Rahul Bose, Nandita Das, Poonam Dhillon, Shibani Kashyap, Rajat Kapoor, Brinda Parekh at the premiere of Before The Rains in PVR on 12th Aug 2009.

Shahrukh Khan, Salman Khan, Sohail Khan, Genelia D Souza, Tabu, Minisha Lamba, Sameera Reddy, Fardeen Khan, Ranbir Kapoor, Rishi Kapoor, Jeetendra, Kiran Juneja, Ramesh Sippy, Vivek Oberoi, Dino Morea, Rajneesh Duggal, Ruslaan, Arjan Bajwa, Raveena Tandon, Farhan Akhtar, Vidya Balan, Govind Namdeo, Manoj Bohra, Teejay Sidhu, Tapur Chatterjee, Nishka Lulla, Poonam Dhillon, Imran Khan, Kunal Kohli, Mohit Suri, Kunal Khemu, Vashu and Jackie Bhagnani, Pritam Chakraborty, Aashish Chaudhary, Alka Yagnik, Celina Jaitley, Karan Johar, Sanjay Kapoor, Juhi Chawla, Sammir Dattani, Ayub Khan, Niharika Khan  at Ramesh Taurani_s 25th Wedding Anniversary Celebrations on 11th Aug 2009.

Tejaswini, Padmini and Pandharinath Kolhapure, Poonam Dhillon at Pandharinath Kolhapure_s book launch in Ravindra Natya Mandir on 2nd July 2009.

Ferena Wazeir, lillete dubey, Shaad Randhawa, Mohit Suri, Anupam Kher, Kirron Kher, Raju Kher, Soni Razdan, Bunty Walia, Poonam Dhillon, Mahesh Bhatt, Kunal Kohli, Yash Chopra, David Dhawan, Perizaad Kolah, Satish Kaushik, Ashok Pandit at the premiere of Saaransh in Metro BIG Cinemas on 23rd May 2009 .

It’s not just fame that Kites has brought Ms Mori.She also knew no English before she started shooting for Kites. But by the time the shooting concluded she could grope around the English language, thanks to Hrithik Roshan .

Apparenty Barbara and Hrithik made a pact. Hrithik would teach Barbara English and Barbara would teach him Spanish.

“I don’t know how much of the promised linguistic exchange worked, But Hrithik knows enough Spanish to understand Mori better than his character in Kites who can’t follow a word of what she says in the film,” says a crew member.

As for Barbara’s angrezi, she has picked up enough to conduct herself coherently with the media in Cannes although apparently, she would often turn to turn to Hrithik to get the right word.

Says Hrithik’s father Rakesh Roshan, “Barbara knew only Spanish when she started shooting for Kites. That suited us fine since her character is supposed to understand only Spanish. During shooting she needed to communicate with her co-stars and the crew. She was forced to learn English. Now she speaks just enough to make herself understood.”

The film’s shooting is over. But the editing remains. Rakesh Roshan is hoping for an October release.

“All the prospective buyers and media persons loved the trailer we took to Cannes. This was my first official visit to Cannes though I’ve been to this city for holidays,” says Rakesh Roshan.

A Roman philosopher of the 1st century AD had once proclaimed “We live for fashion and reason”. Quite remarkable was this scholar’s foresight, because that is exactly what forms the communal crescendo of the Bengalis. The fashion quotient in Bangali life was strung on a revivalist mode in the early nineteenth century triggered off by the Renaissance.

The Bengal Renaissance, apart from an intellectual awakening did affect contemporary life very materially and surely fashion statements were revolutionized. The Bengali women defied the Pathan, Mughal or the English fashions and implemented their own trends. They started using the concept of colour matching and began wearing separate dresses for different seasons. Spring was the time for them to wear sky blue saree with black border and used floral garlands as headdress. During the Durga puja they wore sarees of different hues accompanied by floral ornaments and used cosmetics made from sandal and flowers. The ladies of the Tagore family became the trendsetters when it came to the usage of the sarees in the Bengali community. Men were not behind and the China coats and the “Babu” fashion ruled the roost. Style icons like Prince Dwarakanath Tagore, Michael Madhusudan Datta, Raja RamMohan Roy and even Rabindranath Tagore were the muse of the century.

