The pint-sized prodigy
April 30, 2008
He is a mimicry, drama and theatre artist. Multi-talented Santhosh Balaji, who is just 11-years-old, gives professionals in the arena a run for their money. Ergo catches up with this pint-sized prodigy.
When did you start dubbing?
When I was studying my UKG I dubbed for a serial called ‘Anbu Manam’. That was my first venture. From then on, I’ve dubbed for many movies, serial and cartoons.
How did you get into this field?
It’s been in the family for generations. My grandfather, Thiruvenkatam, was a script writer. My father, Kothanda Ramu is also in the dubbing business. He introduced me to dubbing.
How did mimicry happen?
From when I was a small kid, I was interested in mimicry. And once, my dad and I were in a studio where my father was dubbing for the movie ‘Iyer IPS’. Anandraj, the hero of the movie was also there for a dubbing session.
On an impulse, I approached him and mimicked his dialogue from the famous movie ‘Suryavamsam’. He was very impressed and awarded me Rs.100 in appreciation. That was when I realised that this talent could also come in handy.
What are the movies and cartoons you have dubbed for till now?
I have dubbed for Thotta, Unakum Enakum Something Something, Majaa, Santhosh Subramaniam and Mirattal. On Chutty TV I dub for ‘Tao Shu’ and ‘Bumper King’.
How about stage shows?
I have done 150 stage shows till now. And in terms of plays I have donned the role of ‘Meyappan’ in the play Ilangeshwaran that we staged in June 2007. I will also be a part of the play ‘Ashwathama’ that will be staged at Naradha Gana Sabha on May 1.
How do you choose who to mimic?
It’s all about practise. I try out a certain celebrity who I wish to mimic. If the voice suits mine and the modulation comes right, then I practise to make it perfect.
You were the first child to be selected to perform on Kalakka Povadhu Yaaru. How was the experience?
It was a great experience. Since I was the only kid there and there was no one my age to take me on, they called me in for a celebrity appearance. I was the first person to be selected on the spot at the auditions also.
I mimicked around 10 celebrities including Ajit, Vijay, Vijaykanth, Rajini and Raghuvara. The icing on the cake was when Manorama ‘Aachi’ appreciated me for my talent.
What would you like to be when you grow up?
I want to be a doctor. Though mimicry and dubbing will always be a hobby, I don’t want to let go of my studies.
Photo: R. Ravindran
Man arrested for killing 3-year-old
April 30, 2008
Police arrested a 27-year-old painter hailing from Korattur on charges of murdering a three-year-old girl from his locality.
Korattur police said Jayabharati (3), daughter of Tamilselvam of Vanniyar Nagar, 2nd Street, Korattur, had gone missing on April 20. She was found dead in a pond near her house the very next day. Upon investigations, it was discovered that Jayabharati was last seen with Rajendran of nearby Reddy Street.
Police arrested Rajendran and during interrogation he admitted to having sexually abused the child before throwing her into the pond. The girl later drowned to death. Rajendran was arrested and remanded to custody.
2 arrested for drug smuggling
April 30, 2008
Two people were arrested in separate incidents on Tuesday for the attempted smuggling of illegal drugs through the Chennai international airport.
According to police, a 34-year-old Philippine woman who was to board a flight to Malaysia in the early hours of Tuesday was caught with nearly 3 kgs of heroin by the airport authorities. The substance, worth more than Rs. 2 crore, was placed inside a hidden compartment in her suitcase.
In another case, a 30-year-old man from Tiruvaroor, who was about to board a 2.30 a.m flight to Kuala Lumpur on Monday, was frisked by the authorities upon suspicion and was found carrying 10 kgs of ketamine in his bag. The worth of the seizure is estimated to be Rs. 2 crore. The airport authorities later handed over the two to the police.
Yahoo outsources Internet phone functions
April 30, 2008
Yahoo Inc. is outsourcing the Internet telephone functions of its instant messaging program to the startup Jajah. Jajah will connect the calls to and from users of Yahoo Messenger and handle billing and customer care.
