India in New York - August 8, 2014 by India Abroad

SPORTS GLASGOW GAMES: INDIA FINISH FIFTH

COMMUNITY SIKH MAN RUN OVER IN HATE ATTACK

BOLLYWOOD KAREENA’S CHANGED PRIORITIES

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VOL. XVIII NO. 7

India in New York A GUIDE TO EVENTS AND ENTERTAINMENT FROM INDIA ABROAD FRIDAY, AUGUST 8, 2014

Starring Manish Dayal The Hundred-Foot Journey begins in New York ADVERTISEMENT

FRANCOIS DUHAMEL

India in New York

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INDIA IN NEW YORK AUGUST 8, 2014

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In Queens, man in pickup truck runs over Sandeep Singh in apparent hate attack

andeep Singh, 29, is in hospital after he was hit by a pickup truck and dragged nearly 30 feet following an argument between him and the driver who allegedly hurled racist slurs at Singh and his friend. Sandeep, a father of two, was with his friend Baldey Singh when he was hit by a pickup truck late July 30 night outside his office on 99th Street in Ozone Park, Queens. Baldey told told ABC News that he and Sandeep had just finished dinner at a restaurant and were standing on the street when the driver of the truck pulled up near them. Baldey said the driver yelled a racial slur at him and his friends. Sandeep, annoyed at the driver, hit the truck with his hand. The driver pulled forward, stopped, and got out of the vehicle, holding something in his hand. Baldey recalled that they became ‘concerned, afraid, and felt threatened’ by the driver’s behavior. The two men and the driver got into an argument following

which the driver got back in his truck. Sandeep, who wanted the man to stop and call the police, then stepped in front of the pickup truck when the driver started his truck and ran over him. Sandeep was dragged nearly 30 feet down the street and his body finally came loose from the truck, which kept on going. Footage from the surveillance camera on the street showed the men getting into an argument and then a few minutes Sandeep trying to stop the pickup truck from fleeing the scene. He is then seeing being hit by the truck and dragged some distance. The Sikh Coalition has called on local and federal law enforcement agencies to investigate the attack as a hate crime. The Sikh Coalition has also called on the public to send tips leading to the arrest of the attacker by calling Crime Stoppers at (800) 577TIPS.

Union Carbide can’t be sued for Bhopal disaster, New York federal court rules SUMAN GUHA MOZUMDER

New York federal court last week ruled that Union Carbide Corp cannot be sued for ongoing contamination from the notorious chemical plant in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, despite evidence that construction of the plant was managed by a UCC employee. A poisonous gas leak from the chemical plant killed over 5,000 people in 1984, and UCC largely abandoned the site, allowing toxic wastes to leach into the local water supply. EarthRights International had filed the lawsuit, Sahu versus Union Carbide Corp, on behalf of residents of Bhopal whose land and MUKESH GUPTA/REUTERS water are contaminated by waste Victims of the Bhopal gas disaster at a demonstration in New Delhi, June 24, from the plant. UCC was intimate2010. ly involved in the creation and dispreviously reversed prior dismissals of posal of toxic wastes at the Bhopal plant, including the waste disposal systems cases against UCC. that caused the pollution. The court’s and the manager who oversaw the conCo-counsel Rajan Sharma, of the New decision discounted this evidence, and it struction of the plant confirmed that he York law firm Sharma & DeYoung, said, depends entirely on assuming that the worked for UCC, not for the Indian sub‘These families have been living with manager who oversaw the construction sidiary that officially operated the plant. Union Carbide pollution for decades. We of the Bhopal plant — who said he But federal Judge John Keenan ruled that UCC was not sufficiently involved in worked for Union Carbide — didn’t real- remain committed to seeking the justice that they deserve.’ ly know who he worked for.’ the acts at the plant and that the project The plaintiffs have also sued the state The Sahu lawsuit is in the Southern manager actually worked for the subof Madhya Pradesh, which now owns District of New York. In addition to sidiary. the Bhopal site, to compel its cooperaEarthRights International and Sharma ‘The evidence demonstrates,’ said tion in the cleanup of the contamina& DeYoung LLP, the plaintiffs are repreMarco Simons, counsel for the plaintiffs tion. As of today, no official from the sented by the Law Offices of Curtis V and legal director, EarthRights government of India nor the state of Trinko. International, ‘that Union Carbide was Madhya Pradesh has appeared before The Second Circuit Court of Appeals, intimately involved in every aspect of designing and building the Bhopal plant, which will hear the plaintiffs’ appeal, has the court.

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INDIA IN NEW YORK AUGUST 8, 2014

A taste of Chennai’s cultural extravaganza, in Manhattan Snapshots from the first Drive East festival, held last year.

P RAJENDRAN

ugust 11-24, you can get a foretaste of Chennai’s Marghazi month, a period of music and dance. The concert series, called Drive East, is driven by Navatman Inc, a group started by dancers Sridhar Shanmugam and Saharsa Sambamoorthi, which promotes music and dance. The recitals will be held at La MaMa in Manhattan’s Lower East Side. Besides about 25 concerts, the weeklong event will include a summer camp for children and an artists’ conclave, according to Sambamoorthi. “Sridhar Shamugam and I came up with the concept of Drive East,” Sambamoorthi said, “which is to bring the Chennai December season to New York City, and to really turn the eyes of New Yorkers, whether they care about South Asian dance or not — to make them notice South Asian dance and music for this one week.” Drive East was first organized last year,

The young organization behind Drive East

and Sambamoorthi and Shanmugam hope to make it an annual feature in the New York art scene. “What’s different about… this year is that we’ve really taken a lot of upcoming artists that we really want to give a platform to,” Sambamoorthi said. She named artists like Dakshina Vaidyanathan and Nivedha Ramalingam, (Bharata Natyam), Simran Godwani (Kathak), and Nivedha Ramalingam. In music, Sambamoorthi named Afrika meets India (fusion), Arun Ramamurthy (violin) and Krishna Bhatt (sitar). The event also has an artists’ residency. “The idea is to get some of the artists in Drive East to talk with, and experiment,” said Sambamoorthi. She said the collaborative dance and music pieces will be put before audiences at the end of the week the event is held.

avatman has been around for just four years but is already recognized for its role in promoting South Asian performance art. The New York State Senate awarded it a certificate of recognition last year for its contributions. The organization had hoped to put together an event like Drive East in five years, but did it in two. It had hoped to have a space to work in 10 years, but achieved its target in its second year. It now has five branches: the Navatman School, Navatman Productions, Navatman Dance, Navatman Ventures, Navatman Agency. Its six fulltime workers come from diverse backgrounds, including management, electrical engineering, statistics, and health policy. It has also a beta version of a mobile app that will use audio and video tools to teach classical Indian music and dance forms. For the present, the app — still under development — focuses primarily on Bharata Natyam. “We have built a strong community of students and lovers of the arts,” said Samanatha Lim, who works at Navatman, “and are working heavily this year to grow our pre-K and kids’ departments of the Navatman School, without compromising our growth in the adults segment. Apart from our annual student showcase at Symphony Space, we give our students regular performance opportunities through our interschool student showcase, to which we invite other schools along in an effort to foster an encouraging environment for students to perform in.” She said the management team is predominantly female, a rarity in the Indian classical arts. “We are changing the business model and workplace culture and creating and environment that mimics a start-up in many aspects,” she said. — P Rajendran The Drive East team last year.

The summer camp allows children to learn the complexity of the art forms in an interesting way. Beginning the week before the event, it runs through the week of the event, and the campers will attend the performances. “If a kid doesn’t like it, it doesn’t work for us. If they fall in love with Indian classical (it’s different),” said Sambamoorthi, asked if the children only come because their parents are trying to foist Indian culture on them. “Eventually, they fall in love with it. (That’s) inspiring to me as an adult,” she said. According to Samanatha Lim, who was a volunteer last year and now works with Navatman, 13 Indian artists are flying in from Delhi, Chennai, Mangalore, Assam and Kerala. Lim said Navatman will showcase different disciplines and styles, including nuances within the same genre. For example, Ramya Ramyanaran’s Vazhuvoor style and Dakshina Vaidyanathan’s Tanjore style, though both perform Bharata Natyam. There will also be experimental and fusion material, such as those by the aforementioned Afrika Meets India, and Rajas, besides Navatman’s dancers. There are going to be packages for different types of festival patrons, one example of which is for people who want to compare Bharata Natyam or Carnatic vocal styles. One of the performers this year is Roopa Mahadevan, a Carnatic singer who is also a mild-mannered program manager at the Center for Health Care Strategies in New York, and boasts a degree in cognitive science. “Exciting thing now about doing Carnatic muic in New York is that you can engage with the other music forms,” said Mahadevan, who grew up in a South Indian household in San Jose, California. Chitra Kalyandurg was a hit last year at Drive East, but because she too has a day job to manage — and has to rehearse for a schedule in October — will not make it this year. After studying the style pioneered by Vempathy Chinnasatyam, who set the modern form of Kuchipudi, she started the Kalanidhi Dance Company in 2005 with her teacher Anuradha Nehru. Kalyandurg said the Drive East line-up looked great, and she wished she could attend. “It would be great if I could dance fulltime,” she said.

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INDIA IN NEW YORK AUGUST 8, 2014

Four including doctor charged with forcing dancers to become strippers in New York GEORGE JOSEPH

our people including a PakistaniAmerican psychiatrist in Houston, Texas, were indicted for running an international human trafficking ring that brought female dancers from India and forced them to become strippers and prostitutes in New York City. Rashmikant Patel of New York, Dr Riyaz Mazcuri of Houston, Sabja Khimani, and Mehmood Hassanali Dhanani — the last two known as ‘Sam’ and ‘Mehboob’ of Sugar Land, Texas — were charged with labor conspiracy and visa fraud by a Manhattan grand jury. Manhattan US Attorney Preet Bhahara’s office said the dancers were brought to the United States under the pretense that

they would perform at Indian cultural programs. Once the women arrived, per the July 9 indictment from the United States District Court in the Southern District of New York, their passports were confiscated and they were forced to dance in nightclubs ‘in front of crowds of men for 12 to 14 hours per night, seven nights per week, and pressuring certain performers to engage in prostitution.’ One night club was in New York and one was in Houston. Assistant US Attorney Peter Skinner, who is handling the case, did not reveal where in New York City the women were performing or whether the nightclub management is suspected of any criminal activities. The grand jury’s indictment noted violations in 2008 through 2010. It charged the

defendants with forced labor conspiracy, visa fraud conspiracy and foreign labor contracting fraud conspiracy. The indictment also noted that the group used or threatened force or physical restraint to victims, ‘by means of serious harm and threats of serious harms to those persons’ to coerce them to perform after they were brought to the country. Per the indictment, Patel faces an additional count of visa fraud from mid-2009 when he allegedly ‘submitted to the United States Department of State documents in support of a visa application for an Indian performer that contained materially false and fraudulent statements.’ Mazcuri, 52, aka ‘The Doctor,’ was arrested by the Gregg County Sheriff ’s Office in Texas on a federal warrant. He was released on $300,000 bail.

