Shah Rukh sings to Deepika: Boyfriend ka naam bolo
Actress Deepika Padukone is Queen Bee of Bollywood right now. She had a 100 crore hat-trick last year with Yeh Jawani Hai Deewani, Chennai Express and Ram-Leela and she's cleaning up at award shows this year. But what everyone really wants to know is this - is The Dimpled One single or is she, as gossip says she is, dating a certain co-star named Ranveer Singh?
Intrepid journalists have thus far failed to elicit a satisfactory answer to this from Deepika herself so when her Chennai Express co-star Shah Rukh Khan button-holed her on-stage at the Screen Awards held in Mumbai on January 14, the audience held its breath.
In typically SRK-style, the Badshah of Bollywood fired a musical salvo at Deepika right after he had presented her with the award for Best Actress. Borrowing from his blockbuster film Chennai Express song One Two Three Four, SRK sang, "One two three four, boyfriend ka naam bol, kaun hai woh, kaun hai woh, uski tu pol khol, media guessing guessing, people waiting waiting, bolo bolo, bolo kaun hai woh."
Deepika trilled back at SRK, "Uff uski ada, I like the way he moves, uff uski shakal, I love the way he looks, uff jo bhi hai woh, I'll never tell you," the original of which lines can be found in the movie Karthik Calling Karthik starring Deepika herself and Farhan Akhtar.
As the SRK and Deepika crooned, the camera found the above-mentioned co-star, beaming proudly in the audience, now minus the giant moustache he was seen with all of last year.
And, no, Deepika wasn't giving SRK a name.
Mumbai International Film Festival preview | Algorithms
How did you keep a lid on the emotions and avoid valorizing the boys without undermining their achievements?
Payal Rohatgi, Pooja Misrra take Auditions for Perfect Miss Mumbai 2014
Mumbai: Ex-Bigg Boss contestants Payal Rohatgi & Pooja Misrra, along with Perfect Miss Mumbai 2014 organizer Gurubhai Thakkar and Khooshi Thakkar, conducted auditions for girls on 27th Jan. ‘Perfect Miss Mumbai’ (PMM) is a unique platform for the girls 18 years of age and above to jump start and dazzle in the glamour industry. The organisers plan to select approximately 200 girls for the contest and for the final rounds, organisers will 21 girls will be chosen.
Life OK brings Mahadev Ganga Mahotsav initiative to Kolkata
KOLKATA: After getting an overwhelming response in Haridwar, Allahabad, Varanasi, New Delhi, Kanpur and Patna, general entertainment channel (GEC) Life OK has brought the “Mahadev Ganga Mahotsav” initiative to Kolkata, titled Kolkatta Samvaad.
The initiative was started in January last year and was to be held in eight cities across the states of Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Delhi and West Bengal with the hope of becoming the harbinger of change. The initiative, during the launch promised to take small differentiating steps to ensure a brighter future for Ganga.
“Mahadev Ganga Mahotsav is a program to sensitise and create social awareness towards the issues impacting and the plausible solutions required to the conservation of the river Ganga,” said a release issued to the press in Kolkata.
In fact, the GEC organised a discussion session on - ‘Need to save the Ganga for the future generations’ which explored the impact of polluted Ganga on every individual and the measures that can be taken to save it.
Life OK general manager Ajit Thakur remarked that the initiative would engage all stakeholders to find probable solutions to conserve the river.
Mumbai monorail first phase to be ready soon
Actress Deepika Padukone is Queen Bee of Bollywood right now. She had a 100 crore hat-trick last year with Yeh Jawani Hai Deewani, Chennai Express and Ram-Leela and she's cleaning up at award shows this year. But what everyone really wants to know is this - is The Dimpled One single or is she, as gossip says she is, dating a certain co-star named Ranveer Singh?
Intrepid journalists have thus far failed to elicit a satisfactory answer to this from Deepika herself so when her Chennai Express co-star Shah Rukh Khan button-holed her on-stage at the Screen Awards held in Mumbai on January 14, the audience held its breath.
