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Kochi
Monday, November 9, 2015

TECHKNOW

OLD IS GOLD

VIEWPOINT

MIRA, A STYLISH FITNESS

TRACKER CREATED FOR
THE ACTIVE WOMAN P2

SARASAYYA - A SOCIAL
FILM WITH A STRONG
MESSAGE P3

THE WALLS OF BROADWAY

DISPLAY POLITICAL AND
SOCIAL IMAGES P4

Admit two

TEAM METROPLUS

O
Malhar

Gujarat fair

A group exhibition of mixed

media, mainly watercolour,
pen, pencil, oil, and
photographs, Malhar 2015,
featuring 12 artists
is on at the Durbar Hall Art
Gallery, Ernakulam. The
show is open from 11 a.m.
to 7 p.m. and runs through
till November 12.

Shop for handicrafts,

fabrics, leather goods and
more at the Gujarat
Handicrafts and Handloom
exhibition and sale on at
the Womens Association
Hall, Diwans Road,
Ernakulam. The sale is open
from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and
ends on November 15.

Kebab Street
Take your pick from a wide
variety of kebabs at Kebab
Street, a special promotion
now on at Ember
restaurant, Le Meridien.
The event is open from
6.30 p.m. to 11 p.m. and is
on till November 30.

Football
Catch all the excitement as
Kerala Blasters lock horns
with Atletico de Kolkata in a
crucial game of the Indian
Super League football
tournament at the Jawaharlal
Nehru Stadium, Kaloor, on
November 10 at 7 p.m.

Television
Ultimate Shopper on TLC
HD World pits four
shopaholics head-to-head
in a series of three stylebased challenges to be
judged by fashion experts.
Watch this on November 9
from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m.

n the occasion of Diwali, a celebration thats grown bigger because

of the citys growing cosmopolitanism and one where riotous bursting
of crackers, savouring of calorie rich sweetmeats, Bollywoodisation of gifting culture and
couture is the order of the day, one finds that
city folks have shown inclination for a more
selective celebration that suits the sensibility
of the city. It is clear in the availability of
non-polluting crackers, in public opinion
about holding a less noisy celebration- (fireworks timing between 6 -10 p.m.), and in the
retail of specially made sugarless sweets for
the diabetics and health conscious persons.
This in no way takes away from the quintessence of the festival of lights, which is about
celebrations symbolising the victory of Good
over Evil, welcoming the goddess of wealth
and about the setting of winter. Diwali will
find homes in the city lit up with traditional
diyas(oil lamps), prayers to Goddess of
wealth, beginning of new businesses and exchange of gifts and relishing of traditional
sweets.

A new glow to
DIWALI

is the thoughtful line of sweet meats

thesugarless sweets made by Dr.
Bhagyashree and her husband Satish for the
health conscious and persons with diabetes.
Made to order and mostly for friends and with
increasing number of people turning very
health conscious they have turned to new
health varieties like eggless cakes, chocolate
and almond coated sweets.

Crackers

Non-polluting crackers, LED diyas, sugarless sweets,

innovative gifting ideas, Diwali in the city has grown
choosy in celebration and acquired a cosmopolitan feel

Diyas
As the varieties of sweets, fabrics and
crackers seen during the festival have evolved,
so has the humble diya. Even for those who
cannot be bothered with the effort or expense
required for a full blown celebration, a simple
lit diya at the doorstep makes them a part of
the festivities.
Traditionally
fashioned out of
clay in a simple
concave shape
with
a
protruding tip
for a wick, diyas
are now seen in
more inventive
forms. There is the multi-pronged design
supporting multiple wicks in all directions,
the brass ones that are better suited for reuse
(and can be mounted as regular fixtures), as
well as coloured ones fashioned into designs
that range from flowers to fish.
Technology was also bound to catch up with
tradition eventually, and it has, giving us LED
diyas that feature a flame-shaped light lit from
within by an LED. But whether the light
comes from a burning flame or a lit LED, the
diya remains an indispensable part of the
festival of lights.

spread a
sense
of
camaraderie
confectionary
and kinship. Stores
wing of Vinayaka
across the city offer a
Sweets gear up during this
variety of gift options. Watches and
time of the year. The wheat halwa is
writing instruments are favoured gifting their USP, which they make only during
options for men. Gift boxes of Indian sweets Diwali as it involves a laborious process.
and chocolates are popular gifting options.
Otherwise it is the regular items like the
laddoos, Mysurpa, pedas, boli,
Sweets
badusha and savouries.
Nothing expresses the
For Diwali the Sri Krishna
colourful,
lively,
joyous
Sweets outlets have put aside
celebrations of Diwali than
their regular line of sweets and
sweets. And there are plenty of
savouries. They have stacked
them, traditional mithai,
their shelves with their brand
innovative creations and a
of sweets and karas. Their
special Mysurpa, baklava,
veritable
cross
between
badam halwa, fig burfi, kaju
dessert,
snack
and
burfi, pista roll, kaju kathli,
confectionary. This is the time
badam kathli in convenient
when the mithai makers find
denominations
come
in
their creative spark. The
Gifts
laddoos, barfis, Mysurpas, jalebis and halwas beautiful packing.
There is nothing like the joy of giving and are still popular but innovative variations of
Extravagantly decorated boxes of mithai,
receiving during Diwali. Sweets, clothes as the sohan papdi, like the white, chocolate, dried fruit, nuts ensure that this Diwali is
tokens of affection exchange hands and orange, Banaras have a lot of takers. The going to be truly, deeply sweet. And yet there

