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My sister is very keen on pursuing fashion as a careen option. I watched Madhur Bhandarkar’s film Fashion and was wondering if the fashion world really is as depicted?-Paramjeet Kaur I wouldn’t say that it’s a badly-made film but the grey areas have been hyper dramatised.

Are we willing to believe that grey areas exist only in the fashion industry? If we were to talk of the hotel industry, the airline industry or the software industry, similar grey areas exist there too, but the difference lies in the fact that the fashion industry is very glamour-based so everything that happens here is exaggerated and talked about. This is a flamboyant industry and hence attracts a lot of negative attention as opposed to examples of silent industries that I have mentioned above.

To be honest, designers spend most of their time churning out from their creative energies at their work shops - choosing fabrics and colours for the season and developing new forms of surface embellishments. As far as working with models is concerned, the clothes are more important to us as opposed to the model wearing them.

Models just add flesh to a garment enhancing the beauty of the ensemble. Like I have said earlier, this industry is just like any other non-glamourous one, with its share of grey areas but at the end of the day, no one can be forced into anything.

It’s entirely the person’s point of view and prerogative that comes into play. It’s the decision one makes for ones self.

We cannot assume that the fashion industry is made up of a certain “species” of people alone. These species, if I may term them, exist everywhere without any bias.

There are always alternate paths to achieving success and we cannot base our judgments on the assumption that the industry, by and large, is a sleaze pit.

D ay 2 of IFW was all about taking inspiration from nature and going back in time. Designer duo Meera and Muzaffar Ali focussed on fashion sensibilities of the Raj - a period where the interaction between Indian and English cultures was optimum.

There was an emphasis on chikan and mukaish work while keeping the silhouette international. Thread embroidery in metallic shades gave the necessary oomph to their garments which were based on a palette of black, white, nude and earthy tones.

Nature was the inspiration for both Sonam Dubal and Small Shop by Jason and Anshu, but the interpretations were different. While Dubal presented a line that said ‘relax and savour every minute and connect with nature’, Small Shop spread the message of ‘technology that’s in tandem with nature.

‘ Dubal went back in time with kimonos, kaftans and flowing gowns, slippers, obi belts and potli bags. At Big Daddy Tarun Tahiliani’s show, the focus was entirely on the interpretation of conventionality.

There was a definite bend towards Grecian forms with flowy silhouettes, asymmetrical hemlines, frills and voluminous forms. Appliqu and #233; and delicate chikankari accented the ensembles.

The collection represented the best of an Indo-Western design sensibility.

Veteran film maker Mani Ratnam, who is shooting his latest multilingual film ‘Ravana’ in the forests of Malayatoor near here, was asked to stop filming after he violated an agreement with the Kerala Forest Department, an official said.

The forest is a two-hour drive from Kochi and is a prime spot for eco-tourism.

Speaking to IANS, Krishnadev Prasad Sahu of the Malayatoor Forest Division said that the director was asked to stop shooting Friday evening because it was found that he had constructed temporary huts in prohibited areas in the forest.

‘We had given him sanction to shoot for 20 days in a two month period and yesterday (Friday) it was the fifth day. Our Principal Chief Conservator of Forest T.M. Manoharan was present at the area of the shooting and he found out that there was a violation by the film crew and hence, he immediately ordered the shooting to be stopped,’ Sahu said.

‘As per the rules, they are not supposed to erect any structures in such areas but it was found out that they had constructed three huts. They explained that it was done to keep their equipment if it rains. Since the agreement was violated, the permission granted was cancelled,’ Sahu added.

The film stars Abhisek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai and they were supposed to arrive next week.

‘Now that this violation has happened, it is very unlikely that sanction would be given again,’ Sahu said.

According to Sahu, Mani Ratnam was not present when the forest officials arrived because he had completed the shooting for the day.

A star studded premiere of the film ‘Hello’ slated for an October 10 release, was held in Mumbai on Thursday. Though the story of the film is not a secret, it has generated curiosity among the movie buffs.

Actor Amrita Arora was visibly excited about the film reporting advance-booking figures. Actor Sharman Joshi said that they have an advantage in that film had already an audience in those who loved the novel.

Hollywood actor Bill Murray says that he would like to add a ‘feminine aspect’ in the third instalment of ‘Ghostbusters’.

Murray, who acted in the 1984 hit flick and in its sequel is reportedly keen on reprising his role in the third instalment, and has branded the possibility of a third part “a great idea”.

