Dinesh Kamath's Editorial 'Put an end to Reservations' that was published in Newsband

Put an end to Reservations

The Bombay High Court verdict upheld reservation for Marathas in public employment and education. In the past the law had included Marathas as the sole group under the ‘Socially and Educationally Backward Class’ and extended 16% reservation outside the existing quotas for Scheduled Castes and Tribes, and other tribes and backward classes. This would take the reservation up to 68%, thus going beyond the limit of 50% imposed by the Supreme Court.

The court has upheld the government’s decision to accept the Maharashtra Backward Classes Commission’s report on the backwardness of the Maratha community, faulted it for exceeding the panel’s recommendation for 12-13% reservation and pulled back the figure to the recommended level.

The High Court’s reasoning may not convince many. A politically influential and dominant community, Marathas have been classified as the only member of the newly created ‘SEBC’. This verdict by HC is likely to be examined by the Supreme Court closely.

 Prakash Ambedkar, great-grandson of B R Ambedkar, says: “Almost 3,000 Maratha families in the state control 72 per cent of its land. And 171 families are politically dominant. A majority of the educational institutions held by Maratha leaders are for students of higher income families; poor people are left out,” he says. “If Marathas are lacking in education and employment, it also shows a leadership failure.” Two of the recent hits in Marathi film industry underline the politics of Maratha power and the true cause for the demand for reservation in Maharashtra quite well "SAIRAT" made by a dalit director AND "MULSHI PATTERN" made by a Maratha director. The films show ground reality to anyone not from the state in the voices of their communities.

The most powerful clans the state has known, Thackeray and Pawar belong to this community. Almost 50 to 55 per cent of educational institutions — undergraduate and postgraduate, medical and engineering — across the state are controlled by leaders who represent the Maratha community. Of 200-odd sugar factories, the base of the state economy, 168 are controlled by Marathas. Of district cooperative banks, 70 per cent are controlled by Marathas as directors, chairman or panel members.

It is incomprehensible how a community (Maratha) who were the rulers of Maharashtra for many centuries and at the peak of their power were the rulers of India (including Delhi) for many decades until the arrival of the British, who had a power sharing pact with the Brahmins in Maharashtra (Brahmins being given the pant status-adviser/ministers in their dominion) during their rule , who control the political landscape of Maharashtra (state assembly- including the chief ministers and most ministers during any part of history), base of the village economy (sugarcane cooperatives, cooperative banks ), controlling power of educational institutions (both private and government), and land in Maharashtra, now find the need for reservation.

Many scholars have gone against whole caste based Reservation in India. it's necessary to rethink about whole Reservation, because it was allowed only for 10 years, this should also be re-examined. Show your demographic power of court pillars by standing against whole Reservation. Even after 70 years after Independence, we have not put in place adequate numbers of high quality government schools all over the country. If we had, it would have obviated the need for caste-based reservation and leveled the playing field in a fair manner. Instead we are playing political games with increasing vehemence. The future looks bleak. The country desperately needs statesmen who can pull us out of the quagmire into which we are descending deeper every day.

Caste based reservations are the most nasty ugly way of discriminating people based on castes. The Indian constitution says that all 'Equal' under it and the same constitution divides the people of the country based on 'Castes/Minorities' etc. Nowhere in the world this ugly way of discrimination based on Castes exist. The only reason why India is still a developing country and not a developed country is because of this 'Caste based reservations'.

Where is rationality? Everyone is asking for reservation and political leaders for political gains are trying to accommodate them under reservation. Even high court and Supreme Court seem to have no problem with it. What have others done who are not given reservation???? 

Dinesh Kamath's column 'Movie World: Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt star in Ayan Mukerji’s Brahmastra' that was published in Newsband

Movie World

Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt star in Ayan Mukerji’s Brahmastra

Alia Bhatt returned to Mumbai with Ranbir Kapoor just recently. The actors were shooting in Varanasi for Brahmastra.

Alia Bhatt is a part of Ayan Mukerji's Brahmastra. She was shooting in Varanasi with Ranbir Kapoor for a new schedule of her upcoming film Brahmastra. She had to cut short the shoot three days ahead of the wrap-up. The actress had to urgently return to Mumbai after she fell sick on the set and her health deteriorated.

The Raazi actress will be consulting a specialist in Mumbai. She will be taking some time off shooting to recover before joining back. Alia Bhatt and Ranbir Kapoor were accompanied by Nagarjuna Akkineni and Mouni Roy to Varanasi, where they shot at 40 degree Celsius.

The lead pair of Brahmastra, Alia and Ranbir, had to shoot for a song for the next three days. The song will be shot in November now. Alia continued to work but Ayan (Mukerji, the director of Brahmastra) decided to call off the shoot. The team will now return to the city in November for the song.

Alia Bhatt is paired opposite beau Ranbir Singh in Brahmastra. This is their first film together. At Filmfare Awards this year, Alia accepted the Best Actress award for her performance in Raazi.

Directed by Ayan Mukerji, Brahmastra is a mythological action-adventure film that also features Amitabh Bachchan and Dimple Kapadia. It is the first film in Ayan's fantasy trilogy. The first two schedules of the film have been shot in Bulgaria and Mumbai. Brahmastra is scheduled to release in the Summer of 2020. This is a film that has been the talk of the tinsel town since it went on floors.

Alia and Ranbir had to shoot for a song in the next three days. However, Alia had been caught by the stomach bug due to the extreme heat of the Summer. The Gully Boy star continued to shoot despite falling ill. But before the song shoot that was to last for three days, director Ayan Mukerji called it off and asked her to rest.

In the film, Alia will be seen as Isha while Ranbir will be playing Shiva. Recently at a press conference, Ayan revealed that Varanasi plays an important role in taking the story forward and hence, the shoot is very pivotal to the film. Brahmastra is being produced by Karan Johar.