Diwali is a brilliant light and sound show

of bright lights, diyas and of course, exploding
crackers or fireworks. From the tiny crackling
strips of potaas to the massive ammittu
bombs, to the gold sparklers or the
combination silver and gold, the chakram to
the poothiri (fountain)the variety of
crackers is huge. Once upon a time Sivakasi
ruled the fireworks
market but today
there are several
local
manufacturers
who provide a
major chunk of the
crackers sold in the
city today. Not be
left behind are the
Chinese
ones,
which are a spectacle by themselves. But these
are, usually reserved for more elaborate
celebrations. If once upon time a Rs.100 got a
huge cache of crackers, today rising prices
have ensured that youd be lucky if you
manage three packets of sparklers. Over time
and with awareness, interest in fireworks has
waned to some extent. Air pollution and the
health implications too play spoil sport.

Rituals
As much as Diwali is about the story of Lord
Ramas return to Ayodha and the celebrations
therein it is also about welcoming the
Goddess of Wealth.This aspect is big in
commercial enterprises and the day is
important for closing of accounts and the
beginning of a new one. Hence new ledger
books and account books are kept at the
prayer site along with the newly purchased
household item symbolic of welcoming
prosperity. In Southern India the day begins
early with oil baths and burst of crackers and
offering prayers. Cleaning of households, days
in advance of the festival, is done to welcome
the Gods. Such customs in practical terms
mean annual painting and repair of homes.
Wearing new clothes on the occasion and
family get together is the most popular aspect
of the festival.
(With inputs from K. Pradeep,
Priyadershini S., Shilpa Nair Anand and
Sooraj Rajmohan)

Make Diwali safe for pets, urge Bollywood actresses

Nargis Fakhri and Jacqueline
Fernandez have urged their
fans to avoid firecrackers on Diwali to provide a safe environment for pets. Jacqueline
Fernandez posted a picture of
herself posing with a cat on
mirco-blogging site and tweeted: Lets make Diwali safe for

CM
YK

our pets. Share a message &

selfie with your ....
Nargis also tweeted: yall 2is
cute @Asli_Jacqueline (sic).
Please less or no crackers. I too
get scared. I used to think it was
Gunshots.
Both Nargis and Jacqueline
worked together in Salman

Khan starrer Kick. The former

had just an item number in the
film while the latter was the female lead.
Nargis, is currently busy
shooting for the biopic on former cricketer Mohammad Azharuddin titled Azhar.
IANS

KI-KI

p2

METROPLUS

KOCHI

THE HINDU

Monday, November 9, 2015

TASTY WIRES

INTERNET USERS

TELEPHONE WIRES WERE RANKED ACCORDING

TO HOW TASTY THEY WERE TO MICE AND RATS

WITH ITS 800 MILLION INTERENT USERS,

FACEBOOK WOULD BE THE THIRD LARGEST
COUNTRY IN THE WORLD

THE XBOX WAS ORIGINALLY

NAMED DIRECTXBOX, AS IT WAS
INITIALLY DESIGNED TO SHOW
HOW MICROSOFT'S DIRECT X
GRAPHICS TECHNOLOGY COULD
BENEFIT THE CONSOLE MARKET.
TECH A BYTE

Indian operations
There is no impact on the Indian headcount of the
erstwhile HP at the newly-formed Hewlett Packard
Enterprise (HPE) India, said its top executive.Our
talent need is changing and becoming lesser but
with the formation of the new company, we are not
looking at any headcount reduction, said MD Neelam Dhawan, without revealing the exact number of
people its employs in India.One of the two companies created after splitting the older Hewlett Packard, Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) has started
operating in its new avatar as a leading global
company in the space of enterprise services, software and financial services from Monday - a year
after the split was announced.
IANS
Light years
Casio is set to expand its lineup of core models that
support the next generation lamp free projectors
with the release of XJV2 that can be availed at
affordable prices with projectors that delivers
3000 lumens of brightness.
Priced less than USD 700, the lamp-free projectors
are equipped with SSI*2 light sources and LED that
have only been available in the high end of the
projector market due to their advanced technology.
Casio developed the XJV2 by building on this
strong track record as a leading provider of hybrid
light source projectors. (ANI)

Features loaded
Binatone, products launched a WR1505N3 150
MBPS Wi Fi Router which is supported by mobile
app for android for easy installation and
configuration
The router is loaded with features along with the
convenience of installing it at ones home using
mobile app which makes the entire process very
simple. It does away with tedious task of using a PC
and fill in complex technical details to install and
configure. The device has 4 LAN ports, 1 WAN
port,Wi-Fi and supports multiple WAN with VLAN
features. It provides 802.11b/g/n which delivers up
to 150Mbps speed. The router supports triple play IPTV, Internet and VoIP. It has features likePPPoE,
DHCP, Static IP and PPTP for WAN connection. The
WR1505N3 150 MBPS Wi Fi Router has a built in
DHCP and NAT support. It also has wireless security features like 64/128/ bit WEP, 802.1x, WPA
and WPA2 for wireless security.
Not so real
After complaints from civil liberties groups, company promises more awareness of context of realname complaints Facebook has announced plans to
water down its controversial real names policy,
after lobbying from civil liberties groups worldwide.
The new rules still officially require the use of
authentic names on the site, something which has
previously resulted in criticism from varied groups
including the drag community, Native Americans,
and trans people.
While Facebook
does not require
the use of legal
names on the
site, it does demand that users
identify with the
name that other
people
know
them by.
(Guardian news)

