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Midlife blues
It’s something of a homecoming for Saurabh Shukla. The actor, who started his career in theatre and is best known for his Kallu Mama act in Ram Gopal Varma’s Satya, is hitting the proscenium after a hiatus of 18 years. He is directing Two to Tango and Three to Jive, a play that deals with a man’s midlife crisis. In fact, he also plays the lead role in it. However, his long separation from theatre has made Shukla a bit nervous about the medium. So much so that he has been hard at work honing his on-stage skills. The play, which will premiere this weekend in Mumbai, is apparently based on instances from Shukla’s own life and that of his friends. That ought to give this story of midlife crisis a touch of some heartfelt angst.
Love story
Got a love story to share? Romance writer Ravinder Singh wants it. Not to plagiarise — which seems quite the in thing these days — but for a “Love stories that touched my heart” contest. Those writing the best love stories will have their works published in an anthology that he will edit for Penguin India. Singh, of course, is just the right person to edit such a volume, his Can Love Happen Twice? having grabbed thousands of eyeballs since its launch last year. The 30-year-old Calcutta-born writer says he is excited about the contest (for details log on to http://www.penguinbooksindia.com/lovestories) and plans to give tips to budding writers. If that’s not love, we don’t know what is.
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Mother care
New mom Lara Dutta is on a mission — to spread awareness about breastfeeding. The actress and former Miss Universe was at Bangalore’s Manipal Hospital this week to inaugurate its poster exhibition on the “Goodness of Breastfeeding”. Speaking at the event, Dutta — mother of a seven-month-old girl, and wife of tennis star Mahesh Bhupathi — chose not to talk about how the baby benefits from being breastfed. Instead, she focused on how it helped her lose weight. “Apart from exercising and dieting, breastfeeding helped me to tone my body to get back to acting,” she said. Er, that ought to be an interesting incentive for a lot of new mothers not to shy away from breast feeding their babies.
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Stylish Soha
You’ve seen her in the movies. Now get set to see her on the small screen. Soha Ali Khan will play host in lifestyle channel TLC’s Indian edition of the international hit makeover series What Not to Wear. Co-hosted by fashion designer Aki Narula, the show, which goes on air next month, will feature fashion-challenged men and women who are encouraged to trade drab for fab. And Khan will dispense her style wisdom to those who need help with their wardrobes. We hear the Pataudi princess has been picked as a host for the show on account of her regal lineage, which, presumably, makes her the epitome of style and grooming. But don’t go calling her “Style Behen”! That would be too uncool.
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Big break
South Indian actress and singer Andrea Jeremiah is all excited about her big break. And why not? After all, bagging a pivotal role in Kamal Haasan’s big budget magnum opus, Vishwaroopam, is no mean feat. Especially since she is only two films old. “I was excited, elated and couldn’t wait to start work on the film,” exclaims an ecstatic Jeremiah about her reaction on getting the role. The film, which also stars Shekhar Kapur, Kamal Haasan and Rahul Bose, and revolves around international terrorism, is a “visual spectacle”, she insists. And, what about working with the master himself? “Kamal Haasan the actor is everything people say he is and more,” she burbles. But naturally, Andrea.