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Action packed A happy holiday

Cartoon Network and Pogo will present an Indian summer fiesta with the launch of nine new home-grown animated titles throughout May. Every Sunday at 12 p.m., Cartoon Network and Pogo will screen many popular Indian animation movies. Cartoon Network will be showcasing “Ghatothkach”, “Prahlad”, “Siva”, “Dashavatar” and “My Friend Ganesha II”.

Pogo will showcase “Hanuman”, “Return of Hanuman”, “Ravan Mahayodhya” and “Veer Yodhya Prithviraj Chauhan”. Cartoon Network launches shows such as “Blue Dragon”, “Battle B-Daman” and series II of “Naruto”. Tickling their sense of humour is the programming block Toon Toast featuring all time favourite shows like Tom & Jerry, Ben 10, Spiderman, Popeye, Courage the Cowardly Dog, Samsher Sikander Chuddie Buddie and Shaggy and Scooby-Doo.

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The Hindu : y>Actor-director-singer Anjan Dutta tells NIKHIL VARMA he prefers to don different hats as it helps him stay focussed

Photo: Bhagya Prakash k.Multitasking Anjan Dutta: ‘I like directing, but feel if I stick to that alone; I will not enjoy it as much and may get bored’

Anjan Dutta has donned many hats — of director, scriptwriter, singer and actor. He shot into prominence in the Bengali music scene with anyodharar gaan (alternative music) in the early 90’s.

Also a popular actor, Anjan started his career with “Chalachitro” directed by Mrinal Sen. The performance won Anjan critical acclaim at the Venice Film Festival.

On essaying a multitude of roles, the artiste who acted in Aparna Sen’s “Mr. and Mrs. Iyer” says, “I have always wanted to experiment. I started with theatre, moved on to music and then took up acting. I have also written scripts and directed movies. I would have been very bored if I had just struck to one of these activities. I like directing, but feel if I stick to that alone; I will not enjoy it as much and may get bored.”

The director of the charming “Bow Barracks Forever” also feels that the distinction between commercial and art cinema is blurring.Crossed tracks

“It is a strange classification. I do not understand it. I make films on my own terms and do not demand sky-high budgets. I feel if a director is able to convey his message with a limited budget, he has done his job well.”

The man who was often referred to as the angry young man of serious Indian cinema feels, “You do not need a big star cast to make a movie click. The audience has become much more mature. Low budget movies with strong storylines find audiences and make money. I prefer working with seasoned actors such as Nasseruddin Shah, Om Puri, Konkana Sen Sharma and have had the…More

The Hindu :

Mayank Agarwal of the India Under-19 team did a star turn at the recently concluded tour of Australia

He has just returned from a splendid tour of Australia and is already packing his bags to leave for a 40-day South Zone camp to be held at Hyderabad. Mayank Agarwal, the opening batsman for the India Under-19 cricket team, carved a niche for himselfin the recently concluded tour.

The colts returned on a high note, defeating their Australian counterparts in two out of the three one day internationals and one out of the two test (three day) games.

A team of 16, led by Ashok Maneria from Rajasthan and coached by Chandrakant Pandit, had the requisite ability to cope with varying conditions and Mayank did the star-turn.

“It helped to have Chandrakant Pandit as the coach because he had the expertise and experience to guide us and rectified our mistakes through video-sessions,” Mayank says.

Mayank was dropped for the first one-dayer in Australia but proved his point in the second game by scoring 160 off just 142 balls at Hobart. He consolidated his position with a rapid fire 60 in the third match.

He averaged 110 in the ODIs and 53 in the two three-day games with a highest of 62 not out.

When asked about his experience about playing on Australian wickets, he said: “The wickets were flat but were hard to play on at first. As the effect of the new ball wore off, the ball came onto the bat and it got easier. Even the weather was cold but we got accustomed to it quickly.”

He also played at the much-hyped WACA pitch at Perth and believes that it’s an experience in itself.

Mayank, a student of Sri Bhagawan Mahaveer Jain College, started his cricketing career, playing for Bishop Cottons Boys High School. After school, he joined the Karnataka Institute of Cricket, under the guidance of Irfan Sait….More

The Hindu :

Susan Boyle breaks the stereotyping that pretty women alone must grab all the attention

She walked in, her hair unkempt, in a dress that wouldn’t be featured ever in a fashion magazine, and the audience laughed. Throughout the preliminary interview, before they had heard a single note from her, they kept it up.When she said she was forty-seven, they simply doubled up. She said she was going to sing “I Dreamed a Dream” from Les Miserables, and the snickers got louder.

