6
UK
Asian Voice - Saturday 17th July 2010
Guiding back to Bollywood's Golden era By Priyal Sanghavi One of the biggest actors of Hindi cinema, Dev Anand transported the audience back to golden era of 60s and 70s Bollywood in his relaxed and candid chat in London with BBC Asian Network show host Sonia Deol. Films, his heroines and advice to youngsters- the
along with brother Chetan Anand. With the hits came in heroines, creating sparks. Unlike the current generation of actors, Mr Anand was remarkably open about his previous love interests. In his early days in the industry he met Suraiya, who was already a big name. “I used to travel by train while she had a
Dev Anand with Sonia
evergreen actor spoke on it in his inimitable theatrical style. Born to a large family of nine brothers and sisters, Mr Anand wanted to pursue a masters degree in English literature but could not afford to do so. The teenager Dev had to trek 26 miles to Amritsar city from hometown Gurdaspur to buy medicines for his sick mother. A shopkeeper while serving him a cold drink glanced at his forehead and proclaimed that he would be a big man. “I dismissed the prediction as it sounded very far fetched. Today if I see that shopkeeper I am going to bring him to Mumbai.” Without informing his successful lawyer father, Mr Anand left his small town for the city of dreams, Mumbai to be an actor in Indian cinema. He got his first big break with Ashok Kumar's Ziddi which was a hit and the actor never looked back. Within two years the actor launched his production house Navketan Films
Lincoln Limousine. We were committed to each other but politics interfered in our relationship. She was a Muslim and me being Hindu, I was not allowed by her family to marry her. I was left heartbroken. I still remember her beauty and the wonderful big jewels she wore.” One of the highest points in his career remains the search of a brother for his hippie sister in 'Hare Ram Hare Krishna'. The film marked the debut of Bollywood diva Zeenat Aman. Mr Anand spoke on how no actress was ready to be cast as his sister. “At a party, I saw Zeenat. She was the reigning beauty queen and I think she knew I was looking for a lead. She walked upto me, took a puff from her cigarette and offered me one. I took it and she lit it for and I knew I had found my lead. Next day she auditioned and she was in.” There were also rumours of their romantic involvement doing the rounds. They remained good friends for
three years during which Mr Anand cast her in Hira Panna and was even thinking of doing a third film with her. “I realised that she had gone to Raj Kapoor for an audition for Satyam Shivam Sundaram. Later at a party I could feel the chemistry between them. I thanked the host and left and haven't looked back. You can't afford to be hung up on your anguish.” To the delight of the audience, he recited dialogues from his classic movie Guide. He was equally forthcoming speaking about his heroines. He says, “I knew Waheeda from her first day in the industry. She was innocent and always accompanied by her mom. Geeta Bali was a typical Punjabi- largehearted and rustic. Madhubala was very giggly while Nutan was very withdrawn. You know something always kept bothering her.” Mr Anand was present along with son and daughter. After making 38 films, he screened an exclusive three minute footage from his new movie Chargesheet out this Diwali. The audience largely consisted of loyal fans and lovers of Indian cinema were delighted. The actor was more than happy to chat with each of them and urged them to read his autobiography Romancing with Life. One fan asked him about cinema of today. The actor replied: “That era is as great as the current one. But this generation has television and internet which has maddened it. A few people have the monopoly over giving breaks in the industry to debutants. Instead of one there are 45 stars in each movie. I never did that. I have always been the only star!”
Payback time for tax crooks A West Midlands couple who cheated the tax system and profited by around £1m from their criminal activities have been ordered to repay £752,303 from the proceeds of their crimes or serve a total of six years in prison. They defrauded HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) of an estimated £100,000 in tax credits and £254,545 in income tax as well as being involved in money laundering. Zadia Parveen and Mohammed Shabir were sentenced earlier this year after HMRC criminal investigators discovered the couple had made false claims for tax credits and failed to declare earnings
from a taxi business and private tutoring. The couple used the cash to buy a house for £480,000 and invested £500,000 in income bonds. Adrian Farley, Assistant Director of Criminal Investigation for HMRC, said: “The couple supported their millionaire lifestyle by stealing a great deal of public money and were motivated purely by greed. “We are determined to bring to justice the criminals behind this type of fraud and to take away the proceeds of their crime. We would like anyone with information regarding tax evasion and fraud to contact the Customs Hotline on 0800
59 5000 or email customs.hotline@hmrc.gsi.g ov.uk “ Parveen claimed over £100,000 in tax credits over a six year period, between 2002 and 2008. She gave false information about childcare costs, household income and stated she was not living with her husband. She also failed to declare her income from private tutoring of an estimated £135,972. Her husband, Mohammed Shabir, was in fact living with her and had been working as a self employed taxi driver but failed to declare his income paying no taxes for at least fourteen years of an estimated £118,573.
