Fashion Fail: B-town ladies who messed it up!

There are those who are fashion forward. And then there are fashion fools. While the former know how to keep it chic and chick, the latter choose to pile it on and well, commit some of the most classic fashion faux pas known to mankind. Within the film industry they come in two groups: the stylish and the garish. The stylish, we mimic; the garish drive you ballistic. Here are some ladies who failed to get the: 'Please take a second look before you leave your house' memo and landed up looking, well, looking like this.

Kajol

She gave the fashion disaster world hope, she really did. But Kajol has proved that once a fashion victim, always a fashion victim. She's never really been one of the more stylish actresses around. In fact, she was branded as an actress with zero style quotient and we had made our peace with it. 'At least she can act,' we told ourselves. And then 2012 she came out ready to rock the fashion world. Then this happens. At the recent GQ Men's Award, Kajol turned up, husband by her side in a silver Prabal Gurung dress looking well, odd. The dress fit awkwardly around her body making her look wider while the length of her gown exposed her legs and ghastly shoes. We'd much rather see her in classic ethic wear which she manages to carry off with finesse.

Bipasha Basu

For an actress who has such a hot bod, Bipasha Basu sure got it wrong with a Shrivan-Narresh sari. First and foremost, the color palette didn't work for the dusky beauty and all that skin show, which was supposed to make her look like a Kama Sutra model, we believe, made her look vulgar instead. While the bikini blouse normally looks flattering on svelte actresses like herself, it just didn't work for Bips. The thin straps made her shoulders look broader and sari itself looked like a bed sheet. Add to that a dated hairstyle and someone please call fashion police!

Rani Mukerji

So I guess for Rani, it was convenience meets fashion, i.e. night wear meets sleep wear. Ms. Mukerji turned up to best bud Karan Johar's birthday bash in a silver unfitted gown which could have easily doubled as a night gown. Not only did she look incredibly bulky, but there was nothing relatively good about her look. Even the deep back couldn't help sex up her outfit. And that awful up do make her look a lot older. Sadly her career and fashion sense are in need of help, pronto!

Shenaz Treasuryvala

If you're not a well known actress and you are limited on the work you do, shouldn't you really be more cautious about your sense of style at least? You'd think Shenaz Treasuryvala would be a bit smarter with her choice of clothing in hopes to bag a film or two. But instead, she gives us a drabby take on a cut out top and an unnecessarily striped skirt. And what is up with those awful wedges? No, no, no, Shenaz! We know you like to keep it sexy, but this is trashy.

Ekta Kapoor

She may be the queen of soaps but she sure doesn't have the fashion sense of one. Where do we even begin with Ekta Kapoor? Whether it's her wretched choice of shoes - those chunky platforms slippers, which follow her everywhere, or her choice of clothes which no one really gets, it's just fashion mayhem for the savviest Kapoor in town. Normally, most of the rather awkwardly fashioned ladies in Bollywood seem to get it right with their ethnic wear. Not Ekta. She fails in that department too. It's rather sad though, she does have a pretty face.

It's fine if you want to do be different to make a fashion statement, but ladies, the only reason you should be dressing this way is if you're starring in a Ram Gopal Varma horror film. Which none of you are…are you?

~

First published Bollywood Hungama, October 20, 2012 

One Liners!

With so much going on, it looks like we need another one liners edition! Woo hoo - my favorite kind!

Sonu Sood has apparently gifted Salman Khan an expensive Vertu phone as a present. I want!

Katrina Kaif is postponing her annual vacation courtesy of Tees Maar Khan and Imran Khan's wedding. How sweet of her!

Apparently R. Balki (Paa fame) walked out Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey calling it "boring". Yikes!

Kajol was seen for the first time since she gave birth to her baby boy and looked mighty awesome.

Uh oh! Karisma Kapoor headed for a divorce? Hope not but the tabloids are screaming of her husband cheating on her with a popular Delhite divorcee.

Lots more tomorrow!!

Hush-Hush Bollywood Weddings!

In the past a number of actresses have gone ahead and tied the knot ever so quietly. Mahima Chaudhary came back from the U.S. one day married; Twinkle and Akshay Kumar married overnight and announced their marriage at an award function; Ajay Devgn and Kajol tricked the media and switched their annouced venue overnight so they could avoid the paparazzi. But it hasn't stopped there. More recently, actresses have gone ahead to chupke-chupke get married albeit any media or creating any fan frenzy.

Konkona Sen Sharma and Ranvir Shorey did just that before abruptly announcing their wedding online. It was attended by only a few close friends from the industry.

