Akshay Kumar: The Boss of Bollywood

With more than 100 films to his credit, Akshay has come a long way in bollywood. PHOTO: FILE

KARACHI: 

Akshay Kumar, the reigning star of Indian cinema, is inarguably one of the most versatile actors ever to have set foot in B-town. With over 100 films to his name, Akshay has made his mark as a full-blown entertainer. His larger-than-life, action packed and farcical roles have been blowout hits with the masses, but that hasn’t stopped him from experimenting with other genres. The actor, who climbed the success ladder with the Khiladi series, tells The Express Tribune about his acting mantra and the Pakistani talent that he admires in an email interview.

“My secret is that I never act my age. I may be in my 40s but my heroines are usually in their 20s,” said the witty actor. Akshay is famous for displaying va-va-voom chemistry with his co-stars onscreen. For him, the key element to getting the chemistry right is establishing a comfort level with his fellow actors. He believes that if that is disturbed, it becomes evident to the audience. And that is never good. “I don’t act like a superstar. The minute there’s an inferiority complex between two actors, it becomes very uncomfortable to watch,” he said.

Akshay’s latest action flick Boss is said to be yet another South India-inspired film like Rowdy Rathore and Salman Khan’s Dabangg. Akshay considers gaining inspiration from the South to be great: “Hats off to South Indian films! They have the content that the world enjoys; it’s an honour for me to recreate their magic.”

On the question of what he thinks about Boss, Akshay said, “Boss as a film has a lot of heart and a lot of me coming through the screen … you’ll definitely enjoy it.” While the race of copying South Indian films has proven to be a success, one wonders if it will overtake the concept of showing raw and original action sequences, of which Akshay has been a maven. Also, are special effects the end of real action sequences? “That’s one of the great things aboutBoss; there’s nothing that I didn’t do — its full-on raw action, it’s what I like to call the real deal,” stated Akshay. “I didn’t want to make another flying dramatic CGI masterpiece — it had to be real, people had to relate to its rawness. It’s not a superhero movie; it’s about a man and his family fighting their way through endless problems,” he added.

Boss received wide commercial acclaim in India but a lukewarm response in Pakistan due to the success of Pakistani film Waar. But Akshay is not taken by this. In fact, he is happy to see Pakistani cinema growing and hopes that it will keep thriving. “No matter how great anyone is, there’s always room for improvement. Film-makers should keep experimenting with new techniques and never feel afraid of going back to film school,” he said.

In recent times, a series of Pakistani artistes have crossed the border to explore their talents and Akshay believes that Bollywood owes a lot of its diversity to Pakistani musicians and actors. “From their powerful dialogue delivery to incredible music talent, Pakistanis have made valuable contribution to Bollywood,” he said. He went to say “Some of the most memorable songs of Bollywood have been sung by Pakistani artistes and the opportunities to work together will be endless,” says an optimistic Akshay.

One artiste, who has been a constant source of learning and inspiration for Akshay is none other than our very own Umer Sharif, the famous comedian. “I’ve watched Umer Sharif since I entered the industry over 20 years ago and he is one of the best comedians of all time,” he said. “What I love most about him is his comic timing and delivery,” elaborated Akshay. “You can be the funniest man on paper but unless you’ve got the timing right, your joke will be lost. Mr Umer Sharif, I salute your gift!,” he remarked.

In conclusion, Akshay conveyed his thanks to all his Pakistani fans for the love and support that they have showered him with over the years

Dispute settlement: Int’l court orders release of Turkish power ship

Following a hearing on October 8, 2013, the ICSID tribunal ruled that Karkey’s Karadeniz Powership Kaya Bey registered under the Turkish flag should be immediately released from detention and allowed to sail to Dubai for repairs. PHOTO: FILE

ISLAMABAD: International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) has ordered immediate release of Karadeniz Power ship Kaya Bey detained in Pakistani waters since April, 2012.

In a statement issued here, the leading Turkish energy company, Karkey Karadeniz ElektrikUretim A.S. (Karkey), welcomed the decision on its Request for Provisional Measures by the tribunal established under the World Bank-affiliated International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) on October 16, 2013.

In this decision, the tribunal ruled that it is satisfied pursuant to Article 25(1) of the ICSID Convention that it has prima facie jurisdiction, and has ordered the immediate release of Karadeniz Power ship Kaya Bey (Karkey’s largest Powership and one of four Karkey vessels that has been detained in Pakistani waters since April, 2012).

Following a hearing on October 8, 2013, the ICSID tribunal ruled that Karkey’s Karadeniz Powership Kaya Bey registered under the Turkish flag should be immediately released from detention and allowed to sail to Dubai for repairs.

