venting with friends and family over distances, there are also several “not-so-good” things happening in the background. And I can attest to this from several observations I’ve made over a period of time. Facebook, and many social sites, has been accused of collecting its users’ data for corporate benefit. For those who are statistics and analytics experts would have guessed by now where I’m going with this. The real-time status updates, in conjunction with your location information, are used to determine what you like to buy, watch on TV, hear on the radio, etc. Your “Likes” help social networks, and in turn corporations, to make decisions on what needs to be sold or shown on media channels in your particular region. Call it an Invisible Survey. Many movies & commercials that I watched on TV or products I saw on website ads had left me awestruck to think, “Oh my God! This is what I have been yearning for and was thinking about just a few days ago.” But, repetitive observations made me realize that this is no co-incidence at all.

Smoking, when done heavily, is clearly dangerous to the physical health in the long run. Similarly, an excessive addiction to social sites can drain a lot of your precious brain’s resources that could be put to better use. If corporations are getting access to our sensitive personal information, then shouldn’t we be wary of what we post even in a closed network? I’d love to know what you think is worse, so I’ll be happy to interact over comments here. As an analogy, I’ll leave you with Morpheus’s words to the protagonist, Neo, in the movie, The Matrix, that best describe this addiction:

“The matrix is a system, Neo. That system is our enemy. When you’re inside, you look around, what do you see? Businessmen, teachers, lawyers, carpenters; the very minds of the people we’re trying to save. But, until we do, these people are still a part of that system. And that makes them our enemy. You have to understand most of these people are not ready to be unplugged. And many of them are so inert, so hopelessly dependent on the system that they’ll fight to protect it!”

Autonomous microcopters fly in formation and perform complex maneuvers

MIT’s One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) XO-3 tablet unveiled at CES 2012

Finally, the XO-3 tablet by MIT’s One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) was unveiled at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2012. But priced at $100, it may have a tough time challenging the world’s cheapest tablet thus far, the $35 Akash!

Porter’s Five Forces of 2011: Apple, Facebook, Amazon.com, Google, and YOU!

I couldn’t help myself, but find the perfect analogy to the Clash of the Tech Titans article by BusinessWeek.

[Picture Courtesy: Bloomberg BusinessWeek]

Magnificent Time Lapse view of Earth taken by NASA’s International Space Station (HD)

“I am Iron Man!”

That’s how Tony Stark revealed the superhero’s true identity to the world: by declaring it in a Stark Industries press conference. I admit I’ve been tardy to catch up on watching the latest sci-fi/action movies. The last blog I wrote was a review of Inception, pointing out its similarity/dissimilarity to The Matrix. Iron Man has had a memorable impact on my life after I watched the movie series recently, though in reverse order: Iron Man 2 followed by the first instalment. I was quite impressed by the second one, in which several platforms of the Mark suits were revealed, but the first one touched me really deep! Particularly, the part where Tony Stark first discovered Iron Man after being impregnated by shrapnel from an explosion and captured by a terrorist group in Gulmira, a fictional Afghan village.

The shrapnel explosion changed Stark’s destiny such that the fictional arc reactor, an electromagnet that kept the shrapnel in his chest from entering his heart and thus killing him, became inevitable for his survival. The incident forced Stark to re-awaken his engineering genius and build himself an iron suit powered by the same reactor in order to escape captivity. After escaping, not only did he vow to abandon weapons manufacturing, but he also decided to perfect the design of the Iron Man suit. The various experiments and tests this whiz from MIT conducted to build the Iron Man armor reminds me of when I used to play with electronics and computers in the school lab and how memorable success used to be; just like Iron Man’s first flight!

Iron Man is unique. Unlike other superheroes, he has publicly declared his true identity. Another note-worthy characteristic is that he never displays strong emotions like Batman or Spiderman would do out of anger or sorrow. He’s jovial and very smooth, particularly with women. In his true identity, he has aptly used his father’s legacy and his own sheer genius to become wealthy. No wonder Obadiah Stane was always insecure and later yelled to his engineers when they couldn’t power the Iron Monger suit, “Tony Stark was able to build this in a cave.. with a box of scraps!” An epic and popular line with intense meaning to it.

The piece that differentiates Stark from me is that he’s a billionaire industrialist, and I’m not. Though I might have my father’s legacy, I probably haven’t done anything to grow it just as yet. Maybe it’s time to go do that?

“Kill power, JARVIS!”

An Apple a day…

Ten years ago, I didn’t have a Personal Computer. Six years ago, I hadn’t heard of Apple, Inc. Four years ago, I was working on a mobile base station design to test a mysterious new phone. Two years ago, I bought this mysterious phone–the only Apple device I own! Soon, I learned of this chip programmer who designed boards for the ATARI video game, which I played with when I was little, and who used to travel 7 miles for free food every Sunday at the Hare Krishna temple. It was this programmer who had the notion of developing a digital device to vanquish Sony and its ubiquitous Walkman. Co-founder and father of Apple, Steven Paul Jobs was a geek and a workaholic who would work late nights on his innovative ideas. It seems that the hard-work had taken a toll on his life that he left us at such an early age. Whether it is listening to music on the iPod or checking emails on the iPhone, Apple’s products have made people’s lives a lot less stressful. I can’t imagine getting through the day without checking my email, updating my calendar appointments, finding my way on Google maps, checking the weather before heading out, updating on social media, or just listening to music on my iPhone. People’s emotions for Steve’s loss are well-justified, because he has become a part of their lives. And those emotions also represent a fear, if you will, that who would continue to source such outside-the-box innovations in the future. An Apple a day indeed kept the doctor away, didn’t it?

