The coming media shakedown
Don't get used to having this many channels
His Bigness
Fasi Zaka
The next three years is the best time for becoming famous. There are just so many channels out there that even the most mediocre will be able to find some kind of slot for themselves. The media is desperate for good content. The amount of people on TV and radio is simply astounding, but with just so many channels out there very few actually manage to register.

Skeptics insist that designers are merely glorified darzis, but we beg to differ. After all when do tailors come with professional degrees, a flair for fashion and a tight hold on aesthetics? Do they speak English and do they punctuate their conversations with a liberal dose of jaani? Do they have the professionalism to qualify as supreme mortals? They don't but wait, not all designers do either. Take away their airs and graces, their carefully cultivated designer images and seriously, when it boils down to the business of fashion, how many designers today can actually claim to be any different from the dozens of karigars and darzis who have been operating professional set ups for ages?

The darzi infrastructure is growing. Take Tailor Zaman in Gulf, for instance. He has 35 workers working under him, a data base of over 300 loyal clients all over the world and every single suit stitched at his workshop goes through a quality check before it is handed to the customer. He has hundreds of laminated samples of embroidery to choose from and he does two collections a year which are sent to America. If he's late on delivery he either personally delivers the clothes home or has them couriered pronto. And he doesn't take off on an ego trip when you call to complain. Oh and one more detail: he doesn't charge a king's ransom for something that isn't exclusive. He has bills running into hundreds of thousands of rupees but they come from producing bulk volume. Sounds more proficient than most of the designers one has to deal with, eh?

One has attended so many shows which exhibit clothes no better than what is available in Kehkashan in Karachi and Anarkali in Lahore. The dabka, the zardozi, the sequins and the inundation of surface embellishment… it's totally bubbling over the brink of saturation. So what if it's on the catwalk on the country's supermodels? The 'designers' rationale: it sells. And to say that all designers know how to handle embellishment wouldn't entirely be true. One drive down M.M. Alam Road or a walk through the narrow streets of Zamzama, and you'll be a believer. Designers miss deadlines and mess up orders too.

Ask frequent label buyers and they'll tell you that most clothes they pick up for an arm and a leg require a series of alterations before they can be worn. Some have even had to rely on back up during high profile events, knowing that their designers may not deliver on time. Yet some established designers actually have the audacity to call fashion school diploma holders "their tailors" and then there is the older guard, who before the fashion council marathon for acquiring memberships, didn't even consider most young designers to be designers.

So with tailors becoming more and more professional and with designers getting more and more slack, what differentiates the darzis from the designers? The quest to attain commercial supremacy actually has made today's designer a close call to a glorified darzi. There are rare individuals who are excelling at what they do and are fabulous designers but on the whole one sees recession in process. Picture this: a client walks into a designer studio (as not many have shops). She takes a look at the samples available on the expensively decorated racks, picks out what she'd like, changes the colour, adds or subtracts the embroidery according to her taste and requirement and either shortens or elongates the silhouette. Two months later she comes back to pick up her 'designer original', put together herself for a very very high price. And so the designer is reduced to a savvy coordinator who merely manages a very qualified set of karigars. She ends up paying an arm and a leg for something that has no design value, no originality and often does not even fit as well as it should.

Here's where the importance of ready to wear steps in. The designers will have the outlets. Only the designers will be confident enough to take a risk by creating what they believe in; only they will design collections and dictate trends instead of take dictation from over-wealthy begums who walk in with blank cheques. The designer will never be accessible to the general public for taking orders, sure he/she will meet celebrities but never all and sundry. A true designer will not create ready to wear through a trial and error process of altering his original concepts. Even Nicole Kidman cannot dictate to Karl Lagerfeld what she wants to wear to the Oscars red carpet. If she opts for Chanel Couture she gets Chanel Couture and the designer takes full responsibility for her image. That's the difference between a designer and a darzi.

Some of our own very talented designers need to bring themselves back on track to acquire that. Till those boundaries are defined, it's a foggy road to fashion and skeptics will continue to call designers glorified darzis. Perhaps they'll even start calling darzis the unsung heroes of fashion!

Remakes are the new slogan of Bollywood. With a film history that is as rich as Hollywood's and stars that are these days arguably more popular than any Hollywood star, Bollywood, or as they would like to call it the Hindi film industry has taken it upon itself to revisit the past. Hollywood has a long tradition of remakes, Sabrina, The Italian Job, Bourne Identity, etc. Now Bollywood's hot shots are revisiting old classics. The most hotly anticipated films of the year are Don and Umrao Jaan.

