The sexuality of disabled people is often ignored and that’s what inspired director Shonali Bose to come up with ‘Margarita, With A Straw’, a gentle coming-of-age story about a woman afflicted with cerebral palsy.

Bose says her second directorial venture, starring Kalki Koechlin in the lead, is a culmination of her own experiences and that of her cousin Malini, who has cerebral palsy.

“The sexuality of people with disability is ignored by us. Somehow we don’t believe that they would have the same emotional and physical needs that normal people have. My film is a coming-of-age story about one such woman’s journey of finding love ,” Bose told PTI in an interview.

The ‘Amu’ helmer, who won the global filmmaking award at Sundance for her script, says the story went through many changes after that.

“I realised that I was looking at my protagonist through my sister’s eyes and that changed later. I started looking at the character through my own eyes. Many of her experiences are actually mine,” she says.

The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival to encouraging reviews and was picked among the 16 films to watch out for by festival director Cameron Bailey, who called it “an exceptional portrait of a woman discovering what she wants, and how to get it.”

The film is next headed to Busan and BFI London film festivals.

Bose, 49, reveals she and co-director Nilesh Maniyar must have gone through more than 40 drafts to finalise the script.

Raising money for the unusual project was another challenge that they had to overcome.

“Viacom 18 has given half of the money and they are releasing the film in February. Another big production house from India agreed to come on board for the other half but they pulled out just 10 days before the shoot. We were stranded in New York with the crew.

“I had to take out a personal loan to complete the film. I told the crew that I can’t pay you now but I promise, I will return every penny later. To my relief, they all gave their best for the movie,” says the director.

Despite the troubles, Bose is happy with the way the film has shaped up. She also credits Malini for being with her along the difficult but fulfilling journey.

Malini and I have been very close since childhood. She has supported me a lot in making this film. Every time she watches the film, she howls and she laughs. She feels very strongly about the issue,” says Bose.

The director has an interesting story about how Kalki almost did not do the film.

“Kalki’s name was suggested by Nilesh. She has this innocent and adorable smile. She is very beautiful but not too perfect. She was the first choice for Laila’s role but then the shooting of ‘Yeh Jawani’ got delayed and she needed three months’ time which I did not have,” she says.

The director says she decided to opt for another actor as she did not want to delay the film further but finally returned to Kalki.

“I must have auditioned some 100 girls but no one had the empathy and the insight that was needed to play this part. They would be unhappy when told that they would not be able to take any other project while doing this film. Whereas Kalki completely understood that she needed to devote herself to Laila. Finally, I came back to her and told her ‘you are doing it’.”

Bose, who made her film debut with ‘Amu’ that depicted the 1984 Sikh riots, feels she consciously gravitates towards complex topics.

“I have been an activist all my life. I have been a student of history and politics. I believe that cinema can change things and feel passionate about such issues,” she says

Bose feels her film is about a woman seeking her own place in society.

“Sometimes you need to forgive yourself to love and accept yourself. That’s what the film talks about. Laila is seeking that for herself and I think we all are.”

With 62.41 million tonnes output, India remains the world’s fourth largest steel producer in the first nine months of the current year, preceded by China, Japan and the US.

World Steel Association (WSA) data showed India’s steel production grew by 1.8%, the second highest among the top four steel producing nations, during the January-September period from 61.27 MT in the same period last year.

India has been the world’s fourth largest steel maker for the last four years. The order is likely to remain unchanged in current year too, an industry expert said.

During the first nine months, China produced 618 MT steel which is a little more than half of world’s total production at 1,231 MT.

China logged 2.3% growth during the period. But its steel production remained static in September, as per data revealed by WSA, at 67.5 MT when compared with the same month last year.

Japan remained the remote second with 83.1 MT production during the nine-month period clocking just 0.8% growth over 82.4 MT production in the same period last year.

The US stood at the third spot with 66.33 MT production compared to 65.3 MT output during the January-September period of the last year.

Though the growth in world’s third largest producing nation grew by 1.6% during the period, in September steel production in the US fell by 0.1% over the same month last year.

Russia and South Korea vie for the fifth slot with 53.4 MT and 53.2 MT output in the first nine months of the current year.

The balance is, however, tilted towards the Asian nation as it logged 9.4% growth, highest among major steel producing nations, in steel production during the period compared to Russia’s 3.1%.

Actor Mayank Gandhi and Goa-based bikini model Scarlett Rose have emerged as the winning couple of dating show ‘Splitsvilla 7’, beating Abhishek Malik and Khushi Bhatt in the finale.

