Food for TRPs
Food is close to Indian hearts and many have tried to cash in on this. Earlier, food related shows were restricted to cookery shows where a chef or a housewife shared recipes. But now, the trend has undergone a facelift. In recent months, there has been a profusion of food shows on TV and these shows are not just about cooking, but about travelling to exotic places, sampling different cuisines, discovering interesting food facts and, at the end of the day, having fun.
Shows like Highway on My Plate, Chakh Le India!, Around the World in 85 Plates, Cooking isn’t Rocket Science, Italian Khana, Zaika India and Indian Food Made Easy have audiences glued to their television sets.
“Earlier, food shows were in a juvenile stage, people thought food shows should teach us how to cook, but now the mindset is opening up, and food represents passion, creativity, tastes of different parts of the world and liberation,” says Rocky of Highway on My Plate. This show is about two men who share their fun-filled experiences of scouting for food on the highway.
Mayur agrees with him, “The whole idea of a food show has moved on. People now have more money to play with, so they want to experiment and enjoy. It’s not a simple meal at home that appeals to them, they want to eat out and travel. They live and enjoy through us, and that makes our show popular.”
Ritu Dalmia, whose Italian Khana has taken audiences on trips to exotic locations abroad says, “An average young urban Indian likes to travel. And if he cannot travel, he aspires to travel, he is curious about international food, and will definitely give it a try. So that is the reason why the show has done so well.”
It is really surprising that these shows are popular among a wide range of people starting from nine-year olds to octogenarians. Aditya Bal, who travels to far flung places and checks out the eateries there in his Chakh Le India!, says, “My show is like a food guide. We cover varied menus and subjects, talk about the history of the place, the local culture and craft. It’s an informative, travel oriented reality show.”
Barring a few shows, many do not have celebrity chefs or guests. This, according to Mayur, is a healthy trend. “Our show is all about normal people telling you about places to find good food, you too can eat at the same palce and enjoy the same way. There is no pretension and perceived barrier between us and our viewers.” Shivani Sharma Khanna, channel head NDTV Good Times, says, “Fresh faces give a fresh feel to the show. We wanted indistinct people to highlight the idea.”
Food shows have received overwhelming response so far and are the future of Indian television. Aditya says, “Food is a never-ending aspect of life. People will continue to be interested in the little secrets and pleasures of food. There is bound to be a profusion of such shows.”
Shivani feels that the shows are doing so well that may be in a year or two, niche channels on food may come up.
Shilpa sizzles in Bigg Boss season 2
The much awaited Bigg Boss series was finally aired on Sunday night on Colors. Shilpa Shetty, who was the obvious choice for hosting this show after her Big Brother victory, looked smashing. Her perfect hour-glass figure with not an inch of flab proved that the Shetty lass could give the younger actresses like Deepika and Kareena a huge complex.
Shetty was in great spirits as she introduced the format and took the audience through the Bigg Boss house.
The choice of participants, however, came as a huge surprise. Wonder what made Rahul Mahajan and Sanjay Nirupam agree to participating in the show. Even if they have been paid big bucks, one can’t really imagine these guys willing to share a room and bathroom with the other inmates for the duration of the show. Of course, many of the other participants are basically down and out actors and performers who could do with the moolah and publicity.
From a Rakhi Vijayan, who has bloated beyond recognition, to Monica Bedi – perhaps she likes the idea of being under ‘house arrest’ to ara ra ra.. Ketaki Dave, to a sad looking Raja Chowdhury (for those wondering who he is – he’s TV actress Shwetha Tiwari’s estranged husband), this show promises to provide non-stop drama every single night.
Speaking of drama, those expecting fireworks from Akshay Kumar and Salman Khan when the former appeared on Dus Ka Dum were in for a disappointment. Contrary to all the speculation, the stars bonded like long-lost buddies, the only time one saw a flicker of annoyance on Salman’s visage was when Akshay wickedly asked him when he was planning to get married. Katrina, who was also part of the show played the coy, dumb doll to the hilt and even sulked when she lost the game to Akshay. Sallu, unfortunately for him looks utterly besotted by Kats while the latter simply preened and smiled and remained non-committal. Only a miracle would make her marry Salman.
