'Other problems' behind Younus Khan's offer to resign captaincy

The Pakistan captain Younus Khan has suggested he offered to resign for reasons beyond recent match-fixing allegations. Photograph: Akhtar Soomro/Reuters

Younus Khan has hinted that his offer to resign as Pakistan captain was prompted by "other problems" and not just the recent match-fixing allegations.

The 31-year-old offered to resign at a hearing before the National Assembly's standing committee on sports in Islamabad yesterday. The Pakistan Cricket Board has not yet decided whether to accept Younus's resignation, with the chairman Ijaz Butt saying he hopes to convince the batsman to change his mind.

The National Assembly hearing was convened by the committee's chairman Jamshed Ahmed Dasti, who had sought an explanation for Pakistan's defeats – in a group match to Australia and the semi-final to New Zealand – in the Champions Trophy in South Africa.

Dasti himself had accused the Pakistan team of throwing matches, but later back-tracked on those allegations. Yesterday's hearing ended in uproar, but the committee exonerated the Pakistan team of match-fixing and said it was satisfied with Younus's explanation.

Younus, however, was not happy. He told Geo Television: "It is sad and painful for me and, in fact, I am hiding from my family members after these nasty allegations of match-fixing.

"I have never fixed a match and never will. By resigning, I did what I thought was the right thing to do. I have worked hard to keep this team united for the last eight months despite problems.

"I don't want to elaborate on them but the last eight months have been tough for me and I have still tried to do my best as a player and as a captain to unite the team. I have always tried to lead from the front and I may have made some mistakes, but my actions have been in the best interests of the team.

"So when anyone accuses me or the team of deliberately throwing matches then I have no option but to resign."

Younus has twice before rejected the captaincy, suggesting he wanted the leadership role on his own terms. He said he was not averse to leading Pakistan again, but wanted a clear path.

"I will have a very frank discussion with the PCB chairman whenever he invites me to discuss my resignation," Younus said. "There are some issues need to be sorted out like the term of my captaincy."

Younus also indicated he would not render explanations before the National Assembly in future.

"My job is to perform as a player," he said. "The board and team officials are the ones who are the right authority to give answers if anyone wants to know anything about the team."

Source:www.guardian.co.uk

Jail

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Review

Review - Jail

[User Rating : 5/5]

Madhur Bhandarkar's Fashion had a top-notch soundtrack. But given that Jail is not as glamourous as the former, Madhur has gone in for a more conventional sound.
Jail opens with the guitar heavy Saiyan Ve. It's a true blue Sufi Rock number by the Raaz-The Mystery Continues composers Toshi/Sharib. In its lyrics, playback and sound design, Sainyan Ve follows the style of a Pakistani band. Even though there is nothing really new in this song, Toshi's voice gives it the extra edge. Coupled with a catchy hook, Saiyan Ve is a good listen while it lasts.
The same flavour spills over to Milke Yun Laga. Composed once again on the lines of Sufi Rock, Milke Yun Laga has a melodious tune. Which is why you don't mind pressing the rewind button. Toshi/Sharib give a sound start to Jail.
For the next two tracks, Madhur Bhandarkar ropes in his Page 3 discovery, Shamir Tandon.Bareily Ke Bazaar comes across as an item number. It is a complete departure from the two opening tracks. But despite all attempts to dish out a spirited composition it ends up like a poor cousin of Shilpa Shetty's Up Bihar Lootne... Maybe some sizzling picturisation could enhance the appeal of this song.
Next comes a big surprise. In the wake of her 80th birthday, Shamir Tandon unveils a Lata Mangeshkar number. Extremely situational track, this semi-devotional number works simply because of Lata Mangeshkar's divine voice. She truly stirs up an emotion in a way only she can. The impact of Daata Sun Lo will depend a lot on its placement in the film. It's nowhere close to the classic, Ae Maalik Tere Bande Hum, but still a cut above the mediocre.
The album closes with four remixes, which are more or less similar to the originals.
Verdict: Jail is not an album that'll make it your catalogue. But given the grim theme of the film, its soundtrack has some melodious moments.

