Outtakes: A feature shoot with Lumen Kinoshita and model Lenka Oshry for a Jewellery Feature

For a shoot for Lifestyle magazine, my fav model in the Kong, the gorgeous Lenka (Dream models HK agency). These are outtakes from the shoot, shot by my cam (the pro shots taken by photographer Rose Conway are way better!).  Done one very cold afternoon at IFC, the saucy Ms Korbova killed it!

My lovely, lovely friend Lumen Kinoshita's designer bling (L.Luminous) and outfit from Maje.

PS: Above, can play a game of Spot the Difference! ha! 

Playlist: Lee Tsui

Our this morning, in South China Morning Post, a quick chat with singer Lee Tsui.

Lifestyle: Feature on The Top Ten Models in Hong Kong

Having so much fun working on a feature for Lifestyle magazine as I do a Q&A with the most gorgeous gals in Hong Kong. Image selecting... talk about spoilt for choice!

Eg working with gorgeous Cara G

Won by Won: My Magazine Awards: I'm Officially an Award-Winning Editor!

Galaxy magazine wins an award! For the Summer 2013 issue. wowsa.

Thrilled to win three awards in a row for Galaxy magazine. Five years as Editor, three major wins from 2012-2015!

Bom dia! 

Divine Inspiration: Sonu Nigam: India's greatest Singer lands in Hong Kong

Sonu Nigam

It is the symbiosis between performer and audience that makes live shows so special, Indian vocalist Sonu Nigam tells P.Ramakrishnan.

Sonu Nigam is widely regarded to be the best male singer in India. But when reminded of this, he demurs, "That's very kind of you to say but it is not true. There are so many great musical talents in India. I'm just happy to be a part of the scene."

Still, Nigam's vast repertoire of multilingual renditions has won him a fan base that includes influential vocalists from Kerala to Kashmir, be they singers of vintage Bollywood numbers (K.J. Yesudas, Manna Dey, the Mangeshkar sisters) or contemporary stars (Shreya Ghoshal, Sunidhi Chauhan, KK). they all speak of the 40-year-old with deep admiration. He's even done a remix with Britney Spears....

A Certain Age - at Prestige.

Madhuri Dixit performs at IIFA 2013

The power of Bollywood (and the wide Indian diaspora being what it is - especially online!), thrilled to bits that one of the most read/clicked on feature at Prestige.com is my littl' chat with la Dixit.

Check it out here --> A Certain Age
http://prestigehongkong.com/2013/09/certain-age

A Wynn-ing Trifecta

In Hindu mythology, multi-armed Goddesses with their multifarious powers of creation and destruction are not uncommon deities to behold. If you’ve ever wondered how that intangible superwoman would bestow tangible gifts in a palpable, mortal manner, wonder no more. Here it is, the deification of pampering. With six hands combined to provide the ‘yi-liu-ba’ (‘168’) experience at the Spa in Encore (at Wynn Macau), the mind certainly wanders among heaven and earth, while lying face down on a cushioned bed as three pairs of arms work their slick magic on every limb and other exposed and exfoliated skin.  

A bit disconcerting at first, walking into a room with three uniformed ladies with uninterrupted smiles, as you cling on to a terry cloth robe masking your modesty and shame in equal measure, the treatment that follows is however slightly divine. One leaves refreshed, bathed and overconfident by the supple softness of one’s own original sin. Um, skin.  

The auspicious numbers of the ‘yi-liu-ba’ (the lucky numbers 1,6,8) combine six hands into one remarkable experience as 168 minutes of bliss is promised and delivered. As the brochure states, it is “the first treatment in Macau offering personal attention from three therapists”. 

Starting with a full-body Himalayan salt scrub (feel the dirt and grime collected from the past year erode away) and aromatherapy steam experience (heady, but pleasant), the rigorous treatment incorporating Ila Body Scrub is followed by a thoroughly relaxing four hand massage. The remarkably in sync massage is choreographed perfection, as the dual massage therapists work in unified harmony. There’s another pair providing a revitalizing facial (using organic skincare range, Eminence) so at any time there’s a triple multi-sensory experience on a nimble body.

