An innocuous looking envelope arrives at gifted costume designer Dolly Ahluwalia Tewari's Panchkula home. She spots the word IIFA. Just when she is ready to dismiss it as an invite, she reads a little more. Goodness gracious, she just cannot believe her eyes. For it reads - congratulations you have won the IIFA (International Indian Film Academy) award 2010 for costume designing for the movie Love Aaj Kal.

Let the ignoramuses know, Dolly is the woman behind the period look of Saif Ali Khan and Giselle Monteiro in the hugely successful film by Imtiaz Ali.

Excited as well as surprised, Dolly takes a little walk down the memory lane and remembers the same sentiments that had enveloped her when she won her first award - a National Award for Shekhar Kapoor's Bandit Queen.

Since then she has won many more laurels, including National Sangeet Natak Akademy award and Filmfare award. But IIFA with its international connotations, she confesses, is special. While the magic of the real moment will unfold when the award is conferred upon her at Colombo, Sri Lanka on June 5, right now she calls it "God's gift".

Of course, on mortal earth she gives full credit to her director Ali whose work she admires immensely as well as the cast of the movie. On dressing up Brazilian actor Giselle as desi Punjabi kudi Harleen, she quips, "It was a tall order for since she is a model, her body language was dramatically different." But she found the right, nay perfect look, not only for her but also for superstar Saif who looked rather natty as a Sikh. To Saif she had given an interesting look in Omkaara as well.

Does she love dressing up others? She interjects, "For me clothes are not just designs but characters." No wonder she confesses that she would be totally out of sync if she had to design for glamour puss kind of characters. Bikinis, hot pants… and other such attire that reveal more than conceal do not quite match her sensibility.

Another no-no for her is picking up clothes off the shelf. Except for one suit that she bought for Priyanka Chopra for the film Kaminey, she would rather create her own costumes. Luckily for her she has found directors who understand her need.

With her penchant for different, especially the period look, does she find herself a misfit in the industry that endorses and perpetuates stereotypes? She shoots off "Not at all, I am very much a part and parcel of filmi duniya."

Divide, be it of commercial and art cinema or theatre and Bollywood, this NSD alumnus doesn't believe in. Having learnt her most significant lessons under the discerning eye of theatre thespian Ebrahim Alkazi who incidentally spotted her talent for costume design, she says, "Creativity comes in only one colour - that of originality." And the key to success according to her is three-fold - faith in one's ability, honesty and deep, abiding devotion. As she puts it, "One has to immerse deep into the ocean to complete the quest."

As success has become a habit with the woman who won a nomination in the Prix Genie awards with her very first film The Burning Season we wonder where her odyssey will take her now? Even at the risk of sounding pompous, she says unhesitatingly, "I want an Oscar." With two international projects -one with acclaimed director Deepa Mehta with whom she has worked in Water and Earth as well - in the pipeline, her wistful desire is no pipedream.

nonikasingh1@rediffmail.com

The IPL is over and the T20 Champions Trophy has begun in earnest. Hopefully, it won't have the same impact on the cricket-loving public like the IPL — at least that's what the Bollywood honchos are praying for!

The biggies have jumped at the opportunity to crawl out of the godowns and the first one to see the light is Houseful. Director Sajid Khan's second film is a multi-starcast comedy supported by Sajid Nadiawala. Sajid is of course coming fresh from a super successful first outing called Heyy Baby. The other release, Chase, TV actor Anuj Saxena's production in which he is starring, is directed by Jag Mundhra, ace NRI director better known for his sleazy successes in the West. It is the first film he has directed for an outside banner.

Houseful had a big budget to boost it and an even bigger star cast to add luster, yet it's merely mediocre and severely lacking in intelligence while Chase, with a much smaller budget in comparison, also fails to generate interest despite it's borrowed plot lines.

Film: Houseful

Cast: Akshay Kumar, Deepika Padukone, Lara Dutta, Reitesh Deshmukh, Arjun Ramphal

There's no doubt that Sajid Khan is expecting a houseful reaction from the audience this time. He is pretty blatant about his expectation considering his moniker for the film. I am sure the audience will be smart enough to stay away though. A comedy of errors, Houseful boasts of big-ticket cast consisting of Akshay kumar Arjun Ramphal, Reitesh Deshmukh, Lara Dutta, Deepika Padukone, Jiah Khan, Chunky Pandey and Randhir Kapoor, but the lure is just skin deep. Sajid's jokes are usually so sidey that they rarely make the observer laugh. Houseful is full of such jokes that appear to be extremely silly.

