Shahid Kapoor and his wife Mira Rajput have been in the news ever since they got married but now Mira has grabbed the headlines sans her husband because of her comments.

In an event, Mira was quoted as saying, "I am a homemaker and I wear this label with pride. I had a tough pregnancy and I went through those difficult five months to bring my daughter into this world. And now I want to spend every moment I can with her. There is a set of responsibilities that are on my plate and I feel at my age I have a lot more energy."

A lot of people appreciated her for wearing the label of a homemaker on Twitter.

"My future is ahead of me. I can finish all my responsibilities and then I will have nothing in my way. I can raise my daughter, be a good wife, and set up my home the way I like. I wouldn’t have it any other way. I wouldn’t want to spend one hour a day with my child and then rush off to work. Why did I have her then? She is not a puppy. I want to be there for her as a mother. Seeing her grow up cannot be quantified," Mira said.

However, her 'puppy' comment didn't go down with a lot of people and she was severely criticised by the Twitteratis for belittling the working mothers.

Mira was invited to speak at an event on Women's Day.

As the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) – that heads the ruling NDA at the Centre – swept Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand in the state elections results on Saturday, the corporate fraternity said it expects better coordination between the Centre and the states in coming days.

Congratulating Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP President Amit Shah on its victory in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, ASSOCHAM President Sandeep Jajodia today said one of the important takeaways of the poll outcome is that a far better coordination is expected between the country's largest state and the ruling BJP-led National Democratic Alliance at the Centre.

The BJP is running neck-and-neck with the Congress in Goa and Manipur, while in Punjab the Congress was headed for a two-third majority.

"Besides, Modi's agenda on economic development and to take on the challenges, upfront, has gone down very well with the people of the key states who are looking with a new hope for an economic development of the states. Most of the states are now being ruled by the BJP and its allies and far better level of development coordination is expected," Jajodia said.

Naushad Forbes, President, CII, said: "CII warmly congratulates the winning political parties in the states of Goa, Manipur, Punjab, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh for their performance. By and large the results ensure that the process of reforms would gain further credence, support and momentum at the central level." 
 

Film: Badrinath Ki Dulhania

Director: Shashank Khaitan

Cast: Varun Dhawan, Alia Bhatt, Shweta Basu Prasad, Rituraj Singh, Sahil Vaid, Yash Sinha, Aakanksha Singh and Gauhar Khan

A quick-fix, from the stables of Dharma Productions, director Shashank Khaitan's Badrinath Ki Dulhania is a typically cliched, frothy rom-com, which exploits the sheer charm of its stars.

A lot happens and it happens charmingly with such quick spirit and wit, that it's enough to put you off rom-coms for a while. The film is not bad, but with no novelty factor. This is just a case of the law of diminishing marginal utility.

The story involves Badrinath Bansal (Varun Dhawan), a typical small town dude from Jhansi, who itches to get married soon. It is during his friend's wedding in Kota that he spots Vaidehi Trivedi (Alia Bhatt), a bright, spirited and ambitious girl and sets his heart on her.

How he woos her, forms the crux of the tale.

What keeps you hooked is Varun's buffoonish yet lovable character and with his charismatic and endearing performance, he portrays it with panache. He is aptly supported by Alia, who is effortless and convincing.

Together, they have the sort of chemistry that might make any dialogue work, and it certainly works in this story about a typical Indian guy who is bogged down by his overbearing father and an ambitious girl, till the boy finds courage to finally come right out and oppose his father. This sort of chemistry is not always inevitable, but it works well here.

Rituraj is a powerful actor but as Amarnath Bansal, Badrinath's father, he is a misfit. Swanand Kirkire as Vaidehi's father, Shweta Basu Prasad and Yash Sinha as Badrinath's sister-in-law and brother have their moments of on screen glory.

Sahil Vaid as Badrinath's friend Somdev is delightfully impressive. Gauahar Khan as Police Sargeant Laxmi Shankar is wasted in a miniscule role.

