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UTI Bank: Buy Radhika Kamath
Ms Mona Singh (Jassi) along with Ms Manju Srivatsa, Senior Vice-President Retail Banking UTI Bank (Right) launching Smart Privilege, a Special bank account designed for women, in New Delhi recently. - Anu Pushkarna AN INVESTMENT can be considered in UTI Bank. Given the growth recorded by the bank in the past several quarters and the continuing momentum, the stock's valuation is attractive. The bank's increasing thrust on the retail segment and a stronger focus on non-fund based banking are likely to ensure healthy growth over the next few quarters. The stock trades at 17 times its trailing 12-month earnings. UTI Bank has over the last few years recorded impressive growth in business. For instance, net advances rose 75 per cent in the latest quarter, outpacing the industry average of 33 per cent. The net interest income for the quarter rose by over 40 per cent driven largely by the robust growth in advances and improved margins. Reduction in the cost of funds, largely because of the increasing share of low-cost deposits, helped the bank improve its net interest margin; the share of low-cost deposits rose by four percentage points to 35 per cent in Q2. If the bank expands its low-cost deposit base through its ongoing retail banking initiatives, there could give a strong push to its profitability. UTI Bank, with the third largest ATM network among banks in India, is well placed to leverage this delivery channel for tapping low-cost deposits. The bank has improved on its long-held advantage of a low proportion of non-performing assets. Fee-based incomes have received a boost with the services offered to high net worth individuals emerging a key driver, especially over the past year. The bank maintained its status as a dominant player in placement and syndication of debt; revenues from this segment recorded a robust growth of 74 per cent in the July-September quarter. It now plans to add wealth management services to its products portfolio, and the launch of a credit card is in the pipeline. If these measures materialise, it could bolster the growth in fee income. Rising income levels and demographical changes have brought new opportunities for banks in India, particularly in the last few years. As the demographically-induced shift is structural, it is likely to sustain during the medium term, and this constitutes the rationale for growth in retail lending. Competition, which is likely to intensify further, may, however, put some pressure on yields on advances. Like all others, UTI Bank has been relying on a retail thrust to deliver growth and it has paid off. That it has substantial room for further growth is evident from the fact that the retail business accounts for only about 30 per cent of the advance pie. UTI Bank can continue to rely on this segment without any concern of over-exposure. The retail focus will also have a spin-off effect in the form of robust growth in deposits. In terms of valuations, UTI Bank is trading at a price-to-book value of about 2.5 times its trailing 12-month earnings. This is at a discount to its closest peer in the private sector — HDFC Bank — which is trading at a price-to-book value of 3.5-4 times.

This apart, even on several key profitability parameters, the UTI Bank stock appears attractive, strengthening the case for investment.

jassi and nandu were at kyph sangeet!

Jassi... ends on a happy note & more bites
	It's being kept under wraps but news is finally, Jassi and Armaan tie the knot. Rakshanda Khan's exit from Jassi Jaissi Koi Nahin is confirmed — her death scene involving a car accident has been shot. Now we hear that Karan Oberoi aka Raghav, (Jassi's real life lover too) will soon be ousted from the show. He dies in the show and this will bring Jassi and Armaan close again. We hear the grand wedding scene was shot in Malaysia where Mona Singh and Apoorva Agnihotri were all decked up for the event. But one thing's for sure. Mona will surely miss Karan's presence on the sets!

This is what Gaurav Gera will tell you as his role of a simpleton in a tele-serial makes him a hit with the masses.

As the good and bad women fight on TV, it's Nandu who walks away with all the accolades and praise. Gaurav Gera, who plays the bespectacled simple, yet smart friend to Jassi, in the serial Jassi Jaisi Koi Nahin, knows people specially kids,love his character.

So now Gaurav, despite getting ideas about changing his image, doesn't want to change his character on the show. "I know people like my character very much and they wouldn't like him to change or get negative."

But a thought of makeover is enough to thrill the actor. "It's always exciting to change your style and look," adds the actor.

He dismisses any threat of getting typecast, though he admits to have played quite similar a character in Life Nahin Hai Laddoo, a few years back. "Between the two shows, I have done a lot of work that was totally different.

In fact, I have been getting many offers where people specifically told me that they don't want me to look like Nandu," he reasons, adding that he is quite satisfied with his present work as his roles are well-written.

According to him, an actor can showcase his talent on the small screen to a certain limit only. "TV is more of writers' medium than actors."

The Virgo feels that many actors get a break just because they are good looking. "However, if they aren't good at acting it affects the performance of other actors too. But then, it's show business and people like to look at pretty faces."

The actor accepts TV at the moment is women dominated. "Everything happens in cycles. So I won't be surprised if there are male-oriented shows in the next cycle. However, in Jassi's life men have played very important roles. Be it her father or Armaan sir," he concludes.

Stars descended on the city this year

Amrita Chaudhry

Ludhiana, December 27: THE city can never be short of news. And when it comes to life styles and high profile events, Ludhiana is high on the list.

