India snatch a win at Rajkot run-feast

Tillakaratne Dilshan and Kumar Sangakkara's blistering knocks put Sri Lanka on the threshold of victory but the Indians held their nerves well to restrict the islanders for 411/8 against their highest ever total of 414/7 and sneak a 3-run win in the first ODI at Rajkot.
Both the teams made 400-plus runs for the second time. While India had made 413 runs against Bermuda during 2007 World Cup, Sri Lanka had scored 443 runs against the Netherlands.
India surpassed their highest score of 413 with a blazing 102-ball 146 runs from opener Virender Sehwag, who had a 153-run first-wicket stand with Sachin Tendulkar and 156-run partnership with skipper MS Dhoni for the second wicket.
(With PTI inputs)

Sangakkara dethrones Yuvraj at Kings XI,

Sri Lanka skipper Kumar Sangakkara will replace Yuvraj Singh as the captain of Kings XI Punjab as the Chandigarh southpaw has been sacked by the management, according to the sources.
The formal announcement of captaincy expected on Wednesday or Thursday.
Apparently coach Tom Moody had complained to the owners of the franchise about Yuvraj's attitude problem, saying he continually ignored the team managemnet's advice.
Yuvraj led Kings XI Punjab in the first two editions of the IPL. While Kings XI reached the semi-finals in the first season, they finished fifth in the table in the second edition.

Infosys alliance with Philips

Director of Philips Semiconductors, India, Mr R. V. Sheshan, with company’s Vice-President (Global Automotive Marketing & Sales), Mr Drue S. Freeman, launch the new ‘analog radio chip’ in New Delhi on Monday. Philips India hoped the sales of its five divisions would grow between 18 and 20 per cent, enabling the company to post over 38 per cent rise. — PTI

 

Infosys BPO Ltd, the Business Process Outsourcing subsidiary of Infosys Technologies, today announced its alliance with Philips in Latin America. As part of the agreement, Infosys BPO will support a range of processes across Brazil, Argentina and Chile in the Procure-to-pay, Order-to-Cash and Record-to-Report areas like Accounts Receivable, Intercompany, Foreign Exchange, Local Payments and Travel and Entertainment Expenses. Infosys BPO will provide language support in English, Portuguese and Spanish. These services will be delivered from the newly inaugurated delivery center in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, a company press release said. Ronald Eikelenboom, CFO, Philips LATAM said the relationship is now truly global since it is the first activity in Brazil serving the rest of Latin America after having established a relationship in the US, Europe and Asia

Bajaj One Lakh Car By 2011

After Tata, its official that Bajaj Auto Ltd. and Renault-Nissan, which is the world's fourth largest car maker, will build a $2,500 (Rs.1 lakh) car in India to challenge Tata Motor's Nano. The car is codenamed ULC, short for Ultra Low-Cost and will officially go on sale in the year 2011. However, Tata's Nano will be available to buyers by Diwali this year.

 

The prototype of the ULV was unveiled before the public at the Auto Expo 2008 that took place in Delhi, where Tata also showed its Nano. The Managing Director of Bajaj, Rajiv Bajaj said that their ULV will cost more than a lakh and would return about 34 km/litre. Meanwhile, the competition is heating up. While the Nano has a engine under its back seat, the ULC will be a front-engined car, like all the traditional cars in the market today.

 

Bajaj-Renault's ULV will be manufactured in a new plant that is being developed at Chakan, near Bajaj's existing two-wheeler plant, reports said. The plant initially will have a capacity of 4 lakh vehicles per year; while the Tata's Nano plant in Singur will have a capacity of 2.5 lakh units per year. Bajaj, who is the second largest motorcycle maker in India, will own 50% stake in the joint venture between the two companies while the remaining part will be equally divided between its partners. This would be Renault-Nissan's second partnership in India after Mahindra & Mahindra for its low cost sedan, the Mahindra Renault Logan.

 

The consumers are going to get more choices in low cost cars for sure, but some people don't seem much impressed by this innovation. Rajesh Ittissery, a software professional working in Mumbai said that he won't be going for a car because fuel prices are already high as it is. Moreover, he is already getting about 60-65 km/litre from his two-wheeler and seemed disinterested in upgrading into a small car.

 

According to the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers, the two-wheeler figures in the industry provide a different perspective. India's motorcycle market is now reaching to about 4.5 crores and is stagnating. Car sales though have grown by about 12%, to about 12 lakh vehicles in the year ended March 31, 2008.

