title: Special operations

text: They continued to act independently and were often assigned at the brigade level during the later stages of the war, taking part in the fighting in New Guinea, Bougainville and Borneo, where they were employed largely in long-range reconnaissance and flank protection roles. In addition to these units, the Australians also raised the Z Special Unit and M Special Unit. M Special Unit was largely employed in an intelligence-gathering role, while Z Special Force undertook direct action missions. One of its most notable actions came as part of Operation Jaywick, in which several Japanese ships were sunk in Singapore Harbour in 1943. A second raid on Singapore in 1944, known as Operation Rimau, was unsuccessful.


title: Special operations

text: On 20 September 1940 the Polish government in exile in London formed a special military unit in Britain with the soldiers called Cichociemni (silent and unseen) paratroopers to be deployed into Poland to help the resistance. The Cichociemni were trained similar to the early British Special Forces with each soldier receiving specialization training for their specific task of deployment to Poland through a paradrop as a special operation to sustain a Polish state through training the members of the resistance in fighting the German occupants. This included Operation Tempest and uprisings in Wilno, Lwów and 91 operators taking part in the Warsaw Uprising.


title: Special operations

text: Previous to the formation of the GROM unit Polish special operations rescued six CIA, DIA and NSA officers from Iraq on 25 October 1990.


title: Special operations

text: The Imperial Japanese Army first deployed army paratroops in combat during the Battle of Palembang, on Sumatra in the Netherlands East Indies, on 14 February 1942. The 425 men of the 1st Parachute Raiding Regiment seized Palembang airfield, while the paratroopers of the 2nd Parachute Raiding Regiment seized the town and its important oil refinery. Paratroops were subsequently deployed in the Burma campaign.


title: Special operations

text: However, as with similar airborne units created by the Allies and other Axis powers, the Japanese paratroops suffered from a disproportionately high casualty rate, and the loss of men who required such extensive and expensive training limited their operations to only the most critical ones. Two regiments of "Teishin Shudan" were formed into the 1st Raiding Group, commanded by Major General Rikichi Tsukada under the control of the Southern Expeditionary Army Group, during the Philippines campaign. Although structured as a division, its capabilities were much lower, as its six regiments had manpower equivalent to a standard infantry battalion, and it lacked any form of artillery, and had to rely on other units for logistical support. Its men were no longer parachute-trained, but relied on aircraft for transport.


title: Special operations

text: Some 750 men from the 2nd Raiding Brigade, of this group were assigned to attack American air bases on Luzon and Leyte on the night of 6 December 1944. They were flown in Ki-57 transports, but most of the aircraft were shot down. Some 300 commandos managed to land in the Burauen area on Leyte. The force destroyed some planes and inflicted casualties before they were destroyed.


title: Special operations

text: The decade 2003–2012 saw U.S. national security strategy rely on special operations to an unprecedented degree. Identifying, hunting, and killing terrorists became a central task in the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT). Linda Robinson, Adjunct Senior Fellow for U.S. National Security and Foreign Policy at the Council on Foreign Relations, argued that the organizational structure became flatter and cooperation with the intelligence community was stronger, allowing special operations to move at the "speed of war". Special operations appropriations are costly: Its budget went from $2.3 billion in 2001 to $10.5 billion in 2012. Some experts argued the investment was worthwhile, pointing to the raid in May 2011 that killed Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad, Pakistan.


title: Special operations

text: Indeed, that raid was organized and overseen by Admiral William H. McRaven, who was both a student and practitioner of special operations, having published a thesis on them in the 1990s. McRaven's theory of special operations was that they had the potential to achieve significant operational, political, or strategic effects. This potential required such units to be organized and commanded by special operations professionals rather than being subsumed into larger military units or operations, and required that "relative superiority" be gained during the special operation in question via characteristics such as simplicity, security, rehearsals, surprise, speed, and clearly but narrowly defined purpose.


title: Special operations

text: Others claimed that special operations' emphasis precipitated a misconception that it was a substitute for prolonged conflict. "Raids and drone strikes are rarely decisive tactics and often incur significant political and diplomatic costs for the United States. Although raids and drone strikes are necessary to disrupt dire and imminent threats... special operations leaders readily admit that they should not be the central pillar of U.S. military strategy." Instead, special operations advocates stated that grand strategy should include their "indirect approach", suggesting that "the ability to operate with a small footprint and low-visibility, invest time and resources to foster interagency and foreign partnerships, develop deep cultural expertise, and rapidly adapt emerging technologies" was vital for maintaining deterrence and countering aggression. "Special operations forces forge relationships that can last for decades with a diverse collection of groups: training, advising, and operating alongside other countries' militaries, police forces, tribes, militias or other information groups."


title: Special operations

text: "Canadian Special Operations Forces Command" ("CANSOFCOM"; ) is a command of the Canadian Armed Forces. It is responsible for all special forces operations that are capable of responding to terrorism and threats to Canadians and Canadian interests around the world.


title: Special operations

text: "King Abdullah II Special Forces Group" (), commonly known as the "JORSOF" are strategic-level special forces of the Royal Jordanian Army under the Jordanian Armed Forces. Founded on April 15, 1963 on the orders of King Hussein, its primary roles include reconnaissance, counter-terrorism, search and evacuation, intelligence gathering combat, and the protection of key sites. The special forces group is also charged with carrying out precision strikes against critical enemy targets.


title: Special operations

text: "Special Troops Command" (Pol.: "Wojska Specjalne") is the fourth military branch of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Poland which includes the unit Grom and was officially formed in early 1990 after the fall of communism in 1989, in which the Polish Special Forces were first deployed into the conflict in Lebanon. The conflict in Lebanon was the first official battlefield experience in post-communist times.


title: Special operations

text: The "Special Forces Command (Tur.: Özel Kuvvetler Komutanlığı – ÖKK)" is the main special forces unit of the Turkish Armed Forces, under the direct command of Turkish General Staff. Unit is particularly active in battle against PKK. Turkish Navy also have a special operations unit, "Underwater Offence" (Tur.: "Sualtı Taaruz – SAT"). They have participated in the Turkish invasion of Cyprus.


title: Special operations

text: The "United Kingdom Special Forces" ("UKSF") is a directorate comprising the Special Air Service, the Special Boat Service, the Special Reconnaissance Regiment, the Special Forces Support Group, 18 (UKSF) Signal Regiment and the Joint Special Forces Aviation Wing, as well as the supporting No. 47 Squadron. In UK law, "special forces" means those units of the armed forces of the Crown and the maintenance of whose capabilities is the responsibility of the director of special forces or which are for the time being subject to the operational command of that director. The British Army and the Royal Marines also have special operations-capable forces that do not form part of the UKSF.


title: Special operations

text: The "United States Special Operations Command" ("USSOCOM" or "SOCOM") is the unified combatant command charged with overseeing the various special operations component commands of the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, and Air Force of the United States Armed Forces. The command is part of the Department of Defense and is the only unified combatant command created by an Act of Congress. USSOCOM is headquartered at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida.


title: Lee Kyu-hyung

text: Lee Kyu-hyung (Korean: 이규형; born November 29, 1983) is a South Korean actor. Though primarily a musical actor, Lee has also appeared in a variety of Korean films and dramas. In 2017, Lee shot to fame with his portrayal of Yoo Han-yang in tvN's television series "Prison Playbook" (2017). He is well known for portraying a wide spectrum of roles on stage and screen.


title: Lee Kyu-hyung

text: Lee's interest in acting was inspired by the 1999 Korean film Shiri, and he began to pursue roles in theater in hopes of becoming a movie star.


title: Lee Kyu-hyung

text: He was accepted into Kyung Hee University's film and theatre department, but dropped out before completing his degree and later graduated from Dongguk University with a major in Theater Studies. Lee made the decision to transfer to Dongguk as it was the alma mater of Choi Min-sik, an actor he admired.


title: Lee Kyu-hyung

text: Lee Kyu-hyung began his acting career in the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency's " Whistle Theater " whilst attending college and completing his mandatory military service. After graduating, he continued to act in theater, as well as appearing in musicals.


title: Lee Kyu-hyung

text: Lee made his film debut in 2001 with a minor role in the movie "Kick the Moon." He has since starred in various plays and musicals, most notably with recurring roles in "Laundry," "Fan Letter", and "Gloomy Day".


title: Lee Kyu-hyung

text: In 2013, he appeared in the film "The Face Reader" after receiving a phone call from a friend that the actor slated to appear had a flat tire and couldn't come to set.


title: Lee Kyu-hyung

text: In 2017, he played the role of Yoon Se-won, chief of the prosecution's investigation team, in the tvN drama "Stranger", raising his profile. He was then cast as Yoo Han-yang, a second-generation tycoon serving in prison for drug use, in tvN's television series "Prison Playbook" (2017). Director Shin Won-ho and writer Lee Woo-jung asked him to audition for the role after seeing his performances in the play "Come See Me" and the musical "Fan Letter". Many viewers connected to his portrayal of the role, showcasing both cute and serious sides of the character, and it led to an increase in popularity for the actor both in Korea and overseas. Speaking about the character's homosexuality, Lee expressed an awareness of homophobia in Korean society, but stated that he hoped his portrayal of the character could show a simple, human love that audiences could support.


title: Lee Kyu-hyung

text: Lee was nominated for Best Supporting Actor at the 3rd Korean Musical Awards for his role as D'Ysquith in the 2018 production of the musical "A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder". The role required him to play nine different members of the D'Ysquith family, with rapid costume changes throughout the performance.


title: Lee Kyu-hyung

text: In 2019, Lee appeared as the titular character in the CJ Entertainment production of the musical "Cyrano", alongside musical actors Ryu Jung-han, Choi Jae-woong, and Jo Hyung-gyun. The production was met with praise, and was lauded as an improvement from the 2017 production, due in part to the various charms of its leading actors. Following his appearance in "Cyrano", Lee starred as Hedwig in the rock musical "Hedwig and the Angry Inch", receiving critical acclaim for the powerful vocal performance and skillful acting. In November 2019, Lee reprised his role as the writer Kim Hae-jin in the musical "Fan Letter", a Korean musical set during Japanese occupation in the 1930s.


title: Lee Kyu-hyung

text: In 2020, Lee is slated to appear in the film "Stellar", a fantasy comic drama directed by Kwon Soo-kyung. And in 2022, he starred in the South Korean series, "All of Us Are Dead".


title: Grey's Anatomy (season 5)

text: The fifth season of the American television medical drama "Grey's Anatomy", created by Shonda Rhimes, commenced airing on American Broadcasting Company (ABC) in the United States on September 25, 2008 and concluded on May 14, 2009 with 24 aired episodes. The season follows the story of a group of surgeons as they go through their residency, while they also deal with the personal challenges and relationships with their mentors. Season 5 had 13 series regulars with 12 of them returning from the previous season, out of which 8 are part of the original cast. The season aired in the Thursday night time-slot at 9:00 pm. The season was officially released on DVD as a seven disc boxset under the title of "Grey's Anatomy: The Complete Fifth Season – More Moments" on September 9, 2009 by Buena Vista Home Entertainment.


