Mission Kashmir Having consolidated his position at home, the President of Pakistan is clear that any diplomatic advance in Agra will be measured against India's willingness to review its position on Kashmir. Can Prime Minister Vajpayee oblige his guest?

Mother Fury
M. Karunanidhi and other leaders of the DMK may be out of jail, but retribution and rehabilitation will continue to define the
Jayalalitha Raj.

Trust Betrayed
India's largest mutual fund scheme, US-64, takes a tumble for the second time in three years. As pressure mounts to stem the rot and chairman Subramanyam goes, the small investor is left in the lurch.

The Gender Gestapo
A controversial sex-selection procedure widely available in India skirts the law and prevents the very conception of female babies.

EYECATCHERS

Off-key Notes

Punjabi pop versus culture cop? Punjab's culture minister Swarna Ram's new-found obsession to rid Punjabi pop of vulgarity may have been welcomed by many but his out-of-tune threat to send singer Jasbir Jassi behind bars for his latest album Channo Da Jawani Vich Paer Pai Gaya (Channo has stepped into her youth) has struck the wrong chord. Ram's ire is directed at the visuals (swaying semi-clad girls) in the video. Peeved at the minister's proposal for a censor board, a piqued Jassi is quick to challenge Ram's cultural credentials, "He does not know the ABC of culture," he rasps, daring the minister to a public debate. A political gimmick? Punjab is tuned in.

Now And Ever

Whatever happened to Madhuri Dixit? You might have heard the talk that she is expecting her first baby. But for those itching to write her off, the untiring 21st century working girl that she is, Mrs Nene is not bidding her career goodbye. Lined up is a bonanza of Dixit starrers: Deepak Shivdasaani's Yeh Raaste Hain Pyaar Ke with Ajay Devgan and Preity Zinta, Rajkumar Santoshi's multi-starrer Lajja, and romantic weepie Devdas remake with Shah Rukh Khan and Aishwarya Rai. Gushes Shivdasaani: "She is a thorough professional." If there is a secret to lasting power, it must be this.

Fights Of Fury

If you drooled over Keanu Reeves' The Matrix for its surreal martial arts, Feroze Nadiadwala's thriller Aawara Paagal Deewana is going to be worth a watch. The film's fights will be choreographed by Hong Kong-based stunt director Dion Lam, 38, who has films like Romeo and Juliet, The Matrix and its sequels under his belt. In Mumbai last week to put the leads, Akshay Kumar and Sunil Shetty, through a martial arts drill, he also told them about the soaring wirework technique that made Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon such a hit. Wow! Bollywood has arrived.

Political Stand

As a seething, swearing action heroine, she mercilessly whipped baddies in many forgettable south Indian potboilers. Now, the out-of-action Vijaya Shanti has whipped up a storm in Tamil Nadu politics. Openly supporting Chief Minister Jayalalitha in the Karunanidhi imbroglio, she said the entire episode was stage-managed by the DMK. Sure enough, it angered the party: a petrol bomb was hurled at her Parthasarathy Nagar house in Chennai, and the DMK is pressing the BJP to take action against Shanti, who is vice president of the BJP Mahila Morcha in Andhra Pradesh. In an interview to Jaya TV, Shanti even said that if President's rule was imposed in Tamil Nadu, she would relinquish her post and fight. Those stunts she learnt for films will help.

—Complied by Methil Renuka

MetroScape

Frames Of Life
Nina Shivdasani Rovshen Sugati's Conceptual Art Imageographs, on show at NCPA's Piramal Gallery till July 14, attempts to capture the "essence of people and situations" as she lets her subjects "reveal themselves" to her.
more...

Looking Glass

Bangalore Entertainment:
Jaamba Jungle

Mumbai Luxury Yacht:
Sea King

Hyderabad Store:
Giant Hyper Market

With the Trinamool-Congress alliance gone sour, Mamata Banerjee is desperate to be back in the NDA. Is she being inconsistent or opportunistic, asks INDIA TODAY's Correspondent Labonita Ghosh in
About Turn