The final touch is a hydrating paraffin hand treatment (your palm shoved into a ziplock bag with mildly scalding wax – one assumes, as at this point your eyes are covered with a scented scarf of some sort ). Finally, a soothing reflexology foot massage (where if you’re ticklish, is not without its unexpected, risible pleasures), completing the ultimate in pampering.

Recipient of the prestigious Forbes Five-Star award, The Spa at Encore offers a range of exquisite treatments but for deliciously decadent (with time and money to spare), we highly recommend the signature ‘yi-liu-ba’ in their exquisite private spa suite. Sinful and divine, it’s the sort of sweet’n’sour seeming contradiction that one can only find in beauty and the East.

The 168 (Yi Liu Ba) treatment costs 3,600 patacas (Equivalent in HK$)

Spa at Encore,

Wynn Macau, Rua Cidade de Sintra, NAPE, Macau. 

Play List: Anthony Sandstrom

Click to enlarge and read

One of the coolest dudes in the Kong, my bud Tony (aka Anthony Sandstrom).

Command Performance

Bollywood king Shah Rukh Khan has a simple aim: to put a smile on his fans' faces at home and abroad with his films, the actor tells P. Ramakrishnan.

"I don't know if the Hong Kong audience will identify with our style of action - bu it has that element of humour and thrills"

Shah Rukh Khan, of Chennai Express.

It is hard to measure the magnitude of Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan's fame and popularity. Long known as "King Khan" for his box office drawing power, there are fan sites dedicated to him in Asia, but even fans from Estonia, Mexico, Chile and New Zealand wax eloquent about his dimples, his hair, the intensity of his eyes and his smile.

Thanks to subtitled and badly dubbed DVDs that reach far-flung frontiers, there are few places on earth where that face and tousled hair aren't recognised.

When asked about his broad appeal, Khan says, "I have never tried to analyse my fans, why they love me, why they want my picture … I'm just glad to have them. Whenever I travel and see the response and love, I am humbled. I just want to hug them all."

If he didn't have his arm in a sling, the Indian superstar probably could have hugged thousands of his fans from Hong Kong and elsewhere who saw him in Macau last month. As he walked, bracketed by beefy bodyguards, into the Venetian Macao to co-host the 14th International Indian Film Academy Awards, the fanatical frenzy he inspires was difficult to miss.

Shah Rukh Khan & Deepika Padukone in Chennai Express

Not bad for a father of three who turns 48 in November and who first erupted into the national consciousness as a TV star in the military themed tele-drama Fauji ( Soldier) 25 years ago. With appearances in more than 75 films since making his cinematic debut in 1992, the Indian Muslim actor's next appearance will be in Chennai Express, whose worldwide release is timed to coincide with the Muslim festival of Eid ul-Fitr.

Chennai Express is an over-the-top action-comedy about a man's journey from Mumbai to a small Tamil Nadu town and what happens along the way after he falls in love with the daughter of a crime boss. The film is expected to do exceptionally well in India and the overseas Indian (non-resident Indian) market on which Khan has an unshakable grip. Khan stars in a staggering seven out of the 10 highest-grossing Indian films of all time in the overseas market, and an impressive 12 out of the top 25.

"There's no one to beat Shah Rukh Khan's magnetic draw," says Sunil Datwani, who has bought rights to several of Khan's flicks over the past decade to show Hong Kong cinema-goers. "Of course the South Asian community comes out in full force, but there's even a Chinese Bollywood fan club. And several British and American fans you can spot in the crowd."

Within the Indian film industry as well, his contemporaries are in awe of the actor, who has turned romancing with a strumming guitar and outstretched arms into a signature art form of its own.
"I was a huge Shah Rukh Khan fan when I first met him and did my first film," says his Chennai Express co-star, Deepika Padukone. "Now, even after meeting him several times and working with him the second time around, I'm probably a bigger fan. He is just … amazing. Just … wonderful," says the actress, who made her film debut in Om Shanti Om (2007), which was produced by and co-starred Khan.

