Actor Aamir Khan's directorial debut “Taare Zameen Par” has been selected as India's entry for the Oscar 2009 in the best foreign film category, impressing the jury with its "perfection" in all aspects of filmmaking.
“'Taare Zameen Par' is the final choice because it has a universal appeal and it has all the elements that make a good film, in terms of its production value, script, concept and story," filmmaker Sunil Darshan said here Saturday.
Darshan is the chairman of the 10-member jury set up by the Film Federation of India (FFI).
The movie was jointly produced by Aamir Khan Productions and PVR Pictures and starred Darsheel Safary as the protagonist. It it the story of an eight-year-old dyslexic boy and a teacher, played by Aamir, bringing the kid out of his predicament.
READ TAARE ZAMEEN PAR REVIEW
The other Bollywood films in competition were “A Wednesday”, “Rock On”, “Mumbai Meri Jaan”, "Jodhaa Akbar”, “Black & White” - all of which have won critical acclaim. There were also two Marathi films “Tingya” and “Vaalu” and a Telegu film “Gamyam” in contention.
“'Vaalu' has a fantastic screenplay and 'Tingya' has a good and sound script. It is not that other films were bad, but 'Taare Zameen Par' stood out among others,” Darshan added.
Another jury member Mahesh Kothare, a Marathi filmmaker and actor, was all praise for the selected film.
“As a jury, we had two basic intentions - that the chosen film must have a good chance of winning an Oscar and secondly, that it should meet certain parameters for an Oscar. These are content and cinematic excellence.
“'Taare Zameen Par' has it all. It has been made so perfectly. There is perfect direction, animation, screenplay, acting, script, and so there is no reason why it shouldn't have been choosen,” said Kothare.
He also exuded confidence that the film will finally bring India an Oscar in 2009.
Exactly a week after five synchronized terror blasts rattled the national capital and killed 24 people, Delhi Police Saturday said they had cracked the conspiracy behind this and three other terror attacks in the country.
“We have solved the Delhi blast case,” said Karnail Singh, joint commissioner of police (Special Cell).
Singh said a terrorist module of 13 people was responsible for the recent spate of terror attacks in India including the Uttar Pradesh court blasts of last year and the serial bombings in Jaipur, Ahmedabad and New Delhi this year.
He named the 13 members of the module as Atif, Saif, Zeeshan, Shajid, Junaid, Shadab Bhai, Alihas Malik, Shazid, Mohammad Khalif, Arif, Shakeel, Zia Khan and Salman.
All the members of the module were from Azamgarh village in Uttar Pradesh. “Atif lured his fellow and junior students from Azamgarh to terrorism,” the police official said.
Singh said the dreaded Pakistani terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) had been providing the training and support to the banned Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) and Indian Mujahideen, which has claimed responsibility for the Ahmedabad and New Delhi attacks.
“When LeT's terrorists were arrested, ISI (Inter-Services Intelligence of Pakistan) had a problem internationally. So their strategy was to train more and more people of Indian origin. So they approached the SIMI and Indian Mujahideen and coordinated with them.
“SIMI provided the money and execution support to the Indian Mujahideen,” he added.
The police said they had seized a laptop from the Jamia Nagar house, where two terrorists were gunned down after a fierce gun battle Friday morning, and found that they were inspired by Al Qaeda mastermind Osama bin Laden.
"From whatever information we have got from the seized laptop, it's clear that they were inspired by the philosophy of Al Qaeda. They were inspired by Osama bin Laden.
"We have sent the laptop for forensic analysis. Documents and photographs related to terror activities have been seized. We recovered the photos of Osama Bin Laden and software techie Tauqir's photo from the laptop," Singh added.
Mumbai-based Abdul Subhan Qureshi alias Tauqir has been alleged to have masterminded the Sep 13 serial blasts in the capital that killed 24 people and left nearly 100 injured. He has been absconding.
The police said the militants had brought the bombs from Karnataka before the start of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.
"Mohammed Saif and Sajid went to Karnataka and bought 10 bombs to Delhi by train two or three days before the start of Ramadan. But one bomb was detected to be faulty at the last moment and, therefore, was not planted," Sing said in a press briefing.
He, however, said that one live bomb was yet to be recovered.
"They have thrown the faulty bomb in a drain near Batla House (in Jamia Nagar). Then there is a live bomb somewhere near the Regal cinema hall (in Connaught Place) but we haven't recovered them so far," said a senior police official.
Delhi Police had defused one bomb near the same cinema hall Sep 13.
"It was Atif (one of the two terrorists who were killed Friday) who used to send e-mails to various people including media organisations (about the Indian Mujahideen taking responsibility for the blasts). He was the main co-coordinator of sharing information amongst various organisations," Singh added.
The police said they used to roam around the country on fake voter identity cards.
“Saif and Zeeshan had made fake voter ID cards in the name of Rahul Sharma and Pankaj respectively and travelled to Gujarat on the fake identities.
“They also availed mobile phone connections on the basis of these fake ID cards. We have seized mobile phones in which they have clicked the video of the Jaipur blasts,” Singh said.
Explaining the modus operandi of the module Singh said: “All of them travelled to Jaipur May 13 in a bus and bought cycles and planted the bombs on them.”
Then they started preparing for the Ahmedabad blasts. “Eleven to 12 people from Delhi went to Ahmedabad July 10 for a recce. Three to four stayed back and others returned to Delhi on July 17.
“All those who returned went to Ahmedabad on July 23, manufactured and planted bombs with the help of the local supporters, few of whom were arrested in Ahmedabad,” Singh said.
At least 65 people were killed in the serial blasts in Jaipur May 13, while 56 people were killed in the July 26 Ahmedabad blasts.
