Category Archives: Arts, Culture & Entertainment

Meet Riyaz Pasha who decks up Lord Krishna & Radha

December 15, 2015Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy, Community Involvement / Social Issuesmpositiveone@gmail.com

Bengaluru, KARNATAKA :

Bengaluru :

In an obscure bylane abutting the glitzy Commercial Street, Riyaz Pasha is engrossed in some intricate work. He’s giving the finishing touches to an embroidered orange-magenta dress. Ask him who it is for and pat comes a reply. “For Lord Krishna and Radha,” he says before getting back to fine-tuning the chamkis (golden beads) on the skirt.

For 15 years, Pasha, 48, has been the official embroidery designer for Iskcon, Bengaluru. “Everyone has the right to serve god. I enjoy doing this work for the temple,” he told TOI during his first visit to Iskcon on Thursday.

“When we approached him to do the embroidery, he didn’t think twice. And he has no inhibitions talking about our requirements. We have been working in perfect synchronization for 15 years now. We provide the dress material to him and he does the embroidery and other work,” said Bhaktilata Devi Dasi and Chameri Devi Dasi, dress designers at Iskcon.

So far, Riyaz has designed more than 105 dresses for Radha, Krishna, and Balaram. “It takes me two to three days to get one piece ready. Sometimes, it may even stretch to a week,” he said. When asked if his family or community had any reservation to the job, he said: “This is a business for us. All my family members and community leaders understand that and have no problem. No one has opposed what I do. I keep religion out of my work and treat every assignment equally. I will do this work for the Krishna temple all my life”.

Everyday, the attire is changed twice at the temple. “The whole idea of making the deities wear embroidered Kancheevaram sarees is to make them look brighter, even from a distance,” said Bhaktilata.

Not just in Bengaluru but in Vrindavan (Lord Krishna’s birthplace) too, it is a Muslim who designs dresses for the deities. As Vasudev Keshav Dasa, Iskcon vice-president (deities), puts it: “At Iskcon, we do not discriminate based on religion.”

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City> Bengaluru / by Seetha Lakshmi, TNN / December 15th, 2015

The face as a canvas

December 14, 2015Arts, Culture & Entertainmentmpositiveone@gmail.com

Bengaluru, KARNATAKA :

Natural style

She loves to play with colours and that’s what inspired her to become a make-up artist. It has been over 18 years since Zara Syed, a celebrity make-up artist, entered the industry.

Zara believes that a face is similar to a canvas and a make-up artist gets the chance to showcase his or her skills in the most ideal way. Zara also teaches young girls and corporate women to manage and take care of their hair and skin on a daily basis. She also trains those who want to take it up as a profession.

Recollecting how she got into this profession, she says, “I moved to Bengaluru eight years back and assisted many make-up artists. Since I was doing a hairdressing course then, I decided to start my career with hairstyling solely. I worked on shoots and commercials, and soon enough, I got attracted to this profession. I fell in love with how the face is sculpted and the ways one can change someone’s look just by using various tactics and colours.”

Having worked with many popular faces in the movie industry, both Sandalwood and Bollywood, she says that she has a long list of names she would want to work with in future. “I worked with Sridevi and a couple of Marathi actresses and down South, with Ramya and Sharmila Mandre. Very soon, I will work with Aindrita as well,” she says.

Zara’s forte is giving a natural look to a face. She explains, “I keep my work natural, sharp and defined and avoid choky make-up. I’d rather work on making the person look younger. It should be wearable on a daily basis and not just for the ramp. It defines a woman, makes her look more defined and confident.”

Her look for Christmas is, “Keeping one’s face fresh and natural with a little gloss on the cheeks for the youthful look. Winter makes the skin dry and dehydrated, so my advice is to illuminate the cheekbones and make it look more young and lively rather than leaving it dry and flaky.”

A few things that she keeps in mind when working on someone are, “I focus on the jawline and features that are sharp. Only after this do I decide the base to be applied on someone. I constantly keep in mind that a girl should look beautiful and try my best to achieve that.”

She says that the best thing about her profession is to see the happiness on a girl’s face and especially when it is for a wedding. It is a pleasure to see the bride pleased with what she has done. “It is her day and she should look stunning and at her best.”

