Marvel comics’ legendary writer, editor and publisher Stan Lee passed away at the age of 95 early Monday morning at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, his family attorney confirmed his death.

Lee, who began in the business in 1939, created or co-created Spider Man, Iron Man, Black Panther, Thor, the Fantastic Four, the Incredible Hulk, Doctor Strange,Daredevil and Ant-Man, among countless other characters. 

With frequent artist-writer collaborators Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko and others, Lee catapulted Marvel from a tiny venture into the world’s No. 1 publisher of comic books and, later, a multimedia giant.

Early Life : 

Lee was born on 28 December 1922 as Stanley Martin Lieber. His father, a Romanian immigrant, was a dress cutter. Lee was always a lover of adventure books. After graduation, he joined the WPA Federal Theatre Project, where he appeared in a few stage shows, and wrote obituaries.

In 1939, Lee got a job as a gofer for $8 a week at Timely Comics. Two years later, for Kirby and Joe Simon’s Captain America No. 3, he wrote a two-page story titled “The Traitor’s Revenge!” with his pen name Stan Lee.

He was named interim editor at 19 by publisher Martin Goodman. In 1942, he enlisted in the Army and served in the Signal Corps. After the war, he returned to the publisher and served as the editor for decades.

After DC Comics’ started the Justice League, Lee and Kirby in November 1961 launched their own superhero team, the Fantastic Four, and Hulk, Spider-Man, Doctor Strange, Daredevil and X-Men soon followed. The Avengers was launched in September 1963.

In 1972, Lee was named publisher and he left the Marvel editorial position to spend all his time promoting the company. He moved to Los Angeles in 1980 to set up an animation studio.

In 2002, Lee published an autobiography, Excelsior! The Amazing Life of Stan Lee.

Film Cameos : 

Lee was not less a superstar as it was a tradition for Marvel fans to watch him for atleast a fleeting glance in the Marvel movies. Fans used to erupt in joy on looking at him.

He first appeared in the X-men as a hot dog vendor in 2000. In 2004 released Spider-Man 2 he saved a woman from falling debris. In Iron Man 3, he played a beauty pageant judge. He was a bartender in 2015’s Ant Man. He also played a DJ at a strip club in Deadpool.

Celebrities express their grief : 

Rest in peace, Stan Lee. The many worlds of imagination & delight you created for humanity will last forever.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 12, 2018

https://twitter.com/ChrisEvans/status/1062066692631732224?s=19

We’ve lost a creative genius. Stan Lee was a pioneering force in the superhero universe. I’m proud to have been a small part of his legacy and …. to have helped bring one of his characters to life. #StanLee #Wolverine pic.twitter.com/iOdefi7iYz

— Hugh Jackman (@RealHughJackman) November 12, 2018

Damn… RIP Stan. Thanks for everything. pic.twitter.com/TMAaDJSOhh

— Ryan Reynolds (@VancityReynolds) November 12, 2018

https://www.instagram.com/p/BqF4sgmgDvH/?utm_source=ig_share_sheet&igshid=1g9pc5tzh3e1w

https://www.instagram.com/p/BqF79B2nPIa/?utm_source=ig_share_sheet&igshid=43ezv02ulj6t

 

Chennai :

Delhi boys Shikhar Dhawan and Rishabh Pant put up a partnership of 130 when India were in a spot of bother at 45/3 and chase a competitive target of 182 set by the Windies in Chennai. Manish Pandey stole a single on the last ball of the match, clean sweeping the Windies 3-0 in the T20I series.

Earlier, the Windies batted first and had a very good start. Shai Hope and Shermon Hetmyer put up a partnership of 51 in the powerplay before wrist spinner Yuzvendra Chahal got rid of both the openers. Hope made 24 (22) and Hetmyer 26 (21). The experienced Darren Bravo and Nicholas Pooran then got together and clobbered the Indian bowling in the death. Bravo made 43* off 37 balls while Pooran made 53* off 25 balls including 4 fours and 4 sixes. The Windies put up a challenging total of 181/3 on the board.

Innings Break!

Windies post a total of 181/3 for #TeamIndia to chase #INDvWI pic.twitter.com/rzW7arAbzN

— BCCI (@BCCI) November 11, 2018

 

The Indian batsmen had a task on their hands but Indian captain Rohit Sharma fell early. He made 4 (6). KL Rahul looked impressive for his 17 (10) but finally it were the Delhi boys Shikhar Dhawan and Rishabh Pant that dominated the Windies bowling. Dhawan made on 92 (61). He smashed 10 fours and 2 sixes. Pant slammed 58 (38) which included 5 fours and 3 sixes. India chased 182 on the final ball of the match with 6 wickets remaining.

It's a wrap. A lot of drama in the final over and #TeamIndia beat the Windies by 6 wickets.

