Excelsior... Nation

Statements from Pak
not encouraging, says
Chandra Shekhar

VADODARA, June 16: Former Prime Minister Chandrashekhar has reiterated his misgivings about ....more

Mayawati dismisses
BJP’s overtures in UP

LUCKNOW, June 16: Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) vice-president Mayawati today dismissed as "false ...more

Indian film favourite
in Shanghai film
festival: Hema

BEIJING, June 16: Indian Film, Dattak (the adopted) is likely to win top laurels in the competition....more

Indo-Pak children stage
cry for brotherhood
along border

CHANDIGARH, June 16: "The word border or `Sarhad’ symbolises mixed feelings. But when it comes to India and Pakistan it harbours fear" - came the announcement before staging of the first ever play `border border’ by a group of children....more

Bollywood finally
wakes up to the need
to corporatise

NEW DELHI, June 16: Indian cinema has ruled the world for years, at least in terms of quantity. And....more

Country’s second biggest
sanctuary being expanded

BANGALORE, June 16: The second biggest bird sanctuary in the country, Ranganathittu in Karnataka ....more

12 year girl saves
3 minors drowned
in a rainy ditch

JAISALMER, June 16: In an extra-ordinary display of courage, a 12 year old girl Hasai jumped into ....more

Banned ANVC to
oust NSCN, NDFB
from Garo hills

SHILLONG, June 16: Giving an impetus to the Meghalaya Government’s peace initiative with local...more

Statements from Pak not encouraging, says
Chandra Shekhar

VADODARA, June 16: Former Prime Minister Chandrashekhar has reiterated his misgivings about the success of the proposed summit between Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and Pakistan Chief Executive General Pervez Musharraf in India.

Speaking to mediapersons here yesterday, Mr Chandrashekhar said statements emanating from Pakistan, particularly remarks made by Foreign Minister Abdul Sattar on the Kashmir issue were not at all encouraging.

The former Prime Minister said he would be happy if the talks turned out to be a success. "But there is a little chance of this happening," he added.

What prompted the Prime Minister to suddenly change his stand and invite Gen Musharraf when Pakistan continued to aid and abet cross border terrorism, he asked.

Kashmir was not only a matter of land for India but also a symbol of the country’s secularism, observed the Samajwadi Janata Party chief who arrived here yesterday as part of his nation-wide tour to campaign against Government’s liberalisation policy.

Earlier, addressing a public meeting on the outskirts of the city, Mr Chandrashekhar said the NDA Government at the Centre must be thrown out of power if it failed to mend what he termed its "dangerous policy of liberalisation". (UNI)

Mayawati dismisses BJP’s overtures in UP

LUCKNOW, June 16: Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) vice-president Mayawati today dismissed as "false propaganda" BJP’s claim that there could be an alliance between the two parties during or after the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections due early next year.

"BJP and Congress are spreading false rumours regarding an impending alliance with BSP as their support base consisting mainly of the upper caste is shifting towards us", the BSP leader told newsmen here,

She said her party will, under no circumstances, enter into any kind of alliance with the BJP and said the BSP will contest the UP polls on its own fielding candidates in all the 403 Assembly seats.

Dubbing as baseless Samajwadi Party’s (SP) allegation that there was any kind of understanding between BSP and BJP, Mayawati said the BSP had always opposed the BJP Government both at the centre and in the state.

She charged SP president Mulayam Singh Yadav with blocking the formation of an alternative Government at the centre after the fall of the then BJP Government in 1998.

BSP leader Mayawati said the Samajwadi Party was also spreading rumours of a BSP-BJP alliance in order to hide its tacit understanding with the BJP as was evident in the last Lok Sabha elections.

She said it was true that the BSP had formed the Government with the BJP in UP twice but it was done in the larger interest of the people of the state, as they were fed up with the caste politics of the Samajwadi Party.

Refuting all the allegations of colluding with the BJP, she said it was only because of her party that the Atal Behari Vajpayee Government was voted out of power at the Centre.

Pointing out to the incidents of atrocities on Dalits in the BJP regime, the BSP leader alleged that the recent killing of five members of a Dalit family in Aligarh was the handiwork of a person alleged to be close to Loktrantrik Congress Party (LCP) leader Dalbir Singh, also a minister in BJP-led coalition Government in the state.

