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The Hindu : Action on AXNOn the job Steven Seagal battles aliens in Attack ForceAXN will telecast the movie “Attack Force” on March 14 at 10 p.m. This film is a sci-fi thriller where an alien race has made secret contact with the United States. Entering into talks, the government and the extra-terrestrials reach accord on a trade pack. Arriving on the earth, the aliens soon make the cost of the agreements clear when they proceed upon their true mission: the harvesting of human DNA. Realising their mistake, the government calls upon their top special agent (Steven Seagal) and order him to deal with the menace. Using all the skills at his command, the agent begins his task, a dangerous assignment that’s hampered by the government’s insistence that the public never know of the aliens’ existence….More

The Hindu : As always Nandita Das is dead on time for the interview, dressed in an unassuming brown and cream sari. Nandita plays the lead role in Chitra Palekar’s “Maati Maayi”. Does she know that another fine young actor has been warned not to go the Nandita Das way, choosing films because they are activist, offbeat, intriguing, plead rural women’s cause, raise social issues — in fact for any reason other than commercial success? “And what was the actor’s reply?” is Nandita’s eager response.Is she picky about her roles because she thinks she can make a difference? “Look, we know cinema cannot bring about social reforms. But unless you believe you are making a difference, however small, to the way people think, see and feel, how can you work with conviction?”She has no hesitation in explaining her stance. “Acting is just one of the things I do. Yes, it is a creative, joyful process, but so was teaching in Rishi Valley, or the talks I give about issues I care about. I express myself in everything I do — whether pottery, painting, storytelling for children, writing or talking about social problems.” She believes music is the highest form of art. It remains a passion, though she has confessed a lack of discipline for sadhana and full-time dedication. We remember her saying some years ago how it embarrasses her to be recognised more than her artist father (Jatin Das), writer mother (Varsha Das) and their contemporaries, not because of better or greater achievements, but simply because of her screen roles. That sense of balance is Nandita’s chief personality trait. “I take criticism very well, because I’m self critical,” she states unequivocally.This combination of talent and self-analytical confidence makes her an obvious choice for any role that demands fine-tuned substance. Even in films that did not quite take off, her performance did, as in Mrinal Sen’s “Amaar Bhuvan” for…More

The Hindu : Did you know?Golfer Mark Brown of New Zealand who recently won his first Asian Tour event at the SAIL Open Golf Championship in India and then also won the Johnnie Walker Classic, has a long list of hobbies, which include playing several others sports, fishing, rugby, reading newspapers and eating!Footballer Karim Benzema is a French footballer of Algerian descent who plays as a forward for Olympique Lyonnais football club and has been touted as the next Zinedine Zidane by experts. A product of the Olympique Lyonnais youth academy, he can play as the main striker and also on both wings.Former football player and now coach Arthur Antunes Coimbra better known as Zico who was often called the “White Pele” was named by Pele himself among the top 125 greatest living footballers. Also according to Pele, the only other player who came closest to matching his (Pele’s) own skills, was Zico….More

The Hindu : It is one of those eternal, everlasting universal questions. Why are things that taste good, naturally bad for health? Think of the yummy, crisp potato chip and simultaneously think of piling on the pounds. So when the ad makers came up with the popular tagline for a brand of potato chips, “No one can eat just one,” they completely forgot to mention the battle of the bulge.Tomorrow is Potato Chip Day and MetroPlus does a check on the eating habits of Gen X and talks to people about the couch potato trend that is sweeping across our country.Says 15-year-old Sudheer Banna, “Although we are aware that oily finger chips are unhealthy, school children often don’t have a healthy substitute.” He adds, “Especially during a fifteen-minute morning break, one cannot but grab a packet of chips to satisfy one’s hunger. That’s all we have the time for.”Many mothers around the city do not pass the buck when asked who should be held responsible for the unhealthy eating habits of children these days.Time constraintsDevashree Nair, a lawyer and mother of two admits: “I am to be blamed for not keeping a check on what my children are eating outside. What happens most often is that working mothers do not have the time to cook two meals at 7 a.m. for a family of four. This gives children the chance to indulge in junk food during the day.”Obesity is a major health concern among today’s teenagers. While gluttony gives way to high cholesterol levels, business people whose existence depends on the consumption of fried food are elated that these packets of temptation fetch them good money.Says Ameen, owner of one such shop: “School and college-going children are our prime customers. Often they not only buy one bag of chips during their lunch break, they even carry at least two packets with them back to school.”Hotelier Babu Mohanty says:…More

