Brunch 09 03 2014 by Hindustan Times

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WEEKLY MAGAZINE, MARCH 9, 2014 Free with your copy of Hindustan Times

ATTACKOF

THETROLLS Got an opinion? So do they. And theirs is louder, cruder, more malicious. We are shining a light on the dark side of the Net. Take a look...

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BREAKFAST OF CHAMPIONS

twitter.com/HTBrunch

To read Brunch stories (and more) online, log on to hindustantimes.com/brunch. To discuss the stories (or give feedback), follow @HTBrunch on Twitter. For everything cool on the Internet, like Hindustan Times Brunch on Facebook. And for videos, check out our channel (youtube.com/HindustanTimesBrunch).

Ab Tak Aapne Dekha

by Sucharita Kanjilal

Illustration: SIDDHANT JUMDE

CH B O UN

HOW TO READ HA LLENG 24 BOOKS ) (OR MORE AR IN ONE YE BR

When it comes to making family members out of strangers, we’re all the same. Out takes from the nation’s photo album

INDIA KI FAMILY-SHAMILY

THE BRUNCH BOOK CHALLENGE #BrunchBookChallenge

The Brunch Book Challenge is an @HTBrunch initiative to get readers to read at least 24 books in 2014. Read anything you like, just keep us posted. Tweet your progress to @ @HTBrunch with the hashtag Follow ch HTBrun #BrunchBookChallenge

Some books we’ve been read and feel that you should read them too. Here are short reviews

Brunch Opinion

by Yashica Dutt

ONCE UPON A TROLL-TIME We at Brunch love the Internet’s detractors more than anyone. Back in 2010, we even featured them in our July 18 cover story. Trolling was still nascent in Indian cyberspace then. It wasn’t seen as something ugly, sick,

Said The Men In White Coats

by Saudamini Jain

perverted or deservper ing oof court-approved punishment. P Pranav Dixit ev even gave readers a primer on ho how to be a successf successful troll. The exact opposite of what ex we ar are saying today. Ah, the difference four years can make! by Shoumeli Das

Twitter Bios That Need To Die

How not to be a catchphrase cliché in 140 characters HAPPY-GO-LUCKY So if everyone TRAVELLER Looking up ‘50 was to ostracise you, you would Surreal Places To Visit Before still be happy-go-lucky? You Die’ does not make you one. Neither do trips to BangFOODIE Just because you kok and Ladakh. The word have a food blog and eat out you’re looking for is four times a week doesn’t aspirational, like mean you’re a foodie. the rest us. PASSIONATE ABOUT ANTI-SOCIAL Yeah right! If you LIFE You started attendbothered to update your bio on ing dance classes and Twitter, you are anything but that. made new drinking buddies. VORACIOUS READER DREAMER Wake up. Your Yes, from your last book bio says that your mind tweet about LOTR two wanders. Nobody cares. years ago, we can tell. PROUD MAMA As FEMINIST Unless you’re opposed to a mama who actively fighting the fight, stop. is not proud? RTs ARE NOT ENDORSEMENTS SELF-CONFESSED Dude, it’s all Of course you endorse them! You self-confessed unless someone else think inappropriate tweets are cool is writing your bio. and want them on your profile. FOR ADVERTISING ENQUIRIES, PLEASE CONTACT National — Sanchita Tyagi: sanchita.tyagi@hindustantimes.com North — Siddarth Chopra: siddarth.chopra@hindustantimes.com West — Karishma Makhija: karishma.makhija@hindustantimes.com South — Francisco Lobo: francisco.lobo@hindustantimes.com

On The Brunch Radar

LOVE IT

n That feeling every March brings – we never have to give another board exam again n “If only Bradley’s arm was longer. Best photo ever” at the Oscars n Satyamev Jayate’s back n Afghanistan beat Bangladesh in the Asia Cup n Anil Kapoor buying the movie rights of Anuja Chauhan’s Battle For Bittora n That there are barely any NaMo satires. So many jokes and nobody to crack them? n Cate Blanchett’s never-ending acceptance speech n If you let the court decide your views on homosexuality n The incessant #ShaadiKeSideEffects tweets. It’s not THAT fabulous a film n If you stop going to your favourite restaurants because there’s a new one every day. Loyalty people!

SHOVE IT

Cover design: MONICA GUPTA Cover images: SHUTTERSTOCK, THINKSTOCK

MARCH 9, 2014

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THE BOOK Beloved Strangers Belo by Maria Chaudhuri THE GIST Growing up in Dhaka and returning to your roots, even when you move to New York ONE-LINE REVIEW You will relate to at least some bits READ IT IF YOU LIKE Memoirs BEST LINE “Why do you want to be twenty-five” I ask mother. “Because it is the perfect age. You’re neither young or old, neither naïve or jaded. You have an idea of who you are but there’s still so much left to discover,” she replies. Psst, Bloomsbury India sent free copies. Enjoy, Kavita Shiva (@Kavita_shiva), Kirti Satish Manian (@Kits), Neha Arora (@SoothingBlues), Nitha Jay (@nithajay7) and Madhvi (@ RoyMadhavi) – Kanika Sharma

THE BOOK The Prisoner by Omar Shahid Hamid THE GIST The kidnapping of American journalist in Karachi escalates the tension between Pakistan and the US. Unable to rescue him, the police turn to a former cop languishing in jail ONE-LINE REVIEW Written by a former cop, the book rings with authenticity and many events depicted in the book can be traced to real-life events that have defined contemporary history in Pakistan READ IF YOU LIKE Fast-paced thrillers from the subcontinent BEST LINE: Police officers never know when to bow out gracefully – eventually the enemies you make in your lifetime of pissing powerful people off catches up with you, or your own colleagues stab you in the back – Jyotsna Raman

Stuff You Said Last ast Sunday Sunda @ReallySwara @ ShereenYT @iratrivedi @ rinadhaka Read this today morning.Wonderful views and intelligent exchange of s. eas. idea @S yanRoy – @Sa

Excellent ‘Breakfast of Champions’ page and the cover story as well ! Good work – Muskaan

Your cover story Side Of The Sto – Her was a fun read. As a ry – w wo I really apprecia man, te Swara Bhaska thoughts. She ra’s across as a ﬁne,comes str and an indepen ong de woman. Good sto nt ry Brunchers! - Karishma Sharm a

rning into Brunch is tu azine which ag m ’s it a women n! Whether e it, ndemnatio calls for co ory or the love it/shov You st e. r is the cove a women’s perspectiv has ce it is always en’s Day, but not on r om cove to ed cover W er th ine bo Psst, st, send us an email, the magaz issues! - John men’s

find us on on Facebook or tweet to @HTBrunch

Photos: THINKSTOCK, SHUTTERSTOCK

EDITORIAL: Poonam Saxena (Editor), Aasheesh Sharma, Rachel Lopez, Tavishi Paitandy Rastogi, Veenu Singh, Parul Khanna, Yashica Dutt, Amrah Ashraf, Saudamini Jain, Shreya Sethuraman

