Nasheman

India's largest selling Urdu weekly, now also in English

You are here: Home / 2018 / Archives for November 2018

Archives for November 2018

Bollywood Actors & Director Get Candid At Iffi Goa 2018

by

Actors Jim Sarbh & Chitrangada Singh & Director Rakyesh Omprekash Mehra Get Candid About Their Acting & Directing Process Respectively

After raking in accolades for his performance in films like Neerja, Padmaavat & Sanju, Jim Sarbh is finding himself in the news for all the right reasons. The actor was seen in an In-Conversation session with the gorgeous & talented actress Chitrangada Singh to talk about ‘Unmasking the character actors’.

When asked if it has been an overwhelming experience to have made a mark for himself in a relatively short span of time in mainstream cinema, Jim Sarbh said, “I have acted in the theatre in the States & Mumbai for 4 years before I was cast in Neerja. The journey of acting has been an ongoing process. Getting cast in movies was just a matter of time. When I got cast in Neerja & the role was enough to sink my teeth in, I was very grateful. Sometimes, it is overwhelming – not because of acting, but because of the people that I suddenly had to deal with. It’s about managing this whole new world of egos, hierarchy which is not prevalent in theatre. I enjoy the acting part, I would like to be cast in everything always.”

Recalling the incident when popular filmmaker Ketan Mehta showered praises on Chitrangada for her performance in her debut film, Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi, by saying that she reminds him of the legendary actress Smita Patil, Chitrangada said, “Till date I remember exactly how he said it. He was very close to Smita ji and he was very moved after watching the film. I couldn’t say anything at that point. But it was very special. It was one of the best compliments I have ever received.”

When asked to talk about character actors, Jim said, “Aren’t we all character actors? I don’t understand any difference between character actors or any other actors. In general, we make this clear distinction between, hero, villain, damsel in distress, character actor – it makes no sense to me! Heroes can be women, villains can be women, damsel in distress could be men and usually all people all 3 of those things at different times in their lives. I don’t know why we make these clear archetypes & continue to force people into certain gender stereotypes that really do not exist in the world.”

When asked Chitrangada Singh about her process of understanding the character that she plays on screen, the model-turned-actress said, “I don’t know much about a process. I try & get the energy of the character that I’m going to play. In Bazaar, I play this very rich woman who doesn’t understand things like ambition, creed – she doesn’t understand these things because she was born in so much luxury. I start from trying to understand the energy of that person & the lines then just come, after which I get an idea of the mannerisms & the body language that the character will have.”

Filmmaker Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra regales the IFFI audience with stories from his colourful journey

One of the most interesting sessions of the day had filmmaker Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra talk to a hall full of interested participants & share nuggets of wisdom from his long filmmaking journey.

“You make films the same way you live your life. You can’t fake it.” Mehra started with how he’s drawn from his life for every film of his. His first film Aks spoke about how good & evil are 2 sides of the same coin. This he said was based on the teachings of his grandmom who would narrate mythological stories to him & his cousins and stress on the 2 faced nature of good & evil.

“I used to study in this school in Delhi where most of the students came from Air Force families. My teacher’s husband was a Commander in the Air Force. We would run around MiG’s while playing. And then I went to Delhi University. The main characters in the film Rang De Basanti are all based on my closest friends. I borrowed from each of them for my characters.”

Even for Delhi-6 he borrowed from his childhood. He spoke about how he’s spent many days in old Delhi where all the communities lived next to each other. “There was a temple next to a mosque & a gurudwara. We would attend the Ram Lila events 1 day & then sit for qawwali sessions the next day. I wanted to bring this alive on the big screen and that’s what I did with Delhi-6.”

The packed hall threw questions at the filmmaker who answered each of them with patience. He exhorted the young crowd of filmmakers to draw from their lives and not be afraid to be brave. He said, “Every time I start a film I think it’s going to be a big disaster. That somehow frees me up. I feel less fearful. I feel braver.”

Another Glance At IFFI GOA 2018

by

Directors Of Rare Language Films In Indian Panorama Section Address The Media In IFFI Goa 2018.