Dr Mazcuri’s attorney Joel Androphy denied the allegations. ‘This is a terrible mistake is what’s happened,’ Androphy was quoted as saying. ‘In terms of the indictment, it’s just wrong. Period. It’s slanderous… Dr Mazcuri is a good, honest, hardworking doctor that doesn’t deserve to be ridiculed or put in a false light like this. He’s a very good family man too.’ More people are expected to be charged with involvement in the trafficking ring, Mazcuri, a graduate of the University of Karachi in Pakistan, has been a licensed psychiatrist in Texas since 1986. He has no history of medical malpractice or other criminal activity, and no disciplinary actions have ever been taken against him, according to the Texas Medical Board.

$3,000 reward for ancient coins stolen from New Jersey home

Sonia Bhuta is new executive director of SAYA!

mix of Persian and English legends. Most coins were silver and copper, but some gold coins were also stolen. vik Sarkar, a senior scientist A few ancient copper coins from the with Pfizer pharmaceuticals, Kushan period (100-250 AD) were is offering up to $3,000 to get also among the coins stolen. back rare coins that were stolen The burglary occurred July 26, from during a burglary at his home when the family was out for dinner. in East Brunswick, New Jersey, last Sarkar said he usually keeps the week. coins in a bank locker, but brought it He lost almost 80 percent of the home since he and his wife Sarbani 1,500 coins he collected over the Hazra were moving to Connecticut last 15 years, starting from his within days. school days in New Delhi. The coins The thieves dropped some of the included ancient ones dating back coins. They might have thought of to 600 BC. them as worthless old metal, Sarkar The burglars also took some cash said. that was in the house, and a small He said his offer of $3,000 may be piece of jewelry. much higher than what they would “We believe the thieves did not get from pawn shops. realize the value of the coins, but “I started collecting seriously in just got lucky this time,” said Sarkar, 1999, while in school,” he said, an alumnus of Indian Institute of “focusing on British India period. I Technology-Kharagpur. “Without also collect ancient Indian coins, knowing the real value of them, some dating back to 600 BC. they will probably get a tiny amount from pawn shops or fences.” Avik Sarkar lost almost 80 percent of the 1,500 Considerable discipline, research, and investment are required for such The coins are from India. The coins he collected over the last 15 years, pursuits.” majority of them were from the starting from his school days in New Delhi. Though the coin from 600 BC is British period, minted between 1650 the oldest, the most precious is a half to 1947. Many coins bear the busts of mohur from Madras Presidency dating back to 1819. It British monarchs, including William IV, Victoria cost a few thousand dollars to buy. Queen/Empress, Edward VII, George V, and George VI. He said he purchases these mostly from auction houses. These coins are easily identifiable since they are denomiThese are authenticated by experts as original. He too connations of ‘Rupee’ and ‘Anna, and carry the country name ducts his own research to know about their history. ‘India.’ Many of the older coins bear Persian legends, or a

onia Bhuta took charge as executive director of South Asian Youth Action August 1 from Udai Tambar, who has been appointed by New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio as director, Children and Youth Services. Bhuta joins SAYA! after close to a decade at the Educational Alliance. Bhuta, an alumna of Columbia University and the University of Michigan, has been at the forefront of youth development throughout her professional career. ‘We are truly delighted to have Sonia join SAYA! as our new executive director,’ said Usha Saxena, board chair, SAYA! ‘Sonia’s remarkable achieveSAYA’s executive director Sonia Bhuta ments and background in youth development make her the ideal leader for the next phase of SAYA!’s continued rise.’ Bhuta said, ‘I look forward to charting the organization’s strategic development of high quality programming that best equips our youth participants for educational and personal success.’ She is the fourth executive director to serve over the course of SAYA!’s nearly two decades of providing services for South Asian youth in the city.

GEORGE JOSEPH

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INDIA IN NEW YORK AUGUST 8, 2014

Sunny Kirpalani contests for freeholder of Mercer County, New Jersey

GEORGE JOSEPH

hanu ‘Sunny’ Kirpalani is contesting for freeholder of Mercer County, New Jersey, as a Republican. “For the past 12 years or more, Democrats hold full control of the Mercer County Board of Freeholders and the County Executive,” she told India in New York. “I strongly feel democracy is best served when there is a two-party representation. I would like to be that voice in the county to control the budget that keeps increasing every year.” Mumbai-born Kirpalani has 40 years of accounting and finance experience, working in major corporations. The county is governed by the County Executive, and a Board of Chosen Freeholders acts in a legislative capacity, as a formulator of policy and as a check on the powers of the County Executive. Members of the seven-person board are elected at-large to serve three-year staggered terms. The board is led by a freeholder chair and vice chair, selected annually from among its members. Ten percent of the county’s population of 370,000 is South Asian, Kirpalani said. It comprises 12 municipalities: Princeton, Trenton, Hamilton, Ewing, Robbinsville, Hopewell, Pennington, Hopewell Boro, Lawrence, East Windsor, Hightstown and West Windsor. Kirpalani was unopposed in the Republican primary in June. She and fellow Republican Madalyn Simpson will face Democratic incumbents Lucylle Walter and John

Sunny Kirpalani

Cimino in the November 4 election. Kirpalani’s campaign platform includes promises to check rising taxes and reckless spending. She also promis-

es to work to improve local services, cut underused programs, and work with Democrats to reduce the Budget. The county government needs to reflect more of the diversity in the population too, she said. “In one-party county government we have no checks and balances, no transparency, which result in higher taxes, excessive spending and waste,” she said. She said she has started campaigning. “I meet people at events arranged by the local Republican chairperson,” she said. “Soon I will start campaigning from door to door, train stations, halal foods, Indian grocery outlets, temples, gurdwaras, Buddhist temples and synagogues.” She said it is very difficult to raise money these days for local municipal elections. She raises money sending letters to registered Republicans in Mercer County and independent voters. “I have loaned myself $1,000 and so far I have paid for business card, stamps, envelopes, printed letters, labels, etc,” she said. “I still have to pay for the Web site, printed cards, etc. Signs will be paid by the party.” Hamilton-resident Kirpalani has been in North America for over 40 years. She volunteers at several local community projects. “I am a caregiver to my mother who is 95 years old who lives with me,” Kirpalani said. “I am the oldest, I have two brothers and one sister. My father passed away in 1983.”

Statistics guru C R Rao honored

oted statistician C R Rao was presented doctorate was presented an honorary doctorate by the University at Buffalo. University at Buffalo President Dr Satish K Tripathi read a citation that said, ‘Rao is considered a world leader in statistics whose achievements have had a profound impact on a wide range of fields over the past seven decades, among them C R Rao engineering, biostatistics, economics, genetics, medicine and anthropology.’ Rao is a recipient of the Padma Vibhushan, India’s secondhighest civilian honor. While spending a part of every year with family in Western New York, Tripathi noted, Rao had developed a relationship with University at Buffalo faculty members. Rao was also honored with a Doctor of Science (Honoris Causa) degree at the convocation of the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, July 26. It was the 38th of the honorary doctorate for Rao from universities in 19 countries spanning six continents. Rao retired as director, Indian Statistical Institute, in 1980 after 39 years of service. He came to the US, as opportunities to continue research work in India after retirement at 60 were denied, and was accepted as professor at several universities here. The author of 14 books and 475 research papers, Rao was the first non-European and non-American to receive the Guy Medal in Gold from the Royal Statistical Society.

New York State Senator Toby Ann Stavisky (Democrat, Flushing), center, honored the Gujarati Samaj of New York on its 40th anniversary with a a Senate proclamation. From left, Khandu Patel, Bharati Desai, Raman Patel, Senator Stavisky, Harshad Patel, Dilip Chauhan and Mihir Patel. The Samaj plans to celebrate its 40th anniversary with a Gujarati cultural festival in Melville, New York, August 8-10.

Cover Story

INDIA IN NEW YORK AUGUST 8, 2014

‘It shows you the human experience rather than just the immigrant one’

Indian-American actor Manish Dayal is fantastic in The Hundred-Foot Journey, notes Aseem Chhabra

Manish Dayal

anish Dayal is a New York-based IndianAmerican actor who until recently had acted in a number of indies, television shows as well as one well received off-Broadway play, Rafta, Rafta, written by British Pakistani playwright Ayub Khan-Din. Then, by sheer luck and also a lot of hard work (he auditioned for four months), he landed the part in a Dreamworks production of a young Indian cook, Hassan, who migrates to Europe with his father and siblings in search of opportunities to open an Indian restaurant. In The Hundred-Foot Journey, Lasse Hallström’s film, the Indian eatery opens in a small French village right across a Michelin-starred classic French restaurant run by a rather difficult woman, Madame Mallory (although she has a very warm heart), played by Oscar winner Helen Mirren. Hassan gets interested in the world of French cuisine and wins over her by cooking her an Indian style omelet. Dayal is fantastic in the film and has some wonderful scenes with Mirren and Om Puri, who plays his father. He spoke to India in New York in a telephone interview from Los Angeles. Congratulations on the film, Manish. You have a real movie star-like presence. Tell me, do you cook? I do a little bit now, but I wouldn’t say I was much of a cook before this film. So what do you cook? I can make a great omelet. I can make egg curry. Those are things I can do well. I should probably just stick to that. And did you watch the omelet being cooked for the film?

FRANCOIS DUHAMEL

That omelet is what my dad used to make for me growing up. That’s what makes my character unique in that he has the ability to change recipes and make them more specific to himself. And so I changed the omelet from a more traditional French one to one that is more Indian. That’s part of what my character Hassan does. Was that an Indian masala omelet? Yes, there was Indian masala and a little bit of cardamom and other things my dad used to add, including milk. And how many omelets did you have to make for that scene? We must have made about 13. Did Helen Mirren eat them each time? Na, not all of them. She liked it though. What about all the French cooking you do in the second half of the film and all the knives? Did you have to learn to use them? You are an actor, of course, but you had to appear very natural and comfortable. There was a lot of pre-production for the film and so I was able to visit many kitchens in France and also Indian kitchens. I was able to learn from the people they had on board to teach me some of the technical stuff about the kitchen, chopping and preparation. I learned about the hierarchy in the French kitchen – how everybody has a specific job. The Indian kitchen is about getting the job done anyway you can. Those are two very different kitchen cultures. But my character defined what I had to learn. How a French chef would garnish a fish is different than how Hassan would garnish it.

How did you get the role? I got the part because I went to read for another project – an animation film. But the head of casting for this film was in the room. That night I got a call to come back and read for something else. They wouldn’t tell me what it was for. I was reading for four months and meeting people at Dreamworks. Finally, they told me and I read the book and met the director. What your first few meeting like with Lasse Hallström? It was awesome. He told me to pick an Indian restaurant. I took him to Copper Chimney in Curry Hill in New York City. He is vegan and I had to make sure I ordered the right thing. I ordered egg plant for him. Lasse has made some remarkable films. What’s he like as a director? He’s very imaginative. His vision is always changing and evolving. He would make things better for the actors, but he was never fixed to any idea. It was a collaborative effort and nothing was impossible for him. You were born and brought up in the US. Here was a role of an Indian guy directly from India. How did you bring the Indian ethos in your character? In order to play the authenticity of this character — and he had not lived in America as I had — for me it was a lot about observation. It was not about mimicking, but incorporating it in this person.

