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Last week, as Congress leaders protested against Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s so-called “anti-Ambedkar” remark in Rajya Sabha, Rahul Gandhi joined his party MPs in a blue T-shirt, giving up his trademark white polo T-shirt. His sister Priyanka also twinned with him wearing a blue sari. Clearly the Gandhi siblings opted to go for a very visual protest against Shah’s remarks. The choice of the colour of clothes of the Leader of Opposition (LoP) — usually spotted donning plain white T-shirts raised eyebrows. The colour blue has been associated with Dalit politics since 1942, when Dr BR Ambedkar established the Scheduled Castes Federation to campaign for the rights of the Dalit community. The body adopted a blue flag featuring Ashok Chakra. The flag was later retained by the Republican Party of India (RPI), founded by Ambedkar in 1956. Over time, blue became very closely associated with Dalit identity and activism. Even political parties like the Bahujan Samaj Party and the ASP, which champions Dalit welfare, embraced blue colour in their branding. As the Gandhi siblings lead the protest, it was the choice of colour of their clothes that caught everyone’s attention!
The Winter Session which saw a two-day discussion on the 75th anniversary of the Constitution and introduction of One Nation One Election (ONOE) Bill has come to a close. It brought out sharp divisions over discussions and bills at least in two political parties — the Congress and DMK. In the Congress, if a first term MP Priyanka Vadra was seen opening the discussion on the Constitution in the Lok Sabha, for some reason senior leader and eminent lawyer P Chidambaram did not get an opportunity to have his say about the Constitution in the Rajya Sabha. In the DMK, there was a clear division of views between the DMK parliamentary party leader TR Baalu and deputy leader Kanimozhi. While Baalu endorsed the government’s offer to refer the Bill to the Joint Parliamentary Committee, Kanimozhi seemed completely surprised by his stand and insisted that her party was opposed to the Bill and demanded its withdrawal.”DMK has consistently opposed the entire Bill. We do not accept that there can be ONOE because it is against the Constitution. It is against federal rights and it is against the will of the people. People choose state governments for 5 years, I don’t think you can take that right away from the people and give it to the EC to decide how many years governments can last or not. So, this is completely against the state, against federalism” said Kanimozhi. While her stand reflects TN assembly resolution passed in February against ONOE Bill this year, the media is awash with reports about how her late father Kalaignar M Karunanidhi had highlighted the benefits of simultaneous polls in his autobiography Nenjuku Neethi. Incidentally, Karunanidhi had advanced state polls to 1971 to coincide with LS polls.
The Thursday (Dec 19) visit of BJP and Shiv Sena (Shinde) MLAs to the RSS headquarters in Nagpur has become a hot political topic though there are other reasons, too, for intense politicking. Firstly, the MLAs belonging to the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) led by deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar did not join the event. Secondly, those disgruntled due to their non-inclusion in the council of ministers have started expressing their anger openly. Like earlier two occasions, Ajit Pawar and most of his followers distanced themselves from the visit organized by chief minister Devendra Fadnavis. The presence of former CM Eknath Shinde and his MLAs proved to be another highlight. However, the discontent brewing within Mahayuti on other counts is now becoming more vocal. Political heavyweight Chhagan Bhujbal was the first to articulate it. His open criticism of Ajit Pawar surprised many since he had stayed by the side of Pawar all through. Now, there are reports that some of Bhujbal’s supporters want him to join the BJP to end his political wilderness. So far, Bhujbal has maintained that he is with the NCP (Ajit). The other notable leader to become the subject of political speculation is the legislative council’s deputy chairperson Neelam Gorhe. Her detractors, mainly the recent Sena (UBT) entrant Sushama Andhare, have started hinting at Gorhe’s plans to go with the BJP. Gorhe, too, has not reacted to the talk. Ajit’s sudden disappearance for two days from the winter session only added grist to the grapevine. His explanation that he was down with a throat infection is hardly swallowed. More murmurs are expected to be heard once Fadnavis announces the allocation of the portfolios.
The Shiv Sena led by Uddhav Thackeray has started preparing for the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) election, expected to take place early next year. This will be the fight for political survival for Thackeray because the Sena has been in power in India’s richest civic body since 1985. Taking stock of the situation, other political parties, too, have begun their planning. The picture this time will be fundamentally different since the BJP has emerged as the largest party in the state after the assembly election. Its estrangement with the Sena (UBT), which split in 2022 owing to Eknath Shinde’s decision to walk out of it, will be a major factor in the coming election in which the Congress will be an insignificant player, given its lacklustre performance in Mumbai and the state as a whole. Equally exasperating is the condition of the state Congress committee as its president Nana Patole is perceived as an ineffective leader by the rank and file. The BMC’s last election saw the Sena winning 84 seats in the 227-member house while the BJP had captured 82. Owing to the alliance ethics, the BJP had made no effort to bag the mayoralty of the financial capital of India. However, the BJP is not prepared to take any chance this time and a decision about its Mumbai president is likely to be taken soon. Sitting chief Ashish Shelar is among the hopefuls though his inclusion in the council of ministers could be a decisive factor in the final choice.
This was to happen one day or the other with the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) putting its foot down saying it will not send its national teams to India for any signature event of the ICC, like the World Cups in the two formats in men, women and the juniors. This was the PCB’s riposte to the long-standing BCCI position — citing security concerns — that it will not send its team across the border for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 and that it will play only at a neutral venue. For three World Test Championship (WTC) the two nations have taken themselves off the Future Tours Programme (FTP). The cricketers of the two countries may enjoy good relationships when they lock horns in neutral country venues and have fans across the border, but the Indian government has been steadfast in denying permission to the BCCI. The latest communication from the ICC has confirmed that in the 2024-2027 cycle all ICC events given to India and Pakistan, the matches featuring the two countries will be held at a neutral country chosen by the host country; in the Champions Trophy case the PCB is the host. What all this means is the elimination of high security arrangements that India had to do when Pakistan played last year’s World Cup matches in Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Chennai and Kolkata. It took hard bargaining by the PCB with the ICC — with Jay Shah in Chair since December 1, 2024 — for it to agree to a hybrid model in order to ensure that it remains the host in a neutral country venue as well and where India will play and this country is said to be the United Arab Emirates.
The massive success of Pushpa 2, has reignited the debate over screen allocation in West Bengal’s single-screen theatres. While the blockbuster continues to dominate the box office, its stronghold has created challenges for four Bengali films— Khadaan, Shontaan, Chaalchitro, and 5 No. Swapnamoy Lane—which targeted Christmas Day for their releases. The overlap has sparked a heated controversy over securing adequate slots in single-screen theatres, which remain a key audience base for Bengali cinema. Single-screen theatres across Bengal are grappling with the balancing act of accommodating these films while catering to the massive demand for Pushpa 2. Tollywood’s Christmas lineup has been significantly impacted, with producer-actor Dev expressing frustration on social media. He alleged that Khadan’s shows and advance bookings were disrupted due to the overwhelming presence of Pushpa 2. Arijit Dutta, owner of Priya Theatre, reported dividing slots among the films: Khadaan (two shows), Chaalchitro (one), 5 No. Swapnamoy Lane (one), and Pushpa 2 (one). However, veteran actor Mithun Chakraborty’s Shontaan was left out entirely, sparking outrage from its director Raj Chakraborty, who criticized the lack of consistent support for Bengali cinema. A distributor, speaking anonymously, blamed the simultaneous release of multiple Bengali films during the festive season, suggesting a lack of coordination among producers. He pointed to Bollywood’s strategy of staggering releases as a model Tollywood could emulate. Star Theatre owner Joydeep Mukherjee called for better planning within the Bengali film industry to avoid internal competition. Interestingly, allegations have resurfaced about Shontaan‘s producer, pressuring hall owners to prioritize its films. This history has led some distributors to side with independent producers in the current clash.
Sunday’s swearing in of 33 (16:9:8 ratio for BJP, Shiv Sena, NCP respectively) mostly young cabinet ministers in CM Devendra Fadnavis’ 3.0 government was not followed up by expected portfolio allocations even late Thursday (Dec 19). The unrelenting clamour for one specific portfolio by a senior BJP minister-in-waiting (in apparent conflict of interest), aspiration to improve upon earlier performance in power sector by another are in the open awaiting the Maha Chanakya to coolly decide upon. Scribes housed at the state government ‘Suyog’ facility within the Family court premises near Vidhan Bhavan enjoy the Nagpur chill over familial evenings at ‘Sneh Bojans’ hosted by these as-yet ‘Anamika’ ministers. DCM Eknath Shinde’s camp brews hostility from left out veteran MLAs and cherry-picking ministers-in-waiting who threaten boiling point anytime soon. This is unlike the chill that has set upon the near deserted NCP office at Vidhan Bhavan sans activity, notwithstanding the bustling beehive of activity right outside and within the state legislature that is hosting its winter session. It is probably the first time in Maharashtra’s political history for such an ongoing legislature session without specifically assigned ministers manning questions on the floor of the state assembly and council while responding to public interest issues of state. For now, all portfolios rest with CM Fadnavis. NCP veteran Chhagan Bhujbal, Sena’s Tanaji Sawant complain vociferously from out in the cold even as some BJP MLAs rue their bad luck despite winning big in Mumbai city where the richest civic body will face the hustings very soon.
