Pretty in pink
"Indian or Arabic?" asked one of Kishorebhai's team as they prepared to decorate another pair of palms with henna. They were at work at the home of actress Renuka Shahane as she prepares for her wedding in a few days to actor Ashutosh Rana. Though the wedding is in Madhya Pradesh, in attendance at the mehndi in Mumbai were close family, friends and Renuka's smile.

The bride was beaming, dressed in a fuchsia silk kurta, even as her bridal mehndi was creeping up her calves. Her bridal lehnga, in a lush plum colour, comes from Cascades and the groom will wear a Gabbana suit with a saafa. In spite of the heat, the wedding party is sure to have a swell time.

Taking the broad way
Sunil Shetty, considered a non-dancer, got a chance to dance with 20 dancers from Broadway for a song from Yeh Tera Ghar Yeh Mera Ghar. Shetty shook a leg with the firang dancers who were specially flown into Chennai. Dunno what these women are doing in a film like Yeh Tera Ghar... that too directed by Priyadarsan.

The film is about housing problems and problems between landlords and tenants. Interestingly, Shetty will be visiting theatres in four cities during the interval of the film and will be picking out tickets as part of a lucky draw and giving out keys to houses as prizes, thereby putting an end to the tenancy problems of many.

A note to remember
The music of Yaadein, which has been purchased at the highest price ever in the history of Indian cinema - Rs 9.1 crore - by Tips will be released on June 1. That's when we will get to know whether the film deserved that much money. The music has been composed by Anu Malik, who is working on a Subhash Ghai film for the first time, although he had done music for Rahul, which was a Ghai production. If the music of Yaadein doesn't get etched in our memories, it will remain etched in the Tips' management for a long time!

Hope Floats
The room was brimful of Asha well-wishers, from Zeenat Aman, Aroona Irani, Adnan Sami and Sonu Nigam, to representatives from the music industry and Asha Bhosle's music company, Universal. While the event marked the release of Aap Ki Asha, an album composed and sung by Ashaji, the entertainment came in the form of a fashion show that supposedly represented the decades through which Ashaji s music had endured. And while she certainly has kept pace with evolving musical trends, as much cannot be said about the couture on display.

Manish Malhotra who stepped in at the last minute after original designer Azeem Khan dropped out, apparently because his insistence at walking the ramp with Ashaji was denied, provided the bulk of the Indian women's wear. Araiya, Millionaire and MTV Style came up with some other ensembles, some of which competed for 'horrors of the evening' with Raageshwari, her dreadful script and even worse stage presence.

The surprise for the evening was cricketer Sachin Tendulkar who officially released the album. Dressed in black and sun-kissed, he stole the show, which was also attended by Jagjit Singh, Yash Chopra, Bappi Lahiri and her brother Hridaynath Mangeshkar.