In the decision, the tribunal stated that the State of Pakistan shall grant all authorizations and clearance required for the vessel’s departure, and shall take any other action necessary or required to allow the vessel to depart lawfully into international waters.

A Karkey spokesperson said: “The decision by the ICSID tribunal to order the release of one of our powerships vindicates the position taken by Karkey that the tribunal clearly has jurisdiction under the Turkey-Pakistan Bilateral Investment Treaty (“BIT”), and that recourse to Pakistani courts is not mandatory under the BIT. This is especially important since Karkey has opted to enforce its rights and remedies at ICSID due to lack of fair and equitable treatment and due to denial of justice in Pakistan.”

The spokesperson also stated: “In light of the decision, a new opportunity has arisen for Pakistan to amicably settle the dispute, especially considering the findings therein regarding the jurisdiction of the tribunal and ICSID.”

Karkey is seeking compensation from Pakistan for breach of Pakistan’s obligations under the BIT in connection with Karkey’s investment in a rental power project (RPP) in Karachi, as well as for loss of earnings and costs associated with Pakistan’s detention of its ship. The dispute has reached the highest levels of government and was discussed during the recent visit to Turkey of Nawaz Sharif, Pakistan’s prime minister.

The company spokesperson said: “Increased economic cooperation between Turkey and Pakistan is in both countries’ best interest. This unnecessary dispute has clouded the climate for bilateral cooperation and damaged investor and business confidence. We hope it can be settled quickly and fairly, preventing it from becoming an obstacle to successful future Turkish collaboration with the Government of Pakistan in the energy and other sectors.”

Electricity import: Russia’s $500 million funding offer gets cold shoulder

Russia wanted contract of building power transmission lines against the investment of $500 million and Pakistan had welcomed this offer.

ISLAMABAD: 

The participating countries of Casa-1000 Megawatt (MW) power import project have given cold-shoulder to Russia’s offer of providing $500 million to implement the project, reportedly under pressure from Washington.

Russia had offered an investment of $500 million in establishing a transmission system for the Central Asia South Asia 1,000-megawatt (CASA-1,000) power import project, which stipulates bringing electricity from Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Sources told The Express Tribune that Russia wanted contract of building power transmission lines against the investment of $500 million and Pakistan had welcomed this offer.

“However, other participating countries of the project – Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan – have not expressed interest in this offer and therefore no progress has been made so far in this regard,” the sources added.

Officials said that Russia was keen to contribute financing and getting contracts of gas import projects like Iran-Pakistan (IP) and power imports but due to the influence of US in the region, it is getting no welcoming response.

Officials said that Russia could join the power import project after Asian Development Bank (ADB) had pulled out but Islamic Development Bank (IDB) had signalled its willingness to become part of the consortium to contribute financing for the project. Therefore, officials said that it was unlikely that Russia could join this project.

Now, the World Bank and Islamic Development Bank (IDB) have agreed to provide $1 billion to implement the power import plan.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) was to contribute 40 per cent financing for Casa-1000 MW power import project but it walked out for unknown reasons.

The CASA-1,000MW project is a strategic project for the US like the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (Tapi) gas pipeline project. The US had been trying to promote the CASA and Tapi projects which experts term unfeasible due to security concerns in Afghanistan.

CASA-1,000 is designed to transmit 1,300MW of surplus electricity from Tajikistan and Kyrgyz Republic through Afghanistan, which is going to consume 300MW, to Pakistan. The memorandum of understanding among the four governments was signed on November 16, 2007 in Kabul.

In the final feasibility study of CASA-1,000 project conducted in February, 2011, the surplus power capacity to export by Tajikistan and Kyrgyz Republic has been reassessed. About 3,700 gigawatt hours (GWh) is expected to flow by 2016.

However, the catch is that under “No Generation Expansion Scenario”, the amount of exported power will be decreasing each year in view of the rise in local demand in Tajikistan and Kyrgyz Republic. Moreover, the energy flow will not be available throughout the year and will be recurring during the April to September period of every year only.

The cost of transmission had been projected at 3.37 cents per unit which will go up to 7.26 cents by 2030. Whereas levelised cost of energy – the price at which electricity must be generated from a specific source to break even over the lifetime of the project – will be 5.38 cents per unit for 15 years and 4.94 cents for the 30-year period.

Projected sale price of energy by Tajikistan is 1.5 cents per unit and 2.5 cents per unit by Kyrgyz Republic.

