#Modi ji come on TV

[the-conversation-pod]

The Very Important Internet BL (VIIB) Awards 2024

AND WE'RE BACK

It's time for NiNi's and Ben's favorite annual tradition: our VIIB Awards! Come join us as we hand out awards for Acting, Ships, Immortal Technique, and Top Tings!

Then, stick around as we talk about our special class awards for queer works that don't necessarily qualify as QL.

We will include the Winner's List at the top of the transcript below (so scroll past it if you want to avoid spoilers).

Timestamps

The timestamps will now correspond with chapters on Spotify for easier navigation.

00:00:00 - Welcome 00:00:55 - Introduction: It's Awards Season Once More 00:02:09 - Acting! 00:08:00 - Ships Ahoy! 00:16:31 - Immortal Technique 00:29:05 - Top Tings 00:41:43 - Special Class Awards 00:43:11 - Special Class: Honourable Mentions 00:47:36 - Special Class: Mark Pakin 6th Man Awards 00:51:13 - Special Class: Standout Queer Narratives 01:06:00 - Outro

The Conversation Transcripts!

Thanks to the continued efforts of @lurkingshan as an editor and proofreader, we are able to bring you transcripts of the episodes.

We will endeavor to make the transcripts available when the episodes launch, and it is our goal to make them available for past episodes (Coming soon thanks to @wen-kexing-apologist). When transcripts are available, we will attach them to the episode post (like this one) and put the transcript behind a Read More cut to cut down on scrolling.

Please send our volunteers your thanks!

Winners’ List:

Rising Star: Aungpao Ochiris Suwanacheep (Dynamite, Cooking Crush; Khaopan, My Love Mix Up, TH)

Best Cast: Modi (Wei Qian), Kurt Huang (Wei Zhi Yuan), Tammy Lin (Wei Li Li), Kim Jae Hoon (San Pang) (Unknown, TW)

Best Pair: Tay Tawan Vihokratana (Karan) and New Thitipoom Techa-apaikhun (Achi) (Cherry Magic Thailand, TH)

Best Actor: Lee Tae Vin (Tae Myung Ha, Love for Love’s Sake, KR)

Best Ghost Ship: Mawin/Ton (23.5, TH)

Best Friendship: Three Must-eat-eers: Prem, Dynamite, Samsee (Cooking Crush, TH)

Best Side Ship: Fire/Dynamite (Cooking Crush, TH)

Best Main Ship: Shiba/Haruto (Doku Koi: Doku mo Sugireba Koi to Naru (Love Is A Poison), JP)

Best OST Song: “Camino” - Let Free The Curse Of Taekwondo, KR (performed by Gogang, music and lyrics by Gogang and Jung Mijin)

Best Music: 4Minutes, TH (Banana Sound Studio, composer: Toy Terdsak Janpan, MS: Pimmata Patpibul, Jeerapat Jongkolsongkroh)

Best Production: Love For Love's Sake, KR (AD: Ha Ye Rim)

Best Original Story: Hwang Da Seul (Let Free The Curse Of Taekwondo, KR)

Best Adapted Story: Toyama Erika (I Became the Star of a BL Drama, adapted from BL Drama no Shuen ni Narimashita by Suzuri Machi, JP)

Best Direction: 25 Ji, Akasaka de (At 25:00 In Akasaka), JP (Dir: Horie Takahiro and Kawasaki Ryo, DP: Hanamura Yasushi, Ed: Kitani Mizuki)

Best GL: Tsukuritai Onna to Tabetai Onna (She Loves to Cook and She Loves To Eat) (NHK, JP)

Best Pulp: Knock Knock, Boys! (Kongthup Production/WeTV, TH)

Best Romantic Comedy: Doku Koi: Doku mo Sugireba Koi to Naru (Love Is A Poison) (TBS, JP)

Best Romantic Drama: 25 Ji, Akasaka de (At 25:00 In Akasaka) (TV Tokyo, JP)

Best Genre Romance: Love For Love’s Sake (Wavve Studios, KR)

Show of the Year: Let Free The Curse Of Taekwondo (Studio Him Energetic Company, KR)

Honourable Mentions: 

7 Days Before Valentine (TH) - Experimental

Tadaima Okaeri and Twilight Out of Focus (JP) - Animated

6th Man Awards: 

Dome Jaruwat Cheawaram (Cooking Crush, Jack & Joker)

Title Kirati Puangmalee (We Are, Wandee Goodday, Kidnap)

Standout Queer Narratives: 

Ossan no Pantsu ga Nandatte Ii Janai ka (Don’t Care For An Old Man’s Underwear) (JP) - family drama

Marahuyo Project (PH) - community drama

Love In The Big City (KR) - slice of life drama

Kimi no Tsugu Kaori wa (Fragrance You Inherit) (JP) - family drama

Interview With the Vampire (US) - southern gothic drama

00:00:00 - Welcome

NiNi

Welcome to The Conversation, the Queer Media And Brown Liquor Podcast.

Ben

I'm Ben, the media critic.

NiNi

I’m NiNi, the VIIBs queen.

Ben

And we are your drunk Caribbean uncle and auntie who are sitting on the porch in the rocking chairs.

NiNi

We’re here to talk queer film and dramas, with a special focus on Asian QL.

Ben

So if you like to dive deep into queer stories…

NiNi

If you like cracked out takes on art and commerce in queer media…

Ben

If you just enjoy simping for attractive people…

NiNi

We believe in simping!

Ben

Tune in!

00:00:55 - Introduction: It's Awards Season Once More

*trumpet fanfare*

Ben 

And we're back. It's time for our favorite annual tradition. It's time for the VIIB Awards.

NiNi 

Yes, we are here to discuss all the best things that we saw in 2024 and that you should watch, as well. We've got five main categories in the VIIB Awards. Acting, ships, immortal technique, top tings, and our special class awards.

Ben 

For those of you who are new to us, this is the Very Important Internet BL Awards. NiNi and I started our show on this and we will be handing out plates once again to our favorite boys, girls, and otherwise stellar performers.

Ben 

NiNi got deep into her cups before we started and she was late, so unfortunately I am also deep into my cups already.

NiNi

So we're just gonna have some fun and try to get through these as quickly as possible before we get blotto.

00:02:09 - Acting!

NiNi

Let's start with our acting awards.

The great thing about being an actor is that you're invited into people's worlds that you normally would never be invited into. People want to tell their stories, they want to be seen, they want to be understood. As an actor you just get to go on these incredible journeys that most people are never invited to or never have an opportunity to travel.

Mark Ruffalo

NiNi

And the first award is Rising Star. Our awardee for Rising Star this year is Aungpao Ochiris Suwanacheep, who played Dynamite in Cooking Crush and Khaopan in My Love Mix-Up. 

We love Aungpao on this podcast. We loved Dynamite. It was the first thing we ever saw him do, and we fell immediately in love with the character. And every time I've seen Aungpao since then this year, he has delivered. So I'm really looking forward to seeing what he does next. Very excited about him.

Ben 

I'm so excited for him. I thought he did a great job in both of his roles despite feelings I have about both shows. Congratulations, sir. We will be sending you a plate.

NiNi 

Did we ever decide what we're putting on these plates? We're going into the third year of the VIIB awards and we don't know what's going on these plates.

Ben 

It is clearly gonna be like two Caribbean mason jars full of like a fruity drink.

NiNi 

It’s gonna be brown liquor! [laughs] 

Ben 

Hell yeah.

NiNi 

Amazing. 

*xylophone sound*

Our next award is going to the Best Cast of the year, and this award is for the best ensemble performance, including individual performances, chemistry, and interplay.

Ben 

This is going to go to the cast of Unknown, including Modi–also known as Chris Chiu, Kurt Huang, Tammy Lin, and Kim Jae Hoon. 

This was really a special cast playing off a really complicated dynamic which takes place in-world over the course of years. So we had to watch them play maturing characters in ever-changing dynamics the whole time. Really stellar group performance from them and it resulted in some really standout individual scenes that are easy highlight reel footage.

NiNi 

They were the best cast that we saw this year in terms of the way that they gelled together and the individual performances. So congratulations, plate for you guys from Unknown.

What's our next award, Ben?

Ben 

Best Pair! Best Pair goes to the best couple performance, including individual performances, chemistry, and interplay between them. This is basically going to, because this is a romance show awards, the best couple that we saw from the acting pair this year.

NiNi 

Best Pair for 2024 is Tay Tawan Vihokratana and New Thitipoom Techaapaikhun playing Karan and Achi in Cherry Magic Thailand.

Cherry Magic Thailand was one of the best things that we saw last year, and Tay Tawan and New Thitipoom have been around for a really long time. They’ve been working together for about eight years, and every time they come back they're better and better and better, and I think that Cherry Magic Thailand was probably the best that I've ever seen them. I have not always been a New fan but he has shut my mouth lately, and I love Tay Tawan.

Best pair of the year.

Ben 

I was really impressed by them because taking over a work that is so beloved and having to perform characters that already have very strong, memorable performances is a really difficult task to do. And I think these two did a good job balancing our expectations of their dynamic based upon previous outings with meeting the demands of the work that they were adapting. That was an incredibly well done execution by both of them.

*xylophone sound*

NiNi 

Our final award in the acting category is our Best Actor, and that's for the Best Performance of the Year. Ben, who is our Best Actor for 2024?

Ben 

It's Lee Taevin for his role as Tae Myungha from Love for Love's Sake. 

Lee Taevin really wanted to take on a role like this, and he did such a great job playing the complex layers of darkness and difficulty that his character is carrying in this. It is hard to get too deep into the nuances of his performance without spoiling it for those who have not listened to our previous episode or watched the show. But in a year with some really, really strong performances within BL, the top performance goes to Lee Taevin.

NiNi 

He really stood out this year. I mean, we had a little bit of a hard time picking this one, but we landed up on him because Tae Myungha is such a visceral character. I felt everything that they wanted the character to have us feel. All the confusion, all the despair, I really, really felt the depth of his work.

Ben

Lee Taevin the veteran actor amongst the cast here, and he's the type of actor who clearly elevates other actors around them. That's a pretty important skill for him to have developed at his relatively young age. 

So congratulations, sir. Hope to see more of you next year.

00:08:00 - Ships Ahoy!

NiNi 

Moving on to our ships category.

Ben 

It's time for our SIMPY Awards! Let's go girls!

Hot Priest: Love is awful. It's awful, it's painful, it's frightening. It makes you doubt yourself, judge yourself, distance yourself from the other people in your life. It makes you selfish, makes you creepy, makes you obsessed with your hair, makes you cruel, makes you say and do things you never thought you would do.

Sister: There's something wrong with your priest.

Hot Priest: It's all any of us want and it's hell when we get there so no wonder it's something we don't want to do on our own. I was taught if we're born with love then life is about choosing the right place to put it. People talk about that a lot, it feeling right. When it feels right it's easy. But I'm not sure that's true. It takes strength to know what's right. Love isn't something that weak people do. Being a romantic takes a hell of a lot of hope. I think what they mean is when you find somebody that you love, it feels like hope.

Fleabag, Season 2 Episode 6

NiNi

I'm going to let Ben take it away with our first award in the ship category, which is the Best Ghost Ship. It should have happened and we should have seen it. So who is our best ghost ship of 2024?

Ben 

It's Mawin and Ton from 23.5.

This is how Euro can still win. We're gonna give him an award [NiNi laughs] because they should have let him kiss one of the twins in the last goddamn year or so.

NiNi 

He should have let him kiss both of the twins. He had the chance.

Ben 

We went with this one because there was an interesting narrative reason for them to have leaned into the tension that his character, Mawin, was developing with Ton, particularly because of his crush on a different character. In this case, more than any of them, they should have let them kiss…just a little bit.

NiNi 

Euro, we love you on this podcast. One of these days they will let you kiss a boy. I swear.

*xylophone sound*

Okay, moving on to the greatest of the ships, Best Friendship.

