India in New York - December 19, 2014

COMMUNITY 4 HELD IN TEXAS FOR NJ HOME INVASIONS

COMMUNITY SURGEON GENERAL VIVEK MURTHY

SPECIAL WHERE COLORS BLEED INTO ONE www.rediff.com (Nasdaq: REDF)

VOL. XVIII NO. 26

India in New York Everyone’s fave Bollywood film A GUIDE TO EVENTS AND ENTERTAINMENT FROM INDIA ABROAD FRIDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2014

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INDIA IN NEW YORK DECEMBER 19, 2014

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US Senate confirms Surgeon General Vivek Murthy

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Dr Vivek Murthy

AZIZ HANIFFA

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ore than a year after he was nominated by President Barack Obama, the United States Senate, defying the powerful National Rifle Association, voted to confirm Dr Vivek Hellegere Murthy as the Surgeon General in a cliff-hanger, 51-43 vote.

Dr Murthy, 37, will be the first IndianAmerican Surgeon General, and the youngest ever.

At 6.11 pm December 15, 41 minutes after the Senate vote had begun, the tally stood at 45-43 in favor of confirming Dr Murthy, a minute later it moved to 47-43, and at 6.13 pm to 50-43. At 6:14 pm, US Senator Jay Rockefeller (Democrat, West Virginia) gave Murthy the 51st vote to confirm him by a simple majority.

In less than 10 minutes, the White House put out a statement from President Obama applauding the Senate vote ‘for confirming Vivek Murthy to be our country’s next Surgeon General.’

Obama said, ‘As “America’s Doctor,” Vivek will hit the ground running to make sure every American has the information they need to keep themselves and their families safe. He’ll bring his lifetime of experience promoting public health to bear on priorities ranging from stopping new diseases to helping our kids grow up healthy and strong.’

‘Vivek will also help us build on the

PARESH GANDHI

progress we’ve made combating Ebola, both in our country and at its source,’ he said, and added, ‘Combined with the crucial support for fighting Ebola included in the bill to fund our government next year, Vivek’s confirmation makes us better positioned to save lives around the world and protect the American people here at home.’

US Senator Mark Kirk of Illinois was the lone Republican who voted for Murthy. Three Democrats in conservative red states — apparently afraid of the powerful gun lobby NRA — voted against Dr Murthy: Joe Manchin of West Virginia, Heidi Heitcamp of North Dakota, and Joe Donnelly of Indiana.

Republican US Senators who voted against Dr Murthy included John Cornyn of Texas, the founder and cochair of the Senate India Caucus, John McCain, and US Mitch McConnell, who will take over from Harry Reid as the Senate Majority Leader come January.

Preceding the vote, US Senator Richard Durbin (Democrat, Illinois), the Majority Whip, exhorted his colleagues not to capitulate to the pressure and the threats from the NRA. ‘The NRA’s position hasn’t changed,’ NRA Spokesman Andrew Arulanandam said in a statement.

‘America’s next surgeon general should not be a political operative whose professional inexperience has been a source of bipartisan concern.’

Durbin praised Murthy for his dedica-

tion to fighting obesity, tobacco-related diseases, and other chronic diseases that account for seven out of the top 10 causes for death in America, and 84 percent of America’s health-care costs.

In addition to intense and sustained lobbying by the Indian-American community, who flooded Senators offices with e-mails and phone calls in addition to meeting personally, Murthy’s nomination was supported by over 100 public health and medical organizations. They include the American College of Physicians, the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Public Health Association, the American Hospital Association, the American Cancer Society, the American Heart Association, and the American Diabetes Association.

Durbin described Dr Murthy as ‘a leading voice in public health, publishing his research on the participation of women and minorities in cancer clinical trials in top journals including Science, Journal of the American Medical Association, and the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.’

Durbin noted, ‘Dr Murthy also cofounded and chairs Trial Networks, a software company that helps clinical researchers collaborate more effectively and efficiently with drug developers to speed up drug discovery.’

Just before the roll-call vote, two Democratic US Senators from Connecticut, Richard Blumenthal and Christopher Murphy also passionately exhorted their colleagues to vote for Dr Murthy.

After the Sandy Hook Elementary School schooling in Newtown, Connecticut, Dr Murthy’s had tweeted against gun violence, rubbing the NRA off the wrong way.

Blumenthal bemoaned of how for over a year, with all of the challenges and crises in public health, including the Ebola epidemic, there was no Surgeon General ‘because of misplaced and misguided opposition.’

Blumenthal said, ‘The only point raised against him unconscionably and unnecessarily, is a political smokescreen, essentially going to comments he’s made about gun violence as a public health issue. The simple fact is, gun violence, impacts far too many people, it destroys far too many lives, it’s the second leading cause of deaths in this country after car crashes.’

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INDIA IN NEW YORK DECEMBER 19, 2014

Four, including two women, arrested in Texas for New Jersey home invasions ARTHUR J PAIS

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he police have announced the arrest of four suspects — including two women — in Texas for home invasions targeting Indian families around Edison, New Jersey.

The arrests came in the wake of robberies in North Texas homes where the victims — reportedly of Middle Eastern and Asian origin — were ambushed by masked and armed intruders who tied the victims up while ransacking their homes for jewelry and electronic goods, per officials quoted in Texas newspapers.

It was the news hundreds Indian families in New Jersey have “not just (been) waiting but also praying for,” said Pradip “Peter” Kothari, Edison businessman and community leader who Rajesh Singh, the only home invasion victim who spoke to the press freely, in front of his house in Edison, New Jersey.

PHOTOGRAPHS: PARESH GANDHI

was among many Indians who were critical of the local police.

The authorities said Chaka Castro, 39, Juan Olaya, 34, Octaves Scott, 22, and Jonahs Williams, 19, are charged in connection with crimes in Texas, Georgia, New York, and Michigan.

There is no indication if they had targeted Indian families in other states.

The Texas police said they had also arrested a fifth member of the gang, Rodney Ray Granger, per the Dallas Morning News. Granger has not been charged with the New Jersey crimes.

The Texas police also said they suspect Scott to be the gang leader, even though in New Jersey it is believed Castro was the leader. Scott avoided arrest for days until he was caught in Houston by US Marshals last Thursday, per officials in Texas.

Each is held on a $1.25 bail, per the authorities.

‘They went in, bound victims with duct tape and ransacked the houses (in Texas),’ Allen Police Department Sergeant Jon Felty (in Texas) told NJ

Advance Media. ‘It was pretty clear they were targeting victims based on their ethnicity.’

Not everyone in the community was as critical of the New Jersey police as Kothari was.

Satish Poondi, legal adviser to the Indian Business Association in Edison, said the police investigation had been ‘impeccable.’

Some, including Edison Councilmember Sapana Shah, had said the police should also investigate if there was a racial motive in the robberies.

All the suspects are black, and the Middlesex County prosecutor Andrew Carey was quoted in the local media as saying his office has not decided whether to charge any of the defendants with hate crimes, calling that area of the law ‘sort of uncharted territory.’

The only Indian victims who spoke freely with the press, Rajesh Singh and his wife Neetu, had questioned the argument of racial motive. Singh had told India in New York he believed the home invasions were “crimes of opportunity.”

“A lot of hard-earned money is gone and so is our jewelry but we are glad none of us were harmed, even though my wife received some back injuries,” Singh had said. “I told the family, we will earn the lost money.”

After the arrests, he said not was he relieved but felt happy for other families who were living in fear.

US Senate confirms Surgeon General Vivek Murthy f PAGE 2

Despite describing Dr Murthy as ‘a talented individual who I have no doubt has a promising career ahead of him,’ Heitkamp declared, ‘there are severe gaps in his basic qualifications that we as a country expect from our doctor of the nation — including experience in public health education training and management.’

Donnelly also called Murthy ‘a talented physician’ but

Murphy, echoing Blumenthal, said, ‘There is absolutely no questions about the qualifications of Dr Vivek Murthy to do this job. In addition to his professional background, in addition to his teaching responsibilities, he also has a really impressive history of commitment to international public health, building two international organizations that empower hundreds of youth in the US and India to educate over 45,000 students on HIV prevention and then another one that works in rural health partnerships in India, training young women to be health educators and counselors for thousands of patients. That’s a pretty impressive record… for a still fairly young physician — someone’s who’s going to bring an enormous amount of energy to this job at a moment when we need it.’

Murphy also slammed the NRA for opposing Murthy’s nomination despite the fact that the Surgeon General doesn’t set gun policy.

‘If a nominee for federal office is unqualified simply because they have pointed out that gun violence is an issue that we should work on,’ Murphy said, ‘then the debate is so far removed from what is happening on the ground floor of this country as to be possibly irretrievable for the purposes of commonsense debate.’

Manchin, obviously pandering to the NRA, said in a statement, ‘…I don’t believe it’s appropriate for America’s number one doctor to participate in political activism.’

Dr Vivek Murthy’s nomination was opposed by the National Rifle Association.

said, ‘It’s unfortunate that the President chose a nominee based on the candidate’s political support instead of a long career delivering patient care and managing difficult health crises.’

US Senator John Barrasso (Republican, Wyoming), an orthopedic surgeon, lauded Dr Murthy’s academic credentials but said, ‘Is Dr Murthy a renowned expert in treating patients or researching diseases? No… Has he actually built a career teaching medicine or leading public health organizations? No.’ Dr Murthy, Barrasso said, has been ‘an activist focused on gun control and political campaigns.’

Besides the NRA pressure, the GOP Senators were perhaps also annoyed that Murthy’s Doctors for America, during Obama’s presidential campaign was originally Doctors for Obama, and had later morphed into one of the strongest advocates for Obama’s Affordable Health Care Act. Murthy’s confirmation was hailed by Americans for Responsible Solutions, the group co-founded by former US Congresswoman Gabby Giffords (Democrat, Arizona), who was shot by a deranged gunman and nearly lost her life, and her husband, famed astronaut Mark Kelly.

John Feinblatt, president, Everytown for Gun Safety, which is strongly backed and funded by the former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg, an avid gun-control advocate, declared that Murthy’s confirmation was a victory against the NRA.

