Cartoon world

Let's not weaken the judiciary!

2007-10-02T14:34:00.000+05:30

The word SUPREME in supreme court is being challenged everywhere.
People question the supremacy of the apex court, point fingers at the court decisions. Though it looks democratic to raise a question, at some point it may disturb the constitutional strength of our country. Especially in the case of SC's verdict on DMK's statewide bandh attempt. Karunanidhi is not a very great advocate of 'India as a nation' theory. He always questioned Hindi as national language. It's just because of political compulsions that Karunanidhi looks a bit democratic. This time he tried to question Supreme Court's judgement by breaking the court's order.(Had to surrender when Supreme court threatened with President's rule in Tamil Nadu)
But what shocked me is the statement given by the central govt and the communist party. They shamelessly backed Karunanidhi.
In the bargain to please a vital UPA partner, the Govt weakened a constitutional machinery. Slammed one of the pillars of democracy! Not a healthy development!

Filthy rich cricket needs no pampering!

2007-10-01T10:45:00.000+05:30

Are cricketers a 'pampered lot'?

Many of us agree. Cricket is a lucrative sport in this country.

And I can understand BCCI offering loads of moolah to the winning team, because BCCI will earn millions of dollars too.

But I really can't understand state govts announcing lakhs of rupees for these cricketers. Mind you, this money belongs to the people of the country who pay in the form of taxes! I would be happy if some politician announces cash reward from his own personal bank account!

Cricketers don't need such a pampering as cricket is already a winner in terms of money. Look at some other games which need some generous patrons.

Just imagine a cricketer who played three games for India in T20 and already having a crore in his bank account. Hope he can focus on the ball well!

Too many cricket world champions!

2007-09-28T10:45:00.000+05:30

You can barely count the number of cricket playing countries, on your hands. And there's already two world champions fighting for their recoginition! Ponting says Aussies are the real world champions. And Indians just can't take it lying down. That will belittle their position as cricket's latest world champs, though in a faster version of the game!
Aussies are known for playing mind-games before the start of any series. And this time Aussies need more than the mind-games to defeat the rejuvenated Indian cricket team!

Games politicians play!

2007-09-27T18:56:00.000+05:30

T20 brutally murders ICL!

2007-09-25T23:56:00.000+05:30

T20 has left an impact on all cricket lovers which will
take many many thrilling ODIs to erase!
One reason could be India won the trophy against
all the odds and in a fashion which suits true champions.
This form of cricket is exciting, more unpredictable and gripping till the last ball...
Just the kind of stuff audience would love to watch in the stadium.

This may not be the pure form of cricket, but the way Indian team adapted to this form really touching. And all the credit to our new captain, who's calm-composed unlike his batting style.
But I do have a slight doubt that the captaincy has taken away the explosive nature of Dhoni's batting. He's become more cautious and more calm!

While the whole country is soaked in the glory of T20 victory, one thing went unnoticed.
What's happening to ICL? When T20 World Cup began, ICL was all over the news channels and papers. But as India progressed to higher stages of the championship, people prefered to ignore everything about ICL. May be cricket fans are more obsessed with the Indian cricker's victory than who governs the cricket. And rightly so!

Beware! We're ruled by beheaded people!

2007-09-25T23:47:00.000+05:30

Lord Rama continues to haunt politicians.
Ayodhya's Vedanti alleged to have issued a fatwa against Tamilnadu
CM Karunanidhi, who made a sarcastic remarks aginst Lord Rama.
And soon he retracted on his statement, blaming the media.

His fatwa to behead Karunanidhi would have made no impact in this country where fatwas are just making a debut. But it does raise doubts about the sanity of these heads who rule us, who influence our politics.

Can the judiciary be above the law?

2007-09-22T11:29:00.000+05:30

Satyameva Jayate
(Truth only triumphs)

We have been taught in schools; we have been reminded at all the govt offices which are supposed to provide justice. And we have been harshly reminded that there’s no truth in those two words!
Is judiciary above the law?
Can you separate the judge from the individual?
More questions and no answers!
That’s what Delhi High court’s sentencing of four Midday journalists brought us to.
They were sentenced for the story on former CJI Sabharwal.
The tragedy of the judgement is that the High Court sentenced them not for the false story, but for pointing a finger at an ex-CJI! That amounts to the contempt of court!
The ideal situation would be to investigate the allegations made against Mr. Sabharwal and make a judgment on the correctness of the story.

You cannot demand sanctity.
You have to command sanctity through your conduct.
We have been reading the mythological stories of how even Gods had to prove their innocence when allegations were leveled against them. Lord Krishna had to prove his innocence. And the best way to bring sanctity to the chair of CJI is to investigate the charges against Mr. Sabharwal and prove his innocence.

