Hindustantimes Brunch 24 June 2012 by Hindustan Times

WEEKLY MAGAZINE, JUNE 24, 2012 Free with your copy of Hindustan Times

The doc is in Stay in the pink – experts show you how

“Maybe I am perceived as a snob... Fame hit me suddenly... I didn’t know any better.” Actor Shahid Kapoor comes clean

Police action

Kabeer Kaushik’s Maximum is a cop vs cop drama

Love thy pet

Prachi Desai has a crush on her sister’s cat

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VIR SANGHVI

Eat, pay, London

RAJIV MAKHNI

Apps uncovered

SEEMA GOSWAMI

Tweet tooth and nail

W AT C H O U T F O R

NOW ON STANDS,

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24.06.2012 IT’S A DAMN GOOD MAGAZINE! Do you really want us to tell you why you have to get yourself a copy of the latest issue of Brunch Quarterly? See obvious sparks fly between the brooding Farhan Akhtar and the giggling Sonam Kapoor, read a short story by Tarquin Hall, and see the edgiest styles out there. Grab your copy, now!

inbox LETTER OF THE WEEK! Collector’s edition

AMAZING WORK on the Wellness Issue! I liked the piece on the spine and posture, and the illustrations were most helpful. I sit in front of the computer a lot, and the illustration showed me how that can affect my spinal column and can even cause scoliosis. Glad to add this one to my Brunch Wellness Issue collection!

— PRIYA GHOSH, via email Priya wins a shopping voucher worth ` 2,500. Congrats!

Is the doctor in? IT WAS nice to see medical inputs on what we otherwise consider normal issues to deal with. We usually laugh about health issues till something major takes place. I liked the ‘easy on ears’ advice doled out by the experts. Instead of your friendly neighbour, it’s best to trust a doctor. After all, health does matter!

— GISELLE ANDRADE, via email

Write in, the best letter every week can win you a SHOPPING voucher worth

R2,500!

The shopping voucher will reach the winner within seven to 10 working days. In case of any delays, please contact chirag.sharma@hindustantimes.com EDITORIAL: Poonam Saxena (Editor), Aasheesh Sharma, Tavishi Paitandy Rastogi, Rachel Lopez, Mignonne Dsouza, Veenu Singh, Parul Khanna Tewari, Yashica Dutt, Pranav Dixit, Amrah Ashraf, Saudamini Jain, Shreya Sethuraman DESIGN: Ashutosh Sapru (National Editor, Design), Monica Gupta, Swati Chakrabarti, Rakesh Kumar, Ashish Singh, Suhas Kale

Drop us a line at

brunchletters@hindustantimes.com or to 18-20 Kasturba Gandhi Marg, New Delhi 110001

JUNE 24, 2012

What else to look out for:

■ The muted voices of the

courtesan singers of India ■ Ira Trivedi on a 14-day detoxification trip to the land of ayurveda, Kerala ■ If you haven’t tasted molten chocolate yet, you haven’t committed the ultimate sin!

LIKE, COMMENT, SHARE facebook.com/hindustantimesbrunch Simpal Dhar Thanks for making me aware of the hazards caused by technology and phone myths (I’m Sick Of Technology, June 17). Now I’ll definitely change my habit of overusing my smartphone.

TWEET YOUR HEART OUT twitter.com/HTBrunch @Pooja_Gupta Enjoyed @RajivMakhni’s column on how Apple is concentrating on pushing Android down, not innovating. I didn’t expect this from Apple. @ShaaiBhati @HTBrunch @seemagoswami it was funny to read how parents forget their child in utter confusion...

The “reclusive” Shahid Kapoor finally opens up on love, life and his attitude People

Director Kabeer Kaushik’s next film Maximum highlights the power struggle between cops

Personal Agenda

Actress Prachi Desai would love to stay 28 for the next 10 years

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Gurpreet Kaur Salwaha I simply love Brunch and I don’t like missing the articles written by Seema Goswami. I just wanted to congratulate the good work she has been doing. Keep it up Seema! Namita Mohile Every Sunday, I search for Brunch as soon as I get up. I really liked Vidya Balan’s personal agenda.

Cover Story

16 RUDE FOOD What food trend is London, the most international city, setting? 18 TECHILICIOUS Discover the hidden gems of the app world 20 SPECTATOR Given the squabbling, should Twitter be renamed “Bicker”?

@Ajaythetwit The wellness issue of @HTBrunch is a super combination of all ingredients of fitness. Team HTB deserves a 100. Keep pouring in more..!

DOWNLOAD CENTRAL The column is taking a break for a few weeks. But stay tuned, it will be back soon!

@SavarSuri Was reading @HTBrunch and remembered the Modern Family episode @seemagoswami is talking about in her article and laughed my guts off!!

