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Updated February 10, 2012, 1:28 pm
On Feb. 11, 1945, President Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Soviet leader Josef Stalin signed the Yalta Agreement during World War II.
Go to article »On Feb. 11, 1847, Thomas Alva Edison, the prolific inventor whose more than 1,000 patents included the light bulb and the gramophone, was born. Following his death on Oct. 18, 1931, his obituary appeared in The Times.
Go to obituary » | Other birthdays »
On This Date
By The Associated Press
1847 Inventor Thomas Alva Edison was born in Milan, Ohio. 1858 A French girl, Bernadette Soubirous, claimed to have seen a vision of the Virgin Mary near Lourdes. 1929 Italy recognized the independence and sovereignty of Vatican City. 1937 A sit-down strike against General Motors ended with the company agreeing to recognize the United Automobile Workers Union. 1945 President Franklin D. Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Soviet leader Josef Stalin wrapped up a conference at Yalta in the Crimea by signing a series of agreements on the governance of post-World War II Europe. 1975 Margaret Thatcher became the first woman to head a major party in Britain when she was elected leader of opposition Conservative Party. 1979 Followers of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini seized power in Iran, nine days after the religious leader returned to his home country following 15 years of exile. 1990 South African black activist Nelson Mandela was freed after 27 years in captivity. 2008 The Defense Department charged Khalid Sheikh Mohammed with murder and war crimes in connection with the Sept. 11 attacks. 2009 Democrat John Dingell of Michigan became the longest-serving member of the U.S. House of Representatives with more than 53 years of service. 2009 President Robert Mugabe swore in longtime rival Morgan Tsvangirai as Zimbabwe’s prime minister. Current Birthdays
By The Associated Press
Former Alaska governor Sarah Palin turns 48 years old today.
AP Photo/Stephan Savoia
Actor Taylor Lautner (“Twilight” movies) turns 20 years old today.
AP Photo/Joel Ryan
1928 Conrad Janis, Actor (“Mork and Mindy”), turns 84 1934 Tina Louise, Actress (“Gilligan’s Island”), turns 78 1936 Burt Reynolds, Actor, turns 76 1939 Gerry Goffin, Songwriter, turns 73 1941 Sergio Mendes, Bandleader, turns 71 1953 Jeb Bush, Former governor of Florida, brother of former President George W. Bush, turns 59 1961 Carey Lowell, Actress (“Law and Order”), turns 51 1962 Sheryl Crow, Rock singer, musician, turns 50 1969 Jennifer Aniston, Actress (“Friends”), turns 43 1971 Damian Lewis, Actor (“Band of Brothers”), turns 41 1979 Brandy, R&B singer, actress, turns 33 1980 Matthew Lawrence, Actor, turns 32 1981 Kelly Rowland, R&B singer (Destiny’s Child), turns 31
Historic Birthdays
Thomas Alva Edison 2/11/1847 – 10/18/1931 American inventor holding 1,093 patents.Go to obituary »
99 Bernard Le Bovier Fontenelle 2/11/1657 – 1/9/1757
French scientist and man of letters73 Hans Jarta 2/11/1774 – 4/6/1847
Swedish political activist/administrator/publicist77 William Henry Fox Talbot 2/11/1800 – 9/17/1877
English chemist/pioneer photographer52 Otto Ludwig 2/11/1813 – 2/25/1865
German novelist/playwright/critic44 Thomas, Jr. Hitchcock 2/11/1900 – 4/19/1944
American polo player69 Arne Jacobsen 2/11/1902 – 3/24/1971
Danish architect/designer50 Max Baer 2/11/1909 – 11/21/1959
American boxer45 Farouk I 2/11/1920 – 3/18/1965
King of Egypt,1936-195276 Eva Gabor 2/11/1919 – 7/4/1995
Hungarian actress/pianist
Fasten your seat belts, Ladies and Gentlemen: you’re in for a fantastic ride with this remake of a movie. What you’ll get is a classic Bollywood masala movie, no holds barred. And what that means is that we get everything from stereotypical Indian village life–where the school master sets the moral tone to the simple living of the simple village folks– that is in stark contrast to the goondas and gangsters of the metropolis across the bay, also known as Mumbai. And in this big-city, we see the sinister machinations of mafia gangs, but also the intricacies of love, loyalty, and Machiavellian politics flourish in gay abandon.
In the midst of this all, we follow the life of a young boy determined to match the grief of loss with an insatiable thirst for revenge, and perhaps relief? Alas, if only there was some surety of the latter being a function of the former we’d all be so much secure in our ways. But ours is not the privilege to predict the future, and very often we are perplexed even about the present. Which is a sentiment that is portrayed so very skillfully in the mother-son relationship in this story.
