Chukkalo Chandrudu (2006) - Telugu Movie Review

Ranking: 3.5/5


Cast: Siddarth, Saloni, Charmi, Sada, ANR, Sunil
Director: Shiva Kumar
Music: Chakri

Arjun (Siddarth) an NRI from Germany raised by his grandparents comes back to India in search of a match due to persistence from his grandfather (ANR). His grandfather moves to India from Germany to force his grandson to find a suitable bride. But Arjun does not believe in arranged marriage and decides to choose his wife from three of his childhood friends when he lived in India.

Girl #1: Shalini (Saloni), an ace tennis player (something like Sania Mirza). Pretty, smart, witty and fun. Her father (Pratap Pothan) is her coach and is very dedicated to see her make it to Wimbeldon.
Girl #2: Sandhya (Charmi), a PhD student with a revolutionist mind. She is brave and speaks her mind out.
Girl #3: Shravani (Sada), a medical student from a middle class background with a very soft nature. She is illtreated by her family and struggles to keep herself and her sick grandmother afloat.

The problem is Arjun is not sure whom he loves as he likes all three of them. He changes his name to Krishna, his attire to match the personalities of the three girls and also his profession. He does not want any of them to be prejudiced, or have any attachments. Arjun's discussions with his friend Puppy (Sunil) about choosing the three girls is very funny and brings in the comical moments in the film.

The rest of the film is pretty simple and even predictable...Whom does Arjun choose? What happens to the other two girls? The comedy, the songs, the sentiments, et al...

The movie has a very simple plot, good comedy and acting which makes it worth the $5 I spent for watching it.

Siddarth's telugu is a little different but I am happy that he speaks his dialogues...Saloni is the only source of any exposure with her tennis outfits...So the movie is clean...Charmi plays a very intense women always having her face all screwed up...and Sada a very docile girl with a sad look on her face all the time. Saloni and Charmi seem okay next to Siddarth but Sada looks a tad too old or mature for him. ANR does not need any special mention as he has been-there-done-it so many times and he has earned all accolades. He is just perfect for his role.

The music is okay but I was searching for the forward button in my remote on many occasions. Some dialogue seems excessive and could have been shortened and the same applies to the length of the movie.

Do watch the movie with friends and family as you need some sort of entertainment when it starts to drag ;)

Who/What are Best Friends?

A friend of mine asked me the above question when I was talking to him about A Best Friend of mine.

Over the past few years I have accumulated few best friends but I was bowled over when someone asked me to define best friends. Apparently none of my friends I was with that night had any best friends...Well all of them were guys...So I think it is a girl thing to have best friends.

Anyhoo, here is how I define my best friends:

• They are my friends whom I know for so long that they would always be friends who I have known longer than other friends I have made in the recent years.
• They are those who know everything about me,
• Those with whom I don't have to explain myself,
• Those who love me no matter what,
• Those whom I don't have to impress,
• Those with whom I can be myself,
• Those who will always be there for me,
• Those with whom I can discuss anything irrespective of their sex,
• And above all, I am what I am today partly because of their influence in my life...

etc...

and the list goes on...

Is there a difference between friends and best friends? I know not...As I really don't think I differentiate much at a surface level...Maybe at a deeper level there is more connection with a best friend and I do not see anything wrong in that...Just because someone is just a friend does not mean I do not love them...

Did this make sense? Gosh! Too much thinking on a Friday evening...

At the very end, It is just life. Something on which we as mortals have no control on. As much as we think we are smart and intelligent we really don't have control on anything happening around us...Well almost. When the times comes...We leave...Nobody asks us if we want to leave or if we would rather stay longer...We are gone from the face of earth surviving as memories in the minds of loved ones...

Okay...I was reading Fosix's blog about locker rooms in gym's and remembered my own first experience in one...

Location: Kansas State University Natatorium
Scene: Locker Room
Characters: Roomie and Me

Me: This is cool...So many lockers...Ok where do I change?

Roomie placing her stuff neatly on the bench...
Roomie: Here

Me still holding my bag...
M: Here? Well there should be some room...

Roomie Stripping
R: Nope...Here...

M: I am not doing this...Can't strip in public.

Roomie looks around and looks at me...
R: I don't see anybody else in this row.

M: Doesn't make a difference...It is not private...

Roomie kindly...
R: I felt the same way too darling...But this is America and these things are cool...Just go on the other side and change quickly before anyone comes...Take a couple of big towels if you are shy...Now go on...We should go and get our lanes before someone else gets to it...

