Markable

The BNP leader said there was no reason for expressing joy over BJP’s victory

The BNP is not happy over the landslide victory of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the Indian election and claims that arch-rival Awami League is also nervous.
“The people of Bangladesh are not joyous about the Indian election results,” BNP acting secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said at a discussion at the National Press Club yesterday.

“The Awami League has become nervous seeing the result and is making different comments. If you are not nervous then why are you talking so much?” he said.

Fakhrul said: “Ministers of the government have been saying people of Bangladesh and the BNP are happy over BJP’s victory in the Lok Sabha election in India. Where did they see such joy?”

The BNP leader said there was no reason for expressing joy over BJP’s victory.

“Bangladesh is not only a victim to deprivation of water [in its cross-boundary rivers] but also to a multiphase expansionism – from cultural to political expansionism. And alleging India will not bring any benefit because it is working for its own interests.

“India is an independent country and is our neighbour. We expect friendly behaviour from it. It held an election in a democratic manner. We hope that the new government of India will realise the expectations of the people of Bangladesh and take initiatives to resolve outstanding problems.”

On Saturday, Awami League General Secretary Syed Ashraful Islam said those who became joyous about the victory of the BJP were simply unintelligent.

BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia had first congratulated Narendra Modi even before vote counting had ended, Ashraf said.

Fakhrul yesterday alleged that because of the Bangladesh government’s subservient policy, it had failed to resolve the water-sharing problems with India and even protest border killings.

Blaming the government for killing and abduction, Fakhrul said: “People raised their voices after the Narayanganj killings. Such incidents took place not only in Narayanganj but across the country in the last three years. The government has used RAB to eradicate the opposition forces from the country.

India's newest prime minister has set up a a website to collect messages from anyone who has congratulated him on Twitter, Facebook and other forms of social media.

Plenty congratulated Narendra Modi on Friday, when he climbed to the top of India's political ladder. Any tweet with the hashtag #CongratsNaMO will appear on an online "victory wall," which is currently a constantly rotating slideshow of congratulatory text. People can also send a text to a number listed on the site or leave a comment on Modi's Facebook post about the wall (at the time of writing, there were more than 81,000 comments on the Facebook post).

Neeraj Pandey has been on a creative siesta after Special 26. The film that earned rave reviews from the critics, catapulted Akshay Kumar into a league above being a mere Khiladi actor. Kumar was earlier known mostly for his wonderful stunts and fabulous fitness but after Special 26, people began noticing him for his acting as well. With the recent association between Neeraj and Akshay, it seems another sparkling film is at vicinity. The duo have earlier proved their prowess by delivering a memorable and intelligent film, and are all set to strike fortune again it seems.

Recently many news reports informed that Akshay was spotted shooting in Kathmandu, Nepal for an extensive schedule for Pandey’s next film which is a thriller. Though the details of it were reserved carefully, a leading daily reported that the film has been titled ‘Baby’.

The film is expected to release in the Republic Day weekend of 2015. Akshay has been shooting relentlessly for the film. With Gabbar in hand, Akshay has been running on packed schedule. The actor will not take a break and fly down to Istanbul to finish shooting Baby’s second schedule as well.

Well, the Khiladi Kumar’s energy is mesmeric. Keep checking out this space to learn more about the film.

Ravi Shastri, the former India allrounder and IPL governing council member, has warned that a repeat of altercations such as the one involving Kieron Pollard and Mitchell Starc could result in much stiffer penalties for the players, including "double" their match fee or even a ban. 

"They should be given a fine and then a stern warning stating that (if) once more then it could be double the penalty and even a match ban," Shastri told ESPNcricinfo. When asked whether increasing monetary sanctions alone could prevent a breach of the IPL's rules, Shastri remained confident. "It could. It is in the hands of the match referee. But I would tell the player that next time if you even come close (to a breach) you will face serious consequences."

Shastri provided the example of the "stiff" $50,000 fine imposed on then Rajasthan Royals captain Shane Warne during the 2011 IPL for breaching the playing contract. Warne had allegedly verbally abused the then Rajasthan Cricket Association secretary Sanjay Dixit, and a disciplinary panel comprising former IPL chairman Chirayu Amin and Shastri imposed the penalty. "The penalties can be pretty stiff. We penalised Warne an amount which amounted to his match fee for a match. He was on a $700,000 contract with Rajasthan Royals. Tell me one player who has been fined $50,000 anywhere."

