Click here for the Richard Gere - Shilpa Shetty kissing controversy
Shilpa Shetty has been offered the role of Roxie Hart in the West End musical Chicago. But what of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Bombay Dreams? Looks like Shilpa has a tough choice on her hands.
FULL COVERAGE (on this blog)
Shilpa Shetty in Big Brother
Saturday, February 24, 2007
The Indibloggies 2006
Yes, the results are out. No, I wasn't shortlisted for the Indian weblog awards. But here are the worthy winners.
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
BLOG INTERVIEW - Ruchi Narain
Meet Ruchi Narain. The 30-something filmmaker, a protege of renowned director Sudhir Mishra, scooped up critical acclaim for her debut film Kal - Yesterday and Tomorrow. The Shiney Ahuja-Chitrangada Singh thriller picked up the critic's award at the 2005 Osian's Cinefan film festival, New Delhi.
Narain, who also co-wrote Mishra's Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi and Calcutta Mail, then disappeared from the Bollywood scene - ostensibly to take a break from four years of non-stop work since 'Hazaaron..'. But she kept herself busy by dabbling in music videos, ad films and documentaries.
Fans of this young filmmaker need not despair. Ruchi told Toe Knee Unplugged she's hard at work on three feature film scripts - a thriller, a love story and a romantic comedy - and promises it won't be too long a wait coz she's itching to make a feature film.
So, how has Ruchi spent her 'off' year?
But even the magic of cinema fails when it comes to Ruchi's first love. The young director had the most fun shooting action scenes involving horses.
Other Exclusive Interviews on this blog
Playwright Mahesh Dattani
Narain, who also co-wrote Mishra's Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi and Calcutta Mail, then disappeared from the Bollywood scene - ostensibly to take a break from four years of non-stop work since 'Hazaaron..'. But she kept herself busy by dabbling in music videos, ad films and documentaries.
Fans of this young filmmaker need not despair. Ruchi told Toe Knee Unplugged she's hard at work on three feature film scripts - a thriller, a love story and a romantic comedy - and promises it won't be too long a wait coz she's itching to make a feature film.
So, how has Ruchi spent her 'off' year?
"I directed the Indian Idol II video, a couple of ad films (one with John Abraham). But frankly, more exciting for me was to produce two wildlife documentaries directed by my sister Ashima."The documentary 'In The Pink' (about flamingoes in Mumbai) was bought by Discovery, earning both sisters a shot at another documentary, this time 'The Last Dance' (about dancing bears). A different kind of world, eh?
"For me, this was a whole new world. Quite invigorating to see another 'kind' of life after being immersed in one's own films and imagination for so long."Surprisingly, Ruchi is not writing mentor Sudhir Mishra's latest flick Khoya Khoya Chand which stars Shiney Ahuja (once again!) and Soha Ali Khan. But she's associated with the film as its Second Unit Director. And notice how Ruchi goes ga-ga over Soha's work.
"Soha is an absolutely brilliant, natural and sophisticated actor. She will floor everyone with this film not just with her acting ... she looks beautiful."Since Khoya Khoya Chand is a love story in the backdrop of the Hindi film industry in the 1950-60s, Ruchi shot reel premieres for the film, including one set in Delhi's famous Regal cinema.
But even the magic of cinema fails when it comes to Ruchi's first love. The young director had the most fun shooting action scenes involving horses.
"Because in between takes, I'd jump onto one of the horses and take off for a quick ride"
Other Exclusive Interviews on this blog
Playwright Mahesh Dattani
Saturday, February 17, 2007
Blast from the Past - Tony Tattle
What is so inscrutable about the name Tony? Why do people invariably roll their eyes in disbelief when I introduce myself. Is your real name Antony, they ask. No, it's not! It's plain and simple Tony. Nothing more, nothing less.
Haven't they ever heard of British PM Tony Blair, cricketer Tony Greig, television character Tony Soprano and the like. What about the Tony awards, eh?
For God's sake, even the new White House Press Secretary is a certain Tony Snow. Our desi Jassi was the brainchild of television producer Tony Singh. Not to mention the innumerable other Tony Singhs wandering around in the wheat fields of Punjab. And don't you dare forget that the gun used in the Jessica Lall murder case was found in the house of a certain Tony in Chandigarh.
