Pyaasa remake?

In Chennai for ‘Retrospective of Guru Dutt Films’, organised by the Indo Cine Appreciation Foundation, the director of Guru Dutt Films Private Limited spoke to Ergo about the making of films based on his father. “There are two scripts under consideration by Aamir Khan, who has been approached to play the role of Guru Dutt,” he says.

Why Aamir? “Well, he no way resembles my dad but he is a perfectionist and everybody thinks he can do a good job with the role.” Of the two scripts, one is by scriptwriter Nasreen Munni Kabir, based in England. “She was the first person who made a documentary on my father and also a biography,” he explains.

“The script is based on the making of Pyaasa (1956 -57). Also, we are trying to compare the original hand version of Pyaasa to the final one.” The bio-pic is important as it was during this period that he made a transition from commercial to art cinema, says Arun. It will be directed by Rakesh Mehra.

The second script by Anurag Kashyap, to be directed by Shivindra Dungarpur, is more about the life and experiences of the actor.

Black and White

So, while Aamir Khan has to give the final nod, on which of the two scripts he prefers, Arun will also have to approve them. This apart, Arun keeps himself busy with his animation projects.

“I am also into restoring colour of films, for which I come regularly to Orcher Studios,” says Arun about his visits to Chennai. Work is currently on for Sahib Bibi Aur Gulam. That’s making more youngsters keeping themselves tuned to the actor, director, producer and choreographer’s works.

That almost sums up my entire funny little trip to Courtallam. Funny little trip as in the trip only lasted for two nights. The lushly peaks that border the place, the dense tree-packed landscape, lovely countryside, and not to mention the chilly air with no pollution – especially without the maddening dust that clouds the roads after each vehicle passes by – makes the place awfully beautiful.

Courtallam is blissfully devoid of the usual jam-packed tourist crowd. The place in itself seems to be enjoying its own tranquillity and exuding a sense of self-pleasure, only if you care to read the signs.

Waking down the numerous meandering paths and listening to the chirping of strange and unfamiliar birds and the squeals of monkeys trying to pilfer food from the tourists makes it a pleasant experience.

For once, I wished that I woke up there everyday. A tiny piece of nature’s work, Courtallam has numerous waterfalls – small and big – in its territory. All it takes is just a day or two to visit all the attractions. Season starts from mid-June to mid-August. During the monsoon season, the entire region wears an almost deserted look.

However, there isn’t any dearth of enthusiastic – and often noisy – visitors who take a dip in the falls with profuse merriment. Options to stay are plenty, in nominal charges.

The writer, Prathap Nair works for Polaris

You grew up and it soon became the epitome of anything ghastly – the kind of frills that you would have spotted on the Neelams, Karis(h)ma Kapoors and Madhuri Dixits much before the days of threaded eyebrows and Manish Malhotra. Now the same ruffles are everywhere. And they’re looking pretty!

The spring/summer 2009 ready-to-wear shows in Paris saw ruffles in various forms and lengths. While the head-to-toe look that Giambattista Valli showcased is a little difficult to replicate off the ramp (you might look like a peach-dyed Christmas tree in one), Karl La gerfeld for Chanel had models strutting down a recreated Chanel shop front in ruffled skirts, gowns with ruffled hemlines and double ‘C’ monogrammed guitars.

John Galliano combined free-flowing ruffles in chiffon and equally stiff gravity-defying hair, the latter probably as an antithesis for the former.

Cate Blanchett’s Giorgio Armani gown in Cannes was one of the festival’s red carpet highlights. The diagonally ruffled one-shouldered gown was as much a stunner as the lady who wore it.

Among the Indian designers, Rohit Bal continues his love affair with ruffles, as seen from both his fall/winter 2008 and spring/summer 2009 collections. Manish Arora’s ‘Circus’ line was ruffled.

Others, too, are warming up. Priyadarshini Rao, Nikhil & Shantanu (in a red-and-black line), Deepika Gehani and Prriya & Chintan’s lines at the just-concluded fashion weeks were high on ruffles. Priyanka Chopra walked the ramp for Vikram Phadnis in ruffled white tulle.

Ruffles add volume, so they’re no all-body-type wear. Go for them only if you have endless legs and a narrow frame. And your entire dress needn’t be layered. A few ruffles at the shoulder, sleeves, cuffs or neckline (only one at a time) look pretty, too.

They look best in ‘feminine’ fabrics like silk, chiffon, organza and tulle. Adding a broad leather belt in black or brown to a ruffled dress is a good way to combine smart and girly. And if you think yellow suits you, go ahead without wondering if you look like a fluffy chicken. (P.S. Mom’s old sarees can be a good source of dress material here.)

The banyan trees that populate the Theosophical Society are more than 100 years old, and inhabited by bats. For some, the thrill is in resting under banyan trees that sheltered at least 500 bats at a time.

Broken Bridge, Adyar

This bridge was built over Adyar River, north of Elliot’s Beach in Besant Nagar. The area is considered unsafe due to the fishing hamlets and slums surrounding the bridge. The assault on the nose, due to the open sewage that Adyar River is, makes it even less favourable. However, this is one of the many places in Chennai that is called spooky simply because it is deserted. What can be enjoyed here are sunsets.

Blue Cross Road, Besant Nagar

This road is a shortcut between Theosophical Society and the Blue Cross Animal Hospital. There are rumours that a person had committed suicide on one of the tall, willowy trees that border the lane. Since the area is not commonly used, drug peddling and prostitution became common on Blue Cross Road.