TECHKNOW

Fitness tracker for fashionistas

Created with an active woman in mind and not a hard-core performance athlete, the sleek
wearable tracks only whats important: steps, calories, distance and elevation

ith
fitness
trackers being
abundant in the
market, it is
safe to assume that most of
you are no strangers to these.
You would have tried on a
couple and worn one regularly for months. There are
many people who like to see
the total number of steps they
took in a day, even though
they go running in the
mornings.
However, the fitness trackers in the market are bulky;
they look more like gadgets
on your wrist than a sleek
wearable you would have preferred. While there are many
who do not prefer mixing
technology with their morning jog, there are people who
cannot live without it. These
trackers offer motivation and
the desire to better themselves with each passing day.
The latest fitness tracking
wearable in the market is Mira. It sounds like any other
wearable, but it is different
from any other wearable currently in the market. Not
many wearables are targeted
towards women. Mira uses
this to its advantage. It is a
device specifically targeted at
women. It was created with
an active woman in mind and
not specifically a hard-core

STYLE AND FIT

Mira is stylish
fitness tracker

stood out to me for one

reason. It does not hurt that
performance athlete. Mira Mira does not look like a bulky, ugly watch.
tracks only whats imYou might gladly wear
portant: steps,
your bulky wearacalories,
ble while out
distance
runand elevation.
Although
Id like to
think of myself as a performance
athlete and
someone who
likes all the
numbers, Mira

ning; but not many women

would wear it for everyday
use because of its sheer
size.
Mira on the other hand
blends in perfectly with your
ensemble and looks elegant.
Designed to sit on the
bracelet, the Mira tracker
looks more like jewellery
than technology. For the gym
or other casual looks, the
tracker can easily detach
from the bracelet and clip it
to any piece of clothing or
pocket. Mira resists sweat,
rain and getting splashed.
Just dont go swimming
with it.
Mira goes beyond
tracking to learn
from your data. Its

Its the only tracker that gets to

know you like what time of day you
have the most energy or how much time
you have to be active each day then
offers personalised tips and
recommendations

the only tracker that

gets to know you
like what
time of day
you have the
most energy
or how much
time you have
to be active each
day then offers
healthy tips and
recommendations
personalized for you.
The app for Mira offers
personalized motivation and
journal to track all your
activity.
The only thing that might
turn a few people off slightly
is the absence of the vibrating
feature when you hit the
10,000 steps mark. When
other devices vibrate, it
seems like a small acknowledgement of an achievement.
Other than that, there is
nothing about this device that
you cannot love.
You can buy this fashionable wearable for $169.99
from http://www.mymirafit.com. You can choose between brushed gold or
midnight purple colour. It
comes in three sizes petite,
small, and medium..

Ayyappa Nagubandi
Is an entrepreneur and
co-founder of Possibillion
Technologies

WH A T' S N E W
OnePlus, the Chinese company responsible for the OnePlus One and 2, which shook up the smartphone food
chain, have released their third device, the OnePlus X. Targeted at users who appreciate good design and a
comfortable form factor over massive screens and the latest hardware,
the X is a 5-inch phone sporting a 1080p AMOLED display, and
internals very similar to last year's OnePlus One, a Qualcomm
Snapdragon 801 and 3 GB of RAM. The phone also boasts a 13MP rear
and 8MP front camera, 16GB of internal memory, and runs OnePlus'
OxygenOS on top of Android 5.1.1. Dual nano-SIM slots are also on
board, and in a first for OnePlus, the X features a microSD card slot.
Another feature likely to be well received in India is the availability of
an FM radio. While the design bears similarities to older iPhones and
Sony's Xperia Compact line, with glass all
around, the overall package, which costs Rs.16,999, offers plenty of
value for money spent. Apart from the glass-backed version, which the
company has dubbed 'Onyx', the phone is also available in a limitededition ceramic version, of which only 10,000 units will be produced,
and availability restricted to Europe and India. The ceramic version will
cost Rs. 22,999.As is the norm with OnePlus, the X will be available to
purchase through an invite system, with invites for the Onyx version
rolling out from November 5 and for the ceramic version from
November 24. The company plans to conduct hour-long open sales
starting next month, to make the purchase process easier.
While the X may be priced dangerously close to the similarly-specced
and larger OnePlus One, the company seems to be banking on users wanting a smaller, easier-to-use device
with high-end hardware and top-notch design. Whether or not this experiment pays off only time will tell,
but initial impressions of the OnePlus X look promising.

