Maharaja Ranjit Singh ruled for over 47 years, seven years more than Akbar. He was the first ruler to have a salaried army. His territory stretched from Kashmir to Sindh, river Satluj to Kabul. He had generals in his army who practiced different religions. A few more startling facts and Raj Babbar needn't have to justify to himself or others why a film was must on the life of the great emperor. A lot happened between 2005, when the film was conceptualised, and 2010, when audience will get to see heroics of Maharaja Ranjit Singh on screen. 

"The film couldn't be made since the estimated budget was too high. The project then started as a serial, Maharaja Ranjit Singh. After three episodes we ran out of finances but the efforts didn't stop there," informs actor Raj Babbar. What kept the project going was the life history of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, "The more I read about his personality, the more compelled I felt to present before people his life history." He feels that Maharaja Ranjit Singh deserves more than a mere mention in the 6th standard history book at the school level. "There are far more interesting facts related to him other than that he lost one eye and brought back the Kohinoor diamond to India, which people should know about," adds Raj Babbar, in the city on Sunday to announce the telecast of the serial.

His dream comes true this Baisakhi. The serial will go on air from Tuesday on Doordarshan. The channel was the obvious choice even in times when other channels rule the TRPs. "The serial has a regional appeal but we wanted the story to reach out to the maximum audience, which only DD has. Epics like Ramayana and Mahabharta were a phenomenal hit because of it."

The story goes back to the year 1739, with grandfather of Maharaja Ranjit Singh taking the pledge to fight invaders who looted India. It winds up with the death of Maharaja Ranjit Singh in 1839. "The serial is divided into three phases of his life, youth, middle age- the time period in which he fought most of the wars and his age after 40." Presently the serial have episodes based only on the first two phases of his life. The next phase whenever will be directed, he assures will have him playing the lead role of Maharaja Ranjit Singh.

Pass outs of National School of Drama have played most of the characters though Raj Babbar didn't divulge details about the actors, "I want people to know about the actors through the characters they are playing. Let their work and not my recommendation make them popular."

In depth research was inevitable to the project. History has been presented as it happened except for the slight changes, "The facts remain intact. Only extravagant sets or costumes have been experimented with to please the audience. Depiction of history on screen becomes interesting only when some drama is added. Without it, history is as good or bad as what we have read in books till date, " The serial has been directed by Chitraath and Sikander Bharti, produced by Nadira Babbar and Kuku Babbar. Music is by Jagjit Singh and lyrics by Surjit Patar.

Even after the serial has been made and will go on air shortly, there is something Raj Babbar still aspires for, "I dream of making the film, The Lord of Five rivers: Maharaja Ranjit Singh and also a film on Maharaja Duleep Singh. The warriors deserve their due of glory and the youth of India should know about them." The films as he says will have an international appeal. About his taking the onus of the films, he feels, a Punjabi understands the importance of Punjab's history and he understands it for sure. He does indeed!

ashima@tribunemail.com

This is a proud moment for parents, when they are known or recognised by their child's name. Therefore when Dr Ashok Chopra visits the city for the promotion of his devotional album Haal Mureedan Da Kehna, his friends and known did make sure that we know that he is the famous actor, Priyanka Chopra's father. And well, Dr Ashok swells in his chest, after all being known by her daughter's name gives due credence to the parenthood. This moment of glory finds an extension as he shares news of his dream finding a firm ground with the devotional album.

"I am reciting Gurbani at various Gurudwaras for the last 25 years. And this devotional album, Haal Mureedan Da Kehna is like a dream come true," says Dr Ashok, a cosmetic surgeon by profession. "I dreamt of bringing forth the true emotions and sentiments of Gurbani in front of the people because I know each one of us can make our lives better by understanding and following it on our lives." The album has eight shabads, the compositions have been arranged by Chintu Singh and it took Dr Ashok almost 8-9 months to research and record the album, which is making waves in the market. "I have tried to give a little modern treatment to the album so that the youngsters too can understand and benefit from the verses, he says adding that if we the younger generation is able to connect to even 10 per cent of the album his effort is fruitful.