Ranbir Kapoor’s Shamshera’s release date was pushed back due to Ayan Mukerji’s Brahmastra. Ranbir Kapoor is one of the few actors who’s consistently been able to deliver on the big screen. His past movies like Wake Up Sid, Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani and more recently, Sanju, received a lot of love from the audience. Ranbir Kapoor has now two big projects lined up in the near future - Ayan Mukerji’s Brahmastra and Karan Malhotra’s Shamshera.

However, as per a recent report in an entertainment portal, Ranbir’s film with Vaani Kapoor might face a delay in the release as his other film, Brahmastra is taking up too many dates. The report also claims that Karan Johar met up with Aditya Chopra to discuss the issue and requested him to push the dates of Shamshera behind since he will require more dates of Ranbir to wrap up Brahmastra. Aditya agreed and dates were freed up for Ranbir to shoot Brahmastra with Alia Bhatt.

Mouni Roy is playing the role of an antagonist in 'Brahmastra,' opposite Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt. Mouni Roy has been a popular face in the TV industry for quite some time now. However, with 2018 film Gold she made sure that audiences take note of her on the silver screen as well. Reema Kagti’s period sports-drama Gold was her big budget Bollywood debut and from there onwards she has gone on to bag some good films for herself, a few of them being Romeo Akbar Walter (RAW), opposite John Abraham; Made in China, opposite Rajkummar Rao and Brahmastra, opposite Ranbir Kapoor, Alia Bhatt and Amitabh Bachchan.

In the fantasy trilogy Brahmastra, Mouni is pitted against Ranbir and Alia. Her part in popular show Naagin helped her bag this role. She is playing the main villain in the film. She is really looking forward to it. What is more liberating for her is playing different characters that challenge her. She was surprised initially that they wanted her to play the villain. Ayan Mukerji (director) had seen something from Naagin and felt she could play the villain. So you never know what clicks with whom. As an actor, you should be willing to experiment and be versatile otherwise you can't learn and grow. Recently, Mouni also opted out of Bole Chudiyan, opposite Nawazuddin Siddiqui. Brahmastra actress Mouni Roy, for your information, shot to fame with the television serial Naagin, and she is going places in Bollywood. After being noticed in Akshay Kumar's Gold last year, she will be playing the villain in Ayan Mukerji's Brahmastra which is a sci-fi drama. On the work front, Mouni was last seen in Romeo Akbar Walter, which starred John Abraham.

The Ayan Mukerji film also has Amitabh Bachchan in a pivotal role. The logo of the film was unveiled during Kumbh Mela.

When Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt were shooting for Ayan Mukerji's Brahmastra in Varanasi, they visited the famous Kashi Vishwanath temple to seek blessings. A picture of the two posing with fans outside the temple is being widely shared by fan clubs on Twitter and Instagram. Ranbir Kapoor’s fan even went to the extent of touching his feet in Varanasi. Ranbir was heavily trolled after fan met him and then touched his feet.

In the video, Ranbir is seen greeting a fan who had come to meet the star with gifts including chocolates. The fan, on meeting Ranbir, touches his feet. After greeting him, Ranbir moves towards the seating area in the hotel and sits on the sofa. The unnamed fan follows the actor and sits by him, but on the floor while the two constantly chat. This video has not gone down well with many netizens, who are angry that Ranbir didn’t even offer a seat to his fan. A user wrote if Ranbir thought he was God while others called him rude.

Some time ago, Ranbir and Ali were spotted at Ramnagar Fort and Chet Singh Fort in Varanasi. In one of the pictures, Alia was seen wearing a white kurta with a red scarf wrapped around her wrist. Ranbir was in an all-black combination. They stood inside what looked like a temple as a deity’s idol could be seen in the background.

The film was supposed to hit the theatres this December, however, the VFX team needed more time to work on the film and hence, the release date has been shifted to next year.

Touted as director Ayan Mukerji's most ambitious project ever, Ranbir plays a DJ who walks out of his house against his father's wishes. The story then traces his journey as he tries to fulfil his dreams and discovers his superpowers in the process. Every character in the film possesses superpowers, with Kapoor's character believed to have the power to unleash fire from his palms. The actor has also reportedly undergone rigourous training in various forms of martial arts for the role. It apparently has some high octane action sequences. Ranbir trained in traditional Indian martial arts, including Kalaripayattu and Varma Kalai, before the film went on floors in 2017.

Dinesh Kamath's Editorial 'India deserves to be a permanent member of UNSC' that was published in Newsband

India deserves to be a permanent member of UNSC

India won the unanimous endorsement of the 55-nation Asia-Pacific Group at the United Nations Security Council in its quest for a non-permanent seat for 2021-22. India was the sole candidate for the post. In the next step, all 193 members of the UN General Assembly will vote for five non-permanent seats in June 2020, when India will need to show the support of at least 129 countries to go through to the UNSC. It will then occupy the seat at the UNSC for a two-year period, as it has previously on seven occasions since 1950-51.

India has a unique role to play at the UNSC with the U.S., the U.K. and France on one side, and Russia and China on the other. India’s ability to work with both sides is well known.

Since 2013, when it first announced the bid, the government has run a quiet but consistent campaign towards this goal. India will have to work out a comprehensive strategy for what it plans to do with the seat. In the past, India has earned a reputation for ‘fence-sitting’ by abstaining on votes. The seat will be a chance to undo that image.

Given the challenges of a rising China, India will have to act tough. This is a major diplomatic win and testament to India’s global stature, unanimously endorsed by the 55-member Asia-Pacific grouping, including China and Pakistan.

The 10 non-permanent seats are distributed on a regional basis: five for African and Asian States; one for Eastern European States; two for the Latin American and Caribbean States; and two for Western European and other States.

Previously, India has been elected as a non-permanent member of the Council for the years 1950—1951, 1967—1968, 1972—1973, 1977—1978, 1984—1985, 1991—1992 and most recently in 2011—2012 under the leadership of former Ambassador Hardeep Singh Puri.

India has been at the forefront of the years-long efforts to reform the Security Council. But it is just 55 out of 195 countries, it's not even 50 percent. Modi traveled across more than 63 countries in last five years tenure. What’s the use?

