Just a little away from the huddle around Sanjay Suri, we could hear him ask every student he signed an autograph for, “What’s your name?” Sanjay repeated the answer, “Rohan, this one’s for you.” Next came the autographs for Yuvika, Avideep, Shivani and Jaskaran … with a dear prefixed to each! 

And it wasn’t the usual ‘visit a school on invitation, a few waves, flying kisses, small lecture and a final wave through the half open widow of the car’. Sanjay Suri and Onir, as is reflected from the kind of cinema they do, were different. 

In the city on Tuesday to inaugurate Chandigarh International Children’s Film Festival organised by Ryan International School, they were unlike stars or celebs. “It’s fun to mix with children, especially when they are working for a cause like environment,” says Sanjay, as he signed one autograph after another without forgetting to name the students. 

Onir takes up from here, “Students through human stories have talked about environment. They have projected the problems man will face if a clean environment is not valued.” His words ‘human stories’ catches our attention. Four films in a span of five years, all on problems that people face in daily life and always remains ignored. The process began with ‘My Brother Nikhil’, a story of an HIV positive athlete and will move ahead with their forthcoming flick, ‘I Am’. “The film has four different real life stories, all linked to each other,” informs Onir, the director. There is a story on child abuse, Kashmiri migrants, a woman desperate to have a child without a man, and after-effects of judgment of the High Court on Article 377. 

Sanjay is playing the child abuse victim in the film, who has been deeply affected by the tragedy. “Unfortunately, in India 53 per cent of children have been sexually abused. Still it’s a subject that has hardly been highlighted by two or three movies in the history of Bollywood,” adds Sanjay.

But how much is the audience for these films, when popcorn cinema sells at the Box Office? Onir takes over, “The film ‘I Am’ is produced by the public. We put the basic details of the film on Facebook and requested people to fund it.” 

As a result, ample donations were made through Facebook, which went into producing the film. “If people had no interest in the film or they didn’t empathise with those on whom the story has been made, they wouldn’t have been any public participation.” 

Sanjay has an experience as well. “Someone who couldn’t financially help us came up and said he would provide free lunch to the film crew. Thus, the real cinema or as people tag it art cinema has takers,” he says. And together they call it the beginning of democratisation of films in India. 

And the tag of being an actor in art cinema? “That is because I have never strived to be part of mainstream cinema. people also dub me as unsuccessful, and make such comments. But that’s true; I have always done films that I have believed in. A few roles in commercial cinema helped me pay bills,” he quips. 

When Onir is not doing films, he loves to cook, read, travel and click photographs. Sanjay, on the other hand, prefers to be with his two-year-old son. 

Back to films, Sanjay is busy with three – ‘Flat’, ‘As the River Flows’ and ‘Alibaugh’. Onir is still busy with ‘I Am’. “The film has to do well; after all it is for the people, by the people and of the people,” he says. A message for all the co owners! 

ashima@tribunemail.com

When Anjolie Ela Menon celebrates her 70th birthday on July 17, art lovers around the world get a return gift - a book published by Vadhera Art Gallery on her life and works by this celebrated artist. After all, it's not everyday that a beautiful woman turns 70 and completes 50 years as an artist! 

"I started young. In fact, when I was only 18. I was still at the art college when MF Husain organised my first solo exhibition, first in Delhi and then took it to Mumbai," recalls Anjolie even as she makes herself comfortable in the living room of her long-time friends KN Singh and Deepa Jain's Sector 2 residence. 

Those were the good old days when India had no more than 200 artists all over and chances of getting handpicked by renowned artists were not a remote possibility. "Now, there is talent galore and so are aspirations. But the aim is more towards attaining commercial success than anything else," she avers.

