Taking care of leather shoes in summer is not so cumbersome. Just keep them away from direct sunlight and water, say experts. Kanika Bhatia, Chief Experience Officer, Egoss, and Ambud Sharma, Founder, Escaro Royale Luxury (Escaro.in), tell how to maintain your leather shoes:

1. Keep them away from direct sunlight: Leather fades faster when exposed to sunlight. If it is kept out of direct sunlight, it will fade naturally over time. Sunlight can lead to drying and cracking. Ideal places to store leather footwear are darker places with some humidity, with slight ventilation to avoid formation of mildew.

2. Avoid keeping socks in shoes: Shoes wear off faster if socks are kept inside the shoes as they leave a pungent smell leading to bad odour that transpires into the socks worn with the shoes.

3. Don't store shoes in plastic/grocery bags: Leather shoes need some ventilation. Air should be able to pass through leather. For this, shoes should never be stored in plastic or grocery bags. Use bags made of breathable fabric and pillow cases to keep the shoes.

4. Do not wear the same pair daily: Leather shoes need time to dry up naturally as they have a tendency to soak water from your feet. Wearing the same pair everyday will not help the shoe to dry up leading to a faster wear down.

5. Use shoe tree: Keeping shoe tree in the shoe would enable it to maintain its shape, reduce creases and also to soak in excess moisture and odour.

6. Cleaning is important: Regular cleaning, polishing and conditioning play an important role in taking care of leather shoes. You should clean, polish and condition your leather pieces regularly with high quality cleaners and sprays to increase its lifespan. Always clean your leather shoes with a soft cloth before applying special shoe cream on the soft leather handcrafted products.

7. Stay away from water: Don't put water on your leather products especially hand-painted products.

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Mothers seem to be almost supernaturally gifted with the ability to instantly lift spirits and make us feel loved and cared for. As International Mothers Day draws closer, let us celebrate their wonderful presence in our lives by making them feel extra special. Satish Kannan, Co-founder and CEO of DocsApp and Ankit Garg, Co-founder and CEO of Wakefit.co give away some solutions that can make your mother happy:

1. Gift her a healthy life: Let her know how much you appreciate her selfless care by gifting her on-demand medical assistance and access to quality medical consultation.

2. Gift her blissful sleep: After a hectic day at work and home, the least your mother deserves is a good night's sleep so she can be fully rejuvenated to face the next day with abundant energy. Help her sleep healthier with a high quality and comfortable mattress that makes her feel more rested in a shorter period of time.

3. Gift her career growth: It is not unlikely that your mother took a professional break to raise you and your siblings. Now that you're all grown up and independent, encourage her to kick-start her career once again.

Here are some more interesting ways to thank your mom:

4. Plant flowers for her: It is time to make the most of the summer season. Buy flowers like lilies, zinnia, marigold and plan them for your mom.

5. Cook her favourite dish: Your mom must be cooking for you on each and every day of the year. But, on Mother's Day, let her take a break from routine kitchen activities and you cook her favouriet dish. Bring all ingredients in advance, make the dish and let her relax and enjoy a delicious meal.

(Edited by mid-day online desk, with inputs from IANS)

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A frame from the series, Music for Everyone. Pic/Yuyang Liu

The town of Siem Reap in Cambodia is a fascinating blend of history, modernity and culture. While the magnificent temple complex of Angkor Wat is no more than 6 km away from the picturesque location, it is also home to artisan collectives and Cambodian Cultural Village that gives a glimpse of the country's diverse cultural heritage. Since 2005, the city has also been the venue for Angkor Photo Festival & Workshops (APFW), a non-profit cultural association founded by noted names in photography from across the world - including members of Magnum Photos - to nurture Asia's photographic community by providing an affordable and self-sustainable platform for professional training.

From the series, Two Eyes Good, Four Eyes Bad. Pic/Rebecca Chew

Over the years, emerging photographers from India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Iran, Indonesia, Japan and Cambodia among other Asian countries have attended tuition-free professional workshops, worked on a photo story inspired by their surroundings and showcased their project at the end of the festival. The APFW alumni community is a thriving one, where collaborations and creative exchange is common. Photographers from Mumbai, too, have participated in the festival, and to introduce emerging lensmen from the city to its upcoming edition in December, APFW alumni will conduct an interactive session this Saturday. The session, being held in Mumbai for the first time, is part the Angkor Hangover series of events organised across Asia.

From the series, Bokator, on young Cambodians trying to resurrect a traditional form of martial arts. Pic/Zishaan A Latif 

"The mentors are people whose work I admire. And when a group of 30 individuals with eclectic practices and realities specific to their countries come to learn from them, they also learn from each other," says freelance photographer and filmmaker Aishwarya Arumbakkam, who participated in the festival in 2016 and is one of the organisers of the Mumbai session. Multimedia projections by photographers from the 2016 batch are also a part of the evening.

From the series, Ahp. Pic/Aishwarya Arumbakkam

While applications are shortlisted on the basis of merit, freelance photographer and alumna Karen Dias explains that to keep the programme accessible and inclusive, there is no upper age limit for applicants. Fellow alumnus of the 2009 batch, Zishaan Akbar Latif, recalls, "As a budding photographer, you are terrified of showing your work, but you realise that others are in the same boat, too. Being in that quaint part of the world at a workshop that's different from its uptight counterparts helps you loosen up," he shares.

APFW organising committee member Andrea Fernandes, who has been associated with the festival for five years, sums up its nature, "This event is initiated by alumni and this is the direction we want the festival to go in - where every person associated can have a space to speak about their work and collaborations."

ON: May 12, 5 pm to 7 pm
AT: Trilogy by the Eternal Library, Raghuvanshi Mills Compound, Senapati Bapat Marg, Lower Parel.
CALL: 8080590590

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Are you someone that likes living life on the edge, from salary to salary, buying something as and when you set eyes on it, without worrying about your savings, and a "dekha jayega" attitude? That may seem cool -- but it's also a short cut to financial disaster. Walnut App CEO and Co-Founder Patanjali Somayaji lists five ways to ensure you don't go broke. Ever.

Download a money management app to track your expenses
If you have never been the type to track your expenses, now is a good time to start. You can download an app that tracks your spends and set a budget, keep a watch on your upcoming credit card and utility bill payments, as well as see how much you owe or have to get from others. This is the first step to getting your finances streamlined.

Make a plan and set goals for yourself
Set short-term (a few months ahead) and long-term (a year and beyond) goals. It could be anything from taking up a new hobby like learning the guitar, to buying a new phone/laptop/camera, getting married, buying a new house or being debt-free by a certain date, and so on. Based on the plan, break it down into quarterly and monthly goals so you know how much to save, how much is safe to spend and so on. Having a plan will give you an overview and much better control of your finances.

Set up an emergency fund
Once you're tracking your spends and have set goals, you know how much money you need to allocate to each of them. You would also get an estimate of your spending pattern and expenses for each month. Based on this, have an emergency fund in place that will take care of at least 6-8 months' worth of living expenses so that in case of a mishap or a loss of job, you don't go broke, and have something to fall back on. You can set it up so that a certain percentage of your salary/income each month is automatically transferred to this fund. It could be in a different bank account, a fixed deposit, or even a liquid fund -- and most importantly, it should be accessible easily and quickly when needed urgently.

Set limits for your spend categories
Take a look at your spends in greater detail to understand where the money goes each month. Assign limits to each of these categories for the month and see how you're doing at the end of the month. This will give you an idea of your lifestyle and if you're spending more than you earn, as well as where you can cut down on unnecessary spends.

Stay debt-free
Credit cards can be extremely useful -- for regular spends as well as during emergencies, and over time, with a good payment history, can boost your credit score too. However, if you're the type of person who cannot pay off credit card bills in full each month or who just pays the minimum amount due, stick to using your debit card or cash, or even a Line of Credit, which has a lower interest rate. Revolving credit on a credit card can be dangerous for your finances, and it can take you several years to repay the entire outstanding amount.

There will always be changes in situations, your current needs and requirements as well as your cash flow, so every 3-6 months, you should re-look at your plan and goals, and modify as needed to stay on top of your finances.

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New Delhi: From decor options to the fabrics to colour code, tweaking your decor can help you keep your home feel cool in summer, say experts. Anuj Srivastava, co-founder and CEO of Livspace, and Adarsh Menon, Vice President and Head of Private Labels at Flipkart, share some tips to keep your home fresh and cool.

Decor options: Going Scandinavian is a summer-friendly choice to make. The emphasis is on creating a muted colour palette with clean lines, to allow the space to breathe and eliminate chaos. You can add plenty of greenery to the mileu that will help keep the temperatures from rising. Floating flower arrangements or installing a waterbody at home, along with muting the lighting to cooler options, will also help.

Keep it cool: Plenty of factors, apart from air conditioning, can aid in keeping your home cool. Replace the heavy rugs, blankets and drapes with lighter, eco-friendly materials in fresh colours like white, light blue, pink and green. If you do have an outdoor space, no matter how small, you should clean it up and set up seating options. If space permits, you can even set up a barbeque and move the party outdoors. As far as fabrics go, stick to cotton, linen and sheer materials to keep your home summer fresh. You can also opt for florals in cushions, accent pieces and paintings, or even get fresh cut flowers for the table to brighten up your living spaces.

Pastel palette: Doing up the home furniture in pastel shades adds a tinge of coolness to the eye that finds its way to the mind. Apart from making one feel cooler, pastel colours add that quirky look we so like. These colours can be incorporated in dining table chairs, bean bags, sofa sets, wardrobes and beds.

The forest look: One of the most refreshing looks for the summers is the forest look. Juxtapose the dark wood furniture with green plants. You can go for real or artificial plants and use them at the sides of your solid wood study table, dark wood TV units, bedsides, on top of dining table. For more adorned look, you could cover the flanks of your wardrobes, and even inside the bathrooms.

Cooling gel mattresses: They go a long way in making summers bearable. Gel memory foam mattresses do not trap heat like latex or ordinary foam mattresses. They are made using open cell technology which helps in air circulation resulting in a cool mattress for your comfort. Apart from giving a luxurious feeling, it also gives comfort.

Metallic accents and glass: Use of of luxe metallic touches in home decors is not new. The choice of metallic finish makes a huge difference. Think silver metallic finish with dark accents. It adds oomph and makes the area look neat and clutter-free.

Important tip for all: Invest in trendy, good quality, affordable furniture. When buying furniture, one major concern is durability. In a market that is largely unorganised the assurance of durability is hard to get.

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New Delhi: You may not be able to escape the sweltering heat when you are outside, but you can make your home a cool haven by playing around with colours and adding greenery to your walls, suggest experts. A colour palette, when used well, can help in creating a naturally refreshing environment at home.

Peeyush Bachlaus, Head of Marketing at Kansai Nerolac Paints Ltd, suggests four decor trends, in hues that range from cool blues and soothing greens to mellow yellows:

For a blissful green escape: Surround yourself with the colours of a secret garden, leaving everything else a pristine white. The colour green is well-associated with nature, allowing a room to feel relaxing to the eyes and refreshing for your mind. When paired with white, this palette can turn a bland room into a welcoming paradise. Green is also one of the easiest colours to adorn your interiors as pairing various shades of green with just about any other colour can work beautifully.

For a breezy haven: Large plants and strong colours are natural decor accents that bring lushness into one's home. This summer, transform your interiors into a cool breezy tropical paradise with the help of verdant aquatic colours with a cheerful palette of cool blues, mellow yellows, bright oranges and lush greens. These colours will make sure that your time home is a breeze and you feel the freshness of an aquatic theme.

For an eccentric summer makeover: Given our busy lifestyles and the sweltering heat to add to it, we all need an escape. Let your home be that much needed exotic escape by curating one area in your home. Mix and match cool blue and violet walls fearlessly, framing it with crisp white accents. Natural materials and details make this a room for all to enjoy. Colours such as blues and whites are cool colours as they help keep our mind cool and relaxed even during the sweltering heat of the summers.

For a refreshing classic look: A carefully curated palette of white and near white tones that form a blank canvas to your artistic home. As a trend, masterpiece white walls are refreshing. Radiant light coming in through the windows is the accent in these calm rooms. Bring artwork to focus by trying out alternative accent wall colours.

Sujit Jain, Founder, Griin, says vertical gardens can transform your dull walls immediately and purify the environment too.
"Vertical gardens not only add to the aesthetic value of the walls but they come with a lot of functional benefits also. The thick vegetation limits the movement of heat and helps to regulate sunlight and temperature even during the hot afternoons that makes it a perfect fit for summer decors.

"Some varieties of plants are also useful in absorbing potentially harmful gases and cleaning the air inside modern buildings. In addition to this, incorporating vertical gardens in the decor of any building brings a living element to the environment and being around greenery helps in reducing the stress levels also."

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An EU-funded project has driven collaboration on renewable energy between businesses and researchers in Armenia, Belarus, Georgia and Moldova with counterparts from EU countries. The links are boosting innovation - helping the participating countries make the transition to more sustainable energy sources.

Voting day is here, but not all of us remember how exactly to go about it. Don't worry, mid-day's refresher has it all covered. Among the most important things to remember is to not forget to carry any one of the 11 accepted identity proof documents (see: Valid proof of identity) and to not use your mobile phone in and around the polling booth. Voting begins at 7 am sharp and will last until 6 pm.

While some of us may have got the voting slips, those who haven't got theirs need not panic. All you need to do is go up to one of the helpdesks set up at street corners and look for your name. If your name is on the list, the corresponding voting booth number and other details will be mentioned there. You can also look for your name online before leaving the house on https://electoralsearch.in. If your name is not on this list, you cannot vote. No argument. Do remember to register yourself on https://www.nvsp.in before the assembly elections.

Police officers being briefed about bandobast duty a day before voting day in the city. Pic/Sameer Marakande

No mobile phones

Mobile phones cannot be used within 100 metres of the polling booth, but for the working population of the city, who either votes on its way to or from work, you may carry your phone with you but must remember to either switch it off or keep it on silent mode. Cars and bikes, too, will have to be parked 100 metres away from polling booths. Only designated vehicles carrying people with disabilities will be allowed close to polling booths.