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Where all the colors bleed into one Chaya Babu goes desi spotting at the Millions March against police brutality

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Snapshots from the protest

PHOTOGRAPHS: MOHAMMMAD JAFFER/SNAPSINDIA

fter weeks of daily protests and other agitations around New York City in response to the unarmed black people killed by the police — and the failure to indict the killers — tens of thousands of protesters wound their way through Manhattan December 13.

The Millions March was the largest and most organized event since protests sprang up weeks ago after the November 24 announcement that a grand jury decided not to indict Ferguson, Missouri police officer Darren Wilson in the August killing of Michael Brown, and continued when the same news was released two weeks later about Eric Garner’s killer, officer Daniel Pantaleo of New York.

Though the NYPD has put the number of protesters between 25,000 and 30,000, Millions March NYC estimates that 70,000 people took the streets in opposition to racially biased police tactics and to declare that #BlackLivesMatter.

The swell of people gathered around Washington Square Park early in the day December 13, and they made their way north on 5th Avenue. Curving west at 14th Street and then down again near Herald Square, the march’s planned route ended at One Police Plaza.

A group broke off from the main march later, heading into Brooklyn for a range of actions that took place well into the night, including shutting down the Brooklyn Bridge, a “die in” at the Barclay’s Center, and a moment of silence in front of the Pink Houses where Akai Gurley died just weeks ago in East New York.

The last texts from the @NYC2Ferguson stream were sent at nearly 2 am December 14, stating that the Brooklyn march had dispersed.

The event was originally organized by two young black women, Sinead Nichols, 23, and Umaara Iynaas Elliott, 19, in New York, but it exploded into a national day of resistance joined by individuals and groups of all ages and races.

Similar marches took place in Washington, DC, Boston, Chicago, the Bay Area, Baltimore, and more.

Family members of Mike Brown, Jordan Davis, Shantel Davis, Sean Bell, Emmitt Till, Alberta Spruill and Ramarley Graham, Kimani Gray led the procession.

Coordinating organizations included the Million March NYC Coalition, Black Lives Matter, Justice League NYC, Ferguson Action, and Million Hoodies. Participating organizations included SEIU and

Communications Workers of America, among many others.

Desis Rising Up & Moving, which has led its own range of actions over the past month, also had a presence, joining a large number of South Asians who came out on their own in solidarity with the movement against police brutality of black bodies.

“It’s not just groups and organizations that do activist work or community-based work consistently, but a large number of people who are being politicized for the first time are really coming out in the streets and doing something different from

anything they’ve ever done before,” said Prachi Patankar of the South Asia Solidarity Initiative. “That energy is there, that vigor, because it’s new blood. That vitality, that creativity, you really feel it.

And the vastness of this is really amazing.”

Patankar, a long-time activist who has fought police brutality toward communities of color, has been at many of the protests.

“Because,” she said, “I think there’s a specificity in terms of what black people face in this country, and I think other people — immigrants, those of other ethnici-

ties and races — should be supportive in this particular struggle of the leadership of the black people who are coming out in this big moment.”

Though there was supposed to be a South Asian contingent marching together, with a Facebook page inviting people to meet up at Father Demo Square on Carmine and 6th Avenue, people showing up at different times led to the group being more spread out. Brown faces were scattered throughout the march, solo, in pairs, and in smaller groups.

Author Suketu Mehta was in earmuffs on 5th Avenue and 11th Street, and jazz genius Vijay Iyer was live Instagramming the protestors surrounding him as the bright but chilly afternoon turned into darkness.

“Initially I thought, should I be with them?” Dedanu Sylvia said, wondering if she was missing out on a large contingent of desis who may have been marching together. “Then I thought, at the end of the day, the fact that I’m here, in community with people who matter to me, and I know that other South Asians are here, with the contingent or not, I think that’s enough for me — to just know there are others like me here, in whatever capacity, and that I am too.”

Sylvia was out from 2 pm to 10 pm with the New York Collective of Radical Educators, ending at Lafayette and Worth,

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Asian organizations protest in Queens

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before heading home to rejuvenate. She too has been out almost every night at various demonstrations around the city. She didn’t join the group that caused the Brooklyn Bridge shutdown, though that might have been more her thing.

“I thought it was awesome that so many people had come out; I had never seen such a diverse of ray of folks, of different backgrounds and ages, coming out on such a large level,” Sylvia said. “But at the same time, I didn’t feel that sense of urgency that the other protests over the past weeks have had — because it was so organized, because it was permitted. And I understand why it was permitted: we have to take care of the folks in the space who really have to worry about risk of arrest, and so it’s that question, right? Of how do we do that and also understand and honor the urgency of what’s at stake. So it was mixed for me.”

Others, like her, were in the crowd with other communities they’re a part of. Jai Dulani stayed with FIERCE! an LGBT youth of color organization. Sharmin Hossain was running alongside on the sidewalk, looking for a group she hoped to connect with near the front. Aurora Masum-Javed, who got off a bus from Ithaca, New York, at 3 pm, found people she knew and just took in being a part of the historic moment. Juhi Varma marched with a friend.

The crowd continued the chants that have been heard all over the country over the past few months: “Hands up! Don’t shoot!” “Eric Garner, Michael Brown! Shut it down, shut it down!” “Indict! Convict! Send those killer cops to jail! The whole damn system is guilty as hell!”

Signs that read, “I can’t breathe” and cardboard cutouts of Aiyana Jones floated high above the sea of heads, and a large white poster listed a menu of demands for justice.

Most strikingly, a row of panels lined up to create the image of Eric Garner’s eyes punctuated the march, a wide gap between the artwork and the line of protesters ahead, as the picture was indiscernible from close up.

‘For over three hours we marched throughout Manhattan with the survivors of police brutality and homicide,’ Synead Nichols said in a statement. ‘We cried with them, yelled with them. They marched because their sons and daughters will never be able to march again. Together we peacefully demonstrated that NYC, and people in cities across the country, will not stand for a police system that shoots to kill with no accountability. This is only the beginning.’

Though the NYPD has put the number of protesters between 25,000 and 30,000, Millions March NYC estimates that 70,000 people took the streets

PHOTOGRAPHS: MOHAMMMAD JAFFER/SNAPSINDIA

enouncing police violence, two grassroots Asian organizations, DRUM and CAAAV, demonstrated in Queens December 14, demanding justice for victims of police violence.

The protests, attended by a few dozen people, were part of the 11-day long series of actions called for by the This Stops Today coalition.

The protesters marched through the Burlington Coat Factory, and also stopped traffic on Junction Boulevard for a few minutes.

‘We are here in solidarity with Eric Garner and all black lives subject to police violence,’ the protesters said. ‘We call for police demilitarization, federal charges on Dan Pantaleo for the murder of Eric Garner, and the removal of NYPD Commissioner (William) Bratton. We stand with black trans communities, black women and men targeted by police violence and the policing of bodies.

This stops today!’

Fahd Ahmed, executive director, DRUM, said, ‘We wanted to express our solidarity and love for Eric Garner and all victims of state violence. Though our communities have our own experiences with state violence, we recognize that black people are the primary targets of state and police violence in this country.’

Queens was chosen because it has a large Asian immigration population, he said.

DRUM, Ahmed said in the statement, wanted to ‘reach our immigrant and refugee communities to ensure that members of our communities know where we need to stand – we cannot be complacent with the current inherently flawed criminal justice system.’

He said with the ‘recent killing of Akai Gurley by rookie Officer Peter Liang, the action today highlighted why the groups believe it’s more important now than ever for Asian New Yorkers to call for police accountability and systemic reform. ‘ Gurley, 28, was fatally shot by a police officer November 20 in a dark public housing stairwell in what police have called a tragic accident.

Such arguments do not satisfy Ahmed and critics of the police.

‘The problem is not just individual police officers; the problem is systemic,’ Cathy Dang, CAAAV’s executive director, said in a statement. ‘When police officers abuse their power, kill, and aren’t held accountable for their actions, officers are affirmed that they can kill with impunity. When, as a society, we are taught to equate black with criminal and there is no overhaul of the so-called criminal justice system, then police officers and other armed vigilantes will continue to kill unarmed black people.’

— Arthur J Pais

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INDIA IN NEW YORK DECEMBER 19, 2014

There isn’t any one particular moment or scene that has been special for me.

The whole film has been special because there are series of memories and events from my life. I enjoyed filming DDLJ because the film has a bit of my real life as well.

— Kajol

1,000 WEEKS AND COUNTING As Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge become’s Hindi cinema’s longest-running film, complete 1,000 weeks December 12, cast members share their memories of the film with Sonil Dedhia ABHIJIT MHAMUNKAR

For me, this almost 20-year-old film had a very modern take of things, and the whole film revolved around only one character. We were trying, not only to woo, but to respect, love and actually make a point through that one character and it would not have been possible if that character was not played by Kajol. The film was all about Simran and will always remain about her.

Kajol’s simplicity and unassuming ways reflected in the way she portrayed Simran. Not only as a friend, as a co-actor, or as Ajay Devgn’s wife, that is how she is in real life. She is purity personified. The film’s purity and beauty comes from her.

— Shah Rukh Khan

Kajol and Shah Rukh Khan celebrate 1,000 weeks of Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge

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PARMEET SETHI

Parmeet Sethi as Kuljeet, a role that was initially earmarked for Armaan Kohli.

On DDLJ completing 1,000 weeks We never thought it would break so many records and run for 1,000 weeks. Back then, it was a refreshing change from the films that were being made. The film was a complete package and looks fresh even today.

How he became a part of DDLJ Armaan Kohli had been signed up for Kuljeet Singh’s role. But I forced Adi (Aditya Chopra) to take my screen test.

Adi wanted somebody with a negative and tough image. He told me I didn’t have that image.

At that time, people had appreciated my positive role in the television series Dastaan. I had to beg Adi to give me a chance, so that I could prove that I was his Kuljeet.

When he said yes, I prepared really hard for my character.

