Friends,
Three Parsi Zarthoshtis are in the news from India’s movie industry –
Script writer, Farrukh Dhondy, actress, Perizaad Zorabian (who is married to
a Zarthushti businessman and has a baby), and 18-year old actress (of TV
show Baa, Bahu aur Baby), Benaf Dadachanji. Following are excerpts from news reports in the India Journal, April 11, 2008:

* “Scriptwriter Farrukh Dhondy feels that he would never be able to come up
with a true Bollywood script because movies made here are very ‘unreal’…..
He says the thriller for Parvez Damania’s One More Thought Entertainment
will reflect his writing skills and to some extent the audiences’ demand
too, “The script will showcase my writing skills and, while writing, I will
try to keep the public demand in mind. The plot has to be intriguing enough
because we are aiming to cast big stars for the movie.”……. Currently
Dhondy is scripting the Mahabharata for STAR Plus and says it is the modern version of the epic and he is trying to explain the reason behind every
action. Apart from this he also has three films to script, which include
Deepa Mehta’s Carpet Boy and a French co-production to be shot in India
titled Coffin Maker under the banner of Dhondy’s company, Lucid Pictures.
“Carpet Boy is about slave labour in Pakistan, but nothing is finalized
yet,”……”

* “Perizaad Zorabian, the new style guru of the small screen, talks shop,
movies and more.” Q. “Where did you disappear?” A.”…I went underground,
for almost a year….. And now suddenly, after all these months, you
resurface with a television show… Yeah, Limited Edition on NDTV Good
Times………. And films? I have three films coming up – N. Chandra’s
Breaking News, Kabhi Up Kabhi Down with Sanjay Suri and Highway 203…..”

* “After Mano ya na Mano, Siddharth Kak is back with not one but two shows both of which will air on NDTV Imagine. Both Indiadhanush and Rang de India are anchor-based shows…. Indiadhanush aims to discover unknown cultures and traditions from across the country……As for Rang de India, Kak says it is too early to share the details. But a source tells us that Benaf
Dadachanji of Baa, Bahu aur Baby will co-anchor the show with Kak. It will
be a youthful take of culture and tradition.”

Regards,
Maneck Bhujwala