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The Hindu : y>Tata offers expensive but quality accessories

Tata is offering its new pick-up, the Xenon, with several accessories. Imported from Thailand, these are of good quality but are pricey. Accessories include a lockable cover for the truck bed, allowing you to use it as a boot, a deck-liner for the load-deck floor, and a canopy. The canopy can be colour-coordinated as well.

A front nudge guard, sidestep, chrome rear bumper and roll bar look stylish, adding to the appeal of the Xenon. While the vehicle is originally offered with 205/80 R16 tyres, beefier 215 section tyres are available. If you opt for the full-monty for your Xenon, be prepared to shell out Rs 1.5 lakh. Here’s the rough break-up, Front nudge guard Rs. 11,764, roof rack Rs. 10,000, boot-lid covering Rs. 36,191, bed liner Rs. 8,900, canopy Rs. 46,980, side step Rs. 9,725, chrome rear bumper Rs. 10,405 and roll bar Rs. 10,000

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The Hindu : y>Soha Ali Khan is upbeat about her career. She tells K. JESHI her new film Tum Mile will see her doing an underwater act

Photo: Murali Kumar k.By the gut Soha Ali Khan says she trusts her instincts when choosing roles

Soha Ali Khan is in a happy state of mind — about her career and choice of roles. She is charged up about doing an underwater sequence in her forthcoming film “Tum Mile”. “I have never shot underwater before. I keep having nightmares of drowing,” she says with a smile.

The actor was at Tommy Hilfiger flagship store at The Forum in Bangalore to launch the limited edition TH sunglasses inspired by the personality of the actor — a combination of classic and contemporary style.

Sitting pretty on a couch, the actor, a picture of poise and grace, gets talking about “Tum Mile”. Slated for a July release, the film by young director Kunal Deshmukh is a romantic tale set in the backdrop of disaster — the floods of 2005.

“It is by far the most difficult movie I have shot. Getting drowned in 20,000 litres of water, being swept by waves and water being thrown at you throughout is not easy. There is a lot of action, cruising, long rain shots, and I had to get drenched for 14 hours a day,” the actor says.

Soha will also be seen in “99”, an action comedy that will hit theatres in the first week of May. “It is slick, fast paced and has an international look to it. We have an ensemble cast of wonderful actors including Kunal Khemu, Boman Irani, Vinod Khanna, Mahesh Manjrekar and Cyrus Broacha,” she adds. She says her choice of roles is a natural response to the scripts. “I trust my instincts. It is important to hone those instincts and sharpen it over time. I do not take my family’s…More

The Hindu :

Honda Accord V6 gets a big engine and loads oftechnological features

The absence of a V6 engine in the eighth-generation Accord was its one-and-only blemish. Now, Honda is making amends by launching its biggest engine ever in India. This amend comes in the form of a 3.5-litre i-VTEC-enabled engine making 271bhp and 34.5kgm in a car weighing 1620kg. With a power-to-weight ratio that’s slightly better than the Audi 3.2 FSI, this car has a lot of potential. Now the only thing that grabs unpleasant attention is the cars pricing. At Rs 28.54 lakh, the price sticker is uncomfortably close to a few compact German saloons.

The V6 works and sounds best when revs are high — in the way a Honda engine is expected to. There’s some serious punch on offer right from the 3000rpm mark, peak torque kicks in at 5000rpm and the engine revs crisply to the 6800rpm mark without any break in power. Upshifts from the five-speed auto-box are quick but downshifts are hesitant. The overprotective gearbox logic is to override manual inputs when driving hard, making sure the engine revs stay in a safe zone when downshifting. Nonetheless, the Accord V6 treads into Porsche Boxster territory by clocking a staggering 7.8 seconds in the 0-100kph sprint, and it feels like it can breach the double-ton mark without breaking into a sweat. If there is a downside to the driving experience of the V6 Accord, it is the seemingly tainted light steering which feels somehow ridiculous in a car so powerful. Also, the body movement felt when going fast around corners is a bit un-nerving — due to the rear seat passengers pampering suspension which is too soft for the power at hand. We advise changing the struts to some of the sportier ones available from Bilstein, and just grin and bear the insipid steering after purchasing the V6.Saving fuel<p…More

The Hindu : y>Bangalore Queer Film Fest takes off

Good As You and Nigah present The Bangalore Queer Film Fest 09. The fest, on April 10 and 11, will be held at Alliance Francaise.

In 2007, Good As You co-hosted Films of Desire, a one-day programme open to the public, with a focus on South and South East Asian cinema. This year, Good As You with Nigah is bringing the Nigah’s Queer Fest held in Delhi last year to our city “to create a rare space for Bangaloreans to come together in a spirit of solidarity and celebrating queer expressions”.

