PFC/Rahmania posts

On why I didn't support Peepli Live's Oscar entry, at PFC http://passionforcinema.com/why-i-will-not-support-peepli-lives-oscar-entry/ (Broken Link) I am glad it didn't make it to the shortlist.

And a post on Rahman's musical ode to the Mother featuring songs like Lukka Chuppi, Azhagu Nilavae, Uyirum Neeye, Kalaiyil Dhinamum, and Oru Deivan Thantha Poove on Rahmania. http://rahmania.posterous.com/maa-a-musical-ode-to-the-mother

Update June 25 2011: While PFC is now defunct, this PFC post was the one that brought in a lot of comments, read brick-bats. Well, nothing as good as healthy criticism :-) Contents of the post follow:

Why I will not support Peepli [Live]'s Oscar entry!

Aamir Khan must have been a very happy person in this past decade (2001-10). With quite a few of his productions being in the race for the Academy Awards for the best foreign film year after year, he sure can take a bow for bringing visibility to Indian cinema, starting from Lagaan to Peepli [Live].

Peepli [Live], as a movie, did bring to the notice of many ignorant Indians, the burning issue of farmer suicides. Did it venture into the issue of trying to solve this problem? Definitely not! Was it a satirical take on the newspersons who try to make a living out of sensationalizing this issue, and many others? Probably yes! While not being completely satirical, the movie did have its moments, and was a class apart from the routine Bollywood movies that the industry churns out in bulk every week. Credit must be given to Anusha Rizvi who made this movie, and with her experience in a news channel, she was able to portray some of the tactics a news channel adapts to address an issue. A good concept on paper handled with a distasteful approach was the sore point of the movie. I am not trashing the movie completely, nor am I endorsing the premise of the movie, but it is just the amateur treatment of a burning subject that upset me. Much drama has occurred in the news channels following the Niira Radia tapes being made public, including some amount of double standards shown by a few news channels that owe their allegiance to a few others. Newspersons held in great regard have lost some amount of credibility among the masses due to this issue. The movie showcases the same loss of credibility of the journalists who tend to blow things out of proportion, which includes a TV cameraman and a reporter trying to track the whereabouts of the protagonist and the time of escape based on when he attended nature's call. Come on, is this truly what you want to see in a movie? Even the movie Summer 2007 handled some delicate issues in a better way, though it was not a perfect movie on any note.

And now the movie has garnered international attention, by virtue of its distinction being India's official entry to the Oscars. What are you trying to show to the world? Does the government want to show to the world, the extent to which our news channels will stoop down, in order to gain TRPs? Or does it want to showcase a realistic portrayal of the farmers' suicides and gain empathy from an international audience? The latter is most definitely not going to happen, and former, sure will partially succeed in tarnishing India's image further, after Slumdog Millionaire. I can only view Peepli [Live] as Aamir Khan's answer to Danny Boyle's Slumdog Millionaire, and it succeeds in creating a genre of movies that tend to be called 'poverty porn' (I guess I read this term in a PFC post; I don't tend to recall which).

If Peepli [Live] had gotten released, obtained rave reviews, made money and gone back into the archives, I wouldn't have been ranting so much. It is the fact that it is the official entry to the Academy awards that infuriates me. What further infuriates me is the fact that the melodramatic 'My Name Is Khan' gets long-listed in the regular category for Best Picture. I did like MNIK just for the SRK-Kajol jodi, though the movie was beyond that, and tried to address a global issue, but an Academy Award nomination? Sorry Academy Awards committee, I've partially lost respect in your criterion for choosing a movie that relied on a director’s faith on a superstar rather than handling the premise adeptly.  But MNIK was not nominated officially by India, so let me not get into a discussion on that.

(Update: MNIK was not nominated, but just in contention because it satisfied a few factors that makes any movie released in the US eligible for an Oscar nomination.)

Did we not have other 'good' movies in 2010 that deserved to get nominated, or for that matter in the past even? Take for instance Udaan that released in 2010. A coming-of-age movie whose story line is a global issue, and the treatment to the subject was on par with a few of the Oscar-nominated and Oscar-winning movies. Wasn't 'Dor' (2006) worthy of a nomination, for its brilliant portrayal of the quest of the journey of a woman to find another woman without knowing any information about the other woman? If you sent Devdas (2002) that depicted the grandest of the sets and costumes, as a nomination, why didn't you send the modern take on the same novel, Dev.D (2009)? Was it because you still want to portray India as a conservative state? Why didn’t you send the brilliant Kannathil Muthamittal (2002) that addressed a key issue of adoption and how the Srilankan Tamils were affected in the past three decades? And you send movies like Paheli and Eklavya for depicting the colors and art of India? Move on, India is beyond all that!

