Baby Boomers

“Alaiia didn’t just walk down the ramp as another model,she was a muse for the designer,” smiles Feroze. As for Mohan,“Alaiia being Feroze’s daughter helped during the show”. The mother-daughter also swayed down the ramp in identical Malini Ramani orange jumpsuits at the Khushii fundraiser in September,which a posse of socialites and their spouses turned into a gala evening.

Feroze insists that she has kept her children away from the spotlight. “So far,they have never been seen,noticed or followed. It’s only now that they are being photographed when we go for parties,” she asserts. On her part,Alaiia,who is studying at Gordonstoun School in Scotland and will appear for GCSE (equivalent to ICSE),insists she is no mini-mummy (read no designer clothes). “I am not big on brands,” smiles Alaiia,immaculately powdered,glossed and dressed in a black jacket. And walking the ramp was a “lot of fun”. “It was amazing and Mum was her usual self,saying ‘don’t shrug your shoulders,stand straight’,” laughes Alaiia. What’s it like to have a glamorous mother? “I know how lucky I am,” she gushes.

Another youngster who swears by his mother is Krishna Pillai,27,son of Mumbai socialite-turned-businesswoman Nina Pillai,wife of the late biscuit baron Rajan Pillai. He is happy “being an employee of his mother” at Triveda,an art auction house that Nina launched in 2006. The launch was tinged with controversy but three years down the line,Triveda can boast three auctions and gallery shows. Nina is the chairperson and Krishna took over as the director in 2007. “I entered the company as a research assistant and progressed to becoming a director. But it’s my mother who calls the shots and I am in no mood to usurp her position,” says Krishna as he sits beside a Bose Krishnamachari canvas at his Anand Niketan residence in Delhi. Krishna,schooled at the famous Wetherby School in the UK,is also a musician though he won’t talk about it. “I grew up with art. My mother would host evenings where she invited guests to look at the private collection so it rubbed off on me. And I truly enjoy running the auction house now,” Pillai laughs. Up next,the Pillais are gearing up for an auction and an exhibition in spring.

This year also marked the coming of age of the lithe Shahzan Padamsee,the 21-year-old daughter of ad man Alyque Padamsee and singer Sharon Prabhakar. Shahzan made a few appearances in commercials and then debuted in films with Shimit Amin’s Rocket Singh: Salesman of the Year. Though her appearance was miss-and-blink,Alyque asserts,“It got her noticed”. Shahzan adds,“People I know appreciated the role and I am flooded with offers,though it’s too early to speak about them.” And of course,her famous last name had nothing to do with the role,she insists. “I went for the auditions like any other newbie. My father is into theatre,he has nothing to do with showbiz.” But to shape up for films,Shahzan fell back on theatre for two years and acted in Unspoken Dialogues directed by her father.