On-StaGE FiGht with partner Raj Kundra. The couple were spotted in Lon-don last week having a meal...
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DRAMA is the latest weapon being em- ployed by the government to tackle the threat of extremism. From One Extreme to the Other promotes key messages behind the government’s new counter- terrorism strategy (CONTEST), released last week. Falling within the Prevent strand of the new strategy, the play is an attempt to get peo- ple to openly debate extremist views and challenge them. Some Muslim groups have attacked the new broader definition of extremism within CONTEST, which includes failing to condemn the killing of British soldiers and believing in jihad. Natalie Singh, who is one of two Asian actors in the play, is surprised that groups such as the Muslim Council of Britain believe the new strategy could alienate the majority of Muslims and prove “counter- productive” by classing them as extremists. The 31-year-old actress from Manchester told Eastern Eye: “The whole point we make is that terrorism is not a Muslim or white issue. It can come from any- where. We are not saying it is just Islamic. The message is simple, we must concentrate on our similarities rather than differences. “I would not like to wear the label of anti- terrorism because I feel that is a responsi- bility everyone must share. But I am very pleased that we have got people talking about difficult issues in a happy environ- ment. The popularity of the play lies in the fact that it does not dodge any topic and reflects real people.” From One Extreme to the Other by GW Theatre deals with issues of violent extremism through its im- pact on two families and all actors play multiple characters with the help of props. The script is based on research with young people, teachers, local government agencies and officers, skilled professionals and people on the ground. It is constantly updated to incorporate audience reactions through the technique of hot-seating, where the characters are subjected to questions at the end of the production. The parliamentary premiere last Thursday (26) marked the beginning of a tour across over 200 venues after receiving funds from organisations including the Department of Communities and Local Government and Arts Council. Communities secretary Hazel Blears (pictured) said: “We have seen extremists promote a world- view based on division and prey on people who feel ignored or frustrated about their chances in life and confused about their identity. From One Extreme to the Other provides a means through which issues are brought to light – where they can be acknowledged, discussed and addressed in a legitimate way.” EASTERN EYE April 3, 2009 www.easterneye.eu 3 HOLLYWOOD star couple Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are planning to add an Indian child to their multi- cultural brood. Jolie recently revealed plans to adopt from India when she met the child stars of multiple Oscar-win- ning film Slumdog Millionaire. When 10-year-old Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail asked Jolie why she was yet to adopt an Indian kid, she replied: “Well, I’ll let you into a little secret, we will soon.” The couple, who are popularly known as “Brangelina”, originally showed interest in adopting from India when they visited the coun- try’s Priya Darshini Orphanage in 2006, but were too busy to finalise the details. They already have three adopted children – Maddox, seven, from Cambodia, Pax, four, from Vietnam and Zahara, three, from Ethiopia as well as two-year-old biological daughter Shiloh and their seven- month-old twins Vivienne and Knox. ‘Brangelina’ to adopt Indian kid BOLLYWOOD babe Katrina Kaif was unveiled as the Indian face of Barbie doll after the hot favourite, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, turned down the offer. The British-born actress (pictured) walked the ramp as the show-stopper at a special show dedicated to Barbie at the Lakme Fashion Week in Mumbai last week. She sported a pink dress designed by Nish- ka Lulla for the Dress the Bar- bie contest as the prototype for the one “Katrina Barbie” will be wearing when she hits toy stores in September. “Mattel [toymakers] proposed that Aishwarya Rai Bachchan (main picture) endorse the Barbie doll, but as her prior commitments stretched her for time, she had to decline,” Aishwar- ya’s spokesperson said in a statement. Kaif was only too happy to step into her shoes, and not for the first time ei- ther. She was ready to step in as actor Salman Khan’s girlfriend after his rela- tionship with the former Miss World soured and also replaced Ash as the face of the prestigious Nakshatra dia- mond brand in India. The 24-year-old said: “I’d call it a fun honour. To have your face on dolls that you’ve played with from child- hood is quite flattering. We’ve been in negotiation for nearly six months. It finally came to- gether for this 50-year celebration of Barbie. “I’m the first Indian to be the face of Barbie. I’ll be dressed the way the Barbie is all over the world. And I think in many ways it’s an endorse- ment of how kids connect with me. You can’t be the face of an international doll unless kids like you. I like that.” GLAMOUROUS Shilpa Shetty is set to swap her Bollywood babe roles for life in Albert Square in the top- rated EastEnders