PEOPLE
Blocking Big B
Who, you might wonder, might have the ability
to block an Amitabh
Bachchan film? We hear
it is none other than M
Night Shyamalan.
According to
the Hindustan Times, the
Bollywood superstar’s
film Johnny
Mastana hasn’t hit the
theatres yet, at the behest
of the Philadelphia-
based filmmaker. ‘In 1994,
Shyamalan sold the rights to his story Labor Of
Love to Fox Studios… but the movie wasn’t made.
Years later, UTV bought the rights of Labor Of
Love to make into Johnny Mastana since
Shyamalan was apparent-
ly not keen on turning the
story into a film,’ the
newspaper writes. A
source adds, ‘But
as Johnny
Mastana neared comple-
tion, Shyamalan changed
his mind and stated that
he wanted to make the
film based on his story.
Sharon Mathai, second from left, with her father, mother and brother
The right Voice?
FACEBOOK.COM/MATHAIMUSIC
For those of us who heard her at the audition (India Abroad, March 30),
Sharon Mathai’s inclusion in the top 24 on NBC’s The Voice came as no surprise. And if her first
performance in the battle round is any indication, she is in for the long haul. The 19-year-old
sang John Legend’s Ordinary People, giving it a twist that had judge Adam Levine calling her
‘magical.’ The audience obviously agreed; Mathai was the first Team Adam contestant who was
announced safe. Atta, girl!
We are surprised to learn that after wrapping
up the shoot for The
Reluctant
Fundamentalist, filmmaker Mira Nair hasn’t
returned to the United
States for post production. According to
Mumbai Mirror, she has
chosen to get her much
awaited cinematic adaptation of Mohsin Hamid’s
namesake novel edited in
Mumbai by Shimit Amin
(who directed Chak De!
India). ‘It is for the first
time that I am doing my
film’s post production
here, because it is so economical.
Also to have Shimit Amin editing
On Mira’s trail
Mira Nair
Shimit Amin
my film is a miracle,’ Nair tells
the newspaper. ‘I first invited
him to lecture at my film
school in East Africa last
summer. He happily came
for two weeks to teach. I
loved his movies. He told
my writer Sooni
Taraporewala how much he
liked my work and how my
film Mississippi Masala
had changed his life.’ The
film about an Indian family
that is exiled from Uganda
resonated with Amin
because he was born there,
and his family was also
exiled. ‘We started talking
and I had no idea he was a
professional editor. I offered
that he edit The Reluctant
How to fight a rumor like Nikki
Unless you have been liv- ing in a cave, it would have been impossible to
miss the latest Nikki
Haley rumor — that she was
about to be indicted. It started
as an unfounded report on a lit-
tle-known blog and spread like
wildfire before truth — that
there was no tax investigation
against her — had a chance of
taking a stand. The South
Carolina governor, as we all
know by now, is no stranger to
fighting rumors, and we have to
say we are impressed by how she
has used this latest attack to sell
her recently released book. She
sent out an e-mail, saying, ‘Two
articles have been written, one
in The New York Times and one
in The Washington Post (with
Pulitzer Prize-winning colum-
nist Kathleen Parker, a moder-
ate conservative columnist,
jumping to Haley’s defense)
regarding an unfounded report
that was spread recently from a
blog. It quickly skyrocketed into
national circulation. There was
absolutely no truth to the blog report… This is not the first time unreliable
rumors have been spread. In my new book, Can’t Is Not an Option, I
explain how I have been able to deal with false rumors and overcome try-
ing times. This is another reason why I am so honored to be able to share
my story with you.’ The guv sure knows how to give it back!
Nikki Haley JIM YOUNG/REUTERS
Telugu teen, literary
icon in the US
In January, Bhavyasri Kodali was just another Simi Valley, California,
high school student — taking
advance placement classes,
volunteering at a hospital,
dreaming of becoming a doctor and writing as a hobby.
Just three months later, she is
no longer another American
teen. She is well set on her
way to being a successful
author. Her debut novel,
Vindictive, has sold over
25,000 copies since January.
Vindictive is about three
friends whose curiosity unravels a dangerous secret behind
a friend’s death. ‘It took about
three months,’ Bhavyasri tells
the Deccan Chronicle. ‘I was
not sure that it would be so
successful. This was something I did for entertainment
and fun, almost like a hobby. I
was not expecting it to get
published at all. It all came as
a big surprise and I am very
fortunate.’ But the success
hasn’t made the teen, whose family hails from Andhra Pradesh, lose her
focus. ‘I want to become a doctor in the long run, but now I want to focus
on getting my pre-medical degree and perhaps writing a sequel,’ she says.
Bhavyasri Kodali
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