Cover Design: ASHUTOSH SAPRU Cover Photo: ATUL KASBEKAR

BRUNCH ON THE WEB hindustantimes.com/brunch

The rise and rise of Shahid Remember the starryeyed boy in a 1998 Pepsi commercial? Or the lovestruck boy in the music video Aankhon Mein Tera Hi Chehra? Well, he has come a long way since. Log on to read all about Shahid Kapoor’s top films.

Second thoughts Do check out this week’s web columns – Gursimran Khamba’s cheekiness on Monday, Rajneesh Kapoor’s comic strip Rezi Vastav on Tuesday, The Fake Jhunjhunwala’s sarcasm on Wednesday, Judy Balan’s uncanny take on life on Thursday and Gautam Chintamani’s SplitScreen on Friday. Log on now!

Brunch Blogs This week, check out Booked For Life by Saudamini Jain. A love affair with everything in print.

DOCTOR KNOWS BEST

Ask The Specialists

Here’s part two of the best health advice, straight from the doctor’s clinic Dr PN RENJEN: Avoid headaches

diet. Consume foods that are high in magnesium like broccoli, beans, soy milk, nuts and spinach. ■ Lemon juice in tea or water can help a headache disappear. ■ Keep track of your headaches.Writing down the details of your headaches – how long they last, how severe they are, what was happening before the pain started and how you sought relief – can help you and your doctor identify your headache ‘triggers’. For example, certain foods may bring on headaches, as can stress, menstrual cycles, bright light, perfumes and even changes in the weather. ■ Apply a cold pack to the area that hurts. ■ Avoid sleeping in a cold room. Maintain your bedroom temperature up to at least 20 degrees Celsius. ■ Try acupressure if the pain persists.

headache is a common problem. There can be many causes, both physical as well as mental. Most people have headaches because of stress and tension in their lives. So make some changes in your lifestyle and in the foods that you eat. Every tip listed here may not work for everyone, and change won’t come overnight. But experimenting with these suggestions may help you avoid a headache, or manage one if it comes. ■ Stick to a sleep schedule. ■ Eat regular meals. Be careful with caffeine, alcohol and tobacco. ■ Change your eating habits. Limit foods rich in sodium (salt), saturated fats, cholesterol, trans fats, and added sugars. ■ Include magnesium in your

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Dr YASH GULATI: Build bone health

he bones in the human body are a dynamic network and constantly need to be fortified by basic proteins and minerals, especially calcium. Vitamin D helps absorb calcium from the gut and deposits it in the bones. A decrease in protein leads to osteoporosis and similarly, a lack of vitamin D and a subsequent decrease in calcium leads to osteomalacia. Both cause weakness of the bones, leading to bone pains, fractures and even a collapse of the spine. ■ Exercise every day. Brisk walking, jogging or climbing stairs are excellent. Outdoor sports are a good idea. ■ Expose yourself to the sun. Ultraviolet rays are essential for the body to manufacture vitamin D. Forty-five minutes of exposure of uncovered skin to the sun every day is ideal, but 15 to 20 minutes every day is more practical. ■ Be active. A sedentary lifestyle is a sure way to lose bone density. ■ Avoid smoking. Smoking has been scientifically proven to be associated with a decrease in bone formation. ■ Avoid excessive alcohol intake. More than two drinks a day is known to cause bone loss, leading to weak bones. ■ Have a calcium-rich diet. Make sure it contains elements

Photos: THINKSTOCK

(Dr Renjen is a senior consultant neurologist, department of Neurosciences, Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals)

such as milk and other dairy products, dark leafy vegetables, broccoli, soy products, almonds and fish with bones such as salmon and sardines. ■ Take vitamin D supplements if you are not exposed to sufficient sunlight. This could be in the form of fortified food products, oily fish such as tuna, sardines, egg yolk and fish oil. Ask your doctor if you need vitamin D medication: either tablets or powder. ■ Beware of certain drugs that can cause osteoporosis such as drugs for epilepsy, cancer or steroids. If you are on any of these you should have your bone density checked regularly. ■ Get your bone density checked after the age of 50, after menopause or even earlier if medically indicated. If your bones are found to have sub-normal bone density, specific drugs for osteoporosis along with vitamin D supplements may be required. The estrogen hormone may be required in select situations, but is not used universally because of the risk of thrombosis and cancer. (Dr Gulati is a senior consultant orthopaedic surgeon at Apollo Hospital, New Delhi)

Dr HRISHIKESH PAI: Prevent infertility ■ Plan a child before the woman hits 35 and the man 40, since egg reserves in women and male sperm counts start going down by then. ■ Control stress, as this can lead to hormonal disturbances that result in infertility. Hypothyroidism, in which the thyroid gland is

sluggish, is a common hormonal disease that causes infertility. ■ Do brisk exercise for 30 minutes every day. ■ Use contraceptives to avoid unwanted pregnancy because in one per cent of the cases, abortion can lead to blockage of the tubes. ■ In India, tuberculosis of the womb is also one reason for infertility. Timely diagnosis, effective

JUNE 24, 2012

treatment and not dropping the treatment midway can help. ■ Sexually transmitted diseases such as gonorrhea can also lead to severe infections, causing infertility. Proper treatment is required to cure the problem. ■ Control your weight. Obesity is one of the primary reasons for irregular release of eggs – which can cause infertility. If you have a

body mass index (BMI, your body weight in kilogram /height in metre square) above 30, you are obese. An ideal BMI is between 20 and 25. If you are overweight, reduce your calorie intake to 1,000 calories per day.

