GOOD ON YA, LILLY SINGH!

We thought it would never happen. A person of colour, an Indian woman, hosting a late night chat show on American TV.

Well, here we are. The winner isLilly Singh aka Superwoman, who has just landed a big-time gig on a major broadcast network.

The Canadian-born YouTube sensation will replace Carson Daly as the host of NBC's late night talk show. The show will be re-titled A Little Late with Lilly Singh and will launch in September, making her the only woman to host a late night talk show on one of the big networks.

A Little Late will feature Singh, who first became famous as a YouTube star, conducting in-studio interviews, as well as feature pre-taped comedy sketches and other “signature elements”.

Lilly made the announcement on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, and was joined by the other late night show host of the network, Seth Myers, who walked in wielding three glasses of champagne.

"An Indian-Canadian woman with her own late night show? Now that is a dream come true. I'm thrilled to bring it to life on NBC, and I hope my parents consider this to be as exciting as a grandchild," Lilly said.

It’s clear the Parent LOLs will continue on A Little Late!

Meanwhile, the congratulatory notes have been pouring in, of course from her besties Dwayne, Selina and Priyanka (er, that’s Johnson, Gomes and Chopra respectively), even Canadian PM Justin Trudeau.

Singh will be farewelling the show Last Call with Carson Daly, which ran for 17 years.

Some 20 million people follow her on social media – but the question that has been raised is whether her time slot is relevant to her demographic, the 18-34 age bracket.

The clever Ms Singh will no doubt have a super-smart reply to that one, poor questioners.

All we can say is, the honour is well deserved, even if –‘a little late’.

Drumroll, ha ha!

(Any chance you’re looking for new writers, Lilly?)

Patriotic Film

Twenty one Sikh soldiers stood guard as some 10,000 Afghans waited outside to storm in.

That was the Battle of Saragarhi in 1897. The Sikh soldiers were soldiers of the British East India Company.

Bollywood star Akshay Kumar brings to the screen the story of the brave Sikh soldiers in his latest film Kesari, who fought to their deaths against the Pashtun tribesmen.

He has urged the youth to watch the film as he feels the heroic tale has got lost in the pages of history books. “Indians don’t know much about the Battle of Saragarhi,” he said. “I’m hoping to put this (piece of history) in the school syllabus.”

He himself plays the role of Havildar Ishar Singh, who led the valiant Sikh soldiers.

So are patriotic films his thing, now?

“I don’t like to be typecast,” Akshay replied. “It all depends on the story. I am currently doing Housefull 4 and as well as a horror comedy…”

Action hero, comedy king, social activist, and now Bollywood's poster boy of patriotism, Akshay Kumar says he has still many more areas to explore.

“I have a long way to go. I want to do a lot and I will keep on working hard. I don't want to stop at one point or have only one kind of image. There are many images of mine which I still have to discover.”

Keep on keeping on, AK!

The Graham Staines Story

Another upcoming film based on a real life incident is The Least of These: The Graham Staines Story, a horrific tale about an Australian missionary who was burned to death along with his two young sons in 1999 by the Hindu fundamentalist Bajrang Dal.

Actor Stephen Baldwin plays Graham Staines, and the story is told through the eyes of journalist Manish Kaul, played by Sherman Joshi. Aneesh Daniel directs.

“The film is essentially about love, peace, tolerance and harmony,” Joshi said. “The incident on which the film is based happened in Odisha but it could just as well have happened in the US, Europe, Middle East or in any other part of the world.”

In the end, the film illustrates the power of love, hope and forgiveness to overcome hate.

It releases on 29 March. Coming so close to the Al Noor Mosque and the Linwood Avenue Masjid shootings in Christchurch, New Zealand, Sherman said, "I feel all of us have a responsibility, and should help stop (divisive ideologies) in our own individual ways.”

After the India release, the film will be released in South Africa, East Africa and Europe.

AND NOW, 'INTIMACY SUPERVISORS' ON SETS

Actress Celina Jaitly has explained why an ‘intimacy supervisor’ was appointed for her short film directed by journalistauthor Ram Kamal Mukherjee.

"In my humble opinion, this is just a first step towards implementation of (safeguards against) sexual harassment,” she said.

"Neutral communication and vigilance, and strict monitoring of the workplace are the most important duties of an intimacy supervisor."

Celina agrees that under normal circumstances, it is the director's job to ensure no limits of decency are crossed on the sets, but adds, “I have seen and experienced personally that the impact of a powerful position on an individual has a profound effect from a psychological viewpoint. People in power are more likely to wrongly perceive that subordinates are sexually interested in them or available to harass.”

“Intimate scenes can be a breeding ground of sexual misconduct, to draw a fine line between misconduct and acting is treading on thin ice. This is a beginning towards the laying of foundations to fight sexual misconduct at work. Manisha Basu, our intimacy supervisor, was very effective on the sets of Seasons Greetings and she played the role of an impartial and yet sensible bridge between the actors and the director. For the first-time for me since the age of 16, I worked with an intimacy supervisor and it worked like a charm."

