By Subhash K Jha

MUMBAI:  Do you want a role in a Pooja Bhatt production?

A conscientious producer whose films in the past have touched issues as far-reaching as female foeticide and property empowerment, Pooja Bhatt auctions roles through a public bidding for two of her forthcoming productions on today – May 23.

The proceeds would be used ...

News East-West

LONDON: After scorching the Cannes International Film Festival, Aishwarya Rai will now appear at a London charity concert with Madonna, Beyonce Knowles and Jennifer Lopez next month.

Slumdog Millionaire star Freida Pinto will also join the concert, according to the organizers.

Called the Chime for Change concert, it takes place at Twickenham Stadium in London on ...

By Subhash K Jha

The mad rush to be seen on the red carpet the Cannes Film Festival this year underscores the sad fact that only one Indian film Amit Kumar’s Monsoon Shootout made it into the main section  of the prestigious festival.

Tannishtha Chatterjee, who stars opposite Nawazzudin Siddiqui in the film, says,“Monsoon Shootout is  the ...

By Subhash K Jha

It was what Nawazuddin Siddiqui calls the most memorable birthday of his life. When the actor turned 39 in Cannes on Sunday he had friends like Anurag Kashyap, Madhu Mantena, Vikas Behl and Tannishta Chatterjee to party with him. But Nawaz had nothing special to wear at Cannes.

“What to do?” the brilliant ...

News East-West

MUMBAI: Actor Sanjay Dutt was secretly shifted from Mumbai’s Arthur Road Jail to Pune’s Yerwada Jail early Wednesday.
“Sanjay Dutt was escorted to Pune jail at about 4 am from Mumbai. There were three police vans that took him to the Pune jail,’’ a jail official said.
The 53-year-old actor, who surrendered before the ...

By Subhash K Jha

MUMBAI: Irrfan Khan left for Cannes on Friday night, this time in the capacity of a producer representing the film Dabba which he co-produces Anurag Kashyap, DAR Motion Pictures, Lydia Pilcher (who has co-produced five  of Mira Nair’s feature films) and Cedomir Kolar (who has produced the award-winning Bosnian film No Man’s ...

News East-West

MUMBAI: Vindoo Dara Singh, son of the late wrestling legend Dara Sigh, has been arrested for spot-fixing in the on-going investigation into the Indian Premier League scandal.

The 49-year-old, who was seen during a Chennai match sitting next to the wife of Indian cricket captain Mohinder Singh Dhoni, is the first Bollywood actor to be ...

By Subhash K Jha

MUMBAI: Preity Zinta, who is getting ready for the release of her much-anticipated debut as a producer in Ishkq In Paris , is pretty shaken by the latest spot-fixing scandals to hit the cricket IPL business.

Taking a deep breath, she says, “Look, I’d still like to give the accused the benefit of ...

By Suresh Bodiwala

CHICAGO: The legendary singer Ustad Rahat Fateh Ali Khan mesmerized Chicago with yet another unforgettable concert at the weekend at the Sears Center Arena.

Casting his spell on the more than 5,000-strong audience during the four-hour-long “Rahat Fateh Ali Khan Live in Concert” – brought to town by Bhavesh Patel, Babubhai Patel, Mayur and ...

By Subhash K Jha

Mira Nair’s The Reluctant Fundamentalist has released in April all over the US, right during the aftermath of the Boston bombings when the whole issue of global terrorism and Islamic isolation are being re-examined rigorously.

Says the shocked director, “It was a bizarre coincidence. It was uncanny. The release of my film and ...

News East-West

NEW YORK: Phaneesh Murthy, who was sacked as the CEO of iGate on Tuesday, for sexually harassing company investor relations chief Araceli Roiz, reportedly impregnated the woman and now faces court action.

According to reports quoting the California law firm, Aiman-Smith & Marcy, who are representing Roiz, she was pregnant with Murthy’s child when she ...

News East-West

LONDON: Indians have become the largest foreign-born group in London, says a study.

According to the study by Oxford University, Indians now make up about 9 percent of London citizens who were born abroad.

As of  2011, roughly 263,000 people of London’s population were born in India, according to the study. Other major foreign-born groups in ...

News East-West

NEW YORK: Google and other tech giants are wooing 18-year-old Indian-American whizkid Esha Khare who has revolutionized cellphone technology by creating  a device that can charge a cellphone super fast in 20 seconds.

Called super-capacitor, the device can do up to 10,000 cycles, as against 1,000 that conventional battery chargers do.

Khare, who is from Saratoga ...

By Suresh Bodiwala

CHICAGO: Arvind Kejriwal, national convener of the Aam Aadmi Party, called upon NRIs on Sunday to join hands with his party in ushering in a new India.

Speaking from India to hundreds of Indian Americans from over 20 who had gathered in Chicago for a day-long convention of the Aam Aadmi Party, Kejriwal outlined ...

News East-West

LONDON: Britain’s former Sikh MP Parmjit Dhanda, who represented Gloucester in the House of Commons from 2001 to 1010, has revealed that a pig’s head was found outside his home just after his loss in the 2010 election.

The 41-year-old former Sikh MP made this revelation to an all-party parliamentary inquiry into racism during election ...

By Kam Rathee

TORONTO: Much ink has been expended on comparing two Asian giants, China and India, in these recent years and catchy nick-names have been coined to describe them.

Some call India the lumbering elephant and China the leaping dragon. Others call India the tortoise and China the hare. Still others call both of them Asian ...

TORONTO: With Canada not being the favourite destination for Indian students going for higher education abroad, Ottawa needs to take some immediate steps to tap this lucrative market for its educational institutions.

Speaking as Vice-Chairman of the Canada-India Education Council, I would mention the five points that need to be considered for promoting Canada as a ...

By Sonia Ahmed

TORONTO: I fail to understand the hatred both India and Pakistan have towards each other. I mean I would not say that the public of both nations care enough but sorry to say that politics and the media, especially in India, always takes an ugly turn.

My question to India is as follows: Your ...

By Ashok Bhargava

VANCOUVER: 
Mother’s Day is a day for many people to show their appreciation towards mothers and mother figures worldwide. It is an annual event but is held at different dates in the country.

It is a celebration honoring the motherhood, maternal bonds, and the influence of mothers in society. It is the day when we acknowledge ...

News East-West

TORONTO: The Muslims are the fastest growing religious community in Canada, according to the latest National Household Survey released on Wednesday.

The Muslim population of Canada has grown by 72.53 percent since 2001, says the survey.

As of now, Muslims are about 3.2 percent of the Canadian population, up from 2 percent in 2001.

Since the 2011 ...

By Suresh Bodiwala

CHICAGO: The re-enactment of the Yash Gatha, which is a musical narration of the journey of Bhagwan Swaminarayan and a depiction of his countless spiritual endeavors, was the main feature of the 232nd birth anniversary of Bhagwan Swaminarayan at the BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir at Bartlett in Illinois.

The devotees celebrate the day also ...

By Suresh Bodiwala

CHICAGO: Sri Venkateswara Swami (SVC) – popularly known as Balaji Temple of Greater Chicago (Aurora, Ill.) -held Bharata Natyam dance drama called “Krishna – a Divine experience” by a visiting Indian troupe on Sunday.

Lead dancers and husband-wife couple, Shijith Nambiar and Parvathy Menon, the Bharata Natyam duo from Kalakshetra who have set various ...