Aishwarya Model Barbie Bollywood

Aishwarya Rai

LONDON: Kecantikan yang dimiliki bintang Bollywood, Aishwarya Rai mendapat perhatian apabila wajah bekas ratu cantik dunia itu bakal diabadikan sebagai model terbaru patung Barbie.

Rai yang pernah memenangi Ratu Dunia 1994 semakin mendapat perhatian apabila turut berlakon dalam filem Hollywood termasuk Bride and Prejudice, Mistress of Spices, The Last Legion dan terbaru Pink Panther 2 bersama aktor Steve Martin.

Beliau diibaratkan menjadi ahli keluarga diraja Bollywood apabila mengahwini anak pelakon bintang filem paling popular India, Amitabh Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan.

Pemilihan sebagai model Barbie meletakkan pelakon berkenaan sebaris diva Hollywood yang turut menjadi model patung berkenaan seperti Beyonce dan Elizabeth Taylor. – Agensi

Berita Harian

Oscar Julang Maruah India

Oleh MOHD. YUSMAN AWANG
yusman.awang@kosmo.com.my

Keupayaan filem Slumdog Millionaire menggondol lapan Anugerah Oscar berjaya meruntuhkan benteng Hollywood terhadap Bollywood selama ini.

BARANGKALI individu yang paling terkilan saat ini ialah Shah Rukh Khan. Ia berikutan kejayaan filem Slumdog Millionaire meraih majoriti kemenangan dengan menggondol lapan Oscar pada majlis Anugerah Academy ke-81, yang berlangsung di Kodak Theatre, Los Angeles kelmarin.

Aktor terkenal Bollywood itu sepatutnya melakonkan watak Prem Kumar, hos program Who Wants To Be a Millionaire? dalam Slumdog Millionaire tetapi dia nekad menolak tawaran berlakon filem itu kerana merasakan watak itu sebagai negatif.

IMPAK memilih cinta. A.R. Rahman menyapu bersih kategori muzik yang dipertandingkan Oscar.

Begitu juga dengan aktor veteran tersohor Bollywood, Amitabh Bachchan. Mungkin dia perlu menarik semula kenyataannya yang sebelum ini menyelar pengarah filem itu, Danny Boyle atas dakwaan menggambarkan India sebagai negara yang masih dibelenggu masalah kemiskinan.

Ini kerana mimpi dalam filem yang dikritiknya itu sudah menjadi kenyataan!

“Hidup India! Hidup India!” Itulah antara butir kata-kata yang sempat dilontarkan Anil Kapoor yang merupakan seorang aktor terkenal Bollywood ketika ditemu bual hos terkenal, Ryan Seacrest untuk saluran E! Entertainment pada acara karpet merah majlis Oscar yang penuh gemilang dibanjiri nama-nama tersohor
JIRAN tetangga pelakon cilik Rubina Ali, di perkampungan setinggan di Mumbai, bersorak keriangan ketika A.R.Rahman membuat persembahan lagu Jai Ho di pentas Oscar 2009.

Hollywood daripada Angelina Jolie hingga bintang remaja terkenal masa kini, Miley Cyrus.

Selain pelakon kanak-kanak Slumdog Millionaire terutama Rubina Ali dan Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail yang berjaya menarik perhatian ramai pada acara karpet merah Oscar kali ini, turut merasai bahang glamor bertaraf global itu sudah tentulah Anil.

INI pula reaksi jiran-jiran Azharuddin yang meraikan kemenangan mega Slumdog Millionaire menguasai majlis Anugerah Academy ke-81.

Lebih bermakna lagi apabila Anil berpeluang melaungkan kata-kata penuh patriotik itu yang disaksikan secara langsung di seluruh dunia. Ini bermakna Anil sepertimana apa dan siapa juga yang berkaitan dengan Slumdog Millionaire kini secara rasminya sudah dikenali dunia!

Terima kasih kepada Shah Rukh kerana menolak watak Prem Kumar yang kemudian disambar Anil.

Bilakah lagi muncul peluang buat aktor Bollywood untuk muncul gah seumpama Anil pada Oscar di Hollywood?

BARISAN pelakon kanak-kanak Slumdog Millionaire, (belakang, dari kiri), Ashutosh Lobo Gajiwala, Tanvi Ganesh, Tanay Hermant Chheda (depan, dari kiri), Azharuddin, Rubina dan Ayush Mahesh Khedeya.

Mungkin itu satu-satunya peluang keemasan dan peluang itu berjaya diperoleh Anil yang disebut oleh Ryan Seacrest dengan jolokan ‘George Clooney Bollywood’.

Apa yang penting, kejayaan Slumdog Millionaire pada Oscar kali ini telah merasmikan runtuhnya benteng Hollywood terhadap Bollywood selama ini.

Bollywood yang sebelum ini sukar untuk diterima di Hollywood kini bukan sahaja berpeluang memasuki pintu Hollywood yang sudah terbuka luas, tetapi lebih bermakna apabila diberi masuk dengan penuh penghormatan.

Semuanya gara-gara kemenangan besar Slumdog Millionaire menjadi filem paling banyak menggondol Oscar pada majlis Anugerah Academy kali ini.

TERIMA KASIH Shah Rukh Khan. Anil Kapoor bersama Danny Boyle meraikan kejayaan gemilang Slumdog Millionaire.

Keupayaan Slumdog Millionaire merangkul lapan anugerah daripada 10 pencalonan yang diraihnya termasuk Anugerah Filem Terbaik bukan sekadar menjadi kemenangan buat penerbit filem itu, Fox Searchlight dan juga Boyle yang turut menang Anugerah Pengarah Terbaik.

Ini kerana naskhah filem itu tidak akan lahir tanpa suntikan kreativiti anak-anak kelahiran India yang turut meraih pengiktirafan pada Oscar.

Melakar sejarah India di Hollywood dengan meraih Oscar kali ini ialah pemuzik unggul India, A.R. Rahman yang bukan sahaja menjadi warga India pertama meraih dua Oscar tetapi menyapu bersih kategori muzik yang dipertandingkan dalam Anugerah Academy.

Dia diumumkan sebagai pemenang Anugerah Skor Muzik Terbaik dan Lagu Terbaik.

Dalam sejarah 81 tahun Oscar, hanya dua warga India merangkul anugerah iaitu Bhanu Athaiya yang memenangi Anugerah Kostum Terbaik menerusi filem Gandhi (1982) dan anugerah kehormat yang diberikan kepada penerbit filem legenda India, Satyajit Ray pada 1991.

Rahman, 43, yang pernah diberi jolokan ‘Mozart Madras’ ketika membuat ucapan kemenangannya di pentas Academy ke-81 berkata: “Saya berasa terkejut dan seronok dalam masa yang sama. Kali terakhir saya berasa seperti ini adalah ketika majlis perkahwinan saya.”

