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“It was the maddest, craziest week of my life.” This is how YouTube video blogger Mark Hoyle described the build up to his achieving the coveted UK Christmas week chart-topping single with a song about sausage rolls. “It all started as a joke,” smiled 31-year-old Mark, better known under his YouTube moniker of LadBaby. “Anyone who follows my YouTube blog is well aware of how much I enjoy eating sausage rolls. One of my followers suggested I loved sausage rolls so much that I should do a song about them.” Mark’s culinary taste is only a byproduct of his blog. His LadBaby persona was developed to share the experiences of being a first time father. “My basic idea was to maybe find some new mates who were in a similar situation. The blog name came about from my always being ‘one of the lads’ but now having a baby son so I combined lad and baby. “I thought some videos about being a new dad and interacting with my son might get me a few followers. I had no idea that it would take off in the way that it has.” The official LadBaby YouTube channel boasts nearly half a million subscribers while Mark’s videos have racked up almost 55 million views. His blog invites viewers to follow the journey of Mark and his wife Roxanne into responsible parenthood as he tries to transition from lad to dad. “As I say on the blog, the road to responsible parenting is never easy, especially when you haven’t really got a clue about what you’re doing. The videos are an honest approach to first time fatherhood.” The videos combine humour with practicality. The one in which he replaced his son’s lunchbox with a much cheaper toolbox went viral. “I’d lost my little lad’s lunchbox. My wife wasn’t too happy about this and sent me out to get a replacement. There were all these things in the shop with the cheapest being about ten GBP. “I wasn’t prepared to pay that much so I got the idea of buying a small, plastic toolbox for four GBP and using the little compartments in this for food rather than nails, screws and small tools. The other side even doubles up as a box for his little toys.” This is just one of the money saving tips in LadBaby videos. They proved so popular that Mark and Roxanne published a book, LadBaby: Parenting for £1...and other Baby Budget Hacks. Mark’s chart success with his reworked version of Starship’s 1985 hit, We Built This City, is just the latest in an ever growing list of accomplishments. His LadBaby blog was a finalist in the Fresh Voice category at the 2017 Brilliance in Blogging Awards. He then overcame the likes of Prince William, Liam Payne and Simon Cowell to be named as the Clas Ohlson Celebrity Dad of the Year for 2018. “The Celebrity Dad thing was an online poll so I give full credit to my awesome army of followers who all made it their mission to help me take home the award. I thought it would take a miracle but they did it. The boxer Anthony Joshua was also one of the candidates so I became the first person to beat him.” Promoting We Built This City came naturally to Mark. He and Roxanne have made several appearances on television. In addition to those which arose from his LadBaby videos, other social media posts and Celebrity Dad award, the couple took part in Channel 4’s Hidden Talent series. “That was back in 2012. Rox was very much the star that time. We went along to the day of testing in London and they discovered she could hold her breath for a long time. “She ended up doing free diving. That’s diving under water for an incredible length of time without breathing apparatus. She went to Egypt for training and ended up diving down 35 metres and holding her breath for nearly four and a half minutes.” At that time an art director for an advertising agency, Roxanne gave up work after giving birth to Phoenix Forest in 2016. The couple’s much reduced income saw them fall on hard times. So much so that they considered using a food bank. The development of LadBaby transformed their financial situation. But their previous predicament is why all proceeds from We Built This City will be donated to The Trussell Trust, a charity which operates 420 food banks across Britain and provides emergency food to people who are referred for support. “I can’t thank everyone enough. Not just for buying the song but for raising so much money for such an incredible charity.” Although it topped Billboard’s Hot 100 and was a big hit throughout much of the world, Starship’s original version of We Built This City stalled at number 12 on the UK chart. Despite all the chart success and a Grammy nomination, Rolling Stone named We Built This City as the worst song of the 1980s. The margin was so wide that the magazine suggested it was “the biggest blow-out victory in the history of the Rolling Stone Readers Poll.” Gentlemen’s Quarterly magazine went even further. They claimed We Built This City was “the most detested song in human history” and declared it the worst of all time. Much of this criticism stemmed from the original lyrics. One wonders what those critics would make of Mark’s new lyrics in praise of sausage rolls. “They might think my lyrics are better! The song has a great tune though. It’s perfect to dance around to at any Christmas party.” Will Mark be releasing a follow-up single or even an album? “I think people will probably have heard enough of my singing voice. I won’t say I’ll never do another song because you don’t know what might happen in the future. But we had another baby a few months ago, Kobe Notts, so I think he and his brother will probably keep me fully occupied and supply much more material for my LadBaby blog.” Nick Jonas / Priyanka Chopra / Miley Cyrus / Meghan Trainor There must have been something about the approach of Christmas which persuaded some pop star couples to add permanence to their relationships. Nick Jonas and Priyanka Chopra got the ball rolling. They exchanged vows during a pair of wedding ceremonies both staged at the Umaid Bhawan Palace in Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India. The first was a Christian ceremony on December 1 followed by a Hindu service one day later. Miley Cyrus and actor Liam Hemsworth have also tied the knot. The couple lost their Malibu home during the California wildfires in November and are now living in Franklin, Tennessee. But, their displacement did not prevent the staging of an unpublicised, low-key marriage ceremony attended by family and close friends. The couple began dating as long ago as 2009. They have had an on-off relationship becoming engaged in 2012 and splitting up the following year. 2015 saw them get back together but the path to true love has not been smooth with further reported break-ups and reconciliations. There have been no such dramas in the relationship of singer / songwriter Meghan Trainor and actor Daryl Sabara. The couple were introduced by mutual friend Chloe Grace Moretz and became engaged in December, 2017. One year later, they were married at their Los Angeles home before 100 family members and friends. Meghan enjoyed a big hit single in 2015 with her song, Dear Future Husband. Daryl referenced the lyrics when he said; “I’m no longer the ‘future hubby.’ I now get to just be the hubby, which I’m excited about.” Mariah Carey Mariah Carey’s All I Want For Christmas Is You has set yet another record. After becoming the highest-charting seasonal single for 60 years on Billboard’s Hot 100, the song set a new one-day mark for streams on Spotify. Mariah’s classic track, which is now 24 years old, was streamed 10,819,009 times on Christmas Eve. This figure easily surpassed the previous one-day record of 10.4 million streams which was held by rap star XXXTentacion with his track, SAD. This mark was set on June 19, 2018, the day after he was murdered. Mariah’s All I Want For Christmas Is You video has now registered more than 530 million views on YouTube. It is posted at www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXQViqx6GMY Remy Ma There is relieving news of American rapper Remy Ma. Real name Reminisce Mackie, she suffered medical complications after giving birth to her first child with husband MC Papoose. Remy, 38, required a blood transfusion and had to undergo a surgical procedure after what Papoose described as “a tough labour.” But Remy is now out of hospital, resting and recovering at home with her family. She is also able to respond to the thousands of her social media followers who made contact to express their concern and send best wishes. Remy and Papoose, real name Shamele Mackie, starred in the reality TV show, Meet The Mackies last October. The three episodes basically covered how the couple were preparing for the birth of their baby. The positive ratings should ensure a second series charting recent events and the first few months of their new daughter’s life.

There are successes and there are also-rans. Then there are those which catch everyone by surprise. Five films came from nowhere and hit the top bar, taking the audience by surprise. Here’s a salute to the magnificent five of the year. Stree: Not much was expected from this spooky satire about a smalltown tailor, played by Rajkummar Rao who falls in love with a mysterious girl who may be a chudail (witch). Rao’s ‘Vicky pleej’ dialogue was heard all across Hindustan. Folklore met a campy horror in this mix of myth and mirth which proved its worth. A huge money-earner, this was a film where supernatural beliefs are dragged to the extremes of self-parody and then dragged back up, panting, puffing and gasping for breath. It served up a delicious, voluptuous mishmash of terror and titillation all titivated in loads of guffaws. To sustain the mood of mirth during times of terror is not easy. Stree managed it. The producers and director Raj-DK hoped to make a tidy profit. It cracked the magical 100-crore collection. Take a bow, you alumni of the cool ghoul school. Parmanu: John Abraham’s glorious comeback fought against all odds. It was a troubled project with the producers (one of them John) at loggerheads. Legal wangles, financial chaos and all other hurdles were somehow surmounted. John bravely released this noble, if a little trite, nationalistic film about India’s first nuclear explosions. Director Abhishek Sharma had his heart in the right place, though the budgetry constraints showed up on many occasions. The plot was new to audiences and they just fell for it. Belying all box office predictions, Parmanu made huge profits. Everyone associated with this project deserves a standing ovation. Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety: Who would have expected this non-star rom-com with pronounced misogynist leanings to swish past the 100-crore mark? Director Luv Ranjan is still reeling from the news. And after seeing this bromance-versus-romance about an over possessive friend (Kartik Aaryan) creating insurmountable hurdles in his best friend’s love life and marriage, we are reeling too. The repartees in Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety just rolled off the characters’ tongues making them sound sassy and sombre even when they were being mean and vicious, just because it suits the script’s purposes. And deity knows, this film needed no excuse to let the words flow. The wickedest, meanest comedy of the year, it turned Kartik Aryan into an overnight superstar. Veere Di Wedding: Sparkling with humour and warmth, eyecatching locations and irresistible glamour made this Kareena-Sonam-Swara Bhaskar-Shikha Talania chick flick a chic trick and freak hit that had us all hooked. This film was great fun to watch. The quartet of gorgeous women were more entertaining than the four guys in Dil Chahta Hai. One of whom had famously said: “You can’t improve on perfection.” True, but you can do a helluva lot with imperfection. Especially if you have the wealth to play around with to hide your ongoing bouts of gaffes and faux pas. Veere Di Wedding was one helluva joyride, a designer’s delight and yet not quite the airheaded experience it loudly proclaimed itself to be. Raid: The fifth surprise 100-crore earner of the year was a one-note plot about an income-tax raid carried out on the fortified premises of a wily politician in Uttar Pradesh, who threw his weight around, because he had a lot of it to throw. Let’s say, if in Padmaavat Allauddin Khilji was not after the beauteous queen but instead after her husband’s wealth, then you get the picture in Raid. Ajay Devgan and Saurabh Shukla played off against one another in this smash-the-fortress video-game-on-wheels with vigour and robustness. – IANS

