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Rahul speaks
Way of the stick |
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Decontrol of sugar prices
N. Korean rhetoric and beyond
Glamorous preparatory holidays
Comic caper tapers off
A call for thrills
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Rahul speaks
An inclusive model of political and economic development presented in a long speech by a person rarely known to open up, let alone in front of an audience, may not have been enough to calm the stir in the beehive of expectations that was built around the event, but Rahul Gandhi deserves to be heard because he is the Congress vice-president who could be Prime Minister one day. Rahul’s ‘discovery of India’ figured prominently in his anecdote-peppered address that had touches of an outsider looking at the lives of ordinary Indians. To be fair, unlike many other political princelings, he has been making a visible effort to interact with people and understand their problems. He has long focussed on India’s downtrodden and their woes, and he did so again. While he is not in the government, a matter of choice for him, he is politically responsible for the fact that many of the issues that bedevil the poor and the backward in India have to do with governance, for which the UPA has been responsible since 2004. Rahul has subtly positioned himself vis-a-vis the emerging BJP rival Narendra Modi. Thus there is the contrast between a ‘we’ vs ‘I’ approach; reluctance vs ambition; inclusive vs divisive. He has also pointed out various lacunae in the Indian knowledge infrastructure; stressed on the need to build skills; to include everyone, especially those living in the rural shadows; the imperative of an impartial rule-based system and the need for government and industry to work together. The global economic downturn has certainly made things tough for UPA II, a condition exacerbated by the political emaciation of the Congress, caused by its lack of decisive majority in Parliament. Rahul was expected to provide a vision, to weave a magic that would mesmerise the corporate honchos in particular and the nation in general out of the depressed morass it finds itself in these days. He was found wanting in this regard. Perhaps he is right in saying that you can’t expect any one person to come and solve all the problems. However, he must remember that voters often elect those in whose dreams and vision they see hope of a better future, people who fire their imagination and seem to have answers to their problems, and those who have fire in their belies to fight for the right to lead them. |
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Way of the stick
The Punjab Government seems to be bent upon embarrassing itself in the case of assault by the Tarn Taran police on a woman. All apparently out of a misplaced sense of solidarity with policemen who have plainly been seen behaving outrageously with a defenceless woman. Beginning with denial of any wrongdoing, to minimising the loss of image, to obfuscating the matter with statements like there was another woman, the police have attempted to protect and then delay action against the guilty. The drivers involved in the fracas have conveniently been able to evade arrest. The woman has been accused of attacking the police. That begs a simple question: Why would a woman and her father, out attending a wedding, assault policemen in uniform without reason? The Supreme Court, which has taken up the matter suo motu and trashed a magisterial inquiry report submitted in this regard as a cover-up, has raised a pertinent question — were the woman and her father armed? Whatever wrong they may have committed, a whole bunch of policemen definitely did not need to assault them with sticks in public. The police has even claimed the father has submitted an apology for his mistake. In today’s world of media activism and public awareness, to even attempt this seems farcical on the part of the police. However, it must be admitted, the matter would never have become an issue had the assault not been recorded on camera, or the courts not intervened. What defies answer is why the police top brass and the government are trying to defend the indefensible. Perhaps they sincerely believe that the policemen were not wrong in acting the way they did because there was indeed instigation from the woman. This view is also evident from the inquiry report that has pointed out that such action is required for law and order. This assessment comes from a certain attitude that has its roots in the centuries of British rule and an even longer feudal approach to the masses, previously ‘subjects’. That attitude needs to change as India prepares for a global stature — development is not just expressways. |
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Decontrol of sugar prices
Sugar prices have been decontrolled, albeit partially. It means the Centre will no longer decide at what price mills can sell sugar in the open market. The mills will not be forced to supply cheap sugar to the Centre for giving it to the poor through the public distribution system. States will decide at what price mills should buy sugarcane and what distance should be maintained between mills. A committee set up under C. Rangarajan, chairman of the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council, had studied the issue in detail and recommended price decontrol. Critics apprehend a steep sugar price rise. There may be price fluctuations in the near future, but in the long run the step will benefit producers as well as consumers. The poor will continue to get sugar at Rs 13.50 a kg at through the PDS. States will buy their requirements for the PDS and will be reimbursed by the Centre. The Centre’s food subsidy bill will shoot up, of course, but it may be offset by the proposed production tax of Rs 1.5 a kg. The timing is right. At present international prices of sugar are lower than those in India and any price rise can be checked through imports. Only the Centre has to be vigilant about the sugar producers forming cartels to push up prices, especially during the festival season when demand shoots up. The decision will benefit some 500 sugar mills in the country. Many mills have closed down due to persistent losses. Since the mills are forced to sell part of sugar cheap and the sale price is fixed by the government, the mills suffer losses and are unable to make adequate and timely payments to sugarcane growers. When returns are low due to excess production, farmers shift to other crops in desperation, causing production shortages subsequently. This leads to cycles of sugar glut and shortages. Now all this may change. |
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When you lose, don’t lose the lesson — The Dalai Lama |
N. Korean rhetoric and beyond While the civil war in Syria continues to occupy the minds of regional and world powers, North Korea’s bellicose rhetoric and the precautionary counter-measures and show of force deployed by the United States and its South Korean ally have raised the temperature considerably. The irony is that China, which is Pyongyang’s sole ally and friend, seems helpless to moderate the actions and trade mark hyperbolic threats of the young leader, Kim Jong-un.
