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Food for politics
Revolution in Egypt |
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Stoning history
Not quite a coup
Arrogance has a prize to pay!
Love’s tender caress
Blow hot, blow cold
A canvas full of action
Poor policing attempt
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Food for politics
Agreed, an ordinance is an inappropriate alternative to legislation through Parliament and the Opposition has rightly berated the UPA for resorting to the undemocratic route to have the food law. It is also a fact that Parliament has been rendered dysfunctional, session after session, on one ground or the other. Parliament will still get a chance to discuss the issue when the ordinance comes up for ratification. Just as in the case of the anti-rape ordinance, opposition parliamentarians can have their say on the final food law. Political differences on the real issue, however, are insignificant. Only the Samajwadi Party feels the legislation is farmer-unfriendly and will ruin agriculture. Unscrupulous elements could buy cheap food and sell it in the open market, depressing prices. For most parties the real problem is the Congress rushing with a significant vote-luring measure ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. Political parties are known to offer free power, laptops, TV sets and subsidised food items to win elections. It is unethical and financially ruinous to attract votes through freebies. Most parties pursue politics of populism, making people dependent on state welfare. The Supreme Court on Friday asked the Election Commission to issue guidelines to regulate manifestos promising freebies. Neither the Centre nor states appear prepared for the rollout of the UPA's most ambitious welfare programme after the rural job guarantee scheme and the right to education. Making food available to 70 per cent of the rural population and 50 per cent of the urban dwellers requires massive back-up infrastructure if the present public distribution system is adopted. Apart from the huge cost involved, the identification of the targeted beneficiaries is a herculean task. Given the known leakages in the PDS, the implementation of the right to food law is a stupendous challenge. And if the government opts for direct cash transfers in lieu of food that would cause dislocation of the PDS and the official procurement network built over the years. The UPA appears more interested in making electoral gains from the food law than ensuring its foolproof implementation.
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Revolution in Egypt
The
Egyptian army’s decision to overthrow the Muslim Brotherhood-led government in Egypt has evoked a mixed reaction. Many people on the streets of Egypt cheered it and in some pockets there were strong protests. The army can be accused of toppling Egypt’s first democratically elected leader. However, others will maintain that President Mohamed Morsi’s actions were not democratic, and that in the recent past he seemed to be losing grip. President Morsi was not seen as inclusive in his governance. Egypt is home to a number of minorities, and any government there has to ensure that it balances the pulls and pushes of their aspirations. Indeed, sectarian clashes, some of them bloody, marred the peace in Morsi’s rule. An abiding reason for increasing discontent, however, was the worsening economic situation in the nation. In the last two years since Hosni Mubarak was removed from power, inflation and unemployment rose, while foreign investment and tourist revenues fell. Inflation rose from around 3 per cent to a figure variously pegged at 13-18 per cent. In the meanwhile, unemployment too rose to more that 13 per cent. Political instability was blamed for this state of affairs. The army claims no political ambitions, yet it has set about arresting members of the Muslim Brotherhood and shut down its television stations. The interim government, led as it is by technocrats, has a formidable task ahead of it. It must restore political stability and in order to do so, it will need to work with all the stakeholders, including the Muslim Brotherhood. Internationally, it needs the support of the US, which has reacted cautiously to the coup, as well as of Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Libya, since they all have helped Egypt with billions of dollars in loans. For this there must be a roadmap that shows how soon the army gets back to the barracks and a government elected by the people of Egypt comes into power. Even as Tahrir Square, the birthplace of the Arab Spring, is back in the news, the future remains uncertain.
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Stoning history
If
not Jodha, Akbar must be turning in his grave for committing the folly of inter-caste marriage way back in the 16th century. If he didn't, all the stone-throwing proud Rajputs would make him change history 500 years after his demise. If Akbar, the great Mughal king, did marry a Rajput princess, a fact refuted by many eminent historians, he did so for the sake of forging a political alliance between the Rajputs and the Mughals. Political alliances were forged through marriage among the equals, and benefited both, a fact not palatable to the 21st century modern men who are out to destroy public and private property and halt traffic for hours for the so-called insults heaped on their community by a king known for his radical secular ideas. Perhaps none of them read their history books in school. This marriage did not force change of religion on Jodha. She remained a Hindu, even in the celluloid version of "Jodha Akbar" released in 2008, yet the film caused much trouble for the producer. It was banned in UP, Haryana, Uttarakhand and 30 cinema houses of Rajasthan because the Rajputs insisted the film maligned the image of their clan, by showing Mughal superiority over them. The Supreme Court had to intervene to allow the release of the film. Creative arts enjoy poetic licence; writers, artists and film-makers take liberties to twist historical facts in making a larger point, in this case the secular credentials of the Mughal king. Jodha Akbar's love narrative, which highlights a cultural confluence, has inspired many creative minds, including Salman Rushdie, who penned "The Enchantress of Florence", though the Akbar of his novel is older and introspective. The latest serial by Ekta Kapoor on the king's love for the Rajput princess has once again put this chapter of history under fresh scrutiny. But, this scrutiny does not have to be violent, it should be scholastic, and should not involve the police or courts.
