[Directed: Yash Chopra/ Produced: BR Chopra/ Story: Akhtar Mirza/ Dialogue: Akhtar-ul-Aman/ Cinematography: Dharam Chopra/ Editing: Pran Mehra/ Lyrics: Sahir Ludhianvi/ Music: Ravi/ Playback: Asha Bhosle, Manna Dey and Mahendra Kapoor/ Art Direction:Sant Singh/ Costumes: Bhanu Athaiya/ Starring: Balraj Sahni, Raaj Kumar, Sunil Dutt, Shashi Kapoor, Sadhana, Sharmila Tagore, Rehman, Shashikala, Surendra, Leela Chitnis, Achala Sachdev, Manmohan Krishna, Madan Puri, Motilal and Mubarak]

The biggest hit of 1965 and the sixth biggest film of the 60s was Waqt, it was released in 1965 immediately after the India-Pakistan war and the movie ran to packed houses.  A mega-starrer it was the first colour film from the B R Chopra’s stable and the first film about lost-and-reunited siblings. Its ensemble cast had three top of the line heroes and two of the most glamorous heroines- Sunil Dutt, Raaj Kumar, Sadhana, Sharmila Tagore, Balraj Sahni and for once the cast also included the story writer Akhtar Mirza, dialogues writer Akhtar-Ul-Iman and the editor of the film Pran Mehra!

The film set the trend for display of opulence and glitz –ornate mansions with fountains, motor boats, American cars, circular beds, lavish parties and grand pianos! The shenanigans and drama of feudal was replaced in one swipe to antics and romance of the newly upwardly mobile cavorting around outdoor locations in Kashmir, Shimla, Nainital, Bombay and Delhi. The glamorous women wowed you with stylish cuts, diamond jewellery and elegant grooming. The men looked dapper in tight suits and T-shirts. 

This was the film that established the quintessential Yash Chopra style and established him as a majordomo amidst all dream sellers in Bollywood, a position he held for nearly five decades, directing 22 films and producing another 52 films till his last assignment,  Jab tak hai jaan (2012). The film also displayed the other side of Yash Chopra, the oft discounted side, Yash Chopra never shied away from showing abject poverty and social disparities as he did in Deewar a decade later, or as he did in this film in the form of romantic liaison between a graduate driver and the owner’s daughter.

The story, written by Akhtar Mirza, was about three brothers the only casting that came to mind of B R Chopra was the Kapoor family: Shashi, Shammi and Raj Kapoor B R Chopra thought it was a dream cast. One day, he was traveling with Bimal Roy when he narrated the script and also discussed the casting. Bimal Roy immediately dismissed the cast as misfit and pointed out the major lacuna,the movie was about separation and casting three real brothers in the film who anyone  could recognize were being cast by a director of Chopra’s calibre. Ultimately the film was made with Shashi Kapoor, Sunil Dutt and Raj Kumar.

The film also reconfirmed Ravi’s reputation as a melody master. The film’s most enduring song has been Aye meri zohra jabeen, which Yash Chopra’s son Aditya included in his debut film, Dilwale dulhaniya le jayenge (1995) three decades later as a love anthem for the older generation. Achala Sachdev riveting performance in the song what with her blushing ever so coyly is now part of Bollywood lore! Nainital was among the favourite destinations for picturisation of songs in films released in 1965, and Waqt had three songs filmed in Nainital as backdrop. 

Interestingly neither the song Aye meri zohra jabeen nor and Aage bhi jaane na tu, were chartbusters on the Binaca Geetmala! The sad solo by Mohd. Rafi, Waqt se din aur raat and Maine ek khwab sa dekha went up to twenty seventh and thirty first spots on the 1965 annual Binaca Geetmala list! As a rare case, Asha Bhosle sang for both Sadhana and Sharmila Tagore in the film while Mahendra Kapoor gave playback for Sunil Dutt and Shashi Kapoor

The film won seven Filmfare nominations awards too. Yash Chopra (Best Director), Raaj Kumar (Best Supporting Actor), F.A. Mirza (Best Story), Akhtar-Ul-Iman ( Best Dialogue) and Dharam Chopra (Best Cinematographer). Filmfare Nomination for Best Film and Filmfare Nomination for Best Actress-Sadhana were the only nominations it could not convert into awards. The surprise winner for Best film that pipped Waqt and Haqeeqat was Himalaya Ki God Mein (1965)!

