Christian Dior in Mumbai

Images from the opening of Christian Dior in Mumbai (Nov 2010), an extravagant, star-studded night that will remain etched in my brain for years to come. I can foretell that I'll annoy generations with anecdotes from that night, what I saw, what I heard, what I felt.

Pics from the night from my crappy cam. Everything was a blur - let's pretend the camera was getting progressively drunk as the images go from clear to intoxicatedly fuzzy as you scroll down.

Of the few clearly shot pics, special thanks to the gorgeous, gorgeous Anaita Shroff Adajania, stylist and Goddess-in-my-eye, for being so kind and lovely. Was feeling way too ridiculously shy to get a snap with Deepika Padukone, who sort of took my breath away, but the lovely Anaita saw how blubbery I was and said, 'Would you like me to take the pic?' With a grateful heave and sigh of relief, gave her my cam and she snapped away. Need I say I lurv her?!

Pics of actress (and Big Brother winner) Shilpa Shetty, Amrita Arora (the younger sister of the much hotter Malaika Arora, who was also there and looking crazy hot as always but couldn't get a pic of her as she was mingling), the amazonian and ridiculously beautiful Deepika Padukone (who was also very sweet in person), the lovely Madhoo (Roja fame and niece of B'wood Dream Girl Hema Malini), ravishing Raveena Tandon (who was so funny in person and looks naturally beautiful), Indian designer to the stars Narendra Kumar Ahmed (who's a friend and the best freakin' designer in all of Asia), former Miss Universe turned actress Sushmita Sen (sen-sational indeed), model turned actor Dino Morea (one of the best dressed guys of the night - and we think he was wearing Narendra Kumar Ahmed suit), actor Sanjay Kapoor, newcomer and former supermodel Monikangana Dutta (who made her first guest appearance in the critically acclaimed flop Guzaarish)... Oh 'twas a starry, starry night...



My feature. TBC.




















As reported by the Indian Press:
Bombay Times

Claudia Shaw: Chanel in the Kitchen? Crave magazine food feature

Known for her impeccable sense of style, Claudia Shaw’s elegant approach to fashion is reflected in the way she cooks. She talks to Crave about her cookbooks and her culinary passion.

Text by P. Ramakrishnan

E-mail: ramakrishnanp @ hotmail dot com 

With her toned legs and elegant frame, her distinguished lineage – she is the grandniece of media mogul Sir Run Run Shaw – and her association with luxury brands, Claudia Shaw’s credentials as a socialite and fashionista are impeccable.

Her appearances in the social pages of magazines are so frequent one wonders if she could ever have time to do anything other than glide beautifully into Hong Kong’s most glamorous functions.

But with the publication of Delicious and then Too Delicious, two wonderfully instructive cookbooks written by Shaw with her friend Dominica Yang, she has revealed another facet to her existence – a passionate love affair with good food.

The books were publicised by word of mouth with all proceeds going to charity. They have been a roaring success in shops across the city.

And listening to Shaw waxing lyrical about cooking, it is not hard to understand why.

“I have dishes coming out of my ear. I can’t tell you about how much I love good food,” she says.

This love, it transpired, was shared by her friend Dominica Yang and the idea for the book came about over lunch when the pair discovered, through their backgrounds, that they had hundreds of recipes up their sleeves. And the magic was in their simplicity.

“Dominica and I were chatting about how much we both loved cooking and we said, we’d love to put out a cookbook, why don’t we just do it,” she says.

“It’s basically all the stuff that we would make at home, recipes from friends, parents, grandparents – we don’t even know where they all originated from, but in every page, we have dishes that we always make at home.

“Everything is tried and tested by us. For years these have lived with us in our homes and basically it’s food from around the world, Western and Asian, that’s what we eat.”

As you find with most culinary fanatics, the seeds of Shaw’s obsession with good food were sown in her childhood.

“Both my grandparents were great cooks, my mother is a wonderful cook. My father’s side is a family of foodies as well, and my brother is a great cook. We talk about food, we discuss meals, we get together on weekends over food – it means a lot.

“Coming home as a child has a lot of food memories for me. We had a Chinese cook who would always ask: ‘What would you like?’ when we got home. A cookie, or wonton, or any local dish of choice.”