I strongly hope that a more-transparent voting system falls in place to decide India's entry to the Academy awards for the best picture in the foreign category. When the critics tend to praise the genuinely worthy movies, why don't you give them a chance to decide what makes it to the Oscars? Probably if we had such a system in place, we might have just gotten a lot more Oscars in the past years. That said, one doesn't need an Oscar to endorse a genuinely good movie, because the audience will surely identify it and grant it immortal status, sooner or later.

This said, I might be happy if Peepli [Live] gets an Oscar, but my heart will surely bleed while answering the questions posed by the non-Indian audience on this subject! India is not all about Peepli [Live]!

New posts on Rahmania and Passion of Cinema

To enable listing things at one place, I'll have a few short updates about Rahmania posts and my Passion for Cinema posts (if any) here henceforth, regularly.

A Post on the Journey of A.R.Rahman (1992-2011) on Passion for Cinema - http://passionforcinema.com/journey-of-a-r-rahman-1992-2011/ (broken link, contents of the post follow)

Posts on the year 2010 in music, A.R.Rahman's sabbatical, and colorful collage (by Aishwarya) have been posted on Rahmania.

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Journey of A.R.Rahman from 1992 to 2011

It was not so long back that the music of Roja made ripples in the Tamil music industry and went on to change the face of the music in Tamil films and later in the Indian film music too. Much has been said about A.R.Rahman, his successes (and failures), his highs (and lows), and his innovative composing skills (and the lack of it). This post is an effort to summarize the peaks in the twenty-year long musical journey of the Mozart of Madras on the eve of his birthday. All of the statements made here are with due respect to the many composers that ruled the music industry before A.R.Rahman made a beginning.

Entry

In 1992, it was Roja that introduced Rahman to the Indian music industry (he had a release earlier in a Malayalam movie Yodha), and what was a highlight of this movie was the fact that he introduced (and re-introduced) many singers including the legendary Hariharan to mainstream music, and each of them went on to make a great career of their own. The different types and tempo of the drumbeat in the interlude of the song Rukkumani showcased a different touch to the usage of percussion instruments, which were probably mastered only by Ilayaraja otherwise. As said by all, it gave a new dimension to music, a different listening experience, and probably a reason for many people like me to begin learning music to help appreciate the music compositions better.

Sustenance

The problem faced by any new music composer including to the current heartthrob Amit Trivedi, is to be able to deliver consistently without being stereotyped or fading away after a few albums. The competition in 1992 was probably not as fierce as it was in 2009-10, but there sure is an expectation on a music composer following a huge hit, and many composers who started off with a bang have bitten the dust in no time. Rahman continued to deliver critically and commercially in Tamil with timeless classics like Duet, Pudhiya Mugham, Gentleman, Pavithra, May Maadham, Thiruda Thiruda, Karuthamma, Kaadhalan, Bombay and more. A lot of these movies were dubbed into Hindi and gave A.R.Rahman a visibility in the non-Tamil speaking segments.

Colorful Bollywood Entry

The true visibility of Rahman in the Hindi film industry came via a Ram Gopal Varma musical, Rangeela, which was a significant landmark in his Bollywood career. Bringing back Asha Bhosle to mainstream movie music, and Rahman successfully made the nation croon to the sultry Tanha Tanha track whose musical highlights were the flute and the violin usages all through the track. Rangeela Re was an instant hit, with it topping all musical countdowns including Philips Top 10 on Zee TV, which was a reason for me to watch the show. Even though Rangeela brought him to the mainstream Bollywood music scene, Rahman had very few releases in Hindi till the end of the millennium. His strength in the south further increased with albums such as Kadhal Desam, Indian and Love Birds.

New Indian

When an independent India turned 50 in 1997, it was Rahman's Vande Mataram track, which yet again became an instant rage among the old and the young. A jean clad Rahman was the new face of music in India, and went on to make the album with six other different songs, including a collaboration with Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, a bestseller. It was during this time that A.R.Rahman also lapped up a National Award for Minsara Kanavu (dubbed in Hindi as Sapnay), came out with a critically appreciated Iruvar and had another collaboration with Ram Gopal Varma for Daud.

