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The Hindu :

Mortal Kombat gets an awesome reboot packed with ‘kontent’

Like all fighting games, the Mortal Kombat series had its roots in the gaming arcade. Released in 1992, MK was Midway’s violent answer to Street Fighter. It would go on to become hugely controversial due to the fact that its characters would bleed digitised blood, lose limbs and die horrific deaths. Controversy, fortunately, was coupled with popularity and Mortal Kombat would transform into a hugely successful franchise that would make its way from dimly-lit gaming arcades to gaming consoles and personal computers all over the world. The series would then lose its way. After Mortal Kombat 4 of 1997, there haven’t been any memorable MK titles — not a single game in the last two console generations has been worthy of acknowledgement. The latest MK, however, sees the series return to its glorious days of gore.

Developed by NetherRealm Studios (previously Midway Chicago) and published by Warner Bros. Interactive, Mortal Kombat assaults its fans with everything that made the series famous in the first place: violence and er… violence. But that’s not all. This time around, the game oozes content. There’s a dedicated ‘story mode’ (and it’s surprisingly good), a ‘challenge tower’, a fatality training mode, a tutorial, and a versus mode that sports tag team play and online play (which in itself contains an insane number of features). Tonnes of stuff such as ‘Kombat Kodes’ and concept art can be unlocked using points earned from playing the game solo. There’s a lot going on here and Mortal Kombat certainly needs it because the fighting system isn’t necessarily deep. But having said that, there’s definitely more depth to the combat than ever before in the series thanks to some, shall we say ‘borrowed’ ideas?

‘X-ray’ attacks can be executed once a ‘super meter’ (sounds familiar?) is filled. These look immensely cool and deal heavy…More

The Hindu : y>Sangeeta Krupa Kuteera celebrates its 27th anniversary

Sangeeta Krupa Kuteera celebrates its 27th anniversary on April 30 and May 1. On the occasion two artistes will be felicitated – Dr. H.S. Anusuya Kulkarni who plays an Indonesian instrument ankhlung and Hindustani musician R.P. Asundi. The felicitation is on May 1 at 5 p.m.

On April 30, Pandit R.P. Asundi will give a vocal recital at 7 p.m. and on May 1 will be Anusuya Kulkarni’s concert at 7 p.m. Venue for all the programmes is Dattatreya Temple, III Block, Tyagarajanagar. For details, call 26769210.

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The Hindu : y>

Family misadventures galore

Disney Channel will showcase the family sitcom “Best of Luck Nikki” every Sunday at 11 a.m. The series follows the lives of the Singhs, an average Indian family comprising mom, dad and siblings Dolly, Rohan and Sunny as they attempt to handle the newest family member, baby Nikki.

The children make an attempt to adjust to their new roles as guardians of the little girl while the parents attempt to balance work and baby care.

“Best of Luck Nikki” promises a super summer as the entire family gets into hilarious predicaments and manage to escape to a happy ending.

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The Hindu : BARADWAJ RANGAN

The re-release of a 1960s multi-starrer offered an opportunity to go back in time, to the age of mammoth productions with equally outsized star-actors

SIVAJI GANESAN IN THE TAMIL FILM “THIRUVARUTCHELVAR”.

Those who were lamenting that, thanks to cricket, there were no major-hero movies released this April 14 — the Tamil New Year — were simply not paying attention. Two of Tamil cinema’s biggest stars each had a release — rather, a re-release. In an unexpected turn of events, solitary prints of “Alibabavum 40 Thirudargalum” (starring MGR) and “Thiruvarutchelvar” (with Sivaji Ganesan) found their way to two Chennai theatres, and I opted to sit through the latter. I think it’s because it had been a really long time since I saw something with Sivaji in it. Also, the promise of a luminous Padmini in Eastman Colour was more appealing than Bhanumathi in harem pants in Geva Colour. There’s something about Bhanumathi that always scared me as a child, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to investigate the reasons as an adult.

