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Gulf Times
Thursday, August 13, 2015

COMMENT
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GULF TIMES
Taliban take to
propaganda war
against the IS
Summer is generally a lean season for news but in a
very perverse sort of way news organisations would
be thanking their stars for the likes of the Taliban and
IS.
What would newspapers and TV channels do
without groups which think nothing about chopping
off a few heads or bombing to dust a few Unescodesignated World Heritage Sites all in the name of
their ideology?
Yesterday, however, even the most cynical among
journalists would have fallen of their seats with a
mixture of shock and incredulous amusement when
news arrived on their computer screens about the
Taliban condemning the IS for their brutality
after they blew up a few civilians somewhere in
Afghanistan.
According to the Taliban, what the IS did to
those unfortunate people was un-Islamic. This
un-Islamic act... can never be justied, a Taliban
statement said, adding for good measure, This
offence and other such brutal actions by a few
irresponsible ignorant individuals under the guise of
Islam and Muslims are intolerable.
While it is true to a large extent that the arrival
of IS on the terror
rmament scene some
Omars death is
two years ago has given
being used by the other violent political
movements a reality
IS to lure Taliban check about whose
tactics were more
members to its
brutal, the fact remains
fold
that the Taliban
resorted to similar
measures when they were consolidating their hold on
Afghanistan after the fall of Mohamed Najibullahs
regime.
Najibullah, who was forced to quit office in 1992,
was sheltered inside a UN compound in Kabul when
the Taliban stormed it in 1996 and executed him in
the most brutal manner imaginable.
The Taliban then assumed power in Afghanistan
and they banned girls education, music, lms and
even seemingly harmless pursuits like kite-ying
and pigeon racing. Non-Muslims were required to
wear a yellow cloth badge on their dress for easy
identication as they sought to unite the countrys
warring tribes under one ag.
While the Taliban themselves lost power after the
US-led attacks following the September 11 terror
strikes on America, they still enjoy considerable
inuence in certain regions of Afghanistan although
they now seem to be worried by emergence of IS.
Afghanistan is battling a growing wave of insurgent
attacks following the announcement of the death of
Mullah Omar.
Analysts say Omars death is being used by the IS
to lure Taliban members to its fold as they bid to gain
inuence in Afghanistan.
Right now the Talibans number one enemy is IS,
Kabul-based military analyst Atiqullah Amarkhil said
yesterday.
With (Tuesdays) condemnation the Taliban want
to project themselves as a legitimate group waging an
Islamic warand IS are a foreign phenomenon trying
to weaken Islam.

A day in the life of a star

Having made three
Bollywood lms and half
a dozen south Indian
movies over the past four
years, Jamwal is pleased
with what he has achieved
so far
By Updesh Kapur
New Delhi

he
doorbell
rang
twice.
It was 10.30pm.
A young boy was patiently waiting
outside the house.
Knowing who it was, my son obliged
and let his friend inside.
The boy was alone but word had
spread in the local neighbourhood,
thanks to my excited little one, that
their celebrated son had jetted into
Delhi from Mumbai.
Bollywood actor Vidyut Jamwal
was back in the capital where he spent
many of his years growing up.
The boy wanted a photograph with
his hero of Indian cinema.
On a ying promotional visit, the
35-year-old, dubbed Indias new
action hero for stunts never before
seen on the silver screen, Jamwal
broke free from the dining table lled
with home-cooked food and headed
straight to the door.
A photograph with the celebrity
would undoubtedly be treasured for
years to come.
It was also a special moment for
Jamwal who cherishes his fans,
applauding them for supporting an
actor who was made a mark in an
industry in which his family had no
previous family connection.
Like fellow actor and friend Shah
Rukh Khan, these two Delhi boys have
risen through Bollywoods toughest
circles with no industry inuence to
make a name for themselves.
And this was clearly evident over
the next 24 hours or so in his company,
hearing his thoughts and listening
to his take on a ery industry which
churns out hundreds of movies a year
making it the worlds biggest and
busiest.
Seeing the beaming face of the little
boy being snapped with a personality
puts into perspective the hundreds
more who enjoyed a glimpse of Jamwal
the following day.
Coming home to his mothers
cooking, he also had an opportunity
to meet his sister now living in Qatar,
her two children and me, his brotherin-law.
The evening started with his
favourite dish, kidney rajma beans
and rice at home. The following night,
after a busy schedule it was back
home to mums food. Like any son
or daughter would profess, theres
nothing that compares to coming
home to home-cooked grub.
Our day was somewhat dominated
by Delhis notorious snarling traffic
and heavy summer rains almost
four hours of driving between various
locations.
We were on the way to his hotel
where his manager Abbas was to brief
him on his duties for the day: a few
telephone interviews with newspapers
and TV entertainment channels
rounded off by the main event of the
day.
Home team Dabang Delhi was
to play a crucial match against
Hyderabad in the Pro Kabaddi
League in the heart of the capital.
Jamwal was to make a guest
appearance and perform some of

