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The first impression
A good portfolio can be your ticket to stardom. But is the city, which is starved of fashion photographers, providing enough scope to the aspiring models?
What was the first thing Sushmita Sen, Priyanka Chopra, Mughda Godse, Arjun Rampal, John Abrahim did after winning respective pageants? They waved at the crowd, shed tears, looked stunned, gathered cash and ... and they headed straight to a professional photographer for a top-end photo shoot. So, here it is. Portfolio shoot is an important step towards stardom. For, your destiny depends on the outcome. Does it sound a little exaggerated? Well, then hear it from the horse’s mouth. Tricity-based models tell us why it is mandatory to have an A-class portfolio, even it means blowing a few thousands or lakhs. Mehak Verma, a model from Ludhiana, shifted her base to Chandigarh a year back to fulfill her dreams. The first thing she was advised by her friends and others related to the modelling world was — get a portfolio done and get it from some professional photographer. “I had two things in mind. One, I had to get an awesome portfolio, and second it had to be from a professional,” says Mehak. “It wasn’t easy. We don’t have too many professional fashion photographers in the city,” she adds. Mehak thought of taking a short trip to Mumbai or Delhi for the same. “When I heard about the charges (portfolios start with Rs 60,000), I didn’t know what to do. I had to settle for a photographer from the city, which I must say did the job fairly well.”
Ditto for Yogesh, who has finished his studies, works as a bouncer and also nurtures a desire to walk the international ramp one day. “Portfolio is one big deal. The kind of work we get depends on how good or bad one’s portfolio is.” Adds the muscleman, “Trends in portfolio shoot keep changing. If you get the pictures from a professional photographer, then all’s well. But if the pictures don’t turn out well, you are doomed.” Lack of professional fashion photographers in the city, changing trends, moolah demands — all aspiring as well as professional models and actors have to face up with these hiccups. However, some believe in investing and the reaping the dividends later. Jia Sharma from Ludhiana and now settled in the city falls in this category. “I wouldn’t mind spending thousands or more, if I know that I am going to get work on the basis of it. These days modelling agencies expect the best of folios. If your pictures look presentable, you’ll get good work, otherwise you would end up in some lousy show.” Jia also sees shortage of good portfolio as a big problem in the city. “Everyone cannot afford a photo shoot which costs one Rs 1-2 lakh. What do you do then? Settle for anyone who comes your way.” And, it is not only the ‘grands’ which worry them, coping up with the trends is also important. Says Disha, model and event manager, “Trends in model shoot change and are pretty unpredictable. Outdoor, indoor shoots, kind of lighting, make-up, dresses of the model, everything should be top class. Now, how will let you walk the Lakme Fashion Week if you get pictures done in suit or sari. The best is to get an expensive photo shoot, that fetches you a fat assignment, which will reimburse the money spend. It is a one- time investment,” she laughs. So, all those who want to hit the ramp or silver screen, the word is – investment. jasmine@tribunemail.com
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Shoot at sight
Getting a photo shoot done? Here are the dos and don’ts
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Bollywood actor Kareena Kapoor, who doesn’t like to make her private life public, has opened up about beau Saif Ali Khan and says he is not as flamboyant in real life as he looks on screen. “Saif is very different (from his on screen image). On screen I think he is very flamboyant, but in real life he is very understated and relaxed,” said Kareena. “He is very classy but he has an amazing charm about himself, an inherent charm, which can be seen on screen. And I think that is what’s there with him personally also,” she told choreographer-director Farah Khan on the chat show Tere Mere Beach Mein. The episode featuring Kareena will be aired Saturday at 9 p.m. —IANS
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Akshay flies back home to celebrate his birthday Bollywood’s very own Khiladi Akshay Kumar who turned 42, flew in from Italy to celebrate the big day with his family.The actor was shooting in Italy for Sajid Nadiadwala’s House Full but wanted to be with wife Twinkle Khanna and seven-year-old son Aarav for his birthday. “Akshay wants to ring in his birthday with his family. He does not want to miss this at any cost...Sajid understood Akshay’s feelings and saw to it that the shooting gets wrapped up in advance so that Akshay can fly down to Mumbai “ a source close to the actor said. Back home, wife Twinkle has planned a quite party for the actor who began his career as a martial arts teacher. The actor whose real name is Rajeev Bhatia, when one of his students, a photographer, recommended him to pursue modelling. Thus began Akshay Kumar’s journey in Bollywood. His first film Khiladi established him as an action hero, but it was the 1993 film Mohra which catapulted him to heartthrob status. Akshay soon broke the mould with comic capers like Mr & Mrs Khiladi and Aflatoon while also playing romantic roles in films like Dil To Pagal Hai.The year began on a good note for Akshay with the success of Kambakkht Ishq, where he romanced both Kareena Kapoor and Bond girl Denise Richrds.His other big release this year is the underwater thriller Blue, which is being touted as the most expensive film ever made in Bollywood. —PTI
