The year 2008 gave us our very own Food Street and it made us happy. At least now we can compare ourselves to Chandni Chowk, Lahore and even food streets of Paris. But our euphoria was clouded when we met artist Bheem Malhotra and got to see a few prints of his original Dhaba series, which he painted in the early 90s.

For the uninitiated, Bheem teaches art in the Chandigarh College of Architecture and is known for his unusual landscape, which he executes in watercolour mostly. The ‘unusual’ element comes from Bheem’s representation of history and culture through his brush strokes. And as he takes inspiration from surroundings, one can immediately connect with his paintings. To elaborate we have to bring back his Dhaba series once again. When Bheem exhibited his paintings at the Fine Arts Gallery of Panjab University, guess who all thronged the venue? The Dhaba owners!

“I still remember the owner of Giani da Dhaba was so ecstatic to see his joint that he got everyone of his family to see the exhibition,” recalls Bheem. His favourite dhabas have been replaced by smart-looking kiosks of Food Street near PGI, that serve even better quality food, but Bheem’s heart still beats for those old Giani da Dhabas and Sher-e-Punjabs.

“As a student of the Government College of Art, I used to eat practically everyday at those dhabas. Memories are still fresh and now the newly-built Food Street just a pang as it is so final that Chandigarh’s dhaba culture is now over,” says Bheem.

It was the unique culture that exists in these dhabas, which attracted Bheem in the first place to paint them. “It is a totally different world out there, each element associated with it speaks of its own language.” And, the language he captured comes sometimes in form of the smoke coming out of the tandoor or sometime in form of the hustle-bustle of the customers and serving boys. Bheem even captured one of his favourite dhaba with fog descending upon it.

Apart from the culture which he captured in details (the detailing of the broken ambassador car in front of one of them is simply amazing), it the movement in his frames that draws one to them. According to Bheem it was a challenging job to capture the smoke and the fog in water colour but his hard work paid when two of his paintings got AIFACS golden jubilee award in 1996.

Well, Bheem is not over with it yet. He plans to re-do the series soon. Of course, now it has to be done from his memory. But knowing this intense young artist and his love for this particular subject we know he would not disappoint us art lovers.

parbina@tribunemail.com

She has been catapulted to star status with her debut in Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi. But Anushka Sharma says she is a simple girl just like her character in the movie and has no plans to move into a plush home as she is enjoying her stay in the army quarters here.

"I kept coming to Mumbai for modelling assignments. I decided to move into Mumbai a year ago with my mom, since my dad is posted out. I haven't bought my place. Right now I'm very comfortable in the army quarters. I don't feel the need to move from where I am," says Anushka.

The actor, who has signed one more film with Yash Raj Films, says she was lucky to be brought up in Bangalore.

"Otherwise army officers, who give their lives for the country, could be posted anywhere in the back of beyond. That gets really tough on their kids. Me and my brother (who used to be a state-level cricketer) got the best of education in Bangalore," said Anushka.

Ask her how she managed to be so natural in her first film, Anushka said, "All the while I was modelling in Bangalore, maybe there was an actor lurking within me. I'm crazy about my modelling work. I love the ramp and the backstage banter. I moved to Mumbai a year ago. Movies were not a priority. I don't come from a film background; don't know how the industry works. I didn't know anyone here." She didn't have to make a strenuous effort to act.

"Even modelling is a kind of performance. On the ramp you are representing a concept. In a film, you're projecting an individual. But the transition wasn't hard for me. Because in real life I'm as simple as the girl I play in Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi. Yes, I do like to dress up and walk the ramp. But that isn't the real me." The newcomer is receiving compliments from all and sundry, but says the best came from Yash Chopra himself.

"He came up to me and said mine was one of the best performances he had seen by a debutante. He placed his hand on my head while saying this. So he was blessing me," said Anushka.

Unlike other Yash Raj Films heroines, she was not presented with the poised finesse and sophistication associated with the banner.

