Page 64 - 15OCT2018E

• Yami never fears theStack
being written off
Actress Yami Gautam, who experienced failures
in her career, has never feared being written
off. On the contrary, the Bollywood star said • Uday Chopra wants
she will keep giving her best till the time she marijuana legalised
fulfils her dreams. Yami made a successful Bollywood actor Uday
debut with the National Award winning Chopra recently tweeted that
Vicky Donor in 2012, post which some of her marijuana, also known as can-
projects except for Badlapur and Kaabil did nabis, should be legalised as it
not work at the box office. “When the films is “part of Indian culture” and
didn’t work, I never feared being written also has “medical benefits”.
off. I had other fears to deal with. What if I Mumbai police, however,
attend an event and the media asks me ‘so reminded the star that mari-
and so’s film did well, yours didn’t’, what juana is a banned commodity
in India. “I feel India should
will I say, how will I handle it. I was too legalises marijuana. Firstly,
vulnerable, sensitive,” Yami said in a recent Its part of our culture. Sec-
interview. “I didn’t know how to be myself or ondly, I think if legalised and
be comfortable with the fact that it happens. taxed it can be a huge revenue
You just have to accept it. I never bought my source. Not to mention it will
ticket to Mumbai, I earned it. I believe I was remove the criminal element
called for this and I won’t leave till I achieve my associated with it. Plus and
dreams.” The actor believes when her movies most importantly it has a
lot of medical benefits,” the
don’t do well, it reflects in the kind of work actor said through his twitter
coming her way. “If your films don’t do well, the handle @udaychopra. Police
kind of films you’re offered, you’ve to choose responded by tweeting, “Sir,
from only that parameter. Maybe you’re capable as citizen of India, you are
of doing much more but at that point of time privileged to express your
you’ve to make best decision out of what has view on a public platform. Be
been offered,” she was quoted as saying in a PTI mindful, as of now consump-
report. Post the success of Vicky Donor, Yami tion, possession and trans-
portation of marijuana invites
was suddenly in the spotlight, but the actor harsh punishment...”
says it took her time to adapt to the new life.
I AM OPEN TO
• ‘THE KEPT’ SECRET IS FINALLY OUT
ANGELINA WILL STAR IN THE THRILLER, WHICH IS ADAPTATION OF A NOVEL GOING BACK TO
Angelina Jolie has been cast as the lead in
new revenge thriller The Kept, which is the MOVIES’
big screen adaptation of James Scott’s 2015
novel by the same name, reported Variety.
The story is set in the winter of 1897, where a
trio of killers descends upon an isolated farm
in upstate New York. Midwife Elspeth How-
ell (Jolie) returns home to the carnage: her
husband, and four of her children, murdered.
Before she can discover her remaining son
Caleb, alive and hiding in the kitchen pantry,
another shot rings out over the snow-covered
valley. Twelve-year-old Caleb must tend to
his mother until she recovers enough for Shilpa Shetty
• Novel idea Angelina is ‘The Kept’ star them to search the men responsible. (In an interview)
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64 VanityFair.indd 2 9/28/2018 6:00:35 PM 65 Stack&BookReview.indd
RECOLLECTING THE
GHOST OF PARTITION
NIRBHAYA, A COMMON MAN’S JUSTICE
By Saurabh Singh; Invincible Modern nation-state, built on fear and an obsession
with territory, is often at odds with democracy,
justice and fraternity, reveals a new book
This is a fictional read inspired by the Nirbhaya case. It raises genu- MANASH FIRAQ BHATTACHARJEE’S Looking for the
ine concerns on the pre-existing Juvenile Act in our country, which
has now, fortunately, been amended. Aaryan, a soft- Nation is an urgent and compelling book comes
ware engineer working at an IT firm in Delhi, is sen- at a time when toxic nationalism is causing the
tenced to death. He is found guilty of brutally murder- violent and systematic exclusion of political,
ing Himanshu and raping a 28-year-old girl. Aaryan religious, sexual and other minorities. The author
is only left with five days and during his last days, reminds us that the modern nation-state, built on
he decides to pen down his story. Aarushi, orphaned fear and an obsession with territory, is often at
at the age of five, has only one dream — to become odds with democracy, justice and fraternity.
Critically analysing the ideas of thinkers who
an IAS officer. She is bold, beautiful and determined laid the political and ethical grounds of India’s
not to fall in love, until her dream comes true. Aaryan
does every possible thing to impress Aarushi and modern identity — Nehru, Ambedkar, Gandhi,
promises her that unless she expresses her feelings, Tagore, and Aurobindo-Bhattacharjee shows how
he won’t say, “I Love You.” Everything was going smoothly, until that we have strayed from their inclusive, diverse
unfortunate night when Aarushi decided to express her love to visions. He effortlessly weaves personal and intel-
Aaryan. That night, Aarushi was brutally raped. Was it Aaryan who lectual histories, navigating through vast swathes
did it? Why did he do this to the girl whom he loved madly? Discover of scholarship, to sketch a
the love story and walk through the journey of Aaryan and Aarushi. radically ethical imagina-
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- tion against the sound and
DELHI AND AGRA fury of nationalism.
Concluding with an
By Michael Alexander; Hachette enlightening genealogy of
modern politics in the light
Delhi claims a noble history as the site of at least seven capitals of its present crisis, he
dating from before the time of Alexander the Great. exhorts us towards a new
The glorious Mogul Empire brought great riches to politics of trust.
the city and to Agra, where the world-famous Taj Bhattacharjee’s offering
Mahal has excited awe among visitors for almost four breaks from the routine
centuries. This Traveller’s Reader is an indispensable books that either blindly
and fascinating companion for anyone who wants to critique the functioning
of Hindu right wing or-
understand the history of both cities and who seeks
their true spirit. “Delhi and Agra” is a topographical ganisations, or are full of
anthology that explores the cities’ sites of interest praise for them. His book is neither criticism, nor
and recreates the key events, customs and lives of the reflection, if anything, it is an earnest attempt at
past, drawing on diaries, letters, memoirs and com- understanding how our country functions, not in
mentaries written by residents and visitors over the accordance with what is laid down in the Consti-
course of 600 years. tution, but in practise in our day-to-day lives. His
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- arguments are broken down in six chapters, each
THINKING SMART tracing a particular trajectory that has gone in, or
continues to shape, the elusive idea of India.
By Nirmalya Kumar; Harper Business In the first chapter “The Surplus of Indian
Nationalism”, his findings suggest that Indian na-
You are on top of your career. You love the job you are doing. You tionalist thought is a product of the anti-colonial
were rated excellent in your latest assessment. But, for reasons movement. In the next chapter, he looks at India’s
beyond your control, you have just been fired. The modern executive Muslims, with the shadow of Partition behind
faces many challenges. How does one keep improving them, and the future ahead.
one’s skills and getting more from life? In this sce- The remaining chapters focus on “Untoucha-
nario of contradictory goals and ambidextrous skills, bles”; the institutions of the country, where he
the secret lies in what the author calls “Thinking finds that bodies are coerced through mecha-
Smart”. Faced with his own crisis, Nirmalya Kumar, a nisms of control; and “Thinking Against Power”,
renowned professor, recognised globally for his mar- the last chapter of the book, throws light on the
keting and strategy expertise, used the experience resistances against nationalism, caste and other
to come out a winner. In bite-sized, easily accessible embedded patriarchies. Brimming with thought-
articles are ideas and wisdom that will help readers provoking analyses and commentary, Looking for
in their own life and career, from managing people, to the Nation is an extraordinary and illuminating
even a few tips on managing life. account of India’s politics and culture.
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