One of the film's problems is that the plot never gathers enough momentum, emotional or narrative, to involve the audience. With several amusing and compelling episodes the film seems forced, predictable and yet entertaining.

Mounted on a grand scale, the songs are peppy and even soulful. They complement the narrative, but not organically.

Overall, the film is visually appealing, glossy and vibrant.

Pakistani actress Veena Malik, known in India for her stint in reality TV show Bigg Boss 4, has been granted divorce from businessman Asad Khattak, her husband of three years, at a court here.

Veena's counsel Ali Ahmed has confirmed the separation between her and Asad, saying that the family court issued the decree on January 31, 2017, after the actress filed for 'Khula' (divorce), The News International reported.

The court passed a decree in favour of Veena as Khattak failed to proceed with the case, Ahmed said, refusing to give any further details.

Veena got married to Khattak on December 2013. They have a son and daughter together.

According to sources, Veena filed for the divorce after a rift with Khattak and his family over her return to showbiz, The News International said.

The actress has worked across the film and TV industry in Pakistan and India. In Bollywood, she has done two item songs as well, and Veena also dabbled in the Kannada film world "Dirty Picture: Silk Sakkath Maga".

Elaborate security arrangements have been made across Rajasthan ahead of Holi festival on Sunday and Monday.

Additional police force has been deployed in all districts to maintain law and order during the festival of colours, said ADGP (law and order), NRK Reddy.

He said that battalions of Rajasthan Armed Constabulary (RAC) have been deployed in districts to keep miscreants at bay.

We are in constant communication with all Range IGs and district SPs on force deployment issues to avoid any untoward incident, he added.

Meanwhile, Governor Kalyan Singh and state Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje greeted people on the eve of Holi.

In his message, Singh said that Holi is the festival of happiness.

It helps connecting people of all castes and religions.

Raje also greeted people saying the festival shows diversity of our culture and tradition.

She urged people to celebrate the festival with brotherhood and harmony.

Punjab deputy Chief Minister (CM) and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal on Saturday thanked the people for the support extended to the SAD-BJP combine for the last ten years. "We honour the mandate given by Punjabis today and will extend support to the new government for all endeavours taken for thewelfare of the State".

Congratulating the Congress as well as Punjab Congress President Capt Amarinder Singh for the victory achieved by the party under his leadership, Badal said "I wish the Congress will continue to maintain the pace of development in Punjab and take it to new heights".

The Deputy CM said the SAD would cooperate with the new government on all pro-Punjab issues. "We stand for Punjab and Punjabiat and ensure the people that we are ready to work in league with the the new government to ensure justice for Punjab on all contentious issues facing the State".

The SAD president said the party would take stock of the party performance soon. "As per information flowing in, the SAD has got an impressive 30.4 per cent of the vote share. Despite this we have not fared well due to concentration of AAP vote share of around 24 per cent in the Malwa region alone. There are other factors also which will be examined in due course", he added

Sri Lanka defeated Bangladesh by 259 runs in the first Test match at the Galle International Stadium here on Saturday.

Spinner Ragana Herath picked up 6 for 59 as Bangladesh were 197 all out in the chase of an improbable 457-run target to help the home side go 1-0 up in the two-match series, according to the International Cricket Council's (ICC) official website. 

Resuming on 67 for no loss and needing 390 more runs for victory on the final day, Bangladesh lost overnight batsman Soumya Sarkar to the second ball of the morning and couldn't recover after that.

Soumya got a leading edge off the first ball from Asela Gunaratne. It landed safely. However, the next ball clipped the bails of his off stump to dismiss the left-hander on his overnight score of 53.

Perera then struck in consecutive overs, trapping Mominul Haque (5) leg-before before having Tamim Iqbal caught by Gunaratne at slip for 19.

Herath delivered further blows when he removed Shakib Al Hasan (8) and handed Mahmudullah a second-ball duck in the space of three balls in one over. 

