Om Books' Taj Mahal: Multiple Narratives launched by Maharaja Gaj Singh

When it is a book on Taj Mahal, it is only fair that it is released by royals.

His Highness Maharaja Gaj Singh II of Jodhpur and publisher Ajay Mago of Om Books International celebrated the launch of Taj Mahal: Multiple Narratives. Coo-authors Amita Baig and Rahul Mehrotra, shared their experience of putting together the book with veteran journalist Kaveree Bamzai.

Sharmila Tagore,Meera and Muzaffar Ali, Ritu Kumar, Karan Thapar, Satish and Kiran Gujral, Feroze and Mohit Gujral, Laila Tyabji, Bim Bissell, Aman Nath, Gurmeet and Raghu Rai, Sunil Sethi, Mrs. Radha Bhatia and Ankur Bhatia were present on the occasion along with pulisher Ajay Mago.

Taj Mahal: Multiple Narratives presents a new perspective on the Taj Mahal and Agra. The city and its iconic monuments have often been written about, exclusive of each other. Many stories from Agra form the pillars on which the Taj Mahal was built. Pleasure gardens or a dusty township of the Middle Ages, Agra has many dimensions. The book looks at global events, nationalevents and showcases contemporary buildings and subsequent events which transformed it from a sacred personal space to a part of world heritage. The book is a broader and more accessible understanding of these stories, of Agra and the Taj Mahal. 

Says Ajay Mago, Publisher, Om Books International, “visiting the Taj Mahal as a child was a more enjoyable experience than visiting the Qutub Minar in Delhi. Back then, it also meant getting at least 200 kilometres away from school for a couple of days. And for a long time, a monument dedicated to love held greater meaning than a victory tower. Such is the power the Taj Mahal continues to wield over the world. Taj Mahal: Multiple Narratives by Amita Baig and Rahul Mehrotra helps us look at the monument and its significance as a World Heritage Site afresh.

One of the largest English language trade publishers in the Indian subcontinent, Om Books International has been a name to reckon with for over five decades in the Indian publishing and retail industry.  OBI has a diverse publishing list including cinema, biography, memoir, mind-body-spirit, photo essay, art, architecture, lifestyle, fiction — commercial and literary.It counts amongst its notable authors Khalid Mohamed, Mushtaq Shiekh, Bharathi S Pradhan, Nasreen Munni Kabir, Rauf Ahmed, Kamala Das, William Dalrymple, Vir Sanghvi, Christopher C Doyle and Abhay Vaidya.

Om Books International has a stellar line-up of Gourmand World Cookbook Award Winners: Vikas Khanna, Maria Goretti, Michael Swamy, Shazia Khan, Aditya Mehendale and Saransh Goila.

OBI has an equally strong and varied children's publishing programme under its imprint, OmKidz.

Veteran Actors Helen and Asha Parekh on the sets of The Kapil Sharma Show

Veteran actors and divas of all times, Helen and Asha Parekh were the guests at The Kapil Sharma Show.The actors shared their tales of friendship bonds and their equation with their costars. They also shared how they feel about the difference between the cinema then and today, if b/w cinema was better or today’s technology. While Asha Parekh danced on the song ‘Sayonara’, Helen shook a leg on her hit numbers. Kapil Sharma left no stone unturned to make sure his guests were comfortable and at ease at all times while shooting with the cast of The Kapil Sharma Show.

Did You Know? Siddhant Kapoor Used Dad Shakti Kapoor’s Suit And Sunglasses For His ‘Haseena’ Look Test

Actor Siddhant Kapoor will be seen teaming up with sister Shraddha Kapoor for the very first time in Apoorva Lakhia’s upcoming film ‘Haseena’, which is based on the life of Dawood’s sister Haseena Parkar and Siddhant will be seen playing Dawood while Shraddha will play Haseena. 

In his two looks that the makers revealed recently, the boyish Siddhant looks utterly sinister and menacing as the young Dawood with his slicked back hair, a flashy suit and oversized aviator sunglasses. However, did you know the interesting story behind Siddhant’s look test for the film? 

The actor says with a guffaw, “Apoorva Lakhia told me ‘I know you will pull off the acting, but convince me that you can look like him.’ I then hired a photographer and got into the full old school look with dad’s clothes and sunglasses, did a shoot and nailed the look.” Siddhant, who also had to put on weight for his role as the older Dawood, binged on chocolates and burgers to put on 9 kilos for some portions of the film. 

 A source attached to the film said, “The way Siddhant prepared for the role and transformed into Dawood was truly awe-inspiring and his portrayal of the dreaded don is going to be one of the most sinister portrayals ever seen on the silver screen. when Siddhant came on the sets in this look for the very first time, the unit  was quite taken aback to see the boyish actor look so menacing.” 

Directed by Apoorva Lakhia, the film is being presented by Swiss Entertainment and has been produced by Nahid Khan. Haseena is slated to release on July 14.

Tejasswi Prakash makes her weighty affair look like a cakewalk

To get into the skin of the character, actors leave no stone unturned to fit the sequence and bring alive the character. Tejasswi Prakash who will be seen in Sony Entertainment Television’s upcoming show Pehredaar Piya Ki is currently shooting in Mandawa, Rajasthan which requires her to wear royal costumes. The actress took to Instagram to post a live video revealing her look and also shared a snap detailing the same. The actress is currently shooting in the dessert donning a lehenga which is 15KGS with additional jewelry of 7KGS. 

Pehredaar Piya Ki is the story of an unusual marriage between a 9 year old boy, Ratan Harshvardhan Singh (played by Afaan Khan) and an 18 years old girl, Diya (played by Tejasswi Prakash). Diya sacrifices her own dreams and gets married to Ratan to be his protector.The cast is currently shooting in the part of Mandawa which is a part of the Shekhawati region.

Boney Kapoor throws a party for the crew of MOM

Boney Kapoor's Mom presented by Zee Studios went on to become a subject of heated discussion as the makers pulled off a casting coup and cast powerhouse performers like superstar Sridevi , Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Akshaye Khanna in the drama. 

If that wasn't all , the music of the film will be composed by maestro A R Rahman, making it one of the most sought after films this year.With so much going for the film and the fact that the cast and crew even wrapped the film 2 days before the schedule , gave producer Boney Kapoor reason enough to throw a fun celebratory party, for the crew working on the film.Says a source, " The entire shoot of the film went smoothly . Everyone had a great time shooting for it. The team even managed to wrap the shoot before the scheduled time. Boney Kapoor wanted to thank the team and show his appreciation .He threw them a celebratory party which went on till the wee hours of the morning".Says Boney Kapoor, The crew has worked really hard on the film and we managed to complete it before the scheduled time....This was our way of celebrating the great time we had working on the film. The film will release nationwide in 4 languages - Hindi,Tami,Telugu and Malayalam.