STOP
WHAT’S AGE GOT TO DO WITH IT?
PRESS
Tina Turner, 69 and unstoppable, has revealed that performing with Beyonce Knowles at the recent Grammy Awards in LA gave her the impetus to go on another world tour. Turner, an eight-time Grammy Award winner and Rock & Roll Hall of Famer, has made a comeback after an eight-year retirement and is currently on her European Tour 2009 after a tour of America. “Sixty is nothing for women these days. In today’s world, you can be the woman you want to be,” says Turner who walks “about 10 miles up and down stairs” at her home when not working. —HTC
JACKO ON STAGE: Broadway impresario James L Nederlander has inked a deal with Michael Jackson to turn the pop star’s classic horror spoof Thriller into a stage musical. According to a press statement, the Nederlander Organisation will produce a musical based on the song’s groundbreaking video, in which the former King of Pop turns into a werewolf while on a date. The production will feature songs from Jackson’s albums Thriller and Off the Wall. —Agencies
Most popular American stars on Indian shores P10 New Delhi, Wednesday January 28, 2009, 10 Pages
www.hindustantimes.com
Shocked! Oh God, I’m not safe anywhere. I see moral policing as civil war — our own people are attacking us, we’re not safe in our own home. Amanpreet Wahi, model It’s ironic how in a country that prides itself on having a woman President, there are women who can’t feel safe. Abhilekh Srivastava, student The Indian woman deserves the heights she has achieved today. She can stand at par with man, and still not commit odious acts like the men of this society. Tarun Mansukhani, film director
GOOD INDIAN GIRLS CAN’T DRINK, CAN’T SMOKE, CAN’T DANCE AND CAN’T DATE
I’ll be damned if I stop my girlfriend from drinking. Everyone has the right to do what they want to within the law. Akash More, engineering student
Free to do as they please: (L-R) Priyanka Chopra, Manisha Koirala and Bipasha Basu in film stills and publicity photos
I don’t have the words to express how I feel. It’s disgraceful. It shows that we are not really as progressive as we claim to be. Sohrab Sitaram, restaurateur
YES, WE CAN Team HT City
breeding hooliganism. We are degenerating,” says Bipasha. “What culture? The same culture that permits men to beat and maim women to forward their selfish political goals?” asks Pooja. “I spit on a culture that allows this, then looks away or remains mute.”
I
t’s terrorism, say women, on the fundamentalist attack on female revellers at a Mangalore pub. “The act was akin to what the Taliban or a hardline group from Pakistan would do,” says actressfilmmaker Pooja Bhatt. “Is this what we have become as a nation?” That’s a question everyone is asking, whether or not they have the cushion of fame. Actress Bipasha Basu calls the attack “atrocious” and describes the attackers as “monsters and a menace to society”, while Asma, a Delhi-based journalist, demands to know, “Who made them God, or the keepers of our morality? Where does it say that women should not drink? In religious texts? Why go on about Afghanistan and the Taliban — this seems to be the Taliban in India.” Pallavi Thakur, 24, sees the attack as an assault on fundamental rights. “Women have no independence to speak of in this country,” she feels.
Culture? Cut the crap What’s still more infuriating is that more often than not, attacks on women come disguised as ‘correc-
Whose life is it, anyway?
tive action’ in the name of religion, tradition and culture. After lipstickwearing women were called terrorists by BJP vice-president Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, Prasad Attavar of Sri Ram Sene, the group behind the Mangalore raid, said that it was a “spontaneous reaction against women who flouted traditional Indian norms of decency”. Women refuse to tolerate such drivel, especially as these ‘spontaneous attacks’ come with political backing. “In the name of our religion and our culture, politicians are
Fashion gets its big daddy Garima Sharma
P
ulling together the fractious world of fashion, hit hard by the recession, the big daddy of the industry, the Fashion Design Promotion Council (FDPC), comes into effect from tomorrow and its first task is to help Indian designers “gain over global competitiveness”, says Vijay Singh, secretary and CEO of FDPC. Explaining it all to HT City in an exclusive chat, he says that applications for affiliation have come from both the Fashion Design Council of India and the Fashion Foundation of India. The new body has a clear strategy — first priority: creating a platform for “design excellence” so that Indian design can rule the world; second priority: giving young designers more room to showcase their work.
Young is the word One-fourth of the total resources of FDPC will be used for young designers’ promotion, and 5 per cent of its total membership will be reserved for NIFT graduates, says Shankersinh Vaghela, minister of textiles, whose brainchild the new body is. Helping young talent has been the motivation for setting up the council, he adds. Going by the composition of the council, it has given equal weight to business and creativity. Future Group (Pantaloons, Big Bazaar) head Kishore Biyani is president of the governing council, and designer Raghavendra Rathore is the vice-president. Vijay Singh himself is a Mumbai-based businessman. Sumeet Nair of FFI says of the new body, “It is a fantastic thing. By setting up this council, the government is recognising the fashion industry. Now, it will be easier for us to do collaborative projects.” Designer Jatinn Kochhar, an FDPC member, adds to that, “For the first time, everyone involved with fashion will share a common platform. It means equal opportunity and equal respect.” garima.sharma@hindustantimes.com
“It’s appalling,” says author Advaita Kala, “that someone could invade someone’s right to choose. No one has the right to tell anyone how to live their life as long as they do it legally.” Actress and activist Nafisa Ali echoes that: “No one has the right to dictate anyone.” Anger is boiling over in the blogosphere as well. “If groups like this think they can do anything in the name of religion, then they must be shown the way out by banning their party as well as their so-called ideologies,” says Youngpragmatists. “Why aren’t they being BANNED? And what a way to remind us that our Constitution guarantees us Liberty, Equality and even JUSTICE!” yells Homemaker. “These local terrorists have to be dealt with as severely as the foreign ones,” states Astralwicks.
A new confidence: Actress Katrina Kaif at a recent fashion show in Mumbai
I was really shocked. It’s deplorable. Unbelievable that it can happen in India today in a metropolis [like Mangalore]. AD Singh, restaurateur Shameless moral policing plagues our country. I hope this doesn’t fade out of public memory. Priya, DU graduate The pub raid in Mangalore
JAI HO GALLIANO! On the day India celebrated its 60th Republic Day, the Haute Couture Week for SpringSummer 2009 kicked off in Paris. And at the end of his show, the maverick John Galliano (right), fashion director for Dior, took his bow to the triumphant tune of Rahman — “Jai ho!” Like Rohit Bal, who defied recession with his extraordinary collection in Delhi last autumn, Galliano gave short shrift to the black mood so recently seen in Milan with an arty collection that bore the spirit of Flemish painters — corsets with voluminous, crinoline skirts in chrome yellow, blues and ivory, accessorised with gorgeous, plumed hats. It was the end of his show that made India happy. “I felt so proud when Galliano took the bow to Jai ho [from Slumdog Millionaire] that I must have applauded the loudest,” said Kalyani Chawla from Paris after attending the Dior show. —Jaydeep Ghosh