Desicritics Author: Tony Tharakan

Interview: Shah Rukh Khan - "Let Deepika Touch BBC's Body"

Tony Tharakan — Sat, 9 Feb 2008 07:35:57 EST

I don't like attending press conferences by Shah Rukh Khan. You are likely to find yourself packed in a room with some 500 photographers, reporters and guests all clamouring for a dekko at the King Khan.

Now the Ballroom at Delhi's Oberoi hotel is pretty big but I still felt a bit claustrophobic when Khan dropped in earlier this week to promote a liquor brand's 'Don't Drink and Drive campaign'.

The pretty reporter behind me wasn't helping matters by squealing "He's so sexy, I so want to take him home" whenever Khan smiled.

Clad all in black, the star had arrived on time (surprisingly) and was bombarded with questions on everything except the brand he had come there to promote. One enthusiastic reporter was upset that actress Deepika Padukone had been denied the chance to be the first to touch Shah Rukh's six-pack abs for Om Shanti Om. Well, "feel your body" was how he put it, perhaps incorrectly quoting what Deepika had told BBC Radio in an interview. Khan was nonplussed - at first.
"She should have told me. She never told me. If she tells BBC, she can touch BBC's body. If she tells me, she can touch my body."

Perhaps the inquirer still looked upset, for Khan looked him in the eye and asked, "You want to touch my body?"

When the laughter had died down and the reporter had stopped blushing, the barrage of questions continued. But Khan parried them with practised ease.

Why did you spend so much money on cricket's Indian Premier League?
"Maine jaha se kamaya mera tha, maine jaha lagaya meri marzi" (I earned it and it was mine to spend wherever I pleased)

There's already so much money in cricket..
"Aap ne gina hai?" (Have you counted it?)

Why you bought Kolkata team instead of Delhi where you grew up?
"I couldn't afford Delhi. That's why I left and went to Bombay. Delhi's very expensive."

Will you make a film based on the 'Don't Drink and Drive campaign'?
"Making a film on this topic? How will I make a three hour film in which I keep saying 'Don't drink! Don't drink! Don't drink!' - it will be weird...'Devdas' was based on drinking."

Is this campaign some kind of disaster management for your "no smoking" tiff with Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss?
"It'll be really stupid of me if someone doesn't like me smoking to give him the message 'Don't drink'. I should be saying 'Don't smoke'."

Will your reel image prove a burden on your real life?
"It's not that when I walk on the streets, people think of me as drunk, smoker, vulgar, idiotic. In fact, when I come to Delhi, people say I am smart, handsome, educated, articulate and well-bred."

In Chak De and Om Shanti Om, you had new girls working opposite you. Even in Aditya Chopra's project, he's searching for a new face - why don't our heroines want to work with you?
"Girls can't tolerate me for long. They get tired."

It's not that Khan wasn't serious at all - he also spoke at length about his "smoking" controversy, his injury years ago that forced him to give up sports for acting, his plans for building sports infrastructure in the country. But all that has been splashed across national newspapers.

But it's the little things that fans don't get to read or hear. Like how he scolded a reporter he spotted discussing something with a friend.
"Are you listening? You are chatting away there. Pay attention to me. Then you won't get confused."

Believe me, that poor girl was the only one not paying attention - the rest of the audience was hanging on to each of Khan's words. And for those of you who aren't convinced about the Bollywood star being the best ambassador for a 'Don't Drink and Drive campaign', here's what Khan has to say.
"I myself am not a hard liquor drinker. The hardest I drink is Pepsi on the rocks."

Sania Mirza Advised Rest for Adductor Injury

Tony Tharakan — Fri, 1 Feb 2008 04:34:50 EST

Indian Tennis number one Sania Mirza has been advised to take three weeks off to help heal a five cm tear in her adductor (upper leg) muscle, her father Imran Mirza said.

"According to the doctor, an adductor muscle tear of 10 cm or more requires surgery but a 5 cm tear should heal on its own with rest," Mirza told the Indian Tennis Blog.

The 21-year-old Hyderabadi player, now also ranked number one in Asia, has been sidelined since last week's Australian Open mixed doubles final which she lost partnering Mahesh Bhupathi.

"She is in intense pain when she bends down on a low ball and needed six pain killers before being able to play in the final," Mirza said.

Hopes of an Indian victory in the ongoing WTA Fed Cup in Bangkok were also dashed after Sania was rendered unfit for the ties.