Well, few things have remained the same. For instance, her adoration for the great Husain. "I felt sad when Husain gave up his Indian passport. I actively fought for him when his last exhibition in India International Centre was folded up due to Shiv Sena's threat. It was an exhibition called Mughal-e-Azam and had nothing too do with divinity, yet he was targeted," she says with a hint of remorse. There are a hundred and one arguments she can give in Husain saab's defense, but what lights up her face is the artistic bond she still shares with him. 

"In my 50 years as an artist, I had this particular phase when I did a lot of Murano glass sculptures. Now Husain is doing the same. That feels great," she says. But then Anjolie has always been known for her distinctive phases - the window phase, the landscape phase with a little surrealism here and there, the portrait within a portrait, the calendar art phase and the much-talked about chair phase when she drew on inane objects like discarded chairs, suitcases, trunks, almirahs and what not!

And what catches her fancy now is the Kumbh mela. According to her, she is taking a detour in her style by introducing flying figures. "With one-and-a-half crore people taking part in it, I had to capture the high energy that the whole event generates," she says. Her paintings will be on display in an exhibition at Habitat Centre-Delhi as part of her birthday celebrations.

The preparations are keeping her busy these days, but her enthusiasm is childlike. It reminds us of the comment she made during her last visit, "The challenge of an artist is not the money-making part but to create a signature and yet keep up one's innocence." And knowing her a little better this time, we know she has! parbina@tribunemail.com

Mallika Sherawat's Hisss, Love, Barack at Cannes Bollywood bombshell Mallika Sherawat is going places and this year she will have not one but two of her films being featured in the prestigious Cannes Film Festival next month.Sherawat plays a snake woman, out to revenge the capture of her mate by an American hunter. Directed by Jennifer Lynch and produced by Govind Menon and Vikram Singh Lamba, the film is in post-production in Hollywood for the past several months.Actor Irrfan Khan has already confirmed his presence at the festival where the producers will announce the release date for the film. 

The event will be followed by an exclusive cocktail party for international buyers, celebrities and festival VIps, a source said.Sherawat's other film Love, Barack'is also set to be screened at the festival. A romantic comedy set during Barack Obama's campaign for the US presidency, the film just finished shooting last month in Los Angeles. — PTI 

Bollywood actor Katrina Kaif, who is all set to make a splash in her upcoming film Raajneeti, says her mentor-turned-boyfriend Salman Khan was always sure of her doing well and making a mark for herself in the tinsel town.

"Apart from guiding me, Salman had confidence in me. He is not the person to say that because he is friendly with you. He will say it genuinely," said Katrina.

The 25-year-old actor feels that it was her destiny that she came into the Hindi film industry and succeeded. She has many people to thank for her soaring career here.

"There are too many people whom I can call my godfather. I am grateful and indebted to them. Even Akshay Kumar took a risk in working with me initially," she said.

"He did not know me at all. He was at crossroads of his career. When he did Namastey London, people thought he had gone insane. Nobody is going to damage or destroy himself to help somebody else. Salman and Akshay believed in me and that is my good fortune and destiny," she said.

Katrina says the fact that her earlier films did well at the box office was a ‘miracle’, helping her weave the success story.

A R Rahman is leading a hectic life balancing work in India and Hollywood but the musician is not complaining as he wants to bridge the gap between East and West through his music.

In June, the music maestro will embark on his Jai Ho tour across the US. Rahman says he may be doing more 'Hollywood stuff' but he intends to keep up his Bollywood commitments of one or two films a year.

The singer-composer, who is the only Indian to win two Oscars, a Golden Globe and two Grammys for his music in Danny Boyle's Slumdog Millionaire, says his concert is an extension of his philosophy.

"A lot of things have changed and I got a place here to work. I have a contract with Interscope Records...All these things are time demanding to fulfill so my time is divided almost half between India and here," Rahman said.

The 44-year-old musician, however, believes that since India has always embraced foreign cultures, they deserve a stage in the West.

"I wanted to do this concert for many reasons. In the beginning my intention was to extend the boundaries of what I was doing for music so we could do greater things. It probably is an extension of my philosophy," Rahman said.

