_LOS ANGELES, United States
_ Luminaries such as Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Bollywood stars Pooja Batra and Prashant Raj, and Latin sensation Charo came out to celebrate the book launch of Ghalib Shiraz Dhalla’s Lambda Literary Award finalist novel, “The Two Krishnas,” at Eleven Lounge and Club in West Hollywood April 22. “The Two Krishnas,” published in June 2011 as “The Exiles” (HarperCollins), has been nominated for the 24th Annual Lambda Literary Award. “The Two Krishnas” is an exploration of infidelity and the nature of imperiled desire and faith: Pooja Kapoor, a betrayed wife and mother, is forced to question her faith and marriage when she discovers that her husband, Rahul, is having an affair with another man. Born in Kenya, Dhalla is the author of “Ode to Lata,” which he later adapted, co-directed and produced into the motion picture “The Ode.” His most recent film, “Embrace,” is a dramatization of the Mumbai 2008 terror attacks. It stars Rebecca Hazlewood (NBC’s “Outsourced”) and Ajay Mehta, and will premiere at the New York Indian Film Festival later this month.