Kite Festival

People of North Kolkata witnessed a unique event at Star Theatre on 17 September '09- the day of Viswakarma Puja: The third edition of the annual Kite Festival organised by Priya Entertainments, the custodians of Star Theatre. Kite Festival is a tribute to North Kolkata's passion for kite-flying on Viswakarma Puja. Apart from the usual kite-flying competition, with a dash of glamour brought by the presence of celebrities (this year it hosted actress-director Sudeshna Roy, Rimjhim Mitra and model-turned-actress Tanushree Chakraborty), there was a unique exhibition of kites- Indian and Chinese, with documentation of the world history of kite-flying. Mr Aloke Chatterjee, ex-Art Director, O&M and an expert of kites helped with the content and released his fun book on kites.

The strike strikes unexpectedly

The first bit of news about today's BJP-sponsored state strike that reached me was that a bus had been torched at Kestopur (the next bus stop to Baguiati, my home stop), buses were hardly visible on VIP Rd and some shops had been damaged by strike supporters. It followed with a news of damaging a private car at Baguiati junction. Apprehensive, it was a little late for me to go out to work.

The busy Baguiati junction (the busiest on VIP Rd) wore an absolutely unusual look- no buses (just saw one overcrowded mini bus of Airport-Jadabpur route in about 30 minutes apart from empty chartered buses refusing to entertain anybody attempting to stop and board them), hundreds of people in the middle of VIP Rd, police personnel and police vehicles. People were making calls to office or business associates updating the situation and giving an estimate of possible delay in reaching the destination. What beat me was the total absence of any govt bus, while today's Ananda Bazar Patrika reported about state govt's announcement to run as many buses as possible for the people who want to make it to work.

The news that shocked me after reaching office was that some strike supporters have wrecked havoc in DLF building (the major office complex of New Town, Rajarhat) and beaten up people including employees of IBM and Vodafone for defying the bandh. What, possibly what, can give BJP and/ or other seven marginal political parties supporting the strike the courage to do so and the other acts of violence, while BJP, the biggest of them doesn't have a single legistator in the state? Did they have patronage from some unexpected and powerful 'friends' in the political circuit?

Laugh Aaj Kal

Caught the second episode of the new comedy show on Star Jalsha- Laugh Aaj Kal yesterday. This 10 pm show is one of the two new shows (the other is the celebrity talk show 123 Star) that started on September 23 to be telecast Monday-Thursday.

The show borrows heavily from the first and second versions of Mirakkel. In the first version Mir would do stand-up comedy, followed by a celeb interview. It gave way to the second version (as, apparently, Mir's stock of good jokes dangerously diminished) Mirakkel Akkel Challenger which was basically a stand-up comedy championship. Laugh Aaj Kal blends stand-up comedy by star performers of Mirakkel Akkel Challenger and other similar shows with a celeb interview by the anchor Anindya Chattopadhyay. It also has a band playing along with a comic name, called 'James Band' (Remember 'Bandage' of Mirakkel?).

The only novelty of the show is Anindya, with his brand of humour peppered in the interview. Yesterday's guest was actress Payel Sarkar. She looked glam and at ease in a purple off-shoulder dress, facing Anindya's volley of witty, humourous questions and one-liners.

The show also marks Raj Chakraborty's debut as a producer, with direction by his erstwhile assistant Abhimanyu Mukhopadhyay (who has also scripted Prem Amaar). From an experienced television director like Raj, the expectation was higher. Let's see how it goes.

The new buses- a revolution on street

The new JNNURM buses filling the huge void of private buses (after the phaseout of old buses) besides adding to the govt. bus fleet are a welcome change, no short of a mini revolution for Kolkatans familiar dealing with 'tin boxes' called private bus with uncomfortable seating, small wooden windows and more space for standing than seating (See picture 4).

In a stark contrast the JNNURM buses are big, airy, has modern, comfortable seats with more leg space, large glass windows and low footboard. And, as it should be, they have more seating space. The best part is that the govt. and private buses have similar models and the the private JNNURM buses have the same fare structure as their older counterparts.

A big 'thank you' to the Govt. of India for the new bus scheme under JNNURM. It's a bliss that possibly every Kolkatan using buses for regular commuting are embracing with open hands and craving for more.

Photos
1. A new JNNURM bus
2. Interior of a new JNNURM bus
3. An old private bus typical of Kolkata
4. Inside of an old private bus

First attempt at microblogging

My first and experimental attempt at microblogging on my blog, besides Twitter where everybody's doing it. Shall see how this works for me.