As for her future plans, she wants to teach more young girls about the art of applying make-up and encourage them to take it up as a profession. “I strongly believe that a woman can make another woman beautiful since she understands the characteristics and the flaws and can correct it. I would like to help my students financially and make them stand on their feet,” she says.

On a lighter note, she adds, “If not a make-up artist, I would have definitely been a chef since I love to cook and experiment. I love Chinese cuisine and would love to learn more about this it.”

As a piece of advice, she says, “I always advise make-up artists, especially if it is one woman dressing-up another, to focus on the face and forget about themselves. “The face is a canvas and as an artist, you have to give your best and make it look beautiful.”

Make-up for her, “is life. It is like meditation, and I love to play with colours. I completely forget about my worries when I am working with make-up. It is like a stressbuster.”

source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> Supplements> MetroLife / by Surupasree Sarmmah / DHNS – December 14th, 2015

Carving a niche

December 14, 2015Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economympositiveone@gmail.com

Bengaluru, KARNATAKA :

Elegant designs

In school, she would finish all the notebooks her parents bought for her to doodle and design her future clothing collections.

At the age of seven, when the teacher was busy giving important notes that would come for the final examination, Syma Ahmed spent that precious time thinking about what else she could design. By the time she was 12-years-old, she had started designing her outfits that she would show off during festivals like Eid and Bakrid.

She says, “My parents encouraged me from a young age. They would give me the boost that I needed whenever I wanted to design something.” Having completed her Bachelors in Fashion and Apparel from Mount Carmel College, this Bengaluru-born designer is proud to see how much she’s grown in last few years. She was also an intern with Bollywood designer Vikram Phadnis and attended summer school at London School of Fashion. Today, she has carved her own niche with her wedding and Indo-Western collection.

“I think I learnt the most once I started working on my own and branding my own designs. When working under another designer, you need to be on par with their style and execute it accordingly. But here, I have the freedom to experiment and choose what I think looks best, and I’ve also been able to understand the fine line between what people want to wear and my vision in terms of design,” she says.

Syma likes her designs to be elegant and soft, therefore she mostly uses pastel colours. She uses everything around her as an inspiration and decides the colours and patterns accordingly.

Her latest collection is called ‘Wisteria’ and is inspired by a famous garden in Japan. Talking about the collection, she says, “This collection is inspired by the Wisteria Tunnel in The Kawachi Fuji Gardens in Japan. It encompasses 150 Wisteria plants with 20 different spices ranging in colours of white, blue, purple, violet-blue and pink. The clothes also depict these pastel-coloured fairy-tale flowers in their graceful silhouettes, ombre dyeing and intricate embroidery details, making it a complete and rich experience.”

Recalling some of her favourite collections, she says, “The ‘Nur Jahan’ collection that I presented is one of my favourites. It was a lot of fun making because it was something different. All the designs were painted with bright, bold colours, which made it a great collection.” Syma is also proud of her interpretation of the sari. She calls it ‘TMS’ or a two-minute sari, which can be worn as a skirt and wrapped around.

She says, “Wearing a sari is absolutely time consuming. This works well with every body shape. Now people don’t have to go through the hassle of wearing the perfect sari — you can always look perfect with this.”

Apart from designing fashionable clothes, she also makes accessories like clutches and earrings. With an eye for intricate details, she looks up to Zuhair Murad, a Lebanese fashion designer, for his details in embroidery. She also loves the work of Anamika Khanna for her interpretation of the old and the new.

“Designing is something that I’ve always wanted to do and I’m happy that I’ve had so many learning experiences so far. I look forward to experimenting so much more in this industry and bring out the best of designs,” she concludes.

source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> Supplements> MetroLife / by Anila Kurian / DHNS – December 14th, 2015

Rajnath Singh presents Dilip Kumar with Padma Vibhushan award

December 14, 2015Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Leadersmpositiveone@gmail.com

The announcement to honour Bollywood veterans Kumar, Amitabh Bachchan and a few others with the prestigious Padma Vibhushan award was made by the government on the eve of Republic Day on January 25, 2015.

Saira Bano, Dilip Kumar, and Rajnath Singh Image courtesy: ANI Twitter handle

Legendary actor Dilip Kumar was on Sunday presented the Padma Vibhushan by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh at the thespian’s residence in suburban Bandra.

