Community News
wife Lori, Choreographer Vaishali Pawar and Dancer Hemant Pawar.
By Adit Kumar
Vishnu Mandir Sangeet Academy staged a colourful and moving dance drama of the epic story of Shakuntala at the Vaughan City Playhouse on July 12. The capacity audience witnessed a thrilling performance as the artistes took them through the paces of love, romance, fate and tradition as the beautiful story unfolded in dance form. Going through their kathak dance moves characterized by spins, exquisite footwork and hand movements, and facial expressions, the dancers captivated their audience throughout the 90 minute presentation. The awesome decor, the beautiful musical accompaniment, the sound and the lighting in conjunction with the colourful costumes and the fluency of the artistes combined to make this a memorable experience indeed for the appreciative audience which erupted in spontaneous applauses for the performance. Composed, conceived and choreographed by Hemant and Vaishali Panwar, along with a creative team of musicians, designers, script writers and artistes, the performance was indeed a theatrical treat.
Dr Budhendra Doobay, President of Vishnu Mandir, in his opening remarks paid a glowing tribute to the artistes pointing out that when the mandir started up in the 1970’s, it used to import talent for its shows, but today it is fully self sufficient, a testament of the hard work of all the volunteers who contributed to the development of the mandir over the years.
Another interesting revelation by Dr Doobay was that 90% of the artistes who took part in the show were of Guyanese heritage.
Guest of honour at the show was popular philanthropist David Singh and his wife Lori Singh. David Singh, who donated $5000 towards the show, said that he was happy to learn that so many Guyanese were involved in the performance. He also spoke of his passion for helping others and helping to make the world a better place.
Hemant and Vaishali Pawar were sent to Guyana in 2002 by the Government of India on diplomatic status to teach dance and vocal music at the Indian Cultural Centre in Georgetown.
Record numbers participate in Kissoon Golf Tournament
By Manshad Mohamed
A record number of participants - 38 foursomes - entered the annual Dhaman Kissoon Golf Tournament at The Royal Woodbine Golf Club at 6378 Trafalgar Rd., Mississauga on July 9. A large number of women players participated in the game driving around in golf carts as they enjoyed the company of many experienced men golfers,who on this day were carefree and non competitive.
It was a day of golf and fun. It started off with a barbecue lunch that provided the setting for team members to meet and greet each other.
Participants included the Mayor of Pickering, Dave Ryan who donated a prize for a foursome at Cherry Downs in Ajax; Police Inspector Steve Ross, also of Pickering; Dan Mac Donald, Deputy Chief of Peel Regional Police; Robert Clarke, Supt. of Police in Toronto; Judge Derek Hogg and ex Maple Leafs Goalkeeper Johnny Bower.
Entrepreneur David Singh donated a cheque of $5,000 towards the final tally of $25,000 that was presented to representatives of the Devi Mandir.
A number of volunteers including Vishnu Sookar, Amar Binda, Cecil Ramnauth, Babs Dubay and Navin Kissoon worked tirelessly to keep things moving along. And as usual, members of the Kissoon family were in attendance headed by Mrs. Latchmin Kissoon Sr.
At the end of the day a delightful dinner was enjoyed by all. Prizes handed out included trophies, golf bags, bicycles, golf equipment and other items.
This annual event has become hugely popular not only with members of the Devi Mandir for whom it is a significant fundraiser, but also with the wider community who are happy and willing participants.
Mr. Dhaman Kissoon spearheaded all aspects of the tournament that was well organized and proved to be an outstanding success.
10,000 fans
By Gurmukh Singh
Toronto, (IANS) — Living up to its hype, the Amitabh Bachchan-led Unforgettable Tour opened to an unprecedented response here. Billed as the biggest-ever Bollywood live show abroad, the three-hour inaugural kept the 10,000-strong audience at the Rogers Centre riveted.
Torontonians could not have asked for more as the Big B, son Abhishek and daughter-in-law Ashwariya Rai appeared together at a live show for the first time Friday night. And it turned out be a spectacular debut for the Bachchan clan as they kept the audience on their feet with their solo and collective performances.
Akshay Kumar and Preity Zinta too threw in equally brilliant performances in this song and dance extravaganza, as did Ritesh Deshmukh and Vishal Shekhar.
Opening the evening, Preity set the tone with a couple of breathtaking numbers, including "Pretty woman" (from her film "Kal Ho Na Ho"), before calling on stage "the sexy and gorgeous and unforgettable dude" Abhishek.
Abhishek popped up somewhere in the crowd and had to be escorted to the stage. Once on stage, he raised the tempo further by belting out hit songs from his films such as "Dus" and "Bunty Aur Babli". His "Dus bahane karke le gaye dil" left his female fans hysteric. Old timers tapped their feet when he sang his dad's "Khai ke paan Banaras wala" from "Don".
