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HAPPY NEW YEAR 2010 to all the viewers

2009-12-31T05:56:00.002-08:00

Google phone coming next week

2009-12-31T05:56:00.000-08:00

The new smart phone, Nexus One, may be unveiled Jan 5 when the internet search engine giant holds a media briefing about its smart phone business at its Mountainview headquarters in California.

The Google-branded device will use its latest Android operating system called Anrdoid 2.1.

Apple's iPhones will have a big competition on their hands as Google is set to launch its much discussed smart phone next week.

Android is already being used in more than a dozen smart phones by many vendors, including Motorola and Samsung.

The Google smart phone will compete directly with Apple's popular iPhones in Internet browsing as well as playing video games.

Though the world's second biggest company, valued at more than $196 billion, has mentioned the upcoming briefing as "an Android press gathering," it has not confirmed whether the rumoured smart phone will actually be unveiled that day.

The Nexus One is likely to have a 3.7-inch AMOLED (active matrix organic light emitting diode) touch screen. AMOLED, which is a bright display technology, needs no backlighting for the device to function. Since there is no backlight, touch screen looks brighter.

The Google GSM smart phone will also have a 5-megapixel camera and Wi-Fi connectivity. According to mobile industry bloggers, Google may sell the smart phone unlocked, thus not locking buyers in long-term contracts with carriers.

The Google briefing is being held just two days ahead of the Consumer Electronic Show in Las Vegas where global giants like Sony and Microsoft unveil their products for the next year.

Great to win the series in Kolkata: Sehwag

2009-12-25T04:41:00.000-08:00

A jubilant Indian stand-in captain Virender Sehwag on Thursday night praised Virat Kohli and other youngsters in the team and said he was happy to finish the series in Kolkata.

"This team has lot of bench-strength. We did not have Yuvraj Singh and M.S. Dhoni in the team. It's a good sign for India that the youngsters are playing well. Virat Kohli proved his worth," he said after India successfully chased an imposing Sri Lankan total of 315/6 to win with seven wickets and 11 balls in hand at the Eden Gardens.

"We wanted to finish the game in Kolkata because here we had a good wicket to bat on. We don't know what kind of wicket we will get in Delhi," Sehwag said after clinching the five match series against Sri lanka.

Sehwag, who led the team at Cuttack and Kolkata following the two match ban slapped on regular captain M.S. Dhoni for slow over rate, said now the team will not be under any pressure in the fifth and last match in Delhi.

He added that faced with such a huge total, the Indian did not want to lose wickets.

"Our thinking was we should not lose wickets in the first ten overs. We had beaten Pakistan earlier at the Eden after putting up a big total. We knew the dew factor becomes important as the evening progresses. Them bowlers cannot spin or swing the ball. They have problems in gripping also".

"So we thought if we do not lose early wickets, we can finish off the game. We lost two, but then Kohli and Gambhir finished it off".

Kohli and Gambhir added 224 runs for the thrid wicket, a record at the Eden, to lead India to victory after the side got an initial jolt with the cheap dismissals of Sehwag and Gambhir.

Lavishing praise on Kohli, he said: "He is a very talented player. Now he is performing well".

Sehwag said the flowering of players like Kohli, Suresh Raina and Ravindra Jdeja augured well for India ahead of the 2011 World Cup in India. "if we play at full strength we can win also in 2011".

Sehwag did not think his side had a problem bowling at the death. "Sri Lanka batted very well. But our bowlers also put up a good performance".

On the Delhi batsmen like him, Gambhir and Kohli doing well for India, Sehwag said that the players of his state were earlier doing well in domestic competitions, but have now carried their good show to the international stage. "Delhi players are very hungry for runs. When hey get the chance they try to perform. Earlier Gambhir did, now Virat is also doing that".

Review: 3 Idiots

2009-12-25T04:38:00.000-08:00

3 Idiots
Director: Raju Hirani
Actors: Aamir Khan, Sharman Joshi, Madhavan

Sharman Joshi’s character Raju represents the lonely hope for lower income group India. His family can barely meet three meals a day. The father is old and ill; sister unmarried; mother in poor shape. A professional degree, preferably engineering, is the only route for Raju to rise above this. On his young shoulders rest his family’s dreams. It’s not a happy situation.

While portraying this in the film, however, the filmmakers turn the screen into black and white. A melancholic tune on the shehnai plays in the background. The family’s state is neatly ascribed to ’50s realist, darker cinema. The comedy around this grimness is complete. You empathise for sure. Still, you laugh along.

Opinions are like blogs. Everybody has them. What Hirani also has is a peculiar sense of humour. This makes connection with an audience easy.

Self-seriousness in the times of Rakhee Sawant won’t fetch you even an art-house seat. Hirani and his co-writer Abhijat Joshi realise this.

They make significant points through the picture. Yet, they retain the lightness of being another ‘Munnabhai’ film throughout. Even if it means digging into Internet or memory, a joke, that cheers up the purpose better. I won’t give out the jokes; you’d rather watch them on screen first.

Young Raju may be overburdened by his family’s expectations. He has but two friends in his engineering school for a support system. One of them, Rannchhod Chachar, or Rancho (Aamir Khan, 44 plays 22, but all’s well), is a natural tech-whiz, and a guiding light of sorts -- not just for his friends, but also for the film itself. The other, Farhan (Madhavan), could’ve been a wildlife photographer. An admission into Imperial College of Engineering, or IIT, to be more precise, is for him, like countless others in this country, a ticket to neighbour’s envy, and parent’s pride.

He must endure unhappiness for the sake of both.

As Rancho suggests, he’ll have to spend an entire life somehow liking what he does, over doing what he likes. Engineering and medicine have been, for years, potential suicide notes for those growing up in this country. These may be less now the concern of metropolitan youth. But little has changed elsewhere, as in this film.

The campus here could be any Indian college. Usually a dreaded professor, referred to by his initials or acronym, walks around to dry you out of any interest in learning. I had someone called KRC. These boys have Virus (Boman Irani, with Atal Behari Vajpayee’s lisp, and Vito Corleone’s pout).

Rancho evaluates through him a cruel, classist examination system that passes off as an education system. Not surprising, this rote-learning, even from India’s best institutions, produces more a bureaucracy to serve the corporate and banking sector, than any original thinkers.