DESIGN: Ashutosh Sapru (National Editor, Design), Monica Gupta, Swati Chakrabarti, Payal Dighe Karkhanis, Rakesh Kumar, Ajay Aggarwal

Drop us a line at: brunchletters@hindustantimes.com or to 18-20 Kasturba Gandhi Marg, New Delhi 110001

WELLNESS

MIND BODY SOUL SHIKHA SHARMA

For any worries related to unplanned pregnancy:

FOODS TO SUIT YOUR SUN SIGN

Write to us at consumercare@piramal.com or call us at 1800-22-0502 (toll free) or sms ICAN to 56070 Website: www.i-canhelp.in 1. Dear Doctor, I had consumed an emergency contraceptive pill last year in December and since three months my period cycle has gone haywire. When can I expect my periods to become normal or would it be irregular forever? Emergency contraceptive pills impact the ovulation cycle. As a result, they are known to have disruptive effects on the menstrual cycle. All this, however, is temporary and the body gradually normalises the cycle. A period cycle disruption for 2-3 months is considered to be normal. Ideally, in the coming months, you should expect a normal and regular period. In the event that your cycle does not normalize by the next 3 months, we request you to consult a gynaecologist. 2. Dear Doctor, I was married at the age of 18 and had my first baby at 20. Since my husband and I had decided to just have o n e b a b y, I o p t e d f o r a permanent contraception measure 10 years back. Now I wish to conceive once again. Is there any remote possibility that I can get pregnant again? Having opted for a long-term (permanent) contraceptive measure, you must understand that these measures cause certain major physiological changes in your body which prevent pregnancy under almost all regular circumstances. Due to this requirement of physiological alterations, this kind of contraceptive measure is always

conducted by a gynaecologist. Some kinds of permanent contraception operations can be reversed which then enables the couple to conceive once again. We suggest that you consult a gynaecologist and preferably the same gynecologist who performed the permanent contraception operation to check if it is reversible.

EARTH SIGNS

The last of a four-part series on eating according to your zodiac sign so you’ll thank your stars

Taurus

AURUS, VIRGO and Capricorn are earth signs. The strengths of those born under these signs are said to be stability, perseverance and consistency. A balanced earth sign is strong, has lots of stamina, is healthy and stable. An unbalanced earth sign is overweight, diabetic and lethargic. Earth signs love the good life and luxuries. In general, they are hospitable, love the kitchen and love their family. They love to eat and feed others well. This, coupled with a sedentary lifestyle, causes them to accumulate fat easily. They need to watch out for it especially as they get older. They also tend to have large appetites. Therefore, they tend to be naturally heavier than the other signs (they also have strong bones and joints).

3. Dear Doctor, what exactly does an emergency contraceptive pill do after it is consumed? Does it terminate pregnancy? Emergency contraceptive pills contain hormones which are reported to act in two ways. Firstly, emergency contraceptive pills delay ovulation i.e. the process in which an egg is released in the uterus. In the absence of an egg, fertilization cannot happen. This is the major mechanism by which emergency contraceptive pills are known to prevent pregnancy. Secondly, certain studies show that emergency contraceptive pills increase the thickness of the cervical fluid. In doing so, they decrease the sperm motility. Since unfertilized eggs can stay alive only for 2 days, if the sperm does not reach the egg, fertilization and hence pregnancy is prevented. Emergency contraceptive pills which contain only levonorgestrel, are not known to have any impact on a fertilized egg or on the implanted egg. Hence levornorgestrel-only containing emergency contraceptive pills cannot terminate pregnancy.

INCLUDE...

Green tea or jasmine tea with meals or after meals ■ Bitter and astringent vegetables like karela and green leafy vegetables ■ Wheat bran or oat bran in rotis ■ Sprouted methi seeds every morning ■ Warm water with lemon ■ Fruits like guavas, oranges and herbs like tulsi, amla and triphala ■ Plenty of fruits and vegetables ■ Detoxiﬁcation once a week or fortnight, and a fruit fast or coconut water fast. Earth signs need frequent detoxiﬁcation as they tend to accumulate toxins in their bodies and this may make their bones and joints weak ■

Virgo They tend not to enjoy snacking and prefer to eat propCapricorn erly cooked and well-made foods. They also love to eat in restaurants that have a good ambience and where the food is well presented. The positive aspect of these signs is that they are very good at following through with any exercise regime or sport they may choose to undertake, once they make up their minds. So exercise regimes tend to work for them. The following foods and lifestyle tips can be followed by earth signs:

AVOID...

Cereals. According to ayurveda, all kinds of cereals, fried and oily foods and sweet foods tend to increase the earth element in the body ■ Excessive salt in meals ■ Too many bananas, mangoes or sweet juices ■ Cold foods or refrigerated foods ■

■

Excessive

dairy, ghee and butter

ask@drshikha.com This article should not be taken as a substitute for medical advice. This series is now ended

Photos: THINKSTOCK

Queries answered by Dr Nirmala Rao MBBS, MD, DPM; a well known psychiatrist who heads Mumbai based Aavishkar - a multifaceted team of expert doctors and health professionals. Aavishkar has a comprehensive approach to mental and physical health, with an emphasis scan this QR code to visit website on counselling and psychotherapy.

MORE ON THE WEB For more columns by Dr Shikha Sharma and other wellness stories, log on to hindustantimes.com/brunch MARCH 9, 2014

Supported by:

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Known for traits like narcissism, psychopathy, sadism

Particularly if you engage in discussions on Twitter, Reddit or YouTube

ous lurking behind this atmosphere of intimidation and threat, which has steadily come to replace the free, open-for-all, anonymous Internet, once viewed as the acme of fair, inclusive and democratic debate. Online abuse is commonplace and when you think of it, pretty democratic. Anyone with a Twitter handle or a ID on Reddit, Yahoo or YouTube can use it to make vile threats of rape, murder and mutilation. But those who are seen to sway opinion – journalists, film critics, activists, stand-up comics, Twitter celebrities or public figures – are often the most vulnerable to it. Rajdeep Sardesai, editor-in-chief of the IBN7 network, is among the most abusively trolled journalists, judging by the sheer volume of blog posts, tweets and comments generated about him.

