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Top 5 most clichéd and over used holi songs from Bollywood

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It is the end of Dilli’s bone-chilling winters and the beginning of the chubti-jalti garmi, and yes, Holi hai! The great Indian festival of colours is back with a splash and it’s time for dirty buckets full of gruesome concoctions, coupled with desi face painting. With a splash, old grudges and resentments are washed out. It’s also the time when our dearest television channels cash in on the festival, and have a field day broadcasting movie after movie on Holi, indirectly making us all spectators to the dance drama of white-sari clad heroines frolicking around daintily in gardens, avoiding the overly-masculine hero, with the background dancers gyrating in sync to perfectly timed and coordinated steps.

Holi is also the festival of forgiveness and a time to make amends, and according to our family friendly movie industry, the perfect time to indulge in the ecstasy of bhang and chase after the pretty girl. Over the years, Hindi movies have ensured that not a single popular festival is song-less and they seem to make them more and more clichéd over the years.

So here’s a list of the top 5 most clichéd and over used holi songs from various Bollywood movies over the ages:

Rang Barse – Silsila

The staple song for any Holi gathering; it is as typical as it can get. All-star ensemble cast, petals, bheegi chunris and plateful of colours with Big B chasing after his ex-flame Rekha with Mrs. Bacchan in the vicinity. Yeah, this would’ve definitely been the theme song for many love triangles looking for salvation back then.

Holi ke din – Sholay

Another Amitabh starrer, but has Dharmender dancing to impress Hema Malini. If you cannot forget the song, you also cannot forget Gabbar Singh asking his cronies in his characteristic style, “Holi…kab hai Holi”.

Aaj na chodenge – Kati Patang

This wonderful film starring Rajesh Khanna and Asha Parekh became a super hit in the year 1970. Adding to the success was this typically bhang-filled song, where Rajesh Khanna played the role of the quintessential hero, loving and quite obviously, teasing the heroine on Holi. Set in a rural setting, this song was definitely one for the masses.

Ang se ang lagana – Darr

The title says it all. This song looked more like a Tide ad than a music video and had a plethora of strange background dancers. Juhi Chawla looked pretty as ever. The only contrast was Shahrukh Khan as the obsessive lover boy.

Do me a favour let’s play holi – Waqt

Keeping the worst/best for last, this song had Anu Malik written all over it. Annoyingly nasal voice, funny dance moves, and a very awkward Akshay Kumar. This song was the mother of all holi songs when it came out in 2005.

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DU Dhaba

Food Review: Tee Dee, Majnu ka Tilla

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Now in DU, do as the DU kids do and explore!

So here is DUB bringing you one of its favourite Tibetan food joints which is definitely recommended for all the foodies out there!

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Location – (2/5)
This restaurant is located in the narrow streets of the famous Tibetan refugee settlement, ‘Majnu ka tilla’, which is close to both the Vidhan Sabha and Vishwavidyalya metro station. Accessibility can be slightly problematic due to the overcrowded roads and remoteness of the area. Students will have to shell out around 30-40 bucks for their rickshaw ride!

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Ambience – (3.5/5) The place is fit to comfortably accommodate over 40 people, and has a bright and sunny feel to it. The food joint is done up in a traditional Buddhist manner with loads of laughing Buddhas and dragons staring at you as you eat. The place can safely be referred to as ‘a small chunk of Tibet’ in the busy metropolitan of Delhi.

Menu – (4/ 5) The menu comprises of your everyday Chinese and Tibetan dishes; with their momos, noodles and thukpa being the crowning glory. Variety of Tibetan dishes like the Gyuma (fried sausages), Shabhaley (fried momos) and Thentuk (noodles with soup) are Tee Dee’s speciality. Their steamed bread and special apple beer can be a good companion to your meal.

Service – (3/ 5) The service is good with the restaurant not being too crowded. The staff though approachable but seemed slightly slow with their service.

Rates – (3.5/5) This restaurant is perfect for the perpetually broke DU kid as their rates are pretty low and the average cost for a meal for two people is around Rs. 400 with beverages included.

DUTA

The joint is open from 11 AM to 11 PM and has packing services as well. If one overlooks the slight accessibility issue, this place is great for a date or a day out with friends!