The events outside Parliament House that led to injuries to two BJP MPs was best summed up by FM Nirmala Sitharaman in her X post. She explained how “During the INDI Alliance’s protest inside Parliament premises today, Rahul Gandhi had forcefully pushed an MP, causing a domino effect that injured 2 BJP MPs –Pratap Sarangi (Balasore, Odisha) and Mukesh Rajput (Farrukhabad, UP)” Both the MPs are now hospitalised as they have sustained head injuries. Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan was surprised that the Congress had so far not even bothered to say sorry. “I was wondering what was the purpose of Kharge-Rahul Gandhi’s presser, if they can’t say sorry. Our Nagaland MP, a tribal woman leader Phangnon Konyak had voiced discomfort that was caused to her by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.” She has written a letter to the RS Chairman. Adding further he said, “We feel Rahul simply does not deserve to be the LoP. When the Opposition is holding a protest, we usually take another gate. What was the need for Rahul Gandhi to wade into the area where BJP MPs were standing? He should simply quit as LoP.” BJP MPs including Anurag Thakur and Bansuri Swaraj filed a complaint against Rahul Gandhi at the Parliament Street Police station in connection with the scuffle between Opposition and NDA MPs. It is learnt that security forces repeatedly requested the Congress MP to use an alternative path, specifically arranged for a peaceful entry into Parliament. However, Rahul Gandhi declined the request. BJP’s Thakur said “The kind of attitude Rahul Gandhi has, he thinks he is above the law.” Responding to the allegations, Rahul said BJP MPs were trying to stop him and were threatening him “
Home Minister Amit Shah whose intervention in discussions on the 75th anniversary of the Constitution sparked off a row and seemed to have majorly united the Opposition. Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha and Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge charged him of insulting Dr BR Ambedkar.. He accused his rivals of being “anti-Ambedkar” and “anti-Constitution”, and “spreading lies”. In his concluding remarks in the Rajya Sabha, Shah sarcastically said, “It has become the fashion to say ‘Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar…’ If they (the opposition) took God’s name so many times, they will get a place in heaven.” At a Press Conference, he charged the Congress of distorting his comments in the Rajya Sabha saying the Congress had put out an edited version of his speech. “I come from a party which follows the ideals of Ambedkar,” asserted Shah.” Rebuffing calls for his resignation by Kharge, Shah made it clear that he had no intention of stepping down. “Kharge is asking for my resignation. If that will make him feel happy, then I’ll give it. But the Congress has to sit in the opposition for at least 15 more years. “In an unusual move — perhaps underlining the impact of the Opposition’s attack on this issue — PM Modi and senior ministers rallied behind Shah. “If the Congress and its rotten ecosystem think malicious lies can hide their misdeeds of several years, especially their insult towards Dr Ambedkar, they are gravely mistaken!” said PM Modi. Amidst this, PM Modi and Shah met Rahul Gandhi and Kharge to appoint the next NHRC chief. TMC leader Derek O’Brien has moved a privilege notice against Shah in the Rajya Sabha for his remarks on Dr Ambedkar.
Ravichandran Ashwin was adroit in bowling the carom or knuckle ball or the doosra, but on Wednesday afternoon, Brisbane time, the nonconformist off-spinner of 13 years in the big league of the game deployed the “bombshell” to bring an end to his illustrious career. At the conclusion of the rain-marred third Test at the Gabba, the finger spinner with a few sobriquets, “scientist” being the most used among the media, Ashwin sitting beside his beleaguered captain, Rohit Sharma, matter of fact said: Today (Wednesday, December 18) was his last day as an international cricketer across formats and that he will be seen in action in club cricket, meaning IPL etc. The seasoned campaigner, starting his Test career in November 2011, was capped 106 times, and he missed 25 Tests after his debut; he featured in 61 wins, 47@home and 14 overseas. He read the writing on the wall about him losing the primacy as the No 1 spinner of the team in flannels after Washington Sundar was chosen for the first Test in Perth. Then being dropped to bring in Ravindra Jadeja for the third Test in Brisbane convinced him that his time was up…to hang up his boots. The home series against New Zealand that India lost 3-0 was a bitter pill to swallow for him. His numbers — 765 wickets in the three formats, including 537 wickets in Tests alone speaks of his right to be called a legend. It was a bold, practical call to take a bow while not in the field and that was an unhappy part that Indian cricket could not give one of its icons a fitting farewell. Ashwin has perhaps shown the way for a few more to bid adieu, sooner than later! They are over the hill, indeed.
The BJP fights every election — be it Taluka Panchayat or the Lok Sabha election — with a spirit to win and establish its rule. Even though the party’s plan went haywire with superstar Rajinikant bowing out of politics, it has not given up hopes. It is going whole hog with its ally AIADMK and other smaller parties to ensure the AIADMK-led government retains power. Towards this, all their senior leaders including Prime Minister Narendra Modi are vigorously campaigning in Tamil Nadu. Very much aware that the BJP may not make big gains in Tamil Nadu, it is doing everything within its means to make its presence felt in Dravidian politics. BJP’s strategy received a major push after Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi Karuppa Palaniswami announced a 10% quota to Vanniyar community from the Most Backward Class category. This move was to checkmate DMK which enjoys sizable support. What is interesting is that the Vanniyar community has a strong presence in at least 40 of the total 234 seats where it can really change the political equations. Further, PMK, which had garnered 5.36% vote share in the 2016 elections, and has been demanding a quota for the Vanniyar community, is the AIADMK-BJP alliance partner. This quota politics has also raked up an issue of caste-based census. Looks like the BJP is spreading its wings in yet another southern state by riding piggyback on AIADMK.
Prakash Adhav, 54, received copious accolades from the England captain, Jos Buttler, and the Man of the Series, Jonathan Bairstow, for preparing three pitches that delivered 1,892 runs in six ODI innings at the MCA international Stadium at Gahunje, Pune. Indian captain, Virat Kohli, also had good words to say about the pitch after winning the series 2-1 on Sunday, March 28. Adhav is the West Zone representative in the BCCI Elite Panel of curators. He is a BSC Agriculture from the Mahatma Phule Krishi Vidyapeeth, and he has been maintaining flowers and landscaping at the Cricket Club of India for over 20 years now. “Prakash is a good curator,” said Prof Ratnakar Shetty, former GM, Game Development of BCCI. Adhav, with assistance from local curator, Ramesh Borde and the MCA ground staff, scarified the pitches, kept 6-mm grass, watered it, and used the medium and heavy roller straight, diagonally and cross-wise to prepare a batting beauty. The match officials were delighted and so also the England coach, Chris Silverwood, who appreciated his work and said: “It’s a good pitch for ODIs.” Adhav was a neutral and additional curator before being inducted into the BCCI elite panel.
Remember childlike, seductive and that infectious smile of Dev Anand with that small gap in his upper left denture that sent women swooning. What became a selling point was actually a bone of contention between Dev Saheb and his director. Well, it’s a ‘painful’ story. Dev Anand got the first break in the movie because of his smile. Baburao Pai, producer of Prabhat Films part of the Pune-based Prabhat Studio (founded by the likes of VG Damle and V Shantaram was), was mesmerized by Dev’s smile and signed him to play a hero’s role. But, when the shooting began director PL Santoshi (father of Rajkumar Santoshi) and the cameraman did not like the gap in Dev’s teeth. It ‘looked odd’, they both felt, in close-up shots. So, it was suggested Dev put cotton buds and fill the gap. After few days of shooting the gum got infected and Dev Saheb could not bear the pain and he complained. Giving to hero’s complaints, the cotton buds were removed and it was status quo ante. The smile took him more than a mile. No wonder he was called the Evergreen Hero till he passed away in 2011 at the age of 88 in London.
By not denying his meeting with NCP Supremo Sharad Pawar, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, the de facto chief of BJP, has yet again dropped hints that it has not given up on “Operation Lotus’’ in Maharashtra. At the same time, he has created suspicion among Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) partners about Pawar’s next move. Shah knows that by holding parleys with Pawar, it will make Opposition parties think twice of forming a front under Pawar’s leadership to take on Modi. Political analysts say the idea is to sow the seeds of suspicion that Pawar cannot be trusted. Shah’s timing seems to be perfect. Currently, there is a mistrust between the three MVA partners — Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress — after the Ambani bomb scare conspiracy came to light. This incident has opened the Pandora’s Box with Maratha strongman trying to defend Home Minister Anil Deshmukh over the Rs 100 crore hafta charges levelled against Deshmukh by the former Police Commissioner, Parambir Singh. On another front, the Leader of the Opposition in Maharashtra, Devendra Fadnavis who has rocked the MVA government with his explosive expose is now getting ready to fire more salvos ahead of the BMC elections slated for 2022. BJP has launched MissionMumbai 2022 with a resolve to elect its own party mayor and thereby end Shiv Sena’s dream run. Here it is toying with the idea of entering into an alliance with Raj Thackeray’s Maharashtra Navnirman Sena so as to steal Sena’s Marathi Manoos plank and wrest BMC. But, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray seems to be leaving no stones unturned to ensure that BMC, the country’s richest municipal body stays in Sena’s fold.
