This weekend’s Observer Sports Monthly features a lengthy interview with English spinner Monty Panesar. You can read the interview from here.

It turns out that young Monty also has a book deal and plans to take advantage of his new found fame.

Operation Monty is go. There’s merchandise, an appearance on A Question of Sport, and a website (monty-panesar.com, soon to go live).

There is the obligatory book deal: Monty has signed a reported £300,000 contract with Hodder & Stoughton that will, I have been told, preclude him from talking about anything personal - his family, his upbringing, his faith - until the book is published.

I have never heard of such a gagging order before. For someone as reticent as Panesar, it’s like putting a muzzle on a poodle.

Strange, but we look forward to the book!

A Danish court dismissed the case brought against the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten, which published a series of controversial cartoons featuring the Muslim prophet Muhammad. The Guardian reports:

“Of course it cannot be excluded that the drawings offended some Muslims,” the court said in its ruling. “But there is no sufficient reason to assume that the cartoons are or were intended to be insulting … or put forward ideas that could hurt the standing of Muslims in society.”

Seven Danish Muslims organisations initiated the lawsuit in March, after the state prosecutor decided not to sue the newspaper under racism and blasphemy laws.
…
“I’m not surprised, shocked or disappointed,” said Ahmed Abu Laban, a Copenhagen imam active in one of the organisations that brought the case. “Freedom of speech has been the issue from the beginning. It is seen differently in Europe than we see it.”

This is the third time the Muslim organisations have had their case dismissed. They said they would nevertheless appeal the court’s decision.

BBC Asian Network radio kick off their first ever university tour from 10th November.

The station was also pleased with itself for getting an exclusive interview with Mirza Tahir Hussain, the Leeds man on death row for allegedly committing murder in Pakistan. It was picked up and featured across all the BBC Radio stations and the wider news media, with the Asian Network credited throughout.

This is an event taking place in November. Please read through until the end for details on how to attend. AIM magazine was also part of this research project.

Invitation: Black and minority ethnic workers in London’s audio-visual industries

This event will bring together representatives of both central and regional Government, key players from the audio-visual industry, the college sector, trade unions and employers to discuss the barriers to recruitment and progression facing black and ethnic minority workers in the industry and to see what policy initiatives might be promoted to tackle them.

Thursday 23 November 2006: 10am-1pm
Greater London Authority,
City Hall, The Queen’s Walk, More London, London SE1 2AA

Chair, Lee Jasper,
Director of Equalities for the Mayor of London

‘I don’t think anything’s going to change with equal opportunities and enforcement unless the government really enforces a change into the way they employ people in the media and AV related industry sector. I mean, it’s all contacts and networking, because that’s the way it’s been the whole time. It’s going to be very hard to change because of nepotism.’ (Female television director)

We are interesting in hearing from all those with an interest in this area; from colleges, workers and students looking for opportunities in the sector to trade unions and employers, sector bodies, like Ofcom, Skillset and others with an interest such as the Commission for Racial Equality and the Learning and Skills Council.

There will be a panel of key players from the audio-visual industry to present their views and a presentation of the findings from new research into the experiences of black and minority ethnic workers in London’s audio-visual industry recently completed by the Working Lives Research Institute at London Metropolitan University (funded by the European Social Fund and London Learning and Skills Council)

There is an open invitation to this seminar, but we would appreciate notification if you wish to attend as places may be limited. Please email: j.holgate@londonmet.ac.uk or call 0207 320 3029.

This event is jointly hosted by Southern and Eastern Region TUC, BECTU, Skillset and
the Working Lives Research Institute.

30 years after the Race Relations Act, has the dream of a utopian multi-cultural state been shattered? First premiered on More4 earlier this month, Dr Robert Beckford presents the documentary ‘Ghetto Britain: 30 Years of Race’, on Channel 4 this week exploring the state of race in Britain today.

In 1976, parliament passed the first piece of legislation outlawing racial discrimination, the Race Relations Act. Thirty years on, Beckford asks whether Britain has succeeded in embracing the multicultural dream, or whether indeed the plan has spectacularly backfired, and created a multi million pound race relations industry that has lost touch with its grassroots.

Made by Maverick Television, the film was executive produced by Tommy Nagra, former head of the BBC’s Asian Programmes Unit.

Upcoming actress Mamta Bhatia, stars new a new play later this week written by the acclaimed writer Kwame Kwei-Amah.

Titled ‘The Politician’ and showing this Thursday at The Albany in London, she plays the part of Ashna, a Conservative party candidate standing for election who is having an affair with a Black member of the Labour party.

The play will be part of Kwame’s ‘Success Personified’ event, as part of Black History Month, to recognise that he was the first black writer to have a hit play (Elimina’s Kitchen) produced in London’s West-end. The event is being organised by Tell Tarra, one of London’s most successful black theatre companies.