Image Credit: Jayati Bhola

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Admissions 2013

Admit reserved category students according to actual intake : DU

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The century old problem of overcrowded DU classrooms prevails yet again, and this time with consequences affecting admissions of people applying via the reserved category. With the fourth cut-off list announced on Sunday, the Delhi University issued a directive on the “implementation of reservation policy in admissions”, asking colleges to admit reserved category students on the basis of actual intake of general students and not its sanctioned strength. As of now, most DU colleges have barely seen any admissions under the SC/ST/OBC/PWD category.

There’s been a clear flouting of rules by various DU colleges as always and the plethora of problems being faced by reserved category students seem to see no end this year. With the onset of the new Four Year Undergraduate Program (FYUP) and with the takers for DU increasing by a mind boggling 50%, most colleges have been picky about the students they choose. With higher ranked DU colleges as Hansraj coming out with a highly unfair and rule-breaking ‘additional eligibility criteria’ for students applying via the reserved category and also with the increase in the number of OBC students being taken in every year, DU is in two minds about how to handle the fluctuating graph of students coming and going from the university.

Under a survey conducted by Dhani Ram, President of Delhi University SC/ST Teachers Association to assess the status of admissions for SC, ST, other backward category and persons with disability we can see that lesser known colleges in DU like Lakshmibai College admitted 116 students in the general category against 39 seats for its Economics (Honours) course, and in Philosophy, the college admitted 105 students against the sanctioned strength of 39. While colleges like Sri Guru Gobind Singh College of Commerce, Keshav Mahavidyalaya, and Ram Lal Anand fail to find takers under the reserved category; colleges like Hindu, Sri Ram College of Commerce and Ramjas have classrooms splitting at the seams.

“Taking students according to the intake capacity rather than the sanctioned strength is seemingly impossible as a lot of migrations, withdrawals and admissions take place every day in various colleges of the university”, says Poonam Verma, Principal, Shaheed Sukhdev College of Business Studies. The letter with the new notice has been circulated in all DU colleges and hopefully this step would help put an end to the woes of students seeking admission solely on the basis of reservation.

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DU Dhaba

Food Review: Pizzarro

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Pizzarro, an old and very famous food joint located at Hudson Lane, North Campus definitely sticks to the old concept of the ‘all ingredient and no fuss’ Italian food they serve. DUB recently visited the cheery old restaurant and came up with the following pointers to rate it:

Location – Located right 0.5 km away from the GTB Nagar metro station, this place is easily accessible and is commonly visited by students and also families.

Ambience – The place is fit to comfortably accommodate over 40 people, and has a dark but cosy feel to it. With its shiny red sofas and chairs, this restaurant is designed to look exactly like one of the bistros in the city of Rome; this place is a delight for the eye and stomach. The youthful vibe it resonates coupled with the delicious smell of freshly baked pizza appeals to all.

Menu – The menu boasts of having a plethora of quintessential Italian dishes on it. The wide array of spaghettis, lasagnes, slice pizzas and salads makes this place worth the visit. Their ‘Spaghetti Bolognaise in Garlic Sauce’ and ‘Roast Chicken Slice Pizza’ made our mouths water in delight. The wide range of mocktails, drinks and desserts available here make it a good place for a casual lunch or dinner out.

Service – The service was good with the restaurant not being too crowded. The staff was friendly, patient and approachable.

Rates – With Italian cuisine usually leaning towards the expensive side, Pizzaro is surprisingly cheap with the cost for a meal for two being just Rs. 500. The prices are light on the pocket of an average student and completely worth the money spent.

This joint is usually open from 11 AM to 11 PM and offers the facility of home delivery as well. With a great decor, friendly staff and the excellent food; this place is definitely one for our young students!

pizarroratingRating – 4/5

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Admissions 2013

Philosophy under FYUP: Course Analysis

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Philosophy, the study of the fundamental nature of knowledge, reality, and existence, has been a core academic discipline for centuries to come now. With an increase in the percentage of young minds wanting to develop a thought process of their own and to learn how to do so, B.A (H) in Philosophy has become one of the most sought after courses in the University of Delhi. Available in most of DU’s most renowned colleges, like St. Stephens, Miranda House, Lady Shri Ram, Hindu etc., this course has seen a sudden hike in the number of takers. So here at DU Beat, we decided to analysis the changes made in this course with the advent of the new Four Year Undergraduate Program (FYUP).

