Saturday, January 31, 2009
Many within Asian media were in shock this week when it emerged that 41 year old writer Sharat Sardana died on Tuesday this week.
Known most famously for co-writing sketches for Goodness Gracious Me, Sharat had gone on to set up Gasp Productions along with co-workers Anil Gupta and Ash Atalla.
He also wrote for Kumars at No. 42 and was seen as a leading talent in British comedy.
Meera Syal and Sanjeev Bhaskar released a statement today saying they were “stunned and completely broken hearted about Sharat’s death”.
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Thursday, January 29, 2009
An Indian sociologist walks into a housing project in Chicago with a questionnaire and walks straight into a lethal gang of drug leaders. Among his questions: “How does it feel to be black and poor?“.
Not only do they think he’s Mexican, and possibly a decoy for a gang attack, the suggested answers to the question are just as surreal: “very bad; somewhat bad; neither bad nor good; somewhat good; very good.” The gang members just laugh at him.
And so begins a journey by one man, sociologist Venkatesh Prasad, to live among one of Chicago’s most notorious drug gangs to find out more about their lives.
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Thursday, January 29, 2009
Zee TV will host its annual Zee Carnival from 13th to 15th February at Olympia, London, despite worries that the recession will hold back Asian visitors.
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Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Eastern Eye isn’t the first title to face major economic problems at Ethnic Media Group. In fact, as long as the company has been around, it has gone through a myriad of niche publications targeting blacks and Asians. Many failed, others were sold off.
This handy list might offer some idea of how the industry has changed over the years.
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Tuesday, January 27, 2009
The annual Karachi Film Festival is in danger of going under forever unless new funds are found. That was the plea last week of founder Hasan Zaidi who is asking for donations to help sustain a slimmed down version of the film festival.
In an appeal sent out to supporters, he said that the festival had been scheduled for February but the global recession meant many of the sponsors had pulled out at the last minute.
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Tuesday, January 27, 2009
A poisoned teacup, a mysterious ‘Monsieur’, a profusion of flowers and two sisters caught up in a fantasy of conspiracy and murder. When left alone in the house, Claire and Solange Lemercier indulge in secret rituals of hatred and revenge, directed against their wealthy employer.
They both love and hate their mistress and are drawn daily to act out fantasies of power and submission. Will the game ever reach its conclusion and with what consequences?
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Friday, January 23, 2009
Slumdog Millionaire has become the first British film with a heavy Indian presence to scoop as many as 10 Oscar nominations.
The Academy Awards announced yesterday that it was also in contention for the prestigious Best Picture award.
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, which stars Brad Pitt, lead the field with 13 Oscar nominations.
Young actor Dev Patel (pictured) said he was amazed. “When we first began working on the film I don’t think any of us ever imagined that we might end up attending the Oscars ceremony as a result.”
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Thursday, January 22, 2009
Ethnic Media Group’s decision to sell off its flagship Asian newspaper Eastern Eye represents a big change in its long, turbulent history.
In a statement to AIM magazine today, editor Hamant Verma said: “Now that we no longer have to subsidise New Nation, I hope that Eastern Eye may at long last have the resources to realise its full potential.”
That suggests significant internal tensions over how EMG’s two main newspapers were faring and possibly points to a struggle over resources.
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Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Asian newspaper Eastern Eye has been sold by its owner Ethnic Media Group (EMG) to another company, AIM magazine can exclusively reveal. The deal was completed today afternoon.
Eastern Eye is now owned by Asian Media & Marketing Group (AMG), which also publishes Garavi Gujarat, GG2 Life magazine, Asian Trader and other publications in the UK.
EMG’s other flagship publication, New Nation, which is aimed at British Africans and Carribeans, is still up for sale.
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Wednesday, January 21, 2009
British film Slumdog Millionaire managed the rare feat of increasing its takings and shooting to the Box Office top spot in its second week of release.
Nielsen EDI, the industry body that monitors figures said it was the most successful second weekend ever recorded for a film that had not substantially increased the number of cinemas it was screening at.
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Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Singer Jay Sean releases his new single Tonight this week. It was available through iTunes and other online stories on 19th January and will be available in high street stores by 26th January.
Over the past year the singer has toured around the world, including Dubai, Japan, Beirut, USA, Poland, Russia, Germany, India and Romania.
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Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Asian Woman magazine will be hosting its annual Asian Bride Show this weekend – Saturday 24th and Sunday 25th January. The event will be held at London’s Wembley Stadium.
The event will feature designers, photographers, beauticians, caterers, cars, wedding businesses and brands from around the world. It will also showcase latest designs on a model catwalk and music acts throughout both days.
Sunday, January 18, 2009
BBC newsreader Tasmin Lucia Khan, formerly a Zee TV presenter, gets the Daily Mail treatment today. A Mail on Sunday story remarks on a recent incident where the 28 year old Oxford economics graduate ran short of words while presenting a BBC Three news bulletin.
