Inside Track — Anchor Away, Anchor Today

Though Star TV took on Newstrack on the understanding that Trehan would be both the producer and anchor, it looks as if Badhwar has the backing of owner Aroon Purie.

This media tussle is certainly very high-powered. Newstrack is owned by TV Today, which is a wing of the powerful Living Media group, which brings out India Today. Trehan happens to be Purie’s sister and, in fact, the founder-editor of India Today as well.

Casting Coup

What with his company ABCL in hot waters financially and his latest movie Mrityudaata bombing at the box-office, ageing super star Amitabh Bachchan needs new friends to come to his rescue. Recently, Bachchan called on Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhairon Singh Shekhawat and met the BJP leader’s five-year-old grandson, Abhimanyu, who is the apple of his grandpa’s eye. Bachchan offered the star-struck youngster a role playing the hero as a young boy in the film Lal Badshah.

Is it just coincidental that another Bachchan company, which has already secured a power project in Karnataka, is keen on a project in Rajasthan?

Ring in the New

As is the convention, central ministers have started removing the picture of the old prime minister and hanging pictures of the new one. But since this is no longer the reign of the Gandhis, when a photo of the members of the dynasty — preferably all three — was mandatory, ministers have started doing their own thing. At least two ministers, C.M. Ibrahim and R.L. Jalappa, have consciously taken the decision to retain former prime minister H.D. Deve Gowda’s photograph, not surprising considering the services he has rendered the two.

On the other hand, TMC ministers have photos of G.K. Moopanar on their walls but neither Gowda’s nor I.K. Gujral’s. And if the DMK ministers still retain Gowda’s picture along with Karunanidhi instead of Gujral, it is more from oversight than design.

Incidentally, Gujral when he moved into his new office at 5, Race Course Road, hung a portrait of himself done naturally by his artist brother Satish.

Changing Track

It is difficult to keep track of changing political alignments in Tamil Nadu, the only constant being that the AIADMK and the DMK are at the opposite ends of the political spectrum. Recent statements of Jayalalitha and G.K. Moopanar have got Karunanidhi worried. In response to the AIADMK chief’s crocodile tears that the Tamilian was not made PM thanks to DMK treachery, Moopanar has paid the lady an indirect compliment by remarking that all anti-establishment people naturally gravitate towards Jayalalitha.

The victory of AIADMK rebel S. Thirunavukkarasu in getting seven out of 14 party parliamentarians to quit the AIADMK is somewhat diminished when one realises that the tenure of four of the Rajya Sabha MPs ends in April next year and they are hopeful of being rewarded for ditching Jayalalitha.

Thirunavukkarasu, who is an actor, director and film financier, is close to super star Rajnikanth. In fact, he hopes to bring Rajnikanth and Moopanar together since the star is disillusioned with the DMK rule. Apart from increasing corruption, the film star is annoyed because his well-secured house in Poes Gardens was recently burgled of Rs 2 lakh in cash. Further complicating the political scenario is the fact that Jayalalitha’s biggest baiters, Subramanian Swamy and V. Gopalasamy, have joined forces with her!