Kapil’s
KHICHADI by Kapil Dudakia - email: kapil@abplgroup.com Balle Balle I was invited to a special event to mark the launch of a unique publication entitled, ‘British Punjabis’ that was organised by CB Patel and the ABPL Group. Typical of the diversity of people of Indian origin, is it not wonderful to see a Gujarati who publishes a Gujarati weekly and Asian Voice to become the first to launch a publication that celebrates the achievements of the Punjabis. There is great synergy between these two communities given that they championed the art of successful emigration out of India to all parts of the world. So ‘Balle Balle’ seemed like an appropriate sentiment to be expressed but did you know that there is a similar expression in Spain as well? They say, ‘Baile
Baile’ meaning ‘Dance Dance’. How fantastic is that – to see two cultures divided by oceans, thousands of miles apart, totally different languages and culture – yet, they still come up with similar expressions that define joy.
I was also struck by the tag line, ‘Friendly, Faithful and Fierce’. If you were to ask a 100 people how they would describe Punjabis, I suspect almost all of them would agree with the sentiments expressed in the tag line. The Punjabis have a history of being good friends. They show us the meaning of being faithful. However, cross
them and one will learn the meaning of ‘fierce’ also. The lions of Bharat Varsh are to be commended for the way in which they live life to the full and become good citizens of the country in which they reside. The natural bond b e t w e e n Gujarat and Punjab is of course historical and nothing new. On Baisakhi day (March,30 of A.D.1699), Guru Gobind Singh Sahib called a big meeting at K e s g a r h Sahib near the City of Anandpur Sahib and asked for a volunteer to give his head for Dharma. On that day five stood up and offered their heads. One of the ‘Panch Pyare’ as they are known affectionately was Bhai Mohkam Chand, a washerman from Dwarka (Gujarat State). Lest we forget the spirit of Bharat Varsh that unites us all.
Daggers drawn As it is usual at such events, a number of prominent people gave speeches. Some were interesting; others probably more for the photo opportunity than their content, but for me two people came as close as one can to a duel. Avatar Lit of Sunrise radio made an impassioned speech in which he raised the issue of those in public service who tended to change their ways as soon as they got into a position of power. Referring of course to those who get into politics by saying one thing, but suddenly seem to covert to the status quo and end up ignoring the plight of their own people. All too often some of them end up doing anything just to make sure that they get their honour. Baroness Sandip Verma who is the Minister for International Development, Equalities and Women seemed to take this rather too personally and gave a rebuttal. She rightly pointed out that amongst the few who do make it; there are some who try to do their best under very trying circumstances. She went on to say that within our community there seems to be this inexhaustible appetite to bring people down at the first opportunity. Pointing out that would it not be great if like some other communi-
ties, we also worked hard to help and support people from our community who manage to get onto the first few rungs of the political ladder. Of course both are correct and what seems like diametrically opposite positions are probably more in alignment then one might give credit. It is essential that as a community we stand by and champion those from our community who work hard to get to the top in politics. It is equally true that the covenant between the community and those who aspire for such positions is honoured – when they do make it, they should not forget their roots and their responsibilities to the whole community. This is a two way street and it is for us to find the gems from our community and support them in their endeavours to play the game of politics. There will always be those who will care but for themselves, however, can we as a community become so short sighted that we allow these rogue elements to undermine our aspirations? We need people like Avatar Lit to expose those who are two faced. However, we also need people like Baroness Verma to ensure that Government creates the opportunities that allow
people of calibre to rise regardless of their background. For the new government it is imperative that the profile of Indians in the UK rises swiftly. The failings of the Labour Party are clear – after more than a decade they just did not get it and reneged on their responsibilities. Failure to recognise the strategic importance of our community will leave any government open to accusations that whilst it wants a proactive relationship with India, that it fails to treat people of Indian origin with the respect they deserve? David Cameron has set his stall out and I know he is getting advice from several individuals from the Indian community. He will have to ensure that the advice he secures is from people who are not afraid to tell him both the good, and the not so popular about his potential policies towards India. A good friend is one who tells you not what you want to hear, but that which is in your interest. Two months on – the new Government has many challenges and many opportunities. How it traverses the path will determine its success as well as whether it remains in power with the trust of the people.