Khan brushes off the praise. "When I hear such things, it's nice but they are being too kind. They are wonderful actors and it's just their affection for me that translates into their kind words."

As Chennai Express' release date nears, its lead actor doesn't sound anxious about how the film will be received. "It is a Rohit Shetty [directed] film, and he makes these big, big movies, and the stunts and action are just amazing," Khan says. "I'm a huge Jackie Chan and Bruce Lee fan. Even without subtitles, I can sit and watch their films for the comedy and action. I don't know if the Hong Kong audience will identify with our style of action - but it has that element of humour and thrills. I hope they … enjoy it too."

Khan, who won several acting honours for the dramatic My Name is Khan (2010), knows his latest film's surreal antics and slapstick will not be everyone's cup of tea.

"When I do a serious film like Chak De India ( Go! India), Swades ( Homeland) or My Name is Khan, there is a realism to the performance to go with the style of the movie. If I did that in a film like Chennai Express, it would be completely out of sync," he says. "You mould your performance and character according to the movie - as any actor would."

And are there any fears of the film not getting into the club of films grossing 100 million rupees (HK$12.7 million) at the home box office? "None," he says with quiet confidence. "The figures are irrelevant. I just want to do better movies, better roles; work harder every Monday when I hit the set to make as many people happy as possible. I don't count the money a movie makes, I want to count the smiles that audiences have when they leave an auditorium."

Chennai Express screens at UA iSquare from Friday

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as Command performance

Chennai Express
In Hindi with English Subtitles
Aug 9 (Fri) 21:50 (IMAX)
Aug 10 (Sat) 21:50(IMAX)
Aug 11 (Sun) 18:30 (IMAX)
Aug 12 (Mon) 21:30 (House 2)
Aug 13 (Tue) 21:30 (House 2)
Aug 14 (Wed) 21:30 ( House 2)
Tickets: HK$150-$200
Venue : UA iSQUARE, Tsim Sha Tsui
Tickets at Morning Star, Tel: 2368 2947


Produced by UTV Motion Pictures and Red Chillies Entertainment, Chennai Express will hit theatres worldwide on Eid - 9th August 2013.


Flashback: My first interview with Shahrukh Khan when he came to HK here.

Summer 2013 Cover Shoot

PHOTOGRAPHY:  Timon Wehrli, Red Dog Studio   
STYLING & ART DIRECTION:  Tasha Ling 
STYLING ASSISTANTS: Leona Cheung; Josef James; Kathy Lam 
MAKEUP:  Karen Yiu  
HAIR: Mei Yung
MODEL: Kate B

 

Just the best shoot - so far - at sun-kissed Galaxy Macau. The prep work for this shoot took a long time... but  everything fell into place. Even the rains stopped just for us - and started just as we were ferrying back.

Was great to work with Timon. He and I had suffered greatly at a previous magazine gig and shared stories of the cray-cray publisher and self-imposed-editor-title-holder. It was traumatic then, can laugh about it now! Ah life!

Tasha did such a bril job with this - she's amazing to work with.

And of course, shoots are rarely done without Karen Yiu! She is magic.

Fav cover shoot... until the next one!

 

Galaxy Summer 2013!

It's here!! My fav cover, fav shoot, best looking issue so far... insert happy dance here --> !!

Have been in the biz for... an alarming amount of time, joyous when the latest issue lands and you rip open the brown paper bag, cut the ribbons and that fresh stack of magz pour out. Everyone at the office runs to grab a copy and go over it - even though, we've been through the pages hundreds of times before.

Makes all the toil and turmoil worth it.

Already working on next issue... casting, meeting, writers, budgets, themes...

My day with Madhuri Dixit: Indian actress and icon is in Macau!

Yesterday, had to spend the afternoon with the one and only... Madhuri Dixit.

Spending the week ahead writing it up for Prestige. Her performance at IIFA was... perfection.