The stock market is booming with the Sensex currently hovering around 50,000-mark. At this level the market capitalisation works out to around $2.7 trillion. It may be recalled that at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic in March 2020 the Sensex had crashed to 25,638 points. So did the market cap to $1.3 trillion, its lowest since March 2016. Now, there are visible signs that the economy is picking up if one looks at the performance of the sectors like auto, infrastructure, healthcare, IT and FMCG. A number of brokerage houses seem to be bullish; some are predicting that Sensex will touch the 100,000-mark by 2025. Such a bullish outlook is unleashing a buying frenzy among investors. The herd mentality is evident. Nearly 6.3 million demat accounts were added during April-September 2020 to take the total demat accounts to 2.13 crore. Work from home saw people investing in both primary and secondary markets. Thirty companies have already raised around Rs 31,000 crore via IPO in FY-21. But, post-listing, are they all doing well? Not really, says The Hindu Business Line report. “India’s IPO market boom, which began exactly a year ago in March 2020, with the SBI Cards offer, is showing signs of fatigue. Every second stock that posted gains on debut in the last one year has slipped.” So, the opportunity to make a quick kill post listing is clearly waning. Now, some of the fly-by-night operators are recommending below par or penny stocks. With the second wave of pandemic hitting the country, it would be advisable for investors to ignore the conventional market adage “Buy the rumour, sell the news.”
The Indian Express annual list IE 100: The List Of Most Powerful Indians in 2021 is out. There are no surprises in terms of Top 10. Prime Minister Narendra Modi holds on to his #1 position, so does Home Minister Amit Shah at #2 followed by RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat at #3. Bhagwat was ranked #4 in 2019, and this slot has been occupied by the BJP President JP Nadda this year. Reliance CMD Mukesh Ambani holds on to his #5 rank while Adani Group Chairman Gautam has pole-vaulted from 28th position to #10. As always, every year there are new entrants. This year there are five names from the healthcare sector as this sector had to do fire-fighting to manage Covid-19. There are 59 politicians, 17 businessmen, 9 bureaucrats who find a place in the survey. Surprisingly, there are no film stars, spiritual guru or sports personalities save for Virat Kohli. So this brings to fore what was the methodology or criteria used to select these powerful Indians? The prefatory note is silent on that front.
Bollywood camp seems to be divided over some of the winners of the 67th National Film Awards for 2019. Kangana Ranaut, who bagged the National Award for Best Actor for Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi, and Panga, is being compared to Priyanka Chopra’s performance in The Sky Is Pink. Similarly, some veteran critics are comparing Sushant Singh Rajput starrer Chhichhore that won the coveted award with their own choices: Section 375, Art 15, Batla House and Uri: The Surgical Strike. The Jury could have selected from one of these four films, the seasoned critics hold, suspecting that the awards are being given to score political brownie points. All awards, be it national or independent ones, attract such endless criticism. This brings to mind the story told to the undersigned by the Dadasaheb Phalke Award winner Manoj Kumar aka Mr Bharat. His movie Upkar (1967) was a runaway hit. Mr Bharat got a call from a babu in New Delhi to attend the National Films Awards function at Vigyan Bhavan as his film Upkar was the winner. When the announcement was made, he found much to his dismay that a south Indian film had bagged the award and his film got the Award for the Second-Best Feature Film. Seeing a visibly irritated Manoj Kumar, the babu, in question, quickly whispered into his ears: “Sir, please understand the politics of balancing!” After reluctantly collecting the medal, Manoj Kumar quietly walked out, went to the refugee camp in Delhi where he had grown up (after Partition 1947), and threw the medal into a nullah.
The Maharashtra Cricket Association (MCA) international stadium, beneath the Ghoradeshwar Hill at Gahunje village in the outskirts of Pune, hosted three high-scoring ODI matches between India and the 2019 ICC World Cup winner England on March 23, 26, and 28. Some of the biggest hitters like Ben Stokes, Jonathan Bairstow, Jason Roy, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya, featured in these matches. But the Covid-19 restrictions imposed by the State Government, prevented the spectators from thronging one of the modern venues in India. The MCA officials were disappointed that the local faithful could not be present for the high-profile matches, culminating into the 50th match. The MCA has hosted 38 IPL matches, much of it featuring the Sahara-owned Pune Warriors, Sanjeev Goenka-owned Rising Pune Supergiant, CSK and Kings XI Punjab. The MCA has also hosted seven ODIs, three Twenty20 internationals and two Test matches. After the new stadium was constructed by the Shapoorji Pallonji Group, the MCA hosted the first Twenty20 match between India and England in December 2012. The MCA Secretary, Riyaz Bagban said: “With paying spectators the revenue from gate receipts would have been Rs 15 crore for three matches, but the MCA has earned around Rs 10 crore by way of in-stadia advertising.”
With technocrat and builder of some of India’s iconic public infrastructure projects, E Sreedharan joining the BJP, the Kerala voters finally have an “optimistic third option.” The state assembly elections have traditionally been marked by a two-horse race to power – and the rotation of power between the LDF and the UDF over the past couple of decades. Two scenarios are available for the voters: BJP backed by the Christian leadership, Church and voters, could get the 72-seat simple majority to form the government (140 seats). The state observers hold that Sreedharan’s clean image, the likelihood of political autonomy that he may command, and a “strategic” election manifesto should nudge the average Kerala voter to back the BJP and allies. In the second scenario, contrary to opinion polls now favouring the Left, the Congress can form the government, mainly backed by allies IUML, SDPI and Welfare Party. However, it will be a plain replay of the past 20-year administration. Though the Anna-Kitex group backed 20:20 party could win the entire eight contested seats, it prefers to sit independent in the opposition and continue with its well-received public welfare goals. For some analysts, with this assembly polls, the NDA and the 20:20 party may get positioned as formidable options in the next 10-15 years in a radically transformed Kerala.
Not many would have bet on the Men in Blue after the humiliating rout they suffered in the first Test at Adelaide (Dec 17-19, 2020), scoring 36, their lowest total ever. Even on the final day of the last Test at the Gabba (Jan 15-19, 2021), they were given 1% chance. India ended Australia’s 33-year dominance at the Gabbatoir with Shubhman Gill hitting a mesmerising 91 and Rishabh Pant an audacious 89 to chase down the target of 328 with 18 balls left in the match. Wisden Cricket’s Editor-In-Chief Phil Walker notes: “Seasoned and sober judges are saying it’s perhaps the finest series win away from home by any side ever.” Cricket analyst Robert Craddock wrote in the Daily Telegraph: “Australia got their best squad to throw their best punch – and they got knocked cold.” The incredible turnaround story for the team (that lost all four tosses, their power-hitting captain, and several frontline players through injury) was scripted by the fiery energy of the debutants and the steely spine of the young guns batting at lower order. The same debutant spirit was unleashed after the thrashing England inflicted in the first Test at Chennai. India managed to defend its fortress, securing 13th consecutive Test Series win. The 3-1 series victory over England seals India’s berth in the inaugural World Test Championship (WTC) final, where they will face New Zealand, the team of “scrappers that scraps for win.” Hopefully, India will soon find answers – as Saurav Ganguly (president of the BCCI) and Rahul Dravid (in charge of the National Cricket Academy, Bengaluru) sharpen focus on training young talents like Mohammed Siraj, Washington Sundar, and Shubman Gill, among others.
Film stars are in great demand during election time. It is a star parade in West Bengal; some are fighting elections, some canvassing for the TMC or the BJP. Ditto: Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Stars are magnets, drawing the huge crowds. But once elected, are they able to serve their constituencies? A simple analysis shows that 90% of the reel stars fail to play the role of political leaders in the real world. Amitabh Bachchan, Govinda, Rajesh Khanna and Dharmendra won elections with convincing margins but eventually retreated after failing to make an impact. However, there are a few who successfully occupied centre stage: MGR and Jayalalithaa in Tamil Nadu; and NTR in Andhra Pradesh had a splendid journey to the top. Vinod Khanna is remembered for being the only Bollywood star to win Lok Sabha polls four times – he won from Gurdaspur in Punjab on the BJP ticket; he also served as a minister. Among the living legends, Dream Girl Hema Malini who was first nominated to the Rajya Sabha won both 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha polls. So did singer Babul Supriyo. Raj Babbar has been active since 1989, having changed three parties. He won the Lok Sabha seat thrice and was also once nominated for the Rajya Sabha. Backed by the Samajwadi Party, Jaya Bachchan is also making her presence felt at the Upper House. Bihari babu Shatrughan Sinha, who won two terms and became a minister, is acknowledged for his fiery debate. Jaya Prada, Khushbu, Manoj Tiwari and Ravi Kishan continue to hog the limelight. In the south, Rajinikanth’s much anticipated political debut didn’t materialise – but Kamal Haasan has taken the plunge.