From the Heart

The next peak in Rahman's career was via a song to which Shahrukh Khan and Malaika Arora Khan danced on top of a train for Mani Ratnam's Dil Se. Sukhwinder Singh's energetic  Chaiyya Chaiyya was the highlight of this popular soundtrack which also had Lata Mangeshkar singing for Rahman for the first time. It will not be wrong to say that the song Chaiyya Chaiyya was the most popular song of 1998 and beyond, and also appeared in the Hollywood movie, The Inside Man.

Millennium Musical Magic

Following Dil Se, A.R.Rahman became a name to reckon with in Bollywood with musical hits including Doli Sajake Rakhna, Thakshak, 1947-Earth, Taal and Pukar, while entertaining the southern audience with a plethora of releases including En Swaasa Katre, Kadhalar Dhinam, Padayappa, Sangamam, Taj Mahal, Jodi, and Mudhalvan towards the end of the millennium. The new millennium began with a bang with the release of his two best-selling works Alaipayuthey and Kandukonden Kandukonden, with the latter holding a record for the highest amount paid by a label for audio rights, back in 2000.

Crossing the Borders

In 2001, Rahman appeared to cross the borders of Bollywood and gained an exposure among the non-Indian audience, thanks to the Oscar nominated Lagaan, for which he scored the soundtrack and the background score. This was probably the second instance (after Iruvar) when Rahman scored the music for a period film, and won the National Award for the best music composer, yet again. This opened new avenues in Hollywood and beyond, including an opportunity to work with Andrew Lloyd Weber in the stage production Bombay Dreams, which brought him immense appreciation.

This was the time when Rahman reduced his Tamil and Hindi commitments and had no more than 4-5 releases a year starting 2002 until 2008. A few of the key albums in the 2002-2004 time frame include Kannathil Muthamittal, Boys, Kangalal Kaithu Sei and Kadhal Virus in Tamil, The Legend of Bhagat Singh, Tehzeeb, Meenaxi, Swades and Yuva in Hindi and The Warriors of Heaven and Earth in English/Mandarin.

Oscar Glory – well almost

Critical appreciation poured in from all quarters when a few songs from the soundtrack of Rang De Basanti and Water were shortlisted for the nominations for the Academy Awards. This surely was a first for a mainstream Indian composer, and brought a lot of recognition to his work, even though it didn't make it to the final list of nominations. Rang De Basanti was a cult hit, both as a movie and as a soundtrack.

A Slump in form??

Rahman's further releases in 2007-08 Guru, Jodhaa Akbar, Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na, Yuvvraaj, Ghajini definitely showed a slump in form from an Indian audience and a hardcore Rahman fan's perspective, even though each of the albums had a couple amazing tracks or even more. The Tamil albums during this time frame Sivaji, Azhagiya Tamil Magan, and Sakkarakati were an instant hit among the Tamil audience, but surely the audience had seen a better output from Rahman at an earlier stage.

Oscar Glory and more - Finally

It was Danny Boyle's directorial venture Slumdog Millionaire that gave him the ever-eluding international attention in the forms of Oscars, Grammy Awards, and the BAFTA awards. The track Jai Ho was probably the first Indian anthem that became so popular, and brought in the most laurels for Rahman till date. Indian audience brushed aside the movie as poverty porn, and the soundtrack as yet another average track, and that Rahman has had better music in the past. It was indeed unfortunate that Rahman was not recognized for his earlier efforts internationally, but Slumdog Millionaire was the vehicle that showed his prowess to the international audience. He further made progress in the international scene with Danny Boyle's 127 Hours in 2010, yet again.

Rahman's subsequent releases Blue, Raavan, Endhiran and Jhootha Hi Sahi were not unfortunately well-received by the audience, with the only exceptions being Delhi 6 and Vinnaithaandi Varuvaaya, which were well-received by the masses and classes alike.

The Brand ‘A.R.Rahman’

A.R.Rahman is no longer just a composer. He is not just an entity either. He is a brand. Movies like Ada, Sakkarakatti and many others were solely marketed as an A.R.Rahman musical. And as with any brand, there is a certain level of expectation to churn out popular and classy output all the time. Rahman has reached a stage in his career where he surely doesn't have to prove himself to anyone, but just has to provide the evergreen music that his albums provided in the past. There is not one music lover who will complain about the releases he had in the early 90s, because that was the time when Indian music came of age, and Rahman was the identifying factor for that. His recent albums sure are musically superior to many of the other composers' albums, and surely a treasure for the hardcore fans. But an eight-year old of today surely needs a Roja to repeat the same phenomenon that happened 20 years ago with many of us. Hope the much-needed sabbatical brings a refreshing change in his style of composition.