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Rani denies wearing a two-piece in Dil Bole Hadippa Actor Rani Mukherji may be the talk of the town for being the next ‘bikini babe’ of Bollywood with her latest film Dil Bole Hadippa but the actor clarifies that she is not wearing a two-piece in the movie. The 31-year-old actor is seen gyrating to the beats of the title track of the film wearing a revealing outfit which looks like a bikini. “Bikini is a very strong word. I have just worn a bikini top with salwar. When you lose weight and tone your body, people are wanting to dress you up in a different way and there is no harm in trying that,” Rani said. She said the ultra glam look was for the music video of the film. “In the film, I could not take liberties because the glam look would not go well with the character I play. But in the music videos, I could be portrayed differently,” Rani said.When asked about her views on losing her numero uno status, Rani said that the number games do not affect actors. “The number games are for those who believe in it. The roles that I get make me the actor I am. Getting challenging roles is the best part of being in any stage of your career. I am trying to reinvent myself as an actor and as a looker,” she said. Talking about her future projects, Rani said she cannot work in any random film. “I am waiting for a great offer. I want to work with Vishal Bharadwaj, Imitiaz Ali, Anurag Basu. —PTI
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Main Aurr Mrs Khanna will make you believe in marriage, says Salman Bollywood’s most eligible bachelor Salman Khan says that those who do not believe in the institution of marriage will do so after watching his film Main Aurr Mrs Khanna.The 43-year-old actor known as the enfant terrible of Bollywood has eluded marriage for years, but preached the virtues of the institution while promoting the upcoming film. “The film stresses the importance of the institution of marriage. Non-believers will change their mind after watching it,” Salman told reporters at the music launch of the film, which stars Kareena Kapoor and his brother Sohail Khan.Main Aurr Mrs Khanna will be released this Diwali. —PTI
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Novel ending
Director Ashutosh Gowariker has changed the climax of his film What’s Your Raashee? and Hurman Baweja’s character walks away with a completely different girl from the one that the hero selects in Madhu Rye’s novel. It took a while to convince the novelist, but Gowariker finally made sense in convincing him that an identical ending in the film will spoil it for those who had read the book. Rye had also never imagined that all the 12 candidates for bridehood would have the same face. “If I had 12 different actresses playing the 12 brides-in-waiting, a star-hierarchy would’ve been created in the audiences’ mind. And the one Hurman would’ve married would’ve been considered ‘the star’ of the show. I wanted all the 12 girls to be looked on with equal curiosity and interest by the audience. And for that I needed to take up the challenge of making one actress play all the 12 parts,” Gowariker said. —IANS
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Theme for a dream
Shivani’s paintings spin around the surreal world
D for dreams! Doesn’t everybody have them? Don’t they make the world go round? Aren’t they the ultimate driving force? Finally, wouldn’t it suit a fledgling or freelance artist to talk dreams rather than the Husains or the Menons who probably have no dream left. “Droplets of desire”, the art exhibition by freelance artist Shivanii surrounds, survives and spins around the theme. She calls it sublime, but it’s also a subliminal journey. Says Shivanii, “It’s very often that we talk of dreams, even I have them, so many of my friends have theirs, often our conversation would be around this theme.” And hence the fifteen pieces of art dedicated the most universal, much more powerful emotion and those tangentially connected to it, hope, success, bliss, action, truth, endeavour, conscience, imagination, trust.
Moving on to Glory of action, Dreams turning into reality, The bliss of growth, The submerge of truth, Then endeavour to live in top, is as towering as the subject itself. One crayon on paper talks hope through two coffee cups and a tea-pot. “It’s like whenever you sit alone or all by yourself while sipping coffee or it could be anything, you always have your dreams on your mind.” On other pieces, the underlying theme of chess, elephant, king, pawns, horse everything standing up for something or the other. lifestyle@tribunemail.com On at Government Museum and Art Gallery till September 13
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Dadagiri, reloaded
What would you do if you get a chance to get back at your rivals? How long can you hold up all that aggression? Are you longing for a sweet revenge? Now, don’t get the wrong idea that we are propagating some hate agenda. It’s just a warm up exercise for another dose of Dadagiri for our city dude Samrat Chibba. The hunk is again in the race for money, fame and a Hero Honda Hunk on the mean reality show on Bindaas. Back on the show as a wildcard entry, Samrat is ready to take his rivals head-on, Punjabi style. “It will be sweet revenge for me to see the shocked reactions of other contenders on the show once I return. I was backstabbed and now they will pay for it,” he roars. Well, a bit too much. “Nah. You need that kind of aggression to survive in this game. I am a fighter and will prove that I was and am the strongest contender to win the show.” The guy popular as a ladki-baaz, says the tasks are no big deal. “I am not scared to perform. The last time, it took me some time to know the basics. But now, I know their weakness and strengths as I have been following the show.” His strategy? “No strategy. Just being myself on the show is enough to bring my rivals down,” his confidence and aggression quite evident. Soaking in some fresh air of dadagiri, he knows his job. “I am going to do some dhamaka, sab ki bajane wala hoon.” Well, some noble intentions we have here! nehawalia@tribunemail.com
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Side Lanes
We enjoy visiting a friend’s farmhouse, because it reminds us of the old chaai-walla days. The garden and the bungalow are sprawling; the plate and cutlery service exquisite. The host always asks what kind of cuisine we would favour. I once asked for cream of asparagus soup.
