Dirty politics are killing what is left of hope in Pakistan
August 30, 2008
By Isambard Wilkinson
Islamabad.
Pakistan’s coalition government collapsed on Monday, leaving the country’s ruling party with both a challenge and an opportunity.
Nawaz Sharif, a former prime minister, withdrew his party, the Pakistan Muslim League, from the government exactly one week after he and his coalition partner, Asif Ali Zardari of the PPP, had forced Pervez Musharraf to resign as president.
The dismissal of the former military ruler heralded Pakistan’s fourth stint of civilian leadership in its 61-year history and the subsequent collapse of the “collision government”, as it was known, underscored the fragility, and apparent futility, of democracy in Pakistan.
In a country that is facing a terrorist backlash, where a civilian government has yet to finish a term and where America is looking for someone to “own” the “war on terror”, it also poses the question: who would want to run the place?
The answer, it seems, is Mr Zardari, the widower of the assassinated former prime minister, Benazir Bhutto. The one?time fugitive from the law known as Mr 10 Percent (on account of allegedly accepting millions of dollars in backhanders) is seeking improbable redemption through the high office of the presidency in elections on September 6.
He has reinvented himself as Mr Clean, and may be about to land Pakistan’s top job with a mandate from Washington to provide political cover for the Pakistani army’s counter-terrorism operations in the frontier.
His party’s calculation has been that power has only one source in Pakistan: America. And that power is channelled, in the form of billions of dollars, through the army and the bureaucracy.
In simple terms: if he manages to avoid assassination, he will be protected against the predations of Mr Sharif, who, meanwhile, has chosen a former judge as his party’s presidential candidate and will agitate on Mr Zardari’s unwillingness to reinstate the chief justice sacked by Mr Musharraf.
But is Mr Sharif willing to risk the ire of the establishment by playing the only – but potentially devastating – card available to him: anti-Americanism?
While Mr Zardari’s party may be embroiled in horse-trading to forge a new alliance, it has made good its pledge to take “ownership” of the war on terror by issuing unprecedented condemnations of militant attacks, while the army has stepped up its operations against the insurgents.
Pakistani forces moved into the Bajaur tribal area, a suspected al-Qaeda and Taliban hub on the Afghan border, earlier this month.
The government claims that at least 500 militants have been killed. Similar offensives along the frontier have stoked the Pakistani Taliban into launching retaliatory attacks.
Only last week, the Taliban claimed to be behind a twin suicide bombing at an arms factory near Islamabad, which killed 67 people. But while the military has not balked, Pakistan’s counter-terrorism campaign needs more than the military and token civilian leadership are offering.
Against such a volatile backdrop, the political in-fighting is expected to be dirty. The Financial Times yesterday published details of a medical report that claimed Mr Zardari had been suffering from severe mental illness as recently as last year.
The medical report, written by an American doctor, diagnosed a variety of psychiatric illnesses – including dementia, major depressive disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder – said to date from his 11 years in Pakistani prisons fighting charges of corruption.
No doubt the PPP will hit back against Mr Sharif, a man who flirted with the idea of appointing himself amir-ul-mominim – commander of the faithful – and imposing Islamic law. He, too, has faced numerous corruption charges.
Iqbal Akhund, a former diplomat and senior aide to Bhutto, once described the general perception of Mr Zardari as “one whose baneful influence and insatiable greed, whose activism as ‘the First Husband’ and interference in administration, led to Benazir’s downfall and are the source of all her miseries”.
Mr Akhund also noted that the army and intelligence agencies remained in control of major policy issues and that civilians were neither confident nor strong enough to take on the generals.
Owen Bennett-Jones, an authority on Pakistani history and politics, has observed that “democracy has few supporters in Pakistan”. He noted that the similarities in the Bhutto and Sharif governments were striking: neither pushed through significant reforms, both ran up huge levels of foreign debt and both faced corruption charges.
Transfers of power in Pakistan are invariably followed by score-settling in the name of “accountability”. Officials and politicians face criminal charges and are either jailed or blackmailed into supporting the new rulers.
The pressures on this, sometimes justifiably, paranoid, geo-strategic, nuclear-armed Islamic country are great. Will this leadership handle them? The pan-wallahs doubt it.
Courtesy: The Daily Telegraph
Ashraful accuses BNP of striking rogue deal with govt
August 29, 2008
UNB, Dhaka.
