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Thursday, September 14, 2006

BBC premiers first internet magazine

Dev Anand guest-edits the first bbchindi.com magazine

BBC Hindi service's website, bbchindi.com has launched its first internet magazine, BBC Patrika, with a very special guest editor - the legendary actor and film-maker Dev Anand. Incorporating all the regular features that used to be part of the website's Entertainment index, BBC Patrika also carries a range of original material, including stories, poetry and interviews.

Editor of bbchindi.com Salma Zaidi explains: "We want to attract new users to our online site, and with BBC Patrika we can widen its scope to include features and thought-provoking articles which, we hope, will engage users looking for something more than just Bollywood and fashion."
"bbchindi. com" will invite well known names to write for BBC Patrika, and to ensure it constantly feels fresh and lively, we will have a new guest editor every three months. Dev Anand is a perfect example. He is an acclaimed living legend with decades of expertise ntertaining and informing the public. He also has a keen eye for the issues concerning Hindi-speakers across the world."

Dev Anand says: "My association with the BBC goes a long way. I was first interviewed by the BBC in the 1950s. When bbchindi.com approached me to be a guest editor for BBC Patrika, I was pleasantly surprised. I have played innumerable roles in my lifetime, but never that of an Editor. There is something that is common between BBC and myself. I have never copied anyone and in that regard I am 'exclusive'. And so is the BBC. Apart from this, I have always accepted challenges and I feel BBC Hindi Online has also been doing this all the time."

For more information contact:
Lala Najafova, International Publicist, BBC World Service +44(0)207557 2944; ala.najafova@bbc.co.uk
(Source: Jaisakthivel, Chennai, India via HCDX)