Mirza said Sania had been keen to play at least the doubles rubbers but it depended on whether non-playing Fed Cup captain Enrico Piperno thought it worth taking a risk of further injury for the sake of the country.

Memories of Ahmedabad: A Trip to Modi-land

Tony Tharakan — Sun, 20 Jan 2008 13:46:08 EST

A bustling market, trendy restaurants and gleaming marts welcome me as I step outside the Maninagar railway station in Ahmedabad, home turf of Gujarat's controversial chief minister Narendra Modi.

At first glance, Maninagar, located in southern Ahmedabad, is no different from up-market areas in Delhi or Mumbai. But a few kilometres away, hovels line the roads, stray cattle roam the alleys and little boys in rags chase runaway kites.

I have been hearing a lot about "vibrant" Gujarat and how Modi has brought development to its people. Yes, there are Reliance Marts but I am not impressed. Except maybe by the electricity situation here. It amazes me that there are no power cuts here - till I am told power has been privatised.

I am on one of my rare visits to Ahmedabad, the city of my birth - where my Malayalee grandfather had migrated in the early half of the 20th century. No, I am not conversant in Gujarati - my parents shifted lock, stock and barrel to New Delhi when I was five years old.

And the nursing home where I was born no longer exists, apparently burned down in one of the frequent communal clashes that hold the city and the state in a deathly grasp.

"It's good Modi has been re-elected," says my cousin wryly. "Christians and Muslims will be left alone for another five years."

I make my way to the market at Lal Darwaza, to a section populated mostly by Muslims. It's here that you get quality stuff - the best bedsheets are invariably found in shops owned by a Khan, Salim or Mohammad. Shops here are burned and looted during riots, then re-built and re-stocked. Hiccups may come and go but life goes on as usual.

I hear shouts behind me and I turn to look - but it's only a bunch of unruly kids fighting over kites. It's Uttarayan festival here, the time when the Ahmedabad sky is replete with kites.

Kites in all possible hues are everywhere and Modi smiles at me from several of them. A little boy in a skull cap is happy wresting a Modi kite - I guess he doesn't care his prize catch flaunts the face of a man hated by most Muslims in the country.

As night falls, I walk down the main Maninagar street. And am surprised to see several women riding scooters even at 10 pm. It's like committing hara-kiri for a woman to go out alone in Delhi or Mumbai but my young cousins have no qualms venturing into deserted lanes at night.

Well, cases of rape and molestation (except during riots) may be fewer in Gujarat but it doesn't really mean the men here are saints.

"There are lechers around but they would think twice before molesting a headstrong Gujarati woman," explains my cousin.

But the autowalas here are really nice. They ply by the meter. Whether it's actually honesty or morals kept in check by local residents, I may never know.

And what of prohibition in the land of Mahatma Gandhi? Downing liquor in Gujarat is illegal and I was indeed impressed - until I saw a tramp walk home drunk.

Sania Mirza Gives Venus Williams a Fright

Tony Tharakan — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 09:59:18 EST

A spirited challenge by Sania Mirza wasn't enough to prevent a 6-7, 4-6 loss to current Wimbledon champion Venus Williams in the third round of the 2008 Australian Open.

Mirza, whose previous best at Melbourne Park was a third round loss to Venus' sister Serena in 2005, gave millions of Indians hopes of an upset win as a flurry of her forehand winners sailed past the six-time Grand Slam champion.

But Venus wasn't going to let Mirza add to India's quota of impressive wins on Saturday - what with the Indian cricket team thrashing Australia in the Perth test earlier in the day.

The 21-year-old Hyderabadi had begun in promising fashion, breaking the American's serve at two-all in the first set.

A few minutes later, Mirza was up 5-3 as a Venus serve rocketed past her. Sania responded with a smile and an outstanding return of serve on the next point. At 30-30, the Indian was two points away from the set and hopes of an upset loomed large.

But it wasn't to be.

The game went to deuce twice before Venus dug in to take the game and Mirza found herself serving for the set.

A costly error by Mirza at 30-all set up breakpoint for the American. The eighth-seeded Venus revved up a notch, broke back and then sent down a flurry of aces to go up 6-5.

All seemed over when the Indian went down 15-40 but a bunch of winners and Venus errors saw Mirza take the match into the tiebreaker. The number 31 seed was all smiles as an ardent fan shouted "Sensational Sania" and the spectators in the Rod Laver arena settled in for a slugfest.

But the 27-year-old Venus played a flawless tiebreak (7-0) and grabbed the first set in 50 minutes.