That will add more sanctity to the highest chair of the Judiciary.
That will command more respect for the judiciary in this country.

And that will surely keep the fourth estate of Democracy, the press, on high alert!
(Ironically the above cartoon couldn’t be published in my paper because some journalists thought it may be risky. And I’m posting it here at my own RISK!)

Twenty20 cricket, a big hit with youngsters!

2007-09-21T10:02:00.000+05:30

Twenty20 craze is a big hit,
mostly among youngsters!

Something might still scare Dhoni, three ex-captains!

2007-09-21T09:37:00.000+05:30

You are just around two and half year old in the team,
and imagine you are made the captain of the team!
And add to that, you'll be leading three ex-captains!
That's Dhoni for you!
The coveted designation may have come to Dhoni too early,
but he seems to be on the right road to be a good skipper.
Now pray that his batting doesn't get affected

SMS voting could be the solution for Indian democracy?

2007-09-19T18:01:00.000+05:30

Youth of the nation love their right to vote...
Vote to elect Indian Idol, vote to elect the Voice of India,
vote to elect blah blah...blahblahblah!
And India, inspite of being the largest democracy of the world,
still struggle to cajole half of its voters to caste their vote!
Our youth just hate the word ELECTIONS!
The solution could be sms voting, which the tv shows have exploited to the fullest.

Gods are in dilemma over Ram Sethu controversy!

2007-09-18T14:24:00.000+05:30

Ram Sethu is putting even the Gods in dilemma.
It's such a shame that politicians play with people's faith
for their political gain. Though Congress tried to distance itself from the ASI affidavit about Lord Rama, other political parties are in no mood to give up such an explosive issue. Last I heard was from Tamil Nadu's self-proclaimed atheist Karunanidhi, who is questioning the existence of Rama. He asks 'where did Rama learn Engineering'!
Haha! Funny politics!
But there's little tragedy involved in these sarcastic comments.
Can any Indian politician afford to make such sarcastic comment on any other religion? May be a point to ponder over!

Suresh Kalmadi teaming up with Vijay Mallya to bring F1 to India

2007-09-18T14:18:00.000+05:30

Illustration done for Dilip Cherian column in Midday
The column talks about how Suresh Kalmadi is teaming up with Vijay Mallya to bring Formula One to India. I used the concept of showing these two as kids who are crazy about cars.

Rahul Dravid's fall: crack or conspiracy?

2007-09-17T09:14:00.000+05:30

Rahul Dravid has succumbed to the pressure of the captaincy, they say.
He was showing the pressures of leading Indian cricket team. He couldn't bat as fluently as he used to. And in India every cricket lover is a cricket pundit, who'll put each of his decision to trial! Rightly, Rahul decided to quit. And Rahul, the batsman is more precious than Rahul, the captain.
But there's another theory doing the rounds, of Rahul falling to the conspiracy of a lobby. We may never know the truth, Rahul being a dignified cricketer, who will never reveal anything connected to his personal decisions. This little truth is already buried!

Mob trial!

2007-09-17T09:07:00.000+05:30

Are we in banana democracy?
The mob is taking over our legal system.
They don't bother to take the accused to the nearest police station.
(Even we'd seen police giving torture lessons in public!)
This may lead to a situation where even the innocents get lynched by the mob withour trial!

Ram Naam satya Hai!

2007-09-14T15:06:00.000+05:30

Ram was a part of history or he's just a fictional hero?
The debate continues...
But it has been an integral part of our psyche. We grew up listening to the stories from Ramayana, trying to learn a few morals along the way.
I'm not sure of any historical evidence which can substantiate Ramayana's historical slot. But it's been foolish on the part of the Govt to touch such a sensitive issue. Especially when the saffron parties are waiting on their toes to pick up any religious issue which can keep them busy, politically.

Twenty20 is here to stay!

2007-09-13T11:24:00.000+05:30

Twenty20 cricket has been projected as the thing of the future in Cricket.

It is entertaining and it's unpredictable which helps to make any game interesting for the audience. I do feel sad that, when the cricket pundits sat together to chalk out the T20 format, they completely ignored one tribe called bowlers. In fact they went on to make their job more tougher by introducing 'free hit'!

But this new format of the game will help lesser known and less experienced teams to surprise the giants with some shocking results. Shorter form of the game will surely help them to groom their players in a certain way to match the requirement. And the biggest advantage is they don't have to sustain their performace for a long duration unlike Test cricket and One Day International.

Frankly this format is too entertaining to ignore just as an experiment.

Being a lover of quality cricket, I have my own doubts about Twenty20 uplifting the quality of the game. But if this format can bring in more crowd and add in more competitive teams, let's say AYE to it!

