Prutha Goa

Famous for his movies and serials, Saeed Akhtar Mirza has been successful in his career move to authoring books too. The director of National Award winning films Mohan Joshi Hazir Ho! (1984) and Naseem (1995) has also highly acclaimed serials Nukkad and Intezaar to his credit. He embarked on his career in films after working in the advertising industry for a while. He later became part of the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), Pune, India, and graduated from the institute in 1976. Having made a start with documentaries, his foray into parallel cinema was made with Arvind Desai Ki Ajeeb Dastaan (1978), which immediately thrust him into the echelons of the most talented filmmakers in India. By Satdeep Gill - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=52943784 Following the filming of Naseem , Mirza chose to divert his ideas into books such as Ammi: Letter to a Democratic Mother and The Monk, the Moor & Moses Ben Jalloun . Presently, he i

British Indian director, Waris Hussein was in attendance at Literati Book Shop in January, 2015, to speak about his experiences in the field of direction. Born in Lucknow, Hussein left for England when he was very young and later graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature, from Queen’s College, Cambridge. He is the progeny of Attia Hosain, author of Sunlight on a Broken Column . He will eternally be introduced as the director of the first Dr Who series, but there is more that marks his career to credit him as a director of note. He has directed television serial Edward and Mrs Simpson for which he won a Bafta Award and Barry Manilow’s musical, Copacabana , for which he won an Emmy Award. Apart from these he has had a number successful series such as the BBC television version of A Passage to India in 1965 and feature films: Melody (1971) and Henry VIII and his Six Wives (1972). He has had the opportunity of directing stalwarts of cinema such as Bette Davis, Shirley Mc

His presence is undeniably alluring; eye candy for his female fan following. Nonetheless, Kevin D’Mello is more than just good looks. This 28-year-old has talent effusing from every pore of his body – talent he strives to enhance constantly. Kevin’s acting talent is inherent. Although one cannot attribute his prowess completely to genes, the effect of being the offspring of a performer of high calibre cannot be denied. His father, Cezar D’Mello, is a well-known tiatrist, who has garnered accolades for his work on stage. The prodding and stoking of his acting abilities began with his father teaching Kevin to sing enthusiastically with animation. Kevin D’Mello got his foot in the door of the movie industry at the age of nineteen. His name was suggested by activist and lecturer Prajal Sakhardande to Dharmanand Vernekar for an AIDS advertisement which ran on television nine years ago during IFFI. Having noticed him in the advertisement, Dnyanesh Moghe gave him a role in his Konkani film  J

Who says dreamers cannot make it big?! Santosh Mainkar was a typical Mumbai boy with high aspirations. Through hard work and persevering constancy, he has gradually climbed the rungs of cinematic fame. This Economics graduate from Mumbai University had a strong inclination towards becoming a thespian from his college days, but fate had a slightly alternative calling in store for him. On completing his higher secondary schooling, he became a regular participant in theatre and this is what primarily set him about patterning his career course in the direction of acting. The current of destiny forced him on a different route when he directed a Marathi street play for the NSS whilst still in college. The street play, which was performed at Kirti College in Dadar, obtained second place. The success of the play proved his directorial prowess. From then on it was about script writing and direction for Santosh. Santosh Mainkar His first documentary was Dhoop , which won first prize at Elphinsto

Documentary filmmaking is a tremendous social vehicle. It can generate the necessary impact when wielded by capable, intellectual minds that cannot abide with injustice. Anand Patwardhan has achieved the esteemed status of being India’s premier documentary filmmaker, making the medium a bulwark of social justice and questioning motives behind certain political agenda. Despite constantly being up at arms with the Indian Censor Board and the Indian Government, the filmmaker has established an unshakeable foundation of social activism via documentaries. Having been an activist since his student days, Patwardhan selected filmmaking as his choice of weapon against the maelstrom of social and political injustice this country has witnessed. He has participated in the anti-Vietnam War movement and upheld the cause for democracy  and civil liberties during the course of the 1975-77 Emergency and after it. These are but two examples cited. He is a man who is driven to make a difference. Prior to

What is the allure of Our Lady of Vailankanni that makes Catholics and people of other religions throng to her shrine? Is it only the hope of having problems solved and intentions answered? To many it may seem just that and perhaps their understanding of religion and spirituality is so vague that it limits them to a narrow outlook of what a site of pilgrimage represents. Vailankanni is a tiny town in the Nagapattinam district of Tamil Nadu and it has earned the title of ‘Lourdes of the East’ for its intentional resemblance to the world renowned pilgrimage centre of France. The Basilica of Our Lady of Good Health is built in the Gothic style of architecture with a high dome and majestic Gothic spirals. Goans make up quite a considerable number of the pilgrims besides people from other Indian states. The construction of the basilica is based on the premise of three miracles which do not have the approval of the Holy See and were carried forth through oral tradition. Nonetheless the mirac

By Fr Shannon Pereira, SJ A human person is not just a biological being. He or she also has a spiritual aspect which animates the body. This spiritual element, though it remains unseen, plays a pivotal role in shaping human life. It infuses the work we do, the relationships we build, the family and society we live in, with meaning. In order to be complete human persons, we have to satisfy both these elements that are engraved in us: the biological as well as the spiritual. Neglect of either of the two creates a crisis – a depression. More so, when the spiritual element is neglected, life becomes mechanical and depressive. We know of ways to nourish the body but often times are unaware of paths to nurture the spiritual element in us. This pathway to nourish our spiritual life is called ‘spirituality’. And just as there are many ways to look after our physical body, there are a number of 'spiritualties’ to take care of our spiritual life. We have to discover which one is best suited