(Another cover story, another piece on my seemingly favourite topic ;) - Men!)
We girls might not gawk and hoot; roll our tongues out and spin our eyes; bajao a shrill seeti or pass some giggly remark, but there’s no denying the fact, that we, in our own devised ways, check out the opposite sex.
That first look, that makes you look again, and again, and again, is what starts the sparks and the love formulas. But, keep the love and mush aside for now. This piece will concentrate on the pure drool factor – hot bods. Hot, as we’re looking at it here, is completely personal. I, for starters, would say “eeiuuu” if a guy were too beefy or burly. A skinny chap, especially when the skinniness is over-emphasised by tight pants and fitted shirts or t-shirts, would get a disapproving nod. A boyfriend or a date with a well-toned body is every girl’s dream. Didn’t we all go ga-ga over Hrithik’s bronzed cuts in Dhoom 2? Aah, sweet remembrances! But, this apart, my ‘hottie’ boy would have a well-cut toned back, and a little chubbiness around the waist. Love handles, I like. Abs are good on screen, coz the all-muscle ones can’t give you bear hugs when you need them!
When I buzzed my girls and asked curiously about what they check out in men, I was amused by how they belted out the finer details. We girls can be really picky! Take for example, Moksha Ruia, who’s well known in the city for the lovely bags she designs. “The physical aspect is as important as the overall personality. He can be flabby but should carry himself well enough to be ‘oh-so-cute’. I like athletic bodies, but the cute, dimpled ones with Punjabi fat top my list!” Punjabi fat? Please explain, Moksha. “Well, he should look the khaata-peeta types!” she laughs, and adds, “The thin guys are just not happening. A guy should look stronger than me!” We hung up after some more girly talk, and I moved on to Target Number 2 - Priya Parkhi, married, 26 and a free-style swimwear designer for Champ Sportswear. “I like the conventionally good looking guys,” she says honestly. “The ideal one would be fit, not necessarily muscular, with an average height of 5’10’’ or 5’11’’, and he has to be fair! Matt Damon is good. He’s all toned up, minus the repulsive, bulging muscles!”
Model Rucha Gawas says in no uncertain terms, “A guy I’ll pick should have flesh on him!” So skinny bones are a no-no for her because, as she says, “I’m not on the skinnier side so I’d look overweight next to a guy who’s thin!” She also rules out the overly muscular ones. We recently spotted her judging a fitness contest in the city, and wonder what she thought of those hunks. “In a contest, the more muscles you have, the better it works for you. But, personally, I’d prefer ‘lean’ to ‘bulky’. Toned bodied guys, who are as strong as they look, and don’t just boast of hollow muscles are more my kind.” We limited her to just boy bods, but she did mention that ‘intelligence’ was high on her list. She likes chubby too as long as it’s not flabby and unfit.
Another girlie in the list - Chanda Patil, partner, Sixth Sense Properties Pvt Ltd, has different notions of her sexy man. She gives us the points on her roll – “I don’t like extra muscles. I don’t like bones either. And, I don’t like fat.” Okay, so what do you like? “The words ‘tall, lean and toned’ work well with me. More than that though, the guy should smell good. A guy who smells good hardly lets you down,” she winks.
21-year-old Ankeeta Jain raises the hotometer standards even more. She says to our delectation, “The guy who’ll make me give a second look should be tall and lean, with very strong forearms, and fleshy thighs. Good thighs in shorts – can’t get better!” She isn’t finished. She gushes, “A good chest is a must. Also, abs aren’t as important as those side cuts that Akshay Kumar has. When the cuts show in low waist jeans, the man is irresistible. That’s a big, big turn on! Nice eyes are important for me. That one look should make me blush.”
Need I add more, I wonder! After all the body essentials garnered here, just one thing remains to be said – Men, whether lean, muscular or chubby, we like you!
