"Tusi mano gey, I told Gulzaar sahib, tusi kursi tey baitho, main tuhaadey agey nachna chauna han. You don't expect me to stand 'simply' in the playback singers' block and sing. A singer cannot do this song; you need a performer to playback this number… So, I put on the headphones, Rahman played the music and I sang and danced to the track. You know what, Rahman had to technically clear the sound of my footsteps, that laughter and bubbliness during the making of the final version of the song…."

Globe-trotter: A.R. Rahman with the best composer actor award for Slumdog Millionaire at the 14th Annual Critics' Choice Awards in Santa Monica, California, recently. AP/PTI

It wasn't possible for Sukhwinder Singh to describe the experience of making Jai Ho (Slumdog Millionaire) in a couple of sentences. We too wanted to get more of it. In fact, it would have taken yet another song for him to narrate what it was to sing a nation-rocking number. "I will tell you one more interesting thing. Almost 20 bands across the globe, Germany, Mexico, Africa have already made their own version of Jai Ho in their own style, on my original voice," says Sukhwinder, flooded with news on the chartbuster. Now what? You would expect one magnanimous feat to be followed by another. It is happening to him as well.

Sukhiwnder along with A. R. Rahman has got an invitation to perform 'live' at the 81st annual Academy Awards nite on February 22 in Los Angeles. The Mozart of Madras, Rahman, will open the Oscar nite along with Sukhi, with Jai Ho from Danny Boyle's movie Slumdog Millionaire, which recently won four Golden Globe awards and also created a huge buzz at the well-known SAG awards.

Sukhwinder Singh

The idea is not to validate the news. We are really interested. But for the modest performer, this could be one reason why the channel and print wallas are frantically trying his mobile, which he rarely attends. "I am going to Chennai on Friday to meet Rahman. And then, if he asks me to accompany him, I will. But it is a nice feeling altogether," offers the singer. Did you say 'modesty personified'?

Sukhwinder continues with the narration. He wants to share an experience of his life and intuition, which has seen the light of reality. "No one in this industry took me seriously, when I was composing Chhaiya Chhaiya. Everyone told me it was not happening. It was Rahman who placed his trust in me. After working with him, I knew that he would make it to an international level one day. But Rahman would shrug it off, saying that we should concentrate on work and not think about awards." We don't want to interrupt him with the 'predictable' FAQs. "I had some feeling while recording for Jai Ho. I would request Rahman to let me sing the song again and again because I had an intuition that it would win 'some' international award. Rahman scolded be badly and asked me to sing and not think about anything else." "Today, I am glad that meri intuition sach hui. I went to Shirdiwale baba ji and gurdwara to pay obeisance and get parshad for Rahman."

Sukhwinder has taken the memory lane and he certainly isn't in any mood to be disturbed. Neither would we want to burst the flow of enthusiasm. Nevertheless, we mention Rahman, which is sure to make remembrances pleasurable. "Who said he is a serious person," says Sukhwinder. "He is not 'serious' but 'sincere'. He is a naughty guy, a total masti khor. Come and see his studio, we have a blast while working. About Rahman, I can say that he has made a singing pattern comfortable for the singers. Performers main raunak aa jati hai unki wajah sey."

He stops to catch some breath, and we barge in… Bollywood is proud of Sukhwinder. "I don't know," his voice is shaky. Breathless… what happened here? "After Tashan and Hauley Hauley (Rab Ney Bana Di Jodi), everybody from the Industry called to say that they loved my work. Now, I am startled, amazed, shocked. All those near and dear friends are invisible. I haven't got a single call from them. I don't know where they are. Almost 50 per cent of my friends are naraaz with me."

"Kisi di kaamyaabi jinni der tuhaadi shakal tey na aaye, unhi der tusi usdi kaamyaabi tey khush nahin," feels Sukhiwnder. The journey resumes, with Sukhwinder singing in Indian and Japanese for a play that would feature the best of Hollywood actors. jasmine@tribunemail.com

For all the attention in Hollywood, Slumdog Millionaire has failed to set the box office alight in India where it is set, with piracy, anger over its portrayal of poverty and its controversial title taking a toll. The Oscar-nominated film about the life of a street boy who wins a fortune on a quiz show appealed to multiplex audiences with its portrayal of hope amid poverty but left viewers in small towns unimpressed.

A debate over the film's portrayal of India, where millions still live in the squalor depicted in Slumdog Millionaire, hasn't helped either. "The film was slow in picking up but by Monday was seeing 65-75 percent occupancy in multiplexes," said trade analyst Komal Nahta. "From Tuesday the collections have slowed again." Slumdog…, shot largely in the slums of Mumbai, received mixed reviews, with some panning it for reinforcing Western stereotypes about India. Police in the eastern state of Bihar tightened security after slum dwellers objecting to the word "dog" attacked a cinema hall screening Slumdog Millionaire in its main city. In small towns and semi-urban areas, the film is not doing well despite the huge publicity and a dubbed Hindi version. "There was a problem with the title itself. Slumdog is not a familiar word for majority Indians," Nahta said.

Another trade analyst, Amod Mehra, said the film had also been hit by the lack of a recognisable Bollywood face. Actor Anil Kapoor, who plays the gameshow host, is cast in a negative role. "The film is not ideally suited for Indian sentiment," Mehra said. Fox Star Studios, which released the film in India, said it grossed 135 million rupees ($2.8 million) over the weekend. It said Slumdog… had been hit by piracy. "I have to admit that the film was affected by piracy. A lot of people had already watched it," Vijay Singh, CEO of Fox Star Studios, said. But Singh said the film, playing in 350 screens across India, could benefit from word-of-mouth publicity.