Democracy tries to make a failed re-entry in Pakistan

2007-09-11T01:01:00.000+05:30

Pakistan is in mess again. Democracy seems a far
possibility in our neighbouring country. While Musharraf is reluctant to welcome former PM Nawaz sharif into the country, there' s a talk of another former PM Benazir Bhutto striking a deal with the General!
The truth could be shocking when it's unveiled, sometime in the future.
As more drama is being staged on Pakistan's political stage, two countries are following the each movement carefully. One is Pakistan's neighbour India, another is Pakistan's ally USA!

The Chinese toys, adults play with!

2007-09-10T10:31:00.000+05:30

Your kid could be under attack from Chinese toys.
Toxic attack! US suddenly woke up and made a panic call!
Indian markets have been bombarded with cheap Chinese toys in the recent years.
And India has a strong reason to be concerned!
India has been importing another kind of toys from China, SEX TOYS!
Do people care about the toys adult play with?

What do Indian cricketers need to defeat England?

2007-09-08T15:51:00.000+05:30

Funny piece on India's preparations for the NatWest decider one day international.
Some of the suggestions are hilarious!

Alistair Pereira, ambassador for Anti- drunken driving campaign!

2007-09-08T10:36:00.000+05:30

Alistair Pereira who killed seven migrant workers sleeping on the pavement by drunken driving is behind bars. Media is speculating about why his case was cleared in hurry while other celebrity cases like Salman Khan and Puru Rajkumar cases are still languishing.
After the Pereira incident, Mumbai police took drunken driving cases seriously and started a campaign to discourage drunken driving on the Mumbai streets. And the statistics shows that the campaign has been a huge success. Mumbai Police did use Pereira case as a kind of banner for their campaign.
But Salman Khan or Puru Rajkumar would have been still a more effective

Cricket mania

2007-09-07T00:27:00.000+05:30

Lord's is waiting for the finest hours of cricket in the ongoing India-England oneday series.
This series has been a great cricket feast for the lovers of the game.
If you thought the sixth one day match was the best, dont hurry yet.
Lord's could be waiting for a fitting final

Sanjay Dutt's thirthyatra!

2007-09-06T00:59:00.000+05:30

Mob fury!

2007-09-05T00:55:00.000+05:30

It's raining catches, dropped catches!

2007-09-04T00:46:00.000+05:30

India's pathetic fielding performance continues.
It's a pain to see some of the senior cricketers dropping
the mandatory catches in the one day matches against English team.
I feel these dropped catches will prove to be expensive in this series

KITNE AADMI THE!

2007-09-01T10:15:00.000+05:30

Kitne Aadmi The?
Ram Gopal Varma wouldn't like to hear that query in any theatre now!
Ram Gopal Varma ki Aag (Reminded me of MALEGAON KI SHOLAY which was shot in Malegaon by Malegaonkars and for Malegaonkars!) is a total disaster.
Infact disaster could be an understatement according to some film critics!
For me, the idea of remaking Sholay was a disaster from the very beginning.
Any filmmaker with a little bit of self-respect and little more of talent wouldn't
want to make that blunder. Any attempt would be an statement, an arrogant statement.
And I thought Ram Gopal Varma hasn't earned enough accolades yet, in Bollywood to make that statement.
I still remember watching his telugu Shiva during my college days.
And it was fresh out of a crazy movie addict's restless mind. There were loads of promises
Some people get better with more movies and RGV got more arrogant with more movies.
More movies? Yes, when he started 'the factory', that's all anybody can expect from him, more movies!
Time to bring down that 'factory' board, Mr. Varma.
Become a crazy movie addict again, not just foreman of this factory

Musharraf without his army uniform!

2007-08-31T01:21:00.000+05:30

Cricket in Olympics!

2007-08-30T10:24:00.000+05:30

There's an effort get cricket into the Olympics.
It's been on since ages, but now ICC is very keen on speeding up the process.
Frankly cricket is not a global game. Except for some Colonial countries where British invaded or built their camp, cricket is still an unknown game in many corners of the World.
Will it make an entry to the Olympics? May be an entry into the Olympics will encourage more countries to take this game seriously and try to excel.
Don't be surprised if China beats India at the Olympics!

Jaado ki jhatkas!

2007-08-29T10:36:00.000+05:30

Can you separate the police from the individual?
Ideally you should be able to do that, but it's nearly impossible.
Even after wearing the khaki, the person still is as much
star-struck as the person without the khaki!
One of the major findings of SriKrishna Commission was that
Mumbai police was communalised during the riots.
And it again proves that the khaki fails to remove the person's prejudices.
Poor cop, got suspended for hugging the star!
May be RR Patil should think a bit about the issue.
Some of ruling coalition party members have had allegations
about dealing with the underworld and the criminal forces.
Will they be removed from the party/govt?

Can our Intelligence Bureau save us from Terrorism!