Pssst - Girlies, if you wanna add to this, go all out with your comments :)
Friday, July 27, 2007
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Mode-st men!
(This was a cover story - have edited out certain parts here - that I wrote for the paper)
Men. “They undress more than they dress,” we giggled. I know I just broke the rule of girly talk there by letting you in on a line we shared, but it’s that very line from where the idea of this piece sprang out. While it’s true men like undressing (I won’t tread further on that path), it’s truer that men have their own particular and peculiar style of dressing.
I remember my editor asking me once, “Why do you’ll leave us poor guys out of fashion stories?” That actually serves as food for thought. Nine out of 10 times, we limit our fashion talk to women. We dialled model Viraf Patel, former Grasim Mr India, and in the midst of our convo, we brought up our view of the ‘women-fashion’ relation being stronger than the ‘men-fashion’ bond. His instant rejoinder was, “It goes like this. Men are as fashion conscious as they can ‘afford’ to be. Women, on the other hand, are as fashion conscious as they need to be.” An explanation follows, “If a guy can afford a brand like Armani, he’ll buy it. If he can’t, too bad. He’ll settle for a lesser brand. But, but, but, a woman will fret and make sure she has her Louis Vuitton bag.” Wise words there!
But, truth is, men are and can be just as glamorous, fashionable and stylish, or then just as strange, uncoordinated and tacky as some women, when it comes to fashion sense. If you look at our model and actor brigade, they’re trendsetters. Even a Govinda, who can carry off a yellow shirt with red pants, will find several to emulate him. And, that emulation stirs the fashion-‘conscience’ in men.
There are some with designer dreams, and then there are others who’re happy with what they can buy off the shelf at boutiques, malls or other stores lining shopping streets. Most men tone their look down. While women would l-o-v-e to flaunt designer wear, men would be happy with a sobre look. They wouldn’t want to be touted as a fashion braggart.
If we begin slotting men, we can come up with a dozen! In my mind, I lined up most of the men I know, and I realised just how different and yet similar they all are, age no bar! You may try out the same exercise, and I guarantee, with nothing to lose though, that you will agree with my classifications…
Mr Suave
Age: 35 +
Description: Mr Suave rules every girl’s dream. He has a classic sense of dressing, almost impeccable. He likes his shirts without a crease on them, and he won’t step out of his doorstep if his watch, his belt and his shoes don’t match. He prefers the good ol’ colours – black, brown, tan and cream. His shoes will have to be the finest quality leather. His hair will never be out of its place. His face will hardly sport a stubble, except on a really bad day.
Who he could be? A business tycoon, a hotelier, a Hollywood star or Mr Amitabh Bachchan (never mind his french beard!)
Mr Fashionable
Age: No Bar
Description: Mr Fashionable is someone who can be moulded as per the fashion times. If fashion analysts give their verdict – ‘Casual tees with torn jeans’, then Mr Fashionable will be one of the first to sport that. If fashion analysts forecast the next autumn/winter ‘it’ thing to be something unacceptable as ‘cotton sleeveless vests’, Mr Fashionable will stock his wardrobe, and mind you, he’ll carry it off beautifully. His hair, accessories, shoes/sneakers, etc, are subject to fashion trends.
Who he could be? Your guy-next-door, a young restaurateur, a golfer, a royal exponent, Mr Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan…just about anyone.
Mr Wannabe
Age: Below 35
Description: A dreadful copy of Mr Fashionable. The problem with Mr Wannabe is that he lacks confidence, and he believes that ‘fashion’ alone can be a substitute. It’s not for nothing that fashion experts say ‘It’s all about the attitude’.
Who he could be? A crazy fan, a college classmate, a misguided brother, a work associate.
Mr Fixed
Age: No Bar
Description: Mr Fixed can either carry off formals, or casuals. He hardly experiments with a fusion of the two, and rarely does he spend moolah on something that’s out of his scope of fixed dressing. This applies to accessories, shoes, belts, watches, everything.
