Maharashtra News Archive: March 2007

Finnair to fly to Mumbai
Thursday, March 29, 2007 | AY

As part of its expansion plans in India, Finnish carrier Finnair is all set to add Mumbai as the second destination and increase frequency to New Delhi to every day of the week. Finnair, which currently operates three flights from here, will begin its daily flights from mid May. From Mumbai, it will operate five times a week starting June 17. With Finnair's latest move, India will be connected by 12 flights a week to Finland. The carrier started its India operations in October 2006 and boasts of running the shortest route between India and any EU country, taking barely six-and-a-half hours.

Jr Mehmood to direct Sachin in Marathi film
Wednesday, March 28, 2007 | AY

Junior Mehmood, who acted as the younger version of ace comedian Mehmood in films like the 1968 Sanghursh and Brahmachari will now produce and direct a Marathi film. The film is titled Adla – Badli and as the title suggests, it is an out and out comedy film and a complete family entertainer. The film is being made under my banner, H R Films and is presented by the Pittie Group in association with Victoria Entertainments. It features Sachin ,Ashok Saraf, Teja Deokar, Viju Khote, Anand Abhyankar and Vinay Yedekar.

Junior Bachan and Aish will tie knot on April
Tuesday, March 27, 2007 | AY

Star couple Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai will tie the knot on April 20 in Mumbai. The rights for covering the mega wedding have reportedly been sold to an international media house. News of the Ash-Abhishek romance started making rounds last year - while the couple were shooting for Umrao Jaan and Guru. Ash and Abhishek finally got engaged on January 14 this year soon after they returned from the premiere of their film Guru in Toronto and New York.

Meal scheme for students
Monday, March 26, 2007 | AY

The Maharashtra Government would seek the Centre's nod for extending the ongoing school nutritious meal scheme to Class VI and VII students and implementing the programme in unaided schools. The scheme is a Central scheme and is not a part of the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan. At present, 78 lakh students in 78,381 schools in the State are covered under the scheme, adding that a study group would check if the Rs 2 per student daily allocation was sufficient.

Mumbai cyclist sets new record
Sunday, March 25, 2007 | AY

Vinod Puniyar, a 48-year-old cycle enthusiast, made a new record of sorts when he crossed the distance from Pune to Mumbai in 2 hours 14 minutes. He made this record on his special American bicycle on Sunday morning. Puniyar, a businessman, started along with the Deccan Queen, a train that leaves Pune at 7.10 am. He reached Dombivali, a distance of 140 kms from Pune at 9.14. He did this 24 minutes before the Deccan Queen, which reached at 9.38 am.

Shilpa to star in British musical on Bollywood
Saturday, March 24, 2007 | AY

Having wowed global audiences with her anti-racism stand on Britain's "Celebrity Big Brother", Shilpa Shetty is all set to hit higher notes with an Indian musical in that country. She is going to be in an Indian musical on the lines of (Andrew Lloyd Webber's) 'Bollywood Dreams'. Though it will be Bollywood in spirit, it will completely cater to Western sensibilities. Farhat Hussein, who organises Bollywood concerts in Britain, plans to produce the musical.

International boatshow in Mumbai
Thursday, March 22, 2007 | AY

The ongoing international boatshow here could provide the much-needed fillip to Maharashtra's tourism industry apart from kick-starting boat services from Mumbai and nearby areas. Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) Chief Bhushan Gagrani is hopeful of a spillover effect that the boatshow could have on the State and the country. With this show they are expecting to generate more tourism activities like water sports, cruises and others. MTDC is looking to build a marina of international standards for tourists.

Scientists develop new model to forecast monsoon
Wednesday, March 21, 2007 | AY

Climate scientists have developed a new method to forecast summer monsoon rainfall which they claim is more accurate than the existing prediction model. Scientists at the Pune-based Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM) applied the new model using the data for the past 10 years and were able to get the monsoon figures right for nine years. Their model uses six parameters that include mean sea level pressure, temperature and zonal and meridional wind speed. The duo used the data on the mean sea level pressure, temperature, zonal and meridional wind for the 1949-2005 period for their study that was published in the February issue of Journal of Earth System Science.

7-month ban on new flights to Delhi and Mumbai
Tuesday, March 20, 2007 | AY

There will be no new flights to and from Delhi and Mumbai over the coming seven months. The Government has decided to freeze at the existing levels the number of flights that can be operated by domestic airlines from these two airports during the forthcoming summer season. Contemplated in the wake of increasing congestion at these two airports, the ban would apply to any new flight that an airline wants to operate during the peak hours. The Government, however, is yet to decide on what constitutes peak hours for both the airports that are the busiest in the country. There are sections in the Government that feel the peak hours extend from 7 to 10 a.m. and from 6 to 10 p.m. At Mumbai, the airport operator plans to allow the use of the cross runway soon, that should also help in easing the problems airlines face while flying from and to the city.