Celina's advice to improve the work environment is to champion a zerotolerance policy on acts of discrimination and harassment in the workplace.

"Cine guilds should enlist professionals to train staff at all levels about the risk of harassment and warn them about the consequences should standards not be adhered to. Sexual harassment has been a complicated and deep-rooted issue... an anti-sexual harassment policy alone will not be able to stop it from occurring nor will it bring transformation in the sexist attitudes. However, it will lay the foundation for regular awareness generation, accountable and transparent tackling processes."

Celina feels preventive measures on the sets could have averted the Tanushree Dutta incident.

"In the event of what happened with Tanushree, had there been an intimacy supervisor appointed by a body of power above and outside the production, the outcome of what truly occurred would have been completely different."

‘WORKSHOPPING’ INTIMATE SCENES

National award-winning actress Kalki Koechlin, who has observed a behavioural change among men after the upsurge of the #MeToo movement in India, says workshops ahead of performing any intimate scenes arebecoming important.

"Intimacy workshops are important because like every dance and action sequence is previously choreographed and each actor knows every movement of the performance, an intimate scene is also choreographed. It is not improvised on the spot," she said.

The #MeToo movement has changed the film industry Kalki told IANS. "Of course, there is a change. I would say, consciousness has been created."

Citing an example, she said: "Right after the #MeToo movement took off, I was doing a play where my director was a male, and he sent two pages writeup on how we all should behave at the rehearsal space."

She had an "intimacy rehearsal" where she interacted with her co-actors and asked for permission on "how we will touch each other in an intimate scene".

Things are finally changing in tinseltown…

KIRRON KHER TO REPRISE OLD ROLE?

The quintessential 'Mummyji' of Bollywood movies is donning her motherly avatar as she has begun her over two-month long electoral campaign to retain the Chandigarh Lok Sabha seat.

Having been elected from there in the 2014 general election by a margin of nearly 70,000 votes and defeating fourtime Member of Parliament (MP) and former Union Railways minister Pawan Kumar Bansal, actor-turned-politician Kirron Kher did well for her first political outing as the BJP candidate.

Hailing from Chandigarh, the 63-year-old Kirron not only faces a tough challenge from the Congress but also from within the local unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Chandigarh BJP President Sanjay Tandon and former MP from the Union Territory, Satya Pal Jain, are breathing down her neck as claimants for the BJP ticket. Both were ticket aspirants last time also but Kirron managed to beat them down.

Taking a cue from the popular TV chat show Kofee with Karan (with celebrity host Karan Johar), Kirron has launched her own localised version in Chandigarh with '#CofeeWithKirron'.

None of the local top leaders, it is being claimed, have so far been seen campaigning with her. Till the ticket is decided, she can’t be projected as the candidate even though she is the sitting MP.

Kher is campaigning at her own level - meeting advocates, industrialists, housewives, youth, children, businessmen and several others.

We wish her all the best, come 18 May.

On Twitter This Week

Match the following stars to the tweets below:

Kirron Kher, Priyanka Chopra, Anupam Kher, Ranveer Singh, Priyanka Chopra again, Alia Bhatt

DP 2.0! Original toh... mere paas hai. Two much to handle.

Main #Maahu, #Behenhu, #Pyarhu. Par #rakshashonkeliye, #sherpesavaarhu. #MainBhiChowkidarhu.

So proud of @iisuperwomanii. First woman of colour to be late night show host. Break them barriers baby! So proud

SHRADDHA KAPOOR OR GIGI HADID IN PRABAL GURUNG?

+ Share your views with us on our Facebook page

I was nine when I first walked into Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s office, all nervous and hoping and praying that I would be in his next film. It’s been a long wait.

When the hubby goes number one... the wifey gets a #Maybach !!

#HotelMumbai union. Happy to be with my friends and co actors @ nazaninboniadi and @armiehammer. @ hotelmumbaifilm

It’s Movember, in March

DEAR AUNTYJI

My wonderful, happy husband decided recently after he watched IAF pilot Abhinandan on TV, that he too wanted to grow a moustache. Now Auntyji, I have no problems with this type of idol worship, but the problem is ki despite his Rajput background, Raj can't grow a proper luxurious moustache. It's like this is payback from an old curse that my husband will never grow a moustache and will have to do with a thin, scraggly bahaana of a mooch. Raj's moustache took three weeks to sprout 6 or 7 strands, despite daily oiling with a combination of caster, macadamia and almond oils. How do I tell him that he should give up this quest - that the one thing nature has denied him, a Rajput, is facial hair. How do I tell him the kadwa such?

