Dinesh Kamath's Editorial 'PM Modi should treat CM Kejriwal nicely' that was published in Newsband

PM Modi should treat CM Kejriwal nicely

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has always projected himself against the might of the establishment. He did so as an activist of the Right to Information campaign and subsequently against corruption as chief minister of Delhi. Anti-establishment manner continues to inform his style of governance. Kejriwal has framed questions of Centre-State relations and of equity and delivery of basic services in coordinates that have resonance in all of India. As Chief Minister, Kejriwal has been in constant combat with the Lieutenant Governor and the Prime Minister, The tussle between Kejriwal and the Centre has many parts. There is the question of who should have the last word on certain issues.

Kejriwal’s call for replacing bureaucrats with professionals and sector experts, as well as his threat to throw out officers who oppose him and his Cabinet cuts both ways. It indicates an unwillingness to work within institutional practice. However, it is a welcome call to reform India's bureaucracy, which borders on the dysfunctional despite being manned by people who are some of the brightest of the land.

Modi as Prime Minister of India should honour the federal values vis a vis Delhi government and other states ruled by opposition. Most Indians were very happy and much hopeful of a fast developing country, when Modi became the new PM of India. Similar happiness and great hopes were associated with AAP’s success in Delhi and Kejriwal becoming the CM in Delhi. Efficient governance of India and the capital city Delhi are the earnest longing of the people all over India.

PM Modi being in charge of the whole country of India as well as Delhi, it is his responsibility to see that Delhi's CM gets a peaceful and congenial environment to rule the state. Very much so as Delhi does not have full statehood.

Kejriwal says he is 1/4th CM of a half State and PM is ruler of the country and that he does not understand why Modi is mistreating him. There seem to be saliently two reasons. One, a novice politician like Kejriwal tamed the Ashvmedh horse of Modi in Delhi election and trounced him with humiliating three MLAs present in the Assembly. BJP has not yet been able to overcome the humiliation of the shock defeat. Secondly, if the new experiment of clean and transparent politics is successful, it will be a great setback to the well-entrenched corrupt, dynastic and criminal politics which sustains on the basis of mutual understanding of "you scratch my back I will scratch yours". Hence, both BJP and Congress are hell-bent to ensure that AAP experiment fails and their traditional style of politics continues to flourish.

 But the common man having been disillusioned by the criminal, high-handed, arrogant politicians is associating himself with AAP. It is a revolution.

Dinesh Kamath’s column ‘New movies released in Navi Mumbai’ (Wazir, Chota Bheem Himalayan Adventure, Chauranga, Our Brand is Crisis and Daddy’s Home) that was published in Newsband

New movies released in Navi Mumbai

By Dinesh Kamath

Wazir

Wazir is a 2016 Indian action thriller film directed by Bejoy Nambiar and written by Abhijat Joshi and Vidhu Vinod Chopra, and is produced by Chopra. It stars Amitabh Bachchan and Farhan Akhtar in lead roles alongside Aditi Rao Hydari, Neil Nitin Mukesh, Manav Kaul and John Abraham in supporting roles.

The film tells the story of two unusual friends—a paralysed chess grandmaster and a grief stricken ATS officer—brought together by a peculiar twist of fate as part of a wider conspiracy that has cast a dark shadow over their lives.

The film starts off with ‘musical introduction’ of the dynamic ATS officer Danish Ali (Farhan Akhtar), his wife Ruhaana (Aditi Rao Hydari) and their only child Noorie. One day, when Danish is out with his family, his razor-sharp eyes spot a dreaded terrorist Rameez (Naseer Husain). What follows after that is a series of chase sequences, which results in the sudden death of the innocent Noorie. Completely shattered by the death of his child, a mentally disturbed Danish Ali lands up ‘eliminating’ Rameez, which results in him being suspended from his service. Unable to bear the grief, one day, just as he is about to kill himself, there enters a chess champion named Panditji aka Omkar Nath Dhar (Amitabh Bachchan) in his life. He, then, teaches Danish the ‘similarities’ between the ‘game of life’ and the ‘game of chess’. Gradually, the two become the best of buddies and start spending time over drinks and chess. One fine day, Panditji reveals to Danish that his daughter was murdered by the politician Yazaad Qureshi (Manav Kaul) and that he is waiting to take revenge for the same. Danish joins Panditji in his battle against Yazaad Qureshi. As days pass, Danish realizes that Yazaad Qureshi is not just a mere politician, but is more than what meets the eye. Just when Danish plans to eliminate Yazaad Qureshi, Panditji gets ‘attacked’ by a certain mysterious villain named ‘Wazir’ (Neil Nitin Mukesh). What happens towards the end is something that turns Danish Ali’s world upside down. Who is the real ‘Wazir’, what happens to Panditji in the end, does Danish Ali become successful in eliminating Yazaad Qureshi is what forms the rest of the film.

