Throwback Thursday: Feature on Ikigai in South China Morning Post

 Funny how time flies - this was written during the pandemic. Gosh, we all survived one heck of a time... 

TBT to 14 June 2015: Post magazine fashion shoot with Olivier.

Incredible shoot in Post magazine by the amazing Olivier Yoan Passebecq Buyse!

To get this done... a lottttt went on behind the scenes. TBT to 2015

Shot in Hong Kong, Olivier made it look like we had the budget to shoot somewhere exotic.. 

The full shoot is up at SCMP.Com 

Some of the shots and outtakes are in the archive here.

 

TBT: Photographer Sabrina Sikora's throwback to a feature shoot with Aliya Zaidi

This throwback made me smile. Photographer Sabrina Sikora posted on his social media - reminding me nearly a decade ago we did this glamorous feature and shoot for SCMP. 

Good times, great memories. 

Breathe Hong Kong: Counselling Services for an anxious society

Online counselling team offers help for anxiety, depression, coronavirus woes and more, targeting Hongkongers going through tough times

Breathe HK provides easy and private connectivity between counsellor and client, with rates lower than average in-person sessions in the city

The most common challenge during Covid-19 has not been pay cuts or unemployment worry, but the parenting of teenagers during times of stress, the team says

Read the full feature here at SCMP.com - out in Health Post on Monday. 

Now that's a stretch: Yoga export Amari Tiana Harilela: Health Post: SCMP

Now that's a stretch: Yoga export Amari Tiana Harilela: Health Post: SCMP 

 

The Indian Jet Set: How 209 Indian Billionaires travel.

The Richest Residents of India do not fly commercial. 

Around 1,000 VVIPs fly private jets, choppers and glamorous Gulfstreams as they zoom over palaces and capitals around the world. 

According to a leading business magazine, India now has 209 billionaires studded around the country’s 28 states. Luxury cars and bungalows aside, they are traveling in rarefied bubbles between hearth and heaven. Here’s a look at some of the super jet set. 

Read the entire feature at SCMP.com here.

Rich Kids of Bollywood: The Young, Loaded, Next Gen

India is famously indulgent of celebrity children in ways that borders on the profligate. Here’s a look at the Indian Second Gen Z-ers; young, wealthy and born to Bollywood.

On a talk show, Shwetha Bachchan, eldest daughter of Indian thespian Amitabh Bachchan, noted that she enjoys the best of two worlds; all the perks of peripheral fame courtesy of the most famous film family in India, and yet, all the privacy and normalcy of being a non-actor, left unbothered by selfie chasers.

With social media honing in and amplifying the otherwise private lives of star kids, Second Gen Z of Bollywood is living their best life on the ‘gram. Fresh out of high-school and pre graduation and career, their social media posts are montages of private jet-setting holidays, vacations on luxurious yachts, designer shopping sprees cosigned by very famous celebrity signatures on black Amexs. Here’s a look at generation next of Bollywood...

My feature on the young, second and third-gen Bollywood-ites, who are breathtakingly wealthy and spending like there's no tomorrow, is up online at SCMP.com - check it out here.

Gym fit: Hong Kong KOL James Wong partners with health and fitness instructors to set up his own gym. During the pandemic

Out in South China Morning Post, main feature of Health Post last week. 

James Wong and co set up Two Percent Fitness in the heart of Central. 

Slick gym, very stylish and Insta' friendly - but for those seriously into fitness and reshaping their bodies to an ideal. 

Have found my feature on various sites and platforms. 

Hm..

Ok then.

Follow the official account at https://www.instagram.com/twopercentfitness/

 

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Is Shahid Kapoor about to have a hallmark year as he turns 40 today? Family, films, Bollywood and box-office: Superstar on the horizon

 

Is Shahid Kapoor about to have a hallmark year as he turns 40 today? Family, films, Bollywood and box-office: Superstar on the horizon

Read up on Shahid at SCMP.com 

Death of an Indian Icon: A nation mourns the loss of Bollywood legend Sridevi

On this day, in the year 2018, legendary actress, star of a whopping 266 Indian films,  Sridevi died in Dubai, a case of fatal "accidental drowning," that sent seismic shockwaves through fans of Bollywood and Indian cinema.

A life-long fan, I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing the actress for a cover story for Post magazine back in 2012. 

You can read the entire feature in the archives at SCMP.com here. 

Health Post: Two Percent Fitness, gym that specialises in personal training, opens in Hong Kong

Two Percent Fitness, a gym that specialises in personal training, opens in Hong Kong after much delay caused by the pandemic lockdown. The co-founders, including celebrity James Wong, breathe a sigh of relief as the first members come in for a quick workout. 

Read the entire feature at SCMP.com here. 

Plus its out in print tomorrow morning! 
 

 

After Covid-19 paused Bollywood , Hrithik Roshan is finally back on set – so how did he become one of India’s best loved stars?

More than a year after War – his blockbuster hit with Tiger Shroff – Hrithik Roshan posted an Instagram photo of him back on set: as the actor turns 47, we take a look at his bumpy rise to fame

The pandemic might have hit pause on the Indian film industry, but luckily for us, its masked superhero is back.

Bollywood superstar Hrithik Roshan kicked off 2021 with an innocuous post – “back on set” – that sent all 33.3 million of his followers into a tizzy. And for good reason – the Indian actor is on screen back where he belongs after a year of no film releases.