title: Grey's Anatomy (season 5)

text: The number in the "No. overall" column refers to the episode's number within the overall series, whereas the number in the "No. in season" column refers to the episode's number within this particular season. "U.S. viewers in millions" refers to the number of Americans in millions who watched the episodes live. The fifth season's episodes are altogether 1080 minutes in length. Each episode of this season is named after a song.


title: Grey's Anatomy (season 5)

text: The season was produced by Touchstone Television ABC Studios, The Mark Gordon Company, ShondaLand, and was distributed by Buena Vista International, Inc. The executive producers were creator Shonda Rhimes, Betsy Beers, Mark Gordon, Krista Vernoff, Rob Corn, Mark Wilding, Joan Rater, and James D. Parriott. The regular directors were Rob Corn, Eric Stoltz, and Tom Verica.


title: Grey's Anatomy (season 5)

text: The fifth season had 13 roles receiving star-billing, with 12 of them returning from the previous season, out of which 8 are part of the original cast from the first season. All of the 13 regulars portray surgeons who work in the fictional Seattle Grace Hospital. Ellen Pompeo continued her role as protagonist and narrator of the series, Dr. Meredith Grey, a resident physician and a surgeon. Sandra Oh played resident Dr. Cristina Yang, best-friend of Meredith and fellow surgeon. Katherine Heigl portrayed resident Dr. Isobel "Izzie" Stevens whose previous relationship with the now-deceased patient Denny Duquette threatens her career once again. Justin Chambers acted as surgical resident Dr. Alexander "Alex" Karev who becomes Izzie's husband, while T. R. Knight portrayed Dr. George O'Malley, an insecure resident whose sensitive personality puts his life in danger. General surgeon and Chief Resident Dr. Miranda Bailey was portrayed by Chandra Wilson, while general surgeon and Chief of Surgery Dr. Richard Webber was played by James Pickens, Jr. Sara Ramirez portrayed orthopedic surgeon Dr. Calliope "Callie" Torres whose storylines during the season revolve around her recently-discovered bisexuality. Eric Dane's character, plastic surgeon Dr. Mark Sloan, begins a relationship with intern Dr. Lexie Grey, Meredith's half-sister portrayed by Chyler Leigh. Brooke Smith appeared in 7 episodes as cardiothoracic surgeon Dr. Erica Hahn, Callie's love-interest, who eventually resigns and moves away. Patrick Dempsey portrayed neurosurgeon Dr. Derek Shepherd whose relationship with Meredith Grey is the series' main storyline.


title: Grey's Anatomy (season 5)

text: Although originally introduced as a recurring character in the season premiere, trauma surgeon Dr. Owen Hunt was promoted to a series-regular in the fourteenth episode of the season "Beat Your Heart Out". He was portrayed by Kevin McKidd and was conceived as a love-interest to resident Cristina Yang. Originally only signed onto the show until December 2008, Kevin McKidd was upgraded to regular status after appearing in 5 episodes. Shonda Rhimes said, "I am excited to have Kevin McKidd joining us for the season, he’s been a delight to collaborate with and brings incredible passion, talent and creativity to his work." Weeks after Hunt's first appearance on the show, Matt Roush of "TVGuide" comments that "Hunt/McKidd is the most encouraging thing to happen to "Grey's Anatomy" in quite a while." Robert Rorke of the "New York Post" states that McKidd was brought in as Hunt to "boost the sagging fortunes" of the show's ratings. Kelley L. Carter of "USA Today", describes Hunt as "hardcore" and "the antithesis of the other males on the show."


title: Grey's Anatomy (season 5)

text: Numerous supporting characters have been given expansive and recurring appearances in the progressive storyline, including: Melissa George as Sadie Harris, Kimberly Elise as Dr. Jo Swender, Jessica Capshaw as Dr. Arizona Robbins, Amy Madigan as Dr. Wyatt, Mary McDonnell as Dr. Virginia Dixon, Eric Stoltz as William Dunn, Jennifer Westfeldt as Jen Harmon, Ben Shenkman as Rob Harmon, Shannon Lucio as Amanda and Samantha Mathis as Melinda. Jeffrey Dean Morgan reappeared as the deceased Denny Duquette in Izzie's hallucinations due to a brain tumor. Former series-regular Kate Walsh returned to the show with a special guest-star billing as Dr. Addison Montgomery along with fellow "Private Practice" stars Audra McDonald portraying Naomi Bennett, Taye Diggs portraying Sam Bennett and Grant Show portraying Dr. Archer Montgomery. Tyne Daly also appeared receiving a special guest-star in the role of Carolyn Maloney Shepherd, Derek's mother, while Héctor Elizondo appeared as Carlos Torres, Callie's father.


title: Grey's Anatomy (season 5)

text: While few critics weighed in their point of view on the fourth season, several had opinions on the fifth season. Alan Sepinwall from the "Newark Star-Ledger" said "Overall, it really feels more like the good-old-days than "Grey<nowiki>'</nowiki>s" has in a long time" referring to season 5. Also regarding season 5, Misha Davenport from "Chicago Sun-Times" said "Tonight's premiere hits on all the things the show does so well. There is romance, heartbreak, humor and a few moments that will move fans to tears." Robert Bianco from "USA Today" said "Happily, it now seems to have landed on solid ground, with its best ensemble and most-engaging stories in years" regarding the show's fifth season.


title: Grey's Anatomy (season 5)

text: The return of Izzie's deceased fiancé Denny and the resumption of their romance during the season also proved unpopular with fans, and was deemed "the world's worst storyline" by Mary McNamara of the "Los Angeles Times". McNamara was also critical of the episode "Now or Never", which saw Izzie flatline following neurosurgery, opining that Izzie ought to die. The episode in which Izzie married long-term love Alex received 15.3 million viewers, the largest television audience of the night.


title: Grey's Anatomy (season 5)

text: Izzie's cancer storyline received a mixed response from the medical community. Otis Brawley, chief medical officer at the American Cancer Society, commented that Izzie's treatment options were unrealistic. Whereas in the show she was offered the drug interleukin-2, in reality the drug is never recommended to patients when melanoma has spread to the brain, as it can cause bleeding and strokes. Brawley explained that such patients would instead be offered radiosurgery. Conversely however, Tim Turnham, executive director of the Melanoma Research Foundation, praised "Grey's Anatomy" for bringing about greater public awareness of melanoma, stating: "We welcome the national spotlight "Grey's Anatomy" has created for melanoma and its efforts to encourage viewers to learn more about the importance of prevention, early detection and research."


title: Grey's Anatomy (season 5)

text: Chandra Wilson won the 2009 NAACP Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series for her portrayal of Dr. Miranda Bailey during the season.


title: Grey's Anatomy (season 5)

text: The fifth season was released as a widescreen 7-disc Region 1 DVD box set in the USA on September 15, 2009, with the title "Grey's Anatomy: The Complete Fifth Season – More Moments". Each of these releases also contained DVD extras, including footage from behind-the-scenes, deleted scenes and extended episodes. The same set was released on November 4, 2009 in Region 4 and on August 23, 2010 in Region 2.


title: Anna Hazare

text: Kisan Baburao "Anna" Hazare (; born 15 June 1937) is an Indian social activist who led movements to promote rural development, increase government transparency, and investigate and punish corruption in public life. In addition to organising and encouraging grassroots movements, Hazare frequently conducted hunger strikes to further his causes—a tactic reminiscent, to many, of the work of Mahatma Gandhi. Hazare also contributed to the development and structuring of Ralegan Siddhi, a village in Parner taluka of Ahmednagar district, Maharashtra, India. He was awarded the Padma Bhushan—the third-highest civilian award—by the Government of India in 1992 for his efforts in establishing this village as a model for others.


title: Anna Hazare

text: Hazare started a hunger strike on 5 April 2011 to exert pressure on the Indian government to enact a stringent anti-corruption law, The Lokpal Bill, 2011 as envisaged in the Jan Lokpal Bill, for the institution of an ombudsman with the power to deal with corruption in public places. The fast led to nationwide protests in support. The fast ended on 9 April 2011, a day after the government accepted Hazare's demands. The government issued a gazette notification on the formation of a joint committee, consisting of government and civil society representatives, to draft the legislation.


title: Anna Hazare

text: "Foreign Policy" named him among top 100 global thinkers in 2011. Also in 2011, Hazare was ranked as the most influential person in Mumbai by a national daily newspaper. He has faced criticism for his authoritarian views on justice, including death as punishment for corrupt public officials and his alleged support for forced vasectomies as a method of family planning.


title: Anna Hazare

text: Kisan Baburao Hazare was born on 15 June 1937 (some sources say 15 January 1940) in Bhingar, near Ahmednagar. He was the eldest son of Baburao Hazare and Laxmi Bai. He has two sisters and four brothers. He later adopted the name "Anna", which in Marathi means "elder person" or "father".


title: Anna Hazare

text: His father worked as an unskilled labourer in Ayurveda Ashram Pharmacy and struggled to support the family financially. In time, the family moved to their ancestral village of Ralegan Siddhi, where they owned a small amount of agricultural land. A relative took on the burden of providing Kisan with an education, taking him to Mumbai because the village had no primary school. The relative became unable financially to continue the support and Kisan's schooling ended in the Standard Seventh grade; his siblings never attended school. He started selling flowers at the Dadar railway station in Mumbai and eventually managed to own two flower shops in the city. He also became involved in vigilantism, joining groups who acted to prevent landlords' thugs from intimidating the poor out of their shelter.


title: Anna Hazare

text: Hazare was drafted into the Indian Army in April 1960, where he initially worked as an army truck driver and was later attested as a soldier. He undertook army training at Aurangabad.


title: Anna Hazare

text: During the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965, Hazare was posted at the border in the Khem Karan sector. He was the sole survivor of an enemy attack—variously claimed to have been a bomb, an aerial assault and an exchange of fire at the border—while he was driving a truck. The experiences of wartime, coupled with the poverty from which he had come, affected him. He considered suicide at one point but instead turned to pondering the meaning of life and death. He said of the truck attack, "[It] sent me thinking. I felt that God wanted me to stay alive for some reason. I was reborn in the battlefield of Khem Karan. And I decided to dedicate my new life to serving people." At a book stand in New Delhi railway station, he came across Swami Vivekananda's booklet "Call to the youth for nation building" which inspired him to think deeper. He spent his spare time reading the works of Swami Vivekananda, Gandhi, and Vinoba Bhave. In a blog post, Hazare expressed his views on Kashmir by saying that it was his "active conviction that Kashmir is an integral part of India" and that if required once again for service, he would remain "ready to take part in war against Pakistan."


