Roving Eye

This Tuesday, this joint which serves some really authentic Italian grub, was packed with real masala mix of people. From Bollywood, there was Shah Rukh Khan and wife Gauri. This filmi couple really makes a most wonderful couple 8212; they are always holding hands and looking adoringly at each other.

From the world of fashion there was Manish Malhotra and Arjun Khanna. And representing the diplomats were the USIS8217;s Sheldon Austin and Canada8217;s Sanjeev Chowdhury. Adding a touch of glamour was Rhea Pillai-Dutt, who sat in a corner all evening chatting with her pals. Keeping her company were Yash and Avanti Birla, Aarti and Kailash Surendranath and Salman Khan.

We hope the film star wasvegetarian and didn8217;t ask for his favourite meat dish! Incidentally, one of the owners of the restaurant is former model- turned- interior designer Mustafa Eisa.

His most memorable work, however, is no longer on display. Remember those mannequin female chairs at the Fashion Bistro? Yes, the same ones that the Thought Police tagged corrupting and vulgar 8212; and forced the owners to put them in cold storage.

Condomania

To mark the seventh anniversary of Kama Sutra and to launch its new ad campaign, Gautam Singhania hosted a bash at Three Flights Up. And spirits were really high that Friday night. What with Kama Sutra garnering a 25 per cent market share in India, Gautam had reason to celebrate.

But that evening no one was looking at profit charts and balance sheets. The focus of everyones attention was the new Kama Sutra girl, Viveka Babajee. This sultry and sexy former Miss Mauritius, we predict, is going to take the world of glamour by storm. Also hogging his fair share of the limelight wasInder Sudan. Dressed in black, Viveka8217;s hot co-star in the ad campaign has a body that men can only dream of. Keeping Gautam company was his fiancee Nawaz Modi, a fitness instructor another perfect bod!. And close friends, Parthiv Kilachand, Anish and wife Vineeta Trivedi and Ness Wadia.

The scion of Bombay Dyeing looked very relaxed in a white kurta belying the long hours one hears he has been putting at work. These days Ness is no longer spotted in the party circuit 8212; apparently, work has become a priority and the playing has stopped.

Atul Kasbekar 8212; the man who discovered8217; Viveka and shot the stunning press ads 8212; was also there. Keeping him company was Pankaj Parashar, the man behind the slick and sexy ad film. Though the ad is quite raunchy, it has been executed with such finesse that it is simply stunning. We just hope that the Thought Police will not take objection to these ads 8212; they really are works of art.

Bal8217;s bash

The event of the weekend was definitely the Rohit Balfashion show. All of Mumbai8217;s most beautiful people turned up to see the Big B of fashion in action. Thirty-eight of the city8217;s best models sashayed down the ramp 8212; built by the Oberoi poolside, in his creations. The show was sponsored by Omega and other than the stunning garments, the models were adorned with their watches.

While there is no question about the appreciation the watches drew, Rohit8217;s clothes received mixed reaction. Some people in the audience absolutely loathed his clothes while others couldn8217;t contain their praise. The colours Rohit used were bright and bold 8212; with a lot of shocking pinks and oranges, dominating the line. His cuts were daring, with tiny cholis and embroidered bikini tops, worn under open kurtas.

How wearable are these clothes is debatable 8212; some people felt that if the kurtas were closed up, they would be fine for street wear, other8217;s refused to even be seen dead in them 8212; but there is no doubt than when it comes to cut and finish, Rohit reallyknows what he is doing.

The real highlight of the show was Omega8217;s presentation of watches to two of the city8217;s most glamourous couples 8212; Amitabh and Jaya Bachchan and Mehr Jesia and Arjun Rampal. After the presentation everyone went down to the Regal room, where the main action was centred around the dance floor.

Kicking off the night8217;s activities were Beautiful Boulevards8217; Anna Bredmeyer and Milind Soman, and soon, everyone was shaking a mean leg. All night the drinks flowed and everyone really seemed to be in a party spirit.

Tabla tunes

Talvin Singh, the musician form London whose tablatronic sound is taking the city by storm, was in his element on Sunday night. His performance at NJ-Jazz By The Bay, sent chills down the spines of his audience.

To say that he is talented would be an understatement 8212; he definitely is a name to watch out for in the future. And among those seen getting into Talvin8217;s beat were Suchitra Pillai, Andrew Carnegie, Kris Pillai, Sophiya, AD Singh andJules Fuller.

Talvin who besides being a musician also has his own record label has been in the city for over a week now to check out other musicians for a possible tie-up. So far, one Delhi artiste has been singled out and Talvin promises that the results will be phenomenal.

And finally8230;

Can you go anywhere without seeing Anish Trivedi8217;s face or hear his name crop up? If your answer is yes, then you neither step out of your house nor open the papers. First Anish was a maverick banker who hosted a show on Channel V, then he became a disc jockey, then he hosted a show on CNBC. And now, he is ELLE8216;s food editor and society columnist for Sunday Mid-Day.

Well, that8217;s not all. The latest is that Anish will be starring in a musical directed by Dilip Tahil. We have just one question: Where does Anish get his multi-tasking abilities? Oh yes! The other question he must be asked, before he pulls a surprise: What next? Bollywood? Hollywood? Or, a desi Spielberg act?