|
|
|
|
|
Political alliances crumble No meaningful roles |
|
|
Challenges before new ISI chief
Words with common affixes and roots
CINEMA: NEW Releases Ungodly affair
Two boring!
|
Political alliances crumble The
making or breaking of a political alliance is often described in marriage-divorce terms in the media. The Shiv Sena and the BJP seat-sharing talks in Maharashtra broke on Thursday. Whether the separation ends up in divorce remains to be seen. Post-poll, the alliance could be revived. The Shiv Sena has its list of grouses. The party's pride was hurt when it was given just one ministry at the Centre, and that too an insignificant one like Heavy Industries. As Prime Minister, Modi visited Mumbai twice, yet did not meet Uddhav Thackeray. BJP minister Nitin Gadkari, on the other hand, hobnobbed with his rival, Raj Thackeray. The bypoll setbacks to the BJP hardened the Shiv Sena stand. Who Maharashtra's next Chief Minister would be was another divisive issue. The BJP did not seem to attach much importance to the ally as it deployed a B-team for negotiations. The party believes Modi's popularity is intact and will help it form a government on its own in Maharashtra and Haryana, where too it has dumped a prospective partner like the Haryana Janhit Congress. The better-than-expected Lok Sabha poll outcome has made BJP leaders confident - some say arrogant — and led them to change their tone. The effect on the SAD-BJP relationship in Punjab is all too visible. The party is perhaps preparing to achieve its long-term goal of capturing and staying in power by expanding its base, particularly in states where it has a limited presence. The Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party have also drifted apart after ruling Maharashtra for 15 years, resulting in the resignation of Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan on Friday evening. The two carry an anti-incumbency burden. Apparently not very keen to save the alliance, the Congress unilaterally released a list of its candidates. After scams and the May poll debacle, the party was no longer treated as a senior partner by the NCP, which wanted the Chief Minister's post for half the term apart from an equal number of seats. The Congress-NCP split has made it a multi-cornered — and less predictable — contest in
Maharashtra.
|
|
No meaningful roles A UN-sponsored global study of popular films across the world has rated India at the top for the sexualisation of women characters and their under-representation in powerful roles. Hindi cinema revolves around men — lawyers, judges, policemen, army men, politicians, engineers, gangsters and bankers -- while women appear as distractive eye candies. Even as teachers, students or nurses, they play stereotyped roles under their painstakingly manufactured sex appeal. Gender stereotyping is perhaps the best logical explanation behind the timeless popularity of “Sholay”, a blockbuster of the 70s. While the two male leads of this cult film were macho, adventurous, flirtatious and heroic, of the two female leads one was talkative and dumb, the other was self-denying and mute. The stereotyping of women characters has become more pronounced since “Sholay”. For pure commercial reasons the noble, approval-seeking, mute woman has quietly taken an exit and the new entrant in her place is an item girl who is bold enough to drop her clothes as well as morals. All this, the industry claims, is done for the commercial success of a film. If film production is capital intensive and needs the spice of feminine sex appeal to get returns on investment, why do film industries across the world not resort to the trick? An item girl proves effective as part of the fantasy building machinery for an aspiring audience as much as a sprawling bungalow, a big car and the six-pack figure of its hero. An abysmally low number of female producers in India is another reason for the insensitivity towards women characters. Against the global average of 22.7 per cent, Indian film industry has only 15.2 per cent female producers. The gender ratio of other professionals working behind camera comes to 6.2 males to every one female for Hindi cinema. All this can change if Bollywood comes to be known for the mettle of its women directors, script writers and film technicians, and not just for its heroines doubling up as item girls.
|
||
|
Thought for the Day
If you do not change direction, you may end up where you are heading.
— Lao Tzu
|
||
India and the Empire HIS Highness the Aga Khan, whose interview with the "Pall Mall Gazette" has been cabled to India, has most correctly represented Indian feeling towards the British Empire. The people and the Government are absolutely unanimous about the defence of the Empire and the sacrifices to be made willingly to that end. There is not the slightest exaggeration in this view which is also corroborated by Englishmen on the spot. His Highness remarked that if 70,000 soldiers from India are insufficient and if a demand for more is made, then India will send 700,000 if not 7,000,000. What are seven millions among a nation of 315 millions if only their strength and resources are fully understood? The Government have only to give the necessary training to those who are anxious to enlist themselves for the army, in order to tap the unlimited resources of India. That the British Empire has in India a source of magnificent strength against which no enemy can stand is a truth which is just dawning upon the public mind in Britain.
