Several years ago,in the September of 2004 to be precise,when movie-based channel Zoom was launched,reigning queen Sushmita Sen was roped in to lure the starstruck audiences in her inimitable seductive voice Isko dekho. Circa 2011: in a sharp contrast to Zooms high-profile launch in 2004,UTVs team is touring cities across the country to announce the launch of UTV Stars calling it the official channel of Bollywood. UTV has signed up Minissha Lamba to be the little big brand ambassador for their new channel. And shes doing it well. Not only is Lamba turning out to be the perfect little starry package,she is also gifted with wit and humour,and has her way with people and words. Okay,so there was a certain airport faux pas,but you have to give it to Lamba for standing out in the crowd of Cannes,burning quite a few to Ash-es. Cannes for me is all about celebrating films. Unfortunately,it all boils down to clothes - the Armanis,Elie Saabs and Salvatore Ferragamos got me thinking as to who will wear an Indian brand, says Lamba,who was game for an Indian outfit but says she was advised against it. She still stuck to an Indian label,and made heads turn in a Gauri-Nainika gown with a fitted bodice and flowing skirt. Today,at Hotel MountView,the actress donned a nude,flowing Ashima-Leena gown,with a patch of embroidery working its way up. As for the channel,its one of the first to come out of a movie production house. Cutting out the clutter and gossipy sessions,the makers are playing with a whole new programming outlook. The stars and celebrities are family to us,and we are aiming at content-driven shows,reality shows and also tell people what goes in the making of a superstar. They have tough lives and we want the youth to be inspired by their work, explains Nikhil Gandhi,Business Head,UTV Stars. With no sensationalism,catfights or juicy nuggets,wont the channel be reduced to playing the stars public relations consultancy? No,not at all. We all know Salman Khans history,but do we really know the person who paints,who works out daily to get those six-pack abs? Well be only leveraging their credibility through our channel, he says. Gandhi believes that this is what youngsters look for. Through a survey,we found out that the youth had enough of gossip sessions and were now looking for cool entertainement, he adds. Later,the channel will also move into the regional film space. Back to Lamba,and its almost impossible to ignore the bee-stung lips freshly botoxed. Shes at least two sizes down,owing to her village belle look in her upcoming films Zilla Ghaziabad and Joker. She is also playing a model in Sagar Ballarys upcoming comedy film Hum Tum Aur Shabana. That brings us to the issue of her fallout with best friend Ballary. Id rather be quiet on that, she says. And is she going to show any more of her washboard abs in a bikini? No,Indian men some need rest now, she says,and signs off.
