Dinesh Kamath's column on film 'From Sydney With Love' that was published in Newsband

From Sydney With Love is directed by Prateek Chakravorty, grandson of yesteryears' celebrated filmmaker Pramod Chakravorty. The film has fresh faces, and they include Sharad Malhotra, Bidita Bag, Evelyn Sharma and Reshmi Ghosh. From Sydney... is a family comedy.

The film has an interesting story. It was a dream come true for Meghaa Banerjee, a small town girl in West Bengal, India when she earned a scholarship from the prestigious University of New South Wales in Australia to pursue her Masters degree in Economics with inevitable butterflies in her stomach.

She embarks upon her maiden expedition to Sydney leaving her protective shell and family behind. Coming from a conservative middle class background, life and culture in Sydney was an instant eye opener for her. Under guidance of her caring cousin Kalpana fondly called 'Kol', Meghaa slowly embraces her new life in Sydney where she makes new set of friends, who include cherubic Lubaina, prankster Raj, and narcissistic Suhail. Love and romance was something that was strictly not in her agenda of things. However being young at heart it was just something waiting to happen to her when she met Rohit - a charismatic, full of sheen and friendly natured fellow student in the University with whom she starts gelling right from the word go.

What happens thereafter is something to watch out in this fun, quirky, emotional and furiously endearing love story set across two hemispheres in the entertainment extravaganza called From Sydney with Love.

From Sydney with Love is the latest film on the block which will try to make its presence felt among big ticket films. The debutant director Prateek Chakravorty is not new to the film industry. His family banner has made films like Love in Tokyo, Deedar and Barood in the past, but this is his chance to re-hoist the family flag.

In 2003-05, he was studying in Sydney where he was doing my MBA in marketing. At that time, the whole perspective of a student from India, who goes to Australia from a small town and how she adapts there, interested him. He had his own incidences and occurrences and he had an idea about the changes in a student's life, so this formed the basic milieu of the story. It was a cool concept and he has tried to retain that coolness.

Prateek always had a keen interest in cinema. The inner urge to be a part of the cinema compelled him to go for From Sydney with Love.

Having a well known director as grandfather helped him in the film industry. Prateek wanted to impress his audience, so he tried to be honest and sincere with his story. He could have taken the options of big stars but it was a university film. He got a star cast which was hungry to work; their attitude towards work compelled him to take them as his family.

Sohail Sen's music is quite something in the film. In this film, due to some strange forces of nature, young minds got together. Making a film with all newcomers is a risk but Prateek felt it was worth taking.

You might like the film From Sydney With Love due to its music and for the story it narrates. So do watch it.

Dinesh Kamath's editorial (Stop using the word ‘minorities’) that was published in Newsband

Stop using the word ‘minorities’

The use of the word 'minorities' is more damaging than anything else. We are all equal citizens of this country. Why this distinction as minorities? Let each one contribute to the growth of the nation according to his or her might.

It is evident that vested powers inside/outside the country are responsible for this. It will be a sad day indeed if people form one part of the country feels insecure in another part. This is against the spirit of the constitution which guarantees freedom of movement. Government must leave no stone unturned to assure that every community is safe in any part of the country.

Now a days, in addition to perceiving the others purely in terms of caste, religion, ethnicity and nation, which is responsible for many of the ongoing conflicts worldwide, now the 'globalised' world is moving towards creating conflicts because of the 'perceived outsiders'. Discrimination is made between the ‘perceived outsiders and 'perceived insiders' or the self-proclaimed 'sons of the soil'.

Humans went as immigrants to every corner of the globe and survived somehow. They have been squeezed dry for a pittance by those who bought their labor. Today the chauvinistic attitude displayed by some wily minded politicians and their goons is creating this havoc.

Need of the hour is that the peace loving citizens from all the communities come forward and appeal for harmony. At the same time police should zero in the culprits who are spreading the panic and take strict action against them.

The Constitutional right to settle anywhere in India has been violated because of lack of faith in law and order, justice, safety and police. After 65 years of independence, we see the same situation on railway stations of metro-cites as in 1947. So very clearly, it exposes the failure of the government of India in providing safe milieu for the citizens of india.