Though salwar kameez was the rage those days, Sadhana popularized the fashion of churidar kurtas with Waqt. To win Yash Chopra’s approval, she dressed in a churidar kurta when he. In a 1990 interview to Movie magazine, Sadhna revealed her idea of a modernizing the Muslim salwar-kurta in 60s. It led to a fashion revolution surviving till this day! Instead of the salwar Sadhna wore a churidar and a tight, sleeveless kurta with embroidery on the neck and below the bust line. Yash Chopra didn’t like the sound of it and rejected it, saying that she should stick to salwars for Waqt. Sadhna spoke to designer Bhanu Athaiya who stitched a churidar-kurta based on Sadhna’s specifications. When Yash Chopra came to narrate the story to her, he wanted her to wear the same thing for his film! 

The two most unforgettable dialogues in the pantheon of most quoted Bollywood quoted quips belong to Raaj Kumar in Waqt. His gravelly voice and theatrical dialogue delivery is on full display when he snatches a stiletto from Madan Puri and warns him- “Yeh bachchon ke khelne ke cheez nahin, haath kat jaye to khoon nikal aata hai” (This is not a thing for kids to play with, if it cuts the hand then blood comes out) but the dialogue high on octane is saved for Rehman “Chinnoy Seth, Jinke apne ghar sheeshe ke hon woh doosron par pathar nahi phenka karte.” (Chinoy Seth, those who live in houses made of glass do not throw stones on others). 

In an article in Cine Blitzmagazine (1996), upon Raaj Kumar’s demise due to throat cancer BR Chopra had paid tributes “As an actor he was totally a director’s actor. He needed exactly 48 hours to discuss the script with the writers. If he was satisfied with the role, he would sign on immediately. He always arrived well prepared and was most punctual. When I heard about his problems with other directors, I used to chuckle to myself. They must have allowed themselves to be taken for granted.”

Waqt was a landmark in many ways: if it set a trend for showing the lifestyles of the uber rich it was also a ‘lost and found’ film, a storyline that was a staple in nearly all  the films of 1970s and in fact threatened us by assuming the life sized role of becoming an independent genre altogether! The family is separated by an earthquake, historically being the Quetta earthquake of 1935, but as a metaphor it signifies the human upheaval during the partition. And as a partition story the saga of migration from Pakistan to India has remained a recurrent theme in the Hindi film industry. The film’s strongest point was the sense of bonding and the support it provided to the disintegrating institution of joint-family. 

NEW DELHI: India on Monday asserted that it has “never” discarded dialogue with Pakistan but terror and talks cannot go together. 

“We have never said there will be no talk. Never ever we have said we are not ready for talks but there is a caveat. Terrorism and talks cannot go together. This has been our position and there has been no change in our position,” External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said at her annual press conference here. 

She also said the formal dialogue with the western neighbour need not be linked to the ensuing elections in Pakistan in July. “We are ready for talks even before elections. But there is one condition  Pakistan should give up terrorism….I have said this earlier at the UN general assembly also when Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had put four point formula for talks,” she said.

“I have made it clear that there is no need of a four-point formula. Let us decide about one point, you give up terror and we can have talks,” said Ms Swaraj. 

During her 90-minute long press conference, she highlighted the “unprecedented” achievements of the Narendra Modi government in  foreign policy during last four years.

Responding to queries, she asserted whether it has been indicated by Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman or anyone else, India has never discarded the caveat on terrorism.

“You cannot have talks when the entire border with Pakistan is being turned into a hot-spot. There is no change in our stand because when we lose lives on the borders, the talks cannot be held.”

As women in Ireland celebrate lifting of ban on abortion following a referendum that voted overwhelmingly in against the ban, India has had a liberal law on abortion since 1972 when very few countries actually allowed termination of pregnancy.

Coincidentally, it was a 31-year-old Indian dentist, Savita Halappanavar’s death in October 2012 that triggered the movement for lifting of ban in Ireland. Savita had died at University Hospital Galway due to the complications of a septic miscarriage at 17 weeks’ gestation. When it became clear that the miscarriage was inevitable, Savita had requested an abortion.

