YET ANOTHER SENSELESS SEXUAL CRIME.......

When oh when will the dastardly and despicable crimes being committed against India's girl children and women folk cease........
In an absolutely heart rending; inhuman and inexplicable incident involving two minors reported from Madhya Pradesh's Indore district; a 5 year old deaf mute girl was sexually ravaged and plundered by her 16 year old neighbour on Thursday evening.......
This unseemly incident was reported from the Raoji police station limits in Madhya Pradesh's commercial capital and occurred when the girl was alone in her humble dwelling on the fateful evening...........
According to the case's investigating officer; the sexual predator forced his way into the rape survivor's home when he found her by herself and then proceeded to subdue her bundle her over his shoulder and carry her to his room in the adjoining dwelling where he proceeded to defile and desecrate her.........
 He then led her back to her dwelling and left after threatening her with dire consequences if she as much as breathed a whiff about the woeful fate that had befallen her earlier that evening; the girl somehow managed to muster up the courage to narrate her ordeal to her disbelieving and distraught mother who then proceeded to inform the girl's father about these events.......
 Accompanied by her parents; the rape survivor made a beeline towards the neighbouring police station where a case was registered against the 16 year old accused who was known to the survivor's family..........
As is customary is all such cases; the 5 year old was then taken to a government hospital where a series of tests conducted on her conclusively established the occurrence of rape.......
On receipt of the girl's medical report; the Indore police personnel swung into action and managed to apprehend the accused from his friend's house in the wee hours of Friday morning; cases have been registered against him under all applicable and relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code as well as POCSO Act and he has since been remanded to a state run juvenile home where he is awaiting the commencement of his trial.........
Case enough to lower the minimum prosecutable age of juveniles to 15 from the present 18 methinks; what do you think??????

"BANGALORE CHRONICLES: A KIDNAP"...........

What would you do when two of your closest friends go inexplicable missing?????scourge then ends of the earth in order to trace them; make a beeline to the nearest police station or then simply wait until the imbroglio resolves itself.........
 Vinay Ramakrishna's "Bangalore Chronicles: A Kidnap" is a precise; moving; gritty; gripping and no holds barred 157 page narration of precisely such an event that occurs in the life of four such friends........
 Vishu; Sivu; Avi and Srini are your archetypal happy go lucky college goers seemingly without a care in the world and most concerned with their next prank or gig that would have their classmates as well as college mates riling against them.......
Their idyllic world and cloistered existence is torn asunder when six months into their engineering course Sivu; Avi and Srini literally vanish into thin air leaving Vishu clutching at the proverbial straws and going round the bend in his efforts to trace his teen yaars.......
 Unfolding events and circumstances make Vishu painfully aware of the fact that he can only trust his wits acumen and grey matter as well as his soul mate Akhila and a kindly gentleman answering to the name of Inspector Aditya Shetty in his untiring and ceaseless quest for his friends.........
There are no prizes for arriving at the conclusion that Vishu does indeed succeed in his mission to find his three friends and pieces of his own heart; but what makes "Bangalore Chronicles: A Kidnap" stand apart from it's peers in this genre is the vortex of emotions that it manages to conjure up leaving the reader gasping for breath and clutching at his/her throat by the time he/she turns the last page of this noteworthy work........
 Priced at a seemingly ridiculous Rs. 170/- and published in India by notion press.com; the same is available at a 25% discount of it's cover price if either brought through Flipkart or Amazon.........
 ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Vinay Ramakrishna is a postgraduate from CMU Pittsburgh (USA) and a resident of Bangalore for the last few years.......
 A software engineer by profession: Vinay lists trekking; photography and a penchant for peening short stories and anecdotes about his beloved city and folks in his life as his passions and interests............
 This intriguing and thoroughly engrossing novel is his first effort at being a writer to be reckoned with.........

CLANDESTINE RELATIONSHIP GOES HORRIBLY WRONG.........

Beware the wrath and angst of a cornered and irate woman........
Things were hunky dory and proceeding as per a supposedly pre ordained script at the national capital's Hazrat Nizamuddin Railway Station early on Thursday evening; when lo and behold a considerable clamour and din broke out about an incensed woman dousing an elderly man with kerosene and setting him alight.........
Disbelieving and shaken railway police personnel who were roused from their proverbial slumber rushed to the said spot and apprehended the accused 30 year old woman who still held the incriminating bottle of kerosene in her hand.......
Railway police personnel who rushed to the "murder" site on the far reaches of the railway station firstly wrestled the seething woman to the ground and subdued her before apprehending her and leading her to the somewhat safer and saner precincts of the railway police outpost on the first platform of the said station.......   They then proceeded to summon their fellow police personnel from the adjoining Police station and handed over the accused woman to the Delhi Police personnel who also rushed the grievously injured 53 year old victim to a nearby hospital.......
According to the gruesome case's investigating officer; 30 year old Sunita (the accused) doused 53 year old Gajanand with kerosene and callously set him ablaze on the fateful evening as he had threatened to inform her legally married husband about their clandestine relationship.........
 Gajanand succumbed to the burn injuries inflicted all over his persona by Sunita within a mere three hours or so after being admitted in the government run Safdarjung Hospital and in his dying declaration disclosed the fact that he had threatened Sunita with disclosure as she was steadfastly refusing to return the 7 odd thousand rupees that she had borrowed from him on various pretexts...........
Simmering undercurrents came to a head on that dastardly evening when an irate; incensed and frothing Sunita seemingly lost control of her senses and committed this heinous act that ended up claiming the life of a fellow human being..........
 Cases have been booked against the accused under all the relevant and applicable sections of the Indian Penal Code and Sunita's inhuman act rung down the curtain on a five year long tempestuous relationship between the duo according to a senior inspector........