Make your photos saucy

While the included sauce pack has plenty of basic options for users, there are plenty more to
choose from
AYYAPPA NAGUBANDI

Rebelsauce is a gorgeous new

photo editing app that holds
the recipe for creating some
awesome photographs on
your iPhone.
Rebelsauce sports a beautiful interface, and its probably
one of the more stunning
ones Ive seen lately. If you
like gorgeous apps and enjoy
photography, then Rebelsauce is worth checking out
for that alone.
There are two ways to get
an image into Rebelsauce:
you can snap a new photo di-

rectly with the app, or import

from your Photo Library.
Once you have an image in
the app, the fun begins.
The first thing that the app
defaults to when editing is the
sauce.
These are basically film effects for your images, and the
initial download includes a
nice variety of them that you
can scroll through by swiping
horizontally along the ribbon.
When you find one you like,
just tap on it to see how it
looks on your photo.
A tap-and-hold brings up
the slider to adjust the inten-

sity of the sauce.

While the included sauce
pack has plenty of basic options for users, there are
plenty more to choose from.
You can view these by swiping vertically along the sauce
ribbon, and a price tag in the
corner of a filter indicates
that they are available
through in-app purchase. Individual sauce packs (total of
nine) can be had for $0.99 a
pop, or you can get the Big
Box o Sauce for $5.99.
While the unique features
of Rebelsauce include these
filters, users are able to do

regular photo editing with the

app as well.
After youre done editing
your image, just tap on the
next arrow at the bottom to
go to the save and share
screen.
There are a few options
here: you can save your final
image to your Camera Roll, or
share it on Twitter, Facebook,
Instagram, App.net, Tumblr,
or Flickr.
Also, if you have a Rebelsauce account, you can send it
there too.
This sure is a great app for
photography lovers.

A strong contender
The Moto G and X are making waves in the market
SOORAJ RAJMOHAN

MAGIC IN YOUR HANDS The

Moto G and Moto X can impress
you
CM
YK

Motorola has been on a

roll for the past few years,
with the Moto G racking up
sales in India and the Moto
X proving a strong contender overseas. Once
the domain of average
phones and high end
flagship devices past
their prime, the world of midrange smartphones is now
where the competition is the
most intense. With this in
mind, Motorola has unveiled two versions of its
higher end Moto X, the
top end Style variant, and
a more affordable Play
version, which we tinker
with, for this review.
The Moto X Play
comes with a fairly simple
box packing the bare essentials the phone itself, a twopart charger with a plug that
sports two USB ports, a very
basic pair of earphones (not
the in-ear variety), and a SIM
removal tool.

The phone does support

Motorolas
TurboPower
quick charge technology,
which promises hours of extra battery life from just a few
minutes on the charger, but
unfortunately the included
adapter is not of the TurboPower variety, so youll have
to pick up one of those separately for rapid charging.
The 5.5 inch phone does have
a removable back, but the battery is sealed, and dual nanoSIMs and a microSD card can
be inserted via a tray at the

All additional
software features
are intuitive, such as
how a custom
phrase will have the
phone ready to
respond to queries,
even if the screen is
off

top of the phone next to a

3.5mm headphone jack.
This back panel has a textured pattern, which provides
a little additional grip and
keeps away pesky fingerprints, though its slight curve
and the smooth metal framing can still cause the phone
to slip out of the hand occasionally. Overall quality is
pretty great, except for the
side buttons. While the texture that helps distinguish
the power button from the
volume rockers is welcome,
the buttons feel a little flimsy
to the touch.
Moving on to where the
magic happens, the X Plays
5.5 inch 1080p display is the
IPS LCD variety, and it is very, very bright. Even with the
brightness slider around the
halfway mark, the screen is
bright and crisp and quite legible under direct sunlight.
The phone supports Motorolas active display, which
lights up the screen with interactive icons when notifica-

tions arrive. They dont stay

long, but merely picking up
the phone or taking it out of
the pocket triggers the display again, and allows the user to quickly access the
relevant app.
The X Play keeps software
gimmickry to a minimum,
and purists will appreciate
the clean, near-stock build of
Android. The only additions
are Motorolas Migrate, Connect and Moto apps; the first
two geared towards helping
users transfer content to
their new phone and manage
devices, while the latter beefs
up Googles own personal assistant and turns it into an
always on, always aware secretary ready to help you with
everything from sending
messages to finding out how
old Matt Damon is (Hes 45,
in case you were wondering).
All additional software features are intuitive, such as
how a custom phrase will
have the phone ready to respond to queries, even if the

screen is off. It isnt always

perfect, but when it works,
you can comfortably be typing away on a computer and
instructing your posh assistant to make an appointment
or find out which movies are
playing nearby.
The experience can be immensely enjoyable and slightly creepy at the same time.
One of the main talking
points of the phone is its massive 3630 mAh battery, and as
expected, it does last a fairly
long time.
The Moto G is a great performer in the upper entrylevel category, and the X Play
bridges the gap between it
and the Style perfectly. Its
not the standout choice in its
price range, thanks to some
strong competitors, but with
Motorolas recent track record, the promise of quick
software updates, the humungous battery and the
well-balanced software, the X
Play is a phone that ticks the
boxes that matter most.
KI-KI

p3

METROPLUS

Buylines

Diamond
jewellery

Malabar Gold launches an

exclusive range of diamond
jewellery, Illumina, crafted
in Forevermark diamonds
for Diwali.. Forevermark is
a diamond brand which
comes with a promise of
being rare, beautiful and
responsibly sourced.As the
name suggests, the Illumina
range is created specially to
celebrate the festival of
lights through the brilliance
of a diamond and spread
joy. The range consists of
elegant, classic diamond
rings and stud earrings to
enhance the beauty and the
brilliance of precious
Forevermark diamonds.

