I am quite a restless kinda guy, and I can’t stand stagnation. Whatever that meant. Here it is. Ladies and Gentlemen, please give the loudest of your applause, for the new OKS Logo that I designed using GIMP. It took me 30 minutes, 3 tweets and two replies to arrive at this logo. [ Thanks to @dunkdaft @bhargavsaika @yajam @Nrzz @kaushikcy].

Here’s the Big one:

And the small one used for circulation across various social networks etc. will be:-

And in this process of redesign, I had started to make a crazy amount of header images. As you might have noticed, that the header image are randomly rotated. And this is possible to a simple code I included in my header.php file. Without going into the technical details, here are the 35 smashing header images. I used Arcsoft Photostudio for this, and it was fun making them. I have tried to keep a coherent theme in the header images.

1. The Kapoors

After the Jump, more header awesomeness !

2. Bollywood Comedy – the aces

3. Smoking….cough cough!! Not here please!

4. Mr.Kevin Smith’s movies

5. F.R.I.E.N.D.S

6. Mad about Madhuri

7. Dancing Divas

8. Shwet Shyam Sundari!

9. Andaz Apna Apna

10. My Favourite Telly

11. Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon

12. Spikey from Notting Hill

13. Characters that stand out – Run Lola Run, Little Miss Sunshine, Amelie,

Donnie Darko, Lost in Translation, Dogma

14. The Matrix

15. T2: Judgement Day

16. My favorite comics – James Corden, Kevin Smith, Tenacious D, Fry and Laurie

17. Brit Telly: Doctor Who, Benidorm, Torchwood, Spaced

18. Anime Invasion: Bleach, Deathnote, Naruto

19. B&W classics:- Pyaasa, Do Beegha Zameen, Devdas, Aah

20: The beauty of Sridevi ..in Blue

21: Maine Rekha ko Dekha

22: Eternal Jodis

23: Mr. Bachchan and his ladies.

24. Eastmancolor and Technicolor jodis

25. The Divas

26. Pai Laagu!

27. Those who defined Rock

28.  Those who defined Rock -2

29. Potter Mania

30. Pixar Perfect

31. Sci Fi down the ages

32. Favourite Sitcoms

33. Kill Bill

34. Fight Club

35. Star Wars

The images are live and already rotating. So tell me what did you think of this little change. Any suggestions on what you’d like to see in future header additions? Shout it out in the comments. Cheerio!

What’s been up with the world? I have been in a long phase of hibernation from the blogosphere apart from the occasional tweeting. I know a lot has been happening, buzzing, creating waves if not ripples. We saw the rise and damned fall of the 13-song marathon that was “What’s Your Rashee?”, which I haven’t dared to watch yet, and will only do so once I get the DVD. I also heard of the final proof that YRF will never step out of the borders of Punjab, and that finally, Rani has resorted to losing weight and golden bikins. While Mayawati still remains unapologetic about the monu-’mental’ case, Doordarshan turned 50. And I learnt a new equation which goes:

Salman + PrabhuDeva + Ayesha Takia = Nonsensical Gobar!

I have so much material to write about, the dilemma now is where should I begin?

Even amidst so much of business to be taken care, I did not miss the chance to watch the best sci-fi in years – District-9, which I will deffo write about in the coming days. Also checked out the Pilot episode of the most awaited TV series of this season – Flashforward, and by the looks of it – it does look like ‘Lost’ in a City [ if you know what I mean]. And then, there are the other season premiere which I was waiting for – Heroes and How I Met Your Mother. I have also promised myself to catch up on Torchwood Series 1 and 2 [now that Series 3 was so awesome]. Phew! So much telly to catch up on.

The Avatar excitement has pretty much died down for me. I know that the movie will certainly look eye-blowing and jaw-droppingly awesome on IMAX-3D. But after having seen District-9, I am not very sure if Navi’ and the Blue Alien universe created is gonna impress me as much.

Another ridiculous thing which sprang up this season was the ‘Internet Joke of the Season’ aka Kanye West’s stunt at the MTV VMA. He’s been the butt of all jokes this season, and do check this wonderful tumblr website called ‘Imma Let You Finish.com’

On the Bollywood front, I have lost hope that any more good is gonna hit us this year, unless ‘Three Idiots’ is released this year. Although I want to believe that Sujoy Ghosh’s Aladin is gonna surprise me with some good movie experience.

So there you go, so much to write about..!!! If you do have suggestions about what should I be writing about, shout it out in the comments section.

Okay, I am running late with my dissertation. 35-40% complete with more than 10k words to go. But this stuff is pretty strong enough to keep away from. So I’ll be short. Dev Benegal – the guy who made English August with Rahul Bose in 1994 ( and still has to release the DVD, why this torture) is finally here with his new one. It’s called Road Movie and the cast list is bloody impressive: Abhay Deol, Tannishtha Chatterjee, Satish Kaushik (the previous two starred together in Brick Lane, ‘member?). It’s premiering at the Toronto Film Festival on September 18, 2009. Pretty darn interesting stuff. Have a look at the trailer below.

Road, Movie from dev benegal on Vimeo.