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Cover Story

INDIA IN NEW YORK AUGUST 8, 2014

‘Playing the lead in a Hollywood film adds to my credibility as an actor’ ‘After The Hundred-Foot Journey, I don’t have any work. Indian cinema seems to have nothing to offer me anymore,’ Om Puri tells Sonil Dedhia

fter having worked in more than 25 international films, Om Puri is looking forward to The Hundred-Foot Journey, which releases in the United States, Canada and India August 8. Produced by Steven Spielberg and Oprah Winfrey, Puri plays the lead role in the film, opposite Helen Mirren. Om Puri and Helen Mirren in The Hundred-Foot Journey. In conversation with India in New Journey? Did you audition for the role? York, Puri talks about cooking for Helen Mirren, meeting The only film I have ever auditioned for was City Of Joy, Oprah Winfrey, and why he is contemplating retirement which released in 1992. from acting. The casting team of The Hundred-Foot Journey In a recent interview you said that not many roles are approached my agent in London and they sent me the written for older actors… script. (Interrupts) Which is true. There are not many roles I read the script and found it very attractive. I was very being written for us. thrilled when I came to know that I was working opposite After The Hundred-Foot Journey, I don’t have any Helen Mirren in a film produced by Steven Spielberg. work. It is an honour to be part of such a film. Playing a lead In the West, there are roles for older actors. Helen role in a Hollywood film adds to my credibility as an actor. Mirren and I play the main protagonists in The HundredTell us about working with Helen Mirren. Foot Journey. But that is not the case in Hindi cinema. She is the Smita Patil of Hollywood (laughs). She is a Indian cinema seems to have nothing to offer me any wonderful co-star and I really enjoyed working with her. more. After having seen and done it all, I suddenly find Our chemistry in the film looks really good. She hasn’t myself jobless at home. seen much of my work, but she did have an admiration for Actors like Amitabh Bachchan, Paresh Rawal, me as an actor. Naseeruddin Shah still get a lot of work. She is really professional in her work. There is a They have been stars. I am not a star. Not commercially sequence in the film where we have to dance. I was very at least. nervous as I am not a dancer, but she helped me. I am a wonderful actor, but not a commercial star. You play a restaurant owner. How good a cook are you? There are roles specially written for Amitabh Bachchan. I am a very good cook. I can be a perfect house husband Today filmmakers are interested in casting big stars. (laughs). Unlike the West, films here are made for money. I love to cook. I like to make vegetarian curries, I have never got paid Rs 1 crore (Rs 10 million/$164,000) for a film. I get Rs 40 lakh, Rs 50 lakh (Rs Parathas, Pulao. When shooting for the film I stayed in an apartment and would cook every day. 4 million, Rs 5 million/$65,000 to $82,000). It is sad On Saturdays I would invite a few people from the sets that Hindi cinema is becoming more commercial day by for dinner. day. Did Helen Mirren taste your food? It has also become very repetitive. Every film today has I cooked for her three or four times. She loves Indian some over-the-top action sequences and item numbers. food and she really had a good time. Do you get paid well in Hollywood? Did you interact with Steven Spielberg? Yes, certainly, but it depends on the budget of the film. No, I haven’t had the chance to meet him. I will meet British films have a small budget, but it is still more him at the film’s premiere on August 4. than what you get in India. But I met Oprah Winfrey. The Hundred-Foot Journey is produced by Steven She is a very warm lady. She always greeted me with a Spielberg, but still it falls in the small-budget category as namaste. We spoke about spirituality. the film isn’t made on a big canvas. She is planning to come to Rishikesh for meditation. I How did you become a part of The Hundred-Foot

FRANCOIS DUHAMEL

gifted her a book, Blue Mountain, written by Eknath Easwaran. Since you don’t get work in Hindi cinema, will you concentrate on work in the West? No. I have never done that. If I get a good offer from Hollywood I will do it. If I don’t get work, then I will retire. I don’t go and knock on the doors of filmmakers for work. I might even do theater again. What about direction? I don’t want to direct films. Do you find any of the crop of young actors promising? David Dhawan’s son Varun and Boney Kapoor’s son Arjun are doing good work. Has your son shown any inclination for acting? He is just 17. He has shown some desire to become an actor, but it’s too early. I talk to him about the pros and cons of being in this industry. I have never discouraged him in anything. But I told him that you should always have an alternative thing to do in life if something doesn’t work out. Would you help your son get work? If he wants to be an actor I will send him to those I consider to be good directors. Today, Farhan Akhtar and Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra are doing some good work. I might approach them. You recently underwent surgery after a white patch was found in your mouth. Yes, it could have been a cancer patch, but thankfully it’s benign. I am fine now. I was in hospital for two days for minor surgery to find out if it was malignant, but it wasn’t. So have you quit smoking? I have cut down on it. I used to have 30 cigarettes a day, but now I have only four or five. Slowly I will completely quit.

Cover Story INDIA IN NEW YORK AUGUST 8, 2014

Actors Manish Dayal and Charlotte Le Bon attend the The Hundred-Foot Journey premiere at Ziegfeld Theatre in New York August 4.

DIMITRIOS KAMBOURIS/GETTY IMAGES

A feast with titans

JAMIE MCCARTHY/GETTY IMAGES FOR WALT DISNEY STUDIOS MOTION PICTURES

Actress Helen Mirren indulges fans.

The Hundred-Foot Journey begins in New York

Producers Steven Speilberg and Oprah Winfrey.

JAMIE MCCARTHY/GETTY IMAGES FOR WALT DISNEY STUDIOS MOTION PICTURES

Cover Story

INDIA IN NEW YORK AUGUST 8, 2014

‘It shows you the human experience rather than just the immigrant one’

Actor Om Puri and son Ishaan

f PAGE 6

DIMITRIOS KAMBOURIS/GETTY IMAGES

Music composer A R Rahman with producer Juliet Blake.

DIMITRIOS KAMBOURIS/GETTY IMAGES

From left, Director Lasse Hallstrom, with his wife Lena Olin and daughter Tora Hallstrom, both actresses.

DIMITRIOS KAMBOURIS/GETTY IMAGES

Rohan Chand, who plays the young DIMITRIOS KAMBOURIS/GETTY IMAGES Hassan, the role essayed by Manish Chef Floyd Cardoz, who was a consultant for the film, with wife Barkha. Dayal.

He is from India and I had to watch and think about how a new Indian in Europe would talk. There is something less aggressive about an Indian compared to an American. One of the problems that happen in such films is that often the Indian characters become caricatures. I was happy that it wasn’t so in this film. A lot of Slumdog Millionaire, I think, had that. That didn’t happen here. I was very, very aware of that and so was Omji. We talked about it, because this is not a film about a minority being saved by a majority. This is a story about people who have to pull up by their bootstraps so they get the job done themselves. They are not knocking on anyone’s door for help. They are doing their own business. It is what, I think, is the immigrant experience, what my dad had to do when he first came to this country. That’s why I think this film can stay away from stereotypes. I think this movie also goes beyond cultural and racial limitations. It shows you the human experience rather than just the immigrant one. You mentioned Omji — so between Omji and Helenji you worked with two of the greatest actors of our time. Oh yes, two jis (laughs). As actors, how do they work, and especially with a younger and relatively new actor like you? Om Puri, I can say, has become one of my greatest friends. He is mischievous. He is a rascal and plays a lot of pranks. He is very improvisational. Anything could happen when you are acting with Om Puri. One take may be completely different than the one before. That’s why he keeps you on your toes. What’s interesting is that he comes from the Bollywood tradition and that completely doesn’t work here. He is classically trained and he has great respect for acting. So he doesn’t work at all like what you would imagine a Bollywood actor might do so. Every time I was with him I was learning something. You also had some very special scenes with Helen Mirren. Oh yes, working with her was amazing too. She’s very down to earth and she has a great sense of humor. The first day I arrived in France she and I ended up having a two-hour dinner. I was sitting by myself drinking a beer, reading the script and she came out and joined me. She talked a lot and I learned a lot about her. She told me about her acting and how she started. On the set she treated everybody like an equal. That’s an interesting thing you observed. I would imagine that actors in Europe do not believe in hierarchy. I mean definitely not with Helen. She’s not like that. She is really cool and has a wicked sense of humor. Was there a moment when she worked with you on a scene, given her years of experience? We tried the omelet scene in many different ways. We played around with the way I was including the ingredients. What about your two big producers? Did you meet them? Spielberg was my hero from childhood since I saw Jurassic Park. That’s how I developed an interest in the film business. I met Steven when the movie wrapped up. Oprah came to visit us during the shoot. She spoke to us about why she was drawn to this project, since it is about a family that overcomes all of its obstacles. So, Manish, this is huge break. What do you expect from it and how it will impact your career as an Indian-American actor? t I am just excited about the future and what’s going to happen. As far as being an Indian actor in America I am happy to explore what the other opportunities are and see what other spaces we can occupy.

Aseem in New York

INDIA IN NEW YORK AUGUST 8, 2014

Madhur Jaffrey and Om Puri at the Museum of Moving Image, in Astoria, Queens, August 3.

Salaam, Purisaab O

m Puri has acted in a number of British films that have played on the big screen and television. But he is still not that well known in the US. He has had small guest appearances in a couple of Hollywood films — Charlie Wilson’s War (2007), where he played the Pakistani dictator General Zia ul-Haq and in Wolf (1994), where he was an old Indian doctor. But as New York-based actress and cookbook writer Madhur Jaffrey noted this past Sunday, things are about to change for Puri, as soon American audiences see him in a major film role. On Friday, August 8, Puri appears in a relatively big Hollywood film, The Hundred-Foot Journey, produced by Steven Spielberg and Oprah Winfrey. Directed by the well-known Swedish filmmaker Lasse Hallström, the film is based on a bestselling novel written by Richard C Morais. Jaffrey was introducing Puri at the Museum of Moving Image, a museum dedicated to cinema, located in Astoria, Queens, where a packedhouse of audience had gathered for the tribute to the Indian actor and also to watch Hallström’s new film. The event started with Jaffrey showing a number of clips from Puri’s films. We watched scenes from Ardh Satya (1983), East Is East (1999), My Son The Fanatic (1997), Bollywood Calling (2003), Wolf And City Of Joy (1992). Though the clips were short they gave Puri’s Indian fans, as well as people not familiar with his work, a chance to quickly get a sense of the range of the actor’s talent.

THANASSI KARAGEORGIOU

This was followed by a conversation between Puri and Jaffrey. And it was a nice coincidence as they both came dressed in black. Puri spoke about his career — the training he got at the National School of Drama and Film and Television Institute of India. And yet, he mentioned how hard it was for him to break into the Hindi film industry, since he did not have the traditional movie star like good looks. “Fat noses have no place in the Hindi film industry,” he said, as he laughed at himself. “In the West you have, otherwise Anthony Quinn wouldn’t have made it.” Puri acknowledged that if filmmaker Govind Nihlani had not given him the break in Ardh Satya his film career may not have taken off. “Ardh Satya was my lottery ticket to the Hindi film industry!” About acting opposite Jack Nicholson in Wolf, Puri said he felt the challenge to share screen time with Hollywood star. “When I did Wolf, I was very nervous to be with Jack Nicholson,” he said, adding, “but I wanted to be as good as him!” It was a fun conversation, where the two actors seemed to get along well. They both laughed a lot and Puri came across as a very jovial person who was enjoying the limelight and the attention from New Yorkers. In closing Puri introduced his new film The Hundred-Foot Journey to the audience. “It’s a sweet film and it will make you happy,” he said. “There is a lot of food in the film and it will make you hungry. So please go make your dinner reservations while you have a few minutes.”

arlier, on Saturday, the 10-day long Asian American International Film Festival closed with a crowd-pleasing Vietnamese film How To Fight In Six-Inch Heels. The packed audience seemed to thoroughly enjoy this 2013 film — at times a slapstick comedy and layered with all the right chickfilm moments. The film focuses on a Vietnamese American fashion designer in New York who starts to imagine that her fiancæcopy; in Ho Chi Minh City is having an affair with a model. So she travels to Vietnam and infiltrates the country’s fashion industry by becoming a model, just so that she can spy on her fiancæcopy;. How To Fight In Six-Inch Heels is a delightful film. It is also a reflection of how much Vietnam has changed since the end of the war 39 years ago. It is really ironic and sad that nearly 60,000 Americans and many more Vietnamese people died in a war where the Communists finally won. But as the film shows, despite the current Communist regime, Vietnam has become a consumer oriented society with many similarities to the West.

