Bips to break stereotype of Kashmiri women
October 22, 2008 by admin
Filed under Entertaiment News, Entertainment
After Corporate, Bipasha Basu once again gets real for her role in Rahul Dholakia’s hard hitting drama Lamha and she says the biggest challenge for her is to break the stereotypical image of Kashmiri girls in Hindi movies.”When you think of a Kashmiri girl in our movies, what comes to mind is a fair-skinned, light-eyed girl. But I want to disprove that myth. The pre-conceived notions have to be overcome,” Bipasha, whose performance in Bachna Ae Haseeno got her much praise, said.
Bipasha had asked her producers to invite a born-and-bred Kashmiri girl to Mumbai to study her body language, speech patterns and mannerisms.
“I’ve never done a film like this before. The role requires me to be someone else altogether. I’ve to change my entire personality. And for this I needed help. I wanted to play the character the way girls really are today in Kashmir. Very basic.
“I’ve done a bit role in another authentic film - Prakash Jha’s Apaharan. For that matter, Madhur Bhandarkar’s Corporate was very real and so is Rituparno Ghosh’s Sab Charitra Kalpanik. But Lamha is something else.”
The actress is hell bent to look convincing in the role.
“I think I’m going to be more keen on getting it right than the director. Going to Kashmir and getting to know the local way of life was difficult. All said and done it’s still not entirely safe in Kashmir.
“My boyfriend John (Abraham) shot in strife-torn Afghanistan for Kabul Express. Now it’s my turn in Kashmir.”
Bipasha’s co-star in Lamha is Kunal Kapoor.
“We did a film together recently, Bachna Ae Haseeno. But we had no scenes together. Still we ran into each other all the time during the shooting.
“Sanjay Dutt is also there. He’s a nice man. We share a good working relationship. He’s very protective and sweet,” Bipasha said.
Asked how it was working with Dholakia, she said: “I’ve known Rahul Dholakia for years - long before he made Parzania. In fact, he had offered me his first film Kehta Hai Dil Baar Baar. He’s a man of a few simple words. The story in Lamha is very powerful and real. It’s a hard-hitting look at present-day Kashmir.”
The actress said that she had been to Jammu and Kashmir as a child, but things have changed drastically since then.
“This was long before militancy occurred. This is a different Kashmir I’m going to. We’ll be learning the language and by the time I start shooting, I’m thoroughly convinced I’ll look convincing. The director wants to shoot in sync sound. But I don’t think that’s advisable. We’ll tell the story of Kashmir in a layman’s language. It’s not going to be an arty film.”
Sensex down 267 points in opening trade
Tracking weak global trend, the Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex lost over 267 points in opening trade on Wednesday on fresh selling by funds.The 30-share index, which remained firm in the last two trading session and closed higher by 460 points on Tuesday, fell by 267.25 points at 10,416.14.
The wide-based National Stock Exchange’s Nifty also plunged by 77 points at 3,157.90 as most of the participants traded lower.
Marketmen said weakening trend in global markets mainly influenced the trading sentiments.
Poor defending leaves Dempo’s dreams in tatters
October 22, 2008 by admin
Filed under Other Sports, Sports
Poor defending dashed Dempo’s hopes of becoming the first Indian club to reach the final of the AFC Cup after they were demolished 1-4 by Lebanon’s Safa FC in the return leg semi-final tie to go down 1-5 on aggregate, in Hyderabad on Tuesday.Needing to win by at least a 2-0 margin to break the monopoly of West Asian countries in this tournament after the Goa club lost 0-1 in the first leg in Beirut, Armando Colaco’s boys were staring down the barrel as early as the ninth minute when Mohammad Kassas headed home from a free-kick.
Even before they could regroup, Dempo conceded the second goal when Kassas knocked in his second from close in the 19th minute. And, down by two goals in the first half, it was an uphill task for Dempo.
“Conceding an early goal was a real setback for us,” admitted Dempo’s stand-in coach Mauricio Afonso at the post-match press conference.
