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IN THIS ISSUE

INDEPENDENCE DAY FEATURE
Unshackling the Spirit : A Patriot's Journey
BY SANDEEP

FINANCE
Financial Services : An Exciting Career Option?
BY PIYUSH KAUL

PHOTO ESSAY
India Festival 2001
BY SUBHASH BAGGA

Publisher’s Note • Infotech India
Communication: Cheap Fast Courier
Innovation: PIN Free Calling
Government: Social Security
Community News • Obituary
Auto Review: 2002 Lexus SC 430
Bollywood • Tamil Cinema
Recipe • Horoscope

Publisher's Note:

August is the month of India’s independence, when Indians reaffirm their ties with the old country.

Siliconeer’s interest is in science and technology, and we can surely congratulate India for the dramatic strides it has taken in information technology—what a strange change a few decades make, whoever thought developed countries would begging Indian professionals to come to their countries?

August is also a time of taking stock, and one cannot run away from the fact that the fruits of independence have not been equitably shared. Isn’t there more than a hint of unease among some of us about the digital divide? Isn’t there good reason to ask whether the hoopla of the IT boom is irrelevant to huge masses of Indians?

Along with excellence in IT, the Bay Area has also happily seen a different kind of boom—Indian Americans of good will raising money for self help projects, education in India.

In this issue we carry a special story of an Indian engineer’s journey from Berkeley, Calif., to Princeton, N.J. What is fascinating is the long tortuous path he has traversed. Sandeep (he chooses not to use his last name), who got his Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from the University of California at Berkeley, is not now in Princeton do continue some abstruse engineering research.

Sandeep is in Princeton as a research fellow to gain knowledge on nuclear disarmament. He is a full-time social activist now. After returning to India he joined IIT Kanpur, but left, disillusioned with what he considered injustice, and went to his grandfather’s village to set up schools and other self help projects. In time he became involved in nationwide political causes—he met his wife Arundhati at a protest rally against the Narmada dam, and took a 1,500 km march to protest India’s nuclear blasts.

Before leaving the U.S., he helped found Asha, an organization that supports basic education projects in India. Today Asha has 35 chapters in the U.S. In 10 years it has raised over a million dollars to support over 200 education projects in India.

Sandeep is that rare professional—he had the courage of his conviction, and decided to live his life according to his beliefs. Most of us prefer philanthropy on the side. It is Sandeep’s total conviction, shorn of the hypocrisy that afflicts so many of us, that makes his story so heartwarming, despite the fact that we may not necessarily share his views and political stands.

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Main Feature

Unshackling the Spirit:
A Patriot's Journey By Sandeep

He got PhD from Berkeley and went home to join IIT Kanpur. Today he is a full-time social activist involved in grassroots self help projects and nationwide causes like the Narmada Bachao Andolan and nuclear disarmament. He is now in Princeton, N.J. researching nuclear disarmament. Siliconeer commemorates Independence Day with his heartwarming story. Here is his story, in Sandeep’s own words.

I was always interested in some kind of socially meaningful work. In my college days I tried politics. I ran for—and was elected representative of the engineering college when I was a student at Benares Hindu University. Student politics in BHU is a stepping stone to national politics. The parties already identify potential recruits. However, that one term was enough to disillusion me, because you had contractors, criminals and all kinds of people who were hanging out and waiting for their chance.

I did not know for quite some time what to do.

Many years later, when Srivatsavoy, a TIFR chemistry post-doc student in Berkeley, came up with an idea of starting a group, I thought maybe this is what can be done outside the political arena. I had just one year to go in my Ph.D., it was 1991 summer.

My inspiration came from Gandhiji. I had read his autobiography in his college days. I knew I wanted to do something, but I had no clear idea how I would do go about it, and I definitely did not have the courage to leave my studies and plunge into it.

Srivatsavoy wanted to do something on the technology level—research of latest scientific ideas in India, technology transfer, and all that. But to me it appeared that any kind of social change would have to be brought about through the process of education. So I brought up the proposal in the first meeting that I would like to be part of the group, but I would like to work for basic education. My thinking was very naïve at that time. I got this book by political scientist Myron Weiner which told about how half of India’s children do not go to school and 25 percent don’t go because they are in a child labor kind of situation.

So since we had got the benefits of education, we thought everybody could derive similar benefits, and everybody should be put in school. So our group started. We called it Asha. Since we were hoping to provide education to poor children, we thought we could do it by raising money.

My friend Deepak Gupta (presently a professor at IIT Kanpur) joined. Deepak was more sensible, always. By the first year we were already supporting five projects. Right now we have 35 chapters in the U.S. and we have raised over $1.2 million in 10 years and supported over 225 projects.