Menurutnya lagi, Slumdog Millionaire adalah filem mengenai optimistik dan kuasa harapan. “Dalam seluruh kehidupan saya, saya telah membuat pilihan antara benci dan cinta. Saya telah memilih cinta dan (sebab itu) saya di sini (Oscar 2009),” ucapnya penuh bermakna.

Kemenangan Rahman itu sebenarnya sudah diramalkan sejak awal oleh keluarganya di India. “Keluarga saya begitu gembira kerana mereka dari awal lagi menjangkakan Rahman akan menang lebih daripada satu Oscar.

“Justeru, ia (kemenangan dua Oscar) merupakan kegembiraan berganda. Terima kasih kepada semua yang berdoa untuknya di India,” ujar adik perempuan Rahman, Fatimah Rafiq.

Namun, Rahman bukan satu-satunya rakyat India yang menang Oscar kali ini apabila Resul Pookutty turut diumumkan sebagai pemenang Anugerah Adunan Bunyi Terbaik.

“(Kemenangan) ini sesuatu yang sukar untuk dipercayai. Kami semua tidak sangka sama sekali.

“Terima kasih Academy, ini bukan sekadar anugerah untuk adunan bunyi filem. Ini adalah suatu sejarah yang diberikan kepada saya,” ujar Resul.

Kosmo

Mengapa Slumdog Popular?

Oleh JESSABELL SOO
jessabell@kosmo.com.my

SEBAGAI penonton yang tidak pernah menjejak kaki ke India, ramai termasuk penulis kagum dengan karya Slumdog Millionaire. Namun, bukan semua masyarakat India dapat menerima sebuah lagi filem yang dikatakan stereotaip dengan pandangan dunia luar terhadap negara mereka yang penuh dengan masalah rasuah, kemiskinan serta kekotoran.

Memenangi empat anugerah Golden Globes dan tujuh anugerah British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA), Slumdog turut menerima 10 pencalonan untuk anugerah Oscar yang bakal berlangsung esok. Maka, tidak keterlaluan jika Slumdog menjadi sebuah karya yang paling hangat diperkatakan dan dibicarakan tahun ini.

Berlatarbelakangkan Mumbai, India, pelakon tersohor India, Amitabh Bachchan pernah menyelar pengarahnya, Danny Boyle kerana menggambarkan India dalam keadaan miskin. Tetapi peminat filem di seluruh dunia terutama audiens Asia berasa lega kerana akhirnya realiti India dipaparkan tanpa berusaha untuk menutup kecacatannya.

SLUMDOG merupakan filem cereka pertama bagi Dev dan Freida.

Menelan bajet AS$15 juta (RM53.9 juta), apa yang menambahkan kejayaan naskhah ini adalah tema yang mampu menyentuh perasaan penonton. Menceritakan mengenai seorang kanak-kanak jalanan di kawasan setinggan yang baru kehilangan ibunya, Jamal Malik, fokus diberikan kepada bagaimana Jamal bergelut untuk meneruskan hidup bersama abangnya, Salim.

Jamal kemudian menyertai program Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? dan dikatakan menipu kerana berjaya menjawab semua soalan. Dia ditangkap polis dan kemudiannya mengimbas kembali kehidupannya semasa kecil yang mempunyai kaitan dengan setiap soalan yang ditujukan.

FREIDA menjayakan watak Latika yang merupakan cinta pertama Jamal.

Diakhiri dengan tarian, lagu, cinta dan populariti, filem ini ditayangkan di Amerika Syarikat (AS) sehari sebelum serangan pengganas di Mumbai. Atas kejadian itu juga mungkin telah memperkuatkan lagi minat orang luar terhadap Slumdog.

“Mumbai adalah latar belakang yang ideal bagi sebuah produksi antarabangsa. Tempatnya selekeh dan dikelilingi dengan penempatan setinggan serta kemiskinan walaupun di kawasan restoran mewah. Itulah yang ingin dipaparkan dalam filem ini,” kata penulis kolum Economic Times India, Vikram Doctor.

Slumdog dibikin bagaikan satu pengembaraan kemiskinan di India. Menggabungkan bakat India dan luar negara dengan dialog Inggeris serta Hindi dan Urdu, ia juga telah menimbulkan persoalan sama ada Slumdog adalah filem India atau luar negara (Hollywood).

Dihasilkan berdasarkan novel tulisan diplomat, Vikas Swarup (yang mendapat kritikan hebat di India) dan versi layar lebar pula diarahkan oleh pengarah British, Danny. Skripnya pula ditulis oleh Simon Beaufoy dari British dan karya itu dilakonkan oleh pelakon India serta luar negara yang berketurunan India.

Pengarah filem Elizabeth (1998), Shekhar Kapur, menyatakan berdasarkan fokus dan tujuannya, Slumdog adalah filem milik India. “Apa yang paling relevan adalah Slumdog merupakan filem India paling berjaya setakat ini.

“Ia mungkin diarahkan oleh pengarah British dan diterbitkan oleh syarikat Eropah, tetapi siapa peduli? Penggunaan krew produksi dari luar adalah sesuatu yang biasa dalam filem India sekarang.”

BABAK Jamal sebelum terjun ke dalam kumbahan najis.

Kejayaan filem itu juga boleh diukur apabila ia telah menjadi subjek perbincangan penggiat filem sedunia. Pelakon dan pengarah Bollywood, Aamir Khan bagaimanapun tidak menganggap Slumdog sebagai sebuah karya India.

“Slumdog adalah filem mengenai India tetapi bukan filem India. Saya rasa ia tidak ada kaitan dengan India. Pembikin filem adalah orang kreatif dan mereka memberitahu cerita. Saya tidak rasa Slumdog dibikin dengan tujuan untuk menunjukkan kelemahan India.”

Selain pujian melambung, Danny juga berdepan dengan kritikan bahawa filem ini terlalu memfokuskan isu pelacur, jenayah dan pengemis.

Malah judul Slumdog itu sendiri telah mendapat tentangan daripada orang India sendiri terutama mereka yang menetap di kawasan setinggan. Mereka memprotes dengan menyatakan bahawa mereka adalah manusia dan bukannya ‘anjing’ seperti yang ditulis judul filem itu.

Namun, itu realiti yang disukai orang luar terutama Barat. Selain isu kontroversi yang membuatkan audiens India membenci, Slumdog bagi orang India adalah sebuah lagi genre filem biasa yang sering ditonton.

“Dengan standard kehidupan India yang semakin meningkat dan pendedahan budaya, Bollywood telah bersedia untuk beranjak kepada realiti kehidupan kelas bawahan. Namun, pendedahan kemiskinan terlampau, penderaan kanak-kanak dan jenayah sedikit sebanyak mengganggu fikiran saya.

