You know of Princess Di. Now hear about
Prince Daler. Following in the footsteps of the English rose, the Punjab da puttar did a
spot of fund-raising for cricketer Imran Khan. Last week, Daler
Mehndi became the first Indian artiste to perform for the Shaukat Khanum Memorial
Cancer Hospital, Lahore, reportedly raising (Pak) Rs 1 crore. During two musical events,
the glitterati dished out the moolah at the drop of a Balle balle from the pop star.
"Daler mesmerised the audience," screamed the daily, The Nation. "I'm
thankful to him," cried Khan. Pakistan's electorate may have rejected this guy, but
not Daler. "I will perform for Imran Khan wherever and whenever he invites me,"
he gushed, and if you're hoping for some diplomatic deliberation, here it is.
"Music," says the singer, "is the only way to improve Indo-Pak ties."
Never mind the Gujral doctrine; try the Daler doctrine instead.
Karma Come Alien
We all know the equator's hot. Here's the buzz: it just
got hotter. Blame it on Sir Peter Ustinov. In Following the Equator
with Sir Peter Ustinov -- a four-part series being made for Granada TV -- the
irrepressible actor-director-producer-playwright- novelist retraces an
around-the-world trip made by Mark Twain in the 19th century, and guess why we're telling
you this: we've just traced Sir Peter to India. He's not on holiday, folks. In Part 3 of
the series, the 76-year-old -- winner of Oscars, Emmies, even a Grammy -- explores
Darjeeling, Rajasthan, Mumbai and Varanasi, comparing his observations in 1997 with
Twain's 100 years ago. But oh dear, we have an inkling of what he might say. At a function
last week in Ajmer (see picture; at left is the Maharaja of Jodhpur), he spoke of
"that indefinable Indianness ... a certain mysticism ... spiritualism." Oh dear,
again. After all Sir Peter's no stranger to India. Remember 1984? It was on the way to an
interview with him that Mrs Gandhi was assassinated. Now karma calls again, or is it our
kismet that we be friends?
First Class
Was it an acting class or a class act? At a workshop
organised by Anupam Kher (he plans an acting school next year), the
teachers included the man himself, Naseeruddin Shah and Seema Biswas ("Anupam
insisted and I agreed"). And the students? Abhishek Bachchan, Uday Chopra (son of
Yash), Hrithik Roshan (son of Rakesh), and a few non-celeb others. "They're all
really good," says Divya Palad, one of the class, and yes, she gives the Big B's boy
a Big A. How about an A+ for Kher?
She's Arrived
Wife of Bollywood chatterbox Mahesh Bhatt; stepmom to the
whimsical Pooja -- if you thought that's enough for Soni Razdan, she'll
change your mind for you. Razdan has landed the lead in a film based on Rohinton Mistry's
novel, Such A Long Journey. It's been such a long journey for her too. The girl who got
noticed in films like Saransh never made the big league. "Material like this is very
rare," raves Razdan. No kidding. The novel won the Commonwealth Writer's Prize, and
the film, which co-stars Roshan Seth, is being made by Emmy-award winning Canadian
director, Sturla Gunnarson. Razdan's right. It's rare material.
You know of Princess Di. Now hear about
Prince Daler. Following in the footsteps of the English rose, the Punjab da puttar did a
spot of fund-raising for cricketer Imran Khan. Last week, Daler
Mehndi became the first Indian artiste to perform for the Shaukat Khanum Memorial
Cancer Hospital, Lahore, reportedly raising (Pak) Rs 1 crore. During two musical events,
the glitterati dished out the moolah at the drop of a Balle balle from the pop star.
"Daler mesmerised the audience," screamed the daily, The Nation. "I'm
thankful to him," cried Khan. Pakistan's electorate may have rejected this guy, but
not Daler. "I will perform for Imran Khan wherever and whenever he invites me,"
he gushed, and if you're hoping for some diplomatic deliberation, here it is.
"Music," says the singer, "is the only way to improve Indo-Pak ties."
Never mind the Gujral doctrine; try the Daler doctrine instead. 
We all know the equator's hot. Here's the buzz: it just
got hotter. Blame it on Sir Peter Ustinov. In Following the Equator
with Sir Peter Ustinov -- a four-part series being made for Granada TV -- the
irrepressible actor-director-producer-playwright- novelist retraces an
around-the-world trip made by Mark Twain in the 19th century, and guess why we're telling
you this: we've just traced Sir Peter to India. He's not on holiday, folks. In Part 3 of
the series, the 76-year-old -- winner of Oscars, Emmies, even a Grammy -- explores
Darjeeling, Rajasthan, Mumbai and Varanasi, comparing his observations in 1997 with
Twain's 100 years ago. But oh dear, we have an inkling of what he might say. At a function
last week in Ajmer (see picture; at left is the Maharaja of Jodhpur), he spoke of
"that indefinable Indianness ... a certain mysticism ... spiritualism." Oh dear,
again. After all Sir Peter's no stranger to India. Remember 1984? It was on the way to an
interview with him that Mrs Gandhi was assassinated. Now karma calls again, or is it our
kismet that we be friends? 
Was it an acting class or a class act? At a workshop
organised by Anupam Kher (he plans an acting school next year), the
teachers included the man himself, Naseeruddin Shah and Seema Biswas ("Anupam
insisted and I agreed"). And the students? Abhishek Bachchan, Uday Chopra (son of
Yash), Hrithik Roshan (son of Rakesh), and a few non-celeb others. "They're all
really good," says Divya Palad, one of the class, and yes, she gives the Big B's boy
a Big A. How about an A+ for Kher? 
Wife of Bollywood chatterbox Mahesh Bhatt; stepmom to the
whimsical Pooja -- if you thought that's enough for Soni Razdan, she'll
change your mind for you. Razdan has landed the lead in a film based on Rohinton Mistry's
novel, Such A Long Journey. It's been such a long journey for her too. The girl who got
noticed in films like Saransh never made the big league. "Material like this is very
rare," raves Razdan. No kidding. The novel won the Commonwealth Writer's Prize, and
the film, which co-stars Roshan Seth, is being made by Emmy-award winning Canadian
director, Sturla Gunnarson. Razdan's right. It's rare material. 