Dempo tried hard to get things back on track and Mboyo Iyomi managed to reduce the deficit when he stabbed home in the 60th minute.
With the score reading 2-1 (3-1 overall), Dempo needed three more goals in the next half hour to progress to the title round but were undone by two quick goals towards the end of the match.
Hussein Tahan, who replaced Rony Azar, scored a brace (89 and 90+4) to take the Lebanese side to the final in their debut AFC Cup campaign.
Afonso claimed they were undone by some poor defending.
“I accept defeat. I am not blaming anybody but I am not happy with the defending,” said the club’s assistant coach, who was standing in for Armando Colaco, who was down with fever.
Afonso, though, was happy for the team which has gone where no Indian team has gone before.
“I am happy we have managed to reach this stage. Congratulations to Safa and wish them all the best for the finals.”
Samir Saad, coach of the Lebanese outfit felt it was Dempo’s bad luck that they could not make the final.
“We scored an early goal and that gave us motivation. We were able to maintain the tempo. We played well and expected to win,” said Saad.
The finals will be played on 31st October and 7th November on home and away basis.
MCC to meet in New Delhi this weekend
Marylebone Cricket Club’s World Cricket Committee will meet in New Delhi this weekend to discuss the current issues affecting the game with its most recent recruits - Anil Kumble and Rahul Dravid.Kumble, Dravid and South African pacer Shaun Pollock , who are already members of the MCC’s World Cricket Committee, were last week awarded Honorary Life Membership of the Club and they would be making a series of recommendations aimed at improving the game and its governance.
The meeting will hear expert opinion in a number of areas while Kumble and Dravid, both involved in the current India-Australia Test series, will give a players’ verdict on the Umpire Decision Review System.
The two-day meeting, to be held on 25th and 26th October, will cover a range of topics from the impact that Twenty20 competitions are having on international cricket to a comprehensive review of the use of technology for the purposes of decision making.
MCC President Derek Underwood will also ask the Committee to consider whether there is a decline in spin bowling around the world and invited guest, ICC principal adviser Inderjit Singh Bindra, will outline the successes and future direction of the Indian Premier League.
17 killed ,30 injured in Imphal blast
October 22, 2008 by admin
Filed under News, News This Week
At least 17 people have been killed and more than 30 others injured Tuesday night when unidentified militants exploded a bomb attached to a two-wheeler near a police commando complex in Imphal West district.Sources said the victims included a few security personnel.
While 13 people died on the spot, four more succumbed to injuries in hospital.
The death toll is likely to increase as the condition of several injured people is critical, sources said.
According to the first official report, the militants raided the place where security personnel and civilians were gambling ahead of the Diwali.
The injured were shifted to Regional Institute of Medical Science and Hospital and Jawaharlal Nehru Hospital.
India’s maiden lunar mission begins journey to moon
October 21, 2008 by admin
Filed under News, Science & Technology
Carrying over a billion hopes, India’s maiden lunar mission Chandrayaan-I began its historic journey to the moon on Wednesday when an indigenously developed rocket placed the spacecraft into the Transfer Orbit “perfectly”.India becomes the sixth nation, after the US, Russia, European Space Agency, China and Japan, to send a mission to the moon.
Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) home-grown rocket PSLV-C11 lifted off at 6.22 a.m. from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota taking the spacecraft beyond the thick dark cloud cover over this coastal town.
About 18.2 minutes later, ISRO Chairman G Madhavan Nair declared the launch successful which sent over a 1000 space scientists into a bout of jubiliation.
“The launch was perfect and precise. The satellite has been placed in the earth orbit. With this, we have completed the first leg of the mission and it will take 15 days to reach the lunar orbit,” Nair said.
Chandrayaan-I is carrying an Indian flag which will be placed on the lunar surface when the Moon Impactor Probe lands on the moon during the course of the two-year mission.
“Our baby is on the way to the moon,” Chandrayaan-I spacecraft director Mylswamy Annadurai said after the satellite was injected in the Transfer Orbit with a a perigee of about 250 km and apogee of about 23,000 km, about 19 minutes.