The closing of wells A PETITION of protest signed by about 25,000 citizens of Bombay City was considered partly at a meeting of the Bombay Corporation last week with reference to the policy of closing down the wells. The Corporation apparently finds itself placed between two extremes, the sanitary and medical experts ranged on one side and the people on the other. The latter are supported by a few sanitary and medical authorities who are not convinced that the policy of closing wells will in any way improve the health of the city, but it creates inconveniences and hardships which the Corporation cannot remedy. With the closing of wells, the scarcity of water would become more acute.
|
Challenges before new ISI chief Lt
Gen Rizwan Akhtar has been appointed the new Director General of Pakistan's Inter Services Intelligence (ISI), replacing Lt Gen Zaheer ul Islam, who will retire in November. Given the ongoing political struggle in Islamabad and stories of conspiracy within the establishment against Nawaz Sharif, the appointment of a new ISI chief is likely to elicit interest and questions not only within Pakistan, but also in India. Will the new ISI chief work with the Prime Minister, as he is constitutionally required to, or remain an extension of the GHQ? More than an analysis of his background - military, ethnic and others -- what needs to be addressed are the enormous challenges facing him, and the institution he will take over. Unlike Lt Gen Shuja Pasha, there has been no extension for General Islam. General Pasha in effect got two extensions. Though for Gen Raheel Sharif, this is the first "appointment" of his ISI chief, for Nawaz, it is not the case. In fact, his earlier appointment of Gen Ziauddin Butt in 1999 ended up as a disaster for both. Following the coup led by Musharraf, both ended up in jail. This time, from the way it has happened, one could surmise that Nawaz Sharif did not want to intervene in selecting the new ISI chief. Though technically, ISI chiefs are appointed by the Prime Minister, the latter seldom has a choice. It has always been the recommendation, to be precise, choice of the Army Chief. In this case, instead of sending a panel of three names, Gen Raheel Sharif gave only one name, thereby not providing any space for the Prime Minister to choose. That the announcement of the appointment came from the ISI public relations, rather than the Prime Minister's Office, also underlines the point. Given the recent political crises, controversies and conspiracies, Nawaz Sharif is less likely to assert himself. The ongoing political crisis led by Imran Khan and Tahirul Qadri and the "container" protest in Islamabad have weakened Sharif. He was much more confident and in a better political position after his election in 2013 and when he selected General Sharif as the COAS to succeed General Kayani in November 2013. In fact, Nawaz then was confident enough to "choose" Gen Raheel Sharif, superseding two senior Generals - Lt Gen Haroon Aslam and Lt Gen Rashad Mahmood. The former had to resign, while the latter was appointed Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee. Also, there have been reports about a conspiracy against Nawaz Sharif within the establishment, where senior Generals were believed to have pressured General Sharif to take over. True or exaggerated, such reports have already caused panic within the PML-N; the latter is also believed to have succumbed to a deal with the military, abrogating decision-making powers on crucial issues. Hence, the first challenge for the new ISI chief will be to create an impression that he is apolitical and is willing to work with the government, and not against it. The recent record of the ISI-civilian government relationship should be a concern to both. During the tenure of Prime Minister Gilani, there was a short-lived but adventurous effort to bring the ISI under the effective control of the elected government. The much-debated "Memogate" incident also highlights the efforts by the previous government to curb the influence of the ISI. But the ISI and the military have thwarted any such attempts so far. The second challenge for the new ISI chief is to handle relations with the Taliban and related entities - Al-Qaida, TTP, Punjabi Taliban, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, Lashkar-e-Toiba etc. The ongoing military strikes against the TTP demand that the ISI work against neutralising the Pakistani Taliban. However, the long-term interests in Afghanistan, as defined by the establishment, will require that the ISI work closely with the Afghan Taliban. Even many within Pakistan criticise this duplicity and perceive it as the primary source of their contemporary ills. Will the new chief strike a balance? In the Indo-Pakistan context, one is less likely to see any major shift in the ISI's approach and its linkages with Lashkar-e-Toiba. They will remain the same, irrespective of the new ISI chief. The third challenge for the new ISI chief is to repair the image of the ISI within Pakistan. From the killing of Syed Shahzad in 2011 to the attack on Hamid Mir early this year, there has been a steady decline of the ISI's stature within Pakistan. What started as a muted criticism after the killing of Shahzad, got blown up after the attempted assassination of Hamid Mir, a senior TV anchor with Geo News. Both Mir and his employer, Geo News, directly and indirectly blamed the ISI for the attempt. In fact, the entire media in Pakistan got divided on the issue and also brought to the fore linkages between journalists and the ISI. What was once seen as a holy cow and beyond criticism or considered sacrosanct has been discussed in public. Never in its history has the ISI faced such a critique by civilians. The new chief will have to protect this space and keep the ISI above public debate. The primary issue is not whether the new ISI chief is a professional solider, or an appointee of the COAS or the Prime Minister. Nor is the issue whether he is from a particular ethnic background, or has commanded a particular Corps, or attended a particular course. Both the COAS and the DG-ISI will have to take care of the interests and core demands of their respective institutions; hence they may not be able to completely change the outlook and objectives. Institutions all over the world have a mind of their own; leaders, however apolitical they remain, may not be able to completely change the institutional expectations and pathways. Lt Gen Rizwan Akhtar is also likely to be led by the institution that he has been appointed to lead. The institution will guide its driver to navigate. Unlike Parliament and political parties, institutions are more important than individuals as far as the ISI and the military are concerned. That is why the latter is strong and the former is weak. The writer is the Director, Institute of Peace and
