Scene & Heard

Marcellus Baptista

Facing Facts

Faces sell products. And so it is not surprising for beauty companies to announce well-known and striking personalities to endorse their products and services.

The latest was Estelle, the home of costume jewellery, that announced model and filmstar Katrina Kaif as its new face. This comes after such endorsements by such well-known names like Shymolie Verma, Sherie Mehr-Homji, Aditi Govitrikar and Lisa Ray.

It was party time at the Taj Ballroom with singer Darren Das rendering the Elton John hit ‘The Way You Look Tonight’. Estelle’s foreign collaborator is Normak Fashions Inc Canada and so you saw Canada connections like Canadian vice consul Francis Dorsemaine and Vivek Savkur, chairman, Indo-Canadian Business Chamber.

Gusti Noria, MD, Normak Fashions feels that Katrina embodies the attributes to make an Estelle woman - a spirit of aspiration and confidence.

Going Back

Kaya Skin Clinic has not been sitting pretty after announcing model Aditi Govitrikar as its brand ambassador. It has further strengthened its association by getting the ravishing model to host the Kaya Athena Backless Night at Athena.

She looked stunning in a backless ensemble showing off her glowing skin and colourful tattoo. It was one way of popularising Kaya’s back shine which is an extension of the popular service offered for the face.

Guests were welcomed with a special Kaya drink concocted by Karen Anand, comprising apple and cinnamon. The dress code read ‘backless’ and a few took that seriously, like models Kavita Kharayat and Mridula Chandrashekhar. The event was supported by Smirnoff Citrus Twist which added a nice twist to the backless night.

Star Shine

It was a starry night at Liquid Lounge as restaurateur Chirag Doshi, filmstar Abhishek Bachchan and Rubberband Films hosted a party to celebrate the release of ‘Mumbai Se Aaya Mera Dost’, starring Abhishek Bachchan and Lara Dutta.

Bollywood was well represented by Esha Deol, Riya and Raima Sen, Rani Mukherjee, Diya Mirza, Seema and Sohail Khan, Chunky and Bhavna Pandey, Kim Sharma, Perizaad Zorabian, Jaya Bachchan, Sonali Bendre, Amrita Arora, Sanjay and Maheep Kapoor.

Bollywood tracks by DJ Suketu with appetisers and dinner crafted by chef Saby added to the action. Guests also included fashion designers, models, and other glamourous people.

Vivid Night

In keeping with its commitment of bringing world class music to town, Fire & Ice presented DJ Goa Gil in association with Bacardi Vivid.

Born and brought up in San Francisco, Goa Gil first visited Goa in the early 70s and popularised the original Goa trance sounds that have evolved into today’s psychedelic trance. He has toured around the world and has many popular albums to his credit. This was his second stint at Fire & Ice.

Bacardi Breezer associates itself with several renowned clubs and DJs that bring alive the energetic, vibrant and carefree attitude of the brand. It was a chance for the company to further popularise its Bacardi Breezer flavours of lime, orange, cranberry and wildberry.

Strong Knock

It was a knock out at Mayfair Rooms as Knock Out, the leading strong beer brand from SAB Miller India (who markets the famous Castle here) provided a platform for consumers in the city to meet Bollywood filmstar Manoj Bajpai.

It was the culmination of the ‘Mil Ke Dekho’ promotion of the brand that was running in Mumbai for a month. It was also the ‘Jeetne Ka Strong Andaaz’ promotion with exciting prizes like mobikes and a car.

It was felt that Manoj Bajpai’s image as an actor with a strength of character and his rise to stardom through sheer hard work and determination embodies the inherent brand values of Knock Out.