The harbinger of another revival in Bengali fashion is surely Sharbari Dutta, who essentially is an artist and doesn’t fall in to a generic category of fashion designers. Sharbari being bred in an environment of creative synergies poured out her elements in her work and the Bangali Pungob needs to thank her if they have come out of the drudgery of the bleak world of stripes and checks. Sharbari rose above all cultural conditioning and handheld men into a world of colours which they would otherwise abhor. And today when a bridegroom wears a green embroidered dhoti, it is surely a testimonial to the fact that Sharbari has dispelled the myth of masculine wardrobe. Be it metrosexuals or ubersexuals, Sharbari has always celebrated manhood using folk-art like Madhubani paintings, Egyptian hieroglyphs, African tribal motifs, Greco-Roman relief, Persian and Arabian scripts.

Sharbai’s creations could be narratives by itself. Each art d’ object is a journey to the roots—folklores, epics, mythology have always fascinated the world of imagery for her. Rustling silks have been her canvas in the beginning and today she works on all kinds of weaves making her a holistic artisan, ready to enchant everyone with her magical nimble. On a return to roots, Sharbari made the diaspora realize the need for tracing back to heritage amidst blinding faith to western existence. Fashion is her medium and Sharbari is an iconoclast. This ensemble which Sharbari would put up will actually be a reflection of the cultural identity of India in transition. The perspective would be her fashion landscape and how traditions co-exist with trends and create a religion of no less order. Sharbari presents her synthesis of the evolution of culture in couture.

Dino Morea scorched the ramp dressed in Sharbari Dutta outfit today.

Tulip Joshi, Neetu Chandra, Asha Bhosle, YAsh Chopra, Poonam Dhillon, Padmini Kolhapure, Jackie Shroff, Kamia Malhotra, Anju Mahendroo, Delnaz Paul, Bappi Lahiri, Sudesh Bhonsle, Rajiv Paul, Anu Ranjan, Kiran Juneja, Jaspinder Narula, Ranjeet, Siddharth Kak, Randhir Kapoor, Deepshikha, TAnvi Azmi at Poonam Dhillon_s birthday bash in Andheri on 18th April 2009.

Preeti Jhangiani, Neeta Lulla, Poonam Dhillon, Mansi Scott at Neeta Lulla_s store in Santacruz on 17th April 2009.

Tusshar Kapoor, Urmila Matondkar, Anil Kapoor, Sridevi, Boney Kapoor, Anupam Kher, Kiron Kher, Anu Ranjan, Sashi Ranjan, Padmini Kolhapure, Gulshan Grover, Divya Khosla, Bhushan Kumar, Anju Mahendroo, Neena Gupta, Poonam Dhillon, Sudhir Mishra, Prem Chopra, Ruslaan Mumtaz, David Dhawan, Javed Akhtar at Satish Kaushik_s bday Bash in Man on 13th April 2009.

Kunal Kapoor, Arzoo Govitrikar, Anusha Dandekar, Poonam Dhillon, Satish Kaushik, Gautam Singhania, Raghuram, Vipul Shah at Mangii restaurant launch in Bandra on 12th April 2009.

Preity Zinta, Malaika Arora Khan, Shamita Shetty, Sameera Reddy, Gul Panag, Lara Dutta, Arjun RAmpal, Upen Patel, RAhul Bose, Vida Samadzai, Queenie Dhody, Nisha Jamwal, Nina Manuel, TAnisha Mukherjee, Prashant Raj, Karan Johar, KUnal Kapoor, Rahul Khanna, Poonam Dhillon, Rocky S, Aditi Govitrikar, Chunky Pandey, Neeta Lulla, Arbaaz Khan Vikram Chatwal’s bash on 28th March 2009.

The reason for that is most of the shooting is outdoor and there are lots of more physical exercises which really exhausts everyone, not only the actors but other unit members. But helplessly everyone is bound to shoot under the severe temperature which goes up upto 40.”

Further our source told us, “So for that John had taken short break from shooting to meet Bipasha because soon she will be in Goa to face the heat while shooting for ‘All the Best’ with Ajay Devgan and Fardeen Khan. The Mahurat of this film happened yesterday at Madh island.”

About Hook Yaa Crook

‘Hook Yaa Crook’ tells the story of Viraj Pradhan who aspires to become a famous cricketer. Directed by David Dhawan, besides John the star casts include Shreyas Talpade and Genelia D’Douza. Cricketer M.S.Dhoni will also play an important part. The filming is being carried out in Ramoji’s Filmcity, Hyderabad and will tentatively hit the screen in September 2009.