There is an urgent need to provide safety to migrants and minorities anywhere in India. Otherwise the unity and integrity of the country is in danger. Muslims, Hindus, Christians, call them by any religion, they have been living together as one and in fact even praying in places of worship together. Let it remain so.

‘Rumours’ have always been one of the major catalysts for causing unrest. Few people driven by vengeance and led by religious leaders plan these things. There is a need to identify such psychopaths through social networking sites or through tracking of numbers. And the authorities need to ensure that people of every ethnic group are safe. Wicked minded people should not be allowed to manipulate the situation and play with the integrity of our country.

Dinesh Kamath's cartoons on 'Alooramji' that were published in Newsband

Dinesh Kamath's cartoons on 'Alooramji' that were published in Newsband

Dinesh Kamath's cartoons on 'Alooramji' that were published in Newsband

Dinesh Kamath's article on Hollywood movie 'Hit and Run' that was published in Newsband

Hit and Run is a 2012 American romantic action comedy film written by Dax Shepard, with David Palmer and Shepard co-directing again (their first film being Brother's Justice in 2010). The film stars Shepard, Kristen Bell, Kristin Chenoweth, Tom Arnold, and Bradley Cooper.

The movie has an interesting plot. A former getaway driver busts out his Witness Protection Program identity in order to help his girlfriend get to Los Angeles. His former gang, his girlfriend's ex-lover, and a closeted United States Marshal chase after them.

Let me be clearer. The story follows Annie and Charlie (Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard) as they leave their small town on a road trip to Los Angeles. Awaiting Annie is a potential job offer; awaiting Charlie are the criminal associates he left behind after ratting on them and entering the witness protection program. The couple ditch the U.S. Marshall assigned to protect Charlie (a hapless Tom Arnold) and hit the road in a badass Lincoln Continental. Annie’s jealous ex-boyfriend follows in hot pursuit, but not before notifying Charlie’s former partner in crime, Alex (Bradley Cooper). What follows ends up being something between a romantic comedy and an action flick.

The film has Dax Shepard as Charlie Bronson/Yul Perkins, Kristen Bell as Annie, Kristin Chenoweth as Debbie Kreeger, Tom Arnold as Randy, Bradley Cooper as Alex Dimitri, Beau Bridges as Clint Perkins, Michael Rosenbaum as Gil, David Koechner, Joy Bryant as Neve, Ryan Hansen as Allen, Sean Hayes as Sandy Osterman, Jason Bateman and Matt Mosher as Student #1.

Hit and Run has received mixed reviews from critics. Film Critic Roger Ebert gave it 3.5 of 4 stars, "With its off-the-shelf title, I had worked up less than a white-hot enthusiasm to see Hit & Run, but it's a lot more fun than the title suggests. How many chase comedies have you seen where the hero's sexy girlfriend has a doctorate in nonviolent conflict resolution? Her counseling would have been invaluable to the U.S. marshal (Tom Arnold) in an early scene where he attempts to shoot his own SUV".

Shepard plays a person who is good-hearted and occasionally brutal. Tom Arnold gets more laughs than Braadley Cooper. Hit & Run keeps springing funny little surprises along the way.

Thus Dax Shepard co-directs, writes, edits, and stars in Hit and Run. It is a taut, clever little action comedy. In short, the movie is about a former getaway driver who dodges former criminal associates in a 1960’s muscle car as he tries to get his girlfriend to a life-changing job interview.

Shepard displays a knack for writing. The scenes between Shepard and Bell come to life with clever, natural, free-flowing dialogue. Many of the verbal exchanges in Hit and Run show flashes of brilliance and are delivered by the actors in a manner that feels genuine and spontaneous. Several of the scenes are very well written.

Most of the movie’s action sequences conveniently take place on deserted dirt roads, in empty fields, and in vacant parking lots, and contain all the thrill of watching a crash-free race.