These memories and sheer determination to bring the book out helped Shaw and Yang overcome their lack of knowledge about the publishing industry to make a success of the idea.

And, for anyone unfamiliar with them, they are gorgeous to look at, filled with delectable images.

“Every photo in the book was shot in two days, all 60 dishes,” she recalls. “It was a like a factory, all those dishes were made, shot and then they went off to everyone we knew – the photographers, the photographer’s girlfriend, anyone who walked in.”

With so many recipes to cook at home it might seem surprising that Shaw ever eats out but she, like most of us, has her views about Hong Kong’s restaurants.

“It’s sad that Hong Kong doesn’t have enough quirky places where you can get really good food in a lovely venue that’s not in a hotel atmosphere,” she says.

“I’m not a big fan of Soho or Lan Kwai Fong. Nor are my friends. Jimmy’s Kitchen is nice and so are the usual upmarket places like Caprice and Robuchon. For good food, there’s also Kee Cluband Crystal Jade.

“Rent here is so high and there are some great cooks out there who would like too pen up a place, but they can’t make it because of the criminal overheads. Once you’ve sorted rent out, how can you possibly make a profit?”

It’s unlikely these challenging circumstances for budding Hong Kong restaurateurs will change in the short term. In the meantime, the home cooking revolution continues to gather pace – thanks inno small measure to books like Shaw’s two cookbooks.

Read the entire feature here at Crave magazine.

My Life: Gary Goddard

The Los Angeles-based Galaxy Macau designer talks about his cinematic approach to projects.

Words P.Ramakrishnan
Portrait by Douglas Pieterse

Jun 12, 2011

IMAGINE THIS
As a teen, I made money doing odd summer jobs; I was in a band, I sang, I played guitar, got paid to perform on weekends. During the summer holidays, I set up musical theatre workshops, through which I earned the money to pay for college. I was always entrepreneurial as a kid.

When I was young, I wanted to meet three of my heroes - Errol Flynn, Gene Kelly and Walt Disney. I only got to meet Kelly, the others died way before. I had a slight obsession with Disney and his work; I read every book about him. Do you know about the nine old men of Disney? The key guys who worked with Disney; they were all about 10 years younger than Walt, but they worked on all the major productions. I knew every film each guy did. I called up Les Clark after finding his number in the Yellow Pages. I knew he worked for Disney. I spoke to him and made such an impression that he invited me to the studio. I met every one of the guys. No one knew who they were and they certainly didn't have any fans, but there I was, a kid who knew every film they had done, every character they had drawn. It endeared me to them so I was always welcome to the studios. Every time I could get away from school, I'd be there. I learnt so much from them, just talking to them, watching them work. I thought I'd be an animator but was told, 'You're too active, too restless, animators sit at drawing desks all day.' So I didn't end up there but, right after graduation [from the California Institute of the Arts], for three years I worked at Disney as an 'imagineer'. I worked on the parks, how to light it, how to make it more exciting. All this before I was 23.

FATHER'S PRIDE
I got into arguments with my dad over my career choices and I'll never forget the biggest one. One day, while I was at university, my dad said, 'This summer, you're not doing theatre, you're getting a real job. You're not doing this 'playing' any more'. 'Dad, I'm going to be a millionaire,' I said. 'Don't worry about me.' This made him laugh. 'Doing what?' he asked. 'Doing this. Doing theatre. Playing. I'm going to be an actor, writer, director.' He could not fathom any of it. But that's exactly what happened. I did all that and made my first million pretty early on. Was my dad proud later? Well, he never acknowledged it to me. Years later, I went to visit him, a friend of his was over and dad hadn't come into the room. This guy asked me, 'You Larry's kid, Gary?' This guy started rattling off all the things I had done, the movies, the projects. That's how I found out my dad was proud of me.

PLAYING WITH WORDS
At 23, I got interviewed by Marc Davis, who created Tinker Bell. Davis was like my mentor. Because he did so many things, I got restless and wanted to do more. I wrote a screenplay, Against the Gods, which was a retelling of the Ten Commandments, but in space, set in the future. I pitched it to Paramount Pictures and they liked it, so I started writing screenplays. I wrote Tarzan, the Ape Man and lived with Bo Derek and John Derek in the Seychelles for a month. I knew Bo when she was at the peak, she had just finished 10.

