'Valatty - Tale Of Tails': A Unique Love Story Of 2 Dogs

Romcom movies have long been a source of comfort, a go-to genre for whenever one needs a dose of happiness. There's a new romcom all set to hit theatres, but, with a pawsome twist. New film from Kerala, Valatty is a love story of two dogs, brought up in contrasting cultural conditions. 

Valatty - Tale of Tails is the story of two dogs Tomy and Amalu, who fall in love, despite the religious differences of their owners. While one of the owners is vegetarian, brought up in a Palakkad Iyer family, the other enjoys his meat. As a result of this friction, the dogs decide to elope as their love transcends their owner's culinary taste differences. 

While making the film, the film-maker says the attempt was to avoid assigning any nativity to the dogs or the characters so it could be more universal. Even the vehicles carry DW (Dogs World) in the number plate. 

Actor-producer Vijay Babu of Friday Film House, who has financed the film, says Valatty is a 'first-of-its-kind' Indian film and took 3 and a half years to make. He tells NDTV that the puppies were adopted and trained according to the script. The shoot took over 100 days followed by a year of post-production work. 

The film has minimal use of animation and has majorly been shot with real dogs. "The expressions- sad, angry, happy, smiling, all are real. Only where there is dialogue in close-up, animation has been used for about 15 minutes in the film," Vijay Babu told NDTV. 

The male lead Tomy is played by a Golden Retriever, the female lead by a cocker spaniel and the antagonist by a Rottweiler. The film also features a country dog that plays the hero's friend. The film-maker atells NDTV that the dogs have now been adopted by loving families.   

The 'experimental' film, written and directed by debutant filmmaker Devan, features 11 dogs and a rooster. The film also touches upon the issue of stray dogs which is now a sensitive subject in Kerala, after recent incidents of cases of attacks by strays. 

The film will release in five Indian languages- Malayalam, Kannada, Tamil, Telugu and Hindi. The dubbing for the lead characters has been done by well-known voices in different languages. Roshan Mathew has given voice to the lead hero Tomy and Raveena Ravi has voiced the female lead Amalu in all south Indian languages. 

Notable Malayalam actors, including Soubin Shahir, Indrans, Sunny Wayne, Saiju Kurup, Aju Varghese, Ranjini Haridas, Mahima Nambiar and others have lent their voices to the animal cast. Valatty has Vishnu Panicker as the cinematographer and Ayoob Khan as the editor. Music is composed by Varun Sunil. 

The Malayalam and Kannada versions of the film are set to be released on July 21. The Hindi, Tamil and Telugu versions will hit the theatres on July 28. Dil Raju releases the Telugu version, Anil Thadani the Hindi version, Bengaluru-based Hombale of KGF and Kantara fame, KRG is doing the Kannada version and holds worldwide release rights. 
 

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Opinion: Opinion: In Opposition's Unity Fumble Maharashtra Bihar Are Exhibit A

Five years ago, around this time, the UPA or United Progressive Alliance was still alive and possible permutations and combinations of opposition unity were discussed on various forums. The question central to their theme of uprooting Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the ruling BJP was, what would happen in Uttar Pradesh, where the BJP had swept the 2014 Lok Sabha election by winning 73 of 80 seats.

Almost everyone in the anti-Modi grouping hoped against hope - if only Mayawati's Bahujan Samajwadi Party (BSP) and Mulayam Singh Yadav's Samajwadi Party could come together, they thought, it would be endgame for Modi. Their wishes came true and more; not just Samajwadi Party and BSP but Ajit Singh's RLD joined that Gathbandhan (grand coalition). The Congress was the hidden partner, as both SP and BSP announced they wouldn't put up any candidate in Amethi and Raebareli against Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi. The Congress was to return the favour in some seats.

The protagonists and supporters of that Gathbandhan, as also of the UPA, dug up an old slogan of the 1990s, "Mile Mulayam Kanshi Ram Hawa Me Udd Gaye Jai Shri Ram (if Mulayam Singh Yadav and Kashi Ram join hands, they can beat Jai Shri Ram)" to try and score a psychological victory over the BJP and its support base. Of course, none really cared to tell the full story of how the two parties faired in the subsequent assembly elections.

Similarly in Karnataka, the Congress and Janata Dal (Secular), which had formed a government together, tied up for the parliamentary polls.

Both formidable opposition combos - in India's most populous state and in the only southern state where the BJP had a strong presence. 

Amit Shah, the then BJP president, had then famously said his party was fighting for over 50 per cent votes in each constituency and had expressed confidence in victory.

We know what happened in 2024. In UP, the BJP won 62 seats, and two more by its ally; Rahul Gandhi suffered a humiliating defeat in his constituency Amethi and Sonia Gandhi managed to win, with a lesser margin. In Karnataka, the BJP won 25 of 28 seats.

