Five persons have been booked in Maharashtra's Palghar district for kidnapping a newly married woman, holding her captive for almost two weeks and repeatedly raping her, police said on Monday.

An official said the 21-year-old victim's ordeal began on February 6 when a man posing as a policeman came to her house in Pragati Nagar in Nalasopara and asked her to accompany him to the police station. "The fake policeman told the victim that her husband had been arrested and she should come to the police station with some documents," he said. She was first taken in an accused's autorickshaw to Malad in Mumbai and held captive for eight days and then to Mira Road where she was locked up in an under-construction building till February 18, the official said.

"She was raped by two of the accused at both places. Three others, including a woman, abetted the crime. The victim was released from captivity on February 18," he said. The woman filed a complaint on February 23 and the five were booked on Sunday under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code for rape and criminal intimidation, the official said. He said no arrests had been made so far and further probe was underway. 

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Three local MNS activists have been booked for allegedly beating a BJP worker in Thane district of Maharashtra over a post forwarded by him on WhatsApp which they found offending, police said on Tuesday.

According to the complaint filed by the BJP activist, Pradeep Rane, on Sunday he received a post on WhatsApp about the MNS along with a picture of its party chief Raj Thackeray, Rabodi police station's senior inspector R M Somavanshi said. Rane forwarded the post to some other people. Later, three MNS workers also saw the post and felt offended following which they thrashed Rane, he said.

The complainant alleged that he apologised and also deleted the post from his mobile phone, but the MNS workers allegedly made a video-recording of the beating incident which they posted on social media and also aired on a local channel, the official said.

Based on his complaint, the police registered a case against the three MNS activists under IPC Sections 452 (house- trespass after preparation for hurt, assault or wrongful restraint), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 504 (intentional insult with an intent to provoke breach of peace) and 500 (defamation), he said. No arrest has been made so far, he said, adding that a probe was underway into the incident.

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In a video that went viral, MNS Yuva shakha Vice President Akhil Chitre was seen thrashing a taxi driver for allegedly misbehaving with a female passenger.

While speaking to mid-day, Chitre said that the female was plying from Wadala to BKC and she later returned to Dharavi. Though the fare was then Rs 118 the taxi driver was forcing her to pay Rs. 200 saying she had to also pay for the 'luggage' she was carrying.

A man who was the other passengers in the taxi stepped out and paid Rs 118 to the driver. However, shockingly the driver drove the cab without allowing the female passenger to get off. A crowd gathered around the taxi but the driver was still adamant on getting Rs 200.  The male co-passenger called up Chitre who reached the location and thrashed the driver.

Chitre said, "The male passenger located my number via Facebook and called me. Luckily, I was in BKC at the time and reached the spot within a minute. I then caught hold of the taxi driver and taught him a lesson."

In another video that went viral recently, an auto driver was seen hitting a passenger after an argument over auto fare. After watching the footage, the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) swung into action and thrashed the auto driver for his behaviour.

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The Nature Club of Wilson College is an active one, with me­m­bers participati­ng in platforms to raise awareness about environment­al issues. And with professor Sudhakar So­l­omon Raj, HOD of the political science depa­r­tment and head of the club, being a music aficionado, the move to celebrate the 40th year of the club's initiation by combining his two pass­ions to organise a nature concert this Monday was only natural. A part of a year-long series, which includes environmental talks, this celebration aims to highlight crucial issues via songs about nature.

The evening will feature collaborations between students of the college. A choir perfo­r­mance by North East Collective comprises 10 students from the re­gion, for examp­le. Then there is the college a cappella gr­oup, which, inter­e­­s­tingly, resulted from a dare issued by St Xavier's College. The college band, led by Sambhav Singh, will also perform, besides alumni Keegan Pereira, Reinhardt Dias and Riya Kartha. Plus, students from Andrew Vi­sion Centre will perform co­vers. "We have been using nature-themed songs as an educational tool since 1983. We wanted to share this by providing a platform for our students to express their talent," says Raj.

Keegan Pereira and Reinhardt Dias

Proceeds will go towards organizing nature trails for underprivileged kids, a tree planting drive and publishing an environmental handbook.

ON Today, 7 pm to 9.30 pm
AT St Andrew's Auditorium, St Dominic Road, Bandra West.
LOG ON TO bookmyshow.com
COST Rs 500 onwards

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Marking the occasion of Mahashivratri along with the success of her film Luka Chuppi, Kriti Sanon visited a Shiv temple in the suburbs of Mumbai to express her gratitude to the almighty.

With an opening of Rs 8.01 crore, Luka Chuppi marked Kriti Sanon's highest opener, as the lead actress. Amidst her busy schedule, Kriti visited Shiv Mandir in Santacruz to offer prayers and thank the almighty for showering her with love from the audience.

Check out some pictures here:

Kriti Sanon clicked at Shiv Temple in Santacruz (All Pictures/Yogen Shah)

Kriti Sanon clicked at Shiv Temple in Santacruz with her mother

Kriti Sanon clicked at Shiv Temple in Santacruz with her mother

Riding high on the success of her recent film Luka Chuppi, Kriti Sanon has been garnering love and appreciation for her quirky character Rashmi.

Kriti Sanon obliges a fan with a selfie outside the temple

Earlier, the actress visited Cinema halls to gauge the reactions of the audience as well as sold tickets at the theatre herself, surprising her fans with her sweet gesture. The actress has carved a place for herself with strong characters delivering remarkable performances there by winning the hearts of the audience.

Beginning the year with Luka Chuppi, Kriti Sanon is all set to offer a plethora of diverse characters this year with her films hailing from different genres. She will be next seen in Arjun Patiala, Housefull 4, and Panipat.

Also Read: Exclusive: Kriti Sanon on Panipat character: Killing people with sword was powerful

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Most of us youngsters are the poster children for all of the woke world's "isms". So, it may appear that we are championing the cause of environmentalism. While this might be true to some extent, Preeti Patel has a different story to tell.

"The majority of our sustained volunteers are in their 40s and seldom do we have young people attending our workshops," laments Patel, a catering officer with the Mumbai Port Trust (MPT) who founded Urban Leaves in 2009, an initiative that seeks to create awareness on food safety-related issues.

Freshly plucked veggies

Twenty years ago, in order to recycle waste generated at the central kitchen of the MPT, which caters to the organisation's departmental canteens, Patel started a small garden on the cookhouse's rooftop. "When I saw it flourish into a beautiful forest, I thought of taking the initiative outside MPT and to those who wanted to learn," she recalls while speaking about an upcoming workshop titled Vegetable Diversity and Seed-Saving Techniques, which the group will host.

Patel and her team conduct talks and workshops in order to fuel their endeavour of acquainting the uninitiated with the myriad issues the country is facing in the agricultural sector. The loss of homegrown seeds and depletion of desi varieties of veggies, Patel tells us, is a primary concern, aggravated by the supremacy of MNCs. "A local seed reaps the best harvest, in terms of plant health. However, their circulation is less vis-a-vis the supply of genetically modified variants, which is what the government is trying to push into our food systems and the MNCs are controlling," she points out, explaining why seed saving is the need of the hour. "It is our wealth and the traditional knowledge of saving your own seeds can be empowering," she shares.

But what is seed saving? How to save a them? Which seeds to save and what is the best time to do so? These are questions that newbies are likely to struggle with. So, on Sunday, Patel is hoping to assist enthusiasts and encourage them to participate in community farming by having these questions answered. The workshop will be conducted by Deepika Kundaji who has worked in organic farming at the Pebble Garden, a farm in Auroville, for 30 years.

AT St Andrew's College, St Dominic Road, Bandra West
ON March 10, 9 am to 1.30 pm
LOG ON TO urbanleaves.org
COST Rs 1,200

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An engineering graduate, Navin Noronha is also an openly gay stand-up comedian, who uses his humour to acquaint people with the struggles of the LGBTQ community. Watch him at his comedy special, The Good Child, which covers humorous takes on what it's like to grow up queer in India. From stories about coming out and online dating, to tackling family and gay relationships, Noronha will cover it all.

ON March 22, 8.30 pm
AT The Habitat, Khar West 
LOG ON TO bookmyshow.com
ENTRY Rs 250

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Two decades ago, drinking wine was restricted to snooty pseudo-intellectuals who turned the experience into flavour profiles of tannins and acids, melons and mango, and grape varieties that we could barely pronounce.

We now sip in times when the pourer, who once intimidated us with technical terms, explains the story of the vineyard, the grape and body with passion in layman’s terms.

When we stepped into 266 Wine and Bar Room, we were quickly reminded of the Kala Ghoda Wine Bar that recently opened in the much-loved backroom of Kala Ghoda Café. The space is done up in hues of light blue and grey, with light fixtures adding a warm, amber glow from low-wattage tungsten bulbs. We settle into blue sofas, preferring the comfort to the high stools that may turn tricky after a few glasses.

266 Charcuterie and Cheese Board

The 266 Charcuterie and Cheese Board (Rs 675) is an indulgence with brie, camembert, cheddar, strawberries, walnuts, olives and chicken and pork cold cuts. Between nibbles and sips, we realise this is a space we’d love to hang out at for conversations or even some alone time.

The platter beautifully compliments the wines. The thirstier one among us has signed up for an old world red wine flight (Rs 1,800) that takes her from an Italian pinot noir by Folonari, which is crisp and medium-bodied, to a full-bodied French syrah by Domaine Gayda, a Spanish Monastrell and finally, a fresh Italian Umani Ronchi of Montepulciano d’Abruzzo. Of the lot, the syrah’s peppery, fruity notes get the highest applause.

World maps should have been taught according to wine regions of the world, we think, as we enjoy the joyride through this mini trip across some of the world’s finest wine counties. On the other hand, we sip a honeyed South African Chenin blanc by Tall Horse (Rs 850) which is tart-y, fruity and light on the palate.

Tomato stew with prawns and Malabari paratha

The food at this wine bar draws our attention too. We take a risk and order the tomato stew with prawns (Rs 575) that comes with a side of flaky, buttery Malabari paratha (Rs 60). It’s a great example of wine pairing with Indian food. The broth is sweet, tangy and cuts the acidity of the wine. With the cheese board now reduced to crumbs of brie and cheddar, we settle for a dark chocolate and olive oil mousse (Rs 425) that gives our spirited sojourn a bittersweet (pun not intended) end.

AT 266 Wine and Bar Room, next to Shopper’s Stop, Linking Road, Bandra West
TIME 4 pm to 12 am
CALL 8879101350

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266 Wine and Bar Room didn't know we were there. The Guide reviews anonymously and pays for meals

A leopard entered a society in Marol, Andheri. He was caught after almost two hours.

There was a big crowd at Vijay Nagar near Marol Marushi. People were waiting with sticks in their hands.

CCTV footage of the leopard

In the CCTV footage, the wild animal was seen running around the premises of Woodland Apartment near Police camp.

The SGNP leopard rescue team and Thane team reached the spot immediately while Dr Shailesh Pethe, Deputy Conservator of Forest Dr Jitendra Ramgaonkar, Range Forest Officer Santosh Kank were preparing the strategy.

Also read: Decomposed body of leopard found at Sanjay Gandhi National Park

The forest officers were able to nab the leopard after two hours. He was taken away in a van. The Powai team, MIDC police and fire brigade were also involved in the rescue operation.

In February this year, a leopard was spotted in the basement of Korum Mall in Thane.

Also read: Mumbai: Leopard numbers increase in Sanjay Gandhi National Park

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Parineeti Chopra was clicked by the paparazzi at her gym in Khar, Mumbai. The Kesari actress was looking fab in burgundy active-wear, and this oversized t-shirt, paired with yoga pants which are a must-have for your wardrobe. She chose a perfect fit gym clothing to enhance curves, and we totally loved it.

Parineeti Chopra/All pictures/Yogen Shah

Burgundy top: Get a similar look like Parineeti Chopra and make the heads turn in the gym. Buy Ap'pulse Women's Zip Hi Neck Tshirt at the discounted price of Rs 499 only. Shop here.

Burgundy yoga pants: It is not just one top that you can pair your workout gear with! Buy your Stretchable High Waist Track Yoga Pant at the discounted price of Rs 599 only. Shop here.

Janhvi Kapoor's gym wardrobe

Janhvi Kapoor was also snapped at her gym in Khar, Mumbai. The actress sported a blue coloured tank-top, which she paired with black yoga shorts for her workout session.

Blue top: You can buy a similar blue top for your workout, and sweat it out in style at your gym. Pick your Women's Cotton Round Neck T-Shirt in blue at the discounted price of Rs 299 only. Shop here. 

Black yoga shorts: Get the Avaatar Women's Cotton Yoga Shorts at the discounted price of Rs 250 only. Shop here.

Also Read: Khushi and Shanaya Kapoor twinning will make you want to twin with your sister

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Summers is here and its to get your summer body to flaunt it! Janhvi Kapoor was clicked at the gym in Bandra, Mumbai. Janhvi Kapoor opted for an all-grey gym outfit, and her latest gym look is doing rounds on the internet. 

Janhvi Kapoor/picture courtesy: Yogen Shah

Black and grey sports bra: Buy Enamor Padded Wirefree Medium Impact Sports Bra at the discounted price of Rs 389 only. Shop here.

Grey top: Zesteez Women Grey and Black Sports Tshirts Activewear at the discounted price of Rs 499 only. Shop here.

Grey yoga shorts: Get Avaatar Women's Cotton Yoga Shorts at the discounted price of Rs 250 only. Show here.

Filmmaker Boney Kapoor and late actress Sridevi's daughter Janhvi's debut film, Dhadak with Ishaan Khatter was appreciated by critics and audience alike. The film was a remake of a blockbuster Marathi film titled, Sairat. Janhvi Kapoor is currently shooting on the biopic of Indian Air Force combat pilot Gunjan Saxena. The film has been titled Kargil 83.

Apart from this, she will be seen in a double role in Dinesh Vijan's Rooh-Afza with Rajkummar Rao and Karan Johar's directorial, Takht. This film comprises an ensemble cast of Ranveer Singh, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Bhumi Pednekar, Anil Kapoor and Vicky Kaushal.

Also Read: This gym look of Janhvi Kapoor and Parineeti Chopra is pocket-friendly

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Xiaomi India on Wednesday announced the launch of "Mi Music" and "Mi Video" to offer value-added Internet services in India.

"With the launch of these two apps 'Mi Music' and 'Mi Video', we hope to serve millions of Xiaomi smartphone users with a better user experience through enhanced Internet services," Manu Jain, Vice President, Xiaomi and Managing Director, Xiaomi India, said in a statement.

"Mi Music" is a pre-installed music app which offers an integrated music streaming service along with the ability to store offline music and has nearly seven million daily active users in India, the statement said.

"Mi Video" is a pre-installed video app that provides integrated video streaming across platforms.

"Mi Video" content is currently powered by Hungama Play, SonyLiv and Voot. It offers more than 500,000 hours of content with nearly 80 per cent free content, the statement added.

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YouTube has begun rolling out support for high dynamic range (HDR) video content for iPhone X, the media reported.

For iOS users, YouTube videos in HDR can be viewed on the iPhone X, but the feature does not yet appear to be working on the latest iPad Pro models, MacRumors reported late on Thursday.

HDR videos provide a broader range of colours and also supports quality video playback on a variety of screen sizes. YouTube has platforms like "The HDR Channel" that provides HDR videos for iOS.

Apple debuted HDR support last year with the "Super Retina" display in the iPhone X, which became the first HDR OLED display incorporated into one of Apple's smartphones, the report added.