Mayank, 30, who was known for his open display of affection for co-contestant Rashi Sharma on the show, says the win would have made him happier if he had his lady love by his side.

“It feels good to have won a big show like ‘Splitsvilla’ but the win would have been sweeter had Rashi been with me in the finals. I wanted to win with her. Nevertheless, my aim was to beat Abhishek Malik and in that respect this win is special and amazing,” Mayank told PTI in a telephonic interview.

The was left with three female contestants to choose from to go in the finals, after Abhishek eliminated Rashi and though Mayank did not share a warm relationship with Scarlett, he chose her as his partner.

When asked why he selected Scarlett, Mayank said, “Scarlett was friends with all in the house so I knew she had a huge vote bank and to compete in the finals, we needed votes. If I would have thought about bonding, I would have chosen Priyanka but my goal was to defeat Abhishek hence I went for the girl with maximum support.”

Scarlett, 22, says the win has been a miracle for her as she never expected Mayank would choose her.

“I was stunned when Mayank called my name to be his partner because we never got along. I had the option to say no but then I thought that I supported Abhishek on the show and he has come to the finals, then why should I not think about myself. It was the most important decision of the game,” Scarlett said.

The winners say the show, which is the adaptation of American reality show ‘Flavor Of Love’, has increased their popularity and helped them bag some good projects.

While Scarlett is seen on another MTV show ‘Fannah’, Mayank will be seen participating in reality show ‘Box Cricket League’.

It was time to revisit the bond between the brother and the sister on occasion of Bhau Beej on Tuesday.

On this day, sisters perform an aarti  on their brothers, feed them sweets, apply a teeka  on their forehead and pray to god for their well-being and health.

The brothers respond by blessing their sisters and giving them gifts.

The festival, which celebrates the love between the brother and a sister, is celebrated in most parts of the country including Maharashtra, and is called bhai dooj in the North, Hindi-speaking belt, it is called Bhav-Bij in the Marathi-speaking communities and in Nepal, people know this festival by the name of Bhai-Tika.

Said prominent astrologer Jayant Salgaonkar: “The festival has a number of legends associated with it, the most prominent being the one about Lord Yama and his sister Yami, who were the first to celebrate the festival. The scriptures say that one should not eat at his house on this day and instead have food at his sisters house. The holy books also add that a person dying on this day, goes to heaven, regardless of his sins.”

Salgaonkar added that the revolutionary Umaji Naik, who led the revolt of the Ramoshis and Berads against the British in the 1820’s was captured by the British, courtesy a treacher in his ranks, while he had come to his sister’s home on Bhau beej.

Said Ashutosh Devari, who works in an IT company at Navi Mumbai, and had gone to his native place in Goa to celebrate Diwali: “It is festivals like these which ensure that the families stay close despite the distance.” –

Bhai Tika in theDarjeeling Hills

In a striking similarity of culture Bhai Tika is celebrated among the Gorkhalis of the Darjeeling hills.

Sisters give blessings to their brothers wishing long life prosperity and peace. The brothers gift their sisters according to the income group. Females are given a lot of respect in the Gorkhali community therefore the brother touches the feet of the sister on Bhai Tika.

Men who have migrated to the cities for employment come back home to celebrate Bhai Tika.

New Delhi, Oct. 25 (ANI): Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Shrikant Sharma on Saturday hit back at Arvind Kejriwal over his allegation that the saffron party was buying fake votes, saying the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief ran away from his responsibilities and people do not trust him anymore.
“The people of Delhi do not trust Arvind Kejriwal. He has been completely exposed. Now the government should think of the people of Delhi,” he told ANI here.
Kejriwal had earlier alleged that the BJP has directed its MLAs to buy fake votes and delete the Aam Aadmi Party’s votes in the coming Delhi Assembly polls.
“BJP source -top BJP leader has directed all Delhi BJP MLAs to get at least 5000 fake votes made in each constituency get AAP votes deleted,” Kejriwal wrote on twitter.
“Bribe rate-Rs 1500 for new fake vote, Rs 200 to get any vote deleted. This info given by someone who did this job for BJP last week,” he added.
Kejriwal said that the AAP leaders would meet the Election Commission on Monday to lodge a formal complaint in this regard.
We are meeting EC officials on Mon at 11 am and making a formal complaint,” he wrote.
Delhi has been under President’s rule since Kejriwal resigned as the Chief Minister on February 14 after being in office for 49 days.
The BJP won 31 seats in the 70-member house while the AAP emerged victorious in 28 seats in the Delhi Assembly polls held last year. (ANI)

Myanmar’s press council today said the army had admitted to shooting dead a man in its custody who activists claim was a reporter detained after covering clashes near the conflict-hit eastern border.

