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  • Skandal! Bringing Down Wirecard – A Gripping Crime Docu-Thriller!

    Skandal! Bringing Down Wirecard – A Gripping Crime Docu-Thriller!

    • German FinTech’s Unicorn
    • Silicon Valley Innovation From The Land Of Automobiles
    • Black Turtleneck Wearing Witty CEO
    • Death Threats, Thugs & Spies
    • Funding Of Militia & Influencing European Elections
    • Suave COO Features In Europol’s Most Wanted Fugitives
    • Yet Another Financial Fraud

    All of the above and much more!

    Skandal! Bringing Down Wirecard, is a Netflix Documentary that unfolds one of the biggest corporate corruption and financial fraud case of the recent times! Wirecard went bust after its dubious malpractices were discovered and a staggering $1.9 billion was found missing from its books. Skandal! is based on Financial Times’ Dan McCrum’s book ‘Money Men: A Hot Startup, A Billion Dollar Fraud, A Fight for the Truth’. Dan was the person who unravelled the Wirecard fraud. 

    Skandal! explains the entire Wirecard drama and its intricacies in a lucid and engaging manner – through a mixture of graphical story telling, rich interviews and brilliant insights. The journalists where followed and spied by Wirecard’s investigators. They were suspended due to smart counter-allegations by Wirecard and a short trader was threatened by thugs. Lots of interesting histrionics! 

    How did Wirecard execute the scam? Who were responsible? While Skandal! answers such questions about the Wirecard saga, its raises important queries as well: 

    • How did the Wirecard fraud go unnoticed for so long?
    • What loopholes were exploited? Are they fixed?
    • Did German politicians and media turn a Nelson’s Eye to Wirecard?

    Lots of truth is still not unknown. The former Wirecard COO Jan Marsalek disappeared shortly and is currently wanted by the German police. He is listed on Europol’s list of Europe’s most wanted fugitives. CEO Braun resigned and was arrested on suspicion of false accounting and market manipulation. 

    Watch it!

    A few thoughts do emerge….

    As always, it was the Wirecard employees, customers and common investors who had to pay the price!

    Wirecard had some of the best and extremely talented technologists and business experts, who brought great ideas to life. Many innovative ideas came to an abrupt end and many employees suffered for no fault of theirs. 

    Wirecard was a darling of investors. The whole financial world watched how Wirecard surpassed CommerzBank and Deutsche Bank, the traditional Financial heavyweights. There was a move to buy Deutsche Bank as well. All investments turned sour!

    And biggest casualty was the image of Germany and Germans – extremely hard working, honest, focussed, passionate and determined champions! 

    #netflix #wirecard #financialtimes #scam #fintech

  • herStart – The Making Of Womenpreneur Unicorns

    herStart – The Making Of Womenpreneur Unicorns

    Women are natural entrepreneurs – powerhouse of talent, leadership and collaborative approach who can get things done! Their unique ideas and caring perspective can unleash a new era of sustainable success – and not to forget – the next big Indian unicorns!

    Happy to be part of the launch of ‘herStart’’s digital startup platform for women entrepreneurs by Gujarat University’s GujSec and UNICEF India. It was befitting that Honorable President of India Shrimati Draupadi Murmu inaugurated the platform during Navratri – the festival that celebrates the women power! Honorable Governor of Gujarat Shri Acharya Devrat and Chief Minister of Gujarat Shri Bhupen Patel were also present with other dignitaries.

  • Roger Federer: The Art Of Living!

    Roger Federer: The Art Of Living!

    The Art Of Living!

    When Your Fiercest & Greatest Rival Cries, You Have Done Something Exceptional!

    Watching Roger Federer And Rafael Nadal Cry Will Stay As One Of The Most Indelible Memory Of Recent Sporting History – Like Kumble’s Bowling With A Broken Jaw!

    Paeans Have & Will Be Written About Roger Federer – But He Is Much More Than A Tennis Legend! What Steps Him Apart Is His Class, Grace & Elegance! And The Humility!

    The Spirt Of Excellence He Brought In Game – Each Stroke As A Perfect Note – Nothing Less, Nothing More! And He Made It Look All So Beautiful & Enchanting!

    And What A Great Gesture To Have A Final Match With Nadal – What Will Be Your Swansong?

    Thanks Federer For Bringing Joy In Our Lives & Inspiring Millions!

    Roger Federer:
    The Maestro
    The Legend
    The Inspiration

  • Sita Ramam Review: A Picturesque & Charming Love Story

    Sita Ramam Review: A Picturesque & Charming Love Story

    Breathtaking Visuals. Beautiful Music. Ravishing Actors With Crackling Chemistry. A Poignant Romance Worth Watching – With A Nudge For Humanity!