(Dr Pai is an IVF specialist at Mumbai’s Lilavati Hospital and Fortis Group of Hospitals)

DOCTOR KNOWS BEST

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Dr SHEHLA AGARWAL: Keep hair and skin beautiful

ou need to nourish and pamper your skin and hair from your teenage years. ■ Use a face wash to clean your face. Squeeze a coin-sized amount on to your hands and use at least three-four times a day, when coming in from outdoors. ■ Drink 8-10 glasses of water a day to prevent your skin from becoming dry and wrinkled. ■ A toner removes oil and dirt; an astringent is also recommended in summer. But it’s not necessary to use both.

■ Moisturise, especially dry areas,

such as the skin around the lips and your hands. ■ Apply sunscreen before stepping out. Don’t use bleach or a scrub more than once in three weeks. Prevent wrinkles ■ Sun exposure or photo ageing is the most common cause of wrinkling; so always use a sunscreen with SPF 15-20. ■ Eating right can solve most problems. Proteins are the building blocks of skin and hair; fish, soya, leafy vegetables have omega-3 fatty acids which delay ageing. ■ Inactivity, overwork and fatigue decrease the ability of skin

to heal itself. So take a break from your hectic schedule and give yourself some me time: include meditation and yoga in your life. ■ Smoking and alcohol consumption decrease the skin’s resistance to infection; so avoid both. ■ Use skincare products suited to your specific skin type. Start antiageing creams after 40. Starting earlier can make your skin more susceptible to wrinkling later in life. Hair care A protein imbalance in the body, which gets aggravated with stress, crash dieting and thyroid disease, can make hair listless. ■ To add volume to hair, blow dry damp hair on a medium heat setting, tilt your hair for-

ward and dry.

■ Use a

homemade hair mask once a week: mash a ripe banana with a few drops of almond oil and massage into the roots. Leave for 15 minutes, rinse with soda water and then shampoo. ■ Always use a shampoo for normal hair as it has just adequate conditioner, never use treatment shampoos for regular washes. (Dr Agarwal is the consultant dermatologist, director, Mehak - The Derma & Surgery Clinic)

MORE ON THE WEB

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“Acting is all about honesty. If you can fake that, you’ve got it made” – George Burns, American comedian, actor and writer JUNE 24, 2012

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YOUR SERVE, LONDON

It is now the world’s most international city and good taste is not only about money. At least, not in London

BURGER REVOLUTION

Daniel Boulud brought the upmarket hamburger to London at his Bar Boulud

Photos: REUTERS

RUSSIAN REVOLUTION

Arkady Novikov who runs 50 restaurants in Moscow also owns Novikov on Berkeley Street in London

Vir Sanghvi

HEN IT comes to food trends, there are only two cities in the world that count: London and New York. Paris is hopelessly parochial. Hong Kong is too busy trying to ape the West while its local food scene remains on a slow simmer. The Spanish only achieved recognition for their molecular cuisine when New York took notice – after The New York Times Magazine put Ferran Adrià on the cover. Los Angeles could do nothing for Nobu Matsuhisa who ran a restaurant there for years; the breakthrough came when he opened Nobu in New York, because that is the city that counts. And London’s restaurants have now become brands – Hakkasan, Zuma, The Ivy, Royal China, Yauatcha etc – that are exported around the world as examples of the kind of place that the gastronomic capital of the world specialises in. So what are they eating in London these days? It is a difficult question to answer because it is not clear who “they” are. London is now the world’s most international city and many of its restaurants survive on the basis of foreign patronage. Others attract no foreigners at all, remaining entirely British enclaves. At present, the biggest spenders in London are rich Russians. So much in demand is Russian custom (because they can spend thousands of pounds on a single meal) that you can get a table at virtually any hard-to-book restaurant by putting on a Russian accent when you phone and making the reservation in a Russiansounding name. Now, Russian business has reached such levels that an entire new sector of Russian restaurants has developed. There was always Sumosan (a sort of Nobu-for-oligarchs) but there’s also Novikov on Berkeley Street serving the same sort of food owned by Arkady Novikov who runs 50 restaurants in Moscow. Plus there are many other places designed to cater to rich Russians: Mari Vanna, Baku (okay, it is Azerbaijani, but same general idea), Goodman (it serves steak but is run by Russians for other Russians), Novikov Italian (same Moscow restaurateur: This is his Italian place) etc. None of us is going to go to any of these places and run up Russian-style bills for overpriced food. But there is another big ticket trend: The steakhouse. The Americans have always had steakhouses. So have Australians. But London has only just bought into the idea. In America, the steakhouse is a no-nonsense kind of place meant for big men with bigger appetites who are served by dour, middle-aged waiters. In Britain, the steakhouse is designed

