Ramallah - An Arab-Israeli musician has been banned from the refugee camp in the West Bank where she taught children for taking them to Israel to perform in a concert before an audience that included Holocaust survivors.

Wafa Younis was ordered to leave the camp in Jenin and never return, the head of the camp's 'popular committee,' Adnan Hindi told the German Press Agency dpa on Wednesday.

Younis, who hails from the village of Arra in Israel, ignored the ban but camp residents reported her return to the committee, he said.

New Delhi, March 29 (IANS) From a village in Jammu and Kashmir to the recording studio of Hindi Film Industry, 13-year-old singer Mehrajuddin Rassar has made a journey that few boys his age manage to do. The little prodigy is now dreaming of "making a career in music".

Mehrajuddin, who hails from Aru village in the Kashmir valley, was picked by director Piyush Jha to sing the song "Arzoo" in "Sikandar".

"Piyush sir had come to Aru to select a location for his film, that's when he heard my voice while I was singing in my school assembly. He liked my voice and offered me 'Arzoo'," Mehrajuddin told IANS over phone from Srinagar.

Mehrajuddin, a Class 9 student, loves singing and dreamt of lending his voice in films one day. Little did he know that opportunity will knock on his doors so soon.

New Delhi, March 24 (IANS) He admits that the condition of film technicians in India is "pathetic", but Oscar-winning sound designer Resul Pookutty says he would still prefer staying and working in the country rather than chase international projects.

"Something that is always to be remembered is that it was my work in India that got me an Oscar and not my work in the West. I have no qualms about people (from the West) chasing me now (for projects) but when you go there, the whole dynamics of work change for you and I don't want to be in such a situation," Pookutty told IANS in an interview here.

"I want to live and work here in my own country and pass on whatever I have learnt so far to the next generation. Yes, may be 10 years down the line, if I get an opportunity to head West, I might think about it but not now," he said.

London(PTI): The international success of feel-good drama "Slumdog Millionaire" has inspired many British filmmakers to explore India and Bollywood as
the new "exotic" location for their films.

With the Bollywood-inspired story winning eight Oscars, the British film industry seems to have fallen head over heels in love with India, said a British newspaper.

These filmmakers are heading to India to shoot their films and are planning to use the sophisticated but cost-effective technology of Bollywood.

Currently, Joe Wright, the director of "Atonement", is in India on a month-long trip scouting for locations in the country to shoot his Partition drama "Indian Summer".

Allah Rakha Rahman craze continues on post Oscars. Here is a remixed version of Jai Ho by Pussycat Dolls.

Very few actually know that the original soundtrack and lyric is actually a prayer to all mighty.

"It's an honor to be able to collaborate with A.R. Rahman and be a part of the 'Slumdog Millionaire' project in any way," Nicole Scherzinger's, the lead singer, says in a statement. "The movie, the story and the music [were] a gift and very spiritually uplifting for me. ... I can only hope and pray 'Slumdog Millionaire,' and my version of 'Jai Ho' ('You Are My Destiny') touches and connects people all around the world."

See if you agree with Nicole and her uplifting spirituality comment. Click on read more link to view, listen and post your comments.

NEW DELHI (AP,AINS,BBC) - 

The Congress Party of India has paid a hefty $200k for rights to use "Jai Ho" soundtrack in the upcoming general elections of India. Opposition party is not thrilled at an opportunity loss.

"Anyone should be able to use the song. 'Jai Ho' should not belong to any one; it belongs to the country," Atul Shah, a member of the BJP campaign committee, told the NDTV news channel.

Some opposition members think it will bring doom to the Congress Party as the film's portrayal of Mumbai's shantytowns sums up the current administration's failures.