Mumbai's answer to Paris Hilton, Ramona Narang christens herself 'stylista'

No sooner have we managed to recover from the term fashionista that along comes news that Mumbais answer to Paris Hilton selftaught designer Ramona Narang has christened herself a stylista Stylista Ramona Narang unveils her new festive collection that lives up to the promise of all her name stands for says the accompanying bumpf to an upcoming sale of her creations in Delhi written undoubtedly by a copywriter in a caffeine hazeParis HiltonFinesse style comfort and glamour all wrapped in one eclectic collection specifically catered to and this is where the reader guesses that the last cuppa has not been a good idea at all Narangs garb for a real woman involves Playing with shimmer and fringes and using mirror work along net and embroidery married together resulting in a stylish meacutelange of graceful silhouettes luxurious silk flowy tassels but not as flowy as the prose were sure as well as sheer Sheer what for Gods sakeRamona NarangBut given that desh bhakti is not too far behind these days we are reassured that keeping in mind Indias rich culture and heritage her designs are beautifully textured and intricately designedComprising of lehengas and sarees a favourite in the lehengas is one with all mirror beige and net with beautiful embroidery in white and fringed with a tasseled dupatta made of net Narangs spiel informs Style this with beautiful silver chandbalis spellcheck keys changing that to handballs and a pretty bracelet ndash and be sure to win hearts Along with all this micromanaging of fashion advice from the one who knows there is on offer Narangs deeper more philosophical worldview for potential clients Her motto in life we are informed is Ride the wave hit the beach Come back Paris All is forgivenClose and starry encountersIve been a lifelong fan of Star Wars I was probably 8 or 9 when I first saw it and have been obsessed with all things Star Wars I own practically everything Star Wars related mdash Tshirts toys about 30 pairs of socks mdash Im not exaggerating four pairs of shoes belts underwear Meeting Mark Hamill has always been a dream Ive seen him at Star Wars conferences and stuff in London and Orlando but never met him said our friend and former colleague TV film critic and anchor Rajeev Masand about his close encounter with iconic Hollywood actor and voiceover artist Mark Hamill whose role as Luke Skywalker in the Star Wars franchise had turned him into a legendMark Hamill with Rajeev MasandAs a rollout of the soontobereleased Star Wars The Last Jedi which has its world premiere tomorrow in Los Angeles Hamill was in Tokyo Japan for a film promotion exercise and Masand an influential movie critic who gets flown frequently around the world to interview stars was there to meet his childhood idol Yesterday I got a quick byte from him on the red carpet for the new Star Wars film in Tokyo Today I did a oneonone sitdown interview and I just couldnt resist asking him for a picture He was lovely funny and charming and immediately obliged I tried very hard not to behave like a slobbering fan he laughs Told him that I felt like an eightyearold againCome to think of it the duos delighted grins and boyish glee makes them both look like eightyearolds in the pictureWomen on top gather roundThis weekend will see the launch of Barkha Dutts 48hour We The Women fest at Mehboob Studios which aims at bringing together influential men and women to open a dialogue about womens empowerment declaration of interest we are a participantTwinkle KhannaIts an attempt to create a space where a community can grow said Dutt who eschewing the usual marketing muscle of large hoardings and print ads is using social media and word of mouth to garner the right kind of attention Speakers include highprofile minister for IampB Smriti Irani producer Karan Johar philanthropist Neerja Birla actress Alia Bhatt and author Twinkle Khanna along with a host of lesser known but equally if not more significant voices who can add their perspective to the festivals themeAlia BhattIts a paradigm shift from the usual seminars at fivestar hotels where celebrity speakers and guests parachute in for a particular session and then disappear said Dutt when we spoke to her yesterday We want this to be a true meeting ground where the famous the powerful and the influential meet and hear those whose voices are still not heard raising issues that may not be so highprofile or visible so that it can incubate and nurture a strong and collective womens voice and sensibilityMums the wordFresh from a quick getaway to Goa where she stayed at her friend Londonbased philanthropist Surina Narulas beautiful home and a day after bringing in her beloved mothers birthday awardwinning actress cancer survivor and free spirit Manisha Koirala flew to South Africa where she resumed her role of Nargis Dutt in the biopic on actor Sanjay Dutt reprised by Ranbir Kapoor in Raj Kumar Hiranis SanjuManisha Koirala and a friend in Cape Town South AfricaBut looking anything like the mother of an adult male hunk like Kapoor Koirala who admits to being a fitness and health food freak cut a headturning trendy figure in dark suit shirt and glares Interestingly in her tribute to the late Shashi Kapoor who she said shed bump into often at the Prithvi Theatre she wrote He would lovingly advise me to wear traditional outfits whenever I wore western His grandnephew who now plays her son in the film at hand might not agreeRiding high in the fast laneThis married Mumbaibased highflying entrepreneur known for his flamboyance who has a slew of successful enterprises to his name has been giving his associates and peers within the profession much to talk about For one his relationship with a young female employee of his has become the talk of grapevine given that their alleged affair is spoken about quite openly More worrying are the indications on his health Hes been driving himself too hard which has resulted in some serious health issues says a sourceIts a very tough and stressful line hes in the stakes are very high and the late nights work meets and incessant travel coupled with his own personal situation could not be helping his health crisis He should take a step back get off the fast track and prioritise his life again they say IndeedCatch up on all the latest Mumbai National and International news hereDownload the new midday Android and iOS apps to get updates on all the latest and trending stories on the go