Track Record

After the sharp-shooting Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, Kennedy Chinna Ramu, 28, made the army proud by winning the Bangalore International Marathon, outpacing fancied Ethiopian runners. Ramu, also the Indian winner of the first Mumbai marathon in 2004, is among the probables training for a medal in the 2008 Olympics. Watch this space.

The Heat is On

Amitabh Bachchan described the shoot for this song sequence in Shaad Ali Sahgal's Bunty aur Babli as a hot and wet experience. Ah, it's not what you think. The Big B, who plays dcp Dasrath Singh, a character with a predilection for bomber jacket, gamcha, aviator glasses and bidi, had to shoot this rap song with choreographer Shiamak Davar's dancers in Filmistan studio at the height of the Mumbai summer. So for the record, the attire was the reason why the Big B was perspiring.

Beats Of Success

"Suphala is the next big thing," predicts Salman Rushdie. Er, another aspiring writer? No, it is New York-based tabla player Suphala Patanka. The Now, Suphala's second album blending the timeless and the new, just hit stores in the US. The Minneapolis native began training in music at the age of four, but though she studied the violin, it was a drum kit that struck a chord. "I picked up the tabla easily and enjoyed the sound," she says. Play on, girl.

Friendly Fire

Cross-border casting coups are quite the trend. The Pakistani actor to join the bandwagon is Sana Nawaz, to be seen in Ammtoje Mann's Kaafila. What's interesting is who stars opposite her-Sunny Deol, the eternal Pakistani bugbear. Mann says, "Nawaz plays an Afghan girl. We chose her, and not an Indian actor, as we wanted someone who was broad built and spoke Pushto and Pharsi." What we want to know is, will she kiss Deol?

-Compiled by Kanika Gahlaut

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