In 1958, the actress Helen Jairag Richardson, better known by her screen name Helen, performed Bollywood's first "item song", the now well-known Mera Naam Chin Chin Chu, in the film Howrah Bridge. Since then, the Hindi film industry has showcased thousands of item numbers - highly choreographed, titillating performances to a catchy song - that have no bearing on the films in which they appear, being only a marketing tool to attract audiences.
"Katrina Kaif is an excellent example of someone who attracts a large number of people to a film when she does an item number," says Sunny D, a guitarist for the UK-based Asian band The 107, and an avid Bollywood fan.
Although Kaif's 2010 comedy Tees Maar Khan did not do well at the box office, her song Sheila Ki Jawani was a big hit in record stores, on the radio and among web downloads. In fact, the performance gained more awards than the film itself, including a Zee Cine Award for best choreography.
"Even if her fans are not interested in the film, they will go to see it for her performance," says D.
The trend has lent big support to Hindi films, according to Jasleen Bhambra, a professional Indian dancer based in London: item numbers attract more viewers, leading to high ticket sales, which translate into enormous earnings for the producers and studios, who then invest in new projects.
"Bollywood really is all about music, so what better way than to market a film with a song that people can't get out of their heads? Pair the song with an attractive girl, and the film is a winner," says Bhambra. "My favourite is the actress Malaika Arora Khan in the song Munni Badnam Hui from the Salman Khan-starrer Dabangg."
In the 1980s and 1990s, item numbers were seen as a way for newcomers to break into the film industry. The past decade, however, has seen even established actresses, such as Kareena Kapoor (Ra One, 2011) and Vidya Balan (Ferrari Ki Sawaari, 2012), taking advantage of the trend's capability to catapult their careers to great heights.
A-list actresses are paid large amounts of money to perform such sequences, especially since the producers regard them as an "investment". Mallika Sherawat admitted to receiving 10 million rupees (Dh660,000) to dance to the song Kalasala Kalasala in the 2011 film Osthi, a Tamil remake of Dabangg.
"Besides the monetary gain, it keeps these actresses in the public eye and in directors' minds [for future projects]," D explains.
Item numbers have also long been a target of controversy. When Helen's performance premiered in theatres, both the actress and the film producers were criticised for supposedly objectifying women. In recent years, similar criticism has been directed at several films with raunchy item numbers.
"But these songs are slowly becoming more about the music and the choreography and less about the girl," says Bhambra.
In the past decade, male actors have also made appearances in item songs, including Shah Rukh Khan (Kaal, 2005) and Hrithik Roshan (Krazzy 4, 2008).
"Performing an item number helps the actors to stay current, although sometimes many of the top stars do it as a favour to the directors," says D. "I watched Kaal only because Shah Rukh Khan did an item number in it. So these songs obviously are doing what they are meant to."
Three memorable item songs
Chaiyya Chaiyya – Dil Se (1998)
This was Malaika Arora Khan's item song debut, composed by A R Rahman. In 2003, the BBC conducted an international poll to choose the 10 most popular songs of all time – Chaiyya Chaiyya ranked ninth.
Kajra Re – Bunty Aur Babli (2005)
Aishwarya Rai did this item number to promote the comedy starring the father-son duo Amitabh and Abhishek Bachchan (who she married two years later). The film went on to become one of the biggest blockbuster hits that year. The song won two Filmfare awards, among others.
Sheila Ki Jawani – Tees Maar Khan (2010)
Featuring Katrina Kaif and choreographed by Farah Khan, the song took the industry by storm and is considered to be one of the most popular item numbers in recent years. With its catchy tune and glamorous costumes, it was such a huge hit that it outshone the movie, and went on to scoop up a few awards, too.
Closing the loophole on sugary drinks
As The National reported last year, non-fizzy sugared drinks were not covered when the original tax was introduced in 2017. Sports drinks sold in supermarkets were found to contain, on average, 20 grams of sugar per 500ml bottle.
The non-fizzy drink AriZona Iced Tea contains 65 grams of sugar – about 16 teaspoons – per 680ml can. The average can costs about Dh6, which would rise to Dh9.
Drinks such as Starbucks Bottled Mocha Frappuccino contain 31g of sugar in 270ml, while Nescafe Mocha in a can contains 15.6g of sugar in a 240ml can.
