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Vivacious The range is vibrant, young and wearable

Westside showcased its line of designer prêt at the Lakme Fashion Week with collections by Narendra Kumar and Wendell Rodricks. Titled Ethno City, Kumar’s inspiration was the Moroccan city, Tangiers, which is renowned for its ethnic albeit modern architecture. The range is lively, vibrant, young, stylish and wearable.

The range comprises of volume tops, jeans, tunics, printed t-shirts, tailored tops, Asian trousers, bubble skirts, smocks, high-waisted jeans and little black evening dresses. The colour palette is a blend of neutrals and bright colours like red, cobalt blue, yellow and browns. The collection starts from Rs. 1099 onwards and will be available shortly at select Westside stores across India.

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The Hindu :

ReRock II takes you on a trip of India’s rock music beginnings

OL BOYS’ CLUB Does White Fang still have the bite?

Come January 9 and the nation’s capital will witness three of its most spectacular bands of yesteryears come together in a one-of-a-kind musical extravaganza. Reunion Rock India or ReRock is a one-night-only special concert at the Garden of Five Senses in New Delhi and will take older connoisseurs back in time while introducing younger music lovers to the history of rock music in India.

Featuring Electric Plant (1978 – 1982), White Fang (1980 – 1983) and Applied For (1980 – 1983), the three legendary bands will be joined by the newly formed and appropriately titled, Unfinished Biz.

ReRock II is presented by Airtel in association with Silhouette, the arts wing of the YP Foundation.

Amitanshu Das, filmmaker/educator and guitarist for White Fang and Unfinished Biz, describes the ReRock community as one that honours the dedication and passion of musicians who gave music their best.

“ReRock is ideally a reunion concert of some of the bands that defined the landscape of music in Delhi during the 70s and 80s. These bands have never been really appreciated or recognised and this is a venture to give them their due credit,” he stresses.

The second annual concert in succession, ReRock II will be a must-listen for both young and old. “ReRock I got a tremendous response necessitating this second edition and made us realise that there is a group of people who are been ignored by current trends in music that is catering to a younger generation. This was an opportunity for them to experience their kind of music,” adds Das.

“This is a time for everyone to have some fun and enjoy. It is not just the nostalgia for old favourites but also about fresh original compositions by the performing bands of which Unfinished Biz is an important…More

The Hindu :

Tom Hiddleston is on the cusp of stardom, having bagged the role of Loki in the Marvel Comics movie Thor

On a roll Tom Hiddleston

The chatter around British actor Tom Hiddleston has been getting steadily noisier. “One day, that lad is going to be a star, and deservedly so,” declared a theatre critic after watching Hiddleston’s award-winning dual role in Cheek by Jowl’s production of “Cymbeline” (2007).

That “one day” could well be tomorrow, with Hiddleston snagging the coveted role of arch-villain Loki in “Thor”, the Marvel Comics movie of 2010, directed by Kenneth Branagh. While it’s a bad idea to tempt the gods — and especially, the capricious Norse gods — the chatter is now suggestive of a young actor on the cusp of stardom.

“I don’t feel famous,” laughs Hiddleston, in Chennai to attend his sister’s wedding, and taking a break before the “Thor” shoot. Stardom was not what drew him to the profession but accepts that “fame is an essential corollary to actors being able to do the kind of work they want to do”.

What he has learnt from acting alongside stars such as Branagh, Ewan McGregor and Dame Judi Dench is “their continued energy, passion and seriousness about the work — and total lack of seriousness about themselves”.

The same could be said of Hiddleston, in turn, amusing and amused by the myths surrounding an actor. Born in 1981, Hiddleston probably always knew what he wanted to be, but sealed his commitment when he signed on for three years at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA).

This, despite already signing up with the prestigious actors agency, Hamilton Hodell, and having acted in projects such as an ITV production of “Nicholas Nickleby”, a BBC/HBO co-production called “Conspiracy”, starring Branagh, and the Winston Churchill biopic, “The Gathering Storm”, opposite Albert Finney and Vanessa Redgrave. All this, while still at Cambridge, where he…More

The Hindu :

Terraces make for more fun venues for private events compared to regular function halls

Masti and more Nothing like throwing a party for friends or hosting a play on the terrace

‘Join us on the ‘terrace’ over lunch and meet the life partner our son chose’, says one invite.

‘We are doing a New Year dinner with all the residents of the locality on the terrace of Block ‘A’, don’t miss the games and live music,’ reads another invite.

