Best Online Promotion (Ads-Teasers) by an Indian Comic Publication Award

 **Result - Best-Consistent Online Promotion (Ads-Teasers) by an Indian Comic Publication**

Total 19 Indian Comic Publications listed & reviewed in the poll & discussion. We have a clear winner - Holy Cow Entertainment, Congratulations!!! HCE Team.
Followed by Campfire Graphic Novels (20 votes).

With 12 votes upcoming publication Rovolt Entertainment wins a close battle for Bronze Medal against [Vimanika Comics (10), Fenil Comics (9), Fiction Comics (8) respectively]. Amar Chitra Katha’s goodwill continues as it sits handsomely at seventh place with 4 votes.

Old School web-series keeps hopes alive for Level 10 (3), Yali Dream Creations-Liquid Comics-Diamond Comics are joint fly weight champions with 1 vote each (9). Sadly, Tinkle and Himalayan Comics finish last with 0 votes. Some other revived, new publications not in the list are Yomics, Pop Culture Publishing, Arkin Comics, Chariot Comics World Comics India & Comix India.

*Independent Webcomic series not included. :)
**Volume wise & base wise RC is best for many fans, for better view RC is not included in the poll.

Total Votes – 110
Poll Conducted – Indian Comics Fan Junction, Indian Comics Universe Fan Club (Total about 2000 members, so, 110 even with few double votes is a good sample size).

1. Holy Cow Entertainment – 41
2. Campfire Graphic Novels – 20
3. Rovolt – 12
4. Vimanika Comics – 10
5. Fenil Comics – 9
6. Fiction Comics – 8
7. Amar Chitra Katha – 4
8. Level 10 - 3
9. Diamond Comics – 1
9. Yali Dream Creations – 1
9. Liquid Comics – 1
12. Tinkle
12. Himalayan
12. Chariot Comics
12. Pop Culture Publishing
12. Yomics
12. Arkin Comics
12. Comix.India
12. World Comics India

 

 Ravan by Anirudh (Holy Cow Entertainment)

Certificates for top 5 publications (a little token of our love) coming soon. We ♥ Comics!! Cheers! :) - Mohit Trendster.

Mixed-Sex Tag Team Wrestling

In sports there is a significant amount of difference in the average performance of men and women, in same sport. As men have natural advantage in terms of muscles, height, stamina, etc. For example, Marathon, world record for men is 2:03:38, set by Patrick Makau of Kenya on September 25, 2011 at the Berlin Marathon. The world record for women is currently 2:15:25, set by Paula Radcliffe of the United Kingdom on April 13, 2003 at the London Marathon. [Difference – 11 Minutes 47 Seconds]. Long Jump Men’s World Record [8.95 Meters], Long Jump Women’s World Record [7.52 Meters], and difference [1.43 Meters]. 

One more interesting fact is that when we take the average performance in many sports by males and females the difference increases significantly than the world record figures. However, I think that there are many skill based sports where men and women have equivalent chance like Chess, Badminton, Billiards and Golf etc. 

Mixed doubles is played with one man and one woman per team. It is one of the formats in Tennis and Badminton.  Mixed Doubles (Tennis) is now part of Olympics (2012).

I believe that Women Pro Wrestling should get more spotlight as all over the world many amazing women performers are working for different wrestling companies. Major wrestling promotions can introduce a “Mixed-Tag Team Championship” as there are many underrated, underutilized wrestlers who never get what they deserve due to the huge size of roster and long, footage consuming and often boring storylines between/among the main event people. 

As Vince McMohan announced in late 1980s and shocked the world (got mixed response from the wrestling fraternity, promotions) that Pro wrestling is not a competitive sport and matches have predetermined outcomes to heighten entertainment value. 

The mixed tag experiments were done in the past but not properly executed and promoted, “such matches features mixed-sex teams, but differs from an “Inter-gender match” in that only wrestlers of the same sex may be in the ring at the same time. For example, if a woman tags her male partner, both women leave the ring and both men enter. This label is also used for other unusual pairings, such as a normal sized wrestlers teaming with midgets, when the differing wrestlers are not allowed to face one and other.” 