RISEN FROM THE DEAD.........

Certainly seems like something out of the annals of eternal favourite Ripley's "Believe It or Not"........
 A 60 year old resident of Nakatpur Village in Uttar Pradesh's Bareilly district astounded both his inconsolable as well as morose fellow villagers by literally rising from the dead early on Thursday evening........
 Roshan Lal was returning after having transacted his business at a local bank when a speeding truck callously knocked him down on the outskirts of Kheda village and then proceeded to sped away from the accident site........
A few farmers and agricultural labourers who were tilling the adjoining fields happened to notice Roshan Lal's pitiable state and promptly telephoned the state run 108 ambulance services which arrived on the spot some 20 or so minutes after it was summoned..........
Para medical personnel who alighted from the said ambulance declared Roshan Lal dead after performing a cursory and superficial examination; bundled his supposedly lifeless/senseless body into the ambulance and made an immediate beeline towards the mortuary of the district government hospital.........
 Roshan Lal's family members were then summoned by the hospital members and the distraught family members gave their consent to complete the required post mortem and other formalities so that they could perform his final rites as soon as possible..........
 Fate however seemed to have other plans in store for the copiously weeping family members as an alert morgue attendant noticed the "deceased" twitching and moving his feet and proceeded to inform a doctor who was on duty at the time........
The bemused and somewhat disbelieving doctor however carried out a detailed examination of Roshan Lal and indeed found him to be "alive" and not "dead or deceased" as certified by the paramedics manning the 108 ambulance service vehicle........
Roshan Lal is now recuperating and recovering from the serious injuries inflicted on various parts of his persona in the government run hospital's emergency ward and his delighted family members are frequenting all the temples in the vicinity of the hospital expressing their gratitude for the renewed lease of life granted to their loved one.......
"JAAKO RAAKHE SAIYYA MAAR SAKE NA KOYE: BAAL NA BANKA KAR SAKEGA JO JAG BAIRI HOYE".......... 

SIMON KATICH WILL BE SEEN IN KKR'S DUGOUT...........

What is with these Indian Premier League Franchises and their unabashed love and affection for former Australian cricketers and coaches........
IPL franchise Kolkata Knight Riders team management sources earlier today confirmed the fact that they have roped in former Australian opening batsman Simon Katich as their long term assistant coach for the next IPL season and thereafter.........
 Katich who more than creditably represented Australia in 56 test matches is best remembered as a gritty and obstinate competitor who placed a huge price tag on his wicket and scored tonnes of runs with a seemingly ungainly and cumbersome technique that sent both purists and afficionados into paroxyms of unabated rage..........
Warmly welcoming Katich on board; newly appointed KKR head coach Jacques Kallis said that "he had participated in many a battle with Katich; some bitterly acrimonious; some memorable and some that left both of them bruised and battered and hoped that Katich would be able to pass this tough as nails attitude and indomitable spirit to the members as well as the rest of the team management"..........
"His understanding of the finer nuances and aspects of the game is second to none and his experience; understanding of the game as well as tactical acumen will not help me in formulating winning strategies for the 2016 season but also stand us in good stead for years to come"; Kallis signed off.........
One may do well to recall the fact that Katich not only creditably turned out for the Perth Scorchers in the Australian Big Bash league (domestic twenty 20 tournament) but also led his side to a couple of title triumphs (the last of which came in 2014) before hanging up his boots for good..........
The 40 year old is gainfully employed as Operations Manager with the Australian Football League's Western Sydney Giants Franchise and more than eagerly looking forward to contributing his mite to the KKR cause..........
 Here's wishing this not so ugly Aussie all the best and god speed for/in his new role........

BEING WISER IN HINDSIGHT??????

Being wiser in hindsight; or then a case of sour grapes; whatever it is; it sure is doing Shahid Kapoor no good........
 If sources close to the dapper and debonair actor are to be believed; Shahid was never enamoured or smitten by the script of Shaandaar and simply did the same at producer Madhu Mantena's insistence as the two go back a long way........
One may do well to recall the fact that Shaandaar was touted as the flavour of the festive season; but only ended up leaving a bitter after taste in the mouths of both critics as well as doting audiences as the incoherent and rambling script and screenplay left both writhing their hands in disappointment and shaking their heads in consternation........
 As Shahid's close friend and confidante puts it; "Shahid is more worried and concerned about the damage done by the film to his father (Pankaj Kapoor's) stature and the beating his reputation as one of the finest actors in the country has taken as an effort of director Vikas Bahl and teams less than sterling efforts that brought all things Shaandaar to this rather sorry and sorrowful end"..........
 "On his part; Shahid is quietly confident about bouncing back with his next lot of films like "Udta Punjab"; "Rangoon" and other such rare gems in his kitty as these films will not only serve to showcase his considerable talent but also net him a few more coveted awards in the bargain", the close friend and confidante disclosed..........
 As for Shaandaar; Shahid wants to forget the same like a dreaded nightmare and look forward with renewed hope and vigour.........
 And thus ends one more producer-actor relationship that had supposedly stood the test of time.........