2007-08-28T13:25:00.000+05:30

Sorry, can't stay away from this Cricket Drama!

2007-08-27T13:09:00.000+05:30

Mayawati shuts down large chain of stores

2007-08-25T00:37:00.001+05:30

Can ICL team replace BCCI team?

2007-08-24T12:28:00.000+05:30

Look at this scenario. Our Indian cricket team keeps losing matches (Which is not highly impossible to imagine) And our cricket crazy nation goes on rampage and attacks cricketers and their homes. While on the other hand, ICL players are doing great on the field and some of them are in great form. What will happen? Will this Cricket Crazy nation demand for ICL team to be sent for further series? I'm sure it is anybody's guess! Amusing! And I'm waiting for that day!

Shibu Soren will be free!

2007-08-23T21:22:00.000+05:30

Shouldn't ICL hire cricket fans too?

2007-08-22T00:20:00.000+05:30

ICL is signing up anybody who knows cricket!

2007-08-22T00:18:00.000+05:30

Will the barking leftists BITE?

2007-08-20T10:03:00.000+05:30

The watchdogs are barking again. We're used to it.
Even the Congress is used to the barking of the comrades.
They never dare bite. They can't afford to, as long as the BJP is lurking around the corner!
This time the leftists are making more serious noise. The issue is much debated, but much complex Nuke deal!
This is the one deal which seems to be more complex than the rocket science.
There seems to be so many loose ends which are left at the mercy of US chief!
Nuke deal is not as simple as 123! And this deal will take ages to near the finish.
By the time it reaches the finish line, UPA may be facing yet another election and Bush may be trying his luck at another term!

Kopykatman meets Gabbar Singh's creator, Salim-Javed!

2007-08-19T20:27:00.000+05:30

Kopykatman is still in search of Gabbar Singh's killers.

The email threat from the gabbarsingh.com is taking Kopykatman to

many places and many people including Gabbar Singh's creator Salim-Javed!

Kopykatman writer Suresh Nair, a former film journalist with Bombay Times is

now a film writer with hit films like Namastey London, Jhankar Beats and Shootout at Lokhandwala to his credit. He also writes a column for English daily DNA.

You can reach him at sureshnair2004@gmail.com

Terror war on India through the internet

2007-08-19T00:45:00.000+05:30

The graphic done for Sunday Midday
The story talks about the terror threat to India, through the net.
It is believed that the terror groups are using the internet to wage a terror war on India

Sports cover on Indian Cricket League

2007-08-19T00:42:00.000+05:30

The sports cover done for Sunday Midday, this week.

Teh story is on ICL, Zee's Subhash Chandra's brainchild

which is making news in the cricket world. As more players are joining,

the story talks about the momentum of the idea, that is picking up, suddenly!

Nokia Battery!

2007-08-18T00:56:00.000+05:30

Nokia has started replacing one of their batteries which
overheats and may explode. Some of the Nokia users panicked
at the beginning forcing the company to issue press statement

Bathroom Singer Show!

2007-08-18T00:50:00.000+05:30

An Illustration done for a column on Bath room Singer Show.

Amitabh Bachchan, the farmer!

2007-08-16T09:36:00.000+05:30

Suddenly more and more stars want to be a FARMER,
atleast on paper.Amitabh Bachchan and Aamir Khan
were in news recently trying to prove that they are farmers,
when UP and Maharashtra Govts sent them notice for
buying agriculture land. Big B in a recent interview insisted
that he has a right to be called FARMER!
It's beyond my sense to understand this hunger for land!

Chak De India, ofcourse in Hockey!

2007-08-14T23:45:00.000+05:30

Chak De India, the movie may not do much to the popularity of women's hockey in India.

But it surely does a lot in changing the attitude of people towards sports.

That's the advantage of glamourising sports through icon like Shah Rukh Khan.

And ofcourse it will take a long long time for hockey to reach the popularity chart of Cricket

Lalu Prasad Yadav pads up for ICL

2007-08-13T14:26:00.000+05:30

Cricket off the field is getting more interesting with BCCI and ICL fighting on channels and newspapers. With Sharad Pawar at the helm of BCCI, his political rivals are jumping into the war field in support of ICL. I'm sure they are not just there for the love of the game.
The recent politician to make the fight more curious is Lalu Prasad Yadav. He lashed out at BCCI's monopoly behaviour and offered railway grounds for ICL matches.

And it's a GOOOOOOAAAAAAL!

2007-08-13T10:21:00.000+05:30

Chak de India review

I have never been a big fan of KHAN CLAN. Apart from making Bollywood a fatter purse, I believed their contribution to the art of film making is relatively less. Lately Aamir Khan tried to be an exception and succeeded in a big way. I admire Aamir for taking that initiative. Shah Rukh stayed glued to his image in all his movies. And the sad part is that image of Shah Rukh sells like hot cakes without any boundaries. Shah Rukh Khan is a hot commodity. He always sells, when he plays himself. But unless you try to experiment with your image, you won’t know the saleability.

