Q 1. In an effort to improve, Indian Railways has decided to...

a) Manufacture its own mineral water
b) Privatise railway stations gradually
c) Make multi-cuisine pantry cars mandatory

Q 2. Badminton champ P. Gopichand refused to endorse colas because...

a) The money offered wasn't great
b) He believes they are bad for health
c) He doesn't do ads

Q 3. The first air link between the Northeast and a foreign destination will be from

a) Guwahati to Bangkok
b) Guwahati to Seoul
c) Guwahati to Hong Kong

Answers: 1(a) 2(b) 3(a)

TELEVISION
Being Nasty isn't too Bad

BIG BOOST: Gupta rides high on popularity

The strongest link on Star Plus' Kamzor Kadi Kaun (KKK), Neena Gupta, as the mistress of mean, is growing on viewers tired of Ms Goody-Two Shoes anchors. Channel officials confirm that the hate mail to the desi Anne Robinson has fallen. KKK features contestants answering questions while trying to eliminate each other. Reactions of the repartee-challenged participants to the Indian version of BBC World's game show The Weakest Link-a smash hit in Britain-have surprised the producers and anchor alike. "People are enjoying the fun elements and thousands of aspirant participants call every day," says Executive Producer Anita Basu. Gupta, who scored as anchor (but isn't half as snippy as Robinson) after Rekha and Shabana Azmi declined and Sushmita Sen couldn't manage enough sparring, says she was taken aback by the way participants gave it back to her. Unbearable, nasty and mean are how people have described the show. "The show is not mean," says Gupta, defending her stern style. "People come up to me and joke about it, nobody says I am nasty. My wink at the end conveys the sarcastic playfulness of the concept." The only weak link is the TRPs, which have fallen from 6.3 in the opening week to 5.7 last week. Not a mean reflection of the show's popularity.

-Shefalee Vasudev

MUSIC REVIEW
A Humorous Take on Bollywood

If the producers of K3G and Asoka brought out books on the making of their films, Nagesh Kukunoor's relatively modest Bollywood Calling has spawned a spin-off too. "Inspired by" the young director's third feature, Sony has released an album of songs-originals, covers and remixes that make no appearance in Bollywood Calling, plus two tracks from the film-that epitomise 10 classic cliched situations in Hindi movies. For those who have not seen Bollywood Calling yet, it is a humorous look at the Hindi film industry with all its eccentricities. This collection does that too. So the happy-family- torn-apart-and-then-reunited is represented by Yaadon ki baarat, the sample rain song by Tip tip barsa paani (Mohra), and the love triangle by Hum bewafa (Shalimar). If you liked them at first, you will like them here too. Ye mera dil (Don) is described on the album cover as the "no reason at all item song" and Choli ke peeche (Khalnayak) as "the close to climax villain's den" number. Find that funny? Then listen to No problem yaar, the funky theme song from Bollywood Calling: "Na script hai na story hai na koi director/jaane kab kaha kaise mil gaya financier..." Rings a bell?

-Anna M.M. Vetticad

SOTTO VOCE

In Kerala in January, Paul McCartney left behind a diagram for a "mosquito-free cage". He was bitten devilishly in God's own country ...

Pakistan says L.K. Advani is wanted for an attempt to kill Jinnah. There's even an fir from 1947 ...

A Shah Rukh Khan museum is being built in Kolkata ...

Law Minister Arun Jaitley, Delhi cricket's big honcho, switched off his cellphone the day before the England- India one-dayer in the capital. He was heard muttering something about this "city of freeloaders" ...

Cassem Uteem, Mauritius president, has been obsessed with Himachal Pradesh ever since he saw Love in Shimla ...

Darjeeling's toy train ran over and killed a man on January 30. It was the first such incident in 122 years.