The Bangalore Queer Film Fest will bring in a wide spectrum of queer international films together at one venue, including award winning movies such as Wong Kar Wai’s “Happy Together”, Gus Van Sant’s “Mala Noche” as well as critically-acclaimed documentaries like “Dangerous Living” and “It’s Still Elementary”.

There will also be a focus on Indian queer experiences through the works of Indian artistes like Sonali Gulati and Priya Sen.

“The festival takes on cinema beyond token portrayals for comedic effect or as objects of curiosity to a curated exhibition that explores multiple dimensions of queer experience through domestic and international queer documentaries, movies and short films,” say the organisers. The fest commences at 9 a.m. on the first day. Contacthelpqueerfest@gmail.com

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The Hindu :

Tumkur to Europe, karate to contemporary dance, Abhilash Ningappa’s moves are just right

Photo: Bhagya Prakash k.FLYING HIGH Abhilash Ningappa believes students must create their own moves

“I come from a martial arts background. I started learning karate as I was a fan of Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan. I earned a black belt at the age of 15 and won many competitions,” recalls Abhilash Ningappa, the new star on the contemporary dance horizon, who is willing to experiment and seek new boundaries through movement.

Dance was nowhere on the agenda of this Tumkur-born boy, who came to Bangalore for higher education. “It was here that I started looking for new teachers in martial arts to continue with my training. But as I was not comfortable with those that I met, I almost gave up the idea when I happened to see a performance of a popular kalari dance school here and became a part of their company.”

Abhilash says that it was not difficult for him to adapt to the rigorous training for he was also into yoga since the age of eight. The reason he chose to do contemporary dance was to “look for something more challenging”.Toning down movement

He narrates his journey from martial arts to dance: “It was tough you know… In karate the movements are crisp and aggressive and for dance I had to tone down my movement. It had to be gentle and soft. Even today I feel more like a martial arts guy than a dancer,” observes Abhilash, who then went on to work with some of the leading dancers and dance companies in Europe.

“After five years of working with this company, I felt I had to explore new boundaries. I met a dancer from Berlin who invited me to work on a project and that opened many other doors for me,” says Abhilash, who, despite learning…More

The Hindu : C.K. MEENA

Clichés like saving the planet for our children’s future remain just clichés. Real awareness should lead to sustained action

Photo: K. GopinathanEVERY DAY EARTH HOUR Thanks to the power situation

And now, let me announce the Grand Prize for the organisation that has done the most to fight global warming. And the prize goes to — ta-da! — BESCOM. The energy conservation measures adopted by this company are legendary. The very fabricof life in Bangalore, over many decades, has been interwoven with the Earth Hour. Or Earth Hours — two or three or more, depending on the severity of the summer and the success of the previous monsoon.

Trust the politicians to play spoilsport. They’re pampering the minority — that’s us, the city-dwellers — and penalising the majority, who inhabit small towns and villages. Even as the “state reels under power shortage” as newspapers are fond of saying, Bangaloreans have by and large been let off the hook. Elections are around the corner, what did you expect?

Anyway, I suppose you must have switched off your lights like a good citizen during Earth Hour. How sweet. I don’t want to burst your bubble by reminding you that the energy the entire world saved during a single hour equalled that which China consumes in about two minutes. And India in a few more minutes, perhaps. I suppose these are just symbolic gestures. I’m not denying that symbols can be powerful, especially in campaigns and demonstrations. But to think that a symbolic tightening of the energy belt can alter the planet’s vital statistics is being overly optimistic.

The purpose of a symbol is to spread awareness. And naam-ke-vaaste awareness we already have plenty of, oh god yes. The butcher and the baker have heard of global warming, so we can safely say it has become a household phrase. I walked into our block of flats on…More

The Hindu : y>Car and bike questions? We have the answers

I have an eight-year-old Matiz SD and am planning to replace my car now. I drive around 13,000km a year, most of it in the city and once in two months I drive on the highway. I want my new car to be good looking, fuel efficient, comfortable, have ample power, good features and be easy to drive. We are a family of three and my father sometimes accompanies us. I am confused between Maruti A-Star VXi, Hyundai i10 Magna, and the Swift LXi/LDi. I think the Swift and i10 might not be as frugal as the A-star. I like the A-star’s looks but it’s 65mm smaller than the i10 and much smaller than the Swift.

Rajeev K Goyal

Go for the i10 because it gives the right combination of fuel efficiency and space. While the Swift will be the best for you, it is not quite as cheap to run and own as the i10. The A-star is the most fuel-efficient but it’s a bit cramped, especially at the rear. So those sitting in the rear won’t find it comfortable.I want to upgrade from my Tata Indica to another hatchback. I am confused between the Hyundai i10 and the Maruti Swift. I will be using the car within city limits, so light control and fun-to-drive are key factors. Also, if you recommend the Swift, should I buy the diesel or petrol?