Rancho is the sort of genius this classroom cannot fathom. He plays the fool, but still tops. His friends remain flunkeys. As we all realise later in this film (and in our lives): everyone turns out fine eventually. The skits around the buddies deliver comedy with an urgent message. At some point, Rancho disappears.

The friends, including the love-interest (Kareena Kapoor), set out to figure who Rancho really was. This is the part where this doesn’t remain a ‘campus flick’ it started out as: with its own rituals of ragging and the cult ‘sutta’ song (one that’s still called for in our cinema).

The director admits, 3 Idiots is at best 5 per cent of Chetan Bhagat’s pulp-read 5 Point Someone. Thankfully. This is a film that never undermines ‘Bollywood’ for its authenticity: it has its alternating emotional highs and lows, a catch-point (‘aal ij well’ for ‘jaadu ki jhappi’), an invincible hero, and perfect knowledge of when to break into chiffon, song, or the interval. That smart art-form with its own suspensions of disbelief is getting scarcer by generational loss.

Before 3 Idiots on screen, you still don’t feel like the fourth idiot in the theatre. That’s a non-Bollywood relief. This is the sort of movie you’ll take home with a smile and a song on your lips, unless the hype has entirely messed up with your expectations.

Shibu Soren elected JMM legislative party leader

2009-12-25T04:37:00.000-08:00

The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) on Friday elected its party chief Shibu Soren, a Lok Sabha MP, as the leader of the legislative party. "Shibu Soren has been unanimously elected as legislative party leader," Hemlal Murmu, a JMM legislator, told reporters.

"Shibu Soren has been authorized to take the decision regarding the formation of the government," he said.

By naming Soren the leader of the legislative party, the JMM has made it clear that they would not settle for anything less than the chief minister's post for their party chief.

Champai Soren, another JMM legislator, said: "Shibu Soren will take the decision regarding formation of the government. The JMM has the clear view that Shibu Soren should become the next chief minister."

The Jharkhand assembly returned a fractured mandate Wednesday when results were announced.

The Congress and its ally, the Jharkhand Vikas Morcha-Prajatantrik (JVM-P), are mulling the possibility of forming a government without the JMM as they are against Soren becoming the chief minister.

The Congress and the JVM-P have won 25 seats in the 81-member assembly. The JMM has won 18 seats. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has also won 18 seats.

The BJP and JMM seem to be inching towards a pact on forming a coalition government.

JMM chief Shibu Soren Thursday night said: "I never termed BJP a communal party. The BJP is not a communal party."

When it was pointed out that the BJP had, in the past, made statements against him, Soren quipped: "Who remembers the past?"

The BJP had stalled parliament in July 2004 when a 30-year-old arrest warrant pending against Soren surfaced.

My Name is Khan is impressive

2009-12-16T22:15:00.000-08:00

The theatrical trailer for Karan Johar's pcoming film opens with shots of an autistic Tanay Chheda, the kid going from Aamir Khan's Taare Zameen Par to Danny Boyle's Slumdog Millionaire to playing the young Shah Rukh Khan in this film.

His mother tells him that there are only two kinds of people in the world, the good and the bad.

Cut to rain and tears on the grown Khan's face, and his voiceover calling himself different but not mad, very intelligent.

As he taps his forehead and calls himself 'very smart', SRK ooks to be in fine form. The narrative continues as we see an increasingly romantic montage of shots of him and Kajol.

Then one day... cut to dramatically scored serious montage. Images of death, mourning, 9/11. And then a rather painful shriek from Kajol.

Then Khan is being racially profiled and strip-searched in an American airport, and ask why he wants to go to Washington. His answer? He has something to say to the President.

The next montage -- each is bigger than the next -- shows him trying to meet the President, a move the voiceover tells us will help him win Kajol back. He gets an elbow to the face, and is clearly going through a lot.

The shots are all heavily designed frames, and Ravi K Chandran isn't skimping on the spectacular. The promo ends with Shah Rukh saying, 'My name is Khan, and I'm not a terrorist.'

It's a big, impressive trailer showing off an ambitious film of great scale.

Shah Rukh, as said, is looking sincere and committed, but it's an easy role to really flub up. As is the director's.

My Name Is Khan is clearly the kind of film that will either be groundbreaking or groanworthy, and it's the biggest risk of Karan Johar's career. We hope it's the former.

Sangakkara replaces Yuvraj as Kings XI captain

2009-12-16T22:13:00.000-08:00

Yuvraj Singh will not captain the Kings XI Punjab for IPL 3. Sri Lanka skipper Kumar Sangakkara will.

A formal announcement of change of captaincy is expected on Wednesday or Thursday.
According to reports, coach Tom Moody was not satisfied with Yuvi's level of commitment. Moody is said to have had complained to the owners of the franchise about Yuvraj's attitude, saying he constantly ignored the team management's advice.

Yuvraj led Kings XI Punjab in the first two editions of the IPL. While Kings XI reached the semi-finals in the first season, they finished fifth in the second edition.

Political turmoil hits Tollywood

2009-12-16T22:11:00.000-08:00

The Praja Rajyam chief, Chiranjeevi, has decided to resign as MLA and would take part in the united Andhra Pradesh struggle even as Telangana agitators hit the streets again, attacking theatres screening films of his family members.

Sources say that the former megastar decided that this is the right moment to wrest the leadership of the united Andhra Pradesh agitation. He is set to take off his campaign from Tirupati.

Infuriated by Chiranjeevi’s stance, Telangana agitators forcibly stalled screenings of his nephew Allu Arjun’s Arya-2 and son Ramcharan Teja’s Magadheera in Hyderabad and other places on Wednesday.

Telangana Rashtra Samiti activists also vent their ire at cutouts of Junior NTR’s Adurs at Sairam theatre and those of Allu Arjun and Ramcharan Teja in Karimnagar.

Students of the joint action committee staged a dharna in front of the Praja Rajyam office at Jubilee Hills in the city, raising slogans against Chiranjeevi and warning him not to take a stance in favour of United Andhra.

In Warangal, irate students of the Kakatiya University decided to impose a ban on films starring Chiranjeevi family members including Allu Arjun, Ram Charan Teja, Allu Arvind, Pawan Kalyan.