FAMILY VALUES
In 1980, I formed my own company, Gary Goddard Productions. We created attractions for Universal Studios. I had done theatre, animation, acting, directing, so I understood how when someone got into a theme park, they were looking for a sense of adventure, excitement and action.

The concept of Las Vegas is changing. Where it used to be a playground for adults, now it's a family show. That's when they started making even bigger money. When told that he made children's movies, Disney said, 'I never made a movie for children, I made movies for parents of children. I put things in the movies that children would like as well.' To me, that's how I approach a project. I aim for the key No1 target market, then we widen it out. Every show, every ride, every building, every resort, first and foremost who are you trying to attract?

LONG SHOT
About six years ago, I was in San Francisco when we had the first meeting about Galaxy Macau and I [told them] they're going to need more than fountains and sparkles to jazz up a casino in a place that's full of casinos. There was a suggestion that we try to recreate Spain in Macau. I argued that if people wanted to see Spain, they can go to Spain.

I think like a filmmaker, so whether you're coming in from the north, south, east, or west, every time you see a view of [the Galaxy], you see a fantastic sight. Think of it as a long shot in a movie: you see this giant structure, then you see the design of the first few floors, that's your medium shot, you see the gates, the entrance, it's still majestic but now you can see the details, we're bringing it down to scale where you can touch it, feel it - that's the close-up.

I'm not one to subscribe to the Venetian philosophy. I've been there only once - never again. I got lost in that place. I've never seen a place as chaotic - in terms of design. It is too big; it's not well planned; how do people move through? The old-school idea that chaos is OK, getting people lost in the casino is a good idea as they'll spend more money [on retail and restaurants] - that is so stupid.

LESSON LEARNED
In 1984, we got a project to convert an old power plant into an indoor entertainment centre. I kept saying, you gotta have a roller coaster that would go up and across two large smoke stacks so people from miles around could see it. I kept getting told, 'We heard you, we understand your passion, but we want no rides.' The project gets made, it's a disaster. No one knows what's in there. I was really young back then and didn't stand my ground. A year later, the management changed, the owners changed and I got a letter. 'We are considering a lawsuit against your firm for the negligence you showed by not putting in a ride. And how irresponsible you were in creating an entertainment destination with no rides.' So I wrote back a very nice letter, attaching six pieces of correspondence from the old management. That was the last of the suit - but I learned an invaluable lesson: this is how the world works; in success it'll be rare that you'll get credit, in failure expect to be blamed for everything.


OUTTAKES FROM SHOOT:

All pics by Douglas Pieterse.

A Model Citizen: 90s Pakistani Supermodel Aliya Zaidi, Hong Kong's Glamazon

Pakistani Aliya Zaidi has made huge and stylish strides in her home country, but calls Hong Kong home. 

P.Ramakrishnan 

Seated in the front row of fashion week among a sea of glitterati at the Four Seasons grand ballroom in Central, she cuts a striking figure. Tall, slim, with a confident strut, she isn't chased by the tabloid photographers, nor zoomed in on for a close-up by Chinese television. Back home, it's a different story. 

As she walked the ramp for a slew of Pakistani designers this past season, after a long hiatus from modelling, Aliya Zaidi, 37, was featured in every fashion magazine in the region and headlined for designers Nilofar Shahid, Kamiar Rokni, Rehana Saigal and Ammar Belal. 

None too shabby for a mother-of-two who thought her days of pausing and pirouetting at the end of a ramp were long gone. "No, I wasn't nervous," she says tossing back tresses that have been similarly tossed for a Pantene ad. "I've done so many shows, there's excitement and thrill in the air, but that doesn't translate to nervousness or fear. Tripping on the runway is not a concern - walking down the steps on Wellington Street with five-inch heels is far more dangerous - I know, I fell and fractured my tailbone there!" 

Karachi-born Zaidi modelled as a hobby while juggling her MBA program. "I was 18, in college and approached to walk for a fashion show," she recalls. "I worked with the top makeup stylist and after that it was a series of shoots and shows for years. It was tough to manage working towards my MBA and modelling at the same time, but fashion became my passion and I always found time to fit it in." 

