DIDIER DROGBA couldn’t hide his delight after firing Chelsea to the Champions League final — and ramming the words of Rafa Benitez down his throat.
The Liverpool boss had dubbed the Blues striker a diver in the build-up to the semi-final second leg.
But after scoring twice in the 4-3 aggregate win, Drogba had the last laugh.
He said: “It is something amazing. Today we did very well. I am really pleased for the club because we’ve been looking for this final for too long.
“Benitez is a fantastic coach and I was a bit disappointed but I think he felt his team was not strong enough and Chelsea were going to beat them.
I am just happy for my team and I don’t want to think about others.
“It’s not good for my image. I’m giving my best to put my team at the top and I think it’s not fair but it’s finished.”
Blues captain John Terry praised the efforts of the team, with Frank Lampard signled out after playing so soon after the death of his mother last week.
He added: “It’s fantastic, I think we’ve fully deserved it over the years, we’ve had our chance but I thought we made it hard for ourselves at the end.
“It has not sunk in properly. We’ll enjoy tonight but it will take 24 hours to sink in.
“What a character Lamps is. It has been a terrible week for him. I’m sure Frank will dedicate that goal to his mum.”
Thanks to an astonishing 15th min goal from Paul Scholes, Man utd for the first time manage to qualify to the final of the eurapean championships at home. Barcelona put Man utd to the ultimate test. But thanks to a few gutsy save from Van De sar, the final on May 21st would be an all English affair. A Chelsea win tomorrow would just be an icing on the cake.
Kareena Kapoor’s ‘Size Zero’ look in her new movie ‘Tashan’ has drawn a lot of attention giving a fresh impetus to the debate on ’size zero’. Will the look be just a new fad or will it lead to dangerous trend among youngsters?
Kareena’s new look of 23 inches and 48 kgs makes a note that size does matter to make an
impression some times.
I frankly think the only reason she was able to pull it off was because of the beautiful setting and the camera work. To me she looks disgusting, you can see her ribs now that is not a healthy sign is it. Although her trainer maintains she did not go for any sorts of strict diet, according to her the key was eating good and sleeping properly but its blatened that she must have starved herself. The general public has not really taken shine too her new look, so it seems to be that skinny girls aren’t the desi cup of tea.
“Main Nay Kaha” is a satirical poem by the famous leftist poet Habib Jalib called “Musheer” (Advisor). Jalib wrote it in response to a conversation he had with Hafiz Jalandari during the time of Ayub Khan’s dictatorship. It remains just as fresh and valid today.
This poem has been put to music by Laal (Shahram Azhar & Taimur Rahman) a new Pakistani music group dedicated to resistance music and poetry. Shahram Azhar and Taimur Rahman are also political activists of the Communist Mazdoor Kissan Party and their poetry, music, and activism constitute an integrated whole the essence of which is always revolutionary. The CMKP has been an integral part of the lawyers movement and the movement for democracy in Pakistan.
The music video contains real images of events in Karachi, London, and Lahore during the tumultuous period between December 27th and February 18th. The song and video were recorded on a shoe-string budget of one session each.
This video and song are connected to a documentary on a journey through a life-changing period in the history of Pakistan. The journey begins in Pakistan on the eve of the assassination of Benazir and the ensuing grief, violence, and carnage. The film maker travels to London to discover a group of young activists organizing protests against Emergency rule. Following these activists full circle to Pakistan, the documentary captures the events around the 2008 elections. The film thus captures a moment in the life of Pakistan, from Benazir’s assassination to the elections, through the lens of young activists. The documentary by Widei Films will also be released shortly.
DRUGGIE jailbird PETE DOHERTY is reading the Koran to get him through his days in the slammer.
The BABYSHAMBLES singer has turned to the Islam holy book after being imprisoned at London’s Wormwood Scrubs.
Potty Pete requested a translation after being put in an isolated cell at the tough prison last week. And the rock junkie is now “lapping it up”.
A pal revealed yesterday: “He’s been reading the Koran since he went into segregation.
“He’s got a lot of Muslim friends and they’ve been on at him for ages to study it. Now he’s on his own he’s got time on his hands to study it.
“I’m surprised how much it has calmed him down as he was very on edge inside. He definitely seems more chilled. He’s lapping it up and really interested in it. I think it’s helping him in there.”
The former LIBERTINES frontman has been having a torrid time since beginning his 14-week sentence for breaching probation by taking drugs.