On Wednesday, Kakatiya University JAC members including activists of ABVP and Telangana Graduates Association picketed Amrutha theatre in Hanamkonda, where Allu Arjun’s film was being screened.

They also stopped the screenings of Magadheera and Arya2 in Radhika and Sunil theatres respectively.

“After Chiranjeevi’s statement there were attacks on film theatres in Telangana,” said the Inspector General of Police, Ms A.R. Anuradha. “We are taking steps to prevent violence. The Prajar Rjyam office at Kamareddy was also damaged.”

In some parts of Telangana, agitators also raised slogans against the Kadapa MP, Mr Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, for his united Andhra Pradesh stand.

Batsmen shine at Rajkot; India register record 414/7

2009-12-15T00:20:00.000-08:00

Rajkot: India registered their highest ever ODI total (414/7) to make the Sri Lankans sweat bullets in the first ODI at Rajkot. The batsmen made merry in the absence of Muralitharan and everyone got into the act, lead by centurion Sehwag, MS Dhoni and the ever so graceful Sachin Tendulkar.

Ravindra Jadeja’s high hitting towards the end helped the hosts cross the 400-run mark after some wickets tumbled in an effort to take the pyrotechnics to a new level.

Soon after crossing the 300-run mark, Sehwag-Dhoni duo seemed poised to take the team’s score past 450, but the dream was cut short when, first Chanaka Welegedara and then later, Dilhara Fernando dismissed Sehwag (146) and Dhoni (72), respectively.

Sehwag had slammed his 12th ODI hundred in his typical style, less balls-more runs. This was his second ton against Sri Lanka and the islanders were left wondering what hit them as the Najafgarh blaster kept his aim simple- Smash everything out of the park!

Sri Lankan bowlers managed to pull the strings towards the end as they struck in quick succession to dismiss the deadly combo of Sehwag and Dhoni. The comeback did not stop there as Gautam Gambhir was claimed for eleven runs.

The middle order, however, could not offer the same boost as the predecessors and Suresh Raina and Harbhajan Singh got out while trying something new on the pitch. It was a good scoring morning on the run-friendly Madhavrao Scindia Ground and the spectators had to scream overtime to keep up with the Indian boundaries.

The morning was written in India’s ink even as Sachin Tendulkar was the first wicket to fall. The maestro was clean bowled for a score of 69 runs by Dilhara Fernando. Tendulkar had blasted a quick fire half-century against a hapless Sri Lankan outfit, his 92nd in the ODI format.

Sri Lanka had won the toss in the morning and put India in to bat first, in hopes of utilizing the morning movement of the pitch but the experienced opening duo ensured that the hosts did not face an early hiccup

Sensex opens with healthy gains

2009-12-15T00:09:00.000-08:00

Sensex was up 60 points at 17,156 and NSE Nifty was up 13 points at 5,119.

Indian markets have opened with smart gains on Tuesday inline with the US markets. However, the Asian markets are trading mixed. The BSE Pharma index was the top gainer, adding 0.8%, followed by Metal and Realty index gaining 0.5% each.

Among the 30 components of Sensex, 22 were in the positive terrain and only 8 were in the red. L&T, Reliance Industries, Tata Steel, HDFC and M&M were among the major gainers. On the other hand, BHEL, SBI, Wipro and ONGC were among the major laggards.

At 10:07 am (IST), the BSE 30-share Sensex was up 60 points at 17,156 and NSE Nifty was up 13 points at 5,119.

On Wall Street, US stocks gained on Monday, with the three leading indexes closing at 14-month highs, after Citigroup said that it will pay back government bailout funds and Dubai received $10 billion to cover its debt, easing worries that the Gulf emirate might default on billions of dollars in debt.

A weak dollar also helped, lifting commodity shares and the stocks of companies that do a lot of business overseas.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 30 points, or 0.3%, closing at the highest point since Oct. 1, 2008. The S&P 500 index gained 8 points, or 0.7%, closing at the highest point since Oct. 2, 2008. The Nasdaq Composite rose 22 points, or 1%, closing at the highest point since Sept. 19, 2008.

European shares jumped, with banks advancing after debt-laden Dubai managed to obtain $10 billion in financing and stave off a potential bond default. The Dow Jones Stoxx 600 index rose 0.8% to 247.04, marking the third straight session of gains for the pan-European benchmark.

The UK FTSE 100 index climbed 1% to 5,315.34, the German DAX index rose 0.8% to 5,802.26 and the French CAC-40 index advanced 0.7% to 3,830.44.

India has 500 million mobile phone numbers

2009-12-15T00:05:00.000-08:00

By the start of the New Year, India will have breached a previously unthinkable landmark — half a billion wireless connections — making it the second largest group of mobile phone users after China.

Overall, telephone connections in india (fixed line and wireless) will be closing in on 550 million by the time you read this. This translates into a teledensity (phone connections per 100 population) of roughly 45%, an urban teledensity closer to 97% and a rural teledensity of about 18%.

India had crossed 488.40 million wireless connections at the end of October 2009 and will be breaching the half-billion wireless connections mark just about now. Yet, the actual number of subscribers might be less than half a billion, since a few hold multiple SIM cards and not all of them are in use at the same time.

In sharp contrast, wireline connectivity is down to 37.25 million phones, exhibiting a clear consumer preference for wireless, including mobile phones, as a preferred technology for voice and data communications. India’s broadband penetration, however, is abysmally low at 7.5 million — a consequence, say telecom experts, of policy failure, partly due to the declining use of wireline phones.

India’s telephony growth is remarkable despite the fact that the last two years have been full of controversy and litigation, with government and industry divided on crucial issues like spectrum policy, tariffs and introduction of new competition.

India has 13 to 14 operators providing wireless connectivity — mostly mobile — in its 22 service areas. Of these, 8-9 companies are operational and another 5-6 are obligated to launch service to meet rollout obligations. Many of the new entrants who had bagged spectrum in January 2008 have been unable to get off the ground nearly two years after receiving licences.

Pravin Mahajan critical after brain haemorrhage

2009-12-13T05:31:00.001-08:00

Pravin Mahajan, serving life imprisonment term for the murder of his brother, Bharatiya Janata Party leader Pramod Mahajan, has been diagnosed with brain haemorrhage. He is in a critical condition, and undergoing treatment at a hospital in Thane.

