She's used to being chased by journalists. This time she did the
chasing. Hindi cinema's spunky star, Kajol, got to be on the other side
of the mike when she interviewed Phoolan Devi for the just-released
Filmfare annual. They could have formed a two-woman fan club -- me Kajol, you Phoolan.
"I admire her tremendously," says the actress. The green-eyed girl, as it turned
out, was the bandit queen's blue-eyed girl. Asked "Which heroines are your
favourites?" Phoolan didn't stop to think: "Hema Malini and now the one who's
sitting in front of me." Who, me?
Babies on the Box
It's a baby boom on V. On November 14, the music channel will
be invaded by kids -- announcing, sending messages, freakin' out. But the star of
Children's Day will be teen singer Zeenia, 13, who'll give viewers a dose
of new-generation veejaying in V's Indian Top 10. "It feels great," says Zeenie
baby, but she's not exactly gushing. After all she's already released a solo album (Abhi
Chhoti Hoon Main), been part of three others (Abadabadab, Ekta I & II), and will
let you know that "I was the only kid to bring out a full-fledged Hindi pop album of
new songs". But press further and the child speaks: "Actually, I'm not such a
good singer but then I trained in classical music and worked on my Hindi pronounciation (sic)."
And abadabadab, a career was born!
Blair Was There
If
you aren't going to London to see the Queen, how's this for a hi-tech alternative!
Teenagers Prayag Akbar, 15, Nidhi Gupta, 16, and Apoorva
Prasad, 16 -- of Delhi's Vasant Valley School -- were part of a
tele-conference last week, linked up with students from Cape Town and England, and with Tony
Blair. Yes, he of Downing Street fame! The occasion was the release of a white
paper on international development by the British premier, and the youngsters -- brought
together by the British Council, London -- were expecting little more than a peek at the
PM and a via-satellite chat with the other students. But surprise, surprise, Blair stayed
on for 20 minutes and Akbar got to ask him why his government "gives more money to
ngos than to government agencies". The answer: government bodies generally have a lot
of cash and there are areas in which ngos would in any case be more effective. Was Master
Akbar satisfied? "Kind of ... I think he was a little vague." Sorry Tony, you
lost that vote.
Leading Lady
His first film was called Raakh (Ashes). Going by his
stunning leading lady, this next one should be Aag (Fire). Aditya
Bhattacharya, maverick moviemaker, better known as Sanjana
Kapoor's ex-hubby, performs the enchanting task of launching Laila Rouass
in films. The oh-so-sexy veejay makes her acting debut in Senso Unico,
an Anglo-Italian film about a Pakistani girl in Italy. "I had a great time working on
it," coos the lovely Laila. Senso ... has got a lot going for it --
Bhattacharya's direction, music by Ranjit Barot (the son, incidentally, of dancer Sitara
Devi), but most of all this gorgeous gal. Says Bhattacharya: "You will not believe
that she has no experience if you see her act. Laila is the most amazing thing to happen
to the film." Amazing ... that's the word.
She's used to being chased by journalists. This time she did the
chasing. Hindi cinema's spunky star, Kajol, got to be on the other side
of the mike when she interviewed Phoolan Devi for the just-released
Filmfare annual. They could have formed a two-woman fan club -- me Kajol, you Phoolan.
"I admire her tremendously," says the actress. The green-eyed girl, as it turned
out, was the bandit queen's blue-eyed girl. Asked "Which heroines are your
favourites?" Phoolan didn't stop to think: "Hema Malini and now the one who's
sitting in front of me." Who, me? 
It's a baby boom on V. On November 14, the music channel will
be invaded by kids -- announcing, sending messages, freakin' out. But the star of
Children's Day will be teen singer Zeenia, 13, who'll give viewers a dose
of new-generation veejaying in V's Indian Top 10. "It feels great," says Zeenie
baby, but she's not exactly gushing. After all she's already released a solo album (Abhi
Chhoti Hoon Main), been part of three others (Abadabadab, Ekta I & II), and will
let you know that "I was the only kid to bring out a full-fledged Hindi pop album of
new songs". But press further and the child speaks: "Actually, I'm not such a
good singer but then I trained in classical music and worked on my Hindi pronounciation (sic)."
And abadabadab, a career was born! 
If
you aren't going to London to see the Queen, how's this for a hi-tech alternative!
Teenagers Prayag Akbar, 15, Nidhi Gupta, 16, and Apoorva
Prasad, 16 -- of Delhi's Vasant Valley School -- were part of a
tele-conference last week, linked up with students from Cape Town and England, and with Tony
Blair. Yes, he of Downing Street fame! The occasion was the release of a white
paper on international development by the British premier, and the youngsters -- brought
together by the British Council, London -- were expecting little more than a peek at the
PM and a via-satellite chat with the other students. But surprise, surprise, Blair stayed
on for 20 minutes and Akbar got to ask him why his government "gives more money to
ngos than to government agencies". The answer: government bodies generally have a lot
of cash and there are areas in which ngos would in any case be more effective. Was Master
Akbar satisfied? "Kind of ... I think he was a little vague." Sorry Tony, you
lost that vote. 
His first film was called Raakh (Ashes). Going by his
stunning leading lady, this next one should be Aag (Fire). Aditya
Bhattacharya, maverick moviemaker, better known as Sanjana
Kapoor's ex-hubby, performs the enchanting task of launching Laila Rouass
in films. The oh-so-sexy veejay makes her acting debut in Senso Unico,
an Anglo-Italian film about a Pakistani girl in Italy. "I had a great time working on
it," coos the lovely Laila. Senso ... has got a lot going for it --
Bhattacharya's direction, music by Ranjit Barot (the son, incidentally, of dancer Sitara
Devi), but most of all this gorgeous gal. Says Bhattacharya: "You will not believe
that she has no experience if you see her act. Laila is the most amazing thing to happen
to the film." Amazing ... that's the word. 