The repeated mention of younger generation naturally brings one name in picture, Priyanka Chopra. And the dotting father is more than willing to talk about her, at length.

"Priyanka listens to Haal Mureedan Da Kehna everyday in her car while traveling. She connects to every shabad and finds inspiration in every word. In fact, she is the inspiration behind this album," offers Dr Chopra. Even though Priyanka hasn't sung in the album, according to her father she was always there to give her valuable inputs. "She knows a lot about music, so she helped me with a lot of inputs." Is adulation pouring from the industry? "Everyone has praised the album. Pankaj Udhas gave me a beautiful analysis on the album," he adds.

More on actor daughter pours in. "Honestly, my wife and I were too busy with our profession, but Priyanka managed to handle things maturely and beautifully. She never wanted to be a doctor because she would often say that she would not want to leave her kids home," he laughs. Despite their busy schedules Dr Chopra is proud of her daughters decisions be it modelling or acting. "I have always allowed her to take her own decisions on the condition of being answerable for her actions." Everything is place, does he not get upset with all kinds of rumours floating in the air regarding actor Priyanka Chopra? He dismisses it out rightly. "I am intelligent enough to understand what is right or wrong. Besides, I treat them as a publicity stunt. The rumours about Priyanka and Shahid Kapoor before the release of Kaminey, was nothing but a gimmick," he tells. Isn't Bollywood a good learning ground for struggling actors, established actors and their folks!

jasmine@tribunemail.com

Bollywood star Abhishek Bachchan has received several awards but probably none of them is as unique as the metallic banana statuette that he was sent for having the worst accent in Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra's film Delhi-6.

The actor was named the winner of the Dara Singh Award for the worst accent in Delhi-6 at the second annual Golden Kela awards, which were held here in March. But since Abhishek gracefully accepted the title instead of cribbing about it, the organisers decided to send him a real statue for the award.

"Congratulations! You will go down in history as the first ever winner of a Golden Kela to have graciously accepted the award since its inception last year, thus proving conclusively that you actually have a sense of humour and don't take yourself too seriously," Jatin Varma, publisher of Random Magazine, wrote in a letter to Abhishek.

"For this simple reason, we decided that the least we could do was send over an actual statuette (if a shiny metallic banana can be called a statuette)," added Varma.

The Golden Kela awards are a spin-off on Hollywood's Golden Raspberry awards, also known as the Razzies, which recognize the worst in cinema.

"...We would just like you to accept this humble little trophy as a reminder of the love your fans have for you and how much they hate it when your movie doesn't turn out so well. We hope you like the trophy enough to keep it in that display cabinet alongside all those Filmfares and IIFAs and the like," wrote Varma.

"We also hope that next year we'll see you at the ceremony in person. We'd be willing to pay your airfare but please don't expect us to pay for your entire entourage, we don't have much money," read the witty letter. Abhishek played an NRI boy, who comes to India with his grandmother, in Delhi-6. — IANS

Bollywood actor Shah Rukh khan is suffering from extreme knee and shoulder pain.The 44-year-old said every time he does some active sequences, his knee pains.

"My knee always acts up after a few active sequences. Have learnt to live with it," the actor had tweeted a few days ago. It now seems that the shoulder pain has joined in too.

"The knee and shoulder keep getting sore. But it's okay...body gets used to it after a while. I am the king of pain. No pain no gain," Shah Rukh posted on his Twitter account.

The actor is currently working on his film Ra.One. —IANS

Veteran director Priyadarshan says Taare... star Darsheel Safary is a much better actor than many of the superstars in Bollywood.The filmmaker has cast the child actor, who swept the audiences in Aamir Khan's Taare Zameen Par, in his forthcoming film Bumm Bumm Bole.

