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Tell-all genre
Rubina Ali, child actor of the Oscar-winning flick Slumdog Millionaire, recently became the youngest person to have her autobiography published at the age of nine.
"Autobiographies are among the bestsellers because people want to find out all about their role models and want to emulate them," says Pushpinder Syal, professor, Department of English, PU. "The sharing of stories has long served as a medium for transmitting hard-learned lessons and wisdom from one person to another. Recipients of stories share the storyteller's experience, while at the same time benefit from the teller's retrospect; something people can't do in midst of their experiences," she further says. "Autobiographies cater to the interest of common man into the lives of other persons. More popular the person, more is the degree of interest," says Sanjay Tandon, who runs an NGO and has penned his father's biography Balram Ji Das Tandon Ek Prerak Charitar. Regarding why people are itching to pen down their life's experiences, he says: "The urge to tell one's story manifests itself in a variety of forms - diaries, testimonies, letters, memoirs, and more recently blogs and chatrooms. It is said the autobiographer writes about others when he writes about himself and that we cannot write about others without writing about ourselves." Aman Bir Singh, CEO of Zila Parisad, is also an avid reader and has vast array of books in his personal library. "Reading and writing is therapeutic. At times, we read selected works for the purpose of healing a personal issue. The technique is called bibliotherapy. Similarly, writing or telling a story provides the author with a means to symbolically release some past baggage," he avers. His favourite is Aap Biti by M S Randhawa. "Nothing like this was attempted in Punjabi before. The colloquial, idiomatic language is the high-point of the work," says Singh, who is also a great fan of Benjamin Franklin and Osho's autographies. Autobiographies of great people are truly inspiring, quips Neha Sharma, a student of MSc Bio Informatics. "The last one that I read was Abdul Kalam's Wings of Fire. It was amazing to know how the man surmounted all odds to emerge as a hero. Whenever in I feel down, I just think of the book and it's enough to recharge me," she smiles. mona@tribunemail.com
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Finding Jenny
Jenny Valentine, this British novelist, has a fascination for strangers. Strangers moving up and down the escalator in a busy mall, the ones hanging around some old London Railway terminal, some sitting ideal in a park or whiling away time at a grocery shop. These are the strangers, who pass Jenny's mysterious thread, with which she weaves her story, tying knots, zigzagging through, giving a final shape to it. And, these are the strangers that get her to write.
"Strangers carry a story with them that fascinates me," smiles Jenny, who loves the sweet taste of tea served piping hot at the British Library. "I love it in India. My friends said I would either love or hate India. I didn't want to hate it. I am glad that I am loving every bit of it." Just the way she enjoys writing, moving along with the plot, capturing insights of young minds trying to deal with situations. At British Library to release the Books Gone Wild, an activity undertaken by the British Council as part of their 75th anniversary, Jenny does not believe in creating a plot in advance for her books. "Knowing the plot breaks the spell. I just know the beginnings, and the rest follows. Sometimes, I lose my way while I am writing, eventually I manage to find myself, like the characters in my books," shares Jenny whose first novel Finding Violet Park won the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize and was shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal. Nevertheless, her stories come from the childhood days and revolving around children mainly. "I don't write for anyone specifically. My stories come from people, from children, I overhear, see and observe. I like children and young ones to be the central part of my stories because I feel they can cope up with situations better than adults. Children know how to live in the moment and are more resilient as compared to the adults. The young characters of my books Finding Violet Park, Broken Soup don't wallow in the dark. They undertake a journey, following the mysteries." The last word resonates - mystery. Symbols on a silver book, urn of ashes lying in a taxi (Finding Violet Park), negative of a photograph left by a stranger (Broken Soup), mysteries lead to revelations. "Books have to have mysteries," smiles Jenny, who admires Holes by Louis Sachar, as it is the suspense that gets us to turn the pages. "Especially with the kids, the beginning has to pull them in, otherwise they will dismiss it after going through two or three pages." So, when she says 'searching favourable words' is her favourite hobby, we know what Jenny would be looking for. jasmine@tribunemail.com |
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Role reversal
Actor-director Amol Palekar says he is happy with the fact that Marathi cinema is back in the reckoning after being overshadowed by Bollywood movies for years.