Shastri, who also sits on the IPL's code of behaviour committee and the technical committee, said that no advisory has been issued to match referees in light of the Pollard-Starc incident since the officials were aware of the rules. "That is the match referee's jurisdiction. Only after they take a decision do we have a right to comment."

The IPL's handling of the incident has once again reopened the debate about whether slow over-rates are more important to the league than bad behaviour and attract more fines because of the impact on TV programming. Shastri rubbished the notion and said that the IPL had set a better example than anybody else, including the ICC, when it came to penalizing tardy over-rates. "Slow over-rates slow the pace of the game and captains are appropriately fined. No other cricket body in the world takes so strong (an action) as the IPL. Even the ICC can take a leaf out of the IPL."

Shastri had earlier expressed his annoyance at Pollard and Starc's behavior in his Times of India column. "This one went beyond bad behavior," Shastri wrote. "You can joust, tease, stare, have a spat, give a send-off and all that can still be tolerated, but you can't almost come to blows. It bordered on violence, luckily without anything untoward happening. Both aimed to hurt each other with bat and ball. The faults by both are many - disrespect to umpires, abuse of equipment, utter disregard for the name of their employers, contempt for sponsors and injuring the spirit of the game itself.

"Starc likes to provoke. We all watched him give a mouthful to Virender Sehwag after his short ball had rammed the opener on the helmet and gone to the fence. Even that is tolerable in small doses. Pollard was nothing if not physical. Both need to be spoken to with a stern warning and not just a fine."

The altercation began with an exchange of words after Starc bowled a bouncer to Pollard in the 17th over of Mumbai Indians' innings against Royal Challengers Bangalore. Pollard pulled away as Starc ran in for the next delivery, but the bowler continued and bowled the ball at Pollard's body. In response, Pollard threatened to throw his bat at Starc, but it fell close to the batsman. Andy Pycroft, the match referee, fined Pollard 75% and Starc 50% of their match fees.

The bad behaviour in the match, Shastri wrote, wasn't just confined to Pollard and Starc.

"In the same game, [Yuzvendra] Chahal was also involved in a pronounced send-off to the batsman he dismissed," Shastri wrote. "It was Chahal's good luck that Yuvraj Singh was at hand to humour the offended on-field umpires. Mostly it's the bowlers who are stepping out of line.

"All the stakeholders must clamp down on such behaviour. It doesn't improve you as a cricketer much less as a human being. It's been a splendid IPL so far and it deserves better from its performers."

Thursday, May 8, 2014
Start time 2000 (1430 GMT) 

Last season, consistency was one of the characteristics that defined Rajasthan Royals and Sunrisers Hyderabad - their scrappy, minimal-fuss brand of cricket making them popular with fans. This season, however, while Royals have hit on a winning patch and surged to the top half of the table, Sunrisers, despite big additions to their batting, are faltering lower down.

In Sunrisers last game, AB de Villiers played the kind of innings few teams could have done anything about, but their two victories have shown how critical it is for their top order to fire. Perhaps the best example was their victory against Delhi Daredevils in the UAE, where Aaron Finch and Shikhar Dhawan added 56, the best opening stand for the side so far - which set the base for a score of 184. Compare that to their losses in which their highest total has been 155.

Like their batting, the Sunrisers bowling also relies heavily on two individuals - Amit Mishra and Dale Steyn. While Steyn will have recovered from the mauling by de Villiers, Sunrisers could bring back Mishra on a track that can be expected to be a little slower.

Royals settled into their new home ground with a win and they would like to keep that form going. They don't have a stellar away record in the IPL and with their next fixtures against Royal Challengers and Chennai Super Kings, a win here could give them a buffer.

Rajasthan Royals: WWWWL Sunrisers Hyderabad: LWLWL

Rajasthan Royals: 3rd, with 10 points from seven games
Sunrisers Hyderabad: 7th, with 4 points from six games

The teams opened their IPL 2014 campaigns against each other, with Royals huffing their way to a four-wicket win in the last over in Dubai. Shikhar Dhawan and David Warner got starts but Sunrisers were restricted to 133. The Royals reply, meanwhile, revolved solely around a fifty from Ajinkya Rahane and an unbeaten 48 from Stuart Binny, who rescued the chase from a position of 31 for 3.

Karun Nair played a valuable hand in Karnataka's Ranji Trophy title win this season and he seems to have found his feet for Royals too. He takes his time at the start, but once settled he has been unafraid to switch gears, even going after the faster bowlers in the opposition.

