Q & A JUNOON It was Minutes before their second show in Delhi. But the Pakistani pop group's
lead guitarist Salman Ahmad was at his chatty best:
Do you feel washed out after the
rain-soaked concert last night?
Not at all, we have never felt more charged.
We
hear your heart goes dhak dhak when you see Madhuri Dixit.
That's for Ali (Azmat, lead vocalist). My favourites are Waheeda Rahman and Raveena
Tandon. Raveena because she told us she loves our music, and she said it in a very special
way.
Is that why your hairstyles resemble hers?
No, no, I used to be very sharif (decent).
Then what made you badmash?
Sometime in October last year we were banned from (Pak) TV, branded as
representatives of western culture. The long hair's an act of rebellion.
So did you get Raveena's telephone number?
No, I'm married. I have a wife.
Is your wife here tonight?
No, she's not. I'm a dangerous guy tonight.
Timed Right
The irony does not strike Archana
Khosla. On May 14, the day after the second set of blasts at Pokhran, she was presenting a
dance drama in Delhi based on Atal Bihari Vajpayee's poems. As the world watched India's
post-blast posturing, she was reciting Hiroshima ki Peeda, which wonders at the scientists
who invented atomic weapons: "Us raat ... samachar sunkar raat ko soye kaise honge
(How did they sleep that night when they got the news)?" Khosla, an Arya Samaj
priestess in Holland, says her timing was a coincidence. She also defends her "more
than handsome hero" Vajpayee: "If a lion does exercises, the other animals
shouldn't think he's preparing to kill them." But they might just wonder, won't they?
And God Created Mandela
From a Nobel Peace Prize wannabe to a
man who really won it, from Phoolan Devi and The Bandit Queen to South African President
Nelson Mandela, it's been a long walk for Shekhar Kapur. So you can bet he's looking
forward to his next film -- a South African production based on Long Walk to Freedom,
Mandela's autobiography. "To me Mandela's the one who has single-handedly brought
dignity to the African people," says the director. Among those being considered to
play the great man are Hollywood veteran Morgan Freeman and Djimon Hounsou of Amistad. And
since the project has Mandela's blessings, the ban-it queen saga won't happen again, we
hope.
Read Her Lips
Know how good a kisser you are? Ask the
kissometer. The wacky gizmo's a mannequin with heat sensors and the formula
"intensity of passion=amount of heat generated". It's part of a national
smooching contest in Mumbai, Goa, Chennai, Bangalore and Delhi to promote Shaw Wallace's
White Mischief vodka. Says Anil Garg, md of Dynamo Entertainment and Promotions, the folks
who thought it up: "After all, teenagers try to get involved in this type of
mischief.'' Here's the downside: the mannequin's female, so tough luck ladies. The upside:
this miss can't kiss and tell.
Q & A JUNOON 
The irony does not strike Archana
Khosla. On May 14, the day after the second set of blasts at Pokhran, she was presenting a
dance drama in Delhi based on Atal Bihari Vajpayee's poems. As the world watched India's
post-blast posturing, she was reciting Hiroshima ki Peeda, which wonders at the scientists
who invented atomic weapons: "Us raat ... samachar sunkar raat ko soye kaise honge
(How did they sleep that night when they got the news)?" Khosla, an Arya Samaj
priestess in Holland, says her timing was a coincidence. She also defends her "more
than handsome hero" Vajpayee: "If a lion does exercises, the other animals
shouldn't think he's preparing to kill them." But they might just wonder, won't they?
From a Nobel Peace Prize wannabe to a
man who really won it, from Phoolan Devi and The Bandit Queen to South African President
Nelson Mandela, it's been a long walk for Shekhar Kapur. So you can bet he's looking
forward to his next film -- a South African production based on Long Walk to Freedom,
Mandela's autobiography. "To me Mandela's the one who has single-handedly brought
dignity to the African people," says the director. Among those being considered to
play the great man are Hollywood veteran Morgan Freeman and Djimon Hounsou of Amistad. And
since the project has Mandela's blessings, the ban-it queen saga won't happen again, we
hope. 
Know how good a kisser you are? Ask the
kissometer. The wacky gizmo's a mannequin with heat sensors and the formula
"intensity of passion=amount of heat generated". It's part of a national
smooching contest in Mumbai, Goa, Chennai, Bangalore and Delhi to promote Shaw Wallace's
White Mischief vodka. Says Anil Garg, md of Dynamo Entertainment and Promotions, the folks
who thought it up: "After all, teenagers try to get involved in this type of
mischief.'' Here's the downside: the mannequin's female, so tough luck ladies. The upside:
this miss can't kiss and tell.