WHEN WILL WE EVER LEARN.........

While a raging debate is on about whether the minimum age of juveniles should be lowered to 15 instead of the present 18 in heinous crimes committed by juveniles; the crime spree involving the rank and file of the very same shows no signs of abating........
 In the latest such incident/crime involving two juveniles (both the perpetrator as well as victim happen to be juveniles in this case); a 10 year old fatally shot his teenaged sister in Madhya Pradesh's Shivpuri district........ According to disbelieving neighbours and bystanders; 13 year old Aarushi Chauhan was blissfully engrossed in a computer game early on Monday evening when her ten year old brother laid his hands on a licensed revolver belonging to his Uncle Mahendra Singh Chauhan playfully took aim and fired at her.......
 Lo and behold the revolver ensconced in the unknowing and unsuspecting 10 year old's hands turned out to be the real deal and fired a bullet that fatally pierced his elder sister's heart when he playfully pointed the same at her and exerted pressure on it's trigger.........
 Hearing the loud report of the revolver concerned neighbours and bystanders made a beeline towards the Chauhan residence and rushed a profusely bleeding Aarushi to the nearest hospital where the doctors pronounced her dead on arrival........
 According to neighbours and inconsolable family members who rushed home on hearing of the incident; the two children were the only two people present at home at the fateful time and they are at their tethers end trying to figure how the 10 year old managed to lay his hands on a revolver that was supposedly locked up in his uncle's cabinet for safekeeping...........
 However that may be; the fact remains that the seeming callousness and wanton carelessness of the elders in the family ended up causing the hapless teenager her life (not denying the role played by her sibling in the sordid and sorrowful proceedings).......
 A case under section 304(a) of the Indian Penal Code (causing death by wilful and wanton negligence) has been registered and the accused 10 year old has been sent to a juvenile home where he awaits his ultimate fate........
 Let's all hope and pray that all families with such weapons in their possession learn their due lessons from this heart rending episode and show due care and diligence about the concealment and storage of their weapons from now on..........

"NEWSROOM LIVE"........

Have you ever wondered what goes on within the supposedly hallowed precincts of a quint essential "newsroom"; if your answer lies in the affirmative; proverbial insider Prabhat Shunglu's "Newsroom Live" might just end up providing you with all your answers..........
 Saucy; irreverent; wacky; wild; boisterous; insightful; explosive and remorseless; "Newsroom Live" more than successfully if somewhat poignantly captures the sordid shenanigans that take place on a daily basis within the four walls of the same as well as traces the illicit; insidious yet convivial relationship that exists between the higher ups within the newsroom hierarchy; business magnates and wily politicians.........
 It also uncovers the murky dealings that go on every time a new recruit steps into the fold; how he or she is shorn of her innocence and naivety to begin with; how the various power centres that exist within the organisation surreptitiously draw these unsuspecting victims into their all enveloping fold and end up corrupting them forever.........
It further goes onto illuminate how customised launch pads are served up to the chosen few who go on to become the apple of the eye of the self styled "Gods" within the newsroom and how the so called exclusive "scoops" unearthed by these favoured rookies are dressed and played up by their benefactors in order to gain an undue advantage in the tussle for power and supremacy that is a part and parcel of today's media organisations.........
 Lesser gods; greater gods; inferior and superior gods rule the roost and call the shots within the echelons of these power centres and only those fortunate few who manage to curry favour with these gods or then simply sell their souls to them and become beholden to them for life last beyond the make or break first year in the organisation and go on to occupy the pedestals of these very same gods as and when they are vacated by the present incumbents........
 Sample this for example; a rookie reporter is sent to cover the "breaking" story of an elephant who has fallen into a ditch besides the almost dried ups banks of the Yamuna; the rookie who got back home at 2 a.m. after completing his previous shift is roused from his blissful slumber by one of those self appointed gods (read news editor) and asked to reach the hotspot forthwith........
 An OB van is promptly despatched to the scene and the said channel goes on air with it's so called exclusive coverage of a supposedly earth shattering new event with a thoroughly flabbergasted and utterly confused rookie who is inundated with questions for the hapless mahout of the 22 year old elephant who has broken his shackles and ended up in a ditch in his efforts to enjoy his new found freedom.........
 The afore mentioned self appointed god who has already made up his mind about the deeply concerned and seemingly inconsolable mahout being the real culprit for the elephant's sorry plight and only serves to reinforce his self professed theory through a volley/barrage of questions routed through the rookie that coerce the mahout into tearfully admitting the fact that his unforgivable actions of separating the pachyderm from his girl friend caused the boyfriend to break his shackles and end up inextricably trapped within a ditch.........
 These remarkable and ironical insights and many more such escapades and exposes is what makes "Newsroom Live" a welcome and much sought after addition to the book shelves of any and every news junkie like yours truly..........
 Priced at an extremely affordable Rs.195/- the same can be had at a 25% discount of it's cover price if ordered from either Flipkart or Amazon; so do go ahead and procure your very own copy of the same before it's too late........