V-Guard Industries’ Founder Chairman and philanthropist Kochouseph Chittilappilly, in a no holds barred chat with Kerala’s popular Food Vlogger Mrinal Das Vengalat, dropped a bombshell that Yusuff Ali, CMD of the multi-continent Lulu Group, may not be the richest Malayalee of Kerala origin, despite a net worth of $4.8 billion! Chittilappilly, a self-made billionaire, said the combined personal net worth of the UDF and the LDF politicians, who ruled Kerala by “default turns” over the last 20 plus years, could surpass that of Lulu’s Ali. If one were to extrapolate Chittilappilly’s observation to the entire country, then the combined net worth of politicians could well be over billions of dollars, surpassing that of combined networth of top 10 industrialists. The money-spinning arithmetic of politicians only gets eye popping every year, especially in the light of the letter written by the recently transferred Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh. In his letter, he alleged that the Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh had asked the arrested Assistant Police Inspector Sachin Vaze to collect Rs 100 crore every month. And the maths that was allegedly given was: “There are 1,750 bars and restaurants in Mumbai. If you collect Rs 3 lakh on an average that works out to Rs 50 crore. As for the balance amount, there are other avenues.” Is India a land of “mega bucks” for the renegades?
Can an embarrassed and troubled Uddhav Thackeray ask his Home Minister Anil Deshmukh to resign after former Mumbai police chief Param Bir Singh’s allegation that Deshmukh had asked his officers to extort Rs 100 crore per month for him? Given the tradition in Maharashtra’s coalition government, the Chief Minister is helpless unless the alliance partner NCP agrees to let him go. In this case, it is the NCP which must decide. Had it been a Congress minister, it would have been entirely that party’s call. Should Pawar decide to nominate him for another ministry from those allocated to the NCP, Uddhav would have to allow that. Had it been a Sena minister, Uddhav needn’t ask anyone at all. Technically, it is the CM, who heads the cabinet, but the team members are decided by each partner. When Chhagan Bhujbal was the Deputy Chief Minister to Sushilkumar Shinde, they both got along like a house on fire. But Pawar asked Bhujbal to resign when it was alleged that his supporters had violently attacked a TV station’s offices in 2003. He was replaced by Vijaysinh Mohite Patil while Shinde just had to grin (which he literally does as a habit) and bear it. If Uddhav goes against the delicate alliance arrangement, a serious crisis in the coalition could arise.
Star Sports Kannada is going places! Thanks to its policy of promoting sports, and in particular cricket across the country and among the Indian diaspora scattered all over the world, Star Sports has been able to capture the niche audience in different languages, notably, Bengali, Kannada, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu, and Malayalam. This is apart from the two main language broadcasts in English and Hindi. The ongoing England tour is being broadcast in English, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, and Kannada. For the Kannada language, the broadcaster has a pool of commentators in Gundappa Viswanath, Venkatesh Prasad, Bharath Chipli, Srinivasa Murthy. B Akhil, GK Anil Kumar and Vijay Bharadwaj. Venkatesh Prasad was a skilful operator of the new and old ball, having outsmarted many a top batsman in the world. He says, “Kannada commentary is more like a cricket conversation between friends. We bring the nuances of the game from different perspectives in a simple colloquial language and with very minimal bookish words. It is casual, it is fun and highly informative, meant for viewers aged from 8 to 80. Kannada commentary is Nimminda haagu nimmagagi.”
Like the Texas ranger J.J. McQuade in the Hollywood thriller Lone Wolf McQuade, this 60-year old Parliamentarian NK Premchand too likes to work alone. He is the one-man army who has made his presence felt in the Lok Sabha. A four-time MP from the Kollam district of Kerala, he is the Central Secretariat Member of the Revolutionary Socialist Party. Whether it is debate or raising questions, he is in the forefront. According to PRS.Org, between June 2014 and February 2019, Premchand asked 471 questions (national average: 293), participated in over 300 debates (national average: 67), and had attendance record of 87% compared to the national average of 80%. He introduced a private member bill overturning Sabarimala verdict and it was the first private bill introduced in the 17th Lok Sabha. Everybody from the prime minister to speaker to MPs acknowledge his dedication and commitment. And nothing misses his sight. He raised the question about a Supreme Court-appointed panel issuing an advertisement in a leading newspaper inviting comments on new farm laws. It was “unfortunate” that the Apex Court was encroaching upon the domain of Parliament, he said. If the panel can seek comments on the new laws, “then what is Parliament meant for”. Quite.
Born into an aristocratic family, Himanshu Roy is one of the leading pioneers of the Indian cinema. Bombay Talkies studio, which produced a number of hits and launched several stars, was his brainchild. It was set up in 1934 along with his actress wife Devika Rani. The other partner was Shashdhar Mukherji who roped in his brother-in-law Ashok Kumar Ganguly as a technician. According to a knowledgeable source, Roy in a fit of rage threw the leading hero out of the movie as he suspected him of having an affair with his wife Devika. Now, the whole studio was in a fix as the movie was going on the floor. A desperate hunt began for a new hero and everybody’s eyes fell on Ashok Kumar and he was cast as a hero opposite Devika Rani. Now rose another tricky situation. Since Mukherji was controlling the whole project there was an issue as to how he would address Ashok Kumar who was his wife’s elder brother. His nickname was Moni so Mukherji like a good Bengali added the prefix Dada to Moni and started calling him “Dada Moni”. The rest is history.
Trouble, they say, never comes alone. At least that is what West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee may be discovering much to her dismay. Many famous personalities who helped build Trinamool Congress from scratch and were part of her inner circle are quitting the party. Respected and seasoned politicians like Dinesh Trivedi, Adhikari brothers, Rajib Banerjee and film personalities are attributing their quitting to Didi’s temperament; as they are not able to put up with her angry outbursts, insults and uncharitable remarks. Add to this, the phenomenal rise of her nephew Abhishek Banerjee, who is rubbing senior party leaders the wrong way. The exodus continues and the latest news wafting from the Writer’s Building, according to reliable sources, is that the current Finance, Commerce & Industries Minister Dr Amit Mitra may relinquish his office after the assembly elections. It is learnt that Dr Mitra is keen to spend more time with family and focus on his health. It may be recalled that Dr Mitra was the familiar face in Delhi when he served as the Secretary General of the FICCI. Born in an illustrious family, economist Dr Mitra joined the All India Trinamool Congress in 2011 and defeated the then Finance Minister Asim Dasgupta belonging to the CPM. Incidentally, Dr Mitra is part of the ministers and MLAs who have been denied party tickets for the current Assembly elections.
Shishir Hattangadi, a successful opening batsman for Bombay from 1981 to 1992, cracked brave front foot drives off good Australian speedsters Craig McDermott and Bruce Reid and scored 63 in a rare skirmish against international class bowlers at the Captain Roop Singh Stadium, Gwalior in September 1986. He was unlucky not to have played for India with 3,722 runs from 60 first-class matches and with 10 hundreds and 21 fifties. A keen student of the game, Hattangadi, who can be likened to a Bhadralok being born in Kolkata, and also familiar with khem cho world of Gujarat, is perhaps the first first-class player-turned-CEO of the Baroda Cricket Association. He was Director, Cricket with Deccan Chargers and Mumbai Indians. “A lot of it is common even as CEO. It’s policy making, HR and P&L. It’s also creating a strategy to build the Baroda brand. Now you are learning a lot other than cricket. I talk to the coaches and captains of different teams. It’s given me the learning of adaptability. The challenging part is adapting to the elected members,” said Hattangadi, who cut his teeth in the game at St Mary’s School and RA Podar College, Mumbai.
Showman Subhash Ghai, who was the guest of honour at The Indian Idol Show, revealed an interesting story about Jackie Shroff. Ghai was looking for a fresh face for his movie Hero and Jackie Shroff came to meet him with his portfolio. Ghai asked him three questions: Can you sing? Can you dance? Can you act? And Jackie Shroff said NO to all the three questions. Then why have you come to meet me, asked Ghai. Jackie said his friends forced him! Impressed by his innocent honesty, Ghai said: “You are selected to play the hero’s role opposite Meenakshi Seshdari in the movie Hero. Jackie was stunned. After profusely thanking Ghai as he was walking out of the cabin retraced his step and said: “Sir I will tell you one thing truthfully. I have played a role in Dev Anand’s movie in which there is a goonda Shakti Kapoor who has an assistant goonda and I am assistant to assistant goonda. Now, you are casting me as a hero, Sir Aap Fas Jaogey.” Ghai was moved by the hero’s honesty. Even today after tasting phenomenal success Jackie is the most grounded star, says Ghai with a touch of pride. The 64-year old star who has become synonymous with the word Bhidu is also fondly called “Jaggu Dada”.
