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Executive asserts itself
Maximum shame |
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Avoidable tamasha
Ceasefire violations
Monkey business
Slice of intelligence
A half-baked Job(s)
Action time
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Executive asserts itself
The Union Cabinet took two important decisions on Thursday which give the impression of the executive flexing its muscles. Moving an amendment to the Representation of the People's Act the government plans to reverse the Supreme Court's recent verdict disqualifying convicted legislators. Since there is a political consensus on the issue the amendment will get through Parliament easily. The second decision provides for a judicial appointments commission which gives a greater say to the executive in top-level judicial selections. If both momentous measures are approved by Parliament, there is a possibility a judiciary-executive standoff, which should be avoided. The Chief Justice of India has publicly defended the collegium system of appointments, which the government intends to do away with. On July 10 the Supreme Court had ruled that MPs and MLAs would stand disqualified on conviction and barred them from contesting elections if under arrest. The proposed amendment says they will not be disqualified from the membership of a legislature on conviction but lose their right to vote, salary, perks and privileges. Political parties had feared the implication of leaders in false cases close to elections by their rivals in power. While this possibility cannot be ruled out, the larger issue of cleansing politics of criminals, which the Supreme Court had tried to address, still remains unless political parties on their own vow not to field shady characters, which appears unlikely. It is true the collegium system is far from perfect and there is a scope for improvement. There is no transparency. The appointment and conduct of some of the judges have raised eyebrows. But the credibility of the executive itself is suspect. Whether having a judicial appointments commission in its proposed form is the solution requires a wider debate, especially in the judiciary and Parliament. The coming together of otherwise squabbling political parties on these crucial issues makes it all the more necessary. The Constitution and apex court judgments over the years have built and nurtured a fine balance between the judiciary, the executive and the legislature, which should be respected while carrying out reforms. |
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Maximum shame
These are no more aberrations. Incidents of rape-in big cities, small towns, tourist places, schools and colleges — are growing. What is shocking is not only the growing graph of crimes against women but the intensity of brutality involved. Rapists behave like a pack of hounds, targeting women with indescribable acts of violence. Even Mumbai, considered to be safe for its independent working women, is not spared. The gang rape of a photojournalist in the Lower Parel area of the city has revived memories of the shame that the Nirbhaya case had brought to the country in December last. The 22-year-old victim, accompanied by a male friend for the photo shoot of a dilapidated building, is now fighting for life in Jaslok hospital. Such cases are becoming a routine, casting a shadow of fear on the hard-earned independence of women in this country. Of the five suspects in the Mumbai gang rape case, two had burglary cases against them and were known to be drug addicts. How come the police did not keep track of them? Secondly, the rape took place at around 6 in the evening, when roads are crowded. Even though two suspects are arrested, these crimes reflect growing irreverence for justice and punishment. The timing of this crime couldn't have been worse. As though, the shame of the Mumbai gang rape was not enough to underline the deteriorating law and order situation, a Chicago university student, who was in India last summer, posted a horrifying account of her encounters with India's growing breed of molesters and rapists on CNN iReport. These men stalked and groped; her sexual harassment reached a point that the 23-year-old was forced to take leave from her school for post-traumatic stress disorder. Her post received 80,0000 page views. Women across the world struck a chord with what she experienced — India may be a tourist's heaven, it is a woman's hell! |
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Avoidable tamasha
Another year, another series of unseemly controversies over the national sports awards - must sport endure this tamasha every 12 months like a recurring nightmare? Every year, July and August turn into a silly season of Indian sport, rife with speculation in the media, and lobbying by athletes and coaches to be named on the lists of the Khel Ratna, Arjuna and Dronacharya awards. This year the greatest dissent and drama was caused by one acclaimed discus thrower asserting that she deserved the Khel Ratna. It turned ugly as she and one selection committee member took potshots at each other publicly. It did not help, for the lists did not change, and the original choice for the Khel Ratna stood. Without going into the merits of individual cases, it must be asserted that the lobbying for these awards devalues them, robs sport of dignity and mars the reputation of sportspersons. These awards are supposed to honour and reward achievers and encourage aspirants. Is