Don deed

Purist Bengali bibliophiles, this one’s for you. Ever fantasised about landing yourself a copy of The Adventures of Don Quixote in chaste, 19th century Bengali? Now before you dismiss the idea as a mindless reverie, remember that this was in fact already a done deed some 120 years ago. It’s just that the original 1887 translation, titled Adbhut Digbijoy and scripted in Bengali by 19th century scholar Bipin Behari Chakrabarti, was lost over time. But now, Jawaharlal Nehru University professor in Spanish and Latin American studies S.P. Ganguly has just gone that extra mile to piece together “the only two surviving and badly damaged copies” of the book to come up with a brand-new edition of Miguel de Cervantes’s iconic title. Containing an editorial foreword by Ganguly, the book is now out on the shelves, and in his words, “should serve as a wonderful reference for further translations”. It’s, clearly, a don’s homage to another Don.

City lights

Sabyasachi Feluda Chakraborty has a new fan. Director Sanjay Puran Singh Chauhan can’t stop raving about him. Chauhan, whose film Lahore just won the prestigious jury award for the best feature film at the 42nd WorldFest International Film Festival in Houston, Texas, has reasons to be elated. Chakraborty’s role of a Pakistani sports administrator in Lahore, he says, is his best so far in a Hindi film. Chauhan, who is now in the company of cinema greats such as Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Ang Lee and Spike Lee who saw their debut films being launched at WorldFest, says his film is still caught up in the festival circuit. “But we’ll soon take a call on its release in India,” the director says. The film “deals with the perceptions that Indian and Pakistanis have of each other,” he says. The subcontinent is waiting.

Big C

If you think cervical cancer is all too boring, think again. Beauty queen Ekta Choudhary is right out there to tell you how the disease kills millions of women every year. Her campaign — Fight Against Cervical Cancer — is part of an initiative started by a communications consulting firm in Delhi to make women aware of their health priorities. So even as 22-year-old Ekta prepares for the Miss Universe title, she is taking the battle against this common form of cancer forward by urging women to visit their doctors. “A gynaecologist should be every woman’s best friend,” says this Delhi girl who will be flying off to the Bahamas in August. But that’s for another fight — the battle for an international beauty title.

Birth of a salesman

Guess what happens when Shimit Amin, Jaideep Sahni and Ranbir Kapoor come together? You get Rocket Singh — Salesman of the Year. The film, described by insiders as a rib tickler from the stables of Yash Raj Films, is set to be released in December. The producers are thrilled — for it marks the return of the writer and director of the Shah Rukh Khan hit Chak de! India. Ranbir plays the lead role of a salesman called Rocket Singh. “It’s a coming of age film, against the backdrop of the new Indian economy,” says a source at Yash Raj films. Chak De, Rocket!

Stupid cupid

Someone’s got lucky by chance. If rumours are to be believed, a young Congressman was totally smitten by the lissome beauty Isha Sharvani, while watching her film Luck by Chance. The two met after that — and have been cooing to each other ever since. Sharvani, predictably, has rubbished speculation about her romantic life. The actress is getting to be good at this. Just recently, she went blue in the face denying that she had something going with cricketer Zaheer Khan. We think the lady doth protest too much.