"I am a nice, mean, crazy, independent, talented, strong, simple, Indian girl who lives on her own terms and kicks ass." That's Hard Kaur for you, a chick who spits out serious rhymes and is not afraid to let loose. This cool Punjabi rapper has taken music out of the boundries of culture, countries and language. In the tricity to perform at the PEC Fest, Hard Kaur was full of hard-core entertainment for her fans.

"When I was told I had to perform in Chandigarh, I thought the crowd there is pagal. And what I got was a rocking crowd, but then Punjabis always rock," says this cool Punjaban. After rocking the world by her street swaggering rapping skills, she's now the new darling of Bollywood. With movies like Johnny Gaddaar, Ugly Aur Pagli, Singh is Kinng, Kismat Konnection and Bachana Ae Haseeno, she has the industry buzzing. Calling herself a hit factory, she is riding high on her b-town success. "I feel loved by this industry and the media. But my biggest strength are my fans," she says.

But it wasn't all that dreamy. As she puts in, "It is difficult to survive in this male dominated industry and that too when you are a female rapper. People don't accept any new change. But main badi kharaab kudi han, I am not afraid to prove myself," she says. Well, girl, we couldn't agree more. She has everybody dancing to her tunes with her bold and in-your-face attitude. "When I came to UK, I couldn't speak English and felt like an outsider. But I was not a loser, I wanted to prove that a Punjab di jatti can kick ass and be at the top and I feel proud today for what I have achieved as no Punjabi could do that in years," says this hard Sikhni, who is in love with Hip Hop. Having been in the hardest industry in the world for ten years, she says that she's making a stand for all Asian girls out there. Her inspiartion she says is her mom, "She is the real Hard Kaur as in cimmunity where families don't support their girls to take decisions, I got a constant spport from her."

But then this 'dude' chick who takes no crap from anybody believes in letting her work speak for herself. And so she shared the space with Justin Timberlake and Pharrell Williams and is the busiest bee in the business. She has an album in the pipeline with singers like Richa Sharma, Anoushka Manchanda and others. But her high point is her album with D12. " I am so proud of it. D12 is signed to Eminem' Slim Shady Aftermath label and will be collborating with me in my album," she says. The track is called Desi Dance and will be produced by D Boy and combines Bollywood, Bhangra and HipHop. But that's not all. unlike many, she is not keen on making acting her second career. " I love rapping and want to work with names like Timbaland." Well, with Hard Kaur way of things, its not a distant dream.

lifestyle@tribunemail.com

The leading ladies of Hindi filmdom are in for serious competition from none other than their male counterparts, with an ever increasing number of them shedding inhibitions and showing off chiseled torsos and butts.

Whether it is still shots of Bollywood's Adonis, John Abraham with his shorts half pulled down, showing more than a hint of sculpted butt, in upcoming release Dostana or it is the towel-dropping scene of Saawariya filmed on Ranbir Kapoor, male nudity is on the high in Indian films.

Looking desirable matters, believes Dostana-maker Karan Johar. "No mainstream actor should run away from being sexy," he says. "It's as important for a man to look sexy as it is for a woman. Every superstar has had a high sex appeal—be it Amitabh Bachchan, SRK or Hrithik. One must look desirable to be desirable." Dostana promises plenty of display of male sexuality. The film features John in a pseudo homosexual relationship with Abhishek Bachchan even as both hanker for sizzling-hot Priyanka Chopra. Incidentally, Abhishek was named a gay icon a couple of years ago and will be seen working his brooding sexiness to the hilt in the film.

Director Apoorva Lakhia, who made Shootout at Lookanwala and Mission Istanbul, believes that in India women don't go and watch action films, so it helps to have sexy looking men. And in a macho film, it is not uncommon to see girls doing awe-inspiring action stunts while the men look good. Even mighty superstar Shah Rukh Khan realised what women want when he worked on his abs to reach six-pack status in his last mega hit Om Shanti Om after spending nearly two decades without having to take off his shirt for any scene.

“The mood in the industry is that these days women want male skin show. It is in demand,” says Abhay Deol, a relative newcomer in the industry. Hitting the gym was the first item on Hrithik Roshan's "to-do" list when he set his eyes on entering filmdom. He managed his first hit without having to show his six-packs but when he had to revive his sagging fortunes it was an open shirt and extremely-low waist jeans that helped.