Nandita Das bags an award
Monday, March 19, 2007 | AY

Last year, Nandita Das starred in Chitra Palekar’s bi-lingual (Marathi and English) film Maati Maay. Based on the short story Baayen by Mahasweta Devi, the film is about the life of a gravekeeper from rural Maharashtra. Nandita Das plays the grave-keeper in the film and Atul Kulkarni is her husband. Though the film didn’t do well in India, Nandita has won the V Shantaram Award for her performance in the film. Some of Nandita’s upcoming films include Santosh Sivan’s Keral, Jagmohan Mundhra’s Provoked and Deepa Mehta’s Kamagata Maru.

Maharashtra determined to lead the way in technology
Sunday, March 18, 2007 | AY

At the fifth International Conference on Communications Convergence being organised by the Indian Merchants Chamber (IMC) Maharashtra minister for finance and planning Jayantrao Patil says that the state is determined to lead other Indian states in terms of convergence of technologies. In 2003 Maharashtra accounted for 15.8 per cent of India's telephone subscribers, 9.5 per cent of telephone connections, 9.1 per cent of urban connections and 1.1 per cent rural connections. At the end of 2006 the teledensity inn the country has risen to 17.16 per cent. This is much more than the targeted teledensity of 15 per cent at the end of 2010.

Zydus Cadila acquires Liva Healthcare
Saturday, March 17, 2007 | AY

Zydus Cadila on Friday announced that it has acquired the city-based privately-held company Liva Healthcare for an undisclosed amount. Zydus Cadila has acquired a 97.5 per cent stake in Liva Healthcare, which has a dermatology-focussed product portfolio. With this strategic acquisition, Zydus Cadila establishes its presence in the Rs 1,500 crore derma segment, which is the seventh largest therapeutic segment in the Indian Pharma market. The acquisition also includes Liva's GMP compliant manufacturing facility at Sinnar, near Nasik.

Devashappath
Thursday, March 15, 2007 | AY

The Marathi comedy film Devashappath Khota Sangen Khara Sangnar Nahi released in Mumbai recently. Made under the banner of Apratim Films, it has been produced by Raju Bahruj and Indu Kumar. Written and directed by Sanjiv Kolte, it has lyrics by Jagdish Khebudkar and music by Pravin Kunwar. Starring Ashok Saraf, Kuldeep Pawar, Rohini Hattangadi, Priya Berde,Vijay Chavan, Ravindra Berde, Ashok Shinde, Aavishkar and Sachin Salvi, the film has hit all the major theatres screening Marathi films in Mumbai.

Aerosmith Set to Rock Mumbai
Wednesday, March 14, 2007 | AY

Iconic rock band Aerosmith will perform in Mumbai, its first performance in the country. The five-member band, with at least 14 albums to its credit and a career spanning over four decades, will hold the concert on June 2. The Mumbai show is part of a wider tour by the band that will also see it travel through Europe and Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. Aerosmith released its first album in 1973 and has sung some of the most popular power anthems like "I Don't Want To Miss A Thing" from the 1998 blockbuster film "Armageddon", as well as "Dream On" and "Crazy".

Ashley Judd mobbed in Mumbai
Tuesday, March 13, 2007 | AY

Actress Ashley Judd, who is in India for an AIDS awareness programme, had to cut short her visit to Mumbai's red light district after being mobbed by fans. The Kiss The Girls star is in the country promoting AIDS awareness as an ambassador for Youth AIDS. However, she returned to the area later to continue her visit. The actress' week-long Indian itinerary will now be kept secret to prevent a similar situation. The actress, whose recent movies include "Bug" and "Come Early Morning," has traveled across the world to focus attention on HIV/AIDS. With 5.7 million infections, India has the world's largest number of people living with HIV/AIDS.

Shakira set to rock Mumbai
Monday, March 12, 2007 | AY

The stage is set in Mumbai for one of the world’s hottest artists on stage, Shakira, who will be performing in the country for the very first time. A once in a lifetime opportunity, die-hard fans of the present queen of Latin Pop can catch her live at MMRDA Grounds on 25th March, at 5:00 PM to promote her latest hit album “Oral Fixation”. Fans can now look forward to a scintillating evening of hit songs and hot moves. Best known for her dance moves Shakira learned belly dancing as a child, largely to overcome her shyness. Tickets to the concert are priced at Rs. 2650 and Rs. 3650. The ticket price includes service charges like advance booking, bar coding and bar code checking.