Chandrayaan-I intends to put a spacecraft into an orbit around the moon to map its nearest celestial neighbour for about two years with eleven payloads (scientific instruments).
It would reach the moon surface in the second week of November. Later, the moon impact probe would be ejected from Chandrayaan-1 over the moon surface in a chosen area.
Following this, cameras and other scientific instruments were turned on and throughly tested. This leads to the operational phase of the mission. This phase lasts about two years during which Chandrayaan-1 would explore the lunar surface with its array of instruments that includes cameras and spectrometers.
Of the the eleven payloads, five are entirely designed and developed in India, three from European Space Agency, one from Bulgaria and two from NASA.
Chandrayaan-1 aims to achieve scientific knowledge through high-resolution remote sensing of moon in the visible, near infrared, microwave and x-ray regions of electromagnetic spectrum. With this, preparation of a three-dimensional atlas of the lunar surface and chemical and mineralogical mapping of entire moon surface was invisaged.
India Vrs Australia Live Match Reprots
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| Run Rate: 3.09 | Current Partnership: 50(86) | ||||||||||||
| Last Wicket: Brett Lee b Zaheer 0(1) - 144/8 in 48.3 ov. | |||||||||||||
| Previous Overs: . 3 1 1 1 . | . . . . . . | . . . . . . | 1 . . . . . | |||||||||||||
| Overs left for the day: 73.1 | |||||||||||||
Ball by Ball Commentary
| 62.6 Mishra to Johnson |
| THATS OUT!! Caught&Bowled!! |
| Mishra to Johnson, out Caught and Bowled!! That’s the wrong-un, lovely flight and slower through the air, Johnson didn’t pick it up, tries to work it away on the leg side, closes the face of the bat too early, gets a leading edge which pops up in the air, simple return catch for Mishra, end of Johnson’s resilience! Johnson c and b Mishra 26(44) [4s-4] |
| 62.5 Mishra to Clarke |
| 1 run, floated up wide outside the off stump, Clarke reaches for it and drives it to long off for a single, straight to the fielder in the deep, fifty up for the partnership! |
| 62.4 Mishra to Clarke |
| No run, more of the same… |
| 62.3 Mishra to Clarke |
| No run, tossed up and defended on the frontfoot |
| 62.2 Mishra to Clarke |
| No run, pads it away on the frontfoot |
| 62.1 Mishra to Clarke |
| No run, drifts in and spins away, Clarke gets right behind and defends it solidly |
| 61.6 Harbhajan to Johnson |
| No run, defended straight back to the bowler |
| 61.5 Harbhajan to Johnson |
| No run, doesn’t turn this time, Johnson comes on the frontfoot and shoulders arms |
| 61.4 Harbhajan to Johnson |
| No run, Johnson goes back to defend |
| 61.3 Harbhajan to Johnson |
| No run, flighted outside the off stump, turns away from the left hander sharply, Johnson drives it on the frontfoot to mid off, straight to the fielder |
| 61.2 Harbhajan to Johnson |
| No run, floated up on the stumps, Johnson shows the full face of the bat and defends it straight back to the bowler |
| 61.1 Harbhajan to Clarke |
| 1 run, turns in from outside the off stump, Clarke shuffles across and glances it to backward square leg for a single |
| 60.6 Mishra to Johnson |
| No run, long stride taken to defend |
| 60.5 Mishra to Johnson |
| No run, offered a dead bat to defend this time |
| 60.4 Mishra to Johnson |
| No run, floated up outside the off stump, turns in sharply from the rough, Johnson stretches out to defend, inside edge onto the pads, lands away from the close in fielder |
| Shifts round the wicket |
SEBI warns of stronger action against overseas FIIs lending
Closely watching overseas activities by FIIs registered in India, market regulator SEBI has voiced its disapproval of their lending and borrowing activity and even warned of stronger action against this kind of practice.
