Life begins at 70

AT a time when most of his contemporaries have walked into their golden sunset, Dara Singh continues with the same zest which he displayed in the fifties during his wrestling days.

Hudd Kar Di on Zee starring Dara Singh in the main lead has already established itself as the third highest viewership serial after Amanat and India’s most wanted. Which is an achievement considering the fact that the first two shows are already clocking the highest TRPs among all the channels.

Which must bring a sense of deja vu to Dara Singh who turned seventy in December 1998. Ever since he was offered his first film role in 1948 in King Kong he has enjoyed the kind of adulation and fan following which is usually reserved for a superstar.

Most of his films have done phenomenal business and in his second coming serials like Ramayana where he played Lord Hanuman and now Hudd Kar Di have hit top billing.

Which explains why at 70 Dara Singh is a supremely content man. He has his own film studio in Punjab which is doing roaring business and his own career is on the upswing as far as television serials go. Truly, the wrestler-turned-actor has a lot to smile about in his 70th winter.

Punjab’s golden voice

He’s star who needs no introduction to pop fans. Malkit Singh who started the Bhangra craze is back again with his lilting new album Akh Lag Gayee and its video version is soon going to burn the television hit parades on all music channel.

It was in Jalandhar where Malkit Singh first stepped in front of a microphone. After winning a succession of talent contests at his college he was shortlisted to represent his city at the annual Punjab State Performance. He stole the show and was presented with a symbolic golden star. This marked the birth of the ‘Golden Voice of Punjab’-as he has since been called.

Malkit made his UK debut in 1984 with his album Nach Gidde Wich. He bagged the best newcomer’, ‘Song of the year’ and ‘best Punjabi male singer’ awards and the album went on to become the biggest selling Punjabi album in history. This was followed by an album of remixed songs — Ragga Muffin Mix which collected a platinum disc within two months of its release.

In 1998, ‘Midas Touch’, his 19th album received critical acclaim for its originality. The new studio album, Akh Lag Gayee has hour been launched.

The last few years has seen the blossoming of the pop star with one hit after another. Last year he waled away with the Best Bhangra Band award at the Asian Music and Media Awards in the U.K. And now with Aakh Lag Gayee the singing Sikh looks all set to sweep the awards in 1999.

On a song

He is the original survivor on the small screen. Just when viewers feel it’s time to say ‘pack up’ with Videocon Flashback, on Channel V Jaaved Jaffery bounces right back with a new idea which has both substance and appeal.

When the song-and-dance sequences became stale and the viewership began dropping alarmingly, Jaaved has quickly switched to the epics — rather the making of the epics.

So out rolled the behind-the-scences secrets of films like Mughal-e-Azam, Pyasaa, Ram Aur Shyam, Sholay and a host of other all-time great movies. And the results were all there to see. The show was right on top of the TRP ratings and the viewers just loved Jaaved’s mimicking of top stars.

And what now? Jaaved says he has man more ideas up his sleeve and will unroll them one by one. But till the new Videocon Flashback idea is alive and kicking, he is on a roll. Which, in his case, is different from being typecast.

Jaaved is now work on a new show which he is keeping close to his chest. "There is no point in revealing it unless everything is in place," he says and adds, "all I can say is that’s it is very original and something which viewers haven’t seen before. What’s the point of repeating someone’s idea". And that, in a nutshell, showcases Jaaved’s secret of success.

The final frontier

It started with primitive raids fought with clubs and evolved into a ruthless juggernaut that set the world aflame. War — its weapons, strategies and scope have changed the course of history.

Now, an epic documentary series captures the sweep of war history — from the Greeks who invented the way, of work today’s potential for nuclear armageddon. See this part series premieres on Discovery on February 14th, from, 12.00 to 20.00

Poignantly and powerfully narrated by renowned newsmen Walter Cronkite, the series is based on and inspired by the work of John Keegan, one of the best-known military historians of our times.

Combining original cinematography, painstakingly researched re-enactments, film footage and still archives, War and Civilization comprehensively traces the history of human conflict. A series worth watching for every one with a sense of history.

War and Civilization: (History of our times)

Attempt to Alter his image

Time was, just a decade ago, when he was a sought after star whenever a British character had to be portrayed in a movie. Whether it was in Gandhi or Sardar, every nationalistic film had a tailor-made role for Tom Alter.

But the Pune film institute graduate soon realised that there was more in him than just enacting out white-skinned characters. What turned his life around was Mahesh Bhatt’s Aashiqui where he played the cruel hostel warden.

Suddenly Tom Altar found himself much in demand not just in films but in television serials as well. And it is in TV that he’s found his metier. From hosting shows to serials like Zabaan Sambhalke, he has cleverly changed his image from a small time film star to a much in demand TV personality.

Now Tom Altar has started anchoring a new show, Aap Ki Tarif every Thursday on DD Metro where he invites personalities from different walks of life-cinema, TV, music, fashions etc. -wherein they tell the viewers interesting anecdotes concerning their professional lives. Nothing very original about the idea, but it is the deft handling of Tom Altar which has made Aap Ki Tarif a very watchable show.

Altar and invitees in Aap Ki Tarif.

— Mukesh Khosla