rude food

JUNE 24, 2012

for foreigners who want to spend a lot of money on dinner but have no interest in fancy food or understanding of haute cuisine. At the bottom end of the market there have always been foreigners-and-tourists-only steakhouses like the Angus Steak House chain but now, new places are aiming for the very top of the market with fancy cuts of beef that can cost upwards of £100 for a single steak. Cut, part of Wolfgang Puck’s international chain, draws rich tourists. JW Steakhouse follows the same formula at Grosvenor House (owned by Subroto Roy, though I would be very surprised if he actually ate there!). Maze Grill used to be Gordon Ramsay Holdings’ attempt to do something different: Now it is like all the other high-end tourist places. The Palm is a branch of an American chain and draws many rich Arabs. And 34 is the new one from Caprice Holdings (The Ivy, J Sheekey, Scott’s, etc) that hopes to use its Grosvenor Square location to lure locals and wealthy tourists alike into its 100-seater dining room. Away from the places designed to appeal to foreigners, the London scene is more complicated. If steaks cost too much for most Brits, then hamburgers (another recent obsession) are more affordable. Daniel Boulud brought the upmarket hamburger to London at his Bar Boulud and I was an early champion of the restaurant. But when I went for dinner last week, the fizz had gone out of the place. The burger was fine but the chips were soggy, the onion soup had a thin, watery taste and the Floating Island was a disaster. Worse still, the crowd comprised tourists and hotel guests and service was sloppy with poorly-trained staff. There are other burger places too but the hot ones tend to be those that charge much less than POCKET FRIENDLY

If steaks cost too much for most Brits, then hamburgers (another recent obsession) are more affordable

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early days, when the restaurant had just opened, and was the hottest table in town (it is still hard to get into), many Indians went out of curiosity about Heston Blumenthal’s new adventure. But when I went back last week after several months, the room was full of Brits and a few South East Asian guests from the hotel. (Dinner was at the Mandarin Oriental – in my view, currently the best hotel in London, with outstanding service.) I was lucky to get in (I suspect the Mandarin’s concierge has an allocation) and the set lunch at £32 must be London’s biggest bargain. The food was outstanding: A pork ragout as a starter (would it spoil things if I said it was made from a pig’s ear?), a succulent slab of salted fish and a trembling custard tart. If you want a little molecular excitement, then there’s an icecream trolley for post-dessert. The waiter asks you which flavour you want and makes the ice cream before your eyes in seconds, using liquid nitrogen. There are even puffs of smoke to complete the magic trick effect. Another kind of London restaurant that often mystifies foreigners is the casual-dining place. Brits go crazy trying to score tables at The Ivy, Le Caprice, The Wolseley or Polpo but rich foreigners stay away. Perhaps they associate casual dining with hotel coffee shops. And certainly, the concept doesn’t seem to travel well. I don’t know how The Ivy’s foreign branches are doing but the New York Caprice never worked. The kings of the casual but trendy London dining are Jeremy King (whom I interviewed in these pages some months ago) and Chris Corbin. The Delaunay in Aldwych is their latest and is clearly the Eastern European cousin of their massively successful Wolseley. It is, like all Corbin and King restaurants, marked by exceptional service, a sense of specialness and good, simple food. I had the tarte flambée (a sort of thin crust pizza) as a starter and then an excellent New York hot dog with crisp, perfectlyfried chips. It all came to around £20 per head, which is crazy for one of London’s hottest restaurants. But then, good taste is not about money. At least, not in London.

Many of the restaurants in London survive on the basis of foreign patronage. Others remain entirely British enclaves

