Have you heard? Champion days ahead

Kartik Aaryan; (right) Kabir Khan and Murlikant Petkar

Kartik Aaryan, who regained lost ground with Satyaprem Ki Katha, after the debacle of Shehzada earlier this year, has moved on to his next, Chandu Champion. Director Kabir Khan has reportedly begun filming in London and is slated to wrap up the sports drama by January 2024. Kartik has prepped extensively for the film that is inspired by the struggles and triumphs of paralympic champion Murlikant Petkar. "This is the most challenging character Kartik has essayed in his career so far. He has spared no effort in working hard on his physical transformation with international trainers," says a source, adding that producer Sajid Nadiadwala and Kabir are contemplating sharing the actor's and also the film's first look soon. It is being said that the makers have signed a new actor named Bhagyashree opposite Kartik. Her identity is being kept under wraps and will be revealed at the appropriate time. The movie also features Bhuvan Arora (of Farzi fame), Vijay Raaz and Rajpal Yadav in pivotal parts. After completing Chandu Champion, Kartik will begin working on Anurag Basu's Aashiqui 3, followed by Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 with Anees Bazmee.

Italian wedding

Varun Tej and Lavanya Tripathi have opted to tie the knot in Italy. Tollywood's new couple will reportedly have a fairytale wedding at a rustic venue, the preparations for which are underway. After an intimate wedding in Italy with barely 50 guests in attendance, Varun and Lavanya will host a grand reception in Hyderabad, where they will invite their friends from the industry and also political and industrial bigwigs. Apparently, Varun being a private person, wants the rituals to be a low-key affair, away from the paparazzi.

House that!

Dinesh Vijan has bought two sprawling apartments together measuring 9,000 sq ft for R103 crore. The properties are located on the 15th and 16th floors in a highrise in Bandra's Pali Hill. The filmmaker paid stamp duty of R6.17 crore for the transactions he registered on July 25.

Can Rimzim free us from bridal finery?

Showstopper Ananya Panday closed Rimzim Dadu's show in a matte gold bustier and cocktail skirt textured in fern cutwork; (right) model Lakshmi Rana in a Patola ikat weave-inspired saree gown

As a relative newcomer to the India Couture Week (ICW) season, Rimzim Dadu can only be a welcome addition to the notably male-dominated schedule. On the other hand, at 36, she is perhaps the youngest couturier on the calendar. That, plus her rigorously specific approach to fabric, structure and volume makes her a rule breaker whose clothes don't go with the flow of the bridal mentality. "Couture is a lot more than just wedding wear. This debut [at ICW] is an extension of this belief. I wanted to offer audiences in India a mature version of couture that goes beyond the traditional definition," Dadu told mid-day. If women ruled the world, we doubt they'd wear bridal finery.

Fabric manipulation and texture experimentation is at the core of her 15-year-old brand and Sunday afternoon's show titled, Hydrochromic (ode to water - its forms, power and versatility), held as part of the ongoing FDCI Hyundai ICW, was no exception. The most obvious expression of this experimentation was inspired by Patola ikat weave seen in a strapless salwar-kameez, a saree-gown and a menswear Nehru jacket; metallic cords in different colours assembled and individually stitched to the backing fabric in order to imitate the double ikat weave from Gujarat that's fast disappearing.

Models shimmied with easy-like-Sunday-morning strides, wearing lehengas, skirts, evening gowns and saree-gowns either with an ultra-short bustier or bomber jackets in an opulent palette of gold, molten silver, blushing wine, emerald green and cool blue that splayed out like ripples rolling over water bodies. Here, she was at her best working on her signature metallic cord materials tailored into sculpted yet structural shapes; sensual more than overtly sexy.

The event's couture status cranked this collection up a notch. One skirt was an outcome of intricate cutwork of daisy flowers stacked atop a see-through mesh underlayer and worn with a broad-shouldered bomber jacket in a jewel berry tone. The fern leaf motif was a sort of leitmotif; seen in the pallu draped over cinched saree-gowns and in the matte gold bustier plus cocktail skirt with one wallop of a slit worn by showstopper Ananya Panday.