India's largest selling Urdu weekly, now also in English
I hereby wish to share my happiness on winning the Board of Director’s election of Amanath Cooperative Bank Ltd. It was indeed a pleasurable majority win, that apart I wish to thank all the shareholders from the bottom of my heart for being very supportive and coming forward to cast their precious vote and help us to achieve this goal and I take a pledge to serve all the shareholders to the best of my ability and capacity.
Jai luva Kusa’s trailer wowed us the entertainment quotient that Junior NTR brought in the 3 characters. The action, dance & humor seemed spot on. The film also has a special dance item number by Tamannaah Bhatia the gorgeous lady looks like a bronzed beauty in the teaser pic that she has shared. The song will release on 21st Sept, 2017, and the excitement is already in the air. One of the biggest hitmakers down South, Devi Sri Prasad has composed the number. Jai Lava Kusa also stars Raashi Khanna & Nivetha Thomas as the female leads. It is a Dussehra release.
Rajinikanth’s Kaala Kalikaraan Beats Kabali
As much as 70% of superstar Rajnikanth’s upcoming Tamil gangster drama Kaala has been completed. The pace at which it is being shot could make it the fastest shot film in director Pa. Ranjith’s career. Looks like Rajinikanth’s Kaala Kalikaaran is on its way to create its 1st ever record. It has beaten Kabali to become the 1st ever Rajinikanth film to be shot at this kind of pace. “The team is shooting at amazing pace, making it probably the fastest shot film in Pa.Ranjith’s career. Nearly 70% of the film has already been completed.
Spyder Is Mahesh Babu’s Most Expensive Film
Spyder, Mahesh Babu’s next sci – fi thriller, is only getting bigger. Recently, the film had its audio launch, which saw a crazy turnout of fans. In fact, director A R Murugadoss had to shut them up when he took the mic to talk about the film. He had said that he had waited 2 years to take this platform, hinting that nobody could stop him from talking now. Later Mahesh Babu revealed that the film was made at a whopping budget of Rs 120 crore. That makes the film his most expensive one till date and now it will get a big release in US too as if India wasn’t enough for it to make a mark.
The Cost Of The Action Sequences For Prabhas’ Saaho Is RS. 120 Crore
Saaho is easily one of the most talked about films this year and why wouldn’t it be, It stars the one & only one Prabhas, the biggest South Star of 2017 (as per Bollywood life’s poll). He became the global icon after Baahubali’s success so now all eyes are on his next film. With Prabhas on board, Saaho was already exciting. It became a bigger project when Shraddha Kapoor joined the team. Fans were disappointed that Anushka Shetty was no longer a part of the film, but they are looking forward to seeing Prabhas & Shraddha Kapoor together. Now as per another update on Times of India, this is going to be definitely a film to watch out for, turns out, the actions sequences alone might cost Rs 25 crore. Bahaubali 2’s climax sequence cost R 30 crore. Saaho clearly is not far behind. In fact, the team has got on board, Kenny bates, a renowned stunt choreographer to plan out the action sequences & the stunts. The lead pair, Prabhas & Shraddha Kapoor will take on a whole new avatar in this film.
Veteran Actress BV Radha Passes Away In Bengaluru
It is sad news for enthusiasts of South Indian cinema as veteran actress BV Radha passed away in Bengaluru. She was 70 and suffered a cardiac arrest. The veteran was admitted to a private hospital in early morning and placed under medical supervision. However, she could not recover from the attack. A cancer survivor, BV Radha had done films in Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, Hindi, Tulu & Malayalam. She was married to director KSL Swami, who passed away in 2015. The actress’ body was kept at her home for the last respects and her eyes were donated to Narayana Nethralaya and her body to MS Ramaiah Hospital as per her wish.
The Dhruva Natchathiram Team No Longer Stuck
Filmmaker Gautham Vasudev Menon on Sun said he & his crew of the upcoming Tamil film Dhruva Natchathiram are stuck at the Turkey border for over 24 hours. In a series of tweets, Menon explained the situation and sought help. “My film crew stuck at Turkey border. On the road. More than 24 hours now. Officials not letting us in with equipment in spite of legit papers,” Menon tweeted on Sun. He also said that they were not able to “meet the demands of the officials”. Crew traveling from Georgia to Istanbul by road. Carrying camera & costumes. Stuck now. At the border,” he added.
