The bubble has burst. Mallika Sherawat, it finally emerges, has only nine minutes of footage in Jackie Chan's The Myth. And it seems that the lady was not at all happy when confronted with the fact at a recent press conference in Bombay. Well, its not a small thing to be part of such a project, even if for a short time. But I guess it just seems hilarious after all the hoopla she made out of the whole thing - I, peronally, was somehow under the impression that she was the sole leading lady in the said movie. Oh, how are stars let us down sometimes!

Just one word...Wow!!

Kerastase at b:blunt...finally!!

Here's some great news for hair product junkies...L'Oreal's Kerastase is finally available in Mumbai. They launched today at b:blunt (Adhuna Akhtar's hair salon, for the uninitiated) on Peddar Road. You've just got to try their in-salon hair ritual. It costs a bomb, but trust me, your hair will never be the same again!!

Another fab launch today - Paco Rabanne's Black XS - the fragrance for "tough men with a tender heart". Its a fresh, sensual woody fragrance with top notes of Calabrian lemon, kalamanzi, tagete and sage; a heart of cinnamon, tolu balm, black cardamom and praline; and base notes of palissandre wood, black amber, patchouli and ebony wood. A great gift to give to your guy this New Year's!!

Media on a roll

After the newspapers and TV channels, its now the turn of lifestyle mags to face boomtime. So many new mags are launching in India in the coming months. Outlook is bringing in Marie Claire - the first issue will be out in April '06; Elle is bringing in Tatler - I believe the first issue is printed, but they are awaiting registration; L'Officiel is bringing in another international mag - seems to be something on the lines of interior design, considering that they are suddenly sponsoring design shows and publishing design supplements - World of Interiors? Wallpaper??; and then there is the big daddy of them all - the Conde Nast group - which is runoured to be eyeing India as a potential market for Conde Nast Traveler, Glamour, GQ, Architectural Digest and Self. Nobody seems to think that they will publish Vogue from India, and that's hardly surprising to industry insiders, who know that for all their finesse and bling-value, even the topmost Indian designers are still really considered high street (and not haute couture) in international markets.

This year the government has allowed 100% FDI in lifestyle media...which means that there are some interesting days up ahead!!

Pondicherry...

The Ellora festival starts on Friday...have been invited but can't make it. Too much work :(

But Pondicherry was fabulous - even though I managed to visit neither the Ashram, nor Auroville. No, did not even have time to go to the German Bakery. But managed some beautiful late, late night walks along the seaside promenade. It helped that we were literally staying on the Promenade. Its a hotel called (ok, this word is getting repetitive) called the Promenade. Its owned by the Hidesign guys, and is definitely one of the best places to stay in the town. The rooms are amazingly large, and its got all the unexpected quirks of a design hotel - like the Soulflower toiletries, concealed lighting, camouflaged bars, huge tubs, sunken swimming pool etc...its an experience that's difficult to put in words, you've got to visit yourself. Trust me, you wont be dissapointed.

Although, remember to take a couple of pens with you if you do visit...as Dilip Kapoor, the owner, explained: I have not yet found a single pen or pencil that's well designed enough to be a part of my hotel, so I have just left them out for the time being. Now, that's some attention to detail!!

Dilip also owns another charming boutique hotel in Pondicherry - called Le Dupleix, and this place is luxury at its indulgent best. Built in classic French design, the hotel is crafted into the 18th century of Marquis Joseph Francois Dupleix, the Mayor of Pondicherry. I say "crafted" because even though the hotel has all the modern amenities, they are blended so well with the original structure that you just cant make out where the old mansion ends, and the new hotel begins. At present there are just nine suites, but expect five more in a few months. If you are going there, ask someone to point out the Chettinad Plaster walls - this is a long forgotten craft where the walls are plastered with a mixture of egg white, powdered sea shells and yoghurt.

Oh, and another little known fact that I only discovered by accident...remember that little girl in Black, whom Amitabh Bachchan said was one of the best actresses he had ever known? She is Dilip's daughter!!

Never thought I would say this, but a little (just a little!!) tired of travelling. Off to Pondicherry tomorrow morning. Will have to leave home at the crack of dawn, fly into Chennai and then make the three-hour drive to Pondicherry. Why doesn't the town have an airport????

Am running out of clothes now. Managed to wash all my white kurtas with a bright green shirt - now everything is a uniform shade of pale green :(

Can you believe that not a single Bombay shop is selling a decent white kurta?? Pantaloons, Lifestyle and Westside had nothing in pure white, Anokhi had an OK-looking thing for 850-bucks - totally not worth it, Cottons had a good one - but not in my size.............help!!!!!!!!!!

A friend gave me a great piece of news - seems that some 40 pavement booksellers who were evacuated from Fountain have re-established base just a little further on, opposite the HDFC Bank near Kala Ghoda. Gonna check it out the second I return from Pondicherry, will keep you posted!

Celebs & Seijo

Bombay is facing a bit of a celebrity drought at the moment, with most of the Bollywood crowd being out of the country. Actually, there has been a mass exodus of sorts to New York - the Bachchans are all there, as are Shahrukh Khan, Karan Johar, Preity Zinta, Ranu Mukherjee, Sushmita Sen, Randeep Hooda, Priyanka Chopra, Urmila Matondkar....Aishwarya Rai is in Tunisia, John Abraham is in Kabul, Eisha Deol is in Bangkok, and the rest are scattered pretty much all over the planet.

But whoever is in Bombay was definitely out in full force at the Seijo & the Soul Dish party tonight. Little surprise as the place is a perpetual favourite with the Page 3 crowd and true food connoisseurs alike. If you haven't been there yet, you have really missed out on something! Its a stunning place and the food is divine. I prefer the lounge-cum-dining area, with its comfy sofas, trickling water features and flickering candles to the anime-themed bar, but opinions are hotly divided on this. Check it out for yourself and be sure to order from the new winter menu, where the Far Eastern accent is evident with Japanese preparations like Gyozas, Kakiage, Tempuras, Teriyaki and wider Sushi choices.

A natural progression of this tilt in the menu will be the soon-to-be-launched Japanese themed nights, complete with Sake and tea ceremony. Watch this space for more details...

Working with Sushmita Sen....

This one's got to rank amongst my favourite Good Housekeeping covers. Working with Sushmita Sen is such a blast...expect loads of surprises from this lady in the coming months!!

The Inner & Outer World of SRK

Just finished seeing Nasreen Munni Kabir's documentary on Shahrukh Khan, and its a huge dissapointment. One sort of expected a lot more insight from someone so distinguished - in fact, at times, the whole thing looks downright amateurish. Most people who have seen it have come back with this reaction. Sad, because SRK is just a fascinating subject, that it would have been awesome to see something a little more in-depth and finely layered :(