The Course
Analysing the University’s undergraduate Philosophy course in particular, we can definitely see that the course has become more rigorous than its predecessor. The subjects introduced at a foundation level are ones unrelated to philosophy (with the exception of Philosophy, Psychology, Communication and Life Skills), but definitely help in understanding the subject better and help sharpen the student’s analytical skills. It also gives a subject like philosophy a more practical, hands-on approach; but alongside a core, theoretical subject like philosophy, it is deemed not required.

The Integrating Mind, Body and Heart course is a welcome addition as it is a core philosophical subject which aims at honing a student’s moralistic side. The applied courses include the likes of Aesthetics and Art Appreciation, Bio-ethics, Meditation and Today, Issues in Applied Ethics etc. These courses definitely help students understand the wide spread implication of a subject like this, but studying subjects like ‘Meditation’ and ‘Art appreciation’ makes the subject extremely stereotypical, and add fuel to the fire as students already question the vague nature of the subject. The winning factor of this new program is the emphasis on the understanding of concepts like Ethics, which people across on a daily basis in their student/work life.

Extra-curricular Activities
The revelation that extra-curricular activities would now hold credit is one of great joy for most students, as in a University like that of Delhi; most students come with the hopes of indulging in their choice of activities along with their studies.

Freedom of Choice
While students will now be able to make an informed choice about exactly what honours degree they’d like to pursue, there has also been certain curtailing of free choice, with the eleven foundation courses being compulsory along with one applied language course.

Exit Points
Under the FYUP, the mid course exit points provided after two years and three years respectively may also prove to be the easier way out for some. Giving young 18-19 year old students an open choice as to leave in 2-3 years makes it difficult for them to make career choices in their formative years.
Also, a subject like philosophy needs time to be studied and understood, but with the option of quitting; there is going to be a major increase in the drop-out rates of our country, making this course a not so feasible option.

Employability
The new FYUP has definitely made a traditionally academic subject like philosophy more market-friendly as the terminology of having a ‘professional degree’ now makes it easier for arts students to land jobs immediately after their under-graduation. Also, the study of various other humanities subjects alongside those of science enables graduates in philosophy to choose from a wider plethora of career options.

Final verdict
The FYUP has definitely changed the course structure of philosophy for the better by making it more practical in nature, but it definitely has definitely lessened the value of this subject as a core academically taught program. The success of this course can only be judged after we see the increase or decrease in the number of takers for this subject.

(For analysis of other courses click here)

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Miranda House

King’s and I: Studying International Relations

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With the onset of the summer vacations, probable activities that are worthwhile start lurking in one’s head. It was then that I came across a flier which read “King’s comes to you! King’s College London and Miranda House welcome you! Apply now!” And it certainly was one of those moments when I realized the perks of studying in a prestigious college like Miranda House and in the University of Delhi.

The King’s College London Summer School at Delhi was organized in collaboration with Miranda House, University of Delhi and Think Education, an educational organization which works to create opportunities for promising students worldwide. It was a high quality and intensive academic programme open to students from around the country. The session 1 was held from 4th June-14th June 2013, and the session 2 from 17th June – 28th June 2013. It was in the first session that I studied the spectacularly interesting subject of International Relations. The concept of a ‘summer school’ being a new one to the students of  the University of Delhi was met with looks of apprehension; yet the KCL session saw around 80 students from various universities in attendance. Our tutor for this course was Dr. Diana Bozhilova, a Visiting Research Fellow at the Centre for Hellenic Studies at KCL, and also a dynamic lady with amazing knowledge in a subject which takes one years to study.

Being an absolute newcomer to the varying subjects of Political Science, Economics, Philosophy, Law and Sociology; most of us had trouble adjusting to the hefty curriculum, but the interactive approach and the alternating group activity plus lecture schedule made it all easily understandable and also enjoyable. We all breezed through heavy duty subjects like ‘global governance, international relations theory, the workings of the United Nations, historical origins of the European Union etc’. One afternoon we would make strategies to overcome problems in the European Parliament, whereas on another, build a clean city from scratch. We saw documentaries and videos ranging from sea piracy to that of a gender bias, which was definitely a wonderful break from the monotonous classroom sessions we all usually have to endure. The experience was one both mentally and emotionally enriching, as I made friends from places I never thought I would, with many of them here to stay. The summer school gave us an excuse to eat out, have fun, discuss theories over coffee and laugh over anecdotes recited by many of us.

