Girl with the blue scarf

Oh Freida! We like you, just the way you are Slumdog Millionaire girl Freida Pinto recently shot for an ad campaign for L’Oréal . As the shoot wrapped up, she went home happily looking forward to some positive reactions. But little did she know that she will fall into a 'colour trap' of sorts. Instead of compliments on her rich Indian look, she received brickbats on lightening her skintone for the shoot. Freida has a big fan following and most of her fans across the world condemned the move. Quick to the rescue, L’Oréal issued a public statement. Here goes: This is with reference to certain incorrect reports on the Internet about L’Oréal Paris lightening Freida Pinto's skin-tone in the campaign 'Colors Take Flight Project Runway' . L’Oréal Paris strongly reiterates that Freida Pinto's skin-tone in the campaign 'Colors Take Flight Project Runway' limited-edition collection has not been altered in any way. This campaign was meant to highlight Freida Pint...

Film: Mausam; Rating: * * * * (4 stars) Cast: Shahid Kapoor, Sonam Kapoor, Supriya Pathak Director: Pankaj Kapur Must say two years of Shahid Kapur's dedication shone well in his father Pankaj Kapur's film Mausam. Capturing the essence of a small town boy's dream to fly, this movie kickstarts its look from a village in Punjab. Shahid Kapur aka Harinder Singh, lovingly called Harry 's the joyful, active boy who's waiting for his sarkari joining letter from the Indian Air Force. And in those days of fun and waiting, he falls in love with Aayat (Sonam Kapoor), a Kashmiri Muslim, who takes shelter at her aunt's ( Supriya Pathak ) place in Punjab. Harry starts to send subtle love signals to Aayat, so she would accept his love. TWIST: Sonam has to leave town in a rush and then one after the other Ayodhya-Babri masjid demolition issue comes up. Just then Harry receives a call from IAF and goes for his training. Seven years hence, he accidentally meets Sonam at Scotlan...

Anil Chopra , CEO Lakmé Lever, has resigned from Lakme Fashion Week Rather shocking, the man who founded the Lakme Fashion Week in Mumbai over 11 years ago has decided to part ways with LFW. He intends to pursue an external opportunity by end September. THE WORKS: Anil has had a rich experience of more than 25 years in the Tata group followed by 12 years in HUL. Anil has had a distinguished career and established Lakmé as a highly aspirational and iconic beauty brand in this country. He is recognised as an expert on beauty and customer experience. Best known for his exhaustive work as VP – Lakmé, Oral & Deos and VP Lakmé Beauty & Wellness Services and HUL Network. Under the leadership of Anil, Lakmé has grown to be one of the largest salon chains in India with 160 Salons across 36 cities. He was very encouraging toward the young designers and took special interest in helping the Gen Next category. Girl with the Blue Scarf says: Anil Chopra is a stellar personality. Without h...

First winner from Angola, Leila is one of the few black Miss Universe winners Newly crowned Miss Universe Leila Lopes hopes her victory will allow her to assist her native Angola further escape its history of war and impoverishment and said she plans to focus on combatting HIV around the globe. She says, "I've worked with various social causes. I work with poor kids, I work in the fight against HIV. I work to protect the elderly and I have to do everything that my country needs," she said. "I think now as Miss Universe I will be able to do much more." Lopes said that she has never had cosmetic surgery of any kind and that her three tips for beauty were to get a lot of sleep, use sun block even when it's not sunny and to drink lots of water. She said her smile was her best weapon in the competition. Asked about racism in light of the fact that she's one of the few blacks ever crowned Miss Universe, Lopes said that "any racist needs to seek help. It...

Film: Bodyguard (**) Director: Siddique Stars: Salman Khan, Kareena Kapoor, Raj Babbar and one promotional song by Katrina Kaif Review: My hunt for director Siddique is still on. I'd like to express my apologies toward his lack on imagination. And also such brutal use of a fabulous starcast of Salman Khan and Kareena Kapoor on a weak script like this. HYPE: The hype for Salman's Bodyguard was gripping in the days that followed Eid (31st Aug). And cinema halls across India went house full, clearly out of curiosity to see how Salman 'Bhai' would entertain us as a bodyguard with rippling muscles and eight pack abs. The film opens with Katrina Kaif, looking absolutely hot in a black number. And as the storyline progresses, Salman (Lovely Singh) was chosen as the bodyguard for Kareena (Divya) as there was threat to her life from gaon ka goondas . Kareena's dad Sartaj (played by Raj Babbar) was a surprise element as he looked quite young to play the dad...

Supermodel Ujjwala Raut was in Mumbai recently visiting her parents. With daughter Ksha, 5, the proud momma says she has moved on from her nightmarish marriage to New York-based model Craig Maxwell Sterry . "I am single and happy. I've learned from my mistakes and put my past behind. I am still open to love though. Just like anybody else, I aspire for happiness too," she says. She wants to fiercely protect her daughter who lives with her in New York. "Why wouldn't I? I am a mother, and I will never let any harm come to my child. I can face any hardship but my daughter needs a normal upbringing. Thankfully, I am able to give her that in NY," she says with a sigh of relief. Some time ago, Ujjwala endured a lot of media bashing, "Thanks to Maxwell. He even emailed those articles to me. Everywhere I went, be it US, UK or Italy, the media kept asking for details about my marriage. I finally decided to put an end to this. Why should anyone know what...

When it's Mumbai-based designer Manish Malhotra's ramp show, the anticipation in the air is thick. This time around at the Lakme Fashion Week Winter/Festive 2011 last day in Mumbai, everyone knew actress Kareena Kapoor would walk the ramp for him as his muse. And so, the crowds started to get restless when the show time neared. So much so, that the photographers got into a muddle and fist fights when they couldn't notch a good spot to shoot the ramp show. Finally the doors to enter the main show area opened and celebrities came in. Manish's special guests including Karisma Kapur, Neha Dhupia, Amrita Arora and Karan Johar got seated. With him came the cast of his forthcoming film Mere Bother Ki Dulhan including Katrina Kaif, Imran Khan, his wife Avantika, Deepika Padukone and director Punit Malhotra . This grand finale show launched Lakme Absolute, a longwear makeup range and Kareena wore it while walking the ramp. Gosh, she looked so gorgeous that people gaped in...