In typically SRK-style, the Badshah of Bollywood fired a musical salvo at Deepika right after he had presented her with the award for Best Actress. Borrowing from his blockbuster film Chennai Express song One Two Three Four, SRK sang, "One two three four, boyfriend ka naam bol, kaun hai woh, kaun hai woh, uski tu pol khol, media guessing guessing, people waiting waiting, bolo bolo, bolo kaun hai woh."
Deepika trilled back at SRK, "Uff uski ada, I like the way he moves, uff uski shakal, I love the way he looks, uff jo bhi hai woh, I'll never tell you," the original of which lines can be found in the movie Karthik Calling Karthik starring Deepika herself and Farhan Akhtar.
As the SRK and Deepika crooned, the camera found the above-mentioned co-star, beaming proudly in the audience, now minus the giant moustache he was seen with all of last year.
And, no, Deepika wasn't giving SRK a name.
Mumbai International Film Festival preview | Algorithms
Darpan in ‘Algorithms’
A documentary about chess, blindness and hope, Algorithms is likely to win many hearts and minds, if not an award or two, when it is screened at the forthcoming Mumbai International Film Festival (MIFF), scheduled for 3-9 February. The observational documentary, shot and directed by British film-maker Ian McDonald, follows three young visually impaired chess players from across India over three years as they practise and participate in tournaments. SaiKrishna S.T., Darpan Inani and Anant Kumar Nayak are at different points in their journey to be grandmasters—SaiKrishna is the brightest of the three, Darpan is a close second, while Anant is waiting in the wings. Their coach, Charudatta Jadhav, is the common link. It sounds dramatic, but plays out with subtlety and patience.
McDonald shot the film but converted it during the edit to black and white, a decision that lends the proceedings immense texture and atmosphere. The 100-minute documentary’s pace mimics a game of chess—it moves slowly but decisively, and seeks to engage the mind rather than the heart, but the result is nevertheless stirring, especially when the families of the players speak up. Produced by McDonald and his wife, Geetha J., the film will be shown on 8 February in MIFF’s International Competition section. Edited excerpts from an interview with McDonald:
The boys in ‘Algorithms’
What made you decide to make a documentary about blind chess players?
I was in India in 2006 putting the finishing touches on a short film when I came across a newspaper article about a blind chess tournament for kids. It caught my curiosity, I hadn’t hear of blind chess before. I did know about blindfolded chess. I asked Geetha but she hadn’t either. The clipping stayed in my pocket for two years. At some point Geetha put the chit in a folder and said, this is an idea that isn’t going away.
How did you pick the three characters featured in the film?
We started shooting at a blind chess tournament in Mumbai in 2008. I was astonished and amazed to see the numbers attending. My curiosity turned into amazement about this thriving but arguably hidden culture. I was also immediately taken by Charudutta Jadhav, he seemed to be such a passionate and committed man. We were there for a week, and we identified four-five players, and settled on the three featured in the film. One was a star, the other was very talented, and the third upcoming. Also, the three boys were from different parts of India, from different social strata and, usefully, represented different types of blindness.
Ian McDonald
I didn’t go into the film with any notions. I wasn’t trying to make a feel-good story, I just wanted to be as true to what I was witnessing as possible, to immerse myself in that world. I had to be true to the boys—I didn’t want to romanticize blindness or seek sympathy for them. For instance, when the boys cry (after they lose matches), I didn’t want to over-egg it by zooming in on a tear. We shot them for three years and the more time we spent, the more we could relate to them as people who happen to be blind.
Why did you choose to shoot in black and white?
The decision to keep the film in black and white was actually taken after the final shoot, when we started to edit. We felt that it looked much better in black and white. We wanted a sense of immersion in the world of chess. Colour can flatten things, while black and white gives you more depth, brings out the lines on people’s faces.
We were also dealing with the subject about seeing and not seeing, and black and white helped put forth the fact that this was a film about blindness.
Also, we didn’t want to over-sentimentalize and make the film melodramatic. The stories of the parents are powerful enough, all they needed to do was tell them. We wanted to strip it right back and keep the camera as static as possible. When we looked at the footage in black and white, it was so much more impactful. It drew out the melancholy without making it obvious. I also wanted to make a film that is nice to look at, which has a rhythm and a feel.
How many hours of footage did you gather?