Only 11 valid ID documents

Please remember that the voter slip is not proof of identity. You have to also carry any one of the 11 identity cards. If you have none of them, once again, you cannot vote.

Please do not argue with the election duty staff, they have no role to play in this.

Shivaji Jondhale, Mumbai City Collector, said, "If there is no name on the electoral list, then people cannot vote. It is very important to be a registered voter. Further, if there is no voting slip but your name is on the electoral list of the Election Commission and you have a valid ID card, then by checking with the help desk you can find out the polling station and can exercise your right to vote."

Wait for the beep

The confusion about the long press while registering your vote on the electronic voting machine was cleared by Collector officials. They said your vote is considered registered once the long beep is heard. Do keep your finger pressed on the button until you hear it or your vote will not be registered.

Live Blog: Elections 2019 Phase 4 Live Updates: Anil Ambani, Rekha cast their vote

Come out and vote!

The Election Commission has taken various measures to ensure citizens come out and vote. The total number of voters in the city, is 96.39 lakh. The EC and Collector offices of the city are aiming at a voting percentage of at least 61% this time from 41% in 2009 and 51% in 2014.

Citizens, too, have come forward to help increase voter turnout. An ALM from Juhu has organised a pick-up for senior citizens to the polling booths. The EC, too, has organised help for people with disabilities. Further, in order to ensure proper transport system during the voting process, the Collector offices have organised 2,985 vehicles in Mumbai suburban district and 1,769 vehicles in Mumbai Island City.

There is a staff of 15,000 working in the island city and over 60,000 in the suburbs on election duty. There are 2,601 polling stations in the island city which has two constituencies, and 7,472 polling stations in the suburbs that have four constituencies, said officials.

Also read: Elections 2019: Mumbai Police to deploy 40,000 cops on election duty; issue guidelines

Students, take that selfie!

This year, the EC and government officials have been explaining the electoral process to young students in the hope that it reaches their parents at home. One of the initiatives is the 'selfie' movement, where students have been urged to take their parents to polling booths and put up selfies on social media with their parents after voting.

96.39l
No. of voters in Mumbai

61
Voting percentage that the Election Commission is expecting in Mumbai

Also read: Elections 2019: 422 polling stations in Mumbai declared 'critical'

Valid proof of identity

• Passport
• Driving licence
• Identity card issued by the Election Commission/Central and state government/ Public Enterprises / Local Body Institutes
• Bank passbook with photograph
• PAN card from the Income Tax Department
• ID card given by the Census Commissioner
• Job Card under Employment Guarantee Scheme
• Health card from the labour ministry
• Pension passbook or pension payment order with photograph of the retired employee
• ID card of MLA/MP
• Aadhaar card, too, will be considered as identity proof

Also read: Elections 2019: Popular politicians and key battles in Mumbai

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An auto driver has been arrested by the Mumbai police for looting a senior citizen in Chembur last month. According to the police, the arrested accused has been identified as Subedar Bind, 34. An officer said that on March 23, 72-year-old Kalawati Pednekar was looted by Bind and a friend. Pednekar told the police that on that day she had visited Chembur Gymkhana to attend a wedding.

However, owing to her advanced age, she had become tired and left the reception around 9pm. Outside, she found Bind's auto and got in. On the way to Pednekar's residence in Kalina, the driver stopped his auto near Kurla, where his friend, whose name is not known, got into the auto. Bind told Pednekar that the friend wanted to be dropped off at Kalina.

On the way, he stopped the auto and told Pednekar that because he had some work, the friend would drop her home. Bind's friend drove the auto for a few kilometers when he stopped the auto and told her that the fuel was over and hence he could not drive any further. Pednekar paid him and took another auto home. Once she reached home, she found all her valuables missing from her bag.

She approached the Chembur police and lodged an FIR against the auto driver. An officer said, "We scanned CCTV footage and spotted the accused. On April 26, we arrested him from Uttar Pradesh. We are looking for the other accused." During investigation, the police came to know that Bind had arrived in Mumbai one month ago and had been driving the auto of one of his friends.

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Busy Mumbaikars who cannot stop at the local vegetable vendor have found increasing comfort in stocking up their groceries from online portals offering attractive discounts and home delivery, a recent study has found.

The study, titled, Assessing the Impact of Online Grocery Shopping in Mumbai found that middle class citizens spent the highest amount of time shopping online due to time constraints.

The study found that people between the age group of 35-45, primarily married couples, are regular user of online grocery shopping portals. Representation pic/Getty Images

The survey, conducted among 117 respondents in Mumbai, found that people between the age group of 35-45 are regular user of online grocery shopping portals like Amazon Pantry, Grofers, Nature's Basket, Big Basket and others.

Married couples are more regular on the sites as well, due to their nature of their jobs. It also observed that websites combining offers or discounts on products along with home delivery services were the main attraction for customers.

Pick-up points to collect groceries ordered online, like this one by D-Mart in Bandra east, have also proved to be a hit. Pic/Pradeep Dhivar

Dr Rupali Rajesh, associate professor at the Vivekanand Education Society Institute of Management Studies and Research, who published the paper, said accessibility and discounts offered are the main attractions for buyers.

"Mumbai is considered as one of the busiest cities where people have to commute for hours. It becomes really hectic for people to go for grocery shopping, which is why the demand for online grocery shopping is growing. I found out through my study that discounts and saving time were the two biggest parameters for deciding the mood of the buyers," Dr Rajesh said.

Dr Rupali Rajesh

"Our data shows that as many as 41.9 per cent of the surveyed people who regularly use online grocery portals are in the age group of 35-45 years. This is followed by the age group in 25-35, who have a daily usage rate of 31.6 per cent. While interviewing respondents, it was observed that 68 per cent of the users who fall into these two age categories were married. They have to handle office work along with domestic activities, which hardly laves them with enough time to go to the markets," added Dr Rajesh.

The study also revealed that citizens earning in the range of R1 lakh to 5 lakh annually did the highest amount of online grocery shopping, mainly due to discounts provided there. Most of these sites provide discounts on groceries, with several offering the highest discounts on weekends. It also pointed out that the possibility of replacing products, wide variety and availability also proved to be a factor for online shopping.

41.9% People in the age group of 35-45 who shop for groceries online

31.6% People in the age group of 25-35 who shop for groceries online

68% Married couples in the two age groups who shop online

Rs 1 lakh -Rs 5 lakh Income range of middle class online shoppers

(The survey was conducted among 117 participants)

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With Saturday evening marking the last day of campaigning, most candidates spent Sunday at their office, after a month of being on the field to woo voters. Most of them held meetings with party workers.

Speaking to mid-day, Shiv Sena-BJP candidate from Mumbai North West constituency, Gajanan Kirtikar said, "I am really happy with the support we have got during campaigning and it will work in my favour because the Shiv Sena-BJP has delivered on the promises that were made. The added advantage for Shiv Sena-BJP is that we have a very good force of party cadres on ground and their efforts will help us achieve success. I would also appeal to voters to come out in large numbers and cast their votes."

While many candidates interacted with party workers and people from the constituency, many also studied voting patterns to understand where they stand, instead of having a relaxing day at home. Shiv Sena workers have been assigned various tasks including interacting with voters in their localities and requesting them to come out and vote in large numbers.

Mumbai North West Congress-NCP candidate Sanjay Nirupam said, "There has been a good response to our campaigning and all I can say is that people should come out in large numbers and exercise their right of voting." Other candidates such as Rahul Shewale (Mumbai South Central), Eknath Gaikwad (Mumbai South Central) and Gopal Shetty (Mumbai North) spent the Sunday in their offices similarly.

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Polling for the fourth phase of the Lok Sabha polls began on Monday in 71 Lok Sabha constituencies spread across nine states. Over 12.79 crore voters will decide the fate of 945 candidates today. Polling started on a peaceful note in 17 Lok Sabha constituencies in Maharashtra for the fourth and final phase of 2019 parliamentary elections, officials said on Monday.

Pic courtesy/Pradeep Dhiwar

As many as 3,11,92,823 voters, including 1418 transgenders, are eligible to exercise their franchise for which the Election Commission of India has set up a total 33,314 polling stations in these constituencies, deployed 68,018 balloting units, 39,977 control units and 43,309 VVPAT-EVMs.

Pic courtesy/Suresh KK

The 17 constituencies polling are: Mumbai North, Mumbai North-West, Mumbai North-East, Mumbai North-Central, Mumbai South-Central, Mumbai South, Nandurbar, Dhule, Dindori, Nashik, Palghar, Bhiwandi, Kalyan, Thane, Maval, Shirur and Shirdi.

Pic courtesy/Sameer Markande

Pic courtesy/Sameer Markande

Pic courtesy/Sameer Markande

Voting will be conducted from 7 am to 6 pm under stringent security measures with over 40,000 personnel on guard only in Mumbai, officials said.

Pic courtesy/Bipin Kokate

Anil Ambani was spotted casting his vote in Mumbai

Pic courtesy/Sneha Kharabe

Mumbai: BJP candidate from Amethi, Smriti Irani and her husband Zubin Irani cast their vote at a polling booth in Versova. #LokSabhaElections2019 pic.twitter.com/rPmk33TXlT

— ANI (@ANI) April 29, 2019

Priya Dutt and husband Owen Roncon cast their vote in Mumbai

Pic courtesy/Sneha Kharabe

Director Kunal Kohli casted his vote in Mumbai

Pic courtesy/Sneha Kharabe

Tennis player Mahesh Bhupathi cast his vote in Bandra

Pic courtesy/Ranjeet Jadav

Film maker Vishal Bhardwaj casted his vote in Andheri West

Union Min&BJP leader Piyush Goyal after casting his vote at Walsingham School, Malabar Hill in Mumbai: This election is now a Tsunami election. North South,East&West, Modi wave has overtaken the country. PM Modi is the tallest leader today in the country. #LokSabhaElections2019 pic.twitter.com/S6fXnrhLE1

— ANI (@ANI) April 29, 2019

Pic courtesy/Ranjeet Jadav

Sanjay Nirupam with family cast his vote in Andheri West

The Election Commission has set up 1.40 lakh polling booths/stations and has made elaborate security arrangements. 

Pic courtesy/Yogen Shah

Urmila Matondkar present at the polling booth to cast her vote.

Pic courtesy/Sneha Kharabe

Actor Amir Khan cast his vote in Bandra

Pic curtesy/Yogen Shah

Actor Anupam Kher cast his vote 

Polling will be held in 17 seats in Maharashtra, 13 each in Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, eight in West Bengal, six each in Madhya Pradesh and Odisha, five in Bihar, three in Jharkhand and a part of the Anantnag constituency in Jammu and Kashmir.

Pic courtesy/Nimesh Dave

Gopal Shetty with family at the voting booth in Mumbai

Pic courtesy/Bipin Kokate

Milind Deora with family at the polling booth in Mumbai

Pic courtesy/Faizan Khan

Manoj Kotak cast his vote in Mumbai

In the first three phases, voting has been held in 302 Lok Sabha constituencies, and 168 more seats will go to polls in the last three phases. Election to 542 Lok Sabha seats is being conducted in seven phases between April 11 and May 19. Election in Vellore constituency in Tamil Nadu has been cancelled following excess use of money power. Results will be declared on May 23.

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As Mumbaikars set out to vote in the Phase 4 of Lok Sabha elections 2019 a glitch in the EVM machine led to delay in voting at a polling booth in Malad west.

Voting was yet to begin at booth number 162 of Malad West, Daulat school in Mumbai when this report was being filed. A technical glitch was detected in the EVM machine that led to the delay.

#LokSabhaElections2019 : Voting is yet to begin at booth number 162 of Malad West in Mumbai after a glitch in EVM was detected. #Maharashtra

— ANI (@ANI) April 29, 2019

The machine was being replaced by the poll authorities.

Also read: Elections 2019 in Mumbai: Everything you need to know before you vote

A total of 422 polling stations have been declared critical which include 65 from the suburbs of Mumbai and 357 from the Island city. 

The instructions given by the Election Commission said that the booths that polled more than 75 per cent votes in the last elections or where the same candidate got 75 per cent votes have been marked as critical. Law and order situation has also been kept in mind. 

Meanwhile, veteran actress Shubha Khote, BJP MP Paresh Rawal and his wife Swaroop Sampat have already cast their vote.

In yet another constituency, voting got delayed at booth no 19 in Sion Koliwada in Pratikshanagar as the EVM machine was not working. The voting process got delayed by an hour by the time the glitch was fixed. 

However, a senior official who spoke to mid-day said, "No polling station has been found to be sensitive even after a detailed study, but even the critical ones will be monitored closely by us. The live webcasting will be continuously monitored by the EC-appointed observers."

(with inputs from Samiullah Khan)

Also read: Elections 2019 Phase 4 Live Updates: Anil Ambani, Rekha cast their vote

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Polling for the fourth phase of the Lok Sabha polls began on Monday in 71 Lok Sabha constituencies spread across nine states. Over 12.79 crore voters will decide the fate of 945 candidates today. Mumbai Police on Twitter shared a heartwarming post of senior citizens at the polling booths. 

Mumbai police on Twitter known for their quirky yet remarkable tweets, share an impactful message of senior citizens of Mumbai setting an example for the youth of the city with their active voting.

Leading by example, they vote till this age so that democracy lives longer and healthier! They have fulfilled their responsibility of creating a legacy, it is our responsibility to keep it alive. MRA Marg policemen assisting senior citizens to vote comfortably #LetsVoteMumbai pic.twitter.com/lDUkJyJSVm

— Mumbai Police (@MumbaiPolice) April 29, 2019

The Mumbai police is also seen helping the elderly voters at the polling booths by holding their hand and offering them assistance as they walk towards the booth.

Raising the bar for the youth, senior citizens across the city are turning out in large numbers at the polling booths to vote. It is our pleasure to help them in every little way we can. #YourChoiceMatters #LetsVoteMumbai #LokSabhaElections2019 #लà¥Â‹à¤Â•à¤¸à¤­à¤¾à¤¨à¤¿à¤µà¤¡à¤£à¥Â‚à¤Â•à¥¨à¥¦à¥§à¥¯ pic.twitter.com/jH2KAO0IcS

— Mumbai Police (@MumbaiPolice) April 29, 2019

As many as 40 polling booths in these constituencies, including 26 in suburban Mumbai, are being managed women. As many as 3.11 crore voters spread across the Mumbai metropolitan region and northern and western Maharashtra are eligible to exercise their franchise to decide the fate of 323 candidates in the fray in these 17 seats.