Acting Awami League (AL) General Secretary Syed Ashraful Islam today accused the BNP of striking an underhand deal with the military-backed caretaker government.
Referring to Thursday’s meeting of BNP Secretary General Khandaker Delwar Hossain and Jamaat Secretary General Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mujahid with former premier Khaleda Zia inside the makeshift jail, Ashraful said it is the BNP, not the AL, which always practises politics of rogue deal.
He made the comment in reply to repeated allegations by the BNP and its allies that the AL had secretly struck a deal to free party chief Sheikh Hasina.
He said the government did not allow the AL and its allies to meet Hasina when she was in jail but the BNP got the privilege.
“Yesterday’s meeting is a clear indication that the BNP has made a deal with the government,” he said.
He however said that his party would expect the BNP would sit with the government for dialogue for the sake of fair elections despite Thursday’s “illegal meeting” inside the jail.
Ashraful said the government’s anti-corruption drive was an eye wash to put the AL to the level of the BNP.
The crackdown against the corruption was basically a drive against the AL but that attempt has failed, he said.
“Now top corrupts are on the process of getting released. In a single day bails are being awarded in 13, 14 cases,” he said. “If top corrupts get freedom, why other corrupts will stay behind bars,” he said.
He made the statement at a discussion meeting to commemorate the fourth death anniversary of Ivy Rahman, wife of acting AL President Zillur Rahman.
Reacting to the High Court verdict in Jail Killing Case, Ashraful said it was a “mockery” of trial.
“When will we get fair justice? We are worried,” he said.
Replying to a query, AShraful said Hasina, now abroad for medical treatment, is expected to return to the country next month. “But it may even happen in October.”
Professor AAMS Arefin Siddique of Dhaka University chaired the commemoration meeting at National Press Club while senior AL leaders were present.
AL acting President Zillur Rahman also attended the meeting but he was silent.
Courtesy: The Daily Star
Obama vows to renew America’s promise
August 29, 2008
AFP, Denver, Colorado.
Barack Obama savaged John McCain and “broken” Republican politics, vowing to restore America’s promise in a tumultuous climax to the Democratic convention before an 84,000 strong crowd.
“America, we are a better than these last eight years,” Obama said, as he became the first black major-party White House nominee, 45 years to the day since Martin Luther King laid out his “I have a dream” vision of racial unity.
“We are a better country than this.”
“This moment, this election, is our chance to keep in the 21st century the American promise alive,” Obama said mixing poetry with policy and handcuffing McCain to unpopular President George W Bush.
“We are here because we love this country too much, to let the next four years look like the last eight. On November 4, we must stand up and say: ‘Eight is enough.’”
Obama held the massive crowds crammed into an open-air football stadium in thrall as he swept through his speech, punctuated by multiple standing ovations.
A barrage of multi-coloured fireworks and blizzard of confetti filled the Rocky Mountain skies when he was done.
Making history just four years after exploding onto the US political scene, Obama gave notice he would fight back hard at a sustained volley of Republican assaults on his capabilities and patriotism.
He said McCain did not understand the struggles of working Americans, as they see their jobs disappear abroad, living expenses rise, and prospects dim.
“It’s not because John McCain doesn’t care. It’s because John McCain doesn’t get it,” Obama said.
As thousands of supporters waved tiny American flags after being whipped into a frenzy by a pageant of patriotic songs, Obama trumpeted: “I’ve got news for you, John McCain, we all put our country first.”
He furiously rebutted Republican claims ahead of the party’s convention next week, that he was too inexperienced to be US commander-in-chief.
“Don’t tell me that Democrats won’t keep us safe,” Obama said.
“The Bush-McCain foreign policy has squandered the legacy that generations of Americans — Democrats and Republicans, have built, and we are to restore that legacy.”
Obama levened his trademark soaring rhetoric with detailed policy prescriptions of what he would do as president, in the knowledge that many Americans may have been tuning into his campaign for the first time.
He castigated Bush and McCain for bad judgement, saying his White House foe would not end the “misguided” war in Iraq, and would make the United States less safe with hawkish foreign policy.
“You don’t defeat a terrorist network that operates in 80 countries by occupying Iraq. You don’t protect Israel and deter Iran by talking tough in Washington.
“If John McCain wants to follow George Bush with more tough talk and bad strategy, that is his choice — but it’s not the change we need.”