However, when I returned to India, I got disillusioned with Asha. I started working with the laborer population in Vilaspuri in Kanpur. This was after I had joined IIT Kanpur as a faculty member. This was 1993. There was already a movement going on in campus for minimum wage for the construction workers, and Deepak had already been there and told people about Asha, and as soon as I reached these people contacted me. An IIT physics professor, his son, they told me they were running a campaign, we have formed a cooperative of workers, and we want workers to get their contracts directly from IIT, instead of having to go through the contractor. They wanted me to become part of the movement, and it seemed natural for me to join, because their cause seemed rational and just.

So I gave up pant, bush shirt, started wearing kurta pyjama, started participating in their protests, demonstrations. In 1993 I went on a fast demanding their rights.

I created all sorts of problems in IIT. I said I will not work in my research area, which was control systems, which has direct application in defense. I changed my research focus to biogas, because that can only benefit human beings. I did not have any academic background in that area, so I requested two other faculty members at IIT to help me. The authorities were angry about this. When the Barbri Masjid demolition took place in December 1992, I was part of relief efforts and took students with me. We were performing street plays against communalism.

Initially the head of my department had told me they would not bother what I was doing as long as I taught properly—and I did that—but I started questioning more and more things. The final straw for them was the fast I took. There was a contract for Rs. 800,000 for whitewashing and the workers’ cooperative was saying that they would like to have it, and they had filed their tender application. The administration refused to give the coop the contract. Our bid was lowest. The administration was worried about a trade union movement. They prevented us from bidding, throwing a bunch of bureaucratic rules at us. After my fast, I was called by my head of the department. He said that I had to be like other professors and confine myself to teaching and research, or I have to be out. I was given one semester to rectify my ways. Anyway, I had to leave.

I went to Ballia in U.P., to a village of my grandparents. It is a rural area, 28 km outside Ballia city. I had by this time visited every grassroots movement and experiment—Anna Hazare, Baba Amte and Medha Patkar. I had visited RSS experiments, I had visited Shankar Guha Niyogi’s movement in Chhattisgarh. Ultimately I decided to go on my own. Because I realized that if I had to conduct some experiment, it would have to be in an independent setting. I had some ideas about what I wanted to do with education. My grandparents were supportive.

Then I started forming my group and started to work. When I went to Narmada Valley in 1994 I met Arundhati—my future wife. My group in Ballia was also called Asha. Initially we tried to involve everybody in the education experiment, but now we are into other things also, like cooperative farming and women’s tailoring program.

Initially it was about education, though. I had all these ideas about how education should be more joyful, how we should not have exams. We don’t conduct exams. We have our own evaluation process, where every child is evaluated independently. We don’t give marks. There was a lot of resistance from the conventional teachers. So it took us quite some time to convince people of our ideas.

I can certainly say that in my system a child may not be very good academically, but the amount of confidence they acquire, and the general overall personality development is better than conventional schools.

Now we have a lot more activities besides education. Bee-keeping is our most successful activity. Asha has its own training program in bee-keeping outside Varanasi. We make chyawanprash, we have a health care program, we have a doctor who goes to the village. We are forming a village fund where everybody contributes 10 rupees per month, so that they can have their own fund and not go to the moneylender. We try to solve the village disputes within the village, so that people don’t get trapped in the court system.

My transition to more political causes started soon after I went back to India. I started working with laborers’ children in Kanpur and I realized that mainstream education system was not a universal answer to everybody. In fact, the education system was only meant to discriminate and filter out only certain type of people with certain skills who were needed to be IAS officers and engineers and doctors.

Then I slowly started thinking about issues, and my marriage to Arundhati was certainly the most crucial factor. She was already in the Narmada movement for 10 years when I met her.

Initially my role was supportive. For instance, I would help Medha when she was in Delhi. After the nuclear tests in 1998, we decided to question its rationale. We were quite shocked the way everybody was celebrating. Even somebody like my mother—who never taught me violence— she was supporting the idea of having a nuclear bomb because we had to take on Pakistan.

I and Arundhati decided to go to a meeting on Hiroshima day. The meeting was very successful. But we realized that we were essentially talking to the converted. So we decided to take a peace march which would give us a real chance to interact with people.

We took out the march to mark the anniversary of the nuclear blasts. We went from Pokhran to Sarnath. We started May 11, 1999 and ended in August 6. We walked 1,500 kilometers. It took us 88 days. Continuously there were only three people including myself, but overall, about 250 people came. At any given time, the maximum number of people was 60. Our experience was that in the beginning of the meeting everybody would be pro-weapon, but when you started talking and had a good decision for two, three hours, in the end everybody would get convinced, unless they were very clearly associated with the RSS, BJP. Our march was stopped in two places, and stones were thrown at us in one place. Elsewhere, the hospitality was great. I realized that India has this great tradition of people going on marches, mostly for religious reasons, so you are seen as doing something very sacred. We did not have to spend anything on food.