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A voter turnout of 6.82 per cent was recorded in the first two hours in Maharashtra's 17 seats on Monday as polling for the fourth and last phase of Lok Sabha elections in the state got underway.

Voting begins for fourth phase of #LokSabhaElections2019 in 72 constituencies, across 9 states. pic.twitter.com/WrwCeb0s6X

— ANI (@ANI) April 29, 2019

#Mumbai: Voters queue outside polling booth number 40 & 41 in South Mumbai parliamentary constituency. #LokSabhaElections2019 pic.twitter.com/tRnHiTURvo

— ANI (@ANI) April 29, 2019

Mumbai: Visuals from polling station number 212-222 at Vibgyor School in Mumbai North West constituency where preparation ahead of voting is underway. Voting for the fourth phase of #LokSabhaElections2019 will begin at 7 AM today. pic.twitter.com/CTA3M5Fnhf

— ANI (@ANI) April 29, 2019

Polling began at 7 am and long queues were seen outside many booths. BJP MP Poonam Mahajan, industrialist Anil Ambani, Congress nominee Urmila Matondkar and actor Rekha were among the early voters in Mumbai. State education minister Vinod Tawde, BJP candidate from Mumhai-North East Manoj Kotak and Congress nominee from Mumbai-Central Eknath Gaikwad also exercised their franchise in the initial hours.

Mumbai: Preparations are underway at polling station 283 in Hill Road, Bandra West. Voting for the fourth phase of #LokSabhaElections2019 will begin at 7 AM today. pic.twitter.com/hdRkIs8a63

— ANI (@ANI) April 29, 2019

Mumbai: Visuals of preparation from polling booth number 40 and 41 in Mumbai South constituency. Voting for the #LokSabhaElections2019 will begin at 7 AM today. pic.twitter.com/U78lVcawtj

— ANI (@ANI) April 29, 2019

Mumbai: A woman being carried to cast her vote at polling booth number 181 in Mahim by her family member and polling staff. #LokSabhaElections2019 pic.twitter.com/V7loyU0CWJ

— ANI (@ANI) April 29, 2019

Mumbai: Anil Ambani casts his vote at voting centre number 216 at GD Somani School in Cuffe Parade. #LokSabhaElections2019 pic.twitter.com/II9VZJvjmV

— ANI (@ANI) April 29, 2019

#Mumbai: Actor Anupam Kher casts his votes at polling booth no.235-240 in Juhu. #LokSabhaElections2019 pic.twitter.com/o7ZGITSzrF

— ANI (@ANI) April 29, 2019

#Mumbai: Actors Bhagyashree and Sonali Bendre after casting their votes at a polling booth in Vile Parle. #LokSabhaElections2019 pic.twitter.com/cJFwpTtgKA

— ANI (@ANI) April 29, 2019

The voting figures till 9 am are as follows: Nandurbar-8.73 per cent, Dhule-6.31 per cent, Dindori -7.28 per cent, Nashik-6.69 per cent, Palghar-7.86 per cent, Bhiwandi-6.21 per cent, Kalyan-5 per cent, Thane-6.77 per cent, Mumbai-North- 7.85 per cent, Mumbai-North West 6.90 per cent, Mumbai-North East- 7 per cent, Mumbai-North Central 5.98 per cent, Mumbai-South Central-6.45 per cent, Mumbai- South 5.91 per cent, Maval-6.67 per cent, Shirur-7.07 per cent and Shirdi 7.28 per cent.

#Mumbai: NCP Chief Sharad Pawar after casting his vote at polling booth 31 in Tardeo. #LokSabhaElections2019 pic.twitter.com/G8VNrNwESd

— ANI (@ANI) April 29, 2019

As many as 40 polling booths in these constituencies, including 26 in suburban Mumbai, are being managed women. As many as 3.11 crore voters spread across the Mumbai metropolitan region and northern and western Maharashtra are eligible to exercise their franchise to decide the fate of 323 candidates in the fray in these 17 seats.

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Edited by mid-day online desk with inputs from Agencies

An average 18.39 per cent voter turnout was recorded in the first four hours in Maharashtra's 17 seats on Monday as polling for the fourth and last phase of Lok Sabha elections in the state was underway. Polling began at 7 am and long queues were seen outside many booths, some of which were decorated with balloons and 'rangolis'.

Mumbaikars took to the social media platform and posted their voting experience on Twitter. As many as 3.11 crore voters spread across the Mumbai metropolitan region and northern and western Maharashtra are eligible to exercise their franchise to decide the fate of 323 candidates in the fray in these 17 seats. Around 40 polling booths in these constituencies, including 26 in suburban Mumbai, are being managed by women.

#VoteKarMumbai
Citizens braving the hot weather and long queues to make their voices count at St Anthony school, Malvani church, Malad (w) pic.twitter.com/u88glP96iD

— Sushant shetty (@The_Outlaw_Poet) April 29, 2019

If you ain't voting then you ain't getting any right to rant about the government.

Use the opportunity to vote rather than enjoying the 'holiday".#VoteKarMumbai #VoteBecauseYouCan #VoteForChange pic.twitter.com/Tj3EkYhi3A

— SA (@Bts_sonia3) April 29, 2019

My first vote as a responsible citizen of India 🇮🇳 @narendramodi @PMOIndia @TanmayNPatel @siddhar98531723 @Republic_Bharat @ECISVEEP I appeal everyone to vote for better 🇮🇳 do your duty as a responsible citizen 🙏🏻 #2019Elections #VoteKarMumbai pic.twitter.com/L4B6rE3RNB

— Chowkidar shraddha shetty (@sssshetty499) April 29, 2019

#VoteKarMumbai Took 2.5 hrs to cast my vote due to EVM failure. Anyway guys use your wisdom before you cast your precious vote. pic.twitter.com/w4FLL8xb5J

— Sibu Varghese (@35ce5c7275f049b) April 29, 2019

#Keep phones at #home when you go to vote #LokSabhaElections2019 #VoteKarMumbai pic.twitter.com/uHKrcFr5Yy

— Richa Pinto (@richapintoTOI) April 28, 2019

I have Done my National Duty.Have You?#VoteKarMumbai #VoteForIndia pic.twitter.com/79i0T77cxh

— Shubham Anil Dhande (@ShubhamADhande) April 29, 2019

Monday done right ✔️✔️ #VoteKarMumbai #MumbaiVotesForNation pic.twitter.com/dAG7atOCCY

— Smita Diwan (@smitadiwan) April 29, 2019

Voting experience for the first time was quite good. All the officers and staff were doing great job and are cooperative with the people. #VoteKarMumbai #VoteIndia #VotingRound4 #UnitedByVote pic.twitter.com/1kosbophnn

— Bhanushali Disha (@dbhanushali01) April 29, 2019

Family trip to the polling booth is more important than a family trip over an extended weekend to a nearby tourist destination.Lonavala,Khandala etc etc will still be there next weekend,the polling booth won't.#LokSabhaElections2019 #VoteKarMumbai #Democracy #Elections2019 pic.twitter.com/uoss2FZsWI

— Rohit D (@rohitd1999) April 29, 2019

#VoteKarIndia #VoteKarMumbai #vote We did, did you? Pls go and vote, make a difference. pic.twitter.com/i1bd6qLF5W

— Prasanna R Coondapur (@prax3) April 29, 2019

Finished voting. Took us about 1.5 hours, but it's worth it if we get our voice heard and get to participate in this democracy. #Elections2019

Also, lots of first time voters! High time, but big ups! Today, I feel hopeful. Sweaty, but hopeful. #VoteKarMumbai pic.twitter.com/OSmCg2ZTtw

— Smriti Sant (@temporarysant) April 29, 2019

Ultra senior citizens with full of energy voted. feeling proud of them as my uncle & aunt!!#MumbaikarVoteKar #IndianElections2019 #Vote4Nation #VoteKarMumbai #VoteKar#DeshKaMahaTyohar@abpmajhatv @zeemarathi @zee24taasnews @ZeeTV @ECISVEEP @narendramodi @narendramodi_in pic.twitter.com/OdDkwToRXp

— Mangirish Herwadkar (@hmangirish) April 29, 2019

My First Vote to strengthen Democracy 👆
I Appeal you all to vote wisely 🙏#VoteForIndia #VoteKarMumbai #LokSabhaElection2019 #VoteBecauseYouCan pic.twitter.com/Pr2HESJiAj

— Prathamesh Thanekar (@One_two_ka_four) April 29, 2019

The voting figures till 11 am in other constituencies are as follows: Dhule- 18.26 per cent, Dindori - 21.06 per cent, Nashik- 17.22 per cent, Palghar- 21.46 per cent, Bhiwandi- 17.25 per cent, Thane-17.43 per cent, Mumbai-North- 19.46 per cent, Mumbai-North West 17.64 per cent, Mumbai-North East-18.39 per cent, Mumbai-North Central- 16.21 per cent, Mumbai-South Central-16.80 per cent, Mumbai- South 15.51 per cent, Maval- 18.23 per cent, Shirur- 18.65 per cent and Shirdi 20.55 per cent.

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More than 3.11 crore voters spread across 17 Lok Sabha constituencies will cast their vote today, in the final phase of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections in Maharashtra. While voters across North Maharashtra, Mumbai, Thane, Palghar and parts of Western Maharashtra gears up to cast their valuable votes come April 29, a popular restaurant in Malad added its own twist in order to urge its patron and voters to cast their votes as responsible citizens.

While the Mumbai votes today, innumerable initiatives have come up in the city with innovative ways to encourage people to exercise their franchise. However, a suburban restaurant in Malad came up with a cheeky poster to encourage voters to cast their valuable vote.

The cheeky message by Uncle's Kitchen, Malad requests voters to cast their voters on April 29, 2019

Uncle's Kitchen in Malad is a popular eatery and it put up a rather quirky poster on the wall outside their restaurant. The poster on the wall of Uncle's Chicken read, "We will keep our chicks away from you till 6 pm so that you can cast your valuable vote." Thus, urging their patrons and voters in Malad and Mumbai to come out in large numbers on April 29 and cast their vote. They, of course, were referring to their chicken dishes in the witty poster.

Uncle's Kitchen in Malad is a popular restaurant that serves Chinese cuisine and celebrities including Mithun Chakraborty, Raza Murad, music director Pritam, Mohnish Behl and Suresh Oberoi are believed to be regulars.

The right to vote is the gift of democracy. Let's all go out and VOTE!#VoteForIndia#LokSabhaElections2019 pic.twitter.com/CuzLniWUsn

— Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) April 26, 2019

Just two days ago, Bharat Ratna Sachin Tendulkar took to Twitter to urge voters to cast their vote on April 29. He said that this year besides him and Anjali Tendulkar, his children, Sara and Arjun too will cast their votes for the first time this election. He captioned the video: The right to vote is the gift of democracy. Let us all go out and VOTE!

The results of the Lok Sabha Elections 2019 will be announced on May 23, 2019. You can log on to eci.gov.in for more information.

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NCP chief Sharad Pawar pitched for a stable government at the Centre and urged citizens to come out in large numbers to cast their votes as he exercised his democratic right on Monday. Voting was underway for the fourth phase of Lok Sabha polls in 72 parliamentary constituencies spread across nine states.

#Mumbai: NCP Chief Sharad Pawar after casting his vote at polling booth 31 in Tardeo. #LokSabhaElections2019 pic.twitter.com/G8VNrNwESd

— ANI (@ANI) April 29, 2019

In Maharashtra, polling was being held in 17 seats, including Mumbai. "Today is an important day for the country. It is required that a stable government is formed. It is expected that Mumbaikars will not lag behind, and will exercise their voting right by coming out in large numbers and voting decisively," Pawar, the former Union minister, tweeted in Marathi.

Earlier, BJP MP Poonam Mahajan, Congress nominee Urmila Matondkar, industrialist Anil Ambani and actor Rekha cast their votes in Mumbai in the initial hours of polling. State education minister Vinod Tawde, BJP candidate from Mumhai-North East Manoj Kotak and Congress nominee from Mumbai-Central Eknath Gaikwad were also among the early voters.

Pic courtesy/Bipin Kokate

Anil Ambani was spotted casting his vote in Mumbai

Pic courtesy/Faizan Khan

Manoj Kotak cast his vote in Mumbai

Pic courtesy/Yogen Shah

Urmila Matondkar present at the polling booth to cast her vote.

It was a delight to participate in the festival of democracy, casting my vote is for progressive development of every Indian, for #NewIndia. I urge Mumbaikars to join in and make each vote count! #MumbaikarVoteKar pic.twitter.com/epS3g0Vwk4

— Chowkidar Vinod Tawde (@TawdeVinod) April 29, 2019

An average 18.39 per cent voter turnout was recorded in the first four hours in Maharashtra's 17 seats on Monday as polling for the fourth and last phase of Lok Sabha elections in the state was underway. Polling began at 7 am and long queues were seen outside many booths, some of which were decorated with balloons and 'rangolis' (colourful decorations). The voting figures till 11 am in other constituencies are as follows: Dhule- 18.26 per cent, Dindori - 21.06 per cent, Nashik- 17.22 per cent, Palghar- 21.46 per cent, Bhiwandi- 17.25 per cent, Thane-17.43 per cent, Mumbai-North- 19.46 per cent, Mumbai-North West 17.64 per cent, Mumbai-North East-18.39 per cent, Mumbai-North Central- 16.21 per cent, Mumbai-South Central-16.80 per cent, Mumbai- South 15.51 per cent, Maval- 18.23 per cent, Shirur- 18.65 per cent and Shirdi 20.55 per cent.

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Edited by mid-day online desk with inputs from Agencies

While many polling stations were bereft of facilities for the physically challenged and senior citizens, the situation was refreshingly different in Palghar district, where arrangements were made to bring in physically challenged voters and drop them back to their homes.

The voters had a car to take them to the polling stations, where they didn't have to wait in queue to cast their votes, and drop them back home once they were done. This process had begun as a part of the run-up to the polls.

