Archives for July 2021

How to donate for Maharashtra FLOOD victims?

July 28, 2021 by Keyur Seta Leave a Comment

Over the past several days, torrential rains have created havoc in various parts of Maharashtra. There have been floods in a number of regions in Ratnagiri and Raigad districts of Konkan being the worst affected.

The floods have killed over 200 people as of now, left several others missing and rendered lakhs of people homeless; struggling even for the basic necessities of life.

In such a situation, it is extremely necessary for the people of India to come forward and share a helping hand to our fellow citizens who have been punished for no fault of theirs.

It won’t take much effort on our part to make some donation for the people severely struggling to survive. The donation can be made in terms of money as well as necessary items of daily living in the form of packaged good, good clothes, items of hygiene [Dettol, phynoil, soaps, oil, etc].

Floods in Maharashtra 2021 — An Indian Army personnel rescuing a woman from a flood-affected area [Photo source: DD News on Twitter]

Khana Chahiye is a genuine NGO through which you can make donations. I can personally vouch for them as I have been observing their work. I also personally know the person, Advocate Rakesh Singh, who started the NGO in last March to provide meals to the hungry and homeless during the first COVID-19 lockdown.

Till now, they have provided close to 65 lakh free meals and over 61 thousand grocery kits to the needy. It started off by providing meals to people of a certain area in north Mumbai but it started growing in no time with more and more volunteers joining them.

Khana Chahiye has now extended its services for the flood-affected regions of Maharashtra.

To donate, please send an email on contact@khaanachahiye.com or a What’s App text on 7669800470.

Similarly, Khushiyaan Foundation, another NGO, is also collecting donations in the form of money and other essential items mentioned above. You can call or message them on 8828494926 and 7666657964.

He took a hattrick and never played again…

July 22, 2021 by Keyur Seta Leave a Comment

Taking a hattrick is one of the most jubilant days for any bowler in any format against any team at any level. It also brings the bowler instant fame. That’s what happened recently with South Africa’s Keshav Maharaj taking a hattrick against the West Indies in a test match.

But there are some very few exceptions. A case in question is that of Australia’s Anthony Stuart. He just vanished from the scene after taking a hattrick.

Born in 1970 Newcastle, New South Wales, Stuart made his ODI debut against the West Indies in the ending stages of the Carlton & United triangular series on 5 January 1997. It was a high-scoring match that Australia lost but Stuart took 2 wickets on debut, including the one of the great Brian Lara.

His third match, which was against Pakistan at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), turned out to be a dream-come-true. With Australia bowling first, Stuart picked up Aamer Sohail and Zahoor Elahi at the start. But the best was yet to come.

Anthony Stuart [Photo courtesy: Twitter]

In the same spell, he got Ijaz Ahmed caught behind by wicket-keeper Ian Healy for 1. On the very next ball, he got Mohammad Wasim out in the same fashion. He bowled a classic outswinger that got rid of the courageous Moin Khan caught at first slip.

Stuart took a hattrick in just a third ODI of his career. As you can see from the video below, the young man was jubilant and unable to believe what just happened.

It was just the 12^th hattrick in ODIs. Interestingly, less than 15 days prior to that, Zimbabwe’s Eddo Brandes had taken a hattrick against England. [See the list of all ODI hattricks by clicking HERE]

On a side note, although Pakistan finished at a low score of just 181 for 9, it turned out to be a close encounter with some fine bowling from Wasim Akram (4 for 25). Australia were reduced to 148 for 7 at one stage but Michael Bevan (79*), as per his old habit, got them home in the last over.

Click on ‘WATCH ON YOUTUBE’ to see the hattrick video

This was the last league match and Australia’s last in the tri series. They were already knocked out of the tournament with Pakistan and West Indies reaching the finals.

This meant that Australia played next in the test series on their tour to South Africa in March that year. However, Stuart got a blow as he wasn’t even included in the squad of 14 players.

One can understand his exclusion from the test side since he hadn’t played any tests. But he wasn’t even considered for the ODIs. On the other hand, Andy Bichel, who debuted with Stuart and played all the three matches he played, was taken in the squad.

Unfortunately for Stuart, he was never again selected even in the Australian squad, leave alone being part of the playing 11.

The hattrick match where he had glorious figures of 5 for 26 turned out to be the last match of his international career. His 12-day career saw him take a hattrick and a 5-wicket haul.

As per some articles online, Stuart went through a loss of form in the period after the triangular series. After not being called back again to play for the Aussies, he also lost a place in the domestic New South Wales team as well.

