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Jab North meets East
JANUARY the 13th is a day that brings two different sides of me together. An Assamese by birth and Punjabi by marriage, I get to celebrate Bihu and Lohri on the same day. So, every year on this night, as the daughter-in-law of the house I am made to light the Lohri fire, I make it a point to narrate to anyone who cares what must be happening in the open fields of Assam — the excitement of spending almost the entire night around a bonfire with the neighbours and stealing bamboo fences from the neighbourhood, all culled from the memory of the last Bihu I celebrated there almost a decade back.
Like young boys and girls who collect Lohri door-to-door here (almost an extinct tradition, one would say), the tradition in Assam is too collect a fixed amount of money from all households of a particular area demarcated by mainly emotional bonding rather than any geographical boundary. The collection makes for the community feast and wood for the bonfire. And as the night approaches the community gets divided into three distinct categories — those who’ll cook, those who’ll gather around the fire and exchange the latest gossips and those, the most active and adventurous group, who’ll brave the cold to sneak into people’s houses and decamp with anything which has the ability to catch fire — bamboo fences or wooden gates or planks, and even the greens from the kitchen garden. Call it the principle of re-distribution of wealth or plain stealing, but the excitement is well worth a try. Locally called Magh Bihu or Bhogali Bihu, the festival is based on the same principle as Lohri — celebration of a good harvest and hence food is the priority. But Bhogali Bihu is celebrated for two days, January 13 being the community feast and January 14, a day to invite friends and relative for traditional Assamese tea and snacks. And, the ritualistic fire worship i.e. lighting up of a specially built straw hut called Meji, is done by the community’s young men on early 14th morning. Today, looking at those nicely packaged gachaks and rewaris in many flavours and colour, reminds me of the different pithas (an Assamese snack) our parents used to cook for the occasion. “What’s cooking for Bihu? ” I casually ask my friend over the phone. “Nothing, for everything is now easily available in supermarkets.” The idea of pithas coming wrapped in fancy polythene sheets with satin ribbons did not appeal to me much as much as the idea of families flocking into fancy joints to celebrate Lohri. “What about the community feast?” I’m greedy for every scrap of information. “It is still very much in fashion. But, no more stealing! First, brick walls have replaced the bamboo fences and most importantly, who knows one may get caught by the Army while at the act and get booked under the Armed Forces Special Power Act.” True! Different situations, different reasons, but both Lohri and Bihu are going through a transition, reflecting the mindset of our generation — a modern generation with a conservative soul. |
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Nach Baliye
First, calling all children who’ve been knocking doors to collect their Lohri loot. This tradition of chanting and in return getting gachak, bhuga, til, moongphali, gur and rewri, started a long time back when songs were sung in praise of Dulha Bhatti — the Punjabi version of Robinhood who robbed the rich to help the poor. So, if you are at a rich man’s door, then sing, Dabba bharaya leera da, Ai ghar ameera da (Box filled of clothes strips. This house is of the rich) and if you at a miser’s home then vocalise Hukka bhai Hukkaa, Ai ghar bhukka (Oh! Hukka! This house is full of misers) Next, this festival is celebrated in a big way if it’s that of a newborn. There are specific songs for boy and girl. The number sung at a boy’s function is Sunder mundriye ho! Tera kaun vicaharaa ho! Dullah bhatti walla ho!. For girls, it goes like Hulle nee maiyee hulle, do beri patte jhulle, do jhul payeaan kahjurran, khajurran suttya meva... Or lend voice to Bollywood Lohri hits from Veer Zaara, Asa Nu Maan Watna Da and more. Sing on!
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Dhol Vajda
ENERGETIC beats of the dhol and spirited voices of one and all is how we welcome the festival of Lohri. And, what sends the merriment quotient higher and louder is the rhythmic beating of the double-sided barrel drum. Notorious lyrics and a bhangra swirl all come alive to its enthralling beats.