American Desi

INDIA IN NEW YORK AUGUST 8, 2014

‘ I’m living my life exactly how I wanted it to be, by my own rules,” says documentary filmmaker Indrani Kopal. TEXT AND IMAGES: Paresh Gandhi

‘I refused to conform to the ideal image that my society has built for women’

t’s not the first time that Indrani Kopal’s documentary has been selected for screening at a film festival. The Malaysian born filmmaker’s She’s My Son (13 minutes, 2007) won an award at the 2007 Freedom Film Festival in Kuala Lumpur. More recently, Living Jazz With Bill Saxton (10 minutes, 2012) was part of the official selection at the 10th Annual Langston Hughes African American Film Festival 2013 in Seattle. Oily Hair (5 minutes, 2010), a story about a community-based initiative by hairdressers in DC to help clean up the Gulf Oil Spill, was screened at the National Press Club. The film — which she co-produced with Zimbabwean filmmaker Simon De Swardt — also aired in the online film festival, Green Unplugged, in 2010. The second film they shot together — I Only Dance For You (10 minutes, 2010), a slice-of-life story about a gay couple living in Greenwich Village, NYC — was selected for the fourth annual Outrate Online Short Film Festival and showcased at OUTtv’s Hot Pink Shorts 2010, Canada. But The Game Changer, which has been accepted by both the 2014 Portland Film Festival and the Ninth Annual Harlem International Film Festival, is special. The film looks at a choreographer who is using arts intervention to change the lives of long-term prisoners at the Woodbourne Correctional Facility. “The lives of the men Susan Slotnick touched have never been the same since. This is her story,” says the filmmaker. Indrani, who is a Fulbright scholar currently completing her Masters in Fine Arts in Documentary Studies and Production at New York’s Hofstra University, has over six years of experience as a multimedia journalist at Malaysiakini.com, a well-known news organization in Malaysia. “Shufiyan Shukur, my immediate supervisor, was responsible for cultivating my interest in documentary filmmaking. Together, we produced many short documentaries on social issues.” Indrani first visited America four years ago, when she participated in The George Washington University Documentary Center’s International Emerging Filmmakers six-week fellowship program. It was during this program that she made Oily Hair and I Only Dance For You. She also used the opportunity to travel to the West Coast, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Tucson, Arizona, Atlanta, Washington, DC and Boston. “But I fell in love with New York because it reminded of Kuala Lumpur — a city that never sleeps and is extremely diverse.”

Her six-week fellowship inspired her to return for her MFA. “I am actually the first filmmaker to receive a Fulbright scholarship in Malaysia. And so, here I am,” she smiles. As a student at the Documentary Studies and Production program at Hofstra’s Lawrence Herbert School of Communication, she has already presented the first installment of her thesis project with The Game Changer. Asked if her values are reflected in her work, and if objectivity is an integral part of her story telling process, Indrani replies, “All my films reflect my personal biases. I never ever try to be objective because I believe there’s no such thing. When I point a camera, I’m making a statement. When I edit, I’m making a statement. I see goodness in everybody. I see hope in every story I come across.“ A second-generation Indian — her grandparents moved from Tamil Nadu to Kuala Lumpur in the early 1930s — she says it took her 10 years to figure out that she wanted to become a filmmaker. “All the choices that I made, consciously and unconsciously, have led me here. “I started off as a video lab technician at university, when I was 20 years old. I moved on to become a television presenter, but found my interest lies behind the camera rather than in front of it.” After producing programs for two years, she decided she wanted to study journalism. This specialisation led to her new job in 2006, when she joined Malaysiakini, an online news agency in Malaysia, as a video journalist. Indrani is thrilled to have been accepted at Hofstra, which is close to her favorite American city. “My stay here has been

incredible so far. It really is one of those life changing experiences,” she says. “One thing I do know though, this city is not for everyone. I was born and brought up in Kuala Lumpur and I love everything about both cities; their fast pace, their energy, their high intensity and the people. I feel so alive.” Ask her about her ambitions and she says, “A couple of years ago, I would have admitted that getting a Fulbright scholarship definitely tops my list. But, today, I would define achievements or accomplishments very differently. They are less academic and intangible.” And then, she gives you a brief glimpse into what made her the filmmaker she is today. “I am the eldest daughter in a family of four siblings. My biggest life-changing moment really was when I refused to conform to the ideal image that my society has built for women. I’m living my life exactly how I wanted it to be, by my own rules. “What worked for my mother or other women in my life, didn’t work for me and I refused to settle for less than what I want. And I learned that it’s a very brave thing to do. “I’m in a good spot, I’m happy. It’s lonely sometimes and I don’t have much, but I’m really happy. Two years ago, I did not see myself leaving everything I worked so hard for to come here. But life has been full of surprises, so I try to live in the moment and much as possible.” Before coming to America, she defined herself as a video journalist turned documentary filmmaker. In the future, she hopes to see herself as “actively making documentaries across the globe and passing her knowledge to younger generations of documentary filmmakers.“

Bollywood INDIA IN NEW YORK AUGUST 8, 2014

t’s 3 pm on a rainy Saturday and I am sitting at Saif Ali Khan’s Illumanti Films office in Bandra, a western suburb of Mumbai, for an interview with Kareena Kapoor. His office is lavish. Posters of Saif ’s productions — Love Aaj Kal, Agent Vinod, Cocktail and Go Goa Gone — adorn the walls. I wait my turn, fortified by several rounds of sandwiches, puff pastries and coffee, and when my turn comes, Kareena — dressed in a black T-shirt and track pants — greets me with a big smile. Her smile sparkles like the rocksized solitaire on her finger. The actress, who is awaiting the release of Singham Returns, chats about how she picks her films, just how romantic Saif is, and why she will never kiss on screen. Is it true that you have rejected six films in the last three months? Every actor has different priorities. If I don’t like the script, I won’t do the film. People have been reading too much between the lines and assessing wrongly about me. Yes, I have rejected films but I am happy with my work as I am doing it at my own pace. I have been here for 15 years. I don’t need to prove anything to anyone. What are your priorities right now? I am at a stage in my life where my priorities are different. I am happily married and I would like to give time to my family. I cannot shoot continuously for three to four months. That’s why I refused Zoya Akhtar’s film Dil Dhadakne Do. I couldn’t go on a cruise for three months. I want to do a film that will work according to my time. I am at a stage in my career where I can say no to films. Is this change because of Saif Ali Khan? Yes, a lot of his traits have rubbed off on me. I would never read before but now, I am reading like two books a month! That is the biggest change in my life. I am so happy about it. There are little things that I do with Saif that excite me. I don’t know why people are dissecting my career so much. I don’t read newspapers much but sometimes I get Google alerts on my iPad and it says that Kareena should do this or she shouldn’t have done this. I don’t understand why people are so concerned about my career (laughs). What are you reading now? I am reading Salvation of a Saint. It’s written by a Japanese author, Keigo Higashino. I read a lot of crime thrillers. I am also reading J K Rowling’s The Silkworm. She has written the book under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith.

Omkara and Parineeta. He has been in some path-breaking films. He has taken cinema ahead because he is such a brilliant actor. Your sister-in-law Soha Ali Khan recently got engaged to her boyfriend Kunal Khemu… It’s great that she is getting married. Everybody in the family is very happy. The most important thing is that whenever Kunal is around, Soha is always smiling and that is the ultimate thing in life. Kunal proposed to Soha in Paris. Was there something special that Saif did when he proposed to you? I just moved into Saif ’s house and we started living in so he did not have a choice (laughs). We lived together for five years before we got married so there was no such romantic getaway. How romantic is Saif ? He is very romantic but he has a different way of showing love. He is not the typical, quintessential romantic guy. If he loves or cares for a person, he shows it in his own, different way. Did you see Singham before you agreed to be a part of its sequel? Yes, of course I had seen Singham. I chose to do this film because it is a Rohit Shetty film. I am a big fan of his work. According to me, Rohit Shetty is the Manmohan Desai of this generation. Every actress would like to work with him. He has given me two of the biggest hits of my career (Golmaal Returns and Golmaal 3). And hopefully the third one (Singham Returns) is on the way (laughs). It’s an honor for me to be a part of a franchise that has already been greatly applauded. There were reports that it was you who had approached Rohit Shetty for the film. I would like to clarify that in 15 years of my career, I have never approached a director. So, this information that I called Rohit is incorrect. Rohit called me and told me that he had written a role for me and wanted me to be a part of Singham Returns. I heard the narration and loved my part and agreed to do the film. Usually, masala entertainers are all about the hero. Like in Singham, the leading lady Kaajal Aggarwal hardly had any role to play… You are absolutely right. But Rohit RAJESH KARKERA/REDIFF.COM would have never approached me if there wasn’t much for me to do in the film. in being in that film. My role has come out really well. It’s a I haven’t seen Humshakals so I cannot refreshing change from the films that I comment on the film. We don’t make decihave done in the recent past. sions about each other’s careers. When they see the film, everyone will say Personally, I feel he is uncomfortable that it had to be Kareena and no one else. doing such roles. There are no histrionics in the Saif comes across as very intelligent, film. Singham Returns has turned out to extremely charming and has a great attibe bigger and better than the first part. tude. Of course he made a mistake with I have always done masala entertainers. the film because people don’t like to see him doing such roles. He has given some wonderful performances in films like Dil Chahta Hai,

Kareena Kapoor chats with Sonil Dedhia about films and life beyond them

ÂI AM AT A STAGE IN MY CAREER WHERE I CAN SAY NO TO FILMSÊ Most scripts demand kissing or intimate scenes and the new crop of actresses are willing to do it. Will you change your stance of no kissing on screen? No, I don’t think so. I am married and both Saif and I have decided that we will not kiss on screen. I am sure romance can be shown without a lip lock, and history has proved that in Indian cinema. If other actors are willingly doing it, then good for them. Did you watch Humshakals? Saif has said in an interview that he made a mistake

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Bollywood

COURTESY: TWITTER.COM/KHANARPITA

INDIA IN NEW YORK AUGUST 8, 2014

ALL THAT GLITTERS

Salman Khan’s younger sister Arpita Khan shared a picture of their extended family on Eid. Patriarch Salim Khan, first row second from left, with sons Sohail, last row right; Salman, last row second from right, Arbaaz Khan, first row second from right; and son-in-law Atul Agnihotri, first row right.