"After my success I even feel stronger to do this stuff to make a bridge for other people to come and if one person succeeds then a lot of other people come," he added.

Rahman is presently working with artistes like Usher, Nicole Scherzinger and Dido. Working abroad has made him realise that there is enough space for the two big film industries to produce work on the same platform. — pTI

Katrina Kaif will be seen romancing Bollywood heartthrob Hrithik Roshan for the first time in Zoya Akhtar's film Zindagi Milegi Na Dubara.

The actor, who has given several hits with superstar Akshay Kumar and has shared screen space with top Bollywood actors, including Salman Khan and Ranbir Kapoor, says she is excited to work with Roshan.

"It's a brilliantly written script and I am looking forward to working with Hrithik. I don't know him at all. The film will go on floors in three weeks from now after the release of Kites. The movie has the ability to emerge as progressive new cinema," Katrina said.

The title Zindagi... works very much in favour of the movie as it is a fun, youthful film...Telling that you get a chance to live only once, she said.

Katrina said she essays the character of a free spirited girl in the film who is an inspiration to Hrithik, Farhan AKhtar and Abhay Deol.

"She lives her life without fear," she said. On reports that she is part of the UTV's film on legendary singer Kishore Kumar, Katrina said since she has a two-film contract with UTV, the company is bound to discuss their projects with her. "It is too premature to talk about it," she said. — PTI

American singer Lady Gaga has helped download sales in the UK shoot up by more than 50 per cent, according to new figures. According to the music industry body of the BpI, songs and albums bought from online retailers like iTunes yielded 154 million pounds in 2009, reports The Telegraph. The music industry generated 928.8million pounds in 2009, the figures say.

Digital services make up for one-fifth of the music revenue that comes to UK. ''It's encouraging to see industry revenues stabilise and even show modest growth in 2009," BpI chief executive, Geoff Taylor said.

"The CD continues to show greater resilience than many predicted - it is an excellent digital product. The pace of growth of new digital services is encouraging, but the size of the market continues to be constrained by competition from illegal downloads,'' he added. — ANI

Hotel heiress paris Hilton was recently spotted looking painfully thin while hosting the Rehab pool party at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. The 29-year-old socialite was looking shockingly gaunt in her hot pink bikini and matching sarong revealing protruding ribs and ultra thin legs.

Hilton, who recently dumped her on-again-off-again boyfriend of 14 months, Doug Reinhardt, claims that she's enjoying being single.

"I am great and enjoying being single. He (Doug) is just angry because I broke up with him. I need more positive people around me and people who love me for me," she said.

Meanwhile, Reinhardt was spotted at West Hollywood hot spot Boa with a paris look-alike. — ANI

Everything comes with an expiry date. And sure, everything comes with a history — a withered rose hidden inside a novel, an old rocking chair in the verandah, a bronze choker lying in the grandmother's closest, a fort in the outskirts of the city, an old bottle of wine, a bottle of Martini and a bottle of clear Bacardi! 

Of course, the Bacardi that easily mixes with liquid has a history too. Tracking the footprints of history, Arijit Bose, trade ambassador for Bacardi India Limited, stumbled upon on the amazing world of spirits. On Tuesday, he pulls out one of the chapters from an old book on superior Bacardi and mixes it with delicious mixers. Net result is great Bacardi Summer Coolers, the best summer treat. 

"With the sweltering sun all set to play spoilsport this summer, Bacardi Summer Coolers make for a great refreshing treat," shares Arijit, who does a live 'mixing act' for us at Blue Ice-17. A few mint leaves, sugar syrup, milk, ice tea, lot of ice, a good shake, and Arijit is ready with great-looking and great- tasting Bacardi Apple and peach Iced Tea, Bacardi Limonett, Original Bacardi Mojito and Bacardi O Side Car. Enticed? 

