CULTURE

Film Review
‘Yeh dil’ leaves much to be desired
Rama Sharma

DIRECTOR Anant Mahadevan has treated the well-worn teenage fun theme in ‘Dil Maange More” with a sporting spirit which is endearing till the first half. This date movie with love as an primordial base has been treated with considerable light strokes.

Shahid is a perfect cutout for a football player, Nikhil, pursuing his love. He acts with considerable zest but lacks punch. Somewhere he needs fine-tuning

The three girls — Soha Ali Khan, Ayesha Takia and Tulip Joshi — are scrambling for the same guy, Nikhil. Ayesha steals the reel length and limelight, too. She scores over the rest in the love game actingwise. The daughter of the proven actress, Sharmila Tagore, Soha, fails to motivate cine-goers. Her resemblance with her mother apart, she cuts no ice with her hip hip hurrays. You are bound to be disappointed if you expect even one-fourth of the performing skill of her mother from her.

The main strength of the film is life-like humour. The love bucket sometimes brims with tuneful melody in “Aisa deewana. The tittle song is also full of masti. Teenagers will relish it because they can relate it with their recent happenings. Shahid beats the three girls in shaking a leg. Goa and Malaysia locales are another eye-freshners.

But after interval the love train begins to rattle. The director forgets his tips substantially. Javed Siddiqu’s screenplay follows suit. After all you cannot cash on the cute looks of Shahid for full three hours. We all are now clever enough.

The lovedose gets heavy and unrealistic. ‘Yeh dil’ is not satisfied. It keeps craving for more. TNS

LIFESTYLE

Plaintive notes flow at Lake Club
S.D. Sharma

“JOY, if shared multiplies, while grief if shared lessens”. This apparently was the intention behind the classical music soiree, organised by British Library at the Lake Club today to pay homage to the victims of the tsunami disaster.

The artiste of the concert, Subhash Ghosh, a disciple of Padma Vibhushan Ustad Ali Amjad Khan, generated the plaintive notes on his musical instrument sarasvani, which captured the intense pain of the innocent people consigned to the watery graves.

The recital commenced with a short “alaap” and “bandish” in madhya laya and teen taal based on raag madhwanti through which Ghosh prayed for the salvation from the gloom.

He created the notes of melancholy in a dhun weaved in raag bhatiyar. The steady progression of notes, embellished with “meend” was reflective of the miserable plight of any sufferer.

Another light dhun again in ‘dadra taal’ close to a song ‘Jaane kahan gye..’ composed in soulful notes of raga mishar, shivranjani, too was well received. However a fast piece of instrumental music with dominant use of octopad and keyboard was dedicated to the welcome of New Year’. The soiree culminated with Ram dhun ‘Raghupati raghav raja ram.’.

Mr Sushant Bannerjee, Manager, British Library, called upon the people to share the grief of the victims.

The accompanists included Mehmood Khan, Manish, Ashu and Gauravdeep. OC

Merry-makers herald New Year with resolutions
Swarleen Kaur

TODAY the life seems to be still and confined. But for young party-revellers yesterday was very expansive, loaded with fun-filled moments. They could be seen spilling their so-called masti on the roads. Dancing and shouting until midnight hours, they wanted more and more.

Making several geris on wide city roads in their cars, scooters and motorbikes, they honked vigorously. Some of them could be spotted singing loudly. Watching them giving a damn to the rules and regulations of the city, ‘ill-equipped’ policemen tried their bit to handle them. Many over-drunk hunks passed obscene comments on the girls who were not escorted. It was obviously not a great way to celebrate the New Year.

Around 1 o’clock it became difficult for hotel officials to push the ‘spirited’ crowd out. Till 2 o’clock, they were seen dancing to there favourite numbers and were asking for more. Interestingly sweet-corn vendors near Sectors 22 and 35 hotels did a brisk business. Predictably a premium was placed on cake and pastries.

There were some sensible souls who squeezed the maximum fun out of the party by behaving moderately. A few of the lovebirds could be seen fighting. But a majority of them preferred to push aside their differences for a day and concentrated on dancing.

City girls didn’t lag behind in drinking sessions. Vodka, gin and other hard drinks were consumed relentlessly. But one good thing about them was they didn’t join the boy’s gang in the geri round. Dressed in brightest possible clothes and shimmering make-up, they were bound to be cynosure of all eyes. Some were accompanied by their parents who kept an eye during the ‘maddening’ hours.

But most of them were enjoying the party without the knowledge of their elders.

But today merry-makers started the New Year on a sound note. Resolutions were taken. It differed from person to person. Those things, which they couldn’t do last year, will be done this year. Unfulfilled aspirations will be realized this time. No mistakes this time etc.

Gorgeous Suneha said she would fight less with her husband this year. “If I could do that we would be the most romantic couple”, she said. 

Artistes are prospering, not art, says Yash Paul
S.D. Sharma

STYLE in art form is not a static but a dynamic phenomenon depending on the taste of the people, say art historians.

But the classical musical arts have many tensions due to influence of the western music styles and the power of money alluring the artists. In the process the artists are prospering and not the ‘art’. Such trends are alarming. The revival of our rich cultural heritage in the region may not be an easy task.

Sharing the concern with Chandigarh Tribune the foremost maestro of the Agra gharana, Pandit Yash Paul, revealed that the performing doyens of music and from undivided Punjab had been reigning supreme with most of them established their respective gharanas. He claimed that during 18th century Ghulam Rasool migrated from Multan to the court of Nawab Asaf u- Daula and descendents, Nathan Pir Baksh established the ‘Gwalior ‘ gharana’.

Their progeny instituted the Jaipur gharana. Hailing the contribution of music titans from Punjab like Bade Gulam Ali Khan, KL Saigal, Jagjit Singh, Dalip Vedi, Pt Amar Nath, Husan Lal Bhagat Ram, O.P. Nayyar, Hans Raj Bahl, Ghulam Mohammed and Ustad Amir Khan Saheb, Pt. Jas Raj from Haryana for propagating the classical music in the Northern region, Pt Yash Paul, top class AIR artiste, is disgusted with the gloomy state of affairs of classical music.

A former chairperson of the Panjab University music faculty, Pt. Yash Paul feels that maintaining a liaison with the autonomous cultural establishments can ensure a result-oriented revival of the secular art. OC