Now, the question and challenge is how performers will convince audience if a male and female are in ring against each other. Writers can frame some basic rules to make such contests realistic and entertaining. 

FDI बनाम आम जनता......

पिछले बुधवार को मेरे घनिष्ठ मित्र परेश जोकि एक बहुत अच्छे लेखक हैं और हिंदी एवं मराठी फिल्मो में अपनी कलम के जलवे दिखा चुके हैं, मेरे पास आये हुवे थे, किसी फिल्म की स्क्रिप्ट को ले कर। बात करते करते बात चल गयी बहुचर्चित FDI के बारे में। बस फिर क्या था? हो गए 3 घंटे। सोचा के इतनी रोचक बात चीत का एक छोटा सा अंश एक पोस्ट के रूप में भी लिख दिया जाए। तो परेश ने ही ये पोस्ट लिखी जिसे मैं आप लोगो के सामने प्रस्तुत कर रहा हूँ।

-------------------------------

हम भारतीयो की याददाश्त हमेशा से ही बुरी रही है, जिसका फायदा हमारे पोलिटिशियन हमेशा से ही उठाते आ रहे हैं. अगर आपके घर मैं कुछ महीनो पुराने न्यूजपेपर्स पड़े हो तो पता चलेगा की कितने सारे घोटाले एक के बाद एक आए और कितनो को हम भूल गए। वजह हैं हमारी मिडिया और आम जनता। जब भी कोई नया घोटाला या विवाद सामने आता हैं तब हम यही सोचते हैं इससे हमें क्या फर्क पडता हैं। मसलन अगर हम देखे तो (मैंने कई लोगो को यह बात करते सुना हैं) की २जी , कोमनवेल्थ या कोलगेट से हमारा क्या लेनादेना? यह भ्रष्टाचार होता रहता हैं हमें क्या !!!!! अभी रॉबर्ट वडेरा का विवाद जोरो पर चल रहा हैं (सच मैं इससे हमारा कोई लेनादेना नहीं हैं) पर क्या आपको याद हैं इस विवाद से पहेले कोनसा मुद्दा मिडिया मैं जोरो पर था और आज इसके बारे मैं कोई भी बात तक नहीं कर रहा ? यह ऐसा मुद्दा हैं जिसका हम और आपसे सीधा सरोकार हैं, यह मुद्दा हैं FDI का याने विदेशी पूंजी निवेश का।


कुछ लोग कहते हैं (सरकार मैं शामिल) के इससे हमारे अर्थतंत्र का विकास होगा और हमारे यहाँ ज्यादा नोकरियो के अवसर बढ़ेंगे, विदेशी मुद्रा आएगी तो रूपए के मूल्य मैं स्थिरता आएगी, किसानो को उनके उत्पाद की सही कीमत मिलेगी। और कुछ लोग कहते हैं (विपक्ष) जिन कंपनियों को यह विदेशी पूंजी निवेश के नाम पर आमंत्रित किया जा रहा हैं वह कंपनिया तो अपने देश मैं ही सही तरीके से चल नहीं रही, किसानो को लुट लेंगी, और छोटे किराना व्यापारी खत्म हो जाएँगे।

मैं कोई अर्थशास्त्री या दूरद्रष्टि रखने वाला राजनीतिज्ञ नहीं हू के यह सभी मुद्दे किस हद तक सही या गलत हैं उस का फैसला करू। मैं तो बस एक आम भारतीय की तरह सोचना चाहता हु तो मुझे यही दिखाई देता हैं की इन सभी मुद्दों मैं आम आदमी के बारे मैं कोई भी सोच नहीं रहा। कोई किसान तो कोई किराना व्यापारी तो कुछ लोग विदेशी निवेशको के बारे मैं सोच रहे है। पर हम आम भारतीयों का क्या?

