1. The New Indian Express CHENNAI,Monday, 28 June, 2010
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s an instant high leisure glitterati heart&soul youth entertainment highstreet
LIFE was not a bunch been different if he had some-
COURAGE
Harish Iyer, gay
rights activist
C of roses for Harish Iyer.
Sexually abused by a
relative at the tender
age of six, Harish grew up to be
a timid teenager who was at war
one to talk to during his child-
hood trauma. Today he is cham-
pioning the need for sex educa-
tion at home.
“If the world stops thinking
sex as a taboo, half the problems
with the world. Unable to cope
up with life, Harish decided to will be solved. Kids should be
and the inspira- take his life, but survived.
The world will get to see a
made aware of their sexual or-
gans right from childhood. Why
tion behind the glimpse of his life story in the
movie I am Abhimanyu. Direct-
do we learn ‘Parts of the body’
in class one with a picture of a
movie I am ed and produced by Onir, the
movie will release next month.
guy or a gal wearing an under-
wear?” he quips.
Page:4 Abhimanyu, Sanjay Suri, Radhika Apte,
Sher naz Patel and Anurag
He also feels that the change
should begin from the doctors,
BEAUTIFUL speaks to Anula Kashyap play important roles in
the movie. I am Abhimanyu is
“It is the duty of the doctors to
tell the expectant mother to
YOU Aboobacker on part of a five series short-film.
“When Onir sent me a pro-
teach her child about sexuality
Parents should stop calling sex-
.
GET TIPS FORM OUR
EXPERTS ON HOW TO his dark past posal saying he wants to do a
movie on my life, I was not ready
ual organs with nick names and
tell the kids the truth. This will
GET THAT GLOSSY,
SHINING HAIR AND
and bright for it. But on further thought I
understood that if I let them
avoid unnecessary experimenta-
tion. The child will no longer
THE FLAWLESS SKIN future film the darkest part of my life
I would be able to bring about
have the fear of discussing a
wrong encounter from any ‘un-
some changes in the world,” cles’ or ‘aunties’.”
Page:5
SOUL MUSIC
RENOWNED CARNATIC
SINGER SUDHA
RAGHUNATHAN
ENTHRALS THE
‘I AM A SURVIVOR’
says Harish. Harish says that he gets to
AUDIENCE WITH HER Not just child sexual abuse, know about two to three cases
SOULFUL VOICE Harish has more to tell the of sex abuse everyday. “People
world. Sometime during his find it comfortable to open up to
teens, Harish realized that he me because they think I can re-
was homosexual. “Today, I face late to them. This is not always
lots of questions connecting my a pleasurable experience, but
childhood experience and my I’m ok with it.”
sexuality I felt the need for tell-
. According to him though ho-
ing the world that child-abuse mosexual males have come out
will never change your sexual- of the closet, the fairer sex still
ity and the result is a short film finds it hard to admit it. “Well
Amen,” reveals Harish. what can you expect from a so-
According to the Amen team, ciety where being a woman it-
the movie brings the two pro- self is a taboo,” rues Harish.
tagonists, Andy and Harry, to- Harish works with a number
Page:6 gether. They experience hope
amidst confusion, explore truths
of NGOs to help child sex abuse
victims. He did his bit during
about sexuality and the self and the Mumbai terror attack by
KATY delves into the profound mean- starting a Mumbai terror help-
ing of life in the continuum of line, the blog was later covered
BARES IT its trifles. by BBC. ‘Sita Sena’, an organiza-
tion to fight for women’s rights,
I KISSED A GIRL “Amen explores gay relation-
ship like no other movie has was his brainchild in associa-
SINGER KATY PERRY done before. It teaches the world tion with Shobhaa De.
GOES TOPLESS ON that life does not allow one to Harish has a fan page in Fa-
THE MAGAZINE choose his sexuality you’re born
, cebook and tweets as @hiyer. To
ESQUIRE with it,” says Harish. know more about him visit www.