Reluctantly I left, changed and walked back to her in my suit and a towel wrapped around my waist...

M: Okay I need to shower before I dive into the pool...Where is one?

R: Actually...Lot of people don't care...But if you want you can go around the wall...

M: I ain't going without you...

So we both head for the pool...Swim for an hour or more and exhausted we come back to change...Once again I am reminded of the rows of lockers between which we need to change with no such thing as privacy...Sorry but I am a Desi...That too a south Indian one...

M: Pre showers can be avoided but post ones...Are important for my skin...

R: Totally agree with you...Did you bring you shampoo and soap?

M: Right here...

And we marched into a shower what looked like a public bath...Imagine a rod that has four shower heads and a partition in the shape of X permitting four people to take shower at a time...No privacy...I froze...

M: To hell with my skin...I am waiting outside for you...I am in no mood to see naked women...

I walked out fast focusing on the floor...and heard my roomie laughed at me before she stepped in...

Hahaha! That was five years ago...and even today I am a little apprehensive about locker rooms...At this 24 Hr Gym of mine...I still focus on the floor when I walk in to change in the handicap change room still avoiding public stripping...I am not interested in seeing naked women and that is very reassuring...

The killer is my British boss thinks that Americans are very conservative because men and women in her gym step into the jacuzzi in their swim suits...and she wanted ME to relate to it!!!

Bluffmaster (2006) - Hindi Movie Review

Ranking: 2/5

Cast: Abhishek Bachan, Ritesh Desai, Priyanka Chopra, Bomman Irani, Nana Patekar
Director: Rohan Sippy
Music: Vishal & Shekar

It was bloody cold outside for once in Dallas...Just as spring started last week the cold decided it would visit us at least once and blasted us with icy wind and freezing rain...Since it was an indoor weekend we rented Bluffmaster...Total bad decision...Three hours of a wonderful day lost in watching this movie...

I have always had a sixth sense that makes me avoid crappy Hindi movies...Like Neal n Nikki, Salam Namaste, Zinda, Family, and so many more...But I think my sixth sense was on vacation yesterday and so here is the review...

Roy (Abhi) is a con man who gets rich cheating everyone. He is considered to be one of the best and smartest in his industry (ha!). He chooses to become a conman because he wants to do everything and not just one thing...Like be a doctor or an engineer or a mechanic...Based on his choice...A worthy reason indeed. So anyway the hero proceeds to get engaged to his girl friend Simmy (Priyanka), of six months who knows nothing about his profession...On his engagement he gets exposed and the engagement is cancelled.

Roy distraught starts following Simmy everywhere trying to change his life and become a nice guy...But keeps bumping into Dittu (Ritesh) who is a small time thief. Over the course of time Roy starts developing constant headaches and faints often and on one such occasion Dittu helps him out and takes him to Dr. Bhalerao (Bomman) who diagnoses Roy with some kind of cancer in the brain.

Roy freaks out and goes and tells his to Simmy who throws a deaf ear to his plight. Dittu adopts Roy as his guru and starts following Roy learning the tricks of the trade from the Best. Roy now knows that his days are numbered to a maximum of 90...and wanting to do a good deed agrees to help Dittu to avenge the man who put his father in a mental hospital...aka Chandru (Nana).

Now Nana as usual is a scary person doing scary things and saying corny/scary dialogues...Roy and Dittu plot to cheat him out of five crores...How do they accomplish it? Yup...Go and see the movie...

Ok as I said in my intro...The movie is boring but for the last song rapped by Abhi...Everything else about this movie is boring...Ritesh trying to do a Arshad Warsi...Bomman Irani...Nothing new...Priyanka...Same old pretty lass...Abhi...Ya fine...If my dad was the biggest star in India then eventually (after 10 flops) I would also start acting...But still cannot carry a movie solely on his shoulder...In all the movie is very below average...With Abhi, Ritesh, and Rohan still riding on the popularity of their parents...

For starters try thinking about a novel story...and please even if you want to remake old ones...Let the screenplay not bore the viewers...Pace is really important even you want to repeat old movies...No thanks for trying and better luck next time...

It was cold this weekend...Well it was colder elsewhere in the country...But for our standards...It was COLD! Saturday was like 16 deg F...and so was Sunday...Freezing rain and icing...All bad things with accidents happened...Thank God I was spared...