On the iTunes Movies Store on Apple TV 4K, select films also support 4K, HDR10, and "Dolby Vision" when paired with compatible 4K television sets, the report added.

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Do you also start watching a video on YouTube and lose track of time following the recommended/autoplay list? Google wants to tell you that it is concerned over this habit of yours and has inserted a nifty new feature to its video service.

As part of its focus on digital well-being, Google has added a feature to YouTube called 'take a break' which notifies you when you have exceeded a specific amount of consecutive viewing time, The Verge reports.

The feature is optional, and just like how you might scold a little one for exceeding their television viewing time, the feature will show you a prompt when you lose track of time.

You can enable it through the Settings menu and selecting 'Remind me to take a break'. You can choose from options ranging from 15 minutes to 180 minutes.

Whether or not it really contributes to a healthy digital well-being is something we are yet to see, but it surely gives an easy way of timing the consumption of the addictive video service.

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A top Powai school found itself in a controversy after a lady school bus attendant accused the transport manager of molestation. For a couple of days now, this paper has been running reports about the molestation charge with the complainant saying that the man had harassed her earlier, too, but there was no cognizance taken of her earlier verbal complaints.

This case is interesting and we need to have an outcome here, because it is the protector who has become a molestation survivor. It is mandatory for institutions to have women bus attendants inside school buses. The rule has come in the wake of the molestations of girl students on school buses. All schools and their transporters who may be on contract have been told to abide by the rule to ensure safety of girls in buses. There are other rules such as GPS and CCTV in the buses. It is a matter of great shame that sexual harassment has become so rife that even little girls in school buses need to be protected. One must focus on the fact that an attendant, who is supposed to protect the children, has made allegations of being molested.

The school authorities must launch a thorough internal probe, even as the police are conducting an investigation. The survivor, having had the courage to go to the cops, needs to follow the case to its end. Though this happened outside the school bus, buses need to have a GPS and schools must install CCTV cameras in their premises, buses and outside the school so that footage can be used in cases like these.

A thorough follow up and quick action will assuage the worries and fears of parents who cannot be blamed for thinking their children are extremely vulnerable, given that an adult woman, who is like a caretaker in the school bus, has turned complainant herself.

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The desire to stream his speeding stunt live on social media cost a 20-year-old engineering student his life, while his cousin, who accompanied him, is battling for his life in hospital. He had stolen the keys to his uncle's car. This report highlighted once again that social media distractions and driving are a lethal mix.

The police have identified the deceased as Shivam Prakash Jadhav from Kharadwadi in Pimpri. He died on the spot. His cousin Hrishikesh Vilas Pawar, 22, was cited as critical and undergoing treatment in a Pimpri Chinchwad-based private hospital.A senior police officer was quoted in the report as saying that the car was speeding at 120 kmph. The passenger was streaming live on Instagram when the driver asked him to show the speedometer. Later, he lost control of the car, and it rammed into a grid separator.

The thrill of speed coupled with the thrill of likes, adulation and congratulatory messages is so potent that there can never be enough said about desisting from using social media while driving. Even earphones are a no-no when driving because your hands may be free, but the mind is elsewhere on the conversation and your focus and attention is compromised.

Here, we also had another factor thrown into the tragic cocktail. The driver was speeding. It was the passenger who was streaming live on Instagram, but the driver's attention was compromised as he was distracted by Instagram. It was evident that the young men were on a suicide mission unknown to them.

Let there be more awareness and we want to see a blitzkrieg on social media how it is not cool to drive and be on social media at the same time. Speed should be similarly panned. Youngsters, this is so not cool. Losing a life for some likes? Certainly not.

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Actress Keerthy Suresh as Savitri in Mahanati

Telugu cinema — specifically Baahubali 1 and 2 — knocked the daylights out of Bollywood. Now comes the ravishing Telugu-Tamil film Mahanati (Great Actress, in Telugu; Nadigaiyar Thilagam in Tamil), directed by Nag Ashwin, a biopic on top film star Savitri garu (a Telugu honorific). This sensuous, period, feminist film, starring Keerthy Suresh and Dulquer Salmaan, rivals Bollywood's best. Kommareddy Savitri (1937-1981) was a remarkable female superstar of Telugu and Tamil cinema, who acted alongside top Tamil and Telugu stars such as Sivaji Ganesan, MG Ramachandran (MGR), Gemini Ganesan and Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao (NTR), often got paid more than the heroes, and even produced and directed six films in the 1960s and 1970s, some with an all-female crew, featuring these top heroes — all practically unthinkable today. Savitri acted in nearly 200 films in Telugu, Tamil and Hindi, including Pelli Chesi Choodu, Devadasu, Missiamma, Maya Bazaar and Pasamalar, peaking in the 1950s and 1960s, and the films she directed include Chinnari Papalu. Her career spiralled downwards after she secretly married co-star Gemini Ganesan (then already married to Alamelu and in another relationship with Pushpavalli with whom he had Hindi film star Rekha), and his jealousy and alcoholism drove her to drink; she cut back on her career to appease him, turned alcoholic herself and went to ruin. The film has released worldwide, including in India; it is currently also showing in Mumbai with English subtitles.

Indian biopics on women film stars — including Milan Luthria's Dirty Picture on Silk Smitha with Vidya Balan (Hindi); KG George's Lekhayude Maranam: Oru Flashback (Lekha's Death: A Flashback) on actress Shobha's alleged affair with a top director (Malayalam), and Ranjith's Thirakkatha (Screenplay) on Srividya and her alleged affair with a top Tamil star (Malayalam) — are mostly tragedies. What is remarkable about Mahanati is that while it shows Savitri's courage, feistiness, stardom and generosity, it also shows her poor decisions in love, marriage and finance. She is a homebreaker and an alcoholic who also neglects her children. Yet, the film valourises her as someone who believed that life is short, and so made the best of it. In fact, the film, presented by Vyjayanthi Movies, is produced by two women, sisters Swapna Dutt and Priyanka Dutt of Swapna Cinemas.

The film is told through Madhuravani (Samantha Akkineni), a journalist in the 80s, investigating Savitri's story with her photographer boyfriend Vijay Anthony (Vijay Deverakonda) after Savitri is found in a hospital, after being in a coma for a year. Nag Ashwin, in only his second feature after Yevade Subramanyam, shows outstanding assurance and craftsmanship. Throughout, there are scenes switching seamlessly from Savitri's real and reel life; and the period sets have been gorgeously recreated, including a 'stairway to heaven'. Keerthy Suresh carries the film with aplomb: sparkling, yet dignified, even in her despair. Top Malayalam star Dulquer Salmaan sportingly plays second fiddle and charming rake. Sai Madhav Burra's screenplay packs in a lot. LA-based Spanish cinematographer Dani Sanchez-Lopez's cinematography is marvellous: ironically, he digitally shot the period parts and used super 16mm film stock for the more recent 80s. The costumes by designers Gaurang Shah, Archana Rao and stylist Indrakshi Pattanaik are exquisite, as are Shivam Rao and Kolla Avinash's sets. Mickey J Meyer's music is versatile and soulful. At 2h 57mins, the editing by veteran Venkateswara Rao Kotagiri flags a little, yet keeps you engaged till the end.

Meenakshi Shedde is South Asia Consultant to Berlin Film Festival, award-winning critic, curator to festivals worldwide and journalist. Reach her at meenakshishedde@gmail.com

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BS Yeddyurappa submits his resignation as Karnataka chief minister to Governor Vajubhai Vala in Bengaluru on Saturday. Pic/PTI

At a press conference moments after BS Yeddyurappa quit as Karnataka chief minister for the third occasion in his life, this time after just two impotent days, Congress president Rahul Gandhi was asked if he would demand Governor Vajubhai Vala's resignation. Just the day before, Rahul had tweeted that Vala's decision to invite Yeddyurappa to form a government, despite being short of a majority and not having any other party's support, was "unconstitutional". Yet, with the press he was philosophical: "What's the point?" Rahul said. "Even if Governor Vala is made to go, Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi would put another puppet in his place, who will take exactly the same decisions."

Rahul repeatedly stressed the point that the RSS, through Modi, is out to destroy all institutions in India because it respects no institution other than the RSS. Modi did not behave like a democrat, he said, but like a "dictator". (Also, the Congress president referred to his BJP counterpart as "murder accused Amit Shah".)

Some Indians don't mind Modi being a dictator. They think democracy in India is too slow and needs to be speeded up. Not only is this sentiment justified by pseudo-Darwinism — so what if the poor get left behind? — it doesn't seem to bother them that subverting Constitutional niceties may backfire on them one day, when the Great Leader is replaced by someone else, perhaps another regional leader in a hurry. For now it's okay if their Governors try one thing in Manipur and Goa, and then try the opposite in Karnataka.

Rahul did not mention, however, the elephant in the room: the occupant of the highest constitutional office in the land. For much of the republic's life we have had some pretty ordinary occupants in Rashtrapati Bhawan, and one need not go far back in history to find some awful examples. Pratibha Patil was nominated by the UPA to be India's first woman president, but she was far from a leading advocate of gender-equality or even equal-pay issues during her career; her elevation was simply an exercise in tokenism —much in the way that Ram Nath Kovind's is. (Another pedestrian candidate, to my mind, was fixer and murky backroom boy Pranab Mukherjee, who in 2012 end-gamed then Congress President Sonia Gandhi into nominating him.)

President Kovind isn't even the first dalit in Rashtrapati Bhawan. The first was KR Narayanan, who unlike President Kovind, had a distinguished career as a diplomat and an academician before he became vice-president (and in 1997, president). President Kovind's achievements have been modest in the field of education; and though he was personal assistant to Prime Minister Morarji Desai, he has been a Hindutva ideologue for over a quarter of a century. The RSS considers him its man.

President Kovind isn't anywhere near the stratosphere of popularity achieved by the other NDA nominee for president, the late APJ Abdul Kalam, who succeeded Narayanan in 2002. On the contrary, President Kovind was earlier this month left looking diminished thanks to former information and broadcasting minister Smriti Irani (repeatedly the proverbial bull in Modi's china shop) who mismanaged his presentation of the National Film Awards, provoking many artistes to boycott the function. (The photos were catastrophic, showing rows of empty seats at the function.)

President KR Narayanan distinguished himself in office with a couple of correct Constitutional decisions that shocked the political establishment, because he acted impartially rather than be the government's rubber stamp. In October 1997, he returned the recommendation by then Prime Minister IK Gujral's to put UP under President's Rule. He is the only president to have refused to impose central rule (he did it again the next year), setting an important precedent for federalism.

Given the recent partisanship of members of the Election Commission and of the Supreme Court, and with Governor Vala's naked and shameless partiality — he disregarded recommendations by various Centre-State Commissions set up since Independence on the Governor's role in inviting a party for government formation — you need not be a rocket scientist to predict President Kovind's behaviour if the 2019 election produces a hung parliament.

Imagine a scenario where the BJP wins about 180 seats and the Congress wins about 185, or the other way around. Forget for a moment how the pre-poll and post-poll alliances shape up. Then ask yourself the question: who will President Kovind invite first to form the government? This must be weighing on the minds of Rahul Gandhi and his team. It is obvious to most of us why Modi appoints whoever he appoints to high Constitutional office — it is to do his bidding. President Kovind's critical moment in history will come when he will have to make a choice — to be another KR Narayanan, or to be another Vajubhai Vala.

Aditya Sinha's latest book, The Spy Chronicles: RAW, ISI, and the Illusion of Peace (HarperCollins India), written with former spychiefs AS Dulat and Asad Durrani, is out this week. He tweets @autumnshade Send your feedback to mailbag@mid-day.com

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If you're sharp-eyed about rivets, you'll know that dust gathers on the top half, but not on the bottom. Pic Courtesy/CY Gopinath

In the house where i lived in Andheri Lokhandwala, I'd wipe a finger along the window sill in the morning, and a layer of dust would come away. The domestic help would wipe it clean every morning; 24 hours later, it would be grimy again.

But it was 1982, we were children then and had simple theories about things. Mine was that with so much crazy construction going on in Lokhandwala Complex, well, what would you expect if not clouds of dust? And thus, dust became another little thing we stopped questioning in Bombay. And then Bombay became Mumbai. But the dust remained dust.

I wouldn't be writing this today if I hadn't moved to Bangkok, on work first, but finally just to live. And the questions began coming. Bangkok and Mumbai are very similar, both urban, crowded and sleepless world cities with local life and culture richly woven into cosmopolitan sensibilities. Question 1 was why Bangkok didn't have swarms of flies despite being the world's street food capital. I wrote about that in this column on April 17.

The second question was why my window sills never got dusty in Bangkok — or more accurately, why nothing ever got dusty in Bangkok. After a hard day's toil, you could wash your hands clean without creating rivulets of grime.

I began paying special attention to public places where you'd normally expect dust. For example, on the outside of pedestrian overpasses across busy streets, large hexagonal rivets hold down steel barriers left and right of the walkway. If you're sharp-eyed about rivets, you'll know that dust gathers on the top half, but not on the bottom.

So I began checking Bangkok's outside rivets: they sparkled like freshly painted. And not because it had rained either. Next, I checked those ugly black nests of telephone and electricity cables that hang between lamp posts — another place where dust, cobwebs and pigeon s**t build up. In Bangkok, they were spotless. A week later, I saw several old women in municipal uniform with mops and swabs whose job apparently was to specifically clean dust and grime from all hard-to-reach places. Such as rivets on the outside.

I checked out one of Bangkok's many construction sites, which process the same materials as any Indian site — gravel, cement, bricks, concrete mixers. But miracle of miracles, no dust, thanks to the simplest of strategies. One worker on the site has just a single, simple task all day: he stands with a hose pipe watering the grounds every 15 minutes. Damp dust doesn't fly.

ON MY NEXT VISIT to Mumbai, I became a student of dust. Building construction sites are not the only dust devils. Major culprits are the mounds of debris that lie where utility companies have dug up the earth to lay cables. Since their job is not road cleaning, they leave the debris where it is when they're done.

By the time the department for debris-removal has slowly moved its creaky bones, passing winds have stirred the dirt and dust and blown it everywhere. The debris-removers finally come, but they do not fix the road, since that it is the roadworks department's job.

Meanwhile, more winds blow more dust around. In most cases, the roadworks people never show up. Mumbai has looked like a war zone as long as I've lived there, a bit like Aleppo after some barrel bombs.

And then I noticed another little dust-maker: the cute zig-zag paving tiles that give many Mumbai crossroads a faux European look. With just some basic geometry, you'd have seen the glaring mismatch between the kerb and the pavestones. The kerb is a straight edge, while the paisley tiles are curved.

When a curved object meets a straight one, gaps are guaranteed. A good road maker would know what to do about those gaps. He'd pack them tight with concrete cement, and they'd be gap-free when it dried. But Mumbai's heritage is of roads with beautiful tiles that are abandoned inches before they touch the pavement. Those are the tiles that go loose first, exposing dusty road. One by one, the rest follow.

Soon, the happy roadmaker has to be re-hired to repair his own work. Meanwhile, more and more dust flies around as more and more tiles come loose. I ASKED A ROADMAKER why his work was so shoddy. He shrugged and said, "It's how the system works. To win the contract, I have to pay someone in the municipality first, almost one-third of the amount. But after that, I don't have enough money left to deliver the job as I promised once I deduct the bribe and my profit. So I have to cut something somewhere. We just leaves the edges incomplete." And voila! Another cloud of dust.

