Showstopper: Katrina Kaif

For all those who raised eyebrows seeing Salman Khan walking the ramp for Surily Goel on the opening day of Lakme Fashion Week, look for your missing thinking caps. It had more to do with the event rather than the line or the designer. After all, Katrina Kaif is the face of Lakme, reason enough for Sallu Miyan to strut his stuff on the ramp. It?s another thing that he turned out to be the showstopper, in red shirt and black jacket.

As for Katrina herself, she, of course, walked for the big ?un ? Ritu Beri?s finale on Saturday. She has also been a regular attendant for most of the shows through the week. Later in the month, she will be back on the big screen, with Akshay Kumar in Raj Kanwar?s Humko Deewana Kar Gaye.

A lot has been said about the Akshay-Katrina chemistry and how the two set the screen on fire. Interestingly, the two will be seen again in Vipul Shah?s next film post-Waqt.

Priyanka Chopra was Shah?s first choice but Piggychops is so busy with Don, that Shah had to replace her with Katrina.

The Boom babe will also be seen in Samir Karnik?s (remember the dud Kyun Ho Gaya Na?) Nanhe Jaisalmer opposite Bobby Deol. With Salman not getting to just chill with Katrina these days, he might just cry again: Maine pyar kyun kiya...

Sorority song: A moment from Walking on a Moonbeam

Womanly voices

A three-day festival of 26 recent documentary and short films by women film-makers of Asia is on at Nandan II till April 3. The package titled Women, Media, Society: Transformations is being hosted by IAWRT (International Association of Women in Radio & Television) and Nandan. A workshop for film and media professionals and amateurs called Mediarama, a poster display by Swayam and panel discussions with film-makers and scholars are being held in conjunction with the screenings.

Calcutta-based Vasudha Joshi, whose film For Maya was screened on the opening day, is a perfect example of the bold independent woman who have chosen to make film her medium. Joshi was working for PTI when the opportunity to make her first documentary arrived.

Hearing of a non-violent movement in Baliapal, Orissa, to counter a government effort to open a nuclear plant, she and friend Ranjan Palit felt compelled to record it on film.

?We knew quite well that such a film will never be telecast on Doordarshan but we still felt we had to do Voices from Baliapal. We pooled resources, borrowed a camera? it was difficult working on 16 mm, every shot had to be counted. These days with digital cameras one doesn?t have to worry so much,? said Joshi.

The young director feels that hers has been a journey from broad political concerns to inner turmoil.

Girl Song dealt with a mother-daughter relationship, while For Maya focuses on three generations of Joshi?s family.

?For Maya happened in 1997 funded by the Foundation for Universal Responsibility. They wanted a film on gender on the occasion of 50 years of Indian Independence. Since I didn?t believe in using actors and knew I couldn?t describe any other family better than my own, I decided to see the gender issue from that perspective,? explained Joshi.

Among the other films to be screened are many that are autobiographical or deal with intense personal experiences. There is a film on rag pickers, Kagad Kaanch Patra by Reema Borah, films on social and historical issues like Three films from Manipur by Kavita Joshi, For Love or Izzat by Sonali Dutta and Lanka the Other Side of Peace by Iffat Fatima.

There are imaginative, humorous and satirical pieces like My Life as a Poster by Shashwati Talukdar and Printed Rainbow by Gitanjali Rao. And heart-wrenching accounts of child abuse like Walking on a Moonbeam directed by Madhureeta Anand.

It bodes well that in its second year the festival is no longer confined to Delhi but is travelling to other cities as well.

Idol update

As celebrity guests keep pouring in on the sets of Indian Idol, the Sony talent hunt just goes hotter and hotter. The three thunderballs ? Karunya, Sandeep and Anuj ? have been in top form belting out one chartbuster after the other. This week, it was the turn of music director duo Vishal and Shekhar (Salaam Namaste, of course) to be floored by the star performances of the top three. While they loved all three of them, they tipped Karunya to be the next Indian Idol.

Elsewhere, in Indian Idol Takaa Tak, the gossip follow-up show on SAB, item girl Rakhi Sawant visited the finalists to share performance tips. But she wasn?t too impressed with their dancing skills.

?I love their voices but I?m very unhappy with the way they shake a leg on the stage,? she said. ?It is very important to give them special training to work on their expressions, dance techniques and presence on the stage.?

While you can catch the regular Indian Idol episode this Monday on Sony at 9.30 pm, you can tune in for the expert commentary of Rakhi Sawant on Indian Idol Takaa Tak, on SAB this Tuesday at 10 pm.

Click away: Amitabh Bachchan

Poll time

The voting for the much-awaited 7th International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) Awards commenced last Thursday with Amitabh Bachchan casting his vote at the J.W. Marriott hotel in Mumbai. Held under the strict supervision of PricewaterhouseCoopers, the voting for India?s biggest awards will decide on the nominations for the different categories.

Speaking on the awards, Amitabh said: ?With the objective of celebrating Indian cinema across the globe, the IIFA Awards have truly evolved over the last seven years to become a global event. I think it represents the true spirit of our cinema and I am confident that it will continue in its journey to touch greater heights.?

As part of making the IIFA events more accessible to fans across the world, the awards will be leveraged across the mobile platform, thereby entering personal space in addition to the mass media space that the event already enjoys. ?The plan is to make it personal and interactive this year,? smiled Amitabh.