As it turned out, Padmini had just one song, the glorious ‘Mannavan Vandhaanadi’, and a subsequent scene. This song is interesting because, on the obvious level, it’s a eulogy to the emperor played by Sivaji Ganesan. But deconstruct the moment, and you’re left with the 1967 equivalent of the ‘hero introduction number’ so loved by today’s top stars. The mannavan (king) isn’t just the character on screen but also the regal star at the screen’s centre, who is revealed to us on a red carpet — feet first, like Rajinikanth today — as rose petals are offered in obeisance by maids-in-waiting. Only then does the camera begin to gaze upwards, coming to rest at his face. This lingering first glimpse, you imagine, is when fans on this side of the screen were given a moment to erupt in joy. (Even now,…More

The Hindu : y>

Roli books has launched “An Odyssey in War And Peace” an autobiography by Lt Gen. J.F.R. Jacob. It is priced at Rs.350. As a small boy, Jacob, who was from a business family, was sent to a residential public school in Darjeeling with his two brothers. When the Second World War broke out, Jacob joined the Army in 1941 to fight against the Nazis.

After Independence, Gen. Jacob became a gunnery instructor.

The pinnacle of his career came in 1971, when he planned and oversaw operations leading to the fall of Dacca and obtained an unconditional public surrender of General Niazi and his army of 93,000.

The book is a historical document recapitulating some of the most important events from the 1960s to the 90s – from the defeat of the Naxalites in West Bengal, to the problems of Nagaland and Sikkim.

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The Hindu : y>

Tagore remembered A journey

Jagriti in Whitefield and Mantri developers celebrates the 150th birth anniversary of Rabindranth Tagore from May 3 to 8. The festival will premiere “Crisis of Civilisation: A journey with Tagore” devised, written and performed by Ranjon Ghoshal and directed by Jagdish Raja.

With film screenings, music, seminars, an exhibition of Tagore’s memorabilia, sale of books by and of Tagore, paintings, platform performances and panel discussions, Jagriti celebrates the great and unparalleled life and achievement of India’s first Nobel Laureate, Rabindranath Tagore.

There will be a panel discussion and closing ceremony on May 8 at 5 p.m. The Tagore Festival will be open to the public at 11 a.m. on all days and entry is free. “Crisis of Civilisation – A journey with Tagore” will be held at 8 p.m. from Tuesday to Saturday and at 3 p.m. on Sunday. Tickets are priced at Rs.250 and will be available on www.bookmyshow.com or at the box office from 11.30 a.m.

For details call 9886334291 /9916938676.

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The Hindu : y>So what if my Hindi debut film failed at the box-office, I’m doing well in Tamil, argues actor Suriya in a chat with Harshikaa Udasi during his Mumbai sojourn

A LOT IN HIS HANDS Suriya

Actor Suriya was on a quick trip to Mumbai with wife Jyothika, daughter Diya and son Dev — to sign on the dotted line as the brand ambassador of Close Up toothpaste, and to shoot for its ‘Ek Din Achanak’ ad campaign. The commercial will go on-air mid-June.

We caught up with the actor in the middle of a hectic day. Excerpts.

Being a popular actor from Tamil cinema, you must have been approached by several brands to be its ambassador. Why Close Up?

My association with the brand actually goes back a long way, much before I signed on or even thought I would be signed as the brand ambassador. In school, my friends and I were fascinated by this red gel toothpaste in the market. It was a big novelty then — toothpaste in gel form, and I started using it. It was a regular feature in my mornings, till I started travelling more often and used whatever was available. Till something happened to make me realise my folly and I went back to it.

And, that was?

I was shooting for my first film, and I managed pretty much everything except cosying up to my co-star. My director was at his wits’ end, and told me romance was something I needed to master. Then he shifted the heroine out of her place and sat there to enact the scene. It was a singularly most embarrassing moment when the director asked me if I’d had biryani for lunch! I immediately switched back to Close Up…

You must be happy you are connecting with Hindi-speaking audiences too with this campaign.