Content is king, not the Khans – the year 2018 proved this with the success of fresh and high concept films like Stree, Badhaai Ho and AndhaDhun, embraced by the audience over the Khans-led Race 3, Thugs of Hindostan and Zero, which had set high expectations but fell flat at the box office. Sanju, Padmaavat, 2.0 (Hindi version), Baaghi, Raazi, Gold, Raid and Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety are some of the other titles that did good business, and high hopes are pinned on the just-released Simmba, which is likely to draw the mass audience. “The landscape is changing,” Vijay Singh, CEO, Fox Star Studios, said how the star-led industry is transforming. “Content is evolving at a huge rate. Filmmakers are investing more and more time in developing scripts. This year truly belonged to great concepts and scripts and audiences have showered their love wholeheartedly. “It is all about a narrating a powerful story in an engaging way. Star power remains important but can only help open a film – finally it’s all about a great script and a brilliant film,” Singh said. That explains the reception to a Badhaai Ho – about a 50-plus pregnant woman’s emotional struggle, to AndhaDhun – a quirky thriller, to Stree – a horror comedy, or a Raazi – about a woman spy. Overall, it has been a good year for the industry after a couple of disappointing years. Film and trade business expert Girish Johar pointed out that 2018 has witnessed the maximum entertainers – around 15 – to surpass the Rs100 crore benchmark, which has given a fillip to the year-round business by 10 per cent as compared to last year. He estimates a business of around Rs3,500 crore this year. “The Khan starrers drew a fantastic response on Day 1, but Day 3 onwards, they fell flat. People are outrightly rejecting mediocre, half-baked movies, and we have to make something extraordinary to draw them into theatres,” Johar said. There were also movies like Mukkabaaz, October, Hichki and Pad Man that were appreciated. According to Shibashish Sarkar, Chief Operating Officer, Reliance Entertainment, it is important to cater stories to the right audience. “There is an audience for every kind of film, so long as your story is correct. Where will one classify a Padmaavat, or Sanju or Raazi – are they star driven films or content driven films ? When you have correct content, and you have a star, the film implodes and explodes,” Sarkar said. Singh said the year established that the viewers like content which has relatability, likeability and virality. But high ticket prices, in Johar’s view, are turning out to be deterrents for the audience to visit theatres. A movie viewing experience for a family of four at a multiplex can cost anything between Rs3,000 to Rs5,000 including food and beverages. Also, With stiff competition from regional films, Hollywood and especially the vast variety of digital content, Bollywood needs to step up its game with scripts being the focal point, and by allotting the right budget. “It’s a norm nowadays to say ‘movies don’t fail, budgets do’,” Singh said, adding that film and OTT will co-exist and will result in a larger pool of writers, directors, actors and technical talent. However, Sarkar said OTT platforms, which are bringing international content closer to Indians, will continue to consume more and more audience time. “I will not be surprised if in a medium to long term, films are made straight for digital. Who would have thought Mowgli launching on Netflix a few years back?” – IANS

The flat screen on your living room wall, the cable box below it and the digital program guide that help you find your way through an increasingly congested universe of shopping networks, reality show repeats and the eight channels you actually watch might as well have been inhabitants of a dying star in 2018. Television, already bursting at the seams with peak programming and lots of filler, finally blew apart this year, fragmenting into a dizzying constellation of nearly 500 new original series and destinations we’ve yet to explore (the forthcoming launch of subscription streaming services from Apple, Warner Media, Disney and, yes, Costco and Walmart), plus a whole lot of space debris that includes Terrence Howard’s Fright Club, a Fox Nation cooking show and 98 percent of the offerings on YouTube TV. A record 495 original scripted series dropped this year, and for the first time, streaming platforms such as Hulu and Amazon Prime delivered more original series programming than broadcast and cable networks. Forget arguments about when and how peak TV will peak. Judging from the last 12 months, it doesn’t appear we’re anywhere close to the summit. More interesting is what’s been happening below those lofty heights. After a decade or more of seismic shifts across the industry, 2018 became the year that television broke TV. The very structure of the medium morphed and changed so rapidly over the last year that we still haven’t wrapped our heads — or attention spans — around exactly what it is we’re watching. Was the YouTube live stream of Beyonce’s performance at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival a TV event or something else? And, what about the wonderfully bizarre formatting of Atlanta’s second season? It was shown on FX, but the series’ self-contained episodes resembled nothing else on TV. Cord cutters and more The fragmentation of America’s most popular medium seemed to fit the popular mood — excitement and confusion as the usual order lapsed into unprecedented chaos. A record number of viewers became cord cutters in 2018. From July to September, 1.1 million subscribers opted to sever ties with their longtime cable and satellite TV providers for the cheaper subscription models offered by Netflix, Apple TV, Sling TV and many more. It was one more way in which viewing habits and industry norms were up-ended in such a dramatic fashion that it made the premium cable revolution of the early 2000s look quaint. The flood of fresh content and platforms in 2018 didn’t necessarily equal a drop in quality, though it arrived with the usual complaints that this year could never top the one before it: Killing Eve is no match for The Handmaid’s Tale’s first season. There were so many must-see shows that it was physically impossible to watch them all and live a life outside the confines of pajamas, unless you possessed the combined powers and stamina of Jessica Jones, Daenerys Targaryen and Ruth Bader Ginsburg. And when it came time to honour TV’s top-shelf entertainment at the Emmy Awards, the usual recipients faced some firsts of their own. It was Netflix, not NBC or FX, that tied HBO for the most wins, ending a winning streak for the cable network that dated back nearly two decades to the golden age of The Sopranos. The year ahead 2019 is already shaping up to be a battle between media giants for control of wherever it is that we’re heading. Apple will compete with Netflix by spending way more than it should on originals by big-name producers such as J.J. Abrams and top-tier stars like Reese Witherspoon and Jennifer Aniston. Netflix has a plan of its own and it involves pricey production deals with Ryan Murphy, Shonda Rhimes and the former leading couple of the free world, Michelle and Barack Obama. CBS All Access, which already has half a dozen original series, including The Good Fight and Star Trek: Discovery on the streaming platform, is going big in 2019 with a Twilight Zone reboot executive produced by Oscar winner Jordan Peele, who will also narrate and host. A big budget, live-action Star Wars series starring Diego Luna is expected to launch Disney+ into the stratosphere. And we haven’t even began sorting through what’s on the books for the networks and services we’re already watching. Expect lots of reality show reboots, the return of water cooler shows like Game of Thrones and Stranger Things and the pros-pect of never feeling caught up with what TV has to offer. At least 2018 did away with any residual guilt that may have existed about watching too much television. It was replaced by a solider-like duty to consume as many premium shows as possible or risk being called out by one’s peers: Have you watched The Little Drummer Girl yet? How about Succession? Not even The Great British Baking Show?! Oh, the shame of taking time out for career, family, grooming and sleep. We’ll have to work on that in 2019. We have an excuse, though. Half of the year was spent trying to find all those weird little networks and services — Ovation, Britbox, Acorn — and the search required at least three remotes and three failed password-recovery attempts. Sorry, you’ve been locked out. Network telecasts still boast the highest ratings, according to Nielsen, and football was at the top of 2018’s most-watched list, followed by the short-lived Roseanne reboot. But that’s likely the next convention to be broken by the great fragmentation, especially given that this was the year that an estimated 147.5 million people in the US watched Netflix at least once a month, followed by Amazon Prime Video (88.7 million), Hulu (55 million) and HBO Now (17.1 million). Netflix hopes to kill off that old ratings standard by introducing more and more original series and films, an approach that Saturday Night Live recently satirised in a fake ad for the streaming service. The breathless “commercial” promised a new year with even more content to choose from. “That’s right, we’re spending billions of dollars and making every show in the world. Our goal is the endless scroll. By the time you reach the bottom of our menu, there’s new shows at the top. And then singularity will be achieved.” A joke that makes perfect sense in the fragmented universe of post-everything TV. – Los Angeles Times/TNS