The actor was once again roped in for a quick on the couch session with Koel Purie on Headlines Today. He looked rather funny with his surma laden eyes and heavy eye shadow on the sets of Veer where Koel had met him. Towards the end of the show, it seemed like a rapid-fire session was in progress. One hilarious answer though in response to who he disliked was unwittingly funny. Sallu replied that he didn’t dislike anyone that much for if he did, that person wouldn’t be alive. How typically brattish! But what else can you expect from this overgrown kid?
Real life has more drama then reality shows
By A.L. Chougule
Q How was the experience of anchoring Waar Pariwaar?
On the whole, it was fun and exciting as well as tiring and pulsating. As a judge on Jhalak, I was the third party marking performances. But here I was running the show. As an anchor, my job was to keep things together and act as a link between the contesting families and jury.
Q Did you follow any written script or was most of your anchoring extempore?
I didn’t have a proper script. This is why the pressure was more. Since I had to speak only in Hindi, it was a taxing job for me.
Q It means anchoring is more difficult than judging?
Definitely. As a judge, your involvement in the show is quite limited.
Q Do you think the best two families have made it to the finale? Who do you think deserves to win?
There can’t be one opinion on that. Different people will speak differently. When public voting is involved, some of the best contestants are eliminated early in the competition. That’s what happened in Jhalak and it happened here too. Whoever gets higher votes will win.
Q Don’t you think even judges have their own favourites? So why blame viewers alone?
I don’t know about others, but I was quite fair and straight as judge in Jhalak. Even the contestants said so. Personal likes and dislikes shouldn’t impact judging.
Q There were a lot of verbal duels between judges and families as well as between the families. Was it real or scripted?
I have been part of two reality shows, and I can say for sure that all the drama, arguments and tears that were seen in Waar Pariwaar and Jhalak were real and not scripted. The camera cannot lie, and if anything is scripted, people can see it easily. You can’t deceive the camera. There is far more intense drama in real life than in reality shows.
Q Do you think reality shows have a lot of drama?
Absolutely. Life has become so competitive that the competitive spirit is at its peak. People have become very pushy and they try hard to succeed. The contestants in Waar Pariwaar were families. So there were bound to be differences in each family too, besides difference of opinion with the judges.
Q Are you looking at doing another reality show in coming months?
Right now I need a break from television. I didn’t expect to do another show after Jhalak. But this show came my way and I agreed to host it because I liked the concept. It was exciting but the schedule was very demanding.
Q Aren’t you going to judge Jhalak’s third season?
I have not been approached so far. I will take a call when the offer comes my way.
Q Which are your forthcoming films?
I shot for two films while I did Waar Pariwaar. EMI is a light-hearted film with Sanjay Dutt and Sunil Shetty and is almost ready for release. The other film is Karz which needs some couple of days more to wind up shooting.
Lack of innovation fails reality shows
Since 2008, reality television has not been doing well. Reality shows of different genres, be it singing, dancing, quizzing or stand-up comedy, have evoked poor response from viewers. While fiction is still delivering average ratings, reality TV is struggling.
Why is reality TV not putting up a good show? “The last nine months have been the toughest period for general entertainment channels because of the entry of new GE channels besides higher growth in regional channels which are giving tough competition to GE channels. It is why no show has got double digit ratings during this period,” says Anita Basu of Synergy Adlabs which produces both Paanchvi Paas and 10 Ka Dum. According to Anita, today neither quizzing nor song and dance shows are working. “People are craving for change and everyone is in search of a new ideas that will create high level of interest a la KBC,” she adds.
Consensus among media experts is that reality TV is unsuccessful because of lack of imagination.
“Till about a year ago, there were only a couple of reality shows. But now weekends are packed with reality shows of the same genres on all channels. There is no innovation and variety which is the essence of reality TV,” says Sony’s executive vice president and marketing head Danish Khan.