Happy birthday, A.R.Rahman, Your music has brought meaning to many a life!

The 140 Characters on My Timeline

As I mentioned in this post, I sure have spent a good part of my 2010 on Twitter. What began as yet another form of social media for status-updates, soon became a discussion forum with likeminded folks. Discussions about life in general, music, technology, food/cookery, movies, and many more have taken place on Twitter with complete strangers. And it might be an understatement if I say that I can relate more to the people of Twitter than with a few of my so-called ‘fraands’. As the year draws to a close, I must mention the people from Twitter who’ve been a source of entertainment, information, witty remarks, and more.

Statutory Warning: This is a long post with 140 characters! Pliss to take it seriously in lighter vein in most cases. And this list is in the order that I followed people, no favoritism was shown (I wish I could!)

If you are looking for a mention of your Twitter handle, Ctrl + F maybe a better option to find it. And I would really like to hear your curses in the comments.

(For non-Twitter folks, if any, TL = Timeline, DP = Display picture, and this post must be a good reason for you to join Twitter.)

1.    Thripthi – Got introduced to Twitter by her, but the lady hardly tweets.

2.    krtgrphr – A lot has been said about this all-in-all Azhaguraaja; knowledgeable and well-informed about everything, this hat guy is.

3.    Axe_Puli – Someone who has an opinion contrary to the popular one, with a reason. Has the uncanny ability to spam your timeline with live-tweets about any game that’s going on. And daily Earthquake update specialist.

4.    arvindia4u – Photographer and a regular on all social networks (Was The Social Network made targeting him?)

5.    Chinmayi – Beyond a good singer/translator/voice-over artist and all that, she may make a good politician one fine day, at least on Twitter.

6.    Hariship – Has had the most tweets about sipping tea in Starbucks on a timeline. A true tea lover, he is.

7.    Prajnyan – Tech-geek and fellow Bangalorean who has an interesting take on life

8.    D33pak – A TL popular who’s on a sabbatical now

9.    Ursmusically – The best analysis of a movies background score, you can get, in simple words.

10.    Sujdr – Radio-oncologist in the making and a childhood fraand, had some interesting thoughts about the medical profession.

11.    Aswinms – Made sure that I blog about Ram Guha’s talk (made sure in a good way!)

12.    BenTex – Fellow pardesi, who has a good taste in movies, and is not ashamed of a few movie that she calls as her favorites.

13.    Sridhar – A BlackBerry Fan, who is my first stop for news about any new phone.

14.    Venkatananth – Omnipresent on your timeline, with news, tit-bits, analysis, and more. A must follow.

15.    Brijeshnairan – Expressive blogger

16.    Kiranp – One of the authorities for Ilayaraja music.

17.    Purnateja – Nammooru huduga, whose culinary ventures are the highlight of his stay in the Pardes.

18.    R_Khanna – His tweets are a good explanation for why this guy didn’t get to act more, in a good sense.

19.    Krishashok – Jalsa, Jilpa and all that… it’s only him who can make an airport layover sound interesting. And not just that!

20.    Lavsmohan - #MokkaMondays is her proprietary service to Twitter. And this service is available on all days.

21.    IndiaFiles – An amazing photographer who blogs about the small and often-missed things in life.

22.    SudhishKamath – I’ve agreed to his movie reviews to a record 95% this year, and a fellow LOSTie. Looking forward to his Good Morning, Good Night

23.    Shilparathnam – Sigh! One only wishes some more girls were made this way!

24.    FlyYouFools – Cows on Indian roads! Period. PS: He must have more comics.

25.    _Avni – Another Blackberry lover, and tweets motivational stuff (yes, the timeline does need it occasionally)

26.    anishasharma10 – Calls a spade a spade, and my source of news from London.

27.    beholder20 – Bangalore se gaya London, and now has become a good London-vaasi ☺

28.    bigfatphoenix – Video games… hmm… I am plain jealous of this guy for his life.

