WILL SHAHID KAPOOR BE DOING DARK FILMS?

INDIA BEAT AUSTRALIA TOLEVEL SERIES 1-1

ADAH SHARMA AND VIDYUT JAMWAL PROMOTE THEIR MOVIE COMMONDO 2 WITH REAL COMMONDOS.

NO PROBLEM WITHSALMAN: SANJAY DUTT

Mahesh Bhatt gets extortioncall; one detained in UP

AGRA, (IANS) Actor SanjayDutt says there is nothingwrong between him andsuperstar Salman Khan.Sanjay, who has workedwith Salman in films like"Saajan", "Dus" and"Chal Mere Bhai", re-por tedly called the"Dabangg" star "ar-rogant" in a word asso-ciation game.Asked i f everythingwas okay between the two, Sanjay told repor ters here: "There's noproblem between me and Salman, and there's nothing wrong in beingarrogant. Arrogant is not a bad word. It's an expression. I can bearrogant…but a lovable arrogant." The 57-year-old star is currentlyshooting for "Bhoomi" here along with Shekhar Suman and Aditi RaoHydari. Talking about new age actors, Sanjay said: "I like RanbirKapoor, Ranveer Singh… Varun Dhawan has done some good work…Alia Bhatt…I think they are really good. They work professionally andperform well."Ranbir will be seen essaying the role of Sanjay in the upcomingbiopic, directed by filmmaker Rajkumar Hirani. Sanjay says he is notnervous about his real life being por trayed on the big screen. "I'm notnervous about anything…Don't you all know about my life? My thingsare all out in the open," he said.

MUMBAI, (PTI) One person has been detained in Uttar Pradesh inconnection with an alleged threat and extor tion call received by film-maker Mahesh Bhatt, police said recently. Based on a complaint reg-istered at Juhu police station here, the anti-extor tion cell of the MumbaiCrime Branch has taken over the probe. The police have identified theculprit, Mumbai Crime Branch DCP Vinay Rathod said. With the helpof Uttar Pradesh Police's Special Task Force, one person has beendetained in that state, he added. "One of our teams is on its way to takecustody of the person," Rathod said. According to the police, the culprit allegedlymade phone calls from Uttar Pradesh to the producer-director recently and also,sent messages to him on WhatsApp demanding about Rs 50 lakh. The calleralso threatened to harm Bhatt's daughter actress Alia Bhatt if the demandwas not fulfilled. Subsequently, a case was registered by Juhu Police andthe anti-extortion cell of Mumbai Crime Branch launched a probe. "A boltfrom the blue in the form of an extortion call & threat to my family wasnipped in the bud by the MH & UP police in tandem.Gratitude! (sic)" Bhatttweeted. The veteran filmmaker has made several award-winning and criti-cally acclaimed films such as 'Saaransh', 'Ar th', 'Naam', 'Kaash','Daddy', 'Aashiqui', 'Dil Hai Ke Manta Nahin' and 'Zakhm' among oth-ers. His daughters Pooja Bhatt and Alia have acted in a number ofpopular Bollywood films.

MUMBAI, (PTI) Actor Shahid Kapoor says he will be taking a breakfrom dark and complex roles for some time. The 36-year-old actor,whose latest period war film "Rangoon" could not create a magic atthe box office, said that he wants to feature in lighter roles next. Theactor has played two back-to-back serious characters in "Udta Punjab"(2016) and the recently released Vishal Bhardwaj-directed film. Dur-ing a Q and A session, one of the Twitter users asked Shahid, "Is it thatyou prefer dark films more now?" To this the actor replied, "Nope. Notfor a while now." Shahid also said, "Good films always do well," whenone of the fans asked if he believed some good films don't work at thebox office. He said after completing his prior commitments he wouldlike to do "anything light and fun." About his role in Sanjay LeelaBhansali's magnum opus "Padmavati", he said the best thing aboutRaja Rawal Ratan Singh's character is that he was, "Noble heroicfearless. Above all a true lover.

THE VICTORIOUS PESHAWAR ZALMI TEAM THAT DEFEATED QUETTA GLADIATORS BY 58 RUNS IN THE PAKISTAN SUPER LEAGUE(PSL) 2017 FINAL ON SUNDAY AT LAHORE'S GADDAFI STADIUM.