Sometimes I jokingly say that after the marching I have been flying. This is my third foreign trip since the march. The way it happened was that after the march I got involved at the national level in the nuclear disarmament movement. I got invited by anti nuclear activist and author Praful Bidwai to Sweden for a conference. Because of Admiral Ramdas, I got to make a trip with two Pakistani peace activists to Bangladesh and Nepal. One of the two Pakistanis was Zia Miah, a Princeton physicist whom I met for the first time in February. He started asking me why I don’t come to Princeton and work with them.

A bunch of scientists—mostly physicists—are here, and they call this the Center for Energy and Environmental Study. All of them without exception have taken a stand against nuclear weapons and nuclear energy.

The most interesting aspect about this was supposed to be an institute for defense strategy and war planning and it was shut down after the protests during the Vietnam war.

I have definitely gained from my visit. As an activist you are actually relying on rhetoric, it was a stand more as a pacifist. Now I have also begun to understand some of the technical issues involved—like how much uranium and plutonium India and Pakistan have, and how many bombs they can produce and what is the state of readiness, and what would it involve if India and Pakistan were to go for nuclear disarmament, how would they go about doing it.

The peace movement is bringing Indian and Pakistani people of goodwill much closer. A recent visit of Pakistani children to Lucknow was unbelievable, everywhere they went, they were treated like VIPs, and everybody wanted to have them over.

After I go back I will continue to work for the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament and Peace. Besides that, my work for the less privileged continues, as it always will.

Interested readers can reach Sandeep by e-mail at community@siliconeer.com.

– Sandeep got his PhD in mechanical
engineering from Berkeley, Calif. He helped
start Asha, a social welfare organization that
has 25 chapters in the U.S. He is now a full-time
social activist based in Lucknow.

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Infotech India



Flexicube Center … Online Payment in Kerala … Agilent Lab … Lycos, Bollywood — Here is the latest on information technology from India

Flexcube Center

Citibank CEO Victor Menezes, who is also head of emerging markets business for Citigroup, Aug. 13 inaugurated the FLEXCUBE Center of Learning at the I-Flex facility in Bangalore.

The center will focus on providing I-Flex’s financial institution customers and partners access to a comprehensive curricula and intensive training programs in both banking operations and technology platforms. It will also offer courses on various banking operations such as retail banking, risk management, trade finance, securities processing as well as technology platforms such as Windows 2000, Unix and Oracle.

In his inaugural speech, Menezes said I-Flex Solutions had established itself as a leading provider of packaged applications to global institutions. It was also a glowing example to other Indian software companies.

I-Flex Solutions chairman Rajesh Hukku said the center was particularly relevant in the context of FLEXCUBE being the choice of more than 80 financial institutions across 36 countries within just three years of its launch.

The center was a proactive step of the company to support customers and partners, he added.
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Online Payment in Kerala

State government-owned Keltron and Bill Junction, an initiative of ICICI, signed an agreement Aug. 13 for introducing electronic bill presentations and payment service of recurring bills in the city in Thiruvananthapuram..

Regular payments of electricity, water, telephone, mobile phones, credit cards and insurance bills, among other things, can be made through the new system, which will be available from December.

The agreement was signed by industries secretary and Keltron managing director Ajay Kumar and Bikramjit Sen, chief operating officer, Bill Junction, in the presence of Industries Minister P.K. Kunhalikutty.

The service will be extended to other cities later.
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Agilent Lab

Delhi-based 1.2-billion-rupee technology giant Agilent Technologies has announced the launching of a state-of-the-art telecommunications and networking laboratory, the first of its kind in India, at the University Institute of Technology under Burdwan University.

In addition to mark Kolkata’s emergence as the country’s fastest-growing technology hub, Agilent has also set up its first and the only research and development center in the country in the Salt Lake area here with an investment of over Rs. 30 million, mostly for purchasing sophisticated instruments.j

Agilent Technologies president Kewal Khanna said about 400 B-tech, M-Tech and Ph.D students would be admitted every year to the networking laboratory’s electronics, communications and computer science courses to conduct critical examinations in the fields of microwave engineering, lightwave technology and satellite communications.

The experiments would focus on modulation, transmission and detection of radio frequencies and computer networking among others using fiber optic cables.

The project cost Agilent nearly Rs. 10 million. Khanna said the grant would go a long way in facilitating quality education and advance research in the fields of science and technology for students from the backward regions.

On why Burdwan University was chosen for the setting up of such a sophisticated program, Khanna said apart from providing all infrastructural support and the entire faculty, they took the maximum interest.

The Agilent chief said a similar proposal had come from the Indian Institute of Technology in Kharagpur, and preliminary discussions were on before embarking on it.