On the other side of the globe, Hollywood has always known that sex sells more than anything else. In fact, male frontals are getting unprecedented screen time at the multiplex these days in mainstream popcorn fare and broad comedies, thanks in large part to comic mogul Judd Apatow, who has pledged to shake Americans from their squeamishness about male anatomy in movies.

And the girls are more than happy.

"I'm so glad Indian women are finally checking men out openly," says original Kama Sutra girl Pooja Bedi. "But more than that, it's fantastic that Indian men are toning up and daring to bare. There's nothing as appealing as a well built, confident man who doesn't mind some skin show." And men have noticed them. "Men are growing increasingly insecure about their own appearance after a generation of being bombarded by images of idealized male physiques," says Harvard psychiatrist Roberto Olivardia, author of the book Adonis Complex: The Secret Crisis of Male Body Obsession. This could well be fodder for another film, as a slew of recent films in the marquees are dealing with various aspects of male sexuality from male sex-workers to male sexual abuse. Though homosexuality finds substantial screen time in upcoming Dostana, the subject is increasingly finding mention in some serious films as well. Take for instance, Sudipto Chattopadhyay's Pankh deals with the sexual identity of a man and is set against the backdrop of the film industry. A small boy who plays a girl in Hindi films grows up to deal with an identity crisis."The young man is caught in a psychological matrix of gender confusion that has been imposed on him by his social circumstance," says Sudipto. Manish Gupta, who has written four hard-hitting scripts for Ram Gopal Varma, is ready with his Hostel. This is no romantic college caper, the film deals with the bold subject of rape, that too of a male student. Saurabh Sengupta's It's a Man's World is equally stark, about male prostitution.

British actress Sienna Miller has been dropped from Guy Ritchie's movie Sherlock Holmes after her ex-beau Jude Law was roped in to play Dr. Watson, the aide of the sleuth.

Sources close to Miller say the actress was delighted to have been approached about a role alongside Robert Downey Junior as Sherlock Holmes, but Ritchie dropped her after Law decided to be Watson.

Close friends say the 26-year-old is now "seriously worried" about her acting career as another film of hers, Nottingham, has been suspended until next year.

"Sienna has been really down in the dumps about her love life and her career. Losing Sherlock Holmes has been another major setback for her.

Sienna's not half as well off as people assume," said one of her friends.

The friend added: "Money is becoming a bit of an issue and she has just signed a big modeling deal to pay the bills, even though she'd much rather be acting." Meanwhile, Miller's relationship with her millionaire actor beau Balthazar Getty is going through a rocky patch because of his slow divorce proceedings with ex-wife Rosetta Millington.

Padma Lakshmi's friends are rushing to the stunner's defence after it was reported that she was a gold digger. The New York Post's sources had earlier insinuated that the Top Chef host used former hubby Salman Rushdie for his fame.

"She does live in the circle of rich, famous people so it would be natural that they are the ones she may date," said a pal. "But that does not make her a gold digger, just like actors who date other actors are not star [bleep]ers. She had an Italian talk show and two series on the Food Network, plus an award-winning cookbook from Miramax Books before she even met her ex-husband. She has had acting roles in two films and four miniseries.

She is a hard-working, self-made woman.

"She went to India at her own expense to visit not only orphanages that might make for a photo-op but truly difficult places with diseased and dying people . . . She also recently gave a cooking lesson for Art for Life that earned 27,500 dollars for the charity," the pal added. —IANS, ANI

It's a crazy world of whiff and tang, where more than flavour it's the cuisines that have made a name for themselves. And catering to the growing demand for multi-cuisine (read Chinese) eateries, Sundarams-26 has joined hands with Yo! China for a gastronomic blend of Southern and Chinese fare.

One step into the restaurant that spells southern joy, with low wooden pillars, rangoli-embedded floors and paintings that depict the down south image, we wonder why this tie-up. And pop comes the reply. "The younger generation is in love with Chinese cuisine, while the parents want South Indian, so we thought why not start a chain that serves both," says S. Sundaram, owner Sundarams.

And why Yo! China? He adds, " It's not only in clothes that people look for brand these days, food too has graduated to join the league of brand wagon. And when it came to Chinese fare nothing suited us better than Yo! China, as it is a brand name in itself."

