No men without women: Shahrukh Khan

Superstar Shahrukh Khan has said women are the future and they must be respected. “It is important to talk about women who are making progress, taking our country forward and it is time to celebrate a little bit of brightness and positivity. You need to have women to have men,” the 47-year-old said on Thursday at the launch of the Link Lady collection of watch brand Tag Heuer.

The evening also celebrated the power of women by felicitating four Indian women achievers, who have excelled and contributed tremendously to their respective fields. Among those commemorated were Sara Pilot, for her contribution to charitable causes through her organisation Cequin; Pia Singh, for her work in the country’s luxury retail sector; Ritu Beri for being the pioneer of Indian fashion; and Olympic Bronze medalist Saina Nehwal for excellence in the field of sports.

SRK kept to his late-coming tradition and turned up two hours later than the scheduled time, looking dapper in a black suit. He said it’s time to celebrate the women “who are the leaders of India”.

“It has been a few months now since we are witnessing all the news against women in India. Now everyone wants to come out and vehemently oppose the atrocity that happens with women in our country and around the globe,” said the superstar. He also feels that with all the negativity that is around, it becomes more important to have a few sparks of brightness, beauty and goodness.

Risk-taker Sanam Chaudhri steps into retail

A textile graduate of the Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture and winner of the Best Dressed Female on the Red Carpet at the Lux Style Awards 2012, Sanam Chaudhri is no stranger to style. And with her edgy, neon, in-your-face collection Kage at Fashion Pakistan Week (FPW) 4 last year, she proved she is not afraid to take risks. Chaudhri has now sealed the deal with textile house Bonanza and will be making clothes in mass production.

“I have wanted to do retail for a very long time now,” says Chaudhri, thrilled about her new endeavour. “When Bonanza’s flagship store opened at Dolmen City Mall, Frieha Altaf introduced me to Hanif Bilwani [of Bonanza] and the next thing I know, voila! The label approached me to design their prêt collection.”

Chaudhri will be working on 10 designs with two colourways; out of 10, eight will fall in the casual clothing line and the remaining will be formal wear. With a price ceiling of Rs4,000 on casuals, the entire collection will be out in stores by the end of March or beginning of April.

“I’m doing a prêt line for Bonanza in order to reach a broader and larger audience,” she continues, talking about why she took the step to work with the label. “I’ll be using bright colours such as corals, greens, pinks, blues as well as black and white for the sake of relief.” She admits her hemlines went up over a year ago and she will stick to shorter shirts with this collection as well; some will have volume and some structure. “The designs would mostly be solid but some will be printed as well,” she adds.

Ben Affleck’s ‘Argo’ named best film at British BAFTAs

Iran hostage crisis drama “Argo” won the best film prize at Britain’s BAFTA awards on Sunday in a further boost for US actor-director Ben Affleck’s movie ahead of the Oscars later this month.

At a rainy but celebrity-packed ceremony at the Royal Opera House in London, Affleck also won the best director award, highlighting the fact that he has been snubbed in the same category at the Academy Awards.

Daniel Day-Lewis boosted his status as Oscar favourite as he was named best actor for his presidential turn in Steven Spielberg’s “Lincoln”, while 85-year-old French screen legend Emmanuelle Riva won best actress for “Amour”.

Anne Hathaway won best supporting actress for her performance in the musical “Les Miserables” while Christoph Waltz won best supporting actor for his role in Quentin Tarantino’s blood-soaked western “Django Unchained”.

Dozens of stars defied the sleet and wind of a typical British winter evening to sashay down the red carpet for the awards, which are widely viewed as a bellwether for the Oscars on February 24.

The British Academy of Film and Television Arts awards, or BAFTAs, have picked the same best film as the Oscars for the last four years in a row, and for five of the last 10 years in total.

Pakistani Film Festival 2013: A cocktail of classics, recent hits to woo Islooites

The week-long “Pakistani Film Festival 2013” aimed at revival of the film industry, kicked off on Thursday, at the Pakistan National Council of the Arts (PNCA).

