Prithwish
Aishwarya Rai will no longer use her surname but is happily willing to be known as Aishwarya Bachchan, media reports say.
Her transition from Rai to Bachchan started when she signed an autograph after her marriage as Aishwarya Bachchan. We have seen many Bollywood stars taking up the surname of their husband but some have chosen to retain their surname too.
The question of Aishwarya Rai (already an established brand) choosing to use the Bachchan surname might come as a surprise and apprehension to many.
Firstly, all the fame and popularity that surrounds her today came when she wasn't a Bachchan. It took time for her to establish herself as a brand and a change might seem like starting to build a brand from scratch.
Secondly, when the media has been buzzing how Aishwarya's marriage was a bad career move for her, her changing of surname would certainly lead to a lot of debate -- will the people accept Aishwarya (now AB's daughter-in-law) romancing other men on screen being a Bachchan bride?
But Aishwarya must have thought about all this for sure and in hindsight it seems like a planned move. The Bachchan brandname has an aura of its own which is much bigger than Rai for sure. But the question remains whether Aishwarya will fit into the Bachchan brand. We will have to wait and see.
Monday, April 30, 2007
NEWS: Ash to shed surname, embrace Bachchan brand
Saturday, April 28, 2007
GRAPEVINE: Tracking Abhi-Ash's Honeymoon
Prithwish
The grapevine is buzzing again and this time media reports say that the rumours about newlyweds Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai going to Europe for their honeymoon may be just a red herring to keep media off the couple's plans.
Sources have again revealed that Abhi-Ash are applying for visas for Tahiti Polynesia. Now we don't remember many Bollywood celebrities going to Tahiti for their honeymoon. But we'll certainly keep you posted on any updates.
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
COMMENT: AbhiAsh give Hurley the blues
Toe Knee
Poor Liz Hurley. Surely it was stupid to get married the same year as Bollywood's hottest couple. Miffed pop-in-law notwithstanding, Hurley and hubby Arun didn't quite stand a chance against the AbhiAsh juggernaut. Coz the wedding of Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai generated enough buzz to keep the paparazzi busy and relegate Hurley's Jodhpur nuptials to the archives.
There is no dearth of drama when someone from Bollywood ties the knot and the AbhiAsh marriage was no exception. A woman by the name of Jahnvi Kapoor staged a suicide drama in front of the Bachchan residence, claiming that the Junior B had ditched her after having what she termed "physical relation". God alone knows what the truth is but it certainly appears as if Jahnvi is suffering from delusions.
That's not all, an Abhishek lookalike fooled star-struck security guards and walked right up to Aishwarya's eight-floor flat to convey his good wishes. He was caught else who knows - Aishwarya might just have married the wrong guy.
The media lapped up the controversy, even enjoying their share of the limelight when a couple of snap-happy photographers were thrashed by securitymen for coming in the way of a car ferrying the Bachchans. Senior Bachchan apologised the next day, giving the media another opportunity to play up the incident.
I bet Hurley's wishing she had harnessed media attention better. All you need is a divorce, Liz and another stint at Jodhpur so that you can learn from your mistakes.
(This article first posted here)
Sunday, April 22, 2007
PAGE 3: Amrita, Ishaa make a style statement
Prithwish
If you thought that the sexy Amrita Arora was enough to set the pulse of a party racing, then imagine what a hell of a party it was when Delhi was treated to the sights of another sultry svelte heroine Ishaa Kopikar.
Amrita wore a gorgeous short dress while Ishaa's evening gown made the shutterbugs flutter during a fashion show by designer Arjun Khanna.
Amrita revealed her style funda to the reporters saying -- "I just throw stuff together and it becomes my style. I prefer wearing things which are more casual and fun".
Ishaa was much more reserved and disgusted with people swarming around her. People pushed and pulled each other to catch a glimpse of this screen scorcher.
The Don girl said she liked the colour black cos it was bold and was all about the darker side of life.
Now who wouldn't like to know more about her dark side.
FLASHBACK: K A Abbas
Prithwish
Khwaja Ahmad Abbas is best known for being an adventurist. He not only worked with diverse topics and themes but also delved deep into India's socio-political and the economic sturucture. He was a man who boldly and sometimes subtly portrayed the issues pertaining to the society.
His first film Dharti Ke Lal (about the deadly famine) -- a critics delight -- was a breakthrough film which narrated the insensitivity as well as greed of the British as well as the hoarder who created a man-made famine which wiped out 3 and a half million lives.