Except Swades, SRK never experimented with his screen image. He always played SRK on screen. While it is true that Yash Chopras, Karan Johars are to be blamed partially for this stagnancy, but with the kind of influence he holds in Bollywood, SRK could have easily experimented a lot more.

Just for that reason, I loved CHAK DE INDIA!
There’s no Shah Rukh Khan in the movie! There’s a character named Kabir Khan, who goes through all kinds of emotions during his journey from a disgraced Indian national hockey player(a muslim by religion), who’s blamed for throwing the match to Pakistan, to inspiring a women’s national hockey team to World Cup victory. Amazing journey!

Shah Rukh Khan plays Kabir Khan like Kabir Khan, the disgraced coach with GADDAR label on his head. There’s no trace of SRK in the whole movie.

I’m slightly biased about CHAK DE because I always loved good sports movies. It’s not an easy task to make good sports movie fitting in all the saleable emotions. Especially in India where we hardly follow sports like women’s hockey and more so, media hardly covers what happens off the field. Yes, cricket is an exception!

The climax of any sports movie is always predictable. The underdogs always win through some hic ups. We don’t make sports movies to show tragedy! But it’s the journey of the underdogs which makes any sports movie a gripping tale. The hic ups in the journey are more interesting. Chak De scores in that aspect.
The sixteen girls do look like they belong to Indian hockey team (I would have hated to see Ranis, Kareenas or Aishwaryas in any of their places) And some of them act like they are like that only. The pint sized Komal (Rawat) is the surprise element in the whole package. She’s so natural and swift.

The screen play scores without any jerk. The plot doesn’t stay with an emotion for long. Every scene establishes an impact and moves fast. It’s very easy to make such movies boring, by a stretched scene. The dialogues are sharp relying largely on acting.

The on field shots take you along the ball as if you’re moving with the players. 100% professional! I’m not too impressed with the predictable climax. May be it could have been more gripping.Especially people who watch lots of sports on tv find the climax boring. But the scene I loved most is the one, where women’s team play men’s team and trailing behind by 3 goals they make a comeback in the second half but still manage to score only two goals losing the match. While it was everyone’s guess that the women will comeback and beat the men’s team, the director displays his ace by making the women lose the match but still win the hearts of men’s hockey players and the Hockey board! It’s always a pleasure to be surprised in a movie.
Finally three cheers to the King Khan for accepting such a role and making it a memorable one (May be his best so far). More kudos for taking up such a movie, because SRK always pulls crowds. And the audience go out of the theatre with a positive attitude towards sports. It’s like campaigning for a social cause. Hope SRK takes a cue and does more meaningful films. Power multiplies when you use it for a CHANGE.

PS: There’s a character of Indian cricketer called Abhimanyu Singh, who’s dating one of the hockey players. It reminded me of Yuvraj Singh! Though I never heard of him dating any hockey player, the character looked more like him. May be it reminded you of him too!

Kopykatman meets Lalu Prasad Yadav!

2007-08-12T15:39:00.000+05:30

Kopykatman is still in search of Gabbar Singh's killers. In the pursuit, he lands in jail for wearing underwear outside and meets Lalu Prasad Yadav! The madness continues...

Shame on us!

2007-08-11T09:41:00.000+05:30

Indians are great host.
We have been believing in the saying 'Athithi Devobhava'
Guests are Gods! Tasleem Nasreen is more than a guest for us.
She completely trusted India's democratic values and took refuge.
Probably she thought India is the safest and free country.
The attack on her by coalition party members of Andhra Pradesh govt is a shame. No religion can justify such a cowardly attack.
More shameful was the justification coming from so called Intellectuals in Islam.And the silence of politicians reveal yet another truth.
When it comes to religion, democracy takes backseat

Freedom, sweet freedom!

2007-08-10T09:29:00.000+05:30

Freedom is such a sweet word!
Everyone loves it and everyone deserves it!
We are on the threshold of celebrating 60 years of freedom.
We take our freedom for granted.
We hardly know the value of freedom.
But whenever I look at our neighbouring Pakistan,
I feel so fortunate to be on this part of the border!

Sonia Gandhi wakes up to Srikrishna truth!

2007-08-09T10:36:00.000+05:30

While 1993 Bombay Blast verdict is out, another angle to the same story has not reached it's logical conclusion. 1992 Bombay riots!
The Srikrishna commission setup to investigate into the Babri Masjid riots has submitted it's findings long back. But no action has been taken to bring the guilty to the task. Everything was swept under the carpet,as if not to disturb the communal scene in Mumbai.Nobody talked about the Srikrishna report for long. But Sanjay Dutt sentence has suddenly woken up Congress chief Sonia Gandhi!

