stoppress VANESSA’S GAP-TOOTH INSPIRES BROOCH
French singer-actor Vanessa Paradis’ gap-toothed smile has inspired a popular accessory selling at the ongoing Paris Fashion Week. Fashion house Chanel’s chief designer Karl Lagerfeld has designed a brooch based on the gap-toothed smile of the actor (right), and it is a hit in the French fashion circle. PTI
Liz to turn bad girl for TV show P 18
‘They are much older than me...’
Preity Zinta
PHOTO: ZABEEH AFAQUE
Namya Sinha ■
namya.sinha@hindustantimes.com
D
elhi University is on a new mission — to banish the butt from the campus for good. A group of students, called the Tobacco-Free Brigade, are on the prowl, and making sure no one smokes within college campuses. The group, comprising 15 members from every college, slaps a fine of R200 on whoever is spotted taking a drag in college premises. “The ex-Vice Chancellor, Deepak Pental had given orders that Delhi University should be a smoke-free zone. For this, every college was asked to appoint a nodal officer who is responsible for
HT Lifestyle Fair today
THE AGE FACTOR Birthday
Preity (Zinta) is four years older than me,” she says, adding, “My only contemporaries are Sushmita (Sen) who is two years older than me and Kareena (Kapoor) who is two years younger than me.” Basking in the glory of her No One Killed Jessica success, she says, “I am really young. My career has only grown better with time. Now is the best phase of my career. Luckily the films we make today give people an opportunity to do all kinds of cinema.”
Priyanka Jain priyanka.jain@hindustantimes.com
A
ctor Rani Mukerji, 32, has raised brows by calling actors Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Kajol and Preity Zinta much older than her. “Kajol’s contemporaries are Raveena (Tandon) and Karisma (Kapoor). I have just done one film, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998) with Kajol, but she is not my contemporary. Also, Aishwarya (Rai) is five years older than me while
PHOTO: AMLAN DUTTA
30
RANI MUKERJI
32
SUSHMITA SEN
35
KAJOL
35
PREITY ZINTA
36
RAVEENA TANDON
36
KARISMA KAPOOR
36
AISHWARYA RAI
37
September 21, 1980 March 21, 1978 November 19, 1975 August 5, 1975 January 31, 1975 October 26, 1974 June 25, 1974
November 1, 1973
Brit biz biggie sues Kabir Bedi Naomi Canton and Hiren Kotwani ■
hiren.kotwani@hindustantimes.com
A
ctor Kabir Bedi (left), his girlfriend Parveen Dusanj and Konkona Sen Sharma have landed in hot water. British-Asian businessman Deepak Kuntawala and his charity, The DVK Foundation, are suing Parveen’s sister, Suki, in the British courts for unauthorised expenses and multiple breaches of contract at a charity party he organised in 2009. Kuntawala, a survivor of 26/11, who founded The DVK Foundation to raise money for survivors of the Mumbai attacks, reportedly hired Suki Dusanj, a PR professional, to get UK celebrities to the charity’s inaugural fundraising dinner. At the dinner, the actors and their guests allegedly used unauthorised facilities in the
hotels where they were put up, thereby incurring an extra expense of £8,258 (R6 lakh) which they asked the charity to pay. Kuntawala says when he disputed the amount, Parveen posted defamatory messages about him on Twitter and Sen Sharma and Bedi spread libelous comments about him in the press, for which he has slapped legal charges. “There were many people who were going to donate to the DVK Foundation and did not proceed as a result of their defamation,” he says. Bedi, however, retorts, “I’m not aware of any case being filed in any court. So far he has only threatened to do so, for an event that happened in 2009. Now he just seems to be seeking publicity. I was misled to host his event after being taken in by his fake claims of heroism during 26/11.”
Kuntawala just seems to be seeking publicity. I was Kabir Bedi, actor misled to host his event
interior décor goodies, and fashion house Meena Bazaar. The Kingdom of Dreams, a Gurgaonbased Bollywood-style opera house, has lined up some kickass entertainment for the affair. There’s also a lucky draw for visitors every hour, apart from great gifts to win. To up the glam quotient, there’ll be a fashion show every two hours. Today is the last day of the event, which will stay open from 10am to 8pm. Entry is free. PHOTO: THINKSTOCK
■
T
oday, all roads in Delhi will lead to the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Bhikaji Cama Place, as it is the venue for the first ever Hindustan Times Lifestyle Fair. The event, which took off on Saturday, has on offer some great deals and bargains on leading lifestyle products. The fair, which will now be an annual affair, features participants such as Volkswagen Auto, Panasonic, Loom Crafts, which offers chic
Age
KAREENA KAPOOR
PTI
PHOTO: MANOJ VERMA
A group of young crusaders is all set to make sure there’s enough fire to cut the smoke on the DU campus
Kajol
RANI CALLS ASH, PREITY OLD
Child actor Rubina Ali, who is known for her role in Slumdog Millionaire, lost her home in the major fire that gutted several shanties in Bandra, Mumbai, on Friday night. “I have lost everything including the film memorabilia,” said the 12-year-old actor.
DU’s smoke police
N EW D E L H I , S u n d ay M a rc h 0 6 , 2 0 1 1 , 1 8 PA G ES w w w. h i n d u s t a n t i m e s . c o m
Aishwarya Rai Bachchan
SLUMDOG CHILD STAR’S HOUSE GUTTED IN FIRE
ensuring that the campus is tobacco-free. The officer cannot do this alone, and so is given the authority to appoint student volunteers,” says Gautam Biswakarma of World Lung Foundation, which organised a two-day anti-tobacco fest at Hansraj College recently. The gang is proud of its mission. “I joined this brigade to create awareness and make my college tobaccofree. If we catch students for the first time, we give them a warning. If the same student is caught smoking again, we inform the nodal officer who then challans them. As a result of this, smoking in campus has come down drastically,” says Rohan Rai, 17, a first year Eco (Hons) student
Members of DU’s Tobacco-Free Brigade
Smoke-free universities in the US University of North Carolina ■ Massey University ■ Indiana University ■ Lock Haven University ■ Purdue University ■ Ball State University ■
at Hansraj College. “When the officer is not around, we cut a challan and submit the money to the nodal officer,” says 18-yearold Aakriti (who doesn’t use a last name), a squad member
First-time offenders are warned. If caught again, a challan of R200 is slapped
Rohan Rai, 17
from Hansraj College. The money collected from the challan goes to the college account. However, it’s a challenging task. “When we catch students and tell them about the side effects, we meet with very negative responses. They say things like ‘mind your own business’,” says Ramneet Kaur, 20, a member from the Hindu College. “But, there are times when we meet students who are will-
We try to reason why students smoke, and work towards persuading them to quit
Shelly Singh, 19
ing to quit. We take them to doctors and rehabs,” she says. And, the board’s work doesn’t stop at fining and counselling. “We organise anti-tobacco street plays and cultural programmes, too,” says Aakriti. TALK TO US
Do you think it’s a good idea to make all educational campuses smoke-free? Tell us at talktous@hindustantimes.com
■