Shakib gloved a catch to Dimuth Karunaratne at leg slip while Mahmudullah was deceived by an arm ball, which hit his back foot, to be adjudged leg before wicket.

Skipper Mushfiqur Rahim and Liton Das shared 53 runs in a sixth-wicket stand to keep Bangladesh alive with news of storms in the area, and took them to lunch on 157 for 5.

However, Bangladesh once again stumbled after the interval, losing the last five wickets within an hour. 

It started with Rahim gently tickling Lakshan Sandakan to the wicketkeeper down leg side off the second ball after lunch.

Heerath then followed it up with the wicket of Das, who was caught at cover off a leading edge trying to slog the Sri Lanka captain across the line. 

The wicket was Herath's 363rd in Test cricket, going past Daniel Vettori's tally of 362. The rest of the game was just a matter of time.

Bangladesh were all out for 312 runs in the first innings in reply to Sri Lanka's 494, who later declared their second innings on 274/6.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday expressed gratitude to the people of the nation for reposing their faith in his government and said the victory is very humbling and overwhelming.

"Gratitude to the people of India for the continued faith, support and affection for the BJP. This is very humbling and overwhelming," the prime minister said in a series of tweets.

"I am overjoyed that the BJP has received unprecedented support from all sections of society. Huge support from the youth is gladdening," he added.

He thanked party chief Amit Shah and party members for their exemplary work in taking the party to new heights.

"Congratulations to Amit Shah, party office bearers and state units for their exemplary work in taking the party to new heights," he said.

"I salute the hard-work of BJP Karyakartas. They have tirelessly worked hard at the grassroots level and won the confidence of the people," he added.

Party workers celebrated the victory at the BJP headquarters in New Delhi with playing Holi, while similar scenes were be seen at the BJP office in Lucknow.

The Bharatiya Janata Party was leading in over 320 seats in Uttar Pradesh as results for the Assembly elections poured in. In Uttarakhand too, the BJP was leading on way above 55 seats.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had campaigned tirelessly in Uttar Pradesh during the Assembly elections. He addressed 24 rallies in the state and even stayed in Varanasi, his Lok Sabha constituency, for three days, carrying out back-to-back road shows.

At least 44 people were killed on Saturday and scores injured in a double bombing attack on buses of Shia pilgrims parked outside a cemetery here, a war monitor based in Britain said.

The Syrian Observatory for Human rights said the two explosions happened in the historic centre of Bab-al-Saghir cemetery area here, Efe news reported.

The Observatory did not rule out that the number of casualties could rise, as several of the injured were said to be in serious condition.

In the hours before the bombings government forces attacked rebel positions with artillery in the rebel-controlled Qabun area outside the Syrian capital, though no casualties were reported, the Observatory said.

Manipur seemed to be inching towards a hung assembly with the ruling Congress and the BJP locked in a tantalisingly close fight to emerge as the single-largest party with the vote count nearing its end on Saturday.

Of the 38 results in the 60-member assembly declared so far, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was marginally ahead with 16 seats. The Congress has one less. The National People's Party and the Naga People's Front (NPF) won 3 seats each, while the Lok Janshakti Party bagged one seat.

As per the latest overall trends (including the seats already declared, the Congress – in power for the past 15 years with Okram Ibobi Singh as the Chief Minister – and the BJP had won or were leading in 24 seats each. The National People's Party could end up with three seats, while others were frontrunners in six seats.

A big story of the election is the emergence of the BJP as a formidable contender for power. Having finished without any seat five years back, it has come up with its best-ever showing inin the northeastern state. While it is certain to finish as one of the two largest parties, its leaders were hoping to do one better with 22 results yet to come.

The Congress was putting up a good show, with the BJP giving them a close run for money, in the six districts of the Imphal Valley comprising 40 constituencies.

In the ten hill districts, where the Congress is comparatively weak, the BJP and the NPF were battling it out for the 20 seats. The NPF was leading in all three seats in Senapati district.