Who he could be? A retired man, a young businessman, a restaurateur. An actor even.
Mr Cool
Age: 24 – 50 years
Description: Mr Cool is, well, cool. He’s not one to intimately follow fashion trends, he’d rather make his own. If he likes his Superman tee, he’ll wear it. If he likes his ‘jockey’ band peeping out, he’ll make sure it does. Mr Cool has ruffled hair, or gelled spikes; his clothes are well fitted and he has a roving fashion eye. Quite the opposite of Mr Fixed.
Who he could be? A young actor, model, pub owner, phoren-return or phoren-departing lad, a young father, or even a young granddad with an ’18-till-I-die’ spirit…
Mr Overcool
Age: 15 – 24 years
Description: Mr Overcool is naive, but doesn’t think so. He wears his pants almost below his crotch, he shows off the entire jockey, and his clothes NEVER fit well. You won’t catch him alive in anything that’s not baggy. Blame it on the west, or on a distorted fashion sense. Mr Overcool eventually transforms into any of the above.
Who he could be? A just out-of-school boy, a college kid, a just-out-of-college guy.
Mr Doesn’t-Care-A-Damn
Age: 20 – 29 years
Description: Mr Doesn’t-Care-A Damn is in the growing phase. He’s just maturing. In the process, dressing is the last thing he wants to put his mind to. There are bigger and better things in life, you know. So, Mr Doesn’t-Care-A-Damn doesn’t care a damn about what he wears. Shirt out or in, pants loose or tight, colours coordinated or strikingly contrasted – who cares, says Mr Doesn’t-Care-A-Damn. Mention designers, and this mister will ask, ‘Designer who, what?’
Who he could be? A colleague, a student, a traveller.
Men. “They undress more than they dress,” we giggled. I know I just broke the rule of girly talk there by letting you in on a line we shared, but it’s that very line from where the idea of this piece sprang out. While it’s true men like undressing (I won’t tread further on that path), it’s truer that men have their own particular and peculiar style of dressing.
I remember my editor asking me once, “Why do you’ll leave us poor guys out of fashion stories?” That actually serves as food for thought. Nine out of 10 times, we limit our fashion talk to women. We dialled model Viraf Patel, former Grasim Mr India, and in the midst of our convo, we brought up our view of the ‘women-fashion’ relation being stronger than the ‘men-fashion’ bond. His instant rejoinder was, “It goes like this. Men are as fashion conscious as they can ‘afford’ to be. Women, on the other hand, are as fashion conscious as they need to be.” An explanation follows, “If a guy can afford a brand like Armani, he’ll buy it. If he can’t, too bad. He’ll settle for a lesser brand. But, but, but, a woman will fret and make sure she has her Louis Vuitton bag.” Wise words there!
But, truth is, men are and can be just as glamorous, fashionable and stylish, or then just as strange, uncoordinated and tacky as some women, when it comes to fashion sense. If you look at our model and actor brigade, they’re trendsetters. Even a Govinda, who can carry off a yellow shirt with red pants, will find several to emulate him. And, that emulation stirs the fashion-‘conscience’ in men.
There are some with designer dreams, and then there are others who’re happy with what they can buy off the shelf at boutiques, malls or other stores lining shopping streets. Most men tone their look down. While women would l-o-v-e to flaunt designer wear, men would be happy with a sobre look. They wouldn’t want to be touted as a fashion braggart.
If we begin slotting men, we can come up with a dozen! In my mind, I lined up most of the men I know, and I realised just how different and yet similar they all are, age no bar! You may try out the same exercise, and I guarantee, with nothing to lose though, that you will agree with my classifications…
Mr Suave
Age: 35 +
Description: Mr Suave rules every girl’s dream. He has a classic sense of dressing, almost impeccable. He likes his shirts without a crease on them, and he won’t step out of his doorstep if his watch, his belt and his shoes don’t match. He prefers the good ol’ colours – black, brown, tan and cream. His shoes will have to be the finest quality leather. His hair will never be out of its place. His face will hardly sport a stubble, except on a really bad day.