Usually the non-functional street lights, combined with the thrill of no-escape, since the entire stretch is either bordered by high stone or wired walls, makes this a regular haunt of bikers.

Indian Institute of Technology, Guindy

The institute is said to harbour a romantic piece of debris from the past. Located behind the Aerospace block, the remains of a bi-plane have become a favourite for treasure hunters. Urban legend has it that the plane crash-landed on campus 30 years ago during an air show.

However, most IITians say that the plane is only one part of the spooky campus. Since only a small percentage of the campus is populated by humans, students say that venturing into any untouched territory is as good as an adventure.

Haunted House, Valmiki Nagar

According to a source, this house is located off Thiruvanmiyur Beach, in 3rd Seaward Lane, Valmiki Nagar. While driving classes are regularly conducted in this lane, at night, spectral movement has been seen or/ and heard by many of the residents in the area.

Often children dared each other to climb over the locked gates to spend one night in the haunted house. Rumour has it that the house has never had permanent residents since the ghost of the woman who committed suicide continues to haunt there.

Chefs from the different branches of the Hotel, including Joseph A Chahine, the Executive Mediterranean chef at Azulia, put their hands together mixing the liquor, nuts, powered cinnamon and flour.

“We wanted the event to be something that would rise up the spirits well ahead of the festive season. This is a newly constructed hall (the Southern Crown Hall) and has the best lighting in the city including mood lights,” adds Shashi Kumar, the General Manager.

So why do they start this early with Christmas more than a month away? “It takes time for the mixture to ferment. When the cinnamon flavour settles in and the texture smoothens, we start baking. Over 120 kgs of cake can be baked with this entire mixture and we have already started taking orders,” explains Joseph.

Joseph is from UK and has served in several European and Asian countries. His favourite Indian dish is dhal but maybe he can bake a mean cake.

These hand crafted pieces are imported directly from Czech Republic. The shape assortment is wide — wine glasses, champagne flutes, goblets, decanters and jugs, tea cups, dishes, doses, vases, candlesticks, bells, baskets, cosmetic bottles and cordial, beer, juice and water tumblers, mocca and bowl sets, lamps and chandeliers etc.

Bohemian crystal items are decorated with various hand-cut decors; the typical Czech decorative patterns include rich ‘lace’ decorations which represent the Czech cutting school. Some of the items are further decorated with high enamel combined with 18K gold paint.

The exhibition is on till November 12 at The Ambassador Pallava, 30 Montieth Road, Egmore, Chennai 600 008.

I love watching horror and thriller movies and own collection of most in Tamil and English. In fact it is my hobby to collect 5.1 DVDs of horror films. There are many instances of watching horror movies with my sisters, aunties and mom and got scared and to mention one, we were watching Evil Dead. By the time, we finished watching 1.30 am on a Sunday. All my relatives went up to the terrace to get the clothes that had been drying.

Actually there is a neem tree near my grandmother’s house which touches the terrace. The funniest part here is that my uncle went before my aunt and everyone, climbed the tree and deliberately hung himself upside down like a vethaal. He covered his body with a white dhoti which made the scene to reflect the Evil Dead movie.

When my aunt and mom saw the white body on the tree, they ran like super-fast racers and started crying. This created a lot of noise which got to the neighbours. Finally everything got settled. This was one ‘horrific’ instance which I really enjoyed.

Ezhil, Cybernet-SlashSupport

My favourite scary movie is Grudge. Though the story line of the movie is normal, the lady appearing as the ghost in the movie is very chilling, especially the fact she is one-eyed with hair falling over her face. The one-eyed ghost comes to my memory whenever I am in dark places, such as power cuts or when driving on dark roads.

Santhosh M, Tata Consultancy Services

The one character which twisted my brain was Countess Elizabeth Bathory (August 7, 1560 – August 21, 1614). She killed 650 virgin girls, had a bath in and drank their blood to retain her youth. Bram Stoker, the author of Count Dracula was inspired by her who then wrote his book. Her modern nicknames are Blood Countess and Countess Dracula.

Harish Danaraj

Stephen King is synonymous with horror novels. I stopped bragging about never leaving a book half-read after I came across one of his books, It. I had read other books by him and had been disgusted and revolted, but never frightened. Well, this book changed all that, in just a few pages!

The gory details of children being killed bothered me a bit, but what really spooked me was the description of the shapeless and formless creature which took on the shape of each child’s worst fear. A being which lives in a drainage, which cannot be seen or heard, but can always be felt as an impending danger, a menacing evil just around the corner - that sent shivers down my spine.

I got so paranoid that every time a door creaked or a gust of air blew, my hair would stand on end and I would check all the rooms, under the beds and behind the cupboards.

The very idea that an evil of such great magnitude took on the form of a clown, a symbol of fun for most kids, was sinister. I believe that I took a wise decision that day by swallowing my pride and quitting the book barely after I had started it. But those four pages were enough to make me feel creepy for a long time.

Parvathy Vijayaraghavan, Hexaware Technologies

The landmark settlement between Google, the Authors Guild and Association of American Publishers (AAP) was reached after two years of negotiations and is subject to approval by a US District Court in New York.

It calls for Google to pay 125 million dollars to establish an independent, non-profit “Book Rights Registry,” to resolve outstanding claims by authors and publishers and to cover legal fees from class-action lawsuits against Google.