Month: November 2020

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Celebrity Films Lite Blogs

Kangana’s New Poem Longing For Summer

Kangana Ranaut longs for love in new poem ‘Aasman’.

Actress Kangana Ranaut has revealed her inner poet yet again and penned a poem about love and longing for summer.

The actress shared the poem, titled “Aasman”, along with a soothing video, which has been shot at her place in Manali. The poem is about love and longing for summer.

“Poem I wrote and shot this summer, as winter approaches reminiscing Aasman,” she wrote as she shared the video on Twitter.

The video had a voiceover from Kangana, as she recited her poem. It also talked about doubting a lover’s affection, using the vastness of the sky as an allegory. The clip showed Kangana enjoying summer in the mountains, and Kangana lying in the grass. She can also be seen enjoying her time in the hills and warming herself in front of a fireplace.

Kangana Ranaut longs for love in new poem ‘Aasman’

She also posted snaps of her home in Manali, while talking about the changing season.

“In spring this garden was at its full a glory,honey bees,butterflies sucking the nectar of life,in rains it gave shelter to insects/reptiles, in autumn its withering away, bone chilling snow will cover it soon but beneath that it will continue to long n spring will happen again,” she wrote with a picture of her garden.

“Picture of the same section of the garden from last winter, only the skeletons of these trees/plants will remain they will die n will be born again,no season is permanent,if death is inevitable so is life, be this garden it will be ruined every time yet it will rise every time,” she wrote with another photograph of the garden.

Lately, the actress has been using social media to express her views, and share her film updates.

She recently shared a video and photographs from a dinner she has hosted for Sarvesh Mewara, director of her forthcoming film “Tejas”, and her coach for the film, Wing Commander Abhijeet Gokhale.

The actress took to her verified Twitter account to share glimpses from the dinner party hosted at her hometown Manali.

“It was a lovely evening hosted dinner for @sarveshmewara1 and our coach @AbbeeTheAviator along with few relatives, had requested my siblings to help me entertain my friends they clearly went overboard,” she wrote with the pictures.

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Sport

‘Organisers are determined to hold the Olympics’

Sebastian Coe, World Athletics President .

World Athletics President Sebastian Coe has said he has seen cast-iron determination in the organisers to stage the Olympic Games in Tokyo next year.

Originally scheduled to be held from July 24 to August 9 this year, the Tokyo Olympics was in March postponed to 2021 following the outbreak of coronavirus. It is now set to be held from July 23 to August 8 next year.

“There probably will be greater adaptation, they probably will demand more from your teams than we have seen at an Olympic Games before, but please reassure your athletes as they enter preparation stages that there is a determination to stage the Olympic Games in Tokyo,” Coe, who led a delegation of World Athletics to Tokyo recently, said on Sunday while addressing the valedictory session of the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) via video conferencing from London.

During his address, Coe said that despite huge uncertainties, World Athletics had done well in the traumatic months in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. “World Athletics has made some brave decisions in facing many challenges,” he said, adding that such bravery would not count if member federations did not back them. “AFI has played an essential role in these times.”

He also appreciated AFI for its tough stand against doping, for improving its athletes performances in a number of events and for being in the forefront of keeping the sport active in these uncertain times.

Coe said he was delighted to see the progress that India is making internationally in its performances in not just one or two events but across the broad spectrum.

“Also, the tough stand that you are taking in doing everything you can to eradicate the scourge of doping,” the World Athletics President said. “These are challenging issues in challenging times. I am delighted that you, like many member federations of World Athletics, are not hiding from these challenges.”

He also congratulated dille J. Sumariwalla and Anju Bobby George for being elected unopposed as AFI President for the third successive term and Senior Vice President respectively. “It is my pleasure to welcome you back in your position, Adille,” he said.

Also Read: IOC Chief Thomas Bach Wins Seoul Peace Prize

Also Read: Athletes from hotspots will be allowed: IOC Chief

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Bollywood Films Lite Blogs

‘South Producers Take More Risk To Do Experiments’

Director Bejoy Nambiar, who has made films in Tamil, Malayalam as well as Hindi languages, says south Indian film producers are more willing to take risks with experimental storytelling than most of Bollywood.