Simbu Joins Mani Ratnam’s Next
It is confirmed. South actor Silambarasan aka Simbu is a part of Mani Ratnam’s next film. Well, the project just got bigger. It already has Jyotika, Fahadh Faasil, Aishwarya Rajesh & Nani in prominent roles. Actor Vijay Sethupathi who made a huge impact with the film, Vikram Vedha was the front – runner for the film but Simbu was the final choice. The actor’s last film Anbavan Asaradhavan Adangadhavan was a dud at the Box – Office turnstiles. This is the actor’s 1st film with Mani Ratnam. Incidentally, while Jyothika has worked in a Ratnam production Dum Dum Dum, this is also her 1st time under him as a director.
Thalapathy Vijay’s Mersal Finally Introduces Its 3rd Female Lead, Nithya Menen
Mersal without a doubt is one of the most anticipated films of 2017! It stars the Tamil superstar, Thalapathy Vijay. The actor will take on 3 roles that of a chieftan, doctor & magician set in 3 different time periods. Also, the bigger excitement was that the actor will romance three leading ladies – Kajal Aggarwal, Samantha Ruth Prabhu & Nithya Menen. The Mersal team had given us enough glimpses of Vijay – Sam & Vijay-Kajal but there was no sign of Vijay – Nithya. It was almost beginning to seem like a rumored pair when an unseen pic of Vijay & Nithya Menen got LEAKED online today! Unlike her previous avatars, she looks demure & mature in this look, not to forget beautiful.
Baahubali director SS Rajamouli honored
Baahubali filmmaker S. S. Rajamouli was conferred the Akkineni Nageswara Rao (ANR) award here on 17th Sept, 2017 for his excellence in cinema. Akkineni Nagarjuna averred, “We are very honored to announce the ANR award will be given to our own S. S. Rajamouli for his excellence in cinema in the presence of honorable Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu on 17th Sept, 2017 @ 4.30 pm in Shilpa Kala Vedhika,”
Prabhas & Shraddha Kapoor To Kick Some Butt In Saaho
Saaho has caught everybody’s eye for so many reasons, This is Prabhas’ 1st film after Baahubali, He is going to feature in a whole new avatar and this time, the Telugu actor will star opposite Shraddha Kapoor! Each of these reasons are enough to send fans into a tizzy. To begin with, his new look sans the long hair & bulky physique, has got a thumbs up from fans. Apart from the change, this bad ass look sure suits him, feel fans. The actor after a 4 month break finally joined the sets of Saaho on 18th Aug, 2017. The next excitement is his co – star for the 1st time ever, Shraddha Kapoor joining the sets.
Telugu Film Critic Mahesh Kathi Lashes Out
It is not unusual to see fans down South go really crazy in their love for their matinee idol. Anyone, who dares utter something “negative” about their idol is mercilessly trolled online. In some cases, the harassment crosses all limits with the dissenting person being threatened. In the Telugu film industry, Pawan Kalyan’s fans are the most loyal & vociferous ones online. Mahesh Kathi, who is a film critic & filmmaker is a participant on the Telugu Bigg Boss as well. He revealed that his dislike of Pawan Kalyan’s Katamarayudu earned him a lot of hate from fans
Dileep Allowed To Step Out Of Jail
Dileep was allowed to step out for 2 hours to perform the rites for his Father’s death anniversary. Malayalam star Dileep who has been in Aluva Jail for the last 2 months was allowed to step out recently for 2 hours to carry the traditions of his father’s death anniversary. The lawyer had put forth this special request on behalf of the actor which the court consented to. The actor was released form the jail, not without tight security around him as a crowd gathered outside to get a look at the actor.
Banner: T – Series, Paramhans Creations Entertainments & Adarsh Telemedia
Producers: Bhushan Kumar, Krishan Kumar, Shailesh R Singh & Amit Agarwal
Director: Hansal Mehta,
Star Cast: Kangana Ranaut, Mark Justice, Soham Shah, Hiten Kumar, Kishori Shahane, Esha Tewari Pande, Manu Narayan, Aneesha Joshi, Rupindra Nagra, Usha Jerajani
Music: Sachin – Jigar
Hansal Mehta, the most well – known director has always attempted novel topics, and now he has taken one more challenge to present another novel topic passed on a true incident but this time his attempt seems have totally backfired on him and the poor audiences had to bear the brunt of his backfiring challenge.