    Sita Ramam is an epic story set in 1960s and 1980s – a time of simplicity, snail mails, steam engines and landline phones. A modern telling of Ramayana where a Pakistan-origin student Afreen (Rashmika Mandana) is the Hanuman tasked with handing over Indian Army’s Rama’s (Dulquer Salmaan) letter to Sita (Mrunal Thakur). During the pursuit of this task, the hot-headed India-hater Afreen discovers true meaning of love, hope and sacrifice which change her perspective. And we discover the elegant and engaging love story of Rama and Sita. And the movie has a similar ending like all the greatest love stories and all ‘divine and pure love stories’!

    Dulquer Salmaan oozes charisma and innocence – an epitome of virtues. Our Rama is straight from Rajshri-Barjatya movies – the classic Prem! Mrunal Thakur showcases a plethora of colors with her layered and textured performance in an amazing handmade canvas paint movie. She is glamorous, confident, alluring and vulnerable! Rashmika is impressive. 

    Vishal Chandrasekhar’s music is awesome and cinematography is astounding – each frame is composed beautifully. Excellent dialogues transcend the movie beyond just being a love story – Ram tells a terrorist that hopefully he can discover real Quran in his next live. Or the statement that loving your country is great but hating the other country to prove your love for your country is not cool. The movie could have benefited from better editing for sure. 

    Sita Ramam is a clean wholesome love story – a welcome break from the world of sex, crime and violence driven OTT. Good love stories never go out of fashion and humanity always matters!

    Watch it!

    Dulquer Salmaan, Mrunal Thakur in Sita Ramam Movie HD Images

    #cinema #indiancinema #sitaramam #lovestories #romance #bollywood #dulquersalmaan #mrunalthakur #love #sunshine #bliss

  • Thar: Visually Impressive Slow-Burn Thriller

    Thar: Visually Impressive Slow-Burn Thriller

    Thar: Visually Impressive Slow-Burn Thriller

    Infinite. Parched. Arid. Stunning. Enigmatic. The imposing Rajasthan landscape and sounds of ‘Marusthal’ stay on – long after the movie ends! 

    Munabao, a sleepy village in the Thar desert on the Indo-Pad border, comes to life when a barbaric murder is discovered. The local officer Anil Kapoor finally finds some action in his uneventful career. The suspects include an antiques businessman and a Pakistani drug dealer. The movie is set at an unhurried pace but it feels a let down due to a deteriorating screenplay. The great start falls apart when the big reveal is served on a platter, rather than the audience discovering it. 

    The movie is an optical treat with amazing cinematography and great production values. It is a tribute to Western style thriller – saloon like restaurant and direct eulogy to Sholay as well. A giant decaying carcass reminds of the scorched and forgotten land and souls. 

    Anil Kapoor is getting better and better. He shines in the movie with his sheer brilliance – his silence talks impactfully, his eyes express the pain and his body language commands respect and love. Harshvardhan Kapoor’s brief may be to remain monotone but he has to just watch his father deliver an acting masterclass – right in front of him! Satish Kaushik is amazing while Fatima and Mukti show a promise that is not exploited. Anurag Kashyap’s dialogues are smacking. Smokers do not care about caste – plain spoken gems exist in the movie! Overall Raj Singh Chaudhary’s Thar is a movie that could have been a great thriller but deflated by a weak screenplay. 

    Thar – Watch it for the majestic Rajasthan vista and Anil Kapoor’s cracking act! The movie would be a marvellous treat on a big screen!

    #thriller #netflix #bollywood #indiancinema #thar #tharmovie #tharreview #review #bollywoodreview #anilkapoor

  • Laal Singh Chaddha Review: Cautious, Boring & Tiring

    Laal Singh Chaddha Review: Cautious, Boring & Tiring

    Laal Singh Chaddha Review: Cautious, Boring & Tiring

    If there is one person who can put cinematic excellence above commercial interests, pursue the creative vision relentlessly and surpass the self-fuelled expectations, it is Aamir Khan! He has a Midas Touch and beautifully ignores the social media trolling machinery. The decision to remake Forrest Gump in Indian context was a courageous bet and an open invitation to eternal comparisons – but Aamir Khan is known to take the bulls by horn. Alas, Laal Singh Chaddha fails and Aamir Khan makes him fail – ironic!

