The grand construction of General Claude Martin, the Constantia, served as a lodge for Freemasons, a secret society, as many of the English officers including Martin were Freemasons.
Many such lesser known facets pertaining to the life and times of Claude Martin were brought to light by celebrated British historian, Dr Rosie Llewellyn Jones at La Martiniere College on Sunday. The talk was organised by Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural heritage (INTACH), Lucknow Chapter.
After being attacked by the Raja of Banaras invading Lucknow through Farhat Baksh Kothi, General Claude Martin began residing in the Constantia which he built as a fort. Constructed with four spiral columns that go right up to the terrace, cleverly with a lone staircase, Gen Martin made sure the building he liked to show off to his fellow Englishmen was secure with iron doors made from imported English iron. These doors could then be shut once a single man defending the building from the top took position upstairs.
Constantia was safeguarded by cannons on the first floor of the building next to lion statues with lamps within them. “Its construction as a defensive structure to frighten people, basically its attackers, is one of the least known features of the Constantia, which prior to being an educational institution, was a fort,” shared Dr Jones.
INTACH’s convenor Vipul Varshney talked about the axial symmetry and architectural genius of the gigantic structure with pioneering ventilation. Dr Jones also spoke about many paintings of Claude Martin.
Iron girders in the basement of the Constantia go deep down to its foundation. Dr Jones denied presence of any such tunnels opening into the Gomti against a popular myth.
Convernor Vipul Varshney talking about the architectural skyline of Lucknow said, “the heterogeneity of cultural conceptions and artistic styles triumphed to strike a harmony between the many buildings of Lucknow getting along the Nawabi and English architecture successfully in Lucknow’s skyline, and so in that order we decided to educate and inform Lucknowites about one such magnificent structure, the Constantia.”
Gen Martin a self taught man had as many as 5000 books and the presence of certain books on creating electricity have made historians like Dr Jones believe that he might have attempted to create electricity as well in the lower rooms of the Constantia. The result of his trial and error techniques on it though are yet to be studied further.
Heritage conservationist and lawyer by profession, Mohammad Haider stating the building as an unprotected monument applauded the efforts of Principal Carlyle McFarland, the staff and students of the college, ” the unique feature of this building stands in the fact that it has been well maintained within the precincts of its original form and the monument an architectural masterpiece is devoid of any uncalled for scribbling on the walls of the campus unlike the state of most protected monuments in the country.”
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Lucknow / by Yusra Husain, TNN / September 29th, 2014
Sania Mirza has lauded Indian tennis team’s performance at the 17th Asian Games, given that the country did not come with the best unit possible for the event. Photo: PTI/ File
Incheon:
Indian tennis ace Sania Mirza feels the five medals that the team has managed to grab at the ongoing Asian Games is a pretty good performance given that the country did not come with the best unit possible for the event.
“It has been a pretty good week. We (she and Prarthana Thombare) got a medal (bronze) in women’s doubleswhich is huge because it’s something that we never did. I had to be the leader. It’s a young team we came here with, didn’t come with the best team possible, especially with the guys. Five medals (including today’s) is pretty good,” she said ahead of the mixed doubles semifinals with Saket Myneni at the Yeorumul Tennis Centre.
Hyderabad and Dubai-based Sania spoke to reporters as the matches for the day had been put off due to continuous rains at Incheon since Sunday night. The 27-year-old Indian tennis star, who was initially inclined towards skipping the Games to gain doubles points on the WTA tour before changing her mind, said the reason was to provide the country with its best shot at picking up more medals in these Games, her fourth on the trot.
Before the current Games she had won a gold (in mixed doubles in 2006 in Doha), three silver medals (women’s singles and team in 2006 and in mixed doubles in 2010 at Guangzhou) and two bronze medals (women’s singles and doubles in Guangzhou). Besides, she also won silver (singles) and bronze (doubles) in the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi.
“The minute I made the decision to come here, I knew it was the right decision. For me the most important thing was to give India the best chance of winning as many medals as possible. I did what I could and I got two in the two events I played (women’s doubles and mixed doubles where she and Myneni will fight for the gold). “I am happy that there was my contribution. Personally it’s my fourth Asian Games in a row and I have got medals in every single Asian Games I have been to. For me to get eight medals in the last four editions is pretty good,” she remarked.