With full support from her conservative, yet progressive parents there was no hysterical reaction at home. "My parents were proud of my success," she says. It paid off as accolades followed. 

"I was named the Number One Supermodel in the country [in the late '90s] after an industry survey and my parents loved to tell their friends in delight. Even now, not a day goes by when I don't miss them." What she doesn't miss is the politics and hours standing around. "I started at 18 but by 25, I wasn't so enamoured by the whole scene. I moved to New York and started focusing on my corporate career in technology. Working long hours at the office and rushing home to start dinner left no time for pursuing my previous career. Perhaps I had also burnt out with the crazy hours - it was less stressful to focus on my 9-7 job at the time." 

While she currently lives in Hong Kong, she sees progress being made in her home country. "Pakistan is extremely modern - you would be surprised what the well-heeled wear at soirees in Karachi and Lahore, no different from other fashion centers in the world," says Zaidi, who even did an occasional stint on the catwalks of Mumbai (aka Bollywood). 

"It is very common to spot women in Cavalli or Chanel. Even though the majority don the traditional three-piece outfit, many have incorporated western wear in their closets." 

Pakistan's third fashion week was held earlier this year. 

See earlier post: The Making of... Aliya with a Z. 

Pic 1 Image Credits: Black evening dress ($16,995) by Roberto Cavalli, from The Swank, shoes ($13,740) by Giuseppe Zanotti Design from Lane Crawford, ring (*) and necklace (*) from Cartier. 

Pic 2 Navy gown ($22,090) by Roland Mouret, shoes ($13,740) by Giuseppe Zanotti Design from Lane Crawford, all from Lane Crawford. Earring (*) Van Clef & Arpel, necklace (*) from Cartier.

* Price upon request. 

Black, White and Read all Over

Within the labyrinth walls of the Hong Kong Heritage Museum, the exhibition 'Cameras Inside-out' reveals some of the best work done by legendary artists and hot shot photographers in Hong Kong.

Paris, Je T'aime

For Francophiles and lovers of art, opera, music and dance, fashion, food and wine, there's nothing quite like Le French May, the annual celebration of all things French. Hong Kong plays host to some of the best acts from France, so here's P.Ramakrishnan's sneak peek at the highlights of what's coming up.

Making a Point

Until you or your friends have children, the world of children's clothing is a mysterious realm of miniature pleasures that you may not have discovered. With the opening of Bonpoint, the luxury brand dedicated to creating beautiful garments for children, the Parisian fashion house is trying to establish a home in Hong Kong.




PS: What I forgot to mention, good gravy kids clothes are expensive! My jeans don't cost as much as one of the Ts at Bonpoint. But then that says more about me than I care to share...

MINI Revolution

I don't drive. I know little about cars. But when asked to write about something, I'll do the homework. There was my usual moan-n-groan when I got this assignment but then as pointed out, I know nothing about cooking either, but that hasn't stopped me from writing about food, chefs and restaurants!

The Write Angle

Does it matter which pen William Faulkner used to write the words that led him to win the Nobel Prize for literature? John Steinbeck, for one, used pencils, a stack of which he sharpened each morning before he hand wrote his intense sagas. And whatever happened to the quill that Shakespeare dipped into his copious inkwell? Would the quality of writing have been any different?

Frankly Speaking

Having toured and performed the world over with the biggest names in the music industry - Chaka Khan, Diana Ross, Quincy Jones, Michael Jackson, Earth, Wind & Fire - singer and Grammy nominee Howard McCrary graces Hong Kong for a series of live performances. P.Ramakrishnan accompanied the professional crooner as he spoke of and sang about the musical greats.





Special thanks to the fab team at The Mandarin Oriental, Hong Kong.

10 Books to Read this Year

Despite the purple pleasure of what they offer, take a break from a long litany of bad movies, trashy magazines and mediocre television shows to sit back and relax with a good book. P.Ramakrishnan recommends the following as some of the best books to read this year.



