The Importance Of Being Brajesh
The Opposition and the Sangh Parivar launch an attack on the Prime Minister's Office by targeting the Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister Brajesh Mishra. The Vajpayee camp finds itself fighting a grim political battle to retain credibility even as the Establishment tries to discredit the Tehelka allegations. An analysis.

Supercrat In His Labyrinth
There are 240 secretaries to the Government, but N. K. Singh is always a cut above-in style, networking, and power. The economic policy wizard gets defensive.

The Ways And Means Of Ranjan
Ranjan Bhattacharya's role as nursemaid to Atal Bihari Vajpayee gives the fun-loving foster son-in-law
the image of one who dabbles in government decisions.

Congress' Coalition Flight Grounded
With sceptic constituents, Congress President Sonia Gandhi's
plan to form an alliance just before the assembly elections in five states, may backfire.

Desperately Seeking loopholes
The Bharatiya Janata Party and Samata Party find discrepancies
in the charges levelled against them by Tehelka. But it's just details.

Nursery Of Hate
The week-long violence in Kanpur has cooled down, but the spectre of the Students Islamic Movement of India still looms large. A look at the reach of India's in-house Taliban.

Vroom Service
The four-stroke motorcycle overtakes middle-class India's greatest icon since the valve radio set, as sales of the doughty old scooter stagnate in spite of a spirited fightback.

George Cross
The FIR against Sonia Gandhi's private secretary is a plain corruption issue says the CBI. But, an embarrassed Congress complains of vendetta.

Nothing Official About It
The payment crisis is temporarily stemmed, but clandestine financing ticks like a time bomb.

ENTERTAINMENT: CINEMA

Q&A: SHEKHAR KAPUR
"It was tough shooting for the big war scenes in Morocco"

After the glory of Elizabeth came the hot desert sands of Morocco. The director on his new film and Hindi movies.

Q. What is the new film about?
A. It's called Four Feathers and is a big adventure/ war story about a young soldier who refuses to go to war because he is afraid-and gets feathers of cowardice from his best friends and his girlfriend. It then becomes the tale of his coming to terms with himself and redeeming himself and in the process discovering who he truly is.

Q. What was it like shooting the film? And when does it release?
A. It was really tough. I shot in the desert in Morocco. There were big war scenes. I have finished the shoot and am now in post-production. The film releases at the end of the year.

Q. Tararumpumpum never happened. When do we get to see a Hindi movie by Mr Kapur?
A. Next year.

DID YOU KNOW THAT...

In Sanjay Khan's ambitious Ramayan retelling, Maryada Purushottam, Ravana is being played by the hottest new villain in tinsel town: Jackie Shroff.

THE COURTESAN CLUB

With Chori Chori Chupke Chupke, Preity Zinta joins a hallowed group of heroines who have played the role of courtesan/ prostitute/ bar girl with a heart of gold and proved a success. Check them out:

BOX OFFICE

CHORI CHORI CHUPKE CHUPKE * * *
Weeks in release: 1
Collections: Rs 76,39,229
Abbas-Mastan's Pretty Woman-Doosri Dulhan remake finds takers.

OFFICER * * *
Weeks in release: 2
Collections: Rs 7,67,509
Sunil Shetty doesn't seem to make this tired tale go anywhere.

KASOOR * * *
Weeks in release: 6
Collections: Rs 7,25,046
A low budget plus good promos has led to good collections.

* * * Good
* * * Average
* * * Flop

Mumbai collections only
Source: Trade magazines

ATTEMPTING A SIXER

Six heroes. Not one will fall in love. Not one will sing a song. Bollywood's first gay film? No. It's director Sanjay Gupta's ambitious Kaante, starring Amitabh Bachchan, Sanjay Dutt, Sunil Shetty, Kumar Gaurav, Mahesh Manjrekar and Lucky Ali. A take on Stanley Kubrick's Killing and Quentin Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs, it is a tale of a bank robbery gone wrong. It will be shot with foreign technicians in a start-to-finish schedule in New York later this year. Both the Sanjays turn producer with Kaante. "It could be brilliant," says Gupta, "or it could be bullshit but we are making a film as we see fit. At least we have creative freedom." Absolutely.

-compiled by Anupama Chopra

MetroScape
The Itch For Kitsch
When Kitsch Kitsch Hota Hai opened to an overflowing house at Delhi's India Habitat Centre last week, people didn't quite know what to expect.
more...

Looking Glass


Delhi Exhibition: Unbuilt India-Vision 2001

Delhi Music:
Shriram Shankarlal Music Festival, 2001

Delhi: Showroom
Interiors Espania

The 457-acre estate of the Roerichs near Bangalore is in a pathetic condition. But does anyone care, asks INDIA TODAY's Principal Correspondent Stephen David in Despatches.