Bahadur Singh, who owns a small welding shop in Basian Baidwan, three kilometres short of Chuni in district Fatehgarh Sahib, has never seen any Aamir Khan advertisement about Incredible India…but it people like him who make India truly incredible!

Why? Here’s the reason. Some days ago, two French nationals, Marc Boinet and Benjamin Ancel, students from the School of Architecture, Versailles, who were here for a motorcycle trip got stranded near Chunni due to some fault in their bike. It was late in the evening and they had no clue about the place. They decided to stay for night, but the only lodge owner at the place sought money that was beyond their budget.

Hearing from someone about the foreign visitors, Bahadur Singh approached them and offered them shelter at his own house in the nearby village. Hesitant and scared at first, the visitors finally accepted the offer. Bahadur Singh also made sure that their bike was repaired the next day. The hospitality made the visitors forget the sour experience they had at Delhi, where a shopkeeper sold them a defective motorcycle for Rs 30,000.

When Bahadur Singh’s father was asked about what he felt about the foreign visitors, the response was immediate, “They are just like our own kids. We were happy that they stayed with us”.

Last year also, Marc had visited southern India with a friend, but that trip was by train. This time round, along with Benjamin, he had planned a motorcycle trip to Jammu and Kashmir where they stayed at Srinagar. And what’s their impression about India and the people? “I love India. Leave aside metros like Delhi; people in the countryside are very warm and hospitable. They are easily approachable too, unlike France where people are not so welcoming. In India, people really help out foreign visitors. The food is also very delicious,” says Marc.

The Jammu and Kashmir experience was also worthwhile. “Kashmir is like heaven. We trekked in the Himalayan ranges for five days on horseback; it was a lifetime experience,” he adds.

About Chandigarh, they say it is like any other European city. “I liked the modern architecture, Rock Garden, Sukhna Lake and, above all, the greenery,” they echo. 

Bollywood actor Sonakshi Sinha tripped while walking the ramp at the grand finale of Blenders Pride Fashion Tour (BPFT) held in Bangalore over the weekend. She, however, gathered herself quickly and completed the walk wearing a golden gown. Sinha and Zayed Khan set the ramp on fire as showstoppers for designers Vikram Phadnis and Gavin Miguel.Khan was the showstopper for fashion designer Vikram Phadnis, who showcased his latest collection of bridal wear at the fashion extravaganza.

The collection comprised of colourful bridal trousseaus blended well with ethnic jewellery.Khan was praised for presenting traditional outfits with grandeur."You know I love his colours. I love the fact that he goes ethnic and still makes it cool. Because in ethnic you can tip over, there is a very red thin line. You can either be ethnic or try to be cool and it backfires. And, then you can be ethnic and make it cool, and I think he is the latter," Khan said. Sinha was the star attraction for couturist Gavin Miguel, who showcased western and evening wear.

Neil Nitin Mukesh is itching to play the baddie in the Hindi remake of Hollywood film The Italian Job and the actor promises that he will be 100 times meaner than Edward Nortan.The Jail star would be playing the character which was originally enacted by Norton in the 2003 released Hollywood thriller. Directed by F Gary Gray, The Italian Job was about a gang of robbers who created the largest traffic jam in Los Angeles history, hence giving them time to pull off a theft of gold bullion.

"The Indian character would have a far greater depth.The Hindi remake will retain the fun and thrills but we saw only one side of Ed Norton in the original. However, my character is 100 times meaner than him," Neil said. Director duo Abbas-Mustan are currently scouting the location for the film and the actor says they would soon sit together to finalise the look and graph of the character. Talking about his look, Neil does throw a hint about growing a beard and long hair for his role."I can't say much about my look since it is still under the process of being finalised. But yes, to give my character a mean look, I would most likely be seen in a beard and long hair. It will stand out for sure," says Neil, who first got noticed with debut film Johnny Gaddaar.

In fact, the new look should pretty much augur well with those who felt that he was way too neat in the role of a tapori for Lafangey Parindey.

"I was appalled when some felt I was too good looking for my part. Come on, can't people in bastis and chawls be good looking," says the actor. While he waits for the shooting of 'The Italian Job' to kick start in the month of November, he is also looking forward to the release of Vishal Bhardwaj's Saat Khoon Maaf where he plays one of the seven husbands of Priyanka Chopra.The film is expected to release in January next year."It was wonderful interacting with such talented people in the film even though that was for a relatively smaller part," he says. — PTI

Actor Aarti Chhabria, who stars opposite Manoj Bajpai in upcoming film Dus Tola, had to put on about 5 kg to fit in the character of a village girl.The actor, who played a bar dancer in her last hit Shootout At Lokhandwala, says that the role demanded a completely different approach from her previous glamorous avatar."I was put on a special diet of rice and fish to gain about five kgs throughout the shooting of the film.Swarnalata, my character in the movie, is not a prim and proper girl but a village belle. So I decided to go for the plump look," Aarti said.