title: Anna Hazare

text: During his fifteen-year career in the army (1960–75), Anna Hazare was posted at several locations, including Punjab (Indo Pak war 1965), Nagaland, Bombay (1971) and Jammu (1974)


title: Anna Hazare

text: During the Indo pak war, Hazare survived a road crash while driving for the army. He interpreted his survival as a further sign that his life was intended to be dedicated to service. He had another escape in Nagaland, where one night, underground Naga rebels attacked his post and killed all the inmates. He had a miraculous escape as he had gone out to return nature's call and hence turned out to be the lone survivor.


title: Anna Hazare

text: Official records show that he was honourably discharged in 1975 after completing 12 years of service.


title: Anna Hazare

text: Hazare returned to Ralegan Siddhi, a village then described by Satpathy and Mehta as "one of the many villages of India plagued by acute poverty, deprivation, a fragile ecosystem, neglect and hopelessness."


title: Anna Hazare

text: Although most of the villagers owned some land, cultivation was extremely difficult due to the rocky ground preventing retention of the monsoon rains, this situation was worsened by gradual environmental deterioration as trees were cut down, erosion spread and droughts were also experienced. The shortage of water also led to disease from unsanitary conditions and water reuse for multiple purposes. The economy of the village had become reliant on the illegal manufacture and sale of alcohol, a product on which many of the villagers had become dependent. Many inhabitants borrowed from moneylenders to survive, paying monthly interest rates of as much as 10%. Crime and violence (including domestic violence) had become commonplace, while education and employment opportunities were poor.


title: Anna Hazare

text: Hazare was relatively wealthy because of the gratuity from his army service. He set about using that money to restore a run-down, vandalised village temple as a focal point for the community. Some were able to respond with small financial donations but many other villagers, particularly among the elderly, donated their labour in a process that became known as "shramdaan". Some youths also became involved in the work and these he organised into a "Tarun Mandal" (Youth Association). One of the works of Vivekananda which he had read was "Call to the youth for nation building".


title: Anna Hazare

text: Hazare and the youth group decided to take up the issue of alcoholism to drive a process of reform. At a meeting conducted in the temple, the villagers resolved to close down liquor dens and ban alcohol in the village. Since these resolutions were made in the temple, they became, in a sense, religious commitments. Over thirty liquor brewing units voluntarily closed their establishments. Those who did not succumb to social pressure were forced to close their businesses when the youth group smashed their premises. The owners could not complain as their businesses were illegal.


title: Anna Hazare

text: Once 3 drunken villagers were tied to pillars and then flogged, personally by Hazare with his army belt. He justified this punishment by stating that "rural India was a harsh society", and that


title: Anna Hazare

text: Hazare appealed to the government of Maharashtra to pass a law whereby prohibition would come into force in a village if 25% of the women in the village demanded it. In 2009 the state government amended the Bombay Prohibition Act, 1949 to reflect this.


title: Anna Hazare

text: It was decided to ban the sale of tobacco, cigarettes, and beedies (an unfiltered cigarette where the tobacco is rolled in tendu, also known as Coromandel ebony, leaves instead of paper) in the village. To implement this resolution, the youth group performed a unique "Holi" ceremony twenty two years ago. The festival of Holi is celebrated as a symbolic burning of evil. The youth group brought all the tobacco, cigarettes, and beedies from the shops in the village and burnt them in a Holi fire. Tobacco, cigarettes, or beedies are no longer sold.


title: Anna Hazare

text: In 1980, Hazare started the Grain Bank at the temple, with the objective of providing food security to needy farmers during times of drought or crop failure. Rich farmers, or those with surplus grain production, could donate a quintal to the bank. In times of need, farmers could borrow the grain, but they had to return the amount of grain they borrowed, plus an additional quintal as an interest. This ensured that nobody in the village ever went hungry or had to borrow money to buy grain. This also prevented distress sales of grain at lower prices at harvest time.


title: Anna Hazare

text: Ralegan Siddhi is located in the foothills, so Hazare persuaded villagers to construct a watershed embankment and associated works to stop water and allow it to percolate and increase the ground water level and improve irrigation in the area. These efforts solved the problem of water scarcity in the village and made irrigation possible.


title: Anna Hazare

text: Cultivation of water-intensive crops like sugarcane was banned. Crops such as pulses, oilseeds, and certain cash crops with low water requirements replaced them. The farmers started growing high-yield varieties and changed cropping pattern. Hazare has helped farmers of more than 70 villages in drought-prone regions in the state of Maharashtra since 1975. When Hazare came to Ralegan Siddhi in 1975 only of land was irrigated, Hazare converted it into about .


title: Anna Hazare

text: In 1932, Ralegan Siddhi got its first formal school, a single classroom primary school. In 1962, the villagers added more classrooms through community volunteer efforts. By 1971, out of an estimated population of 1,209, only 30.43% were literate (72 women and 290 men). Boys moved to the nearby towns of Shirur and Parner to pursue higher education, but girls were limited to primary education. Hazare, along with the youth of Ralegan Siddhi, worked to increase literacy rates and education levels. In 1976 they started a pre-school and a high school in 1979. The villagers formed a charitable trust, the "Sant Yadavbaba Shikshan Prasarak Mandal", which was registered in 1979.


title: Anna Hazare

text: The social barriers and discrimination that existed due to the caste system in India have been largely eliminated by Ralegan Siddhi villagers. It was Hazare's moral leadership that motivated and inspired the villagers to shun untouchability and caste discrimination. Marriages of Dalits are held as part of community marriage program together with those of other castes. The Dalits have become integrated into the social and economic life of the village. The upper caste villagers built houses for the lower caste Dalits by "shramdaan" and helped to repay their loans.


title: Anna Hazare

text: The Gandhian philosophy on rural development considers the Gram Sabha as an important democratic institution for collective decision-making in the villages of India. Hazare campaigned between 1998 and 2006 for amending the Gram Sabha Act, so that villagers have a say in the village's development. The state government initially refused, but eventually gave in to public pressure. It became mandatory to seek the sanction of the Gram Sabha (an assembly of all village adults, and not just the few elected representatives in the gram panchayat) for expenditures on development works in the village.


title: Anna Hazare

text: In 1991 Hazare launched the Bhrashtachar Virodhi Jan Andolan (BVJA, People's Movement against Corruption), a popular movement to fight against corruption in Ralegaon Siddhi. In the same year he protested against the collusion between 40 forest officials and timber merchants. This protest resulted in the transfer and suspension of these officials.


title: Anna Hazare

text: In May 1997 Hazare protested alleged malpractice in the purchase of powerlooms by the Vasantrao Naik Bhathya Vimukt Jhtra Governor P. C. Alexander. On 4 November 1997 Gholap filed a defamation suit against Hazare for accusing him of corruption. He was arrested in April 1998 and was released on a personal bond of . On 9 September 1998 Hazare was imprisoned in the Yerawada Jail to serve a three-month sentence mandated by the Mumbai Metropolitan Court. The sentencing caused leaders of all political parties except the BJP and the Shiv Sena to support him. Later, due to public protests, the Government of Maharashtra ordered his release. Hazare wrote a letter to then chief minister Manohar Joshi demanding Gholap's removal for his role in alleged malpractices in the Awami Merchant Bank. Gholap resigned from the cabinet on 27 April 1999.


title: Anna Hazare

text: In 2003 corruption charges were raised by Hazare against four NCP ministers of the Congress-NCP government. He started his fast unto death on 9 August 2003. He ended his fast on 17 August 2003 after then chief minister Sushil Kumar Shinde formed a one-man commission headed by the retired justice P. B. Sawant to probe his charges. The P. B. Sawant commission report, submitted on 23 February 2005, indicted Sureshdada Jain, Nawab Malik, and Padmasinh Patil. The report exonerated Vijaykumar Gavit. Jain and Malik resigned from the cabinet in March 2005.


title: Anna Hazare

text: Three trusts headed by Anna Hazare were also indicted in the P. B. Sawant commission report. spent by the "Hind Swaraj Trust" for Anna Hazare's birthday celebrations was concluded by the commission as illegal and amounting to a corrupt practice, though Abhay Firodia, an industrialist subsequently donated to the trust for that purpose. The setting apart of 11 acres of its land by the trust in favour of the Zilla Parishad without obtaining permission from the charity commissioner was concluded as a case of maladministration. The commission also concluded that the maintenance of accounts of the "Bhrashtachar Virodhi Janandolan Trust" after 10 November 2001 had not been according to the rules and spent by the "Sant Yadavbaba Shikshan Prasarak Mandal Trust" for renovating a temple thwarted its object of imparting secular education.


title: Anna Hazare

text: In the early 2000s Hazare led a movement in Maharashtra state which forced the state government to enact a revised Maharashtra Right to Information Act. This Act was later considered as the base document for the Right to Information Act 2005 (RTI), enacted by the Union Government. It also ensured that the President of India assented to this new Act.


title: Anna Hazare

text: On 20 July 2006 the Union Cabinet amended the Right to Information Act 2005 to exclude the file noting by the government officials from its purview. Hazare began his fast unto death on 9 August 2006 in Alandi against the proposed amendment. He ended his fast on 19 August 2006, after the government agreed to change its earlier decision.


title: Anna Hazare

text: Before 2006 in the state of Maharashtra, honest government officers were transferred to other places according to ministerial wish, while some corrupt and favoured officials stayed put for decades. Hazare fought for a law whereby a government servant must clear files within a specified time, and transfers must take place only after three years. After many years of Hazare's efforts, on 25 May 2006 Maharashtra announced the Prevention of Delay in Discharge of Official Duties Act 2006. This act provided for disciplinary action against officials who clear files slowly, and enabled monitoring of officials who overstay a post, and for involvement in a corrupt nexus.


title: Anna Hazare

text: This act mandated the government to effect transfers of all government officers and employees, except Class IV workers, no sooner and no later than three years, except in emergency or exceptional circumstances. Maharashtra was the first state to introduce such an act. However, this law was not fully followed.


title: Anna Hazare

text: Article 47 of India's Constitution commits the State to raise the standard of living, improve public health and prohibit the consumption of intoxicating drinks and drugs injurious to health.


title: Anna Hazare

text: In 2007 Maharashtra rolled out a policy aimed to encourage production of alcohol from food grain to fill the rising demand for industrial alcohol and liquor. It issued 36 licences for distilleries for making alcohol from food grain.


title: Anna Hazare

text: Anna Hazare opposed the government's policy to promote making liquor from food grain. He argued that Maharashtra had to import food, so producing liquor from food grain was inappropriate. One State minister, Laxman Dhoble said that those opposing the use of food grain for the production of liquor were anti-farmer, and that opponents should be beaten with sugarcane sticks.


