Lingo rock

Change is in the air. Even as we speak, actress Minissha Lamba is doing what she can to pick up an alien tongue. Lamba, who is scheduled to play the role of a village belle in Shyam Benegal’s film Abba Ka Kaun, was asked to familiarise herself with an Urdu dialect called Dakini which she’s required to speak in the film. And considering that she’s “never been in a village in my life”, the assignment is probably giving her a sleepless night or two. But knowing the actress’s ability to seize challenges by the throat (remember that sassy toning-up job she did for Kidnap?), who knows? Maybe she’ll soon be spittling betel juice with equal flair as well!

Joy once more

Attention bibliophiles. A classic tale of the birth of a nation has just had a second coming. In the backdrop of India’s 60th Republic Day celebrations, the French Embassy in India has just released the new edition of Freedom at Midnight, co-written by French writer and humanist Dominique Lapierre, for you to pore over once more. And, of course, Lapierre, who was awarded the 2008 Padma Bhushan for his humanitarian work, was there at the Delhi function to mark the reprint. Meanwhile, the good man continues to support Calcutta’s slum children through his City of Joy Foundation. Long before slumdogs gained currency, Lapierre had found a place for slum kids — in his heart.

Singh song

Music director Raju Singh is on song. News is just out that Singh has been roped in by Red Chillies Entertainment, Shah Rukh Khan’s production house, to lend tunes to its brand new TV production called Ghar Ki Baat Hai. Needless to say, Singh — known for his catchy tracks on serials such as Jassi Jaisi Koi Nahin and Jaane Kya Baat Hui — is thrilled. “Nobody should be less proud of doing TV because, at the end of the day, it is your expression of talent that counts,” he says. The King would endorse that — after all, it was the idiot box that kickstarted SRK’s career.

Shedding roles

Bollywood actress Amrita Rao is in transition mode. She wants to shed her girl-next-door image and is going to keep things, umm, short. While her traditional Indian side may’ve been noticed in films such as Vivah and Shyam Benegal’s Welcome To Sajjanpur, audiences will get to see more of her — in every way possible — in the new film Shortkut — The Con Is On. It appears she is really going all out to pull those eyeballs: with skimpy clothes, a raunchy number and a steamy love scene. Guess Ms Rao is not taking any shortcuts for her onscreen makeover. Shortskirts, may be. But shortcuts, no.

Lit wit

Writer-journalist Tina Brown stopped by in Delhi earlier this week after attending the Jaipur literature festival. The former editor of Vanity Fair and The New Yorker was among a group of writers from the United States who had come to India for the annual festival. Brown, who is now busy writing a book on the Clintons after her biography of Princess Diana, showed up at a do organised by the American embassy for the visiting authors. She looked as good as always, but the one who stole the show was African-American writer Arthur Flowers. Flowers sees himself a contemporary griot — traditional African storytellers who pass on their history orally through generations. Flowers, who tells his tales with musical instruments and bells around his ankles, says there is an Indian connection there. “The tradition of bells came to Africa from India,” he says. Just goes to show that quite like the bells, literature knows no boundaries.