The 93-year-old legend was presented a medal, a certificate and a shawl by Singh, in the presence of the actor’s wife Saira Bano.

Maharashtra Governor C Vidyasagar Rao, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, were among other dignitaries present at the actor’s home when he received the award.

The announcement to honour Bollywoodveterans Kumar, Amitabh Bachchan and a few others with the prestigious Padma Vibhushan award was made by the government on the eve of Republic Day on January 25, 2015.

However, Kumar, due to ill-health, could not attend the special function held at the Rashtrapati Bhavan in April when other Padma awardees were honoured by President Pranab Mukherjee.

Born as Muhammad Yousuf Khan in Peshawar, Kumar made his debut as an actor in the film Jwar Bhata in 1944 produced by Bombay Talkies.

In a career spanned over six decades, he starred in films of a variety of genres such as the romantic Andaz (1949), the swashbuckling Aan (1952), the dramatic Devdas (1955), the comical Azaad (1955), the historical Mughal-e-Azam (1960) and the social Ganga Jamuna (1961).

Called as the ‘tragedy king of Bollywood’, he also did films like Kranti (1981), Shakti (1982),Karma (1986) and Saudagar (1991) and others. His last film was Qila (1998).

The Government of India honoured him with the Padma Bhushan award in 1991, the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 1994 and the Padma Vibhushan earlier this year, for his exceptional and distinguished contribution to the Indian cinema.

source: http://www.dnaindia.com / DNA / DNA Analysis> Home> Entertainment / Place: Mumbai, Agency:PTI / Sunday – December 13th, 2015

‘His performances are without fault’: Amitabh Bachchan on the influence of Dilip Kumar

December 14, 2015Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Leadersmpositiveone@gmail.com

Amitabh Bachchan has hero-worshipped Dilip Kumar from the time he decided to become an actor. We can see traces of the Tragedy King’s style in the Bachchan’s early performances in Saat Hindustani, Anand and Parwaana. Later in Ramesh Sippy’s historic Shakti, he got an opportunity to share screen space with his idol. In a chat with Firstpost, Bachchan talks about the actor who influenced him the most:

Dilip Saab turns 93. Your thoughts?
I wish him glorious health. I wish him peace of mind. I wish him this days’ celebration, countless years ahead.

You’ve never concealed our admiration for Dilip Kumar. What makes him a role model for you and generations of other actors?
I have admired his performances, for to me they have remained beyond any fault. I have admired his intellect, and the way he has translated that into his work. And I have admired his clarity of speech in whichever language he speaks. Clarity in speech is to me the greatest acumen for an actor. You cannot have clarity of speech without the understanding of its graph and tenor. You cannot be a great actor without the benefit of these two elements in your expression – graph and tenor !

Amitabh Bachchan and Dilip Kumar. Image from IBN Live.

Which of your performances, scenes, have been most directly inspired by Dilip Saab?
None. That would be a sacrilege! I should be inspired by ‘the person’, to inspire me to perform or deliver what is asked of me professionally.

Please tell us about your first meeting with him
Our first shooting scene in Shakti was in a jail sequence, where the police official, but also my Father in film, comes to visit me and tries to convince me that I was taking a wrong path in life and I disagree. It was tough to stand in front of one whom you have admired for ages, and disagree with. But it was a job I had to do.

What were you thoughts when Ramesh Sippy offered you a chance to work with him in Shakti?
It was not Ramesh ji that offered me the chance to work with him; it was Salim-Javed who thought up the idea and the story.

What was the experience like? Did the two of you hit it off instantaneously? How easy/difficult was it fir you to adapt yourself to his method of working?
For me it was a moment of disbelief, until professional exigencies took over. He is a considerate colleague and senior, and never failed in those attributes when we worked together. I would one day share the same screen space with this tremendous talent that would explode in front of me. Never. And it still remains a illusion in my life to have actually been a part of a project which was headed by this thespian. God has been kind, very kind .

You did only one film with him. Any regrets about that?
We seek a moment of Godliness often in our life; it seldom comes, but when it does, you cherish it and remain in gratitude and satisfaction.

Which are your favourite films of Dilip Saab? And why?
All. And why? That would be insolent.

