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Tears & TRPs
Wearing your heart on your sleeve is the latest fad and shedding tears
is no longer a personal affair, as Purva Grover finds out
A minor
flu. A surprise visit by your parents on the sets. A slightly harsh
comment by the judge (who is in fact there to comment on your
performance). An exit from a talent hunt show. Excessive praise from
fans. Recalling tough times you faced before making it big. All this and
more is enough to make you shed tears in front of millions watching you
on their telly screens.
Singers
Shining
Telly talent hunt shows are a great platform for the humble performer, transforming him from a little-known singer to the SMS god
Parbina Rashid
OF course, he’s got talent! But he owes his iconic status to his small-town, middle-class image that moved the people of entire North-East, uniting them in a common goal — Debojit’s victory. So the much prevailed Bengali-Assamese difference (Debojit is an Assamese of Bengali origin) ceased to exist and the euphoric crowd joined hands, rather fingers, to push the SMS keys, voting him all the way to victory in Zee TV’s Sa Re Ga Ma in 2005. Yes, he is Debojit Saha, a success story that anyone can recall.
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Debojit Saha
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City’s new-age service providers offer everything at your doorstep
Tension Kum
Anandita Gupta
Flashback:
A tale of tedious chores
You’ve got terribly late for office. It’s the (dooms) day when your alarm’s ditched you, the house maid’s fallen sick, your kids’ school van is on a strike. And as you are driving down (no, your car doesn’t break down in Ramsay horror flick style), your spouse calls up, “Honey, everything’s gonna close down by the time you’ll get back from office.
Designer Kavita Gautam
shows off her creations at a client's home. |
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LITTLE
INTERVIEW
Balan Babyy’s brush with fame
Vidya Balan is definitely the most sought-after actress in the Bollywood today. She’s lived up to the hype created around her through her remarkable performances in Parineeta, Lage Raho Munnabhai, Eklavya—The Royal Guard and Guru. The actress, who made her acting debut opposite Southern star Mohan Lal in Charkan, is all set to scale newer heights with Sajid Nadiadwala’s Hey Babyy. Vidya Balan talks to Life Style about being busy and creatively satisfied.
 First Day First Show
Entertainer all the way
Heyy babyy
Sajid Khan surely leaves his mark as a director in his directorial debut Heyy Babyy. Produced by Sajid Nadiadwala, the film is an outright comedy and has well-proportioned box-office ingredients to make it entertaining. In Heyy Babyy, the director merges comic and emotional sequences with aplomb.
Write to Renee
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 Rakhi
time is gift time!
Remember
decorating that pooja thali with diya, roli, chawal and rakhi, tying
Rakhi on your brother(s) wrist and of course, snatching (almost!) from
him your token gift? Yes, while moms and masis coaxed us to believe how
Rakhi symbolised sublime sibling affection, didn’t we all want to grab
that gift and tear apart its wrapper? And even now, isn’t it fun,
visiting stores to pick up personalised gifts for siblings? Well, the
city’s already in the grip of Rakhi fever and an array of beautiful
products are flooding the stores. Anandita Gupta,
Purva Grover & Aman Minhas suggest a few must-picks...
HAYWIRE
Chetna Keer Banerjee
Brotherless in bond-o-land
It is not the best of times to be without a Bhai. Nah, not the one who kills. The one who thrills. With gifts, goodies and all things groovy to cement a bond that’s now less about protection and more about goodly profusion – Raksha
Bandhan.
Hey c’mon, be a sport
You have a kewl (cool, as they spell it now), teenage, happening brother. He is the rather fussy type (most bros are) and a pack of assorted chocolate, a branded T-shirt or cologne is not the kind of gift he looks forward to. Run through this offbeat list ...
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Fairness products have invaded our lives, including that of your brother. If your brother is the hesitant type, gift him a glowing complexion and he will never be able to thank you enough.
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Illustration by Aditi
Chahar
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 Coffee break
Saurabh Malik
With high-end coffee bars across the city further jacking up the prices of mochas and cappuccinos, it is no more the “hot favourite” drink of so many youngsters savouring good life in the varsity and college campuses.
Walk into one of the coffee bars in the afternoon, and you will actually find the regulars largely missing. In their place, you find casual visitors on comfy sofas and chairs.
Date@50
As coffee with your date gets dearer,
Purva Grover scoops out
purse-happy options in town
 Dad has kept his promise and hiked your pocket money, but then pocket money is just never enough. And life on the campus spells a burgeoning list of needs, wants and wishes. Hanging around at the coffee shops, frequent trips to
F.R., fancy handsets every second day, and more. Now, if on top of this list you have a girlfriend/boyfriend to accommodate, you are doomed. Holding on to a relation when the economy is so bad (you see, inflation and all) is disastrous and unthinkable. Hmm…worry not, for there are places where you can go for a date for as little as say 50 bucks. Follow us to discover the affordable (cheap if you may call), cool and happening food date options.
Pull out Rs 1,200 joining fee & Rs 300 per month and learn minus the teachers
Teaching without instructions
Saurabh Malik
After braving the rough seas for almost 14 years, ex-Indian Navy Commander Pradeep Dutt logged himself on to computer technology by joining multinational brain-machine
organisations. But eager to open a new document in the folder of communicative skills, he is now docking in the city for anchoring a learning movement that started in the US, way back in 1924.
Commander Pradeep Dutt
& Harmeet Kaur |
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No longer
Gayatri Rajwade
 Fancy a Piccata or does it sound Greek? Well it is! But wait, don’t pull out that foreign language dictionary just yet. While Greek becomes the latest buzzword for the city with the earthy Piccata or the elegant Souvlaki coming uptown, these tongue-twisters are not here to beguile your intellect, they are after your hearty appetite.
Matka chowk
Sreedhara Bhasin
Traffic jams, Chandigarh style
For many big city folks, traffic jams are a part of life. Growing up in Calcutta, we accepted traffic jams just as easily as baby turtles take to water. Traffic jam time was a built-in factor when it came to reaching any destination in the city.
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