In reply to a question, Ms Mayawati denied the allegation of her involvement in mlti-crore Ambedkar park project and alleged illegal purchase of float pumps. She said the ministry responsible for the execution of the project was headed by a BJP minister and also the float pumps purchase was finalsied during the regime of Mr Moti Lal Vora, when the state was under President’s rule. (UNI)

Indian film favourite in Shanghai film festival: Hema

BEIJING, June 16: Indian Film, Dattak (the adopted) is likely to win top laurels in the competition section of the Fifth Shanghai International Film Festival (SIFF), chairperson of the National Film Development Corporation (NFDC) and leading film personality, Hema Malini said today.

The film, produced by NFDC, was screened yesterday at the SIFF which is currently going on in the East China Metropolis of Shanghai, she said.

"The Chinese people seemed to have liked it and we received rave reviews," Hema Malini, told PTI in a telephone interview.

A four-member Indian Delegation led by Hema Malini is attending the SIFF and is keen to promote Indian Films in China.

Dattak has been directed by Gul Bahar Singh. Its cast includes Rajit Kapur, A K Hangal, Anjan Srivastav and Kritika Desai.

The Awards Ceremony for the best film and other categories would be announced tomorrow.

The SIFF, which is on since June nine, is a non- specialized competitive film festival accredited with the International Film Producers’ association.

The Fifth SIFF has received over 370 entries from 40 Countries and regions.

After scrutiny, 14 films were chosen for the ‘Jin Ju’ (Gold Cup) award International Film competition and around 150 films were selected for the International Film Panorama. (PTI)

Indo-Pak children stage cry for brotherhood along border

The 40-minute play at the city’s premiere ‘Tagore Theatre’ on Friday, depicted the mutual hatred, fear of the unknown and common people’s cry for peace and brotherhood along the Indo-Pak border.

Written by Lahore-based renowned theatre personality Shahid Nadeem, the play reflected the mutual suspicion harboured by the two neighbouring nations in group songs like ‘Udhar Ki Baten Nahi Karen .... Wahan Shaitan Rahten Hain (do not talk about the people from the other side, they are all wrong doers)’.

The storyline revolves around two rural families on either side of the border and how different generations react to the ever changing situations in the border.

Two young children, Guddu and Guddi, incidentally bearing same names and wearing same clothes on either side of the border, find favourite hero in matinee idol Hrithik Roshan and Pakistani Guddu votes Sachin Tendulkar as his favourite batsman while the Indian Guddi finds his idol in Shoaib Akhtar even as their fathers maintain hardline postures.

The historical chord of ‘Kabhi Ek The’ is also reflected when children from either side discover that their respective grandmothers hailed from the village nestled on the ‘enemy side’. They return home with sweet memories of love and affection and gladly declare that all impressions given about the people from the other side were wrong.

The play was staged as part of the theatre workshop organised by the city-based besten foundation and Lahore’s Ajoka Theatre.

The theme of the play ‘act today for peace tomorrow’ was also apt coming on the eve of the summit between Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and Pakistan military ruler Gen Pervez Musharraf.

Impressed with the script, adviser to the Chandigarh administrator Neeru Nanda asked for the Hindi translation from Mediha Gohar, the leader of the visiting Pakistani delegation. (PTI)

Bollywood finally wakes up to the need to corporatise

NEW DELHI, June 16: Indian cinema has ruled the world for years, at least in terms of quantity. And after more than a century of filmmaking, it got recognition as an industry three years ago —though that remained mostly on paper until last year when it was finally made eligible for banking finance.

But now, Bollywood seems to have woken up to its potential. One major indication of this is the way it is attempting to corporatise itself. The biggest talk this week has been about what the media terms as the ‘clash of the titans’ with Aamir Khan’s first home production ‘Lagaan’ directed by Ashutosh Gowarikar and starring Aamir being released at the same time as ‘Gaddar — Ek Prem Katha’ directed by Anil Sharma starring Sunny Deol.

Both films are based on fictional stories set in a particular period of Indian history: Aamir challenging British might in the last decade of the 19th century, and Sunny coming up against the pride and prejudice of partition and the creation of an independent Pakistan.

While both the ventures are period films, it is significant that a television channel Zee TV should have produced ‘Gaddar’ — not merely because the film has been made for the large screen and not the idiot box, but because it is perhaps the first truly corporatised film.