Explaining the same, the district's social development officer Vibha Jadhav said, "We had conducted a survey and made a list of physically challenged voters before the election. Now, we have been calling them to know when they would be able to come to the polling stations to vote."

Election 2019: Prominent personalities, other Mumbaikars come out to caste vote!

The voters had a car to take them to the polling stations, where they didn’t have to wait in queue to cast their votes, and drop them back home once they were done

Virar resident Suresh Pawar, 43, thanked the government for the initiative, "I am visually challenged person, as is my wife. Until last year, we had to take an auto rickshaw to reach the polling booth. But this time, the government has given us relief by arranging vehicles for us.

The polling booths also had representatives stationed to help physically challenged voters. Jidnyasa Polekar, from the National Service Scheme, who was one of the assistants, said, "We kept wheelchairs for physically challenged and senior citizens. We also assisted visually challenged voters to understand the process of voting so that they can cast their ballot sans any hassle."

Bolstering voter turnout

Palghar collector Dr. Prashant Narnaware told mid-day that they had taken a number of initiatives to bolster voters' turnout in the district. "We had carried out campaigns to spread awareness among voters. We reached out to 13 lakh voters during our 25-day campaign titled 'I Shall Vote.' We also involved school students in the initiative by asking them to write letters to their parents, urging them to cast their vote," said Narnavare. On voting day, however, the district was hit with a slight EVM glitch. "There are 2,170 polling booths in Palghar, out of which the EVMs of 50 booths faced glitches. But they were changed within 10 minutes, as all the zonal officials were given additional EVMs to tackle the crisis," said Narnavare.

Salman Khan, SRK, Ranveer Singh, Kangana, Bachchans step out for voting

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According to provisional polling estimate release on Monday evening, the city scored about 54 percent, three percent more than its 2014 feet. The figures are expected to be revised after the final data crunching on Tuesday. In 2014, Mumbai had registered a turnout of 51.6 percent, which was an improvement from a low of 41.4 percent in the 2009 General elections.

Of the city's six segments of varied demography, South Mumbai couldn't match up with its previous mark while Mumbai North Central, Mumbai North, Mumbai North West, Mumbai North East, and Mumbai South Central performed better. Mumbai North, where actor Urmila Matondkar (Congress) fought against BJP's sitting MP Gopal Shetty, recorded the highest turnout (59.32 percent) in the city with a major spike of 6.25 percent.

Also Read: Elections 2019: No guidance at booths, claim furious citizens

A fierce contest in North Central Mumbai between MP Poonam Mahajan (BJP) and former MP Priya Dutt (Congress) saw a jump of 4.17 percent. Mumbai Congress president Milind Deora and Shiv Sena MP Arvind Sawant's South Mumbai polled at a percentage similar to that of 2014. However, former Mumbai Congress president Sanjay Nirupam, who was worried about the possibility of a higher turnout, shouldn't be much upset as his North West fight with Sena's sitting MP Gajanan Kirtikar raised the bar by a 4.14 percent.

BJP's eleventh-hour candidate from North East, Manoj Kotak, who replaced sitting MP Kirit Somaiyya, claimed a 4.61 percent increase in polling that would possibly benefit Kotak against NCP's sole candidate in the city and ex-MP Sanjay Dina Patil.

Mumbai South Central which had former MP Eknath Gaikwad pitted against incumbent Rahul Shewale crossed the 2014 figure by 2.26 percent. The average voter turnout in the city's six Lok Sabha elections was 41.40 percent (2009), 47.30 percent (2004), 45 percent (1999), 50.40 percent (1998), 45.10 percent (1996) and 41.60 percent (1991). 

Also Read: Elections 2019: Polling booth moved, names missing, faulty EVMs

Election 2019: Prominent personalities, other Mumbaikars come out to caste vote!

State does better

After the fourth phase of polling, the state's polling average was 60.68 percent, said Chief Electoral Officer Ashwani Kumar. According to CEO, today's average polling in the 17 constituencies, including Mumbai's six, was 57 percent — much less than that recorded in the first (63.46 percent), second (62.88 percent) and third phase (62.36 percent). Gadchiroli (71.98 percent) registered the highest voter turnout in the state while Kalyan that went to polls on Monday had the lowest turnout of 44.27 percent, said Kumar.

Monday marked the last phase of polling in Maharashtra which has 48 Lok Sabha constituencies, second highest after Uttar Pradesh. The outcome of the state will have a bearing on the formation of the government at the Centre, as both the BJP-Sena and Congress-NCP are banking heavily for the electoral gains here. In 2014, the BJP-Sena and their other allies had won a record 42 seats in the state while the Congress was reduced to a mere two seats and NCP managed just four.

Also Read: Elections 2019 in Mumbai: Physically challenged, elderly, get little help at polling stations

60.68
State's voting percentage across four phases

48
Total no. of constituencies across Maharashtra

Salman Khan, SRK, Ranveer Singh, Kangana, Bachchans step out for voting

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In times when Mumbaikars are criticised for not turning up to vote, many people in the North constituency could not vote because their names were missing from the electoral list. All of them have been voting in many elections, even from the same polling booths.

Gyanchand Somani, a 61-year-old Gorai resident, was frustrated after running around from one polling station to another, to find his and his wife's name in the voters' list. "This is not the first time I am voting. And my address has also not changed. How is it possible that my name is not in the list?" questioned Somani.

Bharat Desai's name was also missing

Bharat Desai, a 71-year-old resident of Eksar was also shocked to find that his name was not in the list. "I have been living on D N Mhatre Road for so many years and have always voted from St Rocks' school poll station," said Desai.

Nityanand Nair, who was born and brought up in LIC Colony in Borivali west had the same story to tell. "My entire family is missing from the list whereas we have been voting regularly," said Nair.

Disha Shah, a first time voter, also could not vote as her name was missing

A 22-year-old Babhai resident, Disha Shah, who was excited to vote for the first time was also disappointed. "My family members names were there, but mine was missing," she said.

Initially Mitali Sarvankar, a 21-year-old Kandivali resident was disappointed that her name was not in the list, but she managed to find it. "I found my name in Oxford Public School's list, thanks to the helpdesks set-up by different political parties," said Mitali who excitedly showed her inked finger.

Mitali Sarvankar found her name thanks to a helpdesk

Ganesh Mandals help

In areas such as Borivali and Kandivali, Ganesh Mandals, Senior Citizen's groups etc helped voters find their names in the lists and where they had to go to vote. "Though we are registered as Ganesh Mandals, we are all friends from this locality and hold several other activities. Setting up a helpdesk is part of our work," said Deepak Thorat, president of the Shree Siddhivinayak Navatarun Mitra Mandal.

Vijay Kate and his friends, all senior citizens also set up helpdesks. "So many people are frustrated with their names missing from voters' list. There have been instances when two family members' names are there and others are missing," said Kate.

Local restaurants pitch in

Several local restaurants had put up stalls to give out coupons of 10 per cent discount to voters. Many voters made it a point to stop by to pick them up.

Also Read: Elections 2019 in Mumbai: Voters, poll officials confused over ban on mobile phones

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Voter's names missing from lists is not unusual any more. But, in Bhendi Bazaar, an entire building full of voters has vanished from the list, leaving around 100 residents without their right to vote in this election.

Salam Khan, a 32-year-old businessman, has been casting his vote for years. On Monday, however, he got the shock of his life when he was informed that his name was missing from the voters' list. When he returned home, miffed, he discovered that all the residents of his building, Zainabiya, were not on the list for some reason.

"When I reached the polling booth, I was told that my name was not on it. I was very upset. Then when I reached home, my neighbours, too, start complaining about the same thing. Later, we got to know that the name of the building had gone missing from the list. This is such a big mistake, they have lost so many voters," said Khan.

Also Read: Election 2019: Mumbai scrapes through in voting report card

The residents alleged that they heard that because the building was old, the election officer was told that the structure had been demolished for redevelopment. "We cast our last vote during the BMC election in 2017. There was no problem then. But now, the whole building has gone missing. How is it possible?" asked Rasheed Sheikh.

Election 2019: Prominent personalities, other Mumbaikars come out to caste vote!

Crèches at polling booths

The Election Commission roped in Aanganwadi Sevikas on voting day to take care of children coming with their parents to voting centres. While several such Sevikas were seen standing near the polling stations to take care of children so that they don't enter polling booths, other arrangements were made in rooms inside various schools where parents could leave their kids for a short while to vote.

Also Read: Elections 2019: Regular voters find their name missing at polling booths

In Prabhadevi, 147 Aanganwadi workers were roped in for this. A municipal school at Prabhadevi saw about 40 children taken care by these workers throughout the day. Even at Malad, the crèche was a big hit. Vandana Kothekar, who was on election duty and taking care of these kids from Prabhadevi, said, "We saw a good turnout and parents were willing to keep their children as it was just a matter of a few minutes."

Salman Khan, SRK, Ranveer Singh, Kangana, Bachchans step out for voting

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The 'No Mobile Phones' diktat issued by the Election Commission for voters at polling centres had a rather ambiguous implementation. While some carried it along inside the polling booth, others were asked to keep it out. With directions about phones not being allowed in the 100 meters vicinity of polling stations, the Election Commission had not made any provisions for safekeeping of phones.

Also Read: Election 2019: Mumbai scrapes through in voting report card

The rule ended up confusing voters across the city. Many were unaware of the 'no phone' policy and were left waiting outside the polling centres. The EC had issued such orders after some voters were found clicking pictures while voting during the last elections.

Salman Khan, SRK, Ranveer Singh, Kangana, Bachchans step out for voting

While most polling stations had police officials preventing voters from carrying their phones inside, there was no security checking of the bags that some voters carried, "thus making it difficult to ascertain if they were carrying a phone or not," said officials. Some centres also saw the police asking voters to hand over their phones to people standing behind them in the queue.

Dhanraji Yadav, who was at the Manohar Joshi Mahavidyalaya in Dharavi along with her family, said that police officials at the gate asked them if they were carrying any phones. "I waited with all the phones while my family voted. But while I was waiting there, the same police officials allowed other people to carry them by switching them off," Yadav said. An official said that the directives had come from the Election Commission of India. "We couldn't be responsible for everyone's phones and asked them to not bring them."

Also Read: Elections 2019: Regular voters find their name missing at polling booths

100m
Distance around polling booth where phones were not allowed

Election 2019: Prominent personalities, other Mumbaikars come out to caste vote!

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The 'glamourless' north east Parliamentary constituency saw a lot of drama on voting day since morning. Comprising six assembly constituencies, it saw 55.35 per cent voter turnout. In 2014 the constituency had registered a 51.70 per cent turnout. Of this Ghatkopar east topped the list with 60.30 per cent followed by Mulund at 60.10 per cent, Vikhroli at 59.03 per cent, Bhandup west at 57 per cent, Ghatkopar west at 53.81 per cent and Mankhurd Shivaji Nagar at 44.02 per cent.

'Polling centre goes missing'

The day started with voters at Bhandup east complaining of an entire polling centre gone missing and alleged that it had been shifted two km away without prior notice. Citizens said they realised it only after reaching the spot and did not know what to do.

Bhandup resident Chandra Sreenivasan alleged that it was a ploy to discourage voters. "I wanted to vote. I fought with the election officer on duty and said that such tricks would not put off voters if they intended to do that. We have been voting at the same BMC garden every time and this time when we got the election slip, it had the same address but when we reached the spot, there was nothing there. A few locals then told us that it had been shifted near the old Bhandup phatak which is about 2 km away from the location," she told mid-day.

"The old and ill will not travel 2 km to an unknown spot, but I did not give up. I took an auto and went all the way there and fired the election staff on duty. When I questioned them, they said that they had just received a message in the morning to report here," she added. Election officials, however, said that it was decided to shift the polling centre from the garden to a building and a notice had been put up in the garden, though Sreenivasan said there were no notices.

Candidate posters put up

The BJP's secretary Vivekanand Gupta said they had reported a complaint against the NCP candidate after they found a banner with his photograph within 100 metres of the polling booth in Bhandup. He requested the EC to direct police officials to remove it immediately.

Faulty EVMs

Several complaints of faulty Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) came to the fore during voting throughout the day, delaying the processes from 45 minutes to one hour. At some centres, there were issues with the Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) slip as it was not visible after voting and in some cases there was an error displayed. At booth 93 at Sharon English School in Mulund the voting had to stopped after the EVM developed a snag and an engineer had to be summoned to fix it. Voting restarted after 45 minutes.

Also Read: Elections 2019 in Mumbai: Voters, poll officials confused over ban on mobile phones

Candidate's switch disabled

An independent candidate, Anil Hebbar said his name was disabled on EVMs, and after his complaint the machines were replaced. "At booth 155/272 in Mulund, button no 14 next to my name was disabled. The officer in-charge discovered it before polling started and changed the ballot unit leading to a delay of 1 hr and 15 min," he said.

Voted, but not inked

A voter, Reena Verghese, alleged that she cast her vote in booth 243 at St Pius School in Mulund west, but her finger was not inked. She went again inside the booth to get the mark on her finger when she realised this.

Sr citizen's name missing

Kalawati Tambe, 86, missed out on voting as her name was missing from the electoral list. A resident of Kannamwar Nagar building 14, all her neighbours' names were on the list but her's did not figure. She said she came to vote though she was in her hometown for past few days. She complained that she had to climb onto the first floor, her legs were paining and she was very unhappy that she could not vote.

Jugaad chairs

At many places the election commission had put up jugaad chairs tied to sticks like a palkhi to carry senior citizens to upper floors in buildings where there were no lifts. "They showed videos of all those fancy automatic chairs, but they assembled such jugaad plastic chairs," Harkishan Rai, a senior citizen said. The rule of not allowing mobile phones was also leniently followed with cops telling voters that they could carry phones, but requested them to switch them off.

55.35pc

The voter turnout in North East

Also Read: Elections 2019 in Mumbai: Physically challenged, elderly, get little help at polling stations

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Couple begins 36th anniversary by casting votes
Ranibai and Ramanlal Bakliwala

Ramanlal Bakliwala, an 81-year-old resident of Colaba arrived at the polling booth to cast his vote along with his 77-year-old wife Ranibai. It was a special day for them because it was their 36th anniversary which they started with a "noble" cause. "Every year, we first go to the temple to seek blessings but today, we came here to cast our votes as it is more important. We wanted to start the day with a noble cause. We missed the previous elections as we were out of Mumbai. This time we thought there is no better way to celebrate our anniversary than by first voting for the development of our nation," said Ramanlal holding Ranibai's hand.

