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’.

Film: ‘Kidnap’; Music Director: Pritam Chakraborty: Lyricist: Mayur Puri; Singers: Sukhwinder Singh, Sunidhi Chauhan, Akriti Kakkar, Adnan Sami, Sandeep Vyas, Suzie Q, Shreya Ghoshal; Rating: **

Composer Pritam Chakraborty’s new offering ‘Kidnap’ will disappoint his fans because only the first few songs of the album manage to impress. The rest are skippable.

Although it is Pritam’s album, Sandeep and Sanjeev Vyas have created one track as guest composers.

The album starts with the fast track ‘Mit jaaye’ by Sandeep and Sanjeev. The number, written by Sandeep himself, has a rock base to it. But it is not good enough to be downloaded.

‘Hey ya’ is the next track. Sung by Suzie Q, the composer tries to make a peppy and youthful numbers, but fails.

Shreya Ghoshal sings ‘Mausam’. It is a sweet and pleasant number with a slight tinge of sensuousness. Shreya is at her best and the music director has kept the instruments light. Overall, it is a nice piece.

After listening to the previous tracks, one finds ‘Haan ji’ out of place. Rendered by Adnan Sami, the song does not seem to fit in because of the way it has been presented or composed and also because it has very little connection with the movie’s genre. Skipping this number wouldn’t harm anyone.

‘Meri ek ada’ is also incorrectly placed in the album. Sukhwinder Singh, Sunidhi Chauhan and Akriti Kakkar croon this piece, which is more like an item number.

The album may not be one of Pritam’s successes, but it could definitely be given the credit of not belting out downright boring thriller pieces.

Director Karan Johar, who walked the ramp here for his designer friend Rohit Bal at the Chivas Fashion Tour, says he prefers wearing ethnic sherwani than westerns on such occasions.

‘I can’t say I’m crazy about the idea of being a model. And please, it’s not about modelling at all. It’s about just lending my name to a friend who happens to be a dress designer. And this time it was a dear designer friend Rohit Bal who invited me to wear his couture,’ Karan told IANS.

‘If I have to walk the ramp I prefer wearing ethnic to western. I’ve walked the ramp before. In fact the last time I did so was last year for the same fashion event, and it was again for a dear friend Nandita Mahtani. So you can say it’s very hard for me to say no to friends. I guess it’s better to walk the ramp than face the camera,’ he added.

Karan, who was seen as an overweight guy in ‘Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge’, is astonished at the amount of weight he has lost over the years.

‘I can’t believe I’m today seen to be slim enough to walk the ramp. I remember a time as a very fat child when I’d fool my mother into believing it’s my friends’ birthday. I’d buy a one-pound cake, hide and eat the whole thing at one go. My turning point was when I saw my fat self on TV receiving the best director’s award for ‘Kuch Kuch Hota Hai’,’ said Karan.

As for directors rubbing shoulders with top actors and models, Karan said: ‘I’m flattered. And like I said I prefer walking the ramp. I hate acting. I never want to act.’

As far as his role as producer and director is concerned — Dharma Productions’ next big release is Abhishek Bachchan, John Abraham and Priyanka Chopra starrer ‘Dostana’. It is being directed by Tarun Mansukhani.

Apart from that Karan is gearing up to direct ‘My Name Is Khan’ with Shah Rukh Khan.

Former Bollywood superstar Hema Malini decided to take an overnight train from Pandharpur in Maharashtra to Mumbai, sending photographers here into a tizzy.

Asked about it, Hema chuckled: ‘My God, news travels faster than our trains. I should’ve guessed. Some photographers saw me on the train this morning (Friday). Yes, I did travel by train from Pandharpur. I was accompanied by my cousin Prabha. I had gone there for a function, also visited some temples. The journey back required me to fly from Pandharpur to Pune then to Mumbai. Or we could’ve come back by car.’

Hema preferred the direct night train. ‘The flight and the car options were too tedious and time-consuming. I had loads of appointments in Mumbai on Friday morning and I couldn’t afford the delay. So I told the organisers to put me and my sister on the train from Pandharpur.’

The journey would’ve been fun were it not for prying eyes. ‘The last time I travelled in a train was in March when I went from Delhi to Gwalior on Jyoti Scindia’s invitation. I really enjoyed that. The train journey from Pandharpur was all right to begin with. My cousin and I were given an air-conditioned coupe. But the problem was the other passengers. I was comfortable travelling by the middle class transportation. It’s the other people who seemed uncomfortable.’

To top her woes the organisers of the function in Pandharpur forgot to hand over her tickets to Hema before she boarded the train. ‘When my cousin and I reached Mumbai we realised we didn’t have our tickets with us. We got to know this only when the ticket collector came to our coupe. But that was all right. He immediately contacted Pandharpur, got our ticket numbers, etc. This is where the advantage of who I am came into play,’ she ends with a chuckle.