Drugs
The Sun revealed he’d been having heroin in prison before lags who gave him drugs on tick threatened to maim him and he was segregated for his own safety.
In the past Pete has also read up on weird cult Scientology after being introduced to it by his then girlfriend NADINE RUDDY.
If Pete ever does think about converting to Islam, he’s going to have to make some radical changes to his outrageous lifestyle.
Maybe he’s yet to get to the bits in the sacred book that rule out alcohol and mind-altering drugs.
Eating any meat which is not prepared the halal way is also banned.
Considering the only food I have ever seen Pete scoff is a Big Mac, I’m not sure what he would plan to eat.
And as Muslims are advised not to wear any tight-fitting clothes, all those skinny jeans would have to go straight down to the charity shop.
And putrid Pete will also have to sort out his disgusting dirty fingernails, as the book guides followers to stay clean and well groomed.
9/11 no doubt changed the lives of many, and for the elite educated class in Pakistan it was a blessing in disguise. It was in the aftermath of this tragic event that SaadHaroon who had recently came back home from NY, realized the need to make people laugh.
His curiosity for improvisational theater brought about Blackfish. Blackfish was just the start of things about a year and half ago he left his day job and took up comedy as a full time career. His claim to fame on television has been the Real News. The Real News is Pakistan’s first ever English comedy show, The show is created by Saad who also hosts the show along with Danish. The show makes fun of actual news events using political and social satire. Apart from The Real News, Saad has also traveled all the major cities of Pakistan delivering stand up performances. Saad along with Danish Ali are well know for delighting the crowds everywhere they go with their fast paced comedy action.
Saad acknowledges the fact that he targets a niche but at the same time believes that ‘a niche market in a country of 160 million is a country by itself. Also then if you take into account an expat population the numbers rise exponentially’. His niche is very educated as he puts it and mostly consists of students, young professionals and expats. Saad believes comedy is a very powerful tool which can be used to educate people and addresses important social issues but also accepts that we live in a country where emotions run high almost every day of the year and so we think up an idea, and if we think the public will enjoy it we take it on therefore his ‘first objective is always to make them laugh, not to prove a point’. Although saying that Its nice to see that the new generation of upcoming artist realize there social responsibility.
Saad refers to the Pakistani society as being dis balanced as he puts it ‘A society in which the ratio of artists to other professions is ridiculously low’. they recently tried to do their part by putting together a small workshop where they trained about 60 to 70 young people in the art of comedy, all in one room! However, it is not easy’. Saad spent a lot of years training Black Fish and claims that it is a “very long and hard process of training people and is extremely exhausting. Saad feels that Art is very important for a country as venerable as Pakistan. He believes ‘We are a poor country, but culturally we are quite rich and we need art that reflects that. Art is never a luxury, it is a necessity. The more art we have, the prouder we will be of our country and the better we will fare’. He also applauds governments efforts and says Musharraf has largely been responsible for seating up Arts schools too making arts a priority. He intends to continue his workshop for aspiring improvisational performers, as soon as he returns to the country after a tour of the States.
Currently he is touring northern America where the response has been good so far. The material has been pretty similar to what he uses in Pakistan, he just has been tweaking it a bit to suit to the regular American. He maintains that it is the Pakistani expat community that he connects to the most, although he maintains it will take lots of work and lots of new material to be able to attract the masses. Its good to see that he is optimistic about the future though.
As soon as he gets back to Pakistan he intends to roll on with the third season of The Real News, as a matter of fact he notified us that Danish Ali is currently working on getting together the new material. Further more his stand up comedy documentary-Saad Haroon: Very Live!- would be Airing soon, hes also optimistic about writing a comic movie for lollywood in the near future. He finds the idea of acting in one of them rather amusing but feels it will take a bit of time before he starts getting any offers. He feels that he is not quiet ready yet to take on the mass market but at the same time he says that you dont need a masters degree to be able to watch his show.
The Indian Premier League faced its first on-field controversy with allegations that Harbhajan Singh hit Sreesanth, his India team-mate and IPL rival, after Friday’s match between the Kings XI Punjab and the Mumbai Indians in Mohali. While Yuvraj Singh, Sreesanth’s captain, said Harbhajan had apologised after the incident, it remains to be seen how the IPL will handle it as a disciplinary issue.