China was already a UNSC permanent member at the time of Nehru. America was trying (or thinking) to replace China or possibly just lure India. Nehru spoilt the show. Nehru did not want India out but he wanted the "sixth" seat. The permanent seat was offered to India which Nehru gave to China without thinking about its importance. After giving to them they attacked and occupied lot of land.  One should blame Nehru alone for '62 War and Kashmir dispute.

The United Nations Security Council has emerged as the key arena and barometer for evaluating the promise and progress of accommodating new, rising powers in the international system. The case of India provides one of the best examples of a rising power coming to terms with its increased power, role and expectations of itself and of other powers, great and small, in negotiating its place in the reformed Council as a permanent member. India has been strategizing over the years to gain permanent seat in the reformed Council.

India has been elected for seven terms for a two-year non-permanent member seat, the last being 2011-12, only behind Japan, Brazil and Argentina. Except for the first time, when India held the seat earmarked for the Commonwealth group, it has held the seat on every other occasion on behalf of the Asian group.

India won the non-permanent seat with the highest number of votes in the General Assembly showing its impressive electoral popularity. It needs to be recalled that not long ago in 1996, India had lost the elections to Japan by a wide margin for a non-permanent seat.

India’s rising economic stature globally has added to Indian claims as well. India is now the fastest-growing major economy in the world, and Asia’s third largest. India is now counted amongst the most influential players in economic organizations like the WTO, BRICS and the G20. India’s newly acquired status as a Nuclear Weapons State (NWS) in May 1998 also makes India a natural claimant as a permanent member similar to the existing permanent members who are all Nuclear Weapon States.

The seat on the high table, at the UN’s premier, powerful body would provide it the much needed leverage to expand its geo-political and geo-economic clout globally. It would serve as an equalizer to China, its rival and an emerging hegemon in Asia and an ever increasing strategic and security concern in its immediate neighborhood and beyond. India has always seen itself as a democratic alternative to the authoritarian China in a leadership role in Asia. India’s millennia old civilizational existence also demands it to be at the top of international hierarchy of states.

Dinesh Kamath's column 'Movie World: Anil Kapoor defies age, will work in Subhash Ghai’s film' that was published in Newsband

Movie World

Anil Kapoor defies age

Will work in Subhash Ghai’s film

By Dinesh Kamath

The 62 year old star, Anil Kapoor defies age with his suave style. The actor who was last seen in the film 'Total Dhamal', is known not just for his remarkable acting but his stylish appearances and dashing looks during events and films promotions. Talking about his love for shoes, Anil's son Harsh Varrdhan Kapoor recently shared a hilarious video of his father raiding on his shoe closet.

Are Anil Kapoor and Jackie Shroff to reunite for Subhash Ghai's next film? Bollywood's famous Ram Lakhan jodi - Anil Kapoor and Jackie Shroff - are said to be reuniting for Subhash Ghai's next film. The film, which has been titled Ramchand Kishanchand, will hit the floors by the end of the year. It's a crime-comedy that tells the story of two 50-year-old cops. This won't be first time Anil and Jackie would be working with Subhash Ghai, the two have starred together in Ghai's 1991 hit film Ram Lakhan. Jackie and Anil played brothers in the film. In fact, Subhash Ghai had been working on various scripts for Anil and Jackie and he liked one.

Anil and Jackie last shared the big screen in 2013 film Shootout at Wadala, Jackie had a guest appearance in the film. They were also seen in Lajja in 2001. Earlier this year, Anil Kapoor reunited with her Beta co-star Madhuri Dixit in Total Dhamaal. The film featured an array of stars including Ajay Devgn, Boman Irani, Javed Jaffrey, Riteish Deshmukh and more, and was successful at the box office. He will also be seen in films like Pagalpanti, Malang and Takht.

Jackie Shroff, on the other hand, is seen in Salman Khan's latest release Bharat. He played the role of Salman's father in the film. The film is smashing box office records every day. It minted Rs 100 crore in just four days of its release.

The 10th edition of the Jagran Film Festival (JFF) will include a showcase of actor and producer Anil Kapoor in the Retrospective of Indian Cinema section by screening his films. The film gala begins in Delhi on July 18 and will travel through Kanpur, Lucknow, Prayagraj, Varanasi, Agra, Meerut, Dehradun, Hisar, Ludhiana, Patna, Ranchi, Jamshedpur, Gorakhpur, Raipur, Indore and Bhopal. The festival will culminate on September 29 in Mumbai.

Kapoor was noticed in the 1983 film ‘Woh Saat Din’, and went on to do films such as ‘Mashaal’, ‘Beta’, ‘Lamhe’, ‘Mr India’ and ‘Total Dhamaal’. He forayed into international cinema with Danny Boyle’s Academy Award-winning film ‘Slumdog Millionaire’.

Superstar Anil Kapoor’s journey in the Indian film industry has been nothing short of inspiring. His illustrious career spanning 35 years has been lined up with several iconic characters and films, as the star constantly improves his game and reinvents himself with every passing year.

It comes as no surprise that Spotify India, a leading audio platform, has reportedly roped in the superstar to be the face of the brand. Spotify was launched in India earlier this year and became a huge hit amongst the youngsters since it allows them to create a playlist of their own. The Indian branch of the Swedish company approached the superstar to endorse the app, considering his youth connect. Anil Kapoor has always endorsed the brands he has believed in. The actor's ability to connect with the youngsters is the main reason why the brand wanted him to endorse it. The versatile actor, like his daughter Sonam K Ahuja, is endorsing multiple brands and that has worked well with the marketing of the respective companies.

Anil Kapoor will soon be seen in Mohit Suri’s directorial, Malang, co-starring Aditya Roy Kapur, Disha Patani and Kunal Kemmu. Anil Kapoor is getting fitter for 'Malang' by following a new diet and fitness regime. He plays the grey role in Malang.