That said, Shepard and co-star Kristen Bell do have some natural chemistry. Hit & Run is really a string of hit-and-miss moments that follow Shepard as he plays a getaway driver who leaves witness protection to take his girlfriend to Los Angeles.

The movie depicts a mad, mad, mad, mad world of chase scenes. Hit and Run is actually pretty good. The chemistry between Shepard and Bell is a big part of why the movie works. Despite Shepard and Bell doing a good job here it's Tom Arnold and Bradley Cooper who end up stealing the show. This is definitely an interesting role for Cooper. His character is crazy and bizarre, and you’ll enjoy his performance. A few cameo appearances from the likes of David Koechner, Jason Bateman and Sean Hayes also add a few laughs to proceedings.

So do watch the film Hit and Run when it gets released on 31 August 2012. 

Dinesh Kamath's Editorial (Bring cheers to all BPL families) that was published in Newsband

Bring cheers to all BPL families

To give boost to Indian sports, our sports authorities should catch promising youngsters showing talents and put them under a systematic coaching and training schedules for attaining perfection to international standards. We can study and learn a lot from the Chinese coaching system as it is reaping very good yields. India's poor performance in International Sports Meets is mainly due to half- baked approaches in the matters of selection of the right persons and the right type of coaching and training.

How neglected are our athletes should also be a matter of our concern. We have a lot of deserving youngsters who can represent India at international level, but because of the scarcity of resources and reckless behavior of government towards the games, these talents go undetected. Its time to do something drastic to save Indian sports, especially at international level.

Haven't we been introspecting for the last so many decades about how to improve our sporting spirit? And where have we got so far? The athletes who won medals are the best of the best, because they have achieved this despite great stress from the babus and babas in sports. When a country like Jamaica can take four golds we need to truly introspect as to what we need to do to get there. But, this will not happen till the government remains in control of sporting activities. The government sector is corrupt, lethargic, inefficient and driven by the politics of indecision and far removed from understanding the requirements of the different sports activities. We need the government to only provide funds and hand it over to professional managers and eminent sportspersons for maximum results.

If you consider metro cities, there are hardly any play grounds. If you consider tier two or tier three cities situation is not any different. In such a scenario sports is the last thing in the minds of both students and parents. On the contrary there are some thirty crore people who are just surviving, living a sub-standard life. Therefore, if we alleviate poverty of all those below poverty line (BPL) families, then that is far more important than winning medals. If we increase living standards of all the BPL families, our nation and all sections of our people will be far more prepared to achieve excellence in not only sports but in many other fields like science, arts and what not. Let us therefore dedicate our efforts for alleviation of poverty and bring cheers to all BPL families which are worth a million medals.

Video: Dinesh Kamath speaks about how much acquainted he is with politics

Video: Dinesh Kamath, Editor of Newsband, says that he is interested in politics

Dinesh Kamath's Editorial (London Olympics has taught India some lessons) that was published in Newsband

London Olympics has taught India some lessons

India could not enjoy a double-digit medal tally in London Olympics. But the half-dozen that she ended up with represents her best ever result in Olympics. Before this achievement, the country had won just seven individual medals in the Olympics since Independence.

The absence of a gold medal does make an Indian sad. For a country with an annual sports budget of just over Rs 721 crore, where bureaucrats and sports administrators test the endurance of athletes even before they qualify for the Olympics, the London show is undoubtedly encouraging.

The Indian medal winners - Gagan Narang, Vijay Kumar, Saina Nehwal, Mary Kom, Yogeshwar Dutt and Sushil Kumar - deserve all the accolades, including substantial cash awards.

We were expecting a better performance from our boxers and archers. But they let us down.

As far as hockey is concerned, we scored an all-time low. This is a matter of shame. We now need to prepare a blueprint for the grassroots-level development of the game.

China had to make room at the top for the United States which had a gold count of 46, ten more than in Beijing. China’s gold collection came down from 51 to 38 while Britain earned 29 gold medals in a total of 65.

London did a great job in the matter of holding Olympics. Praise should go to organizers for a job well done.