A PEEK INTO THE WEEK’S GLITZIEST TINSEL TOWN EVENTS

Shah Rukh Khan waves to his fans from Mannat, his home.

PHOTOGRAPHS: PRADEEP BANDEKAR

Host Poonam Dhillon greets Dharmendra at the Yes Bank Young Achievers’ Awards in Mumbai. Below, actor-turned lawmaker Shatrughan Sinha.

Contemporaries Parineeti Chopra, right, and Alia Bhatt, bottom right, performed at the event.

PRADEEP BANDEKAR PRADEEP BANDEKAR

COURTESY: TWITTER.COM/THEFARAHKHAN

Aamir Khan celebrates with wife Kiran Rao and son Azad.

Director Farah Khan shared a picture with Anil Kapoor, right, and Jackie Shroff, tweeting, ‘My EID is made!’

Bollywood

INDIA IN NEW YORK AUGUST 8, 2014

‘It is going to be an uphill battle’

hile many Bollywood celebrities have invested in cricket teams, Abhishek Bachchan has taken a different route. He has invested in the recently started Pro Kabbadi League. He bought the Jaipur franchise; the other seven teams are Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Bangalore, Chennai, Pune and Patna. We caught up with Abhishek at a event to find out more about his interest in the game.

Abhishek Bachchan speaks to Sonil Dedhia about what drove him to buy a franchise in India’s Pro Kabbadi League

Abhishek Bachchan and wife Aishwarya at a Pro Kabbadi League match.

PRADEEP BANDEKAR

Did you ever consider investing in other sports that have leagues, like cricket or badminton? This is the first time I am looking at sports as an entrepreneur and as a business. The history of kabaddi is fantastic. It has its origin in the Mahabharat. The director of the Pro Kabbadi League, Charu Sharma, met me and pitched the idea and I really loved it. It happened all of a sudden but I am glad I took the decision to invest in this sport. You also have plans to start a similar league for women? Yes, it is part of the agenda. We have discussed the formation of a Pro Kabbadi League for women in the near future. Considering kabbadi is not a popular sport, don’t you think this is a risky proposition? My funda is simple — no risk no reward. Why would you want to do anything easy in life? Risk is the wrong word; rather I would say it is going to be an uphill battle. But I am confident about the people associated with the league. The likes of Kishore Biyani and Kotak Mahindra have invested in the league. I am pretty confident that our efforts will pay off. Why buy a team from Jaipur? My connection with Jaipur goes back a long way. The city holds a special place in my life. I used to visit the city with my father for his shoots. I came here to shoot for my first film Refugee and then I found the love

of my life, Aishwariya, during the shoot there of Umrao Jaan. I love the people, the food and the colourful markets of Jaipur. Would you like to make a film on kabbadi? Not right now. I would first like to formulate some base for the sport. Then I may think about making an entire film on it. As I mentioned earlier, kabbadi goes back to the Mahabharat days so you can get lots of exciting content. But I would wait and let the sport get a little more popular. Several biopics are being made on sporting legends. Is there any sport star’s life that you would like to enact? I would have loved to play Kapil Dev, Sunil Gavaskar, M S Dhoni, Sachin Tendulkar or Sourav Ganguly, as they are all legends. I would love to do a biopic on Yuvraj Singh. I think Yuvraj has had a fantastic life. He is a warrior. From getting selected in the Indian squad at a young age, being a young superstar, then being dropped from the team, fighting cancer and then coming back, Yuvraj had to struggle a lot but he is a true champion. Another sportsman whose life will be fantastic on screen is the great hockey player Dhyan Chand. It is an unbelievable story. I think Shah Rukh Khan would be the perfect choice to do a biopic on Dhyan Chand. If you check his old photographs, he looks similar. He just needs to change his hairstyle a little bit. I have already told Shah Rukh about it. You have a busy schedule. How do you make time for your daughter Aaradhya? I miss my daughter a lot while I am at work. But today technology is advanced so I often talk to her through Skype and face time. After finishing this interview, I am heading straight home to play with her. Aishwarya is making a comeback in Sanjay Gupta’s Jazba. She does a lot of action sequences in the film. Will you be helping her with the action? She did a lot of action in Dhoom 2 so I am sure she doesn’t need my help (smiles).

‘I AM AT A STAGE IN MY CAREER WHERE I CAN SAY NO TO FILMS’

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Such films are important in an actor’s career. Films like the Golmaal series, Ra.One, Bodyguard have all been big blockbusters. I am very proud of all the commercial films that I have done. These films have given me standing in this industry. You are playing a Maharashtrian girl in the film. I speak fluent Marathi in the film. I learnt the language on the sets. I picked it up quite fast and have said quite a few bad words, but it was all fun. I have done a lot of ‘Singhamgiri’ in the film. People will be surprised to see me in such an avatar (smiles). Vidya Balan said recently that most films stereotype actresses. What works for one actor may not work for another. Every actor is different. I don’t think I can be part of a film like The Dirty

Picture. I don’t have the courage and boldness to do such films. For me, it is a challenge to be part of a film like Golmaal 3 and still have a great role. It is an honor for me to be part of Singham Returns. That is what works for me and my career. It is unfair to constantly make comparisons; it is boring. She also mentioned that in terms of remuneration, heroines should be paid more in commercial films. I get paid very well. I have no complaints. You are pairing up again with Salman Khan in Bajrangi Bhaijaan. It’s always fun to work with Salman. We share a good rapport. Salman and I make a lovely pairing. It will be a big Eid release in 2015. The film worked in my timeframe, hence, I agreed to do it. Salman will play the title role of Bajrangi Bhaijaan and I play a Brahmin girl. I have not worked with Kabir (Khan, director) before.

It’s great to be working with a new director. Saif is planning to make a documentary on his father Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi… According to me, there was no cricketer like my fatherin-law Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi. He was a true legend. The fact that he could score a century with just one eye shows his class and his dedication to the sport. I don’t think I can even brush my teeth with one eye! I spent a good three years with him. He was a man of few words, but very warm in his own way. He was a quiet person, unlike Saif. I remember once we were in Pataudi and he put his hand on my shoulder and pressed it and showed a lot of warmth and affection. That will always remain with me. He didn’t see many films but he had seen Omkara and he liked me in it. Such lovely things were written about him by the Indian and international media when he passed away and that showed the respect and the importance of the man.

Bollywood

INDIA IN NEW YORK AUGUST 8, 2014

Got it in one! Sajid Nadiadwala

Kick Very few directors enter the exclusive club of Rs 100-crore movies in their first attempt itself, and Sajid Nadiadwala is one of the lucky ones. Of course, with Salman Khan’s recordmaking winning streak in play, Nadiadwala could not have gone wrong at all with Kick.

Abhinav Kashyap

Dabangg Abhinav Kashyap seemed to prove that talent ran in the family, when he directed Dabangg, and

Arbaaz Khan

Dabangg 2 When he took over the directorial reigns from Abhinav Kashyap to take the Dabangg franchise forward, many wondered if the film would maintain its sheen. As it turned out, the man delivered, and how. Dabangg 2 went on to take a bigger opening than Dabangg.

Siddique

Bodyguard Though Siddique has directed quite a few films down South, Bodyguard was his first Bollywood outing. It did not fetch good reviews but audiences came in large numbers. It is surprising, however, that Siddique hasn’t directed another Hindi film yet.

Joginder Tuteja lists the 11 most successful directorial debuts in Bollywood

Abhishek Varman

Shashank Khaitan

Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhaniya It was meant to be a quickie film, to keep the ball rolling for producer Karan Johar and his cast Varun Dhawan and Alia Bhatt, even as they planned bigger outings for the future. The man entrusted to do the job was Shashank Khaitan, an inhouse director at Dharma Productions. The youngster went on to deliver the goods.

2 States A family entertainer that managed to grow well on word-of-mouth, 2 States is one of the biggest releases directed by a debutant this year. Chances are that not many know (even within the film industry) what Abhishek Varman looks like!

Prabhu Dheva

Karan Malhotra

made it a blockbuster. It was shocking to see Abhinav go down from Dabangg to Beshara m.

AR Murugadoss

Ghajini Founder of the Rs 100crore club, A R Murugadoss delivered hits down south before making his debut in Bollywood. He joined hands with Aamir Khan for the action film Ghajini. Smart packaging, execution and marketing resulted in the film becoming a huge hit. Murugadoss delivered another hit this year, with Holiday.

Agneepath To take charge of a cult film and remake it is no mean feat, especially when it is your first. However, Karan Malhotra took up the challenge and delivered. The most violent film to have come out of Karan Johar’s stable, this Hrithik Roshan-Priyanka Chopra starrer bore a distinct stamp.

Wanted Prabhu Dheva brought with him a totally different mode of storytelling and redefined the ‘masala’ movie. His first ever Hindi film resurrected Salman Khan’s career, and sent him off on a record-making career.

Aamir Khan

Taare Zameen Par Aamir Khan has proved himself behind the camera as well. This film continues to be loved by everyone, and is the biggest commercial success in current times for a debutant director.

Ali Abbas Zafar

Mere Brother Ki Dulhan Aditya Chopra continues to invest in new talent, and Ali Abbas Zafar is his latest find. The youngster came up with a feel-good romcom musical Mere Brother Ki Dulhan, with Imran Khan, Katrina Kaif and Ali Zafar. Ali went on to score higher with his next film, Gunday.

Bollywood

INDIA IN NEW YORK AUGUST 8, 2014

Aamir Khan bares all for PK!

Hrithik Roshan and Sussanne during happier times.

Shah Rukh Khan at the launch of Got Talent.

Think there’s nothing Aamir Khan hasn’t done to add just that extra something to each one of his films? Check out the first look poster of his hugely anticipated Raju Hirani film PK. In the words of Hirani, the film is a satire on Hindu god and their godmen while Aamir is rumored to be playing an alien in the film. The film also stars Anushka Sharma and Sushant Singh Rajput in pivotal roles and is set for a December 19 release.

Shah Rukh Khan returns to television fter Amitabh Bachchan diversifying with an acting gig in Anurag Kashyap’s television show A Yudh, Shah Rukh Khan too is slated to make a

Hrithik denies Rs 4 billion alimony rumors ertain media reports claimed recently that Sussanne Khan had demanded Rs 4 billion ($65.57 million) C from Hrithik Roshan as alimony. However, Hrithik denied the news, tweeting: ‘Fabricated news articles. Demeaning my loved ones. Testing my patience.’

Nimrat to star in Homeland Season 4

imrat Kaur, who won accolades for her performance in Ritesh Batra’s The Lunchbox, has been signed up for the N fourth season of popular series Homeland. She will play an

ISI operative. Confirming the news, the 32-year-old actress tweeted: ‘Pretty fun for someone who watched the pilot after the screen test ! Season 4 HOMELAND it is.’ Kaur is currently in Cape Town, South Africa, where she will shoot for the political thriller television series.