VARIETY

KOCHI

THE HINDU Monday, November 9, 2015

t was a phone call that

changed
17-year-old
Amy Jacksons life. She
remembers it like it
happened yesterday. It was a
Friday morning and the
telephone rang, she recalls.
She heard her father talking
animatedly for a few minutes
with the caller.
There is a director in India
who wants to meet you about
a lm, he told her. Then a
Liverpool girl interested in
English
literature,
philosophy and horse-riding,
she didnt think too much
about it.
After a few discussions in
London and a look-test a
week before Christmas that
year, she was on board the
project.
She came to Chennai a
month later, for the rst time,
and shot amid all the hustle
and bustle. The lm was
Vijays Madraspattinam and
Amy caught the eye of
audiences as the young
foreign girl.
Today, shes no longer
foreign. Shes just bought a
house in Bandra, Mumbai,
and visits Chennai often, for
shes doing three big lms
currently. She stars opposite
Vijay in his lm with Atlee,
with Dhanush in Thanga
Magan, with Udhayanidhi in
Gethu and is reportedly
take a deep breath
Rajinikanths leading lady in
Shankars Enthiran 2.
These days, it feels like I
go to the U.K. for a holiday,
smiles Amy, India is home
now.
Her
accent
is
less

The Amy invasion

Actor Amy Jackson talks on her Hindi and Tamil films,
shedding the foreign tag and making India home
anglicised now. She can string
together sentences in Hindi
and can speak more than a
smattering of Tamil. It was
all about wanting to do well,
she says.
When I rst heard Indian
languages, I was like, No, I
wont be able to do this. But
then, I had to learn them if I

wanted a career here. Hindi

was priority due to its reach.
My whole focus in the past
couple of years has been in
Tamil cinema; I wanted to be
able to get a better
understanding of what I was
playing on the big screen. My
directors helped me. My costars, especially Vikram,

Recipe
Hot sauce
Lingham launches its range
of quality hot chilli sauce
that is 100 per cent natural.
The hot sauce doesnt have
any chemicals and has a
distinctive sweet and spicy
taste. Containing no
articial avours or
preservatives, this sauce
can be drizzled, splattered
or even used as a marinade.
The versatile taste is a
perfect accompaniment to
Chinese, Mexican or even
Indian dishes. Linghams
sauce is now available in
seven avours.
Original hot, extra hot,
garlic, ginger, garlic &
ginger, sriracha, thai sweet
chilli. Available at all
leading supermarkets and
retailers. MRP: Rs.165/-

A sweet nut
Try out this
creative
transformation of
a traditional
dessert to
pamper your
guests this Diwali
Puffed lotus nut seeds give a
crunchy taste to the kheer
and go amazingly well with
crispy almond chikki.

Puffed lotus nut seeds

(makhana) kheer with
almond chikki
Lotus nut seeds - 200 gms
Ghee 100 gms
Milk - 1ltr
Sugar - half-cup
Pistachio - 2 tbsp
Cardamom powder - 1gm
Method
Cut makhana in to halves
and put it in a sauce pan along
with ghee. Fry over a low fat

Old is gold

Sarasayya: 1971
S

everal stage plays of

popular playwright
Thoppil Bhasi, such as
Mudiyanaya Puthran (1961),
Puthiya Akasham Puthiya
Bhoomi (1962),
Thulabharam (1968),
Koottukudumbam (1969),
Mooladhanam (1969),
Ningalenne Communistaki
(1970) have been
successfully adapted to the
big screen. Another of his
plays, Aswamedham,
written and staged for the
rst time in 1962, was
adapted to the screen by
Supriya Films in 1967 under
the same title. It talked
about how leprosy was
dreaded and those affected
ostracised by the society.
Sarasayya, released on
July 2, 1971, was a screen
adaptation of the stage play
written by Thoppil Bhasi in
1964 as a sequel to
Aswamedham. The lm
went on to win the Kerala
State Award for the best
feature lm and the best
actress award for Sheela
that year.
Produced by P.V.
Sathyam under the banner
of Deepak Combines the
lm was directed by
Thoppil Bhasi. The
playwright also wrote the
script and dialogues.
Sathyan and Sheela who
played the lead roles in
Aswamedham were
retained for Sarasayya. The
characters played by Prem
Nazir, Kambisserry
Karunakaran, Indira
CM
YK