'Ekti Tarar Khoje' (the first film produced by Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury's Screenplay Films but not directed by him) shoot started. Today's was in the filmmakers' favourite heritage haunt 'Laha Bari'.

Wake up Sid- the review

Steaming, freshly brewed coffee- that's what I would like to feel about Wake up Sid. It's indeed a pleasant surprise coming from Karan Johar's stable and yet so non-conforming to the familiar Karan Johar product.

The wafer-thin plot is about Siddharth Mehra aka Sid, a carefree, happy-go-lucky college kid with no goal in life (and knows no reason for having one, thanks to his super-rich industrialist father). For him life is all about hanging out with friends, clicking photos, i-pod, parties and shopping. He crosses path with Aisha (Ayesha) Banerjee, a wannabe writer from Kolkata looking for an independent life in Mumbai. Two opposite personalities happen to get along just fine. And then Sid's journey of life takes a bumpy road forcing him to take a hard look at life. What happens to him and how Aisha helps him rediscover himself forms the rest of the story.



The treatment is realistic and very, very contemporary, the characterizations are believable (script by Ayan Mukerji), the storytelling is cool. It's definitely one coming-of-age urban flick that reminds us of Dil Chahta Hai that showed a new way of making Hindi films years back. Anil Mehta's cinematography complements the storytelling and treatment perfectly, Amrita Mahal Nakai's sets are brillant and superbly echoe the vibrance and youthfulness such a movie demands (The exterior and interior of the office of Mumbai Beat where Konkona works and her apartment, after doing up, were particularly outstanding), Niranjan Iyenger's dialogues are very 'today' and help build up the characters in the right fashion.

The background score is a fine job, and though there aren't too many songs that you possibly can take back home, 'Gunja sa koi iktara iktara' (lyrics by Javed Akhtar, music by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy) is soul-touching.

Ranbir Kapoor (Sid) and Konkona Sen Sharma (Aisha) are perfectly cast in their roles and are on top of their game. They are easily among the finest young acting talents around. Sid's mint-fresh, innocent, hard-to-miss charm couldn't possibly have been brought to life by anyone other than Ranbir. And the way Konkona has carried the female lead- a matter-of-fact, ambitious, confident and hardworking girl who wake up her confused friend Sid to life, opposite such a popular, sought-after young talent like Ranbir, this movie will serve as a very important milestone in her Bollywood career. Among others, Anupam Kher (Sid's father) and Supriya Pathak (Sid's loving mother who makes a sustained effort to speak good enough English so that she can be friends with her 'gen Y' son, despite being a school dropout) are superb. Namit Das as Rishi, Sid's nursery buddy and Shikha Talsania as Laxmi, Sid's obese college friend, are absolutely natural. Rahul Khanna is good in the small cameo of Aisha's boss. The entire gamut of actors is well cast.

Due to the thin plot, director Ayan Mukerji had a tough job on hand in telling a 2 hour-34 minute story. And the young chap, all of just 24 years, impresses with his craft in both script and direction departments. Thanks to Karan, we are gifted with another talented, young, new-age filmmaker after Abhishek Kapoor and Sagar Ballary.

The tribute to Dil Chahta Hai is evident in the storytelling, especially where Ranbir speaks one of Aamir's lines (' Usne tera khuddar ko lalkara hai. Kya karta hai yaar? Be a man.' ). But Wake up Sid is more progressive anmd braver than its inspiration in the way that it didn't have to depend on formula music. While DCH had a disco song, a dream song and a romantic song between Aamir and Preity, Wake up Sid doesn't have a single lip-synched song, though there was ample scope, and yet it never lets you miss music.

Long live new-wave Bollywood. Go for Wake up Sid folks.

Pujo images 2- Bijoya Dashami

Some picturees of the 'Sindur khela' (Playing with vermillon- women, especially married, smearing it on each other's cheeks and forheads) on this year's Dashami (the 4th and the last day of the Puja) shot by my photographer friend Abhijit Das aka Chhobiwala. The participating women look more beautiful with the dash of bright red on their faces.

The last picture is that of a television actress Rajonya.

The living legend is honoured

He famously replaced Hemanta Mukherjee's voice on Uttam Kumar's lips at the later part of the superstar's career. He amazingly blended his training in classical music with winning melodies. He shuttled between Mumbai and Kolkata to lend his voice in Hindi and Bengali movies and made it to the top at both places. His 'Jibone ki pabo na' can still rock any party and recently got remade by the no. 1 music director in Bengali cinema and made the current heratthrob dance to it. His evergreen hits still encapsulate Hindi films to reality shows to TV commercial of India's no. 1 mobile service provider featuring a top celeb couple.