"Marathi cinema has been in conflict and had to bear the direct brunt of Bollywood and masala films. Marathi films really had to struggle," Palekar said at a press conference. Palekar's English film And Once Again, starring Rituparna Sengupta and Rajat Kapoor, was premiered at the 40th International Film Festival of India (IFFI). "It is really wonderful to see where Marathi cinema is today. It occupies the position that Bengali cinema and Malayalam cinema once had - the spearhead of non-mainstream cinema," the award winning actor director said. Palekar may feel that Bollywood movies obstructed the growth of Marathi films, but it doesn't stop him from hiring Hindi film actresses for his directorial ventures. He teamed up with Sonali Bendre in Anahat and for And Once Again he has roped in glamourous Antara Mali to play a monk. Commenting on his choices of glamorous Hindi film actresses, he said: "At that time, people told me why have you taken Sonali... she cannot act and so on. But Sonali did an exceptional job in the film." "Most of us have clichéd views of artists. I am fortunate to be able to look beyond that and see what most people don't see."
— IANS |
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Maan ka radio…
Bollywood Composer-singer-actor Himesh Reshammiya, whose last two films bombed at the box office, has done away with his trademark cap, got rid of his nasal twang and is back to prove his acting prowess with a new look in Radio that releases this week. Produced by Ravi Agrawal, the movie has been directed by Isshaan Trivedi. Also starring are Sonal Sehgal and Shehnaz Treasurywala. "My last two films (Aap Kaa Surroor and Karzzz) were super flops but my instinct says that this one will do well... my character (in the movie) is that of Vivan Shah, a radio jockey who solves people's love problems, but his own personal life has many problems," Himesh, who has completed 100 films as a composer with Radio, said. "His wife leaves him because of compatibility issues. So he has many complexes and is a confused man. In this film, relationships and sensibilities of today have really been highlighted," he added.The 36-year-old also spoke about his different voices in the film."I have sung in two different voices in the film. One in a medium octave and one in my trademark high-pitched voice," said Himesh, who has completed his 500th song with the film's track Man ka radio. In the film, Vivan is a successful radio jockey on a popular radio channel in Mumbai. He has acquired everything in life but his marriage is unsuccessful. So he divorces wife Pooja (Sonal) on grounds of incompatibility. Though he still carries a soft spot for Pooja, he soon realises that he wants to spend his life with another girl Shanaya (Shehnaz).The movie has already recovered its investments courtesy its music that has become a hit. "Radio was made at a budget of Rs.6 crore (Rs 60 million). Thankfully, the money invested in making the film was recovered through music," said Himesh. Releasing the same week as Radio is Amitabh and Abhishek Bachchan's Paa but Himesh is undeterred.He believes he will be able to win his fans back with Radio. "I'm trying to improve at every stage. I hope that people like the film because it's about a common 34-year-old man. It's a character you can identify with," he said. |
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Brand bargain
Bollywood may not be kind to married actresses, but they sure have a special place in the ad world. Their marital status helps these heroines sell a host of goods, especially household products like soaps, biscuits and washing machines. While Kajol is the brand ambassador of products like Knorr Soups, Olay cream, Alpenliebe candy and Whirlpool appliances, Juhi Chawla has Kurkure snacks, Ashoka pickles and soft drink Rooh Afza in her kitty. Karisma Kapoor endorses products like Khaitan Fans, Shaktibhog flour and Priyagold biscuits. Then there is Aishwarya Rai Bachchan who boasts of a glitzy lineup of products like Lux soaps, L'Oreal beauty products and Longines watches. So what makes married actresses a hot favourite in the advertising world? "Once married, Hindi film actresses stop being alluring and being part of the average Indian male's dreams. People do not expect married actresses to run around trees. But they continue to enjoy a certain nostalgic relationship in the minds of the audience," Sai Nagesh, chief growth officer of Dentsu Media India, said. "In the hugely cluttered media platforms, a married actress endorsing a brand does get that extra attention from the audience - a curious but extra glance." Sonali Bendre, 34, who endorses Pril soap, Surya bulbs and tubes and Omega watches among others, was recently taken on board as the brand ambassador of the health brand Dr. Morepen. "Sonali is a perfect example of an Indian woman handling brilliantly both professional and personal duties with ease, an aspiration for every Indian woman...She has a universal appeal that extends to everyone across age groups," said Sushil Suri, chairman and managing director, Morepen Labs. "We believe her endorsement of Dr Morepen will go a long way in reinforcing the attributes of the brand and reiterate the position of 'Dr.Morepen." The actresses themselves often prefer advertisements to full-fledged films as the former are less time consuming. "It's just that I like to do things when the time is right according to me. When I was full-fledged into films, I didn't have time to do endorsements. And now I have a little time on my hands and I have realised that ads don't take a lot of time...That's why I am more open to them now," Kajol was once quoted as saying. In terms of money too, ads are not a bad idea. Industry sources reveal that actresses are being paid anywhere between Rs 8 million and Rs 20 million depending upon their popularity and number of personal appearances to promote it. According to media estimates, Aishwarya takes home nearly Rs 1 billion from advertising assignments annually. — IANS
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Holy matrimony
Bollywood actor Eesha Koppikhar, who tied the knot with restaurateur Timmy Narang at a temple, says that she always wanted to get married in a temple.
