PREDICTIONS FOR FEB 2016

BYNANCYJADE ALTHEA

LIBRA Sep 23 - Oct 22

Spendingmoretimewithfamilywillbe a priority foryouthismonth. Stay close withyournearest and dearest.Therewillbe some financial issuesthat youwillneedto besorting out and youmaybe askedfora loanfrom a relative orfamilymember. The cards are indicating atimeof happinessand youare feeling verymotivated towardschange. Youmay decidetoredecorateorrenovate your house or a room.

SCORPIO Oct 23 - Nov 21

Thiswill be a passionate monthwhen youwillfeellikegoing on holidaywith yourpartner. A good timeto plan a getaway and take some time out. A neighbourmay cometo youforsomehelp and advice. Therewillbe anewshorttermwork assignmentofferedto youand itmay involvetravelling. The cards are indicating alucky streak, youmay have a win orluckmayshine on youinsomeway.

SAGITTARIUS Nov 22 - Dec 21

February is agoodmonth to travel andtaketime out. Youwillbe looking atnewopportunitiesinyourcareer.Theremay be some newsof anew post atworkandyouwill beurgedtoapply.The cardsareindicatinga timewhenyourpartnermay befeelinga littlelow andneedingsomesupport.Therewillbesome news about a birth ormarriage in your circle of friends. Take care of yourstomach.

CAPRICORN Dec 22 - Jan 19

Thismonth youwillbe feeling motivated towardsmaking headway withyourlifedecisions. Thereis an indication of travel and anincrease in yourfinances as youwillbelooking at new opportunities and changes in yourwork life. Emotionally youwill be supporting afriendwho has beengoing through a diffcult time lately. Therewill begoodnewsregardingthe health of an older member of your family. Take time out tomeditate.

AQUARIUS Jan 20 - Feb 18

Yourworkhasbeenveryhecticlatelyand youwillbefeeling exhausted. Youwill befeeling romantic and sexy towards your partnerso take some time out and enjoy a relaxingmonth.There will besome news about a colleaguewho may be going through some upset atwork. The cards are indicating that youmay decide to movefromyourcurrent property. A locality withwaterand greenery is going to appealto you.

PISCES Feb 19 - March 20

Thismonth youwill bethinkingofgoing overseas. There willbe plansto change yourresidence andwork. Youhavebeenfeeling a littlerestlesslately. Take some advice and do notrush anything. Theremaybe someissuesaroundyourhealthwhichmay cause youto make rash decisions. Thecards are indicating youneed to think and takesmallsteps towardschanges. Therewill be a lot of new opportunities anddoors opening.

Ghayal Once Again

STARRING:Sunny Deol, Soha Ali Khan, Om Puri andTiscaChopra

DIRECTOR:SunnyDeol

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A superhero action film, Ghaya/Once Againis a sequeltothe1990released Ghayal. Thiseditiontakes off from wherethe lastfilm leftoff. Snippets of the previousedition, used generously as flashbacks inthis edition, givethe film a strongsense ofbelonging.

The filmbelongsto Sunny Deol allthe way. Itportrays him in alargerthanlife

1 character.

I AjayMehra (Sunny Deol) wasearlier accused ofkillingacorruptbusiness man, Balwantrai. Afterserving his jailterm, he isnow aninvestigating journalistwho co-owns a news channel calledSatyakam. Though hesuffers fromPTSD (PostTraumaticStress

I Disorder), he is a dreaded man as he goes out of his wayto personallyclear

I outallthemaladiesthatprevail inthe system, especially corruption.

The filmstarts off on atackynote, tryingtoestablishthe setting ofthe story andthe characters. Asthetale progresses,thefilm findsitsfocuswhen fourcollegestudents stumble upon a murder. Andthen, the narrative picks upmomentum and gallantlystrides into the action arena.

As a debutwriter- director,Sunny Deol issubtle yet blatant. Hetakes pot-shotsnotonly at thesystem,butalso cleverlyinsinuates the powerfullyrich members ofthecity.

With aplethora of well-etchedcharacters and up-to-date subplots, hedelivers a fairly comprehensive talewithmoralistic andinspirational messageslike, "galat togonsedarna,galat hai"and "agarhumsachkesaath hain,tohjeetnetakhaarnahinmaanni chahiye."