Sania said she has played her part as a mentor to her women teammates here who are of the same age as her younger sister and is hoping they win medals on their own in the next Games which are scheduled at Jakarta in 2018.
“I have a good rapport with these girls and I am always there to help if they ask. They are all of my sister’s age, like babies for me. They are 7-8 years younger than me. I am sharing a room with one of them.”
“Most definitely these are the best youngsters we have had in a while. My doubles partner (Prarthana) has some potential and is still pretty young. We need to build on this. I hope this gives them a lot of confidence that they can achieve certain things,” Sania said.
“I have held this flag for a long time. It will be great to pass it on to someone else. Hopefully by the next Asian Games, they will be ready to win a medal by themselves,” she added.
Sania, who was the world no 23 at her peak in singles, pointed out quite a few factors like lack of guidance and proper coaching as reasons for the other Indian women being unable to break into even the top 200 In singles.
“There are a few reasons. I definitely think planning is one of them, lack of knowledge and lack of maybe even coaching abilities at certain levels. I think a lot of coaches in India haven’t seen what it takes to really make it because they have not produced anyone nor have they been at that level. “I am not saying you need to be a great tennis player to be a coach, but you need to have watched at the highest level to be a good coach. The best they might have watched is the WTA event a few years ago.”
She also said that most of the women players are content to play at the USD 25,000 level which was simply not enough to go places in the world. “Tennis is very competitive these days. Physically as well they struggle a bit, there are a bunch of reasons. I have been trying to help them with scheduling, trying to tell them which tournament to take part in.”
“First of all they need to come out of the USD 25000 tournaments try and believe they can do better at the bigger tournaments. That’s one of the main things. That’s where they have to perform,” Sania said.
“You are not going to play these for the rest of your life. If you do so you will remain in the 300 rankings for the rest of your career. That’s what they have been doing, go for the easier options. It’s not because they want to but because of lack of guidance at certain levels. About her own career and her immediate plans she said she was leaving Tuesday morning to play in the September 27-October 5 China Open with Cara Black, and would probably play Tuesday afternoon.
“It’s been rough last couple of weeks. Since the US open I have not had any time really. I came back after New York and had literally three days at home. I was not even over jetlag when I left for Tokyo and then came here. It’s a good problem to have, it has been busy. After that I go to Singapore (for the WTA season-ending finals),” she said.
Sania said her season so far, especially the second half, has been pretty good and she wanted to finish it on a high. “It’s been a great year and especially the second half of the season has been unbelievable. Hopefully we (she and Black) can finish on a high, can win here (with Thombare) and hopefully go to Singapore which has been the highlight of my career. I want to do well there,” she said.
Touching a new high, India’s tennis ace Sania Mirza on Monday became World No.6 in doubles, her career-best ranking, as the new chart was released following the conclusion of the French Open. Courtesy a quarterfinals appearance at the Roland Garros, Sania earned 430 ranking points along with partner Cara Black to jump eight places in the ranking charts.
Sania and Cara had lost to eventual champions Shuai Peng and Su-Wei Hsieh. “When I started the season this year in January, one of my goals was to better my career-best world ranking. I am happy to have achieved this today,” Sania said from Birmingham, where she is gearing up for the grass court season, leading to the Wimbledon championships.
Sania’s father and coach Imran Mirza said, “Sania has played very consistently this season and has been rewarded. I believe she has the potential to go further.” India’s No.1 singles player Ankita Raina also achieved her career-best rank, 262, with a jump of 28 places. Ankita had ended runner-up at a $25,000 event in Indonesia to earn 30 points. In the ATP rankings, Somdev Devvarman dropped out of top-100 as he lot 23 places to be 119 in the singles chart. He had made a first round exit at the French Open.
In the doubles Leander Paes continued to be the highest ranked player at number 13.
Sakina Khatum talks about her weightlifting career and her route to success at the Commonwealth Games
Such a long journey Sakina Khatum courted success after many trials including being struck by polio / The Hindu
Sakina Khatum hit the headlines with a bronze-winning effort at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games, last month. But the 25-year-old promises to do even better at the Incheon Asian Games, come October.
An irony, or call it fate, as polio struck Sakina, one of the four siblings when she was just a year and half old, and since then, it has been a story of determination and fighting all odds.
Four operations below the knee on the right leg helped her to walk, rather than crawl on fours. A doctor advised Sakina to take up swimming to strengthen the leg, and thus began her tryst with sports.