If only the cover of a book was even remotely indicative of the quality of writing in a novel. The false promises of the book jacket ("Bestseller"! "New York Times Thumbs Up!" "Hello says its OK!") aside, the sheer gloss of the lapel and the enticing pout of the cover girl beckoning you to slam down HK$89.90 for what turns out to be a dense and unreadable brick, can be disheartening. Only trust word-of-mouth recommendations from those who've committed themselves to reading cover-to-cover one of the 172,000 or so books published each year. From classics to horrors, fiction and fantasy to hardcore facts, the following should grace your shelves this year, if they don't already.






"The Devil Wears Prada" by Lauren Weisberger
This book is not great, but the captivating title certainly is. For a change, the film was a vastly superior product, greatly elevated by the superlative performance of Merly Streep, and the brilliant punchlines ("I'm not coming in to work today. I'm calling in fat"). So why is this best-seller listed here when the DVD was recently released? For the sheer, unadulterated pleasure of verbal voyerism! This gossamer-veiled peek into the life of Vogue magazine's uber-coiffed head of Anna Wintour, and the elevated lifestyle of a high-gloss fashionista limned for entertainment is riveting, and has more details and misdemeanors than the slightly rosier film adaptation. The expose of one of the most powerful women in media, it may seem line an exaggerated funneling of the truth, but fact is always stranger than fiction. It's easy to read and, should there be such a word, it's gleefully 'unputdownable'.



Feature for Signature Life Magazine. Got my first complaint letter from... polite word, polite word... someone, who was grievously offended by my including the book 'The God Delusion' on the list. Not for writing the book, just for recommending it as a summer read!

Believe it or faint, I had to issue an apology letter while biting my tongue.

Race Against Time

When Francesca von Etzdorf and Sandy Sydney signed up for Amazing Race Asia, the reality based show that runs on AXN across the continent, they were new to the game; both the one on TV and their relationship. In unexpected twists and turns, they've met challenges head on and - fans can breath a sigh of relief - they are indeed still together. So what made them sign up? No, it wasn't just the money (thought that didn't hurt!).




By the time you read this feature, you'll be aware of who wont The Amazing Race Asia and the US$100,000 (HK$ 779, 708.38) cash prize that went along with it. Sure, the money was a great incentive to sign up for an express ride across the vast continent, but by looking at the show's American counterpart, surely each contestant is aware of the toils and turmoil that lead to break-ups, pain and suffering, not to mention the personal humiliation that is telecast around the world with uncensored musings, reactions, expletives, flaws and foibles included for all to see, again and again. The nitty-gritty, dirty laundry on air makes for great television viewing, while the contestants' respective 45 minutes of fame (the duration of each episode) leads to a lasting postcard of personal degradation.

Fortunately, for the two individuals representing Hong Kong, model Francesca von Etzdorf and personal trainer Sandy Sydney, there hasn't been too much on screen to make them squirm while watching the telecast of the show at home with friends. "It's still fantastic to watch. I find myself yelling at myself - 'No, don't take that one, pick the other option'!" laughs Sydney, who by his sheer size and gym-toned physique seemed to have an advantage over the 18 other competitors. But the physical prowess proved somehwhat worthless in the beginning. "When we came in almost last in the first show, we really pulled our socks up. Not for a second did we take this race up for a laugh. We were dead serious and focused."

Agreeing with her partner, von Etzdorf says, "It's hard to believe, but in our deepest fears, when it was a life or death situation, not for a moment did we think we're not going to do the challenge. It wasn't for the camera, it wasn't for our families or friends watching, it became really personal. Both of us were totally committed."

Chosen fromn amongst 200 applicants in Hong Kong, the pair sent a tape to AXN that demonstrated their skills and how they were the perfect match to represent the city in the race. "We were not really sure that we would be selected but when we got the call, we were excited," says Sydney. "We didn't tell anyohne what we were up to, though our very close friends had a hint as we had told them months ago about auditioning for the show. Then we dropped off the planet for about two months! Francesca's lucky that in her profession (as a model), she doesn't really have fixed hours so it was fine, and my employers were great and it all worked out."


TBC...







Feature for Kee magazine. All pics by William Furniss.

First time I met the divine Ms Francesca who I adore 'cause she's brilliant and beautiful. A combo unique to m'self I used to think! ;o)