Both films were huge hits back in the days. When Don released in 1978, Amitabh Bachchan was considered one of the biggest heroes of Bollywood. It added yet another feather in his superstar cap and made Zeenat Aman the most sought after actress of her time. On the other hand Umrao Jaan did not rake in the moolah in 1981, but this film went on to become the definitive recording of the times of the nawabs and the role that would forever define Rekha. Rekha had many superhits to her name like Mr Natwarlal and Muqaddar Ka Sikander. But Umrao Jaan elevated her from eye candy to an actress to reckon with and got her the National Award for her performance. More than two decades later, Don and Umrao Jaan have once again come to the big screen. Comparisons with the originals are inevitable, just as they were with Devdas. It's the perfect time for Instep to look back and towards the future at the stylish Don and the heartbreakingly beautiful Umrao Jaan...

(Above): Kareena Kapoor is now playing cabaret queen Helen's role in Don. From the look of the film, it seems that designer Aki Narula is following international fashion trends. Bling is the way he's gone and it fits firebrand Kareena Kapoor just as well as risque clothing accentuated Helen's curves

Gone are the 3 piece suits and bow tie that made Amitabh Bachchan the style icon of his time. The 21st century Don is tech savvy and prefers leather jackets and silk shirts. Shahrukh Khan is suave and oh so cooler than thou!

Former Miss India Zeenat Aman (left) played Roma in Don and now another Miss India, Priyanka Chopra steps. Roma's hair and necklines are longer; history may be repeated but always with flair!

For the original film, a key aspect were the costumes that were borrowed from actual Nawabs. For this Umrao Jaan, Abu Jani, Sandeep Khosla and Anna Singh have designed the costumes within a massive budget of 8 crore rupees!

Nawab Sultan is the role that people still remember Farooq Shaikh for. He was marvellously nuanced as the weak willed, romantic nawab. It remains to be seen how the hot, hip and happening Abhishek Bachchan portrays the most memorable sissy in Indian film history.

The original Umrao Jaan was a labour of love for Muzaffar Ali who made the film as an ode to Lucknowi culture. Being from Lucknow himself, he put all his insight and upbringing into the film. J.P. Dutta on the other hand seems to be less committed to the purity of the subject. A topi worn by Ash in Umrao Jaan was included in the costumes on the insistence of Dutta's wife. J.P seems to be giving more priority to Ash than Umrao!

Other than the fact that this is a film on Umrao Jaan, a huge reason for its hype goes to Abhishek Bachchan and Ashwariya Rai. Since rumours about the two of them have been doing rounds of the industry for months, fans and critics are waiting to see if they can create magic onscreen. The last two films Ash and Abhi did together (Dhai Akshar Prem Ke, Kuch Na Kaho) failed miserably at the box office

Puru Raj Kumar (above) will replace Naseeruddin Shah as Gohar Mirza in Umrao Jaan. The role was originally offered to Arshad Warsi who refused it. Now, he regrets his decision! Puru Raj Kumar began his career with J.P. Dutta in LOC Kargil. The film bombed and so did he. He now hopes to re-launch himself in Bollywood. It remains to be seen how far will the role of a paan chewing pimp takes him!

In Sanjay Dutt's tumultuous life there's been one perpetual presence: Trouble, with a big T. Drugs, alcohol, the death of loved ones, unstable relationships, those infamous telephone conversations with don Chhota Shakeel, charges of dubious linkages with the underworld and the prolonged Bombay bomb blasts case-he has been through it all. The past decade, however, has been largely peaceful, save for the failed marriage with Rhea Pillai and the long-distance relationship with daughter Trishala.

