Home Blog Page 5427

Women centric films rake in the moolah at box office

Queen is the recent hot topic of discussion in Bollywood which is reigning in box office collections this year. The picture depicting the transformation of a girl whose marriage was called off her fiancee post which she decides to go for honeymoon alone in a foreign land was well received by the audiences, critics and the members of the film fraternity alike. The film’s collections started picking up at the box office due to word of mouth publicity. Film stalwarts praised ‘the queen’ for her extraordinary performance. The growing trend of making female centric movies comes to the forefront.

Kahaani perhaps made a mark in this area with a lumpsum box office collection of 50 crores two years ago. While Vidya Balan’s acting skills was appreciated as usual, the mystery in the storyline held the audience to their seats. However, the woman centric film set a new trend in modern cinema where a woman is the central focus in the genre of a thriller. True, we might remember movies like ‘Gupt’ but that too required a hero and the woman was the villain. So, this was perhaps the first movie of its kind.

In the past too, there have been female centric movies like Astitva but they have failed to earn good revenues at the box office. It is only recently that female protagonists have started being recognised by the masses. This shows that people are evolving, getting matured in their tastes and looking for movies with substance. Films like Page 3, Fashion, Corporate, Chandni Bar are women centric films which have been widely appreciated. Of course, there have been movies like Heroine, Gulaab Gang which have failed to garner popularity. However, with the positive responses exceeding the negative ones, female centric movies are no doubt treated with importance.

Nowadays, the content in the female centric movies are different than they were a decade ago. This shows the changes in the mindset and lifestyle of people in society which is reflected in movies. One cannot forget the example of the west where Julia Roberts was the highest paid actor in the 90’s. However, irrespective of the quality of performance, Indian actresses get lesser remuneration as compared to their male counterparts. This has to change. If actresses can be the sole reason of earning revenue for films, she must be paid more. The problem is, we still live in a male-centric society where the role of a female in films is restricted to item numbers and romancing. Otherwise, how else would you explain the success of Dabangg?

Promotion of safety at sea

Over the years, International Maritime Organisation (IMO) has done a laudable job by promoting safety at sea and addressing environmental concerns. The spiritual development of the seafarer has not been given much prominence even when it is realized that the loneliness in a seafarer’s life needs spiritual balm. Prior to ISPS era, the priests visited the ship and gave us soothing talk and even helped us by taking us out to town and bringing back, saving our money and providing security in transit. Father used to come with the van at Vancouver and Portland and took us out and brought us back on board after some hours ashore.

At Durban, the van started to shuttle by taking people to club at 6 pm and dropping people back to ships at 9 pm. Richards Bay has a very big club and bus used to shuttle from ship to club and back. Recently, I had noticed that everybody must do a course for designated security duties. It’s a two day course and fees varies widely from college to college ( at least in Mumbai) and I can’t say how people will become more proficient. Masters and Chief Officers on board could have easily provided such kind of training and it would have been more realistic. I still recollect, we were put through training session on Dangerous goods code ship by our Croatian chief mate. He amicably taught us about classification, segregation and precautions to be taken in regard to these, which I don’t think any one of us has forgotten.

A small test was conducted and we even got certificate signed by him and the master. The material was also put as CBT in Ship’s office computer so that you can make amendments whenever you like. On a car carrier, there was a similar computer based course on safety and good practices where you even get your scores and it was popular because everybody wanted to perform better ( something like karaoke). Do you think any amount of certification would have improved the behaviour of Costa Concordia Master?

Let us pitch for allowing priests a visit on board. In one of the Japanese ports ( even post ISPS) an old husband- wife team used to come to mess room by carrying useful items. The husband was blind, and every crew member bought some thing from them and the cook even fed them. This depicted the kind nature of seamen. Seamen are generous persons and they love to interact. Let us provide such an opportunity to them. While crossing Magellan strait, two priests always visited us and interacted with us and provided reading material. On board visit of holy persons and on board training should now become the agenda of the IMO.

NaMo’s slogan hurts sentiments

NaMo-sloganCongress, Sanatan Sanstha have raised objection against the usage of the slogan Har Har Modi.

Narendra Modi’s supporters seem to have gripped under the Modi mania as they have been chanting the slogan ‘Har Har Modi, Ghar Ghar Modi’. The slogan was extensively used during rallies held by Modi. Congress and Sanatan Sanstha raised objection against this slogan. The party had filed a complaint with the Election Commission and said that the usage of religion is against the model code of conduct. The party had demanded the de-recognition of BJP and action against Modi for using the slogans which might hurt religious sentiments.

Anand Dakotia, spokesperson Santhan Sanstha said, “We oppose the usage of slogan Har Har Modi and we strongly condemn it. To use deity’s name for pursuing political interest is unjustified.”