Mohd. Rafi once confessed as people love to hear his songs, 'he' was his personal favourite, Sachin Dev Barman, who he was a favourite of, thought of him only everytime he had a difficult song on hand, famous composer Anil Biswas firmly believed he could sing any song of Mohd. Rafi, Talat Mahmood, Mukesh and Kishore Kumar but so wouldn't be true the other way round.

Manna De's receiving the Dada Saheb Phalke Award this year has surely delighted every Indian and Bengali in specific, this blogger included. His songs mesmerizes generation after generation. The only hitch is it is pretty late to do this honour to an achiever of his stature, who's still performing all over the globe at the age of ninety.

Pujo images

Top to bottom:
1. The Yuba Brinda Puja at Chiria More, Barrackpore
2. The Nityananda Byayamagar Puja, Barrackpore
3. The 'Hara Hal' Puja in Anandapuri, Barrackpore
4. An apartment Puja in 'Ganja Gali' (Shahid Mangal Panday Sarani), Barrackpore
5. A Puja near Telengabagan, North Kolkata
6. The idol in the Kashi Bose Lane Puja (My favourite idol in general)
7. The Kashi Bose Lane puja pandal with glasswork all over

'Dujone' in US- a KC exclusive

Above is a picture of the US tour of the team of 'Dujone'- the first-ever Bengali movie to have commercially released in US this Puja, thanks to networking efforts during last NABC by noted distributor-exhibitor Arijit Dutta, who's also played a dreaded assassin in it. The oven-fresh picture is a Kolkata Curry exclusive- a 'Bijoya' gift for the visitors.

Dev, the hero, is seen first from left; Srabanti, the heroine, is third from left; Rajib Biswas, the director, is third from right and Arijit Dutta is first from right.

Pujo 2009

Countdown meter on top of TV screen on Bengali channels.

Shows on puja-based themes (like around goddess Durga and her sons and daughters).

The economic downturn effect...budgets of star Pujas (including those abroad) cut down...lack of sponsors.

Mad rush for shopping...no discounts on bigger brands.

Articles on this year's themes of pandals and idols. New trend: greenery themes (with painstakingly grown real green over months).

Untimely rains.....but no holding back shoppers.

Mahalaya....various actresses playing Durga on various channels..including Sandipta (on Star Jalsha) who plays a housewife named Durga in a soap on the same channel.

Outdoor advertising bounces back....hoardings at prime locations all booked.

Makeshift hoardings set up by Puja commitees dotting the roads.

Eco-friendly LED lights the new trend in many Pujas...as well as solar lights.

Finally...Maha Shasthi- the 'Bodhan' day...It's difficult to concentrate on work any more...rush of pandal-hoppers sends traffic movement haywire..with the stretch from Gariahat to Ruby Hospital taking one-and-a-half hour insted of 20 minutes (The same stretch has the superstar puja Bosepukur Shitala Mandir).

Puja awards anouncement starts.

Puja is on.....enjoy!

(Photo sourced from: www.anandautsav.com)

'Greener' roads

Nobody knew when it would be a reality but prayed for a life relieved of it. But law took its own course and achieved the impossible. The Kolkata roads are finally free of ' kata tel'-run auto rickshaws labelled the worst pollutant among all vehicles thanks to the Supreme Court-ruled phaseout of all 15-year old or older vehicles, and LPG having been made the only 'fuel' for auto rickshaws. The state govt. decided not to fight it with the legal system once again and it was the death nail for the venomous three-wheelers starting August.

The roads are a lot greener, with an increasing no. of green-coloured LPG autos taking the roads every day. And most importantly (the reason behind this post)the air is far more breathable and lighter. It's breathable enough for my kid daughter, and finally I can live without the guilt of bringing her up in toxic air on the roads because of alarming level of automobile pollution in the city, a situation made worst by the 'kata tel-run auto rickshaws ('kata tel' is a sphurious mix of petrol, kerosene and other elements causing poisonous fume).

The people are reportedly ready to take the pain of jostling in much fewer public vehicles simply because they can breathe much better. And as one of them I too welcome the outcome, though it has made my journey to work costlier on some days when due to shortage of buses that I can get into I have to change the route to reach office in time.

Shob Choritro Kalponik starts well

Rituparno's long-in-the-cans controversy-marred Shob Choritro Kalponik produced by the biggest ever corporate in Bengali cinema- Reliance Big Pictures and released 28 August '09 has been received well by the audience in the first week. The distributor Piyali Films, the distribution arm of Priya Entertainments run by the well-known exhibitor-distributor Arijit Dutta has done an experimental release in a larger-than-average number of single-screen theatres besides the plexes and it looks like paid off.