The film has Amitabh Bachchan as Pandit Omkarnath Dhar, Farhan Akhtar as Danish Ali, Aditi Rao Hydari as Ruhana Ali, Neil Nitin Mukesh as Wazir, John Abraham as S. P., Manav Kaul, Anjum Sharma and Mazel Vyas

Chota Bheem Himalayan Adventure

Chota Bheem Himalayan Adventure is a film directed by Rusauro B. Adorable, written by Teja Pratap and stars Jigna Bhardwaj, Rupa Bhimani, Kaustav Ghosh. The arrangement Chotta Bheem was made by Rajiv Chilaka, CEO of Green Gold Animation. Raj Viswanadha, Arun Shendurnikar, Nidhi Anand, Shridisha Dilip have composed stories. Starting today more than 300 episodes,25 motion pictures have been discharged and aired. The to a great degree solid Chhota Bheem lives in an anecdotal town called Dholakpur set in provincial India. The arrangement spins around Bheem, a nine-year-old kid, who is courageous, solid and intelligent. Bheem’s adversary is Kalia Pehalwan, a desirous ten – year-old harasser, who is jealous of Bheem’s ubiquity. Kalia, alongside his sidekicks Dholu and Bholu

In this film, Chhota Bheem and his friends set out for a vacation to Manali where they intend to play adventurous sports in the snow clad mountains of the Himalayas. In Manali, the powerful and conniving Hidimbak has an evil master plan to loot the kingdom and usurp the throne. He is ably assisted by his smart nephew Ghatto and a group of strong goons.

Chauranga

Chauranga  is a 2016 Hindi film. It is the debut feature film of Indian writer-director Bikas Ranjan Mishra, produced by Onir and Sanjay Suri. The film was developed at the Screenwriters' Lab organized by National Film Development Corporation of India in collaboration with Locarno Film Festival and the Script Station of Berlinale Talent Campus, a part of Berlin International Film Festival. The Film won Golden Gateway of India Award for Best Film (India Gold 2014) at the 16th Mumbai Film Festival.

A fourteen-year-old Dalit boy (Soham Maitra) is growing up in an unnamed corner of India. His dream is to go to a town school like his elder brother (Riddhi Sen) and his reality is to look after the pig that his family owns. His only escape is to sit atop a Jamun tree and adore his beloved (Ena Saha) passing by on her scooter. His unspoken love is as true as his mother’s helplessness who cleans the cowsheds of the local strongman’s mansion, with whom she also has a secret liaison. When the boy’s elder brother comes on a vacation to the village, he soon finds out about his younger brother’s infatuation. The learned elder brother makes him realize the need to express his love and helps him write a love letter.

The film has Soham Maitra as Santu, Ena Saha as Mona, Riddhi Sen as Bajrangi, Sanjay Suri as Dhaval, Tannishtha Chatterjee as Dhaniya, Dhritiman Chatterjee as the blind priest, Swatilekha Sengupta as Dhaval's mother, Arpita Pal as Nidhi and Anshuman Jha as Raghu.

Our Brand is Crisis

Our Brand Is Crisis is a 2015 American comedy-drama film directed by David Gordon Green and written by Peter Straughan. Based on the 2005 documentary film of same name by Rachel Boynton, it is a fictionalized account of the involvement of American political campaign strategists "Greenberg Carville Shrum" (GCS) in the 2002 Bolivian presidential election. The film stars Sandra Bullock, Scoot McNairy, Billy Bob Thornton, Anthony Mackie, Ann Dowd, and Joaquim de Almeida.

In 2002, Bolivian politician Pedro Castillo (a fictionalized version of Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada) hires an American political consulting firm (based on James Carville's Greenberg Carville Shrum firm) to help him win the 2002 Bolivian presidential election. The firm brings in Jane Bodine (Sandra Bullock) to manage the campaign in Bolivia. Battling her arch nemesis, the opposition's political consultant, fellow American In other words, a Bolivian presidential candidate failing badly in the polls enlists the firepower of an elite American management team, led by the deeply damaged but still brilliant strategist “Calamity” Jane Bodine (Sandra Bullock). In self-imposed retirement following a scandal that earned her nickname and rocked her to her core, Jane is coaxed back into the game for the chance to beat her professional nemesis, the loathsome Pat Candy (Billy Bob Thornton), now coaching the opposition. But as Candy zeroes in on every vulnerability – both on and off the campaign trail – Jane is plunged into a personal crisis as intense as the one her team exploits nationally to boost their numbers.

