IPS officer Ain Rashid Khan makes documentary on Muslims of Calcutta, A Seventh Man

A host of young and aspiring film makers are sprouting in Bengal, all set to put the state's ailing film industry - hopefully - onto a phase of revival. And cherub-faced IPS officer Ain Rashid Khan, 37, a Pathan by birth, is a newcomer who has successfully completed his maiden venture calledA Seventh Man. A 40-minute documentary on the Muslims of Calcutta, the film received a grant of Rs 1.88 lakh from the Marxist state Government. Within a month of its preview, the film is the most talked about documentary in recent times. Said an elated Khan: Every seventh man in Calcutta is a Muslim and this film deals with the seventh man's continued presence and his historical link with the city. Shot in Eastman colour, the documentary has been selected for the Indian Panorama section in the Film-Utsav January '81 festival. Claims Khan: "This is the first socio- anthropological analysis of the city's largest minority in cinematic terms, exploiting the contemporary and historical visuals in a way no other short film has done before." Asked about his next film, Khan smiled: "I'm contemplating a Hindi feature based on a novel by Sunil Ganguly, shot in colour and entirely on locations in the Chhotanagpur area of Bihar." It promises to be the most agreeable thing ever shot by a policeman.

While politically Indo-Pak relations stand on a frosty ledge, bespectacled and plump former Indian Test Captain,Bishan Singh Bedi, did his bit to melt the icy relationship. Bedi, who was in Pakistan last fortnight as a member of an International Cricket XI, playing unofficial Tests against Pakistan, stumbled on a newspaper report which mentioned that blood of his type was needed by a Pakistani boy Muhammad Faiz. Faiz who was to undergo heart surgery needed the blood immediately and Bedi proved to be a humanitarian par excellence by donating his blood. Following the donation Bedi was thanked by Pakistan President General Zia-ul-Haq who said that Bedi's act was a "rare humanitarian gesture". The gesture seemed almost a return favour to Pakistan for rescuing the hijacked passengers of the Indian Airlines plane recently. For Bedi, it was a publicity-grabber that spun straight into the wicket.