Ben 

This goes to our best besties of the year. This is not an award for the people who are the best at supporting the romantic outcomes for a couple. It is about the characters whose friendship itself is so critical to the function of these characters' lives that it in some ways challenges or even supersedes any of the romances that occur in the work. 

NiNi 

Our winners for Best Friendship go to the Three Must-eat-ers Prem, Dynamite, and Samsee from Cooking Crush, because without their friendship Cooking Crush does not work at all. It is probably more central to the story than the relationships between Prem and Ten and between Dynamite and Fire. They focus on each other and they care about each other and they're allowed to get angry at each other and when they're angry at each other they apologize for the stupid shit that they did.

Ben

We had two veteran actors who I love a lot playing Samsee and Prem with a newcomer in Dynamite. And I think it was really impressive to see the two veterans support the newcomer and create a beloved character as a result. 

This group has a real fight and breakdown in the show that challenges the core friendship itself. I found myself more moved by the resolution of the fight this friend group was having than I was any of the romantic challenges.

NiNi 

Congratulations to the Three Must-eat-ers. We will be sending you a plate.

*xylophone sound*

Ben 

On to Best Side Ship, NiNi's favorite award every goddamn year! [both laugh]

NiNi 

We decided this year that we were not gonna fight over this award. The best side ship goes to the secondary couple who best reinforce the themes of the primary couple's story.

Ben, you tell the people who has won.

Ben 

It's going to Fire and Dynamite. You thought I was done awarding Aungpao. [snickers]

NiNi 

We're never done awarding Aungpao.

Ben

You had this really interesting dynamic with Ten fighting his dad and Prem dealing with his own anxieties where on the opposite side you had Dynamite presenting himself as really forthright and open about what he is and Fire avoiding his mom. These two balanced out very well with their main couple of their show and it's not a surprise that the best side ship went to also the show with the best friendship because the character and relationship writing on this show was really stand out.

This was one of Neo's, not best known performances, but truly one of my favorites that he's done. I really liked what he did with Fire, especially coming off of playing Boston. That man is an incredibly talented actor and we are very lucky that he shows up so often for us.

NiNi 

Congratulations Fire and Dynamite, we will be sending you a plate.

Ben 

I just want everybody out there who thinks I hate GMMTV to know that, while I do have beef with them, I am not incapable of applauding good work when I see it.

*xylophone sound*

All right, Best Main Ship. We are in a romance genre. We're here for couples that we believe can make it. This always goes to the couple whose love story we actually buy into and believe. These are the people you return to. These are the ones you show people and they're like, what should I watch? These boys! Sit down!

NiNi, who is our best main ship of the year?

NiNi

Our Best Main Ship of the year is Shiba and Haruto from Love is a Poison, Japanese title Doku koi: Doku mo sugeriba koi to naru. 

The show was hilarious and had so much heart and Shiba and Haruto's relationship at the center of it all is really what pulled me in. The acting is amazing, the writing is amazing, this is a true battle couple (@lurkingshan). They got together and decided that they were going to stand shoulder to shoulder, back to back and fight off everybody who tried to come for them.

I believe in them. I believe that they'll last.

Ben 

This show has a fist bump involving rings that legit made me understand what it means to swoon. This show whipped ass! It may seem like an oddity show, ignore that part. Just go fucking watch it (@solitaryandwandering). 

This show understood all of the reservations the audience might have from their initial reaction to them and went out of their way to demolish them. This show was fucking fun and I really loved these two so much. I will be thinking about that man's fake posing during their photo opportunities. I'll be thinking about that towel sequence where he threw it on him in the onsen. Don't think I forgot! [NiNi laughs] These guys were great.

NiNi

They even got to have a yukata moment.

Ben 

They sure did! [snickers]

NiNi 

They fell in love so hard and it was delightful to watch.

Ben 

I just love when a couple fights for each other, especially when one of them can't.

NiNi 

My god. He squared up and then got his ass beat. And it was incredible. [both laugh]

No notes.

00:16:31 - Immortal Technique

Ben 

It's time to do some more traditional awards. We're moving on to Immortal Technique, where we talk about technical and production related awards.

This is one of my favorite sections every year because this is the one that rewards you for paying attention to details.

NiNi 

This is also the one where we basically talk about the people behind the scenes, the people whose names are in the credits but who don't get a lot of credit, and we always love to give that credit out on our show.

As a director I, I kind of, I, I have quite a good ability at—at the very beginning when we're first starting to write the screenplay—I have quite a good ability to imagine the film in my head. Like you know even the very first page of, of, of the script as we do it I can start to imagine the camera angles, the music, I can start to feel how the film's coming together and I sort of have this imaginary film starting to be put together and that's right back at the beginning. And uh, in this case we started this process about five or six years ago and then what happens during the course of the movie is that this this film that's playing in my head always gets modified because as you design the sets, you know then the sets that we've designed replace the ones that I originally sort of imagined and then as the actors come on board their faces put fit into the characters I imagined. And so my little internal movie is always changing and being updated so that, um, it's, it's you know it always ends up better. Everything, every time my film in my head gets changed it's, it's improving all the time because all these all these other people are coming on board and giving their input into it.

Peter Jackson, interviewed by Charlie Rose, 2002

NiNi

We're starting with Best OST Song, and this is for the song as recorded. The style or genre, does the song fit the mood of the show, composition and arrangement, production and performance, usage and listenability. Basically, is it a bop and do you think about it a lot? 

So Ben, what is our Best OST Song of the year?

Ben 

This was actually a pretty extensive discussion we had in the background about this one, but in the end, we are excited to award Camino from Let Free the Curse of Taekwondo, performed by Gogang, music and lyrics by Gogang and Jung Mi Jin.

NiNi 

Man, I love this song. Every time it came on at the beginning of an episode, you just felt yourself sinking into the place that the show wanted you to be. It starts off with this acapella harmonizing that just really got you into your feelings. And then a little bit of piano, a little bit of strings, It was very not flashy, but really effective. 

If you have not watched Let Free the Curse of Taekwondo, I don't know what you're waiting for. Listen to the song in context, then go listen to it out of context. It's a great song.

Ben 

I'm rewatching it right now with Emily. We just started the first episode and legit, the intro starts and she's like, it's one of those shows.

NiNi 

Exactly, puts you straight into the right place that you need to be in.

*xylophone sound*

Ben 

Our next award is for the Best Music. This is the use of music overall. Scoring, music supervision, music editing. It's all about where and how music is used throughout the entire production. As usual, we had a lot of feelings about this one. But in the end, NiNi, we decided to award...

NiNi 

4 Minutes. The composer is Toy Terdsak Janpan, music supervisors Pimmata Patpibul and Jeerapat Jongkolsongkroh and done by Banana Sound Studio.

4 Minutes, one thing that it did do well was everything around the production. And the music in particular was very evocative and very effective at setting mood. The show worked very effectively through the soundscape. It was well done. Kudos to them.

*xylophone sound*

Ben

On to Best Production! This is kind of a catch-all award goes into production design and art direction, set design and dressing, location choice, costuming and hair, makeup, and a little bit of sound design color grading and editing. This is about shows that do a good job with their world building, their aesthetic, and basically do they really capture the vibe.

NiNi 

Best Production this year goes to Love for Love's Sake, art director Ha Ye Rim.

Ben 

You've got a person who is essentially isekai'd into another world. Like he passes out in our world, wakes up inside of what feels like a video game. And they have to convey a lot of details about what's going on with the mechanics of the video game and all the ways that the world is behaving around him. None of this is very easy to do, particularly on a very short runtime. And they manage to give us all of the information and details we need without huge exposition dumps. And they do such a great job.

There are some key details, particularly the work they do with Tae Myungha's eyes and his hair in particular. This is one of those shows that really rewarded us as viewers for paying attention to more details than just what was happening in the subtitles or when the boys were at their prettiest smiling at each other. Paying attention was such an important part of really being able to embrace and understand this experience.

NiNi

It was incredibly impressive, the way that they built up the video game world and all the ways that the video game starts to glitch. It starts so subtly, you almost can't tell and then by the time it builds up you start thinking back to all the little things that showed up in the background that told you that the game was glitching. It is really serious attention to detail that they put into this show and for that we award them a plate.

*xylophone sound*

We're going to move on now to the writing awards, the first one is Best Original Story. So that is for premise, story, screenplay, stage directions, dialogue, character voice, all the things that go into writing an original story.

Ben 

This year's award goes to Hwang da Seul for Let Free the Curse of Taekwondo. Welcome back, ma'am, and well deserved. 

My goodness gracious me. Good job, ma’am. This was one of the most stunning experiences we got to have this year. Once again, you were determined to make us love some boys and then break them up for a ridiculous amount of time and make us really root for them to get back together. And holy shit, you did a great job this time. This was honestly such an unexpected and really special experience. 

The reason why we award Original Story is a significant amount of BL is adapted. A lot of productions, for a lot of valid reasons, rely on adapting existing work that already has a fan base that's ready to support it again and advocate for it. It's always really impressive when someone does something original that manages to cut through the noise and become one of the most memorable things we may have ever watched in genre.

NiNi 

The writing of that confessional scene where Shin Juyoung takes his cross off and puts his forehead on the wall and confesses through the wall. I mean, I don't know how somebody comes up with that, but I got goosebumps.

Ben 

There's the bit where Hyunho is going to Dohoe's house to get something. And Shin Juyoung shows up and we just see the three of them staring at each other in a hallway. There is not much dialogue in this sequence, but that is such a charged moment. Incredible stuff.

*xylophone sound*

NiNi 

So from original story, we're moving to the Best Adapted Story. This is for adaptation of a source work from another medium or another culture. 

Ben, who wrote our best adapted story?

Ben 

Toyama Erika for I Became the Star of a BL Drama, adapted from BL drama no shuen ni narimashita by Suzuri Machi. 

This was the first thing we watched on New Year's Eve into New Year's. This was the show that set the standard of the year for me. This show was legitimately funny. In a really short runtime, they captured the total essence of the story. 

What a solid experience to start the year. And good news, gays, theys, and thems—it’s getting a sequel. [snickers]

NiNi 

[laughs] We are. We are. I'm so excited about that.

Congratulations to Toyama Erika, who wrote, I'm sorry, the best line of the year when the writer of the drama within the drama says, “We will drown the audience in the BL goodness.”

Ben 

That line stands alongside “Every fujoshi has a dick in her heart.”

NiNi

Congratulations to our original story and adapted story writers, Hwang da Seul and Toyama Erika. We will be sending you plates.

*xylophone sound*

Our final technical award goes to Best Direction. This award is for overall vision, filmmaking style and visual impact, photography, cinematography, shot selection, and direction of actor movement and expression. This is usually awarded to the directing team, which usually consists of the director, the director of photography or the cinematographer, and the editor. 

Ben, which show had the best direction of 2024?

Ben 

It's going to 25 Ji, Akasaka de, AKA At 25:00 in Akasaka. Directed by Hori Takahiro and Kawasaki Rio, DP Hanamura Yasushi, and edited by Kitani Mizuki. 

We just awarded I Became the Main Role in a BL Drama. And then this show released and I was like, are we doing this again, but moody? And they said, we sure are! 

And we loved it. I cannot believe we got similar premises in the same year and both were standout productions of the year. I'm a sucker for actors playing actors. And I really loved the work that went into this particular show.

NiNi 

The way that the show plays with the camera, inside the show inside the show, the way the camera kind of zooms in to immerse you in the moment, and then pulls back out to show you how fake the moment is.  They really make an effort to blur that line between real and fake, which is a big theme in the show. So very well done.

Ben

My favorite section every year. BL is really silly sometimes and there's a wide range of quality. And I don't think it's always for a lack of effort on people's part. But damn is it really good to have some things that are good enough that you are willing to show it to some of your bougie friends to make them sit down and watch some fucking BL. Thank you to everyone.