बात करते हैं छोटे किराना व्यापारियो के बारे में तो क्या उन किरना व्यापारियोने सचमे कभी हमारे बारे मैं सोचा हैं? कई सालो से कई (सारे नहीं) दुकानदार और सब्जीवालो ने हमारे साथ क्वालिटी और क्वांटिटी के मामले मैं धोखा किया है और करते आ रहे हैं। मेरे एक मित्र के साथ हुए वाकये को अगर कुछ शब्दों मैं बताऊ तो वह कुछ यु था “वह एक दिन कोई आटा लेने एक दुकान मैं गया, जहाँ दुकानदार अपने कुछ हिसाब के काम मैं मशगुल था। मेरे मित्र के मांगने पर उसने चिल्लाकर अपने नोकर को वह आटा लाने कहा। आटे की कीमत ५० रुपये थी और मेरे मित्र ने १०० रुपये का नोट दूकानदार को दिया। अपने किसी काम मैं मशगुल दुकानदार ने ५० रुपये वापस करने के बजाय गलती से ४५० रुपये मेरे मित्र को दे दिए। मेरा मित्र इमानदार किस्म का इंसान है, तो उसने दूकानदार को ४०० रुपये वापस करते हुए कहा की गलती से आपने ज्यादा रुपये दे दिए हैं। दुकानदार ने शुक्रिया अदा किया और फिर अपने काम मैं मशगुल हो गया। मेरा मित्र आटा लेकर घर आ गया। जब माँ ने आटे  की थेली खोली तो वह उस में कीड़े पड़े हुए थे। मेरा मित्र तुरंत ही आटा बदलवाने दुकान वापस गया तो दूकानदार ने आटा बदलने से मन करा दिया और कहा आपको देखकर लेना चाहिए था। हमारे यहाँ ऐसा आटा मिलाता ही नहीं आपसे ही कुछ गलती हुई होगी। कही रख दिया होगा और न जाने क्या क्या बहाने बताए पर आटा बदलके नहीं नहीं दिया”. यह वाकया हम जैसे कई सारे लोगो के साथ हुआ होगा। हमने सालो से देखा हैं की जब भी त्यौहार का मोसम आता हैं तब बाजार से अचानक शक्कर गायब हो जाती हैं। अगर फिर भी खरीदने जाओ तो कम स्टोक का बहाना बताकर दुकानदार आपसे मुह मांगी रकम वसूल करता हैं। खुला तेल खरीदने वाले  आम गरीब ग्राहक को सिंग तेल के नाम पर पामतेल बेचा जाता हैं। मसालों मैं रंग और मिटटी की मिलावट तो आम बात हैं। मेरे घर के बगलवाले दूकानदार को तो मेने मिर्च पाउडर मैं नमक मिलाते देखा हैं। मसलन एक किलो मिर्च पाउडर मैं एक किलो नमक मिक्स करा रहा था।

अबतक खुले कई बड़े डिपार्टमेंटल स्टोर भी कुछ दूध के धुले नहीं हैं। एक साधारण नियम हैं के एक्सपायर्ड हुइ  चीजों को कम्पनी बदल देती हैं और उन्हें बेचा नहीं जा सकता। पर कई डिपार्टमेंटल स्टोर एक्सपायर्ड चीजों पर नए कम कीमत का लेबल लगाकर बेचते  हैं (यह भी मेने खुद देखा हैं).


अभी कुछ दिन पहले मैंने कहीं पढ़ा था की वोल्मार्ट अपने कर्मचारियो से ठीक से बरताव नहीं कर रहा और तनख्वाह भी सही वक्त पर नहीं दे रहा। अब यह बात कितनी सच हैं और कितनी झूठ यह तो वह काम करनेवाला ही बता सकता हैं, पर क्या आपने कभी यहाँ ध्यान दिया हैं के हमारे आसपास के कई किराना की दूकानो पर मालिक अपने यहाँ काम कर रहे कर्मचारियों से किस तरह का बरताव करता हैं? छोटे छोटे गाँव से आये वह कर्मचारी सुबह शटर खुलने से लेकर रात को शटर बंद होने तक काम करते रहते हैं। मालिक की गालिया खाते हैं वह अलग और उन्हें तनख्वाह कितनी मिलाती है? यह सब जानने के बाद हम किस मुंह से वोल्मार्ट या किसी अन्य विदेशी कंपनी के बारे मैं टिपण्णी कर सकते हैं?

