Mumbai, June 20 (Calcutta Tube) He plays a perfect lover on-screen and off screen he is the best dad. Describing a father’s role, Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan says dads are usually seen as rule-breakers and risk-takers with their kids.

‘Someone rightly said, ‘Any man can be a father, but it takes time to be a dad’. And that someone was just right,’ said Shah Rukh who has two children – son Aryan and daughter Suhana.

‘Who is dad? He’s the mess-maker, rule-breaker, risk-taker and the opposite of mom who is usually seen as the creator and nurturer. But for all his mischief, dads are doing something quite right,’ the actor said in a statement on the occasion of Father’s Day.

Known as Bollywood’s favourite romantic hero, Shah Rukh donned the role of a modern, loving dad in movies like ‘Kuch Kuch Hota Hai’ and ‘Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham’.

‘Father’s Day is our day, to celebrate ‘being dad’. This day gives us the opportunity to show and express our love and care. It’s an appropriate platform to look at our children and credit them for bringing joy and happiness. After all, a child gives birth to a father as well. But even though it’s celebrated once a year, it’s the ever after effect of being a father that will keep us connected.

‘A father’s role means different to different people so I cannot do justice by trying to define it. But in the traditional way, we hold the role of being the head of the family, protector and role models to our children. We are definitely the more unpredictable lot with our kids.

‘At times we may have rocked our kids more than their moms have and rolled on the floor foolishly to play. So moms and dads are indeed different. And we know we cannot be like the mothers, but we do know that we can make all the difference by being right there.

‘I understand it’s not easy, but I appreciate the effort that’s being put in by all fathers, as more and more fathers are becoming aware and taking their role and responsibility seriously and turning into great dads.’

Apart from movies, in the recent Pepsodent’s ad ‘Pappu and Pappa’, Shah Rukh is seen playing a doting father to child artist Keval.

‘I am happy to know that most of you have joined me in ‘Pappu and Pappa’ campaign and have made a move towards being the family man and taken to spending quality time with your kids.

‘For this moment, I dedicate a song for our special day… Will Smith’s ‘Just the Two of Us’ which celebrates fatherhood. And… dear dads you can do more… Wish you a Happy Fathers Day.’

New Delhi, June 26 (Calcutta Tube) As Delhi gears up to host its first couture week in July, designers are excited to be part of it and say that it was long overdue.

‘I think it is great. It was long overdue. It was me, Suneet (Verma) and Rohit (Bal) who have been working in this field from the beginning and it’s good to see that more people are coming in,’ designer J.J. Valaya told IANS.

Rohit Bal felt the timing was just right time for couture week with the onset of the wedding season.

‘I think the idea is great. It is something that was being thought about for a long time. It has finally taken shape. We have some of the best couturiers and it is the most appropriate time with so many events and weddings happening,’ Bal told IANS.

The Pearl Delhi Couture Week (PDCW) hosted by the Fashion Design Council of India will be held July 20-25 at The Grand Hotel in Vasant Kunj. Nineteen designers will participate in the event.

Said Gaurav Gupta of the event: ‘Designers here are known for couture and Delhi is a major couture market. This was much awaited.’

After showcasing his collections in Mumbai, designer Suneet Verma says he is excited to be a part of the couture week happening in the capital.

‘It’s wonderful. Couture is a celebration of craft, skill, talent and brilliance all over the world. For me, once you are given a platform like this as a couturier, it means you are considered to be among the best. Here you would not be competing with other designers but also with yourself,’ Verma said.

Designer Manav Gangawani was also happy that the couture week has finally come to his city.

‘I am really excited because I primarily do couture and I am really happy that it has come to my city,’ he said.

Of the designers participating in the couture week, 13 – Abu Jani and Sandeep Khosla, Anamika Khanna, Manish Malhotra, Gaurav Gupta, J.J. Valaya, Manav Gangwani, Pallavi Jaikishan, Raakesh Agarvwal, Rina Dhaka, Rohit Bal, Sabyasachi Mukherjee, Suneet Varma and Varun Bahl – will showcase their creations on the ramp.

The remaining six – Ekru by Ekta & Ruchira, Geisha designs by Paras & Shalini, Jaya Rathore, Monapali, Reynu Taandon and Puneet Nanda of Satya Paul label – will display special installations.

FDCI has already hosted two editions of the HDIL India Couture Week in Mumbai. The third edition is slated for later this year.