Boulud does and take no reservations. I did not have the heart to stand in line on a rainy London day at Burger & Lobster, a new popular place that only serves the two eponymous items, but I’ve heard mixed reports about the food. I did, however, get into Meat Liquor, its soul brother. Like Burger & Lobster, it takes no reservations, usually has a line outside and has a severely limited menu. Its owners previously sold burgers and hot dogs from a food truck so the idea is to serve the kind of food you ate on the street with your hands in a restaurant setting. There are no plates. All orders come on a single tray and you are encouraged to use a roll of tissue paper (like you have in a kitchen) as crockery and napkins, combined. Speaking for myself, I did not think much of the burgers (useless meat patties but inventive sauces) or of the strange room with its loud country music but the horrendous queues every night suggest that I am in a minority. One kind of London restaurant that never really appeals too much to Indians or other foreigners is the British-French restaurant. In its heyday, Le Gavroche catered to some rich Pakistanis but Manu Chhabria was about the only Indian regular. Even today, there are few Indians to be found at Koffmann’s, Hibiscus, Tom Aikens, The Square or Arbutus. On the whole, we prefer Italian restaurants because (a) there are more vegetarian options and (b) we prefer Italian food to French anyway. I’ve never seen an Indian at Wild Honey, a wonderful Frenchish restaurant from the people behind Arbutus, even though its location, off Hanover Square, makes it perfect for shoppers. I went again this time and the food was as terrific as always: Cornish cod with roast chicken leg, English asparagus with poached egg, slow-cooked lamb shoulder and a killer Floating Island (they should send Daniel Boulud their recipe). Nor are there many Indians at Dinner by Heston either. In the IF YOU’RE LOADED

There are many places designed to cater to rich Russians: Mari Vanna (right), Baku, Goodman etc JUNE 24, 2012

Photos: THINKSTOCK

ACTING PRICEY

New places in London are aiming for the very top of the market with fancy cuts of beef that can cost upwards of £100 for a single steak

MANY TASTES, MANY PLATES

JW Steakhouse (below right) follows the formula of drawing rich tourists; The Palm (bottom) is a branch of an American chain and draws many rich Arabs Photos: REUTERS

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IT’S AN APPTASTIC WORLD OUT THERE

sitting inside a room or an office, this will work. Your screen immediately pops up with different points of interests and these can customised to your own categories. And it works in real time. As you turn your phone around in different directions, it gives you info and landmarks as you move. Touch a location or area of interest and it can dial a number; give you directions to get to that place and a whole lot more. It’s fun, it’s smart and it works fast. All the others have some serious catching up to do now.

Rajiv Makhni

About time we moved beyond the usual suspects. You’d be surprised to know the undiscovered gems in the app world

ADRENALINE RUSH

A 15-minute time-killer, it’s an all-action fun game

MAP MY WAY

City Lens blends maps and augmented reality

SPELL TOWER – WORD INSANITY

FEW WEEKS ago, I wrote a column called ‘So Many Apps – So Little Time’. It was all about how the very success of the apps world is also its own self-fulfilling prophecy of doom. Too many apps, impossible to discover the real gems within millions of mediocre ones and how new ideas and amazing new apps had virtually no chance of success. Ever since that column came out – I’ve been constantly asked for my top apps, apps that I use, apps that I believe are way ahead of the mundane and the mediocre. And I’ve resisted doing that. For many reasons. For starters, apps are a pretty personal thing. A great app for one person can be an unmitigated disaster for another. Then there’s the limited amount of space I have here. Any listing here would be at least 50 apps too short. And, of course, the most important one is that this is a sure-shot recipe to get flamed. As soon as I’ll have a list out, I’m going to be told just how much my app choices suck. But the pressure to reveal all has only increased and has now reached a crescendo. Thus, today’s column is all about hidden gems. Away from the usual suspects like Angry Birds, the FlipBoards and the Dropboxes of this world – these are apps that are amazing and very innovative – and yet may be undiscovered for some.

techilicious

ACTION MOVIE FX – BLOW YOUR SOCKS OFF

Action Movie Fx has movie quality special effects

Only on iOS: If you ever wanted to be a Steven Spielberg and all you had was an iPhone – well, this app proves you don’t need anything else. In fact, what this can achieve with just the camera of the iPhone or iPad is nothing short of astounding. Shoot a five-to-10 second video with the help of the app, choose the special effect and wait for the app to do its magic. I’ve had missiles take off from people’s heads, a car that crashed through my bedroom, a crater that landed in my garden and massive stones falling on my TV. And I’m not talking about cartoonish animation effects – these are full blown, movie-quality special FX that will blow your socks off. Hours and hours of fun with the four free effects and the library has a large number of other packs.

MY TWO CENTS

CITY LENS – AUGMENTED REALITY EVERYWHERE

JUST FOR EFFECTS

On Thumb, any query gets an immediate opinion

Only for Nokia Lumia Windows Phone: I’ve seen a lot of mapping software and I’ve seen a lot of augmented reality apps. This is the first one that puts them both together in the most brilliant fashion. All you have to do is point your phone camera literally anywhere and a whole world of augmented reality comes pouring into your screen. Even if you’re WHOSE APP IS IT ANYWAY?