Batting at positions between No. 5 and 7, Darren Sammy has come in quite often with Sunrisers stuck in a rut. As the most important batsman in the lower order, his form has denied Sunrisers a final push, putting even more pressure on the top order.

"I just try to pick the best batsman in the team, preferably the one that generally bats at the death and is used to facing yorkers, slower ones and slower bouncers. I try and pair up with him when I can."
James Faulkner gives an insight into his death-bowling preparations.

Fayyaz Ahmed and Mohammad Naveed hold nerve with unbeaten 36-run stand as UAE wins its first match of ACC Premier League by two wickets

Craig Wright will take charge of the coaching responsibilities until Grant Bradburn takes the reins in July

 

The Scotland selectors today named its 13–man squad to face England in the ODI match between Scotland and England on 9 May at Mannofield, Aberdeen.

Kyle Coezter will lead his team out in front of a sell-out crowd in Aberdeen to play England for the first time since 2010 in Scotland’s marquee match of the year.

Aberdeen born Josh Davey, who is now with Somerset, has earned a place in the squad. He last featured in an ODI for Scotland against Pakistan in May 2013. Since making his debut, the all-rounder has played in 11 ODI matches scoring 254 runs at an average of 25.40 and taken 15 wickets at 21.33. He is a like-for-like replacement for the injured Richie Berrington (hamstring).

Some impressive performances by seam bowler Alasdair Evans has earned him a spot alongside Aberdonian’s Michael Leask and Matthew Cross who along with Davey and Coetzer mean that the host city has produced nearly a third of the national squad.

Craig Wright will take charge of the coaching responsibilities until Grant Bradburn takes the reins in July, after which Wright will continue as his assistant.

Wright commented, “The match against England is a wonderful opportunity for us to continue the progress which the team made in New Zealand earlier this year.  The challenge for us regardless of the opposition is to continue to display the strong, positive mentality which was the cornerstone of our recent success.

With the World Cup to look forward to in under a year, this game will be a great chance for us to test ourselves at the type of level we want to be successful at moving forward.  I hope the occasion is a memorable one for Scottish cricket”.

Scotland Squad in full:

Kyle Coetzer (Captain), Freddie Coleman, Matthew Cross, Josh Davey, Alasdair Evans, Majid Haq, Michael Leask, Matt Machan, Calum MacLeod, Preston Mommsen, Safyaan Sharif, Rob Taylor, Iain Wardlaw.

Rating: 3/5 Stars (Three stars)

Star cast: Vijay Raaz, Manu Rishi, Raj Zutshi, Vishwajeet Pradhan

Director: Vijay Raaz

What’s Good: A poignant and humane story contrary to the antagonist ones we hear of India & Pakistan.

What’s Bad: A loopy, repetitive plot line that wears off the film’s novelty.

Loo break: Few in the second half.

Watch or Not?: There can be no two views on the fact Kya Dilli Kya Lahore is an immensely watchable film. Despite spitting similarities with No Man’s Land, the heartfelt plotline holds a certain enigmatic appeal in its story. A Pakistani and an Indian have more in common than expected. Vijay Raaz deserves a pat for tackling the film with superseding gravitas and strength. Loopy second half aside, this film is the closest caliber of recent releases has come to excellent.

User Rating: 

The film opens in 1948 when India and Pakistan’s partition is still afresh. Pakistani soldier Rahmat Ali is sent to the Indian post to retrieve a crucial map. The Indian outpost is left under the guard of the army cook Samarth. The two are stuck in an awkward situation which gets them talking, arguing, blaming only to realize that they both are plagued with similar problems and not for their fault.

Gulzar’s distinctly moving lines narrates the crux of the film. “Lakeerein hain toh rehne do. Kisine rooth kar gusse mein shayad khench di thi.” The India-Pakistan history is troublesome and has been documented multiple times in history, literature and cinema. Bollywood specifically has studied the dynamics of the complexity of the antagonistic relationship existent in many fabulous films from Deepa Mehta’s Earth to a more mainstream Gadar or Veer Zaara. How is this film any different from being in pile on? The film’s narrative is touching but not tear jerking and that is where it stands tall over sappy tales on the issue.

There is not so much of a story but moments and the lovely dialogues that weaves strongly the feeling of the futility of war. It is no Shaw’s Arms and the man and Raaz does understands the limitations of his conversationalist film. He keeps the story tight and flowing but in the film’s second half the novelty erodes. It seemed to be a half baked movie which was stretched tediously.