Economy’s revival sacrificed for IMF deal: Pasha report

As against the official economic growth target of 4.4%, the stabilisation package will result into a sluggish growth rate of 2.5%, which will hardly improve per capita income or in employment prospects. PHOTO: FILE

ISLAMABAD: The PML-N government has abandoned its election manifesto and sacrificed the process of revival of economy in return for $6.6 billion IMF loan, increasing prospects of higher inflation and lower growth that will exacerbate poverty and malnutrition, according to a latest study.

“The IMF programme targets agreed to by the Pakistani authorities clearly indicate that the process of revival of the economy has been sacrificed at the altar of macroeconomic stabilisation,” according to a report written by former Finance Minister, Dr Hafiz Pasha.

Dr Pasha in his study “Economy of Tomorrow: a case study of Pakistan” presented a detailed analysis of the IMF programme and its implications on the country’s economy and the people. “The PML-N government which was so deeply committed to economic revival has had to at least temporarily abandon this goal in the interest of securing the Fund programme”, he argued.

The study has been launched at the platform of Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung –a German political foundation, which has initiated Economy of Tomorrow project for establishing a dialogue between Asia and Europe on a new development paradigm. As a first step the foundation is undertaking country-specific studies.

Under the $6.67 billion three-year programme, the IMF has forced tough conditions of reducing budget deficit by 2.2% of Gross Domestic Product this year, increase power tariffs and set very ambitious targets of building foreign currency reserves that will lead to rupee depreciation.

The author argued that as part of stabilisation, the IMF was seeking huge adjustment in the rupee value against the US dollar. The rupee is expected to depreciate sharply by almost 14% during the current fiscal year, falling to Rs113 per dollar by end June 2014, he added.

The IMF expects that the presence of the programme will attract foreign investors in hordes and encourage multilaterals to scale up their assistance to Pakistan. “Overall, the IMF programme, as it has come out, is unlikely to bolster much confidence in the markets, given the limited initial disbursements, quarterly reviews and very tough targets for a relatively small amount of funding”.

As against the official economic growth target of 4.4%, the stabilisation package will result into a sluggish growth rate of 2.5%, which will hardly improve per capita income or in employment prospects.

Pasha said in case of slippages on the fiscal side, there is the likelihood of mini-budgets during 2013-14 or a spate of waivers by the IMF Board.

He said it appeared that the government has agreed with the IMF that the combined federal and provincial development budgets will be cut by one-fourth to Rs840 billion from Rs1.140 trillion. “This is one of the reasons why the GDP growth rate will be low”.

Alternative Reforms

The author has advocated import compression strategy by levying additional regulatory duties on a range of non-essential imported items. Pasha argued that excluding essential imports, regulatory duty may be introduced at a rate of 10% to stop fast depletion of foreign exchange reserves.

On items that are governed through concessionary statutory regulatory orders Pasha has proposed 15% regulatory duty. He said this will curtail the annual import bill by $2.5 billion. He said these measures would generate Rs120 billion worth of additional taxes, helping to achieve this year’s Rs2.475 trillion tax target that otherwise sounds unrealistic.

Oreo: World’s leading biscuit brand comes to Pakistan

Much craved cookies around the world. PHOTO: FILE

KARACHI: 

In a clear sign of rising demand for branded biscuits and a battle of market share, Pakistan’s Continental Biscuits Limited and United States Mondel-z International [formerly Kraft Foods] have started localised manufacturing of Oreo – the world’s ‘number one’ biscuit brand, as claimed by officials.

“Our vision of locally producing Oreos clearly signals our intent at dominating the local biscuit market and also highlights the importance of Pakistan as biscuit manufacturing base,” CBL’s Managing Director and Chairman Hasan Ali Khan said during the launch ceremony at Avari Hotel on Monday.

First launched in the United States over 100 years ago Oreo – a billion-dollar brand with $2.3 billion in global sales – is Kraft Foods’ first product to be manufactured by CBL in Pakistan, according to Khan.

The maker of famous LU brand – Prince, TUC, Candi and Tiger, to name a few – CBL was founded in 1984 through a joint venture between family of Khan and the Generale Biscuits of France, which later became a part of Group Danone – the French food giant. In 2007, the American food and beverage giant Kraft Foods bought Danone’s biscuit category including the LU brand. Kraft Foods restructured itself recently, renaming its international subsidiaries as Mondel-z International.

“We have worked very closely during last six years to build a thriving biscuit business in Pakistan. Oreo’s launch is the biggest single step reflecting the successful relation we have had with CBL,” said Ian Buchan, Mondel-z International’s Middle East and Africa New Markets General Manager.

Pakistan, which has now joined ‘the global family of the world’s number one biscuit’, is critically an important market for Mondel-z, according to Buchan. “Our sales for the region have tripled during the last quarter,” he said.

