Dinesh Kamath's column 'Movie World: Film ‘Super 30’ has Hrithik Roshan playing mathematic wizard Anand Kumar' that was published in Newsband

Movie World

Film ‘Super 30’ has Hrithik Roshan playing mathematic wizard Anand Kumar

By Dinesh Kamath

Super 30 is an Indian biographical drama film directed by Vikas Bahl, based on the life of mathematician Anand Kumar and his educational program Super 30. The film stars Hrithik Roshan as Kumar and Mrunal Thakur as his love interest. The soundtrack is by Ajay-Atul and movie is co-produced by Sajid Nadiadwala. Super 30 will be Phantom Films's last production. The film was shot in Ramnagar Fort and in Sambhar Lake Town which was shown as Kota, Rajasthan. The trailer was released on 4 June 2019, and the film is set to release on 12 July 2019.

The film has Hrithik Roshan as Anand Kumar, Virendra Saxena as Rajendra Kumar (Anand Kumar's father), Mrunal Thakur as Rithu Rashmi, Nandish Singh as Pranav Kumar, Pankaj Tripathi as Devraj Jagan Safdurjang, rival of Anand Kumar, Johnny Lever as Lakhan Bhai, Aditya Srivastava, Amit Sadh as narrator and Ali Haji.

Mrunal Thakur was cast opposite Hrithik Roshan in the film. It was filmed at Ramnagar Fort, as part of the fort was converted into look alike coaching institute. The film was also shot for ten days in Sambhar Lake Town which was shown as Kota, Rajasthan and Jaipur. A set was erected in Mumbai at the cost of ₹10 crore to recreate Patna city of Bihar to facilitate shooting. In second schedule of Varanasi shooting, the film was shot at Banaras Hindu University in the end of June 2018. This was the first Hindi film that the university allowed, to be shot at its campus. The filming was completed in September 2018.

The first look posters of Hrithik Roshan from Super 30 were unveiled on 5 September 2018 to coincide with the Teacher's Day in India. Second poster with new release date was revealed on 12 January 2019. Another look of Hrithik Roshan from the film unveiled in new poster on 2 June. The next day another poster with Roshan soaking in the rain of success with motto "Misaal Bano, Haqdaar Bano" (transl. Be an example, be qualified) was released. One day later on 4 June official trailer of the film was released by Reliance Entertainment. It garnered 8.8 million views since its release on YouTube.

The film producer reported that Hrithik Roshan will be accompanied by math wizard Anand Kumar for the promotions of Super 30.

The film is scheduled for theatrical release in India on 12 July 2019, as the release date was advanced by fourteen days.

Vikas Bahl has been alleged in sexual misconduct matters from actress Nayani Dixit and a Phantom employee. He was fired by Phantom, which then disbanded, with debates over direction credit. Later, Reliance Entertainment cleared him of sexual misconduct charges post an internal inquiry, and thus he was taken back as the director of the film.

Ajay Atul composed the music for the film, making it second collaboration with Hrithik Roshan after Agneepath and lyrics are written by Amitabh Bhattacharya.

After a long wait, the makers of Hrithik Roshan starrer 'Super 30' released the trailer of the film which has instantly struck a chord with the audience. Even Hrithik's de-glam look has been the talk of the town.

Hrithik himself had taken to social media to share the trailer of his most ambitious project and had written "Not all Superheroes wear capes. It’s the ideas that make a nation. It's the people who empower it. Presenting one such story from the heartland of India #Super30Trailer"

Super 30 casts Hrithik as a Bihar-based mathematician, who trains students from economically weaker sections of the society for the IIT entrance exams. Twitter spent most of its time discussing his brown face and Bihari accent. Super 30 casts Hrithik as a Bihar-based mathematician, who trains students from economically weaker sections of the society for the IIT entrance exams. In order to do so, Hrithik's character forsakes his job as a maths teacher at an established institute. The film is based on Anand Kumar's life, founder of the Super 30 educational programme.

B-town has given thumbs up to Hrithik Roshan's 'Super 30' trailer. It loved the idea of the film chronicling the story of Kumar from tutoring rich children in a top coaching centre to opening his own institute to educate the underprivileged. Bollywood celebs are going gaga over the recently released trailer of Hrithik Roshan's 'Super 30' in which he essays the role of mathematician Anand Kumar. Making a comeback after a hiatus of two years, Hrithik has surely made a mark with the trailer.