"Darsheel is much better than many great actors of Bollywood films," said Priyadarshan after the first look of Bumm Bumm Bole at the Phoenix Mall in Mumbai on Friday.

"He really knows how to perform and understand the character, how to behave and keep the right kind of body language, much better than many of our superstars," he added.

Priyadarshan maintains that Aamir Khan has made Darsheel a complete actor.

"It was very easy to direct Darsheel as Aamir trained him very well. He has now become a complete actor," he said.

Bumm Bumm Bole is an adaptation of Iranian film Children of Heaven directed by Majid Majidi.

"I had seen the film 10 years back. Majid Majidi is one of my favourite directors. I called him and asked for the rights," Priyadarshan said.

"He was very disappointed with the film's Chinese version Home Run. When I explained him how I was going to portray (the film), he was very happy and agreed to give me the rights," he added.

The story has been "re-modelled" according to the Indian setting, the filmmaker said.

Though the protagonists of the film are children, Priyadashan insisted that it's not a children's film.

"It's not a children's film. It has got terrorism and politics as a backdrop. The problems of a family are also shown. So you can't say it is a children's film. But it's a film that children will enjoy a lot as it's a clean family entertainer," he said.

The director, who won the national award for his Tamil film Kanchivaram, believes that Bumm Bumm Bole is a turning point in his career.

"I have made all kinds of film — comedies, action films like Gardish, art films like Kanchivaram. This is the first time I am making a film with two children," he said.

"It's definitely the most difficult thing to handle them, get the right emotions out of them. So, I really believe that this is a right turning point and nice feather in my cap," he added. — IANS

Sri Lankan beauty Jacqueline Fernandez will now be seen in an item number in Sajid Nadiadwala's Housefull which releases later this month.

The Bollywood actress' second film Jaane Kahan Se Aayi Hai with Riteish Deshmukh released this week and in Housefull, the 2006 Miss Sri Lanka grooves to the remix of hit song of Laawaris - Apni toh jaise taise. Sajid said Jacky, as Jacqueline is popularly called, fitted the bill to carry off the song which also stars Akshay Kumar and Riteish.

"She will be seen in an out and out glamorous avatar in the song. Jacqueline has never looked finer and Akshay and Riteish are at it again with their comic best," Sajid said.

The remixed song is composed by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy and choreographed by Farah Khan.

"After watching her in Aladin and glimpses of Jaane Kaha Se Aayi Hai, the team was convinced that Jacky could essay the character brilliantly. And after watching the song everyone agrees that she hasn't disappointed," Sajid said. — PTI

Shilpa Shetty is on her way for a royal treat. 

The actress along with her Indian Premier League (IPL) team Rajasthan Royals will be attending a dinner hosted by Padmani Devi of the erstwhile Jaipur royal family.

"Enroute to Jaipur to attend a Rajasthan Royals team dinner hosted by the royal family her highness Maharani Padmani Devi who I completely adore because she is so full of positive energy and showers me with so much love," Shilpa posted on her blog. — IANS

Baisakhi is around the corner and Hotel Shivalikview has created a near village ensemble for its ongoing Baisakhi food festival. Set up in the lawns of the hotel, this village has a well, bullock cart, theka and Bante Da Dhaba serving mouth watering delicacies specially prepared for the occasion by chef Vineet Chopra.

"Since the food is North Indian, we have played with spices to create unique flavours," says Anurag Walia, deputy general manager, Shivalikview.

The dishes are innovatively named too - Sharabi Kababi Kukkar (chicken marinated in chef special spices flavoured with rum), Anjeer Di Tikki (cottage cheese stuffed with figs) Satluj De Kinare (basmati veg biryani) and Heer Ranjha (paneer dumplings filled with khoya and nuts). The food bonanza includes regular Punjabi fare Amritsari dal, fish, Amchoor Wali Bhindi, Meat Beli Ram along with traditional desserts Faludewali Kulfi, stuffed malpuas with Rabri and Jalebi.