Mirza's serve let her down and Williams pounced on the Indian's weakness - edging forward inside the baseline to face her second serves.

The momentum had clearly shifted in the American's favour but Mirza seemed determined to give a good fight. The opening point of the second set was the best of the match - the 19-shot rally ending in Mirza's favour.

Games went with serve until 3-3 when Williams broke Mirza's serve in a game which saw two points challenged by either player and replayed. A costly doublefault (her fourth of the match) didn't do the Indian any good.

Mirza's unforced errors crept up - she was to make 30 of them in the 92-minute match. And Venus was serving better in the second set with more aces (5), more winners (10) and fewer unforced errors (8).

Her confidence back on track, the elder Williams was soon 5-3 up and two points from victory on the Indian's serve. But Mirza responded with an ace (her only ace of the match) to take the game.

Serving for the match at 5-4, Venus sent down two aces and wrapped up the match on the first of her three matchpoints.

Why Mom and Dad Walked out of Plaza Cinema 22 Years Ago

Tony Tharakan — Sat, 8 Dec 2007 01:18:39 EST

Back in 1985, Mom and Dad had just shifted to New Delhi. The capital's hectic pace of life didn't suit them at first and they looked for ways to maintain an umbilical link with their native state of Kerala.

A casual glance at a newspaper column one morning brought the welcome news that a new Malayalam film was playing at the Plaza Cinema in Connaught Place. As you can imagine, my parents were overjoyed and promptly drove down to the hall.

Mom was a bit disconcerted to find the cinema theater nearly empty. But that was nothing compared to her surprise at seeing a Sikh gentleman occupying one of the seats nearby.

"Must be a film critic," mumbled Mom. "Why else would he be interested in a Malayalam film?"

"There would be subtitles...He can understand it that way," said Dad.

The mystery was solved when the film started and a woman started disrobing on screen. And my parents realised that they, the Sikh gentleman and a few other men were watching what can only be described as a softcore porn flick.

"He didn't need subtitles," said Mom - a few minutes after my parents had slunk out of the hall and into the parking lot.

"And that's certainly not a family film," she added.

The film's name - which roughly translated to 'Family is Heaven' - had not given my parents any clues about its content. But they did learn one thing. That morning shows in Delhi theatres were not for the family.

P.S. Two decades later, things have changed. The refurbished PVR Plaza is no longer a haven for voyeurs and morning shows are usually reserved for family films. But Mom still makes it a point to check the Adult 'A' listing before venturing into theatres.

Harsh Mankad Returns and Ashutosh Singh Proves His Mettle

Tony Tharakan — Sat, 10 Nov 2007 16:40:07 EST

Pakistan may be in the headlines for all the wrong reasons but India's National Champion Ashutosh Singh made sure it wasn't all bad news by reaching the final of the ITF Pakistan F3 Futures in Lahore.

Singh lost a tight match 3-6,6-3,7-6(6) to top-seeded Czech Adam Vejmelka in the final on Saturday but the 25-year-old Indian won't be too disappointed by his performance against a player ranked 240 places above him on the ATP list. Partnering Vivek Shokeen, Singh had earlier grabbed the doubles title beating Vejmelka and his Romanian partner Bogdan-Victor Leonte 6-1,6-4.

The 575-ranked Singh also leads the Indian contingent for a bilateral tennis series against Pakistan starting in Lahore on Tuesday.

Doubles was the key for India in women's tennis this week with both Sunitha Rao and Prerana Appineni reaching the doubles semifinals at separate ITF events. Second seeds Rao and American Jill Craybas bowed out to an American pair at ITF Pittsburgh while Appineni and American Beatrice Capra lost a thrilling super-tiebreaker in the ITF Lima (Peru) semifinals.

But the big news this week is the return of Harsh Mankad after a year-long break from the tennis court thanks to knee injuries. Currently ranked 1456, Mankad is playing the qualifiers at the ATP Challenger in Champaign, USA.

Mankad turned 28 on Saturday and the Mumbai resident knows only too well how hard it will be for him to crack the ATP Top 200. His career best singles ranking of 222 was a milestone achieved two years ago.

Also playing next week is Indian number one Rohan Bopanna. The 261-ranked Bopanna has the unenviable challenge of playing 75-ranked German Benjamin Becker in the first round of the ATP Challenger in Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine.