“I didn’t expect to be nervous because we’ve done all the previews, we’ve had all the critics here. … But I was terrified before we went out. I was like, `Omigod, this is it.’” — Daniel Radcliffe, on the Broadway opening of “Equus.”

“Leaders are ultimately responsible for the commitments they made to end poverty by the year 2015. We’re halfway through that mark. Those promises have not been kept in terms of the funding and what we are trying to say is that we are paying attention. We want the promises that were made in our name to be kept.” — Kristin Davis, who helped launch a new campaign to cut global poverty in half by 2015.

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“We are not a passive generation, we’re very proactive. … We want to see poverty eliminated because we believe it is possible.” — Shakira.

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“I’m bringing a message of peace, and I think that’s what the region needs.” — Paul McCartney, rejecting criticism of his concert in Tel Aviv.

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“It was the first decision I made as a father.” — Clay Aiken, on acknowledging that he’s gay in an interview in People magazine.

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“We’ve had old banners being held up, new banners being held up, people singing the old songs, partying with the new songs, bras thrown onstage with women flashing us.” — Donnie Wahlberg, on the New Kids on the Block reunion tour.

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“Seven babies were conceived out of this film and only one was a boy. There is something up there in the Kununurra water because we all went swimming in the waterfalls, so we can call it the fertility waters now.” — Nicole Kidman, saying swimming in Australian Outback waterfalls might have contributed to her unexpected pregnancy over the past year.

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“If anyone’s seen my purse. I left it under my seat.” — Tina Fey announced to reporters backstage after winning three Emmy Awards.

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“I’ve been out on the street, I know what it’s about.” — Tyler Perry, who has donated enough food to feed 1,000 families for two weeks in Atlanta.

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“For a very long time.” — Lindsay Lohan’s answer to a question about how long she’s been dating Samantha Ronson. The pair had called in to the syndicated radio program “Loveline,” and it was the first time Lohan publicly confirmed their relationship.

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“I gave her a ring. It’s not an engagement ring, but it’s to show that I’m committed and ready to take things to the next level. Not the next, next level, but the next level. I don’t feel like I have to put on a facade around her. I feel like she accepts me for who I am and all my goofy glory, and has yet to alert the authorities or call the police on me, and I love her for that.” — Travis McCoy, frontman for Gym Class Heroes, on being head over heels in love with singer Katy Perry.

Popstar Britney Spears and ex-husband Kevin Federline are reportedly considering getting back together.

According to National Enquirer, the ‘Hit Me Baby One More Time’ hitmaker and Federline are considering the move in a bid to raise their two sons together.

Within a year Britney has drastically changed and has come a long way - she has lost excess weight and won awards at the VMAs.

“Part of their therapy involves going on formal dates and Britney is so excited,” Courier Mail quoted a source, as saying.

“She’s never stopped loving Kevin or hoping they’d get back together. Kevin still loves Britney too and if all goes well after six months of counselling they’ll move back in together with the boys,” the source added.

Britney’s father and mother have been trying their best to persuade the two to raise their sons as a family.

“But Kevin’s always believed it would be best for the boys to be raised by both parents, and he and Jamie spent weeks looking for a counsellor who suited both his and Britney’s personalities and could come to their homes,” an insider said.

The 26 year old popstar is doing all that she can to have her two sons full time, as she is selling her home in Beverly Hills to move nearer to Kevin and their sons.

‘If all goes well they’ll move into Britney’s new house together,” the source revealed.

Britney and Federline’s three-year marriage ended in a divorce in July 2007, followed by a custody battle over sons Sean Preston, three, and two-year-old Jayden James.

The two worlds of art and glamour have come out in support of the fight against cancer and to spread cheer among patients in the capital.

While an NGO took many cancer patients to an upscale mall, sponsored a movie screening and had socialites interact with them, an India-Britain collaboration held a mega art show, the proceed of which will go towards the fight against the disease.

The Cancer Patients’ Aid Association (CPAA) took patients out on a tour of the Select Citywalk mall in Saket, screened Shyam Benegal’s latest comedy ‘Welcome to Sajjanpur’ and followed with a party on National Cancer Rose Day Monday.

The patients were joined by celebrities and socialites like Sushma Seth, Seema Jajodia, Amanpreet Wahi and Geetika Ganju, who listened to their problems in one-on-one interactions.

After the screening, CCPA director Kiran Hukku said the association has been trying to spread happiness in the lives of people afflicted by cancer.

‘CPAA believes in the philosophy of total management of cancer patients, and has been celebrating the special event for the past 15 years,’ Hukku said.

A study conducted by the National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (Nimhans) predicts a 26.6 percent rise in the number of people afflicted by cancer in Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai and Bhopal by the end of 2008. Delhi is likely to report the highest number of cases.

