Model walks the ramp showcasing creation by designer group Agni Jewels during the second season of India International Jewellery Week (IIJW)in Mumbai.

 

Model walks the ramp showcasing creation by designer group Agni Jewels during the second season of India International Jewellery Week

Zoa Morani walks the ramp showcasing creation by designer group Agni Jewels

India International Jewellery Week ramp turns into wedding show!

The ramp at the ongoing India International Jewellery Week (IIJW) turned into a wedding space when models showcased bridal jewels from a collection by Manubhai Jewellers. The show started unlike a regular ramp show.

The models, instead of simply walking down the ramp and showcasing the collection, indulged in a little skit where they pretended like dressing a bride for a wedding. After that they strutted down the ramp showing off the varied designs.

“Our inspiration for this collection was an Indian bride. What we have made the collection for is a contemporary Indian bride. So the jewellery was for all the functions that lead to a wedding, starting from Haldi, then cocktail and then the wedding,” Hiren Sagar of Manubhai Jewellers said.

The larger-than-life and opulent collection presented jewellery with diamonds, polkis, rubies and uncut diamonds with traditional motifs like paisleys and flowers.

The show also witnessed a live performance by singer Shruti Pathak, who crooned songs like 'Paayaliya' from 'Dev D.' and 'Udi udi' from 'Guzaarish'.

Knock it off!

When a star manages to shed those extra kilos, it's their fitness instructors that bask in the glory





When it comes to fitness and slimming, who better to look up to for inspiration than our very own Bollywood stars? And when a star succeeds in capturing the nation's attention with their newly found waistline, there's someone else who manages to benefit from the ensuing hype. It's either the fitness trainer who motivated the actor to work hard or the dietician who made sure they counted calories with each bite. And once the star achieves their target, the trainer benefits too. After all, he/she is the face behind the actors' now envied body. Take for instance dietician Rujuta Diwekar. She played a key role in actor Kareena Kapoor flaunting a 'size-zero'. Little wonder then that she is now one of the most sought after dieticians, especially among the urban youth who feel that if she could work a miracle with Bebo, why not them? Fitness trainer Satyajit Chaurasia managed to bring out the six-pack in actor Aamir Khan for his film Ghajini. And while many were flocking to their hair stylists to get replicas of Aamir's hair-do, fitness enthusiasts were bowled over by the chocolate-faced actor's mean muscles on display. Still known as the guy responsible for the Ghajini body, maybe it's about time he came out with a crash course on how to achieve that six-pack.





If you envied actor Ajay Devgn's glistening muscles in his new film, you'll have to take tips from trainer Prashant Sawant. The trainer is also credited for superstar Shah Rukh Khan's six-pack in Om Shanti Om, a few years back. Two stars to his credit has now given him enough matter to talk about with these actors as reference points. Not many knew who trainer Payal Gidwani was till she bagged actor Kareena Kapoor and her beau actor Saif Ali Khan as clients. The duo has also spoken about Payal's contribution to their daily fitness routine and now we can safely say that her fan following has doubled since.
Ditto for yoga and Pilates instructor Yasmin Karachiwala, who designed a special regime to help actor Katrina Kaif to further tone her abs for her item number Sheila ki jawani. Kat, known for her curvaceous body, managed to further knock off some unwanted calories in order to flaunt an enviable torso. She's now been assigned to work a similar magic on actor Zareen Khan for Houseful 2.
Howe can we forget to mention instructor Vilayat Husain, whom actor Vidya Balan is going gaga over. Vilayat apparently makes sure that Vidya ends up working out at least five times a week and he's the reason she's managed to get into a shape she now so loves.
 

Bollywood's spiritual journey

Actors from tinselville say they derive great joy from spirituality rooted in the reality of their lives


