Author: The Metrognome

Categories
Big story

Women traffic personnel taking self-defence classes

Rising incidents of men passing lewd comments and even assaulting female traffic personnel prompt Traffic Police to conduct self-defence classes.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

The next time you get into an altercation with a woman traffic cop, you might have to face more than just a fine. Don’t entertain any bright ideas of assaulting her just because she’s a woman, or molesting her, or slanging her out and driving away, unless you want a karate chop. What’s more, you can get pulled up by said cop if you harass another woman on the street and a traffic cop’s on duty.

Taking cognizance of recent incidents where a woman traffic constable was physically assaulted by a man she had caught for speeding, and the rising tendency of the city’s men to eve tease these women posted on duty, Mumbai’s traffic cops are arming their women constables with self defence knowledge.

Under the stewardship of Joint Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Vivek Phansalkar and Additional Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Brijesh Singh, classes imparting training in physical and mental fitness through self defence have been started two days ago for women personnel. The training is imparted by experienced commandos and physical education instructors, and is a five-day module that will include the 315 women currently employed on the Force.

As per a press release from the Commissioner of Police’s office yesterday, “It has been seen that women traffic personnel are sometimes obstructed from performing their duties and laying down the law by indisciplined male drivers of vehicles. Some men have been found to indulge in indecent behaviour and speech with the women traffic personnel, with a recent incident of a women constable being physically attacked on the street. Such incidents affect the morale of the women personnel.”

In view of this, the women traffic personnel at the Naigaon police HQ were selected for training in increasing physical fitness, and learning such martial arts as judo and karate.

Interestingly, the purview of traffic cops’ on-field duties has now been widened to include stepping in to nab persons molesting or harassing young girls and women on the roads, in which case the presence of trained women personnel will be an added bonus. “Several crimes these days – ranging from chain snatching to eve teasing to even thefts of vehicles – happen on the roads and hence, traffic police must be alert at all times to prevent such crimes. By increasing the physical and mental strength of the women traffic personnel, it is hoped that they will be able to perform their duties more fearlessly and help bring crime on the streets under control,” a traffic police official says.

(Picture courtesy mid-day.com) 

Categories
Film

A businessman who acts in films

Mithun Rodwittiya is not a struggling actor – he ‘chose’ to do ‘Inkaar’, and is looking for serious, sensible roles.

Our idea of what a first film role means to an actor generally follows a formula popularised by masala entertainers of the 80s: the would-be actor leaves his hometown and comes to Mumbai following a film dream, lives with friends and survives on wada pav and chai, does the rounds of producers’ offices and waits years for the elusive break. When the break comes, he is older, wiser, and an instant hit.

Mithun Rodwittiya’s road to Bollywood was the exact opposite of this filmi roadmap. The Malad resident got a role in the Arjun Rampal-Chitrangada Singh release Inkaar after a fruitful stint in modelling. A successful feature and ramp model for about eight years now, Mithun (34) has worked with a lot of big brands in the country and has shot numerous TVCs, apart from walking the ramp for several top designers in their fashion shows. “I became very interested in pursuing a film career after I watched Kaminey,” he tells The Metrognome. “I watched the film and I kept thinking, ‘Hey, I want to do this…’”

However, the desire to face the camera had always been there, even before he decided to take the Bollywood plunge. “Shooting for TV commercials helped me understand the techniques of shooting. Also, I realised that I was very comfortable in front of the camera,” Mithun says. His first TVC was for Tata Indicom. “It was an interesting experience for me – you work with 80 to 90 people on the set, you have to fit within a role set out for you,” he explains, adding that facing the camera was something he consciously pushed himself into.

“I used to have stage fright as a child. So facing the camera was not something I set out to achieve as a personal challenge. I was simply curious to know what the process would be like for me,” he explains.

When Inkaar happened

“I had been working with some brilliant casting directors, and one of them was Nalini Rathnam, who excels at fitting an actor with the right role. I have a certain sensibility in film, and Nalini understands it. She told me about this role in a Sudhir Mishra film, where I would play a small but crucial role as the CEO of the ad agency’s biggest client. I was happy to accept,” Mithun says.

His role, though a small one that required just three days of shooting in Mumbai, proved to be a tremendous learning experience for him. “See, I’m in this out of a choice I made. I run a business and ideally, I want to be able to balance my work and films,” he says, explaining that he is an NID alumnus. “People on the set were stunned to know that I was from NID, that I had something to work on apart from the role I was playing in the film. A lot of people don’t have that. I decided to be a part of Inkaar because I would get to work with stalwarts like Sudhir Mishra and Deepti Naval.”

He says that Sudhir Mishra is “a taskmaster,” but a man with commendable clarity. “He knows exactly what he wants, right down to the most minute details on the set. But he is very approachable, and though I have no formal training in acting, he was very helpful and accommodating. He knows how to use his actors.”

How was it working with the cast? “Of all of them, I enjoyed working with Chitrangda Singh the most,” he says. “She is an extremely intelligent lady who takes her work seriously and is such a wonderful person to work with and be around.”

