Finding New Horizons in Bollywood - Ajay Devgan

Ajay Devgan, a two-time National award winner is one of the finest acting talents of Indian cinema. Born as Vishal Devgan, Ajay started off his film career with Phool Aur Kaante in an action-oriented role unlike many other actors of his time. He grew popular as an action hero with the first few films, which were huge successes at the box office, and gradually started experimenting with different genres. It was then he accepted the opportunity to act in Ishq, in a comedy role, opposite to Kajol. In addition to Ishq, the Ajay-Kajol pair can be seen in Pyar To Hona Hi Tha, one of the biggest success of the year 1998.
First National Award
It was in 1998 that he signed Zakhm, a film by Mahesh Bhatt, which fetched him the first National Film Award for Best Actor, in which he essayed a serious role. The 1992 riots in India was the backdrop of this film and he acted with Sonali Bendre, Pooja Bhatt and Nagarjuna. Following this achievement, Ajay Devgan worked with many noted filmmakers of Bollywood such as Sanjay Leela Bhansali in Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, Mani Ratnam in Yuva and Ram Gopal Varma in Company and Bhoot, in the coming years.
Second National Award
As he continued experimenting with different roles, in the year 2002, Rajkumar Santhoshi signed him for the biopic, The Legend of Bhagat Singh, to essay the character of Bhagat Singh. With this critically acclaimed film, he received his second National Award for Best Actor along with the Filmfare Critics Award.
Other Movies
In a span of two decades, Ajay has acted in more than hundred films. Kaal and Khakee are two of the films in which he was seen in a negative character, for which he got nominated in the Best Villain Award category. His performance was also acclaimed in many movies - Yuva, Golmaal, and Raincoat being a few of them. Raincoat was an off-beat film, acted along with Aishwarya Rai Bachchan. Omkara, Atithi Tum Kab Jaoge, Gangaajal, Rajneeti, Once Upon A Time In Mumbai and Zameen are Ajay's other critically acclaimed films.
As Producer and Director
In the year 2000, he committed only two films - Deewane and Raju Chacha, of which the latter saw him as a producer. Although the film did not perform well, it featured the off-screen couple of Ajay and Kajol once again. Exploring the new realms of Bollywood, he wore the director's hat for the first time with U, Me Aur Hum (2008), which he also produced and acted in. Third production was in 2009 with the film All The Best: The Fun Begins. Ajay Devgan can be seen in action in the upcoming film Singham, Tezz and Power.

Iron Man 2 Movie Review

Aside from Chris Nolan's success in rebooting the cape and cowl franchise, the house that Stan Lee built has always had the advantage over the Distinguished Competition when it comes to big screen adaptations of their intellectual properties, especially in the age of modern CG effects. When you compare the $30 million Jonah Hex lost at the box office to the $112 million Iron Man 2 brought in over its $200 million budget, it's plain to see that round 2010 goes to Marvel again. Of course that numerical suffix to the movie's title means that no one is going to be comparing it to what the other guy is doing, they'll only compare it to the original. So right away, out of the gate, does Iron Man 2 hold up to the original Iron Man? Well, yes and no.
The cast is great. I firmly believe Robert Downey Jr. was placed on the earth to play the role of Tony Stark. His return, as well as that of Gwyneth Paltrow (Pepper Potts) and Jon Favreau (as the director and as Tony Stark's bodyguard Hogan) is complemented by a great cast of newcomers including Sam Rockwell, Scarlett Johansson and Academy Award nominees Mickey Rourke and Don Cheadle. The latter deftly picks up the mantle of Lt. Col. James 'Rhodey' Rhodes in a role previously held by Terrence Howard. The ubiquitous Samuel L. Jackson also gets some screen time reprising his Nick Fury cameo seen after the credits of the first Iron Man movie, helping Marvel set the stage for the upcoming Avengers movie. Everyone plays well together, and nobody says anything about snakes on planes.
Unfortunately, the script didn't quite hold up to the casting talent. The witty repartee between Tony Stark and Pepper Potts seems to have dropped a half step, and the villains never really create any cause for concern for the protagonist. Both Rockwell (Justin Hammer) and Rourke (Ivan Vanko/Whiplash) turn in great performances, but unlike Jeff Bridges' Obadiah Stane, neither come across as menacing or intimidating. Everyone knows Tony Stark is going to take these guys.9
What the movie lacks in suspense and character development it makes up for with some big time action. What more do you want from your comic book movies anyway? If you liked the first film and you're a fan of big explosions and action sequences, you're going to be happy with the sequel. If you refer to the movies as 'cinema' and you spend more time discussing the finer points of dialog and various camera angles than the climactic scene of a film, well then you may want to take a pass on this one.
The film is rated PG-13 for plenty of action violence, some mild sexual content (read: skimpy clothing) and a scene in which Tony Stark is visibly drunk. After screening the film myself, I felt it was tame enough to let my 4-year-old son watch. Afterward, I asked him his thoughts were on the film- you know, to flesh out this review a bit and get him to do some of my work for me. Unfortunately, all of his input revolved around running across the room shooting pretend laser beams from his palms. Considering that he got so worked up about it, I'm thinking  gets his stamp of approval. Mine too.

Problem Solving? - Get a Second Opinion

When you're problem solving, you don't have to do it alone. It's helpful to get a second opinion. Whether it's another doctor, another contractor, or another auto mechanic, a second opinion helps confirm what you're being told. Most importantly, an additional viewpoint helps you obtain:

• Opinions from individuals who are not emotionally attached to the problem.
• Fresh eyes to see what you might be overlooking.
• A different perspective based on different skill, knowledge and experience.
• Opinions and stories from smart people who may have hidden and valuable expertise.

I use my neighbor quite often to review things that I'm considering as an undertaking. He's a smart man with loads of experience in a wide range of areas. I trust his judgment as being sound, so I ask for help from him when I need it. Here is an example.
My objective was to provide water to an old outbuilding. The shortest distance between my water line and the shed crossed over electric lines, phone lines and gas lines. What a mess.
When I asked my neighbor, he thought about it for a minute and suggested cutting into the water line that ran past the shed and out to the barn. It's something I had considered, but dismissed because I had no idea where the water line ran. He explained that water and electricity is usually buried in the same trench, and both could be found by "witching" (also known as dowsing).
He "witched" for the lines and found them both. We used his small backhoe to dig the 9 foot trench to the water lines, and avoided digging a 35 foot trench that would have required hand digging through three other utility runs. The second opinion saved me lots of work and avoided incoming utilities altogether.

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