New Delhi, June 23 (Calcutta Tube) After styling Bollywood divas like Lara Dutta and Deepika Padukone, among others, designer Mandira Wirk is making her movie debut with ‘Hum Tum Aur Shabana’. She is designing Minissha Lamba’s wardrobe for the film and says it’s just a gradual shift.

‘I have been styling for a long time now and have worked with almost everyone in the industry, so it was just a gradual shift. I have been associated with Minissha for quite some time now and she wanted me to design her clothes for the movie,’ Mandira told IANS in an interview.

‘After working with these stars for a long time, we now share good rapport with each other. There is a certain comfort level you share with the stars and it comes out very well when you start working together,’ she added.

Delhi-based Mandira, who has been in the fashion industry for almost a decade now, is a known name in India as well as Europe and South-east Asia.

Talking about Minissha’s look in ‘Hum Tum Aur Shabana’, Mandira said: ‘The look of the character is very girlie and feminine. I have used a lot of pastel colours, cotton, linen and chiffon. I have also played a lot with neckline and sleeves.

‘Minissha doesn’t want the length of her dresses to be above-knee, so the hemlines of the dresses are kept till the knees. So the whole look will be natural yet classy,’ she added.

As Mandira has worked with Minissha earlier, she already knew her likes, dislikes and her body proportion.

‘The best part is that Minissha has given me free hand in designing. She is very down to earth and doesn’t mind experimenting. She believes in me and my designs,’ said Mandira who has used a lot of texturing, hand and spiral painting as well.

As the movie is being shot in Mumbai and Goa, the designer had to keep the locations in mind while designing.

‘We have finished our first phase of shooting in Goa and there Minissha was required to go in the water, so I had to design clothes for that particular scene that won’t get crumpled after she comes out of the water. So you see, all these little things have to be kept in mind while you take a film project,’ said Mandira.

Directed by ‘Bheja Fry’-fame director Sagar Ballary, the movie also has Tusshar Kapoor and Shreyas Talpade in the lead roles.

New Delhi, June 23 (Calcutta Tube) Television tsarina Ekta Kapoor is set to launch a fiction show online under her ALT Entertainment banner that focuses on new age content production.

The show will be called ‘Bol Niti Bol’ and will go online next week. It will be seen on YouTube, Mid-day.com and rediff.com, said a press statement.

‘For a long time we wanted to do a show exclusively for our young audiences who spend more time on the digital space than on the television,’ said Ekta Kapoor, joint managing director, Balaji Telefilms.

‘Bol Niti Bol’ is the story of Niti, an average young girl who will chronicle her daily life through each episode of the show. Each episode, shot on webcam will be Niti’s video diary about what new has happened in her life, who has she met recently, the boy she likes, her crushes, how she handles people who woo her – and everything that happens in a young girl’s daily life.

Ekta feels the show will gel well with the youth.

‘The concept of the show as well the protagonist is something every teenager and young at heart can identify and connect immediately with. There is a freedom of accessing the content whenever they want, keeping in mind how busy teenagers are nowadays! I am sure our young netizens will find a friend for themselves in Niti,’ she added.

As part of Balaji Telefilms’s new media strategy, the company plans to create content for younger audiences on the web and mobile through ALT Entertainment. The movie ‘Love, Sex Aur Dhokha’ too was made under the same banner.

The content for ‘Bol Niti Bol’ will be refreshed twice a week and there will be a total of 17 episodes of the show.

London, June 23 (Calcutta Tube) British comedian Russell Brand has revealed that he took inspiration from Oasis singer Noel Gallagher for portrayal of a rock star in the new film ‘Get Him to the Greek’.

Brand plays the role of an arrogant, wild and obnoxious rocker Aldous Snow in the new flick.

Brand insists he took inspiration from Gallagher’s attitude for his role, reports mirror.co.uk.

‘He tells you stories and you think, ‘Oh my God, you decadent lunatics,’ said Brand about Gallagher.

‘Tales of when there was still money in the music industry and they were all carrying on. So there are no direct references, but Noel is someone I have in mind. Mostly because Noel Gallagher doesn’t care.

‘Most people say, ‘Oh I don’t care what people think about me.’ He actually doesn’t. You’re like, ‘Don’t say that! You’ll ruin everything you’ve worked for,’ and he’s like, ‘Don’t f**king care, say what I want.’ The way he sees it, as long as he can play guitar, people will always give him 10 quid and he’ll be all right.’