Toll tax takes its toll

'Don't pay toll tax in Maharashtra: Raj Thackeray' screamed the headline. (http://www.ndtv.com/article/cities/don-t-pay-toll-tax-in-maharashtra-raj-thackeray-246971)

For once I tend to agree with the MNS leader who has said that a citizen who pays the toll should know where that money is going and for what purpose it is used. During my drives from Bangalore to Madurai, I have noted with a lump in my heart that you end up paying almost Rs.500 each way at the various tolls. This amount seems to go up every other time I drive down to my home town. I remember paying around Rs.85 for one particular stretch.

We Indians are so used to mediocrity that a good road becomes an exception and not the norm.

With an ever increasing road network in India, it is high time the National Highways Authority or any other department for that matter got their act together to ensure that tolls are fixed appropriately and sources and application of funds are adequately monitored to ensure that the money collected does not fill a few pockets alone.

The Dark Knight Rises

Watched The Dark Knight Rises..ok to make it easy lets call it TDKR.

The movie was almost a non-starter. Packed some masala dosas from MTR to watch TDKR. Spent 30 mins at the counter watching the waiters get the coveted masala dosas before we headed to Vision cinemas ( a good old place without the hassles of parking and reasonably priced tickets). Rushed to the counter to show them the BMS message and learnt that the film was a non-starter (some technical hitches to be sorted out or something like that). They asked us to wait for 10 minutes and by then we had grudgingly polished off our oily dosas in the car. With a prayer in our lips, went back to the counter and learnt that the technical hitch had been overcome - TDK had risen...

Well the movie is as dark as Batman movies can be. Some odd thoughts here and there:
- Dent Day....hee hee. Soon they will have a Sarbanes - Oxley day!!!!
- The American President steps in when Gotham is in crisis. Never heard of this one happen in the DC universe. Always thought Gotham City and Metropolis were self contained cities in the US but isolated from the White House. The President normally steps in to hand out congressional medals to the superheroes.
- Giant Alligators in the sewers - reference to NY urban legend or to the Croc Man (?)
- Bane tries to sound like Darth Vader - Would have been wonderful to have James Earl Jones do the voice over and Mark Callaway (the Undertaker for the uninitiated) play Bane
- Anne vs Michelle - I'll go with Anne..
- Why didn't they do a reference check on Miranda Tate
- The Cat beats the Bat - Selina gets more hits right than Bruce Wayne when firing at the armoured trucks
- Blake is Robin - And all these years it was supposed to be Dick Grayson - Hope they don't have a Robin re-boot. Too bad - can't carry an entire film on his shoulders
- More people seen to know the Batman's identity by the end of the movie
- Commissioner Gordon gets out of hospital bed to do a Surya in taking on the League heads on
- More people will be going to Jodhpur this December to check if the prison exists - well the balcony definitely must...
- More people would be going to Florence for the same reason
-  Nolan regulars - Bale, Caine, Marion, Cillian Murphy have a ball - wonder if they have formed a kliq in Hollywood
- Kangaroo courts - missing Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman here. Could have given them cameos...
- The Bat romances the Cat - what would they name the kids? Adam Sandler can take this forward...

A fascinating film nevertheless and a don't miss. Nilesh thought Bane looked like Teletubbies. 

P.S. MTR was not worth the wait. TDKR definitely was.