Asian Voice - Saturday 1st October 20116 UK

When a love story ismixed with political hos-tilities and religious con-flict, the result is notalways a hit, unless weare talking about VeerZara or Gadar amongothers. Mausam, the lat-est flick starring ShahidKapur and SonamKapoor has been facingrough weather in its firstfew weeks of opening.

Pankaj Kapur’sdirectorial debut hasinfact also run into trou-ble with the Indian AirForce over an actionsequence in the secondhalf of the film.

But coming back tothe story, it starts in early90s when Aayat (SonamKapoor) leaves behindher home in Kashmir(following the unrest invalley) and lands at a rel-ative’s place in Punjab.Village boy Harry(Shahid Kapoor) fallshead over heels for herbut fate has some differ-ent plans. Post the BabriMasjid demolition, Aayatrelocates to an unknowndestination.

Seven years pass by.Harry is now an IAFpilot. His job takes himto Scotland where hemeets Aayat again. Bothare shocked to see eachother. Aayat, her father(Kamal Nain Chopra)

and now-widowed aunthave moved to Scotland.The romance betweenHarry and Aayat is rekin-dled.

Unfortunately Kargilwar separates themagain where Harryis summoned in theline of duty. Unableto trace each otherpost the war, thetwo sulk for eachother for years.

Then, one day,out of the blue,Harry spots Aayat

in Switzerland but takesher cousin to be her hus-band, and mistakes hischild to be their child.Fate throws them togeth-er once again inAhmedabad in Indiawhen communal riotsbreak out there. Aayat isbeing chased by miscre-ants during the riots.Harry, whose left handhas since been paralysed,is trying to save Aayat.And fate brings themtogether again.

Political events in theinterim form the pic-ture’s backdrop: fromBabri Masjid, terrorismin Kashmir, throughKargil, to 9/11, andGujarat riots. Each, in

their own ways, affectsthe characters. Butthroughout the span of10-12 years of politicalunrest and conflicts, onecan see that the charac-ters remain young andfresh. They haven’tmoved on in their lives,as if waiting for the nextconflict to happen whenthey can meet again. Themovie goes about anunrealistic roller coasterride.

Shahid Kapurremains the main saviourof the film. He acts withan effortless ease and fitswell into the character.While he looks charmingand suave as an IAFpilot, he dances graceful-ly around the trees too.Sonam Kapoor looks alittle too immature forthe role.

Overall, PankajKapur’s direction is goodeven though a number oftwists and turns in thestory look extremelyunrealistic. However, theprojection of life inPunjab has been donebeautifully. Hence, thefilm is a mix of positivesand negatives. Watch it ifyou are a Shahid Kapurfan.

Let us know what you think. Email Spriha at spriha@abplgroup.com

Masuam – not so awesome!

Shahid Kapur and Sonam Kapoor

By Spriha Srivastava

Ayesha Vardag is a famil-iar face in the field oflaw. A renowned divorcelawyer, has very strongconvictions and sheholds on to family val-ues- a bit of both easternand western.

Ayesha grew up inOxford with her Englishmother and Scottishgrandmother. Her father,a politician, lived inPakistan and occasional-ly visited Britain. Hetold Ayesha storiesabout the sophisticatedworld of richness, poli-tics and colours inPakistan, but it was onlywhen 19, Ayesha visitedPakistan for the firsttime and learnt muchabout the culture andthe language.

Ayesha spoke toAsian Voice regardingher family's politicalbackground, growing upand her profession as alawyer.

a. As a half Asian, haveyou faced any difficultyto reach this far in yourprofession?

I have never, so far asI know, experiencedracism holding me backin my career. I encoun-tered it a little as a childand adolescent whichscarred me quite deeply,but professionally I dofeel that I have had astraight run based on thefruits of my own endeav-ours. Perhaps if I hadlooked more obviouslyAsian I would have beenmore prey to prejudice,but in my own experi-ence in the law as a pro-fession I genuinelybelieve there is theopportunity to stand onyour own merits.Excellence as a lawyerdepends too much onintellect to allow anyquality employer to risklosing the best candi-dates through issues ofrace.

b. How was it growingup in a family of mixedraces?