Dressed in bright red and green kurtas and a tamba (something like a dhoti) the dholis are an essential part of any celebration in this part of the region, especially on Lohri. While earlier they would visit homes asking for gajak, rewaris, gur, moongfali and bakshish, with celebrations getting bigger these artistes are booked much in advance. Says Mikky Brass Band-18 owner Narang, “In the last five years we’ve seen big functions being held to celebrate the first Lohri of the daughter too.” His band has four fulltime dholis and is already booked for five functions in the tricity. Most dholis with city bands are not generation-trained artistes. Rather, they are young artistes from the Saanthi community and a handful from Muzaffarnagar, Saharanpur and Bhagwanpura. For the really authentic dholis, head to Sector 15. Dattaram, Rajkumar and Ashok form one such family. Dattaram played the dhol for 35 years and then passed on the sticks to son Rajkumar. Rajkumar’s 13-year-old son, Ashok started accompanying him when he was just five. “Now I can perform six hours at a stretch at jagratas too,” says the lad with marked pride in his voice. His Lohri favourites are songs of Jazzy B. Every Lohri, the father-son duo first plays for the group of dhobis in Sector 15 and then heads out for functions. So, how is it playing at family functions? “It’s like spreading joy through music,” says Ramesh, another dhol artiste from Sector 15. His brother Rana also started out playing the dhol and now accompanies Punjabi singers on international tours. And what do they play for Lohri? The first one-hour is reserved for boliyan. “The best thing about boliyan is that it gets the entire family to shake a leg. Right from the great grandmother to the little cousin, there is one for everyone,” tells Ramesh. Some of the most popular boliyaan include Mukai da dana aana lei ke jana, and Hulle nee maiyee hulle... What follows next is a mix of Bollywood and Punjabi numbers. Wondering what will play this Lohri? Tell these dholis — Kajra re, Dupatta tera nau rang da, Mauja hi mauja, Nagada nagada in Bollywood, Jazzy B’s Romeo, Jine Mera Dil Luteya and the all time fave Boparai’s De De Gera. Well, we all know the importance of a dhol, be it in a Bollywood song, a remix number or an international festival. But does the DJ threaten the beat of the dhol? “No way, it’s still as cherished and popular as ever,” says Narang. His band will be sending both their DJ and dholi to the Rose Club-16 on Lohri. And, how are the keeping the tradition alive? “We keep the DJ soft and enhance the music with dhol beats,” he says. Dholis charge from Rs 500 a function and the DJ between Rs 3,000 and Rs 7,000. So, if you haven’t booked a dholi yet, do it now, for your festivities will be incomplete without the deep variations of the dhol. |
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Forget calories and bite into the 13 varieties of gachak available at Gopal Sweets-8. Til (sesame seeds) coated in lip-smacking golden gur (jaggery), gachak and chikki is just the beginning of what will lure you here. These are available in thins, chunky cubes, rolls and in the shape of gujjiya. A treat for all the senses is the aromatic, eye-catching and scrumptious gulab gachak. Garnished with rose petals, this is quite popular among the shaukeen Punjabis for obvious reasons. If it’s nuts you like to gorge on, then bite into the dry fruit preparations. This rich gachak priced at Rs 150 a kg is very much in demand. Talk of fresh new flavours and there is kesar and chocolate. Thick rolls with a tinge of orange, these are priced at Rs 160 a kg. Choco lovers, bite into the til chocolate gachak at Rs 160 kg. A complete sweet surrender is the cheeni khasta, an extremely soft preparation that literally melts in the mouth (Rs 120 a kg). Khajoor, til bhugga and sabut til kure are other must eats. Priced at Rs 170 a kg, the former is prepared with rice, flour and khajoor (dates). A pure ghee preparation, bhugga is priced at Rs 150 a kg and we give a thumbs up to the variety available at Talwars –15 and Sindhi Sweets-8. Besides the usual rewaris, there is also the channa dal rewari (Rs 120 per kg). Cardamom flavoured rewari from Meerut is also available. Also, there are one kg packets of moongfali priced at a humble Rs 60 a kg. So if you haven’t stocked up, do so right now. Since Lohri is incomplete without these high-cal goodies, how about a vigorous version of the bhangra to go with it?
Make your own hamper A COMBINATION of
til, gachak, moongfali, jaggery and popcorn makes up the prasad for the festival. And you can take home all of these in special Lohri packs. Choose from aluminum trays, decorated plastic and cardboard boxes and wicker baskets. These cost between Rs 180 and 2,000. A good pick is the wicker basket with three layers of gur
gachak, til rewari and moonfali . At Rs 475, sure is a good gift. These fancy packs are adorned with satin flowers, ribbons, silver and golden gota and mirrors. Further, you can add a khopra adorned with mirrors, fancy lace and mauli to jazz up the pack!