What particularly impressed me in the film is the accusations and counter accusations! Amidst all the hatred, two very unlikely people traced fondness in the most unusual ways. A Pakistani born and bred in Delhi and an Indian born and bred in Lahore indulge in an enjoyable camaraderie that saves this otherwise paper thin plot which dons a monotonous avatar half way through. The noble head refrains me from complaining too much but with so much potential wasted, it is hard to not crib here.

Manu Rishi is infallible in his role. One of the underused actor in the industry, he puts his heart and soul in role that does full justice to his potential.

Vijay Raaz is brilliant. If it is possible, the actor presents one of his most balanced performances till date. He is nuanced in his work and near perfect at what he does.

Both Manu and Raaz make Samarth Pratap and Rahmat Ali quite unforgettable in a film which won’t stay back for too long.

Vijay Raaz’s debut effort as a filmmaker has a powerful fabric in it. Somehow the narrative reminds one of No Man’s Land without any evident similarities. The futility and tragedy of war is explored quite well by Raaz. Aplomb with intelligence in its lines, the problem lies in maintaining consistency. The new filmmaker loses coherence and beats around the bush conveying the same point after a while. For advantages, Gulzar’s poetry helps but Shandaliya’s avoidable and forgettable music doesn’t help the film’s cause.

In the end, Kya Dilli Kya Lahore portrays quite an emphatic picture of how war and hostility doesn’t benefit anyone. Human beings pitted against each other, brainwashed by ‘nationalistic’ sentiments are afterall people facing similar dilemmas and issues. Raaz and Rishi play a fantastic duo whose affinity remains the film’s best part. As a filmmaker, Raaz doesn’t quite do justice to the tapestry of the film he had in mind but creates a decent watch. I am going with 3/5.

Rating: 1.5/5 Stars (One and Half stars)

Star cast: Tanuj Virwani, Aditya Seal, Izabelle Leite, Sarika, Rati Agnihotri, Manoj Pahwa.

Director: Tanushri Chattrji Bassu

What’s Good: Well, now and then flaunted posters of Jim Morrisson and John Lennon are all you want to see in the film. Also if you have a thing for chalk white beauties, Izabelle Leite could be an eye candy for you.

What’s Bad: Possibly everything. There is less to look forward to in a film that stars one film olds who are trying to act. They falter at crucial scenes and there is no supporting cast to hold on to.

Loo break: Too many.

Watch or Not?: Purani Jeans is easily avoidable. The film offers you nothing interesting or knowledgeable for that matter. It is a film that you may watch if you have absolutely no plans and still want to enjoy the experience of sitting in a theatre and munching on popcorn without wondering what is going on the screen.

User Rating: 

Purani Jeans is a ‘ghisa-pita-purana’ love triangle. The same old best friends falling for one girl story. Set in the Himachal’s sleepy town Kasauli, it is about a 90s summer that gets hormones raging for the ‘Kasauli Cowboys’ and that is where the turning point is.

What happens when two best friends fall for the same girl? Well, we have seen it before but Purani Jeans redoes it with a little more emotional drama.

This script has ample faults. To start with, it is highly predictable and lacks any kind of novelty. The characters are too clichéd, with one spoilt rich kid and the other guy coming from a poor background who wants to make it big. The story even though set in Kasauli has the characters using the Delhi lingo, it’s as if the youth all over India talks the ‘Kariyo’ way.

The disparity between Tanuj’s character Siddharth and Aditya’s spoilt Sam almost reminds us of the Student Of The Year duo Sidharth Malhotra and Varun Dhawan who share the same kind of friendship and falling for the same girl element.

A lot instances in the film promote regressive ideas. There are also instances in the film where there is no connectivity in scenes; the script is not well woven.  A young group of guys calling themselves ‘Kasauli Cowboys’ and having vows exchanged reminds us of the high-school sorority girls that we often find in Hollywood films.

It is hard to believe that even after a film like Luv U Soniyo, Tanuj Virwani thinks of acting again. He struggles through majority of the scenes. There are scenes where you cannot tell what his random expressions want to convey.

On the other hand Izabelle Leite acts as though it is a fairness cream commercial. She has a bland smile in most of the scenes which signifies absolutely nothing.

With Tanuj and Isabelle in a desperate ‘attempt’ to act, Aditya Seal the young guy from ‘Ek Chotisi Love Story’, could be the only actor who stands out in the film. He is not exactly brilliant but manages to ‘act’ unlike the rest of the cast.