“I was national champion a year after taking up swimming, and for the next four years, ruled the pool in my category. I did not get any recognition or an international call up,” says the girl, who comes from a poor family. “My father is ailing. My brother does not stay with my family.”
She adds, “I came to Bangalore for the selection camp, ahead of the 2010 Commonwealth Games.
After three months away from home, I was not picked despite impressing coach Dabas, who referred me to ace para power-lifter Farman Basha. And the rest is history.” Farman, himself restricted to a wheelchair says, “She was lifting only 25 to 26 kgs. To turn her into an international star was a challenge, but with coach Dabas insisting, I agreed. I had no money to spare but asked her to train under me. I found her a small accommodation near K.R. Puram.. Four years down and she has won two international medals (both bronze) for her country,” says Farman.
The journey has not been easy.
“One Mr. Majumdar, from Kolkata used to send Rs. 5000 initially and then increased it to Rs. 10,000 per month for her basic expenses (though that has now stopped after her Commonwealth Games success). He supported her financially, till last month. He even procured her tickets to the Hungary Open, early this year where she won her first international medal. We don’t spend our money (on international tours) and save up to buy supplements – a must for every lifter. When I am short of money, we fall back on local produce,” adds Farman.
“I asked Sakina to move into my place to save up on rent and travel time for training. We train for about four-five days a week,” says the gritty lifter.
For more successes, it is important that the state government and the numerous corporates that endorses sports step forward and make it easy for them to travel and perform at the highest level. Is anyone listening?
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> MetroPlus / by Avinash Nair / September 29th, 2014
Bruce.Lipsky@jacksonville.com // Noor Inayat Khan is pictured during the film. She was recruited as an operative to help the Allies.
The quiet, unwavering heroism of a young Indian Muslim woman who sacrificed her life to fight against Nazi domination during World War II offers lessons of faith, courage and inspiration as relevant now as it was back then, say those who heard her story Sunday.
Bruce.Lipsky@jacksonville.com / Noor Inayat Khan is pictured during the film. The University of North Florida Distinguished Voices Lecture Series presented “Enemy of the Reich: The Noor Inayat Khan Story” Sunday, September 28, 2014, in Jacksonville, Florida, on campus in the Robinson Theater. (Florida Times-Union/Bruce Lipsky)
“It really makes you think. What would I do in a situation like that? … I hope I would have had her courage,” said K.C. Emerson of Jacksonville, who decided at the last minute Sunday afternoon to attend the screening of “Enemy of the Reich: The Noor Inayat Khan Story” followed by a panel discussion at the University of North Florida’s Andrew A. Robinson Jr. Theater.
The film is the true story of Khan, who sacrificed her life to fight against Nazi domination during World War II. The daughter of an American mother and Indian Muslim father, Khan grew up in a home that nurtured interfaith dialogue and cooperation at a Sufi center of learning in Paris.
In early 1943, she was recruited as a covert operative into Winston Churchill’s Special Operations Executive. By then Khan had trained as a wireless operator in Britain’s Women’s Auxiliary Air Force. As a covert agent, Khan was instrumental to the French Underground’s direct attack on Nazi units in preparation for the Allies’ D-Day invasions.
In August 1943, Khan was the last surviving clandestine radio operator in Paris and signaled London for additional weapons and explosives for the French underground. Khan ultimately was captured and executed at Dachau, the Nazi concentration camp in Germany.
On Sunday, Emerson was among Northeast Florida residents as well as UNF students nearly filling the theater for the screening and panel discussion, part of the 2014 Distinguished Voices Lecture Series. The program co-hosted by UNF and Better Together at UNF, a student organization composed of religiously diverse students with a mission of mobilizing their peers to voice their values, engage with others, and act together to make the world a better place.
“It’s an exploration into meaning and purpose of life, and what values might be worth risking it,” Tarah Trueblood, director of UNF Interfaith Center, said of the program.
Such dialogue, she said, is especially crucial now, given the conflict in the Middle East and fear generated by ISIS and other terrorist groups.
“Peace happens one relationship at a time. And getting to know your neighbor can be that one big step you take today,” said Trueblood, adding sometimes that can take a lot of courage to reach out to our neighbors if they are different from us.
“We want our politicians to make peace or somebody else to make peace. But making peace takes us going over to our neighbors and getting to know them,” Trueblood said.
