Buddha embarrassed by poster of 15th Kolkata Film Festival

Kolkata, 3 November : The official poster of 15th Kolkata Film Festival had West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee embarrassed when it was pointed out that it had only miniature images of two iconic filmmakers of the city Satyajit Ray and Ritwik Ghatak.
"I havent seen the poster. I shall find out why this happened," Bhattacharjee, in charge of the Information and Cultural Affairs Department which is organising the festival, told a press conference here. What raised the hackles of the cineastes is that the poster while relegating Ray and Ghatak to the background, boldly depicts the back of a semi-clad woman from waist to neck. The festival will be held from 10 to 17 November.
Asked about his thoughts in having the festival organized in these times of political turmoil, he said "cinema reflects the travails and tribulations of contemporary society. Good cinema teaches us how to overcome the disturbances and complexities of society." The chief minister said the festival this time was being organised with a `smaller` budget of Rs 1.25 crore. "We have cut down on the number of foreign delegates and on the banquets." န Photo : Avijit Mondal

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Tigers bowl Zimbabwe out for 44
BBC Sport, Chittagong, 3 November : Zimbabwe were skittled out for just 44 as they slumped to a six-wicket defeat by Bangladesh in Chittagong.
The tourists lost their first four wickets for just eight runs as they equalled the fifth lowest total scored in one-day internationals by any team. Malcolm Waller and Stuart Matsikenyeri offered some resistance with 11 and 13 respectively but wickets tumbled again. Tamim Iqbal hit 22 in Bangladesh's 49-4 as they opened up an unassailable 3-1 lead in the five-match series.
Bangladesh knocked off the total inside 12 overs, although left-arm spinner Raymond Price took two wickets for the tourists, including that of Tamim, who was caught at square leg by Graeme Cremer. Zimababwe were in danger of posting their lowest-ever one-day score after slumping to 8-4, but Waller and Matsikenyeri helped take them beyond the 35 they recorded against Sri Lanka in 2004.
The final match of the series takes place in Chittagong on Thursday, before Zimbabwe travel to South Africa for two one-day internationals. န Photo : AP

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TMC blockades Kolkata street over Nanoor clashes
Kolkata, 3 November : The clashes between the CPI(M) and Trinamool Congress supporters at Nanoor in Birbhum district had a spillover effect in the metropolis today with TMC activists blocking an arterial road in Esplanade area in protest.
Traffic was stalled on Dharamtolla Street for three hours as police moved in and arrested some Trinamool supporters. TMC general secretary Madan Mitra alleged that the police lathicharged supporters near Bentinck Street adjacent to Dharamtolla Street.

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Congress-called shutdown hits some parts of Tripura

Agartala, 3 November : Over 400 Congress activists were arrested in Tripura Tuesday as they tried to enfore a 12-hour shutdown in parts of the state to protest an alleged attack on their legislator by cadres of the ruling the CPI(M), police said.
Many shops and businesses establishments, government offices and educational institutions remained closed, while traffic was thin in Sabroom and Sonamura sub-divisions in south and western Tripura, according to police. "The shutdown was more or less total and successful," said opposition Congress leader Ratanlal Nath.
Police arrested from various parts of the two districts over 400 Congress supporters who tried to enforce the dawn to dusk strike, said police spokesman Nepal Das. The Congress alleged that CPI(M) cadres attacked their legislator Subal Bhowmik Sunday.

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CPI(M), TMC supporters clash in WB, 20 Wounded

Kolkata, Suri, 3 November : Following a clash between activists of CPI(M) and Trinamool Congress in Khanakul in Hooghly district in a turn battle, Nanoor in Birbhum district saw a repetition this morning.
Police said that widespread clashes occurred at villages like Satra and Basapara in the Nanoor police station area since morning in which muskets and bombs were freely used. TMC alleged that in the attack by CPI(M) activists, four its party workers were wounded. Police, however, said that nobody had been hospitalized from the affected villages.
On Monday six Trinamool activists and a constable were injured after armed men, allegedly the CPI(M) supporters, raided houses of Trinamool Congress workers at Ishanpara, Katapukur and other adjacent villages with bombs and firearms.

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Moderate 5.4 quake strikes off Andaman Islands

AFP, Port Blair, 3 November : A moderate earthquake struck north of India's remote Andaman Islands early Tuesday, the US Geological Survey said, with no immediate reports of damage or injuries.
The 5.4-magnitude quake hit at 3:35 a.m. (2135 GMT Monday) at a depth of 32 kilometers (21 miles). The quake's epicenter was 266 km (124 miles) north of Port Blair, the capital of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, an Indian territory which lies in the Bay of Bengal, the USGS said. There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties and no tsunami warning was immediately issued.
A huge 7.6 magnitude earthquake struck off the archipelago in August, triggering panic as people fled their homes amid initial warnings of a possible tsunami. The Andaman Sea area witnesses frequent earthquakes caused by the meeting of the Indian plate with the Burmese microplate along an area known as the Andaman trench.

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Sharmila, Soha share screen 1st time in Life Goes On

Mumbai, 3 November : Veteran Bengali actress Sharmila Tagore has starred with her daughter Soha Ali Khan for the first time in Life Goes On, a film on British Indians that was screened at the ongoing 11th Mumbai Film Festival.
"This is the first time Sharmila Tagore and Soha are sharing screen space. I have known Sharmila Tagore for a long time and from the very beginning I have imagined her in the character she is playing," said Sangeeta Datta, who has made her directorial debut with the film. "I have worked with Soha while I was associate director in Rituparno Ghosh's Antar Mahal," she said. The story of Life Goes On revolves around the cultural conflict between a father and his youngest daughter, with different sub-plots shown in flashback.
The story, script and screenplay are by Sangeeta and detail the prejudices and Islam-phobia still deep-rooted among certain sections of immigrant Indians in London. It is a contemporary adaptation of Shakespeare's King Lear but it has a hopeful ending.

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