Akshata Sampat: Talented toddler Drew Barrymore: Eyes on E.T.A.R. Rahman: On song

n She is Hollywood?s original wild child. Born in a legendary film family (beginning with a great-grandfather who was a silent-era movie star), Drew Blyth Barrymore began acting at the tender age of one. It?s no surprise then that by the time she hit her teens, the child actress had become an alcoholic and a few years later, a drug addict. Then, Drew Barrymore appeared nude on the cover of Playboy magazine.

Later, she went into rehab, came out clean and went on to become one of tinsel town?s hottest talents. The Charlie?s Angel has truly turned her life around, and now the 29-year-old has her own star on the Hollywood walk of fame.

But who can forget her memorable performance in the all-time favourite E.T., at the age of seven? Although Steven Spielberg is Drew?s godfather, she failed the screen test for Poltergeist, but made it as little Gertie in E.T. The film about an extra terrestrial lost on planet Earth, desperate to get back home with the help of his 10-year-old friend Elliot, has warmed hearts for decades.

Catch the loveable alien ? and the cuddly tiny tot ? on STAR Movies on November 30, at 6.40 pm.

It took 1.5 billion dollars, six months and three models to come up with the final version of ET, the alien. It was definitely worth the trouble though, with nine Oscar nominations and two awards for the sound.

n Come November 29, and the curtains will go up on the International Film Festival of India with a grand concert conducted by ace composer A.R. Rahman and his team of 60 musicians. Also performing live on the occasion will be danseuse Isha Sharvani who makes her debut opposite Vivek Oberoi in Kisna ? The Warrior Poet.

Isha will perform a rope dance, which will be held at the magnificent Dinanath Mangeshkar Hall of Kala Academy in Goa ? the venue for the International Film Festival Of India. Isha is not the only Kisna connection at the festival as A.R. Rahman?s recital would feature two songs from the soon-to-be-released Vivek Oberoi-Antonio Bernath-starrer as well. Rahman has composed for the Subhash Ghai film along with Ismail Darbar.

The show is being perceived as a major initiative of the festival directorate to present Indian cinema in all its colours and sounds for the world to appreciate.

To be attended by festival delegates from across the world, the International Film Festival of India will be telecast live on Doordarshan and covered by the international and national media.

The festival will open with the screening of Vanity Fair by Mira Nair, starring Reese Witherspoon.

n Indian films are going places. And not just the Chopra mush with the Khans and Zintas in the lead. Yes, Veer-Zaara may be on the UK Top 10 charts, but small films from this part of the world are also slated to get an opening in England.

Anup Kurian?s directorial debut Manasarovar, starring Atul Kulkarni and Neha Dubey, is all set to get a proper UK release. A local distribution company named Bollywood Films has bought the UK Territory theatrical rights for the film that was shot with a camera bought on Ebay.

The cross-country love story is slated to release in England in the first week of January. Says Anup: ?Our first screening during the London Film Festival was sold out, prompting the distributor to watch the film at the second screening. So our small film is indeed getting an opening in England.?

n She is all of seven years old, but has been shuttling between Calcutta and Mumbai almost every week. Meet Akshata Sampat, Calcutta?s very own Baby Guddu, who has been rocking the world of advertising. Cadbury?s, Pepsodent, Kellog?s, Dabur, Asian Paints ? she?s all over the place.

Says mother Varsha: ?The production house Black Magic spotted her in a dance class and picked her for their Children?s Day special. After that, Big Ones ice-cream happened and she can still be seen on all the billboards for the ice-cream across the city.?

Model co-ordinator Jikesh Shah, source of many a junior and foreign actor for the Calcutta shooting schedules of Mani Ratnam?s Yuva and Pradeep Sarkar?s Parineeta, recognised the talent in Akshata and got her the break in the audio-visual medium.

The toddler also landed a role in the popular Bengali telly serial Spandan. ?First they told us she would be there for just a couple of episodes, but her role just kept stretching. Even though she was not fluent in Bengali, she picked up the language on the set,? adds Varsha.

And what does the star kid think of all this jazz? ?I just have a lot of fun,? is all Akshata is ready to divulge.