North Korea is hard to read at the best of times, but a threat-a-day tactic adopted by Pyongyang with the sole remaining link between the North and South now being interrupted, the industrial complex on the border, the next phase is troubling. For one thing, the North wants to be recognised as a nuclear weapon power, having exploded its third nuclear device. For another, the third generation of the Kim dynasty wants to seek legitimacy in the eyes of its generals. Even as the US and the world are discounting the ability of North Korea to strike at objects on the US mainland, the fear is that a miscalculation could set off a chain of events that may prove disastrous. Typically, the North calibrates its threats to a crescendo to seek Western concessions through talks. But Mr Kim Jong-un is raising the temperature so high that he would find it difficult to pipe down without loss of face. On the other hand, the tough response of the new South Korean President, Ms Park Geun-hye, hinges on her having to prove to her countrymen that she is fully capable of protecting Seoul’s interests. While the world watches anxiously, China is faced with a set of dilemmas. It backed the latest series of UN sanctions against North Korea after Pyongyang’s recent nuclear test infuriating the latter, which was also exercised by the annual exercises being held by US and South Korean troops. Beijing’s central dilemma is that it wants to ward off a possible reunion of the Koreas and at the very least try to prevent a massive exodus of North Koreans into China. Thus, it remains to be determined how far China will enforce the new sanctions it has backed in the United Nations. In a sense, it seems the tail is wagging the dog because there are no easy answers to Kim Jong-un thumbing his nose at its main benefactor. Does China abandon the North and invite the consequences? Beijing has already disciplined a party theorist for writing in a British newspaper that China should cut its losses by abandoning the young North Korean leader, instead of coddling him. For the present, the Chinese leadership has decided to grin and bear it, instead of inviting the further wrath of the North. But the Korean crisis faces a larger question for the world powers. A peace treaty between the two Koreas has never been signed and the North has now repudiated the long-held truce, at least rhetorically. The US has demonstrated its muscular support to the South rhetorically and through a display of its fire-power by sending its most potent arsenal in fighter planes all the way from the mainland and by moving other military assets in the seas towards the Korean theatre. The UN Secretary-General, Mr Ban Ki-moon, himself a South Korean, has sounded his alarm by declaring that the conflict had gone “too far”. The world is waiting in particular to find out how far Mr Kim Jong-un will go in his bizarre muscle-flexing exercise. There must come a point at which the young leader must pipe down or reach over the brink. Even in the days of the Cold War, the then two super powers had a pretty good idea of the intentions of each other. This is, indeed, the first instance in the post-Cold War era in which the world is sailing in uncharted waters. And it primarily depends upon one person to call off a suicidal course that cannot benefit his country. The ruling junta in North Korea is opaque at the best of times, but what complicates the picture is that with the accession to power of the young Mr Kim on his father’s death, he has to prove his manhood to his generals who provide the military muscle to prop up the regime and convince them that he is in the traditional mould of his father and grandfather. He will presumably need Chinese help to climb down, but for the moment he is cross with Beijing for supporting the new condemnation and sanctions against North Korea in the UN Security Council. Washington’s problem is that while it does not want to roil the waters in the Far East, with the Syrian civil war raging, it has to declare full support to its South Korean ally while comforting Japanese nerves frayed by developments in Pyongyang. There have been recent military exercises with Japan, apart from continuing exercises with South Korea. Indeed, the mood in Japan under the Liberal Democrat Prime Minister, Mr Shinzo Abe, is more hawkish although the Japanese people are still not in favour of going the whole hog. The irony is that US President Barack Obama’s declared “pivot” to Asia has been greeted by North Korea with extravagant