title: Anna Hazare

text: Hazare began fasting at Shirdi, but on 21 March 2010 the government promised to review the policy and Anna ended his 5-day fast. But the government later granted 36 licences and grants of (per litre of alcohol) to politicians or their sons who were engaged in making alcohol from foodgrains. Recipients included Amit and Dheeraj Deshmukh, sons of Union Heavy Industries Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh, Bharatiya Janata Party leader Gopinath Munde's daughter Pankaja Palwe and her husband Charudatta Palwe, sons-in-law of P.V. Narasimha Rao and Rajya Sabha MP Govindrao Adik. The government approved the licences despite stiff opposition from the planning and finance departments, saying there was a huge demand in other countries for distilled spirits compared to that of molasses. Hazare sued Maharashtra over the policy in the Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court. On 20 August 2009 Maharashtra stopped the policy. However, distilleries sanctioned before that date and those who started production within two years of sanction were entitled for subsidies.


title: Anna Hazare

text: On 5 May 2011 the court refused to hear the suit, saying, "not before me, this is a court of law, not a court of justice". A Maharashtra Principal Secretary, C.S. Sangeet Rao, stated that no law existed to scrap these licences.


title: Anna Hazare

text: In 2011, Hazare participated in the satyagraha movement campaigning for a stronger anti-corruption "Lokpal" (ombudsman) bill in the Indian parliament. Known as the Jan Lokpal Bill (People's Ombudsman Bill), it was drafted by N. Santosh Hegde, a former justice of the Supreme Court of India and Lokayukta of Karnataka, Prashant Bhushan, and social activist Arvind Kejriwal. The draft incorporated more stringent provisions and gave wider power to the "Lokpal" than the government's 2010 draft. These included placing "the Prime Minister within the ambit of the proposed lokpal's powers".


title: Anna Hazare

text: Hazare began an "indefinite fast" on 5 April 2011 at Jantar Mantar in Delhi as part of the campaign to form a joint committee of government and civil society representatives. He wanted this committee to draft a bill with more stringent penal provisions and gave more independence to the "Lokpal" and "Lokayukta"s (ombudsmen in the states). The fast came after his demand was rejected by the prime minister, Manmohan Singh. Hazare said, "I will fast until Jan Lokpal Bill is passed".


title: Anna Hazare

text: The movement attracted attention in the media and thousands of supporters. Almost 150 people reportedly joined Hazare in his fast. Social activists, including Medha Patkar, Arvind Kejriwal, former IPS officer Kiran Bedi, and Jayaprakash Narayan lent their support. People showed support in social media. In addition to spiritual leaders Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Swami Ramdev, Swami Agnivesh, the former Indian cricketer Kapil Dev and many other celebrities supported him. Hazare decided that he would not allow any politician to sit with him. The protesters rejected Uma Bharti, Om Prakash Chautala and others when they visited the protest. On 6 April 2011 Sharad Pawar resigned from the group of ministers formed for reviewing the 2010 draft.


title: Anna Hazare

text: Protests spread to Bangalore, Mumbai, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Guwahati, Shillong, Aizawl and other cities.


title: Anna Hazare

text: On 8 April 2011 the Government accepted the movement's demands. On 9 April it issued a notification in the "Gazette of India" on formation of a joint committee. It accepted the formula that it should be co-chaired by a politician and social activist. The notification stated, "The Joint Drafting Committee shall consist of five nominee ministers of the Government of India and five nominees of the civil society. The five nominee Ministers of the Government of India are Pranab Mukherjee, Union Minister of Finance, P. Chidambaram, Union Minister of Home Affairs, M. Veerappa Moily, Union Minister of Law and Justice, Kapil Sibal, Union Minister of Human Resource and Development and Minister of Communication and Information Technology and Salman Khursheed, Union Minister of Water Resources and Minister of Minority Affairs. The five non-politician nominees were Anna Hazare, N. Santosh Hegde, Shanti Bhushan Senior Advocate, Prashant Bhushan, Advocate and Arvind Kejriwal.


title: Anna Hazare

text: On the morning of 9 April 2011 Hazare ended his 98-hour hunger strike. He addressed the people and set a deadline of 15 August 2011 to pass the bill. He said that


title: Anna Hazare

text: Hazare said that if the bill did not pass he would call for a mass nation-wide agitation. He called his movement a "second struggle for independence" and he will continue the fight.


title: Anna Hazare

text: Hazare threatened on 28 July 2012 to proceed with his fast-unto-death on the Jan Lokpal Bill issue. He also stated that country's future is not safe in the hands of Congress and BJP and he would campaign in the coming elections for those with clean background. On the third day of his indefinite fast, Anna stated that he will not talk even to the Prime Minister till his demands are met. On 2 August 2012 Hazare said that there was nothing wrong with forming a new political party but, he would neither join the party nor contest elections. Team and Anna have decided to end their indefinite fast on 3 August 2012 at 5 pm after which the team will announce their decision to enter politics.


title: Anna Hazare

text: During the meeting of the joint drafting committee on 30 May 2011, the Union government members opposed the inclusion of the prime minister, higher judiciary and the acts of the MPs under the purview of the JanLokpal in the draft bill. On 31 May, Mukherjee sent a letter to the chief ministers of all states and party leaders seeking their opinion on six contentious issues, including whether to bring the prime minister and judges of India's Supreme Court and High Courts under the law's purview. But the civil society members of the drafting committee considered that keeping them out would be a violation of the United Nations Convention against Corruption.


title: Anna Hazare

text: Hazare and other civil society members decided to boycott the 6 June 2011 drafting committee meeting to protest the forcible eviction of Swami Ramdev and his followers by the Delhi Police from Ramlila Maidan on 5 June 2011, while they were on a hunger strike against black money and corruption.


title: Anna Hazare

text: On 6 June 2011, the civil society members wrote to Mukherjee, explaining reasons for their absence and also asking government to go public on the major issues. They also decided to attend only future meetings that were telecast live. On 8 June at Rajghat, describing his movement as the second freedom struggle, Hazare criticised the Government for trying to discredit the drafting committee and threatened to go on indefinite fast again starting 16 August 2011 if the Lokpal Bill had not passed. He also criticised the Government for putting hurdles in front of the Bill and for maligning the civil society members.


title: Anna Hazare

text: On 28 July 2011 the union cabinet approved a draft of the Lokpal Bill, which kept the Prime Minister, judiciary and lower bureaucracy out of the ombudsman's scope. Hazare rejected the government version by describing it as "cruel joke". He wrote a letter to Singh announcing his decision to begin an indefinite fast from 16 August 2011 at Jantar Mantar, if the government introduced its own version of the bill without taking suggestions from civil society members. Hazare wrote:


title: Anna Hazare

text: Within twenty four hours of cabinet's endorsement of a weak Lokpal Bill, over ten thousand people from across the country sent faxes directly to the government demanding a stronger bill. The Mumbai Taxi Men's Union, comprising over 30,000 taxi drivers supported Hazare's fast by keeping all taxis off the roads on 16 August. Lawyers of Allahabad High Court described the government proposal as against the national interest and pledged their support to Hazare by hunger striking at Allahabad on 16 August. On 30 July Vishwa Hindu Parishad supported his fast by saying movement for an effective anti-corruption ombudsman needed the people's backing.


title: Anna Hazare

text: On 1 August 2011, Public interest litigation was filed in the Supreme Court of India by Hemant Patil, a Maharashtra-based social worker and businessman, to restrain Hazare, alleging that Hazare's demands were unconstitutional and amounted to interference in the legislative process.


title: Anna Hazare

text: On 16 August 2011, Hazare was arrested, four hours before the planned indefinite hunger strike. Rajan Bhagat, spokesman for Delhi Police, said police arrested Hazare for illegally gathering in a Delhi park to begin his hunger strike, claiming that Hazare refused to meet police conditions for allowing the protest. The conditions included restricting the fast to three days and the number of protesters to 5,000. Later in the afternoon, Hazare refused bail. The magistrate dispatched him to Tihar jail for seven days. After announcements by Prashant Bhushan, local television, and social media sites (including Facebook), thousands marched in support from the India Gate to Jantar Mantar.


title: Anna Hazare

text: Media reported that about 1,300 supporters were detained by police in Delhi, including Arvind Kejriwal, Shanti Bhushan, Kiran Bedi and Manish Sisodia. Protesters reportedly courted arrest in different parts of the country. Opposition parties came out against the arrest, likening the government action to the emergency imposed in the country in 1975. Both houses of Parliament adjourned over the issue.


title: Anna Hazare

text: refused to leave Tihar Jail. Hazare demanded unconditional permission to fast at Ramlila Maidan. Hazare continued his fast inside the jail.


title: Anna Hazare

text: After his arrest, Hazare received support from people across the country. There were reports of "nearly 570 demonstrations and protests by Anna supporters across the country". Due to the millions of protesters nationwide, the government allowed him to begin a public hunger strike of fifteen days. After talks with public authorities, Hazare decided to hold his protest at Ramlila Maidan, New Delhi. On 20 August Hazare "left the Tihar Jail for the Ramlila Grounds". Hazare promised reporters "he would fight to the 'last breath' until the government gets his team's Jan Lokpal Bill passed in this session of Parliament, which ends on 8 September."


title: Anna Hazare

text: On 20 August 2011 thousands came to show their support for Hazare, while "his advisers made television appearances to rally public support and defend themselves against criticism that their protest campaign and refusal to compromise is undermining India's parliamentary process." The National Campaign for People's Right to Information (NCPRI) condemned Hazare's deadline for passing the bill as undermining democracy, which operates by


title: Anna Hazare

text: The Congress party confirmed that Maharashtra Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Umesh Chandra Sarangi, who had a history of mediating between Hazare and officials, was meeting "to find points of consensus and defuse the situation". On 21 August "tens of thousands" watched Hazare as he sat on an elevated platform. It was reported that Hazare at that point had "lost more than seven pounds since beginning his fast". Despite this he stated, "I will not withdraw my hunger strike until the Jan Lokpal bill is passed in the Parliament. I can die but I will not bend." Hazare ended his fast on 28 August, after the Lokpal Bill passed unanimously.


title: Anna Hazare

text: He was admitted to Medanta Medicity, Gurgaon for post-fast care. He had lost and was very dehydrated after the 288-hour fast.


title: Anna Hazare

text: Within a few days of Anna Hazare's first fast demanding a strong Lokpal (on 5 April 2011), supporters started a campaign known as "I Am Anna Hazare", which was similar to the "We Are All Khaled Said" campaign from the Egyptian uprising. During Anna Hazare's second fast, his "topi", the cap which became synonymous with Anna Hazare, became almost a fashion statement. Sales of the topis hit an all-time high. Kiran Bedi recommended that the "I am Anna" topi be displayed whenever someone asked for a bribe.


title: Anna Hazare

text: On 27 December 2011, Hazare began a 3-day hunger strike at MMRDA grounds, Bandra Kurla Complex, to demand a stronger Lokpal bill than was in debate. Hazare ended the fast on 28 December, after his doctors said that his kidneys might fail if he continued.