At home, Obama promised to stop tax breaks for the rich, and cut taxes for the middle class, and said he would break America’s dependence on foreign oil in 10 years, and give every child a “world class education.”
Evoking King’s 1963 march on Washington, Obama said what “people of every creed and color, from every walk of life” heard “is that in America, our destiny is inextricably linked, that together our dreams can be one.”
“America, we cannot turn back.”
McCain’s campaign swiftly dismissed Obama’s speech. “Tonight, Americans witnessed a misleading speech that was so fundamentally at odds with the meager record of Barack Obama,” said McCain spokesman Tucker Bounds in a statement.
“The fact remains, Barack Obama is still not ready to be president.”
Leaning heavily on his biography, as the mixed race son of a broken home, Obama also sought to address the unlikely aspects of his audacious White House quest.
“I get it, I realize that I am not the likeliest candidate for this office,” he said.
“I don’t fit the typical pedigree, and I haven’t spent my career in the halls of Washington.
“But I stand before you tonight because all across America, something is stirring. What the nay sayers don’t understand is that this election has never been about me, it’s been about you.”
The huge crowd earlier swayed to the soul music of Stevie Wonder and cheered as Democratic heavyweights like Al Gore castigated Bush, pumping up the heat before Obama’s appearance.
McCain meanwhile had chosen his running mate, a campaign aide said, and rumors were swirling the news would leak out imminently in a bid to sap news coverage from the Democrats.
Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty, former Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney and independent senator Joseph Lieberman were thought to be high on the Arizona’s senator’s short-list.
Courtesy: The Daily Star
McCain picks Sarah Palin as vice presidential running mate
August 29, 2008
Agencies.
Denver: US Republican presidential candidate John McCain has chosen Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his vice presidential running mate, a senior McCain campaign official said on Friday.
McCain was to introduce his choice at an event on Friday at midday in Dayton, Ohio.
Palin, 44, was a relatively surprising pick, but one aimed at appealing to women voters who might have been disillusioned by Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama’s decision to pick Biden as his No. 2 instead of Democratic Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York.
McCain and Palin, face the Democratic nominee Barack Obama and his No. 2, veteran Sen. Joe Biden, in the Nov. 4 election.
“She will be his partner in reforming Washington,” said the senior McCain official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
By announcing his pick on Friday, McCain was hoping to divert attention from the Democratic convention in Denver, which concluded on Thursday night with a speech by Obama. The Democratic candidate opened a broad assault on McCain, accusing him of following the policies of unpopular President George W. Bush.
“This is a bold choice of a strong conservative who is a reformer and will be greeted by the delegates in St. Paul with enthusiasm,” said Republican strategist Scott Reed.
McCain is preparing to accept his party’s nomination for president at the Republican convention in St. Paul, Minnesota, next week.
Courtesy: Gulf News
A big screen leap for Prachi Desai
August 29, 2008
By Abdulla Mahmood, Gulf News Report
With Rock On, popular television actress Prachi Desai is looking forward to a full-fledged career in Bollywood
Small screen star Prachi Desai has made her way to Bollywood with Rock On. The 20-year-old plays director-turned-actor Farhan Akhtar’s leading lady in the movie, which releases on Friday.
Apart from Rock On, Prachi is doing Abbas-Mustan’s Life Partner in which she will be sharing screen space with actors like Fardeen Khan, Govinda, Tusshar Kapoor and Genelia D’Souza.
The young actress, who walked her way to success with her portrayal of Bani in TV soap Kasamh Se, speaks to tabloid! about her Bollywood debut and the exciting shift from small screen to big screen.
How did you manage to get the lead role in Rock On?
One day, while I was shooting for my TV serial Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa, I got a call from Abhishek Kapoor [director of Rock On] to screen test for the role of Saakshi. They dressed me up in the way the character looks and I had to speak a few lines.
Everything happened so fast that I didn’t even realise that I was part of an exciting project which also happens to be my Bollywood debut.
How was the experience of acting opposite Farhan Akhtar?
It has been an amazing experience. I was in grade eight when I saw Dil Chahta Hai [Akhtar's directorial debut] and have been a fan of his films since then. And to make a debut opposite Farhan in Rock On is like a dream come true. I was nervous when I started shooting for the film and even forgot my lines but Farhan was patient. He is basically an easy guy who has an amazing sense of humour. I learnt so much from him.