“As a result the time spent on reality TV is coming down considerably because viewers switch from one channel to another to sample other shows,” Khan adds
Shailja Kejriwal who heads the creative and programming division of NDTV Imagine thinks poor content is responsible for the downslide. “Take the case of The Great Indian Laughter Challenge. There was no star in it but only unknown stand up comedians. But the content was so good that the show turned out to be a huge hit. Then came it clones and ratings went down. Shah Rukh and Salman can’t be blamed if their shows are not doing well. It is the content that has failed their shows,” she reasons. Why is fiction getting better ratings than reality TV? “People watch fiction because they follow the story and characters. Reality TV doesn’t have a story,” explains Danish.
So reality TV will continue and ratings will not improve as long as there is no innovation.
A. L. C
Shah Rukh in a double role?
Rumours are rife that Shah Rukh Khan is playing a double role in Yash Raj Films’ Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi. For quite sometime now, there have speculations about how SRK will be doing a double role in the film and now sources have revealed that the star will be seen in definitely more than one avataar in the movie. However, we are not yet sure if this means SRK will be seen donning different roles in a story spanning over a period of time or if he is actually playing a double role after Duplicate and Om Shanti Om.
While no one is willing to talk about his roles as yet, people on his sets confirmed that Shah Rukh has been working hard on this romantic ballad and spending a lot of time in the make up room as well.ῠ Well, we are not complaining. After all, two Shah Rukhs for the price of one is always welcome both for the producer and the audience.
Saif keen to host TV show
Here is one more Bollywood actor who wants to be seen on the small screen. Saif Ali Khan wants to do television shows but says that he hasn’t got any good offers as yet. There have been rumors that he had been approached to anchor Kaun Banega Crorepati when SRK wasn’t keen on hosting the fourth part of the show.
But Saif brushed off the rumours saying that he has not got any interesting TV offer till now. But would he find it exciting to interact with fans through a talk show or a game show? “Yes, it would be interesting to be involved with a reality show sometime in the future. Maybe I would like to host a talk show; a game show also might not be a bad idea.”
According to Saif, actors should experiment with different mediums and roles. “But I will have to see if I’ll be able to perform well on the small screen and if the medium suits me. But I have an inkling that I might just enjoy hosting a show,” says Saif.
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A unique, gripping tale of friendship
Four lifelong friends share one very special summer. Introduced as babies who were born to mothers who met in a prenatal aerobics class, the four grew up together and developed an enduring bond despite their distinctly different emerging personalities. Now, after years of sharing every little thing, these four young women couldn’t be closer -except that they’re about to be separated as their lives take them in different directions for the first time.
Introspective and occasionally volatile Carmen is looking forward to spending quality time with her out-of-state dad, who she hasn’t seen much of since he divorced her mother years ago; super-confident star athlete Bridget is heading for a soccer camp in Mexico; soft-spoken Lena, a gifted artist as beautiful as her drawings, is set to discover her heritage – and an unexpected romance – on a trip to her grandparents’ home in Greece; and sharp-witted rebel Tibby will reluctantly remain in town, stocking shelves at the local discount store while working on a video “documentary” to expose what she sees as the banality of everyday life.
On a shopping trip together the day before their paths diverge, the friends find a pair of thrift-shop jeans that amazingly fits and flatters each one of them perfectly, even though they are all different shapes and sizes. These pants are meant for sharing, and that gives the girls a wonderful idea. They decide to use the pants as a way of keeping in touch, each one wearing them for a week to see what luck they bring before mailing them to the next girl. In this unique way, the four still experience the challenges and surprises of life together in an unforgettable summer. Don’t miss this touching film.
Sisterhood of the traveling pants Director: Ken Kwapis Cast: Amber Tamblyn, Jenna Boyd, Blake Lively, Alexis Bledel
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Sanober flees from show
Threat of getting eliminated is developing into a major fear for many participants of Ek Se Badhkar Ek. Rajshree Thakur, who had displayed a bad temper and a couldn’t-care-less attitude, quit the show two weeks ago when she realised that her elimination was certain.
