1964 Audio Songs
All songs →Related News
More news →Gujarat is booming because of one leader: Suniel Shetty
Bollywood star Suniel Shetty may have no political affiliations, but he is all praise for Gujarat and its leader for making it the fastest growing state in India. Without naming Chief Minister Narendra Modi, Suniel, who is here shooting for Anees Bazmee’s “Thank You”, showered praises on him during an interaction with media. When someone from Gujarat asked him whether Bollywood was also eyeing a booming Gujarat, Shetty said: “Hollywood cannot leave LA (Los Angeles). So Bollywood kabhi nahi hil sakta (Bollywood will never move out of Mumbai). The only problem is that we are bursting at the seams… but it is a city of opportunity…it will always remain that way.” But he was quick to add: “However, Gujarat is booming because of one leader, one decision. And the decision that is taken is very quick.” “I myself am looking to do something in Gujarat. I have India’s only professional water sports running in Mumbai. Yeah, I want to do something in Gujarat, but that doesn’t mean Mumbai is in trouble,” he added. When someone asked whether he was a vegetarian, he laughed and said, “No, no, I am not. Probably I would be, but I find it very difficult to maintain myself (weight) if I am a vegetarian. “My general tendency is that during Ganpati festival or other such occassion if I try to stay vegetarian, I put on a pound or two extra (weight). Honesty, I need proteins for my muscles. I need fish. I need chicken. I don’t take red meat.” About his partnership with www.abmeribaari.com to unearth talent around the world, he said: “It is a portal started by professionals – four of us – including Madhur Bhandarkar and myself.” Well-known choreographer Saroj Khan and composer Anu Malek are also partners in the portal. “If you genuinely believe that you have talent – any kind of talent- this portal will show you the path to get entry… not necessarily coming down to Mumbai and making struggle but from your own country or city. It was started three-four months. (Their) intentions are right, that’s why I decided to back them.”
'Leader' to come on Feb 11
Finally, Leader's release date has been confirmed by the makers themselves. At a press briefing held at the Taj Banjara on Monday, Shekar Kammula said that they were planning to release the film on the 11th of February. Its actor Rana, editor Marthand K Venkatesh and musician Mickey J Meyer were also present on the occasion. Speaking about the film, Mr. Kammula averred that Leader was "an honest film," that was coming up with a thought-provoking message. He hoped that the film will stir thinking among the people. It is known that Leader is about a youth, who becomes a force to reckon with in the political system. Rana is playing the role, which is his debut. The film's music is by Meyer, whose Avunana Kadana is one of the popular songs. Kammula has worked for more than a year for the movie. Produced by AVM, the movie has seen immense publicity, which will be upped in the coming days. Merchandise like Leader Tees, Coffee mugs will be out, besides some interesting contests on the TV.
Leader success meet
Sekhar Kammula, Daggubati Rana’s combo ‘Leader’ unit had a success meet yesterday night at FNCC. Several celebrities of Telugu film industry such as Venkatesh, Rana, Sekhar Kammula, Vinayak, Producers Ashwini Dutt and Bellamkonda, writers Parachuri Brothers, Chinnikrishna, director B Gopal and Ramesh Prasad, and Leader heroines Priya Anand and Richa has attended the event. On the event Venkatesh said, “I used to visit the sets during the film of ‘Leader’ and since then I knew that it would be appreciated by public. Sekhar made an honest film. I am also glad that both Rana’s and Naga Chaitanya’s films welcomed by the audiences in this season. I thank the audiences on behalf of my family.” He further praised Rana for proving his talent in the very first film and appreciated Sekhar for his honest and sincere film on the political drama. Director V.V.Vinayak said, “Most of the stars are now envying Rana for doing this subject. I am sure even Venky might be jealous of Rana for being part of this good film. I like Sekhar Kammula as he makes films differently and has his own style like yesteryear’s Bapu. One needs guts to make a political drama without showing blood on screen. Hats off to the director, Sekhar.”