“I think producers in the south Indian film industry are more willing to take the risk with an experimental story, with different formats, and styles of storytelling. Whether it is the actors or the technicians, they are constantly experimenting with stories. In the Hindi film industry, it is different. I am not genaralising, though. I would say in the south Indian film industry, people are gutsier,” Nambiar told IANS.

His latest effort, “Taish”, has released in film as well as web series format in Hindi, and in the past he has made the film “Solo” in Tamil and Malayalam, while “David” released in Hindi and Tamil.

“Taish” features Pulkit Samrat, Kriti Kharbanda, Harshvardhan Rane, Neha Sharma, Sanjeeda Sheikh, Jim Sarbh and Ankur Rathee along with Zoa Morani and Abhimanyu Singh, and streams on Zee5.

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Film Review Films Lite Blogs

Taish: A Non-Linear Visual Treat

Bejoy Nambiar's 'Taish' to be out on Oct 29 as film and web series

Taish (streaming of Zee5); Cast: Pulkit Samrat, Jim Sarbh, Harshvardhan Rane, Kriti Kharbanda, Ankur Rathee, Zoa Morani, Sanjeeda Sheikh, Saurabh Sachdeva, Abhimanyu Singh, Armaan Khera, Saloni Batra, Kunika; Direction: Bejoy Nambiar; Rating: * * and 1/2 (two and a half stars)…writes VINAYAK CHAKRAVORTY

Taish banks on a very basic formula of honour and revenge that even the most commercial of Bollywood makers stopped peddling a while back, though Bejoy Nambiar serves it with polish. The story unfolds against the backdrop of good-looking London and nearby locales, using a cast that fits the characters well. For some novelty, you get a choice in formats — you could watch Taish as a six-episode series, or as a feature film.

The option in format isn’t the only experimentation about Taish. Nambiar and co-screenwriters (Anjali Nair, Kartik R. Iyer and Nicola Louise Taylor) adopt a non-linear approach in storytelling, which — by mainstream Bollywood standards at least — is not something commonplace. It makes the narrative seem more interesting than it actually is.

That the operative mood is of murderous rage is established in the opening sequence, with a bloody showdown that unfolds in the washroom of a posh pub in London between young Sunny (Pulkit Samrat) and the gangster Kuljinder (Abhimanyu Singh). The encounter leaves Kuljinder in a vegetative state, and soon the gangster’s younger brother Paali (Harshvardhan Rane) and gang are baying for Sunny’s blood.

Things get complicated because Sunny is in town to attend a wedding. Krish (Ankur Rathee), the younger scion of the affluent Kalra family, is getting married to Mahi (Zoa Morani), and Sunny is like family. All hell breaks loose when Pali and gang arrive at the venue and declare they will find and nail the assailant, or ensure no wedding takes place.

The narrative moves into flashbacks to trace the reason for Sunny’s violence, and also sums up the plot. Nambiar is subtle in the way he introduces important characters — Krish’s elder brother Rohan (Jim Sarbh) or Rohan’s Pakistani finacee Aarfa (Kriti Kharbanda), for instance — as well as vital plot spins. The idea is meant to render a slowburn treatment to the episodes.

Yet, for all its visual and cinematic treatment, Taish lacks an innate ability to connect. There is a fiery idea, there are the characters that struggle with demons of the past even as they wage a tooth-and-nail fight to finish — yet these protagonists fail to reach out and connect. You don’t feel for them or their misery, for the simple reason their emotional dilemmas are not altogether original, or convincing.

As the story moves into its last episode, several situations that unfold surprisingly seem forced. It’s almost as if Nambiar and team were in a rush to wrap up their tale with a sleekly executed chase sequence and some filmi melodrama.

