Rakhi Sawant to contest from Mumbai North-West

Mumbai, Mar 26 Bollywood starlet Rakhi Sawant today said she is going to contest the Lok Sabha election from the Mumbai North-West constituency on the plank of restoring women's safety in the metropolis.

Rakhi's rivals would be Congress's Gurudas Kamat, Shiv Sena's Gajanan Kirtikar, actor-director Mahesh Manjrekar of MNS, and Mayank Gandhi of AAP.

When asked if she would be standing as an independent, she said a political party had offered her a ticket, and she would soon reveal its name.

Guide for the perplexed

Tisca Chopra

Actor Tisca Chopra talks about her book “Acting Smart”, which offers novices an insight into the workings of Mumbai’s film industry

Mumbai, the financial capital of India, perpetually attracts hordes of youngsters to try their luck in Hindi cinema. Of the many thousands, a small minority proves successful. The success stories are much discussed and written about whereas the vast majority of unsuccessful struggles go unsung and unheard. The poor success rate, however, is no deterrent. “Acting Smart”, a book written by theatre and film actor Tisca Chopra, can be a guide for all those who want to pursue a career in the film world. Born into a family where a number of people write, she pursued writing even as she acted in plays and films. The book is based on her “experiences and that of other actors — which are unique and noteworthy”, and tries to answer questions of curious common people about the casting couch, why films take a long time to make, etc.

Initially, Tisca had written an article with tips and notes for youngsters who wanted to pursue a career in films. During the course of a discussion with a literary agent about her husband’s book, she mentioned this piece. The agent found the subject worth a detailed treatment and suggested fleshing it out. The reason it took four years to complete was because experiences of new shoots, assignments, meetings with different personalities, kept getting added to the material.

Divided into 14 chapters, the book discusses several aspects of the celluloid world. The author tells aspirants to be completely rational about their talent — decide if acting is one’s true calling or if it is the lifestyle one is drawn to. “A large number think it is a cakewalk,” she says, adding that the successful cases have “a lot of practice, hard work and training” backing them.

There are several practical suggestions in the book on how, as a novice, one should go about trying to get a foothold in the industry — finding a place of accommodation appropriate to the profession; preparing a portfolio of photographs, show-reels and proper curriculum vitae and for the “final frontier” — auditions.

The book lays great emphasis on training — working in theatre, joining acting schools, becoming a student of seasoned actors and directors, learning traditional art forms, watching others perform, etc. The author quotes leading actor Shabana Azmi, who says: “You must watch theatre, you must read books, you should watch films, you should go to art galleries. Whether or not you understand art or classical music, everything that sensitises you to the arts is something you should do as riyaaz.” The author says the key is to keep honing one’s skills and adds, “if you think you have mastered acting, start with sword-fighting or kick-boxing or learn how to speak Hindi with a French accent or scuba diving...because who knows what challenge the next role may throw at you.”

The essentials of make-up, hair, wardrobe and image and publicity — all of which form a package to make an actor — are discussed in separate chapters with the author making several observations about them.

Tisca narrates how she spotted Bharat Bhushan, who had many super-hits in the 1950s and ’60s, standing in a food queue with junior artistes and elaborates that nothing fades faster than stardom, and that success “evaporates like morning dew”. She stresses that everyone must prepare for any contingency by not being careless about money earned; save enough and invest to ensure a steady income; try other avenues in cinema such as voiceovers, screenplays or dialogues; try assisting a director among others. Laying emphasis on professionalism both on and off camera, the author has devoted a number of pages on contracts, agents and talent management agencies and included answers by Bimal Parekh — business advisor to many actors — to questions about inking deals with individuals and companies.

The chapter titled “Behaviour” discusses how to conduct oneself impeccably while working — with colleagues, seniors, subordinates, all those connected with filmmaking — stating explicitly that “the only thing that will guarantee you work is your behaviour and enthusiasm”. In another section she highlights the importance of family, friends and feedback and the need to be open to criticism and praise.

The narrative is interspersed with several interesting anecdotes, stories and observations by Shabana Azmi, Anurag Kashyap, Raju Hirani, and Manish Malhotra among others. The book will, Imtiaz Ali comments, help newcomers in saving “...precious groping-in-the-dark time in Mumbai”.

