A film about the fabled romance of a Mughal emperor, whose rule stands as a symbol for religious harmony in India, has been panned by many critics and sparked protests over the historical accuracy of his on-screen love life.

Whether Emperor Akbar, a Muslim, married Hindu Rajput princess Jodhaa some 450 years ago is debated by historians, but the alliance has fed folklore of an enduring love in a country scarred by a history of religious bloodbaths.

"Jodhaa Akbar", which stars former Miss World Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, plays out the royal courtship to the backdrop of palace intrigues and epic battles.

Some Rajput groups attacked movie halls and tore posters of the film, saying it was historically inaccurate, and that Jodhaa was in fact Akbar's daughter-in-law.

For fear of violent protests, the film was not released in Rajasthan -- an important Bollywood market and the place where many Rajputs hail from.

NEW DELHI, Dec. 31: The ministry of information & broadcasting plans to produce a film on the freedom struggle in partnership with private producer Firoz Nadiadwala, revolving around the life and times of the legendary freedom fighter Tatya Tope. To be named Tatya, the film will be produced at a cost of Rs 50 crore with 50:50 contributions from the government and the private film production house, according to the minister of information and broadcasting and parliamentary affairs, Mr PR Dasmunsi. The film will be directed by Vinay Shukla and is expected to be ready by 15 August, 2008, he told newsmen here on the occasion of the release of the official wall calendar as well as desk calendar for the year 2008 brought out by DAVP.

The beautiful city of Chandigarh, renowned for its modern architecture, has been put on the tentative list of UNESCO’s world heritage sites, setting it on the way to become the country’s first heritage city.

Designed by renowned French architect, Le Corbusier, the city’s nomination for the coveted heritage status has become transnational with France leading the way in officially backing its entry supported by Germany, Argentina and Switzerland.

“It is a unique case where Le Corbusier’s works in many countries are vying to be on world heritage list, but the case of Chandigarh is being supported by six countries including India,” said Francesco Bandarin, director of the World Heritage Centre of the UNESCO who was heading an 18-member UNESCO team to the city recently.

The City’s unique layout and novel design of its major public buildings contained in the capitol complex  housing the secretariat, the High Court and the assembly buildings, was an important landmark in the history of town planning and one of the chef-de-ouvres of the famed architect, Le Corbusier.

The city continues to be an object of interest for architects, planners, historians and social scientists.Bandarin did not see “any problems” in the city getting the nod for the heritage status after the Chandigarh administration submits a dossier by February 1 next.

Patna: The famous Madhubani painting of Bihar is now an exclusive brand as it has been registered under the provisions of Global Indications (GI) Act for patenting.

"The Madhubani painting of Bihar is the first item to be registered under the GI Act for patenting," Abhijit Das, representative of United National Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), said here on Saturday.

For ages, rural people, mostly women, of Mithila in Bihar have developed their own tradition of art, popularly known as Madhubani paintings and named after Madhubani district.

This painting tradition dates back to the seventh century A.D.

Traditionally, Madhubani paintings were made on the eve of certain rituals and ceremonies such as pujas (worships), vratas (fasts) or weddings. But in the last few decades, Madhubani paintings have been popularised the world over by master painters.