The Hindu : It’s not without reason that the fashion world calls him India’s original L’Enfant terrible. Designer Manish Arora has a way of standing apart from the crowd. Like his work or not, but there’s no way you’ll miss it. Beginning this Sunday, Manish will be seen hosting the television series “Adventures of the Ladies Tailor” on Discovery Travel and Living.“The show is not just about fashion. I’d day it’s a quirky mix of fashion, food and lifestyle. I travelled extensively across Rajasthan, Goa and Pondicherry meeting different people, capturing the colours, clothes and music of the regions,” says Manish. “Rajasthan is picturesque and I caught candid frames on my camera. The photos come in handy and inspire my next collection and the fashion shoot gets showcased at the London Fashion Week. While there, I got to work on the interiors of an old barber shop. It was like an inpromptu makeover.”The second episode tracks Manish’s journey to Goa. There he meets an Italian chillum designer and gets to know the basics of chillum making. “Musician Prem Joshua happened to be in Goa when we were shooting. The episode also features my conversations with him. We also met photographer Peter Linderbergh and a tattoo artist who works with Indian motifs. You’ve got to see the show; saying anything more will give it away. There’s more to Goa than the beaches and the flea market,” he laughs.The show also pursues Manish’s experiences at the India Fashion Week and the Paris Fashion Week. “You get to know about the fashion week, behind-the-scenes action, working within the time frame… basically capturing the madness that goes into the fashion week,” says Manish.The Pondicherry episode helped Manish meet up with a long time friend apart from “getting a feel of the magnificent Auroville. I didn’t get to spend much time in the French colonies and taste the brews of Pondicherry though.”The quirky…More

The Hindu : Learning to flyIt is good for a city to grow and expand. First it was to have tall buildings with transparent glass walls, then it was broader roads. So we went ahead and cut trees, a hundred of them, yet it does not seem to help the roads that burst at the seams. But, that’s okay. For we are the kind of people who like to march forward. Never to look back and never learn from our past mistakes. So, now it is the turn of having an international airport. One that matches up to the “international standards”. So what if they cut down more trees or if for the South Bangalorean reaching the said airport will be a journey in itself?The plan is achieved. The humble HAL airport will close down for ever. Now people from all corners of the city will have to travel a lot more through gridlocked traffic in far from ideal roads to just reach the new airport which is way out of the city.How does the common man plan to cope? Is it feasible for those who travel to Chennai or Kochi by air to spend hours in a taxi or an auto to reach Devnanahalli? Or should the HAL airport function for domestic flights while the new one focuses on the international flights? Read on to find out what the city feels about this whole issue.Closing down the HAL Airport will not help those who travel short distances. We do need an international airport, but are we ready to handle it? We lack infrastructure. May be the domestic airport should function till the infrastructure is ready.Hira Narayanan,CEOI think the new airport is for the better. It will not be convenient for everyone,. But then it differs from person to person. Like for me the new airport is really convenient. But those who travel short distances or for just…More

