Henna’s marriage to Ricky-Rashid was achieved through an audacious web of lies as elaborate and brazen as the golden embroidery on her scarlet wedding sari…Ricky is soon to realise his bride is not in fact who he thought she was. As Ricky and Henna tolerate their loveless marriage of convenience, the way is paved for a future of deception.

Born in Pakistan, brought up in London, and now living in South West France with her husband and son, Bitter Sweets is Roopa Farooki’s debut novel. She worked in advertising as Worldwide Account Director for Saatchi & Saatchi and now J Walter Thompson.

The book has been shortlisted for the Orange Award for New Writers 07. It will be published by Pan in Paperback on 2nd August 2007.
Media contact: Kate Eshelby

Dance company Akademi will unveil its production Dreaming Now at this year’s Trafalgar Square Festival, before performances in Birmingham and Manchester.

The production is a re-working of the highly acclaimed Sapnay, directed by esteemed choreographers Gauri Sharma Tripathi, Mavin Khoo and Jennifer Irons, with an inspiring cast of dancers led by Seeta Patel and Jasmine Simhalan (pictured). Rhythmic soundscapes have been produced by internationally renowned DJ Per Qx, with eastern influences by Niraj Chag.

The Trafalgar Square Festival is part of the India Now festival and will run on 3rd – 5th August. See their website for Birmingham and Manchester details.
www.akademi.co.uk

Ethnic marketing agency The Marketing Effect has successfully retained an account in a 3 way pitch which it will be managing for Media Trust in association with Voluntary Arts England.

It will work on a new nationwide campaign called Up for Arts which aims to encourage participation in voluntary arts and crafts activities within ethnic communities, disabled and unemployed groups. The Marketing Effect has been working with Media Trust since late 2006 to increase awareness of volunteering opportunities within key groups who are at risk of social exclusion.

Dancer and choreographer Honey Kalaria is one of the participants at the BBC Proms this year, in a surprise announcement. The business woman and performer’s dance academy will feature at the Blue Peter Prom on 21st July alongside the Bollywood Brass Band.

She first opened the British Asian dance academy in 1997. and has choreographed dance for students of all ages and cultures, some of whom appeared in Bollywood hit movie ‘Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham’.

Actress Shilpa Shetty joined London Mayor Ken Livingstone and actress Joanna Lumley at London Bridge Pier earlier this week, to unveil India Now – the three-month festival of events and exhibitions dedicated to Indian art, film, theatre, music, fashion, food and business. More on the festival here.

Shyam Benegal, one of India’s best known directors, has announced he will be making an international film on the life of Noor Inayat Khan, the courageous Indian woman who was a secret agent for the British in the Second World War and was awarded the George Cross for her bravery.

Based on the best-selling and critically acclaimed book The Spy Princess by Shrabani Basu, with a screenplay written by Lord Meghnad Desai and Kishwar Desai, the film will include spoken English, French, German and Hindi together for the first time.

The film is currently in pre-production. More on Noor Inayat Khan here.

DJ Neev is being given a new slot on London’s Kiss 100 station where she can now be heard every weekday 12-3pm. The young, brassy and confident presenter has been part of the Kiss 100 family since 2004, not only presenting but also producing and doing voice-overs. After a recent stint of presenting the daily 3-6am slot on Kiss, which she describes as her ‘dream station’, Neev says she is “delighted” to be the new host of the lunchtime slot.

Andy Roberts, Group Programme Director at Kiss, said “Neev has done great work on building Kiss’s early morning audience over the last few months and now I feel its time for her to step up and host Kiss London’s new lunchtime show.”
www.neev.co.uk

From the authors of Warrior Saints and Sicques, Tigers or Thieves comes a new online exhibition that explores the fascinating Anglo-Sikh relationship over 200 years – a relationship that has touched and shaped the lives of millions. Through illustrations and detailed captions, the key events and people concerned are presented in eight sections, from the rise of the Sikh kingdom of Lahore in 1801 to the settling of the Sikh Diaspora in Britain in the twentieth century. Sometimes as friends, other times as foes, the Sikhs and the British have had one of the most rich and intriguing of partnerships.

More information.

Music and a real-life story are being used to improve the levels of awareness of hepatitis C among the South Asian community.

The ‘My Story’ CD has been created by the Department of Health’s FaCe It hepatitis C awareness campaign and features music from some of the world’s hottest Asian artists, including Kamaal Khan, Hadiqa Kiani and Adnan Sami. The tracks surround a frank interview by top TV health presenter Yasmin Qureshi with Shabana Begum, a Pakistani woman who recounts her experience with hepatitis C, a virus which affects the liver. The CD also features advice from healthcare professionals about transmission routes and available treatment.

Although hepatitis C can affect anyone from any background, there is emerging evidence that the prevalence within the South Asian community in this country may be higher than in the general population.

In partnership with the Mayor of London’s India Now 2007 season the ICA in London is hosting three events for July and August.