The scripted or rather the non – sensically scripted scenario of Simran reveals that it is the story of a girl with flaws who has to resort to crime when things go horribly wrong. Praful Patel (Kangana Ranaut) is divorced and is living in Atlanta in United States of America. Fed up with the rants of her parents (Hiten Kumar & Kishori Shahane), So Praful now decides to move into her own house. She even gets pre – approval for her loan. But a chance visit to Las Vegas with her cousin Amber changes her life. After the initial victory at the casino, she loses out a lot of money, including her savings. Yet, she continues to play since she gets addicted to it. A private moneylender loans her $32,000 and she loses that as well. The moneylender is dangerous and warns her of dire consequences if Praful doesn’t repay the amount along with interest. With no other option, Praful starts robbing banks. How it messes her life further forms the rest of the film.
Hansal Mehta’s direction is disappointing and it’s nowhere close to his earlier films like Shahid, Citylight & Aligarh. Few scenes have been well executed by him though. Watch out for the scene where Praful’s father watches the news and criticizes the father of Simran, not realizing that he is insulting himself. It is quite funny. The story penned by Apurva Asrani which has been inspired from a true incident rests on a weak pivot. Apurva Asrani’s screenplay is very faulty & incoherent. There is no relatability factor of any sort with the principle protagonist and that goes against the film heavily. Apurva Asrani’s dialogues (additional dialogues by Kangana Ranaut} are fine however but nothing memorable. Simran has a decent beginning. The 1st 10 – 15 minutes are spent in character introductions and also the Las Vegas sequence and it makes for a nice watch. But as soon as Simran turns into a habitual gambler, the film falls and never goes up again. There’s no logic to her actions and it gets bewildering after a point as to what’s going on in the film. One doesn’t feel any empathy for Praful. Neither does she seem to be a smart badass, if that was the intention of the makers. Besides, there’s too much of English & Gujarati in the film that dilutes the commercial element of the film. There are too many cinematic liberties in the movie which takes the audience for granted. Even the audio isn’t clear in certain scenes and hence certain English dialogues aren’t even audible. And above all Simran comes across as a show reel for Kangana Ranaut. Sachin – Jigar’s music is absolutely forgettable. Anuj Rakesh Dhawan’s cinematography is horrible. Tiya Tejpal’s production design is nothing special. Antara Lahiri’s editing is not great but with such kind of pointless script & useless direction, there is nothing much that she could have done.
Performance wise Kangana Ranaut is hopelessly irritating. She indeed does a good job in a few selected scenes but her performance is quite inconsistent and comes across as self – obsessed. Notice how her Gujarati accent vanishes in several scenes, such goof ups are not something that we expect from a powerhouse performer like her. Sohum Shah’s (Sameer) performance suffers because his character isn’t well fleshed out. He disappears completely in the middle of the film. Hiten Kumar is too loud & theatrical. He should have kept his performance restrained. Kishori Shahane is quite better. Esha Tewari Pande (Salma) is fine in her small role. The actors playing Amber, Mike, bartender, moneylender and his henchmen are fair.
Tail Piece: On the whole, Simran is a movie which can be easily skipped without any regrets. At the Box – Office turnstiles it will turn out to be an average fare. Don’t even make an attempt to watch it even if you are a hardcore Kangana Ranaut fan.
Mumbai: Maharashtra’s ruling ally Shiv Sena on Monday launched a sharp attack on the BJP for the runaway inflation and zooming fuel prices and said “Achhe Din” were being “murdered” daily by the government.
The party also took to task new union minister K.J. Alphons — who said recently that “those who can afford high prices of petrol and diesel are not starving” — for making “such highly irresponsible utterances.”
“This Navratna (Jewel) in the cabinet is justifying the steep high prices of fuel because he has never paid for it from his pocket. This is like spitting on the face of the poor who were not humiliated to such an extent even during the Congress rule,” the Sena said.
In strong editorials in the party mouthpieces ‘Saamana’ and ‘Dopahar Ka Saamana’, the Shiv Sena said it was shocking that Alphons even justified how nobody was dying because of the spiralling fuel prices.