Where is the DON, Dawood Ibrahim?

2007-08-08T19:47:00.000+05:30

DON is in Karachi? Quetta? Dubai or in Afghanistan?
Everyone wants to talk about where he is now. But nobody seems to get it right.
News channels, papers are all speculating on his whereabouts.
But one thing seems to be true...
DON KO PAKADNA MUSHKIL HI NAHI, NAMUMKIN HAI!

Completely 'sold out' Indo-US nuclear deal

2007-08-07T12:06:00.000+05:30

Finally Rocket science, I mean Nuclear science...hmmm
Forget it! Whatever it is! We have been hearing about Indo-US Nuclear deal for the last many months. Some excited about it; some critical of it and some are just ignorant. The last lot includes most of us! While Indian and US govts are quite excited about the Nuke deal, people from both the countries are mostly clue-less! Only the opposition in both the countries are making the noise, all the time.

Torture shaala!

2007-08-06T10:41:00.000+05:30

While on one hand, our education system is flooded with new thoughts of teaching, in some parts of India, teachers use the crudest way of teaching and managing students. Students are being beaten to death, students are being electrocuted at schools for silly mistakes... Even prisons can learn a few lessons in torturing, from these cruel teachers. The basic thing is these teachers are not trained well.(I'm sure most of them are not trained at all) The noblest service of teaching has been turned into just a job!
We should thank God for having studied under a good teacher, which we normally take for granted.

Kopykatman and Gabbar Singh's killers

2007-08-06T10:28:00.000+05:30

Priya Dutt meets Sonia Gandhi! Why?

2007-08-04T00:48:00.000+05:30

For the judiciary in India, Sanjay Dutt is just another convict.
Sanjay Dutt, before being shifted to Yerwada jail, said he has faith
in Indian Judiciary. The very next day, his MP-sister Priya Dutt
met Sonia Gandhi in Dehli!
What does that mean, the meeting was to influence the judiciary?
Or is it to lobbying for her brother?
Either way, it seems very unethical! Atleast when you look at many
other convicts in the 1993 bomb blast case

Sanjay Dutt has a company in Yerwada jail, Gandhiji!

2007-08-03T11:22:00.000+05:30

Finally Sanjubaba has someone he knows, for company in jail.
Gandhiji!
Gandhiji's favourite jail Yerwada is where Sanjay Dutt will spend next six years (I feel he'll come out early) of his jail term. I'm sure this is better for Sanjay than Arthur Road jail, which houses most of the hardcore underworld gangsters.

Indian Cricket team's only fifth test win in England

2007-08-02T12:48:00.000+05:30

When Indian cricket team defeated English team in the second Test, it was only the 5th test win for India on British soil! And India is celebrating 75 years of cricket! Pathetic! That should help all those veteran freedom fighters to stay nostalgic!

More Kannada cartoons

2007-08-02T12:42:00.000+05:30

As requested by many of my Kannadiga friends, I'm posting more Kannada cartoons

Film Star Sanjay Dutt gets jail!

2007-08-01T01:22:00.000+05:30

Sunjay Dutt is sent to jail.
Bollywood tried it's best to rally behind the star.
Some of the actors seem to be bit bitter about the verdict.
But the truth is, law of the nation is equal for all!
Even if he's the son of a great human being like Sunil Dutt.
The judge, public prosecutor must have been under tremendous amount of pressure created by media and to some extent Sanjubaba's fans.
But at the end of the day, justice played the role of a Superstar!

Musharraf is in dilemma over Dawood Ibrahim

2007-07-31T13:08:00.000+05:30

Musharraf is paying price for his past deeds again.
Dawood Ibrahim has been on India's most wanted list for the many many years.But Dawood has been protected by Pakistan. Now Pakistan's generous donor US wants Dawood! Though India sent it's first claim on Dawood, Musharraf is in real dilemma!

China to play Cricket!

2007-07-30T14:27:00.000+05:30

China is hiring coaches and cricketers from India and Pakistan to teach lakhs of youngsters, cricket. According to their plan, they will come up with a professional cricket team to take part in the Asia Cup Cricket in a couple of years. In another part of the World, called India, Kapil Dev-led Indian Cricket League is on hiring spree. Though they have mostly hired recently retired cricketers, the hunt is on for some present cricketers. For a change off the field cricket is getting more exciting!

The Hunt for Gabbar Singh!

2007-07-29T11:51:00.000+05:30

Suresh Nair, the writer of Kopykatman, was a film journalist with Bombay Times, now writes for movies. His recent films are Namastey London and Shootout At Lokhandwala. He also writes columns for the newspaper DNA.