title: Anna Hazare

text: Before reaching the venue, Anna paid tribute to Mahatma Gandhi at Juhu Beach. On his way to a rally with several thousand people, he took two-and-half hours to reach the ground, passing through Santacruz, Tulip Star Hotel, Mithibai College, SV Road, Vile Parle, Khar and Bandra Highway.


title: Anna Hazare

text: A PIL petition filed against the fast was turned down by the Karnataka High Court. A judge noted that there was no public interest in the petition.


title: Anna Hazare

text: In 2011, Hazare demanded an amendment to the electoral law to incorporate the option of None of the above in the electronic voting machines during the Indian elections. The "None of the above (NOTA)" is a ballot option that allows an electorate to indicate disapproval of all of the candidates in an electoral system, in case of non-availability of any candidate of his choice, as his Right to Reject. Soon, the Chief Election Commissioner of India Shahabuddin Yaqoob Quraishi supported Hazare's demand for the electoral reforms.


title: Anna Hazare

text: On 31 March 2013 Hazare started "Jantantra Yatra" from the city of Amritsar. He is expecting to address various issues, including electoral reforms such as the right to reject a candidate.


title: Anna Hazare

text: On 8 June 2011 Anna Hazare and thousands of his supporters fasted from 10 am to 6 pm at Rajghat to protest against the midnight crackdown of 5 June by the Delhi Police on Swami Ramdev's fast at Ramlila ground protests. Anna Hazare held the Prime Minister of India responsible for the atrocities and termed the police action as an attempt to stifle democracy. According to one of Hazare's young supporters, the large presence of youths at the protest was due to his use of nonviolent protest, similar to Gandhi.


title: Anna Hazare

text: On 9 August 2013, Anna's office announced his anti-corruption organisation Bhrashtachar Virodhi Jan Andolan (BVJA) is no longer tackling corruption issues at a personal or social level. In an email circulated to India Against Corruption's membership, the veteran Gandhian's office has clarified that Anna "is now focused on Janlokpal, Right to Reject, Right to Recall, Farmers problems, Change in Education in System".


title: Anna Hazare

text: In February 2015, he protested for two days at Jantar Mantar in Delhi against ordinance on the Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013.


title: Anna Hazare

text: Hazare has been accused of being an agent of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) a right-wing Hindu body. According to Digvijay Singh a senior leader of the Indian National Congress, the entire crusade of 2011 Indian anti-corruption movement was planned by RSS in which Plan-A was Baba Ramdev while Plan-B was Anna Hazare. Their basic job was to disturb national security. Singh also charged Hazare with having links with late RSS leader Nanaji Deshmukh with whom he worked as a secretary. Hazare denied any such associations.


title: Anna Hazare

text: India's "OPEN Magazine" editorialised that it was "nonsense" to say Hazare's anti-corruption movement of 2011–12 was apolitical. The op-ed went on to say that the purpose of the movement was that, so long as the Congress Party was kept out of power, corrupt politicians of any other party could be elected to Parliament. The example of Ajay Chautala (now convicted for corruption) was cited. ""In effect, Anna and his team are campaigning for Ajay Chautala effectively the first candidate put up for election by the India Against Corruption movement"".


title: Anna Hazare

text: In a press conference in April 2011, Hazare praised Narendra Modi, the chief minister of Gujarat and Nitish Kumar, chief minister of Bihar for their efforts on rural development, saying that other chief ministers should emulate them. Subsequently, Modi wrote an open letter to him, hailing him as a Gandhian anti-corruption activist while Digvijay Singh criticised Hazare for his comment. In May 2011, during his visit to Gujarat, Hazare changed his view and criticised Modi for rampant corruption. He urged Modi to appoint a Lokayukta. He also commented that the media had projected an incorrect image of Vibrant Gujarat. Subsequently, Hazare declared that Modi is not a suitable candidate for the position of Prime Minister. He criticised Modi for not doing enough to curb corruption and his unwillingness to set up a Lokayukta in Gujarat. Hazare questioned Modi's secular credentials.


title: Anna Hazare

text: The government of the state of Maharashtra instituted a Commission of Inquiry under Justice PB Sawant in September 2003 to enquire into allegations of corruption against several people, including four ministers in the state as well as the "Hind Swaraj Trust" headed by Hazare. The Commission submitted its report on 22 February 2005, indicting the Trust for corruptly spending Rs. 220,000 on Hazare's birthday celebrations.


title: Anna Hazare

text: Hazare's lawyer Milind Pawar responded that the commission had remarked about "irregularities" in the accounts, but had not held him guilty of any "corrupt" practices. Pawar said that on 16 June 1998, a celebration was organised to congratulate Hazare on winning an award from a US–based NGO and it coincided with his 61st birthday. The trust spent Rs 218,000 for the function. Abhay Phirodia, a Pune-based industrialist, who took the initiative to organise this function donated an amount of Rs to the trust by cheque soon afterwards. Hazare dared the government to file a First Information Report (FIR) against him to prove the charges.


title: Anna Hazare

text: Hazare exposed corruption in cooperative sugar factories in Maharashtra, including one controlled by Dr.Padamsinh Bajirao Patil, a member of Parliament of 15th Lok Sabha and higher-ranking Leader of Nationalist Congress Party from Osmanabad. Patil was accused in the 2006 murder case of Congress leader Pawanraje Nimabalkar.


title: Anna Hazare

text: The conspiracy to kill Hazare was exposed when Parasmal Jain, an accused in the Nimbalkar murder case, in his written confession before a magistrate said that Patil had paid him to murder Nimbalkar, and also offered him supari (contract killing sum) to kill Anna Hazare. After this written confession, Hazare appealed to the state government of Maharashtra to lodge a separate First Information Report ( FIR ) against Patil but the government declined. On 26 September 2009 Hazare lodged his own complaint at Parner police station of Ahmednagar District in Maharashtra against Patil. Patil approached the High Court seeking anticipatory bail but on 14 October 2009, the Aurangabad bench of Bombay High Court rejected his application, observing that there was prima facie case against him. Padmasinh Patil appealed to the Supreme Court of India losing again, on 6 November 2009. On 11 November 2009 Patil surrendered before the sessions court in Latur and was sent to judicial remand for 14 days. On 16 December 2009 the Aurangabad bench granted bail.


title: Anna Hazare

text: Hazare is unmarried. He has lived in a small room attached to the Sant Yadavbaba temple in Ralegan Siddhi since 1975. On 16 April 2011, he declared his bank balance of and as money in hand. He owns 0.07 hectares of family land in Ralegan Siddhi, which is being used by his brothers. He donated for village use two other pieces of land donated to him by the Indian Army and by a villager.


title: Good Girl Gone Bad

text: Good Girl Gone Bad is the third studio album by Barbadian singer Rihanna. It was released on May 31, 2007, by Def Jam Recordings and SRP Records. Rihanna worked with various producers on the album, including Tricky Stewart, The-Dream, Neo da Matrix, Timbaland, Carl Sturken, Evan Rogers and Stargate. Inspired by Brandy's fourth studio album "Afrodisiac" (2004), "Good Girl Gone Bad" is a pop, dance-pop and R&B record with 1980s music influences. Described as a turning point in Rihanna's career, it represents a departure from the Caribbean sound of her previous releases, "Music of the Sun" (2005) and "A Girl like Me" (2006). Apart from the sound, she also endorsed a new image for the release going from an innocent young woman to an edgier, more mature look.


title: Good Girl Gone Bad

text: Critics gave generally positive reviews of the album, praising its composition and Rihanna's new musical direction, though some criticized the album's lyrics and inconsistency. The album received seven Grammy Award nominations and one win in the Best Rap/Sung Collaboration category for "Umbrella" at the 2008 ceremony. The album debuted at number two on the US "Billboard" 200 chart and sold 162,000 copies in its first week. Certified six-times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), it sold more than 2.8 million copies in the United States. The album reached number one in Canada, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. As of June 2017, the album has sold over nine million copies worldwide.


title: Good Girl Gone Bad

text: "Good Girl Gone Bad" spawned five singles, including the international hits "Umbrella" and "Don't Stop the Music"; "Rolling Stone" placed the former at number 412 on the magazine's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time list. To promote the album, Rihanna embarked on her first worldwide concert tour and third overall, the Good Girl Gone Bad Tour. The album was reissued as "" in June 2008 with three new songs, including the US "Billboard" Hot 100 number-one hits "Take a Bow" and "Disturbia". It was followed by Rihanna's first remix album, "", in January 2009, which featured remixes from Moto Blanco, Tony Moran, the Soul Seekerz and the Wideboys.


title: Good Girl Gone Bad

text: Rihanna's second studio album, "A Girl like Me", was released in April 2006. It is a pop-oriented record with dancehall and R&B influences. It had a mixed critical reception: some critics praised Rihanna's new musical direction, while others criticized some of the album's songs. Around its time of release, many critics felt that Rihanna's style, sound, and musical material were too similar to those of American singer Beyoncé. The album sold over 587,308 copies in the United Kingdom and more than 1,330,000 copies in the United States.


title: Good Girl Gone Bad

text: In early 2007, Rihanna began work on her third studio album. In an interview with MTV News, she announced that "the new music is going in a different direction. Not on purpose, but I just want to hear something fresh and mostly uptempo. I think that's where I want to go on this one. You feel different every album, and [at] this stage I feel like I want to do a lot of uptempo [songs]." The same year, Rihanna dismissed her innocent image for an edgier look with a new hairstyle, which was inspired by actress Charlize Theron's bob cut in the 2005 science fiction thriller "Æon Flux".


title: Good Girl Gone Bad

text: Rihanna explained that she wanted to keep the audience dancing and be soulful at the same time. She sought to make an album that people would listen to without skipping tracks. She cited "Afrodisiac" (2004), the fourth studio album by American singer Brandy Norwood, as her main inspiration for the album. In May 2007, Rihanna revealed that she called the album "Good Girl Gone Bad" because it represents her bolder and more independent image: "I'm not the innocent Rihanna anymore. I'm taking a lot more risks and chances. I felt when I cut my hair, it shows people I'm not trying to look or be anybody else. The album is very edgy."


title: Good Girl Gone Bad

text: "Good Girl Gone Bad" was recorded in Westlake Recording Studios and Conway Studios in Los Angeles, Battery Studios and Roc the Mic Studios in New York City, Chicago Recording Company and Pressure Studios in Chicago, Phase One Audio Group in Toronto, Lethal Studios in Bridgetown, Barbados, Espionage Studios in Oslo and Parr Street Studios in Liverpool. Rihanna spent the week of the 2007 Grammy Awards working with American R&B singer-songwriter Ne-Yo, who gave her vocal lessons. They wrote and sang "Hate That I Love You", which was co-written and produced by Norwegian duo Stargate. Ne-Yo told "Vibe" magazine, "The best way to express an emotion like love is through storytelling. It makes it more 'I can relate to this character in this song because I've been through something similar.' You hear that kind of storytelling in the song that I wrote for Rihanna called 'Hate That I Love You'."


