|  CURRENT ISSUE JANUARY 05, 2004 | |  | | eyecatchers | | |
| | | Walk, talk, sulk, smooch. Anything they did, they remained in the public eye. Compiled by Kanika Gahlaut | | | | | | P O W E R U N D R E S S E R S | | | | | Lip Service For Bollywood Cause Mallika Sherawat's debut film Khwahish set new standards for lip locks in Hindi films. Tom-tommed as a shining example of the brave new Bollywood, with the 17 smooches projected as a major highlight, Khwahish was a flop, but you would not know it, going by the acres of newsprint devoted to the girl from Gurgaon. Sherawat capitalised on the X-factor and announced to everyone, "I am not here to be a nun." The smooch star who had changed her name from an all too common Reema Lamba to Mallika was unabashed. She promised to put body and mind into her career and predictably joined hands with the steam merchants, the Bhatt brothers, on a film called Murder. | | | | | Great Body Of Work Bipasha Basu's hemlines steadfastly stayed up all year, unwavering despite unwanted attention in upmarket Mumbai nightclubs and Jaipur bylanes. The Bengali bombshell-who seems to have taken it upon herself to campaign, by example, for the rights of all women to appear semi-naked in public and talk openly and endlessly about their love lives-topped her credentials when Britain's Channel Four listed her Jism shots among the top 100 sexiest scenes in cinema. | | | | | Up: UJJWALA RAUT The face of YSL cosmetics, a contract with Dolce & Gabbana, in Victoria's Secret shows and on the Vogue cover-Ujjwala Raut may well become the first home-grown Indian supermodel. "I don't have light skin and blue eyes yet I have succeeded," says the now Paris-based Raut. A leg up for her. | | Down: Ritu Beri
After she lost her Paris contract and returned home in January, designer Ritu Beri announced mysteriously that "something big" was in the offing. We waited. Later this year Beri was out with it: she was opening prêt stores nationwide under her own label. That was an ordinary cut. | | | | F A M I L Y M A T T E R S | | |
| | Star Sons And Signs At 55, she made men swoon-and not all of them were in the BJP. Playing the mother of four fully-formed men in Baghbaan gave her a career daughter Esha Deol would be proud of. Yash Chopra, no mean follower of trends, immediately snapped her up for seven days of work on his new Indo-Pakistani film, she shot for a television update of her 1972 Seeta aur Geeta, while the BJP used her for campaigning in Basanti mode after inducting her into the Rajya Sabha. No Botox, only Reiki and Art of Living. It was enough to push even husband Dharmendra into getting a facelift. The serene goddess would only say: "People are just trying to hype me." Well, believe the hype for a change. Believe it of Shabana Azmi as well. At 53, she stepped out of the Rajya Sabha straight into roles such as that of the screaming diva in Tehzeeb, while Lilette Dubey, till now better known as Neha Dubey's mom, thought nothing of purring like a sex kitten on speed in Kal Ho Naa Ho. 40s are the new 30s, the forever young Jennifer Aniston said recently. So what do we call the 50s? Er, the golden age perhaps? Two 53-year-olds, Om Puri, last seen getting ready to act opposite the luscious Sophie Dahl, and Naseeruddin Shah, on the verge of directing his first film, would completely agree. | | | | L O O K O F T H E Y E A R | | |
Hair-Raising
Unlike the Dil Chahta Hai goatee, there were no cuts that spewed a trend this year. Perhaps we should be thankful. Think what would have happened if-God forbid-Aamir Khan's upturned moustache in The Rising were to become fashionable. Fortunately, Dilip Singh Judev's political exit prevented the twirl from becoming a whirl. Actors Raveena Tandon and Urmila Matondkar went the Uma Bharati way and got a power cut, but Laloo Prasad Yadav's Sadhna cut stayed put-though he could start a trend on how to wear a Burberry scarf. He was seen wearing it, not around his neck as Preity Zinta did, but wrapped around his head like a milkman. | | | | WHO, WHERE, WHAT AND WHEN. DATES THAT WERE CIRCLED IN CALENDAR 2003. | | | | | 9 January
Courage Under Ire
The year began with a zing. Actor Preity Zinta became the only prosecution witness not to turn hostile in the Bharat Shah case. Unlike many other Bollywood stars, including Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan, who went back on their initial statements, Zinta reiterated in court that she was threatened by a gangster who demanded Rs 50 lakh. Zinta's courage led to the coining of the expression "the only man in Bollywood" but not everyone in the industry was amused. With hit roles in Koi ... Mil Gaya and Kal Ho Naa Ho, Zinta really did not care. And she certainly looked nothing like any man in Bollywood. 10 February
Cover Prize
A score of Mumbai socialites, including Avanti Birla and Simi Garewal, put their best cheek forward when the Italian Vogue came visiting. That was just the beginning, the ending was Saira Mohan smiling on the cover of Newsweek. 23 March
Stumped!