'Found name only after searching for two hours'
Sanjay Jain

Like thousands of Mumbai residents, Sanjay Jain, a 48-year-old businessman, left home early with his family to cast his vote at Mumbai Central. But he had to run from pillar-to-post for hours as his name was missing from the voters' list. "When I reached the polling booth, I was told that my name is missing. Then I was told to go to the main office where after almost two hours of searching, I was told that by mistake they have put another similar name in my place. After almost three hours of waiting, I had to return home without casting my vote," he said.

Senior citizen encourages voting
Pervin Daruwalla

Like thousands of Mumbai residents, Sanjay Jain, a 48-year-old businessman, left home early with his family to cast his vote at Mumbai Central. But he had to run from pillar-to-post for hours as his name was missing from the voters' list. "When I reached the polling booth, I was told that my name is missing. All my family members cast their votes except me. Then I was told to go to the main office where after almost two hours of searching, I was told that by mistake they have put another similar name in my place. After almost three hours of waiting, I had to return home without casting my vote," he said.

Also Read: Elections 2019 in Mumbai: Physically challenged, elderly, get little help at polling stations

Lack of facilities
Anil Kejarival shows his mother's voting ID

Lalitadevi Deviprasad Kejarival, an 81-year-old resident of Pedder Road, fractured her leg few months back and was advised bed-rest. On Monday, she was determined to cast her vote. But the lack of basic facilities at the polling station meant she couldn't do so. "Her serial number was at booth No 2 which was on the first floor. She can't move so it was impossible for her to climb 22 steps. She requested she be allowed to cast her vote on the ground floor but the officials told her that it is not allowed. But don't rules say that for senior citizens there should be volunteers and other facilities? This is a very sad state of affairs," said her son, Anil Kejarival.

Also Read: Elections 2019 in Mumbai: Official inks both fingers of mid-day photographer

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Mumbai: Bollywood actor Kangana Ranaut has said Indians were, in the past, enslaved by an 'Italian government', in a veiled jibe at the Congress party. The 32-year-old, while speaking to reporters after casting her vote at a polling station in Khar area in Mumbai on Monday, said, "This (polling day) is a very important day for us, it comes only once in five years. I feel India is gaining independence today in real sense. Earlier, Indians were slaves of British, Mughal and Italian governments. Please exercise your Swaraj (independence) and vote."

The 'Italian government' remark is an apparent reference to UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, who was born and raised in Italy. Gandhi was the president of the Congress party for nearly two decades before handing over responsibilities to her son Rahul Gandhi in December 2017. Kangana went on to say that the situation that prevailed in the country was the worst during Congress' government at the Centre.

"The political leaders used to chill in London and the country used to suffer from an array of issues like poverty, pollution, rapes etc. The situation in our country was worst when Congress was in power. Now that our time has come, we should vote in large numbers," she added.

Polling was held on Monday for 72 seats across nine states including five seats in Bihar, one in Jammu and Kashmir, three in Jharkhand, six each in Madhya Pradesh and Odisha, 13 each in Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, eight in West Bengal and 17 in Maharashtra. An overall voter turnout of 64.05 per cent was registered in the fourth phase of polling. Seven-phase elections will end on May 19, and results will be declared on May 23.

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This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever

The art display at the debut edition of the festival

This weekend, if you step into the heritage precinct of the Great Eastern Mills compound in Byculla, you’ll get to feast your eyes on oil and watercolour paintings by 50 artists from across India. The showcase is part of the second edition of Art 35, a three-day carnival that celebrates affordable art. “Though we had a basic festival last year, I have taken it to a bigger scale this year by curating carpet displays, fashion apparel, jewellery and food stalls; paper and origami workshops for children and music performances too,” shares Charu Tewari, CEO of Ficus Fine Living, that’s presenting the festival.

Mooralala Marwada

The performance line-up includes an afternoon of Sufi renditions by Mooralala Marwada, a well-known folk singer from the Janana village in Kutch district of Gujarat. The artiste, who sings in the Kaafi form of music, will regale the audience with poetry of Kabir, Mirabai and Ravidas. Other must-catch acts include a Dastangoi storytelling session with Ankit Chadha and a stand-up comedy show titled Oye... Stand Up by Ankita Shrivastav and Mohit Sharma. The latter will also perform a solo act of Toba Tek Singh. The play based on Saadat Hasan Manto’s famous short story set in the aftermath of Partition will see the actor don 19 characters in 60 minutes.

Mohit Sharma in an earlier performance of Toba Tek Singh

The fest also offers a range of workshops — from one on digital photography by Himanshuu Chandrakant Sheth to tarot card reading by Ruchi Shah, finger painting, fabric painting, mural painting, collage making as well as cupcake decoration with fondants and frostings. Each workshop is curated for specific age groups, including two-year-olds.

What’s a carnival without yum food? Dig into chaat, sandwiches, baos and organic fare from the stalls set up at the fest. These include gourmet lunchboxes for `500 whipped up by Savor, a subscription service launched by the folks behind The Secret Supper Project along with probiotic European fermented milk drink, Kefir, by Moina Oberoi, who runs the city’s first Kefir delivery service. You can also binge on Mutton Kheema Samosas, biryani and other sumptuous fare from a pop-up by The Bohri Kitchen.

If you’re looking for retail therapy, check out faux and semi precious jewellery, fashion apparel by Neelu Oberoi as well as exotic carpets and hides from The Merge Projekt in Bandra.

Baby Olive ridley turtles all set to embrace the sea in Velas.

Turtles - female Olive ridley turtles in particular - have a phenomenal memory. In their lifespan of about 50 years, where they swim for thousands of miles in the underwater world, they never forget one route. The females return to the same beach where they hatched to give birth to new life. The creatures are also communal in nature - they arrive at their native beach in thousands to lay eggs. The phenomenon, which makes for a stunning sight, is called Arribada.

Inhabitants of warm waters, the species has two haunts on the Indian coastline: Rushikulaya in Odisha and Velas in Ratnagiri. Over the years, Olive ridley turtles have borne the brunt of human activities and are now recognised as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List. Conservation measures have been underway to ensure the eggs hatch in a conducive environment and the hatchlings safely take their first steps to the sea. If Arribada has piqued your interest, a two-day eco-tour organised by Mumbai Travellers will take you to the Velas beach where you can watch the phenomenon unfold before your eyes.

"The baby turtles trek to the sea in early mornings and evenings, so we take travellers straight to the beach as soon as we arrive in Velas," shares Karishma Joshi, eco-tours division head of the travel group. The trip includes a visit to the Bankot Fort and Harihareshwar. "In the evening, travellers will be taken to conservationist Mohan Upadhye's home, where they will watch a documentary on the turtles. This will be followed by a skit presented by local children on turtle conservation," shares Joshi.

Thunderbird. Pic/Illustrated by Tomislav Tomic © Bloomsbury Publishing 2017, taken from Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

One for the muggle library

If you're a Potterhead, you'll love the updated version of Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them (Bloomsbury; '599) that comes on shelves 16 years after JK Rowling gave muggles the original edition. An A to Z guide of the magical creatures lurking in the wizarding world, this one includes six new beasts (total of 81 species), new illustrations (neat work by Tomislav Tomic) and a revised foreword by the book's fictional author and magizoologist Newt Scamander. The breezy 144-pager teleported us into the Potter universe as familiar images of Hungarian Horntail and Basilisk flashed before our eyes. We also discovered incredible new beasts, including Thunderbird or Hidebehind. Apart from Scamander's wry humour, evident in the footnotes, we were hooked by the foreword, where he clarifies wild assertions made by Rita Skeeter and hints at being the secret-keeper for Albus Dumbledore. That's some fine foreshadowing, JK.

Gluten-free goodness

We've never shied away from going for the bread basket when it's placed in front of us at a restaurant. But, for those who have embarked on a let's-eat-healthy mission, Kitchen Garden by Suzette has launched the country's first organic, multigrain, gluten free bread, which they say looks and tastes like 'normal' bread. We decided to call for a loaf this week, not knowing what to expect. Organic goodness or just fancy jargon? The bread came as a nicely packaged gigantic loaf. The texture was soft and fluffy. You might not fall in love with it at first go, but with each bite the taste grows on you. Packed with nutrients and fibre, it's got the flavour of buckwheat. We had it with peanut butter and it went well. If you're having a PB & J craving, this could be the healthier version to try.

Last Sunday evening, nearly 400 people made it to Juhu's Novotel Hotel to watch a screening of Pulp Fiction. What made the evening special was that the "seats" i.e. the gaddas were laid by the pool, with cool breeze blowing in from the Arabian Sea.

It was the first film screening in the city organised by SteppinOut Movie Nights, which has presence across Chennai, Delhi and Bangalore. Ojal Kulkarni, the brand head for the firm, says they chose Novotel for its cool vibe and plan a movie night at the venue every two months.

In a city that's brimming with cinephiles it only makes sense to have non-commercial venues that will screen the classics as well as the indie films. And, Novotel promises to be a killer of a venue. Tickets will range from Rs 300 to Rs 400 and the movies will be chosen after a poll is conducted on their FB page.

But, if you can't wait until then to catch a screening of some well-curated films, along with other lovers of cinema, here are the some of the other venues in the city to watch out for.

Raj Khatri at his Malad home. Pic/NIMESH DAVE

As a teen studying at a Khandala boarding school, Raj Khatri was an ardent fan of Hardy Boys. Every week, he’d head to the school library to pick up a copy from the limited edition series, The Hardy Boys Casefiles, that explored mature, espionage-based themes. But he never read a single one. "It was to gaze lovingly at the cover," he laughs. "If you remember, the cover always carried an action shot. Sometimes, it was of a car chase or a person fleeing an explosion or a man hanging precariously from a bridge. They [covers] had a dynamic, kinetic energy that I loved." He would then return to the dorm, sit with a paper and recreate the cover of the week in his notebook.

Khatri, now 35, continues to nurture his fascination with pop art and posters. He spends hours recreating posters of iconic Hollywood films and television shows, presenting his own unique interpretation. Spearheading the alternative movie poster movement in India, now a global phenomenon, Khatri creates re-imagined posters using bold brushstrokes and vibrant colours. Kill Bill, The Dark Knight and The Matrix have all got a cover each. "What artists usually do is take one object from the film and create a poster around it. I decided to make posters that look like abstract paintings, but when you place the movie’s name below them, you get the message."

Most Hollywood films, he explains, have a thematic colour palette. "Uma Thurman’s yellow costume became synonymous with Kill Bill. I watched it and made notes of all the focal elements in the film," he says, adding that he makes posters keeping a film’s fans in mind. "For instance, in the 2014 film, Night Crawler, there’s an iconic red car that the protagonist drives. You’ll get the poster only if you’ve watched the film."

It was on an impulse, that he decided to upload the posters on social media in 2010, not realising they would get him recognition. The artworks later landed him a chance to exhibit his work at a Los Angeles exhibition in 2014. The following year, he launched his first minimal series posters — a take off from alternative posters that instantly went viral.

As creative head with a city-based ad firm, Khatri is also the man behind original posters for Hindi cinema projects Neerja, Phantom, Kahaani 2 and Bang Bang. "Of course, I love the process of digitally creating movie posters, but more often than not, there’s a filter between what I conceive and what is released. It’s not entirely indigenous because there are so many people involved and they all have an input to offer. After a point, fatigue develops," he says.

It was the creative release that alternative posters offered him and a Wacom tablet that his girlfriend, now wife, gave him that saw him through. "No pesky clients and deadlines. I was free to use my own style, and that’s what I love about this," he says.

RD Burman composed for more than 300 films in a career spanning 30 years

This weekend, a group of music enthusiasts is going to deconstruct the thin line between imitation and inspiration at a talk on Hindi film music. The works of RD Burman, Shankar-Jaikishan and OP Nayyar will be discussed at the event.

Shankar-Jaikishan ruled from 1949 to 1986

“Many tried to imitate a sound that worked well with listeners in that period. In fact, film producers would encourage music directors to do so. The music of Laxmikant-Pyarelal and Kalyanji-Anandji was close to the sound created by Shankar-Jaikishan and Burman,” says Ramesh KV, one of the speakers. “If you listen to the orchestration of a song, you will think it belongs to Burman, but it actually is by someone else,” he adds.

The full panel includes R Balaji, Shankar Iyer, Archisman Mozumder and Subramanian Iyer.

On: April 15, 7.30 pm
At: Pitaara – The Art Box, Yashwant Nagar, Goregaon (W).
Call: 9820393001
Entry: Rs 250

Bhrigu Sahni at a concert at antiSOCIAL earlier this week. Pic/Satej Shinde

The use of guitar isn't limited to playing solos and rhythms using a plectrum (a small flexible piece of plastic). When a discussion emerges about the co-existence of genres within the guitar language, there is a lack of clarity between Flamenco, Western Classical and finger-style. One can pluck (guitar) strings with their fingers but finger-style is a technique that involves the usage of fingertips, nails and the palm. You need to hit the woodwork for percussions. The sound is a perfect balance of bass, treble and harmonies. These days, Mumbai is witnessing the rise of finger-style guitarists. While some learnt from watching videos of legends like Andy McKee and Tommy Emmanuel, others took a cue out of popular songs.

Manan Gupta

One-man band
"By playing finger-style, one can arrange a whole song by playing the bass line, melody, rhythm and harmony simultaneously without using any backing track," shares Manan Gupta. The 23-year-old started off as a pianist but the track Drifting (by McKee) brought him closer to guitar.

Gupta believes finger-style also helps a musician to be self-sufficient. "You are a one-man band; there is no need to rely on other musicians to co-ordinate rehearsal timings," chuckles Gupta, whose tune Dear Mother (released in 2013) is an online hit.

