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Film

Film screening: ‘Baandhon’ at The Root Reel

Friday evenings are perfect for watching films. Head to Churchgate this evening to watch ‘Baandhon’, a critically acclaimed Assamese film.

If you happen to find yourself in town tomorrow and you’re in the mood for some good cinema, make your way to the Theosophy Hall at Churchgate to catch the screening of Baandhon, the award winning Assamese film by Jahnu Barua.

Baandhon (Waves of Silence) is a gentle paced, minimalist film about an elderly couple leading a sheltered existence in a town in Assam. It’s a bare-bones story that is literally just this: a perennially-bickering old man and his wife are unexpectedly visited by the harsh realities of the outside world when their grandson Pona – an IIT Bombay student who is the centre of their universe – goes missing on the night of 26/11.

The film’s director Jahnu Barua is a multiple National Award-winning director and this stark, moving film has won the Opening Film Indian Panorama at the 43rd International Film Festival of India, Best Feature Film in Assamese Award at the 60th National Film Awards and the Best Film, Indian Films Competition, Bengaluru International Film Festival.

The film is presented by The Root Reel as part of the chapter where they celebrate the best of regional cinema from India, often unfairly ignored due the overshadowing presence of Bollywood.

Head to Alliance Francaise de Bombay, New Marine Lines, Churchgate. The screening starts at 6:30 pm sharp and entry is free but on a first-come-first-seated basis.

(Compiled by Medha Kulkarni)

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Event

India Art Festival starts today

500 senior and upcoming artists, over 30 Indian galleries will participate in the the four-day festival at Nehru Centre, Worli.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

The third edition of the acclaimed and feted India Art Festival will kick off at Nehru Centre, Worli, today. The festival will see 500 senior and upcoming artists participate; there will also be painters represented by 30 art galleries from across the country.

Artistes such as Mumbai-based Prakash Bal Joshi and Anjlie Vellody will showcase their works at the festival. This year, the Festival includes the ‘Public Art Space’ in which a few art galleries are participating, apart from the segment ‘IAF Conversations’, a panel discussion chaired by Ranjit Hoskote.

The  India Art Festival – India’s contemporary Art Fair is on from December 19 to 22, 2013 at the Nehru Centre, Worli. 

(Picture courtesy Anjlie Vellody. The image depicts Vellody’s work, ‘Laxmi on mobike’)

Categories
Tech

Sony unveils PlayStation 4 in India

The device will be available for purchase in India from January 6, 2014, for a price of Rs 39,990. Know more.
by Manik Kakra

Sony today unveiled its popular and much awaited gaming console, PlayStation 4, in India. The system has got loads of chips inside, and let’s a brief look at those:

– Octa-core AMD Jaguar processor

– 8 GB GDDR5 RAM

– AMD 1.84 TFLOPS GPU

– One AUX Port, Ethernet Port, WiFi b/g/n, Bluetooth 2.1 (with EDR), HDMI out, and Digital Optical Port

The new DualShock 4 controller comes in black, blue and red colours. It is equipped with tw=point touchpad, light bar, standard four-way directional buttons, vibration, PS button, Share button Options button as well as built-in speakers. Consisting of Bluetooth 2.1 (with EDR), the device is powered by 1,000 mAh battery.

The camera with the console can shoot up to 1280 x 800 videos at 60 FPS. Using the official PlayStation iOS and Android apps, you can extend your smartphone as the second screen for your game console.

The PS4 goes on sale in India on January 6, 2014, and has been priced at Rs 39,990. This will get you the main system, one controller and one camera, along with standard cables. Buying another camera and controller will cost you Rs 4,990 each. Some of the launch titles are KillZone: Shadow Fall, NFS: Rivals, Knack and Call of Duty: Ghosts.

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Tech

Lenovo launches Vibe X

Lenovo’s latest offering in India is an Android smartphone that costs Rs 25,999, marking the launch of the Vibe series.
by Manik Kakra

Lenovo today unveiled its new Vibe X Android 4.2.2 smartphone in India. The device marks the launch of the company’s new Vibe series of handsets. Weighing 121 grams, the Vibe X sports a 5-inch full HD screen with Gorilla Glass 3 on its edges. Under the hood, there is a 1.5 GHz quad-core MT6592 chipset and 2 GB of RAM. It comes with 16 GB of on-board storage, and is powered by 2,000 mAh non-removable battery.