We had between 240 and 250 hours of footage. The editing took between 12 and 16 months.
Do you play chess? How much of the game do you need to know to follow the matches?
I used to play a lot of chess when I was young. The game demands a lot of you. I had to make a decision to stop playing at some point.
Even though the film is for a general audience, we were really careful about making sure that the chess matches were true. I spent a lot of time filming the chess matches and getting the movement of the chess pieces, as a result of which the film became less about the lack of vision and more about touch and tactility. I have always loved chess pieces, they are so full of character. So if you are a chess player, you can see the matches and recognize the development of the game. We didn’t swap things around to make the chess easier—Geetha was very adamant about that. The games and the coaching develop in the correct manner. We got a chess coach to watch the film, and he could see from the outset who was going to win the game.
There is certainly a great deal of waiting and watching in the pacing.
The chess game imposes a certain rhythm. It sounds banal, but one of the things I learnt while making this film is the importance of patience. If you are blind, you are dependent on others for a lot of things. You also get a sense of being happy by yourself, solitude is not a problem. Chess is also like that—you are on your own, and you need to wait and have patience. This meant that I was able to anticipate the rhythms of the matches, some of which would go on for 3 or 4 hours. I learnt just to be there and wait for things to happen.
How did you fund the film?
It was self-funded. I am fortunate to have Geetha as a producer, she has always managed to raise the money necessary to make films. We decided to re-mortgage our flat to make some money. We also did a Kickstarter (the crowdsourcing platform) campaign to raise some money for post-production, plus we got sponsorship from Newcastle University (UK). The reception has been fantastic, and the film will be distributed in North America through First Run Features. For India, we are now raising funds to do audio descriptions (in which a voice-over describes scenes), since we want the film to be experienced by the blind.
Payal Rohatgi, Pooja Misrra take Auditions for Perfect Miss Mumbai 2014
Mumbai: Ex-Bigg Boss contestants Payal Rohatgi & Pooja Misrra, along with Perfect Miss Mumbai 2014 organizer Gurubhai Thakkar and Khooshi Thakkar, conducted auditions for girls on 27th Jan. ‘Perfect Miss Mumbai’ (PMM) is a unique platform for the girls 18 years of age and above to jump start and dazzle in the glamour industry. The organisers plan to select approximately 200 girls for the contest and for the final rounds, organisers will 21 girls will be chosen.
Payal rohtagi at Perfect Miss Mumbai 2014
Payal Rohtagi, Khooshi Thakkar at Perfect Miss Mumbai 2014
Payal Rohtagi. Gurubhai-Thakkar, Khooshi-Thakkar at Perfect Miss Mumbai 2014
Star India gets digital distribution licence for IPL 2014
New Delhi: Broadcasting major Star India has got the license for digital distribution of IPL 2014 and would offer streaming, video-on-demand and on mobile operator services.
Star India has acquired the rights from Times Internet, the digital arm of the Times of India Group, the broadcaster said in a statement.
As per the agreement, Times Internet will distribute IPL streaming and video on demand on its cricket destination on web and mobile, powered by a starsports.com video player.
Both the companies will market the joint proposition, and Star India will be solely responsible for monetisation, including advertising sales, it added.
Star India Chief Operating Officer Sanjay Gupta said: "At a time when more and more fans are following sports across multiple screens, our aim is to deliver an experience for them that is even better than what is on television. This partnership signals our continuing efforts to transform sports and the digital experience."
Times Internet CEO Satyan Gajwani said: "Our partnership with Star will enable an even larger reach for the property across digital devices."
Star India is a fully owned Indian subsidiary of global media giant 21st Century Fox and broadcasts more than 40 channels in 7 languages. It owns popular channels including Star Plus, Star Gold, Channel V, Star World, Star Movies and Star Utsav.
Life OK brings Mahadev Ganga Mahotsav initiative to Kolkata
KOLKATA: After getting an overwhelming response in Haridwar, Allahabad, Varanasi, New Delhi, Kanpur and Patna, general entertainment channel (GEC) Life OK has brought the “Mahadev Ganga Mahotsav” initiative to Kolkata, titled Kolkatta Samvaad.
