Kabhi Aar Kabhi Paar girl Deepal Shah in action on the bar top at Tantra. Picture by Rashbehari Das

lUnder-18s were not allowed in Tantra this weekend or so screamed a poster featuring a ‘schoolgirl’ at the entrance. The girl, of course, had special allowance, so what if she’s just a Baby Doll. And boy, did the slip of a girl pull in a crowd!

“We must have attended to over 500 calls on Saturday enquiring whether she’s really coming tonight,” said a Park official. The much-sought-after bombshell in question was none other than Deepal Shah of Kabhi Aar Kabhi Paar fame who’s been turning the heat on the tube lately in the hit single from the Baby Doll album by Anuj Mathews.

Deepal took to the bar top at the stroke of midnight in her trademark school uniform of white shirt, red Scottish skirt and matching tie, gyrating to the thumping beats of Kabhi Aar…

The brief appearance over, she took a 25-minute break to change into more adult fare of designer jeans and bodice for the next performance of Pehla Pehla Pyar from Baby Doll Fully Reloaded.

It gave the party animals reason enough to hang on firmly to their leg space which was the only commodity in short supply, courtesy the snaking queue of cars and crowds outside the disc.

The patient wait did pay off with not just a thrilling performance of the aforementioned number but also to the pop-rap elements of Simple Things of Life, a song in the yet untitled album by London-based rapper Himesh of Living in Sin. This could have been just another song but for the fact that pop sensation Beyonce Knowles is making a 10-second cameo appearance while Deepal is performing as well as singing the bridge and the chorus.

Surprised? Take this — Deepal is a trained classical singer, so it was quite a snug fit when Himesh was charmed into signing her on from what he saw in Kabhi Aar… “He thought I was the singer of the song as in the West the practice is that the dancer and the singer is usually the same person,” she admits.

Back to the disc dare, one really didn’t mind whether the music issued from her pretty lips or from the DJ console. Going by the gapes and the gawks, Calcutta sure liked what it saw and heard.

Model Cheena sports an outfit from Ogaan. Picture by Rashbehari Das

Right chord

Contemporary Bengali band Bhoomi with roots in folk music celebrated its fifth anniversary with a rollicking concert at Nazrul Manch this weekend. The gig opened to singer Rupankar’s renditions of popular numbers like Priyatama and the title song of Shudhu Tomari Jonyo.

Bhoomi took centrestage amid much cheering and went on to regale the packed auditorium with evergreen numbers like Tomar Dekha Nai Re, Bhole Baba and Kam Sarshe, as well as lesser-heard songs like Chol Mini and Conductor Babu from the latest album Lokogeeti Local.

The two-hour performance also saw Bhoomi perform some Utpala Sen specials. In fact, the concert was meant as a tribute to the octogenarian who has over six decades of musical career to her credit.

“She’s still got a very sharp musical sense. During one of our rehearsals, she pointed out mistakes from our own songs,” recounted the band drummer and vocalist Soumitra Ray.

Apart from Ray, the present line-up includes lead singer, lyricist and composer Surojit Chatterjee, lead guitarist Hemanto Goswami, bassist Abhijit Ghosh and percussionist Sanjoy Mukherjee.

On Saturday evening, they were backed by an unexpected choir of children from Julien Day School, Ganganagar, on songs like Dushtu Hawa in a bid to “bridge the generation gap”.

Style check

Ogaan, the boutique off Southern Avenue known for promoting young talents in fashion design, unveiled its monsoon collection on Friday. The line includes works by five designers — two from eastern India and the others from Delhi and Mumbai.

While designer duo Sudhir Nayak and Tapas Biswas romance the six-yards in bright hues and heavy machine and hand embroidery, Tarina Sen from Bhubaneswar showcases her range of salwar kurtas embellished with intricate hand-work and semi-precious stones.

Tarina’s off-white cotton trousers teamed with tops, along with Sudhir-Tapas’ funky poncho-styled tops and parallel cotton trousers comprise the western line from eastern India. While the duo’s saris are priced between Rs 7,000 and Rs 12,000, Tarina’s line of salwar suits ranges from Rs 2,800 to Rs 6,500.

“We use geometric designs on the outfits which takes the onlooker’s attention off the body weight of the wearer and plugs it on the intricate patterns instead,” said Sudhir. Tarina likes to use floral patterns on muted colours. Semi-precious stones on the necklines of kurtas add drama to the outfits.

Among the other designers, Amita Gupta’s smart cuts in multi-coloured striped fabrics are a world apart from the now-popular bright colours and heavy work.

Mayura Kumar’s crushed skirts and sling bags with gota and kalamkari work reflects a lot of attitude.

Colourful bags with zari border and minimal embroidery are available from Kavita Bhartia’s kitty, as are chappals in colourful straps and solid bases. For those with a penchant for bags, Malini’s Oriental and classy batuas and evening purses are a must-see.

Bhoomi performs at Nazrul Mancha on Saturday. Picture by Rashbehari Das

Canvas call

There is nothing new about art auctions with a cause. However, an auction of a collection of paintings by art lovers and not artists themselves, is a novelty indeed.

The art auction with a difference was a result of the Bajorias and Beris, dressed in a swirl of chiffon and dazzling diamonds, taking up the brush at a three-day workshop held at ITC Sonar Bangla in June.

The auction, at the same five-star address on Saturday evening, saw the amateur canvases go under the hammer.

The official figures of the proceeds at the end of an hour-long auction pointed to the Rs 4 lakh mark, most of which will be donated to People for Animals, a city NGO.

The event, organised by Mukta Shilpa — an artist platform in the state — also had paintings by Jogen Chowdhury, Prakash Karmakar and Wasim Kapoor, among others.

“We have not auctioned these paintings but they will be available for sale from the exhibition itself,” said Ashit Paul, vice-president of the organising body.

The most interesting buy of the evening was made by Ashok Mukherjee, who put up a lone bid for a large canvas with autographs of all the big names in the field of art.

Others in splurge mode were Ambika Beri and Smita Bajoria, who bought five canvases of Jogen Chowdhury and Prakash Karmakar among themselves.

The chief guest for the evening, actor Chiranjeet, proved to be the star draw, even as he narrated stories of his much talked about three-dimensional brushstrokes and his wish to paint some canvases which he may be “proud” to show off someday.

Bedroom lines

After the Ladies’ Pub Night last Wednesday where the members had their fill of fun and games, Saturday Club decided to tread the serious path with an adda.

The Saturday evening talkathon took off at Phoenix, with a large number of members in attendance making themselves comfortable on the spotless white divans.

The verbal thrust-and-parry starred Sougata Roy, Subrata Sen, Arindam Sil, Shilajit, Suvaprasanna, Rita Bhimani, Khokon Mukherjee, Partho Ghosh and club president Shyamal Mitra.

Thanks to Hothat Neerar Jonyo (the cast of which is making news beyond the film itself — if in doubt, look up right), much of the conversation through the evening hovered around the ifs, buts and shoulds of making a “sexually explicit” film.

Director Subrata Sen did his best to tackle the bouncers, beamers and yorkers (what else would you call Rita’s complaint: “Why weren’t there any steamy scenes in the film, Subrata?”).

The talk then meandered from the steamy big screen to the small, with extra-marital relationships being the point of debate.

The surprise of the evening: Sougata Roy rattling off Jibanananda Das’ Bonolata Sen from memory, before raising one for Gen-Ex. “We are still happier just sitting in front of Bonolata Sen, we can’t think of going beyond that!”