The vilayati cook produced the most delicately flavoured brew. On another occasion, Oz wanted typical Anglo-Indian fare—meatballs with rice and got just that, cooked to perfection by the Indian khansama. Being a burra sahib and burra mem on a tea estate with twenty-two servants, we offered our guests the same. However, it is worth remembering that all this is possible only if the kings of the kitchen are contented, well lured and mentally relaxed with a wee dram or two. Light hearted and insouciant (often tiddly), they produce featherlight souffles and the most succulent roasts. At the farm house the cook always seemed to be walking on gentle waves. My mother’s 85th found us contacting a southern star from a college canteen. He was recommended by many and could only be met by appointment. Two months before the event, he arrived and declared-over a glass of hot water and rum—that he could not come on the 16th of December as he was otherwise engaged but some other days were free. We bowed, scraped and smiled before him and promptly agreed to the date preferred. On the 14, I was panicky by 10 a.m. The chairs were out, an extra gas cylinder in place, crockery, cutlery, flowers and balloons on the lawn, drinks lined up a generous bar. A bottle of Old Monk Rum with a red bow, lay by the flowers as a prize for the famous maestro. However, my son had warned me that this was to be handed over only when the guests had eaten or better still departed. The one important item missing was the expert. I rang him up but he did not answer. At 11 a.m. a rickshaw loaded with utensils, oil, ingredients and a young Nepali masaalchi arrived. Where was the maestro? The boy assured us he was on his way. At 12.30 the southern star arrived. Lunch was laid at 2.30 p.m. and was a resounding success. The Old Monk and a wad of notes were ceremoniously handed over as our guests begged for the maestro’s phone number and autograph. Nearer home, our Jeeves has promoted himself to general handy-man and Socratic advisor. We listen to his speeches with rapt attention and tremulously ask him to make a favourite dish when required. The mantle of daily cooking has been passed on to his assistant— his lovely young wife. At the house next door, the khansama has an aura derived from filmy looks combined with self-worth. He strides through the house like a colossus as his balding, droopy masters walk around with uncertainty, worried that someone may offer him a higher salary. The young man knows his place. The mistress asked, “Could you fill a plate for the Baby and bring it upstairs? He is very ill.” Khansama, “My job is to cook not to serve. Send some one down.” “Who can I send? There is no one here.” “Come down yourself. I don’t have the time.” Clatter of high heels as the harried bahu comes to collect food. Servantless days loom large before us. They are an endangered species. They interview prospective employees with police precision. Be prepared to coddle them or face the music. |
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Objet D’ ART
Love does a lot of things to lot of people. In art, we have seen artists in love influencing their beloveds and getting influenced in return. When Hilda Morley, an American poet married artist Eugene Morley in 1945, they could not sustain their marriage for long, but his connection to abstract expressionism and to the New York school of painting was a lasting influence on her poetry. She wrote major poems that are inspired by individual works of art. Closer home, we have a perfect example in Amrita Pritam-Imroz love story. An illustrator to start with, Imroz turned a poet after the demise of his beloved, and drawn his sorrow into verses which appeared as a book titled Jashna Jaari Hai.
Now, that was love between two people and connecting themselves through poems, paints and verses. We also have a different genre of lovers who combine these two, simply because they love both forms of expression. And Punjab has quite a few numbers of such creative souls. Ajaib Chitrakar may stand out as one of the pioneer in this genre who wrote poems and ghazals with a distinct flavour of the good ol’ time, which spilled over to his canvasses too. Among the contemporaries, we have artist Malkit Singh doing a few paintings on Bulle Shah’s poetry and giving it up as ‘because the two media are quite different from each other. And while one does convert the words into forms, it stands a chance of losing its flavour’. Same is the case with artist Balvinder who tried painting his own poetry but soon gave up because ‘words and painting are two different medium and not compatible to each other’.