Conflict Studies, New Delhi
|
||
Words with common affixes and roots “All meanings, we know, depend on the key of interpretation.” — George Eliot 1. In retrospect, I think we made a blunder in nominating Charulata as the company's spokesperson. The prefix “retro-”, when combined with roots like “fit”, “grade” and “active”, adds new words such as “retrofit”, “retrograde” and “retroactive” to the English diction. If aware of the meaning of “retro-” (back or backwards), we can interpret the meaning of several words formed with it. Decoding unknown words by referring to their affixes or roots is a key strategy in reading comprehension skills. 2. Those maladjusted in society need special care. “Mal-” (bad or incorrect) gives us words like “malnutrition”, “malfunction” and “malodorous”, all with negative associations. English has an enormous bank of vocabulary and learning even a part of it calls for careful planning. Making sets of words sharing the same combining forms facilitates the learning process. 3. Many bakery businesses take off from home kitchens. In “bakery”, the suffix “-ery” indicates a location. While it forms words of location like “refinery”, “nursery” and “nunnery”, the suffix “-ery” also combines with “drudge” and “slave” to coin “drudgery” and “slavery” describing conditions. In addition to meeting semantic needs, at times the suffix “-ery” also fulfills grammatical needs within sentences. In “They bake their bread every morning in the bakery”, “bake” functions as a verb and “bakery” as a noun to meet the structural requirements of the sentence. 4. Delaying marriage does not mean one is a misogamist. A “misogamist” is one who hates marriage. The word brings together two different roots: “misein” which means to hate and “gam” which refers to marriage. Along with “misogamist” the root “misein” also gives us “misanthrope” (one who hates mankind) and “misogynist” (one who hates women). Besides “misogamist”, “gam” gives us “monogamy” (married to one person) and “polygamy” (married to many). Shared roots can certainly prompt some guess work on our part to get the meaning right. Specified as an IndE (Indian English) informal usage, “prepone” has made its way into the eighth edition of Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. Perhaps those credited with coining “prepone” found it to be a perfect antonym to “postpone” on account of their semantic and structural similarities. But it is important to remember that the two have no prior connection. Memorising long lists of words to develop vocabulary can be a daunting task for those appearing for various entrance exams. Grouping words with common affixes or roots is a practical way of committing those words to memory.
|
||
CINEMA: NEW Releases Film: Balwinder Singh Famous Ho Gaya Singer-actors are a norm in Pollywood and the journey of Indian cinema began with singers doubling up as actors. So you can't hold grudges against these two talented singers, Mika Singh and Shaan, for nursing acting ambitions. Yet, as these two known names are 'introduced' on the silver screen, how you wish they had chosen a better script in sync with their strengths and not
weaknesses! But as things exist, the film in which both the singers share more than a name, Balwinder, plays on a pitch that is weak, weaker and weakest. The title is grossly misleading. Nah, this is no tale of strugglers who find their place under the sun in sapno ki nagri Mumbai. Rather, here we encounter two overgrown adults who first compete for a room, for a while for a girl and finally a rich grandpa. While most of the screen time is wasted in their insipid bickering, and un-amusing tomfoolery, on the side we meet the rich tycoon played by no less than Anupam Kher. It so unfurls that he lost his son and daughter-in-law in a car accident where his grandson was abducted by a woman some 25 years ago. His name (grandson's, silly, not grandfather's), you guessed it right was Balwinder and no prizes for guessing the rest of the story line. Predictability, of course, has been the bane of many a film. But as long as they kept you engaged, you have forgiven them for going down the same path. However, here, as the film and its lead actors go in circles to establish who the real heir is, what you get is a concoction that's as convoluted as singularly unfunny. Sure, the film tries several tricks to tickle us. On the table also are men dressed up as women. Yawn, yawn. Well, well if Sajid Khan couldn't succeed in making us laugh with the pretty ladies he made out of Saif and Ritesh in a disaster called Humshakals, can you expect director Sunil Agnihotri to achieve the impossible? More so when he has at hand raw material that comes by the name of Vindoo Dara Singh, Rajpal Yadav and company. Actually, all attempts to elicit laughter transform into painful guffaws. The only redeeming feature that the film can boast of is that it finally does come to an end. When Shaan says on public demand, for the sake of the next show, they can't go on with whether the two Balwinders do get famous, you can't help but sigh — thank god for small mercies. To be honest, even if brutally so, this is one of the films that not only defies review but also the saying, 'all is well that ends well.' So we sum it up in two words — eminently avoidable. After this statutory warning, in case you are still interested in the histrionic ability of its singer actors, here it goes. To begin with, Shaan does seem to be comfortable in his acting skin, but soon begins to jar. While Mika with his pronounced Punjabi accent chooses not to act at all, will someone please tell Shaan ——contorting faces and rolling eyes is not acting by any stretch of imagination. The Brazilian beauty Gabriela Bertante is ‘no more no less’ than eye candy. Despite a double role of sorts and umpteen songs to which she gyrates, she fails to add any fizz to the flattened fare. The only actor whose energy is palpable is Raj Pal Yadav, but he too drowns in the inane script and tasteless humour. Try as hard as you can, you can't drown any of your sorrows in this miserable tale where music by Mika is as uninspiring as the film. Need we add, Mika ji, who by the way is also one of the producers, save your hard-earned money for better things?