अभी फिलहाल तो मैं देसी दुकानदारों के सामने लाचार हू। पर सभी खराब नहीं होते। मेरी बस सरकार और विपक्ष से यही विनंती हैं के यह ग्राहक को तय करने दो की हमें कहा से खरीददारी करनी हैं और कहाँ से नहीं।

"The Heartbreak Kid" Shawn Michaels : What Makes Him Great...

Firstly, I know the ‘wrestling’ I am talking about is scripted. Secondly, pro wrestling is hybrid of acting, performance and wrestling….and only few gifted “artists” can do this. So, read on…..

Shawn Michaels (Michael Shawn Hickenbottom)

Born	July 22, 1965 in Chandler, Arizona, USA
Brought up	Berkshire, England & San Antonio, Texas, USA
Trainer	Jose Lothario
Active Wrestler	1984-1998, 2000-2010
Promotions	UWF, AWA, CSW, WCCW, WWE, TASW, TWA

Nicknames - Heartbreak Kid, Showstopper, Headliner, The Icon, The Main Event, Sexy Boy, Mr. Wrestlemania. 

Shawn is 5 feet 10 Inches (Billed 6’1” :p), he never got satisfactory grades in school and college, his only passion was wrestling. He is a college dropout (Southwest Texas State University).  Till early nineties average main event wrestlers were humongous, complimented by steroids.  Shawn shared his ambition with his family, obviously hard time convincing his near ones…this is the hardest step when you want to pursue career in an unconventional field. First you have to convince yourself and then your family that you want to live your passion….and yes you are gambling with your future at stake. 

Early Career & Struggle

Then Shawn met many agents, promoters, bookers and send his tapes to many others. Got ordinary response because of his normal build, for quite some time and finally began his career with American Wrestling Association (AWA) and Universal Wrestling Federation (UWF), 1984. He competed as a jobber in singles but the Tag Team Divisions in couple of promotions provided some scope, he formed 2 tag teams in separate promotions American Breed/American Force (with Paul Doamond) [TASW] and The Midnight Rockers (with Marty Jannetty) [CSW, AWA]. Won tag team titles in CSW and AWA. 

The Midnight Rockers were popular in children and ladies soon received contract from WWF and now renamed “The Rockers” performed there from 1988-1991. Although, they were popular (Declared Tag Team of the Year 1989 by Wrestling Observer Newsletter, #33 Tag Team of PWI Year by Pro Wrestling Illustrated, 2003) and fan favorites but at that time many wrestlers refused to “job” for them because of their size. They often lost and despite being one of the top tag teams for long time in WWF they never won the titles. Once, they won against Hart Foundation but due to change in contract and script the match was never televised citing the breaking of top rope as not counting the match as legitimate. 

Trendy Baba Faltu Trivia : In a song of (then Hit bollywood movie) “Waqt Humara Hai” (Sunil Shetty and Akshay Kumar dressed as and even dancing like The Rockers). 

Singles Career

Finally, his wrestling capability overshadowed his build. He started his singles career as cocky, self obsessed “The Heartbreak Kid” (midcard). The top level-main event and mid card WWF roster was very dense because of the collapse of many regional and national promotions like WCCW, but after few months Michaels won the Intercontinental Championship and had a great feud with his ex-tag team partner Marty Jannetty, (Won Match of the Year, 1993 by PWI).

He competed in classic Ladder Match at Wrestlemania X (1994) against Razor Ramon for Intercontinental Championship again winning the Match of the Year Award. As a face he won 2 Royal Rumbles (1995, 1996…later giving him title shot against WWF Champion Bret “The Hitman” Hart).  He won WWE Championship at Wrestlemania XII in an epic ‘overtime’ sixty minute Iron Man Match. 

