Swine flu (H1N1) vaccine at Freedom Hill

"It is cool to be healthy" a sticker given at the Freedom Hill office this morning for children who got their noses sprayed with the Swine Flu vaccine.

FREE H1N1 vaccine clinics have been set up at the Freedom Hill park in Sterling Heights, MI.

On Oct 28 and 29,2009, intranasal spray will be given .
This intranasal H1N1 vaccine is for healthy non-pregnant persons who:

- are from 2 through 24 years of age
- are from 25 through 49 years of age and live with, or care for infants younger than 6 months of age
- are health care or emergency medical personnel and are from 25 through 49 years of age

On Oct 30 and 31, the vaccine will be given in an injectible form.
This injectable H1N1 vaccine is for:

- Pregnant women
- New parents and household contacts of children <6 months of age
- Health Care workers and Emergency Service sector personnel (regardless of age)
- All people from 6 months through 24 years of age Adults (aged 25-65 yrs) with medical conditions that increase risk of complications of influenza

This morning when I went there I thought the line would be too long but, I got done within 45 minutes. More information can be found at Macomb county's website. http://www.macombcountymi.gov/publichealth/

Get yours today and pass on to any pregnant women you may know.

Newest Member of the "Michigan Indian DJ" family

Meet Miss "Lamha" the newest member of the Michigan Indian DJ family. Congratulations to Little DJ Lamha's proud mama - Amri (Michigan's top rated Indian DJ) and proud Dad - Vinny. This cute Little DJ is little over a month old. She wss born on July 15th. I got a hunch though that she is going to get into mapping business like me...why? because July 15th happens to be my birthday too and I love maps :)

Treasures in Town

If you are not planning to go anywhere this weekend but, want to have a nice time in town, here is a recommended destination. I discovered it just last weekend and thought it may interest some of you.

We started driving East on M-59 and ended up in Jefferson road almost at the end of M-59. Just south of 23 mile road, on Jefferson, the drive was scenic with lake shore on the right hand side, marinas and boat views.

We ended up in a small park named Brandenburg Memorial Park situated at 50000 Jefferson Ave., just South of 23 Mile Rd., New Baltimore, MI, 48047. The nice thing about this park other than the fact that it has all the goodies for the kids like the play area, picnic tables etc, is the long fishing pier built into the water.

The lake provides an excellent opportunity for fishing Bass, Catfish etc. The Pier is a perfect relaxing place to go with family or read a book and enjoy the view of open sky and blue water all across like Vinny is doing in here.

The park has nice fall color and it had 50-60% color development last week which means that this week, the color would be peak. Enjoy a great weekend.

Fireworks in Detroit Metro Area

Staying in town for the July 4th long weekend owing to gas prices? I won't blame you.

Well, if you have family visiting or want to have some summer fun, here is the link to find all the places and the dates for fireworks around the Detroit Metro Area. If you are planning to go into a state park, I would advise you to go there well in the evening time to beat the traffic and relax, barbeque some food and enjoy playing with family. The first time we tried to get into a park just around the fireworks time, it took us two hours to cover a 4 mile distance.

Follow the link to see the fireworks schedule

Lesson learnt and since then we plan to make it to the park at around 5PM, spend some fun time there and wait for the fireworks.

For all the photo enthusiasts, don't forget to take a tripod to get good pictures of your fireworks. I shot this a couple of years ago with camera on tripod and a low shutter speed.

What2Eat: Indian flavours at American restaurants

Did you know that COSI sandwich place now offers Tandoori Chicken sandwich and Salad?

They have introduced it a while ago but, I have discovered it recently. The sandwich is offered in either rustic bread or a multi grain bread. Multi grain is awesome. The sandwich is cold but, you can ask for the tandoori chicken pieces and the filling to be warmed up for a few seconds before they make the sandwich. They would be more than happy to do it.

COSI is available in Rochester Hills, Birmingham, Southfield, Farmington Hills and Ann Arbor.

Another restaurant I found this in, is California Pizza Kitchen. CPK as it is called, has a pizza with mango slices and tandoori chicken that rocks. The curry sauce underneath has a perfect flavour.

We have had it many times and don't forget to get that Tiramasu at the end of your meal. There is no other place that makes Tiramasu like CPK does.

CPK is available at zillion places while not being limited to Clinton Township on Hall Road, Somerset mall in Troy, Livonia and Farmington Hills.

Enjoy your family dining experience.

Shopping: Where to buy Dhol (or Percussion instruments)

I have been lazy lately and the winter induced some lack of motivation as well. Jeez, I sound like a true Michigander. Well anyway, here I am.

Vinny (my husband) plays dhol so, we were shopping for some percussion instruments last year, DHOL in particular and found Kalakendar.


Kalakendar is a wonderful musician's haven, based out of Toronto, Canada. They have a full service online store for sales on various instruments and also offer repair and service, parts for some instruments and such.

The music warehouse was formed in 1992 and specializes in authentic Indian instruments. They carry a variety, covering String, Percussion, Wind and electronic instruments and more. The site is neatly organized with pictures of what you buy. We bought a dhol and it was 'what you see is what you get'. It arrived safely in a tight packing with beautiful decorative tassles, the dhaga (Bass end stick) and the Tilli (Treble end stick) and a protective case. A follow up was made promptly from the store asking us how the experience was.

For those who want to drive to check out the store, it is located at this address.
1440 Gerrard Street East (2nd Floor) Toronto,ON M4L 1Z8 Canada

Reach them by phone: 866-87-SITAR or 416-463-3111
Customer Service/Questions: 416-463-4741
Website: http://www.kalakendar.com/

Business Hours: EST
Monday to Thursday 11:30am - 8pm (Closed Friday)
Saturday & Sunday 12noon - 8 pm

Vinny is very happy with the dhol. "The sound is awesome", he grins!