Mahajan, who was on a 14-day parole, had to report to the Nashik Central jail by 5 p.m. on Saturday.

A press release issued by the hospital said: “He is suffering from extensive pontine haemorrhage [brain haemorrhage]. He is currently on life support and is in a very critical condition and deeply unconscious. A team of doctors, including a physician, neurologist, neuro-surgeon, intensivist and a cardiologist, is taking care of him.”

Ravindra Ghawat, ICU in-charge, said:

“Mahajan had 70 to 80 per cent chances of non-survival. There has been no positive development till now. There is no change in the neurological status. “He is on medical treatment to decrease the pressure on the brain. We are monitoring his condition regularly. The first three to four days are crucial [in this state].” The probable cause of the haemorrhage could be hypertension, he said. “He was brought last night with high blood pressure. Now it has stabilised.”

He ruled out the possibility of any foul play. There were no external injuries on Mahajan’s person.

The Thane police have faxed Mahajan’s medical certificate to the jail authorities in Nashik. Swati Sathe, Superintendent of Nashik jail, told The Hindu over phone that Mahajan would have to make a written application to the Deputy Inspector-General (Prisons), Aurangabad, seeking parole extension.

About the expiry of the furlough, Anil Dhere, Commissioner of Police, Thane, said: “Technically, if he has not surrendered, the authorities in Nashik have to lodge a complaint, upon which we would act.”

Sreesanth still in hospital, recovering well

2009-12-13T05:29:00.000-08:00

Indian fast bowler S Sreesanth, who is down with swine flu, will remain in hospital here for the next two to three days, hospital authorities said on Sunday.

Sreesanth was admitted to the Fortis hospital on Thursday night with symptoms like sore throat, body ache and high fever. He tested positive for swine flu on Friday.

"Sreesanth is admitted in an isolated ward and he is responding well to the treatment. If everything goes right then he will be discharged from here in the next two-three days," said AR Banerjee, director of Fortis Hospital.

The Indian and Sri Lankan teams, however, left for Rajkot where they will play the first match of the forthcoming one-day series.

"Indian and Sri Lankan teams left for Chandigarh airport at around 1 pm. They have boarded a flight to Rajkot," Sushil Kapoor, spokesperson of the Punjab Cricket Association (PCA), told IANS.

Mayawati writes to PM, wants Poorvanchal; MK attacks Centre for AP crisis

2009-12-13T05:27:00.000-08:00

After demanding that separate Bundelkhand and Paschimanchal states be carved out of Uttar Pradesh, Chief Minister Mayawati on Sunday shot off another letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for her state to be split further to create 'Poorvanchal' out of its eastern region.

Mayawati's second communication to Singh--the second in three days--for UP to be split into four came even as senior Congress MP Vilas Muttemwar wrote to the prime minister pressing for creation of a separate Vidarbha in Maharashtra.

With the Andhra Pradesh crisis showing no signs of easing, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi and leader of DMK--a key UPA ally--appeared to criticise the way the issue was handled. He also ruled out bifurcation of his state, a demand made by PMK founder D S Ramdoss.

"A delayed decision and hasty announcement" on Telangana had created the present situation in AP, Karunanidhi said in Chennai.

Additional Cabinet Secretary Vijay Shanker Pandey told reporters in Lucknow, "The CM has written a letter to the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh requesting him to give Centre's permission for creation of separate Poorvanchal state and expediting the constitutional procedure in that regard."

"The Chief Minister has repeatedly stated that she was in favour of smaller states and supports creation of a separate Poorvanchal state," Pandey said.

Pushing her agenda for smaller states, Mayawati had on Friday written to Singh seeking the Centre's consent for the creation of Bundelkhand and western UP on the lines of the Centre initiating a process for a Telangana state.

Muttemwar told PTI in Nagpur that creation of Telangana will result in two Telugu states and therefore there is nothing wrong in having two Marathi speaking states (Maharashtra and Vidarbha ).

Pandey said Mayawati in her letter has said that creation of Poorvanchal was necessary for better administrative management and keeping in mind the expectations and aspirations of the local populace.

The Additional Cabinet Secretary said Mayawati in her letter pointed out that Poorvanchal region of UP was very backward socially and economically, which resulted in poverty.

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot meanwhile rejected the demand by former BJP leader jaswant Singh for carving 'Maru Pradesh" out of the western parts of the desert state.

"People of Rajasthan live in harmony and there is prevalence of brotherhood amongst them. The government has always tried to bring about equal development in every district. There is no question of raising this demand," he said in Jaipur.

Treading cautiously over the clamour of statehood demands from different parts of the country, former President Dr A P J Abdul Kalam said people's will should be taken into account while taking a decision on the issue.

"Though it is very difficult for me to say that which state should be formed or not, I think we should see what is the will of the concerned area's people in this regard," Kalam told reporters in Indore last night.

Meanwhile, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) ideologue M G Vaidya said the Centre should set up a new State Reorganisation Commission (SRC) to deal with the demands for separate statehoods and accept its recommendations as mandate.

The announcement of creation of separate Telangana state has set the ball rolling as demands for more smaller states is cropping up, Vaidya wrote in his weekly column in a local Marathi daily.

The second SRC should be set up with a term of reference and its recommendations should be treated as mandate. If government accepts this, it would ease the problem, the RSS ideologue said.

Where’s Aamir Khan?

2009-12-12T21:13:00.000-08:00

It was Kareena Kapoor’s first outing for her new movie, 3 Idiots, but the biggest idiot of all, Aamir Khan, chose this day to go missing. And left it to his co-Idiots, Madhavan and Sharman Joshi, producer Vidhu Vinod Chopra and director Rajkumar Hirani to explain his ‘disappearing act’ to the aggrieved media at ITC Hotel, Parel, on Friday afternoon.

Chopra insisted he had no clue Aamir was not going to show up. “I guess I was kept in the dark because I can’t keep a secret. I’m too honest and truthful,” he insisted. How was that possible then to produce the film given how little control he has over his cast, he was asked. Chopra’s good humour faded momentarily in the face of such scepticism but he kept his side of the bargain claiming complete ignorance. “I’m a bad actor,” was his line of defense. Okay, if we were to accept that statement on face value, then how did his three supertalented actors, Madhavan, Sharman and Kareena, justify being “clueless” about Aamir’s whereabouts too.