The first thing that comes to mind when you think about Anil Kapoor is the fact that his looks belie his age. Moreover, the 62-year-old doesn’t seem to be slowing down any time soon either when it comes to fitness, especially with the new challenge he has taken up for his next film, Malang. Interestingly, he essays an intense character with grey shades in it. The two-time National Award winner made everyone sit up and take notice of him when the Mohit Suri directorial was announced with a picture of the cast, in which the Total Dhamaal star looked younger and fitter than his colleagues. We hear the secret behind the superstar’s youthful look and energy is his new fitness regime and diet to look leaner for his part in the movie, which also stars Aditya Roy Kapur and Disha Patani.

The prolific actor, who has always been determined with gusto throughout his 40-year-long innings, continues to persevere and use his strengths to his benefit this time around too. Anil has always been a sport when it comes to taking up challenges for his roles. So, when he was asked to look leaner, he took it upon himself and has started going for brisk walks and jogging in the morning.  He has even started following an intermittent fasting diet in order to lose weight in a shorter time frame.

The actor has not shied away from taking risks in the past either. Usually known for his trademark macho look, Anil surprised the audiences and critics alike when he opted for a salt-and-pepper look in movies like Dil Dhadakne Do (2015), Fanney Khan (2018) and Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga (2019).

Dinesh Kamath's Editorial 'Give more importance to Merit' that was published in Newsband

Give more importance to Merit

Dramatic changes have happened in the last twenty-five years. Changes have taken place economically socially, strategic demands, many other. Certainly the country has moved much further. Into a 2 trillion economy moving towards a five trillion economy. Also a digitalized society is around the corner.

The draft National Education Policy was released by the government recently. Existing education system is big victim of lethargic and non committed execution of prescribed provisions. Need is to have high integrity in all processes at every level. Governance in education needs to be made merit driven and of high integrity.

The policy advocates the closure of rural primary schools where there are about dozen students and one teacher, without appreciating the higher ratio of students and teachers. The school complex that the policy talks about is an Utopian idea, If it is executed the small children of rural and the oppressed classes of the society will be deprived of education, as transport cost to the 'complex-schools' will be unbearable to the poor families. You cannot make primary education world-class and it is not required also. The primary education is introductory in nature to create an aptitude for learning further, which can be supplemented by ICT, at a lesser cost. The government should not close down rural primary schools creating a situation of illiteracy and ignorance in the deprived communities. Instead, the school teachers must be used for counselling the uneducated rural folk and help them to reach out the government schemes to them through the advancement of IT.

In the interior villages of India, where only a single teacher is posted in primary schools, the teacher doesn't stay in that area and doesn't attend punctually every day.  This aspect of teacher's absence and measures to prevent it are not covered in the draft education policy.

The policy makers have a closed mind, biased, in place of exploring details in policy and changes it will bring vis a vis current system. They are more interested in dividing entire process into welfare of dalits and obc, a narrow mind. In India we have reached to a level where we end up everything into a caste based system, rotten minds which need refreshers course first, otherwise very soon they will take India back to medieval age.

In reality, education, is only for employment. Government does well to calculate global employment avenues. Budgetary allocations might be initially enhanced adequately for education that might be recovered when the beneficiaries become earners. Even private educational enterprises might be involved because scholarships or educational loans could make way for poor but talented students to study in them. While the real issue is life, we seem to insist only on language.

The aim of the government in addition to facilitating elementary education for every strata of the society should also to be ascertain the developments a merit based qualified people holding knowledge in their specific fields. India lacks a lot in this where the whim to join a college depends on just to get through to a high grossing job without basics of what it demands and the ability to get there is nullified by inappropriate reservations.

All are not created equal. Everyone is created unique. The differences are real readily verifiable. Over generalization to deal with this inherent difference in the name of science and research (both are human mediated) is hazardous, however politically expedient and 'correct'. Challenge is to master the art of understanding these inherent differences and make everyone happy in blossoming into self-assured, clear minded with big picture role playing mindset and capabilities.

Indian education need radical changes, presentation layer to be improved. We only put them in school, only memorize and write exams - not spend time for critical development of child.

Dinesh Kamath's column 'Movie World: Alia Bhatt’s YouTube video and her starrer Gully Boy in the news' that was published in Newsband

Movie World

Alia Bhatt’s YouTube video and her starrer Gully Boy in the news

By Dinesh Kamath

From recreating ‘Tip Tip Barsa Paani’ to Brahmastra shoot, Alia Bhatt takes us through a new behind-the-scenes journey in her YouTube video. While she has established herself as the youth icon of the current generation with her social media presence, Alia Bhatt is exploring a new side of internet with YouTube. Unlike others, the actress is planning to enter this new medium by launching her own YouTube channel. In a launch video for the same, the actress spoke about the reason behind her decision and also took us through a unique journey of behind the scenes and what goes around this world of glamour and films which included her past films including Brahmastra which she has been shooting for currently and it also gave us a peek-a-boo into her famous ‘Tip Tip Barsa Paani’ video!

There was a time when she had even donned the quintessential Raveena Tandon avatar in a yellow saree and matching blouse for the ‘Tip Tip Barsa Paani’ video, just like the way the Mohra actress had worn in the original song? Well, the actress gave a glimpse of what behind her dance performance for that particular video. If that wasn’t all we also got a little sneak peek into the shooting of her various films. Alia Bhatt recorded her message for this YouTube channel launch video whilst she was shooting for Brahmastra in Varanasi.

In the message given by the actress regarding her own YouTube channel, Alia mentioned that this was her attempt to showcase a much more personal side of her to the world and especially her fans.

Another news about Alia Bhatt is that her starrer Gully Boy heads to Film Festival in Melbourne. Filmmaker Zoya Akhtar is set to take her movie Gully Boy, starring Ranveer Singh and Alia Bhatt, to the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne 2019. The film earned a reputation for its compelling story and turned out to be a success at the box office. The director will be present to present her film to Australian audiences and will also be doing an elaborate in conversation on Indian cinema with the audiences. People from all across the country of Australia are expected to be present for her special conversation which is slated to take place on 10th August. The festival will take place from 8th to 17th August in the cultural capital of Victoria, Melbourne.