Recession me bright dhamaal party at royal palms. Yogesh Lakhani of Bright Advertising and Outdoor Media organised a big annual party for his company in this recession time at Royal Palms,goregaon east.The party was organised for 1500 people but the outcome was of more than 3000 people.The party started on time and everyone was picked from highway to the venue.Yogesh Lakhani and his wife were at the entrance to receive all the guest.

The party was organised in bollywood style as everywhere standies were displayed for food,drink,bar,photo shoots and direction.Raju Shrivastava,Sunil Pal,Navin Prabhakar,Asis Das,Arvinder Singh,Ajay Jhingran and Meet Brothers performed for the guest and media.Other guest came for the party were Poonam Dhillion, Adhyayan Suman,Bhumika Chawla,Poonam Jhawer,Nandini Jumani,Abhijeet Chakravorty,M S Bitta (ats chief),Manik Soni,Hema Sardesai,Anwar,Manisha Kelkar,DJ Sheizwood,Yuvraaj Parashar,Kapil Sharma,Navin Batra,Moondaas,Shradha Sharma.The party went till vee hours.Food and snacks got over as the guest turnout was more than expectation but the liquor was there till end.

Anil Kapoor, Shatrughun Sinha, Raza Murad, Jaya Bachchan, Subhash Ghai, Mukesh Khanna, Naseruddin Shah, Gulshan Grover, Om Puri, Poonam Dhillon, Shakti Kapoor, Asrani, Danny, Brinda Parekh, Rakesh Bedi, Satish Shah, Ratna Pathak Shah, Sashi Ranjan, Anu Ranjan, Tom Alter, Tusshar Kapoor at Roshan Taneja_s birthday in ITC Grand Maratha on 21st March 2009.

Madhavan with wife, Neetu Chandra, Poonam Dhillon, Baba Sehgal, Sudhir Mishra, Amar Upadhyay, Hetal Upadhyay at 13B success party in Enigma, Mumbai on 13th March 2009.

Manohar (Madhavan) with his wife (Neetu Chandra) shifts to a new address with his entire joint family comprising of his brother and his wife, their two kids, mom (Poonam Dhillon) and a college going younger sister. All the female folks in the family are hooked on to watching daily Saas Bahu soaps on TV.

Rating: 3.5/5
Starring: R. Madhavan, Neetu Chandra, Dhritman Chatterjee, Poonam Dhillon, Murli Sharma, Sachin Khedekar
Director: Vikram K. Kumar

But bizarre things start happening to Manohar after shifting to this new address – 13B like the lift never working whenever he boards it alone, his mobile phone clicking distorted images of his self, his bathroom bulb being constantly lit up despite him putting it off and him not being able to hammer a simple nail in the room of his house walls.

While he is experiencing such weird things, the opposite is happening to his family members who are having personal gains in all possible ways. Just around that time the female folk in his house start following a new daily TV Soap called Sab Khairiyat. The show comes daily at 1300 hours at channel number 13 in his 13 B flat only.

Manohar soon realizes that the things happening in the TV series are ditto happening in his own family life as well. It is almost as if, his life’s daily events are being dictated by the TV series. This drives Manohar literally mad as he tries finding answers to it. He takes help of an old friend, Shiva (Murli Sharma) and what unfolds next forms the rest part of this shocking thriller.

An innovative plot that steers clear of typical Bollywood horror cinema clichés like a Tantric Baba, Sanskrit shlokas, and badly made up ghosts, 13 B scores on many counts. The setting is very relatable to anyone staying in urban cities and the script makes good use of daily every day life happenings.

Even things as simple as a lift and mobile phone are smartly used as a prop to scare you. It’s a tough job scaring the daylights out of the audience by showing things taking place on screen in broad daylight but 13 B succeeds very well in doing so.

First timer director Vikram K. Kumar who is also the film’s story-screenplay and dialogue writer deserves full marks for all inventive efforts in making a gripping thriller that has you on the edge of the seat most of the time. Also, the back story which reveals the suspense behind the weird experiences Madhavan is experiencing appears very convincing.

Vikram has also made good use of camera by employing lot of handheld camera moments which give you just the right feel of the character’s helplessness. The only thing that is a downer is the film’s running time which is 2 and a half hour. Also, the need for sensous dream song between Madhavan and Neetu was just not needed especially when sufficient time had been given for their bedroom act just few minutes before it.