He recently played it at the detroit westin hotel at the airport for a baraat. The hotel management got 13 complaints in 10 minutes, as the sound was bothering them. After all, those business travellers are trying to get an hour of good sleep.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

Wishing all a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from all of us here at MIBAZAAR.

Meet the contributors here at MIBAZAAR:

Nipa Shah: President of Jenesys Group, LLC
Host of Weekly Podcast for Asian Indians
Recently Launched: Michigan India Chamber of Commerce, theBloogle.com (blogging site)

DJ Amri: One of the top DJ's in Michigan. If you need her to DJ your special event visit her website. (Note: She is so much in demand, you might have to call her well in advance for your special event).

Rita Patel: An extremely talented personality. Rita is an artist and designer. All of her work is original, handmade and one of a kind. She sells her work at Etsy. (Note: 10% of every purchase is loaned by Rita to low-income entrepreneurs in developing countries through kiva.org. All monies refunded from the original loans will be re-loaned out to others.)

Music review: Showbiz

Showbiz, a film to be released in 2008, is a story about the glitter and litter, shine and sleaze and lure and allure underneath the glamour industry. The films stars Tushar Jalota and Mrinalini Sharma in the lead roles and Gulshan Grover in a significant role and is produced by Mukesh Bhatt. The Bhatt hut is known to be the runway for many newbies, like the yester Aftab Shivdasani, latest Emran Hashmi and Kangna Ranaut, so on. All of them have rooted themselves very quickly and found their own place in the glitzville. Lets hope it works for Tushar Jalota too.



The music is composed by Lalit Pandit, the branch from Jatin-Lalit duo. The style seems appropriate, it is set out to mushroom rockstars. After all, it is Showbiz, a plot about a drummer and a singer, who becomes a fever and icon to the youth overnight. It is a take on media, how media creates and destroys, thrives on a soaring star's plight. Keeping the plot in mind, some songs sound very fit into the movie, while others beat us to death.


Tu mujhse jab se mila (Shukriya)

Sung by KK. Lalit adapts himself to the signature Pritam style, that you will go back to the album once more to check the credits to be sure. The digital madness and the sheer electro pulse in the track stand out in your senses. Sultry guitar work boasts, screeches and shimmers throughout the song. KK renders passion, frame by frame, or I should say note by note. The rap version by Earl is promising too.


Mere falak ka tu hai sitara

Sung by KK. Here is a treat for our drummer dude. If this is his performance on stage, I hope Tushar Jalota knows how to act while playing drums on the screen. Have you noticed how our actors play guitar in the songs. When a serious lead is playing in the song, our actors stand with their left hand at the top of the guitar, just swinging their body. I always wished, they put some research into where your hand should be for rhythm and lead, if not the exact fret. The song shovels oodles of rock on you and heart thumping drum interlude.


The unplugged version borrows very sweet pings from guitar, piano and of course, flute. Stretch your ear for the flute interlude, it is lovely. The unplugged version was the winner for me and proves KK's strength, demanding an encore.


Kaash ek din aisa bhi aaye

Sung by my favorite Shaan and Shreya Ghosal. Lalit slips back into his backyard quietly and digs out a beaten tune and wastes 'apna Shaan'. I am mad, no furious! Though the pair delivers on vocals, the song falls short of emotion.


Duniya ne dil toda

Sung by KK. A strike straight on 'Deewana deewana ho jaaye' from Rishtey composed by Sanjeev Darshan, you have 'Duniya ne dil toda', 'nuf said!. Deewana deewana ho jaaye was a lovely song, albeit made a bad movie choice. Rishtey sank but, the song was remembered for the lovely Sunidhi Chauhaan and oh-so-beautiful, Shilpa Shetty. The song does not sound Indian as much and I am sure it must have been a strike on something else, but then, we are innocent until proven guilty, in Showbiz.


Meri ibtida

Sung by Shreya Ghosal. The lyrics are very mediocre, but the short song is mellow and sweet.

Lalit Pandit has had many hits and misses. One of the good composers around, we would expect to see many more good albums from him, although this one falls short in a few songs. When the music is so-so, the movie should pull through for the rest. Wait and watch for it at our local Novi, MI theatres.

The album gets my ** 1/2 stars.Write your thoughts to us.

Photography corner: Holiday card ideas

We are getting closer to the holidays and if, you have a large family and want to send some cool looking photo cards that have your signature and style on it, here is how.

One of the tricks I learnt, is to create my own bokeh with a super simple tool. Bokeh is a beautiful aspect of photography, which is the out of focus area in a picture, often used confusingly and interchangeably for depth of field. With a little effort and zero dollars, you can command any shape to the bokeh. I created a heart shaped bokeh in the picture above, for the holiday theme. Notice the lights behind the teddy bear. They can be achieved by making a simple mask with items, found in any home easily. Here is the mask.

What you will need

1 black cardboard sheet
1 black tape
1 scissors
1 white pencil or thin marker that can be seen on black cardboard.
1 sharp blade or knife that can cut the cardboard sheet. Kitchen knives do not tend to work very well.
A camera, preferably an SLR or DSLR but, you can probably try it with a P&S as well, just have to make a tinier hole.
A lens with an f stop of 2.8 or less, for nice bokeh. f2.8 or a little higher like 3.5 to 4 might also work well.
1 or 2 strips of christmas lights, colored ones are great.

To make the mask........

Wind your lens to the wider end, place it head down on the cardboard and draw the outline with the white pencil. It need not be perfect, just make sure you get a circle on the sheet of the same size as your lens diameter.

Cut the circle out. You can use a compass too to make this circle, the same diameter as the lens. I used my lens directly because, I wanted the mask to snugly fit my lens.

At the center of the circle, cut a shape, a heart or a star or anything you like, with the sharp knife.

Cut a 3 inch wide strip from the cardboard. An A4 size sheet cut lengthwise, will give you enough strip to wrap around the lens.

Place the lens on the table tail down. Put the circular piece on the lens front and take the rectangular strip and wrap it around the lens.