soap. The 33-year-old Bollywood star is tipped to play a key role in the long- running soap as part of a new Asian family. It looks set to be her first ma- jor TV stint since she won Celebrity Big Brother in 2007 and possibly the start of a long-term UK-based career. Shetty recently bought a £5 million seven-bedroom house in Weybridge, Surrey, with partner Raj Kundra. The couple were spotted in Lon- don last week having a meal at the Bombay Brasserie (pictured above). They are also believed to have set a date for their wedding in October. Shetty’s inclusion in EastEnders would make her a member of the first Indian family in Walford since the Ferriera family in 2004, who were written out after being dubbed “unrealistic” by viewers. EXPANDING BROOD: The Pitts SINGH and Patel are fast catching up with Smith and Jones as the most popular surnames in Britain. People named Singh and Patel were found to be at a record high, with 95,203 and 53,295 of them re- spectively currently living in Brit- ain, a study revealed last week. In the last 100 years, the number of people named Ahmed, Singh and Ali, has increased by more than 1,000 per cent each. Professor Richard Webber from King’s College London, who led the research, said: “Surnames are useful indicators of people’s origins. It’s not just for people of Indian origins, but also for more distant ancestry.” Patels keeping up with Joneses Shilpa to star in EastEnders? by ADITI KHANNA BRITISH Asian girls have been giv- en the opportunity to become a beauty queen. A nationwide pageant has been launched to get an Asian girl into the final stage of the Miss England 2009 competition. Auditions for the Miss Asian Beauty Queen contest will open next Saturday(11) and Sunday (12) at the Jewel Bar in London. The fi- nal is set to be held on May 24. Karan Singh, director of the beauty pageant, said: “The aim of the competition is to discover the most intelligent, talented and unique individual. “We will be searching all over England for contestants to partici- pate. We hope to find our contest- ants who will enter into our first stage of auditions and then, if suc- cessful, progress to the second stage to secure a place in the pageant.” To enter, visit missasianbeau- tyqueen.com Pageant in drive for Asian beauty TWOSOME: Shetty with Kundra Barbie goes Indian... sort of ON-STAGE FIGHT Government-sponsored production confronts extremism head-on UNITED: Natalie Singh (second from right) with fellow actors from the play, From One Extreme to the Other
Transcript of On-StaGE FiGht with partner Raj Kundra. The couple were spotted in Lon-don last week having a meal...
DRAMA is the latest weapon being em-ployed by the government to tackle the threat of extremism.
From One Extreme to the Other promotes key messages behind the government’s new counter-terrorism strategy (CONTEST), released last week.
Falling within the Prevent strand of the new strategy, the play is an attempt to get peo-ple to openly debate extremist views and challenge them.
Some Muslim groups have attacked the new broader definition of extremism within CONTEST, which includes failing to condemn the killing of British soldiers and believing in jihad.
Natalie Singh, who is one of two Asian actors in the play, is surprised that groups such as the Muslim Council of Britain believe the new strategy could alienate the majority of Muslims and prove “counter-
productive” by classing them as extremists. The 31-year-old actress from Manchester told Eastern Eye: “The whole point we make is that terrorism is not a Muslim or white issue. It can come from any-where. We are not saying it is just Islamic. The
message is simple, we must concentrate on our similarities rather than differences.
“I would not like to wear the label of anti-terrorism because I feel that is a responsi-bility everyone must share. But I am very pleased that we have got people talking about difficult issues in a happy environ-ment. The popularity of the play lies in the
fact that it does not dodge any topic and reflects real people.”
From One Extreme to the Other by GW Theatre deals with issues of violent extremism through its im-pact on two families and all actors
play multiple characters with the help of props. The script is based on research with young people, teachers, local government agencies and officers, skilled professionals and people on the ground.
It is constantly updated to incorporate audience reactions through the technique of hot-seating, where the characters are subjected to questions at the end of the production.
The parliamentary premiere last Thursday (26) marked the beginning of a tour across over 200 venues after receiving funds from organisations including the Department of Communities and Local Government and Arts Council.
Communities secretary Hazel Blears (pictured)said: “We have seen extremists promote a world-view based on division and prey on people who feel ignored or frustrated about their chances in life and confused about their identity. From One Extreme to the Other provides a means through which issues are brought to light – where they can be acknowledged, discussed and addressed in a legitimate way.”
EASTERN EYE April 3, 2009www.easterneye.eu 3
HOLLYWOOD star couple Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are planning to add an Indian child to their multi-cultural brood.