Thampi and Sukumari in

Aswamedham were
assigned to Govindankutty,
Thoppil Krishna Pillai,
Jayabharathi and KPAC
Lalitha respectively in this
lm. Madhu, S.P. Pillai,
Adoor Bhasi, Alummoodan,
Kaviyoor Ponnamma were
the other prominent actors
in this lm.
Doctor Thomas (Sathyan)
treats and cures Sarojam
(Sheela) of leprosy. But the
stigma remains. She is
abandoned by her lover and
expelled from her family
because of the wrong notion
that leprosy was incurable.
Thomas gives her refuge. He
is involved in inventing new
and effective medicines to
ght the disease. Sarojam
assists him in this task.
Thomass wife Girlie (KPAC
Lalitha) and Sarojams
former lover Mohan
(Govindankutty) spread
scandals about the
relationship between
Sarojam and Thomas. A
complaint is lodged by
Girlies father Paulose
(Adoor Bhasi) against
Thomas for giving refuge to
Sarojam in his official
quarters and alleging that
the doctor had illegitimate
relations with her. Thomas
is suspended from service.
Doctor Harindranath
(Madhu) is posted in his
place.
Sarojam returns home.
Her sister Sarala
(Jayabharathi) and her
husband Kaimal

helped me. For instance, one

of the toughest scenes
personally was getting the
local Madras bashai in I
we kept practising that, even
during ights in China.
With a better grasp of the
language and an impressive
resume to show off, Amy is
trying to look beyond the

typical phirang roles. I

dont see any reason not to.
Look
at
the
scene
internationally;
didnt
Leonardo Di Caprio play a
South African in a lm? I
think the whole perk of being
an actor is that you can get
into the skin and mindset of
someone else.
In Singh is Bling, I played
an NRI. In Vijays lm, Im a
girl from Kerala. Im stepping
away
completely
from
phirang roles and avoiding
being typecast.
Her lm with Akshay
Kumar (Singh Is Bling) was
her second attempt at
Bollywood,
after
the
disappointing Ekk Deewana

Tha and her days in the

South. This time, she was
fully armed and ready.
It was necessary to get
into the big league in
Bollywood, she admits, I
had already worked with
Vikram and Ram Charan and
the movies in the South
helped me evolve as an actor
and as a person. I couldnt
have done the same three
years ago.
Shes referring to her
action avatar something
she attempted for the rst
time in Singh is Bling.
When I released, I gave a
couple of interviews in which
I expressed my interest to
play an action heroine. But I
didnt realise that it would
happen so soon!
Currently, Amy is looking
forward to her work in Tamil;
in fact, shes in the city
shooting with Vijay.
I remember watching Raja
Rani of course, mainly for
Arya and it was so good. I
wondered about the director
while I was watching it and in
a few months time, I get an
offer from him!
What does she do when
shes not on the sets or
working
out
furiously?
Forgotten, she laughs,
Forgot what I used to do. But
seriously, on days off, I like to
be outdoors. I love horseriding I have three back in
the U.K. Now that Ive moved
to Mumbai, I should perhaps
get a horse. Itll be a nice
escape from my everyday
life.

Briefly

Spears records
new album

Singer Britney Spears says

she is working on a new album. While multiple reports
speculated that Spears, 33,
had new music in the works,
the singer did not officially
conrm the news of a complete album until Tuesday,
reports people.com. Working hard and hardly working...new
album...wheeeee!
Spears tweeted, attaching a
photograph of herself and
friends.
Last week, she had tweeted
that she had just nished recording one song and used
the hashtag B9. In September, Spears announced that
she was extending her Vegas
SRINIVASA RAMANUJAM residency.
IANS

Fat again?
What caused you to get fat again?
RAJ GANPATH

for 3-5 mins. Add milk and

sugar, leave it to simmer for
45 minutes until the milk is
reduced by half and has a
creamy consistency. Now
add almonds and pistachios
and leave for 10 more
minutes. Sprinkle crushed
cardamom. Serve hot or
cold as desired.
Ingredients (Almond
chikki)
Almonds 50 gms
Sesame seeds - 60 gms
Jaggery - 100 Gms
Butter - 15gms
Method
Melt the butter in a
medium size pan over moderate heat. Now add jaggery
to the pan and cook until
sugar starts to caramelise.
Quickly add shredded almonds and toasted sesame
seeds to the pan and stir
well for evenly coating of
the sugar.
Transfer the mixture to a
at tray and spread it even-

