Singing talent

Ayushman Khurana won heaps of accolade as a debutant actor in Vicky Donor. But, guess what, the former veejay is a singing sensation too. And now the music industry is also taking note of his talent. Khurana is on cloud nine after bagging nominations in two categories (best lyricist and singer) for the soulful Paani da rang from Vicky Donor by the Global Indian Music Academy (GIMA) awards. These awards are presented based on voting by over 300 members of the Indian music industry, including composers and music directors. But more good cheer may await Khurana. The film awards nominations are yet to kick off and may be he will come out shining there too. Let’s hope he pulls off a double bill.

True stories

What do you do when your grandmother asks you to teach her the alphabet? Or when the President of India takes you on a train ride with him? Sudha Murthy has the answers — and they are all in her bestselling books. How I Taught My Grandmother to Read, which was first published in 2004 and Wise and Otherwise, published in 2006, have now sold one lakh copies — which is a milestone of sorts. The wife of Infosys founder N.R. Narayana Murthy has created a laudable niche for herself as a writer of note. “All the stories are true incidents in my life. Any amount of imagination will not be as beautiful as real life,” says Murthy on the success of her books. Her new book, titled The Day I Stopped Drinking Milk, will hit the shelves soon. No doubt it’s something to look forward to.

World stage

If you thought the globalisation of Bollywood was a recent phenomenon, think again. Take the Indo-German silent film, Prem Sanyas: the Light of Asia, screened in Germany way back in 1925. There are many such interesting nuggets in a recently launched book called The Magic of Bollywood, edited by film scholar Anjali Gera Roy. Commemorating 100 years of Indian cinema, the book is a collection of essays by scholars from Australia, US, India and other countries, and looks, among other things, at the “soft power of Bollywood, which makes it a unique and powerful disseminator of Indian culture and values abroad”. Clearly, it’s Bollywood sans frontiere.

Ah, Tamannaah

Here’s someone you’re sure to hear more of. Tamannaah, often dubbed the “Kareena Kapoor of the South”, is making the coveted movie up north — where else, to Bollywood. She has landed a role opposite Ajay Devgn in the remake of the 1983 Jeetendra starrer Himmatwala! Tamannaah will play the movie’s fiery heroine, complete with the dominatrix whip et al, a role Sri Devi played with such elan in the original version. Tamannaah ought to be thrilled to bits with her Bollywood break as she has always considered Sri Devi to be her role model. “Sri Devi was a complete actress. You cannot expect to fill her shoes,” she once said of her. Well, let’s hope Tamannaah shows some himmat and succeeds in — if not filling Sri Devi’s shoes — then at least following in her footsteps.

Candle cool

Suchitra Krishnamoorthi has never been shy of juggling various hats — and experimenting with new roles. The actress-singer-writer has now launched her own line of candles called The Candlelight Company. But hold on, these are not your common, garden variety designer candles that sundry celebs have come out with from time to time. Krishnamoorthi’s candles are really a holistic “therapy”, she claims — fruits of her research into wellness, aromatherapy, feng shui, chakra healing and suchlike. And she herself seems to have been awestruck by the power of what she has achieved in her magical candles. “Did my girlfriend really find true love by lighting my rose candle in her southwest corner for seven days? Did my concentration candle actually help my niece top her exam,” she asks wonderingly. So now you know what to do if you have a problem. Just light a Krishnamoorthi candle.