STAR, DIRECTV sign multi-year deal extension

DIRECTV, the nation's leading satellite TV service provider and STAR, a wholly owned subsidiary of News Corporation and Asia's leading media and entertainment company, on September 24 announced the signing of a multi-year deal for continuing carriage of STAR India PLUS, STAR I ONE, STAR India NEWS and VIJAY in the U.S.

DIRECTV became STAR's first distribution partner in the U.S. when the four STAR channels made their American debuts in November, 2004.

"Since their launch in 2004, STAR's leading Indian channels have become household names among DIRECTV's South Asian subscribers," David Wisnia, STAR's Senior Vice President for Distribution and Sales and head of STAR's North American and European offices, was quoted in a press release.

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Based on best-selling novel, film is about events that happen at a call center

'Hello' is a tale about the events that happen one night at a call center. Based on the best-selling novel, ‘One Night @ Call Centre' by Chetan Bhagat, the film is slated for an October 10 release.

Told through the views of the protagonist, Shyam Mehra played by Sharman Joshi, it is a story of almost lost love, thwarted ambitions, absence of family affection, pressures of a patriarchal set up, and the work environment of a globalized office.

Shyam is losing his girlfriend because his career is going nowhere as he trudges his way around in a call center. His girl friend Priyanka Kapoor, played by Gul Panag who is also an agent at the call center, is about to be snatched by an NRI technology geek.

There is also the aspiring model Esha, played by Esha Kopikar, who is looking for the break that seems to almost always elude her.

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Skydivers set for new heights over Everest

Dozens of skydivers were to attempt the first parachute jumps over Mount Everest, organizers said on September 23.

At least 34 skydivers from 14 countries, including Britain, the United States, Canada, Denmark and New Zealand were planning to jump from an aircraft flying 465 feet above the Everest summit on October 2.

Hurtling past the 8,850-meter peak, the skydivers plan, weather permitting, to freefall for one minute before deploying their parachutes and cruising for 8-10 minutes to land in a flat drop zone at 12,350 feet.

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Bhutan's frist elected Prime Minister travels to New York City to open ‘The Dragon's Gift'

In a gesture of casting aside its veil of centuries, Bhutan's first elected Prime Minister, Jigme Y Thinley, traveled to New York to open the much-anticipated exhibition, ‘The Dragon's Gift: The Sacred Arts of Bhutan,' at the Rubin Museum of Art (RMA) on September 18.

Thinley's party, Bhutan Peace and Prosperity Party, won 45 of the 47 elected seats in the Himalayan kingdom's elections in March, he assumed office on April 9.

The move from absolute monarchy to parliamentary democracy comes at the initiative of the former king, Jigme Singye Wangchuck, who has abdicated his throne. His son, Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck has taken over and will be formally crowned next year.

‘The Dragon's Gift' is part of the former monarch's vision gently nudging Bhutan into the light of the modern age.

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There is urgent need for coordinated action by global community on several fronts

The composition of the Security Council needs to change to reflect contemporary realities of the twenty-first century.

It is only a truly representative and revitalized United Nations that can become the effective focal point for the cooperative efforts of the world community. We need to expeditiously hold negotiations towards this end.

Globalization has contributed to ever widening circles of prosperity and we in India have benefited from it. But its benefits have not been equitably distributed. Ensuring inclusive growth within nations, and inclusive globalization across nations, is a central challenge that faces us.

There is (therefore) urgent need for coordinated action by the global community on several fronts.

The explosion of financial innovation unaccompanied by credible systemic regulation has made the financial system vulnerable.

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'Slumdog Millionaire', a tribute to Mumbai, wins top award

Slumdog Millionaire,' a tribute to Mumbai and a story about a dream, won the top award at the Toronto Film Festival on September 13, ending a low-key event where many studios kept their best movies away.

The winning film, directed by Britain's Danny Boyle, opens in select U.S. theaters on November 28.

It tells of a teenager from the Indian slums who wins a chance of becoming a millionaire in a television game show.

The film received an enthusiastic reception from the Toronto audience, and actress Freida Pinto accepted the Cadillac People's Choice Award on Boyle's behalf.

"There are a lot of firsts for me in this," she said. "It's my first premiere, my first time dealing with the press, and now it's my first award.

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Chelsea gallery hosting Krishna Reddy exhibit

Thomas Erben Gallery of Chelsea, New York, which recently held an exhibition in Mumbai, is hosting a retrospective of printmaker Kirshna Reddy (Sepember. 17 - November 1), showcasing works by the Andhra-born New York artist from the 1950's through the early 1980's.

Celebrated artist, wandering scholar, innovator and experimenter, 83-year-old Krishna Reddy is a pivotal figure in India's artistic path through Modernism. After completing his studies under Nandalal Bose at Kala Bhavan, Santiniketan in 1947, Reddy taught art at Kalakshetra in Madras for three years. Going abroad in 1951, he attended Slade School of Fine Arts, London, with Henry Moore, for two years.

After Slade he moved to the continent where he furthered his contact with European Modernism, studying sculpture with Ossip Zadkine in Paris (1952-55) and with Mario Marini in Milan (1956-57). Also in Paris, he studied engraving (1953-55) with S.W.Hayter at Atelier 17, which he later joined, becoming a professor and associate director in 1965. In 1977 Reddy moved to New York to teach at New York University where he established the print department and presently is Professor Emeritus in Art.

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