Anu Ranjan

Sachin, Sachin, Sachin… the chant is still ringing in my ears. Wow! He was, and for the moment still is, the ultimate superstar, sportsman and youth icon this country has ever known. And, what a sensational send-off… I can’t imagine any sportsperson across the globe not being a slight bit envious at the thousands of hours of airtime, the millions of reams of newsprint and the billions of people discussing his life and times just prior to his farewell speech at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. All of this followed by the icing on the cake; the bestowing of a Bharat Ratna. The man did deserve everything he got, no doubt about that, but he’s also truly blessed! Here’s wishing destiny’s child as much good fortune wherever his journey here on takes him. Moving on to my current crush, our cover boy of the month Kapil Sharma. For those of you who are as great fans of him as I am, I’m sure you’re super pleased to see him splashed across the jacket page of our GR8! TV Magazine – Kapil confessed to me that this is the first magazine he’s been featured on the cover of, his first ever photo-shoot, and his anchoring of The 13thAnnual Indian Television Academy (ITA) awards last month was another first for him too… so two pats on the back and three cheers for all of us here at GR8! and The ITA!
Another sizzler our TV screens had been splashed with of late were promos of the new Sanjay Leela Bhansali film Ram- Leela… It drove me to the theatre and I must admit, I was not disheartened. The chemistry between dazzling Deepika and fine-looking Ranveer was oozing across the entire 70 mm. Worth a watch if you feel like adding a momentary dash of color to your life. On the opposite end of that spectrum has been Indian Politics.Our idiot box (in this case only) has been inundated with dull debates, dismal speeches and the standard squabbles by our lackluster politicians. Election time sure brings out the worst in all of them. The opposition has been busy showing and telling us about what the government hasn’t done for us after being in a position of power for almost one decade. The incumbent government, instead of focusing on the few things they have done is busy telling us that the opposition (during their brief time) didn’t do anything for us either. Newcomerslike the Aam Aadmi Party in New Delhi is telling people to vote for them because they are not like the other two, that’s their mantra. It’s all so shambolic and the genuine aam aadmi is so baffled, nobody knows where this country is going to end up. Please, God help us! On that confused note, cheerio for now. Wish you all a very, very Happy New Year. Hope it brings about the much deserved order, stability, joy and peace this wonderful nation of ours so urgently needs! Jai Hind and until next time, happy reading!



Anu Ranjan
anu@indiantelevisionacademy.com