Though often associated with being a form that emphasises the instrumental, some of my favourite recordings in jazz this year also include the human voice, though maybe not in a way that’s often associated with vocal jazz. Maybe as a result of not wanting any mistakes made about musical intention at a time of upheaval, records such as Origami Harvest, Your Queen Is a Reptile and Heaven & Earth made their messages explicit or expand the reach of, say, a trumpet with phrases that lingered as strong as any melody. America, Americana. America, nah was one weary refrain on Ambrose Akinmusire’s record, an album whose restless examination of race and identity lingered as much as his intricate compositions, while a voice from London’s Sons of Kemet answered the nationalist fervour dividing their country and ours with a defiant promise from the son of an immigrant, “I’ll be here when your cities are sediment, and only your borders and fences are left” before culminating with a repeated promise, “I’m still here.” Whether in words or music, the best of 2018’s music all but demanded to be heard. Ambrose Akinmusire, Origami Harvest (Blue Note). A trumpeter so in command of his voice that his instrument sometimes disappears on this album, Akinmusire created an arresting mix of hard-hitting rhythms, orchestral strings and plaintive rhymes (delivered by Kool A.D., formerly of Das Racist) about race, identity and police brutality. Few albums felt as immersive, haunting and timely. Makaya McCraven, Universal Beings (Imaginational Anthem). Part lion-hearted percussionist, part conductor-composer, this Chicago-based drummer’s distinctive technique of harvesting live performances for seamless and invigorating splice-and-dice jazz-funk reached a new level with recordings from London, New York, Chicago and L.A. that featured a rotating cast but remained rooted to a nocturnal, head-bobbing sense of groove and atmosphere that indeed felt universal. Sons of Kemet, Your Queen Is a Reptile (Impulse!). Part of a booming London jazz scene, that’s combining long nights and young underground crowds, saxophonist Shabaka Hutchings leads this politically charged album with a propulsive, urgent tone amid hard-hitting rhythms (the group is girded by two drummers and, crucially, Theon Cross’ tuba) and barbed spoken word sections for a borderless sound that embraces Hutchings’ Caribbean roots as well as elements of UK grime. Kamasi Washington, Heaven & Earth (Young Turks). How do you follow a three-disc debut that brought jazz onto mainstream stages such as Coachella and Bonnaroo? With a double-album that ups the ante with a spiritually charged examination of the celestial and terrestrial with a mix of sweeping, soul-stirring orchestration and impassioned instrumental catharsis that confirms his tight-knit band’s arrival on those stages was no fluke. Allison Miller and Carmen Staaf, Science Fair (Sunnyside). An open-ended meeting point between a graduate of the Thelonious Monk Institute for piano in Staaf and Miller — an inventive, elastic drummer who’s been heard on Late Night with Seth Meyers along with her own crackling band, Boom Tic Boom — this project also boasts standout turns by Akinmusire and saxophonist Dayna Stephens. But the focal point remains the interplay between the album’s dual leaders. Walter Smith III Twio (Whirlwind Recordings). Born in Texas but now an L.A. resident, this saxophonist has been heard backing top-flight talent, including Eric Harland, Terence Blanchard and Jason Moran. Smith remains an under-the-radar bandleader and here, fronting a trio that occasionally expands to include bassist Christian McBride and fellow saxophonist Joshua Redman, he carries upbeat, inventive pieces with a swinging verve. Sylvie Courvoisier Trio D’Agala (Intakt). Born in Switzerland and based in Brooklyn, this pianist proved there’s ample unexplored territory for a piano trio. Backed by downtown NYC specialists in Kenny Wollesen and Drew Gress, Courvoisier paid tribute to influences such as Geri Allen, Ornette Coleman and Louise Bourgeois, whose piece Bourgeios’s Spiders carries an inviting mix of menace and play that shines throughout. Wayne Shorter, Emanon (Blue Note). In an interview years ago, Shorter defined jazz in three words: “I dare you.” Here, he presents a similar challenge with an 84-page graphic novel and a triple LP box set, a three-disc CD package and, not accidentally, no digital outlets. Drawn from live recordings with an orchestra, his free-flying quartet and, at one point, Esperanza Spalding, the 85-year-old Shorter continues to challenge listeners with an uncompromising listen. Myra Melford’s Snowy Egret, The Other Side of Air (Firehouse 12). An expert navigator and illustrator of off-kilter angles, the Berkeley-based pianist leads the second edition of a quintet that includes trumpeter Ron Miles and drummer Tyshawn Sorey through pieces that invite ample exploration among its players but remain steadily anchored to a blend of groove and melody. Andrew Cyrille Lebroba (ECM). In his second recording as a leader for the esteemed German label, this longtime collaborator of the late Cecil Taylor delivered a record rich with open spaces and like-minded explorers. One is trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith, who continues to mine the rich, resonant stream of free-flowing unpredictability of his rewarding recent output, and guitarist Bill Frisell, who weaves in and out of the edges with his trademark mix of electronics-shaded textures and bent tones. – Los Angeles Times/TNS

Bravura work by Nicole Kidman is the defining feature of Karyn Kusama’s Destroyer, but that doesn’t mean you’d want to put it on a double bill with The Hours or To Die For. Not even close. Instead, think of Arnold Schwarzenegger in The Terminator or Peter Weller in Robocop. Imagine a relentless, unstoppable force, able to take a licking and keep on ticking, someone who lives behind a thousand-yard stare and doesn’t even think about playing by the rules. As written by Phil Hay and Matt Manfredi and directed by Kusama, who debuted at Sundance nearly two decades ago with Grand Jury Prize winner Girlfight, Destroyer places Kidman’s LAPD Det. Erin Bell in a world as bleak and amoral as she is. Which is both an advantage and an obstacle. For Destroyer is simultaneously impressive and stand-offish. Persuasively directed by Kusama and convincingly acted by Kidman and expert costars like Toby Kebbell and Sebastian Stan though it is, its determination to live exclusively at the darkest end of the street pays disagreeable dividends. Even while you admire the skill that went into Destroyer, saying you relished time spent with its bleak and unscrupulous characters is something else. Destroyer’s determination to paint it black at all costs, presumably because it reflects a criminal reality, ends up making the film less, rather than more, convincing. The characters’ savage amorality is so pervasive that it plays not as truth but as a cold aesthetic choice, one that keeps us at arm’s length rather than drawing us in. Still, the film’s drawbacks notwithstanding, Kidman is never less than imposing as the burned-out Bell, a part zombie, part detective individual who is more of a wreck that Wreck-It Ralph. Though expert makeup by Oscar winner Bill Corso inevitably plays a part, Kidman’s transformation goes deeper, into walking and even holding herself in a way that is as convincing as it is different. Set in present day L.A. and making excellent use of off-the-radar locations, Destroyer begins with Bell opening some truly bleary eyes early one morning from the front seat of the squad car she’s spent the night in. Bell doesn’t live in her car, though she looks as if she might. There’s a crime scene in front of her, and although her fellow officers are not happy to see her, she takes a look at the corpse and notices some high-value currency marked by dye, a remnant of the kind of dye packs banks use to discourage robberies. Next we cut to an L.A. police station where Bell opens a letter addressed to her. Inside is a dye-pack bill identical to the one at the crime scene. Bell checks with an FBI agent she’s worked with to be sure, but she already knows what that bill means. Silas, a criminal from her past, is back, and there is nothing, no matter how immoral or sleazy, she won’t do to make sure he doesn’t disappear again. Though it can be too clever for its own good, Destroyer does get credit for a plot that is complex and unexpected, and at this point, the story begins to go back and forth between the present and an episode 17 years earlier that haunts Bell and for all intents and purposes ruined her life. At that time, Bell (also played by Kidman) and her partner Chris (Stan) were young crime fighters posing as criminals and attempting to infiltrate a gang based in the California desert. Leading the gang was Silas (an effective Kebbell), a kind of a minor league Charlie Manson, a twisted sort who financed his lifestyle with girlfriend Petra (Tatiana Maslany) by robbing banks. That undercover operation didn’t work out the way anyone planned and, making the resulting chaos worse, Silas disappeared before he could be arrested, vanishing totally from view. Until now. Aside from flashing back to the past, Destroyer is largely concerned with the relentless private vendetta Bell embarks on, tracking down a number of Silas’ former associates (Bradley Whitford, James Jordan, Zach Villa), determined to get close to closure no matter what it takes. Adding yet another complication to her life, Bell has a 16-year-old daughter named Shelby (Jade Pettyjohn) who is acting out in a way exactly calculated to drive someone like her mother crazy. Watching Bell inexorably pulling on the thread of those long-ago connections has classic thriller appeal, but dealing nonstop with toxic individuals and their catastrophic life choices is not inevitably a thrill. Even Kidman’s exceptional transformation can’t change that. – Los Angeles Times/TNS

Actress Kangana Ranaut, who is gearing for the release of her forthcoming film Manikarnika – The Queen of Jhansi, says that people who criticise her at the drop of a hat will have to shut their mouths after watching the film. Kangana was interacting with the media on the sidelines of her fashion designer friend Neeta Lulla’s Christmas celebration party along with Ankita Lokhande in Mumbai on Tuesday. Talking about her critics, Kangana said, “I feel people who are not saying good things about me or my film will have to shut their mouths after watching the film and people who are saying good things, their mouths can’t be shut by anyone, this is what I feel.” Kangana has turned director for the forthcoming film apart from playing titular role. The trailer of Manikarnika – The Queen of Jhansi has been receiving overwhelming response from the audiences since its release. Sharing her feeling about this positive response, Kangana said, “I feel that’s the result of a team work. Initially, I found it difficult but then, I felt that I can do justice to the film as an actor and as a director.” “I think deity has been kind and I am happy doing both roles. We are very excited for the release of the film. We just can’t wait to present the film in front of the audience.” K.V. Vijayendra Prasad, who has written blockbuster films like Bajrangi Bhaijaan and Baahubali series, has scripted Manikarnika – The Queen of Jhansi. Asked about support she got from writers of the film, she said: “Writers have supported me really well during the film. Mr. Vijayendra Prasad is writing my next film as well.” Asked about the genre of her next film, she said: “It’s a love story but not with a human.” Kangana has worked with Anand L. Rai’s in two successful films Tanu Weds Manu and Tanu Weds Manu: Returns. So, did she watch Zero starring Shah Rukh Khan, Anushka Sharma and Katrina Kaif she said, “I wish them all the best with their film’s release. I am very busy with work related to Manikarnika – The Queen of Jhansi so, I didn’t have the time to watch the film but I will definitely watch it very soon.” The film will hit cinemas on January 25, 2019. – IANS

