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Will reel kill the power of real?


A mainstream Bollywood production in the making, titled Gulab Gang, draws heavily on the circumstances and even the name of a now-famous real life movement, but purports to be purely fictional. Shoma Chatterji explores the questions of ethics and creative morality that this raises.




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What to expect when you watch the most talked-about film today


Though based on strong reporting, India’s Daughter remains restricted in its scope, and even strays from its purported objective, thanks to a very pronounced colonial supremacist gaze, writes Shoma Chatterji in a dispassionate review that cuts through the noise.




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The story that tells you what our courts are really like


Court narrates a compelling story and evolves into a hard-hitting realistic portrayal of the Indian legal system. Shoma Chatterji reviews the film with a deep exploration of all that sets it apart from a regular courtroom drama.




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Tackling demonetisation


Shunyota, a feature film in Bengali, has an all-India resonance that will echo across the country if and when it’s subtitled version will be screened, writes Shoma Chatterji.




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Summer in Kolkata


Branded as insipidly traditional and rather reluctant to keep up with the up-country changing currents, Kolkata has let itself be swept by a few Bollywood blockbusters. Summer holiday camps for kids and teenagers have taken the city by storm. Children are changing too, reports Kasturi Basu.




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Back to the family


Grounded in its feminist views, Praajak works with runaway boys and young men, to give them livelihood options and help them reunite with their families. Shoma Chatterji reports.




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Making agriculture attractive


With the 2003-4 budget giving agriculture the go-by, Devinder Sharma outlines five criteria that nation's finance minister must keep in mind while crafting budgetary policy for agriculture.




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Who will make hunger history?


With an estimated 24,000 people succumbing globally to hunger every day, more than 120 million people could perish by the year 2015 from this shameful scourge. In Gleneagles, however, the leaders of the world's richest economies did not even provide lip-service to the hungry and malnourished, Devinder Sharma writes.




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A stimulus package for farmers?


With 60 per cent of India's population directly engaged in agriculture, and another 200 million landless workers indirectly banking on farming, the real stimulus to the economy can come only if the focus shifts to agriculture, says Devinder Sharma.




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Corporates look for rural gold


Business honchos are descending on the rural markets, expecting to make a killing from whatever is left in the pockets of India's poor, led by an NCAER forecast of robust sales growth here, writes Devinder Sharma.




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2020 May 10 I’m turning 50 during lockdown!

I turn 50 this week!!! Yup! Half a century on this planet! Not exactly the sparkling celebration I thought I’d have, given the lockdown and social distancing, but it’s certainly going to memorable with its...




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OkCovid: Lockdown lust stories are going viral in time of virus

Aaaah! Rejoice… love is in the air…and it is beating the virus! Let’s unashamedly swoon over the parallel ‘love tracks’ of these two ‘Lockdown relationships’ — one featuring a 51-year-old, world famous, London-based scientist, the...




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Why prohibition makes little sense in Covid times

One of the unprepared-for aspects of the continuing lockdown was the 40-day prohibition of over-the-counter sale of alcohol. To complain about its unavailability while people are fighting for lives and livelihoods would be, at best,...




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Good mothers make great CEOs too!

The same qualities that make a woman a good mother, make her a better CEO too! A mirror was held up to me in a rather rude awakening just one day after I spoke passionately...




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Taking stock of China-Pak economic corridor

Pakistan has decided to lift lockdown to kick-start its tottering economy. The growth engine of Pakistan’s economic revival is powered by CPEC, flagship project of the Belt Road Initiative (BRI). It is tempting to conjure...




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Punitive approaches will backfire

The Uttar Pradesh government’s retributive approach to tackling the coronavirus outbreak is dangerously counterproductive. Its intention to firm up the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897, merely needed a law to protect doctors, nurses and health workers...




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US PGA's Memorial to track fans to maintain COVID-19 social distancing

The US PGA Tour's Memorial Tournament will use radio frequency identification (RFID) chips in spectator badges to ensure fans maintain social distance at the July 16-19 event, Golf Digest reported Saturday.




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Working on my mental fitness, says Dominic Thiem

During an interview with TOI, world No. 3 Thiem spoke about his comeback plans and how he is keeping himself ready for the season, as and when it restarts.




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Focussing on mental state, can pick up from where I left off: Kohli

Virat Kohli is in a good frame of mind which gives him confidence of being able to pick up from where he left as and when cricket resumes in the post-Covid world. "... once I am in a good frame of mind and I am keeping myself positive and happy, whenever I return to the game, I know I will be in a good position to start again from where we left," Kohli said.




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Just breathing during this lockdown: Boxer Vikas Krishan

In the last two months – after coming back from Amman, Jordan (where he secured Olympic quota in the 69kg category) – Vikas has been cooped up at his farmhouse in Bhiwani, Haryana, due to the pandemic-forced nationwide lockdown.




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Akmal refuses to divulge details of two meetings with suspected bookies

Umar Akmal, who was found guilty of two charges under the PCB Anti-Corruption Code has refused to divulge details of his two meetings with suspected bookies. According to the source, Akmal had a meeting with two unidentified men in Defence Housing Society in Lahore. The PCB source said Akmal also gave conflicting statements before the Disciplinary Panel hearing on April 27.