Here, viewed from there. C Y Gopinath, in Bangkok, throws unique light and shadows on Mumbai, the city that raised him. You can reach him at cygopi@gmail.com Send your feedback to mailbag@mid-day.com

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Yakuza 6 is the final chapter in the Kazuma Kiryu saga and the debut of a new engine for the game. For those who have never played Yakuza before, there is a handy back story that you can read through complete with choice visuals from the previous game. Even without the story mode, the game is self-sufficient and you won't feel like you are missing something. It plays out like a melodramatic Japanese movie — there are lots of cut-scenes and it will be a while before you go around breaking bones and destroying property. Fortunately, the story is decent enough to keep you engaged, considering it is around 30 hours long.

For the uninitiated, you play Kazuma Kiryu, a yakuza, who is part of the Japanese mafiosi. The idea of the game is to go around completing the tasks assigned in the story mode. However, you are also in Japan, which means there are many fun distractions to while away time. In the past, these distractions have been many and made Yakuza a game that you could play forever. In Yakuza 6, however, the side activities are few, but they are well made. Some choices are playing mahjong, working out, playing baseball, visiting a hostess bar or a cat café.

The biggest addition to the side activities is the Clan Creator mini-game, where you direct gang members in a top down view of a brawl. You can add special characters to your clan, by defeating them in combat. This mini-game is a lot of fun, even though defeating your foes is often too easy. The overall combat in Yakuza is also super easy. Kiryu is capable of handling multiple thugs with just a few basic moves. You can pick up anything off the street and use it as a weapon. Building rage can trigger special moves, which is essentially just beating people senseless with whatever you have in your hand. The simplicity of combat makes it easy to learn, but it can get repetitive after a while.

Visually, the new engine shows off the cut-scenes and characters really shine through. The motion is seamless and once you are in an area, the game never stutters. Japan is recreated beautifully, it is like you are roaming the streets of the country. You can enter stores, narrow lanes and explore anything that is on the map. The game is a fitting end to the story of Kazuma Kiryu. The top-notch storytelling and the graphics more than do justice to the Yakuza series. More side activities and layered combat could have kept the game interesting beyond the main storyline, but despite all of this, Yakuza manages to entertain.

Yakuza 6: The Song of Life
Rating: 4/5
Developer: Sega
Publisher: Sega
Platform: PS4
Price: Rs 2,999

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Vishnudas Bhave. Pic/Premji Sosa

The next time you book your tickets for a play, think of this name: Vishnudas Bhave. An important figure in the history of Indian theatre, Bhave is best known for his pioneering work in the mid-1800s. Born in Sangli, Bhave arrived in Mumbai in 1852, only to change the face of not just Marathi theatre, but the whole infrastructure surrounding the industry. "He didn't invent theatre, but he certainly innovated it," says historian and researcher Murali Ranganathan.

Bhave will form the core of a talk on the modernisation of theatre in Mumbai that Ranganathan will deliver this Friday as part of arts and science conversation platform, Mumbai Local's first curated session by playwright Ramu Ramanathan. For over a decade, Ranganathan has been extensively researching the history and development of the entertainment industry in Mumbai, and this session is a leaf borrowed from the pages of his larger project. He says, "Bhave looked at the theatre infrastructure available in then-Bombay. He decided that, instead of staging plays in the backyards of the rich or through building temporary sheds, where people could just walk in, he could change the non-ticketed scene to actually charging for plays at Grant Road Theatre."

Interiors of Grant Road theatre. Pic/Drama Queens Representation purposes

The Bhave-fication of theatre in Mumbai also meant that people wanted value for money. Before Bhave's arrival, says Ranganathan, instead of tickets, an aarti plate was passed around at the end of a show, on which people would place a patron sum voluntarily. "Buying a ticket meant that audiences expected more from plays. Hence from semi-religious plots, the plays shifted to pure entertainment," he explains. A byproduct of this entertainment factor was the introduction of the genre of farce, in which the foibles of the rich and contemporary issues were critiqued through the veil of humour. Bhave and his company staged farces on widow remarriage, children's education, English missionaries, and, oddly, a cautionary tale to raise awareness on a series of murders of children that happened for robbing them of jewellery.

Stating that he is interested in "excavating" libraries with an archaeologist's enthusiasm, Ranganthan's research draws extensively from news archives. The reason is that Bhave's methods paved the path for previews, reviews, and ads, many of which are to be found in these archives. "Mumbai's theatre scene in the 20th century has been well-researched, but the times before that still need more work," says Ranganathan. He adds that his talk will also cover other theatre groups that followed Bhave's suit, a maverick balloonist who drives mass entertainment, and how practices like yoga caught the modern imagination. It all sounds intriguing, and best heard from Ranganathan himself.

Where: Kitab Khana, Somaiya Bhavan, Flora Fountain, Fort
When: May 18, 5.30 PM
Free
Call: 61702276

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When the first State of Decay came out, it was unique in the way that it focused on the survival aspect of a zombie apocalypse rather than the all-out destruction and gore of killing countless zombies. With the new game, the developers have focused their attention on the community aspect of survival.

Right from the start, you get to choose two characters instead of one and each group and character has their own strengths, skills and background. Like the previous game, you can make your posse and build a base of operations complete with a farm and fortification. There are three open world maps — each the size of the map in the original game.

This huge world is littered with empty cabins, new places to build outposts and gather resources. Risky as it may be, the game forces you to explore resources simply because weapons break and you can run out of fuel, food and medical supplies. Venturing out also helps you meet new people to add to the community. State of Decay 2 really hits you home with all the death — losing a built-up human resource can be painful. You can die by getting killed in combat or by way of infection.

Dying in combat is also rare as the AI-controlled characters do a good job of handling themselves, while you take care of business. The only real time you are in danger is when you encounter morbidly obese super zombies that can tear you apart. These guys are tough, but they are the most fun combat you will face in the game, second only to running over zombies with a car, which could have been better if the cars handled better.

Plus, it pays to remember that fuel is a limited resource that you might want to save. Scavenging for resources is fairly simple — if you need fuel, you can raid a gas station; if you need food, find a convenience store or abandoned encampment. Gathered resources can be used to build up, upgrade and fortify your own camp. While there is a ton of stuff to do in the camp and in the surrounding areas, State of Decay 2 does have a main story.

The story mode is a great way to learn about the game and experience various situations as you search for plague hearts to destroy. Plague hearts are throbbing masses of flesh, and it is what produces the infectious plague zombies, identifiable with their glowing eyes. To reduce their numbers, you need to find and destroy the hearts. While the story mode is fulfilling, the camp building and exploring is where the game's strength lies.

We played an advanced copy of the game and the final game will be released on Tuesday. State of Decay 2 still has a lot of bugs, which hopefully will be ironed out soon. Some bugs we encountered on the PC version of the game were floating zombies, breaks in rendering and freezing. This is not a big issue and the developers are sure to patch this over time. And, while the game is very competitively priced, we would recommend waiting for a future bug-free version before jumping in.

State of Decay 2
Rating: 3.5/5
Developer: Undead Labs
Publisher: Microsoft
Platform: PC, XBOX
Price: Rs 1,924

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Photographer and graphic designer Anusha Yadav started the Indian Memory Project, an online, visual, narrative-based archive in 2010, to trace the history of the subcontinent via photographs and letters. Pic/Ashish Raje

EarLier this week, artist and oral historian Aanchal Malhotra, 28, travelled nearly 240 km to Chandigarh from Delhi, to meet a nonagenarian, who had lived through the Partition of 1947. As she speaks about it now, there's a lump in her throat. "I couldn't sleep that entire night," Malhotra confesses. "Even 70 years on, the woman is so afraid to talk about it. It had everything, from gun fire, to fleeing from her home in Pakistan, to her brother and mother being taken as prisoners, and to giving birth in a forest on her way to India. When she first delivered the baby, her immediate response was to throw it away. You can imagine what trauma she was experiencing." What surprised Malhotra most was when the 90-year-old asked her what she would do with her story. "I said that I wanted to publish it. The woman's immediate response was, 'who will read this?'. They really think that nobody cares. But, this is the story that has shaped the future of contemporary India."

The jewellery Aanchal Malhotra is wearing, was made in the North-West Frontier Province and was given to her great-grandmother, Lajvanti Gulyani, by her in-laws on her wedding to Hari Chand Gulyani in the year 1919. But it could have been in the Gulyani family before that as well. Since she became a widow quite young and was a single mother at the time of Partition, it was carried by her to India in 1947 because she thought she would be able to sell it and earn money to put her children through school. She then gave it to Malhotra’s grandmother, who has now given it to her. Pic/Nishad Alam

Malhotra is the author of Remnants of Separation (HarperCollins India), a book that revisited the Partition through objects carried across the border, and the co-founder — along with Navdha Malhotra — of The Museum of Material Memory, a digital repository of material culture of the Indian subcontinent, tracing family histories and ethnography through heirlooms and objects of antiquity. Since the launch of the archive last year, the founders have put together over 35 heartwarming object stories. Closer home, photographer and graphic designer Anusha Yadav's Indian Memory Project — an online, visual, narrative-based archive, founded in 2010, which traces the history of the subcontinent via photographs and letters — has helped us see history in another light. There is also Paris-based perfumer Jahnvi Lakhota Nandan, whose recently-published book, Pukka Indian: 100 objects that Define India (Roli Books), documents the most coveted symbols and designs representing our culture, by tracing its origin and significance in our lives. All three projects while different in essence and form, have one common intent — to record untold stories from our history and preserve them for posterity. But, as Malhotra's subject asked her, why should anyone be curious?

The chakla and belan originated in 7,500 – 6,000 BCE in Punjab. At the time, this region was cultivating wheat and barley extensively. Rather than using the flatness of the chakla and the pressure of the belan to what we might expect to be used around the country to make flatbread, whatever the ingredient might be, it is only in this region of north India that the chakla and belan were used simply because wheat and barley lend themselves to kneading. What must have been perceived as a high-technology kitchen tool then, the chakla and belan soon spread to other parts of the country. Text courtesy/Pukka India by Jahnvi Lakhota Nanda, Roli books; Pic/Shivani Gupta

Celebrating the mundane
Nandan, an alumnus of the School of Art and Design at Tsukuba University, Japan, admits that her project stemmed out of her curiosity to find out about the designs that define us an Indian. "Design is a mirror of our attitudes and habits. Through the course of writing this book on Indian design, I found that uniquely Indian gestures like churning, combing and calculating were reflected in it," she writes in the book. From the dabba, agarbatti, and kulhad, to Babuline gripe water, most of the objects Nandan chose for the book, have "either been made or originated in India, or have an element that is very Indian, or are being used in a very Indian context".

This picture is of Purvi Sanghvi’s grandfather Dwarkadas Jivanlal Sanghvi (extreme right in a black coat) and his brother Vallabhdas Jivanlal Sanghvi with their business partners at a Pen Exhibition in Bombay around 1951. The family ran Wilson Pens that quickly rose to huge fame and became a preferred choice of pens across the country. All government offices, law court, used the Wilson pens. The Wilson Pen Family made the orange, thick-nibbed pen that wrote the most fundamental document that defines the state of India: The Constitution of India written by Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar. Pic, Text Courtesy/Indian Memory Project/Contributed by Purvi Sanghvi, Mumbai

It's while working on the book that Nandan realised how "our own homes are a repository of history". Here, she relays an incident when Shivani Gupta, the photographer for Pukka Indian, had been anxious about finding a mandira — a butter churner — that Nandan had mentioned in the book. "She went home, and realised that she had five of them in her kitchen. She didn't even know she was sitting on so much wealth." Nandan adds, "We don't tend to celebrate the mundane. What we celebrate are things that have obvious value, like jewellery, the beautification of the body or the exotic."

Paris-based perfumer Jahnvi Lakhota Nandan's recent book, Pukka Indian, documents the most coveted symbols and designs representing Indian culture, by tracing its origin and significance in the lives of its users. Pic/Suresh Karkera

Object as a catalyst
Malhotra's interest in people's histories began while working on Remnants of Separation, which was an extension of her Master of Fine Arts thesis project for Concordia University, Canada. Malhotra's research began after she came across a gaz (a measuring device) and ghara (a pot), which belonged to her nana's family, and had crossed the border. "Sometimes the Partition is too traumatic to speak about. When I started my research, I didn't know where to begin or what I could ask, without sounding frivolous. The object became a catalyst to enter into that conversation. So, rather than me saying 'Oh! You lived through the Partition, that must be awful,' I was now asking relevant questions, like 'why did you choose to take this gold bangle with you?'. The object then, didn't become something that recessed into the background, but something around which the entire background was arranged."

That's when she and Navdha decided to start The Museum of Material Memory. The duo encourages everyone to contribute, provided the object is from or before the 1970s. The archive comprises everything from a 5-inch-long, mottled sewing needle to a chaddar with traditional baagh and phulkari embroidery and a former Class II Income-Tax officer's diary filled up with the repeated words 'Sri Rama Jayam', meaning Jai Sri Ram. Each post is accompanied with the story behind the object. "Material ethnography is so vastly explored in the West, especially when it comes to events of trauma and crisis. What we are recording here, will never be found in any textbook. We need active memoralisation, not just of traumatic events, but of our tradition and culture, which is primarily oral."

Not just for nostalgia's sake
The indianmemoryproject.com, says Yadav, started off as a book idea, where she wanted to collect old, wedding photographs. "I wanted to document the idea of weddings in different cultures, and explore the entire phenomena behind the crew that makes it possible," she says. "While the book didn't happen, the pictures stayed with me." That's how, her archive, a first-of-its-kind in India, took off. "If you are fascinated with history, you will know that India really is a melting pot. Every civilisation has passed through it. And so we have all kinds of DNA in us. And considering photography was discovered two centuries ago, we did have a lot of content to discuss," says Yadav.

She admits that it wasn't as easy to get people to share their photographs or talk about their stories. "But, there needs to be integrity, transparency and you need to earn the trust of your subject. When you have these value systems in place, people are more open. I always thought of the archive as an institution." Funding for the project has been tough, says the archivist. "When I began, I was very clear that I didn't want to become a trust. Unfortunately, that's the channel through which most of the money comes from. But, there's a server and maintenance cost and the site constantly needs to be upgraded. Now, I have started putting in requests for honorariums. The only way I will get money is through a private funder, who is fascinated with the idea, and wants to back it as well. Sometimes, when a good sum comes from my own work as a photographer, part of the profits go to it. At the end of the day, it is an unofficial record of history, and I'm doing my best to sustain it."

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Lohit Bhatia, CEO of IKYA Human Capital Solutions, a division of Quess Corp, says that at the recruitment end of the business, productivity measures will include how many candidates were lined up as potential candidates for a job, how many were interviewed by the client, how many of these were given the letter and then, finally, how many joined the firm

A few weeks ago, an ad appeared on a premium page of a premium pink paper. The ad, by the homeopathy firm Welcome Cure, with the smiling faces of actors Riteish Deshmukh and Genelia D’Souza was targeted towards corporates, promising help in reducing absenteeism and increasing employee productivity. Chaitanya Choudhury, vice-president corporate relationship at the three-year-old firm with headquarters in Santacruz, says what they provide is a wellness package to employees. At sign up, when the employee’s health ailments are assessed by a Welcome Cure doctor, medicines are designed as per the ailment and sent to the employee on a regular basis at their doorstep.