"Believe me you can prepare these cocktails at home in flat 45 seconds at the most," he says. The whole point of the demonstration, according to Arijit, is to simplify the cocktail mixing process. 

He uses easily available ingredients and shakes up cool summer coolers. What is the trick, we wonder? "Balance is the word. A good cocktail needs to have a perfect balance of ingredients and Bacardi," provides the trade ambassador. "Most bar tenders go with the 'balance', either they add too much alcohol or they put more sugar. They need to keep some basic points in mind - if the glass is large put more alcohol and if it is small reduce the content. Next, if the drink tastes sugary, balance it with lime," adds Arijit.

And we thought cocktail tastes good because of the entire flaring act that a bartender puts together! He smiles, "It is good for visual appeal. More than the act, a bartender should keep in mind that a customer is interested in the drink, served on time and not in how good he can flip bottles." 

Okay, we are set to make our own Bacardi Summer Cooler. Before that any tips from our man here? "place hygiene on the priority list. The glass and the equipment for making cocktail should be absolutely clean. Make sure the glass in which you pour the concoction is as chilled as possible. Add a lot of ice to the drink; cocktail tastes better this way. Lastly, this one is for the bartenders, please talk to your guests and ask them how they would like their cocktail," provides Arijit.

Indian currency notes have not always been the same. There is a history behind every character on the note - behind the picture of Mahatma Gandhi, the thread that assures the note is not fake, the distinct colour of every denomination, the national emblem and even the signature of the RBI governor. 

The Reserve Bank of India opened its first building at Kolkata in 1935. Two years later, the bank premises were shifted to Mumbai. And the first currency note to be printed in India was the Rs 5 note. Many such facts about the Indian currency have been explained at the exhibition on bank notes issued by RBI, as part of it platinum jubilee celebrations at the RBI building in the city. 

The exhibition has on display the complete history of Indian currency. It was King George VI of England whose picture was first printed on the one rupee note. And almost after 40 years in 1969, Mahatma Gandhi's picture was printed on all the denomination notes. After India became a Republic, the King was replaced by the symbol of the National Emblem. 

The details of how printing of notes underwent a sea- change have also been explained. printing began at Nasik; and the offset technique was used in 1976.

There has been a change in the colour of every note; the designing and colour tone of Rs 10 and 100 notes has also seen a lot of changes. 

The exhibition shows variations in the size of the notes as well. The first Rs 10 note was in green colour with denomination mentioned in alphabets. It was much later that the currency denomination was mentioned in figures. 

The Rs 5,000 and 10,000 notes, whose printing was stopped long time ago, have also been displayed. — Ashima Sehajpal (On till April 30)

Besharam third divisioner"… Surprised? Don't be. For this is the title of the autobiographical novel authored by Inder Bikram Verma in 1989, which is based on his personal experiences. Verma, a retired librarian from a government college, says albeit he has authored six books, "Besharam…." has received remarkable response and is running out of print now.

"Being a third-divisioner is a literal curse, which I suffered after my matriculation examination while I was at Chail," says Verma. "Such was the pressure on my mind that I decided to share my story with others. I was amazed to receive such a warm response from successful achievers in life as well as publishers," he adds. 

Encouraged by this, Verma shifted to Chandigarh under the guidance of an acclaimed educationist Dr DD Jyoti, who transformed his life. "My career took off from here. I got a first class in Masters in political Science and Library Science. My books received rave reviews, be it the encyclopedia of abbreviations, the first of its kind in the world so far, or the international dictionary of abbreviations," he informs.

His latest endeavour, "The Young Librarians Bible", is the cumulative result of life-long practical experiences and a treatise on modern library science.

A self-made modest man, Verma also plans to revive his passion for novel writing.

Parag Milk Foods, known for Gowardhan brand of dairy products, has launched Go Cheese - a wide range of cheese made from 100 per cent pure cow milk.

For the first time in India, Go Cheese comes to you in many exciting variations and flavours - from wedges to slices, to powders and spreads, to pizza cheese and shredded mozzarella.