It’s always great to see Indian cinema travelling and transcending across borders. As a filmmaker, it’s a very rewarding experience and more than that, it’s extremely thrilling to see the celebration of Indian films.

Zoya is ecstatic to be invited and to be a part of IFFM 2019 in Melbourne which is a melting pot of cultures. There’s a huge Indian community in Australia and she is looking forward to take Gully Boy to Australia for a special screening and having a discussion on cinema with Australian audiences.

Ranveer Singh and Alia Bhatt starrer Gully Boy is one of the superhits of this year. Everyone loved how director Zoya Akhtar showed us rags to riches story of an aspiring rapper and gave us some amazing rap songs. Both Ranveer and Alia impressed us with their performances. Now, the film is all set to reach greater heights and get international exposure.

Dinesh Kamath's Editorial 'All Indians must know Hindi' that was published in Newsband

All Indians must know Hindi

There is nothing wrong in Indian people learning Hindi. In the guise of opposing imposition of Hindi, leaders fooled the people of some State and prevented them from learning Hindi. People should not be prevented from learning for political reasons.

There's nothing wrong in learning Hindi, just like there's nothing wrong in learning Malayalam or Punjabi or French or German or whatever. There's nothing wrong with someone from UP learning Tamil or Malayalam as well. If Tamil is rejected in UP then Hindi will be rejected in Tamil Nadu.

Barring Tamil Nadu, all southern states of India has no grudge against Hindi.  Anti Hindi and Brahmin sentiments is a fulcrum of Tamil politics since advent of Dravid movement. State has undergone sea change over a period. Hindi remain no more untouchable. Bollywood films are popular. North Indian apparel & cuisine is common in major cities of Tamil Nafu. Present controversy is mere political drama.

There is no harm if people learn English, which has an undeniable repository of knowledge. The funny thing is current generation North Indians are eschewing Hindi. They feel ashamed of it. Hinglish is their tongue.  Modi could do better if he promoted Hindi to North Indians. More languages a person learns, lesser chances this person will have in developing Alzheimer’s

Politicians should not give impression that they are against Hindi. It will harm interest of ordinary people. It seems politicians of Tamil Nadu have a fear i.e. learning of Hindi by the people will pave way to national level political parties in the state. They are holding power at the cost of innocent people's larger interest.

At the Centre, there has been no Prime Minister from Tamil Nadu till now, which has high education percentage and is one of the industrialized state.  

Equal opportunity is not available for known reason that this country is for Hindi speaking people. All other state educated people are slowly moving outside the country to save their cultural freedom. Though they lose at last. It’s a lose-lose situation for all non-Hindi speaking states.

Dinesh Kamath's column 'Movie World: Shahid Kapoor’s ‘Kabir Singh’ excels at Box office' that was published in Newsband

Movie World

Shahid Kapoor’s ‘Kabir Singh’ excels at Box office

Shahid Kapoor’s Kabir Singh has become seventh Bollywood venture in 2019 to score a century. Film trade analysts now believe that there is a strong possibility of Kabir Singh to emerge as the highest grossing film of 2019, surpassing Uri’s lifetime business.

Bollywood, in the first two quarters of this calendar year, is matching the growth momentum of 2018, which is considered as the richest year for the Hindi film industry. Shahid Kapoor’s Kabir Singh, that hit theatres on June 21, has minted over Rs 100 crore within five days of its release, becoming the seventh film so far to cruise past the Rs 100 crore target.

This is also going to be Kapoor’s first solo century. His last successful offering was Padmaavat, in which he was sharing screen space with Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone.

Kabir Singh’s successful opening makes South Indian remakes a hit formula for Bollywood

In 2017, there were nine films in the Rs 100-crore club, 2016 had seven such films, 2015 and 2013 six such films and in 2014 the count stood at eight. Big-ticket films that earned over Rs 100 crore in 2019 include Salman Khan’s Bharat that entered the club in four days; Akshay Kumar’s Kesari in seven days; Ranveer Singh’s Gully Boy in eight days, and multi-starrer Total Dhamaal in nine days. Ajay Devgn’s De De Pyaar De is another film that entered the Rs 100 crore club this year.

With an estimated budget of Rs 60 crore, Kabir Singh’s success is as surprising for the film industry as the success of ‘Uri: The Surgical Strike’ that went on to rake in Rs 245 crore. Film trade analysts now believe that there is a strong possibility of Kabir Singh to emerge as the highest grossing film of 2019, surpassing Uri’s lifetime business. Running in over 3100 screens, Kabir Singh is witnessing a strong run in Tier II and III markets, which was unexpected from the film as it was considered to be more urban-centric.

The romantic drama is even seeing a repeat audience, which is further helping Kabir Singh trend even during weekdays.

The first two quarters of 2019 have emerged as big money churners, with the opening three months of the year getting as much as Rs 1,000 crore, a feat not achieved in the last few years.

Kabir Singh’s success will not only be a value addition to the overall business of the film industry, but it could also be a turnaround for Shahid Kapoor’s career, who single-handedly could carry very few successful ventures in the last few years.

Sandeep Reddy Vanga's Kabir Singh might have invited the wrath of critics for glamourising misogyny, but the film is cooking up a storm at the box office. Despite negative reviews, Shahid Kapoor and Kiara Advani's film has crossed the Rs 100-crore mark. After crossing the Rs 70-crore mark in its opening weekend, Kabir Singh has now entered the Rs 100-crore club within five days of its release.

Released in 3123 screens across India, Kabir Singh is going strong at single screens as well as multiplexes. Kabir Singh, which is Hindi remake of Telugu film Arjun Reddy, has emerged as the fourth biggest Hindi opener at the domestic box office this year.