"The staff has been working over months to give this food festival its final shape. After all we want to offer the very best to the food lovers of the tricity," says Walia.

Gaily dressed staff, Punjabi folk singers and beats of the dhol are all set to celebrate Baisakhi in its true spirit.

The buffet dinner is priced at Rs 250 each and Rs 400 for dinner with snacks. On at Hotel Shivalikview-17 till April 14. — TNS

Wedding season is on and Baisakhi Gold Festival, an initiative by MMTC (Minerals And Metals Trading Corporation Of India) Limited in association with Phulkari, provides an excellent opportunity to buy gold and silver that registers ubiquitous presence at any of the auspicious occasions. The exhibition cum sale has ethnic as well as contemporary jewellery from various regions of India.

The exhibition has a wide range to choose from - plain gold jewellery from Bengal, Mughal style jewellery from Delhi, temple designs from Tamil Nadu, pearls and studded jewellery from Hyderabad and stone studded, lightweight Goan jewellery.

"This exhibition provides a good platform to artisans from different parts to take their craft across country with guarantee of purity and trust from MMTC," says Ved Prakash, director, marketing, MMTC.

The exhibition also has an exquisite range of silverware from MMTC's silver brand Sanchi. Beautifully crafted filigree dishes, idols of deities, meena boxes, bowls and tumblers make for excellent gift items. Also, on sale are precious stones and diamonds along with certified hallmarked world-class jewellery - plain gold chains, chokers, earrings, bangles, kadaas and sets.

Beautiful gold and silver medallions in seven colours and bars are great for investment and gift purposes. "Gold is increasingly becoming the safest investment option due to wild dips in share market. And this also makes excellent gifts as gold and silver are considered auspicious and have whole lot of happiness factor associated with it," says Sanjiv Batra, chairman and managing director, MMTC.

The exhibition was inaugurated by Renu Agarwal, wife of chief secretary, Govt of Punjab. Checking out various stalls she shared, "Being an artiste myself, each of these pieces is an emblem of beauty. However when buying gold purity is must so what better place than MMTC for that.”

On at Phulkari-17 till April 15.

mona@tribunemail.com

"It was only a few decades ago that the vocal genre of classical music was said to be more apt and perfect for expressing the whole spectrum of human emotions better than through the instrumental music. But over the years the perception has changed," Udaipur born young Sarod Maestro Dr Akash Deep shares his opinion on classical music. In the city for a performance at the 151st Baithak programme of Pracheen Kala Kendra, he shared his views on music. Proclaiming his admiration for the distinctive style of playing sarod or sitar of his Senia Maihar gharana, Akash Deep claims to embellish any of his raga composition with innovations in alaap, jod, jhalla, jamjama and general execution to bring alive its soul and emotional feel

Ek sadhey sab sadhey, sab saadhey sab jaaye…was the guru mantra administered by his father guru Amba Lal Damami, a painting maestro of International eminence. The dictum stood in good stead for shaping my career finally in Sarod playing when like any wavering minded youngster I attempted to master guitar, Sitar and painting besides Sarod", he disclosed. A regular artist on All India Radio and Doordarshan, Dr Akash Deep, Rajasthan Sangeet Natak academy awardee, is a much sought after Sarod player in India and abroad. He gave a scintillating Sarod recital at the Pracheen Kala Kendra in the evening while Avirbhav Verma accompanied him on tabla. 

She came here on a mission, saw two cultures as different as chalk and cheese and experienced the best and the worst of being in India. Eune Baravalle first arrived in India three months back to help underprivileged children learn some lessons on life. Instead, she was taught to be patient and to survive even when adversities seem to be the way of life.