27th July – Futureworld cities: Mumbai. Part of a series of club/lounge nights exploring global cultures after dark, will feature DJs, performers and film.
3rd August – I for India. Documentary about one family’s experience of immigration to the UK over forty years as seen through home movie footage
17-31st August – BollyHorror. A season of 7 horrors from South Asia from gore to ghosts and many more.

TV Chef Anjum Anand grew up in London but has worked across the world in restaurants such as Café Spice in New York, the Mondrian Hotel in Los Angeles, and the Park Royal Hotel’s Indian restaurant in New Delhi. She rejects the assertion that Indian food is heavy and difficult to cook and is determined to make “cooking an Indian” as common as rustling up a stir-fry.

Her new TV series, Indian Food Made Easy, started on BBC2 on Monday, July 9. A book of the same name will accompany the series published by Quadrille on August 3.

Pakistan’s top pop artists have gathered together for the first time to record Yeh Hum Naheen, which has become a smash hit across the country. The song denounces terrorism throughout the world and says that true Muslims do not support terrorism.

The track, featuring the vocal talents of Pakistan’s biggest artists such as Haroon, Ali Haider, Ali Zafar, Strings, Shufqat Amanat Ali and Hadiqa Kiani and will be released on FNIK Music in the UK via iTunes and mainstream outlets on July 16th 2007. The song has been written by Ali Moeen, one of Pakistan’s leading lyricist, while the music has been arranged by Shuja Haider, who is one of Pakistan’s most well known music composers.

The song was the brainchild of writer Waseem Mahmood: “The idea behind “Yeh Hum Naheen” came about because my children were fed up with the way in which some misguided people were high-jacking Islam and putting forward a message of radicalization and terrorism which was at odds with what the majority of Muslims believe. My children told me that I had to do something to stop this perception and thus the “Yeh Hum Naheen” concept was born!”

Media contact: FNIK PR on 07831 556 951 / fnik@btconnect.com

A special preview screening of a powerful new Indian film, which will be attended by internationally acclaimed Indian actress Nandita Das, is being held in Wimbledon next week to raise awareness of mental wellbeing among the area’s Asian communities. The screening is being held as part of the Happy Soul Festival, a pioneering festival of Asian films exploring wellbeing.

Maati Maay, or ‘A Grave-Keeper’s Tale’, is directed by Chitra Palekar and based on a short story by Mahasweta Devi. Alongside Nandita Das as Chandi, it stars Atul Kulkarni as her husband Narsu, an undertaker, and Kshitij Gavande as Bhagirath, his son. The film previously debuted at the London Film Festival last October.

Entrance to screenings (8th – 12th July) and talks is free but must be pre-booked. For more information and to book call 020 8772 5559.

After the success of last summer’s radio show ‘Tigerstyle Presents…’ series on BBC Radio Scotland, the station has launched a brand new music strand playing new Asian urban music starting 3rd July.

Upcoming presenter Ravi Sagoo has been signed on to take the helm and anchor the series in its second outing having produced last year’s series. Ravi was previously one of the winning finalists of the BBC’s New Talent Radio Presenter Search 2005/06, after which he was signed to pilot the Chart Show on BBC Asian Network. Scottish Bhangra production duo Tigerstyle will join Sagoo as his weekly guest contributors / session artists.
Broadcast 3rd of July to 7th of August; Tuesday nights 8-10pm, repeated Sundays 6-8pm.

Now an internationally famous actress, Parminder Nagra is to receive an honorary degree from University of Leicester next week. She began her career in the theatre world as an usher at Leicester’s Haymarket Theatre at the age of 16 and not long after started appearing on stage.

Her first role was in a musical, Nimai, with Leicester-based theatre company, Hathi Productions, soon after she had taken her A-levels. When the lead actress was taken ill Parminder stepped into her part. She later starred as Jess in Bend it Like Beckham and currently plays Neela in ER.

Watermans Theatre in west London is showcasing the UK premiere of Building Sight, a project bringing together a group of art practitioners looking the city and the politics of urban development, through new media technology in creative and innovative ways. It has been developed by Raqs Media Collective.

“We are living in Delhi at a time when the city is becoming a significant (and much-hyped) node in the network of global capital. This moment is accompanied by a colossal process of destruction and construction, especially as the approaching 2010 Commonwealth Games provide a basis for a ‘modernizing’ consensus. Currently, we see older residential and commercial forms de-legitimized, evicted and destroyed and built over with a new infrastructure of transport networks, shopping malls and ‘heritage sites’ appropriate to a global city,” says Monica Narula, one of the curators.

www.watermans.org.uk
29th June – 9th September / Daily: 12 noon – 9pm, free.

In 2002 in the American journalist Daniel Pearl, South Asian Bureau chief for the Wall Street Journal, was researching a story on shoe bomber Richard Reid. The story drew him to Karachi where a go-between had promised access to an elusive source. As he left for the meeting, he told his wife Mariane he might be late for dinner. He never returned.

A film on the life the journalist, starring Angelina Jolie as his wife, opens across theatres in America tomorrow. A Mighty Heart will then open in India on September 14th. The film also stars actor Irfan Khan (The Warrior, Namesake) and British actress Archie Panjabi (Bend it Like Beckham).