“Penderaan kanak-kanak dijadikan sebagai nilai hiburan dan kemiskinan pula bertindak sebagai kesan ‘khas’. Ia merupakan gabungan sempurna dengan cara penceritaan British dan digubah menggunakan stail Bollywood,” kata pembikin filem India yang menetap di Kanada, Krishna.

KANAK-kANAK menjadi teraju penting dalam Slumdog Millionaire.

Dikatakan memasukkan terlalu banyak kualiti Barat, elemen Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? yang dipaparkan sebenarnya mendekati senario yang berlaku semasa program ini mula diperkenalkan di India pada tahun 2001. Kegilaan penduduk India terhadap program ini benar-benar berlaku.

Bagi Danny, Slumdog adalah mengenai nafsu kehidupan. Dia telah cuba untuk memasukkan sebanyak boleh realiti bandar Mumbai dalam filemnya. Nilai komersial India memang sedang berkembang tetapi bandarnya masih gelap dengan jenayah dan kemiskinan yang selalunya disisihkan dan disalah tafsir oleh sinema India serta kerajaannya.

“Bagi menyampaikan babak dan mendekati realiti, saya telah menggunakan kamera digital SI-2K yang mempunyai saiz sama dengan botol wain supaya dapat bergerak bebas dan melahirkan visual lebih jelas.

“Ditambah dengan pelakon kanak-kanak yang dipilih dari kawasan setinggan sendiri, Slumdog dirasakan lebih realiti dengan emosi natural mereka. Disebabkan penggambaran dilakukan di kawasan setinggan, saya juga perlu mengawal beratus-ratus ‘pelawat’ di lokasi,” kata Danny.

Namun, penulis berpendapat filem ini akan lebih dihayati jika dibikin sepenuhnya dalam bahasa Hindi kerana versi yang ditayangkan di pawagam tempatan hanya mengandungi 10 peratus penggunaan bahasa Hindi.

Sedikit kejanggalan timbul apabila watak Jamal, Salim dan Latika mampu berbicara dalam Bahasa Inggeris sempurna ketika dewasa memandangkan mereka membesar tanpa pendidikan formal.

BARISAN pelakon, (dari kiri) Irrfan Khan, Dev Patel, Freida Pinto dan Anil Kapoor pada majlis Anugerah Screen Actors Guild Ke-15.

Namun, barisan pelakon terutama aktor kanak-kanak, Ayush Mahesh Khedekar (Jamal), Rubina Ali (Latika) dan Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail (Salim) dilihat lebih menyerlah daripada watak dewasa.

“Dev Patel dan Freida Pinto berlakon buat kali pertama dalam filem cereka. Saya telah menguji bakat beratus-ratus pelakon lelaki tetapi anak perempuan saya yang berusia 17 tahun telah mencadangkan nama Dev. Manakala pelakon kanak-kanak pula dicari oleh Loveleen di kawasan setinggan sendiri,” tambah Danny.

Pujian mungkin telah membantu mempopularkan filem itu tetapi kontroversi, kritikan dan tentangan terutama masyarakat India juga telah melonjakkan Slumdog sehingga ramai peminat filem mencari alternatif lain untuk menonton filem itu sebelum ditayangkan di pawagam tempatan bermula 12 Februari lalu.

Kosmo

Rai Minta Tangguh

RAI (kiri) bersama ibunya, Vrinda di Institut Perubatan Kokilaben Dhirubhai, Mumbai pada 26 Januari lalu.

NEW DELHI – Selebriti Bollywood, Aishwarya Rai mengejutkan pihak berkuasa Perancis setelah pelakon itu enggan menerima anugerah bintang kehormatan yang diberi kepadanya, lapor sebuah akhbar semalam.

“Terima kasih, bukan sekarang (untuk saya terima anugerah tersebut),” kata Rai.

Pelakon filem Mistress of Spices itu dianugerahi Officer Dan Ordre Des Arts Et Des Lettres yang merupakan darjah kedua tertinggi untuk orang awam.

Darjah itu pernah dianugerahkan kepada aktres Meryl Streep, aktor Robert Redford dan Shah Rukh Khan.

Pingat tertinggi untuk orang awam, Legion d’honour pula diterima oleh pelakon Amitabh Bachchan, Satyajit Ray dan Pandit Ravi Shankar dari India.

Namun, Rai bukan tidak mahu menerima anugerah itu tetapi dia mahu majlis penganugerahan itu ditangguhkan kerana bapanya, Krishna Raj Rai tidak sihat.

“Saya mahu seluruh ahli keluarga termasuk ibu, bapa, adik, suami dan keluarga mentua menghadiri majlis itu. Bapa saya tidak sihat dan saya mahu dia menyaksikan peristiwa penting itu,” katanya.

Bagaimanapun, Krishna dilaporkan sudah kembali sihat dan Rai meminta Kerajaan Perancis mengadakan majlis tersebut di Paris ketika dia menghadiri majlis tayangan perdana filem Pink Panther 2. – Agensi

Kosmo

Economic Turmoil Dominates Davos Forum

DAVOS, Switzerland: Worsening economic turmoil dominated talks and thoughts as world leaders and hundreds of top financial and corporate chiefs gathered Wednesday for the annual Davos forum.

The avalanche of bad news in recent months has turned this World Economic Forum into one of most gloomy held since the elite meetings in the Swiss mountain-top resort started nearly four decades ago.

Chinese and Russian premiers Wen Jiabao and Vladimir Putin give the keynote opening speeches at the start of the five-day forum, with many participants desperately looking for ideas to shorten the global recession.

Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel and the British and Japanese prime ministers Gordon Brown and Taro Aso – who have between them spent hundreds of billions of dollars of taxpayers money battling the crisis – are also among about 40 heads of state or government who will speak this week.

Some countries will use the heavily guarded Davos crisis retreat to seek help. Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is to meet top International Monetary Fund officials in a bid to end differences over a loan deal to help Turkey through the financial crisis.

But much of the attention of the leaders and scores of finance ministers, central bank chiefs and business chiefs will be elsewhere as governments frantically bid to shore up the financial system.

No senior US official will be at Davos even though widespread recovery hopes have been placed on the new US administration. And there are worries over President Barack Obama’s struggle to get an US$825 billion stimulus package passed by Congress and the gathering pace of job losses in major economies.

Davos delegates are also seeing new signs that the battle against the worst recession since the Great Depression of the 1930s is becoming ever tougher.

Confidence among chief executives at more than 1,100 top companies around the world has “plummeted”, according to a survey by consultants PricewaterhouseCooper released in Davos.

“The speed and intensity of the recession has rocked the psyches of CEOs and created a global crisis of confidence,” commented PwC chief executive Samuel DiPiazza.

The main theme of the forum will be “Shaping the Post-Crisis World” and the forum’s founder Klaus Schwab said it will be “possibly the most important ever held.”