We bought a new vacuum cleaner this weekend, I bought two pairs of shoes, met all my close friends in Dallas this weekend...Slept a lot...Relaxed...Ate Desi restaurant food...and it was fun! And all this makes MONDAY a BAD-DAY...It was so hard for me to get my ass out of bed to get here to work!

I got to see Bluffmaster...Sorry movie...I will write the review today during lunch in my Chennai-talkies blog... But honest opinion...You are better off seeing Iqbal than this bore...

This is a random first-day-of-the-week blog...So excuse me...Will pick up speed by the end of day!!!

As always with Love
Anu

When I was in school back in India...I would read a lot of poetry or short stories in school which were written by "Anonymous"...For a very long time I thought Anonymous was the name of the author of the poem...and that he was really cool as there were so many written by him! And that Anon was his nick name!

I was soooooo Smart...

Arinthum Ariyamalum (2005) - Tamil Movie Review

Ranking: 4/5

Cast: Navdeep, Prakash Raj, Arya, Krishna
Director: Vishnuvardhan
Music: Yuvan Shankar Raja

Refreshing is one word to describe this movie. Navdeep, a brahmin boy raised in Tirunelveli area moves to Chennai to pursue engineering. Before he leaves for Chennai he gets smitten by a girl he sees on the streets of his village dressed in pavadai thavani.

Navdeep moves in with Krishna who is an aspiring actor and a village acquaintance. Through his friend he meets Samiksha, the girl he had seen in his village...As she is a part of Krishna's drama troupe. They start hanging out together and become sort of friends.

In the meantime Navdeep crosses lines with Arya who is the son of Prakash Raj, a don. Arya murders a man in front of Navdeep's. During another encounter he shoots Samiksha in her leg while she intercepts a bullet aimed for someone else. Navdeep enraged with Arya registers himself as a witness against Arya with the ACP who is dying to arrest Prakash Raj and his son.

Prakash Raj invites Navdeep home to request him to withdraw the complaint. He tells him that he would have killed anybody else but since Navdeep is young and has a bright future ahead of him he is letting him go with a warning. Undeterred Navdeep does not withdraw his complaint. Prakash Raj enraged asks his henchmen to kill Navdeep as the ACP arrests Arya and beats him up in jail.

Prakash Raj learns that Navdeep is his own blood, his son, while he is performing devasham for his wife. He regrets his decision and calls his men off Navdeep. Here there is a small flash back of young Prakash Raj and an explanation of who Arya really is. From then on Prakash Raj along with Arya set on the trail of Navdeep trying to convince him to accept them as family. Navdeep is very much against both Prakash Raj and Arya befriending him and disowns them everytime they chase him......Do they succeed or not? You have to see the movie for that.

I love the movie, the songs, the protagonists, the comedy...Everything. I strongly suggest you watch this...and is perfect for a Saturday afternoon after lunch lying down with chai in one hand...ah! Perfect...

Random Thoughts

Once again the scene is me cooling down on the bicycle in my gym. I am tired, bored, and totally unfocused just like my thoughts. Random thoughts led to random thoughts which led to further random thoughts and I started laughing out loud much to my embarrassment!

Anyway...The thought was about the day my best friend and I got hit by her mother. For privacy of my best friend let me call her D. D got a call from her then boy friend who wanted to meet her at the ice cream shop adjacent to her apartment in Besant Nagar. I was staying with D at the time as it was a weekend and we spent our weekends together. D and I ran down in ten minutes dressed and looking nice... This would not have made her mom raise eyebrows on a usual day...But it was past 10.00pm and her mother thought it was funny that we wanted ice cream so late in the evening.

Unaware of aunty's suspicion both of were 'putting kadalai' with her boyfriend R and his friend. It was fun for like ten minutes until aunty walked in, bought a toothpaste in the neighboring medical shop and gave us dirty looks and went. D and I took it easy and spent ten more minutes before walking away sadly sitting eating our icecream.

Not expecting anything to happen we knocked on the door...D's mom opened the door and a tight slap landed on D's face. I was shocked. I kept my mouth shut and waited patiently for the tirade between D and her mom to get over. D a smart girl, told her mom that meeting our friends (remember D's mom does not know about D's boyfriend) was accidental and that she should not get angry if we suddenly met someone and said a causal hi or hello. D's mom was smarter and did not buy the story and gave her one more tight slap...