However, this is a concept that young artist Alka Jain is trying to break. A faculty of the Government College of Art-10, Alka has been a poet even before she became an artist. “When I was young, I read Rabindranath Tagore’s Gitanjali and it left an impact on me. I started writing poetry for school magazines and later got a few published in magazines, both in English and Hindi,” she says. But her perspective changed last year and she decided to paint her poems. So, the result is about a series of nine paintings based on various issues like women, teacher, teenage problems and City Beautiful. Taking inspiration from everyday life and surroundings, her verses are simple and paintings executed in acrylic come with a feel-good factor. She soon plans to exhibit her creations. And, does she face any problem transforming her own words into forms and colours? “No difficulties at all. Because when the mood strikes it flows, both in verses and forms,” says Alka. She is planning to capture all possible human emotions before she comes out in the public, and when she does, she might revive this trend once again. parbina@tribunemail.com
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Many students form groups and come up with their own shows, even before they complete their course. Is this early exposure conducive to the learning process?
Talent-hunt
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Creative Zone Endowed with a rare inquisitiveness to propagate the rich Indian cultural heritage the acclaimed academician, author and literary critic Mohan Maitary had not only relied on his over a dozen literary creations but also research papers, national seminars, Radio features and TV talks. The Patiala based former Principal has been holding the diverse but important post in the department of cultural affairs, editor books and assistant director (Legal) in Punjab Education and columnist and also a bureau chief of a national Hindi daily during and after service. Recalling his participation as a delegate at the World Hindi conference in Mauritius way back in 1978, Maitary claimed that many of old Indian scholars settled there had more in depth knowledge about the spiritual and cultural heritage of India right from the Vedic civilization. Not complacent at 77, Maitary is always on the move to sculpt literary gems, latest being Bhartiya Chetna Evam Chintan released recently. His books and articles in Hindi, Punjabi and English are mainly on literary criticism and cultural evaluation. “The contemporary writers are largely caught between the foreign influence on all genres of literature and sometimes fail to appreciate the sensibility of the diverse currents of Indian traditions laced with virtues of love, learning, rationality and wisdom both worldly and spiritually. The majestic sweep of thought and maturity of language is missing in many works,” observed Maitary as a literary critic. In fact, the literary marvels are rarely created and the septuagenarian author laments that the writers, who are otherwise eulogized as omnipotent persons, have entered into the race for monetary awards for getting their literary status decorated as a Mahakavi. “Instead, the writers who are blessed with a special vision and impulse by almighty and adored by the readers, must chisel their creations with their moral perceptions and create meaningful literature to serve the humanity at large”, sums up Mohan Maitary. lifestyle@tribunemail.com
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Divine notes
An A-grade artiste of Akashvani and Doordarshan, he is a panel artiste of the Indian Council of Cultural Relations (ICCR). Holding an M.A. and M.Phil in vocal music, Naresh Malhotra is the recipient of several prestigious awards and titles. Meticulously groomed for over two decades in the true guru-shishya parampara by Pt Tejpal Singh of the renowned Singh Bandhu, Naresh has acquired and mastered the subtleties and nuances of the Indore gayaki. Although singing khayal and tarana are his specialty, he has a command over the devotional music, particularly bhajans. By virtue of his rich acquirements in theory and practice of music as tested and evaluated in a number of prestigious music conferences and radio broadcasts, Naresh has been adored by music lovers, connoisseurs and critics alike. On at the Pracheen Kala Kendra-35 at 7 pm
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Focus on the quality of pictures than quantity, which means get the portfolio done from a professional photographer.
Kareena says Junior Nawab is not flamboyant
The climax ofWhat’s Your Raashee? is different from the book
There’s one-called fanciful dreams, while the other talks success unexpected depicted through the soldier of chess and almost surrounded by bubbles. Says Shivanii, “The countless bubbles in fact stand for countless dreams that we have. While the soldier takes the power and position of whatever place it occupies,” adds the diploma holder in arts from an arts college in Delhi. “It took me one month to work on the entire collection as the venue was available on certain particular dates. After this they were booked for entire year,” she talks of her first ever exhibition in the city. 
Skillful
Self-assessment
In institutions like Benaras Hindu University, M S University, Baroda, it’s a routine for art curators to visit the students’ annual show to spot new talents, which is something unheard of here in Chandigarh. So, we have no options but to form our own groups and exhibit our works to the public hoping that our talent will be discovered.
Noted classical vocalist Naresh Malhotra will light up the 145th Baithak programme of the Pracheen Kala Kendra on Friday at the Kendra auditorium in Sector 35.Steeped in the glorious traditions of Indore Gharana, propound by legendary Ustad Amir Khan, known for its contemplative, soul stirring and blissful music, Naresh Malhotra comes as one of its highly talented third-generation exponent.