On the day of the audition, I dressed in character and gave the performance of my life. At first, Adi didn’t utter a word but after a few minutes, he smiled and nodded. ‘You are the Kuljeet I was looking for,’ he said.

I didn’t react then but once I reached my car, I screamed my lungs out (Laughs).

Shooting DDLJ I cannot forget the first day of the shoot.

My introduction scene in the movie was supposed to be a macho entry. I was supposed to come galloping on a horse.

But I wasn’t aware that it was a jungli ghoda (wild horse).

As I was waiting for Adi to start the shot, the horse started galloping. I could not control it. By the time he stopped, I was hanging from its neck (laughs). I recovered quickly but for a moment, I thought it was the end of my life.

Today, I can joke about this particular scene but at that time, I was very scared (laughs).

Why DDLJ is relevant even today It is all because of Aditya Chopra.

I remember the narration he gave us. Whatever he narrated, every detail, was a part of the film.

The story is universal even today, so that today’s youth can still connect with it. It will always remain evergreen.

ANUPAM KHER

On DDLJ completing 1,000 weeks DDLJ will stay in people’s minds forever. We never thought the film would become historical and run for 1,000 weeks. It is a cult film not only because it has done so well but it was a genuinely beautiful film.

I am very close to the Chopra family and I was there when Adi (Aditya Chopra) was conceiving the story. Somewhere I feel DDLJ is like my own home production.

Working with the Chopras Since it was Adi’s first film, Yashji played every possible role on the sets. He was the production manager, costume designer and even the clapper boy. He was so proud of Adi and that was evident in his eyes.

I was blown away when Adi narrated the script to me. I had never heard such a detailed script, with so many emotions. He was very young then, but he lived in a

1,000 WEEKS AND COUNTING world, rich with cinema. He had his own take about films.

He shot the film the same way as he narrated it to me. He was so confident and thoroughly prepared.

At the same time, he let us improvise. Shah Rukh and I created the gibberish language we speak in on the first day of the shoot. We developed this because I wanted to show an endearing quality between a father and son.

Pamela Chopra (Yash Chopra’s wife) was an active member of the unit. She would be ready to do everything and anything. She was a very important part of DDLJ. Shooting DDLJ I was hesitant initially because I thought Amrishji’s (Puri) role was bigger than mine. But when I shot for the film, I realized Adi’s casting was so good that no character could be replaced. I don’t think anyone else could have done Amrishji’s character. He was simply brilliant.

Every scene and every moment was fabulous.

The father-son relationship between Shah Rukh and me is a big example. Till today, I get tweets from children, who say they want their fathers to be like the way I was in DDLJ. They saw a father behave in such a friendly way with his son, and celebrating his son’s failure.

On a personal note, my own father would celebrate my failures so I could identify with the character.

There is a sequence in DDLJ where I tell Shah Rukh about his forefathers and their academic failures. One of the names is of my real uncle, who was not-so-academically successful (laughs).

I was worried he would scold me but once he saw the film, he was proud that I took his name and made him famous.

Right from the first day of shoot to the film’s premiere at New Excelsior theatre (in South Mumbai), which the entire film industry attended, it was a magical journey.

Yashji and I were standing near the auditorium’s exit.

After the film got over, there was pin drop silence for almost a minute, which seemed like forever. Yashji looked at me and said, ‘Yaar, yeh kya ho raha hai (What is happening?).’ Then there was a thunderous standing ovation.

Yashji and I heaved a sigh of relief.

Favorite scene of DDLJ The most iconic scene for me is when I talk to Shah Rukh Khan outside our London home.

I look at the moon and say, ‘Hum unme se hai jo chand ko dekhte nahi chand ko utha kar ghar pe leke aate hai.

Ab jaa aur iss ghar main tabhi aana jab bahu saath main hogi. (We are people who don’t just look at the moon, we bring the moon home. Now go, and return only when you’ve brought the bride home.)’

Why DDLJ is relevant even today The film became revolutionary for two reasons. Movies those days would show the couple eloping. But in this film, Adi showed the values of an Indian boy, who lived abroad but had his values intact. He would marry the girl only if her father gave permission.

Secondly, Adi showed the NRI culture and the Indian culture well. With DDLJ, Shah Rukh Khan changed the perception of a hero in Indian cinema.

The film is also close to my heart because it was my wife Kirron, who suggested the title.

There was a lot of confusion with the film’s title. When Kirron suggested Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge, everyone thought it was too long. Shah Rukh was not happy with it. But Adi was thrilled. He even credited Kirron in the opening titles of the film.

Anupam Kher and Shah Rukh Khan came up with the gibberish greeting they use with each other in the film on the first day of the shoot.

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FARIDA JALAL

1,000 WEEKS AND COUNTING

On DDLJ completing 1,000 weeks It’s such an emotional moment and I am really happy to be a part of a film that has created history in Indian cinema. It is one of the biggest milestones in my career.

DDLJ gave my career a boost, and placed me on a pedestal. In a way, the film was a turning point in my career.

I got a lot of films after DDLJ, and I could quote any price.

The placement of my name in the film credits also changed, and this means a lot for a character artist like me.

Working with director Aditya Chopra Adi is the most humble human being I have ever met. Before every shot, he would come and narrate the scene. He would read my dialogues and tell me what exactly he Farida Jalal and Pooja wanted from me.

Ruparel in DDLJ. I still remember when we were shooting that window scene, where I tell my daughter (Kajol) that she has to sacrifice everything because women are made to do that. We did that scene at Rajkamal studios in Mumbai.

Before the scene, Adi came to my make-up room and sat with me. He was so articulate about what he wanted me to do. I haven’t worked with such a positive and confident director in my career since.

How she became a part of DDLJ I was shooting for Loafer in Hyderabad. I was in my hotel room, when my phone rang.

‘Farida, main Yash bol raha hoon.’

I just stood up and said, ‘Yashji, boliye, what can I do?’

He said his son was making a film, and wanted to cast me. with the costumes and lent her lovely voice to the song Ghar Aaja Pardesi.

‘Should I send him to Hyderabad for a meeting?’ he asked.

Karan Johar, who has become such a successful director I told him it wasn’t necessary, as we were wrapping up today, was a part of DDLJ as well. He was assisting Adi the shoot the next day and returning to Mumbai. and also acting in the film. I would see him running and I was called for a narration at Yash Chopra’s bungalow shouting between shots sometimes, as he was in the cosin Juhu. They had a room called the ‘Gadda room (literaltume department. I later worked with him in his directoly means the mattress room)’ where all the script-reading rial films, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai and Kabhi Khushi Kabhie sessions would happen.

Gham. He is such a sweetheart. I cherish all these He narrated the story in such detail, and it turned out moments from DDLJ. exactly how he narrated that day. From the lyrics to the diaDDLJ is relevant even today because of its freshness. I logues to the dance sequences, he had everything in place. don’t think there is any film that has such an epic climax.

Shooting DDLJ Normally, you would have a boy eloping with the girl. No Most of the film was shot at Filmistan studios, including film before DDLJ had a boy asking the girl’s father’s perour London house, the song Mehdni Laga Ke Rakhna. mission to marry her.

When we wrapped up the film, I told Adi, ‘I am not sayYou would never see a mother promise her daughter ing this because you are Yash Chopra’s son, but I really that she will not let you suffer as she did. had a great time working with you. You are one of the Also, the pairing of Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol was greatest directors Indian cinema will ever see.’ bang on. They looked so beautiful together on screen. No I worked with him again in Dil Toh Pagal Hai, and other actor could have pulled off this film. enjoyed myself again.

Watching DDLJ today Despite being a father and a producer, Yashji never I watch DDLJ whenever it is shown on television. One interfered. He would just stand in a corner and watch.

He had complete faith in Adi. At times though, his direc- cannot get enough of the film. And whenever I watch the film, I relive all those moments again. torial instincts would surface, and he would make some suggestions.

There was a scene when Amrishji (Puri), Kajol, Pooja POOJA RUPAREL Ruparel (Chutki) and I are travelling in a train. We were On DDLJ completing 1,000 weeks shooting at Panvel station (outskirts of Mumbai).

Time flies so fast.

Yashji was on the platform, running backwards and forBack in 1995, I was in school, and going through those wards, asking Adi whether the speed of the train was right weird teenage years. I was a very dramatic kid. (laughs). A great director like Yash Chopra was actually My debut film King Uncle (1993) had been a success. looking at the minute details, leaving no stone unturned After King Uncle and DDLJ, I had a dedicated mailbox at to give his son the best debut possible. I was stunned to the post office, and would get so many fan mails from all see how father and son were making the film. over the world! I also got so many marriage proposals.

Yashji’s wife Pamela was also involved. She would make (laughs) sure everyone on the sets had eaten. She was involved Even today, when I go for auditions, I meet guys who tell

me they had a huge crush on me and wanted to marry me post-DDLJ (laughs).

How she became a part of DDLJ Frankly, at that point of time, I wasn’t interested in doing the film because I had played the central character in King Uncle and the same thing was being offered to me.

I did not want to be stereotyped.

But working in DDLJ was like a fairy tale. I didn’t audition for my role in the film.

I got a call from Yash Raj Films’ office, and so I met them. I had a photo session with Kajol because they wanted to see how we looked as sisters.

I shared my room with Mandira Bedi, who had made her debut in the film. I recently worked with her again in 24.

I never thought DDLJ would become so huge.

Memories of working in DDLJ I have fond memories of the film. I remember Amrishji (Puri) singing songs composed

by KL Saigal.

Before DDLJ, I was scared of Amrishji as I would remember him as Mogambo (the iconic villain of Mr India). DDLJ gave me the opportunity to work with India’s best villain, who became India’s best onscreen father. For me, the best line from the film was ‘Jaa Simran, jee le apni zindagi.’ In Amrishji’s voice, that line sounded even better.

Another fond memory is with Satishji (Shah). He is a man of few words.

But one afternoon, we were all having lunch and he made us laugh so much. We were rolling on the floor! It was one of those impromptu moments that I will cherish forever.