U.S. swimmer Michael Phelps had all-time record Olympic medal haul of 22 and Usain Bolt’s completed a back-to-back sweep of three gold medals in sprint to claim a legendary status for himself. Indians should learn from the achievements like these.

For athletes to do well in international sporting events a lot of support from the politicians and bureaucrats who control affairs at the state and national levels is needed. India would do well to study the China model.

It is high time different sports authorities in India spent more money in infrastructures and boosted the young talent in every field of sports.

  We should stop bragging about the history of Indians in Olympics especially in sports like hockey. Every country is adopting new techniques and style in every sport. London Olympics already witnessed some of the magnificent performance from the countries like Bahamas who won gold in 4x400 relay race by destroying the dominance of American in this format and Uganda who won gold after 40 years in 50 km marathon race, to show world that nothing remains same forever. Indians should derive inspiration from these countries.

Dinesh Kamath's Editorial (Make north easterners feel secure) that was published in Newsband

Make north easterners feel secure

Students and workers from Assam and other north-eastern States are fleeing from cities fearing ethnically-targeted violence. India’s tenuous social fabric is once again under severe strain. Mysterious calls and text messages about impending attacks in retaliation for the violence against Muslims in Assam have spread panic among people from the northeast working or studying in cities. Thousands of people from the northeast quit jobs and left their studies midway to return home. They are naturally panicky and are feeling insecure.

These people have discovered that their distinctive physical features always marked them out as outsiders. They filled a gap in the market economy, but found no social acceptance beyond their immediate environment.

The thing is there are unknown individuals and groups out there actively trying to create panic and drive a wedge between these two minority groups. The intelligence agencies must spare no effort to identify these elements. These people need security.

The cities of India need to be more welcoming toward its fellow-citizens from the northeast. Discrimination and harassment at the workplace and at educational institutions can breed deep insecurity, which could then, at the slightest trigger, lead to panic situations. Our people should become tolerant. Prejudice against ethnic or other minorities should stop. Every effort must be made to bring all those who have fled back to their homes, jobs and studies.

It is a national shame that Indians had to flee from one part of India to other because of ethnic violence. Media should stop giving communal colour to such incidents. That creates in the minds of readers prejudice against certain section of people. Irresponsible behaviour of the media can threaten national security. 

There should be an initiation of requisite concrete steps to allay the fears created through false rumours floated by some vested interests in the minds of the migrants who have been anticipating threat to their lives, and thus fleeing from the cities after leaving their jobs, studies etc. The prevailing trend is a very dangerous one. None can now precisely fathom out the grave consequences it might lead to, if left unchecked. Those responsible for floating the rumours should be traced and punished severely. The state governments concerned should issue a 'please come back' call to the migrants who have fled, assuring their safety. Quick restoration of normalcy will be in the best interests of the country.

The barrier created between the public and government has accelerated the situation to worst. Political parties cunning policies to blur the efficiency of the government workers have blocked providing any information or little information to public .This has made the public to handle the situation on their own, instead of waiting for the government officials to clarify the situation.

Dinesh Kamath's Editorial (CIDCO requires only Centre’s cooperation) that was published in Newsband

CIDCO requires only Centre’s cooperation

City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO), the nodal agency for building Navi Mumbai international airport, has demanded the centre to give it powers to clear the building plans up to 75 meters height. Such powers are presently with the civil aviation ministry which is going to partner with the CIDCO. Why is civil aviation ministry delaying in the matter of giving this clearance?

Recently the Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan and CIDCO Chairman Pramod Hindurao called on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to apprise him of the progress over the ambitious Rs 14000 crore project to come up on over 2000 hectares of land. As per the civil aviation norms within minimum 9 km to 20 km of the airport's periphery the norms for high buildings are stricter. To expedite the commencement of bidding process for the project, CIDCO has prepared the bid draft for approval of the Project Monitoring Committee of GoM and civil aviation ministry. This is a good move on the part of CIDCO.

CIDCO on Saturday sought Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s intervention for an early approval of the request for qualification (RFQ) for the project. CIDCO also sought financial assistance from the Centre for pre-development costs.