This week, things were different, Sanober Kabir didn’t turn up for the shoot at all. Apparently, she was miffed with the jury’s harsh comments, especially Abhijeet’s, since he had told Sanober that her ego would become the cause of her elimination. According to sources she backed out due to fear of elimination.
Zee’s programming head Ajay Bhalwankar says the past three weeks have been quite unpredictable, “Rajshree had minor health issues since the beginning of the show. But we never thought she would back out. And Sanober not turning up for the shoot was a big surprise because when Abhijeet had issues about judging Mussarrat, who is from Pakistan, she was the first one to stand against the judge.”
Monsoon blues hit actors
During Mumbai’s rainy season, hygiene is a major concern on the sets of most serials. Mosquitoes are a major health issue.ῠ Take the case of Tulika Upadhyay who plays Leeza in Saath Saath. She collapsed on the sets and the doctor diagnosed it as a case of low haemoglobin level. On not responding to treatment, Tulika was admitted to aῠ hospital where she was diagnosed with malaria. Even the food that is served on the sets is said to be a cause of health problem for actors and production people. This is why most actors carry lunch boxes from home. As Reshmi Ghosh says, “The quality of food served on the sets is not at all good.”
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Telly rivalry moves to films
Prachi Desai and Roshni Chopra played sisters in Kasamh Se. Prachi as Bani was more popular than Roshni who played Pia. Not only were they rivals in the show but the duo were not on best of terms in real life either.
While Roshni took a break from Kasamh Se and has not returned to the daily, post-Jhalak Prachi quit the show for her big screen debut in Rock On opposite Farhan Akhtar. Now Roshni too has followed in her reel life sister’s footsteps. Roshni however, had played one of the leads in Let’s Enjoy, a serious-comic off-beat film that revolved around a party where different people meet to have some good time before she started doing television serials.
But Vikram Bhatt’s Phir is a big film for Roshni and it is almost on par with Prachi’s Rock on. It seems the rivalry that started on the small screen will now spill over on to the big screen too. While Prachi scored over Roshni on television, it remains to be seen who will score better on the big screen.
Namrata turns to television
She started off with fashion shows and modeling and has been doing Oriya and Bengali films. But Namrata Thapa finds television more interesting. She has done shows like Kya Hadsa Kya Haqeeqat, Vaidehi, CID, Ravan and Naagin and is currently playing the central character of Rani Madanlekha, wife of King Vikramaditya, in Mahima Shani Dev Ki.
“The King is under the spell of Shanidev and Rani Madanlekha stands by him in difficult times. The range of my role is interesting as I get to play a queen as well as a pauper,” says Namrata, who is looking forward to playing a mentally challenged girl in an upcoming daily soap.
She is also game for regular family dramas provided she gets to play the lead role. As for Hindi films, she is hoping that something interesting comes her way. “Otherwise I am happy doing television because it offers a variety of roles,” she adds.
Onscreen chemistry may not be real
They are good on screen but off-screen, we see them engaged in vociferous battles. Couples who share wonderful chemistry on reality shows do not depict a similar picture when it comes to reality. Recently we heard about a spat between the winners of Comedy Circus 2. It was heard that Vijay Ishwarlal Pawar popularly known as VIP and Juhi Parmar, who were the champions of Comedy Circus 2 were quite uncomfortable working with each other.
Kaate ki Takkar, which is the contest following Comedy Circus 2 will not have Vijay and Juhi working together as a couple.ῠ Vijay was apparently angered by Juhi’s habit of being unpunctual and making frequent changes to the script.
Smriti plans Gandhi series
UTV Television which gave India its first Hindi daily soap Shanti has joined hands with Smriti Irani Production for a series on Mahatma Gandhi. The series will be based on the life of Gandhi and his incessant search for Truth. The project is meant for a global audience as discussions with the US and UK broadcasters are underway. This series is Smriti’s idea. “Though Gandhi’s sacrifices have been chronicled on screen before, we would also like to highlight the sacrifices made by his family,” says Smriti.