That’s the billion-rupee question. The late actor Sushant Singh Rajput continues to trend for nine months now. On March 17, the Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh, who is in the eye of the storm, was trending on Twitter via #IamwithAnilDeshmukh. A few months ago, it was the Mumbai Police Commissioner who was subsequently transferred. The question everybody is asking: Does Deshmukh have the charisma or mass following like his boss Sharad Pawar, the NCP Supremo? Earlier, when the Founder-Editor of Republic TV was arrested by the Mumbai Police he was trending at #1. It was a natural public sympathy; even the Supreme Court made scathing remarks on the illegal arrest. Sure, he had a strong platform to tell his story. Similarly, starlet Rhea Chakraborty was trending both ways; for one group she was a villain whereas for the other group she was a victim. Suddenly you see #CBI Expose Jiah Khan Killers trending. Jiah died in 2013. The last time the whole country, sans social media, came together was during The Emergency in the mid-70s. Likewise, the Anna Hazare movement over corruption became a national movement. So, this trending business raises lots of questions. Who decides the trending patterns and ranking? In whose interest it is to keep issues alive? Is it a perception game? Does judiciary take cognizance of social media numbers?
After the fourth scrap against England on March 18 at the NaMo stadium in Ahmedabad, Suryakumar Yadav talked about butterflies — in the stomach of course. All this after going after England fast bowlers, Jofra Archer and Mark Wood in his first outing with the bat. He had dumped Archer over the square leg picket of the first ball he faced, and former England captain Michael Atherton likened the shot to West Indian Gordon Greenidge like; rocking on his right leg to play the horizontal bat shot. Atherton’s colleague in The Times, UK, Simon Wilde, described the first ball pull shot as Calypso-like. Yadav is 30, has played for Mumbai in the BCCI tournaments for 12 years. After the early promise, he appeared to have lost focus, but suddenly his adrenaline soared to positive levels, seen as he was in thundering form in IPL Season-2018 (512 runs), IPL-2019 (424 runs) and IPL-2020 (480 runs). He was picked in the India Twenty20 squad based on the runs he amassed in the IPL and he was in cracking form in his first hit in the national colours. “The passion for the game has kept me going. I knew my chance would come. And when it came, I grabbed it with both hands,” said Yadav.
In 1984, the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi saw the Congress party win 411 seats out of 542 with her son Rajiv Gandhi becoming the Prime Minister. It was a sympathy wave. A similar situation arose when Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated while campaigning during the 1991 elections. In areas where polls were held before the assassination, the Congress fared badly. It was a vote against non-performance. Post Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination, the Congress did well due to the sympathy wave but could not muster enough seats and had to form a minority government led by PV Narasimha Rao. So this brings to the fore whether West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee who met with an accident in Nandigram constituency will romp home on a sympathy wave? Will her campaigning on a wheel-chair optics make the various scams, misrule a non-issue and catapult her party TMC into the winning zone. It may be recalled Chirag Paswan did not gain much from his father Ram Vilas Paswan’s demise but YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, current Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, more than benefited when his father and Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy died in a helicopter crash. Likewise, one must see what happens in Tamil Nadu with the demise of two icons — M Karunanidhi of DMK and J Jayalalithaa of AIADMK. Will it be sympathy or performance that will tilt the scale? It is worth mentioning that the BJP led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi got two terms on sheer performance indices and so did AAP in Delhi, led by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. Looks like the electorates have wizened up and optics do not matter.
It is no more signing amount or territory sharing in Bollywood. According to the industry insiders, the top 13 actors today not only charge a fee but also get a share in profits of their films. Thus, by the new model, Aamir Khan earns around Rs 100-300 crore per film. It is also learnt that he takes profits only after the producer has earned his money from the film. Salman Khan earns about Rs 100-150 crore per film; he has been making double of what he earns from a film from the reality show Bigg Boss. Akshay Kumar either co-produces a film or takes an outright price of Rs 90-135 crore for a film. Interestingly, Shah Rukh Khan — the superstar who scored a record number of blockbusters in the 90s — charges Rs 75 crore plus profits per film. Hrithik Roshan charges in the range of Rs 75-100 crore per film plus profits. The actor was offered Rs 100 crore for the web series Night Manager which is yet to go on floors. Ranbir Kapoor earns about Rs 60-75 crore for a film. Ajay Devgn produces most of his films but if he is involved as an actor, he takes Rs 50 crore. In the past, Ajay, Salman, Big B, Jeetendra opted for certain territories. Amitabh took Bombay Circuit, Jeetendra CP Circuit. The newcomers are no different; they have swung into the game by charging fees plus profits. Thus, Ranveer Singh earns about Rs 20-30 crore which includes profits; Shahid Kapoor Rs 35-50 crore plus profits. Tiger Shroff earns Rs 18-20 crore per film. New sensation Kartik Aaryan’s seems to be moving in the big league amazingly fast, having already hit the Rs 15-20 crore mark.
Unlike yesteryear’s stars today’s stars are business-like. They put the money where their mouth is. Alia Bhatt who has turned producer for the movie Darlings will charge Rs 15 crore for her lead role. So, besides acting fees, she will make big numbers if the movie does well at the box-office. Ditto: Deepika Padukone who is a joint producer of 83, a sports drama film that focuses on India’s 1983 World Cup win by Kapil Dev. Directed by Kabir Khan, she plays the role of Kapil Dev’s wife Romi. Deepika, who has already signed on with a couple of big banners, is the highest paid star in the industry, commanding a price of Rs 21 crore, according to the industry insiders. Kangana Ranaut, who has four films in the pipeline, reportedly commands around Rs 11-12 crore per film. Besides, there are four stars who fall in the Rs 7-crore bracket. They are: Shraddha Kapoor, Kareena Kapoor, Katrina Kaif and Anushka Sharma. Shraddha Kapoor has Naagin and Luv Ranjan film. Katrina Kaif who has signed Phone Booth launched her own beauty line. Kareena and Anushka consciously signed less films as they were in the family way but managed to keep their cash registers ringing with series of brand endorsements. And the ‘desi girl’, Priyanka Chopra Jonas today commands around Rs 6 crore.
A top class left arm spinner who bagged 109 Test and ODI wickets from 1976 to 1993, Diana Edulji is glad that the Women In Blue are in action in a white-ball series against South Africa at Lucknow. She retired from Western Railway five years ago but has been the torch bearer for women’s cricket right through after bidding adieu to the game. She was the only female member of the Supreme Court appointed Committee of Administrators to oversee the BCCI functioning and she went out of her way to improve the women’s lot. They get almost all benefits now, including an annual contract and enhanced match fee etc. After India’s 1-3 loss, with one more ODI match to go, she wondered why Jhulan Goswami did not play the fourth match (March 14). “Jhulan was taking wickets and her absence was a big blow to the Indian team. The South African team has improved a lot. Our bowling has not clicked at all. We cannot go into a match with one seamer. But I am glad they have started playing international cricket as a preparation for next year’s ICC Women’s World Cup in New Zealand. They had not played for 15 months,” said Diana.
As Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy is busy in settling scores with his political rival and TDP supremo N Chandrababu Naidu, the Andhra Pradesh government is heading for a debt trap. The CM is busy in spending on welfare schemes and social security cover. But what is worrying is the high level of borrowings. Amid Covid-19 stress and downturn, Andhra Pradesh’s borrowings in 2020-21 is estimated at a whopping 142% — a cause of concern for the state’s ruling YSR Congress party government. What has also increased the state government’s worry is the high fiscal deficit, which is put at Rs 68,536 crore, while the revenue deficit crossed Rs 48,809 crore in December 2020. Clearly, the economists and experts say the situation is alarming as they predict a fiscal emergency in the state. It is a crucial time for YSR whether he continues to neglect fiscal impropriety or adhere to fiscal prudence to save the state from a major financial crisis.
Sachin Tendulkar, aka, master blaster of the Indian team has been somewhat subdued in the preliminary rounds of the Unacademy Road Safety World Series Twenty20 for retired cricketers at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Cricket Stadium in Raipur. Opening the India Legends innings with the Prince of Najafgarh, Virender Sehwag, Sachin struck form against Bangladesh Legends and West Indies Legends, but in these matches Sehwag was in swashbuckling form scoring 80 off 35 balls against Bangladesh and 74 off 57 balls against the West Indies. According to Debashish Dutta, an itinerant cricket correspondent for Bengali Daily Aajkaal, and who is manager of the India Legends, the competition has been stiff and most of the legends are in great nick. He is hoping for Tendulkar to get into the battering ram mood soon. The Legends team of India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, West Indies, England, Australia, and South Africa have been locking horns in the Chhattisgarh capital. The final is scheduled for March 21. “We are following all bio-secure restrictions at the Mayfair Lake Resort and at the match venue and follow the ICC guidelines. The Australian Kookaburra balls, each costing Rs 15,000 is used,” said Dutta before boarding the team bus with Tendulkar.
One more book on Pakistan’s first woman prime minister Benazir Bhutto hit the book shelves sometimes back. The Bhutto Dynasty, authored by Owen Bennett-Jones, while tracing the turbulent history of the Bhutto dynasty, also reveals about her views on corruption. “Politicians everywhere, the former prime minister of Pakistan Benazir Bhutto argued, made money. The difference was that while Western politicians did so after they left office, their counterparts in the developing world did not have that option. The U.S. journalist Ron Suskind once put it to her that his high-level sources in the U.S. government had told him that she was making ‘real money’. There was no denial. Rather she said, “Let me explain how it works. In your part of the world Dick Cheney is vice president and then he goes to Haliburton to make his money. In this part of the world, you make your money whilst you are in office. It is not that different.”