"Temple is something really pure, it's really nice to get married in a temple. I always wanted to get married in a temple," Eesha told reporters at her reception. Unlike other stars' marriage, Timmy and Eesha kept the ceremony simple and low profile. "It was very much a family and intimate affair. I think one has to cherish and enjoy private moments so it was kept low profile intentionally," said Timmy. The couple is heading to the Caribbean for their honeymoon. "There is a beautiful set of islands called Turks and Caicos Islands in the Caribbean... it is a very romantic place. We will go there by the end of the year," said Timmy. Actors Prem Chopra, Manoj Kumar, Chunky Pandey, Tulip Joshi and Celina Jaitley were among those who attended the reception. Eesha became a known name in the industry after her hit song Khallas in Ram Gopal Varma's underworld drama Company. Later she shared screen space with Shah Rukh Khan in Don - The Chase Begins Again. She also featured in movies like Ek Vivaah... Aisa Bhi, Salaam-e-Ishq, Maine Pyaar Kyun Kiya?, Kyaa Kool Hai Hum and China Town.
— IANS |
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Wrap up!
The prime time of layering has arrived. Trendy and chic fashion is hard, especially in the season of chill when one has to go under the wraps all that more. But one winter trend where you can rarely go wrong is coats. Coats are making a big style statement this winter. From girlie to sexy, belted to capelet, they are available in a wide variety. In terms of colours, black, grey and brown are the traditional hues. But if you truly want to stand out from the winter crowd, a little attitude won't hurt. One can venture out in bright animal prints, pinks, reds or even go all white to jazz up that December look. So, what are you waiting for? Go ahead, bundle up in a cute coat. — Mona
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Key to success
Dr Kiran Bedi is not just a name- it's a phenomenon. She has not only served the country as the India 's first and highest ranking (retired in 2007) woman officer but as an ardent social worker as well. Having joined the Indian Police Service in 1972, her experience and expertise include more than 35 years of tough, innovative and welfare policing. Recipient of the prestigious Ramon Magsaysay Award (also called the Asian Nobel Prize), and several other decorations, Dr Bedi is an author of several books, anchors radio and television shows and is a columnist with leading newspapers and magazines. She is a sought after speaker on social, professional and leadership issues. In Patiala to preside over the 23rd annual convocation of Thapar University recently as a chief guest, Kiran Bedi expressed her delight to be a part of this prestigious organisation. Talking about the organisation, she said she felt a sense of gratitude towards the visionaries of the institute. Organisations like Thapar were not only doing good work but also inspiring the future generations to carry the legacy forward, she added. While talking about the development of a nation, she said education and health should be the primary concerns of a nation. Stressing on the need for better education, she said educated and informed youth was the backbone of every nation and without it, it was impossible to imagine progressive nation. Also, an individual needs to be healthy. Only then he can be educated. She insisted that the religious organisations must help in providing both these facilities to the youth because people believe what they say and also generously donate at their call. She said she had equal respect for all religions and sought their support. Talking about her NGOs, Bedi informed that currently her two NGOs, Navjyoti and India Vision Foundation, reach out to over 10,000 beneficiaries daily, in the areas of drug abuse treatment, schooling for children of prisoners, in addition to education, training, counseling, and health care to the urban and rural poor. Kiran Bedi has been voted as India 's most admired woman and fifth amongst all Indians. A non-fiction feature film on Dr Kiran Bedi's life entitled 'Yes, Madam Sir' has been produced by Australian filmmaker, Megan Doneman. This film is being screened in film festivals around the world. Its commentator is an Academy Award winner, Helen Mirren. Dr Kiran Bedi was present during its screenings in Toronto, Dubai and Adelaide, and to address the Q&A sessions at the end of each show. Every time it has been screened, it has received a standing ovation. The documentary has made a clean sweep of the award categories---"Best Documentary" with a cash award of $100,000, the biggest prize for a documentary for any film festival in the US and the Social Justice Award with $2500.00 at Santa Barbara International Film Festival. 'Yes Madam Sir' got a unanimous vote from the jury. lifestyle@tribunemail.com
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On a musical note
