Shanghai sojourn

Sizzling Mallika Sherawat on “Kis kiski Kismat” and her chemistry with Dharmendra

Mallika Sherawat: setting the screen on fire

WHEN YOU go to watch Kis Kiski Kismat leave your brains at home, says actress Mallika Sherawat. And if that is not a qualifier for the film, which hit the theatres last Friday, then, she adds, “This time garam Dharam and naram Mallika are going to set the screen on fire.”

Well, well, Mallika, at the top of her voice continues, “I guarantee that people from all nook and corner will come to watch my film.” And here, there could be a reason — the Censor Board did not clear 12 promos of the film to be screened on television but they are very much in the film.

The lady though is more than a tad livid about it. “The censor scissors did not clip the shot where tennis player Anna Kournikova’s skirt flies up in the air. There is also no ban on MTV, FTV and the vulgarity on the Net. But the Censor Board has cut some of the shots in the film without viewing properly,” says Mallika, adding that Indian films’ portrayal of women is senseless. “My roles are real and forthright,” says the actress, the skin-show notwithstanding.

Comedy film

Being sold as “out and out comedy”, Kis Kiski Kismat, Mallika says, “proved to be tough for her as it was difficult to look funny and sexy at the same time”.

Mallika is bowled over by Dharmendra, who sees the film as his comeback vehicle. “I was nervous when I first reached the sets. It was this man whose photographs my nani would hide in her books, my mother followed it in her teens and now their third generation is working with him. It was like a dream come true. Moreover, Dharamji made me feel comfortable and said “chalo hamare Haryana se koi ladki to aayi”. We both Jats are all set to make history. Moreover, my personal graph says that I get along better with oldies than young people,” she smiles.

Talking more about her film roles, Mallika says, “I play real life in my films. We do have flings and extra marital affairs, we do go out with boy friends, kiss and get physically intimate. I am just showing on screen whatever happens in our society. The Censor Board should know what today’s youth want.” According to Mallika, she has portrayed her “dream role” in Kis… but her forthcoming film with Jackie Chan The Myth is “rollicking”. “In The Myth I play an Indian princess who saves Jackie Chan from a dangerous situation, and we fall in love. I had to do few stunt scenes with him. It is difficult to match his energy level. I got bruises all over and my body is still aching.”

And no, she does not forget to “tell people” that she is widely recognised in Shanghai. “My fame reached there before I did. Would you believe in South East Asia, the producers did a press conference when I was there, and 50,000 people attended it.” Well, company matters, Mallika!

* * *

Mallika meter

Mallika hails from Rohtak and started with advertisements of Roohafzah and Amul innerwear.

Made her film debut with a small role in Jeena Sirf Merre Liye starring Kareena Kapoor.

Noticed for her bold portrayal of a married woman in Govind Menon’s Khwahish and hit headlines with Murder, one of the hits of 2004.

Next is The Myth with Jackie Chan in which she plays an Indian princess.

RANA SIDDIQUI

Hindu On Net

Man for a crisis

Chris Cairns wears his emotions on his sleeves. That’s how he plays cricket and that’s how he looks at life

New Zealand’s all-rounder Chris Cairns in action

THE LANKY all-rounder is all class. As good as, if not better, than Andrew Flintoff in world cricket. It is probably wrong to ask Chris Cairns whether Andrew is the best if one thinks Chris is. But forgetting for a minute that one was speaking to perhaps the best all-rounder, one still did ask: “It’s easy to answer the question. Andrew is a catalyst for English cricket. I think he’s good.” It’s also probably awkward to ask the best man whether he thinks he’s the best. In any case, looking at this man dive in the slips to pull off a catch, his tall frame in flight, is a sight to behold. When he bowls, he bowls the finest of seams, in and out. And when he bats, he bats big — decimation with flair. Man for a crisis. Chris, here for a promotional event, shared a few thoughts with MetroPlus. His decision to retire from Test cricket may have disappointed many, but he’ll be there for one-dayers. “I’ve to take care of my body. I’d like to play in the 2007 World Cup. I will have played in five World Cups. But it will also depend on how fit I am and how I carry my form.”

On Windies

He’s happy that the Windies, after a long, long time, won a championship, the ICC, in England. There are a few cracks in the team, “but the win is a boost for the team, for cricket, and for those hit by the hurricane.” He isn’t entirely happy though that cricket is welcoming anyone and everyone too soon. “New teams should certainly play, but they can do so in a second grouping and graduate from there.”

On the India-Australia series, he says an Indian win unlikely. “The Aussies are here with intense concentration and some guys realise this may be their last call in cricket and India. Shane may not come back. That’s why they are determined to win.”