it really required? The government provides facilities and infrastructure (often of quality which needs to be improved) to sportspersons; it also gives them employment so that they could focus on sport without worrying about their livelihood; it also gives cash awards to winners of medals in international events like the Olympics, Asian Games and the Commonwealth Games. Are the yearly national awards, then, absolutely necessary, especially if they are almost always controversial? It needs to be debated. Maybe such a debate could help in the formulation of some objective criteria to give these awards. For instance, it might be useful to introduce a points system to evaluate an athlete's eligibility. For instance, the highest number of points could be awarded to a medal at the Olympics and the World Championship, followed by points for less stiff competitions like Asian Games or Commonwealth Games. Multiple medal-winners in smaller competitions could be given bonus points. This way, winners of awards could be identified without them having to apply and lobby, a practice that disgraces sport. |
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The surest way to make a monkey of a man is to quote him. — Robert Benchley |
Ceasefire violations
After the return to power, Nawaz Sharif had in his initial utterances given some hope that the relations between India and Pakistan would normalise. Subsequent events, however, have belied this hope. The series of ceasefire violations on the Line of Control (LoC), particularly in the Kashmir sector, have not ended. If anything they are occurring in more crucial areas like Kargil which were free from such infringements for quite some time. After visiting Siachen, where a number of Pakistani soldiers got entrapped in an avalanche and died, Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani said that all issues with India and Pakistan should be resolved in a peaceful manner so that the two countries could focus on development and public welfare. But the repeated firing across the LoC by the Pakistani Army does not support this impression any more. India's Army Chief, Gen. Bikram Singh, has said, after visiting Jammu and Kashmir, that Pakistan Army personnel were responsible for all these LoC violations. He also revealed that ceasefire violations had gone up in the last few years. While there were 61 violations in 2011, there were as many as117 LoC violations in 2012. This year as many as 82 violations had already taken place till August 6. Many of these LoC violations by the Pak Army were meant to facilitate infiltration of Pakistan terrorists into Jammu and Kashmir. It was revealed that 2,000 to 3,000 trained terrorists were in camps in the PoK area waiting to be pushed into Kashmir. The interrogation of Abdul Karim Tunda, after being handed over by the Nepalese authorities, has yielded a wealth of information to the Indian intelligence agencies about terrorists operating out of Pakistan. Tunda, a native of Ghaziabad district in U.P., went over to Pakistan and became a jehadi. He had some basic knowledge of bomb-making but it improved considerably after his training in Pakistan. Tunda has revealed that Dawood Ibrahim lives in his palatial house in Karachi and is protected by the ISI. Tunda has also revealed linkages of the ISI with other terrorist outfits such as Jaish-e-Mohammad, Lashkar-e-Taiba and Markaz-al-Dawa. The ISI continues to give shelter and assist Sikh extremist outfits such as Babbar Khalsa International and Khalistani forces operated by Lakhweer Singh Rode, Jagtar Singh Tara, etc. Some of the Sikh extremist groups are operating out of Germany and some other countries in Europe, but most of them are based in Pakistan and are being hosted and brainwashed by the ISI. Tunda has further revealed that Babbar Khalsa had plans to carry out bombings in India around the Independence Day. Tunda also disclosed that he had met Hafiz Saeed and Zaki-Ur-Rehman Lakhvi, who continued to be active with the ISI. Apart from Lashkar-e-Taiba, the ISI also promoted Hizbul Mujahideen, headed by Syed Salahuddin, operating out of Lahore. Yet another revelation made by Tunda was that most wanted persons who participated in the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, such as Majors Samir Ali and Iqbal were regularly called for briefing by the ISI. A more important revelation made by Tunda was that he was attached to Hamid Gul, a former ISI chief, who continued to live in Lahore with ISI patronage. The attachment took place in 1995 and continued till 2008 at least. Another disclosure was that the ISI was consistently pushing counterfeit Indian currency notes through various channels into India. Large amounts of such counterfeit notes were given to Tunda, who sometimes travelled with suitcases prepared and given to him by the ISI for passing them on to Indian contacts. That Pakistan was indulging in this type of economic warfare by pushing in huge amounts of counterfeit currency notes was known to Indian intelligence agencies for quite some time and Tunda's statement confirms that. After consistent pressure from India, Pakistan had said that it would take action against those involved in the 26/11 bombings of Mumbai. Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi was one of them. The prosecution, however, has made no headway. The Pakistan Supreme Court had recently directed that a batch of jurists would like to interrogate the Indian witnesses in the Mumbai bombings of 26/11, 2008, and they should be facilitated to proceed to India and question the witnesses so as to verify all the facts of the case. Whether such a meeting in India is possible is not clear. However, it would be a better idea to arrange such a meeting after getting the necessary clearance from the judiciary. It would at least deny the opportunity to Pakistan to come out with the excuse that India did not co-operate in making available crucial witnesses in the Mumbai bombings for discussion by Pakistan jurists. It has been reported that the Prime Minister of Pakistan recently ordered to suspend all hangings which included a large number of terrorists and jihadists. The reason and the motive behind these suspensions are not clear. Nawaz Sharif has expressed keenness to meet Dr Manmohan Singh in New York in the last of week of September when the Indian Prime Minister, after meeting Barrack Obama, will address the UN General Assembly. The meeting between the two Prime Ministers has not been confirmed yet. Foreign Minister Salman Khurshid has also stated that repeated Pakistan aggression on the LoC did not augur well for the prime-ministerial meeting. Given the ISI protection and patronage of terrorist outfits, it is doubtful whether the Pakistani Army would play ball in resolving Pakistan's differences with India. Nawaz Sharif has asserted the superiority of the civil authorities over the Army in the course of his earlier utterances after getting elected as Prime Minister. If so, his failure to check the Pakistan Army's repeated firing across the LoC on Indian posts is difficult to comprehend. Taking into account all these facts, and also the latest inputs from Tunda's interrogation, it is not clear whether Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif knows all this or not. The Pakistan Army and the ISI are very much hostile to India and continue to activate its operatives to indulge in hostile activities in
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Monkey business
Like all sagacious kings, the lion knew that fires, disturbances and epidemics know no borders. He had been particularly perturbed to read about the affairs of ‘humandom’. Sexual assaults on women had plagued the society like an epidemic, and deeply concerned about the welfare of his kingdom he had summoned the fox, his trusted adviser, and the wolf, in-charge of internal security. Seeing them enter, he muttered, “Greetings! Vixen and wolf”, as they both stood humbled in his presence. “Tell me about the provision of rape, its consequences and punishment in the Jungle Penal Code”, said the king. “Rape? You mean sexual assault on females?”, the fox questioned, a bit bewildered. Then racking her brains said, “We have never had any such incident and looked at the wolf, who was by now nodding his head vigorously in assent. “What? You mean animals do not indulge in assaults?” said the king, a bit unbelievingly. “No, animals do assault the others for food and, if you remember, you had introduced a benevolent scheme ‘Prahar for Aahar’ (assault for food only) and since then animals have scrupulously adhered to it. We animals understand that sexual desires are a part of nature’s endowment to procreate. All of us have distinct ways to win over our ladies’ affections and never do we violate laws of courtship.” “Courtship?” the king quizzed. The fox suppressed a chuckle and pulled out a dictionary. Courtship means ‘to be involved with romantically, typically with the intention of marrying’, and creatures of animal kingdom exhibit unique behaviours while courting their mates, spawning bewildering array of rituals and display of exhibitionism. Hippo males fling their faeces, humpback whales sing and leap above the ocean surface, spiders and peacocks dance. Female eagles take a twig to the highest level and throw it for the male to retrieve it repeating it time and again till they are convinced of the suitors’ intentions and lions ... “She looked at the king who by now had a distant look in his eyes and was absent-mindedly twirling his whiskers recalling his dalliances with the prettiest lioness, now a mother to four cubs. The fox smiled understandingly and continued, “The thing to be understood is that we respect our females and their wishes and acknowledge their status. There is thus no question of violating her person against her desires. The only animals who are known to disobey this law are the simians, and I read somewhere that humans have evolved from them”, she said almost in a hushed tone, and continued, “Even the monkeys are ashamed of humans' monkeying around and disclaim any prehistoric connection with them.” “Can't it all be stopped?”, asked the king. “Not until the men in ‘humandom’ respect their women, and accept their equal status. Till then this ho-hum and monkey business will go on.” As the entire truth dawned on the king, he sighed and said, “I wish humans would emulate us and understand that nature intended a harmonious relationship of both sexes based on love and mutual respect.” His gaze then settled adoringly at the lioness, giving hunting lessons to the
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CINEMA: NEW Releases RATINGS: ***** Excellent ****Very Good ***Good I **Average *Poor
Slice of intelligence
