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

Video: Dinesh Kamath about movies 'The Godfather' and 'Kalyug (1981)'

Hi Friends, 

Someone asked me as to what type of films I like?  Well, I love films which depicts powerful family drama. In other words, I love films based on powerful families. 

Hollywood film 'The Godfather' and Bollywood film 'Kalyug' (1981) are the two films which appealed to me owing to the fact that both the films depict powerful family drama. 

The Godfather had Marlon Brando playing Vito Corleone who is the head of the family. His sons are Sonny Corleone played by James Caan, Michael Corleone (Al Pacino) and Freddie Corleone. His Godson is Tom Hagen played by Robert Duvall. Vito Corleone has a daughter named Connie. The movie focuses on this family which is a Mafia family. Although it is a criminal family, they have certain rules and regulations which every member of the family is expected to follow. The movie depicts as to how these members of the family keep struggling to be the top among all the Mafia Families which exist in New York.

Bollywood movie 'Kalyug' (1971) too depicted a powerful family drama. This film has Sushma Seth playing  the head of the family. The roles of her sons are played by Raj Babbar, Kulbushan Karbanda and Anant Nag. Rekha plays the role of Raj Babbar's wife. Reema Lagu is shown as wife of Kulbushan Karbanda. Supriya Pathak is depicted first as fiancee of Anant Nag and later she becomes his wife. They are shown as industrialist family and their rival is another industrialist whose role is played by Victor Banerjee. Shashi Kapoor is shown as a person who is extremely loyal to Victor Banerjee. He is a terrific strategist and a powerful brain. The sons of Sushma Seth fear him and want him finished. But actually, Shashi Kapoor is supposed to be the son of Sushma Seth. But Shashi Kapoor is unaware about this fact. Only Sushma Shet is aware of this secret. When Shashi Kapoor realizes that he is Sushma Seth's son, it is too late since Anant Nag manages to get him killed. Even the three sons of Sushma Seth realize that Shashi Kapoor was their blood brother only after he dies. Thus character of Shashi Kapoor is inspired by Karan of Mahabharat. You can as well say that the film Kalyug was the modern version of Mahabharat. 

Thus the movies 'The Godfather' and 'Kalyug (1971)' are the two films which depicted a powerful family drama and hence I loved them a lot. Please watch and listen to my video above in which I've spoken about these two films. Bye!

Dinesh Kamath's Editorial 'Will autonomy ever be granted to the CBI?' that was published in Newsband

Will autonomy ever be granted to the CBI?

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said it would not be appropriate for a police agency to sit in judgment over policy formulation without any evidence of mala fides. Union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram taking the cue from him cautioned the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and other authorities like the Comptroller and Auditor-General against “overstepping their limits”. The government is clearly uneasy with recent developments: the CBI wishes to be seen as being independent and wants to scrutinise decisions such as those relating to allocation of coal blocks, and there is greater public and judicial support for granting it functional autonomy.

The issue of granting autonomy to the CBI is being discussed in great details. According to some politicians, errors of judgment during decision-making should not be misconstrued by an investigating officer as crimes. Experience shows that corrupt deals do take place in the garb of overtly proper administrative decisions, while policies and norms ostensibly serving the public interest are on many occasions framed in such a way as to suit vested interests.

In a Democracy, all the institutions created by the Constitution as well as Legislature are subject to accountability and checks and balances. The Institutions like the Legislature, political executive, Judiciary have constitutionally well defined roles to play and each one is independent of the other; the problem arises only when one tries to step into the domain of the other.

All the talk of granting autonomy to the CBI is hog wash and on the contrary everything done and spoken is to see that the investigating agency functions as the hand maiden of the ruling class is beyond doubt and the latest sermons from the government side is nothing but efforts to clip the wings of the CBI and make it ineffective and to protect the accused selectively according to needs of the times.