Selected for the ICFT GANDHI UNESCO Medal competition, Walking With The Wind by Praveen Morchhale is also a national award winning film. “We did beautiful exploration of Ladakh for choosing the cast.  We chose non-actors for our script. Role of carpenters, poets & other professionals were performed by local people in the region who were involved in respective professions, he added. He also pointed out that no background music was used in this film. Surround sound along with other natural sounds of winds & water breeze alone were used. Even then, it won national award for “Best Sound Design” & “Best Sound Mixing”, shared Praveen.

Made in language Tulu, spoken by only 2 lakh people film Paddayi directed by Abhaya Simha focuses on the perishing community system in Goa. “People survive on community living for their livelihood. With the growing ambition & greed in every community, the cracking of community system is reflected in the film. They lose their livelihood in changing political & cultural scenario. Paddayi (meaning western direction) symbolises the westernisation of culture eating the local culture. Involving emotions of ambition & greed, the story is a modern-day adaption of Shakespeare’s classic Macbeth & is applied to Tulu culture of fishing communities in South India.”

Laura Delli Coli, VP, Rome film festival, Francesca Via, General Manager Rome Film Festival & Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, eminent Indian director also interacted with the Media.

Addressing the press conference in IFFI 18, Laura Delli Coli, Vice President, Fondazione Cinema per Roma Foundation expressed to media the desire to collaborate with the International Film Festival of India. “Indian movies have a very special place in world cinema and that the Indian film industry has much to discover in Italy” said Laura.

Ms. Francesca Via, General Manager, Fondazione Cinema per Roma Foundation said that it is really important for Italy to make an engagement with the Indian Film Festival. “Rome Film Festival is supported by public & private institutions. We have a special section for the youth & films for student community. The public participation is going up by 2% – 3 % every year. Asia & Asian films are really important for us,” she said.

“I didn’t attend any film school; neither did I assist any director at the sets. There was a point when I didn’t even know who the world directors were. I discovered them while I was doing some edits. Since then they have been my masters”, said Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, remembering the Italian film maker Bernardo Bertolucci, who passed away on 26thNovember 2018.

The cast of closing film ‘Sealed Lips’ addresses the media Bernd Bohlich director of the film Sealed lips along with the cinematographer Thomas Plenert  was present with the actress Barbara Schnitzlerother, “The inspiration of the film comes from the boundary that came into being after second world war. The partition of the country into 2 part East & West Germany changed life of people drastically. It talks about how the partition affected the lives of the people then. Those true incidents that took place in people’s lives inspired him to make the film sealed lips”, said the director Bernd Bohilch who has made the movie on his mother’s life.

“I was happy to shoot this movie because I am also from Germany and this is a story close to my heart. That time wasn’t easy & the story also talks about the emotions of people then. I am glad to work with him”, said Thomas Plenert, cinematographer of the film.

The Indian filmmakers from Non-feature film category of Indian Panorama then interacted with the media.

Directors of 3 non-feature films in Indian Panorama section of the International Film Festival of India addressed a press conference in Panaji, Goa. Jainendra Dost Director of Naach Bhikari Naach, Prasanna Ponde, Director of Silent Scream & Suhas Jahagirdar, Director of Yes I am Mauli attended the press conference.

Addressing the media, Jainendra Dost said that his film captures the lives of four Launda Naach performers, originally a part of Bhikhari Thakur’s legendary Naach troupe in Bihar. While researching for the film it was revealed that even dance forms in India have a class & caste divide. He also shared the difficulties faced while shooting for the film in village, “Though everywhere we met with problems, the attitude of the villagers was heart touching. They supported us with open mind”, he said.

Prasanna Ponde, Director of Silent Scream said that his film tries to portray the impact of divorce on children & the inner conflict it cause them. “After certain period of time & witnessing the emotional turmoil of their children, some parents even think that the divorce should have been avoided. The film is targeted at the parents but the theme presented may touch children too”, he said.

Narrating the experience of turning a personal experience on cell phone to a film, Suhas Jahagirdar said that he had no intention of making this documentary.  “When I proceeded on the spiritual journey from Alandi to Pandharpur, many exciting things come up in between & they are all recorded in mobile. After coming back, the videos are shown to some friends & get a good reception. It was upon their suggestion that those videos are edited together to make a film”, he said.