Leadership lessons: Creating a culture that allows talent to flower
Among the things that fascinates me the most about the IPL, it was true in IPL-1 that I saw from close quarters and is true eight years later, is how teams assimilate players from all over and try to form a cohesive unit. It is not easy and that is why, in football leagues and in the IPL, leadership is so important. Teams are full of superstars and bit players, sometimes overpaid under-performing stars playing along with over-performing underpaid bit players. Sometimes, auction dynamics mean players performing similar roles can have half a million dollar differences in their incomes. You might have major stars having to miss out because you can only play four overseas players in a team. There might be insecure players and over-confident players and keeping everyone happy and optimistic is a gigantic task. One year MS Dhoni said he was happiest at the fact that some top players weren’t getting games but the dressing room was still happy. That is an achievement. That is why I was so interested in reading Francois Pienaar’s views on South African cricket. Pienaar was the iconic rugby leader in 1995, a role made even more dramatic post the film ‘Invictus’. But he didn’t only win with a cohesive, emotion charged South African rugby side. He won almost everywhere, he understood winning and what it took, and so, was asked to be part of the committee reviewing South African cricket. The first thing he said he would do was to look at the team culture. Notice he didn’t say he would study how much talent resided in the team, or whether they were using the right strategy on big days. No. He said he would look at culture because “culture trumps strategy for breakfast”. When the culture is right, when everyone is playing for each other, when the mood is optimistic, performances keep popping up. Culture makes talent flower. True, you can’t win without talent but in a highly competitive environment, talent is everywhere. There is scarcely an IPL team that can say it doesn’t possess the talent to win the tournament. But sometimes, for all the talent that resides within, teams can get negative, can have key players competing with each other rather than for each other. Teams sometimes allow themselves to believe the world is against them, can set off major alarms over minor matters, get into a siege mentality and exhaust themselves with such emotions before they take the field. It has happened before and it will always happen. And so the job of the team leadership, is to create the culture that allows talent to flower. Good teams, even at the IPL, dare I say especially at the IPL, spend a lot of time getting to know each other well, understanding each other, occasionally rallying around each other. It is something that comes through in Alex Ferguson’s books as well. Insecure, testosterone fuelled athletes can be like vehicles out of control. One of my favourite IPL sights is when KKR won a couple of years ago. Ryan ten Doeshcate, a good cricketer and a lovely man, didn’t have a big role to play, wasn’t in the team, wasn’t even in the dug-out where places are limited. He was in the change room but when KKR won, he sprinted down and onto the ground like he had played a match winning innings. I saw that and I thought, “Yes, winning creates its own exhilaration but this team seems happy”. Very often, this glue to the team comes from the captain or the coach because playing for inspirational people can be a motivation in itself. But sometimes, this can come from little known back room people who work their back side off to ensure everyone is happy. They don’t score a run or take a wicket but they contribute to the culture of the team. Pienaar’s line, “culture trumps strategy for breakfast”, originally articulated by the sage Peter Drucker, is a good line to debate. puf
Taliban leader in secret Afghan talks was an impostor: Report
The secret talks between the Afghanistan government and the Taliban to end the conflict in the country – that were “showing promise” – seem to have hit a dead end, with a revelation that the militant leader at the other end of the table was an imposter. “In an episode that could have been lifted from a spy novel, US and Afghan officials now say the Afghan man was an impostor,” the New York Times reported Tuesday. Mullah Akhtar Muhammad Mansour, one of the seniormost commanders of the Taliban, took part in the discussion with the government. Mansour is reportedly the second-ranked official in the Taliban, only behind the founder, Mullah Mohammed Omar. But the report now says Mansour was “apparently not Mansour at all”. “It’s not him,” said a Western diplomat involved in the discussions. “And we gave him a lot of money.” US officials confirmed Monday that they had given up hope that the man was Mansour, or even a member of the Taliban. NATO and Afghan officials held