Only an independent investigating agency, competent and capable of discharging its duties as per the Constitution to the citizens, without fear of intimidation by Government/big business/politicians or favour to the accused, can establish whether there were genuine "errors of judgment during decision-making" or in fact abuse of power and crimes were committed.

Desire for truth is the essence of good faith. Good faith consists of the psychological fact (and preferably evidence) of making one’s actions and words consistent with ones inner understanding and beliefs: notions

of sincerity, truthfulness, honesty, veracity, authenticity are all part of it. Lying assumes one knows/believes the truth but deliberately does/says otherwise. A free man always acts honestly, not deceptively. It is an unconditional duty. Tell the truth, unless e.g. to save a life, is the norm.

No politician worth his salt will allow any investigative agency to have parallel authority. Under the current regime we are in for a long fight before CBI is defeated with transfers, promotions and judicial enquiries which will break the back of any honest officer who wants to serve the Country - not the regime.

Dinesh Kamath's news item 'CIDCO seeks help of state government and police department' that was published in Newsband

CIDCO seeks help of state government and police department

By Dinesh Kamath

NAVI MUMBAI: The City And Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO) has shortage of staff. CIDCO authorities find it difficult to control those people involved in unauthorized constructions with a small number of officials whom they possess. The number of officials that CIDCO has is very less as compared to the huge expanse of area they have to keep a watch on so that no unauthorized construction takes place here.

CIDCO has come up with an expansion plan and if this is approved then CIDCO will be in a position to do justice. Currently the staff members are less and also they are not provided with adequate security arrangements. There were times when these officials had gone to tackle unauthorized constructions but they were driven out from there. To prevent this happening, CIDCO will need the cooperation of police department too.

 The State government expects too much from CIDCO. This was evident when CIDCO was appointed as the special planning authority for Navi Mumbai Airport Influence Notified Area (NAINA) in the wake of the proposed international airport project. The state government assigned this task to CIDCO in spite of being aware of the shortage of staff that CIDCO was facing.

Sufficient addition in the number of officials in CIDCO department will enable CIDCO to keep the growth of slum areas under check in its jurisdiction as far as Navi Mumbai is concerned.

MD, Sanjay Bhatia, is trying is best to get the state government to strengthen the controller of unauthorised construction department (CUC). CIDCO is in need of more persons to undertake a detailed and comprehensive LIDAR (light detection and ranging) survey of NAINA area to take note of the topography for future planning of the huge landmass. Addition of more members in their currently existing staff will certainly help CIDCO to properly monitor the NAINA area that is the next hot destination for development.

There are 15 nodes in the city. Eight of them belong to NMMC while CIDCO has seven and hence CIDCO is in need of a nodal office with sufficient staff.

It seems that it is difficult to get justice done by state government but there are times when the court comes to the rescue. The CIDCO officials were pleased to get green signal from Bombay high court to clear the mangroves for the airport project. CIDCO has targeted the Ulwe hill where it would like to build parallel runways for the forthcoming Navi Mumbai international airport (NMIA). This freedom granted to it by the court will enable CIDCO to level the hill and facilitate development of the core aeronautical area. The flattening of the hill and clearing the mangrove stretch will help in developing two runways that are designed to run parallel. The runways will be built in such a way that it will be possible for bigger aircrafts to land at the proposed airport. It is not an easy task to cut the hill to the desired level. Since this is a marshy land, strengthening work also needs to be done. CIDCO will have to bear a huge sum to maintain the overall symmetry of the land.

CIDCO has innumerable problems and one of them is where the residents of the city feel harassed by the open illegal activities taking place in CIDCO’s area at Nerul in particular. Here illegal constructions take place and also some unruly mob use the vacant portions to play cards or pursue any other illegal activities. These miscreants gamble and booze openly here and the residents around are terrified. The corporators too are protesting that the plot where the illegal constructions are taking place are actually given on lease to project affected people and hence it cannot be used for any other purpose. CIDCO authorities have been receiving many letters from the residents of this place complaining about the illegal activities taking place in this area but CIDCO feels helpless in the matter of putting a stop to this nonsense. Even though CIDCO’s vigilance department officials keep a watch on this area, the illegal activities continue. However, CIDCO’s CUC department has promised to demolish all the illegal constructions that are found to have come up in this area.

