With time priorities change, preferences differ and perspectives alter. For most of us, time is the deciding factor. We follow signs of time to transform our lives for good. But as always there are some exceptions here too. "I have not changed my lifestyle or choices ever, instead I am waiting for the times to change," avers Manhar Udhas, the legendry ghazal singer who still abides by his genre of music.

In town to perform on the 13th annual day of Shirdi Sai Samaj on Saturday, the vocalist sites the reason for sticking to his resolve of ghazal singing, "Ghazals might not be very popular now, but for me it is a spiritual source of satisfaction." He claims to have never planned his life and does not regret it too. "I was a qualified engineer when I began my career as a playback singer in 1971. Twenty years later I decided to sing just spiritual hymns. Today, I strongly feel that life couldn't have taken a better course even with fool proof planning."

We understood his point better as he told us that he has 500 Bollywood numbers to his credit and 22 spiritual albums. But then, nothing happens without a reason and his leaving Bollywood was no coincidence either, "I have worked with the best music directors and playback singers of my time. In 1996, I realised the next generation was taking over and it is always tough to work with people with a different mindset, so I decided to quit."

Next he tells us that he is open to change. "The kind of music we hear today is the demand of the present generation. My generation had their choice of music, so let them also enjoy their share of it."

Last seen as a judge on Sa Re Ga Ma, a reality show, Manhar was all praises for the popular concept, "Had their been no reality shows, we couldn't have thought of seeing so many talented singers getting a break." He also readily accepts that reality shows are not the sure shot way into Bollywood. "Hands down, besides talent, one needs luck too."

Not eager on taking out a ghazal album he says there isn't demand for any. As a veteran of the Bollywood music industry, he shared his concerns as well, "Other than recession, piracy is eating into the profits which are otherwise also low. Unlike earlier times, people don't go out buying CDs or cassettes and get music downloaded and that definitely harms the industry."

And before his signing off, an obvious demand was made and he obliged with his evergreen track from the movie Qurbani, Har kisi ko nahin milta yahan pyar zindagi mein…

ashima@tribunemail.com

Theatreperson Usha Ganguly likes to raise social and women’s issues

Adult comedy is an arena less explored in Bollywood. While most of the earlier attempts have been amateurish, even bawdy at times, the irresistible pull of the genre keeps drawing the filmmakers towards it.

Anil Senior falls for the temptation with his Dil Kabaddi — an urban take on couples handling post-marital boredom (so what if it resembles too much with Woody Allen’s Husbands & Wives).

Samit (Irrfan Khan) and Mita (Soha Ali Khan) are going through a dull marriage. While Mita, a cosmetic surgeon, wants a more romantic and caring partner, her husband, an executive, just craves for kinky sex.

When Samit leaves his wife to spice up things with his sexy but dumb gym instructor Kaya (Payal Rohatgi), the couple’s close friends Rishi (Rahul Bose) and Simi (Konkana Sen Sharma) are forced to closely look at their own marriage.

Soon, we realise their ‘perfect-couple status’ is actually a façade. Sober Rishi secretly fantasises about his young student Raaga (Saba), while columnist Simi has hots for her colleague Veer (Rahul Khanna) whom she hooks up with lonely Mita.

There is lot of delving into the man-woman science as Irrfan indulges in sexcapades with his girlfriend, who loves role-play and likes to dress him in G-strings and sports bras, and Rahul Bose shares a lingering smooch with his student.

The film starts on a right note, with the director doing a decent job while introducing his protagonists. The talking-to-camera technique works well to convincingly portray the characters’ psyche. The adult humour has been neatly introduced, courtesy some witty writing and comic situations. The scene where Irrfan goes lingerie-hunting is howlarious. The story meanders and flounders in the later half as unnecessary sub-plots and forced situations are introduced. Certainly, the theme deserved a better script. However, superb performances by the lead pairs somewhat lift up the dull screenplay. Watch out for Irrfan who plays the role of a philanderer to perfection. Soha shows a lot of promise as an uptight wife. Rahul Bose as a lusty professor is convincing, while Konkana looks impressive in her ‘passive-aggressive’ act. Khanna as vulnerable, ready-to-fall-in-love guy is charming. The music is average.

mona@tribunemail.com

It’s a Bond movie done on the cheap. There’s a suit-clad hero, a Russian-looking girl, a swanky car and a global threat. Yet, all the 007 paraphernalia fail to transport our hard-hitting hunk (Jason Statham) to the big league.