Sreesanth, who took two wickets for Punjab, was spotted in tears after the match – which his side won – and later confirmed the incident to Cricinfo. He declined, however, to comment on it.
Sources close to him said that after the match a smiling Sreesanth walked up to Harbhajan – the captain of the losing Mumbai Indians – and said “Hard Luck”. “That was enough for Harbhajan to lose his cool and hit Sreesanth under the eye,” said sources close to the fast bowler.
Harbhajan refused to answer questions on the incident at the post-match press conference. “Can we have questions on just cricket,” he said in response to questions relating to the incident. His opposing captain, however, was clear in his view. “This is really an ugly incident,” Yuvraj said, “this is totally unacceptable.” He added, though, that Harbhajan had visited the dressing-room after the match and apologised to Sreesanth.
“At the end of the day, players shake hands. But today saw more that from Harbhajan and Sreesanth,” said Tom Moody, the Punjab coach. “The positive thing is that Harbhajan had a long chat with Sreesanth. But I am not sure what ramifications this incident will have.” Cricinfo has learnt that Sreesanth complained about the incident to officials of the Mohali franchise, including co-owners Preity Zinta and Ness Wadia.
However, IS Bindra, the president of the Punjab Cricket Association, denied an official complaint has been lodged. “Some media people have asked me about this incident. No official complaint has reached me yet. I believe what happens on the field should be sorted out by the players on the field itself,” Bindra told Cricinfo.
On-field relations between Harbhajan and Sreesanth appeared strained during the India-South Africa Test series as well. Sreesanth had dropped Hashim Amla off Harbhajan during the Chennai Test to which Harbhajan reacted with displeasure after which he was seen motioning towards Sreesanth after making a diving save at point.
This is the second time in the last six months that Harbhajan has been at the centre of controversy. Earlier this year the Australians accused him of racially abusing Andrew Symonds during the Test series Down Under.
Minority report: Ramchand Pakistani
by madeeha syed
Mehreen Jabbar, not an unknown figure in the Pakistani entertainment industry, is a storyteller at heart. Currently living in between New York and Pakistan, this film-maker has to her credit over 10 years of experience in the local industry, a certificate in Film, Television and Video from the University of Southern California, a series of independent and made-for-television films some of which have also been shown in various film festivals around the world and is one of the original founding members of the KaraFilm Festival. Her work is often recognised as being based on the lives and dilemmas of the ordinary Pakistani woman, and she is often quoted as having a fresh, original style of film-making. With all of that safely tucked under her belt, it made sense that this bundle of talent would eventually release her own full-length feature film — or at least attempt to.
Written and produced by her father, Javed Jabbar, Ramchand Pakistani, expected to be released sometime early next year, is Mehreen’s first full-length feature film. What’s more is that the film has already been generating a buzz, locally and internationally, several months prior to its release. Images caught up with the new-wave film-maker in an exclusive heart-to-heart on Ramchand Pakistani and more.
“Well, I have wanted to make a feature film for as long as I remember wanting to hold a camera, so it’s been a while. Over the years, I dappled with a couple of stories and ideas but as you know it takes some effort putting together a feature, no matter where you are,” she says about delving into making a feature film.
“My father had mentioned to me that he had a story based on real-life events that he thought would make a compelling feature. On one of my visits to Pakistan last year, he gave me the synopsis of the story. I loved it from the moment I read it and from then on it’s been a non-stop process of having this film come together.”
Continuing she said, “Mohammad Ahmed came on board last year in May and the script-writing process started. As the executive producer of Ramchand Pakistani, my dad went and raised money for the venture from some very unexpected sources. I think for the first time in our history, a film has been financed by a group of people who just believe in the project and in cinema, and have donated various amounts to get it made. It is so tough to get individuals who are not from the industry to believe in cinema again that I’m indebted and grateful to all of them who actually did.”
Ramchand Pakistani is based on the real-life story of a Pakistani Hindu boy who accidentally strays across the border and he, along with his father, are put behind bars after being labelled as spies. The film reflects the emotional turmoil the wife-mother goes through and is a depiction of what families living near the Pakistan-India border continue to go through, especially when tensions betw2.jpgeen the two countries are running high.
Mehreen’s film also features a set of collaborations between Indian and Pakistani artistes. The soundtrack composed by Indian composer Debojyoti Mishra is a collaboration between India’s Shobha Mudgal and our very own Shafqat Amanat Ali. The lead role of the mother is played by well-known Indian actress Nandita Das of Fire (1996) and Earth (199 fame.