At least doubles specialist Leander Paes has better odds. Fourth seeds Paes and Czech partner Martin Damm will fancy their chances at the Shanghai Masters Cup when they take on defending champions Jonas Bjorkman and Max Mirnyi on Sunday.

In women's tennis, India's number two Sunitha Rao will try her luck at the ITF $50,000 La Quinta, US tournament while Tara Iyer will lead a phalanx of fellow Indians at the $25,000 ITF Pune tournament. Both events kick off on Monday.

Karan Rastogi Back in Action in Delhi Next Month

Tony Tharakan — Sat, 27 Oct 2007 11:35:38 EDT

Karan Rastogi, India's number three tennis player, is all set to make a comeback at an ATP Challenger tournament in New Delhi next month.

Rastogi, sidelined with a back injury during the ATP Mumbai Open in September, told the Indian Tennis blog that his back was better and he planned to play both the hardcourt challenger events in the Indian capital at the end of 2007.

The 21-year-old Mumbai player, currently ranked 344 in the world, had won the Morocco F5 claycourt Futures in July this year.

News of Rastogi's comeback should please fans of Indian tennis, which has seen many of its stars fall prey to injury this year.

Sania Mirza finished her season early while Prakash Amritraj, Harsh Mankad and Mahesh Bhupathi are also recovering from injuries. With Sunitha Rao withdrawing from two consecutive Challenger tournaments in the US this month, speculation about another injury scare were rife.

Rohan Bopanna and Leander Paes have also not played since the Stockholm Open and the BA-CA Tennis Trophy in Vienna earlier this month.

With the country's top players taking a break from tennis courts, the India F10 Futures in Gulbarga got more than its share of attention.

But India's second-string players, with the exception of world number 605 Sunil Kumar Sipaeya, failed to make it beyond the second round in the singles. Eighth seed Sipaeya lost to eventual champion Ivan Cerovic of Croatia in the quarter-finals.

There was better luck for India in the doubles with the second-seeded pair of Vijay Kannan and Kazakhistan's Alexey Kedryuk beating Tushar Liberhan and Rupesh Roy 6-4,3-6,10-3 in the final of the $15,000+ hardcourt tournament.

Across the border, sixth-seed Ashwin Vijayragavan justified his seeding by making it to the quarterfinals of the Islamabad Futures. Pairing up with Korean Jeong-Han, Vijayragavan lost to home crowd favourites Aqeel Khan and Asim Shafik in a closely fought doubles semifinal 6-2,4-6,9-11.

Other Indians had little success abroad. Mustafa Ghouse lost in the singles qualifiers of the ATP Seoul Challenger before he and Israel's Dudi Sela bowed out in the opening round of the doubles event.

World number 728 Prerana Appineni also lost her opening singles and doubles encounters at the ITF tournament in Valencia, Venezuela. Down under in Traralgon (Australia), world number 359 Tara Iyer lost her singles opener and then forfeited her doubles quarterfinal match.

The action now shifts to the Pakistan F2 Futures grasscourt tournament in Lahore starting on Monday where a host of Indian players, led by Sipaeya, are in the fray.

Tennis News: Stephen Amritraj, Ashutosh Shine This Week

Tony Tharakan — Sun, 21 Oct 2007 00:10:58 EDT

The big names of Indian tennis couldn't weave much magic in tournaments this week, leaving little known players Stephen Amritraj and Ashutosh Singh to impress with breakthrough performances.

Amritraj, who grew up in the Californian city of Calabasas, partnered American Adam Davidson to reach the doubles semifinal at the ATP Calabasas Challenger.

The duo, who gained entry as lucky losers because of an injury default to Jan-Michael Gambill, stunned top seeds Bobby Reynolds and Rajeev Ram 6-3,6-4 in the opening round.

Amritraj, 23, and Davidson eventually lost 5-7,2-6 to fourth seeds Robert Kendrick(US) and Cecil Mamiit(PHI) in the semifinal.

Stephen, son of former tennis player Anand Amritraj, had partnered cousin Prakash to reach the semifinals of the Fergana Challenger earlier this year.

Back home in India, newly crowned National hard court champion Ashutosh Singh spearheaded the country's challenge at the India F9 Futures in Bellary, Karnataka.

Singh's splendid run in the singles event, which began with ousting top seed Pavol Cervenak of Slovakia 6-3,6-4 in the opening round, came to an end in the semifinals.

Singh, ranked 659 on the ATP list, lost to third seeded Austrian Rainer Eitzinger 4-6,3-6.