Donning a simplistic look, Hrithik's performance in the trailer seems promising enough and has all the elements to keep you glued to the screen. The film also stars Mrunal Thakur, Amit Sadh, and Nandish Sandhu in pivotal roles. 'Super 30' underwent a couple of changes in its release date with Hrithik trying to avoid a clash with Kangana Ranaut and Rajkummar Rao-starrer 'Mental Hai Kya' at the box office.

Hrithik Roshan's battle with stammering is well known. The actor, who's built a legacy for himself, had problems speaking when he was younger. Hrithik has also never shied away from playing characters with difficulties or disabilities, like in 'Koi Mil Gaya' and 'Guzaarish'. The trailer of his much awaited film on mathematician Anand Kumar released on Tuesday afternoon and many Bollywood celebs took to social media to appreciate it. Following suit, The Indian Stammering Association, a self-help organisation for Indians who stammer, tweeted in support of Hrithik and the trailer of 'Super 30'. Commending Hrithik's openness on facing the hurdle of stammering, they wrote that this is perhaps the "best trailer" of the year.

The two-and-a-half minute trailer gives a glimpse of mathematician Anand Kumar's journey from tutor to wealthy privileged students to guru of those from economically weaker background aspiring to the Indian Institutes of Technology or the IITs. Hrithik Roshan, in inexplicable brownface, plays Anand Kumar, who decides that his talent will be put to better use by teaching meritorious students, who do not have the means to afford the fees charged by coaching centres targeting the entrance exam of the IITs. There are also snippets of Anand's childhood, which deeply motivated him first to earn money and then later, to help those who like him couldn't afford top quality education. The makers use The Phantoms' song Unstoppable Now in the background which is the cherry on the top. 'Not all superheroes wear capes,' Hrithik Roshan captioned the trailer on social media.

As soon as Hrithik Roshan released the trailer of his upcoming film Super 30, fans of the Kaabil actor could not contain their excitement after seeing their favourite superstar back on the silver screen after 2017. Hrithik returns to the theaters on July 12, as he portrays the Bihar-based mathematician Anand Kumar in Super 30, which is directed by Vikas Bahl. Super 30 saw Hrithik in a leaner body shape than he is usually in, while his look, including hair, clothes and demeanour, change dramatically too. Earlier, he had discussed how he lost weight to get into the skin of the character. All the efforts are reflecting in the two-and-a-half-minute-long trailer as Hrithik steals the show and inspires people with his idiosyncratic portrayal of Anand Kumar.

Dinesh Kamath's Editorial 'Controversy over Hindi imposition' that was published in Newsband

Controversy over Hindi imposition

The language issue has acquired disproportionate importance. The ruling party is embarking on its second innings with a huge mandate. It does not have much of a presence in South India, barring Karnataka. It does not want trouble with southern States, especially Tamil Nadu.

The newly unveiled draft National Education Policy to mandatory teaching of Hindi in all States was withdrawn following an outcry from political leaders in Tamil Nadu.

The gist of the original sentence in the draft NEP was that in Hindi-speaking States they continued to study Hindi, English and one other Indian language of their choice, and those in non-Hindi-speaking States would study their regional language, besides Hindi and English. The revised draft merely says students may change one or more of their three languages in Grade 6 or 7.

The Constitution had adopted Hindi as the official language, with English also as an official language. Language is primarily a utilitarian tool. While acquisition of additional tools can indeed be beneficial, compulsory learning should be limited to one’s mother tongue and English as the language that provides access to global knowledge and as a link language within India.

The three language policy is totally good but the problem is that some politicians and parties of south find this type of policy as a political tool. The problem is not the people of those states. The people are keen to learn Hindi as a communicating language for the pan India and the whole population do not understand the English to communicate with each other.

Not learning Hindi as a language under political pressure is detrimental to the long term interest of Tamil students who cannot find all the jobs in TN and have to move out to other parts of India. All TN schools must provide opportunities to learn Tamil, English and Hindi to enable the students to learn Hindi if they wish. If a young IAS aspirant studies only Tamil and English and when posted outside TN in any northern state, he will feel handicapped due to lack of knowledge of Hindi. Imposition is not at all desirable but opportunities should not be blocked due to political activism.

