Actor Philip Seymour Hoffman Dead: Drug Overdose?

Actor Philip Seymour Hoffman, one of the leading actors of Hollywood is found dead on Sunday in his Greenwich Village apartment . He was found in a non-responsive state on the bathroom floor. This was in response to a 911 call. On arrival, the emergency medical service team found him on the bathroom floor with a syringe in his arm in a comatose condition. On examination he was found dead.

The police investigators found him with two small plastic bags that contains a substance similar to heroin. So, as per the police spokesman, the investigators are examining causes linked to a probable drug overdose. The investigation is already under way.

He spoke in the past of struggling with drugs. In a 2006 interview in which he told CBS he had at times abused "anything I could get my hands on. I liked it all."

He is survived by three children and his partner Mimi O'Donnell. The Hoffman family issued the following statement through their publicist."We are devastated by the loss of our beloved Phil and appreciate the outpouring of love and support we have received from everyone," and "This is a tragic and sudden loss and we ask that you respect our privacy during this time of grieving. Please keep Phil in your thoughts and prayers."

If it is confirmed that the cause of his death is in fact a drug overdose, it would recall the death of actor Heath Ledgerthe in a similar fashion, in 2008. In this case, the cause of death was a combination of lethal drugs, and the location, a similar apartment in the same locality.

Actor Philip Hoffman is damn good as an actor and won the Academy Award for his title role in the 2005 biographical film "Capote." When he played writer Truman Capote, he brought a workmanlike intensity to his roles almost always. "This is a horrible day for those who worked ‎with Philip," Tom Hanks once commented as a compliment to the late actor.

Hoffman appeared last month at the Sundance Film Festival in Utah. At the premiere he told something very remarkable to explain "loneliness" in connection with the character he was playing. "I think it'd be hard for anyone not to connect with the loneliness," he told in connection with Gunther's personality, whose character he played in "A Most Wanted Man." It may be easy to play a lonely character, but not that easy to stay lonely and enjoy it.

Perhaps, with great talent comes great loneliness.

Watch the top 10 performances of the late actor. You will know why he is called one of the best actors of his time and is missed so much.

Amazon Drones: New Trends In Product Delivery

The U.S. Government is not the only one using drones any more.

To keep up the demands of  Cristmas sale Amazon.com is using drones for faster product delivery. This news has created quite  a stir. While some see and appreciate the techonology involved some, in the other hand, think this doesn't augur well for the future.

Delivery Drones in action Image from USA Today

This system is called "Prime Air on 60 Minutes" by CEO Jeff Bezos.

These "Drones"  can  deliver packages below five pounds within 30 minutes; straight from Amazon distribution centers to customers' door steps. Amazing!

Is Amazon the only one who is in the pipe line? Heck NO! There's others too. As per media reports "United Parcel Service" is now researching for drone delivery systems  too.

The Negative side

Whether this is good or bad it's difficult to say at this point of time. When human work force is replaced by machine there's always a stir. Loss of jobs is the immediate fear in people's mind whenever there's a technological break-through. New technologies always encroached into the territory of human work force, but this enroachment   is completely unprecedented.

But, we've always moved on.


To get other reports about this story check here.

Lo! Behold the Sand Art For Kali Puja

Sand, as it's found in nature, has been a part of many  processes, both ancient and modern, but hardly it's been used for portraying beauty and art.

You may recall Pythagoras drawing lines on sand with twigs to elucidate obscure mathematical and geometrical formulae in ancient Greece. In the famous Hollywood film "300" Leonydus, the Spartan king explains his battle plan on sand. There may be another thousand of such examples of use of sand, but hardly any for art.

That's until the artist from Odisa, name "Mr. Sudarshan" gave a new meaning to use of sand in the field of art.

Sand Art from an Unknown Artist

Since then many other artists took love for sand art and practised it with much love and dedication.

The photograph you find in this post attracted many people on 31st October 2013, yesterday in front of SBI, Main branch Bhubaneswar. The constant flashing of cameras and a small gathering of people drew my attention enough. In spite of my very busy schedule I was curious enough to find out about the gathering.

I hate to say that I didn't have enough time to meet the artist. He was not around and I didn't have enough time to wait for him. Then I thought, perhaps the best way to appreciate is to know the art better than the artist as they are both one and inseparable.