29.    SahilRiz – Has those stick figure reviews that are often more entertaining than the movie itself. If only I had listened to him, I’d have saved a few hundred dollars in movie tickets this year. 

30.    Neo_indian – Why hasn’t #TweetLikeNeoIndian trended yet. 140 characters are too little to express and here’s someone who expresses in half as much.

31.    Mokkai_mak – Chennai guy (??) who’s transforming into a great Mumbaikar.

32.    Chuck_gopal – Seasonal DPs and more.

33.    Fakingnews – Newspersons who are fond of breaking the news can never compete with him, well at least not after the ‘Man sues Axe Bodyspray, as unable to get girl’ episode.

34.    IntrepidShaz – School friend who constantly reminds me the things I am missing out in India, in general and Bangalore, in particular.

35.    Mojorojo – Another LOSTie who instantly made me jealous by showcasing his Lost Blu-Ray set. And did I say he was a standup comedian.

36.    Techrsr – One more all-in-all Azhaguraaja on my timeline. And immense respect for his knowledge of carnatic music (even though he says there are experts around.)

37.    Cowmaaa – If there is one person from my TL whom I want to meet, it’s him. Interesting stands on various topics, and I mostly disagree with him, though he can get convincing in most cases.

38.    Sruthirk – Makes guest appearances on the timeline often, mostly when a music discussion or mokkai discussion is taking place.

39.    _smylee – The only one in my TL from down under, with whom I have a 24hr gap (thanks to my sleep cycle), and a young lady who has trained her significant other very well! ☺

40.    gpwill – Occasionally tweets about some corporate stuff  which have a OHT on me

41.    bharadhwaj – A CS PhD student in completeness

42.    imsaiarasi – Now a total #youremember, who had the knack of setting the TL on fire when she was around.

43.    Vettipaiyan – Once a competition to me in terms of vetti-thanam (joblessness), now a busy guy; and tweets some carnatic gems occasionally.

44.    udupendra – I wait for his Top 5 lists, and the Kannada gems that he tweets occasionally. And an awesome quizzer and a smart MBA.

45.    hg6 – Another musically expressive blogger.

46.    Sathm – Family guy in the pardes, and in the happening city of Vegas; manages to make me read Tamil regularly via his tweets.

47.    vettyponnu – A regular #youremember, whose presence on the TL is sorely missed.

48.    panjamirtham – Another US timezone regular, whose DP itself is a good reason why I follow; the female equivalent of all-in-all azhaguraja… oops azhagurani; proprietory owner of #ARRTrip

49.    Saranya_s – She knows to put Samosas/Kachori on the timeline at the right time, and motivate me to indulge in chaat.

50.    prempanicker – Immense respect for him and his writing, enough said.

51.    nilotpalc – The sports fanatic on my TL, who has every cricket statistic at his fingertips.

52.    Suppandi – The most-loved comic character, in a smart new avatar.

53.    Sumantics – Followed her for the Mosaranna (curd rice) DP, but there’s more to this lady than that. The only other Deecan Herald loyalist on my timeline, I suppose.

54.    Surekhapillai – Shows how ‘exciting’ a profession PR can be, and more; will she take offense if I call her the Kovai Sarala of the TL?

55.    Amreekandesi – Provides a good precursor of what to expect after moving back to Des.

56.    Mekkadan – College friend who is probably one of the few serious tweeps on my TL

57.    Sruthih – A mute spectator and an occasional RT-er

58.    Svinz – Founder of the Kannada Twitter Sangha (reminds me of Vatal, just kidding)

59.    Milliblog – 100 word reviews of Indian music and more, and the monthly picks usually tell me of the good music I might have missed during that month.

60.    Navyad2005 – Another Raaja fan on my timeline, who tweets about a few other things that are blogworthy.

61.    Connectvinoth – At times shows, self-motivation is the best form of motivation.

62.    Raj2s – What to say, a popular guy from nammooru who manages to make me get the Bangalore feel on Twitter.

63.    Ashvala – While he says he’s often called #kidsthesedays, I’d change it to #SmartKidsTheseDays; gives me a complex for wasting my school days :P

