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Time of India
24-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Kol boy 1st Bengali to become 1st citizen of London borough
1 2 Kolkata: The London Borough of Newham on Thursday elected councillor Rohit K Dasgupta as its chair and first citizen, the top civic official representing the council. Dasgupta, who became the first ever chair of Bengali Indian origin in the borough, will preside over citizenship ceremonies, host dignitaries and chair civic events. He was first elected to the council as a Labour Party candidate in 2018 and re-elected in May 2022 for the Canning Town South Ward. An alumnus of St James' School and JU, Dasgupta had moved to London in 2009. Dasgupta told TOI it was "deeply meaningful" for him that someone of Indian Bengali origin, born in Kolkata, was elected to this role. "My vice-chair, councillor Imam Haque, also shares these roots. For the first time, two Bengalis have been elected to the top two civic roles in a UK borough. We are passionate about our shared heritage. We are working with organisations, such as London Bengal Heritage Foundation, as well as businesses and civic groups for cultural and civic ties between Newham and Kolkata. " Newham, Dasgupta said, was home to a vibrant South Asian community, including a significant Bengali population. "Strengthening these connections is both personally meaningful and politically important. During my acceptance speech, I quoted Tagore to reflect on our shared cultural values and his vision of universalism..." he added. An associate professor in gender studies at London School of Economics and Political Science, Dasgupta has been a trade unionist, anti-racist campaigner and an LGBTQ+ rights activist. "We are living in a time, when anti-migrant and anti-queer rhetoric is on the rise. Across many societies, trans-people, migrants and other vulnerable groups are being scapegoated and marginalised. As Chair, I will continue to be a proud ally and a voice of solidarity. I want our communities to know that Newham stands with them," he said. Get the latest lifestyle updates on Times of India, along with Brother's Day wishes , messages and quotes !
India.com
06-05-2025
- Entertainment
- India.com
This romantic thriller earned four times its budget, Canadian actress made hit debut, worked with Shashi Kapoor's son, her name is…, lead actor was…
It takes one film to make or break career of the actors, directors, producers. This one romantic thriller was a commercial success. The lead actors rose to quick fame and vanished as quickly too. While the actor still remains a blurr memory, the actress has ventured into a different trajectory all together. The movie was a produced when such stories were not so common in that era. The film was directed by Vikram Bhatt and produced by Mahesh Bhatt. It was released in 2001 and became a blockbuster. The name of the film is 'Kasoor'. It featured Aftab Sivdasani, Lisa Ray, Irrfan Khan and Ashutosh Rana among others. Canadian Actress' Successful Debut 'Kasoor' was the maiden Hindi fil of the Canadian born actress Lisa Ray. Aftab Sivdasani has established a name for himself by then and Lisa Ray was rising to fame in the world modelling amd advertisement. She started her career on 1990s and worked with popular brands like Bombay Dyeing, Lakme etc. Ray was born to an Indian Bengali father and Polish mother in Toronto, Canada. She spent quite many days of early childhood in Kolkata. She first appeared in the Bombay dyeing ad oppiste to Shashi Kapoor's son Karan Kapoor. Subsequently, her talent was recognized and she got more and more work catapulting her into nationwide fame. As a successful model in India, she anchored several shows, travel shows, hosted events. Lisa Ray made her Bollywood debut with 'Kasoor'. Lisa was born in Canada. Before her Bollywood debut, she worked in the Tamil film 'Netaji' and the Kannada film 'Yuvraj'. Before this, she played a very small role in the 1994 film 'Hanste Khelte'.