Local inspirations
Bhrigu Sahni, who has toured the Mumbai-Pune circuit, took to the genre after watching his father play Western Classical. "As a kid, I realised that this style had the ability to create a rich musical tapestry. It is challenging to sustain being just a finger-style player but that shouldn't deter one from following his heart," says Sahni, who is a Berklee graduate and has jammed with Karsh Kale and Angelique Kidjo.

Unlike others, he also pointed out a few names among Indians who inspired him. "I went to Rock and Jazz concerts when I was 15. I used to improvise after watching guitarists like Sanjay Joseph and Derek Julian," he adds. Sahni released his debut album, What is Now, last year in New York. "I shuffle between Brooklyn, Khadki (Pune) and Mumbai for gigs," he shares.

Varun Singh started his journey listening to Eric Clapton. He even played for Metal band Albatross for sometime, but the song More Than Words (Extreme) pushed him towards finger-style. He seconds Sahni highlighting guitarists from India who are fluent with it. "Mahesh Tinaikar (Indus Creed) and Floyd Fernandes are great examples. Clapton's Tears In Heaven is a finger-style song too," he shares. The 23-year-old recently released a video of a song called Midnight Express paying tribute to Nuno Bettencourt. "He is my hero."

Illustrations/Ravi Jadhav

Girgaum, Kamat Chawl Thakurdwar
Celebrating the festival for the last 122 years, simplicity is key for Kamat Chawl residents. And they are happy to share tales from the forgotten pages of history and freedom struggle. Here, they do not follow the concept of themed decor and celebrate the festival in an absolute traditional manner. The idol is made of eco-friendly material called shadu. Following the spirit of why the festival was started in the first place, the pandal is built by the residents and each one volunteers to manage the space and the stage area.

Khetwadi, Tulsi Building Sarvajanik Ganeshotsav Mandal
This is the 75th year of the pandal and, like each year, the Ganesh idol is made up of different things, mostly edible. For instance, dry fruits, cereal and pluses, chikki, and stationery and diamond have been used. This year's focus is on kids and the theme is Disneyworld. The idol is made of Cadbury chocolate and the children cannot wait to see their favourite sweet take the shape of their favourite deity.

Malad, Shree Sai Darshan Mitra Mandal
For the last 11 years, this eco-friendly Ganesha has been a hit with devotees. Made from paper and cardboard, the organisers use various concepts including football erasers, pencils and cars. This year, Bappa is giving a shout out to nostalgia as the idol is made of old coins of 1 paise, 10 paise and 20 paise. The mandal's focus is to create awareness and education, especially about global warming.

Ghatkopar, S G Barve Nagar Sarvajanik Ganeshostav Mandal
Since 1966, the pandal's idols, one large and one small, have been luring devotees to this suburb. This year's theme is a dreamy fusion of a golden pillared palace, the religious oeuvre of Om Ganapataya namah and the galaxy. A daily bhandara of rice, dal, chole, bhaji, papad, pickles and gulab jamun feeds a thousand people. A blood donation drive along with free blood test and blood group check is done during the 10 day period.

Fort, Fort Vibhag Sarvajanik Ganesh Utsav Mandal
Celebrated since 1956, this is one of the biggest fully centralised pandals in the city. This year, they have invited special artists from Rajasthan to create a palace setting. Their finesse and specially crafted artwork adds to the grandeur of the pandal. While you are here, you can easily spot a celeb or two. The maha aarti, especially for the police department, is scheduled for tomorrow.

Thane, Narvir Tanaji Mitra Mandal
For the last 38 years, this pandal has been not only known for its large murti and grand themes but also for reaching out to those in need, especially in rural areas. Bappa will happily rest in the grand Rajasthani Palace and overlook the tasks the members of the mandal will take up. Medical camps and a beautifully curated cultural programme that will see participants sing, dance and create beautiful flower arrangements and rangolis are in store for the Utsav.

Tilak Nagar, Sahyadri Krida Mandal
For the last 41 years, this pandal has been dedicatedly putting up themes on social awareness. This year, their theme is 'Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan, Jai Vigyan' and will include artworks illustrating places from Kashmir to Kanyakumari, highlighting important destinations like the Himalayas and Madurai's Meenakshi Temple. These will be interspersed with reproductions of the metro, rail space research, army personnel and agricultural families to show how they co-exist to form an integral part of society.

How do you improve on a 1998 game that is so good it is still played today? Not many games can make that claim but Starcraft can with legions of fans and stadium level competitions not bad for a 20-year-old game.

The original Starcraft is free and so anyone with a battle.net account can potentially download and play it, no fancy hardware required. The remastered version, however, costs $15 and it is worth every penny. The game's graphics and sound have had a major update, you can also play multiplayer online complete with leaderboards.

While the new game is friendly to first-time players the online multiplayer is brutal. Prepare to die in minutes. Unfortunately, there is no system in place to train players in the complexity of multiplayer battles in a game that people have been potentially been playing for 20 years.

For fans of Starcraft there is everything that you would ever want in the game. The original game mechanisms are untouched which means everything plays as it should.

Starcraft Remastered
Rating: 4/5
Developer: Blizzard Entertainment
Publisher: Blizzard Entertainment
Platform: PC, Mac
Price: $14.99 (Rs 960 approx)

The dim light of candles engulfs Andheri's Harkat Studios in a warm glow. A 25-member audience settles on the mattresses around an elevated gadda under a spotlight. The mushaira's (poetic symposium) setting is perfect. Before seven Urdu shayars begin the performance, Devroop Sharma of Irshaad poetry collective acquaints the audience with the basics: Say 'mukarrar' for an encore and 'waah waah' as applause.

(Clockwise from top) Artistes Devroop Sharma, Khan Faisal Barkaati and Ashwani perform at the mushaira held last weekend. Pics/Tanvi Phondekar

For the next two hours, the fragrance of Urdu fills the room as the shayars - including 20-year-old Khan Faisal Barkaati, and Ashwani, who recites poetry in a Haryanvi accent - share original nazms on love, heartbreak, politics, education and motherhood. They make it interactive, asking the audience to complete a misra (a couplet line). They also ensure the guests aren't overwhelmed by the language, by explaining the meaning of lesser-known words like ilm (knowledge) and baa-safaa (chaste) before narrating the verses. Some members in the audience repeat the words under their breath to savour their taste. One of them, Sankalp Rawal, tells us after the show that was held last Saturday, "I understood 70 per cent of what was recited but still enjoyed the performance."

Shamir Reuben and Hussain Haidry

For Sharma, that's an achievement. "The idea isn't to spoon-feed but help expand your vocabulary. When you don't understand a word, you look it up and then, enjoy the shayari more. It stays with you even after the performance," says the 29-year-old poet and salsa dance teacher, who launched Irshaad six months ago, to promote regional language poetry.

Mohammed Sadriwala

Urdu takes the centre stage
Recent months have seen a spurt in groups supporting the language. Earlier this year, Studio Tamaasha kicked off Urdu Readings, a series of dramatic readings of Urdu short stories, conceived with the help of academic Aslam Parvez. Its finale will be held on October 28.

The Poetry Club (TPC) introduced Mehfil, where members discuss popular Urdu poets, besides Hindi and English. "We wanted to challenge the notion that Urdu is difficult to understand. We use words from it in everyday conversation without realising it. Like, darwaza," says Ankita Shah, co-founder of TPC, which will host the next session in November at G5A.

Write and learn
Workshops that help you hone Urdu poetry skills are also finding takers. Last month, Karan Talwar, curator at Harkat Studios, collaborated with Sharma to present a ghazal-writing workshop. Led by college professor Abhishek Choudhary, it deconstructed the form to drive home the point that every ghazal uses the same kind of metre. "The idea was to help the participants realise that a ghazal isn't difficult to master, if you know the math of it," says Talwar. On October 27, the duo is also collaborating for Kissagoi, comprising theatrical readings of original Urdu stories by three young poets.

Meanwhile, a Hindi and Urdu spoken word masterclass, titled Lafzon Ki Kaarigari, saw 15 participants aged 18 to 40 in attendance. Held last Sunday, it was curated by YourQuote, a mobile app for writers to share original poetry. The 25-year-old poet Mohammed Sadriwala, who conducted it with fellow poet Rakesh Tiwari, says he was impressed at the turnout. "When I started out in 2014, I saw eight out of 10 poets performing in English at open mics. Today, over 50 per cent use Urdu in their performance. It's more expressive. There's also a certain pride in performing in your own language," he observes. Another masterclass is scheduled for next month.

"Of the 2.5 lakh Indian users of our app, 35 per cent [87,500] prefer writing in Hindi and Urdu. That's also because today, more content consumed online is in regional languages," says the app's co-founder Harsh Snehanshu.

Case in point: 31-year-old Indore-born, Mumbai-based Hussain Haidry's poem, Hindustani Musalmaan, which went viral as soon as Kommune launched it on its platform in February, and at last count had seen 5 lakh views. "People are more receptive and attentive to Urdu. Credit goes to [Delhi-based] organisations such as Rekhta Foundation, which are responsible for reviving and preserving the language," says Haidry, a go-to artiste to add to the line-up at Hindustani poetry performances. He also narrated his poems at The Urdu Exhibit, a launch event for Design Fabric's latest issue featuring artworks themed on the language.

Haidry will perform next on October 12 at a Hindi-Urdu poetry open mic at The Cuckoo Club, curated by Kommune as a prelude to their debut spoken word festival. "We've also prepared a list of new, young poets writing in the language. A pure Urdu poem may be difficult to understand but the younger poets are mixing it with Hindi to make it conversational and audience-friendly. It also has a greater impact when used to make a political and social commentary. While at it, they are keeping Urdu alive," says Shamir Reuben, member of the storytelling collective.

Poetry meets activism
Talwar adds that celebrating Urdu is important in today's political scenario. "Recently, at a curatorial workshop in Delhi, I learnt that India doesn't have an Islamic art gallery. That's strange considering it's an integral part of our culture. At a time when Islamic influences in Indian art and culture are being underplayed, curating Urdu-focused events is our shot at activism, where we try to rediscover the language in a safe space."

Ben is Back

U/A: Drama
Director: Peter Hedges
Cast: Julia Roberts, Lucas Hedges, Courtney B. Vance, Kathryn Newton
Rating: 

A family drama that makes substance abuse look like the enemy of humanity it is, this Peter Hedges directed film dramatically shifts its moods from celebration to welcoming to fearful – all in the span of a few minutes.

When Ben(Lucas Hedges) shows up skulking around at his home driveway in a hooded wind-breaker the audience is unsure as to his antecedents. Then his mother Holly(Julia Roberts), his teenage sister Ivy(Kathryn Newton) and two half-siblings (Mia Fowler and Jakari Fraser) arrive home and we see the trepidation tinted welcome he receives. When his step-father Neal(Courtney B Vance) rushes home after receiving Ivy's urgent message, we understand there's further gravity to the situation.

Director Peter Hedges opens up his pages slowly allowing us to experience in some measure as to what the family is going through. Eventually it becomes imminently clear that Ben's return for Christmas from a rehab program he was recently inducted into, is unexpected and ill-advised.

Check out the trailer here:

While 'Ben is Back' is not exactly a dense suspense drama it draws up intensity from a construct that questions the integrity of it's lead character. Since it's a story about an addict and his struggle with addiction the question that haunts his family and himself is 'Will he use again?' He has sworn and swears again that he won't but he has lied before and given his track record should his family believe him? It's a tough ask. But then what about love, compassion and forgiveness? Can a mother really abandon her child to the vagaries of a habit that could eventually destroy him? The film deals with all these questions and more and the answers that it comes up with are neither easy nor universally applicable.

As Holly takes on the onus of keeping Ben in her sights, she uncovers secrets that test her mothering skills –throughout an increasingly harrowing day and night exposing her to an underbelly that she never opened her eyes to in the past.

There are times when the plotting seems contrived and questionable but by and large Peter Hedges does a good job plying a pathway that has hurdles at every turn. The dramatic tension though is not sharp enough and that's one of the reasons why you feel rather ambivalent about this tale. Performances are universally good though!

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Aquaman

U/A: Action, Adventure, Fantasy
Director: James Wan
Cast: Jason Momoa, Amber Heard, Patrick Wilson, Willem Dafoe, Nicole Kidman
Rating: 

Aquaman - a largely underwater flight of fancy, amounts to a herculean attempt by custodian Warner Bros. to right its wonky DC cinematic universe and it's success is moderate at best. A large part of the credit should necessarily go to the charismatic Jason Momoa( ex Baybatch ) who got promoted to this leading role after showing face in 2016's Batman v. Superman : Dawn of Justice and Justice League.

This superhero saga is mostly origin story myth building through fantasy VFX, so don't expect real characters, adherence to the laws of physics or conversations beyond the monosyllabic. In this film, anything goes - even a ring(chasm) of fire in the midst of a deep blue sea and an ocean of wealth under the Saharan desert. Reality rarely pokes its ugly head into this gamey underwater universe that heralds the dawn of a new King Arthur(Momoa), a half-breed(Human-Atlantean mix) who is expected to prove his worth against the might of his firmly ensconced younger half-brother Orm(Patrick Wilson).

Aquaman's tall-tale is embellished in Royal shenanigans, incorporates themes of environment pollution and engineers a war between the water world and the land world under the pretext of righting the wrongs of a selfish civilization. The attempt here is to create an underwater 'Lord of the Rings' but without the majesty, profundity or significance of that telling.

Check out the trailer here:

Making an oblique nod to 'Splash,' the film opens with Queen Atlanna (Nicole Kidman), fleeing Atlantis, getting washed ashore at Amnesty Bay, Massachusetts, meeting solitary lighthouse keeper (Temuera Morrison), falling in love and subsequently birthing the said, Arthur and then going right back to Atlantis- the underwater city, in order to save the lives of her loved ones. Punctuating the drama is Orm's attempts to amalgamate the seven wondrous oceanic kingdoms and become undisputed Ocean master. Vulko (Willem Dafoe), Princess Mera(Amber Heard) and to a lesser extent King Nereus (Dolph Lundgren) put a spoke in his wheel, so-to-speak.

The film has some stunning imagery but most of the action feels random and incoherent. The narrative is overlong in its desire to include every embellishment possible. There are a few engaging moments but the in-between humdrum is pretty much taxing. Weighed down by its watery excesses, the narrative feels terribly labored and over-done. James Wan ( with his Horror oeuvre) was probably not the right man for this DC recreation. He makes this watery epic a kitschy showboat instead of lending it acuity and memorability. This is a story of excess but even so, it's hard to resist the charms of the lead actors, their outlandish costumes and some wondrous aqua sequences.

