One of the great hazards of living in the "Information Age" is the notion that one has to be informed. Up-to-date with the latest. Who is who, who said what and when and what's happening where. As a budding "Shobha De Wannabe" I was trying my best to seem in-the-know when Nikhil Khanna popped the question: "So what do you make of Sushma?""Sushma who?" I involuntarily blurted out. "Sushma Swaraj of course. You know, she's become the new Information & Broadcasting Minister!" Instantly my mind flashed the picture of the lady who looks so like the woman in Walt Disney's Snow White..., the one who sweetly intones `Won't you have an apple, dear?'. Well, the last time Ms Self Rule warmed the chair she again occupies, she made several sweeping rulings that sent shivers down the spine of the arts community. "Family values over the notion of individual expression, and Amar Chitra Katha aesthetics for all," I thought I heard her shriek! But while we applaud her for her consummate expertise in deliveringfalsehoods with a straight face, I implore watchdog bodies to monitor her future diktats. Utterances that may adversely affect all of us who live and fight for freedom of thought and the right to diverse opinions.
Non-events
IT was a fortnight of non-events. The self-congratulatory Abby Awards, the carcinogenic Benson & Hedges launch, and no-rags, all-riches Manhunt proved that while there is abundant money to stage events, sponsors haven't learnt how to match content to product profiles.
She went on a manhunt, ballyhooed by some of the gauchest out-to-lunch society women of her generation. Maureen Wadia (no relation) invited 400 `foo foo's' to another round of corporate sleaze. Okay, maybe I'm being harsh. After all this is the era of The Full Monty. But excuse me, I always thought the art of event management was to enhance the image of the corporate sponsor. So what did Bombay Dyeing achieve by becoming a sponsor of the Gladrags Manhunt '98? While Round One and Two ostensiblyshowed off some fine fabrics, the audience wasn't interested. In fact, the audience hated the apparel as it withheld the sole purpose of the evening manflesh. Here is one corporate client that desperately needs a new PR agency. The new find of the evening was not Balbeer Meena, ("rigged" as an insidious insider alleged!) but Kelly Dorji, the choreographer of the show. Simple and unassuming, Kelly designed the event from his heart and the contestants looked far more relaxed and confident than some of them did in the other male extravaganza, The Graviera Mr India contest.
More to come?
The Bhojwanis of Bombay are at it again. Hubby Suresh is gung-ho about his revamping of Jazz By The Bay while wifey Devika is singing a different tune as Yashodhara in Lilette Dubey's epic attempt "Maha-bore-ata" (Jaya in the Listings page). But that's not all. Devika has teamed up with her New Delhi counterpart Bina Ramani and none other than the original American gigolo, Richard Gere, to hold another Malabar Hillevent, this time for raising awareness for that dreaded disease; "AIDS"!!
Now I shall like to inform my readers that there is a growing awareness the world over that HIV / AIDS may not be a disease at all (ie not spread by a virus) but an immunity disorder that can be controlled, not by pharma drugs like toxic AZT-based cocktails, but old fashioned "eat those veggies" healthy living. (For those who are webbed see the site http: //www.geniusideas.com/aidsgate/ for the full story).
Anyway, the importance of this event is that at Rs 2,500 per plate (April 05, courtesy Oberoi Hotels) patrons are invited to a fabulous fashion sale where specially-designed outfits by le durzees indiene Rohit Bal, Arjun Khanna, Bhairavi Jaikishan, Abu-Sandeep, etc, will be sold for charitable purposes. To entice you further to spend for a noble cause, several celebs have volunteered to sashay the catwalk including newly-weds Sanjay and Rhea Dutt, broke-but-not-out Protima Bedi, beti Pooja, the dignified Phiroza Godrej and"my-body-is-my-temple" Rama Bans. Part of the money raised from the Mumbai event will go to an excellent new HIV counselling centre called CASA which is run by the erudite and compassionate social worker Chitra Subramanium, who should be contacted by anyone interested in pre-test counselling, ie go to her before your doctor insists you take a blood test! (CASA's telephone number is 4445647).
And for those of you more interested in Gerble Gere spotting, a cheeky rooster told me that he will be standing at the corner of Kamathipura distributing condoms this weekend. What better imagery for a star who made visiting prostitutes a romantic notion of the early '90s. "Pretty Woman... walking down the street..."
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