Vidyut Jamwal and fellow Bollywood star Abhishek Bachchan greeting each other at the Pro Kabaddi League match in New
Delhi this week
his jaw-dropping stunts that have
earned him recognition in the film
world.
With a new braided hair-do and
chiselled jaw more evident, I was
pretty sure social media would
comment on the look in the evening
and I was right as pictures and
comments circulated very quickly.
The conned space of an AC car was
a perfect opportunity to catch up on all
news Vidyut Jamwal. For my daughter
Aditi, it was more whos your favourite
actress and who would you like to star
with? Is it Deepika, Priyanka or even
Kareena? For my son, it was more like
how did you get the physique that so
many want to emulate?
Having conquered the catwalk
as a successful model in an ongoing
career dating back 10 years, Jamwal
got his Bollywood breakthrough in
Force, playing a villain opposite fellow
model-turned actor John Abraham in
2011 that led to rave reviews.
With a dozen best male debut lm
awards to his name, nominated by
industry professionals, cinema lovers
and lm critics, the scene was set for
bigger and better things ahead.
Never before has an actor playing a
negative role in his rst lm struck the
right chord with audiences.
It was a huge gamble that paid off.
Jamwal had hit the right note, aided
by the rapturous accolades for his
incredible stunts he performs himself
taking up cinematic challenges that
others dare not.
Whether it is falling into a gorge
hundreds of feet deep, or wrapping
himself around the bad guys with
countless speedy twists and turns
thanks to his majestic martial arts
skills, he became noticed very quickly.
The scripts poured in.
With a models physique, an
athletes speed, handsome looks and
towering height that have females
craving for every bit of him, he had
entered the big time and needed to
keep up the momentum. Knowing
him for years, he has never been
star struck, only happily content

mixing with the A-list in Hollywoods

equivalent.
Hard work and nothing but hard
work and striving to be the best in
what you do can make you successful
in life, he says in a too-often heard
line ensuring his young niece and
nephew hear him loud and clear,
egging them on to work and indeed
play hard in life.
Jamwal has charted a careful
strategy in Bollywoods home city of
Mumbai, not churning movie after
movie like his peers.
Its not about the numbers, its
about the quality and getting the right
script, he says.
Having made three Bollywood lms
and half a dozen south Indian movies
over the past four years, Jamwal is
pleased with what he has achieved so
far, but will up the ante from next year
admitting scripts are getting better
and better.
He is currently patching up Yaara,
a romantic Hindi period action drama
set in Indo-China but shot on location
in Nepal and Georgia.
His demanding lead role opposite
Shruti Haasan, daughter of veteran
south Indian movie stars Kamal
Haasan and Sarika, sees him playing a
character who ages from a young adult
of 25 to 45 year-old near middle-aged
man, as well as losing and putting on
weight.
The lm, an Indian remake of the
French movie Les Lyonnais, is much
awaited as the buzz is all about the
good chemistry between the pair.
Shruti and I are just adding one or
two more scenes for Yaara, which is
quite challenging as the lm has been
shot over a period of 12 months and
there is a need to capture the same
look and same feel, he says.
Theres a packed release schedule
of Bollywood movies between now
and the end of the year which makes
it difficult to release Yaara soon. But
the producers and distributors are
working on it.
Right now, though, Jamwal
openly talks about his next venture,

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Jamwal with family supporters and players of the Dabang Delhi kabaddi professional team after a match in New Delhi.

the sequel to the highly popular

Commando, in which he plays an
undercover military agent out to get
rid of gangsters terrorising a village
community in north India.
His one-man army character
earned him many followers across
Indian cinema with Hollywood also
knocking on his doors. He has already
been contacted by British martial arts
actor Scott Adkins, star of Undisputed
II: Last Man Standing, for a joint
collaboration.
My focus is on getting Commando
2 to hit the oors in early October,
says Jamwal.
Whenever there is a sequel,
expectations are high to surpass the
original. I can say with condence that
Commando 2 will be hundred times
better than the rst one with great
stunts never before attempted.
His manager Abbas later tells me
that the industry is looking forward
to Commando 2, adding that Jamwal
plans some of the craziest stunts ever.
I am very comfortable with action
movies but am keen on romantic
leads, Jamwal goes on, ensuring it
would be a stark difference to his
current type cast roles.
It begs the question who would be
his on-screen love interest in future
Its only clues that draws answers.
I love how Priyanka Chopra
conducts herself. And how Katrina
Kaif and Deepika Padukone have
performed so gracefully on screen.
It is the stunts however that
Jamwal cannot get away from,
making them the centrepiece of the
pre-kabaddi matches being screened
live from Delhis Thyagaraj Stadium
this week.
A packed stadium watching two
gripping matches sees Jamwal perform
scenes from Commando. The fan
following is mob-like and there is not
a moment he is able to sit comfortably
without the ever-intruding seles.
I am ne with it, he says. We live
for fans and we owe it to them. There
are many Bollywood celebrities who
turn their backs on them which is not
right.
And it is this that prompts my son
to say: You know, uncle, you have a
good quality about you. Youre ready
to do anything for your fans.
He was right.
After hearing Bollywood star
Abhishek Bachchan was present
cheering on kabaddi team Jaipur Pink
Panthers which he owns, my kids
wanted a sele urging their uncle to
help.
The buddies met, hugged and
Bachchan kindly obliged. Jamwal
is set to co-star with Bachchan in a
forthcoming lm.
But next stop is Bangalore for
Mens Fashion Week in a few days. My
creative daughter took time to give
Jamwal a few handy tips on dress sense
and style.
Having tread the boards with former
Miss World Priyanka Chopra, and
actresses Katrina Kaif and Kangana
Ranaut, he is preparing for another
round showing off his attire.
Adds Jamwal: Modelling is always
my rst love. Its great to have charted
a career on the catwalk which has
helped me get where I am today. Hard
work pays.
The life of all things Bollywood!
zUpdesh Kapur is a PR &
communications professional,
columnist, aviation, hospitality and
travel analyst. He can be followed on
twitter @updeshkapur