The background music by Tubby-Parik succeeds in elevating the tension.

The film is a must see for Madhavan’s superb act. He brilliantly conveys the dilemma that he faces and his vulnerability in handling the bizarre situations around him. Neetu Chandra in a less make up look gives him able support. Murli Sharma employing a lot of black humour is superb and gets some really good lines to give you that much needed comic relief.

Poonam Dhillon making a comeback of sorts after over a decade is good too. Sachin Khedekar as the family’s trusted doctor does a fine job. In a small part, Deepak Dobriyal impresses a lot.

Just don’t miss 13 B, it not only engages you but also gives you the right chills and thrills just when you don’t expect them. It is one of the most intelligently made thriller in recent times in Bollywood. Go watch it.

Soha Ali Khan, Kunal Khemu at the film promotion of Dhoondte Reh Jaoge in Fun Cinema, Andheri on 1st March 2009.

Sophie Chaudhary, Neetu Chandra and Poonam Dhillon at Gitanjali race in Turf Club on 1st March 2009.

Priyanka Chopra, Mugdha Godse, Preity Zinta, Asin Thottumkal, Genelia D Souza, Sushmita Sen, Deepika Padukone, Ranbir Kapoor, Kareena KApoor, Saif Ali Khan, Amitabh Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai, Abhishek Bachchan, Arjan Bajwa, Madhur Bhandarkar, Kunal Khemu, Kunal Kapoor, Divya Khosla, Bhushan Kumar, Anushka Sharma, Shahrukh Khan, Prem Chopra, shabana Azmi, Javed Akhtar, Arjun Rampal, FArhan Akhtar, Riya Sen, Raima Sen, Koena mitra, Abbas Tyrewala, Vishal Bharadwaj, Payal Rohatgi, TAnay Chheda, Darsheel Safary, Kiran Juneja, Poonam Dhillon, Shreya Saran, Shreya Ghoshal, Abbas MAstan, Salim Sulaiman Merchant, Alka Yagnik, Padmini Kolhapure, Jagmohan Mundhra, Ramesh Taurani, Mukesh Bhatt, Zoya Akhtar, Vivek Oberoi, Ritesh Deshmukh, TAbu, Irrfan Khan, Neil Mukesh, John Abraham, Adah Sharma, Atul Kulkarni, Purab Kohli, Ashutosh and Sunita Gowariker at 54th Idea Filmfare Awards 2008 on 28th Feb 2009.

In a scenario where majority of India’s children and young adults remain uneducated, it is heartening to know that there are responsible citizens who are willing to help the cause. Araaish, in aid of the ‘Save the Children India Foundation’ is a front runner in this cause.

Araaish was a one stop destination for spring summer shopping and was presented by Samira Habitats, co hosted by siblings Mana Shetty, Rahul Kadri and Isha Mehra as a tribute to their mother the late Mrs Vipula Kadri. This year it was held on 25 th February 2009 at Blue Sea, Worli.

As every year a lot of big names from the fashion industry have stepped up this time as well to support Araaish. Among them were Kokomo for bags, shoes and jewellery; Bea Accessories showcasing bags and shoes; Maheep Kapoor for Real Jewellery; Suhani Pittie and Aqua Marine displaying fashion jewellery; Indian wear by Hirkani and Ujwalla; clothes by Bhairavi Jaikishan, Trupsel, Gopi Vaid, Sabina Singh, Rohit & Rahul and Kavita Durazi . In addition to that they have also roped in Renu Bothra from the store ‘You’, Ensemble , Tina Tahiliani with a collection of t-shirts, Namrata Chandra for shoes. Other than that one will be able to shop for home accessories by Tara and J Studio plus furniture from Anu Khatwani. Shoppers can also look forward to diamond studded watches form Toy Watch and tunics and t-shirts from Mana and Isha’s latest collection.

Save the Children India also put up a stall with decorative products such as gift bags, batuas, festive stationery, wine bottle holders made by the adolescent girls.