MD signed my copy of Faces by Gautam Rajadhyaksha. He adored her and vice versa. 

When asked, she made it a point to state, "I miss him so much Rama, I can't tell you...".

Bless.

Runway: June 2013: Lenka and her model sisters

Tasha Ling as stylist, Lenka Korbova as one of the three cover girls - one of my fav shoots by the dream team. 

Galaxy, Spring 2013

First issue of the year with model Stephanie P (Starz) and Jun Tyler.

Shot with Man Tsang for the first time and stylist Anson Lau, with hair and makeup by Marianne.  Tasha Ling oversaw the entire shoot while I had multiple meetings and interviews on the day.

But course I dropped in to see Stephanie P and the gang - the poor gal was freezing on the day (we obviously shot before Spring and the diaphanous Chanel dresses made her knees-shake!). Funny man and Eurasian mod Jun Tyler was great fun to work with.

Spring 2013 issue. See the entire mag online (pdf format) at http://www.galaxymacau.com/

Mohit Chauhan: Voice of the valleys

PERHAPS IT WAS his time spent in the Indian city of Dharamshala, where the exiled Dalai Lama and thousands of his Tibetan followers have set up monasteries and temples, that brought a hint of spirituality to Mohit Chauhan’s mellifluous voice.

It’s a voice that has been heard in many Bollywood films, and one that will be heard in Hong Kong when Chauhan performs a one-off concert on May 10, coming after he won practically every award possible for his playback singing (recording songs for soundtracks that are lipsynched by actors in the actual film) in the 2011 film Rockstar.

However, it isn’t the rock anthems that have won him the accolades, it is the spiritual sufi (mystical) numbers that climbed the charts and struck a chord with music lovers throughout the Indian subcontinent.

“Like Rahman [the Oscar-winning A.R. Rahman, who composed the songs in Rockstar], I love singing spiritual songs, something that has meaning, a lyrical soul,” the singer says from his home in Mumbai. “I started singing for him just a few years ago and we gelled on those songs. He gives such freedom to his singers – which is why musicians love him. And I love singing his numbers as you can let go and sing your heart out on stage.”

The man seen on stage in his younger days bears little resemblance to the confident star in a black hat and leather jacket who appears under the spotlights today. Chauhan confesses that he did a bit of theatre while studying and sang a bit during his mullet-haired, rock T-shirt-wearing days at college, but nothing too serious.

He and a close group of friends would perform in whatever venues they could find around Dharamsala, singing and strumming along as their voices would reverberate around the valleys.
It paid off well. Chauhan’s range is indeed as wide as those hills, and his vast repertoire encompasses everything from classical, pop and fusion, along with the romantic ballads that are Bollywood staples. The soft-spoken singer confesses that unlike many of his contemporaries, he was entirely self-taught.
“Fortunately – or unfortunately – I had no formal training in music,” he says. “But it’s always been a part of me. I have always sung for myself. It never occurred to me to become a professional musician. I studied science and did my masters in geology. I wanted to join the civil service or the Indian army – I even trained for that – but not for singing on stage.”

He may be selling out concert halls these days, but for many years he often faced empty auditoriums where he and his posse rehearsed. “Our criteria was how good the sound was – it had to have a hint of echo – and we’d play anywhere. There weren’t many, if any, professional places where we could sing. I come from a beautiful, small state where it’s all about nature. We had no money, maybe just enough to pay the rent, but when you’re stringing along with your bros, that’s freedom,” he says.
These days, Chauhan is too busy to sing with many of the other performers he admires. “I love to sing with others – but most of my duets are recorded separately, and often in separate places. Everything is brought together by technology. So when I hit the stage with another female singer, for example, sometimes it’s the first time I have met them in person,” he says with a laugh.

While he is well aware that he has a loyal following among the young indie-Hindi-pop crowd, Chauhan himself prefers to listen to singers from the 1960s and ‘70s. “As any Indian male singer will tell you, the love we have for Kishore Kumar [the iconic playback singer who died in 1987] borders on worship. The man had unbelievable range – he did soft numbers, rock, anthems; he acted, he produced … he rocked the stage.”