“I’ve worked with Nandita before on a short film and I’ve known her for some years. I felt that she would be just right for the particular role and wanted to work with her,” said Mehreen about the cast. “We were very clear though that the rest of the cast would be from Pakistan and so the film features many prominent Pakistani actors such as Rashid Farooqi, Noman Ijaz, Maria Wasti, Shahood Alvi, Tipu, Adarsh Ayaz, Saleem Mairaj, and of course the our little star, Syed Fazal Hussain who plays Ramchand. Our production crew is also a mix. The director of photography is Sofian Khan, who I’ve worked with in New York.
“We developed a great connection working on TV films over there and I felt that we would be on the same page with this film since we share similar tastes in film. Our chief gaffer, sound engineer and HD technician are also from NY. Apart from that, the rest of the 65-plus crew are all Pakistanis — from the associate producer, the assistant directors, the production managers, the lighting crew, etc. I think it was an incredible experience for everyone involved. It was gruelling and challenging, but at the same time there was always an undercurrent of excitement that made us look forward to every day.”
The story about the selection of the music composer goes something like this: Mehreen wanted the soundtrack composed by whoever had done the outstanding solo, Mathura Nagarpati Kahe Tum, from the Indian film Raincoat. “I found that music so haunting, I could think of no other music director other than Mishra,” says Mehreen. “I was a big fan of the song which has been sung by Shobha Mudgal. So I got in touch with the composer and his enthusiasm for the Ramchand Pakistani project from day one told me that he was the right man for the job. I think he’s done a wonderful job with it because he understood the tone of the film. We recorded the vocals of the two songs in Karachi at Rohail (Hyatt)’s studio.”
With an eye for detail and in an attempt to stay completely true to the story, some of locations at which it was shot were also where the original incident took place. “We shot in Nagarparkar and Islamkot, which are in Tharparkar, close to the Indian border. Also, the boy and his father hail from the village Bhimra in Nagarparkar where we shot a couple of scenes.”
However, working in the open wild wasn’t easy as Mehreen said that “it was very tough, no doubt about that: just the logistics of hosting and caring for 75 people in the middle of nowhere, where very few amenities, let alone roads, exist was in itself a feat for the production dept, but I think it all came together very well because everyone worked as a team. One of the blessings of working there was that there was no cellphone coverage.”
Relating an amusing anecdote about shooting on-location she said, “We built two bathrooms in a truck that were used by all the cast and crew and the facility travelled with us wherever we went. There was an ‘American’ and an ‘Indian’ toilet to cover both preferences and it had a name I can’t divulge!”
Ramchand Pakistani has recently been awarded the Global Film Initiative (GFI) Grant — an initiati3.jpgve to support films which promote ‘cross-cultural understanding’ and which consist of some of the best in global cinema. It was one of the five films selected to receive the grant this year. “The GFI grant was an affirmation to the story of the film and its screenplay and we are very honoured to receive it. I think we found out about it during or right after filming had stopped,” recalls Mehreen. “The film will first do its festival rounds over the course of the year and eventually we are hoping for an international release.”
About her own plans, she says that “making a feature takes a lot out of everyone concerned. Ideally, of course, I would love to work on the next feature immediately4.jpg because I can’t wait to put into use what I’ve learnt from this one. I will continue to work in TV till the dream of the second one materializes. However, I do plan to start working on a script right away.”
Having worked in the local entertainment industry for a considerable period of time, one couldn’t help but wonder whether the current state of the Pakistan film industry had anything to do with her decision of going into the realm of film-making? “The current state of the Pakistan film industry has been the same as far back as I can remember, if not, it’s much worse now. I don’t know if that played a part in my desire to make a film. I think a film is more a storyteller’s dream and the obvious next step from TV,” she says.
With the tag as “Two nations poised for war. One family torn apart,” Ramchand Pakistani examines the repercussions that political relations between two countries have on the common man. With characters in the film speaking in both Urdu and Hindi, the fact that the film is also a collaborative effort by individuals from diverse geographical and cultural backgrounds, is testament to the unifying spirit that Ramchand Pakistani is hoping to evoke, from a perspective that otherwise hasn’t received much attention from individuals working in the local or global entertainment industry.
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Ramchand Pakistani selected for the competition section of the Tribeca Film Festival 2008, New York.
fame.