“SEBI disapproves of the overseas lending/borrowing activity of FIls and the consequent selling pressure in the cash market in India. SEBI has communicated its disapproval to the FIIs. The lending/borrowing activity of FIIs is being monitored and if necessary stronger measures will be taken by SEBI as considered appropriate,” the market regulator said in a release on Monday.
SEBI has given a message to investors that markets are not being manipulated by Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs),” said Nexgen Capital Equity head Jagannadham Thunuguntla commenting on the move.
“The measure will bring in more transparency in the securities lending and borrowing market and will reduce nervousness of the investors. It will send positive signal to the bourses that SEBI is observing the markets’ movement closely,” he said.
SEBI has asked custodians to communicate to their FIIs the disapproval of SEBI in this regard.
Last week, it asked FIIs and their agents to provide information on the quantity of participatory notes they have issued to overseas entities which could be used like short sale.
“The foreign institutional investors, sub-accounts were asked to submit information about the quantity of securities lent to entities other than in the Indian securities market - where the Overseas Derivative Instruments are issued - which has the effect of a short sale in the Indian security,” SEBI said.
Anand wins again extends lead against Kramnik
October 21, 2008 by admin
Filed under Other Sports, Sports
World champion Viswanathan Anand has scored his second sensational victory with black against Vladimir Kramnik of Russia in the fifth game of the world championship, thus extending his lead to two points.
If anyone believed that the World championship match was interestingly poised after Anand got into lead winning the third game, they were all in for a surprise when the Indian stalwart did an encore and punished Kramnik yet again once the game took a tactical turn.
It was yet another Slav by the Indian ace and Kramnik went for what he had chosen in the third game, giving an idea that he had prepared something against the variation.
However, Anand had other ideas and once again he was the one to come out with another surprise. If Kramnik thought he was going to deviate from the earlier game, he was proven wrong as on the 15th move Anand came up with a new idea.
Like in the third game, Kramnik yet again felt the heat and spent a lot of time on his clock. Anand got a good lead on the time while his position also remained intact.
Kramnik went for unwarranted complications instead of going for equalising, which caused him dearly. The Russian was under pressure when Anand just improved the position of his pieces and maintained a fairly balanced position.
With the clock ticking away and not much in sight had a horrendous effect on Kramnik. Anand was probably hoping for the disaster that struck the Russian on the 29th move.
Raj Thackeray arrested to be produced in Bandra court
Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray has bee arrested at Ratnagiri in the wee hours on Tuesday for brutal attack on North Indian rail exam candidates by MNS workers.
A case was registered in this connection against Raj Thackeray and his supporters at a North-West suburban police station of Kharwadi, after MNS workers attacked 13 railway board examination centres in suburban Mumbai to protest against “inadequate representation” to locals.
Thackeray, who was currently on tour in western Maharashtra and Konkan region was arrested from Ratnagiri district and is likely to be produced in Bandra court in Mumbai later in the day.
The arrest of the MNS chief comes against the backdrop of mounting pressure on the Maharashtra Government to rein in Thackeray and his activists.
Earlier, a combative Raj had justified the Sunday’s attack on north Indians and warned the state that it will have to “regret” the consequences in the event of his arrest.
“Arrest me and be ready to bear the consequences…. you will have to regret,” Thackeray, who was attending a ceremony at Bahadursheikh Naka in Chiplun in the state on Monday, said.
“If Raj is arrested, entire Maharashtra will be set on fire,” he threatened.
Meanwhile, incidents of violence were reported across Mumbai allegedly by the MNS activists.
Taxies parked at Tardeo in South Mumbai were damaged by some unknown miscreants who fled on motorcycles, police said.
Two separate incidents were reported in the North-West suburban of Borivali where miscreants attempted to burn trucks, they added.
Miscreants attacked a toll booth located in the North-West suburban of Mulund and set one of the counters on fire, police said.
There were also reports of some unidentified men throwing stones at the suburban resident of Congress spokesperson Sanjay Nirupam.
Uproar in Lok Sabha
On Monday, the violence against north Indians by Raj Thackeray’s MNS activists rocked the Lok Sabha, forcing repeated adjournments of the House proceedings.