And this is perhaps what the next generation will be saying about Chauhan in years to come.

Mohit Chauhan, May 10, 7.30pm, Kitec, 1Trademart Drive, Kowloon Bay, HK$288- HK$1,500, HK Ticketing. Inquiries: 3128 8288

More at SCMP.com

NOTE: My first feature for 48 hours, the new magazine by South China Morning Post. Joy of byline...!  

Galaxy & Vogue

Shot on the left, something we did for Galaxy magazine.

Shot on the right, something we found in Vogue.

Glad even our outtakes are on the right track!

Rama

Sophia Loren in Hong Kong: SCMP Exclusive:

I met... that's a lie... meeting implies conversation or interaction of some sort apart from just gaping in awe...

Let me re-write as, I saw Sophia Loren in Hong Kong.

Column now in SCMP.com, read all about it here.

PS: In one of the pics above, my fuzzy tennis ball head has totally photo-bombed a pic! lols.

04:39AM

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Giorgio Damiani, Vice President of Damiani Group, with Sophia Loren

Veni, Vidi, Vici

She came, she saw, she conquered. A name that needs little introduction, 'the' Sophia Loren attended the reopening of Damiani's flagship store in Hong Kong at ELEMENTS mall in Kowloon. Decked in diamonds and a figure-hugging black gown, the 78-year-old actress, nay icon, wore pieces from the Sophia Loren Collection as she ventured into the flagship store. Cutting the ribbon with Giorgio Damiani, Vice President of Damiani Group and Alessandra Schiavo, Consul General of Italy, she blew kisses to the teeming crowd who gathered en mass to watch the grand dame of world cinema grace the occasion.

The crowds, well, mostly the snaparazzi, alternated between yelling out "Sophia! Sophia" and "Bella! Bella!" to entice that famed name and decolletage to turn their way.

Pansy Ho and third-generation Damiani, Giorgio, were part of the cherry-picked few who entered the shop with the actress, while the others watched from the outside, nose-pressed against the windows as the few and the fabulous made their way around the 1,076 square foot boutique. A notably buff, suit-and-tie sporting bouncer kept the crowds at bay, while he held a sparking, grey, clutch that, presumably, belonged to la bellissima Italiana.

At the cocktail, dressed in a magenta Hugo Boss suit, it was hard not to miss Kam Kwok-Leung, who's been a fan of Loren for years. "I first saw her decades ago, at the premiere of the opera Turandot," said the radio personality. "I doubt she remembers me. There are so many classic Italian movies she's done that I love that I can't name one, but the combination of her and Marcello Mastroianni on-screen was wonderful." Pulling out a splendid portrait of Loren decked in diamonds and feathers, he hoped to get an autograph.

Among the sea of faces at the cocktail, lord of coif and curls, Kim Robinson was out and about with friends, including our best-dressed of the night nominee, Jessica Hui. TV personality Rebeea Yeung emceed the event. Sally and Robert Lo, Yvette Yuen were seen in the melee as well as Chitra and Manolo Chellaram. A clumsy oaf of a scribe bumped a champagne glass and a splash of Moet hit Manolo, who ever graciously said, "Don't worry, its only champagne - and it's good luck!"

The cocktail party followed an exclusive VIP dinner at Tin Lung Heen at The Ritz-Carlton Hong Kong. Attending socialites included Ivy Wu, Dennis and Betty Sun, Moses and Angela Tsang, Ming Tang, Louisa Cheng, Sharon Poon, Mira Yeh, Virginia Wu, Helen Ma, Helen Rong and a host of other glittering attendees. They wined and dined with the Diva while their courses were interrupted by a jewellery show, as models sauntered by the restaurant showcasing some of the signature pieces. However, the cynosure of all eyes was undoubtedly Loren, who sported more than a fair share of bling, which she happily posed with for many an i-cam.

Left to right: Betty Sun, Dr Dennis Sun, Lucy Yang, Charles Yang