Medical researchers fear that more children will develop paralysis from a mysterious poliolike illness that has struck every two years since 2014. The condition, known as acute flaccid myelitis, or AFM, is rare and has reached its peak for 2018. It will likely continue to fade as winter approaches. But many believe it will be back. “AFM is here, and it doesn’t seem to be going anywhere,” said Dr Benjamin Greenberg, a neurologist at UT Southwestern Medical Center’s Peter O’Donnell Jr Brain Institute and at Children’s Health. When a cluster of children in the US developed unexplained paralysis in 2014, doctors hoped the outbreak was a freak event. Then, in 2016, more people came down with the same set of symptoms. This year, AFM struck a record 165 people, the majority of them young, previously healthy children. Texas has reported 27 cases in 2018, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services, including five in Tarrant County, three in Collin County and two in Dallas. Experts say we should expect the condition to return again in 2020, following a pattern of sickening patients every other year from summer through fall. Investigators at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say they do not yet know what triggers the paralysis. “As a mom, I know what it’s like to be scared for your child, and I understand parents want answers,” Dr Nancy Messonnier, director for the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, said at a November news conference. “CDC is a science-driven agency. Right now the science doesn’t give us an answer.” To gear up for another possible outbreak, the agency formed an AFM task force. It has funded state health departments to boost surveillance and is educating doctors about what to look for and test for when patients present with unexplained limb weakness. “It is impossible to say if we’ll have any real answers (by 2020), because this a complex public health challenge,” said Dr Thomas A. Clark, a medical epidemiologist who is leading the CDC’s response to AFM, in a statement to The Dallas Morning News. “Until we fully understand what causes AFM, we can’t help protect people against it.” Many experts, including Greenberg, say the agency has been slow to name viruses as a probable cause. The 2014 AFM outbreak coincided with the largest national outbreak of a virus known as D68, which had previously been associated mainly with respiratory infections. Forty-two percent of AFM patients tested in 2018 were found to have D68 in their nasal passages. Experts point to other evidence that makes D68 a likely culprit. Like polio, D68 is an enterovirus, part of a large group of common pathogens that cause colds, stomach bugs, eye infections, and hand, foot and mouth disease. Like AFM, enteroviruses exhibit cyclical patterns. Polio, too, sickened most children in late summer and fall. And almost all AFM patients had fevers and other cold symptoms three to 10 days before becoming paralysed. “We are in a place to say a significant portion, if not the majority, of AFM cases that occur between August and November every other year are due to a virus, and likely an enterovirus, and likely D68,” said Greenberg, an expert on spinal cord inflammation who has been treating and following AFM patients since the outbreak began. He is a member of the CDC task force. “I don’t think it’s 100 percent,” he said. “But I would like to see the language at least embrace that.” The CDC has countered that D68 and many other common viruses circulate in late summer and fall and that the findings from nasal swabs could be coincidental. To confirm causation, the CDC says it would need to isolate enterovirus D68 from the spinal fluid of AFM patients. In 2018, only one spinal fluid sample came back positive for D68. Other viruses were present in spinal fluid and nasal swabs, as well. “While we agree that a leading hypothesis is that viruses are playing a role in AFM, at this time, the science does not indicate to us a single cause of AFM,” said the CDC’s Clark. Enterovirus D68 was first detected in Berkeley, California, in 1962 after it triggered severe lung infections in four children. Since then, health agencies have reported minor outbreaks in Europe, Africa and Southeast Asia, but cases involved mainly colds and lung infections. Then, in 2014, D68 sickened more than 1,000 people in the US with severe colds, bronchitis and pneumonia. That year, 120 people also developed AFM. Researchers have discovered that D68 has developed an ability to invade and kill nerve cells. In a September study, published in the peer-reviewed open access journal mBio, researchers injected older and recently isolated forms of D68 into mice and tracked their symptoms. They found that D68 specimens isolated before 2014 were unable to infect and replicate inside the spinal cord. But mice injected with newer variants of D68 developed symptoms similar to AFM. The researchers said they were especially troubled to see that these newer forms of D68 seemed to be crowding out older more benign variants. “The scary part is that these new lineages seem to have become the predominant lineages circulating worldwide,” said Richard Scheuermann, a study author and director of the La Jolla campus at the J Craig Venter Institute in California. The finding may mean that we’ll see an increased incidence of AFM in children, he said. The vast majority of patients who contract D68 never develop limb weakness. That’s another mystery scientists are trying to solve. Why do some people and not others get very sick? In the case of polio, the virus paralysed only about 1 in 200 people that it infected. Experts believe that some people may have a genetic predisposition to AFM or that their immune systems may be weakened from fighting other infections. There’s also the possibility that at least some cases of AFM are caused by the patient’s own immune system. D68 or another trigger may cause the immune system to overreact and attack nerve cells in the body. Greenberg has seen both types of cases among his patients and treats them differently based on their symptoms and on MRI scans. Those with inflammation caused by an immune response tend to do better, because steroids can calm the inflammation, he says. Those with spinal cord damage caused directly by the virus warrant different treatments and don’t respond as well. Overall, a majority of patients recover, though the recovery can take years. Among 44 AFM patients he has followed, more than half had excellent, very good or good recoveries after treatment. Greenberg said doctors and public health officials need to assume AFM will be back. “If we’re not assuming that, we’re all making a mistake,” he said. “We have to plan and be ready, scientifically, to pounce.”  —The Dallas Morning News/TNS

When it was announced that Bilal Lashari would be rebooting Maula Jatt, a 1979 Pakistani Punjabi language action and musical film, as a tribute to Pakistani cinema, fans of the original film could not wait to see how he would reinterpret the classic—and now they have an official teaser trailer to take in. Released early this week, the short clip of The Legend of Maula Jatt delivers some of the movie’s most iconic moments.  Starring Mahira Khan, Humaima Malick, Fawad Khan and Hamza Ali Abbasi in the lead roles, the cast also includes Gohar Rasheed, Faris Shafi, Shafqat Cheema, Nayyer Ejaz and Saima Baloch, among others.  The two-minute clip kicks off with the folklore of Maula Jatt and introduces the protagonist Fawad Khan as the Maula Jatt. It’s a sharp tangent from Fawad’s previous roles and seeing him in the teaser one understands why he couldn’t do much screen presence when he was shooting for Maula. All that added weight and muscle gain is evident. Although there’s literally no dialogue in the trailer, but I can easily recall when at a recent event Fawad said, “Maulay nu Maula na marray tay maula ni marda (Maula can only be exterminated on God’s command)” and that was enough to make us discern that nobody could’ve played Maula Jatt and done justice to Sultan Rahi, the Pakistani actor who played Maula Jatt in the original film, in today’s time but Fawad. Hamza Ali Abbasi is the cunning Noori Nath, Jatt’s arch nemeses and as the narrator explains, he and Maula will indulge in the biggest rivalry ever seen in Pakistani cinema. Mahira Khan also makes an appearance. Sporting long hair with multiple braids, proving how effortlessly with minimalism taking the centre stage she can own the screen. She plays Maula’s love interest in the film, Mukkho Jatti. Although we don’t get to see her speaking Punjabi in the trailer, but her eyes have all the expressions you need. The trailer has no dialogue except for one chilling holler, ‘Maula!’. The trailer follows the narration of Kamran Lashari who introduces us to the characters of the epic saga. The most charismatic actors of Pakistan entertainment industry, Mahira Khan and Fawad Khan, will fall in love and save the day again in The Legend of Maula Jatt, after being paired together in drama serial Humsafar (2011), on premier entertainment channel HUM TV. Although their good looks and nuanced understanding of the acting paved their way in the industry, but it was Humsafar that burst them into the limelight, not just in Pakistan but across the border as well. Ever since, both the actors have only strengthened their position, churning out one commendable performance after another. But, this reunion seems like the moment fans have been waiting for. “This will be less of a girl-boy sort of love and more of a man-woman chemistry,” Mahira said in a statement.  “I’m scared because I know there is a big chunk of people waiting for the film to see that it’s Fawad and Mahira but it’s not. I hope I’m also good in it, just the way Hamza and Humaima are, but Maula Jatt is about Maula Jatt and it’s Fawad’s,” she added. Although the cinematography and production design speak volumes about the perfectionist Bilal Lashari and no wonder it took him so much time to give us a sneak peek into the star-studded film, but the trailer only features crepuscular shots that reminds us awfully too much about Games of Thrones, Troy or any Bhansali production. People have taken over twitter saying that film seems like a cross between Padmavaat and Games of Thrones with the concept of Maula Jatt dystopia. Well it seems like it only because Brian Adler, also responsible for the visual effects in The Hunger Games, have worked on The Legend of Maula Jatt as the Visual Producer.  It’s not just Pakistani audience and notable media personalities that are in awe of the recently released trailer, but some Bollywood biggies also took over twitter to appreciate the work. “Fawad this looks amazing! Congratulations and I’m sure it will be a massive success!” tweeted Karan Johar, Bollywood director. “What a beautiful teaser and cast. Always an ardent admirer of Mahira Khan and Fawad Khan and now with Humaima Malick and Hamza Ali Abbasi, it’s a double whammy! Can’t wait to watch this one,” said Sidharth Malhotra. Alia Bhatt who played the leading role with Fawad and Sidarth Malhotra in Kapoor & Sons also praised the film’s trailer. “What a brilliant brilliant trailer,” said Alia.  From sound effects to the stunts to the wardrobe, this film can be a game changer for Pakistani cinema. The film premieres on Eid ul Fitr 2019.