This time around, no one is talking about the prospects of opposition alliances in UP, the state which sends over a seventh of the total MPs to Lok Sabha. The Congress's first family is showing no signs of any attempt to reclaim Amethi. There is no signal yet of whether Sonia Gandhi will contest from Raebareli or pass on the baton to Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. They know it won't be easy.

There is no talk even about Bengal, which has the third largest (42) seats in Lok Sabha. The BJP put up an impressive show in 2019 and emerged as the opposition in the Bengal assembly. Mamata Banerjee and the Trinamool Congress are the ones talking the most, but the chorus of the BJP being a non-entity - as was said often in the run-up to 2014 - is missing.

Instead, for the 2024 elections, the spotlight is on Maharashtra and Bihar, the second and fourth largest in terms of number of seats (48 and 40).

This is not to say that elections in other states are not as important, for every single seat counts. But there is no disputing the fact that in terms of wider popular attention, narrative formation and media hype, some states grab more prominence than the others.

In the 2019 election, the BJP and Shiv Sena alliance won 41 of 48 seats in a repeat of the 2014 results. In Bihar, the BJP, along with its ally Janata Dal (United) and Lok Janshakti Party, won 39 of 40 seats. Lalu Yadav's party RJD was wiped out and the Congress could manage only one seat.

With the RJD-JD(U)-Congress, along with three other parties, coming together, the opposition has, at least on paper, a very formidable alliance against the BJP and its prospective allies. 

In Maharashtra, the Maha Vikas Agadi coalition against the BJP also seemed to be rock solid for 2024.

It is worth noting that elections, like any other fight, are fought on a twin strategy - one, a psychological war against the opponent before and during the actual fight and second, ground realities. It has been repeatedly proved that ground realities are entirely different from what leaders of rival political formations try to project. Remember Nitish Kumar's famed statement of 2014 on the prospects of BJP's Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi? 'Blower ki Hawa', he sneered. In fact, Nitish Kumar was swept away in that election by a Modi gust.

The speed at which realities have shifted in the past year, to the benefit of the BJP and to the detriment of the opposition coalition, has stunned everyone. First, it was the Eknath Shinde-led rebellion that not only ousted the Maha Vikas Aghadi from power but also virtually crippled Uddhav Thackeray's Shiv Sena. Then it was the turn of NCP supremo and the so-called Chanakya of politics, Sharad Pawar, to be thwacked by an identical coup. His nephew Ajit Pawar and close associates Praful Patel and Chhagan Bhujbal led a revolt against his daughter Supriya Sule becoming their ultimate Boss. Just how much appetite Pawar has left to rebuild his party, and take on Modi, is anybody's guess.

Nitish Kumar had, while campaigning for the 2020 Bihar election, declared that it would be his last election. He tried to play the emotional card but people didn't buy it, and his JD(U) was reduced to party number three in the assembly. It's a different matter that the BJP still made him Chief Minister and he continues to be the same, with the support of the RJD and the Congress. The question is - will the people of Bihar, with Nitish Kumar's credibility in tatters, vote for an opposition coalition to make him Prime Minister of India? That too when Nitish's party, in a seven-party coalition, wouldn't get more than 14 or 15 seats to fight.

But then, as of now, Maharashtra and Bihar are getting all the attention. Which explains why Union Minister Nityanand Rai meeting with Chirag Paswan was such big news.

(Sanjay Singh is a senior journalist based in Delhi)

Disclaimer: These are the personal opinions of the author.

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In Himachal Nearly Submerged Temple Emblematic Of Destruction - And Hope

A nearly submerged temple in Himachal Pradesh, with floodwater swirling around its spire, has become almost emblematic of the destruction wrought on the state by incessant rain, which has battered it for over two weeks now. 

Over 30 people have died in the state and there has been damage worth over Rs 3,000 crore. But when the sun came out today, visuals of water receding around the Mahadev Temple in Mandi served as a ray of hope to many. 

While footage from yesterday showed even the main, bigger spire close to being engulfed by the floodwater, the entire temple could be seen in all its glory today, with the water flowing below its base. 

An immediate cause of the situation getting as bad as it did over the past few days in Mandi and surrounding areas is obvious - unchecked construction around the Beas river, which has constricted the area available for it to flow and ensured that the river has to carry additional debris in case of landslides. 

These factors make the river change course and enter houses in low-lying areas and along its banks, leaving a trail of destruction in its path. 

An orange (second-highest level) alert has been sounded for Mandi and surrounding areas today. Authorities have, however, told NDTV that the expectation is that the intensity of the rainfall will be less than what it was yesterday. 