Ananya- the glam avatar

Ananya Chatterjee sizzled in an off-shoulder designer outfit at the premiere of Bengali film Dwando at Priya Cinema on 24 July, Friday. She's played the female lead in the arty film directed by US-based Suman Ghosh (of Padakkhep fame) and produced by the US-based Databazar group run by four non-resident Bengalis.

A helpdesk tid bit

A funny experience from Priya Cinema's helpdesk: As soon as the person manning it greets the caller with 'Good morning, Priya Cinema', the caller promptly asks 'Priya Cinema? (Meaning 'Is it Priya Cinema?'). This happens 4 out of 10 times at least.

Priya Cinema (managed by Priya Entertainments), by the way, runs one of the most efficient helplines (033-24641313) among single-screen theatres in Kolkata, open from 10 am to 7 pm (Manned by ticket counter/ office staff from 9 am to 10 am and 7 pm to 9 pm). One can do a telebooking as well.

The Foodie Tolly

Wednesday's t2 survey of the fav foods of Tollygunge, the 'film industry' locality, threw up some lesser known food facts about the city film folk. The survey checked on their favourite home food, street food, light bite, Kolkata restaurant, restaurant outside Kolkata and the dish they love to cook. The respondents were Anjan Dutta, Rituparna Sengupta, Jisshu Sengupta, Koel Mullick, Chandreyee Ghosh, Rrishii Kaushik, Indrani Halder, Arjun Chakraborty, Ananya Chatterjee, Sohini Pal, Riingo, Churni Ganguly and Shrabanti.

1. Vivekananda Park , one of the street food hotspots of Kolkata, is the single most favourite street food destination of most actors.

2. Sandwich is the favourite light bite of 33% of celebs out of which 25% like chicken sandwich.

3. Sher-e-Punjab on the highway at Kolaghat is the favourite restaurant outside Kolkata for Chandreyee Ghosh, Indrani Halder and Shrabanti. The possible common thread among them for this selection? The trips to the districts for shows and 'jatras'.

4. The cooking bit was a true revealation. Though the list was dominated by male actors/ directors and maiden actresses, the preparations they can make ranges from Yakhni Pulao (Anjan) to chocolate cake (Sohini) through meat ball soup (Ananya) and pork (Rrishii).

Of all, Arjun emerges as the greatest foodie, mainly for his wide range of favourites in home food (Parshey machher jhal, chholar dal, cauliflower fried in mustard oil, shukto, kasha mangsho etc.).

Three 'strategic' gifts

The recent central rail budget looked like no short of an angel's gift to Bengalis. For everyone who's not a follower of the Rail Minister, the announcements, touching every strata of the society, were too good to believe. Among them the optimists' brigade may have thought even if 60% of the projects come through, it will change rail travel in Bengal.

And today marks a memorable follow-up to the budget. Two inauguration announcements and changing the name of one of the erstwhile metro rail terminal stations promise to leave a lasting impression on the Bengali's life. Inauguration of extension of metro from Tollygunge to Garia, kickstart of the first Ladies' Special train from Bandel to Howrah and renaming Tollygunge metro station as 'Uttam Kumar'- Bengal's greatest matinee idol- in the month of his death are something every Bengali concerned anywhere in the world is surely taking note of.

In the political perspective, it doesn't take more than common sense to see that timing all the three on the same day, that too a Sunday when everyone has the privilege to catch a live telecast of the same and just before the 21st July roadshow of Trinamool Congress, is a strategic move, keeping in mind the 2011 assembly elections. And by that count it has indeed hit the bull's eye.

The sensational Sens

For long I wanted to write on the sensational Sen family of Kolkata, that has made a mark in tinsel town generation after generation. Making an impromptu beginning here with the content of a mail I shot to t2. It's my brief take on what I like about them.

Suchitra Sen: Beauty, grace, poise, carriage, gravity. She didn't unlock her true acting potential and chose to stay within a stereotype that changed with time and her maturity.

Moon Moon Sen: Glamour (the true embodiment of the word in the history of Bengali cinema), sex appeal, carriage. She never took the craft of acting seriously and flowed with the wave. It has always been her glamour and sex appeal that have been cultivated by the Bengali cinema audience and her acting skill hasn’t found much favour. Her true potential hasn't really been tapped. To be honest she even took her looks for granted and didn’t put in as much hard work for maintaining it as required despite being an actress in mainstream cinema.