Who he could be? A business tycoon, a hotelier, a Hollywood star or Mr Amitabh Bachchan (never mind his french beard!)
Mr Fashionable
Age: No Bar
Description: Mr Fashionable is someone who can be moulded as per the fashion times. If fashion analysts give their verdict – ‘Casual tees with torn jeans’, then Mr Fashionable will be one of the first to sport that. If fashion analysts forecast the next autumn/winter ‘it’ thing to be something unacceptable as ‘cotton sleeveless vests’, Mr Fashionable will stock his wardrobe, and mind you, he’ll carry it off beautifully. His hair, accessories, shoes/sneakers, etc, are subject to fashion trends.
Who he could be? Your guy-next-door, a young restaurateur, a golfer, a royal exponent, Mr Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan…just about anyone.
Mr Wannabe
Age: Below 35
Description: A dreadful copy of Mr Fashionable. The problem with Mr Wannabe is that he lacks confidence, and he believes that ‘fashion’ alone can be a substitute. It’s not for nothing that fashion experts say ‘It’s all about the attitude’.
Who he could be? A crazy fan, a college classmate, a misguided brother, a work associate.
Mr Fixed
Age: No Bar
Description: Mr Fixed can either carry off formals, or casuals. He hardly experiments with a fusion of the two, and rarely does he spend moolah on something that’s out of his scope of fixed dressing. This applies to accessories, shoes, belts, watches, everything.
Who he could be? A retired man, a young businessman, a restaurateur. An actor even.
Mr Cool
Age: 24 – 50 years
Description: Mr Cool is, well, cool. He’s not one to intimately follow fashion trends, he’d rather make his own. If he likes his Superman tee, he’ll wear it. If he likes his ‘jockey’ band peeping out, he’ll make sure it does. Mr Cool has ruffled hair, or gelled spikes; his clothes are well fitted and he has a roving fashion eye. Quite the opposite of Mr Fixed.
Who he could be? A young actor, model, pub owner, phoren-return or phoren-departing lad, a young father, or even a young granddad with an ’18-till-I-die’ spirit…
Mr Overcool
Age: 15 – 24 years
Description: Mr Overcool is naive, but doesn’t think so. He wears his pants almost below his crotch, he shows off the entire jockey, and his clothes NEVER fit well. You won’t catch him alive in anything that’s not baggy. Blame it on the west, or on a distorted fashion sense. Mr Overcool eventually transforms into any of the above.
Who he could be? A just out-of-school boy, a college kid, a just-out-of-college guy.
Mr Doesn’t-Care-A-Damn
Age: 20 – 29 years
Description: Mr Doesn’t-Care-A Damn is in the growing phase. He’s just maturing. In the process, dressing is the last thing he wants to put his mind to. There are bigger and better things in life, you know. So, Mr Doesn’t-Care-A-Damn doesn’t care a damn about what he wears. Shirt out or in, pants loose or tight, colours coordinated or strikingly contrasted – who cares, says Mr Doesn’t-Care-A-Damn. Mention designers, and this mister will ask, ‘Designer who, what?’
Who he could be? A colleague, a student, a traveller.
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
In Defence of the new Don
(This was a column - Candid Cuts - I wrote in The Herald for 18th July, 07)
‘Don ke dushman ki sabse badi galti yeh hai ki woh Don ka dushman hai…’
King Khan effortlessly intensified the moment with this dialogue - the words rolled out casually, yet with the attitude of a winner, a nonchalant winner who beats ‘winning’ at its own game…It was my favourite line in the movie.
Slick and chic with heady beats and enough twists and turns, Farhan Akhtar’s remake of Big B’s Don, is a true-blue entertainer that targetted urban viewers. And with the Don of Bollywood’s newest era starring in it, the film was safely bang-on-mark.