PERILS OF BLIND FAITH AND UNSTINTING TRUST.........

More than 90% of all reported rapes are perpetrated by either a family member of the rape survivor or then somebody known to her and the following incident more than proves/reinforces this surmise.........
 27 year old Parmal Burman was arrested from his modest dwelling by the Jaipur police in the wee hours of Monday morning on the heinous charges of repeatedly raping his 14 year old niece when she was all by herself in his supposedly august(???) company......
 According to police sources; the 14 year old doughty survivor and her parents (who are originally from West Bengal) had been residing in a modest dwelling in the city's Gandhi Nagar area for the last four years or so and the minor was a class IX student in a city school........
 Her parents had to rush to their native place in West Bengal owing to a family emergency almost a month or so ago and left her in the seemingly safe(????) custody of her accused maternal uncle (a long term resident of the city's Narayan Singh circle area) as they did not want her studies to suffer in their absence........ Thoroughly oblivious of her maternal uncle's devious ways and demonic carnal tendencies; the all to gullible and naive 14 year old firmly ensconced herself in the servant's quarters occupied by her uncle (who was gainfully employed in a prominent restaurant in the city) little knowing the inhuman fate that was about to befall her.........
 Having satisfactorily dealt with the abrupt family emergency; the 14 year old minor's parents returned to Jaipur early on Sunday morning and couldn't believe their ears when their darling daughter narrated the tale of woes that had befallen her in their absence.........
They somehow managed to keep their wits about them and register a complaint against the survivor's accused maternal uncle in a neighbouring police station on the very same morning following which the senior inspector recorded the 14 year old's statement and sent her for tests to a government hospital.........
 The tests carried out at the government hospital on the minor conclusively established the repeated occurrence of rape and the police swung into action and apprehended the alleged assailant from the now infamous servant's quarters early on Monday morning once the charges levelled against him by the 14 year old were backed by medical evidence...........
Cases have since been registered against the accused under section 376 of the Indian Penal Code (rape) and relevant sections of the POCSO act and he is currently cooling both his heels and ardour in police custody.........
 Sad to say; the day is not far off when all families will start looking at each of their fellow members with suspicion and doubt if this current spurt in rapes within the family ranks is not arrested forthwith........

DRUNKEN SPREE CLAIMS TWO LIVES........

One was aware of the land of five rivers (Punjab's) affection for drugs and intoxicants; but the so called "elixir" of life (alcohol) also seems to be making it's presence felt slowly but surely.......
The very same addiction to the tippling spirit claimed it's two latest victims as irate fathers put their inebriated sons out of their misery for good (took their respective son's lives) in two separate incidents reported from the state's Muktsar district late on Sunday night........
In the first such macabre incident; 88 year old Chand Singh almost decapitated his 60 year old son Angrej Singh by clinically administering five strokes with his trusty kirpan (short dagger used by Sikhs) to his throat and upper chest regions after his son had returned home completely sozzled; made an utter nuisance of himself and then collapsed in an unceremonious heap in the veranda of their sprawling bungalow........
This however proved to be his (Angrej Singh's) last act in this life tile as an enraged and irate Chand Singh who had been at the receiving end of his son's idiosyncracies for the last two decades and more ran out of patience and forbearance and decided to put an end to it all in this gruesome manner........
Chand Singh and his better half made good their escape from the spot after committing this murderous act and the local police have despatched two teams to trace their whereabouts........
In yet another incident of the kind reported from the very same district on the same fateful night; Darshan Singh (75) accidentally shot his son Jarnail Singh (29) to death with his licensed 12 mm bore pistol (if his better half is to be believed)..........
According to Baltej Kaur (alleged assailant's Darshan Singh's better half); her husband had disowned his errant son a little more than three years back and had thrown him out of home and hearth because of his growing fondness and affection for the heady spirits.........
Despite the utter humiliation meted out to him by his other family members, an utterly unrepentant and remorseless Jarnail Singh used to frequent his father's house every night in a thoroughly inebriated condition shower the choicest abuses on his family members and demand his so called share of the family's numerous properties..........
Matters however came to a head on the fateful Sunday night (October 25;2015) when Jarnail not only repeated his wild and wanton behaviour but compounded matters by firing a volley of shots in the air from his licensed 9 mm pistol which was his pride and joy.........
A thoroughly disgusted and raging Darshan Singh decided to retaliate in a likewise manner and supposedly fired a solitary bullet in the air from his afore mentioned licensed revolver that hit his drunkard son square in the chest and caused his untimely demise (as per the statement recorded by Baltej Kaur before the case's investigating officer)..............
The accused Darshan Singh still remains at large and the Muktsar police is stretching every possible sinew in it's efforts to nab him at the earliest..........
So called "elixir" of life or then the cause of untold misery; death and destruction; I leave you to draw your own conclusions.........

WELL DESERVED STANDING OVATION.........

