(From top): Neetu Gupta, Krsna Mehta, Bibi Russell, Shobhaa Dé, Sanjay Gupta and Neena Ranna at Samsaara; Jerry Pinto at the release of Helen; Ajay Bijli; Shobhaa Dé; Karan Johar; Alberto Torres; Atul Kasbekar; Sabyasachi and Ujjwala Raut at the Vertu event; DJ Paul Van Dyk in action at Kamala Mills

How does a luxury mobile phone company unveil its spring-summer special edition phone? Ask Vertu, the leading manufacturer of handcrafted mobiles. The six limited editions of the phone were launched in Delhi, at The Imperial, with the company honouring Indian celebrities, each a star in his or her own right.

The evening started with a toast to writer Shobhaa D?, PVR MD Ajay Bijli, tennis player Leander Paes, fashion designer Sabyasachi Mukherjee, supermodel Ujjwala Raut, photographer Atul Kasbekar and filmmaker Karan Johar. Paes who was busy playing a match in Monte Carlo was the only celebrity who was not present on the occasion.

“Chennai, Calcutta and Chandigarh are our next points of launch. And what better way to do that, than celebrate the success of people who our customers look up to?” said Alberto Torres, President, Vertu. Vertu, incidentally, has Jennifer Lopez, David and Victoria Beckham and Gwyneth Paltrow as its international faces ? a star cast obviously.

What was the reaction of those awarded? Sabyasachi was surprised. He said, “Frankly I was taken aback when I was told about it. I am attracted to Vertu simply by virtue of its attention to details and mechanism. I myself am a slave to details.” Meanwhile, Raut waved her Blackberry phone in the air and said, “Am I allowed to show this? I would like to buy the Vertu, but then I’d like to work hard for it.”

Before the star team sat down for dinner, it was time to circulate. Kasbekar spoke about his campaigns, while Johar who was accompanied by Sweta Nanda, could be heard introducing his companion to Constance Chew, “Meet Sweta, she is Amitabh Bachchan’s daughter”. It drew a blank with Chew, the global communications director of Vertu, who however, instantly identified Abhishek Bachchan.

Between the lines

She is the ultimate diva and a fashion icon in her own right. And recently Shobhaa D? teamed up with five designers at a Delhi boutique, Samsaara to showcase a line that reflects her style. The designers ? Bibi Russell, Krsna Mehta, Raj and Neetu of Ravage, Neena Ranna and Sonal Mehta ? were there in person to present their collections. Model Noyonika Chatterjee sashayed around the store, showing off each designer’s work to perfection. The ambience reeked of rustic simplicity, with Bangladeshi music playing in the background.

D? introduced the designers she’d chosen for the occasion and emphasised on their strong points ? “Bibi for her unique striking designs, Krsna for breaking the rules for home furnishings, Ravage for their attention to details, Ranna for her phulkari work and Sonal for her zari work on cottons.”

D? herself had designed the accessories at the store. “I have given my inputs for the collections. They reflect my sensibility. The era of heavily embellished and sequined work is over. You see a revival of traditional work and eco-friendly fabrics”, said D? who was draped in a purple-checked Jamdaani sari designed by Russell. The Bangladeshi designer’s accessories ruled as well ? a sling bag, a stone neckpiece and some particularly attractive water hyacinth and cane bangles. “Yes it’s Bibi all the way,” laughed D?, who swears by Russell’s designs.

Kota, Jamdaani and khadi saris by Russell, in beautiful hues of pink, blue and lime, added to a summery look, as did her crocheted kaftans and tops. As D? rightly pointed out, “Bibi is iconic in the world of international fashion. She has showed that fashion is not in isolation, but it is also about development. She has provided employment for 50,000 Bangladeshi weavers”. The designer herself pointed out the craftwork involved in each garment and talked about her involvement in promoting traditional craftsmen.

Also on display were some lovely phulkari designs by Ranna and dressy saris by Sonal. D? said she discovered these designers by chance. She explained, “I found Neena Ranna in an exhibition in Jaipur and Sonal Mehta (who’s from Surat) in the same way.”

Deconstructing Helen

For as long as anybody can remember, Helen has been the ultimate bombshell. The magic that the actress and dancer wrought on the silver screen, fascinated poet and media person Jerry Pinto so much, that he has penned an entire book on her. The Habitat Film Club, in association with Penguin Books India which published the book, celebrated the publication of Helen: The Life and Times of an H-Bomb at the India Habitat Centre in Delhi.

Pinto read out portions from the book and this was punctuated by song clips of Helen from her various films. Why did Helen, a refugee of French-Burmese lineage, enjoy such wild success in the Hindi film industry? How could otherwise conservative families sit through and even enjoy her cabaret performances? If these questions have occurred to you too, you might as well go through Pinto’s book, where he deconstructs the Helen phenomenon.

“You might wonder whether I met Helen for this book. The answer is I didn’t. I did not need to. I wasn’t interested in Helen the person, but in Helen the actress. I tried my best to meet her, but since she shuttles between her two homes in Mumbai and Panvel, I couldn’t get through to her,” said Pinto, who concluded the reading with a screening of the film Teesri Manzil.

Mixing magic

If temperatures have been soaring in Mumbai over the last few weeks, the mercury hit the sky when international deejay, Paul Van Dyk played to a full house in the city recently. The concert at Kamala Mills was a rocking one all right and hordes of youngsters turned up to listen to DJ Paul’s mesmerising mixes. The event, organised by Smirnoff, had the DJ spinning some of his most popular techno-trance tracks.

Prior to Mumbai, Paul won over music lovers in Shanghai with his eclectic mixing. Considered to be one of the best deejays in the world, along with DJ legends Fatboy Slim and Paul Oakenfold, Van Dyk created a new world of music for music aficionados. Ever since he started in 1988 in Berlin, he’s been a force to reckon with in the field of techno-trance music and some of his highest-selling albums include Beautiful Palace, Forbidden Fruit and 45RPM. His latest compilation, Politics of Dancing Part 2 is said to be Van Dyk’s best compilation yet.

Among those present to watch Van Dyk live in action were none other than our very own deejay, Aqueel and actor Chetan Hansraj.

Photographs of Delhi events by Rupinder Sharma