The Daily Star may have backed off on poking fun at Shariah law, but it seems that the idea may originally have been Zoo’s. The lads magazine came out on Thursday, a day before the Daily Star tried the same stunt.

As the Media Guardian reports, the weekly magazine had no such qualms though:

The double-page spread in this week’s edition of the Emap magazine features headlines including “Public stonings!”, “Beheadings!” and “Absolutely nobody having any fun whatsoever”.

It also features a full-page picture of a woman in a niqab, or full veil, alongside the headline, “A girl! As you’ve never seen her before!”

“We hop in to the debate of the moment/burning fires of Hell with our very own pro-veil edition,” says the Zoo editorial, next to a spoof rubber stamp, “Pending approval under shariah law”.

Where are Anjem Choudhary and Abu Izzadeen? Surely getting ready for one of their infamous placard-holding marches?

The article adds:

“Maybe shariah law isn’t so controversial after all,” suggests the Zoo piece, which doesn’t have a byline. “Muslims who practise it to the letter are able to divorce their wives (up to four allowed) by text message. Wives are banned from being in a car with a man who is not a blood relative. And - common sense a-go-go - women aren’t allowed to drive cars anyway!

“And hey, maybe the stricter Muslim woman is happy to hide her face and fleshy bits from public view? Been getting it all wrong with bikini-wearing babes, all-seeing Sex-Ray Specs and the pro-flesh Hot List? So for one week only, we proudly present your all-new, veil-friendly Zoo…”

Oh dear… Amusingly, the front cover of the magazine or the website has no reference to the Shariah law page.

There is something mischievous about American-Indian actor Kal Penn that makes him suited to teenage comedies. Real name Kalpen Modi (and pictured on the left), the actor was last seen in the popular teenage film Harold and Kumar go to White Castle. He also had a brief role in Superman Returns as a sidekick to Lex Luthor.

Even though there was no suggestion of him going away, the irrepressible actor is back. In 2002 he played a support role in Van Wilder, a film that didn’t do too well in cinemas but became wildly popular on DVD. So the studio decided to extend the franchise to Van Wilder II but this time Kal Penn takes the lead.

In Rise of Taj, Penn continues with his previous character as an Indian student (with a thick accent to boot). This time he heads to Oxford University to continue his studies and ends up showing the “stuffy Brits” how to party. You can’t accuse the Americans of stereotyping then. You can watch the trailer from their website. The film also stars British actor Kulvinder Ghir as Kal Penn’s dad.

Next year he will be seen on Mira Nair’s film The Namesake and on Fox Television’s action series 24. The only way for him is up, despite the dodgy accent.

The Tate Morden is hosting a discussion next week to discuss impact of speed, technology, mass media and economic power on photographic practice. Indian artists Shezad Dawood, Hasan Elahi, Ram Rahman and the Raqs Media Collective will be involved in the discussion, with critic and curator Gayatri Sinha chairing the session.

This is part of the Global Photography Now: The Indian Subcontinent series. More here.

Entrepreneur Sheeraz Hasan, who presents a Bollywood show for Asian channel B4U, has big plans for his website Hollywood.Tv. Actually, calling them ‘big plans’ could be an understatement.

He says in the press release:

I want to control Hollywood online by making Hollywood.TV the Google of Hollywood. Our mission is to organize the world’s celebrity video and make it universally accessible for all people, anywhere in the world.

Ermmm… yeah. Or maybe the mission is to make lots of money quick without doing much work? He adds:

It’s all about getting on the boat before it’s too late. There is no business in the world today that can make you a billionaire faster than the Internet, and there is no better brand than Hollywood.TV, and investors are lining up to be a part of the next big thing.

Don’t rush to buy the website all at once now.

A new online magazine aimed at British Sikhs launched this month. Sikh Speak is an intiative by a group of friends.

The magazine will cover worldwide Sikh news, issues relating to the religion, history, profiles and more. They also have their own blog running. You can subscribe to the e-newsletter from their website.

The Independent newspaper reports today that Kumars at No.42 may finally be coming to an end. Or moving to another channel, it’s not clear exactly.

Meera Syal told the newspaper: “We won’t do another series in its present form for the BBC because we have now done seven, amazingly. We have had interest from other quarters about doing something different – but keeping the family together. So we’re exploring that.”

So maybe an off-shoot of the current format. After seven series though, isn’t it time to lay it to rest? The Kumars first went out on BBC Two in 2001. The format was also sold to Australia, Germany, Israel, the Netherlands and the USA.

Saving a Stranger is a powerful, heart-wrenching documentary that highlights the suffering of the thousands of people waiting for bone marrow transplants in the UK.