National Award-winning actor Rajkummar Rao, who is all set for his new film Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga, says the budget of a film does not define the success of a film but the content does. Earlier this year, Rao has appeared in films like Omerta, Fanney Khan, Stree and Love Sonia; among which Stree, a small budget film did a business of approximately Rs180 crore. Is success of the small budget films becoming a trend now? Rao said: “I do not think that the success of any film has anything to do with the budget, content decides the budget. If the content is strong and audience likes the film, it will be a successful one…” Rao was present at the teaser launch of Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga here along with the film’s cast and crew including Sonam Kapoor, Vidhu Vinod Chopra, Juhi Chawla and Anil Kapoor. Agreeing to Rao, Sonam said: “I think we should do a film if only the content is good.” It was a double celebration as December 24 also marks the birthday of Mr India actor. Anil cut the birthday cake at the event amidst the presence of media and the film’s cast. Asked about Anil’s birthday plans, Sonam smiled and said: “we will have a nice family dinner. We will soon go for a vacation.” This is the first time that Sonam has shared screen space with her father. “Apparently dad was sceptical on set, that’s what he told my sister Rhea. Though he did not say anything to me, he was scared…” Sonam added. Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga is scheduled to release on February 1, 2019. – IANS

Not only do celebrities sometimes become politicians, now politicians are often celebrities. Many of the best-selling books of the year were about political figures. Not their politics, really, but their personalities, habits, feelings and foibles. Michelle Obama’s memoir Becoming sold more than any other book, and she promoted it in arenas like a rock star backed up by other famous names (Oprah Winfrey, Reese Witherspoon). The book didn’t hit stores until November, but more than 2 million copies sold in 15 days. Even Stephen King doesn’t fill stadiums or sell tickets for hundreds of dollars. The fact that the former first lady wasn’t elected to office but lived in the White House for eight years only goes to reinforce how fascinated readers are with the trappings of political life. Of course book buyers admire Obama herself and her smart take on life. But one of the first gossipy reports on Becoming focused more on how she could never forgive President Trump for his scurrilous “birther” claims about her husband. Likewise, during the first half of the year, the best-selling book was Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House by Michael Wolff. More gossip than policy, it portrayed Trump as sitting in his bathrobe watching TV. Criticism of the president also came from ousted FBI director James Comey’s A Higher Loyalty, and readers lapped up famous journalist Bob Woodward’s Fear, with its tales of aides undermining the commander in chief. Even parody books about politics sold well. The Last Week Tonight With John Oliver book A Day in the Life of Marlon Bundo, ostensibly an illustrated memoir by Vice President Mike Pence’s rabbit, was in the top 10 best-sellers for the first part of the year. (It was inspired by Charlotte Pence and Karen Pence’s Marlon Bundo’s A Day in the Life of the Vice President.) After Hurricane Florence hit North Carolina, a parody based on Trump’s comments ascended the best-seller lists. Whose Boat Is This Boat? by the staff of The Late Show With Stephen Colbert said on its cover it was “by Donald J. Trump (by accident).” And The President Is Missing, a novel by former president Bill Clinton and prolific author James Patterson, was not only popular, it seemed to point again to the blurred line between politics and celebrity. One theory floating through the zeitgeist is that politicians are a 21st-century cultural unifier rather than, say, TV shows or other forms of entertainment. With thousands of shows and books available, very few are the cultural touchstones they were in the days when most Americans watched The Magical World of Disney or when writers John Updike and Norman Mailer were household names. We may be divided over whether we’d vote for Trump, but we’re united in that he and those in his orbit are kitchen-table topics. We all know something about the latest headlines, and we all have an opinion. Ask five people if they’ve watched GLOW and most may say “no.” But they all can comment on James Comey. Although political works were the year’s best-sellers, they don’t necessarily show up on many “best books” lists. Those are more eclectic. With more than 300,000 new titles and editions published in the United States each year, choosing the top 10 “best” is close to impossible. That said, it appears few reviewers focused on politics for their favourite books for 2018. Among novels, fiction reviewers for the Post-Dispatch include Washington Black, There There and The Mars Room among their favourite books of the year. Esi Edugyan “brings alive the boy’s sights, sounds and his moment-to-moment sense of impending danger and menace,” Holly Silva wrote of Washington Black, a story of a boy born into slavery in Barbados. In The Mars Room, author Rachel Kushner’s heroine, a former lap dancer, is imprisoned for killing a customer who stalked her. “The book is beautifully written, without sentimentality or agenda, and at times even a sly and dark humour,” Silva wrote. There There by Tommy Orange is a debut novel that has shown up on several “best” lists for its story of modern-day urban American Indians, who struggle with loss and identity. In Tayari Jones’ An American Marriage, a young, happy African-American couple have their lives turned upside down when the husband is accused, apparently falsely, of sexual assault. Rebecca Makkai wrote a powerful novel about the AIDS epidemic in Chicago from the 1980s to contemporary advancements. The Great Believers ended up on short lists for awards. Like Makkai’s novel, The Overstory was oft-praised. Written by Richard Powers, the novel ties characters to trees and a battle between clear-cutting and what some might call eco-terrorism. Reviewer Dale Singer called out Powers’ “ability to balance the humanity of his individual characters’ stories with their passion for the greater lesson they impart.” Singer also liked Barbara Kingsolver’s novel about two families decades apart who lived in the same house. Unsheltered does have a political edge as it’s linked to the 2016 election. Other favourite novels this year include The Shape of the Ruins by Juan Gabriel Vasquez, Warlight by Michael Ondaatje, Kate Atkinson’s Transcription and Gary Shteyngart’s Lake Success. St. Louis writer Elsa Hart’s City of Ink was chosen by Publishers Weekly as among the best mysteries of the year. Reviewer Repps Hudson said she gives readers “an imaginative view into a China we do not know” with the third in her books featuring an out-of-favour court librarian in imperial China. Other St. Louis- and Missouri-connected books of particular appeal were Don Marsh’s Coming of Age, Liver Spots & All; Martin Riker’s Samuel Johnson’s Eternal Return; John Mort’s Down Along the Piney; The William H. Gass Reader; poet Justin Phillip Reed’s award-winning Indecency; Howard Schwartz’s Palace of Pearls; Angela Mitchell’s Unnatural Habitats and Other Stories; Curtis Sittenfeld’s You Think It, I’ll Say It; Laurell K. Hamilton’s Serpentine; and Denise Pattiz Bogard’s After Elise. For Kelly von Plonski, owner of Subterranean Books in University City, Riker’s novel was a standout. “Such an imaginative story, dealing with death and rebirth in a new way. It is full of humour and pop cultural commentary (the television knowledge is encyclopedic) but is ultimately a story of a father’s love for his son.” A popular nonfiction book by a St. Louis writer was Sarah Kendzior’s collection of essays in The View From Flyover Country. Kendzior’s book had a political bent like so many of the year’s best-sellers. Other nonfiction favourites focused on United States history, including Jill Lepore’s These Truths, David Blight’s biography Frederick Douglass and Susan Orlean’s The Library Book. Jennifer Alexander, collections development specialist at the St. Louis County Library, recommends The White Darkness by David Grann, saying the author “uses his celebrated storytelling skills to present the tale of Henry Worsley, a man whose obsession with 19th-century explorer Ernest Shackleton led him on two polar expeditions of his own in 2008 and 2015.” In The Black and the Blue, Matthew Horace and Ron Harris detail problems of racism in police departments, with a chapter focused on the 2014 Ferguson case of Michael Brown. Heartland by Sarah Smarsh meshed memoir and social issues by discussing how her Kansas family worked hard just to get by. It was a favourite pick by Kris Kleindienst of Left Bank Books. Another popular memoir locally was Jeff Tweedy’s Let’s Go (So We Can Get Back). The Belleville native and Wilco frontman, who confessed to experience with addiction, told the Post-Dispatch’s Kevin C. Johnson that “it’s a pretty low-stakes genre, writing a rock ‘n’ roll memoir. There’s not a lot of pressure. But I wanted it to be honest.” Ellie Kemper, an actress originally from St. Louis, collected personal, light-hearted essays in My Squirrel Days. In it, Kemper claims that as a student she had to “scan the St. Louis Post-Dispatch every Tuesday morning for an interesting current-events article to clip out and read in front of the entire class.” Well, here you go, Ellie.  —St. Louis Post-Dispatch/TNS

