Bobby Jasoos
Director: Samar Shaikh
Starring: Vidya Balan, Ali Fazal, Supriya Pathak, Kiran Kumar
Three stars
The second-best thing about this detective comedy – after Vidya Balan as the irrepressible Bobby Jasoos – is its backdrop: Hyderabad, the capital of Andhra Pradesh and the recently carved out Telangana state.
It’s hard not to look over Balan’s shoulder and gape at what’s going on behind her – the cinematography is rich, with breathtaking shots of Charminar, Hyderabad’s iconic mosque; bazaars bright with bangles and shalwar kameez shops; and biryani stalls piled high with fragrant rice and meat.
In the midst of all this is Balan, effortless as the cheeky, fearless, sometimes bumbling amateur detective fighting for her place in this world of men and, closer to home, her conservative father.
Balan makes short work of her role – snooping, prying and assuming myriad disguises – with support from a bunch of exquisite actors. Supriya Pathak as Bobby’s anxious mother is delightful to watch, as is Kiran Kumar, who plays a dour, mysterious client.
But it is Ali Fazal who shines as Tasawur, a handsome television presenter whom Bobby constantly chides for not standing up to his father.
Tasawur’s romance with Bobby is presented as a side plot that slowly gains traction in the second half (with a couple of unnecessary songs, sadly). But the relationship is so delicately etched out that even the well-meaning music director Shantanu Moitra cannot spoil it.
With the two actors guiding the way, the film tumbles towards the climax, the dialogue consistently staying true to Hyderabad's unique version of spoken Hindi, and all the various threads neatly dovetailing against the chaotic, bedazzling cityscape. No surprises or twists here, but despite the predictability, Bobby Jasoos is a winner. And its biggest achievement? Putting Hyderabad on the map.
ciyer@thenational.ae
What is graphene?
Graphene is a single layer of carbon atoms arranged like honeycomb.
It was discovered in 2004, when Russian-born Manchester scientists Andrei Geim and Kostya Novoselov were "playing about" with sticky tape and graphite - the material used as "lead" in pencils.
Placing the tape on the graphite and peeling it, they managed to rip off thin flakes of carbon. In the beginning they got flakes consisting of many layers of graphene. But as they repeated the process many times, the flakes got thinner.
By separating the graphite fragments repeatedly, they managed to create flakes that were just one atom thick. Their experiment had led to graphene being isolated for the very first time.
At the time, many believed it was impossible for such thin crystalline materials to be stable. But examined under a microscope, the material remained stable, and when tested was found to have incredible properties.
It is many times times stronger than steel, yet incredibly lightweight and flexible. It is electrically and thermally conductive but also transparent. The world's first 2D material, it is one million times thinner than the diameter of a single human hair.
But the 'sticky tape' method would not work on an industrial scale. Since then, scientists have been working on manufacturing graphene, to make use of its incredible properties.
In 2010, Geim and Novoselov were awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics. Their discovery meant physicists could study a new class of two-dimensional materials with unique properties.
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