Apparently, even director Hirani was directionless. Hirani whose favourite game is chess, suddenly found himself being dragged into a game of hide-and-seek. “I’m flummoxed,” he shrugged when asked whose ‘brainwave’ this catch-me-if-you-can PC was. “I really have no clue whose idea this is and who all are aware of it. Even I’m wondering where Aamir is.

The chase has just begun. I hope we can find him soon.” Playing games? Just in case you’re wondering what this cat-and-mouse chase is about, well, the 3 Idiots team as part of the promotional hype has just launched a game which will have Aamir Khan, with a string of clues, urging you to penetrate his disguise. If you can’t, it’s over and out, to a new city and a new set of players, “And guess what, you can play this game even without a computer,” exults an exuberant VVC. What an idea, sirji. The first clue is to be provided by Aamir’s good friend and the country’s Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar himself, A special preview was being held for him at Ketnav Theatre, Bandra. “You can go there at 5.30 pm and take the game forward,” asserted VVC. Not too many were ready to take the bait. “What if it is Sachin in disguise?” someone wondered. “May be even Sachin will go missing,” retorted another.

A film was screened on the occasion with Aamir taking us on a grand tour of his tastefully decorated home — yeah, it was really his ghar ek sapna — before coyly giving wife Kiran a farewell peck behind a closed door and us a cheery goodbye before disappearing from view… literally, virtually, oof, I’m clueless now! The film was screened twice, to “clue” everyone into the game. So was a song from the film, Behti hawa. The film left everyone clueless. May be the clue was in the song. The two previous songs, ‘All izzz well…’ and ‘Zoobie doo…’ had been ‘unveiled’ with special previews. This one that ends with Rancho disappearing into the blue needed a new strategy. May be this aankh micholi game was it. I think I know whose brainwave it was. Aamir Khan himself, given that when it comes to promotion he’s the Master of the Game.

Statistical highlights of India-Sri Lanka second Twenty20 International

2009-12-12T21:07:00.000-08:00

Following are the statistical highlights of the second and final Twenty20 International between india and Sri Lanka on saturday:

# The Sri Lanka-India match produced 417 for the loss of 11 wickets -- a record in India and the second highest, next only to 418 for 10 between India and England at Durban on September 19, 2007.

# India's 211/4 is the best successful chase in T20 Internationals, obliterating 208/2 by South Africa against West Indies (205/6) at Johannesburg on September 11, 2007.

# India's total is now the joint-seventh highest in Twenty20 Internationals and the second highest for India - the highest being the 218/4 against England at Kingsmead, Durban on September 19, 2007.

# Yuvraj Singh (3/23) has not only registered his career-best bowling performance in Twenty20 Internationals but also the best in India-Sri Lanka games.

# Seventeen wides were conceded by the Indian bowlers, which is their worst performance in Twenty20 Internationals.

# Mahendra Singh Dhoni's 46 off 28 balls is his career-best innings in Twenty20 Internationals, obliterating the 45 off 33 balls against South Africa at Durban on September 20, 2007.

# Virender Sehwag's magnificent 64 is the highest individual knock by an Indian batsman against Sri Lanka.

# Sehwag's aforesaid innings is his second highest in Twenty20 Internationals - his highest is 68 against England at Durban on September 19, 2007.

# Sanath Jayasuriya (606) became the fourth player to aggregate 600 runs or more in Twenty20 Internationals, joining Brendon McCullum (813), Graeme Smith (642) and Tillakaratne Dilshan (607).

# Yuvraj Singh became the fourth all-rounder to make a fifty and bag three wickets in an innings in the same match -the other three being West Indian, Dwayne Bravo, Netherlands' Ryan Doeschate and Sri Lankan, Sanath Jayasuriya.

# Yuvraj has deservingly got the Man of the Match award for the third time in Twenty20 Internationals.

# Yuvraj is the second Indian to make five fifties or more and his tally is bettered only by Gautam Gambhir (six) in Twenty20 Internationals.

# Yuvraj has taken his sixes' tally to 35, extending his world record in Twenty20 Internationals.

# India became the first nation to make 200 against Sri Lanka, obliterating the 189/6 by Pakistan at Johannesburg on September 17, 2007.

# Kumar Sangakkara became the first skipper to record three innings of fifty-plus in a row in Twenty20 Internationals - 69 against New Zealand at Colombo RPS; 78 against India at Nagpur and 59 at Mohali.

# Sangakkara's tally of five half-centuries as skipper is a most in Twenty20 Internationals.

# India have conceded 24 extras, emulating their worst performance in Twenty20 Internationals. In South Africa's innings of 116/9 at Durban on September 20, 2007, they had conceded 24 extras.

VolksWagen targets car for masses

2009-12-12T21:00:00.000-08:00

Volkswagen AG, the world’s second largest car maker in the world by sales, is now aggressively targeting the Indian mass market. It is looking at the segment below the Polo, which has now gone into series, that is, commercial, production at the brand new plant at Chakan. This small car could come through its recently announced tie up with Suzuki.

Jochem Heizmann, member of the Volkswagen AG board responsible for group production, said, “Clearly, for the long term for the Indian market, there is a need for a car below the Polo. We are investigating different solutions but we definitely need a smaller car below the Polo. The Up! concept car we showed at the 2008 Delhi Auto Show could be a solution.”
The Polo will officially be launched at the Delhi Auto Expo on January 4 when its price will also be announced. Currently, the VW brand has 35 dealers across the country with plans to increase this to 40, VW India president and managing director, Joerg Mueller, said.

Declining to comment on how many units of the Polo it will produce per day, Mr Mueller said, “We will start production of the Polo slowly: this is a learning curve and depending on market demand, we will ramp up.”

The Polo hatchback will be launched with 50 per cent local content which is expected to go up to 80 per cent over the next three-five years, Prof Dr Heizmann, said.

He added, “We have a plan for localisation, part by part, month by month. Localising the power train is an open issue since there is a variety of engines and gearboxes and volumes will matter. For the long term, we will have to look local production of the power train.”