Let's admit it. Only a brave director like Shoojit Sircar could have dared to make a film like this. Coming as it does after the stupendous success of Vicky Donor, only a director driven by courage of conviction could have the gumption to walk into choppy waters. So if his previous film was a wholesome entertainer with a relevant message, here is one that delves into very ticklish yet no less significant issue. Of course, when fact marries fiction the end result often is never fully satisfying. So is the case with Madras Café. After all which two-hour film can elucidate and explain the Tamil cause in Sri Lanka without pitfalls. However, to be fair Shoojit has not taken any sides. No the LTTE leader (here shown as LTF head) doesn't come across as a demon, only a man possessed by his beliefs and ideology. In fact, rather cleverly Shoojit while building a precursor to Rajiv Gandhi's assassination has not dwelt too much on building the individual personas of either the Tamil tigers or the assassins. Without a doubt this is thinking man's cinema (with a whole lot of dialogues in English, especially those spoken by Fakhri, and the datelines) that commands and demands all your attention. Miss one sequence and the plot, which anyway is quite an entangled web, is lost on you. Clocking just over two hours, the pace leaves little room for complaint. Events happen one after another...enjoining history, drama, intrigue and action...letting neither get the better of the other. If the film stops way short of becoming a documentary, it also gives the Bollywood formula a complete miss. However, where the film slips is that one fails to fully comprehend the angst of its key protagonist Vikram, otherwise played remarkably well by John Abraham. All other actors, be it Nargis Fakhri as the London-based war journalist or Rashi Khanna as a concerned wife, slip into their parts credibly and with consummate ease. The pleasant surprise here is Siddarth Basu in a key role of RAW chief. But then Shooijt has often brought out the hidden talent of gems not really known for acting. If eminent costume designer Dolly Ahluwalia Tewari walked into our hearts with her cameo in Vicky Donor, here one can easily say kudos to Basu, the famous quiz master and now owner of a production house. In fact, nowhere can you pick bones with Shoojit on detailing of his background, research and characters. Even though he has changed the names of actual flesh and blood people, the uncanny resemblance to the real ones says it all. The film, of course, doesn't say anything overtly. There are no forceful messages here. Yes, indeed the moment of Rajiv's assassination (here he is referred to first as PM and later as ex-PM) is unsettling. Equally disturbing are the images of civilians caught in the crossfire of destruction. But there is no direct moralising or preaching here. One line by John, "We lost our Prime Minster and Sri Lankan Tamils their future," sums it best. The facts that scroll in the end encapsulate the human tragedy that ended as ingloriously as it lasted in brutal bloodbath and add to the serious tenor, which is actually set the moment the credits roll in the beginning. Watch it. You must…if cinema does not automatically mean entertainment to you. Sans unwanted flab or extra dose of romance here is a reflection of how Hindi cinema is changing fast. For good and better and casting a snook at the commerce of 100-crore clubs. Inane masala can take a walk. Here intelligence reigns. By way of both RAW and grey matter...so why not tickle your brain this time. |
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A half-baked Job(s)
Joshua (Swing vote) Michael Stern's attempted biopic of Steve Jobs is revealing no doubt but also ineffective and unsatisfying. The narrative jumps though several of Jobs landmark years in its attempts to cover the first 20 tumultuous years of Apple's development, while depicting the life of one of the 20th century's great innovators. The film doesn't have a new perception to showcase nor does it set any precedents for style or content. The film attempts to trace the Apple co-founder's career from his early years beginning from the Palo Alto garage origin to his rise as one of the computing industry's most admired innovators. Stern and screenwriter Matt Whiteley present an intimate and near negative portrait of a driven, deeply complex man who dedicated his life to revolutionising the way we use computers. The film's plot basically focuses on the key moments that drove Jobs' success and the conversations that made him a controversial figure. Visually, Kutcher is quite a neat fit for Jobs but his performance doesn't bring in any empathy to the effort. He perfects the look and walk but forgets to get into the skin of his character and that is quite a huge deficit for a film that tries to bring to life an iconic character of modern history. Only Josh Gad's performance as Wozniaki touches you at some level. The rest of the performers merely go though the motions effecting the look but not the feel of their impersonated personas. The lack of drama in the narrative and the unflattering treatment compound the issue further. Not a satisfying experience this! |
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Action time
The first part wasn't released in India due to its shocking content but Kick-Ass 2 has managed to come through the censor board. Kick-Ass Dave (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) has his heroic exploits to thank for the city-wide wave of mass vigilantes raising the ante to clean-up the streets. So, it's not long before he joins the league of crime busters. But a formidable challenge from the vengeful Red Mist (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) changes the equation and violence erupts all over.
