Three Cheers for Crowe

Three cheers for the Western culture and three cheers for those who despise it. How much Indians may frown upon bad influences of the western world, it is there that a kind of sensitivity shows itself every now and then. Not surprisingly enough, some sane voices also sprout there from time to time which hitherto are absent here. In the era when Karan Johars and Yash Chopras in India try to emulate every inch of the western flicks, and recreate every exaggerated glossy scene seen on a English screen, here comes the Gladitor, who has shown a sensitivity rarely seen elsewhere.
Oscar-winning Hollywood actor Top of Form 1
Russell Crowe has declared to axe scantily-dressed cheerleaders from his Sydney football club because they make men uncomfortable. Crowe, who co-owns one of Australia's oldest rugby league clubs, the South Sydney Rabbitohs, will replace the club cheer girls this season with a drumming band of men and women after his wife Top of Form 2
Bottom of Form 2
Danielle Spencer and other fans complained.
Crowe said that Research showed fans were uncomfortable going to games with girls on the sidelines dressed in skimpy green, red, white dance costumes.
"It makes women uncomfortable and it makes blokes who take their son to the football also uncomfortable," Crowe told Australian media. "We've talked to a lot of people and everyone sees it as being progressive."
Crowe, a long-term Rabbitohs fan, bought the cash and win-strapped club in 2006 with Peter Holmes a Court, the scion of one of Australia's wealthiest families.

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Germany Toying With Bollywood

It seems that popularity of Bollywod in Germany is to stay for a long and for better. I have already dedicated three posts on this subject and this is one more. This article appeared in Deutsche Welle; I was promted to bring it here as it is one of my favorite subject.
The Nuremberg Toy Fair in Germany is targetting adults this year with puzzles and jigsaws based on Bollywood.
The world's largest toy expo, the Nuremberg Fair, is strictly for adults only this year. The adults-only rule has sparked a whole range of new play products which industry observers say is all part of a trend toward stepping up marketing to "aging children": people over 40 who play games to relax.

And Bollywood -- India's most popular cultural export -- it seems, is a grown-up's playground.

The country's trademark hip-gyrating song-and-dance films with its formulaic mix of Indian family values, kitsch and sexual titillation have apparently proved an inspiration for several toymakers. Jigsaws and puzzles depicting Bollywood scenes are all set to feature large at the toy fair. Parents have been warned to keep their kids from sneaking a peek.

"Bollywood is a big topic here, especially among our adult customers," said Bettina Brogsitter, sales representative for the puzzle-maker Lupu.

Some are going in for a more chaste version of India's ubiquitous images.

One German manufacturer of puzzles aims to entice European women who love all things Indian by launching a 1,000-piece puzzle, which would take days to solve, depicting Ganesha, the Hindu god of wisdom with four arms and the head of a one-tusked elephant.

Other jigsaws on show in Nuremberg are more serene, depicting yoga positions and mandalas-designs symbolizing the universe.
"People are in search of inner calm," Brogsitter added.

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Shahrukh Ban Gaya Joker

It is official now. However Shahrukh might try to ape Big B, he alwasys turns out to be a damp squib. First he tried to step in the Bachchan's shoe was when he acted in the remake of Don. His pubilcity machinery worked overtime and managed to proclaim that film as a hit, but the truth is that the film failed totally. Not satisfied with that misadventure, he jumped on the hot seat as anchor of the popular show Kaun Banega Crorepati on Star Plus. This time also he has got a bitting and in the attempt to crown himself as the new ruler of Bollywood, he has proved himself a joker. Even figures substantiate these observations.
A recent report in Hindustan Times tells how Khan has failed in recreating the magic that Bachchan created six years ago. There is a sheer absence in the overhyped performance of Shahrukh khan of the aura weaved by Bachchan. His popularity as host of KBC is no match for his predecessor Amitabh Bachchan, the report says. The data compiled by India's Television Audience Measurement for the first four days showed a television viewership rating, or TVR, of 12.33. Bachchan, 61, had a bigger four-day audience in August 2005 with a 19.75 rating, the daily said. The paper did not provide the margin of error, and the show remains India's most popular.
Originally based on "Who Wants to be a Millionaire" from the USA, "Kaun Banega Crorepati" was started year 2000 as the main attraction og the relaunch of the Star Plus. The grandesque image and persona of Bachchan catapulated it to the heights unknown to the Satellite TV shows till then. It soon caught imagination of the millions of viewers across India. SO much so that this show played a big role in reviving Big B's film career. The show ran in two parts, but was halted abruptly following Bachchan's illness.
It was resurected last week with 41-year-old Khan at the helm. As with his filmy image, Khan brought with him a lot of hoopla in the form of songs and dances in this show, which was not the part of the show in its prior run. The Show started on Jan. 22, and a random survey shows that audiences have given Khan, one of the biggest Bollywood heartthrobs of the past decade, the thumbs down, the Hindustan Times has said.
Expectedly enough, Star Entertainment India doesn't agree with the findings. The number of people "reached " on Khan's first day was 23 million compared to Bachchan's 18 million, Paritosh Joshi, the network's president in charge of advertising and distribution said, according to the Hindustan Times.
Joshi's figures are based on those who watched the gameshow for at least a minute. The TVR, on the other hand, gives the number of people who sat through the hour-long program. If that does convince the anyone, here is some figures given by a portal moneycontrol.com.
TAM numbers for the opening week of Kaun Banega Crorepati with SRK are in. It looks like Shahrukh Khan has lost out in round one, reports CNBC-TV18. While Shahrukh's KBC debuted with a 12.3 rating the first episode of Amitabh Bachchan’s KBC had garnered 19.75.
But there's good news for Star Plus as well. The channel's relative shares in the general entertainment category is up from 37.7 to 55.9 percent in the primetime in the 9-10 pm band in the KBC launch week.
A closer look at the TAM data for all four episodes last week, however, shows a dipping interest in the show after the opening episode. Especially so on day three which was the 24th of January when KBC went head-to-head with the India-West Indies ODI in Cuttack. The show seems to have borne the brunt then, losing viewers to cricket.
That settles the matter for once. The reality is that Shahrukh is no match for BigB.