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Have to plan to make sports more interesting without fans: Rijiju

The Sports Ministry had banned spectators in stadiums for any events, including cricket matches, in one of its earliest advisories on the pandemic before all sporting events were brought to a halt altogether.




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Absolutely love the IPL, has a different atmosphere: Virat Kohli

The camaraderie that players share during the Indian Premier League (IPL) is what makes the tournament special for India and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) captain Virat Kohli. He would have been leading RCB in the 2020 edition of the T20 league at this time, had it not been for the coronavirus pandemic forcing the postponement of the IPL until further notice.




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On Mother's Day, sports stars say 'Thank you, Maa'

A pandemic-forced lockdown may not be the ideal way to get families together, but it's not something that's under human control. What's in your control is to stay safe at home, hug your mom and say 'Happy Mother's Day'.




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Cricketers will have to live with dangers of COVID-19: Gautam Gambhir

Former India opener Gautam Gambhir doesn't see major changes in the way cricket is played in the post COVID-19 scenario besides the ban on using saliva on the ball. The International Cricket Council is considering legalisation of the usage of artificial substances to shine the ball instead of saliva.




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Bird flu outbreak in Kerala: Tamil Nadu poultry farmers take precautionary measures

Though there is no avian flu outbreak in Tamil Nadu, poultry farmers across the state have taken precautionary measures.




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Prakash Mehta to attend 26/11 anniversary programme on behalf of CM Fadnavis

Minister for Industries, mines and parliamentary affairs Prakash Mehta will attend the programmes regarding 26/11 on behalf of chief minister Devendra Fadnavis.




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Former UP advocate general SMA Kazmi killed in road accident

Former Uttar Pradesh advocate general S M A Kazmi was today killed and three others were injured when the car they were travelling in rammed into a tree in Hatigawan area, a senior police officer said here.




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'I was a bit nervous about wearing a bikini'




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How IDBI Bank let itself be duped by Siva firms

The first loan of Rs 322.40 crore from IDBI was issued to Siva’s Finland-based company Win Wind Oy (WWO) in October 2010, which became a non-performing asset three years later.




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Weak spots for Nasa's manned Mars mission revealed

Scientists are developing a predictive model to help Nasa anticipate conflicts and communication breakdowns among crew members and head off problems that could make or break the US space agency's future manned mission to Mars. Nasa has formalised plans to send a crewed spacecraft to Mars, a journey that could involve 250 million miles of travel.




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Vasan unveils party flag sporting images of Kamaraj, Moopanar

Former Union minister G K Vasan, who quit the Congress recently, unveiled a tri-colour flag for his yet-to-be named party on Wednesday.




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NCP attacks Maharashtra CM for not paying visit to 26/11 memorial

NCP today slammed chief minister Devendra Fadnavis for not paying homage to the martyrs of 26/11 terror attacks by visiting the memorial built for them.




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India keeping close eye on Bangladesh polls




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Chinks in security, heroin recovered from goods train form Pak

Despite claims of strict safety measures taken post November 2nd Wagah , Pakistan, suicide bomb blast, the security officials here recovered 7.480 kilogram heroin from goods train that arrived from Pakistan on Wednesday.




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Extradition letter sets clock ticking for Mehul Choksi




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Taxiway take off: Licences of 2 Jet pilots suspended

Jet had last Friday said that the incident happened when their plane was trying to take off from the runway. But the preliminary probe by Saudi authorities has found that the lane was trying to take off from a taxiway parallel to the take off-designated runway at full power.




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Pragya Thakur on 'temple run' after EC curbs on campaigning

Malegaon blast accused and BJP's Lok Sabha candidate Pragya Singh Thakur went on a temple run on Thursday, a day after the Election Commission imposed a 72-hour campaigning ban on her. The EC ban followed complaints against Thakur for her offensive remark against 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks martyr Hemant Karkare




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‘Shift wholesale goat market out of Wathoda’




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Collaborative videos, games keep people together in times of social distancing




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‘Different vaccines being tried out, will take at least 6 months’




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Parents not ready to send kids to school ‘too soon’




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Amid chants of Jai Maharashtra, Shramik Express chugs off




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Aapli buses working 24X7 to move corona suspects




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Rebel leader was spreading Covid-19 awareness when killed: Maoists




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NMC-OCW plugs 730 leakages without affecting water supply




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Market goes from pyramid to pot-bellied

When an advertising professional starts to tell the India Story, expect an interesting take. Chief strategy officer at Bates 141 India, Dheeraj Sinha, says in the introduction to "Consumer India" that his account is "from the playing field, not the sidelines."




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Quick takes on new titles

Tim Weaver took 10 years to write his debut novel "Chasing the Dead" but less than six months to shoot off his latest "The Dead Tracks" .




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Quick takes on new titles

Pellerin was head of astrophysics at NASA for a decade. He was held responsible for launching the $1.7 billion Hubble telescope with a flawed mirror.




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Literary suns make up while Hay shines

V S Naipaul makes up with Paul Theroux even as he falls out with women at the literary festival.