Nov 23, 1998

Nandita Das is in her element these days. Having won critical acclaim for her role in Deepa Mehta's Fire and completed the second film in the trilogy, Earth, she's busy preparing for Water. Along the way she's found time to anchor a TV show on the arts scene in India. "In between film projects this gives me a bit of money to survive," says Das. It's called Arts Plus and it's for Star Plus . Nandita, of course, is its plus point.

The Story of His Life

He began "as a poor child, living in an obscure place". Poor kid's the grand old man of Indian defence today. In his upcoming autobiography, Wings of Fire, read about Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam's early lesson in swadeshi from the father of the V2 missile, Wernher von Braun. "(Americans) look upon everything non-American with suspicion and contempt. They suffer from a deep-rooted NIH -- not invented here -- complex and look down on alien technologies. If you want to do anything in rocketry, do it yourself." So he did.

It's A Baby!

They've been seeing each other for eight years now. This should complete their happiness. Gautam Singhania -- younger son of Raymond Group Chairman Vijaypat Singhania -- is marrying long-time love Nawaz Modi on February 7 next year. "One day you've got to take the plunge," laughs Gautam, one of Mumbai's favourite bachelors. Nawaz, by the way, is no relative of the Modi business clan -- she's an entrepreneur herself. A complete man and a woman of substance ... Nice match!

When Satish Gujral first saw Bandit Queen, he told producer Sundeep "Bobby" Singh Bedi: "When I finish writing my biography, I want you to make the film." Four years later, that time has come. Singh's film, to be called Brush with Death, is based on Gujral's experiences in Mexico as a young man. It's a feature film not a documentary, it might star Madonna as Gujral's artist friend Frida Kahlo and, adds Bedi, "the director could be Mani Ratnam, Mira Nair or Shekhar Kapur". No controversies ... yet.

It's that Kama Sutra thingy again. Former Miss Mauritius Viveka Babajee is the latest model to endorse man's best friend after Pooja Bedi, Anu Aggarwal and Shweta Menon. Shot by Atul Kasbekar for print, and for film by director Pankaj Parashar, the new KS condom ad is top secret. "It's different," is all a company source will say. And while the voluptuous Viveka could have done it under her own steam, there's a man in the picture -- model Inder Sudan. Men! Can't do without 'em!

Off They Go

The lady picks Gautam Kapur from a line-up of convicts. She wants to see more. So he strips. She smiles. He's not the crook; she just wanted to see him in the raw. Calm down folks. "She" is model Sheetal Mallar, he is her boyfriend who's just turned designer, and it is a yet-to-be-released ad for his designs. Says director Shamin Desai: "It was Gautam, me and my slightly warped brain trying to figure out how to shoot a clothing range differently." As for the sparks, they came naturally.

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