NiNi 

Thank you to all of our Immortal Technique winners. You will be getting your plates in the mail if we ever get around to sending out these magical plates. [Ben laughs] But y'all did good and we love you.

00:29:05 - Top Tings

NiNi 

Let's move on to our top tings. All the best things that we saw this year.

Ben 

Historically we've awarded these on some genre lines, but primarily country lines. With the greater diversification of the genre and also the absence of certain countries for economic and political reasons, we have opted to not award based on countries anymore.

We are going to be awarding on genre-oriented categories only. With that being said, NiNi, take us in.

MC: Gentlemen, pray silence for the President of the Royal Society for Putting Things on Top of Other Things.

President: I thank you, gentlemen. The year has been a good one for the society. Our Members have put more things on top of other things than ever before. But I should warn you, this is no time for complacency now. There are still many things that are I cannot emphasize too strongly,  not on top of other things. I myself on my way here this evening saw a thing that was not on top of another thing in any way. Shame indeed. But we must not allow ourselves to become too despondent for we must never forget that if there was not one thing that was not on top of another thing, our society would be nothing more than a meaningless body of men gathered together for no good purpose. 

Monty Python, The Royal Society for Putting Things On Top Of Other Things

NiNi 

We're going to start with the Best GL. Well, there's no competition really in 2024.

Ben 

It is Tsukuritai Onna to Tabetai Onna, AKA She Loves to Cook and She Loves to Eat from NHK in Japan. 

NHK really delivered for us and I was so relieved when they actually came back to continue the She Loves to Cook and She Loves to Eat story. Because after the first 10 episodes, we were not finished.

The ongoing exploration of queerness and relationships between women in the modern era was just so excellent in this show. It had adult women of various ages interacting with each other across those age lines and trying to support each other in meaningful ways. And we got really great development on the core relationship.

There was a lot of new GL this year and I'm looking forward to some more projects and I hope we have a wider field to choose from next year. But this is unequivocally our winner of the year. Nobody can compete with the chosen family scene. It's over for everyone else. I'm sorry.

NiNi 

I love the way that they expanded the show, expanded the cast to bring in somebody new moving into the apartment building, to bring in Nomoto's internet friend that she turned into a real friend. Really expanding the world and getting more into the relationships between all of these characters, all of these amazing women. I love it so much. It's the best GL that we watched this year.

*xylophone sound*

Ben

Our next award goes to the Best Pulp for shows with a small budget that have a big impact. It's very hard sometimes when you're working on tiny budgets to say big things. And it's really impressive when that show clearly has a strong creative handle on what it wants to do and what it wants to accomplish. It's easy to award the studios that have a lot of money and a big actor pool and can produce a lot of stuff. Something's probably gonna be good if you try often enough. It's always really cool when a small team comes out of nowhere and delivers one of the best things you saw this year. 

With that in mind, NiNi, who is our best pulp of the year?

NiNi 

Surprising absolutely no one, our best pulp of the year is Knock Knock Boys! by Kongthup Production and WeTV from Thailand. 

Knock Knock Boys! was an amazing pulp that used its small budget incredibly well. Some great acting, some sharp writing, just incredible all around. Took what they had and ran with it. I still think about Almond and Latte not having sex at the beach. I think that's one of the best scenes that I've seen this year. A great little show.

Ben

This show absolutely fucks. Go watch it!

NiNi 

Nothing more needs to be said.

Ben 

[laughs] Girl, I am halfway through this bottle. I need to slow down.

NiNi 

I'm so leaving that in. 

*xylophone sound*

Our next award goes to the Best Romantic Comedy. Live, love, laugh. I'm leaving that in as well. 

Ben, What's the funniest and most warmed we felt all year?

Ben 

This year's winner is Doku koi: Doku mo sugireba koi to naru AKA Love is a Poison. 

The show was just that funny consistently for 12 weeks. It's hard to be funny for 12 weeks. This show earned every single laugh it got. And they use their laughs to tell some really dirty jokes.

NiNi 

I just keep thinking about the succulents. [both laughs] The succulents making all those sighing noises. The succulents were one of the best things about this show and if you want to know what that means you should go watch it. It's an incredible show, incredibly funny. I laughed out loud multiple times. It's a delightful romantic comedy.

*xylophone sound*

Ben

Our next award goes to the Best Romantic Drama.

NiNi, who is our awardee for this year?

NiNi

Once again from Japan, the best romantic drama is 25 Ji, Akasaka de, At 25:00 in Akasaka by TV Tokyo. I am stuck on this show in a way that I did not expect to be when I watched it. Just the emotions involved between Hayama and Shirasaki and how long they've been going on and how tangled up they are because they are working together playing lovers and can't really disentangle real from fake.

Ben 

I really think about the way Niihara delivers “Asami-san” across the entire show. And I really feel like this show kicked into overdrive. I think it's around the end of episode four when Shirasaki is struggling with delivering the big confession scene in the drama they're recording within the show. The way we arrive at the end point of that, it's really one of the most effective episodes of television we got in BL this year.

NiNi 

I'm not gonna stop thinking about it ever, I think. Congratulations to 25 Ji, Akasaka de. You get a plate.

NiNi 

Moving on to the Best Genre Romance. This is for romance blended with sci-fi, fantasy, horror, action, and or mystery elements.

Ben 

This year's winner is Love for Love’s Sake from Wavve Studios.

It's really hard to do sci-fi well and give the audience an interesting relationship to sit with. Without spoilers, I really like that the audience has had a wide field of complex reactions to the end of this particular story. I think that that is a really strong indicator of how well the show explored the various things it wanted to do. It's really, really hard in sci-fi to do relationships that are meaningful because in sci-fi, it's more about the human condition and exploring complex ideas. The characters are more stand-ins for societal ideas that the story wants to pick at. 

This was an incredible job with a newcomer, no less, delivering on a really compelling and complex relationship. Man, I'm still thinking about that shoes moment.

NiNi 

My god.

Ben 

Hold on, I'm in my feelings.

NiNi 

The VIIB awards when Ben gets in his feelings. No, it was really so good.

Ben 

He shouted that man's name and he said run and then his shoes let off sparks and I screamed in my house. The scream I scrumpt!

NiNi

This is really a great one. One of the things about genre romances, it's really important for the genre elements to matter, for them to be integrally integrated into the story and the themes. That's one of the things that we look for in a good genre romance. 

Ben 

When Tae Myungha got the ability to see who Cha Yeowoon dislikes the most and he's going around and surveying the field, that hurt my feelings.

NiNi

My lord that was a moment to end moments.

Ben 

This really was an excellent show. This was not an easy decision for us, but this is why this show pushed ahead.

NiNi 

Congratulations to Love for Love's Sake. You get a plate.

*xylophone sound*

All right, Ben.

Ben 

It's time, baby! Show Of The Year!

NiNi

We are ready to award the best fucking thing we watched this year in QL.

Ben 

If you ain't watched fuck-all this year because you're too busy, you got too much else going on. If you only have time for one BL, please go watch our awardee, Let Free the Curse of Taekwondo from Studio Him Energetic Company.

It wasn't even close. I'm sorry to everybody else this year. [both laugh]

NiNi

It was not. It was not even close.

Ben

Look, last year I almost fucking murdered NiNi over La Pluie. [NiNi laughs] 

NiNi

I do remember. 

Ben

We met in person and I almost fucking killed her over the show.

NiNi

But this year it wasn't even a discussion, really. Obviously we enjoyed some other things, but one show really stood out and this was it. Hwang Da Seul is back. And she's killing the fucking game.

Ben 

We already spoke extensively about this show in an earlier episode, but we barely scratched the surface of everything we could have talked about in that show. That was a complete viewing experience. Not a moment of our time was wasted on extra bullshit. This was a stellar show and it is hands down head and shoulders above the other things we watched this year.

NiNi 

I just keep thinking about Dohoe asking Juyoung if he dressed up for him while he starts undressing him. Amazing show, incredible show. We can talk about it forever. 

Congratulations, Let Free the Curse of Taekwondo. You will get a plate. That's gonna wrap up our standard class awards.

00:41:43 - Special Class Awards

NiNi

Now we move into where Ben really gets to enjoy himself. Ben would not do the VIIB Awards if we did not do special class.

Ben 

Here's the background for the new people. When NiNi first approached me about doing a podcast together, she's like, let's start with an award show. Like it's the end of the year. Let's award the shows we really liked this year. And it was all like super queer cinema type stuff. And NiNi's like, okay, but I want to give BL shows awards. 

So we compromised and we put all of the queer shit whose primary goal was not to tell romantic stories overall into their own special class so we could highlight them. We thought this was a good compromise because BL is a romance genre, and the shows that I typically like to award here are not romances. But these are the shows that I support BL for. The market that enjoys BL has enough crossover with some of these types of queer dramas that it enables them to get made. So, it's time to hand out our special class awards so I can once again talk about all of my favorite things.

00:43:11 - Special Class: Honourable Mentions

Ben

Let's begin with our honorable mentions. These go to shows that we think contributed to the genre for any number of various ways.

And I want to say to all of you out there nervously waiting. Remember one thing. No matter what happens tonight, you're all winners. Because as you know, it is an honor just to be *wails* NOMINATED! 

I’m fine, fine, fine. 

Nathan Lane, 1995 Tony Awards

NiNi 

I wanted to highlight in the honorable mentions 7 Days Before Valentine. We talked about this one a little bit in one of our grab bags. This was a highly experimental piece that I really enjoyed and has surprisingly stuck with me. I still keep thinking about it. It's not BL exactly. It's kind of BL-ish. It's not, it's queer, it's not queer. It's very genre, it's also not genre. It's a little bit of everything when I described it in the grab bag, I described it as something that made me feel like I was sitting in a theater watching actors do an experimental play.

Ben 

It is from the same screenwriter/playwright/director who also gave us 180 Degree Longitude Passes Through Us. We wanted to highlight that Punnasak Sukee is still working.

NiNi 

It's very different kind of work but, I think, really worth watching. Our other honorable mentions come from Japan.

Ben 

It's time for the Anime Awards. Brother in the booth, play the sound!

*bright sparkle sound*

Ben 

There were about 10-odd anime projects that were BL or BL-adjacent that came out last year, only some of which were reasonably accessible to Westerners.

I want to highlight Tadaima, Okaeri and Twilight Out of Focus. Tadaima, Okaeri  is the best Omegaverse project that came out in this year. Wild time to be in BL. But Tadaima, Okaeri uses the convention of that genre to tell a story about a married gay couple with kids who are still growing their family, and it's really heartfelt. So many stories we watch are about guys getting together and the uphill challenges they fight to do that and whether or not we believe in them. This story was one hundred percent about that belief we had in them. These guys are together. They've already gone through their BL drama. We're watching them build a home. We're watching them raise their son and then their daughter.

This was a really unexpected and really incredible viewing experience. Omegaverse is not for everyone, but truly this was one of the standout narratives that I got to experience this year. I still think about this family at least once a week.

On the other end of the spectrum, Twilight Out of Focus was about a film club at a high school that allows us to explore three different relationships where in two of them, someone is already a known gay. This was a really special show that was unpacking a lot of BL presumptions. Studio Deen came back this year with Twilight Out of Focus. And it's continuing to ask the question in a context where a lot of people's first experiences with queer storytelling and queer identity is coming through BL, what responsibility does BL have to the boys and girls and other kids who are discovering themselves and BL is informing how they're going to interact with their potential partners? This show does this in a really elegant way without dunking on BL in the process. Also, the animation is gorgeous, truly.

Both of these are available on Crunchyroll. Please give them a chance.

00:47:36 - Special Class: Mark Pakin 6th Man Awards

NiNi 

We are moving on in our special class to the Sixth Man Award, or what we like to call the Mark Pakin Awards, because that's who we originally awarded this award to.

Interviewer: What was your preparation as sixth men? 