Kaka’s bungalow sold two years since Rajesh Khanna passed the ages. But for fans, young and old, a Iwalkt’sintobeen down Mumbai’s sea-facing Carter Road and

a few moments outside his iconic bungalow, Aashirwad, was still something dear. That almost ended July 25 when it was revealed that the bungalow had been sold to a Mumbai businessman for Rs 900 million ($14.73 million). We say almost because the prime property is in for some dispute before its fate is decided. Anita Advani, the woman who claimed to be Khanna’s partner in his autumn years, contested the sale of the property in court with a judge allowing her to secure a copy of Kaka’s will. His daughter Twinkle Khanna has now filed an appeal before the Bombay High Court challenging the order. And the battle seems ready to be long drawn. What is however clear to fans is that the promise of a museum dedicated to Kaka in that space died last month, just as certainly as the superstar did in 2012.

comeback as a host on television soon. According to reports, he will anchor a live show, based the hugely popular international talentbased reality series Got Talent. Past winners from the Indian as well as international Got Talents from the last five years, along with celebrities, will perform live. A three-hour event, the show will be held in Mumbai in December. Simon Cowell, creator of the Got Talent and The X Factor series, may visit Mumbai for the show. — Rajul Hegde

Nimrat Kaur

The iconic home of Rajesh Khanna.

Bollywood

COURTESY: TWITTER.COM/KHANARPITA

INDIA IN NEW YORK AUGUST 8, 2014

ALL THAT GLITTERS

A PEEK INTO THE WEEK’S GLITZIEST TINSEL TOWN EVENTS

Shah Rukh Khan waves to his fans from Mannat, his home.

PHOTOGRAPHS: PRADEEP BANDEKAR

Host Poonam Dhillon greets Dharmendra at the Yes Bank Young Achievers’ Awards in Mumbai. Below, actor-turned lawmaker Shatrughan Sinha.

Contemporaries Parineeti Chopra, right, and Alia Bhatt, bottom right, performed at the event.

PRADEEP BANDEKAR PRADEEP BANDEKAR

COURTESY: TWITTER.COM/THEFARAHKHAN

Aamir Khan celebrates with wife Kiran Rao and son Azad.

Director Farah Khan shared a picture with Anil Kapoor, right, and Jackie Shroff, tweeting, ‘My EID is made!’

Bollywood

INDIA IN NEW YORK AUGUST 8, 2014

‘It is going to be an uphill battle’

Abhishek Bachchan speaks to Sonil Dedhia about what drove him to buy a franchise in India’s Pro Kabbadi League

Abhishek Bachchan and wife Aishwarya at a Pro Kabbadi League match.

PRADEEP BANDEKAR

‘I AM AT A STAGE IN MY CAREER WHERE I CAN SAY NO TO FILMS’

f PAGE 12

India in New York August 8, 2014

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Bollywood

INDIA IN NEW YORK AUGUST 8, 2014

Got it in one! Sajid Nadiadwala

Abhinav Kashyap

Dabangg Abhinav Kashyap seemed to prove that talent ran in the family, when he directed Dabangg, and

Arbaaz Khan

Siddique

Joginder Tuteja lists the 11 most successful directorial debuts in Bollywood

Abhishek Varman

Shashank Khaitan

Prabhu Dheva

Karan Malhotra

made it a blockbuster. It was shocking to see Abhinav go down from Dabangg to Beshara m.

AR Murugadoss

Aamir Khan

Taare Zameen Par Aamir Khan has proved himself behind the camera as well. This film continues to be loved by everyone, and is the biggest commercial success in current times for a debutant director.

Ali Abbas Zafar

Bollywood

INDIA IN NEW YORK AUGUST 8, 2014

Aamir Khan bares all for PK!

Hrithik Roshan and Sussanne during happier times.

Shah Rukh Khan at the launch of Got Talent.

Shah Rukh Khan returns to television fter Amitabh Bachchan diversifying with an acting gig in Anurag Kashyap’s television show A Yudh, Shah Rukh Khan too is slated to make a

Nimrat to star in Homeland Season 4

imrat Kaur, who won accolades for her performance in Ritesh Batra’s The Lunchbox, has been signed up for the N fourth season of popular series Homeland. She will play an

Kaka’s bungalow sold two years since Rajesh Khanna passed the ages. But for fans, young and old, a Iwalkt’sintobeen down Mumbai’s sea-facing Carter Road and

Nimrat Kaur

The iconic home of Rajesh Khanna.

Health

INDIA IN NEW YORK AUGUST 8, 2014

ing or running). In practices like yoga, you must avoid drinking during practice totally.

SYBERPAT/ CREATIVE COMMONS

Moisturizer and creams

Are you guilty of these pre-workout mistakes? There is a lot of enthusiasm for ‘working out’ and ‘building tone,’ but there is an equal lack of awareness of the mistakes that can sabotage one’s efforts, says yoga guru Shameem Akthar

Pre-workout snack

The biggest mistake is to eat a heavy meal immediately before a workout. The food you consume needs to pass a long tract before it becomes the blood sugar that is the energy base for your workout. That would typically take a few hours and will depend a lot on the food type. The body has the resources to take on just one important chore — either digestion or workout. It cannot do both. A heavy pre-workout snack will make you sluggish, dull, and heavy. It often causes cramps (as can happen in swimming pools, with disastrous results). It may cause acid reflux in many people prone to it. Some people even feel dizzy. In yoga, and other practices where there are more complicated movements, it can be disastrous to do inversions because the food will come down the gullet. What to do: Have a light snack about an hour/latest half-hour before workout. If it is early morning, you do not even need that unless you have blood sugar issues (in

which case you need to consult a medical expert/dietician for when and what to consume).

High sugar snack

Exercisers often make the mistake of consuming a high-sugar drink, snack or high-sugar fruit just before a workout (some energy bars and drinks are spiked with sugar), believing it will power their workout. This could be disastrous for those with blood sugar yo-yos and blood pressure issues. In such cases, a sugar spike will be followed by a dip in blood sugar, making you feel nauseated, dizzy or give you cramps. Intriguingly, those who do this first thing in the morning as a workout preparation may even get skin break-outs due to the spike in blood acid levels. A high-sugar snack is actually a rather foolhardy, if not a dangerous pre-workout snack. What to do: Have slow-release food bites. Whole wheat snacks, bread slices or biscuits (without sugar), fruit pieces

instead of fruit juices (which are higher in sugar).

Too much water

In certain practices involving stretches or forward bends (pilates, yoga, ariel silk) it would be downright awkward to drink too much water before the workout. The pressure on the pelvis will be acute and cause urinary discharge when the pressure increases. This could happen even in workouts involving kicks, jumps and running. The pelvic floor becomes overburdened and in the long term it becomes slack! Too much water for high-intensive workouts can also be dangerous because it can cause water-intoxication, which happens when too much water upsets the potassium-sodium salt ratio in the tissues and leads to fainting or even stroke. What to do: A heavy bout of drinking an hour or so before a workout is safe. Just before a workout, sip lightly if you feel the need. Otherwise, sip lightly during the course of the workout (as in kickbox-

Applying moisturizers and creams heavily before a workout is not advisable. In certain practices like stretches, yoga, kick boxing, this can be outright dangerous because it will cause you to slip at the elbows (in inversions) or prevent the instructor from making corrections (his/her hand will slip) and assisting you effectively. You can slip on the practice mats during warm-ups. When you start sweating, the combination of sweat and cream can make it more slippery in certain poses where the pressure on the feet, and palms needs to be steady, making you constantly wipe your hands or actually slip. An instructor will find it hard to make corrections in balance or inversions if there is cream on the body. It can be dangerous if you are using machines for work-outs, for all the above reasons. What to do: Avoid using moisturizers just before a workout. Note also that if the moisturizer is strong, even if you use it the night before, it is likely to remain on the body. Wipe off with a towel dipped in warm water to remove even the residue. Use cream etc after a workout, not before it.

Clothing

The clothes you wear during a workout are important. Wearing slippery materials with machines around or when doing stretches or certain arm balancers can be risky or awkward. Remember that while some natural materials are very good, they can chafe in a very biting, piercing manner. This happens very often in running (the chafing can be very painful). It can happen at the legs (if you are wearing loose pants) or at the chest (for women, with certain bra materials). Loose pants can also make you trip. Despite their seeming comfort, loose clothes can flop around, especially if your workout requires twisting, stretching or throwing your legs about. Exhibitionism apart, which is quite common in group work, it can make you selfconscious and lose out on your workout instead of making you focus and develop mental tone! Clothes that allow sweat to dry off are better. Some materials, promoted as ecofriendly, end up holding the smell of sweat for longer, and though you may not be aware of it, your partner in workout will be suffering your presence for sure! What to do: It may be expensive, but it is better to buy workout clothes from reputed brands that help you look and perform better at whatever you choose to work on. Making unwise choices can sabotage your practice in less obvious but certain ways. Shameem Akthar has trained with the Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centre.

India in New York August 8, 2014

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WHAT IT TAKES TO BE A FASHION WEEK MODEL IN INDIA Every year, hundreds of aspiring models from across the country are auditioned for the Lakmé Fashion Week. Divya Nair provides a sneak peak into the latest auditions. Photographs: Hitesh Harisinghani

Models await their turn in the spotlight.

f you think being skinny and having a pretty face is all you need to become a top model, you have obviously never been to a modelling audition. At the recently held auditions for the Lakmé Fashion Week Winter Festive 2014, August 20 to 24, of the 120 aspiring models who registered — most well above 5 ft 7 inches, had clear skin and a lean figure — only a handful were chosen to walk for what is known as India’s biggest and most-talked-about fashion event. “Modeling is a highly challenging profession. Behind all the glitz and glamour, there is a lot of hard work and perseverance involved. Young models who do not make in the first or two attempts lose heart and go back to doing something else. That’s where passionate models differ from the average ones,” says 22-yearold fashion stylist Neev Marcel, who’s worked with brands like Diesel, Femina, Jashn and walked for designers like Anita Dongre and Manish Malhotra.

Although she admits it’s a short-lived career, Marcel believes that for those who are passionate and willing to sweat it out, the sky is the limit. Allahabad-based Vartila Kaul, 23, who had featured in the fourth season of MTV’s reality show Splitsvilla, is a graduate in business administration from Delhi University. From her five-year experience in the entertainment and glamour industry, she’s realized that it takes a lot more than just good looks and passion to survive in the industry. “Money plays a huge role,” says Kaul, who also played a small role in the Hindi film Dehraadun Diary. “To be a good model requires you to invest a certain amount of money every month on grooming — your gym fees, your salon visits, the clothes you wear, the accessories, the make-up. I spend a minimum of Rs 15,000 ($250) to 20,000 ($330) every month to keep myself fit and

healthy. Not everyone is able to afford that kind of money. So, some of them opt out and look for alternate employment.” Also, she says, it is imperative to sign up with a good model placement agency: “If you are new to the industry, agencies will update you with the latest shows from where you can build your contacts and eventually make it big.”

