Comic #91: Phantom - Prapat ka Rahasya (Hindi)

Ah, some of the regulars reappear just as they vanished. Welcome back.

I know it is the end of the day here in India but there are a few more hours to go in other parts of the world. Today was the day when Gandhiji was assassinated. He is a favourite punching bag for many, and we can question his decisions and his actions all we like. But his conviction is beyond doubt, his self-belief beyond compare and his ability to stay the course has never been displayed by anyone after him.

Also want to take the opportunity to wish Motku on his Happy Birthday. And Motku, some fantastic work in Q3 of 2005. Congratulations on your award.

Location: Wamba Falls Inn
Time: Some time after 9
It all begins when 2 gold miners, Pete and Ike, after a lot of digging for many many days, find a lot of gold and check into the hotel. They take a shower, have a sumptuous dinner and a merry drink, and retire to their rooms for a good night's sleep. In the morning, Ike is missing. His partner, Pete, approaches the Jungle Patrol for help. While the Jungle Patrol colonel tries to think how to solve this case, he gets a note which says "CO. JP., Send patrolman disguised as miner to investigate Wamba Inn. Commander, JP."

What happened to Ike? Will Patrolman Smythe find anything at Wamba Falls Inn? And who is this Commander??

Read on. This story is in Hindi. The English version was posted on 26-Apr-05.

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P.S: I think Gandhiji, as a person, as a concept, grows on you as you grow older.

Comic #90: Phantom - The Mysterious Toy

So many thanks for the response on my "review" of Rang De Basanti. It wasn't quite a review I guess, more of a synopsis, but I will take another shot at writing something like this if the opportunity presents itself. But more than the "quality" of the review, I think it is important to note that this was the FIRST-EVER review of the movie ANYWHERE posted at 2 AM on 26th January. Ok this is childish.

A correction on Zaheer Khan (that he doesn't have an endorsement yet), I saw him with Irfan Pathan in an ad. The rest of the stuff I wrote remains the same, including "Get the hell out of my team".

Don't worry about Sania, she's my pet punching bag. She will give many more opportunities to dampen our hopes (not mine...coz I have none) and the hype, and you will read about it here.

Another piece of news was Narain Karthikeyan as the 2nd test driver in the Williams F1 team. Tata is the main Indian sponsor, and he obviously got a paid seat. After a patchy performance in 2005 where though he was seen as a good driver, he was more known for "spectacular driving" that ended up with him not reaching the finish line. Hope 2006 is a good year for him though I am sure he won't make it too far - he can't adapt to his surroundings (read - milk the car and hit the sweet spot). It is the kind of sport where unless a driver has extraordinary talent, he has to first prove that he can finish races and ride the car (rather than the car riding him). Sorry Narain - I am sure you are good. Just not good enough. Prove me wrong please.

Desiguru brought up the topic of Smoking in Films (see his comments on the RDB review) - I will try to post my thoughts as soon as I can. In a nutshell, I believe any form of censorship is a means of exercising control and nothing else. Smoking kills, yes, but fools who watch films and take up smoking, deserve to go up in smoke. Don't blame the filmmaker because although a cigar-chomping Sunjubaba may look cool on screen, the cigarette is usually used to reflect the negative. Smoking being used to reflect negatives being wrong is a different topic altogether. Ask any smoker :-)

Now the comic: The Mysterious Toy (10 pages) and then a story on the Jungle Patrol. Enjoy the weekend. Btw, a lot of our regulars seem to have vanished. Kidhar ho bhai?

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