To begin with, the city, in the later half of the year, played host to two high profile weddings - one of the grandson of CPI (M) supremo Harkishen Singh Surjeet and the other of the son of B.I.S. Chahal, the media man of Captain Amarinder Singh. Both the parties boasted of lavish menus and alchohol, plus long lists of VVIPs and VIPs who were invited to these weddings. H.D. Dewe Gowda, captain Amarinder Singh, Rani Parneet Kaur and the all the political whos-who of the state were there. So while the cameras clicked the grandson's grand wedding in November, the Chahal wedding hogged the limelight in the month of December.



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Ludhiana has always attracted stars and this year too, true to its culture, it rained stars in the city. Be it be film stars, models or fashion designers, all made a beeline to the city.

The month of May saw Ashley Robellor give some tips on the latest fashion trends to the students of National Institute of Fashion Design. Robello is the man who dressed up Mallika Sherawat for Cannes. Remember her low cut cleavage showing yellow chollu with a skirt that had a long slit right up to her thigh? That one.

Then came the famous singer Mehsopuria all with his jewellery and ponytail to enthrall Punjabi music lovers. But in the same month, we prayed for the legendary musician Kuldeep Manak who was admitted to Dayanand Medical College and Hospital with drastic blood sugar level fluctuation. Thankfully, after a week in bed Manak was back at his home, all well and fine.

Sweltering June saw Poonam Dhillon and Suraj Thapar perfrom 'The Perfect Husband' in the city. This month also saw singinging sensations Rabbi Shergill, Shibani Kashyap and Pakistani band Strings enthral the city.

Meanwhile, wannabe singers of the city - over 4,000 of them - made a beeline to the Guru Nanak Bhawan where the trials for the first ever reality show in Punjabi- Awaz Punjab Dee - were held. After a lean monsoon, during which majority of the social circuit perfers the cool confines of air conditioners, the city was once again back in action. The saas bahu duo of Smriti Irani and Apran Verma brought a play to the city. Amidst a cable balckout, which was almost a painstaking week long, local theatre groups kept their good work on with Dr S.N. Sewak staging a show of the play Jaal while Rang Manch Rang Nagri ran three shows of the famous play s Lahore Nayee Vekheya for three days in a row. Harbhajan Mann too came out with his album Dil Dol Gaya in the month of September, after his four year long hiatus.

The month of October began on a poetic note with Urdu shair Bashir Badr who declared he was the best. Fashion lovers of the city got a chance to meet the designer borthers Nikhil and Shantanu at a cheese and wine party at Ebony. These brothers get the credit for desiging the Big B's classy look in Kaun Banega Crorepati 2 .

The following month saw Ghazal king Gulzar and Kashmir Ki Kali Sharmila Tagore come to the city along with Dr Gopi Chand Narang to accept the Shir Ludhianvee Awards.

Then came our own Jassi aka Mona Singh who was treated to a rousing welcome by the students of Khalsa College for Women. Bhagwant Mann stole the heart of PAU students and Channi Singh - the UK based singer who has a group called Alap announced that he is back in action. SPICMACAY had its share of actvities with performances by masters like Sudhir Panday and Ronu Majoomdar. And Preeti Sapru sought the help of some of her artist colleagues like Gurpreet Ghuggi and Harbhajan Mann to raise funds for earthquake victims of Jammu and Kashmir by holding a road show.

TelechipZ (VIKAS BHALLA)interview

Frankly speaking...

From film star to music man to television artiste has been a long trek for Vikas Bhalla! Ups and downs characterise his sojourn down Entertainment Boulevard. At the moment he is busy with television as well as a Hollywood… yes, a Hollywood film co-starring Salman Khan. And things never looked this good for Vikas! He speaks thus…

On playing Arjun in Shanno Ki Shaadi: "In Shanno Ki Shaadi I play Arjun, an NRI who flaunts flashy clothes and black goggles and comes to India. His mission: Bride hunting. He and his parents appoint a marriage broker for the mission. Shannu is a girl past her marriageable age. She works in a dhaba. Arjun falls in love with her parathas first and eventually with the one who cooks those parathas. The serial produced by UTV is loosely based on the Hollywood hit My Big Fat Greek Wedding."

On being quality conscious: "It is difficult to manage work in more serials. Shanno Ki Shaadi is the only TV serial in which I am acting at the moment because I have become very quality conscious. I can sign more serials but my quality of work will suffer if I start hopping from the sets of one serial to another. For that matter I do not want to take up work in a daily serial."

On the negative role in Jassi Jaisi Koi Nahin: Jassi Jaisi Koi Nahin was the only daily serial in which I had worked in recent times. I was fascinated by the character of C. J. Oberoi who starts off as a negative character in the typical filmi fashion. What I liked about my character is that it transforms from a negative to a positive one. I set out to frame Jassi because I feel that she is responsible for the death of my dear friend Purab (Sameer Soni). My character turns positive when he finds out the truth about Purab's death."