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Chiru...the eternal hero

The megastar of Telugu films Chiranjeevi recently completed 29 years of his film career. A function was organized to celebrate the occasion wherein his friend and another Telugu star Nagarjuna was present. Being one of the superstar’s quartet, (Amitabh Bachchan, Mohanlal and Rajinikant comprises other three in this club) Chiru, as he is fondly called by his fans, is undoubtedly the most prominent figure of the Indian movies. The word Chiranjeevi in Sanskrit means 'one who live on eternally.' Chiranjeevi's feats on screen and in movies make him really live eternally in the mind of the viewers.
Chiranjeevi was as Siva Sankara Vara Prasad Konidela, on 22 August 1955 at Narasapur, Andhra Pradesh, India
He was a student of the famous Madras Film Institute and later became a professional film star. His first public performance was in a government parade ballet at the Republic Day celebrations on January 26, 1976.
He started his professional career the film "Punadhirallu" in 1978. Though Punadhirallu was his debut, his first success came up with a negative role in the film 'Intilo Ramayya Vidhilo Krishnayya' which was released in the year 1981.
His roles in movies such as Abilasha, Adavidonga, Chantabbayi, Challenge, Gang Leader, Master, Kondaveeti Donga, Kodama Simham, Indra, Tagore etc. were all block busters in Tollywood. In the pre-90s, Chiranjeevi was first seen on Hindi scree. His first Hindi film released was Pratibandh (1990) with Juhi Chawla as his heroine. The films was a blockbuster and Rami Reddy, the main villain in the films also received much attention in the film. The success of Pratibandh prompted producers to make another movie with Ciranjeevi, exploiting his macho man and angry young man image. This films ‘Aaj Ka Gundaraj’ (1992) was a remake of Telugu hit Gang Leader. Meenakshi Sheshadri was the heroine in the film. As this movie minted money on the Box Office, Chiranjeevi’s popularity also soared.
Though his subsequent films could not recreate the magic that is Chiranjeevi is known for, his charisma as an actor remains in place as is shown by the number of dubbed movies. These movies appear in small cities and run to packed houses as well as in CDs and DVDs which have a good run on Cable cicuit. Besides Telugu, Chiranjeevi commande a huge fan following in Tamilnadu also.
He is married to Konidela Surekha on February 20, 1980 and is blessed with two daughters Susmita and Sirija, and one son Ramcharan Teja. His brothers Nagendra Babu and Pawan Kalyan are both into movies as well.
Chiranjeevi is the founder of the Chiranjeevi Charitable Trust, which is the state's largest recipient of Eye and Blood Donations. With the help of Chiranjeevi Charitable Trust more than 20,000 people have donated blood and more than 10 lakh people have pledged their eyes. Chiranjeevi also assists people for medical expenses in genuine cases.

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Spiritual Pull of the Hinduism

Eventhough world, especially English speaking literate class taked pride in deriding Hindu ethos. But the Hindu tradition and spirituality continues to overhelm people all over the world. This fact is corborated by a story that I chanced upon recenly. I reproduce the story as it is.