    Laal Singh Chaddha is an official adaptation of the award winning iconic Tom Hanks starrer Forrest Gump. Laal is a simpleton who shares his story of life to the fellow passengers on a train journey from Pathankot to Chandigarh. He describes his childhood, his feisty and inspiring mother, his lova saga with Rupa, his friendships and his loneliness. He is a witness to the most extraordinary events of the Indian history – 1983 World Cup Win, Operation Blue Star, Indira Gandhi Assassination, Sikh Riots, L K Advani’s Rath Yatra, Mandal Commission, Babri Masjid Demolition, Bombay Bomb Blasts, Sush’s Miss Universe Crowning, Kargil War, Modi Sarkaar etc. He accidentally inspires a superstar’s signature move and creates India’s biggest hosiery brand.

    Aamir Khan is a known perfectionist but he comes across more caricaturish than innocent, likeable and charming Laal. The movie is all about Aamir Khan and Laal oversimplifies. Kareena shines in a meatier role with shades of Geet and Mahi. Mona Singh, Manav Vij and Naga Chaitanya provide excellent support. Manav Vij and Laal Singh track is very interesting and easily the home of movie’s wisdom.

    The music and cinematography are awesome. ‘Phir Na Aisi Raat Aayegi’ song is a class act – soulful rendition by Arijit that describes the pain of unrequited love! Tur Kalleyan, Kahani are other nice songs.

    The screenplay is totally loyal to the original screenplay. There was an excellent opportunity to be imaginative – but the movie does not explore any difficult terrain or offer anything new.

    Box of Chocolate becomes Box of Gol Gappa

    Garden Bench becomes Train Seat

    Shrimp Business becomes Chaddi Banian Business

    Vietnam War becomes Kargil War

    The India and world of 2022 is so much different from 1994 – more complex, highly political and less tolerant. The cinema audience and their sensibilities have changed as well – spoilt by OTT platforms, best of World and South Indian cinema and all graduating from Whatsapp University. The choice of remaking Forrest Gump should be seen in this context.

    Forrest Gump was better. Tom Hanks was better.

    Watch the original Forrest Gump!

  • Darlings Review: A Half-Cooked Debut!

    Darlings Review: A Half-Cooked Debut!

    Darlings Review: A Half-Cooked Debut!

    Hindi Cinema’s misfortune continues…Alia Bhatt’ superstar status and great performances may not be enough to save her brave production debut.

    The story of an abusive marriage where an alcoholic husband routinely hits his wife. One day, she decides to turn the tables.

    The choice of the subject is brave. Full marks for that. The execution is bad. Neither emotional nor dark comedy that is aspires to be. The ineptness of screenplay and editing is clearly visible. Secret Superstar and Thappad are better movies for exploring the complex layers of domestic violence, gender roles, power play, patriarchy, identity etc.

    Alia Bhatt is wonderful and fully exploits the canvas that she has been offered – she is good but could have been better. Like Alia, Shefali Shah could have been much much more effective. The highlight of the movie is Vijay Varma – a perfect manipulating machine swaps to a sweet charmer to a frustrated employee. He invokes hatred and has a great screen presence.

    An average fare!

    #darlings#aliabhatt#darlingsmovie#thriller#crime#netflix#weekend#weekendwatch#newreleases#bollywood#indiancinema

  • Modern Love Hyderabad: Baingan Ka Bataan? Nau..Lekin Mazza Nahin Aaya!

    Modern Love Hyderabad: Baingan Ka Bataan? Nau..Lekin Mazza Nahin Aaya!

    Modern Love Hyderabad: Baingan Ka Bataan? Nau..Lekin Mazza Nahin Aaya!

    Formulaic Fare That Does Not Impress!

    Hyderabad is a city with a special magic! The city of pearls is lovingly progressive and its golden hearted people welcomingly share the love for food, cinema and culture. The Hyderabadi lingo, IT transformation, culinary delights and overall warmth stay on….

    An anthology celebrating Nawabi city, cuisine & kiraak Ishq deserves to be much much better! Especially when Hyderabad Blues’ Nagesh Kukonoor paints the multiple shades of Love & muse Hyderabad!

    What is love? Billion definitions for a universal emotion. Is love letting go? Should you wait for love to discover you? Is love unconditional? Modern Love Hyderabad gives a few perspectives.

    Six stories. Six angles. All celebrate love and successfully keep Hyderabad at the centre of it. All the interpretations have strong women protagonists – unique, emotional, vulnerable yet very impressive and steadfast.

    ‘My Unlikely Pandemic Dream Partner’ is the best of the lot with Revathy and Nithya killing it. Perfect partners can drift apart. A mother wants space from her child. Cool!

    ‘How To Find Your Penguin’ is interestingly creative and brave. Komalee Prasad manages to carry the bizarre idea of a microbiologist comparing men to animals and birds. It again lacks depth and falls short….

