NDTV Gives 5 star to PK

SPOILERS AHEAD
After an entire year of being subjected to unalloyed trash generated by box office sharks that cannot see beyond their weekend collections, Bollywood enthusiasts who value their intelligence - and their hard-earned money - finally have reason to rejoice. PK is here.

Rajkumar Hirani's first film in five years is a warm, funny and piercingly provocative satire that should blow the blues away.

It is the kind of full-blooded but genteel entertainer that should get us all into just the right frame of mind to usher in Christmas and bid adieu to a year that has seen us celebrate ugly excess on all fronts with unseemly glee.

PK, buoyed by a magnificent script and outstanding acting all around, is an uplifting fantasy that springs a surprise at every turn but never overplays its hand.
It comes as close to storytelling perfection as any mainstream Hindi movie has done in living memory.


It has great songs, beautifully filmed musical set pieces, brilliant pacing and nary a moment that flags.

As a cinematic send-up on Gods true and fake, PK pulls no punches at all and speaks its mind like a carefree child that has just learnt to talk and make sense of the world.

But this hard-hitting critique of all that ails a nation that seems to have lost its human moorings and is in blind pursuit of false panaceas remains good-natured all the way through.

The screenplay by Hirani and Abhijat Joshi demands a degree of willing suspension of disbelief, especially when it comes to a few of the pivotal coincidences that drive the narrative.

The characters and the crucial dramatic and comic moments are, however, informed with such infectious warmth and beauty that nothing that the plot throws up is ever in danger of ringing overly false.

The five-year hiatus between 3 Idiots and this film has clearly served them well. The screenwriters have worked a delicately crafted love story into the taut tapestry of PK, thereby lending it an emotional dimension that usually eludes a high-minded satire.

Even the principal antagonist in PK, Tapasvi Maharaj, played superbly by Saurabh Shukla, isn't an ogre designed to evoke disgust.

PK is out to provoke but not to shock. The film asks questions via its idiot savant protagonist, but does not attempt to deliver facile, absolute answers. And that makes it all the more effective.

PK is propelled primarily by Aamir Khan's delightfully droll superstar turn as a nameless seer from outer space who is stranded on Planet Earth - in Rajasthan and Delhi to be precise.

This is an unlikely saga of an alien who lands in the desert completely naked like a new-born baby and then proceeds to acquire the ways of human adults in a bid to survive in a hostile environment.

His fate hinges on whether he can regain a stolen gadget that he needs in order to return to his home light years away and cling on to his purity as his brushes with mankind becomes increasingly hazardous.

In one of the film's quirkiest scenes, he learns the language of humans by drawing words out of the mind of a sleepy Bhojpuri-speaking sex worker that he is led to by his only friend in the desert of Rajasthan, band master Bhairon Singh (Sanjay Dutt).

The search for the remote control device that he needs to summon his spaceship back to earth eventually sees him end up in India's capital city.

There he encounters a tenacious television journalist Jaggu Sahni (Anushka Sharma), just back with a painful heartbreak in beautiful Bruges.

He also comes up against a rapacious Godman who is responsible for thwarting Jaggu's marriage with her Pakistani boyfriend Sarfaraz Yusuf (Sushant Singh Rajput).
The girl, befuddled by the long-eared stranger's unpredictable and inexplicable powers and saddled with the 'breaking news' of a suicidal puppy, sells the story to the channel boss (Boman Irani).

Once he finds his way on to the television screen, the unflappable extra-terrestrial unleashes a storm that sweeps everything and everyone in its way. And that most certainly includes the audience.

Anushka Sharma, playing a feisty poetry-loving girl who knows her mind far more than most Hindi film heroines are allowed to, holds her own against Aamir Khan.

Aamir revels in the character of the wide-eyed, fearless rebel who dares to challenge the societal and religious structures that encourage bigotry and distrust.

Sushant Singh Rajput has only a cameo in PK but in the handful of scenes that he is in - including one in the run-up to the climax that ratchets up emotions and vigorously pulls the heartstrings - he gives a great account of himself.

Do watch out for Ranbir Kapoor - a little icing on a cake so appetizing that it will have you clamouring for more.

PK is a winner all the way, a film that Raj Kapoor, Bimal Roy and Guru Dutt would have been proud of had they been alive. Rajkumar Hirani is without a doubt their most worthy standard-bearer.

Apple Co-Founder Wozniak Sceptical on Smartwatches, Google Glass

Steve Wozniak says he is no fan of smartwatches and believes Google Glass will fail as he cautioned not to expect the company he co-founded, Apple, to always lead the way into new technologies.
The American, who quit Apple in 1987 12 years after creating the technology giant with the late Steve Jobs made the comments as he took up Australian residency, with a view to living Down Under permanently.
In an interview with the Australian Financial Review on Friday, he also praised current Apple chief executive Tim Cook for breaking free from Jobs's "dogma" by allowing a big-screen iPhone to be made.