I AM DONE WITH KANGANA PLAYING VICTIM CARD: KARAN JOHARLONDON, (PTI) Karan Johar has criticised actress Kangana Ranaut for constantly playing the "victim card" and blaming Bollywood for terrorising her. Kanganarecently appeared on Johar's celebrity talk show where she called him the "flag-bearer of nepotism.""I am done with Kangana playing the woman card and the victim card. I am done," Johar said during a session with Anupama Chopra at London School ofEconomics, India Forum. "You cannot be this victim at every given point of time who has this sad story to tell about how she has been terrorised by 'bad Bollywood'.If it is that way then leave," he added. On an episode of "Koffee With Karan", Kangana said Johar would be perfect to play the role of a "stereotypical Bollywood biggiewho is snooty and completely intolerant to outsiders. Flag-bearer of nepotism. The movie mafia" in her biopic if it is ever made. Johar said he may not have agreedwith her comments but he let it air as he respected her point of view. "She had a great prospective and point of view. Everyone lauded her for coming on to my showand (how she) 'gave it off to Karan'. "I was gracious enough to not cut anything and let it be that way. I could have edited it as it was my show. I cut none of it. I said,'No, let the world listen to her opinion and she must voice it'. I gave her the platform." Previously, during a chat session on Twitter, someone asked Johar, "WasKangana correct about nepotism?" To which he replied, "Not entirely! She made an impact with her sweeping statements! That was fun... for her! And the show.

BENGALURU, (IANS) Star off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin led with a six-wicket haul as India defeated Australia by 75 runs with a day to spare in thesecond cricket Test at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium here on Tuesday. Chas-ing a target of 188 runs, Australia were all out for 112 in their second inningsshortly after tea on the penultimate day. India have now levelled the four-Testseries at 1-1. The Indians bowled superbly on a pitch which has developedquite a few cracks, making it difficult for batting.Ashwin did the most damage with figures of 6/41. Fast bowler Umesh Yadavdisplayed excellent speed and swing to return 2/30 while fellow pacer IshantSharma and left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja bagged a wicket each. TheAustralians found it difficult to score against Jadeja who gave away onlythree runs in his eight overs which included five maidens.Ashwin is now the most successful bowler in the 2016-17 season with 89wickets. He is the fastest ever to reach 25 five-wicket hauls, achieving thefeat in 88 innings ahead of Sri Lankan greatMutthiah Muralithaaran (100) and legendaryNew Zealand fast bowler Richard Hadlee (111).The Chennai spinner is also the fastest Indianbowler to take 200 Test wickets in India, reach-ing the landmark in 30 Test matches.He has gone past Bishen Singh Bedi to be fifthon the list of highest wicket takers forIndia with 269 scalps, behind AnilKumble, Kapil Dev, Harbhajan Singhand Zaheer Khan. "It was not comingout of the hand all right. I was tryingto turn it too hard. One good thing Idid was when wickets were notcoming, I kept the runs down,"Ashwin said after the match.

18 MidWeek MIDWEEK NEWS WEEKLY

TUESDAY, MARCH 07, 2017b o l l y w o o d

MIDWEEK HIT OR FLOPCOMMONDO 2 HITRANGOON HITMONA DARLING AVERAGETHE GHAZI ATTACK HITJEENA ISIS KA NAAM HE AVERAGE

MIDWEEK BOX OFFICERANGOON 60 CR

THE GHAZI ATTACK 22 CR

COMMONDO 2 7 CR

JEENA ISIS KA NAAM HE 2 CR

MONA DARLING 45 LAKHS

10songs

DUM DUM PHILLAURI

LAILA ME LAILA RAEES

BAWARA MANN JOLLY LLB 2

ROKE NA RUKE NAINA BADRINATH KI DULHANIYA

KAABIL HOON KAABIL

GO PAAGAL JOLLY LLB 2

UDI UDI JAYE RAEES

BLOODY HELL RANGOON

TAMMA TAMMA AGAIN BADRINATH KI DULHANIYA

SONG FILM

'JEENA ISI KA NAAM HAI' TEDIOUS, REGRESSIVE ALL THE WAY

topCAST: MANJARI FADNIS, ARBAAZ KHAN,

HIMANSHU KOHLI, ASHUTOSH RANA, SUPRIYA

PATHAK, PREM CHOPRA, RATI AGNIHOTRI

DIRECTED BY: KESHHAV PANNERIY BADRI KIDULHANIYA

1 BADRI KIDULHANIYA

"Jeena Isi Ka Naam Hai" is essentially a generic and regressive storyabout women in India. It is the life journey of a renowned author, AliaPatrick (Manjari Fadnis). Directed by Keshhav Panneriy, the film, hisdirectorial debut, with excellent production values, begins with a prom-ise, but soon dissipates all notions of a good enter tainer. The narra-tive begins with Alia getting felicitated at the White House for herbook, "A Little Heaven In Me". But just before the ceremony begins,she decides to rush to Rajasthan, India, for the last rites of her well-wisher and former maid, Laxmi (Supriya Pathak).And from then, the narration gets into flash-back, encapsulating themilestones in her life; born Alia Patrick, how she was ill-treated byher alcohol-loving father and an unreasonable mother for being a girl-child, her brief romance with her classmate Alex (Himanshu Kohli),her wedding with the Royal Vikram Pratap Singh (Ashutosh Rana),her escape to Mumbai where she works for Shaukat Ali Mirza (PremChopra) the editor of a paper and finally after migrating to the US hersecond marriage to a business tycoon Aditya Kapoor (Arbaaz Khan).The film is Manjari Fadnis's canvas and she delivers competently asthe righteous and self-made woman. She is aptly suppor ted by therest of the cast. But, it is sad to watch Rati Agnihotri being wasted ina one scene role.The film may be a realistic por trayal of events, except that it trudgeson a convoluted, verbose plot, fi l led with plot-holes and poorcharacterisation. Amateurishly crafted and lacking finesse in terms

