Shayan Munshi

Here?s to the chef

As he watched one Bengali/Calcuttan beauty after another sultry-lip and big-eye her way to the Mumbai big-time, Calcutta?s own model (slash) actor Shayan Munshi suddenly had a Zen moment and saw, written across the sky in shining letters, ?If you can?t lick ?em, join ?em?. And so, to bridge the gender divide, he?s gone metro with a vengeance ? sporting a flowing silken mane, he now hosts a cooking show called Karen Anand?s Cook Na Kaho (Don?t Call Me Karen Anand?s Cook). He?s force-fed some truly awful lines and has to impersonate Eminem whenever someone utters the word ?wrap? but he?s still Calcutta?s official male glamour ambassador and (more importantly) now has easy access to meat cleavers, so all is forgiven.

He made it big playing a geek in Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle, and should soon take his place among the stars. Kal Penn (left), who?s in Mira Nair?s The Namesake, has signed up for the new Superman movie as well.