What would you prefer Akhtar as — an actor or a director?
It is very difficult for me to compare and judge his skills. He is a fabulous actor and I am in awe of his acting skills. In fact he is unbelievable as a singer too. I believe that Farhan wanted to be a part of a rock band when he was young and fulfilled his dream with this film. He is a multi-talented guy who can shine in every role he takes up.
Is it true that you also have sung in Rock On?
Yes, I did sing a few lines. It was part of my role.
Is there a difference between acting on the small and big screen?
I think the two are varied and acting in a TV serial is different from doing a film. In films, you are always on your toes as you get only one chance to prove. You have to look your best and give your best. In three hours time we have to prove ourself. On the other hand in small screen, there is room for improvement on a regular basis.
You acted in a successful TV soap Kasamh Se, so are you feeling confident about your big screen debut?
Well acting in Kasamh Se has indeed made me a confident actress but acting in a film is a different ball game. I am not sure how the audience will react. All I can do is keep my fingers crossed and hope the film and my character are appreciated.
Are you aware of the casting couch in the industry?
I have heard of such things but I haven’t experienced any such thing.
Besides Rock On, what do you have lined up?
I am working for Abbas-Mustan’s Life Partner opposite Govinda and talks are on for some more films. But right now I am nervously awaiting the result of Rock On.
Courtesy: Gulf News
Chamku
August 29, 2008
Gaurav Malani/INDIATIMES MOVIES
Cast: Bobby Deol, Priyanka Chopra, Irrfan Khan
Director: Kabeer Kaushik
What do you do if any of Bobby Deol’s decade old dramas like Badal, Bichoo or Bardasht play on any of the satellite movie channels today? Majority would switch to another channel in search for a better source of entertainment. Chamku assumes the same aura, ambience and act of those archaic artifacts and you know how to act in response to such attempts.
The film starts as the account of an oppressed farmer, switches track to outlawed naxalite narrative, substitutes with the story of an intelligence officer and finally ends up being a regular revenge drama. Each subplot is given an outrageously obsolete treatment. Chamku (Bobby Deol) loses his father to a tyrannizing Thakur , is brought up by naxalites and trained by Indian intelligence for whom he engages in undercover operations.
Under instructions of the intelligence chief (Irrfan Khan), Chamku is on a relentless killing spree of anonymous individuals that pile up for the major pointless portions of the film. Abruptly you are informed that he also has a companion (Riteish Deshmukh, in his worst role ever) who adds no value to the film, as he is assassinated before you could acquaint yourselves with his character. Also there’s a Marathi-muddled motherly figure (Sulbha Arya) but you aren’t certain who she’s related to – Chamku or his chamcha.
Meanwhile a film without a female lead seems far-fetched in Bollywood, irrespective of her significance to the story. So a mandatory prop (read heroine) is squeezed in the screenplay in the form of a Montessori teacher (Priyanka Chopra) perpetually draped in chiffon saris. Luckily their love story is cut short but mercilessly you are supposed to sustain a superfluous song in the bargain. The heroine’s role starts on an ‘I love you’ note and ends with an ‘I am pregnant’ remark. Quite a multi-dimensional character!!!
Back at work, Chamku encounters the Thakur (Akhilendra Mishra) who had killed his father and wants to seek revenge. He traces the Thakur in a pub and opens fire in public though the populace there remains unperturbed and seems to be more interested in boogieing with babes.
Some time later Irrfan Khan pinches on your wounds, unashamedly announcing, “Every film needs a proper climax else the audience feels cheated”. This film not only lacks a proper climax but also original characterizations, conflicts, chemistry, compositions or chronicles. How one wishes Irrfan should have asked the director, “Kya aapko K.I.L.B. hai? – Kum Innovation Laane ki Bimari ?”. The music is painful and the recurring encounter and fake encounter sequences test your tolerance as you cringe in your seats with annoyance.
Bobby Deol carries the same jaded expression throughout the film. For Riteish Deshmukh, its clearly one of those films that you do as a favour for industry friends. Priyanka Chopra substantiates how worthless heroines are to male-centric cinema. Irrfan Khan shows more screen presence in his 20-second Vodafone commercials. Arya Babbar is relegated to the rank of a junior artist. Danny dies before you notice him.