Use the tape to attach the two together making sure that there is no opening on the side. I used the tape that could be used to seal electric wires. The glue on it is not harsh and I could remove it and move it easily if, one piece of tape did not fit well.

Your finished tool would look like the picture above. Throw the lens back on the camera and slide your mask on your lens front and you are ready to shoot. The picture of the mask is to show how the lights are round in shape with my camera without the mask. When I put the mask on my lens and shot a teddy bear, the same lights turned to a heart shape.

For your photo shoot, you can place any object in front of your christmas tree or you can hang the christmas lights strips against a window and place your object in front of them. I shot the teddy bear with two strips of lights hanging against my window and the teddy bear placed on the dining table at about 5-6 feet away from the lights. You could photograph your kids against a lit christmas tree. Make sure there is enough light on the kids, for a nice shot. I used an external flash to illuminate the teddy bear and I also had some dining chandelier lights above.

The most important point to note is that the lights MUST be out of focus and USE A TRIPOD to shoot the picture, preferably on a timer, it is very important to make your object sharp. Your camera's focus should be on your object and not on the lights.

It was a fun exercise for me and it took an hour of my time and zero dollars to make it. I learnt it from this article.

Teddy bear: Shot with a Canon 40D, EF 50mm f1.8 lens and Speedlite 580 Ex II (Bounced against the ceiling)

Mask : Shot with Canon 40D, EF 50mm f1.8 and speedlite 580 EX II (Bounced against the ceiling)

Happy holidays everyone !

Welcome: Music review

Welcome, an Akki-Katrina starrer is set out to be in theatres on December 21, 2007. Directed by Anees Bazmee, who scored with his comic timing in films like No Entry, Mujhse Shadi Karogi, the film portrays a comedy coated love story between Katrina Kaif and Akshay Kumar. The only twist in the tale is that Katrina is a mafia sis, who has 3 brothers in mafia (Anil Kapoor, Nana Patekar and Feroz Khan). I am not sure if, any shots would be drawing inspiration from Mickey Blue Eyes, the music albeit is very uninspiring and if, you are wondering, the album has 3 music composers. Haven't we learned that too many cooks spoil the broth? Sajid-Wajid, Anand Raj Anand and Himesh Reshammiya compose the music for this album.

Welcome

Sung by Shaan, Wajid and Soumya Rao. Composed by Sajid-Wajid. Slide that pitch control down on Partner title track and Welcome fits into those shoes perfectly. Riding high on composition with several trumpets and mildly on donald duck rap, the song sets the mood for a party and is very likeable. Now if you are wondering, you will like it too, just wait until you listen to the rest of the songs in the album. Twisting a leg or two is absolutely fine with me! The song sounds perfect for the credits roll.

Honth rasiley

Sung by Anand Raj Anand, Shankar Mahadevan and Shreya Ghosal. Composed by Anand Raj Anand. It is hard to decipher the style of this song, is it a mujra, bhangra misplaced, or a Qawwali? After listening to it a couple of times (you must think you do not want to be a reviewer) I decided it to be a Qawwali. The song has a comic aura to it and knowing Anees Bazmee's reputation, I sense that the visual of this song could be more interesting than the audio.

Inshah Allah

Sung by Shaan, Akruti Kakkar and Himesh Reshammiya and composed by Himesh Reshammiya. Himesh hams and howls his signature "REPETITIVE" words. The music arrangement is very mediocre and the lyrics, outdated. Shaan is a great singer and there are some tracks that I feel that are just made for him. He sings them with utmost style and jazz, a recent example being 'Aao milo chale' from Jab we met. This isn't one of them and both the singers are wasted. Remember to fade down while the song is a few seconds long, you won't miss Himesh's repetition, yet AGAIN !

Kola Laka Vellari

Sung and composed by Himesh Reshammiya. Surprisingly, this is a decent song, though it does not have any encore value. Himesh's vocals are pleasantly subdued and the song is passable with good tabla mix. Purportedly a sad-toned love song. Do not ask me what Kola Laka Vellari means. I could even not find out what language it is. If you happen to know, please enlighten me. I won't loose my sleep over it and honestly you won't either.

Uncha lamba Kad

Sung and composed by Anand Raj Anand with Kalpana. The best song of the album, although very well inspired by Makhna from Bade Miya Chote Miya and another Punjabi song I know but, can't remember at this time. As soon as I do, I will come right by to update this. Coming to the song, it is pleasant on the ear and fall into that scanty list of punjabi love songs. The music arrangement is simple as well as the singer's voices, they flow smoothly.

Tera sarafa

Sung by Shweta Pundit and Anand Raj Anand. Composed by Anand Raj Anand.Apparently, this is an item number by Mallika Sherawat with Nana Patekar and Anil Kapoor. What is Mallika Sherawat doing in this film? She is the one who adds more chaos at the end when, she shows up claiming that she is Akshay Kumar's wife, when Akki is all set to marry Katrina. While Mallika might offer some drool to the viewers, this foot tapping song will easily be erased as soon as she is off screen.

Coming to the composers themselves, Anand Raj Anand scores once in a while, his last hits that I remember were Kyon ki mein jhooth nahi bolta, Masti, Kaante, Hadh Kardi Aapne. He has several mediocre albums, with him it is a matter of chance and fluke. Sajid-Wajid does fall into the same category but, he has a latest hit, Partner. Prior to that, other than Mujhse Shadi Karoge, the composer does not have too many hit scores. Himesh Reshammiya is totally a different league, though not my kind, he sure did deliver many hits. Putting all of them together isn't very welcome !

The album gets my * star.

Jab we met - A surprise hit !!

Being as much the cinamchi ( Movie buff ) as I am, I went crazy reading how the internet world was split, debating which movie (OSO and Sawariya) would be the first to watch. Several polls were hung online and I checked out all of them and read about all the hype for both of them. At last, I decided to take a chill pill and put my money into 'Jab we met'.

