Karnataka Porngate

Remember the song “oh la la” from the dirty picture? Of course you do! Now do you know how many cases were booked against Vidya Balan for indecent exposure? Seventy Eight!

About six years ago in a pub in Mangalore, a group of hooligans calling themselves ” moral police” bashed up women who were present in the pub stating that they were in violation of traditional Indian laws.  

In a country where no one watches porn (Obviously), an actress was fined for obscene gestures and acts. Whereas in the same country, in the middle of a legislative session, two ministers were caught watching a girl getting raped by a man. How many cases were registered against these two gentlemen? Where was this so called “moral police” when your own netas where caught watching porn in an ongoing legislative session?

When questioned about this incident, the honorable ministers brush off the claim by stating that they weren’t watching anything pornographic and were just watching an Iranian woman getting raped! How is that justified sir? You watch a woman get raped and that is not a crime?  Innocent women beaten up in pubs is a crime! A heroine being bold on screen is a crime. But you watching a rape incident is not crime. 

How ironic that the house discussed public indecency just hours before the ministers were caught in the act!

Ultimately the whole issue was heavily politicized for the benefit for the political parties. An enquiry commission was set up. The ministers silently resigned and went back to being MLA’s, the respected representatives of people. On the whole the issue was nice fodder for media and a chance for the opposition party to garner votes. But in retrospect, did the matter become so serious because the ministers were watching porn or because they got caught watching it? Remember, no one watches porn in India.

But one thing I definitely want to see is the expression of the minister’s wives or daughters faces when they returned home after this PORNGATE scandal.

Also food for thought: The only celebrity who tweeted about this is Poonam Pandey (If you wish to call her a celebrity). Remember the girl who promised to strip if India won the world cup? But it would have been a waste even if she did because no one watches porn in India ( Sshhh…. ) 

Ten must watch movies for aspiring minds

Movies can be more than a source of entertainment. Below are some movies that will inspire you:

10. Jerry Maguire (1996)

This movie teaches you to stick to your values. The movie is  about a big-firm sports agent willing to do anything to score lofty contracts for athletes (and the hefty commission that comes with it), Jerry Maguire is fired after a change of heart leading him to adopt a more honest approach to his work. He may have lost his job and most of his clients, but rather than give up, Jerry decides to start a sport agency of his own. The movie reminds us that starting a business is never easy, but doing what you believe in is always the right choice. In the end, he’s happier and more successful than ever.

09. Pirates of Silicon Valley (1999)

The movie teaches us that competition is good for success.It  captures the rivalry between Apple and Microsoft as Steve Jobs  and Bill Gates both begin to build their technology empires in the 1980’s. Though the film is fictional, it does translate an intense rivalry between two businessmen, and how they constantly feed off that rivalry. Considering that the real Steve Jobs and Bill Gates are now at the top of their industry, looks like the movie was making (at least one) point: When you’re just starting out, a little competition never hurt anyone.

08. Wall Street (1987)

It was a critically appraised movie and teaches us that greed is good only to a certain extent. The movie is about Bud Fox , an eager young stockbroker on Wall Street, who is desperate to make it big in the finance world. He finagles a meeting with the notoriously ruthless and extremely wealthy broker Gordon Gekko, whose motto is “greed is good.” Gekko becomes a mentor for Fox, folding the younger businessman under his successful wing as he encourages deceitful business practices—including fraud and insider trading—to get ahead. But when Fox is arrested for shady business dealings, he realizes there are more important things to strive for than money.

07. Office Space (1999)

This movie showcases office politics at its best. If not in the past or the present, you are definitely going to relate to this movie at least once in your life.

06. Too Big to Fail (2011)

This movie is about the 2008 financial meltdown of the USA and focuses on the actions of U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson to contain the problems during the period of August 2008 to October 13, 2008. (Remember my post “Is Greed Good?” and the lines where I mentioned about an economy getting stumbled? Watch this movie and find out for yourself)

05. 21(2008)

The film is inspired by the true story of the MIT Blackjack Team as told in Bringing Down the House, the best-selling book by Ben Mezrich. A Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) senior math major Ben Campbell) is accepted into Harvard Medical School, but cannot afford the $300,000 fee. Despite a 44 MCAT score and top grades, Ben faces a fierce competition for the prestigious Robinson Scholarship that would pay entirely for the medical school. The director tells him that the scholarship would go to the student who would “dazzle” him back a the MIT professor Micky Rosa  challenges Ben with the Monty Hall problem, which he solves successfully. After looking at Ben’s score on his latest non-linear equations paper, on which he got 97%, Rosa invites Ben to join his blackjack team. What happens next is for you to see.