Two incidents The MSG Curtain Call Incident (where the wrestlers broke the fourth wall) and the Montreal Screwjob are also inseparable part of Shawn Michaels career. 

Affiliates : The Kliq group, DX, The Corporation, NWO. 

He suffered back injury during a Casket Match against Undertaker which forced him to retire and take non-wrestling roles (1998-2000). Then made his comeback to active wrestling in 2002 and soon won WWE Heavyweight Championship, though, he was a transitional champion. Since then he promoted talented mid-card wrestlers until his retirement in 2010.

What Makes Shawn Michaels Great?

1) - Return:

Nobody in the history of wrestling returned to the same level, with same athleticism, reflexes and stamina after the kind of injuries HBK sustained. Michaels competed in hundreds of matches and made regular appearances on RAW from 2002 to 2010.

P.S. – He completed a 20 Minute main event of Wrestlemania XIV (1998) with severely injured back and helped a lot pushing Steve Austin.

2) – Titles after Return:

HBK became transitional Heavyweight Champion just after his return in the first ever Elimination Chamber Match. After that WWE management tried to make him solo IC, WWE, American, Champion on several occasions but Michaels refused and backed young talents even losing to them in the initial phase of their mainstream career (in #1 contender matches, tournaments, even PPVs, etc) for their push (Randy Orton, Carlito, Chris Masters, Jonathan Coachman, Spirit Squad, Edge, Daivari, Abdullah, etc). He held few tag team titles for developing stories, feuds. 

Around the same time few talented wrestlers like Edge surpassed the number of title reigns by HBK within 3-4 years but still……even if he defeated such wrestlers they were obviously non-title matches. His excellent win-loss record dropped below 70% due to him working for other wrestlers. 

3) – Trainer and Mentor:

During his first retirement HBK opened Shawn Michaels Wrestling Academy (now Texas Wrestling Academy) training many young wrestlers as HBK thought his career was over. Popular wrestlers among them are –

*) – Paul London

 *) – Daniel Brian

*) – Lance Cade

*) – Matt Bentley (Michael Shane)

*) – Veronica Stevens

4) – Charismatic & Inspiring Figure: 

WWE.COM : "Ask any Superstar on the WWE roster who the most gifted sports-entertainer of all time is and nearly everyone will have the same answer — Shawn Michaels."

HBK is favorite wrestler and one of the idols of Jeff Hardy, Chris Jericho, Triple H, Chris Masters, C.M. Punk, Hardcore Holly, Cody Hall, The Undertaker, Steve Austin and many more. Many wrestlers (with a good number of women wrestlers) quoted : “I started wrestling because of Shawn Michaels.” 

5) – Promos:

One of the best wrestlers when it comes to cutting promos. Serious and giving a message as a Face, Comical, Mocking (DX), Villainous-Heel (after split of The Rockers, after Montreal Screwjob, and as a part of Attitude era Corporation’s Commissioner, etc making him most hated as character and person within a month). He is still hated in Canada. 

 6) – Storytelling:

Involved in multiple memorable months-long feuds right from the beginning of his career. Like for example, a face against jealous Kurt Angle (who won Atlanta Olympics Gold in 1996 but HBK got all the limelight as he won the WWE Championship around the same time). After promo HBK continues the story in match, he is defeated in WM match but he wins the re-match and story goes on for another N/C Iron Man Match for next PPV. That’s why HBK won :

*) – WWE Slammy Award (Record 11 times again).

*) – 3 Feud of the Year Awards by PWI & Wrestling Observer Newsletter Awards.

7) – Match Quality & Duartion

*) – PWI Match of the Year Award (Record 11 Times, consecutive 7 times from 2004 to 2010).

*) – 6 Wrestling Observer Newsletter Awards for his Matches.

HBK is one of the best in art of selling. He makes his opponent look good and had some great matches against wrestlers with limited move-sets like Khali or non-wrestlers like Vince, Jonathon Coachman, Shane Macmohan. The average duration of match is also very high. His stamina..... its like he can perform non-stop high flying action with technical wrestling for days.