All the payments made — from the director and stars to the carpenters and menial labour — have been made by cheque and records kept. The film, costing around Rs 18 crore, stars Amisha Patel, Amrish Puri and Suresh Oberoi in other important roles.

The other release this week, ‘Lagaan’ introducing Gracy Singh apart from a host of other stars, cost a whopping Rs 25 crore, primarily because a whole village and a whole British cantonment had to be built in Kutcch to represent central India. But here too, the young debonair producer claims that every penny has been accounted for.

But being period films, among the most expensive ever made in bollywood, and fully corporatised, are not the only common points between the two films. It is significant that both films are over three hours long, Aamir’s film going to a mammoth three hours and forty minutes ("thank god Aditya Chopra with his Mohabbatein has attuned audiences to long films," Aamir told UNI recently.)

Aamir’s foray into production is only the latest fad afflicting several stars who are taking the plunge into filmmaking. Megastar Amitabh Bachchan, Sunny Deol, Ajay Devgun, Shahrukh Khan, Jackie Shroff, Kamal Haasan, and earlier Raj Kapoor, Dev Anand, Shashi Kapoor and Jeetendra are people known for having tried their hand in making the kind of films they believed in, and often getting mauled.

After the debacle of ‘Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani’, Shahrukh is now trying his hand at ‘Ashoka the Great’, while Amitabh Bachchan and his AB Corp is now making ‘Aks’. Kamal Haasan is readying ‘Abhay’ for early release, while Sunny Deol is readying ‘Indian’ for early release.

There have been others too: Kumar Gaurav and Sanjay Dutt still smarting from the failure to get ‘Chakra’ released and Rajesh Khanna regretting the day he launched ‘Jai Shiv Shankar’, or many who made films to launch their progeny like Vinod Khanna and Rajendra Kumar and those who made films for their siblings like Anil Kapoor and Govinda.

The latest to make a film to launch his progeny is not a star on the screen, but a scarred soldier from the battlefield. Samarjit Dasgupta has just readied his first film ‘Pya Ki Dhun’ based on a story by his wife Dr Shobha and starring his daughters Swati and Hena with models-turned-actors Milind Soman and Nirmal Pandey.

And like most parents today, Dasgupta ensured that Swati and Hena were highly educated and qualified to take up other professions, before launching them on screen. Perhaps it is a bitter lesson learnt from the failures of others.(UNI)

Country’s second biggest sanctuary being expanded

BANGALORE, June 16: The second biggest bird sanctuary in the country, Ranganathittu in Karnataka, is being expanded and additional facilities will be created for the bird watchers under the proposed eco-tourism development project.

Located near Mysore, about 120 km from here, the bird sanctuary would be developed at a cost of Rs 90 lakh and accessibility to all the five islands, located in the river Cauvery and downstream the Krishna Raja Sagar Dam, would be provided, Conservator of Forests (Wildlife South Circle) Ravi Ralph told UNI here.

"We plan to plant more trees and weeds. Already a study has been done and the project is awaiting the Centre’s clearance. We will start the work, once the green signal is given," he added.

Thousands of birds visit the five islands, with the number steadily increasing.

Though the Forest Department officials claim that the birds from Siberia and the United States visit the sanctuary, the bird watchers dispute it, saying that only birds of Indian origin come for breeding. They point out that the migratory birds from places like Siberia and the US would not nest.

Ranganathittu was declared a bird sanctuary in 1938, following a suggestion by the renowned ornithologist Salim Ali.

"Dr Ali recommended to the authorities in the afternoon, after visiting some places in the then mysore state and the order was issued in the evening itself," a retired forest official reminisced.

Dr Ralph said since only one island was accessible, the visitors were not able to watch all the birds coming to the sanctuary, as some birds breed in the other islands also.

"We are planning to build hanging bridges besides providing access through the land," he added.

He said the Forest Department had earned a revenue of about Rs 37 lakh last year as more than a lakh tourists visited the place on their way to mysore, the city of palaces.

Dr Ralph said already they had acquired nine acres of land from the Revenue Department to improve the infrastructure.

However, environmentalists and bird watchers caution the Government to be careful while developing the sanctuary."Unbridled development could scare away the birds and the sanctuary might lose its importance," they warned.

A variety of birds, including herons, IBIS, storks and cormorant visit the sanctuary. (UNI)