Chairman Pramod Hindurao, during his meeting with Singh at the state governor’s residence here, brought to the latter’s notice that the RFQ was submitted in April, but the approval of the ministry of civil aviation was still awaited.

The total project cost has been pegged at Rs 14,500 crore, of which Rs 9,000 crore would be for phase I. Of the Rs 9,000 crore, pre-development cost is about Rs 4,000 crore. It is required for preparation of airport site, including land acquisition, relief and rehabilitation and land development. To make this greenfield project viable, to be developed under public-private partnership, assistance from the Central government is necessary. CIDCO also sought exemption in no objection certificate application system from the Airports Authority of India.

The elections are coming close. If the Prime Minister accepts Hindurao’s demands, it will give a tremendous boost to the image of his Congress Party within Navi Mumbai.

Normally the Project Affected Villagers (PAV) pose a problem to CIDCO but this time PAV of Navi Mumbai International Airport have agreed to a joint measurement with the Maharashtra revenue department officials for 274 hectare of land to be acquired for the project. However, PAVs and the state government have yet to arrive at an agreement over the quantity of developed land to be given to the PAVs who have already dropped their demand for compensation of Rs 20 crore per acre. PAVs are 40 per cent of developed land, while the state government is offering 22.5 per cent developed land.

When PAVs and state government are cooperating, why is Centre taking so much time to extend its full support to CIDCO?

Video: Dinesh Kamath sings medley of Rajesh Khanna's popular songs

 

Video: Dinesh Kamath continues singing medley of Rajesh Khanna's popular songs

  

Video: Dinesh Kamath sings more songs of Rajesh Khanna

Video: Dinesh Kamath talks about some of his favourites

Dinesh Kamath's article on Katrina Kaif that was published in Newsband

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I still have some more information relating to Katrina which I would like to pass on to you.

Though Katrina is associated with Yash Raj Films right from the time she did the film New York, it seems she never really interacted with Yash Chopra extensively. It was only while shooting for this untitled film, Yash Chopra and Katrina got to know each other.

Katrina found Yash Chopra an incredibly sweet and nice person. It took him a while to understand Katrina. When he used to talk to her off the set, he couldn’t make out whether she was happy, or sad or angry. But after sometimes he began to understand her. Now the two crack jokes with each other.

Anushka Sharma and Katrina Kaif had a fight over a make-up artist on the sets of the untitled project being directed by Yash Chopra. It was natural for the fans to wonder if the actresses were having a tough time coping with each other. One is the uncrowned queen of Bollywood whose beauty and talent are insurmountable and the other is the sweet girl-next-door who holds a great potential in store. Yash Chopra certainly might have had in mind something when he cast these two, Katrina Kaif and Anushka Sharma, in leading roles opposite King Khan Shahrukh in his directorial venture. Katrina being the more experienced and successful one has been assumed to be throwing around her weight on Anushka who is relatively new to the industry and is still treading on the path to success.

During the shoot of this yet untitled project in London, Anushka and Katrina asked for the same make-up artist but Kat being the senior one, got what she asked for while our sweet Anushka had to make a compromise. This is what is believed to have led to a fight between the two leading ladies.

But after the fight the two became friends instantly and they would hang around together while shooting in London. Anushka found it refreshing to work with Katrina since she was very friendly.

Katrina, in fact, is a very hardworking girl. It is not easy to achieve the kind of success she has. Anushka gives Katrina all the credit and appreciation for her hard work and she is cool to be with.

After featuring in some hit films, Katrina Kaif is awaiting the release of some more big ticket films. The actress believes life has been good so far but says she is looking forward to the best phase in her career. According to her, the best phase of her career is yet to come. As a person one faces different phases in life. You also face phases of unsettlement where you're not sure about anything. Right now Katrina’s life is only about going to the film sets and coming back home.

Everything in her life has happened all unexpectedly and so far all has happened for the better. The British-born actress once gave six back-to-back hits - Namastey London, Apne, Partner, Welcome, Race and Singh Is Kinng. She went on to do films like New York, Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani and proved critics wrong with her powerful performance in Raajneeti.