Jamal Crawford: You have to warm up different. Got my body…I knew I'd be cooling down, so I'm over…I didn't go to the bike, but I'll go to the hallway 'cause. I was stretching when I was on the bench. I was stretch off and I was mentally, more than anything, I would mentally put myself in the game before I got in the game. Oh, they're playing like this. They playing that pick and roll. He's sitting back right there. Okay, he's going for hands up. Oh, he's going for the left hands, okay. So I'm putting myself in, so I'm playing the game before I actually play the game. I'm like, you got more more. How much you see on my other plan? You like this, okay. You got to stick to it right here because I'm trying to send you left back to your right mother. This guy. That one guy is blitzing because he can get up the other guy. So I'm just watching different things, dude, and so I'm putting myself in the game, but I'm making my own adjustments. Before the play even happened.

Jamal Crawford, 3-time NBA 6th Man of the Year

NiNi

This award acknowledges the most valuable and versatile supporting actors of the year for on-screen and off-screen contributions. Our sixth man is somebody who can come on to a project, and just fire away, go right in. Basically, it's a gunslinger. It's coming off the bench and doing everything that needs to get done.

We've got two sixth man awards to hand out this year and I'm going to let Ben take the first one.

Ben

My award is going to Dome Jaruwat Cheawaram for his acting work in Cooking Crush as Samsee and for his composer work on Jack and Joker. 

Dome has been around BL for a very long time. I still listen to the song he sang for Until We Meet Again. This man has been in the streets with us for a long time. And I think he did a really fantastic job with the Samsee character. This man is always working. He is in the background somewhere doing something to entertain people. And we really wanted to acknowledge that this year.

So congratulations, sir. Thank you for all the work you do. And I really hope that people continue to appreciate your presence.

NiNi 

He is a great actor. He's a great musician, and he is one of our Sixth Men of the Year.

Our second Sixth Man Award this year is going to go to Title Kirati Puangmalee from We Are, Wandee Goodday, and Kidnap. He's been around and he continues to be around. And this year he gave us three very different performances.

Ben 

He's been with us as early as Love By Chance and he started with GMMTV for us on Be My Favorite, playing a heel there. Once Gunsmile left GMMTV, he stepped into that role to be the dude we hate. Good job, sir. You're doing a great job.

NiNi

This year he also played people that we liked, so great. He was one of the best parts of Kidnap because his character was entirely unhinged and nobody ever called him on it. Delightful. Every time he shows up, I know I'm going to have a good time. He is a good, solid actor, he can show up and do whatever you need him to do. 

So congratulations to Title Kirati Puangmalee for being one of 2024's sixth men.

00:51:13 - Special Class: Standout Queer Narratives

NiNi

We are on to our final awards, our Standout Queer Narratives of the Year.

Talented, brilliant, incredible, amazing, showstopping, spectacular. Never the same. Totally unique. Completely not ever been done before. Unafraid to reference or not reference. Put It in a blender. Shit on it. Vomit on it. Eat it. Give birth to it. 

Lady Gaga

NiNi

These awards acknowledge queer drama works that are not primarily romances.

Ben 

We're going to be talking about five different shows this year. Ossan no pantsu ga nandatte iijanaika!, aka Don't Care for an Old Man's Underwear from Japan, a family drama. We're going to be talking about Marahuyo Project from the Philippines, a community drama. We're going to be discussing Love in the Big City, a very complicated adult coming of age drama,Kimi no tsugu kaori wa, aka Fragrance You Inherit from Japan, a very interesting family drama. And finally, Interview with the Vampire Season 2, a Southern Gothic drama from the United States of all places.

NiNi 

We almost never talk about Western shows in standout queer narratives.

Ben 

That's how good that show is. That's how good it is.

NiNi 

Let's start there then.

Ben

Interview with the Vampire Season 2 continues this narrative. Louie and Claudia are in Europe and we're dealing with the fallout of their attempt to kill Lestat at the end of Season 1. What's so special about Season 2 is honestly, Jacob Anderson. I also want to give some special shout out to Delainey Hayles, who has to take over the role of Claudia in this season. And she does an incredible job. Assad Zaman and Eric Bogosian really step up in this season and play some really stellar stuff, and Emily would kill me if I didn't mention Ben Daniels’ work as Santiago. 

This is fundamentally a gay drama about unwell divorced people. And it remains one of the most compelling watches that I get to look forward to.

NiNi 

I have not watched this one yet. I'm working on cutting down my list this year by actually watching things. So this is on the list, definitely of things that I'm going to watch. It's been making too much noise for me to not watch it.

Ben 

I will say sincerely, as someone who really swoons for really strong actor chemistry and performances, if you had watched Interview, you would not have awarded Best Pair to Doku Koi.

NiNi 

It's standout queer narrative, they don't go into the BL parts.

Ben 

You all see why this award show works the way it does! [both laugh]

But sincerely, that's how good the two of them are. they're not really in a proper romance because they're so fucked up. [NiNi laughs] But goddamn, Jacob and Sam are the two men I look the most forward to playing queer characters. And this show has a complex lens on queerness over the course of centuries, which adds an incredible layer to the performance.

It's hard to do sequels to romantic stories. I loved the second season of Interview in many ways more than I loved the first season, but I would not have been able to enjoy the second season without the first season. That is truly what makes a second season really good, when it builds on what the first season did and elevates that to a whole new level; a really special experience this year. It is rare that I go out of my way to recommend Western Queer TV on this podcast. But in this particular case, I highly recommend Interview with the Vampire.

NiNi 

It's on my list and steadily climbing.

The next show on our standout queer narratives list is a show that we actually haven't talked about yet but will be talking about coming up soon. Fragrance You Inherit, Kimi no tsugu kaori wa from Japan, a family drama. 

Without getting too deep into it, which we are going to do on its own episode, Ben, just give the people a little taste of what Fragrance You Inherit is about.

Ben 

Fragrance You Inherit is about a single mom and her son. And it's about her meeting the son's new girlfriend, who happens to be the daughter of her college crush. The son's girlfriend is the spitting image of her mom, and this is fundamentally a show about really kind people trying to do right by each other as they navigate some unresolved feelings across two different generations. 

This is a show that could have gone a really ugly route, but I really liked that this was fundamentally a show about people trying to take care of each other. And it was a lot of fun watching a show where the primary stress comes from everyone being really polite about some very difficult things. We get to see an older lesbian who knows she's a lesbian but hasn't told her son, navigate the unresolved feelings she had for her closest female friend in college while their children pursue a really meaningful romance between them in a way that I think honors the desires and perspective of all of the characters involved. It's a really special experience and was a real surprise for us at the end of the year.

NiNi 

This is from Ishibashi Yuhuo who also did Our Dining Table, Tokyo in April Is…, I think, and a few other standout Japanese dramas that we've watched in the last few years. 

Ben 

There were not enough shots of shoes. I would not have known it was her.

NiNi 

[laughs] She does love shoes. 

This comes from a manga by Ogawa Maruni and it really surprised me. It's a GL but not a GL. It's about having built, after disappointment, having built really good, meaningful, happy lives, and then having that rocked a little bit by unresolved things from your past and where that takes you. It's also about parents and children. It's also about being honest with people in your life and how not being honest with them can lead to a lot of stress and anxiety. It is a great show. We will be talking about in a lot more detail coming up in a subsequent episode, but we wanted to award it a Standout Queer Narrative Award.

Ben 

We already discussed Love in the Big City in an earlier episode, so we will not go on at length about it here. But we are once again stating for the official record of the VIIB Awards, that this is honestly the show not to miss this year. There is so much that went into getting this show even made.

The entire experience we get with Go Young across his 20s and four difficult periods of his life is honestly one of the most meaningful queer experiences I got to have in communion with other people in the last couple of years. Everything about reading Love in the Big City and watching Love in the Big City is one of the most memorable experiences I've had with queer media in a long time. And I cannot overstate how good this show is and how significant the existence of the show is. 

This show for many ways fills the same sort of place as Moonlight in my queer cinema taste in viewing. I can't really chat with a queer cinephile who hasn't watched Moonlight, and Love in the Big City  is very quickly becoming one of those things. If you haven't watched Love in the Big City do not talk to me. 

Watch this one, for fuck's sake! It's that good. You owe it to yourself to get this into your psyche.

NiNi 

We talked about this show for maybe close to an hour and a half of pre-edit time and we barely scratched the surface. Since our episode went out, we have been continuing to talk about this show and finding new things to delve into. We are not going to talk about it forever, but we could. Watch it, it's worth everything, and it is one of our standout queer narratives of the year.

Our next standout queer narrative is Marahuyo Project from the Philippines. Thank god JP Habac came back this year. I was starting to lose hope.

Ben 

I'm so glad that ANIMA Studios is still in it. And I'm so glad that they came back with a project like this. It felt really special to me in a year where I found myself really struggling to connect with youth queer storytelling, this show said it was LGBTQIA +, and it meant that with its whole fucking heart. And it put its whole ass on the line to tell the stories that it wanted to tell. This was a great viewing experience. And if you care about queer art, this show is available for free on YouTube. Please go give them some support.

NiNi 

I just can't stop thinking about the back of Archie's neck.

Ben 

Mmhmm. And about Adrian Lindayag and everything that he does for queer activism in the Philippines, and I'm so glad that he got to play King.

NiNi 

Amazing show, amazing music, amazing writing, amazing direction. Oh my god, King's fourth wall breaks. Amazing. It was just such a good show with a lot of heart, a lot of real deep complex feelings to delve into.

Ben 

The funniest thing about dealing with the VIIB Awards is, like, each one of these shows would have decimated other categories it was in. Like, Marahuyo Project would have decimated Best Music. It would have been no contest. 

NiNi 

It really would have, it really would have won best music.

Ben 

I almost fought for it. I was like, I don't care. I'm giving it to them anyway. They're like dragging me off stage so I–

NiNi 

[laughs] Shhh, come on, come on, come on. No, shhh, it's time to go to bed, come on.

Ben 

We would have given Love in the Big City show of the year. Interview, if everybody else had watched it, would have definitely won genre romance, flat out. Like, that's how good all of these shows are.

NiNi 

But ultimately they are not romances.

Ben

But that's the point. [snickers]

Our last show is Don't Care For an Old Man's Underwear. We talked about this show at length earlier. This was so spectacular. This was a show where our primary character is an ignorant, misogynist, middle-aged man, and we were rooting for this man very early on in this show. And we loved him by the end of it. This show is so aspirational in a way that even some of our BLs can't really stand up to. Like this show believes that misogynistic old men can do better and have meaningful, loving, supportive, and positive relationships with their families if they just listen to them a little bit more. Good job, everybody. Way to really shoot for the best outcome you could possibly get. 

This show really modeled what relationship rebuilding and healing could look like in a way that I think is really helpful. And I really liked that a very well-known and popular Japanese comedian was in the lead role of this. Dramas like this are often really important because you have people with clout they've earned well outside of the queer narrative space doing really meaningful work in it. And these are the kinds of projects that often reach a lot more people than the BL that we talk about. Like, I feel like more people are gonna have had a gay storytelling experience because of Interview with the Vampire, more than some of these BLs we've talked about on here by a long shot. And I think for the Japanese viewing audience, I think many of them would have probably engaged with Ossan no pantsu far more likely than they would have engaged with any of the BL we highlighted on this list earlier. 

Really important to highlight these kinds of projects because these are the projects that are useful for you to show your friends and family. If you're interested in sharing BL with them, these are very good starting points to get into the rest of the genre because they are not BL, but they do open people's minds up to viewing queer media from places they might not have normally expected to get that.

NiNi 

Well said and I just love Makoto's turns of phrase. I think about them a lot, saying that the idol that his wife likes is the Okita family benefactor.

Ben 

That is exactly where my head went, too. “So Random is the Okita family's benefactor. I understand.” [laughs]

NiNi 

It's such clever writing, the way that he recasts ideas into a way that he can engage with them in an attempt to understand the things that he doesn't understand. I really enjoy that the writing puts him into the role of doing that work.

