The debate is on Cinema – how much it has changed over the decades and how much is for the betterment of the audience. The discussion also includes the media, its role in communicating with the cine-goer. Marwah is the moderator of the session. He has a unique style of introducing the subject and his panel members which is a combination of sher-o- shairis and dossier of the speakers.

The best thing about Marwah is that while he keeps the discussion restricted to the topic, he allows his speakers a free hand to address the audience on a subject close to heart.  I am asked to share my experiences as a columnist and critic and engaging the students on the mantra of surviving show business.

I can see they are interested because when the session is over a lot of them have curious questions which cannot be answered in such a short time.

The studio is packed with enthusiastic students and other guests and their energy is infectious. Sandeep Marwah is clearly very popular with his students and it shows in the manner he is greeted by the academy.

He has a lot to share with his students but before that some formalities need to be out of the way. He invites all members on the dais to come down and join him in the lighting of the lamp. There are ambassadors for different countries and all of them in some way or the other connected to the academy.

Post the lamp lighting combined with Ganesh vandana and some music everybody is ready for serious discussions.

@bhawanasomaaya

ICME International Chamber of Media & Enertainment Industry combined with Asian Academy of Arts is hosting its third Global Literary Festival in the capital and I am invited as a chief guest. It is a long drive from the airport to Marwah Studio in Noida.

Marwah Studios most efficient director Ashok Tyagi is waiting for me outside the venue and as soon as the car drives into the compound I am led into the auditorium for the event, which I am surprised begins on time.

@bhawanasomaaya

Bapu please look at the image below and see how we have lost ourselves in your absence. Please come back and show us the way once again…

Day nine is called Navmi and is associated with Devi Siddhattrii or the goddess of salvation which is why even the deities worship Devi Siddhatrri. According to the puranas Lord Mahadev worshipped the goddess to claim more powers and she obliged him apparently his Ardhanareshwar avatar is a result of a boon from Goddess Siddhatrii. The puja followed on this day is called Maha Navmi Puja and is also recognized as Kanya puja popular all over India.

Dussera is the final day of the festival and celebrated differently in different states. In Gujrat the emphasis is on goddess Amba and Bahuchara, in Punjab it is Devi Shakti or Devi Sherawali. In Kerala it is Devi Saraswati and In Kashmir it is Devi Bhawani.

Dashami or Vijayadashmi is associated with the victory of Lord Rama when he vanquished Ravana in Ashok Vatika and left for Ayodhya after 14 years of exile. It is the happiest and most auspicious day in Hindu mythology and believed that anything started on the Dashami will  become vijay/ successful for sure.

Film: Judwaa 2Release: 29.09.2017

Director: David Dhawan

Producer: Sajid Nadiadwala

Music: Sajid-Wajid

Cast: Varun Dhawan, Jacqueline Fernandez, Taapsee Pannu 

Producer Sajid Nadiadwala and director David Dhawan’s new release has a long history that needs to be recapped.

In 1992 Jackie Chan starred in a super hit film titled Twin Dragons that told the story of twins separated in childhood. In 1994 the subject was revisited as Hello Brothers in a Telegu film and in 1997 director David Dhawan combined the two plots to present Salman Khan in a double role as Judwaa.

Now 20 years later director David Dhawan has repackaged his old super hit to present son Varun Dhawan in Judwaa 2.

It is the same story with almost similar characters which means there are 2 heroes, 2 heroines, 2 police, 2 set of parents and some villains. Some sequences are identical and a popular number from the original has been replayed for nostalgia as well.

So what have changed are the actors, their circumstances, costumes, locations and attitudes!

Last time Anupam Kher played the cop, this time he plays the heroine’s father. Last time Anu Malik created the background score, this time Sajid Wajid make you dance to their tunes.

The director’s intention then and now is to entertain, the point is do you agree with his brand of de stressing?

If you relished David Dhawan’s 90s Judwaaa then you can without a worry book 9 to12 or any show and get entertained by a flawless Varun Dhawan.

If not then you aren’t a David Dhawan fan and I have just one line to sing to you: ‘Tan tana tan – tan tan tara’.

I rate 2 Varun Dhawan starrer Judwaa 2 with 2 stars.

@bhawanasomaaya

Day seven is called Saptami and is associated with Devi Kaalratrii also known as Devi Bhadrakali. The Goddess is darker than the night and is both flawless and fearless. Her throat exudes fire and her moth exhales smoke. She has three eyes and multiple arms and rides on a donkey. She is also referred to as Devi Shubbalakshami because she is auspicious and her arrival ends darkness and brings joy.  The puja associated with Devi Bhadrakali is called Maha Saptami Puja.

Day eight is called Ashtami associated with Goddess Gauri. It is said that Devi Gauri spent many decades in worshipping Mahadev and proposing marriage to him. During these years she was tanned and weather beaten but when Lord Shiva touched her she transformed into her natural colour once again and was purer than Ganga and therefore named Gauri. Devi Gauri carries damrru in one hand and Trishul in her other hand. She rides on a buffalo and is the most powerful of all the goddesses. It is said those who pray to her are wiped of all their past sins. The puja associated with Devi Gauri is called maha Ashtami Puja.

@bhawanasomaaya

In Kolkatta the celebrations begin only on the sixth day called Shasti and in Bengal Maa Duga is immersed into the water on the last day of the festival.

Day five is called Paancham and it is associated with Devi Skanda or Skanda Mat who is in fact mother of Lord Kartikey. Mother Skanda is seated on a lotus flower and carries infant Kartikey in one hand and a lotus flower in the other hand. The puja associated with her is called Ashwin Shudda Panchami.

Day six is called Shasti and is of great importance particularly in Bengal. The day is associated with Devi Khatyayni and there is a legend associated with the Goddess. It is said that Maharishi prayed to her for years for a boon and when she finally presented herself to him, he asked that she be born as his daughter and she kept her promise. The puja associated with the goddess is called Maha Shasti Puja.