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Adrenaline
THE man who recently became the first Indian to win the A1 Grand Prix race (in China) and silenced his critics may simply smile and say that the win clearly demonstrates that he isn’t finished.
However, what’s really interesting is how India’s first F1 driver, Narain Karthikeyan can operate effortlessly on different layers. Seeing him train youngsters of Amaron NK Racing team offers more than an opportunity to look at the enigmatic dimensions inside the folds of those layers. The fastest Indian in the world’s shouting into his walkie-talkie as other drivers overtake his students. “What happening? Is this how they’ve been trained?” It isn’t hard to decipher that the effect of adrenaline that seems to have escaped from those on the track to him. How did the training thing happen? “There’re moments when the urge to ‘give back’ overtakes everything and you want to acquaint youngsters with your own skill-set. I am enjoying every bit of this after attaining what I have.” But what after the training part, considering the state of affairs in motorsports in India. “Backers are ever-important. I would do everything to ensure that at least four youngsters from my team not only have access to top of the line vehicles, highly trained support staff but also backers who believe in them and are willing to take them places. However, you got to dream big. Like life, motorsports’ about faith,” smiles, the 30-year-old speedster who trained at the prestigious Elf Winfield Racing School in France. The race concludes. A submarine gloom overshadows the sun at Narain’s camp but the champ prefers to say just a stern line or two to his racers, precipitating moist eyes and genuine guilt. What do you say about these youngsters? “What do I need to say? You just saw the race. The problem with youngsters nowadays is that either they are too aggressive or downright timid, failing to strike the perfect balace in their temperament so as to emerge with a cutting edge.” Remembering his initial training days, he smiles, “Those never-ending hours, discovering myself with each new technique, deciphering that peculiar relationship between the vehicle and man. It’s so important to realise that it’s never just about speed but infact skill, consistency, strategy, knowing when to let it go and when to hold back intelligently.” Insisting that motorsports’ all about a ‘team’, he stresses, “You can’t survive sans the all-important backing of professional team, where from engineers to mechanics, every individual plays an indispensable act -- when a milli-second can mean a lifetime.” How do you react to the Indian government’s non-recognition of this sport? Long pause; he confesses, “It’s shameful man. Out there, I compete with the best and fastest in the world, represent my country and the sport’s not even acknowledged by my own government!” Acknowledging that recent years have witnessed an upward graph in the sport’s popularity in India, Narain points, “True, but things won’t really improve unless there’s sustained and dedicated effort from all quarters —government, corporates and media.” Altough he insists that he’s just a “normal guy” beyond the track, but the moment the interview’s over, there’s no dearth of autograph diaries on his lap, cameras click in happy abandon and Narain offers a faint goodbye smile. Some normal guy! (To be continued) |
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Kya Kamaal Hai
THE Lara Lappa boy is back. Not that he ever went away from the music scene. But he is ready for a kamaal now. Incidentally, this is the name of his latest album too. “I do not know whether this one will be appreciated or not, because, now I am not targetting any particular segment of audience, I am doing what I love doing, making my kind of music,” Gursewak Mann begins the conversation on a casual note.
And as the chitchat progresses at MountView’s coffee shop, we come to know what is, his kind of music, “Little romantic, yes, but mostly dance oriented.” And there is a reason behind it. He says, “To survive in the entertainment industry of today when there is a launch of a new singer everyday one has to have at least seven to eight songs that can be performed on the stage and that the audience can relate to.” So, his album Kamaal with lyrics penned down by Babu Singh Mann, Vijay Dhammi and Roshan Prince and music by Surinder Bachchan and Gursewak himself, bears his signature stamp. And, now that the album is out, what is keeping him occupied? “A couple of Punjabi films —Vatna Ton Door and Gabru Desh Punjab Di. The first one is based on illegal immigration and the second one on drug abuse, where I play an addict,” he says. So, how is it to be a pilot, a musician (a keyboard player), a singer and now an actor? “It is a natural progression because when you are playing music, you are singing too (he is a trained light classical vocalist) and when you’re a part of an album you act too. Pure acting is a little difficult, but now that I am getting a hang of it, I have started enjoying,” he says. But, he would not get typecast as an actor. “My passion is flying and singing which I have been doing for the past 20 years. In fact, I recently got the license to fly a Boeing 737,” comes his parting shot. So, next time when you’re flying and they announce Gursewak Mann’s name as your pilot don’t panic. For, you are in competent hands and in fact you can look forward to mixing business with pleasure during your flight.