Now that Inkaar’s in the theatres and Mithun’s being recognised, he’s also receiving offers for roles in what he calls “the same kind of cinema as Inkaar.” He explains, “I don’t see myself running around in a field of sunflowers. I identify with the kind of roles that actors like Pankaj Kapur, Abhay Deol and Irfaan do. Since there is no pressure on me to accept any and every work that comes my way, I can choose the kind of roles I would be happiest doing,” he says.

He is now awaiting the release of his next film, in which he plays one of the leads. “It’s a comedy and it’s a good role,” he says. And does he see himself getting into acting full-time? “At this point, I’d have to say maybe, but ideally I’d like to always be in a position to choose to do films. I chose Inkaar because I knew that I would have dialogues and screen time with Deepti Naval, Arjun Rampal, Mohan Kapur. It’s not about the length of the role for me,” he says.

(Pictures courtesy Mithun Rodwittiya) 

Categories
Event

Legal Counsel India Awards announced

The 4th Annual Legal Counsel Congress took place at Hotel Trident recently. Siemens, BPCL, IDFC won awards at the ceremony.

The Ideas Exchange, in association with Lex Witness, presented the 4th Annual Legal Counsel Congress in Mumbai focused on helping General Counsels and Heads of Legal work towards attaining greater operational excellence and preparing them for the legal department of the future. The evening also hosted the second edition of the Legal Counsel India Awards at Hotel Trident BKC; the awards recognise and honour excellence amongst the corporate legal fraternity.

The conference was chaired by Nilanjan Sinha, General Counsel, GE Capital, who introduced the Chief Guest, The Honourable Former Justice Deepak Verma, Supreme Court of India. Justice Verma briefed the legal counsel on strategies for effectively partnering with the Bench in order to expedite the judicial process for the benefits of the Indian legal system.

Speaking on the occasion, Vikas Vij, Managing Director, The Ideas Exchange said, “The Ideas Exchange is committed to working with business leaders across sectors and business functions and focused on delivering knowledge based platforms for a discerning and informed industry to ideate and enable business exchanges in a creative, efficient and responsive manner.”

Some of the prize winners:

Amarchand Mangaldas, National Law Firm of the Year Award 2013

BPCL, Best Employer of the Year

Persistent Technologies, Best Use of Technology and Innovation Award 2013

Siemens, Team of the year

IDFC’s Rajeev Oberoi, General Counsel of the Year Award

IDFC’s Rohit Sharma, Young In-House Lawyer of the Year (Male) Award

BIAL’s Kavery Madappa, Young In-House Lawyer of the Year (Female) Award

Wockhardt’s Debolina Partap, Woman General Counsel of the Year Award

 

Categories
Big story

Serial hoax caller arrested from Gujarat

Youth had earlier threatened to blow up trains and hijack planes if Kasab was not released; picked up from Vapi.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

There sure are some strange 19-year-olds in the country. Vikas Yadav, a resident of Vapi in Gujarat, was arrested by the Mumbai Police three days ago for making three hoax calls since 2011, threatening to blow up trains such as the Rajdhani Express or hijack airplanes. His reason? He was a fan of Ajmal Kasab, the captured 26/11 terrorist who was executed by the Maharashtra Government last year.

The youth’s first such call came in January 2011, when he threatened to blow up the Rajdhani and Garib Rath Express. At the time, he had assumed the identity of underworld don Dawood Ibrahim. Then, in the period between June and December 2012, he made other calls threatening to hijack an Indigo Airways’ plane from Bangalore airport, and later that he had planted an explosive at Delhi’s International Airport. Both these times, his demand was that 26/11 terrorist Ajmal Kasab be released.

His most recent call came to Jet Airways in October 2012, when he identified himself as Vikas Yadav, and threatened to hijack the Mumbai-Bangalore flight, again with the order that Kasab be released.

Various police stations all over the country were on the lookout for Vikas, but he managed to evade arrest for two years. However, owing to the severity of the threat calls (especially since Kasab’s name was used), the probe into the matter was taken up by the Mumbai Crime Branch under Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) Himanshu Roy. Some of the calls were found to originate from Bihar, and a team was dispatched there. However, that team found that Vikas lived in Vapi with his family.

Vikas was picked up from his Vapi residence on January 18, 2013. He has been charged under various sections of the IT Act and the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against Civil Aviation Act. Five mobile phones and SIM cards were seized from him. “During investigation, he said that he is fan of Qasab because he had dared to kill hundreds of people during 26/11,” a police official said.

(Picture courtesy sofiaglobe.com)

Categories
Deal with it

It’s going to be a cold week

Brace yourselves and don’t pack away your sweaters. Weather department estimates that Mumbai’s current chill may last all this week.

The current chill you are experiencing in Mumbai is set to continue over the coming days. The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) contends that the cold breezy conditions that the city is currently facing will remain for a few days owing to cold winds blowing from the North.

In fact, minimum temperatures in the city today are expected to touch 15 Degree Celsius – that’s even lower than last night’s temperatures.