In what must amount as a feather in the cap of every ardent Indian film goer; Pan Nalin's latest venture "Angry Indian Goddesses" was subjected to a vociferous eight minute long standing ovation by both spell bound/enthralled viewers as well as dyed in the wool critics at the recently concluded Rome Film Festival........
 A thoroughly overwhelmed and humbled gushed that the Italian audiences had always been more than kind to his films and it is his "soul connect" with the Italian soil that brings him back to Rome time and again....... He also confessed that he often rented out studio apartments in this ageless city for weeks on end and did most of his writing (read scripts and screenplays) in the serene and idyllic surroundings of the Italian capital........
 The ensemble cast of "Angry Indian Goddesses" comprises of such notable yet utterly neglected female artistes of the likes of Sandhya Mridul; Tannishtha Chaterjee; Anushka Manchanda; Amrit Maghera; Rajshri Deshpande; Tavleen Gujral and last but not the least model turned actress Sarah Jane Dias in a pivotal role........
 According to a gushing Italian film goer Nalin's film was able to establish a connect with the worldwide audiences as the same had an universal theme spanning continents and nations and would hence be able to build a rapport with all women across the world..........
 "Angry Indian Goddesses" is all about how Frieda (Sarah Jane Dias) invites her six other soul mates to her home and hearth in picturesque Goa in order to announce her impending wedding and what follows is a utterly wild;wacky;rumbustious and somewhat raunchy bachelorette party where long held secrets tumble out of the closet when least expected and and emotional roller coaster ensues...........
 Here's looking forward to this one's much anticipated and awaited Indian release.......

BEST SELLERS ON SALE........

Friends; fellows and book lovers; let me take this opportunity of peddling my collection of both international as well as Indian best sellers.......

This collection was assiduously assembled over a period of two and a bit years and includes novels by best selling authors like James Patterson; Harlan Coben; Jonathan Kellerman; Jack Higgins; David Baldacci; Sue Grafton; Khushwant Singh; Ravi Subramaniam and such notable others just to name a few.......

While my heart is pained beyond words; I have little or no choice other than letting go of my best friends as I need to raise close to Rs. 4 lakhs for my bariatric surgery as the same is necessitated by the excess weight that I am currently carrying on my persona.......
Am I not covered by health insurance; you may well ask; yes both me and my better half are insured to the tune of Rs. 4 lakh each but no health insurer worth his/her salt is willing to even consider bringing bariatric surgery under their umbrella of services as they consider the same to be a purely cosmetic affair that does precious little to enhance the quality of life in their jaundiced opinion...........
Left with little choice; I am offering the 400 odd titles that I have in my collection (all novels are in a pristine condition and will bring much pleasure to their new owners) for earth bottom prices varying between Rs. 60 to Rs. 80 each (on a minimum order of 20 titles or more).........
Further details about the books on offer can be had by sending me an e-mail on chopra.sood@gmail.com and I will ensure that all e-mails are promptly ensured within a matter of a few hours........
Additional charges shall be applicable if the books are to be couriered to my friends and book lovers residing in other cities and all amounts shall have to be deposited in my bank account in advance (details shall be provided on request) in order to expedite the timely despatch of all deliveries.........
I am well aware of the fact that I will only be able to raise a piddly/negligible amount through the proceeds of this proposed book sale; but then every ocean was not filled up within a single day.......... .

GRUESOME CRIME THAT DEFIES LOGIC........

Just retribution or then a murder beyond the limits of sanity and incredulity; well you might just make up your own mind.........
A 13 year old whitener addict (girl) was arrested by the Uttar Pradesh Police late on Thursday evening (Octrober 22) in Aligarh district's Khair village on the gruesome and heinous charges of beheading her neighbour's five year old son.........
According to fellow villagers and the case's investigating officer; five year old Amit was playing by himself outside his modest dwelling when the perpetrator (alleged murderer) lured him away from the spot on the pretext of buying him some sweets.......
She then proceeded to lead him to a deserted; desolate and rarely frequented area where she decapitated him with the aid of a sickle and then smashed his body to smithereens with the aid of some bricks and stones........
In order to obliterate or obfuscate all scenes of her crime; she then enclosed the battered body of the five year in a polythene sheet doused it with kerosene and then callously set it on fire before making her way back to home and hearth.........
Alas!!!! her game was up the very next afternoon (Wednesday afternoon) when a group of mongrel dogs were found worrying the half burnt body by an alert villager who then proceeded to chase the dogs away and raise an alarm.......
Policemen from an adjoining police station were summoned to the crime scene post haste and they then proceeded to take the 13 year old into their custody when the victim's parents alluded to the fact that the victim was last seen by fellow villagers in the alleged mastermind's company.........
The alleged conspirator was then subjected to sustained interrogation by a senior female police officer who was expressly summoned from the district headquarters for the very purpose and owned up to the dastardly crime but then proceeded to throw a spanner in the works with her reason for having unleashed her wrath on the unsuspecting and gullible five year old........
According to the alleged 13 year old murderer; the father of the victim was well aware of the fact that she was a hopeless "whitener" junkie and had made optimum use of her addiction by plying her with bottles of the same thoroughly intoxicating her and fulfilling her carnal desires with her when she was under the spell on a minimum of three separate occasions.........
Rinku (the alleged rapist and father of the victim Amit) and the object of his lust and alleged murderer of his only male progeny now find themselves firmly ensconced in different cells of the same district jail as the police is awaiting the initiation of of the due process before the district's juvenile justice officer (in the case of the 13 year old supposed murderer)..........
Cases of wrongful confinement and murder have since been slapped against the vengeful girl while cases under section 376 of the IPC (rape) and relevant sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO Act) have been booked against the sexual predator........
Like I remarked earlier; divine retribution or then a case that defies all laid down realms of logic; do make up your own mind......