The Covid-19 vaccination drive is gathering momentum across India. But the Centre’s decision to cap the vaccine price at Rs 250 at the private hospitals has increased worries of Serum India Institute which has a large inventory of Covishield vaccine. The company is expected to take a big hit in its balance sheet. This has been a serious issue for debate within SII. Cyrus Poonawalla, Chairman of Poonawalla Group, which includes SII, holds that SII should focus on its traditional business of production of the immunobiologicals, which were imported into India at high prices, instead of ramping up of Covishield vaccine which is priced way below their expectations. Poonawalla Senior belongs to the generation that continues to believe in the Old is Gold strategy. Moreover, the Centre is yet to issue guidelines for its exports. However, Poonawalla’s son and SII CEO Adar Poonawalla believes that despite a temporary hit in the balance sheet, the company can still offset the losses once the exports are allowed. He is the CEO of Industry 5.0 generation and wants to chart his path that will be followed by others. So, father and son are now engaged in brainstorming. We will have to wait to see whose strategy finally pays off.
Sandeep Patil, the ’81 Adelaide Hero when he thrashed Dennis Lillee, Len Pascoe and Rodney Hogg to make 174, and the 83 World Cup star, has been busy these days with the canvas, brush and acrylic.. After completing his stint as Chairman of the BCCI selection committee in 2016, Patil, now 64, chose to reside with wife Deepa at their Lavasa Villa and learn to play the guitar. Says the crowd puller of the 1980s and 1990s: “I like to play tunes, from Mackenna’s Gold, Godfather, James Bond films, Clint Eastwood and also Hindi songs, sab, sab, sab.” And he also got back to painting. “I am in a very happy stage of my life now. The Covid-19 gave me the chance to go back to my old hobby. I have drawn 200 paintings on 11x 16 inches canvas with acrylic. I draw on all subjects, but I need a reference. It’s a brilliant hobby. The advantage in acrylic is you make a mistake, and it can be corrected. I have used water colours also. I am an amateur and I am enjoying it,” revealed Patil who has been a player, captain, coach, selector and what not. Patil’s paintings have been applauded by his 1983 World Cup teammates in the Whatsapp Group ‘For Ever Champs’ created by Sunil Gavaskar.
In recent times one has been noticing Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray formally dressed like an office-goer – trousers and tucked-in full-sleeved shirts instead of his traditional kurta-pyjama. Last December he mandated that all the State government employees should refrain from wearing T-shirts, jeans and slippers to work. He is leading from the front. Most politicians are well dressed. The immediate name that comes to mind is that of the Congress leader Shivraj Patil who held important positions in the Union government. He was known for his sartorial taste. At times he used to change his dress several times a day. Likewise, Sonia Gandhi is always elegantly dressed in a well-draped cotton saree. Rajiv Gandhi’s kurta-pyjama was accompanied with Gucci shoes, Rolex watch and Cartier sunglass. Politicians started becoming dress conscious because of two reasons. One, both the Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha TV channels were telecasting live the daily proceedings. Two, the entry of youngsters, including film stars. I recall BJP leader Pramod Mahajan saying: “Even when disrupting parliament our voters like us to look good!” Narayan Rane as Maharashtra’s chief minister always preferred an odd two-button jacket but never a full suit. Many like Sharad Pawar preferred white trousers and half-sleeved bush shirts. Gopinath Munde preferred kurta-pyjama and a Nehru jacket but never wore trousers. The bandhgala was the favourite of two chief ministers in Maharashtra: Sudhakarrao Naik and his uncle VP Naik.
Ravichandran Ashwin completed the 400 plus wicket mark in the recently concluded four Test series against England. A back-related issue kept him out of the fourth Test against Australia at the ‘Gabba’, Brisbane. But he played all four Tests against England and his 32-wicket haul at a modicum average of 14.72 in the series took his overall tally to 409 in 78 Tests. This is a whistling distance away from Harbhajan Singh’s 417 from 103 Tests, Kapil Dev’s 434 (131 Tests) and Anil Kumble’s 619 (132 Tests). Ishant Sharma has 303 scalps from 101 Tests and Zaheer Khan 311 from 92 matches. The easily excitable off-spinner from Chennai has evolved over the last decade, dismissing 84 openers (1/2), 42 Number #3 or one drop batsmen, 37 #4, 34 #5 and 49 #7 for a grand tally of 246, which says that he’s been successful against proper batsmen. The lower order numbers are: 28 (#7), 28 (#8), 36 (#9), 31 (#10) and 40 (#11, or last man, or tailender) for a total of 163. He averages 5.77 per batting position. His strike rate is 52.60 and he has conceded so far at 2.82 runs an over, which is the lowest among the 300 wicket plus wicket takers for India in Test. Howzat!
The OTT Entertainment industry doesn’t know what hit them. First came the Allahabad High Court’s massive observations on the streaming of Tandav – seen by many as an indictment of the rapidly growing, unregulated platform. Next followed the remarks of the venerable Supreme Court’s bench of Justices Ashok Bhushan and R Subhash Reddy that concluded that the new guidelines governing social media (SM) and OTT (over the top) platforms have ‘no teeth’. Swiftly pouncing at the SC-sent opportunity, Information & Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar promised that the government would soon issue guidelines for the regulation of OTT platforms. Replying at the floor of the Rajya Sabha, the soft-spoken minister said that the new guidelines would address the issues of sensitive content, adding that a lot of suggestions on the regulation of OTTs have been received. The new development comes as a sharp contrast to the Minister’s earlier espousal of Self-Regulation for the industry. While meeting the OTT honchos, he tried dispelling misrepresentations around the digital media guidelines, assuring that the self-regulatory bodies would not have any member appointed by the government. Well, the fiery tussle between the key protagonists – including the FoE advocates – is far from over. What’s urgently needed is clarity in guidelines to draw more investments in the sector with about 40 OTT platforms.
As you drive from SEEPZ to L&T complex in Mumbai’s Andheri east, you cannot miss on your left a huge film studio complex – Kamalistan — named after Pakeezah fame writer-director-producer Kamaal Amrohi. He was also the husband of Meena Kumari, the tragedy queen of Bollywood. Hailing from eastern UP’s Amroha, he landed in Mumbai to seek his fortune as a writer. As is known nobody entertained him. One day he managed to enter the office of the great film maker of Minerva Movietone fame Sohrab Modi. As he broke into conversation, Modi who was busy reading a script, did not even look at him and said “I am busy, I cannot meet anybody.” Then as he lifted his head he saw this lean thin man in Achkan, a topi with a walking-stick. Seeing his physical appearance, Modi broke into a loud laugh. Quick-thinking Kamaal cashed in on the situation and said, “I am not a person to be seen; I am to be heard.” Modi sat down, heard what he had to narrate. His command over Urdu writing skills landed him a job with Modi and he quickly became a famous writer and director.
The world’s largest cricketing stadium opened to a deluge of media headlines. And also, to one of the globe’s wealthiest: Lakshmi N Mittal, Chairman & CEO of the $53.3-billion ArcelorMittal, the world’s largest steel and mining company. Mittal was spotted at the Narendra Modi Cricket Stadium, Ahmedabad along with BCCI Secretary Jay Shah, and Congress Leader Rajiv Shukla, enjoying the fourth test match between India and England. According to the Gujarat government’s official version, Mittal visited the Statue Of Unity at Kevadia, less than 200 kms from Ahmedabad. But the corporate observers are attributing the timing of the visit to more than that. They are connecting dots. It may be mentioned that during the same time, Prime Minister Narendra Modi was in Kevadia to address the concluding session of the annual conference of top officers of India’s Armed Forces. It is speculated that Mittal met Modi and Chief Minister Vijay Rupani before the PM’s address and after that watched the cricket match.
Once bitten twice shy. After a poor show in the Bihar elections and being publicly insulted by the RJD leader Tejaswi Yadav for spoiling the alliance prospects as Cong could win only 19 seats against 70 contested, the Congress party seems to have gone soft in its seat-sharing talks with the DMK Supremo MK Stalin in Tamil Nadu. Against its original demand for 54 seats, the Congress has quietly settled for 25 legislative seats. And for the by-elections, the party is pleased to get the Kanyakumari Lok Sabha seat. It is learnt that Rahul Gandhi does not mind playing second fiddle as his only objective is to counter the BJP-AIADMK in Tamil Nadu. Rahul, who has visited Tamil Nadu twice in recent times, enjoys a good equation with Stalin who is very confident of the DMK-Congress win this time. Even poll-strategist Prashant Kishor is talking of DMK winning. What makes the fight interesting is the BJP’s Hindutva appeal while in Tamil Nadu it has always been the Dravidian plank for all parties. Fearing backlash, it is learnt that the BJP’s alliance partner AIADMK has advised it not to push the Hindutva agenda. Rahul is likely to campaign extensively in Tamil Nadu, sharing dais with Stalin and address crucial joint meetings. For Rahul, the idea of playing second fiddle is also to revive Congress in Tamil Nadu. Will his bet pay off? Only time will tell.