All of the shows on these lists, of course, because it's our VIIB Awards, these are really the things that we loved watching. But I think I have a special place in my heart for Oppan.

01:06:00 - Outro

Ben

We talk about a lot of shows in this podcast. We highlight a lot of things. These are the things that will be talked about well beyond this year, or at least we hope they will. Please go watch them and be part of that conversation.

NiNi 

I think the other thing that the VIIB Awards forces us to do is even in a year that we're struggling a little bit, it reminds us that, no, actually there was a lot of good stuff, too.

So anyway, there we are. Those are our VIIB Awards. We're gonna put up our final awards listing as part of the transcript for this show. So look out for that when it comes out on Tumblr. But that's gonna be it from us. The 2024 VIIB Awards are over.

Ben

I'm currently showing Emily Let Free the Curse of Taekwondo and Love in the Big City at the same time.

NiNi 

My gosh, so you're giving her the exact same experience we had. Good job.

Ben 

I sure am! [laughs] Can you believe that we got both of these shows at the same time? Like, how did they think we were supposed to process both of these shows simultaneously?

NiNi 

They weren't thinking about us, bestie. They were just like, no, we're just going to put the things out. It's time.

Ben 

Incredible. I just love the idea that a bunch of new Korean viewers who might've become interested in QL following up on Love in the Big City had Let Free the Curse of Taekwondo right there being advertised at them. Like, that is so stellar.

NiNi

That was a very good four weeks.

That is going to wrap us up on the 2024 VIIB Awards. Oh my god guys, we're done for another year.

This year, let's see what's gonna happen. Is Ben gonna not watch in the summer so he doesn't get cranky? Stay tuned to find out.

Ben 

[laughs] No promises, no demands. Love is a battlefield.

NiNi 

Woo. We have drunk too much brown liquor, it is time to go. We out. 

Say bye to the people, Ben.

Ben 

Peace!

[rudrjobdesk]

Agnipath Scheme Protest: मोदी पर ओवैसी का तंज, कम से कम फौज पर तो रहम करिए, फैसला वापस लीजिए

Agnipath Scheme Protest: मोदी पर ओवैसी का तंज, कम से कम फौज पर तो रहम करिए, फैसला वापस लीजिए

Image Source : GOOGLE Assaduddin Owaisi And Modi Highlights असदुद्दीन ओवैसी ने ट्वीट करते हुए प्रधानमंत्री पर कसा तंज केंद्र सरकार पर लगातार हमलावर रहते हैं ओवैसी अग्निपथ स्किम को लेकर छात्र कर रहे हैं विरोध Agnipath Scheme Protest: पीएम मोदी की महत्वकांक्षी योजना अग्निपथ को लेकर देश के कुछ राज्यों में इसका विरोध काफी तेज हो गया है। इसी बीच मोदी के इस फैसले को लेकर AIMIM के राष्ट्रीय अध्यक्ष…

[hirakdesherrani]

EBSS 9/7 ~ Underwhelming

So, to talk about the 'scene' for today where Pooja meets the Mittals in their new 'small' house. It was like watching Congress v/s BJP, where the Mittals are the Congress party, Pooja is Modi and the Mittal house and company, is the country. Just like Modi ji was a chai waala who now travels the world, wears his name embosses on his suits, and taunts the Congress about being reduced to nothing, Pooja also taunts the Mittals about their house and state.

If this was not enough, Kabir taunts her with how he is 'khandaani rayeez', just like the Congress is the dynastic party which ruled for years.

In between, Mittal or Sharma industries (just like how our schemes have changed from Jawaharlal Nehru to Pradhan Mantri), is like the country over which they are fighting. Right now Modi/Pooja is in power, and Kabir/Congress is going to take it back.

Oh, yeah we have a RaGa also, in Dhruv. Just like RaGa resigned, Dhruv also spends his time in Majnu bar

So now we have a battle between feudal rich and nouveau riche over the Mittal property. Like landlords squabbling with merchant class in eighteenth century England. How Victorian!

On a serious note, the whole scene irritated me to core. I really love ShreZain as actors and cannot see them turn into characters I despise. Their acting and chemistry deserves better.

The scene could have been ten times better, if Pooja had taunted the Mittals about how they made her homeless and now its gratifying to see them living in a rented apartment. Kabir could have responded that she is punishing everybody for the act of one, and self-destructing herself.

This moral conflict could have been much better, than whatever artificial conflict they are creating here.

If I want to watch a property feud, I can go to the court, I don't need to watch tv. The writers, in their quick attempt to create conflict are forgetting that the biggest motivation for Pooja's actions is revenge and not usurping wealth. She is Pooja, not Komonika or Svetlana.

What I liked was Pooja's scene with Amma. Amma is the best and most consistent character of this show. She advises Pooja not to get into faltu ka fasaad with Kabir. I like Pooja when she is with Amma. She behaves like herself. She tells her that she is employing Kabir because she knows he's trying to defeat her. She has accepted the challenge. Also, a small scene I liked, was Pooja telling Amma that she laid out all food for Rani. I was thanking God, chalo at least, they retained this trait, because Pooja was never big on lavish feasts, she preferred her Amma's handmade food.

My problem with Pooja's characterization is whenever she is opposite Kabir, she starts taunting about being rich and behaves arrogantly and classist. IT DOES NOT MAKE SENSE.

For Pooja, who has seen in poverty, taunting someone else about poverty doesn't make sense. And because of Kabir, she is rude to other workers also, as they side with him. The workers being devotees of PK also doesn't make sense to me.

This whole issue is artificially created because the writers want to justify Kabir's actions against her, to show that she is an arrogant brat and Kabir is the messiah of the masses.

Please, this is not 1980's. I'm done with the capitalist v/s socialist debate.

Coming to Mittals now. Again Chaachi and Suman, behaving that they are pure souls, like seriously, Pooja reminded them in the 50th episode that how they supported PK in their silence, and yet they have the gall to argue her? Let alone, face her?

Also, Kabir, Dhruv and Jai, do not care at all that PK killed her father and humiliated him, cheated hundreds of people with false medicine? They are all angry at Pooja for making them homeless.

Murder v/s Fraud, which one is bigger?

Let me accept that they don't understand the gravity of what PK did, otherwise nothing makes sense. Kabir saying he wants back his house and company, okay, he wants to make her pay for what she did to his family, fine. But Suman is listening to all this and nodding her head. I'm like woman, YOU are responsible, accept it at least to your son, that you and PK and others brought this upon yourself.

Dadaji, Suman and Chaachi are special kind of dheet. I am actually angry that Pooja didn't send them to prison too.

But the scene where Kabir says (after Dhruv leaves) that he has to take revenge for what Pooja did to Dhruv, that made sense to me. As a brother, he would want to avenge his brother's humiliation, and Dhruv (and Jai and Sonali) were innocent.

All in all, what I am saying is that this revenge over property is hella flimsy.

I guess the producers got a note from Sitara saying that revamp the show to make it about 'tashan' between Pooja and Kabir. And the makers, not knowing what to do, started copying Laadla.

It doesn't make sense for Pooja's character to be a brat, and it doesn't make sense for Kabir to take revenge, when he had a strong ethical core, and knew that his family is haraami.

It would have made more sense for Pooja to try and make the Mittals miserable, and Kabir protecting his family, but explaining Pooja that revenge is futile and she will not get peace with this.

That would have made for a more interesting conflict. This 'tashan' ain't working for me.

But I hope the trps rise, so that the makers can relax a bit and get the script back on track (like they did after the bahu v/s bahu debacle)

[ajay-k-sahu]

An Interview

It was March 2020 I had started giving interviews for internship. why you may ask. why an internship? it was because I wasn't getting any job and every company was asking for experience. Now from where should I get the experience because I had a BE degree and an M.Tech. degree and no experience so I decided to get some experience via internship. I applied for many internships and gave many interviews also but all in vain.

Then I found an internship position open at Pranab Mukherjee Foundation. I applied there and then I was asked to write an article on the topic "Dams are temples of modern India: Agree or disagree" I wrote it and after a few days on the 12th of March I got a call that my interview is scheduled on 13th at 11:30 a.m. I reached the interview venue at 11:15 a.m. and I was asked to wait; then, after some time I was called in for the interview. I went there and the interviewer asked me to come in and sit, I sat and he started asking me questions, he was mostly interested in my solar related project which I did during my BE so he was asking questions about solar panels and its connections which I answered and there were some questions whose answers I knew but at that time it just didn't strike my mind e.g. what is the full form of SCADA? AND I WAS LIKE HOW CAN I FORGET THIS! He also took my typing test which, I feel, I must have done fairly well. And in the end, he said you will get a call in two-three days.

On 14th I had train for home and on 20th I had to return. I didn't get any call till 19th which was already 6 days since my interview (I thought I am not selected that's why not getting call) so I decided to stay at home for a few more days and I cancelled my return ticket of 20th.

But...

I got a call on 20th from Pranab Mukherjee Foundation that I have been selected for the internship and that I have to join on 25th. I was regretting, why did I cancel my ticket? So I booked another ticket of 24th and then on 21st Modi Ji came on TV asking citizens for Janata curfew on 22nd so my family members asked not to go to Delhi but I didn't cancel my ticket but the situation of COVID was worsening and I wasn't allowed to board my train on 24th and on 24th night Modi Ji came on TV (again!) and announced that there will be a 21 day lock down in India starting from 25th.

And that is how I lost my first and only opportunity of an internship to COVID lockdowns.

But why was this interview so special for me?

To answer this, let me introduce you to my interviewer Dr. Krishna Kant Paul.

Dr. K. K. Paul is a former IPS officer who served as police commissioner of Delhi for more than 3 years. He was a member of UPSC for almost 6 years. He also has experience of working in IB and RAW. He then went on to become governor of Northeastern states Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland and also Uttarakhand.

Getting interviewed by such a personality was an honour for me and clearing the interview was way beyond my explanation & that is why this interview is one of the most memorable moments of my life.

[mediawalablog]

Thank you Finance Minister Nirmala for what the state got in the blue print budget of 25 years.

By the way, what was said, the country's Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman showed it. In fact, such a budget has never come till now. Cryptocurrencies have suffered a major setback. Now the speculation ends and tax collection starts. And that too with the information of introducing a legitimate digital currency, a scathing attack on crypto. Instead of talking about petrol and diesel, by talking about opening centers with battery swapping machines, it made me realize that now think 25 steps ahead.

This blue print budget for the next 25 years is indeed amazing. 60 lakh jobs, PM Gati Shakti Yojana, claiming to accelerate all types of speed, 80 lakh affordable houses, talk of Vande Bharat trains under PPP, income tax filing and improvement for two years, corporate tax reduction, natural farming , MSP reaching farmers' account, tax relief for differently-abled people, TV in every class in schools, e-vidya, e-passport, 25 thousand km of NH road construction, internet in villages, promotion of defense research, MSME's concern, Solar power, river connectivity, etc., are enough to argue in favor of the claims of a blueprint for the next 25 years and infrastructure development for 100 years.

And also wonderful because maybe the crypto economy becomes the basis of the budget at some point, then this budget which proved to be the first milestone in that direction will always be remembered. The budget is also being appreciated and criticized, in the midst of this we can dare to thank Finance Minister Nirmala for worrying about that Ken-Betwa... which is expected to change the picture of Bundelkhand region of Madhya Pradesh. Is.

Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has praised the budget and congratulated Prime Minister Modi and described it as the budget for building a new India. So it is said that Madhya Pradesh has got a big gift in the budget. More than 44 thousand crores will be spent on connecting Ken and Betwa under river linking project, our Bundelkhand will change.

BJP state president and Khajuraho MP Vishnudutt Sharma has described it as the budget of vision for the next 25 years. The budget that gives strength to self-reliant India has been said. So, on behalf of the people of Bundelkhand, on behalf of the people of his parliamentary constituency, on behalf of the people of Madhya Pradesh, special thanks have been given to the Honorable Prime Minister for making a provision of 44605 crores to the Ken Betwa Link project in the region of Bundelkhand region of Madhya Pradesh. . The same hope that the Bundelkhand which was dry, has been provisioned in this budget, now a green Bundelkhand will be made. There is an ambitious plan which will change the direction of entire Bundelkhand.