rhetoric and the unpredictability of it shooting from the hip. With the major powers’ attention fixed on the Middle East (the Indian definition of West Asia is imprecise) and the civil war in Syria, North Korea is a distraction they could well have done without. Mr Kim Jing-un has certainly grabbed the attention of the world by firing long-range rockets and conducting a further nuclear test. What is unclear is how he climbs down from his hobby horses without losing face in a society mindful of its amour proper, destitute as most of its people are. That remains the unanswered question. The United States has made full preparations for any eventuality but has for the present decided not to take the high-flown rhetoric too seriously. It remains to be seen whether the young North Korean leader has new surprises up his
sleeve. |
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Glamorous preparatory holidays
We were always both overly excited and drearily dull before the actual onset of examinations, particularly when in college and university. We had an additional charm of having preparatory holidays, which were awaited as if to fulfil the hither-to-fore untouched portions and areas of our study, ignored all though the academic year. We kept putting off things for the preparatory holidays, since being students of humanities we could afford this luxury unlike our counterparts in science and commerce streams. The common notion then was that with arts, one could manage to secure a ‘pass’ even by being ‘a little more serious’ in one’s studies towards the last month --- when educational institutions would be closed for letting students prepare for writing their examinations. Most of the holidays were spent only in planning a schedule and framing and reframing a time-table, which was seldom adhered to, discounting always our preference to listen to music and watch movies. A transistor always was the mainstay when a casual look at the books was made. Of course, this cavalier disposition got accentuated with a little more attention being paid gradually to a time when the holidays came to an ‘uneasy termination’, heralding the examinations, having remained only a day or two away. Initially, days were fixed for different subjects differently, making them commensurate with the amount of attention each discipline should get. There were some formulae, quotations, etc, that had to be visited almost regularly during the preparatory holidays, realising then that it might not be safe or possible to mug or cram the whole lot in a short time later. Between all this pain and pleasure being experienced, what added to our predicament was the weather. This time around the year, when all the soulful concentration was on Baisakhi and its revelling spirit; when the wasps began to flutter and the wheat crop was ready to turn golden; when the breeze was as if laced with intoxicants; when the night breeze remained a killer insofar as not letting stay awake was concerned; then who the hell had time not to spare for dozing off more at will than being made drowsy by titillating moonlight and tantalising mild nip in the night air. Every morning when we rose, we always repented for not having put our heart and soul to studies during a period of the year, when we were expected only to cater to our passing the examinations—merits, placements and cut-throat competitions of combined entrances tests being a later-day development. Some used to go to the fields to find a peaceful atmosphere for studies while others were found studying under the shade of trees in city parks. I don’t know if they weren’t disturbed by the birds there. I for myself preferred a small closet where there was no disturbance. Another thing that troubled us in those days was the appetite. We felt like eating after every half an hour, the number of tea-cups having had been downed, discounted. Unable to cover the syllabus and to stay awake, some consumed anti-sleep pills too. Pitiably, they usually dosed off while writing their tests. Some other friends in the cities ‘studied’ on the rooftops too, but those were the places where ‘other mutually pleasant distractions of gendered sort’ always took the better of them. The best part of the preparatory holidays was that parents never put us to any engaging projects, since they thought we were already heavily engaged in the pursuit of qualifying as ‘padhe-likhe’ ones! I am reminded of the number, ‘Wo khabon ke din, wo kitabon ke din’— O, for those days of dreams, aspirations, books and our