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He has Van Gogh's ear for music. —Billy Wilder
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Not quite a coup
The
armed forces of Egypt did not need much encouragement to engineer a coup to oust Islamist President Mohamed Morsi. Rather, the surprise was the alacrity with which masses on Cairo's Tahrir Square deliriously welcomed it. It was not so long ago that protesters, then including members of the now-maligned Muslim Brotherhood, were welcoming the downfall of Hosni Mubarak and his armed forces allies. Behind this dramatic turn of events lies the one year of rule of the first Egyptian President ever to be elected. For the Brotherhood, it was a consummation of 85 years of toil, deprivation and persecution. But it had persevered, building up a grassroots organisation, providing food, medicines and money to the poor and What happened during President Morsi's one year is a tragedy for Egypt and the role of an organisation that got carried away by its unpredicted good fortune to achieve power through a free election. And instead of governing the country and looking after all Egyptians, not merely the 52 per cent who had voted for him, Mr Morsi set about strengthening his own organisation, placing Muslim Brotherhood men in key positions, rushing through an Islamist constitution, giving himself extraordinary powers and packing the only assembly to function. The suspicion, of course, was that he was not his own master, that the party leadership that had propped him up was calling the shots. Among his many blunders was the appointment of a person belonging to an extremist organisation as the Governor of Luxor, the famous historical site where the worthy's party had massacred dozens of tourists. The outcry against this appointment was so widespread that the Governor had to withdraw his own nomination. The omens then were hardly propitious for this unique experiment in democracy in Egypt. Mr Morsi's orientation hardly suited him to his new role. The desperate need was to form an inclusive government to give the feeling to those who had fought for Mubarak's ouster a stake in the new dispensation. And it did not take those outside the Brotherhood circle long to feel alienated and left out. It seems that Morsi and his advisers and minders in the Brotherhood were stone deaf to the pleas of others. It thus came about that as armies of disillusioned youth began planning and plotting the downfall of Mubarak on the first anniversary of his rule and gathered millions of signatures across the country to oust him , they went back to the iconic Tahrir Square. Not to be outdone, President Morsi's supporters set up their show of strength in another part of Cairo. What came as a surprise was the size of the crowd in Tahrir Square last Sunday which, by all accounts, surpassed even the crowds that had gathered on the same square to oust Mubarak. That was the signal the armed forces were waiting for. In a transparent attempt to court the anti-Morsi protesters, the army flew its helicopters low over the square with the national flag trailing to provoke hoops of joy from the massive sea of humanity. Essentially, the die was cast. It remained for the armed forces to issue a 48-hour ultimatum and to tie up the loose ends. They invited civilian leaders for consultations, including the chief of Al Azhar and the head of the Coptic Church, recently the victim of hate crimes at the hands of Islamists. The new era has been inaugurated under a civilian dispensation but nobody is under any illusion who What of the future? Does Egypt go back to the drawing board again? Obviously, the armed forces will guard their turf. They have vast economic interests and privileges Mr Morsi refrained from axing although he did succeed in getting rid of the long-ruling army top brass. But it would be wise for the army not to be carried away by the euphoria of its soft coup and the welcome it has received from youthful protesters. The young may be volatile but they now feel empowered by successfully dethroning a dictator and an elected ruler who broke faith with them. Unless the army keeps faith with protestErs, it will come to grief. However, there is the important question of the backlash from Morsi supporters, who naturally feel betrayal because they keep repeating that their leader was duly elected fairly and has now been unfairly deposed. One fear is that members of the Brotherhood might resort to violence, and they have considerable support in the countryside. There again, the sagacity of the civilians