“Is this the kind of discourse we want in India? Should this kind of life-threatening hate be allowed on our public platforms?” he asks. “Perhaps those who indulge in this derive a fake sense of power, aided by the anonymity the Internet provides. I once received a call from one of the most active abusers and he certainly didn’t seem so rabid then.”

A creative combination of invective, judgement and false assumptions

VEN FOR tweeting something as innocuous as, “Oh, what a bright sunny day” you might get a response from someone asking you to die or to f**k yourself. Now, either the offender is particularly tormented by the brightness of the sun, or he is just a TBAT – a troll being a troll. For the uninitiated, a troll is someone who posts a deliberately provocative message to a newsgroup, message board or Twitter with the intention of causing maximum disruption and argument. Trolls have always found place in popular culture since the late Nineties. And till recently, trolling was endured as a kind of pungent kick that came with the enriching, participatory experience that is the Internet. But anyone who has been remotely active online in the past year or so will know that TBAT just doesn’t cut it anymore for the invective-laden, violent, hate-filled and often deeply terrifying comments that are doing the rounds these days. The forthcoming Lok Sabha elections offer part of the explanation for the hateful tweets and vitriolic comments on news sites and off-kilter, reactionary analysis on several blog posts. They are often carried out ostensibly to ensure the goodwill of one political party over another. But there is something more insidi-

We’ve come a long way from 1995, roughly the Neolithic era of the Internet, when anonymity was heralded as part of the allure of the boundary-free, initial Internet experience. Today, that same anonymity is what lies at the heart of abusive trolling. Real life interaction is aided by biological cues such as hurt, shame

Photos: SHUTTERSTOCK, THINKSTOCK

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The police station forwards the complaint to the cyber cell, which reportedly takes time to take action

A troll, in his or her own head at least, is someone who is trying to be funny, more often at your expense. So, why are we so bothered about doing an entire cover story on them, can’t we take a little joke? Because it’s just not funny anymore. With death and rape threats, bitter and incessant abuse and psychological torture that has even led some to suicides, hate trolling is now a menacing activity carried out by the positively twisted. And the only way to ﬁght back is to stand up to them.

or anger which prevent us from being abusive in person. But this connect is missing in the online world. It brings out the worst in human behaviour when a person is behind a computer or tablet screen. “The real world has consequences,” points out psychologist Harsheen K Arora in her analysis of trolling. “One can emotionally or physically hurt someone for such behaviour offline. Online, there is a sense of comfort where one believes he or she can’t be judged and thus can say anything they want to.” The absence of social cues also fails to generate empathy online, because that’s what essentially enables people to identify with the pain and discomfort of others. “There is nothing to jolt your consciousness or tell you how hurt one could be from your comments. Which in turn makes us crueller, aggressive and animal-like,” explains Sraboni Bhaduri, a psychoanalyst. If 1995 was the Neolithic era, we are now characteristically in the Net’s bleak Middle Ages, where a lot of people are active online, but without any rules to govern them. “In a civil society, there are set rules according to which we behave. On the Internet right now, people are like primitive men and women, doing as they please without fear of retribution or law. The rules of proper behaviour (if they’ve been formed), haven’t been implemented firmly,” says psychologist Harsheen Arora. India’s IT Act does make provisions to prevent online abuse. Sec 66A prescribes that sending abusive messages or adopting a menacing character over an electronic medium is punishable with a fine and three years of imprisonment. But action is taken only when an individual complaint is lodged at the local police station. This is cumbersome, considering abuse is generally generated from hundreds of anonymous accounts.

harm,” says Bhaduri. “The Internet takes away the social gaze and allows you to be whoever you want to be, even if it’s abusive and vicious.” Bhaduri believes that being online makes trolls bolder. “To come up with a witty remark in real life requires a high level of EQ, which not everybody has,” she says. “But the Internet gives you all the time to carefully formulate your comment and come up with what you think is the smartest, most sarcastic retort of all time.” @NotRamCGuha, a parody Twitter account of the eponymous historian, is run by someone who identifies himself as a troll. He describes himself as one who “pursues a point and doesn’t let it dilute under any circumstances.” But he is quick to distance himself from serial abusers. “They abuse because they lack the intellectual rigour to come up with logical/factual arguments,” he explains via a tweet. Most abusers don’t have many friends on the Internet, where they often get retweeted and shamed, poked fun at, or simply chased away by the friends of the person being trolled. @ GuppistanRadio, who is known to poke fun at celebrities, was once threatened with the possibility that pictures of his wife would be morphed in a lewd manner and released online. “Followers hi class le lete hain fir un abusers ki,” he tweeted to us. Mridul K Verma, a content writer, whose handle on Twitter is @Psilosophy, feels most abusers revel in the misery of others. “The schadenfreude (a feeling of enjoyment that comes from seeing or hearing about the troubles of other people) is very real. We only take note when it grows into sadism. The

The fantasised sense of self that we promote on the Internet adds another layer to the equation. Online is where, through abuse, a diffident person draws the sense of power and narcissism that they couldn’t in real life. “There is a delusional control over the medium where the abuser often feels that he or she can exit anytime without any

definition of fun varies for everyone, but they do it because they enjoy it,” says Verma. This might not be too far from the truth. A research study conducted by Erin E Buckels of the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg, correlates online trolling to narcissism, Machiavellianism (being deceitful and cunning), psychopathy, and sadism, with sadism being the most robust link. The study suggests that “both trolls and sadists feel sadistic glee at the distress of others. Sadists just want to have fun... and the Internet is their playground!” Facebook comparatively sees the least trolling, owing to the presence of a wide network of friends, pictures and family ready to judge you. Twitter, on the other hand, offers a lower degree of personalisation. Reddit, which requires nothing more than an email ID to join, sees greater degrees of abuse and hate speech. And the public bulletin board 4chan, where anyone can post anonymously, is the dark space of Internet, where users goad others into suicide and serious self-harm. One recent example was #CutForBieber: 4chan users organised groups to goad teenaged girls to cut themselves in the name of teen pop musician Justin Bieber.