There is a scene in the film when Satishji and Amrishji are playing chess and Shah Rukh comes in and helps Satishji with a winning move, to which Satishji says, ‘You are not genius, but indigenous.’ This was improvised by Satishji.

Once, I remember Kajol mentioned Baskin Robbins ice cream (Baskin Robbins was first introduced in India in 1993) and the next moment I see tubs of Baskin Robbins ice creams on the sets. It was very rare for me to have such expensive ice cream.

My favorite scene from the film is when I tell Kajol, ‘Didi, mujhe woh chatt wala bahut pasand hai. (Didi, I like the guy on the terrace very much)’ On the sets, I spent a lot of time with Shah Rukh since I had worked with him in King Uncle too. He taught me how to use my father’s camera. He is very charming and I had a good working relationship with him. Even today, he is so humble. A few years ago, I shot a commercial with him and he was so warm.

Working with YRF and director Aditya Chopra It was a treat because it was very organized, and lavish. I would go shopping for clothes with Pamela Aunty (Pamela Chopra). We would shop for the best brands. I was treated like a princess.

Pamela Aunty is such a nice and warm person, and so intelligent. She would solve crossword puzzles on the sets and she would get these really difficult words!

Aditya was so much fun to work with. He is such a grounded, humble and soft-spoken person. He would be open for suggestions.

I remember he was quite nervous. I would hardly see him eating. All he would eat is a slice of bread and drink a bottle of Coca Cola. At the same time, he would be very excited with the film. He would come thoroughly prepared. I never saw him lose his temper.

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Cover Story

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INDIA IN NEW YORK DECEMBER 19, 2014

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SATISH SHAH

1,000 WEEKS AND COUNTING

On DDLJ completing 1,000 weeks It’s a great moment. I am proud to be a part of history in Indian cinema. Working in DDLJ has been one of the best moments in my career.

How he became a part of DDLJ In those days, I was doing a television series called Filmy Chakkar. Someone from the production team at Yash Raj Films visited me on the sets, and told me that Yash Chopra’s son Aditya was making his first film and he wanted to cast me.

I met Adi (Aditya Chopra) a couple of days later, settled my remuneration and I became a part of DDLJ. Working with Aditya Chopra I always treated Adi as a younger brother. He is very shy, but during the shooting, he was very enthusiastic. He had that ‘can do’ attitude in him.

He had planned the film accurately. He knew exactly what he wanted from his actors. At the same time, he accepted people’s opinions. There were times when I would guide him. I improvised a lot and he let me.

There is a scene in the film where Amrishji (Puri) and I are playing chess. Shah Rukh Khan comes in and helps Amrishji with a winning move. So I say, ‘You are not only genius, but indigenous.’

This was improvised by me.

While shooting, I had realized that Adi had worked really hard on the script and it showed when the film was made. Even today, Satish Shah played the role of Kuljeet’s father. after 20 years, people go I had seen Kajol as a little girl. Her mother Tanuja is still and watch the film in theatre and on some days, it is a good friend of mine. houseful.

Why DDLJ is relevant even today Shooting DDLJ DDLJ had a great story and some beautiful songs. The I had predicted that DDLJ would become a superhit. dialogues have become iconic. Every time you watch the We were shooting for Mehdni Laga Ke Rakhna and I film, you discover something new. Also, Adi got the perwent up to Yashji and told him ‘A year ago, I was shooting fect cast. I don’t think you can replace anyone in the film. for Hum Aapke Hai Koun...! in the same studio and that film went on to become a big hit. I’m getting the same vibe with DDLJ.’ MANDIRA BEDI Yashji did not agree with me.

On DDLJ completing 1,000 weeks DDLJ was among the last few films to have a grand preWhen I look back at the movie, I sometimes laugh at mier. It happened at New Excelsior theatre in South myself. My role was so small. In today’s times, it looks like Mumbai. It was a star-studded affair and we got a thunderous applause. After the film, Yashji told me, ‘Yaar tu toh bhagFilmmaker Karan Johar, who counts a waan hai. Shooting ke time bata diya tha ki yeh film superhit hone wali hai.’ cameo in the film among other contributions (You are god. You had predicted that the to it, helped Mandira Bedi prepare for the film will become a superhit during the song Mehendi Laga Ke Rakhna. shooting) and he gave me a tight hug.

Yashji was a very friendly person. He was such a successful filmmaker, but still very humble. Pamelaji (Pamela Chopra, Yash Chopra’s wife) took care of us. It felt like a small family.

I got a lot of offers post-DDLJ... I was already an established actor but DDLJ added another feather in my cap.

Shah Rukh Khan and I had done many films together before DDLJ, so we had a comfort level. That helped during our scenes in the film.

a blink-and-miss kind of a role. (laughs). But it was an honour to be a part of DDLJ. How she became a part of DDLJ I had completed two months of working on the show Shanti, the first daily soap on Indian television. The series created a stir and my character of a fierce and upright woman was appreciated.

My parents had moved to Delhi and I was staying with relatives in South Mumbai.

One day, I got a call from Karan Johar. We knew him well, through family connections. He told me that my character Shanti had become very popular, and that Yash Chopra’s son Aditya would like me to play a small role in his film. He told me the film was starring Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol, and my character was a young girl who falls in love with Shah Rukh.

Growing up, I was never into Hindi films but I knew Yash Chopra and his beautiful films. So, I agreed to be a part of DDLJ. Working with the Chopras Working with the Chopras was fantastic. It was like a family set-up.

Everyone was given equal importance on the sets. If there was a vanity van for Shah Rukh, there would be an equally beautiful van for me.

Food was very important on the sets (laughs), and we were fed the best.

Working with Kajol and Shah Rukh Khan I had always heard that Kajol was a firebrand. I had been warned against her. It was also said that two actresses cannot be friends. But Kajol turned out to be so friendly and indulgent. We share a great bond even today. When I launched my line of saris, she bought some of them.

DDLJ was my debut movie, and Shah Rukh made me feel so special.

There is a scene in the film where we are playing antakshari and I have to feel shy because Shah Rukh holds my hand by mistake, as he thinks Kajol is sitting next to him.

It was so difficult, and I told Adi that.

Shah Rukh had to practise the scene so many times so that I could get my expressions right (laughs).

Shooting DDLJ Shooting for Mehndi laga ke rakhna was a nightmare because that was the first thing that I shot for the movie. I am a typical South Mumbai girl and I didn’t know how to do latkas and thumkas. Whenever I would dance, I would shake my shoulders, not my hips (laughs).

I am sure our choreographer Saroj Khan must have looked at me as a gone case (a colloquialism for lost cause)!

I shot for 20 days and that was the most nervous time in my life. Karan helped me rehearse those moves. One afternoon, he called me home for lunch and taught me how to shake my hips.

Why DDLJ is relevant even today DDLJ has all the right ingredients to make it relevant today. It was a complete package. I don’t think a film like DDLJ will look outdated for another 1,000 weeks.

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Aseem in New York INDIA IN NEW YORK DECEMBER 19, 2014

As the year ends…

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s the year ends, Hollywood studios release what they consider their best work with the hope that those films will stay fresh in the minds of critics and members of various guilds and associations connected with the industry. This past week I watched two films that have lot of hopes riding on them during this award season.

But the first film, Paul Thomas Anderson’s Inherent Vice, did not work for me. I watched it at the Museum of Modern Art, part of The Contenders series. The film, based on a novel by Thomas Pynchon, is set in California in the 1970s when drug use was rampant and people continued with their daily lives often under the influence of the banned substance.

Part detective story, part spoof, Inherent Vice just does not get a perfect note.

While some people in the audience were laughing, most kept quiet through the screening and there were also a few walkouts, which is always the sign of how the film is working.

Over the weekend I also watched Mexican filmmaker Alejandro González Iñárritu’s delightful and innovative black comedy Birdman or (The Unexpected

Virtue of Ignorance). I saw the film earlier at the Zurich Film Festival, but it is so good and rich that one can watch it a couple of times without losing interest.

On the surface Birdman is about a fading actor who once played a superhero in the film series called Birdman. Now he is trying to find the actor in himself and reviving his sagging acting career by performing in a Broadway play.

Birdman is not just about actors, but it explores all our insecurities whether at work, with colleague, as well as in our personal relationships.

The film is beautifully shot by Emmanuel Lubeski, who won the Oscar last year for his work on Gravity.

Birdman has very strong chances of pulling a number of Oscars, but it will be criminal is Lubeski is not give the golden statuette for his fluid and mysterious camerawork in the film.

PARESH GANDHI

A scene from Birdman.

Aasif Mandvi at the launch of his book.

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Sautéed Rice at Republic.

ast week while eating at one of my favorite restaurants in New York City, Republic, I discovered a new dish. It is called Sautéed Rice, but the dish is made up of broken rice (it is exactly that — rice broken into smaller pieces), sautéed with Thai sausage, eggs and a mix of vegetables.

As with most dishes at Republic, this one has a wonderful unique taste. While the dish has a strong East Asian flavor, it can also be referred to as nouvelle cuisine, because of the way it is presented.

I do not think this simple, yet delicious dish is available in any other East Asian eatery in New York City.

ASEEM CHHABRA

he holiday season is upon us and last weekend was a busy one with many desi New Yorkers hosting different parties. The most exciting of all was the annual holiday party organized by the South Asian Journalists Association.

As in the past, the party started with the general meeting of members, where they learned about the state of the organization as well as the names of newly elected board members. But this year the holiday party had a special guest and perhaps that is what counted for a strong turnout at Southern Hospitality, a bar plus restaurant located in the Hell’s Kitchen section of Manhattan.

The headliner was actor-writer Aasif Mandvi, who has a book out, No Land’s Man, a collection of personal essays, all very funny and reflecting on his life and that of other Indian Americans.

After a brief introduction by SAJA founder and board member Sree Sreenivasan, Mandvi read two hilarious passages from the book. The first goes back to the time when Mandvi was young, and he and his sister were shocked to learn that the former Indian Prime Minister Morarji Desai would drink his own urine. Years later, Mandvi’s father played a prank on his daughter pretending to be drinking his urine.