Sunny hasmanagedto extractfine performancesfrom every actor. As an actor withbroodingeyes,he emitsraw emotionswith ease. He is agile, brilliant and appealinginthe action sequences. He is efficientlysupportedby anable castthatincludes: NarendraJhaasthe businesstycoonRaj Bansal; Om Puri as Joe D'Souza,theformerpoliceofficer who isnow anRTIactivist;Harsh Chhaya as AdityaRajGuru, editorofThe Daily Herald;andManojJoshi as apolitician.

Soha Ali Khan in arestrained andnebulouscharacterRiya, Ajay's psychiatrist-cum-partner, ispassable.

Tisca Chopra asRaj Bansal's wife and ZakirHusain asthe police commissioner, in one-dimensional, stereotypicalroleswithlimitedscreen presence,arewasted.

Butthe highlights ofthe film arethe fournew youngsters;Shivam Patil as RohanKriplani, Aanchal Munjal as Anushka Kriplani, Diana Khan as Zoya and Rishabh Arora as VarunJain. They are brightand energetictalentwho are dynamic andsincere.

The onlylightmomentintheflm isthe song sequence'Lapakjhapak, lapakjhapak/oa',which isdecently choreographed.

Witha blend ofwideangleshots and close-ups, cinematographerRavi Yadav'scameracapturesthe film in minute details. Andhisliveframes seamlessly merge withthecomputer generated images.

The actionsequences packed withfisticuffsandchases, arewellorchestrated onthestreets,railways andmalls of Mumbai. Thesebacked withthemotivationaldrive and adrenaline boosting sound effects, upliftsthe viewing experience.

Witha decentproductionvalue,the filmhas abelievable and arealisticfeel interms of itssetting, butfails interms ofthe dialogues,which are packedwith cliched and outdated phrases.

Overall,Ghaya/OnceAgain is a complextalethatis astutelyhandled. Itwill definitely appealto Sunny Deol's fans andthose who enjoy action films.

Troy Ribeiro

Know Thyself as Soul

Who am I? Where do I comefrom? Where am I going?

Sant Matisapractical and natural pathtoself realisation.

The meditation on the inner Light (Jyoti) and Sound (Naad)combined with anethicallifestylebuildsthe foundationto experience and strengthen theconnectionwiththe innercore ofourbeing, the soul.

Sant BajitSinghteachesthis meditationtopeople searchng foradeepermeanng n life.

Weekly spiritual gatherings (satsangs) areavailablein most metropolitan areas.

Know Thyselfas Soul Foundation is anon-proftincorporatedassociation. Itoffersits servicesfree ofcharge.

Forfurther informationcontact

1800462193 or visit www.santmat.net.au

Sanam Teri Kasam

STARRING:HarshwardhanRane, Mawra Hocane, MurliSharma,Anurag Sinha, ManishChoudhari, Divyetta Kaveri and Vijay Raaz

DIRECTOR:Radhika Rao andVinay Sapru

Saala Khadoos

STARRING: R. Madhavan,ZakirHussain, RitikaSingh,MumtazSorcarandNassar

DIRECTOR:Sudha Kongara

Saa/aKhadoos is aninspirationalsports drama, based onsometrueincidents. The filmrevolves aroundthethemeof exaltingwomento join andshine as sports stars.

AdiTomar (R. Mad.havan), an embittered boxing coach, whoseboxing career isruinedowingto a deviousplan executed byhisthencoach Dev Khatri (ZakirHussain), haslostallhope,till he spots a poorlocal girl Madhi (Ritika Singh)inChennai whosells fishbutis keen onboxing. Hethentrainsherto represent India.

Throughthe lives ofMadhi and her sister Laxmi aka Lux(Mumtaz Sorcar), thefilmhighlights issueslike politics in sports, girls being discouragedto take upsports by theirfamilies andthefact thatgirlstoo are equallytalentedand canbecome champions.

R. Madhavan essaysthetitlerole playingAdiTomar,thedisgruntled boxing coachfullof angst against the system,to perfection.Hisfrustration, bohemianlifestyle, passion forboxing andeventhedeterminationtomake Madhi achampionboxer,arereal. With his dishevelled appearance and boxerlike physique, helooks every inchthe partthathe plays and emoteswith equalfervour.

Ritika Singh as Madhi isthestarof thefilm,notmerelybecausesheis theprotagonist, butbecausesheputs

SanamTeri Kasam isthe intense love story oftwo diametrically opposite people; Saraswathy 'Saru' Parthsarthy (Mawra Hocane), aTamilian Brahmin, andherwealthyneighbourlnder (HarshwardhanRane). While Saruis a bespectacledplainJanewho works in a library, lnder is a cynicalrebelwholives life inthe fastlane.