While now you can have Yo! China the Sundrams way, the only difference in the Chinese served at Sundarams-26 is that it is pure vegetarian. "The Chinese menu at our restaurant serves everything right from starters to soups to main course and desserts but here we only serve vegetarian food," says S. Sundaram.

Talk about the culinary delights of two different fares and he says, "We share the same kitchen for both the cuisines, though the Chefs are different. But there's no problem in doing so, since for the Chinese food only the finishing touch is given here. The 
base kitchen remains at the main Yo! China restaurant."

Having started with one outlet in sector-35, Sundarams now is a name for southern fare, and coming up with two more outlets in sector-34 and then at Spencer Plaza. S. Sundaram says, "We are expanding ourselves slowly and steadily and along with the restaurant chains we now organise catering for parties, marriages and birthdays also."

jigyasachimra@tribunemail.com

after a prolonged lull, the art scene in the city is heating up once again. And it is the Government College of Art that takes the lead with the opening of two exhibitions by its students - one, the annual exhibition by the final year MFA students at the college gallery and the other, by five students from BFA, who recently went to Rajasthan on a study tour.

The annual exhibition is called Stamp 2008 and from the works which are on display here, the only logic that comes to mind to justify the name is that these young artists are making their first step towards evolving their signature style. For instance, take Archana Khurana's work. She likes to represent life and overall emotions in blocks, even something as simple as a night driving on the free roads in Delhi comes with at least 30 blocks, with each block representing some element associated with driving. Even her installations, which depict how life still moves on after all the pain and heartaches, or even the happiest memories of her college life, come in separate squares.

Aishwarya Sultana likes to reveal people's secret and she is not ashamed of it. A few paintings from her series Secret find place in this exhibition which has one central figure who either wants to see, hear or talk about other's secrets. Aishwarya has executed her series taking a mirror as base and paint and adhesive tapes to add colour, for her figure comes in black and white.

"Jeeney ke zamane mein toh sab jeete hain / Jo marr ke jiye jahaan mein naam uska hai.. " the Urdu couplet is a veritable salutation to the theatrical elegance of city thespian Parbhat Gupt whose aesthetic potential was yet to blossom. A hero of 25 plays and director of eight award-winning plays sacrificed his life in a heroic act while saving a child. Hailed as the pride of the PU Department of Indian Theatre, Parbhat, a gold medallist , had formed a group, Sambhang. His admirers especially his father Dr D.S. Gupt has kept his cherished memory alive through the propagation of theatre among youngsters, as resolved by Prabhat.

The Sambhang theatre fest- 2008, is slated for November 14 and 15 to be held at the DAV College -10 Auditorium from 9.30 am onwards. As many as 20 teams from colleges and schools of the tricity are participating in the annual contest, disclosed Dr Meera Modi, secretary general of Sambhang. Sponsored by the Chandigarh administration, SBI, PU and DAV College the festival will be inaugurated by Sanjay Kumar, IAS.

Sambhang Theatre Award-2008 will be conferred on noted theatre personality Shweta Mahendra. Other prominent persons to be honoured with Sambhang Cultural Heritage award include Dr S.M. Kant, Manju Jaidka, Dr B.C. Josan, Dr Jaswinder Kaur and Jaskiran Harika.

A day-long-workshop on Cinema - Intrinsic to Indian Culture was organised at the Chitkara School of Mass Communications on Monday. Prof A. F. Mathew, an expert on post-modernism, ideology and films, was the principal speaker on the occasion.

"The purpose of this workshop is to sensitise students about the issues that matter today," says Mathew.

Is cinema contributing positively towards society? "Well, it was before 1991, not any more," comes the reply. Bringing out the contrast in movies before and after 91, he adds, "It was good cinema before. Cinema represented society in general and many a films were big hits as they touched all segments of society - be it caste, religion or class. It was the atmosphere of harmony that got represented."

On films of today, he says, "The kind of cinema we have today is conservative and regressive. Not too many films are making waves in the Box office these days."

Is it because cinema is representing our fragmented society? "I don't think so. Society was fragmented earlier too. But filmmakers had the decency to choose the right subject and portrayal, which are missing in today's films. There is no respect for any rules or regulations whatsoever today. If you watch films like A Wednesday, there is no regard for the law even. In earlier times, the police would at least appear in the last scene."