Ibobi, who spearheaded the Congress campaign in the run up to the elections, also led its winners' list by retaining the prestigious Thoubal seat defeating rights activist and People's Resurgence and Justice Alliance party nominee Irom Sharmila, who got fewer than 100 votes.

The three-time Chief Minister won comfortably with over 15,000 votes over Leitanthem Basanta Singh of the BJP.

With two other PRJA nominees suffering humiliating defeats, it was a stunning blow for Sharmila, who had aimed to become the Chief Minister to repeal the stringent Armed Forces Special Power Aact, against which she had continued her fast-unto-death for 16 years.

Another prominent Congress winner was state minister Akoijam Mirabai from Patsoi.

Two heavyweight BJP winners were T. Radheshyam, who had resigned from the Indian Police Service ahead of the elections, and party spokesperson N. Biren.

Nothwithstanding its impressive showing, the BJP suffered a big setback, with the defeat of former Union Minister and ex-state party chief Thounaojam Chaoba Singh – regarded as its Chief Ministerial candidate – from Nambol.

Another prominent BJP loser was former director of Regional Institute of Medical Sciences L. Fimate in border constituency, Tipaimukh.

So far Nemcha Kipgen of the BJP and Mirabai of the Congress are the only two women to have won of the 11 in the fray.
 

Breaking its 5-day fall, gold on Saturday rode on a wave of local buying activity as it rose Rs.200 to Rs.29,050 per 10 grams, aided by a firm global trend.

Silver edged up on uptick in demand from industrial units and coin makers.

Traders attributed the rebound in gold prices to a firm trend overseas and increased buying by local jewellers at the domestic spot market.

Globally, gold firmed up 0.31 per cent to $1,204.50 an ounce and silver 0.44 per cent to $17.02 an ounce in New York on Friday.

In the national capital, gold of 99.9 per cent and 99.5 per cent purity recovered by Rs.200 each to Rs.29,050 and Rs.28,900 per 10 grams, respectively. The metal had lost Rs.1,250 in the previous five days.

Sovereign, however, remained flat at Rs.24,300 per piece of eight grams.

Following gold, silver ready inched up by Rs.5 to Rs.40,980 per kg while weekly-based delivery fell by Rs.250 to Rs.40,530 per kg due to lack of speculators' buying support.

Silver coins jumped Rs.2,000 to Rs.72,000 for buying and Rs.73,000 for selling of 100 pieces.

South Korea's ousted leader Park Geun-Hye was holed up in the presidential Blue House on Saturday as protesters took to Seoul's streets demanding her arrest, a day after a court upheld her impeachment.

The ex-president has made no comment since she was forced from office on Friday when the country's Constitutional Court unanimously upheld parliament's decision to impeach her over a corruption scandal.

Thousands of riot police were deployed as some 50,000 anti-Park protesters took to the streets to celebrate the verdict, chanting: "The people have won! Arrest Park!"

Some 20,000 angry pro-Park flag-waving protesters rallied near the City Hall, demanding a review of the one-off decision. Police set up barricades to keep the rival protests apart.

A third person died on Saturday in hospital after he lost consciousness the day before in a clash between pro-Park supporters and riot police, near the Constitutional Court which confirmed her impeachment.

News reports said Park was watching television alone in her private presidential room Friday when the country's highest court announced her dismissal live on air.

An incredulous Park immediately phoned her aides to confirm the verdict, the Chosun Ilbo daily said.

Her aides told the newspaper she had no immediate plans to issue a statement on the court decision or her future course of action.

"The president was apparently stunned at the ruling. She looked dejected," an unidentified aide was quoted as saying.

"She wants to keep to herself for a while," he added.

Park is obliged to move out of the presidential palace, where she has been cloistered for more than 90 days after the National Assembly voted for her impeachment in October.