Raima Sen: She's inherited her grandma's grace and poise. She's beautiful and charming. She's taken her craft seriously and is pursuing her career with focus. She's lucky too in getting the early breaks (Godmother, Chokher Bali) and getting noticed through them.

Riya Sen: Characteristically she’s closer to her mom than her sibling. She has inherited Moon Moon’s glamour and sex appeal. She hasn’t shown a keen interest in acting so far (Abahoman and Noukadubi can’t be discussed as they are yet to release) and has leveraged her looks in a focused manner. Unlike her mom she seems to work hard in maintaining it.

(Pictures top to bottom: Suchitra Sen, Moon Moon Sen, Raima Sen, Ria Sen)

Not so wow

Sampled mushroom momo, a new variant of the famous Tibetan food to me, at the Wow! Momo counter in Spencer's Hyper at Rashbehari Avenue yesterday. Was keen to try it being a mushroom freak. But the taste left a lot to be desired. I could hardly feel the mushroom slices. The soup was too salty and not exactly the kind you expect with momos. Also four pieces for Rs 40 is a little too premium for a hypermarket.

All in all, a thumbs down.

Random observations

Two things amused me on MG Rd on a recent trip to Hindu School. A new Bengali restaurant calls itself a multidimensional restaurant on the signboard (actually meaning multicuisine). It indeed looks 'ambitious' to perceive (and trying to make the customers do that too) each cuisine a dinemnsion, huh?

And New Raj, the old 'pure' veterian sweet shop, adjacent to Moonlight cinema, showed up with a takeaway roll counter at one side with all kinds of rolls including popular non-veg variries like egg roll and chicken roll.

Food for thought, indeed!

A green revolution?

First, the stunning sweep in Bengal in the Lok Sabha elections (25 off 42 seats) in May 16, followed by the not-so-unexpected municipal elections (13 off 16 municipalities) end-June, the Trinamool Congress- Congress (Indian National Congress) combine is riding on the rock-solid anti-left wave. The fate of KMC elections next year is clearer and the predictions for the 2011 assembly elections in Bengal has probably started. Is a green revolution waiting to unfold two years from now?

Very interestingly the image of the Trinamool supremo has visibly started evolving since before the LS elections. Mamata Banerjee looked unusually calm (even on the face of provocative questions), smiled a lot (and with ease!!), used a rarely-witnessed sense of humour and quoted classic literature in the long TV interviews on Star Ananda in the build-up to the Lok Sabha polls. She has apparently discouraged victory processions even after the historic LS results and now telling her party's supporters to become 'modest' after victory.

All this is in a stark contrast to the Mamata we always knew. Needless to say she's scored quite a few brownie points among those who've never exactly liked her way of doing things. This Mamata is calm, more in line with strategic thinking, shows a healthy temperament and on a single-minded mission that is a complete washout of the Left Front in the 2011 assembly elections in Bengal. There are reasons for increasing creases on the foreheads of Alimuddin's top brass.

Jee-Ko the twosome

The most popular pair in contemporary Bengali mainstream cinema in post Prasenjit-Rituparna era is back again. After more than two dry years of depriving thousands of cinegoers Jeet-Koel (Or 'Jee-Ko' to savvy fans) reunites in Saat Pake Bandha directed by debutant Sujit Mondal under the banner of the best in the business- Shree Venkatesh Films.

The exclusive photo above, from a recent promotional tour to Krishti Cultural Complex, Memari for 'Saat Pake Bandha' showing the warm off-screen bonding between the is a fine indicator of the on-screen chemistry they've worked up on screen again.

Coming soon is their second outing 'Neel Akashe Chandni', a triangle love story directed by veteran Sujit Guha, with Jisshu sharing the lead, for which they shot first after the happening reunion that drove tinsel media working overtime.

The new numero uno

He was a one-film wonder till 2007, though sort of an eye-candy, something unusual in Bengali cinema. He is tall, well-built, handsome with a simple smile that slowly works its charm on girls.

April 2009: He's delivered four back-to-back hits by now (I Love You, Premer Kahini, Mon Mane Na and Challenge, besides a killer of an item number in 2008's biggest grosser Chirodini Tumi Je Amaar). The first and the last in the row are definite blockbusters. It's a record that's honestly beyond comparison even with the erstwhile numero uno Prasenjit, staying at the top for ages now. So finally the throne has a new occupant. That his debut film was a dud (Agni Shapath) is a well-forgotten fact now, thanks to his resounding comeback in I Love You.