Shahid and Kiara are on cloud nine after the massive success of their film. In fact, the Kaminey actor took to Instagram to share a happy picture with Kiara and director Sandeep Reddy Vanga to celebrate the opening weekend collection. While Kabir Singh is refusing to slow at the box office, the film has been slammed by critics for its toxic masculinity.

Giving the film 1.5 out of 5 stars, India Today reviewer Ananya Bhattacharya wrote, "Kabir Singh spends 120 minutes of its 154 in showing Kabir either drinking or drunk or snorting cocaine or needling in morphine or fighting with people or, slapping his girlfriend or screaming at her. Or making out. In the remaining 24 minutes, his repentance is done with, and we all go home with a happy ending. If you think it is okay, if you think it is justified because 'movie hai yaar, it's not real life', you are part of the problem. Misogyny is not cool. Neither is Kabir Singh."

While the movie is receiving some serious backlash for some of its problematic sequences, it has still managed to intrigue the audience at large. The film’s main plotline revolves around a brilliant but arrogant surgeon called Kabir Singh who falls in love with his junior at medical college. Things take a dramatic turn when the couple’s families enter the scene.

Kabir Singh, is being described as misogynistic when actually it is basically the story of a man who becomes addicted to alcohol and drugs after his girlfriend's family refuses to accept their relationship, and marries her off to someone else. The movie hit the screens on 21 June and has divided opinions sharply.

The lead character - played by actor Shahid Kapoor - is a man-child who belittles his girlfriend, Preeti Sikka, tries to control her life and objectifies women. The lead female role, as you know, is played by Kiara Advani. Singh is volatile and violent - in one scene, he threatens to rape a woman at knifepoint when she refuses to have sex with him. He eventually backs off, but it's no credit to him.

This is not the first time an Indian film has irked people for its treatment of women. Misogyny is not just commonplace in many Bollywood scripts but it is also deeply rooted in the industry. Stalkers are often glorified, toxic masculinity is normalised and even molestation is justified as a legitimate form of courtship. Films driven by strong female leads are rare, but women, including leading heroines, frequently appear in titillating dances.

But in a country battling patriarchy, sexist stereotypes and endless violence against women, the movie's creation of a hero out of a bully has been questioned by many. In a country plagued with violence against women, it is nauseating that Hindi cinema continues to showcase the worst kind of violent, male archetypes like in ‘Kabir Singh’. Yes, there should be creative freedom but is there nothing called a sense of social responsibility? Surely a balance?

And yet, the film has had a great opening, having earned more than 708m rupees ($10m; £8m) in just three days. Many have also lauded Kapoor for his "intense" performance.

The 38-year-old actor has starred in several critically acclaimed films, including Udta Punjab, which revolves around the drugs crisis in Punjab state, and Haider, which adapts Shakespeare's Hamlet to tell the story of a conflicted young man in Indian-administered Kashmir. So, some have questioned his decision to portray the role of Kabir Singh.

Thus actor Shahid Kapoor may be receiving flak for his choice of role and film with his latest outing, Kabir Singh, but the movie has set the cash registers ringing at domestic ticket windows.

Dinesh Kamath's Editorial 'Everyone must get their basic rights' that was published in Newsband

Everyone must get their basic rights

What are basic rights? How are they different from other fundamental rights? Basic rights flow from basic needs such as physical security or subsistence. Needs are different from wants. Their non-fulfilment can cause great harm, even kill.

Needs depend on the way human bodies are constituted. For us, nothing can take the place of water, food and air. Basic needs are not what we live for. They don’t make our life worth living. But anything really worth pursuing depends on the satisfaction of basic needs. People suffer if basic needs are met inadequately or with delay. They are then denied a minimally decent life.

A right is something that is owed to us; it is not a favour. So, rights help the recognition of anything that satisfies basic needs as an entitlement. These rights are basic also because many intrinsically valuable rights can be enjoyed only once these rights are secured.

The right to minimum economic security and subsistence includes clean air, uncontaminated water, nutritious food, clothing and shelter.
The right to primary health care is also an integral part of the right to subsistence.

 Credible threats to these rights can be reduced by the government by establishing institutions and practices that assist the vulnerable. When a government fails to provide primary health care to those who can’t afford it, it violates their basic rights.

It follows that governments must make arrangements for people to demand that their basic rights be satisfied, to complain when these demands are not met, to report lapses and omissions on the part of governments, point fingers at apathetic government officials, criticise the government for its failures and to do so without fear. Anything short of a minimally decent life is simply not acceptable.

Everyone talks about what the government should do, but no one demands that the citizens also do their duties. Should a poor couple who can barely look after themselves be allowed to have a child year after year- maybe 10 more children total - and expect the government to give them all a life of dignity and free from basic needs? Impossible!

Basic rights and basic needs are within the tenets our Constitution and no one should be denied.

It seems allocating budget for technology and other things will help in better growth and development but we don't want to invest more in basic rights of food, shelter, uncontaminated water, Education and physical security. Who will use these better growth and progressive development if the life of future citizens are at stake and who will be help in this so called development? It feels that our forefathers were much happier with less development and more fulfillment of basic needs from the nature.

Dinesh Kamath's column 'Movie World SRK excels during last 27 years in Bollywood' that was published in Newsband

Movie World

SRK excels during last 27 years in Bollywood

Shah Rukh Khan has completed 27 years in Bollywood. 27 years ago, Shah Rukh Khan made his Bollywood debut with Deewana. The film also starred Divya Bharti and Rishi Kapoor in the lead roles.

Shah Rukh Khan has not signed any films after Zero's failure. But the love and support from his billions of fans around the world, give the superstar every reason to make a smashing comeback.

SRK, who hails from Delhi, got his big break in Bollywood with the movie Deewana. While the actor started his career as a negative lead character, he went on to become the ultimate king of romance and made his place in the hearts of his fans. The actor did have his highs and lows but the love he got from his fans kept him going and even today, Shah Rukh Khan is receiving the same, or even more amount of admiration from his fans.