Bruce.Lipsky@jacksonville.com / Alex Kronemer, executive producer of the film about Noor Inayat Khan, speaks before the screening of his film.
The panelists included Alex Kronemer, one of the film’s producers, UNF Interfaith students, Cheryl Tupper of the OneJax Institute at UNF and vice president of the Arthur Vining Davis Foundation and Rabbi Jonathan Lubliner of the Jacksonville Jewish Center. UNF President John Delaney facilitated the discussion.
Kronemer is co-founder and executive producer for Unity Productions Foundation. A Muslim, he has delivered talks on religious diversity and Islam for the U.S. departments of Justice and State, FBI and other organizations.
Refusing an order to return to England, Khan stayed in Paris and continued radioing information to the Allies after all her comrades were captured by the Nazis.
“In her case, she just had the determination. She had come with these people, bonded with these people and they had all been captured, but she didn’t want their sacrifice to be meaningless. In retrospect, it was a giant decision to make because it led to her ultimately being killed. But at the time, it was a small decision of heroism,” Kronemer said. “That’s really where I think heroes are made. … Today, what are the small decisions of heroism that we’re making?”
Parvez Ahmed, a faculty mentor and UNF professor, encouraged the audience to continue the conversation sparked Sunday through the program.
“I want us to draw upon the inspiration that Noor gave us through our life and our sacrifices. It would be nice if we could all go beyond the lip service that we often give such inspiration and do something that is actually long-lasting and sustainable,” Ahmed said.
To that end, Ahmed said the UNF Interfaith Center is instituting a service award to be presented annually to one or more deserving students. In the form of a scholarship, it will be the Noor Inayat Khan Interfaith Service Award, he said.
Khan was posthumously awarded the George Cross, the highest civilian medal for bravery and sacrifice in Great Britain. The French awarded her the Croix de Guerre with Gold Star. A plaque bearing her name hangs at Dachau, and a memorial statue of her was erected in London’s Gordon Square in 2012.
source: http://www.members.jacksonville.com / The Florida Times-Union / Home> News / by Teresa Stepzinski: (904) 359-4075 / Sunday – September 28th, 2014
City chess player K.V.K. Karthik receiving FIDE Master title from IPCA president Pilimon Zbigniew at Serbia. Also seen is Karthik’s coach Shaik Khasim. Photo: By Arrangement / The Hindu
The Andhra Pradesh Chess Association will felicitate Karthik during the State Open tournament which will be held at Chennupati Ramakotaiah Stadium on September 27
A gold medal at Commonwealth chess championship at Glasgow (Scotland) and a bronze at the World championship at Apatin – Banja Junakovic, Serbia. Twenty-seven-year-old K. Venkata Krishna Karthik is on cloud nine as 2014 is proving to be lucky to him.
The youngster, who is down with a peculiar orthopaedic disorder and poor vision, these two titles in the international tournaments in the physically challenged category has made him realise that his dream of becoming a Grandmaster is not far away.
“We need to thank all those people who stood by Karthik by offering their support both financially and emotionally. Associations like Andhra Cricket Association, Sri Chaitanya Educational Institutes, ARKS Group based at United Kingdom and parents of several players pitched in to give a new dimension to Karthik’s life,” said coach Sk. Khasim of Global Chess Academy.
Karthik not only won FIDE Master title but also earned his first International Master (IM) norm. The chess fraternity went into raptures as Karthik set a fine example to the able-bodied players that what was required to success was hard work and dedication.
“Had Karthik won the eighth round he would have won the title,” felt D. Srihari, secretary of Krishna District Chess Association. Dronacharya Koneru Ashok, Grandmaster Lalith Babu, senior coach and administrator V. R. Bobba and others congratulated the tenacity of Karthik despite his failing health.
Karthik won the hearts of many in the 14 International Physically Challenged World Chess Championship for he played against six talented and higher-rated Russians. A total of 36 players, including International Masters and FIDE Masters from 15 countries, participated in this tournament in which Karthik is seeded the 19th player.
The Andhra Pradesh Chess Association will felicitate Karthik during the State Open tournament which will be held at Chennupati Ramakotaiah Stadium on September 27.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Vijayawada / by J.R.Sridharan / Vijayawada – September 25th, 2014
After Wajid Ali Shah, the last Nawab of Lucknow lost his empire, his mother Janab-i’Aliyyah went all the way to England to meet the Queen and seek justice, but she failed in her mission as she got no audience.