The third installment of the transporter series is a terrible letdown, thanks to a ludicrous plot, a vapid script and lackluster performances.

Express driver Frank Martin (Statham) has to deliver a pretty package (Natalya Rudakova) to a terrorist leader (Robert Knepper) who wants to hold the girl to ransom to force her father, an important leader in the Ukraine government, to sign a pact to allow entry of ships, containing some creepy chemical, into the country. Martin reluctantly agrees for the job, primarily because he has a bracelet bomb —which would explode if he’s more than 75-feet away from the car — attached to him.

In between, our going-bald hero finds time to beat some oversized goons to pulp with some nicely-choreographed martial arts stunts, giving him ample time to advertise his beefy structure. It is time for ladies to feel the hots for the man, with our till-now-cold Rudakova being no exception.

Though the franchise hired a new director, Oliver Megaton, for the third outing, the latter fails to create the same stir as The Transporter and Transporter 2, mainly because of an irrelevant story. Writer Luc Benssen has done a shoddy work this time. The screenplay is dry and predictable. There’s no wit, no twists (We don’t even get to know what is the real green threat).

The action is no doubt heavy-duty and Statham genuinely tries hard to at least not disappoint the viewers in this department. And he somewhat manages to do so. The car stunts, typical of the series, are spectacular. Shirtless Statham is an eye-candy for his female fans. Rudokova fails to impress. Her acting talent seems to be in a stage of infancy.

For Indian superstar Shah Rukh Khan, December 6 would be a double treat - he will not only receive Malaysian knighthood but will also wear the official state samping during a special investiture ceremony. The Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan will be honoured with Darjah Mulia Seri Melaka (DMSM) award.

The ceremony, which will be held in Ayer Keroh, will see the King Khan donning the RM 3,000 specially made black samping adorned with kesidang flower motif. The samping will be tied in the style of the late P. Ramlee to complete the baju melayu to be worn by the actor.

The 43-year-old actor will receive the honour by Yang di-Pertua Negri Tun Mohd Khalil Yaacob at the Dewan Seri Negri in Ayer Keroh at 10am in a ceremony to be attended by 1,000 guests. “This is the first time that we are using this particular songket for a Datukship recipient and Shah Rukh Khan will be first to wear the official samping,” The Star Online quoted exco member in charge of human resources, health and consumer affairs Datuk Kapt (R) Abdul Karim Sulaiman, as telling press conference.

Institut Seni Malaysia Melaka has sponsored the samping and its representatives will help the actor put on the samping.

The RM550 baju melayu of Italian crepe, on the other hand, is sponsored by Sovereign Wear Sdn Bhd.

Managing director Huzry Fionnawatty Hussein said the baju melayu was especially made kepping in mind the actor’s estimated 5ft 8in frame. Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Ali Rustam said that with declining tourist arrivals next year, Malacca would promote the state as an international film location.

“This will certainly help promote both Malaysia and Malacca. What better time to launch it than in conjunction with the actor’s visit?” he said from Paris. — ANI

This young French duo had set out on a road trip of 10 countries in their home on wheels

What’s is your idea of a perfect holiday? A luxurious villa near the seaside, calming quietness away from the city crowd, long drives along the never-ending roads and soaking in nature’s beauty. Hmm…well, for some of us a perfect holiday also means exploring foreign shores and loads of sight seeing. But here is a couple that have amalgamated the idea of a perfect vacation with their passion for adventure. Meet Emilie Neyrial and Julien Bernard, two students from France, who are on a road trip vacation travelling a distance of almost 11000kms across ten countries, in their car, Pepere.

Their journey started on October 19 this year from Clement, France and after driving across countries like Italy, Serbia, Slovenia, Croatia, Turkey, Bulgaria, Iran and Pakistan they are in India now.

“Our combined passion to travel and explore new destinations made us work towards this trip. We worked for three months before setting out on our road trip to provide for our finances,” says Julien, who is studying engineering. Well, their only plan was to travel across ten countries in a 27 year old caravan, virtually living out of the car, and all they carried with them was a map, a travel book and their free spirit.