The cast of characters is superb. But before I get to that, allow me to confess that I don’t remember having seen the original Agneepath, and only after taking in this one did I hop on to YouTube to check it out. Suffice to say, the story might be the same, but at the risk of stepping on the toes of die-hard fans of the first, I would venture to say that this one breathed new life into the old. The portrayal of the primary characters was superb by each one: Rishi Kapoor would have been on fire sans the surma, I’m sure of it, and Sanjay Dutt was definitely made for this role. Om Puri, Danny Dengzongpa and Zarina Wahab give strong performances, and Ms. Chopra has a liveliness to her that is positively contagious, I think. But the one that takes the high marks is without a doubt, Mr. Hritik Roshan. A most brilliant performance that is seamless in his many facets of son, lover, and right-hand man, Hritik’s Vijay Dinanath Chauhan is one for the files, hands down.
The musical score also deserves commendation for its intense background music, and of course, the much-talked and very duly-hyped Chikni Chameli song. The cameo by Katrina Kaif adds that extra zing to the ‘masala’ and certainly earns her an even higher spot in the ranks of Bollywood’s hot actresses.
True to form, this is bound to be a Bollywood blockbuster, if it isn’t one already. And please, for the last time, can we not complain about how long the movie is? It’s supposed to be long, don’t you see– they need every minute of those three-plus hours to put on this epic story.
Updated February 9, 2012, 1:28 pm
On Feb. 10, 1962, the Soviet Union exchanged captured American U-2 pilot Francis Gary Powers for Rudolph Ivanovich Abel, a Soviet spy held by the United States.
On Feb. 10, 1890, Boris Pasternak, the Russian Nobel Prize-winning novelist and poet, was born. Following his death on May 30, 1960, his obituary appeared in The Times.
Go to obituary » | Other birthdays »
On This Date
By The Associated Press
1763 France ceded Canada to England under the Treaty of Paris, which ended the French and Indian War. 1840 Britain’s Queen Victoria married Prince Albert of Saxe Coburg-Gotha. 1846 Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints – the Mormons – began an exodus west from Illinois. 1962 The Soviet Union exchanged captured American U-2 pilot Francis Gary Powers for a Soviet spy held by the United States. 1964 Bob Dylan’s album “The Times They Are A-Changin”‘ was released. 1967 The 25th Amendment to the Constitution, dealing with presidential disability and succession, went into effect. 1989 Ron Brown was elected chairman of the Democratic National Committee, becoming the first African-American to head a major U.S. political party. 1992 Boxer Mike Tyson was convicted in Indianapolis of raping a Miss Black America contestant. 2004 Rapper-producer Kanye West’s debut CD, “The College Dropout,” was released. 2005 North Korea boasted publicly for the first time that it possessed nuclear weapons. 2007 Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., kicked off his presidential campaign with a speech at the state house in Springfield, Ill. 2007 Gen. David Petraeus took charge of U.S. forces in Iraq. 2011 Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak refused to step down or leave the country and instead handed his powers to his vice president. Current Birthdays
By The Associated Press
Actress Elizabeth Banks turns 38 years old today.
AP Photo/Evan Agostini
Actress Laura Dern turns 45 years old today.
AP Photo/Katy Winn
1930 Robert Wagner, Actor (“Hart to Hart”), turns 82 1939 Roberta Flack, Singer, turns 73 1940 Jimmy Merchant, Singer (Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers), turns 72 1950 Mark Spitz, Olympic gold-medal swimmer, turns 62 1951 Robert Iger, Walt Disney Co. president and CEO, turns 61 1961 Alexander Payne, Director (“The Descendants,” “Sideways”), turns 51 1961 George Stephanopoulos, Broadcast journalist (“This Week”), turns 51 1991 Emma Roberts, Actress, turns 21 1997 Chloe Grace Moretz, Actress (“Hugo”), turns 15
Historic Birthdays
Boris Pasternak 2/10/1890 – 5/30/1960 Russian Nobel Prize-winning novelist/poet.Go to obituary »
64 Aaron Hill 2/10/1685 – 2/8/1750
English poet/dramatist/essayist72 Andre-Ernest Gretry 2/10/1741 – 9/24/1813
French operatic composer59 Charles Lamb 2/10/1775 – 12/27/1834
English essayist/critic80 Harrison Gray Otis 2/10/1837 – 7/30/1917
American newspaper publisher-Los Angeles Times75 William Allen White 2/10/1868 – 1/29/1944
American journalist/writer86 Jimmy Durante 2/10/1893 – 1/29/1980
American comedian/entertainer92 Harold Macmillan 2/10/1894 – 12/29/1986
English politician/prime minister93 Dame Judith Anderson 2/10/1898 – 1/3/1992
Australian-bn. American stage and film actress58 Bertolt Brecht 2/10/1898 – 8/14/1956
German poet/playwright91 Stella Adler 2/10/1901 – 12/21/1992
American actress/teacher
