Chick chat

Chick lit and an Indian arranged marriage scenario? Well, it seems the two can be a happy mix, as it is in Ruchita Misra’s debut novel (In)eligible Bachelors. Published by Rupa & Co, the book has gone into reprint just a month after its launch. Misra, who has an MBA degree and stays in London, wrote her first story when she was in Class V. The recession-hit IT industry in London nudged her back into writing. Peppered with situations that arose out of her own arranged marriage, the book narrates the protagonist’s quest for Mr Right while taking a dig at the arranged marriage system. Knot bad, eh?

Metal Mettle

The Metallica concert in Gurgaon may have been cancelled amidst unpleasant circumstances last week. But indigenous metal bands are not doing too bad a job of keeping the heavy metal flag flying in India. A Mumbai-based metal band called Scribe has got recognition for its work by bagging a nomination at the MTV Europe Music Awards to be held in Belfast, Northern Island, today. The band members are thrilled to bits that they’ve been nominated in the Worldwide Act category, which is a new addition to the prestigious event. Says Vishwesh Krishnamoorthy, lead singer of Scribe. “I don’t think we’ve grasped how big this is. We’re the first Indian act to get this, and we’re not just niche, we’re niche of niche. And yet we’ve got the nomination.” Way to go, Scribe.

Filmi stunt

Movie stars, it seems, sometimes confuse their real life with the reel one. Take Kannada actor Prashanth. Last week, the actor’s wife lodged a police complaint that she was being harassed for dowry and was being forced to agree to a divorce by her husband. The cops swung into action, picked up the actor and brought him to the police station. That was when the action began. In true filmi style, the actor gave the cops a slip, jumped over the compound wall and decamped. He remains untraceable, by the way. Wonder if he is writing a film script on life in hiding.

 

 

Dance guru

Remember Isha Koppikar? The sexy Khallas girl (from the movie Company), who had all but disappeared from public gaze of late is ready to make a comeback. However, she won’t be making a splash on the big screen, as you might expect. Instead, she is going to become a judge in a Marathi dance reality show called Khallas Dance Ekach Chance. Quite a comedown, would you say? Well, Koppikar doesn’t think so. “I love dancing, so when I got the offer to be a mahaguru at this dance reality show I couldn’t say no,” she says. Koppikar is no stranger to dance reality shows, of course. She had earlier participated in the show Nach Baliye as a contestant. Well, here’s hoping that she dances her way into the arc lights once again.

 

Legend’s lore

A play on theatre legend Sambhu Mitra, which opened at the Academy of Fine Arts in Calcutta recently, seems to have become the toast of theatre buffs. Presented by the Natyaranga group, Sri Sambhu Mitra raises the biographical aspects of dramatisation to a whole new level. In the play, immortal characters from Mitra’s famous stage productions like Nandini of Raktakarabi and Ela of Chaar Adhyay come to life and invoke their creator, as they feel that artistic freedom has been shackled by various forces — political or otherwise. They praise him, but they also examine him from a critical standpoint and demand that he explain some of the controversial chapters of his life. As the play’s director puts it, “Could Mitra’s conscientious gestures be read as a form of self-glorification?” Theatre actor Surajit Bandyopadhyay does a fantastic job of playing Sambhu Mitra on stage.