Any solutions to the maladies afflicting society and cinema? He replies, "I believe education is the key to it. Being an educationist myself, my endeavour is to bring a positive change and quality education that teaches the language of non-violence, justice and peace."

mona@tribunemail.com

In this computing world, the only parallel and running head to head are Intel and AMD and it's always being debated which one of these is better.

The Olympus Stylus 790 SW: 7.1Mega pixel digital camera, It's shockproof and it's waterproof, capable of quality shots under almost any circumstances. The 790 SW's metal body, floating circuit board and internal shock absorbers provide significantly more than the stated shockproof performance.

Both the shockproof and waterproof performance can be enhanced with Olympus accessories. The PT-041 Underwater Housing increases the waterproof guarantee up to 40 meters. The Silicon Clear Skin gives a sporty look and it rubberized cover to protect the camera (and the finish) against the effects of drops.The 790 SW is also freeze-proof to 14F (-10C),It has 3x optical zoom a 2.5? HyperCrystal LCD. And a SCN mode (something like a custom scean mode) allows you to configure the camera quickly for the type of photo you intend to take. You can choose from 23 different options with presets to help ensure the best picture possible. a guide mode which will enables you to set an enormous variety of photographic effects - and preview them on the screen before the photo is taken. It would be something like your own photography instructor in your pocket.

All in all, it is an awesome little camera. 

If all that you need is soothing music and a steaming cuppa to make your grey matter click some brilliant ideas, then city cafes are the place to be in. Hooked to their laptops and at the same time in serious conversation with their friends, the ambience seems just perfect. So, does it mean that the need for a formal seating aear, a well-lit room and pindrop silence to make a presentation or for a brainstorming session is a thing of the past, something the youngsters have finally got over? It is, if the affirmative reply from the students and young entrepreneurs who team up in cafes to do some intellectual work is anything to go by.

Gaurav Mutneja, a fourth-year- law student and all his friends gather every weekend at Café Coffee Day to make their presentations. "The calm and comforting ambience serves better than the conventional study rooms where the pressure to perform is rather tiring,"he says. Relax and study is the mantra he and his friends follow quite avidly. And what about 'concentration', the word that we have been asked to adhere to since childhood? "I don't think that is important at all now. All you need to have is presence of mind to come up with bright ideas and assemble material in the right way."

Head to Barista and the scene is the same. Sitting here for hours and working is no more tiring. As Latika Sharma, preparing for MBA says, "Working here is fun". She adds, "Solving problems can be really taxing. But with friends around, you need not wait for the next day's lectures as friends do help." And does it take some serious efforts so that it just does not end as a mere gossip session? "We all aim to get into reputed management schools and understand what is good for us and what isn't. Only those students are welcome in the group who can concentrate with others around," avers her friend Sonali Jindal.

Priya Jagat, owner of the Backpackers café, 9 stresses on the fact that coffee's association with intellect is from the ancient times. About the scene is her café she says, "Students have been dropping in to study in a group and also make presentations from quite some time now. But something that is recent and surprising is people from the corporate sector assembling here to discuss business." The swank boardrooms seem to be replaced by rather cafes with much informal interiors. Priya adds, "It is probably a change in trend, suggesting business strategies can be made in informal set ups as well and all all you need for this is a laptop."

ashima@tribunemail.com

I-mate has launched Jama 101 — the one of the world's most compact pocket PC phones, a marvel of smarts with big touch screen, all housed in a stylish jet black finish. The Jama 101 is the little phone with a lot of pizzazz, a mini PC with a built in mobile, digital camera, and MP3 player.

Supporting tri-band GSM/GPRS as well as Bluetooth, the Jama 101 is powered by a Samsung CPU at 300MHz that delivers a smooth multimedia experience. Its 2-mega pixel camera makes it a perfect multimedia companion.

I-mate, has teamed up with Bharti Airtel, India's leading integrated telecom services provider, deliver Jama across the country. Bharti Airtel is the first mobile operator to offer this device in India exclusively to its customers.

Discussing what makes i-mate the smarter choice, Jim Morrison, CEO, i-mate revealed, "i-mate is synonymous with delivering stylish and powerful Windows mobile devices for all types of customers and, we are delighted to partner with Bharti Airtel for the launch of Jama 101.