I have seen too many Tamil movies and I had to be the good friend as I could not see D getting more slaps...I gave aunty a dialogue..."en friend mela kai vetkara vela ellam vetchikadhinga" (loosely translated: don't you dare beat my friend)...and bang came the reply..."I will beat your friend and I will beat you also...Now let me go and call your mother..."

Panicking I ran and caught aunty just before she started dialing the number and told her politely, "please beat D some more if you want but don't call my mother and all..." and when I turned to look at D she mouthed "Drogi" (traitor) and three of us broke out laughing loudly. While we finished the rest of our ice cream D's mom briefed us our rules if we wanted to stay at her home. What was more funny to us was that we had broken almost everyone of them!!!

Curling - A Sport? Or a Joke?

I was in the gym yesterday evening struggling to get past the thirty minute mark on the elliptical when I noticed this sport - Curling...It is a professional sport that is recognized by the Winter Olympics!!! Ok here is the official definition from the official Olympic page:

Curling originated in the 16th century in Scotland, where games were played during winter on frozen ponds, lochs and marshes. The earliest-known curling stones came from the Scottish regions of Stirling and Perth and date back to 1511. The earliest reports of curling came from Paisley Abbey, Scotland, in 1541. In the early days of the sport, stones were taken from river bottoms. In the 1600s, stones with handles were introduced, allowing a delivery style similar to what is used today key developments in the sport in the 20th century have been the standardisation of the stone and the use of indoor, refrigerated ice facilities.Curling for men was included in the programme in 1924

Have any of you seen it? It is like playing shuffle board on ice...Like with big puck and brooms instead of sand!!! I was so amazed...I think Curling should be limited to Dave and Busters and or in your backyard pond and making it an Olympic sport only qualifies Kho-Kho, Running and catching, hide and seek and others as Pro games as they also have their origins in the B.C (I think??).

Other than a few events like, racing, skiing, snowboarding, luge...All other events seem to be fabricated for a sheer need to add events to the Great Sporting Event. And what is funnier...There are two guys who are actually discussing about the nuances of curling!!! It is so hilarious and reminded me of the Dodgeball movie and the dodgeball episode in SouthPark...

Dishyum (2006) - Tamil Movie Review

Ranking: 4.5/5

Cast: Jeeva, Sandhya, Nasser
Director: Sasi
Music: Vijay Anthony

Be prepared. This might be a long review. I really enjoyed this movie and so might just talk a bit more than usual...

Bhaskar (Jeeva) a movie stuntman bumps into Cinthiya (Sandhya) because of his friends. Their meeting is very casual and he forgets her immediately. The next time Sandhya meets him she revives his memory and they become platonic friends.

Cinthiya sees all the trouble Bhaskar has to go through in his profession and sympathizes him. Once while she advises him to get smart or get married before everyone take advantage of him Bhaskar asks her to marry him. But Cynthia says that she has no feelings for him and he is just a friend. Bhaskar starts developing love for her in his heart and starts day dreaming (which means songs!).

Getting frustrated that he has love-feelings for her inside him while calling her a friend outside Bhaskar decides to get married to some girl. On his way to see the girl Cynthia stops him and asks Bhaskar to wait...If he can convince her then she will marry him...Bhaskar takes on the challenge and starts impressing her in the only way he knows...In spite of everything Bhaskar does Cynthia finds fault before she apologizes to him always...In short in more circumstances than one she finds him embarrassing.

Cynthia looses her father (Nasser) while he was fighting a fire leaving her and her mother to fend for themselves. Bhaskar realizes that Cynthia was lucky not to have fallen in love with him as he would have also put her life through torture with her worrying if he will come back safely everyday from shooting or not...They break off and stop seeing each other...

Cynthia gets engaged through her mother to get married shortly. Does Cynthia get back with Bhaskar, what happens next forms the rest of the story.

Simple story...Vijay, Ajith, why even our Rajnikanth has done such movies...Poor dude falling in love with a girl beyond their status...But trust me this movie has a different approach. Everything is natural...The hero does not become rich in the last scene...Neither does he posses superhuman strength killing villains...No opposition from parents (well not as in other movies at least)...The hero remains where he was before he fell in love with his heroine...That is the difference.

Neither does the heroine fall in love with there hero at first sight. She also analyzes her situation from a practical eye rather than romantic (filmy) vision. The hero is a plain and simple guy...In other words a tough guy to fall in love with...That is best part...The director actually proves to us why Cynthia fell in love with Bhaskar...There is actually a reason unlike other movies...Vijay gives a power dialogue and Asin falls in love with a mechanic in Sivakasi...How many rich girls have done that??!!! Annoying!