Made in Asia's largest cheese plant, with a capacity of over 40 tons per day, its modern facility with state-of-art technology produces superior quality cheese to international specifications. The cheese wedges are priced at Rs 79 for a 140 gm pack; cheese slices at Rs 50 for 100 gm and the cheese powder at Rs 50 for 50 gms. The pizza Cheese comes at Rs 72 for 200gms. processed Cheese is available at Rs 235 per kg. Cheese spreads, mozzarella cheese and cheddar cheese will also be available shortly. — TNS

Ever belonged to a band? Thought of forming one? Being a part? Anyone who's been there and seen that will nod in agreement; it's more than an excited audience, deafening noise, touring cities and all that. From releasing tracks underground, juggling gigs, shooting videos, to uploading them, city-based rock bands and rap crews are doing it all, all alone, by themselves. Dude, aren't we talking of an exercise in resilience here? 

More often than not, it's an uphill task. Hasn't it always been in the history of music? The likes of Linkin park too, initially limited in resources, began by recording and producing songs within a makeshift bedroom studio. Was it perhaps, the still unnamed Coldplay that would do gigs at local clubs? Laughs puneet Tandon, BCA student, from the rap crew F-Luxx, "Ours was the first rap crew in the city." 

So from spelling hip-hop for people, to telling them what rap is, it obviously wasn't as smooth and uninterrupted a supply as what F-Luxx means. He adds, "When we had to shoot a video for our track based on 26/11, they wouldn't let us get in this under- construction house, so we got in from the roof of a balcony on the back. It took us a week to shoot and we used normal handycams only." So far, they've released ten tracks underground, which is, releasing the stuff not by any mainstream label. 

Musical collaborations are hard to come by, most of the times, it's releasing tracks underground, putting on the net or shooting videos and uploading on Youtube. In almost everything there's a 'Do-It-Yourself' approach to recording and releasing. 

Shares Sharang, the vocalist from Harmonic Friction, city-based four-member band, "Our song Disappear we recorded and put it on Myspace. And we'll be recording a lot this year and releasing them." Most probably, underground? He explains, "The major record labels will not even touch you, one needs to be really very good and convincing, even then that's rare. And even where there are releases, take any music industry, and mostly it's the fledgling artists who'll make the album, shoot the videos at their own expense and then approach the record labels." Something, inevitable in the changed scenario; times when 50,000 copies is the barometer of an ultimate hit as against 10 lakh copies a few years earlier. 

It's the paid gigs, college festivals, Internet that's the main platform now and major source of revenue. Instead of the number of copies sold, it's the number of clicks a track generates that determines the popularity, as also the money. 

Opines Sahil Sarin, from Carrot Fish, three-year old four-member band, "At times, the artistes themselves prefer not going through the labels. Because even when the label releases, they pay you a lump sum, restrict you through a series of terms and conditions, and whatever money you make through touring goes to them." 

Whatever the set-up, there's no stopping from composing, recording, releasing, studio or no studio. Laughs Sahil, "practicing itself was a problem and till the time I had my own home studio, we used to practice in a showroom." He adds, "Then also we used to practice only after 8 pm and then there were things like running into trouble with cops." 

Mention any band and it's a seesaw between being active, dormant, due to holidays and studies, respectively. The jamming sessions too are a result of reschedules, redefining priorities. Chips in Abhijeet, engineering student, vocalist from 'The Stolen Generation', yet another city-based band, whose main influence is Nirvana, "At times, it is difficult, but if you're passionate, there's no problem." The four members make it a point to hold jamming sessions for three-four hours thrice a week. 

He adds, "We performed at Amity, Noida, and we were from among the top 15 bands selected from across the country. And to perform at a Mohali-based fashion institute, we were paid 20 thousand." 