“Listen to him! This bureaucrat-turned-minister with no political experience is probably full of the ‘merit’ that the BJP President Amit Shah said the Congress is lacking,” the Sena said.
“Have they forgotten, how – when there was a fuel hike during UPA, all top BJP leaders like Rajnath Singh, Sushma Swaraj, Smiri Irani and Dharmendra Pradhan – jammed the streets protesting with empty gas cylinders?” the Sena asked.
However, now when they have come to power, the poor were being mocked and ridiculed by persons like Alphons who were advocating inflation – and “all this is truly distressing”, the edit said.
“A major reason behind the thousands of farmers’ deaths in Maharashtra and elsewhere in the country is due to steep hike in fuel prices. There is the regular ‘shock of load-shedding’, so they have to depend on diesel-run generators for agriculture. Then, they are required to shell out higher prices for transportation of their farm produce to the distant markets.
“Many farmers simply can’t afford to pay all these high costs and hence resort to committing suicide,” the edit said.
The Sena pointed out that the masses were suffering because of the hike in petrol, diesel and gas prices. “‘Achhe Din’ are being killed daily,” it said.
“People have no food to eat, farmers continue to be in crises, inflation and unemployment are adding to peoples’ woes. When questioned about all these, a livid Maharashtra BJP legislator Pasha Patel abused and threatened a journalist last week and said he (the journalist) requires mental treatment,” the Sena said.
It said that from the billions of rupees to be spent on the Bullet Train project, if Rs 30,000-40,000 crore was diverted to tackle inflation, it would be serve everyone better.
“Patel called the journalist ‘mad and needing mental treatment’. Actually, it is those people who are praising the Bullet Train who are lunatics and deserve to be packed off to mental hospitals,” the Sena said.
(Agencies)
Producers: Arjun Rampal & Rutwij Patel
Director: Ashim Ahluwalia
Star Cast: Arjun Rampal, Aishwarya Rajesh, Nishikant Kamat, Anand Ingale, Rajesh Shringarpure, Purnand Wandekar, Anupriya Goenka, Shruti Bapna, Usha Naik, Shrikant Yadav, Deepak Damle, Girish Pal, Raj Arjun, Vijay Sanap, Abhimanyu Arun, Mir Sarwar & Farhan Akhtar
Music: Sajid – Wajid
The underworld that ruled Mumbai at one point has spun many films over the years. But surprisingly, no film was made solely on Arun Gawli, who has also been a prominent figure in the city’s underworld & politics and continues to be. Director Ashim Ahluwalia takes the challenge and comes up with Daddy, and makes an unconventional choice of having a suave Arjun Rampal for a character that’s diametrically opposite to his persona in all aspects.
Although the scripted scenario of Daddy is based on the real life story of Maharashtra’s underworld Don Arun Gawli of Dagdi Chawl, Daddy has been presented as the story of the roller-coaster life of Arun Gawli. The story begins in the late 70’s when the mills in Bombay (present day Mumbai) gets shut, rendering lakhs of people jobless and even homeless. In a locality in central Mumbai, Dagdi Chawl, 3 youngsters get lured into the underworld. They form the “B.R.A. Gang” which is the acronym of their names – Babu Reshim (Anand Ingle), Rama Naik (Rajesh Shringarpore) & Arun Gawli (Arjun Rampal). Arun Gawli however becomes quite prominent and soon enters politics. How he becomes a boon for the Dagdi Chawl residents & a bane for the police force forms the rest of the story.