    ‘Why Did She Leave Me There?’ is an heart-wrenching emotional drama showing unconditional love means letting go…

    ‘What Clown Wrote The Script’ is fresh and promises great potential…but does not carry through…

    Purple Stilettoes can ruin a purple patch…’Fuzzy, purple and full of thorns’ is a story with relatable couple and Ritu Varma in form but script falls short.

    ‘About that Rustle in the Bushes’ is predictable…

    Modern Love Hyderabad is a soothing, warm and predictable love series with happy endings and nice music. It keeps Hyderabad at the centre of it but it is not as brave as Modern Love Mumbai. M M Keeravani’s theme music and songs are really awesome! Director Nagesh could have done better!

    Let’s see what Modern Love Chennai brings….The best would be to green light Modern Love Sangli, Modern Love Rajkot, Modern Love Bokaro, Modern Love Rohtak, Modern Love Baramulla – What say?

    Modern Love Season 1 remains the topnotch fare. Crème de la crème! Watch it first before anything else!

  • Suzhal: The Vortex – An Intriguing Gripping Thriller

    Suzhal: The Vortex – An Intriguing Gripping Thriller

    The southern surge continues on OTT. After Bahubali, Pushpa, RRR & KGF, Suzhal sets the ball rolling for southern web series!

    A sleepy small town of Sambaloor is awakened from it lazy slumber by a factory fire and a young girl gone missing! The two incidents open up many fault lines – old hostilities, complicated relationships, parental kid disconnect, abrasiveness of police, class struggle, sexual tenebrosity etc. Ladies and gentlemen, this is ‘The Mare Of Easttown’ in South Indian forgotten town where everybody knows everyone – or so they think!

    The town is celebrating the nine-day carvinalisque Mayana Kollai festival and each day of the festival unveils a layer of mystery. The festival elements – music, colors, beautify adorned Goddesses, religious fervour, passionate devotees, mythology, dance and swaying – strengthen the tense drama. Full marks for the fusion – creates a unique look and feel!  

    The festival celebrates the Goddesses and the series is an ode to Women power – None are black and white. Have made interesting choices. Escaped. Challenged the glass ceiling. Regina (Shriya) reminds of Vijaya Shanti cop avatar but she is more brutal and vulnerable. Sakkarai, Shanmugam and Nandini give top notch performances.

    The characters are very well defined and have a great depth and arc. Emotions as well as mystery. The amazing writing keeps us glued till the end – a challenge in thrillers as all of us know that only the last episode will reveal the true killer and all other possibilities are deceptive diversions!

    Watch Suzhal for:

    – Southern spice to OTT Thrillers

    – Beautiful canvas of rich colors and layered drama

    – Top notch performances

    Recommended viewing!

    #suzhal #suzhalthevortex #southindian #webseries #thriller #crime #primevideo #netflix #weekend #weekendwatch #newreleases #bollywood #indiancinema #amazonprime #goodwatch

  • RRR Movie Review: Riveting. Ravishing. Restless. Rudimentary. 

    RRR Movie Review: Riveting. Ravishing. Restless. Rudimentary. 

    Breathtaking. Stylish. Hypnotic. 

    The Big Screen Extravaganza from ‘Bahubali’ Rajamouli. 

    Fast and Furious with ‘Naacho Naacho’ 

    Gladiator with Bromance! 

    Adjectives aside, Rise Roar Revolt (RRR) is a paisa vasool entertainer with overflowing action, creative thrills and visual marvels. 

    A story of two revolutionaries – Fire Raju and Water Bheem – who take on the might of British empire. Bheem is on a mission to rescue a little girl that is forcefully taken away by a British Lord Scott and his cruel wife. Raju is a a loyal officer whose assignment is to stop and arrest Bheem. Rajamouli weaves the magic and melodrama as ‘friends turn foe turn friends’. 

    The Fire & Water elements are presented in a compelling fashion. The camaraderie is authentic. Watch-out for spell-bounding drama – the unleashing of animals, the bridge scene, Raju’s capture of a freedom fighter etc. ‘Naacho Naacho’ song deserves a special credit. 

    The film is not without its flaws. The film drags in the second half and story does not hold firmly. The emotional depth is missing. Ajay Devgan & Alia Bhatt ensure Bollywood diversity in their cameos. 

    Despite its length and loopholes, RRR’s magic works like a charm. The film is technically perfect with awesome production values and world-class Hollywood matching VFX. 

    Bahubali with its romance, emotional core, revenge, Katappa and overall glamour remains a much better Rajamouli movie. 

    RRR – Load, Aim & Shoot! Watch it on the big screen only!

    #RRR #indiancinema #indianfilm #newrelease #bollywood #tollywood #RRRreview #hindimovies #movies #moviereview