Marty Jannetty says – “Irrespective of the outcome people remember one thing…..Shawn Michaels was in the match.”

*Must Watch* the Fans reactions on every move of wrestlemania 25 Match (HBK vs. The Undertaker)

8) - Trendsetter 

HBK was part of first match of following major televised innovative match types introduced in recent years

*) – Ladder Match

*) – Iron Man Match

*) – Hell in a Cell Match

*) – Elimination Chamber Match

Let me tell you one thing, it’s very difficult to make something memorable when there are no prior standards, example set. You can complete formality as a senior wrestler and just give an appearance or you can moonsault, frog splash, fall from the Cell’s top, unexpected "flying" entrance, become a crimson mask in your very first match after 4 years, etc. HBK nailed every new match type and created few benchmarks for others. He started the attitude era with DX and played a significant role in building the stardom of Steve Austin. Also adapted to PG Era in his own style with couple of heel turns.

Officially rated #1 of top 50 Superstar all time (2011) by WWE.

9) – Actor

I think HBK is one of the gifted actors. There is some voice issue but other than that he is amazing. I remember him imitating Hulk Hogan *ROFL*, DX stunts, Interviews.  Imitated Macmohans and others.

 Appeared in few episodes of these TV series - South Beach, Baywatch, Pacific Blue. Presently, he is hosting Macmillan River Adventures (now soon in its second season) I seriously think in his prime he could have done few blockbuster movies. Even now he can play a character actor or a multistar movie hero. He sang his theme song...so maybe once in a while....

 "You don't even know enough to know,that you don't know.... you know !"

10) – Loyal:

Appeared in the very first RAW, Shawn Michaels is the second superstar after The Undertaker in terms of number of years with WWE as an active wrestler (1988-2010) with a gap of 4 years but was active in non-wrestling roles and now works as an ambassador for WWE. Like others he also got an offer from WCW in 1990s.....we can only imagine.... 

10) – Role Model:

He is a born again Christian and a Bible Teacher at a San Antonio Church. Since his return (2002), he refrains from smoking, drinking alcohol. He motivates viewers through his speeches and online messages, is into charity and a true family man.

Notes for Critics - 

*) – Shawn was average Draw for WWE during his Push.

Nope! If we calculate his WWE Championship reign and his actual dominance its 1996-1998, cut short by his injury, that too shared with Bret Hart, The Undertaker, Sid, Steve Austin, British Bulldog, etc. It is a coincidence that WCW was strongest during this time and it was trying new, unique things and buying top stars like anything….so for few years WCW got attention and even surpassed WWE for many weeks in Nielsen ratings (Monday Night Wars). This divided the target audience.

*) – Eager, Arrogant, stole ideas, hold booking powers, ruined careers.

He won his first WWE Championship at almost 31 years. ("The Boyhood Dream for Shawn Michaels has come true!") There are so many independent promotions that till the time you reach thirties….you have so many championships, palmares but as I mentioned Shawn’s youth was an era of 6 feet 5 Inches Steroid backed musclemen reducing the number of pushes he got in the singles division till 1996. His actual push in WWE was limited to less than 18 months in total. Compare with today’s Sheamus, Punk, Cena, etc. 

He did so much in rest of the 20 years of his active wrestling career. Careers of wrestlers are never dependent on one promotion that too within the window of 2-3 years of Shawn’s mainstream appearances. Bret Hart was already established main event wrestler. Honestly, Bret was also responsible for Montreal Screwjob, he refused to drop his title to HBK and was going to WCW, Vince only worked according to the probability and consequences of Bret showing WWE belt on WCW (it was a gamble). Whatever happened in past, at that moment you were unprofessional given you were at the top in 2 companies. Everybody is into politics....those who succeed are always blamed.

*) – Drugs, Steroids and Violence?  

Yes! 2 decades ago. Look at few of his close friends then like Razor Ramon, Chyna….and even others, you know what I mean...

