Cricket World Cup victory sweeps Bollywood

India's victory over Sri Lanka in the cricket world cup last week has brought a sense of euphoria over the country. And not just the masses - even Bollywood celebrities have been tweeting and commentating on tv channels like NDTV over the last couple of days.

Even Bollywood legend Amitabh Bachchan, said he believed that there is no greater unifier in the country than cinema and cricket.

His recent blog post from yesterday stated:

"A prominent author and thinker on a public platform admitted that sport and film were the two most fertile ingredients in bringing a nation together. Nothing could be truer. They always were and shall always be, a unifier." ... The Big B

Celebrities around India including the 68-year-old megastar, sent congratulatory messages to Sachin Tendulkar and the Indian team. Along with other Bollywood celebs, the took to the streets of Mumbai on Saturday night to celebrate after the epic victory.

Some of the famous tweets during the 2011 Cricket World Cup by celebs:

Amitabh Bachchan:
INDIA beats PAKISTAN !!! Moves into the final with SriLanka .. India breathes normally now..

Vivek Oberoi:
Wow! What a victory Fans are stopping cars and dancing on the streets! It's bhangra time baby!!!! Burrrrraaaaahhhhh!!!! Chak de! Fans in chandigarh going crazy!!! Mad celebrations on the roads!!!

Bipasha Basu:
Hey al!Am in Orrcha in MP fr d shoot of my film Singularity!Yesterday d match ws simply AWESOME!Now nothin wil stop us frm getting the Cup!

Mallika Sherawat:
I can't believe I wasn't in Mother India when her boys won!! How crazy was it?? Jai Hind!!! :-)

Preity Zinta:
What a game! It was a pleasure 2 see the crowd at Mohali stadium come alive & cheer 4 India. Go India ! Sachin U rock :-) Ting !

Shahid Kapoor:
This is how we do it baby!!!!!! THAT was the match!!!!!!!! Yeah baby...

Shilpa Shetty:
Felt bad fr Afridi tho,his reaction after the last ball, well played by Riaz too...Hard luck, but Respect:) INDIA WON..n I cried!:)tears of joy!Class act by the indian team,aggression with maturity,lethal combo!Deserve 2 b in the Finals,fab job:)

Priyanka Chopra:
Well played Pakistan. You guys are formidable opponents. Be proud of what you've achieved this world cup. Oh my god! What a show of class Team India! The world cup awaits you in Mumbai! Can you hear the unified sound of pure joy.. Indiiiiiiiaaaa

The atmosphere in Mumbai is still quite electric and one shudders to think how sad the moment would have been had the Indian team not delivered for their country on Saturday. Surprisingly though, early reports have it that the Indian bookmakers made somewhat of a windfall as most bet on cricket world cup were actually in favour of Sri Lanka! Just goes to show that online gambling in India attracts quite a superstitious bunch, doesn't it!

One hopes that this positive momentum for the Indian Cricket team continues after the departure of coach Gary Kirsten after the tournament. Given the comments of players on the squad he will surely be missed.

Finally, congrats to Sachin Tendulkar for finally collecting the World Cup - the final missing accolade from his impressive cricketing shelf. After six appearances in the tournament over the last couple of decades, he deserves it!

UK Election update

Ah, now as you can see I've taken a nice long break from writing. Actually I've moved this blog to another site. In any case just thought I'd log on here to see if there were any comments over the last year that I didn't respond to!

I'm currently in the UK and the election vibe is certainly on. Well, I think more people are looking forward to the afterparty this evening than the actual voting! If you have had any difficulty deciding who to vote for I think it's probably best you check out this South Africa news blog's latest cartoon post. The UK election jokes are a hoot and give a summary of each and every political party and their stance in comic format - very cool!

I just hope that people actually vote this year - if voter apathy is high at this point in the UK economy, then I don't know if they can ever be stimulated enough to get to the polls. This election is critical for the Brits for more reasons than just economic.

As for me, you will have noticed that I am no longer making Bollywood Nights cartoons. My day journalism job is keeping me fully occupied for now. I hope to start again soon though ... can't promise when but will keep you posted. Right now, I'm just enjoying my temporary stint in the UK but already looking forward to going back to India!

Time Out

Just a quick note to let you all know I'm taking a break from blogging as I've just started a full time job last week. It's going to be rough going for the first while so I'm not sure when I'll be able to resume the Bollywood Nights cartoon strip - hopefully soon though.

It's been great fun surfing!

New Year, New Mumbai

After the terror crisis in Mumbai last year, it was inevitable for most people involved to take stock of their lives and think about what is really important for them on a number of different levels. I was no exception to this - there's nothing quite like being caught up in the trauma of a city under siege - especially one the size of Mumbai, to get you thinking about goals.

The reason for the break in the blog since last year was largely because I decided to spend some time back in South Africa with my loved ones. I don't think I've ever been so glad to be reconnected with my parents, siblings and friends. Not too long ago when a friend of mine was caught up in the terrorist attacks in London, he experienced something similar. I now fully appreciate the magnitude of the experience and while I would not wish it on anybody, I am certainly grateful for the chance it's given me to reflect.

I'm returning to Mumbai shortly to continue some studies in the journalism field. I will also be continuing making cartoons for the cartoon blog looking after the Bollywood Nights strip - probably not as frequently as I was before but continuing on it nonetheless.

I'm not sure what it's going to be like to go back to Mumbai - I imagine things will have settled down a lot by now and normal life resumed as expected. I will keep you posted once I arrive back in Mumbai next week. All the very best for the New Year and look forward to a fun year ahead!

Mumbai post terror

Things are settling down and things are getting back to 'normal'. The fear is still around and people are visibly more cautious than they were before. At least there is a firm sense of accountability that I didn't really experience in South Africa. From celebrities not wanting to be associated with fear mongering and plugging themselves to the people of India basically standing up and saying the government is to blame for the poor security and this needs to be addressed as a matter of urgency.

The police force are no where near as well-equipped as the the force in the UK after their tube terror attack a couple of years back. They are definitely more visible in terms of presence but in terms of effectiveness... a lot of work is needed.

Mumbai terror attacks

So this has not been the best week of my experience in Mumbai - the city is in a mess and mood is dire. I remember my friends who were in London and the US during the time of their mass terror attacks and it all came home for me right here.

Fortunately I am living some distance away from the Taj, Oberoi etc but rest assured the mood has not been confined to just that area. Mumbai is definitely resilient but some proactive preventative measure need to be put in place so this kind of thing can be avoided. Security is way to lax here compared with the UK.

The media of course in true media fashion have tried to get celebrities to comment on the disaster hoping to bait additional viewers etc. None have been so blatant to speak out against this as the megstar himself, Amitabh Bachchan in his blog. The media have been pestering him with calls and smses trying to get him to comment and he has flatly refused and reprimanded the press for their behaviour.

The mood in Mumbai will still be pretty somber over the next few days. A friend of mine's father in law passed away as a result of the gunfire in the attack so have been spending some time with her. Not really in the mood for making cartoons about Bollywood stuff at the moment but will be back on soon.

Prayers and best wishes to all Mumbaites - Jai Hind!

Patience please!

Not in Bollywood with the celebrities I know but please be patient as I transfer my posts from my old blog to the new one hosted on blogger :) I should have everything uploaded here by the end of next week!

Then I'm off to Ooty for a week to take a much need break before I cover the film festival in Dubai