In contrast to the other bad boy of the industry, Salman Khan, Sanju always arouses public sympathy. It has also been his most consistently successful phase, with Dus, Parineeta and Lage Raho Munnabhai raking in big money. But even as he basks in the success of Munnabhai, his past has come back to haunt him, as he awaits the verdict on the Bombay blasts case where he has been charged with possession and destruction of illegal arms. The first scandal that surrounded Sanjay was drug abuse. Back in the '80s he was known to be perpetually high on cocaine and heroin, and looked and behaved like it to boot. He was in a relationship with Tina Munim, gave inconsistent performances in inconsequential films and was woefully indisciplined at work. That was the time when Subhash Ghai, after having cast him in Vidhaata, decided not to repeat him in Hero and chose to introduce newcomer Jackie Shroff instead. It was a major blow to Sanjay's fledgling career. What pushed him into drugs? Was it to do with being the child of celebrity parents? Was he unable to cope with the high expectations? Did his mother spoil him rotten? Was he unable to come to terms with her death from cancer? Filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt says Sanjay was an addictive personality, biologically predisposed to substance abuse, a troubled teenager who constantly picked fights. "He had glazed eyes, would not communicate at all," remembers Bhatt. Journalist Rauf Ahmad remembers how his father, Sunil Dutt, helped him through it, sending him for rehabilitation to America. "He responded to his father who never gave up on him," says Ahmad. After de-addiction, it was Bhatt's Naam that brought Sanjay back into the limelight. "There was a tremendous thirst to become someone, a single-minded determination to make his parents proud," Bhatt recollects. Hits like Saajan and Sadak followed. In between, there were other tragedies - a lung infection, the death of his wife Richa of a brain tumour, and a custody battle for his daughter Trishala. It was Khalnayak that turned him into a mega-star, even as the illegal AK-56 episode made him a real-life villain in the eyes of many people. The one-and-a-half-year prison term he served put a serious brake on his career. Since then Sanjay has been fitting in films in between court appearances. There have been other stories-of alcohol abuse, of working in films funded with underworld money (like the superhit Vaastav). However, the alleged procurement of illegal arms has been the biggest albatross round his neck. Why did he go for them? For a guy who loves fast cars and Harley Davidsons, the weapons could have been another macho toy to flaunt. Another theory is that he could have been victimised for his father's political rivalry with Sharad Pawar. Sanjay is known to be extremely close to his mother's side of the family, who are Muslim, and as Bhatt surmises, "After the Bombay riots, the gun may have been purchased to deal with a possible attack on the family, not as part of the dastardly attack on the city." Journalist S. Hussain Zaidi, who wrote Black Friday, The True Story of the Bombay Bomb Blasts, recollects how Sanjay would talk to him about the innocent Muslims framed by the police and the tortures heaped on them to extract false confessions.

Whatever the reasons, the fact is that evidence is stacked up heavily against Sanjay. What makes the man so trouble-prone? Like the heroes from Greek tragedy, people see him as essentially a nice guy with a flaw. "Most people in Bollywood have a facade in front and are calculating computers behind. He is unlike them," says filmmaker Mani Shankar who directed him in Rudraksh. He is known to be immensely gullible, easily trusting people. "He is not scheming or manipulative. He gets into controversies unknowingly," says Milap Zaveri who wrote Kaante, Plan, Musafir and Shaadi No. 1 for Sanjay. Or as someone put it more bluntly: "Like in his body, he has muscles in the head too-he needs to get some grey cells." At 47, the 6 ft 1" brawny hunk just refuses to grow up.

After all these years in Bollywood, 'Sanju baba' remains something of an enigma. He is a man's man who moves around with friends who call each other brother. Among his close buddies are filmmakers Sanjay Gupta, Mahesh Manjrekar, David Dhawan, producers Nitin Manmohan and Dharam Oberoi. "He is the Big Brother for a lot of young stars like Zayed, Fardeen and Ritesh Deshmukh. He takes them under his wing," says Zaveri. He has wielded women like mere arm candy yet they sigh for him. And, in contrast to the other bad boy of the industry, Salman Khan, Sanju always arouses public sympathy. It could be owing to people's respect for his parents. It could be the term in prison, the punishment that redeemed him in the eyes of the masses. It's also to do with his persona. "There's a vulnerability lurking beneath the myth of the macho man, which makes him endearing," says Ahmad.

He also seems to have an innate ability to fight his way back to the top, which gets him much admiration. "The jail term could have crushed anyone mentally, the solitary confinement could have destroyed him. But he bounced back, which shows enormous strength of character," says Shankar.

Some have called him "anti-national" for fraternising with the likes of Shakeel, Abu Salem and co. But he is more often described as "emotional", "large-hearted", "gullible". Trouble-prone Sanjay is also a great survivor. As he hangs between dread and hope today, he may well be repeating to himself what his car sticker states: "Never give in".

--Courtesy: Outlook India

In the picture

The Lake House, mainly notable for bringing Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock back after they went on that bus ride in Speed (1994), is a wonderfully illogical (as far as physics of time travel are concerned) yet a gripping tale of love, even if it falls somewhere in the genre of fantasy. An Americanized re-make of Korean film II Mare, the film's premise lies in its two characters: Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock.

Keanu portrays a moody architect, living outside of Chicago in a lake house built of glass. He finds a note in his mail box from the brooding Sandra Bullock. A doctor by profession, she is shown as the old tenant of the house. A letter exchanges between them and soon one figures out that they live in different time zones. He is in 2004 while she is living in 2006.

In the age of instant messaging, email and other gizmos of communication, the fact that they communicate only through letters seems sweet. They are pen pals, falling in love but they haven't met and more importantly, will they ever? But hey, if anything, the world is getting too advanced these days. It's nice to see the effort put in a love letter, the waiting of mail. Email is simply not the same!

Moreover, the wordplay between them is like a fantasy than a reality. As human beings, we are curious. Curious enough to perhaps get a stock tip or find out if any aviation accidents take place in the future, if any war has finished or vice versa. No such inquiries take place in The Lake House. But the reason why it is still a wonderful film to watch is because of its actors and the way the film has been shot.

Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock, known otherwise as Neo and Miss Congeniality seem to have resolutely left all their conventional mannerisms behind. Sandra, who genuinely surprised critics in Crash, is no longer the cutesy, girl next door. Subdued in demeanour, Sandra plays the role with conviction and perhaps, it is this reason that makes the time travel loophole seem a little less ridiculous. Keanu compliments her throughout. Melancholic, moody and baffled by the very idea of what is happening, he delivers a solid performance as a man in love.

Time travel is not a new philosophy in Hollywood. One example is the sweet rom-com Kate and Leopold. As far as meeting between the two characters was concerned, it was logical. Here, you don't know how it happened and how they will ever meet, if at all. The physics have gone haywire.

However, Sandra and Keanu save the film with their innate ability to please. Most often than not, it is their screen presence rather than the material itself that makes a film worthy, if at all. That being said, The Lake House also works because of its cinematography. The scene when Keanu takes Sandra for a tour of the city through a letter, the scene when they sit on a bench together (not really, though) are simple yet extremely effective. It is just a romantic flick that shows two lonely, brooding human beings develop a relationship that deepens gradually.

And it is not that they aren't people in their lives. A co-worker with Keanu is totally crazy about him. He is but of course indifferent. On the other hand, Sandra has a decent but good for nothing ex-fiancé who keeps showing up in her life, no matter what year it is. In real life, this would be a preposterous plot. But then again, cinema is not always about truth and reality. Often times, a fantasy thrown in sets a film apart and this is exactly the case here.

Speed, a high-powered, race against time flick established Keanu and Sandra as actors. Is the chemistry still working? Yes, 12 years later, these two have only gotten better. Interestingly, before this film, Keanu Reeves refused to come back in a third Speed film. Especially since Speed 2 (Jason Patric replaced Reeves) flopped badly at the box office. But The Lake House did the trick. Now it seems Reeves is ready to come back for a third film in the Speed franchise!

Coming back to the picture at hand, The Lake House is a refreshing change of pace. You can see the characters yearn for each other and the emotional toll of having the 'ultimate' long distance relationship. Above all, this is just a very decent film without being showy or pretentious. Mostly, it is a platform for the stars and it seems that they are happy to be in each other's company. So what if the film is a little silly as far as the laws of physics are concerned?

--Maheen Sabeeh

*YUCK

**WHATEVER

***GOOD

****SUPER

*****AWESOME

Speculation is rife over what move Shoaib Akhtar will make next. Unceremoniously dropped from the Pakistan cricket team because of taking performance enhancing drugs, the dynamite (he is known for being explosive) star remains a hot favourite amongst young cricket fans and of course with the ladies. One English journalist wrote: "The next step, then, could well be a shift into acting. Just last year, Akhtar turned down a leading role in the successful Bollywood film Gangster after being approached by high-profile producer Mahesh Bhatt. One of his closest friends in India, Salman Khan, is a Bollywood heart-throb and one of Indian film's biggest drawcards. And Akhtar's new agent is understood to be a former model with links to the acting world." The reference is obviously to Frieha Altaf who is now Shoaib's agent. With a love for night clubs and living it up as he globe trots, her client's star may not be on the wane off the field. But if he is to remain a cricketing star, the only truly international celebrities in the sub-continent, then he would do well to set his house in order to play in the World Cup. Right now, it is Shoaib's lifestyle that needs more of a makeover than anything else!

The race is on and the world is watching as Tom Cruise walks into his third vow of "Till death do us part" this time with nubile nymphet Katie Holmes. And of course the media frenzy this is generating is phenomenal. After rumours that Katie would wear Chanel as a bride, it's now been reported that Giorgio Armani will dress both bride and groom from top to toe on the big day. This all happened while Katie was taking a break in Europe with new best friend Victoria 'Posh Spice' Beckham. Victoria is apparently helping with the planning. Then the buzz is that the nuptials will take place at George Clooney's villa at Lake Como, but Clooney laughed that off. Wherever the wedding may be, remember, Nicole and Tom got married at his home in Colorado, this one will be huge. Tom has never needed publicity as much as he does now, what after his deal with Paramount coming to an end. And of course, any woman that he marries will acquire instant celebrity. Katie Holmes has already become more stylish than ever. It remains to be seen whether she will be able to rival Nicole Kidman when it comes to Hollywood goddess glam.