Whoa! What a pleasant surprise! Imtiaz Ali (Director) handled the simple love story with such elegance and the movie sets the scene so beautiful, such as a fresh morning drizzle. Pritam's music which I reviewed earlier here, grew more on me, while I watched the movie. If you are like me, who opens ears wider for the background scores, you will be mesmarized at this one. Certain scenes complimented with the apt background score remain in your memory for a longer time. The songs are placed at appropriate times in the movie and the lyrics are written with much thought. "Manzil se behtar lagne lage yeh raastein....." for a journey that would take two people to different destinations. ( temporarily of course, we like happy endings, don't we? ) Watch for the lyrics in "Aaoge jab tum". Lyricist Irshad Kamil takes you to the 'Chitchor-esque' lands with that song.

The cast themselves did a stupendous job. Imtiaz Ali perhaps brought the best out of Kareena Kapoor and Shahid Kapoor. While Kareena's role is of a bubbly Basanti, Shahid's role is of a calm and composed lad with some brooding shades. Aditya Kashyap's (Shahid) character is a typical Rahul of our cinema, which any Shah Rukh and the likes would have easily given their 100% of "overacting" skills. However, Shahid Kapoor gave only as much as any shot required him to. It is perhaps one of his finest performances. Even the hotelia at hotel 'Decent' gives you a 3-mintute laughter ride with his excellent expressions.

If there is someone you could like as much as you liked Basanti (of Sholay fame), that would be Geet (Kareena) in this film. The lass is a loud chatterbox but, will keep you rolling in laughter. Her obsession with shaadi and trains provide the perfect comic timing and emotion. Her train missing scene for the second time, is absolutely hilarious.

This is a young and vibrant film. The dialogues are like any day mumbaikar's, chitchat, "How do you like me, tell me know"??? The plot is simple. Girl is going home to Bhatinda from Mumbai with a later plan to elope with her boyfriend. Stumbles upon the the lost rich boy in the train and after a series of incidents and missing trains, the two end up travelling together, to get her home, help her elope with her boyfriend. Boy returns to his empire and starts pulling his cards together while the girl gets rejected by the boyfriend and disappears being heartbroken.

Girl's family whines to the boy and boy sets out to find her and the boyfriend to bring them back home. The confusion at the end is quite hilarious which sets the right stage for the ending. Watch out for the boyfriend's frustration over the sugarcane field tour. Its hilarious.

So, what exactly is my point, in writing this review 3 weeks after its release? One, I happened to watch it only now and two, to urge you to see this wonderful tale at least now, if you have not seen it so far. I assure you that it is way better entertainment than OSO or Sawariya. In the last weekend in 24 hours, I saw this movie thrice, jee haan, thrice..........but then, I started this review telling you how much of a cinamchi I am, didn't I?

Shahid Kapoor dances like a dream, after all, he is trained at Shiamak Davar's and sports it to good use.

Michigan fall colors

It is October. If you are sitting home and doing nothing, please wake up and drive up north. It is absolutely gorgeous there with peak colors in several areas. I was up in Houghton, MI, which is way way out of the world and the beauty is breathtaking. Picture down - Taken in Houghton, MI, Oct 6th 2007.

The entire drive back until Mackinaw was splendid with vibrant colors. Fall colors in the lower peninsula will be at their peak by this weekend or the next weekend. So, if you are one of those leaf peepers, drive up to Mackinaw and come back, visit the few national parks in the cities along I-75 (Ex: Gaylord, Indian River, Rogers City, Petosky). Picture down - US-41, the most gorgeous road in fall, shot on Oct 6th, 2007.

We took the Michigan.org's advised color route for Keewenaw peninsula and when they say "if you are looking for fabulous fall colors, look no further than Michigan, they aren't lying". The colors are at their best. Pack those bags and run a leisure trip up north. Fall moves fast.

You will be too late for the color route linked above but, the areas in the lower peninsula, on the way to Mackinaw are beautiful at this time. You will hit peak color in most of the places if, you visit any, this weekend and the next.

Music review: Jab We Met

Jab We Met, with the real life love duo as reel life love duo, the Shahid-Kareena starrer, is set to be released on October 26th 2007. Shahid and Kareena were seen together in Fida, 36 China Town, which may not have tasted the box office success, but showcased their acting talents very well. I remember this partcular scene in Fida, when Shahid cries his heart out in a train remembering her smiling treachery. The boy has it all and Kareena is a vibrant actress with plenty of screen presence. Be sure to check out our local Novi, Mi theatres for show timings on October 26th 2007.

Music is composed by Pritam and lyrics are penned by Irshad Kamil. The movie is directed by Imtiaz Ali. The album has 6 original tracks, 3 remixes and an instrumental. This album, being young and vibrant as it is, is going to be hummed for long, for sure.

Mauja hi Mauja

The album starts with Mika Singh's Mauja hi Mauja. An instant racer that gets your feet up. The visual is sparkling and is oodles of eye candy with Shahid and Kareena against a lit up backdrop. Shahid is a sharp dancer. Despite being short of a few inches in height (in general, not shorter than Kareena, :-)), he dances like a dream. Modern bhangra and reggae fusion make it stand out in the album. A remix version is presented later.

Tum se hi

We are driven into this velvet flavour with Mohit Chauhan's rendition of Tum se hi. Thanks to some of these music directors, Pritam, ShankEzLoy combo, who keep bringing back melody in the age of head-banging music. Wonderfully penned lyrics, mild score, smooth flute and a lovely voice make this an instant favorite. Could have done without the aa-aa-aa-aa bits. The remix version was so not required. While the vocals retain their pace, beats are just sped up in the remix version.

Yeh ishq hai

Instant deja-vu of Mahiya by Suzanne from Awarapan, which by the way, was also composed by Pritam. While that lass was a funky topper, Shreya Ghosal, falls a few ounces short of the punch, needed for this song. Fused together with Reggae and Middle eastern styles, the song is appealing, in a unique way. The remix version looses a little and sounds confusing at fusion spots. Pritam would have been at risk if, he casted Suzanne again for this song, it would have been totally identical.