Fitness 1 0 1

I had initially promised many friends last year to write a book on fitness targeted more specifically towards people who tend to consume large quantities of fatty and high-carbohydrate diets in their culture. And for some, genetics apparently make it even more challenging to break out from that lifestyle. But, since most people wanted to simply learn how I afford to be health-conscious despite a hectic sedentary lifestyle, I decided to write a blog as a trailer to my book. As you read further, you will gather the benefits of certain practices that have not only kept me away from curative medication for the last 5 years, but also developed my immune system to battle diseases in the most pathological of conditions.

So, what qualifies me to advise and guide people about fitness and general health? There are 4 major reasons:

• During my childhood, my mother struggled with health-related issues, causing numerous visits to doctors. Being underweight made her vulnerable to diseases. Because of my close encounters with the health care system in India and later in the United States, I gathered vast amounts of knowledge about human anatomy.
• I lived by the Jersey Shore for 4 years. The famous show on MTV derives its name from the Atlantic coast of New Jersey in the United States famed for tanned beach bodies and rock music. Undoubtedly, my bodybuilding hobby became more pronounced.
• The guidelines discussed below are based on extensive research done on the science of physical training, informational interviews with several certified physical trainers across the globe, advice from board certified doctors, and my personal journey to attain fitness.
• Not every intellectual individual can teach. Friends tell me that I am good not just at learning stuff but also at disseminating that learned knowledge.

Before I start, I would like to clarify that the guidelines laid out here are very general and that a training program should be specific for each individual. I am going to assume that a majority of people reading this blog lead a sedentary lifestyle that has negligible physical activity besides just taking the subway, commuting by car, or flying for business. And that the biggest of everyone’s worries is the collection of fat around the belly region that is not only embarrassing but also forces one to wear over-sized clothes! I became fit the hard way: revamping my diet, starting off on a treadmill, resorting to external source of protein since I am lacto-vegetarian, and incorporating weight-training & spinning in my regime. There are many mistakes I have made and many lessons I have learned that would help you to get to your goals a whole lot faster.

Before starting out on any regime, get the following checked at a local fitness center:

• Your Weight, Height, and Body Mass Index (BMI)
• % of Body Fat
• Optional – % of Protein, % of Water

Note that the current state of your body is a case of simple math: residual calories equals calories consumed minus calories burned plus miscellaneous. I will discuss the miscellaneous later. In addition to exercising, you will have to change your diet dramatically.

Diet recommendations for Initial Fat Reduction:

• Gradually relinquish ghee, oil, butter, sugar and white flour. They’ll prevent you from getting to that state of physical bliss: a flat stomach and toned muscles. Adopt whole grain cereals instead in your diet.
• Step away from regular Vitamin D milk and start taking 1% fat or skim milk.
• Replace a large percentage of carbohydrates and fat in the diet with tasty salads and fruits. DO NOT completely replace with salads as this will make you so hungry at the end of the day that you will give in to your cravings for sugar and bread!
• Switch from 2 meals a day to 4-6 meals a day. This is going to be the hardest part as your appetite will be put to test, but with practice will do wonders.
• Calorie counting is good, but don’t overdo it. Using high-school knowledge of what food items contain the most carbohydrates, fat, and protein should be enough.

Exercise recommendations for Fat Loss:

• Start out by hopping on to the treadmill. Running helps burn calories uniformly as almost every muscle in the body is put into motion. For people with injuries or orthopedic problems, elliptical or stationary bikes are good alternatives.
• Free running may not be effective for some people, because then there’s no machine that forces you to run faster and for longer durations.
• Spinning is a great exercise that can help you burn up to 1200 calories in an hour!
• If you need, purchase a Heart Rate Monitor. Though most cardiovascular machines give you a calorie count, which keeps you motivated towards your goal.

Recommendations for Muscle Gain:

• If you are new to exercising, weight-training should be carried out under the supervision of a trainer.
• Free weights are best for weight-training as they also build stabilizer muscles around the targeted muscle.
• Consume 1g of instantized Whey Protein for every pound of body weight after your workout sessions.
• For those looking to get quicker muscle gain, Hydro Whey and Pro Complex are some options, though they can be very expensive.
• To accelerate muscle growth, consider complementing protein supplements with Glutamine, Branched-Chain Amino Acids (BCAA), and Creatine. These act as catalysts, expediting protein transfer to muscles that undergo wear and tear after a workout.
• Consuming a multivitamin daily is also recommended.
• Last—but not the least—get REST. I’ve consumed bags of whey protein without resting. The outcome was mere muscle tone and almost 0% muscle growth. The increase in muscle mass happens only—and only—when the body rests. During times of rigorous training, 7-8 hours of sleep is required.

