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?)

"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. This will lay the foundation for regular awareness generation, accountable and transparent tackling processes."

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

We agree, Celina, and hope the initiative catches on.

‘WORKSHOPPING’ INTIMATE SCENES

National award-winning actress Kalki Koechlin says workshops ahead of performing any intimate scenes are becoming important after the upsurge of the #MeToo movement.

"Like every dance and action sequence is previously choreographed and each actor knows every movement of the performance, an intimate scene must also be choreographed. It is not improvised on the spot," she said.

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 tinsel town…

'MUMBAICHI MULGI' URMILA MATONDKAR ELECTRIFIES CONGRESS IN MUMBAI NORTH

Soon after being named the Congress candidate for Mumbai North Lok Sabha seat was announced, Bollywood actress Urmila Matondkar appeared to consciously shed her image as a glamour doll in shorts and slipped into comfortable but eye-catching saris and loose-sleeved blouses.

These would be her gladrags for the rough and dusty poll campaign in the blistering summer heat during the poll season.

In the past few days, she has already drawn attention by her 'politically correct, mature comments' on various issues concerning the commoners, middle-classes and the elite alike.

Virtually mobbed by the paparazzi at the Mumbai North Congress Party office after being names the candidate, she graciously took all queries from the media in the presence of a beaming District President Ashok Sutrale and other highlycharged leaders and workers.

Marathis and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) sympathisers alike cocked their ears when she invoked the teachings of the legendary 20th century social reformer of Maharashtra, Pandurang Sadashiv Sane, famous as Sane Guruji, instantly endearing her to the locals.

Always smiling, she retorted boldly, questioning the ruling dispensation's policies vis-a-vis religion, freedom of choice, patriotism and the like, setting the tone for her campaign, which promises to be mean and challenging.

Interestingly, Mumbai North - with 17.83 lakh voters - comprises a majority of nearly 40 percent Gujaratis, followed by Maharashtrians, North Indians and the minorities like Muslims and Christians, Jains and Parsis. Urmila’s entry is intended to take care of the Marathis.

But the local BJP is unfazed by

Matondkar's charm and dismissively claimed she is "no challenge" at all to the incumbent Gopal Shetty, who speaks fluent Gujarati and is familiar to the locals.

Despite the criticism, the Congress appears buoyed by Matondkar's nomination and is supremely optimistic that the seat - once considered a BJP bastion - would return to the party.

A downright 'Mumbaichi Mulgi', Matondkar was born in a small rural hospital in her (maternal) native region of Sindhudurg, to Shrikant and Sunita. Her father Shrikant is a retired officer of the erstwhile Grindlays Bank and her mother Sunita is a retired state government employee.

She was educated at the prestigious century-old King George High Shool, Dadar, which is now renamed as Raje Shivaji Vidyalaya, and then joined the Ruparel College, but couldn't complete her graduation as she got a big break in Bollywood.

With a successful film career behind her, Urmila married a Kashmiri businessman, M.A. Mir and regularly visits her in-laws in the Valley.

"She loves social issues, reading, and has read all major literary works, especially the pennings of Sane Guruji who has influenced her deeply. Urmila is always dedicated and committed in any venture she undertakes, whether acting or social work or politics," her proud father Shrikant told IANS.

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.

REMIXES GREAT, BUT WE NEED ORIGINAL MUSIC: RANVEER

Actor Ranveer Singh, who has come out with his independent music record label - IncInk, says the remix culture has to co-exist with original music.

Ranveer has teamed up with filmmaker Navzar Eranee to launch the label.

"This is my way of giving back. As an outsider, I always wanted to support new and outstanding talent that deserves to be heard and deserves to be seen," Ranveer said.

"There are so many talented kids in our country who just need a platform. This is something which Navzar and I discussed in 2016 before Gully Boy and this is something we always wanted to do. I have always been into alternative, underground, electronic and hip-hop music," he added.

He has collaborated with rappers Kaam Bhaari, Slow Cheeta and Spitfire for the music venture.

The actor said that he will promote new talent in the industry.

"Through this initiative, we are promoting new talent. We are nurturing them and endorsing them. We are bringing them forward."

Ranveer said the remix culture has to co-exist with original music.

“There is nothing wrong with remix culture. One of my biggest songs is a remix song (Aankhmarey from Simmba). Remixes are great but they have to co-exist with original music. I mean, fifty years from now, we need something to remix. So, it's important to encourage artistes who have an original voice and who have something to say."

Okay, you got us, Ranveer.

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