Clinch the series 3-0 👏👏 pic.twitter.com/kjfACGE5g8

— BCCI (@BCCI) November 11, 2018

Yash Raj Films’ Thugs of Hindostan starring Aamir Khan, Amitabh Bachchan, Katrina Kaif and Famita Sana Shaikh which released on 8 November 2018 have shattered box-office records on its opening day.

The film earned a colossal Rs. 52.25 Crores at the domestic box-office. The Hindi version of the film collected a whopping Rs. 50 Crores while the Tamil and Telugu versions garnered Rs. 1.25 Crores.

These figures are the highest for any Hindi film ever, writes trade analyst Taran Adarsh.

#ThugsOfHindostan
Thu biz…
Hindi: ₹ 50.75 cr.
Tamil + Telugu: ₹ 1.50 cr
Total: ₹ 52.25 cr [5000 screens]
India biz.
Highest Day 1 for a #Diwali release
Highest Day 1 for YRF film
Highest Day 1 for a Hindi film

— taran adarsh (@taran_adarsh) November 9, 2018

ToH has also become the highest earner of the year beating Raj Kumar Hirani’s Ranbir Kapoor starrer Sanjay Dutt biopic.

TOP 5 – 2018
Day 1 / Opening Day biz…
1 #ThugsOfHindostan ₹ 52.25 cr
[Hindi + Tamil + Telugu]
2. #Sanju ₹ 34.75 cr
3. #Race3 ₹ 29.17 cr
4. #Gold ₹ 25.25 cr
5. #Baaghi2 ₹ 25.10 cr
Hindi movies. Nett BOC. India biz.

— taran adarsh (@taran_adarsh) November 9, 2018

Actor Aamir Khan expressed his happiness over the film’s performance at the box office. In a statement to the Indian Express, he said, “Just heard the 1st-day collection of Thugs, I am humbled by the love and affection of the audience. Thank you.”

However, the movie has received bad to terrible reviews from the critics and fans alike. It will be interesting to see if the movie sustains over the course.

SriLankan spin bowling legend Rangana Herath has announced retirement as the 8th highest wicket taker in Test matches. Herath finished his career against England in the first test match at Galle with a total of 433 wickets.

Herath made his debut in 1999 against Australia but couldn’t make a mark amidst the thunderous success of the spin wizard Muttiah Muralitharan. The 40 year old Herath only became a regular in the SriLankan side after 2010 once Muralitharan retired.

In his 93 Test Matches, Hearth finished with 433 Test wickets with an average of 28.67 and a strike rate of 60. He took a total of 9 ten wicket hauls and 34 five wickets in an innings. Only Muralitharan and Warne have more 10 wicket hauls in Test cricket history.

Hearth is the number 8th highest wicket taker jointly with Stuart Broad. Only Muralitharan, Warne, Kumble, Anderson, McGrath, Walsh and Kapil Dev have taken more wickets. That is the elite company Herath is an exclusive member of. 

The left arm spinner also joined Muralitharan and James Anderson to pick 100 wickets on a single venue. He picked 100 wickets at Galle.

Herath had a phenomenal record at home. He has picked 278 wickets in 49 Tests at an average of 23.65 in SriLanka.

His contribution overseas is also immense. His Man of the Match performance (4-49 and 5-79) in Durban in 2011 helped Sri Lanka to a historic first Test win in South Africa.

He played a crucial role with the ball in Sri Lanka’s maiden series win in England in 2014. Also he had the highest tally of wickets and the best average in the 2-0 sweep against Pakistan in UAE in 2017. He has received a total of 11 Man of the Match awards.

Hearth’s calm demeanor and resilience have only garnerned him more admirers over the world. Post his retirement a huge void will be felt in the SriLankan side which they would find difficult to fill.

We doff our hats to bid farewell to the legend Rangana Herath and wish him the very best for his future endeavours. 

Lucknow :

India’s Stand-in skipper Rohit Sharma has created history in the 2nd T20i against the Windies at the Bharat Ratna Atal Bihari Vajpayee Stadium in Lucknow. He has smashed his 4th T20I century, the most by any batsman in the world.

That moment when you become the first player to score FOUR T20I Centuries 🔥🔥🔥🔥#INDvWI pic.twitter.com/F5TFxc3CQI

— BCCI (@BCCI) November 6, 2018

Batting first the Indian team clobbered the Windies bowling. Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan put a 123 run opening stand. Dhawan made 43 off 41 balls. Rishabh Pant came it at number 3 but couldn’t make it count. He made 5 off 6 balls. KL Rahul came in at number 4. He made 26* off 14 balls. Captain Sharma smashed 111* off 61 balls which included 8 fours and 7 sixes. India put up a formidable 195/2.

