A model at the Tantra fashion show.

Jatra and high fashion? The two — not often mentioned in the same sentence — blended seamlessly at an unexpected venue.

Tantra party animals bore witness to a “fashion epic” on Friday night. The Blenders’ Pride Magical Night saw models sashaying down the makeshift ramp — the dance floor and bar-top — in full jatra mode. Conceived and presented by fashion designer Abhishek Datta to commemorate the unveiling of his pret line, the fashion show was choreographed with melodramatic aplomb.

The ensembles, from Abhishek Datta’s pret collection, comprised streetwear for both men and women, drawing elements from tradition and folklore. In true epic style, the 24-year-old designer juxtaposed characters from the Ramayana and Mahabharata in a new avatar.

Tops, T-shirts, fishtail skirts and capris find place in Abhishek’s closet, fashioned from fabrics including linen, georgette, leather, jersey and denim. He has used asymmetrical cuts and antique embroideries, reworked to suit contemporary trends. Without going overboard with the colours and shades, Abhishek merges the muted with the bright. Whites, off-whites and beiges jostle with pinks, blues, reds. Casual and comfortable were the key elements in his designs, shown off by models like Sanjukta and Mridula from Mumbai, and city faces including Pinky, Amrita, Shree, Joy, Jessica, Neeraj, Jenny, Sreshta and Priyanka.

“I have been extremely influenced by jatra and street theatre and have made a conscious effort to incorporate those elements in my designs. Dressing up mythical and epic characters is a novel concept and I hope I can do justice to it,” smiled an excited Abhishek ahead of the show.

Film fare

Women’s rights and the best of marketing make strange bedfellows. But the weekend fare at Nandan threw them together quite happily. The main auditorium at Nandan played host to Made by Women, the national festival of films made by women, while Nandan II showcased advertising campaigns created over the years in the French language. Both were inaugurated on Friday evening by filmmakers — the first by Aparna Sen (her 36 Chowringhee Lane was screened on Saturday), and the second by Goutam Ghose.

Made by Women, organised by the Mumbai-based Point of View and city-based NGO Swayam, featured five films from different countries. It opened with footage from the work of the “first woman filmmaker” Alice Guy, and Sweetie, by Jane Campion (the Australian director of The Piano fame), and four other internationally-acclaimed films.

Aparna Sen’s directorial debut was screened on Saturday, followed by the Czech film Daisies by Vera Chytilova. Sunday featured La Cienaga - The Swamp by Lucrecia Martel (Argentina) and The Apple by Iranian director Samira Makhmalbaf. Calcutta is just one stop in a seven-city tour for this first effort, supported by Star Movies.

Ad films over a century old, to the spots that make the biggest splash today were in focus at The Night of the Adeaters. A collection of over 230 publicity films, just a few from the Jean-Marie Boursicot collection of over 500,000 ad reels, were screened in a three-hour collection to mark World Francophone Day. Sexy, smart, comic, poignant and even the indifferent were part of the selection, capturing the many moods of marketing. The oldest was the Lumiere Brothers spot for Sunlight detergent, considered the first ad film ever. A few others dated back 50 years, while the majority was from the past three decades, roughly when the compilation was started.

The films screened this weekend were sourced from France, Belgium, Canada, the West Indies, Lebanon and a number of African nations. They were all in French, though only around 20 per cent of Boursicot’s anthology is in his native language. The campaigns were for all kind of products — from milk to candy, washing machines to cars.

Revamp ramp

Who said eating out was just about the food? If you haven’t heard yet, hear it now: It’s the experience.

And so, one formerly favoured “fine dining destination” is reinventing itself to boost its flagging popularity. The twin restaurants, The Golden Harvest and China Valley on Sarat Bose Road, are taking the complete lifestyle plunge, opening up to fashion shows, celebrity bashes, magic shows, private parties and seminars.

This weekend, they set the ball rolling with a three-day Bacardi Blast fest. The line-up included a fashion show featuring denim, Indianwear and Indo-westerns by designer Abhishek Dutta (he has been all over town of late), with strong emphasis on floral prints and solid colours. Choreographed by Rampedge, the show saw an amateurish bunch of models strut their stuff, surrounded by décor, marked by a misplaced abundance of balloons and streamers.

at screen TV was the high-point, keeping the audience entertained during the interminable gaps between sequences. The recently-launched Breezer flavour, Wild Berry, was the only thing flowing fast.

Though the debut party evidenced inexperience, the food and beverage deals planned at the restaurant could be worth a try. Khasta Matar Kebab, Methi Matar Malai and Sabzi Satranga from the Indian speciality restaurant The Golden Harvest; and Pan Fried Fish, Vegetables in Zeefaa sauce (turmeric based), and Latmeimkai Chicken (chicken pieces tossed with tomato sauce and chilli) from their Chinese restaurant China Valley, are highly recommended by the resident chef.

e happy hours will keep tipplers smiling between 3 pm and 8 pm on weekdays and 3 pm and 7 pm on weekends and holidays, meal deals will make the “experience” more affordable for diners.

Bash flash

See and be seen at Teacher’s Highnights, an interactive evening with Harsha Bhogle and Boman Irani. The bash, reserved for the smart set, is set to rock the Taj Bengal on Wednesday. Cricket’s most recognised non-cricketing face and the actor are set to “salute the spirit of achievement”.