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January 24, 2012

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Post graduate students of MA/MSc Mathematics and BSc Physical and Life Sciences held a demonstration outside the VC’s office earlier this Friday to protest the irregular conduct of classes and push for an inquiry into the semester results. They alleged that a faculty member teaching ‘Measure Theory and Integration’, had been absent since the start of the current semester and that the students had already lost three weeks. The students also conveyed that their seniors had also suffered because of the same teacher in the last semester.

“The department is yet to take any steps”, Prof. Bal Kishan Das, the HOD of Mathematics of Delhi University was quoted saying. “The issue is on record of the university and they are looking into the matter. The department heads can only report things to the university, they can’t take any further steps.

“The department is conscious of the students’ requirements and demands. I had personally assured the students that they will not have to suffer. But they seem to have lost their cool.”

On asking the reason why the teacher hasn’t turned up 3 weeks into the semester, he said, “The teacher seems to be having some issues with the department. But I had mentioned this earlier as well that these things should be sought out as a different issue altogether”

Everybody is supposed to perform their specific duties, which they are, except for this particular teacher. Every time the issue was brought to notice, the department took cognizance of the situation and came out with a solution. There was a little gap, yes. But ultimately something was done to fix the problem.”

Another protest outside the VC’s office saw a strength of around 200 students of the third semester of BSc Physical and Life Sciences. The students demanded an inquiry into the semester results where 73% of the students had not cleared the exam. The students were accompanied by the DUSU President, Ajay Chhikara.

“The result has been extremely poor. Only 22-23% of the students have passed. And what is surprising is, that the students whose results showed that they had passed till morning, the website suddenly showed them as ‘failed’ by the night. This clearly goes to show that the results have been regulated. Therefore, we are protesting against this”, said Ajay Chhikara.

He further said, “The same problem had occurred last few times as well, with this very course. The syllabus is quite heavy and has not been moderated according to the semester system. I also feel that more importance and priority was given to the first semester results as the university wanted to show the success of the new ‘semester system’. And because of this the second years have been neglected, which can have a heavy impact on their futures.”

 

If 2011 gave us record breaking films with mind boggling collections, plethora of biggies are lined up in this new year which have the potential to take the industry by storm. You don’t need to be a genius to predict who will rule the Box Office but the Khans, still there are plenty other films which ride high on promise and can provide us all a worthy time at the cinemas.

2012 can easily be called as the year of sequels with as many as 15 films like Jannat 2, Raaz 3, Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai 2, 1920 Part 2, Dabangg 2, Jism 2 and Housefull 2 releasing this year. Then there is Kya Super Kool Hain Hum, a sequel to the 2005 hit Kya Kool Hain Hum as well.

Apart from these sequels and the Khans, there are few films that may do the trick for their producers as well as the audience. These may not have the hype currently but can certainly prove successful considering few key factors attached to them.

Here are my picks:

Heroine
I don’t need to tell you either the star cast or the man behind the film as it has already been on the top of the charts of controversies. This Madhur Bhandarkar film promises to be a blockbuster simply ‘coz it has the buzz and the name (Kareena Kapoor) that can help the film create history.

Student Of the Year
So, this is the first time Karan Johar helms direction without his buddy SRK. With three absolute newcomers, this campus film seems exciting and with Karan’s masterful storytelling, the film could well end up as one of the blockbusters of the year.

Kahaani
After the super success of The Dirty Picture, all eyes are on Vidya Balan. And her next, directed by Sujoy Ghosh, looks like an engrossing watch. Its teaser that was released just a few days back gave a glimpse of how Vidya can again run away with all the critical acclaim and the moolah.
P.S. If you haven’t seen the teaser yet, catch it and hold your breath before the last scene, it will blow you away!

Lootera
Produced by Anurag Kashyap and group (Phantom Films) and Directed by Vikramaditya Motwane of Udaan fame, this Ranveer Singh and Sonakshi Sinha starrer grabs your attention with the names associated with it. A romantic saga set in the 1950s, Lootera could be a big surprise waiting this year.

Agent Vinod
Months and months were consumed to complete this Saif and Kareena starrer. But it is sure that once the release date of the film nears (March 23), the film will catch the spice and will become a hot property. Also because its Saif’s ambitious project which he co-produced as well.

Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani and Teri Meri Kahaani
These two films share the same spot because of their ‘not in love now’ star cast. While Ranbir and Deepika star in a Karan Johar production Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani, Shahid Kapur and Priyanka Chopra join hands for Teri Meri Kahaani (tentative title), which marks Kunal Kohli’s return to direction after four years.

Rock the Shaadi
No-no, this isn’t the usual shaadi saaga but, believe it or not, India’s first Zombie film starring Genelia D’Souza and Abhay Deol and produced by Ekta Kapoor. I can’t say how good will this “zom-com” be, but one thing is for sure, it’s certain to generate ample curiosity by the time it releases.

Jodi Breakers
Starring R.Madhavan and Bipasha Basu, Jodi Breakers may well be the Tanu Weds Manu of this year. As the title suggests, the film is all about two divorce lawyers and their love story. Going by Madhavan’s track record and the unconventional jodi, the film may give Bipasha a much needed hit.

Shanghai
Dibakar Banerjee’s films have a certain air about them, which defies convention. And Shanghai starring Abhay Deol and Emraan Hashmi makes the fare seem even more exciting.

Barfi!
Like the unusual title, the film starring Ranbir Kapoor and Priyanka Chopra is a tale of two opposite personalities, with Priyanka enacting the role of a mentally challenged girl. Directed by Anurag Basu, Barfi! looks like an intriguing prospect.

That’s not it! Akshay Kumar comes up with as many as four films – Rowdy Rathore starring Sonakshi Sinha, OUTIM 2, Joker and Khiladi 786. Ajay Devgn’s Son of Sardaar is highly anticipated in the trade and Hrithik Roshan’s Agneepath is already very hyped and is ready for release next week.

Are we missing something? Well, yes! The Khans! It will be a key year as all the three Khans have at least a single release this year. While Aamir Khan’s Talaash co-starring Rani and Kareena releases this June, Salman Khan has one release each for Eid and Christmas which are EK Tha Tiger and Dabangg 2 respectively.

But for me, the most awaited film has to be SRK’s next, directed by the legendary Yash Chopra. With Katrina and Anushka Sharma as leads, the film surely promises to be a grand cinematic experience.

It’s over to you, 2012!

Chaitanya Sharma
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