Although there might be significant differences between the offline and online world, essentially one does mirror the other. What ends up finding expression online is a deluge of unfiltered thoughts which people are scared to express in real life. “The Internet is like the street,” says author and film critic Anna MM Vetticad, the target of much abuse after posting an unfavourable review of a blockbuster, with comments like, “U r such a ugly female writter [sic] and ugly is ur heart! Even i hv watchd jai ho n othr millions r al thumbs up 4 it. N u giving it just half star is an insult 4 u as a critic.” While men are abused too, trolling is not entirely gender-neutral and women get the rawest end of the deal. Men too mostly get abused with regard to their mothers and sisters, displaying a deep-seated patriarchal mindset. Anja Kovac, director of a project on Internet democracy, believes it results from rampant misogyny in the minds of men. “Men go after women with a sense

of powerlessness because they feel unfulfilled somewhere. With the shift in ideas and changing social landscape, women are no longer dependent on men the way their mothers were. That’s unsettling for them and they react with violence, both in real life and online.” Adds psychoanalyst Sraboni Bhaduri, “Men are not used to being evaluated, but now they have to make an effort to woo women by being charming, suave etc. They are left with a smaller sense of territory and they feel they can reclaim it online.” Kavita Krishnan, a woman’s rights activist, and politburo member, CPI(ML), who regularly faces online threats of rape and mutilation to her and once even her mother, feels the abuse, aimed to create an atmosphere of intimidation, is a reaction to women making their voices heard. “This is an organised strategy to abuse the women into silence, either by commenting on their looks or character. The idea is to subdue meaningful conversation among the din of hate speech and create a hostile environment. Many women feel apprehensive about expressing themselves freely, especially about politics for they fear being vulgarly abused and trolled.” The move towards tolerant, liberal ideologies hasn’t just brought more liberal voices – gender rights, LGBT support, sensitivity to violence and political awareness – to the fore. It has also created massive insecurities among those holding onto anachronistic, antagonistic ideas. This finds reflection in the bitter abuse of feminists, LGBT activists and even film critics, who are virulently vilified after every bad or lukewarm review they write. And the online world appears to be the best place to offload it all. “With the society in a flux, new identities are being fashioned,” Bhaduri points out. “The earlier coordinates of caste, class

A rabid fan base, the Beliebers defend the teen idol’s every action (DUIs, arrests, public ﬁghts etc) and pounce on anyone who suggests otherwise

When TV show host, Kelly Osborne criticised Gaga for missing a red carpet appearance, Gaga’s fans routinely called her fat and asked her to kill herself

and creed are not so relevant and the axis of identification has shifted to the hero, especially hyper-masculine ones such as Salman Khan and Sunny Deol.” She says that people identify with heroes in whom they find a reflection of themselves – be it the brawny but lovable brat, Salman Khan, the kind patriarch Sunny Deol or even Shah Rukh Khan, “who is rather plain-looking but very charming and entirely self-made”. These are actors “preserving the classic model of masculinity on screen and naturally, people are not willing to hear anything even remotely unpleasant about them, even if it is entirely logical,” Bhaduri elaborates. Deification of heroes, fuelled by India’s rabid fan culture, coupled with

Although Internet abuse is a global phenomenon, several countries have evolved active laws to counter it. The UK, apart from running several campaigns against cyber bullying, recently arrested two men who were threatening rape and violence to a woman on Twitter. Despite the law being fairly toothless when it comes to online abuse in India, it does lay the responsibility on the agency to moderate the comments hosted on it. Cyber law expert and Delhi-based Supreme Court lawyer, Pavan Duggal says that according to Sec 75 of the IT Act, an agency hosting such abuse does become complicit in it, and has to exercise due diligence to remove it. While most news websites monitor comments, on Twitter a lot of vulgar hate speech continues to thrive. The social network now has a ‘report tweet’ feature, under which you can report abusive tweets, and for which there is a round-the-clock team to take care of the grievances. However, abuse continues to proliferate.

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Directioners, the fans of the teen boy band, attacked a magazine for publishing covers of the band members which they deemed as unﬂattering

Her fan base often gets miffed with the singer for things they think she shouldn’t do, like her recent friendship with Kim Kardashian, which drew ire

The British comic actor is known for his snarky wit and unique style of naming and shaming trolls, encouraging his fans to go after someone who insults him

the growing unrest among people with regard to the changing social and political structures, creates a toxic cocktail of vitriol and abuse. “People feel they’ve been wronged, they have anger against the system, which often translates to those who speak against their heroes,” says stand-up comic and author Sorabh Pant, who was recently trolled abusively for a tweet about Sunny Deol. Even if a person is hardly given to violent reactions in real life, playing the troll (and finding company in it) comes easy online. “People with common interests move in packs on the Web, with the leaders often initiating abuse on those whose comments conflict with their own,” says Pant. “Those looking to earn encouragement try to outdo them.” Generally, the biggest mobs online belong either to celebrities or political parties, who are often accused of hiring the trolls to unleash the venom. While Jekyll & Hyde would be the most convenient explanation for this behaviour, the truth might be more complex. Misogynist mindsets, changing social mores and political tactics are all causes that contribute to it. But the phenomenon of trolling could also be seen as an unfiltered manifestation of people seeking newer outlets for their growing loneliness and anger, whether it is unsuspecting tele-callers or users online. One needs to view the online space as an extension of the offline society, with similar rules of social conduct to remind us of the real person on the other side of the screen.

yashica.dutt@ hindustantimes.com Follow @YashicaDutt and @HTBrunch

VARIETY

A Few Of My Favourite Things...

Go back to your childhood and re-visit the charming von Trapp household by Shreya Sethuraman

Who are the von Trapps? What else? The von Trapp family lived in The popularity of The Sound of Austria in the 1930s – a retired Music triggered a wave of tourists navy officer, Captain Georg von to Salzburg, Austria, where the Trapp and his seven children from family was originally based. his first wife. He remarried Maria Even today, you can visit the Kutschera, a nun who came to the places where the movie was shot family to look after one of the chil(like the gazebo where I am sixdren who suffered from rheumatic teen, going on seventeen was shot). fever. There’s a Trapp Family Lodge in The von Trapp family moved Vermont, USA as well, where you to the United States after Georg recan relive the movie memories. fused a post in the Navy, What was the movie about? Do sing once Hitler took over Loosely based on the memThe hills ﬁll Austria. They left oir of Maria von Trapp, my heart, with the sound of music... My The Sound of Music is a behind all their beheart wants to sing longings and began musical. The nun Maria every song it hears. touring the US as a (Julie Andrews) comes to The title track will musical troop known the von Trapp house win you over as “The Trapp Family as a governess to even today Don’t Sing Sa-Re ke Singers”. ‘discipline’ the Sa-Re Ga-Ma Why are we talking about children, only to ko lekar gaate them? chale. That’s from fall in love with The last living member of the von Parichay, the Bol- the dashing lywood Sound Trapp family, Maria von Trapp Captain, played of Music (not the nun who married the Capby Christopher tain) passed away late last month Plummer. Eventually, at the age of 99. She was the third she marries him. child of Georg and his first wife, What now? Agathe Whitehead. Watch the film again for its charm Maria had written a book and nostalgic value. Richard about her family’s life (published Rodgers’ music and the lyrics by in 1949), which was first made into Oscar Hammerstein II are a treat a German movie. Later, it was to listen to anytime of the day adapted as a Broadway musical. (or night). And in case you have Finally in 1965, the movie The a loved one, there’s no harm in Sound of Music was made with learning the traditional Austrian Julie Andrews and Christopher folk dance, the Ländler! shreya.sethuraman@hindustantimes.com Plummer in the lead roles and won Follow @iconohclast on Twitter the Oscar for the Best Picture.