What Dev (known by his real name Deepak Adhikari before I Love You happened) brings to the table besides the physicality mentioned above is screen presence, a healthy and professional attitude, hardworking nature, and a hunger to rise higher and higher. He's calm, patient, down-to-earth, well-behaved and can handle success (Having spent a day with him on the promotional tour of Challenge this April on official duty I can vouch for all this). Being a software engineer from Mumbai venturing into tinsel town by sheer choice, he seems serious about his career moves. A strong defender of the throne of numero uno in short.

Rain, rain

Finally the rain drops on the office window panes and the outside seems to be something to stay on, with the thrilling background score of thunder!

The long-elusive monsoon seems to have stepped in........finally...... ending a long, torturous and depressing spell of heat and humidity.

Enjoy!

Madly Bangalee rocks!

After ‘The Bong Connection’ Anjan Dutta has finally made a film with his heart, something that can really connect with the audience. Its his best work by his own admission. ‘Madly Bangalee’, the first band film in Bengali, truly rocks, like a film of this genre should. It reminds me of the brilliant telefilms on ETV like ‘Amar Baba’, ‘Juddha’ made by Anjan years back. The core strengths of the film are a) superb performances by its mint-fresh, young lead cast playing members of the rock band the film revolves around, b) music by Neel Dutt and c) script and storytelling by Anjan. The actors in the lead cast making the rock band are actually from a Kolkata-based theatre group ‘Tin Can’ and know how to play the instruments they played in the film.

More than the youth spirit and rock music the film celebrates Kolkata, and that's what I absolutely love. That's what precisely makes it more relevant right here.

Go for it folks!!

Will be back soon!!

The humidity count must be 95%. It's a pain to commute between home and office in public transport. Working on field in the afternoon is like a punishment..............and in the middle of this I want to be back again where I always love to belong but am failed by situations of life- here at KC.

'Auto'cracy

It was shocking to see the unions of all colours fighting tooth and nail the high court-imposed two-stroke auto rickshaw ban on ground of air pollution with effect from January 2009. All the unions have auto rickshaw drivers under them flaunting the union flags in the vehicles so that the police thinks twice before touching them to enforce the ban. The Trinamool Congress union is the most aggressive, what with processions on the road and torching govt. buses. The red union (CITU, the union of CPI(M)), is strategically silent (while flouting the ban of course), as their govt. has to enforce the ban.

It would be a severe understatement to call the present govt. 'callous' or 'worthless' in fighting vehicular pollution in Kolkata, caused in the first place by the auotos running on dated engines mostly on adulterated fuel (popularly known as 'kata tel' in Bengali), followed closely by the government's own buses. On one hand it has never taken any proactive step towards fighting the city's history of severe air pollution and on the other hand it has routinely missed deadline after deadline to impose the court rule towards controlling air pollution and shamelessly bought time over and over again from it to enforce the rule.

But what also pains me as a citizen is the negative, anti-people politics practised by the unions of the ruling party and the main opposition (Trinamool Congress). Wouldn't it serve both purposes- of the people and of the auto rickshaw drivers- if they got into the act just after the July 2008 ruling of the blanket ban on all two-stroke autos with effect from January 1, 2009? Yes, they have a point: Two-strokers are not 'banned' in other metros and the ban means scrapping the two-strokers and buying four-stroke versions requiring a spend of more than a lakh per vehicle thereby putting the thousands of families dependant on these auto rickshaws under stake. But wouldn't there be a possibility of an actionable solution by December 08 if they joined hands and moved the court with the government in confidence? The road politics that includes frequent demonstration and strike are paining the daily commuters hard. So its a case of defeating purposes of both sides- the livelihood (of auto drivers) and the service to the innumerable daily commuters.

Whitewash

The recent recession has hit many in many ways. Executives contemplating a job switch have headhunters tell them to 'keep a little patience', others are no more dreaming of a 'cool' increment, companies are 'seriously' following cost control at all levels, malls are seeing less footfall, restaurants have less guests coming in etc.

At the same time the landscape is increasingly sporing an unusual colour- white. Thanks to the recession, corporates have axed their advertising budgets like never before in a long time and have dropped a large no. of hoarding sites. Those sites now sport the white colour flex with agency name and/ or contact numbers written on it. Hence instead of seeing more ads we are seeing a lot more mobile nos. So bad is the scenario that some outdoor agencies are even booking a part, generally half, of a site. That makes some sites amusingly look half white (with agency name, no.) and half colourful (with the advertisement).