The second section is about the time when Mandvi interviewed for the Senior Muslim Correspondent position on Jon Stewart’s Daily Show. In the piece Mandvi describes his interview with Stewart and how he got the assignment, but also his parent’s one big concern. They knew that Mandvi was not a practicing Muslim and did not know much about his religion. So, Mandvi’s father gave one advice to his son. In case Stewart ever asked him about Islam, Mandvi should just refer him to his mother.

Special

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INDIA IN NEW YORK DECEMBER 19, 2014

‘I WAS NEVER WORRIED IF THERE WOULD BE ENOUGH ASIAN ROLES FOR ME IN AMERICA’

Nilanjana Bose and Ian Saint-Germain.

Did you always wanted to be on a stage?

For quite some time while growing up in Kolkata, I thought I would be a classical dancer. I am trained in Manipuri. But I am also passionate about history. So, I went to St Stephens in Delhi, which also has an excellent theater. As I continued working in college plays, I began to think of full time theater.

What was your parents’ reaction to this?

I grew up in a family where we were encouraged to decide our careers. My father is Mr Tea. He been in the industry for much of his life and has also been a tea-taster. My mother Anindita Bose is a school teacher who loved painting. In recent years, she has been exhibiting her work and selling it, too. My brother is an architect.

But one thing my parents wanted, and I did not disagree, I should first have another degree.

Why did you decide on being trained as an artist in New York?

I knew I had a talent for the stage but I was all raw. As a dancer, I had been trained in the Eastern tradition, and now I wanted to be trained as an actress in the Western tradition.

And you know, how well known Julliard is.

I was never worried if there would be enough Asian roles for me in America. I knew I could play any challenging part.

What was the Julliard selection process like?

I had to be in New York for an interview and audition. This was just around the time of my finals. I was afraid I would not be allowed to take the exams. Yet I came to New York, spent about a month here, and then flew back. I was allowed to write the exams.

I also met Mahira Kakkar (another Kolkataraised, New York-based actress) who was incredibly kind to me and helped me navigate my way through the application process.

What do you like the best among the several roles you have in Tamburlaine?

It is a small role, but it is also an important story in this classic production. It is intense.

Imagine you have to go through this eight times a week, when you have to kill your own son. I fell in love with this role immediately after I had read the stage script.

Olympia, my character, has to make extreme choices. She remains her own person even into her death. She invents a reason to be killed by the man who wants to possess her.

He comes to know of the trick she is playing.

Yet he goes through it. Setting her ‘free,’ he realizes is the only way he could own her — at least symbolically.

Michael Boyd, the Tamburlaine director, is one of the most distinguished names in theater.

What was his advice to you on this production?

He believes in the written material and trusts his artists. His one big suggestion was to make sure that my part will not be swallowed in sentimentality.

What is next for you?

I will be on the West Coast in the production of (Pulitzer finalist) Rajiv Joseph’s Lake Effect set in a shuttered Indian restaurant, where the owner’s grown-up children have to deal with the legacy of the family business, their father’s mysterious bookie, and their own complicated lives. I play the estranged daughter.

A very challenging role and I am looking forward to it.

A captivating 3 hours

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play about foolish rulers and their bloodthirsty conqueror first staged some 427 years ago in England continues to mesmerize New York audience in a rare revival. One of the best reviewed shows this year, Christopher Marlowe’s Tamburlaine, Parts I and II , is playing through January 4.

Dominated by a gut-churning and soul-stabbing performance by John Douglas Thompson as a ruler who has conquered half the world and is planning to loot India, the bloody and captivating three-and-half-hour long show (it takes a half an hour to swab up the stage during intermission) has moments of great sadness.

Like when Tamburlaine loses his wife to sickness he is so devastated that he cannot bring himself to bury her; he has her embalmed and takes her with him on his bloody conquests.

Despite the length, long dialogues and many subplots, director Michael Boyd, a huge name in classical theater in England but relatively less famous here, keeps the proceedings engaging with the superb performances he coaxes from his artists.

GERRY GOODSTEIN

GERRY GOODSTEIN

After a Saturday matinee, Nilanjana Bose-Ciupinska chats with Arthur J Pais about Julliard and the stage

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ilanjana Bose-Ciupinska may only have a few minutes in the acclaimed offBroadway hit Tamburlaine by Christopher Marlowe, but this up and coming artist turns her role of a mother who has to kill her son to save the family honor into a memorable show.

The Julliard School alumna, who is developing the script for a thriller with her musician husband, involving a piano, a piano tuner and the woman who sells the musical instrument, meets India in New York after a Saturday matinee at the Polonsky Shakespeare Center in Brooklyn following a standing room only performance.

Actors Merritt Janson and John Douglas Thompson.

Director Michael Boyd

The performance that stands above any one else’s comes from Thompson, who can rival the greatest of classical British artists, including Laurence Olivier. He is particularly smashing when in his agony-soaked voice as Tamburlaine he orders his men, following his wife’s death, ‘wound the earth, that it may cleave in twain.’

Enacted on an open stage with actors making eye

contact with the audience and enacting some parts standing close to the viewers, there is hardly a dull or distracting moment here.

The play is set in an imaginary world in the 16th century but its stories of lust for power, its betrayals, its terrible choices, and the sacrifices some of its characters resonate well with our age.

COURTESY: MICHAEL BOYD

Bollywood

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INDIA IN NEW YORK DECEMBER 19, 2014

The first time we saw Aamir Khan on a big screen, it was as a baby in Yaadon Ki Baarat, 41 years ago. He has since starred in some truly excellent films as well as some total turkeys, but it’s been a career enough to celebrate. As his latest, PK, hits theatres this week, critic Raja Sen lists his favorite performances by the actor 1. Rangeela

There is a lot to be said for a man who can pull off a canary yellow suit. Aamir, stuffed to the gills with street-smart panache, comes off nearly invincible as Munna, the ticket-hawker, but remains irresistibly childlike when it comes to asking a girl out. He starts off playing the character for laughs, but by the time the romantic stakes are raised, he is giving us all lumps in the throat. This is the ideal Aamir performance: A highly balanced, pitch-perfect one where he doesn’t miss a beat — as well as a sprightly, evocative one where he comes across as strikingly unselfconscious.

2. Dil Hai Ki Manta Nahin

The deck is stacked against Aamir’s character in this staunchly loyal It Happened One Night remake. He’s a scavenger, he’s out to exploit a plucky princess-type, he’s excessively self-important, and he has a name far too undashingly square for a hero. Yet Aamir — as the eternally amused Raghu Jaitley — blasts the princess and us, the audience, with an overwhelming charm offensive right from the get go, and it’s hard not to be taken in. This is old-school raffishness, and he plays it smooth as silk.

This one’s for you, Aamir

3. Dil Chahta Hai

It’s always special when a character nails the vibe so right that we want him around in our own lives. The thing about Aamir’s character in Farhan Akhtar’s industry-rejuvenating debut was that we have friends like Akash, we want friends like Akash, we’re driven up the wall by friends like Akash, we can’t do without friends like Akash. The character Aamir brought alive — a rascal with a spot for a beard, a penchant for trouble and a very big laugh — is a hoot.

4. Andaz Apna Apna

Amar sits across from a girl named Raveena while commenting smugly on his friend Prem, and what he believes is his drunken dementia. The girl breaks to him the news that she isn’t Raveena, the heiress, and that Prem, hysterical with joy outside their window, has bagged the said millionaire girl. As a suddenly aware Amar, Aamir’s eyes droop before his insistent smile can, following which he convulses unsubtly into giant sobs. It’s genius. And that’s just one great Amar moment in Andaz Apna Apna; there are hundreds.

5. Lagaan

It’s the kind of movie that makes you remember when and

Special Mention: Dhobi Ghat

There is a significant caveat to this unique performance. Aamir is visibly uncomfortable acting in English, so his dialogues sound clunky and jarring.

And yet — in a wordless scene where he almost sees a ghost — panic and revulsion are writ so deep on Khan’s face that he gives us a truly pure movie moment.

where you first watched it. Lagaan is the one cricket movie that dug deep into our hearts — hearts conditioned to root for an underdog team — and struck gold. Aamir has a motley crew of too-quirky characters and some cartoonishly exaggerated ones around him, but his Bhuvan — who grounds the film — makes for a terrific rabble-rouser and a truly inspiring captain.

6. Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar

Watching Mansoor Khan’s boarding school bicycle-race film today is as much fun as it was when it came out over two decades ago, and this is mostly because of just how good Aamir is, so spontaneous, and with such an infectiously gleeful energy. His Sanjaylal Sharma is an absolute scamp, a no-good wastrel but one delightful enough to hold the focus of the world around him.

7. Raakh

One of his earliest and most intense roles came in this lesserseen Aditya Bhattacharya film where he plays a tightly wound young man, who unraveled like a yo-yo. Aamir hasn’t often played fury very realistically, and this morally grey part allowed him to really tap into a darker, lesser-seen side — something he does to frighteningly good effect in the film. He’s great on the edge.

8. Rang De Basanti

Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra’s much-celebrated 2006 smash saw Aamir play one of the packs instead of the absolute front man, the star blending into an ensemble and letting every player have his part, including handing the climax to another actor. Each actor does well, but it’s Aamir’s DJ who wins us over from the start, irrepressible and bouncy and full of reckless energy, wearing his heart on his rolled-up sleeve.

9. Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak Aamir’s rightfully celebrated debut as a leading man, this Mansoor Khan film, in many ways, set the mould for the modern Indian hero when it came out in 1988. He’s charming and chocolaty and freshfaced and breezy; more boy than man and that’s what made him so vibrant, so relatable.

Aamir carries this Romeo role off with a seemingly unrehearsed, natural ease, quite a wonder for a first-time hero.

10. Sarfarosh

Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak

The primary reason we look back at John Mathew Mathan’s movie with fondness is because of Aamir’s unflinchingly solid cop act that runs through the movie, forming its unbending spine. Much is wayward around him — Sonali Bendre is a pest and Naseeruddin Shah hams it up real large — but Aamir’s Ajay Singh Rathod stays consistent and gritty enough to hold the film together.

