New role

Remember Lilette Dubey? The theatre actress who is also known for her fine performance in Mira Nair’s Monsoon Wedding has been keeping busy. Besides taking her production August Osage County, a dark, yet wickedly funny play, around the country, Dubey will now be seen romancing Rishi Kapoor in the remake of the old classic Chashme Baddoor. “The remake has a new track of a romance between Rishi Kapoor and me,” she reveals. She is also excited about her role in a film called Delhi in a Day that’s up for release next month. The film, in English and Hindi, also stars veteran actor Victor Banerjee. So what’s next? A shot at direction, says Dubey. “I do want to direct a film and I have promised myself that I will do it next year,” she says. No doubt she will make the cut in that role too.

Musical treat

Lovers of classical Indian music in Muscat are in for a treat. Vocalist Pandit Jasraj is slated to perform at the Royal Opera House of Muscat this September. The recital will be a compelling musical portrait of nature’s five elements — earth, wind, water, fire and space. Jasraj’s actress daughter, Durga Jasraj, will weave together the complementary musical segments. The festival of music will also feature flautist Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia, sitarist Niladri Kumar and ghatam player T.H. Vikku Vinayakram.

Self help

An inspiring story almost always has the potential to be a good read. Turning the Page, by Anita Kumar, which was launched in Delhi early this week, records the author’s journey from fighting physical illness and mental turmoil to finding peace in her guru. In Kumar’s words, “This book is about moving from a place of negligible faith to positive surrender.” Published by Om Books International, the book revolves around a woman’s resolve to fight a life-threatening ailment, dealing with divorce and then her spiritual awakening. Though the story is about personal travails, it is not about self-pity, but rather, about self-help. A lesson in that is always welcome.

Lingo lesson

Claudia Ciesla a polyglot? Er, not exactly. But at the rate at which the buxom German model and wannabe Bollywood star is going, she may well claim that epithet for her middle name. When she came to India a few years ago, Ciesla couldn’t speak a word of any Indian language. Yet she went on to star in a German-Hindi film, Ki Jana Pardes, in a Bengali film, 10:10 (Doshta Dosh), and was one of the inmates in Bigg Boss Season 3. And now she has landed a role in a Punjabi film called Yaar Pardesi. Ciesla says that she is enjoying the experience of doing films in different languages, and, in fact, hopes to land a meaty role in a Hindi film very soon. And guess what, she has begun to speak Hindi quite fluently too. Way to go, Claudia.

Road worthy

Rahul Dravid seems to have traded his bat for a traffic cop’s whistle. The cricketer, who retired earlier this year, has been appointed a special traffic warden by the Bangalore city police. Dravid plans to take his new role as seriously as his cricket. “It’s a new responsibility and I hope to discharge my duties effectively,” he said at a gathering for a road safety campaign. Dravid joins 495 other Bangalore citizens — including doctors, engineers, teachers and businessmen — who have been roped in to be traffic wardens. Well, The Wall looks all set to be a wall between road users and accidents.