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Zero

U/A: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Director: Anand L Rai
Cast: Shah Rukh Khan, Katrina Kaif, Anushka Sharma
Rating: 

For a couple of decades now, relentlessly citing exceptions like Swades (2004) and Chak De India (2007), viewers (and fans) of actor Shah Rukh Khan have often complained about how he plays SRK on screen, regardless of the script, which pretty much is designed around him playing himself, in some form or the other, anyway.

Alert to this obvious feedback, and with audiences, in general, upping its expectations, even from wholly star-driven pics—demanding a certain level of authenticity in stories regardless—you find SRK trying hard to up his own game. Which is great, of course. Raees (2017) and Fan (2016) are relatively good examples on that front. With Zero, as actor-producer, he appears to be trying a bit too hard, I suspect.

For one, this SRK film doesn't star SRK at all! He plays a Meeruthiya, uneducated 'bauna' (dwarf) Bauua Singh, obsessed with two women, almost simultaneously. Both ladies seem out of his reach. One's a fully celestial Bollywood heroine. That's Katrina Kaif. Tells you a lot about this film that she comes across as by far the most credible character around—a heart-broken drunk, dumped by a certain superstar with the surname Kapoor, who "pretends to be a misunderstood, shy type, but is actually a full-on ch*****."

Check out the trailer here:

The other woman (Anushka Sharma), strangely modeled on Stephen Hawking, in a high-tech wheelchair, her mouth contorted, wrist twisted and shaking, is a space scientist. She meets the vertically challenged dude through an odd, offline version of a matrimonial site. What she likes about him is that he can overlook her disabilities and see her as the person she is, rather than somebody one must simply sympathise with.

There is much banter between the two. This is tricky stuff. I understand that all humour is at the expense of some person/group or the other, and we mustn't get all too sensitive about such matters. But I just felt slightly discomfited throughout—mostly in anticipation of a poor joke, punching downwards, rather than one that actually occurs (expect tonnes of think pieces on the web soon though!).

As a viewer, you are rarely made to look beyond the fact that she suffers from cerebral palsy. More so, that he's about a foot shorter than usual, a man-child at the centre of this film— in his late 30s, wholly jobless bloke, blowing up his father's money. You can't tell if he's a duffer or just a dwarf. As if the two were even vaguely related. He is supposed to be a die-hard romantic. Your heart must melt for this simpleton still.

It's hard, if not impossible, to feel anything for such a parody of a person, as Zero jerkily jostles between heartland, rustic realism (Aanand L Rai's Tanu Weds Manu), and a far-out romantic fantasy, vaguely along the lines of SRK's wonderfully sorted Om Shanti Om (2007), also partly set in show-biz. You're in fact bored rather than bothered by all the travels on screen.

The only take-away is how tough it must've been to pull this off. Which is true for films of this massive scale—regardless of the emotional payoff. The VFX work, cutting down SRK's size, is by itself a work of art. And that's just a fraction of the craft and cost involved in a picture perennially on a flight of imagination—whether the penny drops, or not.

Guess it'd be impossible for filmmakers to attempt a leap of faith so high, without quite convincing themselves that they're on to a masterpiece. One hopes (for them), others feel so too. Clearly, I didn't.

Also Read: Zero Movie Interview: Shah Rukh Khan, Katrina Kaif And Anushka Sharma Reveal All

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Simmba
Director: Rohit Shetty
Actors: Ranveer Singh, Sara Ali Khan, Ashutosh Rana
Rating: 

With this film, a super-star is born. Why would one risk this over-statement? Because super-stars in Bollywood, or in the Indian movie context, have remained, for decades, the most apt equivalent to Hollywood super-heroes.

They come with little or no back-story. As in the case of Simmba - being an orphan is good enough. The front-story, as it were, is neatly split between the hero, and the villain, along with a prologue, epilogue, heroine, comedian, extras, and the all-important 'takiya-kalaam' (stock refrain): "Tell me something I don't know!" The motivation, like with super-hero flicks, is rather rudimentary. Saving a girl is as good as repeatedly saving the world!

What matters is how the super-star, by sheer dint of his vigorous personality - where you can't distinguish between the actor and character - carries along an entire movie, and indeed the audience, on his strong shoulders alone.

Once the image is set, the penny drops, and while the going is good, the super-star on screen is good enough to ensure audiences in theatres. And there's got to be a reason why no star ever since the '90s, in a real sense, has been able to convincingly play this part that, I suspect, is the hardest to hit home with, anyway.

Ranveer Singh does just that. And how! Part Govinda, from Raja Babu type pictures in the '90s, part Anil Kapoor from Ram Lakhan in the '80s, but wholly holding his own in a typically Rohit Shetty action-entertainer, Singh adds tremendous credibility to a character that had begun to tire us over time.

For one, given his robust résumé (if you only compare this performance to the anti-hero Alauddin Khilji's in Padmaavat earlier this year), you know he isn't casually reprising a role, given a captive audience (that '90s super-stars had begun to). He puts in as much effort into Simmba as he might into a Bajirao Mastani, say, mastering the Marathi twang (without quite coming across as a parody of Nana Patekar); killing it softly with well-written one-liners; setting the dance floor on
fire; romancing like a dude; doing action, like a proper, desi hero!

You fall for Inspector Sangram Bhalerao (Simmba)-a cartoonish, corrupt cop, who wants to eventually right the society's wrongs-essentially, because, you fall for the stupendous Singh on steroids. Every scene works, because he does; and vice versa. The net result is a movie that, within the same space, seems better than Ajay Devgn's Singham (2011). But for the middling soundtrack, it would've been better than Salman Khan's Dabangg (2010).

Either way, what you won't go looking for is the picture's plot, based on the Telugu potboiler Temper (2015). Because you already know what to expect: Singh as a hero. Sonu Sood as a villain. Villain ke haraami brothers. Hero ki abla nari sister. And the rape, and the revenge drama, that follow.

I'm unsure if one adequately appreciates how hard, bordering on the near impossible, it is to engagingly pull off a masala-melodrama such as this. Shetty knows more than a thing or two about this timeless genre. Yet, this may well be one of his rare movies where the connoisseur and the crackling masses are most likely to seamlessly converge.

As an audience, the only way to know if a film of this sort is working (for you), is when you find yourself (sometimes guiltily, but mostly in a carefree sort of way) smiling, responding, and along with a packed theatre, reacting to shenanigans on screen-whether they entirely make sense or not ain't the point.

The script can be full of holes. You hope your brain isn't. This is how I caught this picture, with folk in the front-benches-whistling, clapping, making loud noises, and then going quiet, during dramatic sequences.

This only brings back strong memories of large single-screen cinemas - on the verge of extinction - with people on both cheap and super-expensive seats, sharing entertainment as a common, tribal experience. That's where you should go for this. As if on cue, to Ajay Devgn walks in as Singham. As does Akshay Kumar, announcing his next film cop-flick with Shetty, Sooryavanshi (2019). You might think this is meant to be a Ranveer starrer piggy-backing on '90s super-stars - inhabiting the same Marvel-like super-hero, cinematic universe. Look at him. I think it was the other way round!

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Mary Poppins Returns

U/A: Comedy, Family, Fantasy
Director: Rob Marshall
Cast: Emily Blunt, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Angela Lansbury, Ben Whishaw, Emily Mortimer
Rating: 

Disney drums up age-old magic by picking up the threads of an unforgettable original which had the unassailable diva Julie Andrews mesmerize way back in 1964. This time around Emily Blunt essays the all-important role of the magical nanny whose job is to put things right in the Banks’ siblings Michael(Ben Whishaw) and Jane’s (Emily Mortimer)now adult world just as she did when they were kids – with Lin-Manuel Miranda doing a Dick Van Dyke in this Rob Marshall sequel.

The setting is 1930’s London, Michael is a widower with three lovely kids and his sister Jane is an activist who appears to have lost out on love. Burdened by debt and threatened by the bank, Michael can barely keep his head up when Mary Poppins flies into their lives and makes all the difference!

Check out the trailer here:

Director Rob Marshall manages to tie-in to the original with enchanting ease - spelling forth a magical 130 minutes of music and fantasy that keeps you reminiscing while laying out an entirely fresh scenario that’s just as trippy as the original. Marshall reteams with cinematographer Dion Beebe, to give the narrative an inveigling widescreen luster, with production designer John Myhre and costume designer Sandy Powell chipping in with their nostalgia imbuing contributions. The pre-war 1930s setting is superbly presented just as the bath-time routine, excursion in the park and journey into an all-too brittle adventure, rekindle the vivacity and colorfulness of yore. It’s a wondrous amalgamation of ideas from the past and present, merging together in synchronicity of technique and wonder that is entirely enthralling.

Also Read: Emily Blunt Got Scared With Mary Poppins Returns Offer

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The Mule
Director: Clint Eastwood
Cast: Clint Eastwood, Bradley Cooper, Laurence Fishburne, Michael Peña, Dianne Wiest, Andy Garcia, Alison Eastwood, Taissa Farmiga, Ignacio Serricchio, Loren Dean, Eugene Cordero, Robert LaSardo
Rating:

Eighty-eight-year-old Clint Eastwood’s 37th feature has him directing and acting in a drama about an elderly man whose late-life drug running — egged on by desperate circumstances — becomes a tool for heavy rumination regarding conscience, morality, and reclamation. Nick Schenk (of Gran Torino fame) fashions this screenplay inspired by the New York Times Magazine article The Sinaloa Cartel’s 90-Year-Old Drug Mule, about a true event, written by Sam Dolnick.

The original mule was Leo Sharp, a World War II veteran and great-grandfather. But, for this film, Eastwood and Schenk take some creative liberties to present a sensibility that is more Eastwood than the real-life event would oblige. The experience delineates the nearly destitute senior Earl Stone’s (Eastwood) tryst with criminality conspired by an alienated family construct, and a flagging business. Earl was never there when he was needed by his family, ex-wife Mary (Dianne Wiest) and, especially, daughter Iris (Alison Eastwood). Their rejection of him when he runs out of money may be painful to watch, but it is fairly justified in the schema of broken relationships damaged by ego trips.

Eastwood, of course, lives the part. He fits the role, but as far as the fan-image goes, he seems frailer and less imposing than he did in his last cinema outing. But that physical deterioration doesn’t take anything away from the manner in which he has constructed this slow-burning, contemplative, engaging, humorous tale, which appears to be somewhat autobiographical in the manner in which it deals with relationships that are central to the story here.

We can see that Federal agents, led by a DEA Special Agent in charge (Laurence Fishburne), and newbie Colin Bates (Bradley Cooper), trying to nail some cartel drug runners out West, are eventually going to come across this unsuspicious drug-runner. But the film is not about that cat-and-mouse chase as much as it is about a conscience finally coming awake, and Earl making robust efforts to atone for his past mistakes.

Eastwood’s mule seems to bask in the freedom that easy money brings him, and appears to be unaware of the hellish depths that the murderous cartels would reach — and that’s precisely how the film plays out. With every film, like in this one too, Eastwood’s politics also comes out, loud-and-clear. He may be intriguing as a person, but not always politically correct as an actor-director voicing his personal world-view.

Earl’s eventual redemption also comes a little too easy, given the havoc he may have engineered by his flirting with the cartel. The tone shifts are jerky, the narrative veers to the ponderous and the experience doesn’t come across as entirely fulfilling — even though the cinematography and minimalistic appurtenances lend shadowy depth to the experience.

The supporting characters don’t get much screen-time, even though they are integral to the plotting. Eastwood hogs the show here. His apparent disconnect with the consequences relating to his actions is a hurdle that’s difficult to overcome. And that’s also because Eastwood’s image still manages to over-power his latter-life performances. As an audience, we are more likely to be distraught over his real-life physical deterioration than we are about the reel life character’s disempowerment.

Watch The Mule Trailer

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Uri: The Surgical Strike
U/A: Action, Drama
Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Yami Gautam, Paresh Rawal
Director: Aditya Dhar
Rating: 

Like with several others, you may not find a single bloodthirsty, jingoistic-militaristic bone in my body. And yet, there's a scene in this film, focused on a little girl, whose father, an officer, has just died in the recent attacks on the Army base in Uri. She walks up to the casket, surrounded by soldiers in attention, at his state funeral.

The moment freezes for a second. The little child, rather unexpectedly, exults the regiment's war cry. Soldiers instantly respond. Emotions naturally heighten. It's hard not to feel a lump in your throat.

This is the sort of visceral 'josh' that the film organically excites, which makes it work, almost through and through. And yet, for a movie wholly centred on a mission and the military, it is a rare desi one—Sankalp Reddy's under-rated The Ghazi Attack (2017), being another recent exception—that never meanders from the actual minefield: Not a minute wasted on sundry peripherals, songs, love-story, and the like, that most Hindi war films (Border, LOC Kargil, Lakshya included) have had to resort to, in order to fit into a more mainstream, Bollywood format.

But, first, let's settle the apprehension that many might rightly share: Is this a propaganda picture? In so much as it places to the extreme fore the might and valour of unsung heroes of Indian Army, who risk their lives in covert operations, details of which, for reasons of state secrecy, go unreported? Sure. And that's pretty much true for all patriotic, war movies, regardless.

But, no: Is it a propaganda film for the BJP government, few months before the general elections, seeking credit for a military operation initiated/executed under its watch? Well, the magnanimous Prime Minister modeled on Narendra Modi (Rajit Kapur) is very much omnipresent. Which, going by trailers and posters of late, he's likely to be, on the big screen, over the following months, with several films based on/around him—bit like a super-hero from the Marvel/DC universe!

The PM is well represented along with his cabinet, given lookalikes of Parrikar, Jaitley, Rajnath Singh, and the hand-picked National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, played by BJP MP Paresh Rawal, as a shrewd, sharp sleuth, right at the centre of the high-table, leading the military operation from a snazzy war-room.