"To be in India is like living in a different world after every 100 kms. The curiosity and generosity of people here is unmatched," says Eune. Traveling from Bilboa in Spain to Ahmedabad in Gujarat, her first visit to India is a voluntary effort under the Christian mission to undertake development and literacy work in the Dhandoa village. From teaching the kids English to getting them involved in various developmental programmes, her first hand experience made her even more determined to continue her work. "People living there are really poor, they live in mud houses and are ignorant about their basic rights. It was really tough for me to break their traditional and orthodox mindsets. Education for them is a waste of time." She shares how even the supposedly educated people too are not willing to take responsibility. "Girls are married off at the age of 13. I had to convince a father who was a teacher himself to make his daughter study further class 10 as she was really bright. And his response was, 'This is enough. Who is going to marry her if she studies so much?"

Well, we might not be new these issues but for Eune it gave sufficient motivation to carry on the good work. Next on her agenda was Punjab, home to similar issues and even worse like female feoticide. And here her partner in cause is Jeetinder Kaur, another volunteer and Masters in Human Rights from PU. "We have been working for the past five years on issues like sponsoring the girl child, primary education and health sector across various villages in Punjab. Our recent campaign was on abolishing death penalty," shares Jeetinder who is the second girl from her village in Hoshiarpur to get education. Leading by example, she has adopted a girl and is sponsoring her education.

As for Eune, coming to Chandigarh is like taking an off from the negativity. "It's a refreshing change, clean, organised, lively and beautiful. Like I said, different world."

Back home, Spain she says too shares problems of marginalisation of wealth, unemployment and illiteracy. "I worked with the Amnesty international in Spain and plan to study Human Rights." All her efforts are now on to get some sponsors from Spain to carry out literacy programmes in India. "In Gujarat, the government isn't as willing to fund Christian missions. So, I plan to get sponsorships from Spain." As for her next stop, "I'll be off to Algeria in Africa on some Human Rights mission." Well for some, life is taking one challenge after the other. 

There isn't any hard and fast rule to acquire one. Quiz the physicians, dieticians, ask your grandma to dig out tales from the golden era, take it from the models living on luke warm water, there is definitely to magnanimous and intriguing fundas to good health. Manmohan Malik, founder chairman and CEO Himalya International Limited nods in approval. Nevertheless, he feels that our country is bothered about the availability of food, rather than healthy food. 

"At the same, people are realising that steroids, medication or surgery cannot increase their life span, only healthy and nutritious food can," shares Manmohan Malik who talks about Himalya International Limited entering in the domestic market with two brands- Himalya Fresh and 1 Daily.

" We have been exporting frozen food in the international market. Now, we have ventured in the domestic market with branded mushrooms, frozen appetizers, traditional sweets, real fruit yogurt, full cream buffalo curd and paneer under the brand name of Himalya Fresh."

Whether international or domestic market, Manmohan adds that the underlying motto remains the same. "We want to provide healthy and tasty food sans any chemicals. We believe that organic food without any preservatives or chemicals is far better for health than the ones grown with the overuse of any chemical proportions." And well, who doesn't know about harmful affects of chemicals entering the body. Adds the CEO, " Chemicals are sure a slow poison. So, we should switch to healthy and poison free food. Even the milk that we use in the products is free from preservatives or any chemicals."

Talking about the branded mushrooms, which are now available in Chandigarh, Jalandhar, Delhi, Ludhiana market, Manmohan offers that the mushrooms are grown in-house right from composting agro waste and imported spawn to quick processing within hours of picking. "Also, the real fruit yogurt has real fruits blended in yogurt which is a good breakfast, snack or dessert option. The frozen appetizers on the other hand, are a treat for snack lovers. We offer a range of it- baby potatoes, braded appetizers and others that are high on nutritional value."

About his future projects, Manmohan Malik says that the company is expending its production with a food processing plain, which will be coming up in Gujarat.

jasmine@tribunemail.com

It's a lifestyle reversal that's causing major health problems. Breakfast is usually skipped due to less or no time to eat in the morning. It is replaced by brunch (in the office canteen) comprising a few chapattis, a vegetable and cereals. The only time to have a lavish meal is dinner, which compensates for the whole days missed calories. A recent study by the University of Alabama at Birmingham strongly recommends that there is no alternative to healthy eating at the right time, "Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a pauper helps prevent metabolic syndrome. Higher fat at breakfast is healthier than perceived to be." The study also suggests that the time at which food is had is as important as its nutritional value.