A major hitch for many will be the elaborate use of Punjabi dialogues. Pali and the gangsters’ family and friends hail from a Punjabi background and, for the sake of authenticity, Nambiar lets them converse in Punjabi. The resultant long stretches of conversation could make you feel like you have logged into a Punjabi gangster movie without subtitles.

The show hinges on Pulkit Samrat, Harshvardhan Rane and Jim Sarbh, and the male leads make most of interesting characters that the big screen hardly accords. Kriti Kharbanda as Aarfa and Sanjeeda Shaikh as Jahaan are primarily in the story as romantic interests, but the script does offer them the stray moments where they play a part in moving the story forward.

Along with the lead cast, the writers of Taish are adequate in the way they imagine even the minor players in the story. Saurabh Sachdeva as Pali’s sidekick Sukhi and Zoa Morani as Mahi deserve mention. Nineties starlet Kunika makes a pleasant appearance in a small role.

Taish hawks familiar vibes of vengeance. It has a strong idea overshadowed by storytelling that fails to connect. The cast is brilliant in the way it brings alive the characters, and yet the characters have to often go through contrived situations to simply carry the story forward. You have some superb songs, yet strangely these only serve to slow down the storytelling pace. Taish is a labour of ironies.

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Bollywood Celebrity Films

Vidyut Takes Inspiration From Tigers

Bollywood action hero and fitness enthusiast Vidyut Jammwal says he takes inspiration from the agility and fierceness of tigers, and incorporates the same in life.

“Tigers teach us so many attributes that are applicable towards shaping our personalities, and I often take inspiration from their agility and fierceness in several aspects of my life,” said Vidyut.

The actor now aims to spread awareness about the cause of saving the tiger population through an initiative “Project C.A.T: Conserving Acres for Tigers”.

“As part of this initiative, I tried to depict and imbibe the nature, kindness and ferocity of the beast through Kalaripayattu,” he added.

The actor continued: “Saving the tiger population is certainly the need of the hour. Its survival and presence play a crucial role in the sustenance, balance and well-being of the ecosystem. It is our duty to conserve their habitat and help increase the number of wild tigers in any way we can.”

In the campaign video, Vidyut is seen performing Kalaripayattu moves inspired by the movements of tigers, and is seen encouraging people to pitch in to help conserve the habitat.

“Project C.A.T: Conserving Acres for Tigers” is a flagship initiative of Animal Planet in partnership with World Wide Fund for Nature India (WWF India).

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Business India News

SC gives centre six week time to report on Mallya’s extradition

Vijay Mallya. (File Photo: IANS)

The Supreme Court on Monday asked the Centre to file status report on extradition of fugitive businessman Vijay Mallya within six weeks.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Centre, submitted before a bench headed by Justice U.U. Lalit that some legal proceedings are still pending in the UK, which is delaying Mallya’s extradition.

The top court after a brief hearing in the matter adjourned the case to the third week of January.

Justice Lalit noted that the order dated August 31, cites MEA report that certain legal proceedings by contemnor (Mallya) is pending in the UK. The top court had asked the counsel for Mallya to respond on the nature of these proceedings. The bench noted that an intervention application has been filed by E.C. Agrawala, counsel for Mallya seeks discharge from the case.

Justice Lalit said this application seeking discharge is rejected and Agrawala shall continue to be the counsel for the contemnor.

Justice Lalit queried Mehta, “When will the Mallya’s extradition process will be completed? Any time time frame?”

Mehta replied that no information from Indian High Commission in London yet.

On October 6, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has told the Supreme Court that the UK Home Office has intimated, there is a further legal issue which needs to be resolved before Vijay Mallya’s extradition takes place and this issue is outside and apart from the extradition process having effect under the UK law.

The affidavit had said that Vijay Mallya’s surrender to India should, in principle, have been completed within 28 days after he lost the appeal against extradition. However, the UK Home Office intimated that there is further legal issue which needs to be resolved before Mallya’s extradition takes place.

“The UK side further said that this issue is outside and apart from the extradition process, but it has the effect that under the UK law, extradition cannot take place until it is resolved,” said the affidavit.