“Nothing was planned when we started, we just go by what comes our way. Every day brings with it a new experience, meeting many people and making new friends,” says Emilie. After almost two months of their adventure tip, they have come to India for their dream visit. “It’s like a dream to visit India and after Chandigarh we plan to go to Delhi, Jaipur, Agra and then we leave for Nepal,” says Julien. For Emilie, Chandigarh is an experience she is enjoying, “I loved Rock Garden and the fascinating architecture it has,” says the young architecture student.

And this trip has in a way completed their family as well. How? “While travelling through Serbia, we saw a little dog along the road side. And well, that’s how we extended our family on the way,” says Emilie, who is in love with her five month old puppy, Belgrade.

Sharing their experiences while travelling, they have seen the good and bad of many a countries now. “There were few instances when we had to deal with certain situations, like in Turkey where the roads were bad, and there was heavy military deployment. But they were nice to us and even escorted us through some dangerous areas,” Julien says. But their worst was in Pakistan, from being stranded on the highway with no money and no fuel to being stone-pelted by the community. “But we also made a friend with whom we stayed for a week and he helped us through the hard time,’ says Emilie. The high point of their journey still remains the places and people they have met, though Emilie likes to add food to the list.

And, as their journey continues, so does the story of this small little family in their small little car.

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India is known as ‘Home of Spices’. No Indian meal is considered complete without the tangy and delectable flavor of Indian Spices. Most important ingredients of any recipe, be it Mughlai, Continental or Chinese, it intensifies their flavour of the food. Kohinoor, a brand known for basmati rice, now enters the masala market and launches its wide range of authentic Indian spices. Kohinoor spices promise to bring out the true taste, flavour and aroma in every dish one cooks with them.

The entire range of Kohinoor authentic spices has been made by going the extra mile of picking these spices especially from the places they originate from. The result is that every spice that Kohinoor has in its range has a distinct and authentic flavour. Be it red chilli, which comes from Guntur, Andhra Pradesh, turmeric from Salem, Tamil Nadu or coriander from Indore, every selection is meticulous to bring the original aroma of that spice. Even the recipe spices like chole masala, rajma masala, pav bhaji and others in the range have been prepared in such a way that one would get the authentic taste, flavour and aroma from those dishes.

The range includes red chilli powder, turmeric powder, coriander powder and cumin powder among the basic spices and chole masala, chicken curry masala, kadhai masala, meat masala, tandoori masala, garam masala, rajma masala, paneer tikka masala, pav bhaji, sambhar and chat masala among the recipe spices along with other spices from Indian cuisines in the queue.

These spices come in convenient jars that keep the flavour intact. — TNS

Chandigarh has beautiful mornings – specially now that autumn is giving in to winter. The mornings are crisp cool with a light curtain of mist lacing treetops and domes in the distance. I have been trying a new morning experiment. Instead of making it my goal to reach my daughter as fast as I can, to the school gates – I am trying to open my mind and my eyes to all that comprise a typical Chandigarh morning.

The result is enriching. It makes me happy and proud of our city.

I don’t think any of us ponder over the question – “How is it that Chandigarh is so much cleaner than most other cities of India?” We see them and don’t – the battalion of jhaurdars that are hard at work at the light of dawn. Every curb and street corner is broomed with due diligence – a lot of kuda is picked up, a lot of grime is washed away. When the entire city boots up – we are clean. There is one particular woman who says namaste to me often. I think she is strikingly beautiful – in her matching shawl and pink salwar kammez. She could easily be a heroine in a Mani Ratnam movie with her dark sparkling eyes, gold hoops and nose ring. She takes pride in what she does and does a better job than many of our high officials.

Morning is also a time for school buses. At every street corner you see mothers waiting with their children, often holding a half-eaten banana or a parantha. I also found a large number of Chandigarh grandparents doing the school bus duty. I saw a particular grandfather sitting on the railing of a park with his grandchild. The two of them sat in perfect harmony – without exchanging any words at all. You could almost feel the invisible current of love and comfort that emanated from the spot where they sat huddled close to each other in the morning chill.