Depending on the response and success from the Burdwan University project, more such schemes would be explored elsewhere, Khanna said.
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Lycos, Bollywood

Lycos India, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Lycos Asia, said to be the largest Internet network in Asia, has announced a strategic partnership with Bollywood Stock Exchange, one of the popular destinations for entertainment and gaming on the World Wide Web.

The alliance will bring together two leading Internet players with complementing strengths and provide netizens in India with a site offering online entertainment, a Lycos release said.

Lycos Asia is part of the network owned by global Internet media giant Terra Lycos.
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For many ambitious infotech professionals, life is beginning to seem like a big hangover. The meteoric rise of dot-coms has been followed by an equally spectacular debacle, and as information technology heavyweights reel from the downturn and slash jobs, more than a few people are wondering whether this is a good time to consider a change of career.

Well, guess what? Insurance giant Prudential Financial is looking for South Asians to help them crack the South Asian market. The company is a canny observer of the business scene, and it recently made an impressive pitch to woo the best and brightest South Asians at a career information session in San Jose, Calif., July 28.

Of course, there’s a lot more to Prudential than insurance. Prudential serves millions of individual and institutional customers worldwide and offers a variety of products and services, including life insurance, property and casualty insurance, mutual funds, annuities, pension and retirement related services and administration, asset management, securities brokerage, real estate brokerage franchising and relocation services for companies.

Prudential serves its individual and institutional customers in over 30 foreign countries.

As of December 31, 2000, Prudential had more than $371 billion in assets under management and over $1 trillion of life insurance in force.

The 125-year-old company is one of the largest life insurance companies in the U.S. and one of the largest financial institutions in the world.

The company’s multicultural market director Anthony Pilone was on hand to talk about career prospects with Prudential. Pilone said Prudential’s motto was simple: “Grow wealth, protect wealth.”

The financial services field, he said, was recession and depression-proof, unlike technology markets. While there were various kinds of companies out there who provided various services, Prudential was a full-service provider, a one-stop shop comprehensive mix of advice and products, he said.

Prudential is particularly interested in the South Asian market, because it realizes how the community has grown and prospered. It is trying to increase its visibility in the community by helping to sponsor events. It has recently sponsored the India Festival 2001 in Santa Clara, Calif., the Indian medical doctors’ major event AAPI convention, and has given $100,000 for Diwali festivities in New York.

Prudential hopes to use its strategy of upper middle-class market penetration in the South Asian community—targeting people with annual income of $100,000 or more—with a focus on insurance and long-term investment products rather than short-term savings, and it plans to retain customers by using advice-based financial services with long-term relationships. Unlike other companies, Pilone said Prudential shuns quantity-focused strategy and prefers a quality-focused strategy for the upscale market, and need-based selling.

So exactly what kind of job was Prudential offering?

Prudential calls it a Financial Services Associate, where an accepted candidate would participate in a special, two-year salary plus bonus-based career development program.

Their career development program introduces an applicant to a financial services career that is founded on a relationship-based sales approach and strengthened by in-depth product knowledge. Financial Services Associates participate in this 2-year salary-plus-bonus-based career development program, offering insurance and investments to help clients meet their financial goals.

After successful completion of the Financial Services Associate program, many will continue to be financial services generalists, advising clients on a range of insurance and investment need, others will go on to develop a specialty such as fee-based financial planning, insurance for business needs, or estate planning.

Prudential gives extensive training in the program. “The best classroom training is an integral part of Prudential’s development process,” say the company. “But so is the job hands-on. Our Financial Services Associates learn and grow through structured one-on-one training. Paired with a manager, financial services, who serves as your trainer and coach, you’ll learn to understand how to build and manage productive relationships—and what your clients will expect from you. You’ll attend client appointments jointly, evaluate client needs, and discuss potential solutions.”

An FSA’s responsibilities include creating a business plan, gathering client information, determining a client’s needs, exploring alternatives and options and implementing product solutions.

Pilone said the best way to get started is to begin with the base market. He said the base market consists of the first 200 people one knows. That will produce 100 interviews; 100 interviews will produce 350 referrals; referrals will lead to 75 sales. Sales will yield 400 additional referrals, and base market referral activity will add to 150 sales per year.

If this has started your entrepreneurial juices flowing, you can get in touch with Prudential. Of course, it’s competitive, only four out of 100 applicants are accepted, and the company is looking for people who are knowledgeable about insurance and investment products, market-savvy, strategic thinkers, technology proficient and superior relationship builders.

Piyush Kaul is freelance writer.
He lives in San Jose, Calif.

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Communication:

Mail Marriage:
Cheap Fast Courier – By Anjali Parekh

U.S. Postal Service and Indian courier service Overnite Express have hooked up to provide express mailing from India to the U.S. that looks like an irresistible deal, writes Anjali Parekh.

