Southern comfort

As far as Amy Jackson is concerned, Bollywood’s loss has been the southern film industry’s gain. The British actress, who was cast opposite Prateik Babbar in Ek Deewana Tha, created scarcely a ripple. The movie tanked at the box office and there was more interest in the young couple’s off-screen romance than in the film. However, Jackson seems to have become a hit with filmmakers in the south. She has been signed on by director Shankar (of Endhiran) for his film I, and has another major Tamil movie up for release this week. Well, don’t give up on Bollywood just yet, Amy. You might get second time lucky.

Art talk

Gopalkrishna Gandhi, former governor of West Bengal, showed his erudite face when he came to inaugurate an exhibition of Prodosh Das Gupta’s sculptures at the Lalit Kala Akademi in Chennai. Pointing out that sculpting is inherent to our psyche, he said, “It is so much a part of our religious and political life.” In a reference to his days spent in Bengal, he cited the example of the “exuberant” and “skilled” sculptures of Durga made during Durga Puja. There must be a deep philosophical reason for submerging these beautiful pieces of art work in the ocean, he said, suggesting that it perhaps had to do with life renewing itself. His talk left the audience wondering why Gandhi is not more active in Indian politics. We could certainly do with some thinking man’s politicians like him.

Surprise singer

Kannada actress Nidhi Subbaiah may be all set to make her bones as an actress in the upcoming movie Ajab Gazabb Love. But little did she realise that she probably has an equally promising future as a singer. On the sets of AGL, she turned out to be everybody’s favourite jukebox. “At least once a day people would come up to me and say, ‘Hey Nidhi sing this song, na’ or ‘Nidhi this is my favourite one, please sing, na’ and they’d record me!” says Subbaiah, who now plans to take some formal training in singing. Even Sajid-Wajid, the music composers of the film, are said to have been amazed by the quality and range of her voice. Watch it, Priyanka Chopra. You’re not the only gal out there who can act and sing a dulcet tune too.

That 70s show

Superstar Amitabh Bachchan will complete three score and ten on October 11. And to celebrate that milestone, designers Abu Jani and Sandeep Khosla are fashioning a special outfit for the actor. They are also helping wife Jaya Bachchan create a “big surprise” for his birthday bash. It’s no surprise, of course, that Jani and Khosla have been given the task to come up with suitable vestments for Big B to celebrate his 70th birthday, as they have been creating outfits for the Bachchan family for many years. So what will it be — a bandhgala or a sherwani? Well, one thing’s certain, whatever it is, Bachchan will carry it off with his usual flair.

Hear, hear

Trust Kamal Haasan to do what no one has done before. The actor seems determined to take the Indian film viewing experience to another level. The release of his much-hyped opus, Vishwaroop, has been postponed to incorporate the path-breaking Auro 3D sound format in the film. This requires the conversion of individual theatre sound systems with a complicated technology. So far only one other film — George Lucas’s Red Tails — has made use of the Auro 3D technique. Haasan, who has convinced 20 Chennai theatres to adopt the new technology and is targeting the same number in Mumbai, says change is needed to keep pace with world cinema trends. “When sound converted from mono to stereophonic, we were like, ‘Wow this really changes the sound of cinema!’ Then came Dolby. And now this,” he said. We hear you, Kamal Haasan.