How does a Tamilan converse with a Gujarati? Or a Malayalee with a Bengali? The permutations of the crisscross of India's language mosaic are endless. Hindi is an easy way to end the confusion.  A simple, practical knowledge of Hindi is what the center should have aimed for with persuasion and incentives - not imposition.

This is a political reality. In principle the understanding of HIndi by all citizens of India is a laudable objective. The lack of communication between the elites who have little knowledge of the language spoken by the majority has led to the current situation where the gullible masses are led into a garden path of past glory.

No attempt is being made to strengthen the institutions like the Dakshin Bharat Hindi Prachar Sabha to carry the knowledge of Hindi to the masses. That is sad!

Dinesh Kamath's column 'Movie World: ‘Chopsticks’ is a film without ‘formula’ based content' that was published in Newsband

Movie World

‘Chopsticks’ is a film without ‘formula’ based content

By Dinesh Kamath

The Hindi film industry is still running behind the usual "formula" based content. There is no experimentation being done. Actor Abhay Deol believes the web space is a "godsent opportunity" because it provides opportunity to experiment.

In Hollywood, their drama became so good on TV that now you only see superhero films releasing (in theatres) as cinema has become all about a spectacle. If you want to watch good drama, then you watch it on HBO or Netflix.

In India, films have never actually gone beyond the formula. But there are expectations for Bollywood to match up. The 43-year-old actor, was himself a part of Shah Rukh Khan-starrer Zero, which fell flat at the box office.

The audience is done with "larger than life stories" in Hindi films. That’s the reason why Abhay is making his digital debut with Netflix’s Chopsticks.

In Sachin Yardi-directed Chopsticks, Abhay will be seen playing a conman alongside actress Mithila Palkar. This is not the first time Abhay will be seen playing a conman. It is a role he memorably played in Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye!. This (Chopsticks) character is far more suave and urban from the Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye! character. And for him, stealing is something he does with a passion. It's something he's good at.

Chopsticks is an Indian Hindi-language comedy drama film directed by Sachin Yardi and produced by Ashvini Yardi. It stars Abhay Deol and Mithila Palkar in the lead roles. The film is a story of a woman who is referred to an enigmatic con man who agrees to help recover her stolen car from a thug for free, and how it brings about change in their lives. It was released on 31 May 2019 worldwide on Netflix.

The film has Abhay Deol as Artist, a con man, Mithila Palkar as Nirma Sahastrabuddhe, a Mandarin translator, Vijay Raaz as Faiyaz Bhai, Benafsha Soonawalla as Ananya, Achint Kaur as Zacharia and Narendra Khatri as Farooq, a caterer.

Rohan Naahar of the Hindustan Times rates the film with two out of five stars. He feels it has muddled story which is low on comedy, and writes, "Like the inconvenient cutlery it is named after, there’s little reason to try it if there are alternatives to be found." Shrishti Negi of the News18 also rates the film with two out of five stars and opines that the film never rose to its true potential. Anupama Chopra of Film Companion opines that the humour inherent in a sitcom has not come out as the film scenes are preposterous.

The movie talks about what happens when a young girl, a mysterious con man, and a goat-loving goon indulge in a cat-and-mouse chase to retrieve a stolen car? This is what unfolds in Netflix's latest Indian original offering, Chopsticks, starring Abhay Deol and Mithila Palkar. The film has been written and directed by Sachin Yardi (Kya Super Kool Hain Hum).

This is the plot. The film talks about a cat-and-mouse chase in pursuit of a stolen car. An under-confident yet sweet young girl buys herself a brand new car from her hard-earned money, only to get it stolen the same evening. The rest of the film chronicles her quirky but transformative journey to retrieve her car from a local gangster, with the help of a charming con man.

Chopsticks, in a way, is like a start-up idea that sounds cool, to begin with, but when put to action, it fails to make a mark. The film's initial half-an-hour is engaging, and promises an entertaining ride.

Abhay and Mithila play their top game. Mithila Palkar (Little Things, Karwaan) as the shy and naive Nirma Sahastrabuddhe, working as a Mandarin translator in Mumbai, delivers a sweet and memorable performance. She is enjoyable in almost all her scenes. On the other hand, Abhay Deol, as an eccentric and charming con man, is effortlessly compelling. For someone who has pulled off way harder roles, this one is an easy picking. Vijay Raaz and Arun Kushwah are great. Vijay Raaz as the short-tempered local gangster, Fayyaz bhai, who, for some unknown reason, is obsessed with goats, is flawless as usual. Having done uncountable roles of this kind in the past, this is an easy turf for the Gully Boy actor. Arun Kushwah also appears in a small role, in the form of a saving grace in this otherwise boring film.