Bollywood INDIA IN NEW YORK DECEMBER 19, 2014

Dilip Kumar is back home

Wedding season it is

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egendary actor Dilip Kumar was discharged from hospital, December 11, the day he turned 92.

Kumar, as he stepped out of the hospital, was greeted by anxious fans who had come to enquire about his health and wish him.

The veteran actor was admitted for a chest infection and was later diagnosed with bronchopneumonia.

Dilip Kumar leaves the hospital with his wife Saira Banu.

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elevision actress Akanksha Singh, right, who rose to fame with Na Bole Tum Na Maine Kuch Kaha, tied the knot in Jaipur with Kunal Sain, a marketing professional.

The couple got hitched in a traditional Marwari ceremony, December 7. Singh had known her husband for the last six years.

They had gotten engaged in July, 2013.

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ctress Purbi Joshi, above, married her longtime beau Valentino Fehlmenn December 6 in a traditional Gujarati ceremony.

ABHIJIT MHAMUNKAR

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eteran actor Dharmendra, who is currently shooting for Second Hand Husband in Punjab, celebrated his 79th birthday on the sets, December 8.

The cast and crew of the film reportedly surprised him with a birthday cake.

While the film’s crew also organized a birthday dinner for the veteran later in the day, a bigger party is reportedly planned for when he returns to Mumbai.

A working birthday for Dharmendra

Salman, India’s richest celebrity

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Director Smeep Kang, Geeta Basra, actor Gippy Grewal, Dharmendra and Govinda's daughter Narmada Ahuja, who’s making her acting debut.

orbes India magazine’s list of 100 richest Indian celebrities for the year 2014 is out and it’s gone through a major overhaul.

Kick star Salman Khan trumps his rival Khans and Big B to make it to the top spot, with Rs 2.445 billion ($39.11 million) in earnings.

The 48-year-old actor grabbed the number one position both in terms of revenues and fame.

He was followed by actors Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan, cricketer M S Dhoni and Akshay Kumar.

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Bollywood

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INDIA IN NEW YORK DECEMBER 19, 2014

ALL THAT GLITTERS

Fashion designer Manish Malhotra had his Bollywood friends in attendance for his niece Riddhi’s sangeet over the weekend. Seen here with filmmaker and bride’s brother Punit Malhotra, extreme right; the bride-to-be and her groom Tejas Talwalkar.

Actor Siddharth Malhotra arrives.

Filmmaker Farah Khan, left, with filmmaker Karan Johar and his mother Hiroo.

Actors Shabana Azmi,left, and Urmila Matondkar, right.

From left, musician Karsh Kale, (right, with a guest), filmmaker Kiran Rao, musician Hard Kaur and fashion designer Narendra Kumar at the Johnnie Walker’s Festival, The journey, December 13.

The one-day festival featured renowned musicians, an international theatre production, a debut film screening, idea-sharing sessions and workshops.

PHOTOGRAPHS: PRADEEP BHANDEKAR

PHOTOGRAPHS: PRADEEP BHANDEKAR

A PEEK INTO THE WEEK’S GLITZIEST TINSEL TOWN EVENTS

Actor Jitendra, on a happy note.

Bollywood INDIA IN NEW YORK DECEMBER 19, 2014

ALL THAT GLITTERS

PHOTOGRAPHS: PRADEEP BHANDEKAR

Snapshots from the Sansui Colors Stardust awards in Mumbai, December 14. Clockwise, Neha Dhupia, Shah Rukh Khan, Dia Mirza, Tabu, Sonam Kapoor, Asha Parekh, Deepika Padukone and Amitabh Bachchan.

A PEEK INTO THE WEEK’S GLITZIEST TINSEL TOWN EVENTS

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16

Food INDIA IN NEW YORK DECEMBER 19, 2014

The taste of the season Chocolate Chip Cookies

INGREDIENTS 2½ cup all purpose flour 1 tsp baking powder 1 tsp baking soda 1 tsp salt ½ cup unsalted butter 1½ cup castor sugar (half of the sugar can be replaced with brown sugar) 50g chocolate chips 2 eggs ½ tsp vanilla essence

Get into the Christmas mood with these desserts

For the topping ½ cup whole wheat flour ¼ cup white sugar, granulated ¼ cup light brown sugar, granulated 1/3 cup cooking oats 1/3 cup walnuts, chopped 6 tbsp butter, unsalted cut into pieces 1/8 tsp salt 1 tsp cinnamon

METHOD Mix all the dry ingredients — all purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a bowl.

Take another bowl, add butter (at room temperature) and sugar powder and start beating to get a fluffy creamy mixture. Add one egg, beat it well. Add another egg and vanilla essence. Beat it well to get the wet mixture done.

Mix dry ingredients with the wet ingredients. Don’t add entire flour at a time but add the flour in three parts and mix with the wet ingredients using cut and fold method.

Add choco chips to the mix. The end product should be a semi-soft cookie dough.

Cover the dough using a cling film and transfer it to a refrigerator for 2-3 hours.

Pre-heat the oven in 180ºC for 10 minutes. Take the dough out of the refrigerator and make small 1.5” rounds out of it. Place them on a baking tray and bake for around 10-12 minutes. There should be a gap of 3” between the cookies. Do check after eight minutes. Take the cookies out in a wire rack and give a standing time of 10 minutes.

— Debjani Chatterjee

Crispy Apple Crumble INGREDIENTS For the filling 4-5 apples 3 tbsp sugar 1 tbsp lemon juice 1 tsp lemon zest

METHOD Pre heat oven at 190ºC and place the rack in the center of the oven. Butter a nine-inch deep dish pie plate or 8x8 inch baking dish.

Peal the apples and cut them into almost 1 inch bite size chunks. In a large bowl, place the chopped apples, lemon zest and sugar, mix well. Transfer the apple mix into the prepared baking dish and keep aside until we prepare the topping.

Place all the ingredients (flour, oats, butter, sugar, spices, salt and nuts) in a food processor and pulse for a minute or two, until it resembles a coarse meal or is crumbly. If you’re using your hand, ensure that there are no large chunks of butter.

Remove the topping from the food processor, carefully spread the crumble topping over the apple chunks, ensuring that the apples are well covered. Don’t press it hard, just layer it.

Once the apples are layered with the crumble, place it in a pre-heated and let it bake for 35 to 40 minutes. The crumble top should look crispy with a nice golden color.

Remove from oven and let it cool on the wire rack for 30 minutes as the mixture will be super hot. Serve it warm the way it is or you could enjoy it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

— Preti Aslam

Brown Rice Kheer

INGREDIENTS ¼ cup brown rice ½ cup jaggery or gud, grated or powdered

500 ml full cream milk ¼ tsp cardamom powder A few cashew nuts and raisins 2 tbsp ghee METHOD Soak brown rice with enough water for an hour. Drain the water and keep the rice aside. Heat milk and rice on medium heat in a pan or vessel.

Cook on low to medium till the rice is fully cooked and milk gets reduced a little. Keep stirring in between to avoid burning of rice. Add gud and cardamom powder and mix well. Cook for a minute and switch off the flame.

Heat ghee in a pan. Roast cashews till golden brown.

Keep aside. Add raisins and stir fry till they pop up. Add cashews and raisins to the Kheer and combine together.

— Charulatha Rao

Oats Ladoo

INGREDIENTS 1 cup oats 1 cup coconut, freshly grated 3/4 cup jaggery or gud, powdered 2 tbsp ghee 2 tbsp dried nuts powder (almonds and cashew nuts) ¼ tsp cardamom powder

METHOD Heat a pan. Dry roast the oats for 2 to 3 minutes till it changes to light brown.

Finely grind the above in a mixer and keep aside. Heat another pan on low. Add powdered gud to the pan and 2 tbsp water. Once gud has completely melted, add grated coconut and keep stirring on a low flame till the coconut is fully absorbed by gud.

When the mixture begins to leave the sides of the pan and tends to become slightly thicker, switch off. Add roasted oats powder, cardamom powder and nuts powder and mix well. Allow it to cool down.

When the oats mixture is still warm, grease your palms with ghee and shape the Ladoos.

— Charulatha Rao

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India in New York December 19, 2014

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The Week That Was INDIA IN NEW YORK DECEMBER 19, 2014

Pro-ISIS Twitter handle operator arrested in Bengaluru Mehdi Masroor Biswas, a Bengaluru-based engineer who Britain’s Channel 4 News last week reported as the one operating the Islamic State’s Twitter handle @ShamiWitness, was arrested December 13. Biswas admitted to operating the account for years and was sent to five-day custody, the police said.

India’s Human Resource Development Minister Smriti Irani found herself in the eye of another controversy last week after The Times of India reported that her ministry had asked federal government-run schools to conduct programs commemorating Good Governance Day on December 25, in honor of former Indian prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and freedom fighter and Hindu Mahasabha founder Madan Mohan Malviya. After outrage at the Christmas holiday being canned for children, the minister declared that the report was wrong and that only a voluntary online essay contest was being planned. The newspaper pointed out that the ministry circular to schools had mentioned one-act plays and declamation contests, which cannot be conducted online. The government circulars — which found their way into social media — also asked schools to encourage participation, and submit video evidence of the programs being conducted.

Tamil Nadu schoolgirl raped, murdered A Class VI student was found raped and murdered in Tamil Nadu’s Vellore district, December 16. The girl was missing after school December 15, and her body was found in a mango orchard with hands and legs tied.

Supreme Court rejects Italian marines’ plea India’s Supreme Court December 16 rejected Italian marine Massimilano Latorre’s plea to extend his stay in Italy by two months to undergo heart surgery, and also denied permission to Latorre’s fellow marine and Salvattore Girone to travel to Italy. The two are alleged to have killed two Indian fishermen from onboard the Italian ship Enrica Lexie, February 15, 2012. In August this year, Latorre had suffered a brain stroke and was allowed by the court to travel to Italy for four months.

