Ocean of song

Aamir Khan is rocking away. With a Delhi-based music band called the Indian Ocean. The band, which has been critically acclaimed for its scores in films such as Black Friday and Bhoomi, is now setting the music for a new Aamir Khan production. To be directed by a debutante called Anusha, the film is slated to feature three tracks composed by the group. So last heard, the fab four — responsible for ushering in new wave Indian contemporary music — were busy putting their heads together for a new score. The actor and the band’s legions of fans are eagerly awaiting the new track. After all, Aamir and the band can make for a winning formula.

New act

First, Jibanananda Das came alive when director Aparna Sen and ideator Sujoy Prasad Chatterjee staged a dramatised reading of the poet’s works transcreated by critic Chidananda Dasgupta. Now Sambhu Mitra’s Raja Oedipus, transcreated by him into Bengali in the seventies, has made a comeback on Bangla stage. Chatterjee teamed up with theatre veteran Bijoylakshmi Burman to present a dramatised reading of the Sophoclean tragedies Oedipus Rex and Antigone. “Our chief objective is to create a reference point for plays penned by Bangla theatre legends. It’s a shame that there’s no proper archiving system for their works,” says Chatterjee. “We hope that through such dramatised reading sessions, theatre buffs would be able to reconnect with the glorious past of Bengali theatre.” And that demands a curtain call.

Yu who!

While her contemporaries are heading West, Shilpa Shetty is all out to tame the Red Dragon. We are told that this leggy beauty has now signed a Chinese movie called Desire. Shilpa will be paired with Chinese actor Xia Yu, and the film will be made in English and dubbed in Chinese as well. Sizzling Shetty, who had all of Britain astir with her appearance on the reality show Celebrity Big Brother last year, is now ready to set China ablaze. Shetty certainly knows how to shake things up — including those deadly legs! Before we know, it’s either going to be Hindi-Chini bhai bhai, or bye bye.

Fighting footnote

History may have considered him a footnote, but the man has been brought between covers. Agricultural scientist, freedom fighter and a founder member of the Ghadar Party, Pandurang Khankhoje (1884-1967) was a man of many parts. In an awe-inspiring life, he travelled to Japan, America, what was then Persia, Germany, Russia and finally Mexico, where he even participated in the Mexican Revolution, before returning to Nagpur. All this was compellingly brought to life as Penguin Books India, along with the Embassy of Mexico in India, launched I Shall Never Ask For Pardon, a biography of Khan-khoje by his daughter Savitri Sawhney. His life was a wedge of history — and the book seeks to capture that.

Raga time

If there was an hour that was missing from singer Madhup Mudgal’s vast repertoire, it was dusk. Now, a new album amends that by focusing on a set of evening ragas. “My only foray in evening music was in Brazil where I composed a few night tracks with elements of samba,” says the Hindustani vocalist who has done fusion concerts with jazz musicians such as Paulo Moura and Hermeto Pascoal. The album —called Eternal Music —will consist of ragas such as Jaijaiwanti, Darbari and Jog. Morning shows the day, but the evening showcases the artiste.