According to a news report in ET Zigwheels (July 29, 2008), VW is lining up local suppliers for engine parts while the aluminium blocks could be imported in the first phase. VW India, which currently makes 40 Fabia cars a day at its greenfield Chakan plant, about 45 kms from Pune, plans to roll out three models from its manufacturing line. After the Fabia and the Polo, the third car will be a saloon to be launched by mid-10 and is expected to share the same platform as the Fabia and the Polo.

Mr Mueller said they have begun an employee training centre for their managers, shop floor employees and will later include dealer staff in addition to a centre to train the trainers.

The expectation is that the German vocational training model could be implemented here, ensuring that locals get employment. VW group company SkodaAuto has a plant at Shendra, near Aurangabad. This is its limited volume plant assembling the Audi A4 and A6 and VW’s Passat and Jetta.

Dr Heizmann explained, “This (Chakan) is a flexible plant and we have installed equipment here for three cars (models) although it can do more than three. This plant works with the Aurangabad plant which produces cars which have limited volumes offering a bigger variety. This our combined concept.” He also spelled out the positioning of the three brands VW currently offers in India, the Audi, VW and Skoda.

“The Skoda is a high quality affordable car, the VW is a premium brand with high quality and high volumes. The Audi is in the upper, luxury segment,” Dr Heizmann clarified. He added that launch of VW Commercial Vehicles in India is still being “investigated” and nothing has been decided.

Poet-author Dilip Chitre passes away

2009-12-10T17:38:00.000-08:00

Renowned poet, author, painter and sculptor Dilip Purushottam Chitre passed away at his residence here at 3:30am on thursday. He was 70.

The genius had translated the writings of 17th century saint-poet Tukaram into English and gave him global recognition.

Chitre, fondly called DiPu', was battling cancer for the last five years. The last rites were performed later in the morning. He leaves behind his wife.

Chitre started writing at the age of 14 and became a journalist at 18. He made vital contributions to the little magazine movement' which occupied an important position in Marathi literature. He joined hands with poet Arun Kolatkar and Ramesh Samarth to start a mini journal titled Shabda'.

Chitre changed gear and went to Ethiopia as a teacher when he was just 22. He came back after three years to join an advertising firm. While writing copies for advertisements and shooting them, he made over a dozen documentaries and shortfilms.

Chitre's first collection of Marathi poetry, Kavita, was published in 1960, followed by Kavitenantarchya Kavita, 18 years later. His collection of Marathi poems, Ekoon Kavita, appeared in three successive volumes in the '90s, the first volume winning the prestigious Sahitya Akademi Award in 1994.

The year 2008 saw the publication of two important Chitre collections: Shesha, a volume of new and selected translations from Marathi, and As Is Where Is', a book of new and selected poems in English.

Chitre always viewed the writing and translation of poetry as part of a continuum. His book, Says Tuka', is a well-loved and much-acclaimed rendition in English of the haunting poetry of the 17th-century saint poet of Maharashtra, Tukaram. It won him the Sahitya Akademi award for translation in the year 1994 making him the only poet to have won awards for both poetry and translation in the same year. Says Tuka' was later translated into other languages as well. While Chitre wrote in English, his Marathi works were translated into German, French and Spanish.

Chitre directed the famous film Godan (1983) and scored the music too. The film produced by the National Film Development Corporation featured Satyadev Dubey and K K Raina, among others. He also scripted the story and screenplay for actor Shashi Kapoor's famous film Vijeta'. Later, he also made about 20 video documents. He had a lion's share in the construction of the famous Bharat Bhavan' in Bhopal and learnt to paint.

While pursuing so many varied interests, Chitre did the most valuable work of translating quality Marathi literature into English. In fact, the Marathi literary world will be indebted to him for taking Marathi on the global platform.

While writing was the main inspiration of his life, Chitre was a born rebel. He always showed the courage to express his views and stand with utter frankness. Besides writing, he loved colours and sculptures too.

Women are not things to be played with: Ranbir Kapoor

2009-12-10T17:29:00.000-08:00

Ranbir Kapoor’s private life has become a topic of prime importance for the media. Be it his alleged break-up with Deepika or his concept of romance. We just want him to talk about love, don’t we!

Ranbir’s Rocket Singh Salesman of the year is about to release and we couldn’t help but ask Ranbir if there is any romance in it. After all, dad Rishi Kapoor is known for romantic roles. “There is no romance in the film” said Ranbir. But don’t all work and no play make Rocket Singh a dull man we probed to which Ranbir cheekily replied, “Women are not the only things to be played with.”

Ahem! Now Ranbir has made an interesting point here and we are impressed. Err Deepika are you too?

Pakistan players’ visas cleared

2009-12-10T17:28:00.000-08:00

The decks were cleared for Pakistani cricketers to take part in the third edition of the Indian Premier League. The Indian government Thursday cleared their visas, but organisers said that the only way for them to be part of the T20 league now was through the January 19 auction.

Ending days of uncertainty, the Indian government said visas would be issued to the Pakistani players, who had submitted applications with the high commissions in Islamabad and Wellington, but their participation in the IPL depends on the franchises buying them at the auction.

Four players received visas from the Indian government Thursday. They are believed to be Misbah-ul Haq, Umar Gul, Kamran Akmal and Sohail Tanvir — all of whom had IPL contracts which had been suspended when the Pakistan players were kept out of the 2009 event as a result of the Mumbai terrorist attacks.

Of the four, Gul is the player with the Calcutta connection, having played for the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the inaugural edition.

Modi said the Pakistani cricketers missed the bus by failing to get visas by the December 7 deadline and have been replaced by the IPL franchises.

A spokesman for the Knight Riders, however, claimed that the contracted players — like Gul with KKR — will play for their respective franchises once they became available.

“Yesterday (Wednesday), all the teams were required to do the replacement strategy and the replacements were allowed for those not going to be part of the squad”, Modi said.

“Unfortunately the teams have already signed their replacements. The Knight Riders have replaced Gul with Charl Langeveldt; Misbah-ul Haq of the Royal Challengers Bangalore has been replaced by Roelof van der Merwe. The Rajasthan Royals, too, have gone for replacements. These replacement contracts are already in place and cannot be reversed,” Modi added.