He never backtracked from showing the greed and malice which existed in the society and his films reverberated the underlying discontent of the masses against opportunism.
Some of his brilliant works are:
Rahi -- a film about the lives of Indian tea pickers who are lured to malaria-infected tea estates of Assam
Munna -- a film about a child's search for mother where he highlights the adult world as seen through the eyes of the child
Shehar Aur Sapna -- a film which shows how a rural rustic man, dazzled with the glitter of the Mumbai metropolis comes to the city in search of fortune and his disillusionment thereafter
Do Boond -- a film in which he takes us to the drought-striken Rajasthan and narrates the beautiful dream of a man who wanted to construct a canal to bring water to the barren lands
We salute this master filmmaker of a bygone era through our blog.
COMMENT: Kiss and Tell
Toe Knee
The mere mention of Richard Gere makes most women go weak in the knees. Some would give an arm and a leg to touch the Pretty Woman star and many, I am sure, would have stooped at nothing to be in Shilpa Shetty's shoes at that magical moment on Sunday evening when Gere gathered the Celebrity Big Brother winner in his arms and smothered her with kisses.
Shilpa didn't look too upset either - grinning from ear to ear when Gere finally released her from his embrace. The storm in a teacup became a whirlpool a few hours later when Gere was accused of hurting Indian sensibilities and protesters (many of them probably upset they can never dream of getting a chance to lay lips on Shilpa) busy burning effigies as self-appointed custodians of Indian culture.
But as everybody knows, there's no such thing as bad publicity. Here's a tongue-in-cheek look at what may happen in the near future -
Gere lawyer: Your honour, my client Richard Gere claims monetary damages from accused Shilpa Shetty
Shilpa lawyer: And may I ask why?
Gere lawyer: Well, while Gere's career has gone down the drain, the kiss controversy has given Shilpa's waning Big Brother fame a new lease of life
Shilpa lawyer: I object, Your Honour. Gere's recent films were duds in any case - Shilpa or no Shilpa.
Gere lawyer: Ok, I grant you that but didn't the episode bring Shilpa suddenly into the public eye and get her ads, films and charity show invites
Shilpa lawyer: And wasn't Shilpa's modesty - unruffled when Jade Goody called her a lot of @$#*%! names - outraged when Gere shifted gears a bit too fast
Gere lawyer: Many woman would pay to have Gere do stuff to them
Shilpa lawyer: Shilpa already had Dirk (Benedict). She doesn't need Gere to spice things up
Judge: Stop it, I pronounce both Gere and Shilpa guilty of making fools of themselves in public. Gere sentenced to three years of doing inane Bollywood films and an additional year for each kiss he steals from his leading ladies. Shilpa hereby banished to Hollywood for special classes in wardrobe malfunction (the Janet Jackson academy), being rich and crazy (the Paris Hilton school) and bald and beautiful (the Britney Spears institution)
Protester: But what of the truck drivers who witnessed the kisses? What of the mental trauma they had to undergo?
Judge: In addition, both Gere and Shilpa have to personally adopt each potential AIDS victim left unnoticed in the kissing brouhaha
Protester: Who cares about getting adopted? Each person present at the Sunday gathering (including me) should get a chance to kiss Shilpa, only then can justice be served
Spectators: Hear! Hear!
(This article originally posted here)
FASHION: Bollywood Calling
Prithwish
The prominence of fashion designers can be traced from the days when Bollywood film and its stars became much more particular about clothes.
From an era when any hair-do or wearing any kind of clothes would get a pass mark, now Bollywood is eyeing big business not only in India but globally, employ designers who invest time and energy designing clothes which are not only according to the roles but also according to the time in which the script is set or which kind of socio-economic structure the film's aiming to highlight.
In this I guess we owe it to the west for refining our sensibilities about fashion.
Moreover for a designer, designing for a high-budget Bollywood film not only gives the designers the right kind of publicity but associations with filmstars and production companies also give designers constant media attention.
But such associations have also created a parallel rat-race -- of wooing celebrities -- among the small breed of people who are already engaged in a fight for survival.
Most fashion designers (except for the big names like Manish Arora, Rohit Bal, J.J. Valaya, Ritu Kumar, etc) now want a Bollywood celebrity to feature in their shows -- God knows why. Cos most of the media attention is taken by these celebrities and it is fashion which takes a beating in the end as news stories splash pictures of the celebrity and the designers' clothing line gets a two-line mention.
High time the designers take note of this and be proud of the fame they receive for their clothes and not the Bollywood stars they can rope in. What say?
