A Royal Tint
It was a trip down memory lane for many in the chiffon-and-pearl set at the inaugurationof the exhibition of the recently-discovered princely portraits from Bond Street’sfamous Lafayette Studio, currently showing at Delhi’s British Council. There wasMaharani Gayatri Devi, gazing at her grandparents, and at the handsome young Maharajah ofCooch Behar who eloped with her mother, the Princess of Gaekwad, much to her father’sdispleasure. And the Rani of Mikha peering at the full-length portrait of her mother, theRani of Mandi. "I’ve never seen this picture of hers before," she mused, asshe gazed at the tall elegant figure who had left the palace to live in Paris when herdaughter was only four years old. "The Rani’s conspicuous lack of jewels is instark contrast to her father (Maharaja Jagatjit Singh of Kapurthala) who spent up to aquarter of his revenue annually buying swags of pearls and emeralds for himself,"says Russell Harris, curator of this exhibition. Taken at the height of princely passionfor all things English, these early 1900 portraits from the Lafayette Studio, famous forits studio portraits of court debutants and visiting royalty, reveal another royalpassion: for fabulous gems and medallions...
Sheela Reddy
A Studio-US Turn
J.J. Valaya, we are told, is in expansion mode. And no, it has nothing whatsoever to dowith his weight. The trousseau specialist launched his flagship Studio Valaya store inDelhi last week. Another two stores will be opened in Mumbai by month-end. Studio Valayais the diffusion label from The House of Valaya much as Emporio Armani is the middle- tohigh-end product from the more niche, high-value range of Giorgio Armani. While the JJValaya label is one of the leading statements in couture collections, Studio Valayaepitomises the simpler, more wearable and accessible look of the diffusion market."It evolves the same trends into a watered-down, cleaner and more affordablelook," says Valaya. But both labels have one thing in common—they cater to theconfident, sophisticated woman and man who believe in timeless yet contemporary elegance.Do you count yourself among them?
Mix ‘N’ Match
Saffron, olive and plum in wood, steel and stone; Indian technique and crafts on westernframes; a marriage of the classic and the contemporary. That in sum is Raseel Gujral andNaveen Ansal’s Casa Paradox 2002 furniture and home accessories line which includessofas, tables, chairs, lamps, cushions and even candles. "Our emphasis is more oncreating a mood than just a piece of furniture," says Ansal. "They arestand-alone pieces but speak one story," claims Gujral. And prices? Rs 500-Rs 80,000.
A Kapil Of Things
Kapil Dev can give a lesson to our politicians on the art of going on about nothing. Whenthe former all-rounder promised a dhamaka last Tuesday, Delhi scribes lay siege at the TajPalace but the Haryana Hurricane was as revealing as a Bollywood ingenue". I promiseto give every story of my life to this young man," he said, pointing towards AnuragKashyap, the director of a one-year film project called Kapil Dev: The True Story.In hisperfectly confusing English, he announced he was ready to clear his name from "whateveryone knows happened". Still, he’d like the film to be about the 90 per centgood that’s happened to him rather than the 10 per cent bad. "Life isbeautiful," and "Prabhakar was a friend," were his most quotable quotes. Wecould almost see a halo!
Dhiraj Singh
The Cutting Edge
Shabana Azmi wasn’t rude enough for Star TV. Not when compared to Neena Gupta who hasbeen chosen to anchor the Indian version of bbc’s The Weakest Link that has anacerbic hostess using expressions like "pathetic" and "stupid" todescribe some guests. The guests however don’t mind, since the prize on offer at thequiz show is up to Rs 25 lakh. Neena doesn’t believe she is "rude", perhapsjust a bit "no nonsense". And that is not the only reason why she was chosenabove others. "I’ve heard that Shabana, Rekha and Sushmita Sen were otherpossible anchors. But I don’t think I was chosen because I could be rude. I am anMPhil in Sanskrit. I think in Hindi. I have a command over the language and if I may sayso, I am beautiful too." And though she will not reveal exactly how much she is paidfor all these virtues, "the money is good", the lady says.
Manu Joseph
Singing All The Way To TheBank
Hindi films weren’t exactly crackling this Diwali but Karan Johar still found reasonto smile. His commercial on Indian family values, Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham, whichcomes with the ‘new’ message "love your parents", is already raking inmoney through its music. Says an official from Sony: "The album which was launched onOctober 16 has already crossed a milestone figure of over 25 lakh units in a record 30days." If it’s true, it could be by far the fastest 25-lakh sale in the historyof Hindi film music. And you can thank Jatin Lalit and Sandesh Shandilya for the music.
Trash Of The Fortnight : KyaMasti Kya Dhoom
Another show which began with a lot of promise but is now fast becoming less and lesswatchable. The concept itself is an old one, so that KMKD emerges as nothing better than the other seen-it-before show on Sony, Boogie Woogie.On KMKD too, precocious kids perform a filmi dance routine, their childish bodi es gyrating to adult moves. Hostess Sonali Bendre is a welcome relief but while she has the right looks, she lacks the punch and panache necessary to turn you into a show loyalist. Her guest list earlier boasted ofstars like Aamir Khan but has now been reduced to names like Jaspinder Narula and Shaan.And then they have an Aftab Shivdasani to judge the moves and grooves when he himself isno great mover. It only helps that the participants aren’t outstandingly talented.Nothing more than a small-time, neighbourhood song’n’dance function.
