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Men & Venus
A tête-à-tête with city-based Mel Gibsons and Kabir Khans who have landed themselves in an all-women zone
Anandita Gupta
Haven’t
there been times, when women (the fanatic feminist fraternity included) feel a twitch of envy looking at the men around — spewing invectives, getting into fights and turning up with a bloody nose, roaming around with their bare-hairy chests, wolf-whistling their way to college, piling up towels on floors and staring at girls, anytime, anywhere? And yet, felt helpless in snatching away these lil’ liberties (despite all that women empowerment) from this species from Mars? Well, here’s finally some cheer for ‘Venusians’. Some dwellers from Mars (remember John Grey’s Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus) have mistakenly landed on Venus — an all-women zone. So, how are the women turning the tables on these Martians? We chat up our local Mel Gibsons and Kabir Khans to find out.
Elvis forever
Parbina Rashid
When
my all-time favourite Can’t Help falling In Love With You came with a slight quiver as Errol Rodriques sang for a select audience, my conclusion was it must be an improvisation by our local singer. Only later, we were told that he sang it the Elvis Presley way. This was news to many of us, for we had associated the song with UB 40.
Not surprising, considering the fact that we are still in the process of re-discovering Elvis, according to Errol. “It’s only in the past five-six years that the young and old aike are showing interest in Elvis numbers,” says the lead of the three-member group,
Rodrigues. The trend in the city, according to Errol, is to listen Elvis’ slow, soft and emotional numbers rather than his rock-and-roll.
 Youth
Speak
Game of politics
Ankur
We
know that politics is a dirty game and it attacks and harms our society in different ways. Be it clearing an interview for a government job or getting out of everyday trouble, a backing from a politician comes as a relief. And while most of our politicians are illiterate, they know how to play the game of politics quite well.
Radio plays Cupid
Saurabh Malik
Radio
is tuning into a unique role. From just a constant companion, the chatter box is fast getting into the business of broadcasting its whole new image of the great Indian emotional bazaar. Right, a platform from where so many listeners offer not just their ideas, goods and services; but also themselves! Solid, cheap and readily available.
Finding it all too confusing? Well, just tweak the tuner for catching one of the private FM radio stations in the evenings. You will hear city guys, and even gals, presenting themselves with complete testimonials in cheerful voices, earnestly and ardently.
You may not realise that the listeners are actually publicising themselves in no uncertain terms. For, there are no jingles in the background. And, the usual marketing adjectives like ‘100 per cent replacement guaranteed’ and ‘completely durable’ are missing in the copy.
Yo man!
It’s all about winding & unwinding, ups & downs...
Saurabh Malik
If
you are hanging on like a yo-yo waiting for excitement to come bouncing your way, it’s time for you to add some spin to your life. Just drive down to the arcade and pick up a nice little yo-yo. Come on guys, the entire city’s doing it.
That’s right fellows. After Pokemon and bey-blades, yo-yos are the latest scream amidst the youngsters. In the school bags, out on the streets, everywhere you look, there are kiddos opening a new chapter in exhilaration with yo-yos. Yo man! The craze is catching up.
Go to the college, or even the varsity, campuses. Even there you find youngsters spinning the wheel of delight, merrily. Sipping coffee or mobile chatting, their hands, detached from the mind, are constantly engaged with the boy-toy.
 Yesteryear
once more
When Kala Maitri, the alumni association of the Government College of Art, celebrated the Founder’s Day on August 16 last year, it did it with style and amid much fanfare in Sector 17. It was also the launching pad for Kala Maitri. So, this year when we were led to a corner room where the association organised a drawing workshop to celebrate the occasion, it was a little disappointing.
“Do not be disappointed. We will organise our annual exhibition in a big way, not just in Chandigarh but in other cities as well,” we were assured by the core members of Kala
Maitri.
Finding the real U
Parbina Rashid
Home versus career. Which one should a woman choose? Having socially conditioned to value the former rather than the latter, a majority of us opt for homemaking and think about pursuing our career only after the children grow up. But is it an easy choice to live with? For, social conditioning is one thing and individual creativity another. So what does one do? Especially when one is high on motivation but low on confidence.
SIDELANES
When hobbies take wing
The
kites soared. They were huge and intricately detailed. We sat on the beach and watched as mermaids, dragons, cowboys, butterflies, snakes, birds, pigs and spacecraft soared into the blue sky, maneuvered on a string by those who had brought them from different corners of the globe. Their tails were long and snaked through the breeze. The Kite Festival at Goa is a seasonal event.
Reaching for the stars
After playing Akshay’s father in Namaste London, local actor Gurkirtan
is now part of Aamir’s latest film Taare Zameen Par
Parbina Rashid
He
was pulled towards silver screen because the Punjabi film industry needed a villain. Gurkirtan fitted the bill — owner of a tall imposing physique with a rich baritone voice. The acting career, which started in 1976 with his theatre group The Stage, has been evolving ever since — first as actor, then villains in Punjabi films and then character roles in Bollywood flicks. It was Vipul Shah who offered him a meaty role in Namaste London that paved the way for him to work with none other than iconic Aamir Khan in Taare Zameen Par.
Taal se taal mila
S.D. Sharma
The
catchy background signature tune played on the tabla to delineate the Taza Khabar and News in Brief on Aaj Tak had become synonymous with the name of Athar Hussain, the little tabla wizard, who composed and played it. The shy Delhi-based Athar has gained international prominence as a tabla maestro.
The child prodigy, Athar was initiated into music at the age of eight by his maternal uncle, Ustad Shanne Khan before he opted for the blessed tutelage of his present guru Ustad Manju Khan of Ajrada
gharana.
New releases
 Get ready to laugh away the weekend
MARIGOLD
Director: Willard Caroll
Starring: Salman Khan, Ali Larter,
Nandna Sen, Helen
Marigold is a musical romantic comedy and the first Indo-US co-production ever. It tells the story of Marigold Lexton (Ali
Larter), a struggling American actress who comes to Bombay and lands a small role in a Bollywood musical.
Teri goes the Sharon way
Desperate
Housewives actor Teri Hatcher is set to follow the footsteps of Mary-Kate, Ashley Olsen and Sharon Stone as the new face of American fashion label Badgley Mischka. Hatcher has signed on to appear in the fall ad campaign of the fashion house, taking over from the Olsen twins who fronted the brand last season.
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