Mitran Da Mood, a new Punjabi album, produced by Mumbai-based music company Virsa records, featuring five singers was launched at the Chandigarh Press Club-27. Botlaan Sharaab Diyan Akha Teriyan fame Meet Malkit has sung the title song Mitra Da Mood, while four local boys have debuted with this album. These are Inder Gill, Charanjeet Channa, Dalbeer and Amit Kumar. City-based tabla player Ranbir Kumar debuts as a music director with this album. With six different compositions the album has two sad songs, one romantic number, two bhangra numbers and one song with a social message. With a total of eight tracks out of which two tracks Mitran Da Mood sung by Meet Malkit has a Bhangra remix and Jatt Vari Janda sung by Charanjeet Channa have club remix version in the album. A local young lyricist Mandeep Gupta Rocky has written all the songs of this album. Amit Kumar, a twenty-year-old boy, who has interest in Sufi music, has lent his voice to the song Pardes. Amit has been taking professional vocal training from Ustad Neele Khan, a professional qawwal and a music teacher. Amit has a Sangeet Visharad diploma to his credit. Pyaar tan ni ho gya and Ilzaam are sung by 25 year-old Dalbeer. A fan of Gurdas Maan and Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, he dreams of making a solo Punjabi album rich in quality and content. A fan of folk singers like Kuldeep Manak and Mohammad Sadiq city-based Charanjeet Channa has sung the bhangra number Jatt Vari Janda in this album. Charanjeet is a student of Shri Sagar. Inder Gill, a student of Government College, Sector 11, Chandigarh has rendered his soulful voice to the sad song Dard in the album.
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North is Best
For anybody who wants to become somebody in the glamour industry of the country, struggle is a must on your resume. And, in search of that 'struggle', Mumbai is the first and the last destination for aspiring, talented lot. But then, not everybody walks down the same lane. Some are smart enough to take a de-tour, one that works all the time. "Instead of struggling to find work in Mumbai, we brought work here, to Chandigarh," says Gaurav Sharma, a pass-out from the Department of Indian Theatre, Panjab University, who recently finished production and casting work on the Hollywood project West is West, starring Om Puri and Ila Arun. "Surviving in Mumbai is not everybody's cup of tea. Besides, Chandigarh of late seen many big Bollywood projects being shot which means it's not difficult to find work here as well now," he adds. He along with his friend Pawandeep Singh, another theatre department pass-out, brought in some of the big names in the city theatre circle to work for the film. "We got senior artistes like Kamal Arora, Yograj Singh and various students from our department to act in the movie, playing significant character roles," says Gaurav. Both are members of city-based group The Theatre Army and have also finished working on another Dutch movie, Brownian Movement, which is based on Le-Corbusier's life. "We had to arrange everything from actors to technicians to set locations. The tough part is that these people don't compromise on what they want and are professional unlike our way of functioning," says Pawandeep. So, six months went into the research for location hunting around the city and another one month in putting up the set. "We built a set from the 70s near Jayanti Majri village, adds Gaurav. Two years into street plays and stage plays like Leather Coat, Gaurav has worked as an assistant director in the Raj Brar directed Punjabi movie, Jawani Zindabad and another on called Virsa. This, besides directing 15 music videos as well. But then, it's a finding talent is mad hunt, "Most times we get people wanting to associate with our theatre group and sometimes we are may find the perfect character at the bus stand as well," shares Gaurav. They are now busy arranging auditions for Rakeysh Om Prakash Mehra's next Mad, Madder, Maddest and Rajshree Productions next. "We will be holding auditions in Chandigarh and Amritsar and the participants will be judged by Mukesh Chabra, the casting director for Delhi 6," informs Pawandeep. Well, the struggle seems to be diminishing for them. "More than that, it's the satisfaction of doing what you always wanted to do, in a benefit-to-all situation," says Gaurav. The future looks good. "If things fall into place, we will set up our own production group," he ends on an optimistic note. nehawalia@tribunemail.com
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The Guru
It's all right to have an aim but it is more important to know what you want to be rather than what to do in life'. This pierce of advice comes from N.K Tewari, an educator, who is currently associated with the NIIT School Learning Programme, Delhi and also as director of the Scindia School Development Project, Gwalior. "Having spent major part of my life teaching children in schools like Doon School, Punjab Public School, Nabha and then Scindia School, my attention is now towards bringing technology into school education," says Tewari who took part in an interactive session with students in Panchkula recently. And his focus is not merely introducing IT in schools but making Information Communication Technology part of the curriculum. "We must remember that today's kids are digital kids. To keep their brains stimulated, we have to update ourselves and reach up to their level of