Anisha Singh

If you travel more than 50km daily, then the Swift Diesel makes perfect sense given that you will keep your car for at least three years. The Swift is a better car than the i10 as it is bigger, more powerful and spacious. However, if you do not travel too much and just want a point A-to-B transport, then the i10 will serve your need.My husband and I are both new drivers. We are…More

The Hindu :

Biman Nath’s Nothing is Blue is a quest in Buddhism with both historical and fictitious characters

PHOTO: V. SREENIVASA MURTHYOverwhelmed by Nalanda Biman Nath

“Nothing is Blue” by astrophysicist Biman Nath is “set in a unique time in Indian history — in seventh century Nalanda. Politically, times are a changing, and the empire is breaking up”. At the book launch at Crossword Bookstore, the Harper Collins published “Nothing is Blue” saw authors Usha K.R. and Gita Aravamudan in conversation with the author.

The author continued: “Buddhist monks were experimenting with tantric Buddhism, which flourished in the 8th and 9th century.” He goes on to say that debates were being held and calendars calculated, before reading from the first chapter.Unusual theme

Gita Aravamudan found the story to be an unusual theme. “From fixing the date of the equinox, the amount of scientific knowledge makes for new and interesting reading.” Usha K.R. feels that “Nothing is Blue” has all the elements of a historical thriller, putting it in line with Umberto Eco’s “The Name of the Rose” and Dan Brown’s “The Da Vinci Code”.

But what makes “Nothing is Blue”, different from the above two mystery novels, is its historical setting. Says Biman Nath who has toyed with the idea of the book for 10 years, “It is impossible not to be overwhelmed with Nalanda, from where sprang different schools of thought.”

Deliberately covert

The mysterious element stems from when “a student monk from the Nalanda monastery stumbles on unpalatable secrets, changing his life forever. And it is a story that Xuanzang, the Chinese pilgrim visiting Nalanda, cannot afford to record, but it would haunt him endlessly”. The novel is said to be deliberately covert and takes its own pace as it is set over a long period of time.

Biman Nath mentions that it is not a commentary on Nalanda, but a quest…More

The Hindu :

The Doctor Despite Himself is a striking parody of the world of doctors and physicians

Photo: Murali kumar k.FANCY FAIRYTALE The actors brought the story to life

Miracle Entertainment created a lively interpretation of Moliere’s “The Doctor Despite Himself.” The story of a clever young wood cutter, who uses his wits and his presence of mind to emerge a successful physician; far removed fromthe wife-beating wastrel he was at the beginning of the play was engaging from the word go. The play is a striking parody of the world of doctors and physicians. The protagonist, a simple woodcutter, finds himself in the position of having to pretend to be a doctor and manages to pull it off quite beautifully, even as a host of quirky incidents befall him.Screen presence

The simple story is told brilliantly by the cast. It helps you empathise with most of the issues that the characters face in the play, such as the woodcutter Sganarelle, who is forced to pretend to be a doctor to earn a quick buck, his wife Martine, who proves to be a clever lady like her husband, the princess Lucinde, who acts mute in an attempt to protest against her father’s insolence and the nanny, who manages to find love with her estranged husband.

With an excellent portrayal of the calm, witty and intelligent woodcutter-turned-doctor, Dhanush managed to steal the show. His screen presence is imposing and the manner in which he manages to work things to his advantage, even in weird situations, leaves one empathising with him.

The story basically deals with the manner in which a humble woodcutter, in a sudden quirk of fate is brought to cure a princess, who has inexplicably lost her power of speech. How the woodcutter manages to cure the princess of her illness forms the crux of the tale, with a number of subplots, including the manner…More

The Hindu : y>

Whodunit Bones returns to Star World for its third season

Murder mystery lovers are in for a treat this summer as television’s favourite crime busters, forensic anthropologist Dr. Temperence ‘Bones’ Brennan and her associate FBI Agent, Seeley Booth are back in action. Watch them unearth deadly criminal secrets as “Bones” returns to Star World for its third season tonight at 10 p.m.

Returning for the season are Angela Montenegro (Michaela Conlin), Brennan’s best friend and artist who specialises in reconstructing facial features, forensic anthropologist Dr. Zack Addy (Eric Millegan), conspiracy theorist and bug expert Dr. Jack Hodgins (TJ Thyne), and Dr. Camille Saroyan (Tamara Taylor), the streetwise coroner.

This season, Dr. Temperance Brennan and Agent Seeley Booth trail a serial killer who discards his victims’ remains along freeways and Brennan’s father, Max Keenan faces a trial for the murder of FBI’s Deputy Director.

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