advising the army will come into play. Perhaps the approaching month of Ramazan fasting will serve to calm the waters. What is desperately needed is a major effort to reconcile a deeply divided society that has been further polarised by one year of Morsi's rule. For the present the army enjoys the support of such men as ElBaradei, the former international atomic energy chief, and others such as the veteran former minister and Arab League chief Amr Moussa. The imperative need is to fulfil the promise of early elections to parliament under a new fair constitution leading to the election of a new President. There is much work to be done and the army's sincerity will be known by how the civilian faces of the new dispensation go about their business. These events have placed the United States in a dilemma. It could not bless the overthrow of an elected President while seeking to preserve a privileged relationship with the Egyptian military, which receives an annual subvention of $1.3 billion. American interests in Egypt are underpinned by its service in relation to Israel as also because it is a pivotal Arab state. One problem for the Obama administration is the US law; once a coup takes place displacing an elected leader, military and other assistance has to stop. It is small wonder then that the US President is tiptoeing around a coup that is not quite a coup. The future promises to be exciting and troublesome.n
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Arrogance has a prize to pay! I
still cannot forget the arrogant look of Gauri when she heard that I was also a competitor. We were celebrating the Silver Jubilee year of Manipal High School. I was a newcomer in the tenth standard, having migrated that year from Mumbai. I had bagged three first prizes- one each for Hindi elocution, Hindi essay writing and English essay writing. The competition for English elocution was due soon. "Gauri is a public speaker," warned some of my newly acquired friends. I was mentally prepared to lose my battle to her. But as forewarned is fore-armed, I put in all my efforts. And lo! I won the first prize for English elocution too! I was also bestowed with a fifth special prize for bagging the maximum number of first prizes! Again just three days prior to the board examinations, our school sent a few of the students, inclusive of Gracy and me, by an overnight bus to Bangalore for an Inter-state Hindi debate competition. Next day the competition was held and I had done quite well. But one of the organisers, out of mistaken identity, told casually to Gracy that she had won the first place and I had won the third. We had to leave the same night for Manipal as we had to appear for our board exams the next day! Our teachers were to bring the prizes on behalf of us later on. All the way back Gracy kept on bragging to strangers in the bus that she had won the first prize whereas I had got the third. Her unkind ways made me feel humiliated. On reaching school the next morning the Principal congratulated me for winning the first prize and bringing laurels to the school. I was jubilated and appeared for the exams with renewed confidence, whereas Gracy, being upset was not willing to even take her exams! Then again a similar incident happened while I was in the pre-university. I was sent to Gulbarga to represent the college for an inter-district Hindi debate competition. Saroj, who was pitted against me for the competition, was a student of the same college where the competition was being held. With some pretext or the other, she kept on taking me away from the venue where the topics were scheduled to be divulged just ten minutes prior to the debate. Some college boys, who obviously did not like her, came and informed me that Saroj was already well-prepared for the debate as the topics were clandestinely disclosed to her two weeks in advance. They took me to the venue, much to her chagrin, and I immediately selected one of the topics. I formulated my chain of thoughts using all the proverbs, idioms and Sanskrit slokas I had learnt as part of my school training. Surprise of all surprises I won the first place, whereas Saroj did not win any prize. I realised that those who dig a pit for others themselves fall in
it!
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Love’s tender caress When a mere flicker of an eye speaks volumes, an unconscious gesture becomes a caress...in short when love doesn't require superfluous adjectives or superlatives to express itself and when forgiveness is as much a part of loving as giving unconditionally.