India played the World Cup final against Australia in Johannesburg. Losing by no less than 125 runs, it was not the kind of show that Airbus-loads of Indian glitterati, including Vijay Mallya and Arun Jaitley, had gone to see. 4 May
Man Of The Match
The Wall came crumbling down, as did the hearts of many Dravid-ians when suave singleton Rahul Dravid married Vijeta Pendharkar. With his batting going the way it has, this match has proved lucky. 6 June
Reign Of Horror
A week after its release, Bhoot-the movie that asked pregnant women to stay away-was declared a hit. It unleashed a trend of horror films and SMS endings that spoiled the suspense. "This is what I like," said director Ram Gopal Varma. 7 April
These Stones Are Old Rocks
Mr Rubber Lips' Mumbai tour saw Mick Jagger, as in Sir Mick, partying the night away at the city's discotheques. It also gave the 40-somethings who cut their teeth on his hard rock something to stomp about. His former wife Jerry Hall followed, in search of satisfaction, er, spirituality. Apparently, she found it in a spa. 15 July
When The Heart Rules
Talk about a heart-to-heart India-Pakistan dialogue. Two-and-a-half-year-old Noor Fatima from Pakistan was successfully operated upon at the Narayana Hrudayalaya, Bangalore. The baby, who suffered from multiple holes in the heart, arrived in Delhi on July 11 in a bus from Lahore. The bilateral relations may not have found permanent solutions, but the baby's life was saved by the Dosti bus. 21 October
High Alert
Celeb sons were where they normally are-in trouble. At Dubai's Hotel Imperial, Farhan, son of politician A.A. Azmi; Bonito, son of car designer Dilip Chhabria; and Shaan, grandson of producer G.P. Sippy, were detained for allegedly possessing cocaine. 28 August
A Bout Time
Talk about muscling your way in. Wrestler Dara Singh was nominated to the Rajya Sabha with Bimal Jalan and Hema Malini. 4 September
Lal Dolce Vita
Mohanlal, the Malayali actor, completed 25 years in movies. The festivities lasted for a week with the state joining in. After all, they had 255 of his films to celebrate. 2 November
Prince Tries To Be Charming
Prince Charles arrived in India and went about eating organic lentils from Navdanya in Delhi, schmoozing with the royals in Jodhpur (above) and chit-chatting with Mumbai dabbawallas. All this while a royal pain was unravelling back home. Indians, though, seemed uninterested in either the prince in India or the scandal in England. 7 December
Golden Seth
Vikram Seth's mother too penned a book. Leila Seth, 73, India's first woman high court chief justice, released her autobiography, making the Seths the first family of writers and outing her famous son's best kept secret. | | | | | K N O T H A P P E N I N G | | |
Write By Her Side
Everybody else declared Padma Lakshmi to be the worst of the disaster that was Boom, but her Booker Prize-winner boyfriend Salman Rushdie took the opportunity to declare, in a rare attempt at soppy verse, that "she did a good job" in the movie. Her role may not have been Oscar-winning-it cannot be such a challenge to prance about in a bra atop Amitabh Bachchan's conference table-but in typical Rushdie alliteration, the author reiterated that he was "proud of Padma". His support, published in the press worldwide with pictures of the two together, also established that they were still an item, ending speculation that Rushdie was bored of the south Indian model-cum-cooking sensation and was chasing size 12 model Sophie Dahl. | | | | | Serving For The Match Leander Paes and Mahima Chaudhary won the love sick game, set and match. When Paes was diagnosed with a brain lesion, the Subhash Ghai heroine flew pardes to be with the tennis pro. It almost eclipsed on-off tennis partner Mahesh Bhupathi's prompt visit-despite their strained relationship-to Paes' bedside. Chaudhary even took time off to publish an open letter in a newspaper in Mills and Boon style. "I felt myself falling into an abyss even as I took the first flight to be with you," Chaudhary wrote about her feelings when she heard about his ailment. Paes, recovered and thankful, did not forget to pay a deft back-hand compliment, declaring on TV that he was so very "glad" the lady was in his life, and that "she will always be there". Whatever that means. | | | | | Miracle Of Destiny Never has a rebound been so mushy. Only months after her break up with Bachchan Jr, actor Karisma Kapoor was in love again, this time with Sona Steering heir Sunjay Kapur. While she gushed that he made her laugh, he said "she's delightful". In the months that ensued, we heard from both sides of the family-sisters and best friends included-about how they were so perfect for each other. Barely was the euphoria over when matters of the wedding-what the bride would wear (a Manish Malhotra lehnga) and where the wedding would be held (at the legendary R.K. Studios)-hogged headlines. Last heard, Delhi's society ladies had a new topic to titter about, keeping track of the Kapurs and the lavish karva chauth party her mum-in-law threw for the newest star bahu in town. | | | | M O S T W A N T E D | | |
Pop Goes The Star
Allegations regarding illegal immigration hit the Punjabi pop star after a supposed "chorus singer" turned whistle blower. Daler Mehndi had eggs hurled at him by crowds faster than you could bolo ta ra ra ra. But even as Mehndi was on the run, he had time to deal with pending family matters such as selling off posh properties in Sohna, Haryana. Dar di rub rub kar di. | | | | | Cop With All The Troubles The pin-up boys of the police found themselves on the other side of the baton. Supercop Daya Nayak (left) who had 83 encounters and the distinction of inspiring innumerable Bollywood films to his credit-and who took the compliment gallantly, saying it was a tribute to the "good work" done by the Mumbai Police-was questioned for underworld links. Meanwhile fake stamp scamster Abdul Karim Telgi got the better of Mumbai police commissioner R.S. Sharma. | | | | | Never Say Sari Before the much ado about her navel at Cannes, came the news that actor Shilpa Shetty's family was making extortion calls to a sari company. While Papa Shetty promptly went underground, it was left to the daughter to clear the family name by going on tv amid nervous giggles and inarticulate chatter. Now all that was charming when she fielded questions about her various nose jobs and her relationship with Akshay Kumar, but the jhatak-matak star didn't come off quite so well when dealing with this latest allegation. | | |  
| | |  | |  Index  | |