Netflix has aggressively targeted India for growth and the new projects will follow the critically acclaimed crime drama series Sacred Games, upcoming cricket drama show Selection Day and the eagerly anticipated historical epic series Baahubali: Before the Beginning based on the hugely successful film franchise.

Here is some more information about the characters of the film Chopstic. Nirma Sahastrabuddhi (Mithila Palkar) is an introvert, under-confident Mandarin translator, who tends to vie with her fellow colleagues for their boss’ attention in order to grab more important opportunities at work. Even though she is regular and proactive in her job, she ends up showing Dharavi and Dhobi Talao to foreign tourists. While her colleagues deal with international bankers at five stars. Her less developed vocabulary (‘work outing’) and poor pronunciation-- she pronounces the ‘L’ letter in Salmon-- always prove a formidable obstacle to her success. She is scared and awkward in social interactions as well, until a tragedy triggered her to step up and communicate with the most random people under the sun. Soon, she embarks on a thrilling adventure when she enlists an attractive conman Mr Artist (Abhay Deol) who eventually becomes her guide toward recovering her stolen car from a Mumbai thug.

Abhay Deol’s character is so cool that he can open any safe or lock without the keys. How? Well, he believes that every lock has a heart and he simply needs to hear its heartbeat to open it. Deol’s comical smirk of complicity is appealing, and soon we see Nirma and he are hanging out, having fun and not admitting to themselves or each other their growing tenderness.

There’s a goat-loving gangster, too, in the movie— played by incredibly exceptional Vijay Raaz. However, his scenes are only limited to giving out weird punishments to people.

Chopsticks uses its premise to explore a variety of themes, including loneliness, social phobia and romance. But it only pretends to work towards a climax which turns out to be wholly disappointing.

Dinesh Kamath's Editorial 'A challenge for the new FM' that was published in Newsband

A challenge for the new FM

The economic crisis is deepening. The second Modi government takes office amid a clear economic slowdown. The new Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, is facing an under-performing economy. The unemployment data, controversially suppressed by the Union government so far, showed that joblessness was at a 45-year high of 6.1% in 2017-18. These numbers highlight the challenges ahead for Ms. Sitharaman as she sits down to draft the Budget for 2019-20, to be presented on July 5.

The good news is that inflation is undershooting the target and oil prices are on the retreat again. But the rural economy remains in distress. Overall economic growth in the first quarter of this fiscal is likely to remain subdued, and any improvement is unlikely until the late second quarter or the early third. There are not too many options before the new Finance Minister.

She has to boost consumption and take measures to boost private investment. A rate cut by the Reserve Bank of India, widely expected this week, would certainly help boost sentiment. But it is the Budget that will really set the tone for the economy.

The easy part was winning the election by appealing to Hindu Nationalist sentiment and increasing tensions with Pakistan over the Pulwama incident. Now however with the economy slowing and unemployment rising, Modi will have to take the needed steps to introduce market labor and land reforms. As a result FDI is declining. There is little difference between NDA and UPA in this regard.

The economy as a whole is terribly saddled due to the NPAs that wiped nearly $200 billion from banks' capital, bottle necking further flow of credit to industries. Government must immediately bring back the Land Acquisition Bill to remove bottlenecks faced by huge investors & making India more attractive for investment in order to fill the capital deficiency. Easing of labor laws is a must to make sure protection laws don't hinder & push back investors. We need to roll out red carpet to them to generate jobs.

Some people, when reporting about India's problems, always search for negative news about India and highlight it. It is not just India but the whole world which seems to be going through an economic slowdown. The Modi government does show promise of helping India overcome this slowdown.

National Economic development is not a magic-wand. Action needs years of Planning, Resources conversions, Education, Management/Administration to steer and maneuver the country to the position of top economic power.

Though some external factors do influence the economy in a liberalised world, our nation has great potential to tackle the internal economic issues. Fortunately, the nation is also rich in professionals in the field. The finance minister needs to take advice from the economists too & take the most optimum steps to rebuild the economy.