As the iconic Indian actor and dancer turns 47, we take a look back at the rise, fall and re-emergence of an icon.

Read the entire feature online at SCMP here.

My interview with Hrithik Roshan in the archive here, when he was in Hong Kong, training for Krrish.

TBT: Jun Tyler: Model turned Pianist: Eurasian star

 

Outtakes from a shoot with Jun Tyler for South China Morning Post. For the column. 

Earlier had shot Jun for a magazine cover shoot / series. 

What a switch! He was one of the biggest stars in the industry as top Eurasian model. 

Follow him on social media below: 

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TBT: Bethany by Sabrina Sikora: Post magazine shoot:

Shoot for SCMP, Post mag, fashion pages. 

TBT!

TBT: Indians invited to the Met Gala: Isha Ambani, Natasha Poonawala, Deepika Padukone, Priyanka Chopra

The Indian Glamazons at the Met Gala are either Bollywood Stars or Heiresses: Meet the million - and billion - dollar babes. 

Check out the full feature at SCMP/Style here. 

The leading ladies of Bollywood get all the press when they land on the red carpet of The Met Gala – but the cynosure of media pundits are often on billion-heiresses; the mega wealthy who fly down on their own private jets for one night only from New Delhi to New York, from Mumbai to the Met.  

The “first Monday of May” is usually reserved in New York as stars of all stripes from around the globe land to walk the biggest red carpet. Earlier this year, rumblings of the pandemic delayed the celebrity studded soiree – on May 19, 2020 the museum released a statement that the gala had been canceled “due to the global health crisis.” Every mononymosly famous jet-setting star had their assistants put their passport and gilded invite away. 

Ostensibly of course, the purpose for the night is to raise funds for The Metropolitan – in 2019 a whopping US$15 million was raised within hours - $3 million more than the year before. At US$35,000 per plate (or full sponsored table ranging from US$200,000 to US$300,000) and a charity performance and auction, each manicured hand in sight is expected to bid not just wave, the invited double as donors (and yes, albeit a tax write-off). 

The gilded invites (with the tacit approval and auspices of Vogue editor Anna Wintour) are regularly couriered from 350 Madison Avenue to Mumbai; to four of its most glittering denizens;  Isha Ambani, Natasha Poonawala, Deepika Padukone, Priyanka Chopra. 

 

Health and diet in the Covid era; My feature with holistic dietician Mayuri Punjabi in SCMP: myeurekalife

My feature on Mayuri Punjabi is out this morning in South China Morning Post; 

Why clients rave about weight-loss coach who takes mind-and-body approach to shedding the kilos, with fasting at its core. Read it all here.

You can follow her on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/myeurekalife/ 

The paper didn't have enough room for the addendum; here are a few healthy, easy tips she had

• Stop snacking - you don’t need to eat eight times a day, and should allow your digestive system a rest in between meals. 
• Do not drink liquids during your meals as it causes the digestive enzymes and hydrochloric acid in your stomach to dilute, which makes it weaker and slows down the digestion process. This can lead to bloating and general discomfort. Therefore, drink liquids 30 minutes before and after a meal, not during.   
• Never compromise on your sleep. Seven to nine hours of sleep is required Those that say, “sleep is for the weak”, are seriously mistaken.   
• Learn to read labels and pay close attention to the ingredients list. The ingredient that is listed first is the most present, in terms of quantity. It is important to look out for ways in which sugar can sneak its way into ingredients lists, especially when masked under scientific terminology.  
• Trust your body to communicate and tell you what works and what doesn’t. Don’t just jump on the bandwagon of the next fad, as it may not be right for you. We are an evolved species and have done so without any fad diets or supplements. 
• AVOID:  
• Vegetable Oils: sounds healthy but deceptively so, they contain very high levels of polyunsaturated fats that slow down your metabolism, disrupt your hormones, impair digestion and accelerate ageing. Instead try to replace them with traditional fats like Ghee, Lard, Duck Fat, Olive Oil, Avocado Oil and Coconut Oil.  
• Sugar: try and avoid sugar, both natural and artificial, as when it is added to make a product taste sweeter, you should be wary!    
• Processed food; any ingredient list that is a page long, esp junk and fast foods: avoid eating anything in a bottle, jar with more chemicals than food.  
• Don’t use the phrase “cheat days”, I try to steer clear of that term because it sounds like we are doing something wrong that should result in some sort of punishment. Balance is key! 

Why Netflix’s Paava Kadhaigal – a shocking anthology about honour killings starring Anjali and part-directed by Gautham Menon – is set to be a game changer in Indian cinema

Often reduced to gory headlines, the reality of honour killings is not a traditional topic for Indian movie-makers – Paava Kadhaigal sees four accomplished directors address the tricky topic

Read my entire feature here at SCMP. com 

Bollywood Actress Tabu: A Suitable Woman

 One of the most gifted Indian actresses, her disinterest in fame, but her innat thespian skills are at constant battle within her. Such a joy to write about the reluctant star Tabu. See the entire feature online at SCMP/Style here. 

Farming in Hong Kong? Yep! Permaculture is here to stay.

Out this morning in SCMP. 

Read the entire feature online here. 

Actor's death brings out dark side of fans: The tragedy of Bollywood's Sushant Singh Rajput

The full feature is online at SCMP.com here.