The newcomer defends the banner, saying: "You're right. Even when actors are presented as seedhi-saadhi (girl next door) in a Yash Raj film, they are glamorous. And coming from a glamour background I wouldn't have minded being glossy in my first film. But you know what? "This was such a huge opportunity. I couldn't have asked for more. I fell in love with my character and the film. It's a dream role for any debutante. I can always get into a chiffon sari in the next Yash Raj movie. Or the one after that...." Although Rab Ne.. is Anushka's first film, she wasn't over-instructed for her role.

"Adi never told me what to do beyond a point. In fact, he gave me the liberty to interpret my character the way I wanted after making me read the lines. Imagine a newcomer getting so much freedom in her first film! "I must have given Ravi Chandran (director of photography) so much grief. I knew nothing about camera angles. I didn't even understand focus marks. Shah Rukh was doing that for me. Adi and Shah Rukh made things so comfortable for me. These things matter a lot when you're starting out." Commenting on her co-star, Anushka says she was always a huge Shah Rukh fan.

"My dad is in the army and when they would've these functions in the mess, I'd dance to Shah Rukh's Kitabe bahut si padhi hogi from Baazigar. I must've been three at that time.

"I wasn't just Shah Rukh's fan. I'm his big admirer. I always loved the way he conducted himself. Now after having worked with him, I love him even more. Rab Ne... was like my school where Shah Rukh and Adi were my teachers." —IANS

Buoyed by the success of Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi and Ghajini at the fag end of 2008, Bollywood entered the New Year on an optimistic note expecting that big-budgeted pot boilers would set the cash registers ringing at the box office in 2009.

Bollywood would be pinning its hopes this year on many high-budget movies featuring bankable stars on account of liquidity crunch that hit the industry in the later half of 2008.

Trade sources said that the liquidity crunch witnessed during 2008 will have its effect this year. Hence, the industry requires big budget films with huge stars to succeed at the box office.

Biggies like Akshay Kumar, Shah Rukh Khan, Aamir Khan, Salman Khan have their films lined up for release during 2009.

Also, Abhishek Bachchan and Hrithik Roshan hope to give their senior peers a tough competition.

Abhishek, whose gay act in Dostana last year earned him good reviews, hopes to display his acting prowess in Rakyesh Om Prakash Mehra's Delhi 6, while Hrithik Roshan can spring in a surprise with his home production Kites.

Younger actors like Imran Khan (Delhi Belly, Luck), Shahid Kapur (Kaminey, Pathshala) and Ranbir Kapoor (Ajab Prem ki Gazab Kahani) get a chance to prove their mettle once again.

Young Prateik Babbar, son of late actress Smita Patil, who was seen as Genelia D'souza's kid brother in Jaane tu ya jaane na last year makes a debut as a lead actor in Kiran Rao's Dhobi Ghat in 2009. —PTI 

It's pouring offers for Sukhwinder Singh in both Bollywood and Hollywood. But instead of giving himself a pat on the back and taking all the credit, the playback singer says he owes his success to ace composer A.R. Rahman.

"Rahman has been a catalyst in my success because when everyone had turned me down and ridiculed my song Thaiyan thaiyan, he was the only one to believe in me. With few changes in lyrics, he gave me my first big success in the form of Chaiyyan chaiyyan," Sukhwinder said in an interview.

Sukhwinder, who started his Bollywood stint with the 1986 film Karma, witnessed an upswing in his career with the hugely popular song Chaiyyan chaiyyan in the 1998 film Dil Se.

The singer, whose voice has a rustic feel, has also gone international. "I have sung a Kutchi folk song for a Steven Spielberg film starring Denzel Washington, because they wanted authentic Indian music," said Sukhwinder.

"Earlier too, my song Chaiyyan chaiyyan was used for the film Inside Man. Recently I sang a song Jai ho for Hollywood film Slumdog Millionaire, where again the music is by Rahman," he added.

While Sukhwinder has lent his powerful voice to many Hindi film actors, his songs picturised on superstar Shah Rukh Khan are sure-shot hits.

