Snapshots

The ardent cricket-enthusiast, who diligently attends the Sharjah matches every year, was in Pune to shoot for an Indo-American production, entitled A Pocketful of Dreams, at the Film and Television Institute of India. In between shots, she took over director Dr Mohan Agashe8217;s office who also stars in the film to watch the match, and egged on Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid with words of encouragement. 8220;Baccha, don8217;t play that shot, be careful..,8221; she said, and yelled 8220;Gooo..od shot,8221; every time Tendulkar hit a boundary.

Mahendru8217;s cricket acumen has to be applauded, because she hit a bulls-eye with her prediction. 8220;I think India is going to win this match,8221; she said puffing reflectively at a cigarette, even as India lost vital wickets in theearly overs.

Hit On Niagara

The serene surroundings of Niagara Falls were suddenly shattered by the sounds of familiar Hindi pop music beats8230; Tere ishq mein pad gaya re, tere ishq 8230;8230; On closer inspection, it turned out that cine star Govinda was shooting for a film titled Tere Ishq Mein Pad Gaya Re, produced by Tutu Sharma and directed by Harmesh Malhotra near the American side of the Falls, with Preity Zinta. The song picturisation of the typical Govinda-style number raised many an eyebrow among the Americans, as Preity and Govinda lip-synced and danced on a tram.

Govinda was in his element, attired in a tight, shocking blue T-shirt and jeans and seemed completely at home. While summoning his make-up man, the Hero No. 1 simply put his fingers between his teeth blowing a loud and long whistle. The amiable hero posed for photographs with screaming fans very sportingly, as word had got around and what seemed like the entire Indian community had made their way to see him inaction. Govinda is never out of his element wherever he goes.

Touring Troubles

One of the perks that come with power is the opportunity of touring the length and breadth of the country. But, Gujarat Chief Minister Keshubhai seems to believe it is not enough. Or, is it his ministers? Recently, Patel asked 17 ministers to keep in touch with Gujaratis settled in other states.

They have been told to visit these states as frequently as possible and strengthen the non-resident Gujaratis8217; bonds of affinity with the motherland8217;. Thoughtfully, each minister has been allocated Rs 10 lakh, which he can give away as grants for purposes like construction of guest houses. But some have not liked the idea. How can you waste money when the State isn8217;t really in the pink of financial health? 8220;Will the Chief Minister next allocate countries to ministers to attract NRI investment? Or, will he himself undertake some foreign tours?8221; remarked a critic. But insiders say a foreign tour is the last thing Patel islikely to go on. His famous US tour in 1995 gave Shankersinh Vaghela enough time to plot his ouster. Ever since, Patel has not ventured out of India.

Shaan Chavan in Pune and Virender Kumar and Tanvir Siddiqui in AhmedabadAn Uncommon Admirer

Kiran Bedi may not know it, but she has an uncommon admirer in Gujarat. He is a retired IPS officer-turned-politician Jaspal Singh, who is a minister in the BJP Government. Like Bedi, Jaspal Singh has the reputation of being a no-nonsense person. Also, like Bedi, he has often been knocked around by powers-that-be.

Recently, he was divested of the portfolio of Food and Civil Supplies and given Jails, coincidentally, around the time that Bedi was shunted out of Chandigarh as IPG. Singh had earned the displeasure of Chief Minister Keshubhai Patel and other BJP bigwigs by his firmness in checking malpractices of powerful interests, like edible oil manufacturers and petrol dealers. But Singh is not disheartened. He says: 8220;Remember Kiran Bedi.

She was sent toTihar jail on a punishment posting, but she turned it into an opportunity and won a Magsayay Award.8221;. And he is busy reading Bedi8217;s book, It8217;s Always Possible. Says Singh: 8220;The book is interesting, I think we can do a few things here also.8221; Surely, Singh is a welcome change from his predecessor Gabhaji Thakur, who made headlines by going abroad to study foreign jails without diplomatic clearance, but actually did nothing. Singh next proposes to read the other Bedi book, I Dare. Keshubhai beware!