Granted that Christians are a minority in India but I have never heard of anyone getting flabbergasted by the presence of a Michael or a George in the workplace. Then why this fixation with Tony.
And it's not even a rare moniker. In school, there was another Tony in the same class and teachers usually got flummoxed when both Tonys responded to their bidding.
But somehow when I moved on to college and the workplace, people didn't take too kindly to my name. They would inevitably cup their ears to make sure they heard it right. Tony? It was almost as if they felt they could deal better with a Sony, Ronny or even a Dony.
Their next question - what does Tony mean? In the great Indian tradition, every name has to mean something and I am usually ashamed to admit mine doesn't stand for anything. But I never fail to point out that in the English lexicon, tony as an adjective stands for someone stylish, fashionable or elegant.
Not that I am claiming anything by that but Tony is certainly a better appellation than my dad's name John which has various unpleasant connotations - a toilet, a prostitute's customer and an elongated piece of underwear.
Now that you have patiently listened to or rather read my harangue, let me clarify that Tony is indeed derived from the name Anthony or Antony. And that my parents named me after my maternal grandfather.
Why maternal? Well, it seems that to do his bit for India's population crisis, my dad wanted to limit the number of his offspring to ONE. When I was born, Dad gave Mom the privilege of naming me after her father.
But three years later, when my obnoxious brother appeared on the planet, Dad gave the new born babe the moniker Jose to honour my paternal grandfather Joseph.
I sometimes wonder what would have happened if Dad had stuck to hierarchy when it came to naming unsuspecting babies after their grandfathers. I would have been named Jose and my brother would be Tony instead.
Nah! I like Tony much better. Jose is such a common name in South India. In fact, if you throw a stone in Kerala, you can be pretty certain about it landing on a person named Jose, or someone having a friend or a sibling named Jose. Now just don't start throwing stones at me.
(This blog post first published May 16, 2006)
Haven't they ever heard of British PM Tony Blair, cricketer Tony Greig, television character Tony Soprano and the like. What about the Tony awards, eh?
For God's sake, even the new White House Press Secretary is a certain Tony Snow. Our desi Jassi was the brainchild of television producer Tony Singh. Not to mention the innumerable other Tony Singhs wandering around in the wheat fields of Punjab. And don't you dare forget that the gun used in the Jessica Lall murder case was found in the house of a certain Tony in Chandigarh.
Granted that Christians are a minority in India but I have never heard of anyone getting flabbergasted by the presence of a Michael or a George in the workplace. Then why this fixation with Tony.
And it's not even a rare moniker. In school, there was another Tony in the same class and teachers usually got flummoxed when both Tonys responded to their bidding.
But somehow when I moved on to college and the workplace, people didn't take too kindly to my name. They would inevitably cup their ears to make sure they heard it right. Tony? It was almost as if they felt they could deal better with a Sony, Ronny or even a Dony.
Their next question - what does Tony mean? In the great Indian tradition, every name has to mean something and I am usually ashamed to admit mine doesn't stand for anything. But I never fail to point out that in the English lexicon, tony as an adjective stands for someone stylish, fashionable or elegant.
Not that I am claiming anything by that but Tony is certainly a better appellation than my dad's name John which has various unpleasant connotations - a toilet, a prostitute's customer and an elongated piece of underwear.
Now that you have patiently listened to or rather read my harangue, let me clarify that Tony is indeed derived from the name Anthony or Antony. And that my parents named me after my maternal grandfather.
Why maternal? Well, it seems that to do his bit for India's population crisis, my dad wanted to limit the number of his offspring to ONE. When I was born, Dad gave Mom the privilege of naming me after her father.
But three years later, when my obnoxious brother appeared on the planet, Dad gave the new born babe the moniker Jose to honour my paternal grandfather Joseph.
I sometimes wonder what would have happened if Dad had stuck to hierarchy when it came to naming unsuspecting babies after their grandfathers. I would have been named Jose and my brother would be Tony instead.
Nah! I like Tony much better. Jose is such a common name in South India. In fact, if you throw a stone in Kerala, you can be pretty certain about it landing on a person named Jose, or someone having a friend or a sibling named Jose. Now just don't start throwing stones at me.
(This blog post first published May 16, 2006)
Friday, February 16, 2007
Get Set for Blog Exclusives
Starting this week, this blog will feature on a regular basis EXCLUSIVE conversations with celebrities from the world of cinema, books and fashion.