The actor, however, is back to her svelte figure after sweating it out through a tough exercise and diet regime. Directed by debutante Ajoy, Dus Tola stars Bajpai, Siddharth Makkar, Govind Namdeo, Asrani, Ninad Kamath, Bharti Achrekar and newcomer Pallavi Sharda. The film hits theatres on October 22. Veteran lyricist Gulzar has penned the songs for the movie, which is set in a small town.The 27-year-old actor made her debut in Bollywood with a cameo in Ram Gopal Varma's Lajja in 2001 and went on to star in number of Hindi and South Indian films.Her last three Hindi releases Milenge Milenge, Daddy Cool and Toss may not have done well at the box office but that has not disheartened the actor. Milenge Milenge was a great film but unfortunately it got delayed. I don't even consider it my film," she said.

Ask her whether she failed to cash in on the success of her 2007 Shootout At Lokhandwala, Aarti said, "I don't thing so. In fact, I was offered the role in Dus Tola because the producers liked my performance in Shootout..." "Industry went through a really bad phase during the last one and a half year. The quantity of the films that were being made were reduced, which also affected the actors. But I have done justice to what has come my way," she said. — PTI

Singer Lata Mangeshkar, who mesmerised millions with her golden voice in a career spanning seven decades, turned 81 today, spending a quiet day with the family even as fans, including famous names, wished her a happy birthday.The Bharat Ratna winning singer who has lent her voice to generations of Bollywood actors from Madhubala to Kajol, is celebrating her birthday in her ancestral home in Kolhapur, said sources close to her."I don't celebrate my birthday.

I performed the Puja and September 28 is just like any other day for me," Lata said.The evergreen singer held the Guinness World Records for having recorded the most songs in the world from 1974 to 1991 and continues to be the favourite singer of top filmmakers like Yash Chopra and Sanjay Leela Bhansali. — PTI

After two prison stints and a confession to drug addiction, Hollywood beauty Lindsay Lohan is finally making an effort to clean up her image.Just hours after being released from a 14-hour prison spell, the 24-year-old visited a church near downtown Los Angeles which specialises in caring for the city's homeless.

The Mean Girls star was accompanied by her mum Dina, her sister Ali and her new manager Lou Taylor, as she spent an hour talking to some of the centers residents and signing autographs on Saturday, reported TMZ online.

Lohan who is reportedly heading back to rehab within the next few days, then took to micro-blogging website Twitter to share her experience."What a great place The Dream Center is here in LA. Had a nice time there today, it's so important to give back. I feel blessed," she tweeted.

The visit occurred just hours before shocking photographs surfaced showing Lindsay back in 2007 using a syringe to inject herself with what is believed to be heroin. jail.Lohan is now free until the next court date but has been ordered to wear a scram device. — PTI 

Even a busy Hollywood star like Brad Pitt doesn't disappoint as a father. The actor took time out from shooting baseball drama Moneyball to hang with five-year-old daughter Zahara.

Donning his usual newsboy cap, the 46-year-old actor was photographed holding the girl's hand at a birthday party for rocker Chris Cornell's daughter Toni at the American Girl store in Los Angeles on Saturday.

"Several little girls were invited to the party and Zahara arrived with Brad around noon. Word quickly spread around that they were at the Grove and a big scene formed outside," said a witness.

"Brad was very cordial to fans. As they left, he waved and gave a thumbs up to everyone. He held Zahara's hand, and she looked very happy. She had a goodie bag from American Girl place that she opened as soon as she got in the car," the witness added.

Zahara, whom Pitt and his partner Angelina Jolie adopted from Ethiopia in 2006, has "got an extraordinary voice," the 35-year-old actor recently said. She added that their daughter also is "just so elegant and well spoken." — PTI 

Lily Allen has given up her much-loved high heels, because she is pregnant. Allen, who is expecting her first with boyfriend Sam Cooper, normally loves wearing stilettoes but had to adapt what she wears on her feet because they are no longer practical.

"Heels are the only area I've stopped splurging on. I rarely go near a shoe if it's lower than 4inch, but stilettos just look so unappealing to me right now, which is very sad," Contact Music quoted Lily as saying. Lily loves high heels because they compliment her figure, as she's quite short."Empire-line dresses, jeans with a heel and a top that covers your bum are good. And anything cut with an A-line. I'm wary of following trends that don't work for me - I don't have a model's body, so I wear what I can work with."You won't catch me dead in the new kitten heels, for example - I'm 5ft 2inch, if I'm going to wear heels, they're going to be five-inch ones," she added. — ANI

Want a reason to party? Bollywood is the answer. Well, at least for the students of INIFD-8, having fun meant going a little (or may be a lot) filmy. The seniors welcomed the freshers under spotlights, with a lot of Bollywood glamour and glitz.