of the script and dialogues, the fault also lies in its conceptualisation.It is the writing and direction which are flawed. On the productionfront, the film is mounted on a lavish scale with decent productionvalues. The locales and sets are well exploited and some top-angleframes are truly impressive. Also the editing is wor th a mention.Overall, with a 170-minute run time, and with no inciting moments,the film is painstakingly boring and tedious to watch.

MidWeek 19MIDWEEK NEWS WEEKLY

TUESDAY, AUGUST 28, 2012

MIDWEEK NEWS WEEKLY

TUESDAY, MARCH 07, 2017 b o l l y w o o d

VIDYA BALAN MIGHT WORKWITH RAJINIKANTHMUMBAI, (PTI) Bollywood actress Vidya Balan has hinted thatshe might collaborate with superstar Rajinikanth on the for th-coming spin-off of "Kabali". There were reports that Vidya has beenapproached to star opposite Rajinikanth in Kabali spin-off to be produced byDhanush. When asked about it, the actress told reporters, "We will know ina while." Vidya, 38, was speaking at the launch of the book "The Wrong Turn"by Sanjay Chopra and Namita Roy Ghose. The actress said she is currentlygeared up for the release of "Begum Jaan" and looking forward to start"Tumhari Sulu". "'Begum Jaan' is releasing on April 14. After that I'll begin'Tumhari Sulu'. So the preparations are going on." Helmed by Suresh Triveni,"Tumhari Sulu" revolves around a woman named Sulochana, fondly knownas Sulu. She lands herself an unexpected job of a fun and feisty RJ andanchors a late night show.

AM IN THE BEST PHASE OF MYLIFE: KAREENA KAPOORMUMBAI, (IANS) Bollywood actress Kareena Kapoor, who iscurrently enjoying motherhood and also handling her professional life well,says she is in the best phase of her life. "I feel alive because I feel I am in thebest phase of my life. I am a happy person and always look out for positivity,"she said recently at the launch ceremony of a channel, which is a collabora-tion of Sony Pictures and BBC. Being the brand ambassador of the newly-launched channel, the 36-year old star thanked the Sony and BBC Earth andsaid that she was four months pregnant while shooting the advertisement forthe channel. "My son would be feeling alive when he will know about thisfact," she added. At the professional front, the "Ki and Ka" actress is all set tobounce back to face the cameras. Currently, Kareena is prepping for theupcoming film 'Veere Di Wedding', which also stars actresses Sonam Kapoorand Swara Bhaskar. Directed by Shashanka Ghosh, "Veere Di Wedding" isa romantic comedy which is about four women who embark on a trip fromDelhi to Europe. Its shooting will start in April.

Women need equalopportunities: Shah RukhMUMBAI, (PTI) Superstar Shah Rukh Khan believes the term"empowering women" is inaccurate as women are already pow-erful and all they need is an equal playing field. "We keep talkingabout empowering the ladies, which is a misnomer according tome. It's like saying 'save the planet.' You don't save the planet,the planet saves you, it is looking after you. "Similarly whenwe say, 'empower women', there is nothing like empoweringthem. They are more power ful than us. All we need to do is,genuinely give all the ladies an even playing field. That's allthey are asking for," Shah Rukh says. He and Anushka Sharmaturned showstoppers for designer Manish Malhotra's collec-tion, for the 2017 edition of Shabana Azmi's Mijwan charity fash-ion show, last night. The 51-year-old actor believes the world isdominated by men.