SOMETHING TO LOOK FORWARD TOO........

All avowed Ayushmann Khurana fans (including yours truly) certainly have something to look forward too now as the news about the multi faceted star signing his latest Hindi film venture is just out..........
 Yes, you did certainly hear it right, the "Dum Lagake Haisha" star has given the green signal to Anand L. Rai's (of Tanu Weds Manu and Raanjhana fame) production which will be helmed by Sameer Sharma who directed the critically acclaimed "Luv Shuv Tey Chicken Khurana" before being roped in for this romantic saga..........
What is even more mouth watering is the prospect of getting to see the "Dum Lagake Haisha" leading pair once again in this yet to be titled romantic caper as they had set the screen ablaze with their crackling on screen chemistry in the sleeper hit that graced the silver screen some time back........
 Bhumi Pednekar (who played Ayushmann's over weight better half in Dum Lagake) has since lost oodles of weight and even under gone some kind of image makeover to conform to the public's long held image of a "typical" Hindi film heroine confesses that she is ardently looking forward to this one as the "super talented" (her words not mine) Ayushmann is not only her favourite co-actor but also the man she would love to romance on screen all the time.......
 Here's wishing the debonair and suave duo all the best for this one and hoping that this one does one better at the box office than their previous venture.........

ANYTHING BUT A "SHAANDAAR" ENTERPRISE........

Is the Alia Bhatt and Shahid Kapoor starrer "Shaandaar" really worth all the hype and hoopla; or then does it prove to be the proverbial damp squib like many others of it's ilk; well read on to uncover the truth not the hype........
At the outset; let me admit that my better half and me sauntered into a city multiplex primarily because the two of us are are huge Vkas Bahl (director and writer of Shaandaar) fans and not because we are enamoured by either Alia or Shahid for that matter........
My biggest grouse with the film is that for the hell of me, I couldn't fathom what "Shaandaar" really was despite conscientiously and arduously lapping up it's near two and a half hour expanse; was it a fairy tale; situational comedy; farce; spoof; India's first destination wedding movie (as the movie's blurb goes) or then an unwitting tragedy of mammoth proportions that raises serious doubts about Bahl's credentials as a director to be reckoned with...........
As for the story or rather abject lack of it; here goes, one fine convivial day a little simpering Alia (Alia Bhatt who goes by her own name in the movie) is brought home by her doting and adoring Papa (veteran actor Pankaj Kapur) who is completely and utterly ruled over by a covetous and utterly conscienceless mother (Sushma Seth) and better half (Nikki Aneja).........
Alia a self confessed insomniac who is given a wish/dream every night by her concerned father so that she can see them when she goes to sleep makes peace with her other family members who constantly keep raising the "orphan" taint and prefers to exist in a fairy land when event planner Jagjinder Joginder (Shahid Kapoor) enters her idyllic world and throws it topsy turvy...........
One may be forgiven for thinking that a fairy tale romance that will take your breath away and leave you swooning in wonderment is about to unfold; alas Bahl seems to have a lot on his plate and your fond hopes and aspirations are cruelly and unceremoniously dashed as the proverbial big fat Indian (read Sindhi wedding) makes it's utterly pretentious entry and begins to rule the roost...........
What follows is one cliche after the other; utterly tasteless and banal "gay" jokes; a supposed suitor who is obsessed with his eight and half pack abs to the point of excess; two utterly penniless and conniving families who are trying to outdo the other the other in pomp; pageantry and bling; so that this business arrangement or then should I say agreement can go through to and supposedly revive the sagging fortunes of both the families who are willing to clutch at straws and everything else besides in a totally mindless enterprise to regain lost ground.......
What compounds matters is the fact that every scene is bloated with excess that leaves you tearing your height out in consternation; utterly meaningless songs that have little or no connection with the unfolding narrative soon begin to make their appearance and leave you even more bewildered and consternated than you were to begin with...........
While there is no denying that Shahid; Pankaj Kapoor and Alia Bhatt try better than their best to breathe life into this utterly morbid enterprise; they are conspicuously let down by shoddy writing and the complete absence of a coherent and logical script and screenplay that leaves their characters half baked and sterling efforts going to waste........
Pankaj Kapoor's daughter from his second wedding Sanah Kapoor (Shahid's half sister) is the only saving grace in this rigmarole as she is spunky; real; irreverent; endearing and gracious all at the same time and her act of disrobing herself (now don't start getting the wrong ideas) in the climax scene of the film where she gives it to her utterly disgusting and stereotyped suitor is the only scene in this anything but "SHAANDAAR" film that deserved a standing ovation in my humble opinion........
RATING: 1.5/5; to be strictly avoided unless you are a glutton for punishment..........

MADAM X..........

