Exec Lifestyle?s Weekend Watch, recommends and previews the television shows & films that you simply cannot miss this weekend! Stay at home to watch your favourite show or grab some popcorn at the theatre near you as we present a comprehensive listing on the tv programmes and movies playing this weekend.

Television ?

Bigg Boss 8 ( Halla Bol)

Catch the Grand Finale of the controversial and popular reality show Bigg Boss 8 (Halla Bol) on 31 January 2015 at 9 pm on Colors. This season of Bigg Boss has been mired in controversies and has managed to grab eyeballs.  With the four month long reality show finally coming to an end, one can only ponder over who will take the title this season! This season of Bigg Boss has been mired in controversies and has managed to grab eyeballs.  With the four month long reality show finally coming to an end, one can only ponder over who will take the title this season!

Movies ?

Hawaizaada

Hawaaizaada starring Ayushmann Khurrana, Mithun Chakraborty and Pallavi Sharda in pivotal roles is one of the much- awaited films this month. Directed by Vibhu Puri, the story is about Shivi who gets  expelled from his school. An eccentric yet genius scientist and Vedic scholar enters Shivi's life and inspires him to pursue his dream of doing the impossible - making the world's first aircraft. Will he ever be able to live up to his guru's dream? Will the Hawaizaada ever touch the sky? Catch the film and find out for yourself!

Khamoshiyaan

Khamoshiyaan stars Ali Fazal, Gurmeet Choudhary and Sapna Pabbi in lead roles. A Mukesh Bhatt production the film which is written by Vikram Bhatt and directed by Karan Darra tell the story of a young novelist who is on an inspirational journey to find himself. He travels to a new place and meets a young and beautiful lady who is married to the owner of the guest-house he is staying at. This encounter leads to many unusual happenings and he discovers secrets about the house and the mysterious lady. 

MUMBAI: January 2015 has marked one of India's biggest book deals between the author Jeroninio ?Jerry? Almeida for his Karma Kurry- The Hero in Me book series and Jaico Publishing House. The announcement was made and celebrated at Apeejay Oxford Bookstore announced one of India?s first and biggest book deal 

Karma Kurry published in 2013 is the # 1 Non-Fiction bestseller in various lists. 10 more Karma Kurry books will be published by 2020 following this unique and iconic deal in the publishing industry. Oxford Bookstore announced its collaboration with the author and its pledge to search for unsung heroes pan India and instituting the Oxford Bookstore Karmaveer Chakra to reward and recognize their work.

The stories of these heroes will be published in Karma Kurry.  All proceeds, royalties and fees will be donated to the national character building movement, Apeejay Karmayuga and other citizen action & social justice causes espoused by him., announced the author Jerry Almeida today. Currently Jerry has been raising funds through the book for rehabilitation of the people affected by the Kashmir Floods. This is being done through an initiative called IBTEDA- The beginning, which is led not by NGOS but by conscientious people and citizens of Kashmir who are living across India and overseas.

Jerry said, "Karma Kurry is just not a book series for me but a passion, a journey of many, many years and a vision with a compelling mission to help bring about a change in our world by telling inspiring stories of real life heroes to people at large in schools, colleges, B-schools and organizations from all sectors. I am grateful to Jaico and Apeejay Oxford Bookstore for having supported me with all the innovations that we have jointly created, and will be creating in future. We have received over INR 1.5 crores already, from the special edition hard cover book sales and this does not include other royalties from paperback, eBook, audio book sales. We have hundreds of stories of real heroes from across the world that will inspire people and the idea is to churn out very inspiring and compelling stories in the Karma Kurry series over the next five years and more. These stories of everyday real heroes accompanied by inspirational quotes and self-help thought-triggers which would help readers to discover and unleash their huge potential and awaken the hero within them. I sincerely believe we all have a hero within us and if each of us does small acts with compassion and courage of conviction, then a better, humane, responsible society shall surely become a reality?

Meera Sanyal, Gul Panag, Joy Sengupta, Sailesh Mishra, Akash Shah who all are role models in their field joined the author in a panel discussion on Karma and the need for real heroes in the world. 

The first Karma Kurry book had a preface from the author?s role model and global icon Nelson Mandela. The first book which sold purely through word of mouth publicity has received an overwhelming response all over India so far, and is one of the bestsellers today. 

