A Healthy Mantra | Pooja Batra
Jan 10, 2009 Articles, Your Look
For those who claim to be fed scantly with Bollywood films, Pooja Batra is that 5 ft 9 inch ex-Miss India who passed her crown to Aishwarya Rai in 1994. As far as her stint with Indian cinema, she is that ‘Hassena Maan Jayegi’ girl who also acted in the super hit ‘Virasat’ opposite Anil Kapoor.
Presently, the tall flamboyant, model-turned actress Pooja Batra makes Los Angeles cozy with her handsome doctor husband Sonu Ahluwalia. For some, marriage might be a slowing down, but for 20 something Pooja its all a beginning.
Batra also takes a sneak peak at other scripts, while theatre is one of her major preferences. Blessed with the combination of Indian and western beauty, Hollywood might not be too far away from her.
Born in Faizabad, UP, India, Pooja started her career with modeling, typically en vogue while in college. Batra breaks the myth that models cannot act. She said that if models could convey their emotions in a few seconds in an ad that convinced buyers, then three hours was sufficient.
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Tags: Bollywood, Health, Pooja Batra, Sonu Ahluwalia, Yoga
The Gypsy Sisters
Jan 4, 2009 Articles
Everytime 20-something Sahira – en engineer by qualification and a belly dancer by profession – takes the stage, she puts her hands together in a “namaskar”, a movement that has been incorporated in belly dancing by Reetu Jain, an auditor by profession and a belly dancer by choice. Belly dancing, one of the oldest forms of dance, having its roots in the Middle-East, is now being revived by women in the West.
On a hot summer evening in Texas, professionally qualified women get together to pick up the finer aspects of this dance form. Some do it for a career, others for lucidity and poise, while most are there for fun. Urban Gypsy, Houston’s only professional American Tribal Style dance troupe, caters to 14-year olds as well those who’ve crossed half a century. It is composed of five incredibly talented and dedicated teachers (known as the Gypsy Sisters), passionate about bringing the beauty and grace of belly dance to the USA. Sahira born to a Mexican family in America, began her career as a Middle-Eastern dancer in Houston under the direction of Shakira Masood-Ali. Her travels as a performer have allowed her to study several styles of dancing with many talented instructors including Hadia (Gypsy Rom and Flamenco), Leila Gamal (Egyptian), Amel Tafsout (North African), Helena Vlahos (Raqs Sharqi), Laurel Victoria Gray (Persian), Aida Nour (Ghawazee), and Artemis (Turkish).
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Tags: Belly Dancing, Gypsy Sisters
The Miraculous Meenakshi
Dec 30, 2008 Articles
Once the heroine of ‘Hero’ hopped from one shooting to another, today her priorities have shifted. Meenakshi Sheshadri from dancer, actress to homemaker.
With a loving husband, a successful marriage and two lovely kids, her happiness seems to be complete. But the climax for a happy life was not all a fairy tale.
Life changed for the 80s’ and 90s’ most talked about cine star Meenakshi Sheshadri when she stepped out of her comfort zone. The sensational diva of Bollywood departed her ‘comfort zone’, India in 1995 and married US based investment banker Harish Mysore.
“It was not all that easy for me to settle down in the US,’ recalls Meenakshi, “belonging from a very indo-centric background, life abroad shook me”. The journey from Mumbai’s hustle bustle shooting sets to the isolated locales of Texas was unimaginable.
While taking care of household chores in her beautiful double-storied house in Dallas the actress/dancer laughs out on those bygone days when going to India was just an easy escape from reality. “I just could not relate myself with the US environs,” says Sheshadri.
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Hollywood Juggler
Dec 27, 2008 Articles
At 85, when most people think of slowing down, Kumar Pallana feels it’s just the beginning. He has been a juggler in a circus, a yoga guru, and the first Indian to own a Indian grocery store in Texas. But acting in Steven Spielberg’s ‘The Terminal’ with Tom Hanks is like a dream come true.
The Oscar winning filmmaker Spielberg, sometime in August sent out a casting notice for the role of Gupta. The role characterized a 70 years old east Indian, working as a janitor in the John F. Kennedy International Terminal who is rude, outspoken and funny. “I got a call from New York and I send my photo to casting director Debra Zane in Los Angeles for the role,” says Kumar, but got no reply as I was in competition against hundreds of actors from India, U.K and the U.S.
Pallana, a juggler from Madhaya Pradesh was born with the burning desire for acting. His Hollywood credits include Wes Anderson’s Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums, and Bottle Rocket, and The Duplex with Drew Barrymore.
After a wait of two weeks, Kumar resisting all hesitations showed up at Debra’s office without any prior appointment. “They liked me because of my dauntless behavior,” he added. With the support of a friend who managed to get him a copy of the script, Pallana rehearsed his lines and quite amazingly, Zane agreed for an audition.
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Tags: Kumar Pallana, Spielberg, Stiller, Terminal
Commercialised Christmas!
Dec 20, 2008 Articles
Ho! Ho! Ho! It all happened when Santa Claus appeared in an advertisement for Coca-Cola and opened the doors for a huge volume of business during Christmas.
It is that time of the year again! When the world goes jingle all the way and so does the shopping bills. Yes, it’s Christmas time – gifts, cards, feasts or holidaying, celebrations. They have become a multi-million-business opportunity for a whole lot of people. “Christmas has come to be a means to get more business. Retail shops have major sales, malls are advertising using the Christmas theme. It’s after all time for giving and also enticing people into buying. But what about the true meaning of Christmas,” says Keya Roy, art director, Dow Jones International, New York.
Jeannie Kim, a devout Christian, expresses anger and confusion over the fact that her beloved roly-poly Santa Claus was first used by Coca-Cola in the 1930s. While several legends of how Santa Claus made his appearance abound, the truth is that Coca-Cola did increase its sales that winter. And since, come Yule Tide Santa Claus can be found gracing every department store.
Santa was certainly popular amongst the masses before the 1930s, but the Coca-Cola ad played an important role in establishing in America the transition of a holiday from a religious observance to a commercial celebration.
“This country is based on publicity, the better you do it, the more success. Right from politics to business, it is all about the correct publicity,” says Ash K Shah, president-cum-marketing manager, Impex International Group, Inc. “Christmas is the only major festival in America. And the people want to make the most of it,” adds Ash.
“This multi-billion-dollar business opportunity is all because of a commercialised Christmas season, which is a great marketing scheme worth appreciating,” says Ash. Not only retail businesses but also the independent ones have marked up a huge profit during Christmas. “Look at the way they decorate the shopping malls to lure customers,” he says.
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Tags: Christmas