The dialogues are very effective...Some of them made me think...The story is very honest...The acting is also just perfect. Sandhya has an effective way of portraying herself without overdoing her role. Jeeva is a hero with power backing...But he unlike many others started doing well after his third movie...Did not take too many chances before he could finally be called an Actor. The comedy track in this movie is provided by the small man (Amitabh)...He was hilarious and the his justification in the end touched me...Nasser as father and the 'Anni' lady as mother performed their roles with elan.

In all...I enjoyed watching this movie...The feel good factor is there...The humor is there...Can we watch it with family?? Well but for a couple of scenes...Why not?!...The dialogues are clean...The movie is good...So sit back, relax, and enjoy!

Now I know that I should not try to make anything beyond my desi (Indian) cuisine. Well ya…My Tiramisu attempt yesterday was a failure…Again!!!

Armed with all the Correct ingredients I started the process yet again…for fifteen minutes I toiled alone and then Girish (it was supposed to be a surprise)…joined in and helped me with the rest…We laid the layers…dipped the ladyfingers in the coffee liqueur…laid the mascarpone cheese mixture… It was all ready…Looked perfect with the cocoa topping…

That was until we ate it…We got a little enthusiastic about our Dipping…The whole thing smelled of Coffee Liqueur…strong…One bite and I was parched for the rest of the night…Girish got drunk over two small helpings…he complained it was bitter but still ate it…”as long there is alcohol,” he said…

Alas! My Tiramisu…stays in the fridge…alone…I don’t think we will ever revisit it before it visits the trash…But my mind is made up…I will perfect the art of making the perfect Tiramisu and overcome my culinary difficulties…

Asta la Vista Tiramisu…or maybe not!

Anand (2004) - Telugu Movie Review

Ranking: 4/5

Cast: Raja, Kamilini Mukherjee, Sathya, Anish Kuruvilla
Director: Sekhar Kammula
Music: K. M. Radhakrishnan

I like such feel good movies. You know the ending right from the beginning but you still watch it so that you can enjoy the sweet feeling in the end. Yes...It is one of those love stories that you have seen time and again presented to you with new protagonists in a new setting.

Roopa looses her family at a very young age in a car accident and struggles alone to make it in life. She takes the help of her grandmother living next door but stays alone in the same house where she lived with her parents.

She is engaged to marry Rahul her co-worker at office. Her decision for accepting the marriage was very practical. Rahul was rich, he liked her and she hoped that he would take care of her. She wanted security that she had never had in life after her parents passed away. Rahul on the other hand is ruled by his mothers whims and fancies. He is spineless and moments before the wedding he takes sides with his mother against Roopa. Roopa annoyed walks out of the hall.

Enter Anand, the son of the person who had killed Roopa's parents in the accident. Anand's father had lost his senses from the night of the accident and was at Hyderabad to witness Roopa's wedding and give her blessings. Anand overhears everything that happened between Roopa and her Fiance and decides that he is going to win her hand and help her.

Anand moves into the portion next to Roopa's and starts wooing her. Anand who is a multi-millionaire rich kid suffers through everything just to make Roopa fall in love with him. Small fights, big fights and then the climax...Do you have any doubt what is going to happen next? If you do...Then you have really not seen many Indian movies...

The music is pleasing, the acting is very convincing, the story is very comforting, relaxing, and entertaining. Hero Anand is very handsome and acts well too. He has a boyish charm at times and looks really mature at other times. Heroine Kamalini has also acted very well smiling through the movie, sometimes her eyes gave me scares though. Sathya as Roopa's best friend Anita steals the show in the movie with her smart ass comments bringing most of the lighter moments in the movie.

Like any romantic story this is really enjoyable to watch. The movie is for family viewing and thank God there is no violence in the movie.

Azhagiya Theeye (2005) - Tamil Movie Review

Ranking: 4.5/5

Cast: Prasanna, Navya Nair, Prakash Raj, Jaivarma, Bala, Kumaravel, M S Bhasker
Director: Radhamohan
Music: Ramesh Vinayagam

The story of how Chandran (Prasanna) and Nandini (Navya Nair) met and fell in love is narrated by Chandran's friends to Ramesh's fiancee.

