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BLOG INTERVIEW - Somdev Dev Varman

When Somdev Dev Varman won the NCAA championship in May this year, it caught the Indian media by surprise. The 22-year-old had become the first Indian winner of the premier American collegiate event, emulating the likes of John McEnroe, Jimmy Connors and Arthur Ashe.

Surely, it was time for Dev Varman to say goodbye to the University of Virginia and turn professional. After all, the man he beat in the NCAA final - American John Isner - is already making waves on the ATP Tour. And doesn't India desperately need a male Sania Mirza?

For the moment, Dev Varman is content playing the occasional ATP tournament - he was last seen in action as a wildcard at the Kingfisher Airlines Open, Mumbai.

In this exclusive interview, Dev Varman told The Indian Tennis Blog he isn't ready to put away his books till May next year.

Several people are astonished that you seem to be putting your college degree over tennis. When are you going to turn professional?

I'm planning on turning pro after I graduate and finish up the NCAA team and individual tournament in May 2008. I feel graduating and getting a degree from the University of Virginia is a special thing and I've enjoyed my time there so far. I have no regrets of returning to school and hope to help my team be the frontrunners for a national championship this year.

Do you think staying back in India would have hindered your career?

No, I don't think it would have at all. Going to college was just another option for my life and my tennis. Indian tennis is growing and we're developing many juniors thanks to the efforts of the organisations in control.

Which tennis player is your idol and which is your favourite surface?

It's hard not to like Federer. He's a great player and represents the sport in the best way possible. I like playing on hard and clay.

John Isner, the player you beat in the NCAA final, is now the talk of the ATP tour for his meteoric rise up the rankings. Any comments?

John is a great player and a good friend. I'm a bit surprised that he has made his move this quickly but I thought it was going to happen sooner or later for sure. His serve is absolutely enormous and he's very mentally tough and focused. I'm happy for him and hopefully I'll be able to join him there soon after I graduate.

Can we see you playing more events in India in the future?

I would love to play some events in India if I'm given the opportunity.

What apart from playing tennis gives you a high?

Apart from playing tennis, I enjoy playing pretty much any sport. I love hanging out with friends and having a good time. I also love listening to music and watching movies in my free time.

(This interview was first published on The Indian Tennis Blog)

Should Somdev Dev Varman turn professional?
	Yes - he's wasting his best formative years
	No - he will peak gradually this way
	Can't say
pollcode.com free polls

Other Exclusive Interviews on this blog

Sona Mohapatra
Mahesh Dattani
Ruchi Narain
Will Bigham
Shiva Keshavan
Ravi Godse
Suman Ghosh

India's best bet at the Oscar awards

India needs help deciding which film should be its official entry for the 80th edition of the Academy Awards. While officials and filmmakers squabble over India's best bet in the Best Foreign Film category, you should vote for your choice.

The background so far: Filmmaker Bhavna Talwar thinks her film 'Dharm' was given the boot because some jury members were biased towards 'Eklavya - The Royal Guard' director Vidhu Vinod Chopra.

Talwar has taken the matter to court and the issue will only be resolved on October 10. But does either film deserve to be sent to the Oscars?

Should the Tamil film 'Paruthiveeran' - which won the Best Indian Film award at the Osian's-Cinefan film festival in July - have been selected? Did the hockey-playing damsels of 'Chak De India' stand a better chance of triumphing at the Kodak Theatre finale on February 24, 2008. Or would Mani Ratnam's 'Guru' have gone all the way.

Is there no film this year which can compare to 'Lagaan' and 'Salaam Bombay'?

You decide. If your choice is not on this list (but eligible for the Oscar awards next year), write to me at toeknee@gmail.com or leave a comment on this post. And do participate in the poll.

ALSO READ
Why Chak De India won't win an Oscar
What India won at the Oscars earlier this year
List of 2006 Oscar nominees and winners

Which film should be India's Oscar entry?
	Guru
	Chak De India
	Paruthiveeran (Tamil)
	Dharm
	Eklavya - The Royal Guard
	Gandhi My Father
	Cheeni Kum
	Life in a ...Metro
	My choice is not on this list
	No Indian film in 2007 worth it
pollcode.com free polls

Shilpa Shetty arrested over Richard Gere kiss!!!

Just when you thought British newspapers and websites had all but forgotten about Celebrity Big Brother winner Shilpa Shetty, here comes the latest salvo against Indian prudishness.

Several biggies in the British media went overboard on Thursday, reporting on their websites that the Bollywood actress had been arrested over her kiss with Richard Gere.