Innings Break!

Batting heroics from the Skipper (111*) as #TeamIndia post a formidable total of 195/2 for the Windies to chase.

Stay tuned #INDvWI pic.twitter.com/p1p09sZC6V

— BCCI (@BCCI) November 6, 2018

 

Needing 196 to win the match, the T20 World Cup Champions Windies had a dismal start. Youngster Khaleed Ahmed picked up the very dependable Shai Hope in his first over. Shimron Hetmyer had a good start but couldn’t take it long. He made 15 (14) before Khaleed picked his second wicket.

The experienced Darren Bravo made 23 (18) but that wasn’t enough to carry the Windies to the winning line. Windies kept loosing wickets, one after the other. Ramdin (10), Pollard (6), Braithwaite (15) were the players on whom rested the hopes of Windies. They too failed when it mattered.

Windies managed only 120 runs in their 20 overs loosing by a huge margin of 75 runs. Indian bowlers had a merry day. Khaleed, Bhuvaneshwar, Bumrah and Kuldeep Yadav picked up 2 wickets each.

India now an unassailable 2-0 lead in the 3 match T20 series.

That's that from Lucknow. #TeamIndia win by 71 runs and take an unassailable lead of 2-0 in the three match T20I series.#INDvWI pic.twitter.com/vceDTuMRX1

— BCCI (@BCCI) November 6, 2018

 

Chetan Bhagat is undoubtedly one of India’s best selling authors. His books reach even the remotest corners of the country where no even understands English. People pick up his books to learn the language. His books’ – The 3 mistakes of my life, Five point someone, 2 States, Half Girlfriend – adaptation into films only proves his worth.

But, are his books the best ones? You tell. Bhagat has a love- hate relationship with his readers. There are some who completely adore his writing style for its simplicity and some who absolutely ridicule his work.

Bhagat’s latest ‘The Girl in Room 105’ is unlike his previous works, this isn’t a love story. This is an unlove story. In his interviews he has claimed to dwell into the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and also the Kashmir issue. 

Plot :

The book opens up with Bhagat travelling on a plane to Delhi where he meets Keshav Rajpurohit. Keshav is a graduate from IIT and is working as a faculty in a coaching class in the capital. After initial talks, Bhagat agrees to listen to Keshav’s unlove story.

Keshav hails from Alwar, Rajasthan. His father is a member of the RSS but Keshav isn’t influenced by the Sangh. Keshav falls in love with Zara Lone, a PhD student in IIT from Kashmir. However, their love story doesn’t go as planned.

Keshav’s parents opposes Zara, as she being a Muslim would bring shame to their Hindu family and it would definately hamper his father’s chances in politics. Later when the young couple meet Zara’s father – Safdar. He tells Keshav to convert to Islam, which he doesn’t agree to. This leads to misunderstandings, frequent fights between the couple until they decide to call it a day.

Zara is constantly in Keshav’s memories. He stalks her on social media, even calls her when drunk. But she has moved on. She decides to marry Raghu, a huge startup owner with dreams to settle in the States. Until one day. It is Zara’s birthday. She texts Keshav to come meet her in her hostel room 105 as he used to when they were dating and that midnight changes everything. Everything !

Keshav and his best friend Saurabh find Zara murdered in her room 105. They are held by the police until the cops decide to have enough evidence to prove the watchman Laxman had murdered her. However, Laxman pleads to Keshav that he hasn’t committed the crime.

The book then becomes a murder mystery and Keshav becomes hell bent on finding who the murderer is. There are half a dozen suspects – Zara’s father Safdar, her fiance Raghu, her brother Sikander who has a terrorist background, her PHd guide, an army officer Faiz. You’ll have to read the book to find out who the real culprit is.

Analysis : 

The book was publicized as a story about the RSS and Kashmir which it has very less about. There is a just a little jibe taken at the RSS which says ‘Married men cannot take higher up positions in the RSS.’ There is fleeting mention of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Apart from that there is nothing about the Hindu politics.

When the story moves to Kashmir, the writer does voice the locals’ opinion. He clearly states that the people of Kashmir aren’t happy with the army, they say we don’t want to be in India, we would love either to go to Pakistan or better we have a separate Kashmir. However, the best part of the book has to be the bromance between Keshav and Saurabh.

The story is very much predictable. You could guess the climax at least 10 chapters before. Bhagat’s works are mostly adapted to films and if I could think of the latest murder mystery in Hindi films – Andhadhun – the Girl in Room 105 falls behind by miles.

This one is surely better than Bhagat’s previous works but again if you are a George Orwell, Dan Brown, Arthur Conan Doyle kinda reader then this one isn’t for you.

Verdict : 

Predictable, Clichéd and Bollywoodish 

❤️❤️/5

Watch Trailer :