The massive bank losses and layoffs on Wall Street and in the City of London will be reflected in the absence of key bankers who held high profile parties and receptions in earlier years at Davos.

John Thain, head of Merrill Lynch, which had to seek a takeover by Bank of America, resigned last week. Goldman Sachs, previously one of the social highlights of Davos, has called off its party this year.

The economic stormclouds have cast a cloud over attempts to highlight other key issues ranging from conflict zones around the world and climate change to efforts to spread democracy and ease chronic Third World poverty and sex discrimination.

Afghanistan’s President Hamid Karzai and Pakistan’s Prime Minister Syed Raza Gillani are to appear together at a debate on the war in Afghanistan and the mounting strife in its neighbour, Pakistan.

Bill Gates, the former Microsoft chairman, is to plead the case for new efforts to help the poor. He announced this week that his charitable foundation has lost 20 per cent of its endowment in the financial crisis and was down to US$35 billion last October.

The star appeal at this year’s forum is being provided by Chinese action film star Jet Li and Amitabh Bachchan, the Bollywood superstar. They are to attend a “cultural leaders” dinner on Friday.

– AFP/yb

Channel News Asia

Bachchan Nafi Kritik Filem

MUMBAI – Bintang veteran Bollywood, Amitabh Bachchan (gambar) menafikan beliau pernah mengkritik filem Slumdog Millionaire yang menggambarkan India sebagai negara terkotor di dunia.

Sebaliknya, aktor terkenal Hindi itu mendakwa, komen kritikan yang disiarkan menerusi laman blog beliau minggu lalu setelah disiasat menunjukkan ia bukan ditulis dirinya sendiri.

Filem arahan sutradara British, Danny Boyle yang meraih pelbagai anugerah Golden Globe itu baru-baru ini mencetuskan kritikan banyak pihak di India termasuk melalui blog.

Bachchan dalam reaksi balasnya berkata, beliau bersifat terbuka apabila menyiarkan setiap pandangan pro dan kontra masyarakat berhubung filem itu menerusi blognya. – Agensi

Kosmo

Serangan Bollywood 2009

SEKUEL yang dinanti sejak 2002, Raaz – The Mystery.

SEBAIK sahaja tahun 2008 menghilang, sesuatu yang segar menjelang 2009 ini berlaku dalam industri perfileman kedua terbesar dunia, Bollywood.

Dicetuskan kejayaan box-office dua buah filem, Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi dan Ghajini, Bollywood kini melihat ke depan untuk menghasilkan produk-produk berkualiti yang bakal menarik penonton menyerbu ke pawagam.

Daripada filem bajet rendah dan sekuel filem seram sehinggalah filem drama period serta beberapa filem mega bajet, industri filem Hindustan pada tahun ini bakal menawarkan kepelbagaian.

‘Serangan’ bermula dari Disember lalu dengan penayangan dua filem Khan – Shah Rukh Khan dalam filem Rab Be Baba De Jodi dan Amir Khan menerusi Ghajini. Kedua-dua karya ini telah membantu membangkitkan industri perfileman Bollywood.

Para pembikin filem berharap untuk mengatasi trauma global terutamanya selepas reputasi India terjejas akibat serangan pengganas Mumbai dengan pakej 30 filem pada suku pertama 2009.

Walaupun tiada filem dijadual ditayangkan pada minggu pertama, minggu kedua 2009 akan digemparkan dengan enam filem bajet rendah iaitu Bad Luck Govind, Horn Ok Pleassss, Kaashh… Mere Hote, Khallballi – Fun Unlimited, 42 Kms… dan The President Is Coming.

Pakar dalam industri telah meramalkan bahawa pasaran filem Hindustan akan mampu mengejar momentum dengan penayangan filem komedi aksi arahan Nikhil Advani, Chandni Chowk to China, pada 16 Januari ini.

“Memang diakui industri filem Bollywood sedang melalui masa yang sukar tetapi Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi dan Ghajini telah berjaya menjana nafas baru. Filem-filem ini telah meningkatkan harapan untuk menghasilkan karya berkualiti berlainan setiap minggu sepanjang tahun 2009,” kata salah seorang pengedar filem di Delhi, Joginder Mahajan.

Ini juga merupakan kali pertama beberapa pengarah dan pelakon India-Amerika membikin filem di India seperti Varun Khanna (Bad Luck…), Kunal Roy
CHANDI CHOWK TO CHINA antara filem bulan Januari Bollywood yang dijangka bakal pecah panggung.

Kapur (The President Is Coming), Nandita Das (Firaaq) dan Zoya Akhtar (Luck By Chance).

Tahun ini, penonton juga berpeluang menyaksikan sekuel yang dinanti-nantikan sejak tahun 2002, Raaz – The Mystery Continues. Filem yang memenangi pelbagai anugerah Slumdog Millionaire yang diadaptasi daripada buku tulisan diplomat India, Vikas Swarup juga akan menemui penonton tahun ini.

Filem karya Anurag Kashyap, Dev.D pula bakal ditayangkan pada 6 Februari dengan kandungan cerita Devdas versi moden. Sementara itu, pada 13 Februari, audiens akan menyaksikan Shah Rukh Khan berganding dengan Irfan Khan dalam filem arahan Priyadarshan, Billu Barber.

Senarai filem tahun 2009 akan diikuti dengan naskhah yang dinanti-nantikan mengenai autobiografi Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, Delhi-6, yang dibintangi oleh Amitabh Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan dan Sonam Kapoor. Turut menyinari pasaran perfileman India adalah filem lakonan Salman Khan dan Kareena Kapoor, Main Aur Mrs Khanna.

Filem period arahan Ketan Mehta, Rang Rasiya (Colours of Passion) yang mengisahkan kehidupan tukang cat, Raja Ravi Varma akan menemui penonton pada 27 Februari depan.

Bulan Mac pula akan menyaksikan seleksi filem daripada Shortcut – The Con Is On, Dhoondte Reh Jaaoge, Kaminey, Karma Aur Holi, Gullal, Kissan dan New York.

Tahun lalu hanya enam buah filem Bollywood meraih kejayaan box-office daripada 127 filem yang diterbitkan. Angka ini telah menyebabkan industri perfileman Bollywood kerugian besar. Namun, menurut ramalan, berdasarkan senarai filem untuk tahun ini, kutipan domestik dan antarabangsa dijangka meningkat.

Kosmo

Live Earth Concert In Mumbai Cancelled

MUMBAI : Live Earth India, a massive concert promoting environmental awareness has been cancelled due to the wave of terror attacks in Mumbai.

Celebrities from around the globe such as Pink Floyd legend Roger Waters, rockers Bon Jovi, Black Eyed Peas frontman will.i.am and Indian rapper Hard Kaur were scheduled to perform on December 7 at a Mumbai stadium.

