Roving Eye

Pub crawlGeoffrey’s has become the pub to hang out, that we all know. But if you get there after 11 pm, unless you are someone famous, you may not be allowed to enter. This Friday, both Sumeet Chopra and Nikhil Chibb walked in and were given the red carpet treatment, ie allowed in. But when a bunch of common people wanted to enter, the manager declared a house full. What he did not realise was that among those unknowns was Kareena Kapoor, but since she has not graced any film magazine covers yet, she was relegated to the ranks of persona non grata. No wonder, other filmi-types like Pooja Batra prefer Piano Bar to this pseudo-English Pub.

Great glossies

Yet another magazine to join the glossy market is Great Looks. Edited by Vimla Patil of Femina fame, we wonder how it will cope in an already flooded women’s magazine category? For instance, there is Anuradha Mahindra’s Verve — one of the pioneers in this section. The first issue of the year isfinally out and includes some great pics, as usual. The real coup was getting Mehr Jessia to step out in front of the camera, after a long hiatus, to pose for the cover and their fashion spread. Now, how will Great Looks that splashed a foreign model on the cover compete with that?

Sad sale

On Thursday, at 10.30 pm, a huge queue formed outside Ensemble as desperate housewives elbowed each other to get a first grab at the store’s discounted ware. Tarun Tahiliani’s annual sale had women fighting over saris and snatching every outfit they could lay their hands on. There was more commotion here than outside Harrod’s in England. Wonder if the same chaos will ensue at Krishna Mehta’s sale later this week? Doesn’t anyone want to buy exclusive, non-discounted fare any more? Obviously, the money crunch is hitting even the rich.

No bond

James Bond’s Tomorrow Never Dies was previewed at the Sterling Cinema on Friday. Hosted by Beautiful Boulevard, the show was held as Pierce Brosnanis the latest celeb to flaunt an Omega watch. According to reports, the film is more of an advertorial for BMW, Ericsson, Smirnoff and Omega than a 007 film. But what the hell, it’s just a reflection of the importance of marketing. At the preview only a handful of desi celebs — Shobha and Dilip De and Yash and Avanti Birla — turned up. But they gave the cocktails at the Taj, later, a miss. The party was choc-a-bloc with people sporting Omegas and expensive cell phones but none of them had been able to buy class. The only elegance to be spotted there was Beautiful Boulevard ambassadress Anna Bradmeyer, in a white dress with a white jacket.

Model meet

Lymaraina D’Souza was the girl of the night on Tuesday when Copa Cabana hosted a soiree for her. As expected, most of those who showed up were from the industry, though neither of the other two Miss India-winners were present. Model Svetlana Casper stood out thanks to her height, and even made Lymaraina look short. But the girl who seemed to be havingthe most fun was Bipasha Basu. She danced the night away with anyone near her and even got a headstart — the Bengali babe was one of the few models who got there before the clock struck 12. Bickram Saluja, Marc Robinson, Sumeet Chopra, his sister Sangeeta and boyfriend Tarun, were all there. And even though it was Tuesday night, the party went on till the wee hours.

Music mixThe Piano Bar saw the launch of Sony music’s Dance Masti by Farhad Wadia, last week. Among those who succumbed to the music were Devika and Suresh Bhojwani, Meghana Reddy, Shantanu Sheorey and Mishaal Varma (both minus their partners — Kimi and Shernaz Dinshaw). While the evening was fun, one wonders why everyone insists on Suchitra Pillai as a compere. Not only does she keep forgetting who she’s supposed to introduce but she also has a fixed set of lines reserved for introductions. Not helping matters was a performance by Shaan — yes, remember him? In any case, why didn’t the band members sing at the launch of their ownalbum? Anyway, Farhad insists that the cassette isn’t a remix of old classic numbers like Julie – he calls it an "enhancement". Ho hum!

And finally…Here is an update on the Rhea Pillai- Sanjay Dutt wedding. Those who feel cheated out of not being able to attend the wedding need not be disappointed. There will still be a chance to see pictures of the couple tying the knot. Celebrity-watchers will be glad to hear that a formal wedding will take place in April, this year. And there will be a host of parties to celebrate the event in style. So, watch your mailbox for an invite to this exclusive affair.