Lastly, the expected rate-cut by Reserve Bank of India should not reduce the interest rates on the deposits of Senior Citizens in the country.

Dinesh Kamath's column 'Movie World: Campus related movies made by Bollywood filmmakers – Part 1' that was published in Newsband

Movie World

Campus related movies made by Bollywood filmmakers – Part 1

By Dinesh Kamath

Everybody had their favourite phase of life at 'college' or 'school'. We all reminisce the time when we had no obligations, no responsibilities, lots of fun, and little bit of studies. Bollywood has often made movies on this theme. These movies make you remember the good old times. These following college movies will definitely take you back in time.

1. Kuch Kuch Hota Hai

Kuch Kuch Hota Hai has undoubtedly earned the status of a classic film with the whole mini skirts scene, westernisation, a stud boy, college romance, and the works. This film will remind you your puppy love and your best buddy of college days.

Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (English: Something... Something Happens) also known as KKHH, is a 1998 Indian Hindi-language romantic drama film, released in India and the United Kingdom on 16 October 1998. It was written and directed by Karan Johar, and starred the popular on-screen pair of Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol in their fourth film together. Rani Mukerji featured in a supporting role, while Salman Khan also had an extended-cameo appearance. Sana Saeed, who was featured in a supporting role, made her debut in this film. The plot combines two love triangles set years apart. The first half covers friends on a college campus, while the second tells the story of a widower's young daughter who tries to reunite her dad with his old friend.

Filmed in India, Mauritius, and Scotland, this was Johar's directorial debut. One of his goals for the film was to set a new level for style in Hindi cinema. The music was composed by Jatin-Lalit, was the biggest seller of the year. Kuch Kuch Hota Hai received a positive reception from critics, with special praise directed to Kajol's performance. The film was successful in India and abroad, becoming the highest-grossing Indian film of the year and the third highest-grossing Indian film ever. Outside India, the film was the highest grossing Hindi film ever until its record was broken by Karan's next directorial, Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham... (2001).

The film received numerous accolades, including the National Film Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment and awards in the "Best Film" category at the Filmfare Awards, Zee Cine Awards, Screen Awards, and Bollywood Movie Awards. The film won 8 Filmfare Awards and is the only film to win all four acting awards at the ceremony, namely Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress.

2. 3 Idiots

This one is for all those hostel boys in the engineering colleges! Based on Chetan Bhagat's novel, 3 Idiots is a must watch. The movie talks about three college students, college romance, the super strict professor, the stress of exams, or the super stress of college placements etc.

3 Idiots is a 2009 Indian coming-of-age comedy-drama film co-written (with Abhijat Joshi) and directed by Rajkumar Hirani. Starring Aamir Khan, R. Madhavan, Sharman Joshi, Kareena Kapoor, Boman Irani and Omi Vaidya, the film follows the friendship of three students at an Indian engineering college and is a satire about the social pressures under an Indian education system. The film is narrated through parallel dramas, one in the present and the other ten years in the past. It also incorporated real Indian inventions, namely those created by Remya Jose, Mohammad Idris, Jahangir Painter and Sonam Wangchuk.

Produced by Vidhu Vinod Chopra under the banner Vinod Chopra Films, 3 Idiots received critical and commercial success upon its release on December 25, 2009. The film was the highest-grossing film in its opening weekend in India, had the highest opening day collections for an Indian film up until that point and also held the record for the highest net collections in the first week for a Bollywood film. It also became one of the few Indian films at the time to become successful in East Asian markets such as China and Japan, eventually bringing its worldwide gross to ₹392 crore ($90 million)—it was the highest-grossing Indian film ever at the time. The film also had a social impact on attitudes to education in India.

The film won six Filmfare Awards including Best Film and three National Film Awards including Best Popular Film. Overseas, it won the Grand Prize at Japan's Videoyasan Awards, and was nominated for Best Outstanding Foreign Language Film at the Japan Academy Awards and Best Foreign Film at China's Beijing International Film Festival. This film was remade in Tamil as Nanban (2012), which also received critical praise and commercial success. Nanban had a Telugu dubbed version titled Snehitudu. A Mexican remake, 3 Idiotas, was also released in 2017.