She will leave only after her private house in prosperous southern Seoul is repaired and cleaned to accommodate her and her security detail, Park's aide told Yonhap news agency.

TV footage showed materials being unloaded from a small truck parked outside the two-storey house.

The court's verdict immediately stripped her of all powers and privileges, except for her security.

Police have arrested several protesters for violent behaviour. Some Pro-Park demonstrators were caught assaulting photographers and TV crew members, leaving them with cuts and bruises.

Yonhap said the third victim was a 74-year-old man who collapsed during a demonstration near the Constitutional Court.

A demonstrator died the day before after being hit on the head by a speaker that fell from the top of a police bus when a protester commandeered the vehicle and drove it into police barricades.

South Korea's top election official Kim Yong-Deok said in a statement there was "growing concern" over the highly charged atmosphere ahead of an election which must take place no later than on May 9. 

Telangana will pass two legislations during the ongoing Budget session to enhance reservation for the Scheduled Tribes (STs) and Muslims, Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao said on Saturday.

He told the state assembly that the two bills would be tabled and passed during the ongoing session.

He said he would then lead an all-party delegation to New Delhi to urge the Centre to include the legislations in the Constitution's 9th Schedule as was done in the case of Tamil Nadu.

The Budget session, which began on Friday, will continue till March 27.

Rao assured the house that the Telangana Rashtra Samithi government will fulfil its commitment to enhance quota to Muslims and STs to 12 per cent each.

Muslims, who constitute 12.68 per cent of Telangana's 3.52 crore population, currently enjoy four per cent quota in education and jobs.

The STs, who are 9.34 per cent of the population, are availing six per cent reservation.

Enhancing the quota for Muslims and STs will take total reservation in the state to over 50 per cent, the upper limit prescribed by the Supreme Court, thus requiring a constitutional amendment.

Laws under the 9th Schedule cannot be challenged in a court of law.

The chief minister had earlier said that if the central government refuses to include the laws in the 9th Schedule, the state would fight a legal battle.

The BJP will form governments in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur and the new chief ministers will be decided on Sunday, party chief Amit Shah announced on Saturday.

He was speaking to the media after the saffron party recorded historic victories in the Hindi speaking states of Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.

When questioned that the BJP was not close to majority in Goa and Manipur, he quipped that in Goa which had only 40 seats, getting 17 or so was good enough to form a government.

Observers feel that his optimism was based on surmise that smaller outfits may not prefer to align with the Congress, which barring Punjab, had little consolation from the election results.

Addressing the media after claiming two key states of Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh with a landslide win, Shah hailed the policies of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and said, "The faith of the people has been rewarded. People has put their faith in us back in 2014 and Narendra Modi has delivered on each one of his promise.

"This time Uttar Pradesh has rejected the politics of caste and religion and has embraced BJP for the better. This is the politics of performance in Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh and people have shown that they welcome this new change.

"Ye Uttar Pradesh mein Vikaas ka naya yug hai, Bharatiaya Janata Party aur usk karyakarta k upar nayi zimmedari h, jiska hum nirvah karenge."

Stressing on the issue of 'development', he said that the poor of this country stand with PM Modi and his vision as he has ensured their dignity and a better livelihood.

Introduction of Jan-Dhan, Gas subsidy, Swachh Bharat and many schemes have time and again shown his determination to deliver on his electoral promises.

"Aaj pure desh ka gareeb Modi Ji ko aasha k saath dekhta h, unhone in dhai saal mein gareebo ka uthan kiya gaya h. Modi ji ne pure desh k gareebo ko shauchalay, gas aur vikas diya h. Pure desh ka gareeb humare saath juda h. Aisa maine apne campaigning k dauraan mehsoos kiya h."

"Ye saare desh mein 'jan-aadesh' yani janta k aadesh k paalan hua h." The entire country has shown that they reject the dynasty, caste and religion based politics of Congress and other parties," he said and added a sly hint about the mention worthy win in Congress strong hold of Amethi and Raebareilly.

