Producer Afsana Amarsy

It's a pity that a beautiful beast like the Bengal tiger should fall prey to human avarice. But as long as there are people and organisations—like the wildlife charity Global Tiger Patrol— there is hope yet of salvaging the species. At a recent event organised in London's IMAX Cinema, over £7,000 were raised for the charity through donations and an auction of tiger works of art-a painting, sculpture and a set of unique tiger prints by specialist wildlife photographers. It was followed by a screening of India: Kingdom of the Tiger, a 2D large format film and the first of its kind to be shot in India. Several stars turned up at IMAX to show their support. The event was also attended by the film's producers, the husband-wife duo of Afsana and Ghulam Amarsy, and guest speaker Valmik Thapar, presenter of the acclaimed BBC documentary Land of the Tiger and a wildlife photographer.

Nausheen of Kkusum fame, Rai and Pataki

It's All About Money, Honey

New York Governor George Pataki got a surprise at a fundraiser organised by some Indian-Americans: the crowdpuller at the Republican gathering was none other than the doe-eyed actor Aishwarya Rai. At the end of the evening, which saw no speeches, Pataki's election campaign was richer by $60,000. Impressed by Bollywood support, the Governor promised the gathering that he would lead a business delegation to India.

Rich Haul

Poster of film Anarkali (1928)

While the going gets better for Bollywood, Hindi film memorabilia gets going under the gavel, courtesy Bowrings, the fine art auctioneers. They are holding an auction of exclusive Bollywood memorabilia in Delhi from October 19. Those across Indian boundaries can bid in absentia either by logging on to www.bowrings.com or telephonically by sending an e-mail to enquiries@bowringsauction.com for the auction house to call back on auction day-October 23-at 5 p.m. (IST). Go Bollywood or go bust. Or go both (items are priced Rs 20,000 onwards)!

Casting Coup

Malaika Arora, Sophiya Haque, Isha Koppikar ... Lucy Bartholomew. What could the connection be? Hint: think gyrations, and the answer-Bollywood's item girls-will follow! While Arora, Haque and Koppikar are firmly ensconced as the sought-after "other" girls, Bartholomew has just been snapped up by idream productions to do a nymphety number in their new film Samay. Says Karan Arora of Stance Media, London's casting and modelling agency that zeroed in on Bartholomew, "idream was looking for British Asian girls who can move well. We also tried casting some English girls and Bartho-lomew fitted the bill." The 20-year-old is flying to Mumbai next month for the shoot. "For long it has been Anglo-Indians and Scottish Indians who were selected, now it's time for the pure English to hit Bollywood," Arora adds. Right move.

Fair Weather

By now it is an accepted fact in that part of the world called the United Kingdom that all events touted as offering "a taste of India" have to mandatorily include Bollywood (that industry again!) and the all-important curry (cliched, but there's no escaping it). While MELA 2002, that gets underway this weekend, promises the essentials, it has much more in store: 10,000 sq m at the NEC, Birmingham, will be dedicated to everything Asian-from bindis, bangles, ayurveda and Indian head massage ... in short, all the delights of Asian food, fashion, music and entertainment. And what's more, some of the UK's best loved British-Asian celebrities will take to the Carlton Entertainment Stage for one-on-one interviews. Guests include Nina Wadia, star of Goodness Gracious Me and White Teeth; Ameet Chana from Bend It Like Beckham; veteran star Saeed Jaffrey; Meera Syal, author and comedienne; Sunetra Sarker, Brookside Close's very own Florence Nightingale; and Bollywood legend Anil Kapoor, who returns to the European nation after a long hiatus. There will also be performances by Haroon, Apache Indian, Sukhbir, Legacy, DCS, Harbhajan Mann and XLNC. That, indeed, is more than just a taste of India-it's a wholesome treat.

Picture Perfect

Not that a survey was required to announce its magnificent stature but Sholay (a still above)—the one Bollywood talkie that has stood the test of time with amazing steadfastness-has just underlined its cult status. A recent poll on Indian cinema by London's British Film Institute (BFI) placed Ramesh Sippy's 1975 "curry western" bang on top-ahead of Satyajit Ray's Pather Panchali, Mehboob Khan's Mother India and K. Asif's Mughal-e-Azam. The Indian film poll, part of BFI's ImagineAsia festival, is a component of a wider survey on South Asian cinema. Says Cary Sawhney, festival director, "Sholay has themes akin to the great Hollywood and Italian westerns , with a story of everyday heroes defending a village. It also has a spectacular villain, songs and an all-star cast ... It is the perfect Hindi film."

Heavy Duty

Doctor by day and writer by night is Sanjay Nigam, who is touching on the now-familiar subject of the Indian diaspora. The Transplanted Man (HarperCollins)—Nigam's second work in the past three years but what he calls "his latest effort"—is a magnum opus: it took 21 years in the making. "It started in my residency," says Nigam. Ask whether he sees himself as a writer or a physician and he quips: "That depends on the day."

-Bureau reports