"I really admire Tim Cook and admire that they broke a dogma that had come from Steve Jobs, which was about only having small phones," he said.
"The iPhone originally made it because it looked like a big phone, and then, when rival phones looked bigger than Apple's they continued to say 'we are right'.

Wozniak, who has a son living in Sydney and said he one day wants to be able to say "I lived and died an Australian", buys all the latest devices from a variety of tech companies to form his own views on what is working best.
Wozniak, who remains on the Apple payroll, is not a big fan of smartwatches, saying no company has yet figured out a compelling reason for them to exist."I bought a few of the early smartwatches, including Samsung's, and they were so disappointing," he said.

"When I see people wearing it, I think they are cool because they are brave enough to play with the future with a device that makes no sense in terms of what it does for what it costs," he said.
"In my mind, it is a great product that will not succeed, just like many other great products that didn't succeed."

Google Aiming to Go Straight Into Car With Next Android

Google is laying the groundwork for a version of Android that would be built directly into cars, sources said, allowing drivers to enjoy all the benefits of the Internet without even plugging in their smartphones.

The move is a major step up from Google's current Android Auto software, which comes with the latest version of its smartphone operating system and requires a phone to be plugged into a compatible car with a built-in screen to access streaming music, maps and other apps.
Google, however, has never provided details or a timeframe for its long-term plan to put Android Auto directly into cars. The company now plans to do so when it rolls out the next version of its operating system, dubbed Android M, expected in a year or so, two people with knowledge of the matter said.

Direct integration into cars ensures that drivers will use Google's services every time they turn on the ignition, without having to plug in the phone. It could allow Google to make more use of a car's camera, sensors, fuel gauge, and Internet connections that come with some newer car models.
Analysts said Google's plan could face various technical and business challenges, including convincing automakers to integrate its services so tightly into their vehicles.
Google declined to comment.
Technology companies are racing to design appliances, wristwatches and other gadgets that connect to the Internet. Automobiles are a particularly attractive prospect because Americans spend nearly 50 minutes per day on average on their commute, according to U.S. Census data.
Apple unveiled its CarPlay software in March and Google has signed on dozens of companies, including Hyundai, General Motors Co and Nissan Motor Co, for its Open Automotive Alliance and its Android Auto product.
"With embedded it's always on, always there," said one of the sources, referring to the built-in version of Android Auto. "You don't have to depend on your phone being there and on."Google's software could potentially connect to other car components, allowing, for example, a built-in navigation system like Google Maps to detect when fuel is low and provide directions to the nearest gas stations.

Top 5 Fuel-Efficient Automatic Cars in India

1. Mini Cooper D
Fuel Economy: 26.3Km/l
Yeah, you didn't expect that, did you? Hence, I draw your attention back to our headline - 'Most Fuel Efficient Automatics' and yes it is. The Mini Cooper D 3-door boasts of a fuel-efficiency figure of 26.3Km/l. Now this data is not from the ARAI but these are the EU figures and since the car is a CBU, there isn't a difference in the components used. The only factors that could perhaps affect its claim are road- and fuel-quality.

The Mini Cooper D uses a 6-speed steptronic gearbox for both, the 3-Door and 5-Door version. Under the hood is a 1.5-litre, 3-cylinder turbocharged diesel engine with 115bhp and 270Nm of torque. 0-100Km/h is dealt in just 9.2 seconds and the top-speed is rated at 205Km/h. So, you get performance and fuel efficiency in one car. What else could you ask for?

2. Maruti Suzuki Alto K10
Fuel Economy: 24.07Km/l
One would expect to see a Maruti Suzuki car right at the top, but it isn't. It comes in at a close 2nd. The Alto K10 was updated recently and with it, came an AMT. Though it is not exactly an automatic, but it is still quite there. The Alto Kl10 sports a 5-speed AMT (or AGS, like Maruti called it), which is the same gearbox as the one found in the Celerio.

Being lighter, added to the advantage when it came to fuel-efficiency and it delivers an ARAI rated efficiency figure of 24.07Km/l. The engine used is a 998cc, 3-cylinder petrol engine which delivers 67bhp and 90Nm of torque.
3. Maruti Suzuki Celerio
Fuel Economy: 23.1Km/l
If you are not happy with the space the Alto K10 has to offer, an additional Rs. 40,000 in your budget will get you the entry-level Celerio AMT. The Celerio was the first car in the lot to start the AMT madness, which has now passed on to many others in the country.