1993 Mumbai Bomb Blast judgement!

2007-07-28T00:28:00.000+05:30

Yakub Memon, one of the key accused in the 1993 Mumbai Bomb Blasts case, was given death sentence by the Court. Yakub in a filmy style said "Oh Lord, forgive him(the judge), he doesn't know what he's doing!" Yakub known for his filmy dialogues, even in the courtroom, once compared his situation to the one in Hindi movie, Deewar.

More Kannada cartoons

2007-07-27T15:53:00.000+05:30

"When he grows up, he'll make TV serials. Look at
him, how he stretched 2-minute story to three hours"

More Kannada cartoons

2007-07-27T15:49:00.000+05:30

"Gambling? I just bought a Crorepati dream for ten rupees"

Mumbai is fifth most honest city in the world!

2007-07-27T09:27:00.000+05:30

Every year so many global surveys come out to label Indians' integrity, honesty and other values. We crib when we are ranked low and we celebrate when our ranking is among the top slots. But do we need to take these surveys as a benchmark of our values? How authentic are these surveys? Are you sure they tested your values before they decided your ranking on integrity scale? Questions and more questions! Sadly we still regard these surveys highly!

Weather saves Indian cricket team from the defeat

2007-07-26T01:07:00.000+05:30

George Bush, now has two enemies!

2007-07-25T00:50:00.000+05:30

Can't stop sympathising with Americans!
First they created and armed a monster called Taliban, which went on to grow as big as Al-Qaeda.
Now Al-Qaeda is multiplying! Bush waged a war to wipe out Bin Laden, but ended up spending billions of dollars.
Now he has one more challenge, to find Zawahiri!

Indian women wear wrong sized bra!

2007-07-25T00:45:00.000+05:30

This page was about women's ignorance about bra-size.
According to a study, 9 out of 10 Indian women wear wrong size bra!
I couldn't find a proper picture which is aesthetic too
(And had to keep in mind Mumbai's moral police too!), so went for a stylised illustration.

Harry Potter mania!

2007-07-24T09:59:00.000+05:30

This is one craze which will never die.
HARRY POTTER!
I'm one of those very few people
who don't understand this mania!
But I loved the digital effects of the movie
which made the Harry Potter movies a treat to watch.
I wonder how these kids relate to Harry Potter plots.
And the kids who struggle to pronounce their own name,
talk about tongue twister names in the book with ease!
May be that's the magic of Harry Potter books.
I just wonder where our own fantasy stories,
that our grandma used to tell, are buried!

Pratibha Patil as rubber stamp President!

2007-07-23T13:32:00.000+05:30

We, the people of Indian Republic will still miss Kalam more, because Madame Sonia Gandhi's presidential choice is in complete contrast to Kalam's calibre and his values in life. The allegations against our new President may prove to be false. But it's more to do with the image you've lived with. May be Sonia Gandhi wanted a complete rubber stamp who wouldn't question back. Even Kalam had his own opinion on issues concerning the nation. People don't want to understand the politics of politics. They just miss Kalam!

Hari Puttar and the cutlet on fire!

2007-07-23T01:37:00.000+05:30

Mumbai building collapse

2007-07-21T02:10:00.000+05:30

The cartoon is meant to ridicule the ignorance of educated city-citizens who stay in the flats, alter the basic rules of structural engineering to suit their aesthetic sense.And in the process, make the building, graveyard for other members of the society too. Somehow we have been successful in convincing ourselves that DISASTERS DON'T HAPPEN TO US!

Musharraf's only opposition!

2007-07-20T10:11:00.000+05:30

Doctor Shilpa Shetty? What honour!

2007-07-19T00:40:00.000+05:30

Everyone is entitled to his/her right to be a stupid. Next time when you say Dr. Shilpa Shetty, you'll certainly feel stupid, thanks to a so called university in UK. Leeds University honoured this shetty gal with an honorary doctorate! Bizarre!
I always believed that honorary doctorate has some honour, may be UK university doesn't think so! We all love to ride on someone's success-wave, but this seems to be the height! I can't see one reason to feel proud being an Indian because of this honour. In fact I feel insulted that the UK University couldn't see a better Indian choice! May be the University wants to attract more Asian students. May be they want to raise some funds through bollywood naach-gaana sometime in the future. May be...

Male casting couch in Bollywood!

2007-07-18T00:29:00.000+05:30

Harry Potter gets protection

2007-07-17T10:33:00.000+05:30

This Midday page is about the new Harry Potter book, Harry Potter and the deathly hallows, which is attracting loads of attention world-over.In India, where pirates thrive on such phenomenon, the publishers are taking no chances and hiring lawyers & police to protect the new Harry Potter book from piracy. Will they succeed? Checkout the footpath of Matunga, Churchgate and fashion street!

Terror investigations Bangalored!