The netizens made sure to shower their love on the superstar of Bollywood by sending him love through their Twitter handle. More and more fans came forward to show their love for the actor and tweets like 'My man completes 27 years in Indian cinema today. Thank you for being a part of almost my entire life so far. Thank you for lighting up our lives and making us feel giddy with your every new movie!', 'A man who brought Bollywood to world level whose acting is flawless and has over 1bn fans worldwide. Congratulations KING.....', started pouring in. Not just via their social media handle, but some even made sure to cut the cake and mark the day.

Shah Rukh Khan started his career through the Television show Circus, from where he made his existence. Later on, the Baadshah made his debut in the Bollywood Industry with Deewana, helmed by Raj Kanwar. From then on, he did some iconic movies like Chamatkar, Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman, Baazigar, Karan Arjun, Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, and others. Shah Rukh Khan then earned a super fandom, but somehow the latest releases went flop on box-office collections.

Here are some of the films which went flop in terms of earning money on box-office:

Zero - The film featured Shah Rukh Khan in a dwarf character, along with Anushka Sharma

Happy New Year- A film helmed by Farah Khan garnered negative reactions from the audience. The film was featuring Deepika Padukone, Shah Rukh Khan, Abhishek Bachchan, Sonu Sood, Boman Irani, Vivaan Shah, and Jackie Shroff.

RaOne - Helmed by Anubhav Sinha, the film was featuring Shah Rukh Khan, Armaan Verma, Kareena Kapoor, Arjun Rampal, Shahana Goswami and Tom Wu in the lead roles.

Fan - The film was helmed by Maneesh Sharma and featured Shah Rukh Khan in the lead role.

Jab Harry Met Sejal - The film was featuring Anushka Sharma and Shah Rukh Khan.

Dear Zindagi - The film featured Shah Rukh Khan and Alia Bhatt for the first time. Dilwale - A 2015 film directed by Rohit Shetty, featured Shah Rukh Khan, Kajol, Varun Dhawan, and Kriti Sanon, with Johnny Lever and Varun Sharma in the supporting roles.

Dinesh Kamath's Editorial 'US biased against BJP?' that was published in Newsband

US biased against BJP?

The ruling BJP accused the U.S. State Department of a “clear bias” against the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the party in The ‘2018 Report on International Religious Freedom’. The 2018 report had listed 18 attacks against “Non-Hindu and Dalit” victims, in which 8 people were killed in violence linked to cow protection. In addition, the report quoted various Christian NGOs that had documented 300-500 cases of alleged violence against Christian priests and churches nationwide.

Religion should be a unifying factor of all cultures. Religions have separated man - the Catholic, the Protestant, the Hindu, the Muslim and they are all saying, "We are all seeking one thing". Therefore freedom means negation of being conditioned by any culture or by any religion. We are concerned with peace, living in a world in which violence, the separation, the brutality is to end. The function of any serious religious person is to unify man through the factor of religion because religion is the only factor that unifies man.

Let us talk about the situation in US. If we fight over religion here they too fight over complexion. We fight over a man-made issue but they fight over an issue on which man has no hand. Just imagine what would have happen if US was as diverse in religion as India is.

Whenever needed, Modi and other BJP leaders have deplored violence against minorities and weaker sections. Modi government should ignore this Pakistani sponsored so called intellectuals (but basically those who do not want a strong government in India). Common citizens stand by Modi Government. The background should be checked and if proved they should be booked under sedition law.

US should stop destructively interfering in the local activities of our country. We have an elected government and that has been entrusted with the responsibility of running the country. It is their basic job. It has no business publishing such reports which basically increases hatred among communities. U.S will have to grow up to understand Hindutva & religious freedom which talk about our way of life.

This was bound to happen. One cannot fool the international Media.  In fact the Courts in India should also have been taken to task.  In many cases there was blatant attack on the individual freedom and liberty. The Judiciary which is entrusted with protecting the civil rights of citizens has failed miserably. In fact we cannot expect much too, with the CJI himself implicated in a Sexual harassment case.  The Indian story is now reduced to such trivialities - criminal feted by Ministers. Do we have any future, with the kind of politics we are seeing now?

US annual report on International Religious Freedom does not carry any conviction, so far as its Indian component is concerned, as it is not vetted and authenticated.  It only enumerates reports received from various sources without taking any responsibility for their veracity. It thus appear to be a mere tool in the diplomatic power-play rather than a real indictment. A kind of veiled blackmail to get better off the bilateral relations!

Americans do not know the ground realities in India. Congress ruled for the maximum period after Independence with the help of Muslim vote Bank and Christian vote bank and corrupt Hindu politicians and businessmen who used to fund the Party. This led to corruption in entire India. Whereever you put hand there is corruption. Violence in America is more serious than in India. In India it is controllable. Electronic media nowadays is simply biased. The innocent people whose vote was never considered by Congress has gone to BJP. BJP is not a Communal party. Since Congress is not in power, we yet have some reputation Internationally due to their past Nehru and Indira policies doing all the negative propaganda defaming India and the BJP Internationally.

Dinesh Kamath's column 'Movie World: Aishwarya Rai Bachchan to play a negative character in Mani Ratnam’s next venture' that was published in Newsband

Movie World

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan to play a negative character in Mani Ratnam’s next venture

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan will play a negative role for her favourite director Mani Ratnam. Mani Ratnam and his favourite actress Aishwarya Rai Bachchan early collaborated on Iruvur, Guru and Raavan. Now they are coming together for the fourth time for a film called Ponniyin Selvan, in Tamil and this time she’s playing an out-and-out antagonist.

Earlier Aishwarya was reluctant to go grey. It isn’t even grey. It’s an out-and-out black character. Aishwarya was not inclined to do a negative part at this stage of her career at all. She believes, and perhaps rightly so, that as an iconic actress she has an example to set to her fans. In a country besieged with crimes she doesn’t want to glorify negativity by playing a negative character.

However it was Mani Ratnam who convinced her about the character and her need to play it. He narrated the whole script and explained why as an actor she must do this.