Check out the trailer here:

Whether this story "based on true events," liberally mixing fact with fiction, has been actively sponsored by the government or not; can tell you this, they will like what they see. Folk on the Pakistani side though come across as total 'phateechars', ever willing to sell their soul and their nation's secrets. Either way, what the endorsement from the Indian Army (its publicity wing is prominently credited) evidently earns for the pic is incredible access to top-notch military hardware, hitherto unseen in the history of Hindi films.

Supremely competent first-time director Aditya Dhar uses these weapons—sophisticated machine guns, grenades, rocket launchers, top-grade fighter aircraft—to hit home with a winning plot, over two hours, 10 minutes of stunningly shot (Mitesh Mirchandani), non-stop, military-action drama, packed with pyrotechnics that appear authentic, world-class, technically kickass.

Background score (Shashwat Sachdev) is pitch-perfect. Some of the combat sequences (Stefan Richter) are sensational. Sparks fly, quite literally; even as sentiments are firmly in place, to keep you engaged with the characters, and their emotional motivations.

Yeah, it's hard to evoke both. No better actor to lead this charge than the fully fired-up Vicky Kaushal (Raazi, Sanju, Love Per Square Foot, Manmarziyaan, Lust Stories)—bulked up like a sniper, menacingly calm as a military mind—inspiring his peers (Yami Gautam, Kriti Kulhari etc) in the film, and patrons in the theatre, with an infectious energy that is impossible to resist. Kaushal's had a phenomenal 2018. Clearly, the dream run continues.

The film is primarily set in 2016. The basic premise is known. It concerns a top-secret, low-intensity, shock-and-awe assault, or a surgical strike, on hideouts in Pak-occupied Kashmir, responsible for terror attacks across the border—more specifically, by four militants, allegedly of the group Jaish-e-Mohammed, on the Indian Army brigade headquarters in Uri, near the Line of Control, less than a fortnight before.

Very little—next to nothing—is known about these 'surgical strikes'. How does this revenge operation pan out in the picture, then? Given multiple Abbottabads being mounted, a lot like a desi Zero Dark Thirty (2012)—Katherine Bigelow's brilliant docu-drama detailing capture of Osama bin Laden. As compliments go, that's as huge as it gets. No?

Also Read: Watch video: Vicky Kaushal gives us a sneak peek into his prep for Uri

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The Second Act

U/A: Comedy, Romance
Director: Peter Segal
Cast: Jennifer Lopez, Leah Remini, Vanessa Hudgens
Rating: 

Jennifer Lopez probably fancies herself as a 'Working Girl' and that explains her producing and acting in a film that has shades of the Oscar winner mashed up with done to death romcom elements. The script credited to Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas and Justin Zackham transforms an uneducated, street-smart 40-year-old woman, Maya(Jennifer Lopez) into a winning corporate consultant – and to get there she jumps the truth about her background, gets a resume makeover and wins the confidence of the head honcho. The boss (Treat Williams) sets up two teams, one lead by Maya and the safer one led by his daughter, Zoe (Vanessa Hudgens). But no prizes for guessing who won that battle. The usual alienation from old friends is followed by a redemptive effort at truth-telling.

Peter Segal's Second Act tries to do too much. The impetus for Maya's cheat makeover comes from professional rejection - We meet Maya the day she loses out on a big promotion at Value Shop, because of her lack of an MBA and a dopey idiot gets it because he does. We see Maya reconciling with the daughter she gave up for adoption and then losing her again for a bit before they reconcile again. The same happens with her friends and colleagues from her former workplace. They are the ones who support and encourage her (to hilarious results sometimes). Corporate skulduggery notwithstanding there's also the romantic interest whom she failed to confide in. It's all too complicated rather than complex.

Check out the trailer here:

The few times the film manages to perk you up involves an impromptu dance with Maya leading her office nemesis (Freddie Stroma) onto the dance floor in an attempt to sideswipe his attempt to expose her. And another time you feel the passion is when she and her girlfriends (Remini, Lacreta, Dierdre Friel) do a "Push it REAL good" dancing sing along. The writing is not without its frivolous light-hearted banter but much of it is lost in the attempt to paint Maya in a gratifying light. This romcom is fairly bearable but not exactly likeable.

Also Read: Jennifer Lopez explains why she did Second Act

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The Accidental Prime Minister
U: Biography, drama
Dir: Vijay Gutte
Cast: Anupam Kher, Akshaye Khanna
Rating:

Given the imagery in the trailer, it is impossible to walk into The Accidental Prime Minister anticipating anything. The intent of its makers is evident: its strategic release, months prior to the election, solidifies its positioning as a propaganda film. Films are meant to have fodder for debate and discussion. And the topic of discussion here, I propose, is how Mayank Tewari, the writer of Newton (one of India’s most balanced political films) and Hansal Mehta (Shahid) came up with something as abhorrent as this.

Probably hoping to pitch this as India’s answer to House Of Cards (HOC), the film’s narrative is too incoherent to make a political statement, let alone start a dialogue. HOC, of course, made with tremendous gumption, never has a political bias. It merely mirrors the goings-on behind the closed doors of the White House. Based on the book by Sanjaya Baru, this movie attempts to make sense of power games in the corridors of the coveted bungalow No. 7, Race Course Road (the official residence of PMO). But there’s no escaping the fact that it can only pass as a run-down, Made In China version of HOC.

If at all the idea was to shame and embarrass the Congress party, the writing here lacks the desired punch. The onus of shaping the material lies in the hands of the director, and Vijay Gutte is visibly inept. Of course, the lofty and on-point casting of Akshaye Khanna as Baru and Anupam Kher as PM Dr Manmohan Singh, salvages the situation considerably, but there’s no saving the film from shoddy direction.

Baru’s book walks the tightrope carefully, making ground-breaking political revelations, but never reducing Dr Singh to a laughable figure. Even his worst critics would agree, Singh was a man of poise. On Gutte’s insistence (or so I would like to believe) Kher turns Singh into a mute cartoon, who deserves to be pitied. It almost feels like the makers want to mock Singh — mimic his voice, slouch his gait. Baru had carefully carved Singh as a fiercely loyal man, standing strong on his ideals; one who is manipulated by the Gandhis (Sonia and Rahul). Gutte never focuses on the vulnerable equations between Singh and the Gandhi family.

He, in fact, allows Khanna to get disturbingly Frank Underwood-ish, turning up the dark humour in every third sentence. Khanna is great at what he does, but he makes Baru seem more like a saffron loyalist, not a Congress insider. Gutte takes us through the hallmarks of the Congress government, from the nuclear deal to the 2G scam, in a news bulletin, decade roundup-sort of a fashion, creating the build up for the film’s Singham (PM Modi). Do we know how Singh felt through it all? That’s for another film. There’s enough to laugh about in this offering, but the joke here is that while Hollywood continues to make great content, we are still nitpicking and name-calling.

Watch The Accidental Prime Minister Trailer

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Why Cheat India
U/A: Drama Satire
Director: Soumik Sen
Cast: Emraan Hashmi, Shreya Dhanwanthary
Rating:

The 'curse of the second half' in Hindi pictures is simply so severe, especially when it comes to films with well-known faces, that even as I find myself really enjoying a movie, there's a radar at the back of the brain constantly cautioning one to only hope that the post-interval portions even live up to the first half — by half. If so, then as an audience, you're pretty much through.

Is this movie an exception in that regard? Well, it eventually starts descending to such levels of random, thoughtless spinning of the yarn that by the end of it you're not even too sure it's the same film that you had started with in the first place. And hell yeah, it begins really well, what with highlighting the academic strains of being a teenaged 'padhaku' kid, Sattu (the boy's so brilliantly cast), in a lower-middle class family in Lucknow, coaxed into cracking a coveted engineering entrance exam (they don't call it IIT for some reason). For, how else does the father who's invested all his money into his child's supposed dream see his pension scheme through?

The film shines much-needed light on a common Indian teenaged nightmare, as sincerely presented in stand-up comedian Biswa Kalyan Rath's rather under-rated Amazon Prime series, Laakhon Mein Ek (2018). While sticking to searing realism — getting its time-setting, the year 1998 right, down to baggy trousers, and Force 10 type sneakers — the filmmakers manage to give the hero, Emraan Hashmi, a filmy sort of entry, smartly slipping in a soothing ballad, as well. Well done!

Hashmi plays a one-man racketeer who sneaks in smart kids, with counterfeit hall tickets, to max entrance tests on behalf of rich children, sitting at home, paying their way to top colleges as a result. You sort of know where the film might be going with this. And, maybe, that's the problem. Proxy contestants at overcrowded competitive exams for key educational institutions, where even well-prepared students wait for Godot to get in, is a huge multi-crore, organised industry, involving a system wholly corrupted, from top to bottom. Technology would have plugged some of the holes already; one's unaware to what extent.

If you haven't heard as much about this underworld, one should legitimately blame the news media for it — particularly in the case of the 2013 Vyapam (Madhya Pradesh Professional Examination Board) Scam, for instance, where close to 40 people, most of them whistleblowers, have mysteriously died, while the investigations are still on (or not quite) —but largely under-reported in the mainstream press.

And I thought this is what the film could be about — unearthing an earth-shaking scandal that should ideally knock you off your head. But, no, this is a film that attempts to combine strong commentary on the education/examination system, with a high-paced, heist thriller, with belaboured twists and turns, while trying to balance all of it with the urban slickness and high-life that Hashmi's inevitably romantically inclined, unscrupulous characters aspire for, and achieve, in his typical capers.

Watch Why Cheat India Trailer

So whatever fault you may find in the film possibly exists in the story/script to start with. And perhaps the reason is Hashmi himself, for he can't help but get on the big screen with strong baggage of the sort of flicks that have made him the star he is. The audience is obviously to blame for it, and the fact that Hashmi remains still an under-rated actor, because he is hardly commercially lauded for parts where he wholly goes off the beaten path — Dibakar Banerjee's Shanghai (2012), I'm told, tanked; Danis Tanovic's Tigers (2018) went straight to OTT (Zee 5), both being his career's best works.

And so he goes back to being himself: the trademarked flawed hero, who eventually justifies his wily actions as a natural outcome of a multiple-choice, rote-learning system that gives very few kids a choice beyond acing it to get ahead. How a scamster like his character is the solution still, and not the issue, is beyond me. Have to say though, what the audience will empathise with is the fact that far too few fine courses/colleges exist for far too many desi children: a progressively massive problem staring us in the face and an even uglier future. This affects everyone. To be fair, the government is just as clueless on how to deal with it as this totally confusing 'pop-con' pic.

Also read: Emraan Hashmi: Change of Cheat India title is illogical, ridiculous

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Replicas
U/A: Crime, Mystery, Sci-Fi
Director: Jeffrey Nachmanoff
Cast: Keanu Reeves, Thomas Middleditch, Alice Eve, John Ortiz, Emjay Anthony
Rating: 

The bland, expressionless Keanu Reeves as a scientist is a hard sell for even the most gifted filmmaker so one can't understand why he was chosen to lead the cast as an obsessive scientist wanting to clone his family back to life after a drowning accident. And that's not the only bad choice here. The story itself never develops beyond the perfunctory -allowing for quick jump forwards into sci-fi territory that doesn't appear conclusive in the least. The script appears to be written by novices who have little idea about the subject matter. Neither the Director, the tech team nor the cast seem to believe in this story. So they all appear to be playing a game of make-believe that only they enjoy. For the viewer the experience is sheer tedium.

Playing God in a high tech world is not a new concept but the treatment, tone and momentum must be good enough to gain attachment and believability. There's no such thing here. At no point are we ensnared by Will Foster's (Keanu Reeves) need to bring back his family from the dead. Neither his guilt nor his love for them are established here. And his corralling of his lab partner Ed (Thomas Middleditch) for support, is also not believable in the least. The talk of neural maps, synthetic brain, algorithms and consciousness sounds like mumbo-jumbo in such an unbelievable set-up – even when it's done in a futuristic facility called Bionyne.

Check out the trailer here:

When Will persuades his friend Ed to dispose the bodies of his dead family members it sounds insane and when he pretends to be his kids and responds to text messages from their friends it becomes all the more ridiculous. We never see his grief or experience his pain. And that's also because Keanu Reeves doesn't go beyond harried and lost in terms of expression. Both writer Chad St. John and director Jeffrey Nachmanoff don't appear to have figured out what exactly they wanted to convey here. They just run with the tide and make a mess of it. There's no style or mood to hold this sort of idea through. Nachmanoff hits the bland and straightforward route – on e that leaves the audience totally distended and discontent. This is the kind of hare-brained unbelievable stuff you wouldn't waste your hard-earned money on!

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One Less God

U/A: Drama, Thriller
Director: Lliam Worthington
Cast: Joseph Mahler Taylor, Sukhraj Deepak, Mihika Rao
Rating: 

As a film that hopes to capture the terror heralded by the 26/11 attacks on Mumbai, 'One Less God' is rather feeble, nondescript and ineffective. The scope is narrow and the budget too small to do justice to a disaster that is amongst the most unforgettable in recent history. This is drama written around a real-life crisis but at no point does it feel real. The 2008 Mumbai attacks included a series of terrorist strikes that felled 164 people across south Mumbai - carried out by 10 members of the Laskar-e-Taiba, an Islamic terrorist organisation based in Pakistan. But none of that drama or tragedy is captured here with any grit or enticement.

The Mumbai siege is presented in a slap-dash fashion that never really gets the audience involved. The focus is largely on the Taj Mahal hotel and what it's guests went through in the final hours before their falling victim to the terrorist onslaught. The film focuses its efforts on the men and women attempting to survive, while intermittently cutting across to the two men perpetrating the attack. The bits of humour that creep in at odd times appears to be in bad taste.

Check out the trailer here:

Everything here seems rather pretentious and ineffective. The general cross-national mix of characters, their touristy experiences and the aftermath of the siege may have some diverse moments but we never feel attached or interested enough to be affected. There are barely any validating moments here. The performances are bad, the direction is sloppy, there are continuity breaks that look ridiculous, the art direction and production values leave a lot to be desired. Even the attempt to go one-up on the much awaited Dev Patel, Armie Hammer, Nazanin Boniadi, Jason Isaacs starrer 'Hotel Mumbai'- (a film that covers the same territory), by releasing earlier, reeks of Opportunism.

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