Lightning seldom does strike twice if ever; but it has certainly done all and more what with a motion picture entitled "Madam X" gracing the silver screen a few years back and budding maestro Aashu Patel recently penning as well as releasing a novel by the same name a few weeks back.........
Patel's "Madam X" traces the life and times of Rachna a fiercely ambitious and uncannily independent young girl from a remote and nondescript Indian town who is utterly fed up with her seemingly anonymous existence and wants to make it big on her very own terms no matter what the costs involved......
Rachna starts her journey into notoriety and infame (?????) with a short but wholly unforgettable stint as a police constable but soon learns that her voluptuous and shapely body is her best if only asset and sets to use the same to wend her way to the supposed city of dreams Mumbai where she embarks on a bitter sweet journey towards becoming a famous heroine and carving out a niche of her very own.........
Despite struggling for many a year Rachna finds herself unable to even take the first hesitant and faltering steps towards fulfilling her long held ambition of becoming a heroine and frustratingly finds herself reduced to a glorified extra who has to settle for a musical show in Dubai in order to keep her body and soul together.........
Things soon spiral out of Rachna's iron grip as she firstly meets a businessman who is seemingly smitten by her feline charms and gets married to her in flash while promising her the sun; moon and stars all the while; Rachna soon uncovers her infatuated (?????) husband's sinister truth when she unwittingly stumbles upon the fact that he husband is already married and a father of two teenagers.........
She then proceeds to confront her husband who not only gets rid of her in a manner akin to getting rid of a fly that has made it's way into your cup of coffee but also proceeds to sell off the flat in Mumbai in which Rachna has invested her lifetime's savings.......
Shelter less; penniless and seemingly wiser; Rachna somehow or the other manages to wend her way back to Dubai where she proceeds to befriend a prosperous Arab businessman with inextricable links to the Dubai as well as other mafias; but soon finds herself pining for more as she is claustrophobic about her glorified status as the mafiosis moll and eye candy........
Enter notorious and dreaded Mafia don Raju Vardhan; a knight in shining armour who not only extricates Rachna from the bottomless maze that she finds herself trapped in but also introduces her to the twin drugs of power and notoriety that not only serve to intoxicate Rachna but soon have her hopelessly cast under their heady spell..........
Under Vardhan's tutelage and inspiring guidance Rachna soon finds herself climbing the rungs of the ladder to the very top of the tree and soon ensconces herself as "MADAM X"; femme fatale and the very first female mafia don who is the deadliest of them all..........
Eye catching; rivetting; spellbinding and totally cliche ridden; "Madam X" is a masterly crafted roller coaster that keeps you hooked right from page one to page 259 where Rachna once again eludes the police dragnet laid out for her for the umpteenth time to rise once again like the proverbial phoenix..........
Priced at a rather pocket friendly Rs. 250/- and published worldwide by Shree Book Centre; the same is available a whopping discount of 28% off the cover price if brought from either Flipkart or Amazon.........
All in all; "Madam X" is a wizardly effort of sheer magic that leaves you thirsting for more and your quest for this elusive more might soon find itself ending as the novel is soon going to transform itself into a major Hindi motion picture as the blurb on the cover has it.........

KASHMIR HOUSE

Scores of books have been penned/authored on Kashmir's supposedly heart rending and rather pitiable plight but only a notable few do indeed force you into sitting back and pondering over the rapidly evolving situation in rather volatile and troubled state.........
 "A society is judged by how it goes about treating it's womenfolk and, a country is judged by how it goes about treating it's brave and selfless men in uniform (read army men)" and Vikram Dhawan's tour de force is one such work that throws/sheds light on both these telling issues and a lot more besides........
In my humble view; the story of "Kashmir House" is an endearing; heart warming; evocative and deeply disturbing saga of the ongoing Kashmir conflict, through the narrow; self serving and jaundiced eyes of the politicians; soldiers and spies on both sides of the border.........
 The entire world and it's cousin is aware of the fact that the above mentioned notables have always pandered to their flights of glory and self-seeking motives rather than taking concrete and timely measures to address a gargantuan human calamity and this book which brought tears to my eyes only serves to reinforce; highlight and reaffirm this unpalatable fact..........
 Kashmir over the years has become a happy hunting ground for spies and soldiers who have put their all on line for the nation without batting an eyelid but have still been betrayed by their political masters at the altar of expediency and self interest........
 Monsters created in labs and mindless youths indoctrinated to slaughter innocents as their creations bring greater glory and satisfaction (??????) to their creators and also serve to satiate their blood lust and self appropriated concept of so called Jihad (holy war)..............
 And last but not the least; "Kashmir House" narrates the moving and heart rending tales of the survivors of both the holocaust and ethnic cleansing unleashed by devilish perpetrators on both sides and how underlying circumstances have forced these survivors into becoming foot soldiers of these very same perpetrators......... Basharat Peer's "Curfewed Night" was the last such book on a paradise hopelessly lost that evoked the feeling of nostalgia; love; hatred; cynicism; and above utter helplessness and consternation and Vikram Dhawan has not only succeeded in evoking all these feeling once again; but also forced me to spend a sleepless night pondering over what might have been.........
 Priced at an utterly affordable Rs.175/- and available at all leading book stores and e-commerce sites "Kashmir House" is 210 pages of sheer brilliance that should be occupying pride of place on your bookshelves............

TAKING A PRINCIPLED AND UNEQUIVOCAL STANCE.........