Of the 30 people who have died in Himachal, Shimla - which saw 11 deaths - reported the highest number of casualties. Police said 29 of the 30 dead bodies have been identified. 

Over 500 tourists have also been stranded in various parts of the state after rain-induced landslides cut off access to the areas.

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Bureaucrat Shares Pic Of Rs 20 Refund After Cancelling Flight Ticket Internet Reacts

Indian Administrative Service officer, Rahul Kumar's recent tweet is gaining a lot of traction on social media. Mr Kumar cancelled his flight ticket and shared a screenshot of the refund he received.

Mr Kumar with a touch of sarcasm wrote, "Pls suggest some good investment plans for my refund."

The screenshot shows a paltry sum of Rs 20 on the flight ticket which he had booked for Rs 13,820. Mr Kumar paid the amount after getting a discount of Rs 1,138. The airline cancellation fee was Rs 11,800, the GI cancellation fee at Rs 1,200 and the convenience fee was Rs 800. Since the cancellation fee was Rs 13,800, Mr Kumar received just Rs 20.

See the post here:

Pls suggest some good investment plans for my refund. pic.twitter.com/lcUEMVQBnq

— Rahul Kumar (@Rahulkumar_IAS) July 10, 2023

The post soon went viral and received an array of reactions from internet users. Commenting on the post, Indian Forest Service officer Parveen Kaswan wrote, "With this kind of liquidity you will need extra security, sir."

A user suggested that he should, "Donate it to a charity and claim tax returns!"

Another user commented, "I don't process the refund in these cases. Let the seat get wasted .. rather than the airline selling it again to some other passenger."

"I m not very good at economics but can suggest for remaining huge amount which you can donate to some needy person, his/her blessings will certainly outperform any investment," the third user wrote.
 

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Teachers Of Private Government Schools Entitled To Same Pay: Delhi Court

Teachers of unaided private schools are entitled to same pay and emoluments as their counterparts in government schools, the Delhi High Court has said.

The court made the remarks while rejecting a private school's plea challenging the directive of a single-judge bench of the high court to pay its teachers according to the Seventh Central Pay Commission.

The court observed that section 10 of the Delhi School Education Act provides that the scale of pay and allowances, medical facilities, pension, gratuity, provident fund and other prescribed benefits of a recognised private school shall not be less than those of the employees of the corresponding status in the government school.

It also noted that the Directorate of Education here in a notification on October 17, 2017, directed that all recognised schools shall implement the recommendations of the Seventh Central Pay Commission.

A bench of Justice Manmohan and Justice Mini Pushkarna said schools cannot evade their statutory responsibility and are bound to pay the statutory dues as per the law.

"It is the undisputed position of law that teachers of unaided private schools are entitled to the same pay and emoluments as those of government schools, in terms of the obligation enjoined upon the private recognized schools under the DSE (Delhi School Education) Act, 1973," said the court in its recent order.

"Consequently, this Court is of the view that the present appeal is bereft of merit. Accordingly, the present appeal and application are dismissed but with no order as to cost," it said.

Three teachers of the appellant school had approached the single-judge of the high court earlier after the benefit of the Seventh Central Pay Commission was not extended by the school.

The single-judge bench, in its judgement passed in December 2021, directed the school to grant benefits and salaries to the teachers under provisions of the Seventh Central Pay Commission and further held that they were entitled to arrears with effect from January 1, 2016.

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Asia Cup स पहल रहत शरम क एक टशन दर टम इडय म लटन वल ह गदबज क कल 1 बटर परशन हग

टीम इंडिया की एशिया कप से पहले एक बड़ी टेंशन दूर होती दिख रही. चोट के कारण WTC Final नहीं खेलने वाले धाकड़ खिलाड़ी ने नेट्स पर अभ्यास शुरू कर दिया है. भारत को इस खिलाड़ी की कमी महसूस हुई थी. एशिया कप में ये खिलाड़ी वापसी कर सकता है. ऐसा होता है तो विश्व कप में भी खेलने की उम्मीद बढ़ जाएगी.

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तसर टसट म 3 बड बदलव एशज सरज क चथ मच क लए इगलड क टम क घषण कन खलडय क मल मक

इंग्लैंड ने जॉनी बेयरस्टो पर भरोसा कायम रखते हुए ओल्ड ट्रैफर्ड में अगले हफ्ते से होने वाले चौथे एशेज क्रिकेट टेस्ट के लिए इस विकेटकीपर बल्लेबाज को टीम में बरकरार रखा है. इंग्लैंड ने 14 सदस्यीय टीम में कोई बदलाव नहीं किया है जिसमें बेयरस्टो एकमात्र विकेटकीपर हैं.

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