The directors from the World Panorama section of IFFI 2018 also addressed the media.

Directors of the 5 films in the International Cinema category of the 49th edition of the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) 2018 – Iro, The Manslayer/The Virgin/The Shadow, Rage, Los Silencious & The Load also addressed a press conference.

Beatriz Seigner recalled her Indian films connection.  She informed that she is one of the organisers of the Indian film festival in Brazil. Her 1st ever feature film   Bollywood Dream – O Sonho Bollywoodiano (2009) was the 1st ever Indian- Brazilian film co-production. She  had worked with Indian directors like Anurag Kashyap who  helped her in getting co-producers from France & Columbia during the Cannes film screening of his film Gangs of Wasseypur.

The Load which is basically a road movie has different flavours like mystery, war scenes, drama, informed Ognjen Glavonic, director of the film.  The story revolves around a man Vlada who works as a truck driver during the NATO bombing of Serbia in 1999. Tasked with transporting mysterious load from Kosovo to Belgrade, he drives through unfamiliar territory, trying to make his way in a country scarred by the war.

Directed by Sulev Keedus, The Manslayer/The Virgin/The Shadow is a bilingual film in Estonian & Spanish based on 3 novella’s having characterisation of young women.  The Director recalled that Estonian people used to watch Indian movies in Soviet times & continue to have connection to Indian films that are screened through film festivals.

Sérgio Tréfaut, Director of the Portuguese film Rage informed that his film is beautiful & intense visual story about people living under a dictatorship in southern Portugal’s countryside. It potrays hunger, misery & exploitation in 1950’s and the growing rage building up among the people against the exploitative regime.  He said he portrayed the country-side totally in black & white to pay the tribute to the cinema & love of the people who are fighting against tyranny of adverse laws. It is a film about injustice & abusiveness of power, he added.

Hadi Mohaghegh director of Persian film Iro (Here) also narrated his experience about the film shooting in Iran. He also praised Indian talent in the film-making industry.

Government can’t survive without farmers, says HDD

by

No government can survive without the support of farmers, former prime minister H D Deve Gowda said Thursday, assuring the agitating peasants here that he stood by them in their struggle.

Thousands of farmers from across the country converged Thursday at the historic Ramlila Ground after journeys that took some as long as 36 hours to complete to press for their demands, including debt relief and remunerative prices for their produce.

Addressing the massive gathering of farmers, Gowda said, he understood their pain and problems as, “I, myself am a son of a farmer.”

“I have come to assure you (farmers) that we stand with you in this hour of struggle. I understand your pains and as a prime minister truer to do whatever I could for farmers,” he said.

Later, interacting with reporters at the Ramlila Maidan, he asked the Union government to listen to the demands of farmers.

“No government can survive without (the support of) farmers. The Union government must listen to their demands. The farmers of this country has awakened and they cannot be fooled,” Gowda said.

The historic ground, known for hosting big political events over the years, resonated with slogans like ‘Ayodhya nahi, karz maafi chahiye’ earlier in the day.

They are spending the night at the ground before marching to Parliament on Friday to put forward their demands.

PTI

 

KPCC chief said that Ministry expansion before legislature winter session

by

The H D Kumaraswamy-led JDS-Congress ministry in Karnataka would be expanded before the winter session of the state legislature commencing on December 10, state Congress chief Dinesh Gundu Rao said Thursday.

Speaking to reporters here, he said the Congress and the JDS would decide on their respective nominees to the six-month-old cabinet, whose expansion was expected last month itself.

“I had said cabinet expansion will be done before the assembly session. Session begins on 10th (December), before that cabinet expansion will happen we will do it,” Rao said.

His statement came amid speculation that the expansion was likely to be delayed further.

Recent comments by Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwara and former chief minister Siddaramaiah that they were waiting for appointment to meet Congress President Rahul Gandhi, who is busy with elections in five states, to discuss the expansion had triggered the speculation.

There is growing clamour from legislators, especially of Congress, for the expansion at the earliest.

According to the pact reached between the two partners at the time of formation of the coalition government in May, there are now six vacant ministerial positions left for the Congress and two for the JD(S).

