MS Dhoni The Untold Story: Almost everything you see in the film happened in Dhoni's life

MS Dhoni

Arun Pandey, who has been long-time friend and business partner for MS Dhoni, is entreprising. You can here it in his voice, how dedicated he is to his passion project releasing on September 30. The project is none other than a Bollywood film based on the life of Dhoni, India's most successful captain. He emphasises more than a few times that the film was made purely to motivate youngsters in India and around the world.

He repeats it so many times, that it actually becomes irksome. Dhoni is a very marketable commodity. And it's hard not to see the financial prospects in telling the life story of a man like him. He is a World Cup winning captain, has pan-India appeal and it only makes sense that his underdog story be sold to the highest bidder. However, the trailers suggest they have tried to capture the essence of the cricketer's life. Both Neeraj Pandey (director) and Sushant Singh Rajput (playing Dhoni himself) look sincere. Will MS Dhoni: The Untold Story break the jinx with Bollywood and biopics, we'll have to wait and watch.

1.       What was that one element in Dhoni's life story that separates him from the rest of the underdog stories in the world? Why does the world need to hear Dhoni's story?

A majority of the population is the youth, out of which a big number come from the small towns. And how many stories like Dhoni do you have that can motivate you to this extent? The ascent from where he started to what he has achieved, it is so massive, how do you not get inspired by a story like that? But it's not even about his victories and the success and the money that he has made. It is how he has conducted himself through those phases of life. You hear him in interviews, and he's always talking about a process. What is a process? The effort we put in today. A lot of people dream like Dhoni did, but did they put in the effort that Dhoni did? Dhoni himself never dreamt that he would play for the country, let alone lead it. What purpose the story will serve is to tell the youth, if you have dreams big or small, if you put in the effort today, you will be closer to achieving it than you were yesterday.

You watch Lincoln, Wolf of Wall Street and even A Beautiful Mind, from the last 15 year's Oscar-winners you'll find at least 10-12 of the films were based on real life stories. That's why we thought the story needs to be told. 2. Neeraj Pandey's earlier films have a completely different flavour compared to what this biopic would need. How did he come on board?

When we first thought of making the movie, we had a few names about who could be candidates for the director's job. As soon as I heard, that Neeraj was the man behind A Wednesday, I jumped and was convinced he was the man who would make it. I'm a great fan of A Wednesday, how he's made this whole movie around one incident and how in middle of it is the story of a common man. So I asked my people, and they set up a meeting. And after that one meeting, Neeraj was on board to direct.

3. Was Sushant the first choice to play Dhoni? What convinced you he could pull it off?

I was coming back on a plane when I saw Kai Po Che. And I saw Sushant, the way he batted, bowled and how he talked about the sport. We thought he would be a good boy to work with. We wanted someone raw, hardworking and we got both those things from Sushant who really worked hard to get Dhoni's physique.

4. When did Fox Star come into the picture?

So there was Dilip (Jha, the writer) who was writing about the various incidents in Dhoni's life. He used to go everyday, meet him and hear his stories and wrote that down. After Neeraj came on board, he started reviewing Dilip's work and he started asking questions and started piecing together a narrative for the film. After that it took close to 10 months to find the right studio who will help us tell the story like it should be told. Vijay Singhji (CEO, Foxstar) was a visionary enough to see the potential in the story and after that we began shooting.

5. A film like this can be risky, it requires scale to look convincing, were there dark days when you thought you couldn't pull this off?

I didn't doubt myself for a single second, since I decided to start work on making this biopic. The kind of love and affection MS gets from people all over India, never doubted the project for a single second. And Fox backed us completely, whatever was the requirement for the movie from my side, from Neeraj's side was fulfilled without question.

6. There is a tendency to sugar-coat biopics, has Neeraj Pandey attempted to take on the grey areas of Dhoni's life?

The definition of grey area tends to differ from person to person. And as far as clarifications related to conflict of interest has already been given, it's all there out in the open. There was no glamourisation of anything, in fact I can tell you positively that 98 percent of the what happens in the movie, is based on Dhoni's real life. Ask Neeraj, when he came on board and how difficult he found to find the grey areas in Dhoni's life. He was surprised that there was hardly any negativity in his life. He was appalled that he had to work so hard, talk to so many people, and he still couldn't find any grey areas in MS Dhoni's life.

7. When was the decision taken about dubbing the movie into Marathi, Tamil and Telugu?

It was always on the cards, even before the trailer was released. Dhoni has a pan-India appeal and we thought it would be a good idea to reach out to people in the other regions as well who will be equally eager to hear Dhoni's story. Even better if it is in their local language.

8. Raj Thackeray's MNS objected to the Marathi-dubbed version. Are you going to go ahead and release it in Marathi or is that on hold?

I have to speak to the people at Fox about that, I've not really been in the loop about that. I'll have to check up on it, it slipped my mind.

9. How comfortable was Dhoni opening up on the details of his love-stories? Which are two from the movie?

Whatever happened in real life, he sat down and spoke to Neeraj. And that's been included in the movie.

10. Has Dhoni seen the movie yet? What was his reaction?

Of course, he got emotional. It was a little awkward too for him, but he hardly ever expresses. He was a little overwhelmed seeing his life story adapted to the big screen.

Here's why you must visit the International Buddhist Conclave at Sarnath

Slated to begin at Sarnath on October 3 this year, the International Buddhist Conclave will be attended by delegates from more than 40 countries. The conclave seeks to highlight Buddhist heritage and pilgrimage sites in India.
The foundation for Buddhism was laid down by Prince Siddhartha at a time when he renounced his family and went on to become the Buddha. The knowledge he gained through his enlightenment started spreading far and wide. It spready not only in different parts of India, but other parts of the world as well.
Now, Buddhism has a global following in excess of 500 million people, and is among the leading faiths of the world. Starting from India, where Buddhism originated, the profound teachings of this faith spread in Asia and beyond over the centuries. The philosophies and thoughts attached to Buddhism remain relevant even in the modern world.