Nagada Nagada baja

Back to bhangra fusion. Sonu Nigam renders the vocals for this song, showcasing the Punjabi Shan. The song is passable considering the bhangra beats galore, floating around our world.
Sonu delivers ample energy as demanded by the track and the score.

Aao milo chalo

My favorite singer shows up finally. Smoothly slipped in by Shaan, the song sports lovely guitar work. You can see how masterfully Pritam sways his subdued rock rhythms around the song. The semi classical interlude by Ustad Sultan Khan(of recent Ustad and the Divas fame) adds that distant indi pop touch. Gets my full score.

Aaoge jab tum

It is nice to see Pritam stick to our classical roots once in a while, despite his rock image. His recent composition 'Mere Dholna' from Bhool Bhulaiya is such one. None other than the Padma Shri Ustad Rashid Khan sang this lovely semi-classical track. The sargam at the end is soothing and the track serves right for a pining, waiting lovestruct lad.

Tum se hi Instrumental

A complete rip off (read 'inspiration' for politically being correct) from the Titanic theme. Pritam is more than capable of producing quality music so, I am little disappointed with this being a copy. Enjoyable however, the track is ice cream glazed with enchanting flute on the lead and mild orchestra to accompany.


Jab we met is refreshingly pleasing to the ear and some tunes will stay among us for a longer time. The sneak peaks are already promising, albeit with the risk of looking similar to Dilwale dulhaniya le jayenge (missing trains, loosing tracks, falling in love, all that good stuff) and numerous others who followed DDLJ religiously later.


The album gets my ***1/2 stars. Write your thoughts to us.

Music Review: Om Shanti Om

Om Shanti Om, which is due for a release on November 9, 2007 is a Farah Khan film, produced by Shah Rukh Khan himself under Red Chillies entertainment. Music is composed by the two cool cats, the Vishal Shekhar duo, right under the keys of Javed Akhtar's keyboard. A big handful of singers are hired for this album but then, the album has a dozen songs as well. Too many singers is not a problem, better than Himesh Reshammiya's albums where he sings all of them. Not that I dislike Himesh but, I would rather have him sing one or two and let the other songs be sung by other singers, for a variety.

The plot is tried and tested, the protogonist, a junior artist (played by Shahrukh Khan) in the bling bling industry is madly in love with a superstar (Played by Deepika Padukone, by the way, she looks stunning). Eventually Shah Rukh Khan meets an untimely demise, and is instantly reborn with memories of his ladylove and the lovely lass has already grown to an old woman now, who does not believe that her once loved man is reborn. Spooky re-incarnation theme, just right past Halloweeen. "Chances are" that it is a remake of our classic, "Karz". Hopefully, it will be a success like Karz, we have not had many re-incarnations in Bollywood lately. Check out our local Novi theatres for showtimings in November.

Ajab Si

Sung by KK.

This track is already making waves in all the desi channels and is defintely hitting the strings of a channel surfer's hearts. A lovely composition by Visheker duo and the lyrics are at their best. KK does full justice with his vocals. Did I mention Deepika Padukone looks stunning? Shah Rukh Khan looks geeky but, I bet that was part of being in the 80s backdrop. Mild beats and mellow sounds complete the composition.

Dard-E-Disco

Sung by Sukhwinder Singh, Marianne, Nisha & Caralisa.

Sprint towards thinly coated middle eastern style and we have Dard-E-Disco. Once in a while we come across some unique expressions in Bollywood. Dard-E-Disco anyone? The song is passable but, the interesting part is in the visual. Shah Rukh Khan goes the Salman way, sans the shirt and a forced tan. Only that, while the latter has a great bod, our dear cute Rahul strains himself in the tanned outfit.The song sports a remixed version by DJ Aqueel, which might find its place in head-banging discotheques.

Deewangi Deewangi

Sung by Shaan, Udit Narayan,Shreya Goshal, Sunidhi Chauhan, Rahul Saxena

A peppy title track, which makes me think that this is a stage performance with all and sundry dancing. Another passable track in the album which may not have the potential to be a chartbuster, or you may never know. The rainbow remix of this track by DJ Kiran and DJ G, will remind you of Farah Khan's "feeling hot hot" from her earlier "Mein Hoon Na" on the credits roll.

Main Agar Kahoon

Sung by Sonu Nigam, Shreya Goshal

We fall back into a swing and Sonu and Shreya toss us lazily with their makhmali (Satin-esque) voices. A lovely track, albeit with some confusing but, very sweet lyrics. The composition is not a swanky arrangement but, is simplicity at its best. Perfect for a ballroom etiquette, will find its place in the bolly love ballads for sure.

Soona Lage

Sung by Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, Richa Sharma

Remember Rahat's smashing track 'Tujhe dekh dekh sona....' from Kalyug? Rahat made an unforgettable impact with that song and cahsed in a lot with desi soaps, playing that track over and over again as well. Richa Sharma has a powerful vocal to match him as well. The song may not be very appealing as it is a sad lovelorn track but, Rahat and Richa honor the track well with their powerful vocals.

Dhoom Tana

Sung by Abhijeet, Shreya Goshal

Abhijeet fits Shah Rukh's background voice perfectly since "Yes Boss" times. You listen to Abhijeet, you see Shah Rukh's face. He is fresh as ever and sings with ease. Although Shreya shrieks a little at "Kaisey..", she joins hands with Abhijeet quite well, in this peppy track. The song however, fits a Jeetendra from Caravan. Trumpets, drums, sargam, you want it, you got it.

Daastaan-E-Om Shanti Om

Sung by Shaan

We said this movie is based on re-incarnation, right? The song I have been waiting for, finally arrives. Smitten and bitten, loved and lost, believed and deceived, the song has it all it needs to bring a re-incarnate mood, and is a perfect match for the yester year's Karz's Ek Haseena thi. Karz was also based on re-incarnation and was a sensational movie. While we hold onto the classic song dearly, this song is not a failure either and we have to give all the props to Shaan. He is magnificient in the track.