At that time the medical team had not diagnosed her with a blood infection, and her request was denied. The medical team eventually did diagnose the sepsis and determined that Savita’s life was in danger they had planned to administer misoprostol to induce delivery, but the miscarriage completed before they were able to. The sepsis continued developing and she died of a cardiac arrest caused by the sepsis Her death caused controversy at the time, nationally and internationally, leading to protests and marches.

Now, a new abortion law will be in place by the end of year, Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar has said. It follows a landslide vote in favour of repealing the Republic of Ireland’s constitutional ban on abortion. The proposed legislation will allow abortions during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy, and up to the 24th week in exceptional circumstances.

More than two thirds of voters backed the decision to change the law with every constituency in the Republic of Ireland, with the exception of Donegal. The referendum delivered a conclusive consensus for reform among men and women, nearly all age groups and across most counties. 

The final figures were 66.4% in favour of the change and 33.6% voting against it.

Abortion was banned in Ireland with the insertion of the Eighth Amendment into the Irish constitution in 1983 and it gave an equal right to life to both a mother and an unborn child.

In contrast, the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP), Act, 1971 allows abortion to Indian woman, though under specific conditions such as including risk to the life of pregnant woman or grave injury of physical and mental health, substantial risk that if the child were born, it would suffer from such physical or mental abnormalities, pregnancy as a result of rape or incest and failure of contraception. Contraception failure is the most common reason for seeking medical termination of pregnancy.

The best of part of the MTP Act is that it ensure secrecy and until recently, there was no age bar on women seeking abortion. But, under the new rape law, sex below the age of 18 years is considered as a rape and makes it mandatory for the health provider to report the matter, and hence any girl below 18 years, now finds it difficult to seek abortion. The provision is in conflict with the law.  

However, the Indian government has put severe restrictions on medical termination of pregnancy due to an increase in sex selective abortion as daughters are not preferred and hence sex-selective abortion is practised, resulting in an unnatural male to female population sex ratio.

Despite a liberal law and abortion services being offered free of cost at the public health facilities across the country and abortion pills being available across the counter, there is little awareness about it among women. Studies have shown, most women think abortion was illegal. In the wake of stigma attached to abortion, married women prefer to go to back-street quacks for abortion. On the other hand, adolescent girls have been seen using abortion as a contraception method without realising the health impact of repeated abortions on the body.

When the audience packed auditorium started clapping all of a sudden, turning to the right, I saw Basanti Devi Bisht entering the hall in her traditional costume with a red ‘tika’ worn from nose to the forehead. In a musical evening organised by Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts (IGNCA) on May 19, 2018 she was invited to perform in ‘Sanjari: Ek Bharat Shreshth Bharat’. Sanjari is a series of musical events, which is IGNCA’s attempt to bring in light the fading music of India.

Basanti Bisht is the only woman Jagar (a folk art of Uttarakhand) singer to be awarded the Padma Shri last year. The lady in her 60s, along with her troupe is a known name in the field of folk culture of Uttarakhand. The audience followed every beat of Basanti’s  drum while she was performing. 

She won the hearts by starting the performance with a Manglik song whose story goes like this- Back when the earth was formed, Naradmuni went to Naaglok to bring cows to the earth for its purity but cows said, “People living on the earth will beat us and disrespect us.” To this, Naradmuni convincingly replied by saying, “Hey mother, you will be respected and taken care of by the humans.” And got them to the earth.

In her presentation, Basanti Bisht also dedicated songs to the Spring season in Uttarakhand, ladies whose husbands are in the Army and rarely come home, and Lord Shiva too. 

Uttarakhand rests on the Indian map as a place with mountains and rivers. Representing the ever-flowing rivers, Ganga and Jamuna, she sang a song called ‘O Jag Janani h Le Mata’ where she praised the presence of these rivers. 

Various songs sung by her were preceded by a back story of each, given by the host, Vilas Janve. ‘Meri hudki baaji ghama gham…teri jhamri baaji chhama chham’ sung by Basanti was a song of two young lovers where the boy says, “You are a soft flower and I am a bee roaming around. I will never forget you. Today, let me play my instrument and

you dance on it.” 

