Songs on a wing
Singer Abhijit — after spending weeks listening to young and aspiring singers for a television talent scout show — is off. He is going to be on a six-week tour of the United States and Canada. “Travel has become a part of my existence,” he says, but hastens to add that the latest tour will only be an addition to his “routine travels” all over the world. He is also hard at work on his new album that is scheduled for release in January next year. “I am composing the music and penning the lyrics for the album,” he says. Wonder where he gets the time for all this, considering his peripatetic career. At airport lounges?
Scoring a 10
If Bill Clinton can do it, why can’t Tony Blair? No, we are not talking about wooing interns — the former Prime Minister of Britain is writing his memoirs. The book will trace his years at 10, Downing Street, and will be published in the UK by Hutchinson, part of the Random House Group, and in the United States and Canada by Alfred A. Knopf. “He has a remarkable story to tell,” says Sonny Mehta of Alfred A. Knopf. If his tale is as controversial as his tenure, it should make for an interesting read.
Media and more
Editors know the worth of words. So after releasing a book in the capital, the joint editor of The Hindu, Nirmala Lakshman, is planning to write a novel. Writing A Nation: An Anthology of Indian Journalism, — edited by Lakshman and published by Rupa — was released by the Vice-President earlier this week. And now that the book, which traces the growth of journalism in India, is behind her, the editor says she is going to focus on her new work. “It is a story spanning several generations starting from the freedom struggle to contemporary India,” Lakshman says in an interview to a daily.
Slimsville
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Now that the Durga Puja, with all its ghee-tempered bhog and syrupy sweets, is over and done with, Rani Mukerji has something serious to do: shed weight. And since slim is in — Vidya Balan has toned up, and Adnan Sami is a much happier shadow of his former self — Rani plans to lose those extra kilos, too, for Kunal Kohli’s new film. The yet-to-be-titled film stars the hit Hum Tum pair of Rani and Saif Ali Khan. Rani plays the role of a fairy and will be seen wearing just one outfit through the film. When you can’t distract the audience with a costume-a-minute role, you’d better give them something else that draws wolf whistles. So Rani, we are told, is getting into shape for the figure-hugging outfit she has to wear. Airy-fairy, that’s our Rani.
Young and old
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Almost 20 years after creating waves with her adapted play, Holi (1989), theatre director and writer Usha Ganguli is almost ready with a new work on the youth of Calcutta. Unlike Holi, which dealt with student violence, Bhor (Dawn) will reflect on the “changed atmosphere and aspirations” of the youth. “The lives of youth have got complicated today and as a person who is always on the look-out for something new, I thought I should write about them and then stage the play,” says the “Iron Lady” of Calcutta theatre. Ganguli, who sees change all around her, is, however, optimistic about the young. “Bhor will talk about this. And though I really want to finish it as soon as possible, I don’t want to set a date and pressurise myself,” she says.