Fake 'Miss Aloowalia', a real entertainer

BHOPAL: Monday evening was a treat for lovers of theatre. A light-hearted comedy "Miss Aloowalia" had audiences split their sides laughing at Shaheed Bhavan here on Monday evening.

The story revolves around two sisters and their boyfriends -- Sameer and Pyarelal. The play depicts a father's concern who hunts for suitable grooms for his daughters. Since the boys of girl's choice are poor, they try to take opulent Miss Aloowalia's help who outrightly refuses to help the duo due to poor health. This brings in a new character in the play - Pratik -- a friend of the boys who foxes the girls' father by posing as Miss Aloowalia. This gives a fantastic comic twist to the play which ends with a happy note.

The 70-minute play is an adaptation of a Bengali play written by Shekhar Chhatterjee and directed by Mohan Diwedi.

Film screenings, exhibitions, discussions at Bhutan lit fest

The fifth edition of Mountain Echoes, a celebration of literature, art and culture in Bhutanese capital Thimpu next month will feature movie screenings, exhibitions and a few performances, along with literary debates, the organisers said Wednesday. The three-day festival May 21-23 is an initiative of the India-Bhutan Foundation run by the two governments, in association with NGO Siyahi. Bhutan's Queen Mother Ashi Dorji Wangmo Wangchuk is the chief royal patron of the festival, and also one of the speakers. Along with her, prominent names like Advaita Kala, author of "Almost Single" art curator Alka Pandey, Hindi writer Ashok Vajpeyi, writer and anthropologist Dolma C. Roder, sociologist Dipankar Gupta, academician Gavin Francis, Bhutanese author Lily Wangchuk, author-columnist-diplomat Navtej Sarna and filmmaker Tashi Gyeltshen are some of the speakers who will deliberate on variety of subjects, a statement said. From popular fiction to democracy and civil society, from travel and cities to human animal conflict and crime and thriller writing - the festival will host sessions on various facets of these topics. The festival is the brainchild of programme directors Namita Gokhale - also a key person in the organisation of the Jaipur Literary Festival – Pramod Kumar K.G, managing director of a museum consulting company; Kunzang Choden, the first Bhutanese woman to write a novel in English and Siok Sian Dorji, a print and broadcast journalist.

Exhibitions and movie screenings are also an integral part of the festival. Movies like "Bhutan Women Forward" by Kesang Chuki Dorjee, Tashi Gyeltshen's "The Red Door", Ted Nicolaou's "Finding Happiness" and Tshering Tempa's "The Yak Herder's Son's" will be screened at the festival. An exhibition highlighting textile and weaves of Bhutan will also be mounted at the festival. There will also be cultural performances by Bhutanese bands like "The Baby Boomers", "The Daydream Farmers", "Poisoned Apple and Zhaw" and a few others

The Great Food Show of “BBC GoodFood” magazine, Mumbai on 29th & 30th March

This weekend head out to the first edition of The Great Food Show Mumbai – Two unforgettable days of food, wine and merry-making in association with “BBC GoodFood” magazine. It offers visitors a veritable feast of experimental and classic cuisine, fine wine samplings and special produce, retail and

shopping. 15 of your favorite international and Indian chefs comprising Alex Gares, Kunal Kapur, Vicky Ratnani, Himanshu Saini, Sanjana Patel, Manish Mehrotra, Abhijit Saha, Manu Chandra and many more will be present on stage at the MasterClass Theatre to teach you their signature dishes. Delicious samplings and discount deals by 100+ exhibitors, farmer’s market by Kavita Mukhi, Pooja Dhingra to launch her book titled ‘The Big Book of Treats’, book signings by Vicky Ratnani and Kunal Kapur, fun games and activities, pop-up restaurants, organic cafes and a lot more surprises await you. Part fair, part exhibition and part evening out. The show is aimed at food enthusiasts, everyday chefs and people who are looking forward to a good food experience with family and friends. So come with an open mind and an empty stomach.

Omar Abdullah hits out at Narendra Modi's 'lies'

SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah today hit out at Narendra Modi for his "lies" during public speeches and also dared him to speak about dynasty politics in states like Punjab and Maharashtra.

This was in reference to the dynasty poltics of Badals in Punjab and Thackerays in Maharashtra.

Responding to Modi through micro-blogging site 'Twitter', Omar said "the ease with which NaMo lied today about me flying over ..

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