SNAPSHOTS

Common Cause

What do Maharashtra8217;s GuardianMinister Pramod Navalkar, cine star Dharmendra and humorist P. L. Deshpande have in common? Only one thing: that the Maharashtra Agriculture Department invited this eclectic combination to crowd into a cramped car park of a nondescript building incidentally PL8217;s home to inaugurate a state-wide Water Management scheme on June 1. The function got off to a shaky start, literally speaking, with Navalkar and PL, in a wheel-chair, toppling the diya in their efforts to light it, while residents bent dangerously from their balconies and cranky kids walked around loudly demanding, 8220;Where is Dharmendra?8221;

For those who had turned up hoping to witness PL at his wittiest best, it was a sore letdown, with organisers rudely interrupting his speech after two minutes. Doctor8217;s orders! While the volunteers drawn from 13 talukas waited patiently for a glimpse of the star.

Dharmendra did turn his attention to them after he finished his speech, with a few brave attempts at Marathi thrown in. But as things got out of handthe star fled, seeking refuge in PL8217;s home, with determined autograph seekers in hot pursuit, water management farthest from anyone8217;s minds.

Imaginative Minister

Gujarat8217;s Health Minister Ashok Bhatt is a highly imaginative man. Perhaps impressed by his imagination, Chief Minister Keshubhai Patel recently gave Bhatt the portfolio of Food and Civil Supplies as well. Lo and behold, Bhatt promptly discovered an illegal LPG bottling plant, spread over acres of land, in far-away Sabarkantha district. Naturally, the news8217; made headlines. The next day, newsmen and photographers rushed to Sabarkantha, only to find an angry owner, armed with a valid government permission and licence.

In 1995, Bhatt had cracked a sensational plot to free hardened criminals from the Sabarmati jail. It had all the ingredients of a thriller: a top police officer in league with hardened criminals, a head constable with political ambitions, a young woman caught in a web of deceit, and dark hints of an ISI angle. But a CBIinquiry showed that the plot was a simple concoction. By then, Bhatt had had his moments of glory. Stories about Bhatt8217;s inventive genius are many. When the BJP was in Opposition, Bhatt was always in forefront of agitations. Often, he also got arrested. If news photographers were late in arriving at the spot, Bhatt would get down from the police vehicle and have the drama of his arrest re-enacted for their benefit.

Calling The Shots

Indra Kumar and Ashok Thakeria, the director and producer of the Aamir Khan-Manisha Koirala starrer Mann found themselves in a peculiar predicament a few days ago. The duo was all set to have the worldwide release of their film on July 2 and had already gone ahead with theatre bookings. According to industry sources, the date was selected with an eye on the 4th of July long weekend in the US, where the sizeable Indian population has lapped up many a Hindi film in recent years. But apparently, it took just one phone call from first-time producer and BalThackeray8217;s daughter-in-law Smita Thackeray to alter their plans. It seems she approached both men and requested them to postpone their film8217;s release by a week. The reason: her film, Haseena Maan Jayegi releases on June 25 and she felt that being a maiden venture, it would help if the film did not have to compete for attention with the mega ones. So, schedules were altered and Mann was shifted to July 9. Industry insiders claim the producer stands to lose a cool Rs 25 lakh in the overseas market itself, on account of the delay. But in an industry where everyone likes to stay on the right of the lady from Matoshree the Thackeray residence, nobody is complaining.

Decorations Galore

The occasion was the commissioning of INS Mysore, India8217;s second indigenously-built destroyer in Mumbai8217;s Naval Dockyard. As the gathering of the highly-decorated officers, foreign diplomats and bureaucrats waited for Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee8217;s arrival, the announcer kept one informed of the arrival ofthe other important dignitaries. The first to arrive, of course, were the defence forces deputy chiefs and chiefs. As each officer arrived the public address system would go crackling with the welcome message: 8220;Ladies and gentlemen we8217;re glad to welcome Air Chief Marshal A. Y. Tipnis PVSM, AVSM, VM, ADC. Each name followed by a string of abbreviations of seva medals won by the officer. After the arrival of the defence chiefs and their deputies came Gopinath Munde, the deputy chief minister and home minister in the BJP-Shiv Sena coalition. When the announcer read out his name, one wag had the media enclosure in splits when he helpfully added: 8220;Gopinath Munde, BJP, SS, DyCM, HM8230;.8221; Quite in the spirit of things and what8217;s more Munde would have loved it.

8212; Anubha Charan, Camil, Reshma Patil in Pune; Sandeep Unnithan, Deepa Deosthalee in Mumbai and Tanvir Siddiqui in Ahmedabad