Basanti Devi is playing a huge role in taking forward the rich and lost culture of her state. 

NEW DELHI:  Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Indonesia and Singapore from May 29 to June 2. It will be his first official visit to Indonesia and second to Singapore.

During his visit to Singapore, the Prime Minister will also deliver the key note address at Shangri-La Dialogue on June 1, Secretary (East) in the External Affairs Ministry Preeti Saran said at a press conference here on Thursday.

Mr. Modi’s visit to Indonesia and Singapore is part of India’s continued engagement with the region and in keeping with the Act East policy, she said.

“India and Indonesia will also mark 70years of their diplomatic relations. Indonesian President Joko Widodo has earlier visited India and was also part of ASEAN leaders who were guests of honour at this year’s Republic Day celebrations,’’ the top MEA official said.

Mr. Modi will sign several agreements in important sectors with both Indonesia and Singapore, she said.

The highlight of the Prime Minister’s visit to Singapore will be his keynote address at the Shangri-La Dialogue. It will be for the first time that India’s Prime Minister will be delivering the keynote address at the prestigious Shangri-La Dialogue.

It will be an occasion for the Prime Minister to spell out his thoughts and philosophy about India’s views on defence, security and maritime security in the Indo-Pacific region, she said.

Prime Minister Modi will hold talks with the Indonesian leadership on major areas of cooperation between the two countries like science and technology, trade and commerce and increasing connectivity as a whole with the ASEAN nations.

The Indian Institute of Technology, Madras and the Airports Authority of India (AAI) have joined hands to take up collaborative research on air navigation systems. This would support AAI in addressing aviation infrastructure and air traffic management challenges for the common good of Indian economy.

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between Prof Ravindra Gettu, Dean (Industrial Consultancy and Sponsored Research), IIT Madras and Sri A.K. Dutta, Member (Air Navigation Services), AAI, to seal the agreement.

The MoU provides for Transfer of Knowledge /skill by IIT Madras experts in the areas of mathematical/analytical/artificial intelligence/data mining solutions that are essential to carry out research. AAI will be providing a unique opportunity to researchers of IIT Madras by way of exposure to the new dimension of Air Navigation Services leading to innovative ideas in the field.  This will ultimately open up many areas in the aviation arena to the start-up companies and other industries in India to introduce products under “Make in India” policy of the government.

Speaking about the importance of this collaboration, Prof Bhaskar Ramamurthi, Director, IIT Madras, said, “IIT Madras is eager to partner with AAI to bring in innovation in airport and navigation management to address challenges in India aviation sector.”

Speaking to the occasion, Prof Ravindra Gettu said, “IIT Madras is glad to collaborate with AAI, especially with their new research wing in the modernization of the air traffic management in our country.”

Prof Ravindra Gettu further affirmed that the MoU would ensure synergy of capabilities of both the organisations in their respective domains, paving the way for mutually beneficial and lasting solutions in the ever growing field of Aviation. This MoU is also expected to facilitate the access of crucial data related to air traffic for researchers of IIT Madras.

Airport Authority of India manages 125 airports and provides air navigation services over 2.8 million square nautical miles of air space. It has been taking up Air Navigation Services (ANS) and airport infrastructure modernization plans to keep pace with the exponential growth in air traffic in India.  

As part of AAI’s ambitious ANS up gradation plans and keeping in view the need for developing in-house capabilities by establishing an efficient R&D system to support various on-going AAI initiatives indigenously, AAI has established a state-of-the-art Civil Aviation Research Organisation at Hyderabad. Collaboration with premier educational Institutions is one of the critical elements envisaged by AAI in R&D.

Through this significant MoU, IIT Madras’ IC&SR, which has been playing a vital role in bringing together the experts from the Industry and the faculty, will collaborate with AAI to embark on joint research programs that would benefit Aviation System as a whole.

