(From top): Models look on as Vishesh Verma unveils the Elite calendar; Renu Modi with one of the exhibits at Gallery Espace; Rahul Khanna at the same exhibition; Subhash K Jha and Sanjay Leela Bhansali (right) at the release of the former’s book, The Essential Guide to Bollywood

What would a modelling agency put on its 2006 calendar? Yep, you got it right ? models. So, when Elite Model Management unveiled its new calendar for 2006, there were no surprises. The calendar features 28 models who all learnt the finer points of the game at Elite, which opened in India three years ago. Many of them are already familiar names and faces like Neha Kapur, Sonalika Sahay, Amar Banon and Carol Gracias to name just a few.

“Over the last two years these people have already become stars but this calendar reinvents all of them,” says Sushma Puri, director and CEO of Elite Model Management.

Other 2006 calendars have shot their models at exotic locations. But Elite’s calendar focuses exclusively on the models ? both women and men. Says photographer Vishesh Verma, “There is a trend to take beautiful people to beautiful places and take their pictures. But the focus here is on product ? the girls and the boys. There is a reason and motive behind each and every picture.”

It was a cold night in Delhi but the models and other guests, many of whom were clad in the skimpiest of outfits, didn’t seem to notice that. Everyone gathered inside the hall as the pictures for each month were unveiled by the models who had featured in that particular month. Top fashion gurus Rohit Bal, Suneet Varma and Varun Bahl were among those who added glitz to the evening.

A new innings

Gallery Espace in Delhi’s New Friends Colony is looking more vibrant than ever. The reason ? the 16-year-old gallery has been revamped and was reopened recently with a group art show titled Back to the Future, which includes the works of over 50 renowned artists.

“Today new mediums, paths and talent are all coming together to explore various directions. This new space will offer a wonderful platform to all deserving talent and different mediums,” said Renu Modi, director of the gallery.

The show, which is on till January 25, displays the works of celebrated artists such as M F Husain, Manjit Bawa, Laxma Gaud, sculptor Ravinder Reddy, Nilima Sheikh, G R Iranna, Manish Pushkale, Amit Ambalal and photographs by Sheena Sippy, Tarun Khiwal and Akbar Padamsee among others.

Extending over two floors, the gallery includes a private viewing room, a resource centre with art books and benches for viewing the works of art. Different mediums of art like photography, video, digital and performance art can be showcased at the same time now.

Explaining his paintings and theme, artist G R Iranna said, “For the last 10 years my work has been related to mud and the same has been reflected in my painting titled ‘mud mud mud’. Mud is the essence of nature, and nature is something every single person can relate to.” Also spotted admiring the considerable talent at the exhibition was a host of artists and socialites like Suhel Seth, Rohit Gandhi, Rahul Khanna and Satish Gupta.

Bollywood bytes

Bollywood has a history that stretches back to the early days of cinema and Dada Saheb Phalke. With Indian cinema becoming global, the release of The Essential Guide to Bollywood by Subhash K Jha couldn’t have been better timed. The high-profile book launch took place in Mumbai’s Crossword Bookstore and it attracted a glittering gathering of filmstars and media persons.

So what’s this book like? It’s an invaluable guide to lovers of Hindi films. It covers 200 Hindi films made from the 1940s onwards like Sholay, Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, Khamoshi and so on. The writer gives concise reviews of these films, along with trivia and anecdotes about actors and actresses of that time and about the making of the films. The book is a kind of a mini-encyclopaedia, which gives details about the time period of these films and landmark events in Indian cinema. The entries are arranged according to the genre like drama, comedy, action and romance. The foreward of this book has been written by one of the greatest of them all, Amitabh Bachchan.

Film-critic Subhash K Jha is a veteran of the film industry and his reviews and interviews of actors are widely read in different newspapers across India. The driving force behind writing this guide on Hindi cinema has been his passion for Hindi films. His book was officially launched by director Sanjay Leela Bhansali who spoke about how he’d fallen in love with movies even as a child. The event saw a clutch of Bollywood celebrities like director Madhur Bhandarkar and actor Sameer Dattani.

Photographs of Delhi events by Jagan Negi