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METROSCAPE
Caught On Film
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| MAKER AND THE MUSE: Dasgupta (left); Sen
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Last week Mrinal Sen got drenched in the rain,
walked up three flights of stairs and dried his hair for the camera. Just
another day in the filmmaker's life? Not really. Just "Wonderful!"
acting according to Chidananda Dasgupta, the critic who's filming a 30-minute
documentary on Sen. Although the project wrapped up last week, viewers
will have to wait till September, when sponsors Public Service Broadcasting
Trust-a new undertaking of which the Prasar Bharati is a constituent-screen
its first cycle of 28 short films in Delhi.
 "Although
Mrinal Sen is one of the three most important figures in Bengali cinema,
he's largely taken for granted," points out Dasgupta. Sen is equally
appreciative. "There have been other documentaries on me," he
says. "But Dasgupta is a longtime friend, so I was not just a marionette
in his hands." The documentary also features daughter and actress
Aparna Sen grilling her dad on his life and times. With such collaboration,
the project should be worth the wait.
-Labonita Ghosh
 RADIO
GAGA: On July 3, at the not quite witching
hour of 9 a.m. at Bangalore's The Oberoi, Radio City, India's first private
fm channel, was launched. The 24-hour, 91 FM station will include weather,
traffic and city updates in its music capsules. The channel, sponsored
by Music Broadcast Private Ltd backed by steel magnate P.K. Mittal, will
have content, sales and marketing support from Star India. "FM will
bring about the same revolution as satellite TV," says Star India
CEO Peter Mukerjea (top left). But why Bangalore? Reason: Its large untapped
market. A good excuse to play good music.
-Stephen
David
Metro Minutes
 Salman
Khan isn't the only being Aishwarya Rai feels sorry for. When the
actress heard of Baixinha, an endangered black rhino being sold for "canned"
hunting at a ranch outside Johannesburg, she penned a letter on behalf
of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). The message to
David Laylin, president of Speedtech Instruments, asking him to reconsider
his decision to sell the chance to kill and mount Baixinha's head on a
wall and instead release her to a sanctuary where "she can live the
rest of her life in peace". When attempts to breed Baixinha or "pretty
one" with an aged bull failed, Laylin decided to part ways with the
tamed rhino. Rai even pointed out that Baixinha "has no fear of humans
and even takes food from a child's hand". If the former Miss World's
"pretty please" doesn't work, nothing will.
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Neena
and Veena
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On July 1, the Coalition of Sexual Minorities-that
included NGOs-met in Bangalore to discuss the theme "Breaking the
Silence: Sexual Minorities Speak Out". Spotted was author of Facing
the Mirror, Ashwini Sukthankar and theologian K.C. Abraham,
who spoke for all the participants when he said: "All human beings
should have the freedom of choice with open acceptance."
Heard of belly-dancing for fitness? Identical
Punjabi twins Neena and Veena Bidasha, who have performed
at Academy Awards and been on People and Vogue magazines, have just released
their four-set Bellydance: Fitness for Beginners videos in the US, soon
to be launched in the Indian metros. Ready to shimmy and shake?
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