Allahabad : It was 38 years ago that Baba Rampuri, as this once Beverly Hills resident is now called, set out from Los Angeles in search of truth and peace. He was just 18 then. He has been at each Kumbh and Ardh Kumbh since 1971, and the son of an American dental surgeon turned Hindu ascetic says the English dictionary 'does not have a word to describe the bliss I experience each time I am here'.
His first halt was an ashram in Rajasthan, from where his guru took him to Haridwar, one of the holiest Hindu pilgrimage centres on the bank of the Ganga, where he found his new home. By the time he was 20, he made up his mind to give up all worldly pleasures, including the company of the rich and the famous, to step into a contrasting world where abstinence was the buzzword.
The saffron clad 56-year-old - who refuses to give his original American name - is now camping on the banks of the holy river here, taking part in the 42-day-long Ardh Kumbh - the every six-year religious cornucopia during which millions take dip in the Sangam, the confluence of three rivers sacred to Hindus, in the hope of gaining salvation from what the faithful believe the unending cycle of births and deaths.
'A dip at the Sangam during the Kumbh Mela gives me more pleasure that one could get in a football match,' Baba Rampuri told IANS, taking a few puffs of the 'chillam' which he describes as 'part of the tradition'.
'I did go back to LA after my first visit here in 1968 but decided to return to India in 1971 once and for all ... and that too with just $20 in my pocket.'
Baba Rampuri was formally initiated into the world of Hindu ascetic life 36 years ago on these very banks of the Sangam. He was among the first few whites to find a privileged place in the Juna Akhara, which is considered the oldest of India's nine Hindu akharas, or religious orders.
There are many foreigners like Baba Rampuri, including women, who have left their homes in far away continents and have become Hindu sadhus. Most of them prefer not to reveal their original names.
Says Jasraj Puri, an Australian who became a sadhu: 'My original name was washed down in the waters of the Ganga and got immersed in the Bay of Bengal 15 years ago when I joined the ashram of Swami Maheshwaranand, who went from India decades ago to set up base in Vienna.' The 35-year-old former physiotherapist has picked up reasonably good Hindi as well and currently heads an ashram-cum-school run by his guru Maheshwaranand in Rajasthan. The polluted waters of the Ganga don't discourage him from a daily dip. 'The Ganga is spiritually so pure that pollution and even visible dirt becomes secondary and immaterial,' explains Puri to IANS.
Similarly, Ganga, 45, arrived here from her home in Britain nearly 10 years ago. 'I propose to spend the rest of my life in the Maha Nirvani Akhara,' she said. While camping at the Ardh Kumbh, Ganga makes it a point to take a dip in the Sangam every morning. 'But it was a different experience on Mauni Amavasya (Jan 19), the holiest of the holy bathing days,' she said after stepping out of the water in which an estimated ten million took a hallowed dip that day.
Hindu spirituality continues to attract youth from various countries. Verena, 25, is a first-time visitor to the Kumbh from Germany and is so overwhelmed by the spiritual rituals here that she wouldn't mind settling down as a disciple in the Juna Akhara. And 24-year-old Dase, another Kumbh first-timer from Latvia, is only too keen to give her company. Susan, who has come from the US, is still debating whether she should abandon her filmmaking career in California and settle down to a saffron life of Hindu renunciates.
'I will go back at the end of the Kumbh Mela but I might be back soon. The divinity I have tasted here has been an unparalleled experience, which I cannot describe in words,' said Susan. The list is endless. Besides the over 450 foreigners in the Maheshwaranand camp, the Juna and Maha Nirvani Akharas too boast of nearly 250 people belonging from 17 countries who have chosen to embrace the Hindu spiritual path.
By Sharat Pradhan/Indo-Asian News Service

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Tamil Films facing closed doors in South