The MHA said the UK has informed it that this separate legal issue is judicial and confidential in nature.

On May 14, in a major setback Mallya lost his application seeking leave to appeal in the UK Supreme Court, after the London High Court declined to entertain his appeal challenging the extradition order to India on charges of fraud and money laundering in connection with unrecovered loans to his now-defunct Kingfisher Airlines.

“The UK side emphasized that neither they can provide any more details nor intervene in the process. They have also indicated that through the designated channel, the UK Home Office has received a request to serve summons on Vijay Mallya for his hearing before the Supreme Court (India),” said the MHA.

The UK side said it has informed the Indian High Commission that the issue is confidential and cannot be disclosed.

The British Home Office also forwarded the Supreme Court order through Hertfordshire Police on September 17, for serving it to Mallya.

“It is also submitted that during the course of processing of request of service of notice upon Vijay Mallya, an interim report from the UK authorities has been received through the High Commission of India, London,” the affidavit said.

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Books Lite Blogs Travel & Tourism

Mountains Beyond Understanding Fascinates Alter

He says that not a single day passes when he doesn’t ask himself: “Who the hell do you think you are?”…writes Sukant Deepak.

Stressing that everyone struggles with identity, both on a simple, mundane level as well as on a larger plane, writer Stephen Alter, who recently received the Mountain Environment and Natural History Award for his book ‘Wild Himalaya’, says, “Come to think of it, very few people are content with their origins and each of us seeks to reinvent ourselves in different ways.”

Alter, who in his latest work ‘Feral Dreams’ (Aleph) goes back to Rudyard Kipling’s ‘Jungle Book’ and takes it forward, says that the classic has been an important part of his imagination since childhood and over the years he has grown to appreciate the fact that those stories about the forests and wildlife of India can be employed as a message for conservation.

“As I revisited Mowgli’s adventures in a more contemporary setting, I tried to make these popular narratives relevant to our present times, when many species are threatened with extinction and the jungles have shrunk considerably since the days when Kipling first told his tales,” says Alter.

Born and raised in India, Alter, who lives in Littleton, Colorado, and Landour, Uttarakhand, and has to his credit around 20 fiction and non-fiction titles including books for children, insists that despite the Himalayas being home, several aspects of those mountains remain beyond his understanding.

“That’s what fascinates me. They are both familiar and unknown,” he says.

He may be an atheist, but that does not stop him from appreciating and writing about the sacred and spiritual in his works.

Adding that denying divinity allows him to ask questions that devotees of different faiths often avoid, the author, who has has taught writing at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and at the American University in Cairo, says, “The Himalaya represents a sacred space, but not as it is interpreted by organised religion and dogmatic purveyors of shallow, lowland truths.”

For someone whose first story was published in 1976, it is not really money that keeps him going.

“Writing is a fatal addiction that leaves your bank account empty but fulfils a storyteller’s desire to plunder a reader’s imagination,” he says.

The author, who has written around four books for children, feels that younger readers can be a demanding audience as they tend to focus intensely on a story and read every word while adults may skim over sentences and skip passages.

“It is important to provide them with new and challenging stories, both in fiction and non-fiction. India needs more writers who provide young people with the kind of literature that will entertain and inspire them,” he says.

A stickler for schedule, Alter, who writes between 7 am and 11 am by shutting out all intrusions, produces a thousand words everyday — his daily quota for the past 45 years.

Receiving The Banff Mountain Book Award for ‘Wild Himalaya’ has been an enormously satisfying experience for Alter.

“I feel happy because it means that all the time and effort I put into the book has been recognised by the jury members who understand and appreciate the mountains just as I do,” says the author, also a recipient of the Guggenheim Fellowship.

Refusing to talk about his next book, he says, “I am always working on something, but considering the fact that because I’m superstitious, in a cynical sort of way, I never tell anyone what my next book is about.”