If you have a problem, you

have got to address it. We all
know that is the way to solve
problems. But what if you got
the problem wrong in the rst
place? As far as fat loss is concerned, this seems to be the
most common trend. A lot of
people focus too much on
what appears to be the problem but it is mostly a mere
symptom. Let me explain.
When you fall sick and develop a fever, the fever appears to be the issue. But in
reality, it is merely a symptom of the real problem.
Something is off in your body,
and in an effort to x that,
your body has increased its
core temperature, among
other things. And how did
something go off in your body
in the rst place? So if your
CHEF PREM KUMAR
ly. Allow it to cool and cut
approach is just to nd some
POGAKULA
in to bars.
(He is the Executive way, any way to lose the exFill the makhana kheer in
martini glass. And serve it Sous Chef at The Imperial cess fat, say X kilos, that you
have put on, you wont really
alongside of almond chikki New Delhi)
go too far. Why? Because once
you lose those X kilos, you
will go back to living normally
and that will result in those X
kilos slowly creeping back in.
Yes, like the fever.
So you see, the fat gained is
not really the problem.The
Harindranath she rushes to
real problem is the actions
inform Thomas of the
that caused the fat gain. This
Medical Boards decision.
realisation is the most imporBut they nd that Thomas
tant step.
had committed suicide
Once you understand this,
fearing arrest for causing
the death of Sarojams
father.
Sathyan and Sheela
excelled in their roles. The
lm was dedicated to
Sathyan who died before
the lm was released.
Alummoodan, S.P. Pillai and
KPAC Lalitha were
impressive.
All the songs written by
Vayalar Rama Varma and
set to tune by Devarajan
SOCIAL FILM Sathyan, Madhu and Sheela in a scene from
became huge hits. Njaan
the film PHOTO: BY SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
nine premikkunnu
maankidave, Mukham
formally. Harindranath
(Alummoodan) are
manassinte kannadi. (both
leaves to his native place. In by K.J. Yesudas), Mahendra
suspicious of her relations
a weak moment Thomas
with Thomas and begin to
neela, Neelaambarame
approaches Sarojam
ill treat her. Thomas
tharapathamey,
requesting her to full his
continues his research.
Choodaratnam sirassil (all
carnal desires. Sarojam
Mohan visits Sarojams
by P. Madhuri) and the title
house with a hidden agenda surrenders unwillingly.
song Utthishtatha jagratha
Harindranath returns
on winning Saralas love.
(M.G. Radhakrishnanwith the news that his
One day Mohan beats up
Madhuri) are songs that
parents had agreed to his
Sarojams father (Thoppil
have stood the test of time.
marriage. Sarojam tells him
Krishna Pillai) who is
Will be remembered: As
what happened but refuses
mentally chellenged.
a social lm with a strong
to reveal the identity of the
Sarojam protests against
message; for its songs and as
person who ruined her
Mohans act. Sarala asks
a lm that won top honours
chastity. Sarojams father
Sarojam and her father to
at the Kerala State awards.
who is a mute witness of all
leave the house.
that had happened
Once again Thomas
questions Thomas. Thomas
comes to their rescue and
is disturbed. Sarojams
gives them refuge in his
house. Harindranath falls in father dies after Thomas
inadvertently injects a
love with Sarojam and
wrong medicine.
decides to marry her. He
Thomas thesis on the
waits to get the consent of
new methods of leprosy
his parents who live in his
treatment wins the
native place quite far away.
approval of the Medical
Thomas is not aware of
Board. Girlie realises her
their love affair.
mistake and repents on her
Harindranath and Sarojam
decide to keep it a secret till harsh behaviour towards
her husband. Along with
the wedding is xed

ASSESS YOUR LIFE The real problem is the actions that

caused the fat gain

the x is simple, strong and

sustainable. Here is what you
need to do:
1 Compare your life now to
a time when your health and
tness were in better shape.
What has changed? Have you
become less active? Have you
started sleeping fewer hours?
Do you now stress more?
Have you started eating tastier foods in larger quantities?
2 Make an effort to modify
those lifestyle factors back to
where they were or at least
start moving them in the positive direction.
For example, if you were
sleeping 7 to 8 hours a day
when you were younger and
healthier, that may not be

possible today. But you can

try and increase sleep from 5
to 6 and then to 7 hours. Similarly, make changes with
food, activity and stress.
Always remember, the fat
gained is not the problem.
Your actions that led to it are
the real problem. And so, a
crash diet with temporary exercise is not the solution.
Making changes to your lifestyle and habits is the
solution.
Noted for his passionate,
no-nonsense approach to
healthy living, coach Raj
Ganpath is a fitness and
nutrition expert and
entrepreneur.

Six Chix

Hagar The Horrible

Tiger

KI-KI

p4

METROPLUS

SPECTRUM

KOCHI

THE HINDU Monday, November 9, 2015

Working with
Rajshri is cathartic
Anupam Kher talks of films, theatre
and acting school keeping him busy
and the reason behind his current
stance on social issues
SRIVATHSAN NADADHUR

His clean-shaven visage and

eyes speaking volumes, Anupam Khers personality resonates in his words. , He
intermittently keeps checking his IPhone for messages
on his forthcoming march, reminding himself to go for a
rehearsal for his play sooner.
Some excerpts from the
conversation.
Is it easy switching on
and off between theatre
and films?
Lifes been good alternating between cinema and theatre. Theatre gives me a
chance to meet audiences
live, which doesnt happen in
cinema. In 31 years now, Ive
done about 491 movies, so unless something very exciting
comes my way, I neednt take
it up. My acting schools doing well, I wrote a book which
turned out to be a fluke bestseller (laughs) and a lot of
other things have been
happening.
How significant has theatre been in sharpening
your acting skill?
If I feel rusted as an actor, I
get to theatre. The form needs
discipline. In cinema, youre
supported by music, extravagant sets, cameramen and the
background effect. On an
amateur level in theatre, you
definitely dont earn as much
as cinema.
Whats the reason behind your sudden stance
on the tolerance levels in
the country?
I guess the usage of the
word intolerance, especially
in the last 14 months has been
something very convenient.
Im sure the way people have
gone on to raise their voice,
return their awards goes on to
say, were tolerant enough.
Weve undergone phases
such as Emergency, the Sikh
massacre, the Kashmiri pundits being thrown out of their
houses which are unfortunate
but the people have dealt with
it and will have to do so in
future, over time.
Do you think any of this
will affect your acting