Outdoor advertising gained a momentum over the past few years, increasing clutter in electronic media being one of the critical reasons. It lead to a lot more newer hoarding sites, bigger and bigger, on all main thoroughfares. In Kolkata EM Bypass especially saw a major rush by advertisers due to its location- outside the main city, thereby the visibility being more captive. But all that's a thing of the past now. One's view is consistently getting a jerk every other day in finding newly vacant sites wherefrom even last week Aamir Khan was looking straight making a point about a DTH service or a mobile service provider used to share one info or the other about its matchless service.

A 'fan'tasy coming true

Came across this intersting happening from the scrap of an Orkut fried. Ekhane Akash Neel, the mega serial on Star Jalsha starring Rishi Kaushik (He spells his name 'numerologically' touched Rrishii but) and Aparajita Ghosh Das in the lead, has given birth to a big and highly active Orkut community. The fantasy of 50 fans (off 504 members on last count) came alive on an invitation from Dr Kausani Sarkar of Tulip Nursing Home straight from the serial! Thanks to Kausani Roy, playing the doc, and a member of the community, the fellow members got the opportunity to meet the Ekhane Akash Neel team at the sets at Technicians Studio 2 on December 18. The fans met their favourite hero Dr Ujan Chatterjee and Hiya, aka Rishi and Aparjita and watched the shoot. Nothing could make a community meet more fantastic.

Pictures courtesy: Abhijit Das, a serious amateur photographer by his own admission.

Description (Top to bottom): The Ekhane Akash Neel community members with Rishi and Aparajita (Pink gown) in the middle, Kausani (in white) flanked by fellow community members, Rishi-Aparajita and Rishi signing an autograph holding a flower bouquet presented to him by the members.

The (proposed) next Feluda

After my last post Feluda 1 vs Feluda 2 on Sabyasachi Chakraborty's suitability as Feluda the thought of a better Feluda never slipped my subconscious mind.

It suddenly struck me as I was travelling in a bus on a Sunday. What about trying Rishi Kaushik as Feluda? He is young, has got the height, the physique and proven ability to act and charm the audience. All this apart he has the perfect cultured Bengali look essential for this legendary character so close to Bengali's heart. Thanks to his face he won't have to try hard to bring in the cerebrality Feluda requires. His hardworking nature will only help. Anyways he should make a much better Feluda any day than the ageing Sabyasachi. The rest depends on Sandip Ray.

Pour in your thoughts. Those who can't/ don't want to/ fail to post a comment may mail me at anirban48@gmail.com.

The Bengali paunch is in danger

'Paunch' is one single attribute unmistakably associated with the Bengali in many parts of India and also aborad. Marwaris are also in the same league, especially to a typical Bengali. But the difference is while a Marwari stereotype is a fat man with a big paunch, Bengali paunch comes in various sizes and the possesors range from generally healthy (with the paunch as the only odd part of appearance) to obese. The genesis of the paunch is in Bengali's legendary love for food that often overturns his concern for fitness (if there is any) and the fondness for sitting- at work or in 'adda' (prolonged casual chat) apart from other reasons.

Bengalis are reluctant, indulgent, fond, defensive or even proud of their paunch or others' paunches. Here's trying illustrating it with a few examples.

1. Pround of paunch: A man in his fifties is poked fun at his paunch by his sister-in-law ('Shali') whose husband is perfectly lean. The man retorts stating fortune is with those who possess a paunch (which is also traditionally looked as a sign of prosperity) and not with them who have a 'dog's stomach' (hinting at her husband).

2. Defensive: A healthy (and a little plump) friend who put on a lot of weight post his active university days remarked that he is dealt with importance because of his generous paunch when he negotiates for sitting space in local trains back home everyday. He would have been sidelined had he been lean.

3. Fond: A man in his late twenties in a decently paid job had lost weight (unintentionally) post his marriage. His friend's mother expressed her dissatisfaction over his weight loss ruing that his paunch had 'vanished'.

Talking of fondness, some have an extremely strange knack of patting their paunch like a tabla when they are happy.

4. Indulgent: A colleague had a just-noticeable paunch and was poked fun at it by his friends. But he genuinely thought gaining weight and growing a paunch had really improved his looks and would always smile away the moment whenever one pointed at it. He had caught Hepatitis and lost weight drastically. On his recovery he gained back all the excess weight. When somebody pointed out at his newly grown paunch as a result of the prolonged rest at home he promptly said 'but it was always there (before the disease)'.

Unless oddly big, a paunch is also looked at as a sign of overall health not only by the loving grandmothers, mothers and aunts but also by those hwo grow it.

As a dichotomy a Bengali also loves to point out at another's paunch and advise him to lose weight or just poke fun at it.