While choosing ‘the’ app is a personal thing, there are many hidden gems that push the envelope JUNE 24, 2012

Android, iOS and others: If you’ve had enough of mindless action games like Angry Birds and Temple Run and want something that gives you a cerebral rush, then you’ve come to the right place. Spell Tower is smart, clever, fiendishly difficult and seriously addictive. This takes the best of Scrabble, Tetris and puzzles and mashes it up into perfection. Multiple modes like Tower Mode, Puzzle Mode and Rush Mode can elevate your heartbeat as well as get that brain ticking like nothing else can. This is classic gaming with a very futuristic twist. Whether you’re a word gamer or not – this is the one game that will have you hooked deep and solid.

JETPACK JOYRIDE – A BLAST OF ADRENALINE

For iOS and others: Yes, this is mindless fun and yes, this is an all-action game and yes, some of you may have tried it. I’m just shocked that everybody on this planet hasn’t already. Experimental Prototype Jetpacks, amazing missions, mind-blowing graphics, evil scientists, super power-ups, awesome weapons and incredible gameplay make this my ‘go to’ game every day. This is your 15-minute time killer and your adrenaline-rush-giver all packed into one. This is a game that pushes the limits of device hardware and truly delivers in every which way.

THUMB – BE OPINIONAIDED

For Android, iOS and others: Ask a question and get an immediate opinion. Thousands, actually! What started off as just simple fun has suddenly become an intense phenomenon and truly shows the real power of social networking. People send a photo of a dress they are about to buy, a table setting, new sunglasses, what they are planning to wear for dinner – and boom! Opinions pour in. You can get some silly ones but most are actually great. This is personal counselling, stylists and advisors multiplied by a thousand and it all happens from all over the world. Thumb is the all new phenomenon and if you aren’t on it – you’re a thumbs down. There you have it. My list of apps that do something different, innovative and push the envelope. It’s time for you to flame me for my choices or tell me one app from YOUR list that you think is incredible, amazing and yet undiscovered. Let’s meet on Twitter and discover some hidden gems from this incredible world of apps. Rajiv Makhni is managing editor, Technology, NDTV, and the anchor of Gadget Guru, CellGuru and Newsnet 3. Follow Rajiv on Twitter at twitter.com /RajivMakhni

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FIGHT CLUB

Seema Goswami

Given the amount of squabbling on its timelines, should we just rename Twitter as Bicker?

LOVE GAME

French President François Hollande’s current partner, Valérie Trierweiler (top) targeted his former partner Ségolène Royal (above), in a vicious tweet

Of late, Twitter wars have tended to be increasingly undignified

Illustration: ASHISH SINGH

UST A THOUGHT. Do you think they should rename Twitter as Bicker? It certainly seems apt given how it has rapidly become a forum for people to squabble about everything in short bursts of 140 characters. Lovers quarrel bitterly; ex-wives and ex-husbands vent venom; new partners give full rein to their jealous rages; and everyone throws insults around in a no-holds-barred fashion. Nothing is private. Nothing is sacred. And nothing is off-limits. A couple of weeks ago, we watched agog as French politics descended into soap-opera territory via Twitter. President François Hollande looked on helplessly as his current partner, the journalist Valérie Trierweiler targeted his former partner (and mother of his four children), Ségolène Royal, in a vicious tweet that hit Royal just where it hurt the most. Royal, standing for election to a parliamentary seat, was being opposed by a dissident from her own Socialist party. So her former partner and now President of the Republic, François Hollande, sent out a message of support to Royal to bolster her chances at the polls (after all, she had done her best to support his presidential campaign). That was enough to make his current partner (and now the Premier Dame of France), Trierweiler, see red. She allegedly called up Hollande to remonstrate and then said chillingly, “Now you will see what I am capable of.” And thus went out the now-infamous tweet, motivated by what insiders called Trierweiler’s ‘blind jealousy’. In it, she wished good luck and ‘courage’ to Royal’s opponent in the poll. All of France was appalled, the French Prime Minister publicly rebuked Trierweiler and asked that she be more ‘discreet’ and ‘know her place’. And Royal announced sadly, at an election rally, that she felt ‘wounded’ by the tweet and that she deserved respect as a woman, a politician, and a mother. But the damage was done. When the votes were counted, Royal had lost the seat, and with it the chances of becoming President of the National Assembly, the third-highest post in the country’s political structure. A bitter Royal TWEETING SIDES

Recently, we saw Karan Johar (right) take on Priyanka Chopra (left) for a story she did or did not (depending on whom you believe) plant in the press