Seven films, Ek Gunah Aur Sahi , Mohabbatan Sachiyan , Heer Ranjha, Koi Tujh Sa Kahan , Yeh dil aap ka huwa, Bulandi and Jhoomer , will be screened under the theme, “Be Pakistani, see Pakistani.”  However, there will be no show on Friday due to Eid Miladun Nabi.

PNCA Director General Tauqir Nasir, while briefing the media, said the objective behind organising the festival was to revive people’s interest in Pakistani cinema. “It is a fact that films are one of the best ways to promote culture , but we are losing this platform,” he said.

Afghan young musicians take on US stage

Some of them call an orphanage home. One used to spend her days selling plastic bags. And this month, the Afghan teenagers are taking the stage of the most prestigious US concert halls.

In a vivid sign of Afghanistan’s transformation, 48 students from the country’s first music institute are touring the United States to showcase a unique blend of restored traditional music and Western classics.

When Milad Yousufi was a child, the Taliban ruled most of Afghanistan and imposed an austere interpretation of Islam that banned music as sinful. He took up piano five years ago and recently placed third at an international competition in Germany.

“Music is the only thing we can bring peace by,” said the 18-year-old, who wears his hair fashionably long and counts Claudio Arrau and Vladimir Horowitz among his piano heroes.

Alicia Keys joins BlackBerry as global creative director

 At the close of its BlackBerry 10 launch event earlier this week, BlackBerry CEO Thorsten Heins introduced 14-time Grammy Award winning singer, songwriter and entrepreneur, Alicia Keys, as BlackBerry’s new Global Creative Director.

As an official member of the BlackBerry team, Keys will lead an array of new business initiatives that will drive engagement with BlackBerry and perception of the brand.

“Alicia Keys has come to BlackBerry because she believes in the product and technology, and subscribes to our overriding philosophy to ‘Keep Moving’: to empower people through mobile computing and communications,” said BlackBerry President and CEO Thorsten Heins.

men in the world of lawn

 Who says that women are the only ones crazy about lawn? We have reason to believe that men cooped up in offices are in fact crazier about the product! It is their obsession that in turn feeds the obsession of lawn addicts that are drawn to exhibitions

Given that lawn is a product that sells itself — being the most purchased material in the country — one would think that lawn manufacturers don’t need to bring in the likes of Sonam and Karishma Kapoor for endorsements. But in the face of fierce competition with about a hundred participants in the lawn race, advertising agencies are constantly on edge about standing out and one upping the competition.

Just like women brag about latest fashion acquisitions, men about cars, watches and business deals, lawn manufacturers boast their campaigns with larger than life billboards dotted across the city. One can almost imagine them muttering “I’m bringing Aaminah Sheikh, what have you got?” to themselves, as they cash in on the borderline obsessive compulsive disorder women have developed for lawn.

With news of about Bollywood actors Deepika Padukone, Priyanka Chopra, Karisma Kapoor and Nargis Fakhri being brought into the lawn ad war this year, The Express Tribune spoke to a few market players to see how advertising works for lawn.

“Advertising works purely on the consensus of the entire team,” says Amir Ahsan of Hussain Mills Limited. “We are bringing in Nargis Fakhri this year purely to raise the value of the brand. Elan has a very elite clientele and our model has to portray the same lifestyle we want our clients to have.”

Faraz Manan from Crescent Lawn, whose lawn is being modeled by Karisma, explains how the campaigns reflect the intent of the brand. “A few brands use them as sales gimmicks, while others use them more tastefully. Our concern is not to get a one-time sale, but to build a long lasting relationship with our fans and consumers. High end super models aren’t a way to get sales. Rather, we see them as people who are the best at what they do, endorsing us because we are the best at what we do,” he says. “We use high end celebs to reinforce our brand equity, and that in the long run, enhances our brand equity and consequently sales.”