But he gained revenge by partnering Vivek Shokeen to beat Eitzinger and Philipp Oswald 7-6(4),3-6,10-5 in the doubles final.

Wildcard Rupesh Roy, who lost in the quarterfinals to Singh, also impressed with a second round win over Romania's Adrian Gavrila.

Elsewhere in Europe, Sania Mirza lost in her Zurich Open opener before retiring for the season while Leander Paes and Martin Damm lost in the second round of the Madrid Masters doubles.

Sunitha Rao, who reached the finals at the ITF San Francisco Tennis Classic last week, withdrew from the ITF Lawrenceville Challenger at the last minute.

Down under in Gympie(Australia), Tara Iyer couldn't do much against fourth seeded home favourite Monique Adamczak and lost 1-6,6-7(5) in the first round.

Partnering Nungnudda Wannasuk of Thailand, Iyer also lost to Adamczak and Briton Jade Curtis 7-6(2),6-7(3),5-10 in the doubles quarterfinal.

Injury-hit Sania Mirza Cuts Short 2007 Tennis Season

Tony Tharakan — Sat, 20 Oct 2007 14:51:22 EDT

Sania Mirza has returned to India after a string of first round defeats at European tournaments compounded by a strained abductor muscle.

India's number singles player pulled out of the WTA Generali Ladies Linz tournament starting next week and said she will not be playing any more in 2007.

"It has been a long and hard year for me, where I had to make repeated comebacks from two serious injuries and a surgery," Mirza was quoted as saying by The Times of India.

"I am mentally tired and my body is crying out for a break. I'm looking forward to a rest and then a great season next year."

Mirza, currently ranked 30 on the WTA list, had lost to lesser-ranked players in the opening rounds of the Kremlin Cup and the Zurich Open this month.

The 20-year-old ends the year with a 30-19 win-loss record on the WTA Tour having recently touched career best rankings in singles (27) and doubles (18).

Mirza reached the final of WTA Stanford in July and can boast of wins over the likes of Martina Hingis, Dinara Safina and Patty Schnyder in an injury-riddled season. A knee injury had kept her out of action in the first half of 2007 while a wrist injury forced Mirza to withdraw from Kolkata's Sunfeast Open in September.

Her best Grand Slam result for the year was a third round spot at the US Open in August - eventually losing to good friend and nemesis Anna Chakvetadze.

Four doubles titles came her way this season with victories at Morocco (with Vania King), Cincinnati (with Bethanie Mattek), Stanford (with Shahar Peer) and New Haven (with Mara Santangelo). Mirza ended the year with a 32-11 record in doubles.

India's performance at this year's Hopman Cup mixed team challenge has earned Mirza and Rohan Bopanna direct entry into the 2008 edition in January but it remains unclear whether Mirza can recover in time for the event in Australia.

Quick Exit for Sania Mirza from Zurich Open

Tony Tharakan — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 04:00:46 EDT

Sania Mirza capped a miserable October with a first-round loss at the Zurich Open to Michaella Krajicek - her third straight career defeat to the Dutch player.

Wildcard Krajicek, ranked three places below the Indian at 33, breezed through the match 6-1, 6-4 in an hour and 16 minutes to ensure Mirza's quick exit from picturesque Switzerland.

The result was Mirza's 19th defeat as opposed to 30 wins on the WTA Tour this year and her ranking is likely to slide further.

It was also Mirza's second opening round ouster in as many weeks - having also lost to Argentine Gisela Dulko at the Kremlin Cup in Moscow.

Krajicek, the half-sister of 1996 Wimbledon champion Richard Krajicek, had started off well by winning the opening game and then swiftly breaking Mirza's serve. Mirza broke back in a game riddled with deuces but the 18-year-old from the Netherlands quickly recovered from that setback.

Krajicek, who has struggled with her form of late, unleashed her attacking game and a stronger serve to take the next nine games.

A spirited Mirza comeback in the second set saw her break Krajicek's serve twice but the Dutch girl was in no mood to take the match into the decider. She broke Mirza's serve for the sixth time to advance to the second round.

By the end of the match, Krajicek had blazed 6 aces as opposed to zero for Mirza although the Indian had a better first-serve percentage (65 as opposed to 60).

In the doubles, the wildcard pair of Sania Mirza and home crowd favourite Patty Schnyder is pitted against China's Shuai Peng and American Meilen Tu.

Mirza returns to the Tour next week at the WTA Generali Ladies Linz tournament at Linz, Austria.