"Homeopathy also builds immunity, which means that a person falls ill less often. When we sign up with companies, we also assess the specific ailments that professionals from that industry are susceptible to and align the treatment accordingly. If an employee needs special attention, we red flag it and let the HR know. Our doctors are available every day from 9 am to 9 pm. When stress is taken care of, chronic health issues are too. Productivity will naturally improve," adds Choudhury.

Bengaluru-based executive coach Sridhar Laxman conduct six-month-long training sessions where, among other aspects, he helps improve his clients' productivity. An entire training module with him could cost anywhere between Rs 2.5 lakhs to Rs 3.5 lakhs. Pic/Ajeesh F Rawther

The VFM race
In a piece in the Financial Express this April, Neelesh Hundekari, Partner and Head of Leadership, Change & Organisation Practice India, AT Kearney, stated that a study conducted by his firm had found that though Indian businesses have access to one of the largest young and educated workforces in the world, they have not able to make their people as productive as their counterparts across the world. "The revenue per employee in the Indian consumer packaged goods industry — on a PPP-adjusted basis—stood at $64,000, compared to China’s $87,000, South Korea’s $188,000 and the UK’s $287,000. In other words, a UK CPG firm is five times more productive than its Indian counterpart."

Yet, what is productivity? Mohit Gundecha, Co-founder and CEO of the Pune-based data analytics firm Jombay, says: "Many companies confuse productivity with efficiency. Efficiency is ‘getting the same output with less input’, while productivity is ‘getting more output with the same input’." That enhancing employee productivity is a prime objective for companies is easily understood when one sees the reams of research on this. A listicle on bookauthority.com mentions 11 books on the subject, all published only in the last nine months. And this is possibly just the tip of the iceberg. Last week, it was reported that a study published in the Journal of Psychopharmacology, had found that drinking coffee during meetings can lead to a more focussed group discussion, boost involvement and leave members feeling better about everyone’s participation.

Does your company spends too much time on meetings, or do your employees not collaborate well? Call in behavioural scientists Mayur Tekchandaney and Anand Damani who will study your office environment and suggest changes for the desired results. Pic/Ashish Raje

Lohit Bhatia, CEO of IKYA Human Capital Solutions, a division of Quess Corp, puts it down to a simple value-for-money equation. "With every passing year, capital is becoming scarce. And getting higher returns is paramount. Earlier, startups would be flooded with money, but in 2016-17, the money started evaporating. So, every rupee needs to count. After all, someone’s personal wealth is being invested, so it’s important for an outcome to be delivered."

A measure of your work
Where there are deliverables, there are measures to keep count. And, this count has, today, become an important part of the appraisal system that decides your annual increment. An employee at a top multi-national bank says her bonus is partially linked to this performance rating. The sales team, for instance, will be measured against the revenue they bring in, the number of new clients they crack and how many new products are sold. And, an internal software has been built to keep track.

WelcomeCure is a over three-year-old homoeopathy firm that employs over 200 doctors, all available for an online chat or video call between 9 am and 9 pm.

"Each customer has a relationship manager and so, any transaction by them is automatically credited into that manager’s account. At the end of the month, the performance management team will run the reports, check and pass on the information to payroll," says the employee. For those in the wealth management sector, targets include not just getting in more clients but keeping the assets you already have under management and taking care of their wealth.

While transactions are definitely measurable, what about all the work that goes on to make the transaction? The innumerable calls? Bhatia says that at Ikya, where productivity forms close to fifty per cent of the appraisal weightage, every part of the process is measurable. Take for instance, the sales and business development team. "What are the number of sales meetings they have on a daily basis and what is the conversion ratio? If it’s less than five per cent, it’s not constructive for business," he adds. For those involved in the firm’s recruitment end of the business, the numbers that need to add up are: how many candidates were lined up as potential candidates for a job? How many of these were interviewed by customers? What was the success rate i.e. how many of these were given the letter and then, finally, how many joined the firm?

This year, its CEO Punit Desai, started corporate packages which allow firms to extend its service to its employees. An annual package could cost around Rs 12,000 per employee and, says the firm, if the employee leaves the office in the middle of the year, the service still continue till the end of the package. Pics/Sneha Kharabe

Numbers don’t reveal all secrets
Not all jobs can be crunched down in numbers. Karan Khetarpal, director at The Chocolate Spoon Company Pvt. Ltd., which runs the Sassy Spoon chain of restaurants, says that while regular audits can help estimate productivity in different areas of the kitchen, the scope remains limited. "At our central kitchen for instance, we have multiple pastry chefs and here we can calculate their individual outputs. At the restaurant kitchen level, you can monitor wastage and yield of chefs based on inputs such as dairy, poultry and sea food, as well as ordering patterns. There’s an immediate economic impact of what they are doing. For instance, one day we realised that the burgers weren’t available at an outlet because the buns were out of stock. This happened because the kitchen had under ordered the previous day, so it was assessable," says Khetarpal, an investment banker by profession. But, while the sales team may have its targets, it’s not easy to count how many dishes a chef cooked or how many cocktails a particular bartender served. "This is not a factory where you can assess an individual’s productivity. Plus, the turnaround is so high, that the head chef will weed out those not being productive, anyway," he adds.

In January this year, Amazon opened its new office in Seattle with giant glass-and-metal domes filled with tropical and rare plants as a tool to "attract, retain and enhance the productivity and well-being of its fast-growing workforce". The dome took six years of planning and construction.

What the target measure has done, says Bhatia, is bring objectivity into the picture when annual appraisals are done. "There was a time when it was said that in India you got a hike depending on whether your manager liked your face or not. This is becoming a thing of the past because of target measures. Also, there used to be a gap between the organisation’s expectation, what’s being delivered and what the employee thought he was achieving for you. Now there’s an analytical, non-emotional conversation," he adds.

Where does quality fit in? T Muralidharan, founder and chairman of TMI Group, pan India talent and productivity consulting firm, says that output productivity has two key parts — Quantity and Quality. "While quantity is easily measurable, quality is not and hence the supervisor’s judgement comes into the play. In addition quality Vs quality determined by the relative weightage in the goal sheet requires a lot of careful review. Companies have to think a lot more on this. There’s no one-fits-all answer."

Amazon CEO Jeffrey Bezoz. Pics/PTI

The productivity docs
How then does a company improve its productivity? Adopting the latest technology, Gundecha says, is usually the first method. "More intuitive technology tools that work faster and provide analytical support for decision making are a constant demand. Allowing employees flexibility in working schedules is being recognised as a way to boost morale, build loyalty and encourage them to do more for the company." Better health will also mean a better employee.

"An office where every second person has a health issue makes for a depressing environment. However, imagine that your co-workers are all running marathons or climbing mountains. It will keep the environment motivated," says Vishal Gondal, the CEO and founder of GoQii, the fitness tracking firm that also ties up with corporates. Interestingly, for GoQii’s own employees, being fit (or atleast trying to get there) is part of the appraisal process. If you don’t walk an average of 10,000 steps a day or its equivalent, you might immediately be disqualified for assessment.

T Muralidharan, ChairmanTMI Group

Changing the environment
Briefcase is a Khar-based firm run by behavioural scientists Anand Damani and Mayur Tekchandaney. They say they use findings from experiments conducted on real people over the last 50 years to understand how a change in the environment can improve productivity, increase collaboration and motivation. How we sit in offices, says Damani, can impact team collaboration pointing out to the cubicle and workstation system most offices have. "However, when a team sits together on a round table there’s more eye contact and the whole direction is towards each other, employees tend to collaborate more." Are your meetings too long? Damani says replace the chair and tables with a long bar table with everyone standing. "Meetings will end faster since no one wants to stand for long," he says.

And when do they get called in? Damani says it typically begins with issues and problems being faced in the company, such as pace of work being slow or lack of ownership. "It’s the CEO who approaches us. Not the HR. At least not yet. We then find out what is at the heart of the problem." Not just relationship with the management, recognition patterns in the company can also affect productivity. He recalls an employee who’d won the company revenue worth lakhs, being rewarded with a dinner voucher of Rs 5000.

Lohit Bhatia, CEO, IKYA Human Capital Solutions

"The person should also have been made into a hero within the company. His achievement should have been made a case study and showcased to the company’s clients. The process should have been entered into differed awards." While Damani won’t reveal how much they charge the companies for their services, he says it usually takes them a year’s work with the firms. Sometimes, it’s individual training that’s required. This is where Bengaluru-based executive coach Sridhar Laxman steps in. For the last seven years, Laxman has been coaching individuals in what might be simply put as leadership training. Productivity is one component of this. Yet, he argues, when someone learns how to manage stress, not hesitate to take risks, and handle conflict resolution, they will take decisions on the fly easier and show up at work with greater levels of courage. "And when this happens, their productivity will improve."

Signing up with Laxman will cost you between Rs 2.5 lakh and Rs 3.5 lakh. The course is conducted over six to eight months with one hour long sessions every three weeks. Largely, up until now, he says, it’s been firms who have hired him to work with individual employees. It’s only in the last financial year, says Laxman, that 40 per cent of his clientele has been individuals seeking him out on their own. And what could you learn to do under his guidance? Firstly the ability to say no. "Many people struggle around it. They hesitate, fearing that if they say no, they will not be seen as effective contributors. However, saying no conveys that you understand that you have certain priorities now. And there’s no point taking on task six when those on priority one and and two need your immediate attention."

Vikhroli resident Dr Suvajeet Duttagupta loves cooking his meals. But, the 31-year-old cinematographer admits that some days are long and tiring and the only option is to order in. Yet, this comes with its share of heartaches. "The worst bit about ordering out is the amount of plastic that they use to package the food. While I make it a point to ask the restaurants not to send any plastic cutlery, there's only so much one can do." But, Duttagupta isn't the only Mumbaikar who wishes ordering in was more environment-friendly. With the plastic ban coming into full effect on June 23, Mumbai establishments have little more than a month to find alternatives. While some places now pack their containers in cloth bags, the containers themselves remain plastic, thus almost negating the good work done. But, there are a few who have switched to eco-friendly alternatives:

The New York Burrito Company

This brand new Mexican quick service restaurant has a takeout menu that includes Mexican bowl, burrito, tacos, nachos, quesadillas, chips with guacamole and more. They use recyclable bagasse trays and kraft bags (made from recycled paper). They also add wooden spoons and forks to their takeout bags. Senil Shah, partner, says,
"As our packaging is eco-friendly and fresh, we don't fear food getting bad. Costs have risen, but we see it as an investment for our future generation's betterment."

Senil Shah, partner, The New York Burrito Company

Where: Chowpatty
Timings: 11 am – 11 pm
Meal for two: Rs 600
Call: 8999347000

29 – Twenty Nine

This pan-Indian restaurant which opened in 2016, is much loved by the patrons for the range of regional dishes (29 states) available under one roof. "We have been experimenting with various packaging material at our Kemps Corner outlet, long before the plastic ban. The packaging material we have found best for our use is made of paper and cornstarch with an eco-friendly dissolvable lamination. This was then applied to all other 29 outlets," says owner Nishek Jain. The initial sourcing of the products came from an exhibition called PackPlus hosted in New Delhi. Certain items, like rabadi with jalebi all come in a kulhad. They pack the curries in an eco-friendly thick-bond-with-lamination pack.

Nishek Jain, owner, 29 - Twenty Nine. Pic/Bipin Kokate

Where: Kemps Corner
Timings: 11 am – 3.30 pm and 7 pm – 11.30 pm
Meal for two: R1,000
Call: 7208022929

O Pedro

This Goan eatery became an instant talk-of-the-town thanks to its mix of flavours soaked in the coastal calm. From healthy options such as corn falafel lettuce wrap to good ol' chorizo chili fry poie, their menu has something for everyone. Before starting their takeaway services, O Pedro's tried and tested their delivery menu so that they knew that the food ordered for delivery would travel well. All these dishes are packed in products made of sugarcane, sorghum and wheat that are sourced locally from Pappco Greenware. "Working without plastic has its own challenges as one is not able to secure or seal in liquids completely, but we seal our boxes with paper tape to reduce chances of spillage," says Yash Bhanage, Partner at O Pedro. He adds, "The quality and the experience of eating the meal is most important for us. Therefore, we are only looking at delivering within a limited radius where we know the food would reach our guests quickly and in the way it was intended to."

30-60
No. of days in which sugarcane bagasse decomposes

Where: Bandra Kurla Complex
Timings: Noon to 1 am
Meal for two: R1,200
Call: 26534700

Mandala

This delivery kitchen offers a wide range of salads, sandwiches and soups. Sticking to their organic living philosophy, they also ensure that their food reaches their patrons in bio-degradable containers made of sugarcane bagasse — the fibrous residue. They source these products from a company that buys the packaging raw material from the UK and then processes it to create biodegradable bowls. The company also provides data on how many carbon credits they save by using their boxes. "We don't add any items on our menu that don't withstand our rigorous testing. This means that we let our food sit out at room temperature for up to an hour to see if it retains its flavour and freshness," says Sarvangi Shah, director of marketing.

Where: Kemps Corner and Prabhadevi
Timings: 11 am-midnight
Meal for two: Rs 700
Call: 8291817376

The Pantry

Tucked in the bylanes of the city's art district, this artsy café is a perfect hideout. The Pantry was established six years ago with principles of using fresh, local produce. This even translates in their packaging where they use food containers made of cornstarch while their straws, sleeves, boxes are all made of paper. Soup containers are made of bagasse. "Liquid foods like soups are the trickiest to pack but as we use bagasse container for the same and they are with an airtight lid which holds liquids safely, it makes it easy to travel," says Sumit Gambhir, the partner at The Pantry. In order to avoid spoilage due to temperature, they ensure that they maintain the delivery timings.

Address: Kala Ghoda, Fort
Timings: 8.30 am – 11.30 pm
Meal for two: Rs 1,400
Call: 22678901

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Dario Brandt

The frenetic pace of life in Mumbai is such that it can sometimes suck you in like the last bit of water disappearing down the sinkhole of a swimming pool that's being emptied out. And before you know it, you become enmeshed in the social fabric of the city, riding a see-saw that oscillates between chasing dreams and paying absurd rent for a matchbox house. Yet, we trudge on, like troopers who feel most at home in a battleground. For, despite an inevitable sense of ruthlessness, there is also the milk of human kindness that nourishes this city's soul. And everyone's thus welcome to ride that see-saw. But sometimes, it's best to take a step back, pause, reflect and then start hurtling once again towards your goal.

Lydia Hendrikje Hornung. Pic/Datta Kumbhar

That, in a nutshell, is the message in Bombay Aaram Se, a new song that encapsulates what living in this city is all about. And what sets it apart from other musical tributes to Mumbai, such as the folksy 1969 classic Bombay Meri Hai, is that the two people who have composed it - Lydia Hendrikje Hornung and Dario Brandt - are both German. They landed in the city a few years ago to teach at The True School of Music in Lower Parel, and started sharing a flat in the process. Then, at some point, Hornung floated the idea to Brandt that they use the medium of music to give concrete shape to what their experience of living in the city has been like.

A still from the Bombay Aaram Se video

Brandt tells us, "Lydia is the one who came up with the chorus, and it felt perfect because going 'aaram se' is exactly how we were both feeling about being here. I then added some beats to it and she came up with the hook lines, and we had time to work on it since we were living together. So, we would just knock on each other's doors and say, 'Hey, what do you think about this input, or that one?'"

