(From top): William Dalrymple and Salman Rushdie at Oxford; Gabriella Wright, Vijay Singh and Vikram Chatwal at the promotion party for One Dollar Curry; models show off outfits from Salim Asgarally?s New Year collection; Kalyani Chawla, Vijaya Bagai, Kalicharan Gupta and Alakananda Saha (left to right) at Montage Art Gallery

Twist in the tale

Does the shadow of the fatwa still hang over superstar writer Salman Rushdie? Last week, Rushdie was the surprise guest at The Oxford Bookstore, Delhi?s new haven for book-lovers. He walked in wearing a white suit with author William Dalrymple ? who was scheduled to read passages from some of his books. Also, in tow was his leggy model-wife Padma Lakshmi.

The invite to the event cryptically said that Dalrymple would read passages from his books, to be followed by an ?interaction? with the guests. Dalrymple was clearly not fated to be the man of the evening, but seemed content to share the stage and most of the limelight with the great author. He read a few funny passages from his book that elicited polite guffaws from the audience, though it was clearly waiting for Rushdie to take centrestage. Which he did with considerable elan, reading out a slightly longish short story called ?The Firebird?s Nest? that appears in an anthology of short stories, Telling Tales, edited by Nobel Laureate Nadine Gordimer. In the process he also managed to throw in a snide aside at Sir Naipaul.

After that, it was a merry free-for-all as mediapersons mobbed Rushdie and Padma, who both patiently posed for pictures. Rushdie also signed several copies of his books while Dalrymple, who should have been the star of the evening, stood by graciously. The audience was split between those who could merely stand and gawk at the famous author and his equally famous muse and those who were seen desperately trying to make conversation with the completely-at-ease Rushdie.

Clearly, marriage seems to be suiting him and Padma, author of a cookery book, is reported to have said his next book is likely to contain ?lots of stuff about cooking?.

Curry craze

Take 500 gm of words, 75 chak-chaks of rap and 50 hot & crip gup-shups. Mix the ingredients well in 2 litres of funky pleasantries. Fry the mixture in Kamasutra Nandi Bull Oil on light flame in a thick paste of garlic lies,? and you have One Dollar Curry, a film by Vijay Singh. In the Capital to promote the film, actor and millionaire playboy Vikram Chatwal and actress Gabriella Wright along with Singh, amused shutterbugs by doing a ?chukkerbaz? pose for them.

Chatwal is the chukkerbaz in this crossover comedy. He plays the role of Nishan, a street-smart Sikh immigrant, who opens a kitchen-on-wheels called One Dollar Curry in Paris. But there is one problem. Nishan has no idea to how to cook. In his hilarious battle for survival, he is flanked by two gorgeous women ? his Indian fianc?e Yamini (Smriti Mishra) and his French love, Nathalie (Gabriella Wright).

?The story is crossover in the sense that it deals with the issues of immigration and integration of cultures,? said Singh. Chatwal insists that there?s a huge audience abroad for such movies even if there have been a lot of crossover movies in recent times. ?The NRI crowd wants to see more of what is called crossover movies. The issues of generation gap and culture really moves them,? he says.

That?s a point which was emphasised on by actress Gabriella Wright, who with her English-Scottish, French-Portuguese-Mauritian background, identified with the film because of her Asian roots. Showcased at the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in Goa, One Dollar Curry opens on January 7.

Different strokes

It was a motley gathering of artists and art-lovers that came together at the exhibition held by Kalyani Chawla and her mother Alakananda Saha at Delhi?s Montage Art Gallery. Titled Subjects*Predicates, the show had on display a dozen works each by artists Kalicharan Gupta and Vijaya Bagai.

Using vibrant colours in a bold, linear fashion, Delhi-based Kalicharan Gupta concentrates on the population explosion and the toll that urbanisation is taking on our living spaces in his series called ?No Space to Breathe?. The artist himself is a part of his work, ?My Red House?, where you can make out that among all the blue and yellow grids, he is in the red grid looking down at the world from high above a multi-storeyed building.

?I just let the colours flow and then I capture the atmosphere. Since this series is done in acrylic on canvas, each work didn?t take more than 10 days to finish,? said Gupta. Art critic Keshav Malik enjoyed Gupta?s art, particularly the fact that the artist has not repeated himself. Says Malik, ?Everything is closely knit. Kalicharan?s works indirectly please the inner eye.?

?Today? and ?tomorrow? were reflected in the colours used by artist Vijaya Bagai. She attributes the change in her use of colours to the emotional change that has permeated her being. ?Earlier I was more into greys, browns and muted greens. But this time, I have experimented with vivid reds, oranges, yellows and mauves,? she says, as she added, ?After all, change sweeps everything along with it.?

Fashion focus

Mumbai recently saw the launch of fashion designer Salim Asgarally?s New Year collection at the exotic Quilla Bar and Grille at Andheri. Choreographed by Rehan Shah, the show saw models walking the ramp in Salim?s creations, which took in everything from kaftans, ponchos and embroidered saris with cholis to layered ruffled skirts, sequined corsets and classic black chiffon dresses along with accessories like bags, belts and shoes.

The hallmark of the designer?s collection is his use of vibrant colours as also the predominance of skirts. Long, layered and ruffled, Salim?s skirts come in solid as well as contrasting colour combinations and these can be combined with his backless halters and corsets. Saris embellished with rock stones and sequins in nets and georgettes add to the vibrancy and versatility of the line.

Salim also showcased for the first time a limited line of men?s shirts for the young-at-heart. The silhouettes were slim-fitted and the shirts are fashioned from tie--dye velvets, white muls and stretch denim with embroidered accents for a dramatic appeal. This apart, the designer also showcased a range of bags, belts and shoes especially created to complement the outfits. And finally the special attraction was the butterfly collection, where embroidered 3D butterflies flitted across corsets, saris, tops, belts, bags and shoes in an array of colours and sequins.

The fashion event was well attended with celebrities from all walks of life dropping in at the do. Those present included among others, model Nethra Raghuraman, actress Kim Sharma, actor Rajat Kapoor with his sister Chandni Kapoor and Delhi-based fashion designer Kanwaljit Singh.

Photographs by Prem Singh and Gajanan Dudhalkar