A rose is a rose,
And would smell as sweet
by any other name

Was it Shakespeare who said that? He may just be right. But only partially. There are some names so magical that they instantly engage your attention. And some so mundane and boring that you are hard pressed to remember them. I am convinced that some names have that little something extra, so that success becomes easier for the owners of such.

If it were not so, why would so many filmstars, singers and their ilk often resort to changing the wonderful names they were christened? The name Zeenat Aman. It certainly has that something extra. No wonder they named a perfume after her. I cannot imagine a perfume with a name like Manisha Koirala! Then there is Madonna. The name definitely tweeks your interest. The rest as they say, is history. Closer home there is Sujata. She hit big time after she changed her name to the quaint `Alisha'. Bombay sounds more exciting than Vishakapatnam, more thanYorkshire.

So, what's with the name Vikram? There is Vikram Seth, Vikram Chandra and now another entrant to the world of Penguin writers, Vikram Sundarji. Walked into a bookstore and bought a couple of books, one of which was the latter Vikram's, incidentally son of the late, famed General Sundarji. Believe it or not, his protagonist is named `Dildo' Iyengar. That certainly sparked my curiosity. Enough to make me spend the dosh buying it. Amusing tale of Dildo's travels through India, replete with sex and booze. A travelogue with a difference.

The other book is a book of poetry, penned by scribe C P Surendran. CP doesn't have the most exciting name on earth. But the chap is provocative, irreverent and bright enough to be unforgettable if you've ever met him. More than once, when I have mentioned him in conversation people have been hard pressed to remember him by his given name. Instead they go `click-click' mentally and say, "Oh, you mean The Bitch." That was the name of column he wrote for anewspaper! What's in a name indeed! His poetry is hard stuff. No pretty turn of phrase or fancy language. Straight from the gut. There are some poems about (his) heartbreak from love. Now I don't normally have this reaction, but I actually found them hard to read. Did they touch a cord? I guess they did. Is that the strength of a poet's work?

I have been back a couple of weeks, after vacationing for over two months. Much has happened to Bombay in the short span. So many new things opened up so quickly. Two new restaurants, three new bowling alleys, two new, huge music stores ... A virtual boom, and that too around the monsoon!

What seems inexplicable is the fact that everyone carps that this is an economy in the doldrums. Money is tight, tight, tight. Then how do you explain it? I checked out some of the establishments. Business was booming. At least the crowds would indicate that. Unless they are just hanging out to be seen!

A funny thing happened to me...

The day before it opened, I happenedto meet the lead actor of the Indian version of the very successful play Death of a Salesman. A man I was most happy to meet and chat with. I think he is one of the funniest actors ever. Satish Kaushik. But apart from being an actor, he is also the director of a super hit Hindi film Hum Aapke Dil Mein Rehte Hain, this year. Of course, to him also goes the distinction of being the director of the super duper-est flop film of probably the century, Roop ki Rani.... He has been acting in films and serials, but has gone back to theatre after 16 years. Good for him. Our chat was utterly delightful, peppered with Satish's self-deprecating wit. I asked him about his multi-faceted career graph. Which also includes directing big-budgeted advertising films for leading brands. He told me that it all started with a course in acting from the Pune film institute. Unlike other acting students, he had all the time in the world to hone his keen interest in film. He used the library and the screeningtheatre constantly and to great advantage. As to why he had more time on his hands than others? Because they were very busy acting in directing course's student films. Rather sweetly he informed me, the directors were extremely threatened by his handsome, good looks. He was not cast in a single role during his stint at the institute! Instead he received plenty of advice to quit his ambitions. Later he assisted Shekhar Kapoor, directorialy, before he got his independent break.

By the way, his deep and secret ambition of the early days?. To dethrone Mehmood. Well, you've come a long way baby.

Anuradha Tandon is a script writer and film-maker.