‘Saheb Biwi Aur Gangster 3:’ A jaded cat-and-mouse roulette

Sanjay Dutt’s Uday Pratap Singh
Updated 21 sec ago
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‘Saheb Biwi Aur Gangster 3:’ A jaded cat-and-mouse roulette

  • Chitrangada stands in contrast to the others — Jimmy, Dutt and even Mahi — who all appear boringly wooden in a world Dhulia creates through sickening amorality and wicked scheming

CHENNAI: Tigmanshu Dhulia’s latest edition in the franchise, “Saheb Biwi Aur Gangster 3,” may have a new villain in Sanjay Dutt’s Uday Pratap Singh, who gets deported out of London after a murderous assault on a British parliamentarian and loses his fancy-sounding nightclub, House of Lords, but the film flogs the same old tale of treachery and deceit. While the first two parts had Randeep Hooda and Irrfan Khan personifying evil with welcome freshness, Dutt is jaded, hardly villainous-looking and seemingly disinterested.
The plot itself — much like the movies we have seen about the debauchery and excess among India’s zamindars — talks about Saheb/master or Aditya Pratap Singh’s (Jimmy Shergill) efforts to get out of jail — an incarcerated existence that his Biwi/wife or Madhavi Devi (Mahi Gill) pushed him into in the second part of the franchise. Despite her deviously valiant efforts to keep her husband behind bars while she plays to perfection her role as a Member of India’s Parliament, punctuated by her seductive flirtations, Saheb walks out. And he finds a new man to reckon with — Uday, whom Biwi has managed to attract, even though he has a lover in Suhani, a dancer portrayed by a ravishingly beautiful Chitrangada Singh. Hauntingly expressive, but wasted in an inane role.
Chitrangada stands in contrast to the others — Jimmy, Dutt and even Mahi — who all appear boringly wooden in a world Dhulia creates through sickening amorality and wicked scheming. There is very little nobility left out of this royalty, and a classic question is posed to Saheb: Is your blood still royal or have years being a politician turned it into water? In the vicious cat-and-mouse game that the three lead characters play, there are twists and turns. One of them comes in the form of Russian roulette, a deadly game that Uday has mastered. He comes out unscathed from every such dangerous duel. But often the surprises seem forced.
Dhulia needs to introduce new faces if he makes another addition, and the climax tells us that there will be one more. Or he has to think up a radically different storyline.


‘Our time to shine’: Saudi piano prodigy plays a song of her own

Eman Gusti: The young Saudi pianist, who captivated the audience alongside 11-year-old violinist, Chloe Chua. (Courtesy: Saudi General Cultural Authority)
Updated 26 July 2018
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‘Our time to shine’: Saudi piano prodigy plays a song of her own

  • The Kingdom is brimming with musical talents waiting for their moment to shine
  • For Eman Gusti, performing for the sell-out Saudi audiences was unlike anything she had experienced

JEDDAH: Chloe Chua, the 11-year-old Singaporean violinist and winner of the international Menuhin competition, is certainly an impressive performer, as her concerts in Riyadh and Jeddah show. But the Kingdom, too, is brimming with musical talents waiting for their moment to shine.

Among them is 21-year-old pianist Eman Gusti, who opened for Chua with songs of her own after the General Culture Authority offered her the chance to widen her audience and make a name for herself in the music industry.

Gusti developed her passion for music watching her mother play the keyboard when she was a child. Her earliest memories were of lazy afternoons spent listening to her mother playing, and late nights watching performances of classical music.

“My mother bought me my first keyboard when I was 5,” Gusti told Arab News. “She instilled a love of music in me. I was inspired by her. I started practicing on my own, but found myself more into the piano than the keyboard.”

Seeing her growing interest in music, Gusti’s father presented her with her first piano when she was almost 15, just before she began high school.

The young pianist continued to refine her skills and grow as a musical talent, performing at 32 events before her debut alongside Chua.

For Gusti, performing for the sell-out Saudi audiences was unlike anything she had experienced. 

“It was such a wonderful feeling to see people interact with my music and to watch them enjoy it. I was nervous at the beginning, but once the music seeped into my veins, it was strange and beautiful.”

Gusti said that she was left speechless when she saw how enthralled the audience was with the music, especially since she was playing original pieces.

In the future, she hopes to “continue growing as an artist professionally and internationally.” She also wants to learn the harp.

“My belief is that everyone should follow their dreams and work hard to make them a reality. I wish to set an example for girls in my country and show them that this is their time, and that now everything is possible.”