Salman Khan gets TV offers from Abroad
Salman Khan has been receiving many offers for new projects. The latest is for a TV show along the lines of Donald Trump’s Apprentice, which is currently being aired on a Dubai channel called Hydra Executive. While the details of Salman’s role -whether he would act as host or a celebrity guest on the show – are unclear, we know that he visited UAE and had some serious negotiations with the team there. “Yes, I did meet the guys there. But nothing has been finalised yet. I am still exploring some aspects of the same,” says Salman. Currently, Salman is doing well on his show Dus Ka Dum, for which he is drawing a hefty remuneration. Apart from regular participants, the show has also had some celebrity guests.
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Mouli’s back with Aathwan Vachan
Mouli Ganguly is back on the tube after a year-long break with Aathwan Vachan. “I badly needed a break from TV because I had stopped enjoying work. It had become monotonous,” says Mouli who is best remembered for her role in Kahin Kissi Roz.
About her new show she says, “Aathwan Vachan is a story of bonding two sisters and I find it quite interesting.”
However, she reveals, “My character is a cameo. I am not going to be there after about two months.”
She accepted the role because it sounded interesting. “I know the character’s graph and it’s definitely a special appearance. The rest depends on ratings and the call that channel will take,” she avers. Does it mean that she will be back in the show some time later? “I really don’t know. Nothing is certain about dailies where story changes, characters are bumped off and new ones are brought in. In television actors are like puppets,” she avers.
(Snippets by A.L.Chougule)
‘I like to shop abroad’
If you thought that film stars were the only ones who were a lot too specific about what they wanted in life, here’s news. Not that Anita Hasnandani throws tantrums. But the petite girl who has done a few odd roles in movies before realising that TV is where she belongs, says that she would rather shop abroad rather than in Mumbai. Though she frequents Atria Mall a tad too often and the Linking Road at suburban Bandra at times, Anita would still prefer branded stores abroad. “It is about the perfect fit,” says the actress.
“I like the variety of clothes available abroad, they also fit perfectly,” says the actress also known for her proximity to Ekta Kapoor. This pretty lady loves the clothes designed by Manish Malhotra and Reza, who creates all the ensembles that she wears on TV.
Shabana’s presence intimidates participants
Kritika Singhal is a popular participant on Ekta Kapoor’s Bollywood Ka Ticket. Singhal, who has become a household name, thanks to Kasautii Zindagi Kay, has now made it to the seventh round of the TV show. However, the comments of the judges on show makes her nervous. “When people like Shabana Azmi and Amrita Singh are about to comment on my performance, I feel jittery. Shabanaji is such a fine actress that one does not know how she is going to react to any performance, as it will definitely be nowhere close to what she has performed,” says Singhal. Shabana though puts on her best behaviour on the show and hardly tries to intimidate anyone. However, her sheer presence makes participants like Kritika uncomfortable.
Young talent hit the right notes
Everybody was there. From Megadeth, Slipknot, Cannibal Corpse to well-known names like The Doors, Bob Marley, Nirvana, but on T-shirts as emblems. A 360 degree panoramic spin gave us more names to add on to our list, and made us realise why Hamsadhwani theatre at Pragati Maidan was packed with black T-shirts on Sunday.
The occasion was Independence Rock’s North zone final. For the second time in the capital, Independence Rock (a 23-year-old venture), with an aim to promote budding talent in rock music, adjudged four bands to compete for the best rock act from the North zone (the final will be in Mumbai with the winners from all the four zones). The atmosphere was electrifying, provided your expectations were high. As the stands in the gallery slowly got occupied with rock lovers, the recorded music from the huge speakers set the right mood for an “action-packed” rock concert.
However, many didn’t like the public interaction before the concert (especially, the host’s choice of words). Finally, Farhad Wadia, the founder of Independence Rock (you can’t miss him standing behind the mixing console), announced the first band of the evening – Rampage. They did a neat job. Though the twin solo on the first track sounded a bit off the tune, they made everybody come alive with their “disciplined” 80s hard rock sound.