The AMT comes with the petrol K-series engine and is responsive. At 23.1Km/l the Celerio comes in a close third to its smaller sibling. A trip around the city or just a highway run, the Celerio makes for a fun car and with fewer trips to the fuel station, is easy on the wallet too.
4. Tata Zest
Fuel Economy: 23Km/l
The Zest was the comeback car for Tata Motors in India. After having tasted success with the Indica, Tata Motors had been on a downslide, but HorizonNext promised a slew of new-age cars. The Zest is the cheapest diesel automatic in the country and of course, the most affordable too.

A 5-speed AMT unit similar to the Celerio and Alto K10 goes into the Zest, which is powered by the 1.3-litre Quadrajet (Fiat's Multi-jet) engine. With 90bhp and 200Nm of torque on offer, the Zest is quick and easy to drive.
The Zest returns a fuel efficiency of 23Km/l which is extremely good but Tata does charge a premium for the AMT version. In fact, even after paying the premium, the Zest with the AMT comes sans any safety features like airbags and ABS. So, the Zest ticks the blocks of fuel-efficiency but not of safety.
5. Skoda Rapid
Fuel Economy: 21.7Km/l
We finally come to the most recent of cars, the Skoda Rapid with the DSG box. The Rapid shares its mechanicals with the Volkswagen Vento, and now even the DSG box. Despite all the sharing, it comes as a bit of a surprise when it surges ahead in terms of the fuel economy figure it achieves.

Mated to a 1.5-litre diesel powertrain, the 7-speed DSG gearbox returns a fuel economy figure of 21.7Km/l. The fuel economy is marginally better when compared to the Vento but Skoda charges a premium. The DSG is one of the finest in the lot of automatic gearboxes and is brilliant on both, the highway and chock-a-block traffic conditions. Volkswagen is working to make the automatic gearbox a bit more affordable and we hope they succeed in doing that.

DSK Motowheels To Build New Plant Near Pune

When the DSK Group announced its association with Italian superbike manufacturer Benelli, Shirish Kulkarni, Chairman, DSK Hyosung, had made it very clear that there will be a significant investment made into a plant where the Benelli bikes will be assembled.

We were told in an interview then, that DSK Motoowheels was looking for a place around Pune which will help in assembling the Benelli and Hyosung products. The plan seems to have fallen into place as there is word of the company investing in a new unit which will be in the vicinity of their current plant.
The existing unit of the company assembles Hyosung bikes and has a single shift capacity of 3000 units per year, a double shift can push it to making 5000 bikes annually. 2015 will see the DSK and Benelli banner launch the Tornado Naked Tre, TNT 302, TNT 600i, TNT 899 and the TNR 1130 R.

Dutch Car Maker Spyker Declares Bankruptcy

Sports car maker Spyker on Thursday declared bankruptcy, with the small Dutch company that once competed in Formula 1 saying it could not stay afloat after losing a critical legal battle.

The founder of the one-time owner of Sweden's Saab vowed that the bankruptcy was not the end for the company which would return with revolutionary electric cars. "Today the District Court of Middle-Netherlands converted the moratorium of payment granted to Spyker... to bankruptcy," Spyker said in a statement.

Two weeks ago the court gave Spyker a stay of payment to restructure and search for a new credit line to pay its bills, including 152,000 euros ($186,000) in rent it owed on its Zeewolde property in central Netherlands.

Spyker's bankruptcy comes after years of financial struggles, which was exacerbated after it bought flagging Swedish car maker Saab from US-based General Motors in 2010 for $1.5 billion. But two years later Saab filed for bankruptcy when Spyker's last-ditch bid to raise funds in China was nixed by GM over technology transfer issues.

According to the latest figures quoted by Dutch media, Spyker sold three cars in 2012 with a total value of 700,000 euros. The company lost 6 million euros over the same period, according to figures by the Dutch daily NRC.

Founded by two brothers, Jacobus and Hendrik Jan Spyker, in 1880, the company specialised in some of the world's first luxury cars and aircraft engines until 1925, when it ceased trading. Spyker was relaunched in 2000 by its colourful chief executive Victor Muller and the company also saw a brief foray into Formula One and competing at the Le Mans 24 Hours race.

Shah Rukh Khan -Standard Role Model

Shah Rukh obliged the students with a short lecture at the do.

Can't give the moment a miss, a student took a selfie with SRK. 

For SRK, With Love from Britain
Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan was presented with the Global Diversity Award at Britain's House of Commons in London on October 4.

SRK received the award from John Bercow, the speaker of the House of Commons.
SRK exchanges pleasantries with John Bercow and Member of Parliament Keith Vaz who conducted the ceremony.
SRK stands in the backdrop of the Big Ben, London's iconic Clock Tower situated at the north end of the Palace of Westminster.