|
||
|
Ungodly affair Film: 3 AM Here’s a horror film trying to get a rise through the Paranormal Activity ploy. Sunny (Rannvijay) and Sara (Anindita Nayyar) are live-in lovers who get engaged at a party the same night that she sets out on her own to investigate some paranormal activities at Rudra Mills compound without her miniature copy of the Bhagwad Gita. The next morning she is found hanging from a projectile at the abandoned mill and Sunny, heart-broken, is driven to drink. Conveniently enough, he becomes fanciful, dreaming up nightmares while his two friends, also colleagues at a channel specialising in reality TV, Raj (Kavin Dave) and Cyrus (Salil Acharya) serve him with a tiffin everyday since Sara's death. One fine day he opens the door to a new idea and gets his friends and his boss to back it. To implement it, they must conduct live recordings of paranormal activities at Rudra Mills. The resultant spooks and scares appear terribly contrived and pitiful. Inexplicably locked-up doors, moving incandescent orbs, shadows of bodies walking past, humans flung across and dashed against walls, demonic possessions and what have you, make you want to laugh out loud at the sheer lack of effort in trying to build either an atmosphere or believability for that matter. The 3 am mumbo-jumbo explanation at the start is in sync with what follows — totally off-track fantasy bromance that doesn't have any idea about its true calling. Rannvijay puts in some strong effort and conviction, Kavin Dave can't help but be funny, Salil Acharya tries hard to make it chilling and Anindita pretties-up the scenario. But, it's all wrong for this spineless cocktail of missed opportunities and ambivalent intentions. Don't go into this looking for scares…you would do better to prepare yourself for some lacerating swipes at your funny bone!
|
||
|
Two boring! Film: Two Night Strand
A
few decades ago there was a delightful romantic comedy called Where Were You When the Lights Were Out? which dealt with that historic power failure in New York city. Two Night Stand is also set in the Big Bad Apple and here it is a snowstorm that halts the town, but this one is a far cry from the earlier and can hardly be mentioned in the same breath. It is also an indication of the steep fall in Hollywood fare. When cute Megan (Analeigh Tiipton) is refused entry into a night club where her room-mate Faiza (Jesica Szohr) and her boy-friend Cedric (Scott Mescudi) visit, she's at a loose end and on a gut feeling decides to go on a blind date. The guy in question is an enigmatic banker Alec (Miles Teller). But the date is quite a let-down. There's too much of talk and little action. Alec very nearly tells Megan to "hold thy tongue and let me love." Lines like "women are most honest when they are faking it" and "guys like to do it with the lights on"…are few and far between. Most of it is banal and boring, thanks to Mark Hammer's unimaginative script. Director Max Nichols adds to this so-called romantic comedy by his sketchy handling. Jessica Szohr and Scott Mescudi could have been given more mileage and even though the fare is just 82 minutes, it seems unduly stretched. Whatever acting talent there is must have fallen to the floor of the editing room. True it is a cast of unknowns, but even unknowns later become big stars. Not these! Honest advice: Steer clear of this disaster.
|
|
Sunday, September 27
9:00PM movies now MOVIES NOW &PICTURES CINEMA TV HBO INDIA TALKIES MOVIES OK STAR GOLD Saturday, September 28 9:45aM star gold STAR GOLD &PICTURES HBO INDIA TALKIES MOVIES OK STAR MOVIES ZEE CLASSIC
|
||
|
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Letters | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
Lt
Singer
It
Kick is an action thriller film, directed and produced by Sajid Nadiadwala under the Nadiadwala Grandson Entertainment banner. The film features Salman Khan in the lead role, with Jacqueline Fernandez.