AUNTYJI SAYS

Oh, I am proper flummoxed by this situation. What to tell? I suppose I could be kind and tell you that you are only thinking of what's best for

Bol baby bol

your husband and you want to spare him the humiliation of his friends making a tamasha of his facial forest, or rather, facial weeds, going by how you describe it. But why would I be kind to you when you, a harsh, critical churail is showing no such courtesy to her patiparmeshwar. So listen up for some kadwa such Don't be such a dayan. Your husband has decided that like his warrior ancestors before him, he too will grow his mooche. Why rain on his mela? I think you should completely get behind this endeavour, and help him achieve his goals. Make his lakshya your lakshya and you will live happily ever after. So what if there are only reeds whether there should be thicket. So what if all you see is saplings when there should be a jungle there? Get behind this cause, nah - I suggest daily grooming with argan oil and eucalyptus oil. Feed your Rajput lionheart lots of nuts and try to limit stress. There will be other benefits too from all this, you sly nagin - if you catch my drift.

Matrimonials

Seeking Grooms

Parents of 33-year-old highly qualified Vegetarian Hindu girl working and well settled in good locality in Sydney seeking an educated, teetotaller and good family background boy. Prefer Australian citizen or PR. Please contact ausshubham123@ gmail.com

Seeking a suitable match for a 33-yearold girl, 5’6,Melbourne based CPA working as a consultant. The boy should be well qualified professional settled in Australia with a minimum height of 5’9. Contact n.bhandari085@gmail.com or + 61433391881

Seeking a well settled, professional match for 28-year-old Vegetarian Punjabi girl. She is an Australian citizen. Her complexion is wheatish. She has completed a BA and Bed in Primary Education. She is soft spoken and gentle. Currently working as a Purchasing Officer in a private company. PR or Citizen only. Email: meena.khepar@ hotmail.com or contact 0401 680 297 after 6pm.

Seeking a suitable match for a 29-yearold, height 5’10” girl from a well settled family. She has done B.Com., Masters in SocialWork and is working in Emirates Airways as cabin crew, Dubai UAE. Only elder sister settled in Luxembourg, parents leading retired life in Vadodara. Please contact on +91 9826836130, mehta. hemant2@gmail.com

Seeking professionally qualified settled match for Sydney based, never married Aus Citizen, Hindu, Punjabi Khatri 45, 5'3" slim, fair, attractive girl. Girl is postgraduate and is working on a good position in government organisation. Please send details with photo: Indsyd2016@gmail.com.

Seeking Brides

Seeking 25-30-year-old Hindu/Punjabi girl from Australia for our 32-yearold Specialist Doctor son, 5’9", born and brought up in Sydney. Please respond: gupta_rsr@hotmail.com or ph 0414282510

Alliance invited for well educated, divorced, 5' 9", 1975 born Sikh Khatri boy. Working and self employed earning 100k per year. Looking for compatible Sikh girl from Australia. Early marriage. Phone: 0422102242 or Email: ghai07@yahoo. com

Indian Christian Protestant parents, seeking a suitable match for their 38 year old son, a Software Engineer, born and brought up in Australia. Seeking Protestant girl between 28-34 years. Email: sammy5073@gmail.com, Mob: 0403836360

Seeking well educated girl, 26-33 years, Australian citizen or PR for Hindu boy, Australian citizen, 34years, Senior Manager in a leading bank. Family is well educated and well settled in Australia. Please respond to matrimozind@gmail.com.

Seeking professionally qualified settled match for Sydney-based, never married Aus citizen, Hindu, Punjabi Khatri, 44, 6', athletic built boy. He is project manager with engineering background and is working in a private organisation. Please send details with photo:Indsyd2016@ gmail.com.

DEAR AUNTYJI

I have recently gotten married to a girl from Chennai. She is a really nice person, smart, kind and hardworking. I think she loves me very much. She is always nice to me, and I do my best to be nice to her. She is very educated and friendly and has many interests, yet I find that she says very littlesometimes I wish she would say more. If I start a topic, she will have much to say on it - but most of the time, she remains quiet. I know she thinks deeply on particular topics, but sometimes I catch her looking into space and I wonder what she is thinking about. When I ask her - what are you thinking my janoo Sneha - she smiles and says, kuch bhi nahin. Now this has me wondering, how can she be thinking nothing? Sneha kya sochti rahti hai Auntyji - do you think she thinks I am a nikamma or something?

AUNTYJI SAYS

Ek pal keliye let’s not worry about what Sneha is thinking - let me tell you hum kya soch rahe hai. Bilkul pagaal ho - tumhari baat se lagta hai. You have a wonderful, sweet, intelligent wife - and instead of being happy about this, you want to know what's going on inside her mind? What for you want to take on this panga? Clearly she is intelligent and can hold a conversation. Jab she wants to talk, to baat karengi, nah? What is your interest with what's going on in Sneha's mind? She is entitled to her privacy, you know. Why do you want to take control of what she thinks and does? People's thoughts are revealed by their words and actions so if Sneha is being a wonderful wife, then be grateful for that. And especially don't request that she speaks more. What kind of a jaahil wants a partner who speaks more? Isn't the TV enough for you? There is so much chatter in the world, and you have your own thoughtful, intelligent person and you want to reduce her to a guppee? Dusht…