PAGE 25 g

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INDIA IN NEW YORK AUGUST 8, 2014

f PAGE 24 Mumbai’s Lavina Israni, 20, who has modeled for big brands, says, “It feels really good when people see you in print or television ads and congratulate you for your success. But there’s a lot of networking, hard work and patience that goes into the process of you becoming even a semi-successful model. I know a lot of friends who start off by saying they want to pursue modeling and end up doing small roles for television serials. Because at the end of the day, you need to sustain, you need to make money as well. Not everyone gets to live their dream. Luck is also a major driving factor.” Age can be a deterrent too, says Marcel: In the process of gaining more and more experience, you’ll take up lesser-known projects and probably age out. By the time you even realize this, new models will take your place. The key is to start early and do as many projects when you are at the peak of your career.” Adriana Adler, 23, a fashion design graduate, who’s been working as a stylist in Germany and makes frequent trips to India to check the latest trends, says India may not be the best places to pursue a long lasting career in modeling and fashion, but it may well be the best place to start. “I have traveled to Paris, London and New York in the last three years and even worked with a lot of young models, helping them style their look and clothes. I’ve realized that girls in India are quite shy when it comes to exposing their features. They are very Models, aspiring and experienced, swear by networking. conscious about the way they present themselves. Indian girls have nice hair and eyes, compared to the rest of the world, but they don’t take care so much about their posture and the way they walk. That’s where they fail and need improvement.” Veronika from Slovakia, who was traveling to India for the first time to audition for Lakmé, feels that there’s a lot of promise for models in India, but at the same time there’s also prejudice in the selection process. “I was at the Milan Fashion Week and I’m sorry to say this, but the models Veronika from Slovakia, who was there look very skinny and I don’t think anyone would even take a second traveling to India for the first time. look at them if you pass by them on the streets. Ugly would be the wrong word to describe some of the models, but the criteria of selection varies from country to country. In India, you see a lot of scope for fair and clear-skinned women; they are not looking for skinny models, for sure. So, you need to research well what the panel is looking for and audition only for roles where you see a market.” “How confident you are on the ramp is all that matters,” says Marcel. “Most who aspire to be a model think people are interested in their face and their features. But that’s not the case; they are interested to know whether or not you’re fit to present their brand. Do you have the features and the confidence that will complement the brand they endorse? That’s what they’re looking at.” Saket Dhankar — who heads IMG Reliance, a venture that develops sports, fashion and entertainment services, and was one of the judges for the auditions along with designer Rocky S, model Carol Gracias, photographer Colston Julian, Vogue India’s fashion director Anaita Shroff Adajania, fashion choreographer Rashmi Virmani and head of innovation at Lakmé Purnima Lamba — explains why the panel chose only nine models out of the 120. “A lot of them who auditioned were newcomers and one could make it out from the way they landed their first step. They were nervous, lacked the confidence and the posture that is required of a model… Some of them had the confidence but their bodies weren’t proportionate. Others who had good features lacked the confidence we were looking for. It has to be a combination of a lot of deciding factors — the right attitude and the right gait. The right poise Models who have been here a while know that it takes a lot more comes out of hours of practice and experience. Walking in front of the mirror helps you improve but walking in front of an audience than just good looks and passion to survive in the industry. Topping is different. You need to be able to handle the attention.” the list are money and a good model placement agency.

The Week That Was INDIA IN NEW YORK AUGUST 8, 2014

Former Gujarat minister jailed for 2002 riots gets bail The Gujarat high court granted bail to former minister Maya Kodnani, who was convicted and sentenced to 28 years’ imprisonment in the 2002 Naroda Paitya riots case in which 97 people were killed. The court also exempted her from appearing before the police during her bail period.

Strategic dialogue

If I were dictator, I would introduce Gita in grade I: Judge At a conference organized by the Gujarat Law Society, August 2, the Indian Supreme Court’s Justice A R Dave said, ‘Somebody who is very secular... so-called secular will not agree... Had I been the dictator of India, I would have introduced Gita and Mahabharata in class one. That is the way you learn how to live life. I am sorry if somebody says I am secular or I am not secular. But if there is something good, we have to get it from anywhere.’

‘Pak used US anti-terror military aid to fight India’ Most of the United States military aid to Islamabad for counterinsurgency went into buying equipment to fight India, Ronald Neumann, a former US ambassador to Afghanistan, told a Congressional Committee. He said ‘We’re cutting aid very seriously… Most of that military aid never went to counterinsurgency; it went to buying equipment to fight India. And as is the case in Afghanistan, on the economic side, in spite of efforts by Congress over the last 10 years, we have never had a single report from USAID to explain what the benefits or impact of the economic aid to Pakistan has been.’

Natwar Singh’s book creates political storm Sonia Gandhi declined to become prime minister in 2004 because of opposition from her son Rahul, who was afraid she would be killed like his father and grandmother if she accepted the post — this is one of the many controversial claims in former external affairs minister K Natwar Singh’s soon-to-be-released autobiography, One Life is Not Enough. Singh, who quit the Congress in 2008, claimed it was not Sonia’s ‘inner voice’ that stopped her, as she had then stated. Following the row created by the claims, Sonia told the media July 31, ‘I will write my own book and then you will come to know everything... I am serious about it.’ Singh, meanwhile, has decided to write a sequel ‘which will have many more disclosures.’

6 year old refused entry at mall play zone for being ‘scary’ A six year old from Mumbai, with partial albinism, was denied entry to the FunCity section of the city’s Oberoi Mall. The manager of the section told her parents they would not allow her to play there because she would scare the children. The issue came into the spotlight when the father made an appeal on Facebook, which was shared rapidly. He said he only sought a public apology, not compensation, but was being pressured by the mall to delete the post.

School head gets life term for fire tragedy that killed 98 children A decade after a school fire tragedy killed 94 children in Kumbakonam, Tamil Nadu, the school’s founder was sentenced to life imprisonment July 30. Eight of the nine others convicted were awarded five years in jail by a local court. But 11 other accused, a majority of them government employees of the education department, were acquitted.

PIB

LUCAS JACKSON/REUTERS

Left, Secretary of State John Kerry with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi August 1. Right, Kerry with Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj in New Delhi July 3. He was there for the fifth US-India Strategic Dialogue.

After Iraq, Indian nurses return from strife-torn Libya Two batches of Indian nurses returned from Libya by August 5. There were still around 80 nurses in Tripoli, waiting to flee as bloody clashes conitnued there. This come within weeks of a massive evacuation of Indian nurses from Iraq.

16 former UPA ministers slapped with eviction notices Sixteen former ministers of the United Progressive Alliance government have been served eviction notices for unauthorized stay in government bungalows for over a month, the Indian Parliament was told July 30. Among them are S Jaipal Reddy, Sachin Pilot, Dr Farooq Abdullah, and Kapil Sibal.

DMK seeks Katju’s removal as Press Council of India chairman The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam wrote to the Indian vice president and the Supreme Court Chief Justice July 30, seeking removal of Press Council Chairman Markandeya Katju. This came after Katju, a former Supreme Court judge, alleged that three ex-chief justices of India had compromised in giving extension to an additional judge of the Madras high court at the instance of the United Progressive Alliance government under pressure from an ally, apparently the DMK.

Air India staff found smuggling gold

Authorities found 13 cases of gold smuggling by Air India employees over the past three years and this year, Minister of State for Civil Aviation G M Siddeshwara said July 30. India, the biggest buyer of gold after China, last year impo-

sed restriction on bullion imports to constrict its trade deficit. This led to heavy smuggling.

Now, push for Ayurveda, Unani to tackle dengue and malaria India’s ministry of health and family welfare has directed states to use the expertise of the department of AYUSH — Ayurveda, Yoga, Naturopathy and Unani — in checking vector-borne diseases like dengue and malaria.

2 arrested for supplying ISIS T-shirts Two people have been arrested in a case relating to the appearance of a group photo of some youths wearing Tshirts with the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria emblem on a social networking site.

Lt General Dalbir Singh Suhag takes over as new Army chief General Dalbir Singh took over as the chief of the 1.3 million-strong Indian Army July 31, succeeding General Bikram Singh. He will have a tenure of 30 months as the 26th Chief of Army Staff.

China finally admits to 2013 incursion in Ladakh The Chinese military, July 31, finally acknowledged last year’s incursion at the DepsangValley in Ladakh region and said such incidents occurred due to different perception about the Line of Actual Control.

PAGE 27

The Week That Was

INDIA IN NEW YORK AUGUST 8, 2014

Downpour of sorrow

WATCH ON CRIME AGAINST WOMEN Tension gripped Meerut’s Kharkhauda and Atrada areas as members of particular communities attacked and pelted stone at the houses of members of another community August 3, over the rape and religious conversion of a 20-year-old woman. The police said the 20-year-old victim’s father had lodged a complaint saying his daughter was taken to a madrassa where she was raped and forcefully made to sign papers related to religious conversion. The police said the woman’s medical examination confirmed rape. ***

NITIN LAWATE

A woman looks for her belongings amid the rubble after heavy rains triggered a landslide in Maharashtra’s Pune district July 30. Racing against time and battling inclement weather, the rescue team had pulled out 136 bodies and some survivors by August 5. A day later monsoon‘s fury was felt in Netad village in Tehri district of Uttarakhand when a cloudburst killed five people.

KRISHNA MURARI KISHAN/REUTERS

Villagers move with their belongings and cattle to relief camps in Supaul district of Bihar August 3. More than 400,000 people here face the risk of flooding after a landslide that killed at least nine people in neighboring Nepal. The landslide triggered by heavy rains has left scores of people missing and has created a mud dam blocking the Sunkoshi river, which runs into India’s Bihar state as the Kosi river.

f PAGE 26

After being on the run for 16 years, key accused in the February 1998 Coimbatore serial blasts, was arrested July 31. Kunhi Mohammad allegedly supplied the explosive material, transported the bombs and provided asylum to some of the accused. The blasts February 14, 1998, had killed 58 people.

Lankan government Web site article says Jaya hampering ties

Explosives, 3,550 detonators seized The police seized about 11 lbs explosives, 3,550 detonators and 1,811 gelatin sticks from a village in Bihar’s Rohtas district August 1.

Pandher gets bail in 5 Nithari cases, won’t come out of jail yet The Allahabad high court granted bail to Moninder Singh Pandher, a prime accused in the Nithari serial killings, in five cases, but he is unlikely to come out of the jail as at least eight other cases of murder were pending.

*** Resurrecting memories of the Park Street rape a couple of years ago, a 27-year-old was gang-raped in Maheshtala in southern Kolkata and thrown off a moving car. In this case too, the police refused to file a case till the media got wind of the incident. *** The Shiv Sena came out in support of a Mumbai police officer, Sunil Paraskar, accused of raping a Mumbai-based model. The party mouthpiece, Saamna, said it had become a ‘fashion’ to charge men with rape. It added, ‘All the laws in the country favor women so anyone can slap any charge against anyone.’ Paraskar has declined to undergo a polygraph test while the victim expressed readiness to face the scientific examination.

Key accused in Coimbatore blasts nabbed after 16 years

An article on the Sri Lankan defense ministry’s Web site alleged that Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa is destroying the ties between Sri Lanka and India. In an article titled ‘How meaningful are Jayalalithaa’s love letters to Narendra Modi?’ author Shenali D Waduge alleged that the CM’s activism on the fishermen’s issue were dampening the Modi government’s positive outlook; she was alluding to Jayalalithaa’s letters to the prime minister on the issue in her headline. The article was removed after Jayalalithaa protested. Meanwhile, Close on the heels of this, a junior cricket team from Sri Lanka, which arrived in Chennai to participate in a private tournament, was sent back August 4 owing to security concerns, the police said.

A woman additional district and sessions judge in Gwalior quit her job accusing a Madhya Pradesh high court judge of sexual harassment, a charge he has rejected.

*** A 16-year-old school student was gangraped by five persons, including three minors, at gunpoint in Delhi. She alleged that the accused taped the act and threatened to upload it on the Internet if she told anyone about her ordeal.