And then, we have a dark side mix by Zoheb, DJ Nikhil Chinappa and DJ Nawed. I am a DJ myself and this track makes my aversion towards remixes stronger.

Om Shanti Om (Medley Mix)

There hasn't been another great medley mix after the one in Mujhse Dosti Karoge. Dard-E-Disco dominates this mix while other songs in the album play faithful flunkies around and title track fills in the fag end.

Om Shanti Om Theme Music

Instrumental

A lovely intrumental of Shaan's title track completes the album. Sweet piano and soft beats, only if, it could have been made longer. It just finishes too fast having you wait for more.

The album gets my ***1/2 stars. Write your thoughts and picks from this album.

Music review: Bhool Bhulaiya

You might have had a sneak peak of the trailers sailing across several desi channels. Bhool Bhulaiya is a remake of a malayalam movie Manichitrathazhu, which brought the very talented actress and dancer Shobhana, a national award. Incidentally, Shobhana is in the USA, at this moment on a tour and is performing a dance item named "MAYA" in the classical Bharatanatyam style. She just finished her program in Seattle, during Janmashtami (Lord Krishna's birthday)/Labor day weekend. The movie Manichitrathazhu was so successful that it apparently ran straight for more than 600 days. It was remade in Telugu and Kannada as well in the following years. Bollywood is catching up with it and voila, we have Bhool Bhulaiya.

OK, I got a little lost in the Bhool Bhulaiya and almost went into Shobana's biography but, coming back to the album review for Bhool Bhulaiya. The album, composed by Pritam, whisked in with Sameer's lyrics, has 7 original compositions and 4 remixes. The movie stars Akshay Kumar, Shiney Ahuja, Vidya Balan, Amisha Patel, Paresh Rawal and is directed by Priyadarshan. The group is promising. Bhool Bhulaiya is set to be released on October 12, 2007.

Bhool Bhulaiya

Sung by Neeraj Sridhar. Neeraj Sridhar is the Bombay Vikings lead. This track definetely stands out in the album, albiet with the risk of sounding similar to the Bhagambhag title song. Exact same beats and bears a similar composition. However, Pritam scores an A with this very peppy track. Hare Raam Hare Krishna, modern day hippies anyone? The visual has plenty of boot scootin' boogie in it, with chartbuster written all over. The remix sounds almost the same except for few rap lyrics, and is equally enjoyed.

Labon ko

Picturised on Shiney Ahuja and Vidya Balan. KK smoothly slips into the song and takes you with him effortlessly. A very hearty and passionate love song and it is a signature Shiney song. It was a feast to watch his infectious smile in this song. The lead guitar work is amazing and the track offers absolut-honeydew appeal in the interludes. Vocals are subdued in the remix version and it killed the soul of the song.

Sajda

KK comes back with a little pep but, the song is a beaten up bush. The composition neither has any first time impact nor, the potential to grow with you after. KK however, puts up a sincere show. DJ Suketu's remix is annoying and hurts your ear in the first few seconds.

Lets rock soniye

Whether you rock a soniye or roll a soniye or balle balle with a soniye, all the soniyes look the same to me. Surprisingly, Shaan gets to croon only one song and that too the very standard dhinchik dhinchik bolly track in the album. Tulsi Kumar joins him with her thinly stretched vocals which definetely do not match Shaan's punch poured passion. Well, the song will sure find its place in weddings, as folks get bored with the soniyes rocking earlier. A remix version with some background noise added, is also in.

Sakhiya

Tulsi Kumar confronts us, with apparently a love song. A very disappointing, last millenium sounding track with some forced beats into it. Tulsi struggles to bring her vocals up to the volume. You may safely skip it.

Mere dholna

Just when you decide to christen Pritam as a rock genre composer, he takes you by awe. Wow ! I must say it has been a long long time since I heard something classical in Bollywood films and that too, this well made. I have not been a Shreya Ghosal fan ever, although I sincerely agree that she has a very sweet voice. Not only taken in by surprise, one can't help, but admire the challenge she takes on with this track and proves her talent with every word. Music maestro MG Shree Kumar compliments her vocals with his Sargam and there aren't enough words to describe his performance. His sargam at the end of the song, the speed in its superlative degree, just leaves you with a gasp.

MG Shree Kumar is a very talented vocalist from South Indian cinema who won many many state and national awards for Best Play back singer.

Alla Hafiz

KK swings back with this zesty track. This track is mildly accented middle eastern and Pritam goes back to his pop style. This song is perfect for a road trip, very groovy. I was a little concerned to play anything after Mere Dholna just to keep that lingering effect but, the track did not disappoint me. Encore is promised.

The album had 4 appealing tracks to me (Title, Labon ko, Alla Hafiz and Mere Dholna) and I almost forgave the few mediocre tracks and uninspiring remixes after listening to Mere Dholna. The album has my ***1/2 stars while Mere Dholna gets my full score for the pure artwork.

Write your opinions to us.

Fall colors: Blue Ridge Parkway

Blue Ridge Parkway

We are at the end of August which means, fall is just waiting around the corner to approach us. I wanted to write this post early on just so it allows ample time for all of you to plan and make this wonderful vacation yours. If you are one of those people who tries to go on fall hunting every year like I do and wondering where to go this year, here is a perfect route for you.

Most of us Michiganders simply go up north to catch a glimpse of the spectacular color show nature puts us through, every fall season. While Michigan has undoubtedly one of the best fall colors, breathtaking fall scenery drapes several other states as well. My particular interest with this post is with Blue Ridge Parkway, which spans for 469 miles across North Carolina and Virginia, and is a lovely vacation destination, rather a route.
A picture shot at the entrance to the parkway.