This will be the second expansion of Kumaraswamy’s ministry, who currently heads the 26-member cabinet.

Meanwhile, several Congress leaders from Hassan district, reportedly upset over the style of functioning of Kumaraswamy’sbrother and District in-charge Minister H D Revanna, Thursday met senior leaders including KPCC chief Rao and Siddaramaiah here, requesting them to “save” the party in the district.

“We have been fighting against JD(S) and Revanna (Minister) over years, we remained silent (on joining hands) obeying high command’s orders… now we are being targeted.

Their intention is to suppress Congress for their survival in Hassan,” Congress leader Putte Gowda told reporters.

According to sources, the leaders have petitioned the Congress leadership against Revanna.

However, Rao said, they had come to explain about the party and political situation in the district and not to complain against anyone.

“They had come with issues relating to party workers and seeking more representation for them in any government-related nominations,” he added.

Revanna, on his part, said, “let Siddaramaiah or Parameshwara speak to me if there are such issues. I don’t do hate politics….there is no such thing.”

Hassan, the hometown of H D Deve Gowda and his sons Kumaraswamy and Revanna, is a JD(S) stronghold and Congress had been fighting the party bitterly over the years.

Both parties joined hands to form government in the state after the May 12 assembly polls threw up a hung verdict.

PTI

K’taka Govt decided of elevated corridor project in Jan 2019

by

The Karnataka government has decided to take up an elevated corridor project to decongest city roads from January 2019 at an estimated cost of about Rs 25,495 crore, Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy said Thursday.

The project is also aimed at providing effective modes of transportation, minimizing maintenance cost of vehicles and ensuring road safety along with limiting carbon emission, he said.

“Due to traffic congestion on city roads, we have decided to go ahead with construction of corridors to ease traffic in North-South, East-West and central parts of the city,” Kumaraswamy told reporters here.

The total length of the first phase corridor is 102.04 km and it is estimated to cost Rs 25,495 crore, he said, adding that 92 acres of land was required for the project.

The project would be taken up under the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) mode, he said.

Officials have been instructed to ensure there were no legal hurdles and that complete transparency was maintained, Kumaraswamy said.

The government has decided to kickstart the project in January 2019 and complete it by 2021.

Kumaraswamy had announced in his budget speech about undertaking of construction of elevated corridor and also allocated Rs 1,000 Crore for present year.

The chief minister held a meeting of officials of various departments Thursday, where he also examined the presentation of Detailed Project Report (DPR) regarding elevated corridors project.

He said with a view to ensuring that public property was not affected, it had been decided to go in for four lane roads at places where it may affect people and six lane in the remaining places.

Kumaraswamy said, according to estimates, 3,700 trees might have to be felled for the project and steps would be taken towards translocating trees wherever possible and also planting of new trees in about 100 acres at various places in the city.

“There will be interlink between corridor and metro line, and at places double decker model is likely to be adopted for this purpose,” he added.

In another move to decongest city roads, the state cabinet had recently decided to bear the land acquisition cost of about Rs 4,500 crore for the 65-km peripheral ring road, estimated to come up at a cost of about Rs 17,000 crore.

“Despite efforts by various governments through various programmes, we have not been successful in providing all the basic necessities to the citizens of Bengaluru,” Kumaraswamy said.

Pointing out that there was a section among citizens who are opposed to such infrastructure projects, Kumaraswamy asked them to take note of situations such as vehicles moving bumper to bumper on city roads and speed limited to 15-20 km per hour leading to wasting of time in traffic.

“If there are any doubts, Vidhana Soudha’s doors are always open. You can clear your doubts either by meeting me or the Chief Secretary.

My priority is providing facilities to people of Bengaluru,” he said, adding that environment-related concerns are being kept in mind while taking decisions.

PTI

There is no question of replacing Parrikar, says GFP’s Sardesai

by

Goa Forward Party chief Vijai Sardesai Friday said there was no question of replacing ailing Manohar Parrikar as Goa Chief Minister.

Sardesai is Agriculture minister in the Parrikar cabinet.

Parikkar is undergoing treatment for a pancreatic ailment at his residence after returning to the state on October 14 following hospitalisation at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi.

