Mumbai, Express India: At Prithvi Theatre, the sound of a soulful sax draws you to the lean figure of 19-year-old Rhys D’ Souza. In close proximity, actor Bugs Bhargava rehearses a monologue sprinkled with bebop and blues, slipping into inaudible melodies. Director Etienne Coutinho switches between an empty screen and the script, devising methods to make the narration seamless.

Part of Prithvi’s melodious ensemble that will greet theatre goers starting November 1, is Jazz, scripted by Ramu Ramanathan, it premieres on November 6. Bhargava and D’Souza comprise the dramatis personae in this tribute to Goan jazz musicians who contributed to the thriving entertainment scene of ’60s and ’70s Bombay.

In India, music provides a unique branding opportunity.
 
"Tandurusti ka raksha karta hai lifebuoy, lifebuoy hai jahan tandurusti hai wahan�� the jingle has been abandoned years ago, but it still rings in the minds of those who have grown up on it.
 
"Badal rahe hai hum yahan, yeh zameen yeh aasman, naya hai kal, hamara aaj, naya hai aaj, naye bharat ki naye tasveer �� Hear these words and Bajaj comes to mind.
 
"Kuch khaas hai ham sabhi mein, kuch baat hai ham sabhi mein, baat hai, khaas hai, kya swaad hai zindagi mein ...� No prizes for guessing the brand" Cadbury Dairy Milk.
 
"You and I in this beautiful world, green grass, blue skies, in this beautiful world, you and I ..." and this is the sound of Hutch.
 
Just imagine Mozart's 25th symphony playing and you see watches � Titan watches; think of Shubha Mudgal and her Boondon mein jane kya alag hai and its Alto and AR Rahman's notes that connote Airtel.

Jerusalem, 29 Oct. (AKI/Asian Age) - Guess what unites Jews and Palestinians amidst bitter conflict? Amazingly, the late Indian movie star and legendary producer and director Raj Kapoor and his memorable repertoire of simply depicted melodic tales of love and hope.

In 'Old Jerusalem', the great HFI(Hindi Film Industry, read NOT Bollywood) showman's iconic 1956 film Awaara transcends the very visible communal barriers to inspire identical delight amongst Jews, Muslims and all hues of Christians.

Amidst the old it evokes a nostalgia of the many black and white screenings of The Wanderer (Awaara, with Hebrew subtitles). And young faces will still light up and happily join in a chorus of the movie's main musical number, "Ichak daana, beechak dana".

Mira Nair is en-route to the Oscars, once again. She along with producers of The Namesake want to have it a go at the Oscars and plan to give it their all for the run in several categories.

"What can I say?", says Mira with a joy .. "My entire Namesake paltan (clan) is already in LA, and I'm also heading there. I'm just so ecstatic that our producers Fox-Searchlight are doing an Academy campaign. This can only mean that The Namesake is very much in people's minds and hearts months after it was released."

The movie got great acclaims within America and overseas market. The original script by Jumpa Lehari has also pulled in lots of acclaims in rewards. Hence, if the running continiues, Mira hopes to rake in one nomination on a minimum but would like to grab at least two, one for Tabu in the lead role and the other for herself as best director. Why not?

UNI, New York - The US Congress has released a Certificate of Recognition honouring legendary Carnatic vocalist Mangalampalli Bala Muralikrishna.

The proclamation by Congressman Nick Lampson from Texas praised the musical genius of Dr Balamuralikrishna and his multi-faceted contribution to Indian classical music, describing him as a ''legend''.

The first episode of ZeeTV SareGaMaPa Vishwa Vyudh (World War) of Music came to a closure yesterday in Mumbai with Aneek Dhar walking away with the title crown and most amount of votes, 3.65 crores. Poonam Yadav was crowned the champion amongst the women.

Raja Hasan got the 2nd highest votes, 3.52 crores, followed by Amanat Ali of Pakistan. Amanat pulled in most of amount of International votes and is quite popular with overseas listeners.