Alas, Chamku fails to shine. Rather it bears the blemish of an outdated 70s revenge drama.
Courtesy: Indiatimes
Wanted
August 29, 2008
Cast: James McAvoy, Angelina Jolie, Morgan Freeman
Director: Timur Bekmambetov
Genre: Action/ Thriller
What happens when an ordinary (read underperformer in office according to boss, and underperformer in bed according to girlfriend) guy is thrown into a situation where he is expected to shoot people in a way no ordinary human can!
What happens when he is made to kill people in lightening speed from train tops and flying cars, when he has spent the past 25 years of his life sinking low in his office chair in the fear of getting noticed! What makes the ‘assassins’ choose this depressed soul over any other sharp shooter to join their supposed mission of wiping off the culprits of the society? What is it in him that makes him ‘the one’ would-be killer?
There are no questions to be asked and no rules can be broken! There is definitely much more to the assassins’ mission than what meets the eye and Timur Bekmambetov unfolds this mystery through the eyes of his protagonist Wesley Gibson (James McAvoy) in his latest pulsating action thriller ‘Wanted’.
Based on Mark Millar’s graphic novel series, Wanted tells the tale of an apathetic nobody’s transformation into a supreme enforcer of justice!
Wesley Gibson (James McAvoy) is your archetypical loser in life who gets bullied by his boss, cheated by girlfriend and laughed at by colleagues owing to his disinterest in anything and everything in life. He has no clue where is he heading in life; he even calls himself an ‘insignificant asshole’! All this however ends when he meets a sexy daredevil Fox (Angelina Jolie). Fox drags him to her ‘Fraternity’ who are apparently a group of fighters all set to enforce justice in the society, headed by Sloan (Morgan freeman).
The Fraternity kills people who they think have done something wrong. Wesley who always wanted to be a hero joins Fox’s club and undergoes massive physical training to become like one of his dangerous colleagues and does become one, only to find out the picture is not what it seems!
Promoted as an Angelina Jolie film, Wanted actually belongs to its extremely talented protagonist McAvoy (was also impressive in The Last King of Scotland) who projects all shades of a human with equal ease! He pulls off the role of a troubled and a curious individual looking for answers with finesse. He projects the ‘hunger’ on his face to know the truth with such effortlessness that only a pro in acting can!
Angelina Jolie plays second fiddle to McAvoy but delivers whatever is expected out of her! Be it performing ruthless stunts or showing off her tattooed butt (yes Jolie does proudly show off her asset in one of the scenes). Jolie looks and acts efficiently as a femme fatale (watch out for her in the scene where she folds her legs and sleeps on her back on a moving train in order to avoid bumping on the tunnel!)
Wanted keeps you on the edge of your seat throughout and the action scenes just don’t let you take your eyes off the screen! The climax although is a let down of sorts but only in terms of its concept and not execution. The violence is very stylized where the bullets that people fire at each other sometimes collide in mid-air in slow-motion but end up looking real! You cannot miss out on this one!
You can also catch a glimpse of former Indian VJ-model Laila Rouass in the film in a blink and miss role!
Bollywood queen: Priyanka Chopra
August 29, 2008
INDIATIMES MOVIES.
The actress who literally has half a dozen films under her kitty this year, Priyanka Chopra has come a really long way in just five years. Indiatimes Movies tracks the journey.
Even as Love Story 2050 bombed and God Tussi Great Ho and Champku failed to sparkle at the box office, Priyanka Chopra’s success status remains unaffected. The slender enchantress has four more films releasing over the next three months to prove her popularity. And mind you, these are not mindless comic pot-boilers. While Drona will see Priyanka emerge as an action queen, Dostana will see her showcasing some raunchy romance. Not to be missed out, the lady will introduce us to the dark side of glamour in Fashion.
While this year undoubtedly sees Priyanka ruling the roost as other heroines sweat it out at shoot schedules, last year saw the actress learning most of her lessons.
As the multi-starrer of the year Salaam-E-Ishq found itself under critical scrutiny, Piggy Chops worked doubly-hard not just on her acting, but also on her body for the carefully handpicked roles that came her way after the success of Krrish.
Three hits, two of them being action flicks – Don and Krrish – along with Taxi 9211 saw the actress flaunting her toned legs like never before.
Slim waist, slender thighs and arched eyebrows became Priyanka’s winning formula while her contemporaries struggled to come across as curvaceous in their skimpy outfits. (Kareena and Lara Dutta).
