Tradition is out of fashion, says Shobana

“When did I say I will not act in Malayalam?” asks Shobana, days before she is to perform her two-and-a-half hour performance on Krishna at JTPac in Kochi.

That must be music to the ears of filmmakers as well as film lovers in Kerala who have been missing her since the early 90s when she started concentrating on dance, accepting only one film per year or none at all.

“But the TV channels have been playing my films all the time,” she says, with a laugh.

Her favourites? “Yathra, Thenmavin Kombathu and that Jayaram film…” Is I>Manichithrathazhu, in which she played a schizophrenic caught between the past and present and won the national award, not in the list?

“Unlike dance, films are a collaborative effort. I was young while Pachikka (director Fazil) and others perhaps knew they were making a classic. Mohan Lal and Suresh Gopi supported me well.”
The actress, who has her roots in Thiruvananthapuram dispels the impression that she is in some kind of a self-imposed exile in Chennai.

“You make it sound as though I am living in America. I come to Kerala four times a year for my performances. My relatives keep visiting me and I visit them too. I have Malayalis among the staff here (in her dance school) and I remain a Malayali in mind and spirit.”

She recently completed her work in a Tamil film Poda Podi where she plays, what else, a dancer.

She is excited as she talks about the forthcoming show in Kochi.

“Bharatanatyam is always about God but being a performer, it is story telling that is more important than the religious aspect. Krishna is an international icon. I took him because there were a lot of questions about him in my mind. These questions formed over the years while listening to the bhajans, Geetha Govindam or kathaprasangams. There is the butter and clothes stealing Krishna and then there is the sensual aspect. So, this performance is the product of my attempt to write a story with different aspects in mind.”

One of the aspects she tries to throw light on is that of Krishna as a negotiator. “Most people comment on how beautiful it is and how colourful the costumes are. But I don’t know how far people understand the nuances.

For instance, I have touched upon how Krishna is a lover of peace throughout Mahabharata. When he comes to negotiate with the Kauravas, people expect him to come with his entire army and other regalia. But he arrives without any of that, accompanied only by Garuda.

” The sound design of the show is by Resul Pookutty while the voice overs for the characters are by Surya, Shabana Azmi, Prabhu, Radhika, Konkona Sen and Nandita Das. Is her style puritan or experimental? “Innovation is tomorrow’s tradition.

It is no longer in fashion to be traditional. Tradition is what your teachers taught you. If you ask about this particular performance, it is not a classical dance but can be called a classic,” she signs off.

Style story: Go wild in leopard print

Have yourself a purr-fectly chic Christmas in big cat prints

From left: Jessie J, Miranda Kerr and Jennifer Hudson have all been spotted in leopard print.

 

 

Some things never go out of style, and leopard print is the undisputed king of the fashion jungle.

A perennial catwalk stalker, especially on the Italian runways, no fashionista's wardrobe is complete without a little big cat cool, and this season, it's a full-on staple of the urban jungle dweller's wardrobe.

With Hollywood well and truly feeling the feline trend, and luxe leopard looks popping up all over the red carpet and beyond, the party season is the purrfect time to give in to your animal instincts.

From snuggly oversized knits and jackets, to awesome accessories and knockout frocks, there's simply no excuse not to get kitty pretty. Meow!

Image Credit: ANM, Getty Images
News Source: Gulfnews.com

The clutch of the moment- Fashion Style

Last month I became privy to a strange trend that seemed to involve the experimental preservation of human beings. Shrink wrap, bubble wrap, perspex - you name it, fashion's gone whacko for anything see-through and unbreathable. When writing the original trend report, I (stupidly) assumed that we were safe from this trend, because nobody in their right mind would wear Glad Wrap clothing for real. But that's where I slipped up. I should have realised that with see-through plastic shoes come other see-through plastic accessories. Like clutches.

Let's cue in our local angle right about now. The see-through trendin' stylin' rather freaky deeky clutch I'm holding is by Mardle. You may have seen a brief snippet of it here, but when we're talking new trends as big as this bad boy it really needs more than one breath.

The Mardle clutch began because designer Shiana watches international trends with an eagle eye. Her magpie trending eyes spotted this:

Article numero uno. While Chanel has done clear plastic handbags many times in the past, this is one of the first great clear clutches I've seen. It's by accessories label Charlotte Olympia - by Charlotte Dellal, Alice Dellal's sister for the fans out there of shaved sides.

Article numero dos. That's two. Prada did it too.

But the thing that I really love about Charlotte Olympia's version (and the thing that Shiana loved too) is that there are interchangeable inners. Because we like options, it helps us work with more than one outfit. Now this two-(or four)-for-the-price-of-one hype is generally reserved for the "budget" consumer - he who buys reversible jackets, 2 in 1 shampoo, and loves transformers. Just kidding about the transformers.

But you'll agree with me that this mentality is refreshing to see in the luxury market. I'm not sure whether this is a sign of the economic recession, or simply that the novelty factor of interchangeable anything (like transformers) is rather quaint for the consumers of luxury goods (the rich kids).

Whatever the reason, Charlotte gave us three different inners in one clear box:

Shiana wanted to create her own (slightly more affordable) version of the see-through clutch.

"The first thing that came to mind when I saw these clear clutches was creating a fluorescent yellow, purple and black plastic covered pencil case way back when I was in Sewing Tech at the age of 12. With this in mind I also wanted to jump on the fluoro bandwagon that's trending right now in Europe and combine the two ideas," she says.

Here's the "all clear" option - just edit what you carry in your clutch because everyone can see. I opted for safe-as-houses wallet, spare ring and cellphone, and hid my tampons safely in my coat pocket:

 So how do you do it? Easy, just slip in, and slip out. The inner I mean.

Images & news Credit:- stuff.co.nz/