Virat Kohli’s team could do well to spend some time with Yajurvindra Singh in order to pick up hard, but useful lessons on leg-trap fielding and catching. Also, known as ‘Sunny’, Yajurvindra belonged to the royal family of Bilkha in Junagadh, and he played for Saurashtra and Maharashtra in the Ranji Trophy. In the corporate world, he worked for Mahindra & Mahindra, Wisden India and Tata Consultancy Services. But Yajurvindra’s claim to global fame happened on his Test debut against England at Bengaluru. Positioned in the leg trap (forward and backward short leg) he snapped up seven catches (5 in the first innings and 2 in the second innings) and created a world record in January 1977. The leg trap came into the picture in the recent series against Australia and England and most fielders were found wanting. Yajurvindra who watched both the series said: “What is happening is both the players who are standing in the trap, they don’t regularly field there. Even at silly point. If you have not fielded there right through your career, suddenly you cannot develop skills that are required to field there. Remember it’s a scary position. One can get hit on the head and killed there instantly.”
Just when Rhea Chakraborty thought the nightmare was behind her and that she could focus on her acting career comes the news that her name figures in the Narcotics Control Bureau chargesheet linked to the Sushant Singh Rajput case. Trouble, they say, never comes alone. Earlier, she found to her dismay that her name was missing from the credit list of the mystery thriller Chehre directed by Rumi Jaffery. Yet, this 28-year-old starlet did not lose hope. She, according to sources, flew to Hyderabad to meet a producer and almost bagged the film. One does not know if Jaffrey will ever revive the film he had planned with Rhea and Sushant. But some film makers have decided to give her a second chance. However, those who know her say that Rhea is treading cautiously; not signing films till there is clarity in her case. Nikhil Dwivedi has already announced that he is open to working with her. People from Bollywood are asking why she shouldn’t get a second chance when Sanjay Dutt has got more than three chances. In fact, she recently met Salman Khan’s former talent manager Reshma Shetty who helped Salman resurrect his career after two big court cases. Looks like Rhea is working towards a gameplan!
One of the weakest points of the current NDA government at the Centre has been the lack of leaders who could communicate the economic policies and decisions of the government in the right perspective and that too effectively. The untimely demise of two BJP stalwarts Arun Jaitley and Sushma Swaraj depleted this capability further. While the other side of the story may be that you don’t need anybody else to do this when you have such a strong orator in Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Nevertheless, the need was felt to find ways to improve government communication, and the report of the Group of Ministers (GoM) on government communication, which is the talk of the town currently, has captured the wide gamut of issues. Several journalists, industry leaders and ideologues participated in the GoM’s deliberations. The Opposition parties have labelled the exercise as another effort to control media while the government obviously is portraying this as an exercise to help find the ways to deal with intentional negative narrative and make the policy messages reach people in the right way. An interesting point to ponder here is whether the industry leaders and journalists would do better by being critical of the government policies or by becoming a tool in the hands of the government in promoting the policies — a job that should primarily rest with the government spokespersons.
Harmanpreet Kaur is all set to play her 100th one-day international at Lucknow’s Bharat Ratna Shree Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana International Stadium on March 7. The match will be against the Rainbow Nation, South Africa. The pandemic has delayed this memorable milestone in her ODI career that began in Bowral in a Women’s World Cup match against Pakistan in March 7, 2009. The 31-year old girl from Punjab will become the 44th woman cricketer in the world and the fifth Indian — the others being Mithali Raj (209 matches), Jhulan Goswami (182), Anjum Chopra (127) and Anjali Sharma (119) — to achieve this feat. While Harmanpreet is excited about the important event in her career, Head Coach of the Indian Women’s team W V Raman told shortpost.in: “It’s a momentous occasion for any cricketer. It is also a milestone or reward for all the hard work and performances over a period of time. The thing about Harman is that she has been an impact player who has played some blinders in major tournaments. Like Sehwag did, she redefined batting in the Indian women’s circuit with her ability to dominate attacks. As a captain she has been great with the girls with whom she shares her experiences. All her positivity has made the other girls fearless. She is a top person to have in any team.”
With election fever rising, poll strategist Prashant Kishor seems to be the man of the moment. Already three major political parties -– Trinamool in West Bengal, DMK in Tamil Nadu, and Congress in Punjab have signed him up. Looks like political parties woo him before they woo the voters. This is the first time Kishor has three states on his worktable. And he has already given his verdict: DMK led by MK Stalin would return to power in TN and Mamata Banerjee in West Bengal. More. He has dared to stick his neck out by saying BJP would not cross 100 seats in W Bengal. So one has to wait till May 2 for the final result. But in the past he has had a good strike rate. He shot into the limelight by ensuring Narendra Modi became the Chief Minister of Gujarat for the third time. Post that he worked closely with the BJP for the 2014 Lok Sabha election. His string of success includes the unprecedented victory of the Aam Aadmi Party in Delhi for the second time; the YCR Congress win in Andhra Pradesh, and Nitin Kumar’s JDU in Bihar. But, he miserably failed his client –the Congress in Uttar Pradesh’s Assembly poll in 2017. It won only 7 seats against BJP’s 300 plus. Be that as it may, the Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh has accorded him a cabinet rank. A lot is indeed riding on him. The moot point is with such diverse clients does it make him ideologically neutral or is he nursing a political ambition? It may be recalled he did take a political plunge when he joined the JDU in Bihar but it proved to be a short-lived honeymoon.
Like Alice In Wonderland, the Tamil Nadu politics seems to be getting curiouser and curiouser. It all started with Superstar Rajnikant throwing in the towel thereby dashing BJP’s hopes of making significant impact in the upcoming Assembly polls. For MK Stalin of DMK, this announcement was music to ears. But the news of VK Sasikala or ‘Chinamma’, confidante of the late J Jayalalithaa, former Chief Minister, saw both the ruling party AIADMK and the DMK pull a long face. She came out of Bangalore jail after serving four-year term, and entered the fray .So much so, Chinamma was prevented by the very people who prostrated before her from going anywhere near Jayalalithaa’s Samadhi at Marina Beach. At the same time, to keep her in good humour mediators have been holding talks with her nephew TTV Dinakaran to work out a possible merger of his party AMMK with the AIADMK so that they can fight the common enemy DMK. But in a new political twist, Chinamma dropped a bomb, announcing to stay away from politics. The DMK and the Congress spokespersons on the TV channels are saying she must have been pressurized by the BJP! Apparently, local BJP leaders have welcomed the move. In the fast changing political contours, is it advantage AIADMK? Does DMK stand a better chance minus Chinamma? And where does Kamal Hasaan’s party Makkal Needhi Maiam figure?
In the mid-eighties and early nineties, the Indian promoters literally made hay in the absence of a market regulator, according to the Mumbai-based brokerage firm Altina Securities. The modus operandi was simple: raise money via private placement. To illustrate, if Company X had a post-issue capital of Rs 100 lakh, the break-up was: promoters Rs 40 lakh and public Rs 60 lakh. Many promoters – just before the IPO – privately placed nearly 75% of their holdings. Thus, Post IPO, the Rs 100 lakh equity base would be: Promoters Rs10 lakh, Private Placement Rs 30 lakh & Public Rs 60 lakh. There have been instances where the fly-by-night promoters received kickbacks for the project. This effectively reduced their skin in the game. Little wonder many companies which resorted to this route have vanished, leaving the small investors high and dry. Some of the vanishing companies are: Bonanza Pharma, Atash Industries, Amrut Industries, UCL Plastics, Rasik Plast, Indiana Diary. Senthur Shoes, Printed Circuit Board, Alsa Marine and Premier Housing.
It appears that no death — be it that of Mahatma Gandhi, John F Kennedy, John Lennon or Lady Diana — has been as hysterically covered that too non-stop for over 100 days by the Indian media as that of Bollywood star Sushant Singh Rajput who died under mysterious circumstance on June 14, 2020. The CBI has been on the job but their findings are yet to be made public. The glimmer of hope came in December 2020 when the CBI, in response to a letter written by the BJP’s Rajya Sabha member Dr Subramanian Swamy to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “The CBI is conducting investigation in a thorough and professional manner using latest scientific techniques. During investigation, all aspects are being looked at and no aspect has been ruled out as on date,” Dr Swamy was informed. Meanwhile, the diehard fans of Sushant are keeping the issue alive by posting relentlessly on Twitter: it was trending at #7 with 129,000 tweets on 3 March 2021.