India ranked third on illicit money list: Report With an estimated $94.76 billion illicit wealth outflows in 2012, India has been ranked third globally in the black money list, per the Washington-based research and advocacy group Global Financial Integrity. Russia tops the list with $122.86 billion, followed by China with $249.57.

Over a ten-year period from 2003 to 2012, the black

US may include Gujarati in visa process The United States may include Gujarati in its visa procedure, Cheryl Collins, an American vice consul in India, was quoted as saying last week.

‘We have included several regional languages of India in our visa procedure and would consider to include Gujarati too if required,’ Collins said.

PRESS INFORMATION BUREAU

Education minister’s flip-flop on Christmas

Modi, Putin promise to remove trade hurdles

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, left, with Russian President Vladimir Putin in New Delhi, December 11. On right is Bollywood actor Sonam Kapoor.

Visiting Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra last week pledged to take bilateral ties to a new level as both countries outlined a new vision for nuclear energy cooperation and signed 20 pacts in oil, gas, defense, investment and other key sectors.

Modi, calling Russia a ‘pillar of strength’ for India, said it would remain New Delhi’s most important defense partner. Russia will build at least 12 nuclear reactors in India by 2035 and has also agreed to manufacture advanced helicopters.

money moving out of India has risen to $439.59 billion, the group said.

Conversions rock Parliament The Uttar Pradesh police December 16 arrested Nand Kishore Balmiki in connection with the alleged forced conversion to Hinduism of 57 Muslim families from a ragpickers’ colony in Agra December 8. The conversion ceremony was organized by activists of the Bajrang Dal and Dharam Jagran Samanvyay Vibhag.

The Opposition took the government to task in Parliament over the incident, while some Bharatiya Janata Party leaders Yogi Adityanath from Uttar Pradesh vowed to continue such conversions, including in Aligarh, UP, December 25.

Coal scam: Court asks CBI to record Manmohan Singh’s statement A special court December 16 directed the Central Bureau of Investigation to record former prime minister Manmohan Singh’s statement in the coal block allocation scam and file a status report by January 27. Singh had held the coal ministry portfolio.

Meanwhile, the CBI December 12 charge sheeted former Jharkhand chief minister Madhu Koda, former state chief secretary Ashok Kumar Basu and six others in another coal block allocation case.

J&K records 49 percent polling in fourth phase Jammu and Kashmir recorded a 49 percent turnout in the fourth phase of the Assembly Election, December 14,

the lowest compared to the earlier phases. Eighteen constituencies spread over four districts of Srinagar, south Kashmir, Anantnag, Shopian and Samba went to poll at 1890 polling stations.

Meanwhile, Fourth phase polling in 15 constituencies of Jharkhand ended peacefully the same day with 61.08 percent electorate exercising their franchise.

‘Sati’ in Bihar Gahwa Devi, 70, reportedly jumped into her husband’s funeral pyre in Bihar’s Saharsa district December 13. The police said they are investigating the incident.

Maoists extort Rs 1.4 billion annually: Government Maoist guerrillas extort about Rs 1.4 billion ($22.53 million) annually, the government said in the Rajya Sabha, the upper House of India’s Parliament, December 10. Minister of State for Home Haribhai Parathibhai Chaudhary said the rebels extorted money from businessmen, contractors, government officials and coal mafia groups.

Lawmaker calls Gandhi’s killer a patriot, apologizes later Sakshi Maharaj, a Bharatiya Janata Party lawmaker from Uttar Pradesh, December 12 apologised in the Lok

PAGE 19

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The Week That Was

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INDIA IN NEW YORK DECEMBER 19, 2014

f PAGE 18 Sabha — the Lower House of India’s Parliament — for calling Mahatma Gandhi’s assasin Nathuram Godse a ‘patriot’. His statement had sparked tumult in the House a day earlier.

In his book The Dramatic Decade: The Indira Gandhi Years, Indian President Pranab Mukherjee has revealed that the then Indian prime minister was not aware of the Constitutional provisions that allowed the declaration of Emergency. Indira was led into the decision by then West Bengal chief minister Siddhartha Shankar Ray, Mukherjee wrote, who took a sharp about turn on the authorship of the Emergency before the Shah Commission that went into excesses during that period.

States, Union Territories support bill to prevent ‘honor’ killings Twenty two states and Union territories have supported a Law Commission recommendation to enact legislation to prevent ‘honor killings’. The government, however, refused to fix a timeline for the enactment of such a legislation and said the decision would be taken after ‘due consultations.’

Kerala minister booked in bar bribery scam K M Mani, Kerala’s minister for finance, was December 11 booked by the vigilance and anti-corruption bureau after a bar hotel owner alleged he had paid a bribe of Rs 1 crore ($166,666) to Mani in two installments for a liquor license.

PRESS INFORMATION BUREAU

Indira was not aware of Emergency provisions: Pranab

US Representative Tulsi Gabbard (Democrat, Hawaii), right, with Maneka Gandhi, India's minister for women and child development, in New Delhi, December 16. Gabbard, who was invited to India by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was to visit New Delhi, Goa, Bengaluru, Mumbai and Ahmedabad during her two-week trip.

Delhi high court bans sale of Xiaomi phones in India Hearing a case filed by Ericsson India against Xiaomi, the Delhi high court December 8 forbade the popular Chinese smart phone manufacturer from importing, selling and advertising its products in India that run on tech-

nology patented by Ericsson.

The Swedish firm said it had invited Xiaomi to use its patented technology by obtaining a license, but instead of doing so, Xiaomi launched its devices in India in July, violating eight patents.

The court though permitted Xiaomi to sell and import Qualcomm chipset based handsets till January 8.

Bihar orphanage head gets 10 years for sex abuse A Bihar court December 11 sentenced Praduman Kumar, head of the Lok Seva Ashram, an orphanage in Vaishali district, for sexually abusing children. Kumar, who was arrested in October 2013, was sentenced to 10 years in prison.

Painted storks disappear from Bharatpur The painted storks from the Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary in Rajasthan went missing last month, The Indian Express reported last week. More than 1,500 birds abandoned their colony, one of the largest in Asia, in the middle of their breeding season. Experts differed about the cause; while some blamed a deficient monsoon, others pointed at construction within the sanctuary, a world heritage site.

Uber cab driver Shiv Kumar Yadav, third from right, who allegedly raped a 27-year-old woman, in police custody. December 16 marked two years of the gang-rape and murder in New Delhi that rocked India.

ADNAN ABIDI/REUTERS

West Bengal Ponzi scheme: Third Trinamool leader arrested The Central Bureau of Investigation December 12 arrested West Bengal Transport Minister Madan Mitra in the Saradha scam. He is the third Trinamool Congress party leader to be arrested in the case. Before his arrest, Mitra was interrogated for nearly five hours over the post he held in the Saradha Group of Companies.

A day later, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, rejecting the demand to sack Mitra, said if image is a proof of criminal conspiracy, then the prime minister should also be arrested for Sahara scam.

20

Sports INDIA IN NEW YORK DECEMBER 19, 2014

Lyon roars as Australia script thrilling victory O Virat Kohli celebrates on completing his century on Day 5 of the first Test at the Adelaide Oval, December 13. He became the second skipper after Greg Chappell to post a ton in each innings of a Test on captaincy debut.

Voices

PHOTOGRAPHS: SCOTT BARBOUR/GETTY IMAGES

‘A captain’s attitude actually rubs on to his team and Kohli was always looking to win the Test. But sometimes you need to bring a balance to it. Having said that, the positive attitude was a happy feeling and, hopefully, with time there will be a balance to it.’

—Maninder Singh, former Indian cricketer ‘I think Kohli did the right thing in chasing the target. We were doing well, the batsmen were playing good cricket but we lost crucial wickets and it put us on the back foot. But I think it also exposed Australia’s bowling attack.’

—Mohammad Azharuddin, former Indian captain

Nathan Lyon after dismissing Ishant Sharma.

‘There’s no doubt that M S Dhoni has passed his use-by-date as a Test captain, and this seems the perfect time to elevate Kohli to fulltime Test captaincy.’

—Ian Chappell, former Australia captain

ff-spinner Nathan Lyon claimed seven wickets (7-152) as Australia beat India by 48 runs in the first Test at the Adelaide Oval, December 15. Lyon scripted the home side’s revival in the third session, scalping all his wickets after tea.

After declaring their innings at the overnight score of 290 for 5, the Aussies dismissed India, chasing 364 for victory, for 315.

India’s stand-in captain Virat Kohli’s (141) fighting century went in vain as the middle and lower-order batsmen failed to fire and collapsed like a deck of cards.

Opener Murali Vijay (99) was the only batsman who batted commendably and, along with Kohli, put on a substantial partnership.

Earlier, in the morning session, Shikhar Dhawan (9) and Vijay took guard as India chased victory on the fifth day.

But Dhawan’s stay at the crease was cut short because of a dubious decision. He was wrongly given out in the fifth over as a short delivery from Johnson struck his shoulder on its way to the keeper.

At the other end, Vijay was lucky to survive a close leg before wicket decision off Lyon.

Number 3 batsman Cheteshwar Pujara (21 runs off 38 balls) looked uncomfortable against Lyon, and became the spinner’s first victim of the day when he was caught behind by Brad Haddin.

Then began the long fight for victory, with Kohli and Vijay playing gamely. The two batsmen brought up the 100-run mark in the 31st over.

Vijay gave the Aussies one chance before the tea-break, but Mitchell Marsh failed to latch on to a catch off Johnson.

The batsman was on 85 then but closed up again to avoid any more danger before the final session, bringing up the 200run mark in the 60th over.

Australia suffered a setback a little before that when captain Michael Clarke limped off the field.

The captain suffered a hamstring strain after reaching down to field a ball in the second session.

Clarke, who was also battling back spasms, went down in the 44th over of India’s second innings, clutching his right hamstring. He was taken to hospital for scans after that and walked with a limp after returning to the ground.

The last session began with Kohli and Vijay raising visions of an Indian win. They carried on from where they left off before the break, attacking the Lyon and playing cautiously against the pacers.

