Longtime members will recall last winter's lively group discussion of
the controversy surrounding venerable pop idol Tina Turner's being
cast as Kali for an upcoming Merchant-Ivory film production. New
members who are interested can click "Up Thread" above to catch up on
the conversation.

Anyway, I mention all this only because Sunday's news contained an
update on the project:

New Delhi, INDIA (Sept 26, 2004): New York-based Indian author Suketu
Mehta is penning the next Merchant-Ivory production "The Goddess"
starring Tina Turner in the lead role.

Directed and produced by the duo of Ismail Merchant and James Ivory,
"The Goddess" is inspired by an old Indian fable of a ghost who asks
riddles to a king.

"Tina Turner is playing the goddess and she will sing four songs
composed by tabla maestro Zakir Hussain," Mehta told IANS. He is now
on a tour of India to promote his new book on Mumbai, "Maximum City:
Bombay Lost & Found".

"The songs would be in English with snatches of different languages,"
he said.

SOURCE: Indo-Asian News Service
URL:
http://www.123bharath.com/bollywood-...lnews&id=2279\
6


--- In Shakti_Sadhana (AT) yahoogroups (DOT) com, "Devi Bhakta"
<devi_bhakta@y...> wrote:
> LEGENDARY SINGER TO STAR IN INDIAN FILM
>
> Feb. 18, 2004 - Pop diva and Buddhist Tina Turner will play an
> Indian goddess in a new Merchant-Ivory film, an Indian newspaper
> report said Tuesday.
>
> Director Ismail Merchant has hired Tina Turner to play the Hindu
> goddess Shakti in his upcoming film, "The Goddess", Variety
> reported. The movie will star Matthew Modine and a group of
> Bollywood actors, the trade paper added.
>
> Turner, who had a successful farewell tour four years ago, said she
> had enjoyed being able to fill stadiums, but told The Times of
> India, "Now I'm ready to move onto another kind of performance."
>
> "I think Ismail chose me because of my shakti (strength) within,"
> the 64-year-old and still beautiful Turner said. "I'm special in
> that I've had a long run and I'm still here."
>
> Merchant, a producer known for making movies with director James
> Ivory, said Turner had spent two weeks in India and had been
> practicing classical music with Zakir Hussain, India's maestro of
> the tabla, a small set of drums.
>
> "She'll have to sing in Latin and Sanskrit for the film," he said.
>
> To prepare for the role, Turner recently spent time touring India
> and familiarizing herself with Indian culture. The pop diva went to
> the southern state of Kerala, where she saw Hindu pujas (prayers)
> performed and learned more about the way Indians live, Merchant
> added.
>
> He hinted that the movie is about the power of women, and about
> Shakti, explained as the energy that gives people power to live.
> Merchant said shooting for the film, which will have songs in
> Sanskrit and English, will begin early next year.
>
> P.S. Last August, a thread in this group discussed earlier rumors
> about this film, which specified that Turner would play Kali. That
> older thread begins here:
>
> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Shakti...a/message/6915
>
> Sources for new material:
> http://www.eurweb.com/articles/headl...ines1326202182
> 004.cfm
> http://www.scifi.com/scifiwire/art-f.../18/08.30.film