The greatest

On Sachin. He has scores to his name, but is a bit patchy, has self-doubt somewhere, and injuries now. Where is Sachin heading? “He is probably the greatest player of your time. He’s a remarkable man. He has lived up to expectations for 16 long years. That is a test of character.” Also, it would do good to scale down expectations of Irfan Pathan to help him turn a world-beater. V.V.S. Laxman is the man to look out for because he plays his shots. Dravid? He’s been doing very, very well against Australia. “Dravid would have been the greatest player in India and the world. He’s just unlucky that Sachin is around.”

Outside cricket, Chris loves golf, reads fiction, and likes Denzel Washington, John Travolta, and Tom Hanks. Russell Crowe is his neighbour. Chris says he’d like to spend more time with his family now. “I really miss them when I’m away.” His children, Thomas and Bram, are free to do what they like. “If it is cricket, it’s fine by me. If it’s not, that too is fine by me.”

If he’s taking care of his body, could we see the charismatic Chris in 2007? “I am not a man to look to yesterday. I live today. And I look to tomorrow.”

G.N.P.

Hindu On Net

Oleh ZABRY MOHAMAD MADZLAN

ABDUL Aziz Zainal menerangkan sesuatu kepada pasangan suami isteri penuntut Kursus Pegawai Ikhtisas KKD Siri 68/2004, Kapten (Dr) Saiful Anuar Ju Ahmad dan Kapten (Dr) Siti Nordiana Dollah di Kem Terendak, Melaka baru-baru ini.

TANGGAL 30 September lalu merupakan detik cukup bermakna buat 43 penuntut Kursus Pegawai Ikhtisas Kor Kesihatan Diraja (KKD) Siri 68/2004. Pada hari tersebut, kesemua mereka secara rasminya berjaya menamatkan kursus anjuran Perkhidmatan Kesihatan Angkatan Tentera Malaysia (ATM) selama sebulan sejak 1 September lalu.

Mereka terdiri daripada 19 Pegawai Perubatan, sembilan Pegawai Pergigian, dua Pegawai Farmasi, lapan Pegawai Tugas Am dan lima Pegawai Tugas Khas.

Upacara perbarisan tamat latihan pegawai-pegawai berkenaan telah diadakan di Institut Latihan Kesihatan Angkatan Tentera (Insan) di Kem Terendak, Melaka.

Panglima Tentera Darat, Jeneral Datuk Abdul Aziz Zainal hadir memeriksa perbarisan dan menyampaikan hadiah kepada penuntut-penuntut cemerlang.

Kapten (Dr) Ahmad Fahmi Mohamad Bustaman, 24, berjaya menerima Anugerah Penuntut Keseluruhan Terbaik.

Anak kelahiran Kuantan, Pahang ini memiliki ijazah Sarjana Muda Surgeri Pergigian (DDS) dari Universiti Sains Malaysia.

Sementara itu, anak jati Kuala Lumpur, Kapten (Dr) Shahril Kamal Shafie, 25, dianugerahkan sebagai Penuntut Akademik Terbaik.

Shahril Kamal mempunyai kelulusan ijazah Sarjana Muda Perubatan (MD) dari Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia.

Kesemua penuntut Kursus Pegawai Ikhtisas KKD Siri 68/2004 mula melapor diri di Insan pada 1 September lalu.

Upacara perasmian kursus berkenaan diadakan keesokan harinya yang disempurnakan oleh Ketua Pengarah Perkhidmatan Kesihatan ATM, Mejar Jeneral Datuk Pahlawan (Dr) R. Mohanadas.

Selama sebulan berkursus, kesemua penuntut didedahkan dengan asas-asas ketenteraan khususnya yang berkaitan dengan KKD.

Mereka menjalani pelbagai bentuk latihan yang meliputi teori dan praktikal.

Latihan-latihan tersebut banyak memberi penekanan kepada ketahanan fizikal dan mental serta sikap setiakawan dan semangat kerja berpasukan.

Kesemua penuntut terbabit menjalani latihan fizikal yang meliputi jasmani pagi, sukan dan jalan lasak.

Aktiviti-aktiviti fizikal ini diselang-seli dengan sesi syarahan dan kuliah di dewan.

Selain itu, latihan-latihan bercorak ketenteraan turut dilaksana seperti menembak, kawad dan panduarah.

Kursus Pegawai Ikhtisas KKD bermula pada tahun 1960 di mana 68 kursus berjaya dilaksanakan sehingga ke hari ini.

Kursus-kursus berkenaan telah dijalankan secara tetap di Insan mulai tahun 1989.

Sebelum itu ia dikendalikan di Sekolah Pegawai Kadet, Port Dickson, Negeri Sembilan dan di Hospital Angkatan Tentera Kinrara (95 HAT), Puchong, Selangor.