Still, that's not quite enough to take care of the finances. He adds, "We must be having around 20 gigs to our credit, out of which only three-four have been paid." pretty much, likewise, for The 9th Cadaver, heavy, trash, progressive metal band.

Answers Sushant Aggarwal, pEC student; "We have more than 30 gigs to our credit, out of which not many are paid." As Sharang puts it, "For the initial one-and-a-half years, we almost played free at every show or festival. It's only later, after credence of winners, word of mouth publicity, that we started getting paid."

Finances, of course, run the show. Adds Sushant, "My present guitar, not the first one, cost me around 35 thousand and it's almost the same for other equipment." Two of the band members are already in final-year, which could mean it's the crossroads.

As he rightly puts it, "If there were more avenues for artistes, for musicians, not just in India but anywhere else in the world, it'd be easier leaving engineering for music."

Meanwhile Carrot Fish is already set for a reunion tour. "Our drummer is going to be back and we'll be touring, starting with Chandigarh to a couple of colleges in punjab and then there's pubRock Fest in Delhi." He adds, "Everybody has a year of college left, so it's like one more year of producing lots of music." play on! manpriya@tribunemail.com

If you''ve forgotten to charge your ipod and a power plug is nowhere in sight, a simple run could help you get out of the trouble - if new technology being developed is successful. Every step you take can generate electricity. By packing 20,000 nanowires into three square centimeters, Georgia Tech scientists have developed the world''s first gadget powered solely by piezoelectric materials.

A piezoelectric material when pushed or pulled creates a mild electrical charge. Within three to five years piezoeleectric nanowires, woven into a cotton shirt or placed in a shoe heel, could charge a cell phone or laptop battery after even a short walk.

"This is a key step to designing technology that will be useful in the near future," Discovery News quoted Z.L. Wang, a professor at Georgia Tech and co-author of two new papers in Nature Nanotechnology and Advanced Materials, as saying.Wang''s group says piezoelectrics can generate voltages up to 1.26 volts, and can produce even higher voltages.

The team used plentiful and easy-to-manipulate zinc oxide nanowires to come up with their nanogenerator. An individual zinc oxide nanowire is invisible to the human eye, measuring anywhere between 50 and 200 nanometers across and about five microns in length.

Twenty thousand nanowires, placed side-by-side and end-to-end, cover three square centimeters, with two thin electrodes hanging off either end. The arrangement maximizes the electricity the piezoelectric nanowires can generate. The wires work in sync, amplifying the electrical charge to record levels as the single layer is pushed back and forth with the slightest nudge.

pushing the arranged nanowires harder or faster would enhance the power output up to 30 times without damaging the device. And if gallium nitride replaced the cheap zinc oxide nanowires the power output could increase almost 10 times. piezoelectric-powered devices could also help detect fires and collect weather data in areas that are not within the reach of traditional power grids. — ANI

Teenagers on social networking sites such as Facebook and Bebo are using code language to keep their activities private and baffle nosey parents or employers, say researchers. Tricky teenagers say they are 'getting MWI' — getting mad with, instead of writing that they are drunk.Being in a relationship is known as 'taken' or 'Ownageeee', and 'Ridneck', a corruption of redneck, means to feel embarrassed.Girls posting the word 'legal' are secretly saying they are at least 16 years old and legally allowed to have sex.

The teens are using the secret online language to stop parents and employers judging them by their social activities.Lisa Whittaker, a postgraduate student at the University of Stirling, who studied teens aged 16-18 on Bebo in Scotland, said the slang had been created for privacy."Young people often distort the languages they use by making the pages difficult for those unfamiliar with the distortions and colloquialisms," she said.

"The language used on Bebo seems to go beyond abbreviations that are commonly used in text messaging, such as removing all the vowels. "This is not just bad spelling, which would suggest literacy issues, but a deliberate attempt to creatively misspell words."The creation and use of their own social language may be a deliberate attempt to keep adults from understanding what is written on the page,"she added. — ANI