Several people are suspected to have died of the little know, mysterious `Nipah virus’ in Kozhikode district of Kerala. While the government has confirmed six deaths due to this virus, many more people are believed to have died of the disease hosted in animals.
The virus is transmitted through direct contact with infected bats, pigs, or from other NiV-infected people.
Kerala has been put on a high alert. State Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s office tweeted that a state-wide alert has been issued and that the government has opened a 24-hour control room to monitor the situation.
There is no vaccine for the virus yet, according to WHO. The main treatment for those infected is “intensive supportive care.’’ The disease has a high mortality rate with a capability to mutate.  
In the meanwhile, the Centre has sent a team to Kerala. Union Health and Family Welfare Minister J.P.Nadda tweeted and said that he had asked the chief of the central disease control body to visit the affected district and take steps.
Mr Nadda has assured all support to the Kerala Government and has directed a multi-disciplinary Central team to assist the State and closely monitor the situation.
“We are closely monitoring the situation. I have spoken to Shri Alphons and Smt K Shailaja, Health Minister, Kerala and assured them all support of the Central government. I have also dispatched a Central team to assist the State government and initiate required steps,” the Union Health Minister said in a statement from Geneva.
On the directions of the Health Minister, Ms Preeti Sudan, Secretary (HFW) has also spoken to the Principal Health Secretary of Kerala and reviewed the situation.
The Central team includes Dr Sujeet K Singh, Director, National Centre for Disease Control, Dr S K Jain, Head Epidemiology, NCDC, Dr P Ravindran, Director, Emergency Medical Relief (EMR), Dr Naveen Gupta, Head Zoonosis, NCDC along with two clinicians and one expert from Ministry of Animal Husbandry.
Among the confirmed deaths, two victims were brothers and the third a woman relative who had visited them in hospital, Dr Reena, Additional Director of Communicable Disease, Kerala Government told a news channel. The first death was reported on Saturday.
Several people with symptoms of Nipah virus are being monitored in a special ward in Kozhikode Medical College and three other hospitals. Their blood samples have been sent for testing. The Nipah virus of NiV infection has symptoms like difficulty in breathing, inflammation of the brain, fever, headache, drowsiness, disorientation and delirium. A patient can slip into coma within 48 hours.
Meanwhile Mullappally Ramachandran, Lok Sabha MP and former Union Minister, in a letter to the Union Health Minister said that some villages in his constituency had been affected while seeking Central Government intervention.  Doctors believe the virus spreads fast and is mostly fatal, said the parliamentarian. “The mortality rate is reportedly 70 per cent. The spread of the disease needs to be contained,” Mr Ramachandran wrote.
Nipah virus can also infect pigs and other domestic animals. The natural hosts of the virus are fruit bats of the Pteropodidae Family, Pteropus genus
NiV was first identified during an outbreak in Kampung Sungai Nipah in Malaysia in 1998. In 2004, many were infected in Bangladesh after consuming date palm sap contaminated by infected fruit bats. In India, it was first reported in 2001.

Noida: Taking inspiration from age old traditional finishing schools of Switzerland, Amity University has launched “Amity Finishing School”. Amity Finishing School, a first-of-its-kind in India, will have personality transformation residential programs for both men and women.

“We have started Amity Finishing School after analyzing the need of current times. The emphasis is on overall transformation of an individual for which modules are built around personality enhancement, attitude building, physical health, mental health, defining career and training on day to day skills,” said Jaishree Chauhan, Vice-Chairperson, Amity Finishing School.

“In today’s world of globalisation, international etiquette translates to better business opportunities and is a necessity for everyone. Plenty of people have degrees but very few people have the extra edge and confidence that we can equip them with at Amity Finishing School,” said Mrs. Chauhan.

“We have taken inspiration from the Swiss Finishing Schools and imbibed the Amity’s ideals of Indian values and cultural excellence in launching the Amity Finishing School that meet the needs of todays’ time where men as well as women need grooming and training into deportment and social graces,” said Mrs. Chauhan. 

At Amity Finishing School, the curriculum involves working with the students over a period of time to ensure that they are ready to face the challenges of personal and professional lives with equal ease. As every individual is different so are his/her needs , therefore, different program levels have been designed to groom them based on their requirements. 

