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Swing a chicken on a busy street, and chances are you’ll hit at least a dozen people humming a rush of Bollywood melodies, the lyrics to all of which have been penned by him. So when Javed Akhtar wields his pen for a righteous cause, chances are he will be lent an ear. And this election season, that is just what some good samaritans are banking on. In Delhi on Thursday, members of the Public Interest Foundation, a citizens’ body headed by former Reserve Bank of India governor Bimal Jalan, joined hands with Akhtar and ex-supercop Ved Marwah to initiate a movement called “No Criminals in Politics.” The objective? Urge political parties not to hand out election tickets to people with criminal records. In India, that’s easier said than done. But with Akhtar on board, party bosses might just take to singing a different tune.
If it’s not a movie, it’s got to be a cause. So now that Ghajini is out of his way, Aamir Khan is back to his do-gooder ways. And this time, he’s lending his voice to a movement called Earth Hour 2009, initiated by World Wildlife Fund and co-championed by humanitarian and Nobel laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa. Aimed at promoting awareness about climate change on a global scale, the movement is in its third year, but comes to India for the first time. And who better than Aamir to spread the word around? “Climate change is undoubtedly the biggest immediate long-term environmental challenge that we face,” says Aamir. If you agree, all you need to do is switch off your lights on the night of March 28, for an hour starting 8.30. Stock up on candles, please.
It wasn’t quite as long as the wait for Godot, but Sohini Sengupta has been waiting a long while too. She won a national award as best supporting actress for her very first film in 2001, when she played a schizophrenic girl in Aparna Sen’s Paromitar Ek Din. Then she waited for the right role to come her way. Now, eight years later, the actress is all ready to wow the people with Ichhe, scheduled to be released next month. When director Shiboprasad Mukherjee approached her for the film, Sohini agreed after reading the script. Sohini says she had rejected earlier offers — for films and television — because the roles didn’t excite her. “But this role did, and I said ok. It, however, doesn’t mark a comeback or anything like that. The stage is my first love, and that shall remain,” says the daughter of theatre legends Rudraprasad and Swatilekha Sengupta. But then, as the old man said, the world’s a stage.
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If you’ve been missing Preity Zinta, here’s some good news. Deepa Mehta’s film — Heaven on Earth — is all set for its India release in March. The film, starring Zinta, has been globally released and feted abroad. Zinta has even bagged an award or two. And now the film is all ready to make its presence felt in India. Here, however, it’s been rechristened Videsh. Says Sanjay Bhutiani, the CEO of the producer, BR Films, “We did not want our Indian audiences to misinterpret the title Heaven on Earth as an English film. Hence we changed the film’s name as this would connect well with Indian audiences.” After Slumdog, anything Indian would do. Even a name.
Food, glorious food
You can’t win ’em all. First Minnisha Lamba had to lose a lot of weight to be able to show off her svelte, bikini-clad body in Kidnap. And now, the actress can’t wait to put it all back again. Not because a new role demands her to be plump, but because she is in Hyderabad, shooting for Shyam Benegal’s Abba Ka Kuan. And the Andhra capital, of course, is known for its delicious food. But Lamba, strangely, is not eyeing its biryani and kababs. She is, instead, going ga-ga over vegetarian fare. “I go on a completely vegetarian diet when I am in Hyderabad. The food there is just too delicious — the curd rice, peanut rice, vadas!” she exults. Lamba had better watch out. Remember, little drops make an ocean?