Kim Sharma was in the news for all the wrong reasons. Her hook up with Yuvraj Singh, her breakup, the drama, the dodging, her spat with Shamita Shetty in a nightclub and so on. Finally, we hear from her and she's married! Goodness.

Lara Dutta is the latest to join the bandwagon with her hush-hush engagement to Mahesh Bhupathi. Hopefully, her wedding will be a lavish one filled with designer wear and attended by celebs. You know we love it... and want it!

DDLJ: 800 Weeks Old!

Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge is everyones favorite Yash Raj Film and love story. I think I was all of 13 when the film released. And I remember loving it! We all went about looking for our Rajs' hoping we'd find him on a train somewhere in the world. Negative ladies; ain't happening. Okay so back the film. It has completed 800 weeks! And naturally a huge bash is on its way to being organized by the Chopras. There will be a party which will be attended by all of Btown and of course, some great food!


There will be a huge party at the cinema hall it has been playing at for years (since October 1995 to be precise), Maratha Mandir."DDLJ keeps getting better; it is like old wine. The magic of this evergreen romance keeps pulling audiences to Maratha Mandir," claimed an insider.

If you haven't seen the film in years, you must! There ain't no love story like Raj and Simrans!

Kajol Mad at Ajay

Kajol is fuming mad at her husband Ajay Devgn. And she has every reason to be! The National Award winning actor has yet to watch a number of his wifes films including My Name is Khan. Devgn has been incredibly busy lately and thus, hasn't had the time to watch any of Kajol's films.

In his defense, the actor claimed, "I promised her I’d catch it. And I will. Just as soon as I’m done with all my release work for Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai. But I’m proud of one thing. I’ve caught the promos of We Are Family and I think she’s looking great in it as always. In fact, I plan to catch that and MNIK too."

The Devgns need a vacay and some family movie nights with masala popcorn!!

We Are Karan's Family

Yes, Karan Johar is back again with his next venture. This time he has Siddharth Malhotra in tow who is making his directorial debut with the Stepmom remake titled "We Are Family". In case you haven't heard of it yet (where have you been?) it stars Kajol, Kareena Kapoor and Arjun Rampal. Do I need to tell you who plays what part? Pause for reaction. Not really. The film is set to release after the summer and if you need reason to watch it, take a look at the poster and first song that just released!

YouTube Video Resizer

Two Khans, A Johar and an Octopus!

Lots of fun things going on in Tinseltown today. In fact, so many things that I decided to include a few sentences on all the top stories today! Something a bit more brief yet entertaining I promise. Chale? Chalo!

So, Imran Khan is apparently the new gay icon in India. Post IHLS and his open shirt hoopla, the gay community has taken an instant liking to IK. Gay Bombay apparently contacted Dharma Productions and requested a special screening. Dharma was estactic and agreed. In fact, Imran attended the screening and interacted with his gay, literally and figuratively speaking, fans.

Salman Khan has chosen Deepika Padukone over girlfriend Katrina Kaif for the Hindi remake of the South film Bodyguard. No real reason has been given except that Sallu and director Atul Agnihotri, were looking for a fresh face to go with Salman. Interesting baat, Salman and Katrina haven't worked together since a debacle better known as Yuvraaj. Just saying.

I'm uberly utterly excited! Koffee With Karan will be making a comeback this September and I am overjoyed. Look, I don't love the show for the content but I do love watching Karan Johar sucking up to the stars and vice versa. I love the boring sweet questions and the diplomatic answers. I love the Manish Malhotra clothes. Yes, I'm excited! But before the season begins, Karan will be hosting a special show with Kajol and Kareena Kapoor all in time for We Are Family. That should be fun!

And lastly, my buddy, Paul the Octopus is still in the news! Apparently, a Madrid zoo wants to adopt the eight-legged creature. Oh the life of a famous Octopus is so hard!

P.S. If you haven't heard the music of Aisha, I suggest you do! While I'm not a Sonam Kapoor fan, I do love the music of her upcoming film. Why should I hold the music makers responsible for a bratty star child. A must hear!

Source: Mid-Day

My Name is Khan Review: C(Kh)an't Touch This!

I solemnly swore to be critical of My Name is Khan. I promised I would clarify why most reviewers insisted on giving the film an average of 4.0. I pledged I would find flaws in the film. But how do you criticize a film that speaks of hope, love and incredible power? How do you find minuses in a film which touches your heart and makes you feel proud to be who you are, Khan or not? How do you attempt to dissect to pieces, Karan Johar's best film till date? You simply cannot. My Name is Roshni and this is my review of My Name is Khan.