“I think it’d be funny to have a girl Ghostbuster. We don’t have a girl Ghostbuster,” The Daily Express quoted Murray, as telling MTV.com.

He added: “I mean, they say like, ‘What if you passed it to Chris Rock?’ And I go, ‘Well, I dunno. Is Chris Rock gonna save us?’ You know, I guess.

“He’s funny. I just think there’s some funny girls I’d love to see be Ghostbusters.”

After eight years on air, Ekta Kapoor’s marathon soap ‘Kahaani Ghar Ghar Kii’ is finally bidding adieu to TV viewers Thursday.

Dussehra also falls on the same day and imbibing the true spirit of the festival, the episode will highlight the triumph of good over evil.

Though the actors of the show are ready to move on and content with the long run and success of the show, they say they will miss the revelry and family like atmosphere on the sets the most.

Actress Lily Patel, who essayed the role of Dadi - the eldest in the Agarwal household, is emotional about the soap drawing end.

‘I’ll really miss this show a lot. I have lived this role for eight years and most of the people don’t even know my real name. They all call me Dadi wherever I go,’ Patel told IANS over phone from Mumbai.

‘I will miss the way we used to have lunch together and chat all the time. The best part about shooting with the cast and crew was that even after eight long years, we never had a complex with each other. There was no fight and no misunderstanding. We shared a healthy relation and respected each other,’ she added.

The show relays the ’story of every (Indian) household’ and sagas of a housewife Parvati Agarwal, essayed by Sakshi Tanwar, who immediately shot to fame with the role.

Parvati soon became a household name. Women have laughed, cried, and even sympathised with her character for the past eight years.

Marathi actor Kiran Karmakar enacted the role of Parvati’s husband Om, one of the pivotal characters of the show.

About the show ending, Karmakar said: ‘I think it’s a right decision to end the show if Ekta Kapoor has decided so. I’m not upset, but it’s just that the team will not meet at the sets. Maybe we meet outside or bump into each other at a party, so I’ll miss all that.’

Karmakar says he was closest to Ali Asgar, who plays his youngest brother on the show.

Ali looks back at his journey of playing the dimwit Kamal, to being a responsible businessman and a practical person in life on the show.

‘Rarely in our field will you find a group of co-stars, who would gel as well as our team did. But we honestly had no problem with each other. I gave my family in ‘Kahaani…’ more time than I did to my real life family. It became a habit,’ he said.

Ali said he would miss it most when the team would not meet the way it used to since the last eight years.

‘Now there will be no pack up for the show after we could tell each other - ’see you after seven-eight days’ or anything like that and I will deeply miss all this,’ he said.

Pack Italy’s latest cigars in your pocket, and people might say you smell good enough to eat.

Toscanello Aroma Fondente, a half-sized conical cigar, has the colour, taste and smell of dark chocolate. It is the latest product from Manifatture Sigaro Toscano, makers of the quintessential Italian cigars that gunslinger Clint Eastwood smoked in Sergio Leone’s Westerns.

“It smells fantastic,” said Andrea Braschi, owner of the Wengè buffet bar not far from San Siro stadium.

“It leaves a sweetness in your mouth,” he said between experimental puffs. “It doesn’t leave any bitterness.”

The dark chocolate cigar has already added some sweetness to its maker’s bottom line, capturing two percent of Italy’s cigar market since its introduction in January.

The company expects that figure to double next year.

“We’re very satisfied, because these are new consumers,” said Pierfrancesco Saccotelli, Italy sales and marketing manager for Manifatture Sigaro Toscano. “It wasn’t a question of cannibalizing from our other products.”

The company controls 85 percent of Italy’s cigar market and 40 percent of the combined cigar-cigarillo market.

The dark-chocolate-flavoured Toscanello, which is 78 mm (3 inches) long and 14.5 mm (roughly a half inch) wide at its base, appeals to what Saccotelli called “dual smokers,” adults between the ages of 25 and 35 who alternate between cigars and cigarettes.

Despite their smaller size, Toscanellos are considered cigars in Italy. Italians have smoked them since 1948, when budget-conscious post-war consumers decided half a smoke was better than none.

Today, a pack of five chocolate-flavoured Toscanellos cost about 4 euros ($5.44).