“There is an option coming up on January 19. If there are spots open, they can apply for the auction now. Because you have to go through the process, now the process for applying for auction is by January 1,” Modi added.

Modi said the IPL had given its franchises the go ahead for new contracts after the Pakistani players failed to get their visas before the deadline.

“As they missed the deadline, the new contracts have been signed and they (the franchises) have written back to us stating very clearly about the new contracts. It is a very difficult process to reverse the new contracts. We have a system and we cannot abuse that,” he said.

Modi, however, said that the IPL board would take a call on the contracts terminated due to visa problems on January 17.

Ijaz Butt, the PCB chairman, has said that he was in constant touch with Modi as well as the Indian Board and the ICC over the issue.

Meanwhile, the Pakistan sports minister, Aftab Shah Jillani — who had been critical of the Indian Board and the IPL following the deadline issue — was removed from his post Thursday by the central government and appointed minister for inter-provincial coordination.

It was announced that Ejaz Hussain Jakhrani would replace Jillani.

Dhoni leads India to record score

2009-12-04T05:56:00.000-08:00

Dhoni's superb 100 included six sixes, the last of which brought up his ton

Mahendra Dhoni hit an unbeaten century as India made their highest Test total of 726-9 declared against Sri Lanka on day three of the final Test.

Virender Sehwag was dismissed early by Muttiah Muralitharan for 293, seven short of a record third Test hundred.

Rahul Dravid was out shortly after for 74 but Sachin Tendulkar (53) and VVS Laxman (62) piled on further runs.

Captain Dhoni made a robust 100 then declared, 333 runs ahead of Sri Lanka, who added 11-0 in their second innings.

With two days still remaining, the tourists have it all to do if they are to avoid a defeat that would give India a 2-0 win in the three-Test series.

Indian opener Sehwag began the day on 284 - a total scored from just 239 balls during which he struck the fastest 250 in Test history.

Only 16 more runs from the start of play would have taken him ahead of two-time triple centurions Don Bradman of Australia and West Indian Brian Lara and made him the first player to score three triple hundreds in Tests.

However, only seven runs short of this benchmark he mistimed a drive to a dipping delivery from Muralitharan and provided a catching chance to the spin bowler, who juggled the ball before claiming it.

His 254-ball score of 293 included 40 fours and seven sixes.

Tendulkar and Laxman picked up where their predecessors at the crease had left off, albeit at a slightly slower run-rate.

The pair shared a stand of 71 before Tendulkar fell for 53, bowled by seamer Nuwan Kulasekara soon after lunch with the score at 487.

Dhoni dominated the last session with a stunning century, during which he struck six sixes, one of which - a straight drive off Herath - brought up his hundred.

Pakistan Rawalpindi mosque attack kills many

2009-12-04T05:53:00.000-08:00

"There was certainly more than one attacker, so there is a possibility that some of them may still be hiding in the vicinity," he told reporters.

Most of the dead are reported to have been serving or retired military officials.

At least 32 people have been killed and dozens injured in a coordinated attack at a mosque in the Pakistani city of Rawalpindi, military officials say.

Reports suggest there were at least two suicide attacks during Friday prayers followed by a series of explosions.

Witnesses said three attackers sprayed gunfire around the mosque.

The Pakistani security forces have been targeted in a series of recent attacks. Nineteen people were killed in an army base attack in Rawalpindi in October.

Military spokesman Maj Gen Athar Abbas said the latest attack had been coordinated.

The BBC's Orla Guerin, in Rawalpindi, says there were helicopters hovering over the city, suggesting security forces were looking for attackers on the run.

Senior police official Aslam Tarin told Reuters news agency: "Initial information indicates that they were two to three attackers who entered the mosque by scaling a wall."

Rawalpindi's police chief, Rao Iqbal, said the attackers "first opened fire and then blew themselves up."

The area around the mosque has been heavily cordoned off by police.

Friday prayers

Interior Minister Rehman Malik says two suicide bombers blew themselves up one after the other inside the mosque, causing the roof of the building to collapse.

"They are taking revenge for the Pakistan army's successful operations in the Swat and Waziristan region," Mr Malik told the ARY television channel.

One witness, Nasir Ali Sheikh, told the BBC he saw three attackers, one of whom threw hand grenades into the mosque.

He said two grenades landed in the men's section of the mosque and one in the women's.

Other attackers were firing randomly in the mosque, said Nasir Ali Sheikh, adding that visitors had had to go through tight security, including metal detectors, to get inside the building.

The incident took place at the Parade Lane mosque, during Friday prayers.

"As soon as we finished prayers, I heard a blast and firing," witness Bakhtawar Hussain told Reuters.

Pakistan's Taliban dilemma

He said he saw wounded people lying in the courtyard of the mosque.

The mosque is a short distance from the army headquarters, in an area housing several offices of the defence establishment and the intelligence agencies.

There has been a pattern of militant groups trying to attack security targets inside Pakistan recently, as the army pursues an offensive against militants in South Waziristan.

While there has been no immediate claim of responsibility for the latest incident, the Pakistani Taliban have carried out many recent attacks.

Battle of the blogs

2009-12-03T08:20:00.000-08:00

Dozensports.com, the online sports index evaluates, and compares sports blogs to rank them. This month ended in a clash of the Titans - Ballhype.com vs SBNation.com. It ranks the online world separating the champs from the chumps in a number of ways.

WHAT IS the top sports blog on the web? Every month the editors at online sports index Dozensports.com evaluate, test and compare sports blogs in a bid to answer this question. This month ended in a clash of the titans - Ballhype.com vs SBNation.com. Both sites are huge in the world of American sports online. Ballhype.com goes by the slogan- 'The best stories, the biggest fans', while SBNation.com says it is 'sports blogs for fans, by fans'. In the end, SBNation.com was narrowly beaten by Ballhype.com.So how were these blogs graded? Well, DozenSports.com ranks the online world separating the champs from the chumps in a number of ways. Firstly, the editors spend time using the site throughout the month, checking for updates, interesting posts and exciting news. Then DozenSports.com grades each blog by calculating the rate of blog posts, range of topics and sports, stats, design, navigation, community activity and overall content on the blog. After this, a total rank is given - SBNation climbed to the second spot with 8.4, but was pipped at the post by Ballhype, which received a whopping 9.2 out of 10. Other blogs featured in the top six included CNN's excellent World Sports Blog and Ron Raymond's Sports Betting Blog.

