Limelight

Star power

When Masaan's director Neeraj Ghaywan went to receive his National Award in the capital earlier this week, he was trying hard not to "get carried away by all the grandeur" and lose his humility, he says. Ghaywan, who along with his co-writer Varun Grover, will donate a part of their prize money to distressed farmers in Maharashtra, says he was, however, disturbed at the way the media focused all their attention on two other award winners - Amitabh Bachchan and Kangana Ranaut. "They were stuck in front of these two, and did not even bother when the President went on stage. I have great respect for the two actors, but there was no need to click their photos when the national anthem was playing. It is not ethical, is it?" No, but it's showbiz.

Song time

Singer Surojit Chatterjee has been on a high since he left the band Bhoomi a few years ago to start his own outfit, aptly called Surojit O Bondhura. He will be out next week with his first Rabindrasangeet album. "It was my dream to sing Rabindra sangeet at some point of time in my life," says Chatterjee, who has been honing his singing skills with the help of Subrata Sengupta of Bani Chakra, a Calcutta music school. And now that he's started, there is no stopping him. The new album is the first of a trilogy, he says. Three, two, one, go!

Shoe shoo

Speaking of the National Award, what was Kalki Koechlin - awarded the special jury award for Margarita With A Straw by the President - doing in the capital before the award ceremony? Looking for shoes in Khan Market. We are not sure if she found what she was looking for, or actually wore them with her elegant sari, but - in true protest style - she should have taken off one of her shoes and hurled it at a man who reportedly groped her outside Vigyan Bhawan after the ceremony. Shoes make for good missiles. Just ask P. Chidambaram.

Disco fresco

Lauren Gottlieb can shake a leg - and it seems she can shake up the dance arena, too. The reality dance show star from the United States, who acted in the Bollywood film ABCD: Any Body Can Dance, plans to bring a hit Broadway show to India. The musical, set in the late Seventies, is a love story at a time when disco was on its way out in the US. "A friend of mine has got me rights for the production in India. Now the next thing is to make sure we find an appropriate partner in India," says Gottlieb. Is Disco Dada Mithun listening?

Novel belle

At the age of 22, most young women wonder about the future. Should they go in for higher studies, pick up a job, think of marriage? Not Leema Dhar. She is 22 - and the author of five novels, written over four years. Dhar, who is doing her master's in English from Allahabad University, is now out with a new book, called The Committed Sin, described as a romantic thriller. Dhar says she is often on the road, travelling to Calcutta or Delhi and elsewhere. "I see people and sketch their characters. And when I sit with my laptop, they come one by one into my story." To top it, she says that when she writes a book, she is already working on her next plot. Roll out the sixth novel, Leema - time's running out.