Terms of the deal were not announced. No employees are moving over to Jajah. The deal is a big score for Jajah, which has grown explosively since it was founded in 2005 in Austria.
It is now based in Mountain View, California., and boasts 10 million customers. Yahoo Messenger has 97 million users, but the company has not revealed how many of them use the premium Phone In and Phone Out features. While PC-to-PC calls are free, it charges 1 cent per minute for calls to U.S. phones, and higher rates for other countries.
It charges $2.49 a month for a phone number that allows users to receive calls on the PC as if it where a phone. Previously, Yahoo handled the Internet calling functions itself.
Immolated couple ride to hospital, dies
April 30, 2008
A man and wife sustained severe injuries in a fire accident and then had to rush themselves for treatment on a motorcycle, with their two-year-old son in the front. The couple died later.
The deceased were identified as Bharatiraja (25) and Shobana Rani (23) of Thirnavukkarasu Thottam in Korukkupet. At 2.30 a.m. on Saturday, April 19, Shobana Rani’s sari caught fire while she was boiling milk on the stove for her two-year-old son Niranjan.
Her husband rushed in to douse the flames, only to be engulfed in them himself. After their cries for help failed to rouse neighbours, the couple were forced to find help themselves.
Since it was the early hours of morning, the chances of them finding an autorickshaw, or any vehicle for that matter, were slim. The badly burnt Bharatiraja finally kickstarted his motorcycle, took his injured wife as pillion, seated his son in the front and rode from Korukkupet to Sowcarpet – a distance of almost 10 km – in the hope of finding a hospital.
They reached Shobana’s mother’s house in Sowcarpet, from where Shobana’s shocked family rushed the couple to hospital. Unfortunately, Shobana died the very next day, while Bharatiraja succumbed to his burns this Monday. Korukkupet police have registered cases of unnatural death and are investigating.
Built on trust
April 29, 2008
Bamboo shoots, lily ponds and wooden bridges – the corporate office of Ceebros Property Development Limited in R.A. Puram allows one to escape from the mundane city life, just for a while. It serves as a fine display of Ceebros’ craft.
It all began in 1979, when Reddy set about establishing his business on the small advance he received from his father. Always one to back his instincts, Reddy foresaw conservative Chennai taking to apartment complexes. Having made a start with independent houses, he built his first apartment complex in Nungambakkam when prices were Rs. 70 per square feet; today, the going rate is Rs.10,000 per sq. ft.
“Back then in Madras, people would always ask for a reference while approaching a builder,” says Reddy. “We earned people’s trust through our timely deliveries and adherence to quality.” He also believes that when a family decides to buy a home, the builder should be an integral part of the process – from taking suggestions to providing amenities at a reasonable price. “Even today, I personally meet with every purchaser for that’s what gives them happiness,” he adds.
At times the going got tough. “From 1988 through to 2000, the real estate industry faced a lull. Prices fell and few builders could complete projects they had undertaken. Despite being successful, we did not overdo things. We took on three to four projects a year and ensured that we completed them irrespective of market conditions,” says Reddy.
The success also lies in a vertical transfer of trust within the company. “We authorise our site managers to carry out changes and this ensures faster delivery of any project,” says Reddy. The commitment extends beyond completion. “Post-delivery, the manager stays on site for a period of three to six months before handing it over to the concerned association.”
In 2001, Ceebros built The Rain Tree, Chennai’s first and only Ecotel Hotel which received certification from the U.S.-based HVS International. Reddy’s love for nature is mirrored in all of Ceebros’s creations and building a hotel with eco-friendly materials seemed to be in keeping with his philosophy. Reduce, re-use and recycle is the mantra.
“People want to experiment with new materials and the opportunity is definitely there,” says Reddy when asked if eco-friendly apartments will comprise Chennai’s landscape.
“I’m not looking elsewhere, there is enough work in Chennai to keep me satisfied,” says Reddy while his contemporaries are looking at opportunities in markets such as Bangalore and Hyderabad. His Chennai-focus allows him the advantage of staying on top of the city’s buying pulse.
