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Time of India
a day ago
- Health
- Time of India
Renowned psychologist & magician Pattabhiram passes away at 75
Visakhapatnam: Renowned magician, psychologist, and personality development expert Dr BV Pattabhiram passed away at the age of 75 on Monday night in Hyderabad following a sudden illness. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now He is survived by his wife, Jaya, also a personality development trainer, and their son Prashanth, who works in the United States. Originally from East Godavari district, Pattabhiram was one of 15 siblings. Despite facing physical challenges in childhood, he rose to become a pioneering figure in Indian magic and self-improvement. He began learning magic during his college days in Kakinada and gained popularity in the 1970s with innovative acts like blindfolded scooter rides through Hyderabad's traffic. He used magic not just for entertainment but as a tool for education and social reform — dispelling superstitions, popularising hypnotism as therapy, and raising awareness on public issues. Encouraged by former chief minister NT Rama Rao, he integrated magic into government campaigns such as alcohol prohibition. He also used it to teach scientific concepts to differently-abled children and performed to support flood victims, reflecting his humanitarian spirit. Pattabhiram founded the Bharat Magic Circle and was instrumental in elevating the status of magic in India. He gained national recognition through All India Radio, Doordarshan, films, and television serials, and was admired by several film personalities. Beyond magic, he made lasting contributions to literacy and personality development, editing the magazine Aksharajyoti and authoring over 100 books on self-improvement. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now An academic achiever, he held an MA in psychology and two PhDs, including a notable study on yoga and hypnotism. He was known for his compassionate counseling, especially for students in tribal areas, and helped thousands of families through therapy. His teachings emphasized the "Five Ds": Duty, Devotion, Dedication, Determination, and Decision-making. Dr. Pattabhiram was honored with numerous awards, including two Kala Ratna awards, and left behind a legacy of inspiration, service, and transformation.
India.com
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- India.com
'TV ek kutte ki zindagi hai...'; Meet actor who was dependent on his wife's income, expressed his pain, and once worked for Rs 1,500 a day, he is…
There are many great artists in the TV industry. Many artists achieve popularity and recognition after a long struggle, while many get lost. One of the most talented actors has recalled his struggle. He told that when he was not getting work, his wife was running the house. Be it television, OTT platform or film industry, this actor has gradually made his mark. But his journey to popularity was not easy. There was a time when he faced a huge financial crisis and had to completely depend on the earnings of his wife Gautami. The name of this actor is Ram Kapoor. How Ram Kapoor's controversial statement made headlines In an interview to 'Humans of Bombay', Ram Kapoor said that if TV actors invest wisely, they will have enough money for all the needs of life. He said, 'When you reach the top and are wise like Ronit Roy, Sakshi Tanwar, and me, you have earned enough for your 3 or 4 generations.' Ram Kapoor said, 'I know Ronit and Sakshi have done it, and they are set for 4 generations. For 15-20 years, I have charged a very hefty amount as fees. TV is a dog's life; if you make it, it's fine.' When Ram Kapoor earned Rs 1,500 per day Ram Kapoor said, 'After a year of my marriage, I had to live on Gautami's earnings because I had no work. Nobody remembers this. Gautami was doing 'Lipstick' at that time. I was doing nothing. When I started, I started with Rs 1,500 per day on Doordarshan. Yes, that was my beginning. You have to be ready to start again.' Ram Kapoor also spoke about Ronit Roy and Sakshi Tanwar's success and their journey in the industry. Calling Ronit his 'senior', the actor said, 'He started out in films, but he didn't succeed. He didn't have money to eat until Ekta took him on television, after which he never looked back.' What Ram Kapoor said about Ronit Roy Ram Kapoor further added, 'But he (Ronit) has seen failure, so when he got success, he respected it from day one. So I looked up to Ronit, and I learnt a little bit from Ronit. His investments have always been right.' Citing the example of Sakshi Tanwar, Ram Kapoor said, 'Sakshi is a very sensible girl. She is not fond of fancy cars like me. She has enough money for 6 generations because she spends very wisely.' Where to watch Ram Kapoor's web series Talking about the work front, Ram Kapoor recently appeared in the JioHotstar web series 'Mistry'. Mona Singh and Abhijeet Chitre have also played important roles in it. The series is directed by Rishabh Seth. This series is an adaptation of the American superhit series 'Monk'.