India and Britain also came together to battle the disease this week through a mega art show. Kathak exponent Shovana Narayan inaugurated an exhibition of ‘British Art in India with Friends’ at Studio Vasant in association with MKC Roko Cancer Charitable Trust and XrossPolynation Trust.

The show features works by Graham Clarke (an ambassador of Kent), Nick Tidnam, Brian Lewiss, Tikki Gullands, Mike Hutchings, Cas Holmes and James Hornton - all British artists. The Indian artists include Victor Vijay Kumar, Alka Raguvanshi, Manoj Mantra, Sangetha K. Murthy, Baljit Chadha, Indu Tripathy, P.K. Roy, Ravi Gill and Sanjib Saha.

The proceeds from the sales will be shared by the MKC ROKO Cancer Charitable Trust and the artists.

The trust launched in London tries to promote breast cancer awareness among women and provides early detection, leading to treatment wherever possible.

The trust is working with Cherie Blair, wife of former British prime Minister Tony Blair, Baroness Amos, Lord Karan Billimoria, Keith Vaz, Geoff Hoon, Sandra Howard, Sarah Kennedy and many other prominent personalities in Britain to spread awareness about the disease among ethnic minorities.

It has launched India’s first fully equipped mobile breast cancer detection unit for women living in semi-urban and rural areas and also provides free mammography and ultrasound to women in detection camps. The results are provided on the spot.

The slogan of the trust is ‘Roko Cancer - It could happen to you’. It also operates a mobile cancer detection bus that journeys through Punjab, Delhi, Andhra Pradesh and has helped hundreds of patients.

Barack Obama’s presidential campaign, which has inspired a multitude of songs by stars and amateurs alike, is now getting an official soundtrack.

“Yes We Can: Voices of a Grassroots Movement,” which takes its title from an Obama campaign slogan, features Kanye West, John Legend, Sheryl Crow, Stevie Wonder and others. It will be available for sale exclusively through Obama’s campaign starting Friday.

Proceeds from the CD ($24.99 for a digital download, $30 for a physical product) will help fund Obama’s campaign until Nov. 4, Election Day, according Hidden Beach Recordings, which created the CD.

Steve McKeever, CEO and founder of Hidden Beach, a longtime Obama supporter, said he had been talking to people within the Obama campaign about a project like “Yes We Can” for a while.

“We had conversations quite some time ago about how to harness what was happening really organically and naturally with so many artists,” he said. “The whole concept (was) how do we translate that to inspire and invigorate and also give people a keepsake that they can own while at the same time providing some important capital needed for this campaign.”

While most of the songs on the disc have been previously released — such as John Mayer’s “Waiting On the World to Change” and Stevie Wonder’s classic “Signed, Sealed, Delivered I’m Yours” — a few of the songs are new, including Legend’s “Pride in the Name of Love” and “Promised Land,” a song by Malik Yusef featuring Kanye West and Adam Levine of Maroon 5.

McKeever said he had more than 150 submissions for the CD.

The “Yes We Can” CD is only the latest musical project inspired by Obama. Earlier this year, an all-star music video featuring Legend, Scarlet Johansson, Kate Walsh, Common, and others, led by the Black Eyed Peas‘ will.i.am and titled “Yes We Can,” became a viral sensation, garnering millions of views on the Internet. Will.i.am followed that up with another celebrity-filled video, “We Are The Ones.”

There also have been songs by amateurs posted regularly on YouTube.com, while other celebrities — including Jay Jay French of Twisted Sister — have sung Obama-inspired songs. Recently, Dave Stewart debuted his own all-star video, “American Prayer,” which featured Whoopi Goldberg, Barry Manilow, Forest Whitaker and Cyndi Lauper.

While Republican presidential candidate John McCain has had songs penned for him, such as “Lead the Way” by a lawyer named Judd Kessler, he has not inspired the same groundswell of musical support.

To make sure the CD project met federal campaign standards, McKeever said it went through a rigorous vetting process. The Obama campaign purchased the rights to the CD, he said, declining to name the price. The artists on the CD “are all being compensated as fair market value for their services,” he added.

After the election, the CD is due to be released through other outlets and Hidden Beach will reap the profits.

The McCain camp said it had no plans to release a CD of its own and greeted news of Obama’s with a dig. “It’s ironic that on a day when the economy is in turmoil, Barack Obama fails to release an economic plan, but instead chooses a celebrity rock album,” said spokesman Tucker Bounds.

Obama said Friday he was holding off on detailing his plans for the nation’s credit crisis because he did not want to risk roiling the markets at such a sensitive time.

Though the CD is to benefit Obama, McKeever said the music on it is not geared specifically toward Democrats.

“I don’t think that there’s anything on it that’s a real partisan message,” he said. “The messages I think are quite universal.”