In a lecture to the Royal Society of Arts this week, BBC Chairman Sir Michael Lyons said this, among other things:

Let me take as an example how the BBC can improve on its record of reaching ethnic minority audiences.

It has the scale and scope to be able to offer targeted channels such as the Asian Network, or BBC 1Xtra, the digital station for young black urban audiences. But the need to reach everyone should not be an excuse to go on creating more services. The BBC must also find ways to bring those audiences into mainstream output. That’s a real challenge, but it can be done.

There was an outstanding example on BBC One recently in the Number 1 Ladies Detective Agency, a wonderfully warm-hearted piece, set in Botswana, demonstrating all the hallmarks of high quality: good writing, great acting, strong production-values and so on.

Nearly 7 million people watched – well above the average for the Sunday night slot. And they loved what they saw - the appreciation index was significantly higher than the average for drama. But what was really interesting was that it drew a large black audience – much higher than the average for BBC One.

So it is possible to bring diverse audiences together to share a common BBC experience – if the BBC is prepared to take the necessary risks – in this case showcasing at primetime on the flagship channel an entirely black cast with Botswanan accents in an African setting.

Well said. But who is going to get the BBC Channel commissioners to listen? Number 1 Ladies Detective Agency was a wonderful piece of drama, but how often does something like that get commissioned?

Ever wondered what it must feel like to have started the Asian underground revolution? To have made 15 Bhangra albums, received gold discs and had your name in the Guinness book of records? Continue reading…

Producer / Director Fahima Sahabdeen of Sae University is casting for her final student short film production Terrorised. Continue reading…

by Satinder Chohan
Playwright

I began writing my first play ‘Zameen’ after reading about farmer suicides across India and in my ancestral homeland of Punjab.

I had always imagined Punjab as a lush green, mythological land of sturdy farmers, saints and warriors but discovered that in recent years, an ‘economics of genocide’ had driven thousands of its farmers to suicide.

According to vastly underestimated official figures, 150,000 Indian farmers took their own lives between 1997 and 2007. It was a story I felt compelled to tell.
Continue reading…

Singer Jay Sean releases his new album, My Own Way, from today. The album is available from most music retailers.

Nikita Lalwani’s multiple award nominated debut novel Gifted has been turned into a drama for BBC Radio 4. The drama serial will broadcast in the mornings next week.

Its cast will include Archie Panjabi, Sadia Ghaffar, Nina Wadia and Sagar Arya.
Continue reading…

British actress Rebecca Hazlewood’s new film - Kissing Cousins - has started doing the festival rounds in Los Angeles. The former Crossroads star left for Los Angeles a few years ago and returns to London on occasion.

Kissing Cousins is produced by Amyn Kaderali and Manish Goyal. Both were behind Call Center, a short film that became very popular on the web.

Kissing Cousins played at the Asian Pacific Film Festival last week and is currently touring other film festivals in the United States.
Continue reading…

BBC Asian Network’s publicist Dina Rana has moved on to the corporation’s Future Media team, to work on projects such as BBC iPlayer. Her last day with Asian Network will be Friday May 16th.

Her position will be filled by Andrew Bate, who previously handled publicity for Asian Network as well as Radio Five Live.

B4U Music has become the first and so far the only Asian channel to launch on the newly launched free-to-air satellite service: Freesat.

The BBC and ITV backed service will reach almost all of the UK and feature over 80 free digital channels - television, radio, interactive - plus high definition (HD) services from the BBC and ITV. Launched last week in the UK, Freesat has no subscription and no contract. It offers high definition digital television for for a one off payment, starting at £49.99, and an £80 installation fee.

It is unlikely many of the major Asian satellite channels will migrate to the service. A significant number of the big players including Sony, Zee and B4U still charge charge a monthly subscription via Sky. B4U Music is B4U’s only free to air channel.
www.freesat.co.uk

Health experts in the Midlands have produced a magazine specifically targetting British Asians to inform them about potentially fatal diseases.

The magazine, titled Apnee Sehat (Your Health), has been produced with help from the Department of Health and was was launched a fortnight ago by Prince Charles at an event in Coventry.

A number of DVDs and other educational pamphlets have also been produced to encourage older generation British Asians to learn more about a healthy lifestyle.
Continue reading…

A new play produced by Kali Theatre illustrates the impact of disastrous environmental damage and devastating effect on human lives by Genetically Modified seeds and Western pesticides in India.
Continue reading…

BBC Asian Network saw a massive jump in listeners over the last three months, figures released by the industry body Rajar showed this week.

In contrast Sunrise Radio, Kismat and Club Asia radio did not do so well.
Continue reading…