DJ San-j-Sanj is working on a new project, with backing from a major international record company, to compile an album for the 60th independance day of India and Pakistan in August

“I need songs for the album which reflect peace, none of the lyrics should look back to 60 years ago or any mention of India or Pakistan or any country. The album is about world peace, you can sing about war, knife/gun culture etc and in any language,” he told AIM magazine.

There is no cash advance budget but there will be a contract for royalties on sales. An ad campaign and video is also planned. Interested musicians can get in touch by email: bollyparty@hotmail.com

The BBC’s attempt to revive Jade Goody’s career through an interview with Piers Morgan, for You Can’t Fire Me, I’m Famous, will be broadcast next month. The new series was originally pushed back until Autumn.

It will feature Morgan talking with Goody about the events surrounding this year’s crisis-hit Celebrity Big Brother. Morgan is seen as largely sympathetic towards Goody during filming and sources say he blamed much of her situation on her upbringing and the public’s obsession with celebrity. Goody frequently breaks down in tears during the interview.

Earlier this year television producers told AIM magazine it was ‘a scandal’.

Actor Kabir Bedi will join William Hague MP, Ian McCartney MP and Michael Moore MP, on June 19th 2007 at the House of Commons to hold a birthday reception for the world’s only Nobel Peace prize political prisoner, Aung San Suu Kyi.

She is the democratically elected leader of Burma and is to spend her 62nd birthday in isolation under the rule of the military junta. This is the 11th birthday she has endured while under house arrest. Theatres and venues across the world are joining together to read an extract of a new play about her on the day.
Media contact: Suki Dusanj on 0207 324 4716

On June 16th BBC Asian Network will launch a flagship Bollywood show called Love Bollywood. Passionate and irreverent in style, the four-hour show every Saturday will focus on the latest Bollywood releases and star interviews. Another four-hour show on Sunday will provide industry hits – classic and new – that shape the world’s biggest film industry.

Sheetal Parmar, the show’s producer says of the new show, “Love Bollywood is an in depth look at Bollywood films, the stars and the industry, but for the first time, it’ll be predominantly about the audience and their experience of it. Many British Asians have been brought up with Bollywood and it’s a part of their cultural make up whether they like it or not! It’s ambitious and bold, and very exciting to be able to produce something like this.”

Bollywood aficionados Raj& Pablo will be presenting on Saturday, whilst Asian Network and Zee TV’s Murtz will present on Sunday with Rajini Vaidynathan, from Radio 1.

Rajini says: “People might think it’s a bit odd me doing this with a background from News, but anyone who knows me will know I’m mad about Bollywood, just like most British Asians who’ve been brought up on a diet of Bollywood films. I’m really happy to be involved with something so different, and to be able to indulge in a guilty pleasure!”

A retrospective exhibition dedicated to the paintings of controversial Pakistani artist, Tasaduq Sohail, will open at The Noble Sage Gallery on 20th June.

Sohail fled his homeland in 1961 to start a new life in the UK. Though far away, the oppression and violence that he encountered as a young man after partition never left him. The paintings in this exhibition, all executed in London, respond to his past with a biting, satirical wit as much as with a strange, macabre vision of the world.

Rebellious and prolific, Tasaduq Sohail is today certainly one of the most renowned contemporary artists of Pakistan. At 77 years old, he has had over 40 solo exhibitions to date, more than 25 in Pakistan and 15 internationally. A month back, a painting sold for well above double the starting estimate at a Bonhams auction. Sohail is finally enjoying the success he deserves after more than forty years of toil to break the London art scene.

The British Film Institute is collaborating with Nitin Sawhney and the London Symphony Orchestra to present a live accompaniment to a very rare silent film film called A Throw of Dice in Trafalgar Square on Thursday 30th August.

The film has been restored by the BFI. It is a splendid epic of love and loss where a woman’s fate relies on A Throw of Dice.

Directed by Franz Osten, a German, it was filmed in India and is a very rare example of an early film made in India. It is also hugely entertaining and Nitin Sawhney’s score (soon to be released on CD) makes for a very special experience.

Lord of the Rings, the first major stage adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s classic trilogy, will premiere in London at Theatre Royal Drury Lane on Tuesday 19 June. The production has been billed by critics as a mesmerising and spectacular theatrical event, featuring an ensemble of over 70 actors, singers and musicians.

It will feature music by Bollywood composer, A.R. Rahman, along with performances from Finland’s most contemporary folk music group, Värttinä.

A London television production company is developing an enquiring and quirky documentary to be shown on British TV about people in the UK who share a bed every night, looking at the myriad of behaviours we deal with while falling asleep, staying asleep and waking up each morning beside a partner.

Mixing light-hearted humour and serious analysis, it’ll explore the daily routines and realities of sharing a bed with another person, revealing much that is important – and much perhaps that isn’t so important – about sleep, relationships and modern British society.
To find out more, go to www.bedsharing.co.uk