Akshay is a loser whose very shadow can bring bad luck to those it falls upon. He is hired to make people lose at the tables in the casino he works in. But he gets tired of that scene and goes to London to be with his friends (Reitesh and Lara) who work at a casino there, which is owned by Randhir Kapoor. Akshay marries Jiah, Randhir's daughter, and their marriage breaks up in quick time.

Then he meets Deepika who falls for him and his sad story. Then some more characters get introduced, plot lines get more ridiculous and the wild turns and twists that Sajid engineers in the lives of his fake characters makes the experience even more exasperating.

Unperturbed by box office duds post Kaminey, Bollywood actor Shahid Kapoor is looking forward to the release of Badmash Company and his father Pankaj Kapoor's directorial debut Mausam.

"If an actor keeps thinking about flops, he may not be able to give positivity to his next project which could turn out to be a bigger hit," he said. "If you have to survive, you can't look backward. The only option is to look forward and contribute to the next project rather than wasting time on what is already over and done with," he said.

The actor is not bothered by the fact that his subsequent films--- Dil Bole Haddipa and Chance Pe Dance after the critically acclaimed Kaminey, sank at the box office. The 29-year-old, who won accolades for his double role in the Vishal Bharadwaj movie, says he does not believe in talking too much about his earlier hits. Shahid, who plays the lead in his father's movie, is paired opposite Sonam Kapoor. — PTI

Earlier this week, it was reported that Indian director Shekhar Kapur had offered the 20-year-old actress a lead role in his upcoming film Paani. 

However, Stewart's spokesperson is adamant the rumours are untrue.

"She is not set to star in this movie," the Daily Star quoted Stewart's rep as telling GossipCop.com. — ANI

Well-known singers from the city are set to participate in the 39th edition of the cultural bonanza to be presented by the Swar Saptak group at the Law Bhawan-37 on May 2 from 6.30 pm onwards.

Lyricist director S Rakesh’s ghazals such as Thodi Thodi Piya Karo, Ye Peene Waale, Dil Mangda, which have been sung by legends like Jagjit Singh, Pankaj Udhas and Usha Uthup, will be presented on the occasion. Some of his songs on the city include Pathron Ka Nahin Abginon Ka Hai Ye Nagar Toh Faqat Dil Nashinon Ka Hai, Chandigarh Shehar Ki Bhi Toh Kya Baat Hai and Ye To Kudrat Ki Nayaab Saugaat Hai etc. On the occasion, noted singers like Brijesh Ahuja, Veenu Kautish, Shruti Bhagat, Aarti Gill, Uma Patial and Ram Tirath present songs composed by Rakesh. The music has been arranged by GS Lovely, while Vijay Vashisht will anchor the programme. — OC

What if an accidental shape that you created after the daily stress of routine work won you an award? What if your mind is the real painter and your hands just a mode for transferring your thoughts on paper? What if simple things make for the most special moments to remember in life? Too philosophical? Well, for Sanjeev Kumar, this is how art is created.

The city-based artist was recently awarded for his painting at the 2nd All-India Annual Art competition and exhibition held at New Delhi, which included a trophy and a cash prize. The jury members included eminent artists from across India, city-based artist MK Puri being one.

Ask him to describe his work, and Sanjeev calls it accidental art. “It’s a collage made out of crushed magazine paper, which was not supposed to define any form or shape. A spontaneous action transformed into an art form for audience perception.”

The work was titled, ‘Untitled’, “Each eye defines what it sees, individually. I didn’t want to bind my work by giving it a title. After observing my work, some thought it was face of a bull; others called it figure of a girl. The idea was to let the people decide,” says Sanjeev.

An alumnus of Government Arts College-10, Sanjeev first got hooked to collage art while on a visit to JJ College of Arts, Mumbai. After that he made collages inspired from Ajanta and Ellora, which won him prizes at the college level. Sanjeev is also a recipient of state award by the Chandigarh Lalit Kala Academy.

For him, the picture first gets made in his mind and later on canvas. “Whenever I start, the concept first gets materialised in my mind. Every artwork has a point to highlight that makes it interesting as well as different from others. I play around with colour tones and bold compositions,” he says.

The artist is now keen on putting down the streets and ghats of Benaras on canvas. But he doesn’t know when, “I guess, when my mind has the picture ready.”

nehawalia@tribunemail.com

We just can’t have enough of cricket. It’s been hardly a week post IPL and we are ready to welcome more cricket and more entertainment. Preparations are also being made across the city restaurants to how to add more fun and thrill to the T20 World Cup. Himani’s Vertigo-35 has introduced a new menu for the world cup. It has on platter cocktails and snacks that one can indulge in while enjoying watching cricket here. Must try are Caribbean Punch, a vodka based cocktail mixed with cranberry juice. Antigua Shot, a tequila based drink will be served with lime juice. Also there is a rum based cocktail served with cola named Antigua Shot.