Even an experienced actress like Sarika falters in the film. Shown to be ‘drunk’ in majority of the scenes, Sarika is a complete disappointment in her role.

The film starts with a quote by Jim Morrison, “A friend is someone who gives you total freedom to be yourself”. Unfortunately, after this quote, there is less that is worth looking forward to.

The film lacks any kind of originality. It is the same old coming of age love story. In fact it gets highly chauvinistic in certain scenes. Being directed by a woman, it shocked me to find scenes that are offensive towards the female audience. The reference of ‘Always marry a virgin’ being a ‘cowboy’ rule had me disgusted in a 21st century film. Also the oftenly made passes at ‘blonde’ girls were unnecessary. Tanushree’s debut film has every element that has been done to death in any film dealing with youth such as the scenes of drinking and jumping in water bare shirt or the teenage girl getting pregnant and then dealing with abortion.

The first half of the film is a drag and there are some evident mistakes such as Tanuj’s character Siddharth not knowing the punk rock band ‘The Doors’ while the wall of his room shows the lyrics of John Lennon’s ‘Imagine’ written in clear letters. The whole ‘Purani Jeans is like friendship’ reference is quite lost in the film as the friendship as such is not evident in the film.

The film is like any other youth centric film that fails to portray the emotions of friendship and love in a relatable manner. There is less cohesiveness in the story and more often that not one loses interest. Purani Jeans is a fickle attempt to make you relive your college memories. The least you expect in a film aimed at the youth is to have a good music, but Ram Sampath seems to have lost his midas touch as the musical tones rather than uplifting the film make it sink even more. Purani Jeans is passable and I would recommend it only if one has a strong urge or a ‘hunger pang’ to watch a film for the sake of it.

Reviews from Koimoi.com

All releases from this week will suffer a bad hit at the box office with all of them opening to abysmally low occupancy figures, none of them even reaching the 10% mark. Amongst the releases, the best one will be Purani Jeans and Kya Dilli Kya Lahore. But scoring above all at the occupancy charts is the The Amazing Spiderman 2 that will be reigning over the Hindi releases this week at the multiplexes mostly.

The Hollywood superhero flick that opened yesterday saw tremendous results already and ousted most Hindi films from the vicinity. Prevailing films 2 States too will suffer from it and the newer films will barely get a chance to fare well at all at the domestic box office.

It has been quite a success graph for newbie Sushant Singh Rajput as the kind of films that have come his way are both unexpected and pleasantly surprising. Though Abhishek Kapoor won’t agree, as the actor walked out of his venture to accommodate Shekhar Kapur’s Paani, but Rajput sure isn’t complaining.

As the IPL action shifts to India after a rendezvous in the UAE, formidable Chennai Super Kings will seek to continue their winning momentum when they lock horns with Kolkata Knight Riders, who will be hoping for a reversal in fortunes, here today.



Since being out-slugged by table-toppers Kings XI Punjab in their high-scoring opening game, two-time champions CSK brought their A game into play, which saw them winning the next four matches with ease.

In contrast, the Knight Riders, who kicked off the seventh season of the cash-rich league with a bang, lost their way somewhat in the UAE, where the first-leg matches were held.

With three defeats and two wins, the former winners will hope that their fortunes change for the better in their ‘home’ match.

As far as the two captains are concerned, Mahendra Singh Dhoni is always confidence personified and has been marshalling the CSK outfit from the inaugural edition, and with a lot of success too.

His counterpart, Gautam Gambhir, after a miserable run of form that saw him being dismissed for two consecutive ducks, will be pleased with the 40-odd runs he made in his side’s last game, though in a losing cause.

The left-handed Gambhir would like to have a similar outing and it would do his team a world of good if he can improve on the strike rate.

Considering the thin batting line-up, Gambhir’s presence is of paramount importance to KKR, and he would, as usual, expect veteran all-rounder Jacques Kallis to bring into play all his experience.

Youngsters Manvinder Bisla, Manish Pandey and Suryakumar Yadav will have to put up a much better display if they are to tame the Super Kings.

Sunil Narine will again be the key man with the ball but the Knight Riders have been relying too much on the mystery spinner for breakthrough.

Born on 6 December 1988 in Navagam Ghed, Gujarat, Ravindra Jadeja belongs to a modest family.

His father was a watchman in a security agency. He lost his mother at the age of 17. He has been the targets of many critics just a year back.

He was the butt of all jokes — tagged with the popular but condescending moniker ‘Sir’. Some questioned his cricketing credentials too.