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India News Lite Blogs Music

Modi Hails Mizoram Kid For Modern Version Of ‘Vande Mataram’

Modi contrasts 'jungle raj' with NDA's development mantra.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has extolled a four-year-old girl in Mizoram for singing a contemporary version of the national song “Vande Mataram”.

Modi retweeted Esther Hnamte’s performance video which was first tweeted by Mizoram Chief Minister Zoramthanga. “Adorable and admirable! Proud of Esther Hnamte for this rendition,” said Modi in his tweet on Saturday late night.

“Mesmerizing Esther Hnamte, a 4-years-old kid from Lunglei, Mizoram singing Maa Tujhe Salaam; Vande Mataram,” Zoramthanga had tweeted.

Esther hails from Lunglei in southern Mizoram and warbled Vande Mataram in an attractive video clip. Oscar award winning renowned Indian musician A.R. Rahman who had rendered the popular version of Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay’s Vande Mataram also praised Esther and tweeted her video with the caption, “When you are showered with cuteness and love. Esther (4 years)”

The little kid’s video has gone viral on social media with the full clip available of her performance in YouTube with the caption, “Dear brothers and sisters, Be proud that you are an Indian, it is a land of love, care and affection.

“So lovely the variety in languages, cultures, lifestyle. Let us stand together to be good sons and daughters for our motherland in spite of the diversities…”

The cute girl’s YouTube channel has over 78,000 subscribers and till Sunday afternoon attracted 614,763 viewers after the video was uploaded on October 25.

Incorporating traditional Mizo dances, Hnamte’s video has quite a few professional shots taken in different locations of the mountainous state in the northeast region.

Shots of picturesque hills, forest, fields and roads are also taken by a drone camera. In the 3.54 minute video, Hnamte in a white shirt and black skirt, with a ribbon pinned to the collar and holding an Indian national flag, carries the song written in a pre-Independence era with all grace.

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Food Health Lite Blogs

Veganism, A Benefiting Way Of Life

Celebs who eat vegan.
Celebs who eat vegan.

The growing towards conscious eating habits, backed by health benefits is set to drive Veganism as a way of life in the days to come. But being a vegan, one often faces questions about their diet.

It’s important to remember Veganism is not a diet or fad but a social justice movement for animals. To start with, vegans are those who do not use animal products or even by-products such as eggs, dairy products, honey, leather, fur, silk, cosmetics. Individuals who prefer to be a vegan choose food which does not exploit animals.

On World Vegan Day, IANSlife spoke to Amjor Chandran, animal rights activist and co-organiser of Vegan India Movement, Animal Liberation March India (ALMI) and the Animal Rights March India clears the air on veganism.

Bursting the myths about veganism:

There is a common belief that it is not affordable to go vegan. The truth is: it is economical. It is essential for a human being to follow a balanced diet with pulses and cereals, grains, vegetables and fruit to fulfil the body’s nutritional requirements, he says.

“When we eliminate animal products from our diet, it is not necessary to substitute them with vegan alternatives. Vegan alternatives like almond and soy milk mock meat are only to satiate our taste buds. They are not essential to go vegan. Eliminating animal products is cost-effective.

“Another big misconception is that the vegans are protein deficient because people think only meat has protein. A well plant-based diet will give you all the essential amino acids needed for your body. Other requirements like B12 is a vitamin which is neither plant nor animal origin. They are found in microbes. Because of too much sanitation, it is not readily available. So, it is necessary to take supplements. Sunlight is an excellent source of vitamin D as well as supplementation. 40 percent of the world’s population is deficient of vitamin D irrespective of what they eat. So, it is not correct to think that a vegan diet lacks nutrients,” Chandran points out.

Benefits of veganism

By choosing to go vegan you not only contribute in the effort to stop the exploitation of animals but also to reduce your carbon footprint and prevent diseases. By following a whole food and plant-based diet, you can prevent or even reverse 15 of the major killer diseases of our time that includes heart disease and diabetes. This is explained with facts by Dr Michael Gregor in his famous video on YouTube “Uprooting the leading causes of death”, says the expert.

World Vegan Day: Clearing the air on veganism.