On the back, there is a 13 MP (AF) camera (with LED flash); while the front side has a 5 MP camera. Connectivity-wise, the phone is equipped with 3G, Bluetooth 3.0, microUSB 2.0, WiFi b/g/n WiFi Hotpsot and A-GPS.

The Vibe X comes in only silver colour, and is priced at Rs 25,999. It goes on sale on December 21, 2013, and can also be pre-ordered here, where you will also get a free flip cover along with the phone.

“Our ultimate goal is to use innovation to differentiate Lenovo and become a leading PC + brand. We are confident that the Vibe X will be a popular choice in the Indian market where consumers crave for intelligent performance in a slim and light package. With this launch, we strengthen our focus on the smart connected devices segment,” Amar Babu of Lenovo explained.

Lenovo has been quite aggressive in the Indian market for quite a while now. It has been doing great in the PC market, and is now looking to get a larger share of consumer phone market with this offering, and six other Android smartphones it had launched a few months back. It will be interesting to see how they differentiate their products, and if we get to see OS upgrades from them or not.

Categories
Tech

Just in: XOLO Play Tegra Note

XOLO’s new tablet, the Play Tegra Note, was launched in the country yesterday; carries a price tag of Rs 17,999.
by Manik Kakra

XOLO yesterday launched its new Play Tegra Note in India. The tablet sports a 7-inch (1280×800) LCD, and comes with a stylus for writing and drawing purposes. Under the hood, there is a Tegra 4 SoC (1.8 GHz quad-core A15 and 40S GPU), along with 1 GB of RAM.

The Play Tegra Note features WiFi a/b/g/n, WiFi hotspot, Bluetooth 4.0, microUSB 2.0 and GPS for connectivity options. On the rear, there is a 5 MP camera; while the front has a VGA camera. It is powered by 4,100 mAh (15.`7 Watt) battery. Running Android 4.2.2 (near stock), it is said to be upgraded to Android 4.3 soon. Other usual features include Light Sensor, Gyroscope, 3.5mm headset jack, and Proximity Sensor.

The tablet has been launched at a price of Rs 17,999, and comes in only one colour. You can also pre-book one here, which will get you a smart cover worth Rs 2,499 (as per the company website) for free.  Looking at its price, it is quite clear that the company wants to get some consumer attention, with the Nexus 7 and iPad mini Retina currently in the top two places; it will be hard for XOLO to compete if they price their devices at par with these known contenders. This new tablet seems good on paper, but can only be described once tried for a fair amount of time.

Categories
Do

RK Laxman, in an exhibition

Over 200 of the legendary cartoonist’s works are being displayed at Worli’s Nehru Centre Art Gallery till January 5, 2014.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

Journalists and students of the profession will often remark on the role and importance of the political cartoonist in the newspaper’s overall scheme of things – and lament at the absence of the cartoonist in contemporary media.

Hence, it is heartening to visit an exhibition of works by India’s best-loved political cartoonist, RK Laxman. The exhibition, the 21st in the ‘Indian Master’s Retrospective’, was inaugurated by Maharashtra State Governor K Sankaranarayanan at the Worli-based Nehru Centre Art Gallery, and the works have been curated by the Gallery’s Assistant Director, Nina Rege. The showing includes over 200 cartoons, old and new, made by Laxman.

RK Laxman exhibitionSpeaking at the inauguration, the Governor said, “Few cartoonists have held forth such a long sway over readers as RK Laxman has done with his remarkable work, day after day and year after year for 60 long years. He has been a ‘people’s representative’ in the real sense of the term for all these years.  He gave face to the aam aadmi in our country. Through his cartoons, he has represented the silent millions of the country, voiced their real problems and raised their issues forcefully in the corridors of power.

“Very importantly, Shri Laxman has explained to the readers a range of complex political, national and international issues using his master strokes and a few simple lines. Personally, I rate the cartoonist a few notches higher than the Editor.”

The Governor exhorted the public to visit the exhibition as it “brings to light some of Shri Laxman’s best and yet less known works.  It has also brought out Laxman, the artist. His sketches of personalities and landscapes are outstanding and prove his brilliance as an artist.”

A new book,  Finely Exaggerated, will also be released during the exhibition period.

Head to Nehru Centre Art Gallery, Worli, from 11 am to 7 pm. The exhibition is on till January 5, 2014. Call 022 24963426 for details.

(Pictures courtesy Raj Bhavan, Mumbai)

 

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