title: Good Girl Gone Bad

text: American producers Tricky Stewart and Dream had written the track "Umbrella" in 2007 with pop singer Britney Spears in mind. Her label rejected the song before she could hear it, stating they had enough songs for her to record; at the time, Spears was working on her fifth studio album "Blackout". The producers then reached out to Mary J. Blige, who did not have time to consider the song for her next album. Finally, L.A. Reid, then-CEO of Def Jam Recordings, bought the record and forwarded it to Rihanna. Initially, Stewart was unsure whether Rihanna was the right artist for the song, but after they had recorded the "ella, ella" catch phrase for the track, he felt optimistic. Rapper Jay Z added rap vocals. Stewart also co-wrote and produced "Breakin' Dishes" with Nash.


title: Good Girl Gone Bad

text: "Rehab", "Sell Me Candy", and "Lemme Get That" were composed and produced by Timbaland for the album. He was on the FutureSex/LoveShow concert tour with Justin Timberlake to promote Timberlake's 2006 album "FutureSex/LoveSounds". After a show in Chicago, they joined Rihanna in the studio, where Timberlake experimented with beats and melodies. Weeks later, the three met in New York City, where Timberlake had conceptualized a song for Rihanna. Timbaland, who penned a song for Rihanna under the title "Rehab", was producing a beat, over which Timberlake improvised his lyrics. Hannon Lane also co-wrote and co-produced the song. Timberlake told "Entertainment Weekly" that he believed "Rehab" to be "the bridge for [Rihanna] to be accepted as an adult in the music industry". Rihanna told Robert Copsey of "Digital Spy" that she enjoyed working with Timberlake, and learned much from the sessions.


title: Good Girl Gone Bad

text: A dance-pop, pop and R&B album influenced by 1980s music, "Good Girl Gone Bad" is a departure from the Caribbean sound of Rihanna's previous two records. Lyrically, the album is close to some teen pop records, "where sexual-ism and consumerism supersede personal connection."


title: Good Girl Gone Bad

text: The LP opens with the lead single "Umbrella", an R&B song performed with drums and thundercloud synths. Dorian Lynskey of "The Guardian" compared the singer's vocals to the voices of Ciara and Cassie. The second track, "Push Up On Me", features echo electro claps and surging synths. "Don't Stop the Music" is a dance-pop and techno song that contains rhythmic devices used mainly in hip hop music. The song samples the line "Mama-say, mama-sa, ma-ma-ko-ssa" from Michael Jackson's 1983 single "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'". The fourth song is "Breakin' Dishes"; Peter Robinson of "The Observer" called it a "wronged-woman bonanza, packed with hooks, chants and flashes of lyrical brilliance." "Shut Up and Drive" is a new wave and pop rock song, influenced by 1970s and 1980s musical styles, sampling New Order's 1983 single "Blue Monday". The collaboration with Ne-Yo, "Hate That I Love You", is a folky R&B song; Nick Levine of "Digital Spy" compared it to Ne-Yo's singles "Sexy Love" and "Because of You".


title: Good Girl Gone Bad

text: The seventh track on the album, "Say It", samples the 1990s song "Flex" by Mad Cobra; it consists of silky and warm groove and features island-oriented music characteristics. "Sell Me Candy" features jumbled and noisy production with chaotic beats. The ninth song, "Lemme Get That", has boom-bap beats and is produced by Timbaland. "Rehab" is an old-styled R&B track with a groove that is built around tambourine shakes, acoustic guitar swirls and a subtle backbeat. Doug Rule of "Metro Weekly" noted similarities among the structures of "Rehab" and Timberlake's 2002 single "Cry Me a River". "Question Existing" is an "eerie, smoky, destitute, emotional, and a sonic sidestep." Tom Breihan of Pitchfork Media described the opening lyrics of the song as inspired by "puerile psuedoporn". The album concludes with the title track "Good Girl Gone Bad", which is played with an acoustic guitar and click tracks.


title: Good Girl Gone Bad

text: Released as the lead single from "Good Girl Gone Bad", "Umbrella" was sent to contemporary hit, rhythmic and urban radio in the US on April 24, 2007. The song received acclaim from music critics, who praised its production, vocals and the collaboration between Rihanna and Jay Z. "Umbrella" reached number one in more than seventeen countries worldwide, including on the UK Singles Chart and the US "Billboard" Hot 100 chart. In the United Kingdom, the song topped the singles chart for ten consecutive weeks, while in the United States, it was at the top for seven consecutive weeks. As of June 2013, "Umbrella" has sold 4,236,000 digital copies there, making it Rihanna's fifth-best selling single in the country. Director Chris Applebaum shot the accompanying music video, which features scenes of Rihanna nude and covered in silver paint. The video earned the singer nominations at the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards for Best Direction, Video of the Year and Monster Single of the Year; it won the latter two.


title: Good Girl Gone Bad

text: The second single from the album, "Shut Up and Drive", was serviced to contemporary hit radio in the US on May 13 and rhythmic radio the following week. The song received mixed response from critics: some praised the composition, while others criticized the lyrics. It reached the top ten on more than twelve national charts, including number five on the UK Singles Chart and number 15 on the US "Billboard" Hot 100. The music video for the song was shot by Anthony Mandler in Prague, the Czech Republic.


title: Good Girl Gone Bad

text: The third single, "Hate That I Love You", which features Ne-Yo, was sent to contemporary hit, rhythmic and urban radio in the United States on August 21. Critics gave the song positive reviews and praised the collaboration between the singers; they compared it to the previous works written by Ne-Yo, including the song "Irreplaceable" by Beyoncé. "Hate That I Love You" reached number seven on the US "Billboard" Hot 100 and number 15 on the UK Singles Chart.


title: Good Girl Gone Bad

text: "Don't Stop the Music" was digitally released as an EP via the iTunes Store on September 7. The song received positive reviews from music critics, who praised its production and the interpolation of the "Mama-say, mama-sa, ma-ma-ko-ssa" hook. "Don't Stop the Music" won Best International Song at the 2008 NRJ Music Awards. The single peaked atop of the singles charts in eight countries, reaching number three on the Hot 100 and number four on the UK Singles Chart. It is the seventh-best selling single by Rihanna in the United States, with 3,521,000 digital copies sold as of June 2013. Mandler shot the music video in a nightclub in Prague, the Czech Republic.


title: Good Girl Gone Bad

text: "Rehab" was released as the fifth and final single from "Good Girl Gone Bad"; it was sent to contemporary hit radio in the United States on October 6, 2008. Critics were divided on the song's production and composition, and some compared its structure to that of Timberlake's 2007 single "What Goes Around... Comes Around". It reached number 16 on the UK Singles Chart and number 18 on the US "Billboard" Hot 100 chart. Anthony Mandler directed the accompanying music video, which was shot in Vasquez Rocks Park, near Los Angeles. Timberlake also appears in the video.


title: Good Girl Gone Bad

text: "Good Girl Gone Bad" was first released by the Universal Music Group on CD in Portugal on May 31, 2007. It was released in the Netherlands and in Poland the following day. The album was launched in Finland and the United Kingdom on June 4 and in the United States the following day on CD and LP. "Good Girl Gone Bad" was released on CD in Germany on June 8, on LP in Australia on June 12 and on CD in New Zealand on the same date. A deluxe edition of the album, featuring a bonus disc with dance remixes, was launched on June 27 in Japan.


title: Good Girl Gone Bad

text: In early 2008, Rihanna unveiled a new song, "Take a Bow", on the KIIS-FM radio show "On Air with Ryan Seacrest". MTV News reported that the track would serve as the lead single from "", a reissue of the original album to mark its first anniversary. Rihanna further announced that the expanded album would contain another two songs, "Disturbia" and the duet with American pop rock band Maroon 5, titled "If I Never See Your Face Again" to supplement the original track listing. Among other achieved awards and nominations, "Disturbia" and "If I Never See Your Face Again" received nominations for Best Dance Recording and Pop Collaboration with Vocals respectively at the 2009 Grammy Awards.


title: Good Girl Gone Bad

text: "" was released on January 27, 2009, and contains club remixes of tracks from the original album and the re-issue. The songs were remixed by producers and disc jockeys such as Moto Blanco, Tony Moran, Soul Seekerz and Wideboys. "Good Girl Gone Bad: The Remixes" peaked at number 106 on the "Billboard" 200 and number four on the US "Billboard" Dance/Electronic Albums chart. As of July 2010, it sold 49,000 copies in the United States.


title: Good Girl Gone Bad

text: Rihanna performed "Umbrella" with "Shut Up and Drive" and "Breakin' Dishes" at BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend on May 21, 2007. She performed "Umbrella" with Jay Z at the 2007 MTV Movie Awards at the Gibson Amphitheatre, Universal City, California, on June 3. A reviewer of "Rap-Up" wrote, "she looked hot and the production was on point" during the performance. She performed the song at the "Tonight Show with Jay Leno" on June 5 and on June 16 at "The View". Rihanna performed "Shut Up and Drive" at the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards at The Palms in Las Vegas, and was joined by American rock band Fall Out Boy. In early October 2007, Rihanna was the guest star at the "Late Show with David Letterman", where she gave a performance of "Shut Up and Drive". On November 18, Rihanna performed a medley consisting of "Umbrella" and "Hate That I Love You" at the 2007 American Music Awards at the Nokia Theater in Los Angeles, California. Ne-Yo accompanied her for the performance of "Hate That I Love You".


title: Good Girl Gone Bad

text: Rihanna performed "Don't Stop the Music" at the 2008 NRJ Music Awards in Cannes, France, on January 26, 2008. She also performed the song at the 50th Annual Grammy Awards on February 10 in a medley with "Umbrella". For the performance, she was joined by American funk band, The Time. On April 28, 2008, Rihanna performed at the Pepsi Center with Kanye West, N.E.R.D. and Lupe Fiasco. She sang "Rehab", "Hate That I Love You", "Don't Stop the Music" and "Umbrella". On June 20, she was a guest on NBC's "Today Concert Series" in Rockefeller Center, New York City. She performed "Don't Stop the Music", "Umbrella" and "Take a Bow". She also performed "Rehab" live on November 23, 2008, at the 2008 American Music Awards, where she won the awards for Favorite Pop/Rock Female Artist and Favorite Soul/R&B Female Artist.