indulgence! |
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CINEMA: NEW Releases RATINGS: ***** Excellent **** Very Good
***Good **Average *Poor Nonika Singh
Film:Chashme Baddoor Dam hai boss… Don't let this dialogue mislead you. In fact, the number of times the heroine, desperately trying to be perky, says it, the more you are reminded that the movie lacks punch. While trying to compare the sensibilities of over the top maker David Dhawan with Sai Paranjpye, the sensitive director who made the original Chashme Baddoor, would not only be outrageous but also unfair (to Paranjapye, of course). However, this one fails even by Dhawan's standards. Actually this marriage between Dhawan's slapstick style of lowbrow humour with a beautiful original story comes a cropper. Overacting, loud and lewd humour has been the USP of Dhawan's films. But with Govinda at the helm it has mostly worked and by and large created a laugh riot albeit meaningless. Here, as this laughter ship is lugged by more than one performer, including seasoned ones like Anupam Kher in a double role, Rishi Kapoor, Lillete Dubey and of course the young crop of actors namely Siddharth Narayan, Ali Zafar, Divyendu Sharma, Taapsee Pannu, it sinks under its own weight. The story of three friends wooing the same girl and the misunderstandings that ensue has suitable potential as the original hailed as cult comedy proved. Only in its remake avatar it's not quite a comic caper one hoped it would be. Gags are tasteless and laughter comes only few and far between. The attempt to add extra dollops of humour misfires most of the time and more often than not is painfully laboured. Diluted by the extra track in which the narrative moves — there is a middle age romantic angle between landlady Jospehine (Lillete Dubey) and restaurant owner Joseph (Rishi Kapoor)—the film fails to hold itself as a whole. Of course, among the bevy of actors it's Rishi who provides relief, comic and otherwise too. Zafar is measured if not outstanding. His buddies Siddharth and Divyendu are overtly dramatic and their energy is more overbearing than infectious. Together the threesome is far from awesome. And the glamourised version of the girl next door Tapasee doesn't quite steal your heart away. Unwarranted song and dance routine further dampens the film. Even if the film tickles your funnybone in parts, the contrived anticlimax brings it down. One of the dialogues in the film goes aj kal Hindi filmein do ghante ki hoti hai… Thank god for that but this one weighs heavy despite the short length and the brisk pace. Yet another one-liner of the film reminds us—Don't judge a film by its poster. Certainly not by the name of the film whose remake it is. Unless a mother continuously slapping her mature professor son, a young student mouthing inane shayari oops tukbandi at the drop of the hat and an army officer repeatedly uttering 'over and out' is your idea of humour, stay away. If you can't and won't among many things you will learn why Dhawan misses working with Govinda. We missed him too. |
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A call for thrills
Film:The Call This is not a run-of-the-mill kind of film. It's a new concept with some very strong thriller elements thrown in. The two-part plot is based on 911 operative Jordan (Halle Berry), who suffers a breakdown following an emergency request from a teenager, goes off line into training and then resurfaces following another emergency. Now, she has to prove her credentials as well as save the day for another teenage victim who happens to be kidnapped and dumped into the trunk of a moving car. The setting revolves around a multi-operational call centre, The Hive, where 911 operatives have access to mainframe database of all citizens of the USA and also network on secure frequencies with law enforcement and rescue personnel in order to resolve life-threatening issues. It's a great set-up for the drama that is to follow, which involves the killer out-manoeuvring a network of Los Angeles government workers, beat cops, finger print technicians and call centre operators from varied ethnicities. Jordan steps in and takes the situation to its logical end. The victim, Casey