Commando 2: The Black Money TrailIt takes Bollywood action to the next level

CAST: VIDYUT JAMMWAL, FREDDY

DARUWALA, ADAH SHARMA

AND ESHA GUPTA;

DIRECTED BY: DEVEN BHOJANI

After a week of drudgery at the theatres when we were coaxed intowading through a self-designed epic slush on war and love, it is such awelcome relief to go to the theatres just to have an unpretentious good time. Nooffence meant. None taken. Come, unwind with Vidyut as he cracks some seriousbones and FERA codes, brings India's wealth back into the country and savescivilisation from catastrophe. All done in the vein of a comic book hero who forgothis cape in transit. Okay, Vidyut is ambitious, and sorry to say, he can't act. He canfight like a wild untamed beast, though. His reflexes in the action scenes, speciallyin the hand-to-hand combat with actor Thakur Anoop Singh at the climax on therooftop of skyscraper, are to die for. Some do. But the deaths are neither gruesomenor bloody. The popcorn never needs to feel guilty in this actioner.Vidyut's athletic manoeuvres are simply breathtaking. There is just no other way toput it… or simply breathtaking, as his co-star Adah Sharma playing a designer-wear-shopaholic obsessed with rushing to the nearest shopping mall when shereaches Malaysia to crack an international financial scam, would put it. Adah, in anunusual role for a leading lady, plays the cop as a bimbo with a thick Hyderabadiaccent. She is the attention-seeking comic relief in the speedened-up action flickwhere wheels within wheels are revealed in quick succession, giving us little timeto ponder over the improbabilities.Also impressive is Freddy Daruwala as a cop with ambivalent morality andloyalties. His character goes through almost as many changes as Adah's designerwear. Freddy stays in control of his character even when it proves as slippery assome of the roadways of Malaysia where the handsome film is expertly shot bycinematographer Chirantan Das (who last shot the very different "Tanu Weds

Manu"). Esha Gupta's antagonist's act is pouty, provocative and sexy. Her charac-ter goes through as many shifts as Shatrughan Sinha's shooting schedules in hisheyday. At one point while playing seductive wife to a paraplegic outlaw (VanshBhardwaj, who was once brilliant as Preity Zinta's abusive husband in DeepaMehta's "Heaven On Earth") Esha slinks into Vidyut's bedroom smooches his lipsand cooes, "I can go further to save my husband".The screenplay about blackmoney, demonetisation, and yes, 'desh-bhakti' plugsall the holes in its script with commanding cleverness. The plot is designed as abrick-building toy that moves in a sly sexy slant and manages to stay up there.Writer Ritesh Shah and Suresh Iyer combine political savvy and pulp fiction withmuch gusto. And yes, there is even a message about bankrupt farmers at the end,which is a bit hard to swallow. You really can't take the film's pulp politics seriously.The action is executed with comicbook slickness. The film avoidssong breaks. And miraculously for a political thriller, there's no itemsong either. Even more miraculously, in spite of the film's over t na-tionalistic pitch, the national anthem doesn't play even once in thenarrative. Except for the entire cast getting together for the end-titlesjiving "Hare Krishna hare Rama". Don't miss this galloping concoc-tion of 'desh-bhakti' and pulp tourism. Oh yes, there is also the verylovely Shefali Shah playing a politician with mutating loyalties whomust protect a wayward son (Suhail Nayyar). Shades of ShabanaAzmi's "Godmother" in a film that clearly owes allegiance to the spythrillers of Ravikant Nagaich. Vidyut is Jeetendra from "Farz". Farmore agile and athletic but, alas, far less appealing.

20 MidWeek MIDWEEK NEWS WEEKLY

TUESDAY, MARCH 07, 2017b o l l y w o o d

LION STAR SUNNY PAWAR MEETS UDDHAV THACKERAY.

Karan Johar welcomes twins via surrogacyMUMBAI, (PTI) Karan Johar has become a singlefather of twins - a baby boy and girl - who were bornthrough surrogacy and the filmmaker says he is"enormously blessed" to be a parent. Johar, 44, hasnamed his daughter Roohi and his son Yash, afterhis late father Yash Johar. "I am ecstatic to sharewith you all the two most wonderful additions to mylife, my children and lifelines; Roohi and Yash. I feelenormously blessed to be a parent to these piecesof my hear t who were welcomed into this worldwith the help of the marvels of medical science,"Johar said in a statement.The "Ae Dil Hai Mushkil" filmmaker says it was anemotional but well thought out decision which hehas taken considering all the responsibilities andduties that come with being a parent. "In order toarrive at this decision, I have prepared myself men-tally, physically, emotionally and logistically to en-

sure that my children get all the unconditional love,care and attention from me and mine. I have sub-mitted to the fact that my children are my world andpriority." Johar says his work, travels and socialcommitments will have to take a back seat after thearrival of his kids and he is prepared for that. "Bythe grace of God, I have the most caring and sup-por tive mother who will be an integral par t in theup-bringing of her grandchildren and of course,friends who are family," he says. Thanking the sur-rogate, the filmmaker says he is eternally gratefulto her as she has fulfilled his "lifelong dream andprovided a warm, loving and nur turing environmentto my children before bringing them into this world.She will always remain in my prayers. Finally, a bigthank you to Dr Jatin Shah for his guidance and sup-por t and for being like a family member through thiswonderful and exciting journey," he concludes.