Blue Ridge Parkway runs from Shenandoah National Park's skyline drive in Virginia and ends near the Great Smoky Mountains National Park near Cherokee, North Carolina. From your home in Michigan or anywhere, you either drive or fly into Virginia. We drove as we wanted this to be a complete road trip.

The parkway goes from 650 to 6000 feet in elevation and the
mileposts along the parkway start at zero at the northeast
end in Virginia and count to 469 at the southern end in North Carolina. There is no fee to using the parkway, just pure fun and lots of driving ofcourse. The speed limit is never more than 45 mph so, if you are one of those who gets impatient on road, this is not for you. This is a leisure road trip and offers many scenic spots with breathtaking views of various hues all around the mountains. The entire parkway has many pull overs for you to stop by and take pictures.
This picture is taken at an elevation of 3500 feet along Blue Ridge Parkway.

Since the elevation varies so much, the color saturation varies a lot too. You might find peak color at one elevation and other elevation might be completely dried out. We drove in the first week of November (Nov 1st through 4th, 2005) and found that anything above 2000 ft elevation was all past peak. Do not make that mistake of going so late. Plan your trip at the end of september or early to mid October for a mixed color show throughout the parkway.

Enroute, there is Linville falls which are located at Mile Post 316.3 of the Blue Ridge Parkway, north of where US 221 crosses the Parkway and south of where NC 181 crosses the Parkway. Be sure to stop by Linville falls and capture the scenic beauty and rustling waters.
Pictures taken with fall color reflection on the flowing water at Linville falls.





Be sure to stop by at Asheville. A very romantic place for you to rest at so as to ease those driving muscles. Asheville is a lovely city to stop by the night and spend a saturday watching Chimney rock, Biltmore estates, Blue Ridge Mountains and more. The colors in the parkway close to Asheville were something I never saw before. There were roads and roads of color burst, perfect for a saturday drive. The pictures below were shot on Blue Ridge Parkway, at about 10 - 15 miles close to Ashville. Second picture shot at an elevation during sunset.



Last but not the least, The great smoky mountains which everyone raves about, offers plenty of colors and lovely waterfronts thoughout the park. Be sure to stop by Cherokee, an Indian village.
Picture shot at a restaurent in Cherokee. The violet beans really caught my eye.




Happy fall color hunting and be sure to let me know if, you made it to the trip and your personal experience.

What2Watch4: Utsav 2007 - Presented by Nadanta Inc

Nadanta Inc, a non profit organization for performing arts, owned and operated by Chaula Thacker, presents UTSAV 2007, a festive celebration of India, this Saturday, the 18th of August, 2007, in Dearborn, MI.



Nadanta Inc, has been in existence since 1980 and Chaula Thacker's choreography has been lauded as 'Breathtaking' many a time. Nadanta's recent participation in FOGANA 2007 has won many prizes, including one for the best costumes. The costumes and the jewellery are very eloborate and the choreography aptly describes art in a very graceful style.


Utsav will showcase several dance performances primarily based on Indian Classical and folk style, by a well trained group of artists. The show will be held at the Ford Community & performing arts center, Dearborn, MI, at 7:30 PM on Saturday, August 18th, 2007.


For more information and tickets, contact 248-909-8224 OR 313-943-2354. Come visit the show and be part of a never-seen-before-experience.

What2Watch4 : The Bourne Ultimatum

The smashing 3-quel "The Bourne Ultimatum" is all set to hit the theatres this Friday (August 3rd 2007). If you have seen the earlier two movies, The Bourne Identity and the The Bourne Supremacy, you would agree about the smashing part. Both the movies stirred plenty of adrenalin rush with high-speed car chases, spy shooting, high profile crimes and kept the viewers at the edge of their seat.

The Bourne Ultimatum promises to not only keep the same edge but, also is being predicted to beat all the 3-quel releases this year (Shrek, Pirates, Spidey so on). For those who have not seen the earlier ones here is a 100,000 feet synopsis. I am sure you could still watch The Bourne Ultimatum and not feel lost about not watching the earlier two. Of course, rent those DVDs. They are so worth the movie-watching experience.

Story from Bourne Identity and Supremacy: Jason Bourne, a sharp assassin/spy fails a mission and looses memory, although glimpses of his memory keep coming back and forth. While trying to find answers to his misty past, he tries to live a normal life, finds the love of his life and moves to Goa, India. The corrupted CIA assassin department sees a threat in Jason and tries to kill him. They chase him down wherever he goes. How he escapes their attacks and unearths the secrets of CIA, is part of the first two films. He looses his lady love in The Bourne Supremacy.

In "The Bourne Ultimatum" Jason still is the central point and he is being flashed by his returning memory in parts and while he gets to know how he became a trained assassin, he poses quite a danger to CIA. I guess the plot is more or less the same, with Jason trying to get back to his life after loosing his lady, but, the CIA does not let him rest. What interests me is how well the Jason series is crafted. Besides, the films have been shot extensively in Paris, India, Moscow, New York, Madrid.... so, you get a world tour as well for $10.

So, grab that popcorn and be sure to hit the theatres this weekend.

Indian ethnic clothing in Michigan

Do you often feel that you are stuck wearing clothes from the same cookie cutter? Do you feel you have recycled all your clothes several times for various parties and occasions and wait for that trip to India when you could come back with a brand new wardrobe?

Well, I am one among you too. I used to patiently wait for two years to get that wardrobe remixed from India but, now since I moved to Michigan, I have been quite pleased.

Michigan has a few Indian clothing stores who carry our favorite clothes in all styles.

Bombay boutique - This is based out of Farmington hills, MI and they specialize in Indian designer wear. As the name suggests, their designers are based out of Bombay and cater to various styles of clothing such as, Bridal wear, Casual wear, Kurtis to go fashionably on your jeans and the likes. Check out their website for more details. A 20% off sale is running right now so, rush your orders and be soon to be dressed to kill.

