Scribbling scribes

What do journalists do when they’re not newsmongering? Well, they write. And after having successfully ended the long-standing debate on whether or not hacks can write books, more and more of India’s leading scribes are repeatedly picking up the pen to express their thoughts outside news columns. Indrajit Hazra’s new novel The Bioscope Man is all set for a launch next week, and deals with its protagonist’s interactions with legendary German film-maker Fritz Lang in early 20th century Calcutta, which results in a film peppered with issues such as identity, representation and self-deception. And come November, Tarun Tejpal’s much-awaited second novel The Story of My Assassins will be hitting the shelves, supposedly telling the story of a journalist who rubs the establishment the wrong way with his — well — anti-establishment opinions. From features to news, these two seem to have covered it all. Albeit in a different medium.

Crooning glory?

Sarod maestro Amjad Ali Khan is all praise for a 13-year-old singing sensation. The girl in question is Tara L. Venkatesan, granddaughter of former president R. Venkataraman, who performed in front of an august gathering and wowed them with her vocal prowess. At Starz: music 4 Kids by Kids, an event organised by the NGO SOS Children’s Village in Delhi, Venkatesan took off with a lilting Panis Anjelicus by St Thomas Aquinas. She sang Bach and Mozart, and rounded off with a Tamil composition by Bharathiyaar. Venkatesan appears to be a voice for the future. Just ask Khan Sahab.

Pump the Ump

The man with the “crooked finger” — cricket umpire Brent ‘Billy’ Bowden — is no longer confined to the field: he is soon going to give star cricketers a run for their money. Apparently, Bowden is so popular that he may end up modelling for some top brands. “Billy is a character, and brands which are progressive and open to innovation would happily find a great brand fit with Billy. He is easily recognisable and has great ‘stand-out’ value,” says Navroze Dhondy, the head of Creatigies Communications, who is looking for “suitors” for Bowden. The man from New Zealand, currently officiating in the IPL matches, became a sensation worldwide with his unique decision-making style and showmanship on the field. Despite his antics, it is to be hoped that Bowden — who has remained in the top three ICC umpires’ ranking for a while now — carries the style to his ads.

Winning combos

Talk about hunting in pairs. The Kunal Kohli-Prasoon Joshi combo returns with the Saif Ali Khan-Rani Mukerji pair in Yash Raj Films’ Thoda Pyaar, Thoda Magic. The Kohli-Joshi combine has delivered hit numbers in Fanaa and Hum Tum (which also starred Saif and Rani). And if those two duos weren’t enough, the music for the film has been composed by the trio Shankar Ehsaan Loy — who are fresh off the resounding success of Taare Zameen Par. Yash Raj Films would have you believe the music is so “soulful” that it could make “your summer more pleasurable.” We knew music leads to healthier plants (Prince Charles will vouch for that) — but this is the first we are hearing about music having a hand in climate change. Is that why there is thunder in the air?

Son rise

Remember all that about the acorn and the oak tree? Well, this little one, if we can call him that, seems to have fallen right close to the father tree. Bappa Lahiri is following in the footsteps of Bappi Lahiri. No, we are not talking about dark glasses and gold chains — the boy is going great guns in the music world. He is all set to compose the music for Sanjay Gupta’s Alibaug. And it helps when your dad has been in the business for years. One of the songs is being sung by Lahiri senior with Sanjay Dutt. Bappa also arranged the music and assisted in composing songs for Shah Rukh Khan’s Kolkata Knight Riders. “It was a great experience to work with the superstar — he is so humble and has a great sense of music,” says Bappa, who is handling the music for the Ekta Kapoor and Sunil Shetty film C-Company. Music, Bappa says, is in his genes. We believe that, Bappa. Now rock the world!