Bollywood stars, including actors Amitabh Bachchan, his son Abhishek Bachchan and daughter-in-law Aishwarya Rai, Hrithik Roshan and Preity Zinta were also due to perform.

A joint statement released by the organisers which includes former US vice-president Al Gore, said that everyone involved with the concert was “stunned and saddened by the tragic events” in which gunmen attacked two luxury hotels and several major sites, with at least 195 dead and scores injured in the siege.

“Together, we will continue to work for solutions to the climate crisis for the good of the people of India and around the world,” the organisers said.

“But for now, our thoughts and our prayers are with the victims of this terrible attack, with the bereaved, with the people of Mumbai and with everyone across India.”

Last year’s Live Earth concerts were a musical extravaganza, with seven concerts spanning four continents, featuring 150 acts performing over a 24-hour period.

Live Earth India’ proceeds would have been channeled to charities in the country.

– CNA/jk

Channel News Asia

Weekend Watch: Brazilian FI 'Live' On Sunday Morning

THE Brazilian Grand Prix F1 race in Sao Paulo will be aired “live” over RTM1 early Sunday morning at 12.30am.

New this weekend is a Japanese serial entitled Hana Kim (8TV, Sunday, 3pm).

The drama is based on the popular manga of the same name by Nakajo Hisaya.

It revolves around Ashiya Mizuki, a Japanese girl in the United States. One day, she watches young athlete Sano Izumi on television compete in the high jump.

She begins to idolise him, and decides to move to Japan to attend the same school. However, Izumi goes to an all-boys school, so Mizuki disguises herself as a boy.
The series stars Horikita Maki, Oguri Shun, Ikuta Toma, Konno Mahiru and Kamikawa Takaya.

For a little music, catch Eksklusif… Siti Nurhaliza Bersama Peminat (RTM2, tomorrow, 11pm).

In this two-hour presentation, Datuk Siti Nurhaliza will sing such hits as Ku Mahu, Kau Ku Sayang, Wanita, Penawar Rindu, Bukan Cinta Biasa and Biarlah Rahsia, as well as more traditional numbers.

Learn about the making of comedy adventure Tropic Thunder, (8TV, tomorrow, 10.30am), teen musical film High School Musical 3: Senior Year (8TV, Sunday, 10.30am) and local film Budak Kelantan (ntv7, Sunday, 1.30pm) this weekend.

Tropic Thunder, starring Robert Downey Jr, Jack Black and Ben Stiller, is about the cast in a big-budget war movie finding themselves in the middle of the jungle where the enemy shoots real bullets.

High School Musical 3: Senior Year stars Zac Efron, Vanessa Hudgens and Ashley Tisdale.

Budak Kelantan, starring Danny X-Factor, revolves around two youths who are influenced differently by city life.

TOMORROW

Midnight Movie (RTM1, 11.30pm) – Chances Are
A man dies in an accident but gets a second chance at life when he’s reborn. Starring Cybill Shepherd, Robert Downey Jr and Mary Stuart Masterson.

Bollygood On 2 (RTM2, 12.30pm) – Abhiman
A pop singer finally settles down and decides to record a duet with his wife, only to regret it when she becomes more popular. Starring Amitabh Bachchan, Jaya Bhaduri, G. Asrani, Bindu and Durga Khote.

Saturday Nite Special On 2 (RTM2, 9pm) – Alien Resurrection
After killing herself to prevent the government from taking a monster alien to Earth, Ellen Ripley awakens 200 years later to find she has been cloned…

Starring Sigourney Weaver, Winona Ryder and Ron Perlman.

Panggung Sabtu (TV3, 2pm) – Yun Hota Toh Kya Hota
Four strangers board a flight to the United States which makes a stop in Boston.

Here passengers board the plane – people who will decide whether they are to live or die. Starring Konkona Sen Sharma, Irfan Khan, Ayesha Takia and Jimmy Shergil.

Hong Movie Saturday (ntv7, Midnight) – Magic Touch
A con artist in “fortune-telling” one day coincidentally manages to predict what is to come. This time, he decides to put it to good use. This top-rated comedy stars Michael Hui, Leon Lai and Ricky Hui.

Chinese Movie (8TV, 8.30pm) – If You Care
Interior designer Chun-fai’s goal is to earn as much money as he can.

But he turns from a selfish person into one who is caring after a car crash.

Starring Eason Chan, Candy Lo, Gillian Chung and Eric Kot.

SUNDAY

Spice Of India (RTM2, 12.30pm) – Naan Avan Illai
Annamalai ends up in jail for cheating several women by marrying them and then making off with their money.

However, the daughter of the judge who is presiding over his case is attracted to him.

This is a remake of K. Balachander’s classic film of the same title.

Starring Sneha, Malavika, Namitha, Jyothirmayi and Keerthi Chawla.

Golden Premier (RTM2, 10pm) – Big Shot’s Funeral
Director Don Tyler is getting sicker by the day while on location in Beijing, so his assistant hires a down-and-out cameraman, YoYo, to take the reins.

YoYo is determined to make an unforgettable movie.

Starring Donald Sutherland, You Ge and Rosamund Kwan.

TV3 Cinema (TV3, 12.30am) – Rocky
An amateur boxer from Philadelphia’s tough neighbourhood gets a shot at the heavyweight championship title.

Starring Slyvester Stallone, Talia Shire, Burt Young and Carl Weathers.

Sinema (TV9, 10pm) – Cantiknya Audra Laili
Audra falls in love with Awang Lekir. Unfortunately, her family decides to marry her off to Tengku Syed Osman, a man who has disappeared under mysterious circumstances.

Starring Imuda, Aida Aris and Azean Irdawaty.

New Straits Times

UPA Against Anti-Terror Laws

UPA against anti-terror laws
 

New Delhi, Oct 13: The Congress-led UPA government on Monday turned down demands of tough anti-terror laws being raised by the BJP.  Union home minister Shiraj Patil, who has been facing flak from the opposition and UPA allies alike for his handling of terrorist incidents in the country, made it clear that the Centre was not bringing out a new law to counter terrorism.

Talking to reporters after the National Integration Council (NIC) meeting, Patil said that the Centre was open to suggestions and was working towards amending the existing laws to give them more teeth to tackle the rising incidents of terrorist violence in the country.  Patil, however, stressed that the laws to deal with terrrorism should not be “draconian”.

The meeting witnessed a sharp criticism of the UPA government by Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi and other BJP chief ministers for its handling of terrorism. In his opening remarks at the National Integration Council meeting, the home minister made a veiled attack on saffron outfits like the Bajrang Dal and VHP saying that “decisive forces and agencies and parochialism have surfaced at many places causing damage to the properties and lives of the innocent citizens.

