Thursday, January 14, 2010
New Delhi Time
Thursday, December 3, 2009
PAA
REVIEW: BIG B's Paa
The ageing disorder and Amitabh Bachchan's look in Paa have been compared to Robin Willams' Jack and Brad Pitt's The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. But those superficial similarities aside, Paa is a completely different story.
Aspiring politician Amol and medical student Vidya have a child out of wedlock. Not wanting to hamper his political future, Amol asks Vidya to abort the baby. Vidya however breaks all ties with Amol and gives birth to Auro – a progeria patient whose physical appearance looks five times older than his mental age.
Years later, Auro and Amol come face-to-face and develop an instant rapport. Now Amol's past threatens to destroy his dream run in politics. Meanwhile Vidya is caught between her hatred for Amol and Auro's journey towards discovering his long lost father.
As a plot, Paa is inherently Bollywood with subtle influences of Shekhar Kapoor's Masoom, Mahesh Bhatt's Kaash and Aamir Khan's Taare Zameen Par. But what works for this film are the impressive performances and director R Balakrishnan's treatment. Balki doesn't go for an excessively melodramatic approach keeping the flow lighthearted. While this robs off some depth and your heart doesn't go all out for the characters, there are several other highs. The flow is rather charming and funny.
Save for a slightly filmy climax, the makers avoid melodramatic high-voltage sequences. Having a father-son bond over webchat is certainly a refreshing break from the stereotype.
The only downer is a long sub-plot depicting Ahishek's political ambition. Modelled on India's young breed of newly elected suave MPs, it adds nothing to the movie's core theme. Scenes about slum rehab and media bashing would have been better suited for the Sarkar franchise.
Much like his Cheeni Kum, Paa too is laced with witty one liners. Ad-man Balki clearly has his own style and grammar that oozes attitude and sarcasm. Balki is a rare filmmaker who doesn't depict Bollywood children as artificially innocent dimwits. If you remember the young girl from Cheeni Kum, this time too he shows the kids as sometimes rude but smart, outspoken, brats.
In an author-backed role, Amitabh Bachchan masters the body language and behaviour of a special child. Auro is high on self-confidence and his disorder is not projected with a sense of pity. Though his new look takes a while to sink in, the dialogue delivery has the trademark energy of an Amitabh Bachchan act. His individual sequences with Abhishek and Vidya have a bitter-sweet tone that's picked up brilliantly by the legend.
Vidya Balan's part is a bit sketchy, as both her love and anger towards Amol are never quite clear. But she has a natural comfort with deglam mature roles and excels beyond the script. Abhishek Bachchan throws in a confident performance as Auro's Paa. Playing a character that could have easily been sidelined and one that has no sympathy value attached to it, Bachchan Jr rises to the challenge. The scene where he finds out Auro's true identity is one of his best in a long time.
Verdict: Far from being boring or heavy on the senses, this is a simple film for the entire family. Take your Maa and Paa along and you wont regret it.
Friday, November 13, 2009
Monday, September 7, 2009
GATE 2010
This is something that has come to us through various channels :
1. GATE 2010 will be conducted by IIT Guwahati
2. The pattern is set to change again from the previous pattern.(55 questions, 100 marks unconfirmed as of now)
3. GATE Score will be valid for two years. Once again. (confirmed)
4. Now you can give the exam in 3rd year itself.(confirmed)
5. GATE 2010 - Pharmacy still remains unincluded.(confirmed) There is news that Pharmacy exam will be taken up by AICTE.
6. Some papers - MN, TS will be conducted online! (the streams with very less number of students, not the common streams of EC, CS, EE, ME, etc.)
7. GATE Board is currently in discussion whether to extend the validity of GATE 2009 score to 2010. But they have not decided yet. It will be decided by December.
Well this is good news, especially the GATE Score being valid for two years. This part has to be confirmed though. Look forward to inside news, if anyone has any.
GATE Forms will be available from 22 September.
Some news that might be useful for pharmacy students :
In TOI on 28 August - Front page :
MCI, Dental, Pharmacy, Nursing Councils will be scrapped, and will be taken care of a single regulatory body - National Council for Human Resources in Health. Looking forward to more details on this.
Look forward to you discussing this! Cheers!
Saturday, May 2, 2009
A R as 59th in TIME'S THE 2009 TIME 100
A.R. Rahman
In India, a country of a billion inhabitants, where film and pop music are one, A.R. Rahman, 43, dominates the music industry so totally that he has supplied the sound track for a whole generation. He enjoys the godlike devotion of India's youth, but everyone from the street child who sweeps train platforms to the middle-aged doctor in Mumbai's posh Malabar Hill hums his tunes.
Born in Chennai (formerly Madras) and raised on Tamil movies and music, Rahman converted to Sufism — a mystical form of Islam — in the late 1980s. It is easy to hear these influences in his work, but his genius lies in tying many forms of music together to make a sound that is at once familiar and new. He first gained widespread notice for Mani Ratnam's Tamil film Roja (1992), then branched out into Hindi films and has succeeded in making Indian film music a global phenomenon. He has worked with Andrew Lloyd Webber and with Shekhar Kapur on Elizabeth and has influenced other gifted directors like Baz Luhrmann. This year he won two Oscars, a Golden Globe and a BAFTA for giving Slumdog Millionaire its frenetic sound.