Jolie recently revealed plans to adopt from India when she met the child stars of multiple Oscar-win-ning film Slumdog Millionaire.
When 10-year-old Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail asked Jolie why she was yet to adopt an Indian kid, she replied: “Well, I’ll let you into a little secret, we will soon.”
The couple, who are popularly known as “Brangelina”, originally showed interest in adopting from India when they visited the coun-try’s Priya Darshini Orphanage in 2006, but were too busy to finalise the details.
They already have three adopted children – Maddox, seven, from Cambodia, Pax, four, from Vietnam and Zahara, three, from Ethiopia as well as two-year-old biological daughter Shiloh and their seven-month-old twins Vivienne and Knox.
‘brangelina’ to adopt indian kid
BOLLYWOOD babe Katrina Kaif was unveiled as the Indian face of Barbie doll after the hot favourite, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, turned down the offer.
The British-born actress (pictured)walked the ramp as the show-stopper at a special show dedicated to Barbie at the Lakme Fashion Week in Mumbai last week. She sported a pink dress designed by Nish-ka Lulla for the Dress the Bar-bie contest as the prototype for the one “Katrina Barbie” will be wearing when she hits toy stores in September.
“Mattel [toymakers] proposed that Aishwarya Rai Bachchan (main picture) endorse the Barbie doll, but as her prior commitments stretched her for time, she had to decline,” Aishwar-ya’s spokesperson said in a statement.
Kaif was only too happy to step into her shoes, and not for the first time ei-
ther. She was ready to step in as actor Salman Khan’s girlfriend after his rela-tionship with the former Miss World soured and also replaced Ash as the face of the prestigious Nakshatra dia-mond brand in India.
The 24-year-old said: “I’d call it a fun honour. To have your
face on dolls that you’ve played with from child-hood is quite flattering. We’ve been in negotiation for nearly six months. It finally came to-
gether for this 50-year celebration of Barbie.“I’m the first Indian to be the
face of Barbie. I’ll be dressed the way the Barbie is all over the world. And I think in many ways it’s an endorse-ment of how kids connect with me. You can’t be the face of an international doll unless kids like you. I like that.”
GLAMOUROUS Shilpa Shetty is set to swap her Bollywood babe roles for life in Albert Square in the top-rated EastEnders soap.
The 33-year-old Bollywood star is tipped to play a key role in the long-running soap as part of a new Asian family. It looks set to be her first ma-jor TV stint since she won Celebrity Big Brother in 2007 and possibly the start of a long-term UK-based career.
Shetty recently bought a £5 million seven-bedroom house in Weybridge, Surrey, with partner Raj Kundra.
The couple were spotted in Lon-don last week having a meal at the Bombay Brasserie (pictured above).
They are also believed to have set a date for their wedding in October.
Shetty’s inclusion in EastEnders would make her a member of the first Indian family in Walford since the Ferriera family in 2004, who were written out after being dubbed “unrealistic” by viewers.
ExpANdiNg bRood: The pitts
SINGH and Patel are fast catching up with Smith and Jones as the most popular surnames in Britain.
People named Singh and Patel were found to be at a record high, with 95,203 and 53,295 of them re-spectively currently living in Brit-ain, a study revealed last week.
In the last 100 years, the number of people named Ahmed, Singh and Ali, has increased by more than 1,000 per cent each.
Professor Richard Webber from King’s College London, who led the research, said: “Surnames are useful indicators of people’s origins. It’s not just for people of Indian origins, but also for more distant ancestry.”
patels keeping up with joneses
shilpa to star in eastenders?
by aditi khanna
BRITISH Asian girls have been giv-en the opportunity to become a beauty queen.
A nationwide pageant has been launched to get an Asian girl into the final stage of the Miss England 2009 competition.
Auditions for the Miss Asian Beauty Queen contest will open next Saturday(11) and Sunday (12)at the Jewel Bar in London. The fi-nal is set to be held on May 24.
Karan Singh, director of the beauty pageant, said: “The aim of the competition is to discover the most intelligent, talented and unique individual.
“We will be searching all over England for contestants to partici-pate. We hope to find our contest-ants who will enter into our first stage of auditions and then, if suc-cessful, progress to the second stage to secure a place in the pageant.”
To enter, visit missasianbeau-tyqueen.com
pageant in drive for Asian beauty
TwoSomE: Shetty with kundra
Barbie goes indian... sort of
On-StaGE FiGht Government-sponsored production confronts extremism head-on
uNiTEd: Natalie Singh (second from right) with fellow actors from the play, from one Extreme to the other