Speaking of the future, Reddy is of the opinion that as the real estate boom of the last four years continues, Chennai’s suburbs will thrive. Soaring prices have forced people to look at property on Old Mahabalipuram Road, East Coast Road and other parts along the North of the city, he says.
The future augurs well for Ceebros with a second Ecotel Hotel in Nandanam in the offing. The project will be completed by next May, assures Reddy. He has also signed on the dotted line for a 25 acre plot in a township near Valasaravakkam.
As Chennai’s façade transforms, Reddy is clear on Ceebros’ positioning, “The city and its people might be changing but our way of dealing with people has not.”
Photo: R. Ravindran
Father, daughter die in road accident
April 29, 2008
A man and his four-year-old daughter were killed after the motorcycle they were travelling on was hit by a speeding tanker in the wee hours of Monday.
Villivakkam traffic police investigations identified the deceased as Baskar (33) of Pillaiyar Kovil Street in Perungudi and his daughter Elakya. The two, along with their mother Baskar’s wife Lakshmi, were coming home on their motorcycle from Kumidipoondi on Monday morning.
When they were nearing Padi railway station, a tanker hit the motorcycle, throwing all three on the road. Baskar was rushed to a nearby hospital but was pronounced ‘brought dead’, while daughter Elakya later succumbed to her injuries in a child speciality hospital.
Lakshmi escaped the accident with minor injuries. Police have registered a case of hit and run and are searching for the lorry driver and his vehicle.
Man commits suicide in hotel
April 29, 2008
A man believed to be in his mid-thirties was found dead inside his hotel room in Nungambakkam on Sunday afternoon.
According to Nungambakkam police, the man had checked into the hotel located on Sterling Road junction on Saturday afternoon. He had mentioned his name as G. Mahesh from Belgaum in the hotel register and had booked a room for a day.
On Sunday afternoon, the hotel authorities grew suspicious after the man failed to answer the phone in his room. They called the police, who reached the hotel and broke open the door to find the man hanging from the shower pipe with a nylon rope. His body was taken to Government Royapettah Hospital for an autopsy, added police.
Shooting for gold
April 29, 2008
The Indian archery team led by World Cup winner Dola Banerjee are hoping to turn fortunes around at this year’s Beijing Olympics.
Indian archers have traditionally done well at various international competitions, but always seem to fall short at the biggest sporting spectacle.
This time, four Indian archers have qualified for the Olympics – L. Bombayala Devi, Chekrovolu Swuro, Mangal Singh Champia and Dola. The women recurve team of Devi, Swuro and Dola will also take part in the team event, apart from their individual events.
Former archer and Arjuna Award winner Limba Ram says: “The Olympics are very different from every other tournament. The pressure gets to you – the attention of the whole world and the competitive atmosphere at the Games village. You need to have nerves of steel to succeed there.”
Ram, then the world record holder in the 30m category and the top-ranked archer in the world, missed a medal at the Barcelona Games in 1992 by a single point.
Dola thinks the time is right for the Indians to come out of their shell and perform. “We have won a lot of big competitions over the last year. I am confident and so is everybody else. I just want to win one medal and make a start,” the world number 11 says.
Archery Association of India (AAI) general secretary Paresh Nath Mukherjee says: “Our team is going there to compete. Mangal is in excellent form. He came second in the two World Cups at Dominican Republic and Croatia. Bombayala is also doing well but I think Dola and Swuro have to improve a lot.
Dola’s performance has dropped a few notches after her World Cup win in Kuwait, but that is expected. I hope she starts improving from this week’s National at Meerut.”
Dola, however, feels the regular competitions and national trials have adversely affected the team’s performance. “We hardly practise abroad. We go for every tournament and then come back for the national trials.
We don’t even get a week’s rest after every tournament. That can be tiring at times. I accept that performing well at any tournament gives you a lot of confidence, but it can also work the other way round,” she adds.
The lone male member of the team, Mangal, however, differs from Dola’s assessment. “Yes, we are playing a lot of tournaments and we hardly get any time to recover. But I think this is better than practising at any obscure place. At least, we are getting some valuable match practice,” he says.