And as expected, Ash drove the audience crazy with her super hit "Crazy kiya re". For his part, Big B had something for everyone - from "Rang barse" ("Silsala") to "Roop hai tera sona, sona" ("Kabhi Kushi, Kabhi Gham") to "Kajra re" ("Bunty Aur Babli"). However, the evening belonged to Akshay, who literally set the Rogers Centre on fire with his exciting and interactive performance. Having lived here on and off and known the pulse of the city, he opened with hit song from his yet-to-be released film "Singh Is Kinng", followed by "Dil da mamla hai dilbar" and "Tere roop di ho gayee balle, balle".
A virtual stampede broke out near the stage when he offered any girl to come on stage and sing a love song with him. Having chosen a smart girl, he offered her a gift box before singing with him. And when she unwrapped the box, out came a nightgown!
Before the sheepishly smiling girl could recover, he wrapped his arm around her and launched into "Bheegay honth tere" from the film "Murder". Indeed, Torontonians could have not asked for more.
St. Benedict’s College La Romaine, T&T will hold its 2nd Annual International Brunch on Sunday August 3rd at 12:30 pm at the Pickering Recreation Complex, 1867 Valley Farm Road, Pickering. Admission $30.00. Featuring Anslem Douglas, Elsworth James, Dick Lochan, Panist: Mervin Padmore, and the Mighty Sparrow. For info: Gregory Remey 647-340-2745; Sebastin Glodon 905-790-2140; Clevil James 905-472-8872; Grantley Perryman 905-420-5800; Lloyd Chandler – 416-299-9064.
The Villages of Anns Grove, Beehive, Clonbrook, Dochfour and Greenfield will hold a family picnic on August 9 at Areas 1 & 2, Centennial Park, Etobicoke starting from 10 am. Call Boyo 416-825-5129, Fazil 905-507-4315 or Dhaman 416-234-1446.
The 21st Annual Bush Lot Picnic is on August 10th 2008 at 1pm to 4:00pm at the Morningside Park. Area #5. Call Raj for more info: (905)-420-2433 or Sam at (905) 840-4823.Come early for comfortable parking.
The 21st Annual Bush Lot Picnic is on August 10th 2008 at 1pm to 4:00pm at the Morningside Park. Area #5. Call Raj for more info: (905)-420-2433 or Sam at (905) 840-4823.Come early for comfortable parking.
The 16th Annual Mahaica Picnic will take place on Sunday July 27 at Milne Dam Conservation Park, Markham (Mc Cowan & Highway 7). Contacts: Karan Rajkumar 416-464-9974 or Ram Nanhu 416-615-3553.
The Nos. 67-72 Village Corentyne Annual Picnic will be held on Saturday July 19 from 11 am - 9 pm at Meadowvale Conservation Park, Derry/Mavis Road. Rain or shine, picnic will continue so be there to have lots of fun. Contact Mahen 905-277-1580 or Babo 416-747-9428.
By Paras Ramoutar
Port of Spain, (IANS) — Ethnic Indians from all over the Caribbean flocked to the Queen's Park Oval here to watch Amitabh Bachchan, son Abhichek and daughter-in-law Aishwarya dance to the tunes of their hit songs as part of their Unforgettable Tour.
Trinidad was the second leg of the tour which kicked off in Toronto, Canada, July 18. Since Trinidad was the only Caribbean stop, Indians flew in here for Sunday's show by chartered planes from Suriname, Guyana and Jamaica.
After a short delay caused by an electrical outage, the show was put on the road by the Caribbean's noted master of ceremonies Shamoon Mohammed. Seventeen-year-old Shivanna Ragoonanan held the audience's attention with her renditions of both Trinidad and Indian's national anthems on the steel pan.
After that there was no looking back as Preity Zinta and Akshay Kumar prepared the crowd for an enthusiastic song and dance extravaganza with their brilliant performances. Preity set the tone with a couple of scintillating renditions, including "Pretty Woman" from her film "Kal Ho Na Ho". Large screens had been put up at the Oval to ensure everyone was able to see their favourite stars perform.
Riteish Deshmukh and Vishal Shekhar took over from Preity and Akshay. Then Abhishek was on the frontline, interacting with the crowd, which included former prime minister Basdeo Panday, MP Kamla Persad Bissessar, cultural activist Ajeet Praimsingh and acting director of the Gandhi Cultural Centre Shantosh Misra.
Abhishek recalled that he had come to Trinidad 25 years ago with his father and had a very memorable stay. He thrilled the audience with his electrifying performance of songs from "Dus" and "Bunty Aur Babli".
Aishwarya Rai got a standing ovation as she took to the stage. She came. She saw. She conquered. She sang and danced, ably supported by her cast on stage and from the audience. The former Miss World was dynamic, thrilling and decisive. She knew what the audience wanted and came prepared to deliver it.