“We are confident that there is a huge opportunity for Oreo in Pakistan,” he said, adding they had done a lot of research on the Pakistani market and learned that the consumers show a lot of appreciation for quality products – Oreos manufactured in Pakistan has the best quality in the world, Khan claimed citing the feedback he got from the American partner’s quality control arm in Chicago.

Meeting the global quality standards, according to the officials, was not easy at all. For this purpose, CBL has invested Rs1.1 billion or $11 million to set up a state-of-the-art Oreo production line at its manufacturing plant in Sukkur, making it the largest biscuit-production facility in the country and 22nd manufacturing facility for Oreo. The new product line can produce as many as four million biscuits per day.

The expansion in the company’s manufacturing facility comes at the back of a recent growth in its venues. With Rs10 billion in sales during fiscal year 2013, CBL’s revenues have been growing 50% for the last two years, Khan said – of the total figure, Rs5 billion have come from exports, he said.

It may be added here that CBL has about 30% market share, second only to market leader English Biscuit Manufacturers that enjoys 40% of the branded biscuit market. The company’s sales were growing in excess of 20% from 2009 to 2011 but a rigorous marketing campaign and larger market penetration helped it improve its market share.

There are mainly two reasons for the recent surge in the company’s growth, CBL’s Director Marketing Rafey Zuberi said. The expansion in the distribution network took the products to rural markets while rigorous marketing and branding by the company also helped, he said.

Although an imported version of Oreo is already available in the market but it is considered a high-end brand because of its price. A 20-biscuits imported pack of Oreo is selling in retail stores for Rs127 or Rs6.35 per biscuit. CBL has priced 12-biscuits pack at Rs40 or Rs3.35 per biscuit to outperform the imported ones –they even launched a tiki pack for Rs10 to target lower income classes.

CBL, however, doesn’t seem to stop here, they intend to launch more Mondel-z brands in the country once Oreo is a success, according to Khan.

Letdown: Tax base broadening plan gets cold response

According to sources in the FBR and in the legal fraternity, cases have been observed where the FBR officials struck under the table deals with the recipients of the notices. CREATIVE COMMONS

ISLAMABAD: 

The government’s flagship drive launched to broaden extremely narrow tax base seems falling far behind the goal, as only 174 people or just 0.5% of over 30,000 who have been served notices filed income tax returns along with a paltry sum of Rs7.3 million.

Such a low rate of compliance underlines the deep-rooted corruption in the Federal Board of Revenue where case officers are allegedly receiving kickbacks far in excess of what has been deposited in the national kitty, underscoring the need to review the strategy of broadening the base through serving notices.

From July through September this year the federal government served tax notices to 30,333 potential taxpayers, according to figures compiled by the FBR. Out of those only 1,046 persons got registered with the FBR but actually only 174 filed income tax returns, showing a compliance rate of 0.57% to be precise. a

These people paid an amount of Rs7.3 million in income tax. On average every person paid Rs41,898 in income tax as a result of the Broadening of Tax Base (BTB) drive. Under an IMF condition, Pakistan ought to send notices to 100,000 big tax evaders before end June 2014.

The depressing outcome is the result of the new government’s economic policies that are perceived as taking the country one step forward and two steps backwards, said Ashfaq Tola, a leading tax expert.

The successive governments have been trying to broaden the extremely narrow tax base but could not yield the desired results and ended up putting more burden on the existing thin base. The previous government wanted to offer one-time amnesty to the identified 3.8 million people in return for asking them to pay Rs40,000 to Rs70,000 in income tax.

The stick was the threat to block the computerised national identity cards of those who would not opt to come in the net. However, due to stiff opposition by the PML-N, the previous government could not get the amnesty bill passed from the Parliament.

The PML-N government is said to have wasted the goldmine of the data, letting these four million people get off the hook.

According to sources in the FBR and in the legal fraternity, cases have been observed where the FBR officials struck under the table deals with the recipients of the notices.

FBR chairman Tariq Bajwa, however, said that it takes about three months from serving the notice to recover the tax from the potential taxpayer. If the recipient of the notice does not respond within two months the FBR has the authority to make provisional tax assessment, he added.

Out of 30,333 notices, over 7,000 or about one-fourth of the total notices were served in Lahore. In response, only 36 persons came in the net and paid Rs824,030 in income tax, according to the FBR figures.

In Peshawar, the FBR served 3,364 notices, just nine people filed income tax returns and paid Rs22,500 tax. In Multan, 2,985 notices were handed over to the big fish and in return 24 filed income tax returns along with Rs1.6 million tax.