"The fact is that many of my songs with other actors have been equally popular like Tu kisna hai (Kisna), Ishq bina (Taal), Rut aa gayee re (1947 Earth), Aj mera jee kardaa (Monsoon Wedding), Beedi jalai le (Omkara) and many more. But people always remember my songs picturised on Shah Rukh."

Sukhwinder also made an appearance on television as one of the judges for STAR Plus' musical reality show "Star Voice of India 2", but he found the experience far from pleasing. "It's better not to comment on my stint as a judge. Things are very different when scripts in such shows bind you," he said.

So what about the current crop of singers that such shows are churning out? "As for the current crop, we do have a few good singers ... they are promising too, but the system is not really open to newcomers. The struggle phase is long. So most of the time, good singers don't last and give up too soon," he said.

Sukhwinder, who has been in the industry for more than two decades now, has his hands full.

“Billu Barber, Ravana, Kaminay... It's difficult to recall names of all the films I'm doing," said the singer . —IANS

After starring in Bollywood star Aamir Khan's hit directorial debut Taare Zameen Par, actor Tisca Chopra has become a lucky charm for debutant directors.

She will now feature in critically acclaimed Firaaq, which is Nandita Das' first film as a director.

While Taare Zameer Par emerged winner at the box office, Firaaq has won many accolades on the international arena even before its commercial release.

"I hope I'm lucky for them," Tisca quipped.

Based on the 2002 Godhra incident in Gujarat, Firaaq has already been screened at several international film festivals including the Toronto Film Festival.

Tisca plays an educated urban upper class woman in the film contrary to her role of a middle-class housewife in Taare Zameen Par.

"Firaaq" is set for January 23 release. —IANS

Behind every successful sahib, there is a memsahib. No, we haven’t forgotten that oft-repeated phrase, only adjusted a little to suit our purpose. The sahib and the memsahib being the man and wife in the bureaucratic world and telling the story of this elite class is Suchita Malik. In her debut book Indian Memsahib, she weaves facts and fiction to bring out the labour, filled with uncertainty that comes with being a bureaucrat’s wife. “Writing the book was a cathartic experience. It is not only about my own perspectives but also about the emotional struggle and fight for the identity, an account of a VIP life and its challenges,” says this VIP wife for past 25 years.

The book, which has sold over 2000 copies within 15 days after its release, gives an insight into the ups and downs of Indian bureaucracy, through a women’s perspective. Ask her how the whole process of writing and reliving her life was, and she replies, “It was like introducing somebody to his own family. Honestly, I don’t find anything different in the book as I have lived that life, but the whole experience of writing it was like a flashback.”

It’s not the first time that Suchita has explored the literary world. She has been teaching literature and her likings include writings of Mark Twain, Ernest Hemingway, Khushwant Singh. She is also familiar with the contemporary writers like Arvind Adiga, Kiran Desai, Jhumpa Lahiri …you name it and she has read it. “Khushwant Singh’s Sahibs Who Loved India is one of the most interesting and inspiring novels I have ever come across. The compilation of essays and writings by foreigners who have made India their home brings the real India to you. The one you never knew,” she says.

Now, we know that a life of a sahib’s wife is not usually perceived as a struggle. But how was penning it down? “I believed when Kiran Desai once said that writing is a lonely business. You have the facts; a writer’s imagination to weave them into a story, but then comes the stagnation. The moods of depression when you don’t know what to write. It’s then that you start from the scratch,” she says. But also believes that the sense of contentment and achievement in the end makes it all worthwhile.

Her book has no famous plot or last lines, but an abrupt and open ending. Why? “It always leaves the reader asking for more and then you have a sequel to write,” she says with that content smile. And while the Indian Memsahib makes its presence felt on the bookshelves, we wait for this memsahib’s second innings. 

Richard Bach does two things with his books, he gives you flight and he makes you feel young. And well, that’s true not only for Jonathan Livingston Seagull, which we picked from the book exhibition at Lajpat Rai Bhawan-15, but for all books that we came across. Organised by Rupa & Co the exhibition throws open a variety of readings that would enlighten you in one way or the other.