[Directed: Biren Naug/ Produced & Music: Hemanta Mukherjee/ Screenplay: Dhruva Chatterjee/ Cinematography:Marshal Braganza/ Lyrics:Shakeel Badayuni & Kaifi Azmi/ Editing: Keshav Nanda/Audiography: S. Y. Pathak/Art Direction: G. L. Jadhav/  Playback: Lata Mangeshkar & Hemanta Mukherjee/Starring: Waheeda Rehman, Biswajeet, Manmohan Krishna, Madan Puri, Sajjan & Asit Sen ]

Three outstanding Hindi films in the annals of Bollywood where the ‘ghost’ that provided chills and spills on the screen was not in reality a ghost were- Kamal Amrohi’s reincarnation thriller Mahal (1949), Hemanta Mukherjee’s Bees Saal Baad (1962) and Woh Kaun Thi (1964) directed by Raj Khosla. These films were shot in stunning black-and-white and icing on the cake was that all three films had the most sublime musical scores we have ever heard.

Bees saal baad (1962) was based on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s third novel The Hound of the Baskervilles and to an extent on Hemendra Kumar Roy‘s novel Nishithini Bivishika. Bees Saal Baad remains the all time benchmark in the horror or thriller genre in Indian cinema. Mahal had pioneered the first experiment in this territory and had been the 10th biggest film of the 40s, earning what would be nearly 43 crores at present rate of inflation but that kind of numbers were only bettered by Bees Saal Baad nearly a decade later, the 33rd biggest hit of the 60s, making 63 crores at the present inflation rate. The film was a joint labour of love of an unusual combo, art director tuned director Biren Naug decided to experiment with what was a neglected genre on his debut encouraged by Hemant Kumar the music composer turned producer. 

Bees Saal Baad became the highest box office grosser in 1962, and till this day fifty six years later its unique record as the only film of horror or thriller genre topping the yearly box-office chart remains unbroken! The movie was remade in 1988 with Mithun Chakraborty, Dimple Kapadia and Meenakshi Sheshadri but it was dud compared to the original thriller.

The film had the song Kahin deep jale kahin dil as the leitmotif ghost song just like the song, Aayega aane wala in the film Mahal  and was the highlight of this film. This song accentuated the tension in the screenplay and amplified the suspense in a film that is beautifully shot with great light work, silhouettes and shadow play. 

Kahin deep jale kahin dil also remains a milestone in Lata’s career, both historically and reminiscently because she fell ill in 1962 to the extent that it was thought she would never be able to croon again. According to Lata Mangeshkar the servant in their house who cooked the food was responsible for administering a slow poison, diagnosed by her family doctor when the singer started spewing greenish vomit. Lata Mangeshkar was bed-ridden for three months and during this period Majrooh Sultanpuri was one of her nurses who would come at six in the evening and sit by her side every day for three long months, reciting poetry and reading stories. The first song Lata Mangeshkar recorded post recuperation was 

Kahin deep jale kahin dil, at a spooky set in Filmistan Studio.

Biren Naug (1922-64) was an acclaimed art director who had worked with the Anands in films like Nau Do Gyarah, Kala Pani, and Kala Bazaar and with Guru Dutt in films like C.I.D, Pyaasa and Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam. It was for his work in Chaudhvin Ka Chand, that Naug received the Filmfare award for the Best Art Director. The editing by Keshav Nanda and sound effects by S.Y. Pathak went on to win Filmfare awards. 

Lata and lyricist Shakeel Badayuni won the Filmfare award for the song Kahin Deep Jale Kahin Dil, which also raced to number six spot on the 1962 annual list of Binaca Geetmala. The zesty BeqararKarke hamein yunh na jaiye (picturised near Sholapur) and the impish Zara nazron se kehdo ji sung by Hemant da made it to number twenty seven on the 1962 annual list of Binaca Geetmala.

The film garnered further three more Filmfare Nominations for Best Film, Best Director (Biren Nag) and Best Music Director Â– (Hemant Kumar), thus winning four filmfare trophies out of the seven nominations, compared to Guru Dutt’s Sahib Biwi Aur Gulam which bagged four trophies out of eight nominations that year at 10th Filmfare awards. 

Biswajeet, who made his debut with the film, has always maintained that he was grateful to co-star Waheeda Rahman (who along with Meena Kumari was a part of Guru Dutt’s Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam, the most talked about film of its time) for having agreed to work with a newcomer like him from Bengal. Biswajeet had to contend on many occasions with snakes brought on the set by art director G. L. Jadhav in a bid to make the surroundings look authentic!