Accolades continued to pour in, thanks to Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara and Mere brother Ki Dulhan. Now, she is being seen with Salman Khan in Ek Tha Tiger.

This is not the first time that Katrina has shared screen space with Salman. They were paired together in films like Maine Pyaar Kyun Kiya?, Partner and Yuvraaj. Ek Tha Tiger shows promise of giving tremendous boost to the images of both Katrina and Salman.

That’s all for today! Bye!

Dinesh Kamath's Editorial (Golden Opportunity for Obama) that was pubished in Newsband

Golden Opportunity for Obama

Many of the cities which have the strictest gun laws have the highest homicide rate. Historically, passage of gun control laws has at best done nothing, and at worst has caused the homicide rate to increase.

The Wisconsin tragedy makes one really sad because this incident occurred in the biggest democratic country of the world. Both the democrats and the republicans in American Parliament should together do something drastic to prevent such disasters in future.

The Gun lobby is very powerful in USA, and because of this, the life of great presidents like Abraham Lincoln and Kennedy were shortened. The election debate is on in America, and the issue relating to the freedom to have guns should be discussed to help all in the land of immigrants. That will be a wise step and the real pathway to guarantee peace In Lincoln's land.

Although in America it is easy to get guns, the number of crimes committed there is far less as compared to India. In India a large numbers of boys and girls are sexually assaulted, a huge number of girls are murdered inside and outside the womb, many youngsters are killed in the name of "honor" because they choose to marry outside their caste, the millions die from starvation, dehydration and other poverty-related diseases caused by living in filth and also there are numbers of people who die in traffic accidents from either rage or sheer negligence.

What does our government do when such ugly incidents occur. All it does is come up with strong statements. No justice is done to the innocent. So when the Indians hold the American government responsible for the tragedy that occurred at Wisconsin they should remember the maxim: He who lives in a glass house, should not throw stones.

Criminals do not necessarily need guns to commit murders. People burning Graham Staines alive along with his two children did not use guns. As regards the statistics, more people are killed in India in road and due to rash driving. Should this lead to a ban on vehicles?

The fact is the elections are coming close in both India and America. So the governments of both the countries have to do something drastic about controlling crimes in their respective countries.

If U.S. smells even in a remote corner of the world the slightest human rights violations, it is in the forefront to condemn it. Both Obama and Mitt Romney have a paramount task to reassure the people of the US in a clear and categorical manner that the administration will not be a mute spectator to such mass killings in places where people of different ages, culture and ethnicity assemble in large numbers as part of their day to day activities. Now is the time for Obama to forcefully speak up against the gun culture and lay a roadmap for its legislative elimination for which the entire humanity will be indebted to him.

Dinesh Kamath's article on Katrina Kaif that was published in Newsband

Today I’ll continue writing about Katrina Kaif.

During the shooting of the film Ek Tha Tiger, in the scenes in which Katrina and Anushka Sharma were together, the two had lots of fun. As they were shooting, they were making up their own movie and they would amuse themselves by writing alternate scenes.

Still another interesting news is that Katrina is working with all the three Khans: Aamir, Shah Rukh and Salman. Katrina has not started working with Aamir yet. She has interacted with him a few times for Dhoom 3. The film in which the two are together will start from September.

Katrina is not working simultaneously with all the three Khans. But she has worked with them at different times. Ek Tha Tiger is releasing now. Katrina is still shooting for Yash Chopra’s untitled film (with Shah Rukh) and she has not yet started Dhoom 3 (Aamir Khan). She has kind of started. As soon as this promotion of Ek Tha Tiger was to get over, she was to apply herself more.

She is nervous about training for Dhoom 3. Physical training is always tough. She is tired and doesn't feel like dragging herself to the gym and training hall.

