“Salman was my first boyfriend. I had a huge crush on him as a teenager. The crush led me to leave Florida and move to India and join films just so I could find him and get married to him. You have a license for doing idiotic things when you’re 15. However, I do not have a single regret of pursuing my first love.”

Somy Ali chats about Salman Khan, the Single Life, and her non-profit No More Tears on ‘Sex and the Single Desi’

” Phew – Welcome to India, the land of colors, exaggeration, opportunism and couch patriotism.

I witnessed India’s second World Cup Cricket win last night very differently from the way I had done in 1983. In 1983, I was a kid who had fallen asleep out of exhaustion, in the middle of the night, in the living room of neighbors who were the proud owners of the only coveted Sony color TV in our whole apartment building.

Last night, 3/4ths of a Johnny Walker Black Label could not knock me out as I sat, eagle-eyed in front of my TV set. Biting my nails in anticipation, whistling in glee, trying to add my bit to my nation’s couch potato-ism, I gratefully witnessed that Midas Dhoni was up to his pranks yet again, and was steering his wobbly ship home yet again, as he has been doing for a number of times in the past five years.”
Guest Blogger Ayon Banerjee.

For fans of Indian cooking, what can be better than Madhur Jaffrey? – Madhur Jaffrey simplified! The noted cookbook writer, who has won the James Beard Award six times, has taught countless women – and men – how to cook. Now she’s set off on a very 21st century mission: Saving time in a hectic world. These recipes retain the classic touch without the classic toil of gourmet Indian food.

At I-View Film Festival 2010 , a powerful band of cinema warriors is coming to town – imagine directors like Vishal Bhardwaj, Aparna Sen, Onir, and Rituparno Ghosh in the flesh along with wonderful actors like Rahul Bose, Rituparna Sengupta, Konkona Sen, Raima Sen, and Juhi Chawla.

Who would have thought Osama Bin Ladin could make you smile? The face that gives one nightmares becomes central to ‘Tere Bin Laden’, a good-natured, cheeky comedy which is almost a fable about America’s war on terror.

What would the real Osama say if he saw ‘Tere Bin Laden’? Says director Abhishek Sharma, “I think even he would be amused to see the way we have used Bin Laden tapes to show the madness in the post 9/11 world.”

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Ever met a bartender who made $900 in tips in two hours? Meet Priyanka Mathew – she accomplished this – and all in the name of philanthropic imbibitions! Mathew, who is in reality Director of the Aicon Gallery in Manhattan, had probably never thought she’d be mixing drinks and looking for tips – until she went to Pakistan.

How can young girls get a sense of self and confidence in tackling the larger world? On the recent Take Our Daughters to Work Day, two South Asian organizations came together to make this a reality. South Asian Women’s Leadership Forum (SAWLF) partnered with South Asian Youth Action (SAYA!). Over 45 high school students got a chance to visit corporate offices such as JP Morgan Private Bank, Harper Collins, MTV, Infosys and Colgate, thanks to SAWLF women who are already working in these companies.

“Women have this idea of Prince Charming sweeping them off their feet and saving them from all evil and then living happily ever after,” says artist Ayesha Durrani. ” I object to this idea of women being helpless and needing to be saved. We grow up dreaming of that prince saving us from all evil and we develop into helpless needy people. We never allow the woman to grow up as a strong, intelligent person who can take care of herself and make her own decisions. Especially in the Subcontinent, women are completely dependent on their Prince Charming – who might not be that charming after all!”

The tragedy of Partition is almost Shakespearean in its fallout. It’s been over sixty-three years since this catastrophic event occurred yet its effects continue to unfold, like seismic aftershocks. No one on the Indian sub-continent has really escaped its scathing wounds as the two countries carved out of undivided India in 1947 – independent India and Pakistan – reel even today from the legacy of hatred and suspicion unleashed by the Partition. In reality, one people, one culture, today stand on opposite shores – We and They – talking in tongues which neither understands.
One would think that everything that had to be said about the Partition has been said but along comes Sarah Singh, an intrepid film-maker who has boldly gone into this troubled, calloused territory.

In this strong drama you see the intersection of politics, religion, corruption, and how the little guy is sucked into the games powerful people play.The script takes you from London to Pakistan – and you see the potholes, feel the heat and desperation, and sounds metamorphose into frenetic, imaginary pictures. The sounds of traffic, sirens, chanting of Hail Mary’s and Islamic prayers, echoes, distortions, clanging doors – even chilling silence – all bring the turmoil up-close.