The product they eventually came up with is a catchy, EDM-inflected number with a modern, hip-hop vibe. The track starts with a 1970s-like Bollywood song sample, before it takes an edgy turn five seconds in. The lyrics capture the intrinsic tumult of the Maximum City, with lines like "I'm hailing kaali-peeli cabs/ I'm waking up in Bombay flats" interspersed with "Let me cough up rickshaw fumes/ Don't care what time we do". And the accompanying video feels as if the two of them are on a drive around town, stopping at quintessential Bambaiyya locations such as the Gateway of India, an Irani café, Land's End in Bandra and Marine Drive.

So all in all, it seems as if both Hornung and Brandt have internalised Mumbai to the extent that they, too, are riding the see-saw that life here can be about. Brandt says, "I find that despite it being such a welcoming place, it's also easy to disappear in this city. I mean, I step out of my house and I feel as if I have vanished sometimes," while Hornung adds, "Moving here was a completely life-changing matter for me. I got the feeling of, 'This is going to be my new home for a while.' And that made me find my peace with some of the things that annoy me, like traffic for instance. And eventually that's what also led me to think, 'Bombay, aaram se.' I mean, just chill, right?"

Log on to: YouTube and type "Bombay Aaram Se" to listen to the track

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The opening scene of Aladdin

We are caught in this familiar tussle between a perfect past and a future of possibilities as the curtains for the Disney Broadway-style musical Aladdin open. As 90s kids, for some of us who just adored Aladdin and his entourage, there was trepidation in our hearts last week — will this musical live up to the 1992 animation film?

As the first scene unfolds on stage, we were not disappointed, not in the least bit. A resplendent multi-level market scene in Agrabah, reminiscent of souks that spell 'Middle Eastern' with projected skies overheard, becomes the playground for a chase during which our daring street rat, Aladdin, enters. Directed by Shruti Sharma, who had formerly assisted in Disney's Beauty and the Beast, the re-imagined production with an all-Indian cast begins on a power-packed note, which is sustained through the course of the evening. Watch out for scenes in The Cave of Wonders and the flying carpet. Simply magical.

Mantra excels as Genie

Aladdin, played by Taaruk Raina in the production we saw, ably captures the complex range of human emotions scripted for the part, from flirtatious lover to contrite prisoner. His triad of friends, especially Keith Sequeira as Kassim, is an energetic foil to the character. And, the role of Iago, villain Jafar's sidekick, brings in the much-needed cheekiness and irreverence to this romance. But, the character that will truly steal your hearts is, as always, Genie, played by Puranjit Dasgupta, who goes by the name Mantra. Through him, the musical conveys a local flavour in an international production, the spicy tang of bhel puri amidst clean hummus and pita. It may seem more Bollywood than Broadway at times, also thanks to a heavy dose of melodrama, but, it got the security guards breaking into chuckles as much as the kids in the front row, so that can only be a good thing.

So, what of Jasmine, played by the beautiful Kira Narayanan? The musical does its best to push gender norms, and its stress on themes of personal freedom, especially through this character and Genie, come as gentle reminders to the audiences. Despite this, Aladdin doesn't pass the Bechdel test, and we wish Jasmine and her friends had half as much fun as Aladdin and his bawdy bunch. Jasmine's character is poorly scripted, and it doesn't match up to the original film's feisty, smouldering princess.

It's impossible not to comment on the songs, for this is a musical after all. Some are entertaining, while some, occasionally moving — Aladdin's got the right mix. What may happen for the adults, if not with the kids, is that you may be left wanting a quiet moment in between songs, for there is just far too much excitement on stage. You need to cool off from all that Genie energy.

Aladdin verges on PG at times, though it says suitable for 4+, with lip-locks and some spirited filmi jhatkas. Nothing that should stop your kid, niece or nephew from watching, but we are just putting it out there. Oh, and did we mention that the actors wear shiny sneakers? The kids will want those for school, and that's a conversation you will need to have with them.

WHERE: Jamshed Bhabha Theatre, NCPA, Nariman Point
WHEN: Till May 13. 7.30 PM
ENTRY: Rs 1,250 - Rs 8,250
CALL: 66223737

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Representational picture

New Delhi: From decor options to the fabrics to colour code, tweaking your decor can help you keep your home feel cool in summer, say experts. Anuj Srivastava, co-founder and CEO of Livspace, and Adarsh Menon, Vice President and Head of Private Labels at Flipkart, share some tips to keep your home fresh and cool.

Decor options: Going Scandinavian is a summer-friendly choice to make. The emphasis is on creating a muted colour palette with clean lines, to allow the space to breathe and eliminate chaos. You can add plenty of greenery to the mileu that will help keep the temperatures from rising. Floating flower arrangements or installing a waterbody at home, along with muting the lighting to cooler options, will also help.

Keep it cool: Plenty of factors, apart from air conditioning, can aid in keeping your home cool. Replace the heavy rugs, blankets and drapes with lighter, eco-friendly materials in fresh colours like white, light blue, pink and green. If you do have an outdoor space, no matter how small, you should clean it up and set up seating options. If space permits, you can even set up a barbeque and move the party outdoors. As far as fabrics go, stick to cotton, linen and sheer materials to keep your home summer fresh. You can also opt for florals in cushions, accent pieces and paintings, or even get fresh cut flowers for the table to brighten up your living spaces.

Pastel palette: Doing up the home furniture in pastel shades adds a tinge of coolness to the eye that finds its way to the mind. Apart from making one feel cooler, pastel colours add that quirky look we so like. These colours can be incorporated in dining table chairs, bean bags, sofa sets, wardrobes and beds.

The forest look: One of the most refreshing looks for the summers is the forest look. Juxtapose the dark wood furniture with green plants. You can go for real or artificial plants and use them at the sides of your solid wood study table, dark wood TV units, bedsides, on top of dining table. For more adorned look, you could cover the flanks of your wardrobes, and even inside the bathrooms.

Cooling gel mattresses: They go a long way in making summers bearable. Gel memory foam mattresses do not trap heat like latex or ordinary foam mattresses. They are made using open cell technology which helps in air circulation resulting in a cool mattress for your comfort. Apart from giving a luxurious feeling, it also gives comfort.

Metallic accents and glass: Use of of luxe metallic touches in home decors is not new. The choice of metallic finish makes a huge difference. Think silver metallic finish with dark accents. It adds oomph and makes the area look neat and clutter-free.

Important tip for all: Invest in trendy, good quality, affordable furniture. When buying furniture, one major concern is durability. In a market that is largely unorganised the assurance of durability is hard to get.

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This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever

Representational picture

New Delhi: You may not be able to escape the sweltering heat when you are outside, but you can make your home a cool haven by playing around with colours and adding greenery to your walls, suggest experts. A colour palette, when used well, can help in creating a naturally refreshing environment at home.

Peeyush Bachlaus, Head of Marketing at Kansai Nerolac Paints Ltd, suggests four decor trends, in hues that range from cool blues and soothing greens to mellow yellows:

For a blissful green escape: Surround yourself with the colours of a secret garden, leaving everything else a pristine white. The colour green is well-associated with nature, allowing a room to feel relaxing to the eyes and refreshing for your mind. When paired with white, this palette can turn a bland room into a welcoming paradise. Green is also one of the easiest colours to adorn your interiors as pairing various shades of green with just about any other colour can work beautifully.

For a breezy haven: Large plants and strong colours are natural decor accents that bring lushness into one's home. This summer, transform your interiors into a cool breezy tropical paradise with the help of verdant aquatic colours with a cheerful palette of cool blues, mellow yellows, bright oranges and lush greens. These colours will make sure that your time home is a breeze and you feel the freshness of an aquatic theme.

For an eccentric summer makeover: Given our busy lifestyles and the sweltering heat to add to it, we all need an escape. Let your home be that much needed exotic escape by curating one area in your home. Mix and match cool blue and violet walls fearlessly, framing it with crisp white accents. Natural materials and details make this a room for all to enjoy. Colours such as blues and whites are cool colours as they help keep our mind cool and relaxed even during the sweltering heat of the summers.

For a refreshing classic look: A carefully curated palette of white and near white tones that form a blank canvas to your artistic home. As a trend, masterpiece white walls are refreshing. Radiant light coming in through the windows is the accent in these calm rooms. Bring artwork to focus by trying out alternative accent wall colours.

Sujit Jain, Founder, Griin, says vertical gardens can transform your dull walls immediately and purify the environment too.
"Vertical gardens not only add to the aesthetic value of the walls but they come with a lot of functional benefits also. The thick vegetation limits the movement of heat and helps to regulate sunlight and temperature even during the hot afternoons that makes it a perfect fit for summer decors.

"Some varieties of plants are also useful in absorbing potentially harmful gases and cleaning the air inside modern buildings. In addition to this, incorporating vertical gardens in the decor of any building brings a living element to the environment and being around greenery helps in reducing the stress levels also."

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This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever

RD Burman composed for more than 300 films in a career spanning 30 years

This weekend, a group of music enthusiasts is going to deconstruct the thin line between imitation and inspiration at a talk on Hindi film music. The works of RD Burman, Shankar-Jaikishan and OP Nayyar will be discussed at the event.

Shankar-Jaikishan ruled from 1949 to 1986

“Many tried to imitate a sound that worked well with listeners in that period. In fact, film producers would encourage music directors to do so. The music of Laxmikant-Pyarelal and Kalyanji-Anandji was close to the sound created by Shankar-Jaikishan and Burman,” says Ramesh KV, one of the speakers. “If you listen to the orchestration of a song, you will think it belongs to Burman, but it actually is by someone else,” he adds.

The full panel includes R Balaji, Shankar Iyer, Archisman Mozumder and Subramanian Iyer.

On: April 15, 7.30 pm
At: Pitaara – The Art Box, Yashwant Nagar, Goregaon (W).
Call: 9820393001
Entry: Rs 250

Illustrations/Ravi Jadhav

Girgaum, Kamat Chawl Thakurdwar
Celebrating the festival for the last 122 years, simplicity is key for Kamat Chawl residents. And they are happy to share tales from the forgotten pages of history and freedom struggle. Here, they do not follow the concept of themed decor and celebrate the festival in an absolute traditional manner. The idol is made of eco-friendly material called shadu. Following the spirit of why the festival was started in the first place, the pandal is built by the residents and each one volunteers to manage the space and the stage area.

Khetwadi, Tulsi Building Sarvajanik Ganeshotsav Mandal
This is the 75th year of the pandal and, like each year, the Ganesh idol is made up of different things, mostly edible. For instance, dry fruits, cereal and pluses, chikki, and stationery and diamond have been used. This year's focus is on kids and the theme is Disneyworld. The idol is made of Cadbury chocolate and the children cannot wait to see their favourite sweet take the shape of their favourite deity.

Malad, Shree Sai Darshan Mitra Mandal
For the last 11 years, this eco-friendly Ganesha has been a hit with devotees. Made from paper and cardboard, the organisers use various concepts including football erasers, pencils and cars. This year, Bappa is giving a shout out to nostalgia as the idol is made of old coins of 1 paise, 10 paise and 20 paise. The mandal's focus is to create awareness and education, especially about global warming.

Ghatkopar, S G Barve Nagar Sarvajanik Ganeshostav Mandal
Since 1966, the pandal's idols, one large and one small, have been luring devotees to this suburb. This year's theme is a dreamy fusion of a golden pillared palace, the religious oeuvre of Om Ganapataya namah and the galaxy. A daily bhandara of rice, dal, chole, bhaji, papad, pickles and gulab jamun feeds a thousand people. A blood donation drive along with free blood test and blood group check is done during the 10 day period.

Fort, Fort Vibhag Sarvajanik Ganesh Utsav Mandal
Celebrated since 1956, this is one of the biggest fully centralised pandals in the city. This year, they have invited special artists from Rajasthan to create a palace setting. Their finesse and specially crafted artwork adds to the grandeur of the pandal. While you are here, you can easily spot a celeb or two. The maha aarti, especially for the police department, is scheduled for tomorrow.

Thane, Narvir Tanaji Mitra Mandal
For the last 38 years, this pandal has been not only known for its large murti and grand themes but also for reaching out to those in need, especially in rural areas. Bappa will happily rest in the grand Rajasthani Palace and overlook the tasks the members of the mandal will take up. Medical camps and a beautifully curated cultural programme that will see participants sing, dance and create beautiful flower arrangements and rangolis are in store for the Utsav.

Tilak Nagar, Sahyadri Krida Mandal
For the last 41 years, this pandal has been dedicatedly putting up themes on social awareness. This year, their theme is 'Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan, Jai Vigyan' and will include artworks illustrating places from Kashmir to Kanyakumari, highlighting important destinations like the Himalayas and Madurai's Meenakshi Temple. These will be interspersed with reproductions of the metro, rail space research, army personnel and agricultural families to show how they co-exist to form an integral part of society.

How do you improve on a 1998 game that is so good it is still played today? Not many games can make that claim but Starcraft can with legions of fans and stadium level competitions not bad for a 20-year-old game.

The original Starcraft is free and so anyone with a battle.net account can potentially download and play it, no fancy hardware required. The remastered version, however, costs $15 and it is worth every penny. The game's graphics and sound have had a major update, you can also play multiplayer online complete with leaderboards.

While the new game is friendly to first-time players the online multiplayer is brutal. Prepare to die in minutes. Unfortunately, there is no system in place to train players in the complexity of multiplayer battles in a game that people have been potentially been playing for 20 years.

For fans of Starcraft there is everything that you would ever want in the game. The original game mechanisms are untouched which means everything plays as it should.

Starcraft Remastered
Rating: 4/5
Developer: Blizzard Entertainment
Publisher: Blizzard Entertainment
Platform: PC, Mac
Price: $14.99 (Rs 960 approx)

Ben is Back

U/A: Drama
Director: Peter Hedges
Cast: Julia Roberts, Lucas Hedges, Courtney B. Vance, Kathryn Newton
Rating: 

A family drama that makes substance abuse look like the enemy of humanity it is, this Peter Hedges directed film dramatically shifts its moods from celebration to welcoming to fearful – all in the span of a few minutes.

When Ben(Lucas Hedges) shows up skulking around at his home driveway in a hooded wind-breaker the audience is unsure as to his antecedents. Then his mother Holly(Julia Roberts), his teenage sister Ivy(Kathryn Newton) and two half-siblings (Mia Fowler and Jakari Fraser) arrive home and we see the trepidation tinted welcome he receives. When his step-father Neal(Courtney B Vance) rushes home after receiving Ivy's urgent message, we understand there's further gravity to the situation.

Director Peter Hedges opens up his pages slowly allowing us to experience in some measure as to what the family is going through. Eventually it becomes imminently clear that Ben's return for Christmas from a rehab program he was recently inducted into, is unexpected and ill-advised.

Check out the trailer here:

While 'Ben is Back' is not exactly a dense suspense drama it draws up intensity from a construct that questions the integrity of it's lead character. Since it's a story about an addict and his struggle with addiction the question that haunts his family and himself is 'Will he use again?' He has sworn and swears again that he won't but he has lied before and given his track record should his family believe him? It's a tough ask. But then what about love, compassion and forgiveness? Can a mother really abandon her child to the vagaries of a habit that could eventually destroy him? The film deals with all these questions and more and the answers that it comes up with are neither easy nor universally applicable.

As Holly takes on the onus of keeping Ben in her sights, she uncovers secrets that test her mothering skills –throughout an increasingly harrowing day and night exposing her to an underbelly that she never opened her eyes to in the past.

There are times when the plotting seems contrived and questionable but by and large Peter Hedges does a good job plying a pathway that has hurdles at every turn. The dramatic tension though is not sharp enough and that's one of the reasons why you feel rather ambivalent about this tale. Performances are universally good though!