understanding," he says. Coming from a teacher's family (he is the fifth generation teacher), Tewari has no illusion about this profession. "We teachers think we are the ultimate when it comes to knowledge but the reality speaks otherwise. So, many times we get to learn from our students and technology is one such subject where we can benefit from our students," he says. Tewari still believes in the good old gurukul system in which both teacher and students grew together and learnt together. And, in the whole process teaching and learning, parents too have an important role to play and that, according to Tewari, is by not forcing their own ambitions on their children but giving them the space and opportunity to be what they want to be. Are you parents out there listening? parbina@tribunemail.com
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The youth can make a difference to society if they work towards it. One such initiative, taken by Kanwardeep Singh, founder member of a NGO, Youth Power Igniting Hopes, requests the youth to raise their voice against child labour and exploitation. At a seminar orgainsed by the NGO in collaboration with the Department of Gandhian Studies, various guest speakers discussed about the problem of child labour, and what the youth can do to curb it. "The motto of the seminar is to tap youth power. India has the maximum problem of child labour, which can only be tackled if the youngsters decide to raise their voice against it," says Kanwardeep. "Youngsters should not employ domestic help. Also, they should immediately report or intervene if they see any incident of exploitation of kids." Amit Ludri, professor, Department of Law, Kurukshetra, Manmohan Kaur, social activist and president of Family Planning Association of India, Kamal Kuttapan, retired HSC officer also requested the youth to come forward, because this would help to change the situation. You can also enroll as a member of the NGO with a nominal fee of Rs 25, and make a difference. — TNS
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Party hard, learn harder
The next time you head out for a party do remember to brush up your general knowledge, for sounding smart is just as important as looking smart on the cocktail-party circuit, according to a new Canadian survey. The Harris/Decima survey, which polled 1,013, on behalf of MSN.ca has revealed that 79 per cent of Canadians admit they judge people they first meet based on how smart they are.
It showed that 20 per cent of them brush up on current events and popular culture before hitting the holiday party circuit. Shirley Steinberg, a professor of media and culture at McGill University's Faculty of Education, said we can thank Internet for the ramped-up intellectual expectations. "Before, if you were invited to a party, you were thinking about what you're going to wear, how long you were going to be there or what you were going to drink or bring," she said. "Now you have that immediate response that you have to go and make yourself more knowledgeable," she added. There's nothing wrong with doing a little research to boost your social life, says Steinberg. But "the mind can only handle so much quick Internet researching," she says, adding that looking up facts on the fly via your BlackBerry or iPhone comes with its risks. Debra Fine, the Denver-based author of The Fine Art of Small Talk, says that as long as you're genuinely interested in the person you're talking to, there's no risk of coming off vacuous. With updated intellectual armour, you would feel more at ease, which in turn draws others to you. "If I feel comfortable with you, that takes us to the next level: It means I can do business with you. That's my social currency," said Fine.
— ANI |
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You might have thought that boys brought up in a single-sex environment would find relationships with girls difficult to handle. It shows that boys taught in singlesex schools are more likely to be divorced or separated from their partner than those who attended a mixed school by their early 40s. However, those who stayed together were just as likely to be happy in their relationship as men educated in mixed schools, when asked to rate the quality of their marriage on a scale of one to seven. — Agency
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Once the prerogative of the elite or the realm of celebrities, the autobiographical impulse, or the urge to tell one's story, seems to have proliferated, as has the urge to read other people's stories. In fact, more and more writers of lesser fame are turning to this category of non-fiction in the hopes of getting published. But what makes this genre so popular? Why do memoirs and autobiographies fly off the shelves and why do people write them? Lifestyle tries to find the answers.
Quiz the professor on her favourite autobiographical account and she says, Autobiography of A Yogi. "I like it for its lucid writing style, which is interesting. Also, the book is full of descriptions and has humour. Like all great autobiographies, it not only tells a personal story but also goes beyond, into the social and spiritual world," adds Syal.