First up is filmmaker Ruchi Narain. Stay Tuned.
ALSO READ
Shilpa Shetty in Big Brother: Full Coverage
First up is filmmaker Ruchi Narain. Stay Tuned.
ALSO READ
Shilpa Shetty in Big Brother: Full Coverage
You have to play this game...
... but before starting, here are two rules you need to know
- you gotta take the BLUE circle to the BLUE square
- you gotta stay away from the RED balls
Play on
- you gotta take the BLUE circle to the BLUE square
- you gotta stay away from the RED balls
Play on
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
Valentine's Day Blues
It's that time of the year again. Die-hard lovers shell out Rs 50 for a single rose. Love notes exchange hands. Greeting card companies mint money. And Shiv Sainiks get an excuse to create trouble.
Don't ask me what I'm doing on February 14. The same routine as last year. Go to office, return home and blog about my Valentine's Day blues. At least girls have more choice. They can even write to prisoners if they want.
Writing about how you spend Valentine's Day could be a bonus. Just make sure your most intimate secrets don't end up splashed all over a sex blog.
Once when I berated a fellow blogger for her irregular posts, she retorted "I've a life". True. Look at me. Blogging about Valentine's Day while others are busy making reservations for candlelight dinners, jazz concerts or simply walking into Barista outlets.
Also roaming the streets are members of India's saffron brigade. To ensure that starry-eyed youngsters don't get too excited on what the moral police term Behooda Diwas.
Interestingly, they have also enforced a special dress code, one that eschews revealing outfits. Yes, wearing undergarments is mandatory. Of course, those caught coochie-cooing will be forcibly married off. And get this, if they show any signs of hesitation, the girl will have to tie a rakhi on the dude's wrist - thus making him her brother for life.
There are certainly more options to spend the day differently abroad. You could go to the zoo for an animal sex tour.
Or battle power outages. Or pucker up with a mistress on Feb 13 or 15. And if you are one of those food freaks, you could take a chocolate bath.
Just be sure to let me know. That way I can blog about it.
Don't ask me what I'm doing on February 14. The same routine as last year. Go to office, return home and blog about my Valentine's Day blues. At least girls have more choice. They can even write to prisoners if they want.
Writing about how you spend Valentine's Day could be a bonus. Just make sure your most intimate secrets don't end up splashed all over a sex blog.
Once when I berated a fellow blogger for her irregular posts, she retorted "I've a life". True. Look at me. Blogging about Valentine's Day while others are busy making reservations for candlelight dinners, jazz concerts or simply walking into Barista outlets.
Also roaming the streets are members of India's saffron brigade. To ensure that starry-eyed youngsters don't get too excited on what the moral police term Behooda Diwas.
Interestingly, they have also enforced a special dress code, one that eschews revealing outfits. Yes, wearing undergarments is mandatory. Of course, those caught coochie-cooing will be forcibly married off. And get this, if they show any signs of hesitation, the girl will have to tie a rakhi on the dude's wrist - thus making him her brother for life.
There are certainly more options to spend the day differently abroad. You could go to the zoo for an animal sex tour.
Or battle power outages. Or pucker up with a mistress on Feb 13 or 15. And if you are one of those food freaks, you could take a chocolate bath.
Just be sure to let me know. That way I can blog about it.
Aren't you addicted to Hit 95 FM yet?
Forget Valentine's Day. If there's one thing RJ Sarthak is looking forward to, it's February 15 - the day his show 'Dilli da Download' on Hit 95 FM turns a month old.
I first blogged about Delhi's Hit Radio channel in August 2006 when it was just taking baby steps. And my opinion hasn't changed much since then. True, their 'no ads' policy hasn't stood the test of time but even so, they have stuff like 10 hit tracks back to back - uninterrupted. Pure bliss.
Beg forgiveness for this shameless plug but I really love this radio channel. More so now that its got a website of its own.
I first blogged about Delhi's Hit Radio channel in August 2006 when it was just taking baby steps. And my opinion hasn't changed much since then. True, their 'no ads' policy hasn't stood the test of time but even so, they have stuff like 10 hit tracks back to back - uninterrupted. Pure bliss.
Beg forgiveness for this shameless plug but I really love this radio channel. More so now that its got a website of its own.
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