MARCH 9, 2014

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COUCH POTATO

Serious Men

As Satyamev Jayate returns with a second season, the question remains: what’s it doing on a Hindi general entertainment channel? by Poonam Saxena If you’d done a balance sheet for the show before it started... n And all this at a high cost –

THE PERCEIVED RISKS n Delving into dark, depressing

Satyamev Jayate is one of the most expensive TV shows ever; according to media reports, each episode costs about `4 crore and the anchor’s fee itself is about `3 crore n Not the kind of show advertisers usually warm up to

issues like female foeticide and sexual child abuse in long, intense 90-minute episodes n Disturbing, unsettling programming on a channel known for and meant for entertaining soaps and serials n Giving viewers an emotionally draining and exhausting experience

THE PLUS POINT n The presence of a big movie star

HE ODDS were stacked against it. Yet, on 6 May 2012, Satyamev Jayate, anchored by Aamir Khan, went on air on Star Plus (and all the other Star network channels) as well as Doordarshan. More interestingly, the show was back on air on 2 March this year (just last Sunday), with an episode on rape. But the original question remains: why would a Hindi general entertainment channel fund and telecast such a show (even if it’s anchored by Aamir Khan) not just once but for the second time too? Wouldn’t the show have made more sense on a news channel? Star India CEO Uday Shankar finds the question odd. “I have struggled to explain this to people in the last seven years – that there is no difference between how a viewer looks at entertainment and non-entertainment channels. Viewers watch drama on entertainment channels as if it is real. The char-

acters’ emotions are as intensely felt as if they were real people.” Strange as it may sound in an industry driven by commercial impulses, Shankar firmly believes that all media content should be about change. “It must capture people’s aspirations, it must challenge the status quo,” he says. His words are rather un-CEO like, since most chief executives rarely talk about anything except money.

SEEDS OF CHANGE

But Shankar was a news journalist before he became a CEO. He worked as the head of Aaj Tak and Star News in an earlier avatar. His take is therefore more nuanced. As he says: “There are two ways to look at return on investment. One is a cash return. The other is what the investment does to build the business of the future.” In other words, it’s important to invest in building a brand that stands for something other than

STARTING A CONVERSATION

Khan interacts with the audience in the first episode of the second season MARCH 9, 2014

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GETTING IT RIGHT

Actor Aamir Khan and Star India CEO Uday Shankar on the sets of the show just entertainment content (which everyone is doing in any case). “The idea was not to do a show with the highest-ever ratings,” he adds. “Aamir and I wanted to force a discussion, a conversation, to bring serious issues, the darkest secrets of our society, into the spotlight and empower people to take the right decisions.” As a conversation starter and brand-building exercise, there is little doubt that Satyamev Jayate worked, particularly in the online sphere. According to the channel, the first season saw topics related to the show trending nationally on Twitter every Sunday (the day of telecast); and 15 million messages being posted on the web and on mobile platforms. The show was discussed internationally (Khan even appeared on the cover of the Asian edition of Time) and Star acquired a reputation as a network with a conscience and a heart. According to Akhila Sivadas, executive director of the Centre for Advocacy and Research, who has analysed the portrayal of women on TV and has worked on issues ranging from community health to women and child rights, the show did start a conversation. “People watched the show because everyone was talking about it, and you must have information about something that’s trending,” she says. “The workshop that Aamir did in the episode on child abuse, where he taught the difference between a good touch and a bad touch, became a talking point at bus stops, in shops, offices.” She analyses why the show works on

a general entertainment channel: “Don’t forget, Satyamev Jayate had references to a lot of things that you often see in soaps and serials.”

SEASON TWO TRENDS

But will the show have as strong an impact in Season Two? In the previous season itself, the enormity of the issues and the intensity of the presentation meant that many viewers found it difficult to watch the one-and-a-half hour episodes at a stretch. They would watch, take a break, then come back again. Sivadas also points out that in the previous season, the first few episodes were watched very avidly, after which the enthusiasm waned a little. Perhaps that has been a learning experience because in Season Two, the show has been broken into five-episode chunks, to allow viewers to take a break and also to allow the issues discussed to sink in fully. The first episode of Season Two has drawn mixed reviews. “Sequels are always risky,” says Sivadas. “You have to raise the bar. But the show is pretty much the same. In the first episode, on rape, we didn’t hear anything that we hadn’t heard on the subject in the last one year. I also felt that Season One was more emotive.” But she agrees that it’s better to have such a show than not have it at all. Points out Anjali Gopalan, founder of the celebrated NGO, the Naz Foundation: “Understanding and action happen only when conversations happen.” That is hard to disagree with.

‘All media content must be about change and challenge the status quo’

poonamsaxena@hindustantimes.com

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Photos: THINKSTOCK

NOT VERY HEALTHY

The truth is that fruit juice can contain more calories than colas and bottled drinks

How Sweet IS too Sweet?

It isn’t poison but treat sugar like a treat rather than an everyday necessity Vir Sanghvi

rude food

SUGAR COATED

The real sugar kick comes from things like fancy coffee

OU’VE PROBABLY seen the scary stories in the newspapers too. Don’t drink fruit juice, they warn, on the mistaken assumption that it is healthy. The truth is that fruit juice can contain more calories than colas and bottled drinks. And what’s more, it may even have more sugar than a glass of Coke or Pepsi or 7-up. I was intrigued, though not particularly worried (I don’t drink much fruit juice), so I looked up the figures. It turned out that the scare had its origins in an article in the respected British medical journal, The Lancet, authored by two researchers of Indian origin. Their research demonstrated that while commercial fruit-based drinks obviously contained added sugar, even fruit juices that had not been tampered with were packed with sugar. Let’s take the calorie and sugar content of Coca-Cola as a standard. We know that Coke, Pepsi and other commercial bottled drinks are full of sugar. A few months ago on the BBC’s Newsnight programme, Jeremy Paxman destroyed Coke’s UK boss by putting out one of those giant cups which they fill with Coke at cinemas. Then, Paxman proceeded to put 27 sachets of sugar into the cup. That was how much sugar a large Coke of the sort we order at the movies (and at fast food outlets) contains. How, asked Paxman, could Coca-Cola justify that? The poor Coke executive hummed and hawed but Paxman had made his point. Except that the Coke guy should have pointed out that fruit juice, touted by the medical establishment (and UK