Harish feels that life would’ve hiyer.net
MUST SEE | MUST DO An aerospace engineer by qualification, PC Shivan soon realised that music was his true calling. He draws inspiration from maestros
like Ilayaraja and A R Rahman and is ready to carve out a niche for himself. Shankaran Malini gets lyrical with the young talent
FOODs
Hitting the right note with PC Shivan
Enjoy smoky treats — Seafood
BBQ with the sand under your
feet, and the sea singing to you at
Taj Fisherman’s Cove
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I, Ask him how would he
I took the one less traveled by, describe his music and he
And that has made all the difference. says, “It is something which
you will not find every-
THESE lines from the poem The Road where. And I don’t replicate
C Not Taken by Robert Frost would be apt
in the case of P C Shivan, an IITian-
turned music composer based in Chennai, who
followed his passion and today he is not just
my own work. You will find
three different ragas or
various combinations. A R
Rahmaan and Ilayaraja in-
Attend the UP/
EXPO: Kashmir Furniture confident about his compositions but also feels spire me. Dr Mrs YGP, my
Exhibition of hand- that he can carve a niche for himself. His dean, used to tell me, ‘No
made furniture at Bayam Ariyaan, which marked his foray into kuthu songs please’, which
Sri Sankara Hall the Tamil film music world received rave re- I have tried to incorporate
views and his Chapter Six, which marks his in order to make music dif-
ART: ‘Hands On’ — an
exhibition of art
debut in Telugu music industry is slated for a ferent from that of the oth-
July release. Also his Gulli Danda (directed ers. I am not against these
works by Anisha
Verghese, Tange- by Kalyan Seervi and Hemanth Choyal based genres, but mine are not
rine, Alwarpet on a Mushi Premchand story) is one of the 25 typical commercial num-
films shortlisted for screening at the Cannes bers. Music depends a lot on
Film Festival. the script and the plot. And
EXHIBITIONs Taking inspiration from music maestros
like Ilayaraja and A R Rahman, P C Shivan
when it’s a montage or a
situation song, the works
Life, Liberty and the pursuit of
happiness — A poster exhibition says that music is all that he wanted to do in will differ.”
at Gallery AFM his life. “Even as I was four years old, I was Shivan is also into com-
able to identify swaras of Ilayaraja sir’s songs, posing ad jingles and he says
like for instance, Mannil Indri he will stick to it as it’s en-
song which was sung by S P joyable. “I want to prove my
RISING STAR Balasubrahmanyam. I started mettle in the South first as I
learning music from the age of hail from here and then pur-
six. I learnt Carnatic music, vocals, instru- sue crossover projects and
ments like the violin and learnt playing the touch Hollywood someday .”
keyboard on my own. I have always had a flair
for instruments,” he says.
An IITian with a passion for music, how did
that happen? “I was also academically ori-
ented and I pursued a B. Tech in Aerospace
Engineering from IIT Madras after which I
even worked with Ashok Leyland for about
FILMs three years. Music has always been my hobby
and I used to work on my compositions in my
Watch Jaden Smith & Jackie Chan own studio, PC Studios, which was not open
in The Karate Kid at Sathyam for others and many didn’t even know about
it. I took a bold decision of quitting my job and
took to music full-time. Even when I sent my
resignation letter to our personnel, I did not
have any project in hand. But call it the Prov-
idence’s will or coincidence, I met a film direc-
tor almost immediately and that’s how Bayam
Ariyaan happened. At home, I told my parents
that I have a good news and a bad news to
share, and when I told them, they were as much
pleased as shocked,” says Shivan.
And how does he feel about working with
some of the big names in the industry? “Dr K
J Yesudas sang the popular melody Amma Nee
Irundhaal. And now I am all-excited about
WE ARE G!
Chapter Six, directed by Surya Kiran and pro-
duced by Kalyani. Hariharan sir has sung the
LISTENIN Beethoven number for this. Devi Sri Prasad
has also sung a number for this film. The high-
SEND US QUETS light of this film lies in its music and it por-
U
YOUR BO trays love in six different shades of which
AND white is what stands for the Beethoven number.
TS TO
BRICKBA sbuzz.co
m
@expres The one close to my heart is Vizil which again
expresso
is a different composition,” he says.