Indian courier giant Overnite Express calls it US Smart Sewa. This is how it works. Overnite Express and the U.S. Postal Service have an agreement where Overnite Express ships mail from India to the U.S. and it enters the Priority Mail delivery system. Overnite Express says Indian’s sending express mail to the U.S. can slash their prices by $14 each time they sent a _ pound package. Where all other couriers charge at least $25, Overnite promises to charge $11.

Add to that the advantages of having an ally like USPS, which delivers everywhere, and is the only universal mail service in the U.S.

Overnite Express promises delivery to all US destinations, including post office box addresses, and says from Delhi it will take 4-5 days. Deliveries will be on Saturdays as well, and confirmation will be available on its Web site.

Anjali Parekh is a freelance writer
based in Atherton, Calif.

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Innovation:

PIN-free India Calling
Enticing New Offer – By Urvanshi Majmundar

A phone company is offering the cheap rates of phone cards without the hassle of dialing long PIN codes, claiming it gives huge savings over the well-known long-distance phone companies, writes Urvashi Majmundar.

Value Communications Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Rediff.com India and a leading provider of long distance calling services, announced the launch of VC Direct, its direct long distance service which now allows consumers to call overseas without the hassles of a phone card.

The long distance market to South Asia is divided into two categories: prepaid phone cards and direct-dial carriers. Value Communications Corporation promises to beat the prices offered by direct-dial carriers with an extremely aggressive pricing plan, while maintaining the simplicity and high quality of direct dialing. Consumers will now be able to dial to over 200 international destinations without the hassle of a calling card or PIN numbers using the newly launched VC Direct service.

The offer is compelling. There are several plans a customer may choose from depending on their needs. A caller to India, for example, can get connected to any city for just 39.9 cents a minute, all-inclusive, on the national plan, or 29.9 cents to certain specific cities on the city plan. There are no additional charges. Yet direct-dial companies typically charge multiple additional fees and taxes over and above their advertised rates.

Commenting on the new service, company CEO Arvind J. Singh, said, “This is a truly innovative product in response to the needs of the South Asian consumer in the United States. It stems from our undying belief that we need to provide our customer significant savings, ease of use and ultimate flexibility in calling. That, to us, is true value.

“The South Asian customer is very discerning. They are smart, and always know a good deal when they see one. We need to reach out to them as we have attempted to over the last five years.”

– Urvashi Majmundar is a freelance writer.
She lives in Tracy, Calif.

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Photo Essay:

India Festival 2001 - By Subhash Bagga

Al Auger, our automotive editor has been writing about cars for over 30 years.
He has spent 20 years as a race driver and public relations specialist.

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Bollywood: | Guftugu | Hindi Film Review |

Guftugu

All in the Family

Well it’s rakshabandhan season, isn’t it, so who can blame a loving sis for getting into the mood? Cute gal Amisha Patel is getting into the old Bollywood act—she is roping in dear bro Ashmit into films.

She certainly won’t be the first to lead the way for siblings to enter Bollywood. Shilpa Shetty has brought in sis Shamita, Padmini Kolhapure has made the path easier for sis Tejaswini and who can forget Kareena, the adored sis of Bollywood queen Karisma?

Ashmit, though, has quite a lot more going for him than just sis Amisha. He is quite a hunk, towers at over six feet, and has eyes that speak volumes. Chances are, Amisha is going to be a very happy sis, huh?
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To Greater Glory

Debut director Farhan Akhtar is having a ball. Critics are ecstatic over his stylish new film Dil Chahta Hai, and the film opened to 100 percent bookings in Mumbai. Which must make mom Honey Irani and pop Javed Akhtar really proud. Considering that sonny Farhan wears many hats in the film: In addition to directing, he also wrote the script and the story, it seems like the son has gone one better than the father.

Well, our new sensation is not one to let the grass grow under his feet. Rumor has it that Farhan is already busy planning his next new venture, and guess who he is roping in for the main role? It’s Bollywood heartthrob Hrithik Roshan, no less.

Talks are still going on, and nothing is final, but with even fastidious star Aamir Khan also quite impressed, there can be no doubt that this young fella is going to go a long, long way. And it’s not a moment too soon. Lord knows Bollywood badly needs fresh ideas to hold its own in a globalizing world.
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Beauty in Love

She’s beautiful, and she is in love. Well, as far as beauty goes, you don’t have to take my word for it, for Priyanka Chopra does happen to be the reigning Miss World. As for love, rumors are making the rounds that the pageant queen has given her heart to upcoming Bollywood star Aseem Merchant.

Which might be just the thing the doctor ordered for poor Aseem, who has been haunted by tragic suicides in the family.