Dalam beberapa siri yang dikendalikan sebelum ini, kursus berkenaan turut disertai pegawai-pegawai dari kor lain seperti Kor Jurutera Diraja dan Kor Perkhidmatan Am (Pendidikan).

Pegawai-pegawai yang pernah menerima Anugerah Penuntut Keseluruhan Terbaik pada siri-siri lalu adalah Kapten (Dr) Muhamad Fuad Daud (1997); Kapten (Dr) Mazdy Ismail (1998); Kapten (Dr) Mohd. Rafizi Muhammad (2000); Kapten (Dr) Shamsul Bahary Muhamad (2002) dan Kapten (Dr) Mohd. Farid Alias (2003).

Berdasarkan sejarah ATM, Kapten (Dr) George Arthur Lopes merupakan anak watan pertama ditauliahkan sebagai pegawai perubatan dalam perkhidmatan tentera iaitu pada tahun 1959.

Powered by Utusan Malaysia

Amitabh Bachchan “deeply hurt” by media reports

VARANASI,

OCT. 15.

Actor Amitabh Bachchan today took exception to the reported remarks by Congress MP, Rahul Gandhi, about the comments allegedly made by his wife and actress Jaya Bachchan regarding the ties between the Bachchans and the Nehru-Gandhi family. He termed it a “bundle of lies” and said he might take steps to protect his family’s honour.

Refraining from mentioning Mr. Gandhi’s name, Mr. Bachchan, who is shooting for a film here, told reporters that he was “deeply hurt” by the reported comments in the media describing his family as “liars.” .

Responding to questions on the “deteriorating” relations between the Bachchans and Nehru-Gandhi families, , Mr. Bachchan said that it was regretful that “family matters” were “needlessly being scrutinised by the media and debated by the members and well-wishers of the two families.”

Mr. Bachchan said that relations between the two families had been on a “a strong emotional ground” since the days of the country’s first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, and his father and poet Harivanshrai Bachchan, and he was “pained” that the issue was being scrutinised by the media and others.

As far as he was concerned, the two families continued to respect each other. “We have respect for the Nehru-Gandhi family and will continue to have that.”

Mr. Bachchan regretted certain reported comments on the issue, including those by his wife.

PTI

Hindu On Net

“The Terminal”

THERE IS still such a lot of the child in Steven Spielberg that whether it is a science fiction or not he does not want to let go of the ideal situation and feel-good emotions of love. A befuddled Viktor Navroski from the East European (fictional) country of the Kracozia lands in the John F. Kennedy International Airport, only to be told that America is closed to him. He is taken inside to meet Frank Dixon (Stanley Tucci), the man running JFK’s Homeland Security Office, who tells him that there has been a coup in his country and it exists no more. Until a new government comes into force, this non-English speaking person remains a man without a country. So his nationality and visa are invalid. Which also means that neither can he go back home nor can he enter the U.S. He has to set up temporary residence at the International Transit Lounge where days soon stretch into months.

This sounds like a boring proposition for a film. But what is gleaned from this deceptively slim concept by the director, is so rich in situations and characterisations that this new home is turned into a microcosm of America itself in “The Terminal” — a place that is sometimes tyrannical, yet full of compassion.

Working from a screenplay of Sacha Gervasi and Jeff Nathanson (inspired very loosely from a true story of an Iranian living in an airport in France), “The Terminal” echoes many of the director’s previous films in tone and mood. There are the good and the bad guys, but mostly it is about ordinary guys thrust into extraordinary situations. Thematically and visually there is a luminous quality to his work, which makes for interesting viewing.

Left to fend for himself, Viktor, with every move of his being watched by the antagonistic Frank Dixon, quickly adapts to his new environment. Dixon hopes he will walk out of the exit door so that he can become someone else’s problem and wonders how he can get rid of the guy without breaking any law or messing up his chances of becoming the airport’ s Field Commissioner. But then Viktor does not cross that line.

Initially, Viktor is given some food coupons but they don’t last and his own country’s money is useless so he has to find ways of making money within the terminal to survive.

Being around for so long, he befriends many of the airport staffers like theIndian janitor Gupta (Kumar Pallana) and others from the ethnic minority community. The other very important person he meets frequently is Amelia (Catherine Zeta-Jones) who is a flight attendant in a dead-end relationship with a married man. She is smart enough to know that her’s is a clich
d situation, but not smart enough to do anything about it. Viktor falls in love with her.

Viktor manages to inspire any one who comes in contact with him. And his resolute belief that he will see America and fulfil the purpose for which he has come. A reason that remains a mystery till the very end. “The Terminal” has many contrived parts. But the funny thing is you don’t care – only because the director has such a strong command over his narration and fills it with such delightful, creative sequences and fuzzy warm characters. Viktor is played lovingly and subtly by Tom Hanks. The supporting characters do a good job too.

CHITRA MAHESH

Hindu On Net