History lovers in Lucknow will now have access to new insights into the life and times of the last Nawab of Oudh along with rare pictures and never-heard before information. Regarded by the East India Company as a debauched ruler who spent his time with ‘fiddlers, eunuchs and women’ instead of looking after the kingdom, Wajid Ali Shah has become the centrepiece of yet another historical book.
Written by British historian Rosie Llewellyn Jones, ‘The Last King in India’ talks, besides his mother’s failed overseas mission, about Begum Hazrat Mahal’s revolt in 1857.
Though most artifacts of historical importance were lost forever after the downfall, with painstaking efforts, they have re-surfaced to narrate the story of an era in which the Nawab created exquisite poetry, theatrical pieces, music and dance. In the well researched book, he comes across as a compassionate person towards his subjects. The magnificent Qaiserbagh built by him came to be known as one of the most elaborate palace complexes ever created.
Given how little was known about the last Nawab of Awadh, the historian and author researched about Wajid Ali Shah from the original documents in Indian and British archives and through meetings with his descendants.
Several paintings and photographs have also been found. In one of the photographs Wajid Ali Shah is seen sitting with one of his 350 wives and a child on a couch. Although, almost every palace and structure along the banks of Hooghly river was either destroyed or auctioned by the British after his death in 1887, in order to eliminate any chances of a rebellion, his pictures still hang on the wall in Matiya Burj.
It is said that he had actually created a miniature Lucknow in Matiya Burj and transported its multi-faceted culture there.
At the release of her latest book, Jones said “I have always been a fan of Wajid Ali Shah. He was misunderstood by the British as he never wanted bloodshed in his kingdom and continued not to bow against them, much to their dismay. His love for poetry, art and dance is admirable and he was one of the greatest patrons of the cultural landscape.”
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Lucknow / by Shefali Mehrotra, TNN / September 28th, 2014
Mohammed Asab beat Nathan Xuereb of Malta to give India their ninth medal in shooting.
India’s Asab Mohd displays his Men’s Double Trap bronze medal. / PTI
Glasgow:
Indian shooter Mohammed Asab won the bronze medal in the men’s double trap beating 17-year-old Nathan Xuereb of Malta in the bronze medal match of the 2014 Commonwealth Games at the Barry Buddon Shooting Centre here on Sunday.
The 26-year-old Asab shot 26 while Xuereb managed 24. Another Indian in the fray, Ankur Mittal missed out on a medal finishing fifth in the semi-final.
Shreyasi Singh grabbed the first medal of the day by winning the silver medal in the women’s double trap event. The Delhi girl shot 92 in the final round to win the silver, the fifth for the Indians from the shooting competition at the Barry Buddon Shooting Centre.
India’s medal count from shooting now stood at nine — three gold, five silver and a bronze.
Abhinav Bindra, Rahi Sarnobat and Apurvi Chandila have won the gold medals. The silver medal winners, besides Shreyasi, are Malaika Goel, Prakash Nanjappa, Ayonika Paul and Anisa Sayyed.
source: http://www.sports.ndtv.com / NDTV Sports / NDTV Sports> News / by Indo-Asian News Service / Sunday – July 27th, 2014
Shah Rukh Khan and Bollywood’s Global Fortunes Advance
The Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan, left, and Deepika Padukone in “Chennai Express,” from 2013. Credit Red Chillies Entertainments/UTV Motion Pictures
Mumbai :
Shah Rukh Khan has many titles. The 48-year-old Bollywood superstar is known as King Khan, King of Bollywood and Bollywood Badshah (or emperor). This summer Mr. Khan became a knight. In a glittering ceremony in Mumbai, the French foreign affairs minister, Laurent Fabius, conferred France’s highest civilian honor — the Knight of the Legion of Honor — on Mr. Khan. In the official news release, Mr. Fabius said, “The French people hail Shah Rukh Khan’s talent and generosity,” which transcend “cultural and historical differences.”
Mr. Khan’s archrival Aamir Khan (no relation) was also transcending cultural differences. On July 25, his latest film, “Dhoom 3,” an action thriller and India’s highest-grossing film ever, was released on 2,000 screens in China, a first for an Indian film and a distribution strategy more often used for Hollywood blockbusters.
“There are numerous Aamir Khan fans in China,” the film’s Chinese distributor, Ying Li of HGC Entertainment, said in an email. “His image is very positive.”
