Shabana Azmi: Star of India, Islam, Women and Feminism, NewAgeISlam.com

Islam, Women and Feminism

Shabana Azmi: Star of India

Things are not what they appear to be in the new film by Gurinder Chadha, the director of Bend It Like Beckham and Bride and Prejudice.

A plump Punjabi housewife from Ealing, who fusses over her children and spends most of her time in the kitchen making curries and pakoras, is actually a serial killer, using her culinary know-how to bump off people who have refused to help find a suitor for her single daughter.

That’s the central joke in It’s A Wonderful Afterlife and if you know any plump Punjabi housewives from Ealing, it’s a pretty funny one.

But, even more surprising than the identity of the murderer is that of the actress who plays her: Shabana Azmi. For, in India, Azmi is an absolute megastar.

The winner of five National Awards, the subcontinent’s answer to the Oscars, and a pioneer of the New Wave cinema of the Eighties that challenged many of India’s most deeply held prejudices, 59-year-old Azmi is a revered figure among the general public and India’s political elite.

She’s a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations, a former member of parliament and a recipient of the International Gandhi Peace Prize, which she won for a 20-year campaign on behalf of slum-dwellers.

She is, in other words, a million miles from a middle-class housewife living in the suburbs of Greater London and now she is playing that role in a low-budget British farce. How did this happen?

http://newageislam.com/shabana-azmi--star-of-india/islam,-women-and-feminism/d/2772

PAKISTAN'S ‘ZAMEER FAROSH’ ARMY IS ENOUGH TO DO THE JOB OF KILLING MUSLIMS, Islam and the West, NewAgeIslam.com

Islam and the West

PAKISTAN'S ‘ZAMEER FAROSH’ ARMY IS ENOUGH TO DO THE JOB OF KILLING MUSLIMS, SIR: Pakistanis Tell American General Petraeus

According to the state-run APP news agency, Zardari told Petraeus and Assistant Secretary of State Richard Boucher that the attacks from drone aircraft should be stopped.

"Continuing drone attacks on our territory, which result in loss of precious lives and property, are counterproductive and difficult to explain by a democratically elected government," Zardari was quoted as saying.

Zardari said the government was "under pressure to react more aggressively" to the strikes.

Washington is suspected in at least 17 missile strikes in Pakistan since August.

In September, a U.S. ground assault in a tribal region in Pakistan's northwest spurred particular outrage. Days later, Pakistani troops challenged two American helicopters operating near the border and U.S. and Pakistani ground forces in the area exchanged fire.

There have been no reports of additional ground assaults since then and Petraeus has given few hints so far about what strategy he will follow.

Pakistan's government is mindful of already widespread opposition in the country to its ties with Washington. However, it has acknowledged its dependence on Western aid in the face of looming economic problems and taken a tough public stance against terrorism and extremism.

Pakistani Defense Minister Ahmad Mukhtar said in a statement after his meeting with Petraeus that the missile strikes could "create outrage and uproar among the people."

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