Madonna's decision of adopting David Banda, a 13-month old Malawi boy has causes mix reactions amongst critics, media and Human Rights organizations. Some critics have gone onto to stay that "Rainbow" families are a common trait amongst celebrities and Madonna is no different. Human Rights Consultative Committee (HRCC) challenged Madonna's intention of adoption by stating that according to Malawian law, international adoption is illegal. Further, other organizations have said that Madonna is getting special treatment because of her celebrity status. In the midst of this controversy, adoptee David's biological father Yohane Banda has come to Madonna's rescue. While speaking to the press, he defended Madonna and Guy Ritchie by saying, "Where were these people when David was struggling in the orphanage? These so-called human-rights groups should leave my baby alone. As father, I have OK'd this, I have no problem. The village has no problem. Who are they to cause trouble?" Madonna, who is under a constant watch, recently released a statement regarding the adoption and said, "We have gone about the adoption procedure according to the law like anyone else who adopts a child. Reports to the contrary are totally inaccurate. The procedure includes an 18-month evaluation period after which time we hope to make this adoption permanent. This was not a decision or commitment that my family or I take lightly." And helping Madonna out with this adoption is none other than Brangelina. In fact, Brad and Angie have known about this adoption since January. We think that as long as Madonna does not wish to swing David on a balcony ala Wacko Jacko (Michael Jackson) or make a home movie like the Britney Spears family, it is just fine if she adopts…

MTV's annual MTV Style Lycra Awards saw a deluge of Bollywood and television stars, models and designers dazzle at the event. From the Bollywood brigade noted director Karan Johar compeered the show along with MTV's veejay Anusha Dandekar. The cast of Jaan-e-mann Akshay Kumar, Preity Zinta and Salman Khan were also at the event promoting their film. Shahrukh and Preity won the most stylish actor/actress awards. Unfortunately Shahrukh could not be present at the event to collect his most stylish actor award. However SRK did give an AV presence by taking the time to thank his fans and apologizing for not being able to be at the event. SRK said "I don't know why they are giving me this award; I can't even comb my hair or iron my clothes." Preity looked absolutely ravishing in a beautiful red dress and was happy to pose and preen for the shutterbugs. Preity won the most stylish actress award. In a surprising gesture veteran actor Rishi Kapoor was declared the Maha Style Icon of 2006. Choreographer Farah Khan won an award for the most stylish song 'Right Here Right Now' from Bluffmaster. In television Rajeev Khandelwal retained his last year's award for most stylish host on TV while Shweta Salve won the most stylish host in the female category. Ronit Roy from the silver screen also won an award for the most stylish actor on television. In other categories Gaurav Gupta won the breakthrough designer of the year award, Amaan and Ayaan Ali won the most stylish persons in music and MS Dhoni was chosen as the most stylish person in Sports. VJ's Cyrus Broacha, Anusha, Sophie, Cyrus Sahukar and Nikhil kept the crowds entertained. Also present at the event were Arjun Rampal, Fardeen Khan, Twinkle Khanna and Kunal Kohli. The finale for the evening saw Salman, Akshay and Preity coming together to promote their film Jaan-e-mann.

In the past few weeks, album releases have come to a standstill. As the year comes to a close, album releases are being shifted to 2007. So far, the only major music releases include Zoheb Hasan's comeback album Kismet and Aaroh's Raag Neela. Fuzon also has an album to release but between controversies about breaking up, no record deal and solo projects, their album remains in a loop. Thankfully, Ali Zafar's album that was being touted as a 2007 release will in fact come out this year. Titled Masti, this will be pop wonder Ali Zafar's second album after three years. Slated for release in November, Masti will showcase Ali Zafar as a full-fledged songwriter and lyricist. This time around, Ali has done everything himself. The album will be produced by Shahzad 'Shahi' Hasan and will also feature Ali Zafar on guitars on a number of tracks. Even though, a video director is yet to be finalized, the debut single from this album will be 'Masti'. Speaking to Instep, Ali Zafar commented, "Masti is not a transformation but a transcending. The sound will be richer than before and the overall feel of the album is very contemporary." It is always difficult to make another album if the debut is such a huge hit. Noori is one example. Suno Key Main Hoon Jawan made Noori a rock force of the new decade. Critically speaking, their second album, in terms of production as well as matter beats SKMHJ. But popularity wise, the album isn't as popular or successful as Noori's SKMHJ. Huqa Pani did very well amongst the masses. Can Ali Z repeat the success with Masti? One will just have to wait and listen. For now, keep your fingers crossed!