The summer school not only taught me what the study of International Relations means, but also helped me decide what I would want to pursue later on in life. It helped me experience what it means to study in a foreign classroom, in a completely different setting and with a vast curriculum. It really helped broaden my horizons; while having fun. This summer school is one experience which I would never forget. Given a chance, I would definitely attend it again. I can proudly say that I returned with a greater sense of self after attending The King’s College London Summer School at Delhi.

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Flicks

Man of Steel: Movie Review

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Film – Man of Steel
Starring – Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Russell Crowe, Michael Shannon, Kevin Costner
Director – Zack Snyder
Producer – Christopher Nolan
Rating – 3/5

The first thing most Superman fanatics would notice is that our hero has finally learned to wear his red underwear on the right side of his pants, and also that, Zack Snyder’s steroidal yet sensitive Man of Steel is not a superhero film. To understand what sets Man of Steel well apart from previous efforts to deliver Superman to a mass audience, it’s important to keep in mind that the Superman who has shown up in movies and on television to date is only nominally a figure of science fiction. Mr. Clark Kent here has a heart folks. But there is so much even Christopher Nolan can do to make this movie any different from its small-screen counterpart Smallville.

The kickass and bold graphic-laden trailers definitely raised expectations and eyebrows, and also, let down many of us when the actual movie came out. The movie is a cross between the broody Nolan-style and also the loud bone-crunching style of Zack Snyder. ‘Man of Steel’ is punchy, engaging and fun, but it eventually slips into a final 45 minutes of explosions and fights during which reason starts to vanish and the science gets muddy.

Henry Cavill plays the quintessential wandering 20-something super hero, with the curl on the forehead and dimple on the chin et al. Performances by Michael Shannon and Russell Crowe were laudable, whereas the usually chirpy and fresh Amy Adams disappoints in this one with her ‘barely there’ role. Mostly, this ‘Superman’ is more action than angst. But those daddy issues are still in play. The graphics and action sequences were well- directed and engineered, and the soundtrack composed by the legendary Hans Zimmer kept you at the edge of your seat at all times.

So overall, this Superman was a good shot at restarting the franchise with a fresh angle at the storyline. The cinematography was similar to that of a ‘Tree of Life’ with the beautiful backyard and sunset.

Yet, the Man of Steel failed to enthrall us as much as it was expected earlier.

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Flicks

Movie Review: Go Goa Gone

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Film – Go Goa Gone
Starring – Vir Das, Kunal Khemu, Saif Ali Khan, Pooja Gupta, Anand Tiwary
Director – Raj Nidimoru and Krishna DK

Go Goa Gone finds three hip young dudes in the throes of a quarter life crisis, facing extreme situations with more derring-do than smarts. Vir Das plays Luv, the typical lovesick, bad-boy trying to go good, but vows to live life on the wild side after getting dumped by his girlfriend, who entails on the vacation of a lifetime to Goa with his pothead and self-proclaimed casanova friend Hardik (Kunal Khemu), and uptight goody-two-shoes, Bunny (Anand Tiwari).

Go Goa Gone’s charming young cast and fresh premise has driven the film to earn positive word of mouth among urban audiences in India and overseas, suggesting lively returns for producer and co-star Saif Ali Khan, who plays the hilariously intimidating desi turned Russian zombie killer, Boris. ‘I keel dead people!’, he snarls.

The directors rely on smart writing and a genre awareness that ensures it isn’t another illogical blood-and-gore thriller. Go Goa Gone is neither a Night of the Living Dead nor a Shaun of the Dead; neither a generic horror film nor an overt parody. It is a fairly conventional slacker comedy. In simpler words, a watered-down Delhi Belly.

The soundtrack of the movie keeps you engaged and makes you want to try to focus, whereas the pretty, post- F.A.L.T.U Pooja Gupta provides you with enough eye-candy to survive through the bad graphics and zombie killing. Post-interval, the film does a zombie on us — it becomes dead, lumbering and tedious. The plot drags on to strangely sober zombies who were obviously chosen as cast from one of the Baga Beach rave parties itself.

The stoner jokes, sexual innuendos and gore keep the audience entertained, and the cast does a mighty fine job of portraying the characters. Overall, Go Goa Gone is a gloriously trippy ride.