Aung Naing was gunned down as he tried to flee detention in Kyaikmaraw town in southeastern Mon state on October 4, the interim Myanmar Press Council (MPC) said citing a rare statement issued by the military.

He “tried to escape by fighting with a soldier and attempting to steal his weapon” said the document seen by AFP, adding that Aung Naing was suspected of being a member of a local armed group.

This was contradicted by activists and local media reports which said he was a freelance journalist covering unrest in the region, where fighting between government troops and rebels has flared in recent weeks.

The US-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said Aung Naing was thought to have worked for several local news titles but the MPC was unable to confirm his status as a reporter.

The military statement issued Thursday – a first of its kind from the army which ruled Myanmar with an iron fist for decades – added the man had been buried in Shwe Wah Chaung village, near where he died.
MPC secretary Kyaw Min Swe told AFP the burial meant it was difficult to verify the army version of events.

“This is a big question to ask the military, because they cannot show the dead body,” he said, also questioning why the group had received news of the death nearly three weeks after the shooting.

Yesterday, the CPJ said the death of Aung Naing was “reprehensible”, adding that he was the first reporter killed in the former junta-run nation since 2007.

“Civilian authorities must investigate the military’s accounting of his death, which has the initial hallmarks of a cover-up,” said Shawn Crispin, CPJ’s Southeast Asia representative, in a statement.

“Any soldier found responsible for his extrajudicial killing or mistreatment before his death must be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”

Reporters were regularly detained under the junta, which meted out long jail sentences to journalists while choking off information with some of the world’s most draconian censorship rules.

Reforms implemented by the current regime, including freeing most political prisoners and lifting pre-publication press scrutiny, have been lauded by the international community as the country opens up.

Theatre fans, prepare to park yourself in Juhu for two weeks starting Tuesday, November 5. That’s when the 2013 edition of the annual Prithvi Theatre Festival gets underway. Unlike previous editions, this year’s festival has no theme. Instead audiences will get to see a set of mostly new plays. Of the dozen productions that make up the roster, ten will premiere at the festival. Aside from the plays, events include StageTalk@Prithvi, a series of conversations between journalist Pragya Tiwari and theatre directors Atul Kumar, Quasar Thakore Padamsee and Sunil Shanbag; a chamber music concert by members of the Symphony Orchestra of India; and acoustic jam sessions with Vivienne Pocha, Merlin D’Souza, Shruti Bhave, Hamsika Iyer, Ranjit Barot and Taufiq Qureshi. Here’s a round-up of the plays that will feature at the fest:

Salesman Ramlal (Hindi)
The festival will open with the revival of an old play – director Feroz Abbas Khan’s Salesman Ramlal, a Hindi version of Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman, which was first performed in 1997. Film actor Satish Kaushik plays the titular salesman, in the drama about a family falling apart beneath the weight of paternal expectations and individual failure.
Wednesday, November 6, at 6pm and 9pm.

Umrao (Hindi)
As the title suggests, director Hidayat Sami’s play is about the Lucknowi courtesan from Mirza Muhammad Hadi Ruswa’s novel Umrao Jaan Ada. Just as the English annexe Oudh, the courtesan decides to leave the safety of her kotha to seek a new life.
Thursday, November 7, at 6pm and 9pm.

Rashomon Blues (Hindi)
An adaptation of Akira Kurosawa’s classic film Rashomon, director Bijon Mondal’s play is set in modern day Mumbai. A couple is murdered but each of the four witnesses has a different version of the events, making it difficult to ascertain the truth.
Friday, November 8, at 6pm and 9pm.

The Glass Menagerie (English)
Rajit Kapur directs Tennessee Williams’s drama about loss and longing for the past. Amanda, whose husband has left her, finds solace in happy memories of a time when she had no dearth of male admirers. She has two children: Laura, her crippled daughter who spends her days with her menagerie of glass animals, and Tom, a poet keen for a life away from the sadness that pervades his home.
Saturday, November 9, at 6pm and 9pm.

Master Madam (Gujarati)
Theatre director Manoj Shah, who’s known for his eclectic choice of plays, will present a Gujarati version of the seventh-century Sanskrit farce Bhagavadajjukam, in which a monk and a courtesan swap souls.
Sunday, November 10, at 6pm and 9pm.