This Community Channel exclusive, which broadcasts Thursday, October 19th at 9pm (repeated Sunday, October 22nd at 10pm), aims to inspire people from asian, black and ethnic minority groups to join the bone marrow register in order to find a match that can help save lives.

The film introduces us to the plight of 12-year-old Yvette Gate from Bristol, whose only chance of survival is a bone marrow transplant. Yvette suffers from aplastic anaemia. Her bone marrow has stopped functioning, which means she cannot produce her own blood, and has to rely on transfusions to say alive. Yvette originates from the Gambia and is more likely to find a match from someone of the same ethnic origin. But there is a desperate shortage of all bone marrow donors and a particular shortage of donors from black and ethnic minority groups.

Yvette’s parents, Mary and David Gate, are becoming increasingly desperate to find a bone marrow match for Yvette. They are pinning all their hopes on a bone marrow registration clinic that has taken months of organisation. The film also concentrates on the inspiring Asma Meer, who lost her three-year old son Ibrahim because they couldn’t find a match for a bone marrow transplant.

Media contact: Rakhee Gokani 07830 275 275 / Rakhee@fnik.com

The newspapers Asian Voice held its annual Asian Achievers Award last week at the Tower Hotel in London. Parent company ABPL group also publishes the weekly Gujarat Samachar newspaper.

Writer and commentator Alpesh Patel is pictured making a speech. Chairman of Sunrise Radio Avtar Lit was awarded for his achievements in media, arts and culture.

A Divine Destruction is an attempt by journalist Aamir Ghauri and photographer Sohail Anjum to record moments around the earthquake that rocked much of Kashmir on 8th October 2005 and killed nearly 80,000 people. It is also an attempt to highlight the plight of the people of Kashmir and northern Pakistan who were told by their rulers that their destruction was an act of God.

Ghauri and Anjum tell the unfinished story of the Kashmir earthquake, from the time the news broke to the snows of winter. They show the reality of life for survivors as they searched for their families, for the thousands of children undergoing surgery, for those who mourned loved ones and tried to get back to some sort of normality.

It is published by Xenos UK Ltd, price £25. amir Ghauri is the European Head of News & Current Affairs for Pakistan’s Geo TV. Sohail Anjum is a London-based freelance photographer.
Media contact Fussi Merza on 020 3253 0059 / fussi.merza@xenosuk.com

In a sleepy corner of East Sussex, a battle is underway for the soul of yoga. 82-year-old Hindu swami, Indrananda Ji, believes that yoga – a practice rooted in the Hindu scriptures - has been separated from its ancient spiritual roots and hijacked by pop stars and health clubs.

To make a stand he opens up his world to five supermarket workers from Bolton. But with chanting at dawn, a strict diet, some strenuous postures, and a search to find the self, the life of a yogi was never meant to be easy. Swami Ji is determined, but how many of them will last the course?

All have their own reasons for signing up to the retreat, and all agree to follow Swami Ji’s way of life. But all react differently to the yogic way of life.

Checkout Yoga is on tomorrow Wednesday 18th October, 2006 at 11:20pm, BBC One.

Film websites are abuzz with the news that the film remake of Dallas, the popular 80s TV series, may not even go ahead now. At the very least much of the cast will be replaced. It is being directed by Gurinder Chadha.

The magazine Empire says:

The film is now on hold and director Gurinder Chadha has to recruit a whole new cast – and may not even stay on board herself.

So what’s brought on this sudden bout of cold feet? Those old standbys of costs and brand recognition, surely the cornerstones of all great art! The studio is worried that the kids won’t recognise Dallas and the current cast had pumped the budget up to more than $65 million, with executives panicking that the box office might not support the outlay.

Tamasha Theatre’s popular comedy theatre production, All I Want is a British Passport, is coming back for a final time later this month at The Mill Studio at the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, Guildford.

The satirical comedy, by Nadim Sawalha, is about Mohamed Al Fayed’s defiant clashes with an unwelcoming British government. It promises to be a witty insight into the mind of the man with the most famous ‘corner shop’ in the UK.

Tamasha is also running some programmes for upcoming artists.

AIM magazine wrote of the upcoming Merchants of Bollywood production back in July this year. We said:

The Merchants of Bollywood will be based on the career of film choreographer Vaibhavi Merchant and will feature songs and actors from the Mumbai based entertainment industry. It has already met with success in Australia.

The stage play will follow the clash of generations and ambition among Bollywood stars. It is said to be “a potent mixture of dreams and sacrifices, family rebellion and romance”.

Dates have now been confirmed. The show will run in Birmingham from Tuesday 24th October through to Saturday 4th November at the Alexandra Theatre.

It will when move on to Manchester (Opera House), Newcastle (Tyne Theatre), Glasgow (SECC ) Bradford (St George’s Hall), Cambridge (Corn Exchange), Cardiff (Millennium Centre) and London (Hammersmith Apollo).