Flavoured water, long-life fruit juice concentrates, pre-packaged sweetened coffee drinks fall under the ‘sweetened drink’ category
Not taxed:
Freshly squeezed fruit juices, ground coffee beans, tea leaves and pre-prepared flavoured milkshakes do not come under the ‘sweetened drink’ band.
Origin
Dan Brown
Doubleday
BIGGEST CYBER SECURITY INCIDENTS IN RECENT TIMES
SolarWinds supply chain attack: Came to light in December 2020 but had taken root for several months, compromising major tech companies, governments and its entities
Microsoft Exchange server exploitation: March 2021; attackers used a vulnerability to steal emails
Kaseya attack: July 2021; ransomware hit perpetrated REvil, resulting in severe downtime for more than 1,000 companies
Log4j breach: December 2021; attackers exploited the Java-written code to inflitrate businesses and governments
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
BUNDESLIGA FIXTURES
Friday Stuttgart v Cologne (Kick-off 10.30pm UAE)
Saturday RB Leipzig v Hertha Berlin (5.30pm)
Mainz v Borussia Monchengladbach (5.30pm)
Bayern Munich v Eintracht Frankfurt (5.30pm)
Union Berlin v SC Freiburg (5.30pm)
Borussia Dortmund v Schalke (5.30pm)
Sunday Wolfsburg v Arminia (6.30pm)
Werder Bremen v Hoffenheim (9pm)
Bayer Leverkusen v Augsburg (11.30pm)
The biog:
Languages: Arabic, Farsi, Hindi, basic Russian
Favourite food: Pizza
Best food on the road: rice
Favourite colour: silver
Favourite bike: Gold Wing, Honda
Favourite biking destination: Canada
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENomad%20Homes%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2020%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EHelen%20Chen%2C%20Damien%20Drap%2C%20and%20Dan%20Piehler%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20UAE%20and%20Europe%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3A%20PropTech%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunds%20raised%20so%20far%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%2444m%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Acrew%20Capital%2C%2001%20Advisors%2C%20HighSage%20Ventures%2C%20Abstract%20Ventures%2C%20Partech%2C%20Precursor%20Ventures%2C%20Potluck%20Ventures%2C%20Knollwood%20and%20several%20undisclosed%20hedge%20funds%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
The most expensive investment mistake you will ever make
When is the best time to start saving in a pension? The answer is simple – at the earliest possible moment. The first pound, euro, dollar or dirham you invest is the most valuable, as it has so much longer to grow in value. If you start in your twenties, it could be invested for 40 years or more, which means you have decades for compound interest to work its magic.
“You get growth upon growth upon growth, followed by more growth. The earlier you start the process, the more it will all roll up,” says Chris Davies, chartered financial planner at The Fry Group in Dubai.
This table shows how much you would have in your pension at age 65, depending on when you start and how much you pay in (it assumes your investments grow 7 per cent a year after charges and you have no other savings).
|
Age
|
$250 a month
|
$500 a month
|
$1,000 a month
|
|
25
|
$640,829
|
$1,281,657
|
$2,563,315
|
|
35
|
$303,219
|
$606,439
|
$1,212,877
|
|
45
|
$131,596
|
$263,191
|
$526,382
|
|
55
|
$44,351
|
$88,702
|
$177,403
|
What to watch out for:
Algae, waste coffee grounds and orange peels will be used in the pavilion's walls and gangways
The hulls of three ships will be used for the roof
The hulls will painted to make the largest Italian tricolour in the country’s history
Several pillars more than 20 metres high will support the structure
Roughly 15 tonnes of steel will be used
Jumanji: The Next Level
Director: Jake Kasdan
Stars: Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Karen Gillan, Jack Black, Nick Jonas
Two out of five stars
What are the GCSE grade equivalents?
- Grade 9 = above an A*
- Grade 8 = between grades A* and A
- Grade 7 = grade A
- Grade 6 = just above a grade B
- Grade 5 = between grades B and C
- Grade 4 = grade C
- Grade 3 = between grades D and E
- Grade 2 = between grades E and F
- Grade 1 = between grades F and G
EA%20Sports%20FC%2024
%3Cp%3EDeveloper%3A%20EA%20Vancouver%2C%20EA%20Romania%3Cbr%3EPublisher%3A%20EA%20Sports%3Cbr%3EConsoles%3A%20Nintendo%20Switch%2C%20PlayStation%204%26amp%3B5%2C%20PC%20and%20Xbox%20One%3Cbr%3ERating%3A%203.5%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
