off the cuff by Umesh Jivnani

MAN FOR ALL SEASONS
Arjun Khanna is probably the most stylish Indian designer I have known. His rugged good looks combined with individualistic personal style have kept his cool quotient high. A few years back, he moved from hectic Mumbai to soothing Goa to lead a laid-back lifestyle that appealed more to his evolved sensibilities. And since then, Arjun's been following his 'design'er dreams. Even though fashion continues to be his first love, this talented designer has moved into other avenues of design that have kept him busy off late.
He has designed his new home in Pune and now lives between Mumbai-Goa-Pune, travelling wherever his work takes him. "I've always led life on my own terms and at my own pace. The entire process of design is an extremely emotional one and it's the agony and ecstasy of that process that keeps me going. I love what I do and it has never stopped at just fashion and clothes. I have always had a penchant for interiors and moved into that space a while ago. My last three projects in Goa were a beach bar and restaurant that I designed. Back in Mumbai, I also designed the show flat for Ahuja Builders, where I did everything in the apartment, from the furniture, curios to the entire styling of the house. It was an exciting project because I had a free hand," informed Khanna about his new passion.
Another lifetime obsession with Arjun has been his love for anything antique, especially vintage furniture, bikes and cars. Along with designing clothes, he has been restoring old English bikes and re-designing period furniture. His retro curio-filled Colaba store is a testament to his fascination for detail in design. Right from his artistic campaigns over the years, to satisfying the wanderlust for adventure, to his biker-travel craze (he does regular cross-country trips on his bike), Arjun's boho-nomadic lifestyle is what dreams are made of.

LET'S 'TALK'
With Kal Ho Na Ho, Fashion, D Day, Paap, Student of the Year, Jism and many more part of his prolific resume, writer Niranjan Iyengar has come a long way since his film journalism days. Starting off over two decades ago with Bhawna Somaya's 'G' magazine as a cub reporter to writing some of the biggest blockbusters in Bollywood to being part of the inner coterie of some of the biggest names in the movies (Karan Johar, Kajol, Kareena, Karisma), his rise within the film industry has been noteworthy.
And after all these years of being close friends with the stars, Iyengar is all set to get back to interviewing them once again. Only this time, it's on camera.
Niranjan has recently started shooting for his first chat show 'Look Who's Talking', a celeb-based show for Zee Cafe. The first episode will have Kajol talking candidly about things close to her heart. Alia Bhatt, Karan Johar, Parineeti Chopra and Vidya Balan will follow her.
Speaking about getting back to journalism, Iyengar sounded excited. "It feels good to know that after all these years, the journalist inside me is still active. By nature, I am curious and that hasn't changed. Having been a part of the industry for over two decades, I've made some very close friends. It's a show born out of my relationships in the industry and my curiosity about the stars I've known closely. And unlike other studio-shot, formatted shows, mine is more a free-wheeling conversation captured on different locations. Each episode will have a different vibe and feel to it," he said.
After the candid and provoking 'Koffee with Karan', 'Look Who's Talking' is another 'idol' chat with an insider's view I wouldn't want to miss.

ALL NIGHT LONG
Indian retail seems to have come of age. With brands and stores creatively trying different promotions to lure in the buyers, it's made shopping a fun exercise. And now, for the first time in the history of retail in India, bestseller brands (Vero Moda, Jack & Jones and Only) are having an all-day-all night sale starting tonight at their suburban flagship store. It's going to be a non-stop shopping party zone for 24 hours and they even have a DJ to play music through the night. Expecting a footfall of more than 30,000, this midnight extravaganza is aimed at getting the youth to shop while they hip-hop.

FASHIONABLE AUGUST
Come August and Mumbai's fashion folk will head to the Palladium Hotel for Lakme Fashion Week's Autumn/Winter edition. The dates are August 21-26 and, this season, IMG is planning to up the game and make the event more much premium than before. With a new look and feel, the week will be held on the 8th and 9th floor of the hotel. And since Palladium has three nightspots within its premises, most of the after parties will happen at XO, Li Bai and Asilo. Freshness is key in fashion and, with the Palladium's swish interiors and panoramic view, there is sure to be more glitz and glamour in this fashion week.

DIRECTOR'S CUT!
Filmmaker, writer, product designer, party boy, fashionista Mozez Singh is a man for all seasons. Coming from an affluent industrial family, he decided he wanted to choose his own path after he went to study at Tufts University in Boston. With a passion to create, Singh worked in New York for five years in the music video production department at Tommy Boy records and that's where he fell in love with filmmaking.
Coming back to India, he started his own company and directed TV commercials, music videos, TV shows (On the Couch with Koel) and in time got into film production (White Noise, Peddlers, A Mighty Heart).
All along, Mozez knew he wanted to make a film and, when he got his story, he moved to it. Currently he is directing his first feature film, 'Zubaan', an emotional and violent coming-of-age story of a young man from Punjab, which is set in the world of music. A full-blown musical, this sleek contemporary film is being produced by Guneet Monga (The Lunchbox). What's surprising is that he hasn't taken his famous actor friends to play lead roles in his movie and has gone ahead with a relatively new cast.
The film releases 2014-end and Mozez is keeping his fingers crossed, hoping that his 'Zubaan' will make the right noise at the box office.