Daddy’s Home

Daddy's Home is a 2015 American comedy film directed by Sean Anders and written by Brian Burns, Anders, and John Morris. The film stars Will Ferrell, Mark Wahlberg, and Linda Cardellini.

In Daddy’s Home, directed and co-written by Sean Anders (Horrible Bosses 2) Ferrell is at his most mundane and most unoriginal. Here he stars as Brad Whitaker (can you think of a more generic name?), the dullest color in the coloring box. He works at “the number three jazz radio station in the country,” he’s married to the perfect too-good-looking-for-him wife, Sara (Linda Cardellini), and is the ideal stepfather to her two kids, Megan and Dylan. Brad is the type of doting, overly sensitive guy who leaves inspirational notes in his step kids’ lunches, cries when Megan asks him to the Father-Daughter Dance, and patiently stays inside the cones at the school’s drop-off zone. But one night when Megan and Dylan are shouting “Daddy!” it’s for someone else – their real dad, Sara’s ex-husband, Dusty Mayron. Meet Mark Wahlberg’s extra large slice of over-compensating masculinity, the leather jacket and tight jeans to Brad’s suit and tie. Now begins the war of Cool Dad versus Nice Dad.

Dinesh Kamath's news 'Heart Foundation launches ‘STREE’- A Newspaper exclusively for women' that was published in Newsband

Heart Foundation launches ‘STREE’- A Newspaper exclusively for women

By Dinesh Kamath

BELAPUR: In yet another new initiative of Heart Foundation, a city based NGO who has been working against drug and sexual abuse amongst children and youth for many years, has launched the first edition of ‘STREE’ – For the Women By the Men, an exclusive newspaper (for private circulation) for women. A project under Heart Foundation, the main aim of ‘STREE’, according to Dr. Jayakar Ellis, Founder President of Heart, will not only be to highlight the women achievers but to bring more and more women under its project and help them realize their potential, empower and educate them.

“While undoubtedly, over the years, women have successfully ventured into all the fields, which had earlier been predominantly male bastions and are rubbing shoulders with male counterparts in every field of life, however, in many parts of our country, especially in small towns and villages, women continue to be hugely discriminated against men” adds Dr. Ellis.

“Similarly although today, women have stepped out of their houses and are working at strategic places, contributing equally or sometimes even more, they many times have to bear sexual harassment at work place. Not only this, in many sectors especially in unorganized sectors, women are paid very low wages in comparison to their male counterparts. Though the constitution of India provides for “equal pay for equal work for both men and women”, but the wage difference still continues and in the primary sector equality of wages is a far cry. Through ‘STREE’ we aim to bring that awakening and help in bridging the gap. We would be highly pleased if more and more women join with us in our initiative and become a part of ‘STREE,” he added.

“It is very heart warming to know that STREE a newspaper exclusively for Women is being launched by Dr. Jayakar Ellis of Heart Foundation and his team from Navi Mumbai for the women of India. I congratulate the entire team and wish them all the best,” said Sudhakar Sonawane, Mayor, NMMC.

“My best wishes for 'STREE'- a novel initiative by Dr. Jayakar Ellis. It will provide forum for the voices of women in Navi Mumbai and the entire country, towards their overall development and progress. It will help the women to highlight the issues which affect them the most,” said Dinesh Waghmare, Commissioner, NMMC.

“It is very nice to know that Heart Foundation is bringing out an exclusive newspaper for women 'Stree'. I wish the entire team of ‘STREE’ my heartiest congratulation and hope that it is successful in its endeavor of helping the women achieve their goals” said Suresh Mengade, DCP, Navi Mumbai Police.

“Since long I have seen Dr. Ellis working and fighting for the known and unknown people, who are trying to take a fresh breath. With Dr. Ellis Jayakar and his team launching STREE - a voice for the women and the caption FOR THE WOMEN, BY THE MEN has really given all of us a thought to respect the women and join hands to fight for them and with them. May God bless the whole Team behind this social cause” said Johny Lever, Cine Actor.

Dinesh Kamath impressed by Priya Malik and Mandana Karimi in Bigg Boss 9

Tough fight between Priya Malik and Mandana Karimi

Reality show Bigg Boss 9 is at an interesting stage now.  The two contestants who I feel are most powerful are Priya Malik and Mandana Karimi who have brought in a sense of spice to show.

Priya Malik is very expressive and talks very fluently. Ever since she entered the Bigg Boss House she has been drawing public attention to herself by exploiting her powerful look and her terrific speaking ability.