Many of his admirers feel he didn’t do enough work, that he retired too early. Your comments?
Describe ‘enough’. Can you ? No one has the ability to describe it for another. Our individual capacity gives us the liberty to describe it for ourselves. We need to respect that.

If you had the chance to do one of Yusuf Saab’s roles which one would it be?
I would never dare to even think of doing that .

source: http://www.firstpost.com / FirstPost.com / Home> F. Entertainment> Latest News> Bollywood News / by Subhash K Jha / December 11th, 2015

Prof. Sheikh Ali’s Book

December 8, 2015Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Education, Leadersmpositiveone@gmail.com

Marking the centenary celebrations of the University of Mysore, former Vice-Chancellor of Mangalore and Goa Universities Prof. B. Sheikh Ali has scripted a book titled ‘An era of enlightenment,’ which was released by President Pranab Mukherjee during his visit to the city in July.

The book explains the history and the challenges faced by the University in its 100 years of existence.

The book priced at Rs. 600 is being sold at Prasaranga in Manasagangotri and at the Prasaranga outlet at Ramaswamy Circle, at a discount of 20%.

For details, contact Ph: 0821-2419387 or 2419488.

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> In Brief / Tuesday – December 08th, 2015

Lucknow boy makes mark in Hollywood, NY stage

December 7, 2015Arts, Culture & Entertainment, NRI's / PIO's, World Opinionmpositiveone@gmail.com

Lucknow :

He wanted to join the media industry but landed up in Hollywood. Meet 29-year old Saim Hyder who is doing theatre and also acting in short films in the United States of America. He has recently completed playing the leading role in the classic Anton Chekov play `The Cherry Orchard’ for Falcon Productions, a wellknown theater group in New York City .

Hyder’s talent landed him meaty roles in the plays ‘Bonafide Women’ directed by Stephanie Ogeleza. He played the lead in short film `Larry Bought Lemon’, screened at the prestigious Indian Film Festival of Tampa, Florida in 2013) and another film, `Patrons’, directed by Polish director Rita Haider was screened at the International Palm Springs Film Festival last year.

Hyder’s performance received favorable criticism in US media. Broadway World, authority on all Broadway shows called his performance in the part-comedy-part-drama `The Rajah’s son & Princess Labam’ “dramatic and riveting”, while NRI Tribune, one of the largest Indian-American newspaper described his role in the same play as “one of the most loved performances”.

In Lucknow, Hyder went to La Martiniere College where his acting talent was nurtured under his teachers. In school, I acted in school plays and inter school competitions where I stood out and was praised,” said Saim. It was only when he moved to US in 2008 to pursue Mass Communication from the University of Arkansas, he realised performing on stage could mean more than journalism. ” was so passionate about the film industry that at UOA, took up research on the influence of Indian cinema he roes on the youth,” said Hyder, who later trained at the renowned New York Film Academy and Maggie Flanigan Acting Studio in New York City.

While at NY Film Academy, he was trained in the basics of film genre. It was a MF studio where he received intensive training under the best in the industry in the exclusive `Meisner Technique of acting which legendary actors such as Marlon Bran do, Robert Duvall and Tom Cruise learnt as students Meisner technique is an approach to acting which develops from an interna source such as emotional re call, memory, etc. Back home, Hyder is famous for entertaining family and friends, acting out famous dialogues of Indian and Hollywood actors. “In all our family get-togethers, he is made to enact scenes from his plays or films, his favourite, which he repeats most of the time, being from The Cherry Orchard, saying the lines, `I have done it, I have done it all. The Cherry Orchard is mine…’, to an applause from all of us,” said Aaqil, Hyder’s cousin, who is more a friend.

Hyder hasn’t restricted himself to theatre, he has also dabbled with radio. “I have anchored more than 100 minutes of live shows, called Bindaas Bol on Jus Radio, an online channel popular with the Indian American diaspora,” he said.

His upcoming work includes a Hindi sitcom for a South Asian TV channel which is even being produced by him. “With his focus and talent, we are hopeful that Saim will make a mark in the highly competitive entertainment industry in Hollywood. The talent of this Lucknow boy will shine around the world,” said his father Nafees Haider Naqvi.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City> Lucknow / by Isha Jain, TNN / December 07th, 2015