What was there not to like, I ask those slamming the film. And before you answer, here are points I have an answer to:
- Why must SRK star in an Amitabh Bachchan-film remake?
Simply because Mr Bachchan (with all due respect to the man) is too old to play the part again.
- SRK was trying to prove he’s the new Don.
Well, honey, he is. He doesn’t need a film to prove it.
- Junior Bachchan would’ve been an ideal choice to carry on the Bachchan-Don legacy.
AB’s Baby would need to act, shave and not just stare at the screen in anger. When Don was being filmed, methinks that would’ve been a wee bit tough for Junior Bachchan.
- Akhtar’s film has no substance. It’s just a stylised version of the earlier one…
So, you agree it was stylish, eh!
- SRK has emulated Big B completely - the dressing, the paan scene, the dialogues…
And, boy, did he do a fabulous job!
- Other than the end, the script lacks originality…
Look here, it’s not touted as a remake for nothing. It marketed the original in a better, bigger and slicker way. The action scenes were very Hollywoodish (and yes that’s a parameter for judging success); the dialogues were backed with racy music; the cars thrilled auto-lovers, the locales added perfect colour to the grey-black movie scheme, the outfits…well, they gave us a revised trend.
And, the end…that made you smile at Don’s devil mind. You have to admit - this Don was smarter…smart enough to know what he meant when he said, ‘Don ko pakadna mushkil hi nahin, namumkin hai…’
I know this is mere reiterating of what I’ve been saying above, but I really loved the new Don. I’ve seen the original when I was too tiny to remember it even a couple of months later. SRK’s Don helped refresh my memory to an extent, and I did rent the CD of the original version. Not so much to make comparisons (there are enough critics doing that job out there), as much as to take a look at what inspired this new slick flick. And, I’ve heard that the old Don was no ‘classic’, as it’s being made out to be, and I’m sure it’s enjoying the publicity that the remake has brought it…
And, yeah there’s one point left to counter -
- I don’t like remakes…
Sorry, but we don’t accept biased criticism.
‘Don ke dushman ki sabse badi galti yeh hai ki woh Don ka dushman hai…’
King Khan effortlessly intensified the moment with this dialogue - the words rolled out casually, yet with the attitude of a winner, a nonchalant winner who beats ‘winning’ at its own game…It was my favourite line in the movie.
Slick and chic with heady beats and enough twists and turns, Farhan Akhtar’s remake of Big B’s Don, is a true-blue entertainer that targetted urban viewers. And with the Don of Bollywood’s newest era starring in it, the film was safely bang-on-mark.
What was there not to like, I ask those slamming the film. And before you answer, here are points I have an answer to:
- Why must SRK star in an Amitabh Bachchan-film remake?
Simply because Mr Bachchan (with all due respect to the man) is too old to play the part again.
- SRK was trying to prove he’s the new Don.
Well, honey, he is. He doesn’t need a film to prove it.
- Junior Bachchan would’ve been an ideal choice to carry on the Bachchan-Don legacy.
AB’s Baby would need to act, shave and not just stare at the screen in anger. When Don was being filmed, methinks that would’ve been a wee bit tough for Junior Bachchan.
- Akhtar’s film has no substance. It’s just a stylised version of the earlier one…
So, you agree it was stylish, eh!
- SRK has emulated Big B completely - the dressing, the paan scene, the dialogues…
And, boy, did he do a fabulous job!
- Other than the end, the script lacks originality…
Look here, it’s not touted as a remake for nothing. It marketed the original in a better, bigger and slicker way. The action scenes were very Hollywoodish (and yes that’s a parameter for judging success); the dialogues were backed with racy music; the cars thrilled auto-lovers, the locales added perfect colour to the grey-black movie scheme, the outfits…well, they gave us a revised trend.