"Everything said and done, this is a niche film and we don't expect it to do well in smaller non-urban centres." said Shunali Shroff, owner of Fame Cinemas. Slumdog Crorepati, the Hindi-language version of the film, did better in India than the original English version and Fox Star Studios said more prints in Hindi would be released. — Reuters

Patel once waited at a premiere for three hours just to get a photo with the actor. In a recent chat with US news show Extra, Patel said, "Hello, Mr. Smith… Please let me do a film with you. I stumbled upon your premiere of Hancock in London and I waited three hours. I was dying to go to the toilet and I've got a picture of you on my phone. It'd be great. Just a small role. Shake your hand or something... Thank you."

Patel also has big plans to work with Jim Carrey and Leonardo DiCaprio.

Frieda Pinto, Patel's love interest in Slumdog Millionaire, too is a big fan of DiCaprio, "I've fantasised about him ever since Titanic.He's a really nice person. The crush is gone but the admiration is still there." she says. — IANS

Hollywood actress Scarlett Johansson plays 'agony aunt' to her friends because she always gives an honest opinion when it comes to relationships. The Lost in Translation star is just a call away for friends and has her own way to counsel them on problems relating to men.

"My friends and I talk about relationships and I probably over-analyse everything. But I usually come back to the same thing: 'If this person is making you crazy or making you doubt yourself, then get rid of him.' I always sort of come back to that," she said.

She added, "Whether or not my girlfriends stay with the guy at the time, they usually end up parting ways in the end. It sounds like I'm breaking up people all over the place." The 24-year-old actress, who married actor Ryan Reynolds last year, has some words of advice for women who have just broken up with their partners.

"For a while you feel beaten down - you had to put a lot into it (the relationship) and didn't get something out of it. Then you realise, 'I did get something out of it. I learned something about myself, and I feel like a survivor."– ANI

Just hours before being snapped kissing Kooks frontman Luke Pritchard, actress Mischa Barton was spotted locking lips with a female pal on her birthday. The OC star kissed and cuddled her brunette friend outside a Paris nightclub while celebrating her 23rd birthday.

And immediately after that, she jetted to the British capital to meet her singer boyfriend. However, it wasn't the first time Barton enjoyed a lesbian kiss, reports The Sun.

Mischa has earlier admitted that she preferred the girl-on-girl scenes because they were "more natural".

In fact, she also frolicked with Rachel Evan Wood in 2006 film Once And Again. — ANI

Some things are everlasting. Their grace doesn't fade away and charm doesn't depreciate. Even changing trends does not affect their popularity. These are applicable for silk as well. The fabric that is considered a status symbol does not ever get out of fashion. We re-discovered the fact at Silk Mark Expo-2009. With about 25 varieties of silk available here, it is still very much in demand, with only changes one could notice were new designs and patterns. The inauguration of the exhibition was marked by a fashion show by students of NIIFT-Mohali. They showcased the silk sarees in latest designs available here.

Akhtar Ali, from Varanasi, agrees with us. "No matter what, women still love to wear silk sarees on special occasions." But no more heavy zari work. "The silk sarees and suits now available in the market are very affordable and wearable. They are lightweight with resham work on them. Also the embroidery done on them is in tandem with the changing fashion." The demand for silk has increased due to fall in prices. "The thread used is comparatively thinner which makes it easy for the weaver to make sarees, hence the the low price."

The gloss and fineness of the fabric have now made people to experiment with it. "Other than sarees, women now buy chiffon silk for making evening dresses," he adds.

Kantha work on sarees might be popular but we also saw people going in for rare works this time. Shaheen Khan from Bilaspur, who has put up a stall of sarees with kachchi karahi, says, "This is a traditional form of embroidery and generally people don't know about it. Hope this time they will go in for a change." Not to miss the Madhubani hand- printed silk sarees, which have a charm of their own. The colours used are vegetable colours and not chemicals.

If you are looking for something trendy and stylish, then there are printed silk sarees on display. "Sarees in bright colours with block prints are what people preferring these days for a casual look," says Pawan Aggarwal from Delhi.

Matka and Muga silk from Bhagalpur and Assam, respectively, and Walkum silk and reshmi jamdani from Azamgarh are considerably expensive. " It takes around three to four months to weave one saree. Also, the intricate work done on them is a reason for the high cost," says Mohammed Kauser from Maharahstra. But all said and done, these are the sarees that deserves to be in every woman's wardrobe.

On at Kisan Bhavan-35 till February 3

Consequent to the declaration of state mourning following the sad demise of R. Venkataraman, the former President of India, the Chandigarh Sangeet Natak Akademi has postponed their classical music concert, which was scheduled for January 31. The Akademi chairperson Kamal Tewari said the annual musical programme, Aai Basant Bahar, will now be held on February 6 at the Punjab Kala Bhavan auditorium at 6.30 pm. Renowned classical vocal maestro Pandit Laxman Krishna Rao Pandit, a stalwart of Gwalior Gharana, will be the attraction of the programme.

Born into a family of musicians, Krishnarao is the fifth in an unbroken lineage of legendary musicians. He is one of the few musicians today who can render the difficult genre of tappa with ease and fluidity. Krishnarao's repertoire includes a treasure house of some of the rarest, ancient and most beautiful bandishes, handed down to him by his illustrious ancestors. — TNS