The talk can go on and on but will take it up on another day on an appropriate context. Let's come to the point now.

As reported by The Telegraph on top of front page earlier this month that a group of Indian medial experts led by Dr Anoop Misra, Head of Diabetes and Metabolic Diseases division at Fortis Hospital, New Delhi, released the new cut-off points of overweight citing that BMI (body mass index, calculated as weight in kg divided by square of height in metres)- the international measure of fatness, had to be tailored for Indians and international standards couldn't be applied blindly. As Dr Misra said, the revision was long overdue (also approved by WHO some time back) as Indians' predisposition to metabolic diseases is among the highest in the world and fatness is directly linked to it.

The new standards state that an Indian adolescent/ adult with a BMI upto 22 is normal weight. 23-25 is overweight and above 25 is obese. The international standard that is currently followed calls a person overweight only when he/ she is within 25-30 and obese when the BMI crosses 30. As per the new cut-off a person with a BMI touching 25 will need to consider drug therapy as obesity is a disease in itself and can invite a host of lifestyle diseases like diabetes, heart problem, hypertension, gall stone and even cancer.

This is genuinely bad news for the Bengali who thinks he is fit and in decent shape albeit a bit of a paunch. Take this case: a man of 5'6" (average height for a Bengali) with an average build weighing 67 kg carrying a not-so-noticeable paunch will seriusly need to lose weight to just leave healthily as his BMI is 24.

So all those proud/ reluctant/ fond/ indulgent owners of a paunch beware! Take a hard look at it, be a little sensible about diet and try and be a little more active. Else this perceived sign of health will start taking a toll on the health itself.

Star goes a full-on Feluda

Star Theatre goes full-on Feluda with a tantalising fare of five shows a day this Friday (12 December) for the Feluda-crazy Bengali cutting across all age groups to feast on. The eagerly-awaited Tintoretor Jishu - the Hong Kong adventure of Feluda shows up at Star at 12.30 pm, 2.30, 4.30, 6.30 and 8.30 pm. What's more, the noon show and the night show have been priced less (Rs 40/ Rs 50/ Rs 60 compared to Rs 50/ Rs 70/ Rs 80 for the other three shows in between) to pull in the crowds.

The decision was fuelled by poor show of most of the four Hindi releases last week- Dil Kabaddi, Maharathi, Oh, My God!! and Meerabai Not Out and keeping the other eagerly-awaited Shah Rukh release Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi out of the scheme.

Am curious to see if this Feluda bet saves the day for the best theatre in North Kolkata.

The overlooked hunk

Rishi Kaushik made his debut on Bengali television a couple of years back in a telefilm produced by Indrani Halder, she playing the female lead. He looked impressive (playing a commando) right then, with potential for television and mainstream Bengali cinema too (given the right grooming and handling).

Years have passed by. Rishi has worked selectively on television. He has won many hearts for his sensitive portrayal of Indra, paired opposite Aparajita Ghosh Das playing his love interest Mohar, in the popular Zee Bangla soap Ekdin Pratidin.

It is beyond me why save for a few Bengali films like Riingo's 'Kranti' and Traun Majumdar's 'Chander Bari' he has been largely overlooked by the successful directors of Bengali mainstream cinema, who've rued in the media for the lack of actors with hero material i.e. goodlooking young men who can sort of act or can be made to act. In Kranti he played the dashing college baddie and brother of the villain Ashis Vidyarthi. In Chander Bari his character was not the lead and had a very traditional Bengali look. So his potential of being a frontrunner for the leading man's slot has been given a complete miss. Its more of a loss for the industry and the audience with a visible appetite for new heroes than his, I believe.

Hence this handsome hunk (having seen him personally at events I vouch for the words), instead of winning hearts of cinegoers giving his peers in hero-starved Tollygunge a run for their money, is charming the girls (and the women including mothers and aunts in all possibilities) as Dr Ujan Chatterjee, romancing Aparajita Ghosh Das again, in the soap Ekhane Akash Neel on the new Bengali entertainment channel Star Jalsha (Picture at bottom).

To cultivate him, visit his fan blog rrishiikaushikonline.wordpress.com.

Rituparno-Mir: Storm brewing among viewers

The Ghosh & Co. episode with Mir as guest telecast 16 November is eliciting excited response from KC readers.

The opinion is tilted in favour of Mir, and some have expressed disgust with Rituparno's way of conducting the episode, especially the perfectly prepared for verbal assault he made on Mir and the insult it caused.


To know more check the comments to the post Ghosh & Co. and Rituparno and Mir