He further added, “We also have objections against people morphing the pictures of Lord Krishna and Goddess Durga. Use of deity’s words, slogans, pictures should be avoided while campaigning for election. We are pleased to know that Narendra Modi has appealed to his supporters to refrain from using the words Har Har Modi and they have coined a new slogan.”

The slogans were found written on the walls, party posters and billboards. Some supporters had even formed few songs while using the same slogan. Soon after the slogan Har Har Modi, Ghar Ghar Modi became popular many BJP leaders had claimed that ‘even God could not stop Modi from becoming the PM. Congress also raised objections against the use of Lord Shiva in the backdrop of a rally held by Modi. The party also alleged that BJP is only trying to play with the religious sentiments of people by projecting Modi as larger than life.

Dwarka peeth Shankarachayra Swaroopanand Saraswati raised an objection to the slogan and registered a strong protest with RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, asking him to stop such “vyakti puja” (worship of individuals). He also asked the party workers to stop the use of the slogan and politicising it for selfish gains.

According to Swami Ji “After learning about it, I called up Bhagwat (RSS chief) and asked him to stop such chanting, which is an insult to Lord Shiva. I told him that converting ‘Har har Mahadev’ into ’Har Har Modi’ must be stopped. Instead of worshiping god, it is an attempt to worship a particular human being and is against Hindu religion.”

In his reply, Bhagwat claimed that RSS is always against man-worshiping. Bhagwat also added that some party workers are die-hard loyalists of Modi and hence are using the slogans.

Modi later appealed to his supporters to refrain from using the slogan. He tweeted “Some enthusiastic supporters are using slogan ‘Har Har Modi…’ I respect their enthusiasm but request not to use this slogan in the future.”

HC orders inquiry by Retd Judge into Rs. 6000 cr tribal schemes

The Bombay High Court ordered an inquiry by a retired High Court Judge M G Gaikwad into the alleged financial irregularities in tribal welfare schemes in Maharashtra during the period 2004-05 to 2008-09.
The order was passed on a PIL filed by a tribal, Bahiram Motiram, from Nashik district demanding probe into the alleged Rs 6,000 crore scam with regard to tribal schemes.

A bench headed by Justice V M Kanade asked the State Government to come out with a G R on April 1, appointing Gaikwad as the Chairman of the five-member committee to probe the allegations.

The Court also ordered that the enquiry shall commence immediately after the G.R is notified.

On a plea made by petitioner’s lawyers, Rajendra Raghuvanshi and Rutuja Ambekar, the bench further directed that Justice (Retd) Gaikwad heading the inquiry would recommend action to be taken against the concerned persons responsible for the scam.

All the recommendations would be submitted to the High Court, the judges ruled and kept the PIL pending until then. The Court noted that the Chairman of the committee would decide on the procedure for holding the inquiry.

The Court order is considered in legal circles as a heavy blow to Vijaykumar Gavit, the then Minister for Tribal Welfare. The Government today submitted a draft of G.R which it proposed to notify to appoint the inquiry committee.

The bench went through the proposed G.R and approved it.

The other members of the inquiry committee are Bipin Shrimali, Managing Director, Maharashtra State Electricity Commission Co Ltd, Dhananjay Kamlakar, Special Inspector General of Police, Nashik, Sunil Bhosale, Joint Director (Finance), Maharashtra State Aids Control Society, and Sanjeev Kumar, Tribal Development Commissioner.

Supriya Sule declares Rs 31.62 cr assets

suleNCP candidate from Baramati Supriya Sule, sitting MP and daughter of party Chief Sharad Pawar, has declared her total assets worth Rs. 31.62 crore in the affidavit submitted to the Election Commission.

The total assets of the family – Supriya, her husband and two children – stand at Rs. 113.87 crore.

These include movable and immovable properties, bank deposits, jewellery, land and housing assets.

Interestingly, both Supriya and her husband have no car owned and registered in their names.

She possesses Rs. 25,000 cash, according to the details furnished in the affidavit.

Supriya had yesterday filed her nomination papers for the Lok Sabha election from Baramati constituency in Pune district.

Congress facing uphill task in defending fort against Sena-BJP

Nilesh_RaneCongress is facing a tough challenge in its bid to retain the Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg Lok Sabha seat in an area where State Industries Minister Narayan Rane holds sway.

Rane’s son Nilesh represents the seat which is situated at the southernmost tip of Maharashtra. Marked by a vast, hilly terrain and a sea coast, this is an area where leaders like Madhu Dandavate and Shiv Sena’s Suresh Prabhu have fought and won Lok Sabha elections for several years.

