AAGAYA HAI DAIKHO BODY GUARD

There comes a time in every actor's life when he becomes as good as invincible ... Dilip Kumar went through such a phase in the 50s, Shammi Kapoor did so in the 60s, Rajesh Khanna followed the pattern in the 70s and Amitabh Bachchan was undefeatable in the 80s. Yet since the arrival of the Khans in Bollywood, actors have had careers that have seen the ups and downs regularly. With the arrival of Salman Khan-Kareena Kapoor starrer Bodyguard, all that has changed.

Bodyguard is not just a film for die-hard Salman Khan fans ... its a phenomenon. The film may not fall into the category of his all-time successful film “Dabbanng”, but it is a lot better than his last hit “Ready”. What's common between these three movies is that their success has made Sallu the first and only actor to give hits that have grossed over 100 curore rupees. But is the film worth all this? Yes and no. 

Yes, because Salman Khan has acted really well in most of the scenes. The actor has a fan following that can only be rivaled by those of the other Khans (Aamir, Shah Rukh and Saif) but he has given more hits in the last 18 months than any of these rivals. In Bodyguard, he has been in nearly every scene and has done well as Lovely Singh, the Bodyguard who brings fear in the eyes of his enemies. Veteran actor Raj Babbar also does well and the two are the only good thing about the film's cast. 

And no, because none of the other members of the cast has significant roles, be it the leading lady Kareena Kapoor or the villains Mahesh Manjrekar or Aditya Pancholi. There are hardly six to seven regular cast members in the movie as the rest have been labelled as Guest Appearances. Kareena Kapoor didn't have much to do in the movie except look young (which she is not!) and pretty (which she is!). 

The story in the first half revolves around Salman Khan's character Lovely Singh defending Divya (Kareena Kapoor) who is not only the daughter of his Maalik (Raj Babbar) but also on target of the baddies. The second half of the movie is a mixture of many hit flicks of the yesteryears, including Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge and Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (which are both hit movies of Salman's current nemesis Shar Rukh Khan). The film may have a happy ending but many points will be raised about the story once the viewer gets through the film. 

Teri Meri, the song by Rahat Fateh Ali is the most notable one of the movie whereas the other numbers are below par, composed by Himesh Reshammiya (Yes the same one who sings with a nasal voice). My recommendation - Watch Bodyguard if you are a fan of Salman Khan, otherwise wait for your favorite respective actors' upcoming flicks.

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POOR PITCH REALLY..?

With the introductions of protective gears and laws that favor batsmen over the years, bowlers have been all but weeded out of the game.

They cannot be banned from the stadium altogether as having a bowling unit is a necessary evil for the game to be played but officials have tried making sure that bowlers are rendered helpless by placing all sorts of restrictions on them. As far as the officials are concerned, bowlers just need to turn up and be smacked all around the park for it to make an interesting encounter. Big scores mean good matches. The phrase ‘balance between bat and ball’ is meaningless to them.

Amidst this stepdaughter treatment at the hands of these guardians of the game, bowlers have always found a way to leave their mark on the game. Tricks like reverse swings and doosra have been developed to bamboozle the batsmen.

But in the last few years, there has been another attack on the bowlers with the introduction of warnings, fines and bans on stadiums for poor pitches by the ICC. The definition of a poor pitch is the one that assists bowlers too much, in essence. Pitches that are totally dead and on which tons of runs are not even blinked at but God forbid if wickets start falling in heaps, eyebrows are raised in an instant. Example of this is the explanation asked for the Galle pitch used for the 1st test between Sri Lanka and Australia by the ICC. It has been called poor.

Although wickets fell in a heap on the 2nd day and bowlers got some help from the pitch but it made for a compelling contest. Fast bowlers, medium pacers and spinners were helped alike and as Hussey, Clarke, Jayawardena and Mathews showed during their endeavors at the wicket that if you were willing to dig in and had the requisite set of skills, you could prosper. It was a pitch that provided a balanced contest. It wasn’t a dustbowl nor was it a featherbed like the Colombo SSC pitch during Sri Lanka-India match last year where both teams ended up making scores in the neighborhood of seven hundred in the first innings leading to a boring draw.

This was a pitch that kept the spectators interested and rewarded the players for their skills, accordingly. Calling it a poor pitch is simply killing the game as I see it.

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Cong MPs give Lokpal notice in LS; new crisis emerges

Debate on all versions of Lokpal Bill is likely to be held on Saturday, according to report on Friday. The modalities of the resolution and debate is reportedly being worked upon even as Anna Hazare's indefinite fast for a strong Lokpal entered the 11th day on Friday. Three Congress MPs Jagdambika Pal, Anu Tandon and Sanjay Nirupam have given notice to Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar for Jan Lokpal Bill debate under Rule 193, which does not entail voting.Earlier in the day, parliamentary affairs minister P K Bansal said a discussion on Janlokpal bill as demanded by Anna Hazare may not be possible in Lok Sabha during the day but added that nothing can be ruled out.

Asked whether this meant that there will be no discussion, the minsiter said "no, I am not saying that. There will be a discussion but it has to be decided when and how to do it."Meanwhile, Team Anna stuck to its stand saying that Anna Hazare will not call off his fast till the government sends a written assurance on the three sticky points whereas the government wants Hazare to promise he will end fast once the debate begins in Parliament.

"I am not saying that there will be no discussion but it looks less likely today because of other businesses, including private members' bill," he said.

Asked whether he rules out the possibility of the discussion today, Bansal said he was not ruling out such a possibility because it can be worked out and if a decision is taken, media will get to know.

According to TV reports, the government has asked Team Anna to redraft its Jan Lokpal Bill.

"I hope Anna's health does not deteriorate further and he breaks his fast. The Prime Minister appealed emotionally to him yesterday that the nation is with you. What more can Parliament do," he said as the Gandhian's fast for a strong Lokpal entered the 11th day.

On Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's assurances on Thursday on a discussion in the House and the situation in view of the deteriorating health of Hazare, he said, he would also like the Gandhian to call off his fast.

Meanwhile, Rahul Gandhi has met the Prime Minister reportedly to discuss the Lokpal Bill issue.

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Mere Brother Ki Dulhan (Hindi: मेरे ब्रदर की दुल्हन; English: My Brother's Bride), also known by the abbreviated form MBKD, is an upcoming Hindi-language film that marks the writing and directing debut of Ali Abbas Zafar and stars Imran Khan, Katrina Kaif and Ali Zafar in the lead roles. Produced and distributed by Yash Raj Films, the film is a romantic comedy set around alove triangle. The official theatrical trailer was released on July 13th. It is set to release on 9 September 2011.

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