Ranveer Singh amazing to work with: Aditi RaoMUMBAI, (PTI) Actress Aditi Rao Hydari says it was great to work with Ranveer Singh in "Padmavati"as he gives his co-stars "space and encouragement". Directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali, the perioddrama features Ranveer as Alauddin Khilji while Aditi will play his wife, Kamala Devi. "Ranveer isamazing. I love his energy... He is just a ball of affection. He is really amazing to work with. He givesyou space and encouragement," Aditi told PTI. Ranveer and Aditi previously worked together on askit with director Shaad Ali and Saroj Khan for a festival in Paris. "We worked together in Paris whenwe were jobless. We performed an act which was choreographed by Saroj Khan and directed byShaad Ali. We often talk about that," Aditi says. Though she has an interesting line-up of films thisyear such as Mani Ratnam's Tamil movie "Kaatru Veliyidai" and Omung Kumar's "Bhoomi", Aditithinks it would be presumptuous of her to say that she is in the best phase of her career right now. "Iwould rather like my work to speak for itself. I strive for challenging experiences, I strive to work with directorswho challenge me and that's what I am doing right now. And that's what my dream is. I hope I keep doing better. I don'twant to be complacent ever," she says. Aditi, 30, says she had an incredible experience working with filmmakers likeRatnam and Bhansali as "their passion for cinema and the way of telling stories is phenomenal.

MidWeek 21MIDWEEK NEWS WEEKLY

TUESDAY, AUGUST 28, 2012

MIDWEEK NEWS WEEKLY

TUESDAY, MARCH 07, 2017 b o l l y w o o d

SUSHANT, JACQUELINE START SHOOT FOR 'DRIVE'MUMBAI, (IANS) Actors Sushant Singh Rajput andJacqueline Fernandez have star ted shooting for an up-coming film titled "Drive". Filmmaker Karan Johar onWednesday af ternoon announced the news on Twit-ter. He shared a photograph of the two actors, withtheir back towards the camera and a clapboard withthe film's name. "The franchise fun begins…'DRIVE'directed by Tar un Mansukhani star r ing SushantSingh Rajput and Jacqueline Fernandez has star ted!The first of the series," Karan captioned the image.Directed by Tarun Mansukhani, it is being co-producedby Hiroo Johar and Karan Johar. Manuskhani made hisdirectorial debut in 2008 with thefi lm "Dostana", which starredAbhishek Bachchan, JohnAbraham and Priyanka Chopra.

Rangeela sequelisn'thappening: RamGopal VarmaMUMBAI, ( IANS) Fi lmmakerRam Gopal Varma confirmed onWednesday that he is not plan-ning to make a sequel of his 1995blockbuster, Rangeela. At thetrailer launch of his upcoming film"Sarkar 3", when asked about"Rangeela 2", RGV said, "No thatisn't true." The film that starredUrmila Matondkar, Jackie Shroffand Aamir Khan, became a com-mercial success and also gar-nered critical acclaim.With the film, Urmila became anovernight sensation and it wasalso considered as a turning pointin Aamir's career. Recently, therewas speculation that RGV hasplans to make a sequel of the su-per-hit film. RGV's upcoming film"Sarkar 3" is the third instalmentof the "Sarkar" franchise and thetrailer of the film has received apositive response.

Social media usersshould beprepared to faceabuse: AmitabhMUMBAI, ( IANS) Bol lywoodmegastar Amitabh Bachchan,who is an active blogger anduses different social networkingplatforms to connect with hisfans, said that he is often trolledon this media and he is used to it."If you are on social media, youshould be prepared for abuse," hesaid at the t ra i ler launch of"Sarkar 3" on Wednesday, in re-sponse to a query if expressingoneself on social media platformsis a challenge nowadays."And I enjoy it," he quipped. How-ever, the megastar declined tocomment on the controversy overDelhi University student GurmeharKaur. "What I feel about the situation iscompletely my personal opinion. But ifI disclose, it will become public," hesaid. At the professional front, the 73-year-old actor will be seen reprisingthe role of Subhash Nagre in Ram GopalVarma's Sarkar 3.

Alia and I will not doa film just for the sakeof it: Varun DhawanMUMBAI, (PTI) Karan Joharlaunched Var un Dhawan andAlia Bhatt in 2012 with "Studentof the Year" but the actor saysit is not essential that they signevery film with the director-pro-ducer. Varun and Alia's upcom-ing film "Badrinath Ki Dulhania"has been produced by Johar'sDharma Productions. "It took ayear-and-half to come up (with)'Badrinath Ki Dulhania'. We didnot settle for just anything. Weboth are in a strong place in ourcareer, we will not do a film justfor the sake of it, no matter who ismaking it," Varun said in an interviewhere. "We share a very comfortablerelationship with Karan Johar. If wedon't like something we can say noto him. He has kept that option open.But Karan will never offer us any-thing that is not good enough," he said.The 29-year-old actor praised Alia forher dedication towards her craft.