Ashim Ahluwalia’s direction is the biggest culprit. He fails to do justice to the script, however faulty it may be. With his execution, he could have taken the film to a great height. But barring a few scenes & the finale courtroom sequence, he misses the mark. Few scenes are quite bewildering. For instance, the encounter attempt on Arun Gawli at the “nakabandi” failed to make an iota of sense. And why was Arun using paper ballot to vote when EVMs had already been introduced by then? Daddy begins on a shocking note and you expect the film to be a fast –paced drama, a well – preserved gangster drama. The film however falls a bit immediately but still, the scenes of the B.R.A. gang are engaging. But as the film progresses, it becomes too confusing & incoherent. Too many things are packed in the film’s 135 minutes run time. Also there are far too many characters. One fails to understand who exactly is the villain and if it’s the system that’s the villain, then it’s not established very well. It is mentioned that poverty drove Arun to crime but one never gets to see his family struggling due to poor economic conditions. Moreover, the film suffers from another strange problem, the background score & sound design at places is too loud because of which certain dialogues are inaudible. Arjun Rampal & Ashim Ahluwalia’s scripted story is weak and should have been detailed. The screenplay is average as it fails to put together the life of Arun Gawli in a cinematic format. Ritesh Shah’s dialogues are strictly okay and fail to register. Sajid – Wajid’s music is average. “Eid Mubarak” & “Aala Re Aala Ganesha” are relegated to the background. “Zindagi Meri Dance Dance” however is quite impressive & reminiscent of the bygone era. Naren Chandavarkar & Benedict Taylor’s background score has an 80’s touch & is entertaining. Jessica Lee Gagne & Pankaj Kumar’s cinematography could have been better. There are far too many close up shots. Deepa Bhatia & Navnita Sen Datta’s editing is disappointing. Despite being 135 minutes long, the film feels like a 3 hours+ fare. Parul Sondh’s production design is authentic. Nidhi & Divya Gambhir’s costumes are also straight out of life but the wigs worn by the characters look fake. Sham Kaushal’s action is gory but it was the requirement of the film.
Performance wise Arjun Rampal however saves the film to a great extent. Arjun proves his worth as an actor in this film and gets totally into the skin of his character. Surely, this is one of his most accomplished works! Aishwarya Rajesh (Zubeida) has a fine screen presence and gets the best scope among the other actresses. Shruti Bapna (Rani) leaves a mark while Anupriya Goenka (Hilda) gets scope only in the post interval scene with Arjun Rampal. Farhan Akhtar (Maqsood) is quite decent as the dreaded Don. Rajesh Shringarpore gives a bravura performance is a highlight of the 1st half of the film. Anand Ingle looks menacing and puts his best foot forward. Nishikant Kamat (Inspector Vijaykar) is quite nice and he has a crucial part in the film. His character however is quite controversial and the way Mumbai Police is shown as being hand in glove with Dawood like gangster is bound to raise eyebrows. Purnanand Wandekar (Vijay), Raj Arun (Rafique) & Deepak Damle (Phamplet Bandya) are too good in small roles.
Tail Piece: On the whole, Daddy is poor show due to its incoherent script & weak direction. Arjun Rampal’s performance is the sole factor that makes the film realistic. Watch it if you are a fan of Arjun Rampal or gangster flicks.
Banner: Emmay Entertainment
Producer: Nikhil Advani, Monisha Advani, Madhu G Bhojwani & Viacom18 Pictures
Director: Ranjit Tiwari
Star Cast: Farhan Akhtar, Diana Penty, Gippy Agarwal, Ronit Roy, Deepak Dobriyal, Inamulhaq, Rajesh Mishra, Uday Tikekar, Sukh Kanwar, Vineet Gill, Ravi Kissen, Manoj Tiwari, Virendra Saxsena, Manav Vij, Robin Das et al
Music: Arjunna Harjale, Rochak Kohli & Tanishk Bagchi
Just 3 weeks ago, audiences were exposed to the terrible life of jails in Qaidi Band. Surprisingly, Lucknow Central, that releases this Fri, also deals with life in the prison and what’s more, the crux in both the films is the prisoners forming a band in order to escape from jail. So does Lucknow Central manage to make a mark, despite the similarities with the other film or does it fail in making an impact?
The scripted scenario of Lucknow Central enlightens that it is the story of a group of prisoners who get a unique opportunity in escaping from jail. Aspiring singer Kishan Mohan Girhotra (Farhan Akhtar) is framed for the murder of an IAS officer in his hometown Moradabad. He is sentenced to life imprisonment & after 18 months, he is shifted to Lucknow Central jail. He finds out that the IGP (Virendra Saxena) has asked for a band to be formed in Lucknow Central comprising of a group of prisoners. They are to perform at an Independence Day celebration and also compete with band from other prisons of Uttar Pradesh. An adamant NGO worker Gayatri (Diana Penty) is given the responsibility to form the band. Kishan jumps at this opportunity and signs up for the band. He also succeeds in roping in Victor Chattopadhyay (Deepak Dobriyal), Parminder Singh Gill (Gippy Grewal), Purushottam Madan Pandit (Rajesh Sharma) & Liyakat Ansari (Inaamulhaq) after facing some resistance. Kishan however is not just trying to fulfill his singing ambition by forming this band. He also plans to escape. But the jailer at Lucknow Central (Ronit Roy) is tough and not easy to be fooled. He senses about this plan. What happens later on forms the crux of the film.