In Rawalpindi, the FBR served notices to 2,434 persons, just 30 people responded but paid Rs2.6 million worth of income tax.

In Karachi, the FBR served 2005 notices and 15 people filed returns along with slightly over Rs1 million income tax. In Islamabad, the FBR served over 1,800 notices, 19 people came in the net and paid Rs1.1 million income tax.

In Quetta, the FBR served over 1,000 notices, only two persons filed income tax returns but did not deposit any money in the kitty. Similarly, in Gujranwala, the FBR asked over 1,400 persons to file income tax returns, only one person came forward but did not pay any tax. Same was the case in Sukkur where the FBR served notices to 359 persons. No one filed the return.

In Sialkot, the FBR served 2,340 notices, only four filed the returns and paid a meagre amount of Rs12,835 tax. In Sargodha, 1,183 got notices, one complied and paid Rs19,726 in income tax.

In Faisalabad, the country’s third largest city, about 17,00 people received notices, only 23 filed returns along with slightly over Rs100,000 in income tax. In Bahawalpur, over 1000 persons received notices, four filed returns with Rs22,375 as income tax.

Glee says goodbye to Cory Monteith with earnest but awkward tribute

The McKinley family past and present. Photograph: Adam Rose/AP

Glee's tribute show to Cory Monteith, entitled The Quarterback, began with a deep breath. Five new cast members standing on a dark stage, dressed in black, lit by spots, singing the familiar opening lines from Rent – "Five hundred, twenty-five thousand, six hundred minutes" – while the original cast members, looking almost middle-aged (Puck? Was that you?), filed in front of the camera. A reminder that the Seasons of Love haven't waited for anyone.

The song ended on a vast, red-blooded, Technicolor picture of the quarterback himself. No lurid or seedy references to junkies here. We might know that Cory Monteith died of a drug and alcohol overdose at the age of 31, but Glee couldn't possibly comment. For once, it abdicated its teaching moment. After all, the show must go on.

After the song, we cut to Kurt packing, expressing his thoughts in a voiceover, and looking at a graduation picture of Finn, back in the day when his life stretched ahead and anything was possible.

"Honestly, what can you say about a 19-year-old who dies?" he thought-spoke. "Everyone wants to know about how he died, but who cares? One moment in his own life. I care more about how he lived."

And with that, the death of Cory and the the death of Finn became two completely different things.

Tabloid Cory never appeared in front of the camera. Finn was the super jock who became a song-and-dance man, the teen who stood up for the underdog and volunteered to serve his country. (That's when he first disappeared from the show so Monteith could enter rehab, or so the rumor had it.) But there was no need for rehab for Fox's ultimate all-American. Drugs were never a part of his storyline, even if they were seldom apart from his life.

So the writers skipped over tawdry details with a mind-your-own-business sanctimoniousness, which fits in well with the moral Mount Olympus Glee now sits on. The theme of this week's show was grief. And no-one does grief better than a glee club with their cover versions of The Pretenders, James Taylor and Springsteen.

James Taylor's Fire and Rain

But the show wasn't completely unmoving. There were unexpected moments of poignancy, like Finn's mother packing up his belongings through tears, saying: "I always thought … how do parents go on when they lose a child. You know, when I would see that stuff on the news, I would turn it off, because it was just too horrible to think. But I would always think: how do they wake up every day? I mean, how do they breathe? But you do it, though, and for just a second you forget. And then: oh. You remember. You know it's like getting that call again and again every time. You don't get to stop waking up. You have to keep on being a parent even though you don't have a child any more."

The dramatic tension came with wondering where Lea Michele (Rachel) and Dianna Agron (Quinn) were. Gossip before the show had it that Agron was not invited to participate in the tribute episode because of her unpopularity. Agron was one of the mega-watt stars who gave Glee its early energy that it's never quite recaptured. Whatever the reason for her absence from the tribute, she was a big loss.

Michele, on the other hand, who dated Monteith, came on in tears at around the 33rd-minute mark to sing what had been the original Finn/Rachel duet: Make You Feel My Love, Adele's Bob Dylan hit.

dn't hold back tears as she sang Dylan's Make You Feel My Love.

Jane Lynch, appearing as Sue Sylvester, seemed to be channeling the show's producers, since she didn't know whether to be sad or impatient at the death of such a huge character. 

"Principal Sylvester told us the candles have to go," was the great line from one of the Cheerios as she began to take down the memorial.

And the best line of the night was not said but written, attributed to Finn Hudson, but just as easily Cory Monteith's. It was engraved under a headshot of Monteith as Hudson.

"The show must go … all over the place … or something."

And that's exactly what this tribute show did.