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health authorities) as the healthy alternative was not really much better. A glass of Coke (250ml) contains around 105 calories and 25.5gm of sugar. A glass of apple juice of exactly the same size, on the other hand, contains 110 calories and 26gm of sugar. So there really is not much to choose. In fact, a scientific study has showed that volunteers who drank grape juice for three months not only put on fat around their bellies but also had lower insulin resistance. So many doctors are now saying that you should not drink more than 150ml of fruit juice a day. Yes, you can have whole fruit, which has fibre and other natural constituents. But you should rid yourself of the belief that fruit juice is good for you in a way that colas are not. Both are as good or as bad, depending on your perspective. The concern over sugar in fruit juice plays into larger fears about sugar. Till about five years ago, the great nutritional fad was to say no to carbohydrates. These days, the emphasis on no-carbs has reduced. And sugar has become the new villain. Supermarkets offer sugar-free products, all of us try and drink sugar-free soft drinks and chefs turn out sugar-free desserts. There’s even a whole school of nutritional writers who argue that sugar is poison and demonise Big Sugar, or the sugar companies, as malevolent forces (not unlike drug cartels) who have made society sick by feeding us their toxic product. In fact, the medical establishment roundly rejects the sugar-is-poison position. (Ah, but they would, say conspiracy-minded nutritionists, wouldn’t they? Big Sugar has bought them off.) In the UK, health authorities reckon that it is okay for an adult to consume up to 90gm of sugar a day. That is, actually, quite a lot. (Assuming you don’t have jalebis with every meal.) It comes to 13 teaspoons of sugar a day, or two cans of regular Coke or Pepsi or eight chocolate biscuits. If you don’t take your tea or coffee with sugar (and more and more people use sweeteners these days) and don’t eat lots of dessert, then it should not be difficult to remain within those guidelines. The problem is that the world is not measured out in chocolate biscuits or cans of Coke. We can control the sugar we consume consciously. But all too often we eat sugar without even realising it. Fruit juice is one recently exposed culprit. But all processed food contains sugar in one form or the other. So does much of the food at restaurant chains. And it is never the things that you think are certain to be filled with sugar that cause the most damage. One survey showed that a Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut (the kind that made the chain famous), which you would expect to be packed with sugar, only contained 10gm of sugar. This is nearly half the sugar content of a chocolate chip cookie (19gm). And it is much less than a glass (8oz) of Tropicana orange juice, which has 25gm of sugar. Even when you think you are going to indulge in a sugary treat, you may end up consuming less sugar than you realise. A serving of high quality ice-cream (say Ben & Jerry’s vanilla) has only 16gm of sugar. (Less than a single cookie or a glass of orange juice!) The real sugar kick came from things like fancy coffee. A Grande café latté has a little more sugar (17gm) than a

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scoop of vanilla ice-cream and a 16oz glass of a vanilla Frappuccino Grande has a whopping 58gm. (That’s as much sugar as six glazed doughnuts or three-and-a-half scoops of vanilla ice-cream.) And even savoury foods can be sugar-filled. Baked beans usually contain vast amounts of sugar. So do salads (the so-called healthy options) at many chain restaurants. One survey I found had tested the sugar-content of a Thai chicken salad at a California Pizza Kitchen outlet. The result was terrifying. The salad contained 45gm of sugar. So even if you think that 13 teaspoons full of sugar is a generous allowance, do not be fooled. You are probably consuming more sugar than that already if you go to chain coffee bars or fast food outlets or if you don’t make your food at home fresh and depend on canned, processed or packaged foods. The prevailing orthodoxy among nutritionists is that sugar is now one of the primary causes of the obesity epidemic in America. And this is not the sugar that Americans knowingly consume but a consequence of a diet that is rich in processed and restaurant food. The problem with trying to find a way out of this sugar trap is complicated by the loathing with which many Internet nutritionists regard sweeteners. Google any of those currently on the market and you’ll find that they attract even more scorn and derision than sugar. To some extent, the scepticism is understandable. For much of the 20th century, artificial sweeteners went through a predictable cycle. They were first hailed as breakthroughs by the pharmaceutical industry, then attacked by lay people, roundly defended by the drug business and then slowly withdrawn from sale as fears about carcinogenic and other effects mounted. That’s why you hardly hear of saccharin or cyclamates these days. Currently, the attack is focused on aspartame, the best-known artificial sweetener (you may know it as NutraSweet or Equal) which has been found safe for human consumption by regulators all over the world but remains the target of assaults based on anecdotal evidence. The makers of aspartame have waged their own battle against Splenda, a newer sweetener that is derived from sugar and therefore claims to be natural, a claim the aspartame people object to. For most lay people, the debate over sweeteners reaches its height when the Diet Coke-Pepsi issue is discussed. I’ve

SWEET TRUTH

Honey has many beneficial effects. But lots of honey has lots of calories

Photo: SHUTTERSTOCK

A SWEET TOOTH

We can control the sugar we consume consciously. But all too often we eat sugar without even realising it lost count of the number of people who have told me that my brain will rot or my memory will go because I drink too much Diet Coke. Others have recommended Coke Zero which, they say, is aspartame-free and therefore healthier. The truth is that the strongest argument that the antiDiet Cola lobby has been able to come up with is that diet drinks may make you put on weight because they fool the brain into expecting sugar and then, don’t deliver on that promise leading to hormonal spikes and fatty deposits. (Don’t ask me. I can’t follow the argument either.) And as for the difference between the sweetener in Diet Coke and Coke Zero, this is rubbish. Both use exactly the same sweetener. The difference is that Coke Zero is supposed to mimic the taste of real (i.e. sugar-filled) Coke better because they’ve changed the flavour profile. What is indisputable though is that Coke Zero has as much caffeine as regular Coke (around 9.6 per cent) while Diet Coke has much more (12.8 per cent). So Diet Coke in the morning and Coke Zero at night may make more sense. The natural-foods-only lobby has long pushed honey as a sugar substitute arguing that it is excreted undigested from the body and so, does not result in weight gain. This is nonsense. Honey has many beneficial effects. But lots of honey has lots of calories. Another natural sugar substitute, Agave syrup will make you as fat as sugar does. At present, the holy grail of sugar substitutes is stevia, which comes from a South American plant. The Japanese love stevia so much that diet drinks in Japan use stevia rather than aspartame. So far no one has found anything bad to say about stevia. But give them time… So what should you do? I don’t hold with the sugar-is-poison lobby. But I see the logic in cutting down. Treat sugar like a treat rather than an everyday necessity. Be very suspicious of processed food. Try and drink your tea and coffee without sugar. And as long as there is no hard evidence that they are harmful, use artificial sweeteners in moderation. Whatever you do, remember that our ancestors ate sugar. So did the entire human race. And we survived, didn’t we? So sugar cannot be poison. But too much of anything is never good for you.