three meetings with the man, “who travelled from Pakistan, where Taliban leaders have taken refuge”. The fake Taliban leader even met President Hamid Karzai, after being flown to Kabul on a NATO aircraft and ushered into the presidential palace, officials said. The report said Taliban leaders are believed to be hiding in Pakistan, “possibly with the assistance of the Pakistani government, which receives billions of dollars in American aid”. US officials now say they were “skeptical from the start” about the identity of the man who claimed to be Mansour. Serious doubts arose after the third meeting with Afghan officials, held in Kandahar. A man who had known Mansour years ago told officials that the man at the table did not resemble him. “He said he didn’t recognise him,” said an Afghan leader on the condition of anonymity. But as to how US officials came to the conclusion that the man was an imposter, has not been made clear. Since the last round of discussions, officials were puzzled over who the man was. Some said the man may have been a “freelance fraud”, posing as a Taliban leader in order to enrich himself. “The Taliban are cleverer than the Americans and our own intelligence service. They are playing games,” an Afghan official said. Some suspect that the fake Taliban leader “may have been dispatched by the Pakistani intelligence service, known by its initials, the ISI”. “Elements within the ISI have long played a ‘double-game’ in Afghanistan, reassuring US officials that they are pursuing the Taliban while at the same time providing support for the insurgents,” the report said. Publicly, the Taliban is “sticking to the line that there are no talks at all”. “The cunning enemy which has occupied our country, is trying, on the one hand, to expand its military operations on the basis of its double-standard policy and, on the other hand, wants to throw dust into the eyes of the people by spreading the rumours of negotiation,” Mullah Omar said in a statement. Afghan leaders are still holding on to hope that the man really is or at least represents Mansour – and that he will come back soon. Negotiators had urged the man claiming to be Mansour to return with other Taliban leaders whose identities they might also be able to verify. Several steps had been taken to establish the man’s real identity. After the first meeting, photos of him were shown to Taliban detainees who were believed to know Mansour. Whatever the man’s identity, the talks seemed substantive. The man laid down several moderate conditions for a peace settlement – that the Taliban be allowed to safely return to Afghanistan, that Taliban soldiers be offered jobs, and that prisoners be released. Sayed Amir Muhammad Agha, a former Taliban commander who left the outfit but acted as a go-between with the movement in the past, said the Taliban leadership had given no indications of a willingness to enter talks. “Someone like me could come forward and say, ‘I am a Talib and a powerful person’. But I can tell you, nothing is going on. Whenever I talk to the Taliban, they never accept peace and they want to keep on fighting. They are not tired,” he said.
MIM leader Akbar Owaisi remains critical
The condition of Andhra Pradesh legislator and Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) leader Akbaruddin Owaisi remained critical Sunday, a day after he was stabbed and shot at by his rivals, doctors attending on him said. According to the medical bulletin issued by Care Hospital here, the legislator has suffered kidney failure and is on ventilator to support his respiratory function. The doctors said they were continuing dialysis due to acute kidney failure cause by the injuries. The second intra abdominal surgery will be performed later Sunday, the bulletin said. The MIM leader suffered injuries to his left kidney, urinary bladder, upper portion of large intestine and upper limb. Owaisi was shifted to Care Hospital Saturday night from Owaisi Hospital, where he was admitted soon after the assassination attempt. The first intra-abdominal surgery was performed on him at Owaisi Hospital. Earlier, Akbaruddin’s elder brother and MIM president Asaduddin Owaisi termed his condition as “very critical” and appealed to people to pray for his recovery. The MP said Akbaruddin received two bullets and stab injuries to his left hand. Former chief minister K. Rosaiah, YSR Congress party president Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy and state minister Shankar Rao visited the hospital. Akbar was stabbed and shot at by his rivals when he was visiting his assembly constituency Chandrayangutta in the old city. Security guards of another MIM legislator Ahmed Balala returned fire, killing one attacker and injuring two others. Police have arrested Mohammed Pehlwan, suspected to be the mastermind behind the attack. He had a long running dispute with the legislator over a piece of land.