Divya Bharati's life to be made as film

Divya Bharati...the name is enough to stir the heartbeats of many men who were cine buffs of the 90s. Though she was seen in very few films, Divya Bharati became the heartthrob of all and was poised to become the queen of Bollywood before cruel destiny took her away. She fell from her terrace under mysterious circumstances and died in April 1993.

Now, almost twenty years later, a biopic is being made on her life and the man to make that happen is Vikram Sandhu. He has written the script and would be directing this project. However, he reportedly maintained that this is the story of a young girl without taking any reference to Divya.

Currently, the search is on to find the right kind of face to fit the role of Divya Bharati and the shooting will take place in India and Dubai. Buzz is that this would be hitting the floors in July 2012. To those who saw Divya in films like 'Bobbili Raja' 'Assembly Rowdy' etc, she will always be the queen of their hearts.

Upma

Ingredients
2 cups cream of wheat
3 tablespoons canola oil
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
1 teaspoon cumin
4 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons shallots
1 tablespoon ginger
1 tablespoon chillies
3 cups chicken stock
3 cups coconut milk
Salt and pepper, to taste
Cilantro, as garnish
Pea shoots, as garnish
Mushrooms
3 tablespoons canola oil
1/2 cup oyster mushrooms
1/2 cup Maitake
1/2 cup king oyster mushrooms
2 shallots
1 chilli pepper
1 knob ginger
Salt and pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup white port
1 tablespoons cilantro, chopped

Directions
1. Heat oil and cream of wheat and toast for 10 minutes on low heat. Remove from pan
2. Heat oil mixture then add mustard seeds and whisk until seeds pop. Add cumin and reserve
3. Heat pan. Add spice oil and butter. Add shallots, ginger, chillies, and cook for 2-4 minutes. Add cream of wheat and cook for 3-4 minutes. Add stock and coconut milk. Mix and cook. Simmer
4. Should be smooth.

Directions for mushrooms
1. Heat oil in sauté pan. Add mushrooms and cook with lightly coloured sear
2. Add butter, shallots, ginger and chilli
3. Deglaze with white port
4. Season with salt and pepper and cilantro.

What city chefs say
For us, upma scores high on nothing. It’s like a blob on a plate. Adding mushrooms and tomatoes to the original three-step recipe seems like an inspiration from its Italian variant, polenta
Chef Sabyasachi Gorai, Olive Bar & Kitchen

I think what made the dish click was the fusion spin. An upma made the traditional way may not have made such noise. He made the humble wheat dish look like gourmet
Chef Tarun Kapoor, The Metropolitan

While we go on aping the West, we tend to overlook our own dishes. It’s heartening that Floyd Cardoz chose to make something Indian. It must make all Indian chefs proud
Chef Debraj Halder, Suryaa