Just recently CIDCO authorities came up with the idea of controlling illegal activities. They are planning to install CCTV cameras at sensitive spots of the city. These cameras will ensure surveillance at the various entry and exit points, commercial centres, public institutions and ensure proper networking of the police department.

The CIDCO area is bigger than the one under the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) jurisdiction and hence CIDCO will need more such cameras than those provided to NMMC. The cameras installed by CIDCO will be integrated by the police department in consultation with the government planning and development bodies. It was police commissioner Ashok Sharma’s idea to let CIDCO install cameras wherever it felt was necessary. The cameras of superior qualities will be allotted to CIDCO and these cameras will also be integrated with the ones installed in banks and important public institutions so that proper tracking can be done. CIDCO will have its central command centre at the police commissionerate’s office. This will make it possible for the police to track and network with different departments. Even the traffic police department will benefit by these cameras which will make it possible for them to have a kind of control over those who break traffic rules.

Thus, like NMMC, CIDCO has its own strong points and shortcomings. CIDCO is trying its best to overcome its shortcomings by seeking help from state government, police department and public in general. It is hoped that CIDCO will in the near future be in a position to solve all the problems of the residents who reside within its jurisdiction in Navi Mumbai. 

Dinesh Kamath's movie columns had made Newsband a popular newspaper in Navi Mumbai?

Hi Friends, 

I've received many e-mails from my Readers asking me why I stopped writing movie column 'Movie and TV World' regularly in the daily newspaper 'Newsband'. In one of my videos I had told my fans that I had to stop writing movie column regularly since our newspaper had come up with the policy that there should be more local news in our daily newspaper 'Newsband'. Since then I restricted myself to writing about the movies only during Friday while rest of the days I am concentrating on writing just local news.

Supriya Iyer of Nerul, who is one of my many fans who write to me regularly, says, "Dinesh, it was your columns based on 'Movie and TV World' which had made the newspaper 'Newsband' very popular among the Readers of Navi Mumbai. It was your movie column that would tempt many residents of Navi Mumbai to buy the copy of the newspaper 'Newsband'. Not only did you personally become popular owing to the movie column, but you also made the newspaper 'Newsband' extremely popular. I and many of my friends are missing your movie columns very badly. However, what we find amazing is that you are very good at writing local news too. We find you writing the local news in as interesting manner as you would write movie columns in the past. We also find your 'Editorials' very interesting to read. As far as your cartoons are concerned, I've no words. Your works are undoubtedly much better than the works of those popular Journalists who work for big newspapers in Mumbai. I feel that the caliber of a journalist should be judged not just by the pay-packet he receives but also by the nature of contributions that he makes to his newspaper. These are not just my views. These are the views of many of my friends also. 

I strongly feel that not only Newsband made Dinesh Kamath but also Dinesh Kamath made Newsband the popular newspaper that it is today. I and, I am sure, many residents of Navi Mumbai are looking forward to reading more and more of your works even in the future. Thanks for keeping us entertained and informed since last nine to ten years and may the Almighty God instill in you the strength to carry on informing and entertaining us for a long, long time in the future too. I luv U, Dino!"

Well, this is one of the many fan-mails which I receive regularly. I thank Supriya Iyer for this beautiful letter. I also thank my other fans who keep sending me e-mails from time to time. I would like to tell you that I am because of all my fans. Had it not been for my fans who read my works regularly, I would have been nowhere today. I once again repeat, "It is my fans who converted me from a 'nobody' to 'Celebrity'." I thank all my fans from the depth of my heart and I hope that they will continue to shower their love upon me even in the future. Bye! 

