Copying the Devdas look

By Madhur Mittal

Growing a stiff stubble to add machismo is nothing new for the now heroes. Whereas the actors of yesteryears — Dilip Kumar, Guru Dutt, Dev Anand, Raj Kapoor, Rajesh Khanna and Jeetendra all grew stubbles when they were in the Devdas mood and had to sing a sad song after being separated from their beloveds, the first leading man to use the stubble as a mark of masculinity, was Amitabh Bachchan. And how!

Of late, the fad is more prominent than ever. Sunil Shetty, Sanjay Dutt, Ajay Devgun, Akshaye Khanna, Sunny Deol, Shah Rukh Khan (and even Aamir Khan) have all resorted to this gimmick of maleness.

Yet, it fails to jell with heroes who have truly heroic, classic faces and features... Most notably, Vinod Khanna. His Adonis looks were always best — smooth ‘n’ clean. And the case is much the same with Akshay Kumar. His handsome face simply can’t do without the closest shave. If you don’t believe me, just take a good look at the picture and decide for yourselves.

Coke lures Karisma

Well, the ad for Lux soap has always been the done thing for stars in Bollywood and Hollywood, but now, it’s apparently a all-out binge to rope in the stars to endorse and model for consumer durables, eatables, and drinkables.

It seems that even the No 1 Rani Hindustani has given in to the lure of the lucre. She will soon be seeing romancing the Coke bottle. I’m told that the budget for this ad was "of no consideration" and that not one but three top-notch agencies were invited to submit their concepts and estimates. While the comely Kapoor gets ready to make more millions all you guys out there get ready to guzzle away at Karisma cokes!

Return of Sharmila

I, for one, am real thrilled that producer-director Indra Kumar was able to convince Sharmila Tagore to act in his new film, Mann and I daresay I’m not in the minority. Those of us who’ve seen her animate the screen with her histrionics during her heydays, know only too well what a powerful, class performer she can be.

Sharmila plays hero Aamir Khan’s mother in the movie. An interesting combination to say the least, yes? Whether or not she has to use grey in her hair is immaterial, because everybody, every viewer, will be riveted to the chair by Sharmila’s smouldering, expressive eyes alone! Welcome back, beautiful.

Tanya trills

So another star(let) has changed ‘tracks’ to jump aboard the bustling bangwagon of Indipop singing. Yes, it’s the very attractive, chikni Sikhni — Tanya Singh — I’m talkin’ about.

Her debut album titled Dhadkan, recently released at a lavish do at Mumbai’s hotspot, the Piano Bar, is doing pretty well in the music market. And, why not? After all, it is on T-Series label and the company’s aggressive merchandising (together with the slick TV video of Tanya and hunky Tarun Raghavan) is more than enough to ensure potent promotion of the product.

Least we forget, Tanya happens to be the steady girlfriend of none other than Kishen Kumar — younger brother (and wannabe actor) of the assassinated music baron, the late Gulshan Kumar! Evidently, it "pays" to have the right, richie rich contacts, doesn’t it?

Rumour has it...

... that Shilpa Shetty’s first cousin, who is reportedly quite a carbon copy of the actress, is all set to make a bang in Fujicolor.

... that Govinda has been asked by his (team of) doctors to shed weight by going on a crash course of disciplined dieting immediately.

... that prize catch Akshaye Khanna may soon tie the knot.