64.    ShreyanshS – Mumbai. Cricket. Bollywood. Life. This guys tweets about them all.

65.    CreativeWolf – Began following him cos he is a Tamil pulavar; now a fellow Bangalorean and music lover.

66.    Vasa_ - One more Bangalore guy who has disappeared from my TL for a while.

67.    Neelavanam – Artwiculate is the word to describe her tweets, and wait, she’s @Ashvala’s mom.

68.    Ainvvy – Quite like some of his remarks on certain things, and he’s @Ashvala’s dad.

69.    Nakulshenoy – A mindreader who manages to get me to rethink what I tweet to him.

70.    Rajeshmedic – Keyboard player with gifted fingers. His version of Anbil Avan showed me heaven instantly.

71.    Rameshsrivats -  ‘If you are not following him, you ought not stay on Twitter’ is an understatement.

72.    Mspraveen – Truly appreciate his effort for Wikipedia, some really good wikis, and on some movies too.

73.    Pooja_luvIndia – One question. How does she manage to get up at 2am to study? I can only target waking up at 2pm.

74.    DilsoftRaja – Another Raaja fan on the timeline

75.    Andytitmoves – His knowledge of Tamil music tends to amaze me. And did I say he was an IITian?

76.    Thecomicproject – I am fan of his pictures, and his comics too; and the pics not just because he is in Amsterdam.

77.    _logik – Packs some logic in the 140 characters, a quizzer and more often Bangalore-related trivia that cause much jealousy.

78.    Gulpanag – She better get the Bollywood Ambassador on Twitter award, wait, actually nope, she sure is beyond #TweetLikeABollywoodMoron

79.    Kweezzz – Made sure I wake up on time for a few quizzes. On a serious note, an excellent initiative.

80.    aishu_s – Fellow Rahmania blogger, iPod Rani, and my source for English music.

81.    livetimefe – If only I could say out everything that’s on my mind, like this not-at-all reticent young lady; she’s a complete #WIN on the TL

82.    beastoftraal – I truly admire his daily blog routine, and he often posts PR stuff that make sense to a layman like me.

83.    _sukhi – A fellow Udaan and Amit Trivedi fan, and keeps posting about the Orange city.

84.    Hallidude – Gets the award for the most misleading handle on Twitter.

85.    Srikanthgv – One more Bangalore-related jealousy breeder :P

86.    AbsolutDiamond – Where to begin? Raaja fanatic, doc is one description. Can I call her a vaayadi?

87.    Itsdemo – MBA aspirant and regularly plugs some ‘Hindu’ articles which I might have missed, and some good Tamil music too.

88.    Kabodhi – A guy with such an inspiring handle should tweet more, seriously!

89.    Madraslover – A lover of a city that he doesn’t stay in, and puts thanni on behalf of me and @saranya_s too.

90.    Tricalnikhil – Complete techie, what more can I say.

91.    Nandiniv – A wonderful motivator who makes me cook/bake, and shows enough passion to get back to des (the last time I heard, it was 6 months, 4 days, 22 hrs and 5 mins or so).

92.    Penn_insula – Someone who was to quit Twitter, but got back because Echofon remembered her password. We need more such Tweeps.

93.    Wittophile – A fellow Raaja/ARR fan, who has gone missing from the timeline off-late, and used to have some interesting (read as ‘weird’) tweets :P

94.    Cornerd – Hosts the best ARR/Raaja kweezzz’es (and others too!) in town

95.    dineshjayaraman – Sakalakalavallavan, in his own words; one more guy who gives me a complex for having wasted my college days.

96.    Sujoysingha – a recent follow who has an interesting blog called ‘One Knight Stands’ featuring reviews and the like

97.    Anantha – One word, sorry, one hashtag #WhyAnanthaIsAmazing describes him completely; and I hear @maxdavinci coined it, don’t know why he coined it, but agree completely.

98.    Mah_Ima – the original paavam ponnu, who can sleep through an office conference call, without getting caught, well almost. And a #DPMahipal

99.    Saffrontrail (drnanditaiyer) – One handle encourages food indudgence, while the other provides information on proper food habits (in @krishashok’s own words); this doc is a complete #WIN mother and an amazing culinary expert.


100.    WolframZeta – I won the social experiment against the ultimate answer to anything x = 42, on who changes the DP faster. Gave me an instant egoboost :P

101.    GeekyInaneTwit – Took a while for me to figure out what her DP was, and I take time to figure out her tweets too.

102.    Ajit_baskar – The other half of @nandiniv and now a #youremember

103.    NameFieldEmpty – One more person who gives me a complex with the way she tweets; I surely want to know how she is in person.