But don’t think it’s all play and no work for the beautiful Chopra. Unlike the tough initial challenge faced by previous beauty queens Sushmita Sen and Aishwarya Rai, Priyanka has been very savvy in getting her foot in tinseltown. She has already signed a film with cuddly comedian hero Govinda. Now all she needs to do is to show Bollywood and the world that she can act.
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Old is Gold

You think Bollywood is interested only in youth and fresh faces? Think again. Just look at Anil Kapoor. Years go by, but this evergreen star continues to reinvent himself, and his forthcoming venture is already making a buzz. Nayak will be a hit, insiders say, and since its nayak is our fave star Anil, a lot of the glory is bound to rub off on him. Anil will play a crime fighter with lissome Bengali beauty Rani Mukerji on his side, and if the buzz about the film is to be believed, Anil will conquer a lot more than crime, he will win movie goers as well. With hard work and professional dedication, Anil proves that you can defy age even in Bollywood. Well, at least for a while.
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Not Gone Yet

Ah, Madhuri Dixit! Today’s starlets may be young and pretty, but Madhuri fans miss the sheer talent this star brought to the screen. She acted with charm, danced like a dream, and on top it all she was drop-dead gorgeous, and now all is lost to the noble institution of matrimony.

Well, not so fast. Madhuri fans, rejoice. She is still one of the most sought after stars, and watch out for her soon to be released films Yeh Raaste Hain Pyaar Ke and Rajkumar Santoshi’s Lajja. This is one talented woman who still has a lot to offer Bollywood and her million fans.
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Reinventing Suman

You simply can’t keep Shekhar Suman down. Sony TV is planning to drop his smash hit talk show Movers and Shakers, and Suman is seething. Yes, the ratings were going down, Suman concedes, but he had been urging for a revamp of the show for a long time, but Sony simply didn’t pay any attention.

Well, now he is moving to Star Plus, where he will do a weekly show and it is called, aptly enough, Simply Shekhar.

In the meantime, his acting career is beginning to look better, and he will play nine roles—yes, you read that right—in a David Dhawan film. His Simply Shekhar show will begin with a bang, too. How can it be anything but a crowd-puller when his first guests are the redoubtable rustic populist leader Lalu Prasad Yadav and his better half and Bihar Chief Minister Rabri Devi? Maybe Shekhar will have the last laugh, after all.
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Almost Happened

Karisma and Madhuri—didn’t they look great in Yash Chopra’s Dil To Pagal Hai? Well, the two were supposed to reappear in Deepak Shivdasani’s forthcoming film Yeh Raaste Hain Pyaar Ke. When the director approached Karisma to do the second heroine’s character, she initially agreed, but later backed out. Her reason? Holy matrimony. Finally it was Preity Zinta who stepped in. Incidentally, Rani Mukherjee was also a contender for the role.
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Jinxed Newcomer

Bollywood can be like a fickle lover. It can swoon over you one day and forget about you the next. Is that what’s happening to poor Abhishek Bachchan?

The poor kid is finding out the hard way how talent alone will not take you to the top. Film making is a composite art, you need a good director, decent script, top-notch production values, and even then you have to pray that movie buffs like your film.

Abhishek’s Refugee held a lot of promise, but then things have been going downhill. Abhishek made a few bad moves. For instance, he removed himself from an Abbas Mustan film to please Yash Johar, who dropped him.

Meanwhile, the box office has brought even more bad news. Bas Itna Sa Khwab Hai has sunk like a lead balloon and Shararat’s release has been postponed.

Now directors and producers are deserting him in droves. And the poor kid is wondering what the heck went wrong.

Our advice is simple: Keep your cool, Abhishek. Everyone knows you can act, and remember, the number of stars who struggled and were written off in the beginning, and yet persevered and ultimately made it in Bollywood, is legion. With a bit of patience, you can join their ranks, too.
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Better Days

She may have been Miss Universe, but Bollywood has given her a hard time. Sushmita Sen’s first few films were going nowhere—fast. Pretty soon she was reduced to doing item dances and playing sexy also-ran stars.

Well, enough is enough. Sushmita got serious, and it may be beginning to pay off. As a slew of her big budget films get ready for release this year, she has reason to feel confident. David Dhawan’s Kyonki Main Jhoot Nahin Bolta has Govinda, All the Best has Amitabh Bachchan and then ther is zany painter M.F. Hussain’s Do Kadam Aur Sahi opposite Rahul Khanna, Pankaj Parasher’s Tumko Na Bhool Paayenge and Meghna Gulzar’s Filhaal.