And, then she sang. As she opened the line “I dreamed a dream in time gone by,” the audience went quiet. Amanda, the third judge dropped her hands locked behind her head in boredom. The men looked up, their faces wiped off that superiority-reeking, obnoxious grin. Simon cupped his face in his palms in wonder. “Then I was young and unafraid,” Susan went on. She reached the low chords at “the tigers come at night,” and as her voice soared after “shame”, filling the hall, the audience erupted. They stood up and screamed in admiration, as she reached the final “Now life has killed the dream I dreamed.” She won three “yes-es” from the condescending judges. She acknowledged the cheers around by blowing them all a kiss,before walking off. With that, managed a punch on the collectively upturned noses.Silencing the audience

That night, at the “Britain’s Got Talent” reality TV show, Susan Boyle, a middle-aged church singer from an unknown Scottish “collection of villages” proved a rule we know but never practise — never judge a book by its cover. Today, over 20 million people have watched the YouTube clipping where she transforms a mocking, tittering audience into one that goes wild cheering her! A fairy tale? May be. But it’s also about prejudice, stereotyping age, gender, looks and class. The reporting that followed had its share of ugliness. “Unmarried, unkissed, virgin,…More

The Hindu :

Rajesh Choudhary, one of the top sailors in the country, says he owes everything to the sport

PHOTO: R. RAGUWATER BECKONS Rajesh Choudhary

The threatening winds at the Bay of Bengal would unnerve a novice and the swells that sometimes rise up to a height of five feet could daunt even brave hearts. But neither wind nor waves deters those who have made sailing a way of life. Indeed, theybelong to a different breed. At 36, Rajesh Choudhary, India’s premier sailor,remains a guiding figure for youngsters who look up to him for tips. The Army Yachting Node’s (Mumbai) sailor has been at the top of his trade for more than six years in the Laser Standard category, winning races almost everywhere in India. After finishing the races in the recently-concluded Vestas National Laser Coastal sailing championship, the Bihar-born, Mumbai based athlete meticulously puts the tiller, boom and rudder of his boat in place and folds the sailing sheet. All the while he is engaged in a discussion with a fellow sailor the finer aspects of sailing and how he could improve his performance in the sport.

“Youngsters should know that nothing succeeds like hard work,” he emphasises. “If you don’t get it right one time, do it the next time, practise till you get it right. That’s how hard I practised.”

His love of sailing is so great that when is unable to indulge his passion he says, “I get a peculiar feeling that I have lost out on something.” While many sportsmen derive a great deal of their energy from fans, sailing lacks such support. It’s ruthless as the fight is not against the opponent but against Nature.Nobody knows this better than Rajesh. “It’s a demanding sport,” he laughs. “There is nobody to cheer you up. The wind hits you hard; the waves keep coming at you. There’s none to motivate you except…More

The Hindu : y>One, Madhav Bagh and Bikhre Bimb will bestaged this weekend

Writer’s tale Arundhati Nag in Bikhre Bimb

Other Voices is presenting Chetan Datar’s “One, Madhav Bagh” featuring Revathy Menon and directed by Mariam Jetpurwala, produced by Ranga Shankara and translated by Shanta Gokhale from May 1 to 3, 9.15 p.m. at Ranga Shankara.

“Other Voices”, debuted at the Ranga Shankara’s annual Festival 2007 with two performances, one of which was “1 Madhav Bagh”,an intimate rendition of a mother about her son. Seating is limited to 25, tickets are priced at Rs. 100. Visitwww.indianstage.in

Ranga Shankara is staging Girish Karnad’s “Bikhre Bimb”, directed by Karnad and K.M. Chaitanya on April 30 and May 1, 7.30 p.m. at Ranga Shankara.

The play, which won three awards in META ’07 for playwright, actor and director has been produced in English, Kannada and Hindi.

The one-act one-performer play tells the story of Manjula Nayak, a professor of English literature who has been an unsuccessful writer in Kannada. She finds international acclaim when she writes a novel in English, which becomes a bestseller.

The story starts with her introducing the audience to her novel in a TV studio, prior to the telecast of the film based on the novel. After she finishes her introduction, she is confronted by her own image on the screen which poses questions on betrayal of her language when she chooses to write in English. Call 9886998550.

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