"I am going to give you a show that you have never ever seen before why?...... because I can !"

Thank you! Shawn. :)

-          Mohit Sharma (Trendster / Trendy Baba)

Rs. 240 Crore deal for Rajinikanth for his next Tamil film !!

The Ex-CEO of Sun TV and Sun pictures, Hansraj Saxena, popularly known as “Sax”, is planning to make a movie under his own banner with India’s biggest Super Star Rajinikanth. He has offered Rs. 240 crores to Rajinikanth as a remuneration amount and asked for a 30 days package for his Tamil film. Now, this means Rs. 8 crores per day!! If the deal goes through, Rajinikanth will be set in the league of A-list Hollywood actors, keeping B-Town stars like Salman Khan, Shahrukh Khan and Aamir Khan far behind.

Reportedly Rajinikanth is taking time to think about this project. This film will also feature Telugu Cinema’s young star Ram Charan Teja. Having Ram Charan will reduce the risk involved in marketing and will also help to recover the cost of such a mammoth film.

It has to be recalled that Rajini’s Enthiran was made of Rs 130 crores in which he got approx. Rs. 35-40 crores as a salary and it did very very good business worldwide. Sax was supposed to be the brain behind Enthiran's business. If things work lucky, Hansraj said that the makers are confident to do roaring business that would exceed Enthiran’s figures.

Though no official confirmation is available at this moment on this project, sources say the same is under discussion between both the parties. But, no doubt, only a superstar like Rajinikanth can command such a huge amount and still have a queue of producers outside his home. :)

FYI:

1. Bollywood superstar Salman Khan charges approx. Rs. 20 cr. per movie.

2. Leonardo DiCaprio was paid $59 million for “Inception” = 324.5 cr. Approx.

3. Johnny Depp was paid $40 million for “Alice in Wonderland” = 220 cr. Approx.

4. Will Smith was paid $20 million for “Men in Black III” = 110 cr. Approx.

5. Vin Diesel was paid $15 million for “Fast Five” = 82.5 cr. Approx.

6. Robert Downey Jr. was paid $12 million for “Iron Man 2” = 66 cr. Approx.

7. Nicolas Cage was paid $7.5 million for “Ghost Rider 2” = 41.25 cr. Approx.

8. Daniel Craig was paid $6 million for “Cowboys & Aliens” = 33 cr. Approx.

Source for Hollywood star's remuneration figures:
http://www.therichest.org/entertainment/vanityfairtop-40-highest-paid-stars-in-hollywood/

You can read my original post here.

Comic Review - Aghori (Holy Cow Entertainment) - Book 1

Quentin Tarantino’s "Kill Bill" Inspired from "Aalavandhan" aka "Abhay"

Note: This post shows the power of South Indian Cinema and the reason why I respect them. So, Bollywood fans, please maintain distance as I don’t need any Faltu comments. Thanks.

Kamal Haasan has inspired many actors and filmmakers in India and that is an open secret. But now, top Hollywood director Quentin Tarantino admitted that he was inspired by the Kamal Hassan.

Quentin Tarrantino

American cinema’s most influential academy award winner director, Quentin Tarantino, who directed many cult movies like Pulp Fiction, Kill Bill – 1 & 2, Reservoir Dogs and Inglorious Basterds, has admitted in a conversation with one of our own genius director Anurag Kashyap that a whole sequence in one of his film is inspired by a Tamil film.

Renowned director Quentin Tarantino saw an animated action sequence in a 2001 film which happened to be Kamal Hassan starrer Tamil-Hindi film “Aalavandhan” aka “Abhay”, directed by Suresh Krishna, wherein Kamal played a double role of twin brothers. Taking inspiration from that animated fight scene in the film, Quentin conceived a major sequence in his famous cult classic “Kill Bill” released in 2003-04 (in two parts).

Kill Bill - 2

Anurag Kashyap said, “Yes, this was first told to me by the Sight and Sound critic Naman Ramchandran. I didn't believe it. So, When I met Quentin at Venice I asked him, “Is it true that the ‘Manga’ sequence in Kill Bill was inspired from an Indian film?” He excitedly replied, “Yes, I saw this Indian serial-killer film which showed violence as animated.”