3. Fukrey

Fukrey is a funny movie. With no A-list star in its cast, and just with a bunch of newbies, the film stood out because of a pretty interesting story line. The movie proves that the kids who go to not so popular colleges, sometimes, have double the fun. Fukrey dealt with different issues of college life less pocket money and the urge to impress your girlfriend etc.

Fukrey (transl. Slackers) is a 2013 Indian Hindi-language comedy film, directed by Mrighdeep Singh Lamba, produced by Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani, and starring Pulkit Samrat, Varun Sharma, Ali Fazal, Manjot Singh, Richa Chadda, Vishakha Singh, and Priya Anand. The story and dialogues are written by Vipul Vig and the screenplay is written by Vig and Lamba. Produced under the Excel Entertainment banner, the film was released on 14 June 2013.[6] Despite a poor opening, the film went on to become a sleeper hit.

4. Main Hoon Na

The movie is about casanova guys, and tomboy girls and also for that lovestruck guy/girl who had a major crush on their professor, a love triangle, a stud boy, a super strong bond of friendship between a guy and a girl, a hot professor, and what not!

Main Hoon Na (English: I am here) is a 2004 Indian action-comedy film, co-written and directed by Farah Khan in her directorial debut. The screenplay was written by Farah Khan and Abbas Tyrewala based on the story by Anvita Dutt Guptan. The film stars Shah Rukh Khan, Zayed Khan, Sushmita Sen, Amrita Rao and Sunil Shetty. Amisha Patel and Ayesha Takia were the original choices for Amrita Rao’s role. It was remade into Tamil as Aegan starring Ajith Kumar, Nayantara and Pia Bajpai.

The film is the story of Indian army Major Ram Prasad Sharma (Shah Rukh Khan) who becomes embroiled in the events to ensure that "Project Milap" - the releasing of civilian captives on either side of the borders of India and Pakistan - can take place as a sign of trust and peace between the two nations. Main Hoon Na is one of the most successful Indian films discussing the Indo-Pakistani conflict from a neutral point of view. The film was shot at St. Paul's School, Darjeeling, West Bengal, India.

It is the first film of Shah Rukh Khan's production company Red Chillies Entertainment. It was released on 30 April 2004 and received positive reviews from critics.

Dinesh Kamath's Editorial 'Unemployment is still a major problem' that was published in Newsband

Unemployment is still a major problem

The data released by the government on a day when ministers of the Narendra Modi cabinet took charge showed 7.8% of all employable urban youth being jobless, while the percentage for the rural was 5.3 %. The joblessness among males on all-India basis was 6.2%, while it was 5.7% in case of females.It also showed that the unemployment rate for males was higher at 7.1% in cities compared to 5.8% in rural areas. Similarly, the joblessness for women was also higher in urban areas at 10.8% compared to 3.8% in rural areas.

It is important to note that with the rise in education levels in the economy and rise in household income levels, the aspiration levels of educated youth have also risen. Unemployment is higher among general category despite their merit. Wrong selection process, of kicking out deserving meritorious to facilitate quota rules should be assessed in the interest of consumers. This is creation of artificial scarcity of intelligentsia.

The unemployment issue has to be addressed by the Government and necessary steps need to be taken on war footing as like steps are being taken for farmers, traders. Government cannot afford to ignore the unemployment problem.

Unemployment and under-employment have been a long-standing problem in the Indian economy. According to a 2013 report by Pravin Sinha, the Indian labor force has been officially classified by the Indian government into three categories:

Rural sector, which includes the farm labor, Urban formal sector, which includes factory and service industry labor with periodic salaries and coverage per Indian labor laws and Urban informal sector, which includes self-employment and casual wage workers.

The rural and informal sectors of the Indian labor market accounted for 93% of the employment in 2011, and these jobs were not covered by the then existing Indian labor laws. According to the 2010 World Bank report, "low-paying, relatively unproductive, informal sector jobs continue to dominate the [Indian] labor market." "The informal sector dominates India’s labour markets and will continue to do so in the medium term", states the World Bank, and even if the definition of the "formal sector is stretched to include all regular and salaried workers, some 335 million workers were employed in the informal sector in 2004–5".