Leading ashelteredlife, underthe aegis of herstrict disciplinarian father, Saru'smarriageisthe biggestbone of contentioninher family as sheis always rejected owingto her dowdy appearance andstaidpersonality. One day, inher desperate attemptto transform herself, Saruinadvertently changesher destiny.

With a well-writtenscreenplay and powerfulperformances bythedebutant duo in Bollywood,thefilmtugs at youremotional chords and makes you empathisewithSaruandherplight. Their love story is credible andtheir onscreen chemistry isstrong.

The dialogues,befittingthe characters who mouththem, are nottheregular cliches in a love story and offer depthto thenarration.

Harshvardhan Rane as lnder, delivers a controlled and poisedperformance, givingventto hisangst,love, frustrations andsorrowwithrestraint. Helights upthe screen with hisstrong andwell-chiselled physique and emotes superblythroughhis eyes. Heis equally at ease asthe silentlover, as he isin an emotionaloutburst.

Mawra Hocane,the Pakistani VJ, model and actor,is a delightto watch as Saru.Sheslips intothedemurecharacter withease and herget-upcertainly adds to herpersona. Sheisconfidentandher innocenceis endearing. Youare atone withherinherunrequited love, asinher hourofgrief.

ManishChoudhari asSaru'sstern fatherperforms his role competently and brings alivethecharacterof the Tamil Brahmin authoritarianpatriarch onscreen. Murli Sharma asthe policemanwho is asucker forlove stories performswelltoo. AnuragSinha as AbhimanyuShastry,Saru'scolleague and crush, offers a sincereportrayal. The powerful background score is apt and upliftsthetenorof thescenes. The musicby Himesh Reshammiyais soulful and one ofthe highlights ofthe film.The songs arepennedwellandbringoutthe mood of the film, especially 'Haal-e-dil' and 'Bewajaah'.Theonly unwarranted song isperhapsthe one focused on Vijay Raaz.

With brilliantproduction values, SanamTeri Kasam managesto draw youintothe lives of Saruand lnder and moistens your eyestoo.

Perhaps itisthelast15minutes of thefilmwhich drags a bitand, giventhe fewcinematiclibertiesthatthe directors havetaken, becomes alittle mawkish. Buttheirsis a lovestorythatwilltouch yourheartwithouta doubt.

Troy Ribeiro

herheartandsoulinto hercharacter. Whether itisfightingwith gritinthe boxingring, dancing onthestreetswith gay abandon, being awe-inspired by her mentor, givingventto her anger, or her disappointmentand agonyuponlosing amatchandlettingdownher'Master' sheslipsinto herrolewith convivial ease andportraysthe gamutof emotionswithspontaneity andrestraint, asthe scene demands, delivering an electrifying performance.

MumtazSorcar, asLux, Madhi's eldersister, ambitious, butnottalented enough, who isblatantly envious of Madhi, is equally a delightto watch as an actorin anhonest portrayal.

ZakirHussainasthe quintessential corruptandslimy National Women's head coach, indulging inpolitickingtoo, is impressive anddoesjusticeto his character, making one sufficiently abhor hisunethicalways.

Nassar asthejunior coachin Chennai,whotakes pride inhis students and is supportiveof Madhi, renders a fine performance. The rest ofthesupporting cast althoughwith limitedscreentime leave animpact.

A simplestory, well-told, in a linear narrative, withwell-etched characters and right amountof drama, Saa/a Khadoos, is brutally honest. Sudha Kongara'swriting and directionis praiseworthy, as she hasdealtastutely withthesubjectwithno majordeviation.

Thescreenplay is extremely measured,well-presented andcaptures the essence ofthe subjectandthe relationship betweenMadhi andher mentor aptly.

Withminimalsound design and constrainedcamera movement,the film offers a realistic feel. Themusic is nothingto write home aboutby way ofmelody,yetthepowerfullyricsby Swanand Kirkire, depicttheemotions of the characters inthatcontextflawlessly.

Withathumbs upto womanpower, coupledwith astrongsubjectand good performances,Saa/a Khadoos isbound to strike a chordwitha cross section of viewers,irrespective ofbeingsports lovers.

TroyRibeiro