So State Congress President Kamal Nath has described the general budget as completely disappointing. It is said that the budget which is full of juggling of figures and once again proved to be false dreams. Putting a question mark on every provision of the budget, he has called it a hoax. But he remained silent on the big gift he got for the Ken-Betwa link.

So amidst the praise and condemnation of the budget, we deserve to express our heartfelt gratitude to Nirmala Sitharaman for the provision made to accelerate the Ken-Betwa link. Although the Ken-Betwa link has also been intertwined in the garland of appreciation-criticism, but this part of Atal ji's visionary river linking plan will rain as a sky of happiness in Bundelkhand...it is certain. And for this Madhya Pradesh is thankful to this budget with 25 years of blue print. Because the Ken-Betwa link project is going to bring glory to the faces of the villages, farmers, laborers, lower, middle and upper classes of Bundelkhand.

https://mediawala.in/what-the-state-got-in-the-blue-print-budget-of-25-years/

[knbabbar]

Delhi Slum when will be removed

CDKS/2020                               A Mass Forum for Public Grievances                     Dated: 10.12.2020

Respected Narender Modi,                                         Mr. Amit Shah                                              

NITI AYOG                                                               Minister of Home Affairs                              

Prime Minister Office                                                 North Block, Central Secretarial,                  

South Block, New Delhi-110001                               New Delhi - 110001                                                  

Email: pmosb@gov.in                                     Email: jscpg-mha@nic.in                              

Shri Arvind Kejriwal                                                Shri Hardip Singh Puri,

The Hon’ble Chief Minister's of Delhi                       The Hon’ble Minister of Urban    

3rd level, Delhi Secretariat,                                        Development, Ministry of Housing

I.P. Estate New Delhi-110002                                   & Urban Affairs, Nirman Bhawan,                

Email: contact@aamaadmiparty.org                           New Delhi, 110002                            

Email: minister-mud@nic.in                          

Mr. Nitin Gadkari                                                       Shri Yogi Adityanath Ji,                                          

Minister of Road Transport & Highways,                  The Hon’ble Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh        

Minister of Micro, Small and Medium                       Lal Bahadur Shastri Bhawan

Transport Bhawan" 1, Sansad Marg                            Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh

New Delhi – 110001                                                   Email : cmup@nic.in ;

Email:  min-msme@nic.in                                           yogiadityanath72@gmail.com

Mr. Sanjeev Sanyal                                                    The Hon’ble Chief justice of Supreme

Principal Economic Advisor                                      Court of India,

Ministry Of Finance                                                   Supreme Court of India

North Block                                                                New Delhi-110001                  

New Delhi                                                                  Tel: 011-23388922-24, 23388942                

Email: sanjeev.sanyal@gov.in                                    Email: supremecourt@nic.in                          

Dear Sir,            

                                      Sub : Delhi Slum when will be removed

For 35 years I have been writing and constant one reply under Special Provision Act. 2011  the slum cannot be demolished.

Earlier Congress and now BJP both are following same base and passing an act so that slum cannot be removed.

You are giving statement on New Papers and News Channels that old laws has to be changed but when this corrupt law will change by BJP as per your commitment every day in News Channels that too by Prandhmantri Respected Modi Ji.

                                                                                                                                               Cont…Page-2

                                                                                                                                               Page-2

In the Kisan Rally people have started using wrong word for BJP it is not appreciable. Better honor your word regarding slum and repel the corrupt law of slum approved by Your Minister Mr. Hardip Puri and recommended by your MP Mr. Bidhuri.

Scrap this corrupt law of Special provision act of 2011 valid for 35 year in some form or the other.

People will appreciate BJP work if slums are removed and resettled in the ready to move build houses. Even otherwise our prime Minister words are there will be no slums in 2022.

How this can be achieved is the work of relocation of slum is yet not started.

Yes there are certain slum which are being demolish not in a plan way but where corruption money available the slum is being removed.

It is very shameful that there was a hard order of Supreme Court that slum on railway track will be removed but the corrupt people even managed Supreme Court Orders and railway track jhuggie cluster got stay order.

Which kind of Country is India and which kind of people in India are ruling?

If this kind of Government of India will do management then our Country will remain 50 years backward always and regarding slum our Country will remain a shit Country.

I have suggested time and again to make a Redevelopment Ministry and bring a man like Mr. Gadkari  who has been successful in road building and new Ministry of Re-development should work better then Gadkari so that our country can grow and tourism attraction can grow.

Please inform as to when you will work for redevelopment of the Country starting from New Delhi.

It is only a corrupt practice which congress followed many years and now BJP.

How this corrupt practice will be removed and who will removed it??????.

If slum is removed the vote bank is removed of Kejriwal. This thing has not been explained by BJP MP while passing the Special Provision Act. 201i.

Furthermore if slum exists continuously the rental income from slum is enough for the politicians for day to day work and that is why this corrupt cycle of continues slum will never break.

For last three years around 15000 Low income Group houses are lying vacant, ready in Govind Puri. 8000 Houses are lying ready in Tekhand village.

Investment is made buildings are ready and Government is losing interest for 3 years but nobody that is MP’s MLA’s bureaucrats are worried about this investment recovery by re-locating the slum.

I suggest Hon’ble Prime Minister to open the distribution, this will add to BJP name and fame

How big crime racket is prevailing openly and I am surprise by so much effort and writing worst to worst letter to all concern has not given any fruit except every fortnightly  a letter copy is received of  same type continuously for 35 years. Copy of same is enclosed.

                                                                                                                                               Cont….Page-3

                                                                                                                                               Page-3

Sir, You are making a Parliament House in Lutein Zone why?????------------ because you cannot work in a bad atmosphere. Had you make Parliament House in Sangam Vihar ???????----- No MP will come nor you will like to come then why we Tax payer heavily are force to work in Okhla Phase-I&II and other Delhi Areas with bad environment of Jhuggie Cluster cum criminals.

Sir, tell me why department is paying salary to your criminal staff

1.         The Executive Engineer, S.M.D-3, Delhi Development Authority , Office of the Southern Maintenance Division-3, DDA Office Complex, Vasant Kunj, New Delhi-110070

2.         The Deputy Director (Indl.) Delhi Development Authority, Vikas Sadan, New Delhi-110023

3.         The Deputy Director (LMB.) Delhi Development Authority, Vikas Sadan, New Delhi-110023

Their work is to save gaurd Government Plots and instead in 35 years all plots have been grabbed by Criminal in Disguise of jhuggie Cluster.

4.         The SE ( HQ) SZ, DDA

5.         The S.E./SCC-I, DDA

6.         The Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Borad, Raja Garden, New Delhi

Sir, when the above people have not worked then why not there service are dismiss at least so that younger generation may come in their seats and redevelop the cluster city.

Hope BJP will keep its promise Delhi will be free of Jhuggie cluster by 2022.

For Chalo Desh Ko Sudhare

K. N. BABBAR

98110-20270

C.C: The Executive Engineer, S.M.D-3, Delhi Development Authority , Office of the Southern

        Maintenance Division-3, DDA Office Complex, Vasant Kunj, New Delhi-110070

Refer to your letter No. F3(28)/AE(RT)/SMD3/SZ/DDA/20-21/538 Dated 27.11.2020

2. The Deputy Director (Indl.) Delhi Development Authority, Vikas Sadan, New Delhi-110023

3. The Anchor of News Channels.

C.C.    Mr. Sumeet Awasthi, ABP News, A-37, Sector-60, Noida, Uttar Pradesh          

           Email: anandl@abpnews.in

2.     Ms. Sweta Singh, Aaj Tak News FC-8, Film City,Sector 16A Noida, Uttar Pradesh,

      Tel +91 (120)      480-7100 Email swetasingh.aajtak@gmail.com; info@aajtak.com                        

                                                                                                                                               Cont…..Page-4

                                                                                                                                               Page-4

3.         Mr. Kishore Ajwani the  Managing Editor, News18 India 15,16, Express Trade Tower, Sector 16A, Noida, Uttar Pradesh 201301

4.       Mr. Rajat Sharma  India TV Broadcast CentreB-30, Sector 85, Noida 201305, Uttar Pradesh,  

           India. Tel : 0120-3051000 Email Id : mail@indiatvnews.com

5.          Mr. Sudhir Choudhary , Zee News , Broadcast Operation , Film city 19, Sector 16-A,

Noida - 201301 , 91 120 2511064 email  navneet.wadhwa@zeenetwork.com

E-mail Id : inews@zeenetwork.com

.

6.       Mr. Ravish Kumar  NDTV.207,Okhla Industrial Estate,Phase III New Delhi-10020

Tel No. : 011-41577 777, 2644 6666, Fax No. : 011-41735110 , E-mail :ravish@ndtv.com

7.       Mr. Deepak Chaurasia Office Address: News Nation Network Pvt. Ltd., Plot No. 14, Sector 126,  

          Noida-201301, Uttar Pradesh, India, Email ID: info@newsnation.in

8.         Mr. Arnab Goswami Republic Bharat Bombay Dyeing Compound Worli, Mumbai 400 018

              Email ID: contact@republicworld.com

9.       Mr. Rajdeep Sardesai Office Address : The India Today Group, “Mediaplex”, Fc-8, Sector 16 A,

          Film City, Noida-201301. Email ID : rajdeepsardesai52@gmail.com

[liveindiatimes]

New Post has been published on https://www.liveindiatimes.com/hardik-pandya-natasa-stankovic-light-candles-hina-khan-decks-up-for-pm-modis-9pm-9-minutes-call-tv/

Hardik Pandya-Natasa Stankovic light candles, Hina Khan decks up for PM Modi’s 9pm 9 minutes call - tv

Home / TV / Hardik Pandya-Natasa Stankovic light candles, Hina Khan decks up for PM Modi’s 9pm 9 minutes call

Several television stars including Rashami Desai, Hina Khan and Maniesh Paul joined Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 9pm 9 minutes call.

tv Updated: Apr 05, 2020 23:52 IST

Hardik Pandya and Natasa Stankovic (L) and Hina Khan

As the nation responded to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 9pm lights out call, and lit diyas and candles to show their solidarity in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic, television stars joined in large numbers as well.

Rashami Desai shared a video of herself holding up lanterns, while her nephew blew the conch. “This one is for our prime minister @narendramodi sir. May we continue to spread light and positivity,” she wrote.

Prince Narula and his wife Yuvika Chaudhary came out to their balcony with candles. Sharing pictures of the same on Instagram, he wrote, “Rab sab theek kare #waheguru.”

Natasa Stankovic lit candles with her fiance Hardik Pandya and his family. “Wonderful to see the entire country come together to show our heartful gratitude and support for the healthcare staff. Amazing initiative for all of us Indians to be a part of. Together we stand united, stronger and even more determined to fight these difficult times. Jai Hind,” the cricketer wrote, along with a boomerang video on Instagram.

      Also read | 9pm 9minutes: Deepika Padukone-Ranveer Singh, Akshay Kumar, Kangana Ranaut light up diyas in response to PM Modi’s call

Hina Khan posted pictures and a video of her holding a diya, as she stood decked up in traditional clothes. “Humanity survives together and as the fight against the darkness spread by this pandemic is here, India is ready to fight it. One light at a time!” she wrote.

Maniesh Paul shared a video with wife Sanyukta Paul and wrote, “And its done!!we all stand united!!we all are together in this…and we will all fight it together!! stay home…stay safe…jai hind.”

Gurmeet Choudhary and Debina Bonnerjee sang Hum Honge Kaamyab as they lit candles. “We shall overcome very soon!! #IndiaHumHongeKamyab Thank you @narendramodi ji for making us belief that we are not alone!” he captioned his Instagram post.

