Asim Bando's KOLKATA BLOG

Aish's BetiB now named Aaradhya - which means worthy to worship. The house of BigB declared recently about the naming of new-born baby in the family. The Bachchan family love the traditional cultural heritage of India. And so, named the baby girl of Aishwarya Rai Bachchan as 'Aaradhya' which is a Sanskrit word. -- A. B.

-- A. B.

I've seen the movie 'Kahaani' yesterday. The film grasped the spirit of Kolkata very well. One can feel the intensity of a metro city sitting anywhere in India through this cinema. Durga puja, gorgeous immersion of Ma Durga, Kumortuli, the Metro rail, morgue, lanes and by-lanes of the city, trams, taxi, corporate houses - blended well with the smart scenario. And the people of Kolkata - from the running-water carrier little Vishnu to corporate magnet, from cops to common men - all the perspectives depicted well in the film. Hence, Kolkata one of the hero of Kahaani. And another hero Vidya Balan.- She again proved her excellence of acting in the film. By the manner, she managed to roam within Kolkata, it seemed that her love affair with the city is a very old one. And the story is a crime thriller, loaded with suspense.- A. B.

To celebrate the 200 years of existence, Indian Museum would get a new look. It'll break the idea of traditional museum and would come with a more visitor-friendly outlook. The authority have some projects to be completed by the year 2013. One of the project is the entire renovation of the buildings. The other projects are: re-open the Harappa gallery with a new look to the visitors, recruitment of guides for the visitors, training programmes relating to the museum, organisation of seminars, re-run of Museum On Wheels, more security arrangements etc. A community named 'Friends Of Indian Museum' already opened on social networking site 'Facebook'. Programmes on quiz, chat etc will broadcast on FM Channel. The official website of Indian Museum will be updated. A 6-months crash course on 'Cultural Heritage & Museum Studies' will be run shortly. Graduates in any stream will be eligible to apply for this course. Course fee only Rs. 1000. No ag

A fair of Bangla taant saris now running at Milan Mela of Kolkata. From traditional to fusion, heritage taant to silk kota - you can find everything here. There are traditional taant, jamdani, garad as well as cotton handloom, taant zardousi and Madhabilata made from resham and matka. And the prices are very attractive also. Taant saris will cost Rs. 200-5000 and taant zardousi starts from Rs. 900 whereas colourful cotton handloom saris will cost Rs. 1200 and Madhabilata Rs. 5000. Attractive silk kota will cost Rs. 1400 and tasar tangail starts from Rs. 1000. You can find embroidery saris on silk surface at the cost of Rs. 750. And discount also available. Not only saris, mekhla and dokhna of Assam are also available here. More or less one thousand taant shilpi or taant sari makers attended the fair this year and it will be a great success. The fair will remain open till 28 March 2012.-- A. B.

Kahaani: Movie Review If story is what you seek from a film, Kahaani is a must-watch. Aami Shotti Bolchi! Read the Article at : http://m.timesofindia.com/PDATOI/articleshow/12175698.cms

Kahaani review: Sonia Chopra: This mystery is worth unraveling. Ah, what fun! A true-blue Bollywood mystery after long years! The last few one can remember are 100 days (1991), Gupt (1997), and Kaun (1999). London-based software engineer Vidya Bagchi (Vidya Balan) lands in dusty Kolkata with a suitcase, a photograph of her missing husband, and a bottle of mineral water. The cab driver is surprised that this heavily pregnant woman asks to go straight to the police station. The cops too are taken aback at the woman’s predicament. Mrs. Bagchi, as they call her, is looking for her husband who had arrived in Kolkata on an assignment. She hasn’t heard from him in two weeks. One policeman, sympathetic to her state, tries his best to help. As they get closer to the target, key people start getting murdered. But this gutsy lady shows no sign of giving up. In an interview with this writer, Balan had summed up her character as having great strength of character; that

Aniruddha Guha reviews: Kahaani will leave you stunned Film: Kahaani Director: Sujoy Ghosh Cast: Vidya Balan, Parambrata Chattopadhyay, Nawazuddin, Indraneil Sengupta Rating: ****½ These are good times. Last week, Tigmanshu Dhulia's Paan Singh Tomar gave us a taste of a rare, well-made Bollywood biopic. This week, director Sujoy Ghosh serves up another rare treat — a racy, edge-of-the-seat thriller. When was the last time you saw a Hindi film that had you gripping the popcorn tub tighter than usual, hair standing on end, and mind blown in the end? Kahaani , about a pregnant woman’s search for her husband in an unknown city, is bloody engaging. It will have your balls in your mouth as you watch it unfold, your heart racing at several points, your mind trying to put together all the pieces of the jigsaw strewn across the film. Unexpected humour comes as a pleasant surprise every now and then; a reprieve from the tension that is palpable. Before you are back to holding on to the

-- A. B.

Kolkata celebrated today Dol Utsav or festival of Holi irrespective of age. Kids, adolescents, young, old, celebrities, political leaders - all the people of the city joined or watched the most colourful festival of India - Holi. -- A. B.

A large number of audience now watching the dance-drama of Rabindranath Tagore at Shantiniketan as a part of Vasant Utsav. -- A. B.