This sequel, written and directed by Jeff (Never Back Down) Wadlow, basically seeks to impress with gruesome action and shocking verbiage. This film is definitely not of the same quality as the first. The shock value is down by a whole yard and the action is not much further away. The only good thing here is the character development. The humour is passable and the performances quite likeable too. Chloe Moretz does a great job and so do Aaron Johnson and Jim Carrey. |
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Movies on tv
Saturday august 24 Sleepless in Seattle is an American romantic comedy film directed and co-written by Nora Ephron. Based on a story by Jeff Arch, it stars Tom Hanks as Sam Baldwin and Meg Ryan as Annie Reed. The film was inspired by the 1957 film An Affair to Remember and used both its theme song and clips from the film in critical scenes. The climactic meeting at the top of the Empire State Building is a reference to a reunion between Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr in An Affair to Remember that fails to happen because the Kerr character is struck by a car while en route. At one point, some of the characters discuss Affair, with Sam commenting "that's a chick's movie". ZEE CINEMA INDIA TALKIES ZEE CLASSIC ZEE STUDIO STAR MOVIES MOVIES OK STAR GOLD ZEE ACTION Sunday august 25 Om Shanti Om is a romantic-reincarnation film directed and choreographed by Farah Khan. It stars Shah Rukh Khan and Deepika Padukone in the lead roles while Arjun Rampal, Shreyas Talpade, and Kirron Kher feature in supporting roles. More than forty-two well-known Bollywood stars appear in the course of the film, including thirty of them (not including the stars of the film) in one song alone. ZEE CINEMA INDIA TALKIES 6:00AM Pinjar 9:30AM Shriman Shrimati 1:00PM Aa Dekhen Zara 4:30PM Mela 8:00PM Veer ZEE STUDIO STAR MOVIES ZEE CLASSIC MOVIES OK STAR GOLD FILMY ZEE ACTION |
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The film takes off from India's involvement in the ethnic strife, the sending of the IPKF to Sri Lanka and encapsulates the cycle of events through the eyes of intelligence agent Army officer Vikram (John Abraham). 
The film appears choppy and leaves a lot to be desired, not because of any editing issues but because the Jobs' story according to Stern and Whitely is just a bunch of events without the logic behind the decision making that led to it. The filmmakers follow the rise and development that fails to draw you in completely. Starting with 2001 when Jobs is shown as introducing the iPod to thunderous applause, the narrative flashbacks into the past showing Jobs setting up his start-up in the garage with Wozniaki and a few other friends and then moving big-time with Apple Inc. His fall from grace is also chronicled as is his eventual rise back into the echelons of history. But it's all done without much empathy or understanding and leaves you unaffected and unimpressed by what transpires on screen. 
It's now up to Mindy/Hit Girl (Chloë Grace Moretz) who is about to graduate high school, to get back into her uniform and perform her daring-dos.
Sleepless in Seattle
Om Shanti Om