While the ruling BJP has maintained that Parrikar has been looking after the affairs of governance even as he undergoes treatment, the state’s opposition parties, and occasionally allies in the state government, have alleged that his health-related absence was bringing administration to a standstill.

Sardesai Friday told media he met Parrikar on November 28.

“I had met the CM while coming back from the closing ceremony function of IFFI (International Film Festival of India) (on November 28). He is fine. Where is the question of replacing him?” Sardesai said.

 

PTI

 

 

Himalayan tremor predicted in near future

by

 Growing warnings by scientists of an impending high-magnitude earthquake in the Himalayas have got further credence from yet another study by Indian researchers.

The new study, led by seismologist C.P. Rajendran of the Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research in Bengaluru, says the “enormous stacking up of strain in the region portends at least one earthquake of magnitude 8.5 or more in one of the overlapping segments of the central Himalayas anytime in the future”.

According to the study, published in “Geological Journal”, the researchers critically evaluated existing databases along with the data from two newly explored locales — Mohana Khola in far western Nepal and Chorgalia, which falls within the Indian border, to determine the timing of the last faulting event on the frontal thrust of the central Himalayas.

The researchers followed the local geology and structural map published by the Geological Survey of India, besides using Google Earth and imagery from Indian space agency ISRO’s Cartosat-1 satellite.

The analysis, the researchers say, “compels us to conclude that a great earthquake of magnitude 8.5 or more that occurred between 1315 and 1440 had unzipped a stretch of about 600 km (the length of central seismic gap from Bhatpur to beyond Mohana Khola) in the central Himalayas with an average slip (or displacement) of 15 metres”.

The present study underlines the fact after this massive earthquake, the frontal thrust in the central Himalayas (covering parts of India and eastern Nepal) has remained seismically quiet for 600 to 700 years, implying enormous build-up of strain in the region.

“An earthquake of magnitude 8.5 or more is overdue in this part of the Himalayas, given the long-elapsed time.

“Considering this potentially high seismic risk, this will be particularly catastrophic for a region marked by an ever-growing population and unhindered expansion of the built-up environment, to be contrasted with poor preparedness to meet this contingency,” Rajendran told this correspondent.

Roger Bilham, a US geophysicist at the University of Colorado whose years of work laid the basis for the current knowledge about earthquakes in the Himalayan region, fully supports the Indian researchers’ findings.

“They are undeniably correct in concluding that should an earthquake occur now, its magnitude could equal 8.5,” Bilham told this correspondent in an email.

“My own evaluation of the available evidence suggests their estimate is conservative, and should the rupture zone extend from east of Almora to west of Pockara (Nepal) the earthquake will exceed 8.7,” he added

The findings by Rajendran and his team confirm two other studies by Indian geophysicists — one led by K.M. Sreejith at the Space Applications Centre, Ahmedabad, and another led by Vineet Gahalaut, director of the National Centre for Seismology in New Delhi.

Analysing data from a network of 36 Global positioning System (GPS) stations and using a geodetic method called InSAR (Interferometric synthetic aperture radar) Sreejit and his team reported (in the journal Scientific Reports) that an earthquake of a magnitude similar to or greater than that of 2015 Gorkha earthquake (7.8) is due in the central Himalayas.

Gahalaut and his team, who analysed the continuous GPS measurements of crustal deformation from 28 sites reported (in Earth & Planetary Science Letters) that the next major earthquake is likely to occur in the Garhwal-Kumaun segment of the northwest Himalayas.

Arun Bapat, a Pune-based research seismologist who correctly predicted the December 26, 2004, Indian Ocean tsunami, told this correspondent: “The predicted large magnitude earthquake in the Himalayas could occur most probably in 2018 or its proximity.”

India is a land of inequality: Writer Anand Neelakantan

by

 Noted writer Anand Neelakantan has described India as a land of inequality and has said that even though the concept of equality has always been there in the country, it has never been put to practise.

Neelkantan, who is the writer of the famous “Baahubali” series, explores some unknown stories hidden in epics and scriptures. His new book “Vanara: The Legend of Baali, Sugreeva and Tara” tells the honour, love, jealousy and betrayal we seldom read of.