Is there going to be a sequel to Raajneeti? If there is a sequel to Rajneeti, Katrina would love to do it. In fact, she will certainly do it. She did hear the idea at one point of time from Prakash Jha, director. Most of the characters were killed in the first part, so they will set up a whole new thing again. Katrina likes the storyline and really hopes it happens because it is a genuinely good idea and it excites her. But right now Prakash Jha is busy with Satyagrah and Chakravyuh.

Just recently at Manish Malhotra's show, Katrina and Vidyut Jamwal walked the ramp for him at the Delhi Couture Week (DCW), many big names from film industry were present and they were mesmerized by his design aesthetics. Flaunting a heavily embroidered long jacket teamed with shimmery pajama, Vidyut scorched the ramp and Katrina spelled magic when she sashayed down in an ivory lehenga with red-pink border, choli and dupatta. Katrina is someone who is very charming and beautiful. She looks great in Indian clothes. Also, she likes old world charm and that's what she represented through her collection. Katrina loves Indian clothes and she likes the elegance attached to it.

Katrina’s shooting for Yash Chopra's untitled film starring Shahrukh Khan is going in full swing. While Katrina is quite used to working with Salman as the duo has worked together in quite many films, with Shahrukh it was her first ever experience to share the screen space. And the lady was quite intimidated! With Shahrukh Khan initially there was lot of intimidation, from her side because she really didn't know him that well. She probably said five words to him in her entire life. She had seen him around but it's only now that she is working with him. When Katrina came to Bollywood she worked with so many people but never really got to interact with Shahrukh. Katrina has been in the film industry for nine years. Shahrukh is constantly in the news, TV, everywhere around. So for her that little intimidation was always there, which she later found funny and she didn't realize why it was so. She found it strange.

That’s all for today! Bye!

Dinesh Kamath, Editor of Newsband, talks about 'Fame'

Hi,

Fame is a great thing. It is not easy to get fame. It is easy to earn money, but not fame. In this world, only about one percent of the people are famous, but more than fifty percent are rich. That proves that it is easy to earn money but not fame. 

In the city of Navi Mumbai, I have been in the limelight for more than eight years. So I realize the value of fame. It's a great thing to be famous, provided of course you are reasonably rich too. Soon after I joined the weekly newspaper 'In New Bombay', which is today daily 'Newsband' I have been getting stares from people the moment I would step down at Vashi railway station. Till today I have been getting those stares. I love it. It's a great feeling. I get stares from many beautiful girls and women and even quite many males. I first thought that I was known only in Vashi until one day I just travelled from Vashi to Panvel and from Vashi to Thane. I was surprised to see that I was getting stares from people right from Vashi till Panvel and from Vashi till Thane. No, not all people know me. But it is a fact that many Navi Mumbaikars know me. 

When I started my blog about two and a half years back, I found that I was getting stares even in Mumbai. I also have reasons to believe that I'm known to quite a big section of foreigners too. 

If you call all these experiences of mine 'FAME' then you believe me it is really worth being famous. It's undoubtedly a great feeling. I would like to repeat once again what I had said earlier: It is easy to be rich but it is extremely difficult to be famous. I am lucky to have enjoyed eight years of FAME so far. Let's see how long I'll continue enjoying this fame. I thank all those people who made it possible for me to enjoy this thing called FAME. Bye! 

Dinesh Kamath's Editorial (Gun-politics is dangerous) that was published in Newsband

Gun-politics is dangerous

Wade Michael Page entered the Oak Creek Gurdwara in Wisconsin, and committed murders. A former soldier in the United States army, Page has been linked by a civil rights group to white supremacist politics. Was this act a random act of terror or targeted hate crime?

Sikhs are one of the oldest Asian communities in North America; the Sikhs faced prejudice and discrimination at the start of the 20th century before finally establishing themselves in different walks of life; in the wake of 9/11, they found themselves targeted by racists who saw in their turbans a resemblance to Osama bin Laden.

Why Page chose the Gurdwara for his rampage is not yet known. But this incident has proved one thing and that is extra security must be provided to Sikh, Muslim and Hindu places of worship across the U.S.