The photograph is here for you to see for yourself. Either you love it or you hate it, there's no in-between. If you lose the chance to have a glimpse, you lose it for ever expect for a photograph.

Sand art are very transitory, just like life. When things are beautiful as they are perishable we pay more attention because we miss it more when it's gone.

I'm posting this in a hurry, just stealing a few moments in-between tasks I had to complete before I leave Bhubaneswar, but it's a labour of love. I hope you enjoy the shot taken by my HTC mobile which can never compare to a digital SLR.

Pran On Amazon India Best Sellers List

The eponymous ‘bad man’ of Hindi cinema has stirred up the Indian book market, especially Amazon.in within 24 hrs of his passing away. A book titled after the late actor is in the Amazon.in best sellers list as of now rivaling the actor who  now tops in  Google.com's Indian Hot Trends list.

This book is titled "...and Pran A Biography" in a very dramatic way, as Pran's name would appear in the casting of a film in which he acted. This biography is authored by Bunny Reuben, a film journalist  of very high repute. Mr. Reuben also has few more furs in his writing cap- biographies of the great  Mehboob Khan, another legend and of ever great Dilip Kumar, the star legend.

The veteran writer who took to film journalism in late 1940, wrote feature articles for Filmfare, Star & Style, and the Indian Express group. In 1975, he founded and edited Cine Blitz. It's told about Bunny Reuben that he has raised Indian film journalism to the level of literature.

This book on Pran comes from a master about another.

The master portrayed his roles with so much dexterity that for over a span of 30 years after  Independence, no male child (almost) was named after his name. Such was the maliciousness attached with  his name, least to say about his characters. Even after he switched over to character roles in film  "Upkar" with Manoj Kumar, his evil aura hardly faded.

Spanning a career of 60 years in films with almost 400 films to his credit, the masters life is the  history of Indian Hindi cinema for half a century. This biography not only portrays the evil man on  screen, but also the intimate portrait of the lesser known man behind the image. This soft aspect of  Pran has evaded most of all as they hated to know anything about the villain.

This book can be found in Amazon's India store, online. The book is priced at Rs. 399.00







Click here to buy it from Amazon India

The Sher Khan Pran Passes Away

Pran Kishan Sikand, better known as PRAN passes away. The stern villain loses to the hero called "life."

At the ripe age of 93(1920-2013), on July 12, 2013 he breathed his last in Mumbai's Lilavati Hospital. This was  preceded by a prolonged spell of illness as the near and dear ones of the legend put it. This is not quite uncommon at an age of 90 or beyond.

Just before a month or so he was conferred with the prestigious "Dadasaheb Phalke Award,"  to be exact in the month of May 2013. This award came too late. He was not even able to take up the journey to New Delhi to receive the award. The award was handed over to him the next day, formally at his home in Mumbai. Why so late? Well...better not to mention.

The Punjabi lad started his career as usually as a "Hero" in Punjabi films. Destined to make it big, he moved to Mumbai, Bombay as it was at that time, with an eye-full of dreams... and succeeded. He has near to 400 films to his credit.

Immortalized as "Sher Khan" of Zanzeer, he touched the heart of the Indian film lovers in many roles. He was voted "Villain of the Millennium." He can be conveniently chosen as the "Grand dad of Villains" of Indian cinema, but his best came in many genres. He has played character roles too in his later years like many other villains. Some Villain-come-character actors are still following his foot steps.

His break through came in the film Ziddi (1948) against Dev Anand. He then rose like a mega star and played the villain opposite all the superstars... that was his stature. However, he broke the stereotype in Upkar, co-starring Manoj Kumar, a hit film of 1967's.

To name few of his hit: Zanjeer, Don, Amar Akbar Anthony, Munimji, Devdas(Old), Madhumati, Ram Aur Shyam, Jis Desh Mein Ganga Behti Hai, and Kaalia e.t.c. In my personal opinion he is going to be best remembered  for his song "Yaari Hai Imaan Meri Yaar Mera Zindagi."

His passing away came as no surprise as he was ailing for quite sometime, but he is going to be ever remembered for his immortal performances. An era comes to an end...as every good thing has an end.

The poet, hearty, humane and romantic actor-villain of the pre-Mogambo era calls it a day.