Starting from the corner, where you would find most of the crowd, better still voracious readers, the fiction section. Packed with a variety of interesting and thought provoking books, you will find Ravi Subramanian’s, I bought the monks Ferrari lying next to Herman Hesse’s, Siddhartha. And closer to that is Roma Bansal’s, One afternoon. But you certainly cannot miss out on the smiling young man with his old and new collection, Chetan Bhagat with One night at the call centre, the 3 mistakes of my life. And if you think you need to better yourself then take a look at the better yourself books. And here it goes, If god was a banker by Ravi Subramanian, success in examination, Arty Pereira, life, love and Sex Jeanette Pinto, it happened in India by Kishore Biyani. How much they help, for this you need to buy one.

The exhibition also houses a good variety on current affairs and one man rules the roost here. Arun Shourie. From Secular Agenda, Courts and their Judgement to the world of Fatwas, almost every second book in this corner bear his name. Books on yoga like Pregnancy by Nutan Pandit, the joy of cancer by Anup Kumar to ones on humour, various memoirs also had people stopping by to take a good look. Lastly, if you are interested in sports, games or are in a habit of dozing off with a book on short stories by your bedside, or if you are a Ruskin Bond or Paulo Cohelo fan, then Rupa publications has them in numbers. Also, if you think you need to know more about Leaders who made difference to the country and still here then, readings on Indira Ghandhi by Katherine Frank, Mahatma Ghandhi by Louis Fischer are something that would satiate your desire.

On till 5 January

manpriya@tribunemail.com  

Let’s imagine. You walk in to town’s most famous multi-cuisine restaurant, dressed to the nines. Anticipation of good food already appetising you against the backdrop of great music played by the live band among a perfect ambience in turn, created by the sophisticated and swish crowd. Hoooh! So much for word picture. Take a little further. A polished and skilled waiter approaches you, smiles, wishes and hands over a soiled cardboard-like thing to you that resembles a menu card! Eaooow!

An over-exaggerated picture is not required to bring home the point. Menu cards are definitely a part of little things that silently make a loud statement. The most unsung part of the detail is they hardly get their due attention. But thankfully, all the hotels and restaurants have realised their worth or so it seems. For many of the city’s eating joints actually list their food in style.

Mocha’s-26 has a menu card in a square shape, with each page cardboard thick and made of different colours, from red, brown to black, depending on whether it’s Italian coffee or Indian. R. L. Dogra, the manager, says, “The designing decisions of our cards are taken by the head office. The interiors, the image of the bar and lot of other things are kept in mind.” Bar, restaurant or coffee joint, what does not change is the importance of this essential part of the place. As Anil Gulati, the reservation in charge, at Mountview-10, says, “We’ve had our cards designed professionally by people who have been paid handsomely for the job.” He adds, “They are the first impression. Before a food tastes good, it needs to look good. The dish only comes later.” Quite true. After all even the fanciest sounding dish would lose all the charm if it were written on an unimpressive piece of paper.

Apart from detailing, innovation too goes into their making. Ettitka Garg, an executive with Taj-17 says, “During our promotional time, we make menu cards that can also be used as book-marks.” Talk of utility factor.

While some use it to coincide with the décor and theme and extend it further. Orchid Lounge-34, the oriental restaurant, has separate booklets for bar and food. The bar menu is literally long and sturdy with names of wines and liquor engraved in brown. Rajesh Mahajan, ex-manager of a city hotel, says, “Believe it or not, but actually all the design principles like white space and contrast are kept in mind while designing a card and a lot many other factors like cuisine and interiors of the place are considered.” Another interesting menu card worth mentioning here is Backpacker’s-9. Comprehensive, thick and rugged, totally in sync with the true blue spirit of a backpacker.

Devil, they say, lies in the detail. In this case, not just the devil but also the essence, your menu, lies in the detail.

manpriya@tribunemail.com