Sapphire Group working with Sania Maskatiya this year takes a slightly different take on the matter. “We chose Sana Sarfaraz; actor, model and aspiring humanitarian. This young lady also possesses an admirable professional drive. Determined to pursue a Masters degree in NGO Management, not only does she embody the relaxed elegance of our lawn physically, but an inspirational charisma which both Sapphire and Sania Maskatiya deeply respect as well. We feel she adds prestige to our lawn. Having said that, there is no substitute for the fine quality of designs, fabrics and embellishments; without these, no celebrity or model’s endorsement would be incomplete or adequate,” says Nabeel Abdullah, director of the Sapphire Group.

iPillow

Gul Ahmed set to make inroads into Indian market

At a time when the movement towards trade liberalisation between India and Pakistan seems to have hit a speed bump there is no dearth of companies which have made up their minds and are prepared to make inroads into the Indian market.

One such company is Gul Ahmed, the manufacturers of some of the finest fabrics in the country, which believes that the MFN status to India will equally serve Pakistan’s interest.

“Any delay in MFN is tantamount to stopping Pakistan’s exports to India as Indian products are continuously making their way to Pakistan,” Ziad Bashir, Director of Gul Ahmed Textile Mills.

Fresh from a recent trip to India and Bangladesh, Bashir said the balance of trade between the two neighbours, which is heavily tilted in favour of India, can only be controlled by rationalising duties in India and for that MFN issue needs to be settled.

Slaves to brands or branded slaves?

A casual dinner at a restaurant turned out to be an eye opener for me when oohs and aahs of admiration of a friend’s new and expensive designer clutch were followed by compliments on mine.

I figured a polite “thank you” would’ve sufficed till I was asked if my bag was branded. A little taken aback, I replied in the negative, only to be told “But it’s really nice!” Well ladies, news flash! Things can be nice without being branded and simply being branded does not guarantee it will be nice.

That night food for thought left no room for dessert. What has happened to us? How have we evolved? Do we value people today for who they are or for what they wear? Have we become so brand conscious that we have lost our individuality in the process? And most importantly, what do brands really represent?

Karachi Literature Festival — literati to dazzle book lovers

Literary luminaries Gulzar, Nadeem Aslam, Shobha De, journalist Kanak Mani Dixit and writer and politician George Galloway will be among a wide range of literati and thinkers to attend the 4th Karachi Literature Festival to be held from Feb 15 to Feb 17 at the Beach Luxury Hotel.

The festival has gained significance over the last three years not just because of the magnitude of the event (which runs for three days and is composed of many literary, political and social panel discussions, book launches and meet-the-author programmes) but also because of the quality of its participants. International literary stalwarts such as William Dalrymple, Shobha De, Vikram Seth, Hanif Kureshi and Shamsurrehman Farooqi and an array of Pakistani intellectuals and writers such as Intizar Husain, Ayesha Jalal, Mohammed Hanif and Iftikhar Arif have so far been the highlights of the festival.

Given the success of the previous three editions, this year too literature buffs are expecting a stellar lineup of authors and creative individuals to take part in the event. It is but natural that the organisers, Oxford University Press, keep the names of their international guests under the hat for various reasons and only reveal it a week or two before the event kicks off.

As Indian art world meets, prices stay depressed

India’s art world has converged on New Delhi for the industry’s biggest annual event where upbeat talk and parties are likely to disguise a market that is still in the doldrums since crashing in 2008.

Indian art auction prices are down 70 to 75 per cent from their peak, when speculation driven by new prosperity in cities such as Delhi and Mumbai pushed them to “unsustainable levels”, says art analyst Anders Petterson.

Petterson, managing director of London-based global art market analysis firm ArtTactic, says India is still suffering from the after effects of the 2008 global financial crisis, but says he sees signs for cautious optimism.

“We glimpse a market gradually turning around,” he said.

The three-day India Art Fair – now in its fifth year and featuring 105 art houses – offers valuable global exposure to local artists and a chance for overseas galleries to woo India’s increasingly affluent population with international works.