Bombay Boutique website

Contact number: 248 488 9050

Smooth Jazz Fest - June 22, 23 and 24 of 2007 @ Southfield

Kick start your summer with the exquisite Smooth Jazz Fest. V98.7 is back with a bang for this year's smooth jazz festival at the Southfield Civic Center, just walking distance for some of us working in Southfield. Enjoy your evening with the wonderful Smooth Jazz music and let your senses be alive.

The interesting line up starts this friday (22nd June 2007) with

Kimmie Horne

Urban Jazz Coalition

Paul Taylor and Regina Belle until 9PM

Then the inevitable Jazz Attack with Rick Braun, Richard Elliot, Jonathan Butler and Peter White at 9:20PM. What more could you ask for, on a fine summer evening? The gates open at 4PM, rush to get your spot reserved.

Saturday's (23rd June 2007) line up includes

Nelson Rangell with a special guest Philippe Saisse

Spyro Gyra and Brenda Russell.

On the sax we will have Jeff Kashiwa, Kim Waters and Steve Cole.

Our all time favorite, Dave Koz will feature at 9:15PM with David Benoit, Phil Perry and Kelly Sweet.

Gates open early at 2:30PM. So, stroll around Southfield, grab a bite to eat and sit back to enjoy the music making waves around Southfield.

Sunday's (24th June 2007) line up includes,

Lin Rountree

Kelly Sweet

Our versatile 98.7 radio host Alexander Zonjic with James Lloyd, Rippingtons ft. Russ Freeman and India.Arie.

I am soooooo there on all the 3 days.

The jazz fest is held

On The Green, Southfield Civic Center

Evergreen Road & Civic Center Drive (south of I-696)

Southfield, Michigan

More information and tickets can be found at their website.

America's got talent: Pakistani moves

A 23 year old Pakistani lad named Kashif Memon made his way into the Chicago auditions for America's got talent. 'What is your act?' asked one of the judges and he says ' I am going to perform on the bollywood music, like dancing'. Does he think his talent is worth the million dollars (The prize money for America's got talent winner)? His humble answer, "Yes, if everybody love my dance"!

So here goes this innocent looking boy impersonating a Hritik Roshan on the song 'Ek pal ka jeena....' and tried hard with his moves. While the boy's moves were not outstanding, he was very entertaining, and of course props to him to have been bold enough to try performing a Bollywood song on America's got talent. It was indeed hilarious.

The judges comments varied from "you have the most incredible dance moves I have seen" to "Are there different types of dances or only one" to "I think you mesmerized the audience" and he is shooooooooo in to the Las Vegas follow-up on the show.

While I personally think that his moves do not deserve 1 million dollars or even pass this audition, the show needs some variety and he is in like a breeze. I am curious to see what he comes up with at the Las Vegas auditions. I hope he saves himself some embarassment.

Other contestants included a group of martial arts dancers who floored the judges, the audience and myself. A Boy Shakira who impersonated Shakira with his belly moves, no comments on this one.
IT HAPPENS ONLY IN AMERICA FOLKS !

America's got talent airs on NBC on Tuesdays at 8/7 C. If you want to catch an encore of this episode, watch NBC on this Saturday (06/23/2007) at 8/7 C.

Stay tuned !

Music review: Awarapan

Mahesh Bhatt's Vishesh films set out to release 'Awarapan' on the 29th of June, 2007 and will be featured at our very own Indian threatre in Novi , MI. Directed by Mohit Suri, this film revolves around a love story under a mafia/human trafficking umbrella.The music is quite nice and is composed by few talented artists like Mustafa Zahid, Annie, Rafaquat Ali Khan and is directed by Pritam Chakraborty. I personally like Pritam's music for its contemporary style.

The album features 4 original tracks and few remix versions.

Toh Phir Aao - Original, lounge version, remix

This song is composed and sung by Mustafa Zahid himself and is the loveliest of all the tracks in the album. Although a sad love ballad, the vocals are strong and ask for an encore presentation. Sayeed Quadri provided the lyrics for this beautiful song which places itself thrice in the album with a lounge version and a remix by DJ Suketu

Tera Mera Rishta - Original, remix

Another song composed and sung by Mustafa Zahid again is an upbeat song. The remix version is presented by DJ Suketu.Lyrics are written by Sayeed Quadri

Mahiya - Original, remix

Mahiya is quite a trendy track composed by Annie. The original version is sung by Suzanne and the remix version is sung by Annie herself. The song is very very reggae and will have the listener glued to the beats.Lyrics are written by Sayeed Quadri and Asif Ali Beig.

Maula Maula

A sufi style presentation by Rafaquat Ali Khan, who composed and sang it too. An average song for the album. The lyrics are written by Sayeed Quadri and Asif Ali Beig.

Although, the album is not going to ride high on the charts, it does meet a chord or two in you with Toh phir aao and Mahiya. Emran Hashmi is notorious as a kisser-boy on screen and believe it or not, most of his films have tasted some level of success at the box office. Few weeks of wait will tell how this movie does with our detroit desi wallahs.

Write your thoughts to us.

What2Watch4: Sivaji - The Boss

Detroit Desi Cinema is presenting a premiere of the much awaited movie Shivaji - The boss, allowing viewers to reserve their group bookings. For more information visit detroitdesicinema

The premiere is scheduled for today June 14th 2007.

So if, you are one of those Rajnikanth fans who would not mind giving your right hand to watch a movie, even before it hits the theatres, this is the opportunity for you.
The premiere is for both the Telugu and Tamil audience.

Music is composed by none other than AR Rahman and is already at the top of the Tollywood charts. Directed by S Shankar with a star cast including Rajinikanth, Shriya Saran, Prakash Raj, Vivek and Suman in lead roles and Nayantara, Manivannan, Raghuvaran and Shankar in supporting cast.

The plot of the film deals with our educational system and how commercial the industry is and how unaffordable it is for a common man. The political influence on the academic industry is portrayed and the word on the street is that this would be a huge success.