The initiative was started in January last year and was to be held in eight cities across the states of Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Delhi and West Bengal with the hope of becoming the harbinger of change. The initiative, during the launch promised to take small differentiating steps to ensure a brighter future for Ganga.
“Mahadev Ganga Mahotsav is a program to sensitise and create social awareness towards the issues impacting and the plausible solutions required to the conservation of the river Ganga,” said a release issued to the press in Kolkata.
In fact, the GEC organised a discussion session on - ‘Need to save the Ganga for the future generations’ which explored the impact of polluted Ganga on every individual and the measures that can be taken to save it.
Life OK general manager Ajit Thakur remarked that the initiative would engage all stakeholders to find probable solutions to conserve the river.
Mumbai monorail first phase to be ready soon
Ashwini Bhide, Additional Metropolitan Commissioner, Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority
Interview with Additional Metropolitan Commissioner of MMRDA, Ashwini Bhide
With the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) getting final safety clearances for the monorail system from experts in Indian Railways, Mumbaikars will soon be able to travel by the country’s first monorail.
The first phase of the 8.26-km-route from Chembur in suburban Mumbai to Wadala in Central Mumbai is likely to be open for commuters within seven days.
By mid-2015, the second phase of 11.28 km connecting Wadala with Mahalaxmi in South Mumbai is also expected to be commissioned.
Malaysian infrastructure company Scomi, in a joint venture with L&T, is executing the full project, which is expected to cost MMRDA Rs 3,000 crore.
Additional Metropolitan Commissioner of MMRDA, Ashwini Bhide, who has been a driving force behind the project, feels that the service will offer a comfortable alternative to commuters although the route will not make enough commercial profits.
Excerpts from the interview:
Is the monorail system financially viable? Especially, given the fact that the project itself is running behind schedule by two-and-a-half years and only the first phase of 8.26 km out of 19.54 km is being commissioned.
Across the world, transport infrastructure projects based only on fare collection are never profitable.
The same is the case with monorail. Such projects are services, which the local governments have to provide to the citizens that too with government subsidy.
The project will recover costs but it will not generate profits. In a similar venture, MMRDA has pumped in Rs 1,200 crore on the Eastern freeway but that money will not be recovered by the way of toll. At the time of project planning, the construction work was split in phases because, MMRDA was aware of the delays in getting the right of way and laying columns on very congested roads.
Commercial operations in two phases were very much part of the plan.
What is the status of the second phase of theproject?
Today, about 90 per cent of the civil works of the route, which will connect Wadala with Mahalaxmi, has been completed. Simultaneously, stations are also being constructed.
Permission has also being sought from Railway authorities for constructing the elevated track over the existing railway lines in Central Mumbai. Before the onset of monsoon season, the civil works would be completed. In effect, the second phase is likely to be ready in 15 months.
What steps are being taken for passenger safety given the fact that Mumbai is always in the crosshairs of terrorists?
Since the construction started after 26/11 Mumbai terror attack, a number of security steps have been incorporated in the design of the route.
Space for security personnel has been earmarked at stations for quick deployment.
After prolonged deliberations with security agencies, it has been decided that the personnel of Maharashtra State Security Corporation (MSSC) would be deployed at the stations.
Their job profile would be similar to the tasks carried out by the personnel of Central Industrial Security Force. MSSC has already procured security equipment and it is in the process of installing it at the stations.
When can the citizens of Mumbai expect the ride on the monorail?
The first phase of the 8.26 km route would be operational ‘any day’. The physical construction of the elevated route was completed about a year ago. Since then, we have been carrying out independent and integrated safety test for traction, signalling, rolling stock and communication.
safety assessors
The entire tests have been carried out by six independent safety assessors. Singapore Metro Corporation has also certified the route for all safety parameters.
These 12 months were also utilised for handing over the route from the projects team, which undertook the construction to the operation and maintenance team.
Since monorail comes under the purview of Tramways Act, the State Government has appointed the former Commissioner of Railway Safety as an advisor.
He has also given the safety approval.
With his clearance, we are ready for commercial operations.
Only the final clearance in the form of a notification from the Urban Development Department of Maharashtra Government is awaited.
We are fully prepared for the launch.
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