Bono has been embroiled in a court controversy over an ex U2 stylist. The lady goes by the name of Lola Cashman and she claims the band gave her a number of items including Bono's Stetston hat and Larry Mullen's Converse runners, which she later tried to auction off at Christies as gifts. According to Bono, she refused to return a case of goods to the band in 1992 and they paid no heed to it. Lola worked as the band's stylist during their 1987 Joshua Tree tour. She is trying to reverse the court order that she must return memorabilia to the band. According to Bono, U2 had to resort to legal action when their former stylist accused the band of lies and defamation. Bono said it was bizarre, unheard-of and in Monty Python territory that someone who worked for them would ask or take items as souvenirs. And Bono can never be anything but cool. The Irish Independent reported the way Bono handled being a witness. "The singer, who stated his name for the record as "Bono or Mr Hewson", wore an autumnal brown suit, white shirt, slate-grey tie with a diamante crucifix, and strolled through the questions asked by his own counsel, Paul Sreenan SC. As well as the hat, trousers and earrings, Bono wanted photos that Ms Cashman had back too, but he was also at pains to relate how impressed the band had been with Ms Cashman's work as a stylist. He was calm, composed and in control. He was centre stage. He was Bono, he was enjoying the attention." Lola is lying. U2 rule. And we don't need a court of law to tell us that!

Speaking of courts, another couple hitting for it is Paul McCartney and Heather Mills. Heather Mills has former Beatles man McCartney for being 'physically violent.' According to court papers filed by her lawyer, she has made claims that Paul was using illicit substances and drank too much despite promising otherwise. The former model made further claims that Paul subjected to four attacks including one where he asked her to cancel an important surgery because it was clashing with their holiday plans. Mills has gone on to say that he Paul refused to let her breastfeed after their daughter Beatrice was born. Paul McCartney has broken his silence and a statement was issued by his representatives, "Our client would very much like to respond in public and in detail to the allegations made recently against him by his wife and published in the press but he recognized, on advice, that the only correct forum for his response to the allegations made against him is in the current divorce proceedings. Our client will be defending these allegations vigorously and appropriately." Sources close to the singer claim that Heather is accusing Paul for attention. It seems that this will be an ugly battle, in and outside the courtroom. We sincerely hope that Mills is wrong. After all, Beatles remain the most influential and successful rock band of all times. And to see Paul McCartney be accused like this, that is just very sad!

McCartney isn't the only one heading for splitsville. Another couple going down the divorce path is Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown. After a 14-year marriage, Whitney has formally filed for divorce in Orange County Superior Court. The couple has been separated for a while now but now it is official. It remains to be seen if this will be a battle in the courts. Whitney has asked the court for the custody of her daughter, Bobbi Kristina. She also has allowed Brown visitation rights. We do wonder if Brown will go up against Whitney for joint custody. Coming back to the diva, she is apparently getting ready to come out with an album and is working with old time mentor Olive Davis. Speaking to People Magazine, he commented, "We're continuing to select material for her album. Everyone in our industry knows that she and Aretha [Franklin] are the best singers in the world today." True that. And as far as the divorce is concerned, after alleged drug abuse, domestic violence, it sounds like an appropriate decision on Whitney's part. As the saying goes, better late than never!

1. One Light Year At Snail Speed - Sajid and Zeeshan

2. Sun Re- Abbas Ali Khan

3. Overload - Overload

4. Be The One - Omar Inayat

5. Jilawatan - Call

1. Don 

2. Umrao Jaan 

3. Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna

4. Woh Lamhe 

5. Bas Ek Pal

Vilayti

1. Sam's Town

- The Killers

2. Future Sex/Love Songs - Justin Timberlake

3. Revolution- Audioslave

4. The Open Door - Evanescence

5. Modern Times - Bob Dylan

Los Angeles Fashion Week opened in true L.A. fashion – with celebrities, diversity, rock 'n' roll and irreverence. But as crass as the film scene can be, on the runway the word was romance. romance it seems is the new buzz word, which echoed from the collections in New York, Milan and Paris. Colour palettes were softer and designers emphasised airy volumes. And in the capital of denim that is L.A. it is dresses, not jeans, that emerged as the must-have item for spring.

L.A. may not be the place to look to for design inspiration but the runways here do offer affordable retail options as opposed to out-of-reach luxury. The styling is more interesting too, with designers taking their cues from the street and the beach, as opposed to the haloed pages of fashion history.

Yet to reach the elite status of New York or London's Fashion Week, the L.A. Fashion Week still manages to generate the right amount of buzz – such is the nature of Hollywood.

In terms of numbers, L.A. is nothing compared to New York, but it is a world and a culture unto itself - far cooler than it is stylishly correct.

L VERDAD

For Verdad, known for his edgy punk tough designs, inspiration for his cleanly tailored but flirty collection came from actress Natalie Portman and her Golden Globe-winning stint as a wig-wearing sex kitten in the 2004 film Closer. The fun and playful collection is a modern approach to looks rooted in the 1980s. He showed an array of short, cinched dresses, thigh-skimming shorts and cropped jackets - all in a cream-colored palette - with ankle boots and sleekly bobbed blonde and black wigs, similar to Portman's in the film.

