No 12852, Friday 07 Feb 2020, Gussalufz

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ACROSS
9   Mixtures of sound brought about by a little synthesis, incorporating hints of mandolin, ukulele, lute (9) EMULSIONS {NOISE}<={Sy...s} over {Ma...n}{Uk...e}{Lute}
10 Get tip that’s about right (5) LEARN {LEA{R}N}
11 I disapprove of rubbish extremist demagogue leaders taught (7) TUTORED {TUT}{Of}{Ru...h}{Ex...t}{De...e}
12 With edges going to point — and now gully area — all falling short by a couple of spots? (7) ANGULAR {And}{Now}{GULly}{ARea}
13 Control shower verbally? (5) REIGN (~rain)
14 Left country; money sent back overwhelms jar (9) EMIGRATED {DIME}<= over {GRATE}
16 Code broken by a German to out Binod Pradhan, perhaps (15) CINEMATOGRAPHER {A+GERMAN+TO}* in {CIPHER}
19 Brush fire put out? Clean up! (9) REFURBISH*
22 Setter returns, embracing India instead of alien customs (5) RITES {SET(-te+i)IR}<=
24 Cancellation of date certain (7) ERASURE {ERA}{SURE}
26 Spooner’s able to sleep off, ultimately (7) RANKEST (~ can rest)
27 Better kick out corrupt leader for political beginner (5) EXCEL EX(-p+c)CEL
28 Cut wild trees in July, August, and September, perhaps (9) TRIMESTER {TRIM}{TREES*}

DOWN
1   I laud this comic ad R. Saluja edited creatively! (6) JESTER {I+LAUD+JESTER}*= R. SALUJA EDITED [CA]
2   A rickety train transporting us from Vienna (8) AUSTRIAN {A+TRAIN}* over {US}
3   Hypatia, perhaps as mentor for setting without flaws, for beginners? (10) ASTRONOMER {AS+MENTOR+fOR}*
4   After 6, Vinod eats nothing before lunchtime on vacation — only one piece of pasta! (6) NOODLE {viNO{O}D}{Lu...mE}
5   Trying to repair sign? Easy! (8) ESSAYING*
6   Oddly rejected good lab report published online (4) BLOG {GoOd+LaB}<=
7   He famously had existential doubts — he wondered whether or not to pursue an engineering degree, reportedly! (6) HAMLET ( ~ to BE or not to BE) Punny clue
8   Unwelcome guest ruined the first half of trip, unfortunately (8) INTRUDER {RUINED+TRip}*
15 Right-o! A drummer replacing all instances of rhythm’s ending with arbitrary numbers is cuckoo! (10) ROADRUNNER {R}{O}{A}{DRU(-mm+nn)NNER} I Love the Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner cartoons

16 Centipedes are moving in! See — hidden under rug! (8) CARPETED {CARPETED- in-see}* [CA]
17 Three things affect girth somehow, after getting rid of leading high glycaemic foods (8)  TRIFECTA {AFfECT+gIRTh}*
18 So far from home, halfway around Italy, husband starts to exasperate really thoroughly (8) HITHERTO {HOme} over {IT}{H}{Ex...e}{Re...y}{Th...y}
20 Flung inexpertly at Sudhir, cake overshoots; toppings make a mess! (6) FIASCO Acrostic
21 An abnormal growth seen in brain: rehabilitate in retreat (6) HERNIA [T<=]
23 Settled down at last, beyond old city, in a faraway place (6) SATURN {SAT}{UR}{dowN}
25 Unpleasant sort of guy, after drinking some liquor (4) UGLY {UG{Li...r}Y*}

Reference List
Right = R, India = I, Alien = ET, Old city = UR

Dr RKE's TalePiece

A Tale of Revenge

The ace  CINEMATOGRAPHER chose a remote HAMLET, to shoot a movie titled "REIGN of SATURN", so he could be well away from the INTRUDERS from the paparazzi.  An AUSTRIAN actor, one Mr.LUFZ,  with an ANGULAR face, who had recently EMIGRATED, was ESSAYING the lead role of an ASTRONOMER. HITHERTO, he had been only a JESTER and so he had to be TUTORED to LEARN how to EXCEL in a serious role. The crew had only a TRIMESTER to finish the movie and hence had to REFURBISH some old footage and re-use it. They had to also contend with the melting of the film EMULSION in the intense heat. The music director would often have to NOODLE ex tempore on his keyboard as he kept losing the score sheet. They laboured on, completed the movie and held a premiere in a plush CARPETED Royal Opera House. The show turned out to be an UGLY FIASCO. Do you know why? Apparently, according to an astrology BLOG, the producer had not done the customary RITES to propitiate the Shani Bhagwan and woh tho GUSSA ho gaya and caused an ERASURE of the climax scene! That must have been the RANKEST slamming for a purported sci-fi movie.