There are also cyclists – in great many numbers who are on the streets in the morning. Some seem to be going to their work – with a small tiffin carrier hanging from the rod. I often wonder about the contents of those steel dabbi – maybe, roti and sabzi prepared with little garnish and a lot of love by a loving wife or mother. Then there are cyclists who seem to be peddling away too furiously for such an early hour. One man carried a couple of langurs on his bike. They were not leashed and one sat in front and one on pillion. The one behind had its long furry hands wrapped around the waist of the cyclewalla.

I will continue on with my morning watch.

(To be continued)

United Spirits Limited has launched Romanov Red, India's first multi-grain, multi-distilled vodka. A premium variant of Romanov, Romanov Red has been launched to cater to the growing consumer need for vodka that not only matches international standards in smoothness and taste but also delivers superior imagery.

Debashish Shyam, assistant vice-president (marketing), United Spirits Limited, claims, "Romanov Red will be a trailblazer in the prestige vodka segment as the consumers will experience the unique blend of multiple grains in a vodka for the first time.” It derives its niche from the choicest multiple grains grown in India. The finest grains from different harvest seasons are carefully selected and ground to get grist. This grist is then fermented and the spirit is then refined through multi-filtration techniques.” — TNS

ARIES: The Knight of Wands reveals this is a week that would herald change and newness into your life. There would be an increase in the love and affection you receive from the people around you. Lucky Colour: Purple. Tip of the week: Learn from past experience.

TAURUS: The Chariot indicates that most of your money concerns would be resolved favorably and loans, debts, credits would all fall into place. Focus on your career growth. Lucky Colour: Earthy brown. Astro tip: Try to get rid of negative feelings through love.

GEMINI: This would be a good week to deal with both professional and personal goals says The Moon card. Your inherent charisma, energy levels and good temperament would make you popular and well-liked by friends and acquaintances. Lucky Colour: Brown. Astro Tip: You need to act for yourself and no one else.

CANCER: The Hermit card reveals business and professional affairs may take a backseat; however, you should try to devote your attention to your career goals. Hard work and diligence would never let you down. Lucky Colour: Creamy white. Astro Tip: Focus on your goals and don’t let temporary setbacks affect you.

LEO: The card Strength says most of you would have to depend on the decisions of other people. Work would be relatively routine. However, finances would start to stabilise. Lucky Colour: Rainbow pastels. Astro Tip: Overindulgence in food as well as alcohol may lead to health problems, so try and strike a balance.

VIRGO: The Prince of Cups says this week, you would be able to express what you want from yourself. Your ability to articulate your needs, wants and wishes would be heightened and give you an extra edge. Lucky Colour : White. Astro tip: Take things one at a time.

LIBRA: You draw Seven of Swords this week. You may find that your income would fall short of the expenditure. In relationships, there would be much variety and warmth, giving you a sense of security as well as excitement. Lucky Colour: Bottle green. Astro tip: Avoid the tendency to criticise others.

SCORPIO: The Hanged Man says how well you do professionally and personally would largely be determined by your ability to convince others. You would win yourself another admirer. Lucky Colour: Peacock green. Astro tip: Be patient and observant and the rewards would surely follow.

SAGITTARIUS: The Lovers inspire you with love & creativity. Professional problems and challenges may take up your time and energy this week. Money matters may create some tension, however, it would be resolved soon, especially, if you start spending less. Lucky Colour : Silver grey. Astro tip: You may have to treat people with a lot of charity.

CAPRICORN: The Knight of Swords instigates you to be active and clever. The atmosphere at work would be pleasant and your peers would be co-operative. Singles may receive good marriage proposals. Lucky Colour: Red. Astro tip: Don’t do anything at the cost of health.

AQUARIUS: Two of Pentacles says the highlight of the week would be business, trade and chances to grow and flourish in the professional field. Lucky Colour : Ruby red. Astro tip: Avoid undue splurging and put aside money for the upcoming months.

PISCES: The princes of Wands predicts there may be some changes at work and some of you may also, travel for work purposes. You may feel inclined towards religion, spiritualism or philosophy. Lucky Colour : Bottle green. Astro tip: Allow a sick situation blow over before you start a new project.