Shekhar Arena

In 1988, people might not have noticed a lean  and thin actor playing a small role in Meera Nair's Salaam Bombay. Who knew this actor would redefine versatile acting in Indian cinema. From establishing himself as one of the finest actors of Indian cinema to playing crucial roles in Hollywood movies like Life of Pi, The Namesake, Slumdog Millionaire, The mighty heart and the amazing spiderman. His ability of acting from eyes,subtle art of dialogue delivery, playing romantic roles to playing a dacait of beehad in Paan Singh Tomar-This combination is rare. Very rare. Born in Jaipur, his childhood was spent in a small village 'tonk'. From childhood itself, he was inclined towards acting especially seeing Naseerudin Shah's movies. Salaam Bombay to The Namesake Story In days of NSD itself, Irrfan was offered a big role in Salaam Bombay by Meera Nair. He even started attending the workshop in bombay. But 2 days before the shoot started, he was told that he's no mo...

Is religion above all? The stories spread about tablighi Jamaat depict the same. You must have heard it, seen it on WhatsApp. The world is fighting a virus, millions are in hospitals, thousands are on streets, but how does it matter? Religion comes first,no? "If you hear of a plague in a land,then don't go into it. If it happens in a land where you are, then don't go out of it". This is an actual excerpt from Hadith. But people are misinterpreting it. This blog is not against a religion, it's against stupidity. Tablighi Jamaat is almost a 100 years old missionary movement that started in India. Between 1st to 15th March,they organized several gatherings in Nizamuddin area of New Delhi. These gatherings were attended by 1000's of people(around 9000) from India and abroad including UK, Indonesia, Malaysia, US and China. 17 states have COVID cases linked to this event, 1/3 rd of all cases is linked to this event. Delhi Markaz has become the biggest hot...

At this point of time, we need to develop a policy that protects us from the virus and protects the people and their jobs. In this edition, we will be talking about what we can do as responsible individuals to curb this pandemic. 1.   Put money back in the System You must have got a household help, a driver or a gardener-basically the people who come to your house to work. Don't cut their salaries. Don't keep counting the absent days right now. Allow them a paid leave.  Whenever you go to market for buying fruits, vegetables or other essentials, don't bargain for that 10-20 rupees if you can afford it. Everyone is suffering right now, especially the people who are getting these things to your market since transport is also halted. Consider this 10-20 rupees as your convenience fees. 2. Stop forwarding Rumours  Central government has not announced any plan to extend the lockdown period till now. Any messages that can create panic, don't forward them. As simple...

Are we Indians stupid? In India, the police are beating up the people. You might have seen the videos on Facebook, WhatsApp. What do you think-Is it right or, wrong? Bigger question is WHY...Why they need to do this? It's almost 10 days, the country is in lockdown. I am also going mad. Being jailed at home is difficult. But this does not mean that I go out and roam around or, play with my friends. Because how does it matter. No one is infected in my colony, I have a strong immune system, I am washing my hands every time, I am using the mask.   This thinking is dangerous. This small mindset can have big side effects. In the next part of the blog, I will tell you why this is necessary to cure this mindset first before we cure the virus. When the lockdown was announced, 1000's of workers in delhi started moving towards their home town/villages. Someone spread this rumour that buses are coming from UP to take them home. Till then, there was no official announcement. ...