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Aquaman

U/A: Action, Adventure, Fantasy
Director: James Wan
Cast: Jason Momoa, Amber Heard, Patrick Wilson, Willem Dafoe, Nicole Kidman
Rating: 

Aquaman - a largely underwater flight of fancy, amounts to a herculean attempt by custodian Warner Bros. to right its wonky DC cinematic universe and it's success is moderate at best. A large part of the credit should necessarily go to the charismatic Jason Momoa( ex Baybatch ) who got promoted to this leading role after showing face in 2016's Batman v. Superman : Dawn of Justice and Justice League.

This superhero saga is mostly origin story myth building through fantasy VFX, so don't expect real characters, adherence to the laws of physics or conversations beyond the monosyllabic. In this film, anything goes - even a ring(chasm) of fire in the midst of a deep blue sea and an ocean of wealth under the Saharan desert. Reality rarely pokes its ugly head into this gamey underwater universe that heralds the dawn of a new King Arthur(Momoa), a half-breed(Human-Atlantean mix) who is expected to prove his worth against the might of his firmly ensconced younger half-brother Orm(Patrick Wilson).

Aquaman's tall-tale is embellished in Royal shenanigans, incorporates themes of environment pollution and engineers a war between the water world and the land world under the pretext of righting the wrongs of a selfish civilization. The attempt here is to create an underwater 'Lord of the Rings' but without the majesty, profundity or significance of that telling.

Check out the trailer here:

Making an oblique nod to 'Splash,' the film opens with Queen Atlanna (Nicole Kidman), fleeing Atlantis, getting washed ashore at Amnesty Bay, Massachusetts, meeting solitary lighthouse keeper (Temuera Morrison), falling in love and subsequently birthing the said, Arthur and then going right back to Atlantis- the underwater city, in order to save the lives of her loved ones. Punctuating the drama is Orm's attempts to amalgamate the seven wondrous oceanic kingdoms and become undisputed Ocean master. Vulko (Willem Dafoe), Princess Mera(Amber Heard) and to a lesser extent King Nereus (Dolph Lundgren) put a spoke in his wheel, so-to-speak.

The film has some stunning imagery but most of the action feels random and incoherent. The narrative is overlong in its desire to include every embellishment possible. There are a few engaging moments but the in-between humdrum is pretty much taxing. Weighed down by its watery excesses, the narrative feels terribly labored and over-done. James Wan ( with his Horror oeuvre) was probably not the right man for this DC recreation. He makes this watery epic a kitschy showboat instead of lending it acuity and memorability. This is a story of excess but even so, it's hard to resist the charms of the lead actors, their outlandish costumes and some wondrous aqua sequences.

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Zero

U/A: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Director: Anand L Rai
Cast: Shah Rukh Khan, Katrina Kaif, Anushka Sharma
Rating: 

For a couple of decades now, relentlessly citing exceptions like Swades (2004) and Chak De India (2007), viewers (and fans) of actor Shah Rukh Khan have often complained about how he plays SRK on screen, regardless of the script, which pretty much is designed around him playing himself, in some form or the other, anyway.

Alert to this obvious feedback, and with audiences, in general, upping its expectations, even from wholly star-driven pics—demanding a certain level of authenticity in stories regardless—you find SRK trying hard to up his own game. Which is great, of course. Raees (2017) and Fan (2016) are relatively good examples on that front. With Zero, as actor-producer, he appears to be trying a bit too hard, I suspect.

For one, this SRK film doesn't star SRK at all! He plays a Meeruthiya, uneducated 'bauna' (dwarf) Bauua Singh, obsessed with two women, almost simultaneously. Both ladies seem out of his reach. One's a fully celestial Bollywood heroine. That's Katrina Kaif. Tells you a lot about this film that she comes across as by far the most credible character around—a heart-broken drunk, dumped by a certain superstar with the surname Kapoor, who "pretends to be a misunderstood, shy type, but is actually a full-on ch*****."

Check out the trailer here:

The other woman (Anushka Sharma), strangely modeled on Stephen Hawking, in a high-tech wheelchair, her mouth contorted, wrist twisted and shaking, is a space scientist. She meets the vertically challenged dude through an odd, offline version of a matrimonial site. What she likes about him is that he can overlook her disabilities and see her as the person she is, rather than somebody one must simply sympathise with.

There is much banter between the two. This is tricky stuff. I understand that all humour is at the expense of some person/group or the other, and we mustn't get all too sensitive about such matters. But I just felt slightly discomfited throughout—mostly in anticipation of a poor joke, punching downwards, rather than one that actually occurs (expect tonnes of think pieces on the web soon though!).

As a viewer, you are rarely made to look beyond the fact that she suffers from cerebral palsy. More so, that he's about a foot shorter than usual, a man-child at the centre of this film— in his late 30s, wholly jobless bloke, blowing up his father's money. You can't tell if he's a duffer or just a dwarf. As if the two were even vaguely related. He is supposed to be a die-hard romantic. Your heart must melt for this simpleton still.

It's hard, if not impossible, to feel anything for such a parody of a person, as Zero jerkily jostles between heartland, rustic realism (Aanand L Rai's Tanu Weds Manu), and a far-out romantic fantasy, vaguely along the lines of SRK's wonderfully sorted Om Shanti Om (2007), also partly set in show-biz. You're in fact bored rather than bothered by all the travels on screen.

The only take-away is how tough it must've been to pull this off. Which is true for films of this massive scale—regardless of the emotional payoff. The VFX work, cutting down SRK's size, is by itself a work of art. And that's just a fraction of the craft and cost involved in a picture perennially on a flight of imagination—whether the penny drops, or not.

Guess it'd be impossible for filmmakers to attempt a leap of faith so high, without quite convincing themselves that they're on to a masterpiece. One hopes (for them), others feel so too. Clearly, I didn't.

Also Read: Zero Movie Interview: Shah Rukh Khan, Katrina Kaif And Anushka Sharma Reveal All

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Simmba
Director: Rohit Shetty
Actors: Ranveer Singh, Sara Ali Khan, Ashutosh Rana
Rating: 

With this film, a super-star is born. Why would one risk this over-statement? Because super-stars in Bollywood, or in the Indian movie context, have remained, for decades, the most apt equivalent to Hollywood super-heroes.

They come with little or no back-story. As in the case of Simmba - being an orphan is good enough. The front-story, as it were, is neatly split between the hero, and the villain, along with a prologue, epilogue, heroine, comedian, extras, and the all-important 'takiya-kalaam' (stock refrain): "Tell me something I don't know!" The motivation, like with super-hero flicks, is rather rudimentary. Saving a girl is as good as repeatedly saving the world!

What matters is how the super-star, by sheer dint of his vigorous personality - where you can't distinguish between the actor and character - carries along an entire movie, and indeed the audience, on his strong shoulders alone.

Once the image is set, the penny drops, and while the going is good, the super-star on screen is good enough to ensure audiences in theatres. And there's got to be a reason why no star ever since the '90s, in a real sense, has been able to convincingly play this part that, I suspect, is the hardest to hit home with, anyway.

Ranveer Singh does just that. And how! Part Govinda, from Raja Babu type pictures in the '90s, part Anil Kapoor from Ram Lakhan in the '80s, but wholly holding his own in a typically Rohit Shetty action-entertainer, Singh adds tremendous credibility to a character that had begun to tire us over time.

For one, given his robust résumé (if you only compare this performance to the anti-hero Alauddin Khilji's in Padmaavat earlier this year), you know he isn't casually reprising a role, given a captive audience (that '90s super-stars had begun to). He puts in as much effort into Simmba as he might into a Bajirao Mastani, say, mastering the Marathi twang (without quite coming across as a parody of Nana Patekar); killing it softly with well-written one-liners; setting the dance floor on
fire; romancing like a dude; doing action, like a proper, desi hero!

You fall for Inspector Sangram Bhalerao (Simmba)-a cartoonish, corrupt cop, who wants to eventually right the society's wrongs-essentially, because, you fall for the stupendous Singh on steroids. Every scene works, because he does; and vice versa. The net result is a movie that, within the same space, seems better than Ajay Devgn's Singham (2011). But for the middling soundtrack, it would've been better than Salman Khan's Dabangg (2010).

Either way, what you won't go looking for is the picture's plot, based on the Telugu potboiler Temper (2015). Because you already know what to expect: Singh as a hero. Sonu Sood as a villain. Villain ke haraami brothers. Hero ki abla nari sister. And the rape, and the revenge drama, that follow.

I'm unsure if one adequately appreciates how hard, bordering on the near impossible, it is to engagingly pull off a masala-melodrama such as this. Shetty knows more than a thing or two about this timeless genre. Yet, this may well be one of his rare movies where the connoisseur and the crackling masses are most likely to seamlessly converge.

As an audience, the only way to know if a film of this sort is working (for you), is when you find yourself (sometimes guiltily, but mostly in a carefree sort of way) smiling, responding, and along with a packed theatre, reacting to shenanigans on screen-whether they entirely make sense or not ain't the point.

The script can be full of holes. You hope your brain isn't. This is how I caught this picture, with folk in the front-benches-whistling, clapping, making loud noises, and then going quiet, during dramatic sequences.

This only brings back strong memories of large single-screen cinemas - on the verge of extinction - with people on both cheap and super-expensive seats, sharing entertainment as a common, tribal experience. That's where you should go for this. As if on cue, to Ajay Devgn walks in as Singham. As does Akshay Kumar, announcing his next film cop-flick with Shetty, Sooryavanshi (2019). You might think this is meant to be a Ranveer starrer piggy-backing on '90s super-stars - inhabiting the same Marvel-like super-hero, cinematic universe. Look at him. I think it was the other way round!

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Mary Poppins Returns

U/A: Comedy, Family, Fantasy
Director: Rob Marshall
Cast: Emily Blunt, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Angela Lansbury, Ben Whishaw, Emily Mortimer
Rating: 

Disney drums up age-old magic by picking up the threads of an unforgettable original which had the unassailable diva Julie Andrews mesmerize way back in 1964. This time around Emily Blunt essays the all-important role of the magical nanny whose job is to put things right in the Banks’ siblings Michael(Ben Whishaw) and Jane’s (Emily Mortimer)now adult world just as she did when they were kids – with Lin-Manuel Miranda doing a Dick Van Dyke in this Rob Marshall sequel.

The setting is 1930’s London, Michael is a widower with three lovely kids and his sister Jane is an activist who appears to have lost out on love. Burdened by debt and threatened by the bank, Michael can barely keep his head up when Mary Poppins flies into their lives and makes all the difference!

Check out the trailer here:

Director Rob Marshall manages to tie-in to the original with enchanting ease - spelling forth a magical 130 minutes of music and fantasy that keeps you reminiscing while laying out an entirely fresh scenario that’s just as trippy as the original. Marshall reteams with cinematographer Dion Beebe, to give the narrative an inveigling widescreen luster, with production designer John Myhre and costume designer Sandy Powell chipping in with their nostalgia imbuing contributions. The pre-war 1930s setting is superbly presented just as the bath-time routine, excursion in the park and journey into an all-too brittle adventure, rekindle the vivacity and colorfulness of yore. It’s a wondrous amalgamation of ideas from the past and present, merging together in synchronicity of technique and wonder that is entirely enthralling.

Also Read: Emily Blunt Got Scared With Mary Poppins Returns Offer

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The Mule
Director: Clint Eastwood
Cast: Clint Eastwood, Bradley Cooper, Laurence Fishburne, Michael Peña, Dianne Wiest, Andy Garcia, Alison Eastwood, Taissa Farmiga, Ignacio Serricchio, Loren Dean, Eugene Cordero, Robert LaSardo
Rating:

Eighty-eight-year-old Clint Eastwood’s 37th feature has him directing and acting in a drama about an elderly man whose late-life drug running — egged on by desperate circumstances — becomes a tool for heavy rumination regarding conscience, morality, and reclamation. Nick Schenk (of Gran Torino fame) fashions this screenplay inspired by the New York Times Magazine article The Sinaloa Cartel’s 90-Year-Old Drug Mule, about a true event, written by Sam Dolnick.

The original mule was Leo Sharp, a World War II veteran and great-grandfather. But, for this film, Eastwood and Schenk take some creative liberties to present a sensibility that is more Eastwood than the real-life event would oblige. The experience delineates the nearly destitute senior Earl Stone’s (Eastwood) tryst with criminality conspired by an alienated family construct, and a flagging business. Earl was never there when he was needed by his family, ex-wife Mary (Dianne Wiest) and, especially, daughter Iris (Alison Eastwood). Their rejection of him when he runs out of money may be painful to watch, but it is fairly justified in the schema of broken relationships damaged by ego trips.

Eastwood, of course, lives the part. He fits the role, but as far as the fan-image goes, he seems frailer and less imposing than he did in his last cinema outing. But that physical deterioration doesn’t take anything away from the manner in which he has constructed this slow-burning, contemplative, engaging, humorous tale, which appears to be somewhat autobiographical in the manner in which it deals with relationships that are central to the story here.

We can see that Federal agents, led by a DEA Special Agent in charge (Laurence Fishburne), and newbie Colin Bates (Bradley Cooper), trying to nail some cartel drug runners out West, are eventually going to come across this unsuspicious drug-runner. But the film is not about that cat-and-mouse chase as much as it is about a conscience finally coming awake, and Earl making robust efforts to atone for his past mistakes.

Eastwood’s mule seems to bask in the freedom that easy money brings him, and appears to be unaware of the hellish depths that the murderous cartels would reach — and that’s precisely how the film plays out. With every film, like in this one too, Eastwood’s politics also comes out, loud-and-clear. He may be intriguing as a person, but not always politically correct as an actor-director voicing his personal world-view.

Earl’s eventual redemption also comes a little too easy, given the havoc he may have engineered by his flirting with the cartel. The tone shifts are jerky, the narrative veers to the ponderous and the experience doesn’t come across as entirely fulfilling — even though the cinematography and minimalistic appurtenances lend shadowy depth to the experience.

The supporting characters don’t get much screen-time, even though they are integral to the plotting. Eastwood hogs the show here. His apparent disconnect with the consequences relating to his actions is a hurdle that’s difficult to overcome. And that’s also because Eastwood’s image still manages to over-power his latter-life performances. As an audience, we are more likely to be distraught over his real-life physical deterioration than we are about the reel life character’s disempowerment.

Watch The Mule Trailer

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Uri: The Surgical Strike
U/A: Action, Drama
Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Yami Gautam, Paresh Rawal
Director: Aditya Dhar
Rating: 

Like with several others, you may not find a single bloodthirsty, jingoistic-militaristic bone in my body. And yet, there's a scene in this film, focused on a little girl, whose father, an officer, has just died in the recent attacks on the Army base in Uri. She walks up to the casket, surrounded by soldiers in attention, at his state funeral.

The moment freezes for a second. The little child, rather unexpectedly, exults the regiment's war cry. Soldiers instantly respond. Emotions naturally heighten. It's hard not to feel a lump in your throat.

This is the sort of visceral 'josh' that the film organically excites, which makes it work, almost through and through. And yet, for a movie wholly centred on a mission and the military, it is a rare desi one—Sankalp Reddy's under-rated The Ghazi Attack (2017), being another recent exception—that never meanders from the actual minefield: Not a minute wasted on sundry peripherals, songs, love-story, and the like, that most Hindi war films (Border, LOC Kargil, Lakshya included) have had to resort to, in order to fit into a more mainstream, Bollywood format.