My personal strategies to tremendously optimize fat loss and muscle gain:

• Always consume small amounts of sugar or carbohydrates before your workout session. This will provide the fuel during the workout.
• Stay hydrated with water or a sports drink. Negligence can lead to this.
• Fat doesn’t burn until the first 20-25 minutes of your workout. So, plan to workout for anywhere from 45min to an hour. But, do not work out for more than 1.5 hours as you’ll lose efficacy.
• Always consume protein supplements within 30 minutes of finishing your workout to get the most out of your workout.
• NEVER binge on sugar or fat after a workout. It is a natural tendency to be hungry, but you’ll have wasted all your time and effort going to the gym by doing this. Complex carbohydrates are fine if your goal is not lean muscle mass.
• Fat loss and muscle gain are opposite extremes. Avoid doing exercises for both in the same workout session.
• If muscle gain is your goal, always start out with weight/strength training first and finish the workout with some cardiovascular exercises. Weight/strength training is very demanding, so focus on that during the prime time of your workout session.
• Always change your workout schedule every 2-3 weeks else it will lead to diminishing returns as your body gets adapted to the monotonous training schedule. And your fat loss or muscle gain program will also hit a ceiling, causing a lot of frustration.

The miscellaneous variable in the equation I mentioned earlier includes Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) & genetic factors, both of which have a very small effect. BMR is simply the rate at which your body burns calories. Some people have a high BMR and tend to stay skinny despite minimal physical activity, while those with a low BMR tend to be relatively fat despite physical activity. Genetic factors appear to have less influence over characteristics such as balance, agility, reaction time and accuracy—many of which can be greatly improved with proper training, optimal conditioning, good nutrition and a positive mental attitude.

Speaking of benefits, there are endless. The most important one I already mentioned is that your tendency to fall sick will gradually reduce and you’ll save an awful lot on medical bills. You’ll look younger. When I recently met friends, they found me younger than what I was in my picture on the driving license from 7 years ago! Fitness will undoubtedly boost your professional performance. You will start feeling confident and be appealing to people. As an added—and a coveted—benefit, the opposite sex will find you more attractive.

So, what are you waiting for? Go hit the gym, and let me know through your comments how things go!

DISCLAIMER: This post is not intended to endorse any products, brands, or fitness centers. The ‘Recommendations for Muscle Gain’ does not include performance enhancing drugs or steroids, and along with the ‘Diet recommendations for Initial Fat Reduction,’ should preferably be consumed only after a consultation with a physician. Please stay away from steroids as they can pose negative side effects, resulting in problems in the long term and even death in certain cases. Fat loss and muscle gain programs are extremely rigorous, requiring a lot of determination, motivation, commitment, and self-control.

Will Barack Obama get re-elected?

In capturing and executing Osama Bin Laden, President Barack Obama displayed strong resolve, tremendous perseverance, and commendable heroism in fighting terrorism and in disproving the Republicans who argued that “terrorists win when Democrats get elected.” His popularity has soared for his decisiveness and follow-through. But, is this feather in the cap enough for him to get re-elected?

In 1991, George H. W. Bush was almost certain to get re-elected after his Gulf War victory, but was instead booted from the office because he put recession on the back burner. Obama is probably one of the few dynamic Presidents America has seen—something that puts him in the league of Kennedy and Carter. And the drive of this success-hungry Ivy Leaguer is blatant in his leadership, diplomacy, and oratory. But when it comes to economics and trade, he is a lawyer at best and a businessman at worst. In his attempts to bring the country out of recession, he appears to have failed. As per the US Department of Labor, the unemployment still hovers around 9.0%. And he continues to commit errors, esp. in dealing with two major nations, namely China and India, and this further threatens the US economy in which debt continues to rise.

Firstly, the US owes tremendous manufacturing-related debt to China. China continues to undervalue its currency, and Obama has been unsuccessful in negotiating a resolution to this effect with the Chinese government. To make matters worse, China has been supportive of Pakistan, with whom US relations need to be revisited after Bin Laden’s discovery, by supplying military technology.

Secondly, the US-Mexico border bill that he signed in order to create more jobs for Americans and to off-load the financial burden of illegal immigrants from Mexico to H1-B work visas has disturbed Indian and Chinese firms. Though the CEOs of IT firms were smart in that they said they’d hike the bills for services rendered with the difference amount of the hike, a reverse brain drain has already begun. While China continues to provide an excellent source of manufacturing and IT talent, India provides not only IT skills but also a good source of entrepreneurship. The entrepreneurs who could have started companies in the US and thus, provided employment have chosen to either return to their home country or to pursue the US only for educational endeavors. These entrepreneurs will now draw the skills from the coveted education system in the US and instead use them back home. This in turn will create employment and develop the economies of their home country, spiking a global competition. First it was China that parted from the US, and India is next. Hopes are that the new ‘Start-up Visa’ could be a savior, but it could be late until it comes into effect.

Obviously, there are many other hurdles to Obama’s successful candidacy, but both off-shoring and outsourcing impact a very wide spectrum of American businesses.