Manifatture Sigaro Toscano introduced anise-flavoured Toscanellos in 2001 but struck pay dirt in 2003 when it hit on the formula of merging two classic Italian flavours.

The first combination, which melded husky Italian tobacco with coffee; grabbed 12 percent of Italy’s cigar market within four years. The company introduced grappa in 2005 and now dark chocolate.

Natural dark chocolate flavouring is sprayed on the cigar filler. Besides providing a taste that stays constant from first puff to last, the chocolate also masks the pungent smell of the dark fire-cured Italian Kentucky tobacco.

For now, dark-chocolate-flavoured Toscanellos are only available in Italy. The coffee-flavoured variety sells in France, Greece, the Netherlands, Austria and Germany. The latter two countries also have anise and grappa Toscanellos.

Saccotelli said the company is looking at export possibilities, including the United States, India, Russia and China, possibly by 2010.

The lifestyle of celebrities like Kate Moss, Sienna Miller, Rhys Ifans and others living in London’s Primrose Hill may be used as a subject matter for a movie.

The area has attracted the attention of a group of Hollywood filmmakers, who were involved in the making of comedies like Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Knocked Up and Superbad.

The team is said to be hanging around with the area’s infamous showbiz crowd to draw inspiration for their movie.

“Primrose Hill is one of the focal points of London’s showbiz scene and these guys from Hollywood are now interested in making a movie about the place,” the Sun quoted a source as saying.

“They worked with Russell Brand on Forgetting Sarah Marshall so have heard all about his weird and wonderful experiences in Primrose Hill.

“The area is full of celebs but also lots of unemployed musicians and they like the idea that everyone looks and acts like they are famous, even if they are not.

“This movie could be the new Notting Hill, only darker than that film,” the source added.

Following the footsteps of fellow Pakistani director Shoaib Mansoor, Mehreen Jabbar too raises some complex issues in her directorial debut ‘Ramchand Pakistani’, releasing Thursday. Nandita Das, the only Indian actor in the movie, says it will have widespread appeal.

While Mansoor’s ‘Khuda Kay Liye’, which was the first Pakistani film to be released in India, showed the trauma of liberal Muslims in Pakistan, ‘Ramchand Pakistani’ talks about the trauma of people living in India-Pakistan border areas.

‘This movie can’t be counted as a conventional Pakistani film just because it has been made in Pakistan. This is a distinctive film with a broad appeal. It reflects the tragedy of hundreds of innocent people of both the countries who languish in jail,’ Nandita told IANS.

Apart from Nandita, ‘Ramchand Pakistani’ stars Pakistani actors Rashid Farooqui, Noman Ijaz, Maria Wasti, Farooq Pario, Navaid Jabbar and Syed Fazal Hussain.

The film will be released in India by Percept Picture Company (PPC) who also released Mansoor’s ‘Khuda Kay Liye’.

The film shows how an accidental crossing of the India-Pakistan border at a time of war-like tension dramatically changes the lives of a poor Pakistani Hindu ‘untouchable’ peasant family.

The narrative unfolds on two parallel tracks on either side of the border until they eventually intersect.

The film is inspired from a real-life story.

‘The film is based on actual events. My father (Javed Jabbar) works a lot in the areas close to the desert. One day he came across a father-son duo who narrated their story to him. That is where we got the inspiration to make this film. I am sure it will reach out to audiences,’ said director Mehreen Jabbar.

Made at a nominal budget of $650,000 (40 million Pakistani rupees or 30 million Indian rupees), it will release in India with around 40 prints vis-a-vis its release in Pakistan Aug 1 with a handful of just 15 prints.

The movie’s collections suffered in Pakistan due to the Akshay Kumar starrer ‘Singh is Kinng’ that released the following week in the country.

Before its commercial release, ‘Ramchand Pakistani’ travelled to different film festivals like Tribeca Film Festival and Seattle International Film Festival. It bagged kudos for acting, script and direction.

It has also been chosen to be screened at the Rhode August 2008 Island International Film Festival and South Asian International Film Festival (SAIFF) in New York this year.

In India, the film was showcased at the 10th Osian’s-Cinefan Film Festival of Asian and Arab Cinema where it won and shared the International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI) award with Palestinian film ‘Salt Of The Sea’.

‘Ramchand Paksitani’ will be released the same day as two big commercial Indian films - Sanjay Gadhvi’s action thriller ‘Kidnap’ and Abhishek Bachchan-starrer action fantasy ‘Drona’.