Amit Roy, Eastern Eye Journalist Profile

Articles

Victor Hugo’s hidden artworks reveal political depth and poetic mystery

2 weeks ago | easterneye.biz | Amit Roy

The moment I walked into the Royal Academy to see Astonishing Things: The Drawings of Victor Hugo, I thought of Rabindranath Tagore. Both men were giants of literature, but they were visual artists as well.
London's Jaipur Literature Festival seeks to ‘build bridges between cultures’

2 weeks ago | easterneye.biz | Amit Roy

EASTERN EYE is supporting this year’s Jaipur Literature Festival (JLF) at the British Library next Friday (13) to Sunday (15) as its media partner. “We are happy to do so as we aim to be ‘the voice of British Asians’, as we say on our masthead,” said Shailesh Solanki, executive editor of the newspaper. JLF also seeks to attract all sections of the community in the UK. Many of the speakers in this year’s event have featured in Eastern Eye in recent years.
British Museum highlights Hindu, Jain and Buddhist traditions in UK context

3 weeks ago | easterneye.biz | Amit Roy

The British Museum’s Ancient India: Living Traditions is among the most significant displays for Hindus, Jains, and Buddhists living in the UK. Eastern Eye was given a tour of the exhibition by its curator, Dr Sushma Jansari, the Tabor Foundation curator of South Asia at the British Museum, and Kajal Meghani, the project curator, who has completed a PhD on the contributions of South Asian collectors to the museum.
Maharaja service offers touch of class in Air India’s business cabin

3 weeks ago | easterneye.biz | Amit Roy

THE recently signed Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between the UK and India means there will be even greater demand for Air India’s business class travel from Heathrow to Delhi and Mumbai. But let me travel down memory lane for a little while. I have on my table a little cup with the new Maharaja symbol. It’s the sort used to serve tea and coffee in business class. I assure readers it wasn’t pinched.
Sathnam Sanghera’s 'Marriage Material' adapted into bold new play on conformity

3 weeks ago | easterneye.biz | Amit Roy

The play Marriage Material at the Lyric Hammersmith Theatre is Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti’s adaptation of Sathnam Sanghera’s novel of the same name, which first came out in 2013. She is lucky to have Iqbal Khan direct Marriage Material. The play, a co-production with the Birmingham Rep, is set in the late 1960s. Mr and Mrs Bains (played by Jaz Singh Deol and Avita Jay) run a corner shop in Wolverhampton.
When art is inherited

3 weeks ago | easterneye.biz | Amit Roy

THE wheels of time have been turning at Eastern Eye’s annual Arts, Culture & Theatre Awards (ACTAs). Meera Syal arrived a little late, having flown in from Dublin, but her daughter, Milli Bhatia – nominated for best theatre director – was already in the audience. Incidentally, Meera won best theatre actress for A Tupperware of Ashes. Sarod player Soumik Datta, who won an ACTA in the traditional music category, had come with his parents – Soumilya and cinema expert Sangeeta Datta.
Why exposure to the arts must be part of a child’s education

3 weeks ago | easterneye.biz | Amit Roy

SHOULD Eastern Eye list the 101 most influential British Asian artists? We have toyed with the idea, not least because we publish a Rich List of the 101 wealthiest Asians in the UK, and a similar Power List. Actually, making a list of the most influential Asian artists in the country is, on paper, a difficult task because you have to compare say, a dancer, with someone who is a painter. That said, the job is not impossible.
Displays at Chelsea Flower Show plant seeds of change

1 month ago | easterneye.biz | Amit Roy

IF THERE was ever a time for the British Asian community and especially Eastern Eye readers to join the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), it is now in the wake of the Chelsea Flower Show. The weather varies from one year to the next, but after one of the sunniest springs on record, the blooms at Chelsea 2025 have been spectacular. And the show is always an indication that summer is on its way.
Veteran Director Waris Hussein Releases Personal Memoirs

1 month ago | easterneye.biz | Amit Roy

The British Asian community, especially the acting fraternity, will be fascinated to learn that film director Waris Hussein is halfway through writing his memoirs. After all, how many British Asian directors can lay claim to straightening Richard Burton’s tie? He directed Burton and Elizabeth Taylor in the film Divorce His, Divorce Hers in 1973.
Susan Stronge’s final chapter puts spotlight on Mughal splendour

1 month ago | easterneye.biz | Amit Roy

Susan Stronge was understandably a little emotional as she spoke to Eastern Eye last Monday (5), the final day of the exhibition on The Great Mughals: Art, Architecture and Opulence, the exhibition she curated at the Victoria and Albert Museum.