WILLIAM RAST

Pop star Justin Timberlake with his childhood friend Trace Ayala started William Rast (named after their grandfathers) less than a year ago. Justin isn't your typical fashion designer, so the runway debut of William Rast wasn't a typical fashion show. The runway was turned into a disco with models in street sexy clothes gyrating to racy Prince tunes. Women's styles included cropped cardigans, shrunken sweater dresses and puffy-sleeved blouses with bows at the neck. Men wore plaid blazers with attached leather vests over slim-fitting slacks. Accessories were key as each outfit was adorned with oversized belt buckles or chunky pendants.

CHAN LUU

Chan Luu has been termed the queen of layering. She gets it like no other and as a designer that is carried in over 1000 stores, including Harvey Nichols, she should. Breaking away from previously favored recycled fabrics, Luu went decidedly modern with a Jackie-O-going-to-the-museum twist. Of course, the tones were in the palette du jour – whites, cremes and all monochromatic tones. Over embellishment, as seen in seasons past, works flawlessly in Luu's collection, as it embodies who she is as a designer.

SUE WONG

Sue Wong's colourfully dense collection was influenced by everything from 19th century prints to Art Deco sculptures and Moroccan art, Wong titled her show "Neo Romantics," but could have also called it "Around the World in 80 Days." The collection shone with wispy embroidered slip dresses, Mexican party dresses with full skirts and paisley dresses in sheer blue, green and pink. At her best, Wong demonstrated her knack for detail, from '20s-inspired gowns with crisply beaded backs and flowing skirts to a lavishly embroidered white wedding dress and matching coat. At her worst, she weighed down chiffon and silk dresses with too much beading and embellishment. Hmm, that sounds suspiciously familiar...

EVISU

Founded in 1991 by designer Hidehiko Yamane, and distributed outside Japan by Peter Caplowe, the high-end denim company's jeans sell for hundreds of dollars. In the company's first U.S. showing, its funky designs and sparkly denims were a hit. A skintight strapless black denim jumpsuit sizzled alongside metallic bomber jackets, and a floor-length silver robe paired with skinny, slick jeans brought on audience hollers and applause. The fascinating showcase of dark-washed, wide- and skinny-legged jeans and denim jumpers was very stylish. These are clothes that people actually wear, as opposed to clothes that make them go "Ooh!'

The next three years is the best time for becoming famous. There are just so many channels out there that even the most mediocre will be able to find some kind of slot for themselves. The media is desperate for good content. The amount of people on TV and radio is simply astounding, but with just so many channels out there very few actually manage to register.

But the sad fact is a lot of these channels won't be around in the next half decade or so. Most are going to be involved in an extremely unpleasant economic shakedown that will have the channels bite the dust. And it will once again become as hard to get on the media as it was when there was only the state channel around.

So how does this prediction work, and why should we believe this might be true?

This situation isn't exceptional to Pakistan. This is going to sound strange, but let's compare the situation of TV channels in Pakistan to the car industry to understand these possible events better.

A century ago in America there were a hundred car manufacturers, and now there are just three major American firms. What happened was that some firms became better organized and got the best talent pool sooner than others which fed into needed innovation.

This gave them excess capital over others and it eventually put the nail in the coffin for the smaller players when the industry boomed. Today there are a number of smaller American firms that produce cars but they do in a very niche market that doesn't compete with the big three, like humongous trucks, modified cars and extremely select sports cars. These are categories that the major American car firms find unprofitable, but the smaller firms operate them well because of the higher profit margins and the lack of competition in these categories.

Now think of the Pakistani media landscape. Do we really need five music channels? What do we have, say around 30 half decent bands and singers in the country?

If these major singers made albums every four years or so then there really isn't a justification to have too many channels because it means mindless and endless repetition.

Eventually the viewers will just watch one or two of them. The rest will starve themselves to death because a lack of viewership means trickle amounts of advertising.

This is the "law of threes". In most industries eventually only two or three major firms will prevail. In mobile phones it Sony Ericsson, Nokia and Motorola, the rest of the firms have much smaller market shares. Look at carbonated drinks, there are only Pepsi and Coca Cola as major players, despite the fact anyone could open a cola company tomorrow because the technology required is very basic (an ingenious Matric pass student knows enough to make a carbonated drink commercially).

But in Pakistan there are around six or seven channels of equal popularity. This won't last forever, eventually the shakedown will kill some of them. Already, some of these channels have minuscule profits, if any. Those likely to go the full round are those who got in earliest; the first music channel, the first drama one, the first sports one, the first news one and so on.

Only smaller channels that serve niches will survive simply because the major operators do not find those segments profitable enough to compete in. So the Pakistani film only channel, Pashto channel, Sindhi channel, Punjabi channel or even a lone cooking channel will have a fighting chance. But there will only be one or two really big channels that matter.