One characteristic of the band that might appeal to critics was that at a time when new-age sound is creating a buzz, these four guys from the North East offered the almost “forgotten” 80s hard rock sound (resembling bands like Rainbow and Dio).
Another Vertigo Rush was the next band on the stage. With their trademark numbers (Vibe, Conclave), AVR offered some “Tool-like” progressive sound to the audience (later Akhilesh, the guitarist of the band, confirmed Tool as one of their inspirations). Except the vocals (Viraj’s vocals sounded ordinary), AVR did “everything” right (as they had Nihkil Rufuzz from Superfuzz on bass and Akhilesh utilised the wah-wah to the fullest and his slide guitar solos did impress a few guitar aspirants). Later in the evening, AVR was chosen as the winner of the competition. After AVR, a new sound filled the ears of those who were present that evening at Hamsadhwani. It was Frequency. Armed with new-age metal sound, who did whatever they could.
From covering (or should we say improvising) Michael Jackson’s Beat it (to which they gave a electro new-age avatar) to AC/DC’s Highway To Hell, this five-membered band wasted no time to get into their act of presentation. Ruben, the drummer, showed some professionalism and wore his monitors on his ears.
The vocalist did his best to throw some power with his growls, but often sounded stressed while doing it. By the time Tear Cube came on to the stage, the crowd looked frustrated trying to find their “sound”.
They kicked off with Coal Chamber’s Loco. We overheard someone saying, “They could not even maintain the original tempo of the song.”
However, after half an hour of performance (which included covers by bands like Killswith Engaged), Tear Cube gave way to Superfuzz, the headlining act for the evening.
Considering Superfuzz’s disqualification from I-Rock last year, they looked happy to perform as headliners this year. Chanchal and his power-trio sprinkled their usual grungy-punk flavour and came as a relief for those who were waiting to hear some mature sound.
On Song
Film: Bachna Ae Haseeno
Khuda Jaane
Sajde mein yun hi jhukta hoon Tum pe hi aa ke rukta hoon Kya yeh sab ko hota hai
Hum ko kya lena hai sab se Tum se hi sab batein ab se Ban gaye ho tum meri dua
Khuda Jaane ke mein fida hun Khuda Jaane mein mit gaya Khuda jaane yeh kyun huwa hai Ke ban gaye ho tum mere khuda
Tu kahe to tere hi kadam ke main nishanon pe Chalun rukun ishaare pe Tu kahe tho khwabon ka bana ke Main bahana sa Mila karu sirhaane pe
Ohhh Tum se dil ki baatein seekhi Tum se hi yeh raahe seekhi Tum pe marr ke mein tho Jjee gaya
Dil kahe ki sambhal zara khushi ko Na nazar laga Ke darr hai mein tho ro dunga
Mom’s mutton chops are the best
I have traveled across the world and love to try out cuisines of countries that I visit. Though many try to look for Indian restaurants abroad, I don’t. Instead, I enjoy the local cuisine. However, I do miss homemade food. So, as soon as I come back from a trip, I ask my mom to prepare jeera rice, Kashmiri chicken and mutton curry. Her mutton chops also act as a comfort food for me in times of hunger or stress.
Being a foodie, I also experiment with strange combos such as eating namkeen with sweet yogurt. I also prepare namkeen sandwich by applying layers of aam ka aachar (instead of cheese or butter) on bread and then topping the bread with namkeen. It tastes quite unique and good.
Though I am not as good a cook as my mom, I can prepare various dishes – from biryani to baked delicacies and even pastas, baked corn and spinach – I have progressed quite a lot as a cook.
While dining out, I frequent Grand Kakatiya’s Peshawari, Zaffron Exotica for Indian, Ohri’s for Chinese, Lagoona for their thin crust pizza, and Krishna for their unique prawn biryani. For chicken 65 and roomali roti, which both my husband and I are extremely fond of, we go to Bawarchi. Narmada, a small take-away joint near Cafe bar, prepares excellent brain fry and chicken pakodas.
Besides biryani, Hyderabad can indeed boast of chicken 65, rasam, fried fish, Nizami kebabs, little fried idlis and gobi manchurian.