Such tendencies and persons promoting them should be controlled and punished severely, if they do not change their attitude through persuasion and dialogue.”  However, when asked about the Centre’s decision to ban Bajrang Dal, Patil said that the government will look into it and then take a decision. Patil, meanwhile, evaded questions on imposition of President’s rule in Orissa.

Christians want Bill

New Delhi, Oct. 13: Anguished over attacks on their community in Orissa and Karnataka, Christians leaders on Monday called upon Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and members of the National Integration Council (NIC) to curb incidents of violence and pressed for a Communal Violence Bill. In a joint statement to the NIC, Christian community leaders said a Communal Violence Bill should be enacted.  They claimed that the step should have been taken by the government long ago.  

Yeddy proposes community cops
 

Bengaluru, Oct. 13: Chief Minister, B.S. Yeddyurappa on Monday proposed to appoint honorary police officers selected from among local community to maintain communal harmony in the state besides announcing the setting up of a state level security commission.  He also announced that committees would be constituted at district and taluk level to promote national integration and communal harmony.

Mr Yeddyurappa also suggested to the Union government that it should be more pro-active towards extending assistance to all state governments to tackle terrorist threats especially those funded by external forces.  He demanded that the Union government should substantially increase the financial assistance to the states for modernisation of state police in order to reinforce their anti-terrorist capabilities.

Mr Yeddyurappa described terrorism as social cancer which he said was spreading like posion across the globe and which became doubly lethal as it was mixed with religion. According to him the Union home ministry should maintain a ‘cordial’ relationship with all the states based on equality and functionality, instead of treating them as subordinate offices meant for receiving letters and instructions from the government at the Centre.

The Chief Minister asserted that Christians, Hindus and Muslims have coexisted peacefully in the state, as a result of which, the month of Ramzan and Dasara were celebrated harmoniously.

Centre’s call, say parties
 

New Delhi, Oct. 13: The National Integration Council meet threw the ball in the Centre’s court on the issue of banning Bajrang Dal.  Orissa Chief Minister and BJD leader Naveen Patnaik, whose state is witnessing a spate of communal violence by alleged members of the extremist Hindu outfit, said that it is upto the Centre to ban the Saffron outfit.

“It is for the Centre to decide (if it wanted to ban Bajrang Dal,” Mr Patnaik said. Though UPA parties have voiced their support to the government if it banned Bajrang Dal, leaders from major political parties like the BJP, CPM, Congress and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha evaded a direct reply to questions from reporters on the issue. Union home minister Shivraj Patil said that the government will look into (the demands) it and “see what action can be taken”.

BJP leader Sushma Swaraj refused to make any comment when asked about the Bajrang Dal ban issue.
CPM’s Sitaram Yechury parried the question expressing his unhappiness on terrorism being excluded from the NIC agenda.In a non-commital reply to the ban call, Mr Yechury said, “It is very important (to discuss) what has to be done (with Bajrang Dal).” In turn, he said that it was important for the National Integration Council to discuss terrorism.

Maharashtra tops riots chart
 

New Delhi, Oct. 13: India has registered 6,464 incidents of communal violence since 2000 to September this year with Maharashtra topping the states with maximum number of such cases.  The country witnessed 6,464 incidents, including 693 this year. While 2,393 people were killed, about 21,077 people were injured in these violent incidents, a statement circulated at the National Integration Council (NIC) meeting on Monday said.

Maharashtra has witnessed 1,046 incidents of communal violence in which 151 people have been killed and 4,037 injured.  However, casualty wise, Gujarat remains on the top of the list as 1,092 people, including 977 alone in 2002, lost their lives and 4,021 were injured due to riot clashes. Orissa, where attacks against Christians are continuing, has witnessed 309 such cases, including 158 incidents this year. Around 63 people have been killed, including 41 this year till September, it said.

Uttar Pradesh occupies the second slot with respect to the number of incidents. As many as 942 incidents have occurred in the state during this period in which 339 people were killed and 3,081 were injured.  Kerala has come across 159 such incidents which claimed 31 lives and injured 388 people.  Six states – Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Nagaland — did not witness a single incident of communal violence in this period.
 

AP government under attack
 

Hyderabad, Oct. 13: Expressing serious concern over the communal violence in Adilabad district, particularly in Bhainsa town, TDP and Praja Rajyam Party (PRP) on Monday criticised the Andhra Pradesh government for “failure” of law and order in the state.  “The intelligence machinery has totally failed in assessing the situation following the incidents in Bhainsa last Friday. This has aggravated the situation,” TDP president N. Chandrababu Naidu said.

The former chief minister visited the violence-hit Bhainsa on Monday and consoled the families of the deceased.  He appealed to the people to observe restraint and not let tensions flare up.  Stating that violence in Adilabad worsened on account of failure of intelligence machinery, Naidu said, “it has exposed the total inefficiency of the state government.”

The PRP chief Chiranjeevi also expressed shock over the Adilabad incident, where six members of a family were burnt alive on Sunday at Watoli village, 13 km from the communal violence-hit Bhainsa town. “This is unfortunate, particularly the burning of six persons in Watoli village. Had the intelligence machinery functioned effectively, such ghastly incidents could have been averted,” Chiranjeevi said speaking to reporters in Vizianagaram, where his party is currently organising a road show. Chiranjeevi’s brother-in-law Allu Aravind visited Watoli village to console the victims’ families.

 

Naidu demands judicial probe into Watoli violence
 

Hyderabad, Oct. 13: Telugu Desam Party (TDP) president N. Chandrababu Naidu has demanded that a judicial inquiry with a sitting judge of the Andhra Pradesh High Court should be ordered into the communal violence in Adilabad district.  Naidu, who visited Watoli village on Monday to console the family of the deceased, said the Central Bureau of Investigation probe ordered by the state government was only to cover up its “failure” in maintaining law and order.

He alleged that police were hiding facts related to the incidents in Bhainsa and Watoli in the last four days.  The TDP supremo also demanded that the government pay an ex-gratia of Rs 10 lakh each to the kin of those killed in the violence. Naidu handed over Rs 50,000 to the bereaved families on behalf of Telugu Desam Party .  He said the government should supply ration free of cost to the families till curfew was lifted in Bhainsa town.  Naidu inspected the spots where the violence broke out on Dasara day and the house in which six persons were burnt alive in the wee hours of Sunday.  He spoke to the local people and the victims and enquired about the incidents.

Cong-DMK alliance on
 

Chennai, Oct. 13: The Congress has said its alliance with the DMK in Tamil Nadu was “going strong” and it would continue for the next year’s Lok Sabha elections.  “As for as the alliance (with DMK) is considered, it is existing and going strong. Anymore additions or deletions (of other parties) would be decided at the time of elections,” AICC observer for the state K. B. Krishnamurthy told reporters here on Sunday.  On party-related initiatives, he said the focus was to strengthen its base in Tamil Nadu. Various organisations of the party would be used to create awareness about the achievements of the UPA government among the people.

