Tags:
Journalism of Courage
Usha8217;s week
Last week belonged to songstress Usha Uthup. Everywhere you went, she was there 8212; by popular demand. On Tuesday night, she sang at Three Flights Up TFU and over 700 people turned up. Even if you had booked a table, the wait was endless. Even the Narangs who own TFU were not prepared for the response this Bengali singer evoked. Apparently, it took at least half an hour even to get a drink. Luckily, everyone was so engrossed in Usha8217;s performance that they did not care too much about the bad service. Among those spotted there were ELLE8217;s Neerja Shah, Jazz singer Kim Cardoz and Leander Paes. Leander who like Usha is from Calcutta was really letting his hair down and even tried to sing Fever along with Usha. Though his voice was not up to Usha8217;s standard, the girls seemed to think he was the hottest thing since sliced bread. This tennis champion can hold court even off the courts!
Seagrams8217;s song
Usha was the highlight again on Thursday night when Seagram8217;shosted a special promo at 1900s. The anchor for the night was Malaika Arora who just looked stunning in a very, very low-cut yellow dress. And the dance floor of the Taj8217;s night club 1900s was equally packed with glamour. Spotted there was a cocktail of Mumbai8217;s beautiful people 8212; Neerja Shah who is obviously a great fan of Usha8217;s Dino Morea, Bickram Saluja, Mehnaaz, Prahlad Kakkar, Dolly Thakore and Nina Pillai. Canadian vice-consul Sanjeev Choudhury was there with Vikas Bhalla and Manish Malhotra. Manish, incidentally, has just brought out a new range of western wear at his Napean Sea Road store, Reverie. They are selling like hotcakes 8212; Manish seems to be quite the darling with celebs these days. The function went on till past midnight and everyone was most disappointed when her show ended.
Thirtyplus
The other person who was everywhere was Sanjeev Choudhury. He celebrated his 30th birthday in real style this weekend. To mark the big day, he held a party at the Taj which started at thePresidential suite and ended at the Apollo Bar. And the number of people that he put together belied the fact that he came to Mumbai just a year ago. Among those who turned up to wish the birthday boy were Aarti and Kailash Surendranath, Pramod Navalkar, Ruby Bhatia looking very sexy in a long black dress with hubby Nitin Bali, Anish and Vineeta Trivedi and model Sushma Reddy. The evening kicked off, as we said, with a dinner at the Presidential suite, then moved to 1900s for some serious dancing. And then those who had the energy, winded up at the Apollo Bar for breakfast, in the wee hours of the morning. Sanjeev, who dressed really casually 8212; he was determined to prove that he is no stuffed shirt 8212; seemed to be having a real blast.
Hair fair
The Taj hair salon has tied up with L8217;Oreal and is holding a special French Colour week so that clients can get advice on what shade suits their hair best. To mark the event, they held a cocktail at the 1900s. Model co-ordinator and choreographer RasnaBehl put together a hair and fashion show where several girls strutted up and down the ramp in Small Shop designs the designer store on Hughes Road. Their hair had also been newly coloured. Most of models on the ramp were inexperienced. But they did their best, even though some members of the audience complained about not seeing the usual models. Spotted enjoying a quick cocktail before they climbed up a flight of stairs to attend the Marina B show were Anuradha Mahindra, Neeru and Arun Nanda and Lascelles Symons.
Model recovery
Madhu Sapre, one of the city8217;s favourite models, was not to be seen at any of the fashion shows as she has not been well. This Maharashtrian beauty has been suffering from jaundice and NOT hepatitis B like some people were saying but is now on the road to recovery. Though she will not be out and about for a while, Madhu is feeling much better and spends a lot of time at home 8212; reading and meditating. Let8217;s hope she is back on the ramp soon, as she always adds a touchof class to any show!
High note
This weekend Mumbai was also privy to some real club culture. Sweety Kapoor 8212; watch out for this gorgeous young woman, she has plans of changing the city8217;s entertainment map 8212; brought from UK British-Asian music at its best. Asian artists have been making a name for themselves in UK and all the big music stores 8212; HMV, Virgin and Tower Records 8212; now have separate indi-pop sections. The music is a marriage of funk, Indian raagas and technological wizardry and Mumbai got a chance to listen to this new sound live at Razzberry Rhinoceros and Three Flights Up, on Saturday and Sunday. Deejay State of Bengal, singer Amar and drummer Inna, had crowds literally stepping to their beat. And the weekend ended on a high note for celebs like Mehnaaz, Suchitra Pillai, Farrokh Chotia, Avantika Kilachand and Kitu Gidwani.
Filmi chat
Mitter Infotech, a company headed by 19-year-old Nitish Jain, has floated a website called channelbollywood.com 8212; which claims itisn8217;t yet-another-gossip-mag8217; and promises some heavy dope for film buffs. And on Saturday evening, the site had its first Star of the month8217;, Shammi Kapoor chatting with fans all over the world, from the CCI. Kapoor spent an exhausting hour answering all manner of questions on the net 8212; in between sipping juice and munching on a plateful of eats 8212; while other celebrities like Anup Jalota, Sanjay Maroo and Milind Ingle watched on.
And finally8230;
This week, Mumbai is going to be short on glamour as most of our models will be in Delhi. Fashion shows in the capital have begun 8212; the season kicked off on Saturday with Tarun Tahiliani8217;s new line. And this week, Rohit Bal and Rina Dhaka are holding their shows too. It seems the Delhi designers prefer our girls to theirs. Among the top models who are in Delhi this week are Nina Manuel, Helen Brodie and Sheetal Malhar.