And, the end…that made you smile at Don’s devil mind. You have to admit - this Don was smarter…smart enough to know what he meant when he said, ‘Don ko pakadna mushkil hi nahin, namumkin hai…’
I know this is mere reiterating of what I’ve been saying above, but I really loved the new Don. I’ve seen the original when I was too tiny to remember it even a couple of months later. SRK’s Don helped refresh my memory to an extent, and I did rent the CD of the original version. Not so much to make comparisons (there are enough critics doing that job out there), as much as to take a look at what inspired this new slick flick. And, I’ve heard that the old Don was no ‘classic’, as it’s being made out to be, and I’m sure it’s enjoying the publicity that the remake has brought it…
And, yeah there’s one point left to counter -
- I don’t like remakes…
Sorry, but we don’t accept biased criticism.
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Lightning strikes...
...A lightning of love that is...
Her name, as we kept it, is Foxie. She came with ears pricked, a smooth, rich golden-yellow coat , eyes that spoke straight to our heart, and a smiling face, which she placed in my lap - and that's when I was struck. I was, i think, not more than 10 years old, when Foxie's bolt of love hit me.
My granny lives in a ground floor flat, and I was spending the evening there with my aunt. It was a late summer evening, the sun had just faded beyond the yonder fence, and out of the darkness came Foxie, just as I formerly described. She walked to our doorstep, wagged her bushy tail, and sensing we were loving her attention, she sat down by me, and put her head in my little lap...I'll never forget that moment. It was that day, that instant, that my heart registered a bond with every doggie - and over the years, it's only become stronger.
Not that I'd never encountered dogs before. I've grown up with two huge Irish Setters - Gypsie and Spark. I loved them, yes, and I cried my eyes out when they died, but Foxie just made me love deeper.I wanted to become a vet after she came into our lives, but why I didn't is a different story altogether. Can't deal with needles, and anything bloody!
We kept Foxie - but she belonged to everyone who loved her. We didn't restrict her to our home - but she came and plonked herself on her mat as and when she desired. My aunt, is cuckoo about animals, and she secured Foxie with her hugs, doggie talk, food and love.
One day, Foxie left...a family adopted her...they really wanted to, which is good, but I remember crying...Now, when I look back, it doesn't hurt. Maybe I didn't own her, but I own those memories. Maybe she didn't reserve all her love for me, but she gave me enough for me to spread to others like her...
Her name, as we kept it, is Foxie. She came with ears pricked, a smooth, rich golden-yellow coat , eyes that spoke straight to our heart, and a smiling face, which she placed in my lap - and that's when I was struck. I was, i think, not more than 10 years old, when Foxie's bolt of love hit me.
My granny lives in a ground floor flat, and I was spending the evening there with my aunt. It was a late summer evening, the sun had just faded beyond the yonder fence, and out of the darkness came Foxie, just as I formerly described. She walked to our doorstep, wagged her bushy tail, and sensing we were loving her attention, she sat down by me, and put her head in my little lap...I'll never forget that moment. It was that day, that instant, that my heart registered a bond with every doggie - and over the years, it's only become stronger.
Not that I'd never encountered dogs before. I've grown up with two huge Irish Setters - Gypsie and Spark. I loved them, yes, and I cried my eyes out when they died, but Foxie just made me love deeper.I wanted to become a vet after she came into our lives, but why I didn't is a different story altogether. Can't deal with needles, and anything bloody!
We kept Foxie - but she belonged to everyone who loved her. We didn't restrict her to our home - but she came and plonked herself on her mat as and when she desired. My aunt, is cuckoo about animals, and she secured Foxie with her hugs, doggie talk, food and love.
One day, Foxie left...a family adopted her...they really wanted to, which is good, but I remember crying...Now, when I look back, it doesn't hurt. Maybe I didn't own her, but I own those memories. Maybe she didn't reserve all her love for me, but she gave me enough for me to spread to others like her...
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