title: Good Girl Gone Bad

text: To further promote the album, Rihanna embarked on her first worldwide and second overall tour, the Good Girl Gone Bad Tour (2007–09). She performed in Europe, North America, Oceania, Asia and Africa. During the concert shows she wore S&M-inspired outfits and high boots. Mike Usinger of "The Georgia Straight" gave the show a mixed review; he wrote that even though Rihanna's vocals were improved, he felt she still struggled to keep the audience engaged. Jason MacNeil of Canadian Online Explorer gave a positive review of the concert after the show at Molson Amphitheatre, saying "the singer made a rather eye-popping impression, opening with 'Pon de Replay' and clad in a sexy, dominatrix-like studded black leather ensemble." During a show planned for February 13 in Malaysia, Malaysia's conservative Islamic party recommended that Rihanna's concert tour be banned from performing, citing her outfits. A video album, "Good Girl Gone Bad Live", was filmed at the Manchester Arena show in Manchester, United Kingdom, on December 6, 2007. The "Good Girl Gone Bad Live" DVD was released on June 9 and 13, 2008, in the United Kingdom and Germany through Mercury Records and the Universal Music Group respectively.


title: Good Girl Gone Bad

text: "Good Girl Gone Bad" received generally favorable reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 72 based on 17 reviews. "Uncut" called it a "shiny, trans-atlantic blend of Europop vim, R&B grit and Caribbean bounce." Andy Kellman of AllMusic deemed it quintessential pop music and said each of its tracks was a potential hit. Quentin B. Huff of PopMatters praised the album, describing it as "more raw, perhaps edgier and more risqué" than Rihanna's previous material. Kelefa Sanneh of "The New York Times" wrote that the album "sounds as if it were scientifically engineered to deliver hits". Peter Robinson of "The Observer" commended her collaborators for "masking her own shortcomings" and commented that, "While Rihanna lacks her peers' charisma, she's a great vessel for exhilarating mainstream pop." Pitchfork Media's Tom Breihan found the album varied and satisfying. Neil Drumming of "Entertainment Weekly" felt that, although it "goes bad when Rihanna tries her hand at treacly ballads and glum sentiment", at times "Good Girl Gone Bad" is a "thrilling throwback to more than a decade ago, when upstart producers haphazardly mashed R&B with hip-hop to create chunky jeep anthems such as Mary J. Blige's 'Real Love'."


title: Good Girl Gone Bad

text: In a mixed review, Rodney Dugue of "The Village Voice" felt that the album "never settles on a sound" and only cited its three Timbaland-produced songs as highlights. Although he found the ballads to be improvements from Rihanna's previous albums, "Slant Magazine"'s Sal Cinquemani criticized the lyrics, particularly those written by Justin Timberlake, as an "Achilles' high heel for Rihanna". Alex Macpherson of "The Guardian" found Rihanna to be "ill-suited" for its dance-pop songs and stated, "The gimmicky samples and pounding beats bury her personality, and the summery reggae of her first two albums is sorely missed." Robert Christgau of MSN Music cited "Umbrella" as a "choice cut", indicating "a good song on an album that isn't worth your time or money".


title: Good Girl Gone Bad

text: At the 2008 Grammy Awards ceremony, "Good Girl Gone Bad" received seven Grammy Awards nominations, including Record of the Year and Song of the Year for "Umbrella", Best Dance Recording for "Don't Stop the Music", Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals and Best R&B Song for "Hate That I Love You". It won the accolade for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration for "Umbrella". Additionally, "Rolling Stone" placed "Umbrella" at number 412 on their 500 Greatest Songs of All Time list. The album also won the International Album of the Year award at the 2008 Juno Awards.


title: Good Girl Gone Bad

text: In the United States, "Good Girl Gone Bad" debuted at number two on the "Billboard" 200 chart, selling 162,000 copies in its first week. It became Rihanna's then-best start album entry. The next week, it fell to number seven with 81,000 copies sold. The re-issue sold 63,000 copies in the first week and helped "Good Girl Gone Bad" jump from number 124 to number seven on the US "Billboard" 200 in its 55th week. It was certified six-time platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA); by November 2013, both "Good Girl Gone Bad" and the reissue had sold 2,800,000 copies in the United States alone. As of 2015, it is her best-selling album in the country. The album debuted atop of the Canadian Albums Chart and became Rihanna's second number-one album in the country. It was certified quintuple platinum by Music Canada, denoting shipments of more than 500,000 copies.


title: Good Girl Gone Bad

text: "Good Girl Gone Bad" debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart with sales of 54,000 copies in its first week. It became her first album to top the chart, and stayed on the chart for 177 weeks. In 2011, the album peaked at number 16 on the UK R&B Albums Chart. It was certified six times platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) and sold over 1,904,347 copies in the country, as of 2016. It ended at number 10 on the UK 2007 year-end list and number six on the 2008 year-end list. As of March 2015, "Good Girl Gone Bad" is the 46th best-selling album of the millennium in the United Kingdom. In Ireland, "Good Girl Gone Bad" debuted at number three on the Irish Singles Chart on June 7, 2007. After four weeks on the chart, it reached the top. The album peaked at number one on the Swiss Hitparade chart and stayed on the chart for 91 weeks. In Australia, it peaked at number two and was certified triple platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA), denoting shipments of over 210,000 copies. To date, the album had sold 9 million album units worldwide.


title: Good Girl Gone Bad

text: Before its physical release, "Umbrella" achieved the biggest debut in the six-year history of the iTunes Store in the United States, breaking a record previously held by Shakira's 2006 single "Hips Don't Lie". Following its digital release, the song debuted atop the Hot Digital Songs chart, with first-week sales of more than 277,000 units. The single became the highest digital debut in the United States since Nielsen SoundScan began tracking downloads in 2003, surpassing Timberlake's "SexyBack" 250,000 sales record in 2006.


title: Good Girl Gone Bad

text: According to Biography.com, "Good Girl Gone Bad" inspired Rihanna to transform her image from a "teen pop princess" persona into a "fully fledged superstar and sex symbol". "People" magazine noted that Rihanna follows the likes of recording artists Mariah Carey, Janet Jackson and Christina Aguilera "when she sheds her innocent image for an edgier look and sound". Jay-Z also spoke about "Umbrella" and stated that the song represents an artistic grow for Rihanna, "If you listen to the lyrics to that song, you know the depth and how far she's come." Da'Shan Smith of "Billboard" commented on "Good Girl Gone Bad"'s impact for Rihanna's career on the tenth anniversary of the album's release: "The "Good Girl" era became a universally recognized moment where RiRi solidified her position as an international superstar, her signature bob haircut and newly seductive stage persona captivating fans and press."


title: Good Girl Gone Bad

text: Regarding the commercial impact of the album, "Entertainment Weekly"'s Margeaux Watson wrote, "For a pop star who was once dismissed as being incapable of yielding more than one hit song per album, Rihanna's newfound staying power is nothing short of remarkable–and proof that there's room for more than one diva in this game." Jason Birchmeier of AllMusic concluded that it was "Good Girl Gone Bad" that made Rihanna a "full-fledged international pop star with a regular presence atop the charts". Nick Levine of "Digital Spy" described the album, as the closest thing to a "Thriller" that 2007/08 is likely to produce.


title: Bryan Fuller

text: Bryan Fuller (born July 27, 1969) is an American television writer and producer who has created a number of television series, including "Dead Like Me", "Wonderfalls", "Pushing Daisies", "Hannibal", and "American Gods." Fuller worked as writer and executive producer on the "Star Trek" television series "" and ""; he is also the co-creator of "".


title: Bryan Fuller

text: Fuller was born in Lewiston, Idaho, but raised in Clarkston, Washington. He was brought up Roman Catholic. After graduating from Clarkston High School, Fuller attended Lewis–Clark State College in Lewiston. He later transferred to the USC School of Cinematic Arts, but dropped out and began working as an office temp.


title: Bryan Fuller

text: As a contributing writer, Fuller's work has been featured on several shows, including "" and "", earning twenty-two episode writing credits for the "Star Trek" franchise. Fuller is himself a fan of science fiction, and in an interview said that his favorite "Star Trek" series were the , followed by "Deep Space Nine", "" and "Voyager". Fuller has called "DS9" his favorite spin-off, stating: "There were lots of new and innovative things going on during "Deep Space Nine" and that's why it's my favorite of the new series. It was much more character-based". Fuller worked on the "DS9" episodes "The Darkness and the Light" and "Empok Nor".


title: Bryan Fuller

text: Fuller wrote the teleplay for the 2002 adaptation of "Carrie", based on the novel of the same name by Stephen King. Next, he created "Dead Like Me" which ran on Showtime for two seasons from 2003 to 2004, although Fuller left early into the first season. He then co-created "Wonderfalls" with Todd Holland, which ran on Fox in 2004, with only four episodes being aired and the rest premiering on DVD. Near the end of 2004, Fuller got a pilot commitment from NBC for "The Assistants", although the show never got past the script stage. In 2005, Fuller wrote the pilot to the animated comedy "The Amazing Screw-On Head" for the Sci Fi Channel, which aired in 2006 but was not picked up for a series. He next worked on NBC series "Heroes", where he joined as a consulting producer after the pilot and became a co-executive producer for the first season. He also wrote a couple episodes for "Heroes", including "Company Man" which "TV Guide" named one of the 100 greatest episodes in television history.


title: Bryan Fuller

text: Next he created "Pushing Daisies", about a pie-maker (Lee Pace) who can bring dead things back to life temporarily, debuted on ABC on October 3, 2007. On July 17, 2008, the show was nominated for twelve Emmy Awards from the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, including one for Fuller for Outstanding Writing of a Comedy Series. It ultimately won seven Emmy Awards: for Best Supporting Actress (Kristin Chenoweth), Best Art Direction, Best Costume, Best Music, Best Make-Up, Best Editing, and Best Direction of a Comedy Series (Barry Sonnenfeld). The second season of "Pushing Daisies" began October 1, 2008, on ABC. In mid-November, ABC announced that it would not order new episodes for season two after the 13th. The series' final episode aired on June 13, 2009.


title: Bryan Fuller

text: With the cancellation of "Pushing Daisies", Fuller signed a seven-figure, two-year deal with Universal Media Studios. He rejoined the writing staff of "Heroes" for the 20th episode of the third season, and again became a consulting producer, playing a "key role" on the writing staff. After working on some of the story arcs for the next season of "Heroes", Fuller announced he was moving on to other projects. His next projects, both a result of the Universal deal and developed for NBC, were "Sellevision", developed with Bryan Singer and based on the book of the same name by Augusten Burroughs, and "No Kill", Fuller's first sitcom. Neither project got past the scripting stage. Fuller's next project, again for NBC, was "Mockingbird Lane", a revival of the classic sitcom "The Munsters". A pilot was produced, but the show did not receive a series order, and the pilot aired as a Halloween special. Fuller next worked on "Mind Fields" with Lisa Joy for USA Network, which was not picked up.


title: Bryan Fuller

text: Fuller's next project was the Hannibal Lecter series "Hannibal", which premiered on NBC in 2013, and renewed for a second season in 2014. Fuller had developed "High Moon" for Syfy, based on the book "The Lotus Caves", which filmed a pilot in late 2013, but was not given a series order.