FED UP WITH CENSOR BOARDBANNING FILMS: KONKONAMUMBAI, (PTI) Actress Konkona Sen Sharma has slammed thecensor board for denying a cer tificate to her film "Lipstick undermy Burkha". The film, directed by Aalnkrita Shrivastava, failed toget a clearance from the Central Board of Film Cer tification (CBFC)for allegedly being "lady oriented" and containing "abusive words.It is very impor tant for women to tell women stories and I feelAlankrita has done a wonderful job with 'Lipstick under my Burkha'.I am fed up with the fact that such films are banned and so manyother kind of films are not banned.

SAINA, SINDHU TO LEAD INDIANCHALLENGE AT ALL ENGLAND

INDIAN TEAM CELEBRATE AS THEY BEAT AUSTRALIA BY 75 RUNS IN THE SECOND TEST AND LEVELLED SERIES 1-1.

Peshawar Zalmi win PakistanSuper League 2017LAHORE - Peshawar Zalmi thrashed Quetta Gladiators by 58runs in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2017 final on Sun-day at Lahore's Gaddafi Stadium. What was to be an intenselycompetitive final battle turned into a one-sided game, as theGladiators buckled under the pressure of a 149-run target setby Zalmi. The Gladiators made a dismal star t to their in-nings, scoring only one run in the first over and losing openerMorne Van Wyk to a run-out on the third ball of the second.The Zalmi, in contrast, had kicked off their innings with three solidboundaries smacked by opener Kamran Akmal. And though theZalmi recovered after their middle order fell - led by skipper DarrenSammy - Quetta could not, and their wickets continued to fall thickand fast, with the entire team out in the 16th over.Zalmi's Kamran Akmal and Sammy were the heavy hitters in thisgame, with opener Akmal racking up a quick 40 before his dis-missal and Sammy closing the Zalmi innings with 28 runs ? 22 ofwhich were boundaries (three sixes and 1 four).Zalmi bowlers Mohammad Asghar and Wahab Riaz shined in the game,with the former taking three wickets and conceding only 16 runs whilethe latter took two wickets for 13. Quetta Gladiators' bowler Rayad Emritwas a force to be reckoned with, taking three wickets ? MohammadHafeez, Iftikhar Ahmed, and Malan ? with an economy of 31 runs off fourovers. Mohammad Nawaz conceded just 15 runs off his four overs,taking one wicket. Gladiators batsmen Sarfraz Ahmed, SM Ervine andAnwar Ali each scored over 20 runs apiece, contributing the significantchunk of the team's finishing score of 90. During the awards ceremonyafter the match, Sammy was awarded the 'Man of the Final' trophy.Sammy credited Shahid Afridi for convincing him to make the trip toLahore for the final. "He's one of the great players from Pakistan and hasbeen very instrumental in my decision to come here," he said. "Thegame's electric, the standard of cricket has been good. I'm glad I cameto experience the atmosphere here. It's a wonderful thing," Sammysaid. "Today I think there are a lot of smiles in Peshawar ... [And]even though Peshawar came out on top, cricket was the winnertoday," he said. Kamran Akmal was awarded 'Man of the Tourna-ment', along with prizes for best wicket-keeper and batsman of thetournament. Sohail Khan took home the prize for best bowler of thetournament as he was the highest wicket-taker this PSL sea-son. The 'ICC Spirit of Cricket Award' was presented toIslamabad United skipper Misbah-ul-Haq at the closing cer-emony. Misbah received the award in December last year;but, as Ramiz Raja said, "It's a matter of pride" for the team.The $20,000 'Spirit of Cricket Trophy' was awarded to theQuetta Gladiators, who played the final without four of theirinternational players.

BIRMINGHAM, (PTI) Olympic medallists Saina Nehwal and P V Sindhuwill look to become only the third Indian to lay hands on the presti-gious All England trophy when they lead the home challenge at theSuper Series Premier tournament, star ting with the qualifiers heretomorrow. Ever since Pullela Gopichand emulated Prakash Padukone's1980 feat in 2001, no Indian has ever laid claim to the crown withSaina being the country's only shuttler to come close to achievingthat rare feat when she reached the finals at 2015 before losing toOlympic champion Carolina Marin.Back to full fitness after putting in the hard yards following a completerecovery from the knee injury, which had broken her Rio Olympicsdream, Saina is now aiming to regain her position in world badmintonand will be eager to dish out a powerpacked per formance at theBarclaycard Arena. On the other hand, Sindhu, who became the toastof the nation after her historic silver medal at the Rio Olympics, willbe keen to erase the memory of a first round exit in the last editionwith another determined effor t which helped her to claim her maidentitle at China Open last year.Both Saina and Sindhu have made a resounding star t to the newseason with titles at Malaysia Masters and Syed Modi Grand PrixGold tournaments in January and they would now look to make a