Things seem to be looking up, and it’s about time, too.
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Hindi Film Review
Captivating, Intelligent

DIL CHAHTA HAI

Director: Farhan Akhtar
Music: Shankar Ehsan Loy
Starring: Aamir Khan, Akshaye Khanna, Saif Ali Khan, Preity Zinta, Sonali Kulkarni and Dimple Kapadia

What a pleasant surprise. Just when you thought Hindi films were a lost cause—condemned to resemble the proverbial bimbo—all looks and no substance, a film comes and shakes you out of cynical complacency. This year has already been a good one for Bollywood—Lagaan and Gadar-Ek Prem Katha have set hearteningly high standards for commercial Indian cinema, and Dil Chahta Hai adds a refreshing dash of youthful elan that is all the more delightful.

Over the past decades, there is no question that Bollywood has come quite a distance in terms of production values. In fact, one can go back as far as Sholay to note how Bollywood film makers had been successful in creating an engaging visual spectacle.

However, it was in the substance, the story telling and the values that Bollywood seemed reluctant to jettison hackneyed sentiment and Neanderthal values. Think of Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge—exquisitely photographed in Switzerland it may have been, but the pathos and values it evoked were of rural rustic Punjab: A stern patriarch whose patriotism blends unpleasantly with sexist tyranny.

Times have changed, though. With satellite television and videos, it is no longer as easy to hoodwink audiences, and Bollywood had a rude awakening this year before Lagaan and Gadar when Mumbai’s cinemas were littered with the corpses of slickly made vapid potboilers which richly deserved a quick death at the box office.

Lagaan and Gadar were like a breath of fresh air—far from perfect, mind you—but nevertheless intelligent attempts at telling stories set in a historical period, and the wondrous thing about it is that the care shown by the film makers has paid off handsomely.

Dil Chahta Hai is something else again. It is, by Bollywood standards, an unusually sophisticated piece of storytelling that tells a story of three young men, their friendships and their relationships with great flair and wit.

Siddhartha (Akshaye Khanna) is contemplative, Akash (Aamir Khan) is a bohemian and Sameer (Saif Ali Khan) is a skirt-chaser—the three are also inseparable, close friends. Wealthy, hip, but also to some degree vulnerable as they navigate through the rites of passage to adulthood.

Siddhartha befriends a depressed divorcee Tara (Dimple Kapadia) whom he loves, but Tara shuts him out, though she remains his friend. Siddhartha goes off to a remote hill station to paint. Akash goes to Australia to tend to business, Sameer keeps getting into trouble with women. A Swiss woman dumps him and then he chases a woman with who already has a boyfriend.

The film follows the rollercoaster romantic developments of the three characters and the shadows it casts on the friendship of these three youths.

Yet this skeletal summary doesn’t do justice to the superb execution of the film. In the amazingly skilled hands of debutant director Farhan, the four sub-plots—three love stories and the tale of their friendship—is deftly woven together in a warm, witty—the dialogues are wondrously funny at times—tale where humanity and tenderness shine.

Deftly etched characters give the main characters an excellent opportunity to show their stuff, and Aamir, Akshay and Saif step up to the plate to give some of the best performances of their careers.

What makes this film remarkable is its confident and refreshing avoidance of the hoary old chestnuts that are stock sequences in Bollywood fare—no tearjerker melodrama with cloying pathos here, or pointless, contrived mayhem. It’s just a very plausible tale of three upper middle-class youths, their joys, sorrows, love and despair, told with superb, sophisticated cinematic style.

The production values add considerably to the film’s appeal. The photography is exquisite—Sydney steals your heart. The music matches the hip, Western approach of the film quite well, and the sets are done with great flair. All individuals with responsibility in these department deserve unreserved praise, but the greatest credit must go to the confident debutant who shows such enormous promise—a film is at the end of the day the director’s baby.

Farhan Akhtar has dared to tread where many seasoned directors don’t—in fact, there are already rumblings among some critics that the film is too sophisticated and urbane for mass tastes. The point has almost certainly been raised when he was making the film, but more power to this intrepid debutant director who had the courage of his convictions and respect for his craft. He decided to make intelligent cinema, and who knows? The movie-buff may prove all his naysayers wrong.

Rating: **** (Superior)

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Tamil Film Review:
Ruinously Shoddy Script

STAR

Director: Pravinkanth
Starring: Prashanth, Jyotika, Vijaykumar, Raghuvaran, Pravinkanth, Manivannam and Ramesh Khanna
Music: A.R. Rahman

Despite the presence of top stars like Prashanth and Jyotika, a high-profile director like Pravinkanth & music whiz A.R. Rahman, Star fails to take off. After a few early scenes, the script takes a nosedive from which it never recovers. The shoddy script is made worse by inept treatment. The director’s attempt to enter into the acting arena, and play one of the crucial characters in the film adds insult to injury.