***And after the jump, do check out the 2 min Sneak Peek of the movie.***

Road, Movie 2min Sneak Peek from dev benegal on Vimeo.

I must mention that I am very impressed by the choices that Abhay Deol is making. It is a bit too early to say this I know, but he is fast becoming the new-age Naseer! And that is an awesome thing. Easily the best of the Deols…including Esha

My absence from OKS often gets broken by the storm of Amrish Puri excavations. The Salaakhen 70s avatar in my previous SAB (Separated At Birth) post was a huge hit, and I got responses from the far east to the motherland. Hehe , not quite. But it sure was blood pumping, hormone thumping and what not. And well, here it happens all over again. History, as they say, repeats itself.

In the Red Corner, we have the man, the myth, the legend himself – Mr. Jack Nicholson. Academy Award Winner, Jack Nicholson in one of his most signature performances as the Clowney, White and Weirdly grinning Joker from the 1989 Tim Burton Movie – Batman.

And in the Blue Corner we have the man who spells Evil in Hindi Cinema. yes, it is Amrish Puri yet again, and I am surprised by the body of his work that I come across every day. This picture is courtesy FILMFARE magazine’s twitpic [ The link is here ]. No idea of the origin of this picture, as in the movie and the director who convinced Mr.Puri to get all this done to his face. Of course, we have seen Mr.Puri do all sortsa stuff, and Mogambo was just one side of it.

Hope you guys enjoyed this short post.
I am trying to work on some posts now and then, when I can squeeze out some time. I have received some life-threatening mails to write some more on India’s Got Talent, which I will be doing soon, before the announcements of the Semi-Finalists for the Live Shows.
Apart from that I will be posting some other posts on Bollywood and Anime-Central very soon. Until then, Adios Amigos!

I have been absent from OKS for quite some time now. Not really! I have been recovering from the marathon of Liveblogging Britain’s Got Talent [ and I am not completely done yet! Yes, some more of it will be coming, and yet some more from America's Got Talent. What happened to the Indian version?] So, anyway, just to deviate my mind and body from all the nervewrecking tension involved with Live Television, here I am, plunging myself, yet again, into the “Dariyaaa” of Bollywood. But with a twist. Yes, as the title suggests: We are doing our second Separated at Birth [ after the lukewarm response on the first one]. But I can be so sure that this one is gonna appeal to audiences from the caves of Chambal to the skyscrapers of Shanghai [Aila! What a dialogue. On a serious note, please donate for the Cyclone Aila relief ;  BTW, who the f names a Cyclone as Aila. It just loses its credibility. Ok now its obvious that I am ranting.]

Coming back to the post; In the Red corner, we have someone who cannot be described with any adjectives – JOHN LENNON. Who you say? Get yourself sorted dear! Listen to some music, and get some education. And in the Blue Corner, we have none other than [arguably] the most monstrous Villain of Indian cinema – Amrish Puri. Both monstrous in their own right. It’s been such a delight to bring these two on the same canvas.

70′s fashion checklist:

Hair: Check

Glasses: Check

Hair-Style: Check again

Uncanny colors for Shirts, Collars: Check Check!! You likey?

For a more colorful and uber-70s version of Mogambo, click this link.

Image Courtesy:
John Lennon [from Google Image Search]
Amrish Puri [ from the screencap of  Beth's post on Salaakhen ] .

Inspired by Memsaab’s Bollywood trivia section ‘Separated At Birth‘ (SAB), as well as by the long forgotten ‘Separated At Birth’ column from Sunday Magazine (a weekly publication in the 90′s in India), this post brings together people who might have been born as twins/siblings in a parallel universe. But here on Planet Earth, they couldn’t have been more different (or alike!). I hope you get the idea. My first SAB post is dedicated to a highly regarded and acclaimed British actor and a ‘so-so’ regarded, not-so acclaimed actor from Tollywood. And yes, they even share a name.

In the Red corner, it’s Sir Derek George Jacobi- actor, director and has two knighthoods -Danish and British. [ More here] . And in the Blue corner, it’s George Baker- actor from Tollywood- Claim to fame: Chameli Memsaab(1975) co-starring Rakhi.  So you likey??

[George Baker Image Courtesy: ApunBindaas, screencap from movie: Devaki]

My coursework on Management Resources and Operations, was to do a case study on a Major Project and reflect upon it from a Project Management perspective. The questions were released in early April (actually 1st of April) and I had the entire Easter holidays to do it. But as usual, I lazed around, and then some more. Quite predictably like my classmates, I was skimming through different websites and journals looking for case-studies and research papers on “Major Projects”. And being an Indian, the typical ones that caught (read blinded )my attention were Delhi/Mumbai/Bangalore/Chennai Metro rail Project and Bandra-Worli Sealink project. I started reading journals and every piece of information that I could lay my hands on (only after having recovered from the hangover of the Easter holidays i.e.), but quite unsurprisingly, I could not get through the first question itself, which was to write about the project’s scope definition, its importance in terms of the business context, and its Work Breakdown Structure. There were 5 other questions, all with equal weight, and a maximum word limit of 3000. For me the problem was, I could not get through the 100 word mark.