She started off with a nervous sounding ‘Hi, I’m Tasmin’, but when she followed this with: ‘Here’s a quick reminder of the global news channels’, her enunciation appeared noticeably peculiar, placing unwarranted emphasis on the word ‘quick’, which she stretched out.
She then moved on to the first snippet of news: ‘A missing businessman’s been found alive in a Florida campsite…’ she purred, her voice rising conspicuously at the end of the final word. She managed to end the sentence with ‘…three days after his plane crashed’ – but not before gasping very audibly between the words ‘days’ and ‘after’. The next item never materialised, as she stopped talking altogether. In the seconds that follow, she is heard sighing.
Read the full story here.
Saturday, January 17, 2009
by Navjot Singh
Travel writer
I first started writing about China when I went to visit the southern city of Guangzhou, which is the capital of Guangdong Province, for a one week holiday in autumn 2002. Initially it was only meant to be a short holiday and I had no firm intention to live in the country on a long term basis. Prior to this trip I had very little knowledge about the country, its people and the Chinese culture.
That one week’s vacation, plus a further opportunity to come and work in Hong Kong at a future date laid the firm foundations for me to turn all those situations related to culture shock which I came across, both in and outside the corporate environment, into a diary format.
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Friday, January 16, 2009
Slumdog Millionaire shocked the film world today by receiving 11 nominations for Bafta awards, it was announced today.
It is competing against other films in these categories: Best Film, Outstanding British Film, Adapted Screenplay, Cinematography, Editing, Music, Production Design and Sound. Danny Boyle is nominated for Director, Dev Patel for Best Leading Actor and Freida Pinto receives a nomination as Best Supporting Actress.
A vigorous debate has also blown up in India over whether it is being favoured because it has a white director.
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Thursday, January 15, 2009
Leicester Square, London, was the host to the premiere of the Bollywood flick From Chandni Chowk to China on Monday night.
Directed by Nikhil Advani (Kal Ho Na Ho) and starring Akshay Kumar, with Deepika Padukone playing his romantic interest in the film, it also features Mithun Chakraborty, Gordon Liu (Kill Bill Volume One and Two) and Roger Yuan (Batman Begins, Bulletproof Monk).
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
The British film Slumdog Millionaire has made a bigger than expected splash in the UK following its success in the United States.
The film won four prestigious Golden Globe awards last week at a ceremony in Los Angeles. Bollywood composer AR Rahman got the biggest cheer of the night with an award for Best Original Score. He became the first Indian to win a Golden Globe.
Slumdog Millionaire also scooped up awards for Best Drama, Best Director (Danny Boyle) and Best Screenplay. The Globe wins also make it more likely that it win an award at the upcoming Oscars.
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Friday, January 9, 2009
AIM magazine’s story earlier today forced Channel 4 to confirm its appointment of former MP Oona King as its new head of diversity.
Ms King will report directly to chief executive Andy Duncan when she starts in the spring of this year. Channel 4 will take stewardship of the much derided Cultural Diversity Network from this year and Oona King will help steering it forward.
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Friday, January 9, 2009
Channel 4 is planning to announce former Member of Parliament Oona King as its new head of diversity, AIM magazine can exclusively reveal.
Two executives close to the decision independently confirmed that Ms King, formerly the MP for the east London constituency Bethnal Bow and Green, was soon to take over.
The decision has potentially big ramifications because, as one source said, it was a very political move.
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Friday, January 9, 2009
The deadline is approaching for talented performance artists to take part in the 2009 decibel Performing Arts Showcase, which will take place in Manchester from 15-18 September 2009.
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Friday, January 9, 2009
Are arranged marriages over… Is the web a new match maker?
Contemporary British Asians are moving away from the traditions of arranged marriage and are looking at new ways of finding a life partner, exploring new methods to find their soulmate. We all ask ourselves, “will I ever find the one?”, “what’s the secret to happiness?’’ “is the grass really greener on the other side?”
That is the subject of Rifco Arts’ new production: ‘Where’s My Desi Soulmate?’
It used to be so simple. Boy meets girl over a plate of samosas in Auntie Bimla’s living room.
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Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Various British Asians, in the media and elsewhere, will be honoured by the Queen according to the New Years Honour list, released last week. [full list below]
Most notably, Dr Anita Kumari Bhalla (pictured), currently editor of Public Space at the BBC, is being honoured with an OBE for services to broadcasting.
Ms Bhalla has had a long career at the BBC, including as head of Political and Community Affairs for the English Regions and and as community affairs correspondent for BBC News. She was also a presenter at Channel 4′s Eastern Eye and a member of the Independent Commission on Social Justice.
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