The second Karma Kurry for the mind, body, heart and soul is also ready and co-authored by Jeroninio Almeida with iCONGO co-founder and Apeejay Karmayuga Mission Director, Ms. Meenu Chopra. Book 2 shall have stories of more real heroes from across the world like Ms. Shubha Ranjan, Ms. Tulasi Munda, Dr. David Dror, Dr. Villoo Patell, Dr. Kalyan Banerjee, Mr. Javed Ahmed Tak, Ms. Manju Latha Kalanidhi, Mr. Karan Paul and several others.

Jaico Publishing House will help support the author to raise Rs 12 crore by 2020 through a mix of upfront fees, paperback royalties, international book sales, audio books, eBooks, TV and Play rights, author endorsements and several other bonuses from other avenues. As a part of the book deal Jaico has already published a special first edition autographed books. These books are collector?s series and Jaico shall be giving majority of all sales proceeds from this book to Jerry to accomplish his mission. These books will only be sold through crowd sourcing websites internationally and directly by the author in international forums where he delivers inspirational speeches and in special book launches, to people and supporters who make a minimum contribution of Rs. 7,500. The author has got contributions for over 500 books each, of the first 2 books from Karma Kurry supporters which shall be utilised for nation building initiatives and for social causes he espouses.

Shashi Sinha, gives a feeling of being very rooted when he says, "I would rather go in for Indian authors and seek inspiration from our own culture and tradition. Some time ago when I read Dr Radhakrishnan's work on the Bhagawad Gita; it sort of gave me a different direction in life. Compare this to the Antonio Silva mind control program which I happen to attend recently. One realises that it's all derived from our Indian yogic technique and method.

I have a huge library of books at my place where I have all the five versions of Upanishads and Gita. Though, I must confess it's all very difficult to read. I wish these books were a bit more simplified."

"Going back in time, I wasn't really so much into reading during my school or college days. My father was in the Army and while in Dehradun, I was more into sports like hockey and cricket. Later, during my college days at IIT Kanpur, the attitude of my generation was to appear really cool. And how did we do that? By not really studying and yet doing well at the exams. You were cool if you could get maximum output by putting in minimum input. So, I definitely didn't want to be seen reading books. Instead, I picked up Bridge which I would say is a real cerebral game and very addictive indeed.
It's only later in life that I took to reading books."

"Now, most of the times it's work really but I do make it a point to read while travelling. Books do remain a constant source of inspiration for me. I land up buying a lot of books at airports. It's mostly Indian fiction, self-help books, biographies and of course books on advertising. Some of the recent authors that I've bought are Anurag Mathur, Pankaj Mishra. But, I must confess I buy more books than I actually read."

My favourite books
Currently, I am reading the Amul India Story by Ruth Heredia. The book traces the co-operative movement in the state of Gujarat. It's a story of faith, empowerment and dream realization. A passionate and thrilling account of how under the vision of Sardar Vallabhai Patel, they brought in `rural renaissance', by knocking off the middlemen involved in the dairy business.

Then, there is another book which I've read more than seven times really. It's called - My Life in Advertising & Scientific Advertising by Claude C Hopkins. The author is one of the founding fathers of modern advertising. The beauty of the book is such that it can
make the whole business of advertising seem very simple. One thing that I've learned from the book is that even by observing simple consumer behaviour, one can achieve a lot. And even simple ideas can give big gains.

Then, compare it to another book that I've recently read - How to turn Advertising expenses into investments by John Philip Jones. The author has spent more than 25 years in the field of advertising and here the emphasis is on the management process and planning. I often compare both the books and find Claude C Hopkins' style more simplistic and even a lay person can understand the whole business of advertising from the book.

Another book,that I've been hooked on to is Being Digital by Nicholas Negroponte. The book explores the impact of digital technology on the new emerging world and it brings out the endless possibilities of the future into a sharper focus."

Boom!

Bust.

Boom!

That's the way the internet business has been in its journey so far.

Right since the early days, the internet has always held a great promise; its potential never a subject of debate. However, even the most optimistic internet enthusiast must not have imagined in his wildest dreams that a day would come when an upstart dotcom company would grow so mighty as to merge with one of the biggest traditional media giants and that too with an upper hand.

The book under review is all about the AOL Time Warner merger, which managed to take the entire traditional media world by storm. Alas the frenzy did not last for long. The storm was followed by a lull whose silence deafened the media industry.

Kara Swishers' There must be a pony in here somewhere is a remarkable book about an even more remarkable story... the AOL Time Warner debacle. We all have our lessons to learn from history and the book narrates the story of one of the biggest media booms that went bust faster than the speed of sound.