A glass of Coke (250ml) contains around 105 calories and 25.5gm of sugar

MARCH 9, 2014

NOT SO SWEET

In a study, a Krispy Kreme doughnut, which you’d expect to be packed with sugar, contained 10gm of sugar

WHIPPED UP

A serving of high quality ice-cream (say Ben & Jerry’s vanilla) has only 16gm of sugar (less than a single cookie or a glass of orange juice!)

MORE ON THE WEB For more columns by Vir Sanghvi, log on to hindustantimes. com/brunch The views expressed by the columnist are personal

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HE MWC is the most detailed, well attended and biggest showcase of all things mobile in the world. But the 2014 edition became a headline-making slugfest between companies, each wanting to become top dog. Here what will keep us busy for the year.

to be the world’s thinnest phone at 5.5mm, but actually wins a different title. This was easily the best-looking YotaPhone has an phone of MWC. Gionee showe-ink screen on its back that consumes cased how this thin sliver is no power crafted out of a single slab of aluminium and the process is fascinating. Big full-HD screen, stand-alone camera features and controls, quad-core processor and multiple bright colours on a stunning form. If priced right, Gionee may have a serious winner here.

NOKIA GOES ANDROID The big shocker. Just days before

SONY UNLEASHES A BEAST

Tech’s Newsmakers The Mobile World Congress offered enough headlines for all of 2014, it seems

HELLO ANDROID!

The Nokia X, X+ and the XL are based on an open Android OS and are well priced

Nokia becomes part of the Microsoft juggernaut and its ‘only’ Windows world, it releases three new smartphones! Not a big deal, right? Wrong! The phones are based on archrival Android. Nokia’s three X series (X, X+ and the XL) phones are based on an open Android OS and will run any Android app eventually, side loaded or hacked! Good ergonomics, bright Lumia-like colours and an expected price point of `6,000 to `9,000 may well make them the biggest-selling smartphones by Nokia in recent times. This is a major poison pill for Microsoft before they take over Nokia. How badly will this cannibalise sales from Windows-based Lumia 520? Would Microsoft have bought Nokia if they had three Android phones before the deal? Will Microsoft kill the X-Men when they take over?

FROM THE CLUTTER, A GALAXY APPEARS

Instead of launching its biggest flagship phone in a stand-alone event, Samsung decided to launch one of its biggest cash cows in the clutter of MWC. Lots of conspiracy theories abound as to why. But

nevertheless, the Galaxy S5 is here! And it’s a big surprise. From a company that has made its reputation with overthe-top and slightly gimmicky features, this is a toned-down phone. It looks exactly like the S4, a grave mistake. A 5.1inch full-HD screen kicks things off as does better battery life and an all-new Ultra Power Saving mode. More to come: Lots of other companies made headlines But the rest is a catch-up game. Taking a leaf out but unfortunately I don’t have the space to detail them all (I of Sony’s book, it is water and dust resistant. There’s an did ask for eight pages, but was refused!) HTC’s iPhone 5S-esque fingerprint scanner on the home WORTHY OPPONENT new mid-tier flagship, the Desire 816 was shown, key. For many, this is Samsung in a mature avatar The Jolla phone has as was Huawei’s stunning new MediaPad X1 tabwhere gimmicks are jettisoned for actually used an exceptional OS features. But for most, this was proof that the S5 and is easy to control let and its intriguing new Talkband. Acer had its new Liquid phones and Asus came up with the may be a stop-gap arrangement and that an S6 PadFone Mini. Detailed reviews of all of these metal phone is less than six months away. and more in future columns.

THE GEAR IS DEAD, LONG LIVE THE GEAR

MORE ON THE WEB For previous columns by Rajiv Makhni, log on to hindustantimes. com/brunch. Follow Rajiv on Twitter at twitter.com/RajivMakhni The views expressed by the columnist are personal

JOLLA SAILS OUT ITS PHONE The phone and its OS is exceptional, but it’s the story behind the phone that leaves you all warm and fuzzy. This is a phone made by a breakaway group from Nokia. And they broke away after Nokia abandoned the awesome MeeGo OS and went with BAND THE WRIST Windows. It’s an OS that is intuitive and very easy to control. The OS was also demonstrated to run The Huawei on other phones like the Google Nexus 5 and some TalkBand handles fitness and calls tablets. It’s going to be an uphill task for Jolla to make it, but if they do, it’s going to be the retelling of David versus Goliath. They come from Russia and instead of distilling some vodka, they’ve turned the mobile phone on its head. And they’ve done it by putting in a second screen at the back of the phone. This is an e-ink screen that consumes practically no power and can be a total replication of all things on the front screen. You can set it to be your constantly updating notification centre, read IT’S A BEAST a book, browse online or just show pretty The Sony pictures – your battery life isn’t affected Xperia Z2 made at all. The real headline will be when it headlines for its optical prowess comes to India.

techilicious TICK TALK

The Xperia Z2 made headlines for its optical prowess. It comes with 20.7 megapixels, an Exmor RS sensor coupled with the award-winning G Lens and serious visual trickery. But it’s in the video department that it truly shines. It can reel off 4K THE FUTURE videos without a hiccup. Android KitKat, a The Gionee Elife S5.5 is Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor, 4G the bestLTE, NFC, 3GB RAM and a 3200mAh batlooking phone tery complete the monster blueprint.

THE TWO-FACED YOTA IS HERE

Rajiv Makhni

The two new smartwatches from Samsung have better features and better battery life

TWO-FACE

Samsung also shocked by abandoning its Androidbased Galaxy Gear smartwatch within months of launch and showcasing two new Gear watches based on their own OS, Tizen. Why? It’s cheaper, has better battery life, and better features are their reasons. But the stunner was the Gear Fit, a curved AMOLED screen fitness band.

GIONEE SLIMS DOWN AND STUNS

It claims

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MWC India 2015? May I request MWC to shift to India from Spain in 2015? As you move around MWC, you will encounter more Indians there than any other nationality and my flight from Zurich to Barcelona was like a Mumbai-Delhi flight, only Indians. I’m not cribbing, just trying to save half the country from travelling from here to Spain! Rajiv Makhni is managing editor, Technology, NDTV, and the anchor of Gadget Guru, Cell Guru and Newsnet 3

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Photo: DINODIA

JUST RIGHT

After a long trip abroad, I long for my home-cooked khichdi and aloo chokha with a side of onion raita (left). And Brits who are exiled across the pond long for a jar of Marmite (right)

Comfort food

It is whatever you want to eat first when you finally come back home

HENEVER I fly back to India after a long trip abroad, the first thing I do after I have checked in is call home and order dinner. It’s always the same menu: khichdi and aloo chokha with a side of onion raita. That, to me, is the authentic taste of home. And that’s what I long for after a week or so of eating Thai, Italian, Chinese, or generic Continental food.