Some of the celebrities who attended Araaish hosted by Mana Shetty, Rahul Kadri and Isha Mehra co hosted by Sameer Nerurkar and Alan Sippy of Samira Habitats were Twinkle Khanna, Suniel Shetty, Smita Thackeray, Anu Deewan, Queenie Dhody, Neerja Birla, Nawaz Singhania, Seema Khan, Bhavana Pandey, Madhoo Shah, Sophie Choudhary, Tanya Deol, A. D. Singh, Dr Abhijit Desai, Nitasha Nanda, Akansha Aggarwal, Sangita Kathiwada, Priyashri Patodia, Bejal Meswani,Lali Dhawan,Kavita Durazi ,Tanisha Mukherjee,Rashmi Uday Singh, Kaajal Anand,Nikasha,Nachiket Barve, Bonita Bulchandani,Pallavi Jaikishan,Deepika Gehani,Shaheen Abbas, ,Aarti Surendernath,Seema Mehrotra,Prerna Goel,Malini Agarwalla,Shazia Gowarikar, Gouri Pahoomul, Taseem Mehta,Jaya Raheja,,Shalini Shahani, Sheeba, ,Elina Meswani,Raell Padamsee, Shaan Khanna, Poonam Dhillon, Tisca Chopra , Rukshana Eisa, Nisha Jamwal, etc. Event was organized by Sharmilla Khanna. Wine food and music flowed in complete harmony all day towards the cause of Save the children India.

“Araaish is a cause that is very close to our hearts especially since it was founded by our mother. It has been a very emotional journey for us and it is fulfilling to know that our little endeavors can make a big impact on a deserving child’s life”, says Mana Shetty.

Said Isha Mehra, “Araaish is the perfect platform for the ‘haves’ of the society to extend a helping hand to the have-nots.”

Sharmilla Khanna who organized the event said, “The funds collected by Araaish help educate, support and empower the most vulnerable children providing them with education and life skills to sustain themselves. With every passing year we try making a significant difference to the lives of children and will continue doing so.”

“Araaish is a wonderful effort to give underprivileged children a chance to a normal childhood and I am glad to be supporting them”, said ace designer Tarun Tahiliani.

“I am happy to be associated with a noble cause like Araaish. We need more initiatives like them”, said Maheep Kapoor.

Sabina Singh rightly said “I applaud ‘Save the children’ and Araaish’s efforts to educate the future of our country.”

“Every thought and act of compassion makes a huge difference. So kudos to ‘Save the children’ and Araaish”, said designer-duo Rohit and Rahul Gandhi.

How You (The Participants, The Media And Shoppers Have Contributed.)

The success of Araaish has enabled Save The Children India to fulfill many a dreams…

Young Girls from the slum communities are now selling their products directly to the elite. This offers them an opportunity to develop skills which they would use to become self sufficient and self reliant in the challenging years ahead.

Araaish offers the elite, a unique and humane opportunity to connect with the less privileged which may not otherwise have been possible. Most shoppers have stopped by to shop at the Save the Children India stall at Araaish with decorative products made by the adolescent girls.

FACTS:
Araaish via Save the children offers employment to over 310 young girls. Has generated a turn over of over Rs 7 million with profits ploughed back for sustainability of the project. Turning insecuries and rejection into confidence and pride.

None of this could have been possible without your support

NOT charity, but EMPOWERMENT!!

About Samira Habitats
Samira Habitats is a niche real estate company promoted by the Samira Group to provide value added, bespoke products & solutions in the real estate sector. Samira Habitats aim to transform Alibag from a weekend getaway to a preferred residential destination with excellent facilities such as lifestyle residences, gated communities, IB schools, marinas, hospitals & golfing facilities etc.

About Save the Children, India
The late Mrs. Vipula Kadri founded Save The Children India in 1988, with an aim to serve children from the marginalized sections of society. Save The Children India has been tirelessly functioning in the field of child development and child rights since its inception and firmly believes in its conviction of making India a child friendly nation demonstrating this through its various innovative projects aiming at integrated child development. Save The Children India has been successful in achieving the desired results in the field of Education and Health at the same time, Save The Children India also has been a pioneer organization in launching a anti trafficking initiative through a network of civil society organizations at south Asia level.

Statistics for Aaraish
Indian Scenario:

In India, only 53% of habitation has a primary school.

50% of Indian children aged 6-18 do not go to school

More that 50% of India’s children are malnourished.

23% of India’s children are underweight at birth.

70 in every 1000 children born in India, do not see their first birthday.

One in every ten children is disabled in India.

High cost of private education and need to work to support their families and little interest in studies are the reasons given by 3 in every four drop-outs as the reason they leave.

While one in every five adolescent boys is malnourished, one in every two girls in India is undernourished.

74% of India’s children below the age of 3 months are anemic.

Source: 7th All India Education Survey, 2002