On being a superstar in Hollywood's Marigold: "I am gung ho about my role in the Hollywod project Marigold. Salman Khan is the leading man while I play Raj, an Indian superstar, who thinks he is God's gift to women. Willard Caroll is directing the film. The film abounds with funny sequences involving Salman and me. Salman plays a choreographer. I think Salman is in every way true Hollywood material. It has been quite a nice experience working with him. I feel he has the most mind-blowing sense of humour ever! He's a very chilled out dude. The best thing about Salman is that his stardom did not come in the way at all while he executed his scenes. Believe it or not, for a 9.00 o'clock shift he would arrive at 8.00 o'clock sharp. And, he used to travel all the way from Bandra to Madh Island."

On Salman recommending him for Marigold: "I frankly do not know what made the filmmakers select me for the part. Of course, I had auditioned for it and after two weeks I was told that I was on. I also do not know whether Salman Khan had a hand in casting me for it. He was very supportive on the sets."

On the role of Rajeev Khurana in Pyar Mein Twist: "The film may have come and gone but I am happy with the way my role shaped up. It's a pity that the film that was loosely based on the real life story of Camilla Parker and Prince Charles. It just didn't excite the audience."

On acting in the bilingual, Choodiyaan: "I'm quite excited about Choodiyaan. It is set against the backdrop of Punjab and is a Hindi-Punjabi bilingual dealing with the subject of three brothers. I play the character of Vikram Brar, the second son in the family. Gracy Singh plays the leading lady. Sukhwant Dhadda who is known even today for the brilliant manner in which he had directed Hema Malini and Rishi Kapoor almost two decades ago in Ek Chadar Maili Si is directing Choodiyaan."

On why he failed to click in films: "Looking back and analyzing what went wrong regarding my career in films, I realize that the credit in those days always went to the lead hero. Today the trend has changed. The focus is also on the other actors, besides the leading man. I'm happy that I'm back in front of the arc lights at a time when the entire attitude of the film industry is undergoing a sea change. I used the long gap to invent myself as an actor."

On the TV serials in which he has acted in: "The serials in which I have worked till date are Apne Paraye with which I had actually made my teleserial debut. Then there is Karishma The Miracle of Love, Anurag Basu's Meet, Aroona Irani's Tum Bin Jaaoon Kahan, Jassi Jaisi Koi Nahin and last but not the least Shannu Ki Shaadi which is the only serial of mine which is on the air now

Jassi's big fat Malaysian wedding
By: Sandipan Dalal
December 30, 2005
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Doli mein dulha-dulhan: On location in Malaysia (Mona Singh, Karan Oberoi and Apoorva Agnihotri
The hoopla created around Jassi's marriage, in Sony's Jassi Jaissi Koi Nahin, culminates in a getaway to Malaysia, where Jassi (Mona Singh) and Armaan (Apoorva Agnihotri) tie the knot, with Raghav (Karan Oberoi) in tow as best man.

Rituals include the bridegroom sitting in a palanquin, and natives dancing and the best man carrying the palanquin to a hall where the priest solemnises the marriage.

The wedding trousseau has Jassi getting into Neeta Lulla clothes yet again — a traditional Malaysian bridal outfit comprising a corset teamed with a long skirt, in pink and green, and Armaan sporting a black tuxedo.

Palanquin trauma

We hear the palanquin, made out of pure steel, weighed 180 kg, and actor Karan Oberoi had a tough time carrying it. Says Oberoi, "The tears that you see are real, as I was agonised by the pressure of the heavy doli. The Malaysian extras were fooling around, instead of helping me out."

Fishy tales

The cast complains that the seafood deluge during their stint in Kuala Lumpur and Lankavi left them paranoid. Says Singh, "I survived only on boiled eggs and the desi food served at the sets. At the restaurants, if you order chicken, it's cooked in prawn sauce. I hate seafood; even the smell puts me off."

Apoorva Agnihotri had painful mouth ulcers, and was off food for 10 days. Says Agnihotri, "I was forced to stay away from food because of the ulcers. I was living on liquids and vanilla ice cream. But my wife Shilpa, who joined me there, went berserk with the seafood." Adds Oberoi, "I went ballistic over the squids and Kentucky Fried Chicken."

Jassi's disappearing act

Mona Singh, a self-proclaimed shopaholic, would disappear into the shops while shooting in the towering malls. Says Singh, "I harassed my director Imtiaz, by getting lost in the shops. I even went shopping at midnight with my parents, as the malls there are open all night."

Singing sensation

Cast and crew members say the only source of entertainment during their hectic schedule were Karan Oberoi (a member of Band of Boys) and Mona Singh, both Karaoke singers. Adds Oberoi, "After pack-up everyday, I would entertain everyone with my renditions. But I was surprised when Mona joined in; she impressed me with her vocal chords."