Sticking to the theme Bollywood Mania, and not restricting themselves to just the music, all the stars descended on to Mountview, or it definitely seemed like it! The dress code, the hairdo, accessories and, of all, the attitude, INIFDians got it right with their 'star' appeal.

The entire venue was adorned in the Bollywood style ramp with bright fuchsia and turquoise jointly with blazing silver decorations to represent the lively nature of the silver screen.

If there was something inspiring in the way Bollywood glam dolls and dancing divas were recreated by the aspiring designers, it was the look. Working on the famous filmy characters, we had Amitabh competing against SRK, Hrithik, Akshay Kumar and the successors like Ranbir Kapoor. But the bad boy of Bollywood, Salman Khan was the favourite with most students dressed up like him. Dabanng effect, we guess!

The divas weren't far behind, the line up started from the likes of Priyanka Chopra, Kareena Kapoor, who was the favourite here given her style icon tag. And then there were retro queens like Mumtaz and Saira Banu as well.

As expected, the party was high on glamour and style quotient; hidden behind it was the creativity of the students. The dresses they sported were designed and styled by them. Awards like 'Bollywood King and Bollywood Queen', best costume, Best On-screen jodi, best thumka and costumes ka baadshah award for best dressed faculty made things peppier.

Well, Bollywood never lacks in ruffling some creative feathers!

nehawalia@tribunemail.com

An apple a day keeps the doctor away…goes the well-known proverb, and spelling the goodness of apple in a fitness centre is the newly opened — Apple Gym & Spa in Sector 9.

Following the mantra of moving its clients to a new era of health and fitness, this gym comes with latest training equipment, steam and spa rooms, well-trained personal trainers and natural health boosting supplements as well. What makes this gym different from others is not their spa or trainers, but their love for nature and use of eco-friendly products. Right from the use of natural hues to tropical showers, the gym utilises solar energy for warm water and lighting. "We have solar panels for hot water in the spa and washrooms, and for the lights we have used high output low energy lighting," says Jyoti, marketing manager.

The name apple too comes from the love for nature. Says Akash Rajput, founder, "Apple as a fruit signifies purity, freshness and health boosting energy, that's why nothing sounded better than apple."

Talking about the equipment used, they are all imported from the UK. "The equipment in our gym is low impact, which means lower stress on the body. Apart from that, the ground floor technology has been incorporated as a safety measure against any knee injury," says Akash.

Laying stress on 'organic', which is the 'in' thing these days, Jyoti says, "Since everything organic is in demand these days, we will also be holding seminars and talks on topics related to natural and healthy lifestyles."

Since we are talking all things natural, what about yoga?

"We are extending the gym and yes, we will be giving lessons in yoga too along with Swedish massage."

jigyasachimra@tribunemail.com

Rajinder Singh Bedi and his contribution to Urdu has been undermined; the author has not been given the stature he deserves," opined Urdu scholar Irteza Karim from Delhi University, who was here for a seminar on the life and achievements of Bedi. The seminar was organised by the Haryana Urdu Akademi at Panchkula on Monday.

Karim compared Bedi's writings to that of Mirza Ghalib, the great poet. Interestingly, publishers rejected Bedi's short stories like Garam Coat and Lajwanti, but later feature films based on them were made.

KK Rattu, Director, Doordarshan, Chandigarh, said Bedi had translated the soul of Punjab into his literary creations. From the post of a clerk in Lahore, Bedi rose to the status of a prolific story writer. He penned down the dialogues for 34 feature films, directed four popular films and produced of a few, including Ek Chadar maili Si, Garam Coat, Mere Sanam, Rangoli, Aas Ka Panchhi, Phool Bane Angaare, Amanat, Dastak, Anupma, Baharon Ke Sapne, Phagun et al.

It was a grand finale to a six-day extravaganza - the National and Chandigarh Lalit Kala Akademi's National Art Week of New Media. The panel discussion on the final day of the week got together on stage Rahul Bhattacharya, Editor Art and Deal, artist Vibha Galhotra, Awadhesh Misra, Editor, Kala Dirgha, and Dr Rajesh Vyas, an art critic and painter.

Absorbing questions on art and aesthetics, the definition of new media, its practitioners, blurring lines between art and non-art etc came to fore, as the audience was exposed to an entirely new world of looking at objects of art. The discussion summed up aptly new expressions in art via the new media, as the week exposed Chandigarhians to a brand-new range of works, practices, thought processes and artists pursuing new media art with passion, in both India and abroad. — TNS