BRIEFS

MTV SHORTLISTS INDIA HEAD MTV

is expected to announce the name of its new India head over the next few days. Earlier, it had short-listed a Colgate Palmolive executive Maitri Kumar but the latter did not come on board as her finance professional husband got a transfer to Singapore. MTV, which has taken the lead in the music television sweepstakes, has been under the charge of MTV's south east Asia head Sudanshu Sarronwala since general manager Sunil Lulla decided to move on to a liquor company last year. A MTV official spokesperson said no decision had been taken on finding a replacement as yet but the short-listing process was on.

FIRE CLEARED BY CENSOR BOARD

Feature film Fire, which ran into a political storm late last year for being too bold, has been cleared by the Indian censor board without any further cuts. The film had been withdrawn from Indian cinema halls after the Shiv Sena political party objected to lesbian scenes featured in it. The government had then sent it back to the censor board for a review.

The film's distributors have appealed to the Shiv Sena government in Maharashtra to allow Fire to be released in its capital Mumbai.