Apart from Hyderabad, Mumbai is also ‘the’ place for foodies. Mumbai ka ragda samosas and pattis, vada pao and custard ice cream are simply unbeatable. The sea food in Kerala and Goa are also great.
But when it comes to sweet dishes, I miss the gulab jamun and jablebis of Delhi. I have my favourite shops from where I buy these sweets, chaat and golgappas whenever I visit the capital. Also, Chennai’s Grand sweets deserve a special mention for halwa, Mysore pak and bisibele bhath.
Abroad, I ate the best pizzas in Brazil. There’s a restaurant in Rio de Janeiro called Kilos. Strangely, it charges according to the weight of the food you are consuming. They indeed weigh your plate!
In USA, I ate the yummiest chilli fries, without knowing that they contained beef.
In Malaysia I had the best exotic Chinese dinner.
I enjoyed the dry fruit desserts and sawarma of Middle East. The coffee shops in Paris are really interesting. I am fond of cheese cakes and in USA, I ate the tastiest dulce delache at their Cheese Cake Factory. However, I found the pastries at star hotels here are better than those of USA.
Twice or thrice a week, I dine out. However, dance serves as an intense workout and prevents me from putting on weight. Whatever I order, I make sure to eat in moderate quantities. So, I would advise foodies to follow my path as well.
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Bift canteen puffs a hit
Hangout@canteen and campus of Badruka Institute of Foreign Trade, Kacheguda.
Who all frequent: Arunark, Muzammil, Praveen, Aparna, Alekhya, Priyanka, Vishnu and friends. Cost: Rs 5-Rs 30.
What’s hot: Samosa, pav bhaji, vada pao, fried rice, pulao, chips, tea, coffee, cool drinks and fruit juice.
What’s the catch: “The veg and non-veg puffs and pav bhaji are favourites. The food is very tasty. Usually, we take the food and sit on the steps nearby or on the grounds. The greenery around is soothing. Our canteen and campus is an ideal place to chill out after class,” says Praveen Kumar N., a second year student of Bift.
Monsoon Delights
The rain clouds may be painting the town grey but don’t let it dampen your mood. Splash on some colour and step out in style.
Slip into Nike’s new Air Rejuven8 range of sneakers. Not only do they look trendy but are also designed to help rejuvenate, repair, rebuild, refresh and restore the foot. They are waterproof and colourful. They are a must for the monsoons. These are available at all Nike showrooms in the city. If Sneakers are not your style then try out the colourful and convenient floaters available at Inc.5. Prices start at Rs1490.
Spruce up your wardrobe with a pretty military textured pleated trendy dress by W that embodies the free spirit of monsoon. This is available at W store in Banjara Hills.
Sling on a bag from the new range of Baggit bags, which are waterproof and available in bright colours. These are available at Lifestyle.
Jazz up dreary monsoon days with colourful raincoats from Westside. Their new rain gear will take the fashion quotient up by several notches while keeping your clothes protected from the downpour. The prices start from Rs 699 onwards.
This is also the time to get under a romantic and uber cool umbrella. Take your pick from the myriad colours and shapes. They are available at Lifestyle, Central and City centre. Prices range from Rs 150 to Rs 600.
For added protection from the rains, pick a trench coat from the label Adventure available at all leading stores and shopping malls. Prices start from Rs 3,500 onwards.
Keep your house spick and span with reversible doormats specially made for the rainy season. These mats are quick-drying, dust-resistant and are made of durable, washable, colorfast polypropylene material. These mats are available at Wellhome stores in the city.
Starry night
The 11th Annual Rajiv Gandhi Awards-2008ῠ witnessed the presence of many w ell-known personalities like Kripa Shankar Singh, Digvijay Singh, Maharashtra chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh, Geeta Basra, and the sensational Baichung Bhutia.
Anchors Tisca Chopra and Sajid Khan added spice to the event. The best part was Salman Khan, who performed on some popular songs from his films. Among other performers were Rakhi Sawant, Kamya and Rajiv, Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy and Navin Prabhakar.
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