Popularly known as “Murgers”, the Dubai-based Brian Murgatroyd has been with the touring England side from the second Test in Chennai. The 53-year-old British national has been with cricket boards of Australia and England as media officer of their respective teams. He has also served the International Cricket Council for a number of years. “This is my second stint with the England cricket team. I think the final Test of the India-England series in Ahmedabad is the 199th I have attended in a working capacity in 31 years,” said Murgatroyd who, when in Mumbai, likes to have a good fill of Sitafal ice cream (Custard Apple) at Rustomji’s on Veer Nariman Road, Churchgate. Murgatroyd has been a broadcaster, writer and media manager of England and also Australia in the era of Steve Waugh and Ricky Ponting. He has also written six books. “It’s been a wonderful experience, making friends in the sport that have endured and given me memories that will last for the rest of my life.” For the BCCI and Indian cricket teams, the media work is being carried out efficiently by Moulin Parikh and Anand Subramanian.
Post retirement there is a tendency among most bureaucrats to pen a book of their years in the government job. The latest to join the writers’ hall of fame is Shakti Sinha, an IAS officer who served as private secretary to the late Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. His book Vajpayee: The Years That Changed India provides an insider’s account of Vajpayee days as prime minister. He says whenever there were any crisis or controversies, Vajpayee never blamed the Opposition. People do not know how difficult it was for him to form a government in 1998 and run it. Vajpayee held the post of the prime minister for three non-consecutive terms in 1996, 1998-99, and from 1999-2004. Despite numerous political difficulties, he took important decisions like going nuclear and, paradoxically, extending a hand of friendship to Pakistan. The book highlights how resolutely Vajpayee defended India when the Kargil war broke out. And yet how his government was denied a second term.
With Prime Minister Narendra Modi receiving his first dose of vaccine, not only the inoculation drive against Covid-19 — but also the nation’s recovery prospects got a fresh shot in the arm. The investors now foresee acceleration in the drive to subdue the virus – which should free up all critical sectors. Moody’s has revised India’s GDP projections for FY22 upwards to 13.7% (from 10.8% estimated earlier) while the IMF has projected 11.5% (up from 8.8%). Despite Covid-19 stress, the GST collections for past five consecutive months have exceeded over Rs 1 lakh crore – including Rs 1.13 lakh crore in Feb 2021, up 7% versus Feb 2020. The state-wise GST growth is led by big states – Gujarat (up 14%), Tamil Nadu 9%, Maharashtra 2%, and Karnataka 2%. The recovery is attributed to a resilient farm economy as well as an impressive manufacturing performance with the Purchasing Managers’ Index hitting 57.5% in Feb. With vaccination drive in full swing, the services sector and the MSMEs should also bounce back. Meanwhile, the Central and the state governments should focus on reforms and relief on four fronts: 1) Employment generation; 2) an empowered antitrust watchdog to track corporate dominance in key businesses, including farming; 3) better industrial relations amid Kolar violence (at Apple iPhone plant); and 4) better outcomes from the Bad Bank (with the creditors identifying corporate loans of over Rs 1.45 lakh crore).
Road Transport & Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari does not hide his frustration with obstructionist bureaucrats. He is vocal and open about it. From time to time, he has been using various fora to drive home his point. He is furious at the slow pace with which the files move from the desk of a director-level officer to a joint secretary, additional secretary and secretary. He has warned the bureaucrats that “dead assets in government, who neither take decisions nor allow others to work, would be shown the door.” But, bureaucrats on their part seem indifferent to his threat and insult. Result, Gadkari seems to have given up on them. At a web-based event, he threw his hands up and said: “After my six years’ experience I have found that in this system people won’t change. I am coming to the conclusion that it is very difficult to change them. I have given up on these people.” And now, a few months back while speaking at the inauguration of the eight-floor NHAI building, Gadkari said: “The project was decided in 2008. Twelve years, two governments and eight NHAI chairmen came and went before this building could be completed. I am ashamed.” So how do we bring accountability and responsibility among bureaucrats? If a minister cannot fix this problem who can? Can the judiciary (saddled with lakhs of pending cases) play a role here? There are more questions than answers.
The Khushboo Gujarat Ki campaign run by the Gujarat Tourism since 2010 has been very effective, giving a massive boost to the number of in-bound tourists. But our Short Post Team discovered a shocking case of tourist alienation – with two Mumbai-based businessmen confiding in about a horrendous experience. It was a different khushboo when they drove down to Jaisalmer in Rajasthan from Mumbai. On return, their car bearing Maharashtra number plate was stopped by the Gujarat police at four different checkpoints. And from the word go it was mindless harassment and heaps of insult. At the first check-post, they were questioned whether they carried drugs, guns or alcohol and then asked to turn their bags upside down. At the second check-post they were asked why they did not cover the top portion of the headlights with yellow scotch tape? At the third check-post, they were fined for not wearing their mask properly inside their car. But, their real nightmare began at the fourth check-post. The cops once again rummaged through their bag and separated an empty liquor bottle. Immediately, they shouted with glee “Milee Gayo”, “Milee Gayo” (got it). Their reactions shocked these two businessmen. The cops forced one of them to sit in the driver’s seat and clicked pictures with an empty bottle on his lap. Then, they were told that now an FIR would be filed; and that they would have to pay a fine of Rs 1 lakh or else they would be jailed. Physically and mentally exhausted because of this senseless extortion the businessmen decided to loosen their purse strings and after which they were allowed to go.
The doyen of the Indian film industry, Sashadhar Mukerji, who initially joined Bombay Talkies and went on to create Filmistan and Filmalaya Studios, was considered the man with the Midas touch. He not only launched several new faces who have become a runaway success stories but his entire family right from his sons (Joy, Deb, and Shomu), grandson (Ayan), grand-daughter (Kajol), relatives (Ashok, Kishore, and Anup Kumar) are part of the film fraternity. It is a huge extended family. Actually, he was the brain behind the concept of formula films. A legend in his own lifetime, Mukherji was approached by Shammi Kapoor constantly for a big break. “Sir, you have made so many stars, when are you going to do something for me?” This persistence by Shammi went on for some time till one day Mukherji said: “Shave off your moustache and see me tomorrow.” Without wasting time, Shammi landed at his office the next day sans moustache and producer Mukherji signed him for Tum Sa Nahi Dekha which was directed by Nasir Hussain. Interestingly, this film became a launch pad for heroine Ameeta, director Hussain and catapulted a struggling Shammi Kapoor into the big league. Shammi told the undersigned: “I had a Hillman car those days. Even before the release of the film, I sold it and went on a holiday to the Far East. I knew when I return, I shall be a star!”
Sometime in the mid-nineties Wipro’s Azim Premji – the 10th richest Indian with a net worth of $7.2 bn — won the prestigious Business India’s Businessman Of The Year Award. After the award function, he was chatting with Business India’s editorial team and narrating a story about his son Rishad’s persistent demand for a car. “After much persuasion by my son, I finally agreed to let him have a car,” shared Premji. Knowing Premji’s net worth, the editorial staff of the Business India assumed it would be a Merc or Ferrari. Yet, their curiosity got the better of them and one scribe asked, so which car was it. “I sanctioned him an Indica,” said Premji nonchalantly. There was a pin drop silence. But that’s the stuff Premji is made of: Simple Living, High Thinking. The man who has donated over $16 bn for charitable causes is not looking for headlines. He shuns the Press. In fact, his wife Yasmeen who worked for Business India’s sister publication Inside Outside is very much like him – low profile and not-ostentatious. So the new book by two journalists Sundeep Khanna and Varun Sood Azim Premji: The Man Beyond Billions should make for an interesting read. The book brings out his simplicity. He loves chocolates, travels economy class and prefers to take the subway while in New York. All these qualities indeed make him a cut above the rest.
TRENDS & VIEWS
Editor’s Note: Big Punch In Small Pack
It is the Third Anniversary of Short Post and as a news media startup launched during the Covid-19 pandemic it certainly feels better than good to find ourselves where we are today. Here, I must cite the unstinted support of our seasoned contributors, all senior editors in the country, who brought a great degree of maturity and sagacity to the Short Post newsroom. But for them, our tagline “Authentic Gossip”, an Oxymoron, would not have matured viably. Our user numbers may be small but our stories have created the desired impact among people who matter — decision makers and influencers. We offer a big punch in a small pack and Short Post with its 225-word stories has been punching above its weight category. Having posted close to 3,000 stories in the last 36 months, Short Post, I feel, is an idea whose time has come.
And this is vindicated by our two marquee advertisers – IDFC FIRST Bank and ICICI Lombard. Both believed in our story and have supported us from Day one. A big thank you to both.
If you look at the media landscape – print, TV and digital — it is a mixed bag. There are job losses as some outfits have closed down while a lucky few were bailed out by large corporate houses. Yes, there is a lot of action in the digital space. However, the entry of corporate houses has raised the question of independence of news media outfits. Sadly, there are just a handful of independent media outfits in the country that are highly respected for their neutrality. At Short Post, our credo is not to take sides, prejudge issues or be biased but, informing readers of behind-the-scenes happenings. In essence, Short Post strives to be a neutral editorial platform — neither anti-establishment nor pro-establishment.
As I said last year, disruptions in the media world are moving at a fast and furious pace. Technology is playing a very big role in how content is generated and consumed. But, we are neither alarmed nor perturbed as it is all a part of the evolution process. What gives us comfort is that AI is unable to create original gossipy content. And that is the news arena where we have achieved a distinction.