In the past couple of years the economy of Pakistan has grown very rapidly and with consumer finance people now are spending beyond their means. It's spurted advertising spend and has given an artificial lease of lease to the media. They are pressed to spend, even on channels not worthy.

But every economy has cyclical downturns, and the greatest impact of the downturn will be on the media in Pakistan this time around and all those who have taken bank loans to buy non-productive items like cars and electronics.

Compared to America our economy is less than the size of some of their biggest firm's revenues. But by March of next year we will have more news only channels than the USA (they have CNN and FOX).

Does it make economic sense to have so many news channels in Pakistan? No. But the reason investors are plunging in is because there is too many advertising rupees out there now. It's created an artificial incentive to create channels to soak up the revenue.

This is why our stars are making more money than Harvard MBAs. Alamgir was born decades too early. But people like Ali Azmat and Strings peaked just right in the lunar calendar.

But its not just excess liquidity in the advertising business that drove up their salaries, it's also because there is a serious shortage of existing talent and those with true merit have enormous bargaining power now.

So, if you want to make it in the media business, now is the time to do it. Once the channels begin to expire, it will only get harder in the future.

The Levi's flagship store opened up in Lahore with much fanfare. While brands like Nike decided to launch their flagship stores in Karachi first, Levi's has stayed away from this tradition and opened their flagship store in the city of Lahore. It was a smart move; after all, Lahore is known to be a city that likes living it up. And that is exactly the market that the Levi's store aims to capture.

The facade of the store screams hip and cool, and grabs the attention of Generation X immediately with its funky exterior, the arty posters and cut outs that glint in the sunlight and the unique glass walls. To stand out in an area like M.M Alam Road, which is home to everything from the best restaurants to the designer stores is no small feat, but Levi's seems to have managed it by their out there architecture and interior design. The store is divided into two floors; the main floor has the current line for men and women, accessories including socks and even lingerie.

On entering the store, one is not disappointed. The store's interior is funky, with cut outs, soft lighting and comfortable furniture. An MTV-watching average teenager would instantly feel at home here.

The merchandise display is similar to their displays in other stores around the country, but they have a far more diverse range of clothing and accessories. The range is far more diverse than anything available in any Levi's store in the country, with funky party wear, cotton t-shirts and even jewellery that screamed Levi's for women. The men's wear did not have anything new to offer apart from their usual range of jeans and t-shirts. One does hope that some of this merchandise makes its way to other stores in the country as well, since the clothes did look quite appealing. The accessories such as belts, socks and lingerie however, were overpriced. White cotton briefs for women cost 500 rupees, which is a bit on the higher side, considering they were quite ordinary briefs. Even the design for the trial rooms has a unique layout, with small LCD screens running local music channels and magazines for waiting customers to utilize their time.

With all this effort put in, it was sad to notice that the service on the main floor was not up to mark. There was one female attendant present for all female clientele and two male attendants including the manager for male clientele. At the time of this scribe's visit to the store, the female attendant was busy with other customers and did not even bother asking if one was looking for something or needed help, which put one off the store.

The basement is home to the popular Lahori chain of coffee shops Jammin' Java and the vintage line of Levi's. While the main floor had a lack of attendants, the vintage store had a female attendant at hand, who explained the significance of each and every item, and the fact that their history made them so expensive.

The basement is also home to Levi's range of shoes, some of which are quite funky and the pink sneakers were to die for. However, with a 5,000 rupees and above tag attached to each of them and Skechers already available in Lahore at relatively lesser prices, Levi's might have to rethink their pricing strategy. The vintage jeans, which are over 20 - 25 years old and have been a relevant piece of Levi's history attached to them, formed the central attraction of the basement. Each pair of jeans was outrageously expensive, although not so in Levi's eyes, with the price range starting from 25,000 rupees onwards, making them an exclusively collector's item, for those who wish to name drop. The basement's design was purely western-based, which is where the history of jeans and Levi's originates from. Levi's strategy here was to shock the visitor, who when looking out of the window expects to see sunny skies, instead sees a huge rock surface with a pair of jeans embedded in it. Very daring, very unique, very Levi's.

Opening a coffee store in the basement of the flagship store was a great idea by the management of the store. Harried customers can relax in the comfortable store with the funky leather love seats and cozy tables. The standard of food however is not that great, or it may be that coffee-holics from Karachi have been spoiled by the delicious coffee served at Espresso. Nevertheless, the coffee shop itself is generating enough business, as is the case with every other coffee bar in Lahore, all of which are doing good business from the look of it.

If Levi's wishes to retain their market share, they need to constantly improvise their range of women's and men's wear. With stores like Mantra and Crossroads doing well in Karachi and Lahore, Levi's should also rethink their prices. All that said, the store is a must visit, even if it is to purely to gape at the store's design.