Beauty beat

Remember Manisha Koirala — the comely Bollywood star who once rode the popularity charts with films like Mann, 1942: A Love Story, et al? The actress, who’s from Nepal, is now doing her bit to keep the cause of beauty alive in her own country. Just when it looked like the Ms Nepal beauty pageant was going to be scrapped, what with its biggest promoter, Dabur Nepal, pulling out, Koirala endorsed the contest by appearing in it as a grand judge.The show has faced opposition from the women Communist party members in Nepal, but Koirala’s endorsement seems to have given it a new lease of life. Still, even she was not able to stop one calamity from striking the Ms Nepal contest. To please the moral brigade the swimsuit round was done away with. Now, as the oglers will tell you, what’s a beauty pageant without a swimsuit round?

 

Mice and men

Chandan Roy Sanyal is an actor who doesn’t rest on his laurels or shy away from following his heart. Sanyal won accolades for his performance in films like Kaminey and F.A.L.T.U. But that hasn’t weaned him away from theatre, which continues to be his passion. His latest venture is a two-act tragi-comedy called Two Blind Mice. Directed by Sanyal himself as part of the repertoire of his theatre group Proscenium, it is an adaptation of Scene 1 of Samuel Beckett’s play Waiting for Godot. Sanyal has previously directed adaptations of plays like Aashad Ka Ek Din and Sakharam Binder. If all goes well, his latest play — now being staged in Mumbai — will travel to other cities. Well, here’s waiting for … Two Blind Mice.

Southern comfort

This lion of Punjab has reached the southern shores. Chef and food expert Jiggs Kalra opened his signature restaurant, Punjab Grill by Jiggs Kalra, in Bangalore recently. Purists would probably scoff at the tandoori duck and salmon tikka on offer at the restaurant, but the 63-year-old foodie calls the East-meet-West dishes on his menu the version 2.0 of Indian cooking. “We’re the only Punjabi restaurant to do tandoori duck. For that matter, any duck,” he says. The Bangalore restaurant is Kalra’s first venture in south India — and the seventh in India. Let’s hope it doesn’t get out for a duck.

 

 

Slap bang

Katrina Kaif can certainly pack a punch. During a guest appearance on Zee TV’s Hero Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Li’ Champs to promote her upcoming film, Mere Brother ki Dulhan, Kaif gave a resounding slap to anchor Jay Soni. Er, did Cool Kat finally lose her cool? Thankfully, no. The slap, it seems, was all in a good cause. It was a sneak peek, as it were, into the mighty slap she lands on co-star Imran Khan’s cheek in the film. Rumour has it that Kaif was so keen to deliver a perfect shot that she kept slapping Khan until she got the hand action just right — and Khan’s cheeks turned red from the onslaught. Poor Imran.

 

 

Tagore take

The world of music in Bengal is now awash with albums celebrating Rabindranath Tagore’s 150th birth anniversary. Among the few that stand out is a collection launched by music duo You & I comprising youngsters Soumyajit Das (vocals) and Sourendra Mullick (in picture) on the piano. The two have collaborated with Rabindrasangeet singer Srabani Sen and German folk musician Stefan Stoppok to bring out an album re-interpreting Tagore as a composer. Take the track Kharabayu boy begey, which has been rendered to the sounds of the guitar, piano and strains of raga Bilawal. “What also sets this album apart is the fact that all tracks have been recorded live, without any digitisation of sound,” says Soumyajit. A brave effort, one would say.