The Indo-US nuclear deal, the Right to Information Act and the National Rural Employment Guarantee scheme among others would be highlighted among the voters, he said. Office-bearers for the various wings of the party in the state would also be appointed soon, he said. Meanwhile, TN Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi on Monday refuted charges of AIADMK leader Jayalalithaa over release of 1,405 prisoners by his government to observe the birth centenary of DMK founder late C. N. Annadurai and said even her government had released over 500 prisoners in the past.  

Bachchan stable, still in hospital
 

Mumbai, Oct. 13: Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan, who is undergoing treatment at the Lilavati hospital after he complained of severe abdominal pain, is in a stable condition and recuperating, hospital sources said on Monday. Doctors at the hospital in suburban Bandra, where the actor is admitted, said the abdominal pain which Bachchan was suffering from, has been relieved due to the medicines he has been taking over the past two days.

He is responding to the medication being administered and is likely to be discharged in the next two to three days, they said. Doctors had said on Sunday that the results of the medical tests conducted on the actor had not revealed any abnormalities after he underwent a blood investigation and CT scan of the abdomen on Saturday.  Bachchan was admitted to hospital on his birthday on October 11 after he complained of severe abdominal pain and hospital sources had said the actor was suffering from suspected bowel dysfunction. Family members and close friends visited the actor in the hospital on Monday.

A CT scan was performed on Bachchan on Sunday and the report of the test is positive, hospital sources said. There is no cause for any concern, they said. However, the megastar still remains on Ryles Tube on which he was put for suspected bowel dysfunction, the sources said.

‘Pay issue to be solved soon’
 

New Delhi, Oct. 13: A ministerial committee, set up to look into the armed forces’ grievance about pay “anomalies”, is likely to sort out the matter soon.  External affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee, who heads the three-member committee, on Monday said he had discussed the matter with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Defence Minister A. K. Antony.

“Shortly, I am going to discuss with the finance minister (P. Chidambaram),” he told reporters here when asked about the issue.  Without giving details of his discussions with the Prime Minister, Mukherjee merely said “I do hope we will be able to sort out the issue shortly.

The committee, which also includes Antony and Chidambaram, was set up by the Prime Minister on September 25 in the wake of deep resentment in the armed forces, who complained that there were “anomalies” in the 6th Pay Commission recommendations and that it had lowered the status of their officers.  After the government notification was issued on August 29, the issues of “anomalies” in the pay for officers was first raised by Air chief Fali Homi Major in his letter in his capacity as acting Chairman of Chiefs of Staff Committee (COSC).

Chiefs of Navy and Army too have been voicing their resentment.  Antony has strongly favoured resolution of core issues raised by the three services chiefs in their representation to the government. He wrote to Chidambaram, raising issues of disparities”, including the ones relating to Personnel Below Officer Rank (PBORs).

Rain brings hope of monsoon in TN
 

Chennai, Oct. 13: The hopes of the northeast monsoon setting in over Tamil Nadu have brightened with heavy rains lashing several parts of the state over the last two days.  Weather officials on Monday said a trough of low pressure in south Tamil Nadu coast under the influence of the retreating southwest monsoon had brought heavy rain to the state.

The low pressure, which was still in the area, indicates a favourable trend for setting in of the northeast monsoon, they said.  Under its influence, Maniyatchi in Tuticorin district and Arupukottai in Virudhunagar district recorded heavy rainfall of 9 cm and 7 cm respectively in the last 24 hours, ending 8.30 am on Monday, meteorological department officials said.  Normally, the northeast monsoon sets in over Tamil Nadu during the middle of October. 

Meanwhile, normal life in the city was hit this morning following heavy rains. The weather also dampened the spirits of Diwali shoppers. People had a tough time wading through water logged streets, especially in Thiyagarayar Nagar, a major shopping hub in the city. Several low lying areas, especially in north Chennai were under knee-deep water. The met department has forecast heavy rain during the next 48 hours.  

Prince sad as Sonu dies
 
Chandigarh, Oct. 13: Seven-year-old Prince in Haryana’s Kurukshetra was saddened that Sonu, who had a similar ordeal in a borewell, was not as fortunate as himself to come out alive and bring cheers to an anxious nation. “Bahut dukh ho raha hai (I am feeling very sad),” Prince, a class I student at a school in Shahbad town, told over phone from his home at Haldaheri village in Kurukshetra.  Sonu’s body was taken out of a borewell on Monday in Agra’s Lehrakapura village after four days of efforts to rescue him went futile.  In July 2006, the entire nation prayed and watched Prince being rescued from a borewell in Kurukshetra district. Prince was rescued 48 hours after his fall into a 60-feet deep borewell.  

India takes world science to the moon
 

Bengaluru, Oct. 13: The US may have tormented India with technology sanctions, including on Isro, for over 30 years, but then there is something unique about India – it has the ability to turn even tormentors into friends. That’s exactly what has happened with the Chandrayaan-1 mission. When the spacecraft embarks on its journey to the moon later this month, it will carry in its belly two instruments from the US, which has for long denied India launch vehicle technology.

India will also carry three instruments from the European Space Agency (ESA) and one from Bulgaria – free of cost at a time when putting every kilogram of material into space costs thousands of dollars. The only thing Isro has asked for in return: the data from these instruments should be available to Indian scientists. That’s why Isro calls them “Opportunity Payloads”.

That makes great sense, because even in selecting which foreign instruments would go on board Chandrayaan-1, Isro ensured that all of them would complement Indian instruments and thereby help make its mission more robust, and an example of excellent international collaboration in lunar exploration.

The Chandrayaan-1 Imaging X-ray Spectrometer (CIXS) is an ESA payload that was jointly developed by the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, UK, and Isro Satellite Centre (ISAC), Bengaluru. It will map the moon to see how elements such as magnesium, aluminium, silicon, iron and titanium are distributed over its surface.

The ESA had first flown the instrument on board its own Smart-1 spacecraft to the moon. However, that instrument did not function at all because it suffered severe radiation and thermal damage on way to the moon. This time, Isro joined hands with the ESA to better design and calibrate the instrument.

“The same experiment did not work when it was sent on Smart-1. We got involved in the design and calibration of the instrument. We also redid its thermal design and strengthened it”, explains Dr. Sreekumar, Isro’s chief scientist.

Another ESA instrument – called the Sub kiloelectronvolt Atom Reflecting Analyser (SARA) – was designed jointly by the Swedish Institute of Space Physics and the Space Physics Laboratory of the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, Thiruvananthapuram. SARA will study the surface composition of the moon, the way in which the moon’s surface reacts with solar wind, the way in which materials on the surface of the moon change and the magnetic anamolies associated with the surface.

