Try, try and try again

Mahesh Jethmalani

Every New Year’s Day, lawyer Mahesh Jethmalani resolves never to touch tequila again. But he never manages to stick to this resolution for very long — thanks to his buddies who he describes as "Satan’s agents". They insist that he has tequila shots and from what Mahesh says they seem to force this ambrosia down his throat. But this resolution is a yearly affair and seems to be made every year on January 1 — after a heavy night and quite a few tequila shots. Then, Mahesh resolves that he will never allow another drop of tequila to enter his mouth.

Mehr Jesia

This former beauty queen, who recently became Arjun Rampal’s fiancee, has always kept her New Year’s resolutions as she has never made one. "I think they are a stupid idea," she says. She does not believe that you should wait until December 31 before you make a resolution. For her New Year’s Day is just another date and not very important to her. "I am more likely to make a resolution on a close friend’s birthday," she says.

Kailash Surendranath

This year has marked ad film-maker Kailash’s debut in Bollywood with him directing the film, Love You, Hameesha, which is slotted for release next year. Like Mehr, he does not believe in New Year’s resolutions. He makes resolutions whenever he wants to, on a need-to basis. "I have never thought of making them," he says. But Kailash says that even if he was to make a resolution he would not break it, as this man takes pride in the fact that he has never gone back on a promise.

Anuradha Mahindra

The publisher and editor of Verve says that she makes so many resolutions throughout the year — that she breaks — that by New Year’s eve she has given up. There are three resolutions she is always making and breaking. First, she will avoid paper from piling up on her desk. Second, she will read every magazine that she subscribes to, immediately. "I would like to read every magazine on the day it arrives," says Anuradha, wistfully. And the last resolution she always breaks is that she will stop beginning sentences with, "At my age…" Not that she looks old enough to talk like that!

Sumeet Chopra

This fashion photographer has had a very busy year. But despite that, his resolution is hard to keep. Even though his days are choc-a-bloc with shooting ads and fashion spreads and the fact that he is always on the move, he is not able to keep his weight down. "For the last five years I have been trying to lose weight, and my New Year’s Resolution is always to lose weight," he says. At the end of last year, he weighed 86 kg and now he weighs 88 kg. "I seem to put on two pounds every year," he complains. He even went to Anjali Mukherjee and stuck to her strict diet for a while. After a lot of control he managed to lose eight pounds but once he went back to his normal eating habits he put on 10 pounds. "I love food, especially butter chicken," he says.

Devika Bhojwani

This is one lady who is always in the news, whether its helping out friends such as Adarsh Gill organise her fashion show or promoting khadi. Devika is the proverbial busy bee. But all that is going to change. "This year, the one resolution I hope not to break is to spend more time by myself doing the things I enjoy, like painting, writing, meditating and singing," she says. She wants to have some time to indulge herself doing the things she considers herself good at. "I seem to spend all my time playing good wife, good mother and good friend. Basically, I am busy doing stuff for others," she says. But she hopes that 1998 will be different. She hopes it will be her year.

Hemant Trivedi

I make so many resolutions, that I cannot keep them all," says this fashion designer. But the one he breaks most regularly is to start working out. "I have so much gym equipment just lying around the house which I have never even touched," he says. Not that this trim designer needs to work-out, as he always on the move either designing for Sheetal or organising a fashion show. In fact, Trivedi has been booked virtually every weekend for the last couple of months. "That’s another resolution I keep making, that I will take on less work," he says. But Hemant gets easily tempted to take on new projects. Though there is one aspect of work that he still has to get a grip on — the financial aspect. So naturally, the third resolution he does not keep to, is that he will learn to handle his accounts better.