Can films churned out of Bollywood make “the grade”? In other words are they good enough to win international awards? Clearly not, judging by the complete lack of anything Bollywood in the Oscar nominations (if you don’t count Deepa Mehta’s Water).

That did not escape the notice of acclaimed actor Naseeruddin Shah, who told BBC Asian Network’s Inderpreet Sahota last week that, essentially, Bollywood films were crap.

“I really don’t think we make films that can match those from other parts of the world. And I am not referring to Hollywood – we make copies of Hollywood,” he added. Comparing Bollywood to other film industries, Mr Shah said: “We can’t match the types of films made in Iran for example, Poland, Japan, Mexico or Brazil, Vietnam or Korea.

“These countries are producing the most incredible movies and we are still plodding on with our boy-meets-girl safe, old formula. That is the reason I think our films aren’t taken seriously”.

No mincing of words there then.

Popular singer and song-writer Raghav lent his support to the British Heart Foundation’s (BHF) Doubt Kills campaign aimed at the UK’s South Asian communities at the Zee Carnival last week. The campaign was also supported by other British Asian bhangra stars including Malkit Singh.

The BHF’s presence at the carnival is part of its ongoing commitment to encourage those from South Asian communities to be aware of the signs and symptoms of a heart attack and what to do if you are experiencing chest pain. It is being run by the agency Media Reach.

For more information about heart disease, the BHF produces a range of free ethnic language resources and services. See: bhf.org.uk/publications

On 20th June this year, 3 intrepid DJs from Awaz FM, Glasgow’s leading Asian radio station, travel to Tanzania to undertake a gruelling 12-day trek to the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro in aid of Revive Scotland, the Multiple Sclerosis charity based in Glasgow.

At 5,895m, Mt. Kilimanjaro is one of the largest volcanoes on Earth and Africa’s highest peak, making this a hugely demanding challenge for Awaz Fm’s Ali Malik; Javaid Ullah and Shoket Aski. Summit day is as tough as it gets, with 1,000m of ascent and over 2,000m of descent. During the day, temperatures will rise to a warm 30°C but drop at night to a chilly -15°C. Altitude sickness is a very common problem.

They are hoping people will pledge their support for Ali, Javaid and Shoket by making a secure online donation at justgiving.com/awazfm
www.awazfm.co.uk