Seema Goswami

spectator THAT FAMILIAR TASTE

I still fantasise about the singada (samosa to all those who grew up in north India) I ate at my Calcutta home

I guess it is true what they say: your taste buds are set by the food you grew up on. And in my case, it was bog-standard, fairly bland, vegetarian fare, the kind that ayurvedic buffs would classify as satvik food. And that is the food that I always long for, after my palate has been over-stimulated by spicy, exotic, even esoteric fare. I assume it’s the same for all of you reading this. It is the tastes of yo your childhood that you miss most as you grow u up and travel far from home. For some it may be simple dal-chawal and subzi; for some it may be an aromatic biryani; for others it may be a masala omelette wedged between buttered toast; or some curdrice with pickle and fried papad. But while the choices may vary, the idea remains the same. We long for the food we cut our milk teeth on. Speaking for myself, I still fanPhotos: SHUTTERSTOCK

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tasise about the singada (samosa to all those who grew up in north India) I ate at my Calcutta home. The highly spiced potato mix, encased in the most delicate pastry, and dunked in an unctuous sweet-sour sauce. Bliss! Over the years, I have eaten samosas all over the length and breadth of India but nothing ever comes close. And each time I experience a little pang of disappointment as I take my first bite. The jhaal-moori sold outside the school gates, all the more special for being contraband; the orange-stick icecream lollies which left our tongues a lurid colour; the kanji my grandmother would make each season; the sambar that was the Sunday special at home; all these tastes still linger in my mouth, all the more flavourful for being infused with nostalgia. No matter how much we grow up or how far we travel, the taste of home is always comforting. Brits who are exiled across the pond, whether in New York or Los Angeles, long for a jar of Marmite (no, I don’t get the appeal either). Australians are a bit mental about Vegemite, which tastes pretty ghastly to the rest of us. Italians hunt out the local pizzeria the moment they hit a new city. The Japanese think nothing of spending a minor fortune on eating sushi and sashimi on their travels. And we all know of those Gujarati or Marwari groups who go everywhere with their own maharaj (that’s cook, not king) so that they can get their fill of theplas, undhiyu, gatte ki subzi, raj kachoris and other deep-fried delights no matter where in the world they are. Even hardened soldiers who go out to war do so while kitted out with their home staples because – as Napoleon Bonaparte so famously said – an army marches on its stomach. We recently got a good look at the pre-packed meals of the soldiers of different countries serving in Afghanistan when they were served at a charity dinner organised by The Guardian newspaper. Here are just some of the items in the kitty. The Brits get Typhoo tea and Tabasco; the Italians get minestrone and a tiny measure of alcohol (coyly called cordiale); the French get (no surprises here) cassoulet with duck confit and venison paté; the Americans get peanut butter and spiced apple cider; the Germans get liver-sausage spread for HOME COMING their rye bread; the Singapo- As you grow up and reans get a pack of Sichuan travel far from home, noodles and soya milk; and you miss the tastes of the Australians get steak your childhood most. For some it may be an and (you guessed it!) Vegemite. aromatic biryani Because at the end of the day – whether you spend it on the warfront or in a boring conference room – everyone longs for a taste of the home they grew up in. And that’s why even Michelin star-quality Chinese food doesn’t hit the spot quite like your mom’s Maggi noodles.

MORE ON THE WEB For more SPECTATOR columns by Seema Goswami, log on to hindustantimes.com/brunch. Follow her on Twitter at twitter.com/seemagoswami. Write to her at seema_ ht@rediffmail.com The views expressed by the columnist are personal

PERSONAL AGENDA

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Actor

Arshad Warsi

BIRTHDAY SUN SIGN PLACE OF BIRTH HOMETOWN SCHOOL/COLLEGE April 19

Aries

Mumbai

FIRST BREAK

LOW POINT OF YOUR LIFE

Barnes School, Deolali

Mumbai

HIGH POINT OF YOUR LIFE

CURRENTLY I AM...

After Munna Bhai MBBS, I became a part of lot of successful franchises, and then Jolly LLB happened

ABCL’s Tere After Tere Mere Sapne, Mere Sapne when my films didn’t do too well. Film offers also (1996) started drying up If you weren’t an actor, you would have been... A chef or a director. If you could choose a classic film as your debut, which one would it be and why? Chupke Chupke (1975). It was a hilarious movie. The best thing about Bollywood. That you meet new people who are creative and there’s always so much to learn. How much like ‘Circuit’ are you in life? I’m not at all like him. He’s obnoxious! One song that describes your current state of mind. Kabira from Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani. Your favourite co-star for a romantic film. Not sure about that, but I do think that Deepika Padukone is outstanding. Your 3am friend. The photographer, Amit Ashar. The best thing about marriage. A couple’s unconditional dependability on each other. And the kids. Five things you can’t live without? My wardrobe, cell phone, iPad, haversack and hugs from my children. Your favourite gadget. At the moment it’s my FuelBand (activity tracker) and my new iPhone 5s. Your fitness regime. I mostly do cardio and functional training. I also do weights twice a week. How much has Bigg Boss changed from when you hosted Season One? I think it’s become way more competitive and dirtier now. Your favourite midnight snack. Chocolate. A piece of advice you wish someone had given you 10 years ago.

Acting in The Legend of Michael Mishra and Guddu Rangeela. I’m also the face of Brain Games on Nat Geo

VINTAGE CAR OR BIKE, WHAT’S YOUR PICK?

I love them both Photo: THINKSTOCK

Make your own decisions. What turns you on? Intelligence and humour. What makes your day? Chilling out at home, calling a few friends over for dinner and some good conversation. What ruins it? Plans getting canned. The last line of your autobiography would read... “Good night and God bless!” — Interviewed by Veenu Singh

my movies

A FILM YOU’VE WATCHED MORE THAN FIVE TIMES.

Schindler’s List (1993)

THE MOST OVERRATED FILM.

It’s hard to pick one

THE MOST PAISA VASOOL FILM.

Most of the Salman Khan ones MOVIES THAT WERE PART OF YOUR CHILDHOOD.

The Magnificent Seven, Silsila, Disco Dancer

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