EVENTS

Rewind 2010 While the first five films are the big budget films that either rocked box office or created a buzz amongst cinema lovers across India, the next 10 films either stretched the boundaries of their genre or are significant from a historical perspective. Major Box office hits Dabangg (Hindi)Inception (English)The Social Network (English)Endhiraan (Tamil)My Name is Khan (Hindi) Interesting films of the year Peepli Live (Hindi) - Kanasemba Kudureyaneri (Kannada)  Autograph (Bengali) Pranchiyettan and the Saint (Malayalam) The Japanese Wife (Hindi) Aptharakshaka (Kannada) Do Dooni Chaar (Hindi)Phas Gaya Re Obama (Hindi) Pancharangi (Kannada) Legend of the Guardians: The Owls…

Anjali Sapra's "Timeless travel" exhibit done in Egg Tempera style is on display at Mahua Gallery, Sadashivanagar. Egg tempera paintings by Ajnali Sapra Anjali Sapra is an artist who is greatly influenced by Mughal architecture and the rich traditional heritage of India. She has been trained at Triveni Kala Sangam and has specialised in the art technique of vegetable dyes and other natural pigments .She has hosted a good number of shows from 2003 and some of her works are in private collections in London, Germany, USA etc. Most of her works in the "The Ephemeral Playground", "The Timeless travel"…

If cave temples, glimpses of mythological history and trekking is in your weekend itinerary then visiting Kaivara just 2 hours drive from Bengaluru, is a good option. Located near Chikballapur in the Chintamani district the place is replete with historical and mythological tales of Mahabharata and Ramayana.  The zigzag plains of Kaivara perhaps leave one confused when visiting the place for the first time. That is why the need of a ‘Kaivara' or a compass to traverse the place. Hence the name Kaivara. Kaivara: View from Ambaji Durga. Pic: Usha Hariprasad.Kaivara: AmarNarayana temple. Pic: Usha Haripasad.Kaivara: Ambaji Durga Cave temple.…

It's been a busy week at the movies in Bangalore. Even as the much awaited The Social Network opened in theatres, the Karnataka Chalanachitra Academy's International film festival opened at three different venues in the city, screening 85 films between November 8 and14, 2010. Besides its presence in the city, the festival also expected to move to Bidar, Dharwad, Mangalore and Shimoga.  Citizen Matters caught up with some of the festival's weekend fare. The Social Network (USA) This film on the making of Facebook runs with the tagline "You don't get to 500 million friends without making a few enemies".…

A good script is a rarity in Hindi cinema, and director Vipul Shah's Action Replayy - even when it hearkens back to Hollywood super hits like Back to the Future - is all of that and more. The film tells the story of a young boy (Aditya Roy Kapoor) who travels back in time to make his parents (Akshay Kumar & Aishwariya Rai) fall in love. The film will especially appeal to those who have an appetite for seventies nostalgia. The ‘retro' touch that permeates the film is well done, and one smiles as one re-lives a touch of the…

With holidays and the sparkle of Diwali in the air, we thought we'd keep a look out for films that make for good viewing with the family. So this week's recommendation is Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole - a film directed by Zack Snyder (of 300 fame) in the fine tradition of Hollywood's computer-animated fantasies. The film tells the story of a young barn owl Soren, who travels across the universe to find the legendary alliance of owls known as the "Guardians of Ga'Hoole", and save the owl kingdoms. The film itself has familiar themes like courage,…

Jackie (Kannada) Jackie has been amongst Kannada cinema's eagerly awaited films of October, if for no other reason than the coming together of director Suri (Duniya fame) and Puneet Rajkumar. Yet before the film is half complete it quickly becomes clear that if all the problems of the Indian film-making could be highlighted in one film, it would be Jackie. The film that is reminiscent of an 80s Hindi cinema potboiler seems confused on whether its intention is to be an entertainer or a film with a socially relevant message. In the end it winds up between the devil and…

There is always a price tag attached to unbridled growth, and Bengaluru's unmanageable growth has ensured that the quality of life in the city is fast declining. Urban Vision launched the Civic Dialogue Bengaluru 2010 in August, as a forum to develop ideas for a better Bengaluru. Civic Dialogue is structured as a series of monthly competitions where we address a specific theme and invite participants - students and young professionals - to report civic problems around that theme, strategize to solve them and implement ideas with our NGO Collaborative. The competition takes place online click here. The challenge for…

Anyone who dismisses director Abhinav Kashyap's debut film Dabangg as mindless entertainment has not understood the heart of the Hindi film blockbuster. It is fast-paced, action-packed, loud, colourful, lustily melodious, emotional, romantic, reverential of family and held together by the charisma of a single star who towers head and shoulders above the chaotic concoction. It may not always have sequential logic, but it inevitably invites loud cat calls and whistles. It seldom makes you think, but it always leaves you entertained. That is the heart of Dabangg - an entertainer for the masses, easily shrugging off the aspirations of the…

The recently concluded two-day national seminar on Organic Terrace Gardening at the University of Agricultural Sciences (UAS) Alumni Association Convention Centre, Hebbal was in all respects a great meeting point and a good start to a process that seeks to become a nation-wide movement. One of the primary objectives of organising such a seminar was to ensure that organic terrace gardening spreads as a movement across the country, rather than merely as a hobby or passion for a select few. There was also a need felt to bring together like-minded practitioners, individuals and institutions on a common platform and use…