My English mothermade efforts to bring myfather's culture to bear inmy life. Although shewas Christian she had agreat respect for Islam,and, out of considerationfor my father, when Iwas born she whisperedthe Kalema into both myears and I went to bedeach night as a child say-ing both the Kalema andthe Lord's Prayer. I was,in that respect, trulyeclectic. I think bothEastern and Western cul-tures have so much togive, and there is somuch common ground,especially between the

people of the book, thatit would be better to finda way to give the chil-dren the richness ofboth.

c. Would you considerjoining politics at anypoint?

My father wanted meto go into politics tobecome his political heiras his old associate andrival Zulikar Ali Bhuttohad his daughterBenazir. He had a clearplan for how he wouldachieve that with me. Iwas so seduced andinspired by my lifePakistan that I was part-ly persuaded. I plannedto finish my degree atCambridge then go backto Pakistan and engagein a political career.

However time andlife, the impact of mystepmother, a return tomy more familiar Englishculture, all combined todraw me away from thatback to my future inEngland. As to politicshere, I think right nowthat the combination ofmy firm and my familyconsume all my atten-tion, but who knows inthe future?

d. How important doyou think is community,for a person to succeedin her/his field?

I think if you havethe support of your com-munity it's a huge help.Business and profession-al success have alwaysbeen built on networks.It's also hugely valuableto have that emotionalsupport. However youcan make your own net-works and forge yourown communities if youhave to, as I did.

e. Economist reported amonth back that Asiansare delaying marriage-because social pressureof sticking to the mar-riage commitmentamongst them is toohigh. What is your opin-ion about it?

It makessense to delaymarriage untilone knows one isready. I do per-sonally believethat if after try-ing hard peoplestill feel unhappytogether andcannot maketheir relation-ship the sourceof comfort andjoy which every-one needsthrough the diffi-culties of lifethen divorceshould be con-sidered. In that

event, the key is to partkindly and with a strongsense of keeping co-par-enting and familial linksalive for the children. Ifeel strongly that divorcedoesn't have to ruin any-one's life.

f. What percentage ofAsians have you everrepresented in a divorcecase?

Some of our biggestcases have involvedAsian and MiddleEastern families. We aresensitive to the fact thatif you are Asian, divorcecan involve culture andfamily to a high degree.We have tackled issuesof polygamous marriage,polygamous divorce,validity of marriage,child contact and resi-dence and, overwhelm-ingly, financial awardson divorce, within Asianand mixed families. Ithink our eclecticism,both in the staffing ofour own firm and in thesorts of cases we do, isone of our greatstrengths.

g. To you, what are theright ingredients ofbeing as successful asyou are?

I have always setmyself the target of beingthe best. I'm hugelydemanding of myself andof those who work withme that we pursue excel-lence and don't contem-plate mediocrity or fail-ure. However, more thanthat, I think the eclecti-cism of my backgroundhas made me both slight-ly unconventional andable to "think outside thebox" and somewhat fear-less in the face of oldnorms and expectations.I think the strongestthing of all is to care pas-sionately about whatyou do- it suffuses every-thing and makes you gothe extra mile, and peo-ple pick up on that andwant you fighting forthem.

Women on TOP

Best of the two worlds

Ayesha Vardag

It’s the time of the year to cele-brate festivals, eat good food andplay Dandiya. For those of youwho don’t know, Raas or DandiyaRaas is the traditional folk danceform of Vrindavan, India, where itis performed depicting scenes ofHoli, and lila of Krishna andRadha. Along with Garba, it is thefeatured dance of Navratrievenings in Western India.

In Dandiya Raas men andwomen dance in two circles, withsticks in their hands. In the old timesRaas did not involve much singing;just the beat of Dhol was enough."Dandiya" or sticks are about 18" long.Each dancer holds two, althoughsome times when they are short onDandiya they will use just one in righthand. Generally, in a four beatrhythm, opposite sides hit the sticksat the same time, creating a nicesound. One circle goes clockwise andanother counter clockwise. In thewest, people don't form full circles,

but instead often form rows.In UK, Navratri celebrations have

already begun. Dandiya Raas is takingplace from 28th September to 8thOctober at the Brentford FountainLeisure Center in Chiswick. Withmusic by Kiran & Anuradha ofStrings, this event like last year isready to rock and roll Londoners withthe joy of Garba and Dandiya. Ticketscan be purchased from the R.C.TCentre, Headstone Lane, Harrow.More details available onhttp://www.strings-band.com/navra-tri-dandia.htm.

Navratri celebration begins