You'd be surprised to know that a section of the stratosphere in Bollywood ranks a high spiritual quotient. Actor Shah Rukh Khan who claims that he finds acting "a spiritual experience" is looked upon as a 'spiritual' guru by several people he interacts with. Co-star Kajol earlier said, "For me Shah Rukh Khan is like God. He is kind and will always take care of his friends' problems. He is a person with whom it is very easy to discuss and talk. For me he is a very special human being." Director Karan Johar is equally enthusiastic about King Khan: "To me, Shah Rukh is a very spiritual person. He is really God's good son. He has the right kind of spiritual path that he tells you about if he feels close enough to you. I respect him like my father."
Actor Hrithik Roshan has apparently undergone a fundamental transformation in his inner personality due to his sister Sunaina and mom Pinky introducing him to the teachings of the Oneness University in Chennai a couple of years ago. He had said, "I have become much calmer. I'm not so concerned about making an impression anymore. I'm not better than the other guy. I'm not better than the maid who sweeps the floor in my house. And I'm not lesser than anyone. We are all the same."
Actor Shilpa Shetty is also a follower of the Oneness University, though at one time she also followed the Art of Living system of beliefs. "The place was so beautiful and calm. It's a fabulous mind and body healing course. When I met the spiritual leader at the Oneness University, I could feel his divine energy flow from him into me. I know it sounds like mumbo jumbo. You've to experience it to know how it feels," said the actor earlier.

Actor Amala Akkineni was one of the first actors in the Indian film industry to undergo a Past Life Regression course in the USA as far back as the early 1990s. After a series of visionary past-life experiences, and meeting her life partner Nagarjuna, she walked away from movie stardom and entered the hapless world of Hyderabad's sick, beaten and homeless stray animals. Today she is the secretary of the Blue Cross and actively involved with animal welfare and rights. She also practises yoga and meditates regularly.
Actor and entrepreneur Sushmita Sen, who is teaching her young daughters Renee and Alisah the customs and traditions of Bengal, including Durga worship, has something in common with Madonna, spiritually speaking. They are both followers of Kabbalah, a school of mysticism in Judaism. Sushmita has an in-depth knowledge in the subject gained through the study of its scriptures and says that it has brought many changes in her life for the better. Through Kabbalah, she apparently found ways to stay young and yet age gracefully.
Actor and Bharat Natyam dancer Hema Malini finds her greatest joy from dancing and considers it a spiritual experience. As she had earlier explained in an interview, "A power helps me perform on stage. I can see it in the appreciation I receive. The scriptures say that a dancer is closest to God as his or her entire body surrenders in prayer." She added, "Sadhus go to the Himalayas and do tapasya for years. But for us dancers, we achieve that on stage."
Hema believes that Krishna is instantly accessible, "He has followers all over. He's available to you whenever you want Him. We keep making mistakes knowingly and unknowingly. In the Bhagvad Gita, He assures, 'Think of me and I'm there'. I express my devotion through dance."

Throw a 'fit'!

Break out of the typical gym workouts; try out these cool alternate fitness routines to stay in great shape





So you're the fitness conscious type. And you love to be in shape, but you're bored out of your wits, thanks to the same old, boring workout sessions at the gym. Want to break out? Alternate fitness is the order of the day and fitness centres, dedicated to out-of-gym exercises, across the city are mushrooming like never before. Take bootcamp or belly dancing for instance. While toning one's body, they teach one some great moves too. Happiness guaranteed.
Fitness instructor Vinata Shetty agrees that monotony is the primary reason for quitting the gym. Dancing is the buzzword now. Actor and fitness freak Neha Dhupia is addicted to Zumba. "It's like partying yourself into shape. It involves fast and slow rhythms coupled with resistance training so that you tone and sculpt your body while burning fat and having fun."
Vinata explains, "Those who have been working out for a while look for something that provides both mental and physical stimuli." While yoga is internationally numero uno, Vinata points out that there are different forms of it. Some entail stretching along with strengthening and is very hard to do. Indians mostly stick to pranayams when it comes to yoga. She lists out a few alternate fitness regimes that include MMA (Mixed Martial Arts), kickboxing, bootcamp among others. Let's have a look at some hot favourites…
Boot camp: Pure adrenaline rush! Beachside obstacle and agility training is a cardio, strength and fat burning program. The workouts involve calisthenics like push-ups, jumping jacks, crunches and other body weight exercises. The challenge is to take your body to its limit.
Kickboxing: It refers to a group of martial arts and stand-up combat sports based on kicking and punching. One popular form is aerobic or cardiovascular kickboxing, which combines elements of boxing, martial arts, and aerobics to provide overall physical conditioning and toning. Go kick some butt!
Belly dancing: It is a total body workout. And contrary to the belief that it is a great abs workout because of its name, most of the basic moves in belly dance are driven by the legs, not by the abs.
Water Pilates: It combines the resistance and fluidity of movement in water with the core exercises of Pilates. It uses several exercises to strengthen the core muscles, improve flexibility, increase joints' range of motion and create lean muscles.
Yoga: It helps build strength and flexibility, reduces stress and tension and increases overall health, energy and vitality. There are both physical and mental yoga exercises.
Tai Chi: A natural way to fitness, improving health, healing and wellbeing is the aim of this ancient art, which is essentially gentle mind-body exercise. The tai chi movements are performed with slow, continuous and controlled techniques so as to protect the joints while simultaneously providing relaxation, concentration, balance and
coordination.