Impressed with the expertise brought in by South Korean coach Lee Wang Woo, Mangal avers: “Previously, we were making a lot of mistakes and nobody was correcting us. But Woo can spot your mistakes the very first day. It is much easier to work on your game if you can identify your faults.”
Woo, South Korean national coach from 1987-2004, sees a lot of potential. “We have an extremely hard-working team and if our players can keep their heads together a medal should not be a problem,” he adds.
Although touted as medal prospects, the archers have so far received little help from the Central Government. “We won the bronze medal for the first time at the Doha Asian Games, but the government did not give us a penny.
But we have signed a few applications this time and the federation has forwarded it to the ministry. I hope something will come out of it,” says Mangal.
Federation secretary Mukherjee is not expecting any favours from the government. “When even government hospitals don’t run properly, how can you expect the sports ministry to function systematically. Whatever we get from them will be a bonus, but I have to make sure that my team gets everything they need,” he signs off.
Indian hockey in limbo
April 29, 2008
The Indian Olympic Association’s (IOA) decision to dissolve the Indian Hockey Federation (IHF) has drawn mixed reactions from the hockey fraternity. The IOA has suspended the under-fire IHF on Monday including its president KPS Gill and an ad-hoc selection committee headed by Aslam Sher Khan, a former player and MP, will take over for the time being.
Khan will have former Olympians Ashok Kumar, Ajitpal Singh, Zafar Iqbal and Dhanraj Pillay to help him out. Australian Ric Charlesworth will act as an advisor for the ad-hoc committee.
Sher Khan welcomed the drastic move taken by the IOA and said: “I am thankful to the Indian Olympic Association for giving us this responsibility. Indian hockey has reached its nadir and as former players it’s our duty to resurrect it.”
He also promised transparency, which was “sadly missing for the last 15 years” of Gill’s reign. “The responsibility is huge. I assure you that from now on everything related to Indian hockey will be free and frank unlike earlier,” he said.
But his fellow committee member Ajit Pal Singh was lot more cautious. “We can’t expect results to come overnight. At this moment there is a yawning gap between us and the European sides. The talent base is shrinking and that should be our immediate worry,” he said.
Former national selector and Olympian Gurbax Singh is disillusioned with the way things have run for the last decade. “The federation president was a dictator and none of us had a say. We were the national selectors and suddenly we were sacked.
Nobody told us anything and one morning you just wake up to read it on the newspapers that you have been sacked. I hope things will improve now,” Gurbax said. “And I think our coach (Joaquim Carvalho) should also go. For the last one year he has run the team as his own fiefdom. He picked and dropped players according to his own whims.
Before the Olympic qualifiers, we the selectors had written to the president about all this. We were not kept in the loop about any decisions and practically we had no hand in selecting a team. Gill and Carvalho opposed Ric’s involvement with the senior side; even K Jothikumaran wanted Ric to take over.”
Olympian Adam Sinclair expressed his concern about the new setup and said: “I am not sure whether this will work. We have five excellent players as selectors but that wont guarantee results. We have to wait and watch. But I am averse to the idea of dissolving an elected body.”
Gurbax thinks the IOA president Suresh Kalmadi will take over as the president of IHF for the time being and the day to day running will be handled by an ad-hoc committee. “I think the IOA will run the show for the time being. But I believe an ad-hoc committee should stay for a very small period and we should have elections within six months to find a suitable replacement.”
Results are still awaited from the last IHF elections held in May 2005. A Delhi High Court directive had stopped the announcement of results following a case filed by Narinder Batra who had challenged Gill for the top post. “I was the election commissioner and the results are still locked up in my cupboard. Nobody cares about the case and it has moved nowhere,” Gurbax complains.
Furthering his own point Gurbax said players should get more involved with the game and was also not shy to project himself as a possible candidate for the president’s post. “I am not ruling out anything. I love hockey and I can do anything for it. But I am not ready for the usual dirty politics,” he said.
The IOA is expected to appoint another committee for the day to day running of the federation soon.
Photo: PV Sivakumar
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