“Ballhype.com vs SBNation.com is like the superbowl of sports blogs. Both sites are huge portals leading to hundreds of excellent sports blogs covering NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB and much more. At DozenSports.com we monitor the world of online sports closer than anyone and it will be very interesting to see which sports blog site takes the top spot next month. Watch this space for more,” said Daniel Raz, editor at DozenSports.com.

In other news this month, ESPN360. com finally lost its grip on the top spot in the Live Sports category to little-known site Live Basketball Channel. In the sports betting category, Sportsbook.com narrowly beat other sports betting sites such as TheGreek.com, but look out PartyBets.com was a major climber taking third spot. In the sports tickets category, both Ticko.com and StubHub.com fell down to innovative ticket and travel package site - SportsTraveler.net. Competition is hot, so watch this space next month for more updates from the world of online sports.

About Dozen Sports

DozenSports.com is the latest in a line of revolutionary review portals from parent website DozenMedia.com. This unique online sports index is jam-packed with the very latest sports news, reviews, events, pictures, videos and stats from the online sports world. From, online sports betting and fanzines to sports blogs and online tickets, DozenSports.com has it covered. Brutally honest and completely independent, Dozen Sports separates the tops from the flops, with the use of Dozen Media’s cutting-edge ARS© ranking system.

The world will end in 2012, say experts

2009-12-03T07:50:00.000-08:00

Several experts from across the globe are predicting that the earth is likely to end by the year 2012. The reason could be a human effect or natural disaster. From Chinese theories to scientific predictions the most likely date is the year 2012
SCIENTIFIC EXPERTS from around the world are predicting that five years from now, all life on Earth could well come to an end. Some are saying it’ll be humans that would set it off. Others believe that a natural phenomenon will be the cause. And the religious folks are saying it’ll be God himself who would press the stop button. The following are some likely arguments as to why the world would end by the year 2012.

Reason one: Mayan calendar

The first to predict 2012 as the end of the world were the Mayans, a bloodthirsty race that were good at two things -- building highly accurate astrological equipment out of stone and sacrificing virgins.

Thousands of years ago they managed to calculate the length of the lunar moon as 329.53020 days, only 34 seconds out. The Mayan calendar predicts that the earth will end on December 21, 2012. Given that they were pretty close to the mark with the lunar cycle, it’s likely they’ve got the end of the world right as well.
Reason two: Sun storms

Solar experts from around the world monitoring the sun have made a startling discovery. Our sun is in a bit of strife. The energy output of the sun is, like most things in nature, cyclic and it’s supposed to be in the middle of a period of relative stability. However, recent solar storms have been bombarding the earth with lot of radiation energy. It’s been knocking out power grids and destroying satellites. This activity is predicted to get worse and calculations suggest it’ll reach its deadly peak sometime in 2012.
Reason three: The atom smasher

Scientists in Europe have been building the world’s largest particle accelerator. Basically, its a 27 km tunnel designed to smash atoms together to find out what makes the universe tick. However, the mega-gadget has caused serious concern, with some scientists suggesting that it’s properly even a bad idea to turn it on in the first place. They’re predicting all manner of deadly results, including mini black holes. So when this machine is fired up for its first serious experiment in 2012, the world could be crushed into a super-dense blob the size of a basketball.

Reason four: The Bible says it

If having scientists warning us about the end of the world isn’t bad enough, religious folks are getting in on the act as well. Interpretations of the Christian Bible reveal that the date for Armageddon, the final battle between good an evil, has been set for 2012. The I Ching, also known as the Chinese Book of Changes, says the same thing, as do various sections of the Hindu teachings.

Reason five: Super volcano

Yellowstone National Park in United States is famous for its thermal springs and old faithful geyser. The reason for this is simple -- it’s sitting on top of the world’s biggest volcano and geological experts are beginning to get nervous sweats. The Yellowstone volcano has a pattern of erupting every 650,000 years or so, and we’re many years overdue for an explosion that will fill the atmosphere with ash, blocking the sun and plunging the earth into a frozen winter that could last up to 15,000 years. The pressure under the Yellowstone is building steadily, and geologists have set 2012 as a likely date for the big bang.

Reason six: The physicists

This one’s case of bog -- simple maths mathematics. Physicists at Berkely University have been crunching the numbers. They’ve determined that the earth is well overdue for a major catastrophic event. Even worse, they’re claiming that their calculations prove that we’re all going to die, very soon. They are also saying that their prediction comes with a certainty of 99 per cent; and 2012 just happens to be the best guess as to when it occurs.

Reason seven: Earth’s magnetic field

We all know the Earth is surrounded by a magnetic field that shields us from most of the sun’s radiation. What you might not know is that the magnetic poles we call North and South have a nasty habit of swapping places every 750,000 years or so -- and right now we’re about 30,000 years overdue. Scientists have noted that the poles are drifting apart roughly 20-30 kms each year, much faster than ever before, which points to a pole-shift being right around the corner. While the pole shift is under way, the magnetic field is disrupted and will eventually disappear, sometimes for up to 100 years. The result is enough UV outdoors to crisp your skin in seconds, killing everything it touches.

AR Rahman gets two Grammy nominations for "Slumdog Millionaire"

2009-12-03T07:00:00.000-08:00

Music maestro AR Rahman has been nominated for two Grammy awards for the film "Slumdog Millionaire". The Mozart of Madras, as Rahman is fondly called, has been nominated in the best soundtrack for motion pictures, television or other visual media category for the film, and in the best song for motion picture, television and other visual media category for "Jai ho", said the official Grammy website.

Written by lyricist Gulzar, "Jai ho" has been sung by Sukhvinder Singh, Tanvi Shah, Mahalaxmi Iyer, Vijay Prakash and Rahman himself.

Nominated for the first time at the Grammy's, Rahman won two Oscars for "Slumdog Millionaire" and the best original score award at the 2009 Golden Globe Award.

The 52th edition of the Annual Grammy Awards will be held at the Staples Center in Los Angeles Jan 31 next year.