From virtual unknown to competing in a three-way battle to become Britain’s Christmas number one single. This is the career path travelled by 24-year-old American singer / songwriter Ava Max. Born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to Albanian immigrant parents, Ava’s family moved to Virginia when she was a child. Inheriting the vocal ability of her opera singer mother, young Ava competed in numerous singing competitions and was wowing audiences long before she entered high school. “I always loved singing,” she affirmed. “You could say singing came as naturally to me as breathing. But it wasn’t just singing. I also loved going up on stage and performing for people.” Few artistes can make a name for themselves in Virginia or South Carolina, where she also spent some of her teenage years. So it was that Ava, full name Amanda Ava Koci, made the decision to seek her fame and fortune in Los Angeles. It was a SoundCloud posting which eventually saw her sign with Atlantic Records. “I’d been struggling for about four years. I’d go into the studio to record demos and wouldn’t get my stuff back from producers and songwriters. Everything changed after I met Cirkut (real name Henry Russell Walter). People will probably know him for his work with The Weeknd on his Starboy album, Miley Cyrus on Wrecking Ball and Katy Perry on her Prism album. The first song that we put on SoundCloud got so much traction that I ended up getting my record deal.” Ava’s introduction to the recording industry was as the featured artiste on a number of collaborations. The first came last year when she provided the vocal on Clap Your Hands, a single by American electronic dance music DJ / producer Le Youth. She also guested on Vice and Jason Derulo’s song, Make Up, and not only features on but co-wrote Let It Be Me, a track from David Guetta’s latest album, 7. Ava’s debut solo single was My Way. Released earlier this year, it is not a cover of Frank Sinatra’s classic song from 1969. “I wrote My Way as a feel-good song. But it was also a reminder to myself that I had to be strong and clear about who I am and what I want. I don’t have to listen to outside voices and opinions. When I need to be reminded of these things, My Way is the song I listen to. It’s like getting a pep talk emphasising that I’m going to do things my way.” The video reinforces her point as Ava is seen cutting short her long blonde hair on the right side of her head. The quirky style of shoulder-length on one side and very long on the other has been dubbed as the ‘Max Cut.’ Although My Way did not sell in great numbers, it was quickly followed by a second single, Slippin, which also featured New York-based Albanian rapper / singer Gashi. This track disappeared without trace so one wonders what the expectation really was for Ava’s third single, Sweet But Psycho. Critically acclaimed as an instantly addictive slice of pop, Sweet But Psycho transformed the little known singer / songwriter into a star. Apart from a few surprising exceptions such as America and Canada, the song has become a massive world-wide hit topping the charts in numerous countries. “The song basically concerns female empowerment. It’s about a girl who is misunderstood by her boyfriend but never takes any nonsense. She is being called a psycho in her relationship but she is simply a strong, outspoken and independent woman. “The song itself says she’s going out of her mind because she is going out of her mind in the relationship. I think it’s important for your partner to love all sides of you, the various aspects of your character, so that’s really what the song is about.” Ava makes no secret of her delight in achieving such enormous chart success. “I’ll finally be in a position to repay my family for all the support they’ve given me since I was eight years old. They have been my constant supporters but I also want to repay everybody who has helped me along the way. “I still can’t really believe what has happened after all those years of disappointment. It’s also wonderful to see people react and relate to my music, particularly young people. I’ll sometimes get messages saying someone was bullied at school but they listened to my song and felt much more confident and happy. Knowing I’m having a positive effect on their lives makes me happy.” Her debut album is in the pipeline but Ava has other plans for the more immediate future. “Sweet But Psycho is still hot so I have much more promotion work to do. I’d really like to release some more singles before the album and maybe do a couple more guest appearances. I love artistes like Bruno Mars and Cardi B so it would be great to do a collaboration with them. But my album should be finished early next year so I guess I’ll have to see how things go before deciding on the next steps in my career.” Fleur East It’s amazing what appearing on a reality television series can do for an artiste’s career. Just ask English singer / songwriter Fleur East. Nearly three years have passed since anything was heard from London-born Fleur. She had found fame after finishing runner-up to Ben Haenow in the 2014 series of The X Factor. A deal was signed with Simon Cowell’s Syco label and Fleur recorded her debut album, Love, Sax and Flashbacks. The album peaked at number 14 in Britain while lead single, Sax, hit number three. The follow-up, More & More, proved nothing like so popular. It stalled at number 85. Fleur’s departure from Syco came as no surprise. Although she was said to be recording new material, nothing was forthcoming before she entered the Australian jungle last month as one of the competitors on British television’s I’m a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here. She finished in fourth place but her time on the show allowed viewers to recognise Fleur’s personal qualities and undoubtedly gained her a legion of new fans. Having now signed to Hunter Corp Records, Fleur has to hope all those people who supported her efforts in the jungle will be interested in her new music. Her comeback single, Favourite Thing, will be released on January 4. “I can’t wait for everyone to hear my song,” said Fleur, 31. “I was down for a while after parting from Syco. The music industry is so cut-throat. I didn’t know how I could come back from losing my record deal. But I’m a Celebrity came at the right time. I feel like people now know the real me from my time in the jungle and will have a greater understanding of my music.” As yet, there is no audio posting or video for Favourite Thing. Avril Lavigne Have many of her fans lost interest in Canadian singer / songwriter Avril Lavigne? It was 2002, when the then 17-year-old Avril stormed on to the music scene with her chart-topping debut album, Let Go, and the smash hit single, Complicated. Let Go registered world-wide sales in excess of 16 million copies. But this proved to be the zenith of her career. Sales figures for each of her subsequent albums have dropped by about one third in comparison to her previous release. Avril’s self-titled 2013 album sold just 650,000 copies. Most artistes would love to have these sales figures but the numbers are in stark contrast to those of her early career. Significant singles success is also proving elusive. It was 2007, when she last enjoyed a top ten US or UK hit. Her new album, Head Above Water, is scheduled for release on February 15. Response to the first two singles has been unspectacular. The title-track reached number 84 in Britain and 64 on Billboard’s Hot 100. Tell Me It’s Over has recently been released as the follow-up. Has Avril lost the magic touch? Judge for yourself by checking out the videos. Head Above Water is posted at www.youtube.com/watch?v=EKF6ghfcQic while Tell Me It’s Over can be seen at www.youtube.com/watch?v=g5wseA6HoNs Sales may not be great but the Head Above Water video has been viewed nearly 53 million times and Tell Me It’s Over has already notched up more than five million views. Avril’s fans may number fewer than in her heyday but those she has retained certainly seem to appreciate her work. Selena Gomez There is happier news of American singer and actress Selena Gomez. The 26-year-old star has completed her treatment for anxiety and depression. She was recently seen enjoying a day of snow tubing at Big Bear Lake in California with her friends, actress Bailee Madison and model Connar Franklin. This was followed by a hike in the Malibu hills. Selena is said to be in good spirits, feeling a lot stronger and happy to be spending time with her family and friends.

Veteran actress Ratna Pathak Shah, who plays a school principal in the upcoming Netflix original Selection Day, has looked at the education system critically and says it has been used to maintain the power equation in society. “Education is a very potent force that gives you power. In our country, for centuries we believed that education should be kept for the personal purview of a few. The ‘shastra’ attitude, where we have treated education as a sign of power, knowledge as a sign of power that we all want to hold on to…and that is how the caste system in our country has survived for ages. Education has been used to maintain the power equation in society,” Ratna said in an interview. “We have someone to clean our lavatory, otherwise we have to do it by ourselves. So, we have controlled and kept a group of people away from education... but this is practised in many countries. We are not the first ones, and we won’t be the last either.” The acclaimed theatre and film veteran said it is important to raise questions on the value of education. “Is the system actually providing education to make a good human being out of a child, or preparing them to become just an employee? In the show, (my character) Neli Weinberg is questioning that.” The story of Selection Day revolves around two young boys who are forced to become cricketers to fulfil the dream of their father, who is obsessed with the game. Ratna’s character runs a school that is trying to balance children to dream and not get forced to get into a system. “A lot of young talent of our country, who do not get a chance to grow up like normal human beings, think about Sachin Tendulkar, who had to grow up faster when he played international cricket as young as 17 years old. This school of Neli is trying to make these two budding crickets grounded for their holistic development,” she said. The mother of two sons – Vivaan Shah and Imaad Shah – said parents being less involved in the upbringing of children is also a negative thing. The Sarabhai vs Sarabhai fame actress said: “Due to the commercialisation of education, parents (have) washed their hands off from children, they send them to school and for various courses for them to become someone. Kids are losing their individuality that way. Parents also believe that children are living in a state of idiocy and they should be told how to live life.” Produced by Anil Kapoor, Selection Day also features Rajesh Tailang, Mahesh Manjrekar and Shiv Pandit. It will stream on Netflix on December 28. – IANS

With due apologies to Aamir, Shah Rukh and Salman, the biggest Khan superstar of India currently is Taimur Ali Khan. As he turned all of two on December 20, his proud, paparazzi-wary parents whisked him away to Africa, far away from the cameras, which love him the way only a true star is loved. At two, little Tim (as he is affectionately called by his father) is fully aware of his best camera angles. He calls out to the paparazzi, who adore him and always ensure his comfort before clicking. What he wears, and the random words that lisp off his lips become the trending topics of the day. And the child loves every bit of the attention. So is Taimur, my most favourite member of the Pataudi clan after his grandmother Sharmila Tagore, the most popular star-kid in the world? Tom Cruise’s Suri comes close. The little girl was followed around by the paparazzi to describe her clothes, shoes and purse. In no time at all, little Suri acquired adult mannerisms and turned into quite a poseur. In spite of all the media attention, Taimur remains blissfully uncorrupted. Yes, he loves the flashbulbs and the media attention, but he does’t strike poses. Not as yet. At two, Taimur is a force that the photographers cannot do without. According to glam shooters in Mumbai, a picture of Taimur fetches a higher price than that of Salman Khan. And Taimur effortlessly lords over the below-five brigade of star-kids. His popularity exceeds that of Aamir Khan’s son Azad and Shah Rukh’s AbRam. Such is his popularity in the public domain that Taimur needs constant surveillance. He is no danger of any kind. It’s just that he attracts way too much attention for a child his age. His parents fear their Tim may soon lose his innocence. Or else, the paparazzi may soon lose interest in Tim, and move on to another star-kid. Too young to understand how the media operates, Taimur may lose all the attention overnight without knowing why the photographers have disappeared. We must guard against the child’s first heart-beak when he is no more the darling of the paparazzi. We all know how savagely Taimur’s parents were trolled for naming their son after a cruel invader. Nothing that the original Taimur did can match the cruelty of the trolls gunning for little Taimur’s parents for their child’s name. I am glad they stuck to their guns. Imagine if they had re-named him Tarachand or Timothy. Would he have been as popular? As Tim turns a year older we can only hope that he gets the same attention in the future that he is getting now. A tall order, I know. Children born with golden spoons often find that spoon snatched away from their mouths. That such a thing can ever happen to Taimur is heartbreaking, to say the least. So let’s all think only positive thoughts for the Golden Nawab. Dear Taimur, Tim, Timmy, Tim-Tim... may you shine brighter than both your parents. Oops, you already do. – IANS