One can enjoy these drinks with delectable new snacks. Murg square cut is a dish of boneless chicken cut in squares, cooked in clay oven. Also try chicken drums with a dip, called drums drive. For the vegetarians though the options in the special menu aren’t much but do try out the dish crispy hook, which is vegetables sautéed in sauce and spices. — TNS

Ecological faucets, which save 50% water due to specially designed Pressure compensating Aerator as compared to regular faucet have been introduced in India by KLUDI RAK. It uses pressure compensating aerator, which produces a constant outflow of water regardless of pressure fluctuations. This faucet is one of the uniquely designed range of products launched in India. KLUDI RAK Faucets have other attracting features like multi connection mixers and dual (Electronic and Manual) operations.

 On the occasion of launch Dr. Khater Massaad, CEO RAK Ceramics, UAE said, “After successfully spreading our wings pan India over a decade in ceramic industry, we are now poised to achieve new milestone in sanitary ware industry as well. We have a manufacturing plant at Kakinada, Andhra Pradesh. We are a serious and long term player in the industry. — TNS

It's all about passion. And if you can hone the passion with a bit of training, you have made it. DJ Ashish Nagpal, who is all set to rock the audience at Black Magic on Saturday, feels training is essential to hone one's skills, whether it is deejaying or making music.

"Passion is a good driving force. At the same time, if you club it with training it just makes the individual sound like a professional," says Ashish. "However, there is no denying the fact that training is of no good if you don't have the passion or love for the subject," he adds.

Credited for conceptualisation of signature music under the FTV guidelines at his last club as the head resident Dj-F Bar & Lounge, New Delhi, Ashish will play house music, disco style music of 80'and 90's, club commercials and retro music.

"Bollywood is using a lot of club music, which is good thing. This means they are experimenting with new flavours," adds the DJ who is also a 'natural' percussionist. "I began to play the percussion instruments at the age of seven. Today, I am mostly deejaying."

And for those of you who don't know, Ashish shares that there is a difference between a deejay and a remixer. "A deejay is often criticised for remixing original tracks. We need to understand; a deejay only makes people dance to music. Mixing is done by a remixer, which is different. A deejay can remix on choice. But, they must not forget their first job is to make people dance to the music." And this is what he precisely intends! — Jasmine Singh

HKMT Acoustic Designs an integrated design, total audio video and automation consulting firm provides a turn-key solution for acoustically customized Hi-definition luxury multimedia rooms for homes.

Home Theatres are a passé. Today it is not just about a wall mounted flat screen attached to a DVD player where you can watch movies, its much more than that. We are talking about the acoustically customized High-Definition luxury multimedia room for your home, which is in vogue today. With full HD picture and HD master audio sound the experience is just out of the world.

The DVD and Blue-ray Disc Player replaced by High-Definition Multimedia Juke Box with storage capacity of 500GB to 30TB or more add on memory space to store thousands of movies, songs & family pictures, etc.

These media rooms have wireless connectivity for upto four laptops at a time, with the HD Projector and you can also have state of the art hi definition video conferencing sitting in the comfort of motorized recliners for a pleasant change.

Your child can play his games on the play station. Watch the picture album of a family wedding that you missed, all in High Definition on a large 10-14 feet wide screen. Convert the same room into a discotheque for your child's birthday. Start your mornings with meditation inside the quietest room in the neighborhood, your own multimedia room, with the pure chants of mantras.

Not just these, the remote control in these multimedia rooms not only increases or decreases the volume, it is one touch, touch screen automation to play all gadgets including your air conditioner and mood lighting.

Introducing the series in four categories:

Nano Series- Nano Series to cater to the budget conscious clients. These personal multimedia rooms are more straight line to economize on the wastage of the material without compromising on the sound quality.

Designer Series-These mid-range acoustically customized rooms are for those customers/clients who want style with luxury. Keeping all things in mind for quality conscious clients, good aesthetic value and quality is maintained without compromising on the quality.

Signature Series- The ‘Oomph Factor’ attached to these is unmatchable. These luxury multimedia rooms are designed keeping in mind our very elite clients who opt for nothing but the best in everything they buy.

Theme Series - The best and most creatively designed among all is the Theme Series. These are designed on specific themes with unleashed creativity. These themes and designs would never ever be repeated once created for the client and would be a legacy for generations to come. —TNS