positive star t to the Super Series circuit, which also includes eventsat India, Malaysia and Singapore. Eighth seeded Saina, who foughtback from a career-threatening knee injury in August to not only re-cover but star t competitive badminton in November, will face defend-ing champion Japan's Nozomi Okuhara, who is nursing a shoulderinjury. She last played in November where she withdrew half-waythrough her first round encounter."I was runners-up in 2015 All England Championship but facing Caro-lina (Marin) was a very big task. She overpowered me and won thetitle. I am fine and well-trained now so I am ready to face my oppo-nents," World No. 10 Saina said. In the form of her life, sixth seedSindhu will face Denmark's Mette Poulsen in the opening round andis likely to meet world No. 1 and top seed Tai Tzu Ying of ChineseTaipei at the quar terfinals if she doesn't suffer any hiccups. "I con-sider the All England like any nor-mal Super Series tournament. Asa player, I would be playing thesame players who I play in other Su-per Series matches tournaments, so itis the same for me, and I would look todo well," Sindhu said.

AFTER TENDULKAR, IT'S DHONI PRICELESSTIPS FOR J&K PLAYERSBY TAPAN MOHANTAKALYANI (WEST BENGAL), (PTI) Jammu and Kashmir lost against Jharkhand on the field, but off itthe cricketers from the nor thern valley emerged gainers when former India captain Mahendra SinghDhoni decided to spend some time with them answering their cricketing queries. A couple of yearsback, the J&K cricketers had a similar chance when Sachin Tendulkar dropped in at the WankhedeStadium dressing room after they upset Mumbai in a Ranji Trophy gameIt was a nightmare of a tournament for J&K as they lost all but one match finishing last in their group.After being beaten by Jharkhand, it was J&K skipper and India international Parveez Rasool whorequested Dhoni to have a chat with the boys. On rasool's request, the double World Cup winningskipper headed straightaway to the J&K dressing room and patiently listened to their queriesspending about 15 minutes. "Mahibhai has always been helpful on cricketing matters. That's hisnature. It was a great oppor tunity to learn a thing or two from Mahibhai. He is a great guy. I playedalongside him for India (Rasool's skipper in his brief stint with India team were Suresh Raina andVirat Kohli)," Rasool said. "I told him (Dhoni) few of our youngsters want to meet him for fiveminutes and within no time he obliged us and said 'I will go from here'," Rasool said. Some of themsaw Dhoni for the first time, while their reserve wicketkeeper Raman Thaploo was a great fan of the formerIndian camp as it was a lifetime opportunity for them. "It was a great opportunity for our youngsters who have seenDhoni only on TV... They saw Mahibhai for the first time today. Mahi went inside and answered theircricketing queries." Raman also got some wicketkeeping tips from his idol and there were sometips for their struggling batsmen and also their middle order batsman Ian Dev Singh, who is goingthorugh a patchy form with scores of 24, 0, 1, 13 and 2 in his last five innings.

KOHLI ACCUSES AUSTRALIA OF 'CROSSINGTHE LINE' IN BENGALURU TESTBENGALURU, (IANS) Accusing the Australians of repeatedly seeking clarification from suppor t staffhoused in front of television screens and laptops in the dressing room on the usage of the DecisionReview System (DRS), India skipper Virat Kohli on Tuesday claimed that he had reported about theincident to match referee Chris Broad. "I saw that two times happening when I was batting out there.I pointed it out to the umpires, that it's happened twice and I have seen their (Australia's) playerslooking up there for confirmation, and that's why the umpire was at him (captain Steve Smith),"Kohli said in the post-match press conference. "Because we observed that and we told the matchreferee as well, and we told the umpires they had been doing that for the last three days and that hadto stop. There's a line that you don't cross on the cricket field, sledging and playing against theopponents is different. I don't want to mention the word, but it falls into that bracket. I would never dosomething like that on the cricket field," he added.

MidWeek 23MIDWEEK NEWS WEEKLY

TUESDAY, AUGUST 28, 2012

MIDWEEK NEWS WEEKLY

TUESDAY, MARCH 07, 2017

TIGER SHROFF AND BILL DOSANJH AT THE SUPER FIGHT LEAGUE BETWEEN BENGALURU TIGERS AND GOA PIRATES IN NEW DELHI.