The IMD says that an extra-tropical storm has just passed over Jammu and Kashmir, bringing sudden snow and sleet rain, but though the storm has passed, the cold winds continue to blow. Another cold spell is expected to hit next week, if similar weather conditions hit J&K again. As per the IMD website, maximum temperatures recorded on Sunday were 31 Degree Celsius at Colaba and 30.8 Degree Celsius at Santacruz, while minimum temperatures were 17 Degree Celsius and 12.6 Degree Celsius respectively. No major departures are expected in prevailing weather conditions for 48 hours.

You know what this means. Do keep your winter woollies at hand this week.

(Picture courtesy tcpalm.com)

Categories
Patrakar types

The devil wears (borrowed) Prada

…and throws her weight about like nobody’s business. Why do women bosses in the media model themselves on Miranda Priestley?
by Vrushali Lad | vrushali@themetrognome.in

If you’re anything like me – that is, a girl who likes to work because she likes to work and has no other girly interests, such as the latest fashions and whether brown is a colour Indian women would ever prefer whole-heartedly – do not ever work for a woman’s lifestyle or fashion magazine.

From personal experience, I can tell you that you will be expected to dress like a model. Wearing footwear other than stillettoes is a crime punishable by hanging from the ceiling by your toes. Using a scrunchie to keep away your unruly hair from your face is also a crime fit for the guillotine. Wearing denims to work will get you ostracised till you came back wearing linen trousers or a very expensive skirt. If you wear flats, they have to be ballerinas, not flip flops or something equally foul. You never repeat an outfit for at least two months, you eat at only the most expensive restaurants and you network only with those in your circle.

Speaking in any language other than English will get you transferred to the mail sorting department. And where I worked, you couldn’t speak to the boss at all, even when you were dying of a terminal disease and needed a day off to arrange for your own funeral, because the boss was too busy to look up from the computer screen where a furious game of Angry Birds was in progress. I am not kidding.

I find that women heading magazines catering to women consciously model themselves on Miranda Priestley. They would have modelled themselves on Anne Wintour directly, but most of them are not sure if Miranda Priestly is Anne Wintour, and Meryl Streep is more famous. Of course, Miranda Priestly is a bi**h, but she is a bi**h who is on top of her game, knows exactly how to produce issue after issue of stellar reading material, cannot be fooled by fancy story ideas that are essentially a rehash of last year’s covers, and who shows up for important events and photo shoots because all she cares about is that the magazine looks good.

The women I worked for in magazines ignored the rest of these qualities and concentrated only on being bit**es. It didn’t get them very far with the staff, but it got them the editor’s chair, so all was good. These women dressed fancy, spoke Oxford English, some accented Hindi when telling the office boy “thoda chai leke aana, bhaiyya,” never spoke to the staff unless to yell at them in front of the entire office, never showed up for magazine events unless they were covered by the Press (in which case they showed up only with their cronies) and were shameless enough to demand freebies such as jewellery sets and iPads from PR agencies liaisoning with the magazine for stories.

If only they cultivated Miranda Priestley’s class as well.

Compare this state of affairs with the few women editors in newspapers. I’ve heard glowing reports of Ranjona Banerjee as the boss at DNA a few years ago. I’ve found Sumana Ramanan (Senior Editor, Hindustan Times) to be soft-spoken and clear about her expectations from a story. Deepali Nandwani was a capable editor at Yuva, always taking the trouble to discuss each story idea at length before giving the go-ahead to work on it. Carol Andrade was a gem of a person to work under at Times Response. Several tales are still told of Dina Vakil’s class and good manners, and the woman’s not been around for quite a while now.

Nobody’s saying these women are/were perfect editors, but at least they didn’t make themselves out to be jerks. Which is what anyone expects from an editor in the first place.

I was once speaking to senior journalist Mrinalini Naniwadekar about the tendency of women bosses to throw their weight about, sometimes for no reason at all. Mrinalini thought it stemmed from an old struggle that the first women journos in the city faced when trying to get themselves assigned on important beats such as crime and politics, which used to be denied to them. Probably the resentment still lurks. Probably several women have been thwarted in their ambitions by men. But these situations don’t exist any more, at least not in the big cities – though most editors today are still men – and with so many women already in the profession and so many more joining the ranks every day, it is inexplicable that women bosses would still need to show any measure of ‘toughness’ by being total as***les.

And why be rude and unkind to appear tough? Is there any call to treat people like dirt just to show that you are the boss? Since when has it been cool to make ‘no’ your favourite word, not grant people you don’t like an audience, not sanction leaves that the employee is entitled to, and generally go on an unnecessary rampage against the world because you want to first cultivate, then reinforce the image of a no-nonsense go-getter who suffers no fools?

Worse, why try to be tough when your entire staff comprises women? If you were out to fight the men in a men’s world, why are you giving such grief to women as well? Or are you really just nasty?

If anyone’s figured this out, do let me know. *ties her hair up with a scrunchie and goes about her business in Osho chappals and last week’s clothes.*

Vrushali Lad is a freelance journalist who has spent several years pitching story ideas to reluctant editors. Once, she even got hired while doing so.

(Picture courtesy news.com.au)
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