Lagaan brought India within a whisker of the coveted Oscar. Now, it looks as though the country's tryst with the mecca of showbiz is likely to come, not in the foreign film category, but in the mainstream section through the efforts of Manoj Night Shyamalan. Newsweek which featured him on the cover, ahead of the launch of his movie Signs, has billed him as the next Steven Spielberg. No mean compliment for the 31-year-old who is already the highest-paid screenwriter. Disney gave him $5 million to write Signs and $7.5 million to direct it. Not surprising after the tremendous success of The Sixth Sense. Born in Pondicherry, Shyamalan lives and films in Philadelphia, far from the bright lights of Los Angeles. Yet he figures in Hollywood's list of top 100 (must) invitees to film premieres, where Shyamalan does put in an appearance with wife Bhavna. The premiere of Signs in New York last week had Hollywood in full attendance. Long-time friend and The Sixth Sense actor Bruce Willis couldn't help remarking: it was the best Night ever.

Toast to Devdas

How better to celebrate the success of Bollywood film Devdas than a fashion show in London? Stars and VIPs turned out in full force at the launch of RCKC's Summer Collection. Entitled "Khazana", the ramp show featured ensembles of the Moghul era and paid tribute to the film Devdas. This treasure trove of fashion showed off glamorous ensembles (right) inspired by the cinematic era of the 1920s. Many of the clothes were by designers Tarun Tahiliani and Neeta Lulla. The grand finale for the evening was a special treat-models sashayed down the ramp in clothes and music from Devdas. Call it an evening of retro-dressing!

Model Success

The stunning new Lakme woman, Shivani Kapur, is no new-comer to fashion circles. Bestowed with elegance, beauty and poise, the young lady born and brought up in London started work with the publications Asian Woman and Asian Bride, but switched professions to grace fashion catalogues for India's leading designers including Ravi Bajaj, Vijay Arora, Suneet Varma, Tarun Tahiliani, Ritu Kumar, Monisha Bajaj and Arpana Chandra. In addition, that is, to modelling in fashion features for Femina, Elle and Cosmopolitan, and her recent ad campaigns for Hutch, Nokia Phones and Benetton. After pushing the pen for the media, Shivani is now a glamorous part of the art work.