Ranjit Tiwari’s direction is simple but with such a flawed script, there’s nothing much he could have done. Few scenes are well handled but they all get overshadowed by the many bad scenes. Aseem Arora’s dialogues however are fine, especially the ones mouthed by Ravi Kishan. The story penned by Ranjit Tiwari & Aseem Arora stands on a weak wicket. Aseem Arora’s screenplay is faulty & riddled with complete goof ups. Lucknow Central just doesn’t work and the glaring similarities with Qaidi Band are not to blame. The beginning portions are still fine. But the film defies logic soon enough and that continues right till end. What was the relevance of Kishan pretending to be mute when he reaches Lucknow Central? Kishan plans to escape from jail and then fulfill his singing dreams. How on earth he’d do that and why didn’t he realize that someone who has escaped from a prison would have to always hide from the cops and that becoming a famous singer is out of option, is inexplicable! Also certain developments in the film are highly unconvincing. The manner in which Victor ditches Tilakdhaari (Manav Vij) and joins Kishan is difficult to digest. Also how Pandit agrees to join Kishan and why nobody has a plan after escaping from jail is too much. The character of Gayatri is also half baked. It’s amusing to see her getting convinced by Kishan and decides to help him form the band. The “Teen Kabootar” song does spike some interest but immediately afterwards, the jailor leaks the video which didn’t make an iota of sense. Lastly, sequences seem to be inspired from films like Happy New Year, Gupt and even Shawshank Redemption, further diluting the impact. The Music of the film doesn’t work and that’s not good for a film that is about a band. “Kaavaan Kaavaan” is the only track that works. “Teen Kabootar” is interesting as it’s conceptualized well. The other songs like “Meer – E – Kaarwan”, “Rangdaari” & “Baaki Rab Pe Chhod De” are poor. Arjunna Harjaie’s background score is dramatic and adds to the tension. Tushar Kanti Ray’s cinematography is neat. Amit Ray & Subrata Chakraborty’s production design is fine. Charu Shree Roy’s editing is bad. The film is too long at 147 minutes and could have been way shorter.
Performance wise Farhan Akhtar delivers a decent performance and manages to carry his duty of a leading actor. But this performance is no way close to his other memorable performances. Diana Penty looks pretty and doesn’t get much scope. After such a crucial role in Happy Bhag Jayegi, it’s disappointing to see her in such a weak part. Deepak Dobriyal as always is dependable and gets the Bengali accent right. He is quite moving in the scene where he meets his father. Rajesh Sharma also proves his worth & performs ably. Inaamulhaq gets a raw deal and could have done better. He rocked the show in Filmistaan and also in Jolly LLB 2. But here he just doesn’t work. Gippy Grewal gets a chance to shine despite the presence of so many actors. A fine performance and his look is quite interesting! Ronit Roy is menacing as always but his performance suffers due to bad writing. Ravi Kishan (Pawan Singh Chaturvedi) takes the film to another level with his cameo appearance. His dialogue on Donald Trump will be loved. Robin Das (Kishan’s father) is okay. Manav Vij has intense eyes & is alright. Virendra Saxena (IG) does fine. Manoj Tiwari plays himself and there’s nothing much to talk about his act.
Tail Piece: On the whole, Lucknow Central is a poor show all the way. The weak script, lack of entertainment value & long run time of the film will work against it. As a result, it’s bound to struggle at the Box – Office turnstiles.
Antwerp: The Indian women’s hockey team ended their Europe Tour on a high as they beat the Belgium junior mens team 4-3 in a pulsating encounter here.
Goals from Gurjit Kaur (seventh minute, 11th) and captain Rani (13th, 33th) gave visitors their first win of the tour on Monday.
A rampant Indian team started the match with some enthralling attacking play as they earned a penalty corner in the seventh minute which was well converted by drag-flicker Gurjit Kaur to give India the lead.
The defender extended India’s lead in the 11th minute as she converted another penalty corner to make it 2-0.
Captain Rani also got onto the score sheet as she scored a well taken field goal in the 13th minute to make it 3-0 for the visitors at the end of the first quarter.