Definitely. But, I think after ‘Ghajini’ and ‘Rakht Charitra’, audiences up North too are…More

The Hindu : y>Your mobile phone could do a lot more with Near Field Communications (NFC), a technology with commercial applications that is all set to break through this year across the globe. It’s possible to use your mobile phone for cash transactions, just like a credit card, but that is just one of the many applications being looked into, writes KARTHIK SUBRAMANIAN

SCORING A FIRST Samsung’s Nexus S, featuring Android OS 2.3 ‘Gingerbread” and NFC technology

You know a technology is on the verge of a broad-based breakthrough when discussions about it move from boardrooms and geek bulletin boards to public forums.

So when Eric Schmidt, the then chief executive of Google and now its executive chairman, spoke about Near Field Communications (NFC) technology at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona in February and revealed support for it on Android’s OS (Operating System) version 2.3 ‘Gingerbread,’ one had believe it was the next big thing.

And, now, there are the obvious signs. Almost all leading mobile phone manufacturers are offering NFC support, starting with their high-end models. Samsung’s Galaxy S2 handset will feature the technology. So are some of the high-end models from the company, featuring its proprietary Bada OS. There is speculation that Nokia’s upcoming Windows 7 mobiles will all have in-built NFC. Research in Motion (RIM), manufacturers of Blackberry, and Apple are also expected to jump on the NFC bandwagon soon.

Just a few days ago, Rovio Mobile, publishers of the crazily addictive “Angry Birds”, announced a version of the game that will use NFC to make the game “social”. With “Angry Birds with Magic,” users will be able to unlock new levels each time they tag another NFC-enabled phone. The NFC-enabled game is expected to ship pre-installed with Nokia’s new range of handsets, including Nokia C7, to demonstrate new possibilities of the technology. NFC is not just mobile banking but can also be used as…More

The Hindu : y>Here’s a pick of some new mobiles that combine great performance with clean aesthetics

HTC 7 Mozart

PERFORMANCE: Based on Windows Phone 7, the Mozart is fitted with a large touchscreen, a customisable ‘tiled’ homescreen and apps such as Office and Bing search. Look up www.htc.com/in

LOVE Unibody design. Responsive screen

HATE Dependent on Zune software for syncing. Average camera

SPECIFICATIONS: Screen 3.7-inch, 480×800

Camera 8-megapixel

Storage 8GB

Size/Weight 119×60x12mm/130g

PRICE: Rs. 26,490

BlackBerry Torch 9800p

PERFORMANCE: A multimedia power house, the N8 boasts of a 12-MP shooter with Xenon flash, HDMI connectivity and great media capabilities. Based on the latest OS, Symbian 3, it’s Nokia’s best yet. Look up www.nokia.co.in

LOVE Great camera. USB on-the-go. Multimedia powerhouse

HATE Non-removable battery. No HDMI cable. No QWERTY in portrait mode

SPECIFICATIONS: Screen 3.5-inch, 640×360 pixels

Camera 12-megapixel

Storage 16GB internal, microSD slot

Size/Weight 59×114x13mm/135g

PRICE: Rs. 26,259

Nokia N8

PERFORMANCE: RIM bundled the Torch with the latest BlackBerry 6 OS, bunged in a 3.2-inch touchscreen and squeezed in a slide-out QWERTY keypad — the result, a smarty with a new UI and lots of fun. Look up in.blackberry.com

LOVE Improved interface. Good battery

HATE Slow processor

SPECIFICATIONS: Screen 3.2-inch, 480×320 pixel

Camera 5-megapixel, autofocus, LED flash

Storage 4GB, microSD slot

Size/Weight 62×111x15mm/161g

PRICE: Rs. 34,990

This material is translated or reproduced from T3 magazine and is the copyright of or licensed to Future Publishing Limited, a Future plc group company, UK 2010. Used under license. All rights reserved.

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The Hindu : y>

Crossword will host the launch of the “All Bengali Crime Detectives” by Suparna Chatterjee

Venue: Crossword, Residency Road

Date: April 29

Time: 6.30 p.m.

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