Actors John Abraham and Asin have been bonding these days like long lost friends. The two met on the sets of Housefull 2 and sources say that they have remained in touch ever since. "John recently organised a private screening of one of his forthcoming films for Asin. Since, Asin was part of the original, John wanted to know what does she feel about the movie," says a source who's also a part of the film's unit.
But it's not just movies that the two are bonding on; apparently the two are also sharing a lot of tips on workouts. "Asin is very keen on John's workout methods and really appreciates them. John has also shared a lot of tips with her. The two were hanging out a lot when they were shooting together. They even discussed a few movie possibilities, but we don't know the details," the unit member added.
Asin, her staff members on the sets say that she chose to hang out with the boys when they used to get time off from the shooting. "She became a part of the boy's gang. Akshay (Kumar), Mithun (Chakraborthy), John, Riteish (Deshmukh) would hang out together. She felt comfortable with the boys and used to take part in the pranks as well on the sets," her staff member adds.
However it wasn't a smooth start for Asin during the initial phases as she was in trouble because one of her staff members was not granted the visa on time. "Asin flew out without her make-up and hair person. As you know that these people are extremely important for an actorwhen they are shooting. However, everybody helped out Asin with the hair and make-up during the shoot until her staff member arrived. The make-up artist arrived 15 days later, but by that time Asin was already through more than half of the shooting," the unit member ended.

 Not married yet!

Social networking sites went viral yesterday with buzz that actor Vidya Balan had secretly tied the knot with rumoured beau, Siddharth Roy Kapoor; she denies it



Social networking sites went hyperactive with the rumour that actor Vidya Balan had tied the knot with her rumoured beau Siddharth Roy Kapoor at a secret location down South. The actor clarifies through her spokesperson that she hasn't tied the knot yet."Everybody has been trying to reach Vidya right from last morning when this silly marriage rumour broke out on the internet. Her phone hasn't stopped ringing since. She has asked me to clarify that she hasn't got married yet," says her official spokesperson. Vidya also clarified through her friend that she hasn't got married yet to her rumoured boyfriend who is the head of a production house.
"She is shooting in Hyderabad for a film. Maybe she had visited a temple along with Siddharth there and somebody spotted her and hence the rumour started on the internet. But she doesn't want to tie the knot this way. She wants to invite all her friends and have a proper marriage," says one of her friends.
The actor communicated that she would issue a statement to clarify that she hadn't tied the knot yet. "There's nothing to hide about her personal life. Though she doesn't want to talk about it but marriage is something she doesn't want to hide either. She is very particular about this because it also involves a lot of other people (family and close friends) rather along with her," her spokesperson added.

actor Vidya Balan

actor Katrina Kaif

 

actor Katrina Kaif's sizzling Sheila

I Love You HD video song - Bodyguard Ft. Salman Khan, Kareena Kapoor

The Hindi remake of Malayalam hit ‘Bodyguard’ with Salman Khan and Kareena Kapoor in lead roles is set to go on the floors soon and the film’s co-producer Atul Agnihotri has dismissed reports that it is titled ‘My Love Story‘.

‘Several people in the media are referring to the film as ‘My Love Story’ when that isn’t the title. As official producer I would like to clarify that the film is called ‘Bodyguard’. Hope this puts an end to the confusion. For now the film is rolling with its first schedule being shot in Pune,’ Agnihotri said in a statement.

Co-produced by Reliance Pictures and Agnihotri’s Reel Life Production Pvt Ltd, it will be directed by Siddique, who wielded the megaphone for both the Malayalam and the Tamil versions.

The Tamil version was called ‘Kaavalan’ and starred Vijay and Asin Thottumkal, while Dileep and Nayantara were in the original Malayalam outing.