“In Delhi these terrorists went for a recce Sep 11 and clicked photos of the sites,” Singh added.
Five bombs went off in quick succession in the capital's busy market places Sep 13, killing 24 people and injuring nearly 100 others.
Indo-Asian News Service
At least 60 people, including some foreigners, were killed and about 120 injured in a suicide attack at a luxury hotel in the high security zone around the parliament building here Saturday, even as the country's ruling elite, including the president and the three service chiefs, were attending an Iftar dinner at the Prime Minister House barely a kilometre away.
Orange flames and thick smoke billowed out of the Marriott Hotel, which turned into a blazing inferno as police, ambulances and rescue workers raced to the spot to tend to the injured. The authorities feared that the toll could rise as the blast, caused by an explosives-laden truck crashing into the hotel, left a 20-foot deep crater at its entrance.
There was speculation that the hotel, a landmark building that is the preferred destination of visiting diplomats and businessmen, could collapse.
Twisted and mangled remains of a number of vehicles littered the hotel's car park. The hotel is located near a number of high security buildings, including the Presidential Palace, the Prime Minister House, parliament and the Supreme Court.
"The fire has engulfed the whole hotel and people are being rescued," Advisor to the Prime Minister on Interior Affairs Rehman Malik, who reached the spot after the blast, said.
Initial reports said that a truck loaded with explosives hit the outer wall of the hotel, which soon went up in flames. Security officials said that several people who were residing in the hotel were still trapped inside and efforts were being made to rescue them.
Hospital sources said that they had received about 40 bodies and more than 100 injured. However, eyewitnesses said that the number of dead is more than 60 and more than 120 have been injured.
Police sources said that the dead include three Koreans, two Saudis and one American. Among the injured are some foreigners, including some Americans who were shifted to the hospital inside the US Embassy. Unconfirmed reports also said that a senior US security official was among the injured.
Eyewitnesses said that the explosives-laden truck, bearing government number plates, was stopped at the hotel entrance for a security check.
"As the security people were looking into the truck, it swiftly moved away and hit the outer wall of the hotel, causing a huge explosion," an eyewitness said.
The blast also caused the main gas pipeline outside the hotel to explode, adding to the mayhem. Sources said that at least 300 people were dining in the hotel when the blast took place. Being the fasting month of Ramadan people dine immediately after the sunset, which was at 7.12 p.m. Saturday and the blast took place at 7.56 p.m.
The blast occurred about four hours after President Asif Ali Zardari addressed a joint sitting of both houses of parliament, during which he called for joint efforts to deal with terrorism and extremism.
The impact of the blast was so severe that its reverberations were heard in a 15 kilometre area and many Islamabad residents thought an earthquake had struck. The windows of nearby buildings, including that of Pakistan Television, were shattered.
An emergency was declared in Islamabad hospitals as they braced to receive the injured and the bodies of those killed.
Advisor Malik condemned the attack and said that whoever was behind the blast "can't be friends of Islam or friends of this country".
Lamented Marriott Hotel owner Sadruddin Hashwani: "I don't have any enemies...these must be enemies of Pakistan. This is a huge loss to the country, to humanity," he told reporters outside the building.
President Zardari, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, army chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, the chiefs of the navy and the air force, provincial governors, chief ministers, federal and provincial ministers and more than 300 MPs were attending the dinner at the PM House, official sources said.
National Assembly Speaker Fehmida Mirza was hosting the dinner in honour of the president after his maiden address to a joint sitting of parliament Saturday afternoon. The governors, chief ministers and other high-ranking government officials were invited to hear the president's address.
The sources said that the dignitaries were sitting around tables on the lawns of the PM House after the Iftar and sunset prayers and dinner was being served when the bomb exploded with an ear-splitting sound, shattering windows of the sprawling mansion.
The sources said that immediately efter the blast, security personnel herded the VVIPs who were sitting around the high table into the building, which is about 100 yards from the main lawn. The sources confirmed that all the VVIPs were safe.
An eyewitness said that as crockery came crashing down from the tables, many thought that there was a blast within the PM House.
Security officials feared that the intended destination of the explosives-laden van was the PM House and that it perhaps could not reach there because of the high security that was in place in the capital since morning.
He loves dancing, aspired to become a fast bowler but landed on the tracks to burn them with his lightening speed. Media called him “Bolt from the blue”, “Lightening Bolt” and credited him for being "the tallest world-class sprinter in history” but this triple world record holder shows no attitude and politely terms his comparison with Michael Phelps (eight gold medals wonder) as unfair.
The name is Usain Bolt, the track sensation, who has taken the athletic world by storm with his performances in Beijing Olympics and became one of the two iconic performers in the Olympics, other being swimmer Phelps. Bolt is a 22-years-old Jamaican sprinter He holds the Olympic and world records for the 100 metres at 9.69 seconds, the 200 metres at 19.30 seconds and, along with his team-mates, the 4x100 metres relay at 37.10 seconds.
After watching his performance in 200 metres race, former 200m world record holder Michael Johnson remarked that new world record time was simply incredible. This guy is Superman II.
But, not everyone is praising Bolt for his fantastic efforts; IOC president Jacques Rogge condemned his chest slapping actions as disrespectful to other competitors, while Olympic medallist Kriss Akabusi interpreted his actions before the finish line as showboating, noting that these cost Bolt an even faster record time. Bolt has no intention of changing. Not for Rogge, not for the International Olympic Committee.
Six-foot-five inch long Bolt’s winning efforts in 100 and 200 metres also changed the popular mindset that height is a detriment to sprinting. He has just four-years-old in professional sprinting and has got a bright future to make and break many more world records.