The constituency known for Chhatrapati Shivaji’s famed sea fort at Malwan and the Tarkarli beach was earlier called Rajapur. Following delimitation in 2008, parts of Ratnagiri district were included in the new Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg constituency.

Col Sudhir Sawant, who won the erstwhile Rajapur Lok Sabha constituency in 1991 on a Congress ticket, said that the group of Shiv Sainiks which came with Narayan Rane in 2005 was the Congress party in the district now.

“The original Congress members are sitting at home,” he said.

Sawant, who quit Congress a few years back, said the party could never establish itself in Konkan region because it fell short of money and muscle power and was also affected by internal bickering.

“The Sharad Pawar faction in Congress used to support Shiv Sena in the 1990s,” he charged.

Even though all villages in the Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg seat have road connectivity and electricity supply, farmers have several grievances.

“The tourism policy is flawed. The focus is only on five star hotels and acquisition of land for it. Given the rural nature of the constituency, focus should have been on village- based and high-end tourism,” he said.

Industries have shied away from investing in the area due to law and order problems, he further charged.

Kudal MLA and former Sena-BJP Chief Minister Narayan Rane is the lone Congress legislator in the Assembly segments in this constituency.

The Sena-turned-Congress leader suffered a blow when party candidates and close associates Ganpat Kadam and Ravindra Phatak, lost from Rajapur and Kankavli, respectively, in the 2009 Assembly polls while NCP’s Uday Samant won from Ratnagiri and Deepak Kesarkar took Sawantwadi.

Antulay’s Resentment Taken up at Congress-NCP Panel Meet: Malik

NCP today said the issue of senior Congress leader A R Antulay’s open support to the rival PWP’s candidates in Raigad and Mawal Lok Sabha constituencies had been taken up at the co-ordination committee of the two coalition partners.

In both the constituencies, NCP candidates are contesting with the Congress’s support.

“The first meeting, chaired by the Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan and the Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, took place in Pune yesterday,” NCP spokesman Nawab Malik said.

State unit chiefs of both the parties, NCP ministers R R Patil, Jayant Patil; Congress leaders Narayan Rane, Patangrao Kadam, Nitin Raut and Harshvardhan Patil were present among others, Malik said.

Maharashtra Congress chief Manikrao Thakre had earlier said he had reported Antulay’s angry outbursts against the party to the central leadership, and efforts would be made to placate the octogenarian leader who was once the Chief Minister of the state.

Shakti Mills gang-rape: no relief to convicts from Bombay High Court on new charge

In a setback to three of the convicts in the photojournalist’s rape case, the Bombay High Court today refused to interfere “at this stage” with the sessions court’s decision to frame a fresh charge for a repeat offence of rape, which can attract the death penalty.
The order of the bench of Justices N H Patil and Abhay Thipsay came on a petition filed Vijay Jadhav, Kasim Bengali and Mohammed Salim Ansari, against the trial court’s March 24 order on prosecution’s application for additional charge against them under section 376 (e) of the Indian Penal Code.
As these three were also convicted for the gang-rape of a telephone operator — which had taken place a month earlier in the same Shakti Mills compound — the prosecution, after their conviction in the photojournalist case, sought framing of charge under the newly introduced section 376 (e).
Section 376 (e) provides for the maximum sentence of death in the case of a repeat offence of rape. It was added to section 376 (rape) after the December 2012 Delhi gang-rape. “At this stage we would refrain from expressing any conclusive view about applicability of section 376 (e) and the tenability of framing of additional charges post-conviction. We keep these issues open. But our interference is not warranted at this stage of trial. Our non-interference in the order of the sessions court shall not be construed as approval of the trial court order allowing the application,” HC said.

The court, however, added that it would consider the larger issue of constitutional validity of section 376 (e), and issued notice to the Attorney General of India and posted the petition for hearing after six weeks.

Today’s order makes it possible for the sessions court to go ahead with examination of witnesses after framing of additional charge and hear arguments on the quantum of sentence in the photojournalist’s rape case.

Earlier, defence lawyer Moin Khan argued that fresh charges cannot be applied once a judgement is passed. However Advocate General Darius Khambata contended that a judgement is complete only after the sentence is passed (which is not the case here).

Sonia Gandhi to address rally in Mumbai on April 20

Congress president Sonia Gandhi would address a election rally in the city on April 20, ahead of the third phase of Lok Sabha elections in Maharashtra.

The Congress chief would also be accompanied by her son and party vice-president Rahul Gandhi, a senior party leader said. “Although it is a Congress rally, other alliance partners including NCP chief Sharad Pawar will also be invited for the event,” the leader said.