              Follow @htshowbiz for more

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[filmibeast-blog]

The Kapil Sharma Show Sony Liv 04 April 2020

The Kapil Sharma Show Sony Liv 04 April 2020

The Kapil Sharma Show Sony Liv 04 April 2020: These celebrities are still away from Kapil's show, comedy king has expressed desire to call many times

The Kapil Sharma Show Sony Liv 04 April 2020: Comedy King Kapil Sharma's show has had all the celebrities. But there are still some celebrities who have not reached the fair, and Kapil himself has expressed his desire to call her. Read Also: Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah 04 April 2020 The Kapil Sharma Show Sony Liv: TV's superhit comedy serial The Kapil Sharma Show has featured celebrities from the cinema and cricket world. But some stars are also like this. Who has not yet given his knock in Kapil's show? Not only this, but the desire to call these celebrities on the show itself has also been expressed by Kapil Sharma, the host of the show called King of Comedy. Kapil had revealed during an interview that some celebrities are yet to appear in his show, and he wants him to come on the show once. Significantly, Kapil has long ago expressed his desire to call Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his show. Kapil once told an open forum that he is very impressed with the Prime Minister of the country, Narendra Modi, and he wants Narendra Modi to be a part of his show once. Kapil further said if it happens and Modi Ji comes on our show, then it will be a matter of great pride for us. Not only Prime Minister Modi, but Bollywood superstar Aamir Khan has also never reached Kapil's show in connection with the promotion of his film. Let me tell you that Aamir believes in promoting his movies on TV shows. Apart from this, legendary cricketer Sachin Tendulkar, who is called the God of Cricket, has not even been a part of Kapil Sharma's show yet. Apart from these, former captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who won the Indian Cricket Team T20 and World Cup of 50-50 Overs, has also not attended Kapil's show yet. Read More Read the full article

[tareeqsworld]

When the child asked Modi, the hill of three, Modi gave these answers Prime Minister Narendra Modi who came to tell the importance of employment education to the children in a junior high school here in Kathiawar, when Dharma was in crisis, at that time, in the moments of humor he told to recite the hill of three. If Modi started talking about other issues, then the people who started talking to him started to insist and to recite the hill of three, Modi went behind. The delegation went with them, trying to remove Modi from the other by screaming about the seriousness of the talk and offering delay in the programs and delaying the programs, but the children were not ready to accept anything. Because of the live broadcast on TV, Modi Ji had to recite the hill of three, but he got silent after coming to the three Tia Nun. No children on this! Do not come! Taking a beating and saying that Modi started peeking at the side. It is being told that after all these developments, their delegation has advised them that before going to schools, they should remember the hillocks of at least 20 and do not face such a situation again. It is noteworthy that even before the time many times Modiji has been questioning the educational qualification and for the degree of his degree, the concerned college and the Vighalaya have refused to answer the RTI. Nobody knows how much he has read or has ever gone to high school for higher education or not

[cheapestbulksmsservice]

Display your Business to whole India through SMS Marketing while Country is Under Lockdown

Lockdown 4.0 has come and yet the circumstances are not under control due to the virus named CORONA. Most people around world infected with the Covid – 19 (Coronavirus) which is an infectious disease, due to coronavirus the whole country is under lockdown with the instructions of PM Modi Ji. Covid -19 not only affected people daily routine but also continue to change the method of business/services and organizations to their day to day processes causing huge impact on our economy. Global shares hit badly, unemployment, Oil prices crash, risk of recession, and travel industries damaged the hardest.

One of the major and standout changes is a shift to remote work. This is to help decrease the spread of the infection of virus, and that is why most of businesses are assigning their employees work from home. Some of working from home and mostly other people who are not assign with work are just passing their time at home waiting for lockdown to open as soon as possible to come to their daily routine. In short whole country is at home locked inside their house.

This is the best chance to promote and update your business/service to people who are scrolling down and up their social media at home. Here you can easily grow your business through bulk sms service by sending relevant and informational sms to number of people at one go. As surveyed, 98% is open rate of  sms marketing, that simply mean is that if you send sms to 100 people then chances are 98 people will read sms out of 100 people.

Enjoy some benefits of Bulk SMS Service which can help you to understand the process

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6. 100% Result Oriented:- Target the right audience at right time with good marketing strategy and get quality result. Yes, Right! You have to make an amazing strategy of sending sms to people. The data category and what at  time you should send sms  so that mostly people can read it out.

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9. Speed and Flexibility:- SMS Marketing has been proven to be one of fastest tool to reach out to customer in just seconds by sending sms in bulk. Basically sms service ensures fastest services with and easy access which helps to increase sales of the product.

10.High ROI: - Return on Investment! High ROI helps you to get more profit on low investment that full by only marketing I am explaining right now. 11.Personalization (Dynamic SMS):- Personalization means you can make your communication more effective  and more easy that simply mean chances of increasing the sales of product getting more. Send sms to your important users with mentioning their name in the message.  Making your customer feel more special make them engage more and the business grow more. Do waste time only thinking, take it up all the benefits of Bulk SMS Marketing Service in Delhi, India.

[starfriday]

*PM Narendra Modi lauds Tellywood Stars for coming together for Fan Ka Fan initiative*

Actor- Producer JD Majethia recently launched the website ‘Fan Ka Fan’ to support the efforts of Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi Ji and the Government in it’s Covid-19 fight.

Lauding the efforts, Prime Minister Narendra Modi shared the video on Twitter and wrote, ” This is exceptional effort by our TV stars to strengthen India’s fight against Covid-19. Thank You all those who came together for…

[aarcee321]

FOR THOSE WHO CAN'T READ THE WRITING ON THE WALL

My senior from UPSS, Lucknow in a write-up on fb had penned down his thoughts on the charismatic and inspiring leadership qualities of our PM Narendra Modi, which I had the fortune to go through.

Since last few days, I was wondering, why a few Muslims continue to be intransigent and continue to not only nurture Shaheenbagh but have been trying to even replicate it at few other locations as well. Don't they realise that whatever little fizz Shaheenbagh Bagh had has hopelessly flattened, it has indeed become stale , tasteless and annoying. Those who started it are not able to find excuse for its dignified closure, from the very first day, it in any case lacked reason or excuse to be there anyway. All movements, let alone Shaheenbagh fail to conceal the source of their funds which as a matter of rule come from organisations based abroad and inimical to India as also from some homegrown organizations; political or otherwise but also inimical to India.

This Sunday (23 Mar) clapping and drum beating is much realistic proof of on ground real time display of approval rating of the most dynamic PM in Narendra Modi India has ever had. Like it or leave it, it's your choice.

I was only too sure that more these propped up sectarian footsoldiers continue their foolhardy activities, the resolve of the silent majority in favour of Narendra Modi will overwhelming surpass all popularity estimates. And it has, the numbers which came out to clap are a proof, live , for all to see, no bar charts or pie diagrams and editorial analytics or analysis required.

Isn't it time to see the writing on the wall and concede that India had changed. Nehru has been forgotten, so has been Indira and for the good. If at all they are remembered, it's only for wrong reasons. To make the matters still hopeless, they have a lady in decay mode and an old youngster who besides lacking the basics seems to be perpetually under influence of some kind of intoxicant.

As per Mani Shankar Aiyar's belief, Congress is that PARAS PATTHAR which alone has the capability of transforming everything which comes in their contact, into Gold. If it was not for IE, an anti India and bitter anti Modi paper, there would have been no takers of writings of Mani Shankar Aiyar. But.....

Today's IE editorial page contained a write-up from Mani Shankar Aiyar wherein he has gone on to make it known to the reader that Sindias had helped the Brits. It was Rani of Jhansi who defended Gwalior and was martyred while doing so. Younger Sindia has been with Congress for 18 long years and his father Madhav Rao for even longer period of time. Just that only when one is with Congress, only then a certificate of patriotism can be/ is issued is what Congress believes in. Congress suffers from selective amnesia. What about Mani Shankar Aiyar's patriotism who was shown on TV requesting Pakistani politicians to remove Narendra Modi, a democratically elected PM of the world's largest democracy. Was this displays of patriotism, Congress style of patriotism, may be.

Isn't this the same lose tongue who had prophesied that Modi can never become the PM and in the same breath had offered to provide space for setting up tea stall where Modi Ji could sell tea. Aiyar knows that he is no good and there are no takers of what he prophesies. Congress paty itself is on ventilator support, there is marked absence of effective and professional leadership, dynasts are useless whether it is Rahul or his mother Sonia.

PM Modi is no more a challenge, which he may have been prior to 2014. Now he is a reality, a phenomenon India was in dire need of and a very very tall personality. The only option is to be with him, and if not, then be doomed for ever.

[creativentropy]

Vote to Balance

Its election season. I am penning typing this blog to explain my thinking behind “how to vote”. The landscape at a very aggregated level looks like PM Modi versus Pakistan and rest of political India. The reason its important to blog now is because near the election time we get to hear a summary of all political and cultural views. Since all political parties are fighting for our (voter’s) attention, they present their views in the most concise way possible. In recent past I heard voices from The Wire, Quint, Republic TV, Arun Shourie, Ravish (of NDTV), Arnab, Modi, Amit bhai, Arvind Kejriwal, Mamta Banerjee and of course our own Rahul Baba. I attempt to present a summary of summaries of what they say and ultimately walk you through my own decision making process.

Its well understood today that Amit-bhai is the real power centre in BJP. Modi is presented an image of what we would like to see in a PM. Shah the strategist, has the CBI, ED, Income Tax etc departments all under his control while Modi speaks what is fed to him by party’s intelligence and which aligns with the strategy. As I understand that Mo-Shah’s plan to run government and win elections can be condensed in the following below points

Appeal to people’s pride and project pride in demographic which are driven by pride (upper Hindu castes).

Craft a vision to woo the middle class.

Create a subliminal “hindu-muslim” rift by attacking Pakistan (via speeches).

Fourthly, articulate governments work with respect to Jan-Dhan, DBT, Aayushman Bharat, GST / DeMo - a part which is increasingly becoming a non-election winner.

Rahul and rest of opposition on the other hand is fighting this one on the basis of

Polarisation caused by the political party in power

Destruction of institutions

Opportunism in the Balakot Air Strikes

Rafael Deal

Common greed of being in power or get Modi out.

In both these narratives, one is just marginally better than other. Or to put it the other way one is just marginally worse than other. Who is to blame - us - the aam junta!

One of the two hallmarks of the election of 2014 is Modi presenting a vision of what development will be for India and how he plans to achieve it. Coupled with the corruption of the UPA government, this helped him sail through the majority mark. I think that the delta between the promise and the reality of the 2014 vision and the recent loss in 3 states has put the whole “development” agenda on a very distant back seat. Its back to religious vote bank consolidation by both political parties. The desperation is such that on one hand BJP is consolidating the hindu vote bank by polarising speeches and on other hand they are also trying to woo the muslim vote bank by working the bureaucracy in the middle east to get Modi ji a lot of “middle-eastern” civilian honours. Do check out PM Modi’s State Awards section on his WikiPedia page.

So how do I vote? I remember seeing Modi ji’s old election video of 1999 elections where he says that people have voted this time to punish. “Vote to Punish” is a major motivation to vote. Vote to Punish strategy works best when a party not in power is trying to throw out the party in power. Modi excels in that - so much that when he is in power he does a good job to pass on all non-achievements to Congress. He did it in 2007, 2011 when he was in power and it was best in 2014 when he wanted to come to power. All evil is Congress. 

Well, I have a spin on this philosophy - 'Vote to Balance'.

Vote to Balance is to give credible power to the opposition. I know that Rahul baba is a very distant hope to provide any credibility to anything, but, we got to start somewhere. The start happens when we start seeing at a very dis-aggregated level - very locally. I think of how the work of my sitting MP has made my life better - has s/he tried making laws to make my life better or was s/he just a passive - “good for nothing” MP. Compare it with the other option WITHOUT noticing their political affiliations. I try to make a very local choice - I shut the news sources couple weeks before elections.