Giraffes are four species, not one: DNA and Genetic study

 DNA and Genetic study

Genetic research on the world’s tallest land animal has found that there are four distinct species of giraffe, not just one as long believed, with two of them at alarmingly low population levels.

Scientists on Thursday unveiled a comprehensive genetic analysis of giraffes using DNA from 190 of the towering herbivores from across their range in Africa.

The genetic data showed that four separate species of giraffes that do not interbreed in the wild inhabit various parts of the continent.

“We were extremely surprised,” said conservationist Julian Fennessy, co-director of the Namibia-based Giraffe Conservation Foundation.

Beyond genetics, the researchers identified differences among the four species including body shape, coloration and coat patterns.

Genetic differences among the four species were comparable to those between polar bears and brown bears, said geneticist Axel Janke of the Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre and Goethe University in Germany.

Until now, scientists had recognised a single species, with the scientific name Giraffa camelopardalis.

The study identified the four separate species as: the southern giraffe (Giraffa giraffa), with a population of 52,000; the Masai giraffe (Giraffa tippelskirchi), with 32,500; the reticulated giraffe (Giraffa reticulata), with 8,700; and the northern giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis), with 4,750.

“The conservation implications are immense and our findings will hopefully help put giraffe conservation on the map," Mr. Fennessy said.

The giraffe currently is not listed as endangered, although its population has declined dramatically over the past three decades from more than 150,000 to fewer than 100,000, the researchers said.

But the low population levels of the northern giraffe and reticulated giraffe make them some of the world's most endangered large mammals and of high conservation importance, Mr. Fennessy said.

Giraffes stand up to about 18 feet (5.5m) tall, with long necks and legs, a sloped back and two to five short knobs called ossicones atop the head. They have a tan, white or yellowish coat blotched with brownish patches.

They roam the savannas of central, eastern and southern Africa, as far north as Chad, south to South Africa, east to Somalia and west to Niger.

Mr. Fennessy said the biggest threats to the giraffe include habitat destruction due to human population growth as well as poaching for bush meat, their tail hair and “medicinal” parts.

Their closest relative is the long-necked African mammal called the okapi.

Ganesh Chaturthi 2016

Ganesh Chaturth - 'Ganesh Chaturthi', is a festival dedicated to Lord Ganesha, one of the most revered Gods in the Hindu pantheon. Widely celebrated in India, especially in Maharashtra, on account of Lord Ganesha's divine visit to the earthly realm in the month of Bhadra, falling in August/September, this festival sees huge advance preparation. Also known as 'Ganesh Jayanti', this popular festival ends with immersion of Lord Ganesha's idol in rivers and lakes amidst full rejoicing.

When is Ganesh Chaturthi in 2016

Hindu God Ganesha birthday in 2016: 05 September, 2016
Where: Mumbai, Maharashtra and All over India.
Spread over ten days of rituals, festivities and chanting of powerful mantras that eulogize various aspects of Lord Ganesha, 'Ganesh Utsav' brings people together in complete devotion. With the ubiquitous idols Lord Ganesha in his grand seated posture bestowing success on mankind in important endeavors, this festival honors the divine aspect of intelligence and wisdom.
While Ganesh Chaturthi festival finds wide resonance in all parts of India including Andhra Pradesh and Orissa, the tradition of elaborate processions, decorations and sculpting of beautiful and life-like idols is most visible in Maharashtra state. The whole city of Mumbai, famed for its vivacious celebrations, is abuzz with large-scale celebrations and hectic activities during this period. 'Pandals' are set up in every locality with thematic decorations and people throng them for 'arti', and 'puja'. These 'pandals' compete with each other in terms of scale of decoration and idol-size. Both traditional 'bhajans' and contemporary music renditions follow in the evenings.

Current Affairs Recap of the Day: 24 August 2016

 

The recap of the day covers important current affairs of the day like ‘Sugamaya Pustakalaya’ online library, Union Government’s Regional Connectivity Scheme and launch of KN-11 ballistic missile from a submarine, among others

•    Union Government launched ‘Sugamaya Pustakalaya’ online library to serve – Persons with print disabilities
•    This city is hosting a 2-day SAARC Finance Ministers’ Conference – Islamabad
•    He was appointed as the head of the task force by the Union Government to study the structure of organised Group A Central services – T Jacob
•    This company acquired the cement business of Reliance Infrastructure Ltd – Birla Corporation Limited
•    Indian-origin politician Sellapan Ramanathan died recently. He was the former president of – Singapore
•    This State Government issued a draft notification for creation of 17 new districts – Telangana
•    This Indian tennis player topped the WTA women’s doubles ranking – Sania Mirza
•    Airport Authority of India in August 2016 signed a MOU with which state for successful launch of the Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS) of the Union Government- Maharashtra
•    International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and Its Abolition is observed globally on- 23 August
•    India is ranked at which place in The W10 report 2016 released by New World Wealth- Seventh
•    State that launched the DNA Index System for DNA profiling of criminals in August 2016- Andhra Pradesh
•    This country launched the KN-11 ballistic missile from a submarine in Sea of Japan – North Korea
•    The country that will not compete at September’s Paralympics in Rio after losing an appeal against a ban imposed for state-sponsored doping – Russia
•    Telangana and Maharashtra government signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to start work on three barrages at - Tummidi Hatti on Pranhita River, Medigadda on Godavari River and Chanaka-Korata on Painganga River
•    State government that made available online A2 milk of indigenous cows in North India through Vita Milk Plants on demand of general public is - Haryana