Uttam Kumar was original choice as the male lead for Bees Saal Baad but his hectic schedule had the producer Hemanta Mukherjee opting for Biswajeet as the hero of the Hindi version of the Bengali super hit suspense thriller, Jighangsha (1951). Biren Naug according to Biswajeet took great pains about his Bangla tinged Hindi and underwent rehearsals with his Hindi dialogue delivery. Though he was the male lead but Waheeda Rehman was a bigger star than him and to his mortification during the shooting of the song sequence, Beqarar kar ke humein, Biren Naug instructed him not only to touch Waheeda Rehman but exude romance with his looks and smile! 

Hemanta Mukherjee, Biren Naug and Biswajeet came back for the second time for their next collaboration Kohra, a remake of Rebecca (1940) which despite grandiloquent sets and mesmerizing music flopped. Biren Naug succumbed to a massive cardiac attack shortly after. 

Bees Saal Baad established Biswajeet as the ‘suspense hero from Bengal and in itself triggered off the trend for suspense thrillers in the’60s with classics like Gumnaam, Mera Saya, Anita, Woh Kaun Thi, Teesri Manzil and Jaal following in line. It was for his Bollywood debut in this film that Biswajeet refused to be Bhootnath in Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam!

A new WHO report has shown that the world’s poorest countries can gain US$350 billion by 2030 by scaling up investments in preventing and treating chronic diseases, such as heart disease and cancer, that cost an additional US$1.27 per person annually. Such actions would save more than 8 million lives over the same period.

 
The report, titled Saving lives, spending less: a strategic response to NCDs, reveals, for the first time, the financing needs and returns on investment of WHO’s cost-effective and feasible “best buy” policies to protect people from noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), the world’s leading causes of ill health and death.
 
It shows that for every US$1 invested in scaling up actions to address NCDs in low- and lower-middle-income countries (LLMICs), there will be a return to society of at least US$7 in increased employment, productivity and longer life.
 
“The overarching message of this powerful new WHO report is optimistic,” says WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. “Tackling NCDs is an opportunity to improve health and economies.”
 
If all countries use these interventions, the world would move significantly closer to achieving Sustainable Development Goal 3.4 to reduce premature death from NCDs by one-third by 2030, a statement issued by WHO has said.

Among the most cost-effective “best buy” interventions are increasing taxes on tobacco and alcohol, reducing salt intake through the reformulation of food products, administering drug therapy and counselling for people who have had a heart attack or stroke, vaccinating girls aged 9-13 years against human papillomavirus and screening women aged 30-49 years for cervical cancer.
 
“NCDs impose huge economic costs that fall heaviest on the low- and middle-income countries that can least afford them. This report makes the case for bold action against NCDs from a business perspective, and it outlines some of the most effective ways to reduce their toll, which can help to direct more resources to where they are needed most,” says WHO Global Ambassador for Noncommunicable Diseases Michael R. Bloomberg.
 
Low and Lower Middle Income Countries currently bear the brunt of premature deaths from NCDs: almost half (7.2 million) of the 15 million people who die globally every year between the age of 30 and 70 are from the world’s poorest countries. Yet global financing for NCDs is severely limited, receiving less than 2% of all health funding.
 
But the report indicates that taking effective measures to prevent and control NCDs costs just an additional US$ 1.27 per person per year in LLMICs.
 
The health gains from this investment will, in turn, generate US$350 billion through averted health costs and increased productivity by 2030, and save 8.2 million lives during the same period.
 

For every US$1 invested in each policy area, the following returns have been documented:

·  US$12.82 from promoting healthy diets

·  US$9.13 from reducing the harmful use of alcohol

·  US$7.43 from lower tobacco use

·  US$3.29 from providing drug therapy for cardiovascular disease

·  US$2.80 from increasing physical activity

·  US$2.74 from managing cancer

NCDs kill 41 million people each year, comprising 72% of all deaths globally. The number of deaths from NCDs is increasing across the world, including in LLMICs. As typically long-term conditions, NCDs are especially detrimental to families in low-resource settings, as lengthy and expensive treatment drains household resources, forces families into poverty and stifles development. Saving lives, spending less: a strategic response to NCDs issues a clear call for donors to support governments by offering funding as a catalyst for ambitiously scaling up the “best buy” policies which would save millions of lives.