The Tenth Head (English)
The Tenth Head, by Pondicherry-based theatre group Adishakti, hinges on the character of Ravana, who is good and evil in equal measure. In the play, nine of Ravana’s heads live peaceably among each other sharing a view of the world, but his tenth head is something of a rebel.
Tuesday, November 12, at 6pm and 9pm.

Hanumana Ramayana and Nidravathwam (English and Malayalam)
Adishakti will also perform a duo of plays Hanumana Ramayana and Nidravathwam. While the former is about the monkey god’s role in the Ramayana, the latter is a conversation between Kumbakarna and Lakshman about their extraordinary sleep cycles.
Wednesday, November 13, at 6pm and 9pm.

Ringan (Marathi)
The University of Pune’s Lalit Kala Kendra will stage a Marathi version of Bertolt Brecht’s classic play The Caucasian Chalk Circle, in which two farming collectives in the Soviet Union fight over who gets to manage a piece of land that the retreating Nazis have abandoned.
Thursday, November 14, at 6pm and 9pm.

Atmakatha (Hindi)
Kolkata-based theatre group Padatik will perform Mahesh Elkunchwar’s Atmakatha starring Kulbhushan Kharbanda, who plays a famous writer. Interrogated by a scribe helping him write his autobiography, the writer makes some unflattering revelations about himself.
Friday, November 15, at 6pm and 9pm.

Dastangoi (Urdu)
If you’ve somehow managed to miss this superb performance directed by Delhi’s Mahmood Farooqui that has been to Mumbai several times over the years, then make sure you catch it this time. The cast will tell three stories, two of which are from the Urdu epic Tilism-e-Hoshruba in which Amar Aiyyar rescues his friend Amir Hamza’s grandson from the clutches of Afrasiyab, the evil ruler of Hoshruba. The third story is of the tragedy of Partition told in the narrative style of dastangoi.
Saturday, November 16, at 6pm and 9pm.

Carnival
Spend the afternoon and evening at Prithvi Theatre watching three musical carnivals, which have been directed by Sunil Shanbag (3pm), Nadira Zaheer Babbar (6pm) and the group Prithviwallahs (9pm).
Sunday, November 17.

Dear Liar (English)
The festival closes with Motley’s long-running production starring Naseeruddin Shah and Ratna Pathak Shah. Shah plays George Bernard Shaw and Pathak Shah the writer’s muse, early 20th century actress Mrs. Patrick Campbell. The pair exchange a series of witty, poignant letters that reveal a great deal about the playwright and his time.
Sunday, November 18, at 8pm.

Mizoram Chief Minister Lal Thanhawla today said he was against ‘racism’ in any form.

Addressing a meeting of the Former Legislators Association of Mizoram (FLAM) on its 20th anniversary, Thanhawla said sometimes he wondered whether the people from north-east were being “accepted” as Indians or not.

The chief minister had earlier expressed opinion that the Centre should legislate an anti-racism law to prevent recurrence of recent incidents of attacks against the north eastern people in Bangalore and Delhi.

He said that border dispute between Mizoram and neighbouring Assam was a vexed problem.

He said that the state government continued to urge the Centre to constitute Boundary Commission to find amicable solution to the border disputes in the region.

JAMMU: Army has initiated the process to procure the latest jammer system to thwart attacks by radio and cell phone controlled improvised explosive device on it convoys and personnel in Jammu and Kashmir.

A Request for Proposal (RFP) was issued recently by the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Northern Command, for procurement of 22 ‘Sakriya’ Radio and Cell phone Jammer Counter IED systems for the army units deployed in the state.

The last date and time for depositing the bids is November 7 at 1400 hours,” said Col B S Bisht of Electric and Mechanical Engineers (EMA) at Northern Command Headquarters.

These counter IED jammers will be put to use for service deployment and operational usage for quick reaction teams, VIP protection vehicles, convoy escorts, movement of troops and counter insurgency operations, according to RFP.
The procurement of jammers has become important in view of increasing threat to security personnel who are being targeted by IEDs, detonated by cell phones and radio signals, officials said.

The “Sakriya” jammers are based on Advanced Digital Signal Processing (ADSP) technology with frequency jamming of GSM, CDMA, DCS and 3G bands of cell phones besides, frequency modulation (FM) and pre-initiator of 136 MHz to 174 MHz frequency.

The jammers would have a weight of 80 kg along with its batteries, they said.