“Being vegan is the single best way to reduce your environmental impact on the earth. Animal agriculture is responsible for deforestation, water shortage, Global warming, and climate change. Globally, 50 percent of food grains which are produced in this world are used to feed the animals that we breed and overpopulate. A global shift towards veganism significantly helps us in preventing food shortage,” he asserts.

Adding: “Animal agriculture is responsible for global warming, deforestation, climate change and water scarcity. This is the reason why environmentalists like James Cameron and Greta Thunberg have turned vegan. There are growing activist groups across the country like Dval (Delhi Vegans for Animal Liberation ) which is based in Delhi and Kerala vegan Movement, which aim at creating vegan awareness by several campaigns like Marches, cube of truth, lectures, street outreaches.”

Vegan India Movement is an initiative which strives to bring together grassroots vegan Activists across the country. 1,000 activists across the country actively participate in different campaigns. Last month was named #whydiaryiscruel in which several activists made videos in their regional languages to make people aware of the standard practices of the dairy industry.

Cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore and Chennai have an immense rise in the number of vegans. The Movement is slowly spreading across the small towns as well. There is no proper survey conducted to measure the number of vegans yet. But with more awareness being created by activists, it’s bound to increase exponentially.

‘Balika Vadhu’ serial director sells veggies in UP’s Azamgarh.

How can one become a vegan?

He says: “Veganism is not about perfectionism. It is not a perfect world that we live in, but the endeavour is to strive towards creating one. It’s about not causing intentional harm to animals. As far as our diet is concerned, it’s about following a balanced diet and eliminating animal products. Some people find it difficult to let go of the taste of animal products, that’s where alternatives come into play.” Tea, coffee, paneer and all other addictions can be replaced with similar plant-based alternatives. There are many start-ups which sell mock meats as well

He adds: “Besides diet, it is important to focus on our lifestyle as well. As a vegan one should not wear silk, fur, wool which is made of animal skin and replace cosmetics, beauty products with cruelty-free products. One needs to be very careful in using products from the industry where animals are used, they are abused and exploited.”

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Bollywood Celebrity Films Lite Blogs

‘More To Celebrate Than Fear In The OTT Space

Rasika Dugal.
Rasika Dugal.

Actress Rasika Dugal feels there is a lot to celebrate as far as the advent of the OTT culture goes, and hopes the chase for numbers never plagues the platform.

Asked about the thing she fears about the change sweeping in the OTT world, Rasika told IANS in a Twitter interaction: “At the moment, there is more to celebrate than fear in the OTT space. But I hope the chase for numbers doesn’t set in or hasn’t set in.”

Right now, Rasika is being lauded for her role of Beena Tripathi in “Mirzapur” season two.

“(It) was a relief to have female desire acknowledged. (It was) an interesting departure and therefore liberating to explore such a beautifully flawed character. I lived vicariously through Beena,” Rasika told IANS on Twitter when questioned how liberating it was for her to work on a character like Beena.

She was also seen in Mira Nair’s web series “A Suitable Boy”, a screen adaptation of the Vikram Seth classic of the same name. Set in India of 1951, the series traces the journey of Lata, a passionate literature student, and her meddling mother who wishes to choose her husband. The story takes the audience on a journey with Lata as she explores the excitement of romance and heartache, as three different men try to win her heart.

Rasika essays Savita Mehra Kapoor, whose marriage kicks in a turn of events among four families.

“I am thrilled to have had the opportunity to be part of two shows releasing on the same day — of different genres and on different platforms, and for me as an actor, two completely different characters. I loved re-visiting Beena Tripathi in ‘Mirzapur’ season two and loved discovering Savita Mehra in ‘A Suitable Boy’, both in a matter of a few months. ‘Mirzapur’ already has a loyal following and I am sure ‘A Suitable Boy’ will charm many, too. I look forward to the audience response to both the shows, and to Beena and Savita, too. Here’s to the abundance, variety, and quality of work on streaming platforms,” Rasika said recently.

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