The films declared Priyanka Chopra’s success a matter of more than just ‘by fluke’. An over night revelation, no doubt every Bollywood fan got grooving to ‘Aaj Ki Raat’.
Dark dusks just before the beginning of dawn are inevitable and who knows this better than the self-made star Ms Chopra.
Looking back, 2005 was the year that saw her career in a slump. Though Bluffmaster and Waqt: A Race Against Time went on to become big hits, the focus was more on Abhishek and Akshay while Priyanka was doing the usual run-of-the-mill acts.
Also, Yakeen, Barsaat and Karam saw her at indulging in sleaze shows that can be traced back to late 90s and early 2000s mass appeal strategies.
The deciding moment of Priyanka’s destiny happened right in the second year of her career. A unconventionally vampish role in Aitraaz and her effortless act of seduction saw Priyanka’s name becoming the talk of town.
What helped further in confirming her as a versatile actress was the fact that Mujhse Shaadi Karoge had seen the young Miss World winner at her comic best; a genre that not too many Indian heroines can boast of doing justice to.
Three Filmfare Awards in two years, Priyanka won more than recognition for her existence among fans and filmmakers.
And for those of you who thought Priyanka is an old player in the game; let us remind you that the actress is just six years old in the industry.
Her first film The Hero: Love Story of a Spy followed by Andaaz saw her doing some serious emotional acting. Even though pitted along with beauties like Preity Zinta and Lara Dutta, the Chopra beauty made her presence felt.
No wonder she found herself being nominated in the ‘Best Supporting Actress’ category for the first one and went on to win the ‘Filmfare Best Female Debut Award’ for the second one.
Courtesy Indiatimes
Its official! Sayali is dating Shoaib
August 29, 2008
AFSANA AHMED,TNN.
This is a BT scoop. Remember, you read it here first.
Pakistan’s cricket captain, the dashing Shoaib Malik, is dating former Miss India and Bollywood actress Sayali Bhagat. This reporter bumped into them at a South Mumbai hotel where Shoaib was staying when they ventured into a beauty parlour in the lobby. Sayali, of course, is instantly recognisable; but Shoaib pretended to be somebody else! When he realised that he had been well caught, the Pakistani cricketer gamely signed autographs for hotel staff.
Sayali, who made her debut opposite Emran Hashmi in The Train, had hoped to keep their relationship under wraps. “We need more time because we are just getting to know each other,” she explained. Shoaib, meanwhile, could not have started off on a more sticky wicket: he was recently in the news when a Hyderabadi family claimed that he had married their daughter. Sayali defended her man, “This was a marriage proposal that he said no to. Those allegations have been legally proved baseless. Shoaib was always single!”
They met at a store opening in Delhi last year and since then, kept in touch via email and occasional phone calls. “It’s not easy, especially when he is in Pakistan,” admitted the former beauty queen. But she’s bowled over by Shoaib’s effort to make things work. “It’s so flattering, he makes special trips just for me and showers me with attention. I am in love, I guess,” Sayali said of her cricketer boyfriend who faces the tricky task of answering the Pakistan media’s questions on her.
She’s hoping this will be a Jodhaa-Akbar kind of story and said, “Our religion is not an issue, I am more concerned about the distance between us.” But, Sayali accepts that their romance might face political interference. “I don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow, but I believe when you want something from the heart — the whole universe conspires to get it for you. I hope that happens for us,” she said. Meanwhile, films continue to happen for her and cricket for him. He’s “cool” about her work but sometimes expresses insecurity over her hot Bollywood’s male co-stars! And she, having heard all the stories about how cricketers score off the field, hates to think of him on long tours. “I keep imagining all kinds of things when I cannot reach him,” Sayali said wistfully.
Courtesy: TOI
Virginity: A virtue or a curse?
August 29, 2008
Mansi, a 24-year-old girl on the verge of matrimony is facing a commotion of mixed thoughts. Her nuptial excitement is climaxing at two levels. On one hand, while she’s awaiting stepping into a realm of new relations, on the other, her ‘virginity-status’ is adding to her pre wedding jitters.
Mansi is getting sleepless nights wondering what if her better half comes to know that she’s not a virgin? Will he accept her if she dares to bare the truth? Can she hide it, if she tries? These questions popping into Read more