3 Idiots Releasing date & Review

Two friends (Madhavan and Sharman Joshi) embark on a quest for a lost buddy. On this journey, they encounter a long forgotten bet, a wedding they must crash, and a funeral that goes impossibly out of control. As they make their way through the perilous landscape, another journey begins: their inner journey through memory lane and the story of their friend- the irrepressible free-thinker Rancho (Aamir Khan), who in his unique way, touched and changed their lives. It's a story of their hostel days that swings between rancho's romance with the spirited Pia (Kareena Kapoor), and his clash with and oppressive mentor, Viru Sahastrabudhhe (Boman Irani). And then one day, suddenly, Rancho vanishes...
Who was he? Where did he come from? Why did he leave?

The friend who influenced and inspired them to think creatively and independently, even as the conformist world called them three idiots. Where is the original idiot now?

Finally, in misty mountains of unparalleled beauty, the find the key to the secret.

Three Idiots is comedy of ideas that is a provocative as it is funny, as wildly entertaining as it is insightful. A laugh-riot that talks about the most important of human pursuits: self-actualization.

The Releasing date is about Dec' 25, 2009

Story / Writer
Rajkumar Hirani
Abhijit Joshi

Director
Rajkumar Hirani

Personality of the week

The personality of this week in our Blog is Sensational Amitabh Bachan for his ever touching performance in Paa

'Paa' starring 'Abhishek Bachan, Amitabh Bachan, Paresh Rawal and Vidya Balan in the lead casts has increased the curiosity among the viewers to know about the storyline of the movie

Big B is playing the role of a son, while his son ‘Abhishek’ is playing the father`s role

Big B will appear in a phenominal look, which is sure to drag many viewers to the theatre.

Movie lovers are quite excited to watch both father (Amitabh) and son (Abishek) in the same movie.
The story is about a 13 year old boy who suffers from Progeria a terminal disease. A deep research has been done about this disease. Kids affected by this problem become bald and their veins are shown prominently on their heads which enlarge to a size beyond normal. Their teeth and eyes are also affected because of this disease. Big B has to stick many pieces of clay to get the exact look on his face and spent more than 4 hours for make up and cannot eat or drink once the make up is done and also shaved off the hair on his head and hands so that the veins will be clearly seen. It is also that he cannot move even an inch once the make is done.
The movie potrays about a father and son relationship
Stephen Dupuis who did Robin William`s make up in Mrs.Doubtfire has been roped in as a make up artiste to give a phenomenal look to Big B.
Music is composed by Ilayaraaja and Paa is produced under Amitabh Banner AB Corporation and also stars his son Abhishek

Pazhassi Raja- A Triumph to the Malayam Film Industry

Making a historical film is not something everyone can do. Hariharan who is the director of ‘Oru Vadakkan Veera Gadha’ is back with his trump card M.T Vasudevan Nair and effectively supported by Mammooty in the new venture Kerala Varma Pazhassi Raja has graced theatres this morning.

The Film is about Pazhazzi Raja’s fight against British East India Company to withdraw Company’s power and army from the state of Kottayam. Kerala Varma questions the logic of Foreigners who came as traders are now collecting tax and governing the country. The amount fixed as tax by Company was unreasonable and people didn’t have the capacity to pay that much.
People gave stiff opposition to the company on the tax issue. The film starts with Veeravarma played by Thilakan making a letter to company that he will collect taxes on their behalf. In the latter part Thilakan disappears from the film and Pazhayamveedan Chandhu played by Suman gains prominence. Pazhassi who does guerilla warfare provide great defense and creates atrocity to British. So Company makes a treaty with Kerala Varma which was later not followed by the former. This provokes Kerala Varma to start war.

Mammooty has taken effort to portray his character.

Sarath Kumar is Edachena Kunkan as the right hand of Kerala Varma is a delight to watch. His manliness and devoted character provides an air of dignity when ever he is onscreen.

Kaniha as Pazhassi Raja’s wife Makkam adds glamour. Manoj K. Jayan has showed his acting capabilities. Suresh Krishna as Kaitheri Ambu gets chunk of a role in this film. Suman and Jagathy were good.


Lalu Alex as Emman Nair, Captain Raju as Unni Mootha gives good support to Pazhassi. Actors who acted as British East India Company’s employees did well. Peter Evans as Major James, Harry Key as Thomas are to be specially mentioned.

The song ‘Aadi ushas sandya’ starts with Kerala Varma Pazhassi Raja’s white horse coming through water, which can be considered as one of the most beautiful shot in Malayalam cinema.