And when I was just one week before the deadline, on the 15th of April, while watching numerous YouTube videos on the Bandra-Worli Sealink project, and still scratching my head over the possible stakeholders of that project, my enqueued playlist on Winamp started playing Ghanan Ghanan. (Oi, don’t accuse me to be so dramatic about it; I am just stating the facts) And then, right in front of my eyes, I could see my life flashback. I had seen Lagaan on 15th Jun 2001, Friday Matinee, in a theatre called Devdoot in Silchar. I saw the packed theatre get converted into a cricket stadium. By now, I had seen Lagaan so much that I knew the script backwards. I had seen Satyajit Bhatkal’s making documentary “Chale Chalo” and loved it for bringing out the “lunacy of film-making”. And I could see through all my questions getting answered, pretty much like it was all common-sense. The stakeholders, risk analysis, causal mapping of risks, project management processes, and project network; all came easily and naturally. With the occasional reference to PMBOK and Harvey Maylor’s “Project Management”, I was ready to roll.

***After the Jump, The Case Study Paper***

But well, lazyness got the better of me. Although I knew I was already behind schedule, but unlike Lagaan, my reason was pretty much my own laziness. Lagaan was getting in the way of my lying around time. But I did manage to get the creative portions done quickly enough. This was the diagram representations of Work Breakdown Structure, Project Network, Critical Path, Gantt Chart, Risk Causal Mapping and the PM Processes. Once they were done, it was much of a downhill ride for me. The only issue although, was to contain the entire essay within 3000 words, and most importantly, not sound over-enthusiastic of my love of Lagaan. (I wish I could include more and more screenshots) This had to sound like a technical paper, but I knew, Prof.Terry Williams would surely notice that Sujoy Singha loves Lagaan. And yes, to answer (which is not included in the report) the question (which is in the coursework question paper) what made the project to be initiated and what was its business context, I can only answer that Lagaan needed to be made. To quench the thirst of Bollywood lovers like me craving to see a cinematic magnum opus unveil its hues on the big screen and make my eyes gleam. Lagaan needed to be made to make me lift my hands in triumph every time Kachra took a wicket. Lagaan needed to be made because it is a common emotion that I  still share with the hundreds of friends that I have; and we do it by saying “Re Bhaiya Chhute Lagaan”. Lagaan needed to be made because a silly sod like me could understand the principles of Project Management through it. It was DESTINY.

**And before you start guessing my age and gender, lemme clarify that I am just a 26 year old guy, asking to be hugged, coz he still loves Lagaan. ** No, delete that line. Ok, don’t. Anyway, the case study is up for display below. It can be downloaded, and please send in your thoughts, comments, complaints, suggestions, hate-mails, love-mails and even flowers to my inbox:
Cheers!!!! Sujoy

To Download the paper, click the Link Below.
Lagaan: A Project Management Case Study

NOTE: I do notice that there is a bit of a problem in the formatting, but it is due to uploading on Scribd. The original document has sensible formatting by my standards. So Scribd, up yours! No, I take that back, as they are hosting my document for free and distributing it for download as well. Thank you Scribd for being my vehicle for worldwide acclaim/doom.And well, although I do consider this as my labour of love and no matter how much I love Lagaan, I cannot emphasize enough that I was still quite lazy. Perhaps, I am already, the modern day Project Manager.

*******UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE *******

Yes, it is almost a year since I started this blog. My labour of love, my ramblings through the woods of uncertainty and often madness. This is where I have vented out some of the weirdest stuff that my brain could have ever imagined. In the process, my writing skills have been challenged, and I have tried to meet those challenges. I know I haven’t frequented this space for quite some time, so start things over, I am planning on doing a theme change for OKS. 

The main theme is going to remain as this one. This is called the German Newspaper Theme. It is simple, quite editable, and I like it. I have done away with the Silver Lexus theme, although I loved it. This will be an ongoing project until I am satisfied, so you might encounter some weird page when you hit the website URL. Just don’t get scared, and stay calm.Don’t panic, Uncle Sujoy will be back with help in just a mo!

Also, since this is an ongoing process of numerous trial and errors, I will keep you posted about the changes through this post. I know I am running a risk of my website having a shitty look for the next few days, but then, the ugly duckling always becomes the beautiful swan. Until we get to the perfect design, wish me luck on me mission! Cheers!

Update:~ Dec  14th.

The new blog theme is called Velocity, and it is available for free download on BlogOhBlog. The original design is by Jai Nischal Verma. I have tweaked some bits from the original theme files. I have added a random header image generator code in the header php file, added social bookmarks, changed the template for single posts, pages to include sidebars, and added the MyBlogLog widget in the footer. All of that and much more can on how I changed the template can be read in details in the next post of Techkeyla. 

Reasons for choosing Velocity:

a: Fixed Width and Three Column with post in the middle

b. Basic Colours and white background

c. Flexibility to add code.

d. Widget Ready

e. Clear and Big Enough Font, so no need to change CSS (which I really hate).

Hope you guys enjoy reading OKS in the coming year. Loadsa year-end posts coming up. Cheers!!!