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Agony and
ecstasy
 For India, 2009 can best be remembered as the year of the
re-election, records (of bat and bullion) and rejoicing at the Oscars, writes
Amar Chandel
It is that time of the
year when it is customary to look back and ahead simultaneously.
Thinking of the future first, I have made one resolution: I will not
make any resolutions this time. What is the point when I know very
well that, like politicians, I am going to break them right from
January 2? As far as learning from the past is concerned, let me
confess that I have learnt nothing. That is because being a typical,
standard, average Indian voter, my memory is phenomenally short.
THE
YEAR THAT WAS
One of the most important
international events that grabbed the headlines was the election of a
black as the President of the US. The world looked at him with new
hope. The death of Michael Jackson shortly before he was to perform at
a live show in London left his fans in a state of shock. Unbelievable
though it is, the star died in debt. The Copenhagen summit on climate
change saw a major conflict between developed nations and Third World
countries. India and China figured prominently in the talks. Sri Lanka
heaved a sigh of relief following the killing of V Prabhakaran at the
hands of the army. The good news for India was Venkatraman
Ramakrishnan being declared the joint winner of the Nobel Prize for
Chemistry
More duds than
dynamites
Littered with big-budget disasters, Bollywood’s 2009 progress report had very few bright spots, writes
Saibal Chatterjee
When the year began, the Mumbai movie industry seemed to be
on a roll. In the last quarter of 2008, it had delivered a quartet of
hits though they were not necessarily great films — Dostana, Rab
Ne Bana Di Jodi, Fashion and Ghajini. And it had an
impressive series of big-ticket releases lined up for the months up
ahead. Bollywood had reason to be gung-ho despite the recessionary
tendencies that were gathering momentum on the horizon.
Television-2009
In the name of reality
Even as 2009 draws to a close, television is experiencing a great amount of churning but reality shows, clear winners in the TRP race, are here to stay, writes
Gyan Marwah
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