It was not long ago that Kannada film industry, apparently raged over the diminishing collections on account of copetition with Tamil films, demanded to the State government to restrict release of non-Kannada films in Karnataka for the six weeks. The state government subsequently conceded on account of which non-Kannada films were barred entry for the first six weeks of their release in Karnataka. That decision affected all other languages films as well. On account of that step alone, Karnataka witnessed a high number of remakes in Kannada from Tamil and Hindi films. It did not though brought any worthwhile trend of original stories or new concepts in Kannada movies. Some trade bodies even went to the Supreme Court against this order in 2004 and now recently state government has denied having issued any such order.
These trade bodies feared that neighbouring States like Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala will be provoked to take similar decision against release and exhibition of Kannada and other language films in their respective states. Though these apprehension were not realised owing to the little popularity of Kannada films in other regions, it has came into existance for Tamil films. The same situation aroused in Andhra pradesh some time ago. Some Chiranjeevi films having failed to garner collections to the level they once did, at the same time Rajinikant's Chandramukhi dubbed in Telugu making records in collections and Santkozhi, Thimiru, Aanai etc. films making waves on box-office gave sleepless nights to the industrywllahs. Faced with a lacklustre performance of a majority of Telugu films and Tamil dubbed films making hay one after another, the film producers association there demanded a ban on Tamil films dubbed in Telugu. But this demand, arose as did subsequently vanished without a whimper and no concrete decision in this matter has not been taken till now.
After the Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, it is the turn of the Kerala now to try to halt Tamil films at its border.
Tamil films, actor, actresses and songs have a huge fan following in Kerala. Anyone watching Asianet or Surya TV can vouch for that. Even Malyalam actresses have a harvest time now in Kollywood. Asin, Nayanthara are two heroines who can prove this point. Sometimes Tamil songs have more buzz than the Malayalam songs in Kerala. Old horses like Rajinikant and Kamal Haasan command a big fanbase with young guns Vijay, Surya and Vikram following the suit. So much so, that though Prithviraj is a face to reckon with in Tamilnadu, he is a big craze in Kerala girls. A distributor in Palghat has the bought rights for Shivaji-the boss for a whooping amount of Rs. 35 Crores, which is considered a record in Kerala.
It is hardly surprising then that Mollywood's insiders are alarmed at the pace at which Tamil films are gaining ground. To contemplate on this situation, some financiers in Mollywood recently had a meeting. It was decided in this meeting that Tamil films should be released in Kerala few weeks after their release in Tamilnadu. Even so, this restriction is less likely to affect the films starring Rajini, Kamal, Vijay etc. These films will be released simultaneously in Kerala.

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Humanity Goes to Dogs

Special Eating Zone?

This is what modern india has come to! The nation in its eagerness to embrace progress, has unlearned the basic dignity of human, body and et al! This photo taken at Sonachuri area of Nandigram, in the state of West Bengal. Stray dogs were feeding on a charred human body of all the thing! Six people were killed and scores more injured in clashes between villagers and ruling Communist Party members in India's West Bengal state in a dispute over the acquisition of farmland for industrial purposes, according to reports.

Government of India had a policy decisionon 1.4.2000 for setting up of Special Economic Zones in the country with a view to provide an internationally competitive and hassle free environment for exports. All the import/export operations of the SEZ units will be on self-certification basis.
The policy provides for setting up of SEZ’s in the public, private, joint sector or by State Governments. It was also envisaged that some of the existing Export Processing Zones would be converted into Special Economic Zones. Accordingly, the Government has converted Export Processing Zones located at Kandla and Surat (Gujarat), Cochin (Kerala), Santa Cruz (Mumbai-Maharashtra), Falta (West Bengal), Madras (Tamil Nadu), Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh) and Noida (Uttar Pradesh) into a Special Economic Zones. In addition, 3 new Special Economic Zones approved for establishment at Indore (Madhya Pradesh), Manikanchan – Salt Lake (Kolkata) and Jaipur have since commended operations. In addition, approval has been given for setting up of 42 Special Economic Zones in various parts of the country in the private/joint sectors or by the State Government.
But all is not going well. Questions over proposed changes in land use are piling up, even as the commerce ministry and State governments galore.
Among the proposals that have received provisional approval are SEZs on tribal land and ecologically sensitive coastal areas.
Former BJP MP Kirit Somaiya, who recently shot off letters to the Maharashtra government and commerce ministry seeking information under the Right To Information Act, said, "I have found 87 cases of violations in allotment of SEZs, from approvals granted for land that falls under the coastal regulation zone and tribal land, which don’t even meet the minimum land criteria, being given approvals."
Somaiya added, "Worldwide, there are only 393 SEZs but the government has approved as many as 467 SEZs till date, in just 6-7 months."
Another case is that of Pune-based Kumar Builders. The company had applied for a SEZ status for its 49.1 hectare development coming up near Pune.
Initially, the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation had expressed reservations and the state government’s screening committee had decided not to support the proposal. However, the builder later submitted clarifications on the basis of which the state is reconsidering the proposal.
While Somaiya contends that the ministry rushed the case through despite MIDC’s reservations, the state government official said the case was taken up for reconsideration only after receiving the developer’s clarifications on the objections raised.
The unusual haste shown at government and beurocratic levels have irked the common public. India is a country that is mainly dependant on agriculture. The farmers here love their land more than anything else. We in India call our country Motherland. That's why someone coming from outside and setting their business has made them angry so much that the care for their own brethern has left the farming commuunity. The irony of this all is that the Left parties who oppose SEZ and Globalization and new economic reforms to the hilt are in Government in West Bengal and Trinmul Congress is oppossing them. What more can one say!

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