Photos: REUTERS

JUNE 24, 2012

quoted Victor Hugo to say that “traitors always pay for their treachery in the end” and her four children, for good measure, stopped speaking to their father’s current partner. So what started out as a storm in a T-cup ended up taking down the reputations of all the protagonists in the drama. Valérie was exposed as an insecure, vindictive woman who could not control her insane jealousy of her partner’s former lover. Hollande was shown up as a man who could not manage the women in his life (so, how on earth would he manage France, ran the sub-text). And as for poor Royal, her political career imploded in the aftermath of Twittergate and looks extremely unlikely to revive any time soon. But while nobody in their right mind can condone Trierweiler’s scorched-earth policy on Twitter, there are some political spouses who have gained from their tweet-wars. Most famously, there was Anne Romney who went on Twitter to take on political commentator, Hilary Rosen, who said in a debate on CNN that Mrs Romney “had never worked a day in her life”. Anne Romney was quick to retort, “I made a choice to stay home and raise five boys. Believe me, it was hard work”. Her tweet got her the support of every stay-athome mom, and many other women besides. Of late, though, Twitter wars have tended to be increasingly undignified, even downright tawdry at times. Take the current battle royale raging between British multi-millionaire Ben Goldsmith (son of Jimmy and Annabel Goldsmith and brother to Jemima Khan) and his estranged wife, Kate, a Rothschild heiress. Ben called his wife’s behaviour ‘appalling’ on Twitter (because she had called the police on him) while she responded with a series of tweets saying that there were two sides to every break-up. Meanwhile, Kate’s alleged lover, the rapper Jay Electronica (yes, really!) put in his two-bits by tweeting #LoveIsOnTheWay. Yeah, real classy, this lot. In India, too, we have had our share of Twitter wars. The most famous was the one waged by Lalit Modi against Shashi Tharoor (about the now-defunct Kochi franchise of the IPL) which resulted in Tharoor losing his job as minister and being consigned to political wilderness while Modi lost control of the IPL and was banished from the Indian cricketing scene to languish in exile (in London, though, so it can’t be all that bad). More recently, we saw Karan Johar take on Priyanka Chopra for a story she did or did not (depending on whom you believe) plant about how some star wives and certain directors who were close to them were giving her a bad time. A livid Johar tweeted about how some people were ‘lame and spineless’ and needed ‘to wake up and smell the koffee’ and not ‘mess with goodness’. Of course, he did not mention Priyanka by name, but the inference was clear – and the Twitter-sphere was abuzz in a matter of seconds. So, what do you think? Does Bicker work better than Twitter? Or do you have a better idea? All suggestions welcome at my Twitter handle (given below). And may the best name win.

spectator

seema_ht@rediffmail.com. Follow Seema on Twitter at twitter.com/seemagoswami

PEOPLE

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A New Police Story

by Saudamini Jain

STORIES WITH SPINE

T WAS the age of shootouts and gang wars. The underworld was in its prime. Dawood Ibrahim, Chhota Rajan, Chhota Shakeel… the mafia was spiralling out of control. Mumbai in the ’90s was a city with a very dark underbelly. Enter Dirty Harry, or rather, an entire bunch of them: The Mumbai Encounter Squad, a group within the Mumbai police, tasked to tackle the city’s underworld. These were cops like Pradeep Sharma, Daya Nayak, Pradeep Sawant, Vijay Salaskar and Praful Bhonsle among others. And tackle it they did. The encounter specialists reportedly gunned down over 600 gangsters.

BULLET PROOFS

Photo: PRASAD GORI

Seven years after his debut, Sehar, director Kabeer Kaushik is all set to release Maximum, another hard-hitting cop drama

Cut to 2003. The encounter specialists, now representing everything that is wrong with the system, get embroiled in a fierce power struggle. This is the point at which director Kabeer Kaushik’s new film Maximum begins. The plot is inspired by the Mumbai police of the mid-2000s. It charts a dangerous five-year journey of the power struggle between two cops (played by Sonu Sood and Naseeruddin Shah) and others, to hold on to maximum power. Sood, who looks unbelievably hot, plays an

Director Kabeer Kaushik at his office in Andheri West, Mumbai encounter cop largely based on Pradeep Sharma. “It was a gut feeling. When I met him (Sood), I knew he was the guy,” says Kaushik. “It was also his sheer physicality and the fact that he can emote with his eyes,” Kaushik adds. Shah’s character is an amalgamation of several encounter cops. Vinay Pathak plays a politician, brownie points if you guess who. “Eight years ago, a senior Mumbai police officer could tell you who the next commissioner of Mumbai police was going to be. The idea of lobbying was more intrinsic here than anywhere else… this couldn’t happen in Delhi, UP or Bihar,” says Kaushik. It was this interesting slice of Mumbai history that inspired him to make Maximum. Between a poetic beginning and a poetic end, there is a moment of truth. After all, he adds, “Who wants to watch a documentary?”