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Dollar Trap
This one is not a happy story but then one cannot simply wish it away. More so in this part of the country where newspapers are full of stories on women getting duped or physically or mentally abused by their NRI husbands. So when California-based lawyer and human right activist Anu Peshawaria came to Delhi to promote her book The Immigrant’s Dream, the International Punjabi Chamber for Service Industry could not find a more deserving person than Peshawaria to honour on the occasion of the Pravasi Punjabi Divas 2008. The book was released in the city on Saturday by Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal.
A practicing lawyer for the past 25 years in the Supreme Court with a specialisation in immigration and the founder of Seva: Legal Aid Foundation, the book is an extension of what she has been doing almost all her life — making people aware of their rights. “After all whenever I go to a gurdwara there, I realise that one third of the devotees’ appeal to the Almighty is for a Green Card. And the number of Indian women victimised by their NRI husbands is simply unimaginable. That’s why the book has been written — to empower and educate those unfortunate women and also to serve as an eye-opener to those families who are in a great hurry to marry off their daughters to NRIs ” she says. A publication of India Vision Foundation-USA, the book comes in three parts. Part 1 tells the story of a few unfortunate women like Manju Sachdeva, Ashima Lal, Kamna Chawla and Kathie. Part 2 is mainly the profile of the author herself and this is where we come to know that Anu is the younger sister of Kiran Bedi. It also sketches the struggle and success of her journey from a lawn tennis player to a lawyer. “In fact, I was the first Indian to play the junior Wimbledon way back in 1979,” she informs. Even a biography titled Advantage Anu has been written on her. In Part 3 the author delves into the problems of domestic violence and the legal rights available for the victims there — all in a layman’s language along with the numbers of Seva helpline. “We are doing our bit but its time the Indian government contributes its bits to tackle this problem,” she says. So where lies the solution? “India, Canada and USA should make some kind of a treaty so that laws are applicable everywhere. Otherwise in many a cases NRIs declared as Proclaimed Offender here, go scot-free once he goes back and hides in the US.” Till such a treaty comes through, Anu takes it on her shoulders to save Punjabis from falling into the dollar trap. And to reach out to the masses here, she is planning to translate her book into Punjabi soon.
— P. R. |
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Little Interview
Darshan Dave has bagged the Indian Television Academy Award-2007 for his powerful performance in Sahara One’s Ghar Ek Sapna. This was his 3rd nomination last year. He shares with Lifestyle his take on his character, his association with the entertainment industry and his interests in life.
Your role in Ghar Ek Sapna... I play Sujeet, the son-in-law of Om Shankar, a powerful political figure from Bihar. He is tough and used to get things done at the gunpoint. But he is a romantic too, especially with his wife and has tremendous respect and loyalty towards his father-in-law. How did you get this role? Ajai Sinha, whom I have known for a long time, offered me the role. I turned him down initially because I knew it was not a central role. But he was persistent and convinced me that only I could play this character well. Tell us about your background... I am from Jaipur. My family is completely into music. I have written and composed songs and played the synthesizer. With a dream to become an actor, I came to Mumbai and did a course in film direction. I assisted Siddharth Kak for Surabhi. I also worked as a music director, lyricist and singer for few shows like Justuju and Rishtey. I now plan to compose for my music album. Share some of your memorable moments on the sets of Ghar Ek... Oh yes! I am a Gujarati. And just before the shooting commenced Ajai told me that I would have to speak Bhojpuri. He gave me only a few seconds and I had to decide if I wanted to go ahead with the show or not. I said OK. I was nervous, didn't want to make a fool of myself. But thanks to Vineet Kumar, my father-in-law in the show, who speaks only with a Bihari accent, I perfected the language in no time! I even received compliments for my flawless accent. Now, Vineet and I speak only Bhojpuri. You also have done some ads? Yes. I have done Revital capsules, Kinetic Honda, Vardhaman, Maruti, ICICI, Mahindra and Mahindra, Nutralite and IDBI advertisements. What are your other interests? When I am not working, I love to compose songs. I enjoy experimenting with new musical instruments and musical software. What are the projects you are working on? I have just completed Anand Rai's comedy Kuch Khel Kuch Masti in which I play one of the lead characters.
— Dharam Pal
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Matka Chowk
Some people have really boring jobs. I have been making a mental note of some of these jobs – that I would absolutely not want to undertake and if did, would be a hopeless failure.