The Smart Near-Infrared Spectrometer (SIR-2), the third ESA instrument – built by the Max Planck Institute of Germany – will scout the lunar surface for mineral resources, help understand the surface features as well as the way the different layers of the moon’s crust lie over one another.

Bulgaria’s Radiation Dose Monitor (RADOM) will study what kind and intensity of radiation hits the moon and its nearby environment. This will prove useful for future missions as Isro and other space agencies plan unamanned and manned landing missions.

America’s Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M3) will also assess lunar mineral resources at high resolution to help plan targeted future missions.

Made by the Brown University and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California, the M3 will also help understand the moon’s early geological evolution.

The other US instrument – the Mini Synthetic Aperture Radar (MiniSAR) – was made by the John Hopkins University’s Applied Physics Laboratory and the US Naval Air Warfare Centre. Its task is to detect the presence of water ice in the permanently shadowed regions of the lunar poles – deep craters and valleys where sunlight does not reach.

Dr. Sreekumar explains, “When Chandrayaan-1 finishes pushes our knowledge about the moon to the next frontier by doing high-resolution, broadband coverage of its whole surface, we can begin to address questions about its origin and evolution. Resource mapping will tell us where on the moon we ought to go next and what we ought to do there”.

“It all boils down to this: 30-40 years from now, a small group of Indians will be on the moon. At that stage, what knowledge base do we sit on?”

Mayawati bans Sonia rally
 

Rae Bareli, Oct.13: Stepping up confrontation with Sonia Gandhi, the Mayawati government on Monday decided to clamp prohibitory orders in Rae Bareli in an apparent bid to prevent the Congress president from addressing a rally in her Lok Sabha constituency tomorrow.  The move by the district administration in the Gandhi-Mayawati battle for the political turf of Uttar Pradesh came hours after the Allahabad High Court virtually stayed the state government’s decision cancelling the land allotment for a railway project in Gandhi’s Lok Sabha constituency here.  Gandhi would however proceed to Lalganj and inspect the Lifeline express train, he said.  “We have decided to impose prohibitory order under Section 144 Cr.PC on Tuesday,” the district magistrate Santosh Srivastav said.

Get passport in three days
 

New Delhi, Oct. 13: Applying for and getting passports will be as easy as 1-2-3 with the government on Monday awarding a Rs 1,000-crore e-project to TCS for issuing the travel document to citizens in just three days.  Passports applied for under the ‘tatkal’ (instant) scheme would be delivered in just one day.
This is Tata Consultancy Services’ second largest e-governance deal with the government which aims to nearly quadruple the number of passport counters to 1,250 from the current 345 and bring the entire process of issuing the travel document online.

The online passport delivery service project, awarded by the ministry of external affairs, will cut down the process of issuing a new passport once police verification is completed.  “After implementation of the project, which will be managed end-to-end by TCS, the ministry expects that the process of issuing a new passport will be completed in three working days while passports issued under the tatkal scheme will be despatched on the same day subject to address and police verification of applicants,” TCS CEO and managing director, Mr S. Ramadorai, said.

TCS will open 77 new passport seva kendras across the country by January 2010 which will be fully computerised. The communication between police and passport office too would be done online and a secure network is being created.  Bangalore and Chandigarh would be the first to get the new kendras by June 2009 on a pilot basis. “The project, based on a public-private partnership model, aims to provide passport-related services to the citizens in a speedy, convenient and transparent manner.

“The sovereign function of granting and issuing passport remains with the MEA and TCS will be our technology and operations partner in this project,” the foreign secretary, Mr Shiv Shankar Menon, said. Apart from strengthening TCS’s government vertical deals in number and size, the deal has come at a time when the IT sector is facing the heat over the global financial crisis in the US, which accounts for about 60-70 per cent of IT firm’s revenues.

TCS had earlier bagged the MCA-21 programme of the ministry of corporate affairs for online company registrations.

Pilgrims flock to ‘sati’ site
 

Raipur, Oct. 13: Dozens of people here offered prayers on Monday, at the site where a woman committed sati by jumping on to her husband’s funeral pyre, despite a police restriction on the worship of the woman.
On Saturday, Lalmati Verma, 71, jumped onto her husband’s funeral pyre after all the villagers had left the site in Chechar village, about 125 km from here.

As the news of her having committed sati spread, people carrying coconut, sweets and incense sticks began flocking to the site. Additional police personnel have been deployed in the village, which has a population of about 1,000, to impose a ban on the worship. “Police have banned the worship of the woman as we see it as an act of glorification of the banned Hindu custom,” Mr Amit Kumar, Raipur district superintendent of police, said.

“It’s hard to stop the people from worshipping the woman, especially when a sati temple is already existing close to the site. The temple is dedicated to a woman of the same village who committed sati nearly four decades ago,” a police official said on condition of anonymity. Lalmati had come for the funeral of her husband Shivnandan Verma, 80, dressed in a bridal sari. Before committing suicide, she made a couple of rounds of the pyre holding a coconut and a copy of the Ramayana. Police came to know about the incident late on Saturday night. A first information report (FIR) was lodged on Sunday after a local police team visited the sati site and interrogated dozens of villagers.

Resource use high in India
 

New Delhi, Oct 13: India’s consumption of natural resources is now almost double of what the country’s land, air and water can provide, an overshoot equivalent to what has led to the current global economic meltdown, says a report released here on Monday. Prepared by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and the California-based Global Footprint Network (GFN), the report says: “With a per person footprint of 0.75 global hectares and per person biocapacity of 0.4 global hectares, India is running an ecological deficit of approximately 100 per cent”.

Ecological footprint, global hectare and biocapacity are among measures developed by the GFN to calculate the difference between what the natural resources of a country can provide and what is being consumed. “The ecological footprint measures human demand on the biosphere in terms of the land and sea area required to provide the resources we use and to absorb the waste we generate,” says the report.
While India’s ecological footprint is now behind only that of the US and China, the country’s per capita footprint is low.

The 0.75 global hectares per person is far lower than the global average of 2.2, which puts India 125th among 152 countries. “India represents approximately six percent of the world’s ecological footprint, four percent of the world’s biocapacity and 17 percent of the world’s population,” the report says.
 

Schizophrenia has gene links
 
Sydney, Oct 13: Scientists at the Schizophrenia Research Foundation in Chennai and Queensland Centre for Mental Health Research have found significant evidence that links the chromosome 1 region with schizophrenia among a group of people in Tamil Nadu. The study is based on long collaboration between Bryan Mowry, Queensland Centre for Mental Health Research executive director, and Rangaswamy Thara, director of the Schizophrenia Research Foundation. Over the years, both these groups have been recruiting and analysing schizophrenia samples from genetically similar Indian castes. Mowry said the significance of the findings reflected the unique features of this particular Indian popu

Deccan Chronicle