For the record, the actress had not been arrested at all. Apparently, some immigration officials at Mumbai airport were still in the dark about a Supreme Court ruling allowing the actress to travel overseas.

Shetty was questioned for a few minutes before being allowed to proceed to Berlin for the premiere of her musical Miss Bollywood.

So much for martyrdom at the hands of India's moral police. Soon this episode will be forgotten in Britain and Shilpa Shetty will once again fade from public memory like she had in the past few months.

ALSO READ
Is Shilpa Shetty's UK honeymoon over?

Shilpa Shetty's career
	is better than ever
	is down in the dumps
	can't say
	who is Shilpa Shetty?
pollcode.com free polls

Ben Kingsley as Shakespeare and Shahjehan

English playwright William Shakespeare and Mughal emperor Shahjehan were contemporaries - though it is doubtful either knew of the other's existence. Four centuries later, Oscar-winning actor Sir Ben Kingsley is playing both historical figures in two different films.

First up is the one on Shakespeare, based on a novel about a meeting between The Bard and his lawyer as he prepares his last Will and testament.

The second is a film about the making of the Taj Mahal in Agra. Kingsley, 63, will essay the role of Shahjehan who built the marble monument in the memory of his wife Mumtaz, played by Aishwarya Rai.

Shooting for both films is slated to begin in 2008.

And what of the Indian Express report which had Kingsley playing spiritual teacher Osho Rajneesh in the Guru of Sex?

Seems Kingsley, who won an Academy Award for his portrayal of Mahatma Gandhi in Richard Attenborough's 1982 film, is trying to catch up on his history.

Aishwarya Rai - pregnant or not?

So is Aishwarya Rai pregnant? Well, given that the first rumours of her pregnancy surfaced in late July and there is still no tell-tale bump as we head into October 2007, I guess it's safe to assume that she's not.

Rai and hubby Abhishek Bachchan have been denying it from the start but journalists citing information from reliable sources had been keeping speculation alive for weeks. And given the number of hits my previous post on the subject was getting, it seemed plenty of Aishwarya fans were curious too.

The celebrity couple were last seen walking hand-in-hand in Boston where Aishwarya was busy shooting for her latest Hollywood venture The Next Pink Panther.

(Photo Credit: KCS/Splash News)

Is Aishwarya Rai pregnant?
	Yes, look at the top she's wearing
	No, it's all just a rumour
	Can't say
	Who cares? She'll reveal it when she wants
pollcode.com free polls

And Delhi's best FM radio station is

Believe it or not, Meow! 104.8 FM has been voted Delhi's most popular FM radio station in a poll conducted on this blog.

The Just-for-Women initiative had been the newbie on the block, making its debut on Delhi's airwaves some three months ago. But it must have done something right to get 28 percent of the votes cast in the poll.

Hit 95 FM finished in second place with 20 percent, finishing just one vote ahead of Fever 104 FM.

The three were the leaders in the pack, with only 11 percent going Radio City 91.1 FM's way. And six percent voted Red 93.5 FM into fifth place.

Before the radio stations see red over these results, let me clarify that this poll had a strong online bias - the votes came from 166 random surfers.

FULL RESULTS HERE

RADIO TALK FROM THE ARCHIVES
Adam moos better than Amit Varma's cows
Delhi's "all talk" radio station
Getting high on Fever 104
Ten hits in a row, anyone?

Get your priorities right!

Link via Reddit

Now a Finn blogs about Bollywood

One would have thought natives of Finland won't know much about India, so it was a pleasant surprise to come across a Finn blogging about Bollywood in Finnish.

Anu, 29, is so enamoured by the Indian film industry that her blog is choc-a-bloc with photos of several Bollywood actors.

She even calls herself Anuradha on the blog because she's "fallen in love with India".

But why does she prefer Bollywood films? Anu told Toe Knee Unplugged she's sick of answering the same old question.

"Bollywood films are lovely, romantic and very good music! I love them! I understand that with English subtitles."

Anu and her husband first visited India in 1998 and have been here several times since. They even met Aishwarya Rai at a Goa hotel in 2003 when the former Miss World was filming Kyon Ho Gaya Na.

Their 7-year-old daughter loves Indian clothes like the salwar-kameez as much as her mother does, though Anu admits the sari is a tad too difficult to wear.

What was the strangest thing she saw in India?

"Nothing," she says at first. And then has an afterthought. "Maybe naked gurus."