The time seems to have certainly come to stand up and be counted and let the Shiv Sena and others of their ilk know that their divisive and communal brand of politics just doesn't pass muster any longer.........
As has become their wont off late; a marauding bunch of ruffians (read Shiv Sainiks) unceremoniously barged into the BCCI's offices at Mumbai's iconic Wankhede Stadium earlier today and put paid to any hopes of an ongoing meeting between incumbent BCCI and PCB President's Shashank Manohar and Shahryar Khan culminating in a three test match series between the two sparring neighbours on neutral territory........
If Sanjay Raut and others of their ilk are to be believed or then taken at face value then it would seem that they are the only true patriots going around while the rest of us are nothing but a bunch of wimps and nincompoops who do not have the courage to take a so called principled stand against the Pakistanis.........
Pray will Sanjay Raut or then any other two bit leader of the Shiv Sena enlighten us on the fact that how many Shiv Sainiks have stepped forward selflessly set foot on the border and braved the incessant onslaught of enemy guns and mortars on their chest with a smile on their lips fully knowing that the next few seconds might well be their very last on planet earth..........
Or then will some noteworthy from the very same party enlighten us about the fact that how much of a contribution has the Shiv Sena made till date to the coffers of the Army Widows Welfare Association or then any other such institution which has dedicated itself to the noble cause of rehabilitating the families of our brave and selfless martyrs and giving their grieving families a new lease of life..........
Or better still why doesn't this two bit party of goons and ruffians put out statistics and figures pertaining to their participation in the ongoing struggle for the real One Rank One Pension benefits envisaged by our braves who unflinchingly put their lives and limbs at stake for the rest of us every single time.........
This hopelessly communally; regionally; class caste; colour and sectionally divided society doesn't need yet another political party that will only serve to deepen the already existing fissures and deepen the chasms that only serve to further their narrow vested political interests under the seamless garb of patriotism but rather a party that can unite and lead this glorious country to unprecedented heights and new frontiers..........
Yes; I am all for the ostracising; isolating; branding and marking of Pakistan as a rogue nation that uses terrorism as an official tool to further it's heinous and sinister ends; but am vehemently opposed to any barriers being erected between bi-lateral cultural;people to people and sporting exchanges that only serve to unite the two warring nations and hold out stray crumbs of succour and hope in an already vitiated and volatile atmosphere.........
And if that makes me any less of a patriot than these goons, ruffians and bandits who seem to have abrogated unto themselves the title of the nation's "only" patriots and soldiers so be it; for I will not be cowed down by vile threats or violent acts but will staunchly continue to oppose the SHIV SAINIKS until their leaders and goons find themselves firmly ensconced behind the bars of a jail cell where they so rightly belong while facing charges of sedition and waging war against the nation..........

WILL JUSTICE PREVAIL AT LONG LAST........

The recently released Meghna Gulzar helmed "Talvar" hase certainly stirred up a hornet's nest and sent shivers up the spines of many an inefficient and incompetent investigating officers what with it's uncanny scrutiny of the investigative abilities of the nation's supposedly premier investigating agency.........
This meticulously researched and amazingly bi-partisan flicks not only ends up raising the bar for films that follow in it's wake by several notches but also asks a plethora of questions about whether or not the grieving and incredulous parents Rajesh and Nupur Talwar are indeed the cold blooded conniving monsters the second CBI investigating officer and rather infamous trial court judge make them out to be.........
My own take on the entire episode is that circumstances were twisted, convoluted, contrived and contorted in order to conform to sexist and class laden prejudices and presumptions and the less said about a trial court judge who wanted to go out in a fit of glory in a matter befitting a blazing meteor the better.......
This supposedly learned and astute judge who was better known in Ghaziabad's dusty; dingy and seemingly filthy legal circles as "Sazaa" (I don't want to disclose his surname here) had made up his mind about the Talwar's being as guilty as sin well before the commencement of the trial and preferred to proffer the proverbial Nelson's eye to any and every investigative and legal gaffe and blooper made by the second CBI investigating team in it's unstinting effort to fix the Talwar's every which way it could.........
One may do well to recall the fact that the first investigating team headed by the adroit; dapper and totally professional then joint director of the CBI Arun Kumar had not only unearthed the facts that the gruesome murders had been committed by a trio of Nepali servants Rajkumar and so on and so forth but also clearly established that the murder weapon was none other than a trusty kukri owned by one of the accused trio..........
Enter a new CBI director who was utterly antagonistic to Arun Kumar and a few bleeding hearts led by the likes of the self appointed messiah Arnab Goswami who decried and derided the CBI's "mistimed and deranged" efforts to implicate the hapless Nepali's as they were as poor as door mouses and hence convenient prey and the "sterling" (?????) efforts of all these and more led to an utter miscarriage of justice that has left the nation hanging it's head in shame and consternation.........
One only hopes and prays that the Talwar's will get the long delayed and much desired justice after the finger pointing and soul searching questions raised by both Meghna Gulzar's epochal directorial venture as well as Avirook Sen's pointed and searching tour de force appropriately entitled "Aarushi"...........
My thoughts and prayers are with the Talwar's who found themselves firmly incarcerated in their respective jail cells even before they could begin grieving for the loss of their darling daughter and trusted servant; may divine wisdom dawn on the supposedly learned judges of the Allahabad High Court and may the lord almighty give them the gumption to undo this travesty of justice meted out to the Talwar's in the very near future..........