Deflecting questions over the controversial topic of Ram Mandir, he clearly said that "whatever was promised over Ram Mandir in our electoral manifesto will be delivered."

He also steered clear of answering any questions over the chief ministerial faces in the states and said that the decision will be taken after a meeting with the entire party and Prime Minister Modi.

He also commented on the defeat in Punjab and refuted any plans of shifting alliances by saying, "We accept the defeat in Punjab and the prime minister has commemorated Capt. Amarinder Singh on his win. There is no question of re-thinking alliances."

On demonetisation, he clearly said that the people have "shown that they stand behind this decision and even though our move was criticsied at every dharna and rally by Akhilesh (Yadav) and Rahul (Gandhi), the people listened to Modiji and welcomed his decision."

With the festival of colours here again, thestatesman.com caught up with some of the most popular faces of television to know about their favourite Holi memories and here’s what they had to say:

For actor Rithvik Dhanjani Holi was always special with his favourite bunch of boys, “My earliest memory of Holi is of all the rowdy boys in our small town back home throwing anyone and everyone who got out of their houses into the dirty and muddy water. With a lot of water balloons on people and smacking their windows as well, “the popular TV host shared.  

On being asked about his Holi plans for this year, he said, “This year on Holi I'll be shooting & probably missing it. But I'm going to be in Mumbai but I don't really think my Holi this year will be as exciting as the previous years. Also, my friends are travelling. I have a lot of things are lined up.”

Actress Aashka Goradia, who is very excited to celebrate Holi with her American beau, shared her favourite Holi memories,” My favourite holi memories are the ones of back in school. Where I would make a lot of water balloons with my cousins through the night before Holi & then we would, of course, burst them on each other on the Holi day.”

“Although I have no Holi plans this year, I’m very excited to show Brent how Holi is celebrated,” the actress added.

The Yeh hai Mohabattein actor Vivek Dahiya, whose adorable pictures with wife Divyanka Tripathi is always the talk of the town, shared that he hasn’t played Holi for a very long time. “Probably the last I played was when I was 18 because after that I moved out. In the recent years, I haven't really played. My earliest memory of Holi would be all friends would gather & we would be a riot splashing colours on each other.”

“Not just the friends, everyone in the vicinity would gather & have a merry time. I vividly remember that my mum used to make Gur ka Dalia which would be sweet as well as filling. We would get to know so many new people in the neighbourhood during Holi as everyone came together & brought in the festivities as one big happy family,” the actor said reminiscing his childhood days. 

After completing a successful stint in Bigg Boss, actor Rohan Mehra, who is back with a bang, feels that his favourite memories were from his days in Amritsar. “We would start the festivities well in advance. My sisters & other cousins would get together & spend an evening filling water balloons & relishing sweets prepared by mum. The weather would be pleasant so a night before Holi, a night before we would sit around the Holi fire & after our mums breaking the fast we would all binge on a scrumptious meal & sing & dance the night away. On the day of Holi, we would burst water colours on each other & play with colours followed by hours of dancing," zealous actor shared.

"This year I'm celebrating Holi with Kanchi(his rumoured girfriend & few other friends in Mumbai," Rohan Mehra disclosed.
 

Actress Kareena Kapoor Khan will be seen paying a tribute to Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, Aamir Khan and her husband Saif Ali Khan, with a dance performance at an awards show.

Kareena, who gave birth to her son Taimur Ali Khan in December last year, will be seen performing at the Zee Cine Awards on Saturday night. This will be her first live performance since delivering Taimur.

Kareena will take the stage to dance to a medley of her hit songs from her films with the Shah Rukh, Salman, Aamir and Saif.

According to a source in the know, Kareena is being styled by her close friend and designer Manish Malhotra for the performance.

Earlier, Katrina was due to perform at the gala, but due to an injury, she had to back out.

Even Alia Bhatt will be performing at the gala, and will pay a tribute to filmmaker Karan Johar.