2007-07-17T01:02:00.000+05:30

Harry Potter will die?

2007-07-16T09:37:00.000+05:30

Some old kannada cartoons

2007-07-15T23:55:00.000+05:30

Some of the old Kannada cartoons

2007-07-15T23:49:00.000+05:30

Salman Rushdie and Kopykatman

2007-07-15T16:05:00.000+05:30

Murali takes 700 test wicket

2007-07-15T14:44:00.000+05:30

Sports cover for Sunday Midday, celebrating Muthiah Muralitharan's 700th test wicket. Apart from cartooning, if you enjoy doing design and graphics, you shouldn't avoid that opportunity. It makes you stay with the news.

Terrorism plots in Goa, Konkan

2007-07-15T14:26:00.000+05:30

Sunday Midday cover on Terrorism plots in Konkan coastal from Goa, Karwar,Bhatkal in Karnataka to Kasargod in Kerala.

Nothing spectaculor cover, but added few elements to make it interesting. (Read the full story)

Harry Potter in India! Midday 14th July '07

2007-07-13T23:50:00.000+05:30

10 second sketches!

2007-07-13T10:18:00.000+05:30

For people who are wondering where do I get poses for my cartoon characters, here's the answer. These are the poses which are embedded in my mind. That's the strength of life-sketching. You sketch once and it remains with you for life. You unknowingly recollect the poses from your memory.

I was introduced to life-sketching through animation.We, a bunch of animation aspirants used to toil for hours sketching each other's poses. It was fun. The fun part of the sketching session was we had to capture the poses in 10-60 seconds! Though no details could be added, the idea was to get the strong pose, which adds so much life to the key drawings in animation. I still miss those sketching sessions! Here are some rough sketches which are done in 10 seconds.

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India's future cup is missing

2007-07-13T00:27:00.000+05:30

Kannada Cartoons

2007-07-12T12:39:00.000+05:30

I wish more teeagers, who want to pursue cartooning as a career, could get better guidance. It reminds me of my college days, when I used to struggle for each piece of info which could help me draw right, draw better. I couldn't find anybody who would guide me. (The town I hail from, Kundapur, near Udupi, hardly had any known cartoonist. Some of the known cartoonists from the place were settled in big cities) Newspapers/magazines would outright reject my cartoons when they found some mistakes in it, instead of informing me about the mistake and giving me a chance to correct my mistakes.
I used to write all my doubts/queries on post card and mail it to known cartoonists.(Kannada magazine Tharanga had this habit of publishing cartoonists' address. May be the first Kannada magazine to give writers' status to cartoonists) Not surprisinngly none of them would respond! Haha!

But fortunately a cartoonist named Manju did respond to my post card and answered most of my basic questions, in detail. That helped me to use the right ink, right pen and draw in right size so that publishers can select more of my cartoons.

Why I'm being nostlagic? Few of my old cartoons, that I found in my old file took me back in time and reminded me of struggling days. I'm posting some of my old cartoons which were done for Kannada magazines. I didn't try to translate them into English as some humour may be lost in the translataion. Each language has it's own flavour!

I'm planning post more of my old Kannada cartoons, most of them were published. It's a nice way of observing the difference in my style of drawing over the years.(If you can notice I used to add lots of unnecessary details in my earlier cartoons. Now my cartoons are more simple with details to minimum)

And also the kind of humour I stumbled upon!

Nikah, online acceptable, Midday

2007-07-12T00:50:00.000+05:30

2007-07-11T01:55:00.000+05:30

Musharraf and Mumbai blast anniversary

2007-07-10T10:37:00.000+05:30

THANKS EVERYONE FOR VOTING TAJ
A big THANKS for all the media!

2007-07-10T10:01:00.000+05:30

Kopykatman and Mumbai

cartoons in Midday 6th and 7th July '07

2007-07-06T21:05:00.000+05:30

Kalam as president of India, in Midday 4th July '07

2007-07-04T11:42:00.000+05:30

President Election circus, Midday 3rd July '07

2007-07-03T11:18:00.000+05:30

Maharashtra CM was in Seattle while Mumbai was in drowning and in darkness, MIDDAY, 2ND JULY '07

2007-07-02T15:06:00.000+05:30

Pyaar mein kabhie kabhie, Sunday Midday 1st July '07

2007-07-01T17:46:00.000+05:30

Graphic on bees swarming Jet Airways plane in Mumbai!, Midday

2007-06-30T13:55:00.001+05:30

President election- mudslinging, Midday 30th June '07

2007-06-30T12:00:00.000+05:30

Gordon Brown, New UK PM, Midday 29th June '07

2007-06-29T13:59:00.000+05:30

mayawati's fortunes, midday 28th june '07

2007-06-28T11:59:00.000+05:30