The French and Chinese are among the many converts to Bollywood’s rapidly growing following. Hindi films have long had devoted fans among the 21 million Indians living overseas, and in the 1950s and ’60s, the actor-director Raj Kapoor became a household name in Soviet Russia, while Hindi films traveled to the Middle East and Africa. But in the last decade, Bollywood’s unique cocktail of emotion, song, dance and melodrama has found takers in several new markets. According to the box office tracking company Rentrak, revenues for Indian films across 36 territories rose from $66.2 million for 69 titles in 2009 to $289 million for 170 titles in 2013.
The new fans are in countries as diverse as Turkey, Peru, Panama and Iraq. Hindi films first reached Japanese theaters in 1952, but regular releases began only last year. Aki Sugihara of the Nikkatsu Corporation, the leading distributor of Hindi films there, said the Japanese like “the fact that there is not too much dependency on CGI, like in Hollywood movies.”
The Japanese pop musician and soundtrack composer Matsumura Masahide (known as Titi Matsumura) is a fan and said the appeal lies in the films’ ardent approach. “We like Indian films full of emotional feeling with the richness of heart, which Japanese people tend to miss now,” he said by email. “Even when films describe a negative problem, the way to describe it is full of big Indian love.”
The Germans are besotted with Shah Rukh Khan. Their ardor can be traced to 2004, when a German television station programmed a prime slot for “Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham” (“Sometimes Happiness, Sometimes Sadness”), featuring Mr. Khan as the estranged, adopted son of a rich industrialist. The three-hankie melodrama — the film’s tagline was “It’s all about loving your parents” — single-handedly opened up a new market. Viewers “cried, felt great pleasure, joy and release,” the film’s distributor, Stephan Holla, said by email. “We do not get this from German movies or Hollywood.”
Among those viewers was Julia Wessel, a 25-year-old student of cultural anthropology. “I was intrigued by it, but I was even more intrigued by the effect it had on my mother,” she said by email. “I cannot remember ever seeing my mother cry, not even at funerals. But there she was watching this film, and she had tears running down her face.”
Bollywood became such an obsession that Ms. Wessel dropped her studies and in 2006, started a German-language Bollywood magazine called Ishq (Urdu for love), which now has a circulation of 30,000 in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
Despite evangelists like Ms. Wessel, Brand Bollywood hasn’t been an easy sell overseas. Hollywood and regional productions provide stiff competition. Even big-name studios like Disney India, which produces Disney-branded films, find it tough going in other countries. Amrita Pandey, who heads marketing and distribution for the studio, cited a host of factors in an email interview: “Language barriers, high investments required to develop new markets, the definite grammar of Hindi films and cultural gaps are also barriers.”
In Britain and the United States, these barriers have proved insurmountable. They are the largest overseas territories for Bollywood, but while Hindi films do penetrate mainstream theaters, the audiences are mostly of South Asian descent. Avtar Panesar, vice president of international operations for Yash Raj Films, one of Bollywood’s largest studios, pegs the non-Indian viewership at 0.5 percent. “We have done events in theaters, carried out media campaigns,” he said by email. “But it seems that these films are being made by Indians and watched by Indians.”
The crossover Hindi film has been the holy grail for Mumbai filmmakers since the success of Ang Lee’s “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” in 2000, the Oscar-winning American-Chinese-Taiwanese coproduction that drew mainstream audiences in the United States. But efforts at such cross-pollination have delivered uneven results. The Indian company Reliance Entertainment invested upward of $500 million in Steven Spielberg’s DreamWorks, but the hits have been limited. Initially, Hollywood studios in India stumbled with local productions. Eventually Disney found an Indian partner, UTV, and Disney India’s first film after the merger — a rom-com called“Khoobsurat” — was released in the United States on Sept. 17.
Relativity Media is hoping to alter the landscape. At the Cannes Film Festival in May, it announced a $100 million joint venture with B4U, a Bollywood entertainment company. “We don’t consider ourselves Hollywood,” Relativity’s chief executive, Ryan Kavanaugh, said by phone. “We consider ourselves a content technology company. Studios think, ‘How do we sell our stuff to them?’ We are looking at how to create content for this huge market.”