The Hindu
4 days ago
- Politics
- The Hindu
Political Line Newsletter Bharat Mata and her quarrelsome children
(This is the latest edition of the Political Line newsletter curated by Varghese K. George. The Political Line newsletter is India's political landscape explained every week. You can subscribe here to get the newsletter in your inbox every Friday.) Kerala Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar insists on the display of a representation of a woman, Bharat Mata, holding the saffron flag at official functions. This has turned into a political controversy, with people and the Kerala government protesting on paper and on the streets. The idea of anthropomorphising the country, particularly as mother, has a long and contested history in India. Indian nationalism has drawn heavily from Hindu symbolism and iconography, and the concept of Bharat Mata and its representation was instructive. It had unifying power, but simultaneously triggered discord, as it excluded religious minorities. Muslims, particularly, developed a deep scepticism towards the idea of Bharat Mata, and the worship of the nation as mother. India's first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, sought to give the imagery of Bharat Mata a secular character in his book The Discovery of India. But he too is discovering India as a civilizational eternity. Marking the birth centenary of Nehru (in 1989), a 53-episode docudrama on the state-controlled network Doordarshan televised the book. Shyam Benegal directed Bharat Ek Khoj, with the first episode being 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai'. Rajiv Gandhi was the Prime Minister, and Benegal was by no means sectarian. The episode begins with Hindu chants in Sanskrit, before it goes on to Nehru's secular conception of Bharat Mata. The point was that it would be difficult to articulate the historicity of Indian identity without relying on Hinduism. But Nehru and his compatriots were sensitive about the potential of the slogan creating a communal rift. You could find more about that in this review of historian Sugata Bose's book The Nation as Mother and Other Visions of Nationhood. The former general secretary of the Lok Sabha P.D.T. Achary traces the history of Bharat as mother and notes that there is no constitutionally recognised depiction of the concept. The Hindu's own editorial considers the Governor's enthusiasm for the public veneration of the image a partisan move. 'Who is Bharat Mata': On History, Culture and the Idea of India, Writings by and on Jawaharlal Nehru, edited by Purushottam Agrawal could also be of interest. You could find a review of the book here. If you have stayed with me this far on this topic, I would also recommend The Goddess and the Nation: Mapping Mother India by Sumathi Ramaswamy. The book brings us dozens of depictions of India as mother and goddess from the 19th century to the present. Federalism Tract Regional sentiments In Tamil Nadu, BJP ally AIADMK is on the back foot following the screening of video clips that showed leaders of Dravidian politics as critics of the Hindu religion at an event where their leaders were present. In Maharashtra, the BJP is trying to assuage regional sentiments after the government led by it privileged Hindi over other Indian languages in its three-language policy. Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis announced that a final decision on implementing the three-language formula in schools in the State will be taken only after discussions with writers, language experts, political leaders, and all other stakeholders. In West Bengal, the Mamata Banerjee government built a Jagannath temple in Digha, which custodians of the Puri Jagannath Temple in Odisha consider a violation of its singular primacy. Ms. Banerjee inaugurated the first 'Rath Yatra' from the ₹250-crore temple in the coastal town. Puri Shankaracharya Nischalananda Saraswati said the Jagannath temple constructed at Digha, lacked religious sanctity and was driven more by commercial interests than spiritual devotion.
Time of India
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Time of India
The silence of the reels: Why Hindi cinema never faced the Emergency
Power games: The few filmmakers who did deal with the subject, either directly or indirectly, faced bans and attacks For an industry that prides itself on chronicling the nation's struggles, Hindi cinema's silence about the Emergency is more revealing than any film could ever be. The 21 months between June 1975 and March 1977, when Indira Gandhi suspended civil liberties, censored the press, and jailed thousands without trial, were arguably the most consequential in India's modern political history. Yet, in the decades since, Hindi cinema—the self-appointed mirror of Indian society—has barely mustered a smudge to reflect it. This conspicuous absence did not arise from creative oversight or timidity alone. In the early decades of Independence, popular cinema was never truly free. Nehruvian socialism shaped public policy and the ideological contours of the industry. The so-called golden triumvirate—Dilip Kumar, Raj Kapoor, Dev Anand—crafted personas that echoed Pandit Nehru's vision of the self-sacrificing, morally upright everyman. Dilip Kumar's dialogue seemed like leftovers from Nehru's speeches, Dev Anand's rebellious charm served the establishment's romantic socialism, and Raj Kapoor's everyman heroes peddled idealism to the masses. Such intimacy with power set the template. The state could inspire cinema, but never the other way around. When that same state turned authoritarian, the industry found itself unprepared and unwilling to challenge it. In the Emergency years, the machinery of coercion extended directly into the corridors of Bombay. V C Shukla, Indira's information & broadcasting minister, became infamous for exerting his influence over the film industry. Wielding the Maintenance of Internal Security Act like a scythe through the industry, the political establishment wasn't breaking new ground—it was merely weaponising an existing dependency. Kishore Kumar, the mercurial genius whose voice had soundtracked a generation's dreams, was banned from All India Radio and Doordarshan for refusing to perform at a Youth Congress rally. Dev Anand, tricked into attending a Sanjay Gandhi event and asked to praise his 'dynamism', found his films blacklisted when he refused to comply. When he sought an explanation from the I&B Minister, he was told with chilling matter-of-factness that it was 'a good thing to speak for the govt in power.' Shatrughan Sinha , then one of cinema's busiest stars, saw his films banned for the cardinal sin of supporting Jayaprakash Narayan. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like The Most Unwelcoming Countries in the World, Ranked BigGlobalTravel Undo Gulzar's 'Aandhi', merely suspected of drawing inspiration from Indira Gandhi's life, while most argued it'd taken a few chapters from the life of Tarkeshwari Sinha, was banned for the duration of the Emergency, releasing only after the Janata victory restored a semblance of democratic normalcy. 'Maha Chor' starring Rajesh Khanna casually inserted a 'Vote for Congress' graffiti into a musical sequence. Most telling was the fate of Amrit Nahata's 'Kissa Kursi Ka', a political satire that dared to mock the Emergency's absurdities. All prints of the film were destroyed allegedly by Sanjay Gandhi at a factory in Gurgaon. This was not subtext—it was brazen collusion between art and authority. Yet what happened after the Emergency lifted reveals the true depths of the industry's moral bankruptcy. When the time came to reckon with the period—its absurdities, its tragedies, its moral squalor—Hindi cinema fell silent. There was an almost immediate return to sycophantic normalcy. Feroz Khan's 'Qurbani' (1980), the biggest hit of the year when Indira Gandhi returned, opened with a short film eulogising Sanjay Gandhi, narrated by Khan himself as he dedicated his film to the memory of the 'Prince' and bowed in reverence to the 'Mother'. If films between 1977 and 1980 did not address the Emergency, to expect that to happen after Indira Gandhi returned would perhaps be hoping for a miracle. This wasn't just political calculation—it was the instinctive reaction of an industry that had learned to worship power. Some filmmakers attempted to address the Emergency but it was often through the refuge of allegory—Hrishikesh Mukherjee's 'Kotwal Saab' and 'Khubsoorat' chose not to cast a direct look; the latter managed to justify the Emergency as a necessary evil. Mukherjee's 'Naram Garam' gave Hindi cinema's smartest comment on the era in the form of a nervous joke — Om Prakash, told to hurry because of some emergency, haplessly comments, 'Phir se?' While not Hindi cinema, Satyajit Ray's 'Hirak Rajar Deshe' and Jabbar Patel's 'Jait Re Jait', used the same route. Parallel cinema, too, largely skirted the challenge and despite their social conscience, filmmakers preferred the microcosm to the macro. Over the years, some films such as 'Ghashiram Kotwal' based on a Vijay Tendulkar play and directed by K. Hariharan, Mani Kaul, Kamal Swaroop, Saeed Mirza were cited as a film about the Emergency. However, it was written in 1972 as a response to the rise of a local political party in Maharashtra. There are structural reasons for this reticence. Hindi cinema has always struggled with ambiguity, preferring neat endings where heroes redeem all. The Emergency, by contrast, offered no catharsis—only a nation capitulating to authoritarianism without resistance. The definitive Emergency film still eludes the screen even as we enter the fiftieth year of the Emergency. The exceptions remain sparse: Sudhir Mishra's 'Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi' would not arrive until 2005, nearly three decades later. Even then, it couched its indictment within the personal journeys of three idealistic young people, careful not to indict the broader complicity of society. Even today the few who try to confront the past are harassed —Madhur Bhandarkar's 'Indu Sarkar' provoked shrill attacks and legal threats simply for attempting a fictionalised retelling. The Emergency may have ended in 1977, but its most lasting victory was psychological: the creation of a cultural establishment that polices itself more effectively than any censor ever could. Perhaps it was simpler to pretend nothing happened. After all, if cinema cannot process a trauma, maybe the nation never really did. (Chintamani is a film historian and author)
The Hindu
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Hindu
Television Lifetime Achievement Award for K. Kunhikrishnan
K. Kunhikrishnan has been chosen for the Television Lifetime Achievement Award instituted by the State government for contributions to Malayalam television. Minister for Cultural Affairs Saji Cherian announced the award here on Friday. The award carries a cash prize of ₹2 lakh, citation, and a statuette. A jury headed by Baiju Chandran, the award recipient of the previous year, and consisting of television programme/documentary directors Diana Silvester, Mohankumar Kallayil and Kerala State Chalachitra Academy secretary C. Ajoy as the member secretary. The jury commented that Mr. Kunhikrishnan played a key role in laying the foundation for Malayalam television broadcasting. He contributed to the technical and creative growth of the medium of television for three decades from 1977 to 2005. Played crucial role Mr. Kunhikrishnan, who joined Doordarshan, Calcutta, as an assistant director in 1977, was in charge of Malayalam broadcasting from Madras while he was the deputy director of Doordarshan, Madras. As the first director of Doordarshan, Thiruvananthapuram, in 1984, he played a crucial role in shaping a generation of talents in the field of visual media. He led the television broadcasting that started in Kerala on January 1, 1985. In 1987, he played a leading role in transforming the Thiruvananthapuram Doordarshan studio into the largest studio in India by increasing its technical facilities. In the early 1990s, he took on the challenge posed by the proliferation of private channels and spearheaded the work to popularise Doordarshan. He retired in 2005 after becoming the first Malayali to become the Additional Director General of Doordarshan at the national level. The jury assessed that he has also made commendable contributions to the academic positioning of the television medium through his writings such as the books Televisionum Samoohavum, Television: Veekshanam Vishakalam, and the article Pralayakaalathe Malayalam Television, which won the 2018 Kerala State Television Award.