I refuse to sit and rewrite the synopsis of the film. In a sentence, the film is of Rizvan Khan (Shah Rukh Khan), an Aspergers Syndrome patient who comes to America, meets the woman of his dream Mandira (Kajol) and is struck by indirect destruction in the wake of 9/11. Honestly, I had and still continue to reiterate that Bollywood has overdone the 9/11 theme. Its really not happening anymore. And post MNIK if I am require to review any 9/11 themed film, by default it will get a single star. The plot is overplayed and seriously worn out now; there is nothing left to tell audiences, we know it all. Back to MNIK, I was weary of how the film would tie in with the tragic events of September 11. However, it is important to let viewers know that 9/11 merely forms the backdrop of the film and is the basis for what will occur.

My Name is Khan is not preachy and you take away many lessons from the film. The first is to never judge the power of love. My Name is Khan is ultimately a love story and that forms the foundation of the film. The connection that Rizwan and Mandira share is almost karmic because of their opposite natures. If she is loud, he can't stand baring noises. While she is warm and insists on hugs, he prefers not to be touched. And the major difference, she is Hindu while he, Muslim. However, that doesn't form the premise for their love. In fact at no point does the couple even discuss their religion prior to their marriage (yes, they get married). And when tragedy strikes the couple and their relationship, it is his unconditional love for her that pushes him forward to achieve something that can almost be deemed impossible: meeting the President of the United States.

You also learn that no matter who you are, Hindu or Muslim, Black or White, you are a person first; human. Zarina Wahab perfectly explains early in the film, "In this world, there is only good people who do good deeds and bad people who do bad deeds."Rightly said. It occurred to me while watching the film that we look at people and immediately look for religion amidst the color of their skin. MNIK explains this concept rather simply. We see Rizwan Khan helping people he has no relation except for the fact that in his time of need, they helped him. Did these people judge him by his color? Absolutely not. Did they ask for the favor back? Not at all. It was because he realizes that it is his innate duty as a human being to help these people, that yes, Rizwan Khan saves a small village from a hurricane. He manages to create enough of an effect to encourage a crowd of people to come help and adopt hurricane stricken areas around him.

I could go on but My Name is Khan is really an individual experience. Performancewise, it is Shah Rukh Khan all the way. I have never been ashamed to admit that I am not an SRK fan. I prefer Khan in mature roles ala Swades, Chak De and even Veer Zaara. But he does an absolutely fine job as Rizwan Khan. I'm not sure whether his depiction of an Aspergers patient is correct or not but irrespective, he is outstanding. There are times where you can see SRK peep out for a quick second before he quickly gets back into the skin of Rizwan Khan. However, whether it was his diction or his depiction, SRK wows.

Where do I begin with Kajol? She never seems to fail and shines in MNIK. At first she is the smiley divorced hair stylist single mother who later transforms into a mother who wants justice. In all her roles, she essays it with such nuance. Kajol provides the comic relief (much needed) as well as the perfect Mandira to Rizwan. You almost immediately can see why he falls in love with her. The SRK-Kajol chemistry is overspoken about but if you need proof that the fire still exists, MNIK confirms it.

The entire supporting cast is perfectly casted and every single one of them have outdone themselves irrespective of the length of their roles. Whether it was Zarina Wahab as the doting mother, Jimmy Shergill as the estranged mother, Sonia Jehaan as helpful sister-in-law, Parvin Dabbas the reformed news anchor or Arjun Mathur, the one who brings help to Rizwan when he most needs it, all of them are give performances worth mentioning. Kudos to all.

Props to scriptwriter Shibani Bathija and Niranjan Iyengar who do a fab job with the story and dialogues respectively. But really this one belongs to Karan Johar. The director has grown with every film and it can easily be stated that while he definitely went out on a limb with a topic totally away from his usual genre, he manages to still keep his unique style in tact. K Jo outdoes himself as a storyteller and as a director. MNIK is all heart and soul; there is no two way about it. You will cry, laugh, hum to the songs and walk out inspired.

Exaggerated? Yes. Over the top? Yes. Long? Yes. But MNIK speaks of hope and the elimination of discrimination in the world. It ain't no repeat watch but a single time watch.

As I part, a quick word to the popular Shiv Sena: Get Over It. What did you ever think? That you could take the Bollywood gene out of us with your threats to stone us? I don't think so. In fact, I'll buy you guys tickets. But for heaven's sake, spare us.