The story goes like this: Dhanushkodi (Raghuvaran) holds district collector Ramnathan (Vijaykumar) responsible for the death of his only son at the hands of a forest brigand and plans to retaliate by killing Ramnathan’s son Santhosh. But Ramnathan pre-empts any such action by secretly sending his son abroad. It is twenty years since, and the scene shifts to the present day. Ramnathan makes yearly trips abroad to meet his son. Dhanushkodi’s goons keep trailing him each time, but are apparently unable to discover his destination and the whereabouts of Santhosh. Ramnathan, meanwhile, hits on an idea — to find a fall guy who will pose as his long-lost son. Dhanushkodi would definitely kill him, and then Ramnathan could get his real son back to India. Ramnathan zeroes in on Murthy, a jailbird. A reluctant Murthy (Prashanth) agrees, when he discovers that his ladylove Preithy (Jyotika) is Ramnathan’s niece and staying in the same house too. Dhanushkodi, as expected, makes many attempts to kill Murthy, and as expected, fails each time. Matters are made worse when Santhosh, the real son, an alcoholic and a drug addict (Pravinkanth) lands in India in search of his parents. After a few more listless scenes, Santhosh is killed and the lovers are reunited.

Rahman, probably knowing the worth of the script, has handed over the old tunes he had composed for a Hindi film. An artist can rarely rise above a bad script. Consequently Prashanth’s attempts to infuse some life through fight scenes and dance numbers turn futile. Jyotika’s expressions are becoming repetitive. One feels sorry for Raghuvaran. All his attempts to look menacing are marred by the shabby longhaired wig he sports, which makes him look more like a scarecrow.

— Malini Mannath
In association with Chennai Online

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Recipe:

Delicious Vada
South Indian Favorite – By Seema Gupta

It’s amazing how a nice savory snack can perk up an afternoon coffee, especially if it’s something as delicious as a South Indian vada, says Seema Gupta, who offers this recipe.

Ingredients

• 1 cup urad dal
  
• 2 cups rice powder
  
• 6-8 chopped green chillies
  
• 1 chopped onions
  
• 1 tbsp coconut powder
  
• Salt to taste
  
• Cooking oil for deep frying
  

Method

Soak dal in water for 4 hours.

Grind into a thick paste in a blender.

Add onions, green chillies, coconut powder and salt.

Mix and make into small doughnut shapes.

Deep-fry in oil.

Serve hot with chutney.

– Seema Gupta is a homemaker
based in Sunnyvale, Calif.

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August - September Horoscope

ARIES (March 21 to April 20): A good proposal is coming. You may also purchase goodies you’ve always wanted. You will get into a legal battle to recover money owed to you. Health needs attention.

TAURUS (April 21 to May 20): You may enter into a disastrous argument. Career woes will escalate and you may move to a new city to explore better options. Expenses will rise and a close family member will also need your help. An opportunity to make some extra cash will come, but you may loose it.

GEMINI (May 21 to June 20): Financially it will be a favorable month. Do not worry about people who try to make things tough for you. You will be writing an important letter that might change the course of your life. You will be in touch with people overseas.

CANCER (June 21 to July 22): Life gets exciting for you as you enjoy the company of a fresh face. You will get a refund from government and may win cash through lottery. You will be working on a very lucrative business deal. A short trip also indicated.

LEO (July 23 to August 22): People need you as you earn respect and fame. Issues pending with government will get resolved to your satisfaction. A promotion to your liking is waiting for you at work. You will spend on home improvement. Stay away from heat and open areas.

VIRGO (August 23 to September 22): Money will flow this month. You will lack confidence and may hold back on important decisions. Work conditions will get tough and force you to look for a change.

LIBRA (September 23 to October 22): It will be yet another expensive month. You will benefit from an influential person with a political background. Stress at work will reduce a lot. Interest in religion will increase and you will receive blessings of a holy person. You will need to replace some electric gadgets at home.

SCORPIO (October 23 to November 22): Some one from the past will come back in life. This distraction will lead to your missing a religious event. You will be assigned an important task with added powers. Your work will make you famous in the professional circle.

SAGITTARIUS (November 23 to December 22): Problems will be followed by good and easy solutions. This month looks favorable for all financial matters. Legal issues look favorable too. A major competitor will close shop. A pleasant surprise awaits you, watch the mail.

CAPRICORN (December 22 to January 19): Career possibilities look favorable. You will recover money owed to you. A property deal will be profitable. A new member will be added to the family soon. Bank reserves will improve.

AQUARIUS (January 20 to February 18): Avoid any impulsive decisions in career. Auto will need repairs. Watch your health to avoid complications in your stomach. Pregnant ladies should be careful this week. You may have an argument with an old friend. You will change your travel plans on last minute.

PISCES (February 19 to March 20): You will pass a highly competitive exam. You will win your legal battles. Some of you will move. A trip will be successful. You will be lucky in all financial matters. Be careful as your spouse will may not like all of your ideas.

Bay Area-based astrologer Pandit Parashar can
be reached by email at: parashar@ix.netcom.com.

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