I would never want to be a parking attendant in the city. In some of the quiet sectors, where renegade cars are far and few and people don’t kick up a huge row over five rupees, the parking attendants look comatose, making feeble attempts to raise and lower the rassi they use to monitor entry and exit. They scribble on an awful lot of parchis that are soon thrown to the dust and sort through an awful lot of change every half hour or so. The young boy in our office parking lot sure needs to put his resume on monster.com. Chandigarh also has lots of security guards and such alike – posted at the gates of, I guess, houses of important citizens. Most of them look bored to death. They stare at every passerby with glazed eyes and almost indecent directness, born I assume, out of sheer boredom. None of them reads anything except occasional newspapers. Maybe, they need a library membership! Then there are those who watch the entry door of the stores. He takes the packages already in your possession and gives you a rather dirty token for retrieval of your items when you leave. He doesn’t trust me and I am supposed to trust him? But, then he looks too bored to even open my package and pry. Maybe, they can get themselves some x-ray vision glasses! That would make their job quite interesting! Even then, I would not volunteer for his job. I would also make a terrible ATM guard. All day long they see streams of people pulling out wads of notes from the machine and walk away. The only conversation they find is when the machine is out of order and people decide to double check with them despite the white note stuck on the machine clearly indicating the disabled state of the instrument. Then there is your neighbourhood Verka boothwaala – not an interesting job, particularly in winter. Sitting and shivering in the early morning mist and having to give back change for odd prices of milk packets. Most of them watch ancient Hindi movies on tiny TVs. The one in our area seems to have great difficulty moving his limbs, while he stares at the screen in an apparent stupor. He does everything in slow motion – maybe, he watches too much of cricket replays. He surely needs a party. Maybe, he can offer free chips and kheer every Sunday! That will jazz up his life.
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Big celebration
The frequency is all set at Big 92.7 FM to celebrate their Pehli
Lohri. The plan includes RJ visiting listeners’ homes on January 13 to celebrate the festival with them. RJs
Meenakshi, Arsh, Pankaj and Anubhav would carry gifts and loads of wishes for the families who would be celebrating their Pehli Lohri (First
Lohri). Five lucky listeners would win a mobile with free-of-cost lifetime connection. The RJs would be accompanied with a
dholi. There will be sweets too to add to the flavor of the festival. A RJ will also roam around the city to distribute gachchak and
rewari. — TNS
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Film & fashion
Debut Jitters
ACTRESS Jessica Alba is scared that critics will pan her when she makes her Broadway debut later in 2008. Alba will star in David Mamet's latest edition of the Speed-the-Plow that starred Madonna almost 20 years ago. The play, widely acclaimed when it opened in 1988, is a satirical dissection of the American movie business — debating art versus money. Alba, who plays Karen (a starlet), is not sure whether she will be able to handle bad press if there is any. Paris engaged?
Socialite-heiress Paris Hilton was seen wearing a diamond ring, fuelling speculation that she might be engaged. Hilton was spotted wearing a snake-shaped diamond ring after she had dinner with her friends in Beverly Hills. An onlooker said, "Paris was getting a lot of attention and was showing off her engagement finger to photographers. I've not seen anything like it before. It was very unusual."
— Agencies |
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Write to Renee
I am a 42-year-old farmer. The problem with me is my mood swings. I go into depression for many months and feel listless and lethargic. I can’t get up from bed and see no purpose and meaning in my life. My wife and I share a cordial relation, but she is mostly ailing and in bed. We have two sons, one is studying in Germany and the other in Delhi. I have seen many doctors and they put me on anti depressant drugs, which I know is not a permanent cure. These days I am feeling fine but I don’t know how long will this last. Help me find a solution.