Source:Mtv India

Review - Acid Factory

Review

Review - Acid Factory

[User Rating : 4/5]

Acid Factory is about a bunch of bad guys locked up in one, (you guessed it!) acid factory. One of them however is an undercover cop. Sounds Kaante? Well, it is. The look, set up, soundtrack and characterisations, bear an overbearing influence of Sanjay Gupta's super stylised 2000 flick. The only difference being that, in Acid Factory the characters suffer from temporary amnesia. However few minutes into the film you realise that the memory loss bit is just a forced gimmick. And has little impact on the story.
Acid Factory has some breathtaking action. But it's the basic flaws in the script that rob it off the desired thrills.
First and foremost, the identity of the undercover cop is revealed in the opening scene. So there is no mystery element to the premise.
Secondly, instead of constructing it as a thrilling joy ride, Acid Factory is a bunch of haphazardly put together action sequences that lead to a clumsy climax. Even the back and forth edit pattern becomes predictable in a while.
The so-called suspense around their presence in the factory, can be guessed almost half-an-hour before the credits roll. From there on, the film just drags on as you wait haplessly for the characters to unravel the mystery.
Now a lot of people knew the suspense of Kaante before it released. But what worked for that one was Dutt and Bachchan's magnetic screen presence. Acid Factory's acting ensemble can be divided into two parts – bad actors and gifted actors. Unfortunately both sets get inane dialogues and scenes to perform. However Irrfan Khan and Manoj Bajpayee manage to add some meet to the film with their natural spontaneity. In fact Khan and Bajpayee's argument in the climax, is a high point of the film.
Dia Mirza's much-hyped negative role is a damp squib. Someone seems to have mercilessly edited her out of most scenes. But she's the visual relief in a film full of shouting men. A special mention for Gulshan Grover, who has to be cinema's dumbest cop in a long long time. He is never on time; gets outsmarted at every occasion and insists on blabbering one-liners, straight out of American cop dramas. Acid Factory tries too hard to be like a Sanjay Gupta film. But director Suparn Varma can't recreate the stylish, edginess of his producer.
Verdict: For its action and some of Irrfan's well-improvised scenes, Acid Factory makes it to the watchable category. It's a wannabe action packed Hollywood B-movie. It gets the stupidity right, but falls short in attitude.
Source: Buzz18

New Backstreet Boys album "This Is Us,"

Backstreet Boys announced Tuesday that it will release its ninth album, "This Is Us," October 6.



The lead single, "Straight Through My Heart," has just been released to radio and can be heard on the group's MySpace page 


The 11-track Jive Records set follows the Backstreet Boys' platinum-certified 2005 reunion album, "Never Gone," and 2007's "Unbreakable," which sold 1.7 million copies worldwide but less than 150,000 in the U.S.


Group members Nick Carter, Howie Dorough, Brian Littrell and AJ McLean contributed to the writing and producing of "This Is Us," joined by original Backstreet Boys hitmaker Max Martin, T-Pain, RedOne, Soulshock & Karlin, Jim Jonsin and Claude Kelly.


"We always try to set the bar as high as possible," Dorough told Billboard.com. "We've always been a pop/R&B group. We focus our songs around good melodies and group harmonies, and hopefully that will have a lot of staying power."


Backstreet Boys has sold more than 76 million albums worldwide in the 12-plus years since the group debuted. And while the pop quartet is no longer the multiplatinum concern it was in the late '90s and early 2000s, Dorough said he and his groupmates remain confident about their place in the pop landscape.
This is us,

1. "Straight Through My Heart"
2. "Bigger"
3. "Bye Bye Love"
4. "All of Your Life (You Need Love)"
5. "If I Knew Then"
6. "This Is Us"
7. "PDA"
8. "Masquerade"
9. "She's a Dream"
10. "Shattered"
11. "Undone"

Saif continues to kiss Kareena, breaks all records!

A nod of approval from papa Randhir Kapoor has made Bebo and Saif a happy B-town couple and their joy is being reflected on reel as well.

We hear that Saif and Kareena have created a record for the longest kiss on camera for their upcoming movie Kurbaan.

According to unit sources, Saif continued to kiss Kareena and the kiss seemed to be never ending. It is one of the special attractions of the film.

Director Rensil D'Silva wants to present the chemistry between the real life lovers in the movie.

He is banking on the kissing scene so much so that Rensil believes that a certain section of the sex-starved audience will come to the theatres just to see Saif and Kareena in bed.

"A section of the audience might have decided to see this movie only to see the real-life couple making hot shot on the silver screen. It would be tragic," says Rensil