South Africa’s Olympic Committee president Gideon Sam has come out in full support of the troubled Games, scheduled to begin on October 3 in New Delhi. He went to extent of saying that he will clean toilets to ensure that CWG 2010 is a success.

At the farewell dinner in Boksburg on Saturday, organized in honor of the departing South African team for CWG, Mr. Sam, president, South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (Sascoc) said, “Our athletes will have no excuses if they do not perform at the Games. If they are unhappy with their rooms because they have not been swept, they must take off their jackets and sweep them themselves. We will not complain. South Africans do not do that.”

“And when I get there on Friday, if a toilet is not clean, I will clean it myself,” he continued. While India drew flak from participating nations regarding lousy accommodation, faulty construction and security concerns, Mr. Sam said that it was imperative for South Africa to get behind the host country.

“As developing nations we must stand together. We cannot allow developed countries to go out there and take the last seat in the hall. We had the same problems with these countries who complained before the FIFA World Cup, and I won’t even mention them because we know who they are. As South Africans, we have always supported our friends, and internationally, India and Brazil are our best friends,” he spelt out without mincing words.

“We will be prepared when we get there, we will work side by side with our friends, and we will come back with medals,” he exuded confidence. Mr. Sam also said that his country has devised plans to ensure the security and health of its athletes on top of that provided by the Games OC.

With the Ayodhya verdict just around the corner, the peace of the country hangs in the balance. This is a worrying case, perhaps for more than just the common man and the politician. In fact, several celebrities have joined hands to send the messages of love and peace in these trying times.

Shah Rukh Khan, in his own way, has been tweeting about his own feelings on the issue. He shares his fear of turmoil after the Babri Masjid verdict has been given and quietly asks his fans to maintain peace. Of course aggressive rudiments do not serve anyone’s purpose. However, it requires true commitment to be able to come out in the open and spread the message of peace.

The Ayodhya verdict, which has been delayed for a long time, now stands to be given on 28th of September and it is likely that the law enforcers as well as common man are a little edgy due to the impending events. Seeing the seriousness of what has passed and what could be, Shah Rukh’s message comes at a time when the leaders of the country need to gather around and take charge. With the Common Wealth Games beginning soon, the country simply cannot afford to go into a spasm of violence.

Bollywood actor and social activist Shabana Azmi turned 60 last week. Guess what her lyricist-screenwriter husband Javed Akhtar got for her? A cake designed like an urban slum!

Whether the slum cake was meant as a representation of her work in slums or Javedsaab meant it as a harmless joke, things soon went awry with comments like ‘poverty porn’, ‘insensitive’ and ‘politically incorrect’ coming from various quarters. The Bollywood elite were condemned for the way they view Mumbai slums and for their double standards on crying foul when Danny Boyle created history with his version of slumdog.

The much debated birthday cake had a perfect slum scene with tiny huts and a clothesline running along it. The slum effect was completed with open drains, sewage and muck all around. The cake carried a big tag that read ‘Shabana Nagar, Gali no. 60’, indicating her 60^th birthday.

Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan was the first person to disclose the unusual cake decoration. He tweeted from the birthday party, “Javed Saheb’s gift to Shabana – a cake designed like a slum!! Touché!”

Social activists and media, including foreign media, pounced on the issue, criticizing the choice of icing. The British newspaper The Guardian condemned the incident, saying the cake was a ‘tasteless representation of poverty porn’. The Magsaysay award winner Jockin Arputham, who has worked for the betterment of slum-dwellers for four decades said, “I can’t believe that she was part of something like this. It is rather unpopular and against her simplicity.”

The article in The Guardian set off an online debate on the issue. Most responders criticized Akhtar for his ‘insensitivity’ and said the cake’s design was ‘tasteless’.

With the criticism mounting, Akhtar was forced to explain. He said, “It was a surprise I planned for her. She is so serious and driven about her work all the time, at times we who are close to her feel like pulling her leg. It was a joke and should be treated as nothing else. It does not in anyway mean she does not take the people she works any less seriously. She did not even know about it and now she is all confused with these reactions.”

“There is no joke that cannot be interpreted as ‘politically incorrect’,” he added. “The cake was not a joke on the slums. It was a harmless joke on her.”

Whether the slum cake is funny or not depends on the angle it is viewed.

The quintessential Indian heroine has always been the wronged woman. When you think of movies that portray women as central characters, it is always a woman who has been wronged and therefore been toughened by times. The there is also an entire genre of movies dedicated to the portrayal of women as nothing but bimbos who wear short clothes and are ‘in it’ for money.

Times, fortunately, have changed and so has the thinking of Indian movie makers. It now seems that Indian movie makers are trying to screen women with more power and substance. This is indeed, a welcome step for mainstream cinema.

Incidentally, women who have been typically chosen to act in the roles of ‘bimbos’ are now being sought after for more substantial roles. The front runner in this race to establish the Indian woman as a role model is none other than Bipasha Basu. In an upcoming movie, Aakrosh, which is slated to release on 15th of October, promises to be an enticing thriller. In the face of the increasing inclination towards crowd pleasers and endless tear jerkers, Aakrosh seems to be a breath of fresh air. Bipasha, who is playing the lead role in the movie, is excited about stepping away from the ‘short skirt, tight blouse’ routine to handle a complicated and strong character.

This is one of those few movies, where Bipasha takes the center stage and makes a statement. Let’s hope that the movie works for her.