The biggest focus of There must be?..is on the culture misfit that had executives from both sides gunning for each other rather than partnering. A lot of envisaged synergies between AOL & Time Warner too did not materialise and a lot of times successful properties were either subsidised or bartered cheaply so as to help the weaker ones survive adding to the lowering morale at the newly formed media giant.

Swisher who has also authored the book aol.com had first hand access to the top executives at AOL and Time Warner; which helps her narrate the inside tale of the merger. Her peppered style of writing coupled with insightful reportage, adds to the engaging yet sometimes depressing content of the book.

There are simple morals even in complex patterns. Kara's narrative makes many proverbs spring forth from the subconscious.

Too many cooks spoil the broth.... and what a spoil it was.

Look before you leap... and what a leap it was.

the list can go on...

The book transports one to the booming dotcom days serving large dollops on the Silicon Valley scenario then, the big celebrations, the hype, the anticipation and of course real world problems like downtime and bandwidth.

Definitely recommended for those interested in the internet business as well as for media watchers.

Warning : may get a bit depressing if read at one single stretch.

About the author

The founder of Qualified Learning System Inc, USA, Shiv Khera is an educator, business consultant, much sought after speaker and a successful entrepreneur. He inspires and informs people, helping them to realize their true potential. He has taken his dynamic personal messages all round the globe, from the US to Singapore and to India. His common sense approach and deeply held beliefs have motivated countless people to mend their attitudes. His 20 years of research, understanding and experience has helped people on the path of personal growth and fulfillment.

Book Review : By Chikita Kukreja
I want to be a winner. Isn't this every individual's heartfelt desire? The revised edition of You Can Win lays emphasis on the very notion of winning and focuses on what it takes to be a winner. A construction manual offering footprints to follow and help you build a triumphant and a gratifying life. It puts forth the ingredients to cook up the right recipe required to be successful in life.

The very first chapter leaves the reader hankering for another dose of positive attitude and a brighter approach towards life. So, what are the different approaches to accomplish that single motive in life i.e to win and succeed. The author focuses on steps to build a positive attitude in life. Along with this, he suggests that one needs to start off with an action plan in terms of what you want to achieve, how and by when?

Shiv Khera says that the first step to alter our lives is to adopt a positive attitude in life; whatever be our profession. Without getting into any self-help jargon, he concentrates on developing the `self' or ones personality. There are chapters on building ones self- esteem, importance of interpersonal skills, personality traits, positive habits and goal setting.

What strikes one is Khera's writing style. He goes on to illustrate every bit with an interesting and engrossing story, followed by a moral. These morals make the reader believe nothing is impossible. So, it's all about getting together the right recipe for success through the web of life.

In all, a beautiful book with stories, anecdotes which can help a prson rise to any situation not just professionally but even on a personal level. You Can Win is a must read for people in the corporate world, as much as it is for the common man.

So, sharpen your claws and get going in life!

Preet Dhupar, Director - Finance & Operations, BBC World India tells Nidhi Jain that books with an interesting story will hook her instantly.

Who introduced you to reading?
My mother initially, and then peer group at school. We read a lot at school and that's where the habit developed.

---Kind of book collection you have
Fairly varied - fiction, travelogues, biographies, poetry, philosophy....

---Taste in books
Anything that has an interesting story to tell will interest me. I keep searching for good books that can make me laugh, I like tongue in cheek humour. I like books that promote human values. Human emotions interest me, although romantic books are something I have never managed to sit through!

---On your favorite authors and well written books
One of my all time favorites is Somerset Maugham. His short stories are brilliant in the way that they deal with an entire range of human relationships and emotions. Coming to recent times, Shantaram is very well written, it's not just the story but the expression that captures one's imagination. There are bits in the book that stay with you. Other books that will remain in my memory - Rebecca, Anna Karenina, Crime and Punishment... but I think those are part of my growing up! I must mention that my favorite de-stresser is Dick Francis. It's crime fiction but I really like his characters and stories.

---Do you find interesting things in every book? How do you choose books you read?
Well, browse through the cover. Sometimes I pick up a book after I've read the review or if someone's recommended it to me.

---What do you think of self help books?
Used to despise them some time ago and then I picked up Stephen Covey's Seven Habits and that changed my mind, at least towards some of them. Sometimes I think it's good to read them. You may know the answers but they help reinforce your own thoughts.

---Money and time you spend on books
Quite a bit.

---Your reading pace
Depends on the book.

---Your first book
That's a tough one, Enid Blyton is what I remember, Wishing Chair, Magic Faraway Tree.

---Currently you are reading
Maximum City by Suketu Mehta.

---Books that do not hold you
The very mushy, sentimental variety and too much preaching.