That is the time where time stands still to which Lootera belongs. No wonder it is set in fifties when zamindari was on its way out and when Dev Anand was the film icon and when songs had substance. Deftly employing the decline of zamindari system as its backdrop, the film, essentially a love story with some elements of thriller thrown in, is actually like a poem that can be as much seen as felt. The camera makes love to its locales be it the snow clad Dalhousie or sunkissed landscapes of Bengal. Amit Trivedi's soulful music (if you haven't surrendered to its magic already) is as languorously seductive as the film's theme and its characters. Of course, there are not very many surprises in store for the viewer. You know the path of true love will cross again and when it does it would know no reason and its spirit would triumph against all odds even betrayal. So what keeps you engrossed in the tale of star-crossed lovers is directorial flourish, unusual treatment and above all superb acting of Ranveer and Sonakshi, both equally understated in their emotive range, Sonakshi a tad more effective as a woman nursing heartache and loneliness. Inspired by O Henry's The Last Leaf the analogy with life, leaf and hope is heartfelt, and intensity of love strong, palpable yet sublimated. Nothing in the film is in your face. Like the love the couple feel for each other a quiet dignity pervades the frames and its textures speak of pain and aching beauty. Watch it for the cinematic experience that is almost artistic in its appeal. However, if frenzied vigour is what you fancy, stay away. For here silences speak eloquently but without making or creating any fuss. |
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Blow hot, blow cold Richard Kuklinski (Michael Shannon) is the hit-man, weird, psychopathic and probably schizophrenic who looks withdrawn but normal when on his first meeting with his future wife Deborah (Winona Ryder) tells her she is a prettier version of Natalie Wood. The screenplay by Ariel Vromen and Morgan Land covers a wide canvas and provides an insight into the killer's psyche. There are biographies on Kuklinski from which he could have drawn material. There's not much of a plot and after his first murder the cops are on his back. Roy DeMeo (Ray Liotta) is at the head of the team and the likeness between the two actors is sure to puzzle the viewer. Also Ritchie/Pollock's beard keeps changing shape constantly as though the continuity girl had taken a nap. That Vromen is a director of great promise there is little doubt. His subtle change of scenes and moods keeps the viewer virtually on a leash. Michael Shannon of course complements him with a stellar performance and there are also some exciting rash driving scenes. Winona Ryder, after a long break, is as pretty as ever and alternates between a smile and a scary look. Ray Liotta is his usual competent self. That his family never visited Kuklinski after his being jailed says a great deal but the film is worth seeing despite its excessive violence. |
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A canvas full of action Director Gore Verbenski has a vast canvas and a plethora of characters to adorn it. But the accent is on action and a few good lines, mostly from Tonto, are not enough in a mediocre screenplay by Jason Haythe and others. The background music is good but one surely misses the "tang" of Ennio Morricone of spaghetti western game. It is also about the railroad in its infancy though the climax sees them diverting trains etc like old veterans. The old sign of the Cavalry coming to the rescue is also there and in the end it is the Commanches who are the saviours. The female interest is looked after by pretty Ruth Wilson and the Lone Ranger's sis-in-law and a saucy madame played fetchingly by Helena Bonham Carter. So between this, that and the other there is much to keep the viewer happy. But as often happens in big films like this, the emphasis is on quantity and its inordinate length (149 minutes) surely works against it. There is not much by way of acting and Johnny Depp seems to be out of place as Tonto while handsome Armie Hammer, who looks a bit like Terrence Hill, shows a good deal of promise. William Richtner hams his way about and Tom Wilkinson can be depended on for a good cameo. In the absence of the Wild West figuring on the screen for a long Lone Ranger surely deserves viewing. If only it was snipped by a good half hour.
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Poor policing attempt Emulating
his actor-friends Salman Khan, Aamir Khan, Akshay Kumar and Ajay Devgan, Sanjay Dutt takes on the ill-written role of a cop who flirts with corruption while bringing all the baddies to book in Policegiri. The Tamil hit Samy is the inspiration for this remake and mind you, it's so outdated and regressive that it would have been best left alone. Armed with the mandatory aviators, a police uniform and a handful of punch-lines, Sanjay takes on the role of Deputy Commissioner of Police Rudra Aditya Devraj who is as comfortable taking bribes, stealing from the foolish as he is pulverising the riff-raff that inhabit this place called Nagapuram. Of course, the fact is that he is party to corruption and criminal intent is glossed over with a ridiculous explanation about his unique attempts in his so-called service to the people. With Sehar (Prachi Desai), who looks young enough to be his daughter, he forms a hopeless pair. Tacky graphics supplant real action for most of the run-time.