Aishwarya had started her career with Mani’s Iruvar where she had to play a complex character of a politician and speak in Tamil. She knew nothing about either politics or the Tamil language. But Mani had faith in her. That’s what gave her the courage to go for it.

Will this be the game changer in Aishwarya’s career that she so needs? Wait and watch. It’s been Mani Ratnam’s longtime desire to adapt Ponniyin Selvan into a film with a huge star cast. Over a decade ago, he had almost announced the project with Vijay, Vikram and Mahesh Babu, and later with Karthi and Ram Charan. But for reasons unknown, the film never took off. Now Aishwarya Rai Bachchan has been roped into the essay the role of Princess Nandini, the wife of Periya Pazhuvettaraiyar.

Periya Pazhuvettaraiyar is the chancellor and treasurer of the Chola kingdom in the epic novel, written by Kalki Krishnamurthy.

It was told that Lyca Productions is most likely to bankroll the project. Apparently, buoyed by the success of Chekka Chivantha Vaanam, Lyca has agreed to come on board to fund Ratnam’s dream project. Mani Ratnam is currently in talks with Jio Studios to co-produce the project. If everything goes as planned, the project might kick off from this year-end or early next year and it will be simultaneously made in Tamil and Telugu.

After Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Baahubali star Anushka Shetty has been roped in for Mani Ratnam's Ponniyin Selvan. The Tamil-Telugu actress Anushka Shetty has been approached by the makers to play a pivotal role in the film. The makers of Ponniyin Selvan are in talks with Anushka Shetty and her team. The Bhaagamathie actress is yet to confirm her inclusion in the film. She will most likely sign on the dotted line soon.

Earlier, Mani Ratnam had initiated talks with Nayanthara as well. However, it looks like the talks fizzled out.

The historical film will showcase the life of Chola Emperor Arulmozhi. The gorgeous actress Aishwarya Rai Bachchan will be playing one of the female leads in the film. Meanwhile, Keerthy Suresh is a part of the epic saga. With such talented actresses in one of the most wanted director's film, something big and better is expected. The epic saga is currently in the pre-production stage and the shooting is likely to go on floors by the end of 2019. It is indeed that one film that moviegoers are eagerly looking forward to next year.

Actor-playwright-theatre artiste Elango Kumaravel has been roped in to co-write the screenplay of Mani Ratnam’s Ponniyin Selvan along with the director. The actor had earlier been part of the writing team of the renowned Ponniyin Selvan theatre play in the 90s, in addition, he plays the character of Ravidasan in it. His experience in adapting mythological stories might have landed him the opportunity to work with the Guru director. He is currently working on the script. The pre-production will take a few more months. They are working hard to give the audience something very special.

Actors like Vikram, Jayam Ravi, Karthi, Keerthy Suresh, Mohan Babu, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Amitabh Bachchan, and Amala Paul are said to be part of the period film. While Aishwarya Rai had confirmed in a Cannes interview that she is a part of the project, the others are yet to officially confirm their participation.

Ratnam, who has almost put together his team for the project, is currently in talks with Reliance Entertainment to co-produce the project which could be easily be the most expensive film in the filmmaker’s career. AR Rahman has been signed to compose music. The industry grapevine is that Santosh Sivan, frequent collaborator will Ratnam, will return as cinematographer.

Dinesh Kamath's Editorial 'Need to improve quality of life in India' that was published in Newsband

Need to improve quality of life in India

India is set to become the most populous nation; improving the quality of life is crucial. National leaders must redouble their efforts to raise education, health and living standards for people everywhere. They must singularly focus on improving education and health access for women.

There is a rise in life expectancy. There is a growing population of older adults. It opens up prospects for employment in many new services catering to them. Urban facilities have to be reimagined, with an emphasis on access to good, affordable housing and mobility.

There is need to make progress in poverty reduction, greater equality, better nutrition, universal education and health care, needs state support and strong civil society institutions. Making agriculture remunerative and keeping food prices stable are crucial to ensure nutrition for all.

Many young career oriented women have been refusing to have more than one child; often have none at all. Thus entrants into the country's labour force are declining in nos. Within only 10-12 years we have very few and declining trained personnel to take over the basic service and production systems. Serious manpower planning is necessary in India.

There is the dire need for controlling population. We should have a national population policy. We cannot afford to multiply like rats having regard to the limitations of land availability, production of food grains and other produce for feeding the population. Instead it is advocating the need for producing more for meeting the demands of the rising population. Whenever we talk of population policy, it becomes a religious issue with certain sections of minorities opposing it.

Fundamental indicators of quality of life include have sufficient nutrition, adequate accommodation and environment, social and psychological fulfilment, and health. However, modern development is responsible for creating and/or facilitating many of the world's evils. They include a sense of spiritual and cultural loss, environmental degradation, rapid population growth, Third World debt, social unrest, unemployment, vastly increased capabilities of humanity's destructive potential and a sense of declining societal standards.

It seems the two child norm followed from the early days has taken a back seat these days. Brushing aside such stipulations there are certain group of people who feels  that their number in the nation is comparatively less and should gear up for more kids. So regardless of the community one belongs to, an equally  applicable population policy needs to be implemented. Education remains the prelude to achieve such an objective.

We need to take immediate steps to curb the growing population as it will hinder the path of developing nation. India must seek support from other countries who needs manpower. India could become the supplier of skilled manpower that will benEfit both countries.

China's population has been declining gradually since the application of one child policy and a noticeable reduction in its population is now on the surface. India will become the most populated country in the world because of its enormous number of existing population which is on the 2nd rank worldwide and the effective as well as rapid actions taken by other countries to reduce their population will also push India towards the 1st rank.

Huge Indian population & ranking as the most populated country in the world by 2025 is not a great achievement under any circumstances. In fact there is an urgent need to control population in the country which is already running out of valuable resources like water besides climate change destruction of flora & fauna & forests causing damage to the environment & global warming with high toxic air content making living a night mare. India in the future will pay a heavy price if it neglects controlling the population as there can be less jobs & food scarcity