Spiderman's Indian avatar

As a teenager, Peter Parker ... oops! Pavitr Prabhakar was bitten by a radioactive arachnid, which infused him with the superhuman powers of Spiderman. Prabhakar grows up with these powers but also has the human failing for the femme fatale, Mary Jane ... oops! Meera Jain.

Come August, a home version of the successful comic strip Spiderman will be launched in India. Uncle Ben will be Uncle Bhim, Aunt May will give way to Aunty Maya and Norman Osborn (Green Goblin) will be replaced by Nalin Oberoi. And, of course, Mumbai replaces New York as the super hero's new home. It is a joint venture between Marvel Enterprises, owners of the Spiderman brand, and Gotham Entertainment Group, the Indian publishing licensee of Marvel Comics. Local customs and culture of modern India are woven in to make Spiderman's tales relevant for the Indian audience. "This project is what we call a 'transcreation', where we reinvent the origin of a property like Spiderman making him an Indian boy, dealing with local problems," says Sharad Devarajan, president and CEO, Gotham Entertainment Group.

The desi Spiderman has, for the first time, given an opportunity to Indian artist Jeevan J. Kang to draw, ink and colour the first four-part series. Marvel is also planning to release the Indian version of Spiderman in the US.

Hot on Spiderman's heels is the cult American children's programme Sesame Street that wants to be a part of the entertainment lexicon of Indian children. The project, to be recreated in Mumbai, entails a $15 million (Rs 68 crore) investment over four years. It will present educational messages on issues like gender equity to children through stories with characters, muppets and songs drawn from Indian culture. Exciting times for children. And adults.

-By Anil Padmanabhan

Wok Into It

DELHI If the walls are lilac sprinkled with Confucian wisdom and the DJ stirs your fondest memories, the food matters little. But the succulent cuisine at Wokorama, the new Oriental club at Delhi's Anupam PVR complex, spices up the ambience. Wokorama, a warrior tribe from the Forest of Fantasies, guarded culinary skills whispered to them by dragon gods. The golden fried prawns, vegetarian dragon rolls and the stir fry meals sound like usual fare but taste good. It is Saturday night, the restaurant is packed with guests and an 18-month-old baby dances non-stop, giving it the ultimate certificate of cheer.

-By Shefalee Vasudev

Rock for a Cause

members of Vedic Chants perform with streetchildren

The causerati continues to prosper. While U2's Bono is pining to restructure third world debt, singer Sting is struggling to save the rainforests. Closer home, Aishwarya Rai is teaming up with Amitabh Bachchan to campaign for Pulse Polio.

Bitten by the same bug is Action Aid India Society, which works for marginalised communities. It has brought one of the enduring crusades of all times-the plight of streetchildren to mainstream attention in a music video titled Khushi, the Joy of Giving. Presented by Vedic Chants, a Mumbai-based band, the video, now showing on Channel [V], captures stark moments of children robbed of their childhood. The music fades away as the screen fills up with images of forlorn children experiencing the trauma of poverty, bonded labour and starvation.

The video appeals because there is none of that rock star-rage-against-the-system. "These efforts are an attempt to help these communities meet their daily sustenance requirements," says Sidharth, founder of Vedic Chants. Rock and philanthropy may be a cynical combination. But it works.

-By Supriya Dravid

Right on Target

LAKSHYA Director: Farhan Akhtar Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Hrithik Roshan, Preity Zinta

War makes difficult cinema. Directors have to juggle patriotism, guns, dead bodies, speeches and songs. The best war films illustrate both-the heroism of ordinary men in extraordinary circumstances and the futility of battle. Farhan Akhtar ably navigates tough terrain (literally too because much of the film was shot in Ladakh).

Lakshya has ambition, scale and meticulous craft. Farhan, directing a screenplay by father Javed Akhtar, captures perfectly the aimlessness of upper middle-class youth. There is deadpan humour too. When his girlfriend's father asks him his plans, Karan- a cool dude laidback to the point of somnambulism-spews out his schedule for the day. His transformation into a soldier is engagingly told. But when the fighting starts, Lakshya falters.

The second half sags under uneven pacing and unnecessary songs. But even the film's dreariest portions are redeemed by technical finesse and a stunning performance by Hrithik Roshan. His searing, indignant conviction propels Lakshya beyond its flaws. Watch it.

-By Anupama Chopra

Shrikant Kadam pays tribute to Husain with "Dialogue

ART "Jiyo Hazaron Saal", an exhibition curated by Sanjeev Singhal as a tribute to M.F. Husain, travels to Bangalore this month. It assimilates the tributes by 44 of India's best contemporary artists from Pune on the occasion of Husain's 88th birthday. While some of them have painted Husain, others have created what describes Husain best. Predictably, most of them use the horse to pay tribute to the living legend. At Gallery G till June 29.

FOOD If you want to taste food from every street corner of India step into Chennai's Le Royal Meridien which is organising a month-long food festival called "Hawker's Street". Like the long Indian streets, the menu is endlessly varied-from tea or coffee to a variety of chaats, chole bhature, Chinese fried rice, grilled meats, Chettinad snacks, omelettes, kothu paratha and desserts like jalebis, inippu paniyaram (Chettinad sweet) and gulab jamuns. From June 25 and for dinner only.

Ciao Chef

GOA Want to spend the month of July cooking pasta in Goa? Well, here's your chance to add spice to the monsoon with some peppy penne and delectable cannelloni. Italian Chef Sarjano is organising a month-long Italian cooking workshop from July 1 at his restaurant kitchen in Vagator. And the cooking schedule is tres alluring with days being marked as Lasagne Day, Ravioli Day to The Day of the Cannibals (sauces made from all meats).

Osho disciple, photographer, journalist and now chef, Sarjano especially wants to encourage women to attend. "People in India are under the misconception that women can't work in restaurant kitchens. I want Indian women to prove them wrong," he says. The workshop will culminate in an Italian Food Festival at the Laguna Anjuna on July 31. For Sarjano, this is his way of "giving something back to India".

The course is open to beginners as well as professionals. The cost is Rs 5,000 per week and Rs 17,000 for the entire course, half price for women. Accommodation will be arranged for out-of-towners, says Sarjano. And from what we hear, some big Bollywood actors, in Goa for a shoot, were so enchanted by his cooking that they have already sent their cooks over to be trained by Sarjano. For more information write to swsarjano@hotmail.com.

-By Kimi Dangor

Divine Harmony

The Best of Bulleh Shah Music Today, Rs 99

Sufi music seems to be fast defining New Age devotional music. These two sets of albums, featuring some of the most well-known names in Sufi music, provide an abundance of rhythm and poetry.

In The Best of Bulleh Shah, different singers interpret verses composed by Sufi saint Bulleh Shah in their individual manners. Ghunghat chuk o sajna by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and the Wadali brothers and Tere ishq nachaya by Abida Parveen and Hans Raj Hans are live recordings so they have a verve rarely found in studio recordings.

The Best of Shah Hussain, includes a mix of Punjabi with Pothohari, Hindi, Persian and Arabic verses. Shah Hussain's poetry revolved around his pursuit to discover the self through God. Folk singer Barkat Sidhu renders a beautiful romantic celebration of love in Rabba mere haal da mehram tun. These albums won't disappoint anybody.

-By S. Sahaya Ranjit