But, first, let's settle the apprehension that many might rightly share: Is this a propaganda picture? In so much as it places to the extreme fore the might and valour of unsung heroes of Indian Army, who risk their lives in covert operations, details of which, for reasons of state secrecy, go unreported? Sure. And that's pretty much true for all patriotic, war movies, regardless.

But, no: Is it a propaganda film for the BJP government, few months before the general elections, seeking credit for a military operation initiated/executed under its watch? Well, the magnanimous Prime Minister modeled on Narendra Modi (Rajit Kapur) is very much omnipresent. Which, going by trailers and posters of late, he's likely to be, on the big screen, over the following months, with several films based on/around him—bit like a super-hero from the Marvel/DC universe!

The PM is well represented along with his cabinet, given lookalikes of Parrikar, Jaitley, Rajnath Singh, and the hand-picked National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, played by BJP MP Paresh Rawal, as a shrewd, sharp sleuth, right at the centre of the high-table, leading the military operation from a snazzy war-room.

Check out the trailer here:

Whether this story "based on true events," liberally mixing fact with fiction, has been actively sponsored by the government or not; can tell you this, they will like what they see. Folk on the Pakistani side though come across as total 'phateechars', ever willing to sell their soul and their nation's secrets. Either way, what the endorsement from the Indian Army (its publicity wing is prominently credited) evidently earns for the pic is incredible access to top-notch military hardware, hitherto unseen in the history of Hindi films.

Supremely competent first-time director Aditya Dhar uses these weapons—sophisticated machine guns, grenades, rocket launchers, top-grade fighter aircraft—to hit home with a winning plot, over two hours, 10 minutes of stunningly shot (Mitesh Mirchandani), non-stop, military-action drama, packed with pyrotechnics that appear authentic, world-class, technically kickass.

Background score (Shashwat Sachdev) is pitch-perfect. Some of the combat sequences (Stefan Richter) are sensational. Sparks fly, quite literally; even as sentiments are firmly in place, to keep you engaged with the characters, and their emotional motivations.

Yeah, it's hard to evoke both. No better actor to lead this charge than the fully fired-up Vicky Kaushal (Raazi, Sanju, Love Per Square Foot, Manmarziyaan, Lust Stories)—bulked up like a sniper, menacingly calm as a military mind—inspiring his peers (Yami Gautam, Kriti Kulhari etc) in the film, and patrons in the theatre, with an infectious energy that is impossible to resist. Kaushal's had a phenomenal 2018. Clearly, the dream run continues.

The film is primarily set in 2016. The basic premise is known. It concerns a top-secret, low-intensity, shock-and-awe assault, or a surgical strike, on hideouts in Pak-occupied Kashmir, responsible for terror attacks across the border—more specifically, by four militants, allegedly of the group Jaish-e-Mohammed, on the Indian Army brigade headquarters in Uri, near the Line of Control, less than a fortnight before.

Very little—next to nothing—is known about these 'surgical strikes'. How does this revenge operation pan out in the picture, then? Given multiple Abbottabads being mounted, a lot like a desi Zero Dark Thirty (2012)—Katherine Bigelow's brilliant docu-drama detailing capture of Osama bin Laden. As compliments go, that's as huge as it gets. No?

Also Read: Watch video: Vicky Kaushal gives us a sneak peek into his prep for Uri

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The Second Act

U/A: Comedy, Romance
Director: Peter Segal
Cast: Jennifer Lopez, Leah Remini, Vanessa Hudgens
Rating: 

Jennifer Lopez probably fancies herself as a 'Working Girl' and that explains her producing and acting in a film that has shades of the Oscar winner mashed up with done to death romcom elements. The script credited to Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas and Justin Zackham transforms an uneducated, street-smart 40-year-old woman, Maya(Jennifer Lopez) into a winning corporate consultant – and to get there she jumps the truth about her background, gets a resume makeover and wins the confidence of the head honcho. The boss (Treat Williams) sets up two teams, one lead by Maya and the safer one led by his daughter, Zoe (Vanessa Hudgens). But no prizes for guessing who won that battle. The usual alienation from old friends is followed by a redemptive effort at truth-telling.

Peter Segal's Second Act tries to do too much. The impetus for Maya's cheat makeover comes from professional rejection - We meet Maya the day she loses out on a big promotion at Value Shop, because of her lack of an MBA and a dopey idiot gets it because he does. We see Maya reconciling with the daughter she gave up for adoption and then losing her again for a bit before they reconcile again. The same happens with her friends and colleagues from her former workplace. They are the ones who support and encourage her (to hilarious results sometimes). Corporate skulduggery notwithstanding there's also the romantic interest whom she failed to confide in. It's all too complicated rather than complex.

Check out the trailer here:

The few times the film manages to perk you up involves an impromptu dance with Maya leading her office nemesis (Freddie Stroma) onto the dance floor in an attempt to sideswipe his attempt to expose her. And another time you feel the passion is when she and her girlfriends (Remini, Lacreta, Dierdre Friel) do a "Push it REAL good" dancing sing along. The writing is not without its frivolous light-hearted banter but much of it is lost in the attempt to paint Maya in a gratifying light. This romcom is fairly bearable but not exactly likeable.

Also Read: Jennifer Lopez explains why she did Second Act

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The Accidental Prime Minister
U: Biography, drama
Dir: Vijay Gutte
Cast: Anupam Kher, Akshaye Khanna
Rating:

Given the imagery in the trailer, it is impossible to walk into The Accidental Prime Minister anticipating anything. The intent of its makers is evident: its strategic release, months prior to the election, solidifies its positioning as a propaganda film. Films are meant to have fodder for debate and discussion. And the topic of discussion here, I propose, is how Mayank Tewari, the writer of Newton (one of India’s most balanced political films) and Hansal Mehta (Shahid) came up with something as abhorrent as this.

Probably hoping to pitch this as India’s answer to House Of Cards (HOC), the film’s narrative is too incoherent to make a political statement, let alone start a dialogue. HOC, of course, made with tremendous gumption, never has a political bias. It merely mirrors the goings-on behind the closed doors of the White House. Based on the book by Sanjaya Baru, this movie attempts to make sense of power games in the corridors of the coveted bungalow No. 7, Race Course Road (the official residence of PMO). But there’s no escaping the fact that it can only pass as a run-down, Made In China version of HOC.

If at all the idea was to shame and embarrass the Congress party, the writing here lacks the desired punch. The onus of shaping the material lies in the hands of the director, and Vijay Gutte is visibly inept. Of course, the lofty and on-point casting of Akshaye Khanna as Baru and Anupam Kher as PM Dr Manmohan Singh, salvages the situation considerably, but there’s no saving the film from shoddy direction.

Baru’s book walks the tightrope carefully, making ground-breaking political revelations, but never reducing Dr Singh to a laughable figure. Even his worst critics would agree, Singh was a man of poise. On Gutte’s insistence (or so I would like to believe) Kher turns Singh into a mute cartoon, who deserves to be pitied. It almost feels like the makers want to mock Singh — mimic his voice, slouch his gait. Baru had carefully carved Singh as a fiercely loyal man, standing strong on his ideals; one who is manipulated by the Gandhis (Sonia and Rahul). Gutte never focuses on the vulnerable equations between Singh and the Gandhi family.

He, in fact, allows Khanna to get disturbingly Frank Underwood-ish, turning up the dark humour in every third sentence. Khanna is great at what he does, but he makes Baru seem more like a saffron loyalist, not a Congress insider. Gutte takes us through the hallmarks of the Congress government, from the nuclear deal to the 2G scam, in a news bulletin, decade roundup-sort of a fashion, creating the build up for the film’s Singham (PM Modi). Do we know how Singh felt through it all? That’s for another film. There’s enough to laugh about in this offering, but the joke here is that while Hollywood continues to make great content, we are still nitpicking and name-calling.

Watch The Accidental Prime Minister Trailer

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Why Cheat India
U/A: Drama Satire
Director: Soumik Sen
Cast: Emraan Hashmi, Shreya Dhanwanthary
Rating:

The 'curse of the second half' in Hindi pictures is simply so severe, especially when it comes to films with well-known faces, that even as I find myself really enjoying a movie, there's a radar at the back of the brain constantly cautioning one to only hope that the post-interval portions even live up to the first half — by half. If so, then as an audience, you're pretty much through.

Is this movie an exception in that regard? Well, it eventually starts descending to such levels of random, thoughtless spinning of the yarn that by the end of it you're not even too sure it's the same film that you had started with in the first place. And hell yeah, it begins really well, what with highlighting the academic strains of being a teenaged 'padhaku' kid, Sattu (the boy's so brilliantly cast), in a lower-middle class family in Lucknow, coaxed into cracking a coveted engineering entrance exam (they don't call it IIT for some reason). For, how else does the father who's invested all his money into his child's supposed dream see his pension scheme through?

The film shines much-needed light on a common Indian teenaged nightmare, as sincerely presented in stand-up comedian Biswa Kalyan Rath's rather under-rated Amazon Prime series, Laakhon Mein Ek (2018). While sticking to searing realism — getting its time-setting, the year 1998 right, down to baggy trousers, and Force 10 type sneakers — the filmmakers manage to give the hero, Emraan Hashmi, a filmy sort of entry, smartly slipping in a soothing ballad, as well. Well done!

Hashmi plays a one-man racketeer who sneaks in smart kids, with counterfeit hall tickets, to max entrance tests on behalf of rich children, sitting at home, paying their way to top colleges as a result. You sort of know where the film might be going with this. And, maybe, that's the problem. Proxy contestants at overcrowded competitive exams for key educational institutions, where even well-prepared students wait for Godot to get in, is a huge multi-crore, organised industry, involving a system wholly corrupted, from top to bottom. Technology would have plugged some of the holes already; one's unaware to what extent.

If you haven't heard as much about this underworld, one should legitimately blame the news media for it — particularly in the case of the 2013 Vyapam (Madhya Pradesh Professional Examination Board) Scam, for instance, where close to 40 people, most of them whistleblowers, have mysteriously died, while the investigations are still on (or not quite) —but largely under-reported in the mainstream press.

And I thought this is what the film could be about — unearthing an earth-shaking scandal that should ideally knock you off your head. But, no, this is a film that attempts to combine strong commentary on the education/examination system, with a high-paced, heist thriller, with belaboured twists and turns, while trying to balance all of it with the urban slickness and high-life that Hashmi's inevitably romantically inclined, unscrupulous characters aspire for, and achieve, in his typical capers.

Watch Why Cheat India Trailer

So whatever fault you may find in the film possibly exists in the story/script to start with. And perhaps the reason is Hashmi himself, for he can't help but get on the big screen with strong baggage of the sort of flicks that have made him the star he is. The audience is obviously to blame for it, and the fact that Hashmi remains still an under-rated actor, because he is hardly commercially lauded for parts where he wholly goes off the beaten path — Dibakar Banerjee's Shanghai (2012), I'm told, tanked; Danis Tanovic's Tigers (2018) went straight to OTT (Zee 5), both being his career's best works.

And so he goes back to being himself: the trademarked flawed hero, who eventually justifies his wily actions as a natural outcome of a multiple-choice, rote-learning system that gives very few kids a choice beyond acing it to get ahead. How a scamster like his character is the solution still, and not the issue, is beyond me. Have to say though, what the audience will empathise with is the fact that far too few fine courses/colleges exist for far too many desi children: a progressively massive problem staring us in the face and an even uglier future. This affects everyone. To be fair, the government is just as clueless on how to deal with it as this totally confusing 'pop-con' pic.

Also read: Emraan Hashmi: Change of Cheat India title is illogical, ridiculous

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Replicas
U/A: Crime, Mystery, Sci-Fi
Director: Jeffrey Nachmanoff
Cast: Keanu Reeves, Thomas Middleditch, Alice Eve, John Ortiz, Emjay Anthony
Rating: 

The bland, expressionless Keanu Reeves as a scientist is a hard sell for even the most gifted filmmaker so one can't understand why he was chosen to lead the cast as an obsessive scientist wanting to clone his family back to life after a drowning accident. And that's not the only bad choice here. The story itself never develops beyond the perfunctory -allowing for quick jump forwards into sci-fi territory that doesn't appear conclusive in the least. The script appears to be written by novices who have little idea about the subject matter. Neither the Director, the tech team nor the cast seem to believe in this story. So they all appear to be playing a game of make-believe that only they enjoy. For the viewer the experience is sheer tedium.

Playing God in a high tech world is not a new concept but the treatment, tone and momentum must be good enough to gain attachment and believability. There's no such thing here. At no point are we ensnared by Will Foster's (Keanu Reeves) need to bring back his family from the dead. Neither his guilt nor his love for them are established here. And his corralling of his lab partner Ed (Thomas Middleditch) for support, is also not believable in the least. The talk of neural maps, synthetic brain, algorithms and consciousness sounds like mumbo-jumbo in such an unbelievable set-up – even when it's done in a futuristic facility called Bionyne.

Check out the trailer here:

When Will persuades his friend Ed to dispose the bodies of his dead family members it sounds insane and when he pretends to be his kids and responds to text messages from their friends it becomes all the more ridiculous. We never see his grief or experience his pain. And that's also because Keanu Reeves doesn't go beyond harried and lost in terms of expression. Both writer Chad St. John and director Jeffrey Nachmanoff don't appear to have figured out what exactly they wanted to convey here. They just run with the tide and make a mess of it. There's no style or mood to hold this sort of idea through. Nachmanoff hits the bland and straightforward route – on e that leaves the audience totally distended and discontent. This is the kind of hare-brained unbelievable stuff you wouldn't waste your hard-earned money on!

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One Less God

U/A: Drama, Thriller
Director: Lliam Worthington
Cast: Joseph Mahler Taylor, Sukhraj Deepak, Mihika Rao
Rating: 

As a film that hopes to capture the terror heralded by the 26/11 attacks on Mumbai, 'One Less God' is rather feeble, nondescript and ineffective. The scope is narrow and the budget too small to do justice to a disaster that is amongst the most unforgettable in recent history. This is drama written around a real-life crisis but at no point does it feel real. The 2008 Mumbai attacks included a series of terrorist strikes that felled 164 people across south Mumbai - carried out by 10 members of the Laskar-e-Taiba, an Islamic terrorist organisation based in Pakistan. But none of that drama or tragedy is captured here with any grit or enticement.

The Mumbai siege is presented in a slap-dash fashion that never really gets the audience involved. The focus is largely on the Taj Mahal hotel and what it's guests went through in the final hours before their falling victim to the terrorist onslaught. The film focuses its efforts on the men and women attempting to survive, while intermittently cutting across to the two men perpetrating the attack. The bits of humour that creep in at odd times appears to be in bad taste.

Check out the trailer here:

Everything here seems rather pretentious and ineffective. The general cross-national mix of characters, their touristy experiences and the aftermath of the siege may have some diverse moments but we never feel attached or interested enough to be affected. There are barely any validating moments here. The performances are bad, the direction is sloppy, there are continuity breaks that look ridiculous, the art direction and production values leave a lot to be desired. Even the attempt to go one-up on the much awaited Dev Patel, Armie Hammer, Nazanin Boniadi, Jason Isaacs starrer 'Hotel Mumbai'- (a film that covers the same territory), by releasing earlier, reeks of Opportunism.