title: Bryan Fuller

text: By July 2014, Starz had acquired the airing rights to the novel "American Gods", and that Fuller, with producer Michael Green, would develop the novel into a television series. The show premiered April 30, 2017. The show was renewed for a second season, but Fuller and Green left the show due to budgetary issues during the writing stage of the second season. In early 2018, Fuller was working on a television adaptation of "The Vampire Chronicles" novel series by Anne Rice. He dropped out of the project in July of the same year. After leaving "American Gods" and "Discovery", Fuller began work on his first feature film in 2021, writing a new adaptation of the Stephen King novel "Christine" for Sony Pictures and Blumhouse Productions, planning to make his directorial debut.


title: Bryan Fuller

text: Nicknamed the "Fullerverse" by Fuller's fans, all of Fuller's series are implied to take place in the same universe.


title: Bryan Fuller

text: Marianne Marie Beetle (played by actress Beth Grant) first appears in the "Wonderfalls" episode "Muffin Buffalo", and has subsequently appeared in the "Pushing Daisies" episode "Comfort Food" and in the pilot of "Mockingbird Lane".


title: Bryan Fuller

text: Similarly, Gretchen Speck-Horowitz (played by Chelan Simmons) first appears in the "Wonderfalls" episode "Pink Flamingos" and subsequently appeared in the "Hannibal" episode "Amuse-Bouche", reverting to her maiden name after her divorce.


title: Bryan Fuller

text: Meanwhile, in the "Pushing Daisies" episode "Bzzzzzzzzz!", Ned mentions that he works for Happy Time Temp Agency when trying to go undercover, the same place where Georgia "George" Lass works in "Dead Like Me".


title: Bryan Fuller

text: Also, the fictional brand "Lil' Ivey's" first appeared in the "Wonderfalls" episode "Cocktail Bunny" on a box of cocktail cherries and later appeared in the "Pushing Daisies" episode "Kerplunk", this time on a bag of macaroni.


title: Bryan Fuller

text: Fuller has reinterpreted a few of his characters in later series. Georgia "George" Lass (played by Ellen Muth), having first appeared in "Dead Like Me", was reinterpreted as Georgia Madchen (also played by Muth) in the "Hannibal" episodes "Buffet Froid" and "Relevés". This similarity is furthered by their last names: "lass" is an English synonym for girl while "Mädchen" is a German word meaning the same. In another nod to Georgia Lass being a reaper (therefore both dead and alive) in "Dead Like Me", in "Hannibal" Georgia Madchen is a killer who suffers from numerous medical conditions including Cotard's syndrome, a delusion disorder that has her convinced she is actually dead.


title: Bryan Fuller

text: In a similar manner, Reggie Lass from "Dead Like Me" (played by Britt McKillip) was reinterpreted as Miriam Lass (played by Anna Chlumsky), who first appears in the "Hannibal" episode "Entrée". Similarly, in the "Hannibal" episode "Takiawase", an acupuncturist (played by Amanda Plummer) who is under investigation for lobotomizing patients is named Katherine Pimms, which is also the cover name used by Charlotte "Chuck" Charles (played by Anna Friel) in multiple episodes of "Pushing Daisies".


title: Bryan Fuller

text: A visual nod to "Wonderfalls" was given in the "Heroes" first-season episode "Better Halves" when the smoosh-faced wax lion central to "Wonderfalls" was seen on a bedside table.


title: Bryan Fuller

text: In a 2007 interview, he stated that his favorite film was the 2001 French film "Amélie", which was one of the inspirations for "Pushing Daisies": "All the things I love are represented in that movie. It's a movie that will make me cry based on kindness as opposed to sadness."


title: Gopi Sundar

text: Gopi Sundar C. S. (born 30 May 1977) is an Indian music director, programmer, playback singer, songwriter, actor and performer who works prominently in Malayalam, Telugu and Tamil film industries. He started his career composing music for television commercials, has nearly 5,000 jingles to his credit. As a keyboard programmer, he has collaborated with many music directors including the composer duo Vishal–Shekhar. He has won several accolades for his soundtrack albums and film scores, including a National Film Award, a Kerala State Film Award, and two Filmfare Awards South.


title: Gopi Sundar

text: Sundar started his own recording label, Gopi Sundar Music Company in 2014 with an idea to promote aspiring musicians and to make low-budget productions possible. In 2016, he formed a live performance music band called "Band Big G" in Dubai. In 2017, his work in the film "Pulimurugan" was included in the contender list for the 90th Academy Awards nominations for Best Original Song and Best Original Score categories, but none were nominated.


title: Gopi Sundar

text: Born to Suresh Babu and Livi, Sundar spent a large part of his childhood in Kochi. His early interest in music started from working in his father's recording studio business and listening to the radio with his mother. During school days, Sundar was keener on playing the tabla and keyboard than studies. Eventually, when he got dropped out of school after failing his SSLC exams, his parents were supportive enough to let him pursue his dreams. Keen to make a career in music, he left for Chennai, where he took up classes at the Government Music College, but discontinued the course, feeling disillusioned.


title: Gopi Sundar

text: His father, Suresh, helped him get into the Malayalam composer Ouseppachan's music troupe. Ouseppachan, a longtime friend of Sundar's father, took him as an assistant and became a mentor to the youngster. While on the team, Sundar worked his way up, playing tabla and keyboard, and began getting noticed for his composing skills as well. In an association that spanned more than a decade, Sundar assisted him with several works. In the years that he spent in Chennai, he struggled to find a foothold in the music industry. His first exposure to professional music came in the form of composing jingles for TV commercials. In those difficult days, his uncle Devan, an actor-politician in Malayalam films, helped him get a roof over his head. Sridhar Kariat, son of the legendary Malayalam filmmaker Ramu Kariat, showed him the ropes of how to stand out in the fast lane of advertising. In the world of the catchy jingle music of advertising, it took him seven years to create a niche for himself. His ever-growing repertoire consists of almost 5,000 jingles, a number of them advertising the work of filmmaker and feature film cinematographer Rajiv Menon. He has also done keyboard programming for the Bollywood music director duo Vishal–Shekhar, including for popular songs like "Ek Main Aur Ek Tu Hai" ("Bluffmaster!"), "Aankhon mein teri" ("Om Shanti Om"), and music for "Taxi No. 9211".


title: Gopi Sundar

text: Sundar got his first break as a film score composer with "Notebook", after the director Rosshan Andrews happened to notice his programming for the film "Udayananu Tharam". The eventual success of the film catapulted him into the mainstream, with Sibi Malayil offering him the first contract for soundtrack composition for the Malayalam film "Flash", starring Mohanlal. The turning point in his career was the film "Big B", which was the debut feature of not only the director Amal Neerad but also a host of technicians including Sameer Thahir, Vivek Harshan, and Unni R. Although the film, which starred Mammooty, opened to mixed reviews, it was lauded for its technical finesse and for providing a film experience that was altogether new to the Malayalam cinema. Sundar's background score, which blended aptly with the tone of the film, escalating his popularity amongst the Malayali film audiences. "Big B" marked the beginning of Sundar's long-term association with Amal Neerad.


title: Gopi Sundar

text: In 2008, Sundar made his Tamil film industry debut by composing the background score for the film "Poi Solla Porom". He then went on to compose songs for a number of films and the film "Sagar Alias Jackie Reloaded" (2009), which starred Mohanlal, had him compose both the soundtrack and the film score. Despite the film being panned by critics and audiences alike, the songs were an instant hit. The first major award came his way for the film "Anwar" in 2010, for which he received the Filmfare Award for Best Music Director.


title: Gopi Sundar

text: Casanovva (2012), a Malayalam romantic-thriller film, saw him reunite with Rosshan Andrrews. He shared music credits with Alphons Joseph and Gowri Lakshmi for the soundtrack. Although the audio rights were acquired by Satyam Audios at a record price of ₹12 million (US$190,000), the film had a disappointing run at the box office. His next major work that year was for Anwar Rasheed's film "Ustad Hotel". The film won wide critical acclaim and was a commercial success. The film's five-song soundtrack went on to become one of his most popular soundtrack albums and received rave reviews from critics, audiences, and his contemporaries alike. "Appangalembadum", a quirky reworking of a popular but traditional Mappilappattu song crooned by Anna Katharina Valayil, was an instant hit following its radio release and eventually became one of the biggest hits of the year. It got him the year's Filmfare Award, Asianet Film Awards, SIIMA, and Kochi Times Awards for Best Music Direction, and a Pearl Award for Best Background Score. Music director Bijibal, picked the film score of "Ustad Hotel" as his favourite when asked to pick "the best contemporary background score of his choice".


title: Gopi Sundar

text: In 2013, he sang a melody called "Titli", tuned by Vishal–Shekhar along with Chinmayi and Srimathumitha, for the Bollywood film "Chennai Express". The Rohit Shetty film, which also starred Shah Rukh Khan and Deepika Padukone, turned out to be one of the highest-grossing Indian films of all time. Sundar's subsequent films found commercial success, including the Dulquer Salmaan vehicle , "Left Right Left", "5 Sundarikal", "Vishuddhan", and "Salalah Mobiles". With "Salalah Mobiles", he made his acting debut, with a cameo appearance as a qawwali singer in the song "Rasoolallah". His fame increased with the release of his 2014 film titled "1983", a coming-of-age sports drama film which marked the debut of screenwriter-director Abrid Shine. The film, a tribute to cricketer Sachin Tendulkar, was the first successful film of 2014. The soundtrack of the film was also a success, and the track "Olanjali Kuruvi", sung by P.Jayachandran and Vani Jayaram, was a "chartbuster". "For maintaining the tempo of the film with an in-sync background score", Sundar received the National Film Award for Best Background Score from the President of India, Pranab Mukherjee, at Vigyan Bhavan, New Delhi.


title: Gopi Sundar

text: Amongst a string of films he tuned, the classical fusion single "Sadaa Paalaya" sung by Sithara for the film "Mr.Fraud", aced the charts. He also made a cameo appearance in the film, alongside Mohanlal. The film "How Old are You?", which marked the comeback of Malayalam film actress Manju Warrier after a 14-year sabbatical, was his next major project. The film went on to become a success, and the soundtrack was equally appreciated by the audience. "Vijanathayil", a lilting melody from the film sung by Shreya Ghoshal, was a huge hit that won her the Best Female Playback Singer Award at the 62nd Annual Filmfare Awards.


title: Gopi Sundar

text: "Bangalore Days", a romantic comedy drama film directed by Anjali Menon, featuring an ensemble cast of the top Malayalam actors, was his next release. The five-song soundtrack was a success and has turned out to contain his most-liked tracks. He received a Filmfare Award for Best Music Director, an Asianet Film Award for Best Music Director, and a Vanitha Film Award for Best Music Director for the film. Also, the single "Ethu Kari Raavilum" from the film earned Haricharan a Filmfare Award for Best Male Playback Singer.