“Really, there is no better business than show business”

BACK STORY

You can’t help but wonder where Kaushik, who is capable of weaving harsh truths into a powerful narrative, has come from. An ‘uttar Bhartiya’ through and through, Kaushik spent his childhood in Patna and grew

REALITY CHECK In Maximum, the characters of Sonu Sood (below) and Naseeruddin Shah (right) are based on encounter cops Pradeep Sharma (112 encounters), Daya Nayak (whose life was portrayed in 2004’s Ab Tak Chhappan; he was reinstated in the force last week), Vijay Salaskar, Pradeep Sawant and Praful Bhonsle among others.

up in Delhi, where his family moved when he was 12 years old. In Delhi, he studied at the Frank Anthony Public School and Sardar Patel Vidyalaya and graduated from Sri Venkateswara College in Delhi University. And then, “like all good Indian boys” he did an MBA. His was from Lucknow University. It is these places that gave the director such a diverse perspective. “The Ganga-Jamuni culture is very different, it provides you with new nuances,” he says. “For example, if you’re from Delhi, Lucknow or Patna, you’ll know what student politics is all about. It’s all encompassing, with so many different shades, such dimensions… it’s very difficult explaining this to a Bombay kid.” The adman-turned-filmmaker has to his credit over 400 corporate ads.

Moving to films was a logical progression. “There is no better business than show business,” he says, smiling. Kaushik didn’t exactly grow up in an environment conducive to Bollywood and filmmaking. But being the son of a noted journalist, the late Ghanshyam Pankaj, he was able to observe the system at very close quarters and that laid the foundation for the kind of films he makes. “I got to interact with a wide variety of people – senior bureaucrats, politicians, police officers. I played with their children, dated their daughters... I got an intrinsic understanding of the system, better than any outsider,” he says. His first film, the criticallyacclaimed cop drama Sehar (2005) was set in the Gorakhpur-LucknowBenaras belt he knows so well. It was based on true-life incidents: real cops and the Uttar Pradesh railway mafia in the 1990s. “In hindsight, I think Sehar was amateurish. It glorified cops without talking about the grey side of their existence,” he says. Maximum is greyer, far more personalised, and more indepth, he explains. Sehar was followed by Chamku (2008) and Hum Tum Aur Ghost (2010), which were box-office disasters. What went wrong? “They weren’t honest films,” Kaushik says simply. saudamini.jain@hindustantimes.com

“You’ve got to ask yourself one question: Do I feel lucky? Well, do ya, punk?” – Harry Callahan in Dirty Harry JUNE 24, 2012

PERSONAL AGENDA

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Actress

Prachi Desai SUN SIGN

if i could...

HOMETOWN

Virgo

Panchgani

BIRTHDAY

PLACE OF BIRTH

September 12, 1988

Surat, Gujarat

Kasamh Se

SCHOOL/ COLLEGE

FIRST BREAK

HIGH POINT LOW OF YOUR POINT OF LIFE YOUR Shooting for LIFE

St Joseph’s Convent, Ekta Kapoor’s Panchgani; Singhad Kasamh Se on Zee TV Bol Bachchan College, Pune Languages you wish you were fluent in? Spanish and German. Three people you would love to invite to dinner? Meryl Streep, Queen Rania of Jordan and Aamir Khan. A monsoon snack you can’t get enough of? Cheese crackers. If you weren’t an actress, what would you be?

I WOULD EAT WITHOUT WORRYING ABOUT CALORIES BE IN A FILM WITH AUDREY HEPBURN, MERYL STREEP AND VIDYA BALAN

REMAIN 28 FOR THE NEXT 10 YEARS OWN AN ISLAND TAKE SIX VACATIONS A YEAR

Photos: THINKSTOCK

BECOME AN INTERIOR DECORATOR

JUNE 24, 2012

A child psychologist or a criminal psychologist. Favourite holiday destination? New York City. The most ridiculous word you’ve heard someone use to describe you? Bahu-like, homely. A tune that’s stuck in your head? Tumhi Ho Bandhu from Cocktail and Nach Le from Bol Bachchan. One lie you’ve got away with? I’m about 10 minutes away from the studio! Yoga or the gym? Yoga. If they let you get away

Can’t specify

CURRENTLY DOING

Promoting Bol Bachchan, shooting with John Abraham for I, Me Aur Mein

FAVOURITE STREET FOOD?

Pani puri. with it, what would you wear to the Oscars? Shorts and a ganji. The movie that always brings a smile to your face? Breakfast at Tiffany’s. The last thing you spent R10 on? Bubble gum. Your personal style – an earthy cotton sari or a hot mini? Hot mini. The love of your life? My sister’s cat, Zorro. Your ultimate travel destination? Milan (in Italy) or Spain. Favourite TV shows? So You Think You Can Dance?, Junior MasterChef, Comedy Circus, Crime Patrol. One thing you can’t stand? Hypocrisy. How many pairs of blue jeans do you own? Fourteen. What will we find in your fridge right now? Chocolate smoothie, dark chocolate, banana cake, leftover chicken, salad dressing and fresh vegetables. Skincare and make-up you just can't do without? Neutrogena’s 2-in-1 moisturiser and face wash, Neutrogena sunscreen spray, Lancôme Cherry Rock lipgloss and Urban Decay purple-black eyeliner. — Interviewed by Kasturi Gandhi