A sprawling terrace has been put to many uses. In olden times, the women of the house enjoyed sun-drying vadiyalu and appadalu on the terrace.

There were others who couldn’t help getting excited about the thought of sleeping under the blue sky at night to beat the summer heat indoors.

Fast forward to an era when everything from vadiyalu to dahi mirchi and magai to avakai is available across the counter and air conditioner and coolers cool our homes.

Can the terraces be left unattended?

Can we let them turn into an open dumpyard? Naah. Terrace garden, terrace sit-out and hey how about a venue for private functions?

Sankranti and the fun of flying kites must have triggered this brilliant idea.

Now residents of apartment building blocks don’t think twice about booking a venue for their private events. Weddings, receptions, birthdays, anniversaries you name it and mostly every terrace has seen at least one such event.

“It saves a lot. Coupled with the thought that whatever we are celebrating we are doing at our home.

“The excitement of conducting functions at home is no match to doing the same at a hired venue.

“If the terrace is a huge one then there is no need to look for hired venues,” says Naidu, who performed his son’s wedding and reception on the terrace of their apartment and the whole building turned into a wedding venue.

“Thankfully we have enough parking space in our locality,” he…More

The Hindu :

Sheethal Goutham has managed to make a mark after coming out of retirement last year

Photo: V. Sreenivasa murthyPerspective Sheethal Goutham: ‘Though power is vital, it cannot be substitute for a good tactical game’

When the Belgian come-back queen Kim Clijsters scripted a dream return with the US Open title in September 2009, it fired the imagination of the 28-year old Indian tennis ace and Bangalorean Sheethal Goutham, who was longing into get back into action after her retirement in 2005. “That was the sign and I decided to get back into competitive tennis, “she says.

Sheethal made a rather dramatic comeback bagging the runner-up position in the National grass court championships held at Kolkata.

“Frankly, I did not expect to reach the final. However, I began to think I stood a good chance when I sailed through the early rounds and defeated Rushmi Chakravathi, one of the country’s most seasoned players in the semi-finals. Being in the final was a dream come true, though I was a bit unhappy at not winning the title. Ankita Raina was the better player on that day.”

After her comeback, she realised that she was playing with the same intensity and passion, as before. Her strokeplay was also intact. “In the ITF tournament, I played as a qualifier and reached the last 16 stage. I lost to Isha Lakhani, but managed to beat her in another tournament soon. It gave me confidence that I could emerge among the best in the country.”

Before the Nationals, Sheethal had bagged the singles and doubles title in an all India tournament at Bhimavaram. “Winning gives you a special feeling and makes you confident,” she contends.

The four-year absence from the circuit has made Sheethal view the game in a different light. “Some years ago, the game was more tactical. Now, everyone goes for the ball and tries to hit as hard as they…More

The Hindu : NIKHIL VARMA

It’s a whodunit that only Bollywood can pull off. The makers of 3 Idiots and the author of the source-book quibble in public. NIKHIL VARMA does some nitpicking of his own

Photo: Murali Kumar k.IN THE CENTRE Of Bollywood’s latest controversy, the cast of 3 Idiots

It is a controversy that was played with the two lead players being those who in their own little way have managed to transform the way India watches movies and reads books.

On one side is Chetan Bhagat, whose books have recorded massive sales in a country that does not read much. Despite being savaged by critics, Bhagat has generated huge sales. On the other hand, Raju Hirani has transformed the movie-watching experience in the country with the Munnabhai series, which has gained brought back Gandhi-ism into popular consciousness, repackaged as Gandhigiri.

It all began after a blog entry by Bhagat mentioned that he was short-changed by the makers of the movie “3 Idiots”. He said that though he was not mentioned in the story credits, much of the film was based on his debut novel, “Five Point Someone.”

This promoted a counter attack by the filmmakers. Terming him “publicity hungry”, they contended that movie has only retained a few elements of the book. The blogosphere and Twitter joined the bandwagon, and the issue used up many reams of newsprint and TV coverage. Both sides have threatened to take the other to court over the issue.

Almost a year ago, India was the predominant theme at the Oscar ceremony, as “Slumdog Millionaire” swept the awards. Directed by Danny Boyle, the movie was adapted from a novel “Q and A” written by an Indian diplomat Vikas Swaroop, who was flown in to celebrate its success. Boyle even admitted that the movie and the awards it brought would not have been possible without the book. The grace and humility with which…More