Also read:

Sachin’s 1st first-class 200 vs Australia in 1998: Forgotten moments

This number 11 ‘tail-ender’ created a batting record that is forgotten

Why Byomkesh Bakshi continues to win hearts in the OTT era

July 14, 2021 by Keyur Seta 3 Comments

Over the last couple of years, shows on OTT platforms have become a rage in India. The shutting down of theatres from March 2020 onwards due to the COVID-19 pandemic is a major reason for that.

A large number of these OTT shows are crime thrillers or mystery dramas that have something related to crime. But even in such a scenario, Basu Chatterji’s crime detective show Byomkesh Bakshi continues to wow the audience on YouTube. The high number of views it keeps garnering is a proof of it.

For those not in the know, Byomkesh Bakshi was first aired in 1993 on Doordarshan. The show is based on the written works of author Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay. The stories revolve around the character of Byomkesh Bakshi, played by Rajit Kapur.

Bakshi is a detective but prefers to be called truth seeker [satya ki khoj karne wala]. His best friend-cum-assistant Ajit is played by KK Raina while Sukanya Kulkarni plays is wife Satyavati. Each episode starts with a crime and ends with Bakshi solving it. Few stories are divided in two episodes.

There are various reasons why the show continues to be popular on the internet amidst thousands of new crime stories on OTT platforms from India and abroad.

Nostalgia: For those who have grown up in the 1990s, the very mention of Byomkesh Bakshi is enough to make them nostalgic and go back to the bygone era. The show reminds us of the times when we used to watch Doordarshan with the whole family. We have hundreds of TV channels today but they are no match to the national television of that era.

Simplicity: The stories explored in the show are based in the eras from 1930s to 60s. Hence, we get a glimpse of the simple times in Kolkata, all thanks to the production designer Jadab Bhattacharya. But apart from the setting, there was ample simplicity in the making of the show as well.

Despite dealing with an issue like crime, Chatterji stayed miles away from adding any sort of melodrama or forceful thrill through the background score. It was a show where the crime used to be introduced in a simple manner and the mystery used to be solved in the same way. This ensures that you don’t lose interest even if you predict the mystery at the start itself.

Characters: In a lot of shows and movies detectives being shown as heroes or someone with an unusual way of living. But the characters of Bakshi, Ajit, Satyavati and whole lot of others in this show were simple, common and everyday people. Hence, it was extremely easy to relate with them. Even after Bakshi solves a truly complicated case, he is never portrayed as a hero.

Performances: Rajit Kapur’s performance as Bakshi was the backbone of the show, apart from Chatterji’s handling. There are various moments where he cracks humour out of nowhere. Similarly, there is also an undercurrent of humour in his performance which is a hallmark of a great actor. Raina too gave perfect support to him and added the right amount of curiosity for the audience.

Title Music: As soon as you hear the title tune of Byomkesh Bakshi, your mind is sucked back into the era of the 1990s. Composer Ananda Shankar has added thrill in the score but not gone overboard by retaining the simplicity of the show.

Peace-inducing content: I am sure this point will come across as either surprising or weird. But this is my personal observation. There is something about this show that induces peace. Watching an episode of Byomkesh Bakshi fills me with calmness, though it’s a crime show.

When the show was re-run on Doorsharshan in 2013, my grandmother used to feel the same. She said on numerous occasions how shaant she felt after watching the show. She said she never felt this way while watching other crime shows like CID.

Watch Byomkesh Bakshi on YouTube by clicking HERE.

Reaction to Aamir Khan’s divorce exposes the TOXIC times we are living in

July 5, 2021 by Keyur Seta 3 Comments

Two days back it looked like just another Saturday during the second COVID-19 wave until Aamir Khan shared the news of his divorce with Kiran Rao. It just suddenly triggered reactions on social media and What’s App as if lava erupted from a mountain. And it continues to be so ever after more than 48 hours of the announcement.

While Khan’s divorce even with his second wife [he had earlier divorced Reena Dutta from his first marriage] does come as a surprise, it is, after all, his personal matter and has no effect on the lives of the aam junta.

But as expected from the herd mentality of the Indian social media in today’s times, the toxic posts and memes are continuing to flow.

The following are the ways in which people have been reacting on the news of Aamir Khan’s second divorce:

Slander: Aamir has been criticized left, right and centre for the second divorce and his character has been questioned. These people don’t know Aamir personally at all and are completely unware about the reason why he took that decision. But he has been projected as a criminal.

You are not only interfering a person’s private life but also judging him without knowing an iota of detail. Certain things should be kept personal is something our country never understands.

Aamir Khan and Kiran Rao [Source: Twitter]

Record-breaker of sorts: People are expressing shock at the actor’s decision to divorce his second wife, as if they have never heard such a thing before and are looking at it like some sort of a record. Not knowing that in the entertainment industry itself people like Kabir Bedi and Karan Singh Grover have married thrice.