This is an era of major statements and bold opinions and, more often than not, 2018’s most memorable songs managed both. Here’s a look: 10. Carly Rae Jepsen, Party for One (Schoolboy/Interscope): As irresistible as Call Me Maybe, but told from an in-charge, adult perspective. 9. The 1975, Love It If We Made It (Dirty Hit/Interscope): Matty Healy and friends use the synth-pop of a simpler time to indict the confusion of the present while still hoping things turn out OK. 8. Superorganism, Everybody Wants to Be Famous (Domino): The British collective’s infectious take on social media is relatively judgment-free, though it does question whether fame is really worth it. 7. Troye Sivan & Ariana Grande, Dance to This (Capitol): Sweeter than anything on Grande’s Sweetener, but with just enough edge to keep its cool. 6. Courtney Barnett, Nameless, Faceless (Marathon/ Mom + Pop): The catchy rocker pairs a healthy takedown of Internet trolls with addressing the safety issues connected to gender inequality. 5. Kendrick Lamar & SZA, All the Stars (Aftermath): The Black Panther anthem was pretty much just like the movie, a crowd-pleaser that sticks to its guns to make a powerful point. 4. Ella Mai, Boo’d Up (10 Summers/Interscope): It’s no surprise that this ultracool slice of throwback soul just kept rolling up new fans throughout 2018 without anyone tiring of the laid-back vibe. Ba-dum boo’d up, bi-di-dah-dum boo’d up. 3. Brandi Carlile, The Joke (Elektra): Carlile raises the stakes of this It Gets Better tale to stunning heights, making the consequences of being bullied feel like life and death — all of which makes the triumph that much sweeter. “I have been to the movies, I’ve seen how it ends,” she promises. “The joke is on them.” 2. David Byrne, Everybody Is Coming to My House (Todomundo/Nonesuch): The world-beat anthem calls to mind Byrne’s stint in Talking Heads as he crafts his response to the ongoing immigration debate. His call for inclusion also highlights the benefits: “Everybody’s coming to my house and I’m never going to be alone.” 1. Childish Gambino, This Is America (mcDJ/RCA): Childish Gambino (aka Donald Glover) turns the dichotomy of African-American life into vivid art, bouncing between sweet, harmonic African-influenced rhythms and menacing hip-hop. Gambino makes it clear that both ends are responses to external forces and that balancing the two is difficult. The song is so brilliantly constructed, though, that somehow he managed to get that heavy message to No. 1 on the pop charts. Honorable Mention: Carrie Underwood, Love Wins (Capitol Nashville); Robyn, “Honey” (Konichiwa/Interscope); Tracey Thorn, Dancefloor (Merge); Sunflower Bean, Twentytwo (Mom + Pop); Cardi B, Get Up 10 (Atlantic); Eric Church, Drowning Man (EMI Nashville); Camila Cabello, Never Be the Same (Epic); Leon Bridges, Bet Ain’t Worth the Hand (Columbia); Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats, You Worry Me (Stax); Neko Case, Bad Luck (Anti-); The Carters, Ape — (Roc Nation/Parkwood); Winnetka Bowling League, On the 5 (RCA); Lady Gaga, I’ll Never Love Again (Interscope); King Princess, 1950 (Zelig); Anderson. Paak feat. Kendrick Lamar, Tints (Aftermath) – Newsday/TNS

Bollywood melody king and playback singer Kumar Sanu is all set to perform in Doha on December 28 at Qatar National Convention Centre (QNCC) as a part of the ongoing third edition of Shop Qatar Festival. The concert of Kedarnath Bhattacharya, better known as Kumar Sanu, is organised by Wirohub Events as part of the country’s biggest shopping festival that will continue until January 20, 2019.  The tickets for the show are priced from QR75 to QR300 and can be purchased online at Wanasa Time and in person from various set-up counters, including Doha Rocks Café Old Airport, Indian Supermarket, Mr Broast Hyderabadi Spices Al Wakhra, Aryas Mansura, Desi Dhaba Bin Mahmood, Tea Time Rayyan, New Amwaj Restaurant Mansoora, Todays Fashion, Kashmir Kabab at Garaffa, and TCA Qatar. The run time for the concert is about three hours. This will be his second performance in Doha. The 61-year-old is a leading Bollywood playback singer and is popular for his songs, including Yeh Kaali Kaali Aankhen, Ek Ladki Ko Dekha, Aankhon Ki Gusthakiyaan and many more. He was awarded Filmfare Best Male Playback Singer Award for five consecutive years. In 2009, the Government of India awarded him the Padma Shri, India’s fourth-highest civilian honour, in recognition of his achievements. Sanu notably holds the Guinness World Record for most songs recorded by any singer in 24 hours. He recorded 28 soundtracks. Talking to Community, Subramanya Hebbagelu, Vice President of Karnataka Sangha Qatar (KSQ), a community organisation affiliated with Indian Cultural Centre, said, “Sanu is a well-respected singer. He is very popular in South Asian countries especially where Hindi and Urdu is spoken and understood. He is popular for his 90’s romantic sound tracks.” “As a community representative, I see this concert a huge success as he’s all-time favourite singer of expatriates of South Asian countries, including India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Nepal. The majority of expatriates in Qatar come from these countries and it is a good opportunity for them to enjoy their favourite sound tracks at a live performance. I think QNCC is a good place to organise such kind of concerts that are high on-demand. The venue is big enough to accommodate thousands of people. It is a very good initiative and I thoroughly support to have such live concerts of known Indian and South Asian singers in Qatar. The expatriates get a chance to listen to the live music.” He further said, “With Kumar Sanu’s Concert many people including me will get a chance to revisit their famous 90’s romantic soundtracks. We will be able to ask him to sing some of his known songs on demand as well. Many of his songs have been revamped for the younger generation and they love it, so millennials can also go to the concert and experience his live performance.” Organised by National Tourism Council, Shop Qatar’s activities offer special offers for the bargain-hunter, the style-savvy and the fashion-forward people. Shop Qatar, the country’s only nation-wide shopping festival, brings new features for the residents and the visitors to enjoy until January 20. Besides offering discounts and promotions, the festival’s 14 retail partners will also host exclusive entertainment and roaming mall shows for families and children. NTC noted that shoppers who spend QR200 at any of participating retailers will be eligible for a weekly raffle draw and a chance to win cars and cash prizes. According to NTC, more than 50 hotels across Qatar are having special offers throughout the festivity, including discounted room rates, promotions at food and beverage outlets, and health club services, as well as free airport transfers. Unique shopping tours at Souq Waqif, fashion-focused events, concerts, and other live performances also await festival-goers and shoppers.

It’s hard to give a good performance in a drama serial; especially when it involves some location without any modern facilities and the long scheduled shoot hours, but it may be even harder to get all this hard work noticed on the television screens. Much great acting takes place in drama serials that actually aren’t all that good, in terms of budget I mean. Over the period of time Pakistan entertainment industry has realised that it’s not the star power that brings the good rating and fame to any serial but the substantial content and characters. This year, some relatively new faces swayed us, along with established names. Unfortunately, some of the roles were either dark or disturbing but nevertheless it’s about showing some love for the scads of performances that you’ll be sorry to have had missed, if you have. Here’s a selection of the very best. Iqra Aziz in Suno Chanda The 20-year-old had a very successful year with hit television dramas, including Khaamoshi (2018), Tabeer (2018) and the massively popular Suno Chanda (2018), all on HUM TV. She already has six years of experience and 15 television dramas under her belt. But, Iqra Aziz became a household name in 2018 after her performance as a chirpy and happy-go-lucky Jiya in Suno Chanda. Designers are making a beeline for featuring her in their fashion shoots and it’s easy to see why! No? Feroze Khan in Khaani Sometimes you’re stereotyped with certain sort of characters. Many actors are heedful to the concept and try in every real sense to defy such titles. But, Feroze Khan understands his charm way too well, that all those fierce eyes and expressions are ‘it’ and they sell big time. Although he has played such intense characters before, like in Gul-e-Rana (2015), on premier entertainment channel HUM TV, but his spell as Mir Hadi in Khaani (2018), on entertainment channel Geo, has to be the best till date. So before the year ends, watch Khaani. Imran Ashraf in Alif Allah Aur Insaan 2018 has been a year of new talent taking over the television screens, and Imran Ashraf is one such individual who made us realise his acting prowess with the character of Shabbo in Alif Allah Aur Insaan (2018), on HUM TV, where he played the role of a transgender. Where many actors, even established actors, would not have taken the risk with such a challenging role, Imran outdid it with perfection. From body language, to expressions and intonations in the voice – non parallel detailing and observation!  Sajal Aly in Yaqeen Ka Safar This year has proved to be quite a memorable one for Sajal Aly; She appeared in two much-discussed drama serials: Yaqeen Ka Safar and O Rangreza, both on premier entertainment channel HUM TV, and won two nominations at the prestigious Lux Style Awards 2018 for Best Actress category and bagged three Best Female Actress Awards at HUM Awards. Her role in Yaqeen Ka Safar although was a simple character of a girl that ends up finding peace with nursing profession at a hospital in the suburbs of northern areas of Pakistan, but the transformation of the rebellious and a minx girl caught up the attention of the viewers and critiques alike.  Ahad Raza Mir in Yaqeen Ka Safar Ahad is a very fine addition to the entertainment fraternity. We’ve seen him put his acting skills well to use and make audiences sway with him as he performed the emotional father-son duo scenes in Yaqeen Ka Safar. His good look gushed the viewers to fall in love with the serial and the on-screen couple: Sajal and Ahad. When you’re acting opposite to an experienced actor like Sajal, you might get a little intimidated. Was Ahad intimidated? Doesn’t seem like it!  Affan Waheed in Beydardi Although he has been in the industry and on television screens since a decade now, but, 2018 was a lucky year for him. You know how? He recently starred opposite to Aiman Khan and Iqra Aziz in Beydardi (2018), on entertainment channel ARY Digital, and premier entertainment channel HUM TV’s Khamoshi (2018), respectively. And the serials released just simultaneously, one after another. Beydardi was a tragic love story, hit by the Aids, but the portrayal of the characters was raw. The aim of the serial was to create awareness against the disease and with all those high-rise ratings, it definitely did. 

