Mail Today, New Delhi, Monday, January 31, 2011 9NEWS

The 95-year-old wants to ‘paint’ the starlet

THIS ALSO

HAPPENED�Navarretecourts BollywoodThis may be her maidenvisit to India butreigning Miss UniverseJimena Navarrete hasalready met SalmanKhan and is keen to doa Bollywood film. The

22-year-oldMexican

beauty findsIndianactors veryhandsome.“I would

love to workin Hindifilms”, shesaid. Ketan Desai was caught

taking a bribe.

IN AN ELITE LEAGUE: Actress Anushka Sharma.

By Priyanka Srivastava in New Delhi

Anushka is Husain’snew musein B-town

After Madhuri,it was Tabu who

caught theartist’s fancy.

The celebratedpainter

directed her inthe 2004 filmMeenaxi —ATale Of Three

Cities

TABASSUMHASHMI

Simply flooredafter watchingAmrita in Vivah,Husain went on

to launch aseries of

paintings on theactress and also

gifted herthree paintingson her birthday

AMRITARAO

M. F. HUSAIN wants to paint his latestBollywood muse Anushka Sharma.The 95-year-old artist admits beingabsolutely floored by Anushka’s per-formance in Band Baaja Baaraat, somuch so that he not only claims tohave watched the film eight timesalready but he also plans to launch aseries of paintings on the actress thatwill be titled ‘Punjab Ki Kudi’.

Husain, whose muses in the past haveincluded Madhuri Dixit, Tabu and AmritaRao, can’t get enough of Anushka thesedays. “She is the perfect representation oftoday’s women,” he said about the starrecently, adding that he was “extremelyimpressed with the bubbly Punjabi girl”.

“I am only too honoured about the fact thatM.F. Husain has watched the film so manytimes,” Anushka said for her part.

“Husain saab has conveyed how much he likedAnushka’s film. Although, we have beeninformed that he has expressed his desire tocapture Anushka on canvas, it is yet to bedecided where and when he will paint her,” theactress’s spokesperson confirmed.

The veteran painter, whom Forbesmagazine once called the Picasso ofIndia, is on a self-imposed exile fromIndia and accepted a citizenship ofQatar where he currently lives.

Husain’s admiration for Bollywoodbeauties is well known. In the mid-Nineties, after watching Hum AapkeHain Koun!, he declared MadhuriDixit was his muse and went on topaint a series of paintings of theactress that he signed as Fida. Sub-sequently, he directed his muse inthe 2000 film, Gaja Gamini. Thefilm, by Husain’s admission, was asa tribute to Madhuri. In GajaGamini, the artist attempted toportray manifestations of woman-hood ranging from the muse of Kali-dasa, Mona Lisa, a rebel, and amusical euphoria with Madhuridepicting each role.

A few years later, Husain found anew muse in Tabu and his artistic

expression found form by way of his2004 film Meenaxi — A Tale Of ThreeCities.

Around the same time, he wasalso inspired by Urmila Matond-kar’s comic flair. He had intentionsof launching a comedy with Urmilaas his star but the venture nevertook off.

In 2007, Husain was floored byAmrita Rao after watching SoorajBarjatya’s Vivah. Impressed byAmrita’s performance in the film,which he said he had watched ninetimes, Husain had then declared:“She has entered my canvas now. Iwill construct an entire exhibition

around her.” He went on to launch aVivah series of paintings featuringAmrita.

In fact, he had even sent a surprisebirthday gift to the Vivah star — aset of three paintings that expertsestimated would be worth a crore.

Coming back to Anushka, Husainhasn’t announced any plan yet oflaunching a film with the actress ashe generally does, whenever he findsa new muse. “Right now, there hasbeen no mention of his making a filmwith her,” said the actress’sspokesperson.

Anushka is currently touringChandigarh and other cities in Pun-jab and Haryana to promote herforthcoming film Patiala House. IfHusain indeed keeps his word onpainting Punjab Ki Kudi, she willhave to take out time and travel toQatar or Dubai for a sitting.

MF’S EARLIER MUSES

Husain watched BandBaaja Baaraat eight times

MADHURIDIXIT

Husain’s firstmuse, on whom

he painted aseries of

paintings andlater directedher in the film

Gaja Gamini. Thefilm was Husain’s

tribute toMadhuri

THE GUJARAT Medical Council(GMC) has refused to strip thecorruption-tainted doctor,Ketan Desai, of his licence topractice medicine although theMedical Council of India (MCI)had directed it to do so last Octo-ber.

The state council has leaned on“legal opinion” given by formerchief justice of India A.M. Ahmadito arrive at its decision. On Satur-day the state council conveyedthe decision to Kolkata-basedpatient rights group, People forBetter Treatment (PBT), onwhose complaint the MCI can-celled Desai’s licence pendinginquiry.

Desai, who was also presidentof the GMC, resigned from thepost after he was caught red-handed accepting a bribe of `2crore from the management ofa medical college in Patiala. He

was subsequently dismissedfrom the government medicalcollege at which he was workingas a professor.

PBT filed a complaint with theGMC against misconduct by Desailast May. When the state councildid not act against him, a com-plaint was filed with the MCIwhich in October decided to can-cel Desai’s licence. This decisionprevented Desai from taking

over as the president of theWorld Medical Association.

But apparently, the GMC doesnot believe in the supremacy ofthe MCI in this matter. It hiredthe services of Ahmadi and gothis legal opinion, according towhich MCI cannot be an appel-late authority against a statemedical council and has no rightto cancel the licence of a doctor

registered in a state. “The MCI would become autho-

rised to remove the name of anymedical practitioner from theIndian Medical Register only uponthe removal of the name of the saidmedical practitioner from the StateMedical Register on account of adecision by the concerned statemedical council,” GMC has pointedout in its resolution.

Clauses 8.7 and 8.8 of MCI’s profes-sional conduct rules — under whichaction was taken against Desai —empower the central council to bethe appellate body. These provisionswere specifically added to the rulesin 2004 after the Supreme Courtdirected the government to do sowhile hearing a PIL filed by PBT.

Section 8.7 says the state medicalcouncil must complete investigationagainst errant doctors within sixmonths after which a complainantmay appeal to MCI for transfer ofthe case. Section 8.8 states that onecan appeal to the MCI against thedecision taken by a state medicalcouncil.

The GMC has refused toact on MCI’s directive

By Dinesh C Sharmain New Delhi

Tainted Ketan retains medical licence