Viewpoint

Broadway's
subtle subtext
PHOTOS: THULASI KAKKAT

ochis iconic Broadway, a narrow road of yore was

where trade flourished and businesses were born.
Amidst the merchants and their trade co-existed
a world of workers and between them
interestingly proletariat ideology. Unlike other trading
posts of the city Broadway did not see worker unrest. What
it saw instead and what continues to be seen in bits and
pieces, as part of frayed wall graffiti are images and posters,
remanants, of what formed the matrix of thought Just as
Marxists ideologues were relevant then as posters, a picture
of a hawker who was accidentally killed by a rash truck,
selling her wares hangs in memory. Lionel Messi, iconic as
he is, stars as the new hero of worship. A jenny doll hangs
amidst unpainted and unclean walls. The old telephone set
of the seventies, boxed, is placed ingeniously , a curious
reminder of the pre-liberalisation days and of Indian
jugaad. Look deep, look behind the heat and dust of
Broadway and one is certain of finding a wealth untold
stories and curious leads, a stirring subtext.

Rishi Kapoor is afraid

to do plays
Veteran actor Rishi Kapoor says
that, though hed like to, he is
afraid of coming on stage. Ive
never done a play. Im a cinema
actor, said Rishi, when asked if
he would like to feature in one.
He was present at the iconic
Prithvi Theatre, Mumbai, for the
popular Prithvi festival that begins on November 3, his grandfather Prithviraj Kapoors birth
anniversary. He had also shared
pictures of his grandfather on

Twitter terming him, Good

looking,
Greek
God
Grandfather!.
Asked about the changes in
the festival over the years, he
replied: Its been happening
every year and its actually on
auto-pilot; as such there
havent been any changes in it.
There is no profit in this, its a
trust. The admission price is
the bare minimum, just to keep
it going on. You cant do any-

thing for free as nothing is free

in todays time.
He also feels that there
hasnt been a decline in theatre.
I believe theatre is progressing. On the one side, MAMI is
going on and, on the other side,
theatre is also going on. People
present a play so well, it is very
encouraging and Im hopeful
that lot of people will come and

Anupam Kher

career?
Ive done enough work to
not be afraid of what I say. I
am still doing well, can stand
on the streets, do my play and
earn my money. If your conscience tells you to speak, you
should do it.
Why are actors selective about responding to
social issues?
I do think actors are very
selective in their responses.
You are very popular, well
known and world loves you,
your thought can ruffle a lot
of people. I try my best to not
say things to instigate. With
the
award-wapsi
issue
though, Im taking it up because their acts are projecting
the country in a very bad
light.
Whats keeping you busy otherwise?
Technically, I have one film
up for release, Prem Ratan
Dhan Payo and another on
floors - the Dhoni biopic. After my march in Delhi is done,
Ill go to Singapore to take my
acting classes. I will also
know if Im working in an international project or not on
the same day as the march.
So you are working with
Salman and Rajshri (the
banner) all over again?
Doing a film with Rajshri
and Sooraj is very cathartic.
Its like youve gone through a
period of meditation. I dont
know what stuff the Rajshri
team made is up of! You feel
like being in the Himalayas,
still seeing the conviction in
their themes.
Salman is brilliant in the
film and Ive worked with him
after such a long time. Most of
my scenes are with him, hes
so good and funny!

be a part of Prithvi festival. If

you give the platform, people
are going to come, he said.
Rishi also feels that the there
is a need for more platforms
like Prithvi theatre, which conducts more than 500 shows
every year, to promote the medium. We need to give it a
push. Every drama company
takes their play to various cities
and promotes it. So I we should
also promote our plays in our
city and country, he said.
His uncle, actor Shashi Kapoor, is the managing trustee of
the theatre while Rishis cousins, Kunal and Sanjna, handle
the day-to-day affairs.
IANS

Controversial Sanskrit
film for IFFI
Sanskrit film Priyamanasam,
which
was rejected by the
International Film
Festival of Kerala
(IFFK) for allegedly
promoting Hindutva
ideology, is all set to
open the Indian
Panorama 2015 section at the International Film Festival of India (IFFI).
Directed by Vinod Mankara, Priyamanasam, only the third movie to be made in
Sanskrit, is about the 17th century poetscholar, Unnayi Warrier.
The hour-and-a-half-long period film
deals with the conflicts and mental agony
experienced by Warrier, while penning his
magnum opus Nalacharitham Aattakkatha
(a Kathakali play). Vinod, delighted that
the film has been selected for screening,
denies that it has anything to do with Hindutva ideology. The film is just pure art,
and doesnt seek to promote any ideologies, Vinod says. He also doesnt mince
words when talking about the films rejection at the IFFK. The people in charge of
the selection of films there dont belong to
cinema or journalism. About making the
film in Sanskrit, the director says that the
language was always very dear to him.
Priyamanasam was not an easy film to
make, as it is the first Sanskrit film to be
made in 22 years. As you know, there are
only two other Sanskrit films ever made.
Hes referring to Adi Shankaracharya
(1983) and Bhagavad Gita (1993), both directed by G. V. Iyer. The 10-day-long IFFI
will begin on November 20.
PTI
CM
YK

KI-KI