A fun-filled but challenging artwork project recently concluded at Sheikh Faisal Bin Qassim Al Thani Museum where creative works of six Qatari artists on real life-sized dhows were put on display. The six artistically decorated dhows attracted visitors in large numbers including prominent dignitaries, art lovers, artists and their friends and media persons. The one-day exhibition was the culmination of ‘Red Bull Curates: Dhow Art’ project that saw six artists, selected through a long process, showing their artistic dexterity on the dhows. Red Bull Qatar had collaborated with Vodafone Qatar, Sheikh Faisal Bin Qassim Al Thani Museum and Doha Fire Station for the project that focused on the expression of artistic talent on an unconventional canvas. The dhow — a cultural icon in Qatar — was selected as a canvas. The other partners in the project were namely, I LOVE QATAR, Qatar Living, What’s Going On Qatar, Qatar Events, City Centre Rotana Doha, Creative Union, Smart Events, Hempel Paints, and Century Talents Qatar. The project is part of a global series launched by Red Bull. The organisers presented an unconventional canvas to local artists in a certain country to express their talent. Usually, artists are used to flat surfaces. In Qatar, the dhow was chosen as a canvas. The project started in early November. The six artists were selected on November 23 and they started they work at the museum. One of the selected dhows will be at Darb Al Saai on Qatar National Day. Other dhows will be taken to different parts of the country for exhibitions. The artwork created by Mubarak al-Malik depicted a dramatic farewell by a sailor to his family. Muna al-Bader captured the joyful scenery of traditional Qatari weddings. Fatima al-Naimi depicted the tale of a dhow’s suspenseful journey. Fahad al-Maadheed highlighted horses and camels. Noor Abuissa’s work sketched Qatar’s old traditions of pearl diving. Jamila al-Ansari painted Qatar’s past and present in different colours. Sheikha Alanood bint Faisal bin Qassim al-Thani; Dr Willy Kempel, Ambassador of Austria to Qatar; and Kees Wieringa, Director of Sheikh Faisal Bin Qassim Al Thani Museum, were the prominent figures among those who attended the exhibition. Speaking on the occasion, Sheikha Alanood thanked the organisers and congratulated the artists for their creative pieces. She said, “We are very excited about such an initiative that falls in line with the museum’s vision of creating a community for artists.” Willy Kempel also appreciated the art project and expressed his support for art activities in Qatar, describing the dhow art as a “wonderful project”. He also announced a wall art project at Sheikh Faisal Bin Qassim Al Thani Museum and said he would take part in it as a curator. Kees Wieringa said: “I had heard of art, culture and heritage as separate subjects till I heard the idea of dhow paint project. Looking at the dhows now, I see contemporary art that speaks of heritage displayed at the museum. It all fits together perfectly.” Talking to Community, Khalifa al-Obaidly, Director Fire Station and curator of the dhow art project, said, “This is one of the amazing projects that I have curated so far. It is challenging to find artists for such a project with its dynamics. It was something unusual to bring the artists out of their comfort zones — their studios and their usual canvases. “But what really surprised me is that everybody, sort of acclimatised. The artists got really involved in the project and began implementing their concepts on the dhows. Initially, we invited 25 artists, both Qataris and expatriates, to give us their artwork sketches. As many as 21 artists submitted their sketches reflecting the culture of Qatar, both traditional and contemporary. We had a jury that selected the best sketches, reflecting real history of Qatar. The reflections of the artists are amazing on the history and culture of Qatar. I appreciate the project and congratulate the artists for their creative work. The project gave an opportunity to the artists to engage with community in a creative way. That was a challenge and a new experience for me as well,” he noted. He further said, “An artist presents his character like his background, history, and practices. The artist always wants to create something significant and unique. A good artist always finds a way to deal with different kinds of media and canvases. This is what I liked that artists are not stuck with one practice or medium. We are happy that the private sector is involved in supporting art and the artists in Qatar. The government has been spending a lot to support the art scene in Qatar. It is good to see private companies support art as well.” Mubarak al-Malik said, “I have been focusing on graffiti style using spray for seven years. This is not very famous in Qatar. This project was a new thing and it was very exciting. The dhow canvas is not simple. It took me 10 days to finish my artwork. It was a challenge to draw and paint on the curves of the dhow. It was a new thing to do. I submitted three sketches to the organisers and they selected the story of a sailor saying goodbye to his family before setting off on his voyage. “I have learnt a lot by being a part of the project. I have to work keeping in mind a deadline and I have had to leave my comfort zone. I enjoyed working under a sort of pressure.” Jamila al-Ansari said, “I graduated in arts from Qatar University. I use mix mediums. I like calligraphy and abstract art. I am happy that the organisers selected me for the project. It was a nice but challenging project. The dhow was an unconventional canvas for me. “I have depicted past and present of life in Qatar on the dhow. The project has taught me how to work on a bigger canvas.”

Green Grass Trading and Contracting Company and Yak and Yeti recently organised the grand finale of Voice of Nepal, Nepali edition of international singing reality show, The Voice, at Asian Town Grand Mall, Sanaiya. Originally created by John de Mol, Dutch Producer, the Nepali edition of The Voice was directed by Laxman Poudel and hosted by Sushil Nepal and Osin Sitaula. The gurus of the programme, included Deep Shrestha, Abhaya Subba, Pramod Kharel and Sanup Poudel. CD Bijaya Adhikari, a contestant from Pokhara City, Nepal, bagged the title of ‘The Voice of Nepal 2018’ along with a cash prize of 2.5 million Nepali Rupees, a car, video album contract and a world tour contract. The reality show was live broadcasted at Kantipur HD TV. The event was attended by over 5,000 Nepali expatriates in Doha. Four finalists along with their coaches also performed at the event. “I want to pursue my musical career with this prize.” said Adhikari. He thanked Kaski Service Society (KSS), a Doha-based community organisation, for rooting and helping him gather maximum number of online votes.

Actor Emraan Hashmi, who is playing the lead role in the forthcoming film Cheat India, says that the formal education system of India is not good enough for the growth of young minds and believes that such education cannot be a prerequisite for success. Asked what’s his opinion on the relevance of formal education, Emraan said: “I know some of the stupidest people on earth who had great formal education. I also come across some of the smart and brightest individuals who had no great formal education and degrees. Formal education is not a norm that gets you success in life.” “I think in the present time, the formal education that we are practising in the mainstream, is a waste of time. Just because in a building, a group of people promoting some kind of source for learning, does not mean our students are learning a great thing. “Our education system is still practising something that can only deliver average homegrown clerk that used to happen in the British era. That is not how we can develop young minds…no sorry!” added the Murder actor. He believes that in the age of Internet, universities have moved into online education. Emraan said: “Without taking the name of any board, I just want to say, the system of our basic education is pretty useless. All we are practising is how to mug up the textbook and write it on the exam paper to get marks and grades. Is that the right way to educate mind?” Emraan, who started his career in 2005, used to be known more for doing on-screen kissing scenes in Bollywood films. He gradually made space for himself in Bollywood with films like Gangster, Aksar, Kalyug, Jannat, The Dirty Picture and Azhar. Is he finally getting his due as an actor? “Well, earlier I had done films where I was satisfied with the process, the experience of making of the film, but the character I am playing in Cheat India is quite close to my sensibility as an individual,” Emraan said. “The character is not over the top. It’s close to reality and at the same time, engaging. It is bringing an issue to the forefront through the film,” he said. The film addresses the issue of existing corruption in the field of education. He felt that the film could be a conversation starter on the matter. Was that the sole reason for taking it up? The actor said: “I would say that is a by-product of a good story. Primarily, when I am listening to a script, it is about how I am reacting to the story as an audience member. If I am becoming part of a narrative, it has to appeal to me first. Cheat India was apt for that.” The story of the film revolves around cheating during examinations, especially in government colleges and in competitive tests where people use power and money to get degrees. Sharing his personal experience, Emraan said: “I have seen how exam papers are leaked during exams. Some of my friends’ friends bought question papers in advance and later they failed in the exam because they got the wrong set of questions. I have seen how students paid money to invigilators to fill the answer papers…I never got involved in such activities, but I have seen them happening.” Directed by Soumik Sen, Cheat India is releasing on January 25 next year. – IANS