Talk of the Town

ISSUING CONSTITUTIONAL diktats on elections to fighting corruption to election contest to marketing a software park. That is the transition that the former CEC, Mr. T. N. Seshan has made.

He was back before the press, this time as member of advisory group on the Pragnya Kanchi Software Park, to be developed on a 19.5 acre site near the national highway, 4 km from Kancheepuram.

The organisers of the press conference, Intellisys, a committee member made it clear that Mr. Seshan would be interested to answer questions only about a seminar on June 14, when software companies would be given the nitty gritty about the Pragnya project.

Mr. Seshan had some encouraging news for students. They would be given concessions in the training courses at Pragnya, where it is deserved.

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DID YOU like the sound of the `Jungle' reverberating on music channels? The man behind the music, Sandeep Chowta, who earlier scored the theme for Ramgopal Varma's `Satya', `Kaun', `Mast', `Shool' and `Vaastav', is in town. And he is no newcomer to the city. ``Chennai is my homeland,'' says the Chennai-based rock- star who incidentally heads the Bangalore based band `Pulse'.

``I would rather play five nights at Vineyard Centre than go on stage and people asking me to play `Ruki Ruki','' the Ram Gopal Varma regular explains.

Vineyard Centre plans to - ``promote some clean music'' during the June Rock Out festival. The `Mast' Man gave rock-fans a piece of his mind-blowing side during the jamming session at the launch of June Rock Out, along with `Jim' Satya and Sudeen Prabahakar of `Moksha'.

And he might return, as the grapevine in Vineyard hints. On July 7 for the climax of the festival featuring `Moksha' and `The Vineyard Band'. Keep your ears to the ground.

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AFTER THE all-women show of Julia Roberts in `Erin Brockovich', it is another special screening, this time for a ``Father-Son'' audience.

The fathers will come with teenaged sons, keeping in line with the theme of the film. Another pre-release bash by Star Entertainment, `East is East', stars Om Puri, Linda Bassett and Archie Punjabi. It has, ``won accolades'' in more than 25 international film festivals.Winner of the Alexandra Korda award for most outstanding film at the Bafta Awards 2000, the movie was nominated for 6 British Academy Awards.The film has the theme of the seven kids of George Khan - proud Pakistani and chip shop owner dealing with a life of long compromise.

`East is East' is a hilarious and sometimes painful story of what happens when two cultures collide within one family. The admission for city father-son movie-goers will be through passes for the special show at Shree Theatre on June 18-4910261 or 4917941.

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SOME OF the departments of State Government are in a tizzy about a particular aspect of the Prime Minister's visit to inaugurate the TIDEL Park in Taramani.

They have been told that there should be no bad odours from the Buckingham Canal, which runs beside the Park. Officials are at a loss on how to prevent the Prime Minister from sniffing the bad smells. Powerful perfumes might work inside the park, but what about outside it ?

By Akila Dinakar, Sudhish Kamath, T.S. Shankar and T. Ramakrishnan.

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