The killings came to light in December 2006 following the discovery of human remains from a drain behind his house in Noida.

‘Vijay Goel is trying to be Raj Thackeray of Delhi’ Bharatiya Janata Party leader Vijay Goel stirred up a hornet’s nest in Parliament July 31 when he said the flow of migrants into Delhi needed to be stopped to solve the problems of the capital. Rajeev Shukla of the Congress party said, ‘By saying people from outside should not come to live here, he is trying to be the Raj Thackeray of Delhi.’ This was with reference to Thackeray’s campaign against North Indian students in Mumbai.

*** In a twist to the rape of a 6-year-old in Bengaluru, the police let off the skating instructor, but arrested two gymnastics teachers. The police, who had earlier extracted a confession from the skating instructor, apparently realized he was innocent after a further probe. *** The West Bengal government moved an appeal before the Calcutta high court July 30, challenging a lower court’s order that directed registration of a police report against actor-turned Trinamool Congress Member of Parliament Tapas Pal for controversial comments about raping women and a police probe into it.

Sports

INDIA IN NEW YORK AUGUST 8, 2014

Commonwealth Games: India finish in top five, new stars are born

RICHARD HEATHCOTE/GETTY IMAGES

Indian wrestlers Sushil Kumar (gold, 74kg) Vinesh (gold, 48kg) Amit Amit Kumar (gold, 57kg) and Rajeev Tomar (silver, 125kg) with their medals, July 29. India won 13 medals in wrestling.

(one gold, two silvers and two bronzes). Parupalli Kashyap bagged a gold to become the first Indian man in 32 years to win the badminton singles title in Commonwealth Games after Syed Modi in 1982. There was disappointment in the women’s singles, with rising star P V Sindhu losing in the semifinals and finishing with a bronze. Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponappa failed to defend the gold they had won in the women’s doubles event in the 2010 Delhi Games; they lost in the final.

won seven medals, including three golds, in 2010. In table tennis, India won just a bronze from the men’s doubles pair of Achanta Sharath Kamal and Anthony Amalraj. India had bagged five medals, including a gold, in the 2010 Delhi Games. India won one gold, one silver and one bronze from the track and field events, with Vikas Gowda’s gold in the men’s discus throw the only standout performance. Off the track, India had to face embarrassment after Indian Olympic Association Secretary General Rajiv Mehta and unattached international wrestling referee Virender Malik were arrested by the police on charges of alleged assault and drink-driving. They were eventually cleared because of lack of evidence.

RICHARD HEATHCOTE/GETTY IMAGES

RYAN PIERSE/GETTY IMAGES

ndia finished in the top five medal-winning nations at the 20th Commonwealth Games post a successful campaign that threw up new stars. The contingent of 216 Indians bagged 15 golds, 30 silvers and 19 bronzes for a total haul of 64 medals to finish fifth behind table-toppers England (58, 59, 57), runnersup Australia (49, 42, 46), third-place winners Canada (three - 32, 16, 34) and hosts Scotland (19, 15, 19). India had finished second behind Australia in the 2010 Delhi edition, but some disciplines from which the hosts had won medals were either dropped or pruned down in Glasgow. As expected, India collected maximum medals (17, four golds, nine silvers and four bronzes) from shooting. The wrestlers had the maximum gold count (five) with 13 overall medals (six silvers, two bronzes). The weightlifters performed above expectations, bagging 12 medals (three golds, four silvers, five bronzes) with India topping the tally in the sport. In judo, India won their biggest haul of four medals (two silvers and two bronzes), surpassing the two each it had won in 1990 and 2002. The powerlifters also contributed; Rajinder Rahelu won a silver in the heavyweight division while Sakina Khatun clinched bronze in the women’s lightweight section. In hockey, India won their second consecutive Commonwealth silver after being outclassed by Olympic and world champions Australia 4-0 in the final. Badminton was another sport that brought India laurels, with four medals

Parupalli Kashyap to became the first Indian man in 32 years to win the badminton singles gold in Commonwealth Games after Syed Modi in 1982.

The biggest surprise of the Glasgow edition for India was the gold won by Dipika Pallikal and Joshana Chinappa in women’s doubles squash. They created history by winning India’s first ever Commonwealth gold in squash. India’s boxing, table tennis and track and field show was a bit of a letdown, while the country won an unexpected two medals in para-sports. Gymnast Dipa Karmarkar bagged a surprise bronze in the women’s vault event after 2010 Delhi Games medal winner Ashish Kumar’s campaign ended in disappointment. Dipa Karmarkar won a bronze in gymnastics. Star boxer Vijender Singh lost in the middleweight (75kg) final bout as Indian pugilists won five medals, four silvers and a bronze. They had HANNAH PETERS/GETTY IMAGES

Dipika Pallikal and Joshana Chinappa won India’s first ever Commonwealth gold in squash.

Sports

INDIA IN NEW YORK AUGUST 8, 2014

India versus England 3rd Test

England players celebrate after taking India batsman Pankaj Singh’s wicket to win the 3rd Investec Test at the Ageas Bowl, Southampton, England, July 31.

England 569-7 dec

*Alastair Cook c Dhoni b Jadeja 95 Sam Robson c Jadeja b Shami 26 Gary Ballance c Dhoni b Rohit 156 Ian Bell c Pankaj b Bhuvneshwar 167 Joe Root c Dhoni b Bhuvneshwar 3 Moeen Ali c Rahane b Bhuvneshwar 12 Jos Buttler b Jadeja 85 Chris Woakes not out 7 Chris Jordan Stuart Broad James Anderson Extras: 18 byes:5 leg byes:11 no balls:0 wides:2 Total: 569-7 dec (163.4) India: Bhuvneshwar Kumar 37-10-101-3, Mohammed Shami 33-4-123-1, Pankaj Singh 37-8-146-0, Rohit Sharma 9-0-26-1, Ravindra Jadeja 45.4-10-153-2, Shikhar Dhawan 2-0-4-0.

India 330-10

England pummel India

Sunil Gavaskar slams Indian team’s complacency

everely critical of the Indian cricket team’s poor show against England in the third Test, former captain Sunil S Gavaskar said the old habit of getting

complacent after a big win seems to have affected the side during the lost match. ‘We might have helped England get back the momentum,’ the legendary opener told Indian news channel NDTV from Southampton. ‘Having beaten them at their headquarters at Lord’s, we had them absolutely demoralized. But I don’t know what we did in the five intervening days after that. We were sloppy on the first morning. We dropped (Alastair) Cook and let him get away. We need to look at our slip fielding and so many other things. There were so many misfields.’ ‘It used to happen to Indian teams since 1930s but this Indian team is more professional. They should not be affected by complacency and should address the issues quickly.’

Sunil Gavaskar

STU FORSTER/GETTY IMAGES

Part-time off-spinner Moeen Ali bamboozled the lowerorder batsmen and ended up with a career-best haul of 6 for 67 from 20.4 overs. Pacer James Anderson, who was later named man of the match, provided the first breakthrough of Day 5 when he had Rohit Sharma (6) nibbling at an away-going delivery and caught by wicketkeeper Jos Buttler. Mahendra Singh Dhoni (6) was unable to replicate the resilience he showed in the first innings, again edging an outswinger to the ‘keeper. Ajinkya Rahane waged a lone battle at the other end, but could do little as wickets fell at the other end.

‘Zero resistance’ is the phrase that Gavaskar used to explain India’s abject surrender on the final day of the third Test while they had six wickets in hand. ‘To lose a match like this showed zero resistance whatsoever. Apart from Ajinkya Rahane, who applied himself, none of the other batsmen could stay at the wicket. I must also mention that Jimmy Anderson bowled superb deliveries and the best batsmen in the world could have got out. But the disappointing aspect was no resistance,’ said Gavaskar. On what made Rahane look a better batsmen than his colleagues, Gavaskar said, ‘It’s the way he was playing. He was not trying to reach for the ball. He waited for the ball to come onto the bat and played with a straight bat. At the same time, he was quick to seize on to any scoring opportunity. Some of the other Indian batsmen played with hard hands and tried to reach the deliveries. I believe two people could have saved this Test match. One was Murali Vijay, for the kind of form he is in, and Cheteshwar Pujara, who is a long innings man.’ GARETH COPLEY/GETTY IMAGES

ndia crashed to a humiliating 266-run defeat against England in the third Test after an abject batting surrender on Day 5 allowed the hosts to level the five-Test series 1-1, at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton, July 31. Needing to bat out the day, with six wickets in hand, to save the match, the Indians crumbled in the first session itself and were bundled out for a meager 178 in 66.4 overs. It was one of India’s biggest Test defeats in terms of runs on English soil, but not their worst, having lost by 319 runs in Nottingham on the last tour in 2011. The victory ended England’s winless streak of 10 Tests, since the Ashes series Down Under.

Murali Vijay b Broad 35 Shikhar Dhawan c Cook b Anderson 6 C Pujara c Buttler b Broad 24 Virat Kohli c Cook b Anderson 39 Ajinkya Rahane c (sub) Terry b Ali 54 Rohit Sharma c Broad b Ali 28 *MS Dhoni c Buttler b Anderson 50 Ravindra Jadeja lbw b Anderson 31 B Kumar c Ballance b Broad 19 Mhd Shami c Buttler b Anderson 5 Pankaj Singh not out 1 Extras: 38 byes:16 leg byes:14 no balls:0 wides:8 Total: 330-10 (106.1) England: James Anderson 26.1-10-53-5, Stuart Broad 25-7-66-3, Chris Jordan 17-4-59-0, Chris Woakes 20-8-60-0, Moeen Ali 18-0-62-2.

England 205-4 dec

Sam Robson c Dhawan b Bhuvneshwar 13 *Alastair Cook not out 70 Gary Ballance c Pujara b Jadeja 38 Ian Bell b Jadeja 23 Joe Root b Jadeja 56 Moeen Ali Jos Buttler Chris Woakes Chris Jordan Stuart Broad James Anderson Extras: 5 byes:4 leg byes:0 no balls:0 wides:1 Total: 205-4 dec (40.4) India: Bhuvneshwar Kumar 10-0-59-1, Pankaj Singh 10-4-33-0, Mohammed Shami 4-0-24-0, Rohit Sharma 5-0-32-0, Ravindra Jadeja 10.4-152-3, Murali Vijay 1-0-1-0.

India 178-10

Murali Vijay run out (Broad) 12 Shikhar Dhawan c Jordan b Root 37 C Pujara c Jordan b Ali 2 Virat Kohli c Buttler b Ali 28 Ajinkya Rahane not out 52 Rohit Sharma c Buttler b Anderson 6 *MS Dhoni c Buttler b Anderson 6 Ravindra Jadeja b Ali 15 B Kumar c Anderson b Ali 0 Mhd Shami b Ali 0 Pankaj Singh b Ali 9 Extras: 11 byes:4 leg byes:6 no balls:0 wides:1 Total: 178-10 (66.4) England: James Anderson 14-5-24-2, Stuart Broad 13-6-22-0, Chris Woakes 11-3-23-0, Moeen Ali 20.4-4-67-6, Chris Jordan 5-0-22-0, Joe Root 2-0-5-1, Gary Ballance 1-0-5-0. *Captain

India in New York August 8, 2014

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