out & about

out & about

Josh for the Josh Machine
‘AAO Josh Mein’, croons (sorry, cries) Shankar Mahadevan as the beats of Ford’s anthem for Ikon’s first anniversary on Indian roads reverberate through your entire being.

So, now Ford owners can drive away with music to match the car. And believe us, these high decibals will more than match the horsepower. The anthem piggybacks on chartbusters like Shanker’s own Breathless, Kamal Khan’s Oh Jaane Jaana, Kaho Naa Pyar Hai by Udit Narayan and Alka Yagnik. According to John Fink of Ford India: “Ford Ikon customers have some things in common tremendous energy drive and enthusiasm. In short, they are full of Josh.” Seems more like the consumers of some anabolic steroid. The album features the Ford Car going at speeds unimaginable on Mumbai roads, in between the main story. This anthem is a first for an automobile giant and might add some more Josh to the sales. Any takers?

More for less
FOR those wanting to go abroad to study, the gathering of correct information needed for the purpose is tough. Hence the need for Education Melas. Last week, the city was host to both British Education Fair as well as the New Zealand Education Fair, settling the palpitations that the Pound-Sterling standing gives rise to. So, the students were in for a surprise when New Zealand advertised itself as the least costly destination among the English-speaking European nations. Even the British Council Division did all it could to promote its universities, with their assistant vice-chancellors at their courteous best, giving information students wouldn’t get elsewhere. Dr Terry Burtland, Assistant Vice-Chancellor of the Middlesex University, listed the advantages of studying in UK: “We offer a wide choice of subjects. There are exchange programmes with universities from other countries and quality of education is very high. Also, now there is an opportunity to work part-time to earn some money.” According to him,the most post-graduate courses in the UK work out to be lesser expensive than in the US. Now you didn’t know that, did you?

Starry nights...
On Wednesday night, Andheri’s popular The Club was teeming with guests from showbiz. The spotlight was on a good-looking twosome who were being launched in film-maker Umesh Mehra’s latest project, Yeh Mohabbat Hai. The newcomers in question were model Rahul Bhat (of Heena fame) and Akanksha Malhotra (daughter of Cinevista’s Prem Kishen), who smiled obligingly while the flashbulbs popped. The young duo even danced on stage to a tune from the film. Among the celebrity guests at the do were Sunil Dutt, Shammi Kapoor, Vijay Anand, Danny Denzongpa, Amrish Puri, Jeetendra, Rakesh Roshan, Indra Kumar and Kabir Bedi. Other youngsters for whom this film will be a turning point include actor Nasir (son of Johnny Walker) who has been signed up as second lead, and budding dialogue-writer Milap Zaveri who landed the opportunity to write for Mehra after a chance meeting with the film-maker, during which he impressed the senior director with his abundant talent. Seems like a promising film, huh?

Taking to the streets
Columbia films has come up with yet another interesting idea to promote their latest. For the internationally successful Hollow Man (which opens in Mumbai today), they dressed up a model in actor Kevin Bacon’s disguise and got him to roam the streets of Mumbai. So Hollow Man dropped in at a local eatery, bought magazines off a streetside bookstore and might even visit people’s homes. So make sure you’ve locked your doors, shut your windows and sealed all back entrances... People’s opinions on the film may be divided, but everyone’s unanimously wowed by the idea. Not to mention they don’t want to go too close to Hollow Man!

Back, and how!
It’s official now. Former superstar Rajesh Khanna has succeeded in his endeavour at capturing his audiences’ hearts on his small-screen outing. TRP ratings of his Apne Paraye show on B4U indicate that the legendary actor has managed to hook the attention of his loyal fans. His role in the serial, which he describes as the best part he has played since the one in Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s Anand, is pivotal, and is attracting much interest. Wonder if we’ll see him more often on TV now.