Anurag Kashyap explains, “There is only one Indian serial-killer film which was made before Kill Bill where violence was animated, and that was Abhay.”

Kamal, while accepting Tarantino's compliment, said in an interview: "When I did the animation action sequence 12 years ago it was seen as self-indulgent and odd by a lot of people. Now that it has been endorsed by a filmmaker of such brilliance, critics will be kinder to some of the things I attempt in my films."

How Shameful!!! This shows hypocrisy by Indian media / critics. Abhay’s anime sequences were innovative but lambasted by critics, and Kill Bill was called high on style and a ‘lesson for constructive and creative storytelling’!!

I am still a fan of Kill Bill but why this condescending attitude towards South Indian films by these so called film-analysts. Btw; who cares about Hindi critics?

A Still from "Aalavandhan"

Kamal hassan is “Mr Cinema” for me as far as any Indian personality is concerned. He’s the most complete cinema related artiste in the subcontinent currently (all things considered) and I have argued with many people of so called Bollywood repeatedly.

Agreed to a point because it’s important to note that it’s certainly not Kamal seeking an endorsement, and in fact in his quote what’s suggestive is the sense that within India (where of course he is a legend) some of his more ambitious efforts and gestures are not necessarily appreciated as he would like until someone outside shines a light on it. This is even true where “Hey Ram” and “Virumaandi” are concerned–these films have been given a more thoughtful reception on the festival/university circuit. In any event, this is simply a neat factoid.

What’s funny is still majority of the Hindi audience have negative thoughts about South Indian Cinema and still they think Bollywood as Indian Cinema. Pity on Them.

You can read my original post here.

Anurag Basu's "Barfi" : From which movies it is copied?

After seeing "Barfi", I had the feeling that I have seen it somewhere. As a world cinema lover, I regularly watch almost all language movies and that feeling was stuck in my mind. Suddenly I came through this beautiful and informative post on tanqeed.com and all my past memories started to refresh.

Anurag Basu has lifted or copied many scenes from different movies. Even music also lifted from different movies and songs. Which I like to share with you. Here we go.

1. Music:

1. The song "Aashiyaan" is inspired from;

2. "Phir Le Aaya Dil" is inspired from "koi Poochhe Hai Kabhi" by Asha Bhosle and Ustad Shuja'at Khan.

3. The BG Music is inspired from this Oscar winning short film.

4.  Here are some more tracks from which they are inspired (??) :P

 

 

2. Film Scenes:

1. See this scene from 22:22 from the movie "The Adventurer" starring Charlie Chaplin and you will immediately recognize the scene from Barfi...

2. The scene in which Rupa Ganguly, tells her daughter Illeana about her lover, is copied from this scene from the movie "The Notebook."

3. The scene where Priyanka comes and lies next to Ranbir, is again copied from "The Notebook."

4. The scene where Ranbir walks into a door and his nose gets bent + another scene in which Ranbir is sitting on a sofa with a dummy is copied from "Singing in the Rain."

5. The scene in which Ranbir is sleeping under the cover of a statue is lifted from "City Lights." Scene starts at 1:50.

6. The scene where a paper sticks to his hand and he tries to get rid of it is lifted from "Mr. Bean back to School." Scene starts from 08:14.

7. The bicycle chase scene in the narrow lanes is lifted from this scene from the movie "Project A."

8. The scene where Ranbir catches the bus from the movie "Cops."

9. The scene where Ranbir reads a nacked guy's newspaper is lifted from this Swedish ad.

10. The scene with two car headlights is lifted from movie "Mr. Nobody." Scene starts from 01:10:59.

11. I think that white rat in a rotating cage is inspired from "Black Cat White Cat." See it at 1:38.

May be some more scenes or Music are copied from some other movies which I or my friends have not seen. You can tell me in comments if you know such scenes or Music.

Visit my original post here.