The negatives are, Padma Priya who appears as an Adivasi girl has dubbed herself and a foreign slang is noticed. In individual fight scenes, the choreographed action (rope) looks awkward. This film can’t be said to be thoroughly entertaining. It doesn’t bring the spirit of fighting. Historians may say the story is manipulated history.
The film has successfully recreated 18th century. Art director and his crew have done great work. Unlike other films this film starts with out showing technicians name.

This incomparable movie is three hours fifteen minutes long. Quality wise the film can be compared with Hollywood movies. Putting a mark for this film will be my ignorance as we can’t compare gem with gold.

Applause goes to Hariharan who captained this ship. Writer M.T Vasudevan Nair is one of the key brains behind this artwork. The camera by Ramanth Shetty is classic. Sound design by Resul Pookkutty stands out. Ilayarajas scoring may not be very well received.
Pazhassi Raja which is made at a gigantic budget by Gokulam Gopalan is worth spending every dime

Blue-Movie Review

BLUE, the most awaited movie of the year, with its canvas as huge as the ocean, comes alive on the Hindi screen this Friday. Like every biggie, this one also comes with the baggage of monumental expectations. With tremendous hype surrounding it, the inescapable question that crosses your mind is, will BLUE live up to those colossal expectations?

Major portions of the film have been filmed in the ocean and you can't stop admiring and appreciating the enormous contribution of the underwater cinematographer [Pete Zuccarini]. The lighting in those sequences deserves special mention. Also, the underwater sequences, which feature aquatic life like puffer fish, stingrays and sharks, hold tremendous appeal. Cinematography [Laxman Utekar] is gorgeous
 
On the whole, BLUE has style as well as substance. The film has everything going in its favour, right from its incredible star cast to the superb action scenes to the hitherto unseen marine life to the tremendous hype and hoopla. At the box-office, BLUE will strike like a hurricane in the festive week. It should set new benchmarks in days to come. In short, the business will be humungous.

Life after death

Life after death -- Why all the interest? Combine events like September 11th with the demographic phenomenon of the Baby Boom generation reaching its 60’s, and suddenly the reality of death from catastrophe and death from mere old age are upon us in a personal way.

So, it appears that more and more people are asking the same question that Job asked nearly 4,000 years ago in the Bible: "If a man dies, will he live again?" What could be a more fundamental question of life (and death)? Reincarnation theories are popular in Eastern religions as well as the many New Age variants. It seems people are comfortable with the idea of another chance to return to earth and figure things out or make things right. Some nihilist thinkers believe that death is the absolute end; but contrary to what many might think, most people believe that death is not the end. In some shape or form we go on.
When Jesus was talking with Martha about the death of Lazarus, her brother, He declared "I am the Resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die." Right here, Jesus started presenting the astonishing claim that there is life after death. Jesus then went the next step and brought Lazarus back to life after four days in a tomb. At that point, Jesus put everyone on notice that He would later overcome the grave Himself! 

For skeptics, the whole idea of heaven is just the product of fertile imaginations. For many others, the Biblical idea of heaven is too fanciful or fantastic. However, Christians can live their lives with bold hope, thanks to the evidence of history that establishes with convincing clarity how Jesus not only preceded us in death, but also came back from the dead and blazed the trail to heaven.

Life After Death: Proof?
Is there mathematical proof for life after death? No. But if you believe the life-changing evidence for God, Jesus and the Bible, then heaven is as much a concrete reality for you as the Lord in whom you’ve invested your absolute trust. It’s not fantasy – it’s the absolute life-changing hope that strengthens us and gives us peace.

Frill-necked Lizard

The Frill-necked Lizard, or Frilled Lizard also known as the Frilled Dragon, (Chlamydosaurus kingii) is so called because of the large ruff of skin which usually lies folded back against its head and neck. The neck frill is supported by long spines of cartilage, and when the lizard is frightened, it gapes its mouth showing a bright pink or yellow lining, and the frill flares out, displaying bright orange and red scales. The frill may also aid in thermoregulation.
They may grow up to one metre in total length. They often walk quadrupedally when on the ground. When frightened they begin to run on all-fours and then accelerate onto the hind-legs. In Australia , the frill-necked lizard is also known as the “bicycle lizard” because of this behaviour. Males are significantly larger than females both as juveniles and when mature. The frill of the Australian frilled dragon is used to frighten off potential predators – as well as hissing and lunging. If this fails to ward off the threat, the lizard flees bipedally to a nearby tree where it climbs to the top and relies on camouflage to keep it hidden.