BEAST TAKE OVER FIRST PLACEWITH SHUTOUT WIN OVER THUNDER

BRAMPTON - For the second straight game, Brampton Beast netminderZach Fucale turned in a flawless performance, this time making 23saves to lif t the Beast to first place in the Nor th Division with anenergetic 3-0 win over the Adirondack Thunder in front of 5,020 scream-ing school children at the Powerade Centre on Tuesdayafternoon.Jordan Henry netted the game-winner in the second period while,Brandon Marino enjoyed a big two-point game and Brandon MacLeanadded a single tally of his own to help the Beast take a two crucialpoints from their division rivals. Fuelled by a sellout crowd for SchoolDay at the Powerade Centre, the Beast came out flying in the firsttwenty minutes to the screams of the thousands of Peel Region schoolchildren.The first period was a back-and-for th affair as both teams enjoyed theenergy boost from the capacity crowd assembled at the PoweradeCentre. The teams skated to a scoreless opening period as both Fucaleand Thunder star ting goaltender Mason McDonald looked sharp head-ing into the first intermission. The Beast enjoyed a 11-10 edge on theshot clock after 20 minutes of play.Midway through the game, the home team sent the crowd into a frenzywhen Henry opened the scoring at 9:30. After Marino picked off anAdirondack clearing attempt along the half-boards, the Beast captain

slid the puck to Henry at the left point and he fired off a laser of a slapshot that dar ted past McDonald on the far side, giving Henry hiseighth goal of the season.The remainder of the period was a tightly-contested affair with neitherteam wanting to give up any significant oppor tunities. The Thunderoutshot the Beast 7-5 in the second period to earn a 17-16 edge on theshot clock heading into the final period.Early in the final frame, Beast defenseman Willie Corrin took a step inover the red line and send a hard shot in wide of the goal. The pucktook a solid bounce off the back wall and Brandon MacLean hustledhard to meet the loose puck and slammed home his 20th goal of theseason to give the Beast a much-needed two-goal lead at 7:48.The Thunder fought back hard throughout the remainder of the third period andsent six shots against Fucale in the final stanza alone, but the Beast netminderappeared cool, calm and collected and stopped every puck sent his way. The giantcrowd assembled at the Powerade Centre were forced to hold their breath in thefinal moments as the Beast were nabbed on back-to-back penalties late in the thirdperiod. The Thunder elected to pull their goaltender in the final three minutesbut Marino put the game away at 17:16 as he outmuscled theAdirondack defenseman and buried a shor thanded empty-netter toseal the victory.

Kohli, Ashwin chosen forBCCI 2016-17 awards

BENGALURU, (IANS) India skipper Virat Kohli, who has beenon a roll with the willow, was on Wednesday named for theprest ig ious Pol ly Umrigar award whi le a l l - rounderRavichandran Ashwin will be presented the Dilip Sardesaiaward at the Board of Control for Cricket in India's (BCCI) an-nual awards tomorrow, March 8. Kohli, who first received theaward in 2011-12 and in 2014-15, will become the first Indiancricketer to be bestowed with the honour on three occasions."Team India captain Virat Kohli will be presented with the pres-tigious Polly Umrigar Award, given to the International Crick-eter of the Year, at the BCCI Annual Awards to be held inBengaluru on March 8," the BCCI said in a statement. Ashwin,who won the Dilip Sardesai award in 2011, will become thefirst Indian cricketer to receive the honour twice. The Chennaitweaker, who was adjudged the International Cricket Council's(ICC) Test cricketer of the year, was instrumental in India's Testseries wins against New Zealand, England and Bangladeshwith both the bat and the ball."R. Ashwin will also become the first Indian cricketer to re-ceive the Dilip Sardesai award twice. The all-rounder first wonthe award instituted to honour the best performance in the bi-lateral Test series between India and West Indies after beingnamed the Man of the Series in the three-match Test series in2011. In the four-match Test series last year, Ashwin againpicked up the Man-of-the-Series award for his outstanding show.In four Tests, he scored two centuries and picked 17 wicketsincluding two five-wicket hauls," the statement read.

Sreesanth seeks judicialsolace for lifting banKOCHI, (IANS) Tainted Indian speedster S. Sreesanth has ap-proached the Kerala High Cour t with a petition seeking thelifting of the ban imposed by the BCCI, even after a Delhicour t exonerated him in the spot fixing case. His stock fellafter he was arrested in the midst of the 2013 edition of theIndian Premier League (IPL) and was lodged at the Tiharjail. The 34-year-old Sreesanth, who hails from here, hadwritten to former Comptroller and Auditor General VinodRai last month, who heads the Supreme Court-appointed Commit-tee of Administrators (CoA) of the Board of Control for Cricket in India(BCCI), seeking justice as he has lost four years. In his petition that wasfiled recently, Sreesanth said that the BCCI disciplinary committee basedtheir report on the Delhi police report. He pointed out that in 2015, Delhicourt exonerated him and two other players in the case registered by theDelhi Police which invoked the Maharashtra Control of Organised CrimeAct (MCOCA) and hence his life ban should be lifted.

24 MidWeek MIDWEEK NEWS WEEKLY

TUESDAY, MARCH 07, 2017