What are the causes of Unemployment in India? According to Alakh Sharma, the causes of high unemployment and under-employment in India is a subject of intense debate among scholars. A group of scholars state that it is a consequence of "restrictive labor laws that create inflexibility in the labor market", while organized labor unions and another group of scholars contest this proposed rationale. India has about 250 labor regulations at central and state levels, and global manufacturing companies find the Indian labor laws to be excessively complex and restrictive compared to China and other economies that encourage manufacturing jobs, according to the economist Pravakar Sahoo. According to Sharma, the Indian labor laws are "so numerous, complex and even ambiguous" that they prevent a pro-employment economic environment and smooth industrial relations. India needs "labour market reforms that address the needs of both employers and workers", and it should rewrite its labor laws that protects its workers, provides social security for workers between jobs, and makes compliance easier for the industry. According to The Economist the Indian labor laws are inflexible and restrictive, and this in combination with its poor infrastructure is a cause of its unemployment situation.

Steps taken by the Government are not sufficient. Government did come up with solutions like Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act 2005, Steps taken on Disguised Unemployment and National Career Service Scheme. But still more is left to be done in this area.

Dinesh Kamath's column 'Movie World Movie Rockstar (2011) in which Nargis Fakhri romanced younger than her Ranbir Kapoor' that was published in Newsband

Movie World

Movie Rockstar (2011) in which Nargis Fakhri romanced younger than her Ranbir Kapoor

By Dinesh Kamath

There are many actresses who have romanced actors younger than them on the big screen. Coming to Nargis’ debut film Rockstar, it starred Ranbir Kapoor opposite her and well, she is even 3 years older than Ranbir. Here are some information about the film ‘Rockstar’.

Rockstar is a 2011 Indian musical romantic drama film directed by Imtiaz Ali, starring Ranbir Kapoor and Nargis Fakhri, with music composed by A. R. Rahman. The film also stars Moufid Aziz, Aditi Rao Hydari, Piyush Mishra, Shernaz Patel, Kumud Mishra in supporting roles, and also Shammi Kapoor, who makes his last silver screen appearance. The film was produced by Eros International Ltd. along with Shree Ashtavinayak Cine Vision Ltd. It follows Janardhan Jakhar a.k.a. JJ or Jordan, who dreams of becoming a rockstar like his role model, Jim Morrison. Yet, eventually on attaining all that he dreamt of, Jordan ends up anguished and despondent, by the loss of Heer Kaul, whom he loved passionately and whose illness is inadvertently caused by Jordan himself.

Development of Rockstar commenced in May 2010. Nargis Fakhri was cast as the female lead, after plans to give the role to Kareena Kapoor were shelved. Filming in India took place at Delhi, Kashmir, Mumbai and Dharamsala, while the foreign sequences were shot in Prague and Liberec, Czech Republic.

Rockstar was released on 11 November 2011. On the day of release, Tibetans in Chennai and Dharmasala protested against the Central Board of Film Certification for asking the film-makers to censor scenes featuring the Tibetan flag. Upon release, the film received positive to mixed reviews. Critics highlighted Kapoor and Rahman as the stars of the film, but criticized the plot. The film did well at the box office, managing to appeal the youngsters in the cities. Made on a budget of ₹600 million (US$8.7 million), Rockstar grossed ₹1.08 billion (US$16 million) worldwide. Kapoor and Rahman received numerous awards for their work in the film. It is considered a cult classic in India due to its popularity in youth even after years of its release.

Raja Sen of Rediff gave the film 4 stars out of 5 and wrote, "Rockstar is a simple, unspectacular tale, sometimes even predictable, but director Imtiaz Ali masterfully weaves in details that draw us in." Aniruddha Guha of DNA too gave the film 4 out of 5 saying that the film was "like an effective crescendo that leaves you wanting more." Nikhat Kazmi of The Times of India also gave the film 4 out of 5 and stated that "The highpoint of Rockstar is it's high tension, high-on-passion romance between two unlikely people".[30] Sukanya Verma of Rediff rated it 3.5 stars out of 5 and said, "Rockstar is flawed but fabulous." Mayank Shekhar of Hindustan Times also gave a rating of 3.5 out of 5 and noted "The canvas is wide like early Sanjay Leela Bhansali's; bird's view of the stunning bridge is very Mani Ratnam; witty, earthy dialogues are so Vishal Bhardwaj. Director Imitiaz Ali manages to retain a personal, auteur's touch in a genre vastly commercial, mainstream. This is a rare feat." Taran Adarsh of Bollywood Hungama gave the film 3 out of 5 stars, and said "On the whole, Rockstar does not live up to the confidence and expectations from the otherwise very skilled and accomplished film-maker Imtiaz Ali." Hrithik Sharma of El Viaje Reviews included it into his select list of Bollywood classics and says that "Rockstar is a unique cocktail of 50% drama, 40% romance and 10% comedy. What stands out is the music by A. R. Rahman. Each song in the film is a masterpiece and fits very well into the plot. Cinematography is realistic but prepossessing indeed. The film gets a 10 on 10 in this department. There are certain scenes in the film that may seem unrelated to the plot but those would be the scenes that would stay with you longer." Rajeev Masand of CNN-IBN also gave 3 stars out of 5, commenting "Imtiaz Ali's Rockstar is a far-from-perfect film, but it has honesty and depth, which is mostly missing in Hindi movies today."