The real problem is America’s relationship with guns. It is easy in America to get access to guns. America should clamp down on the criminally-easy access its laws give to guns.  The killings at Oak Creek, the massacre at the Aurora movie theatre near Denver, the attempted assassination of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, the Columbine carnage proves the point that guns should not be made easily available.

Wisconsin last year actually passed a law making it easier for its residents to obtain firearms. Civilians in some parts of the U.S. can easily become the victim of a firearms-related murder. American government should see to it that the potential victims have guns to protect themselves.

America always had guns. In this vast country, sometimes guns are essential. Guns are not new in America, what is new is constant brain washing by media, particularly some radio stations. They provide fuel to criminal minds to divert their anger to "foreigners". Restriction of gun ownership will certainly solve this problem.

The American citizens themselves have to seriously ponder whether the guns are required by them for self- protection. If the guns continue to get used to kill innocent citizens, then the chances are that more citizens will become victims of hatred or plain madness.

America supports gun laws that allow Whites to keep guns and use them against Coloured people. It basically stems from tradition of European White settlers using guns to keep native Red Indians at bay. The tradition continues. If 100 years back guns were used against Red Indians today they are being used against recent non-white immigrants like Asians, Africans etc. Another solution to this major problem is Asians should take advantage of gun laws and arm themselves too to defend themselves.

Dinesh Kamath's article on Katrina Kaif that was published in Newsband

Katrina Kaif is Salman Khan's co-star in the Independence Day release, Ek Tha Tiger, directed by Kabir Khan and produced by Yash Raj. 

Kabir is a very good friend of Katrina. The two had worked together in 2010 in New York and he's become one of her closet friends since then, whose house she goes to every weekend or for functions and Eid.

According to Katrina, Salman as an actor and as a person is the same as he was in Maine Pyaar Kyun Kiya. He is the same helpful person. He is a very spontaneous actor. He improvises and has always been interested in his work. With Katrina, he is always exactly the same. All of a sudden there is this huge surge of popularity and fans. His films are doing super well. People around him have changed towards him, the audience has changed, the industry has changed, but he is exactly the same. That’s what impresses Katrina.

Right now, the audience likes the action-romantic genre and it works well. Beyond a point, Katrina feels, Salman can’t handle the romantic scenes. At certain stage he finds it burdensome. So Katrina thinks it is good there is a break and he does an action film. That's what he is like as a person -- he needs everything in moderation.

In Ek Tha Tiger, there are just two action sequences picturized on Katrina. Most of the action scenes are on Salman. But there is some action in the film which Katrina has done. It is nice because Katrina has never done it before.

The team Katrina worked with were from America and they were really organised. That is also why Katrina felt like attempting it. They knew what they were doing. If there was a risk of anything happening they wouldn't do it. For Katrina, the only problem came when she had to deal with heights. She doesn't like heights and doesn't like falling with a rope or a wire. She doesn't like the moment when there is free fall -- that's the hard part for her.

Katrina is asked by some as to whether she has learnt belly dancing for the song Masha Allah? People are calling it belly dancing but it is not. Katrina has learnt and rehearsed a lot for this song but she doesn’t consider that as belly dancing. She had learnt belly dancing for Sheila Ki Jawani. But this song is a normal, fun song.

 People are looking forward to Katrina teaming up with Salman after Yuvraaj. Katrina hopes they accept the pair in Ek Tha Tiger because it is a love story. The response this pair has got so far is incredible.

Katrina is working with Shah Rukh Khan and Anushka in Yash Chopra's next film. With Shah Rukh, Katrina initially felt very intimidated because she really didn't know him that well. She probably has said five words to him in her entire life. Katrina has been in the industry for nine years, and it's only now that she is working with him. He is constantly in the media, on television, so she naturally felt intimidated, which later she found funny.

Katrina found Yash Chopra an incredibly sweet man. It took him a while to understand her. When the two were talking off the set, Chopra told Katrina, 'I can't tell whether you are happy, or sad or angry.' Katrina told him, “It's just me; it takes me a while, but you will understand soon enough.” Now the two crack jokes with each other.

That’s all for today! Bye!