Art Malik, Bhaskar, Charlie Dimmock in The Kumars at No. 42

The short, dimpled man probably realised that as a computer programmer he stood a zilch possibility of meeting the Queen. So he decided to win her over with his histrionics. Sanjeev Bhaskar, who created a flutter with Goodness Gracious Me-his admonition "kiss my chuddies" has woven its way into the Oxford English Dictionary-was invited for lunch at the Palace. Now the actor has moved to the bigger medium. With The Mystic Masseur and a three-picture deal for Miramax in the saddle, he is set to star in the film adaptation of Meera Syal's Anita and Me. "I'm not well-known like Shah Rukh Khan. I'm somewhere between him and Uncle Davinder who nobody knows," he says. Bhaskar's tongue, obviously, is firmly in cheek.

-Poonam Joshi

Star Doctor

As a doc, Pavan Grover knew that the way to tackle an itch is to scratch it. So he succumbed to the acting bug that had bitten him young and scripted Unspeakable, a 1 hr-43 min fast-paced psychological thriller. Playing the lead, Grover has performed his own stunts. Directed by Thomas Right of X-Files fame, the flick is headed towards Cannes. The doc, it's apparent, has got the prescription right.

Healing the World

Natrajan and Mukherjee with former colleague Luu Peng (left)

For a city yet to recover from the 9/11 catastrophe, Partitions could just prove to be the palliative. A play dealing with the subcontinental trauma of 1947, it is the brainchild of playwright Meena Natrajan and artistic director Dipankar Mukherjee, a duo that formed the Pangea World Theater in 1995. To reflect reality, the cast and crew of Partitions was hired locally with auditions in the Islamic Centre, temples and gurdwaras. Enthused by the full houses in Minneapolis in the nearly four weeks of performance that ended on April 28, the duo is now scouting the Big Apple for an opportunity to stage Partitions. Says Natrajan, "I believe this play can break some of the silence." About time too.

Prez the Issue
India? Or Pakistan? Even as the world speculates about America's choice of ally, atmospheric scientist V. Ramanathan has gone and assumed enviable respon-sibility. With his induction into the prestigious National Academy of Sciences, he has earned the distinction of being advisor to the US President on scientific matters. Ramanathan, 57, is optimistic that a solution can be found to the issue of containing global environmental degradation. "The problem can be resolved to everybody's satisfaction but it requires international cooperation. The key is transfer of technology that will help developing countries harness renewable energy sources," the professor says. Advantage India?