“We have finalised the MMRDA grounds in suburban Bandra-Kurla complex. This rally will be a befitting reply to BJP prime ministerial nominee Narendra Modi’s rally which was held in December last year,” he said.
He said that supporters and followers of Congress from various parts of the city, suburbs and neighbouring Thane district would attend the “mega-rally”. “We are expecting double the crowd that was seen during the Modi rally. We have booked ten plots in the MMMRDA grounds. Whereas, the BJP had booked only four plots,” he said.

Nexus between Srinivasan, Meiyappan and Dhoni

The Supreme Court has said it will pass an order on the Indian Premier League (IPL) spot-fixing and betting scandal and has proposed that former India captain Sunil Gavaskar to take over as the interim chief of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in place of its embattled president N. Srinivasan. I wish the Supreme Court really does something concrete to make sure that the Nation’s pluralist fabric doesn’t get torn away by fundamentalist forces. The Court stands like a dummy most of the time when it comes to upholding some recital stand. The court suggested that Indian Premier League teams Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Rajasthan Royals (RR) should not be part of the seventh season beginning in the United Emirates on April 16, as they are being investigated in the case. Both teams are former champions, with Chennai winning the IPL twice. The Supreme Court bench has also proposed that no one associated with Srinivasan’s company India Cements should be part of the BCCI. India Cements owns CSK and it also employs Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Sunder Raman, the man who runs the IPL. Srinivasan is the Managing Director of Indian Cements. The court has asked the Board to reply to its proposals on Friday.

BCCI is a registered society under Societies Act. Company Law or any other such laws are not applicable to it. Best said – it is just equal to a residents Association and Supreme Court cannot interfere and remove office bearers in the fashion it likes. I do not understand under what provisions of law they want to drop CSK and RR from the next series. Further, it will be in the interest of all, if Supreme Court restricts its jurisdiction in this matter only to see whether any one has been unduly benefited in the match fixing scam. People have faith in the Supreme Court’s judgement but this type of intervention might hurt its credibility.

On Tuesday, the court had said that N. Srinivasan should step down as BCCI president to ensure a fair inquiry into the IPL betting and match-fixing scandal and had given the Board two days to respond. The two-judge bench slammed what it called Srinivasan’s “nauseating” refusal to resign while allegations of illegal betting and spot-fixing involving his son-in-law Gurunath Meiyappan an official of the CSK, are being investigated. A final order is expected on April 16, the day IPL 7 is scheduled to start. Mumbai Indians, the defending champions, will clash with Kolkata Knight Riders in the first match at Abu Dhabi.

Let’s assume the court is cleaning up cricket. In the process, one hope it doesn’t end up sullying its own reputation. The Apex court has sought BCCI’s reply, fine. But how can it give suggestions like whom to be appointed as its Chairman? Secondly, barring two teams alone would not fit the bill. The entire estate of IPL is questionable. It has been proved time and again that the IPL is abetting the various offences like spot-fixing and betting; it is a major deterrent to poor performance of Indian team players in other formats of this game. As we all are aware, the weaknesses of Indian cricket are poor show in foreign soil, regionalism, incompetence in domestic pitches in non- conformity to International standards and many more in the list. To save the sanctity of this Gentleman’s game, the entire event should be shredded and in its place, test cricket should be more promulgated with sweeping away the issues. Still could not understand how court could propose a “name” to head a “private” body which plays for our country.

Moreover, don’t think barring CSK and RR from playing IPL will do any good. Instead, court should order MS Dhoni, Vice President of India Cements not to play IPL-7 because he may have some “vested” interests. Cricket in India is poised to clear its web with the support of Supreme Court. Likewise, people’s court in the country has to usher in corrupt-free government in the forthcoming election. IPL may be allowed to make a comeback next year but with a complete overhaul of its structure. The next question is about the players named in Justice Mudgal’s report. What will happen to them if they are real big shots? It will be a throwback to late 90s and early 2000s for Indian cricket and much of the hard work done by stalwarts like Tendulkar, Ganguly, Dravid, Kumble, Sehwag et al will be undone.
The question remains here, why is the Supreme Court in the business of governing? SC is involving itself in everything which is the business of the government. It is almost like Government does not exist in India. What about, many politicians and billionaires who are also involved in scams? Why the opposition parties are not protesting against the government when they are not doing their work properly? Why should N. Srinivasan be the only person to face the shame? Did Gavaskar tell the judge privately about his desire or availability? If Gavaskar has any self-respect and feels for cricket, he should not accept the suggestion and should refuse in order to correct the mistake in haste, with all due respect to the courts, made by the Judiciary. Though it is unfortunate that the Supreme Court has to waste it’s time on what is essentially a private entertainment venture by a body claiming to be the official representative of a Non-Olympic sport. The paying public is attending these matches for their entertainment quotient and to surmise that they have been cheated as a result of betting is akin to a cinema goer’s disappointment at spending for good movie to see a non- entertaining movie.