Cockney Curry

Crossing the Rubicon8226; The POound 60 million BBC drama on the early days of the Roman Empire is one of the most costly mini-series to h...

Crossing the Rubicon
8226; The POound 60 million BBC drama on the early days of the Roman Empire is one of the most costly mini-series to hit our screens. So it8217;s heartening to see a British Asian actress being given a role on prime-time that isn8217;t, well, automatically just another British Asian character. Indira Varma, whose career has been somewhat patchy since the mid-1990s when she had a sizzling role in Kama Sutra, has now got the opportunity for mass viewing. She plays the role of Niobe, the wife of one of the Roman lieutenants, fighting for Julius Caesar, who is reunited with her husband after eight years of him being away in Gaul. It8217;s a reasonably meaty role and, best of all, even though critics have savaged the drama8217;s producers for making this a cheap ratings-chaser with overly lengthy sex and violence scenes, Indira gets to keep her clothes on. A welcome change from type-casting, then.

Steeled to Win
8226; London may be beavering away with plans for the 2012 Olympics to be hosted in the capital8212;and the Olympics team is still on a high after Dame Kelly Holmes won a gold medal. But could this be the one where Indian athletes also strike gold? Not content with striking for steel, the Mittal family have now set their sights on an ore of even higher worth than that which has made Lakshmi Mittal Britain8217;s wealthiest NRI. But this time it8217;s investing in medals for India with their recent launch of the Mittal Champions Trust, which will invest Rs 40 crore in training and providing support for young athletes. Mittal8217;s son-in-law, Amit Bhatia, is the family8217;s ambassador for pushing this initative. Though Mittal is known for being a killer tennis-player, his young son-in-law8217;s sporting prowess is yet to be reported. But then, they have got Rahul Dravid on the board so let8217;s assume he8217;ll be getting some spinning tips.

Subcontinental spice
8226; Although Prime Minister Tony Blair and his wife have long experienced the downside of association with the Hindujas, it seems Asian businessmen who come into their circle have an unhealthy tendency to bring scandal with them, and to New Labour. Recently it was cabinet minister David Blunkett, who was forced to resign for his involvement with Tariq Siddiqui8217;s bioscience company.

Now comes news that Cherie Blair8212;patron of the Asian Women of Achievement Awards8212;had attended private events held by Nighat Awan, winner of one of the Asian Women of Achievement awards. Awan is linked to Siddiqui8217;s company she is his sister, completing the circle of embarrasment. Awan built her fortune on a chain of restaurants, Shere Khan, and making spicy ready-made sauces. Isn8217;t the Indian subcontinent bringing just a little too much masala into the lives of the Blairs?

Robina Dam is Editor of Shoo Magazine. http://www.shoomagazine.com

Bollywood Circus
8226; The Asian lifestyle exhibition, National Mela, just seems to be growing each year. And this year8217;s event sees Bollywood actress Juhi Chawla flying over here to attend it. 8216;8216;I8217;m really looking forward to spending time with my fans in the UK. I8217;ve heard so much about this show; I can8217;t believe I am finally going to make it.8217;8217; Other actresses coming to add some Bombay glitz are Anjali from Kkavyanjali and Parvati from Kahaani Ghar Ghar Kii. The Mela takes place this weekend at the NEC in Birmingham.