• No More Shirtless Ranveer? Le Sigh! Ever have that problem where you’re about to take off all your clothes for a sultry scene in a Bollywood blockbuster you’re filming and then you, like, have an accident or get sick? Ranveer Singh apparently does. It’s such a problem that the Bollywood heartthrob will be hiding his sculpted torso under useless layers of fabric (read: staying clothed) for a while at the request of his mummy dearest. Apparently his mom has asked Ali Abbas Zafar, director of Gunday, to omit her son’s more scandalous scenes because every time Ranveer strips for the camera, he falls ill or gets injured. Sure, a covered-up Ranveer will leave us heartbroken, but maybe our overactive imaginations can fill in the blanks — especially as we pine away for him on Valentine’s Day, when Gunday premieres. (India Glitz)
• India Gets Its Own Sherlock Holmes. A recent court ruling has cleared the way for India to bring Sir Arthur Conan’s popular Sherlock Holmes series to life — Bollywood-style. Donning the sleuth’s iconic hat will be Anil Kapoor. (Bollywood Life)
• Sri Lankan American Soprano Breaks Cultural Barriers. Not only is Tharanga Goonetilleke the first Sri Lankan woman ever admitted to Julliard, but now she lives her dream, enchanting audiences around the world with her voice. She expects to see more South Asian kids enter opera but feels that “a lot of stars have to be aligned for young people to even have a chance at such a career.” Watch her commandingly rich rendition of “Porgi Amor” from Le Nozze di Figaro by Mozart below. (International Business Times)
Multilingual Texting in India. Ever wish you could text in your South Asian language of choice? There’s an app for that: Plustxt. Despite this breakthrough in technology, a larger question remains: Why don’t we have “a single good-quality font for Indian languages” yet? (The New Yorker)
“You’re quite pretty for an Indian girl.” I cannot be the only one who’s heard this before, but really, what am I supposed to say? “Gee, thanks, you semi-racist/dumb/ignorant excuse for a human being”? Writer Radhika Sanghani dives deeper into this non-compliment which is at the center of unfunny racist humor and juvenily bullying and a larger trend of unintentional racism.(Telegraph)
