Stargazer: Alexandra Taylor, Jeejivisha Kale and Susheela Raman

 Freedom Fighter

Ireland is quite in the news for its cinematic triumphs. Now our very own Kolkata is benefitting from a touch of that brilliance. Irish actor Alexandra Taylor, who made her debut in the Bengali film Ogo Bideshini in 2022, is now enjoying the success of Soumik Sen’s SonyLIV series Jazz City. Here, Taylor plays Pamela, a chanteuse, who gets embroiled in the fight to free Bangladesh in Kolkata during the 1970s.

Behind the Scenes

Jeejivisha Kale has been an assistant director in Marathi cinema since 2014, and is famil­iar with what makes a great film. So it’s no surprise that her directorial debut, the Marathi film Tighee, has done well commercially and artistically. Starring Bharati Achrekar, Sonalee Kulkarni and Nehha Pendse, it focuses on an ailing woman and her daughters. Kale has dedicated the film to her parents. She says, “I am because they are.” This influence is seen in Tighee as every moment is imbued with joy and sorrow in equal measure.

 Raman’s World Music

British musician Susheela Raman is back in India. She makes the poetry of William Blake come alive in a series of performances titled ‘A Golden String – Blake in English & Hindustani’ in songs, words and images. Raman will be at the premiere next week, performing with actors Naseeruddin Shah and Sam Mills at Prithvi Theatre in Mumbai. She was born to South Indian parents in London and raised in Australia. As a singer, composer and curator, Raman moves between genres and across frontiers into new spaces with ease.