If the MP candidate is good for nothing and even if he is in BJP, I will not vote for him no matter how much I love Modi. Likewise, if the MP is good but s/he belongs to Congress one can vote for them no matter how incapable Rahul may be.

Democracy is a long under-construction activity but each brick in that construction matters - regardless of its colour. Choose a good one, choose wisely.

Happy Elections 2019.

P.S.: I have a tough choice to make between Congress’ Urmila Matondkar and sitting BJP MP Gopal Shetty this election.

[consumerinfoline]

Congress asks PM to come out with the truth on number of terrorists killed in Balakot air strikes

Congress asks PM to come out with the truth on number of terrorists killed in Balakot air strikes

New Delhi, Mar 4 (PTI) Two days after Union Minister S S Ahluwalia said neither Prime Minister Narendra Modi nor any government spokesperson had given any figure on the casualty of Balakot air strikes, the Congress Monday asked the Prime Minister to come out with the truth on the number of terrorists killed.

“Modi-ji, your central government ministers are stating that TV channels’ news is fake,…

[webart-studio]

PM Narendra Modi publicizes Rs 4,500 crore help to Bhutan

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday introduced a Rs 4,500-crore monetary help to Bhutan to assist the nation implement its 12th five-year plan after he held wide-ranging talks together with his Bhutanese counterpart Lotay Tshering.

In his media assertion, Modi stated he has assured the Bhutanese prime minister that India, as a “trusted buddy”, will proceed to play an necessary function in Bhutan’s general improvement.

The prime minister additionally thanked the Bhutanese chief for deciding to introduce in Bhutan the Indian RuPay card which is a debit and bank card fee community.

On his half, Tshering stated the primary mission of his go to right here was to take Indo-Bhutan ties to higher heights, including Prime Minister Modi has given him assurance of serving to Bhutanese merchants hit by the implementation of GST in India.

“We’re very very pleased that Prime Minister Modi Ji has personally dedicated to being with us, to assist us…Authorities of India has prolonged full assist for our XII 5 Yr Plan and likewise to our merchants who’re being affected by the GST that has come into motion in India,” the Bhutan PM stated.

Within the talks, the 2 sides targeted on additional ramping up the already shut bilateral relationship, notably within the areas of hydropower and commerce.

The 2 sides are understood to have additionally deliberated on safety cooperation. Bhutan is a strategically necessary neighbour for India and each the international locations have strong navy cooperation which was mirrored throughout Doklam face-off.

“India will contribute Rs 4,500 crore in Bhutan’s 12th five-year plan,” Modi stated. The brand new five-year plan of Bhutan started this 12 months and can proceed until 2022.

Figuring out hydropower cooperation with Bhutan as a vital facet within the bilateral ties, Modi stated work on the Mangdechhu venture will quickly be accomplished. Mangdechhu is a 720-MW hydroelectric venture (HEP) on the Mangdechhu River in central Bhutan, which is being carried out by India.

“At this time, we mentioned this significant sector and reviewed cooperation on all the key initiatives. Work on the Mangdechhu venture will probably be accomplished quickly. We now have agreed on the tariff for this venture. Work on different initiatives has been taking place at a really passable tempo,” he stated.

Tshering stated hydropower has been the primary income for Bhutan.

“We’re very very pleased that the Authorities of India is totally dedicated to supporting no matter negotiations which are happening for figuring out tariff for energy from Mangdechhu venture in addition to to make Sankosh (hydropower) venture occur as quickly as attainable,” Tshering stated.

The Bhutanese prime minister arrived right here on Thursday on his first international go to after taking cost as PM of the Himalayan nation final month following his occasion’s victory within the basic elections.

Modi stated area is one other space the place the cooperation between the 2 neighbours is rising.

Below the South Asian satellite tv for pc launched by India for its neighbours, of which Bhutan is without doubt one of the beneficiaries, the bottom station is being ready by the Indian House Analysis Organisation (ISRO), Modi stated.

This, he added, will help in giving messages associated to climate in far-flung areas of Bhutan, facilitate tele-medicines and assist in catastrophe reduction.

Tshering famous that Prime Minister Modi was the “first and the one head of the federal government” who personally known as and congratulated him on his electoral victory. He additionally thanked India for its continued assist to his nation’s developmental wants.

Earlier within the day, Tshering was accorded a ceremonial welcome on the Rashtrapati Bhavan.

Exterior Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj additionally known as on the Bhutanese premier this morning.

Swaraj congratulated Tshering on the idea of the excessive workplace of Bhutan’s prime minister and the 2 leaders had a “heat trade of views” on necessary points of the bilateral relationship, Ministry of Exterior Affairs Spokesperson Ravesh Kumar stated.

Additionally Learn: ATC helps avert mid-air collision of three planes near Delhi flight data area

Additionally Learn: RBI extends enhanced single borrower restrict facility for NBFCs until March 31

Additionally Learn: M&M Monetary Providers will get approval to lift Rs 10,000 crore

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source https://webart-studio.com/pm-narendra-modi-publicizes-rs-4500-crore-help-to-bhutan/

[traveljaunts]

This time I touched upon a few parts of Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. My route was Bangalore to Nagpur, Nagpur to Katni, Katni to Bandhavgarh, Bandhavgarh to Ajmer, Ajmer to Pushkar, Pushkar to Kumbhalgarh , Kumbhalgarh to Udaipur, and Udaipur to Kota. 15 days long tour and Mishra ji descended into our lives as our driver who picked us up from Ajmer.

As soon as I reached Ajmer, I asked Mishra Ji to take me to Ajmer Shareef Dargah without realizing that Mishra ji belonged to Allahabad (or is it Prayag Raj now?) and his Brahmin soul coupled with a Shiv Sena heart would be disappointed at my act.

Mishraji said, ‘We might get late, you really want to visit dargah’? I said, ‘Yes I want to visit Ajmer Dargah and Pushkar Brahma temple before we reach Kumbhalgarh.’

Mishraji, ’It’s difficult to take car near Dargah so will arrange for an auto (a 3-wheeler / tuk-tuk).’ I said, ‘fine’.

Now the Autowala enters the story. He too is a strict vegan but did take us till the Dargah entrance gate. That, is a confluence of narrow lanes with drainage on both sides leading to a comparatively thicker road, called the Dargah road. Definitely not a comfortable experience but the auto drivers sure have great skills.

It was a Friday (aka Jumme ka din) and I hadn’t realized what I was getting into. The road was overly crowded; everyone trying to jostle his/her way around to reach to the entrance. And in addition, there were plentiful beggars occupying their designated territories on the road.

Somehow and anyhow we entered. I bought a Chadar and some flowers. It was 3 pm and the main door was to open at 3.30pm so we waited as I wanted to really visit the main shrine that my hubby has often spoken to me about. Ajmer Shareef is the resting place of Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti, a Persian Sufi who had come to India in the early 13th century from Herat and stayed here forever.

  Like temples, here too we found some souls who consider themselves direct messengers of God. They usually position themselves near main gates, ready to bless you in return for the money you pay them. Below Rs 100 is not really respected, mind that.

My experience at the Dargah on a Jumma wasn’t great. I wasn’t able to pray peacefully for the same God send souls and my son had started crying inside due to the crowd almost at the verge of a stampede.

After we came out of Dargah, we called the Autowala to the same spot where he had left. We narrated our pain and spoke about the management in Dargah.

Autowala said, ’Madam even Narendra Modi, the Prime Minister of India didn’t go to the Dargah when he came to Ajmer, why did you go? You are a Brahmin. We Hindus bow down before everyone but others don’t. They don’t even take our prasad (religious offering). I am staying in Ajmer since long but not even once I have entered the Dargah.’

Hmmm…

Anyway, we shifted ourselves back to the waiting car. Our conversation also shifted from religion to politics.

I asked Mishraji, ‘Have you visited this Dargah? ‘

Mishraji ‘Yes, just once when one of my clients from Hyderabad insisted on it. I don’t like the energy. People are different.’

‘Energy is not dependent on religion. It is the person’, I said.

Mishraji to me ‘Madam, have you seen the communal riots in India?’

I, drawing into the conversation, egged on, ‘on TV but never been part of the scene.’

Mishraji ‘I have and I know how people are. Problem is we Hindus are not united. When something happens to us, we don’t take revenge the way others join hands and come out on roads to kill us.  We, on the other hand, visit their Dargahs and Pir Babas.’

I was quiet. Thought, let’s do Pushkar now to cool Mishra Ji down.

At Pushkar, life was peaceful, the crowd being less and manageable; however, we took more than the expected time and it was 6.30 pm already. By the time we came out, Mishraji said, ’I called many drivers and everyone suggested not to drive to Kumbhalgarh at this hour.

Mishraji suggested that we should halt for the night and drive in the morning. ‘It would take 6-7 hrs to reach Kumbhalgarh and roads are not good. There are wild animals. By the time we get out of Pushkar and then Ajmer to get to the highway, it would be 8-8.30 pm. Which means reaching Kumbhalgarh by 1.30 – 2 am. Very dangerous.’

I said, ‘It’s ok. We in fact keep visiting jungles to see wild animals but don’t get to find enough of them. If we have to go through the jungle road full of wild animals, it’s even better. And I checked google, it won’t take that long.’

‘One should be scared of humans these days and not animals. Other than animals, is there anything else that worries you Mishraji?’

Madam, ‘have you stayed in jungles? Not in hotels as in but in the interiors of jungles.’

‘In Bori jungle in Satpura with a family and friends group including a forest officer. But there were four walls to sleep in.’

‘Madamji, I have stayed in jungles and slept on top of my car. This was in jungles of Chhattisgarh. I was the driver who would take tribal workers in the jungle to collect stuff like Rubber, Mahua, wood etc. Everyday, at the gate they used to count people as not all were expected to come back.’

Mishra Ji continued, unabated, ‘Jungles has many things…’

‘You mean ghosts?’

‘Yeah…they are there on highways too. Have you experienced it madamji?’

‘Nope…’

‘I have many times.’ Thereafter, Mishraji proceeded to explain the difference between a Chudail (Witch) and Pretatma (Ghost). In between, Mishraji kept asking my mum questions on Geeta, Hindu Dharma, meditation, our purpose and about mythological characters assuming that she was an authentic Dadi Nani (Indian Granny) character straight from an ideal Hindu household.

As a result, both my mum and my son slept as soon as we hit the highway after Beawar leaving me and Mishraji to do the driving, navigation & figuring out part. My son was tired and my mom chose to snore rather than answering Mishraji’s mythological missiles.

It was getting late and Mishraji didn’t seem confident in the dark given his age (55+) so we both requested Sir Google to show us the route.  I was on the back seat with my son in my lap. Since my phone battery was low I needed to use Mishraji’s charger which only worked when I would bend a little as the wire was short. You can imagine my plight!

By God’s grace, my phone didn’t ditch me for the first time. We drove past the highway, then couple of small villages and then Mishra Ji’s dreaded Jungle all in the dark with just one headlight in the car as the other one had stopped working since Beawar.

A little tension, a little discomfort, a little belief and a little prayer made this ordinary journey thrilling. We finally reached Kumbhalgarh at 12.30 midnight having learnt about all sorts of ghosts and how to identify them apart from seminal discourses on religion, Moksha and meditation, courtesy Mishra Ji from Allahabad. My two partners woke up only when we reached the hotel in Kumbhalgarh. They were oblivious of what they had missed.

Here are next day’s pictures on a bright sunny day, but obviously without Mishra Ji.

Ajmer to Kumbhalgarh in conversation with Mishra ji from Allahabad This time I touched upon a few parts of Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. My route was Bangalore to Nagpur, Nagpur to Katni, Katni to Bandhavgarh, Bandhavgarh to Ajmer, Ajmer to Pushkar, Pushkar to Kumbhalgarh , Kumbhalgarh to Udaipur, and Udaipur to Kota.