Abi:original - If you aren't original, what are you?

Film Director, Atul Manjrekar An interview by Abigail Mathias  He was one of the silliest guys in college. Walked around with a red bandana singing Kishore Kumar songs. At least that’s how I remember my friend, Atul Manjrekar. Cut to 20 years later. And now Atul is the director of a major Bollywood film, a musical drama, called  Fanney Khan . The film stars leading actors Anil Kapoor, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Rajkumar Rao. Thankfully Atul is still the pun cracker I remember, except he is clearly in another league. Atul’s first feature film will release in a few days and I can’t help but beam with pride. The film has already crossed many millions in trailer views on YouTube. Fanney Khan is played by the ever-youthful Anil Kapoor, who’s struggling to fulfill the dreams of his daughter, Lata who wishes to be a singer. The film releases in India on August 3. It’s taken me three days to get 10 minutes to talk to the busy director. “Aren’t you excited that you...

Click here to see my article published in Kuwait Times. Arun Gandhi

By Abigail Mathias Rude cab drivers, broken promises, when things just aren’t your fault… There are times when you are so angry you just want to lash out. On a warm sunny day at this years’ Emirates Literature Festival, I met the grandson of Mahatma Gandhi and his words make anger seem so futile. Arun M Gandhi is an 83-year-old man who has lived, learnt, and studied the art of non-violence (Ahimsa) from a very young age. His book, ‘ The Gift ’, The Sunday Times bestseller, is filled with real life experiences. It is by no means an easy path, but he offers a few guidelines. Gandhi is also an internationally renowned activist and speaker. He set up the M.K. Gandhi Institute for nonviolence in 1987 and spent 30 years as a journalist. As he joined his hands in a humble  namaste  greeting, before a room filled with listeners from around the world, I felt inexplicably proud of my Indian-ness. Following the news these days often leaves me with angst. Innocent vic...