While Kohli kept the scoreboard ticking, Vijay played with thought. They got the momentum India’s way as the overs progressed.

In the 69th over of the innings, Kohli reached his eighth Test hundred off 135 balls.

More celebrations were anticipated in the next over as Vijay was a solitary run away from an immaculate and richly-deserved hundred; but it was not to be.

He went for a back-foot flick but missed the ball completely and was out LBW. Kohli scored his 99 runs off 234 balls, hitting 10 fours and two sixes.

That opened the floodgates as India lost their last eight wickets for 73 runs. Ajinkya Rahane (0) was given out wrongly, caught at short leg; replays showed there was no bat involved.

Rohit Sharma (6) looked clumsy and after playing a few sweep shots against Lyon was caught brilliantly at backward short leg by David Warner as the ball looped off his glove.

Wriddhiman Saha (13) hit a couple of lusty blows but went too far against Lyon, as one turned in sharply from the rough, and was bowled through the gate.

Thereafter, Kohli tried to shoulder the innings and get India across the finish line, but even as Australia delayed the new ball, he went after Lyon for a big hit and was caught in the deep, not believing for some time that he was dismissed.

Mohammad Shami (5), Ishant Sharma (1) and Varun Aaron (1) had no answers to the hosts’ push for victory thereafter and folded up without much fight.

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Sports INDIA IN NEW YORK DECEMBER 19, 2014

J

ammu and Kashmir continued their rapid rise in domestic cricket, notching a stunning four-wicket victory over 40-time champions Mumbai, with more than a session to spare, in their Group A Ranji Trophy opener at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, December 10.

Chasing a modest target of 237, and resuming on their overnight score of 58 for 1, J&K kept their composure despite losing five more wickets to reach the target 73 minutes after lunch on the fourth and final day of the match.

The visitors lost overnight unbeaten batsman Bandeep Singh quite early, but then were aided by small partnerships that steered them home.

First innings centurion Shubhum Khajuria scored 78 in 227 minutes before he was fourth out, when the side needed 66 more runs for victory.

He added 52 runs with Ian Chauhan (30) off 175 balls for the third wicket to set the side on way to the target.

Later, Khajuria put on 53 invaluable runs with his captain, Parveez Rasool (32), off 63 balls for the fourth wicket to bring J&K closer to the target.

Both departed at the same score of 171, but Hardeep Singh (41 not out) guided the team to the target, adding 44 runs for the sixth wicket with Waseem Raja.

After the latter’s dismissal, Hardeep, who batted for 104 minutes and hit four fours, added 22 runs for the unconquered seventh-wicket with wicketkeeper Obaid Haroon (9 not out) to dash Mumbai’s hopes.

‘To beat Mumbai in Mumbai is a great achievement,’ Rasool

said. ‘Our graph has been rising steadily over the last two, three years, but we were told playing in the elite division is different. We have answered that question. Our morale is up after this victory.’

Asked what he told his teammates after his experiences with the India and India ‘A’ teams, Rasool replied, ‘I have told them to inculcate self-belief.’

He also praised Khajuria’s batting, saying it was ‘commendable.’

Team coach Sunil Joshi said for the first time in the last 20 years, he saw Mumbai’s batsmen ‘showing vulnerability against pace bowling.’ He ascribed the victory to ‘team effort.’

‘We did well in the one-day tournament (held before the Ranji Trophy). Our bowling is good,’ he said. ‘We need to work some more on our batting. Playing away from home will give the team more exposure.’

Former India great and former J&K coach Bishen Singh Bedi tweeted, ‘Gr8 job done J&K boys! Beating B’bay in their backyard is superb effort indeed-now keep up gud work!’Josh’ keep ‘em on their toes, don’t relax.’

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah also tweeted, ‘J&K beat Mumbai by four wickets to register a historic win in Ranji Trophy. A special moment for the J&K players. Well Done Boys.’

Brief score: Mumbai 236 & 254 lost to J&K 254 & 237 for 6 (Shubham Khajuria 78, Ian Chauhan 30, Parveez Rasool 32, Hardeep Singh not out 41, Obaid Haroon not out 9; Vishal Dabholkar 2 for 67) by four wickets.

Bowler Umar Nazir Mir, left, with a team staff.

An hour with Tendulkar

B

PHOTOGRAPHS: UMER ASIF

atting legend Sachin Tendulkar met with the victorious Jammu and Kashmir cricketers at the Wankhede stadium in Mumbai, December 11.

According to J&K team media manager Shahana Fatima, the batting legend

Sachin Tendulkar with the Jammu and Kashmir Ranji Trophy team.

Tendulkar signs an autograph for player Adil Rishi.

spent over an hour with the players and asked them to meet him at the stadium later.

‘He congratulated the team for the victory and told them not to get carried away and continue the good work,’ Shahana said.

RAJESH KARKERA

J&K upset Mumbai for historic win in Ranji Trophy

22

Sports INDIA IN NEW YORK DECEMBER 19, 2014

Kerala Blasters stun Chennaiyin in semi-finals first leg

K

erala Blasters pumped in two goals in the space of two minutes in the first session to thrash Chennaiyin FC 3-0 in the first leg of the first semi-final of the Hero Indian Super League football tournament in Kochi, December 13.

Cheered by over 60,000 crowd at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Kerala, who barely scrapped through to the semifinals as the fourth-placed team in the league phase, turned the form book into its head to outplay the Chennai side.

Ishfaq Ahmed (27th minute), captain Iain Hume (29th) and Sushanth Mathew (90+4) got the goals for Kerala, with their team co-owner and cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar watching the match at the stands.

Atletico de Kolkata spurned the golden opportunity of making best use of home advantage as they were held to a goalless draw

by FC Goa in the first-leg semi-final in Kolkata. ATK might have been down with injuries to three key players in Arnab Mondal, Biswajit Saha and Fikru Teferra, but the home team had the best chance on the day Goa too played with a fragile defense.

Ishfaq Ahmed, left, of Kerala Blasters and Denson Devadas of Chennaiyin FC fight for the ball, December 13.

T

Supreme Court defers cricket board election till January 2015

he Supreme Court December 10 deferred the Board of Control for Cricket in India elections till the end of January.

A bench, headed by Justice T S Thakur, also posed questions like should the actions of Gurunath Meiyappan and Raj Kundra lead to cancellation of Indian Premier League teams Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals.

‘We are still in the process of hearing which will take some time to conclude,’ the bench observed, while directing postponement of the BCCI’s December 17 Annual General Meeting for office-bearers’ election till January 31, 2015.

The bench, also comprising Justice F M I Kalifulla, said its decisions on several issues arising out of the IPL 6 betting and spot-fixing scam, including the conflict of interest involving BCCI president-in-exile Narayanswami Srinivasan, will take more time.

It passed the order after senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Srinivasan, said since the hearing is not likely to complete before December 17, the election for officebearers needs to be postponed, a point it agreed with.

BCCI counsel C A Sundaram said the board will have to issue notice of three weeks to hold the election. The AGM has been postponed thrice — from September 26 to November 20, then to December 17, and now till Janaury 31, 2015.

Opposing the setting up of a high-powered committee to look into the matter regarding Srinivasan’s conflict of interest and punishment to be meted out on the basis of the Mudgal committee report, Sundaram said it would affect its autonomy and any decision in this regard, if required,

must be decided by the governing body of the board.

For the first time, Srinivasan’s son-in-law, Gurunath Meiyappan, who is indicted by the Justice Mudgal Committee for betting in the IPL, took the opportunity to explain his stand. He maintained that he would not like to disclose whether he was a team official of CSK or not, as any disclosure would prejudice him in the trial court where he is facing a betting case.

‘I have a right to silence,’ his counsel Siddharth Luthra said while maintaining that Meiyappan is facing trial and that the issue whether he is a CSK official will arise there.

‘You have taken this stand after BCCI and India Cements Ltd, the owners of CSK, have accepted that you are a team official,’ the bench said. ‘Still you want to stay non-committal.’

Luthra questioned the Mudgal Committee over relying on the First Information Report lodged by the Mumbai Police and statement of witnesses recorded by the police during probe. ‘Reliance on untested material would prejudice me and my trial would become fruitless,’ he said.

Meiyappan’s refusal came after the bench made several remarks, all based on the findings of the Mudgal Committee report.

‘The Mudgal Committee in its report said you are a team official and you are now suspended,’ the bench said.

‘If you are not a team official then suspension does not matter. If you are not a team official your suspension is meaningless. You still want to enter the stadium but in what capacity?’

Rajasthan Royals’ counsel, Ashok Desai, also questioned the findings of The Mudgal Committee, saying no notice

was issued to the franchise in the matter. He submitted that Kundra was not a share owner in the franchise and 11 percent share was owned by his family members.

Kundra’s counsel, Shekhar Naphade, also raised objections over his indictment, saying the Mudgal Committee did not follow the BCCI’s rules, nor did it follow the principles of natural justice and arrived at the conclusion without issuing notice to his client. He said the committee should have given Kundra all material perused by it before giving its findings.

Senior advocate Mahesh Jethmalani, appearing for India Cements, submitted that Meiyappan’s conduct should only be treated as that of an individual’s. Merely because he is with the company like several other employees, the findings of the committee should not lead to scrapping the franchise of Chennai Super Kings, he said.

The bench told him that Meiyappan, as a team official, was abusing his position by indulging in betting.‘If he is the team official, what are the consequences and will it not lead to the cancellation of franchise’s licence?’ the bench asked, adding that ‘as an official you have to ensure that the game has to be played in true spirit.’

Jethmalani said the entire burden cannot be put on the owner of the team.

Earlier in the day, Srinivasan submitted that he will keep away from all matters in the running of IPL while pleading with it to allow him contest the BCCI’s elections.

The Supreme Court also expressed concern over cricket being hit by the betting and spot-fixing scandal. ‘Game of cricket will collapse if people’s confidence in the sport is not restored and preserved,’ it said.

23

India in New York December 19, 2014

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India in New York December 19, 2014