Mandana Karimi’s special quality is that she is unapologetic to anything. She knows the knack of making her presence felt in a big way. Mandana is all alone in the house without any support from the other inmates. But yet she manages to go strong.

Both Priya and Mandana are strong contestants, each in her own way and I won’t be surprised if one of these two powerful ladies will clinch the show. 

Dinesh Kamath's Editorial 'Pak strikes again' that was published in Newsband

Pak strikes again

Kargil, Mumbai and now Pathankot. Pakistan's Army has again launched a well-planned war with India struggling to restrict the damage. It is unbelievable that the Pak PM was not aware of the attack. Even after 60 hours of the ongoing security operation at Pathankot, there has been no direct phone call from Sharif to Modi, or from the Pakistani NSA to his Indian counterpart, expressing their condemnation. This, despite the meeting between the two NSAs in Bangkok a month ago. India should hold the Pak Government responsible for the attack. Why make a distinction between the civilian Government and the Army?

Thus another challenge has been thrown up by the terrorist attack on the Pathankot air force base. While carrying on diplomatic engagement with Pakistan, India needs a firm strategy to deal with terrorist threats. The Indian government should come up with a national security strategy that spells out the command and control structures for meeting eventualities such as terror strikes.

The recurring terrorist attacks are not just a humiliation for the country but also a nightmare that is repeatedly disrupting daily routines and taking away precious lives. The very foundations of India’s security establishment need to be reformed. It is clear that intelligence inputs, such as the one about Pathankot, are not treated with enough seriousness.

These terrorists are not 'non-state' actors. They are indoctrinated, trained and equipped by the Pakistani army and ISI. Talking to a weak civilian Government is pointless. They carry no weight in Pakistani foreign policy. India rightly sees J&K as an integral part of India. The Pakistanis want all of J&K by force. There is no other option but to teach the Pakistani army another military lesson.

It is sad that even the present government like the previous one is miserably failing to protect the lives of army men. There have been no long time strategy as far as our nation's is concerned. The national security issue is to be considered by the government and all the political parties in the interest of national security and development. The government and political parties should come together to frame a doctrine to defend India and to formulate a programme to safeguard our citizens and establishments against attack by terrorists or states.

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

Dinesh Kamath's Editorial 'Modi could do what Congress could not' that was published in Newsband

Modi could do what Congress could not

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s unannounced visit to Kabul and surprise stopover in Lahore are certainly great moments. Modi’s “dropping in” for tea to wish his Pakistani counterpart, Nawaz Sharif, on his birthday and to give his good wishes for his grand-daughter’s wedding was a great move. He made this move when relations with both Afghanistan, over talks with the Taliban, and Pakistan, over LoC firing and the NSA talks, were very troubled.

Pakistan is like a spoilt kid, who thinks India as a soft state and had been taking India granted since a long past. While dealing with such nations, diplomatic channel is always a better option rather than emotion driven gestures. Modi's action is well intended.

This stopover is also criticized by the Congress as this party is doing nothing but criticizing every step taken by Modi since losing the election. Modi is the only leader who is not tied to the past to possibly develop good relations with Pakistan. He does not come with the baggage of Congress, Nehru and Gandhi dynasty who must be sweating in their pants.

Modi was judged wrongly by many people including leading newspapers. But for those who know Modi and his honest, hard work capabilities this is nothing. Now at least those people who voted for Modi should be thanked in spite of so much wrong news spread about him during Lok Sabha elections

The Congress position is weak and does not meet what is expected of a national and an opposition party. There is both a need and a possibility to reach peace agreement with Pakistan. Modi has done the right thing. Taking an antagonistic position seems to be the only response of the Congress party. This approach of Congress is not good for India.

Modi has taken a bold initiative and his novel way of diplomatic outreach may prove to be harbinger of enduring peace in both India and Pakistan provided it is reciprocated with equal sagacity. Now we should wait for the response from the counterpart, the Pak PM before making any critical comment. Peace on border in fact saves a lot of resources to be deployed for progress of the country. it needed courage which the Congress lacked and now it is peeved that one who it saw as an uneducated provincial leader incapable of understanding nuances of international diplomacy could achieve such a feat.

For larger interest, such initiatives are taken by brave, imaginative and intuitive parsons. Amidst a series of blunders for about a century now, only such well-meaning and bold initiatives can prove to alter the course of history for the better. If other major players also do their bit, we can have the vision of a new era of Asia heralding peace not only within but also in the world to fulfill the aspiration of Professor Slater's call to India in his Presidential address to the Indian Economic Conference in Allahabad in 1921.

The grand old Congress Party also should refrain from its destructive anti-national policy of obstructing anything and everything that the present Government is doing.