Balkar Singh,
Karnal I must congratulate you on the fact that you understand your problem so well. All you need to do now is fix it at your own discretion. It is all in your own hands. Just take charge of your emotional self. Trying to get routine matters into order sometimes does become a problem, so don’t worry much about them. It is your own inner strength that shall come to your rescue. I feel you have excessive energy, which is not being utilized. I am sure farming leaves you with enough time for other things, joy will come to you as you move on in life. I am 26 and recently started with my pilot’s training. I studied for an MBA course after my graduation. But, I feel my destiny lies in being a pilot. My problem is my lack of confidence. I feel shy and tongue tied at many times. Also, I feel my knowledge of English is not very good so I hesitate in speaking. I feel this attitude of mine is coming in my way of shining in any field. Can you suggest me a way out? Manpreet Kalra,
Chandigarh Cheer up. How can you not love yourself? Remember, you are the most important person in your own life. Try to focus on all your positive qualities and give them a boost. Confidence is once again an attitude. You have to just start looking at yourself in a more positive fashion. A good self-image is very important and it all depends on how you perceive yourself. As far as hesitating over English is concerned, it’s a minor hurdle all you need to do is join an English speaking course. Go out with confidence and don’t let minor negative thoughts stand in your way. I am a 21-year-old girl studying in a co-ed engineering college. We are a family of three sisters and two brothers. I am the youngest of my sisters, who are both working. I am in love with a boy in my college who is much senior to me. We’ve been seeing each other for two years and want to get married. But, since my sisters are still not married my family feels it would not be correct for me to get married before them. I fail to understand this and also my boyfriend’s family is pressuring him for marriage as he has an old grandfather. Please help. Rati Malhotra,
Ambala I empathise with you dilemma. In our culture, I can understand how your parents feel about your decision to get married before your elder sisters’ tie the knot. Ask your boyfriend’s family to approach them and I’m sure the situation will get solved pretty much on its own. If you are convinced that he is the right guy for you then I think you can work towards making things happen your way. Do not feel disturbed, concentrate on your studies and do well. If you have made up your mind to marry this man, it will happen. Yes, it would have been nice if your boyfriend could have waited for marriage but in the given circumstances, carry on.
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Rhythm Divine
A VIVACIOUS virtuoso of Kathak dance V.Anuradha Singh has taken it up as a challenge to preserve the rich treatise of Indian classical dance patterns and poetics. In the city to perform at Pracheen Kala Kendra she shared her views on the dance forms created and cultivated by our sage musicologists compositions and the contemporary classical dance scene.
Said the Bhopal based artiste, “During my performance tours abroad I have come across art lovers with a keen interest to know, grasp and imbibe the original essence and form of our intricate dance techniques. Since the repertoire of our compositions are enmeshed with poetic references of our mythological gods and deities, it adds fragrance of divine sanctity to the dance traditions.” A science graduate and a gold medallist in M.A. (Kathak), Anuradha had been a foremost disciple of Pt. Kartikramaji and Pt. Durga Lal, before falling in the blessed tutelage of legendary Birju Maharaj. Daughter of a senior bureaucrat and granddaughter of an MP, Anuradha was simultaneously selected for MBBS and grabbed a national Kathak scholarship too. Without any legacy in the realm, she opted to convert her passion to a pious profession, as she calls it. She says, “Unlike other old dance forms, Kathak is more expression oriented and is open to endless improvisations of rhythmic patterns.” Anuradha who has adopted 200 years old bols and dance patterns and won worldwide appreciation for her performances in Russia, USA, Europe and other countries says, “Students today shun from learning in depth the intricate patterns of any dance, which is very important.” She says that she is not averse to enriching our rich classical dance patterns with modern technical virtuosity so long it does not lose its innate character and soul. “In foreign lands, the dancers put in hard labour but somehow fail to grasp the spiritual content of the items. I am committed towards popularising Kathak as a dance form at the world level,” she says. |
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First Day First Show