Anokhi He Ghar Maze
Sunday, March 11, 2007 | AY

Marathi film producers Junait Memon and Shekhar More are set to create a record of sorts by having a worldwide release of their Marathi film soon. They have plans to release their film "Anokhi He Ghar Maze", not only in Maharashtra, but also in New Jersey, Los Angeles and Dallas on 20 April 2007. They are having the music released on mobile phones too, another first for the Marathi film industry. Anokhi He Ghar Maze stars Ashok Saraf, Meghana Vaidya, Tushar Dalvi and others.

Restriction of non Marathis to work in Marathi films
Saturday, March 10, 2007 | AY

A fight is going between the Non-Marathi film associations and the Shiv Sena who say that they will not allow Non Marathi artists to work in Marathi films. This comes after complaints from Marathi film producers against the Non Marathi artistes. The Marathi film producers have already taken their complaint to the Maharashtra Home Minister RR Patil. But the Shiv Sena too has stepped in warning the Non Marathi Associations that they will be tackled in 'true Shivsena style'.

Continental to launch NY-Mumbai direct flights
Thursday, March 8, 2007 | AY

After successful direct flights between New York to New Delhi, world's fifth largest Continental Airlines is gearing up fast to launch daily flights to Mumbai from October 30. The non-stop flights between its New York area hub at Newark Liberty International Airport and Mumbai will be timed to provide convenient connections at Continental's New York hub with more than 230 other cities throughout the US, Canada, Latin America and the Caribbean. Mumbai will be the 30th city in Continental's trans- Atlantic route network. Continental's New York/Newark- Mumbai flights will be operated with Boeing 777-200 aircraft with BusinessFirst and Economy cabins.

Mumbai Marathon rakes in Rs. 6.47 cr
Wednesday, March 7, 2007 | AY

The Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon, held on January 21, has raked in Rs 6.47 crores for charitable purposes through corporate efforts and those of various NGOs. The increase in the amount for charities, raised through the dream runs and corporate challenge events as a sub-plot of the main marathon, from the previous year's contributions was 114 per cent, the organisers said, adding that money was still pouring in and the final amount looked closer to Rs 8 crores. Eighty companies took part in the corporate challenge and raised Rs 68.85 lakhs while 18 NGOs were also part of the fund-raising venture with Chennai-based Banyan contributing Rs 1.22lakhs.

Probation plea by Sanjay Dutt opposed by CBI
Tuesday, March 6, 2007 | AY

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Monday opposed the probation plea filed by Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt, convicted for buying illegal arms from the gangsters involved in the bombings in Mumbai in 1993. Dutt had filed an application in a special court on February 23 seeking a report on his conduct for consideration on his application foreniency in penalty. The application was filed under the provisions of Probation of Offender's Act, 1958. Ujjwal Nikam, Special Public Prosecutor said that the hearing for the plea would now come up either on March 12 or 13. Dutt's lawyers have said the report would help the court decide on his application for lenience in sentence. They urged that Dutt be set free for his good behaviour during the bail, citing a 1958 law, which allows certain convicts to be given probation.

Postal Dept. to disburse farm loans
Sunday, March 4, 2007 | AY

The Postal Department has embarked on a novel scheme to disburse farm loans of six banks using the post office's extensive network in Maharashtra. Union Bank of India, Corporation Bank, Bank of Maharashtra, Dena Bank, Oriental Bank of Commerce and ICICI are the six banks for which the postal department would do the due diligence of verifying an individual's credential. This week, the postal department entered into a tie up with Union Bank of India to disburse farm loans of Rs 100 crores for 2007-08.

South African films on the Mumbai Film Fest
Saturday, March 3, 2007 | AY

A retrospective of South African films will be screened at the 9th International Film Festival of Mumbai starting March 8. "Sarafina" will kick-start the retrospective of the films produced by South Africa-based Anant Singh and his company, Videovision Entertainment. That apart, films like "The Stick!", "Cry", "The Beloved Country", "Paljas", "The Long Run", "Red Dust" and "Yesterday" will be screened as a part of the South African retrospective at the weeklong festival. Paljas", made in the Afrikaans language, was the first South African film to be sent for Academy Awards nominations while "The Long Run" is against the backdrop of the gruelling Comrades Marathon.

Remake of a Marathi film Dombivili Fast
Thursday, March 1, 2007 | AY

Madhavan has completed work on "Evano Oruvan," a film that is close to his heart. This remake of a Marathi film "Dombivili Fast" is realistic and deals with the problems of a middle class man living in a city. Maddy plays Sridhar Vasudevan, a bank employee, who is torn between a mundane existence and domestic disturbances. He decides to set things right and in the process becomes a threat to the very society he seeks to reform. Sangeeta plays Maddy's wife. The film is directed by Nishikant Kamat who did the original, which was not only critically acclaimed but also was a huge box-office hit.

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