104.    MehaMaya – The Matarani Ka Prakop, who’s a regular on the US timezones, and a great baker whose preparations make me go hungry right after a meal.

105.    Naresha – The raw mango DP is enough to make me drool at my timeline; another scientist in the making, I suppose. And a Ranji lover.

106.    l__m – the one and only goddess on my TL,  who’s a serial DP changer, and currently witnessing the ‘chillarathanam’ of a few of the potential future big shots of Fortune-500 kombenis.

107.    mad_nad – This post was inspired by her post (so all rights reserved with Nadhiya); another late follow actually, but a great cricket fact wizard. And I have promised to her that I will not follow a cricket match, till India is at the victory stage.

108.    Gradwolf – Rechristened #matterwolf, I am yet to see his leelais. And has a nice blog too!

109.    UnnamedEntity – A recent much delayed follow, who’s best known as the person who pWns kweezzzes. And another knowledgeable guy on my TL.

110.    Benly – Fellow Rahmaniac with a very interesting DP, amazed by his fandom.

111.    Krish_santhosh - #EngagedMahipal in the Gelf

112.    Sunilification – One guy who doesn’t hesitate to give out his opinion, and I disagree (actually agree) with him, most often than not :P

113.    Imsabbah – Haven’t interacted with her much, but tweets some interesting stuff from the Jammu & Kashmir valley.

114.    YaavanoObba – How do people come up with such handles? I am jealous.

115.    NYSubha – One of the few people, who isn’t ashamed to admit that her husband taught her to cook, while she struggled to boil water. Okay, last bit was an exaggeration.

116.    Pradyutroy – Another Rahmaniac/blogger who manages to crib as much as me, if not beat me :P

117.    EnnaipolEvan – Immense respect for this guy for the pWnzer Rahman quiz he hosted, I began doubting my listening skills.

118.    Atlasdanced – Someone who followed me just because I refered to him and someone else collectively as ‘Pasangala’. Having said that, I still don’t know his age.

119.    Shrihari – One source for Tamil music, and a good Tamil film music quizmaster

120.    Aajays – Had an interesting DP, now an even more interesting one.

121.    Complicateur – Is he the 24th Pulikesi? You never know, but all said, writes really well.

122.    Equanimus – He’s almost my Tamil tutor on my TL; unintentionally though!

123.    Blogeswari – One of my favorite bloggers, who has done a re-name-akaranam to most people in the showbiz.

124.    Pushkarr – The new entertainer on my TL, and succeeds in most cases. And had a #EPIC #youremember quiz about the Indian brands. Much nostalgia happened then.

125.    Maxdavinci - #marriedmahipal who says he still doesn’t support romance or something like that. And it sure takes some guts to say it.

126.    Nandini_Iyer – An entertainer from England, who shares the ‘same kuttai same mattai’ sentiment with me.

127.    Phulkadots – My new source for discovering Tamil music

128.    Nelsonnium – The new #abstracttweet person on my timeline

129.    Punvati – Recent tweep, but sure puts the pun in punch too, apart from putting it into many other things.

130.    Raghu_Dixit – Kudos to this guy for putting Kannada folk music on the National level and more. Hope to see more from you in 2011


Other notable mentions
131.    BDUTT – Still respect her and all that. Noted her response during the #barkhagate fiasco. If only she came clean on what happened.

132.    Chetan_Bhagat – Move away from #ChetanBlocks, one surely must have the guts to make a fool of himself on Twitter, unless it’s unintentional.

133.    SrBachchan – a love-hate relationship with this guy and his tweets. Can’t live without it.

134.    Mangeshkarlata – For once her music doesn’t do the screeching.. oops talking, but the shuddh Hindi does. ‘Humility’, I guess.

135.    BlogAdda – Solely deserves the award for making me get back to blogging, and how! They gave be an award for one of my blogs ☺

136.    RajaSen – I hardly agree with his reviews, but this guy sure has something in his writing that makes me go back to his reviews every Friday.

137.    RajeevMasand – I don’t agree with all his reviews either, but all said, one of the trusted reviewers around. And he tweets at times about older movies and analyses them.

138.    PritishNandy – I still wonder what would have happened if a guy with such thoughts, made it big in politics.

139.    Mashable – News about anything and everything related to technology and social media

140.    ShashiTharoor – And the cattle class comment, enough said!

Phew!!!

Missing people:

141. Sushovande - HP quizzes and tech-related tweets. One TL non-spammer he sure is.