The second quarter began with goalkeeper Rajani Etimarpu making her second diving save of the match to deny the Belgians from opening their account.
India displayed grit and fight throughout the second quarter as they held onto their 3-0 lead at the end of 30 minutes.
India started the third quarter with some high intensity play which paid off for them in the 33rd minute as Rani scored her second of the match to make it 4-0.
However, Belgium finally managed to get past India’s sturdy defence when Thibault Neven converted a penalty corner in the 38th minute to make it 1-4.
The hosts produced a great field goal in the 42nd minute via William Van Dessel to end the third quarter with India leading 4-2.
The Belgium Junior Men’s team carried on the momentum in the fourth quarter as Mathias Relik converted a penalty corner giving them their third in the 48th minute to make it 3-4.
It was a nervy last ten minutes for the visitors as Belgium piled on some pressure to find the equaliser.
However, the Indian team held onto their nerves and defended as a unit to see out a well-deserved 4-3 victory.
(IANS)
Mumbai: Iqbal Kaskar, the brother of fugitive don Dawood Ibrahim, was Monday night arrested by the crime branch of the Thane Police in connection with an investigation into an extortion case, the police said.
Iqbal was taken into custody from his house in Nagpada area in Central Mumbai by a team led by encounter specialist and the anti-extortion cell’s senior police inspector Pradeep Sharma, an official said.
“Iqbal was brought for questioning in connection with an extortion case. After investigation, he was found to be involved in the case and arrested,” the official said.
Some more arrests were likely during the night as five more persons were detained in connection with the extortion case, he said.
According to sources, some extortion calls were made in Iqbal’s name to a Thane-based businessman.
The businessman then approached the Anti-Extortion Cell of Thane Police with a complaint.
Acting on the complaint this evening, Sharma’s team went to Nagpada and took Iqbal into custody.
Iqbal, who was deported from the United Arab Emirates in 2003, is said to be operating his brother’s real estate business in the city, the police said.
He was wanted in a murder case and the Sara Sahara illegal construction case. However, he was acquitted in both the cases in 2007.
Sharma, who led the team that detained Kaskar, was suspended in Lakhan Bhaiya encounter case and was recently reinstated in the police force.
(PTI)
Hyderabad: A 24-year-old woman was allegedly burnt alive by her husband for not being able to secure a MBBS seat. The incident took place in Hyderabad in L B Nagar police station limits on Sunday night.
Harika had married her cousin Rushi Kumar (29), a resident of Rocktown Colony of L B Nagar, two years back.
Rushi wanted Harika to study MBBS and fulfil his dream of becoming a doctor. So he made her stay in a hostel and enrol to coaching classes. She appeared for medical entrance test by giving EAMCET exam but failed to secure a MBBS seat and instead secured a Bachelor of Dental Surgery seat at Kamineni Medical College.
According to Harika’s family, Rushi used to harass her for dowry and constantly pick fights with her.
On Sunday night, Rushi called Harika’s mother and told that she had immolated herself by pouring kerosene. The family rushed to her house and found her dead. “Harika’s husband claimed she committed suicide, but after seeing the scene of the offence, it appears to be a murder. We suspect that the man has killed his wife,” ACP (LB Nagar division) Venugopala Rao said.
As of now Rushi is in police custody and investigators registered a case under 174 (suspicious death) of Cr.PC.
(Agencies)
Bengaluru: Qamarul Islam, former Congress minister and prominent Muslim leader from the Hyderabad-Karnataka region, passed away following a brief illness in the city on Monday. He was 69.
Qamarul Islam was admitted to hospital 11 days ago for cellulitis of the leg and poor cardiac function.
Dr Shivaprasad, Senior Consultant and In-charge of Medical ICU, Department of Critical Care at Narayana said that Qamarul Islam had hypertension, diabetes and was also under treatment for Myasthenia Gravis, a neuromuscular disorder. He died of cardiogenic shock and multi organ failure in the hospital at noon on Monday, the doctor said.
Qamarul Islam had a long political career. He represented Kalaburagi (North) constituency and was Walf Minister in Siddaramaih cabinet. He was dropped from the cabinet in last year’s reshuffle.
As a mark of respect to the departed leader, the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee has cancelled all its scheduled programmes on Monday.
(Agencies)