Monday, March 24, 2008

Intrepid AND Fearless

You know, I'm born to be a journalist. There's something about the profession, laying bare the hidden truth, exposing humanity's dark side, fostering change in society through exposure, that appeals to the human inside me. That is why I have decided to devote this post to the urgent and important topic of "Akshay finds lint in Shilpa's belly button". Of course it can't be done unless one is intrepid or fearless. Hence I have decided to become

Intrepid AND Fearless

Experienced readers might realize that, in the course of researching for my grand exposé, I might not have actually interviewed the worthies featured in this story or, for that matter, ensured any connection with the truth. Well, rest assured that this is standard in the journalism trade. Plus, both Akshay and Shilpa wouldn't give me time of the day anyway. Should that rob the public of a valuable news story? Of course not.

The incident happened during the shooting of the Action/Thriller/Drama/Comedy titled "Bakwaas - The Rubbish". Central to the plot of this movie is a dance number in which Akshay reveals, through artful lyrics, the extent of the villainy of the bad guy. An important step is when Akshay has to play the drums on Shilpa's stomach. And then, he sees the fuzz. At first, because he's getting old and has forgotten to wear his reading glasses, he thinks it's something the waxing person missed. But then he peers at it from arm's length and realizes that IT IS LINT.

Well, you can imagine what a shock Akshay must have had! It put him off the performance of a life-time, tipped until that moment to be India's entry to the Oscars. Feeling weak, he decided to cancel the shooting and take a two month vacation in Australia with his family.

Shilpa, poor thing, had a "Big Brother" moment and burst into tears. "What am I to DO?", she sobbed, inconsolably. Her mother, however, practical as ever, decided to add it to their collection, a large jar by now, and took the pragmatic view that the moment would soon pass and Shilpa would emerge stronger and more beautiful. Especially after the third nose job scheduled for later this month. (Third job, that is, same nose. Just clarifying, in this trade you have to be so careful of libel suits. At this rate, by the way, she's going to be looking like a Roman emperor).

Such, then, are the inner workings of the Bollywood film industry. A moot point at this juncture is why the hell we journalists call it Bollywood. This reporter has been to Yell Yay personally and seen a large sign which says "Hollywood". A similar search of Mumbai revealed no "Bollywood" sign. But that is topic for another deeply researched scoop. And only if the newspaper agrees to send me back to Yell Yay to reconfirm, personally, if the Hollywood sign is still standing.

10 comments:

Cynic in Wonderland said...

*clap, clap - i shall nominate you for the Bastiat Prize ! Wondeful, WONDERFUL effort in investigative journalism. Completely intrepid and absolutely fearless.

Narendra shenoy said...

*Deep bow* Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Anonymous said...

Dang! You really are Intrepid *and* Fearless! Bravo!

Lavanya said...

Narendra shenoy, I BOW to your fearlessness.
I BOW.
Investigative journalism has never been more...investigative.

Anonymous said...

Hmmm..lint you say. Interesting. Do you have photographs of the offending lint?

-Ok

P.S. Are you really a CEO? Can I get a job at your company?

Bhel Puri & Seekh Kabab said...

Inquiring minds want to know more details, such as
- what kind of lint was it? Silk? Polyester? Cotton?
- what color was it?
- did Akshay catch a strong whiff of the coconut-karela-castor oil moisturizer that Shilpa uses? Is that why he fled down under? Speaking of down under, I would have thought the experience would have made him flee to someplace higher, latitudinally speaking.

Regards,
Buccaneering, dumpster-diving journalist-bandhu

Narendra shenoy said...

ps - Thanks.

coconut chutney - "investigative" is right

ok - I am the CEO of a company where I frequently have to double up as the telephone attendant and xerox machine operator. If you join me, I will be happy to groom you to take my place some day.

bpsk - LOL at "latitudinally speaking". Now I know what they mean when they say "Interesting between the 30th and 40th parallel.

Preeti said...

uhhmm..shilpa shetty hs juz had 2 nose jobz till now...u sure??? ;)

Maddy said...

oh yeah the yell yay sign is very much there, but rumor has it that it is on the way out. some real estate company is going to bulldoze the hill side, i guess.

hey BPSK, wow!! how do you know the soap & oil shetty maam uses?

Unknown said...

*Speechless*
I hereby acknowledge you as the most fearless, the cleverest, the most talented investigative journalist ever. Woodward and Bernstein are zeroes.

Inquiring citizens will now like to know the details of Shilpa Shetty and her nose jobs, plisss. Thengyuberymud and haaarty kongrachulashuns to you phor doing this noble deed for awar nayshun.