Rahman is a shy and quiet man, but his music has emotional force. Renowned for his immense range, he'll do a traditional score for a conventional film, then blend exotic vocals with Japanese music and Western classical arrangements in his next project. A veritable Pied Piper, he has no competition, yet he makes it a priority to discover new talent and promote it. He has shaped modern India's music for more than a decade. Now the "Mozart of Madras" has the world's foot tapping along with him.
Lakshmi is an actress, an author and the host of Bravo's Top Chef
Fast Fact: Jai Ho is now the campaign song for India's Congress Party
CLICK ON THE LINK FOR FULL LIST
http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/completelist/0,29569,1894410,00.html
Friday, May 1, 2009
A.P.J first asian to receive HOOVER MEDAL
NEW YORK: Former President of India, Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam was conferred the Hoover Medal for 2008 – a prestigious award instituted by five major engineers organizations in the US to recognize unselfish, non-technical services by engineers to humanity – at a ceremony held on the Columbia University campus in New York City on April 28.
At the event attended by Nobel laureates, academicians, students and members of the Indian American community the former President made a detailed presentation of his vision for India that encompasses rural connectivity, energy independence and water mission with the application of science & technology management.
Kalam said in his long career as a scientist he had learnt that leadership essentially requires a leader to have a vision, passion for transferring that vision into action, know how to manage success and failure and most importantly ability to work with integrity and succeed with integrity.
As has become his style, Kalam later opened the floor to take questions from the audience, interacting with them directly by dispensing off with the moderator, and fielded queries on a wide range of subjects from India’s need for nuclear energy, education, terrorism, nuclear weapons, to HIV/AIDS in India.
Kalam said eradication of poverty was important to eradicate terrorism. “Rich nations have to come together to help remove poverty from the poor nations. That is the only way to rid the world of terrorism,” he said.
He said he believes the ignited minds of the youth are the most powerful resource on earth.
The ever optimist, Kalam said India would succeed in finding a solution to combat HIV/AIDS in the next four to five years; would produce thorium-based nuclear energy in the next 10 years and eradicate poverty by 2020.
Asked what his message was for the Indian youth pursuing higher studies in the US, Kalam said, “For those students who intend to come back to India after completion of their studies, my message is that they learn what is most unique to the US -- entrepreneurship -- and become entrepreneurs on their return to India. And for those students who decide to settle in this country, my message is: Work and do your best for the country you are in.”
At the Indian Consulate
It was vintage Abdul Kalam – a scientist, a visionary, a teacher and a humanist – that had endeared himself all over again to more than 300 people who turned up to hear him speak at the Indian Consulate in New York on the eve of the Hoover Medal ceremony.
The immensely popular former President of India, who, in a manner akin to a kindergarten teacher, made the standing room only audience of highly qualified professionals, and community leaders repeat after him the profoundly simplistic message of attaining world peace through righteous living by every individual; and further endeared himself when he refused to stand to ceremony by freely and indulgently mingling with the people, endlessly posing for photographs and shaking countless hands through the evening.
The teacher in him was also apparent when Kalam kept his speech brief and encouraged the audience to ask him questions, even prodding them to keep up the questions and pay attention to his responses rather than talk among themselves at the back of the room.
Kalam had earlier inaugurated a photographic exhibition – Through the Eyes of Others: Photographs of India – presented by the Indian American Arts Council. Curated by Priyanka Mathew, the exhibition features uncanny shots of sights from different parts of India seen through the lens of ten photographers from the US, Canada and Switzerland.
Commending the photographers for their creativity, Kalam later said creativity always creates a beautiful environment, which leads to innovation, which in turn leads to happiness in mankind.
On the subject of green energy, Kalam said, all the cars in the world put together generate 30 billion tons of carbon dioxide. “I have suggested what is called energy independence -- go off of fossil fuels with solar power using high powered solar cells; nuclear power through thorium-based nuclear reactors; and biofuels. The combination of these three will give a clean livable environment throughout the world.”
On the impact of the current economic slowdown in the West on India, Kalam said the conservative nature of the Indian banking system and the Indian psyche of saving have helped India. “Our economic condition is better off than many other nations though our export potential is reduced.”
For a sustainable economy Kalam repeated his vision of rural connectivity. For the development of the 600,000 villages in India with 700 million people, he propounds physical, electronic and knowledge connectivity, which will lead to economic connectivity. “That will inspire farming and fishing communities and craftsmen in the villages and will revive rural economy and lead to infrastructure development and small scale industry.”
On education, Kalam said there were three components – primary, technical and higher education – and was needed was reform in primary education. “We need great teachers, schools need to be become like laboratories with a beautiful environment.”
And finally, he said righteousness of character in every individual leads to harmony at home, order in the nation and ultimately peace in the world, and that righteousness can be achieved with the help of only three persons – one’s father, mother and primary school teacher.
And for good effect, Kalam, who is oft described as the “People’s President”, made the audience repeat after him his pet mantra of righteousness, which the amused audience willingly did.