Nancy Sahni, dietician, PGI says metabolic rate is well taken care of, if the day is kick-started with a heavy breakfast. "It is the most important day of the meal. A heavier breakfast even if it includes ghee-laden paranthas, butter, curd or omelet of two eggs with a glass of milk is digested well. Food in turn will provide energy to work through the day, which in turn will help burn calories." No or light breakfast keeps the body rather sluggish the whole day. Missing breakfast amounts to increase in sugar levels, which tempts one to eat more.

Also, people who miss breakfast tend to eat equivalent to two meals later in the day, the prime cause of obesity. "The quantity of food at the dinner time increases double fold then. One tends to eat more at dinner, since it is the only time, when food is had with the family," says Madhu Arora, dietician, GMCH 32. A heavy breakfast is justified since the calories get consumed during the entire day. On the other hand, a lavish dinner is harmful as no physical activity follows it. "We go sedate post dinner. Body is unable to absorb calories in eight hours of sleep, leading to obesity, which in turn causes health problems like diabetes, hyper tension and indigestion," adds she.

Around 500 calories should be consumed in breakfast, lunch should have 400 and dinner not more than 300 calories. Nancy Sahni advises the suitable diet for breakfast is, a dish made of cereals with some milk based product and any fruit. Lunch should have five food items including cereals, pulses and a vegetable. Dinner should be a soup and salad or a light sandwich.

In case of a desk job that hardly includes any physical activity, it is advisable to take three meals with three mid meals during the day, "This facilitates the complete digestion of food. Balanced diet is better than a heavy breakfast," says Sunita Malhotara, dietician, cardiac centre, PGI.

The growing fast food culture, low fiber diet, sedentary lifestyle and lack of physical exercise, all are contributing to increased incidences of anorectal diseases like Fistula, Piles, Fissure etc.

According to experts, fast foods are heavy in terms of digestion and frequently disturb the intestinal mucosal pattern. This leads to constipation and other gastrointestinal problems such as hyperacidity, flatulence, indigestion and obesity etc. Constipation is becoming very common these days and incidence of piles or hemorrhoids, fistula is also on the increase.

Most of these diseases are treated with allopathic cure, primarily through surgery, which is usually associated with postoperative pain, bleeding, decrease in sphincter strength and some times recurrence of the disease.

"Ayurveda too has cure for these diseases, in Kshar sutra therapy-a concept of Ayurvedic non surgical or parasurgical is a more convenient process and has better results as compared to modern surgery," said Dr Rajiv Kapila, Ayurvedic expert and in charge of Ayurvedic dispensary in Sector 28.

If any patient is afraid of surgery or cannot afford it, then he may opt for non-surgical treatment of piles or Fistula-in-Ano. Kshar Sutra therapy is thought to be the most ancient, cheap, and simple and the best alternative of surgery and it has proved to be a boon for poor patient.

After doing over 25000 cardiac surgeries in 20 years, even now when Dr TS Mahant enters the operation theatre, he has in mind, "It's a life at risk. Operate with the same caution and trust as was done in the first surgery," shares Dr Mahant, executive director, cardiology department, Fortis. In his tenure of five years here, he has done over 6000 cardiac surgeries. But that's not the definition of achievement for him, "It's rather giving some more years of life to those, who have lost all hopes. People come to me with faith and I try my best not to break it." Most challenging for him is to operate kids born with cardiovascular complications.

He feels he is lucky to have the skill to save human lives, "There is a little difference between life and death when patients suffering from a heart attack are rushed into emergency." Years of experience come into play then. "One small mistake can lead to dire consequences. So it's vital to treat every subject with equal importance," adds Dr Mahant. — TNS