Love Jihad: Over the last few years, the reactions of the herd depend on the surname of a person and it’s not different this time around. One of the most toxic and dangerous term coined by the Right Wingers is ‘Love Jihad.’ They cry ‘Love Jihad’ whenever a Muslim man marries a Hindu woman.

Aamir has been accused of doing that twice because both his ex-wives are Hindus. No, he didn’t face any such slander when he married Kiran in 2005. That was a different era where people didn’t indulge in such mudslinging in personal matters.

The sexism in the ideas about ‘Love Jihad’ is for everyone to see. They get offended and infuriated only if the man is a Muslim and the girl is a Hindu. They have no problems if it’s reversed.

So, a Hindu Hrithik Roshan marrying a Muslim Sussanne Khan and later divorcing her is absolutely fine for them. But they are up in arms against Saif Ali Khan for marrying a Hindu Kareena Kapoor. However, they conveniently forget Saif’s own sister Soha Ali Khan marrying a Hindu Kunal Kemmu.

Similarly, there are various such examples – Dia Mirza marrying Sahil Sangha and Vaibhav Rekhi, Farah Khan marrying Shirish Kunder, Sanjay Dutt marrying Dilnawaz Sheikh [real name of Manyata Dutt], Aditya Pancholi marrying Zarina Wahab, etc.

Call for boycott: Announcing boycotts for films and products has become a norm for Right Wingers for anyone who offends them. Not surprisingly, there have been several comments asking people to boycott Aamir’s forthcoming films. All because he did something in his personal life that has no effect on them. On a lighter note, the last time they decided to boycott his film was during Dangal (2016) and it became the highest grossing Hindi film and continues to remain so.

If people were so concerned about the spread of COVID-19 as much as they are for something an actor did in his personal life, the curve would have been flattened by now. I wish instead of calling out an actor for doing something in his personal life, they called out people who wore masks in a faulty way.

Over the last decade or so, we have seen politicians going to the extent of normalizing rapes, openly blaming females for rapes, justifying lyching and what not. But we didn’t see even half of the outrage we are seeing now.

Serious CENSORSHIP rule has got proposed & here’s how you can stop it

July 1, 2021 by Keyur Seta Leave a Comment

The central government has proposed the draft Cinematograph Amendment Bill 2021 through which they get the power to recertify a film passed by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) or Censor Board, as it’s popularly known.

If we take away the technical jargons, if the new bill comes into action, it would mean that even if a film is cleared by the CBFC for release, the Central Government will have the power to recertify it. In other words, it will also have the power to take away the certificate, which would mean that a particular film would be stopped from releasing.

In more simple terms, as filmmaker Pratik Kothari said in an interview with the publication Cinestaan.com, we know how students have a right to re-evaluate their paper if they are not happy with the marks. But the new bill would mean that the examiner himself would re-evaluate a student’s paper just because he thinks the student deserves these many marks.

The reason why such an amendment would be more dangerous is because it has come in the wake of different ‘religious’ or social groups demanding bans on certain films they feel hurt their sentiments.

So, in case a film is certified by the CBFC for release but some group believes it should be banned or refused certification, the central government would get the power to re-examine the film to determine if it should release. Hence, it would make the CBFC or Censor Board appear irrelevant because the government would have power to revoke their decision.

Proposing such an act brings to our mind the menace created by the Rajput Karni Sena during the release of Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Padmaavat (2018). The group had demanded the forming of a ‘pre-censor board,’ that would examine a film before it reaches the censor board [or CBFC]. As per their demand, if the ‘pre-censor board’ believes the film has no right to release, it won’t even be sent for certification to the censor board.

This new proposed bill is similar to this, except that the ‘pre-censor board’ is asked to look at a film before it goes to the Censor Board.

The new amendment bill has actually come as a double blow that has hardly been noticed by the general population. Earlier this year, the government dissolved the FCAT [Film Certification Appellate Tribunal].

To put it simply, FCAT was the committee to which a filmmaker went if he is not happy with the decision of the CBFC or the Censor Board. But now, the very option of FCAT for aggrieved filmmaker has been chopped off.

Of course, there is an option for filmmakers to approach the High Court if they are unhappy with the CBFC’s certification. But how can one expect independent filmmakers to file a case and pay for the lawyer when they have somehow managed to generate funds to make the film in the first place?

By dissolving the FCAT, the government took away the right of a filmmaker to get his film re-examined if he is unhappy with the verdict of the Censor Board. And now they are proposing an act through which the government itself has the right to withdraw certification of a film already certified for release.

What can we do?

The government has called for comments and opinions on the matter. One can share his or her views by writing an e-mail on – dhanpreet.kaur@ips.gov.in

Read the whole act HERE.