Chandran, Balu, Ramesh, Chithapa, and one more person are friends who share a room in Kodambakkam while trying to make a name for themselves in the film industry. Nandini is the daughter of a big fish industrialist who wants to marry his daughter to Arvind (Prakash Raj) a software engineer from United States. But Nandini is against this marriage as she wants to be self dependent before she gets married. She approaches Ramesh for help in this issue who in turn leads her to Chandran the aspiring director.

Chandran meets Arvind sir and tells him that since he and Nandini are in love this marriage shouldn't take place. Arvind sir compassionate for the young lovers and understanding what Nandini's father will do he makes his own plans. Without consulting either Nandini or Chandran he arranges for their marriage at the Registrar's office. Nandini also accepts it without any resistance and so Chandran is also forced into it. Arvind sir also helps them by providing them with his house before he heads back to the United States.

Chandran and Nandini, opposites in character, start living together in the same house in different rooms. They blame each other for the situation they were in until a few hardships unite them as friends. After a brief struggle, Nandini gets a job in Bangalore and Chandran gets a chance at becoming a director. Will they be friends, married couple, or part ways??

There is a strong story line backed with superfast screenplay and amazing comedy. The actors have all done a very good job at portraying their characters. The four friends of Prasanna(Jaivarma, Bala, Kumaravel, M S Bhasker) are just too funny. Their comic timing along with Prasanna's has to be much appreciated. Navya Nair has done a decent job...But if you are the kind that appreciates beauty then sorry...She is like an old aunty with a big nose...Prakash Raj although in a cameo role leaves a lasting impression in the movie.

Compliments to the director and congrats to Prakash Raj's Duet Productions for making a second attempt at making movies in spite of Daya. The music is soft and enjoyable.

Do watch this movie...I have seen it three times and still love it!

Today, I noticed the most scariest thing...A wrinkle on my forehead. God knows how many of them are hiding waiting to pop out all over my face. Yes, it is now official that I am going to be twenty-eight with at least one wrinkle that I know of...It is scary...You would know what I am talking about if you were a girl...er...Lady...

Just the otherday I was seeing a programme on women who have had 20+ plastic surgery to look young and what-not and got scared by it...I always hoped that I would age gracefully...kinda like my mom...But now with all the pollution and work-tension I don't know if that will ever happen...I will be twenty-eight in the next few days and I already have silver lining on my head...At least five of them...I remember my mom had dark hair even when she was 40+.

Times have changed...Women no more sit in the house and lead a less-stress lifestyle. They are put to test at every turn they make...What are the chances that we will ever grow old gracefully?

A Friend in Memories - Nishanth Selvakumar

I still remember the first time I met him...He was shy and walked out of his room in his torn faded blue jeans and a grey tee. He smiled a lot but hardly said anything more than a "Hello," and walked back quickly into his room. He had just won some Mr. Something title at some fashion show the previous day.

I don't remember exactly when I met him after that but I do remember that we became friends. We fought like siblings and discussed 'stuff' like friends...It was easy. Through him and his brother I met his family and our families met and we became family friends!

Over the few years we got to know each other really well...I met him last in India the night before I flew to the United States. I gave him a hug and we promised each other that we would meet in the USA.

Well that never happens does it?? It was December 3rd, 2004 before I met him. We were so happy and excited...We just couldn't believe our eyes. But we spent only an hour or a little more than that. It felt so good. We spoke about everything from his tensions about his Dec. 27th engagement to our future plans like we always did. He was such a good listener and a great person to be with.

For about a year I was unemployed and lazing around at my parents when he and I would talk for hours at a stretch discussing each others girlfriend/boyfriend issues. Advicing each other about how to deal with our better halves...I followed almost everything he said. He was very matured and sensible when he wanted to be but a child at heart.

He always made it a point to keep in touch with everyone in my family, especially me and Balaji. We spoke over the phone at least once a month even after I got a job and moved over to Dallas. He kept promising me come and visit me during his spring break...But joked saying that he would rather be at Cancun with his friends than with me in Dallas...He was naughty as hell...

But today, nearly after a year since he left us to be in a better place...I still miss him. His innocent but charming face that I remember from the last time I met him is in front of my eyes. To me he has become an angel looking over all of us. I hope he is safe and happy wherever he is and pray that his family will get through the tough time...

(PS: Nishanth had asked me a couple of years ago to write about him for his website that he was planning to create. I never got around to doing it. I still feel guilty about it...I wish he would forgive me for that).