Instead of finding one film that satisfies both palates, the Relativity strategy is to tailor the same content for two markets. So with an as-yet-untitled action-comedy now in production with Zach Galifianakis, Owen Wilson and Kristen Wiig, the plan is to film it again in Bollywood. A reboot of “The Crow” would follow a similar model, with two versions shot simultaneously — one in Hollywood and one in Bollywood with American actors in the Indian version and vice versa. “Our goal is to be at this long-term,” Mr. Kavanaugh said, “We go slowly and we take the consumer with us.”
Along with consumers, Hindi films have also evolved. They are no longer a monolithic entity defined by song and dance. Daring, more personal indie productions known as Hindie movies are also making inroads locally and globally. In the past year, “The Lunchbox,” a small-budget film starring Irrfan Khan as a widower forming a bond with a neglected Mumbai housewife, made about $10 million globally at the box office, with about 40 percent of that coming from America. Despite the absence of songs and mainstream Bollywood stars, “The Lunchbox” was among the highest-grossing Hindi films in the United States. It was distributed by Sony Pictures Classics, which perhaps helped it find viewers beyond the Indian market.
Could films like “The Lunchbox” help the Hindi film industry infiltrate the final frontier of the American mainstream? As Shah Rukh Khan put it in an email: “Our content is improving. Our technology is improving. It’s time.”
source: http://www.nytimes.com / The New York Times / Home> Movies / by Anupama Chopra / September 26th, 2014
A version of this article appears in print on September 28, 2014, on page AR15 of the New York editionwith the headline: Bollywood Is Prancing Far Abroad. Order Reprints|Today’s Paper|Subscribe
The great patriot, however, remained unsung on January 24, which marks his 153rd death anniversary
The name of Turehbaz Khan conjures up images of valour and sacrifice. The name also puts Hyderabad on the map of the country’s First War of Independence or the Sepoy Mutiny of 1857. But how many of us know that January 24 marked the 153rd death anniversary of Turehbaz Khan, who, along with several others, rebelled against the English Resident, Major Cuthbert Davidson. The day simply passed off without a whimper.
It was in January 24, 1859, that many believe that Turehbaz Khan was killed in the forests of Toopran by the Talukdar, Mirza Qurban Ali Baig.
His body was brought to Hyderabad and according to several historical accounts was hung near the Residency, what is now Koti Women’s College, for public display and to act as a deterrent against any future rebellion.
Many in Hyderabad also do not know that the road in front of Osmania Medical College is named after Turehbaz Khan.
To mark the revolt of 1857, a memorial with the words ‘Memorial to the martyrs of July 17, 1857′ was constructed near Koti bus stand.
Even today, the name Turehbaz Khan is etched on the plaque.
Stark reminder:The memorial for Turehbaz Khan and others at Koti.– Photos: G. Ramakrishna / The Hindu
The uprising was led by Turehbaz Khan and a fiery preacher, Maulvi Allauddin, along with 500 Rohillas, who were of Pashtun (Pathan) stock.
Unequal fight
Essentially, the revolt was to free Jamedar Cheeda Khan, who was held in the prison inside the Residency. The 500 Rohillas tried to storm the Residency under the direction of Turehbaz Khan and Maulvi Allauddin, who controlled the revolt by occupying the houses of two local moneylenders, Abban Saheb and Jaigopal Das.
Historians point out that the fight between the Rohillas and British troops, who were led by Major S. C. Briggs, continued throughout the night. Apparently, Salar Jung alerted the British about the impending revolt. The British troops were prepared and waiting for Khan to attack.
Needless to say, the Rohillas, who wielded swords, were outclassed by trained British soldiers who opened fire on them. By morning the rebellion was crushed.
Shot dead
Many armed men who took part in the revolt were caught and sent to prison. Among them was Turehbaz Khan, who received a life sentence. However, the canny Turehbaz Khan managed to escape from prison on January 8, 1859.
Sentinel of history:The prison inside the Residency building, which is now the Koti Women’s College, where it is believed that Jamedar Cheeda Khan was kept.
Immediately after the escape, the British authorities offered a reward of Rs. 5,000 to anyone who could apprehend Turehbaz Khan.
Within a few days, many believe that it was on January 24, 1859, when Turehbaz Khan was shot in the forest of Toopran by Talukdar Mirza Qurban Ali Baig. As a reward, the Talukdar received Rs. 5,000 and his salary was also raised by Rs. 200.
He was also promoted as Sadar Talukdar, say historical accounts.