04. Catch me if you can (2002)

A true story about Frank Abagnale Jr., who, before his 19th birthday, successfully conned millions of dollars’ worth of checks as a Pan Am pilot, doctor, and legal prosecutor but later worked for the government in identifying check frauds.

03. Patch Adams (1988)

Patch Adams is determined to become a medical doctor because he enjoys helping people. Unfortunately, the medical and scientific community does not appreciate his methods of healing the sick, while the actual patients, medical professors, and hospital nurses all appreciate the work *he* can do, because they are unable to do it.

02. The Social Network(2010)

He may be the world’s youngest billionaire, but Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg didn’t get to that point without making a few enemies along the way. From a Harvard dorm room to the courtroom, The Social Network film is based on the Facebook creator’s trials and triumphs as he builds the social network into the billion-dollar empire. Though the Zuckerberg and his early staff shrug the movie off as totally fictional, the saga does come with a valuable warning to young entrepreneurs about how easily fame and fortune can jeopardize personal relationships.

01. The pursuit of Happyness (2006)

A real life story of Chris Gardner who is a struggling salesman in San Francisco who is left homeless and caring for his young son after he blows his family’s savings on a bad business investment. But Gardner doesn’t waste time despairing. He decides to take on an unpaid six-month long internship that could potentially lead him to the job of his dreams. Though the other interns are younger and more educated, Gardner’s common sense, good attitude, and incredible work ethic prevails. He gets the dream, while also earning the respect of everyone he works with.

Watch the movies and feel inspired.

JUST DO IT

Before you start reading this, ask yourself a question. Well its not a big one. Why is it that you are reading this article?

You don’t really need an answer but usually in life you are faced with doubt. The way of simplifying your problems is by reducing the possibilities and if that’s not possible, at least group your choices and form an equation.

I believe that in life you only have two choices. One that your heart asks you to do and the other that your brain commands you to. Well technically your heart doesn’t but happiness, pleasure and contentment is something that would be the result of following your heart. If you fail you will have a broken heart and it might be nearly impossible to forget it. But who cares right? you learnt something. I believe those lines are a bunch of crap to a few choices in life. For example, if someone tells you that you drive like an old person and asks you to drive at high speeds please use your head and say no. If you could drive well at those speeds you would not need someone to tell you that. Jumping back to the article, The other choice is called an adjustment when you follow logic and stick to safety which is right for some cases as well like the one case that I mentioned. When you follow your brain you are most likely gonna end up successful because you are following logic but that does not mean that you will end up happy. Let me break this down for you.

Following your brain is correct for issues in life where you should not show bias. It helps to keep you alive and be a sane person. In a job interview or in a situation where you have to choose between friends’ opinions, count on your logic and stay away from emotions. Rely on the feasibility of the idea and you’ll know if it would be successful or not instead of judging who gave you the opinion. A reunion with friends or an upcoming examination, well you can meet them later as well; study for that important test.

Following your heart is really really important for a few reasons. Let’s do some simple math here. Say you sleep for 6 hours everyday which is 25% of one day and say you live for 80 years, this means that for 20 years in your life you will be sleeping. Which means that you have only 60 years in your hand. Now sixty years is a really short span of time considering the last and the first few years of your life that will be spent on the bed. What is the worst thing that could happen if you followed your heart in the remaining 40 years? If you are are a young person reading this and you always wanted to learn how to play the guitar and you are currently feeling bad about it, lift your lazy bum and enroll yourself for guitar lessons. If you like a girl/guy just go ahead and speak your heart out and express yourselves. This particular one is kinda important. No other happiness can match the happiness of love ( so I have heard ). If you think you have a great idea for a start up company and entrepreneurship is on your mind let that mind not stop you from achieving that goal. Let that job salary and family pressure not be the road block to your killer idea. Trust me if this idea works, you will feel happier than happiest you might be when in love. The world will know you by your name, maybe not as much as Steve Jobs or Tendulkar but who knows, given the time maybe even better.

So what I am saying is that choice is not about being right or wrong, its if you want to follow your heart or follow your brain.

Following your heart is an art

Getting it wrong will tear you apart

But living your awesome life the way you like

Is greater than Edmund Hillary’s Everest hike