Dinesh Kamath about Sunny Leone and the current films she is working in

Sunny Leone and the current films she is working in

Sunny Leone will no more be restricted to the ‘adult film industry’ and is now set to be a huge star in Bollywood. Sunny came into India last year with Bigg Boss 6 and instantly became a household name. Soon Sunny was lapped up by Bollywood.

Sunny Leone’s real name is Karenjit Kaur Vohra. She was declared the Penthouse Pet Of The Year in 2003. She was one of the top twelve port stars in 2010 by Maxim. Before entering the porn industry, she would work at a German Bakery and later at a tax and retirement firm.

As far as Bollywood is concerned, Sunny was first spotted by Pooja Bhatt and her father Mahesh Bhatt and her debut Bollywood film was Jism 2 in 2012.  In 2013 Sunny did an item number in Shootout At Wadala.

Sunny in the next couple of months has three films ready to hit the silver screen. Kaizad Gustad’s Jackpot releases on 13 December, 2013; Ekta Kapoor’s horror film Ragini MMS 2 on 17 January, 2014 and last but not the least Tina And Lolo in April 2014 where she is essaying the title role of ‘Tina’.

The fast-paced con-thriller Jackpot set in the world of casino boats and gambling in Goa stars Sunny Leone, Sachin Joshi and veteran actor Naseeruddin Shah, among others. Produced by Viiking Entertainment and Media, the film is written and directed by Kaizad Gustad and shot by cinematographer Arthur Zurowski. The film has got combination of style and substance. It is thrilling, emotional and picturesque, and it makes you laugh. The film has been shot in Goa, Mumbai and Thailand, and might hit the screens on December 13. 

Dinesh Kamath's Editorial 'We need human and not commercial doctors' that was published in Newsband

We need human and not commercial doctors

The Supreme Court deserves to be lauded again this time for having awarded a record compensation of Rs. 5.9 crore in a case of medical negligence. This proves that SC cares for rights of patients and not just that of doctors.

The entire medical profession operates within the purview of the Consumer Protection Act. Through this judgment, the court has sought to address the question of criminal culpability of medical practitioners.

It is not that law doesn’t provide security to medical practitioners. In fact, the police cannot be allowed to proceed against doctors for negligence, unless authorised by expert medical opinion. There is legal protection guaranteed to doctors to facilitate instantaneous and cashless treatment of victims of road accidents.

It is clear that the judiciary has at last struck a reasonable balance between the irreversibility of the loss of a precious human life and holding the medical fraternity to account for dereliction of duty.

The current scenario of for-profit model of providing health care should make the government provide financial aids to poor patients. India’s doctor-to-population ratio is well below the World Health Organisation’s stipulation of one per one thousand and calls for urgent corrective intervention.

The mission of a medical professional is to heal the sick and, arguably, to create a disease-free environment for healthy living. What is needed is medical care without negligence at all. It is possible. Economic model of the country is determining factor to provide negligence-free medical care. The balance between the patients’ rights and that of the doctors should be more in favor of the poor millions who see doctors as God incarnates, as their last and only hope. Doctors are educated, well organized and well paid; we lack all of these things on the other side, in patients.

Privatization in the field of medical care is going to be a curse on these poor patients. The only solution is the establishment of universal health care, a great goal our country should achieve, ensuring same standard of care for one and all at the taxpayers’ expense. Many a time we have

seen human values take a backseat in the medical practice when money reigns this profession. The poor are its victims. We should have an attitude test, in addition to the aptitude test for doctors.

 Let the doctors make money through other professions, if that is their only goal. We need to reemphasize the studies of humanities for doctors

and there should be occasional introspections whether they have genuine patient-friendly attitude.

Government should invest more in medical colleges and ensure that doctors do the mandatory public service, before they fly to other countries to mint gold, after enjoying the subsidized education at our cost.

Most of the doctors, if not all, are working for money and without following any ethics. There is no one to see what they are doing is right or not. There is no regulator. The code of conduct issued by Medical Council of India is not even known to many of the doctors.
Such doctors should be punished and barred from practicing the profession. We need human and not commercial doctors.