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| Ashvin Kumar |
Keep it rolling
Ashvin Kumar might have missed out on an Oscar, but
the film community that made his self-financed short, Little Terrorist, possible,
is the new destination of choice for Indian filmmakers with dream-filled eyes
and vacuum-filled pockets. Shooting People is an independent, self-supporting
US and UK-based organisation where both amateur and expert filmmakers worldwide
pool their talents ? sometimes, as in the case of Kumar?s film, for free. Founded
in 1988, Shooting People changed the UK independent film scene dramatically and
now has more than 20,000 members worldwide. It?s everything that independent film
stands for ? passion, ideas, debate and creative partnerships. Visit them at www.shootingpeople.org
and ask for help making your film. Who knows, you might be sitting in the Kodak
Theatre too, one day.
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| Penelope Cruz intends to adopt an orphan from a country where
she?s ?seen a level of misery I?d only heard of on the news?. She?s worked with
the Missionaries of Charity, so guess which city this baby will be from. |
Dudes and other geeks
My new favourite musician (also independent and self-financing)
is never going to find work as a model, but he?s hipper than a happy hippopotamus.
Rajeev Bajaj, a 39-year-old engineer from California, has formed a record label
and released an album with the noble aim of convincing the world that engineers
are actually cool. Geek Rhythms contains four hip-hop songs praising engineers
with lyrics such as ?I am an Engineer/ Respect my mind / I made D.C. from A.C./
Been trying since B.C.? and ?I pack more heat in a computer chip than any man/There
is more than most can handle?. Why do something so delusional? Growing up in India,
Bajaj didn?t know that engineers were considered geeky social misfits, and so,
now, he wants to change public perception. What he should be doing is trying to
sell his work to the IITs as a potential new anthem.
More gas than gobar
Does the picture above make you want a divine solution
to your beauty problems? The BJP has the answer. Its new goratna range of products
? lotions, pills, cures made from cow urine and dung ? is selling faster than,
well, hot cakes. And it?s not just beauty ? these miracle products claim to cure
everything from constipation to ?ladies? diseases?. I?m a bit wary of the cowdung
toothpaste, though.
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| Tut, tut |
Who?s bad?
If you?re female, Indian, in your 20s, can?t cook
and show no signs of getting married, then you are clearly a Bad Indian Girl.
In which case, you will enjoy this new and entertaining website I found recently,
BadIndianGirl.com ? it?s currently targetted at Indian communities in the West,
but its content relates immensely to the many B.I.G.s I know and love. The site
teaches you to do diverse things, from dealing with Pervert Uncles and Nosy Aunties
to finding out if your family has secretly posted your profile on an Indian matrimonial
site. Warning: Good Indian Girls are advised to go to shaadi.com instead.
AWARD OF THE WEEK
To ex-VJ Yudi ?Urs?, the World?s Worst Broadcast Journalist,
for his stuttering, stammering and completely inept performance from behind a
hedge at the pre-Oscars Red Carpet show, as all of Hollywood walked by, ignoring
him.
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