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Campus Central

Teachers anxious over restructured 4-year course

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Delhi University does it again. From delay in examination results to admissions, they have now failed to restructure the to-be introduced 4-year undergraduate programme within time. Sources at DU reveal that a select group of teachers from each department had been asked to prepare the curriculum for the new course, which was to be submitted to the Vice Chancellor by the 11th of March, or as some sources say the 20th. Either way the deadline has been overshot by most departments, and with just 3 months left for the university to start enrolling students, this delay has received much flak.

The teachers have criticized the proposed reforms citing issues like shoddy infrastructure, undemocratic representation of college teachers in syllabus making, hasty and unplanned manner of increasing student workload. As a result many senior teachers have been kept in the dark and have been asked to only work on the design and their opinion has definitely not been taken into consideration as to how and why a 3 year honours programme can be diluted and converted into a 4 year course. According to a senior teacher from Miranda House, ‘DU is still trying to cope up with the changes made with the introduction of the semester system. Asking us to convert the syllabus of a rigorous 3 years honours programme, into one of 4 years that too within 15 days is something close to impossible’.

The deadline is yet to be met, and many teachers have actually opted out of the process while questioning the validity of the entire idea.

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DUB Speak

‘Rock and Roll can never die’: The good, the bad and the auto-tuned

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“Hey hey, my my

Rock and roll can never die

There’s more to the picture

Than meets the eye.

Hey hey, my my.”

The lyrics of this famous Neil Young song resound in my head even after my mp3 battery sadly dies down and I’m left to my own curious thoughts. I often sit and wonder, when Young wrote these lyrics; did he know he was giving birth to a phrase which would be chanted by millions for generations to come?

How many times in a week do you hear someone mention ‘rock and roll’ in some form or the other? Maybe it’s while watching ‘LA Ink’ and hearing tattoo queen Kat Von D go ‘Rock on dude’ (no seriously, I can sue her for using that phrase THAT many times for anything and everything), or maybe when you’re doing the walk of shame after your mom ecstatically yells ‘this is so rockin’, invariably in front of your friends. ‘Music is a refuge, an escape for many. A place without music would be one full of mourn and dread. “Music is higher revelation…music is religion… music is a moral law”. Rockers like Jimi Hendrix, Buddy Holly, Johnny Cash, Jimmy Page and the entire lot of them never thought they would start a revolution when they spoke these few, but truthful words.

From the time when the Rockabilly’s Elvis Presley first warned people from stepping on his blue suede shoes, to the time when Nirvana made grunge seem like the coolest thing in town, to Pearl Jam making us feel more alive; music has never sounded better. Their music is continuing to transform lives of many people, while people themselves continue to shape and remold it in order to do what they love, face what they fear, get rid of what they hate and restart what they stopped.

The timeline of rock and roll unfolds as a crazy roller-coaster ride of debuts, smash hits, breaking stereotypes, coming out of corners, iconic bands, landmark records, creation of sub-genres and many more breath-taking, foot-tapping, head banging events. They mark an emergence of a completely new movement, which forced people to come out, to not comply with social norms (read – Racism) and to break free, as the ever-popular band Queen would claim.

The problem with today’s music is that it’s all about trends and popularity. People WANT to hear music that appeals to them. This leaves us with artists mimicking artists, which in turn leaves us with a muck-filled pool of sweet nothingness. There’s more of production than reality. The surrounding fluff of glitzy sets, skimpily clad background dancers and music video budgets big to feed a small third-world country often take away the focus from actual music making and confuse the listener. Such music is usually evaluated for its visibility and not for its merit. The hottest, the best and the most worthwhile music are usually the ones with a huge fan following developed due to its catchy nature. It’s true that the Beatles were commercially successful, but the commercial is not synonymous with the mainstream. An artist who is good does not deserve to toil for years under obscurity and it would be biased to say that some of the music produced today is not good. However, the problem is that ‘some’ is too less in number to actually come out and dominate the music scene.

An argument can be started on both sides of this issue. It’s mostly grey matter, not a black or white one. It takes a broad brush to paint the entire industry as ‘mainstream and commercial’, but it is we who control the music we listen to and not the majority, and it is only we who can change what we listen to. As Bono said, “Pop music often tells you everything is OK, while rock music tells you that it’s not OK, but you can change it.”

Akriti Gupta
[email protected] 

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