“India is a land of inequality. The concept of equality was always there in Indian thought but never in practise. In my novel, ‘Vanara’, Kishkinda is established as a place of equal opportunities. One of the subplots of the story is how this city so established with such lofty ideals slowly descended to become a highly unequal society, mirroring present day India.

“The entire caste system evolved as a tool of grading people and treating people unequally. Whatever arguments one may say about caste or Jaati differing from Varna etc, in practice, for at least 2,000 years, the discrimination on the basis of caste and creed has existed in India and the same continues to hold India back from evolving into a modern society,” the 45-year-old author told IANS.

He maintained that in India discrimination based on religion, caste, language, economic condition and the colour of the skin is a practise.

“One cannot shut our eyes to this reality and talk only about glorious things of our nation. Real patriotism is accepting our faults and working to rectify the same rather than blind glorification of anything related to religion, country or culture,” he said.

Neelakantan said that the interest in Puranas for an average Indian had never waned and emphasised that the Puranas have always played an important role in Indian psyche.

“Why it looks so amplified is because of the power of social media, 24 X 7 news channels. Even Gandhiji used the concept of Ramarajya in the freedom struggle. Puranas were once used to teach people how to live. Storytelling is a powerful tool of conveying ideas and the rich stories of Puranas were used to make the knowledge of Vedas and Upanishads in an accessible format for the common man. Once, it was a tool to unite people like how Gandhiji did. It is unfortunate that some people are using such age-old tales to divide people for selfish gains,” said the author.

Hockey WC 2018: New Zealand defeat France 2-1

by

 New Zealand pipped France 2-1 in its opening game of the Hockey World Cup 2018 at the Kalinga stadium here on Thursday.

After a goalless first quarter, Kane Russell scored for New Zealand in the 17th minute and as France failed to convert opportunities in the later part of the second quarter, the Kiwis enjoyed a 1-0 lead at half-time.

Later, a long pass from midfield was well controlled by Stephen Jenness, who made no mistake in finding the back of the net, making the scoreline read 2-0 in New Zealand’s favour with just four minutes of play left.

It seemed France wouldn’t be able to open its account but Victor Charlet converted a penalty corner in the 59th minute to make the score 2-1.

IANS

KL Rahul should bat more responsibly, says Bangar

by

 Indian batting coach Sanjay Bangar feels KL Rahul should play responsibly being an experienced player of the side.

While five different Indian batsmen notched up their respective half-centuries against Cricket Australia XI in the warm-up game here on Thursday, Rahul failed to make a significant contribution after falling for just three runs.

“He (Rahul) is not a young player anymore and he is on his second tour here. He has played 30 Tests and he has a responsibility. We expect him to play with that responsibility and play his role for the team,” Bangar told reporters here.

“He (Rahul) has been looking in good shape, including today. It is just that he is finding new ways to get out. Even today, the ball was quite afar when he played it away from his body and lost his wicket. But what we are reading he is playing the ball well and he is one hit away (from form),” the batting coach expressed.

“We know his ability and if he converts that to performances then it is important for the team.”

The 46-year-old also said that the opening combination and as the number six slot for the first Test in Adelaide are still up for grabs and the team management will take a call on it after the second innings of the ongoing game.

“I would say there are still some spots to be taken. We will keep a close eye on how the second innings goes and it gives some other batsmen a hit especially Murali Vijay and middle order batsmen, and see how they go,” said Bangar.

“There are certain spots to be taken still. We are looking at the opening slot as well as the number six slot. Those are the positions we are still looking at, we have not decided yet,” he added.

Praising youngster Prithvi Shaw (66 runs off 69 deliveries), who slammed a half-century, on Thursday, the batting coach said: “He has made a mark straightaway in whichever format he has played limited overs or first-class cricket, Irani Trophy, Ranji Trophy, Duleep Trophy or India A. He has shown he can adapt to the conditions and to the stage as well.”

“He plays with a lot of clarity and the impressive thing about him is that he gets into good positions with a clarity of mind and fearlessness of youth that helps him quite a bit,” Bangar pointed out.

IANS

KNOW US

GET INVOLVED

PROMOTE

Archives