Sumit Bhattacharya of Rediff gave a rating of 2.5 out of 5, saying that "Rockstar is what is called a one-time watch", and highlighted that the film "is more Devdas than Jim Morrison". Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV too gave the film 2.5 out of 5 stars, and said "Rockstar has a Sufi soul. If only it had been set free and allowed to go the whole hog!" Komal Nahta of Koimoi again gave the film 2.5 out of 5, and said, "Rockstar will meet with a mixed response: one section of the audience (mainly youngsters in the cities) will love it while another section (mainly the single-screen audience and public of smaller cities) will find it ordinary." Kaveree Bamzai of India Today gave the film 2 out of 5 stars and said "AR Rahman's music is the soul of the film. What is missing is the spine, leaving just a jelly in place." Yahoo! gave the film 1 star out of 5, and said "Rockstar drives home an unscientific hypothesis that people who’ve endured sufferings/heart break etc will reach their creative best." A reviewer from Reuters commented that Rahman and Ranbir are the stars of the film while saying "Rockstar works on so many levels, but it fails miserably on so many more.".

Upon release, Rockstar had a very good opening. The film opened to a good response at multiplexes with bookings averaging around 60–70%, and single screens witnessed a lower capacity at around 30–40%. It collected ₹100 million (US$1.4 million) nett on its opening day, thus becoming the second highest opener in a non-festival season after Ready. The good opening was attributed to the multiplexes across cities, the "star power" of Ranbir Kapoor as well as the youthful theme of the film. The film showed growth on Saturday by grossing ₹112.5 million (US$1.6 million) nett, therefore taking its two-day net total to ₹205 million (US$3.0 million). A similar growth was seen on Sunday, and hence the first weekend collection ended at ₹337.5 million (US$4.9 million) nett, the majority of which was collected from Mumbai, Pune, Delhi & Bangalore.

Rockstar opened well on Monday collecting around ₹57.5 million (US$830,000) nett, with 40% drop as compared to the first day collections, thus taking the four-day total to ₹390 million (US$5.6 million) nett. The film collection saw another noticeable fall on Tuesday as it collected around ₹42.5 million (US$610,000) nett, with five days collection totalling to ₹432.5 million (US$6.3 million) nett. At the end of first week, the film had a good collection by grossing ₹474.6 million (US$6.9 million) nett, though the film had found appreciation only with a small section of the audience. In the process, it was ranked ninth in the list of all-time first week domestic collections.

Rockstar grossed ₹25.0 million (US$360,000) nett on second Friday, with a 75% drop as compared to the first day. On Saturday, the film collected ₹32.5 million (US$470,000) nett, and ₹42.5 million (US$610,000) nett on Sunday, taking the second weekend collection totalled at ₹100 million (US$1.4 million), representing a 70% drop from its first weekend. As of ten days, the film had collected approximately ₹574.6 million (US$8.3 million) nett. Rockstar made ₹158.5 million (US$2.3 million) nett in the second week, declining by 67% and taking the two-week collection totalled at ₹633.1 million (US$9.2 million) nett. The film on week three managed to earn ₹29.6 million (US$430,000), and hence taking three weeks collections to ₹662.7 million (US$9.6 million). By the end of its fifth week, the film netted ₹674.9 million (US$9.8 million).

Rockstar managed to gross $1.65 million from all overseas markets and was termed as below the mark. The film collected £185,000 in the UK, $612,000 in North America, $370,000 in UAE and $100,000 in Australia.