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movies on tv
Jab Tak Hai Jaan Jab Tak Hai Jaan is a romantic drama film directed by Yash Chopra and written and produced by Aditya Chopra under their production banner, Yash Raj Films. It features Shahrukh Khan, Katrina Kaif and Anushka Sharma in lead roles; this is the first collaboration between Khan and Kaif and a second pairing for Khan and Sharma (they previously featured in the 2008 film Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi). ZEE CINEMA 7:45AM Shirdi Ke Sai Baba 10:52AM Shahenshah 2:21PM Sher- E- Hindustan : Warrior 5:27PM English Vinglish 8:30PM Hum Saath Saath Hain INDIA TALKIES 9:30AM Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam 1:00PM Vaada Raha... I Promise 4:30PM Money Hai to Honey Hai 8:00PM Dharam Adhikari ZEE STUDIO 8:00AM Breaking and Entering 10:30AM Mysteria 1:00PM Smokin' Aces 3:00PM Surrogates 4:55PM The Waterboy 6:40PM The Proposal 9:00PM Pearl Harbor STAR MOVIES 8:01AM Up! 10:04AM Woman on Top 11:57AM Hellboy II: The Golden Army 1:53PM Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade 4:24PM Snow White and the Huntsman 6:55PM Baby's Day Out 9:00PM Intouchables 11:21PM Death Race MGM 8:00AM Modern Girls 9:30AM Dirty Work 11:00AM Crime and Punishment 1:00PM Crossing the Line 2:45PM Network 5:00PM California Casanova 6:45PM Network 9:00PM True Heart 10:45PM Crime and Punishment SONY PIX 8:15AM Dirty Rotten Scoundrels 10:25AM Here Comes the Boom 12:30PM Agent Cody Banks 2:15PM Catch Me If You Can 4:45PM Blue Lagoon: The Awakening 6:45PM Rango 9:00PM The Tuxedo 11:05PM Spider-Man STAR
GOLD 8:35AM Na Tum Jaano Na Hum 11:40AM Kaal 2:30PM Vijaypath 5:25PM Baadshah 9:00PM Wanted SET
MAX 7:00AM Lok Parlok 10:30AM 1920: Evil Returns 2:00PM Ghar Ghar Ki Kahani 5:30PM Yamla Pagla Deewana 9:00PM Jab Tak Hai Jaan John Carter John Carter is an American science fiction adventure film directed by Andrew Stanton. It is based on A Princess of Mars, the first book in the Barsoom series of novels by Edgar Rice Burroughs. The film chronicles the first interplanetary adventure of John Carter, portrayed by actor Taylor Kitsch. The motion picture marks the centennial of the character's first appearance. ZEE CINEMA 7:20AM Ajooba 10:30AM Maine Pyar Kiya 2:00PM Phir Hera Pheri 9:00PM Abcd: Any Body Can Dance INDIA
TALKIES 9:30AM Dharam Adhikari 1:00PM No Problem 4:30PM Karan Arjun 8:00PM Rockstar STAR
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PIX 8:30AM Paul Blart: Mall Cop 10:23AM Rango 12:40PM The Tuxedo 2:30PM Spider-Man 4:45PM Robocop 2 7:05PM Daddy Day Camp 9:00PM Kung Fu Panda 11:00PM Red STAR GOLD 9:00AM Main Krishna Hoon 12:00PM Housefull 2 3:40PM Janbaaz Ki Jung 6:00PM Akhiyon Se Goli Maare 9:00PM Ek Tha Soldier SET MAX 7:00AM Kishen Kanhaiya 10:30AM Ishaqzaade 2:00PM Sooryavansham 5:30PM Ek Tha Tiger 9:00PM Policewala Gunda
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Of course, this love tale of a zamindar's daughter Pankhi (Sonakshi Sinha) with an archaeologist Varun (Ranveer Singh) won't sweep you off your feet or hold you in a vice-like grip. There is no heightened emotional quotient to make your heart go dhak dhak or make you shed copious tears. Yet like many good things it slowly intoxicates you, lingers on and stays with you long after it's over. Moving at a languid pace melodrama is anathema to its essence. Actually there is little that is overtly filmy style here not even when there is a dramatic twist and the true identity of Ranveer Singh (after all its not named Lootera for nothing) is revealed. No rona dhona ensues when he walks away from his beloved or when he meets her again in trying circumstances.
The
This and his warm family ties make it hard to understand his cold-blooded ruthlessness. The killings are violent, no blood spurting but three or four bullet holes when one or two would have been enough. And the dexterity with which they are performed is unbelievable, managing to put his victim off guard.
With
The establishing shots are poor and it takes time for the two to meet Lone Ranger (Hammer) and Tonto (Depp) where we also get the reason for the mask. But it is a band of rowdies (white men) led by Butch Cavendish (William Fichtner) who causes much of the violence for which the Commanches are blamed.
An unfit Sanjay Dutt, with his face bloated, flabby middle and sluggish movements can do little to make this look funny or good. All those studied references to Dabangg and
Singham are just pointless reminders, which add misery rather than entertainment to the cacophonic narrative impeded by miscalculated and non-creatively edited stunts. 
Saturday
July 6
Sunday
July 7