The audience jumped to their feet when the Big B took control of the show. Some danced while others sang along as he performed several hits, including "Rang Barse" and "Pichkaree".
It was truly Amitabh's show. His mesmeric presence on the stage would continue to linger in the hearts and minds of all those who came to see him performs.
Indian entertainers are very popular among the more than 500,000 people of Indian origin in Trinidad and Tobago. As soon as the dates of shows by Indian performers are announced, the tickets get sold out.
For the Unforgettable Tour, VVIP tickets were sold at $400, VIP ones for $250, special reserve tickets at $160, reserved area tickets at $90 and general admission for $50.
Some of the film artistes who have performed here over the years include Hemant Kumar, Manna Dey, Mohammed Rafi, Mukesh, Asha Bhosle, Kishore Kumar, Lata Mangeshkar, Abhijeet and Shah Rukh Khan.
Award winning and highly popular filmmaker Deepa Mehta feels great being included among Toronto Film Festival exhibitors one more time. The year before last was pretty big for her. “Water” was her last film, which was very large, exotic and epic in scale.
Mehta was among the room full of celebrities and media practitioners who participated in the first festival press launch. “Heaven and Earth” is her film, which will be among the special presentations at this year’s 33rd Toronto International Film Festival – September 4-13.
Being present at this festival provides curious film viewers perhaps the only chance to screen films that may never make it into commercial cinemas. Then again some productions capture distributors that take them around the world. The Toronto International Film Festival is very important for filmmakers as it very often helps them realize dreams of commercial success.
Bollywood Superstar Preity Zinta plays Chand, a vibrant woman who travels from India to Canada where her new husband Rocky (Vansh Bhardwaj) and his very traditional family await. She meets Rocky for the first time at the airport. Despite her optimism, she is trapped in a world she cannot comprehend and is seemingly unable to please her husband. Chand turns to her co-worker Rosa (Yanna McIntosh), a tough and savvy Jamaican-Canadian woman, who gives her a magical root, promising that it will make Rocky fall deeply in love with her. Soon, surreal incidents occur and Chand’s life begins to mirror an Indian fable involving a King Cobra. As the lines between fantasy and reality converge, Chand and Rocky come face to face with each other and themselves.
With “Heaven and Hell” - set in Brampton - Mehta really wanted to do something very intimate and something she felt very passionately about. This was also a search for a project with which she could challenge herself as a filmmaker. So she sort of weaved a story that is somewhat rooted in reality with magic realism and a myth that exists in India.
Sook-Yin Lee, Sudz Sutherland, David Weaver and Aaron Woodley – four of Toronto’s intriguing filmmakers - pay tribute to the City of Toronto with “Toronto Stories” in a passionate collection of four stories witnessed by a nameless boy in the course of a single day. “Love Letter is, Toronto is many things to many people. It started out in a conversation between Aaron Woodley and David Weaver and I got involved and Sook-Yin Lee got involved as well. We decided to make some short films about Toronto.”
Being in the festival is a good thing, said Sutherland. “It means it’s good to be in. it’s not so good to be out,” he smiled.
Carl Bessai of British Columbia has a World Premier of “Mothers & Daughters” at the festival. It is a touching and often-hilarious look at the strained relationships three women have with their daughters, which stems from a collaborative and mostly, improvised script.
“We are really happy with the Canada First Programme. It’s probably one of the most impressive ones we have had. It’s all over the place in terms of genre, which is great. We have some very lyrical stuff and a wild comedy about a Christmas gone horribly wrong,” Steve Gravestock, a festival programmer observed.
TIFF’s artistic development initiative titled “Talent Lab” will enter its fifth edition as part of the tight festival programme. It provides emerging filmmakers with the opportunity to build networks in a creative environment and learn from some of the most esteemed filmmakers and artists in the world. Among this year’s participants are Renata Mohamed, director/cinematographer/producer of Brampton; Sami Khan, director/writer of Sarnia; Ngozi Paul, producer/writer/actor of Toronto and Tom Quinn, director of Philadelphia as well as a host of other emerging filmmakers from across the country. Strada Films producers Sandra Cunningham and Brad Fox are facilitating the talent lab.
The festival is receiving tremendous government support once more. The Ontario Media Development Corporation and Telefilm Canada remain core funders to the event. The Ontario Ministry of Tourism, Ontario Trillium Foundation, Ontario Arts Council and the Ministry of Culture are provincial supporters. At the municipal level assistance is provided through the Toronto Arts Council, tourism Toronto and the City of Toronto’s Economic Development Office. At the federal level there is the Department of Canadian Heritage, Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada, Service Canada, Canada Council for the Arts and the National Film Board of Canada.
Festival ticket packages are now on sale either online at tiff08.ca, by phone (416) 968 FILM or 1-877-968-FILM or at the Festival Box Office at the Manulife Centre, 55 Bloor Street West, downtown Toronto.