The Hindu : An adrenaline rushNext month, the much-touted Indian Premier League Twenty20 tournament will commence with the clash between Bangalore’s Royal Challengers and Kolkata’s Knight RidersPhoto: PTISmooth ride Vijay Mallya: ‘Skipper Dravid asked me whether I wanted glamour or performance and I told him ‘give me performance any day’Cricket, commerce and Bollywood have always been on a path of convergence. And now with the imminent launch of the Indian Premier League at the Chinnaswamy Stadium here on April 18, cricketing acumen, stardust and jingling cash registers are set to fire in unison.The 44-day extravaganza will commence with the maiden match between the Vijay Mallya-owned Bangalore Royal Challengers led by Rahul Dravid and Shah Rukh Khan’s Kolkata Knight Riders led by Sourav Ganguly on April 18.The tournament, that will pit eight City-based teams in the Twenty20 format, is also a dry run for queries like will the franchise-format work in cricket or will city-loyalty breed a stronger passion than patriotism.The answers will be known this summer but before that for local fans, set to cheer Bangalore’s Royal Challengers, a few questions do remain. Questions like why is a Test opening batsman like Wasim Jaffer in the squad, does Jacques Kallis have the dash to be a champ in Twenty20 and many more.The man who has staked his money on the team, Vijay Mallya, has his answers ready. “After the first round of auction in Mumbai, a few friends congratulated me on my Test team! I mentioned this to our captain Dravid and he laughed it off and told me that Test cricket is the ultimate test for any cricketer and if a player can do well in that format, then he can do well in all other formats, be it one day matches or Twenty20. Before the auction he asked me whether I wanted glamour or performance and I told him ‘give me performance any day’ and I…More

The Hindu : Celebrity chef, Sanjeev Kapoor, released his new cook book “Cakes & Bakes” at the Crossword Bookstore recently. The book provides you with “exceptional techniques for baking”. Sanjeev dons his “baker’s cap and demystifies the art and science of baking.” The book offers a step-by-step instruction and plenty of tips from the chef. The book includes recipes of black forest gateau, cheesecake, Mississippi mud pie, crunchy cookies and tea time delights such as chocolate éclairs and cheese balls to name a few. “With this book store-bought baked goods will never again be an option,” say the chef. Sanjeev, who shot to fame with “Khana Khazana” a cookery show, has authored many other books. His show also won the Best Cookery Show award by the Indian Television Academy (ITA).The book, published by Popular Prakashan costs Rs. 295 and is available at Crossword….More

The Hindu : Chitra Palekar spent her formative years on the stage, and trained herself in many aspects of film making. She acted in “Akriet” scripted films (“Thodasa Romani Ho Jaye”, “Kairee”, “Dhyasparva”), television serials (“Kacchi Dhoop”, “Naqab”), worked as production designer, co-producer and assistant director in films directed by Amol Palekar. Her debut as director in “Maati Maayi” (Marathi), based on Mahashweta Devi’s Bengali story, is of a veteran in the field.The death of all male relatives forces Chandi to take up the family job of gravekeeping. She is proud of discharging her duty. When, as a nursing mother, she is unable to bury children anymore, the village refuses to allow her to discontinue her grim task. Finally, she is ostracised and exiled as a ghoul feeding on dead infants.Chitra’s film is not arresting in form. There are few surprises in the visual compositions and the flashbacks are hardly subtle. The shrill song in key moments is out of place. Atul Kulkarni as Narsu cannot wholly shed his urban sensibility. But Chitra gets a powerful performance from Nandita Das and a credible child in Kshitij Gavande.The shortcomings are overcome by the director’s deep sensitivity, strength of emotion, artistic conviction, and guts in her grim choice of subject. The film scores as an uncompromising indictment of social injustice.Excerpts from an interview with the director.How did you come upon Mahashweta Devi’s story? Any difficulties in turning the word into visuals?Theatre director Usha Ganguly gave this story to me and said let’s do a play. I responded to it with my senses, not intellectually, and kept thinking of visuals. I saw the layers of irony in life and death. Death starts affecting Chandi when she herself gives birth. The challenge was to show Chandi’s breasts overflowing with milk without vulgarity or voyeurism. I feel this is a gender sensitive story that only a woman can write and direct.Why didn’t you…More