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Glass

U/A: Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi
Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Cast: Sarah Paulson, Bruce Willis, James McAvoy
Rating: 

Shyamalan’s earliest films (The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable, Signs) were brilliant, they intrigued, shocked and entertained all at the same time. The same cannot be said about the films that came later. The big budget ones especially were all jumbled up and schlocky. It felt as though the director never really achieved his vision. ‘Glass’ is a far better effort in terms of visual context but it fails on cohesion and lucidity – especially in the third act dominated by Shyamalan’s signature twists.

Glass, a sort of sequel to both Unbreakable and Split, spends its two hours plus without a strong story to tell. It is every bit as inconceivable and snaky a film as his worst but it still has a psychological depth that could have amounted to much more - if only the director had been a little more focussed. There’s so much he is wanting to say that it all gets lost in the confusion and incoherence brought on by a lack of emphasis.

Glass opens with Dunn(Willis) tracking down Split's villain, Kevin Wendell Crumb aka 'The Horde' (James McAvoy), a serial killer suffering from multiple personality disorder who has been preying on girls in the Philadelphia area. After some visceral action Dunn and Crumb are captured and taken to a secret wing of a psychiatric hospital also housing Mister Glass(Jackson) – to be studied by Dr. Ellie Staple (Sarah Paulson), a psychiatrist obsessed with decoding the phenomenon of men who believe themselves to possess the powers of comic book characters.

Check out the trailer here:

This is an indie film (in partnership with Blumhouse)with no big studio backing it so there are budget constraints which Shyamalan could have overcome by running a tighter ship. Shyamalan manages to get close to poignant and memorable but the third act(rather threadbare) pulls you off that track all the way through. The twists don’t make much sense and in fact renders the entire work rather directionless.

The build-up is pretty good even though the action is all visual, internalised and verbose but the third and final act fails to make something out of that. The director and DP Michael Gioulakis manage to compose some fascinating and striking visual mayhem but it doesn’t amount to anything powerful. If you followed ‘Unbreakable’ and ‘Split’ then there is a chance that you might cotton on to Shyamalan’s wavelength but for a large part of the audience this is going to be a film without a strong sense of purpose.

James McAvoy is simply the best thing about this movie. His enthusiasm and effort in playing out multiple personalities is extraordinary. Jackson wakes up from his stupor a little late and loses out on creating an impact while Willis looks on strategically- the thing he does best I guess. This is at best a baffling and inconsistent exercise in cinema!

Also Read: James McAvoy on Glass co-star Bruce Willis: He is most chilled dude

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Manikarnika: The Queen Of Jhansi
U/A: Biography
Director: Krishna Jagarlamudi, Kangana Ranaut
Cast: Kangana Ranaut, Danny Denzongpa, Ankita Lokhande
Rating:

As a film, this might seem a bit too ultra-patriotic/nationalistic for the fact that it's set in the mid 1800s, when the idea of India itself wasn't as concrete, let alone the concept of "Swarajya" (used here often), which was first popularly coined by Lokmanya Tilak, only born in 1856. The film itself though, right in its opening disclaimer, washes its hands of any pretense towards complete, uncontestable historical accuracy, which is only for the better. Helps you view it as a fabulous legend/fable first.

Be that as it may, the fact that the Indian Revolt/Rebellion of 1857, that began with the Sepoy mutiny, with Mangal Pandey firing the first shot, is widely considered the First War of Indian Independence, among Indians, can't be denied either. At the centre of this piece though, with absolutely no other players even in the periphery, understandably, is Rani Lakshmibai, born Manikarnika, a bibliophile 'brahmin' girl, raised by the Peshwa as a warrior, who eventually takes over as the Queen of Jhansi (currently in Uttar Pradesh). Yes, this is a big-budget, wholly star-driven, action-packed, period picture. Except the star is female, which is rare enough. Even if you consider Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Padmaavat (or Padmavati), where Deepika Padukone played the eponymous character all right, but the film focused on Ranveer Singh as the antagonist Alauddin Khilji far more. Speaking of which, this is the sort of passion project that Bhansali, as master of magnificence (Padmaavat, Bajirao Mastani, Ram-Leela), has excelled in to a point that subsequently similar works, by most other craftsmen, are likely to somewhat pale in contrast. And so while the inspirations here are obvious, it might be unfair to compare still. This holds just as true for any allusion to SS Rajamouli's astoundingly massive Baahubali, given that the screenwriter (Vijayendra Prasad) is the same.

For, the story here has to be enjoyed for its own worth. It relates to a legend that pretty much remains unsurpassed in Indian history—of a woman, who lost her husband, the king, and her little son, the heir, giving way to the British to take over her kingdom, with help of locals (as they almost always did), and a 'doctrine of lapse', which applied to heirless princely states.

Instead of wallowing in widowhood, as per tradition, the Queen got on the white horse-back, and led a full-frontal attack against the mighty British, all by herself, holding fort until the point that she could, and then creating alliances, organizing her brigade, to go at the Brits all over again. Her valour is a common, modern metaphor. You see a fearless woman, and inevitably go: "Aa gayi Jhansi ki Rani!"

Frankly, as a public figure from Bombay films, I can't imagine anybody as naturally earning that sobriquet as Kangana Ranaut. Dainty but fierce, Ranaut plays Rani Lakshmibai with the ferocity that suits her character best. She leads the charge not just as an actor, but also as director, the baton she took over midway through the making of this film. One can't help but conjecture if there are really two separate movies here, given that two directors were helming it at different times.

Well, there are two huge battle sequences in the picture. And one could argue that the second one, the climax, in its tone and shot-taking, looks considerably different from the first. But then, that could just be me as audience noticing, because consciously searching. Either way, there is nothing to hugely fault this film on technical competence, and indeed the scale at which it's been mounted.

Watch Manikarnika: The Queen Of Jhansi Trailer

The sets are grand. Extras, both Brits and desis, fill up the screen. War scenes look reasonably authentic. Mortal combats appear real. Riding through the artillery lined-up on either end is Manikarnika with her sword, the ultimate symbol of female power, from around the time that feminism as a word had only but been coined (in the West). It is an aspect that's thankfully quite dialed -down here. You can see it. You don't need to be incessantly told.

We've all read about Rani Lakshmibai in middle-school history. But we remember her best from the Allahabadi poet Subhadra Kumari Chauhan's long poem with the famous descriptor, 'Bundele har bole ki muh, humne suni kahani thi. Khoob ladi mardani, who toh Jhansi wali Rani thi.' A genuine, soul-stirring tribute to her phenomenal heroism can at best hope to come close to Chauhan's immortal lines. Yes, this one does.

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Thackeray
U/A: Biopic
Dir: Abhijit Panse
Cast: Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Amrita Rao
Rating:

Rather than a biopic, Nawazuddin Siddiqui's Thackeray tends to become a hagiography that doesn't offer an insight into the larger-than-life personality that was Balasaheb Thackeray. If you've wondered what lay beneath this powerful leader, or how he rose when the odds were against him, be warned this film doesn't answer those questions. Which is not to say it doesn't work.

Director Abhijit Panse's offering is an interesting drama for those who don't know much about Thackeray. The protagonist's journey from being a cartoonist at a newspaper to becoming a ruthless leader, insistent on the progress of the Marathi manoos, is captured well. But is this movie an image makeover exercise for the party, which is at loggerheads with its long-time ally, the Bharatiya Janata Party, ahead of the Lok Sabha elections this year? It definitely feels so. Interestingly, while the film starts with a disclaimer which reads that the makers don't support violence in any manner, they haven't shied away from showing Thackeray as someone who was in favour of using violence as a means to instill peace.

The film opens with the leader's trial in a Lucknow court as he is being questioned about his role in the demolition of Babri Masjid. When he is asked about his supporters tearing down the mosque, he replies, "Nahi, nahi. Toda nahi, saaf kiya." The film then travels between Thackeray's past — stylishly shot in black and white — and the courtroom where he has to justify his deeds and decisions.

From the rise of the angry Marathi consciousness against the dominant South Indians in Mumbai to the killing of Krishna Desai, a member of the Communist Party, to Thackeray supporting the Emergency because he believes that the country would finally be disciplined — various chapters present the protagonist as a tyrant.

The problem, however, lies in the most important chapter — the '93 Bombay riots. The film skims over the matter, and shows it as a conspiracy to kill Thackeray rather than people avenging the post-Babri riots, as is popular knowledge. The storyline then leaps to the bomb blasts that shook the city, and unsurprisingly, Thackeray and the Shiv Sena, rather than being depicted as the instigators of the communal riots, are shown as the city's saviours.

Siddiqui is riveting as Thackeray. It is his terrific performance that makes you invested in the film even when it trudges down a predictable path. But he falters with his voice; he can't match the deep baritone of his subject. Amrita Rao is convincing as Meena Thackeray. The movie ends with the victory of the Sena-Bharatiya Janata Party alliance in the 1995 state elections; the makers also use the opportunity here to announce the sequel. Produced by Shiv Sena Member of Parliament Sanjay Raut, the film barely goes beyond being the audio-visual version of Sena's official newspaper.

Watch Thackeray Trailer

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Mary Queen Of Scots

U/A: Biography, Drama, History
Director: Josie Rourke
Cast: Taylor Russell, Logan Miller, Deborah Woll, Jay Ellis, Tyler Labine
Rating: 

Director Josie Rourke and writer Beau Willimon's attempt to give two warring Queens, the widowed Mary Queen Of Scots (Saoirse Ronan) and Queen Elizabeth I (Margot Robbie) of England, a larger voice in their historic confrontation, makes for fairly compelling viewing. This is a tapestry of discontent woven with a rare female gaze and allows for greater involvement in the royal proceedings.

Mary, following untimely widowhood, returns to her native Scotland to assume her throne. Her half-brother James Moray (James McArdle) is not enthused and his peace-keeping allegiance to the Protestant regime in England may have well become meaningless. Mary's cousin, Elizabeth I, monarch of England is also wary of Mary's far more valid claim to her own throne. So the intrigue and betrayals begin. And it's the men on both sides who play out the deceit in bloody fashion.

Check out the trailer here:

This is largely a biopic on Mary, Queen of Scots beginning with her return to the throne, subsequent precipitous marriages, the power struggle with her brother and several other aspirants to the throne and eventually her tragic death on the orders of her cousin. So there's more than enough drama to be had. Unfortunately, clarity is not a strong point here. Framed largely as per the version put forward by John Guy's biography of the Queen, the film has some controversial moments but fails to concretize the reasoning for her eventual beheading.

We get to meet Mary's ladies-in-waiting, her attempts to solidify her claims to the throne of England, her fight with the clergy who are largely protestant, her brother James' attempts to undercut her authority, John Knox's(David Tenant) outrage at having to know-tow to a female ruler and Elizabeth's helplessness and insecurity in having to deal with a more beautiful, younger claimant to her monarchy. Most of the narrative gives vent to Mary's life story but towards the end the focus shifts to Elizabeth's, thus creating a dichotomy that is a little difficult to empathize with. This filmed drama is largely faithful to the established record, has authentic fashionably period costuming and make-up and intensely committed performances from the two leads as well as their co-actors in crucial roles. So it's a vividly engaging experience even if not an entirely lucid one!

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The Escape Room

U/A: Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi
Director: Adam Robitel
Cast: Taylor Russell, Logan Miller, Deborah Woll, Jay Ellis, Tyler Labine
Rating: 

These so-called 'live' reality game movies occupy a sub-genre of their own and Hollywood has been churning out quite a few of them following the Young Adult's obsessive fixation with material that encompasses it in entirety. But they are not all as thrilling or compelling as the first few that made it to hit franchise levels.

'Escape Room' is basically a set-up to get rid of six nondescript lone survivors through a series of life-threatening puzzles designed to test their survival instincts. And why pray does that have to happen? There's not much explanation here for that. Just swim with the tide, is all they ask. Unfortunately, it's not that easy for the audience because the viewer has to constantly suppress the disbelief that springs up every time the participants go through haranguing moments that willy-nilly put their lives in peril.

Check out the trailer here:

This is a far more perilous version of the more recent spurt of high-risk Telly games and since we don't get to know or understand the participants' motives (other than the 10,000 dollar prize money) it's difficult to empathize or find a reason to pay attention to their trauma. The writers also use some uninteresting physics theory to justify the random six players' participation in a largely predictable schema of disjointed thrills. They are made to go from intense heat to intense cold, then to a gas chamber, a space crusher and a few more vicarious routines before the winner can be decided.

While the production design is vivid, there's not much holding it together. Nik Dodani as nerd Danny, Jason Ellis as irritating yuppie Jason, Tyler Labine as trucker Mike, Deborah Ann Wolf as the tough, capable war vet Amanda, Logan Miller as a young alcoholic Ben and Taylor Russell as a withdrawn college student Zoey put in imminently indistinct, forgettable performances. The writing is largely formulaic too and the helming lacks serious edge. There's really nothing here to hold your attention for the near 100 min runtime.

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Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga
U/A: Drama, Comedy, Romance
Director: Shelly Chopra Dhar
Cast: Sonam Kapoor, Anil Kapoor, Juhi Chawla, Rajkummar Rao
Rating: 

Towards the film’s climax, Rajkummar Rao, who plays playwright Saahil Mirza in the film, tells those watching his play to do so ‘from the heart’. It’s imperative that we follow this instruction, because, like with every Bollywood film, it’s easy to dismiss this one on many technical frailties. But, what you can’t fault, is its intention to depict a love story for what it truly is — a love story. Why does it matter if it is about a woman falling in love with another woman?

Written beautifully by the prolific Gazal Dhaliwal, Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga breaks perceptions to introduce to us what normal truly implies — being compassionate about one another’s uniqueness. The point, in this case, isn’t to merely celebrate homosexuality and treat it as the regular. It attempts to reiterate that even personal choices, like those of marriage, career, or love, must be respected. Being rendered claustrophobic shouldn’t be the outcome of accepting an emotion that goes against the tide of societal norms. The narrative’s tapestry is woven with care and compassion; it evidently comes from a personal space, for Dhaliwal.

Watch the trailer here...

The film kicks off with a play about love in the age of Tinder. Leading lady Sonam K Ahuja’s Sweety brutally criticises this as “upar-upar ki love story”. Sweety is forced to live a life of shame. A closeted lesbian, she struggles to come to terms with her own orientation. Her family’s unwillingness to acknowledge it, a brother who pressurises her to ‘fix’ herself, and persistent loneliness, makes her journey cumbersome.

Sonam plays Sweety with charm and earnestness, and is yet uninhibited when she must be fierce. It takes courage to back a script of this nature, and she gets full marks for doing so. Rao’s Saahil shows compassion in his scenes with Sweety. Another cast-member, Anil Kapoor is affable. Given that he is as closeted as his daughter in the film — Anil’s character is a chef at heart who is stuck in a business of garment — the final scene of acceptance seems to come from a place of empathy.

What doesn’t work, however, is director Shelly Chopra Dhar’s constant ploy to whip up mystery around Sweety’s orientation. Her big revelation comes with orchestrated music, a futile attempt given that the title and trailer are revealing of the plot. There is also a latent desire to underplay the theme. Sweety’s partner, Kuhu (played beautifully by Regina Cassandra) gets a mere 15 minutes of screen time. Yet, it doesn’t particularly take away from the final product.

Commendably, Dhar manages to keep the film from becoming preachy. But, what she achieves with this feat, she instantly loses when Sweety says Saahil must be a saviour for others like her. It is offensive, given that it treats heterosexuals as the all-powerful, while the unique as those who need rescuing. Despite the faltering and the flaws, this one is a hit for every romantic. It’s never too late to celebrate love without labels, right?

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