Melodramatic, judgemental and reeking in patriotic fervour at times, it is a telling commentary on a system numbed to the point of paralytic uselessness and an individual’s valiant fight to revive it. The theme has shades of Safdar Hashmi’s Halla Bol concept of street theatre. It is also loosely inspired by the Jessica Lall murder trial. A street theatre artist-turned debauch superstar, Sameer Khan (Ajay Devgan), listens to the calls of his conscience and comes forward to identify and help book the guilty of the murder of a girl he knew. Pitted against the cunning politician, father of one of the accused, the reformed matinee idol is helped in his crusade by a dreaded dacoit-turned- street activist, Sidhu (Pankaj Kapoor), and the actor’s wife, Sneha (Vidya Balan). The film raises several questions. Should we always be mute witnesses to unjust happenings around us or, should we stand up for just causes unmindful of the consequences? Is awakening the masses by staging street plays and other peaceful methods the panacea for all societal ills, or, is the use of violence justified? It answers many but sadly fails to address several others. However, for an audience being constantly fed on a staple diet of mushy love stories and masala potboilers, it comes as a whiff of fresh air from Mumbai’s dream factory. You want to forget Ajay Devgan’s Cash and Ram Gopal Varma Ki Aag like a bad dream. The actor, too, is aware of the cold turkeys he delivered last year and doesn’t want to let you down. Granted that a thunderous applause of the kind that greeted his debut film Phool Aur Kaante in 1991 is not there, but there are enough sounds of approval for his robust performance. His encounters with Darshan Zariwalla, especially the one where he spoils the carpet in the newly furnished house of the latter, are full of mirth. He essays his role as a cunning actor before his transformation with panache. But it is Pankaj Kapoor who takes the cake when it comes to lending sensitivity and intensity to the proceedings. Sounding boisterous at times, Pankaj, nevertheless, looks every inch the helmsman of the theatre group that he is supposed to be. Many a time, it is Kapoor, not Devgan, you want to watch. Vidya Balan is acutely aware of the fact that it is an out-and-out Ajay Devgan film. So, she does the next best thing. She refuses to come out of the Bhool Bhoolaiyya syndrome. But in all fairness to her, you need guts to play a married woman with an eight-year-old kid. Darshan Zariwalla ‘s acting is another high point. You liked his simplicity in Gandhi My Father and are impressed by his devilish character in Halla... There are some incongruities also. The scene in which Ajay ‘s car is crushed by a truck and Pankaj appears from nowhere in his bullet-proof vehicle to save him is an exaggeration. Similarly, how the murdered girl’s sister who sells one of her kidneys to get money to fight the legal battle suddenly changes her statement in court in favour of the accused is a mystery. However, despite all these shortcomings, Halla... should be seen if for nothing else then at least for the power-packed portrayals of the main protagonists. Showing at: Fun Republic, Kiran, Nirman A Cinematic Disaster Newcomer Nikhil is a disaster. So is Amrita. Her ravishing looks can’t redeem the hackneyed theme. It is a pity that while a veteran like Mithun has been reduced to almost an extra, supporting actors like Anupam and Pawan have much bigger roles. Lilette Dubey is a victim of overacting. You won’t miss a thing if you do not see the movie. Showing at: Fun Republic |
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BIHU may be more of food, but our Lohri is also not just munching peanuts and gachak. Light flirting, swinging to the beats of the dhol, doing a bhangra swirl, all this and more in the warmth of the bonfire, that’s our festival. And, to add to this bonfire dance some ol’ traditional Punjabi numbers. Here’s a recap of the numbers that set the merriment quotient higher.
WE Punjabis love to sing, dance and eat. And Lohri gives us more than a reason. Braving the freezing cold we get together and welcome the harvest season with the traditional bonfire and mouth-watering munchies. Mountains of Moongfal and popcorn, trays of gachak and ghee-dripping bhugga on city sweet shops’ shelves tempt. And we succumb. (You would have to be a saint not to!)
Keira Knightley's favourite sweet treat is a Bounty bar, but unfortunately, the confectionary is not available in the US. The 22-year-old actress, who currently resides in London, revealed her sweet tooth delight said, "I love a good Bounty. I love the way you get two little bars in a pack so you get to save one for later." The 'Pride and Prejudice' star said that no one has heard of them in the US. "I keep telling people about them over here but no one has heard of them so I only get to treat myself when I get home," she said. 
Monstrosities like Saawariya, Speed and Jhoom Barabar Jhoom pulverised your senses in 2007 and audio-visual assaults of Showbiz badly mauled you at the end of the year. The result: you are still licking your wounds in 2008. In such a depressing scenario comes Halla Bol—not a humdinger of a show in the league of either Taare Zameen Par or Gandhi My Father, but an engaging account of an actor’s transformation from a film hero to a real-life icon.
Watching Halla...,you thought salvation was in sight. How wrong you were. My Name is Anthony Gonsalves again makes you think that the future of the medium is not as bright as you were expecting. With debutant Nikhil Dwivedi who is a pale and dark version of Shahid Kapoor, Amrita Rao and Mithun Chakraborthy, who can’t pronounce ‘Anthony’ properly climbing on director E. Niwas’s bandwagon of stupidity, it is only a matter of time before the puerile tale of a bartender’s dream of making it big in Bollywood degenerates into a gangster movie with Anupam Kher donning the mantle of a mob boss with Pawan Malhotra and Mukesh Tiwary as associates.