(Abigail Breslin), calls in from the boot of the car and the operative slowly and steadily, keeping her voice calm and her rising panic at bay, gets the necessary information to make a trace. But is the information enough? You need to watch the movie to find the answer to that question. Needless to say the operative manages to make restitution for her earlier failure and then moves into a proactive mode to rescue the damsel. As long as the narrative stays within the parameters of the 911 set-up, it's a thrill and tense ride. The minute Jordan steps out of The Hive and sets out on her own to find the killer and rescue the kidnapped teen, the narrative flounders. It's an unconvincing move at best and despite her earlier configured motivation Jordan vs the killer, climax just doesn't ring true. The effects are true and the stakes are plausible enough, serving as a strong enough premise for a bite-your-nails effect. Since the kidnapped teen is calling from the boot of a moving car, the experience recreated is quite harrowing. Scriptwriter Richard D'Ovidio's envisions a perfect assemblage of chilling moments that go from dark to darker within minutes and allowing little room for relief. The tension increases and when the killer tells Jordon, 'It's already done', it's a heart-in-your-mouth situation. As the focus shifts from the extremities to the central players, the camera blurs out everything else but the two characters in the moment. Visually that makes for a strong statement. One of deep-rooted concentration and overwhelming effort. Anderson's old-fashioned tricks (cross-cutting) to build tension makes it all the more engaging. But for the final veering away from inherent strengths-towards a sort of exaggerated vigilantism, this film could well have been a really strong and high-credible thriller! |
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movies on tv
Saturday April 6 Pyaar Ke Side Effects is a Bollywood movie released in September 2006. It was produced under the banner of Pritish Nandy communications and was written and directed by first time director Saket Chaudhary. Rahul Bose and Mallika Sherawat played the lead cast. ZEE CINEMA 6:55AM Maa Kasam 9:50AM Vaishanavi 4:45PM Shiva: The Super Hero 8:00PM Hum Aapke Hain Kaun...! STAR MOVIES 10:01AM The Front Row with Anupama Chopra 10:31AM Land of the Lost 12:46PM X-Men: The Last Stand 2:28PM Twister 4:52PM The Jewel of The Nile 7:07PM Safehouse 9:00PM The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel 11:31PM Jurassic Park III SONY PIX 8:30AM Once Upon a Time in Mexico 10:20AM Open Season 2 11:50AM Welcome to the Jungle 1:50PM The Forbidden Kingdom 3:50PM 2012 6:35PM Hitch 9:00PM Rogue Assassin 11:10PM The Raid: Redemption ZEE ACTION 7:00AM Laat Saab 10:30AM Paap Ki Aandhi 1:30PM The Smart Hunt 5:30PM Eena Meena Deeka 8:30PM Aaj Ka Arjun B4U MOVIES 8:00AM Abhinetri 12:00PM Do Aur Do Paanch 4:00PM Josh 8:30PM Pyaar Ke Side Effects HBO 8:25AM The Scorpion King 3: Battle for Redemption 10:25AM Step Up 12:30PM Wrath of the Titans 2:32PM Enemy of the State 5:07PM Ong Bak 2 6:53PM Rango 9:00PM Rush Hour 3 11:15PM Fast Five SET MAX 8:35AM Hum Dono 11:45AM Dostana SONI PIX 8:30AM Once Upon a Time in Mexico 10:20AM Open Season 2 11:50AM Welcome to the Jungle 1:50PM The Forbidden Kingdom 3:50PM 2012 6:35PM Hitch 9:00PM Rogue Assassin 11:10PM The Raid: Redemption FILMY 9:00AM Hanuman 12:00PM Chala Mussaddi: Office Office 3:00PM Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam 6:00PM Mumbai Ki Kiran Bedi 9:30PM Ragini MMS The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel is a British comedy-drama film, directed by John Madden. The screenplay, written by Ol Parker, was based on the 2004 novel These Foolish Things, by Deborah Moggach, and features an ensemble cast consisting of Judi Dench, Celia Imrie, Bill Nighy, Ronald Pickup, Maggie Smith, Tom Wilkinson and Penelope Wilton. ZEE CINEMA 6:45AM Aatish: Feel the Fire 12:35PM Maine Pyar Kiya 4:40PM Mohra 9:00PM Hum Saath Saath Hain STAR MOVIES 7:39AM One for the Money 9:35AM The Hulk 12:11PM Jurassic Park III ZEE ACTION 7:00AM Mr. Azaad 10:30AM Gunahon Ka Faisala 1:30PM Chaalbaaz 5:30PM Aaj Ka Goonda Raj 8:30PM Hum Paanch Ek Team B4U MOVIES 8:00AM Deshwasi 12:00PM Mother India 4:00PM Mrityudand 8:30PM Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye! HBO 8:25AM Lemony Snicket's a Series of Unfortunate Events 10:50AM Rango 1:00PM Mission: Impossible-Ghost Protocol 3:30PM Fast Five 5:55PM Disaster Movie 7:24PM Rush Hour 3 9:00PM Mission: Impossible-Ghost Protocol SET MAX 9:00AM Crook 10:50AM Dil Bole Hadippa FILMY 9:00AM Dil Maange More 12:00PM Dil Ne Jise Apna Kahaa 3:00PM Dosti Dushmani 6:00PM Patthar Aur Payal 9:30PM Chori Chori Chupke Chupke |
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Pyaar Ke Side Effects
Sunday april 7